This movie was lying on our TV table for more than couple of weeks. We were always thinking of getting into the mood for a French comedy but somehow could never get to it. Finally on Sunday morning wile Gubdu babu(that's what I call my son; he's going to hate me for it!)was taking a nap, we were all set for the experience. Les Visiteurs (The Visitors) like most other French comedies swept us off our feet. It's fascinating, hilarious, thoughtful. And most of all it touched a chord deep inside.
The plot is pretty simple. One Godefroy de Papincourt(Comte de Montmirail-Count of Montmirail) is about to get married to his sweetheart when under the spell of a wicked witch he shoots an arrow at his father-in-law to be. Obviously his fiancee (Frénégonde de Pouille) refuses to marry her father's killer and vow to lead a life of a nun. Heartbroken, the count goes to a sorcerer for help. The magician promises to send him back in time and give him a chance to rectify his mistake. However, he throws him and his peasant servant (Jacquouille la Fripouille) to future accidentally. You can pretty well imagine the shock of the two medieval men at the new-age, with it's technical advancement and different socio-political scenario.
The count discovers his great descendant Beatrice and that his royal palace is sold to the nouveau riche gay descendant of his servant Jacquouille la Fripouille!! The servant in turn was amazed to hear about the French revolution and plunged into the goodlife that the present had to offer.
Beside the whole setting and the situations being exteremely comical, the movie also had this touch of class perception and socio-economic idiosyncracies in the serious side. The French surely knows to make it pun intended at it's subtle best.
When the hilarity subsided, the movie got me thinking: Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to trace back one's roots and know who our ancestors were!
Let me tell you about the little I know. Of course I know about my immediate ancestry: my parents. My dad Somnath Chattopadhyay just retired as a Director of Geological Survey of India and is living in tranquility at his E.M Bypass home. My mom, late Ranjana Guha (she died when I was 3 years old) went to Presidency College in Calcutta, studying Physiology and then to Raja Bazar Science college. She was about to accept an assistant professorship in Delhi when she passed away. Since then it took me quite a lot of time and effort to get connected to the extended family from my maternal side. In fact, one of my classmates from school, Debapratim Guha, turned out to be my maternal cousin. I came to know it much later, probably a decade later through my uncle. I am in touch with my maternal aunts though-Anjana and Monimala. Connected to their offsprings too. My cousin Dev Chatterjee is a thriving entrepreneur in Manhattan. His bro Suvam an ad man in Bombay and my cousin sis just embarked upon professional life.
From my father's side, my grandfather Jogendra Nath Chattopadhyay came to India (from East Bengal) with his elder brother Narendra Nath Chattopadhyay and his mother approximately couple of years before the Partition. His father Jagabandhu Chattopadhyay was dead already . They were from Bikrampur, Dacca in Bangladesh. They lived in penury for sometime until my grandpa flourished as a commercial artist. He became the Creative Director at the prestigious ad firm Clarion and later member of its Board. He met my grandma Bela Chatterjee through his sister-in-law (boudi)Rani Chatterjee whom his elder brother had married and they went on to have a love marriage!
It was not so surprising as my grandma's family was pretty much anglicized. Her father Nagendra Nath Ganguly was heading the postal department in Katihar (Bihar)and her mother Binodini Ganguly was a social activist. They were used to parties thrown by his British boss and adorned leather bags and high-heel shoes. However, in the same family, her paternal aunt (jethhima) was a freedom fighter and spent much of her life in prison cells, campaigning for a free India. My grandma's paternal uncles and aunts along with numerous cousins (some 21 altogether I think) lived in Dinajpur. I really wanted to upload some pictures but they are back home in Calcutta.
Well, that's how far I could go. Coming to the present, my father is an only child so no direct relatives from his side. But his paternal uncle, my grandpa's elder brother gave birth to two daughters- Sumitra (whom I called bada pishi) and Sutapa (chhoto pishi). Bada pishi went to Lady Brabourne College in Calcutta and taught history, till she succumbed to kidney failure. Chhoto pishi got married to an illustrous family (they are linked to Sarat Bose, Subhas Bose's elder brother and mentor). She has two sons- Surya Jyoti Neogi, who is with HP based in Geneva and Chandramouli Neogi, who vouch to be an ardent Bengali, working in DCL based in Calcutta.
So much for my family tree. How about yours?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The art of doing nothing...
Finally...yes, finally the moment has come when my three-and-a-half month old son is asleep, my husband is busy at work, my in-laws have gone back home to Kolkata, my friends have decided to give my cell and landline number a break and am in a totally jobless state of mind and status in a very very long time. Wow. I can just hang loose and do nothing now! Can you believe it?
I once saw this technique of deep breathing on TV that can really sober you down. I need it badly. Right now. This moment of nothingness is just so oh-all-encompassing. It freaked me out completely. OK, here I go: ha sa ha sa
Well, things of monumental consequesnces are happening around the world right at the moment...say for example 1/3 rd seats in the state and central legislative are being researved for women in India. (How can I let this opportunity go and speak nothing? I want to start a revolution against all those men who think women need quota to attain a platform!) and for the first time in the history of Oscars, a woman got the best director award! Three cheers to Kathryn Bigelow! I must watch the movie now (at least the first few scenes)...let her ex-husband's Avatar rot on the shelf...
Oh by the way, I still have to look into the TIME for the latest on Afghanistan and did you know that hundreds of teachers are being fired in the name of educational reforms! Heard it's the headline on today's Mercury News..now what'll happen to those useless, obnoxious teens in the public schools? Maybe they'll catch up on medical marijuana and gay marriages (Oprah's supposed to interview Ellen and Portia today). Want a glimpse? Nah, I wont waste my precious moments on the idiot box.
Oh my gosh, I completely forgot, my school friend and his wife is going to drop in for dinner tonight. So, let me chop a few onions and peel a couple of potatoes right away. No way, not going to the kitchen now.
