Saapatu sodhanai: Some experiments with food

Whenever a fellow Tamil sees another one, the inevitable question would be "Saapteengala?" (have you eaten?). This is seen as a mark of politeness and care for the other person. Food is so important to Indians that it is seen as a god in the form of Annalakshmi. At home and during college days, good food was easy to come by, and like most young children, my brother and I were poor eaters. We had to be constantly badgered to eat things other than junk food and curd rice. But as adolescents, we began to develop a taste for food and in general, both of us like to eat food.
Cooking on the other hand can be time consuming, inflexible and boring on some occasions. It is safe to say that there is not a single person in the whole world who enjoys doing the dishes everyday. After being blissfully unaware of the side of cooking which does not involve eating the cooked stuff, I was thrown into the deep end once I began graduate studies in a country half way around the globe. I had sure made the occasional dosa and cut vegetables to get some pocket money at my home, but doing everything from buying groceries to throwing the trash was a first. It was at this time that I used to dream out loud to my flatmates about how awesome it would be if food could come in a pill. Just swallow the pill, get all the essential nutrition and never worry about the dishes. Although I enjoyed cooking for the most part, it would have been great to get a quick, nutritious, cheap and filling meal without much effort. Last year, I came across this blog
http://robrhinehart.com/?p=298

As a fellow engineer and a man of his age, I could relate to many things in that blog. What Rob was proposing was a food of the future, a one recipe fits all, all the time, forever solution. Being a student of science, I was sceptical about his claims. What if it contains trace amounts of harmful chemicals? What if something is missing? How would the bacteria in our gut respond to the same food being ingested all the time? I knew that this simple solution was not going to work consistently for everyone in the long term. But there was a lot of excitement about this idea once they got serious about it and started a kickstarter campaign to raise money. The days of dreaming out loud were a couple of years behind me, but those ideas were coming back again. I realized that the little kid who used to watch Jetsons and marvel at the technology, including the food pills was still inside me. I was willing to part with enough money for a week's purchase ($65) of their product--Soylent. The product is named tongue in cheek after a Charlton Heston film Soylent Green, which is set in a dystopian future New York where people consume chemical wafers called Soylent as their primary source of food. The other idea behind ordering Soylent was that I was confident about my body recovering from the shock--if any--very quickly. I kept waiting for a year and four months for the formula to get finalized and shipped. There were tweaks to the formula, beta testing, logistical issues and many other things that all supporters had to put up with. In the mean time, there was (there still is) a huge DIY community with a very active internet forum where people started to make their own recipes following Rob's--which he had made public. I decided that I could not match their levels of enthusiasm and let others do the hard work for me.

Still, I don't think I was ever as excited as this, about a package arriving at my door step. By then my flat mates and a few other friends had also heard enough from me. I was even planning on a generous tip to the FedEx guy had he not bolted after dropping off the package. The experiment started on Sunday, September 21, and I was weighing 74kg at that time. I am around 179cms tall and consider myself a healthy adult who eats healthy for the most part, with stupendously mediocre athletic abilities like running a 25 minute 5k or benching 125 lbs on good days. To make one day's worth of Soylent, all one has to do is to mix the powder, the oil that comes in a vial, add water and shake vigorously. They also provide a large airtight pitcher that can hold all of this. One day's Soylent provides 2000 cals, all the necessary nutrients needed by the body as recommended by the FDA for this caloric value. Each day, a vast majority of us will not be getting all of these nutrients, and will sometimes be consuming excess sodium, sugar and other usual suspects. During the course of the week, I saw a few noticeable changes immediately. There was a general increase of feeling light and aware. The night's sleep was very effective, resulting in mornings when I felt a bit more energetic. I never had to take an afternoon nap on my desk and did not feel lethargic after lunch. By Friday the 26th my hair was feeling softer. It could have very well been my new conditioner, but the observation was unmistakable. I have since had a hair cut and been unable to discern anything useful about the state of that observation. Drinking Soylent satisfies hunger almost instantly. It is rich in fiber and tastes like "protein-shake-gruel", which to me is a perfectly acceptable taste. Soylent contains a bit less sodium than recommended for a 2K calorie diet, so I added a teaspoon of salt to the concoction on two days. But there was no noticeable symptoms of low sodium the entire week. The 2K calories were not sufficient for me though, and I had to eat a peanut butter sandwich or 2 bananas on a few days before bed time. Apart from a light game of badminton on Friday, I did not do any physical exercise due to my slightly lower calorie intake and because of staying away from my protein shake that week. On Friday, my weight was 73kg which is not a change from which any significant conclusions can be drawn.

 

On Sunday, September 28, the experiment ended with a proper desi lunch at the nearby temple. My prediction was that I would get senti about getting back to conventional food, but that did not happen. The food was very good, followed by a nap after the meal, and we got back to making industrial amounts of sambar later that night. After a bit more thinking, I ordered a month's supply of Soylent 5 days ago which arrived today. So, am I planning to replace all of my food with Soylent? No. Am I going to extend this week long experiment and live exclusively on Soylent for a month? No. But am I going to stash many bags of Soylent in my office? Yes. Am I going to cook or eat out only once or twice a week? Yes. Am I going to make Soylent shakes with fruits, protein powder, chocolate syrup and the rest of the A-team? Yes. Do I think this the food of the future? Yes and no. Yes because it takes a very scientific approach to food. It is "taste-wise edible", filling, nutritious and does not go bad. Remember grains rotting in FCI godowns? Attempts like Soylent could be another step in tackling other big problems like hunger and malnutrition. Since the food is so carefully calibrated, it could potentially help people with medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Diseases that are primarily caused by lifestyle choices could be tackled by experts, using these diets as a baseline. Instead of consuming massive amounts of white rice as a baseline, why not consume this as the baseline? All this being said, and like I said at the outset, food has been an integral part of every culture. Apart from nutrition and taste buds, the olfactory and social component of food is equally important which is totally missing in Soylent. People view the body not just a machine, but as something more than that. Some view the body as a temple, and treating food simply as a fuel to the machine might even be offensive to them. But until my current supply lasts, I will not have to take maggi for lunch or eat at the nearest soggy sandwich outlet.

Find out more here:

http://www.soylent.me/

Stupidly stupid

Inspired by this inspirational essay:
http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/death-is-a-pronounced-differentiator-between-the-urban-and-the-rural-writes-tm-krishna/article6323917.ece
For full trip value please read the inspiration before reading this blog.

Stupid is a fascinating word, its origins being traced to the Latin word stupere, which means to be amazed or stunned. Its synonym ‘moron’ also connects quite beautifully with the Sanskrit moodha or the Tamil muttal, mundam, moodevi etc. Stupidity is a tantalising idea, which numbs our mind. Hearing the word, you immediately visualise a clueless dunce.

