KAHIHI

I do not understand whether to cry or enjoy since the day Sachin Tendulkar (ST) declared that he would be spending 30 hundred thousand rupees on Satya Sai Baba (SSB) statue.
Sachin Tendulkar might be sitting on billions earned by his hard work and genius. However, considering the billions spent on offering completely free cardiac and neurological treatment or on cancer heart ailments that SSB’s trust offered to the aam aadmi, despite the few fragile blocks at the foundation, nowhere brings ST close to SSB.
In this opportunistic world where it has been impossible to have treatment on serious ailments, SSB can be called as a philanthropist of philanthropists. However, the stigma remains irrevocable, wherein his initial cheap hand tricks publicized as miracles thereby assuming the disciples to be idiots, one and all.
ST is a good boy with inexhaustible stamina on the ground and parallel patience in life out of the ground, until recently. But I think he is overburdened of the inertia of the goodness.
Who made him to make a statement that Mumbai belongs to everyone? He was never a politician neither did he exhibit an inclination to be one in the future. Why then should he make such senseless utterance? Or has this apparently patient looking lad come under the spell of an impatient political bigwig? A general doubt!
The examples are aplenty, fresh and stale, that the famous figures in art and sports fields have entered the political field to get mud-slinged and eat dust subsequently; nothing else. Or is there no more place left on the top and the downslide has started?
These two actions of ST have brought him to a level below. It was a matter of a few seconds. Look at the sky, regain patience and keep quiet, exhibiting a masterly “well left” at the question. Absolutely nothing more than what he does on the pitch.
A Don Bradman comparative, who could hide his expressions, cries on internationally televised channels is near to getting comparable with the gaudy heroines of Hindi movies of 70s. Let the tears flow. But to wipe them in such a situation is tantamount to acting. The rudalis and the adivasis who never inhaled the polluted weather of so-called civilized cities crying over the dead body of their near or far people seem more grief stricken though for completely different reasons.
One prima facie obvious shortfall of this public figure is he doesn’t refuse offers. May it be the exemption from customs duty or Bharat Ratna honour. It would cost him nothing much to refuse. In fact it would enhance his image. But no, his close friends think him to be a generous fellow who offers help to a few. They never quote it. They whisper as if involved in a whisper campaign.
Whisper campaigns bear no more value than the gossips, they do not understand. And such examples take away one from the image of model citizenry.
How can a man express a desire to make a statue of the so-called god who has built state-of-the-art hospitals, railway stations, and private airports, with a paltry sum of 30 hundred thousand rupees? Isn’t it ascetically ridiculous? Are there no other prestigious ways like adding this sum to SSBs foundation or helping poor patients with this poor sum?
Or are his advisors overbearing and sullied and decided to belittle him?
Recently I read unbelievable news that he wouldn’t have to pay tax on certain amount of his earnings. In fact he should show the willingness to pay the full amount and set an example of an ideal citizen. From the recent actions of him it doesn’t seem a possibility.
For certain his think tank has started leaking. The advisers are going berserk. They may be legal or accounting experts. But there is always a conscience keeper built in you. It seems to be on the back foot.
ShivSena Supremo, other day warned him on Times Now channel to play on his pitch and not on the political pitch, very aptly. When such interviews (about ShivSena) happen, the chain reaction follows faster than the nuclear process. The media always hungry like Bakasur pounces to get fed by such news.
Loksatta, a Marathi morninger is found playing second fiddle unconditionally (!) to Congress in recent times. The intentions of the erstwhile editor unwritten like British Constitution were known to any Tom, Dick and Harry. He would be the first to fire its flickering salvo against ShivSena. The short sighted writer would search for his thick glasses to reminisce and visualise the handshakes ShivSena made with other party leaders, deliberately forgetting the strange bedfellows of Congress.
The new editor of Loksatta, in his new avatar, is blaming ShivSena for the closure of Marathi schools in the area of its Central office forgetting that the main responsibility being that of ruling state coalition! What a silly statement? May be due to the jaundiced vision.
Had ShivSena been in power, the learned man would have held them doubly responsible and not the opposition then. They need a reason, no reasoning for anything to draw such illogical inferences.
Maid servants’ children are sent to English medium schools. As municipality is ruled by SS, it is their responsibility, the state policy has nothing to participate in the matter; the learned man might be thinking in the manner of Prime Minister. The PM’s perception that economic side is his liability, and the political and administrative liability is hers, might be created due to the haughty thinking, discarding tendency or simply submissiveness. The editorial brain follows the path of the non corrupt, self-effacing man at the helm. Who cares for the corruption that has brought the country on the brink when I am clean, is the silent message that has already reached the billion minds.
Also they insist the children of the leaders of the Marathi cause should attend Marathi medium schools. Why? Shouldn’t they insist for Marathi at par with English and other European languages to attain individual as well as national progress?
What exactly they think is their duty? They are the front runners in the field of improving and raising the standard of Marathi, if not to the international level at least to the national level. What’s their participation? I’ve seen many of them plagiarizing cheap phrases from Hindi movies like “All is well”, a popular phrase from a hit movie by Aamir Khan pronounced in slang, proudly.
Surprisingly psychiatrist like Rajendra Barve too uses the phrase. He may give 112 onionskin reasons for that. But what about vitiating the language? This is no promoting for certain.
The early 20th century thinkers and linguist and editors like Tilak, Agarkar and likes modified Sanskrit and English phrases and words to suit in Marathi (like say, fraction of a second in kshanardha, which is more appropriate than the original) what these Lilliputian editors are contributing? Sycophancy?
In the state where the education ministers didn’t know Marathi, the language of medium of the state, forget objecting to this dire situation, the newspapers sat like ostrich dipping its beak in the burning sand and as a hobby continued printing the interviews of dumb newcomers on the screen and the reviews of who necessarily second or third rate books written by their near ones don’t feel that this situation of language of the medium of education is their prime duty. One can’t expect more than the head-in-the-clouds thoughts from the editors.
I congratulate the new editor for repeating the act of his predecessor, as mostly the editors of Marathi newspapers are just a gloss and not mettle. The newer one too seems to be on his way of proving a flash in the pan. After all we all are traditionalists by lineage and maintain the conservatism till the last drop of our blood is dried or burned.
As he momentarily seems to have fallen in love with the word pitch let me remind that he is playing on the erstwhile pitch of Ramnath Goenka from where many others were pitched out but only Arun Shouri was called back again.
So was it written. But shall so be done?

