An Impression of 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe

I recently finished reading Chinua Achebe's 1958 debut novel 'Things Fall Apart'. It's been some time since i read a book that i didn't want to end. Okonkwo, the protagonist is the tragic hero, who unaware of his tragic flaw incessantly moves towards his impending doom. Given to Chinua's compelling story telling the reader is taken into his journey, unawares of its conclusion. The novel has been widely said to be the coming of age of the African novel. The unaffected view of Colonial Imperialism and African tribal life makes the novel more grand in terms of its themes,which critics have said, are both of these, but i say its more about the human predicament; of relentless struggle in the face of inevitable fate. 

What makes Okonkwo so special? He is a character that we have met or heard about. A fierce warrior in his youth, a respected member of his clan, a patriarchal husband and a disciplinary father. As a child he was ashamed of his father owing to his failure to rise and be a man. He comes to hate his effeminate ways. Lacking any inheritance other then his fathers debt, shame and family, he determines to be a 'man' and establish himself in the clan, and eventually he succeeds. The tragedy happens when everything he knows and understands enters a flux. The warrior that he is, unlike his clansmen, would not submit his independence. He would rather embrace death than see his men turn cowards. He couldn't bear to turn womanlike and limp. 

But why did he abhor this change? Why do people abhor change? I can't possibly understand the pain of enslavement, though i am sure that it wasn't what killed him. Slighted pride was what lead him to it and this is what i think leads to the conservatism that we see across the length and breath of our country too. Too far an analogy? I don't think so. The elements of folklore dissolved in the story are far too similar to practices that are widespread in our society too. Okonkwo could have easily killed his son for converting christian or maybe his daughter if she would have married of her own consent. You may dislike this frenzied man for his passions, but his utter sense of direction in the milieu of life makes you sympathize with him.

Who is a man among men?, i ask of you. How much of a man can exist in men? Had Okonkwo been less of a man, then maybe the story would have had a different conclusion.  

In the last chapter, we see him admiring his war dress. He shakes his raffa skirt and examines his tall feather head gear and at last his shield. He swore vengeance. Here his character takes epic proportions, decked up in all his glory he is ready to defy the odds but not to surrender. Even in death he wont leave his matchet behind, he kills in rage. 

A Moment of Truth

Some incidents change you forever, 14 February 2013 was the day when one such thing happened to me. Before I go directly to it, I find it almost necessary that I give you a background of events that led to that fateful day. The atmosphere of Delhi was charged and discord was in the air. The brutal rape of 23 year old physiotherapy student in the capital came up as a wake up call to every citizen and especially the young. As a student myself, I was shocked, disgusted and terrified. The facts about the case left the citizenry sick and India faced one of its most sudden outbursts of public anger. Huge crowds gathered at the historic Vijay Chowk, only to be beaten away to their homes a few days later. Being an activist with a left oriented students group( All India Students Association), I was among the people who first took out demonstrations. It all started on 17 December, we assembled   at a bus stop and decided to march to the CM residence to demand speedy action in the case. The 50 odd group constituted mainly of students from the different Universities and Institutes in the city. All of us were near strangers. There was anger and confusion in everyones eyes and no one talked to each other. Many had just heard about the demonstration and came of their own discretion. When we arrived at the main gate of her residence, we were stopped by a huge group of Delhi Police personnel. I was standing against one of the barricades that they had placed with some girls, all of them new faces. We started shouting slogans after slogans for a while. Shouting along with the beats of the dhapli can get very exhilarating at times. All of a sudden the policemen started hitting us with their lathis. I got hit and felt a sudden sensation of pain arising in my lower arm, but even before I could grunt, I saw that the girls beside me were being treated the same way and the lady constables tried to get some of them away to the other side of the barricades. Some of us were hurt, but none budged and we held on to the barricades. It seemed so strange and unreal; We who considered ourselves as the forerunners of the next generation, just angry at the crimes committed against one of us; we were being treated like criminals, were we the culprits? Why were we being beaten? If only the C.M had taken out the time to address us, things could have been solved in a civil manner and an example could have been set. Some minutes later a water cannon mounted on a truck was aimed at us, someone in the background shouted, “Run….Run!” . In the confusion that followed, adrenaline kicked in and for a moment everything went slow. A shattering jet of cold water hit me on the chest and for a moment I couldn't breathe. When I came back to my own I saw the people around me running away. Right next to the spot I was standing a girl got hit right in her face and fell down on the road; I rushed to her and picked her up and with the help of some other fellow took her to a nearby pavement. Formerly I had never imagined that I had it in me to save someone by exposing my own self to harm. Dispersed we lay, drenched in water but it aroused our anger even more. We sat on the street and held a meeting. All around me I saw strangers helping each other, sharing water and cracking jokes. Now, we were strangers no more. The media covered the whole crackdown and I actually gave a brief interview. The anger spread and what followed was unprecedented.  

