There is a war on terror. Agreed. There is fair ground for an immigration officer to frown upon a Muslim surname. Particularly so for an American immigration officer post 9/11. Sounds gross but agreed nonetheless. Then Shah Rukh Khan is detained as a result of these two reasons. Should we agree on such a situation too?
Now I am not a SRK fan but I certainly realise what SRK is. He is the biggest filmstar ever produced outside Hollywood. He has a humongous fan-base that is spread all over the world. He is called an Islamic icon these days besides an Indian superstar because he’s hugely popular all over the Muslim world whether it’s a Middle-Eastern country or Bangladesh. And that definitely doesn’t mean that Muslims love all Muslim filmstars because it has never happened with an Iranian or Indonesian filmstar.
Now that’s Shah Rukh Khan and a good-hearted, responsible American immigration officer decides to interrogate him further after the primary interrogation, doesn’t let him use his cell phone for a while and asks him stupid questions. All in the name of War Against Terror.
Justifications have been put forward, one by our very own Salman Khan, who never looked a sensible man in any of the characters he portrayed in films. Sallu says, it’s all good. He praises the Americans for being so strict and he also concludes that it’s only because of such sincere attitude, another 9/11 hasn’t happened.
There’s another one put forward by the Americans. They say that India has a ‘VIP culture’. If a businessman from Delhi is asked a few questions by an immigration officer, he behaves as if he’s an important person and doesn’t deserve this.
Both points are valid. Sallu for once has spoken sense.
Now let’s once again try and consider the incident that led to this article in view of these justifications. It still doesn’t make sense.
Now let’s try and apply logic. An immigration officer, whether American, Austrian or otherwise has not heard of Shah Rukh Khan. Okay, his GK is poor. We haven’t heard of all the Mexican superstars either. Mexico has a disadvantage though. We in India have the numbers anyway, add to that a substantial number of non-Indian Muslims and you know that no Mexican star could ever be half as popular as SRK. Nonetheless. When a man, Shah Rukh Khan in this case, discloses his identity and reportedly a colleague of this officer swears by him and he still doesn’t realise that he’s making a mistake that would lead to an international debate, it clearly shows that he is an asshole.
Now there is no dearth of assholes in America who think that the Sun revolves around the US of A. How could I write that! AMERICANS DON’T THINK. They know that the sun revolves around the USA, the moment they step outta their country, it’s a jungle where half-naked human-like creatures dance around the fire and perform black magic and wherever they land in India, the moment they look up, there is The Taj.
Wikipedia reveals another fact. Americans don’t even read the American magazines as according to Newsweek, Shah Rukh was the 41st most powerful man in the world in 2008 and four years prior to it, Time magazine had named him among the 20 under-40 achievers of Asia.
Instead of chanting Yes We Can hysterically like a bunch of imbeciles, Americans could do well to educate their lot.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Do You ‘Dream’ of a job?
One often comes across elaborate write-ups on how to crack an interview and bag the ‘dream job’ these days. All these articles talk about certain characteristics of a human being about to face an interview panel and the first advice they give is almost always to deny those characteristics and emotions and be someone that one actually isn’t.
For example, all these write-ups would inevitably ask you not to be nervous. While it’s common knowledge that being unnecessarily nervous about things which are beyond one’s control doesn’t help (whether it’s an interview or a football match) in any whichever way, the writers seem to suggest that there must be a chirpy, feel-good, festive mood about it, whereas the reality is that someone would have not gone for an interview in the first place if it wasn’t of some if not utmost importance to him.
Then they go on talking about the perfect style of dressing, gesture and posture before, during and in cases even after the interview! They advise people to be confident and smart even if they do not know the answer to a very specific question. The idea is to utter the unspoken words ‘I’m Bond...’ somehow even when one is simply not doing well during the interview!
These articles promote hygiene in so far as they ask you to cut and file your nails before an interview. They though don’t advise you to brush your teeth in the morning and bathe. I guess they assume that every interviewee does so without any ‘expert’s advice’. In that case, couldn’t they leave the rest of the decisions such as cutting nails and dressing up to the wisdom of the interviewees?
These articles ask you not to be a rambler. They advise you to speak less and in precise terms. It does make me wonder about all those colleagues I had who seemed immune to any form of counselling or medication to cure their verbal diarrhoea. How did they manage to bag the ‘dream job’! Were they successful in fooling the panel during the interview or did the panel itself was in dire need of good advice from another set of experts to look through the veil of the interviewees? Or, maybe it didn’t matter to the panel whether the person on the other side was a rambler or not as long as he seemed eligible for the post applied for and spoke sense?
Now is the time for some food for thought. From my personal experiences of being associated with the media for some time now, I’ve seen that it’s almost always the responsibility of someone to specialise on these vague, absolutely worthless topics, who was the least impressive among his/her colleagues during his/her own interview. Would or could a journalist (nowadays even the guy who’s in-charge of the car pool of a media organisation claims to be one) be genuinely interested in writing these articles? Or, would any editor summon his best reporter to write such articles?
Now, there are certainly captive readers of these articles, even if all of them say the same things over and over again. There is no dearth of job-seekers all over the world and in their moments of anxiety, it’s but obvious that they would look for another opinion on a topic that apparently interests them, particularly when the opinion is published in a newspaper or website widely read. But isn’t it a classic case of exploiting human weaknesses in another form? To make matters worse, some of these so called journalists have now decided to write books on this ‘immensely important’ subject!
I am of the opinion that there is nothing like a ‘dream job’. And if someone ‘dreams’ of working for someone else or in other words, bagging a job then he/she could do a great favour to the world by not offering his/her two cents worth on someone else’s dreams or aspirations.
For example, all these write-ups would inevitably ask you not to be nervous. While it’s common knowledge that being unnecessarily nervous about things which are beyond one’s control doesn’t help (whether it’s an interview or a football match) in any whichever way, the writers seem to suggest that there must be a chirpy, feel-good, festive mood about it, whereas the reality is that someone would have not gone for an interview in the first place if it wasn’t of some if not utmost importance to him.
Then they go on talking about the perfect style of dressing, gesture and posture before, during and in cases even after the interview! They advise people to be confident and smart even if they do not know the answer to a very specific question. The idea is to utter the unspoken words ‘I’m Bond...’ somehow even when one is simply not doing well during the interview!