One of the key areas in the banking sector, where banks have to give proper attention, is the human resource. As banking becomes more sophisticated, there is a need to improve the skill set of the bank employees.
The Government has set up a committee to look into the HR issues of state-owned banks with a view to improve HR policies.
Getting people with adequate skill and knowledge is the need of the hour.
The Indian Banks' Association has finalised a scheme for common recruitment of personnel for nationalised banks.
With the cooperation of Indian Banks' Association the Government had launched a Central Electronic Registry earlier this year for recording mortgages. It would help check frauds of multiple borrowing against the same property and help in the growth of the market and the banking industry.
These are some of the versions published in different newspapers of the speech given by the finance minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee recently.
But Baba I’ll miss my bus, I said to my father while he was withdrawing cash from a big branch of a big bank. A big counter divided the customers and the bankers. I couldn’t see anything beyond the counter.
Don’t worry. I’ll get the cash before your bus arrives or else as your school is nearby from here, I’ll reach you to the school.
He had a Lambretta scooter then.
A handsome man was working on the ledgers standing behind the ledger keepers making entries of debits and credits in red cover heavy ledgers, triple the size of laptops in width and double of height. I could see when my father lifted me to show how the work goes on.
Don’t worry young girl. You’ll get your school bus. A noise came from behind the ledger keepers. He was the branch manager. The branch was heavily loaded with customers, proving the popularity of the branch.
What do you like to have as a fun maker chew?
Peppermints. (Cadburys and Amuls had not been the craze then)
What flavour?
Orange, I answered.
Go into the cabin and collect as many as you want. They are on the table. It’s my table. Don’t worry.
The watchman loaded with gun having more-stiff-than British upper lip and hardnosed, though looking fearsome smiled and opened the cabin door with a fractional smile before the movie-hero like manager threw a look at him.
I looked at my father. He was smiling approvingly. They knew each other.
I collected three peppermints from a saucer on his table and came out chewing one.
This amazing man was handling how many things at a time!
He may prove to be a good father too, my father whispered to me when we were out of the premises after collecting the cash.
This is the story of around bank nationalization days i.e. 1969.
After 42 years and 10 months I recollected the incident after watching and reading the captioned quotes of the finance minister at a banking function in Mumbai.
Indira Gandhi nationalized the banks and brought them to the doors of the common man, a necessity then; thereby elevating the standard of the citizens at the lower strata, especially many of the engineers and engineering diploma holders who spent their parents’ already insufficient means and were about to face unemployment. They could own their initially small scale and then medium scale industries.
The credit undeniably goes to Indira Gandhi.
Globalisation trend knocked the door after that. Computerization became the necessity and as if to countermand it, bankers started behaving like babus in the government.
On the flashback of the above incidence a current topic:
Though not so as big as the one I quoted earlier, I now have an account in an air conditioned branch.
The bank now has its own rules along with a few permitted by government under a ticket of autonomy. The officer concerned was not even able to manage four or five customers he was facing, he struggled. As the counter dividing the customer and banker was removed and a simple table took its place, one has to face the eyes of the barking fellow. He didn’t know the fixed deposit interest rates that kept changing twice a month. Difficult, agreed. But neither was he having paper sheets handy nor was he able to save the chart on the screen. He was shuffling the papers and then getting up from his chair to whisper into his colleagues’ ears and coming back, for what reasons nobody could surmise.
(I remembered at this moment the Tony Curtis slapstick comedy of 1965, Boeing Boeing, hoodwinking with three air hostesses of three different airlines acting to be loving each of them to the extent of making them feel that they are at home but fumbling when state-of the-art aircrafts are put in the services thereby bringing all of them at the same time in Paris. And then Jerry Lewis carrying the burden taking his position!)
Fed up watching his shuffling with the FDRs, after half an hour I went to manager’s cabin. There wasn’t anybody else. Even so he looked uneasy. I told him my difficulty and to look into the matter. The man was deputed to London for five years and just back.
Lo and behold, the man didn’t know how to operate computer. That was the secret behind his getting uneasy. He needed a clerk to help him.
At least this office is ditto a replica of a government office where babus are provided with a platoon of helpers.
And this man according to their new pay revision is drawing about fifty thousand rupees a month plus, plus a clerk of say twenty five thousand.
So Mr. Mukherjee these people too have got their contribution to the profit and loss figures and NPAs you mentioned. The young generation may be efficient. Now root out this age old parasites that would be sucking the profit for a few more years of the banking tree.
Cosmetic changes like renaming a Human Resources Development (HRD) to a Human Resources Management (HRM) won’t improve things. Politicians are in the habit of presenting old schemes in new packing.
The bank heads are waiting for your orders obediently, Sir.

