MODI @ MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: WHAT MADE P.F. FOUL SO MISERABLY?

What made The Economist's (TE) P.F., or Patric Foulis, the 'supposed author of the TE blog 'I give you Narendra Modi'* foul so Miserably?

Who made make understand that by doing so he has exposed himself only?

 This racist article dents his and TE's journalistic credentials only.

The article, written in poor taste, and with dominant elements of bias, reflects nothing but a personal grudge.

Did Narendra Modi deny his requests for interview when he was in India on his professional assignment?

Tweets from his Twitter handle @PatrickFoulis during Modi's Madison Square Garden event only corroborate it.

Here are the gems that reflect on the skewed wisdom.

An authentically Indian mass scrum follows Modi ' exit from Madison Sq Gardens.

Patrick Foulis @PatrickFoulis  ·  Sep 28

SEPTEMBER 30 AND RUMI AND TRUMAN CAPOTE AND ELIE WIESEL

It's a great day today for the fans of literature and certainly a moment to rejoice its legacy for someone who has varied interests for his reading portfolio, from non-fiction to fiction, from strategic world affairs to spiritual affairs, from electoral analyses to poetry, from humanity to beyond humankind.

September 30 marks the birth anniversaries of three literary Greats from different circumstances and 'genres' of life that made what they are known as. One is from the 13th Century. Two are from the 20th Century. And one of them is still alive.

Rumi or Jalal ad-Dīn Muhammad Rumi, born in a family of eminent jurists, the 13th Century Persian poet’s popularity has cultivated a worldwide following and his work is being translated in more and more languages in the contemporary times. Wikipedia, quoting different sources writes that "he has been described as the most popular poet in America and the best selling poet in the US", in a land far away from his birthplace in present day Tajikistan or Afghanistan or from his final resting place in present day Turkey. Much of the classical Iranian and Afghan music is said to be influenced by the Sufi Mystic's poetry.  

September 30, 2017 - December 17, 1273

Truman Capote: I was aware of Truman Capote and had a brief outline of his work, but never intended to or thought of giving more attention, until Philip Seymour Hoffman's 'Capote' happened in 2005. For me, it took the genius in Hoffman to introduce me to the literary genius of Capote. Hoffman played Capote in the biographical drama based on ‘In Cold Blood’, a non-fiction crime novel as Capote described it, a work that made Capote the most famous author of his time in America. His troubled childhood proved out to be the formative period of his literary career.

September 30, 1924 - August 25, 1984

Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’ came to me as a soul-stirring experience. Before it, I was largely focused on documentaries, visual media, news reports and studies on Holocaust to know more about the largest pogrom of modern human history, to feel its pain, to realize its message. But the experience after ‘Night’ transcended all and made the Holocaust memoirs the major part of my Holocaust reading, of the past, as well as the ongoing ones. The sudden change, from the peaceful childhood days to a life of utter debasement, where there were no children, no adults, no males, or no females, just living human corpses, waiting to be gassed and burned, in a matter of a few weeks, brings tears that don’t stop. The 1986 Peace Nobel Laureate is still with us. His life and work remind how debased the humankind can become and how resilient the humanity can come out to be.

September 30, 1928   

Photographs sourced from the Internet 

It is indeed a day to look back on works of these literary Greats to express gratitude for staying with us, for enlightening us, for empowering us, for giving us peace, for giving us joy, for giving us the precious moments to reflect on.

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

MAHARASHTRA POLLS: BJP RETAINS RPI(A) EYEING DALIT VOTE SPLIT

As the two main political alliances forming the broad spectrum of the state politics in Maharashtra got over, with NCP quitting the senior partner Congress and BJP walking out of the Combine with Shiv Sena, the rush was to forge new alliances, to retain smaller allies, to find new allies.

Congress immediately announced Samajwadi Party coming on board with it, but a day later we came to know it was a premature announcement.

The BJP-Shiv Sena split saw increased bonhomie between Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray but there is no definitive word on the political rivals from the Thackeray family coming together.

