Shame on the 'Intellectual'.

Every society prides itself on the number and the genius of its intellectuals. My country today, I am sorry to admit, is handicapped in this. With the recent upsurge in Naxalite Violence in some parts the country; I came across this short documentary film "India's Maoist Revolution" on Youtube.

The film starts by describing two Indias:

India A: the urban youth, a generation of Indians which is a product of the New India, the one that grew up in the '90s, with liberal values and a modern approach towards the world, a society that now hails consumerism and its brainpower, industrial and free market potential. The kids on the 'economic miracle' wavelength. I shouldn't have to describe this too much, just imagine as a reader you yourself are a part of it.

India B: Where poverty, illiteracy, exploitation of the tiller, the laborer and the women is the order of the day. An India that comes true in all the gory words we used in those long melancholy essays that we rote learned and prepared for our exams.

Does it not exist? I don't say so. For otherwise, there is no reason for Maoists to have atleast some influence in >25% of Indian districts.

Then why am I ashamed of the Indian 'intellectual' who makes a point of it?

I don't know Arundhati Roy, I have heard she won the Booker Prize for a book I have never bothered to read as yet (and wouldn't do so now for sure). The film (and the Indian Media) epitomizes Roy as a champion of the cause of the underprivileged in India, the messiah of the downtrodden who struggles tirelessly for the cause of India B. The film's other stars are Mr. Ajai Sahni from Institute of Conflict Management (think tank -- you who these people are?) and a Human Rights Activist Himanshu Danty.

From the start, you can get the feel the film is for a firang audience. At a point it even taunts that all that the Indian state touts itself for being the world's largest democracy is just in name. Ajai even claims that there is 'not a single' part of India where there is absolute authority of the state in full force. Amazing 'Intellectual'!

The Context:

The film talks bare minimum of the Naxal (Maoist) Revolution, Why is it as it is? Where it happens? And what are these people capable of? Now remind yourself of those 'distressed people who don’t see the state as a welfare state', those who declare war on the State of India, who go about abducting, extorting and intimidating entire populations and their administrations. Those who beheaded Police Officer Francis Induwar, those who hijacked a Rajdhani Express, those whose leaders claim to bring about a Maoist Revolution in India. Put to rest all class and cast distinctions, restart nation building 'as it should be'.

Maoists, Yes! I mean who are we? are we fools? I haven't studied atomic physics and I don't know how to build a thermonuclear weapon. However, I still know that nuclear arms and their effect do no good to mankind. Likewise, I haven't read Mao and I'm sure neither have most of you have, all I know that when Mao's reign ended, China was not today's China. It was in its worst political and socio-economic condition; a China where a Tiananmen Square took place! A police state with a broken economy and a broken spirit. A China which had to open up "Special Economic Zones" with full free-market freedom (entirely opposed to the Communist System) too survive. So much to prove that Maoism is a FAILED ideology, across the globe.

So whatever the Maoists wish to achieve is something that the Indian state, the law of the land shall never agree too or let happen. The soft-sate i.e. our country has to rise (and we already are seeing signs of it) to kill the Maoist virus. Stronger policing and 'power to the people' are tools indeed for the same.

However, the film totally covers these 3 'intellectuals' (and many more like them). These self-appointed know-all pundits of Modern India, who 'see' and 'feel' the pain of these people by dawning Khadi. The single focal point of the entire diatribe was criticism of the 'Salwa Judum' which is an Anti-Naxal tribal people's movement spawning in camps and displaced villages. The Salwa Judum is funded and armed by the state and its ranks fill up as Special Police Officers (SPOs), who know the topography and are directly affected by the Maoist threat.

Ms. Roy's very stately and morally correct claim goes in disregarding the importance of state help to Salwa Judum. These vigilante organizations which are drawn from the people to protect the people are in Ms. Roy's description a complete violation of India's constitutional duty of protecting its citizens and that arming civilians (for their own protection) is against all moral authority of the State.

The film describes the Salwa Judum as a militia; it shows incidents of violence in camps on the people by Salwa Judum and the police. It does not for once show the effectiveness of Salwa Judum in curbing or atleast retaliating to the Naxalites in times and place where the state could not. Mr. Danty addressing a meeting of these camp dwellers allegedly shot dead by the Salwa Judum says 'You can either die saying the truth or a coward... either way here you have to die', well this is a Social Worker and had I been in the camp I was definitely heading out for some fresh air.