What about clearing up the credit online lest it dabs my credit history? Hmm, that means, 'll have to start that godforsaken laptop again...I'll never be able to finish it on time as it takes 20 mins on an average to open the homepage you see.
Or maybe scroll through the unending missed calls list on my cell phone and make some attempt to amend. How about calling my ex-colleagues and congratulating them, as their copatriot The Polaris Project just bagged lumsum dollars from the UN to fight human trafficking?
I change my mind. Let me try that spa-type skin rejuvinating facial cream instead.
Oh boy, what was that? my phone screamed from a dingy corner and my baby just let out a war-cry! Up you go, woman...
ha sa ha sa
I once saw this technique of deep breathing on TV that can really sober you down. I need it badly. Right now. This moment of nothingness is just so oh-all-encompassing. It freaked me out completely. OK, here I go: ha sa ha sa
Well, things of monumental consequesnces are happening around the world right at the moment...say for example 1/3 rd seats in the state and central legislative are being researved for women in India. (How can I let this opportunity go and speak nothing? I want to start a revolution against all those men who think women need quota to attain a platform!) and for the first time in the history of Oscars, a woman got the best director award! Three cheers to Kathryn Bigelow! I must watch the movie now (at least the first few scenes)...let her ex-husband's Avatar rot on the shelf...
Oh by the way, I still have to look into the TIME for the latest on Afghanistan and did you know that hundreds of teachers are being fired in the name of educational reforms! Heard it's the headline on today's Mercury News..now what'll happen to those useless, obnoxious teens in the public schools? Maybe they'll catch up on medical marijuana and gay marriages (Oprah's supposed to interview Ellen and Portia today). Want a glimpse? Nah, I wont waste my precious moments on the idiot box.
Oh my gosh, I completely forgot, my school friend and his wife is going to drop in for dinner tonight. So, let me chop a few onions and peel a couple of potatoes right away. No way, not going to the kitchen now.
What about clearing up the credit online lest it dabs my credit history? Hmm, that means, 'll have to start that godforsaken laptop again...I'll never be able to finish it on time as it takes 20 mins on an average to open the homepage you see.
Or maybe scroll through the unending missed calls list on my cell phone and make some attempt to amend. How about calling my ex-colleagues and congratulating them, as their copatriot The Polaris Project just bagged lumsum dollars from the UN to fight human trafficking?
I change my mind. Let me try that spa-type skin rejuvinating facial cream instead.
Oh boy, what was that? my phone screamed from a dingy corner and my baby just let out a war-cry! Up you go, woman...
ha sa ha sa
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Rediscovering Boris Pasternak
What We Had
And then we had a loft of hay;
It smelt like cork, or wine.
August is gone, and since that day
Unweeded paths entwine.
The tendrils and the lips among,
Hoarse diamonds shiveed, drizzling,
In their numbness to the tongue
Reminiscent of Riesling.
September was a small expense
The way we were spending
It pruned our trees and rimed our fence,
It said the summer's ending.
Diluting wine in puddles, broke the bread
Of glaucous sand baked white,
yringed from heaven, melting into lead
The latticed glass of light.
Or it would melt light into sand
In flight, igniting trees and leaves,
And then our glass could not withstand
The sight of burning leaves.
For there are brands of joy-the oaths
Vin gai, vin triste. Have trust-
These tendrils are but slender growths,
And Riesling-only rust.
Thus we had night. We had the strain
Of lips. Hoarse diamonds sought
The eyes, where the autumn rain
Rebounded, unechoed in thought.
It seemed that we so loved to pray,
And kissed as though to miss
The briefest years that take a ray
To reach the glow of bliss.
Like music: years spent in awe,
A song would never holler-
One tremulous, uninterrupted O!-
The trembling pith of coral.
Translated by A.Navrozov
And then we had a loft of hay;
It smelt like cork, or wine.
August is gone, and since that day
Unweeded paths entwine.
The tendrils and the lips among,
Hoarse diamonds shiveed, drizzling,
In their numbness to the tongue
Reminiscent of Riesling.
September was a small expense
The way we were spending
It pruned our trees and rimed our fence,
It said the summer's ending.
Diluting wine in puddles, broke the bread
Of glaucous sand baked white,
yringed from heaven, melting into lead
The latticed glass of light.
Or it would melt light into sand
In flight, igniting trees and leaves,
And then our glass could not withstand
The sight of burning leaves.
For there are brands of joy-the oaths
Vin gai, vin triste. Have trust-
These tendrils are but slender growths,
And Riesling-only rust.
Thus we had night. We had the strain
Of lips. Hoarse diamonds sought
The eyes, where the autumn rain
Rebounded, unechoed in thought.
It seemed that we so loved to pray,
And kissed as though to miss
The briefest years that take a ray
To reach the glow of bliss.
Like music: years spent in awe,
A song would never holler-
One tremulous, uninterrupted O!-
The trembling pith of coral.
Translated by A.Navrozov
Monday, June 22, 2009
Who are our brothers’ keepers?
It’s been many years since I’ve lost faith in investigative journalism. What sells for news today, is a representation of politicized, hackneyed, misinformed, manipulated piece of garbage. Sadly, what we end up seeing is only the glam-packaging and the label.
There has been no exception in the context of the recent plight of the hapless people in Lalgarh. Who are these people who have been mercilessly gunned down by the ruling Communist party of West Bengal?
Ans: They are the poorest of poor, living in barren, dry lands of Midnapore which can produce only single harvest each year. Yet, those people have no other means of sustenance than to cultivate these unsuited lands (that they don’t even own) or survive by selling leaves and wood from the forest. For decades our Left, liberal, people’s party (CPIM) was involved in extortion and crime in the areas like this to strip the local people of their basic rights and dignity.
Now, that they have finally voiced their opinion and protested against the vicious political regime, they are suddenly being branded as "ultras" and crushed by bullets from the face of the earth. The locals might have joined forces with the Maoist group but what choice did they have?
