The Delhi dilemma

The upcoming elections in Delhi promises to be a very exciting contest between two parties (I'm completely discounting any effect that the Congress could have on the outcome).The BJP, on the one hand, seeks to ride the much celebrated Modi wave, while the AAP on the other, intends to obstruct the saffron juggernaut with its promise of transparency and populism. Hence, I chose to mark my return to this blog after what represents an era in blogging chronology to present an objective analysis on what would be a good choice for a prospective voter. The intent behind this analysis is more for enhancing my understanding of the capital's political atmosphere than as a pretension on which is the better voting choice. Your criticism is graciously solicited in the comments below.

Methodology

In order to arrive at a decision, I have chosen four parameters on the basis of which I would assign a score to each of these parties. Further I have assigned different weights to these parameters to arrive at a final score and a decision. I have tried my best to reach an objective decision on how these parties would score in each of these parameters.

The parameters chosen are:

1. Vision - What the party seeks to do in its term: Includes the intentions of the leaders of the party, the manifesto and the various subjects on which the parties have chosen to highlight (Eg: Women's saftey)

2. Experience - What each party's leaders bring to the table on the basis of their past experience in governance and their track record.

3. Team Chemistry - How the team gels in the run up to the elections could be used a fair estimation of how coherently they would function during their term in office. Also, Delhi is a state that is highly dependent on central government. This must be factored in.

4. Transparency - How clean their governance would be whilst in power. A score is arrived at by looking at the manifestos, the issues they highlight during pre-poll speeches and openness with sources of party funding and expenditure.

The weightage attached to each of these parameters is tabulated below:

Parameter	Weight
Vision	30%
Experience	25%
Team Chemistry	25%
Transparency	20%

Scoring

Vision:

The BJP, in recent times, has sought to distance itself from the Hindutva agendas that were a hallmark of its campaigns in the past. They have instead chosen to project the upcoming term as another cog in the wheel of Narendra Modi's mammoth machinery. Their chief ministerial candidate has a track record of being an achiever who has overcome the odds to become the first woman IPS officer and gone on to build a name for herself during her tenure. However, the BJP vision lacks any concrete steps on what it seeks to do in the national capital. The fact that an outsider who has been a fiercely vocal critic of the BJP has assumed the title of its chief ministerial candidate a mere month before the election does not sit very well with a long term vision. The BJP's new-found habit of choosing not to release its election manifesto until the eleventh hour doesn't help its cause at all.
The only instance where the party has elaborated on what it seeks to do in power is captured in what Kiran Bedi calls her 6P agenda for Delhi, albeit very loosely. What the people of the state need are not abstractions, but concrete measures.

The BJP scores 3/10 on its vision.

The AAP has been founded by people who had carved out for themselves successful careers in the public space outside of political intentions. They then chose to give up those careers to be the change their frustrated selves wanted to see in Indian politics. 2 years from their date of founding, they have been on a roller-coaster ride where an unexpected turn of events saw them in power as a part of a weak coalition government only to be maligned after Arvind Kejriwal resigned in a mere 49 days. In recent times, the party has been far more measured in making pre-poll promises and has drifted slowly from transparency to populism in its campaign slogans. The recently released AAP manifesto exemplifies this shift, where plenty of promises have been made without any specific deadlines or the means to explain the government's wherewithal to execute them when in power. However, it is still a start, as most of the intentions seem rightly placed. Some of the promising agendas mentioned in the manifesto include decentralisation of administration to Mohalla Sabhas and Gram Sabhas,  an audit of power and water companies supplying to Delhi and instituting local bodies for enhancing woman safety. With a population of more than 16 million, Delhi is more populous than 11 of India's other states, making the request for full statehood a legitimate one. However, the means to implement these ideas hasn't been spelt out and some sweeping and arbitrary promises, such as making schools and healthcare services on par with the private sector are rather unconvincing. A more detailed breakdown of the manifesto is available here.

The AAP gets 6.5/10 for its vision.

Experience:

With roots that date back to the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the BJP leadership has plenty of veteran leaders at the centre, with the prime minister at the helm. However, the same cannot be said of the BJP's Delhi unit. Having been out of power for 15 years in the state, the party's struggle to find a chief ministerial candidate saw it resorting to bring in an inexperienced outsider merely a month before the elections. In spite of all these constraints the state unit would definitely benefit from the advice and direction of leaders in the centre. Recent victories across the country has made BJP the party that rules the majority of India's states.

