The Little girl in Dubai Dolphinarium…!

Recently I had been to watch the Dolphin show in Dubai Dolphinarium. There my attention was caught by a cute little girl who was very enthusiastic about the show ever since she entered the Dolphinarium. I could see that from the way she looked excited and how she actively she was interacting with her parents. Her parents were also happy to see their child so happy.

One of the items in the show was that some of the children were given numbered plastic balls to throw in water at one. The child whose ball is picked up by the Dolphin is a winner. This girl also actively participated in the game. However, her ball was not picked up by the Dolphin and someone else was declared a winner. The girl walked back to her seat along with her father but there was a total change in her mannerism now. She was no more looking excited and cheerful, as she did just before the ball throwing game. She sat on her seat with folded hands and frown on her face. She was trying to express her displeasure at not being declared the winner. Her parents were trying to console her and cheer up by saying that she was still the best and that this loss did not mean anything to them. However, she sat in the same posture for rest of the show.

It brought forward some important questions to my mind. Why did the child get so upset if she did not win a particular game? The reason is that she has not been taught how to take failure by her parents. Many parents, in order to please the child, always tell them that they are the best and praise them even if they err. That instills a super-confidence in them and they start believing that they are real heroes. This creates much bigger problems in life of these children later.

However, the more important questions was that after the child was upset with the results, she did not enjoy the remaining part of the show, which was equally or more exciting than before. However, she did not enjoy it at all, because she was too pre-occupied in expressing her emotions to her ‘caring’ parents.  In pursuit to display these emotions, she missed the show. And who was affected because of her endeavors? No one but her. The show went on as usual, The other hundreds of children and people clapped and enjoyed as before. Her parents were of course a bit concerned, but not to the extent she was affected.

Here is the irony. Many adults behave the same way. Whenever they get upset with someone or something, they cannot concentrate on what is happening in front of them for next few hours, days or even weeks, because they keep thinking of the past unpleasant incident. This behavior deprives them of enjoying life’s those moments which are not going to come back ever again. And again, who gets affected here is not anyone else, but they themselves.

There is no meaning in spending time about thinking regretful past and missing out on the current life.

Life is meant to be enjoyed each moment…!

Will the Wal Mart ever come to India…?

The Wal-Mart management convenes an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis situation arising after the ‘lobbying exercise’ is exposed. A senior management team from Wal-mart visits India and meets Karunanidhi, Mayawati, Mulayam, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi to understand the issues and to start the process of opening the stores. Will they open their stores after meeting these leaders? Read on….! (This is a work of fiction and not intended to hurt anyone’s feelings. Apologies if anyone’s sensibilities are hurt.)

Will the Wal Mart ever come to India…?

The CEO of Wal-mart calls President and the MD to his office for an urgent meeting. The agenda is to discuss the crisis situation arising after the ‘lobbying exercise’ in India is exposed.

CEO: Gentlemen, what is the problem in India? Let me understand the issue first.

MD: Sir, there is no issue here. We paid ‘lobbying charges’ to the government for facilitating our entry in Indian markets.

CEO: So, what is the problem then?

President: Sir, the problem is created by those political parties outside the government, who have supported this bill in parliament. They are feeling bad that they did not get a share of the ‘lobbying charges’, even though their support was essential to get the bill passed in parliament.

CEO: Oh I see… no problem. Please go and meet them. Let us pacify them and do some ‘lobbying’ with them also, so that our passage to India is smooth.

Next day, the President and MD come to India. First, they meet Karunanidhi.

MD: Sir, we are very happy to meet with you. We thank you for supporting the FDI bill. We are interested in opening Wal-mart stores in India. Do you have any conditions for us?

Karunanidhi: Vanakkam. Actually I do not like your entry in Indian markets. However, to ensure that none of our ministers go into jail again, I supported the bill. Now, I have some conditions. Please note that all sign boards within all your stores in Tamil Nadu should be only in Tamil. The announcements are to be made in Tamil. The name of your stores shall be ‘Wal-mart kadai’. Is that ok with you?

President: Sir, what if we do not accept your conditions?

Karunanidhi: (Smiles) Then the government will fall in no time. No government... No Wal-mart. Mind it…!

The President and MD are very upset. They then go to meet Mayawati.

MD: Madam, we are very happy to meet with you. We thank you for supporting the FDI bill. We are interested in opening Wal-mart stores in India. Do you have any conditions for us?

Mayawati: Yes. I supported the bill to ensure that CBI does not chase me for the wealth amassed by me in my earlier tenures. However, I have some conditions. I want 50% of the staff employed by you to be from the reserved quota. Don’t bother if they do not perform. They will learn in few years. Also, I want that the customers from certain castes should be given 50% discounts. There should be special counters for these categories so that they do not have to wait in long queues.

President: Madam, what if we do not accept your conditions?

Mayawati: (Smiles) Then the government will fall in no time. No government... No Wal-mart.

The President and MD are very upset. They then go to meet Mulayam Singh.

MD: Sir, we are very happy to meet with you. We thank you for abstaining during the vote. We are interested in opening Wal-mart stores in India. Do you have any conditions for us?