Stupidity is a word for the living; a word for all of us who know that no matter how intelligent we may think we are, we would once in a while utter an utterly dimwitted comment or write an essay so full of pseudo intellectual babble that it would make junkies want whatever that we seem to be smoking. A person is not stupid only when someone else knows he is stupid. Even when someone else knows that a person is stupid, the stupid person might be oblivious to the fact that he is stupid. Many stupid people are such loud mouthed windbags that it puts the claims on our ape ancestry into little doubt.

Express rage at falling pass cutoffs in schools and immediately you will be dubbed an elitist and asked “Have stupid people not graduated from high school in the US?” If you were to express concern over the how stupid Shah Rukh Khan movies are, you would be perceived as a "peter party". So what am I protesting against? Can we ever discuss our boneheaded dumbness without bringing politics, history, nationality etc. into the question? Is there a problem with the stupidity of the deed or the inherent stupidity of people themselves? How does the stupidity attributed to the person vary with the person who commits the stupid deed? These are questions that I have to answer for myself.

Stupidity is a pronounced differentiator between the urban and the rural. In mainstream narrative, a city dweller who can speak incorrect English with a fake accent and throw intellectual sounding garbage with confidence is considered to be far less stupid than a villager who can't speak English, but can at least tell time by looking up at the sky. The urban vision of India is the only vision that we know, want to know and are constantly told about. The rural landscape is a regressive, caste ridden cesspool of "patriarchy", spit stains, open air defecation and you guessed it, stupidity. The stories of a retarded Dumbani speeding on city roads and killing pedestrians will flash across our TV screen and newspapers and all it will get from us is a non-linguistic groan of sadness. Our concerns about urban stupidity begins and ends there.

So its clear that not everyone is equal in stupidity. The social or political value of a person can be gauged by the actions that people around him do once he commits a stupid deed. Relationships, family and wealth separate us. When we have a child who is as dumb as a cardboard box, it pains us. This is because it is our dumb genes that are inside of that child and our hopes of an eternal life are realistically placed only upon our own progeny. When the neighbour's child does well in school, sports and arts, but our child still cannot put pen on paper and draw a stickman, it is natural to feel pained by that stupidity.

It is comforting that I am not weird. I don't share the same feelings of anguish towards the stupidity of my own child and the stupidity of another child in the playground. I value human and communal relationships and do not go around trying to reduce the cosmic index of thickheadedness. The passport I hold blurs my reactions to stupidity. When a man of Indian origin wins the Fields Medal, I feel happy that here is an Indian who has done great things with his intellect, and this would hopefully encourage us Indians to work harder and become less inane. Hopefully children would get inspired and inspire each other to conquer stupidity.

Again, one stupid person is rarely equal to another. The further the distance you are from the wannabe mobster speeding on the highway, the safer you are. Humanity has spent many worthwhile centuries wondering how to sharpen the intellect, and may this pursuit continue. It is indeed ironically apposite that I write this piece on September 9, just a day after the world literacy day. It might be a good time for me to consciously try and be a bit less stupid in the future.

Punjab, Paajis, Paranthas and Porkis

The train got to its destination on time at 5:45 am on Saturday. The destination was the center of the Sikh faith, of Punjab and the home to a group of people who I love--Surds. Amritsar is nothing spectacular. In fact, I found some areas around the old city to be pretty darn filthy. Not wanting to rent a room, I had booked my return train on the same night so that I had one full day to see the city and could sleep during the 8 hour train ride each way. After walking aimlessly for around 10 minutes, it was time to head to the Golden temple. The rising sun reflecting off the shrine and the tranquillity inside the temple complex was as I had imagined. The Harmandir shrine itself is tiny, but including Akal Takht and the sarovar, the complex is pretty vast. I took some pictures, had the darshan and got out of the temple around 8 am by which time hunger had taken over. Most online recommendations suggested that Kesar da Dhaba was the best dhaba in town, and that was where I was headed. This place is ridiculously complicated to find. I was also travelling old school without a smart phone, which may not have helped in any case. The narrow alleys of the old city are very hard to navigate, but every local knows the way to it and I got considerable help to get there. After much effort, only disappointment remained since the place only opens for lunch. But there was an eat and scoot place very close which was serving hot chole and bhature with some vegetable pickle that I had never tasted. For 20 rupees it was a steal. Topped up with some lassi from the nearby lassi shop, my tummy was happy. Then a big desire to sleep took over since I had woken up so early and had eaten quite a bit. I again had to ask many people for directions to navigate the alleys and get to the Golden Temple. The corridors of the temple were so clean that I simply slept for about an hour on the corridor, with my bag as a pillow. The sun began beating down and the crowds started to swell while the Bhajans continued on the loudspeakers. I observed that there were  many many tributes to soldiers who had fought and died for the nation on the walls of the temple. What sort of people are they! This is the most sacred spot for their religion with great history and stories about their Gurus and kings everywhere you turn, but along with that they also chose to honour their sons who died for India. The sheer love for India that these folks show is unparalleled. I've also read that the Guru Granth Sahib has many many references to Lord Rama. This was confirmed through the bhajans that kept singing about "Ram naam", "Govinda sumiran", etc. It is very unfortunate that the Akalis have chosen to portray the Sikh faith as something totally different from Hinduism. It is also unfortunate that the Khalistan movement happened in a land of patriots.

By the time I got out and headed to Jallianwala Bagh, it was hot as a tandoor. I just sat in the shade and began to read since there was not much else I could do for about an hour. Then the monsoon clouds gathered and it began to pour. Once the rain subsided to a drizzle, I took a cycle rickshaw to Kesar for lunch. It again began to pour on the way, but the sardar with typical Surd badassery didn't flinch one bit and took me to the dhaba for 30 rupees. The food was awesome. The dal fry was nothing like any of the dal I've had all these years. Was it the ghee? Was it the slow cooking? I don't know. But this was unique and very well made. I still had a couple of hours to kill before my taxi ride to Wagah border. So I went back to Jallinawala Bagh where I saw a few people playing chess. A piece of stone was substituting for the dark squared bishop of white. The bishop was probably playing with young boys on the other side of the park <that was cheap. yuck!>. They invited me to play thinking that I was some pro since I told them that I came from the same city as Viswanathan Anand. After arranging the pieces, I found that the king was facing the opposite queen (wazir). When I attempted to change it, they protested saying "hum desi khelte hain. desi mein aise hi hota hai" (we play desi. It is like this in desi). I was black but the uncle playing white asked me to begin.
Me: <Puzzled.  Pushed king's pawn 2 steps ahead>
Uncle: Yeh international nahin hai. Desi mein pawn ek hi step jata hai.
Me: ok <so no en passant type stuff>.
Few moves happen and I castle.
Uncle: Desi mein aise nahin karte.<puts fundaes on how to castle desi>
To castle in desi, the king makes a knight-type move before it has been checked or has moved. The implication of the initial arrangement is that when you castle king side, you are actually in the path of the opposite wazir. It is as though you have castled queen side. I played fast without computing or thinking, and had to resign after a while. I am not some uber chess player, but I noticed while playing and observing other games that their middle game tactics were quite strong, they paid little attention the "chess theory" losing pawns without care, double pawns did not seem to matter, they moved quite fast without a clock and it was a fight to the death. No resignation.

