I moved to Mumbai some eight years ago and never quite managed to get to the Kalaghoda festival held every year in February. Until last year, when I was invited to curate the literature festival at Kalaghoda. And I became a convert.
No other city in India boasts of a festival like the Kalaghoda fest. Arts, Music, Dance Drama ,Photography, Movies and literature make up this lovely festival. For 9 days, the Mumbaikars have an opportunity to attend special workshops, meet with artists and authors ,partake of superior performances ,see splendid art and craft and help NGOs that work across a cross section of underpriveleged people.And it is not an elitist festival - people from all walks of life participate and attend the festival.
The Kalaghoda Festival for me is the symbol of what is right with Mumbai - the vibrant arts, the thinking minds, the selflessness of the many volunteers ,organisers , NGOs and Civic bodies who try to showcase their city. A bunch of people come together every year to create an experience that is unique only to Mumbai. It is not done for personal glory or fame (how many of us know the names of the KG Organising Committee)?
Therefore, my distress is complete. The November Kalaghoda festival is not happening because Rampart Row is a silence zone now.There is a cloud over the February festival too. The Kalaghoda festival cannot disrupt the peace.This despite the Church on Rampart Row not against the Kalaghoda festival.
This is cheesy - coming from an administration that has not been able to curb the incessant honking on the roads at the silence zones. That allows noise to be created in the name of religion - with the navratri pandals, Ganpati , Dahi Handi festivals that make life miserable. That does not have the courage to stand up to a Shiv Sena that blatantly flouts the norms at its Dusshera show of strength.
And we complain about the one thing that brings Mumbai pride and joy.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thank You Aditya Thackeray
The young always have a fresh perspective, and thank you AT for helping me look at things differently too!
With Nishna on the verge of entering the eight grade, we were faced with a huge dilemma. Should we take the tried and tested Indian board ICSE, or go with the relatively unknown IGCSE board?
As Indians who went through the Indian system and competed with the best,(and are not doing too badly in life) we felt that the Indian system is the best. And if you can crack the exams and get into St Stephens, SRCC or the IITs then you have arrived!
But Such a Long Journey, made me realise the futility of my dreams.Who am I fooling? From the heady days when we lustily protested against the Mandal Commission, things have only gone downhill for the educated Middle Class. Suddenly, instead of a 100% seats based on merit, there were only 50% seats that that you could potentially get into based on merit. Merit included not only marks, but Dad’s bank balance and political connections that you might have. Not that the SC/ST 50% seats got filled - but those were out of bounds for the meritorious.
It does not take a historian or a social observer to figure that the quality of higher education has dipped in India. Colleges are political hotbeds where teachers do not turn up to take classes and kids while away their time for three years.
Mumbai is even more special - unlike other parts of India, where kids are in ‘school’ till the 12th, the Mumbai kids get into Junior College! So whereas, other Indian kids waste three years of their lives, Mumbai kids are gifted an additional 2 impressionable years.
Compare to China and you can forsee that in the future Indian kids in India will lose any competitive advantage they may historically have had.
Why would I want my kids to struggle so much for such little value? It might be better for them to go abroad, compete with the best globally and make a life for themselves. Why would I subject them to a culture where creativity is hindered and where the poor VC capitulated immediately to a young Thackeray , because who was going to protect him from goonda raj?
This government is not for the educated middle class! That poor VC must have feared for his and his family’s life. He would not get police protection - that is only the prerogative of the politicians. He could have been beaten up, killed and noone would have been brought to the book. Even the police and politicians lose their nerve in front of the mighty Thackerays, so what is a poor VC?
Can we really blame him? Is he weak, spineless, an unthinking adult? I don’t think so.
He is a smart adult who wants to live longer.
And thank you Junior Thackeray - my kids are definitely going to be out of bounds for people like you!And will go international!
With Nishna on the verge of entering the eight grade, we were faced with a huge dilemma. Should we take the tried and tested Indian board ICSE, or go with the relatively unknown IGCSE board?
As Indians who went through the Indian system and competed with the best,(and are not doing too badly in life) we felt that the Indian system is the best. And if you can crack the exams and get into St Stephens, SRCC or the IITs then you have arrived!
