Why Cant We Differentiate Good From Bad

There is no profession which allows a novice to become a practitioner. A medical doctor undergoes years of academic training, does an almost suicidal residency, finishes a specialised course, works under a superior for years, before there is credibility and fame. Lawyers, engineers, chefs, CA's - you name it. Include liberal and performing arts in the list... Singers, music producers, dancers, technicians. 
Even politicians who aren't born with a silver spoon start at the mohalla, corporation, and climb up to legislative assembly, before heading to the Parliament. 

The point i am making is, there is a certain amount of experiential learning involved in everything. Of course, education gives a degree, but it is the practice of the craft / trade that empowers the person. 

As consumers we talk to friends, family, references before picking the professional when we need any service. We ask references for doctors, lawyers, plumbers, etc... Others we trust 'recommend' the service based on word-of-mouth or individual experience. They tell us good from bad - and we find out for ourselves too, by interaction. 

Then why are we blinded while consuming media?

 

Most of us watch television and movies and read newspapers right from our childhood. We are exposed to all sorts of fare. And i am hoping people develop taste after a certain point of time. But this is where i am completely wrong!! Time and again, i ask myself why do we get subjected to shit on television? Or the bad reporting and grammar in the newspapers? Why are news so terrible on television? Why are we served with idiotic movies with unrealistic plots and executions? There is creative liberty - and there is the 100cr club!!

Let me take an example that everyone can relate to... 

Food. From childhood itself we know tastes, what to expect in what dish / preparation, what goes best with what, so on and so forth. I am confident that if we are ever served with a poor tasting food, we will immediately notice it, point it out. Often little bit salt here and there is enough to create a storm on the dining table! 

If eating food on a daily basis gives us enough sense to differentiate good from bad, tasty from bland, cooked from raw, edible from gone bad - why cant we differentiate good TV serials / movies / news / newspaper from bad - if we watch movies for 10-15 years?

I sometimes feel our apathy to what we consume on TV matches with the proven theory: money doesn't buy class. No amount of education or exposure will prepare the audience for "learning" to view. Perhaps it is time that we "teach" people how to consume media... Make everyone Pavlov's projects and condition their viewing skills. 

Sometimes i am shaken with the terrifying reality of our lack of judgement! How can people appreciate bad stuff!? They spend money and time to celebrate mediocrity. I think humans overall are lazy. They want appreciation for doing regular things. Hence they appreciate average presentations. 

I need to correct my opening line: 
There is no profession which allows a novice to become a practitioner - with the possible exception of media, which is a free for all. Since we don't know who is dishing out the junk, the audience needs to take charge and be more demanding. 

The bottom line is, its about our judgement. If we continue to consume BS, we will be force fed some more BS. 

The Pawar Equation

There is a standard argument that my parents have - known trigger, predictable response and sulking. This fight happens regularly, and the topic of this unique argument happens to be "saheb". 

It starts with something in the newspaper or TV. My father will comment on the issue and close it with how saheb has everyone in his pocket. Something like, "He is the big daddy". And that statement just irks my mother no end... 

Jokes apart, saheb is a standard response to many questions, like:

Who owns this land; 

Who owns this building; 

Who runs the sugar factory; 

Who controls the district cooperative banks; 

Who is funding real estate; 
Who has a stake in this / that; 
Who runs the government; 
Who has got XYZ person / political party on the ropes; 

Who owns the public bus service; 

Who is swinging the ball in the BCCI controversy; 

Who knows it all; 

Who is the smartest / most cunning politician; 

among many others.

The question "Do all roads lead to saheb?" is a debatable. However, people living this part of the world understand how deep the influence runs. We all have heard of his memory where he remembers names of people he's met 30-40 years back; the strong local support; the networking; and how he has a finger in every pie. You have to live in and around Pune to comprehend The Pawar Equation. 

So when my father says "saheb this, saheb that" in a tone of admiration, it gets my mothers goat. And for a good reason too. 

Her logic is simple: Why do people refer to him as if he is omnipotent? If its an open secret that he owns so much land, property, and has a stake in reality around - and it is claimed that he owns only 6 acres of land, why is there no investigation? 

That's one. The other thing is, isn't it a matter of great shame that he's referred to in admiration? If he stands for what is wrong in Pune, why are people of Pune so much in awe of the man!?

Conspiracy theories aside, the man has shown several masterstrokes in his long innings in political arena as well as other areas of his interest - the latest being "outside support" to the Fadnavis / BJP government in Maharashtra. 

