18? Roger that!

18!
He makes it to the grand slam title after 5 years of excruciating wait. For a 'die-hard' Federer fan, it's unexplainable.
At the outset, I am a fan of Roger Federer. Tennis is just incidental. If he'd be playing Kabaddi or Horse Polo, I'd have watched him with same interest. Why? Because he personifies every single quality that I look up to.
Nadal has brute power, Federer has perseverance. Sampras was a winner, Federer is a champion. If Djokovic has youth, Federer has vigour. If Wawrinka has strong forehand-backhand, Federer has technique. You name a 'thing' in tennis and he has it.
For an Indian cricket fan, I can describe him like this. Think of Sachin's perfection, Dravid's patience and elegance and Ganguly's aggressiveness. If you combine all of it and transfer to tennis court, you get Roger Federer.

I have seen almost all his matches. Either live or on later on repeat mode thereafter. I have seen countless videos made by fans. I Have seen him win, loose, cry, agonise, shout, smile and take it all. He has crafted the golden age and seen the worse times of his career.

2012 Centre court. He defeated Andy Murray to clinch 17th slam title. Lost to him at the same court in Olympics just a few weeks later. Since then he has been in numerous finals. Lost to those people who have grown up looking up to him. And every time he lost for one or the other reason. People
Had started talking about the retirement. The obvious discussions on impact of his age on the performance began brewing from bars to coffee shops to board rooms. But he didn't blink. He didn't say or even reply to the critics. I remember him last year. He was confidently saying," I have lot of tennis left in me. And I'll continue to play till I feel like".

Today he stands on a milestone. Till yesterday his records were unbeatable, today he becomes invincible. The thrill of 5 setter match, the 26 shot rally in last set was just characteristic Nadal Federer tennis. He lost the service to Nadal in first game of fifth set. Tried desperately to save it but lost. Then tried desperately to break Nadal's serve for next 2 games. Eventually got it in the 6th game and just went on from that point. Watching it so intently, one could have felt what exactly the players were going through. I agree with the commentator who said that Tennis is therefor the biggest reality TV show. When both the players are of equal match, it becomes a game of wits. The psychological thriller. Who caves in first. Who comes back quickly after loosing and that too quickly enough. This match will surely be recorded as one of the legendary matches of all times.

Though I like Rafa, the admiration for Roger blinds me beyond reason. I hate him for beating Federer so many times. But he played superbly tonight. Roger recognised it saying he would have loved to share the trophy with him if he could. Their on court rivalry is intense and so if off court friendship. They have enormous respect for each other's game and person. Federer in fact went for the opening of Nadal's tennis academy.
Tonight the Federer fans will be on jubiliant after 5 years.
And it's just the beginning of the season. Wimbledon is yet to come! 

Canadian Diaries: Part 2

This is the second part of my experience sharing about governance in Canada during an official visit this year. At the outset, a big thanks for the encouraging feedback to the first article. Those who wish to read the article; you can visit my blog as well. (The First Part )
In this part, I will be dealing more with governance. So brace yourself for some statistical bombardment.

One of the important governance characteristics in Canada is federalism and relative autonomy of the institutions. This stems necessarily out of fiscal independence.

We found that that for Toronto city income from their own savings is more than the grants from Provincial/Federal government. That’s true financial independence. States and Centre largely dictate Indian municipal institutions, because they grant substantial funds. For the municipal bodies in Canada, one-third income comes from Property tax. In Mumbai, it is less than 10%. It is low in Mumbai due lack of proper records and valuation. Also to put things in comparative sense, BMC has 10 times more population to cater to than Toronto. Toronto’s capital budget is whopping $110 Billion, while the budget is only $10 Billion for Mumbai. Development charges, i.e. appropriated during construction of a private project are coming up as the new source of revenue in most municipalities in Canada. In India, we need to provide affordable housing to all. Thus such moves would be unwise.

