For Posterity's Sake

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/latehar-encounter-maoists-planted-bomb-inside-jawan-s-body-315642?pfrom=home-lateststories

Disgusting. Two days ago, not more than a few miles from the little missionary hospital I was born in, jawans of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force were left injured for hours in ditches—and as the article suggests, went through some truly gruesome experiences. The only time I've heard about something being close to as barbaric as planting a bomb inside a human is in Bosnia ten years ago, and even by their unsavoury standards, the Naxalites have marked a new low in their approach towards waging war against the Indian state and its agents. What is truly despicable, however, is that it took the state police a full fifteen hours to evacuate the injured to a hospital—only an hour off—in Palamau.
I don't write this with a sense of analysis, or that of exposition of the sorry state of affairs in my home state, but merely so that posterity records my recognition of the forgotten soldier—who is made to live and die in sub-human conditions across vast swathes of jungle in central India, defending the Indian state from a challenge that was created because of years of misrule by those in power. 


This, in conjunction with the brutal assault by the Pakistani Army, has left me deeply despondent, and as a believer in the visceral ability of music to resonate with, and provide succour to our feelings, I take the liberty of posting this song, without in anyway, wishing to undermine the profundity of what has happened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bummpWepKWY

A corner of a foreign field..

If I should die, think only this of me;
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.

These lines from Robert Brooke's iconic poem written at the beginning of the Great War are often reserved by the spirited Barmy Army—and treated equally as a sacrament by English rugby fans—for a win in the quadrennial Ashes away-series against the Australians. It's one of the many great traditions that have come to be associated with cricket, and I have a suspicion that the Poms (the few classy English cricket commentators that are still left, that is) take particular delight in using it. However, on the night of the final day of play at the Jamtha in Nagpur, I came across an interesting twitter post by a member of the Barmy Army with the same lines from 'The Soldier'. I was surprised at the literary prowess of one of whom I derided as a a beer guzzling bunch of wankers, and, more gravely, at the significance the English attached to what had occurred that day. As I smiled to myself at being able to recognize the reference (it doesn't happen too often, believe me), I couldn't help but think with despondency of the ignominy that had been inflicted on my national side over the past year-and-a-half. 

Not since Mike Gatting's heroics in 1984-85 had the English won a test-series in India; which was perhaps the reason for the said English fan using the hallowed lines. In the eyes of this keen historian of Indian cricket, there hasn't been a worse phase since we made our debut in 1932. It took us a while to register our first win, but, we played decent, and even, memorable cricket. In Sir Don's own words, "the Indians (of those days) had some spirit". The period starting with the away series in England in 2011 to the current limited-overs loss to Pakistan has seen the side mark a new nadir of mediocrity. Never before have we lost more than five test matches in a row. Yes, we don't have an enviable history abroad, but then our sole goal pre-1983 was to draw, not to win, and we achieved that with significant success. But it is not my intention to present facts alone; I'm confident that anyone who is bored enough to read this has probably already apprised himself/herself (yes, I do expect a couple of intransigent no-gooders that like to call themselves feminists to read this) of our pathetic record the past few years. Not only did we get wiped out against both England and Australia, we put up some of the worst, and the least aesthetic performances in history.