These articles promote hygiene in so far as they ask you to cut and file your nails before an interview. They though don’t advise you to brush your teeth in the morning and bathe. I guess they assume that every interviewee does so without any ‘expert’s advice’. In that case, couldn’t they leave the rest of the decisions such as cutting nails and dressing up to the wisdom of the interviewees?
These articles ask you not to be a rambler. They advise you to speak less and in precise terms. It does make me wonder about all those colleagues I had who seemed immune to any form of counselling or medication to cure their verbal diarrhoea. How did they manage to bag the ‘dream job’! Were they successful in fooling the panel during the interview or did the panel itself was in dire need of good advice from another set of experts to look through the veil of the interviewees? Or, maybe it didn’t matter to the panel whether the person on the other side was a rambler or not as long as he seemed eligible for the post applied for and spoke sense?
Now is the time for some food for thought. From my personal experiences of being associated with the media for some time now, I’ve seen that it’s almost always the responsibility of someone to specialise on these vague, absolutely worthless topics, who was the least impressive among his/her colleagues during his/her own interview. Would or could a journalist (nowadays even the guy who’s in-charge of the car pool of a media organisation claims to be one) be genuinely interested in writing these articles? Or, would any editor summon his best reporter to write such articles?
Now, there are certainly captive readers of these articles, even if all of them say the same things over and over again. There is no dearth of job-seekers all over the world and in their moments of anxiety, it’s but obvious that they would look for another opinion on a topic that apparently interests them, particularly when the opinion is published in a newspaper or website widely read. But isn’t it a classic case of exploiting human weaknesses in another form? To make matters worse, some of these so called journalists have now decided to write books on this ‘immensely important’ subject!
I am of the opinion that there is nothing like a ‘dream job’. And if someone ‘dreams’ of working for someone else or in other words, bagging a job then he/she could do a great favour to the world by not offering his/her two cents worth on someone else’s dreams or aspirations.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Indian Story of Discrimination
Travelling in an air-conditioned compartment of the Geetanjali Express from Calcutta to Bombay, I once again come face to face with the reality, the two different Indias that exist side-by-side. While me and my co-passengers in the air-conditioned compartment crib about the battalion of cockroaches that keeps coming out of the window seals and the rags, inhabitants of the Other India line up in front of the general, unreserved compartment at every station during the journey of almost 2000 kilometres.
As a student, I had once travelled in the unreserved compartment from Pune to Calcutta. After I reached my destination, I swore never to board the unreserved compartment again. Today when I look at my fellow countrymen fighting with each other to get a toehold in the unreserved compartment, I can’t help but feel guilty of being born in the privileged section of the society in a country that is often described as a poor country of rich people by observers. As I think about this glaring discrimination in every walk of life in this country of contradictions, a railway worker silently appears outside my window at Chakradharpur station in Orissa. His job is to wipe the water off the windows of the AC compartments since it’s raining outside.
The book that I am reading currently also talks about discrimination that has led to a bloody revolution in certain parts of the country. Titled Red Sun, Travels in Naxalite Country, the book is one among many that try to trace the root of the Maoist movement in various states of India. Even the most ignorant member of the India that I represent is vaguely aware of such discriminations but most of us choose to look away from such gloomy realities. We simply don’t have enough time to spare for the Other India.
I decide to take a break from reading and watch a movie. The one that I pick from a collection of about 200 in my laptop is the 2008 Hollywood blockbuster Milk starring Sean Penn. Ironically enough, the movie is about the gay rights movement in the United States in the seventies. There is simply no running away from discrimination it seems.
Red Sun, written by Sudeep Chakravarti, a journalist of some repute and who also comes across as a sympathizer of the Maoist movement throws up disturbing facts. It is a well known fact that Chhatisgarh, the state in central India is where the nucleus of the Maoist movement is. Decades of discrimination against the local people of the state, mostly tribals have led to an armed rebellion today. Chhatisgarh was earlier part of Madhya Pradesh but the story of discrimination continued unabated even after the separate state was formed.
Surprisingly, both Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh have witnessed stable political establishments in the last decade. Both Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Raman Singh, the respective BJP Chief Ministers of these states command respect from all sections of the society for their clean public image. Still, the rebels run parallel governments in certain parts of these two states.
Discrimination in India though is not everywhere defined by armed rebellions. It’s pretty much in-your-face wherever you go. If you travel in the big cities, you get an impression that India is indeed on its way to become a force to reckon with, if not a superpower. BPOs compete with each other to set shop in these cities as according to industry analysts, India has more English speaking people than most of the developing nations. Shopping malls, multiplexes, discotheques and an ‘upwardly mobile’ urban population dutifully decorate these cities. Figures show that engineering and business graduates from India form the backbone of a number of companies in the US and UK. The number of post-graduate students from the country in various universities in different corners of the planet is also proof enough that India is going places in the 21st century. At the same time, one can’t possibly miss the huge army of homeless people, beggars and the ones who don’t even enjoy the basic civil amenities such as electricity and water in these cities.
I had once met a guy called Koos Stellema. He was from a village near Amsterdam. At the time when I met him, he was working as a nursing assistant to my father who is a doctor. Koos had come to India through a student exchange programme and like most foreigners, had quickly adapted to the lifestyle of middle-class Indians. He used to travel by bus when most of the ‘upwardly mobile’ section would simply frown upon the idea and he used to smoke Wills Navy Cut, an immensely popular but not expensive brand of Indian cigarettes which according to him was one of the best cigarettes he ever smoke (I take pride in mentioning this particular fact as I also smoke the same brand).
When I drove Koos to the cheap, shabby hotel where he was putting up in Calcutta one night after dinner at home, he said something that embarrassed me. He said he had never seen a country where contradictions had reached such a level. While he came across the aristocrats of Calcutta in Calcutta Club, Bengal Club and similar places, who according to him resembled the European elite in every possible way, he routinely came across beggars asking for alms right outside these clubs.
It only added to my embarrassment when he asked me to explain this contradiction. I was sixteen or seventeen then and I had no clue. Not that Koos was the first to point out such contradictions to me. I, as I do now, lived with these contradictions all around me even then.
