Bye, Schumi; will miss you ...

I do not exactly remember the first race I watched of Michael Schumacher’s. But I distinctly remember the first “serious” Formula 1 talk I had at home. It was the 1^st of May in 1994, the day the world lost Ayrton Senna in a fatal crash at the San Marino Grand Prix while driving for Williams. It was perhaps the most devastating incident in Formula 1 fans’ life as we lost the most beloved racer of all times but that was also the time when the ascent of Michael Schumacher had already begun. Alain Prost completed the triad with these two as the most famous drivers in F1.  

Watching Michael Schumacher drive for the last time in the history of Formula 1 today made me go through a roller-coaster of emotions. Today was not the day of Schumi’s final retirement alone but also brakes being put on one of the most beautiful chapters of my life. I have spent many evenings enjoying F1 races with family and friends, with the sole aim of watching Schumi race! For me F1 was Schumi and visa-versa! If F1 became my most favourite sport, the credit goes to Schumi!

Schumi’s Ferrari Red was my colour too! The fact that red was always the most attractive colour for me perhaps played its part partially in attaching me to the most vibrant and energetic colour and the F1 team of the world! For me, Red denoted Life and immense life Schumi infused on tracks!   

Ask a Formula 1 fan and he/she will tell you that F1 is not merely a sport; it is meditation. Yes, meditation! The roar of those high power sophisticated engines in unison put you in a trance! Mesmerized, you watch those cars fly by! In fact many a times watching F1 races I have enjoyed the most peaceful of my sleeps! Well, getting up soon enough to check for the current grid positions!

Watching a F1 race is like watching high tides crash onto your beach! The sound of the sea is akin to the thrilling sensation felt at hearing a racing car roar by! Both make you experience life’s calmest moments! Don’t believe it? Try sitting on a beach and putting on the TV on a Race-Day!

In 2006 when Michael Schumacher announced his retirement, I felt like I had lost a crucial part of my being. F1 without Schumi was simply not for me. My most favourite sport suddenly seemed charmless. And gradually I found myself missing out on many of the races – a rarity in Schumi-days! The F1 Diary which I kept also lost importance for me; I would fill it up only occasionally, updating the records reluctantly. I was a Reluctant F1 fan, now!

Came 2010 and Michael Schumacher started his second innings as a race driver! This time with Mercedes and his colour changed to white. And along with he brought one of his most ardent admirers – that’s me! – back on track! Of course, like Schumi himself, I too believed in his capabilities to become a champion again but unfortunately that did not happen. Though the second phase of his career did not see him having even a single podium finish, but his presence on the track made all the races worth watching!

I cannot thank God enough for giving me the opportunity to watch my Hero live in the 2012 Indian Grand Prix! Seeing him wave to race enthusiasts – including me! - while taking a lap around the track in a decorated open trailer along with all other drivers, I couldn’t believe my eyes! I was seeing my most favourite sport person in flesh and blood! Schumi looked as handsome as on television and in magazines! The radiance of his face and the brilliance of his brain all came through just the way he is! It was pure ecstasy! Hypnotized I was looking at him! It was Dream come true! Being at the same place where Schumi was made me tizzy! I was breathing the same air which he was! I couldn’t simply believe my own luck! I was watching The Great Michael Schumacher live! Wow!

Everything about Formula 1 was unfolding in front of my eyes like a breath-taking sequence! Everything that I had read and watched, I was experiencing in person! The excitement, the preparation, the involvement, the ceremonies, the grandstanding, the pit-stopping, the grid positions, the warm-up laps, the start-finish line, the 5 illuminating lights, the pole positions, the team crews, the grid girls, the television crews, the race cars, the safety car, the tyres, the tyre-warmers, the chequered flag, the yellow flag, the blue flag, the pit-boards, the marshals, the cranes, the screens, the laps, the circuit, the track, the sectors, the grand stand, the paddock, the pit-stop, the chicanes, the stadium itself, everything what I had ever known about F1 was all there laid out in front of me! I was a part of this amazing event on the earth! And I couldn't believe it! I was living one of the most beautiful experiences of my life! And I was thanking God for the blessings!    

