Ami Bangla porte pari. Likhte pari na. Tai Ingreji te likhchi. Mane Ingreji lipi baybohar korchi. Ar Bangla likhte parleo hoyto Facebook-e Banglay type koyto kora jeto na. Abar hoyto jeto -- ke jane? KhoNj nebar dorkar poreni. Tai matha gamaini.
Amake dekhle thik Bangali bole mone hoy na. Ar jokhon Banglay kotha boli, tokhon kintu aroyi oBangali mone hoy. Hoyto amar accent? Tobe ami to mone kori je onek probashi Bangali amar moto Bangla bole. Tobe I may be wrong. Amar shathe kotha bolar por onekei comment koreche je ami to besh bhalo Banglay kotha bola shikhechi! Jokhon boli amar naam Shiddhartho Shannal, tokhon shunte hoy -- apni nishchoi bideshe thekechen.
Bidesh bolte ki bojhay? Ami UK, America, France ar Japan ke bidesh mone kori. Tobe dekhchi je average Bangalira kintu Ranchi keo bidesh mone kore. Tai jodi shotti hoy, tahole to ami bideshi. Amar jonmo Delhi te. Manush hoyechi Bombay, Kanpur ar Delhi te. Hain... Kolkatay secondary schooling korechi ar college-o porechi. Tai Bangla bolte shikhechi. Tobe jehetu oi boyeshe Beatles, Marx ar marijuana niye pore thaktam, Bangla ta bhalo kore shekh hoyni. Bangla boi to porar cheshtao korini. Shomoy chilo kothay? Parar chelera paNk dito, taNsh bole dakto bole oi ektu kaaj chalabar jonno Bangla shekha. Beshirbhag khisti -- "beshi kotha bolley tiktikir b--- diye p-N- mere debo" type of bhasha. Tai bhodro shomaje mukhta bondho rakhtam ar bolley-o English ba Hindi te boltam.
Ami ashole (single s) -- I am not an a--h---! Ashole ami kintu Bangla shikhechi Delhi-r Chittoronjon Park e thake. Okhane to Panjabi dokandar-rao Banglay kotha bole. Beshirbhag dokan gulo to oderi haate -- Bangali dokandar-ra jokhon nake tel diye dupure ghumiye mota hocchilo, tokhon Panjabi dokandar-ra dokhan khola rekhe business kore poysha kamiye mota hocchilo. Jai hok, tobe eta mantey hobe je ora kintu Banglay kastomar der shathe kotha bolto. Oi amar moto Bangla bolto jodio amar shathe Hindi-tei kotha bolto. Ora bishash korto na je ami Bangali.
Tobe ami ki shotti Bangali? Ei buro boyeshe PNPC korte shikhlam na! Dine du bar ruti kheleo kono oshubidhe nei. Masher por maash maach ba mangsho na kheye thakte pari. Adda na mere thakte pari. Mohaloya shuni tobe gole pori na. Ar pujote notun kapor porina. Onek shomoy to pandale jai o na karon amar bhir bhalo lage na. Ar sheje guje burider konnader moto nyakami shojjho hoy na.
Tobe shob kota sharodiya shonka gulo kini. Golpo gulo pori. Shomoy lage, tao pori. Ar shujog pele Bangalider jonno jodi kichu korte pari, kori. Bongobhumi ebong Bangalider poton dekhe dukkho pai. Ekhankar "wark kalchar" dekhe hotash hoye jai.
Commust der "heaven" ba "hell" nei bole Marx more beNche gache. Marx porte Ingreji shike, nijeder chele-meyeder English Medium school-e poriye je Marxist ra je Inreji je ograjjho kore ei Bongobhumir ja khoti koreche, sheta hoyto Marx ba shotti kono Communist mai ka laal shojjho korte parto na.
Jai hok. Ami kintu 16 Ana Bangaliyana pari na. Tar karon ami to matro 8 Ana Bangali. Baba chilen Bangali. Ma chilen Tamilian domiciled in Kerala. Tai bodhhoy. Tobe aschorjer baypar ta ki -- dutoi state are "in the Red"! 8 Ana hole ki hobe -- ami holam Bongobhumir mai ka laal. Ar ei Bharat Mai ka laal. Bhetoreo laal.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Delhi-berate Oversight
Those responsible for the CWG "fiasco" are probably quite relieved at this point. The games are half way through without any mishap. The weather has cooperated -- no rain, no leaks. The roofs have stayed suspended. No more brigdges have collapsed and so far, no one has complained of the "Delhi belly". They managed to put up a world class show and Indian sportspersons have done the country proud by winning a record number of Gold Medals so far. The organizers are probably patting themselves on their backs. They've "pulled it off". Now that there's general public euphoria about the medal tally, all will be forgotten and forgiven. The roofs did not leak, the tiles did not fall off, the bridge did not collapse and everything was perfect. This is India... "manage ho gaya" Now forget everything and be proud to be an Indian till the euphoria lasts and then let the Indian cricket team lose a match and we are back to square one!