I haven't been here for long, but if there's one thing that's provided me succour in our losses abroad, it's the solid performance of the bulwark that was once the Indian middle order. There is no doubt in my mind that whatever test success we've achieved abroad over the past decade is because of two men: Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman—message me asking why I don’t include Tendulkar in the same company and I'll take pleasure in telling you why. But, if you make the exception of Rahul's valiant effort in England, the two men have batted poorly, and the squad has naturally fared disgracefully. Go back further, right up to Tiger Pataudi's time, and you'll realize that if there is one reason Indian cricket has been known, it is for our batting. And it's here that we've failed miserably. Every single Indian batsman of repute has been terribly out of form since the last World Cup, and it's culminated in the retirement of the two individuals who have courageously, and in a self-effacing manner, anchored the success of our test team. The failure would be less alarming had we not become a receptacle of failure in other formats. We've fared only slightly better in limited overs cricket, failing to make it to the finals of a major multi-team competition since 2011, and losing the much prized home-series to Pakistan. One is compelled to reason how a team that won the World Cup as recently as two years ago (a miserably boring and easy one withal) could fall to such disgrace. The obvious answer for many 'traditionalists' is to blame it on the Indian Premier League. Ever since its inception in 2007, the league has been berated as an instrument to use the new middle-class Indian consumerist society to fill the coffers of the already prosperous Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI). The principal criticism from former cricketers themselves is that the League promotes a culture that gives priority to the franchise over the country. These detractors include almost every former national player who is currently not in the employment of the BCCI or associated with the IPL.

On a recent television show, Imran Khan had no compunction in wholly blaming the IPL for our string of losses. He is not alone in this assessment, and others with a more holistic perspective, like Ramachandara Guha, argue against the League's undemocratic (in terms of franchise location) nature and its boorish degeneration of the gentleman's game into an ostentatious display of consumerism. Both evaluations, embody, in essence, legitimate concerns; but, in my view, are guilty of gratuitous over-simplification. Though I share Mr. Guha's antediluvian romanticism for Test cricket, we cannot let this fascination impede the growth of cricket as a global phenomenon—something for which only T20s can be used as a viable vehicle.Those who consider the IPL as sacrilegious slam-banging need to realize that the benefits of the League far outweigh its negatives. It can be no one's contention that the IPL does not burden the already-crowded cricketing calendar. It often gives rise to injuries, with players rarely ever choosing to drop out of the event as a consequence of the high fees that are paid to them. I need only cite the example of a prominent Delhi cricketer who chose to play for his franchise in the 2011 edition of the event; and later claimed to be unfit to represent the national side. But, at the heart of the revolution that is the IPL, lie the opportunities it provides to lesser-known cricketers who are usually hard done by the circuit of patronage that is Indian domestic cricket. Ask Swapnil Asnodkar and Ambati Rayudu (two superbly talented batsmen) what the IPL is about, and they will tell you that it's the best thing that's ever happened to them. 
The BCCI has, in its defence, made substantive use of the revenue it gains from the IPL. The match fees for a Ranji match have more than quadrupled over the past five years. In less than a fortnight, three new world-class stadiums in three different corners of the country will host their first-ever international matches. To build each of these stadiums, the BCCI gave upto Rs. 75 Crores to the respective state association; and the annual grants to these associations for the development of local cricket have exponentially grown. The overall cricketing infrastructure and the domestic scene, right from the sub-junior tourneys to the Ranji Trophy, have seen tremendous improvement.
Everything needs to be viewed in perspective, and it would be a folly to claim that the IPL almost always stokes a sense of dereliction towards one's country. Kevin Pietersen is an integral part of the Delhi Daredevils, but this has not precluded his contribution to the success of the English team; he has no hesitation in ditching the IPL in favour of national duty. And some duty he performs—thramming attack after another with untrammelled audacity. There are countless such instances—off the top of my head, I can think of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardane, the legendary Jacques Kallis, and even Brendon McCullum—serving their IPL franchise and country outstandingly, yet knowing where their paramount loyalty ought to lie. 

If foreign cricketers can realize this, so can the Indian ones. In fact, despite my present distaste for our current captain, I think he has balanced his role as the leader of the Chennai Super Kings and that of the National team admirably. The real problem, in my mind, that needs to be addressed is the inability of the players and the selection committee to reconcile themselves with the fact that, in the current situation—where all three formats are likely to continue at least for the foreseeable future—one cannot have the same set of players across formats. The rise in the popularity of T20 cricket necessitates greater specialization, and this is something the BCCI needs to accept. We need specialized batsmen, and even specialized captains and support staff for that matter; because the capabilities required in each format are wildly different. If today, South Africa is the greatest cricketing nation in the world, it is in no small measure due to the concerted effort that has been made by the CSA to build a specialized team (with the exception of a few essential players) in each format. South Africa, and even Australia and England recognized the value of this line of thought early on, and have reaped the benefits of this precocious wisdom. 

