Its the season for repeats!! This one becomes relevant as elections loom around the corner...

Today let me touch upon a topic very close to my heart....the issue of integration of Muslims in India.

Ever since I was growing up in a small town in India, we have had Muslim friends and neighbours, and I have some warm memories of that time. The succulent mutton that used to come from Salim's house during Id, the great joy one used to feel when his Boodhi Nani (grandma) used to come down...the smell of onion always emanating from their kitchen....

Strangely though, I hardly got to study with any Muslim classmates. In school, engineering college or even at my IIM, Muslims made for just about 1% of the class. This is odd because India is supposed to have over 20% people of this community. If you look around, in the army, the police, and the corporate world or in the academia, the representation from Muslims is hardly noticeable. I don’t think its because of any discrimination....the most probable reason is that most Muslims (except the high or middle class urbanites) finish their schooling in some madrassa, which while providing them with good practical or spiritual knwoledge, make them unfit to join the mainstream.

Does India hate Muslims? Unlikely. Most of our highly respected musicians (Bismillah Khan, Bharat Ratna, Vilayat Khan, Amjad Ali Khan, Fahimuddin Dagar, Zakir Hussain et al), movie stars (Amir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Tabu) and many beloved sportsmen (Azhar, Zahir, Kaif, Aslam Sher Khan, Nawab Pataudi, Md. Shahid) belong to this community......and more Hindus than Muslims stood against the carnage in Gujarat, which incidentally was a one-off tragedy in the history of India.

The only beneficiaries of the backwardness of Muslims are the Mullahs, Imams and sundry politicians who then can herd the faithful to their own ends. Sadly, the Islamic intellectuals who want to reform their community are beaten down by their own brethren who call them anti-Muslims. Rafiq Zakaria, Mushirul Hassan and Maulana Wali Mohammed come to mind. Some of the greatest minds in the world are Muslims, and most of them are tolerant, cultured and secular. Most Muslims do not marry four times, and in today's world, most of them do not just say talaq talaq talaq before throwing their wives out. They do not cheer for Pakistan in a match with India, and definitely do not nurse an ambition to go to Lahore some day. These are stereotypes created by the black sheep from the other religions, of course with help from their ilk from the folds of Islam.

No amount of political bickering will ever change the fate of Muslims in India. Their young men will have to take charge of their futures. They will need to get the very best of education, then compete for the very best of positions and then assert their voice in every domain they enter. They will need to educate their womenfolk and not restrict their passage through life. There is no dearth of talent within them....all they need to do is shed their inferiority complex.....I would love to see many more Salims (as well as beautiful Salmas!!) walking shoulder to shoulder with me!

From my old blog.

From my post dated March 27 2003:

Lots of people have asked me what my alias yayaawar stands for, so this one goes out to them.....

Yayaawar means one with no fixed address or one who roams around (aimlessly?!!). It is used in the context of gypsies or nomads. I chose this because I have been moving all my life....from place to place, from people to people, from this goal to that....
Posted by Ranjan J on 01:16 PM

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Thursday, March 27, 2003

It turned out much better than I had imagined.

 

When I entered Friday’s at about 6.15, I heard the din created by a boisterous bunch seated in the basement and I knew I had found them. What struck me was all the women (and Senjam) were seated on one side of a row of tables, and all the men (and Sakhi, Lone Cypress and Khotta!!) on the other. Bon homie was flowing all around, helped in part by the alcohol!

 

Let me admit that I had not read the blogs of most of the people on the table. Yet the warmth made me at home immediately. It hit me that people of diverse backgrounds, various age-groups and different mentalities are active citizens of blogland. Yesterday's gathering put a nagging myth to bed: "Bloggers are not losers who seek release in cyberspace". Each one brings a unique value to the table (pardon the pun!)....

For a description of the individuals, you would do better to visit my newly acquired friends Sandhya and Sakhi. I could not do a better job than they have done.

What I found weird in the beginning were questions like "What's your FULL name?" and "Where do you work?" and "Where do you live?". But then I figured its all just an ice-breaker and no one gives a REAL damn as to where I actually work... and then one opened up. Thereafter it was a smooth sail.

What I am really proud of is that I was one of the last four people and the last two bloggers to leave the place! Rohit, Bodhi, Sandhya and I had kathi rolls and a few more rounds before they said "Last orders puhleeze" and we made way...

Now some specific observations about the fair folk (men, eat your hearts out!):

There were more good-looking and intelligent women in the room than there are true leaders in the Congress. Beautiful Life, who I saw only fleetingly, is really beautiful and seems to be full of life. Jill is a bright little kid (at least vis-a-vis me!) who is so full of beans. Lone Cypress is elegance personified. Priya is cute and so is her accent. Sakhi has an intensity you can feel and that attracts you to her. Sandhya is a darling (the old babe) who I would like to have pursued had she not been so very happily married. SwNe is a bubbly, energetic person who I did not get to know too well (my loss, entirely, and I'd like to make up some day). Twilight Fairy is someone you look at and feel the calm within - wish I had more time with her. And Wonderbug, she left us for her waiting husband before I had even settled down (he is one lucky guy I tell you).

Conclusion: I was an amazing event, well-conceived, well-planned and superbly executed. Great show guys!! And I am still looking for my soul mate!!