The skies cleared up and it was time to share a 45 minute cab ride to the border with a few obnoxious northie college students. No bags are allowed for the retreat ceremony, and there are long queues with strict security procedures. Women have separate seats with a better view. There was an air of patriotism with loud shouts of "Hindustan Zindabad", "Vande Mataram" and "Bharat Mata ki Jai". The BSF is the organization protecting the borders, and there was one dude in tracksuits on the mic guiding the chants. There was a lot of prick waving and shouting in which I gleefully participated. During the programme, they made girls and women run with the Indian flag to the gate and then come back. The loudspeakers then blared Bollywood songs and patriotic songs to which the women in the crowd danced to. They were basically having a party on the border. And you don't need to give Indian women, especially Punjabi kudis more than one invitation to express themselves. Women ranging from little girls to aunties and paatis and some foreign gilmas partied for around 10-20 minutes and must have formed lifelong memories. I also had a good time in the stands cheering them, taking pictures of the crowd and abusing porkis. On the other side of the gate I could only see men with pyjama-jubba, whereas on this side there were both men and women, and more colour and diversity in general. While we were chanting "Bharat mata ki jai", I could hear our friendly neighbours chant "la ilaha illalah". I also heard something very similar to an Islamic prayer call being played on their loudspeaker in between the Bollywood songs on this side. The contrast was too glaring to me.

After getting back to Amritsar, I went to a Vaishnao Devi temple which is modeled as the original cave temple, complete with an obstacle-course-type path for seeing the Devi. The temple had all sorts of devi devatas from all over the country. There was Buddha (Buddha being worshipped in a Hindu temple would be an Ambedkarite's nightmare), many scenes from epics (with a few inaccuracies and typical northie ignorance of things involving the south. I caught hold of a staff member and appreciated the effort of the temple but politely told him about some inaccuracies that I had spotted), photos of new age gurus etc. When I spotted the statues of Shankara with his 4 disciples, I involuntarily blurted out, "yo thala, whats up" and sat there for a while. Others seeing me sit there also sat there, probably praying for something.
Some aspects of the temple were a bit weird but I liked the effort and the temple overall. As I was stepping out, I saw a Sardarji on the street pausing and praying to the Devi from outside the temple. People worshipping Buddha inside the temple, Sardar worshipping Devi, borderline unbeliever (me) worshipping everybody inside--trippy stuff. If this is not part of the definition of Hindutva, I don't know what is. Dinner time, one more dhaba, one more thulp of paranthas, dal fry and lassi. Then back on the train for bed time and back to Delhi on Sunday morning.

Meeting the people's president

I met Dr. APJ when I was in 8th standard, just after it was announced that he would be the country's next president. Even before that, I knew about the 'Missile man of India' since he had studied in MIT college, where Appa teaches. So there was always a sense of pride and familiarity associated with Dr. Kalam. During our interaction then, I remember giving him an answer to a question that he asked us. I also remember him saying that the answer was good, but there could be a better answer. Apart from that, I do not remember exactly what that conversation was about.

After roughly 12 years, I got an opportunity to meet with the 'People's president' on 18th July 2014. Even with age catching up with him, it was a delightful meeting. I could pick his brains on two issues which I have been discussing, and have been deeply concerned about in the recent past.

The first question: What makes India a nation?

Quoting Dr. Kalam from my fallible memory: "You see, I am from Rameswaram. For generations, people have collected Agni Theertham from Rameswaram and taken it to the Shiva temple in Kashi for prayers. Similarly, people from Kashi have collected water from Ganga and performed prayers in Rameswaram. This shows that we have been connected by culture and religion for thousands of years...Ashoka the great, the Mughals, the British united us politically but the religious and cultural unity has not depended on political unity. It has been there for generations."

My reflections: The general answer that an English educated person might give would be on the lines that the British united some warring nations, then Gandhiji fought for all of us to give independence.The British left and we became a nation because of them. We are a multi-cultural society that speaks different languages, practises different religions, with the major religion beset by casteism.
We are staying together due to the compulsions of our constitution, the English language and the Indian railways. Apart from that we have nothing in common. We have 'unity in diversity'. I used to think that unity in diversity was a great slogan and did not understand its hollowness. Unity in what? Unity in a simple minded territorial sense? Is there a unity in purpose? Isn't there a deeper and more ancient connection other than the Marxist narrations fed to us by school textbooks? Some people say that geography is the most important uniting factor. Since we belong to a contiguous landmass, we had no other choice but to be one nation. I have never been happy with this either, although the geographical unity is indeed important. Europe has geographical unity, but why is it not a single nation? The concept of EU is also a very recent one, and a owes a major debt of existence to the devastating world wars. Earlier examples of a pan-European idea and unity comes only from Wagner's Ring compositions which are still very recent. I am unaware of any such ideas in any earlier Renaissance works. Even if we suppose that a pan-European vision was expressed in Renaissance works, it is still very recent as compared to the idea of Bharata. So what makes us a nation? It is the way of life called Sanatana Dharma, which encompasses the Dharmic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. It is the long and continuous civilization with Hinduism at its root that holds us together. The strength of the Hindu society is essential for the strength of our nation. Based on his answer, I think we share very similar views about nationhood. Since this view is coming from a former President, a patriot, a scientist, a man born into a Muslim family, no right minded person can accuse his opinions of being biased by Hindutva propaganda, majoritarianism, Saffronism or any other colour you like. This opinion is based on facts and honest reflection.

The second question: None of the gods described in any of the religions seem to be good enough to follow and I do not accept any of the supernatural claims of any current religion. What is your view on religion? Is it doing more harm than good?

His reply: What will happen if we destroy all the temples, mosques and churches? Many people use religion as a method to separate good and bad. So their lives will have a big emptiness. Then we may have to build more prisons. Look at our earth, it is going around the sun, spinning around its own axis. There is this moon fellow going around the earth. The sun fellow is going around the center of our galaxy. It takes a few hundred million years for the sun to go around the milky way. All these complicated things have been happening seamlessly for billions of years. Can this all happen just like that? Should there not be something more powerful to make this happen for so long? Leave religion, but there should be something more powerful making our universe work.

