Emails from the past

Three years ago slightly edited...


"I got my visa today. This is what happened.

I got there at 7.50( my appointment wus at 8) and
afound a que that seemed like it would reach the
marina.I didnt know if i would make it to the end of
the raod(leave alone inside) by 8. So i asked guys in
the que what time their interview was. I got answers
ranging from 9.30 to 11.30. so basically i cut the que
and went atraight to the window( for check and
entering) with hundreds of people throwing silent
curses at me.

Anyways i wus inside now.I paid the dds( for the
american counsulate and the tts services) and stood
in line to get my doccuments checked.Now i had a
choice.Choice one wus a middle aged lady who didnt
seem to know that there was a mike and bullet proof
glass in front of her and choice two wus a cute lady
in her late twentys with priety zinta type of glasses.
obviosly ( being the shallow person that r all males)
i took choice no.2.Boy wus i tortured for that. She
took what seemed like ages to procees just two guys in
front of me.ppl who arrived after me where already
finished with the ch:1 lady and were gone fer the
interview while i wus there waiting.. waiting..
waiting.. i guess u get the picture.( moral of the
story the cliched u can never find a girl with beauty
as well as brains-- haha)

now i wus inside and wus directly sent to a que for
the interview. i had just one person before me.

his interview went as

Foriener: what r u gonna do in the us

this guy: i going to come back to india use the
techniques i learnt and work for the greater good of
not only the indian economy but also the greater good
of mankind as well.

the ferengi looks at him then says that wus not the
question i asked.
....... iam sorry to say that i am rejecting ur visa!

(myself : oh my god this must be the guy who is there
to reject all visas so that they have a normally
distributed rejection rate... i am doomed ... oh my
god...

the words
"please come forward" broke my reverie.

ferengi : why this university
self: i have been lokin at the resaerch blah blah
blah......
ferengi: how are u gonna pay fer it
self: i am taking an education loan and my dad is also
helpin out
ferengi: abruptly what r u gonna do afterwards
self( thinking: probabaly take a toilet break no he
must mean after the course) and before i think it out
i find myself saying "i am going to (dont say work u
goddamn idiot ur visa will surely get rejected )
"WORK" as the prosepects blah blah...
ferengi: u still havent said where ( looks at me
expectently probably thinking say the magic word " usa
" come on give me the pleasure let me reject ur visa
come on come on ...)

self: obviosly i am coming back to india because blah
blah blah ....

ferengi : there is no visa issuance fee for students
thank you ( and smiles)


and that is me story. hope havent wasted two minute s
of yer time."

The rise of Karikula

Authors note-- I did not think I would ever write sequels to my stories cause I felt that it was just too easy to come up with a story once you have established characters.But with this it is a prequel..:D and I tried to be different for my own satisfation. This is a prequel to the story

The odyssey of Karikula



The sun was right above my head. I was on my way to the legendary kingdom of Hampi. I needed some rest. The rest houses that the king had built all along the main road at intervals had been impressive. But I had decided to stray on my path to go through the countryside more. I came upon a village which was perfect for me. But for the time of day there seemed to be no activity. I went up to the first house I came upon and said,” Amma—Bhavathi Bikshan Dehi”. The lady of the house soon came out with food and water for me,” Please call out if you need anything more”. I got my much needed nourishment. As I got ready to leave I called out and she came back to the door. I said,” Amma- May the lord’s blessings be with you for helping this Brahmin…” I continued, “ I had one question before I leave—why is the town so quiet at this time of day?” Her face saddened. She said,” This has never happened in this village before. There has been a murder and the town panchayat has been called. They have been at it for the last two days without coming to a verdict…” I thanked her once again and got back onto my feet.

