Review of Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire

The first thing that comes to my mind after reading Indian Summer by Alex Von Tunzelmann is that why does it take a westerner to write such an intriguing story about Indian History. The reason is beyond my comprehension till date as common sense suggests the otherwise. The Indians must be having greater access to archives, letters of iconic personalities and first hand interviews of the survivers. This I am saying as I have also read Indira by Katherine Frank and found it excellent.

The Indian Summer is based on dissection and deep research into the true personalities and personal lives of Mountbatten and Jawahar lal Nehru in the backdrop of Indian Independence movement, giving an microscopic and magnified version of the last few months on the British Raj in India. Although the book starts in a bit sluggish way describing in detail the lives of Mountbattens in 20s and 30s and Indian freedom struggle but one later feels its requirement in order to personify the true characters and lives of the Mountbattens and to build the story. The book catches the tempo in the later half giving not only the details of the events but also the personal conversations and discussions of the personalities we read so much about and allows us to have a closer glimpses at their personal lives. The book presents the facts not only on the basis of here says and rumors but are thoroughly researched based on the letters exchanged between personalities involved and the evidences gathered otherwise. This book unravels the humane side and peels of the layers of their character and brings to life their common and simpler side of some of the greatest personalities of India. We read about the leadership roles of Nehru, Patel and Gandhi in our history books but its very difficult to personify them with just those details. This book fills the gap between political and personal life of leaders and having human insight into their lives.

The writer though falters few times to reach conclusions based on conversations and indirect references but otherwise depicting a neutral account of the events.

Nehru’s personality comes out as a great visionary leader whose intellectual level was way higher than other leaders who sometimes compromised with their ideals and vision in tiring circumstances.

After reading this book I would to delve more into the books that discusses the ideas and experiments of Gandhiji and gives me more insight into the Kashmir problem.

In the end … a good and interesting read. 

Why this Rush - Di?

So Here I am, returning to blogging after a good 1.5 year. The leisure time between Main and Interview has given me this breathing space to take some time out for this activity which along with other hobbies are simply put in back burners when u r preparing for civil services.

Anyways, coming to the topic on Rushdie, the brouhaha over his novel "The satanic verses" is not new but the controversial novel came to light again in the backdrop of Jaipur Literature Festival (JLT). The author was invited by the JLT organizers to be a part of the festival, but due to some unfortunate turn of events the writer had to cancel his visit and all the credit goes to our canny politicians and their vote bank politics.

The 1989 controversial book "The satanic verses" allegedly hurt muslim sentiment and was promptly banned by Rajiv Gandhi in India (even before Ayyatoulla Khameini of Iran and others did so ). The book is said alleged to have anti-islamic elements and has mocked the prophet. A series of fatwas were issued against the writer and many authors who translated his work in other languages have been assassinated or brutally attacked.

Now, as soon news of this author being invited to JLT started pouring in, there were slew of fatwas issued against him by the ulemas and clerics (whom I doubt if they themselves have read the book) and demanded not to allow him to visit this country by denying him Visa (unknown of the fact that he is a PIO and doesn't need one!).

With UP polls just round the corner the State govt of Rajasthan and Union Govt. decided not to take a chance and decided to put his visit off on the grounds of law and order situation.

Its a shame to see that in the largest democracy of the world one can be gagged like this where freedom to expression is a fundamental right. Although the Right is not absolute but its not encroaching either. In no way a book is going to hurt ur belief or sentiments if you choose not to read that book, nobody is forcing you to do that!. I think as a society grows and diversifies there should be more and more signs of tolerance rather than confrontation.

Its a shame that when a Z plus security is provided to the very perpetrators of communal violence and politicians. Its a shame that ppl whose writings and cartoons instigated the Bombay (YES it was Bombay then) communal violence are roaming free instead of many FIRs and cases pending upon them.

Its a shame when our govt. fails to take a strong step towards religious fanatics.

Its a shame that a great painter of our country dies in exile just because the govt. was unable to decide on his case.

