The boiling Middle-Eastern cauldron

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, is a busy person these days. She's flying across the globe, quite literally.The 52 year old, former Stanford professor, now America's top diplomat is on an important mission to diffuse the West Asian crisis. From Washington to Beirut to Tel Aviv to Ramallah to Rome and now to Kuala Lumpur, Secretary Rice is on a whirlwind tour. This of course follows Israel's recent offensive against Lebanon which has sent senior US officials into a tizzy. At the UN Security Council meet, the US vetoed a resolution condemning Israel's actions and a call for an immediate Israeli ceasefire in Lebanon. While the world came together in criticizing Israel's actions , the United States resolutely stood behind Israel, calling for the complete disarmament of the Hezbollah, in order to achieve "durable peace in the Middle East". Though America called upon Israel to exercise "utmost restraint", as many as 425 civilians have died as a result of the 17 day military operation in South Lebanon. This includes the death of four UN peace-keepers. This is indeed unacceptable. Nothing can justify the cold-blooded murder of innocent Lebanese civilians including women and children in the name of "holing' out the terrorists. Israel has to learn to respect the lives of civilians other than its own.

The Israeli actions follow the abduction of two of its soldiers by the Hezbollah and rocket attacks on its northern cities. This is in fact consistent with the Jewish State's policy of "Not having any negotiations with terrorists". Well, though India may take a leaf out of this policy, many world leaders made no bones of the fact that Israel's reaction was grossly inappropriate and incommensurate to the initial provocation. This was the sense that one got from the G-8 Summit in St.Petersburg.

Though Israel has full sovereign rights to defend itself, this mindless and blatant use of military force in civilian areas can lead to a regional conflagration.

As Condoleezza Rice prepared to undertake her Middle-East mission, she knew that she was on a crucial mission. Rice, as the architect of US foreign policy had to play the Great Balancing Act. On one hand, she had to allay Arab fears of America trying to shield Israel, thus inviting the ire of millions of Muslims across the world. On the other hand, she had to make sure that America's vital security interests in the region were not undermined. As she shuffled across various places meeting Lebanese PM Siniora, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas, one thing remained clear. America and Israel were on the same boat, both seeing it as a good opportunity to root out the Hezbollah in perpetuity.It could have been a good idea had it not resulted in the loss of hundreds of innocent civilians. Israel cannot and must not use the American shield and get away with this. The United States too finds itself isolated on this issue.

This was evident at an important conference in Rome, where the foreign ministers of 15 governments, including many Arab ones, failed to reach an agreement on ways to resolve the crisis. Almost everyone saw one person as an impediment to the reaching an agreement. Secretary Rice stood her ground saying that a ceasefire would only succeed once the Hezbollah had disarmed. The United States was buying enough time for Israel to finish its military offensive. In tandom, it promised a humanitarian assistance of $ 30 million to Lebanon. This is simply not enough. America should join the international community's calls to Israel for the immediate declaration of a ceasefire. Killing innocent civilians and destroying civil infrastructure in an impoverished country is no way to deal with terrorists. This will only escalate the levels of violence.

How things will turn out in this never ending West-Asian saga, in the days and weeks ahead is something difficult to fathom. Will Israel let go of this opportunity to root out Hezbollah? Will America continue to stand by its ally giving unstinted support? Will Lebanon be nothing more than a mere onlooker in the overall scheme of things? Lot of questions and too little answers. But that is what International Relations is all about, the rich and powerful always get away with things.

In the meantime, Dr. Rice arrived in Malaysia on the final leg of her Eurasian tour, for the ASEAN Regional Forum's Ministerial meet in Kuala Lumpur. ARF is Asia's primary security forum with 25 countries as its members. Though, there is little doubt as to what would dominate its agenda, Dr.Rice seems to have decided to chill out a bit. She will perform a piano recital at the the meeting. The high-flying life of the world's most powerful woman will be in full display as she plays the tunes of America's Foreign Policy at the meet.

America being the global cop, I'm sure the world will be watching with bated breath.

The Malady...