The BJP scores a 6/10 for experience.

Where the BJP lacks in vision, the AAP falls short in experience. Its resignation after 49 days in power and the absence of leaders with political experience leaves the AAP wanting in this criterion. The only consolation that the party has is that many of its senior leaders have served in the public space. This lack of experience is sure to haunt the government in dealing with both the people as well as administrative officials such as bureaucrats and state government employees. In recent times, the party has laid emphasis on its performance in office during its 49 day tenure as the proof of the pudding. The pudding, however, seems half baked at best.

The AAP scores 3/10 for its experience or its sore lack thereof.

Team Chemistry:

An already fractioned segment of the BJP, its Delhi state unit seems torn apart completely after the introduction of Kiran Bedi as the chief ministerial candidate. A lot of clamour has erupted from the rank and file of the party and this discontent has freely spilt into the media exposing the disunity of the BJP camp. Even as I type this out, Bedi's election campaign in charge, Narendra Tandon, has tendered his resignation over differences with her. Kiran Bedi's reputation as a loose cannon and her evident lack of a vision or a plan of action for the state hasn't helped matters with party colleagues having to justify her remarks, which have constantly been attacked by the AAP. In addition to BJP's CM candidate, disillusioned former AAP members who have now joined the party are seen as  opportunists by the party and public. The only saving grace is the party's presence at the centre, which is important for the heavily subsidised state.

The BJP team scores 3/10 for its dismal Team Chemistry.

The AAP has had its share of differences to sift through, with Arvind Kejriwal's leadership style coming under question on several occasions. This has resulted in the exit of high profile members such as Shazia Ilmi and Capt. Gopinath, culminating in a full blown crisis in June 2014, with Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav falling out with each other. That the party has weathered that crisis and held it together to emerge as a challenger for the Delhi elections seems to indicate that its team chemistry is on the mend, but this sentiment is challenged yet again with its patron Shanti Bhusan seeming to indicate that all the AAP could do with better leadership.

The AAP scores 4/10 for its Team Chemistry

Transparency:

Both the Congress and the BJP had come down for incisive attacks for their lack of transparency and unwillingness to tackle corruption. That the India Against Corruption movement had to do its job in highlighting corruption in the central government does not speak of very highly of its resolve. An Economist article points to how more than 91.3% of the party's campaign funds for the general elections came from unlisted sources. As a long standing player in Indian politics, the BJP knows every trick in the book when it comes to purchasing votes. The party is also fielding the maximum number of candidates with criminal offences against them during this election. However, this measure does not differentiate on the basis of the gravity of the offences the candidates have been booked for. The fact that a crusader against corruption and an officer with a clean reputation leads the charge is the silver lining in the BJP's case.

The BJP scores a 5/10 for its transparency.

While the AAP has been founded on the principles of transparency in governance, a few recent reports seem to indicate their drift towards opportunism on abandoning this pedestal. With 23 tainted candidates in the fray and the candidate with the second largest declared assets, Parmila Tokar, the AAP can no longer be seen as a bastion for transparency. However, the party continues to publicly declare its source of funds on its website. As opposed to its opposition, the AAP has no track record of corruption in public service among its members, ensuring that it has an edge where transparency is concerned.

The AAP scores a 6/10 in terns of transparency.

The Results

In order to ascertain the final score, the individual scores for each criteria are multiplied with the weightage.

The BJP scores   3 x 0.3 + 6 x 0.25 + 3 x 0.25 + 4 x 0.20 = 4.15

The AAP scores  6 x 0.3 + 3 x 0.25 + 4 x 0.25 + 6 x 0.20 = 4.75

It is seen that the AAP wins this analysis by a nose. This whole exercise was pertinent only because I could not separate these parties by much, which is reflected in the results of the analysis. Hence, it became necessary for me to breakdown my assessment objectively and assign weights.

In conclusion, I'm willing to afford the AAP another chance after their first 49 day debacle. It is not as if the BJP has been without its chances in all these years. Besides, Kejriwal has had the courage to own up his mistake publicly, which the country's political class is extremely averse to today. Further, the AAP campaign seems to mirror the clarity and purpose that the BJP government had during the general elections, with "Ab ki baar Modi sarkar" being replaced with "Paanch Saal Kejriwal." While the BJP posters in the Delhi Metro and its roadside hoardings sport the solitary saffron figure of Modi overshadowing everything else (Big Brother anyone?), I'm willing to lay my wager on a fresh perspective in which I can see a bit of my own idealistic tendencies reflected.