As I came upon the town square the whole town seemed to have gathered there. They all sat in silence as a few wizened old men headed the meeting. They too were sitting in silence looking up at each other from time to time. I decided to speak,” Oh wizened old men of the panchayat. May I offer my services to thee in solving your predicament” They looked up and one of them who seemed to be the head spoke,” Stranger, We appreciate your offer. But this is not something that we wish to involve somebody from outside our community to solve. Please be on your way and do not make what is already a difficult situation for us” I said,” I have travelled far and wide my fellow denizens. I am confident of solving your problem. It is only the problem that intrigues and I can assure you once I am on my way no one will ever hear the disgrace that this situation might bring on this village. I beg your forgiveness if I am being a little impudent”

After a little discussion the panchayat heads rose and we walked to the mango grove owned by Soma. They had accepted my offered services. As we walked they told me the strange story of Soma. Soma and his son Karikula had arrived in this village about 10 years ago. Soma had acquired the skill of cultivating the juiciest mangoes and had convinced Raja the moneylender to lend them some money and everything else had been history. Soma since then had become famous in the whole region for his mangoes and had become affluent. He and his son were pious Brahmins and he had never forgotten to pay his dues to society. He had always been very charitable and a model citizen.
About two weeks ago in the night of the ammavasai there Raja had been to Soma’s house and the servants had heard a huge argument and Raja had been heard giving death threats to Soma as he left the house. And then the next day Soma had been found dead in the mango grove- A dagger down his stomach. As we got to the mango grove we reached the place where Soma had been found. I looked closely around and smiled to myself. I said,” I have got what we wanted. What I do not have is a motive. Sirs I would request a private audience with Raja. But before that I have a strange request. I apologize in advance and say I do not wish any disrespect. I would like to see Soma’s body ”


There were murmurs all round. And then they lead me to the other end of the mango grove to a what seemed to be a shack. An old lady was sitting outside. She cackled at me as I went past her. I put my angavastram over my nose and entered.


Raja was sitting in front of me. His body language suggested he was extremely frightened. I looked at him and said viciously,” How did you find out?” He stuttered” find out what?”. I said,” Stop playing games Raja. You were blackmailing Soma. You knew he was not a Brahmin” He looked stunned. He stuttered,” Hhh HH How could you possibly know. You are no stranger…. You … You must know then … I did not kill him… I did not…” He was howling now. I looked at him and said,” I know you did not kill him. I have you here to answer one question that would solve my puzzle. When you fought Soma that evening did you see Karikula in the house.” He looked at me strangely and said with a little more composure, “ No he wasn’t. In fact Soma shouted at the servants to go find him” I looked at him and took on a vicious tone,” That’s all I needed to know. Now if you ever let slip of this fact to disgrace Soma’s name I will personally make sure you are disgraced as well. And all the money you got from Soma through your blackmail you are going to donate to the great Tanjavur Brihadeeswarar Temple. Is that understood” He just nodded his head and held it down in shame.


I walked out and asked the panchayat head if I could talk next to Karikula next in private. The murmurs started again. But my request was met with. I took Karikula into the room and sat him down and said,” Kutti Karikula – how are you feeling? I have something for you “ I took out a burphy piece. He did not smile. He did not even look at me. So I continued,” Karikula I do not have words to console you. I have not been with children ever and it has been a long time since I had been a child. So I am going to tell you some facts. With you I am going to be honest and you have got to trust me in that what is said in this room stays in this room. “ I tried to muster as much as a fatherly smile at him. All I got from him was a look. At least his head was up now. I said,” Karikula I know your father was not a Brahmin. You might be suspicious as to how I found out. But it is I assure you purely due to the powers of observation. I looked at your dead father’s body. And his poonal was on right to left rather than left to right. “ Karikula started crying. I continued,” Do not cry Karikula. I am not going to tell anybody of this. I also know something else. I know you were in the mango yard that night. You are the only one who can tell me what happened” Karikula looked up and said,” h…how did ou know..”..I said.” Karikula I am a person who takes pride at his observation skills. I knew of your presence through the process of deduction and observation of the crime scene. Now young son please tell me what actually happened” Karikula started crying again and then said,” Appa Appa died because of me….. I was up in the tree and had fallen asleep. Appa saw me and shouted in anger. I got up in a fright and fell. He jumped to catch me. But in his haste the knife in his belt went right through his stomach and and…” I took him into my arms and said,” Karikula do not blame your self. You need to know the truth. Although it was just an accident it had been caused by something that had happened earlier. You father had gotten into an argument and then in his haste and anger he had worn his knife in haste and that’s what caused the actual event. I could tell that from the entry wound that was on his flesh…” I just held Karikula.

