Open Letter To Mumbaikars!!
Dear Mumbaikars,
That’s what you like yourselves to be called. Don’t you?
Let me tell this; you were again disappointing. No I am not complaining on how in the name of Juhu Beach you allowed Ritesh Deshmukh to marry Genelia, but your repeated disinterest towards something that the nation, the city of Mumbai, you guys yourselves along with the numerous Bhais roaming around carrying Desi Kattas or Rampuris in every street corner could benefit. I wouldn’t been in the complainant box if it had been that one of case but it is the alarming regularity of your complete objection to cast your votes as if, if you do then you either would be subjected to being molested by Mayawati or forced to have sex with an HIV infected prostitute, you conveniently duck it time and again. Why such consistency in your blindness towards your own fundamental rights? Yo can surely change this notorious attitude. Come on; even Rohan Gavaskar has scored an oneday half century accidentally. If Rohan can execute a miracle, you guys certainly can.
Coming back to the asli mudda. If the self-gloating of the attitude of so called Mumbaiaa and your nonexistent inclusiveness hasn’t shadowed your vision yet, then let me drop the bomb at your doorstep. Let’s get the records straight. If you think the statistics of the number of Panipuri walas or the Taxi drivers bashed up black and blue by a group allegedly comprising of humans known as MNS is scary enough then let me throw a scarier statistics at you. This time for the local municipal election you again miserably contributed a 43% of your entire voting constituent. Even if that is the percentage of the engineers at Infosys who can spell software correctly, it still looks meager in comparison to what our voters from the Maoist infected interior Uttar Pradesh has to offer. Even they managed to score a 60% which is equivalent to the percentage of engineers at TCS who can’t spell software correctly.
This is nonsense to say the least. Don’t you think so? The city which is considered the harbinger of new era intellectualism and culture and supposed to be full with individuals of such brilliance that it could make many Nobel laureates throw their prizes in their city gutters out of shame; can’t understand the value of exercising their most important fundamental right? Is that complete indifference towards one’s responsibilities or too much lack of sensibility? Or shouldn’t I have asked this at the first place after seeing Rakhi Shawant for some time in various notorious platforms? In whichever way, the answers for me at least are farfetched. The last time we had our general election you guys had a pathetic number of 46% of the constituents that thought it is important to cast their votes. While that number itself should have forced many of you to boycott eating Bhel-Puri till the next general election, you guys decided to break your own record instead. That is so interesting, No?
While random people from the city give lectures to the world (including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kalmadi) on how one should respect his/her responsibilities towards the nation are seen believing a beer bar in Lonavla is just the right place to be on the voting day to pass out an utterly boring off day. That is so tangent to what one preaches and ending up doing something entirely different.
What that flummoxes me, is the absence of any apparent reason for such behavior. Just when I conclude to blame it on your lack of inclusiveness, there the scenes of the mob carrying a lightened candle each and marching in unison (of course without the song Ayega..Ayega) stops me going further. You guys have already engaged in more number of candle light vigils than the rest of the marches anywhere in the world put together. Didn’t you? So the last thing that you guys must be lacking is coming together for a cause. But where is that force in conviction when it comes to casting your votes and why I don’t see people thronging the poll booth in such numbers? Or is it, a cause which has no scope of a candle march is not a cause worthy enough to acknowledge? While you guys can gather in lakhs as early as five in the evening near the Gateway Of India when the designated march is scheduled to start only past eight, you guys were almost always has to be dragged out of your beds on voting day; that too when it 2 in the afternoon. While women cutting social circle were seen sporting a kilo of makeup with a good 750 gram of it being their lipsticks alone and busy in burning N number of candles even before the sun sets in; they are nowhere to be seen (with or without makeup) near the polling booth. Why that enthusiasm vaporizes for real causes? Or sporting lipstick inside a polling booth is banned by our Election Commissioner? Mr.Quarashi, could you please clarify this?
Just look at the number of wax you guys burnt post 26/11, so much so that it shoot up the global wax price index by three folds across the planet. Even people travelled to places like Pune to get hold of their favorite color lipstick to make the great occasion of some candle burning a grand success. When the theatrics in front of the Taj Hotel along with that placard showing ‘Enough Is Enough’ is commendable, it certainly is not when Mumbai went to polls within a week of that nasty incident. Post that grandeur after 26/11 candle burning, when all thought the number of people who would be attacking the poll booths to cast their votes would be so enormous that the poll officials would have critical shoulder operation for just inking their fingers; you guys ended up with a shameful 46% turnout. While it was expected of the vocal Mumbaikars to set an example for the rest of the universe, including the aliens who don’t vote in their own planet, you guys conveniently slept through the day on pretext of the hot and humid conditions. That is so bizarre, won’t you guys think so? Pioneers in bursting their vocal chords for national issues were individuals like Sobha De. While Sobha could have taken out some time from her soft porn writing endeavor to cast her vote, she chickened out and nowhere to be seen, at least for next three days. Why so hypocritical? Or hang-on, Am I missing something? Is it having an inked finger doesn’t go down well with your style statement?
