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Pedestrian pains

Jatin Sharma recently bought a new car, and he has lost respect for pedestrians already. Read on to know why.

When you buy a new car, you want to respect pedestrians. Mostly because you were one of them before you got your mean machine.

I recently got a new car. In my new-found love for pedestrians hoofing it while I drove by in style, I stopped at every signal, and when I would see them waiting to cross, I would drive to the side of the road and apply the brakes – only to realise that they were not always equally considerate towards me. They would keep crossing one after the other, and others would just jump out after seeing me stop for others. It was almost like it was a race to see who would cross in my front of my car first.

Another time, all the cars were whizzing by and no one was letting the pedestrians cross. My new good-driver soul made me stop. But instead of being thankful, everyone while passing started throwing abuses at me. They vented their frustration at having waited a long while, on me. Me, the guy who had stopped and let them cross. All of them looked at me in anger, also pulling a lot of faces.

This is a good time to insert a quote from Lawrence S Harris: ‘Are we taking drunken drivers off the road to turn them into drunken pedestrians?’ 

I  admit  that I just Googled this quote and I have no idea who Lawrence S Harris is and when he quoted this. But I am putting it out here because it is apt to what I’m about to say next.

Yes, pedestrians have every right to curse, abuse and torment the drivers in our country.  It has been observed that our country lacks basic discipline and respect for traffic rules. Whether it is lane-cutting or rash driving or the, ‘Yeh rasta mere baap ka hai‘ attitude of a driver, our traffic situation is clearly based upon the law of the jungle. Whoever is bigger and powerful rules the roost. It’s that law of nature where the smaller car is bullied by the bigger car, or the bigger bus, or the biggest truck.

But the law of the jungle falls flat when it comes to the pedestrian. Jaywalking is the pedestrian’s favourite pastime and the moment someone is going to hit them, they will not look for logic or the fault of their actions, it directly becomes the question: “Yeh carwale /H@#$zaade samajhte kya hain khud ko?”

Pedestrians labour under the delusion that averting accidents is just a driver’s responsibility. Pedestrians in our country like to jump over dividers and even land on the bonnet of a passing car suddenly. Every time it happens, I wait for at least one of these clowns to jump out with a bugle in hand and yell, “SURPRISE!”. Most pedestrians don’t even realise that the person inside the vehicle is manoevering a machine that is at least 100 times his weight, and he needs to stop it mechanically in order to avoid a disaster.

And if the driver goes wrong even by a whisker, the world and its mother rushes out to bash him up without asking whose fault it was. Our country has so many rules and regulations for drivers, but when it comes to pedestrians, there’s nothing, so we can just hope that each of us is a brilliant driver who can handle any situation. The driver can’t speak on the phone while driving and can’t be drunk behind the wheel and he/she needs to have a seat belt on, but the pedestrian can be drunk and on merrily talking on the phone and can basically get away with anything. 

And there are some pedestrians who make you talk to the hand. Literally. These are what I like to call the Ichchadhari Traffic Police; the moment they want to cross the road, they stroll across it with a hand raised. This species of pedestrian is deaf to honking cars and do not even acknowledge the driver of the car that has braked suddenly to avoid knocking him down. 

I’ve recently learnt that cars and pedestrians contribute to the traffic nuisance in our city in equal measure. Drivers are at fault several times, but pedestrians too need to be a little lenient towards drivers. They need to realise that a guy handling a vehicle must be under tremendous pressure. The pedestrian should try and avert small mistakes, too. He should not pretend to be a hero, leaping across the dividers and catching drivers off guard. 

We are a country that lacks basic infrastructure and courtesy when it comes to traffic rules. But then, the onus is on the people of the country to formulate those rules in order to make road usage beneficial for everyone. A country changes by the attitude of its people. But somehow, when people come out on the roads, either behind the wheel or on their feet, they instantly enter into a competition to see who reaches his/her destination first. 

There is no need to be in a perpetual road race. If we all become considerate about each other on the roads, the day will be come when even in India, drivers would love to stop their car and let the pedestrian cross the road. For now, if the drivers do that, they are only sitting waiting for people to stop crossing the road and let him pass, since the light turned green ages ago.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because if he grows up, he will be like everyone else.