Aaarrrgghhh.....Many people asked me as to why I wasn't keeping my blog updated regularly...little did they know that I recently contracted a dangerous disease possibly worse than Alzheimer's and AIDS... I intend to write to the American organisation, the Centre for Disease Control(CDC) seeking their help in fighting this deadly disease...after all, the Indian Health Ministry refused to call my illness a "disease", instead calling it a "figment of my imagination"! Maybe I should'nt have bothered Mr. Ambumani Ramadoss, the Health Minister who himself is fighting a malicious disease called "Venugopalacitis".No wonder, I have to turn to the Yankees, after all they are our strategic partners these days, aren't they? So people-to-people contacts are a must in any such arrangement.

You see, over the past couple of days, whenever I sit down to write something, my mind goes blank...as empty as George Walker Bush's head...my grey matter seems to have seeped through...As I then look for divine intervention, none comes my way. After all, God doesn't help those who do not help themselves, or so I heard. What a tragedy!!! Then I wait for the inspiration....the muse to creep in gently(my good friend Sush did say it would work)... ah what a hope!!! It simply doesn't happen. Something was seriously wrong. Desperate times call for desperate measures... by now I was sure that I had contracted something deadly...

15mins later....

I had just got off the call with the health dept. officials...and what an experience it was!!!...Apparently, everyone in the health ministry were too busy in "Operation Oust Venugopal".

Too bad! I then decided to call my American friends and explained to them, my symptons...The doc listened to me carefully and gravely said "Mr.Pratyush, you have 'Writo-blockosis'..."

Yup, you heard right!!!..."Writo-Blockosis",more commonly known as "Writer's Block".

Good ol' Yankees!!...they always have an answer!!!

Redemption...

It's 0915hrs on the clock...and the start of a brand new day.

After having skimmed through the morning papers, I make my way towards my room, with a mug of hot coffee in my hands. I switch on the Hi-Fi and play one of the mp3s titled "Classics". In minutes I'm seated comfortably in one of the two bean bags in my room.

Soon the words - "Have I told you lately that I love you..." fills the air. There is something special about love songs, just like books. They evoke bitter-sweet memories of a place, an event, a person...

In my case, it was the last one. Listening to that song, brought vivid images of "her" before my eyes.

The place: Cafe Coffee Day, Sahara Mall, Gurgaon
Time :1625hrs
Day: 6th March, 2006

I had been waiting for almost 20 minutes now. My patience was running thin but when you have to deal with girls, you have get used to it. Especially, if the girl is beautiful, well you get the idea, don't you? They make sure that you are made to wait. In my case, the wait was excruciating.

Minutes later, I saw a familiar face entering through the door, and after a cursory glance spanning the entire length and breadth of the coffee shop, she slowly makes her way towards me with a certain degree of poise and grace. She was dressed with panache, and as she came towards me, I stood up and smiled.

"Hi. You are late.", I said.

She gave me one of her best smiles before making herself comfortable at the table. Damn her! Atleast she could have apologised for turning up late. Ah! Whom am I kidding?

"Whats wrong with you? Why do you have that sullen expression?Surely you didn't expect me to apologise to you, did you?"

I winced. First they kill you by making you wait and then they cut you into pieces by seeing right through you.

"Ah, well. Just cut it out, ya. What would you like to have? The usual?"

She replied in the affirmative. I went to the counter and placed an order for two Irish coffees.

"Quite a nice place, don't you think?", I said.

"Yes, perfect!...let me play a song on the Q-Jam."

Two minutes later, Rod Stewart's soothing song "Have I told you lately that I love you" filled every inch of air in that coffee shop.

"You sure know how to set the mood, don' you?", I asked.

"Well, somebody has to take the initiative!"

I could not help but to laugh at this. The coffee soon arrived, and I could feel myself relax.
There is something about a woman. She is one person who can add colour to your life. She makes you feel complete.

When I looked up, I saw her looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. I could almost feel her reading my thoughts.

" You are thinking about me, are'nt you?"

"What? Thinking about you? You have to be kidding." I lied with a tone giving everything away.

She looked at me and in a grave voice said "Let me ask you a question. What is the difference between us and the number of other young couples in this coffee shop?"

