Changing with The Times..bye bye TOI

Changing with The Times…

Sorry if that Headline seems like a cheap shot headline that Times of India (TOI) would use 543212 times and would still continue to do so afterwards, but since I do wanna speak about India’s largest circulated English daily, it seems more than apt.

Just like most Indians, TOI was the first English paper that I read. I remember while growing up in Aurangabad, that we only used to get a Marathi paper and our downstairs neighbours used to get TOI. I remember wanting to read the paper just because of Garfield primarily. Later my father started ordering TOI but only the Sunday edition. Now I am not a creature of habit, I couldn’t exercise or study regularly if there was a gun to my head. But this is where I developed this one fixed habit that I would never give up on, reading the Times in the morning for at least an hour without being disturbed. I would also grow on to have my only male chauvinist demand ever as a side effect to this ritual- having my cup of Bournvita handed over to me while am reading my paper.

Soon cups of Bournvita turned to cups of tea and coffee, the focus changed from the Garfield, Beetle, Hagar the Horrible to Sports and to Business pages but the habit never changed. My father, appreciating me and my brother’s enthusiasm, started ordering TOI daily. This was a time when internet was all dial up connections etc. and Nokia was the only phone known to mankind. Growing up in a town like Aurangabad which used to receive the earlier day’s TOI Mumbai edition, reading TOI was like a connection to the world, to bigger cities like Mumbai and Pune, to the wit of Jug Suraiya and Bachi Karkaria, to RK Laxman’s brilliant satirical cartoons to movie reviews (and ahem...’glamorous’ pics of actresses and models) and to reviews of books we wouldn’t get to read unless we went to Pune to buy them cheaply off the streets. It was such a sacred institution for me that I used to look down upon anyone who read *rolls eyes* Lokmat times- the local English daily-, it was almost like TOI gave you a certain elitist standard.

Maybe it was like that, because TOI has always been this class defining paper. This line of difference between good English speaking people and aspiring ‘Vernac’ people, you know the kinds who used to take ‘spoken english’ classes and introduce themselves with the words ‘Myself…’ in formal interviews and discussions. I don’t mean this to be a good thing, but this is how it was even after the introduction of broadband internet and how it continues to be in somewhat smaller way still. You either read the Times or you aspired to read it. That is how it is in an English worshipping society like ours and doesn’t come as a surprise for a paper with a 200 year old legacy. Coupled with the owners classy British sounding name of “Bennett Coleman Ltd”  , houses with regular TOI subscriptions are (or rather were ) considered classy households.  

I was such a defender of TOI that reading any other newspaper like the Indian Express or Hindu was a sacrilege. People who didn’t read TOI or rather expressly declared their affiliation for other papers seemed like the same people who don’t like Mangoes or Puran poli. I mean you do have the right to your taste, but it is shitty taste, is what I felt.  Even after, TOI started glamifying itself (I know that’s not a word, but hey if the Times can stoop down to using tabloid language in its articles, so can I) I still stood by it, thinking something on the lines of “Hey I know it’s not that good but what do you expect me to do? Start reading Deccan Chronicle or some shit?”

After we shifted to Pune, getting TOI on the same day was an added blessing. Even after I had to travel frequently because of my job I used to read The TOI on their mobile site on multimedia phones and then still continued to do so on their app on android smart phones. Whether I woke up after an electricity-less, mosquito infested night in Nanded or caught a crowded local in Mumbai, TOI was the first go to source for news. I suffered through their countless Indian liberal (which means solution-less cry babies) leaning articles or their frequent bias towards Marathi politics (Thackeray and co are sectarian hooligans, Karunanidhi and co are proud Tamilians) or not even mentioning names of movies which the Times group wasn’t promoting (For e.g “Akshay Kumar’s recently released  movie is doing well in theatres”) or giving not less than 3 stars to the movies it was promoting (Do you remember a movie called Mumbai Mirror, a terrible cop movie starring Sachiin Joshi?...well TOI gave it 3 and a half stars.)…but I still stood by it. I stood by when TOI shamelessly promoted its own initiatives (Rahein or the Times festival or Times Lit-festival) as news or landmark moments… But still I stood by it. When The Times glorified Mumbai blast accused Yakub Menon as a martyr in the headline while Dr. Kalam received a much smaller column…perhaps more out of habit than anything else, I still stood by it.