Ms. Roy and her accomplices are all shown supporting the argument that the state is at fault. Well, as long as there is freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to Roy et. al. we will have to listen to this crap as well. Ms. Roy at a point even claims that it is some mutation of a ’Genocide’ on the tribal people by the Indian government.

Does Ms. Roy take into account the enormity of the task that the Police in traditionally poor pockets in Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and parts of West Bengal have to face? The logistical nightmare of having to patrol, safeguard and police thousands of square kilometers of dense jungle and rough terrain? In a sense you see her justifying the cause of the enemy, the Maoist.

Yes, we need police reform but that doesn't come overnight or if it does it would come like Indira Gandhi's Emergency. We don't want that! So what is the problem in arming a civilian force to protect their homes and their properties where the state cannot guarantee the same? There are Village Defense Committees all across terror-ridden J&K, the North-Eastern states. Ask Ms. Roy to go protest that as well.

Fundamentally, what is wrong in the state letting me defend myself when the state cannot (for whatever reasons) guarantee my protection at present?

Ms. Roy is not the only one. She just represents a clan these 'intellectuals', we saw them and said nothing during the Singur crisis in W. Bengal and in the recent Maoist upsurge in Lalgarh.

And that brings extreme shame upon us for having such people as beacons of pride in the civil society.

The Bottom Line:

Criticism of policies when intended to bring police reform, to develop social infrastructure and economic opportunities is agreeable and necessary, but criticism done on false-reporting, biased-opinionated coverage, only to show that 'I am a social activist par-excellence par-state' is the sickest, meanest trick in the book.

If you stoop this low in making a point for a foreign audience, you are no better than India's last reminiscence still smitten by the 'British Raj' looking for a 'Shabaashi' from a 'Gore Saab'.

Down with such 'intellectuals'!

P.s.: If half the stuff I wrote about above was fresh and never heard-off before by you, I'm sorry. India A and India B do exist and the gap is increasing!

You need to sign in with your Google Account to read this its a 22min film and here is the link to the documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O2WwESwJhw&aia=true

Beauty of Truth

Songs you fall in love with!

A poem by Sufi saint, Khwaja Ghulam Farid written in the late 19th century, this was performed for the Coke Studio sessions by the talented Pakistani artist Areib Azhar....

The translation produced by Azhar himself is something so stirring, that I almost started abstracting the abstract!

After all, what is it the we call truth? God is the truth, whatever I do, I'll fall short of describing the truth!

Here goes the translation.....

Husn e Haqiqi – Beauty of Truth

O’ Beauty of Truth, the Eternal Light!

Do I call you necessity and possibility,

Do I call you the ancient divinity,

The One, creation and the world,

Do I call you free and pure Being,

Or the apparent lord of all,

Do I call you the souls, the egos and the intellects,

The imbued manifest, and the imbued hidden,

The actual reality, the substance,

The word, the attribute and dignity,

Do I call you the variety, and the circumstance,

The demeanor, and the measure,

Do I call you the throne and the firmament,

And the demurring delights of Paradise,

Do I call you mineral and vegetable,

Animal and human,

Do I call you the mosque, the temple, the monastery,

The scriptures, the Quran,

The rosary, the girdle,

Godlessness, and faith,

Do I call you the clouds, the flash, the thunder,

Lightning and the downpour,

Water and earth,

The gust and the inferno,

Do I call you Lakshmi, and Ram and lovely Sita,

Baldev, Shiv, Nand, and Krishna,

Brahma, Vishnu and Ganesh,

Mahadev and Bhagvaan,

Do I call you the Gita, the Granth, and the Ved,

Knowledge and the unknowable,

Do I call you Abraham, Eve and Seth,

Noah and the deluge,

Abraham the friend, and Moses son of Amran,

And Ahmad the glorious, darling of every heart,

Do I call you the witness, the Lord, or Hejaz,

The awakener, existence, or the point,

Do I call you admiration or prognosis,

Nymph, fairy, and the young lad,

The tip and the nip,

And the redness of betel leaves,

The Tabla and Tanpura,

The drum, the notes and the improvisation,

Do I call you beauty and the fragrant flower,

Coyness and that amorous glance,

Do I call you Love and knowledge,

Superstition, belief, and conjecture,

The beauty of power, and conception,

Aptitude and ecstasy,

Do I call you intoxication and the drunk,

Amazement and the amazed,

Submission and the connection,

Compliance and Gnosticism,

Do I call you the Hyacinth, the Lilly, and the Cypress,

And the rebellious Narcissus,

The bereaved Tulip, the Rose garden, and the orchard,

Do I call you the dagger, the lance, and the rifle,

The hail, the bullet, the spear,

The arrows made of white poplar, and the bow,

The arrow-notch, and the arrowhead,

Do I call you colorless, and unparalleled,

Formless in every instant,

Glory and holiness,

Most glorious and most compassionate,

Repent now Farid forever!