The Leak in the Pipeline

A short story I submitted to the FMS college magazine -

Maya held a plastic pot on her head as she precariously walked on the pipe. The pipe spanned across a city drain, about 20 meters wide. The city’s sewage flowed underneath, eclipsed by thick clumps of water hyacinths. Herons waded in the noxious muck, hunting for the creatures that thrive on it. As she alighted from the pipe, there were no onlookers to cheer, whistle and reward her show of daredevilry. Instead, she had harvested a quantum of fresh water, which was sufficient to sustain her family for the next few hours. 

The circular pipeline, with a diameter of 4 feet, carried water from a faraway river to benefit the residents of the city. Ironically, while villagers bordering the river had to walk a few kilometres to harness its life giving liquid, the residents of the city, a hundred kilometres away, could access it with a simple twist of their expensive Jaquar taps. The portion of the pipe that spanned across the gutter had a leaky valve in the middle. The PWD engineers turned a blind eye to the leak; the relative inaccessibility of the spot gave them a convenient excuse. They had mercifully done so for two years now, and enabled Maya, Balwant and their toddler to live off it.

The first few journeys across the pipeline were harrowing. Maya had to leave behind her new-born baby in her tent, at the mercy of the other inhabitants of the pavement: stray dogs, vagabonds and the occasional traffic policeman. She had to carefully balance the pot on her head with one hand while holding her ghagra up shin-high to avoid tripping over it while crossing. The passage of two years had consequently replaced fear with steely courage. Desperation begets bravery.   

Maya was 18 years of age and nursing a new-born baby when she was forced out of her village in Rajasthan, to eke out a living. A few neighbouring families had narrated promising stories of prosperity in the cities of south India. Balwant, accompanied by Maya, had ambled to the railway station, caught the first train that was rumoured to head south, and got off after a couple of days at a railway station that seemed big enough to serve a city. Only by chance did it happen to be Bangalore; landing in Chennai, Hyderabad or Vishakhapatnam would have made no real difference. At least Bangalore’s weather is a shade kinder to the plight of a people who live in tattered tents that line its footpaths.

They managed to get on by selling knick-knacks on the pavement. A formidable variety of helmets, kick scooters, teddy bears and replicas of Venus De Milo made of plaster of Paris greeted passers-by. Their business attracted the attention of the local traffic policeman, who was their biggest source of expenditure. They also had to give him the occasional toy to keep him mollified. The law can be sadistically cruel to people who have been the victims of centuries of lawlessness.

One fine morning, Sharat Chandra happened to chance upon the leaky pipeline on his morning walk. He noticed the steady trickle of pure water drip down to be mixed with the sewage below. Chandra was a well-intentioned elderly gentleman who had recently retired from his occupation. He was now determined to put his newfound time and the little vitality that age had spared him for the cause of the common good. Later that day, he called at the local corporation office and requested to meet the engineer-in-charge. The engineer wasn’t at the office as he had gone to attend to some urgent repairs. The elderly man was met with some or the other excuse on repeated visits to the office, but he was determined. Finally, after hours of waiting, he stood before the engineer. Contrary to what he had expected, the engineer seemed to be a very cheerful and polite man. He gave Chandra a patient listening and was eager to get the leak fixed. He promised to visit the pipeline the following morning at ten ‘o’ clock to inspect the leak and tackle the problem. He explained that he was newly posted in the area and thanked Chandra for bringing the leak to the notice of his office.

The designated hour was at hand. Chandra leaned on his walking stick while staring into the seemingly endless sewage drain. Sure enough, at 10 AM, the engineer, surrounded by a couple of lackeys, strode out of his Ambassador car and shook hands with him. He quickly inspected the trickling pipe from a distance, gave instructions to the two men accompanying him and assured Chandra that the leak would be fixed in a couple of days. Chandra looked at the engineer as the latter strode towards his car with brisk steps and was driven away. The engineer seemed to be an assertive man, who took his job seriously. A quiet sense of satisfaction seemed to fill Chandra.

As he prepared to leave the scene, Chandra glanced at the pipeline and was shocked to find a woman balanced carefully upon it. With measured and confident steps she, proceeded to reach the spot of the leak and hang a pot at the location of the leak. Maya made her way back across the pipeline and saw the elderly man looking at her. Their eyes met for a couple of seconds after which Maya made her way back to her humble tent. Chandra stood at the scene, frozen, as vehicles whizzed by.