Among the members of the privileged section of the Indian society, it’s almost a norm to show off with a handful of exceptions who in my opinion are the truly educated ones. Whether it’s a fat paycheque or a degree obtained from a university abroad or a simple gadget, it becomes a prize possession in no time. Whereas, there is hardly anything that the inhabitants of the Other India could be proud of in their daily struggle to stay alive. A handful of rice or a roof above the head could justifiably be a reason to be satisfied, if not proud for them.
India with all its English speaking junta, the sexy, skimpily clad bollywood babe lookalikes who can’t sleep at night unless they ‘shake a leg’ in the discos and its ‘upwardly mobile’ population that promises to define its future can’t feed all its citizens, can’t provide a roof above every head, can’t provide electricity to all the houses and can’t unite the two different Indias with a sense of togetherness. The inhabitants of My India refuse to even acknowledge the inhabitants of the Other India as their fellow citizens. And the textbooks approved by the government keep teaching the students about a farcical term that according to the self-proclaimed patriots is the essence of the Indian society: Unity in diversity.
As a student, I had once travelled in the unreserved compartment from Pune to Calcutta. After I reached my destination, I swore never to board the unreserved compartment again. Today when I look at my fellow countrymen fighting with each other to get a toehold in the unreserved compartment, I can’t help but feel guilty of being born in the privileged section of the society in a country that is often described as a poor country of rich people by observers. As I think about this glaring discrimination in every walk of life in this country of contradictions, a railway worker silently appears outside my window at Chakradharpur station in Orissa. His job is to wipe the water off the windows of the AC compartments since it’s raining outside.
The book that I am reading currently also talks about discrimination that has led to a bloody revolution in certain parts of the country. Titled Red Sun, Travels in Naxalite Country, the book is one among many that try to trace the root of the Maoist movement in various states of India. Even the most ignorant member of the India that I represent is vaguely aware of such discriminations but most of us choose to look away from such gloomy realities. We simply don’t have enough time to spare for the Other India.
I decide to take a break from reading and watch a movie. The one that I pick from a collection of about 200 in my laptop is the 2008 Hollywood blockbuster Milk starring Sean Penn. Ironically enough, the movie is about the gay rights movement in the United States in the seventies. There is simply no running away from discrimination it seems.
Red Sun, written by Sudeep Chakravarti, a journalist of some repute and who also comes across as a sympathizer of the Maoist movement throws up disturbing facts. It is a well known fact that Chhatisgarh, the state in central India is where the nucleus of the Maoist movement is. Decades of discrimination against the local people of the state, mostly tribals have led to an armed rebellion today. Chhatisgarh was earlier part of Madhya Pradesh but the story of discrimination continued unabated even after the separate state was formed.
Surprisingly, both Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh have witnessed stable political establishments in the last decade. Both Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Raman Singh, the respective BJP Chief Ministers of these states command respect from all sections of the society for their clean public image. Still, the rebels run parallel governments in certain parts of these two states.
Discrimination in India though is not everywhere defined by armed rebellions. It’s pretty much in-your-face wherever you go. If you travel in the big cities, you get an impression that India is indeed on its way to become a force to reckon with, if not a superpower. BPOs compete with each other to set shop in these cities as according to industry analysts, India has more English speaking people than most of the developing nations. Shopping malls, multiplexes, discotheques and an ‘upwardly mobile’ urban population dutifully decorate these cities. Figures show that engineering and business graduates from India form the backbone of a number of companies in the US and UK. The number of post-graduate students from the country in various universities in different corners of the planet is also proof enough that India is going places in the 21st century. At the same time, one can’t possibly miss the huge army of homeless people, beggars and the ones who don’t even enjoy the basic civil amenities such as electricity and water in these cities.
I had once met a guy called Koos Stellema. He was from a village near Amsterdam. At the time when I met him, he was working as a nursing assistant to my father who is a doctor. Koos had come to India through a student exchange programme and like most foreigners, had quickly adapted to the lifestyle of middle-class Indians. He used to travel by bus when most of the ‘upwardly mobile’ section would simply frown upon the idea and he used to smoke Wills Navy Cut, an immensely popular but not expensive brand of Indian cigarettes which according to him was one of the best cigarettes he ever smoke (I take pride in mentioning this particular fact as I also smoke the same brand).
When I drove Koos to the cheap, shabby hotel where he was putting up in Calcutta one night after dinner at home, he said something that embarrassed me. He said he had never seen a country where contradictions had reached such a level. While he came across the aristocrats of Calcutta in Calcutta Club, Bengal Club and similar places, who according to him resembled the European elite in every possible way, he routinely came across beggars asking for alms right outside these clubs.
It only added to my embarrassment when he asked me to explain this contradiction. I was sixteen or seventeen then and I had no clue. Not that Koos was the first to point out such contradictions to me. I, as I do now, lived with these contradictions all around me even then.
Among the members of the privileged section of the Indian society, it’s almost a norm to show off with a handful of exceptions who in my opinion are the truly educated ones. Whether it’s a fat paycheque or a degree obtained from a university abroad or a simple gadget, it becomes a prize possession in no time. Whereas, there is hardly anything that the inhabitants of the Other India could be proud of in their daily struggle to stay alive. A handful of rice or a roof above the head could justifiably be a reason to be satisfied, if not proud for them.
India with all its English speaking junta, the sexy, skimpily clad bollywood babe lookalikes who can’t sleep at night unless they ‘shake a leg’ in the discos and its ‘upwardly mobile’ population that promises to define its future can’t feed all its citizens, can’t provide a roof above every head, can’t provide electricity to all the houses and can’t unite the two different Indias with a sense of togetherness. The inhabitants of My India refuse to even acknowledge the inhabitants of the Other India as their fellow citizens. And the textbooks approved by the government keep teaching the students about a farcical term that according to the self-proclaimed patriots is the essence of the Indian society: Unity in diversity.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Darjeeling Diaries 2
I came to Darjeeling with a fear that it would turn out to be a dirty, congested town. One of the many disadvantages (the advantages though outnumber them) of going to a place after almost every living being. A friend asked me on the phone, “Isn’t it too congested?” I was pleasantly surprised to note that it wasn’t. The tourists were of course there in large numbers, making the place crowded. But in a country of more than one billion, wasn’t it always going to be a daunting task to find a place that was completely detached from the rest of the world? Unlike some of the North-Eastern states, where in spite of the natural treasures, the tourism is yet to flourish, Darjeeling has been a tourist attraction since the pre-independence days.