Mulayam: Yes. My party is very strong and our party workers are everywhere. They take very special care of our people. That is why they carry weapons with them every time to deliver justice on the spot. Sometimes they brandish these weapons also and do not hesitate to use them whenever required. These loyal party workers will come to Wal-mart from time to time. They should not be stopped while entering or leaving the stores. No money should be asked to them for any good lifted from your stores.

President: Sir, what if we do not accept your conditions?

Mulayam: (Smiles) Then the government will fall in no time. No government... No Wal-mart.

The President and MD are very upset. They then go to meet Manmohan Singh.

MD: Sir, we are very happy to meet with you. We thank you for bringing up the bill in parliament for discussion. We are interested in opening Wal-mart stores in India. How do we proceed now that the bill is passed?

Manmohan Singh: Er... Oh... I see… but you know… yes yes... ah…!

MD: Sorry sir, but we did not understand you.

Manmohan Singh: Oh… Er... You know… see… actually… you know… Hehehe…!

The president whispered in MD’s ears: Sir, I had heard correctly. This guy does not speak. Even after one hour’s discussion, we will not get anything from him. Let us go.

They contacted CEO over phone in next steps. The CEO said, ‘There is one boy named Rahul Gandhi. People around him always pretend and give him a feeling that he is a superman. Maybe if our luck is good, he might do something for us.

So, they then go to meet Rahul Gandhi.

MD: Sir, we are very happy to meet with you. We hear that you are the future Prime minister of India. We are interested in opening Wal-mart stores in India. What are your views?

Rahul Gandhi: Oh good. I like super markets. You can go in and choose Ice creams, toffees, chocolates of your choice. Do you have play areas also in your hyper markets?

President: Sir, sorry, but we are discussing about feasibility of opening of the stores.

Rahul Gandhi: Oh yes. I love Butter scotch Ice creams. And the colorful Gems … I finish one packet in one go.

Soon, the President and MD realized that there is no point in any further talks with him. So, they return back to US after making some on-the-ground studies.

CEO: How was the trip to India?

MD: Sir, it is very difficult to deal with these politicians.

CEO: OK leave it. W shall manage them separately. How about logistics? Any issues?

MD: Yes sir, most of the Indian cities do not have power for many hours in a day. That would affect our cold stores.

CEO: Don’t worry; we shall install big Diesel Generators.

President: Sorry sir that would be unviable proposition because the government keeps increasing the Petrol and Diesel prices every three months.

Now the CEO was worried. He thought for a while.

Finally he said, ‘Ok. Let us withdraw from Indian markets.’

MD: Sir, there is a small issue here also. We need to do ‘lobbying’ to cancel our licenses and withdraw…

The CEO fainted in his chair.

The uncertain future of Congress party…!

Today the Congress party is on a threshold. It has its vast history behind and an unpredictable future ahead. It has ruled the country for majority of the period since independence. The country has grown in Congress rule all through the years. However, while the Congress can boast of bringing the present prosperity to the country, it also has to take the blame for the unfinished tasks still at hand, even after 65 years of independence.

The Congress of earlier times immediately after independence was fondly identified with the Charisma of an aristocratic Nehru and firmness of Indira Gandhi. Nehru had his own style of functioning, which was characterized by broad thinking, thinking the larger picture and love-all type qualities. He did not take any harsh decisions on any international matters, which could have been his strategy or weakness also. At the same time, Indira Gandhi is known more for her arrogance of power, absolute control of the party & people with some blackmailing tactics as well.

Sanjay Gandhi would have been a true successor for the Congress party, but destiny had something different in mind. Had he survived the crash, today Varun would have been in place of Rahul and vice versa. Sanjay was a politician who died in a plane crash while Rajiv was a pilot who died in politics. Rajiv became successor when he was not yet ready to take over the reins. Yet, it is remarkable that he showed all the qualities of a good learner and led the party well.

Sonia was a reclusive person after Rajiv’s sad and untimely demise but subsequently got drawn into politics. However, once she took the plunge, she ruled with full power. She realized that the congressmen were looking for someone to lead them and she made the full use of that opportunity. There is not a voice of dissent within her party. Even those who had left the Congress on the issue of her origins became allies of Congress at state as well as centre level. However, her rising health concerns, which require her to visit US occasionally,  mean that she may not occupy the top spot for a long time.

However, the so-far-smooth continuation of Nehru – Gandhi dynasty hit a temporary road block with the next generation. Rahul has been a reclusive leader who never meets media nor makes any intelligent points in the parliament. He never gives interviews and does not participate in debates. He is always well protected with senor leaders around him. He gets advice from a coterie called ‘young brigade’. While his campaigning has not been very successful so far, Congress is continuing to bank on him with a hope that someday he starts delivering on ground.

Priyanka Gandhi has been making some stray appearances during election season, but has not been actively in the news consistently. Her joining politics is as unpredictable as the monsoon of India. Added to that, the recent revelation about Robert Vadra has made her entry more difficult in politics. At one time during the campaigning of UP assembly elections, Vadra was seen campaigning with his team of followers. However, his possible entry into politics also is now indefinitely deferred.

