Destiny's child

As he sat there in the front row, impeccably dressed, he couldn't help recollecting those words said by a Father 13 years ago. "Mark my words, son. You're Destiny's Child". Homeless, hopeless and alone that he was back then, he'd scoffed at it. How could he have even contemplated back then that he would be here, at the most revered altar of wisdom, ready to enter this hallowed trail tread by the greats of yore.

His heroes, his role models, those luminaries who he thought he would never meet, were all there sitting on the dais looking at him smiling encouragingly. Surely they knew who had got the scholarship, and this thought made him confident that he must have surely achieved it. After all, the interview panel had openly appreciated his undeniable genius, and admitted to be in awe of the knowledge and skills he had mastered at such a young age. A lifetime of hardwork was going to bear fruit today. Finally the hour came and the Dean came up to speak, to announce who had won the scholarship.

He walked out of the hall distraught, shocked and devastated, trying hard to appear normal and unaffected. He finally broke down, a barrage of tears rolled down his cheeks. Oh, the injustice!! Though they acknowledged that he was the clearly the best candidate, they had judged him to be potentially weak emotionally, as he had nobody, no family or relatives to lean back on, and therefore deemed to be unequipped in case the going gets tough with the extreme academic workload and intense competition at this prestigious institute. The fact that the panel had instead offered to fund him to study in a different institute, where "the demands were lesser, where he could settle in well and work towards greatness" offered scant consolation to him. A dream was now shattered.

But, he atleast had another dream to cling on to. A more beautiful dream. One which would drive all sorrows away. He walked to the bench under the pine tree where they usually spend time, reminiscing all the good times they'd had together, and imagining the better times they'll have. She was sitting there, sporting a beautiful disarming smile and a cheerful face which lightened his heart. He was definitely in love with her. And today he was going to bare it all to her.

"How did it go?" she asked. He broke down again, telling her all that happened. She held his face, wiping out his tears, consoling him caressing his head. "It is not so bad when you think about it. Tell me, a few years ago if somebody had offered to fund you to study in any college at all, wouldn't you have accepted it gladly?". She was right. The world has always been cruel on orphaned, penniless people like him. He was very fortunate to have this opportunity to study in any college at all.

He looked at her, a faint smile of a person who has accepted his fate appearing on his face, when she flashed her loving, assured smile and said "Let me tell you something to cheer you up. You're the person I'm closest to, you're more than a friend to me. I couldn't tell this to any other person as they do not understand me like you do. Come with me". They walked across the road to a handsome young man. "Hey James", she said to the young man, "Meet Peter". "Oh hello Peter, Anne here always keeps telling me a lot about you, how you are a genius, but more than that, how you are like a brother to her. I must say I'm honoured to meet you, an honourable, helpful gentleman, the best friend of my future wife".

A day ago, he was in high spirits, eagerly anticipating the next day, the day when he would finally have redemption, a release from all his sorrows and difficulties. But nothing went right, only frustrating disappointments on all fronts. But, it wasn't that bad a day as Anne had pointed out. He had seen worse. Who would've thought that a destitute lying miserable, cold and hungry on the verge of death by the roadside, would have an opportunity to go to college one day! And he was not alone anymore. Though not his love anymore, he had a trusted friend in Anne, and found another wonderful one in James. Yes, 14 years ago if he were offered this deal, he would have been head over heels in joy!

As he was walking past the church gate thus ruminating over the day's events, he heard a voice calling out to him.
"Hello son, how are you?".
"Oh, Good evening Father, how have you been?".
"I'm doing alright, son. Tell me how are you? You look disturbed today. What's the matter?".
"Uhm, well.. Father, do you remember what you said to me 13 years ago?"
"Yes son, I remember that day clearly. Why do you ask?".
"Father, I realize that I'm Destiny's Child alright. But why didn't you tell me that I'm its bastard?"

Another attempt at poetry :P

I couldn't think of a suitable title for this.. Title suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


The graceful dance of a dancer well groomed,
Whose anklets, a sweet melody sing,
Blending seamlessly, with the merry sound,
Of water falling on a stony ring.

Immersed in the enthralling tune,
Of a gifted maestro's dulcet flute,
Under the captivating light of the moon,
Where all the world's sorrows become moot.