So what am I complaining about? And why am I complaining? Some people close to me are positively upset that I keep looking at the negative stuff instead of the positive stuff. They are upset that I keep harping about what went wrong "before" instead of being happy that our sports persons have done us proud. To them I am like the "media" who seem to focus only on the "bad things" and not on the good things. They tell me: live for today, yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come!
My problem is that I can't forget the past. One shouldn't! In fact, it's history that helps us to improve the present and secure the future. To forget the past is to keep committing the same mistakes over and over again! To forgive may be divine... to forget is downright stupidity.
My other problem is that I can't live for today without worrying about tomorrow! We who live now have a responsibility towards those who will come after us. What kind of country (and world) are we going to leave behind for them? What lessons will they learn from us? We use up resources for our own survival and that's natural. But when we waste resources, we steal from those yet to come!
And it's true, that if we forget about it by living in the present, the future may never come! Ask anyone who lived for the moment. Their future is full of regrets, remorse and recrimination.
Now what does all this have to do with the CWG and my own apathy towards the games? Well, I just can't seem to forget what happened before the games and get lost in what's happening at the moment. Yes, we are winning medals, that's great. It's to be expected when you perform in front of a home crowd and familiar with the weather and environment. And also when you are competing in an arena of a few nations and most of them economically worse off than your own and hence can't provide training and equipment for their sports persons or a wider participation. As Indians we should know that you get to participate because of who you know and who likes you rather than on merit. Even to get noticed you need to be in the right place!
Ok, I'm not trying to take away from the glory of those who are among the medals. But most Indians lack the ability of taking a critical look at themselves. So let's be aware of how and why we are doing so well. I'm willing to grant that it's due to better training facilities and equipment. And this is precisely the bee in my bonnet. Would it not have been better to forego the hosting on the CWG this year and spent the money on building more stadiums, training more atheletes and providing better equipment?
So much money has been spent. But it has all been concentrated in just one city! I still feel like a Delhiwala even though I spend years away from it from time to time and I am proud of my city even when I'm away from it. But Delhi is not India! And hence, as an Indian I feel that perhaps instead of beautifying Delhi and concentrating more on improving sports facilities in that city, other cities could have been chosen to host the games. Couldn't the CWG games take place in Guwahati instead? Kohima, Imphal or Bhopal? And better still, if the CWG did not take place at all and the money was instead used to build stadiums in every district -- a more inclusive approach to national governance!
So what am I complaining about? And why am I complaining? Some people close to me are positively upset that I keep looking at the negative stuff instead of the positive stuff. They are upset that I keep harping about what went wrong "before" instead of being happy that our sports persons have done us proud. To them I am like the "media" who seem to focus only on the "bad things" and not on the good things. They tell me: live for today, yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come!
My problem is that I can't forget the past. One shouldn't! In fact, it's history that helps us to improve the present and secure the future. To forget the past is to keep committing the same mistakes over and over again! To forgive may be divine... to forget is downright stupidity.
My other problem is that I can't live for today without worrying about tomorrow! We who live now have a responsibility towards those who will come after us. What kind of country (and world) are we going to leave behind for them? What lessons will they learn from us? We use up resources for our own survival and that's natural. But when we waste resources, we steal from those yet to come!
And it's true, that if we forget about it by living in the present, the future may never come! Ask anyone who lived for the moment. Their future is full of regrets, remorse and recrimination.
Now what does all this have to do with the CWG and my own apathy towards the games? Well, I just can't seem to forget what happened before the games and get lost in what's happening at the moment. Yes, we are winning medals, that's great. It's to be expected when you perform in front of a home crowd and familiar with the weather and environment. And also when you are competing in an arena of a few nations and most of them economically worse off than your own and hence can't provide training and equipment for their sports persons or a wider participation. As Indians we should know that you get to participate because of who you know and who likes you rather than on merit. Even to get noticed you need to be in the right place!
