Desert Rose

We all have that WhatsApp group that is mostly asleep but when it wakes up, you have no choice but to mute it. So the same happened with one of the groups on my list a few days back. It kick started with reactions to the Telugu version of the Malayalam fame song ‘Malare’ and somehow drifted to reservation based on caste system. Participating in the discussion that followed, I got reminded of a time when I wished my father was a Latin Catholic and not a Syrian Catholic. I would have got that seat you know! I’m sure Jesus won’t care as much as the country did whatever I called myself. The constitution of India says all Indians are equal. Oh really? Reservation today is not just an affirmative action but has become a means for getting more and more benefits. As a matter of fact, the scope of reservation has enlarged to quite an extent. Oh so the backwardness has increased? It seems that nobody really cares about the welfare of the underdog but wants to gain a bit of th...

For more than a year now, I’ve been travelling by train to my native on a weekly basis and been crossing the vast expanse of land adjoining the Cochin International Airport. Initially, when I saw people at work and panels, I thought it was some airport extension business but now I know that Cochin was prepping to mark its place in the world history, technically. When stray dogs and their ‘rights’ or freedom to kiss in public or a celebrity’s wedding can take up so much attention and writing space, I thought this definitely deserved a little more attention than just a headline - “India’s Cochin is the World’s First Solar-Powered Airport”. If  humanity is to survive , it's going to have to embrace alternative forms of energy and ditch carbon  at  a real fast pace. India's making a pretty big stride in that direction after declaring Cochin International Airport as the world's first facility of its kind that runs entirely on  solar power . So I am jus...

All that noise. The hassled scenes. So much of dirt and garbage. Unpleasant smell dominating the air. Every face showing different emotions. Every frame giving me ideas of a little tale . Just a whole lot of chaos but that is the world’s largest railway network.  Every time I take a train in India, there is something or someone that gets me thinking. Never the less I always enjoy my dates with the Indian trains. From “this is my seat” arguments, to “may I sit here till the next station” requests. From making acquaintances during long journeys, to being freaked out by drunk locals in a rather empty compartment.  From trying to catch a train that almost started, to jumping out on late  realization  about the destination arrival.  From shifting legs and luggage continuously to escape the cockroaches, to getting used to them moving around.  6 years of living here and travelling around has been much more than just seeing places. A...

I spent my last five months in an architectural firm in ahmedabad and was mainly involved in the upcoming metro rail project of the city . This is when I read more about the transportation network in India and came across a lot of interesting details. In this process, I learnt more about one man who by the virtue of his hard work and dedication brought comfort to Indians – E. Sreedharan – true icon of our times! 56 successive years, in a single job, without a break – but barely anyone talking about him. Is it simply because, Dr Sreedharan, is not a typical Indian Success Story? As in, he is not an IITian nor is he from an IIM. He is not from a minority community. He did not study under street lamps. He did not milk cows to pay for his schooling. He is neither an actor nor a singer. Oh and he is not a cricketer! He was just a simple middle class Indian, who went about his job – the man who probably contributed the most to our infrastructure and that too silen...