Maldives and the Tsunami

Loads had have been written about the 2004 Asian Tsunami or the Boxing Day Tsunami, yet when December comes by; it hark back of been in the most fragile place on earth in the face of disaster. It may be ‘ the last paradise on earth’ but these archipelago of 2000 odd islands in the middle of Indian ocean is "the last place on earth" you ought to be when Tsunami strikes.

Sunday being the first working day of this, hundred percent Muslim nation, I walked down from third floor to the second landing to see my friend on the way to work. The flight scheduler already in his navy trouser and flapped white shirt, strugglng to buckle his belt followed up with spraying , combination of perfumes disguising the brand, superstitious character spoke how he was thrown off the bed previous night, only to wake up on the floor. I thought may be this is what happens when you jump the species barrier from Scotch to vodka on the same night.

The street looks sluggish, strolling down the lane trying to beat the Sunday greens,( I suppose, can use that way as well) resorted to the comfort of my little office, no signs of life in the hotel even, not ready to talk business though, my wife' alerted me that the street in front of our home is water logged and springs appearing out of  manholes, playing it down, left my comfort zone straight to the lobby area, we are right in the main street and the paved roads look dry as ever. Expecting a good breakfast may bring some good tidings.

Our sixth floor restaurant is one of the much sought after point to feel the pulse of Male’ the capital of Maldives, a good view of the air crafts climb and descend, ships cruising round the island to berth across, holding for their turns to enter harbor, ferries that leave the jetty can be tracked till it enters the break waters of airport. This compact capital city is all about two and half square mile radius.

It’s a coincidence that I have been sitting on this piece of write up for weeks now and today the news break about the Samoa Tsunami, again a fragile land in the middle of the vast ocean.

Male’ pronounced as Ma-ley is just two kilometers away from the International airport which is set exclusively on an island connected with frequent ferries of ten minutes ride. One of the highlights of visit to Maldives is its airport itself and if you are fluky enough to be on a window seat on your way in to Maldives, the admiration starts from the first signs of descend of the aircraft, nowhere to see signs of a city, the aircraft sheds its altitude in the middle of Indian ocean with round tiny green patches all around and you see only sea even into the final approach many prefer to close eyes rather than watching the heavy jet flying in to water.

The view from cockpit is altogether different though, in the final approach it resembles of landing on a sunken aircraft carrier with only its runway floating barely above the sea. A single runway, bigger aircraft wings stretching almost to the boundaries on both ends, caters to all type of air crafts, AN’s, Hercules, 747 , 777, Amphibians last but not least few choppers. A water aerodrome adjacent is the home of the largest fleet of float planes in the world which was accessed earlier by crossing the main runway.

I have been in the balcony for few minutes now looking at the calm ocean and the busy activities in and around it, my attention got the better of a hysteric movement in the jetty, boats were swaying, crew jumping out and trying to control the boats from banging each other, all lasted only for a couple of minutes and every body look surprised. Before making it out what was that all about, another round of hectic activity this time crews jumping on to the boats and started sailing out of the jetty into the deep ocean , totally awestruck and to my horror the jetty started to drain out, the sea rolling back like a wave of defeated army. The sea came back with vengeance filling the empty jetty and overflowing in to the land, looking towards my left to the main street I saw water gushing in like a Spielberg movie, past the red traffic lights with motorbikes floating on it. What I never knew until then was that the island was already invaded by sea from many sides and I was watching the last bout of action.

News started coming in of the Indonesian earthquake and the tsunami, Few seaplanes hovering above the airport. I decided to move up to the tenth floor terrace for a better view, only to realize the airport is submerged under the water the main exit point of Maldives to outer world.

