What a fabulous couple of weeks! I mean, we got a picture of
Mars taken with our very own indigenous camera. We saw glimpses from the control room of
unbridled happiness and tears of joy. Those long years and efforts paid
off…Hurray! Now we can finally have pictures from Mars. Do you even know what that
means? Probably not. Listen, the next time you are stuck in traffic after the
city gets a mild sprinkling of rain then you go ahead and look at the pictures
from Mars dammit! Immediately and magically using your 3G internet, you will be transported to a time in the future
when the roads don’t flood if the neighbor has a leaking faucet or because the
drains, all 4 of them, were not built by the Vijaywada kings.
Even
when you are
being chased by dogs as you go home from the glorified call center you
call an
office, then again, you flash the chasing pack the pictures. Can you
imagine
the animal’s consternation? They will stop, regroup and contemplate.
Your shall pass in peace. I personally think I want to look at those
pictures
when we have a full moon night. I plan to find a nice spot, lie on my
back and
then hold up my phone in line with the moon and pretend that I am God
making a
world warm and glowing with gases and toxic fumes turn into the
atmosphere free
moon. From red to white…Of course we are now showcased to the whole
world
close to half a century after the Americans got it done at the cost of
billions
in today’s money. And, in true style, we did it super cheap and we are
proud of
it. One of the favorite stereotypes for an Indian presented itself
grandly and with the
world watching, we lost no time in making sure it continues to be
relevant in
2014. I mean how many other people can claim to charge Rs 7 per km on a
journey
to Mars? Value for Money , Return on Investment. We got it all right
here baby!
Our political juggernaut finally understood the meaning of a
“PR” blitz and they successfully used it to the country’s advantage both in the
homeland and in the US of A. Kudos!! The speech overseas was all over the news.
Spectacular! Back on the mother ship a CM finally got her just desserts after
eating everyone else’s breakfast, lunch & desserts for two decades. Justice
happening as well in the country, wow! Yes,
I did hear though that a bunch of people
felt it necessary to take their lives in protest of the arrest. Makes
sense,
the country’s population is still swelling. Lock up a couple more of our
corrupt
politicians and maybe we start making a dent. We take idol worship to
new heights. We have had people kill themselves over actors, politicians
and new
age gurus. Suicides happen because the girl we idolizes could not give a
rat's ass about our existence and we will auto terminate when we cant
pay our loans. Our kids are killing themselves because the race to be
the best has
become mind numbingly intense and parents have become even more
possessed with their kids achieving stellar marking at
every level in school. I see kids being hauled off too karate and guitar
and
drumming classes and then also asked to study through the night. If
their child
does not score 95% in every test and every exam at every level in school
he
will grow up to be a nobody. His future
will be doomed and Mr Underachiever's parents will go to their graves disappointed and broken
with their children’s failure in becoming "something".
The scary part is I am not sure they are completely wrong. Yes
some idiots over do it but for the most part it was like this when I studied
too. Our education system is unbelievably challenging and there is rigor and discipline, at least in the good schools. Donations have gone into many lakhs territory and after we empty our life savings we sure as hell need to make sure it is worth it. Good school or an unknown start up, the kid's gonna get a raw deal whichever way he goes. I was too dumb to get more than 70 and 80% marks in spite of studying
sincerely and so my parents gave up on seeing me as an intellectual colossus pretty early on and I thank them for
that. My biggest concern in life is not
about the kid I knew from school who is currently earning 3 times my salary because
his doting mom held his feet to the fire every night of his life. Neither
am I worried that people are
desperately trying to leave the country for “a better life”. Namely more
money, more stability....and hence, more money. What really makes
me wonder is how happy are we going to be as a people going forward. I have folks in my social circle who are barely making ends meet
to people who are literally swimming in cash and I don’t really remember anyone, including
me who is truly happy. Everyone has moments of course but happiness or even
contentment as an eventual plateau….Is that even possible?
You know, we are a smart race. We persevere and we
endure
and we will reach greater heights. It was the most obvious and fitting
eventuality that
an Indian was chosen to head Microsoft. Mr Nadella is the poster boy of Indian
stereotypes and probably our ultimate success story in the recent past.
I wonder, Is he happy?
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