(Picture courtesy blogs.seattleweekly.com)

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The killing of a poster boy

Jatin Sharma wonders if Afzal Guru was really a terrorist, or yet another name in a disenchanted Valley. Or both.

Before reading this column, I have a request to make of you.

I request all of you to junk all the images that you have in mind, shed all your preconceived notions that have been served by the media, remove all the biases and the prejudices that you may have developed over the years.

Be untainted by the ‘truths’ of the world, unmoved by the emotions that the media has garnered and for the next few minutes, think that you are in an ideal world.

Now that your mind is sufficiently cleared of your personal feelings, read on.

Centuries ago, the world was divided into kingdoms. India was a land that was akin to a sone ki chidiya. See, already I can feel the pride that you are feeling right now. Your chin went up by an angle of 10 degrees, and you just inflated your chest. But the truth is, the time when India was the fabled golden sparrow, its people were still ailing. The people had no food and were constantly at the mercy of their kings. While the kings fought wars once in a while to double or safeguard their riches, the common man fought every day for food and other necessities. Whenever the king was challenged by a common man, either that man was sent to confinement or was silenced forever. His crime? Disrespecting the king.

Centuries later, the world is divided into countries. India is a land known as an ‘upcoming superpower’. There, I can feel the pride that you are feeling right now. Your chin went up by an angle of 10 degrees, and you just inflated your chest. But the truth is, that while India is an upcoming superpower, its people are still ailing. The people don’t have the freedom to express themselves (writing a blog is not something major, and even this column is not that big a change) and live a life where they are not at the mercy of the police, the bureaucrats and the politicians. While the politicians are letting us protest over lesser issues (like rape, as no politician is involved in that high-profile case; Lokpal, as they know a Bill will only be passed with their consent or a diesel-petrol hike, because they know they will decrease 50 paise and all will be well); the common man is fighting every day to be heard. Whenever the government is challenged by a common man, either that man is tagged as a threat to the nation, or a terrorist, or a Maowadi.

There are hundreds and thousands of stories of oppression on the people, by the people in power. We fear FIRs, as we fear that we would be tortured instead of the culprit. We fear going to politicians as they will tell us to shell out money or leave the matter like it is. We fear questioning bureaucrats because they know that they can’t be replaced till the time that they decide to retire. We fear the election process because we are afraid of the gallery of dacoits we have to choose from.

Are we really free then? Are we really an awesome country, if our ‘safe’ blogs will just be discussed and dismissed? Are we a free country if till the time I follow what those in power want me to follow, I am safe? Are we a free country if the moment someone questions things, we term them terrorists?

Afzal Guru was hanged the same way that Kasab was. But the difference is that Afzal Guru was an educated man, an MBBS student who had surrendered to the BSF.

My point is: no amount of money can lure you to be a traitor unless there is a long pending issue that the Government has ignored for long. No amount of money can force you to insult your motherland unless the kings of democracy let people come out and hear them out without bias. Look at Kashmir – more than anything else, the issue is now an ego tussle between two nations, with the Kashmiris suffering in between. They are hostile, yes, but so is the Government. Right now the people of Kashmir want to protest in the wake of Afzal Guru’s hanging. But the Government has imposed a curfew there, and jammed mobile networks, apart from cutting Internet lines.

When was the last time that people actually responsible for several crimes were brought to book? When two Indian soldiers were beheaded on the border, what did our powerful country do to those who beheaded them? Did our upcoming superpower nation book them in any manner? Forget anything else, were those involved in the beheadings even caught?

A Kashmiri all-girl rock band had to give up music because some idiot issued a fatwa in their name. The government failed then, too. The rape ordinance was passed, but one recommendation was not taken into consideration: that politicians who are rapists should not be able to contest elections. This recommendation was scrapped by the Government, while the rest were approved.

If you think about it, Afzal Guru the terrorist could have been Dr Afzal Guru, and he could have treated several patients in the Valley, but he didn’t. Why not? We should know the entire story before passing a judgement. We should acknowledge that Kashmir is burning every day. Right now they are going through a ban on Internet and mobile services, and not for the first time. How would you feel if that happened to you? To be reminded constantly that you are under somebody’s control, that you would be silenced if you don’t say what is not favourable to the one who controls you?

