Gridlock in Garden State

                Where do you think is the most expensive piece of land?

                No, it’s not the principality of Monaco nor it is the Fifth Avenue in the New York city, it is our very own Garden State Parkway during the traffic jam (which is almost every day), located in the great state of New Jersey. In other expensive locals the demand for the real estate is based on square footage, but on GSP it’s based on inches. That’s right. People will roll over some one, literally, to get that ‘extra inch’. Misery loves Company- nothing proves it better than the drivers on GSP forming the endless traffic jams. The pained expressions of the obsessed drivers who never record a smile other than the maniacal grin, as if saying to the fellow drivers, “Welcome to Hell”!!

                We all studied during our elementary school days that Human is a Social animal. Well, you arrive on GSP and there is nothing social about this animal. It’s the jungle out there- Everyone for themselves. It truly is the survival of the fittest. Civility dies when you enter these gates of hell. Actually it’s worse than Hell, simply because you ‘pay’ to enter this hell!!

                Irrespective of whether you are a right-lane leisurely driver, a center-lane observer of the posted speed limit or a left-lane speed demon, any progress you made driving the way you do, will be annihilated as you approach congestion (nicer way to define a traffic jam).

                Congestion because of construction activity is painful, but understandable. It creates a hope that someday, in near future the ‘improvements’ will lead to the soothing of the traffic. But we all know that’s just a hallucination. Congestion because of Rubbernecking is just pathetic. It’s the cruelest form of psychological torture. Rubbernecking becomes beyond obnoxious when the driver poses a danger for others, either by slowing way down or by swerving because they aren’t watching the freaking road.

                What is Rubbernecking?  Remember the last time you were stuck in traffic, only to find after an eternity of inching along that the reason of the traffic jam wasn’t the minor fender bender but the curious drivers slowing down and craning their neck to witness anything gory. It’s maddening to realize that the whole delay resulted from one driver after the other slowing down to take a good look.

                I comprehend when something out of the ordinary happens that people are inclined to look. I get that, I do it myself, but not while driving. Rubbernecking to the point of slowing to a crawl during rush hour is just ridiculous.

                I am sure the story of traffic jams is all too well known to many of us, but the congestion on GSP is just a cut above.

 

Lamhe (Moments)...A Classic!!

                It has been called a ‘Gem’, a ‘cult favorite’, a ‘master piece’, ‘well ahead of its times’, ‘its creator’s favorite creation’ and my favorite, an ‘Over looked Classic’. That’s right cinema lovers- it’s none other than my all-time favorite…Lamhe!!

                An unapologetic member of the fad, who very passionately believe, that this is one of the Classics of the Indian cinema.  Can’t believe it’s been almost twenty years since its release. I have seen it so many times that I have lost the count. It remains the most bold and uncompromising love story ever made in India and hence it was deemed too contemporary for the average cine goers. No wonder its box office collection didn’t match its artistic potential. 

                Lamhe…moments, is the story of Kuwarji aka Viren who spends his whole adult life hoarding the few moments he had spent with Pallavi during his youth. It’s the story about Pooja, Pallavi AND Siddharth’s daughter, who threatens to do the same with the few moments she had spent with her Kuwarji, after her parent’s death. Hers was the love that knew no barriers. Even the knowledge of her Kuwarji's repressed passion for her deceased mother did not act as a deterrent. For Viren, too, the initial shock of discovering an unconventional emotion was gradually replaced by reflection and self-discovery.

                There comes a work of art in a career of every artist, which stands above all others. The one that is celebrated as the zenith of his/her artistry. The apex to which all that preceded it has led, and against which all that follows will forever be compared. Lamhe is the zenith, the apex, the pinnacle of all the artists that were associated with it. Be it the lead pair of Anil Kapoor & Sridevi or the supporting cast of Waheeda Rehman, Anupam Kher & Dippy Sagoo*. They all excelled in their performance. Including, Honey Irani- the story writer, Manmohan Singh- the cinematographer, the legendary pair of music directors- Shivkumar Sharma & Hariprased Chaurasia and the great director- Yash Chopra.

                Lamhe stands the test of times and continues to be mind-blowingly awesome. There are great many jewels in the treasure box called Hindi Cinema, but none more splendid, more wondrous, more stunning or more painful than Lamhe.