The exuberant fragrance of a flower just bloomed,
On a garden green, a paradise fair,
Where birds sing, a beautiful symphony,
Beside the rising sun's lair.

A cool breeze soothing the skin,
The aroma of fresh wet mud,
The exquisite dance of a peacock proud,
Under the drizzling cloud.

The world I unwittingly drift away to,
When her thoughts flit across my mind,
Is more magnificent than all these worldly heavens,
Which words will never ever find.

The Birthday

The heavens were probably celebrating,
That God was going to adorn
The world with His choicest blessing,
The day when you were born.

The fair Aphrodite, herself bore
You down to this despairing world.
No less, a queen of holy shores,
You’re exotic Venus impearled.

Majestic is your lovely gait,
Radiance is your name,
Modesty, your trait innate,
You put the best to shame.

Let happiness wrap your heart,
And love fill your way,
And sorrows all forever depart,
Today, on your birthday.

Tonight

Blue sky’s turning black,
Monsoon’s come.
Haunting memories are back, tonight,
Past ghosts hum.

The days we did rejoice,
Are now long gone.
I crave to hear your voice tonight,
Atleast a groan.

Thunder’s cracking loud,
The lightnings blind,
But the silence drowns these sounds, tonight,
That you’ve left behind.

I curse death’s evil mind,
That circumstance,
I wish I could rewind, that night,
Get another chance.

It’s time to end the strife,
I’m going through,
It’s hard to live my life, tonight,
I’m coming to you.

La Furia Roja

The juggernaut rolls on n on,
Never stopped even by the hardest wall,
The greatest team of this aeon,
Hail these Gods of Football!!

Behold Villa, the goal-harbinger,
Xavi, the symphony’s orchestrator,
Andres Iniesta, ever the smarter,
And a little of Busquets, the actor. [:P]

The beautiful game, beautifully played,
By these artists, though shackled by chains,
A masterpiece, they always presented,
Never relented, through troubles and pains.

Fancied Oranjes came on a roll,
Determined to leave La Roja unnerved,
But rose the captain, undaunted, and stole,
The sweet victory, so richly deserved.

The tears of joy, said it all,
Wrongs amended, decades tall,
Their names etched in Fame’s hall,
Hail these Gods of Football!

Revenge of ’06

The skilfully groomed Albicelestes,
Marshalled by the fearless Sorin,
Hopes and expectations brimming,
Came ashore to win.

The masterful touch of silky Riquelme,
Pekerman’s schemes, Ayala’s guard,
Ripped the enemies mercilessly apart,
Left them forever scarred.

But other plans were laid by unfaithful fate,
Castigating the deserved, favouring the hosts,
A cruel twist at the very end,
And we ended up chasing ghosts.

Nigh draws the time of revenge,
The time to leave ‘em awed,
It shall be avenged, it will be avenged,
Atleast by the Hand of God!!

A random post on Pakistani Military

The Operation Geronimo carried out recently by the US troops to eliminate Osama Bin Laden sent me on a thinking trip - one which I have often visited, and now it is time to put it down in words.

Looking at the title, if you've come for the usual Pakistani military jokes here like "How do you drown a Pakistani ship? - Put it on water." or "How do you stop a Pakistani tank? - Kill the people pushing it", well, this is all you are going to get. :) .Though I wouldn't mind the readers sharing a few more of such jokes with me.. ;)

Right from the beginning of Pakistan, when the first deed it did was attack Kashmir, the military has always been the most important cog in its wheel. The hatred and anti-India stance of its general populace made them look up to military as its only saviour and added fuel to the already potentially all-consuming fire that was the military. As a result, lesser importance was given to the strengthening of the democratic institutions in the state. The absence of a popular, unifying, strong leader after the death of Jinnah soon after the creation of Pakistan also did not help. The entry of Pakistan into CENTO and SEATO - the military pacts with the U.S bloc of the Cold War era also made the military more significant than the Civilian Government to the international powers(read USA) - who only contributed to adding to the military might of the country to protect and grow their influence in the sub-continent without caring for the overall development of the nation. No wonder, democracy has never lasted more than 15 years in this state where military coup occurs at the drop of a hat.