There has been no exception in the context of the recent plight of the hapless people in Lalgarh. Who are these people who have been mercilessly gunned down by the ruling Communist party of West Bengal?
Ans: They are the poorest of poor, living in barren, dry lands of Midnapore which can produce only single harvest each year. Yet, those people have no other means of sustenance than to cultivate these unsuited lands (that they don’t even own) or survive by selling leaves and wood from the forest. For decades our Left, liberal, people’s party (CPIM) was involved in extortion and crime in the areas like this to strip the local people of their basic rights and dignity.
Now, that they have finally voiced their opinion and protested against the vicious political regime, they are suddenly being branded as "ultras" and crushed by bullets from the face of the earth. The locals might have joined forces with the Maoist group but what choice did they have?
Not to forget, CPIM very conveniently used Maoists to crush Trinamool Congress in Keshpur and Trinamool to combat CPIM in Nandigram. Moreover, UPA govt had also been instrumental in bringing Prachanda, the Maoist leader into power in Nepal.
None of the leading media houses or the newspaper publications reported the sorry state of affairs in Lalgarh till CPI-M zonal committee secretary of Lalgarh Anuj Pandey's palatial building was dismantled by the Maoists. It came out in open that almost 40 per cent of the money earmarked for rural development was “looted” by CPI-M functionaries, bureaucrats and contractors. Then all hell broke loose.
And what is media’s take on this? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the mundane attempt to generalize the situation in WB with the rest of India in this editorial of the latest issue of Organiser:
And what is media’s take on this? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the mundane attempt to generalize the situation in WB with the rest of India in this editorial of the latest issue of Organiser:
Editorial
Maoists are enemies of the nation.Crush them.
The recent spurt of Maoist violence in Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal is a matter of great alarm. This violence has taken a heavy toll on the lives and morale of the security forces operating in these areas. With counter-insurgency measures taken by Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh governments inflicting a severe blow on the underground insurgents, they seem to have shifted their concentration to softer terrains where the state administration appears to be addressing this challenge as a simple law and order problem. And the Maoists are stepping up their mindless killings to demoralise and make ineffective the local administration. Although Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has repeatedly said that the Maoist insurgency is the greatest threat before the nation, the centre is yet to put in place a strategy to fight these criminal barbarians who have taken control of large swathes of tribal belt across the country. India’s political establishment does not give the impression that it has fully grasped the danger to the country’s sovereignty and integrity the Maoists are posing. Viswa Rangan, DGP, Chhattisgarh, who has an excellent track record as a thinking police officer, has made an incisive study of the Maoist strategy in India. Intercepting their underground literature, interrogating the arrested top Maoists and studying their intelligence reports, he has come to the conclusion that the ultimate goal of the Maoists is to overthrow the democratically elected government in the country and create anarchy. He says, “The aim of Maoist supporters is simple. Demoralise the state machinery to such an extent that its will to fight the Maoists is completely shattered and the road to Maoist expansion is facilitated.” The Maoists have succeeded in establishing a multi-layered network through their open and clandestine channels to deflect attention from their real motives. There are Gandhians, civil liberty operators, media personalities, writers and artists who are linked to the Maoist network and they try to camouflage the sinister designs of the Maoists. There is no premium on the lives of thousands of innocent policemen who get killed every year in Maoist violence. The collateral damage to civilian life, industrial growth and development has never been factored into these calculations. Often the big Maoist attacks pass off as isolated incidents in scattered remote terrains. Reports say that the Maoists have joined hands with the jehadi groups, Church outfits and even the ISI to subvert the Indian State. The response of the State is, however, weak, dodged and inadequate. The security forces are not equipped with necessary resources or sophisticated weapons. The experts say that the Maoist army in the country has all the modern weaponry in its possession. Its extortion budget, according to these sources, is in the range of Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 crore. It buys thousands of rupees worth weapons every year other than the arms, ammunition and uniform looted from the security forces and arms depots at various places. Its macabre activities and gruesome killings are not correctly reported and even if they come to light they are glossed over by the friendly intelligentsia as just isolated cases. These groups magnify any retaliatory action of the police and government and try to rationalise the Maoist mayhem as a social problem needing sympathetic consideration. The civil groups supporting the Maoists in the open society justify the Maoist crimes as the result of poverty and underdevelopment in the adivasi areas but they conceal the fact that in areas where they are entrenched, they do not allow any development work, schools, hospitals or even roads to be built. It is high time the government woke up to the Maoist threat as the one that is out to destroy the country’s democracy. One only has to scan the pages of the Maoist Bible, Strategy and Tactics of the Indian Revolution, published by the Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist), to realise how deep and dangerous their ideas are. It states, “The central task of the revolution is seizure of political power through protracted people’s war.” With a quote from Mao who said, “The seizure of power through armed force , the settlement of the issue by war is the central task and highest form of revolution.” The book further elaborates saying, “To accomplish this central task, the Indian people will have to be organised in people’s army, and will have to wipe out the armed forces of the counter revolutionary Indian state through war and will have to establish in its place their own state.” The centre cannot afford to leave the fight against Maoists to individual states but it has to evolve an over-all national strategy with a central command and if necessary assistance from the military before it becomes too late.
An introspective letter from Anil Chawla to Sudheendra Kulkarni, aide to L.K.Advani
Dear friend,
Namaskar,
Sudheendra Kulkarni, who currently works as an aide to Mr. LK Advani, is an old friend. In 1975, both of us joined IIT Bombay for B.Tech. A couple of days back Sudheendra wrote an article "Hindu Divided Family", which you may read at Hindu divided family Link:
Namaskar,
Sudheendra Kulkarni, who currently works as an aide to Mr. LK Advani, is an old friend. In 1975, both of us joined IIT Bombay for B.Tech. A couple of days back Sudheendra wrote an article "Hindu Divided Family", which you may read at Hindu divided family Link:
Sudheendra's article has drawn considerable attention in media. I am replying to Sudheendra in an open letter discussing the role of Mr. Advani in BJP and also the defeat of BJP in recent elections.
