No. 50 - The Journey so far

This day, right now I'm writing my 50th article on this blog. My first ever attmpt at seriously writing about stuff that i would love to talk about with someone. Suffering from a perennial lack of people to share my views with, i was always filled with all the thoughts for which i never had an outlet. Probably that's why i used to talk to myself a lot. That is why i guess writing comes naturally to me. I know i'm not a great writer and all the stuff that i write is hardly entertaining let alone interesting at times but this much is true that whatever i write comes straight fro m the heart and the mind. There has not been an iota of fakeness in my writing ever. That some might say is just lack of imagination and yes i don't have anything to defend myself with on that. But still i believe that whatever i have written so far is genuine and my actual thoughts and feelings and hence holds sntimental value.

As the description on the top of this page shows i am quite choosy about topics that i write about and hence going through the last 49 articles you won't find a lot of variation in the topics that i have written on. Movies, politics, love & pain, self introspection and probably a few here and there, that's my total list of articles. I don't write flowery sentences. The ones that show off your vocabulary. I don't write enterprising articles depicting tales of some events that never really happened. I don't write about people's point of views. What i do write is about me, my thoughts, my feelings. Guess you can say i am a self centered pig but what can i do i love myself. The fact is that i can't write about how other people might think and react to a situation because if i'm writing about something that simply means i am interested in tallking about it and that leaves me the only candidate whose voice my mind is ready to listen.

I know like the other articles this one too is going to land up in a heap of mass , unread and unappreciated by many. After all there is nothing exciting about it. A no. 50 article should have been special, right? Actually, no. I don't need special numbers to get myself talking or doing stuff. I don't need a date to tell me that i should go tell my mom that i love her. I don't need a date to go and express my love to my special someone. I don't need a no. to write a fantastic article. So like the rest this one too has a bit of introspection built into it. A bit of self criticism and a bit of cynisicsm too. I know when i started out on this blog i wasn't very sure how far this was going to last. It just happened that i hated the idea of blogs to begin with. But now, 1.5 years down the line i feel like this was the best decision that i had ever taken. I don't care if my articles are read only by those whom i mail the content and that outside those 10 people there is hardly any visitor on my blog but that is not a dampener.

Agreed it kind of hurts not being so popular as a blogger after all who wouldn't want a little bit of appreciation. But i know that i am not writing this blog for people's pleasures. It's a gateway for me to at times let out my frustration without harming anyone and at times talk about stuff that i really want to express my thoughts on. This is more or less my online diary and i guess it's fine if it ain't read by many as it leaves it a tad personal. In Dec 2007 when i started this blog it was my way of getting back at people who had hurt me without going up to them to let them know that i was being hurt. Slowly, the feelings faded away and i started writing about stuff that i wanted to talk about. Slowly my interest started increasing and consequently a lot of what was going on my mind came out in the form of words on a page. Looking back now i feel that it has helped me in more ways than one. It has helped me keep myself sane in the time of struggles and heartaches and at the same time helped me improve my writing and to some extent my usage off english language. 

I know i am still far off from being a true artist, i am a novice i would say and would continue to be so for a long time to come. But yes, my writing has given me a renewed sense of confidence and belief in myself, something i was surely lacking when i first started out. Today i come across many people who have writing as a hobby/interest and i hear their efforts and it hurts to know that i am somehow not in that league yet. But i guess, i have never truly tried hard to be in that league. I have continued writing in my own, mundane style week in and week out. I am not a show man but i do want to believe that i am a craftsman. I am polishing an honing the writer in me so that someday it can reach heights that i only dream of right now. I know i am trend setter. After all i have made four of my friends start writing about their feelings but i won't call them bloggers yet. They don't have the zeal yet though Zoo Zoo is showing some signs. I though am a bit surprised. Over the years my weakness has been my quick loss of interest in things. But blogging somehow has managed to survive for a long time.