I still stood by The Times when it glorified mentally sick sadistic psychopaths like Arundhati Roy, Sagarika Ghose or popularity seeking polemics like Shobha De as conscience keepers of rational thought, polluting minds of entire generations into thinking that taking anti-establishment stand is the only way to be progressive. That anyone whose vocabulary doesn’t include the words like ‘poignant’ or ‘intellectual’ is not capable of sound political thinking but is also orthodox and culturally bankrupt. That anyone who calls himself a Hindu and is proud of his heritage, is as dangerous as a member of Al-Qaeda. Also that idealism is what we should strive for, that realism shouldn’t play any role in politics. That socialism bred and brainstormed in a kitty party over cocktails and starters is the best service to society. If you want to find the reasons as to how practical and inclusive secularism turned to idealistic, exclusive and imbalanced ‘sickularism’ in India, am sure TOI is one of the main reasons.

But do I have a problem with a paper having particular political leanings? Yes I do, but still I can take it. I am not like a Dalit intellectual to hate something just because it doesn’t fit in my point of view. I don’t mind if you lean openly towards one side of the debate but as long as you do it openly and at least have some rationale, I can accept it. I don’t mind anyone having an agenda, what I don’t like is such people having a pretence of being impartial or balanced. That is what ticks me off the most. These days each and every news item you see in TOI, seems more or less biased but without openly declaring it to be so. But then again, I still stood by The Times.

As you might have guessed by the flow of the article, now comes the twist, the grand reveal of why I am about to give up on TOI, yes it will come, but not yet and not for the reasons you think. Firstly, yes I am slightly more right leaning than others, which does not mean am a “bhakt” or a “sanghi” I just think Indian version of socialism sucks. Also, I think that Modi govt. is doing a decently good job and apart from one or two stupid religious issues, I do not have any problems with it. They are bringing about the kind of development that is measurable in practical terms and while the BJP is not the ideal party to be in charge of a developing nation wanting to become a developed one, but it is practically the better choice. I mean who would you rather have in charge? Rahul? Nitish? Mamta? Also, until we as a society give up on casteism and populist politics, we should stop expecting our leaders to be better. So, I am just like majority of you people with their own political opinion, who even though leaning towards one set of ideas or the other, is not consumed by it.

But then what has all this got to do with TOI? Well, No am not quitting on The Times for being “sickular” or whatever, I don’t read news to get a political perspective…what I want with my news, is just that, plain old boring news. Like how DD or BBC are still the most respected news channels because they just report the news without colouring it one way or the other. So what if it’s airing socialist or leftist views you ask me? Well, the reason I hate TOI now is because it doesn’t have any leanings, it doesn’t have any loyalties whatsoever. How did I jump to that conclusion? I didn’t jump to it… just like a habit that got built up over the years, the resentment also did. Too often has TOI jumped from one issue to the other…too often, have I seen blatant displays of commercial journalism. The once favourite Sunday supplement now just looks like a catalogue for commercial advertisements and bland articles.

What most people don’t know is that Bennett Coleman is only the name of the co. which owns the paper, it has been run by the Sahu Jain family since the 50’s…and over the course of last 40 years, the family has shown real ethical standards by being embroiled and jailed in multiple money laundering scams. The image of the Times of India, as a sacred institution run by a fearless set of journalists should fall flat then and there in anyone’s mind.

The TOI these days runs columns by the likes of Aakar Patel (who is he? I doubt even his mother remembers dumping out that shit spawn) who once wrote a column wrote about how Hindutva-wadis are “ugly” and by that he didn’t mean metaphorically ugly, he meant fat, smelly, unkempt and ugly. I am not lying, he did actually write it. I have seen more sensible writing on bathroom walls. But what is surprising is that a 200 year old newspaper which challenged Indira Gandhi’s emergency, published such a petty article. What if somebody had replaced the word Hindutva-wadi with Muslim or any other word? Would Times publish it? Forget about that, TOI in the name of appearing balanced, publishes articles by Swarup Dasgupta, who writes right leaning stuff. There is nothing wrong with publishing contrasting point of views, but somehow it feels like TOI trying to pander to all audiences. Every headline they print reeks of sensationalism. It is not a newspaper, a voice of the people any more, it is a media conglomerate looking to sell more papers. . It’s not just me, The Times trust rating fell from 88 in 2013 to 174 in 2014 according to the Brand Trust Report. Also, when you start giving Chetan Bhagat the status of a regular serious writer, you know how low you have stooped.