Terrorism and internal terrorism are two different issues. While terrorism can be tackled with power and force and killings, internal terrorism has to be tackled with love and tact. We rejoice Afzal Guru’s hanging because he was the poster boy for the Parliament attacks. But are we sure that no more Afzal Gurus will erupt from the Valley in the future? Did we really kill an attacker, or did we just kill another name?

I’m sure you’re a bit confused. But your confusion tells me that you are starting to think, and that is most important.

Don’t let the media or a few Facebook statuses and emotionally-charged tweets turn your mind. That is what the people in power want. They want you to be just a tool, a vote that is remembered only once in five years. Think and you start living every day.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who says he doesn’t want to grow up, because if he grows up, he will be like everybody else.

(Picture courtesy indiatvnews.com)

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That thing called God

Jatin Sharma wonders where the line between our faith and the display of our faith begins to blur, and why.

God can be defined in a number of ways. Someone can define God as a superior power, another as faith and someone else as just a personal feeling. I define God as a personal feeling. God is always The One. The One who makes you become a better person. The One who makes you not lose hope even in the worst of the times. The One who makes you take care of each and everything that you come across, and which needs your help.

God was created by Man. Man was created by God. But the whole concept of God has gone haywire these days. Everything around God is not so much about God, but more about Man’s own interpretation of God. God is being manipulated and I think God must feel truly helpless right now. No shashtras or holy books have specified that you need to put up a mammoth display of your worship or prayers. But with each passing day, the actual display of our faith is becoming bigger and bigger. Everybody wants to prove to the world that their faith in their God is bigger than others’. We are not praying to God anymore; we are pandering to a religious ego.

I was in Andheri yesterday, and I saw this gigantic rally on a ‘display rampage’. The rally took place during peak travel hours, and thousands of people, both belonging to the faith or not, were hostages to the whole drama. People were forced to see how ‘cool’ this faith being celebrated was, how amazing it was to worship someone a God like that. Commuters and autorickshawwallahs were reduced to becoming hapless victims of traffic snarls, besides getting really late for work. Plus, there were loudspeakers blaring, and these must have scared a thousand birds and hundreds of street dogs for miles.

Let me remind you that I am in no manner against any particular faith, but the whole public display of one’s faith and one’s God always makes me think about the matter. Are we and our intentions really pure when we want to worship God? I’ve often asked myself: why is a Rs 5,001 worth aarti  bigger than a Rs 1,001 one? Does God have an accountant to keep score of the value of each individual aarti offered and who decides, for God, whose prayers must be answered first? Why is there so much pompousness attached to the most simple thing in the world, this thing called God?

If God is truly in your heart, no one can shake your faith by approving or disapproving your faith, and it simply does not matter how many julooses or holy processions you led amidst growing traffic on the streets. Your faith is like your heartbeat – nobody but you knows it is there, and you can feel it if you pay attention.

And the whole idea of coming together and celebrating one’s faith is perfectly fine, but please, can it be a gathering at a single place to accommodate the like-minded? Don’t go shouting on the road and screaming your lungs out to declare that your God is the best. No doubt he is, and we all respect Him/Her for that. Just don’t go out and make your God a pawn in a competition that decides which God wins. After all, doesn’t your God tell you to win others’ hearts by love and compassion, and not by loudspeakers and competition?

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because if he grows up, he will be like everybody else.

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The most unwanted job in the country

Jatin Sharma wonders: if all of us really want change, why can’t we just join politics and be the change?

Ever wondered what kind of job you always wanted? Ever wondered about the things that made you decide whether you wanted to join a field or not? Ever wondered about the things that would drive you to make that one job your whole life, your identity, your source of earning and your passion?

I have always decided my career based on two things: My interest, and earning from it, plus the respect associated with it.

So let’s talk about the most neglected job in the world. No one in my country wants it or wants to be a part of it. It’s one of the jobs that has a lot of respect attached to it, but it’s not a respectable job any more. The earning is good and sometimes, the best. But it suffers from nobody being interested in it.

The job I’m talking about is: the job of running our country.

Ask yourself: how did you get interested in a particular field? Was it because someone in your family was a part of it, or because you had an awesome professor from the same field who taught you about it very well? The exposure towards a particular field always decided your inclination towards it.

