We will miss you!

We started walking in 2012. And, the god has been kind enough to gift the Dilliwalas (people who are from Delhi) a new year gift which is insane. The world is going in for a "Ga Ga India" and we are all set to reap its benefits. Yes, the design behind such a huge opportunity may have emanated from the economic prowess of Mother India. Sports is no different from any other industry or sector which is bleeding in the so called "First World" and they are increasingly expanding their presence in the new economic hot spots like India. But whatever the reason may be, we are lucky enough to witness history being created in Delhi this January. It is almost impossible to sit back and wait. It feels like so close yet so far. 

A tough young boy with talent from a small village in North East India made it big. He did it with his immense talent and skill, his precise and tough disciplined life which he dedicated to his passion. His passion was akin to many from this beautiful part of India. Boys love to kick it around and dribble it around and girls would love to cheer it. Its a poor men's game and , yeah, you bet, its the most popular sport in this world. Football is life in North East India. And, Baichung Bhutia was no different. 

This lad  from Tinkitam village in mountainous Sikkim came, saw and conquered the football and lived his dream. I M Vijayan, another wonderful footballer of India, described Baichung as a "God's Gift to Indian football." His speed, accuracy, reflexes and intelligence had helped to improve the scenario of football in an otherwise cricket crazy country. He showed to his own nation that he, along with many others, has it to make the cut. This illustrious career as a player is coming to an end when he will formally retire from professional playing as he will lead the Team India to a wonderful match on January 10, 2012. 

The exit of this wonderful player from India ever has to be grandeur. And, yes, we expected it right when the Deutsche Football legendary club Bayern Munchen comes to this part of the world to bid farewell to Baichung along with his teammates. Its no fake news that the full strength and full bench of Bayern Munchen is coming to New Delhi and, if newspaper reports are to be believed, the club will place a full strength team against Baichung Bhutia led India XI Football team.  

If you wished for a dream, your god just granted your wish to become a reality. Yes, you get to see Germany's World Cup captain Philip Lahm leading the team which will have (take a deep breath, or you may fall short of it) World Cup 2010 Golden Boot winner Thomas Muller, star striker Mario Gomez, "Jewel of French football" (as described by none other than God himself, Zinedien Zidane) Franck Ribery, Dutch superpower Arjen Robben, German superstar midfielder Bastian Schweinsteigar et al. Phew!

Its not about a result, its not about all the business angles involved, its not about just football. Its about the respect that an Indian footballer has earned in the international football scenario. A gentleman, in his truest essence, Baichung happily posed for a photograph, shared his own opinions and also listened to other's points of views when I met him recently in Delhi. I felt poignant to see that Baichung is still a kid when he has the football with him. He plays the ball with same innocence and he is still very much in love with the game. It was a wonderful sight when he played with young kids and showed them a trick or two and still laughing with them on it. For a person like Baichung, we have a memorable match at hand. I hope that Baichung keep on walking on his chosen path of popularising and improving the standard of football in the country. And, as people say, make it a mainstream sport. Lets watch him in action again at the J N Stadium in Delhi! Come on 10th Jannuary!

We will miss you Baichung! 

A Date with City of Joy

 Caught in the most berserk imagination a human mind can only sparsely realise, may be due to an inquisitive quest that I have always treasured in my heart, I was a bit skeptical and, at the same time, was looking forward with excitement to step into a city of marvels. The need of that hour demanded for a cup of hot tea so that the butterflies in my stomach do a retreat at least for some time. Failing to camouflage my camouflage my SOS call for a cup of hot tea, a benign vendor was smart enough to offer me a cup of “laal cha” (or Lemon tea). Having been a while since I drank the last cup of lemon tea, for I have been staying in the western India and this remain an eastern delicacy, the salacious urge to sip in the tea almost made me snatch away the cup from him. With great satisfaction I sipped in as I looked from my rusty window at a sky that had slowly rebelled against the ghastly darkness making way for the mighty Sun to take over the business of the day. The enlightened skin of the earth was getting brighter as my eyes got trapped at the tip of what has been the city’s perfect snapshot----the Howrah Bridge.

Shivering at the fact that only a distance of few minutes kept me apart from the colossal Howrah railway station, I began to pack my things along with my body and soul as I conjure my senses to explore a city, best known as Calcutta. 