It is shame that the community instead of concentrating on reforming itself and freeing itself from the fetters of irrationality the community is incited to pick up the issue of the book, content of which nobody has a clue.

I think the time has come for the people see things through the lens of rationality and reason rather than preconceived notions and bogey of attack on religious faith.

Dustbin

Its been nearly a year since I have been living here in Old Rajinder Nagar area of New Delhi. Nothing special about this area from other parts of Delhi except that the whole area is packed with Punjabis and IAS aspirants. A quite well to do colony but doesn't lag behind in competing with the rest of Delhi in lack of civic sense. I think its a chronic disease spread out in whole of Delhi. People think their duty just end by the four walls of their home, rest other is "public".. not for use but for exploitation, i.e. the roads , the streets and any other place they can find to litter. There is no difference between the dog that shits anywhere in the street and these people. They finish off their tea and throw it wherever they wish. Sometimes I had to carry my cup of tea to my home which is good enough distance from the spot. Now the Q. is whose fault is this . Is it a societal problem creeped deep down inside every rajendreite or delhite ? or is it the municipal malfunctional that has compelled civic society to resort to such measures ?. But it can't be ustified on either of the two reasons. Thats a social evil and if a institution fails its the moral responsibility of the other to respond. But I think we r a decade or two lagging much behind in civil society reforms than compared to any other institution. As some great person said it " Charity begins at home", similary if the elected institution is not delivering its our moral responsibility to at least do our bit. Muncipalities cry over missing dustbins when they place such in colonies. But that problem can be easily ratified with making them permanently grounded like the one I saw in market . The solutions are not hard to find if u r looking for one ....

Spitting and then Licking it ....

It seems Indian politics will never cease to amaze me. Few prejudices that I had earlier solidified into facts as I followed few events lately. One of them being the infamous Varun Gandhi's speech and the events that followed it. One point that everyone can drive home is that political parties has no imaan-dharam or whatsoever. How easy it is for them to eat their own words and to take U-turns on their own stands. If we take the case of Varun Gandhi, we all saw the BJP cutting itself from the whole issue and even Mr. Advani ( I dont prefer to call him "ji") personally condemed Varun's speech. But when the party saw him the issue being doing it in their favour in that particular consttuency and to appease the right wing fellow it didn't mind to back him with full support. Now that that Mayawati govt. has decided to impose NSA on Varun , this gave BJP the much needed fuel. The same ppl who initially thought he has brought shame to the party are now going and meeting in the Jail. Yes, m talking abt party president Mr. Rajnath Singh. By the way I dont take his words seriously ( does he?) coz half of the times he hisself doesnt even knw wat he is talking abt. How can we trust on a party for 5 years  if it cant  keep its words for 5 days? I am not a pro Congress but I definetly have a problem with a party that des it politics openly o the basis caste, creed and religion. Its like taking the country on the backward path. 

But this is the apathy of this country. Governance, development and Agriculture has been the election issues. Coz for political parties like these, these governance is not the motto but its the "power" they want to achieve, by hook or by crook. It like if you the right recipe for getting the votes u win. A bit of caste, a bit of religion and a bit of crime, and you get all the votes. I was discussing this issue with one of my good frnd and I asked the same question to him that why Indian politicians doesnt shy away from doing caste and religion based politics. And he told me that it works because its directly related to the sentiments of people. And I realised that yes in this country people take their religion and case very seriously. If you want to sensitize them then case and religion is the best tool u can use. So its not surprising for me to c the BJP coming out with Ram Temple as one of the main point in their Manifesto. So what if farmers are committing suicides in vidarbha, so what if half of the country is affected by insidious activities of Naxalites, so what if 1/3 of the population is not able to earn even Rs. 50/day , cmmon these are not the issues one should think about. I knw people are too sentimental abt their religion but does this mean it should overshadow the real issues?  Neways we will see many colors of politicians in these coming days ...njoy the dance ( or Tandav?) of democracy 

"The dirty alliance between religious preachers and possessors of power brought the boon of prisons, gallows, knouts and above all such theories for the mankind." - Shaheed Bhagat Singh 

Actors=Policticians, Politiacians=Actors, Reverse Roleplay??