I was facing the panchayat. I had told them only the story of the accident. I had also told them of my wish to take on Karikula as my student to mentor. They had accepted. I picked up karikula and put him on my shoulders and wondered about Soma and his brave step in trying to live a lie for a better life for his son. I wondered why did he have to lie… when he was in fact the best at his trade but for social strata. I looked up at Karikula on my shoulder and hoped for a happier future as we walked out of the village…..

Tagged

The theory of Sankyosis or being able to guide ones thoughts through a maze any kind of maze, the maze being defined by the user was perfected by Dr. Gaber Wallpee in the year 2277. The scientific community had been at loggerheads of generations debating the true theory behind the work for Dr.Gaber had been using a revolutionary new science to prove his theory- Psychokinetics. I had been a research assistant for years under Dr.Gaber and though I had never been able to grasp his amendment to the main postulate, my background being in pure Psycholectia I had been, more importantly, able to grasp the signs he used to predict random events very accurately.

Why am I telling you all this. This might be close to the story of the chicken or the egg. Being involved in highly secret government research had its boons and its banes. And right now I was in a tight situation. I had been caught in a time warp on route to Alpha 1 and was now stuck in the 21st century. I had seen my ship my tools and everything I knew evaporate around me as I went back to a time they did not exist but I could not understand why I continued to exist. If I ever get back that would be one paradox the scientific community would grab at to grapple about. I laughed. I had landed in the middle of a state known as Kansas in what was then the United States of America. I found this funny for I saw myself as Dorothy. To someone else this might have been interpreted as a freaky coincidence. But I knew better. I could explain that now but that would spoil the aura of what I am about tell wouldn’t it.

Having found appropriate attire I started looking around for a tool to help guide me through this primitive culture. Most time travel stories and theories had been based of the fact that the person not being in his own time and having managed to travel to the past was out of place then and there and hence in doing so would alter history drastically. But they never took the theory of Psychokinetics into consideration. Part of which can be explained as- the various time periods move at the same rate and very much interconnected so much to say that changing an event in the future was much more drastic as it changed the past drastically thus affecting a larger populous.

I found what I had been looking for. I grabbed it and came out of the farm house as quietly as I could. This would be my guiding tool to get me back to my own future. It took me some time to figure out the primitive device but I had it figured soon. I switched it on and applied the science of random quantification to it- I pressed the shuffle button and read—

Tears – Dream Theatre

I looked around and new the direction I needed to take. There was the billboard that said- Turn your tears to laughter. Make your dreams come true at the Atery. Come and …. I started walking. The night was still young. I must have walked about an hour. It was the fourth intersection I had come across. As I walked past it a young lady came up to me and asked me for a cigarette light. I shuffled-

Standing in motion- Yanni

I looked up at her and said “I do not smoke”. She just smiled back at me and walked away. I knew I had to wait. But what I could not predict was for how long. It must have been an hour that I stood in the same spot when the young lady came back and asked me,” Are you all right? You been standing right here since the …” She looked at me strangely. I pressed shuffle and said-

Snowballed –AC/DC (For those about to rock)

She looked at me and said,” Excuse me ..?? “ and then turned and started walking in a huff. I ran up behind her and lied,” I am sorry—I thought you asked what I was listening to. I think you misconstrued me. It was just a coincidence“ I smiled sweetly at her. I say I lied cause I do not believe in coincidences but that is a different issue for a different day.
She looked at me and said,” You have been given the benefit of the doubt… what were you doing standing there?” I said,” Waiting for you to come back” She laughed,” You are strange….you don’t look like you are from here. Where are you from?” I shuffled…

EKWG- Unknown artist


It took me a few seconds to interpret and then I said,” I am from the year 2284. I was caught in a time warp and now am stuck here trying to find my way back…” She started laughing loudly.I said,” I am Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig by the way” she said—“ I am Dorothy..” I shuffled

