African football on the rise!!

The 19th edition of Fifa world cup will kick off on June 11, 2010. All the big countries from Europe, South America and a number of small teams from Asia, Africa along with Australia and a few first timers like New Zealand, Slovenia and Serbia will battle it out, this time in South Africa (first African nation to host the world cup).

Football legend Pele once predicted that an African nation will rule the world (in football) before the year 2000. Though this is yet to happen, we have seen signs of development among African teams. Countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Senegal have proved their potential in previous World Cups. Last world cup saw Ghana ousting Czech Republic from the tournament. As a boost to these positive signs in African football came the Fifa under 20 world cup, which Ghana won by beating Brazil on penalties (hosted by Egypt; October 2009). This was also the first time ever, that an African team overpowered European, Asian and South American giants and became the champions of a major football tournament. With such developments in African football it will not be an exaggeration if one feels that Pele’s prediction might be proved right in the imminent future.

Winning the world cup might be a little too far fetched, but this time we can at least hope that an African nation will break the jinx of never going past the quarter finals of a world cup. Out of the 32 available slots Fifa has given 6 slots for Africa (increasing the number slots for Africa from 5 to 6). The African teams that qualified for the 2010 world cup are Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Algeria, all of them having at least two players who have European football experience. Ivory Coast a small country whose entire population can be contained in a football stadium have produced talented players like Didier Drogba, Salamon Kalou, Kolo Toure, Ebraham Kone and Emmanuel Eboue. Among them Drogba and Kalou are currently playing for Chelsea (currently no.1 in English Premier League Football). Samuel Eto, Nadir Belhadj, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikeal and Muntari are players capable of creating headaches for every European, Asian and South American teams. Experience is a very important factor in football and all these players are experienced in European, South American and Asian football. All the players mentioned above are highly ranked and clubs are fighting for signing them. The experience of these players in different styles of football will help African teams to identify the weakness of their European and South American counterparts and strike at the right point. Among the teams mentioned above Ivory Coast and Ghana will be the teams to watch out for this time. South Africa being the host nation will have the crowd support. Ghana, the current under 20 world cup champions will definitely introduce some fresh talents in the bigger version. As viewers this is a factor which attracts us. We don’t know who all are present in these teams. Out of nowhere we see a bunch of players rising to the occasion and lifting their team towards victory, which makes African football highly unpredictable and exciting.

Having said this, it will not be a surprise if no African team makes it to the finals or the semi-finals. That is because the quality of African football is nowhere near the quality of European or South American football. Pundits will definitely favour teams like Spain, Brazil, Argentina or any of the big guns in Europe or South America. But in football where there is a 50 percent chance for experience and quality there is also a 50 percent chance for luck (Who would have thought Greece will be the European champions in 2002). But in 2010 it is not luck that we want to see. It is definitely quality football from Africa. It is time that an African nation made its mark in football history. So let us hope that 2010 be that year, keeping in mind that in football, anything can happen.

Many More Eclipses ...

Justice Liberhan commission report has created all sort of chaos once again. The rage over the alleged leakage of the selective parts of the report shows the explosive nature of the issue even after 17 years of the incident. Media should not be scrutinised for airing the leakages , rather the investigations should reveal the sources behind. And it ascertains the fact that this report has enough volatile grounds for all the parties to meddle with. Given this scenario, delaying the tabling of the report further will only aggravate the communal tensions. With the major political parties competing to play the communal cards, it is certain that the parliamentary dialogues may take many unhealthy turns. Yesterday's Rajyasabha session seems to be the beginning of an acrimonious season of affairs. Despite this, truth should be upheld against all the odds. It is an imperative for any matured democracy. But criticisms over the snail pace progress of the commission are worth taking. This inquiry should have been conducted under lesser limelights. Moreover when the political controversies start flaming up, it reminds us that the Action Taken Report (ATR) should not be cornered any longer.