One notable feature of all the levels of governance in Canada is the amazing level of self-awareness. They have up to date and precise database and models to use that data for public policy. The stress is on having good quality data, which often is collected and/or corroborated by private entities. In India, quality of data is questionable to say the least. Municipal data is often old and thus unreliable. Even the critical data regarding IIP and GDP figures has been doing rounds of controversy lately.

The cities typically adopt 1-year operating budget, 2-year outlook and 10-year capital budget and plan accordingly. They must balance the budget i.e. the operating expenditure (like revenue expenditure in India) must be met through operating income alone. The Municipality can’t borrow for the same. Also, debt payment is through operating budget. This automatically ensures zero revenue deficit. And the borrowings are only for capital purposes. This indeed is a good provision to reduce what economists call Wasteful expenditure. Municipal bonds are issued and traded at national level. Public participation is also encouraged in budget process through the town hall meetings and citywide consultations.

One good part was availability of skilled manpower even down to municipal levels. The bureaucracy in Canada is different from India. There is no statutory civil service except Foreign Service. The hiring policies of government are analogous to the private sector. Thus there are no “Permanent” bureaucrats sitting over files. That makes the talent pool dynamic. The mayor can hire and fire anyone needed without prolonged legal proceedings. This means the employees have to work hard to keep their jobs and stay accountable to people (!) India has huge bureaucratic setup (to which I belong!). But Canada has more public service officer per thousand’ population than India does. So it’s not the size, but the attitude. The ‘Red Tape’ bureaucratic mentality in India is the obstacle to service delivery and development.

Western nations developed their governments on the liberal philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Thus the State is considered to be a necessary evil. Thus it needs to be kept minimal. In economic arena, it is believed that money is better off with people than government. The executive really has to fight tooth and nail to get money sanctioned from legislature. And the legislators are reluctant to increase any tax. Despite this, average family in Ontario pays around $40,000 in taxes. (In rupees, that comes to 20 Lakh!). Half of it goes to the federal level, around 35% at the provincial level and remaining at the municipal levels. The tax burden eats up almost half the family income; still people are willing to pay taxes because they can see their tax dollars being put to good use.

As pointed out in last article, focus of governance in Canada is more on quality and efficient service delivery. They go extra mile to make sure it happens. Construction work on road will have warning boards 10 miles before the actual site. The workers will repeatedly apologize for any inconvenience caused due to them. While the article was being published, Indian railways changed the pricing for Premium category towards the ‘Congestion pricing’ model. The decision was criticized as ‘against poor’. In Canada, user fee automatically gets inflation adjusted. It’s a routine matter and not a policy decision.

Canadian or rather American lifestyle is of exuberance. Use-and –throw-shopping styles generate excessive amount of garbage. But we never came across one place in Toronto that was dirty and stinky. The municipalities spend more than a third of their capital budget on solid waste management.

Another important aspect in municipal and presumably national governance too, is asset management. There is dedicated depreciation expenditure kept aside. The philosophy is to maintain the asset regularly, spending sufficiently high to extend its lifecycle considerably. Municipalities have to design asset management plans and set aside funds for that.

Western economies take urbanization very seriously and focus on urban governance. The idea that every city has its own soul is always kept in mind while planning. Thus fiscal prudence doesn’t come in way of cherishing beauty. There are curious depictions of human brain around the Toronto City hall.

We had a chance to meet the Member of Provincial Parliament (like State Legislature) of Ontario, Mr. Vick Dhillon. As the name suggests, he’s of Indian descent, migrated to Canada as a kid with parents and joined politics after student life. He was visibly proud of being a Canadian now. His experiences of working with community, helping Indian community assimilate in mainstream are noteworthy. The Canadian PM Justin Trudeau was famously quoted saying that he has more ‘Sikhs’ in his cabinet than his Indian counterpart! It shows the multiculturalism of Canada reflecting in its Polity.

