I am a strong supporter of socialism and to an extent leftist ideals. I would call my political stand as liberal-left. And yeah till recently you could say I was a supporter – na, that is too strong a word – rather a mild supporter of the Marxist Party. But seeing how things are going, I have to say that support has dwindled down to an extent that I can’t ever imagine them doing any good to our country anymore. Before I start criticizing, I admire the lot of good work they have done, especially in Kerala. They are in part responsible for making Kerala a comparatively “welfare state”. They have, to a large extent, enabled the strides that the state has made in education, equality, health and general welfare of the people.

But thinking about all the blunders they have made in the past, makes me wonder – Don’t they ever learn from their mistakes? First of all before Independence they made twists-and-turns on the whole world war funda, first calling it an “Imperialistic War” and then abruptly switching their stand point when USSR was attacked by Germany. Secondly during the Chinese aggression in the sixties, terming India as the aggressor and justifying the attack by China! How dare they do that? I cannot believe they placed their weight behind foreign interests against their own homeland! After that they sparked off the whole Naxal movement and by the time they realized it has gone too far, things were gone far beyond their control. Did they learn? No they didn’t. They actually opposed computerization in India, saying people will loose their jobs because of it. Well, do I need to explain any further?

And did they learn even after that? No they didn’t. They have again destabilized the political situation here by blindly opposing the nuclear deal. I admit, it has its loop holes, but was it the reason why it was opposed? They are opposing it just because India is dealing with the US. Let me make it clear, I am no fan of the US. But really, whatever you say, they are the only superpower in the world and we are never getting anywhere without having them on our side. To what cost is a question, but did our comrades even consider discussing this? They have been adamant throughout the whole process, opposing it just for the sake of opposing it.

I seriously think the comrades of CPI(M) need to do a good rethink of their strategies and their policies. They have to keep in mind that they are Indians first and communists second. Don’t try to create Videsi solutions for Desi problems please. This country badly needs development. Opposing development citing centuries old reasoning is not going to help anyone.

I am just stating my opinion. Criticisms are most welcome.

Its been two weeks. I see a lot of changes here and there, but the essence of “home” remains the same.

I was in Bangalore for a week and in Trivandrum for another. Bangalore, every where I turn, there is something new. Trivandrum has a few things changed here and there, but overall it is just that same old city! Everybody was also apprehensive of me driving, to say the truth even I was, a bit. But it was not the least difficult. Ok, first few minutes I tried to do things “right” but very soon my Indian instincts took over and lo I was honking, not stopping at pedestrian crossings, not following lanes.. hehe.. it was smooth from then on! One thing that changed regarding driving in Trivandrum is the number of FM stations available. When I left, there was just one.. now I turn the radio on and there seems to be a channel every other frequency – Big FM, SFM, Club FM .. what not! Then I see that there *are* traffic symbols posted neatly in India, just that before I never noticed them before and even if I did, never knew what they meant. Enough of blaming the government, our road culture is the first problem, nothings gonna change without improving that!

Most of the week in Trivandrum was spent visiting & being visited by friends and family. I even cooked for them. The shock on my mother’s face when she saw me cooking (‘Chicken Trivandrum’ ;) ) was a priceless moment. Nobody thought I had it in me to cook :D Well, not any more dear ones.. Even I can cook! Many evenings were spent idling away in the city.. brought back many flashes of nostalgia. I even managed to go to a cultural show organized by some department of my old college in the amazingly beautiful Kanakakunnu palace grounds. Sat there for hours with my college buddies… it was the best feeling ever! :D

It was a not a totally smooth transition, but not as difficult as I expected. Things seem changed, and I look at things differently than before.. But I am so happy being back :)

I was among those people who thought that this was never going to happen. And even if it was, it would at best be a soapbox-on-wheels. But no, hat’s off to Tata, they pulled off a gem.

Now I am in two minds. Again like a lot of others. It is a big deal, not by any means a minor achievement. But the environmentalists come out and say it is going to damage our Earth. That can’t be good right? But I would like to think in a different manner. If what Tata claims is true (I hope to dear god, it is at least half-true!), the car will have total emissions less than that of a standard motorcycle. If the Nano’s can achieve its said goal of replacing the 2-wheelers on the road, well then this can only be a good thing right. And the number of cars in India (.007 cars per person) are still too less compared to USA (.478 cars per person) or Germany (.508 cars per person). I think the whole hue and cry is a little too much.