We have seen many reports in the past getting doomed. The reports of Mumbai riot or Sikh massacre are yet to be settled in justice. Such fate should not be repeated here.The Justice Liberhan commission report assumes paramount significance due to this. Our nation succumbed to cross border terrorism and divisive forces mainly after the Babri Masjid incident. Thereafter communal or ethnic harmony became an elusive dream for us. Even today, communal forces are making mileage out of it. Thus it is our utmost priority that the report and further actions are not helping the divisive factors any more.

Songs of Tomorrow

I am not the sea

that dries at the outset

of a tear, tearing my fathoms

I am not the sun

to burn the rocks that melts my red veins

and spit fire at millionth ears

I am not the wind

to despise silence and break lose

all bones of ancestral desire

I am just a shadow

of my wishes

of my songs

And I climb the mountains

in destiny's wings

May light follow my feathers

And let them love each other

I need a room

full of white shades

and black edges

Let there be no windows

to breath despair

Just a chimney to fume

And I love to be a smoke

I leave aside

All my ashes of this day

that forgets yesterday's flowers

In tomorrow's heap

Silent Measures

Scanty lights darkened his way. Yet he was hurrying for the heights. A hillside and a cold evening. All the necessary items were packed and he assured himself once again. This reassuring has become his nature for quite some time. As if entangled in remembering and forgetting, he led his eyes further down the hill. It was a place full of irregular shaped rocks and thick foliage in between.

Though his eyes reflected no haste, his companions were shouting at his trance like behavior. They were all ready to leave the place wretched by its pinning coldness. The noisy calls came to a halt. He took his pen and leaned towards the edge of the stand where he stood.

A hillside always evoked memories in him. Its call for the depths and widened eyes always created an enormous spirit in his inner cells. Devoid of its silence looming large, the range seemed to him a beautiful giant of grand old times. Cornered by the plain sampling of daily life, his nomadic illness left many scars unnoticed. When he talked at length of its scenic beauty, fellow travelers were annoyed by his comparisons. But he was unmoved. Ignoring the leftover ink drops on his hand, he stretched back and covered himself in the tightened warmness of the jacket. As wheels started rolling, one pinch of silence was left behind the moving carrier.

സമയം തികയാത്തത് കൊണ്ടു മാത്രം ജീവിതം നാളെയ്ക്‌ മാറ്റി വെച്ച ചോദ്യ ചിഹ്നങ്ങള്‍

First Assignment.

യുക്തിഭദ്രത ആവശ്യഘടകം:

ബാലചന്ദ്രന്‍ ചുള്ളിക്കാട്

തിരുവനന്തപുരം: പത്രപ്രവര്‍ത്തകര്‍ക്കും ജേണലിസം വിദ്യാര്‍ത്ഥികള്‍ക്കും യുക്തിഭദ്രത അവശ്യ ഘടകമാണെന്ന് കവി ബാലചന്ദ്രന്‍ ചുള്ളിക്കാട് പറഞ്ഞു. ഇന്‍സ്ടിട്യുട്ട് ഓഫ് ജേണലിസത്തിലെ വിദ്യാര്‍ത്ഥികളുടെ ആദ്യ ക്ലാസ്സില്‍ സംസാരിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു അദ്ദേഹം.

സമൂഹത്തിന്‍റെ എല്ലാ മേഖലകളിലും പത്രപ്രവര്‍ത്തകര്‍ക്ക് നിര്‍ണ്ണായക സ്വാധീനം ഉണ്ടാകണം.

ശാസ്ത്രവും ചരിത്രവും ഉള്‍പ്പെടെ എല്ലാ മേഖലകളിലും സാമാന്യ വിജ്ഞാനം കാത്തു സൂക്ഷിക്കണം. ആശയങ്ങള്‍ വിനിമയം ചെയ്യപ്പെടണം. അറിയിക്കുക എന്നതുപോലെ തന്നെ മറച്ചു വയ്ക്കപ്പെടുന്നതും പത്രപ്രവര്‍ത്തനത്തില്‍ പ്രധാനമാണ്.