My reflections: He is clearly of the opinion that religion is not the source of all evil in the planet. I completely agree with this view, unlike the new atheists like Dawkins, Hitchens etc., who argue vehemently that religion is the root cause of all evil, as if there would be no evils if there were no religion. People will still kill, rape and steal, but for other reasons. The other part of the answer which deals with this more intelligent entity keeping the universe working is not convincing to me now. This is why:

First, a more basic question. What is our premise here? We want to know how things work. Until we get to the simplest part of this complicated system called the universe and explain it fully, we keep asking questions without proposing the existence of more complicated entities or genies. For example, if a child asks how a building was built, it sounds more plausible that a mason and his team worked for many days, used bricks and mortar to construct the building, than saying that Optimus Prime came down from the sky and raised a building from dust in a matter of seconds. Although the second answer is more impressive and would thrill a child more, it is simply not feasible. Also, if we belong to a tribe that lived in caves and had no clues about building construction, the most honest answer is to say "I don't know" instead of coming up with a mason or Optimus Prime. Most importantly, the Optimus Prime answer does not tell us anything about how Optimus Prime came into existence which goes against our premise, which is to know how things work! We have not explained anything by coming up with this Optimus Prime character. The prime mover idea, or the "all pervasive force" idea is unconvincing to me due to this problem. It has come up with an overcomplicated entity to explain something, without explaining how that entity came into existence. This problem of an infinite regress is a big, big issue which I chose to disregard during my "prime mover"/"all pervasive force" days, but which I increasingly think is a very strong reason to say "I don't know. But some smart and hardworking physicists are on the case". So in my view, the infinite regress problem is a strong reason to not postulate a super-complicated prime mover which we cannot explain in any shape or form.

A friend asked him about extra-terrestrial life and his views on it.

His answer: We are not alone. There are millions of stars in our galaxy, and scientists have estimated that there are many planets like our earth. So there could be life on those planets. Are they more intelligent than us? I don't know, they may be. Will they contact us? I don't know. You have to travel light years to reach other such planets and that is very difficult even if they are technologically advanced. Man is just an atom in this interconnected universe.

My reflections: This flies in the face of the teachings of belief systems (monotheism and secular humanism) which put man and earth at a special pedestal. Ancient wisdom can be pretty profound, but the thoughts influenced by bronze age myths from the middle east don't make it into the league of certain Indian or Greek ideas.

Overall impression and take away: It was an honour and privilege to meet Dr. Kalam. He is so energetic, cheerful and sharp. Even at this age, the way he articulates his thoughts and the way he recalls statistics is simply astounding. He told us that he has met 17.5 million students in the past x years (I don't remember x here), a mind boggling number and a sign of his passion to interact with students, send a message of hope and diligence to the future generations. It is a sign of his magnanimity and passion that he meets students at his office on a regular basis. We spoke about many other issues like the role of media in today's India, how his Vision 2020 is very much alive and can still be achieved despite setbacks (Modi wave? :)) etc. I was very happy just to shake hands with him and to introduce myself to him. As a bonus, I was also very happy that he even chose to answer my questions. I was thrilled by his responses to my questions. All the answers were along lines that I had expected since I have read and heard so much of him. The Gita-reading, Veena-playing former president is one of the embodiments of the spirit of Bharatavarsha, a true Bharata Ratna.

Traveling through Braj bhoomi

When I decided to spend the summer in Delhi working with the IBM research lab, I wanted to visit two other cities at all costs. One was Agra, and the other was Amritsar. Agra is now out of the way and along with it, I also covered Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna. With the summer heat beating down relentlessly, I scheduled my trip after the predicted rains arrived--which they never did. Its been a merciless summer in Delhi and without the AC in the lab and in the guest house, I would have easily had blisters in my butt, especially after a merciless and record-breaking mid-west winter. For company, I had two fellow interns. Our train tickets from Delhi to Agra got confirmed just the previous night, and the tickets for the return journey were still on a wait list. Despite that, we set out with hopes that the return tickets would also get confirmed at the last moment.

After reaching Agra in the morning, the UP-ness of it all struck me with full force. Every fellow on the road is a tout full of contradicting and mostly untrue claims, with the sole purpose of extracting as much money from you as possible. Even as someone who is used to nagging auto fellows and scheming locals in touristy places, this was at another level. A 6-km ride from the train station to Taj mahal costs Rs. 100 by pre-paid auto. I ended up paying Rs. 105 due to some undocumented 'slip-charge' which the policeman at the booth conjured up out of his rear orifice. But hey, this is Mulayam territory and I am only getting a first hand experience of what I had known for quite some time. The auto fellow also would not just start his auto and take us to the Taj Mahal. He would instead try to convince us to take a tour package and keep on nagging us with a worn out rate card. Throughout his attempt to convince us, he lied liberally and put up a decent 'sad face'. When he finally cut out the bull shit and dropped us off, he challenged me that I would end up spending more than the Rs. 500 that he wanted to extract from me through his stupid tour (we ended up spending significantly less). In the Taj Mahal, more nagging. I seemed to attract these fellows whenever I put on my shades--perhaps mistaking me for a foreigner? One of the guards inside the building even asked me whether I was an Indian, since foreigners have to pay a higher entrance fee. This question was amusing, and at some level offensive. One of my companions in the trip, a girl from Manipur, was visibly upset and gave an earful to someone who insisted that she show an ID despite her fluent Hindi. She told us that she had faced similar questioning in Hyderabad as well. Having lived away from home for a while now, I know that it would be extremely painful if I was treated like an outsider in my own country. I don't claim to know the solution to this very real problem but at least in the context of national monuments, it is time that they levied a fixed charge for all humans or checked IDs for everyone who claims to be an Indian. I think the former is more feasible, fair, and comes at a small monetary cost.

The Taj Mahal itself is a stunning monument. In spite of stories about how the building has been tarnished by pollution, it still is a symbol of symmetry, perfection and 'louv'. To visit the actual tomb, one has to either take off shoes or wrap them in bags. So carrying an extra pair of socks or polythene bags would help unless you want to do what I did--hop around in the midday sun. From the Taj, one can see Agra fort, where we headed next. The girls thought it would be a good idea to get a guide so that we could get fundaes about the place, and we found an old chap who was nice and put good fundaes for the most part. I simply chose to not contest his stories about how great an emperor Aurangzeb was since I was too tired from the heat. But apart from the Taj, I have never felt any joy while visiting any of the Mughal architecture. For me, it is all a sad story of violence and Islamic imperialism.