For whatever I may say is less,

Do I call you the pure and the humane,

The Truth without trace or name.

Genocide Denied. Genocide Begotten.

I think I have developed a knack for testing myself with all the grossness of historical documentaries. Each time I think I have escaped the clogging of my own head with the images and screams and ugliness, something more unimaginable comes up. I landed upon

SCREAMERS (Click here to follow on YouTube) , feat. System of A Down, the idea of the film was to cover something few documentaries put so wholly into picture..... 'GENOCIDE' or the killing of genos (races) is truly a 20th century phenomenon.

Starting with the 1915 Genocide of the Armenians in Turkey, The Holocaust, Pol-pot's Cambodia, Kosovo, Serbia, Rwanda and Darfur! Each time the world forgets people in their miseries, each time this comes up again.

The graphics were all real archive footage of these times and these places. More horrifying were stark inconsistencies in the way the world has responded or not responded. The figures speak for themselves, 1500000 Armenians. 6000000 Jews. 200000 Bosnians. 600000 Rwandans. 400000+ in Darfur. Each time political and ideological pressure originates from a majority under threat, the minorities suffer.

Sometimes you often wonder if these acts are even possible for a human to commit, sometimes you feel ashamed of the species! Like when you hear descriptions of survivors from such carnages!

Armenia is a country we would know or bother little about as some far off God forsaken land. The fact that Turkey denied the occurence of a genocide there is further unknown to most of us. But the entire documentary, filmed alongside 'System of A Down' band with members of

Armenian descent presents a grim picture at how the west and particularly the U.S. and U.K. have failed to recognize the cause of the Armenian people for the more important tactical location of Turkey.... Russia's underbelly!

I never really liked the said band's music that much and sticking to a cause and promoting it through concerts is nothing new for bands. But having seen and read about some of these genocides before seeing this film, theres hardly anything to disagree with in the film.

For a major part in me, life goes on as usual. You work, you carry on and nothing changes. But having knowledge of such stuff, I guess would make me more conscious about what are the threats to us in our society, because each time we forget the tragedy of millions.... they come back to haunt us again in another 'Genocide'.

Move on, Stay back!

There are places and situations when you move out and say goodbye to people, the people stay back and carry on their usual lives and you have something good happening around and some place exciting to goto. Then there are times when you're the one staying back and people say good bye to you!

I have lived away from home for the past 4 years now, I have shuttled frequently. When you reach home, your own town, your best friends, your favorite hangouts.... the world glitters!

Every time I came back home, I remember having a warm and enthusiastic family, my best friends, my love and everyone that really mattered most over here! I would visit them, have a lot of fun, do everything from treks on fortresses to getting high on chocolates, I would leave, they'd say good bye, a big hug and the I'd return and the same again!

This time as well, I came back. I had everyone, I had a lot of fun. They say you enjoy life more when you've all kinds of time! I had this one amazing and perhaps the last such period!

I lived it. And we rocked. Only this time, God thought it would be fun to give me the doze!

All my friends have joined colleges, post grad studies in all parts of the country in all sorts of courses and I waved them off, each one of them! They all wished me luck, hugged me and be gone and here I am, sitting alone.

I guess I am lucky, God has blessed me with such a short time for 'doing nothing'. I've invested it all in all the stuff I like. I've worked and chilled out and unwinded and hogged. I've made some startling discoveries, I finally realized why we call what we call the 'idiot box'. I've seen every shower in Jaipur. I've done all sorts of social networking and am hooked to an AOE engine type game!

I still feel the joblessness, the few weeks I'm spending like this make me realize how difficult is it to say good bye and stay and how easy is it to move on!

God has been kind, I've found people who did it everytime smiling yet letting me know how they'd be bored once I'm gone and what all we'd do on my next return.

Its a few more days to Florida. The exodus is about to begin! I'm excited. But I have it for me figured out, it can really be lonely to stay back!