 Well, it is at this point, I must thank my elder brother and my childhood friend turned journalist for nudging me to other papers like The Hindu or The Indian Express and Hindustan Times. I set aside my TOI ego, I gave the others a chance and even though they are not perfect standards of incorruptible journalism, they do tend to have more sincerity to them. There seems less stress on selling and more on reporting. While, I can’t say that other papers don’t have a propaganda on mind but at least they don’t appear to be as commercialized as TOI is. Being in a relationship with TOI is like being in a toxic relationship, sure we can pretend it’s going well, but one is going in a different direction and only wants to be with the other because of the money.

So, I guess this is it, it was fun while it lasted, I am quitting on TOI. Although I won’t urge you to do the same because this is a personal goodbye to a once best friend.  To conclude again in a very TOI like way, the Times they are a-changing… and it’s time for me to change too. 

Why the Awardwaapsi people are absolutely right or The 10 commandments of tolerance.

Yes, all those intellectuals and writers and artists, and Narayan Murthy and Raghuram Rajan are totally right. There is a atmosphere of intolerance and hatred in our country, while some would argue , there always has been so since we officially became a nation (Anti-Brahmin riots post Gandhi's assassination, Large scale evacuation of Kashmiri Pandits from their homeland, anti Hindi riots in South India, Anti South Indian sentiment in Maharashtra, Mandal Comission strife between castes, Anti Sikh Riots after Indira's assassination, 1989 Bhagalpur riots, 1992 riots, 1993 blasts, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Gharvaapsi, etc. etc. ) but obviously we are on the verge of chaos. Modi Sarkar has done nothing but bring us to a pre-Nazi Germany stage, where we are one step away from being a racist totalitarian state.
Yes situation is that bad, that if we don't actively do something about Modi govt. now, it will totally start its mind control violence machine that it has secretly built in a RSS underground base and we will all be murder-raping each other over alleged pieces of cow meat. (what? you didn't know that there was such a machine?? there obviously is, ask any secular 'krantikari', they will totally agree.) We are currently having weird sex, worshipping false idosls, and in a general state of debauchery and sin. Just like how the Hebrews were in the Old testament after crossing the Red sea. Moses had to bring the Ten commandments to bring about some discipline and sense. I suggest we all should come together and after returning our respective awards, (I am gonna return a consolation prize, I received in 3rd Std in a drawing contest),start fighting against intolerance with these 10 commandments-

1) Thou Shalt have all Gods equally-  Just like how Christian missionary ('convent' in Indian context) are allowed to teach stories and prayers from the Bible, all other schools should be allowed to teach their respective religious denominations to everyone. This way we ensure students get to know other religions and also pray together.

2)Thou Shalt not have any Holy Idols- To have true freedom of speech, we must be able to criticize any historical figure we want without fear of retribution. It must be allowed to criticize Dr. Ambedkar to the same extent to which Savarkar is criticized by the Dalits. Anybody should be allowed to say anything about Shivaji Maharaj, Gandhi or Periyar. Dalit Panther propaganda should receive equal criticism for their idiotic theories as much as RSS does for its illogical interpretation of history. People should be able to draw Prophet Mohammed and the Sahabiyan, the same way M F Hussain paints Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

 3) Thou Shalt kill meat the right way- Coming to the meat of the matter (No way, am not apologizing for that cheap pun), Pork just like beef should be openly marketed and allowed to sell, wherever possible, including Muslim dominated areas. Hindus should also allow beef shops in their areas too.  Halal Meat (where an animal is slowly bled to death) shouldn't be the default choice of meat being served in any restaurant/fast food chain. Sikhs and many North Indians who eat meat consider Halal as Kutha meat and are not permitted to eat it. Restaurants should offer a choice before serving meat.