An important aspect of governance in Canada is the importance of traditions and norms. In democracies, the rules and regulations are necessary to ensure fair and balance procedure. But the governance runs on the lines norms more than the procedures. GST bill was passed in Indian Parliament in the last session. There were many backchannel discussions, negotiations between ruling and opposition parties. Eventually Govt. was able to bring everyone board. These informal devices are much more established in Canada. The political parties have Provincial and Federal units, which do not need to have exact policy positions. They can and do differ on various matters. Such differences are resolved largely amicably. In some of the provinces, there are Regional Councils that are made up of several municipalities together. Ex: York Region Council. That’s an additional layer, additional bureaucracy and naturally additional areas of conflicts. But the impression we gathered showed to amicable resolutions through the norms.

Just like any other societies, Canada also faces problems of bad governance and malpractices. The legends of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford are too popular to be repeated here. (Those who don’t know, Google him along with John Stewart). The audit of Pan Am games held this year showed that expenditure had overshot the sanctioned amount by whopping $342 Million. The problems exist, just the magnitude and aftermath differs.

Being a vibrant democracy Canadians debate just like us. I saw the debate on changing the main fighter plane for Canadian Air Force. We also saw a protest in Montreal. Frankly, there were more police than protestors. Protestors were college students and they were behaving as if it’s a picnic.

Canadians seemed genuinely worried about a particular Presidential candidate in their southern neighbor. But they aren’t planning to construct a wall (As of now!) Canada has been wholeheartedly welcoming the refugees and from Syria too. It is easy to talk big. It was particularly heart warming to see different Municipalities and Provinces actually incorporating the needs of the migrants and keeping resources aside for them. They are coming up with ideas to bring the migrants to mainstream society and economy!

A beautiful example of cooperation among citizens is the underground pedestrian walkway in Toronto. The skyscrapers in busy Downtown area had their own undergrounds, which later were connected to each other. It serves an important purpose in winter when temperature outside drops to negative. The PATH as it is called connects 25 buildings, spans more than 30Kms and has whole array of shops from high-end suiting to barbers. They open at office time and close in the evening. So an executive working to meet deadline doesn’t even need to see the sunlight as long he/she wishes.

To sum it up, we have lot many things to learn from Canada ranging from solid waste handling to Asset management. The visit was indeed an eye opener in many perspectives. A significant part of our training was to learn about the Accrual Accounting in place of Cash Based Accounting. I haven’t talked about that here because it is very much technical and I wasn’t sure reader would be much interested in it.

In the last and concluding part, I’ll discuss my observations about the people, lifestyle and culture. See you here in next blog post!

Canadian Diaries (Part 1)

I recently got a chance to visit Canada as part of International attachment through the National Institute of Financial Management. This article is part of the series to share my experiences about governance system in Canada. At the outset I would like to thank NIFM, my academy National Institute of Communication Finance and the Government of India for giving us the opportunity.

At the York Region Council

We have a faint idea about Canada. Usually, it’s in connection with number of Punjabis there (!) Compared to its southern neighbor, Canada is peaceful, its not embroiled in continuous wars and plays a rather marginal role in global politics beyond the Pacific-Atlantic circle. Both our nations were under same colonial rulers (though under very different circumstances). We have similar governance structures and that was the core reason for our study tour, i.e. to get the feel of one of the leading government system in the western world.

The first impression of Canada being more than what we know was midair. Air Canada announcements were being carried out in both English and French. I did not know about a significant French speaking population in the Canada, and the history attached with it. Suddenly then the French sounding names of cities in Canada; Montreal, Quebec started make sense. French speaking population dominates half part of eastern Canada, north of Ottawa River.

I won’t discuss the history of French-English conflict in Canada here. But the Canadians have developed bilingual framework for governance. There are many posts in government for which ‘Professional fluency in both English and French’ is required. The difference in French and English dominated areas is evident in economy and administration as well. But they have managed to rise above that.

The next impression of Canada is that of vastness. The country is just huge. Being a developed economy, there are expansive roads, bridges, rail lines and the entire infrastructure. But the visitors keep having question, “Where are the people?”