Crossfire- Scorpions

I said,” Would it be too impudent of me to ask you to dinner at the Crossfire?” She simply said,” When?”I said as soon as I locate where the restaurant Is at. She laughed,” I know where it’s at! Come on” A few blocks of walking later we came to the Crossfire—it was a classy restaurant with live jazz music. As we entered I shuffled…

Hell cat- Scorpions

I knew we had to enter cause that was the insignia that the Cross fire had adopted-- the Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter aircraft. We got ourselves a table. We sat down and the waiter came up to us and said,” Monsieur, lady… what can I get you?” I shuffled…

Mona Lisa—Matrix reloaded

I looked around. It was then I saw him. He had been presumed to be dead when he disappeared about four years ago in 2280 that is. I smiled. I ordered wine and excused myself. I walked up to him and said,” Hello Dr.Wallpee… its nice to see you again” He looked up at me and smiled,” You have used the theory well my student to find me… but what brought you here in the first place?” I brought him up to date (which date though I am still confused) and my situation. I needed to find a way back to my future. He looked at me and laughed,” Its good to see you again. Though the probability of meeting anyone from my past ….(he laughed—“that always cracks me up when I say that” )… what was I saying yes the probability was quite equiangular but I did not expect too… “ He looked at me expectantly. I shuffled

Come as you are- Nirvana (Nevermind)

I looked around confused. I had finally been stumped. And then it struck me. This one was not for me. I showed the track to him. He said,” There is a rock station across town called “Nevermind”. I hypothesize that you will find a cosmic point to make your journey back. Do not forget… you would have to go as you came. Do not take back anything – not even your acquired clothes” I gave him a hug.
As I walked back towards Dorothy I shuffled..

Khamoshiyan Muskurane lagi – One two ka four (AR Rahaman)

I knew I needed help. I said,” Dorothy I need some help. I need to get to the Nevermind radio station across town.” A few minutes later we got into her car. Her number plates read- KML 124. We were soon at the Nevermind radio station. Now that we were here I shuffled-

Vennilave – AR rahaman (Minnisare Knnavu)

I looked up. It was about to rain. There was lightning all about that made the moon look silver in color to the naked eye. The radio station had a huge radio tower on the roof of the building as was a lightning conductor. I needed to get to the roof. She looked at me and said ,” I have a key—I am one of the producers …” I smiled.
Once on the roof of the building I shuffled-

The outlaw torn- Metallica

I had to make a decision. I turned to her and said, “What I told you earlier—it was true. I think we are meant to be together. But the fabric of space and time will be broken if we go back to my present. The only way is to go back to the past… the Psychokinetics will make the decision as to which time period. But you have to make a decision if you want to come..” I broke the lightning conductor and walked up to the radio toewer and placed a hand on it. She looked at me as if I was crazy. I did not know why she had come so far in trusting a stranger….

The year—1895
I started writing The Wizard of OZ. We had changed our names to Frank Baum and Maud. You can find out what happened next—Its history. I told you-- you wouldn’t believe if I had told you earlier….

Authors note--

This is a result of being tagged by Mac-san. I found it more interesting to do it this way..:)... And I kept to the rules generally cause everytime I needed a twist or to take the story forward-- I shuffled and was honest with the song that came up to direct the story...

Self pity...

Today I saw a piece of white plastic
Stuck on a tree without leaves
As I looked up at it I could see the sky
The tree though short I could not set free
The white piece of plastic that was stuck to
But a branch on that tree

I saw it as a sign for how my life stands
for in that plastic as alien to the tree
without leaves I see my self
on the threshold of all my dreams
but on hold without being set free

stuck on the topmost branch
just but a yard away from flying high
to achieve the great and pursue happiness
but being held back for reason known not
the futility of it all just hit me
as a harsh cold breeze blew into my face

I fear feeling pity for myself
In world not short on self pity
That I cannot blame any one person
Or thing for that matter
And be done with it so to say
On being held back without
Being allowed to fly in the sky so high

But I am stuck on that bracnh for now
With no apparent help but I dare hope
That someday soon things will be clear
As to why I have to feel this fear
And how should I face it for
Now I am lost but not the hope

Prayers are strong as is goodwill
That is one thing I am not short or shy of
At the moment as things stand
They are the two weapons that I embrace
In the fight so to say to set free
That piece of plastic white as can be
Into the high skies and beam like a light
In the dark blue skies….

