Forget about changing the entire India - How about changing our immediate surroundings??

Every day when I walk from our ‘new’ home to catch a train or a bus, my mind doesn’t stop but notice the little things around it. Be it the walking zones, restricted parking lots, pedestrian walk ways on busy roads, free drinking water fountains, sheltered bus stops with time table, multi-purpose shops, post office, banks, ATMs, parks, primary school, high school, kindergarten, play home, play grounds, restaurants, cafes, fitness centre, sports complex, dedicated garbage and recycle bins and their respective locations, trees planted, florist garden, town hall, places of worship  and a Gemeinde, in simple terms it is a municipality or a corporation office. Mind you, this is a ‘dorf’- German translation for a village and not the main city itself.

This serene village is close to the main city of Zurich. This locality reminds me of my layout, as it is termed in Bangalore. My locality in Bangalore has almost everything this village has, just that it is more chaotic and that chaos is down to lack of simple practices being adopted with time. Though there are zones of calmness, you are never away from the disorderliness. Not an intolerable situation, it just requires a degree of attention and sustained maintenance to make the change from the chaotic state. The idea is to reduce the chaos and not eliminate it.

The point that amazed me ever since I got a taste of Switzerland (since 2009) is its policy of dividing the small country into smaller Cantons (states) and each state into petite zones (Gemeinde). Each Canton has a different set of rules and four languages are spread out in these 26 Cantons; English being not one of these four languages (German, French, Italian and Romansch). On a larger scale, India resembles this system.

Depending on the region you come from, the primary language dominates the area. English is slowly making its way into the Swiss culture, though it is not compulsory to know it.

In this little country of approximately 41,000 m², there are close to 2,500 municipalities. India too has a similar mechanism. We have Union Government, states, divisions, districts, taluka (Tehsil or Mandal) which in turn is divided into Municipal Corporations, City Municipal Council, Town Municipal Council, City Panchayat or Gram Panchayat.

Any geographical location (with the best of my knowledge) in India can be traced to one of the aforementioned administrative structure of India.

Having established the basics facts and figures, the key aspect to development comes in the model of ‘drop management’. I guess I am coining this term with respect to citizens or residents becoming responsible for their nearby surroundings as a means to community development. Just like that tiny drop in an ocean. India is nothing but an ocean of people and we are all but a drop.

For starters - How many of us have to compulsorily register in the local ward before living in a particular locality? Do we have such a rule? If yes, I have not seen it being enforced and if not, why don’t we appeal to respective local wards to have such a register, which maintains the record of all the individuals that lives in that particular locality?

It is a simple process. Land-lord or a builder of a newly constructed apartment must have a clause to have a future resident/owner in the local ward office as a part of the process. It starts with this, and in the longer run, helps many residents in getting their voter ids or having to show their proof of residence and what not. A simple letter of authorisation or a local ID card is good enough. The newly built apartment complexes have such security measures to keep a check on their residents. But such issues are privately managed and lack authenticity as a proof of residence. This will also eliminate the hassles of running around houses to collect data for census or to enrol for the Aadhar card.

I have not voted when I had the only opportunity back in 2008. Since then, I have never been in my home town during the elections. And like me there are plenty of them, who were muffled by not having their names in the Voter’s list. Such confusion could have been avoided, if there were to be a simple registering process when any new occupant moves in to a new place. And when there is a need of shifting to another place or a different ward, de-registration is a process through which one can register in another municipality or ward by simply showing the deregistration letter. Similar registrations must be encouraged for private and other business establishments.

I believe this process will atleast streamline the residents * with proper housing. I know there are a lot of private associations that does this work. But, however it is, unless government is involved even at a local level, the changes and its impact will fade away. Just make it a rule, and enforce it and soon it becomes a habit.

   

Let the municipality or a ward collect a small tax from the residents if required and improvements can be seen within the ward. It would also be encouraging, if provisions are made for individuals to volunteer in their free time in getting few things done for the local area.

Secondly - To sort the parking mess, have zones marked with clear lines to highlight parking. Else collect fines, which can only be used to improve the area. Free parking, dedicated parking and public parking with a nominal fee can be allotted in each of the areas. Yes, this means you cannot always get a slot right in front of the place of interest. Well, aren’t we experiencing this already?