            For an eye trained at Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai to witness the sea of humanity, Canada feels like an alien planet. To put it in perspective, entire Canadian population is 33 million. Extrapolate that to India, and you will not be able to fill Mumbai and Delhi, whose combined population is 40 million! Total India is 1250 Million!

Though the strategies of governance are different, the core principles remain. And there were more than a few things to learn during the attachment.

The orientation of governance in Canada is citizen centric. So the systems are designed taking into consideration ease of the citizens. At every level, ‘ease of doing business with the government’ is top priority. The receptionists are well trained; they direct you to appropriate officer. There are carry home leaflets about the works done at the office and about the local administration including Local transport. Airports have a simple machine with ‘emoji’ inspired buttons asking ‘How are you feeling today about the airport? The options vary from worse to excellent. They are regularly monitored to get a real time feedback. It’s simple and effective instrument. In India, we have a system of Citizen Charters, but not implemented well enough to bring ease for common man. We certainly need to improve that.

The difference in service delivery between India and Canada is stark. It has to do with the resource availability, population to be served and the difference of needs. It’s very easy to go to a developed country, be mesmerized, compare it with India and paint a bleak picture of home. We need to understand that India and Canada stand at different places in the time quadrant of governance. Canada has been evolving since Industrial revolution. India was ‘drained of its wealth’ for 150 years which became capital for development of colonial economies, which in turn improved the governance. All the nations in west adopted democracy as the need and offshoot to protect capitalism. We Indians adopted and have cherished democracy as a way of life. So the difference in performance is going to be there. Again, this can’t be the reason for the inadequacies or complacency. The point I want to make is that the comparison should be a studied one, not simplistic.

Governance caters to the demands raised by citizens, which are dominated by their income structure. In India, we need to provide significant social assistance to the population and rightfully so. In Canada, the thrust is more upon effective service delivery even if it means higher tax burden. An average taxpayer in Canada ends up paying 50% of his/her income as tax from Municipal to Federal level. That naturally generates expectations, which are voiced much stronger. To substantiate:

The government response to a rich farmer in New Brunswick, who pays 50% of income as tax; and the government response to poor farmer living out of government subsidies in Bilaspur is going to be different, no matter what. It also doesn’t mean, Canada doesn’t have corruption. We have also seen the governance improvement analogous to increasing income levels in India as well.

Despite high taxes, Canadians don’t seem to complain because they can see the tax dollars being put to good use. And they derive the comfort out of it. In the financial district of Toronto, more than 85% people come to work through public transport. It’s a choice than compulsion, because the public transport is particularly efficient. On the flip side, it is a hard life for the lower income families. The cost of living in Canada is significantly high, even for the essential services. Those families are provided help in form of direct assistance. We couldn’t interact any of them in person, so I won't comment on the quality of help given to them.

Indian governance system was designed by an alien government that wanted to put in place a  ‘Steel frame’ to keep the population in check and extract as much gains possible. Naturally such a system is based on ‘Mistrust’. That’s why we have More of Government and Less of Governance. The Prime Minister has been candid about this, and we are now working to improve it. Canadians have evolved the system from the colonial to citizen centric, and the government trusts the people. Naturally transacting with government is very simple. No one needs to produce ‘Attested copies’ at every juncture or provide ridiculous amount of documentation for Passport. Plus, the efficient and integrated use of technology reduces the procedure even more. The simple example of this trust is: Passengers need to buy the tickets to show at Bus/Metro stations. It is a single ticket that one can use for journey across different platforms. The passengers are asked to show the tickets at very rare occasions. The bus driver assumes that everyone is following the rule, which the people actually do. It doesn't mean there are no freeloaders. But the majority follows the rule. And there are severe penalties on breaking the law. We saw a signboard saying penalty for drunken driving is $10,000 (Rupee equivalent is 5 Lakh). I actually came across a person who was charged and had to pay the fine. The amount so high, you can actually buy a car. That's a great lesson that, Rule of Law emerges out of the people following rules themselves, not imposed upon.

