Hypocrisy of the so called Moral Police!

Since the beginning of time, there has always been those who have taken the path less trodden and made a difference to the World at large. These individuals be it a Gautham Buddha or a Gandhiji or a Martin Luther King questioned the normal way of life and inspired people to rise up above petty issues and address the larger issues plaguing society. They abolished certain practices, made people understand their roots and be proud of what they are while also understanding the need to move forward as a group, community or a Nation. In a way, they were Moral Police of a certain nature.

Today, it baffles me that in this day and age, we have people who think they have the Moral authority to impose their line of thinking on free minded individuals. There are a lot of such groups operating in this country and I would be lying if I said I do not support a few of them myself. I am an ardent supporter of organisations like the RSS for reasons that I don't have the time to justify at the moment. Ours is a democratic country and our constitution grantees us 7 fundamental rights like Freedom of Free speech, Religion and so on which means every individual has a right to express their views. Of course in a country like India where we value our traditions and culture, one has to compromise on a few wants to get along in society.

Growing up in the technology era, we are far more exposed to the world at large. I studied in a Christian school in Tamil Nadu since class 5, did my college in a Government college in Bangalore and have been exposed to a whole lot of situations and these situations and people around me have influenced me and my thinking and way of life and this has helped create my own individual identity. I listen to Western Music, have friends across all communities and religions, have woman friends who smoke and drink and no I don't think its demeaning for me to have a woman friend who does what I do. I belong to a community that is very tightly knit, where marrying outside the community is generally frowned upon though the family comes around it is another matter altogether. I understand as a community we have our compulsions but what I do not and don't want to understand is how can a few individuals dictate terms to an entire community and get away with it. I am no less a Coorg than anybody else. I go for my Guru Karana every year, put Kali at Kunde Namme and Bodu Namme, can dance a traditional Coorg dance like any other Coorg, touch every elders feet in the way it is to be done but of course I don't go around branding and bashing people that I am a Coorg and showing my big fat stupid ego.

Now to get to the point, I want to attend a Music Festival in Coorg that was scheduled for the 10th and 11th of November 2011 but has now been postponed to the 20th and 21st of January 2012 due to an act of God. But it is surprising to see a few individuals or the so called Moral Police opposing it because apparently it will spoil the serenity of Coorg, affect plants and animals and in a way will destroy our culture. So, over the past week or so, I have been pondering on the merits of their claims and unfortunately all I can see is the total hypocrisy of the so called Moral Police.

I do agree in saying that in today's day and age, Coorg needs a few of these so called Moral Police to control and save Coorg from becoming just another filthy tourist spot. But where are these people when we actually need them for a cause. The lucrative Real estate market is already destroying the serene beauty of Coorg, a highly non regulated tourist industry has wreaked havoc and destroyed the serenity of some of the most pristine places in Coorg to an extent that one does not even feel like visiting places like Dubare and Abby falls anymore. These so called Moral Police pull up tourists if they misbehave but until today, I have not seen a single one of these organisations doing anything about regulating tourism. These places are still intact because of the locals of the area and not because of these Pseudo social activists. The Roads in Coorg are in a state where driving on these roads is next to impossible. And these Pseudos have done nothing about it except for a letter submitted to the Chief Minister which is more of a PR exercise for themselves and their organisation rather than actually addressing the present problems. I wish these organisations would actually bring life to a stand still by blocking the roads for a couple of days until work actually begins instead of blowing their trumpets and making money on the sly. Instead, they are worried about a bunch of peaceful music listening people having a good time. It makes me wonder if they they are jealous because of their insecurity of not being able to fit into the crowd.

I don't mind these guys around but not at the cost of my Freedom and right to live my life they way I want to do it. These Pseudos are not present when you need them but want to protest against a clean Music Festival organised by people from Coorg with the best of artists from across the Globe. And apparently are even taking credit for the event being postponed (Guess these Pseudos have a direct line with God). They probably fail to realize that this Festival will help in showcasing Coorg in a whole new avatar while also reminding people from and Outside Coorg the need to conserve and do our bit to prevent further erosion of the natural beauty of Coorg. I do understand reservations in terms of Noise pollution but to call the Festival as leading to your version of the Goa way is saying far too much and that too even before it has begun. Don't we have loud music playing late nights at our weddings with drunk people dancing?

So, my dear Pseudo Social activists, let us be and do our thing. We care as much for a lot of issues as you do, if not more but unlike you Pseudos we do not look at monetary gains through these issues.

I rest my case with a poem from Robert Frost that will probably help you understand my point of view

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Keep the Faith!!..

The Hot Topic in this Cricket crazy Country until the next Test Match at Trent Bridge is going to be the World's Number one Test Teams debacle in the Iconic 2000th test match at the Home of Cricket, Lords. Every single Cricket Crazy Pundit in this Country is going to have a view on what went wrong with the Test.