Kith and kin feel entering their hypothesized heaven

It was the Christmas time and Santa was bound to be around the corner. It was the time to go wishing for gifts from the white-bearded man. But we have to behave good for that.

Perhaps, the name at the bottom in Santa’s list might be that of Julian Assange, co-founder of the whistle-blower website Wikileaks. A man cursed upon right from the most powerful man on earth, the President of America, protested against by those fighting for privacy rights, branded as a terrorist by Sarah Palin, and still among the most admired men. He is a dark knight, the people’s choice for the Times Person of the Year, the messenger.

Standing for all that is good in the world, and hunted down by half the governments, he is a man we were waiting for, a man who stands up for the underdogs. Built on principles and ethics, an intriguing personality with a great philosophy behind his mottos, this man is courage personified.

A young Julian Assange was a part of a hacker group that had one of its mottos as share information. Perhaps a little inquisitiveness, personal experience and a strong sense of right and wrong has made this man we know today. Being one of the winners of Amnesty award and “one of the most influential person” he is still humble. A brain of unparalleled genius is transforming the now rotten field of journalism.

Greenday, the punk rock band asked the world, “Do you know your enemy?” and we didn’t till then. But today when the very basis of democracy is shattered by the bulk of secrets kept from the public we do realize who the enemy is. It is the regime, the very government that we elect and today Wikileaks has called for a change in this regime. The regime which wants to stay by covering their schemes, the wars they got into, the loss in those wars, is brought to open by these messengers. Julian Assange and his people revolted against the honor to obey, they brought down the silence which had been our enemy for so long. The new era for internet freedom has begun and this massive power of the internet is taming all those power-hungry politicos and bringing to the public all the dirty little secrets. 

