Venting Out!

So, the fascists are asking for Amartya Sen to give back the Bharat Ratna because he does not want Narendra Modi to be PM.

When Narendra Modi equates the killing of thousands of Muslims in the Gujarat genocide to ‘puppies coming under the wheel of a car’ it’s freedom of speech and when Amartya Sen voices his opinion, it draws such flak?

When Muslims protest against Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasreen, freedom of expression is touted and when M F Hussain paints goddesses in the nude he is exiled from the country?

When Narendra Modi talks  about his development model (which many have proved is mere propaganda), he is applauded. When the UPA Government wants to do anything for Muslims, it’s ‘minority appeasement’.

When people like Varun Gandhi and Narendra Modi spit out vitriolic against the minorities, they are proud nationalists. When intellectuals like Amartya Sen speak for the minorities, it is ‘pseudo secularism’.

All those so called urban liberals wanting Narendra Modi to be PM, please be prepared.

With BJP in power you can expect the voices of artists, thought leaders and intellectuals to be muzzled. Case in point: How Mallika Sarabhai and Verghese Kurien were treated for speaking out against the Gujarat genocide. The banning of Parzania in Gujarat. The blacklisting of Aamir Khan for supporting Medha Patkar in the Narmada Dam controversy.

With BJP in power, you can expect strident voices demanding Sanksrit/Hindi as the medium of instruction. Then what will happen to your English Movies, English Books and English Lifestyles? Are you prepared for that?

Moral policing is going to get more aggressive. We saw what happened in Karnataka when the BJP was in power. Girls in jeans being targeted. The Mangalore incident where a party was broken up because it was against their ‘sanskriti’. Vehment opposition to Valentine’s Day and New Year Eve celebrations….

And before you jump the gun and call me a Congress stooge (That’s what they are calling Amartya Sen too), I am equally disillusioned with the Congress/UPA. All I want is what you want too…and what is our constitutional right. The freedom of speech, the freedom to voice my opinion openly and fearlessly, the right to live where I want to, without being pushed into ghettos just because I belong to a certain community, the freedom to work and live with dignity and with non-discrimination. Is that too much to ask?

Looking Back…

It’s strange how some sight can trigger a memory. Today afternoon when I was returning from a client meeting in an auto, I saw a young boy riding pillion on a scooter tightly grasping a huge TV. That sight opened up a floodgate of memories. I remembered carrying a large framed painting as I rode pillion on Sunil’s trusted Bajaj Super. It was for the living room of the first home we owned: # 3, Little Heaven Apartments.

Now as we get ready to move to our third home, I look back with a sense of pride and quiet satisfaction on the road I have traversed. It was not always an easy path. There were obstacles and challenges. There were doubts and regrets. There were a dozen dilemmas and a hundred fears. But equally, there were so many joyous moments, so many dreams fulfilled, so many goals reached, so many achievements realized – big and small.

There have been amazing people I met during this journey. Some have stayed on to become my lifetime friends. Some have moved on. But every one of them taught me something.

There have been so many roles that I have played – and continue to play. But the most cherished role will always remain that of being a mother to my wonderful daughter Anu and best friend to my soul sister Ranjana.

There has been so much learning and discovery on this journey. The books I have read, the people I have met, the thought leaders that I have had the opportunity to listen to, the choices I have made, the decisions I have taken, the experiences I have had, the situations that I have faced…

They say “You can’t drive forward, looking in the rear view mirror”. True. But looking in the rear view mirror is sometimes essential. To get a perspective on the distance you have travelled, the milestones you have passed, the road you have left behind. When I look back I feel blessed. Truly blessed.