Also, I think when these people talk of congestion they somehow choose to ignore their own surroundings. Darjeeling is not even 1/1000th as congested as Calcutta and it would take it millions of years to even reach that mark. This emotion would have been easier for me to appreciate if these people were from Lausanne or Christchurch. Surprisingly, tourists from these places agreed with my observations.
Darjeeling has all the features of a beautiful hill station and many more. Picturesque bungalows, snow covered peaks, pine forests, a riot of colours in the various species of orchids, rhododendrons and lilies, the Buddhist monasteries, quiet and mysterious alleys all of a sudden leading you to a breathtaking view – in short, the works.
In addition, the town has its famous eateries, coffee shops and pubs offering you an out of the world view of the Eastern Shivalik range of the Himalayas. The local Nepalese population is largely friendly and hospitable. The young crowd is seemingly carefree in their attitude and overtly Western when it comes to style statements. A group of young Nepalese singing in chorus while the world goes by is a common sight in The Mall, the heart of Darjeeling. And in my estimate, one out of every ten kids I saw carried a guitar.
I forgot to mention that it’s been more than 48 hours since I started writing about Darjeeling. I went to Shangri La twice after that first visit and currently I’m sitting at The Buzz, the most happening pub in Darjeeling which is also a part of the famous Bakery-cum-Restaurant, The Glenary’s.
I have moved from beer to whisky, back to beer and currently gin is my favoured drink. Now a lot of people say that gin causes male impotency. I know it’s not true because I’ve seen my father drink gin more than once. In any case, I am not particularly excited at the idea of growing up kids. Sorry for the heartbreaks.
As must be evident by now, I’m not really in a position to chart a detailed tour map of Darjeeling. First of all, in the last three days, I haven’t managed a glimpse Kanchenjunga. I haven’t been to the Rangeet Tea Estate, one of the major tourist attractions of Darjeeling and neither have I tried my hand at white water rafting at Teesta Bazaar. I even had to skip the world famous Toy Train ride. But I still have fallen in love with Darjeeling and like most places, I have realised that one doesn’t really have to check out all the tourist attractions to discover its charm. Tomorrow I will bid adieu to the Queen of the Hills and head for Mirik.
I so wish I stayed here for the rest of my life.
Also, I think when these people talk of congestion they somehow choose to ignore their own surroundings. Darjeeling is not even 1/1000th as congested as Calcutta and it would take it millions of years to even reach that mark. This emotion would have been easier for me to appreciate if these people were from Lausanne or Christchurch. Surprisingly, tourists from these places agreed with my observations.
Darjeeling has all the features of a beautiful hill station and many more. Picturesque bungalows, snow covered peaks, pine forests, a riot of colours in the various species of orchids, rhododendrons and lilies, the Buddhist monasteries, quiet and mysterious alleys all of a sudden leading you to a breathtaking view – in short, the works.
In addition, the town has its famous eateries, coffee shops and pubs offering you an out of the world view of the Eastern Shivalik range of the Himalayas. The local Nepalese population is largely friendly and hospitable. The young crowd is seemingly carefree in their attitude and overtly Western when it comes to style statements. A group of young Nepalese singing in chorus while the world goes by is a common sight in The Mall, the heart of Darjeeling. And in my estimate, one out of every ten kids I saw carried a guitar.
I forgot to mention that it’s been more than 48 hours since I started writing about Darjeeling. I went to Shangri La twice after that first visit and currently I’m sitting at The Buzz, the most happening pub in Darjeeling which is also a part of the famous Bakery-cum-Restaurant, The Glenary’s.
I have moved from beer to whisky, back to beer and currently gin is my favoured drink. Now a lot of people say that gin causes male impotency. I know it’s not true because I’ve seen my father drink gin more than once. In any case, I am not particularly excited at the idea of growing up kids. Sorry for the heartbreaks.
As must be evident by now, I’m not really in a position to chart a detailed tour map of Darjeeling. First of all, in the last three days, I haven’t managed a glimpse Kanchenjunga. I haven’t been to the Rangeet Tea Estate, one of the major tourist attractions of Darjeeling and neither have I tried my hand at white water rafting at Teesta Bazaar. I even had to skip the world famous Toy Train ride. But I still have fallen in love with Darjeeling and like most places, I have realised that one doesn’t really have to check out all the tourist attractions to discover its charm. Tomorrow I will bid adieu to the Queen of the Hills and head for Mirik.
I so wish I stayed here for the rest of my life.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Darjeeling Diaries 1
I’m sitting in a pub (they call it a Bar-cum-Restaurant) called Shangri La in Darjeeling. It has a wooden floor, wooden furniture, a jukebox that plays anything from Reggae to Punjabi and a huge dog (a real one that almost resembles a yak!). Oh, it also has a signboard saying, ‘Recommended by Lonely Planet’. How ironic!
Sitting here, I realise how boring my life is. What am I doing here on my first day in Darjeeling sipping beer? It’s a nice and cosy place with that British sort of a feel and it’s hard to find a waterhole like this in Calcutta but at the end of the day, it’s a pub goddamnit! Shouldn’t I be out on the streets considering I’m one of those rare creatures who were born in the state of West Bengal and finally managed their first trip to Darjeeling after three decades of suffering this world?
I have a pretty solid excuse though. Quite a few of them actually. Firstly, there’s the beer. Secondly, it’s raining outside. Thirdly, this place has been recommended by Lonely Planet. I realise I’m the only one to be blamed for this. I realise what a boring person I am.
And why pray am I writing about it? It’s pretty simple. I obviously harbour this secret wish that someday someone will read about it. So, what it means is that while I keep bragging about how boring I am, I want people to appreciate all about it by reading this. Amazing!
