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Showing posts from October, 2010

The Canary Story

Somewhere in the winding woods of the Andaman Islands, lived a family of Canary birds. Happy, lively and exploring as they always were, this family decided on June 12, 2112 to fly to the forests of Gujarat, India for a summer outing. When in Bhooda forest, the birds mingled with other birds like the Mynah, the Peacock and his other half, the Indian Bustard and many others. They became best buddies. The friends of the Canary family helped them pick up twigs and small pieces of branches to build a comfortable nest for their 3 month stay at the forest. The Canary family was delighted at the hospitality of the Bhooda residents. They expected to see beautiful sights up north. But what they gained was an experience of their lifetime. It was a tradition of Grandpa Canary to sing to Master Canary Jr. (his grandson) and Miss Canary Jr. (his granddaughter) each night to put them to bed; er… well… put them to nest. Anyways, Grandpa Canary was singing at night, once their nest was prepared. To his

So be it!

India is the largest democracy in the world. Maybe true, maybe not. Who knows? How extensively is democracy put to practice in India? Or anywhere else? Let us begin with understanding the two viewpoints about democracy. Democracy can be the freedom of speech, thought and Religion. It can be the liberty of the media or it can be the provision of Right to Information. Fortunately we are bestowed with this aspect of democracy. Thanks to the political leadership in India, the constitution has given a leeway to people to be the masters of their lives in this respect. Democracy however, may also be defined as the freedom to control and not to be controlled. Do we really believe that our lives are free of any political or social dominance? Whether it's at the time of acquiring a driver's license or acquiring acceptance for inter-caste marriages in predominantly traditional societies; we are compelled to be subordinate to the authorities. We are driven to pay bribes to get our chores d