Speak the NEEDFUL...Please....

Rahul Gandhi was a cult figure right from the time of his birth. It’s his ancestry to blame if not to be grateful to. Being the Gandhi scion it was imminent for others (at least Congress supporters) to look up to him for the top spot. Obviously he is the Chosen One for Congress but definitely not the Best One. His looks backed by his dimples, well clipped beard might be an attractive asset (especially for a politician) but his speeches don’t serve that similar cynosure. 

Rahul’s oratory gets tough to take when he hits the emotional pitch of his. And mind it, it’s more often than not that he coughs out his emotions. For a listener it is puzzling as in whether to sympathize or be shrewd and expect deliverables, not personal feelings. Inclination to the latter is obvious as the electorate is in no mood to commiserate with emotions and that also of Congress which is hit by anti-incumbency and failures on various fronts. This is good enough to out -weigh whatever emotions Rahul tries to invoke frequently in his speeches. It’s a big no to ‘emotional blackmail’ as there are emotions of crores of Indians to be attended to. Talks about core actions and not beggar for compassion will induce the electorate.

The pattern of Rahul’s speeches continues to revolve around the same recipe. First lionizing UPA’s schemes, then nose diving into his family history and a few digs here and there at the BJP. He seems to be a young boy speaking earnestly from his heart and on way hitting a strikingly philosophical pitch!! Stating power as poison, talking about assassination of his grandmother and father, crushing his own dreams for India, threat to his own life or be it highlighting his emotional mother at time of passage of Food Security Bill, all instances follow his patterns of oratory. Might be a bit harsh on him but surely for a top post like that of PM he needs to shed his naiveness (be it pretentiousness or not). But the first big thing is that is he vying for the top post? He continues obstinately refusing to throw his hat into the ring. The doubt- whether he will or won’t continue to bewilder us. The answer to this doubt will decide whether he is worth listening to and whether the poll pundits are right in assuming Rahul as Congress’s PM candidate.  It’s time Rahul decides and allows us to make up our minds.

At the same time Rahul Gandhi does deserve a few accolades as well. Dismissing the ordinance meant for saving tainted politicians (except for the way he did it) was commendable and was a good use of his supremacy in his party. But as a PM candidate or at least as the Vice President of Congress he needs to come up with more matter. UPA-II’s dismal performance can’t be over looked and its better if Rahul doesn’t attempt to do so in his speeches. Accepting short comings audaciously and presenting bold remedies is what the electorate desires. Just indulging in a negative campaign against BJP will in no way help Congress cover the distance. Rahul needs to be more responsible in remarks he makes. Take for instance, him stating that ISI is reconciling with the Muslims of Muzaffarnagar. Such baseless remarks are not expected from Rahul Gandhi. Better if Digvijay Singh comes up with these and not Rahul !!

Harping on his family tragedies more often than not does no good to an electorate which is heavily populated by youth who, frankly speaking are more interested in the future rather than in the past.

It’s high time that the speeches made get more specific about country’s problems and their solutions. And more importantly it’s the action that needs to follow the words!

HOLLOW HALLOWING

Today, politics in India is marked by fire spewing politicians who are more often than not found decrying words of their rivals of other political parties. That’s the league of leaders India has stooped to after all these years of Independence.

 Even 15th August (this year)wasn’t spared! The platform was duly used as an opportunity to belittle rather than induce thoughts of remembrance for those who had helped India achieve the glory. Being the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Mr Narendra Modi continues to be under scanner and so does his words trailing his ideology. A point of his, on 15^th August which caught attention was his strong (as usual) denunciation of Manmohan Singh for praising the Gandhi-Nehru family and forgetting the numerous others who had equally devoted themselves for India’s freedom.To an extent it’s true (and thus unjust) that we often attribute Independence to just Gandhi and Nehru and in process (inadvertently) slightly side line numerous others. This might just be because of Congress which eventually saw many more powerful Gandhis who haven’t let the surname (and thus the hierarchy, if not the dynasty) go oblivious. Or it simply might be because of one’s lack of knowledge about great men which Indiahas witnessed. Whatever be the reason, extracting petty political mileage out of such things, seriously undoes what those great men dreamt about modern India. Even politics and personal ambitions were part of their era, but history is evident of their putting the country first over any other thing. That was undoubtedly the reason why leaders of that time were more coherent and revered by all religions and communities across the country.

Modi presented his desire for building an iron statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Statue of Unity (the proposed name), 182 metre high would be the tallest statue in the world (also beating the Statue of Liberty).Although the nomenclatureclashes heads on with its New York competitor (rivals at least in height), the name is apt for someone who did the herculean task of forging India from about 500 princely states. But definitely, just building a mammoth statue doesn’t mark imbibition of principles the great man stood for. It’s very similarto a lonely, forgotten picture of Mahatma Gandhi hanging on one of the walls of a police station. The only difference being 182 metres of iron and splurged public money which repays them hardly with a mere colossal structure.