The enclosed open letter to Sudheendra is about 2000 words. Please read it and send me your comments.
With Best Wishes and Regards,
Anil Chawla
The enclosed open letter to Sudheendra is about 2000 words. Please read it and send me your comments.
With Best Wishes and Regards,
Anil Chawla
______________________________________________
Dear Sudheendra,
I have just read your "deeply introspective essay" on tehelka.com about BJP's defeat in recent elections. The article is described asintrospective, but I failed to find anything that could be called introspection by any stretch of imagination. True, you say that "I toocarry my share of responsibility", but that is more courteous than introspective.
All through the essay, you look upon BJP as a patient lying on an operating table and your role as that of an outsider trying to see allthat has gone wrong. The patient is being blamed for all that has gone wrong, without in any way blaming either the virus or the team of doctors who have brought the patient to the present critical state.
Please pardon me for being direct and on the face. I guess as a former classmate I can take this freedom. I campaigned for Janata Party in 1977 elections. Ever since then I have been in and around the party (JP/BJP) working at various levels. Sure enough, I have not been an aide to Mr. LK Advani (LK) like you have been. Both of us began dabbling in public life together at IIT Bombay. I have spent more than three decades in close proximity with BJP and RSS without ever being offered a post. I am not alone. There are thousands like me who have served in their own humble way. What has always surprised me is that someone like you who was a committed fulltime communist for almost two decades, suddenly did an ideological somersault and landed up straight in the top rungs of BJP. When you are in mood for some introspection, please do think about this. Probably, the roots to the present malaise in BJP can be traced to your own personal journey.
When a communist suddenly becomes an ideologue for a party like BJP, there is bound to be skepticism and even some ridicule. It becomes imperative on the neo-convert to prove that there has been a genuine transformation of the soul and not just a change of coat. Even if the neo-convert does manage to prove his credentials, there is no way that he should ever be allowed to rule over the heads of people who have devoted their life to the cause. In your case, (a) you have never proved that you have really changed and (b) you actually landed up on top of the ranks in a manner that is most inexplicable. I say that you have not been able to prove your credentials because I have read some of your articles and I can say with a fair level of confidence that you remain at heart a communist who is trying to put on the camouflage of a Hindu.
Dear Sudheendra, I have nothing against you personally. Your appointment as National Executive member of BJP, at the time of your joining BJP, and later as Prime Minister's key aide had pleased me enormously. One always likes to see old friends in positions of power.The problem is that your case is not an isolated one, but a representative one. There are many in Delhi and Mumbai who have been able to gain access to LK's coterie by hook or by crook and it is these who now rule over BJP.
When you analyze BJP and RSS with a cold surgeon like approach, you ignore the role that LK's family and coterie has come to play in the party. Elections of 2009 were not fought by BJP against Congress, but were reduced by LK and his gang to a war by LK against one and all. The party has been systematically hijacked and decimated over the past decade and a half by LK's coterie. You just need to look at the campaign material prepared by the party for the recent elections. There is only one face LK's. Even Atal ji was not considered worthy of being put on the hoardings and posters. Congress gained mileage from photographs of Gandhi and Nehru decades after their deaths. Communists continue to revere Lenin and Stalin till today. Contrast this with the way LK and his war team dumped Atal ji most discourteously even though he is alive and continues to be revered by millions in the country.
You say that the BJP leadership is in disarray. If it is true, the only person who is responsible for the mess in the party is LK and noone else. He has ruled over the party with an iron hand for more than two decades. In fact, the words "Majboot Neta" (Strong Leader) that were used to describe LK during the recent election, apply only in respect of the way LK behaves in the matter of crushing his critics and opponents within the party. He is ruthless in demolishing anyone who as much as raises an eyebrow against him. He has no patience for anyone who even dreams of being his equal within the party. Can you please name for me two people who are LK's equals within BJP, in LK's vision? LK's desire to stand as a tallest leader made him choose only pygmies for all critical positions in the party. The only way that one could rise up in BJP with LK at helm was to act as a subservient spineless dwarf.
The problem with dwarfs is that while they are very good for boosting one's ego, they have limited use when one faces a war-like situation. In the recent elections, LK decided to fight it all alone. LK and his family and coterie thought that their rag-tag army of laptop professionals could substitute for the well-oiled and tested machinery of BJP, ABVP and RSS. The irony is that the blame for the defeat is now being put on the doors of the organizations that were treated most shabbily when LK and his team were dreaming of victory. LK and his team are now complaining that no one from BJP top leadership stood up to defend him when he was under attack. The fact is that among BJP leadership, the ones who command any stature were always ignored,attacked and pushed to the sideline by LK and his gang. So when LK came under attack he looked around for support and found none. Of course, there were many rats who were raising their feeble voices in his support. Unfortunately, the voices of rats do not count. This is something that LK should have thought before he appointed rats in all the key positions.
You talk about the party's social base. Did LK do anything in this regard during the past five years? The answer is an emphatic NO. When LK did his last `yatra' before 2004 elections, a photograph of his starting point was circulated. It showed LK standing with his daughter and wife. There were no BJP leaders on the dais. LK defended the presence of his family by saying that he drew strength from them. This is the root of the problem. In the past decade or so, LK stopped drawing strength from the party or Sangh parivar, and started leaning on his personal family ignoring the larger family to which small humble persons like me belong and from where we draw our strength. LK saw the party and Sangh pariwar as a tool to achieve his personal ambition at all costs. In the past decade, LK's focus was on building his personal image, his family strengths, his mafia-like grip on the party. The thought of getting or building leaders who command or could potentially command respect in various social groups seems to have been far removed from LK's mind.