In the protests that followed I got hit by lathis, water cannon and tear gas more than a dozen times. I spent 10 days on the roads with hardly any money in my pocket, distributing pamphlets and organizing daily protests. Numerous groups joined in. We got huge participation from all walks of life but there was hardly any instantaneous outcome of the agitation. I was disappointed but reconciled myself to fact that people actually felt for the cause and so many came out on the streets. I made many friends; people started recognizing me and came up to share their experiences with me. My cell phone received scores of calls from strangers who wanted to join and be the part of our movement. The sense of camaraderie which I felt among that crowd of people was very satisfying. We later began with our ‘Bekhauf Azaadi’ Camapign, which demanded stronger laws for the protection of women through constitutional means. A people’s parade was organized on Republic day after the conclusion of the parade ceremony at Rajpath. We started from Arts Faculty, North Campus, in a bus, full of fellow students, singing revolutionary songs and raising slogans. When we reached the Mandi House Metro station from where we were supposed to start our march, we already saw a big crowd gathered there. People were delighted to see us get down from our bus. Many came forward and gave me hugs and waved hands. That feeling is inexpressible; I felt like I had traveled back in time to the days when our country was fighting for its freedom against the British Raj, though this fight was against our own. Little children carried banners. Many of our teachers from different colleges also joined in. Government employees and housewives also constituted a major chunk. Students came in big numbers. The procession was about half a kilometer long and bigger than anything I had ever seen. I was delighted. Somewhere near Tolstoy Marg, a big car came halting right next to our group, an old lady stepped out, dressed elegantly and with a walking stick in her hand. She was bent with age. I couldn't help smiling at her. She heard one of my slogans and came up to me and expressed her delight at seeing so many young boys and girls coming out for a just cause. She gave me a little pat on the head and continued walking with her assistance near hand. The parade was very successful and after a few days we heard the news about the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee being included into the new amendment Bill passed to prevent sexual violence. I had witnessed the fear and anger of the young. None of us wanted the incident to be repeated. After that the wider agitations waned, we returned to concentrating on the betterment of things in our campuses. 

