Who Will Be The Next Prime Minister..Guess?

Who Will Become Prime Minister of India ? It's a million dollar question and many poll pundits, astrologers are having their own predictions. I too have but I'm not any pundit or astrologer. I'm watching from the sidelines just as any other Indian but I dare to my neck out.

I believe that Indian politics is all set to enter into a new era/arena. Many permutations and combinations will be tried and very interseting combination will emerge.

The new government's model will be like the present UPA government. It will have a CEO type Prime Minister like Dr Manmohan Singh . He/She will have some administrative experience and will look after daily affairs of the government. And the political affairs will be looked after by certain group of political leaders (of different political parties, of course). I mean the role played by Sonia Gandhi in the incumbent UPA Government.

Yes, I'm serious. UPA model will be followed in the formation of new government also and it'll have two essential component - A CEO type Prime Minister and Separate Political Leadership.

In my last post, I beriefly about the candidates and projected Budhdhadeb Bhattacharya's name for Prime Minister. I still stand by it. But lot of friends ridiculed the idea and asked me the basis. Let me share it why?

Indian Politics is in the coalition politics era and not a single party is capable of getting absolute majority. Therefore, strong leaders have very weak chances of becoming Prime Minister. It is because they are capable of rooting out the politics of their opponents as well as their coalition partners. So consensus candidate would have to be essentialy a person who can not threaten the politics of any of the coalition partners. In other words, the most important quality of the next Prime Minister would be to be politically weak politician, having some administrative experience.

Let's analyse the candidature of our Political leaders :

Lal Krishna Advani : He is a declared PM candidate of NDA. But his chances are weak as he has always been presented by the BJP as a strong leader, even been compaired to Sardar Patel. And he has a past ghost of Hindutva, Ram Rath Yatra and Babri Masjid. So many parties are wary of him. He has always been taken as a hardliner and his attempts of projecting himself a moderate, consensus candidate has always failed. Take the example of Jinnah controversy, where quoting a speech of Md Ali Jinnah, taking middle grounds he wanted to say something. But he was fiercely opposed by his own party and party patriarch - RSS. Since then, Mr Advani several times tired to present himself as an acceptable leader, almost on the lines of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. But he always failed. In one of my friend's words, Vajpayee banne ki koshish me Advani Advani bhi nahi reh gaye . And it's true. At present, Advanijee looks like prime his past and he neither have the charisma nor the oratory skills of Vajpayee. Unlike Vajpayee, he failed to knit a coalition both the times - this time and even in 2004.

Advani's image as a hardliner, his failure to knit a coalition and his inability of not having the charisma and oratory skills are major factors against him.

Just take a look at the present day NDA - except INLD, AGP and RLD, none of the regional parties joined the NDA. And I would say that barring AGP, INLD and RLD are not capable of adding more than 6-7 seats in the NDA kitty.

Rahul Gandhi : Congress' crown prince Rahul Gandhi is not in the fray as his strategists understand that withouthaving 160+ seats, Rahul can not become Prime Minister or become a strong Prime Minister. Therefore projecting him would have had catatrophic effect on the future of the Congress.

Although, personally I want to see him as Prime Minister. Simply because he is fresh, young and our country needs fresh faces in our polity. However, he has a long way to go before he takes control of our nation.

Sonia Gandhi : She knows that she can not become Prime Minister as her Italian origin will always be used against her. The tag of Videshi will always be used against her. Suppose she becomes Prime Minister and some big crisis takes place .. it'll be said by her opponents - Dekha, Ham Keh Rahe the na, videshi Pradhaan Mantri hogi to aisa hi hoga.. etc etc . She knows it too well and therefore, waiting very patiently and working tirelessly to pave way for Rahul.

But I admire her because of the way she has carried herself since the demise of Rajeev Gandhi. Particularly in last five years. However admiration is one thing and taking over the top most chair of this country is other thing. It's useless to say that she has enjoyed much more power than the top job of the country.

After two main parties, let's move to other parties. Who wants to eb the next Prime Minister - Sharad Pawar, Mayawati, Mulayam, Lalu, Ramvilas, Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik, Chandrababu Naidu, Jayalalitha, Karunanidhi, Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechuri, H D Devegowda and my chice Budhdhadeb Bhattacharya. Let's discuss their chances :

Sharad Pawar : He is a very serious contender as he knows that this is his last election.

