Improvement

You know how our parents or other forms of wise elders always tell us, keep at it, you will improve with time, and we feel one of two things...either that we are good at it already, or improvement will never come. Well, i have reason enough to believe it. 

I was reading my posts of 2006, i was then a sophomore, new to college activities primarily because we werent allowed anything in our first year. My head full of idealism, and thus poured into my posts. While they were not bad, the writing i'll admit was a little childish.It tended to ramble, and go onto tangents and make different points. it seemed like random thougts being noted. Also i think there was obsession to use big words which were unnecessary. 

 Today i am Editor in Chief of my college magazine, and its my job to make sure people can understand without shadow of doubt what another persons article says. It is a need that I be articulate and consice. 

I believe i am more so now than i was before.  

India-where are we headed?

I wonder how many of you read "A Thousand Splendid Suns", those who have will realize the potential danger of letting bullies  and vigilantes who shout out "OUR CULTURE IS OFFENDED" from the roof tops, and to those who have not read the book, let me explain.

The book is set in pre-Taliban Afghanistan where,  as the book reads, it is evident the country was doing well for itself. But the wars set in, and one thing  leads to another, and the taliban creeps in. The hard lined, regressive, and oppressive regime is not news to anyone. We all know, or at least have an idea of the awful state of affairs there. I am afraid that India is poised to get there too.

From the view point of a person fresh out of his teens, has not seen much of the world, let alone much of India, except through news channels, and what I know of the world -hearsay; India in its present state still scares me. These fresh attacks on "PUB CULTURE" are especially unsettling.

Do not mistake me for a person who is PRO pub culture. I am not PRO or ANTI anything in this context. I just do not agree that going to pubs is going against Indian culture. What i would like us to take note of is how the topic of discussion has shifted so conveniently. Instead of telling this moral police to mind their own business, we are discussing PUBS?? We can and probably should discuss pubs but later, once the message is clear INDIA is not a land to spew ones hatred, and ignorance on. AND NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW. We let these "Protectors of culture" go today, tomorrow they will start banning books, tv shows, clothes, free speech, and slowly but surely we are back in time, when women could not vote, and men would be following bonded labor.

Which culture is offended when people go to pubs? Why is it other people's business to deal with it. Going to pubs is a personal choice. You can only offend people (that one can do culturally, physically, morally and in other ways). You simply cannot offend a culture. Let these moral police point out which culture is offended by going to pubs. Is it them who are offended? Most likely. Discussing ANYTHING else is moot right now, and will be off topic. Even saying that our gods and goddesses, kings and queens were all PRO what any MORAL police, or layman would be ANTI, is irrelevant. We are losing sight of the important issue.

A similar case is here back home in BOMBAY. We have another Hitler in the making. No one has the guts to do what is necessary. People are discussing what his ideals are, whether they are right or wrong can be discussed later, you just cannot be a vigilante.

Unfortunately, India is going to be a country that thrives on falsities, pseudo culture, pseudo ideology, pseudo secular, pseudo honest and pseudo hope. I feel jealous of America, they have an honest, straightforward and seemingly strong and intelligent man to lead them.