Mathura is around 60km from Agra, but the bus journey took us around 2 hours due to the UP-ness of the whole affair. Multiple unscheduled stops and a refuelling stop later we were there. The holy city of Mathura, birth place of Lord Krishna. No touts, only friendly locals, Krishna songs belting out of the shops, reasonably clean streets and the most amazing lassi I've ever tasted. One of the lassi shop guys gave proper directions to an authorized prasad shop. Five huge balls of kanha-ji's prasad for Rs. 50 with shopkeeper and a fellow customer giving proper instructions on what to do. We then visited the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple--'surprisingly' next to a mosque, which in all likelihood stands above the original temple. So the security procedure was rather elaborate. The temple is built on top of an unnaturally high staircase, just to match the height of the mosque next to it. As such, the temple is new and not as impressive as the temples down south, although it is clean and nice enough. We then took a rickshaw to Vishram Ghat, my favourite place of the whole trip. With bhajans sung with gusto, monkeys playing on the banks and trying to snatch away your stuff, people lighting up diyas, bathing in the river and thanking the setting sun, we were at one of the nerve centers of Sanatana Dharma and the Bharata of our ancestors. A man sipping tea came to us, and asked us if we wanted to take a ride along the river for Rs. 100. He told us that his name was Bhagwan Das, and that he had been a boatman for 30 years to earn his daily dal-roti. When we asked him about why Yamuna-ji was in such a bad state, he told us that the rains automatically improve the river's condition and it is Delhi's sewage that pollutes her. This is not something new, but plugging Delhi's sewers seems to be the most important and effective ways to solve Yamuna-ji's problems. I keep referring to the river as Yamuna-ji since that is the term used by the locals to refer to the much loved and respected river. It was amazing to see the sun set while relaxing on Yamuna-ji's lap. Such a contrast to how the day started in Agra. I asked the boatman why I liked Mathura better than Agra. He summed it up well, "Agra mein ashanti hai, Mathura mein shanti hai".

We got off the boat, bolted to catch our train (whose tickets got confirmed) and got back to Delhi at night. The night was topped off with some lassi, pedas and kanhaiya-ka-prasad. The trip was so intense and so random that it would need another blog with some background in mean-variance portfolio optimization.

Why the Aam Admi Mob is dangerous and must be defeated

Why the Aam Admi Mob is dangerous and must be defeated

1) Aam Admi Party or Aam Admi Mob (AAM), is precisely what I called it. It is a mob. When a mob becomes prominent in a city, the boss rewards people who had stuck to the mob so that he retains their goodwill and induces other people to support the mob. When AAM came to power in Delhi, the reward was to cancel penalties of people who had defaulted on their electricity bills. What a stupid and dangerous precedent! The mob's rhetoric is filled with this 'my way or the highway' attitude, and a monstrous ego built on the self-righteousness of the Indian middle class.

2)  Politics is in general hard, and is an honorable pursuit. But it is still a beast that can be tamed with a few tricks such as demonizing the opponent and pandering to politically active vote banks that tend to vote as a herd. While this is true in other democracies, in India you additionally have to pretend to be a simple person, use words like communal, secular, saffron brigade whenever you think it would pay off. You should also create fissures among people based on religion, region, caste, language and other things that are not under their control. Mastering these tricks and playing them carefully is easier said than done. But this mastery is seen in most political parties including the BJP which I support. I can give many reasons for supporting the BJP, but it should be clear that I don't simply throw my hands up and say the whole thing is rotten. I live in a real world with trade offs. Not in some Disney land with perfect solutions.

3) With that out of the way, the mob has really learned well. On most online forums, Muslims seem to be supporting the mob. That community has been given a rough ride by the Congress and other secularists for so long, and is so fearful of the BJP that it would gladly take any rickety old bus down a cliff. The mob duly addressed the Muslims in its Delhi manifesto, and Kejriwal has been pulled up by the election commission for asking Muslims to vote for the mob. This makes the mob very dangerous since it seems to have checked off the politically active vote bank box. Some recent images from rallies show people sporting the mob's caps with words written in Urdu. Can anyone pander to a vote bank more overtly?

4) Kejriwal keeps claiming that he is an ordinary man with very ordinary aims like getting water, electricity, driver's license without having to pay a bribe etc. Good. All of us want that and I would like an ordinary man like Kejriwal to be my municipal councillor or my city's mayor, not the Prime Minister of my country. I have already experienced spineless MMS as prime minister, and I now want a strong visionary as prime minister. If Kejriwal is so ordinary as he claims to be, I don't want him to lead India. I don't want him to (effectively) command our armed forces, negotiate with cold and calculating men like Putin, Obama etc. He may even sit on dharna demanding a permanent seat for India in the UNSC.

5) The mob also does not understand the functions of a government. People elect governments so that the government can take decisions on their behalf. If you run back to the junta every time you need to place a procurement order to buy computers for government offices, then why do we conduct elections and give you the office in the first place? Direct democracy, which Kejriwal projects as if no Indian had thought about it earlier works in very small numbers. It may even work at the state level, but definitely not at the federal level. We also saw how he managed to totally screw up his attempt at direct democracy in his Delhi durbar right in the middle of a busy street. Sure, you learn from your mistakes. But I don't want you bungling with issues that have national and global ramifications when you have nothing else to show as evidence for competence. India has put up with crackpots and dimwits like Rabri Devi in the Chief minister's chair. I can definitely put up with the mob in individual states, but not in the Lok Sabha. Not now.

6) The only major issue on which the mob is seeking to be elected is corruption. Do they propose a viable solution to corruption? NO. First we have to realize that we cannot eliminate corruption completely. It is worth reiterating that we do not live in Disney Land, but in a real world with trade offs. As long as there are humans, there will be corruption and lapses in our morality. But by electing people who are not corrupt, we can reduce the incidence of corruption. So the solution is political in nature. What the mob is proposing is to set up another institution to investigate corruption charges among government officials. How on earth is this to solve our problems? What hard evidence do they have to show us that the Lokpal will solve the problem? Have we not experienced enough institutional break downs to conclude that this will not work? Do we not already have police, CBI, courts, a central vigilance commission etc? Should we not focus on reforming or doing away with these institutions before creating another beast? How naive can we be to expect that this one "super-law" will solve all our problems? Another issue is the total arbitrariness by which the Lokpal is formed. It is not democratically elected, and is completely unaccountable to the citizens of India. As it is, we are facing high levels of judicial activism. So how are we to conclude that there will not be any Lokpal activism? The whole idea has so many holes that I am surprised to see people buy it without any evidence to support the claims and all the evidence pointing towards bloated and inefficient institutions. I don't want to sound cynical, and I hate corruption as much as anyone else. But again, the solution is political. We need to elect people who are educated and honest, and not vote on caste or religious lines. This transformation will take a long long time. It is extremely naive and dangerous to believe that one more unaccountable institution will solve the issue.

