November 26, 2016

#26/11 - This Time I will Remember



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Image: oneindia.com

26/11 was personal for me. No, I wasn't personally struck by tragedy on that day, but it did blur the lines of whose tragedy is mine and whose is not. I had never been to Mumbai, still haven't, and didn't know CST or Leopold Cafe or the Taj Hotel. Quite embarrassingly, even at the age of 21, I was not aware of any Jewish population in India either. Yet, those images and those people seemed, known. No other terrorist act has had that impact on public life. In 8 years since 26/11, only #UriAttack probably comes close to have created such waves of public emotions. The terrorist infiltration had come to our backyard and this no longer seemed like a war, just for the army. 

The reason I am focusing on the aftermath, rather than the attack itself, is because an attack does not fundamentally change the course of a nation; The reactions to the attack do! 
How we react and rise or fall, determines the destiny of a country.

And that is where 26/11 feels personal.

Every year, this day brings a ripple of introspection. I always knew we would survive a terrorist attack; The nation would not lose itself to separatists; The economy wouldn't crash and people would not lose their belief in being safe. That is what being Indian entails. But I remember 26/11, for this was the day, when India evolved. We united against the terror, never to back down. The public learnt to accept that, for all the ugliness in our polity, the governments and the army still know how to protect us, the best. India could have stumbled and crumbled under the weight of vengeance but we chose to act how a Republic should, and for that, I am immensely proud. 

The words of Prasoon Joshi, a remarkable poet and noted Bollywood lyricist, sum up the emotions of that fateful day with haunting beauty. These words are the reason why I feel so personally connected with 26/11.

Hope they will resonate with you too -

THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER...
A MOTHER CARESSING HER DEAD SON'S FOREHEAD AND PREPARING HIM PRE-MATURELY FOR HIS FINAL DESTINATION. 

THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER...
INNOCENT DINERS LINED UP AND SHOT AT POINT BLANK, CAUGHT IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S WAR.

THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER... 
BLOOD SPLATTERED WALLS WITH GROTESQUE IMAGERY, FRESHLY BURNT FLESH, SHATTERED MIRRORS AND BROKEN LIVES,

THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER... 
A MOTHER AND HER TWO YOUNG KIDS CHARRED BEYOND RECOGNITION WHILE THE DAD PUT PUBLIC GOOD AHEAD OF THE PERSONA,

THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER...
GUN TOTTING TERRORISTS CREATING MAYHEM ON THE STREETS, TARGET PRACTICING AT A RAILWAY STATION.

THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER...
BACKPACKERS AT A CAFÉ OR RECEPTIONIST AT A HOTEL REDUCED TO PIECES FOR NO REASON.

THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER...      

#India,#Indian,#26/11,#Mumbai,#NeverForget,#IndianArmy, Mumbai,#Public,#Emotions,#Politics,#Government,#Police,#Blog,#Blogchatter,#Blogging,#Amreading,#Amwriting,#Taj,#Leopold,#Oberoi,#CST,#NarimanPoint

#India,#Indian,#26/11,#Mumbai,#NeverForget,#IndianArmy, Mumbai,#Public,#Emotions,#Politics,#Government,#Police,#Blog,#Blogchatter,#Blogging,#Amreading,#Amwriting,#Taj,#Leopold,#Oberoi,#CST,#NarimanPoint
Sand Art by Sudrashan Patnaik
Source - http://bit.ly/2fjbrDB


P.S. In February 2009, I got angry at public apathy about #26/11 after a frustrating encounter in my college. The words of Prasoon Joshi struck a chord with me and I jotted down an emotional post on my old blog. That was the first time #blogging seemed a perfect medium to share, even vent, my emotions.


November 8, 2016

America's Chance To Grow Up !


#DonaldTrump,ElectionDay, #election2016, #HillaryClinton,#iamwithher, #Amwriting, #Amreading,#USA,#Trump, #Blog, #Blogchatter,#Abortion,#GunRights,#Terror,#GlobalWarming,
It may not be  a black and white choice but it's a Red and Blue choice!

Today is #ElectionDay and, by the time I would finish writing this, #voting would be underway. Millions of Americans would exercise their fundamental right as citizens of a great Republic in yet another historic election.

For a generation, in love with instant fame and obsessed with documenting each instant, the word “historic” has lost its glory. We have become very liberal with its usage.

History is not merely the passage of time. History has more to do with future than the past. An event is not instantly historic; only its impact in future makes it so. In an environment of hyperbole, we miss this significant distinction.

So what makes this #Election2016 truly historic? It’s not the candidates, or the lack thereof. It’s the chance America has, to “grow up”, as a nation, that makes this historic.

America today has an important question to answer - What do you want to be when you grow up?

Elections are contested not just on facts but on emotions. It’s these emotions that would decide whether America turns a new leaf in its history, today, or goes back many a decades.

And emotions need to evolve!

Does America want to be a country that succumbs to the irrational fear of immigrants and refugees or does it evolve to embrace the fluidity in global borders and become richer with the influx of cultures?

Does America want to be a country where women don’t have the right to choose if they want to be mothers or does it evolve to be a country where this fundamental right of women stays within their best judgment?

Does America want to be the only developed country with over 70000 firearm related instances and over 400 “mass shootings” per year or does it evolve into a country where the Right to Carry A Firearm does not supersede the Right to Live ?

Does America want to turn a blind eye towards the seemingly obvious catastrophe of global warming and climate change for vested interests or does it evolve into the global leader, it always has aspired to be, and leads the world in its fight against the impending doom?

