Narendrabhai Modi on the roll!!

I would call him the only politician of the country who can manage to be the most hated as well as the most loved of the lot.

Lets forget for a moment, his secularistic (?) ideas, but undoubtedly, the junta of Gujarat loves this guy… for the simple reason, that apart from being brutally straight-forward, he is also touted as one of the most in-corruptible politicians of our times.

Today, he managed to gather thousands of college students of the innumerable colleges of Ahmedabad, made them sow some 2 crore saplings – and Ahmedabad celebrated today what was called the “Global-warming Day”

I thought that was a good initiative! Chalo, at least here is one guy who is genuinely doing something for his people, his city!

Book Review: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London of Bengali Parents, and grew up in Rhode Island, USA. She is an accomplished writer and winner of the Pulitzer prize in 2000. Anyone and everyone who has read the story will agree that she is indeed a master story-teller!!!

The book deals with the trials and tribulations of an Indian Bengali couple who migrate very soon in their married life to the US of A. How their kids grow up confused. they are being sent to American schools, taught American History and yet, they know that they are not natives of the country.

The best part about the book is the intricacies with which she has explained the small, otherwise trivial things about life of an Indian in America. How, they try their best to maintain the culture that they have carried in from India. How they desperately want their kids to appreciate the culture and traditions, they do not understand, and feel no connect to. How the kids grow up hating everything that has anything to do with their being Indian. How they keep reminding themselves, that they are Americans really and have only a faint remote connection to India. How they are lost, coz they no longer feel the connection to their relatives on the visits to India and are aching to come back, to the place they belong. At the same time, they are not completely accepted in the American society. They may sit and eat with them, dress like them, but never will they be, THEM!

The story kind of reminded me of an old Hindi proverb

Dhobi ka kutta, na ghar ka, na ghaat ka (which translates roughly to “A washerman’s dog, belongs neither to the home, nor to the washing-ground”)

Indeed, this is a growing concern, amongst millions of Indians living abroad. The topic dealt so beautifully by Jhumpa, actually needs a further thought. The identity crisis is probably one of the worst that any human can face. You suddenly belong to no place, belong to no one. There are blood relations, you hardly know and there are made-relations who hardly know you!

God bless people who are going through this. May God give them the sanity to first understand who they are and then the wisdom to accept it.

Amen!

The Self!!!!

I found a very profound statement in The Bhagavad Gita. I am putting down the English translation here:

In the company of your friend, you lose your centeredness. Your enemy puts you back in your self. Your friend empathises with you and makes you believe in matter. Your enemy makes you feel helpless and takes you to the spirit. So, Your Enemy is your Friend and your Friend is your Enemy.

One who is unfriendly everywhere including to himself – his consciousness is stable and his awareness is established!

~ Krishna to Arjuna during the battle of Mahabharata

I would like to hear your thoughts on this, after reading it.