Friday, December 9, 2011

Seduction Of Death


Friends, sometimes life is easier to define then a feeling that you heve never felt...."Death". This poem is an attempt to understand the strange mystery when life hangs in balance, when you just don't know whether to welcome the feel or just shun it as you have done all your life. Or maybe there's just a hidden beauty in all the gory descriptions of death. The Pied Piper feels humbled when the moment is thrusted upon someone and when someone tries to enjoy the seduction of the moment.
Read ......but pause for a thought.....

Seduction of Death

- SAPTADEEP BASU (2011)

My final moments of life....my last reason to live,
To encounter my mistress in her last deceit.
My breath grew heavy but life refused to retreat,
For somewhere in me....yet a virgin lived.

Flashes of memories and my distorted life,
Etched your beauty that I despised;
And yet my blurry vision search for you tonight,
To cease the pain and this lonely night.

The seconds eased as the moment froze,
The cries of death deafened my soul;
The gory winter lost its shrill,
As her silhouette touched my window sill.

Dawning her black silk she came to me,
Her eyes were dark and just too deep to see;
I admiringly gazed in that face smeared with blood,
And felt the warmth..... in her cold touch.

Her flawed body shone in the glitter of the night,
Her skin was dark and yet so divine;
Her lips thirsty for the naked kill,
Waiting to taste life and the pain I feel.

I devoured her beauty as she slipped her veil,
She slithered on me with a serpent’s skill;
My tormented soul agonisingly cried,
Titillating between death and life. 

The essence of life bloomed once again,
As she entered my soul and savoured her moment;
She thrusted deep as I cried in vain,
And life blew away in the fountain of pain.

She ripped my body and clawed my heart,
She sealed her final kiss and my soul was ready to depart;
A corpse laid bare; happy with its new found numbness,
As I walked away with my virginity in shambles.
*****

Friday, November 18, 2011

The Uncrowned Prince


This article is also featured in http://scganguly.com/2011/11/uncrowned-prince/


How many times has a man’s journey been more important than the destination he reached?  The answer lies in a grey area between “perhaps none” & “maybe someone”. It is because the beauty & struggle of a journey is epitomised by the height of the destination achieved. It is the destination that makes a mortal immortalised, metamorphose a survivor to a winner and convert a prince to an emperor. It is what demarcates a “would be” to an “icon”. They are the “greats” who adorn the yellow pages of history and survive the tiring test of time. They are “Demigods” for their destinations catapult them to a league where common man can only look up at them with awe struck aspiration.

And then there are “legends”. Men who reside in the hearts of people. Stories are never written about them but recounted numerous times through memories, passed onto different generations such that they become an epic themselves. It’s their journey that defines an era. It’s their walk that stands as the destination, for a destination can be reached, but a journey cannot be emulated. They are fallible, but their failures make them human. They can be loved, hated, tainted and adored all at the same time. They prefer to remain the “uncrowned prince” forever.

Such is the journey of a man whom we know as Saurav Ganguly. Some love to call him “The Prince of Kolkata”, for some he is “Lord Snooty”, some revere him as the “God in offside”, others simply dismiss him as a mediocre fielder, for his fans he is “Dada”, for his critics just an “on the record” successful Indian captain idolised by Bengalis. With Saurav, everyone has an opinion, every judgement stands to define him and yet they seem incomplete. It may be partly because the legend of Saurav was never quantified. Statistics are reserved for the great for it’s the mind boggling numbers that record their supremacy through an era. Inspite of being the 6th highest run grosser in Test cricket & 2nd highest run scorer in ODI’s for India (5th highest in ODI in world cricket), numbers have least defined Saurav. The annals of history will always remember him as the maker of a resurgent Indian team broken free from the shackles of “antiquated cricket” that young India indentifies with today.

Saurav as a cricketer may soon fade from the transient memories of die hard cricket lovers. No “Wisden” can ever record his elegant offside strokes that seemed like an artist expression of freedom. He brazenly poked and lavishly drived. He danced in his crease and lofted the red cherry to thank the Gods. His offside strokes created awe and leg side pulls invoked humour sometimes. He loved the spinners and the quickies loved him. Anyone in his generation who could bowl 130kmph+ had taken a shy at his head. But then “icons” are built with numbers; not with their “presence”! “Presence” is for the mere mortal who displays his bare-chested antics in the revered Lord’s balcony to inspire a generation to lead. But alas statistics don’t record inspiration too!

On records, Saurav was never the best batsman to strut the cricketing arena and definitely not the fittest, his bowling was a fluke and as a fielder he was often awful. He was also not amongst the greatest captains to hold the World Cup ever in his hands. For the pundits, the discussion ends there. For the lovers of the game, that is where the charisma of Saurav emerges. A battle hardened warlord who helped a generation to dream big. He despised the mundaneness of the gentleman’s game and made it a man’s game. He backed his warriors and they never disappointed him. He himself had risen to fall and fallen to rise again, like the phoenix in Egyptian tales. A punching bag that always comes back to you no matter how hard you hit it. He had a passion that cannot be quoted in words and his emotions never cheated on him even when he clings to his numerous Gods when they seemed the only hope. The world of cricket was never dull with the antics of Saurav around. 

Captainship came to him with Indian cricket rocked in match fixing saga and the “God” himself deciding to step down. In addition was a baggage of a billion expectations, an unsettled test opening pair, half a dozen poor seamers, one able spinner and few mediocre wicket keepers. When the evening of his captainship dawned, he left a team with a subtle mix of youth, experience, insatiable hunger and fearlessness to the core called “Team India”. And as they say, in between was history. History that was good and history that was far worse. A king stripped of his kingdom but refused to surrender his throne, refusing to bow down to the corridors of power. But that was always the man we knew, the man the nation revered, the fallacies of being human. He had to go, but none knew how, for somehow he always came back at you. 