The float markings and wooden floats of water aerodrome are floating with the tide in the deep ocean. One seaplane came down in the middle of the sea, the aircraft which is built to land in lagoons is taking the brunt of the high sea but low in fuel that was the only option left for the crew. The airport was in Shambles, Sea playing havoc with the runway, buses and trucks floating around it, its hard to differentiate between the sea and run way. Then came the domestic flight a Donier 225 flown past very low over the airport, crew taking a good look at the runway, nowhere to go they came for the second approach seems to be a missed one again most probably they can’t make out where the runway begins, this time they came flying high almost in to the middle of suppose to be runway then just nosedived only to straighten up the aircraft in the last few seconds making sure he hits the runway and not the shallow waters of the lagoon..

Water came into Maldives islands from all sides and there is no place to escape other than the vertical lift. In many faraway islands water erased the hard work of many lifetimes dumping everything back into the sea including precious lives. The streets were full of dead fishes, boats sitting on streets and vehicles in Sea. People look stunned by the onslaught of the sea which was their playground until then. This tiny island nation barely above the sea level taken the brunt of the sea in its full might and the communications were cut off between its islands. It’s a revelation that not only the sea level rise blamed on green house gases is the only threat to the low lying lands. The absence of a functioning runway and the sheer location made it impossible for help to arrive immediately. The talk of a place in the backyard of Australia or elsewhere for this Island nation emerged again. The optimistic few believe these beautiful islands which existed for centuries will overcome the test of time.

Aftershocks:
On the day of Tsunami the foreign Ministry phone kept on ringing, an early morning office cleaner found it unusual for the phone to ring so desperately, hesitantly he picked up to inform the caller that the office is not open yet. The caller was in no way to let the cleaner drop the phone he mentioned about some American department and not much time left, Tsunami may reach Maldives in the next one hour or so, ask the ministry to make the necessary arrangements immediately. And when the Tsunami struck the airport island there was a placard floating on the water which read "welcome Mr. Tsunami".

The Maldives governments every child swim campaign was a great success but Tsunami thought them another lesson swimming alone is not enough. A minister went on records saying we should start every child climb program immediately sighting the number of people who saved themselves climbing on to coconut trees

West Bound Confused Deshi's

West born or educated personalities in Indian politics and corporate sector is a norm these days, a clear sign of residue of colonial era still in our blood vessels. When Lord Macaulay decoded, the only way to conquer the 5000 year civilized Indian, making him inferior to west, even he may not have expected to haunt India in the 21st century.

What can be the basis of our fascination to the western ways, or is it quiet natural one! The answer may lies in the social, geographical and cultural back drop of these two races. There is always two different ways of seeing the same thing, one from your heart and other through the brain, when u say heart and brain it’s like trust and distrust.

Its evident Indian culture has more to do with the heart than the brain, always willing to welcome strangers and accept them as their valuable guest. On the other hand west was always skeptical they never talked to anyone without a reason or they never accepted a person for their looks, family or behavior. Being said that it’s appropriate to examine the reasons of such a western attitude.

Unlike India, west never had the liberty to be complacent, lack of natural resources and the farthest climatic conditions made them to be more precise, organized and methodical. They overcome the challenges by the nature, conquered the seas, but again eroding spirituality made them more rational in approach. While the dependent west tried to craft, Self-reliant India being spiritually contemplated believed in destiny.

The fascination may have been mutual, we value the western expertise in technological, scientific and political approach in day to day life, same time they value the cultural and intellectual side of the Indians. Though it may be said the west was only instrumental in refining and putting systems in place with the knowledge and expertise they extracted from the lengths and breadths of the world.

If that’s the case why so many western born and educated Indians are utter confused about themselves, the soul searching gives a gut feeling that; ‘they never learned what they were suppose to learn’. Instead of acquiring the western expertise and retaining the Indian culture, they conjured the western culture hanging on to Indian expertise.

Though we may have accepted and felt inferior to a westerner by choice the west bound confused Indian is demanding to respect and acknowledge him for just being west bound. On the other hand a good integer of erudite Indians who made their foot prints all over the globe with the best of both worlds is a rare distinction.

With the incursion of west bound confused Indians offloading the western culture to the Indians, there is a stark contrast in a good number of westerners who captivated at the essence of India upholding the best of the west.