Thirdly - Garbage disposal is also an issue to deal with. Somewhere things have to change on this front. Throwing whatever comes to the dustbin will not help the slowly evolving recycling industries in India. There are glass, plastic bottles, cartons, papers, organic waste and other miscellaneous waste. Have a proper time table for collecting each of such wastes or alternatively provide few stations where resident and commercial establishments can come and dispose plastic wastes, glass wastes, cartons, papers and organic wastes respectively. It might be difficult initially, but with such provisions, you can expect cleaner surroundings.

Lastly - Most of the residents have dogs and pets. It is important they take care of the dump while they are on a stroll. A provision for disposal pet covers can be provided to ensure, the pet owner does this job of clean up act on public roads. Why would you expect government to clean for your pet’s mess?

And street dogs – It is the ward’s responsibility to ensure they find a proper shelter. Well, someone has to care right. It is in the neighbourhood looking for a shelter.

The point I have mentioned may not be the first time people would have thought this way. To me, developing India as a whole is impossible and hence I won’t even think about it. I would not want to waste the time and resources which cannot be entirely monitored unless a larger group is involved across India. So why don’t we take a good look at our surroundings, understand it better and deal with it in a best possible way? Idealistic – Yes, that’s how it looks like and that is how ideas come to reality.

This is not an instant process but not an impossible task either. With generations getting exposed to global best practices in keeping the surroundings and neighbourhood cleaner, I am confident it is a matter of initiation and acting locally while thinking globally. This way, drop by drop each ward can take care of itself and when looked as a whole, the district, the state and country appears better. Just give it a little effort and time; results will be there to be seen.

*Note: There are issues about illegal housing. A process of registration helps new residents to identify houses that are legal vs. Illegal establishments. It is not that citizens are not smart or in-disciplined, what we all lack is awareness.

A Tribute to the Ever Green Star....... Romancing Life Forever

“Hai Apna Dil tho Awara” (movie Solva Saal), these words were slightly inquisitive to me as a child and I vividly remember listening to this in the tape recorder. My maternal aunt, who used to hymn this song repeatedly, played the record many a times. I didn't know who the actor was and what was the song all about. I was three or even four and till date, there are glimpses of me holding onto our drawing room sofa and above me was the cassette player. Few years later, I got to know the actor being Dev Anand and my aunt was just one among million fans of his.

Interestingly enough, as a eight year old kid, the movie I enjoyed watching was ‘Awwal Number’ not because of the story but because of the cricket in it. I lived my school years watching his movies sporadically as and when it appeared on television, until one fine day....

That particular moment happened sometime in 2000, as I was looking for some old classics, I found this CD. Mohd Rafi and Dev Anand and thus started a special journey. ‘Tere Mere Sapne Ab Ek Rang Hai.....’

I had three weeks before my final exam and I was hooked to this song. The movie was Guide and it starred Waheeda Rehman alongside Dev Anand. R.K Narayan had written the novel and Dev Anand had produced this movie which was directed by his younger brother Vijay. Looking back, the curiosity of Guide took me deep into my hobby of researching movies. Prior to this, I knew facts of some movies but never went a step ahead in knowing the intricacies of it. I wanted to know why such a song existed in the movie Guide. Why is the title of the movie ‘Guide’? Why not any other Hindi name? 

With such heavy thoughts, I was not entirely focused on the upcoming exams. While I was solving problems in the college library, and while picking up books, I saw the novel ‘Guide’ lying on the table next to a rack. Instead of two books of mathematics, I took one and other being ‘Guide.’

I so wished Guide to be part of my English class, it would have helped me reading and look like a stud in front of my English teachers (mostly they were females). But my thirst for knowing more about Guide overpowered any such thoughts and seamlessly, I began reading. The story of Raju, the Guide his encounter with Rosy, the dancer and her recluse husband Marcos and Raju’s friend Gaffur, the driver; I could visualise why such a song would have been written. I felt at the end of Guide, it wasn't just about Raju I wanted to know, it was about the man and his movies that brought ‘Raju’ to the screen. Like a good boy, I finished my exams and then started my quest on knowing more on Dev Anand movies.

My mom was a kid and really young when Dev Anand was at his peak and hence my information was limited, nevertheless she provided a lot of facts concerning him. It so happened while spending post exam holidays with my grandparents I got to know more about my grandpa’s fascination for movies and wanted to know more about the movies he used to watch and in particular about Dev Anand. 

Just to give an idea, my maternal grandfather is a great conversationalist and let it be any topic, he would have his opinion and always in a way the other person would want to hear. He made people laugh while conversing and yet he provided man important details; I really like that thing in him. 