The second, and slightly more intractable problem that needs to be tackled is the culture of nepotism and sycophancy that pervades the national team and the upper echelons of the BCCI. If Dhoni's captaincy is considered beyond question, it is only because he is regarded as Mr. Srinivasan's little puppy-dog. Subsequently, if Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma have sustained their positions in spite of ridiculously terrible performances, it is because they are Dhoni's little puppy-dogs. No longer is the same meritocracy that was emblematic of Gary Kirsten's tenure visible. The culture is symptomatic of the wider historic nepotism that the BCCI has carried through in both success and in failure. The fabric for enduring success can only be laid when the administrative structure of the BCCI is reformed. Without getting into the modalities of it, the BCCI is run through its thirty state organizations, which are supremely undemocratic. Bihar, one of the most populous states in the country does not have membership, and the North-East is vastly under-represented; Gujarat sends three members—Baroda, Saurashtra and Gujarat itself; so does Maharashtra—Mumbai, Vidarbha and Maharashtra itself. 
The notoriety attached to the running of these associations is well-known. Like much else in India, many of these associations have been reduced to family firms, and only very few truly have free and fair elections. Very few former cricketers actually participate in cricket administration; the state associations are as much about Politics as they are about cricket. Politicians, with no prior experience of, or interest in cricket, have come to see membership of the BCCI as a powerful tool of personal aggrandizement  For instance, I am confident that Sharad Pawar cannot hold a cricket bat in the proper grip if he was asked to.  
In short, the challenges that face the BCCI today are diverse, and only a campaign to tackle both the short-term challenge of rebuilding a team for the 2015 World Cup and the long-term one to foster reform can truly deliver Indian cricket from the mess it currently resides in.  

Left-Wing Extremism

The gap between the last post and this one is nothing short of worrying for me, given the impressive speed at which I had clocked the first couple of articles on this blog. However, this is hardly my fault, the imputation of guilt lies with the attention mongering ex-girlfriend who seems incapable of taking the cue from my many intimations and the brouhaha over the Boson-Higgs particle muddling my capacity to think. However, there is a far more pertinent reason for the delay. I had made up my mind that the next post would be on an issue very close to my heart: that of left-wing extremism, and it was the attack in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh last week that firmed up my mind, and given the nebulous nature of the aforementioned police operation, I thought it would be prudent to wait till things cleared up a little; as they eventually did, with even the Union Home Minster having to retract his initial response to the operation.
The incident in question relates to a joint police operation of the Central Reserve Police Force and the state police forces on the intervening night of the 28th and 29th of June in Sarkeiguda, Bijapur district, in which the CRPF claims to have neutralized twenty purported 'maoists'. The entire operation including the intent remains clouded in mystery, with an array of conflicting versions proffered by the Chhattisgarah Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Congress Party. After receiving intelligence that senior 'maoist' leaders planned to hold a meeting in Basaguda on the night of the 28th, the security forces formed three different teams with the intention of converging on Basaguda from three different directions, the strategy being to deny the 'maoists' an avenue for escape. But en route to Basaguda, one of the teams came under attack at Kotteguda Panchayat in Sarkeiguda, about five kilometers from Basaguda. In the subsequent retaliation, twenty 'maoists' were killed by the security forces. This remains the official stand of the MHA and the Chhattisgarh government. However, within hours of the operation emerged several reports that among those who had been killed the majority were civilians and even a few school students and women had been gunned down.
Three days later, the Chhattisgarh Congress, which sits in the Opposition in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly, sent a delegation of eleven members to Sarkeiguda. Led by the Union Minister of State for Agriculture Charandas Mahant, the delegation toured Kotteguda and interacted with the villagers in the Basaguda area. In the press conference that followed, they dared to flagrantly contradict the position of the Union Home Minister who had earlier praised the forces for their courage and skill. The delegation dubbed the incident a 'completely fake encounter' and the victims 'innocent adivasis'. It went on to suggest that the Union Home Minister was mistaken and that he had been misinformed. It is likely that the comments were driven by a sense of expediency and are exaggerated, but at the nub of these claims there lies an element of truth. The government response was that if there were indeed civilians, who fired at the CRPF and how are the bullet wounds of half a dozen soldiers explained? As if to make things worse, a couple of days later the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Kishore Chandra Deo adopted the version of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee and went a step further to say that he had received concrete reports from sources other than the PCC that of the twenty persons gunned down, half were teenagers and a child who sustained injuries was just four years old. “If those killed were ‘extremists’,” Mr. Deo asked, “then why were most of them unarmed? No arms were recovered from them. The first principle of counter-insurgency is that you don’t shoot unarmed people.” The CRPF then ordered an internal inquiry into the encounter and yesterday, on the 5th of July, the Union Home Minister 'apologized' for the death of all civilians in the encounter. This admission of guilt belies the initial claim that all those present were cadres of the Communist Party of India(Maoist) and that there were indeed more than a few civilians who had been shot in cold-blood. The CRPF on its part said in a statement that seven of the deceased had been identified by the Bijapur district police as maoists, and insisting the encounter wasn't a mistake. The incident is profoundly symptomatic of the deep chasm that exists within the government in respect to our approach to left-wing extremism, but at a far more portentous trajectory, it is also symbolic of the Indian state's incoherent policy towards combating naxalism.
(Since I do not have the stamina to write more than three paragraphs in one sitting, this shall be followed up by a second concluding piece tomorrow. Also, pardon the loquacity.)

