A Non-delusional Indian (A-NI)

This article is ONLY for the tweaked brains who did not get blown away by the majestic promises and delusional premise of “Ache Din”, the selected few who can foresee logic amidst political hullabaloo.

First things first, I am not Anti-Modi, yet I am also not a Congress supporter. To be honest, I am as much as a Modi fan as I was of Manmohan Singh when he became PM in 2004. I am an optimistic Indian and get hopeful every time new promises are made by our leaders. But, I am also ANI who feels disturbed every time politicians/media persons claim with confidence- what has anyone done in 65 years look where our country is today. Only if Narendra Modi was given 60 years blah blah blah. Every time this discussion happens, it goes from patriotic to hilarious in 10 minutes for those who are well aware of this country’s turbulent history.

Amusingly, this debate is never heard amongst the elitist sections of the society. I will try to reason out why below. Maybe you will get a clear picture or if not be at-least intrigued to read more before you exclaim profoundly about the atrocities faced in the country due to our ruling parties in these last 70 years of independence.

BJP was formed on 06 April 1980. Shocked? Can’t believe this is why Jawahar Lal Nehru ruled for 16 years without opposition? Prior to 1980 that there was only RSS (with Bhartiya Jana Sangha as their political wing) and Janata Party was founded as late as 23 January 1977. So, for 30 years after independence, there was not one opposition party but many opposition leaders. Now, we can’t blame that on Congress. Or may be you are still feeling – “What if? Congress did not let any opposition political party grow.” LoL

Out of 14 Prime Ministers(PM) we have had till date, believe it or not, there have been 9 Prime Ministers who were not of Congress including our beloved NaMo but their rule adds to only 12 years (not including NaMo). So, out of 70 years of India’s Independence, we have had Congress in this country for nearly 56+ years. But let’s not forget, they have only ruled with actual opposition for 28 years. So, if our great grand parents wanted to not vote for Congress they didn’t really have much choice.

Well, I do agree the lack of opposition does not make up for the poor development of our country in all these years. The citizens back then were not demanding enough. Truly, the times changed with the Anna Hazare’s Movement in 2011, when the citizens united and took patriotism to another level.

Another petty fascist blame concerns Congress & black money. Did black money exist in 1947 when we got our independence? Any intelligent person will have the answer to that. The British left us so poor, starved and deprived that forget black money, we didn’t have any money as a nation to recuperate our losses from various wars, survive the bloody partition and live through the famines. Let’s also not forget that we are still fighting wars with Pakistan even seventy years after the independence. So clearly, Congress as the ruling party couldn’t have laid the foundation stone for Black Money. It was us – The Citizens of India; The richest of the rich who could travel abroad in those times when forefathers of people like me didn’t even have enough money to feed their family two square meals a day. Now, if you think only the politicians were rich during those times, may god help your brains!

Let me list some things that make us proud today and thankful for the past 70 years (irrespective of who ruled & who implemented):
1.      Laid the foundation of higher education with first IIT Kharagpur started in 1950 and IIM Calcutta in 1961. MBBS degree was conceptualized in 1969. So, Indians could now pursue their higher education within their own country.
2.      In the first 3 years the government spent on how should India function, created ministries/ departments, devised policies of national importance and of course created the constitution of India due to which India became a republic nation in 1950.
3.      The first five-year plan was setup in 1952, which was going to be very crucial and the foundation stone for India’s development and growth to being the 4th fastest growing country in the world.
4.      The government worked on all round development of the country’s resources including medical as their priority. Laid foundation for an abolishment of various irrelevant religious practices such as child marriage.

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n.      In recent years, we got the Indo-US nuclear deal, RTI,  India’s first successful lunar mission which had budget lesser than some Hollywood movies, we recorded first ever double digit GDP in India in 2009-2010 1st quarter with Manmohan Singh as the PM.

I don’t even want to get started about the crisis of 1991 and how Manmohan Singh saved this country. For people who think 1991 economic crisis was because of Congress rule in the previous years, I can only advise you – Read. Because from 1989 to 1991 congress was not the ruling party. Also, the crisis was due to various global factors.

The crux is, whether you agree or not, BJP is still indulging in Vote Bank politics as much as their previous counterparts irrespective of their political party. Obviously, it is not wrong on anyone’s part to do so, but it is foolish on our part to propagate such agendas further. While there are many things that NaMo is doing perfectly right, his implementation of demonetization move will definitely not be written in golden words in history.