Abhi nahi to Kabhi nahi type situation is lingering infront of him. But he is too suave a politician to be supported and has a very strong base in Maharashtra. So even if he manages to get support of other parties, Congress will not accept his name. Because he can wipe out Congress in his domain Maharashtra and inside the state politics, he has shown it several times. And if Congress agrees to his name, it will be a deadly blow to Congress (if it dreams to return to power in future). Therefore, I rule him out.

Mayawati : She is riding on a very strong Dalit wave and had managed the support of upper cast in Uttar Pradesh. So she is a very Strong Leader in her domain and her party is very fast emerging as the third real national party. Therefore, with her brand of politics, she is capable of rooting out several leaders including Mulayam, Lalu, Ramvilas, to some extent even Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar, Chandrababu Naidu and politics of CPM/CPI. She is capable of emerging as true national leaders just like Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Atal Behari Vajpayee. So her strongness goes against her and therfore, I rule her out.

Mulayam : He is also a stong north Indian leader but he can't stand eye-to-eye with Mayawati and his chances in Uttar Pradesh are weak this time. He is not likely to get more than 16-17 seats and because I feel that Mayawati will play a vital role in the formation of new government, so I rule out his candidature.

But he is an unpredictable character and mind you, he is yet to get a cabinet berth in the central cabinet since the fall of United Front government. At the same time, he is out of Uttar Pradesh as well. Therfore, he desperately needs some power and for that he may settle for some ministerial verths.

Lalu : He is not going to have the same clout which he enjoyed in the UPA government. He is on a very weak and slippery wicket in his turf and unlikely to get more than 10 seats. Plus he has always been a strong politician (even after not having enough seats) and unlikely to be acceptable by Mayawati and Congress. It'll be a deadly blow to revival chances of Congress in Bihar, if his candidature is accepted. Plus he has several corruption cases pending in court and his non-seriousness also goes against him.

Ramvilas Paswan : He is a Dalit leader and can not be at the same platform where Mayawati is. Plus despite being in the central cabinet for most of his political career, he lacks pan India presence. Therefore, he can not be taken as a serious contender.

And he has no locus standii. He'll be part of the government, whether it is UPA, NDA or the so called Third Front. That much I'm sure.

Chandrababu Naidu : He is likely to make a comeback in Andhra Pradesh but chair of Prime Minister is still very far from him. He is hardly known in Hindi heartland and despite the fact that he is likely to get good number of seats (16-17 seats), he needs some special efforts to make himself acceptable. He is all set to emerge a very strong leader this tme and had a CEO type image also. But this time, he may have to contend with Andhra only. Pollings suggest that He is going to make a come back but will not get the absolute majority. So his first priority would be to set his own house in order. Also the fact that except H D Devegowda, none of the South Indian leaders have got to the chair of Prime Minister, goes against him. He'll need extraordinary efforts and support of the people to rule the Raisina Hill.

Jayalalitha : She is also likely to emerge as a very strong leader down south and is likely to get enough number of seats to make her Kingmaker. But she is and has always been at the odds with Centre's politics. So she may have to contend with large number of ministerial berth in the Central cabinet and would continue to play the role of Kingmaker.

Srilankan army's deadly assault on LTTE and V Prabhakaran can fetch votes for her and this will be enough to defeat Karunanidhi in the state electoral politics.

Karunanidhi : Odds are against him and he needs great luck to retain his tally of 14th Lok Sabha. Plus he always had a hate relationship with Jayalalitha, just like Mulayam-Mayawati. So in a government where Jayalalitha is set to play large role, his chances are almost zero. And his age is also against him.

A view is fast emerging in Tamilnadu that the UPA Government at the Centre is not doing any service to the caus eo fSrilankan Tamil's cause. This is working against him as he is one of the major allies of the Congress at the Centre. The Srilankan army's assault is taking aways his voters and would cause a big dent in his vote bank/seats.

H D Devegowda : He became Prime Minister by sheer luck and coincidence. This is unlikely to happen this time again. Odds are against him and unlikely to get more than 2-3 seats. Plus he has been cuaght napping in the Parliament and age is not on his side. So he can be a kingmaker, not the King himself.

At the most, he would settle for a ministerial berth for his son Kumaraswamy. But, at the same time, expect lots of hue-n-cry from him. That's for sure.