For the first time, the Nehru Gandhi dynasty’s future looks bleak in Indian politics. Unless of course, some miracle happens. And miracles do happen in Indian politics. That too, quite frequently.

Outside the dynasty, the Congress has a very fractured and fragile structure. There are some senior leaders like Chidambaram, Antony and Kapil Sibbal who are Sonia Gandhi loyalists. All these leaders are past their sixties and they would be very uncomfortable in working under immature Rahul Gandhi. So, in future, if Rahul Gandhi is thrust on the party and Government, there is likelihood that they may either revolt or retire.

That is why, a young brigade is currently being formed, comprising of young MPs like Deora, Pilot, Scindia and Tiwari etc. so that whenever Rahul takes over in future, he is supported by this group. These are all in their thirties and forties and have a long innings ahead of them. They do not mind following a same-age Rahul Gandhi. However, as and when this happens, there would undoubtedly a cold war between the old veterans and the young Turks within Congress.

Simultaneously, with the strengthening of regional parties in India, the two major national party’s position has considerably weakened. They need to have the support of allies’ both pre and post elections to form the governments. And the support comes with a price. Today the Congress government is on ventilator with the outside support of Mulayam, Mayawati and Karunanidhi. If any two of them decide to vote against it, the government falls. These people are supporting the Congress just to suit their personal needs and not for any charitable purposes. 

The grass root worked of Congress party is most disillusioned person today. He is seeing a corruption-a-day. There is hardly any Congress leader not involved in any case. There are state level fights erupting as witnessed recently in Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. The state leadership in these and many other states comprises of the semi literate goons and mafia. The chances of good people joining politics are becoming remote with passage of time.

Under these conditions, it appears that the party which ruled India for so many years is finally facing extinction soon…!

The commonality between Rajesh Khanna, Kolaveri Di and Arvind Kejriwal…!

Success has a strange principle. When success is achieved in large measure and that too in a relatively short time, it actually becomes detrimental. The lasting success has to come in right quantities and in right time only.

Let us take three best examples to demonstrate this phenomenon.

Rajesh Khanna

Rajesh Khanna became a superstar in 1969. At that time the Bollywood was ruled by famous trio of Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. However, the equation was changed with arrival of Rajesh Khanna on the scene and he gave incredible 17 hit films in just three years. This feat is not achieved by any star in any language around the world till date. But this stupendous success came with a price. The people’s expectations were soaring with every hit movie and people wanted to see more and more of Rajesh Khanna. However, after seeing the stereotyped role of Rajesh Khanna for three years, people had enough of him. His films started doing average business. Amitabh Bachchan took the mantle from him by introducing the image of an angry young man in 1973 with ‘Zanjeer’.

Rajesh Khanna worked for rest of his life, almost 40 years, in supportive roles without the charisma. His solo movies literally struggled and failed at the box office from 1973 onwards. The aftermath of this sudden fall after meteoric rise must have been very painful for Rajesh Khanna. In contrast, Amitabh Bachchan has another record on his name. He gave one hit film per year for a continuous 16 years. That was a steady success which is glowing even after 40 years.

Kolaveri Di

The song Kolaveri Di is another example. It rose to fame almost in few hours after it went viral on the internet. It boasts of the maximum hits on YouTube in record short time. Suddenly everyone was singing Kolaveri Di. Many people searched for the song and heard it because of the hysteria it created among the people. All the TV serials immediately incorporated scenes involving the song in their episodes. Soon, there were imitations and remixes formed in several languages making it even more popular.

If one really analyzes the song, it does not have a great meaning. Rather, it does not have any meaning. It is a jumbled up mixture of some rhyming words. The shooting of the song was not great either. It is a dull recording studio with some unknown faces. Of course, the tune is catchy, but that was not the reason for its fame. The song got famous because of human inquisitiveness and ‘mob frenzy’ rather than any merits of the song. Since everyone is listening, I must also listen… this was the reason.

Today, we do not hear the song anymore. In any of its version...! Many people do not know the film, which this song belongs to. If and when the film will get released, people will surely get bored to see this song, as they have had ‘enough of it already in a short time’. Its too-fast-too-much success has killed its future.

Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal

Both Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal shot into fame on national scene simultaneously with the famous 13 day fast in August 2011. The agitation spearheaded by these gentlemen is still a wonder for various reasons. It is rarely that we see the middle class come out on roads across India in such large numbers for a common cause. People say that it had happened before in seventies during Jaiprakash Narayan’s agitation. It is very unlikely that even Anna Hazare himself can recreate the same magic again.

The point here is that they got too much success in short time. So, people’s expectation grew as well. And when they could not meet their expectations, there is already a sense of disillusionment among the people. After parting ways, Arvind Kejriwal had made some sensational exposes. However, the status today is that people are not taking him seriously anymore. The politicians, who were damn afraid of him, are now even ridiculing him. Anna Hazare has formed a new core committee, but its success is yet to be seen. Their past huge success has become a burden on them now.

Steady success

The examples of steady success are Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar. They had their bits of failure too. But they rose stronger after every fall. That’s why it is said that it is easy to reach the top, but very difficult to retain the top spot.

And finally, in a larger perspective, success spoils a person in hundred ways while a failure teaches him hundred lessons…!