The evening, Saurav strutted the arena for the last time, few heaved relief, many angered by the way he was cornered and yet happy that the pain had ceased, millions with a hope that the man will bounce back and billions disappointed to see the lone surviving tiger wounded and bloodied with his countless battles walking towards the endless night. But then with so much blood spilled, how much fight did the man had left in him?
Cricket will never miss Saurav, for there are many “greats” to stand tall and slug it in the record books. But then, the people who make cricket worth its dough will always miss the legend who was more than the game. Someone who exemplified the beauty of cricket beyond the 22 yards. Someday, the truth will soon give way to a myth of a mystical warrior who once walked past the mortal names in the arena of the champions. He would remain the “uncrowned prince” forever.

P.S. – Sachin will always remain the best cricketer the world has ever seen and M.S. Dhoni the rightful heir to the captainship.


This article is also featured in http://scganguly.com/2011/11/uncrowned-prince/

Friday, November 4, 2011

When you cry!


I have always tried hard to know why I make you cry.....why I feel so helpless sometimes.....why a single touch can change the world around us........why we love each other so much. Why does that drop touching your cheeks make me feel so vulnerable......telling me so many things that my jugglery of words fails to comprehend. If love is meant to be happy, why did I ever make you cry? Your swollen eyes demand for an answer but the questions fail me & I prefer to remain the mute spectator and let the silence speak for my love.
Maybe I could never answer you, but then I can tell you the truth of what goes through me, when you cry!!!

When you cry!

- SAPTADEEP BASU (2011)

Drops of tears trickling down your eyes,
The pain of which I could never surmise;
Your moistened cheeks desolately stare,
For a feeling I could never care.

Droplets of dew hang from your lashes,
Waiting to shed for our afternoon clashes;
& your little nose turns red with fury......
But wasn’t I always left being sorry?

Your damp pillow has its own story,
That your pale lips refuse to reveal;
Your voice cheats your feelings again,
& the chaotic silence is what that remains.

Your heavy breath & your pounding heart,
They quietly crave for my loving touch;
& doleful me, in search of rhymes,
For a twinkle in your eyes, in search of a smile.

Once again I muster up courage to hold your hand,
Promising a world more than a pack of cards;
Wipe your tears for the final time,
& love you till the world aparts.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

RA.ONE - Randomly Adulterated


I have never written a movie review, but then as it is said, “when things go out hand, angels descend to protect mankind”. So here I’m ready to defend mankind from G.ONE. Why G.ONE & not RA.ONE? Well simply because the latter seems to be a more likeable character. While both robotic and non-robotic Shahrukh seemed the same matching each other in idiocy, other than his awkward looking wig of course, RA.ONE seemed the potent character out of videogames with his mechanical approach, straight talk and crafted physique. So, let’s delve a bit deeper into the RA.ONE mystery.

The movie begins with a long haired Shahrukh fighting the sisters of Bruce Lee named Iski Lee, Uski Lee & Sabki Lee in one of the most boring battles ever to protect Desi Girl (yes you guessed it right, Priyanka Chopra), courtesy a dream of his son who hates his fathers cowardly idiotic ways. Then begins a tirade of stupid scenes, where Shahrukh tries his best to emulate Jacques Clouseau of Pink Pather fame. But then he forgets that Pink Panther was a comedy, and this was supposed to be a sci-fi. What we end up seeing is a top programmer of one of the world’s best gaming company with actions matching a nerdy 5 year old. His wife still hooked to Golmal-3 avatar, is hell bent on learning Hindi belt gaalis. And poor son obviously is irritated and ashamed by his parent’s insane act!!!

The movie builds up, with Shahrukh creating a game for his son with the most potent villain, Random Access Version 1 (RA.ONE) & the good one (G.ONE aka Jeevan). The rules of the games are set, but RA.ONE moves out of the virtual world to real world to fight Shahrukh’s son who defeated him in the game. In all this skirmish, the real Shahrukh dies and comes alive our real hero G.ONE. A good plot unfolds and good visual effects are incorporated too. Even though some scenes make you remember Aliens & Transformer series, but then RA.ONE keeps you interested.

But things go really wrong when the plot returns to India. The robot G.ONE, is just as idiotic & goofy as its maker. The robot has got a personal folder of its maker, which makes it wear lungi, dance Chammak Challo, belt out the right shayaris in just the right timing, make promises and do anything else that Rajnikant left unfinished in “Robot”. At the night however, it hangs itself to the antenna of the roof of Kareena’s house in Batman style searching for RA.ONE. Worth mentioning here is Kareena Kapoor, who looked great to keep the viewers entertained while G.ONE was self destructing itself in its videogame avatar.

RA.ONE hunted down G.ONE to Chennai (the airport was the clue), but in the very next scene G.ONE was in Mumbai trains to protect Kareena while RA.ONE drove Shahrukh’s kid from Chennai to Mumbai expo!!! Suddenly G.ONE became serious. Kareena was saved and so was Mumbai from further mayhem. G.ONE transported himself through open electrical wires to reach RA.ONE which was strange considering all this while he seemed somewhat with limited abilities and kept jumping buildings. RA.ONE meanwhile kept on changing looks, however Rampal really attracted him a lot as he went back to Rampal style inspite of becoming Kareena in between. The final fight could have been better choreographed, almost a “Tekken” copy & G.ONE defeats RA.ONE (with 0.01% chances) and Shahrukh’s prophecy of good over evil survives. G.ONE goes back with RA.ONE to their virtual world to return again (possibly for part-II).