Nitish Kumar : He has very strong chances in Bihar this time and would get enough number of seats. But to become Prime Minister, he can not axe his roots. BJP's support is vital for him to run his government in Bihar. He seems to be prepairing for the 16th Lok Sabha and till then, he would prefer to wait for his number at the top.

Naveen Patnaik : He has emerged as a darkhorse by locking horns with the BJP. However, he has assembly elections to win and his first priority seems to be that only. The polling in Orissa indicate that he is not as comfortable as he was projected. The polling trends indicate that he has tough times ahead and he may need BJP support again to form the next state cabinet. This simply means that his first challenge would be to put his own house in order and therefore, he'll be forced to make a comeback in the NDA camp.

Prakash Karat : He is one man who has never faced a single election but has dominated the political space. His extreme ideological stand and a hardliner image are against him. None of the Indian leaders would have forgotten that even in 1996, he was the prime mover to unsettle Jyoti Basu. So consensus on his name is simply impossible.

At the same time, he is all set to lose his supremacy within the CPI(M). His party is going to lose Kerala and Bengal lobby is all set to over rule him. This simply means that the CPI(M) would join the government, despite the opposition of Prakash Karat. They are unlikely to repeat historical blunder once again.

Sitaram Yechuri : He has been projected as a liberal leader among the Left Parties but he is too young to be accepted as Prime Minister and his political background rules him out. But mind you, in all likelihood, he would join the Central cabinet. That's for sure.

So, if none of the above Third Front (minus Congress, minus BJP) are going to make it to Raisina Hill, on whom they will settle for. All the above mentioned leaders will play the role of Sonia Gandhi (of UPA Government) but can not accept each-other's name. Every party has something against others.

And Here comes the name of West Bengal Chief Minister Budhadeb Bhattacharya. Why ? Just read the following :

Budhadeb Bhattacharya : He has every thing in his favor, except his age. He has a liberal, pro-reforms image and he is widely accepted in the political class, even accepted by the Congress. He has vast administrative experience. Add to his advantage that he is not considered in the league of Prakash Karat, despite being in CPM. He has often been dubbed as a right leader in wrong party. Remember, Vajpayee was also dubbed like that. And Budhdha Babu, despite being Chief Minsiter of West Bengal, has never been as popular in masses as Jyoti Babu was. He rose to the CM's post due to left hierarchy and not because of popularity. And he has committed several sins which could not have been dreamt by the CPM. He promotes privatisation, reforms and other economic policies which CPM is opposed to.

Therefore, He is acceptable to the Congress, Sharad Pawar, Chandrababu, Jayalalitha and for the sake of consensus even Mayawati can go for him. Vast administrative experience is another feather in his cap.

However, this move would wean Mamta Banerjee and her Trinmool Congress away from Congress. But just like the last time (the UPA Government's tenure), this experiment would/can continue for some years, say 2-3 years.

That means .. the next government is another rainbow coalition in offing. It would be supported by the Congress but the grand old party will not be its nucleus. In fact, it could look like 50:50 between the Congress and the so called third front. Congress would have the option to join the government and if it joins, it'll try to get large no of cabinet berths. Pawar, Mayawati, Prakash Karat, Jayalalitha, Chandrababu are some of those leaders who will together play the role of Sonia Gandhi. And Budhdha Babu may play the role of Dr Manmohan Singh.

However, I feel that this government would collapse in 2 or 2 1/2 years due to its own contradictions. Contradictions, I say, because Sonia Gandhi always had the last laugh in UPA Government but this will be not the case with the new goverment. Several leaders together will do Sonia's job and there is bound to be ego clashes, lack of consensus etc.

So keep watching this great Indian Political drama and enjoy from the sidelines, like me.

A Last Word : I've used many cartoons available on the internet and don't know the name of the artists. But I sincerely thank them for such a fabulous work. For blogs, my understanding is that, it can used. Although, I'm ready to apologize, if any copyright violation has taken place. Please immediately mail me on that and I'd delete that image. Thanks

The Next Indian Government .. Who'll be at the helm of affairs?

Perhaps more than billions of we Indians have been thinking about it ... who'll form the new government .. who'll have the last laugh ? Perhaps, other than the Indian Netas, the media (both Print and electronic) is most anxious to know it. Alas, if they would have any thing like Aladin's genie/jinn, which could have told them the actual results of the great Indian Parliamentary elections ..?