All the political turmoil created by NaMo during elections 3 years ago, by criticizing Congress so that BJP could win, was actually needed for him to win, full-stop. No other reasons behind it, very few reasons to be actually blaming or shaming people around. Indians need to keep our eyes open because in our hearts we know we are to be blamed more because of what is happening in this country and not any ruling party.

I am not saying Congress did everything right. But, they aren’t entirely responsible for everything wrong happening today. Still curious why?

1. We wouldn’t need Clean India or Toilet in every home campaigns if we understood the concept of hygiene. Our ancestors were happily going in Jungles with a Lota and you think we were civilized? We were not literate.
2. We didn’t need demonetization if we didn’t keep cash hidden at homes, believed in going Cashless or paid actual taxes and not manipulated our books for saving taxes. We did not understand the importance of paying taxes to run the government.
3. We didn’t need to vote to get rid of corruption because we started it and we still continue it in various forms. You cannot blame a party for corruption when it is a day-to-day routine activity for hundreds and thousands of Indians. If you will keep giving money to get your file moved faster, can the bureaucrats be blamed for not working? There was a news 2 days ago, which claimed that in a bid to attract more such Indian citizens living abroad to become voters, the Election Commission has launched a portal which allows them to register online. So far only 24,000 Overseas Indians Have Registered As Voters. Probably due to lack of awareness. But, I am hopeful on this independence day, that times will change.
4. We didn’t need to Make in India or MNREGA if we were better employees and informed employers like our western peers. In an ideal situation, we would not need “Minimum Wages Act” or “Child Labor Act”.
5. We didn’t need the reservation, only one BPL would have been sufficient, but even rich SC, ST continue to need some reservation in this country because of the convenience and favors they get.

In states where the government keeps its citizens illiterate pretending they don’t know what’s right and wrong as long as citizens get what they need, are facing maximum poverty. So, we ask for Rice in Rs.1 and we get. We don’t want to let go of our own demons but will pinpoint others mistakes confidently and blindly.

Look where Pakistan stands today after the same 70 years of independence. Both of these countries India & Pakistan started from scratch in 1947. Those who rebuilt our country to where we are today need some credit, if not votes. Because that was the past and they are currently facing a deficit of good leadership. So, I am not proclaiming that Vote for Congress or Vote for BJP, I am simply saying do not carry a delusional image of our past into our future. Because if being from an educated section of the society (I know you are educated because you are reading this article), if you believe Congress only let this country down the drain for 65 years then you couldn’t be more wrong.

Yes, many things went wrong in these 65 years, agreed. A lot could have been better, we might have been better than Singapore. But, I’d rather say there are a number of things that we Indians need to focus on for our own betterment and our motherland’s prosperity. Demeaning others to show our own superiority is something we need to get rid of first.

Being educated, it is now our responsibility to imbibe “Indian” culture in the younger generations. Not the one of exploiting freedom to enjoy corruption, but freedom to create green & clean public places, freedom from poverty, freedom from illiteracy, and freedom to respect unity in diversity.

So many Bravehearts gave their lives for this freedom, let’s not exploit it for our personal benefits.

Happy Independence Day!

Jai hind.

The Making of a Viral Game

Did you know that the Play Store had more than 2.4 million apps?

There are industry rumors that more than 1000+ apps are added to the Play Store every day, while Google has never officially commented on the real numbers.

When the launch of Pokemon Go in India is most awaited yet still debatable, we are bringing you the latest “behind the scenes” drama after studying these viral games.

In the history of mobile gaming, the legends of viral games like Angry Birds, Temple Run, Candy Crush Saga & Flappy Bird are secretly passed on from one game to another. The latest addition to this list is the global phenomena named Pokemon Go with more than a 100 million downloads on the Google Play Store alone and more than 20+ million daily active users.

How do games get viral?

A lone person plays the game, finds it engaging. Shares the same with friends on the social media and before you know it the game is “Trending”.

Did you know: Pokemon Go was trending in less than 13 hours of its launch in the US.

What are the things these viral games have in common apart from the millions of downloads?

•      Free: They are free (most of them) with minor paid in app items, so they are easy to reach out to millions of users.
•      Easy to Share with friends: They connect with your facebook/google+ to not just save your game but also have a social leader-board where you can compare your performance with your friends and others globally.
•    Competitive yet Rewarding: They are endless with multiple levels, new achievements, new levels, new worlds added regularly. For instance, as of today Candy Crush features around 2695 levels in 181 episodes. With a Facebook connect, you are bound to share your achievements, ask your friends for new “Game Currency Coin for unlocking some super power” and this how a chain essentially begins. These games offer attractive rewards in the game, which range from unlocking the next level, a free power up, a time bound free upgrade (for creating a sense of urgency) or simply discount in their paid features.
•   Effortless: These games are often very simplistic yet have powerful animation. Take the case of Temple Run, you can easy see people from the age of 3 to 70 playing it with the same level of comfort and ease.
•   Pull You Back In: With simplistic notifications, these apps keep luring you back in by reminding you to go back to playing. Some also have weekly tournaments making it even more fun for users to keep trying till they beat the highest score.