We started our conversation on movies and by that time my quotient on Old Hindi movies was getting enriched with many internet researchers and by reading backdated issues of Filmfare (I used to subscribe them) and the introduction of Star Gold channel on television. I was fifteen and few months older by this time as I went about watching his movies and collecting all his favourite songs.

His movies echoed something new each time since his debut in 1946. After his debut in ‘Hum Ek Hain’ he had to wait a good two years before he was toasted as the next big thing. The 1948 movie ‘Ziddi’ made him an instant superstar and raving on the success, Dev Saab got into the movie production business not surprisingly the production name was Navketan International was formed in 1949-50. Navketan means ‘newness’.

He was successfully paired with established actress Suraiya and even was left heartbroken when his proposal was rejected by Suraiya grandmother because of religious issues. Dev Saab and Suraiya made seven movies together and all were a success at the box-office. The last of the seven movies was released in 1951.

I remember watching the movie ‘Taxi driver’ on a Sunday morning long time ago. I was fascinated by the movie titles he came up with, especially the English titles. I am not sure if this was due to his heavy Hollywood influence or his background in English literature. Nevertheless, his titles were unique to the movie generation of the 1950’s and next. House No. 44, C.I.D, Paying Guest, Love Marriage, Jewel Thief, Gambler etc. It was during the filming of ‘Taxi driver’, he got interested in Mona Singh aka Kalpana Karthik and married after the movie got released. The pair went steady till date.

In my short movie research history, I can say no one has been given such adulation in spite of how movies performed in the box-office. Since 1971, he made 33 movies (latest being ‘Charge sheet’ which released in Sep 2011) but none hit the top mark. But yet, he went on..... Reminds me of the line ‘Mein Zindagi ka saath Nibata Chal Gaya’ from Hum Dono, the very same song I remember my granny hymning while cooking my favourite dishes. She gives a smile and has her own memory of Dev Anand. She remembers ‘Hum Dono’ a lot, which happens to be one of the first double acting movies in the Indian movie history.

Widely termed as the Gregory Peck of Bollywood, he had created his own niche in the movie industry. Be it dialogue delivery, the head nods or the style with which he went about making movies; it was creative in motion. He introduced the gangster movies to Indian audience, the first stand out romantic hero of Bollywood, an experimenter having many pot-boilers to his credit and the songs. Oh yes, the songs that will remain forever with ages to come. No wonder he chose the title ‘Romancing Life’ as the name for his autobiography.

He is no more and the great towering personality of positivity has left the world. Dev Saab known as the ‘ever green’ star was always full of life, a life filled with optimism. Again my mind goes back to the movie Guide and I remember the line, ‘Aaj phir Jeene ki Tamanna Hai’ (I would like to live again today) and it was how he lived his 88 years living each day. 

My Thoughts on Freedom on 'A Wednesday'

At first go, it seemed like – Man, I should have watched it when Saagar’s (a good friend of mine from college) mom recommended me this movie way back in 2008. Since that day, I never really bothered to watch or think too much about the movie. I was on my way to higher studies and this movie never crossed my mind until few days ago when I saw a status on my wife’s Facebook wall. The status read this way - “I was watching A Wednesday some days back and loved it for the sheer cheek of Nassiruddin Shah as a common stupid man! I think now we need more and more of them!!”

I didn’t look at the reviews and neither I knew what the plot was.  All I knew; it had Nassiruddin Shah and his role was really good as told by Saagar’s mom. After reading the status last week, I got interested and I decided to watch this movie. Sheer coincidence I chose a Wednesday to watch this movie.

The screenplay was quite impressive and I liked the flow with which the movie moves ahead and concludes. No songs and that’s a plus in such movies and there wasn’t any violence in the story. It was artistic and movies are all about communicating one’s stories and this definitely did.

To add my personal view, somehow I always got a feeling while watching the movie, the stupid common man played by Mr. Shah isn’t a terrorist nor does he have grand plans to upset the normal public life. It was his way to deal with the justice. “We are resilient by force and not by choice” and frankly this line quite sums it up the voice of a common man. We live in a country where a common man is suppressed to make his choice, by and large forced to make a living. The patriotism in us isn’t just talking about injustice; it is about making a difference and showing the way.

I read a quote yesterday – “An activist is not a person who complains about the surroundings being dirty, an activist goes about cleaning them”. This very act of his seems foolish to most of us when he could have led a less stressful life by not getting into it at all. This quote summed up as to why the protagonist, the unknown caller calls himself as a ‘stupid common man’.

