patRIOTism

Patriotism - From what I see around me, it might as well be available on flipkart for a bottle of ink along with self respect at a discounted price. Anything for a discount is our economics.

As much as I could define patriotism, I am unable to realise it. Remotely accessible to my otherwise logical reasoning. Perhaps, merely boasting our strengths while doing nothing is not my cup of tea. With all due respect, I find more hints of pride and patriotism in those who live outside. If this is not irony, what is?

All we are capable of is throwing ink at one of our own in protest against someone foreign in a city where people from other states are not welcome. Clearly, we got the phonetic rule on the word patRIOTism wrong.

Be water and the change

I could not have picked a day that is more suited for this post. Not so long ago, I had two favourite quotes. While one is that of Mahatma Gandhi's 'Be the change', the other one is Bruce Lee's 'Be water, my friend'. It is not until recently that it dawned on me. The underlying messages in these quotes are no different. In fact, the same view expressed differently. Change is like a flowing river. Constant yet changing. Flexibility is a virtue. Bamboo, not banyan, is likely to survive a hurricane. Even the all powerful nature adapts.

Both legends brought about the change by simply being one. Just like what an incredible leader should have - rigid flexibility. How many such leaders do we have today? In my opinion, many are leaders in their respective official titles albeit lacking the mindset.

Whenever I think about leadership, these two quotes figure prominently. They bring me back to earth only to educate me on humility. Leadership is an attitude. An humble outlook on transformation. Of course, inside-out.

 

It's only about winning

Everything should be won. Winning is everything. It is always the end that matters. In fact, the end alone matters. To be honest, I am not an ardent fan of Indian cricket team. For that matter, of late, even the sport itself. I owe my dislike to our traditional Indian attitude. All are equal. But some are less equal.

We create heroes and worship individuals in a team sport. A cliche, perhaps. When heros fail in their quests, we blame their families and girlfriends. Not so long ago, we did end up blaming a player's girlfriend for his failure to perform. If we are that candid, how come we worship certain individuals who hardly helped the team win matches in the last ten years. Mind you, the team lost to an arguably inferior team during one such hero's World record of hundred centuries. Attitude does have relevance in a sport. Unfortunately many players go irrelevant due to lack of it.

Does means matter at all? Perhaps, not. Modern minds are invariably trained to look at where we want to be over how we reach there.

In corporate world too - where analogies can easily be derived from any team sport - worshipped heros are abundant irrespective of whether they deserve or not. Always not how but what has been accomplished. In the East, this is one of the reasons why people use the word 'team' a lot in their workplaces. Upon careful observation - although not generalising - I found something interesting. The word 'team' almost always is used under such circumstance by individuals who force fit him or herself into a successful team and become an integral part of success by projecting themselves as the kingmakers. This is purely human and I have nothing against it. I am free from those desires. However, this observation triggers a thought - When the team comes first and I am leading it, where would that leave me? Ahead of the team? Hard for me to imagine, let alone comprehend.

Hero worships in a team is a typical western 'transactional' approach. Carrots and sticks. Remotely transformational. I don't know if I'm the only one who feels so. Do you also feel this way?

Anything that is abused and taken for granted loses its value. Like 'nature' so 'team'.

Note: I plan to write a series of posts on leadership. I would be glad to hear your thoughts on this subject.

A sadist nation

In order to understand the gravity of the situation in hand, I would request you to consider the following for a minute.

Imagine that you are at home all alone. You are expecting an email that is going to decide your career. That email, whatever be the content, is going to dictate your next actions. Everything is dependent on that very email that is expected any moment now. You open your computer. Internet is down.

Now close your eyes. Think about it.

Now imagine someone in a prison right now at this very moment is waiting for a message that is going to decide whether he is going to die or live tomorrow. Yes, it is only ten hours from now. Ten long hours. Please don't tell me your internet is more important than a life.

I am very much aware of venturing into a grey area. This post is about neither terrorism nor right or wrong. Only about humanity. By all means, I am against capital punishment. History never taught us that hanging a criminal brought good to the country. If we were to hang all criminals, we will be struggling to fill all 356 seats.

Even if it is decided by the 'so-called' elites that capital punishment is the way to go, why wait twenty two years? And, why so many appeals awarded? Many unanswered questions. The President is still deciding someone's life when there is only ten hours left. If this is not barbarism then what is.

As usual, the ruling partymen are cynical, arrogant, and determined to award death. It looks, as if, some of them were walking around with a noose in hand as a gift. They keep sensitising the few hundred innocent lives that were lost twenty two years ago. While I respect every life, to them, I ask one question. Where was your noose when your leader's apparent inaction costed thousands of innocent lives less than thirteen years ago?

While the lives lost anywhere due to any kind of terrorism can never be And must not be compared, it is necessary and appropriate for the politicians to keep their hidden political agenda away and look at the situation with humanity.

Keeping someone - even a criminal - waiting to know about his fate when 'tentatively' only a few hours left of his life is a sign of a sick and sadistic society. We are indeed developing. Not positively. No matter when the President decides, humanity is hanged already.

This, we make in India proudly.

The Documentary

We successfully banned it. Along with it goes the democracy and the freedom of expression. By expression I mean both the filmmaker's and the accused's. Why is it a sin for the accused to speak up what he thinks is right? Mind you it is only what he thinks not what is. Every dog has a say. Don't you watch news channel debates every night?

Not many Indians speak out for the documentary. Come on now. We spend day in day out on mega soaps that may not even end during our lifetime. Perhaps this is not a soap or not even a cricket match. But it is a bloody damn reality that we live in.

It is always the victims and not punishments that create awareness of the crime. This case is no different. But the so-called strong Indian leadership and its government chickened out. Going behind the filmmaker and banning the reality leaves their lives comfortably in denial. The denial, a legacy that is being carried on since 2002.

Amusing that the previous leadership who was termed as weak took the courage to grant permission to capture the reality. The current self-proclaimed strong leadership hides beneath a blanket of sentiments. In other words, fear.

Reality is wild. Even the most powerful ones do not have guts to venture out.