UPA II: The Common Man’s Nightmare

Kashmir, Telangana, Maoist attacks and now the CWG mess. These are just a few of the many problems that have arisen due to the ineptitude of the ruling government. Known, that problems exist in every country and during the reign of every government however it is the way in which all such issues being handled makes the common man angry, frustrated as well as insecure.

Not so long ago,truckloads full of wheat that was meant to be given to the poor farmers had to be thrown away.Why?.................... Because the supply could not reach them on time and were so rotten that it was deemed unfit for consumption even for the animals!!! This is what the farmers deserve after slogging day in and day out. In an another shocking revelation, a UN poverty index calculated that the country’s number of impoverished people was higher than the figure for the 26 poorest African nations combined. Nearly half of India’s young children are malnourished, and more than a third of the world’s malnourished under-fives live here. Despite soaring economic growth which we boast of, India has failed to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition.

Inflation is increasing day by day and the govt. instead of trying to bring it down takes a stubborn stand by saying that price hike is justified in today’s standard of living. True,the standard of living has improved in our cities but not much in the villages where still people have to think as to where their next meal is coming from. Its not unknown that the current inflation rate is double the "ideal" rate of inflation,, which dampens the excitement of the double digit growth rate.

Now if we talk about security, the less said, the better. Not only are we surrounded by enemies from all sides,what is worse is the internal security of the country. The Maoists are running their modus operandi as they continue to dismantle our troops by taking advantage of the plight of the villagers. one of the most worrying issues in India today is the growing Maoist insurgency that has carved out a so-called Red Corridor across poverty-stricken central and eastern India. The stated objective of the Maoists is to overthrow a government that they claim – with some justification, as even some of their most virulent critics will concede – has failed to deliver equitable development. They have gained such momentum in recent years that the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, has described their rebellion as India’s greatest internal security threat. And what is the govt. doing to rectify the situation? Sorry nothing much. The Prime minister seems to be obsessed with the U.S. and in the process is turning a blind eye towards his own people.

People are starving, water supplies are scarce, power cuts are now a part of daily routine be it a mega city or a tier 1 or tier 2 city! As of August 2010, more than 90,000 villages (around 15 per cent of the total) remain un-electrified; there are just two years to go for universal rural electrification according to the target set by the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojna launched in 2005. But who cares, not the government! Capacity has lagged demand form God knows when, during the last three plans, barely half of the targeted capacity was installed and with two years to go for the current plan to end, the government has already scaled down its power generation target to 62,000 megawatts (Mw) from 78,700 Mw.

The PM wants to be a good boy in the US books so he is only interested in offering aid to Pakistan. The money that was given in the form of aid could have easily been utilized to provide food and other basic amenities to so many deserving home people. The govt. has taken a very stubborn stance on all matters and not much is being done for the welfare of our own country.

The recently concluded CWG games gave a very good indication of what our country can achieve. Despite all the corruption in the lead up, India managed to provide one of the best organized events in the games history. It all remains to be seen as to what will be done to the culprits i.e. messrs Kalmadi and Bhanot. Who knows when are we coming out from labyrinth of the mudslingers and corruptions. As for the Kashmir mess, not all are to be blamed but the govt. The govt adopted such a casual approach in the beginning and the result is that our own kashmiri brothers are shouting anti-India slogans. And one cannot blame them. The separatists have played a very shrewd and calculated game and have managed to stir up people’s emotions in such a way that they have become out of control now. All of this suggests one and only one thing,That the govt. has failed to live up to people’s expectations and serious re-thinking has to be done or else people like you and me will keep on suffering.

The Gujarat CM Shri Narendra Modi made a very apt statement after winning the civic polls when he said that the congress should stop throwing mud at others and concentrate on it’s primary job i.e. the welfare of the nation.That is what Mr. Modi has been doing in Gujarat for the last 10 years and the results are there for all to see.Today Gujarat is a hub of all development activities. The country needs a strong willed, intellect and fore sighted PM like Mr. Modi not a puppet like……………you know who. By saying this, I, do not support any party in particular, what I do, like many patriots support the progress of my Motherland, INDIA.. and hope that someday the que sera sera attitute of the people changes and helps to progress the country in all spheres.



*special thanks to rahul mukherjee, my friend for helping in writing this post.

Happy Friendship's Day

Dear Friends,

Wish you all a Happy Friendship Day :)

On this day when the world dedicates to this most important relationship in every human kinds, a question arises in me "What is Friendship??"

The very first step that anyone would take for an answer is google it, and when i wiki search it, i see a definition of friendship as:

Value that is found in friendships is often the result of a friend demonstrating the following on a consistent basis:
-The tendency to desire what is best for the other
-Sympathy and empathy
-Honesty, perhaps in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth, especially in terms of pointing out the perceived faults of one's counterpart
-Mutual understanding and compassion
-Trust in one another; able to go to each other for emotional support

But when i stress upon my own grey cells, i think friendship is something that instantly bonds you and then over the course of time you develop the qualities mentioned in wiki.