7) If the mob manages to get a few seats, what will it do? I don't know. And apart from the ill-conceived lokpal bill, even they don't know. But the mob is definitely filled with rabble rousers, people with their own agendas, some of which are anti-development and even anti-national. For example, their candidate for the Kanyakumari constituency is Udayakumar, who lead the anti-Kudankulam protests. This fellow resorts to the most ugly form of propaganda, by creating hysteria and an atmosphere of fear among uneducated fishermen. He is completely opposed to the use of nuclear power, and since nuclear radiation cannot be seen or felt, it is the best thing to be cast as "boochandi" (bogeyman). The truth is that even within just tens of meters from the reactor core, the radiation levels are comparable or lower than the radiation levels on an airplane. In fact, the radiation dose suffered by workers who mine for nuclear fuel is comparable (or even smaller) than the dose experienced by flight attendants!
http://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/publications/2008_1.html
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajim.10018/abstract;jsessionid=525741BE68B7F7B66A1076CAE387E6B3.f04t01
Nuclear energy can be very dangerous but scientists all over the world, including Indian scientists have worked long and hard to understand, control and use it for producing energy.  What sort of energy policy are we to expect if this ignorant man gets elected to the Lok Sabha, or worse becomes a minister? I am sure we can find many such examples among the people who are contesting on the mob's ticket. India is in dire need of a good energy policy and I would trust someone who has delivered 24 hour 3-phase power supply to his state than a mob which inducts a fear monger just to exploit the vote bank of the fisherman community. Moreover, Modi has also shown foresight in encouraging solar power, which we all hope would replace conventional power sources in the future. But in the mean time, I want our homes, hospitals and factories to operate, please!

8) Independent India has had a history of electing people on a whim. That Vijayakant's party has 40 odd seats in the TN assembly shows that our electorate does not make the most well-informed choices. It is likely that the mob will win enough seats to spoil the formation of a stable government and this makes me worried.

9) The mob's policies on many other important issues are non-existent, unknown or dangerous. There may very well be maoist sympathizers in the mob's ranks. But for all its shortcomings, the mob has changed the political discourse in the country. It has made people expect better out of their representatives. Like every other political party, as it gets bigger, it will attract people who are there purely for power. It only took two generations for the Indian National Congress to turn into a family fiefdom. Drawing from Carl Sagan, great claims require great evidence. On the one hand, Modi's evidence is no where close to prove his great claims. But the evidence is at least in the affirmative. The mob's evidence is non-existent or contradicts their claims. Repetition is a powerful tool which I will use again. There are no perfect solutions in the real world. Most problems that our country faces can be addressed by political reform. Human nature is inherently fallible, and simply creating non-democratic institutions does not guarantee a better life. We live in a world of trade offs, not Disney land.

More of a diary entry

We wanted to desperately get out of the mid-west, after a long and bitterly cold winter. The we being me, periya thala, route thala (route will henceforth be spelled rootu for effect.) and motta thala. My plan to drive to Grand Canyon and back was quite rightly shot down by motta thala and we decided to go down south to New Orleans instead. With a very nebulous plan, periya thalai's rented car and a place to sleep in the French Quarters of NOLA, we set out around 10:30 am on Monday. I first took over the wheels, and after a traffic jam and lunch at around 3 pm in Tennesse, motta thala made it till Alabama by which time it was around 9pm. We got to New Orleans at mid night with periya thala taking up that leg of the drive.
Our rooms were in the French quarters of the city, known for its night life, food and music. Since it was St. Patrick's day, people were drunk as piss and the whole place had an air that I had last experienced in Thailand. Although we just got to the city after a long drive, we still decided to go out, all the while ruing the fact that we were not wearing green clothes. After hopping in and out of a few bars, periya thala and rootu thala decided that they would rather converse about exascale computing and watch justice league, while motta thala was hatching plans to somehow make me dance with random girls in the clubs. All I wanted to do was to listen to some music and relax. So when it dawned on us that it was way past jazz hours and well into house music time, we decided to call it a night around 3am.
After waking up next morning, motta thala and rootu thala had so much hydrochoric acid in their stomach that their breath was turning blue litmus red. Reappearing after their search for good crepes, the team reassembled to take a steamboat ride down and back up the mighty Mississippi. The two hour cruise was relaxing and all the thalais were happy since the weather was perfect, we all got to listen to a steam organ for the first time, and the cranberry juice on board the boat was delicious. Hungry as ever, we got dinner around 5pm. The dinner got off to a rough start when motta thalai unsuspectingly ordered a spicy drink, which was called "Taste of New Orleans" or some such name but was not for the faint hearted or faint stomached. Even though he had to pass on that, we walked out impressed with the food and hungry for some music.
Some lazy googling suggested that we attend a concert at the Preservation hall. This place offers three hour-long jazz concerts from 8-11pm each night, and the reserved seats get sold out within 1pm each day. So, unsure if we would be able to get in, we still made a dash for it only to find out that the line was as long as the block. The place itself is tiny and can maybe hold 100 people including the reserved seats. After waiting for an hour and a half, we got in for the 9pm concert. The place being small, lends a terrific atmosphere where you are very close to the band. I'd like to think that the atmosphere was exactly how it was when Jazz masters of old, from the twenties, performed in the local bars and concert halls. The name and the ambiance certainly suggests a concerted effort to do the same. The band was tight, bossed the show and the stage, and held us in bliss, awe and respect. I personally felt that the trombone player owned the show with the others not far behind at all. If anyone is considering a trip to New Orleans, put this on top of your list. Their recordings are good, but up close and live they are great. We did a bit of bar hopping and called it a night just after midnight.
Next morning it was time to say goodbye to a New Orleans and drive east along the Gulf coast. We took a scenic route along US90 which is parallel to the gulf coast. That was when my decision to drive the three hour stretch fell out of favor with me, while the thalais were happily enjoying the views of the white sands and the beautiful Gulf coast. I managed to sneak in a few glances, and we reached Pensacola Beach in Florida by 2pm. The sight of the sea was enough to bring the Madras boy out of me and I took of my shirt to go straight into the cool waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Periya thala, after hesitating a little bit, got in and he seemed to enjoy the water the most. He easily spent the most time in the water while motta thala and rootu thala just lazed on the sand, clicking pictures of girls in bikinis. It was sunny, warm and beautiful. In other words, it was not West Lafayette during the winter. Around 5pm, motta thala started missing Indiana and wanted to go home as soon as possible. So we decided to drive all the way back overnight, stopping for a desi dinner at Alabama, and a late night waffle snack somewhere in Tennessee. With three people driving, it was all ok when we got back around 7am on Thursday. A few hundred dollars poorer but richer in other ways.