I have been to hill stations before. I have been to Shimla, Kulu, Manali, Chamba, Dalhoussie, Khajiar in Himachal Pradesh. I was a part of the Amarnath Yatra starting from Pehelgam in Kashmir and ending at the Holy Cave, almost 4000 meters above sea-level via Chandanwari-Sheshnag-Panchtarani as a 10-year old. I have been to Bomdila and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh as also Mount Abu in Rajasthan apart from frequent summer treks in the Western Ghats in the state of Maharashtra when I was in college. But this is my first trip to Darjeeling, the Queen of the Hills which is only 15 hours away from my home in Calcutta.
On my first trip to North Bengal, I had gone to Jaldapara Reserve Forest in Duars, about three hours from Siliguri. Darjeeling would be about the same distance from Siliguri albeit it’s a different route altogether. That was more of a jungle expedition in the summers and I was desperate for at least a glimpse of one of the handful of tigers (the official estimate was six in April 2006) in the forest.
I was briefly introduced to the beauty of North Bengal -- the lush green tea gardens and the cloud covered peaks on my way to North Khairabari from Siliguri via Chapramari. Later, after a number of unsuccessful attempts at spotting the elusive big cat (we had actually managed to record the roars of one), I had gone to see a village inhabited by a tribe named Rava.
This in comparison is more of a quiet vacation. Does that justify my presence in the pub?
Sitting here, I realise how boring my life is. What am I doing here on my first day in Darjeeling sipping beer? It’s a nice and cosy place with that British sort of a feel and it’s hard to find a waterhole like this in Calcutta but at the end of the day, it’s a pub goddamnit! Shouldn’t I be out on the streets considering I’m one of those rare creatures who were born in the state of West Bengal and finally managed their first trip to Darjeeling after three decades of suffering this world?
I have a pretty solid excuse though. Quite a few of them actually. Firstly, there’s the beer. Secondly, it’s raining outside. Thirdly, this place has been recommended by Lonely Planet. I realise I’m the only one to be blamed for this. I realise what a boring person I am.
And why pray am I writing about it? It’s pretty simple. I obviously harbour this secret wish that someday someone will read about it. So, what it means is that while I keep bragging about how boring I am, I want people to appreciate all about it by reading this. Amazing!
I have been to hill stations before. I have been to Shimla, Kulu, Manali, Chamba, Dalhoussie, Khajiar in Himachal Pradesh. I was a part of the Amarnath Yatra starting from Pehelgam in Kashmir and ending at the Holy Cave, almost 4000 meters above sea-level via Chandanwari-Sheshnag-Panchtarani as a 10-year old. I have been to Bomdila and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh as also Mount Abu in Rajasthan apart from frequent summer treks in the Western Ghats in the state of Maharashtra when I was in college. But this is my first trip to Darjeeling, the Queen of the Hills which is only 15 hours away from my home in Calcutta.
On my first trip to North Bengal, I had gone to Jaldapara Reserve Forest in Duars, about three hours from Siliguri. Darjeeling would be about the same distance from Siliguri albeit it’s a different route altogether. That was more of a jungle expedition in the summers and I was desperate for at least a glimpse of one of the handful of tigers (the official estimate was six in April 2006) in the forest.
I was briefly introduced to the beauty of North Bengal -- the lush green tea gardens and the cloud covered peaks on my way to North Khairabari from Siliguri via Chapramari. Later, after a number of unsuccessful attempts at spotting the elusive big cat (we had actually managed to record the roars of one), I had gone to see a village inhabited by a tribe named Rava.
This in comparison is more of a quiet vacation. Does that justify my presence in the pub?
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Are We Racists?
Amidst incidents reported from Australia of alleged acts of racial discrimination against Indian students, similar allegations put the biggest democracy on earth on a spot of bother when the Chief Minister of Mizoram, P Lalthanhawla revealed that people inquired about his nationality when he travelled down south back home in India. He was speaking at the Singapore International Water Week.
The statement led to debates to find out the truth whether Indians were as racists as others if not more. Ex-Union minister Manishankar Aiyar defended Lalthanhawla, a fellow Congressman with the routine ‘misinterpreted by the media’ cry and averted that the Mizoram CM could not have been hinting at racism in India when he made that remark. Another ex-Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, a member of the BJP agreed with Aiyar thus presenting one of the rare and extraordinary scenes of Indian politics where a Congress and a BJP politician agree on a common point.
But in spite of this televised unity, the truth was actually out in the open for everyone to see that not every Indian felt equally comfortable in his own country. And the reasons of this discomfort often support the theory of India being a racist nation and Indians being racists.
The Mizoram CM’s innocent narration of experiences of his life has a touch of honesty to it. It doesn’t require a deep understanding of the Indian psyche to know that the politician was speaking the truth. There’s every possibility that a resident of any part of India may ask a fellow citizen from the north-eastern states if he’s a Nepali. While lack of awareness is a readily available excuse for this otherwise rude inquiry, it’s still worthy of a debate if such an act amounts to racism.
People of Mongolian origins do have similar features and even someone who’s acutely aware of the nationality of the people from the North-East may not be able to distinguish between a Nepali and a Mizo or a Naga at a first glance. Going by this logic, there’s no reason for the Mizoram CM or anyone else to allege that India is a racist nation. But the cause of the north-eastern discomfort is a little more complicated than what meets the eye.
Apart from being labelled as ‘Chinkys’ (a term widely used in India to refer to people with Mongolian features) and the stories of all the governments at the centre carefully choosing to ignore the north-eastern pleas, there are blatant examples from all over the country that go on to show that people from the north-eastern regions are given enough reasons by their counterparts from other states to dissociate themselves from the mainstream Indian life.
When Prashant Tamang, a resident of Darjeeling, West Bengal won the Indian Idol, a popular singing competition on TV, a Delhi DJ taunted him as a ‘Bahadur’ (apparently a common name for a Nepali securityguard). While Manishankar Aiyar was happy to point out the number of students from North-East in a city like Bangalore in order to refute any remote charge of racial discrimination, he did not discuss the plight and basic problems faced by these students (could be lack of awareness again) in any of the big Indian cities. They largely form ghettos and stick to each other during the campus days. They are considered to be dirty, drug addicts and a lot that has little or no attachment to the traditional Indian values found among people from other regions. Even their food habit (certain groups from the North-East prefer to eat dog meat) is held against them on certain occasions. A few years back, north-eastern students of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi complained of step-motherly treatment by the students’ union during the college elections. They revolted against the JNU tradition of referring to them as Chinkys throughout the year and arranging for Rock concerts when the poll drums started to beat.
