Varanasi : So, Our Man in Parliament speaks English ! And Quite Fluently !!

Varanasi / New Delhi. July 1 .So, here is yet another revelation; our man in Parliament speaks English; and that too quite fluently. The Gaurdian was not quite off the mark when it published its historic editorial on India's 2014 general elections :- Final Departure of British Raj;  Narendra modi only assured the Firangi retainers that all is not lost, they can still remember that once upon a time there was British Raj in India.

                                             Occasion was the launch of  PSLV carrying five satellites from 'developed' countries; PSLV performed its fete successfully. Modi keeping in mind the gathering, consisting of scientists, spoke in English, in spaces switching over to his natural language- Hindi. How was his communication level in these two languages, comparatively ?

                                             For Banarasis, it was the first occasion when they heard our man in parliament speaking English. He spoke extemporally , that too in English ! Did he memorize his speech or some body was there doing prompting ? Impossible skeptics, Banarasis raise doubts. It was live speech and whole nation watched and listened the Modi's oratory skill, it was really an extempore speech and speaker was quite at ease and confident. When ever he had to add some lively inputs  he switched over to Hindi.

                                             The Guardian, in its ' Final departure of British Raj' editorial also took note of language skill of Indian leaders. It wrote, " Modi is not a natural English speaker ";  as if it was one of the proofs that the colonialist had left the wild sub-continent with no left overs. His British biographer said, Modi interacted with him in English ; the so called national media reported that Modi interacted with US ambassador 'poor'  Nancy Powell in halting English, Powell had to utter some sentences in broken Hindi to establish some sort of  rapport with a hard nut. This is all known to us before the speaker himself opened his mouth in Sriharikota.

                                            A few days ago a foreign correspondent recalled that about 15 years ago he participated with Modi in a TV debate where the then  BJP office bearer  put forward his opinion in forceful English. The correspondent, however, added,  Modi spoke in heavily accented English. One wonders how to describe the peculiar  accent of Modi's English, was it Hinglish tone or Gujarati dhokla flavour. Was it pleasant or annoying ?

                                          We Banarasis don't believe in niceties of language. You can deliver sermons or you can hurl score of galis. It is all the same for us. The only condition is-  it should be sweet and refreshing and on this count Modi failed ! Fortunately.

                                          His Hindi oration, though a nasal voice, a technical fault according to sangeet martand, is heart felt- penetrating and convincing . English version is just like official press release, soulless and marred with faulty  pronunciation and emphasis; for example "rich culture" becomes " reech culture". More over it was not pleasant at all.

                                         In Hindi he is a Koyal ( cuckoo) and in English he is a Kauaa ( crow).

Modi, Sushma should press for memorial of Veer 

Savarkar in Marseilles ( France ) 

New Delhi/ Varanasi. June 29. Foreign Affairs Minister of France, Mr. Laurent Fabius begins his four day official visit to India from June 29 , apparently with an invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Paris at the earliest.

                                                            France, as an 'old Europe' was a traditional friend of India and even in its 'new Europe' avatara is keen to further bilateral relations. Mr Fabius visit offers an opportunity to Modi to press for a long pending project to built a memorial in Marseilles in france , where Veer Savarkar performed an extraordinary fete of courage and bravery by jumping into sea from a British ship and reach shore of France in July, 1910.  Veer savarkar's fete inspired generations of revolutionaries and freedom fighters and was recorded in the history books in golden letters . France initially rejected the request of British imperialist to hand over the detainee and this led to an international dispute. The case was later decided in international court where the verdict was in favour of the barbarians. Savarkar was sent to kaala paani to serve double life imprisonment. France took it as a national humiliation and government there narrowly survived.

                                                                       France, to redeem itself from national shame suffered a century ago, agreed  in 2010, the centenary year of the great leap ,  to build a memorial honoring Veer Savarkar in Marseilles, who was considered an epitome of struggle against colonialism and imperialism. Manmohan - Sonia regime showed no interest and pygmies launched a campaign against any memorial here in India or  there in Marsielles in honour of Savarkar. Now, the electorates of the country have thrown the old regime into dustbin and pygmies are licking their wounds. One only hopes that at least Sonia Gandhi would ultimately recognize that as a president of India's oldest political party, it was expected from her not to disparage but to respect national heroes,even if some of them differ from Congress ideology. Father of nation,  Mahatma Gandhi, who was an anti-thesis of Savarkar, always held the latter in high esteem. Marxist thinker M N Roy virtually worshiped Savarkar and touched his feet when they met  in Bombay.

                                                                   During electioneering Modi spent a few minutes in the room of the Pune's Fergusson college hostel where Savarkar once lived as a student. Modi later said that  he felt vibration of national commitment and sacrifice in the hostel room.