And there was Michael Schumacher! And I was watching Schumi’s last venture into the Indian Grand Prix live! As the laps were reducing, my feeling of loss was increasing. I knew that soon the race would be over and I would never ever see Schumi race again – as if I had watched him live all my life!

Drivers had gone inside; crews had thinned; volunteers had also all gone; crowd had also almost disappeared but I waited for the place around to become quiet. F1 technicians had started to dismantle things around; the 5 illuminating lights were the first to be lowered. I was trying to absorb as much as possible. The Mercedes crew members were busy packing their things, leaving Schumi’s name plank at the top of his pit section to be removed last. For the team, they had already said good-bye to the beautiful Buddh International Circuit in India!

The most lasting memory of my Indian GP is of looking at Schumi’s pit for one last time before walking out of the grandstand. I wanted to take his memory within me.

Seeing Schumi race for the last time today kept bringing back beautiful memories from my life, realizing simultaneously with a heavy heart and teary eyes that this blessed moment will never ever come in my life again. All throughout the Brazilian Grand Prix today, my eyes kept trying to spot Schumi; I was almost oblivious to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel’s record matching performance at Interlagos of becoming the third driver – and the youngest - in the history of F1 to win three Championships in a row! Congrats, Sebastian; and sorry.

F1 is an amazing sport; one of the most fantastic experiences in a human’s life! Nevertheless, I do not know if I will ever enjoy it the way I did while watching Michael Schumacher race. I know for sure that I will not see Schumi come for a third stint – and he should not – and that is the reason I am so sad today :(  

Schumi, Thanks for all those amazing F1 moments and memories; I will miss you …         

Ek Tha Tiger !

The one thing that fascinates me the most about a leader is his/her mass appeal! And today Balasaheb Thackeray emerged as the most popular political leader of India going by the throng of people – 2 million! – which converged at the Shivaji Park in Bombay for his funeral. The congruence of such a large gathering, walking alongside his carriage – hearse – in the procession was unprecedented! Watching his cortege move from his residence Matoshree to Sena Bhavan and then to the cremation site – Shivaji Park – alongwith a moving sea of mourners in an almost shutdown megapolis made this popular-powerful yet controversial politician seem larger than life, in his death!

Numerous mundane thoughts crossed my minds while watching his televised funeral. Firstly, that if Balasaheb was so loved by all in Bombay and Maharashtra, then why did the same public brought his party into power only once in its more than four decades of existence? Though Shiv Sena has been winning Mumbai Municipal elections consistently, why couldn’t Maharashtrians trust him with their fate when it came to state administration? And, how could he sustain his powers on Mumbai for so long? Also, if Bal Thackeray was such an immensely important political leader – which he was – then why was Media’s attention more on other mainstream national politicians than him, except for interviewing him once in a while whenever any controversy erupted due to his hard-line stance. The fact that he had receded into his den – where would a tiger live! – and secluded himself from active public life having handed over the party reins to his son Uddhav couldn’t be the case for Media’s limited interest in him. Recently, we had seen his nephew Raj hogging the Media limelight much more than both father and son combined.

Being blessed with a strongly fierce and proud personality, why did he restrict his patriotic pride primarily towards his own community – Marathi Manoos? I wonder if he realized that his brand of politics with a strong dose of nationalistic pride bordering on the verge of fundamentalism couldn’t succeed at the national level.   

This however doesn't say in least bit that Balasaheb’s influence over life and lives in Mumbai – for him Bombay was always Mumbai – had diminished, though it had dimmed lately no doubt. He remained as significant and relevant as ever. However, the junta of Bombay and Maharashtra appeared to have moved on from his divisive politics as they didn’t see it yielding anything for improving their livelihood. But perhaps he had stayed in their hearts and minds and souls too as it were reflected in the crying faces of millions across the city today.      