What can you do to make your game viral?

•   Focus on creating an attractive, easy-to-use GUI.
•   Do not have your app push notifications too frequently, it can force users to mute those notifications & your app might lose an active user.
•   Avoid annoying Ads. We understand keeping by your game free on the app store, it can be challenging to sustain. But, ensure that the ads you feature in your game do not pop-up while the user is still playing. A good strategy can be to have ads between levels or simply “watch a video to unlock a reward”.
•   Good App Store Optimization has to be done while uploading your app. It can be easy for your app to be lost in the crowd if you do not choose the right category, good images of the game and ofcourse a catchy name.
•   Reward both users and their invited friends for signing up.
• Offer something meaningful that users can share apart from the “Achievement Stats of a User”.

Combined with a fantastic viral strategy, these will surely make your app go Gangnam style.

Stats Source: Statista.com | Business of apps

The story behind the Geek Gods…!!!

“A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinion of the sheep!” -GOT

IITians appear to be enthusiastic, ambitious and an epitome of confidence to the outside world. The truth is hidden behind their name tags.

The commoners like to know what their batch IIT breed is upto and then blindly follow it as a new trend. For instance, the crazy tech fests, co-curricular clubs, placement companies, craze for package, start-up culture and even the guitar mania. All of it has risen from the IITs at one point or the other and the engineering “Janta” throughtout the country has copy pasted it in their college lives. For people in remote cities with no access to the IIT Geek Gods, telecasts on channels like MTV showcasing “Campus Life in IIT are enough to create a trend.

Amidst all this hullabaloo the IITians learn to enjoy the “Demigod Status” offered to them consistently. But does this affect them? Well, who wouldn’t enjoy having a fan following. So, they begin by pretending to not be affected by the world outside, only concerned with taking interest in the “Important talks”.

Despite living this God life, just like us they also learn to bury the hatchet while silently burning the midnight oil to ensure they can actually make a successful career for themselves after graduating. Their local celebrity status (within their coaching/apartment/society/colony/school) simply boosts their ego but that is not enough to score even average CGPA in the esteemed university of toppers.

Even Arvind Kejriwal seems to have benefited while rising into politics due to his IIT Kgp education. Do we not have educated ministers in other parties? Yes, we do. Did we give them the welcome and status that was offered to Mr. Kejriwal? No, because they were’nt IITians.

We are an easy to understand nation with only two dreams – IIT/IIM for education & US for Job. IIMs may be more accessible to a majority of the crowd who werent even eligible for JEE because of their arts/commerce background, the class of respect for IITians is still unmatched. Even international recognition for IIT is miles ahead of IIMs.

In a nation where being a minority status is all anyone desires, unintelligent commoners like us can never forget their days of self-loathing after not clearing the JEE, when we choose to rejoice 10 years later simply by thinking that we are not alone and somehow still ended up living a happy life!

The Lazy One

If they sleep they are hardworking, if they don’t they are lazy! Yes, I mean it…this is not written vice versa.

The only thing common with each and every IITian is “Intelligence” and not “Lazy” contrary to the general perception. IITians are brainy, hardworking & perfectionist kinda intellectuals who are wired since their high school days to perform or perish. Since, they have struggled for that one seat which they earned in an IIT, not giving up comes naturally to them. Being a nerd is the real charm apart from the big fat packages these guys come bundled with. To be honest most common people don’t realise that, the real test does not end after securing a seat in the IITs, it begins there! Those 4 years of engineering can make or break a person (also one of the reasons behind so many suicides).

A lot of people claim that IITians tend to be lazy, well I have my own version to this theory. I feel that being lazy is proportional to the number of hours of sleep a person gets! Don’t you think these best of brains need a recharge when even our smartest of phones get dead in some hours?

It is scientifically proven, that for a brain to function efficiently our body needs sufficient rest. The body needs this nap time to recharge itself after all the activities of the day and the pace at which this happens is not the same for everybody. So, for someone a power nap twice a day could be sufficient, but on the contrary there could be others who need 7 hrs of sleep every night. I have known some of my IIT friends to be up for 2–3 days at a stretch but then also they can spend same amount of time sleeping.