ഒരു ദൌത്യമോ കലയോ വികാരമോ ആയി പത്രപ്രവര്‍ത്തനത്തെ കണക്കാക്കപ്പെട്ടിരുന്നതില്‍ നിന്നും വ്യത്യസ്തമായി ഇന്ന് ഒരു തൊഴില്‍ ആയി മാറി. പിശുക്കന്‍ സ്വര്‍ണ്ണനാണയം വിനിയോഗിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ ആകണം വാക്കുകള്‍ ഉപയോഗിക്കേണ്ടത്, ഇത് ഒരു വെല്ലുവിളി ആണെന്ന് ചുള്ളിക്കാട് കൂട്ടിച്ചേര്‍ത്തു.

ആധുനിക കാലഘട്ടത്തിലും റേഡിയോയുടെയും സാഹിത്യത്തിന്‍റെയും പ്രസക്തി ഏറുകയാണ്.

'എനിക്കെന്തു കിട്ടും നിന്നോടൊപ്പം വന്നാല്‍' എന്ന പത്രോസിന്റെ ചോദ്യത്തോട് 'നിനക്ക് ഞാന്‍ നിത്യ ജീവന്‍ പ്രദാനം ചെയ്യാം' എന്ന് വാഗ്ദാനം നല്‍കിയ യേശുദേവന്‍റെ കഥ പറഞ്ഞു ബാലചന്ദ്രന്‍ ചുള്ളിക്കാട് ഉപസംഹരിച്ചു.

പ്രസ്‌ ക്ലബ്‌ ഫോര്‍ത്ത് എസ്റ്റേറ്റ്‌ ഹാളില്‍ നടന്ന ചടങ്ങില്‍ ഇന്‍സ്ടിട്യുട്ട് ഓഫ് ജേണലിസം ഡയറക്ടര്‍ എന്‍.ആര്‍.എസ്.ബാബു സംസാരിച്ചു.

First Assignment.

03.08.2009

In Defense of 'Spontaneity'

Is poetry a mechanical art? It is a question to readers as well as to passionate writers. Of late, we are confronted with criticisms on the Poetic path drawn by William Wordsworth. He is criticized for saying that poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. What Wordsworth meant is that poetry is the unison of the communicating extremes of society and the attentive sense of a poet. A mere urge of becoming celebrity cannot make a good poet. Here spontaneity means the socially carved out urge at the individual level. Language is not an individually formed organ. It exists in and through all the corners of life. Hence social meanings intrudes individual's thoughts, and create a nascent space of mediation of both. This creation willl urge the writer to express the artwork back to the society. Thus the creative process becomes reciprocal.

Neither the knowledge of idioms nor an extravagant use of words in isolation can sound poetic in totality. Wordsworth stresses this point. Poetic language in an individual mind take shape when the images of social life create enduring feelings and thoughts on a personal level. So Words and Mind are transformed to a kind of social entity in a poet. The variance of this transformation is necessitated by the disruptions in the social life. It never happens out of acceptance of a mechanical way of life. Thus both at the individual level and the social level , poetry communicates through socially defined words and a receptive mind. This can be a praise or negation of the way of life. Whatever be the purpose of the artwork, it cannot spare the social medium called language. And this engagement brings randomness and thus a spontaneity at the individual level. Being a poet influenced by the tides of French revolution and rising waves of commoner's life in England, Wordsworth naturally proclaims the spontaneity more forcefully. Our reading on a subdued terrain of social life should not miss this point.

The Real face of 'Terror'

Behind the Dogmas of hatred ...

Contempt of Islam is gripping our democratic west. Cartoons and Cinema turn hostile to a race all across.In the wake of this exhibition of racial hatred, even the Xenophobia has become acceptable.The smallest political and cultural aspirations of Muslim youth are seen with cynicism. The term 'Islamaphobia' can sum up this trend.

Islamaphobia ? Yes, it has become a norm of western democratic discourses. Singling out Muslim nations as seeding grounds of global terror, vested interests have once again succeeded. Shattered by ethnic unrest and mass illiteracy, most of the Islamic nations are slipping fathoms away from democracy. Others are remaining islands of wealth where monarchies show no sign of democratic vision or reaction to others plight. In this state of misery, it is obvious that political Islam is not a threat to the stable democracies of US and allied nations. Ironically, the arguments goes in opposite stream.

