"When I first met Sunita Kejriwal..."

Picture source : Indian Express

I don't remember which day or what date it was. I, along with Ankit Lal (AAP, Social Media Admin) and Suresh Reddy (CEO, Lycos Internet Limited), were at Arvind sir's place to discuss the party's future social media content strategy. By the time we finished, it was already late enough for lunch, so Arvind invited us to the dining table. To be honest, I wasn't really hungry. But a lunch with Arvind? I just had to eat, as slowly as possible.

Now, in a normal "officer's" home, you'll find a helper preparing/serving food. But to my surprise, Sunita ji started serving us food. At first I was a little shaken. An IRS officer, ex-CM's wife, serving food to some volunteer? CMs and their relatives don't serve food to strangers. They make their Babus do it. They make you wait in the line for hours while they finish their chai, although they themselves usually never wait for anyone. They don't even wait for the Red Light. The Red Light waits for them. Their kids score C- and go to a famous foreign university for higher studies. Their toilets cost more than an Aam Aadmi's house. You know what I'm talking about...

But there she was, serving us food. Nonetheless, I blurted 'thanks', smiled, and started eating. The food was al-right. Homely. But suddenly I noticed something funny in one of the bowls. Mushrooms. I'm allergic to mushrooms. Mushrooms love taking me to a date in the ICU. Also, I'm not very fond of how they taste. Luckily, I hadn't eaten the dish yet. Sunita ji noticed I wasn't eating that dish, so she asked me why. "I'm allergic", I blurted again. 

Now a normal person would say something like 'Al-right' or 'Theek hai' or 'Oh' or just say nothing at all and nod. But Sunita ji, surprisingly, said, "Oh sorry, I didn't know beta.".

"Beta"? "I'm sorry"? Really? Why did she have to say sorry? She isn't responsible for my allergy! She didn't have to serve me food in the first place, I didn't deserve it, I am just another Aam Aadmi!

I smiled and blurted something like "It's okay". I was surprised to see how humble the Kejriwals were. This couldn't possibly be true. This has to be a sham, a show! And if this was true, what are such people doing in politics?

That day I realized that Sunita Kejriwal is not just "Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Arvind Kejriwal", but she is "Sunita Kejrwal, ALSO wife of Arvind Kejriwal". I could now see how Arvind has been so strong, so patient, so humble, so courageous. She is truly 'Aam'. As 'Aam' Arvind is, or perhaps even more, and it is partly due to her support that Arvind and his team has been so successful.

When I first met Sunita Kejriwal, I was expecting her to be a cliche "CM's Wife". I was so wrong.

(I still can't believe she called me 'Beta'.)

(Left to Right : Ankit Lal, Me, Arvind Kejriwal, Suresh Reddy)

Don't you dare speak against the Government's stupid decisions, you Aam Aadmi!

A few days back, Mr. Aseem Trivedi, a cartoonist living in Mumbai, hailing from Kanpur was arrested. Charges? Sedition.
He had drawn a cartoon depicting the Indian Emblem with three wolves instead of the three lions; had 'Bhrashtamev Jayate' written on it, which means 'The corrupt shall always win'. An activist, Aseem has been an active member of India Against Corruption. Now the question arises, was the arrest fair?

As we all know, corruption has become an omniscient part of our day-to-day life. A.Raja's 2G Spectrum Allocation Scam was worth Rs.1,72000Crores. He allegedly swallowed 3000Crores down his esophagus. Coal Allocation Scam was worth Rs.1,86000Crores, the PM's name was also tainted. As an Aam-Aadmi, I was forced to wonder, “Is this not Sedition? Desh-droh!”. I did a little internet based research on the Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code which defines Sedition. Shockingly, what I found out, was that the law talks only about 'the Government' and not 'the Nation'. Here it goes, it says:“Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India...”. My question to myself was, why is the law limited only to 'the Government'? As a citizen of India by law, don't I have enough rights to speak against the Government's false decisions openly? After-all who elects them to the office? We, the Aam-Aadmi, right? Who pays their bills? We, the Aam-Aadmi, through the taxes imposed on us. So, after funding everything they spend, don't we have the right to speak if they falsely spend our money? While more than half of the nation lives with less than Rs.20 a day, more than Rs.36,000Crores were spent on the Commonwealth Games. Now if I question this, I openly talk about this, and if this creates a feeling of 'disaffection' toward the Government, what wrong am I doing?

On going deeper, I found out that the law was designed by the British, in the year 1870. Then, the prime aim of the Government, as in the Britishers, was to drain all the wealth of India and send it to their country, exploit and chain us, and hence the law was formulated to kill every voice that speaks against them. 142 years later, the law, remains the same. Later I found out, that in the year 1997, Bilal Ahmed Kaloo, then a judge in Andhra Pradesh's High Court stated, “The offence of sedition under section 124A is the doing of certain acts which would bring the Government established by law in India into hatred or contempt, or create disaffection against it” So, he repeats what the Britishers said. Is it that the Parliament and our Courts can't see that the law is unjust and unfair, oppressive and imperialistic? Or is it that the Governments since 1947 have always kept this law alive as a secret-weapon to counter whoever speaks against them? And what can an Aam-Aadmi do? Fight? Protest? Or simply get back to 'somehow' earning a living in an environment of high inflation rates, corruption and oppressive control that he lives in? The question remains unanswered, for obvious reasons.