                                                                               A memorial of Veer Savarkar on the beaches of Marseilles will be as significant as the highest statue of Sardar Patel in the middle of Narmada river in Gujarat. And like bringing back ashes of great revolutionary Shyamji Krishna Varma for immerssion in holy Ganga and Sabarmati, Modi will be instrumental in honouring yet another national hero on foreign land.

                                                                                      Modi should make it a point to visit Marseilles when ever he visits France and if by then the memorial was completed he should offer a few flowers to Veer Savarkar on behalf of the nation.

                                  Renaming the blog : Seeing the world from Varanasi prism

                                                         "Varanasi : Our Man in Parliament"

                                                 Elections are over and Banarasis elected their representative for lower house of the Parliament of world largest democracy. And ' our man in Parliament ' happens to be Prime Minister of India .This blog was started to cover the historic 2014 Lok Sabha elections which produced an amazing outcome. Presence of Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal in the election fray generated a lot of interest in this constituency and after many, many years in the ancient city of Varanasi widely recognized as spiritual capital of India. Now, with Modi in Parliament with a promise to rejuvenate the holy city, it is an imperative to keep interest alive in the happenings of this oldest city on the planet, spiritually a cosmos and in this-worldly term, a global village.

                                            The blog  attempts to report the developments in the city  and analyse and see national and international events from Varanasi prism.

Narendra Modi ! Congratulations for becoming Banarasi !!

Varanasi May 29. Varanasi  welcomes its  newest  citizen , newest Banarasi, Narendra Modi. It is a privilege to you to represent City of Light, the home of Baba Vishwanath, Maa Annapurna and Kala Bhairav. Maa Ganga perhaps has found her son, the great Bhishma in you.

 Mata cha parvati devi, pita devo maheshwarah
Bandhvah Shivabhaktah cha swadesho bhuvanah triyam

Narendra Modi tweets
 I will represent Varanasi in Lok Sabha & I look forward to this wonderful opportunity to serve Ganga Maa & work for Varanasi’s development.
I assure people of Vadodara I will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that Vadodara's development scales newer heights in the years to come
Resigned from Vadodara LS seat. Due to people's affection got elected by historic margin. Will always remain grateful to people of Vadodara.

Narendra Modi : India's Putin ?

Then, Manmohan Singh a Yeltsin and Arvind Kejriwal, "Pussy riot" 

Varanasi, May 22. Narendra Modi, " our man in Parliament " is being compared with almost every world leader , contemporary or from earlier generation. Political commentator from Washington to Beijing are busy in  deciphering  Narendra Modi phenomenon in the context of contemporary history. His personality, ideology and life history are being evaluated in reference to Ronald Reagan , Nixon (United States), Shinzo Abe (Japan), Erdogan (Turkey) , Margret Thatcher (United Kingdom) and Vladimir Putin (Russia).

                                                        Political developments in two time tested friends, India and Russia appear to be similar if we take into accounts happenings of last two decades. And it bring us to speculate that Modi is much like a Putin who transformed Russia from disaster to crowning glory . He inherited a Russia , bankrupt and crumbled but with in a short period of time  he restored Russia's world stature, political as well as economic. His predecessor  Yeltsin left a Russia in  very bad shape that can very well  be compared with Manmohan Singh's India. In fact, Manmohan was worse than Yeltsin as the latter can at least  be credited for choosing a worthy successor in Putin. In India it is left to  800 million  voters to find a redeemer for the nation and they acted, as ever, wisely  in electing  Narendra Modi, who inherits a country   low in  self confidence and with  shattered institutions.

                                                     Putin as a young KGB agent saw  the collapse of Soviet Union and national shame experienced by  proud people. He knew first hand the evil designs of western countries and their well knit network put in work  to capitulate independent and sovereign countries. Once at the helm he slowly rebuilt the Russia , brick by brick, to restore its global influence and glory.

                                                   Narendra Modi has a modest background lacking a wider world view and knowledge of mudus operandi of hostile powers. After being installed as a Chief Minister of Gujarat and subsequent developments including Godhra Train burning and rioting , Modi went through an Agnipariksha, and come out of it like purified gold. Putin was at least fortunate that in early years of his presidency he was a darling of western media, Modi , on the other hand , faced the wrath of western countries their Indian retainers the very next year of his tenure and  it remained continued for full 12 years . By sheer luck or divine prudence he escaped a jail term in India or in any other country, he was accused of massacres , genocide, pogrom of innocent Muslims in Gujarat. Finally India voters destroyed the Gujarat Riot Industry infrastructure, once for all . The ordeal suffered by Modi must have made him as wiser as Putin.