It is true that Muslim youth are becoming easy prey to the terrorist outfits. But it is happening out of the political insecurity in their nations. This happened as a consequence to the elimination of leftist movements from their soils. Iran, Indonesia and many African nations were victims of this annihilation. It was achieved by instigating religious passions into the peripheries of modern life. The resultant formations were based on ethnic divisions. And its growth was always desired by the rising autocrats and their imperial masters. Thus the space of secular democracy is long lost replaced by empires of religion and clans.Now that even these institutions are breaking down, people are left with no modern methods of resistance. Once the social strata gets fragmented, masses are carried away by notions of race, religion, language and such forces which works on the level of personal emotions. And they are inflammable by ideological persuasion of terrorism. This is accelerated by none other than western nations. The episodes of coups in Middle East and Africa throws lights into the extent of arms trade between ethnic leaders and Western lobbies. The aftermaths of creation of Israel and funding of ethnic divisions in Africa and Afghanistan are still bleeding Muslim nations worldwide. Thus the faintest chance of secular democracy was washed away in many Muslim nations.

As a sequel to all these, now Imperialism is exercising its military might to safeguard world democracy. It sounds hollow in the face of history. After breeding all the ethnic divisions, none can implant democracy. Democracy cannot come up in chaos ; it needs secularization of ethnic, religious and linguistic conscience. Only to further its aims of reverting Muslim nations into savage times, US is perpetrating the messages of 'Islamaphobia'.The recent surge of religious consciousness and militancy in the masses should be treated as an irrational end. Thus we see a race of oppressed, marching into the axis of war hysteria, stoned from unknown corners which has torn them apart already.

A History Of Fireball Diplomacy

A Nation In Need Of Pragmatism ...

India China border disputes has become one of the hotbeds of this century. The dubious credit for this goes to the diplomatic slips and geopolitical interests. Beneath this strained episode, there lies the legacy of a colonial accord. The Simla convention ( 1914 ) where McMahon line was created lies at the heart of this row of the new Asian giants. Only a short sighted foreign policy can stick on to a colonial era dispute when regional integration and across the border trade becomes the norms for the economy. It is a shame on our face that Asian countries haven't estimated the depths of colonial divisions. The yardsticks of colonial masters were the same when the draw lines across Asian soils ; Create perpetual discords among newly created nations. It is high time to learn this historic lesson. The perils of this British policy drives the great Indian diplomacy even today. Rather than jumbing into the relics of British India, our strategy should be looking ahead of time. This will only draw new black and white strides for a transparent roadmap.

Regarding the Dalai Lama episode, India is sending confusing signals and hollow rhetoric. By spending immense energy to safeguard an exile, India is loosing the chance to save its precious natural resources. This ranges from water disputes, trade relations, the impacts on other neighborhoods and it goes on. When India cannot save peace with its neighbors, it cannot proclaim as a vanguard of world peace. Pampering Dalai Lama further, India is opting a hopeless trajectory of Sino-India relations. It is a question of strategic pragmatism than political magnanimity. Our skyrocketing defense budget should at least be a stark reminder to this.

Today i came across an article in the metro manorama on food products being dumped into the canal. i felt sorry to see the pictures along with the story. we on a daily basis complain of scarcity of food and aren't we seeing what is hapening around us? many people are starving because they have no food. it seems the scarcity is all because of the mismanagement of the food produce. In the article it was said that the kudumbashree units have procured the food products for marketing in the brand name of ' people' and a crore and more of rupees was invested for it. However they failed to do so and these were kept in the locked store room since last january. The food products have now become unfit for consumption. Ten tons of food has been wasted! Who will now take the responsibility of wasting so much which could have been distributed among the starving souls? This may or may not have been channelised to the poor sections of the society as our public distribution system is so bad. so why bother? Does it really concern me?? Well , for a moment it does. Why not after that? Because it is deeply rooted in me that this scenario will continue to thrive until we get efficient and responsible rulers or administrators.Peace with the starving souls!