"The fact that we are officially not dating each other, while in case of every other couple, that is probably not so", I replied, looking squarely at her eyes.

For a moment, she appeared lost, but soon she regained her composure and with a sad expression said, " You never even made an effort to understand me, did you?"

I looked away from her and said to myself, "Did I say something wrong?" Well, there was some truth in what I said. We had been going around for quite sometime now, but something remained amiss. I had asked her out on our 3rd date together but she had been non-commital, saying she had some "other priorities".

Dammit! Maybe, a part of me never understood her. She had always been an enigma to me, there always seemed to be something sinister beneath her smiles, her expressions. A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets, how deep, that is something I had never fathomed and probably never will.Surely, deep enough to drown me in it.

"You did'nt answer me?"

That brought me out of my deep reverie. I without looking at her asked, "Don't you think's there's a deep void in our relationship?"

At first I thought, she did not hear me, but soon with a deep breath she replied tersely, " Probably you and I need some time to think it all over. Let's call it quits for now. You and I know that we are not ready for this. Don't you pretend otherwise.It's good for you and good for me. Life is too short, do not waste it."

Time seemed to have frozen and a chill had set in.

The track changed, now playing "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins. The hot mug of coffee had now gone cold.

BUZZ!!!

I got up from my bean bag to answer the door bell. As I opened the door, I saw a familiar face beaming at me.

"Hi, You are late."

"Surely you don't expect me to apologise to you, do you?"

I smiled to myself.


LIFE IS TOO SHORT. DO NOT WASTE IT.

The Un-Kodak Moments of my life - by Namita Devidayal

BOOKED FOR LIFE ( A feature from The Times of India)

That's the thing about books. They are not static objects that furnish your rooms and morosely collect dust on your shelves. They are little edicts of the un-Kodak moments in one's life. They can be more evocative than photo albums because what they evoke is not literal, nor digital and unequivocal. Rather, like a melody or a scent, they let you wander off into the space where the book was read, or bought, or gifted...or perhaphs stolen! One by one, they emerge. I sneeze. I get sentimental. I stop to read a page. It is about the scent of bitter almonds.

I have a few geeky fetishes about books. For one, I always pick up a book relevant to the place I am in and try to discover it through the writing. Where you read the book makes a great difference to the experience. I am convinced it was even more glorious reading Shalimar the Clown under a quilt in northern Himachal this summer, where the stunning aquiline-nosed village woman down the road could easily hae been Boonyi, Rushdie's hapless heroine. Reading it in Mumbai would not have been the same.

I have another fetish for books: How I organise them on my shelves. I refuse to follow a friend's advice that I should enclose them in a cabinet to protect them from dust. I find that akin to outting loose covers on a sofa - practical but unappealing. I want to be able to amble past a shelf on my way to bed, and be arrested in my tracks by a spine, and change my evening plans.

Then, I put aside a chosen few for a special shelf in my bedroom. These are the ones that I wato go back and have an affair with. They are redolent with scents, filled with melodies unheard. They are the ones whose writing I hope will travel to my pillow at night and overwhelm me with their beauty.

Dusk

The sun's rays are receding, as it waves goodbye for the day. I'm thankful as it paves the way to the nice, soothing evening breeze. I'm seated in the balcony wondering as to what to post in my blog. Shall I write something related to news and current affairs, as I usually do?...In fact, I'm supposed to, being an aspiring journalist.Well, it somehow doesn't fit into my mood. The weather is too romantic to write on serious topics. I pick up the book I was reading - Shantaram. I realize that the travails of an escaped Australian convict carrying a false New Zeland passport is definitely much more interesting than a person thinking of ways to make his blog "interesting". I say to myself - "Dude, Get a Life.!!!...Surely you can do better than that." Maybe I can...but how? At that moment, two loud beeps bring me out of my reverie...its a text message from a friend - "Hey buddy, have you finished the project?"... "Oh No!!". I had completely forgotten about a 100 marks project to be submitted by August,the 12th. I curse at my friend for having spoiled the mood. I say "Goandboiluread"...Well, don't mistake it for some other language. You see its plain English - "Go and boil your head"...as simple as that. I don't even bother replying to the message. All the romanticism in the air around me vanishes in seconds...along with it, its goodbye to "getting a life". By now its dusk, and the light outside is barely enough to read. I cast my book aside and groaning, I make my way towards the kitchen to make myself a hot up of coffee...