Breaking Crap!

Funny as it has always been, I am once again entrapped in the strict regime of 24hr news channels blurting out nonsensical and almost whimsical accounts of everything like:

"How the Taliban in the Swat plan to regroup": something that even dear Obama doesn’t have a clue of, a question boggling intelligence agencies of atleast 10 countries!

and my current favourite...

"How the plane carrying socialite Mufatlal 'safely landed' with 72 lac worth of 'illegal' jewelry" as if any aircraft carrying anything illegal was bound to crash land!!

The video broadcast's loop-button inventors must be tumbling in their graves as they witness the horrific tragedy that has unfolded as 24hr news television in India.....

Where else do you get dedicated sections as the "Breaking News" appear everyday 20:00hrs? As if the news would wait till it’s 8 and then bang on to the world!

Now that’s some redefinition!

 The same news every half hour and on the hour was Star News (then run by NDTV) staple feed, then came the News boom and now on my Tata Sky I have at least 20 news channels churning out the same bits, feeds, crazy animation and inundating sets. You can skip anything on television these days but not the news and it sure may help a few in the iPod generation but for genuine lovers of news bulletins, it’s a sad pain. I was wondering if the Indian law doesn’t prohibit unchecked broadcast of bullshit through the wires and now digital media!

 Take This: "Kal-kripal" or "Teen-deviyan" or so many like those feature babas and sadhus and dhongis (fakesters) openly preaching stuff like IFF you are a Virgo and IFF you have a bad headache THEN you should rub some brick-powder on your head and go give a roti to a cow! 

And Holy Cow! All that your society strived to achieve for over a century, freedom from the clutches of superstitions and modern scientific thought etc. is gone, the same middle ages crap is being fed into the system again from the bottle-neck i.e. the media!

 A "necessary-evil" is the best possible position one can allot to the news scenario in India. No doubt such wonderful work has been made possible by the Indian media that it has its position as the fourth-pillar of our state well-deserved. But the evil takes its toll and by any random guess 7 out 0f 10 channels have underrated performance when it comes to even the most basic news coverage. English reporters not fluent with the language, Hindi reporters speaking as if reporting was worth the business of discussing the locality’s gossip at a tea-stall and God knows what it would be for the regional media.

 Solve it? Here lies the problem, TV and especially news television has become a media so powerful that it can make or break public image in a matter of hours. The dragon unleashed, even the government of the day wouldn't dare tame it as it risks being tainted for the rest of its term!

Print media may still serve a fair semblance in this context but when it comes to television, the average viewer sees news channels as a clan, that competes within to nadir-low levels in claiming that their experts had predicted that a certain team would loose a match before analysts on the other channel did. Yet, whenever a finger is raised upon anyone, clan-o-nomics comes into play and the fraternity would most vociferously protect its members and their idiocy. Even seasoned journalists like Barkha Dutt and Pranoy Roy haven’t been able to resist this temptation and if you look close enough, the clan is essentially same blood.

We would listen day long expert sessions on all aspects of life, sport, human, divine and politics but please inform me if there's a session on any channel which forces the media to introspect or brings to light its failures!

Nothing is perfect, and same goes with the media. The only way out is for strong and opinionated voices (still about 40%) in Indian TV Journalism to step forward and create common minimum standards of what is and what is not going down the wire!

Till then, remember that in one interview with a rape victim in Orissa the reporter asks the woman, “ab apko kaisa lag raha hai?” (“How are you feeling now?”). A fitting analogy to when you as a viewer are asked to write-in and tell us , "how was our show"!

from the Lectern, reporting for meaningful news television in India!

I met Me

I woke up early this morning. It was barely 5 am. I was cold. Ankit leaves the window open as its usually stuffy and hot because of two people, a refrigerator and a laptop running 24/7 in a small room made for a single person!

I could feel the cold settling on my skin, its familiar yet such a strange feeling. I was not shivering, I was warm on the bed but on my face and arms I knew I was cold. The curtain fluttered in intermittent gushes and I gazed at the ever bright street lights of Paris. Through the cover of the trees came this shimmering flash of light, periodic. Its almost the rapid eye movement sort of a feeling, you know you are awake but at any moment you would be in the dreams again! My eyes were heavy and I was cold!

Object of Curiosity! the periodic flash of light..... Got my head spinning and as it happens with 5yr olds, I couldn't sleep. I pushed myself up on the elbow, waited for the periodic period; strange as it seems, it took longer than the usual for it to appear again or was it just me observing!