Towards A Meaningless Polity:

Political FATWAs & Apolitical Agents

The debate regarding the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind's FATWA against Vande Mataram is showing the extreme plight of Indian national polity. This represents the repeated trend of un-contextual issues taking the center stage of national debates from time to time. It helps none but the divisive forces who want to fish in the muddy waters of irrational topics. This is no way related to the real aspects of cultural pluralism which is rooted in the fabrics of secular polity. National song is a historic symbol of Independence struggle, not a symbol to be reinterpreted in contemporary politics. Hence we should suspect the interests behind cooking a debate on these lines. When Indian economy is facing plethora of confusing signals from international trade and domestic market, this kind of a dispute is rather premature as well as a concocted attempt to divert the national attention. Stirring this debate sectarian parties are trying to re-emerge from their electoral trauma. Fringe groups from minority communities will in turn benefit from these discussions as well. Only by inflating sectarianism among the minorities , their leaders can pursue the economic interests and political bargains.

This is the usual methodology of parties and leaders who need no nerve to think about the burning issues of the real public. They invest their time in making fictitious arguments and volatile aspects in their bandwagon. But with the growing importance of real economy, we see the diminishing space for these divisive politics. The concerns of unemployment and food prices have started capturing the daily news titles. The electoral fragmentation of religious political formations in the recent times show that it is no longer the days of injected jingoism and religious patriotism.'

The inherent nature of Indian market economy provides ample fertile grounds for these seeds to grow. Their segmentations and consumer channels have made Indian mind a better playground of all divisive ideologies. Here religion, ethnicity, tirades of anti-nationalism and sectarianism all will gain momentum in this atmosphere. Thus the net average of all this equations is the further deterioration of political debates. This vacuum is occupied by the market economists who favor only the winds of trade. The irrational polity is a boon to their economic agendas. The market economy will never bridge this divides but can only divide nation into smaller segments of purchasing power. Thus disparity will breed disunity and hence all kinds of divisiveness will be vitalized in this atmosphere. By giving bandwidth to these meaningless discussions we will gain nothing but further divisive factors. Only by connecting the national debates with peoples issues we can interpret past and present in a transparent and objective manner. The stretching imaginations of these twisted topics should be set aside for this goal.

Hopes of Greener Pastures ...

Climate Change Talks : The Fate of Seesaw Discourses

Climate change talks are riding hurdles again. Though the sense of an impending crisis has united World nations into the one umbrella of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCC ) it is far from achieving the success of the outlined roadmap. This decade old framework is yet to deliver on its promises. This invites serious introspection on projected action plans. Varied interests of the national goverments is seen as the real bottleneck to the progress of the talks. United States and European Union voices the concerns of rising carbon emissions from developing nations like China and India. On the contrary, the group of developing countries are demanding adequate compensations from the Developed economies for their role in green house gas emissions. Beneath the diplomatic jargons, it is conspicuous that all the nations are worried about impacts on their GDP. This being a bare truth, the confidence building measures are the needed from the important corners.

It becomes an apparent reality that trends in market integrations hasn't cleared the air of suspicion in the global governmental interactions. So there is a natural tendency from developing economies to suspect climate change as a tool to decelerate their pace of development. In a closer look at these deadlocks, one can see that more than national interests, it is the private lobbies that drives the engines of change. It sabotages the fate of the routine conferences and foretells the fate of many failed action plans. Added to this, lobbies of different market forces have united against a rational direction of the cause. Their cooked up reports are creating a chaotic environment in popular media discussions. And private interests have started taking shapes of blogger opinions and science books denying the impact of human action on climate change. In this murky climate, natural calamities are taking their heavy toll of people and infrastructure, like an eye opener to the heights of our inaction. Irrespective of the continents, disasters are rampaging uncontrolled and unpredicted.