Free speech, but.

I did not anticipate writing about censorship and free speech so soon after my previous post, but I am compelled to do so. I did not know who Wendy Doniger was before news about the banning of her book, "The Hindus: An alternative history" made the headlines. Predictably, the media has raised its voice in support of the author and against the "Talibanisation" of India due to right wing forces. I read the column in the Indian Express which defended her vehemently, only to find that they had awarded this book for Best Non-Fiction book 2009-10.
http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ramnath-goenka-foundation/2009_winners.html
Also predictably, voices have been raised in the social media about why the book does not deserve the respect it is being accorded by the mainstream media. I will hopefully convince you why this award and the ill-informed outrage against the withdrawal is laughable.

Firstly, the book has not been banned by either the government or the courts. It has been withdrawn by the publishers themselves. There was a lawsuit, an out of court settlement and to me at least, it looks like no laws were broken by the party that filed the lawsuit. The publishers are the same Penguin who heroically fought for Salman Rushdie's book. Why should Penguin, which put so much at stake for The Satanic Verses behave so differently this time around? Is it because it fears Shiksha Bachao Andolan (a group which I had also not heard about earlier)? That Hindu groups will somehow resort to intimidating the author and publishers with death threats? Or is it because the editors finally woke up and realized that the book had no scholarly merit? I would like to think it is the latter since the book is simply not up to any scholarly standards, and its many factual errors have already been pointed out by many others including:
http://www.sify.com/news/why-wendy-doniger-s-the-hindus-raised-hackles-news-international-ocloREddedj.html

The reviews on Amazon (which I admit is not the most authoritative source) are mostly not generous to the author:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hindus-An-Alternative-History/dp/1594202052

In spite of this, and apprehensions that I would be angered by the book, I downloaded the book and perused through its contents. There is the usual "Brahminical, Patriarchal, Dalit-Torturing, Woman-Enslaving" Sanskrit literature bashing, which does not anger me that much these days. But there were a few passages that caught my eye, especially one titled "Proto-Tantric Goddesses". This talks about Chandika who appears in Devi Mahatmyam. Since I have the book and I know Devi Mahatmyam, I decided to give this a careful read. The passages refer to the killing of Shumbha and Nishumbha. In the Devi Mahatmyam, these episodes span Chapters 5 to 10.

The story in short is as follows: Shumbha and Nishumba, brothers and powerful asuras conquered the Devas and put them through a lot of trouble since no man or demon could vanquish them. The Devas then appealed to Himavat, and the Devi agreed to be incarnated as Chandika to slay the asuras. After she arrives, one of Shumbha's messengers sees her and tells Shumbha about her unparalleled beauty. Shumbha then sends a marriage proposal to Chandika. But she challenges Shumbha to battle and says that she would marry him only if he defeats her in battle. After many episodes, she meets Shumbha for the first time in battle and kills him.

One of the things that the petitioner called Doniger was "sex hungry" and I see why he did that. This is what the lady had to say about the killing of Shumbha:

" CHANDIKA SEDUCES AND KILLS SHUMBHA: Shumbha fell madly in love with Chandika and proposed marriage. She replied that she would only marry someone who vanquished her in battle. There was a battle, ... she killed Shumbha. Shumbha has an ally, Nishumbha, whom Chandika kills too; the names suggest that this myth is modeled on the earlier story of the seduction of the antigods Sunda and Upasunda by the nymph Tilottama, who leaves their killing to the gods. This myth is then a combination of the older theme of “dangerous upstart seduced by nymph” with the new theme of “d.u. killed by goddess.” Chandika gives Shumbha death in lieu of sex; he dies in the battle that she demands as a prelude to marriage, a marriage that never happens, and goes straight to heaven, since his love-war relationship with the goddess is regarded as a form of dvesha-bhakti , devotion through hatred (as well as love). Though dozens and dozens of antigods who lack Shumbha’s passion are vanquished by the gods on every page without seeing the light, his passion makes his death in combat a form of enlightenment, a popular Hindu theme that is foreshadowed by the heaven-guaranteeing heroic battle deaths in the Mahabharata."

Doniger calls Nishumbha an ally of Shumbha while he was much more. He was his brother. I can forgive that since she promises a juicy seduction strand in the story. I read and re-read with a dictionary in hand only to find that the Devi kills Shumbha in the most brutal fashion. There is nothing delicate or remotely suggestive in the shlokas that deal with their battle. Moreover, Shumbha first lays his eyes on Devi only at the battle field, by which time the Devi has taken a terrible form, already annihilating his commanders like Dhumralochana, Raktabija etc. The only, but very far fetched sexual innuendo could be the following shlokas (chapter 10, shlokas 23 onwards).

"...tatrapi sa niradhara yuyudhe thena chandika|

niyudham khe tada daityaha chandika cha parasparam||

chakrathu prathamam sidham muni vismaya karakam|

tatho niyudham suchiram kritva tena ambika saha||

uthpatya brahmaya masa chikshepa dharani thale|..."

This translates to (obviously no where close to Sanskrit in poetic beauty):

" There (refers to the sky since the Devi takes flight in the previous line), the Devi and the warrior were suspended

Chandika and the asura fought very closely in hand-to-hand combat

Looking at how close they were fighting for the first time, the rishis were very surprised

They fought at a very close distance for a long time

The devi then threw the asura to the ground"

If this is what Doniger thinks seduction is, then I think she needs serious help. One can flippantly say such things to friends after having a few beers or smoking some unknown plants. But to write it in a book and assume that someone will not spot it is not too smart, that too for a "renowned and eminent Indologist"<coughs and throws up>. It also makes me wonder if these are the inane arguments used by people who blame rape victims (I should leave this thought at that for I will digress too much). And this is only a couple of pages in the book. Her interpretation of Mahishasura vadha is a total trip-fest with the Devi seducing a buffalo. Another interpretation that I would perhaps appreciate if I had liberal amounts of psychoactive drugs in my blood stream, not while I am reading a book that is purportedly the work of a scholar. Well done Penguin, for pulping this book. Now it would be better if you gave the real reason why you withdrew the book, not your phony reason that you misplaced your spine.

PS: I am all for free speech but bullshit masquerading as great pieces of literature must be called out for what they are.

Homophones and the censor board

Censorship by judicial and government activism has been long been an impediment to free speech in India. The film certification board has also been party to this. I came across a case of censor board overreach from the precambrian by accident, when I was listening to a song of that time. I cannot claim full credit to the discovery because I remember someone else talking about this on All India Radio when I was very young (most likely sometime between ages 12-15). But I was overjoyed rediscover this--albeit minor--act of censorship. Unfortunately I am unable to cite the original radio show and I am confident that my parents, who were also listening to the program, would also be unable to do so.