So, are they lazy or not? Breaking the generalized myth about these lazy geeks, it actually can’t be generalized but most of them simply pretend to be lazy. Isn’t it easy if you can just pretend you are lazy and someone else will take care of your chores. But, not for long. When the time demands (actually lets make it – “when the wife demands”) 😉 😀 these “Lazy IITians” can really show their true mettle even in household chores. Otherwise they will simply keep trying to dodge the bullet while they can. Why they do that?

Well, it takes a real Nerd to walk on the fine line…It is not everyone’s cup of tea! When they can slog around professionally, is it wrong to be lazy at home?

The IIT Obsession

Its not them, its us!!

I’ve seen Indians irrespective of their age obsessing over IIT. It is not wrong though, these were the first universities formed in the newly independent India and the government itself calls them – institutes of national importance (List of Institutes of National Importance).

Adults in the Indian society at first, try to force their children to get admission into it…when that doesn’t work out they succumb to finding their children an IITian life partner. Even if their child is a non-IITian, their first preference becomes an IITian spouse by default.

After years of waiting and seeing this “fad” continue year after year, the lowest of all lows in my opinion is this- How to snag an IIT-IIM husband: The definitive guide for the ambitious Indian girl – Firstpost

Yet, among all this hullabaloo we Indians, are quick to point a finger at an IITian claiming they are trying to gain advantage of that degree, they leverage it to get the best girls, they are desperate due to the near extinction, endangered female species in the IITs, they are contributing to brain drain, they are wasting the tax payers money by not giving back to the society…blah blah blah… These points lead to discussions which are endless & pointless.

We have in the mean time forgotten that life of an IITian is what makes them stand apart. Let me sum it up for you ->

The best of minds pulled into a single classroom, put through excruciating engineering degrees (often taken up despite being not of their choice but because it helps them secure a seat in the coveted IIT), passing in all those shitty subjects (whose syllabus & teaching methodologies haven’t been revised ever since the institution was conceptualized), living in hostels that are more like animal shelters (prisons shown in movies are far better) and getting placed for a big fat package (thereafter leaving it to start-up and connect with some VC).

With so much on their platter I doubt if they enjoy the unwarranted talks over them, and this obsession if anything only adds more pressure on them.

So, I feel we should all let it go! Yes, our IITians need appreciating, but I am sure you will agree that there’s a fine line to cross before you start obsessing. Let’s try and drive away from it while we can!

Cheers!

Happy Teachers Day

गुरु शिष्य की अहमियत की व्याख्या ,
करने का शुभ समय है आज आया ,
गुरु उत्सव के इस अनोखे पर्व पर,
एक शिष्य के मन की बात कुछ यूं है,

अज्ञान के काले अँधेरे में,
ज्ञान का सूरज उगाया उन्होंने,
हाथों की इन लकीरों से बढ़कर,
मेहनत का फल चखाया उन्होंने,
नन्हीं उँगलियों को थामा,
मंज़िलों की बुलंदियां दर्शायी उन्होंने|

अपने हर शिष्य की अलग पहचान को समझ,
उसके व्यक्तित्व को निखारा उन्होंने,
क्षण भर की भी राहत नहीं,
हर चुनौती को सस्नेह स्वीकारा उन्होंने|

जिस कलम को थाम ये कविता रची,
उस कलम का मान बढ़ाया उन्होंने,
ना होते गुरु तो कैसे सम्पूर्ण कहलाता ये संसार,
और हम जैसे शिष्य जाते किसके द्वार|

आज हम सभी टीचर्स का करते हैं मनुहार,
थोड़ी सकती कम करने की लगा रहे हैं गुहार,
शुक्रिया करते हैं सभी टीचर्स का,
उन्होंने पूरी की हमारी हर पुकार|

Happy Teachers Day to all my lovely teachers!!!

A Drop of Rain (बारिश की बूँद)

बारिश की बूँद

जेठ की तपिश से बेहाल मुनिया, झोपड़ी से तक रही दुनिया |
सावन को तरसती, किसान की खेती |
आसमान तकती, बच्चों की टोली |
बादलों की गडगडाहट, दे रही बूंदों की आहट |
लुकाछुप्पी करती सूरज की किरणें, आसमान में छाई इन्द्रधनुषी घटा |
तीज के त्योंहार पर, दुल्हनों का मन खाए हिचकोले, हरे भरे पेड़ों पर डल गए हिंडोले |
सौंधी माटी की खुशबु, मेंढकों और झींगुर की गुफ्तगु |
गरजती बरसती आई बूँदें, भीगा दिया जन जीवन |
पहाड़ों के बीच बहता झरना, नदियों और तालाबों का भरना |
बारिश की एक बूँद, दे गयी खुशियाँ, नाच उठी झोपड़ी में मुनिया |