Ok, I'm not trying to take away from the glory of those who are among the medals. But most Indians lack the ability of taking a critical look at themselves. So let's be aware of how and why we are doing so well. I'm willing to grant that it's due to better training facilities and equipment. And this is precisely the bee in my bonnet. Would it not have been better to forego the hosting on the CWG this year and spent the money on building more stadiums, training more atheletes and providing better equipment?
So much money has been spent. But it has all been concentrated in just one city! I still feel like a Delhiwala even though I spend years away from it from time to time and I am proud of my city even when I'm away from it. But Delhi is not India! And hence, as an Indian I feel that perhaps instead of beautifying Delhi and concentrating more on improving sports facilities in that city, other cities could have been chosen to host the games. Couldn't the CWG games take place in Guwahati instead? Kohima, Imphal or Bhopal? And better still, if the CWG did not take place at all and the money was instead used to build stadiums in every district -- a more inclusive approach to national governance!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
ALWAYS a Proud Indian
I must admit that I was quite impressed by the Opening Ceremony of the CWG. I'm so glad they pulled it off without any mishap. I just couldn't shake off the feeling of apprehension during the few moments when I could watch the ceremony of TV. Then the lights went out!
Yes, there was a major power outage and electricity was restored only when the ceremony was almost over. So I didn't get to see most of it. It was frustrating. But then I consoled myself saying that I at least got to see something. Most Indians living in rural India, perhaps don't have any electricity at all and owning a TV is no less than a dream. So in reality, while Delhi and urban India celebrated the CWG opening ceremony, Most parts of India was dark. Nothing unusual. This is how it is most of the time. While India celebrated, most of Bharat went to bed early and probably on an empty stomach. I was one of the fortunate few who had a hearty meal and slept under a fan. Like the rest of India, I did not spare a thought for all those migrant labourers who died during construction work. I did not spare a thought for those who survived the slavery of labour contractors and who probably never got to see the ceremony at all.
But then these are those "stupid Biharis" who mess up the beautiful cities that we live in. The defecate all over the place and hang around just about anywhere. The government of the day pats itself on the back saying that it has provided employment to so many people! As if the government has done its citizens a big favour! But why didn't the authorities ensure that the labour contractors adhered to labour laws and provided the migrant workers with accommodation and basic facilities? We all know that the "call of nature" does not respect location! If, because you have been living in unhygienic conditions and eating "iffy" food, then you "let go" wherever you are -- even if it is in the middle of a beautiful stadium or an apartment block you are helping to build. But it is so much simpler to point at others for all that goes wrong and absolve oneself of responsibility.
But all said and done, I'm glad the CWG is taking place in Delhi. Unfortunately, a lot that is wrong with this country is being surreptitiously swept under the carpet in the euphoria. Suddenly everyone is feeling proud to be an Indian. As if they have just realised that they are one! Yesterday, someone told me to relax and enjoy the ceremony. Feel proud to be an Indian! Hey man, I feel pround to be an India ALL THE TIME! And not only when we win a cricket match or host a sports event. I love this country and am proud of it despite everything and am proud to be an Indian at all times. But that does not mean I am blind! It's because I care that I feel so strongly about what is not right. I want to set it right. I want to be counted as one who loves his country enough to try and set things right. And no one can deny that in my small way, I have tried and am still trying. If only every Indian did just a little bit for his country instead of "waking up" only when we win a match and go to sleep when it comes to casting their votes, this country would be Valhalla!
Anyway, the games are on. I'll try and watch them on TV if the national grid does not syphon off all the electricity and send it to Delhi. But like Arindam Choudhury, I too wonder if the poor of this country should be financing an event that highlights how great the British Empire was? We have the Olympics, the Asiad to prove our prowess (or the lack of it) as a sporting nation. Must we spend money to remind ourselves that we were once slaves? Well, if Britain wishes to bask in past glory, let them organize it and fund it in all the countries they had colonized! If India bids for the Olympics, when it hosts the Asiad, I feel proud. When it hosts the CWG, I feel proud that we can get together resources and pull it off. But I can't help feeling unhappy that we are reminding ourselves of our colonial past. A past steeped in slavery and chains. And that too a day after we celebrate the birthday of a man who freed us from our shackles. What Gandhiji did was to give us freedom but he could break the shackles in our minds.