Moreover, the high percentage of north-eastern students in any big Indian city itself tells the story of the sorry state of education in those states.
There have been calls for separate states (Gorkhaland) and mini-revolts against blatantly discriminatory acts. Whether it brands India as a racist nation would still remain within the domain of sociologists, it is high time the rest of the country lent patient ears to the problems of the North-East. Denials could be suicidal.
The statement led to debates to find out the truth whether Indians were as racists as others if not more. Ex-Union minister Manishankar Aiyar defended Lalthanhawla, a fellow Congressman with the routine ‘misinterpreted by the media’ cry and averted that the Mizoram CM could not have been hinting at racism in India when he made that remark. Another ex-Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, a member of the BJP agreed with Aiyar thus presenting one of the rare and extraordinary scenes of Indian politics where a Congress and a BJP politician agree on a common point.
But in spite of this televised unity, the truth was actually out in the open for everyone to see that not every Indian felt equally comfortable in his own country. And the reasons of this discomfort often support the theory of India being a racist nation and Indians being racists.
The Mizoram CM’s innocent narration of experiences of his life has a touch of honesty to it. It doesn’t require a deep understanding of the Indian psyche to know that the politician was speaking the truth. There’s every possibility that a resident of any part of India may ask a fellow citizen from the north-eastern states if he’s a Nepali. While lack of awareness is a readily available excuse for this otherwise rude inquiry, it’s still worthy of a debate if such an act amounts to racism.
People of Mongolian origins do have similar features and even someone who’s acutely aware of the nationality of the people from the North-East may not be able to distinguish between a Nepali and a Mizo or a Naga at a first glance. Going by this logic, there’s no reason for the Mizoram CM or anyone else to allege that India is a racist nation. But the cause of the north-eastern discomfort is a little more complicated than what meets the eye.
Apart from being labelled as ‘Chinkys’ (a term widely used in India to refer to people with Mongolian features) and the stories of all the governments at the centre carefully choosing to ignore the north-eastern pleas, there are blatant examples from all over the country that go on to show that people from the north-eastern regions are given enough reasons by their counterparts from other states to dissociate themselves from the mainstream Indian life.
When Prashant Tamang, a resident of Darjeeling, West Bengal won the Indian Idol, a popular singing competition on TV, a Delhi DJ taunted him as a ‘Bahadur’ (apparently a common name for a Nepali securityguard). While Manishankar Aiyar was happy to point out the number of students from North-East in a city like Bangalore in order to refute any remote charge of racial discrimination, he did not discuss the plight and basic problems faced by these students (could be lack of awareness again) in any of the big Indian cities. They largely form ghettos and stick to each other during the campus days. They are considered to be dirty, drug addicts and a lot that has little or no attachment to the traditional Indian values found among people from other regions. Even their food habit (certain groups from the North-East prefer to eat dog meat) is held against them on certain occasions. A few years back, north-eastern students of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi complained of step-motherly treatment by the students’ union during the college elections. They revolted against the JNU tradition of referring to them as Chinkys throughout the year and arranging for Rock concerts when the poll drums started to beat.
Moreover, the high percentage of north-eastern students in any big Indian city itself tells the story of the sorry state of education in those states.
There have been calls for separate states (Gorkhaland) and mini-revolts against blatantly discriminatory acts. Whether it brands India as a racist nation would still remain within the domain of sociologists, it is high time the rest of the country lent patient ears to the problems of the North-East. Denials could be suicidal.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Is it wise to judge students on college admission essays?
The fact that there are websites helping students write their college admission essays is a bit confusing. Confusing because on one hand it shows that these essays are serious business and on the other one cannot help but think that the very idea of professional help in writing essays defeats the purpose.
A piece of writing does offer an insight into the mind of the author though it is debatable whether the creation reveals the creator or not. An essay at least helps the reader understand the viewpoint of the author on a particular topic. And to that extent, it’s fair to judge an author depending on this one viewpoint. After all, to judge an author is always a risky job and all the judgments are essentially made attaching particular importance to any one opinion of his.
So there is nothing surprising that colleges would decide to judge aspiring entrants on the basis of their college admission essays. But now that writing these essays has become a business, conducted as professionally as any other business, the whole thing seems trivial.
There are websites that offer professional help to students to write these essays. Come to think of it, what it effectively means that you buy an essay in order to impress the assessor in order to get into a college. And both students and college authorities, in short the entire fraternity takes the exercise with utmost seriousness!
Now I do not know whether these websites could be asked to shut shop by the competent authorities, though it seems unlikely. In that case, colleges would have to come up with an idea to tackle this problem. One way could be to come up with an even full-proof system of testing the ingenuity of the essays though one would imagine such a system is already in place. Usually, someone whose ability to judge a literary piece of work is unquestionable is entrusted with the responsibility of assessing the college admission essays and there is every reason to believe that the person takes his job seriously.
Another solution could be to have the essays read by a panel. It would throw up multiple opinions and a reasonable conclusion could be arrived at in a democratic manner. But then, the disadvantage of too many cooks is also something that we are well aware of.
I do not doubt the college authorities to come up with an effective mechanism, no matter how unique it has to be. Educationists are after all some of the smartest men in the society and probably the only lot that carries a certificate of societal approval of their smartness. But one still wonders whether the most basic strategy is the most effective one at times or not. In this case, the basic strategy would be to judge students on the basis of their academic achievements followed by interviews and not try and understand them through the college admission essays.
The websites though would complain.
A piece of writing does offer an insight into the mind of the author though it is debatable whether the creation reveals the creator or not. An essay at least helps the reader understand the viewpoint of the author on a particular topic. And to that extent, it’s fair to judge an author depending on this one viewpoint. After all, to judge an author is always a risky job and all the judgments are essentially made attaching particular importance to any one opinion of his.