  

I have been asking this question since my college days to myself – “What it takes to lead a better life?”  Over a period of time, I have come to understand that, the answer lies within us. Only I can define the better life I want to have and for that, I need to get to know my inner self and where it wants to be. This I believe is an on-going process and will only get better with time. If I am not happy with the surroundings I am in, all I can do is, change it and hope for a better tomorrow.

We fought for our freedom and finally a date was chosen, 15^th August to celebrate our freedom. But deep down we all agree with ourselves we are far away from freedom. And what is the meaning of having freedom? It is to live by choice and not by force.

To be free isn’t just having a corrupt free government, it goes beyond it. Although it isn’t easy for me to accept this wholeheartedly at times, but the truth is, each individual gives his/her best act based on his/her set of beliefs at any instant of time. In an ideal world, everyone can do anything and yet no single individual will suffer. This is the definition of freedom according to the ideal life. In practical terms, what (freedom) seems like a panacea may actually be a potion that would stop our evolution as a human.

I am attached to a lot of people, things etc unless I get rid of each and every one, I may never be able to attain freedom. Or is it a restriction I am putting on myself? Well it is all about my choice. I just have to accept the fact that, I just have a place in this world and I have a role to play. And at the same time, acknowledge the fact there will be others with their own set of ideologies living around me. There will be a clash in some way or the other from time to time. That’s the very essence of work in progress.  On the other hand, there will be some wonderful moments. Important is to strike a balance according to one’s idiosyncrasies. Understanding oneself seems the most effective solution according to me. It is by far the best homework to understand others.

With respect to freedom, all I can say from my experience is that; there will be brief moments in life where our mind will think, our heart will feel things without any notion of fear. Such a condition to me is freedom especially in the world we live. How long it lasts? I do not know but I can safely accept the fact that I look forward to such moments more and more.

‘A Wednesday’ is a 2008 thriller movie made in Hindi. Directed by Neeraj Pandey, this movie was well received by the audience due to its brilliant story and a well twisted ending. The cast apart from Nassiruddin Shah includes Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Deepal Shaw and Aamir Bashir in supporting roles. 

My short Independence Day Speech

You know whenever I read about our Constitution; it makes me wonder, as to what is independence? Was it just a day? Or was it a starting point of something significant? What has happened to India isn’t just the result of India but also a combination of the inconsistencies across the globe and co-incidences?

Irrespective of how we have come along these 64 years, I still can say, India is its own competitor and one needs to look in before looking out. I never realized much about being an Indian when I was in India, because I didn't quite realize what it feels and over the last few years, whenever I am outside of country, my passport (which is the defining factor mostly) speaks a lot and then we meet people. Many are informed about India through different opinions and all I add is another opinion from a Indian perspective. Believe me, there are several perspectives to a particular thing just like we have several Gods and Goddess in our mythology. We fight to prove our perspectives are right, but I guess I realized that's the beauty of the country I was born.

"All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything." - Swami Vivekananda

India over the years has made people give their opinions and that I feel is a freedom of speech. So in that sense I am independent to give out my opinions. That's fine until now. I sense we need to move ahead and take a step forward with conviction that action speaks louder than opinions. I believe we are seeking to be independent more than ever before, at least in my generation of living. We the people haven't realized the power of the government that is made by people alone. We need to understand the importance of being a drop and its contribution to the ocean. I seek our country to be more self aware and for that each individual to be self-aware before going out and condemning things.

Like Swami Vivekananda said - "The goal of mankind is knowledge... now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What we say a man 'knows', should, in strict psychological language, be what he 'discovers' or 'unveils'; what man 'learns' is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge."

India is merely a geographical land if we remove the masses from it. So in that sense I have to think of the power we people hold. We can accept, we can change and at times we can hope for the better.

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies" - Shawshank Redemption

Connecting Dots of One's Life

Life is a series of dots that we hop or connect during the course of our stay in this world. Each dot represents a momentary feeling that makes us go to the extremes in the emotion quotient. At the same time some are balanced emotional diet to live with.

It’s been a series of dot trips I have had over the past few years; and each represented a significant milestone in some sorts. Not sure how, but somehow I have left a particular dot with some confidence that one day this dot did help me complete the picture. I am no harbinger to pin point exactly how or what significance each dot holds at the moment; bluntly confident enough to say it will for sure.

I quote this line and sometimes did use previously – “The world we live is cynical” if not, at least the events that occur makes us believe it to be cynical”. Yes some part of it is from the movie ‘Jerry Maguire’ and rest is based on my experience. It is our confidence, beliefs, choices and opportunities we make out of things that life dishes out each day, determines the level of cynicism we end up living with.