 

Oh, what a time we had!! Detailed post will follow as soon as I get time (before tonight I promise).

Also, check out the new links to the beautiful people I met yesterday...

P.S. I have not asked most people before linking them, as one would do normally. In case you don't want your link to appear here, do let me know.

This is a joke! Where do they get these ideas?? Who are the dumb-heads they speak to?

Women in India's corporate world have it relatively easy, especially upto mid-management levels.

Those of us who have gone to business schools will remember that all the top companies will take in a girl if there is a toss-up between her and a guy. I am not against women, and I do not think most women take any unfair advantage.... its just that most MNC companies have policies relating to workforce diversity which they have to adhere to.

Everytime I interview for an opening, I have seen myself to be sympathetic to women. Women come across as more vulnerable and your sub-conscious mind prods you to give them a chance as they have "overcome so many odds". One is even more liberal when deciding salary packages..... the poor sods who have "male" written all over their anatomy invariably draw a lower comp than women at par!

In reality, most women I have known at work have been very competent and there is nothing to separate them from men. They are equally aggressive (I have known some real tough ones) and equally spirited. And those who are very good go up parallely, if  not faster, than their male colleagues.

When it comes to dressing, give me a mini-skirted babe anyday :)

She is an upright woman who would not like me to mention her name in this context, so let me call her X.

Thanks guys for the comments (and also to those who mailed me, including the people behind the 3 hate mails, you know who you are!!).

I am going to the DBM!! Roll out the red carpet, will ya? And order those large ones for me...

Alpha and Kash, will let you know if I meet my 'true love' or 'soul mate', though I know these rendezvous (whats the plural for rendezvous? rendevouss? or rendezvous's??) don't yield much for a 30 year old.... But I sure hope I meet some interesting folks who I want to keep in touch with.

In any case, watch this space for a report on the 14th.

Sandhya, sorry if I sounded like a spoilsport... I was actually in two minds.

Blog Meets seem to be the flavour of the season. There is one scheduled in saadi Dilli on January 13. When I heard about it, I was enthused and immediately confirmed my attendance... but now, as we inch closer to the D-Day, I am not too sure.

What kind of people write these blogs? Of course I have read most of them, enjoyed many and even loved a few... but what kind of people are they in person? What are we going to talk about? Blogs? aaaaaargh.

Its different when its a one-to-one. You have a lot of time to explore commonalities and the initial ice thaws gradually. How would it pan out in a group scenario? I might get to meet some nice people (even though most of the potential participants appear to be very young!!) or I might just get bored in a corner.

Any thoughts?

Delhi evokes a spectrum of reactions from a visitor and, in most cases, the reactions change over a period of time.

The first sights of Delhi can be pretty ugly (that's a good oxymoron, no? pretty ugly!). If you approach the city by train, you see rubble all around, mostly because of the hectic construction activity going on in all the suburbs and satellite towns. There is a green patch that's fast being eroded, despite frantic campaigns by pro-environment activists. You will see prosperous villages whose farmlands are turning into prime real estate, their menfolk defecating in the open, oblivious to the curious looks of a trainload of weary passengers.

If you reach here through the air route, the shock will not come until you have left the airport because the Delhi airports have improved substantially over the last couple of years. Its only when you see the unsmiling faces of taxi drivers and their gutkha-stained shirts that you will feel unwelcome. Then when you drive through the city, your vehicle cutting corners, jumping red-lights and narrowly avoiding public transport vehicles (known as Bluelines, for the colour they sport), you will brace yourself for the experience that's going to be yours for the rest of your stay.

You will see the stray cows squatting on busy roads, lots of beggar children at every traffic junction, filth and squalor if you happen to leave the core central area, and every other sight and sound typical to any third-world capital city.

But, Delhi is not all about negatives. This city tends to absorb you. While cities like Chennai (Madras) and Kolkata (Calcutta) are very exclusive and cities like Mumbai (Bombay) treat you as one of the crowd, Delhi will assimilate you very quickly. Over centuries, invaders have flocked to this city like moths to a flame, and they have all left their traces here, and this city has woven them into a rich tapestry.

Don't get me wrong here. This assimilation has never been painless. It has always been the survival of the fittest. Probably that's the reason why you will notice a lot of aggression in the way a typical Delhiite talks and acts. But the fact remains that practically everyone living in this city traces his/ her ancestory to an invader, a nomad or a refugee. Even today, you will find people from all states in every walk of life. A top bureaucrat or a shopkeeper in Lajpat Nagar, a high-end executive or the guy who washes your car - he could be a Punjabi, a UP-walla, a Bengali, a Bihari or a Tamilian with almost equal probability.

The city has another strength - it builds usually without destroying. You will see an ancient fort (aptly named Purana Quila) occupying vast acreage in the heart of town, the ruins of the Hauz Khas village ringed by (but not encroached upon) shops and restaurants.

to be continued....

Delhi is an amazing city right at the onset of winter.

It rained last night and the roads are still wet, trees are still dripping the heavenly nectar, the air is cleaner and is carrying the smells of flowers picked up on their way to your senses. You feel the cool breeze just like the gentle waves of the Bay of Bengal hitting the shore at noon...  

But, I have to go back to my claustrophic enclosure upstairs :(