Attack, Aftermath and Admission

It’s all over now.

As an aftermath, Shivraj Patil has resigned. Many things are to follow.

I am here to admit rather bluntly that I am unmoved by all.

Yes, none of my kin died or injured in the attack. I was not even involved in the reporting of entire incident.

The initial eagerness turned into fatigue. Television watching became intermittent thereafter. I cared to know, but little and not from the heart.

Actually when rescue operation was on, I had started imagining the political fallout of entire episode.

Karkare & Kampte’s death did initially shock me. But that shock did not last much.

I missed the usual “spirit of Mumbai” & “Mumbai Meri Jaan” rhetoric. Perhaps that ‘spirit’ wasn’t alive this time.

I also missed much of the political action. They shouldn’t been so inarticulate this time.

Journalists’ action was interesting. I discovered many Maureen Dowd wannabe who updated the country bullet-by-bullet from warfront.

Bachchan and his licensed .32 revolver under his pillow should have been played rather prominently, I felt. I also felt bloggers’ anguish was unjust.

But I enjoyed Ramu and Ritesh Deshmukh accompanying Vilasrao Deshmukh at Taj during his first visit as a part of stock-taking.

I saw frames of kin of deceased. Often short of words, the struggle while searching for words to express was anticipated. But nothing came out.

Later I discovered, I have lost sensitivities.

Grappled further to know how this happened ?. Answer came without many efforts.

I realized that people losing their life has become routine here.

And letting them lose their life is also a part of that bigger routineness which we see among our rulers.

So I thank our rulers for taking my sensitivities out.

Hindu Terrorism, Marathi Chauvinism and Financial Carnage: A Perfect Storm

Ever since the Mumbai ATS have arrested Hindu fundamentalists in connection with the Malegaon and Modasa blasts, my friend has been teasing me. And to shield myself, I launch counter attack with a point that some of those Hindu fundamentalists arrested are Brahmins. Well, not just Brahmins, but one among them is ‘Kulkarni’, a surname my ‘teaser friend’ shares.

Kidding apart, the day since anti-terrorist squad have arrested Sameer Kulkarni and Ramesh Upadhyay in Pune and Bhopal, the often-so-vocal (irrespective of the subject) Modi baug Swayamsevaks have been quite tightlipped. I hear same is the situation at Reshim baug, Nagpur. I don’t want to get involved in the moral part of the issue.

The only point I see here is, like my friend, BJP and its ilk won’t ever be as aggressive as they have been on terror. Good for Congress?.

In the office, my Bengali colleague lashes me out on parochial mindset that few Marathis harbour. He resists from straightaway taking on me, but makes it sure that every arguments, irrespective of the topic, ends with a side note on ‘chauvinism’. Well, what can be my reply other than saying, Raj’s beating Biharis and Bhayyas, not Bengalis.

Actually we all know what Raj has been doing is repeat of history already created by his uncle Bal Thackeray. The only difference is: its no more uthao lungi bajao pungi. It’s in stead bajao bhayyas.

Pick up an emotive issue. Distorts the facts. Take on to stalwarts and exhorts the army of workers to play the evil under the name of god. The byte hungry media is there is to help you out. Result: emergence of a new political star.

And by chance if you counter Raj, much like his uncle, the MNS chief starts barking, showing disgust for being challenged and questioned. “Don’t be their advocate”, defiant Raj told me over phone from Ratnagiri, prior to his arrest when I countered him on his lie: “Railways don’t give ads in local dailies”. When I actually presented facts, Raj, lull for a moment, stormed with yet another argument: “As you claim, if the ad has indeed appeared in some local news papers, then Marathi candidates must have applied for it. But we did not see Marathi candidates getting call letters for exam from Railway Recruitment Board. This shows how the railways have been neglecting Marathi youths”. Realizing that he can be exposed, He once again called me up on my cell to advise (with no less than a threatening tone) to “report entire thing properly”.


Ethically we all know he is wrong. Politically, I would say, Raj is correct. Bad for Sena ?.

The meltdown heat is warming up the pan beneath us, thanks to libertians, whose mess up is by and large restricted to US. A stage has yet to come here wherein government would talk about bail-out plans and tax-payers will cry.

Today with each post on this blog, I realize that my penchant for liberalism is growing.
-------------------------------
Contradictions everywhere ?. Or is it cognitive dissonance?.