Pursuing Power...

Power is a key word of life. Power is what that drives the world, according to me. Today, for instance in India, though we celebrate young and emerging India, we are all witness to the fact if you are powerful, you can go scathe-free. I am talking not just of politicians, film stars and filthy rich real estate people escaping jail, but am talking of our daily life.

To me, power today is money and influence. They will always mean power to me and I shall strive for them. It is probably the most common sight on the busy Delhi roads that uber rich people driving all those Mercedes, BMW models often get down on to the road to settle scores with guileless autowallas just to show off that they are powerful.

As we talk of equality, change in the country, and sense prevailing due to education, we are just fooling ourselves. Very often people relate the IT boom to the success of young India in moving the country forward. They often cite examples of well-to-do IT professionals donating to NGOs, teaching kids and all. To me, it all seems like a faff. I do appreciate their benevolence a bit, but somewhere in me, there is a cynic who tells me it isn't their magnanimity but their drive to show off their power and in that manner, get some influence. I may be wrong though! The striking thought that doesn't allow me to accept their nobility right away is that if they are all that noble, enlightened, educated and civilised, what is the frigging problem in following lane discipline on the roads yaar?! I haven't seen their attitudes changing too. Its just their lifestyles that have changed, and that is because of the dollars that the West throws at the so-called IT Services sector of India, which hasn't done any noticeable service to the country, except boosting the mall and pub culture.

As we embark upon things like 'Lead India', which I can't make any sense of, are we really competent and enlightened enough? Do we know what we are, before we announce what we want in others? Was reading a kid, aged 11, with no offence to him and all my respect to his intellect, speaking to a ToI correspondent talking about how a leader should be, and how Gandhiji was 'all giving and sacrificing'. Am sure he spoke that out of just the prodding of that media man who must have been on the prowl for his day's dough through some filler in the newspaper.

It seems to me like a pity that we are in a hurry to jump to judgements. We are mistaking power to be enlightenment. Being powerful isn't being intelligent or mature or even sensible! It is just being wealthy, influential and likes. It is a fact , infact a maxim or I would say 'Eleventh Commandment' that 'You cannot ignore power centers'. But we must not stoop to a level that we assuage these rich and getting richer segment of the society, all the while ignoring the real meaning of society. These aren't people we should be targetting to build a better nation. When our eye is in the wrong place, it doesn't matter if we have shot in the bull's eye!

The Pulse of Power

It is always very important to ask the right questions, or at least, give the right options. For further details, dial Kalanidhi Maran. The media baron of South India, whose SUN network enjoyed a near-monopoly over the southern TV tubes has finally realised that it is twilight and the sun has to set sometime. Not that I am writing off Sun network, for it is one of the best managed organisations down south. The marketing acumen is fantastic, and the stress on being a step above the competition is always there to be seen. But, when you rub power the wrong way in India, you are doomed. A matter of concern, but a truth we have to live with.

Personally, I feel indignant at the developments after Dinakaran, a newspaper run by Kalanidhi Maran, brother of once Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran ran a poll asking the Tamil readers who the next heir to 'Kalaignar' Karunanidhi would be. The poll showed the public opinion to be in favor of Stalin, instead of the eldest son of DMK Supremo Karunanidhi, Azhagiri. This was a reason to ransack the press and offices of Dinakaran, and set ablaze a few of them!

That could be taken as hooliganism of non-existent fanatics, but the dust that has been flying hasnt yet settled down. While the dust was flying in the air, we had an enterprising Union Minister putting in his papers, making an emotional press statement that he would die a DMK supporter and now, we have in front of us the first brick to be hurled at Sun tv.

Raj TV, the bete noire of Sun, will now be the DMK mouthpiece. This article in ET speaks about how Raj TV will now replace Sun TV in being the official channel of DMK. Tamil Nadu political parties sure seem to be fascinated by television. From distributing television sets instead of health kits to owning or patronising a television channel each, they all groom a strong penchant for the idiot box! This release in Sify states that a new channel being floated by Raj would be called Kalignar (as Karunanidhi is fondly called) and could also adopt the logo of his party. Duhh! Even before this news was out in the market, the Rs.16,000 crore Sun network has witnessed a fall in its scrip and Raj has seen its own rise! All this for the only folly of rubbing power the wrong way.

If you thought political power is always this way, and there is nothing new or worth blogging about in it, try this: Students in karnataka are selling their medicine seats for lakhs of rupees. Students, that too to-be graduates at that, nurturing hopes of becoming saviors for millions of patients out there are trading their seats. What does this speak of their integrity? What will they do once they become doctors? They might refuse to operate upon a patient until he pays a hefty sum. Had this been from some rural, uneducated illiterate we could have neglected the claim. But, students pursuing medicine are doing this. Karnataka students who have multiple seats due to their top ranks in and outside the state, are selling their medical seats in the state for hefty sums as per a report in Times of India Bangalore Edition yesterday. The torchbearers of tomorrow are burning our tomorrow. The next time I go to a doctor, am going to skeptical for obvious reasons. All this has happened for the students have been bestowed an additional power due to, alas, their merit! So much for being bright!

All this excess power in the wrong hands is all we need to make the nation powerless!