Weekend is upon us and you guys know what to do!!

*Intentionally left out the ‘only mistake’ of Lamhe- Dipak ‘Mr.Vimal’ Malhotra.

A Legacy of ‘Silence’

                 Twenty something years ago, India's finance minister delivered a startlingly bold budget to the nation with the memorable words- "No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come". The idea he was advancing was that of the liberalization of the Indian economy, and the reforms he ushered in proved almost revolutionary, lifting many of the controls of the license-Raj and transforming India's pitiful Hindu rate of growth from below 3% to a galloping, 8% plus in the coming decades.

                Today, that finance minister, now Prime Minister Stands on a crossroads of indecision and trepidation amid policy paralysis, while corrupt colleagues allegedly make off with the nation's silver.

                In a nation where politics is dominated by all sorts of undesirable elements, he is known and perceived to be a man of impeccable integrity. I have always believed that Dr. Manmohan Singh will be viewed by the history as the most influential man in the history of Independent India. But lately his legacy is on the lines. His silence- a mutual answer to all the questions, has shuddered the nation.

                It is true Dr. Singh; silence is the best answer to the stupid political squabble. Perhaps, there is some honor in not responding to each and every politically motivated accusation. However was it okay to remain quite when an Indian businessman was caught stashing Rs.35K crore (almost $8B), and the Supreme Court reprimanded your government for not interrogating the prime accuse? Was the silence golden when during the Commonwealth Games scam, CBI charged your own party man and the Chairman of the Organizing Committee as the mastermind behind the whole scandal? Should you also remain quite on the 2G scam when the trail of corruption not only involved dirty politicians from your coalition but also bureaucrats, corporate personalities, media persons and lobbyists? I guess it was better to remain quite, than respond to the letter from the outgoing Army Chief, about how our defense procurement procedures are being mired in bureaucracy and corruption!

                Dr. Singh, I am in no position to question your integrity or intentions, but should we just close our eyes when the International media, day in & day out, publish a cover story on India’s ‘new corruption scandal’?  Should we cover our ears when multinational corporations blame India’s bureaucracy and ethics of our leaders?

                I have said it before and will say it again- I still believe that you are not unethical. Period. However, at this juncture of your term, it’s not integrity that we seek from you- it is the courage of being a leader. It will be naïve to think that you will wipe out corruption, but at the very least, let justice be delivered when corruption is exposed. I know it’s a little late but I beg you, open your eyes and look around at the desolation, the politicians have caused under your leadership. Your nation, our nation, my nation is being raped by this filthy, low class creatures. Bit by bit they are selling the soul of our nation to the highest bidder…each passing day.

The time for silence is over. The time for words is also over. It is time for action.

(Thank you for the inspiration, N. Vaise)

What’s in a Name…

 

                Well Mr. Shakespeare, not sure if you were making a statement or posing a question. Regardless, this sentence can be the punch line of my immigrant life. For, I am the one whose first name, according to the Western society, belongs to the other gender.

                 That’s right. My name is Viki. Not Vicky or Vikki or Wiki.

                The story begins in the last quarter of the past century (specific dates shall remain anonymous!!). The long wait of the human race (especially my parents) to have a super-splendid soul on planet earth had ended with my birth!! Indra devta (God of Heaven) greeted me with a thunderous lightning. The wind began to pick up as if Pawan devta (God of Wind) was embracing me in his arms. During that same time the Richter scale showed minor tremors near my birthplace. That was Dharti mata (God of Earth), expressing her joy by dancing. Suraj devta (God of Fire) was around the corner as well (it was dawn).

                Apologies, I got a little carried away. My hidden talent of screen writing took over my thoughts!! Ok so coming back to the main story. Following the tradition, my aunt was supposed to name me and she did, but that name never made it to the official documents. Just like the other famous nick names (pet name), ‘Lalu’, ‘Pappu’, ‘Pintu’, ‘Munna’, ‘Viki’ became my nick name. One thing led to the other and it so happened that my nick name became my first name and the rest as they say is history.

                Boy was I happy with my name. Short, Simple & if I may…Sweet!!