The muddy puddle called water...

Everything seemed to be really happy. Even a muddy puddle of water looked crystal clear to me. I looked up smiling I had booked the room in the hotel for the next three days. And then suddenly I was standing in drain pipe way below earth level. That was when I saw it. The pink bunny came out of the door. It had a big key in its back. A machine gun appeared from nowhere and it started firing menacingly. I thought it was firing at me but that was not the case. I was but an observer. What was it firing at? Come on… do I have to stop it?

I got up… perspiration all over me. It had to be an allegory for something. And why was I now sure that JK Rowling was a pseudonym and a well hidden truth about my aunt? It all made no sense. My aunt came into the room and said,” Are you all right? I heard you screaming….” She looked terrified. I started blabbering,” It’s got to have some meaning—you are JK Rowling?” … And then I started remembering things.
I had witnessed the murder hadn’t I…? I started feeling sick all over. The guy had popped out of nowhere and I had not been able to save the kid. He had been shot right in front of me and I had watched helpless. It did not make sense still to me. My aunt brought me some water and I gulped it down. I got up and walked around the house, quick paced to try and find meaning in my actions. I looked at my aunt and said,” But I have a room booked for three days…” And then it struck me… I could not remember the actual date when I had booked the room. And I turned to my aunt and said,” They must still be charging for the room. I can’t even remember when I booked the room. This means I will soon be bankrupt.” She looked at me bewildered. Why was she wearing a bonnet inside the house? Of course it was about to rain was it not!

I got up, “What the hell was that?” I need some water. I walked to the kitchen sink and got meself a glass of cold water. I splashed my face with the water. I was awake. It was snowing heavily outside. But in here I was safe in my boxers. Apparently there was nothing to fear. I laughed out loud like a maniac. That’s what my psyche made me comfortable with when I was scared. One of the many perks of being alone in an apartment in the city. No one took notice. I went back to sleep.

It was lunch time the next day and a time I used to ponder on the events that afflict humanity. I had simple answers and solutions to all of life’s problems. But not having a psychology degree…. Nobody was willing to listen to me. My cell phone rang. I contemplated being in contact with another human voice in an hour that I wished not to be disturbed. But then it was probably someone in need for help… a damsel in distress maybe… I picked up… the voice on the other end said,” Sir, your credit card finally bounced.. So we are cancelling your booked room. Please stop by the Ritz and settle previous balances” and the line went dead. Oh my god. Was I dreaming again? This seemed vaguely familiar. I pinched meself. I was certainly awake based on the theory that pinching oneself in a dream would wake them up. Assuming that was true I started driving to the Ritz. I somehow had the feeling I would be able to settle this and be back at work by the end of the hour.

I found the Ritz thanx to my trusty gladiatorial friend- the monsieur GPS. The manager soon greeted me. He said,” Sir your things are intact as we discussed…” and he winked. I said surprised,” do you know me?... ” He smiled again. He gave me the key to a room I presumed and disappeared on a pretense of being extremely busy. I walked up the stairs and open the room with the number 1818. I walked into the room and found a pair of boots by the doorway that was my size. As I walked past them I saw a dart gun sticking out of it. I curiously picked it up. I looked back up. And there it was. A puppet pink bunny with a big key on its back. I jolted... and then picked it up. I turned the key and the rug under me gave away and I slid down onto a garbage chute and landed into a pile of garbage. I picked myself up and almost puked. The smell of garbage was fine… I was used to that… but the sick smell of a freshener used to get rid of the smell in it got to me. I started walking calling out,” Can someone hear me… I seemed to have slipped and fallen down a hole”… just like Alice…. Yah I was comparing meself to a little girl…. I felt like one in this dark hell.

And then I saw a girl held in a chair and a child by her… guarding? I was not sure. But as I drew closer I knew what I had to do. I pulled out the dart gun and aimed at the child. I ran up to the girl and freed her.