The Peacock and the Crane

My trip to Delhi has been eventful to say the least and has provided me with fodder for many a potential blog post  However, I'll choose to mark my return, after a considerable hiatus, with a juxtaposition of two places of worship that I happened to visit.

On querying the string "Places to visit in Delhi" on Google, I found a tripadvisor link that rated Gurudwara Bangla Sahib as No.1, and the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple as No.2 among the places that it recommended. Though the number of reviews received for the Gurudwara were far lower, the overall rating was higher than that earned by the Akshardham complex. I happened to visit both these places in the same order.

Bangla Sahib is snugly accommodated in the very heart of Lutyens' Delhi. It is associated with Guru Har Krishen, the 8th guru of Sikhs, who passed away at the tender age of 7 due to small pox. It is believed that the Gurudwara's tank has healing powers. The Gurudwara is an ancient monument steeped in Sikh tradition.
I found the Gurudwara to be an impressive structure. However, it retained a sense of modesty and simplicity. It had no compound wall and worshippers could enter from all directions. There were no security checks. The only prerequisite was that devotees submit their footwear at a counter, wash their limbs and cover their heads before entering.

The footwear counter is one where anybody can volunteer to serve. It has an open door for one to enter and serve for however long he wishes to. On presenting my footwear, I saw an assortment of people inside who were quite well dressed and appeared well-to-do. These people were cheerfully handling everybody's footwear. The underlying message behind this system hit me like a bolt. It was symbolic of a society where all are equal and no task is menial. It was one of the most beautiful messages I have witnessed at a place of worship. I hold that this is the true purpose of religion. Any religion must serve as a vehicle for social harmony and justice. Also, every facility at the Gurudwara, including the stashing of footwear, was offered free of charge. I could sense no commercial influence in my entire experience there. In my opinion, a place of worship must be free from the influence of commerce as the values of sacrifice and renunciation are the cornerstones of every religion.

I had to miss the langar at the Gurudwara because it was already done for that day. The ceremony of langar is one where the dignity of the person receiving charity is retained, as wisely pointed out by Harsh Mander. Langar also functions as a much needed social leveller that is vastly relevant in a country that is steeped in the erection of barriers on the lines of caste, class, creed and sex. My visit to the Bangla Sahib was an enriching experience and was inspirational because of the subtle, yet powerful message of social equality that Sikhism stands for.

Today, a few days since my visit to the Bangla Sahib, I visited the Akshardaam Temple in Noida. The very first thing that struck me about the temple was its sheer grandeur. The complex was massive and was immaculately maintained. While entry to the temple is free, there are various shows inside the temple which are charged. These charges are quite hefty. The audio-visual display that I opted to witness cost me a neat 170 Rs. The tour started with a robotic tableaux on the life of Guru Swaminarayan, continued with a boat ride that showcased "Life in the vedic times" and ended with an hour-long movie on the life of Ghanshyam, who acquires the name Neelakant and eventually transforms into Swaminarayan Maharaj. The tableaux also featured a preachy section that exhorts mankind to give up meat eating and take up vegetarianism.

The technology employed at each of these shows is state-of-the-art. The tableaux is a triumph of bio mechanics and robotics as the automatons, in spite of  looking a little outlandish, are absolutely lifelike. The boat ride is a celebration of hydraulic engineering, and the movie is shot to perfection. My tour of the temple takes me through a marvellous celebration of modern architecture and how it can be leveraged to construct a temple. That the entire complex was built in 5 years is a staggering achievement. The complex also houses an elaborate food-court with an extensive range in the choice of cuisine offered and these dishes were somewhat expensive.

It is unfortunate that the first thing that struck me during my visit to the Swaminarayan temple, and the only thing that has left in me a lasting impact is not what is being preached, rather loudly, in all these displays. The complex represents to me an ostentatious show of wealth. The temple definitely had a very obvious commercial angle, what with the charges levied on the audio-visual shows, personalised photographs and the food offered. It sought, by virtue of its intimidating might and extravagant display of grandeur, to influence peoples life positively.

The Swaminarayan temple seeks to preach the concept of Sahaj Anand, a state of unending happiness, through its powerful methods. The Bangla Sahib in its simplicity and subtlety, spreads its message of social harmony without any fanfare. While the former is housed in an imposing complex that demands a lot of time and space, the latter is a small compound that is beautiful in its simplicity. While my religion is preached in the former, ironically, I find myself connecting far better with the Gurudwara's message. Another aspect of this exercise lies in the wonderful realisation that our country is one where solace can be sought in a religion outside one's own: the idea of unity in diversity. The idea of India.