Nevertheless, everyone is trying to do some smart guessing and your's truely is definitely in this race.

I've made my projections and on that basis, it's very difficult for me to say who'll lead the government. But first I share my predictions/projections :

Party Wise Projection 2009

Parties	Likely to get seats
BJP	130-135
Congress	120-130
BSP	40-44
CPI(M)	28-31
AIADMK	20-22
TDP	16-18
JD(U)	16-18
Samajwadi Party	16-17
NCP	14-15
Shiv Sena	13-14
BJD	11-12
RJD	08-09
TRS	06-08
SAD	05-06
AGP	05-06
Praja Rajyam	06-09
CPI	05
DMK	04-05
PMK	04-05
MDMK	03-04
LJP	03-04
JMM	03-04
INLD	03-04
Trinmool Congress	05-07
JD(S)	02-03
AIFB	03
RSP	03
National Conference	03
RLD	03-04
PDP	01

Basis of my projections are state wise and I feel/my calculations say that state specific issues are the key factor and issues like terrorism is not going to make much impact. So as you can see, the mandate is very much fractured and I believe that neither BJP nor Congress is going to get more than 135 seats. And therefore, it has made me damn confused.

But on this basis only, I want to say that BJP's PM-in-waiting Mr Lal Krishna Advani's dream will remain a pipe dream and the most prestigious chair of our country would continue to elude him. If I take the words of rustic Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav's words that Advanijee does not have the Rajyoga line in his hand.

And I also feel that perhaps Congress has sensed this fractured mandate and therefore, it has avoided to project its crown prince Mr Rahul Gandhi as PM-in-waiting. In fact, I wish to link the decision of Congress going solo in the states like UP and Bihar to this very fact only.

It looks to me that perhaps either Congress or its crown prince has sensed it and therefore, they have started prepairing for the next general elections (not of 2009 but for 2011 or afterwards). And due to the fractured mandate, perhaps the Congress strategists feel that the next government will not last for more than 2 years and then the time will be ripe for their crown prince Mr Gandhi to take over.

In this scenario, I also feel that just like Deve Gowda experiment of 1996, some unheard name can surprise us and would emerge as consensus PM candidate. And the field will be left open for people like Mr Sharad Pawar, Ms Mayawati, Mr Navin Patnaik, Mr Nitish Kumar or some other leader. I'll not predict the name as only actual results will decide the actual name. I can't predict the permutation-combination happening after 16th May.

However, I feel that in this scenario, BJP will not become a part of the goernment and it may give outside support to the next government.

Another possibility and the strongest possibility is of Government being formed with the support of Congress & Left Front both. Not only that, both - the Congress & the Left Front will vie for the cabinet berths. Yes, the so called Third Front (or minus BJP, minus Congress) would bargain with Congress by saying that we've seen your Prime Minister and now it's time for our candidate .. The Congress would also be told that either support the government from outside or be a part of the government.. and in most likely scenario, the Congress will join the government and would bargain for some key cabinet portfolios, citing the largest party status of the alliance.

At the same time, the Left Front will not make another historical blunder and they would join the government. And it will also have CPI(M) for the first time in the Union Cabinet. Mind you, this would be done despite the fierce opposition of CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat. As my predictions say, the Left Front would likely be wiped out in Kerala and it's maximum seats will come from West Bengal. Therefore, the Bengal lobby of the CPI(M) would prevail over others including Karat.

I even have a feeling that present West Bengal Chief Minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya can emerge as consensus Prime Ministerial candidate. He has a good rapport with senior Congress leaders including Pranab Mukherjee and perhaps Congress may agree to his name. His role in the formation of the new government would be pivotal.

However, I also feel that hopes of Ms Mayawati would not fructify and she would continue to play the so near, yet so far game. Despite having 40-44 seats, She would lose the throne. Simply because her brand of politics, once given the chance to rule, would push several leaders into the corner and grab their vote bank.

Not only that several eleders like Sharad Pawar are contesting for the last time perhaps (age is not in their side). Therefore, it would be the last chance for them to make it to the hot seat. And they can go to any extent to achieve this goal.

At the same time, leaders like Lalu-Paswan would get their pound of flesh and can continue as Central Ministers but may not have that clout as they used to have in the erstwhile UPA government.