4) Thou Shalt totally love thy neighbor- Every builder/home owner has to have a clause in their sale deed, that states they will compulsorily lend/sell houses to Muslims in their projects. Muslims shouldn't be cordoned off to separate areas of any city. They are not diseased people to be quarantined. They should absolutely be allowed to live amongst everyone else.

5) Honor thy merit- Poverty is the only criteria of backwardness in today's world. (nope am not gonna elaborate or debate this further. It just has to happen. Period.)

6) Thou Shalt not covet a caste based and/or fair spouse- Caste based marriage portals should be banned. Indian parents shouldn't be allowed to interfere in their child's choice of life partner. Also, anyone seeking 'a fair girl' should be drowned to death in a vat of Fair and Lovely. Also, Fair and Lovely should be banned. Homosexuality to be legalized.

7) Media shalt not bear False Witness to anything- The media being the peoples voice and the fourth pillar of democracy, should not be biased against perceived right wing politicians. Leftists and Marxists should get as much scrutiny and ridicule as any religious zealots. Media should only report the news not create it. Good job done by any govt. regardless of its political inclination must not only be appreciated but celebrated. Media must understand that although Murder and hunger are incidences which need to be reported, there are also other good things like peace and victory over hunger that need the spotlight too.

8)  Thou shalt not ban alcohol and sexuality - All dry days and dry states need to be banned. Alcohol is as much a part of freedom of choice as is beef.  If you are going to argue about it not being something which is necessary to live, then neither is beef. Also, all the fucking right wingers should be made to read Kama Sutra a 1000 times and made to visit Khajuraho and Ellora before protesting about "ashleelta" and taking false pride in "Humari Sanskriti"

9) Remember thy History (correctly)- How many of us know about the extent of Maratha Empire post Shivaji Maharaj? Of how and why Alexander the so-called 'Great' stopped his expanding empire on the border of India? Why are we not taught about the ideologies of Bhagat Singh and Netaji as much as we are about Satyagraha? Why do we know more about Mughal empires than Ashoka or Maurya? History must be taught in a balanced manner. Am not saying we should only highlight our victories, but I am totally saying we should do exactly that. For too long, we have been taught history of our defeat, of our enslavement. History must taught to inspire a generation to be even better than before, not be depressed about our past.

10) Thou shalt get accustomed to the stench if thou can't clean the gutter- That's it. not much explanation needed. If you aren't ready to clean up your own mind, no Modi or Indira or (insert next popular politician name here) sarkar is gonna help you.

So can we do it? can we stop discriminating against others based on their surname? Can we stop cracking Sardar Jokes? If no then, why is it not ok to crack jokes against all other communities and portray them as dumb and simplistic? Can everyone (and I mean everyone, Delhiwaalahs, Bengalis, Goans, Maharashtrians, Gujratis etc. even Jharkhand people) stop hating Biharis coz they cant find jobs in their God-foresaken shitty shitty (yes that's two shitty's) state? Can a Marathi politician make a statement about Marathi pride without being portrayed as biased by the media? Can we all solemnly swear to completely embrace rationalism and stop blindly following every Guru-baba there was, is or will ever be?  Can we have a uniform civil code for all religions equally?

Yes or no? as much as you would wanna say yes, the answer in practice will always be no...a big NO. So until, you cant openly scream the answer out as YES! don't come barking to me about how this sarkar is intolerant. We elected them and the ones before them. They aren't a race of aliens we choose to lead us, they are from amongst us. We become ministers and activists and reporters. So until we improve ourselves, no amount of awards returned can bring about tolerance. A govt. is supposed to bring about development, not change hearts. That's up to you.

"You are weak if you feel the need to be led" - Doug Stanhope.
 

Why you shouldn't be proud of Maharashtra

Why you shouldn’t be proud of Maharashtra?

Nope this is not one of those articles, where I seek to be in the limelight by writing upon an unnecessarily controversial point of view, without even actually believing in it totally. Who do you think I am? Shobha De? She should learn to shut up her ‘kitty party- page 3’ mouth occasionally. I mean freedom of speech is fine, but douchebaggery can’t be cured by freedom of speech.  I mean it’s not a crime to hold an unpopular point of view, but you can’t be the one to hold an unpopular point of view, every damn time and also De doesn’t look the sort to actually believe in whatever she propagates.