                                                 Today Putin is being portrayed in western media as a Hitler ; Modi just before May 16 was being portrayed in the similar manner. Today Barack Obama is showing an olive branch to Modi by inviting him to Washington for working together to strengthen strategic partnership. The US officials are announcing from rooftop that an A1 visa would be granted to Modi. But what about normal visa.? One wonders that even today if Modi wants to visit United States as a private citizen would he be allowed to visit "land of mammon"" ( term used by Mahatma Gandhi).

                  One hopes that Modi would like to  identify India with BRICS countries, Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa.

                                                 Modi yet to spell out his world view and foreign policy priorities ; but during electioneering especially in Varanasi he  spoke of World teacher ( Vishwa Guru ) role for India. And as Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin has said , if Russia has a vision of Eurasia then India should strive for Greater India. Modi's alma mater RSS always believes in Greater India and as a Prime Minster countrymen expect from him to work for realizing this civilizational role. Of course, as India has never been an expansionist,  politically or militarily, this Greater India project  is all about soft diplomacy . 

                                              So, if Modi is a Putin then Manmohan Singh is all but Yeltsin. And what about Broom Messiah, Arvind Kejriwal ? Lodged in Tihar Jail he appears to be Pussy Riot, entertaining  people on roads and courts.

Should Narendra Modi Visit United States ? First, Modi Should Read US Religious Commission report- 2014
        

 Varanasi, May 21. Should Narendra Modi Visit United States, the erstwhile sole superpower who demonized an elected Chief minister of world's largest democracy for almost a decade? The US disdain for Modi can only be rivaled by its vicious campaign against Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. But in a sense US venom spewed against Modi was more lethal, as the fight against Castro was essentially ideological one and part of Geo Strategic policies. Attack on Modi has been individual based and he has been put in the  category of  blood thirsty warlord of lawless African region and leaders accused of committing crimes against humanity. For almost a decade Modi was like Idi Amin , whom western media accused of cannibalism and what not.

                                    According to media reports  President Obama  telephoned Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi  on May 16 and invited him to visit Washington  to further strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries. The White House said the President called Modi to congratulate him on the Bharatiya Janata Party's success in India's  elections. The President noted he looks forward to working closely with Mr Modi to fulfill the extraordinary promise of the US-India strategic partnership.

                                    Modi took almost three days to acknowledge Obama's gesture in a tweet -                                             Narendra Modi ‏@narendramodi  May 19

In our conversation, @BarackObama & I talked about further strengthening India-USA strategic partnership that will help both nations.

                                   It was not clear whether delay was a deliberate snub to Obama or just normal behavior. One wonder whether Obama and Modi  read or were aware of the report of United States
 Commission on International Religious Freedom ( USCIRF) for Year 2014, released on April 30, when Lok Sabha elections were on peak. The report as usual evaluated the status of religious freedom in different countries including India.
                                  It is intriguing why the  USCIRF report was not covered by Indian media. Was it suppressed by interest parties or just an ordinary lapse on part of media person too busy in the last phases of general elections. But since the election campaign was focused on Modi and his alleged Hindutva agenda along with communal polarization , the report was very much relevant thus enormously newsworthy.
                                   The editors of USCIRF was well aware that election process is on in India and its "findings" would have bearing on voters. In fact the report mentions the contour of electioneering in India :
" In the past year, reports of incidents of communal and religiously motivated violence against religious minorities in India increased. Non- government organisation (NGOs) and religious leaders, including from Muslim, Christian and Sikh communities attribute the increase to India's general elections and some politicians' use of religiously divisive language."

                                  Modi has been a pet whipping boy for US establishment, and Every report since year 2002 indicted him for Gujarat riots. Despite Modi being universally recognized as the front runner in the general elections  the USCIRF did not spare him in the election year of 2014. The report says:
                                 The Indian courts are still adjudicating cases stemming
                                 from large-scale Hindu-Christian communal violence in Odisha in 2007-08
                                 and large-scale Hindu-Muslim  communal violence in Gujarat in
                                 2002. NGOs, religious leaders, and human rights activists allege religious bias and                                         corruption and adjudications.(Page-122,USCIRF)
                             
                                 After questioning the competence and integrity of Indian investigation
                                 agencies and  courts, the report notes:
                           
                                " In 2013, a lower court in Gujarat found longtime Gujarat chief minister Narendra
                                 Modi – the current BJP candidate for Prime Minister – not responsible for the death of                                  a prominent Muslim Congress Party leader who was burned alive in 2002. The case
                                 was brought by the leader’s widow, and she reportedly has appealed. Several other
                                 cases where Modi has been implicated for involvement or complicity in the 2002                                          violence continue."
                                One wonders what are the " other cases ", in which Modi has been implicated.. Perhaps there might be some  dossiers against Modi  in the White House thanks to NSA snooping. The USCIRF report for Year 2013 earlier commented on conviction of former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani that she had been made a scapegoat to safeguard Modi.
                               Now, the Yaksha Prashna , Should Modi visit United States ? The proud Indians, Gujaratis and now Banarasis say NO. Modi should visit "land of mammon" ( term used by Mahatma Gandhi) only when United states withdraws all its so called religious freedom reports regarding India  and offer unconditional apology to Indian people , Gujaratis and Banarasis. The US can not say that USCIRF is an independent body because it was very much part of state department and suggests government the policies to be followed . The USCIFR was main culprit in denial of a Visa to Modi.