The story has nothing new in its kitty and the climax unfolds in the first 20 mins itself. All the actors were shadowed to make Shahrukh seem goofier and worth mentioning is Dilip Tahil who made a special effort for that. The music though was peppy and background score for G.ONE was good too.

As far as watching the movie is concerned, its good in bits and pieces and worth a watch. Hope part-II will have more of RA.ONE and less of the nerdy G.ONE.


Monday, October 10, 2011

Bengali Fish Curry


In the global jungle of civilization hiding a Bengali is a toughest job to do. Whether it is for his fish tainted hands or his fetish for “Ananda Bazaar Patrika”, a Bengali always stands out amongst the crowd. Loving or hating a Bengali is your personal choice, but ignoring one is at your own risk. He is indomitable, a pocket dynamo ready to burst if wrongly held. He can fight for a 50 paisa for 50 minutes and still turn out victorious. Ki Dada thik bolchi to?

Every Bengali can be divided into two subgroups, “Dada” & “Didi”, no matter in which age group they belong. Maybe it’s because a Bengali never turns old enough to be an uncle or aunty. However I’m often surprised why Bipasha Basu was never included in the “Didi” category! Bengali men are always “Bhadraloks” in their pristine white dhoti, not withstanding their antagonistic behaviour in local trains and buses. They are also all about panache. Everything right from their oil dripping side parted hairstyle, to their neatly trimmed moustache, their “Punjabis” (though I never realised why they are called so) & multi coloured lungis, none can beat them in their unique style statement. They may be short in size but not short with their voice. You can beat a Bengali to pulp, but even God doesn’t dare to quarrel with a Bengali. They are also one of the most intelligent species to ever walk the Earth. It is said, “When ten foxes die, a Bengali is born”, and it makes me wonder about the reproductive capacity of the foxes!

Poschim Bongo is a proud “nation”. (& now we need Columbus to discover a Purbo Bongo) Infact it is the only one with a motto, “Cholbey Naa”! Maybe that is why “Amra laal Bhalobasi”.  When the world is moving at a frantic pace, we love to cling to our past, “eating” the cheapest whisky available (as we hate to drink, Amra khali khete bhalobashi), expecting someone else to turn back the time for us. We are more than “roshogollas”, “sondesh” & unfortunately “highly inflammable churon” of “3 Idots” fame. We idolise Saurav Ganguly, because we never had anyone competing against him and expect him to play till a walking stick replaces his bat (& God, he never disappoints). If the world has Man U & Arsenal, we have Mohun Bagan & East Bengal. We love our jokes but alas the lesser mortals were never able to pierce through the humour (as they often turn out in Bengali). We never had an identity crisis, just like all “Southies & Northies” seem like Siamese twins. Our impeccable Engrazi & flawless Hindi make us stand out among the rest. “Hum thik bolta hai na?”

Dhur! Bohut hoye geche.......if you have Rajnikant, we also have Mithun......and the discussion ends there.

Friday, August 19, 2011

An open letter to mr. Rahul Gandhi


Dear Rahul Gandhi,

      I wonder what is keeping you busy nowadays. I even wonder more thinking about what your favourite uncle, Mr. Diggy (as we all love to call him) is busy with! Suddenly all his rhetoric seems to be on a pause mode & all your activism in a stop mode. Didn’t he just announce a few months back that you were “ready” to claim your ancestral Prime Minister’s seat? And wow, you just seemed ready in your pristine white kurta pyjama in the backdrop of rustic villagers, having your free daily lunches in poor people’s home (who cannot afford a square meal a day), walking miles under the sun and riding in a train. Perfect and enough isn’t it to become the PM of the most chaotic democracy in the world. After all silence is the antidote to chaos and there cannot be a bigger example than your composed self. And yes, we Indians don’t doubt about your eligibility for the coveted post. With looks to kill and lineage to die for, one doesn’t require boring economic policies, national agendas or anti corruption policies to make that CV look dreary.

     By the way have you heard about Anna Hazare and his fast unto death? I know it makes little sense when half the country is anyways fasting because of poverty, but a show of solidarity would have surely helped your portfolio. However, we are too small a fish to understand your grand goals of making a great India; maybe you thought that some fasting will control the ever ballooning food prices brought about by your economist PM. But something that surprises me and would perhaps alarm you is that, inspite of your tremendous hard work and inspiration to million Indian youth under the banner of “Youth Congress” (even though I’m really ignorant of how many youth was actually infused, as the Congress is still the oldest party, and what was the ultimate result of your past 6-7 years of effort. I apologise for the same), a 74 year old is manoeuvring greater youth and even children in a mere span of 6-7 months. I accept that you hate the limelight and want to be the “Robinhood Pandey”, but then isn’t it high time that common Indians like me should atleast know what you are up to  behind the curtains so that even we can join uncle Diggy’s rhetoric “Rahul for PM”.

    By the way, I’ve overheard a lot of people saying that the stage is set for Rahul to douse this anti-corruption crisis. If he has to prove his worth, it is now. But then frankly, you were already crowned the “youth icon of India” at 40 and by ratings the most popular choice to PM post, only with one single Kalavati speech. Even Obama cannot match your oratorical skills. (Poor Obama only knows how many times he had to repeat “Yes we can”, before Americans voted him to power). I believe you have saved your best for the last. After all, it better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt? Moreover your family has been in power for so many years that you know that Indians believe in “Forgive & Forget”. And even you probably realise your limited skill set, which is only to become the PM of India, else it might be difficult to even find you a job with your qualifications in “shining modern India”.
    Anyways, by the time all this hullaballoo over corruption ends, I believe you will be back in your white kurta pyjama once again displaying your dimples in the front pages of newspapers. How long can young India be satiated by a old man after all. But then till this movement unfolds please keep uncle Diggy in chains. Hope you can fulfil this sole demand from your devoted youth followers. 