Environment should be considered in its wholesome entirety, where climate is one among the factors of human survival coupled with political economy, nation state policies and international relations. Climate changes can be the result of human inaction as well as the geological changes. Further studies are the pathways to get more clarity on this. Thus seeing climate change as a singular issue will not constitute the solution. It will only aggravate the differences among the nations. And it can very well spread to other spheres of collaboration too. Climate change talks should be coupled with poverty eradication measures, reducing international trade disparities, addressing exploitation of poor countries etc. This is essential for breaking the ice with many war-torn nations and under developed countries for whom the priorities are day to day survival and reverting to democracy.If not, climate change talks will go down in the history of international politics as another seesaw discourse!

"wats in a name!" still v need one....

hey guys suggest an attractive name for our blog.each one can post his\her suggestions here.

അപ്പോഴും ചാറ്റല്‍മഴ പെയ്യുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നു.

ചാറ്റല്‍ മഴ പെയ്യുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നു.

എന്നാല്‍ ഞാനങ്ങട്... പൊയ്ക്കോട്ടേ സര്‍..?

ആയ്ക്കോട്ടേ.

സമയം വൈകിട്ട് എഴരയോടടുക്കുന്നു.

എല്ലാവരുടെയും മുഖത്ത് ഒരു ചെറു പുഞ്ചിരി വിടരുന്നുണ്ട്.

ചില നിഗൂഡ സന്തോഷങ്ങള്‍ ഒളിപ്പിച്ച പുഞ്ചിരി.

സര്‍ Attendence എടുക്കാന്‍ തുടങ്ങിയിരുന്നു.

സ്നേഹപൂര്‍വ്വം പേര് ചൊല്ലി വിളിച്ചു

അതുല്‍ ബാലചന്ദ്രന്‍. - Absent.

ദേവി ദര്‍ശന - Absent

ദിവ്യ.എസ്. - Present Sir.

ഗോകുല്‍ .ബി അലക്സ്‌ - ഇന്ന് ലീവ് ആണ്. സിവില്‍ സര്‍വിസിന്റെ നോട്ട് collect ചെയ്യാന്‍ ഡല്‍ഹീല്‍ പോയി. ആരോ പറഞ്ഞു.

ജെബിന്‍ ജോസ് - ആളിനെ കണ്ട കാലം മറന്നു.

കവിത - ഹാജരുണ്ട് സര്‍.

നീതു എം എല്‍ഡോസ് - Present Sir. But, actually my correct name എല്‍ഡോസ് എന്നല്ല എല്‍ദോസ് എന്നാണ്.

നിഷ എന്‍. - Present Sir.

ഇന്നലെ Absent ആയിരുന്നല്ലോ..?

2 days ലീവ് ആരുന്നു സര്‍.

ഒലീന.പി. ജെ. - ദാ.. ഇപ്പൊ പോയ കുട്ടി.

പ്രബോധ് .പി.ജി -Present SIR.

കഴിഞ്ഞ ദിവസം Absent ആണല്ലോ..?

സര്‍.. അത്.. ജോലിതിരക്കുണ്ടായിരുന്നു... അതൊകൊണ്ടാണ്‌...

പ്രശാന്ത്‌ - Present Sir

രാഹുല്‍ രാജ് - Present Sir

രജിത്ത് - Present Sir

രമ്യ ശ്രീ സുജിത് - Present Sir

മുഹമ്മദ്‌ റഷീദ് - Present Sir , റഷീദ് എന്നല്ല റാഷിദ്‌ എന്നാണ്.

കഴിഞ ദിവസം Absent ആണല്ലോ..?

സര്‍, ഞാന്‍ ഇതിനോടൊപ്പം എം.സീ.ജെ. ചെയ്യുന്നുണ്ട്.

ഇന്നലെ ലേറ്റായി. അതുകൊണ്ടാണ്...

സത്താര്‍ കെ - ആ ഓന്‍ Present ആണ്. ( കൈയ്യുയര്‍ത്തി അഭിവാദ്യം ചെയ്തു)

സജനി ദേവ് - Present Sir.

സാജു സത്യന്‍ - Present.

പേര് സാജു എന്നല്ല.. സജു സത്യന്‍ എന്നാണ്.

ശ്രുതി കൃഷ്ണ - Present Sir.

സുചിത്ര മധുസൂദനന്‍ - Present Sir.