I attended the function at Bhopal of LK's unveiling of his autobiography in Hindi. What an unabashed projection by a person whohas no achievements worth mentioning even in one paragraph! Future historians will mention LK as a classic example of a person who had illusions of grandeur. They will write that he was a manipulator who was ruthless to independent thought within his party and rose by methods that ruined the party. Having said that they would probably add - he saw films and wrote two eminently forgettable autobiographies. What else is there to mention about LK's lifetime achievements? Are there any articles / books written by him on social-political issues? At least I am not aware of any. He is a self-centered person who cannot see beyond himself and his interests. If he puts pen on paper it is to describe his own self because that is all that he can ever see. If he talks about Hinduism / Hindutwa or any political ideology or national issues, it sounds hollow because he has never applied his mind to anything except his own interests, his family, his career, his ambitions, his dreams etc.
You might respond by saying that all politicians today are like that. You would probably be right on that. But then they know that they are run-of-the-mill politicians with no illusions of being grand strong leaders. If LK had realized his own limitations, he would not have tried to fashion 2009 elections as an exercise to elect him as the prime minister. The worst thing that happened in 2004 and 2009 elections is that the BJP, under the influence of LK, did not use the elections as an exercise to take party's ideology forward. In days of Jansangh, when it used to be absolutely clear that there was no possibility of winning, the party would still fight. In those days, it used to be clear that fighting an election was an opportunity to propagate our ideology and thoughts to a bigger audience. In the 2009 election, the campaign was focused only on the persona of LK ignoring even the party's manifesto.
As an old hand of the broad ideological historical process that I call as Hindu nationalistic movement, I have no serious regrets about BJP losing 2004 or 2009 elections. But I do regret that the party which was making an attempt in its initial years to define a new vision for Ekatm Manavwad (translated by me as Monistic Humanism) lost way. I regret that instead of focusing on issues and ideas the party focused on an individual. I regret that the party for whom thousands shed blood and lives became a tool in the hands of some who want to live a seven-star lifestyle. I regret that personal ambitions and aspirations of one man became the focus of many organizations that are known for the sacrifices of their leaders.
Dear Sudheendra, I agree with you wholeheartedly when you say, "The BJP can indeed bounce back. But it can do so only if it first renews and empowers itself comprehensively in its ideology, its geographical-social spread, its own political strength, its massactivity, its alliance-building, its cadre-based organizational network, and its leadership". The difference is in approach. While youwould like to probably do it with LK and his cronies at the helm, I shall like Sangh pariwar to put the dark days of LK and his croniesbehind.
Sangh leadership must act to decisively purge BJP of LK and his individual-centered style of working. Competence and not loyalty to this or that individual must be the criterion for all appointments. Ideology must take centre-stage once again and those who can help with defining and clarifying ideological issues should be in key positions and not sycophants or moneybags.
I am making this letter public because I think that the issues that are discussed here are very important and need a wider debate. Ofcourse, I know that this will put me at the risk of harsh retaliatory action by LK and his coterie. I guess that I have to take this risk inwider national interest. I hope I can count on you as an old friend if the action turns nasty.
With Best Wishes and Regards,
Anil Chawla Hindustan Studies & Services Ltd.MF-104, Ajay Tower, E5/1 (Commercial),Arera Colony, BHOPAL - 462 016 INDIATel.- 91-755-2427535, 2427536 Fax - 91-755-2467485 Mobile - 09425009280
Dear Sudheendra,
I have just read your "deeply introspective essay" on tehelka.com about BJP's defeat in recent elections. The article is described asintrospective, but I failed to find anything that could be called introspection by any stretch of imagination. True, you say that "I toocarry my share of responsibility", but that is more courteous than introspective.
All through the essay, you look upon BJP as a patient lying on an operating table and your role as that of an outsider trying to see allthat has gone wrong. The patient is being blamed for all that has gone wrong, without in any way blaming either the virus or the team of doctors who have brought the patient to the present critical state.
Please pardon me for being direct and on the face. I guess as a former classmate I can take this freedom. I campaigned for Janata Party in 1977 elections. Ever since then I have been in and around the party (JP/BJP) working at various levels. Sure enough, I have not been an aide to Mr. LK Advani (LK) like you have been. Both of us began dabbling in public life together at IIT Bombay. I have spent more than three decades in close proximity with BJP and RSS without ever being offered a post. I am not alone. There are thousands like me who have served in their own humble way. What has always surprised me is that someone like you who was a committed fulltime communist for almost two decades, suddenly did an ideological somersault and landed up straight in the top rungs of BJP. When you are in mood for some introspection, please do think about this. Probably, the roots to the present malaise in BJP can be traced to your own personal journey.
When a communist suddenly becomes an ideologue for a party like BJP, there is bound to be skepticism and even some ridicule. It becomes imperative on the neo-convert to prove that there has been a genuine transformation of the soul and not just a change of coat. Even if the neo-convert does manage to prove his credentials, there is no way that he should ever be allowed to rule over the heads of people who have devoted their life to the cause. In your case, (a) you have never proved that you have really changed and (b) you actually landed up on top of the ranks in a manner that is most inexplicable. I say that you have not been able to prove your credentials because I have read some of your articles and I can say with a fair level of confidence that you remain at heart a communist who is trying to put on the camouflage of a Hindu.
Dear Sudheendra, I have nothing against you personally. Your appointment as National Executive member of BJP, at the time of your joining BJP, and later as Prime Minister's key aide had pleased me enormously. One always likes to see old friends in positions of power.The problem is that your case is not an isolated one, but a representative one. There are many in Delhi and Mumbai who have been able to gain access to LK's coterie by hook or by crook and it is these who now rule over BJP.
When you analyze BJP and RSS with a cold surgeon like approach, you ignore the role that LK's family and coterie has come to play in the party. Elections of 2009 were not fought by BJP against Congress, but were reduced by LK and his gang to a war by LK against one and all. The party has been systematically hijacked and decimated over the past decade and a half by LK's coterie. You just need to look at the campaign material prepared by the party for the recent elections. There is only one face LK's. Even Atal ji was not considered worthy of being put on the hoardings and posters. Congress gained mileage from photographs of Gandhi and Nehru decades after their deaths. Communists continue to revere Lenin and Stalin till today. Contrast this with the way LK and his war team dumped Atal ji most discourteously even though he is alive and continues to be revered by millions in the country.
