“Gandhigiri vs. Dadagiri”

saw "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" once again 2 days back. and remembered my reaction of the day i'd first seen it. here's what i wrote more than 2 years ago but it didn't see the light of day (didn't get published). so "Gandhigiri" never worked for me. anyway. happy reading!


“Lage Raho Munna Bhai……” bagging national awards had brought back memories of the film and how it seemed to affect people when they saw it. Our “Father of the Nation” had suddenly become the most talked about phenomenon, leaving “Globalization”, “Knowledge-Economies” and “Terrorism” in the background. For those unaware of who we’re talking about, it’s the Mahatma- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Gandhi had assumed proportions larger than ever before and popularity out-shining most famous film-stars. One never heard so much about him all these years and such attention paid to his teachings or ‘non-violent-truths’. In fact he never made so much news, hogging headlines in newspapers and TV-channels. This was more than evident on 2nd October of the year of release of the film. We’ve probably never had so… much respect being paid to him, by so… many people. And credit for all this ‘Gandhi fervour & fever’ goes to “Lage Raho …………. ”.

Well, please…. ‘Carry on Munnabhai’, because you’ve created more awareness on the Mahatma than any book, film or material on him ever. You’ve made him ‘common man’s ideal’ . “Gandhigiri”- Gandhian way of life - has really caught on. People from all walks of life, all strata of society and all age-groups are emulating this. “Gandhigiri” seemed to have become the latest fashion in India today. Whether it works or not, atleast people are ready to try it out. one example being the Delhi cops giving gifts to traffic rule defaulters.

Well, that’s a welcome change in mindset trend. But the big question is – does “Gandhigiri” really work? If it does, whom does it work with? Would somebody actually stop spitting “paan” on his neighbour’s wall if he was made to “feel”? This depends on two things- first, the wrongdoer has a heart and will eventually “feel” and he also has a conscience to make him “guilty”. Subject to these, there’s a chance of his behaviour changing.

My experiences portray it just never worked. It didn’t work with the lady in our building in Jaipur, who kept snatching my “bai”. Neither does it work with servants whom I am good to, help in their need and pay well. It never worked with the society-maintenance body in the pink city, whom we paid a hefty monthly charge. We kept telling them to get our corridors cleaned properly everyday and get our flat’s inherent faulty switchover repaired. They came, they saw and did nothing except religiously sending maintenance bills, which went on increasing further. It doesn’t even work with siblings who you let take your small possessions, thinking these are stupid things, because their “Dadagiri” graduates to taking bigger things, firmly believing that you “won’t really mind”. “Gandhigiri” or politeness doesn’t work with birds or animals either. My experience with pigeons, who continue using my nice balcony as ‘their maternity ward’ just because unlike others who had no qualms about having their eggs thrown into the garbage, I’d patiently wait till their little ones flew off before I’d get the mess cleared up, shows. My repeated shooing away has little impact and they continue to litter my balconies.

Neither does it work with numerous people who cheat, misbehave, pose threats to our security and peace, malign our culture, demean our values, who destroy our heritage having no passion for our traditions. “Gandhigiri” doesn’t and will not work with them. You must have a heart and a conscience to respond to simple principles of great men. If you do, you’ll “feel” others’ pain and “feel guilty” on doing wrong. In that case, you don’t need to be taught this message. And please don’t expect people to be sending roses to everybody because these days, nothing comes cheap. If rose demand goes up with more & more people taking to this fad, rose prices will rise further and we’ll need roses to be sent to the “Rosewallahs” too. The director could afford it, everybody can’t. So let’s find a practical solution.

Why is there so much death, destruction & violence in the land of the Mahatma?
With all those with no spare time to look for their hearts and listen to their conscience, only “Dadagiri” works. In a city like “Dilli”, logon mein “dil” hi nahin bacha! The very fact that Gandhian principles to be relevant today needed the suffix “giri” to make them contemporary, we need to come out with a formula which works with people without a heart and a conscience. They’ll go on cheating, looting, killing, destroying peace and threatening security if you keep tolerating.

Time has been witness to this fact even in Gandhi’s era, for what else was evident in the gruesome ‘violent-end of the non-violent Mahatma’!

Blogging & Praying

Hi !
Am finally out of my writer’s block
and back to writing of the blog !
Ideas have once again begun flowing
and am now probably in the rhythm for blogging!

It suddenly strikes me that blogging is more like praying. Strange! But true all the same. You write with nobody particular in mind and you don’t know whether someone is going to read it at all and if someone does read what you write, then is he going to comment or not. Like when you pray, you just pray that God hears you but you don’t really know for sure whether He is going to and if at all He does, then whether He is going to convey his reaction to you or not. But that’s it. You just keep shooting. Into a space of nowhere and everywhere, both at the same time.

But with the passage of time, it is you yourself who takes precedence over everything. What I mean is don’t you then just write or pray because it has become a habit with you. You don’t really bother whether some reader is going to read it or not (just like you pray everyday irrespective of God hearing it or not!). also, you don’t anymore wait for comments like you stop bothering about getting a reply from the Almighty.

You write or you pray because it makes you yourself feel good. You’ve been able to come out with your thoughts (and your prayers) and put them in the massive space outside of yourself. Maybe you wanted to say those things to some special people but you realize that these days everyone is on the Net most of the time, so you too post your thoughts there where probably someone will see.

