KAHIHI

Bespectacled, a wrinkled face and a familiar nose - Anna Hazare, the Gandhi for today’s youth. At 71 years of age, his fast unto death campaign to eradicate corruption has made everyone from a young toddler to an old compatriot go berserk. Our deep slumber ended on 5th April. This man, with his party of handful followers, started an epic fast for getting the Jan Lokpal bill approved and it phenomenally turned out to be a voice that everyone needed, a leader that everyone was waiting for. Perhaps, people are now realizing that it was either now, with this Gandhi of ours, or never.

We have been hearing about corruption ever since, many of us have probably been victims of corruption. Everyone wanted corruption out of the system. We saw many scams that put our country to shame, we read well-written essays by few eminent personalities, we saw media having moron panel to discuss/debate and howl on TV sets, bloggers writing about corruption, children speaking about anti-corruption in school elocutions but never a step taken of such magnitude was seen.

Then why does it matter now?

After facing corruption, even getting involved in it at times, why does it matter now?

Why has the issue of Lokpal Bill being discussed now when nobody took it seriously for 42 years?

Why is every Indian irrespective of age, out on the street shouting “I am Anna Hazare”?

The answer lies in the simple fact that we never had a bold voice speaking so resolutely against corruption. Even if we had any, we never saw any action being taken and as an activist puts it “This old man here is ready to put his life on a struggle to have a better India ready for the youth” – India where politics could become a career option for the educated rather than hooligans and half witted people (like now) mobbing it and exploiting the nation for their vested interests. He is ably providing a voice to help us channelize our fight and build a better nation for ourselves.

Just before his campaign, the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and the Indian team bought whole of India together in celebration. Now this man has accomplished a historical feat, a mass drive across hundreds of cities, with thousands of people (majority of which is youth) – truly an iconic crusade worth emulating.

A mellow voice, a shy smile on his face but the sheer grit to get corruption out of India has overwhelmed me, and most certainly the entire nation. Seeing the teenagers (surprisingly) with posters pasted on their t-shirts displaying “Anna Hazare hum tumhare saath hai” sends frissons in me from head to toe.

The night India won the World Cup 2011, those on the streets would have swore that it looked like a revolution, like India having achieved independence yet again – with Indian flags fluttering on every car, people shouting “Bharatmata ki Jai” slogans, et al.

Hopefully we should revive the same emotion now to honour the efforts of that 71 year old man. This time we have a new Gandhi to lead, a vision set and the enemy lies within for whom you don’t need guns or swords or canons – our own government, comprising the same people we elected with lots of hope will now be responsible for every action they take, will now be answerable for every question we ask. They will now, after almost sixty years of independence and having the tag of “the world’s largest democracy” will understand what it will mean to be really governing a country. And as for us, we will see a dawn of new dimension of politics, understanding the fundamental rights of a citizen, a cleaner system to get our questions through, a right knowledge of whom to elect and why to elect, knowledge of our basic right of knowing and questioning all the decisions taken.

This will be a result of a revolution, not a fight like the one we had sixty years ago, a revolution in the real meaning of the word. Possibly, the whole governing system will be changed, it will evolve to be better place to dwell and the mindset of society will change towards politics and towards the people that govern us. Having “ruled” the country for years, hopefully they will now learn how to “govern” it and govern it to the benefit of the people.

This all being the efforts of one man – Bespectacled, the same thin frame round spectacles, a familiar nose and those deep sunken eyes so endearing and willful.

In all good hope that we don’t let that man lose, make him look weak & lonely there; let us pledge our support for him and the cause he has put up. Let us for once, keep oneself aside and think about our nation – a nation that has in its own way and to best of its capacity conferred some privileges on us.

For India, last year has been pitiful. While few countries were rocked with public uprisings and natural disasters, India witnessed corruption calamity. The dirt of scams and immoral practices among the politicians and bureaucrats were probably more tumultuous than the citizen uproars and the tsunami waves.

Last year our country (sadly) was full of news about the CWG scam, 2G scam, land scams, food prices manipulation, etc in which unthinkable amount of money was siphoned depriving our country (and its citizens) of basic needs.

The progress of a country lies in its development and empowerment of its citizens. However, none of that is seen in our country. The development projects that are undertaken go on for years due the bureaucracy and practices of bribery that are allowed in our system. Eventually, the prices of development go high, the budgets are then manipulated and either the quality is compromised or the citizen is burdened with excess taxes. The budgets allotted for upliftment of the downtrodden are deviated before they reach the actual audience – a very tactful means to exploit the people for want of votes – keep them illiterate and underprivileged so that they always remain at your mercy.