I have always been lucky, for being around good friends throughout my life, so far i have many friends whom i met in school, junior college, degree college, post grad school, and near my surroundings.

All this while, i was thinking how to make this post a informative one. but now i think, i am no saint, nor am i an intellectual who can explain the term friendship to you guys, as i am sure all you guys know much more than me.

However, i feel there are certain instances which have their mark in my life's chapter of friends. For ex. recently, i was very much surprised to know that one of my junior college friend, who was totally out of touch after SYJC, out of the no where, she managed to call at my home, asking for me, it was well after 8 years, still remembered me, which makes me believe friendship never ends :), my classmate and good friend MOHIT G, has a remarkable record of never saying No, to any of his friends, be it anywhere, anything, anytime, he is always there, and he is the first one that comes to anyone's mind when they are in problems, Kuddos to this man. Other such guy with golden heart is MOHIT SETIA, who always tries to help friends with less marks to cope up in their studies, even without those guys turning to him for help, my friend NISHKARSH, who is a symbolic lion's heart have no words to explain him,My oldest and closest FIONA who has been with me in my every thick and thin situations, thank you!! My friend MR, SAMIT SHAH, who thinks for me more than i think for myself, thanks yaar :)DEVANG my friend since senior KG i meet him seldom but we never have to think where to start from, Gaurang Rangani... a guy who can go any extend to help me, JMD!! all my engineering friends Akki, LALA, MURGI, BABLU, JOBIN, VINESH, RAKET, GC LALIT,ANISH, NITIN, BENGALI,UDAY, PAWNYA all have deeply touched my life. even when i am writing this one i have guilt in me, that i am not able to accommodate all my friends as this would turn into a book :)

I wish to mention all my friends without talking much of their feats,Ravish, mamu, guddu, Manan, debu, rajesh, JD, asit, amit thakur, ankitbhai, pawan "anda" adhikari, chabbo, kanna, bandopadhyaya, puru, ved, chopra, ritu, rupali verma, ashita verma, neet kahlon, pooja, namrata, minal,jijesh, kushal, harrie, anish, abhinay, rahul, samrat, anis, mukesh, irshad, rohan, supreet, kartik, riddhi, sonam, preeti, yogita,anil samotra, shiva, vinod, shushant (anil i still remember how you thought a particular word to shiva, and our cricket sessions bunking GMS :P) my friends here, Shreyas, jainil, bhaumik, keerthi, ashwin, fazil, my friends at wipro pune, tushar and abhijeet, sumit datre. i have been privileged to share space with u guys, and i almost remember our moments together and are cherished.

I would like to thank each of my friends for being there always, whenever i needed them and sometimes when i dint too ;) I wish great success to all of you, may you guyz have the best of the best life always.

How much so ever i try, the words will always fall short for me to describe how important all of you have been for me, you all have contributed in making abhay a better person and the way he is today. For all you guys i just wanna remind a line from Beethoven "never shall i forget the days spent with you, continue to be my friend always as you will find me yours"

* i tried to include as many friends i could. for all those whom i could not mention in this post, i am sorry, though all u guys have irreplaceable places in my heart :) God Bless you All

South Asian Festival : Toronto


Hi friends,

Hope all of you guyz are doing fine!! its been a long while i wrote about something, but then the life is all mundane so dint felt like sharing much.. however we had an South Asian Festival on the famous Gerrard Street here in Downtown Toronto.

It was an amazing experience, the one which makes us proud of being Indian. I felt so Proud to see the native Canadians dressed in traditional Indian(Asian) wear, women dressed in silk kurta-pyjamas, and males in sherwanis, I had a part time job on this street and wasnt in the liberty to click these images as my boss was constantly around me :P, never the less i will try my best to get you in my shoes.

First, let me share some facts,
• The guys here like ThumpsUP more as compare to Coke (We get it illegally in most Indian and Pakistani grocery stores or restuarant)
• The gals are carzy for Fanta, they were craving for it as if it was some gold
• Chats are favored here too, i wonder, how Indian/Asian foods are fast accepted by Canadians.
• Naan was refered as special type of bread.
• Butter Chicken was on everyones mouth.
• Banarasi/Calcutti/Lahori Paans were asked by many, which again amazed me.
• Believe me I saw a long Queue for Kashmiri Tea (made with kesar/saffron and dry fruits)
• Pani Puri stalls were most busy for the entire festivals
• and the most shocking for me, was to see Asians showing more attitude/tantrums than the natives

The surrounding, settings and ambience were perfect, brightly coloured tents on street, the entire street full of crowd and both sides taken over by street food vendors. Not for an instance i felt outside India, the bollywood music of 80s and 90s, Bhangra beats, singing competition, young and beautiful children performing folk dances, there were Bharat natyam, Kuchipudi, Garba, Bhangra some canadians also went up to stage and tried learning these steps :)
The best part was that as we all know how concerned these natives are for hygiene and stuffs, but they act like asians on those days, they bought asian chats/foods and they sat on the brinks of road or wherever they found place some were sitting down on road too.
One thing in particular which was very fascinating was to see the native girls applying heena (mahendi) by professionals on the streets, buying colourful dupattas, bindis and bangles. I particularly could feel the amount of zest and eagerness in them to learn about our culture, our staying. The same kind of feeling was when i visited ISKCON temple here, which had the similar aura.

