A forgettable conversation with a biased NaMo hater

This blog entry has been inspired by incidents shared by me and many of my friends when they expressed their support of Narendra Modi. The trigger event for this post was a blog with a similar title published in indianexponent.com and shared by many people across social media.

Me: Hey there! Wassup?

X1: I am fine. Are you following the Indian elections? Whom are you supporting?

Me: Well, for 2014, I am supporting Modi.

X1: Oh! Is that so. Let me guess, you are a Namo Bhakt, and you think he is gonna be the next PM, right?

Me: Dunno about whether he is gonna be the next PM. His actually becoming PM has got nothing to do with me supporting him. But hey, what's a 'Namo Bhakt'.

X1: Oh, you know what I am talking about. A Namo Bhakt is someone who believes Modi is God and he is always right.

Me: I see. I don't think I am a Namo Bhakt. But, yes, I am a big fan of him and, as I said before, am a Modi supporter.

X1: Really. Why do u support him?

Me: cos of many things, eg:...

X1 (cutting me short): 2002 riots?

Me: Sorry?

X1: Yes, 2002 riots. You heard me. So, lemme guess. You think he was not responsible for the riots, right?

Me: I don't know. I cannot know. And frankly speaking that question is orthogonal to me supporting Modi in 2014.

X1 (totally offended): Are you kidding me? 2002 is the only parameter by which I am gonna vote in 2014. He did it. We all know it. Even the courts acknowledged it. Shame on you for supporting him.

Me (aghast by the vitriolic response, the personal attack, as well as by the factual inaccuracies of the reply): Hey, that is not what I meant. I meant...

X1 (again cutting me short): Well, let me ask you something. Are you a proud Hindu?

Me (totally perplexed): What??

X1: Are you proud of being a Hindu?

Me: Never thought about it this way. Hinduism is my religion. And I am neither ashamed nor apologetic about it. So, yes, I am a proud Hindu.

X1: There you go. You are communal.

Me (taken aback): What are you saying? HOW CAN YOU SAY THIS? How does me being an unapologetic Hindu implies that I am communal?

X1: Yes, you are a communal person. What’s more, you are an RSS, Bajrang-Dal, VHP, Shiv-Sena types. You are a Hindu nationalist as well as a Hindu extremist. And what’s more you are.... [all the -ve adjective you can think of]...

Me: I don’t know what you are talking about. I have never interacted with any of ...

[and before I could point out how inherently biased the person was, well, the person left the meeting place]

Me: What was that?

X2 (X2, who has been silently listening to my conversation with X1, decides to step-in.): No, but seriously tell me, why do you support Modi?

Me: Frankly speaking, I was against Modi till about 2006. I went in blindly with what was given in the print/mainstream media. But, with the advent of YouTube, I began watching his interviews/speeches online. I found out he is a person with clarity of thought, a leader with a vision, and perhaps the only politician who talks about solutions & implementations to the problems -- rather than just the problems. And the fact that he also walks his talk helps. There are many many other reasons, and if you want, we can talk about them.

X2: Oh common, you seriously can’t believe in all the hype about the Gujarat development work.

Me: No, I am not going with that hype. My experience is based on talking to many Gujaratis as well as by visiting rural and tribal areas of Gujarat.

X2 (didn’t have any reply to my response, so decides to expand the topic): Yeah, whatever. Let me tell you why I do not support him. [And goes on to give a n-point list enumerating his reasons for not supporting Modi].

Me: [Giving a point-by-point opinion on all his n-points].

X2: It is clear that you will not change your mind. Let’s end this discussion.

Me (seriously confused by this time… wanted to say so many things, but end up saying): Ok. As you wish.

X9 (yeah X9… you see, by this time, there was a crowd already gathered): I can't believe you are such a person.

Me: What can't you believe?? What kind of a person am I?

X9: You know what I am talking about. You people don't let our missionaries do the charitable and good work they are doing in your country?

Me: Excuse me. I don't think we have met. I am XYZ. And you are? [Believe it or not, I had never met this person, but here he was, hurling wild accusations at me].

X9: I am ABC. And please answer my question.

Me: Of course. Can you tell me what did you mean by 'our missionaries'.

X9: I meant Christian missionaries.

