Narendra Modi's Purple Cow

My Acche Din !

By Manuwant Choudhary

A month ago I booked a doctors appointment by paying Rs.800 but when I went to see him yesterday he refund the full fees !

Now this is what I call an Acche Din.

Of course his assistant did not seem to be too happy with the doctors decision...but he seemed upset about the government as well.

 Anyone who approached him for any work he would simply tell them, "Nayee sarkar banne do to kaam hoga...purana sarkar bana to nahin hoga." (Let the new government be formed then I will do the work. If the old one comes back then I will not do the work.)

But since I felt good I decided to complete my useless errands like paying uitility bills...I am still not digital.

First I went to the Bijli (Electricity) Vibhaag, where often the electricity goes off just when I reach the pay counter...Bijli Gul, Metre Chaaloo...is that the name of a Bollywood film ?

Swachch Bharat has not arrived here ...the place smells of urine..and you have to climb a flight of stairs before you can get your duplicate bill.

A girl wearing a sleeveless kurti played video games when I disturbed her for a bill...an old printer creaked and croaked just like this govt...before the bill was printed.

I hurried downstairs to stand in queue when I notice  the bill amount to be only Rs.134/- Now thats not even worth standing in a queue?

So I left.

Next stop Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.

My landline has been out of order for as long as I can remember. But I religiously pay the bills. Its the best bet to prove my residential status and in these hard times even my Indian citizenship.

Two ladies man the counters for decades, they've never been transferred. One was missing but the second lady print my bill.

An old man received my payment when he tells me "Aaapka paisa to sarkar ke yahan bachaa hai..You don't have to pay anything."

Still I paid Rs.600 just to add the credits but i asked him how I could at least get my phone to work.

On his advice I met the telephone SDO, who informed me that my phone is currently suspended but I must take my Rs.600 back because otherwise its a rather long process of refund. He has promised to fix my phone.

It looked like no minister had ever visited the BSNL the last five years.

Just then I get a message on my cellphone. Its from Ravi Shankar Prasad asking me to vote for him.

But isnt he the minister for BSNL??????

A dozen workers sat below near the entrance looking all glum so I asked them if BSNL is going to be shut by the government. One of them replied, "Let them do what they want. We will survive. Sirf 399 ka mobile unimited Rs.1000 ka ho jayega...."

Another replied, "Yeh sab Mukesh Ambani ke liye kar rahe hain wo.."

Near Patna's Gandhi maidan i see this horse which resembled Lord Ram's Aswamedha Yagya Horse...the horse released by ancient kings to conquer the world.


The horse is let loose and free to roam the world not to be caught by anyone. If anyone dares to catch it, he faces the wrath of the king and his army. Its war.

In the mythology Ramayana, Ram's horse was caught by two kids in a jungle !

And the kings bravest men could not defeat them in war.

Its only when Hanuman is sent that he sees the two kids are actually sons of Lord Ram himself...from Sita...

So you don't need Shatrughan Sinha to stop Modi, his two sons are enough....Luv & Kush.

Piloo Mody - The Mody Who Should Have Been India's Prime Minister !

Rang De Basanti - Roobaroo - The Last Song

Kindness In The Air

By Manuwant Choudhary

I am not really a frequent flier but whenever I do have to travel,  I do not find it easy.

Right from planning to booking  tickets and the most difficult - packing.

And then the travel agent asking, "Sir, would you like a Corporate ticket? Rs.500 extra you will get a complimentary meal."

I say politely, "No Corporate please. I am a farmer."

But wait, "Why should only Corporates get a meal?"

Farmers after all don't they grow all that food?

And then of course reporting two hours in advance to a long queue at an Airport called Jaiprakash Narayan Antarashtriya (International) Hawai Adda (where no international planes land or take off).

The runway is so short that when even domestic planes land they have to come to a s screeching halt or they might crash into the cows of Patna Veternary College !

Its named after Jaiprakash Narayan, the veteran socialist, who fought the emergency and dethroned Indira Gandhi through a slogan `Sampoorna Kranti.'

No Indian has fully understood the meaning of his slogan yet, so this airport is completely designed to make you get a feel of what he may have meant.

From the toilets to the security checks to the glass waiting areas its so crowded that sometimes you will not have standing space and the expensive samosas sold at the Fair Price Shop is avoidable.

But if you just ponder a while..you will get the sense of the what JP really meant by Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution)

On board a private airline Spicejet the scene dramatically changes...pretty airhostesses in red welcome you on board...sometimes not too attentively but thats ok...it must be tough smiling all the time.

So I take a seat, relieved to be finally there.

Even as other passengers get thinking as to what they want from the airhostess and the bells start lighting up across the aisle, I never ask for anything.

I never have.

But like others I was thirsty.

Just then a pretty airhostess walked right up to the front and picked up a glass of water.

It looked as though some passenger had asked for it at the rear or she wanted a drink for herself. Since the flight was yet to take off.

But suddenly she stopped and offered the water to me.

I wasn't too sure whether I should accept it or not.

What followed was a two minute uneasy silence...with everybody looking....and then I finally gave in....and took the water.

I said Thank You.

She smiled.

On my return flight the check in staff of Jet Airways...looked at me as though I had booked a wrong flight.

She asked, "Are you sure you are flying economy."