                                 

Narendra Modi's Varanasi Sermon : Did He Get it Right?

Varanasi, May 18. I can imagine a conversation taking place at a Paan shop in the city over Narendra Modi's Varanasi sermon on Ganga Ghat  :
                             One Banarasi said, "Ekare bade haman jhaadu chhod delin, ab ei kahat hai jhaadu leke gali saaf kara ( For him we rejected jhaadu- read Arvind Kejriwal-, now the gentleman is saying we should take a jhaadu in our hand and clean the street ).
                            Fellow Banarasi could not believe this - " Aisan kahlas" ( really? he said this)
                            Former one said, not only this he insulted Banarasi Paan and chided us for chewing Paan and spitting here and there. Panwadi, who was listening the running commentary of Varanasi sermon, stopped applying kattcha and chuna on Paan leaf and with wide open eyes asked,  " sachcho! ei kahlas"     ( really? he said this).  With a pichch in naali below, the narrator said , "Yes, Yes."
                            Across the road a BJP banner is still hanging :
                            Banaras Ka Aam , Banaras Ka Paan
                            Sabse Upar Banaras Ki  Shaan
                             Banarasis are wondering why is Modi showing  disrespect to world famous Banarasi Paan ? And how can he claim to be a representative of Varanasi without performing  "Mukhshodhan" with a Banarasi  Paan . Contrary to Modi's Paan bashing, challenger Arvind Kejriwal made it a point to visit Keshav Paan Bhandar and demanded a Meetha Paan. There the Jhaadu messiah was gheraoed for more than a hour by Modi supporters and in the meantime he was offered Paans at regular interval. Panwadi refused to accept money for this.  As the saying goes- one should learn good things  even from enemies and rivals, Modi should emulate Kejriwal and try to develop Banarasi fineness like chewing Paan.
                             Narendra Modi's Maiden speech on Ganga ghats was emotional and touching one and he spoke as a son of Varanasi. It is apparent that Ganga is his mother and Baba Vishwanath is his guardian and speech left  little doubt that he will be "our man in Parliament".
                               Like a Banarasi he taunted fellow Banarasis - Mein janta hun ki aapse kaam lena bahut mushkil hai " ( I know how difficult it is to make you do a thing). He got it right. Then he said, Aisa nahin hai ki mein aapke baare mein janta nahin hun ( Don't think I don't know about you). Here, Banarasis doubt this claim. Did he really know all about Banarasis ? Their lifestyle, temperament, likes and dislikes ? Banarasis think he is still a learner and there is much home work to do before getting full initiation in Banarasiness.
                              Modi said he wanted to start a nationwide clean India mission from Varanasi . And for this mission  to succeed Banarasis should take  responsibility. In other words they should take a jhaadu in their hands and clean the street. And then he said something strange. He offended Banarasis for their Paan chewing habit. Prime minister designate said : Paan khakar Bharat Mata Ki Jai Bolna Aur pichch se pinchakari marna ( with Paan filled mouth raising slogan in praise of Bharat Mata Ki Jai and then spewing red mixture here and there)
                             Writing this post while mouth is full of Paan mixture before I clear my mouth in a nearby washbasin for making room for another Paan, I simply wonder over the remark of Modi regarding cleanliness and "bad" habit of chewing Paan. How so early he is drifting form his newly acquired Banarasi identity.  And Banarasis are duty bound to defend their God sent Paan and their right to enjoy it as much as they like.
                             First of all Banarasis would like to know from his elected representative why he is so much obsessed with cleanliness. We  understand Modi's native town is Vadnagar, a famous Shaivite pilgrimage centre, a mini Varanasi. So we presume he is a Shaivaite like us Banarasis. Then why he is so keen to Vaishanavite obsession of cleanliness. Why is he doing a Vidya Balan to Banarasis : Jahan soch hai vahan Shauchalaya hai ( where there is  thinking , there exists a latrine ) . Banarasis don't believe in this thesis.  We know that soch is our city and shauchalayas are everywhere else in the world .
                          Modi should prioritize his Varanasi mission and refrain undermining social habits of Banarasis.