Me: Oh, I see. But, I have never said anything against Christian missionaries?

X9: Then why do you people stop them from doing good work? I feel proud to say that our missionaries are doing a great service to the 3^rd world country people.

Me (thought about asking him if he was a proud Christian, but refrained from doing so): From what I know, there was some resistance on the illegal conversions that was happening in the rural parts of India.

X9: First of all, a conversion is never legal/illegal.

Me: Fair point. But then, I am aware of stories in which your missionaries fool the tribal people into conversion.

X9: Oh yeah! You people have fooled your own people based on the caste system for centuries. And when our people try to help you guys, you don’t let us do the work.

Me: Well, lets not get there. Because I can say similar things about your country as well.

X9: You cannot. My country is the best. God bless my country. (Walks off as well).

By this time, I am seriously left wondering if supporting Modi and/or proudly claiming that you are a Hindu is a crime. And what's more, I am forced to ask myself what really is the definition of secularism (and by extension communalism). Shouldn't it be as simple as:

Pursuit of (which) Happiness: A conversation between Hans and Nath

Nath: Yesterday, I had a great time.

Hans: Hmm… what did you do yesterday?

Nath: Well, I went out with friends for outdoor sport, followed by dinner, movie and a night-out :) I was really happy yesterday. Wish I could be happy always.

Hans: Oh, that’s great. So, hanging out with family/friends make you happy. That’s good. When else have you really felt happy?

[Nath thought long and hard…]

Nath: Well, there was one more occasion. Now that I think about it, it’s kind of weird. There was this time when I helped someone without any expectation, without any ulterior motive whatsoever, or, there was this another occasion when I laughed with someone over something totally silly. In both these occasions, I was happy, but, it was a different kind of happiness. I felt that I was like… I was like…

Hans: Like a child!

[And Nath almost said the same word… in unison with Hans]

Hans [with a sly smile]: Yup, like a child. Its happiness, but something more than that. For our purpose, let’s call it ‘joy’. A child’s happiness is always on ‘self-start’. But, somehow when he grows up, his happiness goes for a ‘kick-start’. He forgets to laugh on silly things… to shower his love on unknown people without any expectations.

[Nath nodding throughout…]

But, tell me Nath, have you ever felt ‘happy’ on some other occasions as well.

Nath: Well… there was this occasion when I saw Mt. Everest for the first time, or, the ocean for the first time, or, even a Taj Mahal for the first time, or, that occasion when I saw Jupiter & its moon via a telescope. Basically a natural or a man-made wonder, I guess.

Hans: Hmm… You are right. And, if I am not wrong, on those occasions, you felt humbled, were awestruck, and essentially turned silent… saying very little.

[Nath nodding throughout…]

You know what Nath. Some people call this ‘bliss’. Did you notice a pattern here Nath?

[Nath is clueless]

‘Happiness’ was dependent on external things, ‘Joy’ on internal things… ‘Bliss’ was experienced via external stimuli… now, can you find a counterpart of ‘bliss’ which is experienced internally?

Nath (after thinking for a few minutes): Actually, yes. Now that you ask it, there have been these 2 occasions. First, when I meditate. It’s something similar to ‘bliss’, yet much more than it. The second occasion is kinda weird. It has happened few times. Like the time when I achieved something which I thought I could never do… or… when I came to know a facet about myself which was hitherto unbeknownst to me. It’s almost like a secret about myself was revealed to me.

Hans (after a long pause... and.. with a mysterious smile): Nath, that which you are struggling to describe… that something…. is called ‘peace’. On those occasions, you are not only humbled, and turn completely silent… but there is something about it which, try as you might, you cannot put in words.

Nath, my child, everybody wants to be happy. But, what one should also consider is that ‘happiness’, ‘joy’, ‘bliss’, and, ‘peace’, as we defined today, are not the same. And one should consider which happiness to pursue.

[Nath was amazed by the simplicity with which Hans has, yet again, managed to convey to him the message. He was determined to pursue this apparent ‘ladder’ of happiness]

[Hans was sitting with his eyes closed and an all-too-knowing smile on his face. He knew that Nath has understood everything … has mastered his lesson for the day… and yet, he was fully aware that today, on this day, Nath has completely missed the point]

Philly Trip

This poem is my recollection of the Philly Trip on 01/15/2012.