So the whole point I’m trying to make is that although becoming a politician is considered to be the worst job, it is not. We hate our politicians, but we are not ready to replace them. If we want to change the world, we just become journalists who think that by writing about it, change will knock on our doors. Why are we not teaching our kids about politicians being good, too? Why are people not telling stories about how politics and politicians are meant to be? Why are we perpetuating the myth that politicians are people who only participate in scams?

Human beings fight for power and money and respect. A politician has the power to change the world, he can earn good money, and the respect for the people who bring a change in their area is incredible. So why is it that everyone compromises with a less powerful job, like becoming a doctor, journalist or an engineer? Why is no one taking up one of the most lucrative jobs in the country?

It could be because ignorance is the devil that kills you before you take your first step. People in my country are ignorant about how to run their country. We don’t know how to bring about a change. We are so ignorant about the systems in our country that we just try to ignore them by saying, “Let it be, nothing is going to change.” But really, do you believe that nothing will change if you want to change it?

I think the first step that should be taken is by asking all our politicians to come and speak to students about their experiences of running the country. Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shashi Tharoor, Laloo Prasad Yadav, everyone should be given a mandatory notice to teach Politics and the problems they face as case studies in different schools. They should talk about how they get respect and how they are hated and how it is difficult to be practical while running a country.

Civics and Political Science should not be taught as laws, but in a way that seems more practical. It should be glamourised a bit more. All the major politicians of the world should come here and talk about politics in their country. It should not be just another photo opportunity for them, but a serious teaching assignment. They should speak about the problems they faced. Political Science should be taught as Political History; imagine having the chance to hear Barack Obama talk about what he went through when he ordered the killing of Osama, or how he faced the recession in his country and how he handled it. More to the point, politicians should talk about how they said ‘no’ to corruption.

In fact, the Government should have a degree for politicians – a Bachelors of Leaders in India or Diploma in Netagiri or Masters in Running India. The kind of respect and the power that this job holds should make people see that it is equivalent to being a CEO of a company. Students should be given assignments where they must come up with Bills and do a market research on why they are proposing a certain Bill.

Let the discussions happen and make them more about the future. Talk about the scams in textbooks and embarrass the hell out of the politicians who have been involved in them. Talk about the success stories of public figures and leaders who have brought a positive change in the society and for the country.

It doesn’t have to be boring. Why does politics have to be a name that brings out only negative emotions? Why does a Legislative Assembly or a Rajya Sabha or a Lok Sabha carry out its work in a manner and language nobody understands? They could be fun. Have workshops where people are trained for discussion and everyone works like in Parliament. Have books that speak about the blunders of politicians.

Make it more interesting. Make it glamourous. Make it contemporary.

If you want to serve the community, this is the best opportunity. Take this job. It’s now or never.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because if he grows up, he will be like everybody else. 

(Featured image courtesy thekissof.wordpress.com)

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An open letter to our politicians

Jatin Sharma is furious over politicians’ irresponsible statements following the Delhi gang rape case. This is his letter of rebuttal.

My dear mindless politicians,

I have had enough from you guys.  Don’t play politics when your daughter has died. Don’t play politics when the nation is feeling sad. And don’t try to teach us things when the nation is feeling wounded.

In the past few days, the rage over the death of our daughter has grown five-fold. There is no need to enrage us more. As a country, we know that you have failed as leaders to run our nation and make our lives better. And no, don’t take any credit for running our nation! It’s only because of the intellectuals and the people of India and their hard work that our country can boast of a good economy. You guys have had no part to play in it, except for the being part of several scams that have happened in the country.

You have constantly dirtied my city with your posters on the streets wishing me during Ganapati and Janmashtmi and Eid festivals. I don’t need your good wishes. You will never ever take up real issues in your lifetime. You are actually scared to lead us.

I am utterly disgusted – with the way you have started handling the Delhi gang rape case. And you’ve made some incredible statements, some utterly senseless and irresponsible statements that have shamed me to the core of my being. I have a few replies to make:

Statement 1: The rape victim should be given the Ashok Chakra

Whoever made this statement should be asked to go to the India-Pakistan border without a gun and fight with the enemy. When that person dies, we will give him the Paramvir Chakra.

Don’t make a hero out of that girl. She suffered. She was humiliated. She was out with her friend, may be her boyfriend. Please acknowledge that in India, girls have boyfriends. Girls have boyfriends in Bharat also. She was raped by five to six men. She didn’t want to face this situation, she just wanted to live her life. No girl wants a Chakra, she wants security. Give women security, and you can keep the Ashok Chakra.