Cartoon Politics

I don't like repeating my articles or publishing them retrospectively, but you have to indulge me this one time, and I would never bother unless I was convinced that the issue deserves far greater attention than it is currently being accorded in the national media-which it does, especially if you compare it with the initial outrage the issue had raised.
So the Thorat committee formed by the H.R.D. Ministry to look into certain 'objectionable' political cartoons in N.C.E.R.T. social science textbooks for class IX to XII has already submitted its report within forty-five days of its formation, which is an aberration in a polity where the setting-up of committees by the Union Government are almost always formed with a single-minded purpose: to serve as dilatory measures. In all likelihood, the H.R.D. Ministry will order the implementation of the report, which not only affirms the Ministry's stance on the seminal issue of concern(which I elaborate on further) but also further seeks the deletion of as many as twenty-two other cartoons from the N.C.E.R.T. Social Science textbooks for the Central Board of Secondary Education; in particular, the cartoons in the political science textbooks for Class XI and XII have been singled out for chastisement  This, ladies and gentlemen, is nothing short of preposterous. The cartoons that have so been construed as profane are purely vehicles of inclusive and constructive pedagogy, and there is not a scintilla in any of them that could possibly cause affront to any community in this beautifully diverse country. The only silver lining is that Mr. MS Pandian, a member of the committee formed under the chairmanship of SK Thorat(the President of the Indian Council of Social Science Research Institute) cared to add a note of dissension to the final copy of the report. However, despite my best efforts I have not been able to ascertain which twenty-two cartoons have further been removed, otherwise I would have given a rebuttal in defence of each of the cartoons in question. However, I had written a very impassioned(by admission) piece on the unsavoury incident which originally thrust the contentious issue into the limelight, and which can justifiably be called the casus belli for the formation of the aforementioned committee. The issue relates to a cartoon in the eleventh grade political science book in a chapter on the drafting of the constitution of India-a book that the writer happened to study for a year.
What follows is an essay from the 12th of May, 2012:

I don’t usually raise my voice on social issues of concern, not because I don’t have a view but simply because I believe there are people of much greater experience and calibre in the most consecrated of institutions in our democracy to discuss them: those sitting in Parliament. But I couldn’t allow myself to not speak up this time, simply because it is the outrageous behaviour of these very people that has caused a deep sense of anguish in me, and it is these actions I seek to excoriate. I believe it would amount to gross dereliction, as a student and as someone who is directly affected by the events, to not express my sense of indignation at the completely mindless act of protest by our parliamentarians on Friday, forcing parliament to be adjourned over an issue which is predicated on the most ridiculous of arguments, and I find it shocking that not one sane M.P. had the temerity to stand up against the despicable and uneducated behaviour of certain members.

The protest in parliament relates to a cartoon in the eleventh grade N.C.E.R.T. Political Science book on the slow and calibrated process that was the drafting of our constitution. The cartoon shows Dr. Ambedkar mounted on a snail (in trademark western attire), which is marked clearly in bold as the ‘CONSTITUTION’, holding the reins to the snail in one hand while carrying a crop in the other; an ostensible metaphor for his constant endeavour of completing the constitution on time.  Seen behind him is Pandit Nehru, also carrying a crop in his hand while the people of India look on. This is followed by a caption which talks of the “snail’s pace” at which the constitution was made.  The sole objective of the cartoon was to convey the difficulties that Babasaheb Ambedkar faced in his duty as chairman of the Drafting Committee; bringing together diverse shades of opinion that existed at the time; and giving expression to the ideals, aspirations and identities of every section in our incredibly dissimilar and diverse country. This is the obvious meaning of the cartoon and this was the meaning we interpreted while studying the book last year, and is the meaning all sound-minded students of our country have interpreted for the past six years, as is re-enforced by the fact that not one incident of antagonism on this cartoon has been reported since its introduction in 2006; but the good men sitting in parliament thought otherwise, and since they believe they have the absolute right to disrupt parliament whenever they want, they ensured that parliament was adjourned twice on the same day and that no serious business could be conducted. The obvious semantics of the cartoon would be apparent to any reasonable-minded student of political science, but unfortunately the MPs instead chose to interpret this as a belittlement of the great man that was Babasaheb Ambedkar, with reference to the fact that he was seated on a snail and being ‘whipped’ to work by Pandit Nehru.  It is ludicrous for one to accept their view that the cartoon is a symbol of dominance of one community over another, or even that it disparages Dr. Ambedkar’s role in drafting the constitution; or is derogatory to the community he belonged to.

The cartoon was made in 1949 by the celebrated cartoonist K. Shankara Pillai and it was adopted by the C.B.S.E for a greater contextual understanding of the text and it is the various cartoons in the book that provide respite from the monotony of the overly factual text, a view which I share with most of my class-mates.  Not once, as some of the parliamentarians fallaciously claim, has Dr. Ambedkar been as much as mildly criticized in the text in his role as the architect of our constitution. The chapter only talks about the formation of the constituent assembly, the challenges that came with writing a constitution, the various ideals and objectives behind it,  the affirmative role played by a few prominent leaders of the freedom struggle in it, and also a brief mention of why the drafting was such a laborious  and tardy process. It does not contain a letter which denigrates Babasheb’s great contribution or undermines his stature or the community he belongs to. It is at this point that I would like to quote the only sensible thing our H.R.D. minister said in Parliament, that Babasaheb’s contribution in the making of the constitution does not belong to any one community, but to the nation as a whole.

I feel ashamed that such intolerant and nescient individuals have been elected to parliament by the people of India; and I also feel insulted that my class-mates and I were considered as having the same divisive tendencies that some of the MP’s showcased on Friday. I am sure that if Dr. Ambedkar was alive to this day, he would take umbrage at the way certain MPs are behaving in the name of protecting his legacy.