Of Course, the debate is going to start off with the Dhoni's decision to Bowl after winning the toss, the bowling and fielding decisions that he took as Captain. Well, all of it played a part in a sub standard performance from the Best Test side in the World. Of Course, a few Die Hard Pundits will have some other reasons; which I would like to call excuses. Excuses like Zaheer Khan bowled less than 14 overs and so there was no teeth in the attack, the changes in the batting order in the batting order in the second Innings as Sachin and Gambhir missed a large part of the Match and some might even say that the pressure of the 100th century got to Sachin.
All this said and done, India's performance in the entire Match was lackluster to say the least. A 400 test scalps Bowler struggled to even put pressure on the batsmen, forget taking wickets. The famed batting line up struggled to score more than 300 runs in each of the Innings. This considering tha fact that the English managed to score 269 runs after losing 5 wickets for 62 runs.The thing that baffles me is a complete lack of the instinct that makes Dhoni the person that he is. Suresh Menon his blog on "cricket next"is of the opinion that Dhoni needs to reconnect with his old self. According to him, Dhonis's statistics of better winning percentage than most other successful Captains of the Modern era has become an albatross around his neck. We all now the Indian team has the goods to defeat any Test side in the world at the moment. We did win a test series in West Indies without Zak and Sachin. What the Indian team is missing is the Dhonism. Captain courageous needs to buckle up and lead from the front. There is no harm in resting the team's most experienced bowler, Harbhajan for the next test or playing without an unfit Zaheer.Its time for the attacking Dhoni to rediscover himself and be brave in taking decisions rather than going along with the flow of things. Hope that by the time the next test comes about, we will be able to take 20 wickets and score more than 300 runs in each innings. More than all this, win or lose, Its time for the No. 1 Test Team in the World to play like the No. 1 Test Team and not like the Rabbits that they so often were in Foreign conditions.......Dhoni, The God, the Wall and the Craftsmen will anyways play their part but what they need is for you to be you...Go for it!! The birth of the game of Cricket is for us to take!!...

Mr. Chief Minister. Why did I vote?

Dear Mr. Chief Minister,

I turned 18 about 9 years back and since then I have had the opportunity to vote thrice be it the General Elections or the Karnataka Assembly Elections. I being a relatively new voter and like most other voters in the country did not look at Election Manifestos to decide on who I was going to work. I voted for the party that I thought was best suited for the job at hand. And today, I am a terribly disappointed Citizen especially when I see the state of affairs in my honetown.

I have come to realise that there is no political party in the country that is truthful and Nationalistic. By Nationalistic, I mean a party that believes in development and with a decisive agenda that puts the country's interests before anything else be it internal or external policies. Instead, we are still stuck with Vote bank politics.

Developmental policies in India is based on the importance of a particular region. i.e. a region that enjoys a clout in terms of votes and seats. I unfortunately come from a district that has 2 assembly constituencies and shares the MP seat with the neighbouring district of Mysore. And in that aspect, they fortunes of a political party does not depend on my region. And so, development of this place is not on the priority of any political party.

Its is time that we get our acts together. We as a community have been indifferent to the situation around us. We crib about the roads, the lack of basic infrastructure, the indifferent approach of our representatives, the dying of our culture, the advent of outsiders coupled with the boom in real estate and the influx of tourists. Any wedding, any family function or get together; this is the topic of discussion on all most all occasions besides the coffee prices and labour problems. But, what have we done about it? The answer, NOTHING!!!...

Its time for us to pull up our socks and be heard. There are a lot of pressing issues in regards to Coorg and it will take more than an article to write home about. My grievances is with the basic infrastructure in the "Scotland of India".

Without doubt, Coorg is today one of the fastest growing tourism economies in Karnataka. From one Orange County 10 years back, we today have about 5 high end resorts with another 5 or more on the way. and of course the 200 or more home stays. Yet the roads are pathetic. In some cases, the road seems to be on the map but not on the ground. And this in spite of connectivity being the most important factor for any industry to develop. Unfortunately, the powers to be think otherwise. We do not even have a proper Hospital in the entire district and for any problems we have to rush to the nearest city.

Mr. Chef Minister, now that you are going to be presenting the budget for 2011- 2012; kindly consider we not so important voters and give us what we deserve. We are not asking for a railway line as the Times of India article dated 23rd February 2011 suggested. We do not even need a railway line. Not bad enough, the real estate boom is already dwindling our Natural resources. We do not need a state sponsored catalyst to it. We are asking for good roads. Roads that prescribe to the standard set by your agencies and not few centimeters of tar as is presently being done.

There are a lot of pressing issues that I would like to bring to your notice and that I will do, but first give us the basic stuff that we require...

Signed,

A Frustrated Voter!