(The title of this post is a reference to an Aesop's fable that connects with its central idea)

Farewell Robin, and thanks for all the finishes

Now that the flaring embers that emerged when van Persie called it quits at Arsenal are slowly beginning to cool, I can't help but point out how most fans are poised to offer him a knee-jerk shove off rather than a fitting adieu to a player who most single-handedly kept us in champions league contention and on the right side of the table with regard to Spurs.

 The biggest mistake people make, more so in anger or disappointment, is to equate a difference of opinion to disrespect. Here, a statement saying that a player disagrees with the board of directors doesn't make him a Samir Nasri or an Ashley Cole. Personally, looking at its particular reluctance to sign big names over recent years, I feel that Arsenal is playing amazing football not because of its board, but in spite of it. All credit to Wenger and his staff for being so amazing. Just look at the valuation of players at Arsenal in the market, or their performance in international competitions. Arsenal as a team delivers much more than the sum of its individual players. My views on the Arsenal board's strategy are vindicated here and Robin finds a lot of former Arsenal players agreeing with him here. Notice how they are subtlety critical of the board too.

The biggest bogey that follows the Arsenal approach is the glorious success that the Invincibles brought us in the 2003-04 season. A similar strategy magically culminated in the mushrooming of legends like Bergkamp, Henry, Pires and Ljunberg at Highbury. But that sort of success is rare, considering how we haven't won squat for 7 years now. 7 years during which a player saw himself going from the age of 21 to 28. If that doesn't ring alarm bells, I don't know what will. We lost huge names when Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri left last season. We can't replace them with an Arteta, or even Gervinho, and be contented. One season on, which saw us particularly struggling in the defence and the creative midfield, there is still no attempt to bolster these areas.

One standard retort that fans think would justify Arsenal's parsimony over the entire last decade has been the signings of Giourd and Podolski. You don't give a drunkard a clean chit for one day's worth of abstinence. Chronic habits die hard. It will take a lot of good buying to change that image of Arsenal. Besides, our problem areas, our midfield and our defence haven't been addressed. Instead we go ahead and buy two strikers. The discussions at the van Persie vs. Arsenal board meeting must've gone something like this.

v. Persie: You guys haven't made any attempts to replace Cesc and Samir.


Board: We're aware of that. Let us talk about the contract. Shall we?


v. Persie: What about our defence? We conceded 49 times last season. That's 9 more goals than Liverpool at 8th place, and 3 more than Sunderland at 13th. Any new signings to fix that?


Board: Sure! We roped in Podolski and Giourd.

I don't know which "player of the season" would put up with this harebrained board.

All said and done, there is genius that is nurtured at Arsenal season after season. The exit of Henry saw the consummation of a brilliant Fabregas and Nasri. Their exit saw van Persie rise to the occasion. But don't you see a pattern here? Just as players get good enough at Arsenal, they get disillusioned and leave. Their decisions have been justified too, seeing as how Henry has won every title he possibly can and Cesc is riding high on the Barca bandwagon and is sure to win something very soon. Nasri's premier league win gave him a much needed last laugh at a hapless gallery of fans who've learnt to take failure after failure with misplaced hopes that their stars will continue to be loyal to their team. Loyalty is usually accompanied by a reward, which players at Arsenal last saw 8 seasons prior.

As a good friend rightly pointed out, Arsenal fans have responded to van Persie's rejection just as teens do when they break up badly. Here at Arsenal we're hanging on by a thread. We're fortunate to have seen the coming of great players year after year to fill the void left by their predecessors. However, if this continues, there might come a season where this might not happen. The upset of this precarious balance will see Arsenal sink to an abyss which is going to be very hard to crawl out of. When that fateful day dawns, there won't be any great players leaving the club for fans to be mad at; just the pitiful, namesake remnants of a great era, much like the later Mughals.

The stark differences between Hindutva and Hinduism

That the fanatical propagators of the Hindutva menace invoke Hindu pride and heritage to aid their petty arguments has been a constant source of irk. I recently read a well researched book called "Being Different" authored by a startlingly bold thinker called Rajiv Malhotra. Hindutva and Hinduism are actually poles apart. (In this entire post, I refer to Hindutva as the fanatical, extreme right wing movement associated with it in the present day.)