I ask myself why I chose this particular field. And to be honest, I am not confident in saying this is where I will be in ‘X’ number of years. But the inner fire ignites and gives me a feeling; I will reach that point in life, however unclear it seems at the moment.

How do I identify that particular dot in my life, if I ever to reach in the future? Guess it is all related to my present and to an extent my past life. I cannot change my past but can always look at my present in a different way and move on with it. It isn’t a crime to get stuck with a particular dot, but failing to make an attempt to move, in order to get to the next dot is a crime. Well that’s how I choose to look at it.

Learning from my past, all I can say - There will be the feeling of being on top of the world which is associated when I do reach that dot. That particular day, I can visualize and even go on to say eloquently about the different dots of my life and how relevant it has been to get to that feeling. Till then, I say to myself - “Keep on hoping from one dot to another; you never know when you actually hit that feel good factor button inside us”. Ultimately it’s all about hitting the feel good factors on more occasions at our dot stops.

P.S – I do not know to define the ‘feel good factor’. So it is better left to one’s interpretation.

Why History

I am browsing the site History.com, i ask myself a question. Why am I so fascinated with history? Its indeed a thought provoking question. In the most neutral sense, it means nothing but my preference over gamut of topics we come across in daily life.

If I ask myself honestly at this moment I can say; I love listening, watching and telling stories. I love sports and movies. To stretch it a bit further, I love the historical journey of my aformentioned favourites in particular.

This doesnt mean, I do not like the present day situation. To me, in order to completely appreciate a particular situation in the present context, I want to know the history behind it. Philosophically, this is how I look at life in general. 'How I was' is an important connection to 'How I am' and a catalyst to 'How I will be'; because in a short time, 'How I am' shall pass and becomes history in due course.

In that sense, history is important and it just gives an indication through which one can fathom how the trend has shaped over time. Paying due respects to the 'present moment', I say, the choices of the present that shapes the future, as well as to come to a point of choosing is dictated heavily by history. Hence, history is a key element according to me to know and to understand anything in general.
I do have resources to learn history but I do feel, we can do a lot more with history. History in some way is awareness, not entirely real, if considered in present context. It is a starter, sometimes more than a appetizer to make choices that would shape my future.

In the end, it is neither history nor astrology that define our lives..... It is 'Present'. And the key element that connects 'Present' is history. Human life is all about being aware and ignorant at the same time. According to me, History helps us to be aware and ignorant; depending on its relevance in our present life.

A totally mirror approach would present the future studies in a similar way. I choose and all these years chose history for several reasons unknown. Sometime in my journey, when I am able to connect more dots, I can refine and put it in a better way as to why I like history.

Sing as though no one's listening

It is one of those days when you are in full song. Quite literally as you walk past the mild fog while humming the song that’s on the mind. I do not intend to think much into why this is happening. In a strange way, I am beginning to like the winter and the coolness associated with it. It's a pain waking up and accidentally touching one's feet on the cold marble floor. It feels like walking on frozen ice. Trust me, in places where there is no provision for centralised heating; it can be quite an experience. But, that's how it is and you know, in the end it’s an experience :-)

I am making my breakfast after having a really hot shower, the feel of which would last few seconds, before the cool ambient air surrounds my body and I run towards my wardrobe. Actually, I don't run, but if I am walking on my barefoot, oh man, it is really running time.

After a long time with Delhi summer, it’s been layered clothing from past two to three weeks. It is good to see people experimenting with lots of combination with their outfits. In fact, I love watching others during winter. When I am walking, exchanging pleasantries is a nice feeling. When fully equipped in the clothes section, I must admit, I love winters all the more.

Coming back to the singer in me, it is something nice when you walk around streets and singing songs from inside. Very oblivious to events around me and all I am bothered is to enrich the experience and feel it completely. In this regard, I love walking more than running, because of it being more rhythmic to my moods. I guess, I haven't mastered to sync the run with my moods when compared with walking. This is my assessment. Is this the feeling, "My Dil goes Hmmmm"? Well, I am trying to ask too many questions here and I don't feel like thinking about it....

This feeling was warmed with the hot mushroom soup which I had few minutes ago. A bonfire with a book is something ideal considering the fact, I am all by myself.... Well, things could be much better; but you don't feel bad...It’s just one of those days when you are in this kind of a mood. One such mode where I am singing it loud as though no one's listening :-)

Can you hear the song I am singing? Is that so, good for you :-)

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