– इशिता गुप्ता

 

And the translation in English:

A Drop of Rain

Sitting inside a hut, bound by the scortching heat,
Staring outside the window, without skipping a beat,
She saw the thirsty farm lands & the plight of kids around,
Then came the clouds with the thundering sound,
While the clouds and sun, played Hide-n-seek,
God drew a rainbow, across sky’s cheek,
For it was the Indian Festival and Brides were replete,
Hammocks put on trees, painting the picture complete,
The smell of wet mud and the noisy frogs,
Welcomed the downpour, engulfed the surroundings,
A fresh stream of waterfall rushed down the mountain,
Tiny little droplets on her face, and the natural fountain,
Her baby feet ran to the door, dancing in Joy,
A drop of rain made her chuckle and coy.

– Ishita Gupta

Img Src: http://www.shoot4change.net/one-hour-under-the-monsoon-rain-una-hora-bajo-la-lluvia-del-monzon/

Mother’s Day

दिवाली के दिन

याद है मुझे बचपन का वो दिवाली का इंतज़ार,

जब लाता था हर त्यौहार खुशियों की बहार ,

स्कूलों की हो जाती थी छुट्टी,

सब नयी खरीदी के लिए पट जाती थी मम्मी,

वो पूरे घर को दीया – बाती और मोमबत्ती से सजाना,

शाम ढ़लते ही दोस्तों संग पठाके छोड़ना,

याद है आज  भी पापा के साथ चौपड़ से लाया गन्ना,

हमारे मोहल्ले की दुकान पे मावे की मिठाइयों का सजना ।

 

दीपावली की सुबह उठ के रंगोली बनाना,

गेरू और चाक के मांडने से घर आँगन सजाना,

गेंदा फूल और अशोक के पत्तों को चौखट पे लगाना,

तब दादी बुनती थी रुई की बाती,

दादा बैठ के खेलते थे तीन पत्ती|

 

गोवर्धन पूजा पर मंदिर में प्रसादी का वो जीमण,

सबके घरों में मेहमानों का आगमन|

देखो फिर दिवाली है आई,

घरों में रौनक है लौट आई,

पर अब बदल गया माहौल, बदल गयी त्योंहार के नाम की मुस्कुराहट,

नहीं बदली तो बस जयपुर की दिवाली पे दुल्हन की तरह सजावट|

-इशिता गुप्ता

Mahatma Gandhi

The Election wave has hit India & once again we as citizens are pondering over what went wrong during the last elections, how can we capitalize from our power of vote in the coming elections.

In the middle of this hue & cry is the common man whose position hasn’t changed a bit since our independence. We are all familiar with our Indian “Common Man”, he is still overworked/idle, fighting over life/hunger/money/cast/home/job. And he continues to worship & search for Mahatma Gandhi on many occasions…

While most of our politicians/bureaucrats literally worship Gandhi (On Currency Notes) they do choose to remember him each year on his Birth & Death Anniversary when they choose to finally clean & decorate Gandhi Ji’s Statues/ Photos in Government Office Premises.

On the other hand, the Citizens are still searching for the rise of a Gandhi from amongst the today’s generation who can bring upon a revolution and save them from their problems. There is no end to how long this topic can be stretched.

I came across a very meaningful poem written by Mrs. Kusum Haldiya, attributing the same dilemma which I am sharing below:

वापिस आओ बापू

बापू देखो ! भारत को दानव निगल रहे,
गाँव शहर खेत खलियान, सब सहमे से लग रहे,
बापू तुम्हारे त्याग को, बापू तुम्हारी आन को,
बापू तुम्हारे बहुरूपिये चहुँओर छल रहे|

पहले मुनिया की किलकारी सुन चहके थी महतारी,
आज उसी का कृन्दन सुन काँपे है धरती सारी,
देख कलयुगी बापुओं का रूप व्यभिचारी,
हर और मची है त्राहि, क्या यही है नियति हमारी|

तुमने आजादी दे, चमकादी किस्मत हमारी,
फिर भी आज हमें है लगता, छली जा रही आन हमारी,
हे अहिंसा के उपासक, सत्य के पुजारी,
कहाँ गुम हो रही है महत्ता तुम्हारी,
आओ बापू फिर से आओ, हम सबका उद्धार करो,
सत्य, अहिंसा और धर्म का फिर से तुम आगाज़ करो|