The enigma of Calcutta remains. The epicenter of British raj and its legacy is still languishing which can be seen in a state of despair. That it is not a humdrum place as like many other 21^st century cities, is proved when I saw a wall writing that was an appeal to the British, a desperation that was manifested in those frustrating words “British come back. Slavery is our birth right”. May be the passion for the land has not dried up to the extent that it is believed to be. Still there is someone who is avid about freedom and hope. May be it is not British, may it is a scum that has leeched the society and the time. And it is still going on and on. May be it is a silent outcry against the Neo-Colonialists who have marched in that has threatened the fabric of hitherto untouched hinterland. Welcome to Calcutta where ‘Bhadra Lok’ is trying to explore the panorama of communism for decades.

As soon as I left the bogey and step down, the red army encircled me. Hold on, this is not the land of Dragon. It is all right if I am in a communist state but still this is India, a democracy. But, no they were not red army but army of porters, better known as Coolies. While I floundered my way out, I went straight to the old Howrah station where I kept my baggage in the cloak room with no promise from the attendant that the immense rats will do no harm to them. But then in life you have to take chances. I took the chance and, guess what, pulled it off without a snip later on that day. The next thing that I had in my mind was that I have to rush the Waiting room to freshen up. The hall was full of people as it has so far been. The paucity of restrooms is always felt when you are held at the razors edge. If you pull out, you have to start it all over again. Once you are there inside the restroom, rest assured that others enthusiasts won’t allow you a resting stay. The job is to be done real fast. Somehow I liked the unanimity within the procession in imbibing the anthem which is incidentally one of my favourite as well. They were true to the spirit of 'the Dylan Classic, “Knock, knock, knocking on heavens doors”. This acted as a nice wake up call for the people who were getting ready to plonk themselves into this precarious world of Calcutta. This refreshes the Calcutian spirit among people.

As I moved under the blue sky, the Rabindra setu, better known as Howrah Bridge, was standing tall proudly defining the identity of the city. It promises to take you to the other side of the river Hooghly, to the precarious yet alluring pulp of Calcutta. The sight is spellbinding. Just while you stroll across the road by the side of the bank, there are flurry of petty restaurants. They are trying to sell some of the most delicious and the cheapest breakfast in the world. I suspect the prices that were responsible for the popularity of the coinage. Their ambience even though a big turn off for anyone but the aroma of the smell will make anyone with a huge belly goes berserk. Just taste the “Luchi with Gorom Ghoogny” and you will simply go out of the world. You also get introspection the Calcutian life from a closer view. Now, whenever you pay for food in Calcutta, just make sure that you have adequate change with you because you know the MasterCard would never work there.

Calcutta is a strange city. It has so many strange things that you may start feeling like getting foxed at life. The once celebrated Calcutta Metro always excited me with impossible imaginations in my childhood. So it was something eagerly waiting to hop into. So, I took a metro ride from the Esplande to Shobha Bazaar.  An impetuous excitement flooded my imagination and my senses went all awry with the thrill of that speeding spearheading underground. That was something.

2012...Lets take the walk!

So much to hope and so much to dream about! So many moments and so many walks! The journey continues as you smile at your past with love and starts flirting with future. Give yourself a present, live to dream, live to be alive. Today is always new. Relish it! May the best happen to all of you always! Spoil yourself with love! Happy New Year! 2012 is here.

Recently, I watched a wonderful ad of Coca Cola that talks so much about optimism prevailing over pessimism, people fighting for good over bad. Yes, the day may not be smoke free yet but hey! we are still wishing everyone on a new year. We are still wishing and hoping and dreaming about an unknown year. There is a sense to optimism in everybody and that is what makes me feel good about it. Its time for us to walk towards our dreams.

What a better present for self can be other than identifying your right priorities and work out plans to achieve during the year. No, I don't have anything to quit but I actually want to adopt a few. Some good habits I shall try to adopt.

Among them, the most important and wishful is a road trip to Ladakh and Srinagar. I would really love to see this amazing piece of earth in 2012. While I did have some plans to cover some part of Arunachal in the early part of the year, that plan is looking tough now. God help us in that!

Lets walk now. 

Misty Morning in Delhi

It looked like a typical chilly Delhi morning as I prepared myself for the last working day of 2011. Time flies that's alright. But it seems now time is cruising at a supersonic speed. I felt a tremendous rush of adrenalin in my body when I had a deja vu moment this morning. As I walked out of the Metro Rail coach, there was a gush of mist that soaked me in. This was incredible. I was never this romantic while going to work. It felt like I am in some remote place of my homeland, the North East India, and I felt a backpack and my Nikon D3100 around my neck. But, alas! That was not the case. It was a moment that I have lived many times but yet I want to live a thousand more times.

