Like today's news has been full of stories of violence in every corner of India, because the opposition party called a nationwide bandh to protest the hike in fuel prices. And so the opposition is crying out loud for the aam aadmi but they don't really care about the aam aadmi and the aam aadmi are the biggest losers in today's natak. All the opposition really cares about is propaganda and making a fool out of everyone and making the aam aadmi complacent. Let's have it easy. Who cares if international prices of fuel go up (and we should be spending every second to change to cleaner fuels anyway!!), we'll live in a dirty-fuel bubble, and let the government keep subsidizing prices so we never have to live up to consequences, innovate and come up with better ideas. Ugh, I hate this attitude. Why is it so offensive when things change? Things change! Deal with it. I know it's not simple and price rises annoy me too and I feel it so I can't even begin to imagine how much more of a hell-hole life becomes to the poor man but this is our solution? A nationwide bandh?! Pelting stones at those who make the mistake of venturing out of their homes? Damaging property? Inconveniencing thousands of people?
I finally watched Invictus yesterday. Nothing spectacular as such as a film but a good watch because it's based on a true story and it's a good and inspiring story. It's set in South Africa, shortly after the Apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela was elected in as President. What a man. And it made me sad because well... show me a leader like that today. A leader who is respected and loved and not feared. A leader who, despite have been dealt a lifetime of injustice and has every reason and the power to take revenge, instead forgives, integrates and reconciles. A leader who was real. I'm sure he had his flaws, no man is perfect. But I honestly wish there were more leaders of this caliber. Like Madiba. Especially today. Especially in India. Today.
Tell me about it. Mumbai was so scared it stayed tucked in. And that NEVER happens. 8 BEST drivers were beaten up and a LOT of buses (let's just say that the exact number is frightening) were trashed. Only the trains continued to run. I feel just the same, prices rise, dammnit, DEAL! If the autowallas and buswallas can deal with it (they didn't throw stones, did they?) then what the heck is THEIR problem?!
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ReplyDeleteI remember a conversation that my parents had with an old British couple, when Dad was doing his PhD in UK. They said that if their country had had the same kind of wild diversity, the chaos, the history (they were referring to the Partition and late British Raj) of India, they would have simply had a couple of revolutions and split up. (Not to say that England hasn't had its share of turmoils, splits and upheavals.)I remember feeling very proud that time - we feel defensively patriotic abroad. :)
ReplyDeleteThat was fifteen years ago. A lot has changed; we've had our turmoils, upheavals, splits. Divisiveness on several levels have taken precedence, things that bring us together have begun dissolving, changing. Bombay in the seventies would have pettily dismissed Raj Thackeray (etc) as a resurgence of RSS saffronism.
We've done so well in some areas - liberalisation, health, job opportunities - pathetically in many. But fifteen years down the line, what I feel saddest about is the steady erosion of idols, something or someone to look up to.
And on that note: cheers to Madiba. Imagine how hard it is to be exemplary in times like ours. :)
I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to spam your comments at all, it's just that my Mozilla has been acting very rude. Every time I'd open this post to comment, it would crash right after I'd licked on 'publish your comment'. You can see how many times I tried. :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, don't worry. I figured something must have gone wrong! Thanks for the comments! ;)
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