Yesterday we went to Philly, leaving our ISH nest
As expected, Rocky Steps were the best

The cold was at its peak
And in lunch we had the best steak

The first bus started late, but it wasn't bad lucks
Cos our savior was everywhere in the form of Starbucks

SuSu and the Italians disappeared, without giving us any chances
And Fabian's leg was hurt under mysterious circumstances

Navigating in a new city with our i-phone, maps and unsure moves
We were guided ably by the combination of yellow and golden shoes

Looking at the pics, the memories will never be at a loss
Cos we had great photographers, including our very own Carlos

An Interplay of Opposing Forces

“Why does a war occur? When will people understand that the solution to mankind’s problem is not war, but peace”. So goes Preity Zinta, the leading lady in one of my all-time favorite movie Lakshya (English: Aim/Target). I’m sure this isn’t the first time this noble idea has been thought of. Indeed it is safe to assume that right from the starting of mankind, most (if not all) people would have always wanted peace. But, have they succeeded? A quick look at the history of war would tell us an entirely different story. A war has been fought in some part of the world every 5 years or so. Clearly wars are not as infrequent as economic recessions.

But wait, are economic recessions a rare occurrence? A cursory look at the history of economic recessions says otherwise.  Echoing Preity Zinta, “Why do recessions occur? When will the policymakers understand that people want to be happy & prosperous, not sad & gloomy”. Now, I’m neither an economist (not quite yet), nor is this post about the causes of recessions. But one thing I can say for sure, if given a choice, everyone would want his life to be filled with happy events.

Happiness. Everyone wants it. Everyone pursues it (afterall, the Pursuit of Happiness is described as an inalienable right in the American Declaration of Independence). But does one ever achieve it on a permanent basis? Ask your parents and they might tell you that sad/challenging events were as much a frequent part of their life as happy events.

Yup, life’s just like a sinusoidal wave - an interplay of opposing forces. Happiness & sadness are part and parcel of life just as war & peace, and, boom & recession. This uncannily reminds me of the story of Samundra Manthan, wherein the gods and the demons formed an alliance to churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality. 

Samundra Manthan as depicted at the Bangkok Airport

The symbolism behind this story provides an interesting insight. The gods/demons represents the pleasure/pain principles of life respectively. Their mutual participation signifies that to (spiritually) evolve, one has to reconcile, harmonize and integrate both the positive and the negative aspects of one’s nature and engage them towards a common goal.

What is Sacrifice?

What is Sacrifice?
Once I asked someone wise

Is it the student, who goes for graduate study
Leaving his family and salary, while his future is still muddy

Is it the sportsman, who puts himself in a cage
Before he reaches the big stage

Is it the soldier, who is ready to die for his country
In turn making the supreme sacrifice, adorning the cemetery

Is it an emotion, which can be defined
Or an act, which can't be theorized

Elton John sang its not a simple word, understand you must
Otherwise how can you understand your parents, who always put you first?

REINVENTING THYSELF

Back I sometimes look
Trying to open a closed book

Situations warrant a new me
Mirror shows an old me

Time or lethargy or call it what
You have got to find the lost art

Reinventing yourself is not easy, they say
There is light at the end of the tunnel, I pray

The light is not an incoming train
The truth is simple, clear, and plain

The grapes are still not sour
Looking inward is the need of the hour...

Jobs, Ritchie & Singh : A Tribute

The past fortnight witnessed the demise of 3 extraordinary gentlemen:

(1) Steve Jobs, who showed us that the marriage of 'artistic-design' and 'consumer-IT-product-design' is indeed possible,
(2) Dennis Ritchie, a Turing Award winner and more popularly recognized by the 'R' in the K&R book, and,
(3) Jagjit Singh, who with his golden voice redefined and revitalized Ghazal in the Indian music industry.

Not surprisingly, people have reacted to their death with sorrow and grief. Facebook is replete with R.I.P. messages. This outpouring of emotions reminded me of the famous doha by Kabir,

कबीरा जब पैदा हुए तो, जग हंसा हम रोये,
ऐसी करनी कर चलो, हम हँसे जग रोये

which roughly translates to

When we were born, the world smiled and you cried,
You should live your life in such a way that when you die, you smile and people cry.