Required Urgently Foresight & Problem Solving Skills!

In India, that is to say!

The humiliation of Pakistani Players during IPL selection was coming, wasn't it? At least I am not surprised. The ugly situation could have been avoided, had India acted swiftly and punished those guilty of 26/11 terror attack. It was also not fair for one Daily to talk of peace when the wounds were still raw. It only signified that we were in a hurry to please others at the cost of our own pain.

What is happening in Mumbai is also no surprise. The country should have woken up the first time Bal Thackeray said, "Mumbai is for Marathis". Unfortunately the vote bank was important for the parties then. I always wonder why Bollywood plays so safe. If Ratan Tata could act tough, so could Bollywood! Anyway they are all facing the brunt now.

Education helps us to gauge, analyse, foresee problems and face them squarely. Instead we have ended up learning to connive at every alarming situation. And that's a sad part.

Terrorism And Mob Fury

As a child I remember my mother telling me often about Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. "In one stroke, the entire society had turned anti-Brahmin. There was a mass slaughter of Maharashtrian Brahmins in Pune."This was mainly because, Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by Nathuram Godse, a Maharashtrian Brahmin. She would then go on to recount how a group of 40 hooligans had landed one fateful night at my paternal grand-father's house in Raigarh District, with the intention of looting and killing everyone in the house. My aunt, i.e. my father's youngest sister had then delivered a baby boy, and it was impossible to escape. But, the family servant 'Dhondu' showed tremendous presence of mind. He managed to take my grand-mother, aunt and one of the uncles' to his small house just minutes before they arrived. And just when the armed men raised their swords to kill my grandfather, a Muslim small time trader, appeared from nowhere and saved him from dying. The story would then end with a moral-" It is your good deeds that help you in difficult situations." Like many small things, the words got registered in my sub-conscious mind. It was much later that I was to understand what it was to be saved by a Muslim.

I grew up and got married. I was in Delhi with my husband and 1 year old daughter in one of the rented houses in New Delhi. But, the story remained somewhere at the back of my mind. And rightly so, the entire narration came rushing to my mind on 31st October 1984 at 10.30 a.m. when the news started pouring in that Mrs. Indira Gandhi had been shot at by her guards. While the official announcement came much later, the general public had sensed the death of the dynamic woman. I had this terrible foreboding that something worse was yet to come just like the ''Gandhi assassination". Without thinking much I told my young part-time maid to go home without washing the utensils.

What happened was a dejavu. A replication of my mother's story. Only the place had changed. And this time, it was not the Maharashtrian Brahmins but Sikhs who were the innocent victims. Suddenly, everybody was everybody's enemy. The next 3-4 days, we witnessed smoke belching out from all four directions. Houses were being burnt without any sense. Suddenly, everybody was everybody's enemy. And that everyone had become a stranger. The 2 Sikh brothers who sold milk at the Mother-Dairy booth were now nobody's friends. Civilization was at the nadir. I am proud that my husband, who was then a young Lieutenant in the Indian Navy, offered to do rounds in the nights with a few more gentlemen in the particular area where we were put up. That was the first time I felt, that civilization was not moving ahead, but was moving backward. For those who don't know, Sikhs have played a major role in India's freedom struggle.

Several years have passed. But things are as bad as ever. Just 2 days ago, I experienced that helplessness again. I happened to enter the classroom, when the students of media told me of the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers. And all at once, I noticed one of my favourite students looking scared and utterly helpless. My stomach churned, when he said,"Someday, the police will take my friends' teasing seriously, and will whisk me away to the police station for being a Muslim."

The words haunt me even now, after 2 days. The boy is very nice. I want everything good to happen to him. I sincerely hope, that terrorism comes to an end fast. And only the guilty are punished. O Wise Men all over the world, please come forward and wipe out terrorism from the earth at the earliest possible. So that, the innocent people don't suffer. At the same time,I have just one point to make to my dear student-Rise. Rise, so high that no one will be able to raise a finger at you. You do have Dr. Abdul Kalam and several such illustrious men before you.

Some Wise thoughts.

(Sorry for the long gap. Because of road repairs all over the city, we often don't have the net connection)

I am quite a recluse which only my husband and children know. Given a chance, I will any time prefer staying within the four walls of my humble flat and do anything I like. Why so? Even I have no idea. But my husband makes up for this by taking me firmly for social visits. ( God sure knows how to make pairs!) And that's how I have made some very good friends whom I will always treasure, all my life.

Last Sunday was one such day, when my husband paid no attention and took me to meet our downstairs neighbour Maj. Gen.(Retd) D.K. Saksena (AMC). Both, husband and wife are good and ever helpful to the people of the society. But, rank and protocol always make me jittery. And so I was a little nervous.

Amidst all the formalities, the talks took a very interesting turn. "Who says I am God-fearing? I am God-loving." I heard Gen Saksena saying this. Now, ever since I remember, 'God-fearing" word has puzzled me too. There have been umpteen times when I have looked up for the exact meaning in the dictionary. And here was a man who explained it so well. "Are you afraid of your own father? Then, why should you be afraid of God? ...I love God."

I liked what Gen. Saksena said. God is someone who takes care of us. We turn to him in difficulty. And He helps us find a way amidst all chaos. Such a big thought put across in such simple words. I sure forgot the various assignments that I had to finish.

As the evening progressed, the topic of terrorism came up which was quite natural, given the service background. Gen. Saksena, while quoting a few lines from Robin Sharma's"Family Wisdom" gave his own explanation for human behaviour. When a thought comes to our mind, we dig in to get more information. Naturally, this leads to action. This action leads to the formation of attitude. And from attitude, grows a habit. Ultimately, it is this habit which gets demonstrated as one's personality. The moral is, that we should try to think of good thoughts that will eventually lead to a good personality.

As I rang up the General the next day, he gave me one more line to think about from Abraham Graham Bell,"When one door closes another door opens. But often we so longingly and regretfully look at the closed door that we fail to see the door that has opened for us."

Such a beautiful thought. All these years, I had only heard the first half of the thought. I will always keep these thoughts in mind Gen Saksena. Thank you so much.

26/11 Terror Attack

Oh, Civilization! Where are we?... Of what good is our education?

So many lives lost! And we have watched it all helplessly. I really wonder if I can sing that famous song of Pardes even if somebody tells me to-'I love my India(2)..'. No, I really can't! I really don't feel proud.

Nothing makes sense. The fact that the President continued with her foreign visit inspite of the insensitive carnage back home? The Kerala Chief Minister's egoistic and heartless retort! Not to forget the inappropriate remarks of some BJP leaders.

Neither can I understand why IB and other names are propping up now to state that they had advised the government on the need for stronger coastal guard . How can we sit smug after making an important suggestion?Should we not stress on its application?

May be, we should now have an official body who will undertake the responsibility of carrying out orders and suggestions made by various departments and offices.

I , however, salute - the NSG, the Fire Brigade, the Railway Police, the Local Police, the commandos, the GM of Taj, and all for saving the situation from getting worse. My salute to Sandra Samuel, the nanny of the 2 yr old baby. She had taken care of my children too at Navy Nagar, Mumbai about 12 years ago.