And what the hell is that Amchi Mumbai nonsense, if it had any sense ever to begin with? Belongingness doesn’t come with only narrating your pledge and responsibility but with credible examples following your talk. Before shouting Amchi Mumbai for every damn reason, even while having sex; all of you need to ponder what you have done to call it your Mumbai. Other than loitering the Juhu Beach and shitting here, there and everywhere, what credible that one has done to vouch for such claims? Well Raj Thakray is excluded from answering these as I am for sure confident that he hasn’t done anything and he shouldn’t waste even a second in muscling his gray cells to think of one.
Guys, be sensible and realize there are far more important and better things to do than going for random candle light vigils for no apparent reasons or arranging flash mobs to dance like eunuchs in a marriage party. Top of the list in ‘Things to ponder’ is to resurrect the pathetic record of not voting ever. Or else let me tell you, it would be really unfortunate if Apex court in response to a PIL, orders to slap random Mumbaikars left-right-and-center the moment they open their mouth to talk on national interest and issues. Hope we won’t encounter that day ever. Or should we request EC to arrange voting in Mumbai during night time only and allow each of the voters to carry a lighted candle inside the booth? Could that approach increase the vote percentage since you Mumbaikars would have that sense of Dejavu like going for a candle-light vigil, not to cast your votes?
By the way where were the big mouths shouting for a corruption free India when Anna was staging his fast there?
Warm Regards
-Someone who hasn’t yet participated in a single Candle-light vigil.
u r ryt in so many ways.....
ReplyDeleteThumbs up for the left-right and center bashing idea..
ReplyDeleteNO VOTE === NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN
I was ashamed to read this
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/feb/170212-All-sorts-of-excuses.htm
I am a Mumbaikar and one reason that I did not vote is that no matter what person I elect, the political system is such that it is just not going to matter.
ReplyDeleteI had voted once for a clean guy who seemed genuinely interested but he lost to a guy who has a long list of criminal records. One look at him and he looks a complete thug. Totally lost interest in this "political process" after that.
@Last Anonymous
ReplyDelete'Aagar Baith Jane Ke Bahane Bahot Hain, To Chalte Rehne ke Wajeh Bhi Kuch Kam Nehin Hain. To Uthiye Aur Chaliye. Badlega India'.
While I sympathize with your disparagement towards our pathetic political demography, it still doesn't amount enough to not vote just because a choice candidate of yours' lost it once. Rome wasn't build in a day. Our continuous support for genuine candidates would bring more better candidates to the fray. Lets not forget this. A relentless perseverance of ours in search of a better candidate to fit into our scheme of things would make a better tomorrow, not sitting idle and hoping for a miracle to turn things upside down.
I am sorry mate, but there is no excuse enough to convince me at least that one shouldn't vote.
Request you to please reconsider your decision friend. The least as citizens we can do for the nation is to vote and give it a sensible government and in the process hope to handover a much better and refined nation to our next generation.
Please think over it again.
My mom votes since the 70s and I vote since an age of 18. I am 25 now. I remember during the last vote, they put that ink on the middle finger so it gives me the right to flash THAT finger in public without offending anyone- oh well, I can atleast justify it. I am dissapointed that it didnt happen- rather they used an ordinary marker pen.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue was that 49-0 was not available in BMC elections- atleast that's what I was being told. Technically, people should have the liberty not to choose the incompetent- and chances exists that everyone in the list could be incompetent.
Now the issue remains- whom will I vote for state elections? I stay next to Priya Dutt's office in Bandra, where it used to be Baba sidique and before that- late Sunil Dutt's office. Priya Dutt, an MP, threw tantrums at congress because 4 of her canditates were not given tickets. Tickets were not given because of perhaps she referred these people for her personal reasons. But she closed down her office, she removed all the congress board and removed every trace of congress from that office. She went home.
Rest of the people in H ward are incompetent. BJP are morons, Shiv senas back then brought hate message about south indians back in the 70s (my parents are from south) then about muslims (we're muslims) and then they attack north indians. True, U.P. and Bihar government till now have not done anything to develop their own nation and because of this, a shitload number of people move here- but no1 has the right to say that no1 can migrate to mumbai. If you tell people not migrate, but welcoming foreign investors and business and let them conduct their business and maybe even let imports come from other states? That's being hypocrite.
NCP? Certified criminals. Its a shame kalmadi is chosen again. Most bizarre stuff of all!! That leaves me the others and MNS. But who are they, what are they promising, their background, their qualifications and history? No information. Infact, not many know.
Why I am saying this? Well.. I don't know whom to vote the next time and I am certainly not going to vote for priya dutt because she was chosen by the people but decided to cry like a spoilt little princess and ditch the power given by the people. Others? Well... local information suggests that their not clean either. In such case, I should have the power to reject.
Which I will in the state elections, assuming they will allow people to do so. If they dont AND if there's no1 competent- what's the point in voting?
Let's have null voting at the click of the button and at the same time, lets have a booklet for each Indian citizen where the officer will stamp it whenever you give a vote during elections. Those who vote will enjoy rights and privilages: getting ration from ration shop, applying for passports, license (including for shop and establishment), etc. That's how democracy works and that's how it should work.
Just my P.O.V.