Statement 2: To prevent rape, we will shut down establishments by 1 am.

Whoever said this should be asked to first shut their mouth, or should be taken around their city in the night to understand the new, progressive India.

This is like saying if you fear robbery, you should stop earning money. By this statement, you mean to say that people should stay at home so that when criminals come out on the streets, people are protected since they are already home. That’s just perfect. And I recently read a story where a man violated a dog. Hope you are asking the dogs to stay at home after dark, too.

Statement 3: Rapes occur in India, not Bharat.

Rapes occur in India because they are reported. In Bharat, because of mentalities like yours, they just die down.

It’s time that India takes over. A rape is a rape, wherever it happens. When we elected you, we elected for an entire nation. You need to understand both India and Bharat and govern. If you cannot understand that both these entities are the same country, you should just resign.

Statement 4: Sita was kidnapped after she crossed a line. There must be a Laxman rekha on women’s behaviour.

Please focus on not having Ravanas in society. Ravana didn’t rape Sita, and he was still taught a lesson.

Why do you blame girls for rape? You should blame your penis-wielding sons! You are a politician, you are responsible for what you say. Please remember that Sita was asked to prove herself with an agnipariksha, which she passed. And yet Ram abandoned her later.

Sita didn’t lose any dignity. But that is what it is. It’s time you came out of the Dwapar yuga and start being responsible for every human being, be it a man or a woman.

My take: If people are restrained and beaten up to avoid being troublesome to society, why can’t we stop politicians, too? Twisting a knife in a wound is not a solution. When the nation is burning, politicians shouldn’t be allowed to fan the flames further.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because he feels that if he grows up, he will be like everybody else.

(Picture courtesy indianmuslimobserver.com)

 

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A taste of two Indias

Jatin Sharma writes about how we’ve spoken enough about taking control, and that now’s the time to actually do it.

I live in two countries now. No, I don’t travel a lot. In fact, I don’t travel at all. My passport is still a virgin. But yes, every now and then, I feel that I have been teleported to a country where I don’t belong. I stay in India but every now and then, reality strikes me and lets me know that I am also in Bharat.

A Bharat where people judge others what they wear, a Bharat where girls don’t have any power and the boys are the laadlas, a Bharat where if girls enjoy their liberty, they are being ‘adventurous’ and if boys down a few pegs, they have become adults.

I live in a Bharat where people are biased and the leadership is weak. I live in a Bharat where my leaders can classify a rape as a ‘rarest of rare’ rape. And this last statement can come from a State whose Chief Minister is a woman.

I live in a Bharat where the police don’t shy away from hitting women who are protesting and asking for justice. I live in a Bharat where the Government’s precautionary measure to reduce rapes is to ask people to confine themselves in their homes post-1 am. I live in a Bharat where those in power think that the best way to control crime is to make the victim understand the anatomy of the crime, and not the criminal.

Bharat has committed a lot of mistakes. Grey hair and bodies corrected by surgery are deciding, time and time again, how the country is to run. I am not asking for anything more but for the powers that be to realise that the majority population of my nation is young and raring to go; it is the real India.

But enough has been said by all quarters about how India needs to unleash itself now. It’s time that we start controlling Bharat; for once I feel that we do need retirement houses for these old people who are just a step away from sitting in wheel chairs permanently, but who are presently running Parliament.

But how does that become a reality? By sitting in protest at India Gate? By descending on Jantar Mantar? By sitting in front of your laptop and sharing a few pics and videos? Or by really going out to achieve our kingdom, our country, a country where the shameless are shamed and criminals are punished hard?

We need to repair Bharat so that it becomes our India. And that would be possible when India reclaims Bharat. Today, these leaders are in their high offices only because India sits or goes out on a vacation when elections are announced. They are ruling us, because we only raise our voices when something really gory things happen to us, and not when things  go wrong in other spheres. We don’t raise our voices when a criminal fights an election, we don’t say much when a Facebook user is arrested. We don’t raise our voices when we have to give a tenner to get a cop off our backs.

We’ve theorised enough. Let’s go out and do something that makes a difference, and not something that is merely symbolic.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because he feels that if he grows up, he will be like everybody else.

(Picture courtesy antarmukhi-ashu.blogspot.com)

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