Thank god there was a voice vote so we don't know if the BJP government got 'vocal' support from NCP. Everyone agrees that taking support from NCP doesn't bode well for the image of BJP; and exactly opposite for the reverse (where giving outside support to BJP ensures protection of tainted NCP cadres). The subtlety of this entire affair, and the immense political acumen does bring out a sense of awe. 

The bottom line is since YB Chavan we have not had a single 'truly' influential leader in Delhi. It is time we introspect and see if we want to be holed up in a well, or join resources to take the long leap. Each and every MLA in the house should remember that the State is not the Mumbai - Pune - Nasik corridor. Each MLA must want to make his constituency prosperous like Baramati. 

I am sure good things can be learnt too. 

Wish you an Irrelevant Diwali?

In our pre-liberalisation era, Diwali was long awaited festival for many reasons. My parents actually used to get a bonus and gifts from their employers. For my sister and me, Diwali meant new clothes, new shoes, lots of fun goodies to eat, going to relatives / them coming over, exchanging gifts - and again, special Diwali eats. I remember purchasing cloth for getting clothes stitched one month before Diwali... going to the tailor, getting measured and reminding him multiple times to keep the clothes ready before Diwali day. I have fond memories of nights when my mother and grandmother would prepare 'faral' items after the days chores were over. Me, sitting in the kitchen waiting to pop some fresh items as the official taster! 

Everyone we knew planned expenses around the festival. It was THE big thing of the year. For a country transitioning from agrarian economy to urban industrial areas, the festival (like many others) meant to connect us our socio-economic-cultural heritage. 

All our festivals have roots in the natural calendar. We had summer weddings because once the spring harvest was done, there was cash inflow. Post wedding season, there were a slew of occasions lined up for the newly married girl to visit her parental home - satya narayan pooja in shravan, rakha bandhan, janma-ashtami, vat pournima, kojagiri pournima, Ganesh chaturthi, Dussera, and the first Diwali, where she brought her husband along. 

Over the last few years, my sentiments about most festivals have become more and more practical. The question that's bothering me is has our perennial prosperity dampened enthusiasm towards most festivals, especially Diwali? Does having purchasing power all year long make these festivals any less special?

I buy new clothes, shoes, gadgets any time of the year. I don’t need an occasion to eat out, celebrate. The Diwali special eats are available in sweet shops. The "special-ness" of Diwali has certainly diminished for me, perhaps making it irrelevant.

Perhaps I am confused between reminiscing about the Diwali holidays and comparing it with our present day grind. Perhaps it is disillusionment with the way the festivals are celebrated. Perhaps it is a reminder to make the most of these occasions to socialise...

I am not bearish about festivals and festivities. People should continue to do things that make them happy. Yes, I will continue to light lamps, and eat the goodies that friends and relatives bring, and exchange gifts. These are all indicators of the fun times. The 'happiness' symptoms are all there - just feel that the soul is missing.

Is coverage of sexual assault cases numbing our senses?

A decade back, or even before that, rapes, molestation, sexual assault cases were relegated to 5 lines on page 2 or the crime page - as a one among the many reported pick-pocketing, robberies, cheating cases. I imagine the crime reporter coming to work only post lunch, calling few of his police buddies and noting down the FIR details. His interest getting piqued only with something sensational - like an acid attack, or double murder, or rape and murder, or some who-done-it; and then rallying with the Editor for some space on the front page. 

With the mushrooming of electronic new channels, the pressures of running a 24x7 channel and the hunt for "breaking news", saw crime stories transitioning from relative obscurity to discussions in our living rooms. The Nirbhaya Delhi rape galvanised citizenry. Protests across the country. Demands for better laws, better implementation of those laws. NGOs got more active. Sensitizing the police force. Data got shared. More cases started getting reported. A lot of content is being generated - around self-defence, about asinine comments by those in power, on equality of the genders. 

The discussion on sexual assault needs to happen - in our homes and schools - and not only in news studios. The reporting helps other victims come out, reducing the shame. The blame is slowly but surely shifting from the survivor to the perpetrator. And there is no doubt that the media, including digital guys have played a role in creating awareness. 

What is disturbing me, is since winter 2012, almost every week there is a rape story in news. Complete with the gruesome details. Consistently, on a clockwork there is a rape story followed by another. Sometimes with dramatic re-creations. One more shocking than the other. Each unique and more disturbing and perverted. 