The incident is also symptomatic of the growing intolerance in our country towards matters of academic interest, which certain elements consider as profane; as is evident in the issue of A.K. Ramanujan’s purportedly tendentious essay on the Ramayana being removed from the History course at Delhi University and this ongoing issue over the Ambedkar cartoon. What is also disheartening about this situation is that members chose to raise the issue during the budget session of parliament, and at a time when there are a number of vital legislations that need to be discussed and passed in this critical phase of our country’s history.

I am only seventeen years old, but I have a firm conviction that our society must measure each article of academic interest in terms of its effects on rational and thinking individuals, not on hyper-sensitive individuals who worship expediency.  

Presidential Musings(..and more)

The election of Mr. Pranab Mukherjee as the thirteenth President of the Union of India now appears to be a foregone conclusion, and the twenty fifth of July promises to be a good day for the people of India, not so much because the Indian Union will get a new president, but because we shall finally receive deliverance from the cow who currently reigns as the sovereign of this country. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, perhaps the most endearing politician(the heavily laden bengali accent is nothing short of legendary.) from the ruling Congress Party, seems set to sail through the presidential elections slated to be held on the nineteenth of next month, and the only other contender, a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha from the tumultuous nineties, Mr. P.A. Sangma, is hardly a worthy candidate for the Presidency. Though a man of probity, Mr. Sangma's behaviour over the past month, canvassing for himself and hopping around from one state capital to another proclaiming his own suitability is nothing short of disgraceful.However, far more portentous than Mr. Sangma's doomed campaign is the fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party(early disclaimer: my antecedents compel me to sympathize with these buffoons.), has decided to endorse Mr. Sangma's independent candidature, an act which in my eyes is symptomatic of the lack of leadership that pervades this party of somnolent old men (and an exceptionally disgraceful fat lady.); and despite all the wistfulness on the writer's part it serves as a reminder(like we needed one) that the party will not be anywhere close to in a position to form the government after the next general elections in 2014, and that the equally perverse Congress Party will see it through in a fractured mandate, with the populace further being blessed with another five years of indecision, corruption, and 'policy paralysis'(the term sounds cool, you have to admit?).
This is particularly depressing for a young, reasonably aware individual who itches to ensure the progress of his people reeling in deprivation and abhors the form of dynastic rule that the people of this ostensibly democratic civilization have willfully chosen for most of their modern existence. However two years ago, I was more than willing to swallow these reservations and partake in the sanguinary mood that had enveloped the nation, primarily fueled by the high rate of consistent economic growth the country had witnessed for the past ten years or so. However, things could hardly have gone worse for the economy since, the growth rate of the GDP for the first quarter of 2012 slipping to a despicable 5.7% from the 8.5% of last year. There can be no doubt that some of this is the fallout of the eurozone crisis, but there are certain indicators that there has been a sharp contraction in the rate of private investment and a gradual drying up of FDI. Symbolic of the causation of the investment-weariness is the much-reported case of the retrospective taxation imposed on Vodafone by the Government of India, an act which is likely to scare away already cautious prospective investors. Coinciding with this economic crisis is the freefall of the Indian Rupee, which even crossed the psychological barrier of 57 rupees to a dollar earlier this week (its lowest ever.). As if things couldn't get worse, Standard and Poor reviewed its fiscal outlook in the long-term for India to junk status. This has to be the nadir of the Indian economy; and far more portentously, inflation still remains high at 7 percent, making it impossible for the Reserve Bank of India to ease lending rates or for the government to ease the appalling fiscal deficit.
A significant reason for the downturn has to be the populist over-subsidization of several commodities. Several prominent Indian and Western economists have argued for the cessation of these subsidies, often quoting the preponderant share of these subsidies on the national budget. However, the ground reality remains that no government can even think of easing these subsidies as long as there remain a billion vulnerable and poor people in this country. What needs to be done immediately though is to bring the misdirected intermediate fuel subsidies of diesel and LPG to an end (Why the hell has the government not done it already?). Maybe I'm being a little extreme here, but I would even consider banning every damn SUV as long as affluent Indians driving them continue to drain the Indian economy by guzzling unintended subsidies the way they do.
This might seem unrelated to the earlier part of my post, but there is a tenuous but critical link here. The duties of the Finance Minister will now be temporarily discharged by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (of L.P.G. fame.), and the optimistic should expect a fresh round of reforms that would stimulate economic growth again. There are already visible baby steps to a recovery and the Sensex has already gained over 550 points in the first four days of Manmohan Singh taking over as the FM. However, much remains to be done and the jury is still out on the future of the economy.