What is ironical is that Hindutva proponents end up mirroring the acts and the agendas of the extremists of other religions, whom they hold out as their adversaries. The Hindutva approach has always been one of fighting fire with fire. They counter aggressive conversion with aggression and violence. They raise the whole façade of "Hinduism in danger" and call all faithful Hindus to arms, in several walks of life, ranging from politics to mindless rioting on streets. Most importantly, the history centric nature of the Hindutva debate really stands out.

History centrism  is a feature that is characteristic of Abrahamic religions. As defined by Malhotra, it is the unwavering and unquestionable faith that is placed on certain historical events, like the resurrection of Christ or Moses' rendezvous with God on Mt Sinai where he was given the ten commandments. History in the traditional Hindu schools has always been a mutable story which can be amended as per the views of the author who chooses to write it. The authenticity of a historical document doesn't play as significant a role in Hindu thought as the relevance of its interpretations to the times in which it is authored. The factual particulars mentioned within these texts are never given any authority. For instance, there are three renowned versions of the Ramayana, authored by the ancient sage Valmiki, the 13th century Tamil poet Kamban and the 16th century bhakti saint Tulsidas who wrote in Awadhi. These versions are so vastly different when considered factually. However, each version was relevant to its time and fit perfectly into the social milieu of its authorship. Which version is more factually correct is entirely irrelevant.

This brings me to the primary bone of contention that the advocates of Hindutva place before the Indian populace: The Ram Mandir issue. Starting from the destruction of the Babri Masjid, moving on to the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 and the 5 years of power that the BJP enjoyed, all of these events hinged upon the manipulation of the sensibilities of the Indian masses using the Ayodhya issue. Ironically, it is entirely irrelevant to the Hindu school of thought as to whether Rama was born in Ayodhya of the present day or if his temple really existed there. Rama, who is held out as the exemplary Uttama Purusha in Hindu tradition, has had to lend his name to revolting organisations such as the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas.

Hindutva has all the despicable elements to leave true followers of Hinduism shame faced: several irresponsible youth groups, a fanatical body that twiddles the strings of its political party, armed militants and a history of mindless religious violence among several other unspeakable agendas. Hinduism has a history of mutual respect for other religions. Two other dharmic religions have taken birth in the lap of Hinduism without any opposition: Jainism and Buddhism. It has been a faith that is always accommodative of alternate paths to God. Never in the Vedas is it written anywhere that only a specific path leads to Moksha. I've grown up reciting prayers like the one below.

आकाशात् पतितम् तोयम् यथा गच्छति सागरम् ।

सर्वदेव नमस्कारः केशवम् प्रति गच्छति ॥

This prayer roughly translates to "Just as all the water that pours out of the sky ends up flowing into the same ocean, all the obeisances offered to the various gods find their way to the supreme being."

It is this legacy of Hinduism that Hindutva seeks to tarnish. In the face of their aggressive tactics not working, these "Kar-Sevaks" merely resort to more aggression. All this is perpetrated in the name of a religion that doesn't, by any stretch of imagination, lend their arguments any credibility. Hinduism is in danger mostly from the manner in which Hindutva is carried forth in the present day. We will never truly be a free nation until we see the eradication of the Hindutva menace.

ओं शान्ति शान्ति शान्ति हि|

The TCS 10K, Bangalore rerun

Since I was stuck in Namma Bengaluru for yet another year, I decided to give the TCS 10K run another shot. I'll cease to call it a marathon because while a marathon is a mammoth 42.2 km, this run is barely 10. Here's my take on last year's event.

Frequent e-mail reminders ensured that I registered on time and also convinced a friend or two to join. The registration this time around was smooth and didn't remind me of passport applications. The goody bag pick-up, which was strategically located in the midst of a promotional exhibition (again!) went on smoothly as well. This edition's goody bag, while retaining its share of men's cosmetics, wasn't as much of a punching bag. It had a 7 day pass to Gold's Gym! (which I just noticed). The organisers had learnt. They offered to sell me a pass to park at UB city, which I brushed aside, thinking it was unnecessary trouble.

The run up 

Unlike last time, I actually trained for this year's run. I ran for about 20 days of the 40 days that counted down to the race. I could spare only half an hour in the wee hours of the morning for the training and ended up running 5 kilometres on most of these days. I touched the 10 km mark on two consecutive days of a weekend. I didn't measure my time on any of these occasions too seriously but I thought I always clocked in under 50 minutes. My running tracks were more undulating than the race's track which led me to think that I'd do better on the latter. I also happened to read Lance Armstrong’s amazing biography in the days leading up to the run. His biography, titled “It’s not about the bike”, reads really well. It celebrates endurance sport in a manner that is truly inspirational, among other things.