ശ്യാംരാജ്.എം.ഡി. - Present Sir.

ഉണ്ണികൃഷ്ണന്‍ -Present Sir.

വിവേക്‌ വി.എസ്. - Present.

ഓ നമ്മള് ഇവിടെക്ക തന്നെ ഉണ്ട്, കെട്ടാ.

മൂന്നു പേരുകള്‍ വെട്ടീട്ടുണ്ടല്ലോ..?

ശരത് കെ നാരായന്‍, മൂന്നു മുരളീകൃഷ്ണന്‍ പിന്നെ പാര്‍വതി തമ്പി.

സര്‍, അത്... ഞാന്‍ ആണ് പാര്‍വതി തമ്പി. Present ആണ്.

ഓ.. താനാണോ പാര്‍വതി തമ്പി, പേരു ചുവന്ന മഷി കൊണ്ട് വെട്ടിയിരിക്കുന്നു.

സര്‍, അത്... കുറച്ചു പ്രോബ്ലെംസ്... ഇനി സ്ഥിരമായി വന്നോളാം.

ശരി. ഇന്നത്തെ ക്ലാസ്സ് കഴിഞ്ഞു.

ആ ഒളിപ്പിച്ചു വച്ച പുഞ്ചിരി പലരില്‍ നിന്നും പുറത്തേക്കു വരികയാണ്.

ഇനി പടിയിറക്കം.

ഓരോ പടിയിലൂടെയും. പതിയെ പതിയെ.

താഴെയെത്തും വരെ തമാശകള്‍, അന്വേഷണങ്ങള്‍, ചില വര്‍ത്തമാനങ്ങള്‍, ചിരിയും ചിന്തയും ഒക്കെ.

താഴേക്ക്‌ വന്നിട്ട് ഇന്‍സ്ടിടുട്ടിന്റെ പടി വാതിലില്‍ ഒന്ന് നില്‍ക്കാതെ എങ്ങനെ മുന്നോട്ടു നടക്കും..?

മാത്രമല്ല...

മഴ ചെറുതായി പൊടിയുന്നുണ്ട്‌.

നഗരത്തിന്റെ പല ഇടനാഴികളിലേക്ക്‌ ഈ കൂട്ടം പിരിയുകയാണ്.

ഇരുട്ടിന്റെ നേര്‍ത്ത ആഴങ്ങളിലേക്ക് അലിഞ്ഞു ചേരാന്‍ കൊതിക്കുംപോലെ..!

ചില മധുര വാക്കുകള്‍, ആശംസകള്‍.

ഇനി നിന്നാല്‍ ശരിയാകില്ല.

പുറത്തു ചാറ്റല്‍ മഴ തോരുന്നില്ല.

അകത്തു വിശപ്പിന്റെ വിളി തുടങ്ങിക്കഴിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു.

സത്താര്‍ മുന്‍പേ നടന്നിരുന്നു.

അപ്പുറത്തെ വളവിലെ മുറുക്കാന്‍ കടയിലേക്ക്.

റാഷിദിനോടൊപ്പം ഞാനും അവിടേക്ക് നടന്നു.

വിവേകും സത്താറും എന്തോ ചര്‍ച്ചയിലാണ്.

എനിക്ക് പരിപ്പ് വട. ശ്യാമിനോ..?

ബോഞ്ചി വെള്ളം മതി.

നിരത്തിലൂടെ വാഹനങ്ങള്‍ പാഞ്ഞു പോകുന്നു.

സൈഡില്‍ നിന്ന ചില വണ്ടികള്‍ പുക തുപ്പുന്നു.

നിരന്നിരിക്കുന്ന ബൈക്കുകളിലോന്നില്‍ ബാഗും നോട് ബുക്കുകളും വച്ച് അല്പം ചര്‍ച്ച.

"ആഗോള വല്‍ക്കരണ കാലത്തെ പൊട്ടാത്ത അമിട്ടുകള്‍."

പുകയുടെ ഗന്ധം മാഞ്ഞ തെരുവില്‍ നിന്നും വിവേകും റാഷിദ്‌ഉം ഞങ്ങളോട് വിട പറഞ്ഞു.