One more amusing fact of Canada is Her Majesty the Queen! The British Monarch is the official head of the state, even today. Almost all the foreigners and certainly Indians do ask this question, why? The answer often is, “Because it’s been there for a long time”. The British heritage love towards tradition (that even our system has) percolates deep into Canadian system as well. Nonetheless, Canadians just love her. Whenever she travels to Canada, she gets a jubilant welcome.

Canadian system is quasi federal, just like India. The Governor-General is equivalent to the President and the Provincial Governor to the Governor of a State. But the structure is more federal in comparison to India. To substantiate: Canadian Provincial Premier (i.e. Chief Ministers) suggests the name of the person to be appointed as Governor, who is then appointed by the PM. In India Governor’s role is often a matter of friction between Centre and State, who is appointed by the President on the recommendations of the Union Govt. One prominent reason for this federalism seems to be the relative financial independence of Provinces to the States. That is not to say all is smooth. There are points of friction and conflict in federal and provincial government. But for the maturity of centuries old system can resolve those disputes amicably.

To sum it up, Canada has a wonderful system of governance which is Citizen Centric and responsive. I have tried to set the tone of my observations in this post, specially the comparison with India. In the next part I would discus more about financial administration of Canada and the municipal governance. The concluding part will have observations about the people and culture.

See you in the next blog!

House of Cards : Season 3 review

"Did you think I'd forgotten you? Perhaps you hoped I had"

The chilling lines of Kevin Spacey's monologue from House of Cards (HoC). But the much awaited season 3 is a poor show and falls flat compared to the earlier seasons.

For those unaware of House of cards, a little introduction. Its a classic american politics series revolving around Congressman Frank J Underwood, the democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives in Congress. He has helped the President elect in a big way and thus is slated to become Secretary of State. But the President elect chooses someone else and Frank wows revenge. And thus begins a terrifying sequence of politics, maneuvering, outmaneuvering, murder and what not.
The core theme Frank believes in, is Ruthless Pragmatism. He goes to any extent to fulfill his goal. He is determined, resolute and cunning. He is supported/advised by his wife Clair Underwood. 
The first two seasons were known for the class of acting, direction and most importantly the story. It unfolds in unpredictable ways, just like real life. Frank scrambles hard and so do his rivals, with an intense suspense till the last episode.

While I try to review the season, I don't wish to play spoilsport. So, following observations might seem abstract without watching it. I hope they seem interesting after watching the series.

In the third season, unfortunately all of the above-said plus points seem to be lost. Firstly, the season doesn't have a logical story line and a definitive end. Its not necessary to have a definitive end always. But considering the nature and length of the series, one could have hoped for it. Worst, the end of season 3 is not only illogical, but its absurd. Come on! Clair is a/an/the integral part of Underwood's effort.

This seasons seems to be focusing on the human element of the characters. Whether power or despair, it drives them away from insane pragmatism. Remmy Danton, the new chief of staff (Yes!) and Doug Stamper, the earlier one behave in somewhat unexpected way. There has been disproportionate time given to the human relations, which shouldn't be a problem normally. But in this case, the focus eats into the theme way too much. Apart from the normal cast, one is left wondering, why is there an Author included.

The political maneuvering goes almost to the childish level. President Underwood has pinned all the hopes on a program called America Works. AmWorks, aims at dismantling the welfare regime and divert that money to create new jobs. Though radical, this one point focus on a policy keeps the politics at armature level. Frank tries desperately and frantically as always, but this time he seems miserable. Yes, he seems miserable. And that's something very difficult to digest. Franks bid for elections runs into the ground, and frankly it doesn't take off, at least in viewers eyes. 
Either this is a deliberate attempt to set ground for next season. Or more likely, the director has lost the focus. On the whole, one thing is sure. This season is lot less entertaining and gripping than earlier ones.
Tik. Tik.