Alas! The Murder of the Fourth Estate

Democracy, free will, fundamental rights, an independent judiciary and finally a free and independent press. Seems to be right out of a civics text book, doesnt it?....Possibly, yes...but what if the word "India" is added into the equation?Makes any sense? Well, let me explain.

India, touted as the world's largest democracy, a shining beacon of hope for many of the less-privileged countries especially many of the third-world countries where democracy is brutally suppressed. A nation whose citizens enjoy numerous rights, freedoms which can only be the envy of the people in countries like China, Russia, and many of the Middle-eastern countries. A nation that has been the toast of the world as a rising power with strong democratic credentials. A nation that co-founded the UN Democracy Fund with the world's oldest democracy, the United States, amidst much fanfare.

A reason for every Indian to be proud, dont you think?...Now, what if I go along exactly diagonally opposite lines and say..."I'm not at all impressed with our democratic credentials, in fact India is no better in comparison to China and Pakistan"...Have I gone a bit too far?Is it sacrilege? Maybe the Indian government would have others to believe that this post is the handiwork of a "foreign hand across the border", posing to be an Indian hell-bent to "destablise the nation". Though, I really doubt how many people reading this blog would buy that argument, do not get me wrong. I'm every bit an Indian as is Dr.Manmohan Singh, possibly even more so.

In fact, I hold Dr.Singh in the highest esteem, but two events over the last few weeks has weakened my confidence in his government.

One is his goverment's proposal to introduce the draconian "Broadcast Regulation Services Bill 2006" in the monsoon session of the Parliament. This bill, if passed by the two houses of the parliament would even put Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao to shame.

The Bill — which will effectively regulate private broadcasting — provides for punishment like revocation of licences and fines on those who violate the proposed broadcast guidelines, including the Content Code under preparation, if their service is considered “prejudicial to friendly relations with a foreign country, public order, communal harmony or security of the state,” which are not specifically defined. It is particularly galling to see that the government is unilaterally going ahead with this proposal without even consulting the media. As a matter of fact, Information & Broadcasting minister PR Dasmunshi ruled out any discussions with the broadcasting industry on this subject saying that there was no way the bill will be "polluted" or "diluted".

Well, somebody sure is in a hurry to get this legislation passed. The question is "what is the motive behind this?"...Is it to stymie the media's ever growing influence in people's lives? That can be the only reason for this. And surely, Prime Minister Singh had to be in the know about this legislation, otherwise he has no business to head the cabinet. Turning a blind eye to such a draconian bill only means that he is an accomplice in the crime. I call this a "crime" because no democratic government can undermine the Fourth Estate. We all know that a free press is an essential component of any democratic setup, an absence of which tantamounts to "the murder of democracy in India".

Another instance where the government's indifference towards the freedom of speech came to fore soon after the 7/11 Mumbai commuter blasts that left nearly 200 dead. Instead of bringing the perpetrators to justice and taking tough anti-terror steps, the UPA government decided to ban a number of blogging websites across the country, as if this could help nab the terrorists who were responsible for the dastardly act. With this, India has joined the elite "Internet-Filtering Club" in the company of countries like Saudi Arabia,China,Russia and Pakistan.The country's 153 internet service providers (ISP) have blocked 17 websites since last week on government orders.I would not be surprised if this blog of mine too is given the same treatment.

The fact of the matter is that this UPA goverment has been relentless in its pursuit to regulate the media and to curtail civil liberties. Unless, the civil society raises its voice against these vicious moves, our country would be reduced to the status of a 'sham' democracy.

The summer saw the release of the blockbuster - "Quota:Politics ka ek atuut hissa" starring Arjun Singh.Now hold your breath for its grand sequel "Khoon ki pyasi:Baying for the media's blood" this time starring super-villain Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi. Only time will tell if this too proves to be a hit at the box office...If it does, it could embolden the other directors in the Congress party and the UPA government to come up with more such blockbusters!!