There Is a Danger in Party Going Down the Drain

Communism in Kerala terrain has always been a different ball game even when electing a communist government through democratic means. The ideology and ism of all communist greats are there to a large extent but raison d'être for the augmentation of party in the state should go to the early communist leaders. The persona of those leaders, fascinated all class of people from peasants to intellectuals. Presently the most endangered species in Kerala.

The organizational structure and ability to analysis major issues after careful revision was one of the focal factors that the party stood high above the other echoers in the early days. A world of information was readily available among the well read and vastly travelled leaders willing to discuss and debate. Life ironed out in struggle for their cause was never acquisitive in nature, qualities that the intellectual Keralite took to the heart and nurtured as communism.

The good governance of the leftist governments, stand against corruption and down to earth life style of leadrs made the value soaring high. A force to reckon with, in plugging communal ideologies flourishing in the state , earned loads of party sympathizers, the main contibution for electoral success. Even then the clout that kept through contradictory ideologies to appease the comrades and sympathizers alike made it look like a party of hidden agendas. Unwillingness of sympathizers to enroll as party members owing to their spiritual nature had been a detractor for the rapid growth of this ideology.

The change of guard in party leadership brought sweeping changes. The leaders who came to the fore through the SFI revolution, spending large amount of their life in the street destroying public properties has nothing much to offer for the party sympathizers. Expectations on the strong contingents turned out in SFI street strikes to become party members were a futile thought. For many SFI was a platform for their misadventures irrespective of their ideological beliefs. The new generation leaders managed to dominate the entire party system but always faltered at the final hurdle. Even then, more than life personalities of few veteran leaders ensured that the party going strong in the face of all troubles.

Innovation of young guns saw party departing from co-operative and public enterprise structure and entering capitalist structure on business of profits. Meantime desperate to widen the voter base attempts were made to compromise with long time foes, only to be defused by pre emptied strike of a veteran communist. The decisive blow came when the comrades and people of Kerala forced the party to rework its decision of not to field his veteran leader in the 2006 assembly elections and rest is history.

The Parliament elections of 2009 saw further depletion on long standing policies, joining elements of communal factors and state secretary named in corruption scandal by India’s premier investigation agency, added to the misery. The handling of educational policies and the public confrontation with communities who plays an active role in the educational sector made more enemies than expected. The interference in such matters by all cadres without a coordinated effort exposed the indiscipline rooting in the party.

The national leadership, the weakest link in the whole party infrastructure is wrestling to infuse some life into the party system. Rubbing salt to the wounds INC became more organized and disciplined and managed up to an extent in positioning themselves as saviors of the down trodden.

Since the question of god saving the party doesn’t arise, the leaders have to set aside their egos and personal agendas and come forward to walk in the path of the great leaders of yester years realizing Kerala needs a stronger party.

Does Dr.Tharoor make a difference to people it matters

The focus has shifted from the laid back capital of Kerala to Delhi where well thought-out shots were called for one of the fastest developing countries in the world. The one who represents the people of Trivandrum Dr. Tharoor is not just a parliamentarian furthermore he is entrusted with running the great nations foreign policy. A job which he will excel given his experience and exposure in the international arena along with his high caliber personality, nevertheless India's foreign policy is expected to be in the same lines of his predecessors. As the Minister of State for Foreign affairs he is the best bet to portray the image of a continued Indian renaissance.

All may be well for him in the Delhi front, but does he giving the right significance to the people who matters in Trivandrum. A section of Trivandrum voters may be content by their MP's credentials, they may have ample things to talk about and great visions from transforming the City into a seat of world class education, the south east Asia's biggest sea port and other developments in tandem with Indias' global emergence.

