PROUD TO BE INDIAN

On Monday, 26th January we were celebrating our 60th Republic day. Our president taking the salute this year was, a woman. Moments for us to be proud. Ironically, what happened in some part of our country made us look at the the very same picture differently.

As long as you confirm to laws drawn out by the constitution & live in a civil society there is no fear. Well this is the general belief.What has happened recently is horrific. News has been pretty disturbing to watch and read for the past few days. Some random people we never even knew existed, decide for us! Isn't it strange that we get newer definitions for democracy each day?Where are we heading?

One of the definitions of a Terrorist is - a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism or a person who terrorizes or frightens others. Do not these people come under the category of terrorists then? Aren't the terrorists deciding for us? These are more dangerous because they are misinterpreting our culture. Respect for every individual is a prime aspect in our culture and so is Ahimsa! These people are for sure not protecting Indian culture.

A group of wrongly brainwashed young men have no right to disrupt freedom of ordinary citizens. Mangalore has always been a city of peace.How can they take law into their own hands?
I know doctors who had come to Mangalore as students, fallen in love with the city that they have made it their homes. The molestation of girls in such a city is so difficult to digest. Always a quiet city it has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late.

When there is an external threat we can seal our borders & make sure everyone coming in & going out is thoroughly checked. The question now is, what do we do when the threat is internal? When we are so volatile internally, we are inviting problems.This is a more frightening situation to be in. What is it that we can do now? The country should come together as a whole. The basic fact we need to understand is, we are Indians. Whichever part of the country we come from should not make a difference. We should make sure this thought, is felt by each one of us. A handful of young minds are being misled & threatening to hold our freedom at stake?

Honestly till I saw a news feature a couple of days back , I did not know that with pubs having to shut down by 11.15 in Bangalore- the city is bleeding, and its soul hurt! I was shocked to see so much focus on, the bans in Night life & pub timings in the city. For God's sake, the country is reeling under a recession. People are losing jobs everyday. How do they make ends meet? There are many frustrated, who are committing suicides. This is a crucial issue .They need hope.

It is because media is giving so much time to these trivial issues that the so called leaders get an inspiration to mislead the youth. The pictures & news features on Sri Rama Sena & MNS hogging the limelight makes me wonder what is happening to India? Where is our focus? We get what we deserve. Do we deserve this? Is this newsworthy?

Media focus should now be on those people who have made a difference in their individual way. Whether it is an initiative to create an awareness on everyday problems like commuting with carpool or starting a social service group. Any activity which does not take a lot of money but needs a lot of individual & group initiative, drive, discipline & dedication should be given attention. This should be our focus. The environment is under threat. Look for people who are doing their bit to change their lives by becoming more environment friendly. All these need initiatives at an individual level & the ripples of this will be felt soon enough for society to react. Any positive change should be stressed & highlighted.Educate the people on these long term benefits. Let's not be hypocritical & claim ownership over something which is not ours & live in that reflected glory. ( Slumdog Millionaire being the latest example.)

It is time we look within & seriously ask ourselves a very simple question.
Am I proud to be Indian? If the answer is a "Yes" or a "No" it does not matter. In either case, we need to know why & help others find their answers! This is the least we can give our children , a reason to say, "I am proud to be Indian."

YES HE DID!

Yesterday was an important day for a man I admired. I rooted for him always. He was someone who struck the right chord from the very first time I saw him.His face said he was honest & the way he spoke I was charmed. Every word was always carefully chosen. His smile made me feel, finally there was someone I could believe in . It was more of how he said what he said, that I loved about him. He touched me.




Like the rest of USA I wanted to see Barack Obama become President officially. The run up to the inauguration was on TV. His address in Lincoln memorial was a predecessor to his inaugural address. He had modeled himself after two great leaders & made sure people did not forget it.His train journey was covered extensively a la Lincoln. Then came 19th Jan, 2009. The 80th anniv of Dr. Martin Luther King jr .Coincidentally (the third Monday every January is celebrated as MLK day) fell the day before the swearing in. What a way to write history?This year it became even more special because of the person who was writing a new chapter in American history the next day. Martin Luther's dream was being partly realized & his museum was visited by a great deal of people. His prediction of an African American becoming a President in 40 years coming so close to perfection.


It felt so surreal.Teary eyed were those people who marched with MLK in 1963 to see his prediction true in their life time. Barack Obama is surely God's favorite child. Looking at him yesterday i was just wondering if he had inherited his mother's looks would he have been the chosen one? He was born to a strong woman, fathered by a man whose looks he inherited & that proved to be his blessing, brought up by a grandmother whose influence was greatly acknowledged by him, married to a special woman who had a mind of her own , equally qualified as him & blessed with two daughters who are his world. So the women in his life shaped him to who he has become! From a nonentity to someone who meant hope. He 'has come a long way in two years.