Best wishes for your future.

Regards,
Your biggest fan.

                                                       
  


Sunday, July 3, 2011

Her Eyes!


I've been tired of people telling me, "Can't you ever write sumthing that doesnot holds pain in it.....it's happy...filled with love as it should be......well, d efforts are never at a loss, it's just that in the struggle of love and pain, my pain has always got the upper hand. However, last nyt was when I had a feeling, I've been longing for......a feeling where my words fail......a feeling when those eyes wakes me up in the middle of the night......the beauty of which I fail to describe.....my words are an ode to those eyes!!!
(Friends I request you to read the poem with its flow, go slow to feel the mystifying beauty of her eyes)

HER EYES
- SAPTADEEP BASU (2011)
Once in a while......
I try to see the world through the prism of your eyes,
Fancy my life with you sometimes....
Seeing the world with your coloured sight.
The lovely brows curls down with a smile,
Flirts with you in their animated style;
Sometimes complaining.....Sometimes questioning;
Pleading you not to stare in those eyes.
As she gazes at the bright blue sky,
Closes her eyes to capture a sight;
Her big eye lashes flutter with the breeze,
It kisses her soul with its sly reach.
Her lids blink with a motion of its own,
Precisely dancing to the tunes forgone;
Mocking at my effort of expressing the song,
That hummed in her eyes & only she had known.
The colour of her eyes held a mystery in it.....
Of a naughty girl or a wise priest;
I hoped I had an answer to it,
For it shattered my dreams & my deep sleep.
Yes, Once in a while.....
I want to see the world through the prism of your eyes;
To know the colour of those eyes that I have described,
For the only colour I know is darkness in my life.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

EMPLOYING THE FUTURE OF INDIA

 

Friends this was an article that I had written long back in the summers of 2008........Infact it was for "The International Essay Competion-2008" by the World Bank.....Hope it would be a nice read for all.....Cheers from the pied piper till then

EMPLOYING THE FUTURE OF INDIA

INTRODUCTION:

“Youth Unemployment”, a word often encountered in all the leading Indian newspapers along with poverty, social injustice, petty thefts and crimes, political upheaval, terrorism and all those words which a person doesn’t want to read with his morning tea. Words that are placed so far apart even in a dictionary. Then why does some of these words always comes in a package when a person reads an article about any one of them. Is that just an act of randomness or are they some pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that comes together to show us a bigger picture. Well, I never cared being an undergraduate student and still far away from the struggle of survival; but then a story about an 18 year old named Talib Khan run by a magazine made me stop and take notice. Twisting and turning in pain on the hospital bed with his bullet ridden body in bandages, he makes a heroic declaration, 'It'll take more than guns- and much more than this suffering- to scare me away! I'll fight it out again next time....' Talib is no Kargil hero but an aspiring Indian Army candidate, who became martyr to unemployment on 17th July, 1999. On that day, poverty more than patriotism lead to the unfortunate death of 23 young men aspiring to join the army. [1]
Talib is no exception. In 2003, when Indian Railways advertised about 20,000 jobs promising just US$136 per month, 600,000 people applied leading to chaos, violence and death in some parts of the country.[2] Yes, in the second largest populated country in the world, with more than 75% of its population below poverty line (as per World Bank, i.e. people earning less than US$ 1/day/person), life counts less, and every new year adds up new names to this ever increasing list of martyrs while the killer “Unemployment” lives scot free among us.

INDIA UNDER THE SHACKLES OF UNEMPLOYMENT:

How many times have we listened or read this, “Young India rising like a phoenix with more than half of its population below 25 years”. It sounds great for the Indian intelligentsia, but ask those youths who have more immediate concerns of hunger, poverty and terrorism to take care of, struggling everyday for the basic necessities, fighting only for survival; well not to say, they remain as mythical as the phoenix, only rising to the jingoist talks of the politicians.
But all said, with Indian economy rising at the rate of 7.2%, when the developed world is still in the grip of the global crisis, the moot question still remains, “How much does youth unemployment actually affects India?” Well, the answer doesn’t lies in President Obama’s “Buffalo to Bangalore” analogy or the speechless figures published by our government, that last counted the number of people living in its geographical boundaries 9 years ago[3], but it exists among the “common man” who celebrates the governments job guarantee scheme (NREGA) that provides a legal guarantee for 100 days of employment in every financial year to one adult member of any rural household at the statutory minimum wage of Rs.60 (US$1.2) per day!
Our country, made of 28 states, more than a 1000 languages and a billion faces has always been wound together by a unified idea called “India/Bharat”. But today, unemployment has created a rat race where Bharat has lagged far behind to India which has challenged the very foundation of this nation. Result is a cocktail of disasters. Mumbai is kicking out its fellow Indians from poorer states who they feel is stealing their jobs. Youths from neglected northeast India, who come to the mainland in search of better prospects, are being harassed and exploited everywhere. Kashmir is burning because its youth have guns in their hands and not jobs. Naxalism has struck the root in 220 districts with children without education and grownups without jobs. Farmers, considered self employed, still embrace death out of hunger. And let’s not forget the bright minds who flock other nations shores to earn a dime because their motherland can’t provide it, are being abused and brutally killed in some foreign land. Unfortunately, our government still feels we should believe in their incomplete slogan of “India Shining”!
As I write this essay, the geographical boundaries of the states of India may never be the same again. Students are immolating themselves in Andhra Pradesh to carve out a separate state of Telengana. Uttar Pradesh wants to be divided into four parts and Maharashtra into two. Assam is fighting for its sovereignty and Kashmir for its rights. Every corner of the country is being bombed, ironically this time by homebred terrorists. And in all these states, the foot warrior remains the same - “Youth”. Does the Indian youth savour martyrdom or are they inspired by Bhagat Singh’s efforts to drive the tyrants away? Possibly, one answer to that subjective question is a simple mathematical equation. Last year 2,15,000 students sat for CAT examinations, a gateway to the prestigious IIM’s and a probable lifelong passport to hefty pay packages. Unfortunately, it will be only 1000 students that would make the cut, a conversion rate of 0.46%! For how long are we going to bask in the glory of creating one of the toughest exam in this world and start thinking about the careers of the remaining 2,14,000? How many “Slumdog Millionaire” needs to be created by Danny Boyle for us to accept the naked truth of how every second the Indian youth is being pulled into the black hole of crime, prostitution and begging? For these youth stung by unemployment, the choice becomes pretty simple; you need to stab your motherland to feed your mother. After all, isn’t that what Charles Darwin’s “Survival of the fittest” theory tries to teach?
Thus even with the 7.2% growth rate, India is actually entering a phase of “Jobless growth” where the pace of creation of work opportunities has not kept pace with the growing requirement.