The Trivandrum parliament constituency has a coastal stretch where the most hapless people in Trivandrum lives, many short of basic living conditions and no access to proper schooling or health services. The biggest development happens in these area is just dumping of rocks as sea barriers in the monsson season, when the sea make inroads to land. These backward fishing hamlets has not seen any development for many years now, the coastal roads, children parks and schools may be the worst in Kerala. Not to mention about sanitation and safe drinking water, they use outdated fishing equipments and out landish technologies, it may be a disparity that the renowned Indian space research organisation also lies in the same coastal stretch. These people are exploited by the politicians knowing their volatile and humane nature, Its sad to see they are left to fringes to suffer because of the difficult situations prevail in these areas.

A proven techno craft he may on his way to be a great statesmen, but we are yet to see the humanitarian commitment towards underprivileged from this former Under Secretary General of United Nations.

The London Snow of 2009 Thru the Lens

Trivandrum In Indian Parliament

The emergence of flamboyant former under secretary General of United Nations as a candidate in parliamentary elections from the state capital of Kerala, creats new dimensions in Indian Politics. Bringing eminent technocrats to main stream politics was tried and tested by PV Narasimha Rao and the result was a prime minister arguably the best qualified in the world, in Manmohan Singh. and not to forget the failure of Krishna Kumar IAS initiated by K Karunakaran

Mr. Tharoor makes undoubtedly an automatic choice for any value based voter and there is no question of his abilities and qualities to represent the people of Trivandrum. Being said that, the contradiction between him and his supporters are very much evident. In Tharoors' own words :
"To represent the great citizens of this wonderful city would be an honour, but it is more important for Thiruvananthapuram's own sake that the people study all the candidates and vote for the person who can help them the most to improve their daily lives." but isn't it a shame that Sonia Gandhi was not been able to find a eminent personality from these great citizens of Thiruvananthapuram who understands the socio-economic situation of the place better than Mr. Tharoor. Indian National congress represented Thiruvananthapuram constituency for the maximum number of times , a walk over on many occasions and still Thiruvananthapuram stands as the least developed state capital.

One argument is that Tharoor came to politics for his desire to serve the people of Thiruvananthapuram and India as a whole. though I do not doubt his intentions, I should say his first preference was always United Nations and not Indian Politics and whatever he say for his decision to contest from Trivandrum, the congress had already counted their chicks for their high profile candidate with traditional vote bank among the poorest of poor, congress stands a good chance with Sashi Tharoor who can attract votes from sections of other class.

A section of middle and upper middle class who left for green pastures across the globe or well settled in Thiruvananthapuram , believes Tharoor is the answer to all the problems of Thiruvananthapuram. or are they looking for a statuesque MP to be proud off. They say they are tired of blood sucking politicians who haven't done any thing good, but Tharoor says he is impressed by the developments in Kerala which was closely watched by him during his years in UN and he have high regards to many areas of development. Being a party men reporting to the high command how can one expect the attitude of INC towards Thiruvananthapuram change overnight because of Tharoor. Don't forget the farce the congress created when K Karunakaran contested and the promise Thiruvananthapuram will change for ever.


Thiruvananthapuram may boast of many things from the seat of Rocket Science to first IT park in India but where does the laymen stand !! the coastal and rural areas of Thiruvananthapuram are the least developed,we still depend other states for our vegetable and rice, the fisher men still use tied up woods to go for fishing in the high seas, forget about the GPS,Public transport is in shambles non existent other than KSRTC buses and Indian Railways, which is not dependable for the Trivandrum commuters, drainage is a mystery yet to be resolved, there are people who don't have access to toilets and housing. In quest to catch up with the world in IT, Aviation, Tourism etc... we forgot to develop our basic infrastructure... we cannot shy away from those responsibilities....when we managed three International airports in Kerala, and that too one with the help of NRI's we just ignored the need for a proper transport system connecting the rail, road and waterways of KERALA... our priorities were not right....and every time we used politicians as a dart board for our mistakes.

The need of the hour for Thiruvananthapuram is a savior to develop the basic infrastructure of the city before anything else, it may be the corporation, the state, the center or all of them together.

Shashi Tharoor deserves to be the MP of Thiruvananthapuram, But I won't be surprised if he loses because of what the party he represents has not done for Thiruvananthapuram all these years.