But this article is not about her and others of her likes, it is about you and me and Us (I guess you + me = Us, so yeah), the common everyday Marathi person.

Nope am not gonna say Maharashtrian, because that’s the dumbest thing ever. If something of Punjab is Punjabi or of Bengal is Bengali, then anything of Maharashtra , whether be it in English or any other language is by definition Marathi (Marathi here includes any and everyone who is proud of residing in Maharashtra and has some loyalty towards it. So if you are let’s say a Sindhi who can speak the language a little bit at least and respect Marathi culture, in my eyes you are Marathi) What do you call someone or something that belongs to Karnataka? Whether be it in English or Hindi or Marathi, anything that is from Karnataka is not ‘Karnatakian’ its Kannada. So moving on, why am I saying that you shouldn’t be proud of Maharashtra...nope it’s not the farmer suicides either. Punjab and Andhra have equal problems on that front, while it isn’t something to brush aside, it is not the reason I am saying you shouldn’t be proud of Maharashtra.

‘Oh yeah’..now you are thinking, that this is one of those double re-enforcement kinda things, where in just like a clichéd bollywood movie father says about her daughter’s chosen guy or what reality show judges try to build suspense upon but fail because now it has become the oldestest trick in the book- ‘Mujhe yeh pasand nahi aaya..(wait for unnecessary pause)..mujhe bahut pasand aaya!’..But sorry to disappoint you..am not one of those hyper proud mostly politically aligned assholes with stickers on their car that change the ‘mala garva aahe Marathi asnyacha’ quite outrageously to ‘mala maaz aahe Marathi asnyacha’ which goes to show that if you have to openly declare that you are arrogant than the foundation of your pride is false and vain.

I am saying You shouldn’t be proud of Maharashtra because of this stand up act I saw by Doug Stanhope...drunken anarchic genius who seems to be so crazy that he actually makes sense.  In his own controversial yet courageous no-holds barred mode, Stanhope once did an act wherein he said that being proud of one’s history and culture and celebrating it, is just celebrating what someone else did, a few hundred years ago. He goes on to hilariously establish the point by enacting two drunk redneck Americans, talk about how America saved France’s ass in world war -2 and how its pointless because they had no actual part in it etc etc.

And he is right to some extent, I mean it even feels my chest with pride, when I hear about how a 16 year old Shivaji Maharaj conquered a fort with some of his buddies, or how Dnyaneshwar faced mountains of criticism since his birth yet traveled extensively almost till Punjab, spreading wisdom, fighting irrationality and he summarized the Geeta in a simpler language and took Samadhi all before reaching 21...but having said that, what do we have to be proud of, when all we did when we were 16 or 17 was discover the joys of pornography and masturbation. Am not saying all of us were unproductive pieces of shit, but still even if we were doing something constructive, what have we done to be proud of the acts of others, in whose region we seem to have just had the lottery-luck to have been born. Why should we be proud of their actions? It’s a bit like being Rahul Gandhi, just having been born in a family with a few great people, doesn’t necessarily make us one of them does it?

What does this pride give us? Does dancing and riding down the roads on Ambedkar and Shiv Jayanti makes us worthy of their great heritage? Is this the pride we are talking about?   Before I come across like an angry 50 year old socialist, lemme say, I am not advocating that we all give up our jobs, wear swadeshi and become farmers or give up the money we spend on eating out to the poor. I am not a crazy idealist. Besides, who do you think I am?  Sharad pawar? to shamelessly preach what I can’t and don’t practice.

But talking about Marathi pride, we as Marathi people, tend to be on extreme ends of this issue. Either we are so proud that we post statements like these which I saw on one of my friends FB page “Valentine chya divshi Makada-wani, Gulaab gheun phirnyapeksha, Shiv Jayanti la talwar gheun phira” yeah..I know it’s dumb as anything. There is so much dumbness in there, I am gonna take a few minutes to deconstruct that for you. 

