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The weight of the world – President Obama January 21, 2009

Posted by vibinpanakkal in International.
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As Barack Obama finished his inaugural speech as President of the US of A, he carries now with him, not only the weight of expectations of a obamanation, but of the entire world who voted for him in spirit.

Like Rajdeep Sardesai rightly commented on TV, “Barack Obama won the elections and became President of the World”.

The whole International community…developed nations, developing nations, third world countries all await with bated breath for the “magic” he is going to create…. This is what I have gathered from all the interviews shown on TV with common people across nations. Maybe they dont still know what it is he is going to do, but its a hope against hope that maybe… just maybe something is going to be done thats going to set right a lot of things if not all.

This is a colossal weight on his shoulders… If all his exotic background was magnified to be a perfect fit for the job as President of a country facing new challenges and burden of fixing old ones, any slip will also be magnified and blown out of proportion. Its like going to watch the movie who everyone said is so great that there is no chance that anyone will not like it. Late watchers of the movie go with such an expectation of greatness that they very often fail to appreciate the movie itself, because the hype  raised the bar so much!  Hope Obama’s oratory skills, charm and charisma hasnt raised the bar so much that the whatever he does passes off as “not enough”.

If ordinary people across the globe expect a lof  ‘magic’,  then what would millions of Iraqis be thinking ? would that be of relief ? anxiety..that once the US army leaves, it would result in a chaotic implosion of Iraq? Confidence.. that now we are equipped to build our nation further ?

What would the Afghans think ?.. Like that of a scared kid caught under a spotlight ? what would the terrorists be thinking ? A new excercise of having to size up the new Commander in Chief ? Of being contended latently that their arch enemy is now lead by somewhat one-of-them ? Atleast in name ? and that he chose to take oath with his Muslim middle name ? and was that a message to the Muslims that no ! America is not your enemy anymore ! I, too have risen from the likes of you to be here..

Lets just hope that people now have an excuse to forget their ego and let go their differences… or maybe forget their ego and accept other’s differences… then maybe the world has a chance…. Obama or No-bama.

Losing our right to complain May 1, 2008

Posted by vibinpanakkal in Social.
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Among the many privileges we enjoy as citizens, the one which is most used and abused is probably our right to complain. About the bad roads, the non-functional streetlights and sometimes the ones which never get turned off, the excreta on the roads,  the potholes, the encroachments et cetera et cetera.

On my way to my office which is about 5 kms from where I stay, the roads we as usual bad, riddled with potholes, and featured humps at every possible cross. One fine day, someone at the PWD woke up and got the roads at 5th cross freshly tarred. I thanked the almighty (up in heaven or the one up the PWD chain) for the good fortune. Hardly a week down, i saw that wonderful stretch of road was cut across at one place. The culprits I discovered were non other than the owners of a newly constructed house who cut the road, laid the drain-pipe and just covered up the mess. Then a week later, the mud was blown & washed away, the broken tar wore away and then started, the deterioration of 5th Cross.

Now, the owner of that newly constructed house better never complain about bad roads and potholes. He has lost his right to complain about it, because he himself had a part to play in contributing to the ill health of the roads. People who dump garbage on the roadsides better not complain about one…the stink it raises and two..the flies that hover above it and contributing to the general filth around in that area. This in turn encourages straydogs to feed on the garbage, strays then dont leave the area, breed and multiply adding to another set of social environment woes. They lose their right to complain.

A lot of people love pet dogs and enjoy taking them on walks. The irony is that this exercise is with more intention to make the dogs defecate on the roads than to take them walk. These same people are the ones who complain about the amount of excreta on the roads. They cannot stand the filth and crap on the roads. What about the amount of crap they are responsible for getting unloaded onto the roads. They lose their right to complain.

Singapore I believe has a rule that you need to clean after your dog has done the deed on the road. No wonder the roads stay clean there. Can this be implemented in India ? Probably yes, but who will police it ? For how long ? This calls for some self policing. I know a family who loves dogs and has a closet built on the terrace where they dump their dog-poo. Now thats being a pet lover and socially responsible. Unless we find out ways to clean up after ourselves and our dogs, the roads and our social psyche will always remain dirty.

The final start April 1, 2008

Posted by vibinpanakkal in Blogging.
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Like the zillion blogs in the blogosphere which started off with the line… I finally pulled myself to start my blog…. I too begin humbly.

This idea of a blog has been germinating in my mind for like…. a really long time. The only thing that stopped me was the endless sea of laziness. Then I came across this….

so you want to be a writer?
by Charles Bukowski

if it doesn’t come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don’t do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it for money or
fame,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don’t do it.
if it’s hard work just thinking about doing it,
don’t do it.
if you’re trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.

if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.
if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you’re not ready.

don’t be like so many writers,
don’t be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don’t be dull and boring and
pretentious, don’t be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don’t add to that.
don’t do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don’t do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don’t do it.

when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in
you.

there is no other way.

and there never was.

I would want this to be my beacon as far as the blog is concerned. The poem set me thinking and I believe I relate to it. I always wanted to write. But I was lazy. As it says, you write because you should want to write…. not to show or prove to people that you can. You write for that release, for that joy. And in Vibez, I hope to find both….