The next thing that tingles is the thought that could have Modi ever (even in his dreams) have proposed a similar statue of Mahatma Gandhi or (to be more harsh) a one of JawaharLal Nehru.? The answer is an easy no and in stricter terms never. Admiration is something which is upon ones discretion but the same in politics is forcefully governed or better to say dictated by politics itself. Sardar Patel is the best fit for Modi as Vallabhbhai Patel’s differences with Nehru then can be coercively aligned with that of Modi or the BJP against Nehru’s descendants (Sonia and Rahul Gandhi) that is the current Congress.Be it him being the better choice than Nehru (for post of PM) or be it his differences with Nehru (on issues of Kashmir and China), Sardar Patel, very calculatedly is used by party like BJP under Modi to oppose Nehru family’s (Congress’s) continuance in Indian politics. One might argue that it’s a very harsh thing to question one’s choice for admiration, but surely it’s the underlined politics which attracts such cynicism.

Modi at the same time shouldn’t forget Patel’s abhorrence of RSS and other Hindutva organizations. Patel clearly blamed them for stoking violence during India’s freedom and also for assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Sardar Patel undoubtedly is the beacon of united India. Commemorating Patel and also satisfying RSS’s agenda is shamelessly contrasting. 

History is evident of Patel’s sacrifices for the nation. Allowing Nehru to be PM can be projected by many as a compromise but it was no big deal for Patel to comply with his ideal – Mahatma Gandhi. Despite the differences the mutual support Nehru and Patel showcased for each other cannot be overlooked. For them it was the country which preceded most of their desires. 

Without holding any bias against or for any party, the wish of most Indians today is to look up to leaders similar to those who are much talked about of being followed and idealized.

Gym Visuals...

Workout at times can be the trickiest thing one can indulge in. Everyday exercise is recommended for good health but there is a thin line between daily workout and bodybuilding. Seeing chiseled, oil smeared,  ripped bodies of men like Hrithik, Salman or any other  such ‘hunk’ can easily make a man crave for a physique similar to theirs. But even transforming those dreams into some pre matured form of reality requires extreme dedication and patience. I hit the gym every alternate day if not daily. A muscular body which satisfies my eyes and which carries any attire I don is all what I want. What prying eyes of others feel is important, but is secondary to what the owner of the body feels and that’s me. Good hot bod of a favourite hero acts as an inspiration and a sort of milestone which one would like to reach one day. I might be the wrong person to comment correctly on how far I have reached, but it’s not the thing that I am often interested in. An idle mind and inside a gym an idle body can often end up concentrating on others rather than on self. Come on!! It’s something everyone does!! What a sincere gym session requires can turn out to be too demanding for many. My experience says that in a gymnasium you can end up in doing any of these two-either take up the pain of building your body or take up the pain in seeing others build their body. I being a follower of the former except for my initial hard fought days doesn’t strip me off my personal sensitivity to judge others who are toiling in the gymnasium. I attribute this abeyance to laziness of mine (at times) and my innate tendency to compare myself (here my body) with others.

Rotate your eyes and you can find a good variety of guys in the gym trying to achieve their bit.

A site that draws my attention at any moment (especially in the gym) is of someone walking in wearing a tight outfit. Gym is a place to look better and thus taking pride in your hard earned accomplishment is obvious. But magnifying muscularity by draping the tightest T one has in his stock can make him look immature and equally amateurish. Ultimately it’s the physique which determines the suitability of what one wears. Stout build and a tight-under sized gym vest along with the ‘hard to contain’ peeping pouch and at times the rebellious undies can be a really bad combination.

 Relentless dumbbell lifts to achieve pumped biceps is another very common practice. Craze of ‘dolle sholle’ explains why biceps turns out to be the most important part of the body’s anatomy. For a beginner it turns to be the sole body part to concentrate on and the only way to mark onset of his body building. Free hand exercise goes for a toss and other parts remain unattended to. Biceps become huge while rest of the body remains disproportionate (usually marked by a protruding belly). This is more embarrassingly exposed when one decides to wear those tight tees.

                                      

The other thing which shouts for my attention in gym on any given day is sound of someone grunting!! Awwwwwwwhhhhh, Ehhhhhhhhhh….Comeohhhhhhonnnn….Hearing those painful shouts your curiosity makes you turn around spontaneously to see who the guy is!! Who the Arnold Schwarzenegger of the gym is??  What freaking exercise is he doing and what humongous weight is he lifting?? Either the answer disappoints you when you find the guy doing the same exercise you could have done in a less exaggerated fashion or it impresses you when you find him doing something currently out of your bodily range…Nevertheless it’s not a private gym to shout in….So please try not to be Sharapova or Serena Williams…

It’s more fun to hit the gym during a festival season. Vibrancy of the approaching festivity can be easily sensed in the gymnasium too. You will get to see dozens of new faces but your experience avoids you from expecting them at gym on a regular basis. Those few weeks prior to the festival marks the short stint of such joinees. A few days in which they can at least pump up their biceps and thus look attractive to the festive crowd especially the girls is at the top of their motto. Obviously the thinking is in line with the preconceived notion of many that body does the talking!!!!

But before cynicism burdens me any further it is better I spend time inspecting myself and get overburdened by the physical weights of the gym instead.