This simple man, with very simple and straight philosophy, has showed to us the real face of the world’s most powerful democracy and the notorious secrets of other countries. A self-taught hacking expert and a computer-whiz, he is a revolution in the field of journalism, the press. The fourth pillar of democracy which sways public opinion in any direction, was till now a tool used by the governments to mould facts the way they want. We knew, the facts that we saw were not true, we knew there was also the “Other Side of the Story” but we stood silent. When incidents like 26/11 happened we thought we had enough of this silence. We rose up in violence and brought this government to senses that not always would we accept your facts. And this violence is the energy we seek now to bring reform. Wikileaks gave us channel to let this violence flow, a way to ask the government “what’s the truth?”

News supported with documents and material to prove the truth, is the new face of journalism. The sources are hidden but the documents echo the truth. The methods to acquire the documents are known yet “fool-proof”. And all this is the genius of one simple man. The power will now move in our hands when the foreman of control will be brought down, when his effigy will be burned.

But still one question lingers in the mind. Is it ethical?

Is it ok to steal the secrets of a government? And the answer lies in the fact, if we elect the people up there, we give them our trust votes then they should be entrust us about the annual spending, the wars and the losses suffered, the schemes carried out at international level. If not then the Heroes are waiting to spill the beans. It’s a choice upon the regime up there to decide. Either trust us with every step you take or acknowledge the fact that we do know who our enemy is.

A leader, one who leads, as the word suggests, is supposed to be an icon, a confident example for the youth, and a strong shoulder for the old to rely on. Recently, one such man who personifies these qualities visited Mumbai, a city which is in dying need of a good leader and able administrator.

Barack Obama was in Mumbai. A man whom people have willingly elected as their President and given him the reigns of the most powerful office in the world. A man who when speaks has fullest of attention drawn to him, people listen without any hesitation and with pin drop silence interspersed with claps and applause. Back home, we have an equally mesmerising speaker-leader, who shares a similar stature and charm - Raj Thackeray.

Obama, a change America believed in and a change world saw. At his Hampshire speech, he upped the crowd frenzy with his words “change is what happening in America right now”. Every time he speaks, Obama seamlessly disseminates his energy to the crowd. And he does it the best. He conjures his vision of doing the best for America and that Americans deserve the best with the crowd that makes the entire environment zealous. That is what is needed in a speaker, a leader. And India lacks such a leader.

There are many leaders qualified to lead India, but we lack a man who shares his zeal, his love for India through his words, through his talks, and no doubt through actions.

There is one such marvellous speaker here in India, on the wrong path though, Raj Thackeray, whose objectives match that of Obama’s, of doing good for his men, however, his steps seem to have set off in the wrong direction. When he speaks, the crowd moves to his words, when he takes his patent pause the audience, all his nemesis miss their heartbeat.

“Yes We Can, three words that will ring from coast to coast and from sea to sea” and these three words did undoubtedly create a new chapter in history not only in America but in the whole world. He motivated people for a change through his words, through his speeches. And when he recently visited Mumbai, his interaction with the youth at St. Xavier’s College was inspiring for us young Indians to bring into politics a leader like him. The dialogue he held with the students, his tact of answering them – taking a pause, pondering over the question, composing an apt answer – show the great orator inside him.

One lucky student who got a chance to ask him a question, remarked, “Sir, someday I wish to be half as good as an orator you are”.

This reaction piteously exposes the dearth of good orators we have in our politics. And the handfuls that we have lack the charisma of holding people together merely by use of effective words. Some speak with accents we can’t understand, some way too loud and some like they are sharing a secret with the microphone. India needs charismatic leaders, who hold the public to their every word, who make people stand at their speeches without hesitation, who inspire the youth, who charge them up, and so on. Raj Thackeray fits into this description of orators. It is simply impossible to ignore him, though you may hear a lot of his hateful-stories. Allies or opposition people take notice of him, he makes them listen and everybody appreciates his oratory, though a few do so cowardly.

At St. Xavier’s, Obama gripped those present, with his alluring style, presenting the youth with three questions to answer and making us want for some more. One of his best answers was about whether material wealth, in very crisp words he just said, “Never preach an empty stomach”. He even remarked that he fell short of examples when making references to people like Gandhi and Dr. King. This shows his humbleness. This is something that Raj may have to work on; a little essence of humanity added to his words will make sampoorna Mumbai fall at his feet. Obama left an impression upon us youth that will last forever and a path that will be walked upon.