First of all, who goes around carrying roses like a reverse beggar, to give to any girl that one sees on Valentine’s day?  I mean no matter how lonely you are, no one does that. Also, when has anyone seen a monkey carry a Rose around? Also, what the hell are you gonna do when carrying around a sword on Shiv Jayanti? How does that pan out? If you are gonna actually seek and out cut down terrorists (remember I said terrorists and not Muslims, if your mind made that connection then you have problems you need to work out. Not me. ) and corrupt politicians and govt. Officers...then hell yeah lets go and do that! ...Am always ready for some violent uprising against a corrupt system. But, if you are just gonna go around wielding swords on Shiv-Jayanti, how does that help anyone? Or even pay respects to the memory of Shivaji Maharaj?

This kinda thinking is an example of false arrogant pride that I was talking about. Other practical examples include irrational violence as perpetrated by MNS or Shiv Sena or any other organization.  One that gives a chance to news organization all over India, to always sweep the real reasons behind the outrage under the carpet of regional chauvinism.

But coming to the other  end of the argument, we also have people, who being Marathi are so un-marathi, so unaware of their own identity, that you wouldn’t know they belonged to the land of strong, determined men and women like Savarkar, Tilak, Babasaheb, Jijau and Muktabai etc. These are the ones who even though good natured and all, don’t really have that style or the fire in them to market their language and defend their culture as well as they should...or just to be even proud of their own heritage.

I mean what does Tandoori Tikka have that Mutton Rassa can’t top? So why isn’t Rassa as culturally popular?  Why can’t it be made known, that in spite of whatever so-called brave exploits that Rajasthani Rajputs are proud of, they were the ones to surrender to the Mughals (with only a few exceptions) and it was the Marathas who were the first and only Hindu powers to actually lay siege to Delhi, yet come to its help whenever needed. It was the Marathas that broke the mighty Mughal empires back. That planted the first Hindustani flags over Attock and Peshawar after a thousand years. The reason why Maharashtra doesn’t have as many palaces as Rajasthan or Delhi is because we didn’t have the luxury of enjoying because we were busy in the words of the great Bajirao Peshwa ‘at striking at the trunk so that the branches were falling by themselves’.  Why is it that we don’t know that the Mughals were only titular heads of India when the British came? Why is it that we can’t proudly say that  we are the most forward thinking state thanks to the multitude of social reformers like Tilak, Ambedkar, Savarkar, Ranade, Karve, Agarkar, Phule, Shahu Maharaj, Eknath maharaj, Tukaram maharaj, Gadge Baba etc?  Why is it that Bengalis are proud of their fish and the Delhi-wallahs of their food, when we can’t be proud of growing the king of fruits- the Hapoos in our own backyard? Did you know that a recent observations stated publicly by TOEFL stated that Marathi people are the best at speaking non-accented English? If Tamil people take pride in their language, why can’t we take pride in our own?

The answers to those questions are two things- one being although being good natured, strong, hard working etc. we have never been good at marketing ourselves. There are exceptions but not many. We have always been good at getting work done, in the normative sense of it, but not seeking credit for it. This has somehow become a generalized attitude, while it’s great at getting work done without having ego issues involved, it tends to make us forget our own strengths.  Secondly and sadly, I feel it’s the regionalism at work in Maharashtra itself. I mean let’s accept the fact that traditionally, at least since the state was formed, it’s been western Maharashtra, because of the urban centres like Pune and Mumbai, and the fertile regions of Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli etc. and to some extent Konkan region, that has held influence over all of Maharashtra. Hence, regions like Khandesh, Marathwada, Vidarbha have always been forgotten.  

So for example when anyone from Mumbai is asked about Marathi cuisine, what the fuck does he know beyond Vada Pav, Misal Pav and Malwani seafood ...Pav (yes, Mumbaikar’s eat too much pav. Might as well start having sea food with  pav too) At max, his knowledge extends to Kolhapuri Tambda- Pandhra Rassa and puran poli. But what about the Saoji Cuisine? Or kala masala preparations of Marathwada? Or Shev Bhaji and Mutton from Khandesh ? Moving on from the food, How many of us know the forts beyond the ones in the Sahyadris? Or of beautiful sanctuaries of Vidarbha? Or that Godavari water from Maharashtra is used by like 90% of brewers to make beer? Or that Nashik is known globally as India’s wine capital? (yes, I know that most of my examples are about food, sorry can’t help it)

