Polls

The election fever has me all wired up. Sitting outside, but not as an outsider, I watch my country going to polls with a sinking feeling. If I were back home, whom would I have deemed fit to lead my promising nation? Do I place my faith on a party that's ruled by a hopeless dynasty, on a coalition that has all the unlikely-to-ever-last-a-day partners, or on a group that defines itself purely on the basis of religious ideologies? I am stumped for an answer.

With every election, a new candidate rises up to the "challenge". Don't they get it?
It's us, the general public, who really is the challenged...WHOM do we vote for? The man with the shady past? The one with a murderer title written on his forehead? Or simply the politician who gives himself to the public once in every five years?
Some picks that have left me seething in the run up to this election -
There's Azharrudin, former Indian cricket captain, who traded his country's honour and reputation for personal wealth, and wealth alone. Banned for life from doing what at one point he did best, he now seeks to redeem himself. And how? By wanting to "serve" the very country he decided to barter.
I watch one of his interviews as he declares himself a worthy candidate. His responses to questions about his past deeds are not just unsatisfactory, they are plain disappointing.
The man barely manages to utter a single sensible word, gulping his sentences, vainly trying to convince a starved nation that he has indeed turned over into a honourable man, with noble intentions only.

Sanjay Dutt calls himself the "grassroot party worker". What makes him assume that donning a ujala-white kurta-pyjama, a bright red topi, and preaching Gandhi-ism, is going to induce people into believing he is now a sparkly clean man? The "star" in him will win him votes with the very few celebrity-crazy out there. But this is a nation brimming with a population wishing for a terror-free country just as much as they are seeking food, education and a roof over their heads, and here, this man will have to more than just deliver dialogues from his movies. Gandhigiri or netagiri.

I am more than shocked by Varun Gandhi. I'm disgusted. Here is a man who is young, highly educated, comes with a so-called modern-outlook, and what the heck, also boasts secular roots! But come election time...one has to win - by hook or by crook. Through secularism or religion-ism. And he chooses the latter.
Did he think it was best to garner those few votes in favour, than risk collective support by vouching for unity? Did he assume his words would go unnoticed by the media, and thereby the combined Indian populace? Or did he dare imagine that safe under a powerful surname, he would be left untouched by criticism and action?

In all the instances above, I only talk of known and recorded individual pasts that make each of these candidates unfit to ever represent any section of our country. They put me to shame. But they are not in it alone. Many more like them have stood the test of times (read polls) in the past six decades, and many of them have gone on to take serious posts in the Indian political system. They have called the shots, charted their paths, amassed personal fortunes for their future generations, and led us to believe that they indeed stand for us. Us, the general public. And what do we do in return? Some of us decide to join the bandwagon, some of us join their fray, and some wage a lone battle in this world of gimmicks. Some of us choose to do nothing about this seemingly worrying trend, talk about it occasionally and then pretend this will never affect us. That's the least efficient of the lot. And I belong to that last category.

jittery nerves!

exactly a month from today, i start my short stint with BBC. i'm nervous, apprehensive, but so bloody excited! i'm looking at it as a stamp on my resume. and it very well be one with a deep imprint!

life's little escapades

we decided we really needed a girls only night out.

freewheeling conversations, delirious giggles and random life tips and gossip exchanged over a good drink, with not a glance over the ticking clock, ah...joy unlimited. so about two weeks back, we showered it upon ourselves.

husbands gently reminded - the last tube services were till half past midnight; and then smugly added - beyond that none of them would budge from their slumbers if we were to buzz them for a ride back!

then, off we went...apparently on en endless night. our first stop was at the roadside waffle corner on Bond Street. it's the kind of thrill a drooly, tangy pani-puri can give you when gobbled on the streets of Bengalooru, both have theraperutic effects. Absolute Ice Bar, on a wintery night, seemed like a whacky idea but a must-do. our brains were probably frozen even before we entered the -5 degree ice chambers in the bar, but hearts really really warm. donning the huge capes, slipping on the oversized gloves, and entering the icy walls for a moment made me feel like an eskimo. so this is how it feels like to live in an igloo, i thought, as i gingerly placed my butt on the ice-chair. R tried licking the ice-wall, and images of a certain scene from Dumb&Dumber danced before my imagination.

vodka was the house-special, guava juice for a certain me. all served in a tiny glass, again made of ice. 45 mns was the time slot given to us, but in 25, our toes felt numb, our finger tips began to ache, and the chill was hitting our bones. we ran out, to file around the solitary candle outside in the restaurant...literally placing our fingers on the flame.

from the watering hole, dizzy with glee, walked five women, to the streets of piccadilly and soho...hunting for that tiny italian joint i was so sure was there about 8 months ago. in its place now stood a gay bar! we scooted, we were out on a night out, but were not quite in the mood for an adventure. walking aimlessly, we reached leicester square, where another italian hole beckoned. tummies filled, and feeling quite like the stuffed python, we then headed to the nearest Ben & Jerrys. an evening like this has to be capped with chocolate!

all the food, laughter and joy led to midnight, and we knew it was time to hit the nearest tube station. if there's one thing i love about london, it's the convenience and safety it provides to women travelling at night.

warm, happy, and a deep sense of gratitude for this beautiful thing called friendship...that's what quality time spent with girl-friends lead to. and i feel blessed to have found those special bonds at each and every stage in life. blissfully blessed. :)