The mist is so dense today that it is almost impossible to even guess what it is beyond a certain point. As I walked out of the metro station and out in the open, I walked. I walked through a chilly air and some lovely London music in my ears. They said, "We are the Sultans" and I sang back yes, "I'm the sultan." Suddenly, I glanced around and I saw myself walking in the cloud. All the tall buildings in this business district of Gurgaon suddenly vanished. The mist consumed their visibility and gave me the feel that its an open field.

A gust of chilly breeze swept across the street and the small droplets of mist danced along. I watched them in awe. Am I really going to my boring workplace? Is it the same place that I walk everyday? I pinched myself and I realised that it is indeed. I wish I could keep on walking. I wish I could ignore the watch. I wish it was not a Friday. I wish I had a camera.

I wish it last forever!

Private Investigation

The year so far has been quiet exciting. By exposing myself to a whole new persona, I realized that its not easy to get out of your usual self. When I tried my hands on some of the newer patches of activism, I found out that its comical. You want to change the whole world and suddenly you see support thriving. You drew strength from them and you start the process, you jump on to the sea. You believe that together, all of us, can achieve what we are so enthusiastically pursuing. This is even more pertinent when you realised that all our innate passion about this cause will take us nowhere but to a glorious future. Of course, I forgot to factor in a very important aspect of life. Commitment! 

The commitment was not that strong as we thought it would be when it actually came down to doing things. All the usual ogres popped out their ugly heads with their shinning teeth to munch away as much as possible. Even it they realised that this will finally kill the future that we wanted. The death is imminent at the very end but it was never expected to be so swift. I am surprised, awed and amused to see how people can speak their smart speech in public and their visionary thoughts were well appreciated. Now, we wanted to graduate to the next level which is to get action as against only speaking. Basically, we wanted to walk the talking together. 

And, then came the bitter realisation that all that shines is not gold. I realised it exactly as it supposed to be meant. We all saw it glittering from far away and when all of us wanted to sit back and enjoy shinning gold without getting into the mud and shine it through. We lacked commitment and resolve to bring the golden glory to our objective. I now think it was never meant to be and what we looked and, those few who actually toiled, that it was still a time that was worth spent. We lost a vision but we never lost our dream. And, we will not stop. At least, I will not stop. 

I find this as a welcome change in my otherwise humdrum mechanical life. The experience and thrill of walking through the unknown waters and your belief that life is alright just after this stretch is simply bewildering. Let the times roll and we will find the goodness in it. 

Will there be Justice for all?

Music and food are two most intensely loved items in this world. There are very few things in our lives where we can say that we can actually say that we love it or we dont. To me, music and food are those elusive factors in our lives where we can be honest. But, like many other things in our 'constantly' changing lives, these fantastic elements have also changed their intrinsic character. People are confused as they are exposed to a glut of information, comfort and knowledge. A normal human brain like mine can only retain a few things which is almost universal in all of us, I presume. Music is love for live. Food is the passion in life. Music enthralls the mind and kicks in that high. It can be classical music, western music, folk music or just a tune that you were humming since that day when you first kissed her. It can be anything that you love to sing, even in a soar throat.

I am amused at how people can compromise their so called love for music for the sake of tag/ social status and to earn that air of being 'cool'. The idea is that I am cool because I attended the biggest metal band performance in the country. What if I don't know about their most critically acclaimed record, their most influential number and why, there is still an urge for people to earn this coveted tag of 'being cool'. Yes, it is but obvious that people don't want to listen to metal music when they are not in a queue to earn that badge. they would pass sarcastic remarks that why this is better than the other one and how. But will you stilll love to watch some old hands bang their voices and their strings in the most hoarse sound as possible? Yes, you will remember, I used to dislike them and I still do. But I have to bang my head and play the air guitar to show that I love them too.