I know it’s a large state but it sure as hell helps when you can brag about having awesome tourist places from Mughal replica of Taj Mahal to shrines of nationally renowned saints of all faiths to few of the best colonial era buildings to forts to ancient caves to undiscovered sea costs to 3 Jyotirlinga temples to tiger sanctuaries. I mean shit Gujarat promotes tourism like anything and they don’t have beer! We have all the tourist sites one could want and also the awesomely cheap yet insanely classy, exclusively in Maharashtra, London Pilsner beer. How many of us are proud of that? (LP is a thing to be proud of)

So let’s say you have done all this, acquired as much knowledge as possible about your own state, marketed it well, how does this pride still help? Is it really sectarian to be proud of your own state? Does it make us divisive? Let me give you one small example, about why Marathi people are the least bit sectarian. Traditionally, it has always been the norm that whatever region the railway ministers belongs to, gets the most number of new projects/ trains. When Mamta was there, we get Bengali named “Duranto” trains...when Lalu was in power, Bihar got many Garib Raths...so on and so forth. So when, Suresh Prabhu became Railway minister, it was assumed that Maharashtra would finally get going on long pending projects like the Solapur Jalgaon line, Pune Nashik line, Panvel CST fast corridor etc. But what happened? To my initial disappointment yet later understandung, Prabhu went for the overhaul of the entire railways instead of regional appeasement. Just like many more before him, he saw the big picture rather than instant gratification.

 So when any news organization or even else says that we can be regionalist...don’t worry every region in India is the same. Tamil people won’t have Hindi boards and have even had Anti-Hindi riots and other leades like C N Annadurai and Periyar propagating the greatness of the Tamil culture, yet they were offended when Balasaheb used to speak about Marathi pride...the Kannadas have actually taken to making Belgaum their second state capital, when Mangalore should have been the one, just to finally stamp out any Marathi influence there etc. The media is somewhat biased towards this issue as well. If people are fiercely proud of their culture and expect others to respect the same, then its regional pride. If the same happens in Maharashtra or especially in Mumbai, then

 Please realize that am not saying  be overtly proud of being Marathi and hate everyone else, but don’t be cowed down by biased criticism either.

But it again brings us to my original point..why shouldn’t you be proud of being in Maharashtra? It’s simple, what’s the use of all this mere pride, if  you aren’t getting inspiration from it do make our better? To lead by example as we have always lead, To implement the principles of Shivaji and Tilak and Babasaheb in our day to day life. To truly make this state, an even better, truly a ‘Maha-rashtra’ We must strive to be the best, not by demeaning others but taking them with us. To show others of what excellence truly is, inspite of all the adversity in the world.  Let me just say that Maharashtra isn’t just a state...

It flows as much from the throne of Shalivahan, as it does from the waters of Godavari..It stands tall, determined and strong, as much from the Swarajya of Shivaji as it does in the form of Sahyadris...its present in every word, every philosophical verse of Eknath, Namdeo, Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram..present in the strengthening words of Ramdas, in the simplicity of Sai baba and Gadge Maharaj as much as it is the temples of Pandharpur, Ghrishneshwar, Jejuri etc. It flows from the Arabian sea, just like the tide upon tide of attacks unleashed by the Peshwas upon the Mughals from Malwa upto Attock and Delhi....it was there when Savarkar traversed the waters of Marseilles, there when he got caught and still didn’t give up, it was there when Lokmanya Tilak renewed the struggle for Swarajya, when Babasaheb sought to liberate the people’s minds, as much as it does in the rivers, forts and forests...in every crevice it resides, from a where a Babu Genu or a Vinoba Bhave are born... It’s seen in the carved statues of Ellora and Ajanta, as much in the words of P L Deshpande and Kusmagraja...in the debt, despair yet undying passion of Dadasaheb Falke, in every stroke of Gavaskar and Tendulkar, in the melodious voices of Asha and Lata, in the soul capturing voices of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Vasantrao and others, it’s the fuel  in the pride and fire of Balasaheb Thackeray.. it is the cries and screams of the 105 who were killed by their own, in the struggle to call it their own..Maharashtra is not just a state, it is the blood that flows within you..a philosophy that states that giving up and accepting is never an option...that the impossible is nothing but that which we haven’t given a shot at yet..Never Back Down..Jai Maharashtra.