 Some days passed and the month of February arrived. Individual freedom and safety was the high point on our agenda and in keeping with the same we decided on checking any incidents of moral policing at north campus on Valentine's Day. Our plan was to hold a meeting at Arts Faculty early morning. On that fateful Thursday, I was staying at one of my friends place. The night before all the members of my group had gone around the area distributing pamphlets and putting up posters. Early morning I got a call from   Ragini, who was already at arts Faculty with some other students who had been working with us for the last few weeks. I got up in a hurry and left for the spot. On my way I called up everyone, but to my dismay no one picked my call. I talked to one of my comrades from the association and he asked me to get there and assemble those people and take care of things till everyone arrived at the scene. At Arts Faculty I met Ragini, Oshin and Ketaki. All of us had met at the republic day parade. Oshin had to put up some posters at the different colleges, ketaki was to accompany her and Ragini wanted to attend a class in the mean time. Since the meeting stood postponed, I decided to help them put up posters. We started talking and to everyone things looked normal as we could see a lot of people going about their normal routine. We didn’t come across any saffron brigade or moral policing troops on our way. We kept walking and reached Hindu College, there we parted with Ragini. As soon as the three of us entered the premises of Hindu, I saw groups of students hurrying to and fro. Swarms of students were moving towards the courtyard located near the boys hostel of the college. Though the hullabaloo there was nothing new to us or to the college but there was something different about it that day. I associated it with the special day. When we reached the courtyard, there we saw a big crowd standing around one of the trees there. Then it all became clear, it was the famous Virgin tree of Hindu College. I had read much about it in the newspapers and the Valentine ’s Day pooja that the students performed. We were excited and decided to stay and witness the proceedings. Groups of boys and girls stood around cheering the group of boys from the hostel who were decorating the tree with ribbons and water filled condoms. Most of them, whom I knew to be netas , wearing their white shirts and forehead adorned with saffron tilaks were overseeing the decoration. Girls and boys cheered and some of them giggled at the odd shaped condoms. A poster was also hanging on the tree which read ‘Damdami Mai’( Mai stands for mother and the euphemism involved was clear) and many multi colored packets of contraceptives were also on display. The three of us laughed and shared jokes like the hundred people gathered there. We were impressed at the level of tolerance observed at the college. We were standing near the pedestal around the tree when someone gave me a pat on the shoulder. It was Shweta, she was the sister of one of my fellows at the association. She was a student there. After exchanging greeting we stood among the crowd with some of her friends. I told her that this practice is something unique and it’s great to see that everyone participated in it. A scowl emerged on her face and she told that the whole practice is sexist and highly disrespectful of women. Though I got the feeling earlier when I had read the poster but I didn't wanted to believe it. She told me that the boys from the hostel who were now making the arrangements throw the water filled condoms at women once the pooja is concluded. This was to the utter surprise of the three of us. She also told us that the ritual is performed inside the boys hostel and women who wanted to participate are expected to follow the others there. Shweta told us that many girls and even lecturers had complained about the total mayhem that follows the ritual but the administration always turned deaf to their calls. The atmosphere becomes so unsafe she said that many students and faculty members decide to take a day off to be safe. I was shocked and hurriedly apologized. I decided to witness things for my own cause somewhere in the back of my mind I thought she was exaggerating. There was a media crew standing on one side of the tree that was there to cover the whole act. I thought, “how can a channel like cover such an act if her account of things was true?”. I told her that if she felt so strongly about it then she should raise her objections right there in front of the whole crowd and make her views known to others. I was assured that there must be other people in the college other then Shweta and her friends, who wanted to raise objections or tone down the level of vulgarism involved in the tradition. Personally I had no problem with the display of contraceptives but in my view to get a condom thrown at you must be very offending to anyone. It was than that the group of young men who had taken upon themselves to adorn the tree finally finished. A commotion of their friends came along with the loud noise of a beating drum from the boys hostel. One of them, who was dressed in what is officially known as the election attire in that campus, came forward and urged the students gathered there to go to the boys hostel and participate in the pooja, and he also reminded everyone to get the ‘prasad’ with a sinister wink to his friends. Afterwards I was told that he was the hostel president. I was also told that the elections were something that the hostel controlled and they could make the administration yield to anything. To my surprise hardly any of the girls and boys moved, it was only the hostel boys and their companions who stood around the tree. They returned to the hostel for a brief while. Seeing an opportunity I asked her to get on the pedestal and address the crowd. Without waiting to spare a thought she went up on the pedestal and started speaking. She first introduced herself and started telling about the accounts of those students who did not feel good about this display of male vulgarity in their campus. She begin by saying that many of the students who came from rural backgrounds could not associate, could not connect to this tradition and that it was just for a group of city bred students who understood the whole concept; thus puncturing the claim that the ritual was a college ritual got a major beating. The three of us were standing down there and listening to her. With every statement she made my heart swell with pride. Many people assembled around her and started listening intently. Some who worked for the college magazine started making notes and even the lady from the news channel started recording her statement. Some of the boys from the group who had stayed back went into panic mode. They started shouting at her but to no avail, she continued without the least of worries. By this time one of my comrades reached there and he expressed his appreciation on such a courageous move. Then the commotion of men returned from the pooja and on seeing there ceremony hijacked, they came running to the pedestal. That group of 50 men hurdled around her and started shouting,”Fuck Off” and “Bhaag Ja”. But she continued telling the people how even lady lecturers are afraid of these men and the whole event. It was then that the men raised such a hue and cry that her voice got drowned among the noise. I felt helpless. Among the hundreds of students gathered there none came forward to ask the men to let them listen to her. She kept standing there while all of them surrounded her and tried to intimidate her. In a jiffy I decided that I had to somehow help her continue and somehow prevent a seemingly inevitable skirmish; but then I thought I should wait for some time because she was sending out a clear message that women don't need men to protect them. My comrade told me that I should get up on the stage and try to pacify the young men. I was a little hesitant since neither I nor my friends were from the college we were standing in. In the background someone shouted,” Chandigarh se aayein hain toh thokne ke liye”, clearly giving out the collective signal of the ritual. It was a celebration of male dominance over the female sex. Some of the men started dancing to the beats from the drum and asked others to join.  