But, whichever way, it is more important for you to feel that you’ve said what was boiling inside you and needed to vapourize. Now, where it flew to or where it condensed on is not so much of an issue except that it is out of your mind space and heart space, out of your system. making more room for more thoughts to be later poured out on your blog.

That I guess is the beauty of blogging!

CLOSED EMOTIONS, OPEN PAGE

talking about Blogging here's something i wrote about it long back. This article was published in The Hindu on March 9, 2008. Blogging i feel is in actuality closed emotions pouring on an open page!



Closed emotions


MANISHA GUPTA

The article “Disconnected connections” (Open Page, February 3) was a true depiction of the younger generation’s mental and emotional turmoil pouring out in open forums. Stupid as it may sound, it is a most necessary human need and internal disturbances not finding an outlet may lead to serious problems. And if the outpourings do find place on social-networking or blog sites, it leads to dangerous consequences. It cuts both ways.

While there are no different reasons for youngsters’ feelings today from those in the olden days, the consequences are much more complex because today children’s level of awareness and maturity is way beyond their age. Rising expectations add to the problem.

Growing up has been pre-poned, maturity coming sooner than desired. Well, speed is not always good. Today’s generation is quite open and verbal. Shyness or hitch is now passé. Society has drastically transformed into a much more “open society.” This has positive and negative connotations.

Parents and children now share a more open relationship but still at times the former may feel uncomfortable about issues which the latter are quite at ease with, because of information overexposure and verbal and open societal systems.

Rapid transformation


Of course, the entire onus does not lie with the children. It rather is an ill-effect of the rapid transformation our society has undergone. From TV to computer and internet to modernisation to globalisation, well we can blame any or all these advancements. We have become too computerised and want instant answers. We do not have time to sit back and reflect on causes and effects and think out solutions.

Our life today is so jam-packed with “activities” that we hardly have any free time, literally “no time to stand and stare,” not even at our own family, elders and children. No time to watch them grow old or mature.

Parents are busy running the rat race to success, positions, or money or all. Most mothers are working and families nuclear. Children generally do not have anyone to monitor them apart from a “Bai” who at most can feed their stomachs but not fill their hearts with love or be an emotional pillow or mental comfort.

Keeping a diary


Acknowledge it or not, but we have always had so much in our hearts and minds that we wanted to tell somebody — parents, siblings or well meaning friends. In the event of none of these possibilities, it was our very own “diary.” We could write anything, pour out extreme anger, terrible hurt or failure or intense dejection. From our hates to our mental and emotional agonies, our dear diary bore the brunt and the weight of it all without ever betraying.

This was a very personal and secret outpouring which nobody could ever access. Blog sites are nothing but a “public avtar” of this “private diary.” All the same, it’s all about “writing” and “sharing” one’s emotional pains to move into the world of happiness.

That is it. Everyone wants someone who’ll listen to him but no one has time. Parents and children both do not have time. The easiest solution to this apparently complex problem is “finding time” by cutting down on unnecessary running around and “spending time together.”

A “heart to heart” is all that is needed to know, understand and be involved with the children in their process of emotional and physical maturity, being part of their failures and successes and mental insecurities. This will provide better solutions as well as bonding rather than dangerous blogging.

That's Life's Happiness

beginning my blogging career, here's sharing an article of mine published in the "INNER VOICE" column of Hindustan Times on 15th March, 2010.

(this is the the original article. A slightly edited version was published under the title "LIFE'S GAINS, MISSES" in HT "Inner Voice")

That’s Life’s Happiness!
Manisha Gupta
The little gift my husband’s friend’s mother gave me when they came over to our place is exactly what ‘life’ is actually. I opened this beautiful, flower shaped golden and white box inquisitively to see what it contained. You can’t believe my surprise and excitement at finding another, identical but slightly smaller box inside the first one. My curiosity and anxiety rising, I opened the second box only to find yet another still smaller identical version of it. Now I was really curious, my excitement heightened and imagination flying beyond control as to what gift could fit into such a tiny, cute box as this. With trembling hands, excited mind and a fluttering heart, I opened this little, decorated container….only to find that ……THAT was it !!
It suddenly dawned on me that this is precisely what life is. You go from one layer to another, from one event to the next, from this end to the other with thrill, excitement, anxiety & curiosity and go on unfolding the mystery of life at every corner. But little do you realize that at the end of it all, there is nothing, simply NOTHING. Just an empty box, a nothingness, a vacuum to be precise. And life is over. And it is all about our expectations. It is because we expect each box to contain “something”, we’re happy as long as we can “see” something inside each. But the moment we reach the last box containing nothing, we feel let down and unhappy.
Well, we all know that at the end of life, there’s just death. The catch is, whatever life there is, whatever excitement or thrill there is, it is just in “opening” each of those “boxes”, in going through each of those events, episodes and the mysterious layers of life unfolding slowly before you.
So enjoy unraveling the mystery of life, have fun going through it, keep the excitement on while crossing all the hurdles and difficulties because you never know which box is the last one. Moreover, be happy in the journey of life because life is in the journey, destination is only death!

a new journey

right now, when my daughter created for me this blog
off all times iam experiencing a writer's block!!

anyway, will be back soon.