So there is nothing surprising that colleges would decide to judge aspiring entrants on the basis of their college admission essays. But now that writing these essays has become a business, conducted as professionally as any other business, the whole thing seems trivial.
There are websites that offer professional help to students to write these essays. Come to think of it, what it effectively means that you buy an essay in order to impress the assessor in order to get into a college. And both students and college authorities, in short the entire fraternity takes the exercise with utmost seriousness!
Now I do not know whether these websites could be asked to shut shop by the competent authorities, though it seems unlikely. In that case, colleges would have to come up with an idea to tackle this problem. One way could be to come up with an even full-proof system of testing the ingenuity of the essays though one would imagine such a system is already in place. Usually, someone whose ability to judge a literary piece of work is unquestionable is entrusted with the responsibility of assessing the college admission essays and there is every reason to believe that the person takes his job seriously.
Another solution could be to have the essays read by a panel. It would throw up multiple opinions and a reasonable conclusion could be arrived at in a democratic manner. But then, the disadvantage of too many cooks is also something that we are well aware of.
I do not doubt the college authorities to come up with an effective mechanism, no matter how unique it has to be. Educationists are after all some of the smartest men in the society and probably the only lot that carries a certificate of societal approval of their smartness. But one still wonders whether the most basic strategy is the most effective one at times or not. In this case, the basic strategy would be to judge students on the basis of their academic achievements followed by interviews and not try and understand them through the college admission essays.
The websites though would complain.
WAKE UP CALL FOR THE LEFT
The mood in Kolkata was different after the results of the 15th Lok Sabha elections were declared.
The usual scene before every election, whether municipality or Lok Sabha is a confident bunch of left supporters making light of the opposition aspirations of toppling the government that has stood the test of time for 32 years (the Left Front government in West Bengal will complete their 34th year in office when they face the next assembly elections in 2011). The opposition supporters on the other hand would inevitably point fingers at the ‘left electoral malpractices’ which include rigging, false voting, booth jamming, pre-poll terror and violence to press the panic button among voters. Left supporters would brush aside all the allegations by saying that it was a people's mandate.
The 15th Lok Sabha results though saw different and previously unseen reactions from both camps. A left drubbing was predicted in these elections by all and sundry because of Singur, Nandigram, the mysterious death of a young graphic designer Rizwanur Rehman in Kolkata and the administration’s apparent involvement in it. The minority vote bank they said was slipping out of the left grip. Leftists never took these apprehensions seriously and banked on their strong organisational structure to sail over these elections. Also, they said that the people of West Bengal would never vote for a whimsical opposition leader, Mamata Banerjee.
On May 15, a day before the counting at about 11 pm a friend who’s also a Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI, a left organisation) worker had a few ‘inside’ information for me. The Left tally, he said could never go below 30 (West Bengal has 42 Lok Sabha constituencies). He also named a few neck and neck seats (Jadavpur, North Kolkata, Uluberia, Contai, Murshidabad etc) and expressed his belief that the left candidates were certain to win in those seats. There was no reason not to believe him for someone who has witnessed these ‘left predictions’ come true in several elections. The optimism that the opposition had shown in West Bengal before previous elections were always found to be misplaced and lacking of solid reasoning after the results were announced.
The most startling revelation from my friend though was yet to come. He seemed quietly confident of the fact that even though Mamata would win from her South Kolkata seat, her margin was certain to come down as compared to the last Lok Sabha elections in 2004. Significantly, while Mamata had a winning margin of close to 200,000 in 1999, she suffered almost a 50 per cent loss in her margin in ’04.
On May 16, as the counting started, the left complacency took a serious jolt as opposition candidates were leading in traditional left bastions after the first few rounds of counting. Staunch left supporters though were certain of a recovery in the latter half of the day. Supporters even took out a colourful procession in anticipation of a left victory in Dum Dum constituency. In the neighbouring constituency of Barrackpore, Tarit Topdar, the CPM candidate was busy chalking out plans for his victory celebrations. But as the day progressed, it became quite clear that the results were reversed in West Bengal this time round. Both Topdar and Amitava Nundy, the CPM candidate from Dum Dum were defeated by Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates.
Almost all the neck and neck seats including North Kolkata, Jadavpur, Uluberia, Murshidabad, Contai, Serampore, Krishnagar, Bongaon, Mathurapur, Joynagar were won by the opposition. Left candidates were defeated in constituencies known as left strongholds such as Basirhat, Birbhum, Howrah, Hooghly, Tamluk in addition to Dum Dum and Barrackpore. Left stalwarts were humbled by newcomers in Lok Sabha elections in many seats. Mamata not only won but more than doubled her margin from the last elections by taking it past the 200,000 mark. The Left tally was 15 as against 30 predicted by my friend.
What happened in 2009 that the usually spot-on left predictions were proved to be wrong? True, there was a fear of the anti-incumbency factor but that fear was there all through the last 32 years. True, that in and around Kolkata, the capital there was not even a single constituency which was under the left control after the results were declared. But equally true is the fact that the left brigade never really banked on the urban votes to win elections after elections. In fact, barring 2004, voters of Kolkata always voted against the ruling Left Front government in the last 32 years. The topmost reason is obviously the peasants' and workers’ party losing the confidence of the peasants and the down-trodden people post Singur and Nandigram. The haste with which the state government went about land acquisition for industries in the state did not go down well with the rural voters, who largely depend on agriculture and land for livelihood. Secondly, Muslims in the state seemed to come to believe that the CPM was not their friend anymore. In addition to the apparent involvement of some of the top ranked police officers of the state, including the then Commissioner of Police, Kolkata in the Rizwanur Rehman murder case, the Sachar Commission report too vindicated this stand of both Bengali and Urdu speaking Muslims of West Bengal.
As the countrywide results reflected, public mood favouring Manmohan Singh and the UPA government over LK Advani and NDA must have also accounted for the left debacle in West Bengal (the leftists had a fall out with the UPA government over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal). But what must have hurt them the most was the arrogance of their leaders and workers. What definitely did not go down well with the voters of West Bengal was the administrative apathy to take the state forward even after 32 years in power by its ministers and leaders. What more, the left leaders have been most adamant to admit their mistakes which more often than not were blunders.
