The Dance of an Elephant... (and no... I don't enjoy dancing !!!)

I've just discovered about a bug that bites me twice a year, year after year; the itch of which lasts a full 2 and half days. The sting per se was not new to me, but the periodicity of it was what made me jump out (albeit in my chequered loin cloth ....) shouting Eureka ... Eureka !!! The symptoms, among others include 'Increased forwarding of group mails n SMSes', 'Butterflies in Stomach while watching TV and listening to Songs', 'Idealistic Bantering' which ends with a cup of Coffee and an agreement that 'nothings gonna change' ... The Character of this bug is that, sometimes it stings out of turn... especially triggered by a forwarded mail that cost only a click..

This bug is as non-discriminating as a Talib and I am sure would have given you a good measure of the incisiveness of its tingle. I know, I know.... enough of buildup ( I am bored too...). The Bug is this itch of patriotism that flares up every time the Calendar Leaf flips to mid- August and late-January. I don't know from where, but I am suddenly inundated with plethora of emotions, a concoction of love, respect, duty, responsibility (and.. and... ah no more words in the thesaurus , you too Brutus !!!) for Mother India... I get all pumped up with 'Ask not what the country has done for you but what you can do for your country' kinda punch dialogs and search for the magic wand with which I'll wish away all the ills of this country.

When the mails list the achievements (of our forefathers of course... luckily they were not as useless as we are !!!) CHESS, ZERO, DECIMAL SYSTEM, AYURVEDA, YOGA, TRIGONOMETRY.... (the list goes on like a Saas bahu serial !!!) and the modesty with which we carried ourselves (and continue to albeit in our means of living !!!); it gives me hair raising feeling; a feeling that can be equalled may be by the one that we had when we saw crybaby SreeSanth take a sitter from Misbah..

Those 5 days I get the ghost of Hitlerian supremacy complex that makes me feel that I am blessed to have taken birth in this astonishing, awe-inspiring wonder land... Then on my way to the office, a look out of the broken pane of the BMTC bus (that I am clinging on to cursing the unshaven, sticky, stinky, illiterate who is trampling my Lee Coopers..) transports me from my dream goody goody Incredible India to the land of snake charmers and elephants. My journey of fantasy TRAMPLED by reality.. (and I thought reality BITES !!!).

The pot-holes of reality, trammels my flight of fantasy grounding me to actuality, resulting in the raised hairs to fall flat like a failed rope trick. And suddenly.. India, the land of kohinoor and TajMahal gives way to starvation deaths and Dharavi; the Butterflies fly out leaving the space to be filled by an eerie feeling of anguish and helplessness..

I am in a dilemma, am I a proud INDIAN or a PROUD Indian (trying to manufacture reasons to pat my back !!!). What is there to be proud of when nearly half of your fellow citizens live on less than 15 rupees a day, when a third of them cannot write their names, when you have the distinction of contributing one sixth of global population, one third of global poors, half of global heart patients and so on... India is the largest democracy, but 50% of them enjoy the holiday watching TV and visiting friends... Who cares yaar, sab chaltha hai !!! Look at the world around you, look at the US 'the land of dreams', look at China ' the rising tiger', look at what they have achieved and where they are... And look at us... a true Meena Kumari movie plot !!!

Today we are celebrating the 63rd Independence Day... Is there anything, anything at all to celebrate???

Not much, if you ignore that when we celebrated our 10th Independence day, 64% our fellow countrymen were below poverty line (today its 26%), 78% were illiterate (today its 34%), we were being haunted by the great Bengal famine which claimed 3 million people due to Starvation and malnutrition (today we are the second largest Agricultural producer in the world), our Foreign Exchange Reserves were USD 637 Million (today its USD 271 Billion).

Today our Softwares, Our Cars, Our Space Programs, Our Cricket team is making the world sit back and notice... If Google earth gives a zoom of 200m, our ISRO's Bhuvan (www.bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in) gives you 10 m (20 times better !!!); If China (known for its cheap products) takes USD 150 Million for a lunar mission, Our Chandrayaan achieves it with USD 80 Million, If Cherry QQ gave a new meaning to affordable cars at USD 4,800, Our Nano, nanoed it to USD 2,500.

India has been in a deep slumber for many many years... Basking in its glorious past, she lost her way, somewhere in the middle when the others sprinted to new glories... But now the giant has awakened... It took the 'Land of Dreams' two hundred and thirty Independence days to reach where it is today, we are just at our 63rd. At this pace, imagine where we would be 170 years from now...

The Elephant has begun its dance, dragons watch out !!!

The First Blood... The packet of joy !!!

What's common between Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Tharoor, Hilary Clinton and Prasheel??? Well, all write blogs.. Yes guys, finally I've also succumbed to the 'Why not me?' syndrome and here I am pushing my cerebral cortex to churn out something which at the least is readable. I have drawn my First Blood !!!

So friends whoever wish to follow the musings of a convoluted yet utterly plain mind, loosen you seat belts as you can just sit back and relax. While I have promised myself that I'll write only if I have something to write and not for the heck of it, I am not sure if I'll stand by it.. After all promises are meant to be broken !!! I have also promised that my alter ego, the hopelessly Utopian pseudo-perfectionist will not be allowed to high jack this platform... But

again, promises are meant.....

This being my virgin post I am wondering what the topic of it should be? There are lots of problems in this world that needs my attention... miles to go before I sleep!!! So should it be the global warming that should have the honour or the Swine (oops sorry swine.., H1N1) Flu that's having 1 Indian each for breakfast, lunch and dinner !!! The rain forest are depleting fast and terror comes calling from the sea....Where shall I start??? I was mulling over it the 'Calling Bell' called out aloud... At the door was this courier guy with a small sweet box sized packet... My Packet of Joy !!!

I don't like interruptions especially when my fountainhead of creativity is waiting to ooze out.. With all the vexation I opened, first the door and then the packet and there it was... sandwiched in a plastic frame - Tudu Chunda...

My brother had asked me to enquire how to 'Sponsor a child'. This was roughly 3 months ago... a

nd probably in the second mail that he sent from Krakow... The excitement to do something good for Mother India from a newly NRI'd son, I thought... I had similar craving few years back when I left the shores... Not to mention, it died its natural death after a couple of phone calls and few website visits... I thought the same will happen, after all he's my brother !!! But he's proved, he's different!!!

Here it was the photo of the kid 'Tudu Chunda' sponsored by my younger brother from the first salary that he earned; sandwiched in a photo frame sent as a welcome gift by 'World Vision India'. The photo of a 4 year old kid our 'Tudu Chunda'.

I searched for the smile of a kid, the frown of a poor kid, the helplessness of a ill-fated kid but could find none... All I could find was an innocence, an ignorance of his in-human existence and a silent grit. It was as if, he was telling me I'll succeed in life. I may not be in control of my past and present, but I surely am of my future... My first blood, my virgin post, is dedicated to you ... Tudu Chunda, my packet of joy, my source of inspiration ...