BJP retained three of the four smaller parties of the Mahayuti, the grand alliance that contested the Lok Sabha elections, Raju Shetti's Swabhimani Paksh, Mahadev Jankar's Rashtriya Samaj Party and Vinayak Mete's Shiv Sangram. These small parties carry significant electoral weight in different regional pockets of Maharashtra.

But RPI(A)'s stand was not clear. Both, Shiv Sena and BJP, were trying to woo Ramdas Athavale given the significant chunk of Dalit votes in the state.

SMART CITIES TO COME: THE NEED BEFORE THAT

Smart cities are to come into existence, or into functional mode, or into the operational domain from the public psyche of the Indians.

Now the need before that is to educate the Janata (or the Indian public) about 'whats n hows' of a smart city:

 What is a smart city?

What are its characteristics?

What will happen to the people in a smart city who are not smart (or not smart enough)?

Are the people equipped enough to have what it takes to be the residents of a smart city?

How can they change and acclimatize?

What if a smart city doesn't find smart users or conscious adherents, what will be the corrective measures/alternatives then?

XI JINPING'S INDIA VISIT & CHUMAR STANDOFF: THANKFULLY, THE INDUCED BONHOMIE WORKED

India China bonhomie was in the air. It was in full throttle when the Chinese President was here earlier this month. And had a natural downslide after the visit. Even during the visit, yet another standoff on yet another Chinese incursion in Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir, was in full swing.

So, if the Indian hospitality in making the Chinese President Xi Jinping feel at home will be remembered, it will also be remembered for the cultural elements that enveloped the bilateral tension under the wrap of  a makeshift bonhomie.

So, if it was 10%, the wrap of the cultural bonhomie made it 50%. The personal touch of Narendra Modi and the Gujarat element took it to 75% (Xi landed in Gujarat to begin his India visit). And the rest was done by the media, making it complete, taking it to the absolute figure of 100%, so much so that long discussions were held out on the possible (say proposed) $100 Billion Chinese investment in India.

No one can say from where this $100 Billion investment figure cropped up which was nowhere near to the actual $30 Billion that Chinese President agreed on while leaving the country.

The two Asian nations and neighbours fought a war in 1962 and there have been very little in the name of diplomatic ties and high-level bilateral efforts. The general perception about political and public sentiments has been of hostility, bilaterally. India has had an all-weather ally in Japan, China’s historical adversary. And China has done all to prop Pakistan against India, India's backstabbing neighbour.

MODI AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: A PROUD INDIAN MOMENT EXCEPT..

It is true the kind of overseas following Narendra Modi has cultivated has been unmatched for any contemporary Indian leader.

And he has done it meticulously and consciously. 

The strong Indian Diaspora in many developed countries and a large Gujarati Diaspora in the US has been an added benefit to him, a Diaspora that has always been one of the major stakeholders of his 'Gujarati Identity and Pride' campaign. And that is what is being reflected in Indians giving him a rockstar sort of welcome at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City while writing this. 

And it is a moment for every Indian to feel proud, especially after his appearance at the Central Park music concert earlier in the day, a gathering of almost 60000, most of them being American students. Though most in the audience would not know him, Modi was received well and his address in English was taken in the spirit of his message, 'may the force be with you'.  

But that doesn't give anyone to go unhinged, to attack or abuse someone.

A senior Indian journalist was abused and assaulted by a person from a group of people gathered outside the Madison Square Garden to welcome Mr. Modi. 

The sequence of events was caught on camera and what the world didn't see clearly told what happened really. The whole episode was certainly in bad taste and a very bad publicity in the name of the Indian ethos if we see it in the context of the understated and biased reporting in the Western (and the US media) on Modi's US visit so far.  

No Indian including our prime minister would ever want to see such spectacle being created on a foreign land.

it is utterly condemnable, especially after the UNGA speech by the prime minister that emphasized on Indian philosophy and culture and talked of establishing and celebrating an International Yoga Day.

This is not at all about the Indian tradition of brotherhood and solidarity.  