Me: "Yes, I think thats what the ticket says."

She, "Can you wait for 30 minutes. Give me your number I will call you. The flight is so full today."

I was not sure why I was being offloaded.

But then she finally gave me my boarding pass.

Its when I got on to the plane I realised she had given me the best seat in economy..more leg room and I could see and smell the freshness of the Business Class !

With so much kindness all around I felt I looked like Ranbir Kapoor.

But I may be wrong because a friend told me they were kind only because of my greying hair...

If There Is God, He Lives In Bombay

By Manuwant Choudhary

If there is a God he lives on a two acre plot in Sewri, Bombay, at this school for special children run by the Jai Vakeel Foundation.

A few years before India's independence in 1947 a girl Dina was born to Mr & Mrs Hormusjee Vakeel but unfortunately she was afflicted with the Downs Syndrome, a genetic disorder caused when abnormal cell division results in an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21 leading to learning disabilities.

Mr & Mrs Hormusjee's dream was to provide a learning space to their child Dina where she could grow and be happy but they could not find a single such facility in India, so they were compelled to convert their own home into a school for special children.

First there were only a dozen students but as the numbers grew the Hormusjee's bought a two acre plot of land in Sewri and started the school as it is today.

Now 700 children come here daily in buses from across Bombay. Besides this the Foundation runs two smaller facilities in Pune and Nashik to cater to children from other regions, especially rural India.

Admissions are given only to students having an IQ of 70 or less as certified by the government besides the school conducts its own IQ tests before admissions.


But to see all 700 students on the school ground preparing for the annual sports day was inspiring.

Simply because each child is unique here, requiring a very detailed attention and medical care and counselling, for me its hard to even imagine them marching to the drums in unision with so much enthusiasm.

And there are the cups waiting to be won - the Celebrations !

But its in the classrooms and cubicles that special individual attention is given by trained counsellors to help each child. And initially this can be slow, really slow.

But through music or something the child likes doing communication is established and over months little by little the child gains confidence and joins the learning process.

I spoke to a counsellor as to how she manages this and she replied, "Patience and lots of patience is the only way. There are no time frames, some improve fast, others could take six months even but eventually they do."

The Foundation also organises vocational courses so that they can be usefully employed. Recently, they have even introduced a course for data operator, I was told.

Those who do not find employment in the market are provided employment on campus here - from incense making, to candles to decorative items.

Like two girls show me how to make a paper rose within a minute, even I cannot make one !

And there are the looms - they weave some very fine cotton here. You can support the children by purchasing these items from their website jaivakeel.org or make donations.

A tall Muslim father stood beaming at us just near a door, "Today is the first time my son has been able to stand up on his own feet...and he seems to like this door very much !"

The child looked at us confidently ready to take on the world.

Most teachers say they too learn something new from the children everyday.

For the rest of us I would say if you spend even an hour here you will be cured of your ego.

As for me - mine just crashed - I had this one big ego that no one could love Ms. A as much as I did but here all 700 children love her as much and more...

And yet she loves me just a little bit, like she did when we first met at college.

For this I am grateful, eternally.

The Manhole Activist

By Manuwant Choudhary

Outside a tiny roadside restaurant in Patna I found a man argue with three workers who were fixing a manhole...he told them with some confidence, "Either you fix it right or I will file an FIR with the police saying you have swindled govt. money you took to do the job."

The man was the restaurant owner and the problem was that the workers had laid some telephone cables underground but they failed to fix the manhole properly at the level of the road.

The workers realised that the man was serious.

As I finished my lunch and came out I saw the workers had left, the manhole had been fixed properly except some rubble remained.

And the man who forced the workers to do their job stood alone.

I congratulated him for his activism and told him if every Indian was so vigilant then India would be a developed country.

He said his name was Rajesh Gupta and this was the only business he owned.

He then told, "Yeh kya hai..main do do Superintendant of police aur do judge par bhee case kiya hua hoon." (Oh this is nothing I have filed two cases on two SPs and two judges !)

This is his story.

"My father ran this restaurant for 30 years but now I run it..I have it registered after paying stamp paper but the government claims the land is theirs..they want me to leave and since I didnt...the police arrested me, took me to a judge's kothi at midnight and sent me to prison the next morning."

"When I was produced before the same judge I asked him if the police had ever produced anyone with a dacoity charge or kidnapping or murder at that hour at his home...and that he must check the records as he had no such cases against him."

The judge granted him bail.

Mr. Gupta continued, "I am an RTI activist too. Like did you know the govt. allocation for the small park here. Its 22 crores ! I have asked them what they are going to build?

I do not own an apartment, I live in an old house and this is my only business but do you know just to live like this I have filed 22 cases in the Patna High Court.

"I have filed cases for parks to everything....even Bangladeshi ghuspaithee ! Hindus suffer a lot in this country so I fight more than any political party."

He then asked me, "Do you see anything there?"

I said, "Yes, a sign May I Help You. Its a police chowki..."

"Have you seen any policeman ever sit there?

I replied, "No, never."

He said, "But they paint the May I Help You sign every month...do you know why?

Me: No.

Him, "The story begins when you look up....See that hoarding...that sells for Rs.5 lakh !...so their aim is not to May I Help You...but to collect money from across the city...crores....sab loot-paat hai.."