                ‘Viki’ was a popular nick name but not a common first name. Question mark started to follow ‘Viki’. Whenever I gave my name, a follow up question was always asked, Is it your first name? So, I got use to confirming my name at each and every social gathering and official venues. So much for having a ‘simple’ name.

                And then my world turned upside down, when I immigrated to the United States. ‘Viki’, apparently is associated with the feminine gender. I didn’t know this fact during my FoB (Fresh on Board) days. So was surprised when my classmates and professors started to confirm my name. The feeling of déjà vu was overwhelming. Then the reality struck, since ‘Viki’ is normally associated with a female, they were just being polite and making sure, if my name was pronounced correctly.

                This naming confusion has led me to some very funny and awkward situations. In one of my internship interview, which was scheduled without a phone call, I had to literally confirm my name three times with the interviewer (I guess he must have felt bad because he did gave me that internship). Receiving junk mails (and emails) as Ms. Viki has become very common now. When I go to my daughter’s school with my wife, some teachers and parents just assume that my wife’s name is ‘Viki’!! Occasionally I get tired correcting the silly case of mistaken identity, so I just go along.

                Needless to say, I will definitely never change my name or adopt a nick name. It will be hilarious, adopting a nick name for a name that is derived from a nick nameJ.

                So this is the story of me…VIKI

                Before I end, I just want to say to the guys named - Piyush, Atit, Ramit, Viral, Deep Sheth, Shital & countless others who also face this predicament, although at a much awkward level. I know what you are going through.

                Be Brave…Be Contrarian…after all What’s in a Name?

Fiscal Cliff & The Class Warfare

                We survived the Mayan ‘End of the World’ prophecy, but can we get over the ‘Fiscal Cliff’? At this moment Washington DC doesn’t sound too optimistic.

                Google ‘Fiscal Cliff’ and you will get over 826 million pages. Apparently, if Congress can't reach some sort of compromise, at the end of the year across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases will go into effect that will end the World as we know it. To fix the ever increasing debt and deficit, the President and many Democrats want higher taxes on the wealthy while the Republicans want to cut Entitlements, by which they mean Social Security and Medicare.

                I am definitely against increasing the taxes. What the Democrats and President are trying to do is create a Class Warfare. Why punish the successful people? After all the mantra of capitalism is to work hard in the confines of the law and earn according to your potential. Increasing the taxes on rich is simply going to discourage the entrepreneurs. Thanks to the loop holes and expert tax advisors,  while the top marginal tax rate on ordinary income is 35 percent, average rates that a household in the upper income bracket pays is much less. According to taxfoundation.org for 2010 top 1% paid an effective income tax rate of 23.3% - already double the national average!! Thanks to the K street lobbyists  of Democrats and President Obama, the world has started viewing this top 1% as the villains’ of our economic plights. On the contrary they are the ones who manage the economic and human capital much better than the government, keeping pace with the changing times and circumstances. Most, if not all have earned their way through hard work and perseverance.

                It’s the government and not capitalism that is driving the income inequality. By increasing the un-employment insurance it’s discouraging the unemployed to actively look for employment or to train for new skills. Let’s face it, the current unemployment is not seasonal, it’s structural. Most of the unemployed need to learn new skills to get back into the job market. What is government doing to train them? Not much. Instead of increasing their unemployment insurance for 2 years, they are better off being trained for a year and update their skill set. Teach them to fish rather than feeding them.

                The rhetoric about income inequality by the President Barack Obama and the Democratic members of the Congress has been nothing more than class warfare. What is it about the top 1% that the government and President believe is wrong? It is time for the government to provide an economic environment conducive for all income groups, including the top 1% and bottom 1%, by not picking winners and losers. If President is really concerned about the bottom 1% or 25%, instead of focusing all his political energy into Obama care, he should have invested those efforts into updating the decades old tax system. Introduce the Flat Rate Tax that will cure all the ills of class discrimination.

                Mr. President, Government is and never will be the answer to the economic plights in a capitalistic society. In today's divided political sphere, a lot more constructive debates are needed. Let us keep up the fight for liberty, America!

(Life) Rape in a Metro

Four days ago, a 23-year-old paramedic student was gang-raped. She and her male friend had gone to watch ‘The Life of Pi’ at a well-known cinema in an affluent part of the city. Then, they decided to take the bus ride home. Instead of waiting for a public bus, they boarded a private chartered bus. Over the next hour, six men raped the woman, beat her friend and then left them on the side of a freeway.