I do not intend to justify or falsify any of the claims made by either sides of the government or the general public. I am, however, confused, as I have always been trying to understand the psyche behind people doing such frauds, scams, and adopting to ill means to achieve what they want. To put it simply, I always wanted to understand, “how much should be enough”; the greed keeps increasing ever after. Even in my wildest dreams, I can never think about what I would do with Rs. 200 crores of assets, if I could ever make that kind of wealth (I did dream about that once, accumulating 200 crores of assets was in itself a gigantic task, and it was morning by the time I could reach that mark. I assumed that I already had that asset base and dream again, yet I failed to conceive of anything to do with that kind of wealth). And here there are people who guzzle down 10 times or even 100 times of that money with so much each and pretence like chewing a paan.

Corruption has plagued our nation. Or perchance, it is like a cancer for our country.

See the cases of Harshad Mehta, Ketan Parikh, Dinesh Dalmia, Telgi, Raju of Satyam, Kalmadi, Raja, and so on. They all reaped what they sowed. They all were big and powerful, yet had to confront the results of their unlawful activities. They had to face the heat.

However, the next step would be to make sure that men like those get punished. It is imperative that we have rules & laws that empower the people to take actions against the corrupt officials. The government alone cannot decide what it must do with those immoral people, there should be a people’s say deciding the appropriate actions for the wrongdoers – a law breaker cannot be a law maker, after all.

Many things like these (words I have wrote above this line) have been written in protest. However, little did it helped, as probably the efforts were not focussed and properly channelized.

Nevertheless, not anymore.

We finally have someone who has taken these men of dishonour head-on. There comes a time when the tolerance level is breached and it takes one person to pull things off. And that person is Anna Hazare – someone who has cared & dared to fight corruption and clean the dirt. How successful he will? Let’s leave it to time. In the meanwhile, let’s stand by him to strengthen his dream of having a righteous society around.

I salute the “man of honour” – Anna Hazare.

Juliet Wurr, PRO of US Consulate office in Hyderabad seems to be a romantic lady.

'It's funny people getting upset about this. I don't know about your servants...but my servant has big heavy silver anklets...that look a heck of a lot more uncomfortable and binding,' she quoted on small screen.

What a dialogue! For India!

Do they find servants in US?

Romanticism, derived perhaps from the era of Nizam, of wearing and displaying gold. No gold? Silver will do! After all the lady stays in Hyderabad and her name goes back to 400 years. But it is not the Victorian time.

The modern lady of mod American Raj Darbar deputed to stately Hyderabad forgot, this is an ebonite age in her country and let them ankle-cuff their celebrity culprits as she said, not here in Hyderabad where we too have our own H(y)ollywood.

This is a fusion with Californian effect; Tri Valley University and Celebrities,

There are some wrist watches looking like a mini copy of the radio-tag in fashion in India. One can’t tie a wrist watch of the kind and sleep comfortably. But our students’ ankles are locked with them, their batteries being recharged intermittently and enforced to continue for more than a month now.

Or does she think if an American university with a picturesque name Tri Valley is duping, migrant students from India are necessarily culprits?

In the meanwhile, the Consulate office, that too of a mighty American country has to apologize. An apparent victory!

What’s so big to make a hue and cry about such a petty mafi-nama when the democratic country invades and burns another country?

On the flip side our own buffoonery doesn’t seem to see the end. The effect being carried over since 3000 years, well past Victorian times of Juliet.

The overseas affairs minister said he was gathering information and in a way buying time.

The foreign Affairs minister isn’t serious at all, (when was he? Check his muster as a Governor of Maharashtra earlier) as it has happened to a very few students and it is necessary to think about a hundred thousand students and appeal media to stop disseminating the news.

What a perspective! And the man is incubating over international affairs.

Next day he had to eat back his words.

Times Now defied him point blank saying that they are not going to give up the issue.

Earlier when a biggest American retail chain of consumer goods decided to put the electronic-tags on their ready-mades, consumer movements there had opposed the action.

One of the most outspoken critics of the Auto-ID Center has been privacy activist Katherine Albrecht, the head of Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering. She called for worldwide boycotts of clothing retailers to put RFID chips or "tags" on their products. Albrecht also criticized the Auto-ID Center for trying to downplay the privacy concerns over the technology after finding documents on the group's Web site that contained public relations advice on how to "neutralize opposition" to RFID systems.

In their stores hanging jeans are made to wear the e-tags over them and the attempts are challenged by the activists. However, when our students, our future is forced to wear them under the jean by the country boasting to have eradicated slavery forces, our own rulers are holding back as if suffering with fatigue of conscience.

American laws for obtaining visa are stringent and the university is sham, as such though the students enter through an agent, how can they be treated as culprits?

The fact is that we have lost our sense of self honour.

Rajputs fought to death to preserve that.

Marathas (of Shivaji) staked their lives to block millions of mogul soldiers because their self respect was alive.

In this 21st century we (the rulers of the country) have lost it in totality. The political rulers injected with sycophancy have been so anaemic, they are left with no energy to even protest.

They feel America; every time would come of her own and save us.

If you are an oil begging country why America would come to you?