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

NARENDRA MODI’S MAIDEN UNGA SPEECH HIGHLIGHTS

Time 31 MINUTES - (IST) – 8:20-8:51 PM

#ModiAtUN - So, Mr. Modi has been invited, and it begins, as expected, in Hindi

#ModiAtUN - India is in transition phase - highlighting the country’s philosophy and it's cultural, historical and ideological legacy

#ModiAtUN - India's 'the world as one family' philosophy – India stands for peace and prosperity in the world

#ModiAtUN – Strong faith in multilateralism – the world is witnessing strengthening democratic wave in Asia and Africa

#ModiAtUN – India-Pakistan - I extended friendly hand to Pakistan after coming to the power – I would prefer bilateral talks - in a free atmosphere that Pakistan must create without any conditions – his works imply the futility of raising the Kashmir issue at platforms like the UNGA

#ModiAtUN – Narendra Modi has come in his natural flow - let's see how long, beyond the stipulated time, he takes it to

#ModiAtUN – India-Pakistan talks - onus is on Pakistan for creating peaceful, terror free atmosphere for talks – willing to engage in serious bilateral talks

#ModiAtUN - Why so many G-groups in spite of the UN? Why can’t we move to G-All? Even India is member of such groups - introspection on UN's role in world affairs in the prevailing circumstances  

#ModiAtUN - A country or a group of countries can't dictate the world affairs and the world order anymore

#ModiAtUN - 20^th century institutions in the 21^st century - need for change and adaptability – what was then, needs to look back at to incorporate changes to work ahead

#ModiAtUN - Countries sponsoring terrorism, harbouring terrorists – unacceptable concepts like good terror and bad terror – takes on the Western world  

#ModiAtUN - United front against terror is the contemporary global need

#ModiAtUN – The development works need to have the spread across the world - like Facebook, Twitter spread - we need to think in those terms

#ModiAtUN - India is ready to share its skills and technology for development of the humankind - emphasises on the culture of embedded nature conservation

#ModiAtUN – Indian legacy of Yoga and its influence on living and life – says let's have an International Yoga Day – says let's begin work on it

#ModiAtUN - The UN will be 70 next year – we need to observe this year to deliberate and discuss - on past - for future - for the UN reforms - at in 70^th milestone in 2015

#ModiAtUN - Modi winds up his maiden UNGA speech emphasising on the need for the UN reforms including the UN Security Council reforms - India's membership to the Council is a natural requirement in the prevailing geopolitical circumstances 

#ModiAtUN – Narendra Modi took almost 30-31 minutesfor the UNGA speech – spoke some from written, some was extempore

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

JAYALALITHAA CONVICTED IN DA CASE: AS EXPECTED, TEARS ARE OUTPOURING! (SPILLING OVER)!

The flow becomes copious and tries to stuff in as many points of the loyalty bonus as possible when the camera pans towards them!

Jayalalithaa, the ‘immensely’ popular Tamil Nadu chief minister, who rode back to the corridors of power in 2011, and repeated her electoral success in Lok Sabha elections this year, almost wiping out the main political opposition party in the state, the DMK, has been convicted in a DA case (or the disproportionate assets case –a term brought in vogue by the deeds of the Indian politicians facing corruption charges).

She was convicted today by a judge of a Special Court hearing her case in Bangalore, out of Tamil Nadu, on a plea, after she took over the reins of the state. She was convicted today in yet another corruption case, by a trial court, after 18 long years. Yes, like in the past, she can expect to walk out free from the higher courts, but that comes later.

And unlike in the past, she cannot remain the chief minister now, given a recent landmark Supreme Court order, that imposes the restrictions immediately after the ‘being guilty’ verdict is announced.  

So, after 18 years - 18 long years, she is facing the jail term again, and see, who is celebrating in Tamil Nadu, another political family facing charges and allegations of huge corruption and misappropriations - the Karunanidhi family, as the charges and the ongoing probes say – many prominent DMK faces were in jail like Kanimozhi, Karunanidhi’s daughter or A Raja, former Telecom Minister. In fact, most of the central figures and the first political families in majority of the Indian states are facing corruption allegations/charges.