Politicians, in my generation, will not commit the mistakes of the older generation, but our own mistakes, in the President’s words. This grappling effect of the youth leaders will certainly make new icons among this generation that will fill in the gap that Indian politics and society desperately need. Raj and Obama can be our “Adarsh” to bring about the change that we have been waiting for long, way too long!

Obama speeches have always astounded me. I am yet to see his words translating into actions, in an effective manner, about the “change” he keeps mentioning about. However, let’s limit to the wonder of words and the mesmerizing effect it has on his audiences.

Trying to decipher the Obama effect one would often deduce that it is all about his oration and the ability to connect. He does that in US every single day perhaps, and he did it here in India too few weeks ago. Everything of his is so finely chiseled – language, diction, gestures, pauses, posture – all adding up to an excellent presentation that leaves a lasting effect on the people listening to him. And his wit of course. During some conference his name plate fell off the desk while he was exhibiting his oratory. His secretaries, body guards, assistants rushed to get the plate in place. Obama waved his hand signaling them to stop and said that it’s ok, don’t bother about the name plate, they all know me. Classy example of being a champion orator coupled with wit. Obama seems to have been bestowed upon with the skills of persuasive communication that many are not equipped with.

It is said that world’s finest leaders had this common trait of subconscious persuasion, and they have used persuasive communication techniques to accurately “change” or “loosen” the state of mind or way of thinking of the masses.

Hitler was one such example who could brilliantly use that technique of anchoring people’s thoughts to his. Obama uses it too.

The motives may seem to differ though. Our very own Raj Thackeray too is an expert of persuasive communication. Perhaps that is one reason why they can be classified under one category of “effective leadership”, men who can influence a group of people to put their (leader’s) words into action.

Sound oratory also takes into account assessment of the audience. Though the words in the speech remain same, the presentation style is flexible in order the stir up the listener. For some group things are put across with some rationale, for e.g. if the listener group is educated and intelligent. However, if the audience is some mediocre mass of people then the oration is soaked in emotions and presented. Adolf Hitler said, “I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few”, something that both Obama and Raj practice; Obama in a mellow tone while Raj in aggressive tenor.

Leaders are also often identified by the ideologies and objectives they follow. Taking forward Obama’s and Raj’s example, their struggle too is for their own citizens, Americans and Marathis respectively. Both want to create a paradigm shift in the systems in their respective territories, fighting for the cause of their own people – a “change” that they want to bring about. Much like Obama shook the world emerging as the first black President of United States, Raj also has been creating tremors in the political base of Maharashtra.

With their quality of excellent oratory and helping hands for public administration, it is now only to be seen how effectively, the “change” is brought about.

Lately, Robot has been in news for shrieking Ra. One. However, his rendezvous with the ShivSena Boss left everyone stirred, including me, indeed with glee. The demigod of South Indian cinema, not just Tamil, met Balasaheb Thackeray at the latter’s residence in Bandra. And what a cherished fulfillment it was.

Both these great men, creative in their own ways, made the appointment even more artistic with their smiles, handshakes, pats, and hugs. Rajnikant has been a great admirer of Balasaheb, and so has Balasaheb been an ardent follower of Rajnikant and his movies. Balasaheb has often praised the superstar in Saamna and so has Rajnikant obliged Thackeray by visiting him every time he was in Mumbai – issues about language and state have never made things bitter between them.

While Rajnikant has delivered electric performances on screen, Balasaheb Thackeray has expressed his dexterity on paper – through startling articles and cartoons; both these resolute supremos have gained expertise in expression of art and captivating the masses for over decades. While one has strived to keep the history alive and the other creating history with every attempt, the Sexagenarian-Octogenarian encounter of yesterday can certainly be penned as one historic event.

Quite interestingly, Thackeray fancied smoking chiruts and experimenting with various kinds of cigars, though necessarily he may not be an addict, and Rajnikant shot to fame because of his peculiar style to smoke cigarettes – toss a cigarette in the air and clutch it precisely between the lips; this may have enticed Balasaheb. Smoking is certainly injurious to health but perchance has proved to be harmless to gain publicity.

Originally, Shivajirao Gaekwad, who also just recently played a role in Sivaji – The Boss, could also be a reason for Thackeray likes towards Rajnikant. Rajni, perhaps epitomizes the role of an ideal ruler crusading the failures, who Thackeray has idolized over years – the Great Maratha Warrior, Shivaji.