But Such a Long Journey, made me realise the futility of my dreams.Who am I fooling? From the heady days when we lustily protested against the Mandal Commission, things have only gone downhill for the educated Middle Class. Suddenly, instead of a 100% seats based on merit, there were only 50% seats that that you could potentially get into based on merit. Merit included not only marks, but Dad’s bank balance and political connections that you might have. Not that the SC/ST 50% seats got filled - but those were out of bounds for the meritorious.
It does not take a historian or a social observer to figure that the quality of higher education has dipped in India. Colleges are political hotbeds where teachers do not turn up to take classes and kids while away their time for three years.
Mumbai is even more special - unlike other parts of India, where kids are in ‘school’ till the 12th, the Mumbai kids get into Junior College! So whereas, other Indian kids waste three years of their lives, Mumbai kids are gifted an additional 2 impressionable years.
Compare to China and you can forsee that in the future Indian kids in India will lose any competitive advantage they may historically have had.
Why would I want my kids to struggle so much for such little value? It might be better for them to go abroad, compete with the best globally and make a life for themselves. Why would I subject them to a culture where creativity is hindered and where the poor VC capitulated immediately to a young Thackeray , because who was going to protect him from goonda raj?
This government is not for the educated middle class! That poor VC must have feared for his and his family’s life. He would not get police protection - that is only the prerogative of the politicians. He could have been beaten up, killed and noone would have been brought to the book. Even the police and politicians lose their nerve in front of the mighty Thackerays, so what is a poor VC?
Can we really blame him? Is he weak, spineless, an unthinking adult? I don’t think so.
He is a smart adult who wants to live longer.
And thank you Junior Thackeray - my kids are definitely going to be out of bounds for people like you!And will go international!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Chilean Miners
I have been following the Chilean Miners saga with keen interest. And felt a lump in my throat everytime a miner was pulled up after having survived 70 days in the hot, humid and dark bowels of the earth. I watched as President Pinera stood by his men and hugged them as they emerged from the Fenix capsule.
And felt so proud, so utterly overwhelmed on behalf of a country that I might have never visited, were I not young and naive!
12 years ago, when my husband decided to go to Chile (or Chilli as I pronounced it then) on an assignment, I was happy. Happy coz I had a six month old baby, had just executed my biggest placement deal with a MNC and wanted to travel abroad. That it meant a nine hour flight to London, then a 12 hr flight to Beunos Aires and then another 2 hours to Santiago - I had no idea. That it was in the Southern Hemisphere and therefore bitterly cold in June - I had no idea. That people spoke no English, only Spanish - I had no idea.That it was such a developed country - I had no idea.
But Chile was the best experience of my life. ‘Donde Se Dekha La Basura’ was the first Spanish sentence I learnt -I wanted to ask the conceirge where I could throw the garbage in the apartment. My best friend was the beautiful Arachelli from Spain and I don’t know how we communicated coz we did not speak each other’s language!
Chile was where my taste buds exploded - the local food - the empanadas, pollo asado and polenta were so good ; the supermarkets overflowed with delicious avocados, tomatoes , apples and oranges and I learnt that Chile was a net exporter of this produce. I learnt also that after the US, Chile was the largest consumer of sodas and sparkling water. Their sea food was amazing and we were always queasy watching the locals buy fresh mussels by the kilos, squirt them with big lemons and eat them raw! Chicken had been a johnny come lately to the country.
I learnt that Chileans were the British of South America - they were not as demonstrative as the rest of the Latinos,dressed as conservatively as the Brits and they drank tea. High tea was equally much an occasion here with delicious pastries and tarts. And ‘cortado’ - the coffee with some sort of foam was an ideal beverage at the malls. Pisco sour was a misleading drink and would have you tipsy in no time and the world had not yet discovered the wonderful Chilean wines.
I learnt also that the US was not America and that the country was nuts about football. I learnt too that Chileans were deeply religious and strict Catholics and that was the reason why there were so many teenage pregnancies that were supported by the families.
The Chileans had been removed from the rest of the world for the longest time because of the Alps.
