26/11 - A Year Later

It has become fashionable to ask, critically and in the tone of angry righteous rhetoric, about what (or how much) has changed in the last one year. Just as it was fashionable, in the wake of the attacks on this day exactly one year ago, to ask in much the same tone, as to who was responsible for the lapses that allowed such an outrageous assault to take place, and what was being done about it.

As a Mumbaikar, as an Indian, and as a global citizen, all that I've done in the last one year (other than blogging about it a few days later) boils down to: (a) casting my vote diligently when elections were held, and (b) speaking to the local MLA once (at a meeting he had requested for, with members of the housing complex that I live in), about security in the post 26/11 world, and other issues that were specific to our neighbourhood and local community.

I have no moral right to criticize those who haven't done 'enough', and I have only words of appreciation and gratitude for those who've actually done something constructive about it, whatever that may be.

Of course, I continue to hope and pray for a world that chooses to eschew hatred and embrace love, eschew anger and embrace compassion. And in my own small humble sort of way, I spread soft and gentle messages of peace and harmony, where and when needed.

You do what you have to. 

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Hopenhagen: Woodstock Redux?

Earlier today, a tweet from one of the sources of sustainability related news that I follow through my work handle on twitter took me to their post on Cause Marketing.

As I read the post and browsed through some of the sites it pointed to, notably Hopenhagen (a play on the words 'hope' and 'cope', symbolizing the momentum of hope building around COP15, the UN conference on climate change scheduled for December 7-18 in Copenhagen, Denmark), Ogilvy Earth and the stirring Yes We Can video on YouTube, I experienced a feeling of frisson caused by what I can best describe as a memetic atavism of Woodstock, the music festival from back in 1969 that made history. Through sheer association, the song Woodstock (originally by Joni Mitchell though popularly known through the CSNY version) started playing in my mind and I was amazed by the relevance of its lyrics (particularly towards the end - the part that I reproduce below, from the Joni Mitchell original) to the current zeitgeist on climate change control. For a moment there it almost seemed to me like the song was written for COP15.

By the time we got to woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust
Billion year old carbon
We are golden
Caught in the devils bargain
And weve got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Yes indeed, we're caught in the devil's bargain, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden!

P.S. Do sign the petition at hopenhagen.org and let's get to the half mill mark soon (though I bet it will be more, by December 7)

P.P.S. (added Nov 10, 2009) here's a video clip of Joni Mitchell singing Woodstock (at some other event)

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The Paradoxes of Diversity

Quite a controversy these last couple of days, over the Deoband fatwa against the Vande Mataram. I always loved that song (and still do) and I sincerely hope they don't yield to political pressure and ban it just to appease the Deobandis! Much has been said, reported, blogged and tweeted on this topic, but one news report just caught my eye: http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article43180.ece

So here's a Muslim politician (Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi), who happens to be not just a member but a Veep of a hard-core Hindu right-wing political party (the BJP), criticizing the home minister (P Chidambaram), a Hindu Brahmin, for attending an event where a Muslim organization (Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind) adopted a resolution against the singing of a national song (Vande Mataram), calling it un-Islamic.

Several cultures across the world tolerate diversity, but a few seem to revel in it to the point of absurdity! THIS is why I love India. Show me one other country where you might find such contradictions and paradoxes. As much a source of levity as a cause for pride.

Vande Mataram!

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