എംഎല്‍എ ഹോസ്റ്റലിലെ കഞ്ഞിയുടെ രുചി തേടി സത്താറിനോപ്പം മുന്നോട്ടു നടന്നു.

സെക്രട്ടെരിയറ്റ്‌ അനെക്സിനു മുന്നിലൂടെ സംസ്കൃത കോളേജും സാഫല്യം കൊമ്പ്ലെക്സും കടന്നു മുന്നോട്ടു.

പാളയം ചന്തയ്ക്കു മുന്നിലെ പൂക്കടയില്‍ നിന്നുയരുന്ന പിച്ചി പൂവിന്റെ സുഗന്ധവും ആസ്വദിച്ച്...

രക്ത സാക്ഷി മണ്ടപത്തിനു മുന്നില്‍ കൂട്ടുകാര്‍ കാത്തിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നു.

ചാറ്റല്‍ മഴയുടെയും വിശപ്പിന്റെയും ശമനവും തേടി അരണ്ട വെട്ടത്തിലൂടെ ഞങ്ങള്‍ നടന്നു.

ഒരു നല്ല നാളെയുടെ സ്വപ്നം, മനസ്സില്‍ പിച്ചിയുടെ സുഗന്ധം പോലെ അപ്പോഴും മനസ്സില്‍ നിറഞ്ഞു നിന്നിരുന്നു.

അപ്പോഴും ചാറ്റല്‍മഴ പെയ്യുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നു.

A State Of Affairs

Kerala Model : Revisiting the Paradigms

The much talked about Kerala model is at present in a state of hibernation. The remembrance of another Nov 1 should invoke certain thoughts beyond routine jubilations and euphoria. A fuller degree introspection on the priorities is the need of the hour. The political will need to be reinstated from all the possible corners. Present state of affairs show that our institutions are back tracking to become just another facilitator for market interests. This scenario should be reversed by any means. Market can expand and grow in renewed pace but it should not be at the cost of the state mechanism. Inclusive development should not be a paradigm to displace the state but to strengthen the state by integrating the market forces to its development stages.

Run Off or Run Out ?

Political Debacle in Afghanistan

Largely in the expected lines, Dr Abdullah Abdullah the opponent to the incumbent president Hamid Karzai has 'opted out' of the second run-off to the elections. It seems nothing but the pressure mounted by US tactics might have twined the ropes in favor of Hamid Karzai. Based on this outcome, one can draw many conclusions. From the beginning, there were desperate attempts by Karzai to retain his power and the Western Powers wanted to dictate the terms of his second tenure. He must have been reluctant to give a blanket cheque of promises to USA and allied powers. Thus Karzai had to face a few second tire of leaders of his own feather, one being Dr. Abdullah. Yet the bargaining of the allies continued behind the scenes. And Karzai created all that was necessary to sabotage the election process. But it tunrned out to be a mockery of the global human rights interventions as violence and booth capturing took the center stage. UN Agencies half heartedly pitched in, to play the spoil spot to Karzai's ambitions of making an easy ride through vote rigging in the first phase of elections. This could be attributed to the temporary discord between Karzai and the US power centers. But this time, winds are turning in Karzai's favor as back stage forces are wielding in to persuade the opponent to run out of the foray. In the flip side of this whole episode, it is a moral blow to the American model of incubating the portals of freedom world wide. But as one can expect, US diplomats are verbose yet again interpreting this is as a usual democratic phenomenon ! Vociferous and entrenched in cacophony about the human rights violations in Iran, Western Powers like USA, France, Britain were opposing the poll verdicts by all might. But none seems to be considered about this ill fated turn of events which show their fear of the possible fractured verdict in an ethnic divided nation. So we can expect the Afghanistan riding on the same tougher climate in the coming days as a banana republic, continuing the legacy of Iraq which still fumes in the fury of ethnic crisis and deep rooted angst against American invasion. And the geo-political think tanks are seemingly unnerved by the ethnic wounds created in the almost-decade long conflicts and cure!