I learnt that the invaders from Spain had inter married with the Mapuche Indians and that was why Chileans looked so different from the other Latinos. That there was still a hierarchy with the pure breds being at the top of the value chain. I learnt also that Chileans kept to themselves because of the horrors they had undergone during General Pinochet’s dictatorship . Many of their men and husbands had gone missing in the dead of the night and protests were peaceful with only a banging of utensils.
An hour out of Santiago , and depending on the direction you took, you could reach the sea or the mountains or the deserts or even , as it happened to us once, a world class ski resort (Portillo). Or even Neruda, where the Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda lived.
As I watched the Miners being rescued, my mind drifted back to the Chile I knew then, where the not so privileged simmered against Pinochet, who still had a loyal following among the rich.And I realised that this event would change many things for the Chileans - in helping them come together and forge ahead. And, how I wish I was back there in Chile to share this moment!
And felt so proud, so utterly overwhelmed on behalf of a country that I might have never visited, were I not young and naive!
12 years ago, when my husband decided to go to Chile (or Chilli as I pronounced it then) on an assignment, I was happy. Happy coz I had a six month old baby, had just executed my biggest placement deal with a MNC and wanted to travel abroad. That it meant a nine hour flight to London, then a 12 hr flight to Beunos Aires and then another 2 hours to Santiago - I had no idea. That it was in the Southern Hemisphere and therefore bitterly cold in June - I had no idea. That people spoke no English, only Spanish - I had no idea.That it was such a developed country - I had no idea.
But Chile was the best experience of my life. ‘Donde Se Dekha La Basura’ was the first Spanish sentence I learnt -I wanted to ask the conceirge where I could throw the garbage in the apartment. My best friend was the beautiful Arachelli from Spain and I don’t know how we communicated coz we did not speak each other’s language!
Chile was where my taste buds exploded - the local food - the empanadas, pollo asado and polenta were so good ; the supermarkets overflowed with delicious avocados, tomatoes , apples and oranges and I learnt that Chile was a net exporter of this produce. I learnt also that after the US, Chile was the largest consumer of sodas and sparkling water. Their sea food was amazing and we were always queasy watching the locals buy fresh mussels by the kilos, squirt them with big lemons and eat them raw! Chicken had been a johnny come lately to the country.
I learnt that Chileans were the British of South America - they were not as demonstrative as the rest of the Latinos,dressed as conservatively as the Brits and they drank tea. High tea was equally much an occasion here with delicious pastries and tarts. And ‘cortado’ - the coffee with some sort of foam was an ideal beverage at the malls. Pisco sour was a misleading drink and would have you tipsy in no time and the world had not yet discovered the wonderful Chilean wines.
I learnt also that the US was not America and that the country was nuts about football. I learnt too that Chileans were deeply religious and strict Catholics and that was the reason why there were so many teenage pregnancies that were supported by the families.
The Chileans had been removed from the rest of the world for the longest time because of the Alps.
I learnt that the invaders from Spain had inter married with the Mapuche Indians and that was why Chileans looked so different from the other Latinos. That there was still a hierarchy with the pure breds being at the top of the value chain. I learnt also that Chileans kept to themselves because of the horrors they had undergone during General Pinochet’s dictatorship . Many of their men and husbands had gone missing in the dead of the night and protests were peaceful with only a banging of utensils.
An hour out of Santiago , and depending on the direction you took, you could reach the sea or the mountains or the deserts or even , as it happened to us once, a world class ski resort (Portillo). Or even Neruda, where the Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda lived.
As I watched the Miners being rescued, my mind drifted back to the Chile I knew then, where the not so privileged simmered against Pinochet, who still had a loyal following among the rich.And I realised that this event would change many things for the Chileans - in helping them come together and forge ahead. And, how I wish I was back there in Chile to share this moment!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Idols make me anxious
Ramayana , its stories and their morals were never religion for me. I grew up in a Sikh household and heard these wonderful stories in school and from my friend’s parents and grandparents who would narrate them to us. And in the Northern Indian small towns I stayed, Ram Lila was always a fun outing as was Dusshera, when people would congregate upon a central maidan to see the Ravana effigies burn at dusk.
And I was never different from my Hindu friends even if we did follow different religions and had dissimilar customs.