There were some sweets moments too... like a very young 2 year old girls were dressed in traditional wears with Indian Dolls in their hands, old ladies and gentlemen coming inquisitive to know about our cultures and various cuisines. Afghanis, Europeans, Middle East Asians and North Americans all people from different walks of life were present and enjoying this festival, which makes this festival even more realistic to our festivals as we have been like this.

All in all it was a very rich experience with a feeling of pride of being Indian. I guess its because of such diversity and unique tastes that we have a distinct mark in this World.

Memories

Its been 3 whole months in Canada now, and i have had a royal time since my landing in this so called advanced country. I am having a royal time as i dont have a job, studies are not as tuff as it used to be back home and have a lot of time to leisure.

Suddenly an irrelevant talk or thought sparks memories that influence an enormous amount of nostalgia. Thinking about the days of childhood, days in junior college and life in hostel. I miss the scoldings and beatings of dear mom, teachers. I miss the catch-catch sessions(with anything that comes in our hand) during school breaks, cycle racing back home, the festivals and most importantly the summer holidays. Ahh life was so LIVELY. And it does not take long to reminisce all that had transpired during the times and days of yore. They were little things, things that would never have any relevance in todays world. In fact they would be ridiculed and laughed at. But when you live those years again in today’s times they bring back such vivid and exciting memories.

Here are the few words which one of my friend recently posted on facebook, which touched my soft spot about the childhood days and my thoughts and actuated me to write this blog.

I Want To Go Back To The Time When INNOCENCE Was NATURAL, Not FAKE.
When GETTING HIGH Meant On A SWING, Not PROMOTIONS.
When DRINKING Meant RASNA ORANGE, Not BEERS Or WHISKEYS.
When DAD Was The Only HERO, Not DEPP Or TOM.
When LOVE Was MOM’S HUG, Not The GIRL-FRIENDS’.
When DAD’S SHOULDER Was The HIGHEST PLACE On The Earth, Not Your DESIGNATION.
When Your WORST ENEMIES Were Your SIBLINGS, Not Your MANAGER.
When The Only Thing That Could HURT Were BLEEDING KNEES, Not The TEARS Falling Down Your Cheeks.
When The Only Things BROKEN Were TOYS, Not The DYING HEARTS.
And When GOOD-BYES Meant TILL TOMORROW, Not For YEARS & YEARS...

We had little then, but we felt large. Today we feel large, but we get little. Little in quality, little in response, little in the way we conduct ourselves, little in thought and word … just little .. in everything we do and believe in. The large heart, the large feel and the largeness of being small has all left behind for the past. Today our perspectives have changed. Time and tide have brought in the changes we so fiercely protected when young.

Now i wonder, how things were taken granted, how parents were taken granted.

Only if we could travel back in time to ;
Wash that first bicycle once again,
Eat those mangoes and all the fruits till our hearts are not filled,
Sit around our grandparents to listen their stories,
Play more with our friends,
visit the native place with much excitement,

rolling our beds in open roofs and just counting stars in the summer night,
the aroma of fresh earth just after few drops of rain,

aaww and the list would never end...............................

As time and tide waits for none, and the morning alarm brings me back to where I am . And obeying the fact that change is name of the game, I am gearing up for the daily struggle, hardships, and staying in in the survival of the fittest world.... while not forgetting that each moment spend will be memory for tomorrow and hence living life to the fullest, and enriching my future nostalgia of memories... ha ha ha ha

Keep HOPE

hii folks,

This goes for my roommates and few friend going thru their trying times; i can understand that these world has not been rosy to u guyz however it was never always rosy for others as well, if i could cange the world for u guyz, i would have been more than happy to do so...... but somethings are better managed by TIME, all we can do is help ourselves in the best possible ways and keep HOPE... i sincerely request all u friends out there going thru bad times to keep HOPE as there is no other thing as good as HOPE, once you choose HOPE, anything's possible.

I am sure you guys have that thing in you and will succeed at some point of your life,,, just stick on and try the best u can... as at the end of the tunnel there has to be a light, and if there isnt we will bend the tunnel ;)

Its struggle that everyone has to pass through, so this a short example of butterfly which needs to go through so much of struggles before showing their beauty to this world....

Before a butterfly can emerge out of it’s chrysalis it has to go through a lot of struggling. Yes, struggling. Each time it lunges out to escape, acids are being removed from its wings. If someone were to come along and break the chrysalis open for it then the butterfly would die from those acids. In essence the struggle is necessary for the butterfly to survive. Then in the stillness, when the struggle is over, the butterfly can come out and share its beauty with the world.

We as humans are not any different. There are times that we need to struggle, to rid ourselves of the acids that make up sadness, fear, and anger. It is only at this time when we are exhausted and still that we begin to hear the Universe whisper to us.

So friends take heart and have courage to face the struggles they are temporary but hope is permanent, as i mentioned earlier hope will put everything in place......