Experiences at a polling booth

This is an election season and only two phases of the General Elections are remaining now. This election, unlike most others has generated a lot of interest in the nation with almost record turn outs in states. The main reason for this is that people see their roles in politics as very significant and it’s the poor who are the most enthusiastic voters more often than not. Gujarat, my home state voted on 30^th April and I voted as well. A lot of buzz was there in the air with many social organizations encouraging people to vote. All political parties campaigned hard and it was a day for the electorate to exercise their franchise.  

An old woman being taken to a polling booth for voting.

I reached the voting booth quite early at 7.15 am and was surprised to see a lot of rush of the people at that hour, people are up earlier than usual and you can hear the sound of vehicles going down the streets which usually remains sombre. The policemen were ensuring whether all the security arrangements are in place or not. Many people came in as early as 6.45 am in their jogging gear. There were long queues and I had to wait for almost an hour before getting a chance to vote. During that time I interacted with few senior citizens and while we discussed about politics (which was on the expected lines), I was quite taken aback by their enthusiasm and energy to contribute towards building a strong nation. They had a strong sense of nationalism in them which was visible during the course of our discourse. While, they were all retired from their professional lives, they still kept themselves busy by doing some social work and helping their family members in some way or the other. And one of those uncles (as I would fondly call them) told me that to succeed in life it requires hard work, perseverance and basic honesty; all the talk on innovation and big ideas are required no doubt, but you cannot compensate hard work with that. These lines made me think about a puzzle called life and certainly inspired me bringing instantly a smile filled with adulation. I felt good hearing those nuggets of wisdom from them.

During the time at the booth, I saw people coming on wheel chairs being accompanied by their family members, people with all sorts of physical disabilities. It just made me more responsible. A friend also saw 7-8 months pregnant women coming in to vote, people who could not manage two meals a day were there too. I stayed at polling booth for some more time hoping to observe different shades of our diverse democracy. Some came in big cars, others by walking or through different modes but they all were equal only for few minutes though. It is during elections you are judged as a voter along with everyone else as a voter. Caste, religion don’t matter on that day what matters is only one thing ‘Vote’. There were some youngsters like me who were excited to vote. I saw ‘selfies’ being clicked outside the booth and imagined that those pictures will be soon uploaded on social networking sites.

Over and above, I was impressed with the majority of the people I saw that day. It was a day which I enjoyed.    

The moment.

Life is made up of moments. Isn’t it? Some bring in joy, pleasure, happiness and some of them causing pain, agony, regret, resentment and some passing by almost unnoticeably but still helping us to become better human beings.

Sometimes, it takes just a moment to experience that feeling called ‘love. It takes only a moment to lose all the respect that you’ve earned with a mindless thought or an immature action/behavior. You can apologize but it will take a long time to forget. The wounds do not heal that fast especially when you utter something in moment of madness.  

Sometimes it takes only a moment to react or else you’ll end up regretting it for life. It takes a moment to say something nice. You might have said it and forgotten later but the person to whom you’ve said that will not forget. Kindness is usually not forgotten.

I have had my own moments of sheer joy, and my moments of grief as well. The former still bring smiles, sometimes laughter as well and those are invaluable moments. And the latter are all about accepting what has happened in the past. We should not carry any grudges against anyone. Forgiveness is the sweetest form of revenge. It would be far easier for us to ‘forgive’ if we understand that the forgiveness is for us and not for the perpetrator of that pain.  

Life is all about creating moments which bring in joy, happiness, laughter and then reminiscing them as and when we feel like doing so.      

General Elections 2014; Interesting battle lies ahead

You know, an election is just around the corner when the discussion during the dinner turns into a political debate every other day with your family members. The campaign trail has already begun for the political parties with candidates being announced, political deals being made and rallies being organized all around the country. The country is just 10 days away from the first phase of polling with 81.45 crore citizens being eligible to vote this time around. Voters are now more informed than before and certainly the election issues have seen a shift from the traditional caste based vote bank politics to Corruption, Inflation and Governance issues.

There are the same old two big national players along with some regional parties but a new competitor in the form of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has added spice to this. Their actions might not sound convincing to everyone but one cannot ignore their popularity especially with the prevailing anti-corruption sentiment in the country. They have without any doubt changed the political narrative of this nation. And now suddenly, everyone is trying to reach to ‘aam aadmi’ by projecting themselves as honest and efficient. And all the talk of Third Front will disappear once the results are announced. These regional parties will then indulge in horse trading with the main ones.

There is a strong anti-Congress sentiment in the country with the grand old party of India struggling to fight the elections in the right earnest. They have failed to deliver and then they again turn back to promises. They are like those lazy kids who fail in the exams every time they appear and ask for grace marks from their teachers. The unfulfilled promises, with a PM which is rarely being seen speaking or accepting mistakes and a scam tainted tenure at the helm are the only things with which this government will be remembered for. Rahul Gandhi has never shown inclination to take a leadership role and this will only hurt the party’s chances in elections. The spin doctors of the Congress have tried to put him as the face of anti-corruption but given the track of the government which his party leads; this is a cruel joke or sheer ignorance.

The politician who has been targeted the most and the one who inspires outright adulation or instant hate amongst the electorate is the PM face of the BJP backed NDA government looks confident and determined to bring back the NDA into power. His claims of development have been put to intense scrutiny but he has delivered in Gujarat. Business and Industry leaders see a lot of promise and hope in him. His image of being the ‘vikas purush’ has gained traction in the country particularly among the youth. Any young, aspirational Indian would like to hear more about employment, growth and development than riots or different definitions of secularism.