The 1984 riot shifted that perception a bit, when the fury of the Hindu populace was unleashed on the Sikh community because ‘a tree (indira) had been felled’. Over time,the disenchantment with the Indian law and government remained because many of the perpetrators of those crimes are still strutting around. Still, India is my country and I am fiercely patriotic about it.
So the High Court judgement makes me anxious. Sure I do believe that in the hope for peace and secularism, the Court took the best course of action by dividing the property into three parts. And there is no reason why, in a country like ours, we can’t have a Hindu temple and a Muslim mosque co-exist peacefully next to each other.We have a legacy of religious tolerance.
But building the temple to display a ‘resurgent, strong India’ is not my idea of secularism. That’s why this business of idols makes me anxious. Is it so easy to encroach upon any land merely by placing idols there? And what legal wrongs can be set right when backed by the faith of a billion people (give or take a few million)? And can that happen to me too? Or my religion? What if someone decided that the site of the Golden Temple at Amritsar is actually an ancient Ram site? Or that my house could also have a legend attached to it?
And should this intransigence extend to Nankana Sahib, Guru Nanak’s birthplace now in Pakistan? Should Sikhs not have it in their state? Or will we keep steering towards a Hindu State because of the majority is Hindu? Or continue being a pseudo-secular state?
No body needs to be apologetic in our country about their religion, faith and beliefs, but I absolutely dislike the way religion is used for political gains. And how, despite knowing better, political compulsions will once more ensure that there will be riots and more bad blood - after the CWG and Obama visit.
That’s why the idols make me anxious.
And I was never different from my Hindu friends even if we did follow different religions and had dissimilar customs.
The 1984 riot shifted that perception a bit, when the fury of the Hindu populace was unleashed on the Sikh community because ‘a tree (indira) had been felled’. Over time,the disenchantment with the Indian law and government remained because many of the perpetrators of those crimes are still strutting around. Still, India is my country and I am fiercely patriotic about it.
So the High Court judgement makes me anxious. Sure I do believe that in the hope for peace and secularism, the Court took the best course of action by dividing the property into three parts. And there is no reason why, in a country like ours, we can’t have a Hindu temple and a Muslim mosque co-exist peacefully next to each other.We have a legacy of religious tolerance.
But building the temple to display a ‘resurgent, strong India’ is not my idea of secularism. That’s why this business of idols makes me anxious. Is it so easy to encroach upon any land merely by placing idols there? And what legal wrongs can be set right when backed by the faith of a billion people (give or take a few million)? And can that happen to me too? Or my religion? What if someone decided that the site of the Golden Temple at Amritsar is actually an ancient Ram site? Or that my house could also have a legend attached to it?
And should this intransigence extend to Nankana Sahib, Guru Nanak’s birthplace now in Pakistan? Should Sikhs not have it in their state? Or will we keep steering towards a Hindu State because of the majority is Hindu? Or continue being a pseudo-secular state?
No body needs to be apologetic in our country about their religion, faith and beliefs, but I absolutely dislike the way religion is used for political gains. And how, despite knowing better, political compulsions will once more ensure that there will be riots and more bad blood - after the CWG and Obama visit.
That’s why the idols make me anxious.
Friday, September 24, 2010
CWG - Representing the true Indian
Why are we all feeling so ashamed of the spectacle that the Commom Wealth Games are turning out to be? We must embrace it coz it truly represents what we Indians are
Proscrastinators - We start out any task with the ‘just in time ‘ attitude.So all preparations, presentations happen just in time and we manage just fine.The CWG preparations will also happen till and after the opening ceremony. So What?
JLT - Just like that . Attention to detail - What’s that? Since we do things just in time , we execute them JLT only. It might be the tacky shoes under fancy clothes at a fashion show, or the wrong flowers at a party or dirty loos at the CW Village.And nothing in life is permanent, so why stress on quality?
Of a higher hygiene order - When the CWG official claimed that the Indian’s hygiene level is different from other countries, he was absolutely right.
We believe in the purificatory properties of water, therefore our bathrooms are always wet. The temples are dirty with the muck that the water picks up.The crematoriums are dirty as is the Holy Ganga. So What?