A carpenter who became a millionaire…!

We have a three seater garden swing (Jhula) bought from ‘Home centre’ couple of years back. This is kept in the balcony and has been one of favorite place for us and our guests to relax either in the mornings or evenings while sipping hot tea or reading newspapers.

As the swing aged, its seat, comprising of thin flat plastic strips woven around the structure, became brittle and some of them started breaking. So, it needed a repair. Just as it was a pride of the home in its good condition, we were worried that it might become an embarrassment in its present and future condition, if not repaired soon.

So, I started my search one evening going from one furniture shop to another asking whether they would take up the repair works. I had carried with me the photos of the swing in my mobile so that it becomes easier to explain my requirement. After visiting three shops, I realized that it was going to be difficult, as no one was willing to do repair works. Then I had the final option of visiting the furniture lane in Karama where there are at least 25 furniture shops. I was quite sure to find someone there who could repair my swing.

However, I was getting a flat refusal from every shop there also, with an occasional advice to use super glue to the broken pieces, or to take it to a Chinese mall. None of the shops gave me any headway or positive indication of repairing the swing. As I had just one more shop left, I reluctantly entered inside the shop, more out of formality to complete my task rather than any expectation of finding a solution to my problem.

I saw the sales guy sitting on one of the display sofas kept in the showroom. I enquired him whether he would be able to repair a swing and showed him the photographs. For once, he said, yes it is possible. He estimated from the photo the material required for this and also the labor cost to complete the work. He enquired me for how much did I purchase this swing. When I told him the cost, he said, the repair cost would be around 70 – 80% of the purchase cost. But he kept on reiterating that it is possible.

I was in a dilemma. Should I get the swing repaired at such a cost or buy a new one. It was then that the discussion continued and he said that he was a carpenter who came to Dubai 27 years ago in search of a job. Over these years he became an owner of a chain of furniture showrooms. He said this to me not with any intentions of boasting, but just to give me an idea that he had the skills to estimate the work readily, as he had worked as a carpenter before. I was dumbfounded. I was standing in front of one of the most inspirational characters I ever met in my life. Often we read or hear about some rags-to-riches stories, but rarely do you get a chance to meet them. Here was one. There were several lessons to be learnt from this person.

I learnt my five lessons. They are as follows:

Positive attitude: When all other shops were refusing to take up this repair works mentioning that it is not possible, here was this man exploring how to make it possible. While others did not even bother to think about it, he actually estimated the costs for repair. He did not say NO. He provided options instead. This surely must have been one of his strategies on the way to success.

Hard work and dedication: It is amazing to see that a carpenter landing in Dubai 27 years ago has gone on to become owner of chain of furniture shops. This is only possible by hard work and dedication towards the profession. There could have been many carpenters who landed in Dubai along with him, but almost all of them would be either working as senior carpenters or might have returned back after their retirement.

Don’t forget your origins: I wondered that this person did not have any inhibitions in revealing to me that he was a carpenter 27 years back. One may branch out very high and in several areas in course of life, but one must not forget his roots. A person must respect his past because whatever he has achieved today is due to his yesterday’s conditions. The steel king Mittal has still kept his old fiat car in perfect condition and whenever he is in Kolkata he goes on long drives in evenings with his wife in his old car.  

Be simple and humble: A person’s greatness is reflected in his simplicity and humility. He was a millionaire, yet he was very humble. He wore very simple clothes. If he wanted he could be spending his evenings partying around, dressed in jazzy clothes, in high profile hang out places. Human desires have no limitations, anyway. But he chose to look after his business sitting in the showroom, focusing on each and every customer. He seemed to derive much pleasure from this activity. Some of the most successful yet down to earth humble people of our times are Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar.

Be ambitious: Azim Premji once said, ‘One must have ambitions at all times during the life time. With age there comes some limitation in what one can aspire for, but then one must continually revise his ambitions suitable to his age and circumstances. The important point is that one should not be left without any ambition’. Failure is acceptable but low aim is crime. This carpenter started dreaming big after landing in Dubai. He nurtured his ambitions. A person without any worthwhile ambition in life is like a boat left in the sea without controls. It moves in any direction. When a machine under performs to its capacity we repair it. But when a person under performs to his capacity, it is a wastage of the community and the country.

I did not ask his name. But it was not required either. He was a real life hero, who made the best use of his skills, capabilities, ambitions and desire.    

5 important lessons of life learnt from a Pigeon…!

One day we observed that there was an increased movement of Pigeon in our balcony. On closer observation, we found out that there was a nest being constructed on the pipelines near ceiling of the balcony. We were not in favor of pigeons making their abode in our home due to the cleaning issues and the smell associated with it. So, we decided to get the nest removed before the pigeons start actually living there.

However, it was 2 – 3 days by the time we called our watchman to remove the nest from balcony. The watchmen are adept at doing all such odd jobs without any inhibitions or qualms. He stood on a plastic chair, stepped up on the balcony wall holding the grill and reached the nest. He just removed the nest comprising of a neatly woven dry grass, leaves and wooden sticks. As he removed it we had a closer look at the nest and… were shocked to observe that it had two small eggs in it. So, the pigeons had been preparing a home for welcoming new arrivals in their family and had actually zeroed in, in our balcony for this auspicious occasion in their family.