A lot of things kept me thinking. I don't even remember all of them. But I clearly remember me telling myself, record yourself. I almost all of a sudden put myself into the third person's perspective. Or should I say that my consciousness was in the third person. I now saw a boy looking out of a window, tracking a changing light. I remembered the documentary on Hiroshima I saw last night, the Coldplay song "Talk" was running through my head. I thought about why was I looking, what was I waiting for. I knew it was all but an insignificant flash of light. I could feel my head grow heavy and I was cold, yet I was looking out of the window.

I asked myself, what drives you now. I was curious about the flash, I was more curious about why I was curious. Its something you most rarely, if ever, experience. A flash of light! that's all it took to get my head spinning. I've heard they say a lot of what goes around in your head is the expression of what you see around yourself. I was thinking about thinking. I was curious about curiosity. I have never concentrated this hard on this ever before.

I was driven into deeper thought. I was thinking about man's essential nature: The explorer. The curious. Had I just struck a cord with a fundamental instinct at 5am on a cold morning? Had I that gush of a feeling that had our ancestors come from being hunter gatherers to flight pioneers to space explorers to blog writers. A 10,000 year old civilizational saga all driven by this simple "What is it?"!

I was excited, again the 5yr old kid. I could feel the hair on my forearms rise. Excitement or cold. Decide for yourself! But it was so true. I was curious about the thought of the flash (it hadn't occur ed again as yet). I was as excited about myself as I was perhaps at the last ball of the T20 India Pak final or at the result site for semester results or at the climax of a thriller.

Then as smoothly as it had started, it came to an end. I was still staring at the window. That's the road next to the Stade Charlety, I realized and that I'm in my room and I'm feeling cold.


Then came the flash. It was from a advertisement scroll, that sort that roll between advertisements. That's all that took to take me into a short but I feel a remarkably beautiful journey!

Now that I think of it, I feel like did it actually happen. But that's one reason I post this so that I remember that once on a cold early morning.. I Met Myself!

Eyes Wide Open

I stand here with an olive twig, I am curious to what the world would be nevertheless, I am sure we are living a turbulent phase in history!

A few weeks ago I was glued to BBC's Story of India. This enthralling documentary series takes you right from the very beginnings of human settlements in the Indian subcontinent, to the great empires and epic sagas of undivided India's glorious history! Watching it is like floating on a timeline and enjoying the essence of the subcontinent in all its fervor. It is like a summary of all major events, empires and rulers in our history, from the Guptas, the Kushans to the Mughal and the British. The timeline brings us to the present and the recent, including the struggle for independence, the unfortunate loss of millions of lives during the partition and the uncomfortable relations ever since.

Through all of it I realized a fact that shines above whatever history has documented... Whenever people in the Indian subcontinent have faced turbulent times, we have shaped the destiny of the world. Throughout history, the subcontinent has enriched, enlightened and molded innumerable aspects of human civilization.

We stand again at history's crossroads. Although 60 years may be just a blip in our history, it is significant as we have branched out in different directions as different nation-states. The jingoistic rhetoric that “we are still the same people yaar!” does not fundamentally apply or appeal to us anymore.

Understanding the India and Pakistan of today from the grandpa’s bioscope view of one people-two nations is frankly, outdated. No matter how glorious the past may have been, the modern reality is of two separate nations, two separate identities and two completely different theories of nationhood.

Through this medium, I wish to have clarification more than dialogue, because dialogue cannot happen without a clear understanding of perspectives. I wish to put across to the readers an average Indian's point of view of Pakistan and the prevailing tense situation between our nations. I wish to put forward realities that are often left butchered or swallowed by the demon called the 'stereotype'.

To start with, lets banish the ghost of this stereotype. And how do you do that? It’s simple, just analyze things objectively, look for reason and don't have blind faith in what you see or read as propaganda!

Having said that, I have opened my eyes to the reality that Pakistan is not a country all ravaged by terrorists, it does not have a 'Talibanized' society and nor does it aspire to be ruled by fundamentalists. As is evident from the recent protests by lawyers and opposition parties, Pakistan's civil society has had a new awakening. It is both vigilant and active, which is seen in the democratic world as symbols of people's power. Pakistan, like any developing nation has the same basic tenets of life and often the people share similar aspirations as us.