In conversation with V Radha

After a tiring day at work, recently I got an amazing chance to interact with V Radha, Joint MD, CIDCO. (Well, there are perks of working in Chanakya Mandal!) I had just heard about her so far. As the DC Aurangabad, she was instrumental in bringing realistic solution to its chronic water problem. She helped revive a 30 year old tank, without a penny from government, only through the efforts of villagers. Its so evident that she had to face the ire of Tanker lobby and associated politicians. Then as BMC deputy commissioner, she unearthed a huge scam. She reported that only 40% of the the octroi was being collected by BMC, rest lost due to corruption. She is serving as Joint MD at CIDCO, rightfully so, when it is preparing land acquisition for New Mumbai Airport. The amount of land and money involved is staggering. Having an upright officer there will ensure proper use of public resources.

While I was discussing with her, she candidly mentioned about her study and what happened in the first and then second attempt. (A respite for commoners!) The year she was selected, she had the highest marks in Interviews. She cordially asked me about my preparation as well. 
The amazing thing I found, was her simplicity. In last 2 years, I have seen many people, whose ego shoots up 7 storeys high on getting selected. Despite the enormous media coverage, she seemed to be just another common man. Just look at the adjoining photo, where she stands rightmost. (I remember the great Malini Rajurkar, exceptional classical singer, known for such simplicity).
We talked about the upcoming project, how we can help her and lot more.
I asked her if I could share my frank observations with her, and she said "off course". The people of Navi Mumbai face a Resource Curse. The enormous money that they get from government due to land acquisition is often spent on luxuries, practically ruining any good chance of future. She was equally concerned about it. We discussed how we can get a success story out of PAP i.e. Project Affected Persons, to serve as example to others. If its possible, then choose the motivated students among them to get going first. Also focus on the girl students.
I saw an example in her worth writing and following. 
She told me about the work experiences. How the service makes you rather Alien - that a DC should play in clubs and meet the elites only and so on. She is known to interact with common people directly to understand their problems and seek solutions. Its worth guessing, whether any other officer, sitting in AC office would have accomplished, what she did in Aurangabad by involving the community. 
We discussed Swami Vivekananda, how he's an inspiration for her and me as well. She told me how she prayed to god even after coming from an atheist family. And i told her how i turned a little to god after 3 attempts, being a socialist-atheist despite coming from a religious family. We agreed that UPSC makes one turn to god. (Despite that being a whimsical exam. No Offence)
She was amazed looking at the Chanakya Mandal building, inaugerated by His Holiness Dalai Lama. 
Lastly, i was dumbstruck by the question she asked.
"So Mandar. Apart from work, how much time do you give for self study?"
Still searching the answer...

सांस्कृतिक भाडोत्रीपणा बंद करा !

महाराष्ट्र शासनाच्या ‘फर्मानशाही’ फडणवीस परंपरेची पुढील आवृत्ती म्हणजे सांस्कृतिक मंत्री रा. रा. विनोदजी तावडे यांचा नवीन आदेश. सर्व मल्टिप्लेक्सेसना ६/९ वाजता म्हणजे ‘प्राईम टाईम’चा वेळ मराठी चित्रपटांसाठी राखून ठेवावा लागणार आहे. सरकारच्या एका जुन्या आदेशाप्रमाणे सर्व वेळांमध्ये मराठी चित्रपट दाखवणे बंधनकारक असले तरी ६ वाजता, ९ वाजता गर्दी नसते ही सबब पुढे करून अनेक मल्टिप्लेक्स सिनेमा दाखवत नाहीत. त्यावर शासनाने या निर्णयाची कठोर अंमलबजावणी करायचे ठरवले आहे. 