The military has always acted on its own accord without heeding the the civilian Governments. The Kargil incursion that occurred despite the thawing of relations and goodwill generated by the visits of both heads of states to each other's countries is a clear example. Even the current efforts of the civilian Government to shed Pakistan's image as a terrorist breeding nation is failing as it does not have the blessings of the military in this endeavour. The terrorist organisations are quasi-military setups, whose members are trained and armed by the Pakistani military, and co-ordinated by the ISI, which is a part of the Pakistani armed forces too. The Government could not deliver even the most wanted terrorist on earth who was living in its own territory to the nation without whose grants Pakistan will probably fall apart, all because he lived under the auspices of the military.

The military's image had taken a beating during the Pervez Musharraf days, but soon after his resignation and the appointment of a new Government, the present Chief General Kayani set about garnering back the adulation of the citizens. The withdrawal of members of armed forces from civilian departments helped him earn much goodwill of the people. And his discouragement of his colleagues maintaining political contacts and connections also enhanced the military's standing among the Pakistani people. Though, this might have been done rather to protect the army from civilian leaders' influence than what is generally believed as military's withdrawal from civilian politics. In a way, this strengthens the position of Kayani as there would be no external influences and informaton exchange between his subordinate military officers and the civilian figures.

I do not know how much these acts have affected the domestic governance of Pakistan, but I believe the military's significance in formulating foreign policy of Pakistan hasn't affected one bit. The eagerness, alacrity and seriousness shown by the Pakistani Government during the days soon after 26/11 in helping India catch its perpetrators soon whimpered down, and investigations went to a standstill and all the accused were set free, because, I suspect, the military did not like the fact that a lot of its personnel were found to be involved. Even in the US' "War against Terrorism", the situation hasn't got any better (except for the killing of Osama, maybe) even though the civilian Government appears to back this mission fully. If people expected Kayani to be any different than his predecessors, I believe they are in for a disappointment, as, being a former Head of ISI, he only knows too well how important the terrorist infrastructure is for the military, carrying out operations it cannot openly do.

The military shall continue to be more powerful than all other institutions in Pakistan as long as the people fear of an "Indian aggression". And the military knows this too well and prefers India and Pakistan stay the way they are - distrusting, hating neighbours. And as long as the military holds the reins of the Pakistani foreign policy, there is no point spending millions of rupees and precious days negotiating with the Government of Pakistan, except for the trade agreements between the nations. Not much can be expected from such dialogues, as, any goodwill generated by the talks between the two nations' heads would put the Pakistani military's significance in jeopardy, as its identity and the force behind its importance is, and has been anti-India sentiments, and it would try to disrupt or undermine any such efforts, and it is more than capable of doing so. India should never leave its guard down and continue its vigil against terrorists and infiltrators trying to come across to India, irrespective of the assurances and promises given by the other side.

Why I am skeptical about Jan Lokpal Bill

It is wonderful to see people coming together and voicing support to a good cause, to a great man. Though I appreciate the spirit behind this protest, and the huge support it is garnering which is very heartening to see, the question is, will it achieve the desired result at all?

The salient features of Jan Lokpal bill (JLP), which is what most of us are fighting for, are :

1. An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up
2. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.
3. Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.
4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.
5. If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.
6. Any whistleblowing can be done with Lokpal.
7. Members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.
8. The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.
9. CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
10. It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption.

This bill is very much similar to the Lokayukta Act (and its amendments) of Karnataka. The suo-motu powers, the structuring of the Lokpal's powers and office, the responsibilities all mirror the Karnataka Lokayukta's, which is not surprising, given that Justice N Santhosh Hegde is one of the arcitects of the bill. The only major difference is the way Lokpal is appointed - the Governor appoints the Karnataka Lokayukta on the advice of the Chief Minister, and here it is proposed that judges, eminent citizens and constitutional authorities appoint Lokpal - which is a very good measure, though not foolproof.