INDIA VISION 2020 STUNG BY UNEMPLOYMENT

“Vision 2020”, a decorated term coined by our legendary ex-president Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, speaks about India becoming a developed nation by 2020. However, every step to achieve that dream has to face numerous hurdles, the prime among them being poverty, illiteracy, terrorism, capital dearth, etc. with unemployment touching the core of each one of them.
As our finance minister in yet another budget session promises a growth of 9%, Kashmir is slowly limping back to “Stone Age”. Inspite of infusion of funds and providing quality education, the lack of security has created a job crunch. For these young Kashmiris, who have lost their childhood to fear and their youth to unemployment, stones have become a weapon of choice to vent both their anger and despair[6]. They become easy prey to radicalization. It’s these victims of unemployment that keep Kashmir burning. Result, the millions of rupees that could have been spent on social security measures, creating jobs, schools, hospitals and powering the growth of this nation, is being spent to quell internal strife’s.
The story is no different for the seven north eastern states, UP, Bihar, Orissa and all the other poorer states. Banned outfits like Indian Mujahideen, Naxalites, ULFA, etc. are inducting educated but ignored young cadres to their wings, creating a war like situation inside the nation. Traditional wars have given way to sophisticated use of technology to wage a reign of terror starving the national economy. Inspite of a huge consumer base, it is this fear that is preventing the infusion of private funds and destroying the huge tourism industry that provides employment to millions, besides tarnishing the image of India.
Lack of employment opportunities and underemployment in the country is strengthening the traditional steady brain drain to all developed economies. The extent to which the desis have actually bolstered the US economy can be gauged by simple statistics. 12% scientists and 38% doctors in the US are Indians, 36% of the scientists at NASA, 34% employees at Microsoft, 28% at IBM, 17% at Intel and 13% at Xerox are Indians.[7] With the country reeling with diseases every doctor out of that pool would have made a major impact in the health scenario. Even within the nation, interstate labour migration is a common trend creating overcrowding, low productivity, exploitation of labour and high level of discontent in these desired regions. This is reflected in the fact that some of the most drought prone districts such as Amreli, Kachchh, Surendranagar and Rajkot, have relatively higher labour productivity vis-à-vis the agriculturally prosperous districts like Junagadh, Kheda and Mehsana. The excess supply of labour contributes to reducing the wage rate as the migrant labour is willing to accept any distress wages that are offered as long as they have access to employment. This undercuts the employment prospects of local labour resulting in violence on ethnic lines. This creates a situation where sectarian political parties gain ground and disrupt the peace of the nation. States start fighting among each other, their decibels proportional to their contribution to the national GDP. India merely remains as a collage of independent states sharing common boundaries. Besides, the growing phenomenon of rural-rural migration also has important implications for future generations who would also suffer from the same debilitating lack of opportunities and low quality of life. For example, whole families of tribal’s from the Dang district of South Gujarat migrate for six to eight months to work in the sugar factories in the plains, resulting in their children being unable to enrol in schools.[8]
On the key education front, critical to the creation of employable youth, India's report card is abysmal. Literacy level in the country stands at a poor 65.2% while that even in Kenya stands at a respectable 85.1%. The education system is mired in corruption with test papers for sale and a teacher absenteeism rate of 25% that is the second highest in the world, behind only Uganda, according to a UNESCO report.[9] Even, higher education today is no longer a guarantee for a job in India, leave alone a good one. Thus while the literacy rate of the country is slowly increasing, the unemployment rate too is increasing with it. In Kerala, where 90.92% of its population is literate, the rate of unemployment is the highest. For a population of a little over 3 crore, it has nearly 40 lakh unemployed educated youth, almost equal that of Maharashtra, which has treble its population at 9.6 crore.[10] All this figures threaten the Government’s “Education for All” movement which makes free and compulsory education to children of ages 6-14 a fundamental right, as the uneducated parents find it profitable to send the kids to plough farms rather than idling at school.
Thus all these problems that stand between a “developing India” and a “developed India” actually come in a vicious circle wherein each one is a cause and each one is an effect.[11] With a staggering 51% of its population of 1.7 billion people under 25 and two-thirds under 35, the future of the nation hinges on how effectively we utilise this youth power. If we succeed, “Vision 2020” will no longer be a dream and if we fail, this unskilled, under-utilised, frustrated young population will derail economic growth, undermine harmony and breed violence.