Epilogue

“I do not know how I broke through the toughest security and released her…” I shouted for the umpteenth time. There were four secret service agents sitting across me. I had killed an agent in the process. I could not believe that. Somehow she had altered perception of reality for me. I could not explain. The agents looked at each other and one said,” We are going to have him drugged..” I cried,” No.. Please no… It was not my fault. ,,,,,,,, wake up please wake up… please wake up….” But this was reality???

Bday Post...

To sum up 25 years of blissful Ignorance:

Greed:
On the eve of a first Bday celebration at school a really young boy looks at a box full of chocolates and decides to tell mummy dearest,” Amma no one knows it’s my Bday tomorrow—I will just wear normal clothes- no need to celebrate and all ok??”

Smart:
On the way to Tirupathi sometime in the 90s—a govt vehicle overtakes our bus on the inside on a hairpin bend almost toppling everyone in it including a to be young perverted but right now innocent brain into oblivion. The bus stops sometime later a tea station where the car in question is spotted. Everyone except Appa rushes to the driver of the govt vehicle screaming. The govt driver says.” This govt vehicle – we can do anything we want...” and laughs wickedly. Even though young observations are made as to why a generally impatient dad when mummy is involved is so calm and collected and even smiles at the then young impressionable mind. As the bus rolls out – everybody still frustrated with the govt driver in question- one is surprised as everybody starts laughing out loud- the young impressionable mind looks up to dad to see him holding something up- the keys to the govt car in question!!
The Bihari brought up tam bram dad had flicked the keys from the car as others had chosen to confront the driver!

Sentiment:
Big bro having left the house – finally one comes to believe that the title of undisputed king will no longer be questioned—so the king decides to take the brand new indica out for a spin. As he picks up his friend the king reverses the car without as much as looking behind smiling in ignorant confidence—Bang! He backs straight into a bamboo stock albeit moronically placed in the middle of the road… though till today it is highly questionable as to whom the moron can be directed at… as the king drives back he has a hundred things running through his mind- “how can I make this a convincing lie??? ---that moronic auto driver banged the back of the car and ran away!! It’s got to work” The story is repeated over and over so that the king could almost convince himself that it was true…
Enter Dad after a stressful day... the king goes up to him nervously… for some reason he finds himself saying...” appa I did something totally stupid—I backed the car into a bamboo... totally my fault appa..”Appa stares at the king and says sternly” who the hell allowed you to take the car!...”
Three more hours of silence later-- Appa” I am glad you had the courage to tell the truth… I must have done something right with you…”
Though Dad has fergotten over the years what transpired that day—in the kings mind those words at the end meant a lot more than anything else ever had…

Snubbed:
PTA meeting 5th grade- Amma to teacher,” I don’t know what I am going to do with him.. he watches TV all day” Teacher,” Oh really? That’s good- he is one of the brightest students in the class—obviously that’s working- encourage it more”… well over the years obviously what I heard the teacher say has been probably changed.. but truthfully in essence it meant that and Amma laughed with me on the way back as we got into the cycle rickshaw…

Failure:
A medium sized awkward kid of something like ten sits at his bench crying.. as everybody inquires he cries,” I have never failed an exam before in my life and I think I failed physics” and continues crying.. soon the physics teacher comes up and pulls him to his room corrects the paper in front of him and says “Arre why are you crying see you have passed you are getting 34 on 50”.. he smiles gets back to class and then starts thinking again” what just 34 everybody is going to get above 40 .. my rank is going to go down…..

Happiness:

UKG- As I get to the gate my auto driver is not there and the chowkidaar wouldn’t allow me out till he came. I decided to escape through the iron railings as he looks the other way and decide to walk 5 km back home. As I do so it starts to rain. I sing and dance in the rain and continue walking. I see our neighbor and wave at him and he in his own world just waves back at me ( Two older people who brought this kid up are still perplexed as to why that uncle did not catch and pull one with the help of a ear lobe) about an hour and a half later one reaches the street of home sweet home to find a mom standing at the head… one is supposed to have giggled to her,” ummmmm I escaped….”