Once the nest had been taken off, there was no question of trying to put it back, as it cannot fit in same place again. It had been constructed bit by bit by taking support of the pipe and wall. Once it is removed from the spot, it won’t really fit there. Moreover, we had requested the watchman to remove it all along, so just because there were two small eggs in it, we did not want to change our opinion. The watchman filled up the space with a plastic sheet to restrict the pigeons from constructing a new nest in same place.

However, we were not happy. The feeling started coming again and again in our minds that we were not being right in removing the nest. The mother pigeon was taking care of her unborn kids. The two lives were being formed in that nest. And in one stroke, just for our comfort, we destroyed their world. What right did we have to spoil someone’s happiness like this? We are vegetarians and so eggs are not something which we eat or bring home from market. Otherwise, the intensity of feeling would have been much reduced, or probably not there at all, since in process of our culinary desires, we would have broken several eggs.

We saw the mother pigeon come to balcony just few minutes after the watchman had left after doing this simple job of removing the nest. The mother pigeon was shocked to see the nest disappear and instead a plastic sheet in that place. The emotions do not clearly appear on pigeon’s faces otherwise we would have seen absolute shock, anxiety and anger on her face. Nevertheless, her movements reflected her feelings very well. She was moving continuously from the balcony grills to the spot where nest was, then unable to rest there due to lack of support, she was again flying to the grills. This happened repeatedly for next few minutes. We were very sorry for the pigeon.

We came inside the house and diverted our minds in other subjects like TV, newspapers etc. After some time, we went again to the balcony and saw that the pigeon had disappeared. The pigeon had seen us all along standing in the balcony and must have figured out that we were responsible for the calamity happened to her. Yet, she did not try to harm us in any whatsoever manner. She forgave us. I am sure, if any human being’s children were harmed by a pigeon, he would have definitely taken revenge on the pigeons. This was the lesson number one learnt by us from the pigeon. Forgive and forget others. In life there are several moments when we hold grudge against others. But it does not help the person in any manner. Instead he burns himself in the process. Nobility lies in not just forgiving but forgetting others for their mistakes.

We were relieved that the pigeon’s intensity of sadness had reduced. Surprisingly in afternoon, we saw the pigeon with a dry stick in her beak sitting on the balcony grills and looking for a right place to build a nest. So, the pigeon had accepted the misfortune befallen on her and had commenced the search for a new place for nest with a new enthusiasm. How quickly the pigeon had recovered from her grief? This was the lesson number two from pigeons. Many times in life we suffer calamities or adversities. But it will not solve the problem if we just sit down and brood over it again and again. At some point or other, we need to leave the past behind and make a new start. The earlier we start, the earlier we stand a chance to recover from the situation.

We also observed that the pigeon was now not just focusing on same spot, but was looking at new places as well. It was going in our neighbor’s balcony, our opposite house’s terrace, the tree near our house etc. So, it was keeping its all options open. Lesson number three. When we face a road block in our lives, don’t just look at the dead end. Explore other avenues to move forward. There ought to be new ways to proceed forward in every situation, one just need to explore them.

What also surprised us was the fact that the pigeon did not wait for the last minute when it was about to lay eggs next time, to look for a good place to build the nest. It took just few hours to arrive at the conclusion and start the process to build a new nest. Lesson number four. One should not wait for the need to become an urgency to act on the matter. If we act in advance with proper planning, we are bound to get good results. It is wrong for anyone to wait for the last minute to make a move in the desired direction, as many favorable options would have been closed by then. One is left with very few choices to make a decision in such a situation.

And lastly, the most important lesson learnt was that one should not lose enthusiasm while doing anything. The pigeon was appearing very active while searching for the new accommodation. It did not carry the sad feeling anymore. Any work which is not done with enthusiasm will not yield positive results. It is better not to do a work, rather than doing it without enthusiasm. Half hearted efforts always yield average results. For getting best results, the efforts also need to be great.

A pigeon had become our Guru teaching some important lesson of life to us…!

Ramlal's efforts to become a minister...!

There is a talk of possible reshuffling of cabinet ministers after the last month’s highly charged drama of Mamta withdrawing ministers and subsequently Karunanidhi refusing to take any cabinet berths after not-so-humble treatment meted out to Raja and Kanimozhi in last few months.

Rahul has been meeting PM frequently and media is speculating what would be transpiring in these meetings. For the record, Rahul has been making some sporadic statements like ‘I am now ready for the bigger role in government’, or something like ‘I am now ready to more responsibility in the party’ etc. No one really knows what these statements mean, because there is no apparent change in his functioning style ever since he joined politics. He keeps silent in the parliament whenever he attends it, he speaks about another issue when something else is happening somewhere etc. His recent remarks that 7 out of 10 Punjabi youth are drug addicts is as comic in nature as the one where he mentioned after the Delhi high court blast that our intelligence agencies are successful in averting 99% of the bomb blasts.  