TODAY I MET THE LIFE AS IT WAS TO BE..

Today I sensed the Life as it meant to be,
It was as if dreaming wild after a slumber..

As the eyelids met to see the sudden transformation,
When metaphors suddenly changed their positions..

The mind sounded eager to get attuned to the beat,
As my thoughts felt the rush of the metal heat..

The late night wind rushed untamed,
Pushing the morning rain to surge..

The figurative stillness was left numb,
Giving in to the normative wild newness..

Today I began to see the life as it was to be,
It was as if the prologue of a new hunting summer..

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

AS EXPECTED, MAHARASHTRA'S EXISTING POLITICAL ALLIANCES ARE OVER (FOR NOW)

All this was expected, waiting to happen, and as the time was running out, today was the day, when it had to happen, as the last day of filing nominations for the October 15 Maharashtra assembly election is just on the day after tomorrow, on September 27, a day when prime minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly during his much talked about official America trip.

The four major political parties of Maharashtra, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena and Bhartiya Janata Party, are going to contest the upcoming assembly polls separately (as of now).

We had two pressers today, by the BJP and the NCP, announcing the split. Representatives of both the parties said they tried hard to save the alliance. Likewise was the reaction from their 'till the last moment' alliance partners.

The Mahayuti is no longer existent (as of now). The Congress-NCP Combine had its life till today.

Anyway, there is nothing much to read into that. After Congress' humiliating loss and miserable strength in the Lok Sabha elections and the BJP's stupendous (and unexpectedly overwhelming) show, it was written all over.

Sharad Pawar had issued warning to its senior partner immediately after the May 16 General Elections results that Congress needed to accept the reality and had to give more space to the NCP now.  Though the BJP did not issue such explicit warnings, the messages and the feelers were always sent out. Congress' two Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra were half of the NCP's four while the BJP was five seats ahead of Shiv Sena's 18 MPs. Also, nationally, the party had won majority on its own.

NAMASTE SIRS: INDIAN SCIENTISTS TRIUMPH WITH ISRO'S MARS ORBITER

Namaste, @MarsOrbiter! Congratulations to @ISRO and India's first interplanetary mission upon achieving Mars orbit.

The Twitter handle (@MarsCuriosity) of NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover, already on the Red Planet since August 2012, tweeted today to congratulate ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (@MarsOrbiter) on successfully reaching the Mars Orbit this morning after over 300 days of journey. Launched on November 5 last year under India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), the Orbiter had left the Earth's Orbit on December 1 to a Mars-bound journey.

And the achievement came with the words for the next stop on India’s roadmap for space exploration with ISRO tweeting its intention to launch its Rover on the Moon soon, with its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-II, after the successful Chandrayaan-I of 2008.

And they will do it with more style and substance, irrespective of the debates and the counterpoints that other giants (read the USSR, the USA and the European Space Agency) reached Mars and Moon decades earlier, and that will again be a milestone achievement indeed.

Every big and small country, willing and investing in, is in the space race and Sun, Mars and Moon are the evergreen subjects, no matter if Mars and Moon were mapped decades earlier.

NASA's Maven Orbiter, built at almost 10 times the cost of Mangalyaan, started orbiting Mars on Sunday. China's similar attempt failed in 2011. Japan also saw failure in 1999. And there will be more attempts in the future.

THAT’S THE BRIEF HISTORY OF LIFE..

Tempting than mystery 

Puzzling like love

Silky and Salty

Thrusting and drifting 

Inviting like the Sun 

Confusing like the Moon 

That’s the brief history of Life..

THAT’S THE BRIEF HISTORY OF LIFE..

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

THE LAAD BAZAAR BANGLES @ CHARMINAR (3)

Some are like fields of sunlit corn,

Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,

Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,

Or, rich with the hue of her heart's desire,

Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear

From Sarojini Naidu's 'The Bangle Sellers'

Laad Bazaar is famous for bangles though its numerous shops are also known as a cultural marketplace for other products of aesthetic value as well, like its exquisitely designed pearls encrusted jewellery. 