Come 2011 and critics predict that the year would mark an end to a historic chapter in parliamentary democracy worldwide. Holder of the Guiness record for the longest standing elected government in the world, the CPM-led Third Front would have to pass the mantle on to the opposition after 34 years of uninterrupted ruling in West Bengal. An analysis of the results of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections shows that the Left Front was defeated in 190 of the 294 assembly constituencies in West Bengal, whereas they had won 235 of those in the last assembly elections in 2006.
It will surely not be wise to write off the Left Front on the basis of one Lok Sabha elections but one thing is for sure. The public mood is not in its favour and serious damage control needs to be done to consolidate its position in the state. The problem is that time is running out. Surely, the 2011 assembly elections in West Bengal is going to pose the toughest challenge before the ‘Bhadrolok Party’ of Bengal.
The usual scene before every election, whether municipality or Lok Sabha is a confident bunch of left supporters making light of the opposition aspirations of toppling the government that has stood the test of time for 32 years (the Left Front government in West Bengal will complete their 34th year in office when they face the next assembly elections in 2011). The opposition supporters on the other hand would inevitably point fingers at the ‘left electoral malpractices’ which include rigging, false voting, booth jamming, pre-poll terror and violence to press the panic button among voters. Left supporters would brush aside all the allegations by saying that it was a people's mandate.
The 15th Lok Sabha results though saw different and previously unseen reactions from both camps. A left drubbing was predicted in these elections by all and sundry because of Singur, Nandigram, the mysterious death of a young graphic designer Rizwanur Rehman in Kolkata and the administration’s apparent involvement in it. The minority vote bank they said was slipping out of the left grip. Leftists never took these apprehensions seriously and banked on their strong organisational structure to sail over these elections. Also, they said that the people of West Bengal would never vote for a whimsical opposition leader, Mamata Banerjee.
On May 15, a day before the counting at about 11 pm a friend who’s also a Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI, a left organisation) worker had a few ‘inside’ information for me. The Left tally, he said could never go below 30 (West Bengal has 42 Lok Sabha constituencies). He also named a few neck and neck seats (Jadavpur, North Kolkata, Uluberia, Contai, Murshidabad etc) and expressed his belief that the left candidates were certain to win in those seats. There was no reason not to believe him for someone who has witnessed these ‘left predictions’ come true in several elections. The optimism that the opposition had shown in West Bengal before previous elections were always found to be misplaced and lacking of solid reasoning after the results were announced.
The most startling revelation from my friend though was yet to come. He seemed quietly confident of the fact that even though Mamata would win from her South Kolkata seat, her margin was certain to come down as compared to the last Lok Sabha elections in 2004. Significantly, while Mamata had a winning margin of close to 200,000 in 1999, she suffered almost a 50 per cent loss in her margin in ’04.
On May 16, as the counting started, the left complacency took a serious jolt as opposition candidates were leading in traditional left bastions after the first few rounds of counting. Staunch left supporters though were certain of a recovery in the latter half of the day. Supporters even took out a colourful procession in anticipation of a left victory in Dum Dum constituency. In the neighbouring constituency of Barrackpore, Tarit Topdar, the CPM candidate was busy chalking out plans for his victory celebrations. But as the day progressed, it became quite clear that the results were reversed in West Bengal this time round. Both Topdar and Amitava Nundy, the CPM candidate from Dum Dum were defeated by Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates.
Almost all the neck and neck seats including North Kolkata, Jadavpur, Uluberia, Murshidabad, Contai, Serampore, Krishnagar, Bongaon, Mathurapur, Joynagar were won by the opposition. Left candidates were defeated in constituencies known as left strongholds such as Basirhat, Birbhum, Howrah, Hooghly, Tamluk in addition to Dum Dum and Barrackpore. Left stalwarts were humbled by newcomers in Lok Sabha elections in many seats. Mamata not only won but more than doubled her margin from the last elections by taking it past the 200,000 mark. The Left tally was 15 as against 30 predicted by my friend.
What happened in 2009 that the usually spot-on left predictions were proved to be wrong? True, there was a fear of the anti-incumbency factor but that fear was there all through the last 32 years. True, that in and around Kolkata, the capital there was not even a single constituency which was under the left control after the results were declared. But equally true is the fact that the left brigade never really banked on the urban votes to win elections after elections. In fact, barring 2004, voters of Kolkata always voted against the ruling Left Front government in the last 32 years. The topmost reason is obviously the peasants' and workers’ party losing the confidence of the peasants and the down-trodden people post Singur and Nandigram. The haste with which the state government went about land acquisition for industries in the state did not go down well with the rural voters, who largely depend on agriculture and land for livelihood. Secondly, Muslims in the state seemed to come to believe that the CPM was not their friend anymore. In addition to the apparent involvement of some of the top ranked police officers of the state, including the then Commissioner of Police, Kolkata in the Rizwanur Rehman murder case, the Sachar Commission report too vindicated this stand of both Bengali and Urdu speaking Muslims of West Bengal.
As the countrywide results reflected, public mood favouring Manmohan Singh and the UPA government over LK Advani and NDA must have also accounted for the left debacle in West Bengal (the leftists had a fall out with the UPA government over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal). But what must have hurt them the most was the arrogance of their leaders and workers. What definitely did not go down well with the voters of West Bengal was the administrative apathy to take the state forward even after 32 years in power by its ministers and leaders. What more, the left leaders have been most adamant to admit their mistakes which more often than not were blunders.
Come 2011 and critics predict that the year would mark an end to a historic chapter in parliamentary democracy worldwide. Holder of the Guiness record for the longest standing elected government in the world, the CPM-led Third Front would have to pass the mantle on to the opposition after 34 years of uninterrupted ruling in West Bengal. An analysis of the results of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections shows that the Left Front was defeated in 190 of the 294 assembly constituencies in West Bengal, whereas they had won 235 of those in the last assembly elections in 2006.
It will surely not be wise to write off the Left Front on the basis of one Lok Sabha elections but one thing is for sure. The public mood is not in its favour and serious damage control needs to be done to consolidate its position in the state. The problem is that time is running out. Surely, the 2011 assembly elections in West Bengal is going to pose the toughest challenge before the ‘Bhadrolok Party’ of Bengal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