But one point I agree on is that the Nano is going to severely choke the already congested Indian roads. Tata and other giants should actively invest in infrastructure projects beneficial for the general public and not just for their factories. I think all the hue and cry must be for this, lets not solve the wrong problem first.

And hey, I was reading some western reactions to the whole thing. While most of them ranged from faint sarcasm to slight appreciation, I noticed something interesting at many places. They were all saying we are going down the wrong path, all about green house gases and stuff. Yes that is important, but so is the development of our country (no, I am not just talking about Nano). The west created this whole mess, all the while enjoying all the goodies and when we are finally capable to doing all that, what right do they have tell us – ‘No, you cant do that. Its too late and we can’t clean up the mess we created.’.. Think about it people!

The point is that there needs to be a balance. We cannot afford to slow down too much on development, but we cannot totally forget about the environment either. The success of India depends on how well ‘we’ (no not just our politicians) strike the balance.

The rules of Germany. Well it does get some “getting used” to. From applying for a residence permit to driving on the roads to walking on the streets for everything there is a system. And for an outsider it seems like fitting a round object in a hole meant for something square.

I dipped my toes into this strange world before even leaving the shores of India. They need a biometric photo for my visa. Passport size photos won’t do. I always thought the passport size was invented for, well things related to a passport. Germans seem to disagree. They need a biometric. Ok fine, biometric then. I got my visa.

Visa in hand, I reach Deutschland. Then what? I need to apply for a residence permit. Ok great. Preplanning a lot of things I pay (or was it Bachu who paid? :D ) a few hundred bucks and get 20 additional copies from India. I recieve an email from my relocation agent saying you need a biometric pic. Glad at my genius of thinking about stuff before hand I read the next line in the mail – “Biometric photos taken in India are not valid”. Crap! My relocation agent says, but your company will re-imburse for it, what is the big deal! Hmmm. The big deal is a biometric photo is a biometric photo whether taken in India or Uzbekistan or Pluto! But the rules are theirs, and I need to play along. So paying 15 euros I get 4 more biometric photos of me from Germany. Now what? My friends say there is a chance that even this might get rejected.. Awwwww… I wait fingers crossed!

Ok, this is not just about the biometrics, but the rules, rules and more rules. Hmm. I take consolation in the fact that, their system works. Punkt! Everything here just works, so may be I shouldn’t complain too much. But I am an Indian. I have the right to crib about things. And after all being Indian I did make a round object fit into a square hole!

Maybe this was all inspired by the hazzle of getting the photos and missing trips to Salzberg and Paris because of the delay. But the German rules… Arggghh!

:)

India and winter are not two words that really go together. Add Olympics to that, it becomes even more bizarre. While going through The Hindu today, I read that India is participating in this years winter Olympics! Big surprise! What’s more, India had been represented in the last two Olympics too. Guess by how many athletes? Yeah, just one! And his name is Shiva Kesavan. Never thought that winter sports existed in India, simply due to the fact that winter doesnt exist in most of India ;). I had my eyes pop out when I learned that his dad was from my very own Kerala – that’s as tropical as you can get in India! A winter athlete from Kerala? Not even in my dreams!!

He was also some sort of hero during the 2002 Salt Lake games. The American media, made this guy really famous, calling him one in a billion. How true! And amazingly I don’t remember a single mention of him here in the Indian media before.

He has turned out to be a hero to me instantly. How proud must he have been representing 1,000,000,000 people at not one but two (and soon three) Olympics. The guy obviously never got much support from our government and had to participate in his event with borrowed equipment… oh… and his event is called Luge. It is a high-speed race on a sled down a fixed track. I remember watching it once or twice on TV, seemed fun :D

In 2006 though, Shiva is not alone for India. The official site lists 3 more athletes. Good lord. Are winter sports catching up in India? :o

Anyway do support Shiva in his quest. The Turin games are live, here in India on DD Sports from February 10. Whether he wins or finishes last, he will be a big hero to me!

Further Reading:

• India’s lone luger » (the-south-asian.com)
• “900 MILLION STORIES: THIS IS THE BEST ONE” » (Mitch Albom – Detroit Free Press)
• Did an Indian compete at Salt Lake? » (melvindurai.com)
• Official Site » (torino2006.org)