Salman Khurshid had also turned to be an embarrassment for Congress when all the wrong doings of a trust managed by him for the welfare of physically handicapped has been ripped apart by the media with new evidences shown to people every day actively by all the news channels. Amidst this chaos, he cancelled his Haj trip, which further fuelled speculation about his continuance in the government. His hostile reactions caused him much more damage that the wrong doing itself.

Among the other existing ministers likely to be shown door are SriPrakash Jaiswal for his alleged role in Coal scam plus ‘old-wife-less-fun’ remark and Beni Prasad Varma who candidly opined that a person of Salman Khurshid’s stature cannot do a scam of paltry sum of Rs. 71 Lakhs. He would have taken it seriously, if the scam was worth Rs. 71 Crores.

It was a difficult task for the congress to choose some new faces for cabinet with a clean image. The party managers searched the party cadres from top to bottom, but everyone seemed to have some charge of corruption against him. Then someone proposed why not to bring a new face, from outside congress? Many Bollywood producers also occasionally brought some new faces for their films to get a refreshing touch to the story.

So, the search began for finding a new face. One who had a clean record…

Ramlal came to know about this search and applied for becoming a minister in the UPA government. There was an interview scheduled to test Ramlal’s knowledge about politics and his style of functioning. On the date of interview, Ramlal wore the typical khadi Kurta Pyjama, a trademark style of all politicians and went to the UPA office for the interview.

Ahmed Patel, Sonia’s political advisor was taking the interviews.

Patel: So, Mr. Ramlal, why do you want to be a minister?

Ramlal: So that I can earn more money. There are too many scandals going on involving huge money. I thought I should also make some money, before the country goes bankrupt.

Patel: But that is not a noble idea…what do you want to do for the ‘aam admi’ of this country?

Ramlal: Nothing. The aam admi has learnt to survive without any political intervention for ages now. They should be disturbed only during elections for votes. They should be left alone during remaining period of 5 years.

Patel: How would you function? What is your style of functioning?

Ramlal: There are several high-profile luminaries in congress. I will emulate any one of them.

Patel: That is the key. We are looking for a fresh face with no adverse credentials and one who has a ‘different’ style of functioning. Can you do that?

Ramlal: Yes of course.

Patel: Ok, let me test your skills. If opposition party throws a corruption charge at you, what will be your reaction?

Ramlal: I will just smile and look sideways, with an expression on my face pitying the intelligence of people in front of me.

Patel: Sorry, you cannot do that. That is Chidambaram style.

Ramlal: Ok then, I will counter those charges with some obscure laws referring some weird clauses and sub-clauses to claim that these allegations are totally baseless and false.

Patel: Sorry, but it is Kapil Sibbal style.

Ramlal: Ok, I will start abusing and threatening the person. I will challenge him to prove the charges against me. I will challenge him to visit my constituency.

Patel: Sorry, that is Salman Khurshid style.

Ramlal: Ok, I will downplay the allegation and say that there is no scam at all. I will also say that people will forget it all soon.

Patel: Sorry, it is Sushil Kumar Shinde style.

Ramlal: Ok, I will just refuse to speak to the media and close my Facebook account.

Patel: Sorry, that is a sacred style reserved for nation’s son-in-law.

Ramlal: Ok, I will keep quiet whenever anyone asks me anything.

Patel: Sorry, that is Manmohan Singh style.

Ramlal was now agitated. For everything he said he would do, there was someone who was already doing that.

Finally he said, ‘Ok, I will not do corruption.’

Patel thought for some time and said, ‘Then you are disqualified. For being a Congress minister, you need to be expert in doing corruption. Choose any field of your liking. The examples of areas already covered recently are Spectrum allocation, Commonwealth Games, Building meant for army personnel, Irrigation, Coal, Space deals etc. You need to use your creativity to identify any field untapped so far.’

Ramlal could not think of any field left by the current bunch of ministers.

Ramlal came out of the interview with a heavy heart. He wondered that for becoming a minister, the essential qualification were no more education, experience or any skill set, but the ability to do corruption. He was surprised that when the biggest power grid failure happened in Independent India, with 600 million people remaining without power for hours, the power minister was immediately promoted as Home minister.

He felt that he was good as an ‘aam Admi’. He had the developed the resilience to withstand all the pains and still be hopeful of a brighter tomorrow.

Kejriwal vs Kejriwal

In Bollywood language, Kejriwal had delivered three movies last week.  The Robert Vadra movie was an all time block buster, the Salman Khurshid movie was a super hit and the Nitin Gadkari movie was flop. Why did Kejriwal release Nitin Gadkari movie when he had the material for another potential hit movie, that of Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule? Was there any benefit of releasing a flop movie? Let us analyze the strange case of Kejriwal vs Kejriwal…!

Kejriwal – The trusted aid of Anna Hazare

Arvind Kejriwal had been one of the focal points of Anna Hazare movement ever since it came to limelight in 2010 - 2011. In every meeting of civil society, he occupied chair next to Anna Hazare. His media briefings were quite impressive, simple and clear to understand by a common man. He was considered as the strategy arm of Anna Hazare movement. Every decision taken by Anna Hazare was whetted by Kejriwal before any announcement was made.