And also in the live coverage of his funeral procession by the Indian Media. Frankly, I was a bit surprised. To hear all participants including the television anchors wax eloquent about the great personality that Balasaheb was made me a bit uncomfortable. There was of course no doubt that for any political leader to have such a large followers base could only be a dream, still seeing journalists come together to eulogize him sounded deliberately biased – as if they had been given the duty to lionize him in his death! All of a sudden his fundamentalist politics and his controversial tenure as a strong regional politician became irrelevant. Everybody was singing praises of him; there were anecdotes and personal interactions and experiences being shared with the television viewers. Perhaps they wanted to stay connected with the current mood of the crowd and remain on the right side of the popular tide! Otherwise, except for mentioning it as a passing remark, not even a single person on various TV panels questioned Balasaheb’s admiration of Adolf Hitler. In no country on this Earth, certainly not in a functioning democracy, could a political leader – howsoever popular – could get away with his pro-Hitler remarks! And our esteemed Media chose to willfully ignore those oft repeated dangerously deep words of Bal Thackeray.

Watching Balasaheb’s body being consigned to flames and millions of his followers weeping inconsolably, I wished I had a chance to meet him in person – a desire which surfaced only today – and ask him: “Why do you admire Adolf Hitler? And what do you think of Hitler’s ethnic cleansing and killing of 6 million Jews?” … Now that he has left his earthly adobe and joined Hitler’s soul in God’s paradise, would he ask his Hero that “Why did he do what he did?”

There were many more thoughts clouding my mind: that witnessing millions converge and cry for him, how would he be feeling now? That would the other political leaders present at his funeral be feeling jealous of Balasaheb’s unmatched popularity? And, importantly, would they be learning a lesson of two from his life – and death - about mass politics? Most significantly, what would the people be feeling out there? Would they be able to sustain their feeling of loss for long? How long? Would the public support Uddhav in the same manner? Or will they prefer the firebrand Raj to the cooler cousin? Or will both the brothers join hands and make their political base stronger in absence of the towering presence of Balasaheb? Were all people in the crowd Marathis? Or were there South Indians and Muslims and Biharis who have been at the receiving end of Shiv Sena’s divisive politics at various stages of state’s politics? And if all twenty lakhs were Marathis – middle class Marathis – then how many were left at home to watch his last journey on TV? Could Biharis have come out in grief over Balasaheb’s death and with their great gesture won over the Shiv Sainiks forever? Will both the younger scions of Thackeray clan rethink their political philosophy and make it more inclusive and take all Mumbaikars along, irrespective of their state of birth and in turn start a new era for Shiv Sena in state politics? Would they be thinking of expanding their base to national level by cashing upon the massive support shown by the people of India towards Balasaheb in their hours of personal loss? Will the grieving youngest generation of Thackerays – Aditya included – take the lead in taking Shiv Sena beyond the boundaries of Maharashtra?

Well, my thoughts continued streaming in …     

Another aspect which fascinates me about a mass leader is his/her thought process: I wonder what could be going in his/her mind seeing the supporters surround in massive numbers? I am sure Balasaheb too would have felt overwhelmed seeing his followers follow him to his funeral pyre and cry for him. In fact, India as a whole felt the loss. Because it is not at all easy being a mass leader for long and Balasaheb seemed to thrash all possible theories about sustaining mass support today. May he rest in peace :)

Balasaheb Thackeray will live in stories of India as “Ek Tha Tiger”!         

Congratulations, Mr. President Barack Obama!

Watching you deliver your victory speech tonight I got transported to Grant Park in Chicago where exactly four years ago on the 4^th of November in 2008 you had mesmerized the whole world with your maiden victory speech! You had just created history by becoming the first “black” president of the United States of America and had gained entry into the otherwise forbidden walls of the White House!  