Many others hurled abuses, while a group of girls standing next to me expressed their irritation at her words. I couldn't take there gibberish no more, I turned to them and asked for the reason of dissatisfaction. They told me that according to them anyone who doesn't like the concept of the ritual is not welcome and she should just stay away and that they considered her conduct too “unladylike” to argue with her. To that I replied that the college is a place for all the students and anyone has the right to object to any practice that affects the whole student body. They stood there silent and drew long faces. Then I asked them, “if you are so much for the pooja and the celebration, why didn't you go the boys hostel to get the Prasad? And why don’t you go and dance among those men?”. Again they were silent. “Its just because you are afraid and you know the whole thing is not safe. You are doing just for the sake of being cool!”, I shouted. I turned to my left and saw Ketaki and Oshin arguing with other people on the same front. This is when I noticed that some of the men standing on the pedestal were trying to push her down. In a reflexive move I got there and on the top of my voice shouted that if even one of the women from among the crowd declares that she feels safe here and is willing to go to the boys hostel or dance with the men, then we will leave. As I expected none came forward and the group of aviator wearing women that I had earlier conversed with just stood there staring at me. My two friends followed me to the pedestal and all of us stared conversing with the crowd. The group of men surrounding us, trying to push us down the three of us must have been bizarre. About 12 pairs of hands grabbed me from all directions as I stood by Shweta and some of the men asked me, ”What college are you from?”, in an angry tone. There was so much of vengeance in their eyes, I felt like I was there enemy number one. Some of them tried to grab my collar but I waded through with the help of my fists. Some of them told me, “get her down or we will beat her and you and your friends”. I tried telling them that there college is a democratic space and everyone should have a right to express themselves. My comrade, who was standing in the crowd, pulled me down and told me to not name my college. He wanted me to stay back among the crowd and said,” You can Be killed! I couldn't understand, why he was asking me to stay back? This was not the time when I would think about my own welfare. We were facing a hostile crowd of hundreds for speaking out the truth. All of a sudden someone from among the rowdy men gathered there burst a condom that was hanging over Ketaki’s head taking her by complete surprise. The whole crowd went silent for a second as I hurried up to her. All the men and women around us laughed as the three of looked about us. The hostel president shouted, “Hindu Ko Salaam!” and bowed to the crowd. The crowd gathered about the tree cheered and bowed back. Some of them were as taken back as we were but none dared to speak. For a moment we were silent but we understood that we cant allow the hooligans to subdue us. I again got on the pedestal and shouted,” You are all cowards and you should all be ashamed that a fellow student is being treated this way in your college. Don't forget today its us and tomorrow it can be anyone of you, if you allow such blatant act of harassment here”. Some of the men gathered around Oshin tried to push her around but she didn't move and grabbed one of them and gave him a push. I was so impressed by her move. Some of the men who had by now recognized me and my comrade told the others that we were members of the All India Students Association(AISA). They started chanting,” AISA Go Back!”, and again the crowd cheered them on. To be honest we were not there to advertise for our party, we just happened to be there by accident. Some of the men huddled around me and said,” We will kill you and these girls if you don't get out of here right now”. I wasn't scared. I told Shweta that we have made our point and that now we can leave. It was then that we got down from the pedestal and the men took over. As we walked away from the spot I looked back and saw that group of girls standing there dumbfounded. We stood in a corner, listening to their chants of go backs and salaams. No one spoke to each other but we could listen to our hearts, they were beating fast. The anger we had felt at ours protests was back. We were all contemplating about something, our thoughts, our beliefs and ourselves. All of us knew that students from that college had also been there at Vijay Chowk protesting in the aftermath of the rape incident, but we could not figure out why no one dared to speak out. Were they afraid? Yes, they could have been, but if they were, then how could they expect to change a country when they didn't have the courage to stop such a shameful act in their very own college? Were we all so fickle? Cowardly? The students of Hindu were not so offended at the fact that we, who were outsiders dared to speak against a sexist ritual in their college; but at the fact that they, who were students of the college could not, and some outsiders had the will to put them, and their college to shame. The boys who were trying to intimidate us were not individuals; they constituted a crowd that had no face. It was this facelessness that gave them the courage to indulge their vices. I was no longer very confident about crowds. My state of mind became very turbulent. Some days before the incident I was imagining that the young people from all over the country can bring a flooding change, but in that moment of truth I was rudely reminded that a lot needed to be done. It was difficult to come to peace with the fact that the men inside actually wanted to hurt me and my friends. Though I always knew that our University and Delhi as a city was not what it appeared to be, but going through that experience was very liberating. I could not help laughing at the fact that most students think of D.U and especially North Campus as a ‘modern’ place, where men and women can walk around in pajamas and boxers. In that moment of truth I realized that a whole life of struggle was waiting ahead for me. I wasn't discouraged in the least, witnessing the courage of my two friends was in itself a boost to my aspirations. The so called pooja was a celebration of fear and sexual harassment, by continuing with it the college and its students were imitating our society which continues with “rituals” that instill regressive ideas under the name of religion. The boys who felt so secure in their disrespectful indulgences would eventually turn sadists, lacking any hint of a moral compass. I also wondered,” what was it in me that made me stand up to such a situation?”. I honestly don’t know. I often think about it but the only answer I get is that it was the right thing to do. Later we sat for a meal with a couple of other girls at Ramjas College and had a good laugh about it. What I always wanted was, a life without fear for anyone and that is what my personal struggle was about. The young boys and girls who think of themselves as a panacea for all the rot in our society must introspect. Lets ask each other, is this the atmosphere that we want to hand over to our kids and their generation, a society where fear and sexual violence prevail?                