Yes, those crimes are happening. And they need to be reported. 

Me, personally - i am getting numbed by the hammering of stories and extensive coverage. To re-live the human suffering, week after week, to know the intimate details of the tragedy, case after case, is causing some sort of emotional bankruptcy in me. I feel that by watching / following the reporting of rape cases, will eventually lead to some kind of self-protective emotional shutdown. 

I don't want to not care. But right now, at this moment, i feel sapped. I fear that future sexual assault cases will become a blind spot. The indirect pain as an audience, and the direct shame as an Indian male, are real. There is a feeling of helplessness as there are hundreds of cases been discussed, and new one still comes up. Catharsis works when there is an outflow. Right now, there is an overloaded of inflow and no outlet for expending of these emotions. There is only impotent rage. 

I often wish the court verdict and actual carrying out of the punishment, should be discussed by the media as much as the case itself - so that there is some sort of mental closure for the audience. 

All this is definitely affecting everyone at a subliminal level. They just don't know it yet. 

Achche Din Kaise Aayenge

What i appreciate about PM Modi is, he has intended and mentioned that he wants to bring everyone together - opposition, bureaucracy, CMs - to the task of nation building. The other thing that is noticeable is staying away from religious / communal polarisation, by not commenting either way. The interesting thing in the last one month is, barring a few leader who insist on stoking secular/communal flames, the discussion has moved to development and governance with Modi 2.0 and everyone is hoping that is a good thing. 

IMO, most political parties have understood the religious card, dividing us on communal lines, objectifying us as vote banks, is not working anymore. The next logical step should be to weed out the criminals, bring in more candidates of diverse backgrounds, include more women and make governance at grass-root level a mandatory for leaders to rise. 

There is one thing that is troubling me though. How do we evaluate the core campaign promise of "achche din" in the next five years? It might mean many things to many people - employment, (sense of) security, inflation, rising stock market, larger part of the GDP on health and education, reduced corruption, transparency, tax reforms, police reforms, land reforms, sanitation, cleaning up rivers, FDI, foreign policy, affordable housing, retur of black money stashed away in tax havens - and many more. I'd say each Indian will have an unique wish list and set of expectations from PM Modi and his government. 

However, that still doesn't answer the "achche din" definition and i will tell you why: On any day, in any city of the country - just observe the beheviour of our fellow country men at traffic signal for few minutes. There will be late lateef's who will speed thru a red light, there will be those who are inching ahead from the left, there will be the bold ones who will break away when it is not their turn. Now don't let me single out only those with vehicles... There are jaywalkers who will ignore red / green and just walk as if it is their god-given right, and those who prefer walking on the road instead of the footpath. There will be pedestrians who take their own sweet time to make up their mind where they want to go, while standing in the middle of the road... 

For me, the "achche din" comes down to the small things in life. The unnecessary traffic jams at railway crossing, when impatient idiots go on the wrong side of the road, and choke oncoming traffic. The careless bus driver who stops the bus in middle of the road, instead of at the bus stop. The greedy rickshaw-wallah who refuses to take short distances. The asshole who honks while the signal is still red. The careless person who is talking on the mobile phone while driving / riding, or cradling the phone between shoulder and ear and speeding away. 

These and many more people like this are constantly gnawing at my day-to-day peace. They are the ones who cause road-rage. They are the thorns as we hopefully land up in to the "achche din" democracy. 

Now that the political discourse is changing, i think it is time for the auxiliary organisations of political parties to focus on other things too. These auxiliary bodies have long-guarded our culture and religions and languages, which are as old as time itself. They have used their better judgement to censor what we should read / watch / listen / do - instead of letting us choose for ourselves. They have used fear and intimidation and destruction to force us to see things their way, without trying to chat, reason and see the other side. 

These auxiliary bodies will do the nation a great disservice and to the PM himself, if they continue to increase the nuisance value and not be a part of the "achche din" initiative. 

They need to stop "creating news" and indulging in hooliganism / goondaism, and focus on being a part of the constructive system. Won't it be wonderful sight to see the volunteers of these organisations partnering with traffic police and manning understaffed signals? Just like they go door-to-door canvassing votes, why should they not go to houses and mohallas and hold camps to educate people on how to cross roads? Or how it is important to make way for an ambulance. Or not spit in public. 

I think it is time for them to re-invent themselves, as their larger political masters are taking the direction of growth and governance.