SCHOOLS OF ENTREPRENEUL EMPLOYMENT (SEE): A YOUTHFUL SOLUTION 
THE IDEOLOGY

In India, while millions remain unemployed, millions more suffer from poverty. While the basic needs of people are yet to be fulfilled and many are eager to work and contribute, the national economy cannot absorb them. This shows that something is seriously wrong with our economic system. NASSCOM and CII have estimated that if India wants to be a developed country by 2020, it needs to create 10 million jobs. Neither the Army nor the police force can absorb such a large amount, nor can the Railways or the government.[12] The private sector though expanding, the rate is not equivalent to the unemployment rate. Besides, unemployment is a critical issue more in rural India as compared to urban India due to lack of opportunities, lower penetration of knowledge and impoverished background. Then the question arises is “How to employ the rural unemployed?”
Fortunately the answer exists in a tried and tested technique, “Entrepreneurship”. According to TiE (The IndUS Entrepreneurs), each entrepreneur creates 30 jobs besides wealth creation setting the stage for a flourishing economy, unlike a job seeker who is a burden to the economy. For example the U.S economy generates 600,000 new small businesses every year. But nearly an equal number of small businesses are also closing down every year there due to losses. Figures show that only 75% of new firms survive for 2 years or more and only 50% of them hold on for five years or more. Many such firms are started by people with no formal management training.[13] Thus to create employment we need to first increase employability and develop entrepreneurship skill so that the individuals besides attracting capital can also create wealth themselves. This is the driving force behind my proposed solution “SEE”.

THE HINDRANCES

Firstly, a common denominator for all budding rural entrepreneurs is the challenge of starting a business, be it through inventing something, looking for a new idea within a business, seeing beyond the contours of his rural boundaries or finding the right opportunity to break into a business.[14] Inspite of their zeal, their knowledge about various taxation policies, governmental clearances, intellectual property rights, etc. are pretty limited. All these require intense knowhow of the market mechanism which generally the 20 something’s fresh from college particularly those in rural India lack leaving them at the mercy of the fluctuating market and vulnerable to touts.
Secondly, every startup faces the problem of attracting capital. Even though with globalisation and the internet boom, many people have actually started to recognise youth entrepreneurship, it is the relative lack of experience and market knowledge and their impoverished background that makes them non bankable, that prevents banks and angel investors to bet on these young horses. As such most of these young guns either rely on family and friends or on credit cards to fund their dreams. In the Indian context, where generally these budding entrepreneurs come from modest background, even attracting family finances becomes a tough ask while credit cards are always a risky proposition. As such either most of them are forced to abandon their dream or plunge themselves neck deep into high interest lending from day one.
Thirdly, every business requires excellent networking be it with clients/customers or like minded people. Many brilliant ideas remain stillborn as they cannot connect with their prospective buyers while a many more cannot expand in the absence of people supporting them. Moreover, any idea however good it may be, needs a proper packaging to make it saleable. Understanding market needs is of prime importance. Thus any idea before being flouted in the market needs to be floor tested to gauge its impact and market viability. For a rural youth with just enough to start his business, market research by any independent agency remains a far cry. Besides, with the cut throat competition the margin of error is pretty low as any idea takes very less time to be replicated and reproduced in a more grandiose way with majority of young entrepreneurs losing out to the quick scaling up of competitors.
Lastly, rural entrepreneurship being generally a labour oriented business, understanding the sensibilities and meeting the expectations of the people working in a startup has traditionally been the toughest ask for an entrepreneur. With the lack of any formal management training, retaining talent and utilising the human capital efficiently are major grey areas for an entrepreneur.

“SEE”ing THE ENTREPRENEUR    

It is this gap between a “nobody” and a “somebody” that the “SEE” plans to bridge. Its motto is to see through the journey of a person from an insightful youth to a successful entrepreneur. At SEE, we would groom the individuals with bright ideas, not only with entrepreneurship skills but also with hands on experience of handling a business. Unlike other management institutions that merely teach management concepts for better paying job, at SEE, the focus would be purely on creating one’s own venture. We also intend to fill the vacuum between angel investors and venture capitalists and young entrepreneurs. As larger funds are usually not interested in investing small amounts of money, say under $1M, because the general partners are legally required to monitor the investment, and it takes as much effort to monitor a large investment as it does a small investment[15], so at SEE, the capital will be raised by SEE on behalf of its would be partners, which would thereafter will be redistributed among the budding entrepreneurs as per requirement. The seed capital would be proportioned in a mutually agreed ratio between the entrepreneur and SEE and for a period marginally lesser than the repayment period of the SEE. This would make the SEE a legal partner of the startup and hence besides monitoring the progress of the business, it would use its experience and contacts to generate profits. This involvement of SEE with the core of the business is where it differs from other microfinance institutes which only lend money at higher interest rates considering the risks involved (Grameen Bank's interest rate (reducing balance basis) on its main credit product is about 20%)[16] distancing itself both from the risks as well as from the profits generated. Moreover, being a part of the entire business cycle, SEE doesn’t land up the poor borrowers in a perpetual ever ballooning debt trap unlike any microfinance instrument which merely acts as a modern version of age old money lenders who take advantage of the poor credibility of the rural populace. This constant monitoring of SEE would further reduce the defaulting ratio of lenders and proportionately also increase the chances of creation of a successful venture. Thus this would provide a win-win situation for both, as the entrepreneur would not only receive the seed capital for his dream venture, but would also get the expertise of SEE, while for the SEE, it gets to generate profits diversifying into different businesses with minimum human capital and resources.
Inspite of aiming to be a self sustaining business venture in itself, the term “SCHOOL” in SEE reiterates its social objective to empower the rural population with the market knowledge to create a sustainable difference in their lives, rather than making them dependent on other organizations to fund their living.
However, one question that remains unanswered is the composition of SEE that makes it a credible enough organization to pool resources from the market. SEE plans to bring together the efforts of various NGO’s and microfinancing institutes working for the development of rural India. Besides, as the requisite capital for rural entrepreneurship is comparatively less, people from urban background with a better credit history can take the loan on behalf of his rural counterpart at lower interest rates.      

