Taking the journey..

Street smart salesman selling dreary government forms by selling dreams of social empowerment. A couple bidding adieu, trying to steal a quiet private moment in a crowded compartment with a dozen eyes staring them down while trying to judge their character and declaring them guilty of marrying.
Virile young men casting penetrating glances at ‘suitable game' which is nearly every women he surveys.
Leary middle aged men stealing glances at girls young enough to be their nieces.
Newly married young men, that hurry into the train, only to realize the trains are packed, have to stand. You can spot them by their complete disregard of the other PYT’s in the train and the tired yet happy glow in their faces and the fresh new gold ring in their finger.
And then there is the quintessential 'kappi' karan who breaks every passenger's reverie with the calls of his trade and the strong aroma that lingers like the sweet fragrance of the ‘dubai karan’.
The students who are catching up on last minute 'trainwork' but still wont miss the opportunity to check out all the senoritas in the compartment.
The middle aged guy at the wrong end of 40 munching on an undated vada that the vada/vazakyappam karan sold a few moments ago.
The clean shaven nerd who appears so engrossed in conversation with fellow nerd that it looks like he's discussing ways to solve international terrorism, but is instead trying to steal glances at the most beautiful girl.
And then there are the accompanying kids who are either busy annoying the crap out of their single traveling parents or are sleeping.
All this while traveling through the most pristine shades of green, brown and concrete. The gazillion coconut trees, the bazillion thatched houses, the hundred lakes and the millions backwaters. Passing through a hundred stations, all that look like its been built by the same architect, mason and brick. A hundred paddy fields with full grown paddy swaying in the breeze and sparkling with the morning dew and the rising sun.
And then all the activity is interrupted when the train starts slowing down a quarter of a kilometer away, when the men reluctantly tear their stares away from the objects of their desire, inch slowly towards the narrow exit. They stop by the exit and turn back just to check if their object would look back at them for just one last time. If she does, then he's back in the same train, same time come what may unless tomorrow is a holiday.
The brief 40 second stop ushers in new blood and thicker crowd of people. Passengers who think they deserve a seat and consider standing their punishment for being late. Workout? Never. How can standing ever be considered a workout? The very fact that many of them had to come out of their homes to earn a living is a punishment.
And then as the trains snakes and zips through towns and cities inching its way closer to the political capital of kerala, there is a distinct class of passengers who accumulate. They discuss how their leaders and non leaders are ruining their pristine economy. Most people in Kerala are acutely political and many are definitely communist in their ideology. Well, you didn't think God would actually shower all His blessings on a single State, did you? Maybe something good will come out of all this, but for now.. I am through with one of my favorite things to do while in Kerala; traveling through an intercity express.

Bon voyage..

Bhopal, Football, Politics, Religion and Sex

Unless you have been buried alive, there's slim chance you would've missed the Top News..
Bhopal: I was around 4 years old when this happened and growing up in an Indian community abroad, you tend to get biased views about India. For many many years since, I dreaded the place Bhopal and thought it would be India's Chernobyl. The reality is not too far. In what is typical of how Indian Democracy functions, the real losers have always been the Victims. The government appears to be reluctant to work for the very people it swore to serve. Why do they have to form GoM's when there has been a clear travesty of Justice here? Well, the story does not change anywhere, in India.
We have ZERO disaster recovery and rehabilitation plans in place. Do I hear a Nuclear plant being commissioned?
Football: Arguably one of the most charismatic games ever played. I've played the game growing up in the Middle East and know how the game can grow on you. A game that is so simple yet complex. It is a game that would require true Team work and the highest levels of consistent training and fitness. Which is also why India can be ruled out!
Our athletes are neither consistent nor fit. If there is any semblence of football as a growing sport it is because many of the nation's best footballers, mainly from Goa, take this as a ticket to greener pastures in Europe.
We have the best (or so they claim) Cricket team in the world. But honestly, we have less than a dozen countries to compete with. It is almost like the famously qouted misqoute : World famous in India!
We play half the year with the same half a dozen teams and the rest of the year battling poor health and scandals. And while all the Football mania thankfully took up a lot of media coverage, our National Cricket team managed to loose to a 'lesser' team in a 3 nation tournament. What does this mean? That even when we can be 2nd place, we are so bad in our game that we....
Well, that is for Dhoni and Co to ponder upon. I wish them well.
Politics: If you are in Bangalore, I am pretty sure that you would've by now been assaulted with the ruling party's 'in your face' gloat campaign of having completed 2 years. WoW! It is almost like that was a feat in itself. Maybe, it is. With all the hit wickets and self goals that the BJP had in the past 24 months, I am surprised that they lasted this long. I wasn't aware that they had major celebrations planned in a ground near my home but I got stuck in a massive ground on my way to work and that's when it struck me. And MJ sang it well: 'They don't care about us'. But again, I think they deserve to celebrate. Like a brat who through the year didn't obey his parents gets to choose his celebrations on his birthday. I'm pretty sure there will be a slew of initiatives and schemes and a lot of projects announced and even more gloating and bragging that will be done. And in a week's time, when the pandals and the last polythene bag and litter has been evacuated to the most distant dumpsite, our politicians will get back to doing what they do best, which is corrupting and gathering.
Religion: Of false Swamis and every falser doctrines, language is a wonderful thing and in India, if you have great oratorical skills, you can be a rich man. You can skirt and skim across issues like it is a puddle in the ground. But I've observed that no matter how many scandals or wolves in sheep's clothing, there'll always be millions of followers for that swami or guru. It is our innate need and thirst for divine peace and solace that drives us to these swamis, who by the way, end up with our money in their pocket. Grow a beard, read a lot of literature/philosophy, appear calm and mystical and wear simple clothes that resemble loin clothes that shepherds wear and bang! You have all it takes to be the next big Hero..er Swami.
Sex: Can you have a day go by where you don't have a sex scandal? And if you think men and women would be more cautious and prudent. No, we all fall for the apple. And one would think that people would be bored to read any more? Never. The human need for voyeurism is fed by the almost continuous onslaught of men and women being exploited by a human process that should have been so natural and divine, but has been sullied by temptation and greed.

A potent mix of news.
With all the vital ingrediants that are required for a potboiler, this year like most years since the advent of vicious journalism is turning out to be The Year of the Newspapers!
Never mind all the trees that are being cut down. Sensationalism can't wait.