Like anywhere in the world, the Pakistani society is also threatened by extremists (militant or non-combatant), only here the case is a little severe as present-day geopolitics and a clash of cultures have ironically made Pakistan both the scape-goat and its butcher.

India sans propaganda

Now, to understand an Indian's perspective you have to kill your stereotype of India. First of all, think Big! India’s size and diversity is greater than that of entire Europe, it is not made up of war mongering and radical religious fanatics, Indian society rejects and challenges any imposition on its basic fundamental rights far more vehemently than many countries in the west. However, all this general knowledge is no match to the biggest ‘India stereotype’, the one about India's communal harmony!

India is secular in its spirit. The word's depth is something I cannot express in the space here, it can only be witnessed and I hope that each one of you can visit India someday and feel it for yourself. It is easy to portray a few fundamentalist outfits rioting in India, but it is difficult for your propaganda to follow that through an independent judiciary, justice is delivered each and every time.

If things against the minorities in India were really that bad, how do you explain a Roman Catholic leader of the ruling coalition with a Sikh Prime Minister, a Muslim vice president and a Hindu president with a multi ethnic, multi religious, multi racial cabinet ruling over perhaps the most diverse nation on earth, democratically?

A very good example of secular India came a few weeks ago, when the Sri Lankan team came under attack in Lahore, India at that time was in a frenzy of rejoicing her Oscars winners, on the podium were A.R. Rehman, Resul Pookutty and Gulzar!

Interesting bit of biography that goes with all three... Rehman was born as Dilip Kumar and converted to Islam at the age of 21, Resul is Malyalee for Rasool, a Muslim and Gulzar’s real name is Sampooran Singh Kalra, a Sikh! All rose to eminence from very humble average backgrounds, yet their belief and their religious inclination never came in their way of becoming national heroes!

They may come from any religion/region, in India it just doesn't matter! Having seen the societies abroad, I feel this aspect of recognizing the individual above his faith is unique to India, as it has been for the past 3000 years.

However, India is by no means a perfect country; it has its fair share of problems with poverty, infrastructure, extremism and fundamentalism. India has by all means realized this simple fact that in the world of tomorrow only an economically stable country can survive. India houses one-sixth of humanity, it definitely aspires to be super-power and at present the national focus is on economic prosperity and welfare.

Zinda + Abad Pakistan

I have interacted with a few Pakistani friends on Internet forums, some are prejudiced and some are open-minded, just like everywhere in the world. However, I noticed one basic propaganda aftermath- the staunch belief that India's intelligence agencies are behind recent spree of terror and violence in various parts of Pakistan. The same was also alleged in the wake of the Lahore attacks and for disturbances in Swat. Even stronger is the notion that those responsible for terror in India, the much gossiped “non state actors” of Pakistan don’t operate or reside on Pakistani soil, we hope the average person realizes how incorrect that is!

Now if you go beyond the rhetoric and check out for logic, India has most to gain if Pakistan's civilian government, the fragile democracy survives and builds its roots deep enough to not be ousted again. It matters to India if Pakistan is under martial law, because for some reason each time the army's at the helm in Islamabad, military confrontations (or their threat) becomes a clear and present danger. 1965, 1971 and 1999 stand as disgraceful reminders of the same.

The most important reason for us to wish for a stable Pakistan is pure economics. The 2001 mobilization of forces caused useless expenditure on the Indian ex-chequer even when there was no war; imagine the consequences in human and economic terms had we fought!

These are tough times in the world economy, as countries throughout the world reel under the brunt of severe economic policing, India has managed to stay relatively safe in these troubled times. With a 8-touching GDP growth, an improving world image and a booming economy... a war, a destabilized neighbour and a political crisis of any sort are the last on India’s wish list!

Thus, the fundamentalism in Pakistan, incidents such as Benazir's assassination, the Lal Mosque siege or the recent 'March' on Islamabad worry India as much (if not more) as Pakistan. We have seen how the crisis of Afghanistan in the 1980s has so deeply affected Pakistan today; India would be the last to have a hand in destabilizing a democratic Pakistan or inviting an Afghanistan-like situation.

As a nation, as individuals and a society Indians don't wish to be victims of terror. The Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jamat-ud-Dawa and a long list of organizations which have funded, aided and supported terror strikes in the past and the present (such as 26/11: Mumbai). What India wishes to see is acceptance of the fact that these 'non-state actors' are a menace and a threat to Pakistan and that just because they are fighting India should not be a reason to allow them to operate or let the perpetrators go scott-free!