So actors becoming politicians haan. Seems that we can't find even few find few ppl to represent our constituency so that we hire ppl who can sham that they are are the "real" candidates and eventually to no ones surprise they turn out to be the one !!!. So wat if we are counted as the smartest brain in the world, so what if our medicos have made India a medical tourism haven, so what if we were the first to discover zero, so what if we were a phoenix to become the largest democracy, so what if we are a land of kamasutra, so what if our economy is booming but my dear friend all those fasts nullify when we say that we have chosen MPs like Dharmendra, Govinda and Navjot Singh Siddhu. They make nothing but a mockery of our democracy. How the hell they can be called Member of Parliament when they haven't even attended 20% of the sittings of the house. Its pathetic to c that these actors are just using their status to make the democracy dance to their tune. How pathetic it feels feels when actors like these become MPs of and and make an ass of themselves appearing as a regular host on a comedy TV show when they are supposed to be solving problems of the common people of that constituency. Does somebody need to be Einstein to realize the fact?? .. I am too being too despondent being just a mock spectator of that situation. If it wouldn't have been 24th yr of my birthday I would have been contesting election. I am not saying that I am the best but surely I do know what are the duties of a MP and it doesn't even take a graduate to know that. But u know we are Indians, we will be driven by Glamor , we will be sold by the bottle of "pouvva" our netas gives us to vote for them. And he will be the next MP. how the hell does it matter to the man? he got his share of "pouvva" what else can he demand for? can he demand for education for every child in his village? can he demand for water for every tap ? can he demand for return of every bit of his blood he had shed while ploughing the field? . I say No , A bloody NO beacuse there is munnabhai, there is munnabhai to fullfill his political aspirations (he says he wants to do samaj sewa thats y he entered politics, bloody my foot). He will be in the ruling party next yr and can amend the laws very easily that suits his situation. A man who should be behind the bars will be contesting elections. Congratulations my sweet democracy for giving me MPs like Govinda and Siddhu on whom I can make 'n' number of jokes and wudn't even realise that he is the fuckin MP of our country.
So do not vote my dear. And let these MPs represent your country. Please and please DO NOT exercise your right to vote and let these jokers rule you. Because we deserve it.
So, next time please give a thought before NOT voting.


Jai Ho!!!

Incomprehensible "Love"

Does it happen with you that most of the self indulgence with ur thoughts happens while u r traveling?. Well, with me its the case. I just dive in to my sea of thoughts whenever I travel, be it train, bus, car, or the shared auto that I take for the office. The one thing thats rattling my mental peace and baffling me with its enigmatic nature is the topic "Love". Its been so much talked about and plethora of books and novels have been written over it since time immemorial. But still if you pose this question to 10 different ppl "What is love?". Chances are you may get 11 different answers . Having through a couple of relationships I think the so called "love" still seems to be an enigma to me. Still figuring out wt its real meaning is ? Is it wat that is portrayed in books and movies or is it something else? Or its just that its there...somewhere.... but u keep looking for it in all the wrong places. But diving a bit deep I got to know what could be a probable reason. Falling in love and finding the "true love" are two different things. I think in the first case, you can fall in love with anybody with whom u are attracted to (physically, emotionally)over a period of time. But in the second case destiny plays a major part. Its not the case that people find true love so easily. But most of the ppl get trapped coz the initial stages in both the cases are same. U feel the same excitement, the same caring, the same feel good things. But its only at later stages that u r confronted by the real harsh facts. The excitement goes away, the understanding and commitment comes into picture. U feel no more the way u did. Then what?. And the situation becomes worse if one of the partner feels the same way as he or she did in the initial stages. Dream worlds come crashing in front front of u. So at that crossroads what should you do if your partner love and cares for u a lot but you don't feel the same? Is it my fault? Beleaguered by moral questions and pragmatic thoughts, u feel mired in net of thoughts. Something tears u apart. So what should one do in that situation? Be true to him and his/her partner or just keep on carrying that pus in his/her mind? Its not an easy decision to take. The repercussions of detachment is never an easy experience. And what follows is aptly depicted in latest movie Dev D. called "emotional atyachar" ( where the protagonist till the end believes that he was "in love" with the heroine but eventually it turns out that it was nothin like that anh how possibly it could be if he didn't even knew her that well) But the point I have learned is that it takes time to know. There is no way u can know in the beginning itself. I wish there were litmus tests we could perform at the beginning only so that we could find out if its the real one. And more of what I have learned till now from my relationships is "what love is not"..I knw I am being an a$$ being true.. but thats the only option I have got... I have been after mirages in my life so far...but hoping for a resert rose ..as in I won't b looking for it...but still keeping my fingers crossed.