However, even if, for a while, we keep away the analogies and memories of past, yesterday’s present was like a delightful gift for me – it was packed with amicability, respect, fondness, satisfaction, and smiles, a confluence, indeed a visual delight.

Chidambaram’s ‘saffron terror’ has scared him and the Congress too, though he is putting a show of bravery. He has thrown the weight of his difficult-to-shoulder phrase on others, as his wont is; presently on Digvijay Singh, saying that patent of the phrase is not with him. That’s sufficient to prove that he can neither create patentable products nor can he make a proper use if they exist.

Lawyers don’t make good “quotable-quoters”. Take the top five lawyers in India and you’d realize.
 
The reason is simple. The inborn arrogance, fused in or developed among them makes them feel that they are also the “lords of words”. They nurture a false secret ego that they could win the cases connected with words. It’s because they take any issue as the cause and fight for that.

Language and words that shape a language have to be handled with care, not rough hand (foul mouth in the context) but soft tongue.

Politicians have the history to make good quotes, like Winston Churchill, John Kennedy, Indira Gandhi and like. However, they were far away politicians from the present ones.

Nowadays, all similar thinking minds are making efforts to hone their word power. Small minds too, think alike! They however do not know that they require copywriters for that. Some semi-buddu politicians know that!

In case of ‘saffron terror’ they have lined up for the comments in the order of their weight.

Sharad Pawar, the weightiest of the politician threw the first colour. He is a politician connected with green the most. He moves with or makes them move with him the green revolutionists and the portfolio he is in charge of has mainly the colour green shade.

He may argue on that saying wheat, maze are not green but yellow and try to crush my claim as he did once asking Uddhav Thackeray, executive president of ShivSena in the time of his padyatras for the cause of suiciding farmers, bilking him whether he knew, the onion grows above or below the ground.

Congress has the habit of entering troubled water by employing ministers like PC, though they have a long list of good claimants for any portfolio. After his FMship magniloquence Congress is again in a mood to avoid PC. It’s obvious as the party general secretary and media department chairman, J. Dwivedi has indicated sundown signals by saying the colour of terrorism is black. How else the black colour could signify terrorism?

ShivSena and BJP have thrown the ruling party on the back foot for certain. But they don’t have the debaters who could send PC also along with. Bharat Kumar Raut MP (ShivSena) is consulting editor to Times Group as quoted at the bottom of his articles. However, he cannot face with tenacity any issue. He takes more pleasure in Marathi channels as obvious it is easy for him to be long-winded in Marathi than in English.

In my opinion Gopinath Munde, though unable to speak in English is witty enough to disarm Congress and PC. But it seems BJP doesn’t want to project him. It has happened in past too.

The national party in search of power to rule would have to give up this parochial set up of mind; sooner the better.

Bhagwa, Keshari, Kesaria or Haldi (in Kannada) is still lagging behind as far as the revolution is concerned in India. We’ve seen Green revolution (agricultural), White revolution (milk), but where is the Keshari revolution?

In Marathi Haldi means turmeric. It’s applied to heal wounds due to its medicinal quality.

Marathi MPs of opposition party are busy applying haldi to their wounds including those in the mouths from inside made by the likes of PC and by the Haldi co-walkers in Karnataka. They suffer in silence due to vocabulary lesions. Or like beautiful girls they can’t apply it to the outsides of their faces to add to the beauty.

The wounded civilization has lost the sense of colours that are meant for festivals and beautifying.

The day of our Independence was spent reasonably well, watching movies like Gandhi, Mountabatten - The Last Viceroy of India, Rang De Basanti, and listening to songs that echoed throughout the residential complex. The nasha just couldn't get enough and the heroics of freedom struggle kept resonating in my mind. It was certainly a constructive effort of all, who at that time fought for independence through their own means; everything looked justidied. However, as always it has been, Gandhiji still creates a lasting impression on my mind for the ways he adopted to get us freedom.

A compassionate being who, even at the peak of freedom struggle and amidst the conflicts of the national leaders then, firmly believed that "the British have stayed with us for long, we should part with them in a friendly manner with a smile", and hence denounced any kind of violence. His ideologies of non-cooperation and non-violence through the "Dandi March" and the "Quit India Movement", can be said to have triumphantly brought independence to us.