The conflict with Anna Hazare

The movement took an unexpected turn when Kejriwal and his two associates had to break the fast after 10 days without apparent success. Even though Anna Hazare joined them later and fasted, the spotlight always remained on Kejriwal during those ten days. The movement ended with announcement of a political outfit to counter the callous and arrogant UPA government. It still remains a mystery whether or not Anna Hazare gave consent to that idea then. Publicly that was the start point for Anna Hazare and Kejriwal to part ways. Though Anna Hazare was a bit curt to Kejriwal in the initial few days after their separation, apparently he has now softened his stand.

Kejriwal – The politician

But this has taken Kejriwal on an uncharted territory. He had announced his decision to go ahead with a political party without adequate logistics or enough resources. There was no name for the party, not its ideology is published till date. It is not clear whether they would join with other parties if they don’t have the numbers to form a government on their own. If, yes, what would happen to the agenda of corruption? One thing is clear that they have great potential to cause damage to other parties even by sitting in opposition. The UPA can no longer challenge them on grounds of constitutional procedures and accuse them of showing disrespect to the established systems of governance in a democracy. He has to now continue marching on that route to maintain his authenticity in public domain. And his inexperience as a politician will start appearing soon.

Kejriwal vs Kejriwal

We are all aware of the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Similarly, the real fight happening today is between the Activist Kejriwal and the Politician Kejriwal. Their objectives are different, their modus operandi to achieve respective objectives is different and their constraints are different. Unfortunately, they clash with each other very often. And Kejriwal-the-person may not be able to cope with this dual entity for long. He needs to choose one way, as it is practically impossible to ride both horses at same time like ‘son of sardar’.

Robert Vadra expose

Activist Kejriwal earned accolades for his exemplary courage and accurate homework to take on the Gandhi family with explicit proof. It put the UPA in a tight spot to the extent that Robert Vadra started appearing like ‘national embarrassment’. The case is still alive and is being doused with more fuel by the Ashok Khemka episode and the denial of Corporation bank to have provided any overdraft as mentioned in audited reports of Robert’s company. The case is so weak for the Gandhi family that it looks extremely difficult for them to come out clean in this case. He has scored full marks for this expose.

Salman Khurshid expose

Then came the Salman Khurshid case. This was in collaboration with Aaj Tak channel. They did most of the spade work while he only verified those facts with help of RTI and jumped into the game. Salman Khurshid has lost much of his aura and sheen after his undiplomatic outbursts during the press conference, openly threatening Kejriwal and hurriedly distributing some equipment among the handicapped people to make for the shortfall of last three years and create new evidence in his favor. If Salman Khurshid’s image and popularity has taken a beating after this expose, he himself is more responsible for that than Kejriwal.  Kejriwal again came out successful from this expose.

Nitin Gadkari expose

Here started Kejriwal’s problems. His next expose was going to be Nitin Gadkari. He created much hype about this expose through his associate Anjali Damania, unlike first two cases.  Unfortunately, many times in life, too much of hype about anything creates a sense of disappointment later, as whatever comes out after the real event seems to be below the imaginary expectations. This was prominently noted in recent past for the much hyped events like Ra One release, Rahul Gandhi’s UP campaign, Obama’s performance as President, Anna Hazare’s subsequent fasts after the famous August 2011 fast etc.

The much hyped expose by Arvind Kejriwal on Nitin Gadkari also falls under the same category. Unfortunately, this case was much weaker in substance than the earlier two cases. The case was further weakened immediately, due to a surprisingly proactive approach by the BJP top brass, who were ready to face any eventuality. While Robert Vadra never appeared before the camera even once to clarify his position and Salman Khurshid is becoming increasingly aggressive and cheap, the BJP has explained its position point by point on the expose with much dignity and humility.

Political compulsions of Kejriwal

Why did Kejriwal choose to expose Nitin Gadkari, when he had more solid material against Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule? The reason is that the politician Kejriwal had an urgency to prove to the country that he is against Corruption and not against Congress. And to prove that point, he needed to cast some aspersions against BJP as well. Moreover, there was a growing perception in political class in recent months that BJP’s infighting has taken a toll in its position as a strong opposition. He needed to capitalize on that vacuum created by ineffective BJP. But unfortunately it boomeranged very badly on him, because in the process of proving BJP a corrupt party, he eroded his credentials as an activist who comes out with concrete evidence in every case. There are various unfounded theories doing rounds on Kejriwal’s expose of Nitin Gadkari. The prominent among them is that a section of BJP has used Kejriwal against growing stature of Gadkari within BJP.

The constraint of politician Kejriwal is that he cannot antagonize any political party beyond certain extent, since he does not know when he would require their help and in what context. Perhaps that was the reason why he chose to either hide or delay the Sharad Pawar expose. Or in a wild possibility again, Sharad Pawar has already ‘immunized’ himself from the activist Kejriwal by purchasing the politician Kejriwal. Sharad Pawar has demonstrated his expertise in such acts over last four decades.

The coming days are going to be difficult for Kejriwal-the-person when he would be required to reclaim his credibility. Now he faces competition from other activists like YP Singh, who are alleging him to be making selective exposes. He also called him a Hitler. Kejriwal needs to disprove this allegation on an urgent basis to win over the people’s faith in him.