I don't know if i should call this blogging or not. Like i said this is more of an online diary and since i don't go and read other people's blogs apart from those my friends write and send across, i think it wouldn't be right. But again since this is a web log, blog seems the natural adjective. I was once told to write in a way that leaves the reader searching for more. A gripping tale or narrative that makes you go on reading no matter how long it is. You should be able to make the reader commit to you. And in the end he must be left awestruck (or at least near enough). But till date that has not happened with me. My writing style is such that i can't put in the spice. I love the writing style that i was told to adopt i know, but i guess somewhere inside me i am just a bit lazy to make that extra effort. I know i should sign off now as i have blabbered on for long and nothing important has come about and ofcourse this will only further dip the IRP's of the blog, so i am saying goodnight to the owls and to those burning the midnight oil for god knows what reason....

The Great Indian Democracy

Three more days and the elections to elect the ruling government for the world's largest democracy comes to an end. Three more days for the elephant to dance. After a long and tiring journey spanning almost 5 weeks spread over 5 phases, the voters will have voted and the fate of god knows thousands of candidates will be sealed. The begging from the voters comes to an end and so does the constant ranting against opponents. The mud slinging and the promises all are now over. The manifestos strewn across the face of the land as the billions of rupees spent on this behemoth find their way into somebody's pockets. Three more days and the noise of the loudspeakers and the blaring of horns and loud music on the roads as well as the radio comes to an end. The use of electronic media was well as the radio and the internet by the 'national parties' was commendable. The parties pulled out all stops to make themselves visible to the public.

Sure enough this was a special time for many first time voters. After all you get to vote for the country once every 5 years only. Many confused souls didn’t know who to support and who to reject. Guess they didn't give a damn about politics. Voting was the in thing and nobody wants to be left out from the acceptable group now do they. Many didn’t vote as they were not in their constituencies. They were away from their homeland. They can go for their excursions into the country side for a weekend getaway but no they can’t take a leave to go out and vote. That is just not that important on their list. After all who cares who gets voted in, it’s of no concern to us, as if what they do somehow means something. Many would agree to this line of thought others would simply shrug their shoulders in saying that they didn’t have their voter id. It’s like they wouldn’t go out to get that clothes and accessories when they need them. But getting a voter id is too much a trouble to take.

God knows how India is running forward with full steam with a lackadaisical govt. slumbering along while the elephant wants the speed much like in a stampede. Everyone is amazed as to how the Indian economy is booming despite the fact that India ranks amongst the lowest in terms of human development and corruption indices. It’s the entrepreneurs who are making the clock tick and if someday they decide to stop the engine will come to a screeching halt. The inefficient governments (no matter which party comes to power) seems to be all at sea when it comes to the crucial questions of security, foreign policy and economy only tend to increase the distrust amongst the voters regarding their candidates. Everybody is fed up of the corruption so deeply ingrained in the political and bureaucratic system ever since Nehru first decided to overlook the demon seed.

Yet the quintessential hope never fails. Every Indian despite the odds believes and dreams of a better future for them and for the country. It’s this hope that keeps on taking them back to the voting booth to try and put in their effort to elect a capable govt. that has the power to do what they had promised during the elections. That is why the elections still manage to generate the hoopla and the excitement both in the lives of public and the media that covers every inch of the activities. Sure enough there are loads of complaints against every government across the country but a point to be kept in mind is that those who don’t/didn’t vote have no right to blame the govt. They were not a part of electing it then they should just shut the bloody hell up and accept what they got.

All this now leads to a totally different arena. The arena of horse trading where every party coming up short must sell their souls and ideas to get the coveted seat in the cabinet. They must try and conjure up the nos. to form the new govt. for which they have worked so hard. So what, if in the process they have to compromise on their ideals, the very thing the public looked at when voting for them. That doesn’t matter at all. The seat of power is what matters as it would guarantee a 5 year period of rule during which they can accumulate masses of wealth and probably stop worrying about a secure future. After all some tens of crores of rupees is not enough to last another 10 years right, because that is what is the future average life expectancy of the politicians today. They need more and much more to fill their coffers. Suck out the blood of the Indian masses, making them work hard and then take away their money to fill their pockets. Gosh that is a very hard thing to do. To do all this in only 5 years is expecting too much.

But rest assured in a weeks time we will know whether the coming of age Indian public has really voted sensibly and chosen the lesser of the two evils or has it as always gone ahead and given the baton to the devil himself so that he can come back and smack you right in the face with it and yet make it feel like he has helped you in some way. A week at max is what will tell the world what India will give them in the form of govt. A week to rejoice and usher in 5 years of mourning………