This horrific incident happened in the commercial hub of the capital city of the self-proclaimed next economic super power- New Delhi… and they say that Bihar is a lawless land.

I wanted to know more about that 23 year old paramedic student. But once I read the following statement by his doctor, I couldn’t gather the courage to read any further:

"It appears to be that a rod was inserted into her and it was pulled out with so much force that the act brought out her intestines along. That is probably the only thing that explains such severe damage to her intestines," he said.

She was abused so horrifically that her intestines had to be removed. If she survives, she will spend the rest of her life being fed intravenously. As far as those six culprits were concerned, after the incident they went back to their normal lives, as if nothing had happened. They didn’t even bother to hide. They had so much confidence in our police and judiciary that they knew nothing would happen. Interestingly they weren’t the spoiled brats of any politician or rich businessmen, no. All six, who committed this heinous crime, were lower middle class people. My point is- we were used to live in a society were rich and powerful were always above the law, but now even a regular sabziwala(vegetable vendor) & a bus driver, thinks that he can get away with the crime. Is this the society we are building for our children’s? Is this the future of a prosperous India?

                The men who think from between their legs and commit violent crimes should be punished severely. Capital punishment, although extreme, will be an easy escape for these culprits. An example has to be made out of them. But I know that nothing is going to change the rigid, out dated, bureaucratic Indian judiciary. Of course these individuals will be put behind bars, but should that be the end of this horrific incident? How many more victims does a nation need to take initiatives to start building a safer, better society for our women?

                The Mayan prophecy of the ‘End of the World’ did came true for that 23 year old paramedic student, for the world that she had known before boarding that bus on that fateful night is shattered and destroyed.

Annual Shopping Pilgrimage

 

What was that? US Fiscal cliff, out of control National debt…what the heck, worries about the economy and fiscal austerity be damned. On Black Friday, consumers were ready to shop till they dropped…literally.

Hindus have Diwali, Christians have Christmas, Muslims have Ramadan, Jews have Chanukah and American Shoppers have Black Friday…the day after the Thanksgiving Thursday- a holiday when shoppers give thanks for bargain prices. It is the busiest shopping day of the year for the US retailers. (For my curious readers: Black in Black Friday indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit or are ‘in the black’)

Just as a religious person will visit their holy land, the modern day consumer will make their annual pilgrimage to their sprawling and glittering neighborhood malls. Their annual pilgrimage begins soon after their Thanksgiving meals. They will very passionately and eagerly wait outside their temples of consumerism, which have different names- Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys’ R Us just to name a few. They all serve the same purpose, to satisfy the hunger of a value hungry consumer.

                The parking lots become the most expensive real estate in the area. Cart & Cashiers, both of them are in abundance on any other day, but today they both are as scarce as plutonium. The temples of capitalism have taken full advantage of the consumer psyche. They provide what the consumer is looking for- ‘a deal’. Each and every soul who is waiting outside the mall in a freezing temperature is hoping to get his or her hand on a ‘once in a century deal’. Be it a 50 inch flat screen LED TV or an I-Phone/pod/pad or a Martha Stewart signature Bed in a bag or Paula Deen’s cooking set. The stores are full of hyper active consumers whose vision for that day is 20/20. There curious eyes always looking for the tags with the highest percentage off and also staring at their co-shoppers cart to figure out if they have missed anything. Cashiers, with no disrespect, are usually at the mercy of the consumers as consumers are always right. But today, is the day when the only people who are correct, are the cashiers. They can and will dictate the price, depending on the scanner of course. They are treated with the utmost respect, as they are the ones who will be approving the consumer’s catch(es) of the day. The priciest catch for today will be the empty shopping carts. No one will care if the wheels are squeaking or wobbly. The shoppers use the carts like knives to cut through the swarm of endless checkout lines and almost empty aisles.

                Having made almost six annual pilgrimages to the mecca of modern consumerism- the shopping malls, on the auspicious day of the Black Friday, one thing I have realized, at the end of the day it’s not about how much you saved, but how did you saved!!

Happy Thanksgiving and a Prosperous Black Friday.