The Ecclesiastical System

The issue which i attempt to throw light on here is not limited to me alone but to every individual of the social order today. We are today under the regime of consciously ordained intellectuals who are not only are rulers in disguise but quite surprisingly our personal idols and inspirational figures.This is a social relation which had been existing from the dark ages to today's globalized society only to change its appearance accordingly to continue with the hegemony that they had always subjected us to.

In earlier Aristocratic, Communist and Socialist Regimes they formed the clergyman, the Orator and the Leader of the Labor Class today they are the the Ministers, the Policy Makers and the Leaders of the civil society. They have been the real force of reproduction of the forces of production that as Marx said were necessary for the existence for these relations of production. What they earlier did they are doing today. The false sense of perpetuation and distribution of power that we have experienced has been their time tested and beloved gift to the population. And again we are indiscreet enough to be tricked. It was the work of these individuals to ensure and encapsulate the exploitative ruling class under the protection of their ideas. The common people who symbolizes them as their very own, the epoch of their class, easily believe there word. They in turn receive the share of power in the superstructures, which even today are the real manipulators and controllers of all the forces of production. They along with there monasteries, churches and clergyman then and Schools, Colleges and Institutes today..continue to provide the ruling "Democratic" order with machines that would continue to serve it conscientiously tomorrow. 
People often question the grounds on which i raise my objections to a famous Engineer turned writer, who is unquestionably the most widely read contemporary Indian English Novelist. Or the team of ministers who are the products of two of the famous college from Delhi University and go on to participate in incessant debates about there respective institutes prominence.Or The Oxford and Harvard read Lawyers and Economists. On a thorough introspection it's not there works and ideas(which i find exemplary works of genius) that we pose a threat from, it's the illusion they sell. That they are one of us, that they think like us, they write our stories and they make the laws keeping us in mind. These factories of thought through which they emerged to become the most well respected men are the tools of the traditional intellectuals and the ruling elite to replace the older batch with a new of set of organic intellectuals.These schools, colleges and universities which follow a system of filtering the social mass are the like the closed halls that only  a few could enter. Once the pupils come out they are welcomed to new compartments and instantly elevated to the height of rulers. This is when there real work starts. The submission which they deem necessary of the "lower strata" to the current system and the division of labor. They tell us "what we pay you is enough" and  "what we say is right(cause of the factory certificate they carry)".
The power of control of the social apparatus is at Center of power struggle that goes on between different classes or groups of classes. Most of us have noticed that the Leaders of the Rajya Sabha today were the chairman of some department yesterday and MP of some constituency tomorrow. They  hardly ever come down the social ladder. The seats are just exchanged in place of sofas in various Departments and Governments. The family continues to replenish the want with sons taking places of fathers with people clapping to the same.  