You say that the BJP leadership is in disarray. If it is true, the only person who is responsible for the mess in the party is LK and noone else. He has ruled over the party with an iron hand for more than two decades. In fact, the words "Majboot Neta" (Strong Leader) that were used to describe LK during the recent election, apply only in respect of the way LK behaves in the matter of crushing his critics and opponents within the party. He is ruthless in demolishing anyone who as much as raises an eyebrow against him. He has no patience for anyone who even dreams of being his equal within the party. Can you please name for me two people who are LK's equals within BJP, in LK's vision? LK's desire to stand as a tallest leader made him choose only pygmies for all critical positions in the party. The only way that one could rise up in BJP with LK at helm was to act as a subservient spineless dwarf.
The problem with dwarfs is that while they are very good for boosting one's ego, they have limited use when one faces a war-like situation. In the recent elections, LK decided to fight it all alone. LK and his family and coterie thought that their rag-tag army of laptop professionals could substitute for the well-oiled and tested machinery of BJP, ABVP and RSS. The irony is that the blame for the defeat is now being put on the doors of the organizations that were treated most shabbily when LK and his team were dreaming of victory. LK and his team are now complaining that no one from BJP top leadership stood up to defend him when he was under attack. The fact is that among BJP leadership, the ones who command any stature were always ignored,attacked and pushed to the sideline by LK and his gang. So when LK came under attack he looked around for support and found none. Of course, there were many rats who were raising their feeble voices in his support. Unfortunately, the voices of rats do not count. This is something that LK should have thought before he appointed rats in all the key positions.
You talk about the party's social base. Did LK do anything in this regard during the past five years? The answer is an emphatic NO. When LK did his last `yatra' before 2004 elections, a photograph of his starting point was circulated. It showed LK standing with his daughter and wife. There were no BJP leaders on the dais. LK defended the presence of his family by saying that he drew strength from them. This is the root of the problem. In the past decade or so, LK stopped drawing strength from the party or Sangh parivar, and started leaning on his personal family ignoring the larger family to which small humble persons like me belong and from where we draw our strength. LK saw the party and Sangh pariwar as a tool to achieve his personal ambition at all costs. In the past decade, LK's focus was on building his personal image, his family strengths, his mafia-like grip on the party. The thought of getting or building leaders who command or could potentially command respect in various social groups seems to have been far removed from LK's mind.
I attended the function at Bhopal of LK's unveiling of his autobiography in Hindi. What an unabashed projection by a person whohas no achievements worth mentioning even in one paragraph! Future historians will mention LK as a classic example of a person who had illusions of grandeur. They will write that he was a manipulator who was ruthless to independent thought within his party and rose by methods that ruined the party. Having said that they would probably add - he saw films and wrote two eminently forgettable autobiographies. What else is there to mention about LK's lifetime achievements? Are there any articles / books written by him on social-political issues? At least I am not aware of any. He is a self-centered person who cannot see beyond himself and his interests. If he puts pen on paper it is to describe his own self because that is all that he can ever see. If he talks about Hinduism / Hindutwa or any political ideology or national issues, it sounds hollow because he has never applied his mind to anything except his own interests, his family, his career, his ambitions, his dreams etc.
You might respond by saying that all politicians today are like that. You would probably be right on that. But then they know that they are run-of-the-mill politicians with no illusions of being grand strong leaders. If LK had realized his own limitations, he would not have tried to fashion 2009 elections as an exercise to elect him as the prime minister. The worst thing that happened in 2004 and 2009 elections is that the BJP, under the influence of LK, did not use the elections as an exercise to take party's ideology forward. In days of Jansangh, when it used to be absolutely clear that there was no possibility of winning, the party would still fight. In those days, it used to be clear that fighting an election was an opportunity to propagate our ideology and thoughts to a bigger audience. In the 2009 election, the campaign was focused only on the persona of LK ignoring even the party's manifesto.
As an old hand of the broad ideological historical process that I call as Hindu nationalistic movement, I have no serious regrets about BJP losing 2004 or 2009 elections. But I do regret that the party which was making an attempt in its initial years to define a new vision for Ekatm Manavwad (translated by me as Monistic Humanism) lost way. I regret that instead of focusing on issues and ideas the party focused on an individual. I regret that the party for whom thousands shed blood and lives became a tool in the hands of some who want to live a seven-star lifestyle. I regret that personal ambitions and aspirations of one man became the focus of many organizations that are known for the sacrifices of their leaders.
Dear Sudheendra, I agree with you wholeheartedly when you say, "The BJP can indeed bounce back. But it can do so only if it first renews and empowers itself comprehensively in its ideology, its geographical-social spread, its own political strength, its massactivity, its alliance-building, its cadre-based organizational network, and its leadership". The difference is in approach. While youwould like to probably do it with LK and his cronies at the helm, I shall like Sangh pariwar to put the dark days of LK and his croniesbehind.
Sangh leadership must act to decisively purge BJP of LK and his individual-centered style of working. Competence and not loyalty to this or that individual must be the criterion for all appointments. Ideology must take centre-stage once again and those who can help with defining and clarifying ideological issues should be in key positions and not sycophants or moneybags.
I am making this letter public because I think that the issues that are discussed here are very important and need a wider debate. Ofcourse, I know that this will put me at the risk of harsh retaliatory action by LK and his coterie. I guess that I have to take this risk inwider national interest. I hope I can count on you as an old friend if the action turns nasty.
