Democracy....you must be joking

Its a shame that politicians like Shibu Soren candidly blackmail the government to get critical post like Chief Minister....which effectively means that people of that state get a CM who is accused of murder and other charges of stirring arson and violence...and all this without choice

People with money and vested interests can blackmail and take advantage of our political system and come to power. How can a person who is not even fully cleared by the judicial system become a CM? First, he successfully negotiated with the government for coal ministry in return for his vote (and that of several of his MP’s) and now he comes up with such an atrocious demand.

One would blame Congress here but there is no point because even BJP secretly promised him CM post if he ditched the UPA during the vote. It is not funny to sit here in a foreign country and argue but the point I am trying to make here is that we take pride in being the biggest democracy in the world but the fact is democracy is now become a joke of few political parties in India. They openly manipulate and misuse our political system and its flaws using hard cash (which is again people’s money) and make unacceptable promises. What about people of Jharkhand? Do they want a CM who is a kidnapper? blackmailer? someone who was found guilty of murdering his secretry.

Surely people are being taken for ride. What is actually needed is a bold new initiative to clean up the entire relationship between cash and politicians.... Surely, we should be proud of our democracy but such viscous moves should be curbed otherwise democracy will soon become a joke in this multi party alliances who turn by turn are raping the system.

Gutted

As we know, there are pros and cons living abroad. You get an opportunity to see the world, travel, learn, experience, make quick buck or two etc etc. but when you weigh them against what you lose living abroad...you see a different picture. Believe me living far off from your loved ones and missing those rare moments with your family and friends is disheartening.

Although I am happy for my brother who is now entering into a new phase of life, I am feeling terrible and gutted that I will not be part of that moment. Surely missing such things in life are very expensive.

I promised myself that I will do everything possible to make up for this lost moment. I don’t want to miss his 'D' day (wedding off course) at any fucking cost.

Doping

In recent years, doping charges being framed and then dropping them has become a very common act. I thought Pakistan cricket had this disease but last week doping news in weightlifting confirmed that Indian sports is no different.

I saw weightlifter Monika Devi from Manipur crying and pleading with the sporting officials to investigate the doping allegations on her. She was absolutely sure that they were framed by some influential person for some dirty interests...and guess what…just after three days; all the doping charges were dropped. Point is at the end of the day, what does all this mean to Indian sports? why were they framed in first case? and why were they dropped later? what was the procedure used? who did those tests? did they follow the right guidelines? how were they validated? ....many questions have yet again gone unanswered.

I am sure this is not the first and the last time it has happened, couple of years ago, discuss thrower Seema Antil was framed with similar charges right in the middle of “Doha games”. Various federations and authorities like Sports Authority of India, Athletic Federation of India and Indian Olympic Association were all blaming each other. Later the charges were dropped ...answer given was shocking...they said there were some procedural lapses. FUCK !!!....Do they have any clue about how much physiological damage was caused on that sportsman?

What hurts me most is when I see our neighbour China, who is so focussed on their planning and execution. They worry about how they can come first in the medal tally, and here we are fighting for something else...SICK

Double Decker Bus Ride

Recently, after a long time, I took a double decker bus ride. For some reason I always keep these bus rides out of my equation. But on this occasion, I couldn’t avoid it. I had to go to a nearby theatre and my friend suggested that taking a bus was the best option. So I got into this bus and without any snag, I went straight to the top deck in search of my favourite seat (the front one). During my school days, I used to literally emulate the driver just to get that feel of driving a huge bus.

Believe me, it was a nostalgic 15 min journey. It brought back so many childhood memories; I remember we used to take bus no 165 sometimes 171 to go to school. Worli…Glaxo…Passport Office…Prabhadevi….Kismat Talkies…Sidhi Vinayak temple…Portuguese church….finally getting down at Kabutar Khana. I hardly took 86 because it was a not a double decker bus which always came packed from town and I use to hate them. I clearly remember it was 50 paisa for a one way journey and we used to make it 50% cheaper by flashing our cool bus passes. I must admit that at least on 2 or 3 occasions, I apprehensively travelled without a ticket, just to save those extra pennies for my “kala katta ice gola”….awesome.
“Tiger” was code word for conductor, and these foolish ticketless travel made us feel as if we were the smartest kids around although it scared us to bits as well…..real crazy stuff

As there are no tigers on London buses, when I got the glimpse of the theatre, I pressed a yellow button which is like an indicator to the driver to bring the bus to a halt. For a change I got down without running forwards which was another stupid stunt we performed in those days :)