Indian political scene has changed quite considerably from the politics of caste and ideology to horse trading to criminalization of politics to coalition politics and not to mention corruption which goes hand in hand with all of those. But this time the landscape has changed a bit and the AAP must be given credit for making corruption as the election issue and to take plunge to cleanse politics. It has forced other parties to bring about some morality into their working style. As a result more and more parties are now avoiding candidates with a criminal background; however winnable they may be. AAP has got people involved in politics and this has led to a more informed voter choice and opinion. 

Caste based politics or that of minority is outdated. In this election Modi has brought development as an election issue which is in consonance with the changing India. Promises, sops and freebies, minority appeasement policies are common during election time. But people have self pride, and they neither want anything free nor pitied; even poor work as rag pickers to make a living. People have now moved on, leaving behind the past, with common demands for jobs, security, housing and healthcare for better quality of life, and education for children's future.

For all this to happen, there is a need for awareness amongst the citizens to exercise their right to vote. The middle class is increasingly cynical of the electoral process. One vote is just a drop in this vast ocean so why do people bother to vote at all? But still an ordinary citizen continues to vote may be, that is more out of hope than conviction.

Will this election be the change which we desperately want or are we still waiting?

Why sharing is important in life

Last week, I was reading a book which had this story of kindness of a poor girl. The girl begged for a living and she would always ask for food and not money or anything else. This surprised many people and after many days’ people got to know that she used to feed young boys and girls who were forced to beg by their parents. She says ‘There’s no point living when you don’t share your things with others and adds that it brings in happiness’. After reading that, I experienced a certain degree of satisfaction that there is still some kindness left in this otherwise materialistic world. 

It is a simple lesson that nature has taught us and yet as human beings we find it difficult to implement it in our respective lives. We don’t need to pull down others to climb the ladder of success. It is a wrong perception. Many people agree to this and say ‘That’s the way our corporate culture works.’ But this is just hiding the inadequacies of their nature or else you can be fair and succeed too. Seldom do we see a person sharing credit of a good work done. Make no mistake about it; sharing is very important in every sphere of our life.

Sharing is an instinctive feeling in humans. Our ancestors shared food, knowledge and resources and helped us to grow. 

Sharing is the very reason for the success of Social media. It has allowed people to share their experiences, emotions, pictures, disappointments etc with others and quick ‘likes’, sympathy brighten our dampened moods. Sharing of positive thoughts help us to feel good and it helps our physical and mental health. It reduces our stress levels. Similarly Google and Wikipedia are household names through sharing of knowledge for free. Sharing creates a trust which is important for happiness and emotional security. And personally, sharing our fears, feelings with our trusted or loved ones helps us to create a bonding and relationship of trust. It makes us feel secure and happy. Sharing our stories connects us to one another. To share is to heal yourself, but also to inspire change in someone else’s life. There is by default a part of our body which feels good when we share our happiness with others.

Many people with a self centered attitude argue that sharing our possessions reduces what we have, but studies have proven that it brings back a lot of benefits in terms of love and satisfaction. Psychiatrists, Sociologists, Doctors, Thinkers and Spiritualists have agreed with this, and it is our instinct and conscience which feels that way too after helping a needy person. And this is the reason why many corporate leaders believe in sharing their wealth through different platforms. A survey revealed that when a person gives away a certain sum of money, it helps lift his own well being more than if he spends it on himself. Sharing simultaneously satisfies the requirements of both self-interest and altruism.

But in today’s day and age, the old act of sharing has disappeared. We make just about enough for ourselves and have no heart left for sharing. Sharing helps in many ways than one and those who wish to succeed must help others to succeed too. Ask yourself a question; what is the use of that happiness or success which is not shared? If we give happiness to others, we get happiness too. Those who want to live well must strive to help others to live well too. Spreading the warmth and goodness makes this world a better place than it is actually!

The quiet struggle in our lives

Life changes quickly. Instantly. And then we try and reminisce the moment it changed and realize how simple and ordinary it was. How everything was normal when that moment which changed our lives happened. But, then as it’s been said before as well; life is not a bed of roses there are thorns too. I think of our daily and sometimes monotonous lives, the frustrations we endure. I think how we struggle through the platitudinous nature of our lives; buying groceries, standing in long queues, paying bills, cleaning everything, managing the house. Even at work, some petty issues put us in a spot of bother; we get bogged down by seemingly harmless things.

I think of all this and could not help but wonder that it this struggle which brings out the real value of our special moments. I myself get trapped into this web of struggle but the key is always to move on after a storm. Sometimes life can totally screw us. No matter how hard we try; we do not get the desired results because of different reasons like financial problems, failed relationships or other things which exhaust us. But it’s in pain and struggle that we experience growth. Pain, struggle and defeat show us who we are.

 The people around us enjoy success and life seems very easy for them. So we ask ourselves ‘Why is it a struggle for me?’ And yes there are some events which do not go in our way as we would’ve liked it to, like family tragedies, illness etc. These events are beyond our control and these I believe cause a lot of pain, agony and stress to us.

But, let’s face it to live a successful life we need to embrace every pain that life throws at us this will allow us to grow and improve as a person. Once we endure pain then life becomes a lot more beautiful, we get to know how our people are. We also need to love and accept ourselves with whatever talent, skill and limitations which we have. At the same time it is very difficult to implement what I have written but we can at least try our level best to do so.