इक मस्जिदके बाहर लिखा था:

खुदाके पास आपकी दुआ सुननेके लिये बहोत वक्त है
पर क्या आपके पास दुआ मांगनेके लिये वक्त है?

Think about it over the weekend!

How to make the fight against corruption more effective?

Register your opinion here - How to make the fight against corruption more effective? I did.

A very very hectic week! Not a moment of peace in sight and I am sure that my BP must have crossed its normal limit a record number of times. One of my team members said that we will have less hassles when all the processes are in place. I remarked that either there will be less hassles or we would get used to the hassles by then :-( It felt so much like the CWG preparations. The athletes are at the door and the stadium is still under construction! It grates on me more because I normally don't leave things till the very last minute. But now I am beginning to wonder if this is how we Indians make sure that the things get done - by keeping them pending till the very last minute :-(

Oh well, that's how life goes, I guess. I would have said "Battle on, Xena" but I much prefer the Indian version of the Warrior Princess - The Queen of Zansi who gave the British a run for their money! :-)

अर्झ किया है...

उठे है जब हाथ, बदली है किस्मते
मजबूर है खुदाभी दुवाओंके सामने

(Forwarded)

I am a regular reader of Monika Halan's column "Expense Account" in The Mint. I was in for a pleasant surprise yesterday when I started reading it. Check out the story at the beginning - Why today isn’t Democracy Day.

If this story is true, HATS OFF to the people at that restaurant that day! This country needs more of you, my friends and they need to come out of the woodwork NOW!

Strand Book Festival on in Mumbai

Venue: Sundarabai Hall, Churchgate
Till: 6th February, 2011
Time: 10am-8pm

Go, get your library stocked! :-)

It was a sad day for India in general and for the state of Maharashtra in particular. An Additional Collector, Mr. Yeshwant Sonawane, was burnt alive by oil mafia as he tried to stop adulteration. In a separate incident, an RTI worker was assaulted in Thane.

Both these incidents took place just a day or so before the nation celebrated its Republic Day. Makes one wonder if there is anything worth celebrating about :-(

Happy (Banana) Republic Day India!

Wikipedia defines a Banana Republic as follows:

Banana republic is a term that refers to a politically unstable country dependent upon limited agriculture (e.g. bananas), and ruled by a small, self-elected, wealthy, corrupt politico-economic plutocracy

Well, we are almost there, aren't we? Only the part about limited agriculture is missing. But with the land - agricultural or otherwise - being grabbed for constructing sky-scrappers all over the country, unpredictable weather and the farmers committing suicide, I think we will get there sooner rather than later.

As for the rest, there is corruption everywhere you turn. People who were elected to serve the populace are refusing to step down even when there is clear evidence of their wrong-doing. There is no hope that they will ever be punished. People are taking to streets and resorting to destruction of public property at the drop of a hat. Hindus and Muslims are busy fighting each other. And sections in different states are forever on the lookout for a reason to demand a separate state.

Enough of a reason to officially change our motherland's name to "The Banana Republic of India"!

पंडित भीमसेनजी जोशी गेले. :-( खरं तर मला शास्त्रीय संगीताचा कान नाही त्यामुळे गॊडीही नाहीच. पण काही वर्षांपूर्वी षण्मुखानंदमध्ये आषाढी एकादशीच्या निमित्ताने त्यांना ऐकायचा योग आला होता. अगदी पंढरीत असल्यासारखं वाटलं होतं. असा योग पुन्हा येणार नाही ह्याची खंत आयुष्यभर राहिल. कालच iPod विकत घ्यायचा निर्णय घेतलाय. त्यात भजनांचा वेगळा फ़ोल्डर करायचं पक्कं केलंय आता. पंडितजी नाहीत तरी त्यांचा आवाज आपल्यासोबत राहिल ही देवाची कमी कृपा नाही. पुनर्जन्म असलाच तर पंडितजी पुन्हा पंडितजी म्हणूनच भारतात जन्माला यावेत ही देवाकडे प्रार्थना.