Why is it that a Writer from The IIT who takes the name of his alma matter and goes on to give insights in the life of an Engineer is accepted? but a Hindi Novelist from the small town of Bulandshehar in UP pushed to the edges of oblivion? I am not saying that people from places of such repute don't deserve it all. Its only not fair on our part to overlook and be indifferent to people who stand among us and try to liquidize this school of elite. We should back them to push open the doors of these factories and turn them to places that make no distinction or at least give a chance to more and more people unbiased to there economic status. The day should come when with every change of order new people should climb up the ladder social order and lead us to a stage where we will dissolve the state to new liberal standards. What we need is that the rein of such Institutes, the Army, the Police and election commission which despite the every 5 year change rest in the hand of the Elite.They should be discouraged from selling the idea of the ruling families(also the class) and made to understand that they are the representatives of there people and that ideally these institutions should be under the control of the Proletariat.          

The Human Shell

Are we really free? Think for a moment. Are we not held in the dungeons of the Mind? Are we not shackled by the chains of an illusion called truth, reason, morality, and humanism? Have we not since time immemorial caught in the web of what we think is good and bad? Have not our voice been drowned under the declaration of those who led the dead into an underworld,  where everything is so disturbing that consciousness gets left behind somewhere on the path. What is religion? What are petty morals? What is love and does affection really exist? Have we not been since the moment, that the first rays entered our eyes and illuminated the world to us been filled to the very brim by notions that we are not really sure of? Have we not been pre programmed into each and every idea we have? 

Sit in silence and you will hear the tormenting cries of the SELF. Everything in our life is guided by this single word. Don't we strive for things to please the self? In a situation when we have to decide our path on reason, we face two choice's either the one which considers us and the other(the one for which any one of us hardly goes for) which considers all, The Utilitarian View. But wait a second, is the utilitarian not a part of us? Is he free from the consideration of self? Isn't its audacity originating from the capacity of the self? I mean to say that even when we think  that we are keeping ourselves in the background and doing a thing in a transcendental state, are we not in the yoke of the human mind? Does not in this state also we in our boundaries which we believe to be the boundaries of the this world. Just consider any of your so called principles. You stick to it don't you?


Now again you divide yourself into two:one the Subjective Self and other the Objective self. This Objective self of yours which watches over you and criticizes you, whenever you face an invasion on its bulwark ends up completely subduing you as a whole and making you a subject. But what really starts consuming your consciousness is the static state of this objective self. In this state its starts a violence on you as a being. It becomes rigid and becomes agitated even at the slightest hint of change. Anything which restraints change is unnatural and unhealthy for the mind which ultimately goes on to become a slave and to be drowned in tutelage. 


What do they say that they derive themselves from? their history ..right? Is history not just a perception? Dig a little and you will find the carcass of human thought. Is history independent of the human mind? Is it not what they wrote out of their will to enlist us among them? When they were not free how can we even develop the faintest idea that we will achieve freedom and consciousness by looking at them? Is it not only the Self which is the ultimate? Don't we only fool ourselves when we accept something as our own? Is not every Self..... distinct? Don't we face this ever day that even truth has a different definition for all of us? I say that it's only a hoax to believe that one can ever think of anything as acceptable by anyone but the Self? Is it not a fact that it's futile to look for a Self in the other but it's our misfortune that no matter how hard we strive, we end up doing it even when we believe that we are not.


Nothing but only the Self exists and everything else is within this Self. It is only beyond the extremes of our capacity to let go of our shell that is filled by nothing but.....(yes you guessed it right)....the Self.
    

THE TIME TO SAY NO!!!

Why cant we say NO? Why cant we shout STOP?

