Past Forward

  India is decked up for Diwali today. The brightness of this festival is unparalleled. Preparations for this grand occasion commence many weeks beforehand. This is followed by frenzied activities leading to the grand finale. The outcome is phenomenal. With residences, commercial buildings, markets, streets etc. decorated with multi-coloured lighting, Diwali night is sparkling with celebrations, social gatherings, customary rituals, worship & offerings (Lakshmi Puja, Kali Puja etc.) and gala events. In short it is India's biggest festival and celebrated nationally with equal vibrancy.   The above is a summary of what Diwali is all about – or is it? The above description may be good generally but any Indian, including kindergarten kids, will easily tell you that all of the above combined would still not complete the Diwali spirit. So what is missing? Any guesses?   There are no prizes if the answer comes from someone in Delhi NCR. Yes, it’s the ...

After what seemed to be an aimless exercise, Imperfecto's tired and pretty much defeated eyes, spotted a huge signboard on a posh looking gate. The signboard of 'Vedic Towers' was partially covered by a loosely tied white cloth banner which had words 'Thinking Career Fair' screaming at passersby. Imperfecto's joy knew no bounds. He quickly crossed the road towards the tall buildings on the other side. Vedic Towers would easily touch the sky, thought Imperfecto, as he looked up at the glass façade of the imposing structure in the fading daylight.   He made an entry in the register of visitors at the entrance of the building and joined the short queue for the security check just below the banner. The security guard was merely ticking the checkbox by a half-hearted top body scan with a beeping detector. He seemed exhausted performing the same activity since morning, but who cared? All the visitors wanted was a quick passage and he didn’t do a deep dive. ...

A rude jolt broke Imperfecto's brooding as he crashed over an elderly neighbour who cast a scowl. Before the reprimand came he managed to meekly apologise. He had been conditioned not to hurt anyone. Over time, this thought had strengthened its foundation and extended to inability to refuse anyone without feeling extremely guilty. He just could not say no and if he had, for a higher compulsion, the next few days would make him guilty to the core. The other attribute which accompanied this foundation was believing everyone on their face value, no matter what. Quite a vicious cycle, right? Slowly but steadily, he was slipping in the quicksand and his endless struggle to stay out of it had unknowingly made him shy, introvert and sensitive. Even today, he could not see where he was going. That's when his recall power sprang back. 'Oh yes! I know' he smiled to himself. A newspaper advertisement had announced a career carnival at central town square, where leading compan...

Imperfecto was looking out through a narrow gap in the crowded public bus. It was hopeless to try anything else after being pushed around every few seconds. The whole population of the town seemed to have been stuffed into this rickety bus. He had no idea why he was in this bus or where he was supposed to go. The only thought vaguely floating in his casual memory box was that he had been advised to hop onto this one since it went to the central town square. He asked a few bystanders at the bus stop who not only affirmed it but also pushed him inside with themselves following suit. Without a second thought Imperfecto had made his quantum leap into the faded white bus which had just moved after a brief halt. The sudden jerk propelled him inside a can of sardines and with some good help (read stuffing clothes in an already packed suitcase) from his co-passengers he had managed to stand on his own.   Why 'central town square'? he wondered. The constant chatter of co-passen...

In my earlier post, we discussed the importance of leading your life as per your choice and not on the advice of others . In life, we are presented with situations when our minds are perplexed and not able to take instant decisions. Let me give you two instances while being on the road: one, an example from my own life and the other, a typical situation. Situation 1: A few years back I was driving on my way to office on a particularly busy stretch which at that time was unusually empty. I was driving at moderate speed on the right line parallel to the divider. The road was filled with potholes and with experience I thought I  knew how to negotiate them. Trucks were usually parked in a straight line parallel to the left edge of the road. One particular large pothole came into view a little late and I swerved to the left to avoid it, fully conscious that no other vehicle was around. Unknown to me just at that moment a bike was riding beside me and as I took the sudden l...

Food hygiene in India remains a major concern. When I was growing up there was a belief that street food is unhealthy and should be avoided. Packaged food was preferred since it was supposed to be tested as per existing law and a general belief that large companies would not take a chance with their products or their reputation. This belief literally went for a toss once the Maggi controversy surfaced. The incident revealed a can worms and opened up a Pandora's box. It not only appears that the laws were not in place to adequately address such issues but there was sufficient lax in implementation of the existing laws. We would still want to believe that international food chains operating in India have taken adequate safety measures akin to that of their US or European parent's health standards. They advertise their products showing pride from their foreign origin or international reputation and legacy. But when it comes to serving...

The Great Indian Cricket Bubble has finally burst this week with the IPL betting and match fixing controversy gobbling up 2 teams and once again bringing the ‘gentleman’s game’ into disrepute. On the brighter side India hogged the headlines over the weekend in another continent when tennis history was created. The women’s doubles and mixed doubles were won by Sania Mirza and Leader Paes respectively with their common partner, Martina Hingis. To top it, the boy’s doubles title was won by Sumit Nangal of India with his Viatnamese partner. Truly a fantabulous achievement, especially in our country, where only one sport has the privilege to be on the cover pages screaming headlines, for good or bad. I wonder why? Why has cricket assumed so much importance in our nation’s lifeline that we do not seem to be able to survive without it? If that is so, why is cricket not our national sport, as many would wrongly believe?   Our modern sporting history got off to...