'Laad' translates to endearment or fondness or adoration or many other similar words, but the meaning remains the same – the love bestowed upon, to pamper, to caress. It is adoration of pure feelings in human relations. 

Bazaar translates to market. Laad Bazaar is a centuries old market in the Charminar area of Hyderabad. It forms the essential part of the heritage that makes the Charminar the cultural epitome of Hyderabad, a historical city weaved in culture and tradition. 

Laad Bazaar is about a cultural legacy and it reflects in products here and in the way the business is conducted about these products – the soft, pampered approach to adore the customers in a pure Hyderabadi style – to sell them, who are so dear to us in our families, the endearing thoughts associated these ‘circles of light’, the bangles, they are so fond of, as the Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu writes. 

THE LAAD BAZAAR BANGLES @ CHARMINAR

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

THE LAAD BAZAAR BANGLES @ CHARMINAR (1)

http://severallyalone.blogspot.in/2014/09/the-laad-bazaar-bangles-charminar-1.html

THE LAAD BAZAAR BANGLES @ CHARMINAR (2)

http://severallyalone.blogspot.in/2014/09/the-laad-bazaar-bangles-charminar-2.html

THE FEELING REMAINED STRANGE THUS

Strange it was the way it came in

The first time when someone else

Had the journey within

The first feeling when it didn't need

Persuasion beyond first questions

But, strange were the days, for

To where the journey was destined

For, the change that couldn't be

Questioned beyond the answers

Left in a hangover of nothingness

THE LAAD BAZAAR BANGLES @ CHARMINAR (2)

Some are meet for a maiden's wrist,

Silver and blue as the mountain mist,

Some are flushed like the buds that dream

On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,

Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves

From Sarojini Naidu's 'The Bangle Sellers'

THE LAAD BAZAAR BANGLES @ CHARMINAR (1)

http://severallyalone.blogspot.in/2014/09/the-laad-bazaar-bangles-charminar-1.html

Laad Bazaar is famous for bangles though its numerous shops are also known as a cultural marketplace for other products of aesthetic value as well, like its exquisitely designed pearls encrusted jewellery. 

'Laad' translates to endearment or fondness or adoration or many other similar words, but the meaning remains the same – the love bestowed upon, to pamper, to caress. It is adoration of pure feelings in human relations. 

Bazaar translates to market. 

Laad Bazaar is a centuries old market in the Charminar area of Hyderabad. It forms the essential part of the heritage that makes the Charminar the cultural epitome of Hyderabad, a historical city weaved in culture and tradition. 

Laad Bazaar is about a cultural legacy and it reflects in products here and in the way the business is conducted about these products – the soft, pampered approach to adore the customers in a pure Hyderabadi style – to sell them, who are so dear to us in our families, the endearing thoughts associated these ‘circles of light’, the bangles, they are so fond of, as the Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu writes. 

THE LAAD BAZAAR BANGLES @ CHARMINAR

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

THE LAAD BAZAAR BANGLES @ CHARMINAR (1)

Who will buy these delicate, bright

Rainbow-tinted circles of light?

Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,

For happy daughters and happy wives.

From Sarojini Naidu's 'The Bangle Sellers'

Laad Bazaar is famous for bangles though its numerous shops are also known as a cultural marketplace for other products of aesthetic value as well, like its exquisitely designed pearls encrusted jewellery. 

'Laad' translates to endearment or fondness or adoration or many other similar words, but the meaning remains the same – the love bestowed upon, to pamper, to caress. It is adoration of pure feelings in human relations. 

Bazaar translates to market. 

Laad Bazaar is a centuries old market in the Charminar area of Hyderabad. It forms the essential part of the heritage that makes the Charminar the cultural epitome of Hyderabad, a historical city weaved in culture and tradition. 

Laad Bazaar is about a cultural legacy and it reflects in products here and in the way the business is conducted about these products – the soft, pampered approach to adore the customers in a pure Hyderabadi style – to sell them, who are so dear to us in our families, the endearing thoughts associated these ‘circles of light’, the bangles, they are so fond of, as the Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu writes.