Crying Baby

I was reading an article on India's nuclear energy needs in a British newspaper, and the article highlighted how the Indian government put everything on stake to get this deal go through as quickly as possible. There might be some vested interests as well (who knows) but interestingly, it was not this article which caught my attention, it was another tiny article next to this which made me laugh to bits. Apparently the PM of Pakistan said "There should be no preferential treatment, there should be no discrimination. And if they want to give civilian nuclear status to India, we would also expect the same for Pakistan too," I wondered isn’t Pakistan like a crying baby demanding a candy. There is no rationale behind their diplomatic moves.

I wondered how a rogue country like this can even think of such demand. I personally do not see a real economic growth in Pakistan as they don’t have one. A reflection of it would be the Pakistan Stock Exchange compared to that of India’s Sensex. A country where people go on a rampage by breaking windows, furniture, computers of stock exchange because share prices plummeting is a clear reflection of its society. If they sit and re-think their fundamental beliefs, they will probably figure out the reason behind why more Arab investments are happening in India than in Pakistan, even though Pakistan is a Muslim country.

Although there are numerous flaws in our political setup, we still have the status of being one of the biggest democracies while our neighbour should realise that it the biggest terrorist hub on this planet.

Russian Standard

Drinking vodka in Russia is like a toast of some sort, Russians enjoy toasting throughout meals, especially where guests are present. Toasts to family, friends and women are common, even at the most informal of dinners. It is obligatory to respond by downing a shot of vodka. My colleague was shocked when his client, after a good presentation, suddenly got up and said "Cheers" and offered vodka shots…Russians would drink vodka anyday, anytime, anywhere

Vodka shots are typically followed by eating something salty such as a pickle, herring or bit of sausage. I preferred “gherkin” which acts as a neutralising agent. People who are unaccustomed to this manner of drinking will soon find themselves under the table. If you have the fortune to attend a wedding, make sure to take pictures. You will hardly remember your "antics"

As far as vodka is concerned, Russians say “warm on the inside, cold on the outside”. They believe that vodka acts somewhat like antifreeze element. It actually seems to keep you warm, but it might be a perception. Much of what you have heard about vodka consumption in Russia is probably not far off the mark. It is definitely the preferred drink throughout the country. Heck, they even put in the beer. Yep, there are certain brands of beer that come with a number on them. The numbers range from one to seven or 10. The larger the number, the more vodka there is in the beer. If you don’t know this before buying one of these brands, you can be in for a shock after your second beer.

Standard Russian Vodka is one of the best I would recommend because every time we tried, it was simply superb.

TGIF

Although I was tired mentally and physically with 10 days of work and relentless wild partying , I did my usual duty free shopping by picking up stuff which you believe are cheap which otherwise are expensive habits. I was desperately waiting to board the flight and go home. Travelling out of suitcase for more than 3-4 days becomes too painful. I didn’t want to wait any longer to have a appetizing home food that would vitalise my dormant taste buds.

To make matters worse, I was travelling with British Airways. I always had a bitter sweet experience with this airline. Although they are punctual, their food is appalling. I felt sick by the idea of an old lady serving you some rotting vegetables and whiffy mashed potato in the aircraft. No way, I am going to eat that....so I walked into this restaurant to grab a chilled beer and have a quick last snack in Russia.

I went into this eatery, which was next to duty free shopping area and quickly ordered an ice-cold draft beer. Unlike Russian service, it came quickly. I said to myself…”No way this is a Russian joint”. I turned around to see American rugby was aired on the TV (quite strange American sport in Russia) then I checked out the dining setup...antiques, hats, wooden floors, red-striped canopies and brass railings. I faintly remember this joint which I visited almost eight years back. I quickly found that the joint was TGIF i.e. Thank God It’s Friday (American joint famous for casual dining experience)

Young fat waitress suggested me a "quesadilla" and I did not argue with her. I guess all ingredients (cheese, corn, chicken and tortilla) looked familiar. To our surprise it came in literally 10 minutes....It was unlike Russian Service where one would die on the table but still not get served. At least something about Americans is great, be it customer service which was 100 times better than Russians.

Basically Russians don’t know what service means. Even our Russian clients admit this fact that their country is second to none in worst service. Anyways, although it was Sunday afternoon and Monday Blues was just round the corner. I surely felt like saying Thank God Its Friday.