Tonight also it felt exactly the same. Seeing you come on the stage gave me goose bumps. And as you started speaking, my tears started rolling down. My tears were testimony to pure joy! Just like 2008, this year too I was absolutely confident about your chances for the second term. And then I realized how fast the last four years had flown by! I went down my memory lane.

Your journey towards the White House which started with you making a hypnotizing keynote speech at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles in 2004 brought me into your Universe as an ardent admirer! And I have been a selfless companion ever since, just like billions of your fans all across the globe! Interestingly, and a bit unbelievably, an average Indian was not even aware of your existence back then; they woke up to your presence only in 2008.

Your 2008 nomination as the presidential candidate seemed just a formality from the beginning itself as you were far ahead in terms of qualities and capabilities than all other competing candidates. Nevertheless, as the campaigning progressed, the world along with America got to discover you better. It was almost like witnessing an evolution of Barack Obama, the future president of the United States of America which was going to govern this incredible country of yours for at least next eight years!

“Change You Want” and “Change you can believe in” became synonymous with you! And after a long time people believed in political slogans. They got to greet a genuine leader who was not a politician. The circle of your charisma was not limited to the boundaries of America; your fame had travelled far and wide. The congregation of millions at the Tiergarten in Berlin in July of 2008, waiting patiently for hours to hear you speak live was the proof of you graduating as a world leader. Never before in the history of humanity did any “foreign” political leader have your kind of inclusive influence on people in a faraway land! People’s response all across the globe was simply mindboggling! I and my entire family had eagerly awaited your speech since evening; sleep was the last thing on our mind – and in our eyes – though it was already night in India.             

I fell in irreversible love with you in March of 2008 while listening to your “Race in America” speech in Philadelphia! What a speech it was! Unbelievable! The impact of your words could still be heard reverberating in my heart! That day our bond got cemented forever!

I followed your presidential campaign like a shadow. I joined your mailing list, I read about you extensively on the Net and in your books; you seemed a part of my being; your family members felt like belonging to my family; in my heart and mind, there was no distinction because of geographical & geopolitical barriers. I was no less than a walking encyclopaedia on you!

I distinctly remember the early morning of 4^th November of 2008. I was sleeping when my sister called from Shanghai, accusing me of “still sleeping while your Obama is winning!” And soon my parents and other family members called to congratulate me on your victory! Yes, for them, it was my victory as well! It was as if everybody in my circle had accepted the fact that I had a shared fate with you – just like the billions all across the globe!        

Today also the sequence of events was exactly the same. My sister called me in the early morning to “wake me up” to the election results! My parents and friends congratulated me on your victory! And, today again I cried listening to your victory speech in Chicago!

And I remembered your Toots – your grandmother – who too would have felt exactly the same as she had four years ago – blessing you from up above the sky so high! Wish God had kept her alive for just two more days in ’08 so that she could herself witness the beautiful metamorphosis of her “black” grandson into the 44^th – and 1^st black – president of the United States of America!

And how could I not remember your amazing mother Anne who transferred her extraordinary genes into you and made you what you are today!

Now I wait for your inauguration in January of next year. In fact everything from your earlier inauguration is so fresh in my memory that four years seem just like yesterday. I await you inauguration speech just like I did before.  

“Barack” means “blessed” and blessed indeed is America, and so is the world, with you being there as the president of the United States of America! May God be with you, as always! And, hope to see you soon in India – this time with Shasha, Malia and Bo, besides the First Lady Michelle :) 

Congratulations, again, Mr. President Barack Obama!

Consenting rape victims

God created the stars and the moons and the planets and the solar systems and the galaxies and the black holes and the Universe and the birds and the animals and the insects and the microbes and the plants and the humans and the demons and the politicians and the Indian politicians… Beyond this the God lost the plot!