Race day!

I was determined to reach the venue early so that I avoid getting slowed down by the crowding at the start line. I reached the vicinity of Kanteerava stadium half an hour early, but just when I could see the indoor stadium's strange looking dome, our lane was abruptly halted by a cop. An assortment of vehicles, of which I was an integral part, waited patiently for the traffic police to signal it through. Seconds turned into minutes and quiet waiting gave way to the blaring of impatient horns, which the traffic cop handled nonchalantly, seeing as how his profession involves the cultivation of a skin that is at least as thick as that of a well fed water-buffalo. Most faces around sported a look of bewilderment laced with disbelief at their 7:30 AM Sunday drive being so rudely interrupted with no sign of resumption. Only when somebody walked up to the cop did we realise that we had to wait for a political convoy to pass. On realising this, most people resigned to their fate and stopped honking. Everyone in our country is forced to grow water-buffalo skins one way or the other.

On finding a parking space at the Bangalore City Corporation Office, which was strangely empty, my decision to not buy that parking chit was completely vindicated (or so I thought). I jogged to the nearest gate of the stadium while dodging traffic to find a volunteer keenly scrutinising our running bibs. He looked at mine and pointed to a tiny little ‘B’ written in the corner. “Kindly go to Gate-B near Mallya hospital. You’re already late,” he informed. I finally made my way to Gate-B having run a kilometre already! On the bright side, this exercise served as warm up.

The gates were opened in an orderly fashion this time. Luckily for me, gate B opened rather early. In spite of the organisers limiting registration this year, the start line ended up reminding me of an Indian pilgrimage site. The funnel design for the running track was still in vogue and people did end up walking barely 100m after the start line because of crowding. The first kilometre of my race saw me rushing ahead, pushing hard just so that I can get past the sizable mass, which had assembled there that morning just to wave at the television cameras. I kept telling myself that an initial push would serve me well just so that I can get past this chaotic mass, replete with abrupt collisions that some scientist watching overhead could have used to model Brownian motion.

A board nearby announced that I had crossed one kilometre and I could see pockets of space opening up. I was now left running with all the people who had surged past the crowd and were now leading the race. I then proceeded to continue, keeping pace with those around me. I gulped down a glass of Gatorade, which wasn’t mixed properly. I ran alongside this person wearing a T-shirt that claimed he was from the Territorial Army. After a while, he slowed down a little and I surged ahead, looking for other people to run alongside with. I thought I was doing great!

The 4.5 kilometre mark was past and I suddenly started wearing. I pushed on for half a kilometre more and halted at a water point. I drank a little off the bottle and slowed down. There was a niggling pain in my chest that had never been so assertive during my training. The worst part about this pain is that even if I slowed down, it increased, until I had to walk a few paces. Mr Territorial Army man and a host of others I had swaggered past caught up with me and left me far behind. My head was a filled with a sense of bewilderment and disappointment. I thought I’d finish far behind last year’s time, after training so much more. I had done the unthinkable in a long distance race, twice! I walked. The water that I drank earlier was churning in my stomach, sending up burps to rudely interrupt my panting. I had bonked out as Lance Armstrong would call it. 

I convinced myself to salvage whatever I could from the race and slowly pushed on. I started jogging and building up my rhythm, while analysing what could’ve gone wrong. Was it because of the sun’s presence? Was it because I pushed too hard while keeping up with much fitter people? The kilometres ticked away very slowly. I just crossed a board saying 7 km were up.

When I proceeded to the 8^th kilometre, my rhythm was back and my chest pain was gone. A flood of reason came rushing in. I had tired so quickly because of all those 5 km training runs. My body automatically slipped into a pace where I’d be exhausted at the end of 5 km. This, coupled with the other factors that I mentioned before, did me in just after the 5 km mark. After a brief period of rest, I was fine. It was time to finish this race strong. There were people all along the race track cheering runners on with banners like: “After the pain goes away, only the pride remains.” Each time we runners thanked these people, they cheered a little louder, giving us much needed encouragement and little bursts of adrenalin. After the 9 km mark, I picked up pace steadily. With 500 m left, I was sprinting ahead, screaming to myself to get the adrenalin pumping. I finished the last bit of the race strong and checked my watch. I had finished in about 49 min (49:09), which was a huge relief. I missed the quarter of an hour mark by a really long shot, but was better than last year’s 51:44. Any endurance competition is a race against your own self, and every minute gained counts. I finished the race a full 500 m ahead of last year's performance, considering average speed.