Talibanization??....Screw u !!!

Mangalore incident, MNS's agitation against non-marathis and now various right wing activists issuing warning against youths celebrating V-day. Somehow these events have one thing in common, and that is some section of people are becoming insecure and impatient. MNS was not enough that here comes one more group of publicity mongers in the name of "protecting Indian culture ", and the bunch of goons call themselves the Ram Sena. Like many, I too was very upset over the event that took place in Mangalore and now various Hindu Right wing organizations issuing warning against young couples from celebrating valentines day. It is ironic that the group that led the attack claims to be doing all this is to protect Indian Culture while their deeds(molesting, beating women, etc) were sinister and not Indian in any way. They say that women are not supposed to drink and dance according to Indian Culture.
My stand is first of all who the hell gave you goons the right to represent or becoming the saviors of Indian culture?. Which Indian culture are you talking about dear ? The one in which women are treated as second class citizens? or the culture in which dowry systems, Child marriage, Sati Pratha, and where women are confined to kitchens only?. People like Muthalik can't digest the kind of progress Indian women are making in every sphere of life. I take proud to be citizen of a country where women are making mark in every field. Be it the president, Indra Nooyi, Kalpana Chawla, Sania Mirza all have made us proud globally. People like Muthalik should get some facts clear before pukes his filthy cultural saving ideas in media. First, Indian culture can't be dictated by bunch of goons upon anybody. The Indian culture has never been static, it have always been in evolving state, its dynamic. It assimilates the good things of other cultures and shelves the bad and outdates values. Indian Culture is like a river, it decides its own path. So you can't come at a point in time and demark it "its the limit and I pronounce it Indian culture". You can't confine it dear. You cant do that and you dont have any right to do that. The values that our culture teaches us that will surely be tested against time and if they stand against it , people will surely keep following them. And the useless ones will be scrapped. People like Muthalik exploit the youth that is not educated enough and these directionless youth find these kind of organizations to vent out their anger and frustration. I mean seriously dont these people have nething to do in life? Must be not. Coz then only these people are are easily misguided.
And then comes the comments by various politicians and mediapersons on the issue. The opinion seems to be divided among the politicians . Some like Gehlot, Karnatka CM and Ramadoss are against the pub culture while the others like Renuka Choudhary feels like the decision should be left on the individual to decide. Mr. Gehlot says he won't allow youth culture to hold hands in malls and public places. Who the hell think he is to stop us from doing it .Although I am not a supporter of Public Display of Affection ( PDA) but I dont need nebdy to tell me what to do and what not to . I wont do it doesn't mean I should not have the right. Its a personel choice.
If we can vote and choose leaders at the age of 18 I think we surely can make better personal choices at the age of 21. Although I support Mr. Ramadoss's decision to ban smoking in public places I am not at all convinced by the kind of remarks he issued regarding pub culture. He should better know when to draw a line of enforcing personal ethos on the whole Nation.
And my last words to MNS and Sena is Indian Culture is not your personal property . Indian culture has always been evolving and will always be . Frogs like you should come out of well and realize that its not the ladies having couple of drinks with a bunch of friends bringing bad name to Indian Culture but molesters like u. Better correct your basics.