But, my apprehension is, will this office be immune from corruption? We've seen that every person who has raised his/her voice against corruption has either been eliminated or subdued or, in most of the cases, convinced to go along with and embrace the established "system of corruption". A strong-willed, unwavering, impartial person needs to be appointed as the Lokpal, and his staff should also be like-minded if this has to succeed. And success, will be very hard to come by, as the coterie of the corrupt, which is sizeable and also awfully powerful, will fight tooth and nail, by hook or by crook to protect their interests. And they do have easy enough ways to achieve it.

JLP suggests that the Lokpal should be appointed by a selection committee comprising of

1. Two seniormost judges of Supreme Court.
2. Two senior most Chief Justices of High Court.
3. Last three Magsaysay Award winners.
4. All Nobel Laureates of Indian origin.
5. Comptroller and Auditor General(CAG) of India.
6. Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) of India.
7. After the first set of selection process, the outgoing members and Chairperson of Lokpal.

Nobel Laureates of Indian origin? Are they kidding? Or are Messrs Santhosh Hegde, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, J M Lyngdoh and Ms Kiran Bedi really this immature? When I came across this I was flabbergasted, unable to decide whether to laugh or despair!! People who probably have never stayed in India for more than a month choosing the candidates for a powerful Indian office? People who are not citizens of India representing us to select the Lokpal? People who probably have never known the head or tail of civics, legislature and administration suggesting who'll do them all best? We can as well ask the Top 10 Billboard artistes to sit in the committee and decide a suitable candidate for us. No, thank you, you may take them off.

Magsaysay awards are given for Government Service, Public Service, Community Leadership, Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts, Peace and International Understanding and Emergent Leadership. These are more or less the areas which I believe a selection committee member should be proficient in, in order to test a candidate thoroughly. And the awardees are people who have achieved something extra-ordinary in these fields, and most of them have worked in the grassroots level, among the common people, and thus, the chances of them knowing the pulse of the people is high. Even then, one cannot rule out that such people are free from the influence of the "coterie of the corrupt".

CAG and CEC are.....bureaucrats. The very people we do not want to hand the power of appointing Lokpal. And there is a high chance that CAG & CEC would favour the hands that feed them, the political parties, rather than act independently. Well, even the appointments to these posts would then become an exercise driven by political interests more than ever, with the ruling party/parties unabashedly appointing their own cronies and fairness would take a backseat, so that they could have a say indirectly in the appointment of Lokpal.

The chief justices and judges are fine, as they are appointed to their posts free from the influence of babudom and political leaders. As long as they are not corrupt themselves, they would be unruffled and try their best to bring in suitable people to adorn that office.

This bill also states that the investigations should be completed within 1 year, and the trial within 2 years of the complaint being lodged. This would require considerble taskforce and investigating officers at Lokpal's disposal. It also says that it is the duty of Lokpal to provide protection to people who raise their voice against corruption, which again would require a special police force under this office. More people means more chance of sabotaging a virtuous Lokpal, or more power in dangerous hands if the Lokpal turns out to be a crook.

But more importantly, the point which worries me the most is the suo-motu powers. Probably, a Lokpal without suo-motu powers is a toothless office, but with suo-motu powers I believe, it becomes an office armed with tomahawk missiles. This gives the Lokpal immense powers, with which it can even break popular elected Governments. It would have a powerful tool to blackmail each and everyone, right from the PM to a peon in Tahsildar's office, from one who takes a bribe of 10 rupees to one who loots thousands of crores. In wrong hands, this could mean even bigger corruption, the likes of which has never happened. With no alternative investigation on charges levelled by this office on anyone, and given the restraint set by the bill that the trials should get over quickly, one may not even have enough time and resources to fight against any wrong accusation.

Finally, a basic question which I'm faced with is, is this office necessary? We have RTI Act to do this job ourselves, as common citizens. Why are we then creating a new bureucratic office which can as well become corrupt? And also handing over dangerous powers to it which could increase the degree of corruption? Are we not confident enough in our rights? Or do we want to shirk from our duty and responsibility and hand it over to someone else and wash our hands off it?

EDIT 11 April 2011 :

I had a wrong impression that "suo moto" means the "right to prosecute". Now, I know that it is not. In that paragraph about "suo moto powers", by "suo moto", I actually meant "power to take investigative on its own without any complaint and also prosecute the accused". Please pardon me for this mistake.