Those who think that Civics is a school subject, and not to be followed on the street need to wake up! The long arm of the Law will catch up with the criminals. What about those who are super busy doing one little transgression at a time?

Well, i don't know how the turnabout is going to happen, but i hope it does. For me, the "achche din" initiative will be reality when we follow traffic signals on the day signals are not working. When people wont shamelessly declare - India mein gaadi chalyi, toh duniya mein kahi bhi chala sakte hai.

That, will be "achche din". 

Columbidae Colombiformes - The Scary Flight

Don't let the title of this post rattle you... Last week, I had a horrific experience with a "Columbidae Colombiformes" that shook me up pretty bad. As I struggled to get my adrenaline levels back to normal after fighting a prolonged one-on-one with a Columbidae Colombiformes - a.k.a. pigeon, hundreds of questions came to my mind - What purpose does the pigeon serve? Why is it not on the "soon-to-be-extinct" list? Why did Noah allow them on the ark!?

My earliest memory of these birds will be that of a kabootar-khana. Before Pune woke up to the gains of concretisation we had a huge playground where 3 cricket matches could happen simultaneously, without the wicket-keeper of one match and the third man of the other, having to rub their asses together. In one corner of this huge playground, there was a wooden rack with cheap aluminum netting... you know the hexagonal design which keeps things inside. Or outside, whichever way you prefer to see things. This shack housed a roost of pigeons. There were close to two dozen pigeons of all variety and colours. Two local boys from our area, who gave up education after taking the X exam head-on multiple times, ran this kabootar-khana. To put it loosely, it was their hobby. Yes!! These were pet pigeons and these two characters - Shankar and his mate - dedicated a considerable amount of time and money to feed and fly these pigeons. I don't know what the gig was, but I suspect it was to increase the size of their flock. They took great pride in the different call signs that these domesticated pigeons responded to during their flights. Sometimes a stray pigeon would join the flock and will be immediately fed and made a part of the roost. 

Last week it was deadly hot and humid in Pune. It was cloudy all day and night, and the anxiety of when it is going to rain was as unbearable as the humidity. It was nearing midnight, and I was catching up on pre-recorded seasons of Homeland before the new season began. My mobile was in the other room, and when it rang, I paused the set-top box and went inside. It was a brief chat, followed by responding to a few SMSes and WhatsApp, and when I returned to the living room, I saw a fully grown pigeon sitting on my sofa. It was staring at me, unflinchingly. From my first-hand experience of living in Mumbai, I knew that I could not let the pigeon spend the night on my sofa. I was in no mood to wake up to a house full of feathers or worse, pigeon potty. At this point when I was making up my mind, the pigeon too was getting resolute about not leaving the sofa. I tried to startle it with a jump. No reaction. Nothing at all. I switched off the ceiling fan, fully opened the doors of the balcony and changed my angle of attack. I tapped on the sofa a few more times and got its attention. When I beat two pillows together it flew off... into the kitchen. To my horror, it was perched directly above my moderately stocked bar and a lot of glassware. This was fast turning into a crisis. I chased it from that shelf and it settled down a few feet away in the washbasin. Quickly, I took all the bottles and glassware and kept them on the dining table. 

I was losing on multiple fronts. First, getting the pigeon to lift off from the basin was getting very tricky. Second, since I had switched off the fan I was drenched in sweat. And finally, I was getting sentimental about the enemy - what if it is scared of the dark? Or of the dark heavy rain clouds and it somehow knew they were going to pour that night?

Quickly I put these thoughts at bay and renewed my attack inspired by the scene from The Hulk. I switched off all the lights in the house and switched on the ones on the balcony so that it can fly out.  

The steel of the basin helped in creating enough din for the pigeon to lift off without damaging anything else on the counter. Unfortunately, it decided to go back to the other platform and found a nook between water bottles and some plastic hold-alls. It was impossible to get it out from there. Clearly, there was not enough room for it to waddle backwards or fly off! My only option was to move the plastic boxes, which meant going to the bird's extreme proximity. I was just hoping that there is enough time between my moving the box and the bird taking off. Now, remember, I was doing all this in the dark as I expected the bird to fly off to the balcony. 

Luckily for me, the pigeon didn't try any stunt when I created room for it. I returned back to the corridor leading to the bedroom, hoping the pigeon turns around, take flight and exit from the balcony. Things went according to plan and the pigeon flew from the kitchen!! But my happiness was short-lived, as the damn bird decided to attack me! Yes, in a dark house lit only by the yellow light of the balcony streaming in, I was engaged in a one-on-one with a pigeon in a narrow corridor. It was flying at my face level, claws directed at me. I was armed with a hand towel and my free hand, but my arm movement and hence my reach were restricted due to the walls of the corridor. I was cornered with a closed bedroom door behind me, and I did what Sun Tzu had predicted hundreds of years back. 