The power of the tongue has always won many a battle & even made experience look trivial. So everything was so perfectly timed. For this recession one needed hope . He gave it & How!
Seemed that destiny had her plans well laid out. He was the right person at the right time. Yesterday everyone watching him was happy that it was CHANGE in the true sense of the term.


His inaugural balls were a pleasure to watch. His PDAs with Michelle were sweet. They seemed to be a couple very much in love still! It didn't seem put on. Together they seemed so grounded and so believable.


His inaugural speech had a stern expression but all the right words. It had the right ingredients to make it an effective one.It was what was expected & he delivered. In the midst of euphoria here was a man who kept his cool. Rightly described as the Tiger Woods of politics Barack Obama has a zen like calm which is reassuring.

First full day at office today, symbolically he started right by capping the salaries of the WH staff & discouraged lobbying totally. When Joe Biden had a snide remark on Justice Roberts for messing up the Presidential oath, he chided him. He opened the White House to the public. He has started right & has given a hope to everyone. He has stressed on being an inclusive leader from the beginning & is trying to stand by his campaign slogan."Yes we can. "

Am sure God is watching His plan unfold. Maybe like Obama concluded yesterday on his hope of how he would like history to remember us , "with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

I'm sure very soon to this hope will be end as , "YES HE DID " Amen to that.

I BELIEVE THEY EXIST!

Today's kids are a little too practical. We as kids believed in a make believe world of tooth fairy, Santa, Angels and the like & never questioned their existence. Our childhood was more fun I presume. But then times have changed. It's Vice city and different kinds of action missions &that entertain today's kids. They are little too proof oriented. My six year old nephew's tooth had fallen off & he carefully placed it under his pillow saying," Tooth fairy is going to give me money by the morning." My 12 yer old laughed & said, "Of course not! there is no tooth fairy! Your Amma is going to keep that money." My nephew was heartbroken & looked at his mother asking,"Yeah Amma, Is there no tooth fairy? You keep the money?" My sister smiled & said," It's very simple Yash ,if you believe in tooth fairy , she exists."Those words remained with me.

I was leaving for California on the 24th night. As i waved to my family & went into the terminal I never realized I will be having the biggest revelation in my life. With my passport & ticket , I checked in my bags & when they tried to issue my boarding pass, the system asked for the credit card number. My brother had not given me this. I did not even remotely think this would be asked. An official came with me to make a call to my brother asking him to fax a copy of his credit card. I tried calling & it went to his voice mail. I called home & told my sister to call him & let him know. The official walked me into the terminal asked me to wait. I waited.

It was my first visit to the US & my brother had spent an hour the previous day helping me understand filling the various forms & the credit card details had slipped both our minds. I put my hand into my handbag into which I had put some books & the book I pulled out first was"Who will Cry when you die". I smiled & started reading it. I entered the airport at 8 p.m & now it was 8.45p.m. At 9p.m he came back & said he still hasn't got the fax. He came back with me to make another call home.

(Can you believe this? In the new Bangalore International airport there are no PCOs in the departure terminal only in the arrival terminals. So every time I had to make a call an official had to accompany me. What a pain!)

He brought his senior official along who asked me, "How could you not do this? It is mandatory to have credit card details. I can always send you back ." I looked at her & genuinely told her," I'm sorry for all the trouble." She immediately calmed down. The official gave me his mobile number & asked me to give this to my brother. I called my sister & she gave it to him. When my brother called on his mobile , the lady gave him her email id as the fax was not working & asked him to scan it. He did it. After 20 minutes i was called to be issued the boarding pass. The ordeal over, I thought & went to collect my boarding pass only to face a new challenge. The number was a different one. We made another call home as my brother's mobile went back to voice mail. This was getting too much. It was 9.45 p.m. 10p.m was when they would close the counter. I called my brother's cell & left a message that if he did not call in the next ten minutes I may not be able to leave that day. When I asked what my other option is the official said that i could travel the next day. As his shift was coming to an end at 10p.m , he wanted to settle this before he left. I told him then I'd take the next day's flight & he said he would confirm it. Surprisingly I was pretty cool & as we got back into the departure terminal. His mobile rang. It was my brother reconfirming he had scanned the correct one & confirmed the number on phone. The time was 9.55 p.m & I got my boarding pass. I had a few chocolates which I thrust into the official's hand & wished him," Thank you so much. Happy Christmas !" I could not believe that 5 minutes back I called home & told them I would be returning. Now I was going to the security check.

To me this was the best Christmas gift . Mr. Jumsy -the official - was my SANTA CLAUS. Not the roly poly one with rein deers , a white beard and a gift sack. But in some other form which probably I would not have recognized otherwise. I learnt that when you go beyond the call of duty& you are making a difference to somebody, then you become a fairy , angel or even Santa Claus to them. Who said it's all fiction. IF YOU BELIEVE THEY EXIST THEY DO!


What a hope to begin the new year!

HAPPY PONGAL & HAPPY SANKRANTI!