Our houses are clean because all the garbage is thrown outside. And that outside area is not one’s concern (unless you can encroach upon it somehow).
Likewise, every Indian, from one travelling in a train or a bus to a BMW casually throws the garbage out of the window on to the road. Paan is also meant to be spat out on the roads and buildings - unless ofcourse there is a god’s picture adorning the wall.
Loos everywhere - from temples to airplanes to fancy hotels and multiplexes are ALWAYS dirty.And very likely someone would have also pissed on the ground.And ofcourse, the world is one’s personal loo -so you can piss and defecate anywhere in India.
We dig our noses, scratch our crotches and burp in full public view. So what! That is my janam sidh adhikar.
Ofcourse, we Indians are lazy, corrupt, inefficient and dirty. So What? We were a (supposedly) great people once and can still bask in that glory. We don’t have to follow the Western notions of cleanliness, efficiency and detailing. Please excuse us - we are like that only. We are not and will never rise above our station..So what! Live and let live.
Proscrastinators - We start out any task with the ‘just in time ‘ attitude.So all preparations, presentations happen just in time and we manage just fine.The CWG preparations will also happen till and after the opening ceremony. So What?
JLT - Just like that . Attention to detail - What’s that? Since we do things just in time , we execute them JLT only. It might be the tacky shoes under fancy clothes at a fashion show, or the wrong flowers at a party or dirty loos at the CW Village.And nothing in life is permanent, so why stress on quality?
Of a higher hygiene order - When the CWG official claimed that the Indian’s hygiene level is different from other countries, he was absolutely right.
We believe in the purificatory properties of water, therefore our bathrooms are always wet. The temples are dirty with the muck that the water picks up.The crematoriums are dirty as is the Holy Ganga. So What?
Our houses are clean because all the garbage is thrown outside. And that outside area is not one’s concern (unless you can encroach upon it somehow).
Likewise, every Indian, from one travelling in a train or a bus to a BMW casually throws the garbage out of the window on to the road. Paan is also meant to be spat out on the roads and buildings - unless ofcourse there is a god’s picture adorning the wall.
Loos everywhere - from temples to airplanes to fancy hotels and multiplexes are ALWAYS dirty.And very likely someone would have also pissed on the ground.And ofcourse, the world is one’s personal loo -so you can piss and defecate anywhere in India.
We dig our noses, scratch our crotches and burp in full public view. So what! That is my janam sidh adhikar.
Ofcourse, we Indians are lazy, corrupt, inefficient and dirty. So What? We were a (supposedly) great people once and can still bask in that glory. We don’t have to follow the Western notions of cleanliness, efficiency and detailing. Please excuse us - we are like that only. We are not and will never rise above our station..So what! Live and let live.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Indian Middle Class
Everyone talks about the country sitting on gunpowder , waiting to explode any day because of the growing divide between the rich and the poor.
Hello, does anybody even think of the Middle Class and the fact that one day they will wake up to the harsh realities of their existence?
Squeezed like a limp piece of chicken from both sides - the rich on one side whose money gives them everything on a platter . The poor on the other side who walk away with all the benefits because of grants and subsidies.
Paying taxes through their noses, but getting no service. Bad roads and infrastructure, an expensive educational system that does not deliver, reservations that ensure that meritocracy does not stand a chance.
Paying through their noses for bad housing and running pillar to post for subsidised housing. The rich can afford all and the politicians and bureaucrats allot subsidised housing to themselves. The poor only have to squat anywhere and they reap dividends in terms of free housing and free land.
A judicial system that makes you wish you knew an underworld don who would deliver justice through the parallel system. A police force that only services the politicians and one that you would not trust your daughter with.A bureaucracy that is a living nightmare.
Prices that rise , expenses that rise and salaries that don’t keep up.
I think there will be a time that the middle class will also become militant. And stand up for its right.And demand answers on his tax money, incompetent politicians, avaricious bureaucrats. It may even demand to know why everyone shares equal rights as them- when clearly it is the Middle Class that makes this country tick?
Maybe it will already be too late when they do stand up. We might have relinquished our democratic rights already in favour of an oligarchy or even a monarchy!