I don't understand why anything should have a brand value attached to it. If you love it, then you love it for the reason it is. You don't love it for the brand value that it has created over the years. But you love it for it allows you to unwind in that music. You can release your anger, love, compassion or what ever mood that you are in. This can be done only through your inner rhythm rhymes with your taste of music, whatever that may be. But over the years, we have lost our own identity among ourselves. We used to love Bryan Adams but now we dont say it. Why? Oh! This is for kids who want to rock. I am not a kid as I have matured in listening to rock music. I no longer listen to Bryan Adams or Micheal Learns to Rock or even The Beatles or Elvis. I am more of a Metallica/ Pink Floyd fan now. This is superficial. Inside, you still like them but don't muster the courage to admit it. I reason why not. If you love something, you should keep on loving it. And, yes, you can be a fan of Bryan Adams, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Metallica, MLTR, Keb Mo, Miles Davies or The Moody Blues all at the same time.

Does it forbid us to not listen to Bollywood numbers? Yes, if you believe in trends and no, if you believe in test of time. Why do we disown any local band or artist just because he sings more closer to earth he was born? Why is it that it may not be fashionable to listen to a Baul song, or watch a Bharatnatyam or a Mohammed Aziz's number from a Bollywood movie from 1980s? Its alright. You can love it and you dont need to hide it because people may laugh at it. They may think what a bizzare and out of fashion music taste that you have. However, in the course of time, what you will earn, while others keep on running after keeping apace with new trends, that you will become a trend in yourself. And, you will be proud of it.

The idea should be to appreciate what you love. Then, there will be justice for all and you will be master of your loved puppets.

Enjoy the music! Live it!

Why is it alright to lobby for corporate clients by PR professionals?

Lobbying is an advocacy towards certain point of view. Being in a democratic and capitalist economy, there should not be two ways of interpreting of “freedom of speech.” Lobbying is a natural expression of opinions and desires of organized groups such as businesses, advocacy groups, unions etc. Whether it’s an ethical practice or not will depend entirely on the cause. It will be hypocrisy if we say that it is alright to take out processions for the tribal rights of forest dwellers and lobby to pave way for Forest Rights Act and at the same time oppose to lobbying interests of the mining companies whose business interest in some area of the forest may be at stake. The latter should have an equal right to be heard about its reasons just like the former. The reason may be ethical or unethical but lobbying is not unethical. It is alright for PR companies to lobby for corporate clients to influence government policy as long as the cause is ethical or at least it believes in.

Everyone has a say, even if no body listens to anyone. It’s the right of the people which every one will enjoy irrespective of his social stature or his assets market capitalization. But to make yourself heard, you have to make loudest noise. Whether we like it or not, there is clamour of voices out there. You have to make a loud noise to make yourself heard. To employ lobbying to make them heard you are no wrong. With the same logic, we should not have any biased opinion if someone uses North Indian political lobby to become Prime Minister of India or a corporate lobbying with sound reasoning to amend policies that will help its business interest. When we allow caste lobbies to amend policies or women parliamentarians lobbying for women reservation bill or certain bodies lobbying against Narmada dams, I don’t see any reason why we should castigate the corporate lobbying who are trying to defend their business interest. If we have problems with lobbying, why don’t we ask our government to stop lobbying for expansion of UN Security Council and for permanent membership in it? It may or may not be ethical but India has every right as a free nation to lobby for this. And so does every man, institution and corporation to lobby for its interest. For PR firms to lobby for a particular company to influence government policy is fine as long as it believes that the cause for which it is lobbying is ethical. Had it not been lobbied by corporate to relax “license raj”, the Indian economy would have been plagued by red tapism. Not every lobbyist is a Jack Abramoff just like not every politician is a Mahatma Gandhi and not every soldier is a Field Marshall Sam Maneckshaw. There are black sheep every where and it does not make sense to categorize all lobbyist as corrupt.

It is an interesting fact that world’s only super power, USA, who has a successful model of democracy and capitalism, has made legal provision of lobbying in its First Amendment of the Constitution. Today, it has more than 35000 registered lobbyists who lobby anything between caskets to defence deal. Professional lobbyists know their territory. They make very efficient use of their client's time. They can find out where the problem lies, who to talk to, and what questions to ask. They can tell what information one need to have, and what questions one will have to answer. You will find out who you have to convince and why. Essentially, they guide you through the jungle of government and public opinion. Even a PR professional are lobbying on behalf of a corporate to influence media in its perception or lobby in a manner that will build a positive image of the company even if it is not right or ethical. Corporate lobbying is fine, so is the practice of PR firm lobbying in government, an institution of democracy as it is anyway lobbying the another institution of democracy; i.e. the media. It is a subjective interpretation whether the reason for which one is lobbying is ethical or not.