“Human Genome Project” could come to aid if we want to get insights into what all goes inside the mind of an Indian politician – well, most of them. We need to know how exactly the neurons “conceive” – to “perceive” is a human trait – a situation and transmit those signals to the world in form of bizarre statements! The intricate workings of this unique species’ weirdly wired existence have to be due to mutations in their DNA sequence. And I am sure that no CT Scan or MRI will be able to map this breed’s brain, howsoever advanced the equipment may be.

No evolution theory will be able to infer this kind of mutation in a creature!

A girl gets raped; there is a case of gang rape; a female toddler is sexually abused by neighbour and killed; a father-in-law exploits his son’s bride to satisfy his carnal desires; incestuous tendencies get reported; a teacher seduces his pupil; etc. etc. These are a few examples of heinous atrocities being perpetrated against the “better-half” of India’s population.

Take a slice from our honourable politicians responses: “girls wear small dresses inviting rape”; “girls should not be out of home after dark, else they will get raped”; “girls use mobile phone to be in touch with boys and thus get raped”; … but the blockbuster of the conclusion is when they say: “rape happens only when the girl is willing!”

Tell me, can your ordinary mind fathom the “meaning” behind this distinguished deduction?

In the examples enumerated above, I fail to see the ‘consent’ of the victim – here, a female in all the mentioned cases. Did the girl “invite” the boy to rape her? Did the female “seduce” the group of men to gang rape her? Did the baby child “motivate” the neighbour to molest and murder her? Did the woman make the “move” to have sex with her groom’s father? Did the daughter “throw” herself at her own father for “consensual” physical relationship? Did the girl student “inspire” her teacher to sexually abuse her? …

To apply the ‘rape-inviting’ reasoning of our illustrious politicians: was the rape committed due to the female protagonists in all these cases displaying any of the “taboo” characteristics - either wearing a short dress or staying out till late evening or using a mobile phone or because she was “willing”?

Has the world ever before heard of ‘consenting victim’ in any crime, including rape? Well, in India we have these theories doing the rounds, all because of the brilliant logic proffered by our equally brilliant politicians!

See, even you are left speechless and shell-shocked!

I try scratching my head to be able to comprehend the grand logic behind all what our politicians say about ‘consenting victims’ but fail comprehensively.

To add insult to injury of rape victims, yet another great argument is being offered by esteemed elders of some section of our society: “marry them off by 16 and prevent rape.”

Some even blamed the humble chowmein for all evils in the Indian society! (I am sure this story hasn’t yet reached the shores of China, else India could be fighting hard to deflect a diplomatic crisis and an international outrage in the UN!)

God save India.

Neither there is any sense nor any sensibility. I wonder when they rest their head on pillow at night and think about their day gone by, how do they get a sound sleep? And before that when they get back home to their grandmother-mother-sister-wife-daughter-granddaughter, how do they face them? If I had a father who was a politician and who made such atrocious announcements, I wouldn’t have been able to face the world out of shame; and, of course, I would be cursing God for making me inherit those obnoxious genes!

All these extraordinary things happen in a nation which is led by incredible women personalities in numerous social-economic-political fields; and a country which prides itself on having its divine pantheon dominated by female Goddesses!... In spite of the Indian society having ‘evolved’ to a significant extent, it is sad to see India still being considered the most dangerous place for females in the world.   

But what is the remedy to this widespread malaise in the Indian political - social spheres?

Public have to be active in raising voices and together in boycotting such public figures – or anybody for that matter – making such dangerous remarks; Media have to be vigilant in exposing and condemning such dodgy politicians – or anybody for that matter; and above all, laws should be put in place to nail such ‘mutated’ individuals, barring them and banning them from holding public offices – or any post for that matter – for life.

Hopefully, then the God will get the plot back!     

……………….

I realize that India is not alone in having such dubious distinctions; the US also is blessed. Recently one of its politicians drew an inference regarding rapes: “female body has a remarkable ability to shut out pregnancy in case of rape!” (To read the details and his exact statement, please google.)