Our country and its people after its 64 years of independence have turned into a heard of scared and domesticated sheep who are being constantly consumed by a ruthless and ungrateful  lot of foreign and local powers.We hang our heads in shame and wait for our turn to be subjected to the torture of being reared of all our pride and self respect.to be robbed of or dignity and to be tricked out of our conscience .We the people of this great democratic country are being humiliated.In our homes we sit and resent over the ever increasing price of commodities.We struggle to obtain the simple pleasures of life.On the roads and in our day to day life we have to negotiate with uniformed goons who are always available to relieve us of the load of the the hard earned money that we carry in our pockets.In the governmental offices we run from desk to desk through a maze of cabinets and other office furniture, carrying with us our heavy load of well preserved certificates (all the legally required stuff )and giving bribes at each level to finally get a stamp.A stamp whose ink was washed by blood and a stamp which had to be graved under under the countless dead bodies of our countrymen( The Freedom Fighters).These men and women died with a selfless aim to make our make our country a place where people would live in intellectual harmony and everyone would have have equal right for the pursuit of happiness.

Now this stamp has been unearthed to mow down the people who raise objections and question the working of things.Each one of us had been punched by it so many times that we have lost the warmth of our blood and the courage to voice our opinions. We have mastered the art of running away from the naked truth and to look at the grey instead of dull side of things.The realization of helplessness that plague the 'Common Man' which used to haunt our dreams at night have drowned after a prolonged struggle to awaken us from our slumber. We have become so used to things that we go on to criticize anyone who decides to stand up for a cause .We would laugh at his fall but forget about the pit we ourselves are already in .

Our fears are heightened when people are Lathi Charged in a peaceful gathering .We fears for our lives .We hide in our homes and sit before our television instead of of going out an participating. These are historic times when a struggle and revolution is about to break the dykes of corruption and power. This is the time to be the part of a great force. Let us not wait when our children will have to undergo the same feeling of disgust and shame on the workings of our system. Come O! people of this great nation to replenish and strengthen Anna's force .Let us not let these stormy clouds stop the rays of hope on falling over us. It is high time when we come    in big numbers to say NO!!!!

Whats with Money and Sex?

It began with a golfer.Then came the football and cricket players.Then guys from the financial sector felt left behind and in came IMF Chief Dominique Strauss Kahn.Anthony Weiner was the latest entry to a long list.Adding a whole new spice to a dish that the paparazzi all over the world have been serving to us for quite some time now.Everyone is all over these sex scandals cause media loves the attention it attracts when a public figure is mowed down in their court of virtue.Strangely though the same people make them the lords of the prime time.But the question that arises from the recent turn of events is "Whats with Money and Sex"?

Honestly speaking my heart reaches out to these men undermining the fact that they broke the hearts and hopes of their lovely wives,children,friends and many hysteric fans and followers.I know that they have disrespected their profession and office position by indulging in what many call shameful and heinous acts. But think about it for a moment.They are rich and powerful.They drive the Mercedes and Ferrari.They are the ones with six pack abs or with mind boggling bank balances.They are soaked in the moolah.In there professional and private lives they are surrounded by beautiful women all the time.Its just logical that they indulge in affairs that the society is so critical of.I am not trying to justify infidelity but to understand the strong urge that leads to it. 
Lets look at the psychological aspect of this problem.Each and every boy grows up watching James Bond .He secretly desires to have the the same life style.Driving fast cars and dating hot women.These testosterone filled guys work hard to achieve what they have always desired for that is excellence in their respective fields.Some of them taste early success and others get to it after a lifetime of hard work and struggle.When they finally reach a point when they can actually achieve what they have always dreamed of they don't see any harm in living their life King Size.Why cant they enjoy something that took so much of efforts and struggle on their part.Recently an English Footballer said that girls give them a lot of attention and show their availability for sex.They would do anything for being a WAG.Now would it be fair to solely blame these men for these scandals.
Hollywood has time and again witnessed women taking away their husbands fortune when filling for divorce.I don't  understand how this could help the victim overcome the trauma that she had experienced.When a person like Mr Kahn who is the chief of IMF is caught in a scandal it clearly portrays that this desire originates from his wish to prove    to himself that he is godlike .He wants to prove that nobody can harm him and that he is above all law and order.That he is why he becomes a sex addict cause he thinks that why cant i have multiple affairs when i am what i am?Its his and many others who wanna prove to themselves that they are the sultans of the modern world and they can do what ever they want.
But the media is going too hard on these men.Its very possible that they feel sorry for what they have done .May be they fell in love all over again or a failed marriage and lack of family love drove them to it.We need to give these guys one more chance cause after all boys will be boys right?