The song, "Vandha naal mudhal", one of my favourite Kannadasan songs figures in the movie "Paava Mannippu". The movie boasts of a cast with legends such as MR Radha, Sivaji Ganesan, TS Balaiya, Savithri, and many others, and I recommend it to anybody who is interested in three hours of melodrama and MR Radha's sheer brilliance. The song itself is a lament about the imperfections of human morality and how man's caprice has been a challenge in creating a better society.

Anyway, the song has a line, "Edhanai kandan panam thanai padaithan". The poet says that man was inspired to invent planes after seeing birds take flight, he created radio taking inspiration from echoes (while the second inspiration may not be wholly true, the effect it has in Tamil poetry is remarkable). But the poet wonders why man created money (panam)? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiAD_5iGSOA

Except, this is not the actual question Kaviarasar wanted to ask. The verses in question start from 2:30 and the exact line of interest is around 2:45. One can clearly hear the change in TMS's voice when he pronounces "panam". A crude, ill disguised cut and paste job. The question he wanted to ask was "Edhanai kandan madham thanai padaithan". One can also see Sivaji lip syncing those words. The censor board seems to have concluded that using madham (religion) instead of panam was "sensitive" and could hurt "religious sentiments". Another very interesting observation is the use of another "madham" in the same song. This madham on the other hand means rage or madness. The poet says "Manidhan marivittan, madhathil eri vittan", suggesting that man has changed and has lost his sense of morality. Tamil has this tendency of throwing  some homophones that make you pause and wonder. Religion and a fit of rage that causes you to lose your sense of morality have the same pronunciation? Naughty Murugar, naughty Agathiyar. I noticed another very interesting pair of words recently that are both pronounced "irai", but spelled differently using two different "ra's"--whose utility and usage I never endeavored to understand. These two mean food and god. How apt! "Search for food before you search for god" is painted on a nondescript plaque hanging somewhere on the walls of the Madurai Meenakshi amman temple.

Now the whole thing begs the big question as to which is more harmful money or religion? I think my answer is quite clear from the preceding sentences. Money is far more useful in the present day than religion. Money was far more useful than religion back in 1961 (the year the movie was released). Imagine what you would do without money? Go back to barter system? Use precious metals? That would be most unpleasant. On the other hand, religion, although not totally deleterious, is much more dispensable than money. We could all do with some peace, quiet and reason. Kaviarasar was right the first time around!

insert Pillayar suzhi

There are so many things I've wanted to write about, but call it laziness, lack of good ideas, poor writing skills or whatever you want, I have not been regular in typing my thoughts down. The annual diary writing exercise would typically last until March, and the effort itself became non-existent after I started college. It has stayed that way ever since. But as I have grown, read a bit more and discussed issues with friends, parents and others, I feel now that I do have
opinions about many things which may be worth writing down. I have indeed shared them in the past, but speaking is an ephemeral way to put forth ideas unless you make a good show out of it or interact with people long enough that they know what your opinions are.

I've been meaning to shake off the writing block for a while, but the thing that really pushed me is the recent political climate in India. As I see it, our people are better informed and in search of better lives than ever before, and this is an opportunity to bring a positive transformation that we must not let go. If people are still mouthing words like "I am not interested in politics", then I have nothing but disdain for that opinion of theirs. For once I agree with Rahul Gandhi's words, "Politics is in your shirt". Heck it is even in our food which the Maino dynasty has so graciously offered to provide us. There are three things that I

feel must happen in the immediate future. Based on what really happens, these aspirations have to be revised three or four years down the line.

1. Indian National Congress must go. For good.: I have been convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the Congress party is pure evil and has lost its right to even exist. The vile, servile and dishonest nature of each of its politicians including MMS is for all to see and I do not have to provide much in the name of evidence to prove that the party is morally and ideologically bankrupt. The likelihood of any of these politicians turning a new leaf in the near future is bleak at best. People who still think Congress can solve our problems

either belong to the party, have relatives in the party, or are deluded beyond my comprehension.

2. AAP must do well in Delhi and just do that: We find ourselves in a great big experiment, where we elected complete political amateurs, who otherwise had respectable careers outside of politics, and gave them political power to run a very important and visible state. The public and media scrutiny is going to be massive and it is going to be most difficult to deliver all the tall claims they made while asking for votes. As I see it, spending their energies on contesting elections on a larger scale would neither guarantee electoral success nor guarantee success in delivering their promises. I should also admit that I fear that my
third hope stands the risk of getting jeopardized if AAP takes a serious stab at the general elections. I have massive respect for Kejriwal, his integrity and his resolve to reform the current political setup. All talk about him being a Congress agent, BJP agent, Muslim agent etc. are baseless and imbecile. That being said, he and his team are completely inexperienced as legislators, and the great claims they make require great proof for us to accept. Handing over our national security, agriculture, manufacturing, health care and all other diverse and massive challenges to amateurs with good intentions but nothing else to show is a big gamble that we must not make. But if they do well in Delhi, get corruption cases sorted out, put the Congress politicians responsible for scams behind bars, then we can think about rewarding their national ambitions. Based on the way some of the cabinet ministers have acted in the past, it looks like they will not meet expectations. But I hope they would exceed expectations, and give us more options for the 2019 elections.(assuming that my 3rd hope would be realized).

3. BJP must come to power after the general elections with a clear majority or a small coalition: Modi has proven himself in a large state through his corruption free administration. Terms such as 'polarizing figure', 'fascist', 'authoritarian' have been bandied for ages but in none of his speeches or interviews does he come across as one. He comes across as a strong leader who has vision and integrity. To people who rubbish this and express apprehensions that minorities will be systematically targeted (which seems to be the only problem his detractors have with him) if he becomes PM, my only answer is to have
faith in our pluralistic and secular traditions. Secularism is the separation of religious belief from state machinery. Unfortunately, modern India was never a secular state in that sense of the word. For example, Tamil Nadu has a department called the "Hindu religious and charitable endowments department", our constitution still has the "Hindu marriage act", different laws for Hindus and Muslims, Article 370 etc. Our constituent assembly seems to have faithfully copied laws from our colonial masters from whom most of the members learned
law. This also explains why we still have abhorrent laws like IPC-Section 377. Modi seems to be a secularist in the true sense of the word. Although he has spoken about the Ram temple in the past, he seems to have relegated it in favor of other, more pressing issues. The margin of victory is also important here, and the last thing we want is a coterie of regional power brokers with their own agenda forming a government with "outside" support from the Congress in order to uphold "secular values". The last scenario would be a disaster that would set us further back, and sectors like power, infrastructure, finance etc. that are crying out for reform would be lost in the race for cabinet berths and the compulsions of "coalition dharma". I hope good sense would prevail.