SEE THE IMPACT  

Every single entrepreneur churned out by the SEE, would create more jobs for the rural Indian population. Considering entrepreneurs generally create ventures in their homeland as they know the local economics better than anywhere else’s, this would create jobs all around the nation partially resolving the migration issue. SEE idealises to reverse the age-old vicious circle of "low income, low saving & low investment", into virtuous circle of "low income, injection of credit, investment, more income, more savings and more investment".[17] More youths empowered with jobs and financial security will not go down the path of extremism and self destruction, addressing marginally the internal security issue. The entrepreneurs creating own ventures, will no more look towards the government for jobs, slackening the enormous pressure on the government exchequers. More returns for the entrepreneurs will pressurize the government to create laws to foster entrepreneurship. In a more stable environment, traditional employment creators like tourism and manufacturing will get a big boost, improving the overall national economy.
Thus, the SEE in its own humble way, intends to protect the fundamental right to live of numerous young Talib Khan’s and instil a small change that inturn leads to a chain of reactions, leading us to our destined “Vision 2020”.


[1] “The Outlook”  magazine, August 2nd 1999 issue, “Martyrs To Unemployment”
[2] http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=30543
[3] “Businessworld” magazine, Dec 08-05 Jan 09 issue, “Figures That Don’t Talk”
[4] “The Times of India”, 28th Feb, 2010 issue, “Children of a violent past see no future”
[5] Eva Burrow quotes, www.thinkexist.com
[6] “The Times of India”, 28th Feb, 2010 issue, “Kashmir’s Stone Age”
[7] “The Times of India”, 11th Mar, 2008 issue, “36% of scientists at NASA are Indians: Govt survey
[8] “Unemployment and migration” - Swati Narayan – www.indiatogether.com
[9] “India’s Youth Power” – Rahul Singh’s blog
[10] “The Outlook”  magazine, May 7th 2001 issue, “Work: A Generation Gap”
[11] “Youth Unemployment :Social  Balance Sheet-Entrepreneurship Strategy towards job creation” by Dr. Nagendra P. Singh
[12] “India needs more entrepreneurs than managers” - Dhawal Shah, www. zeromillion.com
[13] “Fully Utilizing Social Resources can Eliminate Unemployment” - Ashok Natarajan

[14] “The Challenges for Entrepreneurship Today” – www.smallbusinessnotes.com


[15] "All Financing Sources Are Not Equal" – MIT Enterprise forum


[16] “Grameen Bank” - Wikepedia
[17] “A short history of Grameen Bank” – www. grameen-info.org

Sunday, June 19, 2011

The literary vagabond


Far from the madding crowd
Once again I set out,
with some penny to spare
and plenty of time to stand and stare.

Summer it is I say
on the AC as my hands I lay
CDs, camera, pen and notepad
Carried them all, I'm glad.

The music goes ta ra rum pum
and along I hum;
A sparrow I spot
and a lady in topknot.

I take a turn and go bump
Yeah, I missed noticing a hump.
Silly of me, I think
As my mind's eye I blink.

Now I am away from the jungle concrete
with none to run a rat race with;
I race against myself with glee
To all, do the same I plea.

It’s about time I reached the lake
To myself I thus spake.
Though I haven't, I wonder why
and simply drove by.

I drove for long but came along none
Confused I looked around,
to catch hold of and ask a passer-by
can you tell me the way to the lake, mere bhai?

Lost my way, I was told.
Ahha! on my hands as a kerchief I unfold.
To wipe vigorously my face
of sweat, leaving no trace.

Again I go, back to the wheel
for some more driving drill.
I steer steady and fast
while hoping my energy would last.

Of sunshine and rain
and growing up again;
the singer sang full-throated
as I honked full and in my driving skills, I gloated.

Soon enough I noticed water, all blue
Caught my fancy, its hue.
I stopped the engine and stared
'til from behind someone's horn he blared.

Sorry, I said and parked at the lot
and took to my heels with the hamper I brought
Eat I must now, chicken and bone
over my shoulder, very brightly as the sun shone.

With none to disturb my melancholy mood
over nature, Him and life I brood.
Who am I? Why am I here?
Questions such as these in my mind I bear.

I ate my fill
and with plenty of time to kill;
let me eyes drift afar
leaving the doors of my imagination, ajar.

Clouds like white puffy, smoke travelled wide and far
Country, state, region for them's no bar
They are free and know no boundary
Why, but these are for humans to worry!

What have we come to, naught?
In a pensive mood, I thought.
Wish we can be more human and alive
To be compassionate to one and all, can we strive?

Thus I left the lake and was home bound
To a survival amidst pollution of air and sound.
But to my thoughts can we pay some heed?
Beings of all race, community and creed!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

IROM WHO?


Heard about Anna Hazare, didn’t you? The household name of sacrifice and the toast of Indian media. Yes man, he is the famous Gandhian who has taken up our cause to fight against corruption. It took him a mammoth 97 hour long fast to make himself heard. Even though the government is yet to accede to his demand he still stands tall to fight. 15th August is his final deadline to the thick skinned, utterly corrupted Indian government and then he moves for a fast unto death. Dude, he is a hero. The discussion continued for another 5 minutes or so.

Heard about Baba Ramdev? Man, are you kidding me! Who doesn’t know about the famous yogi? He has cure for everything from anorexia to baldness to heart disease. He was undemocratically evicted from Delhi and air lifted to Haridwar but that guy didn’t lose his faith. He fasted there too. He is an icon man. 