He is now treading on a dangerous path and would pay heavy price for even silly mistakes. He is taking on the established politicians on their turf. His mass support is not yet proven in electoral success. We wish Kejriwal-the-person all the very best and hope that wisdom prevails on him in taking every single step.

With all his flaws, he is still the only person who has the desire and capability to bring a smile on the face of common man in India by fighting against corruption.

Robert Vadra's trial in court by Arvind Kejriwal...!

Since last one week, the news occupying the prime time debate on every news channel is about how Robert Vadra used his power in getting undue benefits from DLF. And similarly, how DLF got undue benefits from Haryana govt. in lieu of helping Robert Vadra.

There have been several views aired by various journalists, activists and politicians. Only the congress spokespersons have been vehemently disputing any wrong doing in this entire case, while everyone seemed to suggest at least an enquiry to bring the truth out.

A PIL has also been filed in Allahabad high court to allow some kind of investigation in this case. Let us assume that there is a trial carried out in court of law against Robert Vadra, fought by none other Arvind Kejriwal, the main person who brought this matter on national centre stage.

Arvind: ‘Mr. Robert, do you agree that you have purchased some assets from DLF at very low rates?’

Robert: ‘Yes, I do agree. I bought the assets at the rate at which they were sold to me by DLF. I too believe that they were at lesser rates than the market prices, however, I did not object to that, as it benefitted me personally.’

Arvind: ‘Did you obtain loans worth few Crores from DLF without any kind of surety?’

Robert: ‘Yes, I did take some loans for my business expansion.’

Arvind: ‘Did you not ask DLF, why they are providing you loans without any surety?’

Robert (Laughs): ‘Why should I be bothered if someone provides me a loan without surety? It is their problem.’

Arvind asks the judge permission to call DLF in the witness box.

Arvind: ‘Mr. DLF, did you sell some assets to Robert at very low prices?’

DLF: ‘Yes, we did.’

Arvind: ‘May we ask, why?’

DLF: ‘Our marketing and sales department keeps revising our product prices based on market conditions and competition in market. We do launch some promotional schemes from time to time. In one such scheme we sold some assets to Robert at low prices.’

Arvind: ‘But why only to Robert? Why you did not sell the assets to others at such throwaway prices?’

DLF: ‘It is our company, and we decide which schemes are offered to which of our customers. No one else should dictate to us, which schemes we offer to who.’

Arvind: ‘Did you give some loans to Robert without any surety?’

DLF: ’Yes, we offered loan to Robert as we wanted to promote the entrepreneur in him. Anyway, we had lot of surplus cash in our records. It is management decision how to use the surplus cash available with the company. No one can dictate to us whom should we give the loans and what kind of surety we should ask for disbursing these loans.’

Arvind: ‘Did you get some lands from Haryana govt. at very low rates?’

DLF: ‘Yes, we did buy some lands from Haryana govt. at rates lower than market price.’

Arvind: ’May I ask, how and why?’

DLF (Laughs): ‘How I got the lands at cheap price is not my problem. You should ask Haryana govt. for that. As regards why I bought the lands, I plan to develop this land by making new township there. It is my regular business to buy lands at cheap prices, develop them and sell at high prices to individual customers.’

Arvind asks the judge permission to bring Haryana Govt in witness box.

Arvind: ‘Did you sell lands at low prices to DLF?’

Haryana Govt: ‘Yes. We did sell some lands at cheap rates to DLF.’

Arvind: ‘Why?’

Haryana Govt: ‘The whole country has been reeling under inflation and price rises during last few months. The entire opposition has been pressurizing us to reduce prices. So, we thought of reducing prices.’

Arvind: ’But why did you sell the lands at cheap rates to DLF only? Why not others?’

Haryana Govt: ‘We started this scheme, but soon realized that if we sell the land at higher rates, we get more revenue, then the treasury will have more money and taxes can be reduced. So, to help the common man, we again increased the prices.’

Arvind was helpless. He asked the judge the permission to call UPA Ministers in witness box.

Arvind: ‘Why did you all defend Robert Vadra so strongly?’

UPA Minister: ‘See, Robert Vadra is an honest middle class businessman of this country. We will not allow any scandalous allegations by some miscreants to affect their image and reputation in this society. We are committed to protect the rights of every citizen of this country.’

Arvind looked even more helpless.

That night, god came in Arvind’s dreams. Arvind asked him, ‘Oh god, why are you allowing these thing to happen?’

God smiled and replied, ‘Dear Arvind, you are forgetting that you are living in Kaliyug…! Please learn to live like this.’

Arvind was not convinced. He asked, ‘Is there no solution to this?’

God said, ‘Yes, there is a solution. And that lies with the common man of this country. If every person of this country casts his vote consciously to the right candidate, definitely there will be a change.’

Arvind said, ‘And god, how do I get right candidates?’

God said, ‘You have already started a movement. It is very small movement right now. Please continue to awaken the sleeping people of this country. One day you will taste success.’ And god disappeared.

Arvind woke up. He had a big task in his hands.