Indian Parliament ..

The Indian Parliament turns sixty .. So what are the reflections as this is significant institution that stands for our democracy reaches at an important juncture !! With its warts and corns the Indian democracy is still a hope for the large struggling middle class , the underprivileged – the laypeople who can exercise their right to select a government of their choice .But those choices are getting less bright by the day . Politics has such a powerful influence in our lives – both directly and indirectly . Instead of saying that politics mirrors society it is society that mirrors the politics !! Such is the great Indian democracy

Drought in Maharashtra

 

There is a terrible drought in Maharashtra ..Some places where the situation is terrible   are not more than 50Km away from Mumbai . There is lot of study , tours etc happening . But are the  impacted people finding any real relief …even as they reel with pain and misery ..

The drought also reflects the drought of human values and speedy action and where there is plenty of apathy .

International Women's Day (IWD )

International Women's Day (IWD )was celebrated on March 8th and it marked the 102nd anniversary of IWD worldwide . In our office though and in most other offices we celebrated it on 7th March as 8th was a public holiday .India and especially Maharashtra has a long legacy of pioneering women – namely Savitribai Phule , Ramabai Ranande , Lakshmibai Tilak etc . But how have fared in these 102 years – here's a small poem to mark that occasion :
On 101 years of International Women's Day and 125 years of Savitribai Phule's birth


It is 125 years and the struggle is still on
The walk that started
Is still on
Reached some milestones but the goals kept on stretching
Some fellow travelers helped
During the rough patches
Some didn't
In the heady whirlpools and uninvited hurricanes
The walk just got longer

Though in our office we used a generous sprinkling of Maya Angelou-Phenomenal Woman and Subhadra Kumari Chauhan – her famous Rani Jhansi poem
The spirit of IWD continues ....

Travels...

January and February took me twice to Pune and the new property that has come up there – Ishta ( which is actually a branch of the famed Ananda resort and spa ) was quite nice for a weary business traveler . The food spread is huge and the spa ( though a bit expensive ) offers lot of good services and facilities – reflexology oriented massage , use of ancient ayurvedic treatment like shirodhara etc .

Then March it was Kuala Lumpur at a glance . Petronas towers , China town market , malls etc are the usual suspects where any Indian goes - but as part of our meet we were taken to Songtek -a quaint restaurant where there was a cultural show . The show displayed influences of all cultures in Malaysia(no wonder they call it truly Asia )- Chinese, Indian , Malay .

One note of caution though which any hardcore Indian vegetarian has to pay attention is that the food served to you actually has only vegetarian elements !!