Well, but didn’t he ended his fast without any results? 

What else you expect.....You want him to die for this corrupted bunch of bureaucrats. See a living man can fight his battle another day. The debate rolled on for another half an hour.

Hey by the way, you are really quite an activist with your level of awareness. You have then definitely heard about Irom Chanu Sharmila?

 Irom who?

Yes that’s the question million of Indians must ask themselves today. Irom who? 

Without wasting any time on hero worshipping which we Indians are really fond of let me get straight into the statistics then. While Anna Hazare’s fast lasted for a mere 97 hours, Baba Ramdev’s ordeal stood for 9 days, in contrast Irom’s struggle is continuing for the past 10 years, 7 months and 10 days and is still counting. 

Did anyone said Irom who? 

Well then, while we made such a hue and cry over the Ramlila maidan incident, now coined as the Ravanlila incident, a spit on our democratic ideals; Irom Sharmila has been in and out of prison for the past 10 years.

What was she convicted for? 

She was convicted under Section 309 of the IPC, “attempt to commit suicide” and that too for the first time on the third day of her fast. But then some are pretty lucky to be let off the hook for the same crime committed. After all, India is a country of diversity isn’t it?

Well but seriously, that fasting period seems fabricated. I mean 10 years is not a joke!

Yeah it isn’t. Police has forcibly used nasogastric intubation to keep her alive.

What’s that?

Insertion of a plastic tube through the nose, past the throat and down into the stomach.

Bloody hell, dats inhumane, what’s she fighting for by the way?

To repeal the Armed Forces Special Power Act (1958).

Never heard of that buddy?

Cause you don’t face it in your everyday life. AFSPA has been imposed in Manipur and most of the Northeast since 1980. It allows the army to use force, shoot or arrest anyone without warrant on the mere suspicion that someone has committed or was about to commit a cognisable offence. The Act also prohibits any legal or judicial proceeding against army personnel without the previous sanction of the Central Government. On 2nd November 2000, 10 civilians were brutally murdered in Imphal by the Assam rifles that triggered her fast which continues till this day.

But then who cares. It doesn’t affect India, isn’t it? No candle light marches, no slogan shouting in Jantar Mantar, no sms or e-mails to ignite passions, no celebrity endorsements, no red carpet welcome at the airport, no Guru to feed. And where are our 24x7 media centres? After all, it’s an obscure martial law in the jungles of north east right, not good enough to raise TRP’s in Indian mainland? And our politicians? Well, Manipur seats are too trivial to shift electoral balance in our massive nation.

Silence prevailed.

We departed but then a question lingered in our minds, how many more years will be wasted before we at least recognise,

 IROM WHO?


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Why should we support Anna hazare


There are very few moments in life when one can be an inseparable part of history. The variety of history that appeals to each one however may vary considerably. For some, it was Indias’s recent cricket world cup victory when throngs of youth devoured the streets for a victory march across every corner of the nation. For some it might be Babri masjid demolition or Godhra incident that divided our nation in two halves. For others it might be our Kargil victory over Pakistan. The incidents might cause a huge debate among the masses about the defining moments of our history which we were a part of. However, among all the events we were sometimes the silent, sometimes the elated or sometimes the saddened spectator. 

The moment that dawn on us today, calls us to play the role. The role of a historian, the role of a fighter, the role of a model citizen, the role of a human being. For once, we will determine the course of history. When Ambedkar drafted the Indian Constitution, never did he think that the protectors of it will be the people to make it naked to the bones. When Netaji, Bhagat Singh and others accepted death for our liberation, never did they think that the common Indians will again be ruled barbarically by their own. When the Mahatma fought for an independent idealistic India, never did he think that it would be papers with his image that would divide the country once again between India and Bharat.

All these years, we too were a creator of this cancerous state, sometimes giving bribes or sometimes taking it. But the moment for redemption is “NOW”.  The arrogance of the numerous corrupt governments lies infront of us. Our very constitutional right of expression lies in shambles today. Every penny that our blood and sweat earns is someone’s entertainment property. Otherwise who can explain the ballooned property of all the ministers? For once we should take a stand and not be the cheerleaders of a mega opera of our future. Let’s stand tall and united. Let’s support Anna Hazare and his group of fighters.  Let us all be a part of history written by us.
 Pl log on to http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/ & join the fight against corruption

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Obituary Of Death

Guys for once let this b the moment where the silence prevails.....and I quienten down for the Cold pangs of death to dawn closer to us......If u love it....pl leave a comment as to what u feel these words of mine are all about......I would love to hear it from u all.....aftr all..........Death is the cruel reality for which we all live & for once the pied piper wants u 2 croon the dirge with him....

THE OBITUARY OF DEATH

                                                                                       - SAPTADEEP BASU (2011)

How many times will you stab me with it?
How many times will I bleed for it?
For how many days will my dried up blood quench your thirst?
For how many years will I get punished so hard?

Once again I walk towards my freedom......
Like a profane traveller for a holy land in search;
Fouling the Ganges with my dirty soul,
But the elusive salvation never caught my hold.

Bartered away my conscience for my right to live,
Defiled my soul for a promise to keep,
Butchered my love for I had only hatred to give,
But held back a tear for a memory to relive.
The moment for redemption came once again to me.....
Clamouring for blood for me to bleed;
But mine was darker than the ones I bled,
And life tricked again and refused to rest.

No “Rest In Peace” was what I prayed,
A brutal death would have sufficed my corpse,
Searching for the bullet that engraved my name,
Stopping the heart that beat too long.

But Time dragged me into the abyss of life.......
Fighting for my death where I survived,
Holding on to the last words of mine.......
“The Obituary of Death” is where I resign.

****************

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