There are many who think that Gandhiji's principles were irrational and that he was the reason for partition, and that non-violence is a sign of spinelessness. However, for a moment, assume that, had we got our freedom through violence, bloodshed, and hatred; things would have been different today. Our beliefs in reaching the goal and achieveing what we want through fights and carnage would have become staunch - "fight for what you want and then kill if you don't get it". Had that been so, our nation today would have looked like the African countries and Afghanistan with even small children running around with guns and grenades instead of toys and cricket bats.

Somewhere, the Gandhian thought does leave a deep mark, if we rationally try to look at the happenings during our independence. Forget looking at God, or reading the Gita or Quran or the Bible. A sensible understanding about Gandhiji's view point will itself make one a peaceful human being, adept enough to choose between right and wrong.

Such was the greatness of that man, and we shall always remain grateful to that soul.

However, amidst such greatness, you sometimes need to taste the dust of regret and shame. For many, the freedom has come for free, and hence mostly, is taken for granted.

The CWG, mining scam, IPL frauds weren't enough, when one of our political leader made me fall flat on my face. The leaders who say, "we fight for the benefit of the nation", despite being in the opposition or in power, shamefully exhibit their knowledge about the same very country.

While rejoicing the movies and the songs, I happened to check my email and found this in my inbox.

Hareshwar Patil and gang, sadly do not know the difference between "Independence Day" and "Republic Day". And that too in the constituency of our dear (pun intended) Sanjay Nirupam, who ferociously brags on television channels about how he is so considerate about our nation. Which nation? May be a nation whose Republic Day coincides with our Independence Day.

And we shall always remain regretful to such souls.

- Amol Redij

One method of making Hyderabadi biryani is to cook the mutton and rice separately and mix them with skill on the dining table. This is not much palatable at least to Maharashtra as the Punjabi method has taken over that mixes every plant and flavour.

'Chandrababu Naidu is not a good political chef and hence he made a Khichdi of it. Birbal’s Khichdi, where he kept a fire at one place and the cooking pot at other, thereby the heat did not reach. Chandrababu exactly did the same by trying to cook khichdi of Telangana in the state of Maharashtra.

Logic and Chandrababu Naidu reside on North and South Pole respectively. Who instigated him to go to Babhli and protest against Maharashtra government is none of a thinking man concern.

Chandrababu himself should care for it. He has been sent to the political graveyard due to the suicides by the farmers of his state, Andhra Pradesh; nobody could deny. When they were committing suicides this chief minister was running to Delhi to welcome Bill Gates or Bill Clinton.

His enthusiasm over flew in doing so, more than Krishna water. He should have tried to block his ecstasy, more than the water Maharastra is trying, to according to him. The work is going on as per instructions of the Supreme Court. Already 200 crore are spent and no orders of the court are violated.

Chandrababu has never probably exhibited soft feelings towards Telangana. And suddenly this issue has been pierced into his head. The place where he wants to protest for the cause of Telangana is wide of the mark.He is not an expert in leading mass. He himself perhaps doesn’t understand what he talks. He whispers. He is a table-shrewd politician. He was successful in getting the special status to his state in NDA government by giving support from outside. He drew his pound of flesh by negotiating with them.

So now with a wrong cause he came to a wrong place at wrong time.

He forgot that rehabilitation of the farmers and people residing near water resources is never done or ever completed in the history of India. Many issues intermingle in the process that is beneficial to a very few. They are necessarily rulers and rich.

On the next day of the protest for the farmers of Andhra on the land of Maharashtra his supporters complained that they were not provided with food and water. As if they were guests of Maharashtra. I’d like to remind one incident here. When Lalkrishna Advani with his infamous Rathyatra was stopped by Laluprasad threatening him to put behind bars had he entered Bihar.

The home minister of Maharashtra is a gentleman. He won’t go to that extent.

However, to expect food from him in exchange of protest is too much. Food was provided by the people there. But Chandrababu wanted hyderabadi biryani perhaps! Why should they complain about water along with? It was plentifully available there in the river opposite. Or they wanted the oxi-rich mineral water?

Maharashtra has always been a soft target by all the states and the centre. It’s crushed under the North and South hating it due to the glorious history, the progress and the modernity.

There is nothing spectacular about Chandrababu. South states are progressing fast. He wanted to do that only through information technology. YSR knew this limit and concentrated on the poor and farmers that Chandrababu never envisioned. Unfortunately YSR is no more. A split of support to different parties is widening. Opportunist as he is Chandrababu is trying to make a place.