It was not simply a battle between a pigeon and a man. It was a war for the occupation of the house. It was me fighting to make sure the message goes out loud and clear - that this house will be a human domain... that the pigeons were not welcome to squat here... that they cannot carpet bomb my house. 

In a fight for good vs evil, I drove the evil out of the house. The aerial fight and hand combat lasted a couple of very long minutes. I could make out the outline of the enemy and hear flapping sounds to target my attack. Those two minutes were sufficient to establish my speed of attack. The pigeon understood it was quickly losing this battle despite having the advantage of night vision. After one last flight above my head, it turned around and swung out of the balcony door and sat on my clothesline. I immediately closed all the doors and windows, put on the lights, and switched on the fan. As I sat down on the chair, trying to get my heartbeat to normal, I took stock of the damage done. The water bottles were lying around the counter, and the cocoa powder which I use to make my potent rum cake had not survived the fall and was all over the kitchen floor. There were a few feathers scattered around the house. It looked like a battlefield. 

As I stepped in the shower, I wondered if anyone other than Prem Choudhary from MPK and Raj Malhotra from DDLJ - both fictional characters have benefited from these birds... I felt acute anger towards that woman in our society who throws grains for pigeons in some misplaced sense of good deed of the day and expects the society to clean up the pigeon droppings from her terrace. I felt anger towards the people who built kabootar-khana in Dadar west. 

When I switched off the lights, I thought of the darkness I had created and the victory I had claimed. I was ready to put this experience behind me and call it a night. 

Rantings about Civil society and Political parties

This is a top of mind flow of thoughts regarding the state of our democracy. Despite being a regular voter in Pune, my name didn't feature in the voters list - just like thousands of citizens. Yes, its partly my fault that i didn't check the list before. But since i am a existing voter, i thought there is no reason for my name to be dropped. The entire Form 6 thing is for first time voters...

Much has been said about the agitation at the Collector office last week. On 18th April morning, i went to Council hall where other voters (who were dropped without any notice) and concerned citizens had gathered to get an audience with the EC or Dist Collector. It was a regular gathering of regular folks like you and me who don't have party allegiance had gathered to make some headway to exercise their right to vote. Citizens, breadwinners, day wage workers, activists, people from NGOs, housewives, tax payers, political workers - a motley crew of people who had one thing in common: Get the Right to Vote for those who were unfairly deleted, and have re-elections in Pune latest by 13 May (which is the last voting date).

Between all the cool conspiracy theories and wild allegations, one thing that came out strongly was, everyone wanted to say something. There was so much anger and disappointment. I myself was feeling terrible for being unable to vote in what possibly are the MOST critical elections of our times. Everyone was charged and motivated to be part of this much anticipated "change".

As more and more time passed at this agitation / demonstration, i realised that no civil society movement can happen in India. What the civil society members can do is, sit on hunger strike, file a PIL, form societies and create atmosphere that will create pressure on the authorities to take cognizance. Common folk who assemble to voice their concerns, who come from far and wide to right some wrongs, have no clue about these protest / agitations. I want you to picture your next door neighbour - the regular guy - who comes with some sort of idealism in his heart, hoping to get some "justice" by baring the "truth". The regular folk do not have the muscle or the pull to get attention of the high and mighty.


Where political parties score, is their organisational ability. They can conjure up durries to sit, megaphones to communicate instructions / speeches to the protesters, get water for those who are braving the summer sun. At a basic dialog level, they bring in lawyers who can suggest the legal way ahead. Since political parties interface between the bureaucracy and citizens on a regular basis - they have a comfort level of interacting with the administration. They have access to media channels and reporters, who can really make it a topic of discussion.

Another realisation was, if a concerned citizen or a group of citizens have been wronged and they are creating some noise about it, it is very easy for political parties to come and hijack the agenda. Once the gathering turns to a political party discourse, where does the apolitical, non-aligned, common man go!? 

How will any civil movement ever happen in India? How was the anti-corruption protest done? How did people come down to Rashtrapati bhavan during the Nirbhaya protests? I understand both these examples are very different, but it has to be beyond social media.

I would like to know how.