Question like what would happen to Mulayam Singh Yadav is a tricky one and I don't have the answers. Due to Mayawati's dominance, Mulayam would hardly have any role but mind you, he is out of central political space/does not have any central cabinet berth since the fall of then United Front Government and this time he is out of UP as well. So he is desperately seeking some space in Centre and therefore, his actions are difficult for predict.

Leaders like Nitish would perhaps prefer to wait than to take hurried decision. I've laways had the impression that he is prepairing for the long battle ahead and with out making noises, would continue to fight for the top post as he did in Bihar to dethrone Lalu. Perhaps he is prepairing for the general elections in 2011 or after wards.

Perhaps Navin Patnaik too could follow Nitish's footsteps and would prefer to wait than to reveal his cards in such a fractured mandate. But he'd have some cabinet berths under his belt.

But as I said earlier, all of these permutation-combination is difficult to predict before a single vote being casted. And it'll take its own fierce shape after the 16th May, when the results will be out.

However, a final thing from my side .. I'm not a psephologist and my predictions can be hundred per cent incorrect and I'd be more than happy to see perhaps a government with Congress/BJP being its nucleus. This would provide stability in these turbulent times of recession and perhaps this is the need of the hour also.

But No one should take the Great Indian Public lightly .. they have defeated people like mighty Indira Gandhi and they have the charisma to make it happen once again. So the surprise package is in the offing. Just wait till May 16, 2009

Sitaram Yechury is my choice as next Finance Minister of India

Bizarre it may seem but I'm in all my senses. I believe / feel that Mr Sitaram Yechuri is the next Finance Minister of our country.

Why ? Simply because we have tested all other parties and their leaders as Prime Minister or Finance Minister but the Left Parties have never been tested in India.

And they have very interesting ideas to tackle recession, to pull out economy from the melt down. I'm not joking.

Just take a look at their manifesto released for the general elections 2009 .. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) claims in its manifesto at Page no 10 that the Indian Financial Sector was safe in these times of recession because of the interventions of the party as it didn't allowed the UPA Government to open it up. Then it elaborates its claims. However, most interesting part of their manifesto is where they talk about Financial Sector regulation (page 15 of the manifesto). If it is to be implemented, it will mean reversing the entire economic policy applied since 1991 said a friend of mine.

Another interesting aspect of the CPM manifesto is about imposing taxes on the elite of India. And in this regard I heard Mr Yechuri speaking very passionately on a news channel yesterday. Honestly speaking, watching that show gave me the idea of how India would be if a leftist leader like Sitaram Yechuri takes the oath of office and becomes Finance Minsiter? This is a question I would like to ask to every one.

I have another reason to believe why Mr Yechuri can become next Finance Minsiter ..?

I've my own prediction for this election and I would like to tell you on that basis that next Prime Minister will not be either from BJP or from Congress .. He/She willl be from some other party and another experiment of the coalition is going to be repeated. It's possible that BJP may support the govt from outside or Congress may join the government but none of them have their man at the helm of the affairs of our country. By the way, I'll share my predictions next time and continuously analyse it till the next government is formed.

Well, coming back to the issue .. I feel that the next government will be another rainbow coalition and will be supported by the Left Parties. And here I predict one more thing .. that this time the Left parties are not going to miss the bus and make another historical blunder as Comrade Jyoti Basu had termed after his party declined the offer of making him Prime Minister in 1996.

This time the Left Parties will join the new government, come what may and this will be done despite the fierce opposition by Comrade Prakash Karat. It's not only my feelings but of several other left leaders. They have a growing feeling that not joining the UPA government was a mistake. The CPM in particular and the Left Parties in general are bitterly divided on this issue. So when the next government will be formed, every party will seek its pound of flesh and the left parties will not remain an outcast. They are likely to ask for Ministries like Finance, Shipping, Railways and Rural Development. Mind you these are the minstries that caused most of the trouble for the CPM in Bengal particularly.

No, I've never been supporter of the left parties, not even in my dreams even. At the same time, its true that I've been a supporter of the ideology and feel that some of the ideas must get implemented. Only then, we can get justice to the the down trodden. Despite closely watching the politics of the Left Parties since my student days, I never supported CPM in particular and the Left Parties in general.