With Best Wishes and Regards,
Anil Chawla Hindustan Studies & Services Ltd.MF-104, Ajay Tower, E5/1 (Commercial),Arera Colony, BHOPAL - 462 016 INDIATel.- 91-755-2427535, 2427536 Fax - 91-755-2467485 Mobile - 09425009280
Friday, April 10, 2009
Innocence lost in the world of infraction…
Last month, with the help of our coalition partners (EITC), we (at Love146) coordinated a conference based on the global human trafficking scenario on the Internet at UC, Berkeley. I was much privileged to be invited and interacting with leading social reformers and ardent activists. The discussions over breakfast, lunch and dinner transcended from the condition-analyses of domestic trafficking, to the situation at East-Europe and South/South-East Asia. From the causes, to the effects, mitigation processes and like most of the issues today, eventually to the lack of judicial intervention, federal expedient and Government policies. I solely agreed and returned heavy-hearted to my daily drudgery in a public school where I’d been teaching for the last six months.
Right after returning, to my utter disbelief, I got the news of a pregnant student eloping with her boyfriend who is supposed to be ten years older than her! I just couldn’t help worrying myself about the fate of the young girl. What if her boyfriend is a trafficker? After all, what kind of man would impregnate a child and prompt her to run away with him?
Then I thought why am I so shocked? In a society, where before knowing your Newton or Byron, you learn to show some skin, paint your face and flaunt your cleavage, while for the male counterparts, your dignity slip by your flowery underwear, dripping down your knees, where you’re lured to taste the forbidden fruit just to be in vogue at the pupil-dom, aren’t you massively prone to such catastrophe?
Yes, we made this society, where five year olds are showcased in cocktail wears at beauty pageants; ten year olds are on a diet spree; its chic to flash your whole life to 300++ people, known or unknown on Facebook/Myspace/Orkut ; you’re a misfit in the society if you don’t have an i-phone and an i-pod and you’re thoroughly un-cool if you don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend by the time you’ve learnt to spell it! In Budapest, you can buy a kiss at the traffic signal with $5, in Delhi you can sleep with a college girl with $10, in Quito, you can check out a teenage girl’s tattoo near her private parts with $15. And let me tell you, this $5, $10 or $15 don’t necessarily go to buy bread for the family all the time but often spent on the latest gadgets and designer clothes.
This is the sexed up, material-dominated, value-infringed society that we have subjected our children to…
Yes, we need Government protocols, gender consciousness, child-rights, global peace et al to stop sex trafficking in macro level but what exactly is our individual contribution in safeguarding our home from such devastating consequences? Are our children really safe with us, let alone the predators out in the world?
Right after returning, to my utter disbelief, I got the news of a pregnant student eloping with her boyfriend who is supposed to be ten years older than her! I just couldn’t help worrying myself about the fate of the young girl. What if her boyfriend is a trafficker? After all, what kind of man would impregnate a child and prompt her to run away with him?
Then I thought why am I so shocked? In a society, where before knowing your Newton or Byron, you learn to show some skin, paint your face and flaunt your cleavage, while for the male counterparts, your dignity slip by your flowery underwear, dripping down your knees, where you’re lured to taste the forbidden fruit just to be in vogue at the pupil-dom, aren’t you massively prone to such catastrophe?
Yes, we made this society, where five year olds are showcased in cocktail wears at beauty pageants; ten year olds are on a diet spree; its chic to flash your whole life to 300++ people, known or unknown on Facebook/Myspace/Orkut ; you’re a misfit in the society if you don’t have an i-phone and an i-pod and you’re thoroughly un-cool if you don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend by the time you’ve learnt to spell it! In Budapest, you can buy a kiss at the traffic signal with $5, in Delhi you can sleep with a college girl with $10, in Quito, you can check out a teenage girl’s tattoo near her private parts with $15. And let me tell you, this $5, $10 or $15 don’t necessarily go to buy bread for the family all the time but often spent on the latest gadgets and designer clothes.
This is the sexed up, material-dominated, value-infringed society that we have subjected our children to…
Yes, we need Government protocols, gender consciousness, child-rights, global peace et al to stop sex trafficking in macro level but what exactly is our individual contribution in safeguarding our home from such devastating consequences? Are our children really safe with us, let alone the predators out in the world?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
A lot of people asked me whether I had a culture shock after coming to US. When I embarked upon JFK, I was amazed to find out that it looked so similar to the airports in India. Shabby walls, streams of people of various nationalities, long winding queues. It took us a good one and a half hour to reach to the immigration window. Once I got out, I was in for a bigger surprise. Everything looked so familiar! The skyscrapers, the potholed pavements with vendors selling their stuff, so many Indians on the street and the streets were equally crowded like that of Esplanade in Kolkata! Hmm, so is this America?
I had to wait for about two hours to get my answer. We built our nest in a small town called Hamden. It’s basic and beautiful at the same time. There weren’t many tall apartments, ours being six-storied is probably the highest in the neighborhood. The supermarkets were close by. All in line: Stop & Shop, Rite Aid, Marshalls at one side, Toys r Us, Wal-Mart, Shaws on the other…you can hardly spot a person on the road. SUVs, trucks and Sedans dot the parking lots. At first, I thought, this place was unique. Deserted with not much of night-life, away from the hustles and bustles of metropolises with a mixture of greenery, water bodies and basic utility stores. Wait until I started traveling. Be it in the East coast or West, Mid-west or South, this is the picture of most of the Americas. It’s so uniquely homogenous, that without the help of a GPS you won’t be able to tell a difference. The same wide lanes, the traffic signals, the directions, the malls, the stores, the houses. Yeah, almost everything.
Then the snow came. And, I got glimpses of first-world efficiency. The highways were quickly cleaned…the routine resumed. I got pretty complacent with my work-home schedule. And that’s not the only thing I got complacent about. I was at ease with my life. Well, yeah, I found a difference. There isn’t any unpredictability here that was so predominant in my life back home. Constant preparation and customization was needed back there but here the whole system is somewhat customized to your routine. Americans did quite a mean job, huh?
Socially, I found it easy to gel with. Everywhere I saw family people, leading lives with spouses, children, dogs or whatever but it’s pretty much the same as we did. They talk about everyday chores, new designs in the boutiques or even of mother-in-law problems. The have the same insecurity about monetary savings or career aspirations etc. People over here also look for romance and commitment and don’t just jump into beds.