The aftermath

On the other side of the finish line, I saw all the people who had done better than me. A man who looked at least 60 years old had finished in 45 min! I respectfully shook his hand, humbled thoroughly. I also congratulated Mr Territorial Army man. Finishing among the front runners (if I could call them that) is a much more humbling experience than it would appear. After the pain goes away, you are left with something much more valuable than pride: humility.   

I slowly ambled back to my two wheeler which I presumed was safely inside the Corporation Office. To my dismay, I saw that it was a little too safe! All the gates to that building were closed, locked and manned by security guards. I asked one of them how I could get out. He told me to try the other gate, though he was wholly pessimistic of my chances. I almost regretted not having purchased that parking pass. I slowly rode to the other gate and on seeing me, the guard manning it saluted. I duly saluted back, which brought upon his face a big smile that reminded me of a child whose relative had just given him a bagful of foreign chocolates! He swung the gate open and I was off. 

I have consistently painted a rosy picture of this event’s organisation thus far. However, when I returned that afternoon to have lunch in the whereabouts of the running track, I noticed that there was a lot of trash left behind on the streets. This was extremely disappointing. Even while organising such enriching events, the corporate world doesn’t think twice before taking its dump on the city’s already weak civic infrastructure. May our buffalo skins grow ever thicker.

I have realised that running is something I should practice around the year rather than the month before these events. When you run at an optimal speed, your body expends as much energy as it can continuously produce, letting you run on and on without tiring. I like to call this wonderful phenomenon The Indefatigable Rhythm. I never feel more alive than when I hit this rhythm. Running in the mornings also ensures that one stays amazingly vital for the remainder of the day. I was also untouched by the usual bouts of sneezing or the running nose that Bangalore keeps giving me. I have decided to intersperse running, cycling and yoga into an exercise schedule that I should follow. Let us see how that shapes up.

  

The story of Rushdie's non arrival

The Events

Jan 4th, 2012: Word is out that Salman Rushdie has been invited to the Jaipur Literature Festival, an annual event that has grown by leaps and bounds in its popularity since its inception in 2006.  

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-04/books/30588541_1_salman-rushdie-midnight-s-children-jaipur-literature-festival

Islamic groups across India protest his invitation to the festival and demand that he not set foot on Indian soil. Apparently, a ban on his "blasphemous" book in a country  that believes itself to be secular and also in free speech, just wasn't enough. On confrontation with these facts, they cite the American Govt's act of cancelling Narendra Modi's US visa as exemplary. (Yes. They'd like to equate the Gujarat pogrom to the writing of Satanic Verses.)

Jan 19th, 2012 (Thursday): Islamic groups that were planning major protests on Friday, the 20th of Jan, to coincide with the festival's opening, announce that these protests are cancelled. The reason: A Congress MP from Jaipur's assurance that Mr Rushdie would be kept away throughout the festival period.   

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article2816193.ece

Jan 20th, 2012 (Friday): Rushdie announces the cancellation of his visit to India citing rumours of paid underworld assassins set loose after his life. Livid authors at the festival start reading out from Satic Verses, his book that has been banned in India.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/satanic-verses-read-at-jaipur-literature-festival/222731-40-103.html

The Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi issued the following statement: "If an individual author feels threatened about his own security, I think you and I must all respect his right not to take chances with his own life and liberty."

Cited from the video on this link. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/salman-rushdie-skips-jaipur-literature-festival-says-he-was-warned-of-paid-assassins-168919

Mr Singhvi makes this statement in an attempt to sound like a magnanimous person respecting the rights of an individual's concern for safety. However, he conveniently fails to highlight that his government, whose duty it is to snub these Islamic extremists and ensure Rushdie's safety (and liberty!), has pitifully failed to do so.  

Summing Up

On the surface, the government tries to assure its citizens that it did nothing to prevent Mr Rushdie's arrival and that the author's decision not to arrive in India was his own, trying to score points on how it is being large minded in respecting that decision. 

Beneath the surface, the Congress tells the protesting Islamic groups that it has successfully prevented the arrival of the blasphemer, Salman Rushdie, on Indian soil. (Sure to be used for brownie points in election rallies.)