            महाराष्ट्रात सांस्कृतिक उत्थानाची जबाबदारी ही इतर कोणाची नसल्याने मायबाप सरकारने ती स्वत:कडे घेतलेली आहे. त्यामुळे साहित्य संमेलने, नाटके, सिनेमे यांना जनतेच्या कष्टाच्या रकमेतून अनुदाने दिली जातात. या अनुदानांमधून निर्माण होणारे सिनेमे तद्दन भिकार दर्जाचे असतात, हे सर्वश्रुत आहे, शासनाच्या कृपेने हे थिल्लर सिनेमे मराठी रसिकांना बळजबरीने बघावे लागणार आहेत. मुळात भाषा/संस्कृती टिकवण्यासाठी कायदे व नियम करुन काहिही होत नाही हा गेल्या ६५ वर्षांचा इतिहास आहे. पण इतिहासातील चुकांपासुन शिकण्याएवढे शहाणे सरकार आपल्या नशिबात नाही. आणि स्वत:च्या हिमतीवर उत्तम सिनेमा बनवून तो प्रेक्षकांपर्यंत नेण्याची कुवत निर्माते-दिग्दर्शकांमध्ये नाही. म्हणून त्यांनाही सरकारी कुबड्यांची गरज पडते. 

सिनेमा ही कलाकृती आहे. त्याला एक कलामूल्य असते आणि एक व्यवसायमूल्य. दोन्हीही गोष्टी चित्रपट व्यवसायासाठी महत्त्वाच्या असतात. अप्रतिम कलाकृती असणारा बाबूजींचा (सुधीर फडके) ‘वीर सावरकर’ फारसे उत्पन्न मिळवू शकला नाही. पण कालपर्यंत पोनोग्राफीची स्टार सनी लिओनचे सिनेमे तुफान कमाई करतात. कला व व्यवसाय दोन्ही जपणारे अनेक सिनेमे या देशात तयार होत असतात. अगदी मराठीतील उत्कृष्ट उदाहरण म्हणजे बालगंधर्व किंवा देऊळ. अशा सिनेमांना मराठी रसिक गर्दी करतो देखील.

 मात्र ‘पहिली शेर, दुसरी सव्वाशेर, नवरा पावशेर’ किंवा ‘सालीने केला घोटाळा’ असल्या भिकार सिनेमांना प्रेक्षक बघायला येतील ही अपेक्षा का ठेवावी? आणि कुणासाठी? चित्रपट बनवणे, हा व्यवसाय आहे. तो व्यवसायासारखा चालावा. अकिरा कुरु सोवा, स्टिवन स्लिपबर्ग, शेखर कपूर यांनी कधी मंत्रालयाचे खेटे घातल्याचे ऐकिवात नाही. त्यांनी त्यांच्या पद्धतीने सिनेमे बनवले आणि व्यवसाय केला. ज्याला तो जमत असेल त्याने करावा, नसेल तर करू नये. सरकारने नियम करण्याची काहीही गरज नाही. सिनेमा चालला नाही म्हणून कधी कोण्या अभिनेता, अभिनेत्रीने आत्महत्या केलेली नाही. सरकारला एवढीच हौस असेल तर शेतकऱ्यांकडे (गाईंनंतर आता शेळ्या, मेंढ्यांकडे) लक्ष द्यावे. 

            मराठी भाषेचे संवर्धन सिनेमांमधून होऊ  शकते का? या प्रश्नाचं उत्तर निश्चितपणे हो असे आहे. पण त्यासाठी ती कलाकृती जागतिक, किमान राष्ट्रीय दर्जाची हवी. मराठी सिनेमा जागतिक दर्जाचा ठरतो तो ‘श्वास’, सिंहासन यांच्यामुळे’, ‘दे धक्का’, ‘उलाढाल’ यांच्यामुळे नाही. मराठी चित्रपटसृष्टी जागतिक दर्जाची आहे ती निळू फुले, जब्बार पटेल, अरुण सरनाईक आणि विजय तेंडुलकरांमुळे. आजच्या पिढीतील दात वेंगाडत, फालतू पटकथेवर अर्धवट नाचणाऱ्या नटांमुळे ना मराठी चित्रपटांचा विकास होतो ना मराठी भाषेचा. 

