Gandhigiri V.S. Phatshala

The war has been on for sometime know, who will go to the Oscars as India's entry. Ultimately it was Rang De Basanti which will represent India, but Lage Raho Munna Bhai will contest the Oscars Independantly.

But the question is not who goes to the Oscars or who wins. The questions should be much broader.

Firstly, why such a hype over the Oscars, it is hollywood's way of recognizing it's finest and not Indian film industry's (or for the initiated Bollowood or Kollywood or Lollywood etc.. what ever you want to call it). Our film industry is so diverse that and so regional that it is very unlikely that an American is going to appreciate the subtleties of such movies. For him, Rang de basanti my be like any other action movie and Lage Raho may not make any sense to him at all. So I don't think it should really matter to us who goes to the Oscars. What we should bother about is our National awards and our award shows which although they are full of glitz and glamour they still represent the best we have to offer.

Secondly and more important, whose legacy is true. The one who got us independence through Ahimsa or those who split their blood and split others blood for the freedom of their motherland. Who's legacy is true. When we think about it, the honest answar is both. Let's not say, one was better than the other, because both were vital to where we are today. But, whose path is best followed today......

At once we will all say Gandhi's non violence no doubt, but let's look at reality again, look at the world around us. We don't follow his ways, we are in an eye for and eye world and that's how most of us live. But there are things in his ways that we could follow, maybe, just maybe we all could put down our weapons and be civilized, but will the terrorists pay heed to such action. They will call it inaction and terrorize us all the more. We are not in that era anymore, but even in that era, the battles were not won by non violence alone. In every struggle there is always a good dose of violence mixed in with the nonviolence. So maybe there is no clear winner. We all know we should all stand up for the truth and justice, but the way we do it is up to the individual.

Then again, maybe instead of looking at such issues on such a large scale, maybe we should look at it at our level, that is inside each and everyone of us. Tomorrow when you go to the office and you find the colleague whom you hate standing in front of you, what to you do, frown and walk away, or give him a sweet smile and say Good Morning from the bottom of your heart. Maybe that would be the first step to reconciliation. Out smiles are the best weapons we have in todays corporate world. I have always believed and still believe that one genuine smile will always evoke another and this is the best way to live.

I know this article is quite broken and does not reach a result. But that is because, there is no answer. How must one react, with flowers and truth(or love) or with guns and truth(or insults).
It's the decision of the individual.

Rahul........

The Poor and I... And maybe You.. (You Decide)

So I was going to work the other day, Was just like any other day. On my way to work and was stuck at a signal with the sun blazing down, when a couple of little kids came up to my bike. On was selling vehicle wipes and the other was begging. I was planning to pick a cloth for my bike anyway, so I decided to buy it from that little kid. Once I did that girl came up to me and started begging, pleading saying how hungry she was, but as usual the way most of us normally shoo them away I did too, she gave me a hurt and angry look but I didn't give it a second thought, the signal changed and I was on my way, I have not seen her since. But that got me thinking. Why is it that we are all so cynical when it comes to beggars on our roads, especially the children and the old. Why do we always think that the money is anyway going to some guy who has put them on the roads. We've also got to realize what would happen to them if we didn't help. Because one way or the other, they are begging to save their lives. There is in every religion and in each of our faiths the duty to help those less fortunate than us. But how many of us actually do it?? This little incident got me thinking of the way I've been and the way I've let others influence my thoughts in such things. I have been so fortunate to be born into a well off family that I have never had to feel such abject poverty and am sure anyone who is reading this has not faced it either. We may not be millionaires, but to those people on the roads we may as well be.

A couple of days later was at a coffee shop and when I left, there was a similar scene in front of me again. And again at first, I did not even react. But then this thought popped into my head and I turned to my friend who was next to me and asked her to give the lady some money.

The Point is this, If ever you feel that you can help someone so desperate and somewhere in your heart something tells you to do it. Please do it. I hope I will they next time my heart twitches even the slightest for someone so poor.

Rahul....