Does America want to be a nation where demagogy counts as the fight against terror or does it want to evolve into a mature nation that can distinguish a credible threat from fear mongering?

Does America want to be a country that treats its own citizens with discrimination because of their sexual orientation or does it evolve into a nation that understands that every diversity, including sexual, is natural and need to be respected?

 



November 8, 2016 is not historic. Not yet.

It could very well be, if Americans choose to vote for the future rather than reminisce about a past that never existed. It may not be a black and white choice, but it sure is a red and blue choice!
For now, all it is, is a chance.

America’s Chance to Grow Up!

November 8, 2016 would not decide if America has voted in a historic election or not.
November 9, 2016 would!
Now, #GoVote !
#DonaldTrump,ElectionDay, #election2016, #HillaryClinton,#iamwithher, #Amwriting, #Amreading,#USA,#Trump, #Blog, #Blogchatter,#Abortion,#GunRights,#Terror,#GlobalWarming,


November 5, 2016

From America's "Gotham", Rises "The Joker" #Trump

America's Gotham is the party that has, in the past decade, romanticized the ideas of racism and xenophobia while normalizing an environment of fear, distrust and hypocrisy. In desperation, they turned to a guy whom they didn't fully understand.

(1)

Does life imitate art or art imitates life? The beauty of this philosophical wondering is that, either way, it is equally intriguing. However, while an artist's fascination for life is eventually manifested on a chosen medium, for all to see and evaluate, a vice versa scenario is hard to fathom.
An election year like 2016 seems to bridge the gap between an inconceivable thought and the tangible reality.

(2)

The Dark Knight (2008) is a widely respected movie. For many, it was like a piece of art - pleasing, shocking, unique and open to interpretations. Despite being set up in a fictional Universe, it portrayed the depravities of human mind and the shortcomings of our morality in the glaring light of truth. The most distinguishing feature of the movie is the character of the Joker. He brings to the movie an unparalleled degree of mayhem and menace. 
It's as surprising as it is horrifying, to see him singlehandedly bring an entire system down.  

(3)

In one of the many intense sequences of The Dark Knight, an older and wiser, Alfred, makes Bruce Wayne realize that he is partially responsible for Joker's acts. Batman pushed the mob to a point of desperation, where, they turned to a fiend, whom even they didn't fully understand.
In the American political scene, that mob is the Republican Party's leadership.

Gotham is a symbol of disorder - corrupt, sinister and degenerate. It is emblematic of complete breakdown of moral and civil codes. America's Gotham is the party that has, in the past decade, romanticized the ideas of racism and xenophobia while normalizing an environment of fear, distrust and hypocrisy.

But that's only half the story.

The story began in 2012 when a charismatic, though tired, but still dynamic Barack Obama got re-elected in a historic fashion. The GOP leadership was befuddled, yet again. The public support for @POTUS and his penchant for executive orders, pushed the GOP to a corner, much like Gotham's mob.

If they had to give any real shot at the White House again, they had to break the system. And in their desperation, they also turned to a guy, they didn't fully understand.


Enters Donald Trump

(4)


The Donald is every Alfred's worst nightmare. As uncomplicated (and uncouth) he might seem on the surface, he remains a puzzle. His motives are not obvious and his ways are beyond the realms of normalcy.

Much like the Joker's were.

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Donald Trump's disdain for others is well known. Anyone who has remotely disagreed with him has met the same fate. Trump talks, in his peak incoherence, about Us v. Them. He has convinced a large section of America that the "elite" (read:civilized) are after them and he is their only savior. For him to spout these theories, he must stay in a constant state of delusion that makes him believe that it is true!

Sounds familiar?

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The Joker proudly called himself "an agent of Chaos". In an unprecdented manner, Trump has rode the chaos train to reach within a heartbeat from the US presidency. His calls to ban all Muslims, build a border Wall, and going as far as, disregarding the results of the elections have all generated unimaginable chaos. He has empowered his followers with means to advance his chaos by feeding them half baked cospiracy theories against everyone of the "established order". 

The ripple effects of his vitriolic rhetoric and demagougery would be felt even if he loses the #election2016. 

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The Joker won his battles by waging psychological warfare against his enemies. He had the ability to break a seasoned cop, make the Batman choose whom he wants to save and bring the worst out of The White Knight of Gotham, by mere mind games.

Donald Trump has done the same! 

America's sanity has always hinged on a delicate balance of power between the Liberals and the Conservatives. These polar opposites have managed to govern a world super power despite their deeprooted differences on fundamental issues. The undercurrent of racism, xenophobia, religious conservatism, differences on women health issues, gun rights etc has always bubbled in the American society.
However, Trump has exposed these conflicting emotions on the surface. Trump has appealed to people's primal fears, creating a toxic environment where the madness knows no bounds.


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(5)

A masterful piece of writing, philosophical clarity and execution was the climax of the movie. The Joker banks on people's darker sides and expects one boatful of people to kill the other boatful, to save themselves. 

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When the moment of truth arrives, it is not the Batman. but the people who save Gotham. They do not let the madness unleashed by the Joker to get the better of their inner instincts. 

America's moment of truth is now.

The Joker Trump  has done his best to divide the people into 2 boats. He has created an environment where we are led to believe that only one will survive. But that is not true. The collective good of this great nation shall outweigh one man's madness. 

The remote is in your hands.

Choose wisely!


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the dark knight heath ledger

Image and Gif Sources

1. Google Images
2. Giphy