I've got my fingers crossed. I pray the games go off well. Not because it makes me feel proud to be an Indian. I was born with that pride. I will die with it. I want the games to pass off without mishap because of the blood, sweat and tears of all those thousands of forgotten heroes who made the CWG possible despite the bungling and corruption of those who had the "power". I do hope that our leaders will now feel more confident that they can "do things" if they want. That they can do things very well, if they are less corrupt. I can only pray that they will use the same skills and resources to build world class roads, schools, provide electricity to the hinterland too! Let's showcase ALL OF INDIA and not just the Capital and the cities that we have -- most of which have been established by the British. The captial of this country is mostly referred to as Lutyen's Delhi. Let's prove that Delhi is Bharat ki Jaan
Yes, there was a major power outage and electricity was restored only when the ceremony was almost over. So I didn't get to see most of it. It was frustrating. But then I consoled myself saying that I at least got to see something. Most Indians living in rural India, perhaps don't have any electricity at all and owning a TV is no less than a dream. So in reality, while Delhi and urban India celebrated the CWG opening ceremony, Most parts of India was dark. Nothing unusual. This is how it is most of the time. While India celebrated, most of Bharat went to bed early and probably on an empty stomach. I was one of the fortunate few who had a hearty meal and slept under a fan. Like the rest of India, I did not spare a thought for all those migrant labourers who died during construction work. I did not spare a thought for those who survived the slavery of labour contractors and who probably never got to see the ceremony at all.
But then these are those "stupid Biharis" who mess up the beautiful cities that we live in. The defecate all over the place and hang around just about anywhere. The government of the day pats itself on the back saying that it has provided employment to so many people! As if the government has done its citizens a big favour! But why didn't the authorities ensure that the labour contractors adhered to labour laws and provided the migrant workers with accommodation and basic facilities? We all know that the "call of nature" does not respect location! If, because you have been living in unhygienic conditions and eating "iffy" food, then you "let go" wherever you are -- even if it is in the middle of a beautiful stadium or an apartment block you are helping to build. But it is so much simpler to point at others for all that goes wrong and absolve oneself of responsibility.
But all said and done, I'm glad the CWG is taking place in Delhi. Unfortunately, a lot that is wrong with this country is being surreptitiously swept under the carpet in the euphoria. Suddenly everyone is feeling proud to be an Indian. As if they have just realised that they are one! Yesterday, someone told me to relax and enjoy the ceremony. Feel proud to be an Indian! Hey man, I feel pround to be an India ALL THE TIME! And not only when we win a cricket match or host a sports event. I love this country and am proud of it despite everything and am proud to be an Indian at all times. But that does not mean I am blind! It's because I care that I feel so strongly about what is not right. I want to set it right. I want to be counted as one who loves his country enough to try and set things right. And no one can deny that in my small way, I have tried and am still trying. If only every Indian did just a little bit for his country instead of "waking up" only when we win a match and go to sleep when it comes to casting their votes, this country would be Valhalla!
Anyway, the games are on. I'll try and watch them on TV if the national grid does not syphon off all the electricity and send it to Delhi. But like Arindam Choudhury, I too wonder if the poor of this country should be financing an event that highlights how great the British Empire was? We have the Olympics, the Asiad to prove our prowess (or the lack of it) as a sporting nation. Must we spend money to remind ourselves that we were once slaves? Well, if Britain wishes to bask in past glory, let them organize it and fund it in all the countries they had colonized! If India bids for the Olympics, when it hosts the Asiad, I feel proud. When it hosts the CWG, I feel proud that we can get together resources and pull it off. But I can't help feeling unhappy that we are reminding ourselves of our colonial past. A past steeped in slavery and chains. And that too a day after we celebrate the birthday of a man who freed us from our shackles. What Gandhiji did was to give us freedom but he could break the shackles in our minds.
I've got my fingers crossed. I pray the games go off well. Not because it makes me feel proud to be an Indian. I was born with that pride. I will die with it. I want the games to pass off without mishap because of the blood, sweat and tears of all those thousands of forgotten heroes who made the CWG possible despite the bungling and corruption of those who had the "power". I do hope that our leaders will now feel more confident that they can "do things" if they want. That they can do things very well, if they are less corrupt. I can only pray that they will use the same skills and resources to build world class roads, schools, provide electricity to the hinterland too! Let's showcase ALL OF INDIA and not just the Capital and the cities that we have -- most of which have been established by the British. The captial of this country is mostly referred to as Lutyen's Delhi. Let's prove that Delhi is Bharat ki Jaan
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