While Mr. Aseem Trivedi now walks free, with the charges on him taken back, a sense of disrespect for the Government and its down-market tactics to dampen each and every voice against it, sustains, loud and clear, yet whisper-like. Cause who knows? Anybody could be the next Aseem. “Jailed for questioning how his own hard money is being spent.” India is a Pseudo-democratic country, it appears to me now.

An another Tea-Time-Story about our Leaders

"Another Tea-time story"

(Hello, I think, for most us Indians, this is a perfect topic to discuss while we dip chocolate cookies in our tea-cups and enjoy the evening cursing how nothing can be done to help our mother-land, so get ready, brew a cup.)

Premchand, the most iconic Hindi writer ever, in the year 1916 came with his short story 'Panch Parmeshwar'. Back then, India was a colony of the 'Great' Britain and First World War was on. In his story, he talks about how two friends, Jumman and Algu, give up on their materialistic and selfish motives when chosen as the head (panch) of a village-community-court (Panchayat) and speak in the voice of God, giving fair and justified decisions, hence standing up to the 'With great power comes great responsibilty' measure. Of-course, Premchand had seen a dream of a modern India where truth shall prevail and the 'power-ful' shall speak in a responsible tone, unlike the British. Unfortunately, almost a hundred years later, his dream is still a mere dream. The British left, but their spirit of "having a good time while the nation 
succumbs to death" didn't.

It was just another boring day in the Parliament (for the MPs') and things were going pretty-bland, like everyday, random men were shooting random blame-bullets on random fellow parliamentarians, until the 'honorable' Minister of State for Social Welfare, Mr. V Narayansamy introduced a bill about giving 'reservation to SCs/STs in job promotions'. What followed was a perfect well-written bollywood like script, a drama full of political yells and yawps polluting the environment of the Temple of Democracy with slogans and farts, as the Samajwadi Party's MP, Mr. Naresh Aggarwal and the Bahujan Samaj Party MP, Mr. Avtar Singh Karampuri, got into a 'brawl' which resulted into a chain reaction of rage. The SP-men were, surprisingly, against the Bill while the BSP-warriors were for it, as expected. Forcefully pushing and cursing each other, they were in the middle of what can be seen as a wrestling match, allegedly in the in-fond memory of Late wrestler Dara Singh. The BJP heros joined the scene by raising a very interesting issue about Joining hands against Corruption with the BSP, which was a seen as an annoying intrusion in the private matters between the two wrestlers. While our dear PM, was as usual seen waiting for a permission from Madam jee to speak or not. Fearing that this might turn into a 'yaaay-lets-destroy-the-furniture-game', the match refree, Kurien adjourned the House till 2 PM.

A few months and sessions ago, same Parliamentarians, in a day-long debate on the Lokpal Bill were expected to perform the role of Premchand's 'Panch Parmeshwars'. But like today, most of them behaved like bullies, doggedly and shamelessly pursued their self-centred acts, justifying their unjust avocations. Another spectacle of low cunning at it's lowest water-mark.

I'm sure Premchand's soul just like the rest of the Aam-Aadmi is not in peace. Whatever happened today and has happened in the past, be it Jan-Lokpal Bill being mocked as Jan-JokePal Bill or Money being thrown here and there (as if it's a dance bar) in the Cash-for-Vote scam, our Leaders have always done their best to slap us in our faces and rape our mother, our country. Dr. Manmohan Singh and his office-men were very quick in asking for an apology from The Washington Post for calling him weak, but who is supposed to write us, fellow Indians, an apologetic note, for the heinous activities going on in the Temple? Or Yes, maybe like our PM has said before, in the account of the rising inflation rates, "I can't help it.".

These are the lyrics to a song I've written about this...

"Leaders"

Here walks in a leader,
wears a collar, shiny white;
stained with the blood,
red red, of the common herd;
he knows how to do it,
he knows how to reap;
cracks the spine, sucks the brain, oh,
he's a fuckin' leech!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
I feel so bad, I feel so low,
I know you know, but you don't wanna show,
Cause you're too busy,
You're thin, you're dizzy
Bastards and retards, ruin the cities,
They chain your soul,
They rock, they roll,
Leaders you call them, leaders they are,
They infect your breath
They lead you to black


It's just another day,
I know, I sometimes crib,
But you know, I know you ignore,
our mother being raped.
No more greens
Trees are now weeds,
Money you want,
and money he speaks,
He sells your mom in markets,
People are shit
Votes are garbage...

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
I feel so bad, I feel so low,
I know you know, but you don't wanna show,
Cause you're too busy,
You're thin, you're dizzy
Bastards and retards, ruin the cities,
They chain your soul,
They rock, they roll,
Leaders you call them, leaders they are,
They infect your breath
They lead you to black