On dating

This is cool: check it out - Henry Enjoy. Thanks to Hugh for pointing that out.

Typos suck!

I was skimming through my old posts and with so many typos - I feel like banging my head. Typos are like a smal black spots on a white shirt - they stick out. Rather awfully! I can't avoid looking at them and then spend the next 30 seconds in no-man's land - wondering whether I should fix them or leave it for the next saturday. Zero tolerance is overrated! Just like anything else. My laundry. My dishes. Cleaning my car. Vacuuming. Now typose too go into my list. Fixing the typos in my blog. So what happens if I don't fix them. What happens if they are not perfect? Why do I have to pick up blemishes? Can't I just say - it's okay and move on. Well, I guess I do the same with people too. I look at a girl's long nose and keep wondering - why? And in the process miss out on her lovely lips. Well, typos are not same - I know. There is an absolute right and wrong. But can I just issue a creative license for myself. Why am I behaving soggy and why am I losing my snitch. Why am I glorifying my imperfections and going so far to being lazy. Imperfections out of laziness is not same as imperfections following the best effort. But who will find that out. Are standards just personal. Are others really forgiving for my imperctions or they are just being nice - sometimes of out genorosity and sometimes out of resignation. The real truth about standards seem to be personal. Overall, its way too complicated. Never mind what we demand of others. Typos like other mistakes in life out of laziness need only be justified to me.

Blogging as a therapy

I am still learning about the benefits of the internet. One aspect that I cannot deny is: Ever since I have started blooging, I have enjoyed every bit of it. It has provided me a therapy to soothe my nerves more than anything else. So this time instead of just going into a tirade, I thought of just googling (another blessing from the internet) and see if any one else feel the same way. And viola! I found straight from the doc.

Nandigram and Trinity of Indian Marxists

Much has been written about Nandigram massacre. Blood has flown and may have dried by now. I am a bit late to jump in. But I had to. There seems to be too much be made out of it. I had a long argument with a buddy of mine the other day. That was okay. Nadigram featured in the wikipedia. That was okay too. But when a couple of days back, my coworker mentioned it in one of our usual lunches after hearing it on NPR, I thought may be I should write about it. In the crowd of articles lambasting the state governement, the only article which took a notable stand was Sunanda K Dutta Ray's opinion in the Telegraph. Thank God! At least there was someone who did not sell out his soul.

The reason I decided to write is: It is not that I am a big fan of the Marxist government in Bengal. People know me that I am tilted more towards the right than left. But I think people are getting a distorted and overly simplified generalizations of the Marxist setup within the context of Nandigram.

The Marxists in India are a diverse bunch who sort of tried to organize under one umbrella. It is what I call the trinity and it is important that we do not mix them up. Why they do so? I dont know and it does not matter here. For what its worth here's what I think of each of them.

I may preface my discussion with this: I am passionate about Calcutta and Bengal where I spent my first 25 years of formation. I can safely claim that I have spent a large part of my life close to rural Bengal and have seen the Marxist machinery work. In a remote sense, seeing them, I can convice myself why they are ruling the state for 30 years. They have done some good work in the villages.

First face of Trinity (Keep it): In last few years, with Budddhadev as the CM, I, with many Bengalis had a hope for Bengal. I saw him as a moderate, practical, progressive Marxist who understands real needs and is not ashamed to adopt the Chinese model to move the state forward. I am all for his efforts - whether Mr. Marx blesses him or not. I don't care. I think smart leaders and able leader do not follow a philosophy as a dogma but can adapt them to the needs of the ground, the calling of the time, and the vision of the future. Buddhadev is right on the money - when it comes to industrialization. He has my vote and my support.

Second face of Trinity (Stay away from it): The CPM boys led by Jyoti Basu and the repressionist movement had continued for more than 20 years. They are neither Marxist nor do they belong to any other clubs other than thugs, mafia, and insolent goons. With more than 20 years in existence - it is easy to imagine that they have grown like algae and filled in all empty crevices and cracks in the social and political structure of Bengal. From grassroots to the tallest towers. They do not figure in any rational argument nor any rational group that believes in civility and dignity of human beings. I am scared of them. I stay away from them. Period.

Third face of Trinity (Don't take them seriously or better still - flush them out): Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat, Prakash Karat, and their friends from the JNU SFI (past, present, and most likely future). They are a bunch of useless, clueless losers. Spectacled professors, straight A shooters, valedictorians, big talkers, media crazy pompous lampoons, Political theorists. Entertainers in your living room. People who never bother to take the real-life lesson that the world does not run according to their books. They confuse activitism with constructive politics. They are like Mary Antoniette's - "Give them cake if they don't have bread variety." People who have hardly fought a real election. They don't have idea on what goes on. They talk about poverty when have not seen or experienced nothing but a privileged life themselves. Privileged that they could afford to indulge in politics. Pseudo activists who con themselves as "great" political thinkers. Trouble makers not policy makers. Banish them from your minds. Flush their views in your toilet if you want a real life.

Now getting back to the first part of the title - Nandigram. CPM's first face of trinity is doing the right thing with industrialization. The intention is right. The violence was unfortunate. But let's face it. Bengal is not like Gujarat. Unlike govts. in Gujarat, Marxists have done tremendous work in land reforms and local governance at panchayat level. People underestimate that fact because it is not sexy as a oil refinery or silicon valley. No other state comes close (except for Kerala) to Bengal's achievement on that front. In a way, the displacment problem is a result of all the hard work that CPM has done - that farmers have their own land to till. And now they do not want to relocate. Already a fertile territory, Bengal unlike other SEZ (that has been set up in barren lands) there is not much useless land for setting up industries. If industries are to be set up, labor will be mobilized from fertile lands. Either vertically where people learn new skills and work in factories instead of farms. Or, horizontally mobilized - migrate to some other states. It happens all the time in India and in all parts of the world. You will find Bihari laborers in construction work in Rajasthan and Keralite nurses in Punjab. I repeat: I am not supporting violence but it is unavoidable when a greater public good is at stake and is being impeded by a group of thugs and local lords who instigate local farmers.

But, after the masscare, the result was broad criticism on the state apparatus primarily because of CPM's legacy. The first face was blamed for Nadigram as a continum of all the atrocities done in the past by the second face. True, when the seond face was ruling and dominating Bengal, Bengal was running in reverse gear compared to rest of India. And starting from police to local thugs - force and repression was common. Some of these wings have not shed their old feathers and that's what caused the whole massacre. Let's criciticize and bury the dead with the incident. The seond face will be history and we have the opportunity to move on. If we bring back the skeletons, we are forcing state governance and leadership will be forced imitate bad politics. And no one but we are to be blamed.

In this mix, the third face is clouding and making things more difficult. This group as I mentioned have the sex appeal to jam public media. But they leave people confused, agitated, and polarized. They oppose every progressive policy center makes - many consistent what Bengal government is taking. They dilute the credibility of the organization and immerse the future of state. Leaves people wondering - who is the real CPM - these clowns or the Bengal government voted by the people.

I wish there was a better way to structure the politburo in Delhi. I feel sorry for Buddhadev. But I hope good things for Bengal. I believe most people realize that. At least, I know that about Bengal. How the rest of India views this - I care less. Bengal politics was one of a kind anyways. My bets are the factory in Nadigram will be built - once the wounds heal and the dust settles down.