Madhya Pradesh - the heart and heartbeat of India

Back to where the heart is!

Tourism has again called me back in its wings. My fourth stint in the tourism sector began on the 8^th of January this year with the government of Madhya Pradesh as its Commissioner and Managing Director of Tourism. Being wanted is definitely a great feeling that I have been exulting in since the day of my arrival in the beautiful state that I believe has been crafted especially for the roving tourist.

And this return, perhaps the only case of its kind ever in the country where the services of a central services officer have been requisitioned by a state government for the third time, often makes me feel like a tourism expert and at times I start acting like one. Yet I pardon myself on such mistakes that I often commit, regarding myself as a tourism expert or a management guru and sometimes as a leading exponent of smoking beauties, the steam locomotives of yesteryears.

Yet in reality I am none of the above. The nation has a plethora of experts in the tourism and management fields, experts who are many notches above me and given the chance would make a much better contribution than me. Perhaps my expertise lies in converting an idea into reality remaining within the system that is perhaps designed for acts of non-deliverance. And this penchant for delivery is not tourism centric – it has been happening in almost all areas with ease.

The faith and trust that the government of the state has reposed in me is not at all an easy head load. The pressure for deliverance is mind boggling yet the positive and friendly vibes that emanate from almost all sections of the Vallabh Bhawan have ensured that no even an iota of tension is in the air. Heavy pressure but no tension and too much on the plate is perhaps a utopian scenario in a sarkari environment.

The state is indeed not only the heart but also the heartbeat of the nation. Almost in the centre of the nation with ease of access, moderate climate, beautiful landscape, simple people and an amazing variety and richness of tourist destinations, all go to make this state the essence of the republic. The job that way is relatively simple. The richness has to be showcased, basic infrastructure put in place, craft culture and cuisine packaged and showcased, events created and packaged, private sector facilitated to put in place tourist infrastructure, information widely and efficiently disseminated and above all professionalizing the state run tourism corporation, handling which is my primary charge.

And all this would be possible. After all a beautiful state that is so well governed besides being headed by an individual who has concern for human values at the core of his heart, has to excel in the business of tourism.

I also now realize that far more important than mere showcasing that most of the leading states are indulging in, is the need to put right things at the ground level. And this is where the state of Madhya Pradesh stands out in almost all areas especially tourism where the works at the ground level have outpaced their showcasing. This has also resulted in a groundswell of support from the general public as they witnessed what they never had earlier – things changing for the better at a very rapid pace.

And this pace is now going to continue. And why not – when work becomes fun can excellence be far behind?  

Support Modi, Support India

For the first time in my life, on this independance day the feeling of pride and satisfaction surged through the heart with such intensity that Modi's address from the red fort today gave goosebumps all over the body. After all Modi is the first true leader that the nation has got since it came on its own. The first leader who having emerged from the ground has a ground connect and emotions, that in their wake encompass even the poorest of the power and the weakest of the weak, is indeed a sign of the good times to come.

His recent clarion call from the borders, laddakh to be exact – na khaaonga na khaane doonga had already set the tone for his address from the ramparts of the red fort and his impromptu speech, for the first time ever by a prime minister of the republic signaled changing times that most of us have been waiting for since the famous midnight tryst with destiny.

Major changes are turbulent and turbulence therefore is to be expected and accepted as an inescapable part of the process that would enable the nation to stand up and trot forward to occupy its rightful place in the comity of nations.

Abolition of the planning commission that had reduced planning to merely a bureaucratic farce and its replacement by a creative body that would search out of the box for innovative solutions to all that plagues the nation says it all about his intent and thought process. His call in support of the girl child speaks volumes about his concern for and genuine love for humanity.  And his clarion call to the populace to emerge out of concern for the self, rise above “mera kya, mujhe kya”  is indicative of his deep rooted desire for a national movement for a grand revival of the sleeping republic.

Modi spoke about cleanliness, his vision for a clean India and the beginning of a national movement on the next birth anniversary of the father of the nation, who throughout his life stressed that cleanliness is godliness. He spoke about ensuring that every ho se has a toilet and every citizen has a bank account. He exhorted the members of parliament to use their funds to lift villages out of the morass and convert them into model villages. All great thoughts yet simple, in tune with his vision of providing a simple yet effective governance. 

And therefore it is time that the entire army of a hundred and twenty crores steps forward in his support. Yet the only way the support would be worth its while would be when all of us adopt and practice his ideas to the hilt. Merely uttering the support word would not do. Our concern for the self has to be replaced by a burning desire to do something for the nation, irrespective of the price one will have to pay.

After all as history has shown time and again that nation building never comes cheap. And this address from the core of the heart of a true nationalist gives hope, plenty of it.

Jai Hind.

Love not Pride

Being an Indian, I love India but do not take pride in it.
Being a railwayman, I love Indian Railways but do not take pride in it.
How can I take pride in my country, that is interlaced with poverty and rampant corruption. A country that even after 60 years of independance has failed to provide even the most basic necessities to its citizens. A country that ranks high on the corruption index but very low on the human development index. A country that is almost at the bottom of the list of nations and perhaps ranks marginally above its even more lowly placed neighbors.
How can I take pride in my railways that has sacrificed deliverance for rules and procedures. Rules and procedures that do not facilitate, but obstruct deliverance. A railway that is least concerned with HR, a system that makes any development a monumental task, a set of officers who have and apply only negative powers, whose focus is only self gratification, not welfare of the men at large.
Love yes but pride no. Love is there for anything that is close to the heart. Pride can only be for excellence, not for rot, howsoever close to the heart it may be.

Sycophant Prayers

Why do people pray? The mighty and the weak, the corrupt and the honest, the powerful and the powerless, the rich and the poor, almost all of them say their prayers regularly and I wonder why? It is not that I am an atheist, I firmly believe in God and also in the philosophy that all that is happening on planet earth is his bidding.

I witness bureaucrats cringing before senior bureaucrats, senior bureaucrats cringing before ministers and politicians, the poor before the rich, the rich before the men in power and the super rich before the super powers. And all this cringing and placating is almost in the form of a prayer, though not from the heart. It is for gains, personal in nature like a favor, position, materialistic gains or power. Basically we are all trying to curry favors by praying to others.

Carrying the same argument forward, I often wonder, whether our daily prayers to the almighty also fall in the same category – an attempt to please by cringing and placating. I always believed that what the almighty expects from us is compassion, love for the life species and to be a genuine human being. If God could be moved by the cringing and placating in the form of a prayer and then if he bestows what is desired by the applicant, then he cannot be God; he has to be a human being. If he is really God after all, then all the cringing and placating in the form of prayer or other rituals would not have any effect and blessings would be bestowed by him on only one criterion, the “Karma” of the applicant.

I have since stopped praying, except for a weekly darshan of Hanumanji and now the only attempt and desire is to be a good human being.