THE LAAD BAZAAR BANGLES @ CHARMINAR

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

A LIFE SEEKING TO ADDRESS THE INTENTS..

The urge of desperate moments

The rush of distant sentiments

The love for silent attachments

The prayer for stayed torments

A life in quest of cadent advents 

Seeking to address the intents..  

A LIFE SEEKING TO ADDRESS THE INTENTS..

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

MEA’S UPDATED FILE SAYS JIANG ZEMIN DIDN'T VISIT INDIA

As of now, while writing this – on September 18, 2014

Owing to the checkered history of India-China bilateral ties, there have been very few state-level visits. Now with initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, there is a sense of optimism that the process to set the relation back of track can begin now. While searching for information in the context of Xi’s visit to India from the concerned government platform, the Ministry of External Affairs, I came across this interesting anomaly.

The link http://www.mea.gov.in/foreign-relations.htm has sub-links to ‘the Briefs on India’s Bilateral Relations’. Clicking on each country’s name opens a PDF file with a primer on information pertaining to the bilateral relations between India and that particular country. The format usually categorizes information in sections like Political Relations, Visits of Heads of States/Heads of Governments, Other High Level Visits, Major Dialogue Mechanisms, Commercial and Economic Relations, Defence Relations, Cultural Relations and Education Relations.

The information packets hosted here, being on the official gateway of India’s foreign relations, are expected to reflect every major milestone in the bilateral relations, and need to be updated scrupulously.

With this thought in mind, I clicked the sub-link to the file on China. And the sub-link http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/China_September_2014.pdf indeed had a good file with neatly packed information to serve as a useful primer. And the link told me it was updated this month only (China_September_2014). But while going through it, I came across a serious flaw.

I thought it would be rectified soon as the Chinese President was come calling on Wednesday and China-related information on official platforms would be looked into and updated. But it wasn’t. I visited the link and the file on September 15, on September 16, on September 17, and today, on September 18. But the missing information has not been updated in this basic file and Mr. Xi Jinping is leaving tomorrow. 

Here are the screen shots of the file that I captured yesterday (and which don’t show the expected changes yet).

BYPOLLS SETBACK TO BJP: THE FLAVOUR OF THE POLITICAL BUZZ

It is the season of assembly elections. Maharashtra and Haryana elections are due in October and Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir should be held by the end of this year and so, the flavour of the talk of the season are the results of the bye-elections held in the assembly constituencies. 

And the results pinching the winning party of the Lok Sabha elections have added spice to the flavour of the political buzz and debates with an amplified crescendo. Anyway, the outcomes of the Lok Sabha bye-elections were on the expected lines and so there was not much to talk about. 

The pointing point while writing this is, the BJP is feeling the heat, after a great reversal in its electoral fortunes in most of the assembly constituencies where elections were held. 

And from the viewpoint of the political communication machinery, such ‘buzz-worthy’ outcomes, when the bigger assembly elections are just around the corner, are frustrating for the party-workers, but are the moral-boosters for the political opponents, and can become big enough a factor if played well on the electoral sentiments focusing on the impulsive reactions of the voter. 

And that should worry the BJP strategists, even if they don’t admit it publicly. 

INSTANT TAKEAWAYS FROM SEPTEMBER 13 BYPOLL RESULTS

The BJP and its allies had 25 out of the 32 assembly constituencies for which the counting was held today.

From 25-7 out of 32 (counting of votes for the Antagarh assembly constituency bye-election in Chhattisgarh will be held on September 20) to 13-19 today, after the 8-18 tally in August bye-elections, within four months of an unprecedented victory and overwhelming support to the Modi Factor, it is another wakeup call, and the warning signals are speaking aloud, especially before the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana the next month.

And it instantly set in motion the expected developments.

-- The political opposition is an enlightened lot while the Bhartiya Janata Party spokespersons are on defensive.

-- The political opposition will react for sometime as if the who BJP win has been undone.

-- The secular Vs communal is the flare of the day.

-- With it, ‘Modi Wave’ waning or dented is one of the main headlines.