It's not about the BABA's

The media world is currently on it's toes all set to give the exclusive coverage of any further declarations from Baba's shivir  of supporters and aides.For the last 10 days this man has been all over the news .His comments and declarations have been the burning topic of discussions through out the country.Even his blood tests and weight measurement have been aired on live television.Some are saying that the media has gone nuts , which includes the senior delegates of the UPA coalition .They have been wagging their tongues over the major support the country has showered upon the movement to bring back the black money to our country from foreign banks kick started by none other then the beloved of the masses Baba Ramdev.The same man who started a revolution in the country and made crore of people to wake up each morning and pump out air through their nostrils in a way which would even scare a snake out of its venom.May be that's the reason why the Government of our country became so scared that they have assumed that a yoga guru who decides to agitate against  the  rising levels of corruption in our country is their prime enemy.

But these elite economists and spokespersons are not looking at the root of the problem or they don't want to.They still have their faith in the weak memory and lack of enthusiasm of the Indian people.Only recently P.Chidambaram claimed that  the media is providing a self appointed leader who himself is corrupt with 5 minutes of fame .Well may be he is not too happy about the fact that the someone else is getting the limelight other then their governments scam tainted ministers and bureaucrats.These guys have been all over the news for the past two years after Adarsh, Common Wealth and 2G .Or may be that there future prime minister Mr Gandhi who is next to the throne is no where in the news .And that brings me too the fact that neither Sonia or Rahul have stepped out on any public platform to talk about the Lokpal Committee or Baba's Agitation.They fail to understand that media is showcasing what the crowds demand. The people support him cause he speaks the language of the people and can discuss things in way that every individual understands them.On this they say that the person is misleading the people and start declaring their achievements in the world financial sector.We saved the "Indian Naiya" during the recession period , the GDP rose.We say to hell with the GDP and Sen-sex."Abey Ghanto!!!" ,we  just need our Roti and Dal in affordable and good quality .The ghosts of the 100 rupee/kilo onion is still haunting the common man.The government could only blabber , they find these demands to be kiddish and not of national importance.They say that they have got more important jobs at hand.I ask whats the benefit of a growth that never reaches to the pockets of the common man but only takes out things of his plate time and again?

When none of the political tools worked out the government applied force.Force to beat up thousands of women ,children and elders who were sleeping when the Dabanng police force did what they are best at doing.......beat up people.Hats off to the government guys and i would like to specially congratulate our Prime Minister who finally proved that he has got his balls in place.The same assests of his which have been a topic of Debate over the forever postponed hanging of Ajmal Kasab .A amn who buchered hundreds.Now they are onto prove that Baba and his aides are scamster's themselves.And as people know it everything is fine if two culprits accuse one other.Baba has got money in banks , undeclared assets ,properties all over the world.All this evidence has cropped up in a a couple of days without the formation of a investigating committee  .When other similar cases have been dealt with in years after spending crore of Rupees in JPC's and ACP's.Well at least he is not a public office holder or a government beneficiary .He is a businessman and even the people can understand how much money he must be making after organizing camps all over the country round the year.He is not stealing from us , betraying us or participating in any other kind of embezzlement that concerns public funds.And what in the world is wrong with a person who feels strongly about a issue and decides to take a stand ? People are joining him cause they have been holding their anger and outrage for quite sometime and Baba and Anna Hazare have got the the ability to mobilize and convert this potential into a thrust that can make history.

Personally i don't care who the man is or what his history is .As far as people support him and he stands for the right cause he is justifiable and credible.Instead of continuing with the political monarchy of some of the political families of this country we should strive hard to get our supported candidates to those political positions which have been unreachable for such men.Good leaders have been present before but they never got enough power to exercise it for the good of the public.With such leaders in top notch spots and committees like the Lokpal to keep a check on them, things would change and i firmly believe that a new era would dawn on the soil of our country.