Also, our beloved Deutschland lost to Italy in the semis of the European Championship and consequently exited the Euro on Thursday night, as it gets unbearably hard to not break the television screen seeing Mario Balotelli play like that. Indian cricket ofcourse is going through a much needed languor and the only real Indian cricketer in the news is Sachin's fourteen-year old son Arjun(No, Yuvraj Singh no longer counts.), though last heard he had started training again at the NCA in Bengaluru, and a not so little bird tells the author that he is now only a shade of the player he once was, and that his cricketing career is all but over. However, there is some good news too, Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Wimbledon mid-week losing to unseeded Czech Lukas Rosol, and there still remains some hope that Federer might equal Pete Sampras's record of seven Wimbledon singles' titles, though the writer predicts the 'roof' at the Central Court will play a few more surprises before the end of the tournament.
That's all for now.

-Ac.

The Piecemeal Diaries

It's been a long while since I initially thought of starting a blog, this blogspot account itself has been in existence for over a fortnight now, and after mindlessly wrangling with myself for over a week about the title I have come to the inevitable: started writing the introductory message I've been led to believe is protocol. First things first, I have a presentiment that the success of this venture will be severely hampered by the lack of the writer's technological prowess(the account itself was created by a best-friend, pro bono ofcourse). It's only fair that I acknowledge the invaluable support given by the old lady in this little endeavour of mine. After all, it was her constant admonitions that have forced me to finally quit procrastinating. One of the reasons that impelled me to start writing was the increasing proliferation of blogs by friends and acquaintances: a trend I knew I couldn't resist for long. I have always fancied myself in the mould of and old-fashioned writer (typewriter and scotch in cue, you get the idea don't you?) and I was initially a mix of suspicion and contempt for this upstart form of virtual dissemination. But before long, I realized that this was an idle conceit and that my fledgling literary career was very much in decay. The only thing that could revitalize it was a medium that I had no prior experience(and hence failure) with, and 'blogging' seemed oddly apposite. So, this is my admission of finally bending with the wind, after all there's no loss of dignity in admitting loss well in time and this is my attempt at a graceful transition.
Implicit in this project is also the realization that I need to write more. I hardly ever put pen to paper, and my regular wrestling bouts with the empty word document are invariably futile. In my defence, I have been writing on and off for the past six years of my life (hence the 'piecemeal' in the name); but that stands to change now. The very objective of the blog remains to defy the title, to give myself a vehicle for expression and also something that will shake me up from my scholastic languor, and I promise to annoy the reader with less than sporadic annotations on everything from existential philosophy to the oppressive heat of New Delhi. I've also been told that I don't write bad enough to give up just yet, and the aim remains to give the reader something new to read, notwithstanding the ubiquity of blogs by teenage Indian writers. Most of my earlier articles have been for publications in high school (though I feel like ducking beneath the sofa each time someone brings up the fanciful prose and poetry I dabbled with a couple of years ago.) and my primary areas of interest are restricted to politics, history, philosophy and foreign affairs, and most of my musings will ofcourse be on the same, albeit I intend to apprise the reader with the perspective of an individual who has lived most of his life in a small city and someone who has great sympathies with the vast multitude of Indians suffering daily from the pangs of privation and disaffection. My nationalism also necessitates that I love cricket, and I'm more than an enthusiastic cricket fan, as I intend to evince in some of the subsequent posts.
This is hoping that you will bother to read more from the writer.

Welcome to the Piecemeal Diaries!