So my prediction is that in the coming elections, CPM and the Left Front will get a fair amount of seats in West Bengal and may be wiped out in Kerala. Yes, Mamta Di will get her quota of seats, and the TMC-Congress combine would get maximum 12-13 seats in West Bengal. In my opinion, that's the most optimistic scenario and therefore, I strongly differ with the newspapers who publish the stories of change being taking place in West Bengal. So Mamta Di will not be able to trounce the CPM-led combine and CPM alone can win little above 20 seats in the state.

So at the time of the formation of the new government, the West Bengal lobby will play a decisive role and Prakash Karat will be left alone (if he continued his wish of not joining the government). He would of course be supported by the Kerala lobby of the party but what kind of weight it would have is to be seen.

I'd like to see at least two persons from the CPM to take the oath of office - Mr Sitaram Yechuri & Mr Md. Salim. For rest of the two portfolios, your guess will be as good as mine.

Everything is not a story, can't be

Today I'm under too much distress .. not because I've any physical problem rather it's a mental one.

Actually I was doing a story on role of Unorganised Sector in the forthcoming general elections. For that, I caught up some construction labourers and as we do in every stroy, asked several questions ... like are you satisfied with the government, has your conditions improved in last few years etc. And the answers were on the expected lines .. which we all know.

We all know that nothing has changed for them. Their conditions are as pathetic as they used to be. Though their wages have improved a bit but that's not sufficient. Not sufficient at all.

There are several reports of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) which at length has dealt with the issues of Unorganised Sector in India. But just for the sake of information ..

77% of the population still lives on a wage of Rs 20

India has nearly 40 Crore workers in the Unorganised sector / 91% of the total work force of the country

They hardly have any pension, insurance or other such things and one small disease can eat their entire family

They are still waiting for Social Security Schemes promised by the incumbent UPA government

The Slowdown/Recession has hit them hard and claimed/about to claim almost 1 crore job opportunities meant for them

This list is endless and I can go on but coming back to the point .. One of them said .. Babu, agar kuchh badla hota to hum yahan kahe aate, apna ghar chhod kar . He just can't lift his eyes, probably dwelling with shame.

And I was terribly upset, in fact i'm still upset because I've always advocated and believed that everything can't be a story. We, the journalists, always / usually treat everything as a story. But it can't be. Life is not only a story.

I was upset because despite being sensitive to their issues, I was asking the same insensitive questions and after that, doing the Piece-to-camera (PTC ), which we, the television reprorters have to do always for a story.

Just for the sake of a 90 second story, I was rubbing salt to their wounds. I knew that I can't take their issues forward / I'm incapable of changing their lives but I was glorifying their issues, so that my story could get telecasted .

It's frustrating / insane but even then, I can't shed tears. On my part, this episode was completely uncalled for. Isn't it?

Is there any need to have a new blog ?

I've been asking this question to myself from a long time and despite launching this new blog, I'm still undecided, unclear.

It's not that simple for me as it may seem to many others. I've been very fond of reading, writing and doing other things in Hindi and therefore I have a blog बात बोलेगी, हम भी बोलेंगे. But perhaps nowadays I find myself very uneasy and uncomfortable in writing in Hindi.

A duel has been going on in my mind over past so many years on which language should I use in my writings .. Hindi or English? There was a time when I used to hate people who used to write in English despite being master of Hindi. Perhaps I still hate them. I always find the arguements like now English has become the daily life language as absurd and treat it as an escapist arguement. And that's why I'm still undecided, unclear on this issue.

I've been and still I'm a very staunch supporter of Hindi and I would not give any arguements in favor of it (why.. when.. what types) because it's known to many and in this case I'm just like any other Hindiwallah.

However, the era of globalisation has made English an international language and now it's uniting not only India rather the world. At least, this is the take of supporters of English.

I'm not opposed to English as a language but I don't want to give it preference over our native language.

But it looks like I've also joined the club of "Escapists" - whom I've always hated. Over the years, English has taken over the place of Hindi and now most of the times, my brain thinks in English and if need be, translates it to Hindi. Earlier it was other way round.

So am I "escapist" / "opportunist" / or merely stating the facts of my life? I don't have answers.

However, I do know that due to this duel, I've been missing my writings (which got completely stopped despite several provocations). So I leave the question undecided and launch this blog, of course with some sense of guilty. Guilty towards many things because this is bound to change few fundamentals of my life .. because this is bound to brake few promises which I made to myself.

Perhaps I should laugh on myself .. बिल्कुल बेशर्मों की तरह क्योंकि आंखों में आज भी कुछ लाज बाकी है।