अलिकडच्या काळातील सिद्धार्थ जाधव, पंढरीनाथ कांबळे, संजय नार्वेकर, सई ताम्हणकर आदी मंडळींनी काढलेले सिनेमे प्रेक्षक सोडा, त्यांनी स्वत:देखील कसे पाहिले असतील, देव जाणे. शून्य विनोदमूल्य असणाऱ्या प्रसंगांना भडक स्वरूप देऊन स्वत:च हसणाऱ्या या नटांसाठी शासनाने एका अक्षराचीही मदत करण्याची गरज नाही. माजी मुख्यमंत्री पृथ्वीराज चव्हाण यांनीही या निर्णयावर टीका केली आहे. त्यांच्या काळातच हा नियम झाला असला तरी विरोधासाठी विरोध हे तत्त्व त्यांनी इमानेइतबारे पाळले आहे. मराठी निर्माते दिग्दर्शकांनी निर्णयाचे (अर्थातच!) स्वागत केले आहे. एकूणच काय, सांस्कृतिक भाडोत्रीपणाचे हे पुढचे पाऊल आहे!

The Fall and Fall and Fall of AAP

"Democracy", said Plato, "is the rule of ignorant fools." He could not have predicted better. The rise and fall and rise of Aam Adami Party is a strange phenomenon. But Indian democracy is deep and complex enough to breed (and withstand) such ridiculous ideas. It was democracy that led Hitler to power. Never mind. We are still on safer side of history.
In a rally opposing the Land ordinance, a farmer committed suicide yesterday. The shocking part was to see a farmer commit suicide in front of a huge gathering, who just stood by and did nothing. The poor fellow was hanging there for 23 minutes and no one came to support him. The worst part was Arvind Kejariwal (or HH  Arvind) continued his rally after the incident. That is sheer non sense.
Then AAP leaders go on wordily rampage. The Chief Minister has a famous excuse for every single issue. "Police is not under him."
Mahakavi, the Second Kalidas, His Literary Majesty Kumar Biswas asks, "Latak gaya?".
As if, one had to hang a banner. Oh yes. It has been hanged.
Ashutosh asked whether Kejriwal was supposed to climb up? (Oh yes. He was. The savior of Mankind. "AA Gaya hai dushman ko maranewala! HH Arvind!!!!!)
And Somnath Bharati said this was a conspiracy against AAP.

We are a nation of goddamn fools. Here is a Chief Minister - under whose watch the National Capital is supposed to run - oversees a suicide, later calling it conspiracy. If this is conspiracy, shame on you Brutus and Mark Antony. You are just in Junior KG.

P Chidambaram in a column had congratulated AAP on recent Delhi victory and had advised HH Arvind to focus on Delhi before going national. But ambition is like gravity. All you need is little push. Now he wants to be a contestant to next Lok Sabha elections. The brutal majority of 67/70 has not only clouded AAP's judgement, they are rapidly evolving into a 'Khap Panchayat'.
This AAP phenomenon is nothing but a bloated version of populism, stemming around a man, squarely incapable for the job. That, AAP is not a mature political party was proved when the rational voices within party were expelled. It goes a step forward now, proving Plato right at every corner.

Even 3 years after the formation, no one knows what is the ideology of AAP.
They do not stand for anything. They stand against everything.
It is nothing but extreme Populism. So, HH Arvind has hijacked 'Opposition to everything' from left and 'Rally on rally' from Congress. Rahul baba seems to have finally got the direction he wants to take his party to. But his way is no different than opposing every single item.

I am no Modi sympathizer or AAP hater. Its just plain analysis.
Modi is way too smart for these people. We need someone intelligent enough to keep check on his power. The strategies used by opposition have the same entertainment value that a joker in the circus has.

In this mess of political spectrum, AAP seems to be consistent in one thing. Make fool of oneself and stay in news. Do whatever it takes to stay in media.
The worst part is, people have to pay for it. In this case, India's democracy.

May the poor fellow find peace!