Hello, does anybody even think of the Middle Class and the fact that one day they will wake up to the harsh realities of their existence?
Squeezed like a limp piece of chicken from both sides - the rich on one side whose money gives them everything on a platter . The poor on the other side who walk away with all the benefits because of grants and subsidies.
Paying taxes through their noses, but getting no service. Bad roads and infrastructure, an expensive educational system that does not deliver, reservations that ensure that meritocracy does not stand a chance.
Paying through their noses for bad housing and running pillar to post for subsidised housing. The rich can afford all and the politicians and bureaucrats allot subsidised housing to themselves. The poor only have to squat anywhere and they reap dividends in terms of free housing and free land.
A judicial system that makes you wish you knew an underworld don who would deliver justice through the parallel system. A police force that only services the politicians and one that you would not trust your daughter with.A bureaucracy that is a living nightmare.
Prices that rise , expenses that rise and salaries that don’t keep up.
I think there will be a time that the middle class will also become militant. And stand up for its right.And demand answers on his tax money, incompetent politicians, avaricious bureaucrats. It may even demand to know why everyone shares equal rights as them- when clearly it is the Middle Class that makes this country tick?
Maybe it will already be too late when they do stand up. We might have relinquished our democratic rights already in favour of an oligarchy or even a monarchy!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Security for kids
Obama must be a guy with the highest amount of security. And yet, none of it seems visible and instrusive. At a recent visit to China, hubby darling was in the same hotel as Hilary Clinton and he could not tell.
Of course, lets not get to our politicians in india who have so much visible security - yet they manage to get killed and get mauled with chappals and shoes. They are a story oft repeated.
But I am seeing another class of protected ones. And I feel sorry thinking about the kind of lives they are destined to lead - one without privacy and in full glare of people watching their every move. These are kids (of all ages ) of filmstars, diamond merchants , liquor barons and any other high networth/high profile persons. The bodyguards accompany the kids everywhere. While the kid is in school, they sit outside the school yapping and exchanging notes with other drivers and staff members. They accompany them to gyms , where they stand outside the main area and watch everyone , including young girls sweating it out. The body guards switch on their distress lights and honk maddeningly as they follow the car with the baba log, shooing everyone else off the crowded Mumbai roads.
And I don’t understand how they are protecting their charges? By blaring their horns and creating drama on the roads, they attract attention to the very people they are meant to protect. So a kidnapper does really know whose kid travels in that car. And can decide on the amount of ransom depending on the size and make of the car. Anyone can walk into the gym and shoot those young kids exercising, while their bodyguards try to get close to their bodies.
Perhaps their parents need to watch 24 or take tips from Obama’s security that will really protect their kids.
More importantly, why should I have to pay for their security? I don’t care , would not turn a second time to look at these kids. Then why should my car get bumped off the road and why should someone watch me huffing and panting in the gym?
Of course, lets not get to our politicians in india who have so much visible security - yet they manage to get killed and get mauled with chappals and shoes. They are a story oft repeated.
But I am seeing another class of protected ones. And I feel sorry thinking about the kind of lives they are destined to lead - one without privacy and in full glare of people watching their every move. These are kids (of all ages ) of filmstars, diamond merchants , liquor barons and any other high networth/high profile persons. The bodyguards accompany the kids everywhere. While the kid is in school, they sit outside the school yapping and exchanging notes with other drivers and staff members. They accompany them to gyms , where they stand outside the main area and watch everyone , including young girls sweating it out. The body guards switch on their distress lights and honk maddeningly as they follow the car with the baba log, shooing everyone else off the crowded Mumbai roads.
And I don’t understand how they are protecting their charges? By blaring their horns and creating drama on the roads, they attract attention to the very people they are meant to protect. So a kidnapper does really know whose kid travels in that car. And can decide on the amount of ransom depending on the size and make of the car. Anyone can walk into the gym and shoot those young kids exercising, while their bodyguards try to get close to their bodies.
Perhaps their parents need to watch 24 or take tips from Obama’s security that will really protect their kids.
More importantly, why should I have to pay for their security? I don’t care , would not turn a second time to look at these kids. Then why should my car get bumped off the road and why should someone watch me huffing and panting in the gym?
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