Everything fitted in till I started teaching in a public school. In the classroom, I found Asians, Caucasians, Latinos, African-Americans, Mixed-genes and everything that you can imagine. Wow, unity in diversity. No, not much unity though. Sometimes, yeah, but there’s also groupism and an inherent inclination to stick to one’s own kin. But nothing overt. America has taught one thing for sure. Subtlety. There are kids coming from broken homes, having single parent or abusive ones. There are kids from neglected families who are always seeking attention. There are ones with deep-rooted cognitive or psycho-somatic problems. There are one’s who are burdened with budding sexuality and the constant urge to live up to the media-standards, aka Hanna Montana and its likes. Have I seen more diversity in my life??
I found a huge difference in the education system too. In our schools (at least in my time) much stress was given on absorbing information. It was about learning, mugging and replicating to near perfection. True, we felt very knowledgeable but quite didn’t know what to do with so much knowledge. Here, everything is measured to your capacity. You’re given an anecdote but it’s you who has to decode it or analyze it and decide whether you’re up to it or not. Knowledge doesn’t come easy and whatever comes needs to be deeply ingrained. In other words, education is more about concepts here. It’s more about analysis than simulation. This however, makes a huge difference in shaping the overall personality of the students. It pretty much gives them an idea of their reach and capability. And, more importantly their right to choose. Does this make them competitive enough? Or prepared to ambiguity? Groomed to comprehend the vast spectrum of the big, wide world? Am not too sure. But then every country has its own set requirements.
It’s only in one of those days when I catch up with a lonely teenager after class, chatting about his/her insecurities or deliverance that I realize how similar our worlds have been. I used to have exactly the same thoughts and doubts and resolutions when I was a teenager. And, sometime I meet a stranger in a railway station or an airport and we exchange views as easily as we would have been in a busy street corner of Kolkata savoring a perfect, innocent adda (what’s the English equivalent? Chitchat?) and I catch up with an old lady who’s grandchildren are working abroad and have just gifted her a computer to be in touch…And the working mother speeding by to pick up her toddler from school, an adolescent couple walking hand in hand giggling to glory…it’s the same everywhere. Is it not?
I had to wait for about two hours to get my answer. We built our nest in a small town called Hamden. It’s basic and beautiful at the same time. There weren’t many tall apartments, ours being six-storied is probably the highest in the neighborhood. The supermarkets were close by. All in line: Stop & Shop, Rite Aid, Marshalls at one side, Toys r Us, Wal-Mart, Shaws on the other…you can hardly spot a person on the road. SUVs, trucks and Sedans dot the parking lots. At first, I thought, this place was unique. Deserted with not much of night-life, away from the hustles and bustles of metropolises with a mixture of greenery, water bodies and basic utility stores. Wait until I started traveling. Be it in the East coast or West, Mid-west or South, this is the picture of most of the Americas. It’s so uniquely homogenous, that without the help of a GPS you won’t be able to tell a difference. The same wide lanes, the traffic signals, the directions, the malls, the stores, the houses. Yeah, almost everything.
Then the snow came. And, I got glimpses of first-world efficiency. The highways were quickly cleaned…the routine resumed. I got pretty complacent with my work-home schedule. And that’s not the only thing I got complacent about. I was at ease with my life. Well, yeah, I found a difference. There isn’t any unpredictability here that was so predominant in my life back home. Constant preparation and customization was needed back there but here the whole system is somewhat customized to your routine. Americans did quite a mean job, huh?
Socially, I found it easy to gel with. Everywhere I saw family people, leading lives with spouses, children, dogs or whatever but it’s pretty much the same as we did. They talk about everyday chores, new designs in the boutiques or even of mother-in-law problems. The have the same insecurity about monetary savings or career aspirations etc. People over here also look for romance and commitment and don’t just jump into beds.
Everything fitted in till I started teaching in a public school. In the classroom, I found Asians, Caucasians, Latinos, African-Americans, Mixed-genes and everything that you can imagine. Wow, unity in diversity. No, not much unity though. Sometimes, yeah, but there’s also groupism and an inherent inclination to stick to one’s own kin. But nothing overt. America has taught one thing for sure. Subtlety. There are kids coming from broken homes, having single parent or abusive ones. There are kids from neglected families who are always seeking attention. There are ones with deep-rooted cognitive or psycho-somatic problems. There are one’s who are burdened with budding sexuality and the constant urge to live up to the media-standards, aka Hanna Montana and its likes. Have I seen more diversity in my life??
I found a huge difference in the education system too. In our schools (at least in my time) much stress was given on absorbing information. It was about learning, mugging and replicating to near perfection. True, we felt very knowledgeable but quite didn’t know what to do with so much knowledge. Here, everything is measured to your capacity. You’re given an anecdote but it’s you who has to decode it or analyze it and decide whether you’re up to it or not. Knowledge doesn’t come easy and whatever comes needs to be deeply ingrained. In other words, education is more about concepts here. It’s more about analysis than simulation. This however, makes a huge difference in shaping the overall personality of the students. It pretty much gives them an idea of their reach and capability. And, more importantly their right to choose. Does this make them competitive enough? Or prepared to ambiguity? Groomed to comprehend the vast spectrum of the big, wide world? Am not too sure. But then every country has its own set requirements.
It’s only in one of those days when I catch up with a lonely teenager after class, chatting about his/her insecurities or deliverance that I realize how similar our worlds have been. I used to have exactly the same thoughts and doubts and resolutions when I was a teenager. And, sometime I meet a stranger in a railway station or an airport and we exchange views as easily as we would have been in a busy street corner of Kolkata savoring a perfect, innocent adda (what’s the English equivalent? Chitchat?) and I catch up with an old lady who’s grandchildren are working abroad and have just gifted her a computer to be in touch…And the working mother speeding by to pick up her toddler from school, an adolescent couple walking hand in hand giggling to glory…it’s the same everywhere. Is it not?
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