But when America is butchering you, insulting you as if pre-decidedly; I mean the lowest rank officer here in India spitting an insult upon you, how can you expect America to save your honour? Formerly USSR was at least a solace.

The days to command respect met an end with Indira Gandhi.

The days to demand respect don’t seem to be anywhere near in sight. The days to beg are here matravalla.

But, do the beggars survive?

In the meanwhile, advent of universities is visible on the Indian horizon. How many of them, yes, I mean universities, would have to be radio-tagged, time only will tell.

About a month has passed. Some half a dozen radio-tags have been unfastened in instalments.

The scams here are overshadowing this international insult of Indian students. Tell me, when public memory was not short in our country. It’s a nauseating cliché.

When all the radio-tags would be removed after a few days some of the hollow show-makers will celebrate. Those suffering silently would burn candles over such blackballed souls in their minds.

I entered into the greenery
Adorned in luscious pastures
Like fitly composed landscapes
By God gifted painters

On the way to Kolhapur,
Admiring the Sahyadri ranges
Spiralling the ghat
Driving at sharp edges

At a distance, I stopped
To sprinkle a little water
On my face, and drink some
And have my kanda-bhakari later

Resting under a tree
Near a solid rock stone
I heard a little murmur
I felt someone mourn

Feet tapping tired horse
Next to a glazing sword
I shook a lustrous figure by his shoulder
But he never uttered a word

I have seen him somewhere,
Maybe, in my history book
When the bearded face turned
And gave me a low-down look

I continued to rest then
Little farther from the horse
Moments later, he rose and
Walked to me with remorse

How far you want to reach?
Please tell me, you urban men
Where is my Rashtra, that Swaraj?
Which I had dreamt of then

You have muffed my mountains
That I once proudly guarded
And as a token of marvel architecture
To you, with trust, I had gifted

You have moved into the rivers
You pushed away the ocean
In the lust for an inch more, O Bhavani,
See what they're doing of every town

Panhala makes me panicky
Shivneri makes me shiver
For you'll erase that too someday
To satisfy your bawdy hunger

While trying to build homes
For your warriors, and their wives
Realise, in my forts, if not my mavla
His soul still survives

Look around your state,
The Adarsh that I built
And when I look at yours
I am jittered with guilt

Then he bowed and kneeled
With folded hands, in front me
Like once he did, when young
In front of Maa Bhavani

He will take up the sword again,
I feared, and raze out us all
Like once, while on a rampage,
He had wrecked the Moghul

Filled with guilt I drove away, though
I never had played that game, so dirty
My only fault I realised later
I belonged to Maharashtra's mega city

Today, hi-tech innovations and scientific revolution have gripped all around us. It has become nearly impossible to imagine a thing without them. Though these innovations have made life simpler mechanically, it has deeply hampered human’s natural behaviour. The psyche to get things (results) immediately has reduced the patience levels of an individual thereby distorting the entire pattern of our society. The structure of our thinking and the building blocks of our society are changing rapidly thus creating a social and mental imbalance. Day to day examples of these can be observed in increased stress levels of employed individuals, rising amounts of divorces, adjusting with the family, fights on petty issues, unnecessary violent reactions, and so on.

Before the picture gets more worrisome, it is the time to heal the society and its habitants. Counselling has become the need of the hour, among one of the basic necessities of life apart from roti, kapda, makaan. Counselling is required for better adaptation of an individual.

Counselling comprises professional experts giving personal help to the distressed mind. More often people get wary of a counsellor, as psychologist habitually equated to someone to cures madness. People fear being called mad or someone taking medical help for mental illness. However, counselling is not about all that. It is in fact to help an individual concentrate on his/her well being.

Counselling is designed to assist a person in accomplishing the purpose of achieving a stable mind that helps induce rational thought process. It does not answer the dilemma of an individual, but facilitates the individual to resolve the problem on his/her own.

It is myth that counselling is about treating mad people or imbalanced minds. On the contrary, counselling focuses on guiding the person by understanding his psyche than focussing on the problem and treating it.

This distinct profession has its interdisciplinary base, interlinked with other fields such as sociology, history, anthropology, psychometric, psychology, ethics, and hence it is a wonderful culmination of theories (& practices) that promote the growth of an individual by self- direction.

Guidance counsellor, an expert who practices counselling, supports an individual by systematic professional process through education and interpretive procedure. This is meant to enable the individual to gain better understanding of his own characteristics and potentialities. Further, in accordance with social & moral values, this helps him to relate himself more satisfactorily to social requirement and opportunities.

With increasing pressures to achieve higher things in life, people have forgotten the basic value of enjoying life. Rather than detaching oneself from the material pleasures, people are today coming loose from nature and simple pleasures in life. It is here that counselling helps you create a balance. It does not set a vision for you, it does not give you direction in life but certainly helps you improve your patience levels and shred the ignorance that has innately leached inside you.