-- The allies on the backfoot of seat-sharing talks before the upcoming elections are even more on upswing after another shot. Remember Uddhav Thakeray had hit back immediately on the BJP’s big brother attitude after its poor show in August 21 bye-elections.

-- Talks of uniting the anti-BJP front are getting renewed impetus, especially after Bahujan Samaj Party’s absence proving to be a major factor behind the BJP humiliation in Uttar Pradesh.

-- Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family will be stronger by one more member in the Indian Parliament.

-- Though Rohaniya assembly constituency in Varanasi, Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency, has never been a BJP stronghold, its ally Apna Dal’s loss here will be discussed as such linking it with Modi’s debacle in his constituency that he is working to develop as a world class heritage city. Here what goes against Modi in such discussions is Modi had got around 1.20 Lakh votes from this assembly segment in Lok Sabha election this year while the Apna Dal candidate lost it this time by a margin of around 15000 votes and could secure only around 60,000 votes.

-- Some satirical takes/political cartoons on Amit Shah, the BJP President, crowned after BJP’s brilliant show in Uttar Pradesh that he managed, will be put in planning, especially after the poll drubbings in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar bye-elections within four months of the epic show in these two states counting for 120 parliamentary constituencies.

So, be ready with the alignments and their day-specific consequences. 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com

SEPTEMBER 13 BYPOLL RESULTS: ANOTHER SETBACK FOR BJP AND NARENDRA MODI

Narendra Modi is in Delhi while writing this but he would be heading to the state he comes from this evening to receive the Chinese President Xi Jinping who is arriving in Ahmedabad tomorrow.

It is after Hu Jintao’s 2006 visit that a Chinese President is visiting India for bilateral talks and the stage has been set in a way to tap some lucrative business deals running in billions of US$, and in spite of all the border skirmishes, the strategists and the communication people are painting up a rosy picture advocating soft approach to the controversial issues as of now. China is eyeing the Indian infrastructure market having potential worth trillions of US$ in the long run. India would also like to tap the Chinese market with increased depth. An increasing financial focus to the bilateral ties has the potential to change many factors for positive outcomes.

And so, there are the expectations of a growing thaw after the Summit is over. And so, the economy of bonhomie has set the table so far, as far as the latest round of India-China diplomacy is concerned. And so, there is a sense of positivity in the government circles, adding to the sentiments on ‘initiatives to deliver the promises made by Narendra Modi’.

But Narendra Modi would certainly be having mixed feelings now, even if he has emerged as a strong prime minister, after the second consecutive electoral drubbing in the bye-elections in less than a month. It is not just in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, where Bhartiya Janata Party performed exceedingly well, that it is facing a situation to look for face-saver and inept excuses, it is also in Gujarat, the state that Narendra Modi ruled effectively since 2000.

In Gujarat, while writing this, though the trends changed to give the BJP a clear edge with the party leading in 6 seats out of 9 the bye-elections were held for, the initial trends showed Congress giving a neck-to-neck fight with leading in almost equal number of seats. In fact, the BJP may lose 3 seats to Congress as these 9 seats (and the assembly segments of parliamentary constituencies) were won by the BJP in 2012 assembly elections as well as in 2014 Parliamentary Elections.

Barring few bad patches, Modi’s government and its governance in Gujarat were remarkable, something that gave him the platform to raise aspirations of people across the country and an opportunity to stake claims to the Delhi’s office based on the promise to deliver them.

CONTINUITY OF LIFE: BEYOND LIFE AND BEYOND DEATH AND BEYOND ‘I’

My reflections on life – in quotes (LXXXVIII)

“If one realizes to realize,

..the continuity of life, beyond life and beyond death,

..is one of the basic quests of life,

..before ‘I’ and after ‘I’,

..and the questions on the existence of ‘I’,

..seeking the answers,

..that take the existentialist beyond this life,

..beyond the realms of ‘I’,

..to the mysteries of existence,

..to the questions on identity,

..seeking to take your ‘I’ to this quest.”

CONTINUITY OF LIFE: BEYOND LIFE AND BEYOND DEATH AND BEYOND ‘I’ 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com