As extraordinary as the times we live in, it is ironic that India has never wished more for the integrity of Pakistan and its return to successful nationhood, than it does today. Indians hope for a united and strong Pakistan, which can curb terror and fundamentalism that is today a threat to not just to world peace but also for Pakistan's existence.

It takes many generations and hundreds of years to build a strong nation, but just one generation can completely ruin the whole show! Pakistan and India have both seen troubled times in the past, but none have been so severe as to threaten the very existence of the other. At these crossroads of civilizations, of cultures, of time we don’t really know what the future has in store for us, what we know is that we are living through historical times and hope we can see a better tomorrow. Moderation, tolerance and brotherhood of all mankind are more important than any religion or God, which is the essence of our civilization!

I still stand here with the olive twig .

The Culinary Divine!

I was asked by a friend of mine, to blog the experience of feeding yourself (as in literally speaking…. Cooking what you can and then eating it J)

I’m documenting something so emotional, its FOOD!

I Can’t Cook! I never have made progress in a lot of things…. Like playing music, like playing field sports, like dancing…. Cooking until recently was one of those things I’d rather shy away and never try because all my little experiences have been so bad in the past.

Then came Paris, for the starters I’ll justify the need to cook, at 2.85 Euros (cheapest-student rate) a meal even the most ardent followers of No-mess-only-dhaba regimen have to bend. It’s simply impossible even for the average Parisian to go without cooking for more than a few days.

The supermarkets are good, except for liquor almost everything would seem overpriced from Indian standards but then it is not India. The French have a good taste of breads, jams, pastries and bakery stuff, at Rs. 110 for 6 cans, Coke comes to your rescue too!!

At first we had rice, microwave cooked rice fried with chopped onions in ghee showered generously with stir-fried vegetables…… whoa!
Lets get to reality, Microwave cooked rice always has some water remaining or not fully boiled until you get the precise idea of how much rice, water and time should be given. Vegetables, who knows how to ‘stir-fry’ them…?

Rice Day One: We put some extra ghee and some extra watery half boiled rice in the pan, poured almost every masala and ready-to-eat paste we had. It was sludge, slimy thick thing which we’re yet to name. We boiled potatoes (pomme de terra in French), peeled of the skin and and gulped it. Lots of salt to normalize the taste, lots of lemon juice.. believe me helps you gulp!

Rice Day Two we bettered the rice, Rice Day Three was even better, Rice Day Four the Rice smells like Rice, Rice Day Five the Rice is tastes like Rice…. OMG!!! We are master rice cooks! Day Six: Rice Over.

Adventure Day: So its difficult to shop here, even more difficult to read French, you tend to get you almost got the meaning of the word you read and dang...it means something completely different, guess it’s the same with every language so we can skip discussing it!

The most economical supermarket here is LIDL (lee-del as the Indians call it). We were scanning through the section ‘Riz’ or Rice, the best decorated big box had this camel thing drawn over a big bowl of rice with a Tuareg (I know it as I watch Discovery ‘ends of the world’) Desert Tribesman on it. The size, the price was good. We got it! Praised the company Golden Sun Couscous on the way back. And just before we were to inaugurate the nice new box of Golden Sun Couscous rice for dinner, a veteran in our block who shares the kitchen stood there giggling, happy as he was to see our bag of Golden Sun, he asked and this is one of those times you can never forget!

“What are you cooking today”, the matter-of-fact me jumped…What do you think am I cooking with a box of rice, noodles I guess, hahahaha!

Well I see no rice, do you mind letting me taste the couscous* (pronounced khus-kus) came the response.

*couscous is a very popular North African dish, resembles upma, largely tasteless.

Thus began the couscous days, and believe me you can add Indian masalas to everything and everything tastes like chat corner delicacies J

Week two has just ended, have mastered Aloo-Pyaz ki Sabzi and scrambled eggs. Breakfast goes good with toasted bread, nice jams, cereal and milk and eggs, enough to keep you going for the day. To less monotonize dinners we have the less remaining Maggi soups and until recently the Indian snacks. Biscuits and general fillers and Coke help us get by each day.

P.S.: Goodness and genuine help is not all dead! Quite regularly we get tips, treats and guidance from India House residents.

Will keep adding as I progress,

Days are passing by and its so far so culinary divine!