Doctors are Perplexed:

At age three one would not eat unless on top of the bonnet of the ambassador. As amma goes to bring more food- one slides down onto a thick wall edge – 4 stitches on the forehead…
4 weeks later… the day the stitches are to be removed—one is sitting on a high ledge 3 feet above the ground level--- an hour later the doctor looks at the bleeding forehead and says after a while perplexed…” Do I remove the stitches from this side and put them onto the other side of his forehead???”
The incidents with the fore head being split open happened a couple more time btw- explains a lot doesn’t it??


That’s some of which that defined 25 to me today—I feel old and insignificant….

Ghandhigiri??

Asimov as a writer influenced my thinking at a poignant age towards the decadence of a society at the height of its progress. He taught of signs which definitely pointed towards decadence when a majority of the society where blissfully ignorant of such decadence and unwilling to change which is a sure sign of a peak of advancement as it is of a fall imminent. The scary thing is that all these signs can be seen with the Indian society that has survived generations past, of invasions and changes galore. Who would have thought that now we are looking to divide even past cast creed and religion and the anti social elements along with a scary mob culture that has developed can take control and divide as Marathi’s being different from North Indians? There have of course been similar movements in Tamil nadu since before I was born and developed in Bangalore in the past few years as well.

Three movies that I have watched in the recent past brought cohesion to my thought process on the nature of a revolution being- Charlie Wilson’s War, The Kite runner and Persepolis. They have a similar theme if you look at them as a whole. The first two talked of decadence in the Afghanistan region and the third extremely creatively of the same in Iran. They start off with the countries being on the brink of revolution where in the intelligentsia of the society meet consistently in a euphony that the revolution would bring the much needed change from a tyranny that was tying down the society. But in the wake of a bloody revolution the elements that come to power are the most tyrannical- the people as such who are willing to take blood rather than give for the revolution. And those are the elements that come to power!

That put in with some western capitalistic gain driven policies have driven the two countries into the so called dark ages. There are such stark similarities in the decadence that it pretty much scares me. The stark banality of thought process being that the state decides what women should wear, how they should behave in public and denying basic modern human rights such as education and a free thought flow process which scares the hell out of these tyrannical elements because of a basic fear of progress in the name of a vile “western” influence. These elements are not willing to adapt to a changing modern thought process on various issues that affect the society and are more involved in short term gains and a self pity rather than being a visionary for their fellow human beings.

All of this led me to see why Gandhi was such a visionary in his own time! Being born neither during the wake of pre or post independence but something like 40 years after I was exposed to two imposingly opposite thought processes on Gandhi- One being unrelenting hatred towards his policies that supposedly pushed back independence by twenty years and put the Nehru family at the forefront of policy making and the other that reveres his patience for the peaceful way always. But think about it. Would we have rather wanted a bloody revolution say in the 1920’s with the people who were willing to spill blood to be the very founders of the country? In that alone I could see what Gandhi was thinking some 50 years after independence. He was not thinking of just his generation but for generations’ way past his lifetime. He persisted with his main weapon of “Ghandhigiri” through times rough and then rougher and made sure that the anti social elements do not form the foundation of the society he envisioned. In this I am not trying to judge Bhagat Singh or Subhash Chandra Bose or their perseverance for independence. They were great men no doubt who were willing to give their lives as well for the cause. But not every Indian who followed their ideals would have been like them i.e, more willing to give their blood rather than spill blood with an emphasis on more.

Gandhi’s policies were patience driven with an emphasis on giving time for things to work out rather than be brash and look to gain on the short term. It was amazing the way he was able to mobilize and unite a country so different on so many levels and yet stick to his ideals. I was talking to a friend S along those lines and he pointed out some very poignant thoughts. Gandhi, he said, did not proclaim to be a saint who was trying to be a politician but a politician who was trying to be a saint!

It is sad that a country that was founded on such ideals now does not see much light in that. It absolutely saddens me the current state of affairs. In the last few weeks I have heard of a mob that doesn’t mind molesting women on weak pretenses, a mob motivated to violence against fellow Indians in the name of dominant regionalism, and the Tamil Nadu legislature discussing what dresses film actresses should wear! I ask a banal question in- is this what national policy makers be worried about? And how different are these thoughts from the radical thoughts that dominate the Taliban in Afghanistan or that in Iran? They are no different…