Ideas, Rule

Using Internet and Social Media to help win elections is not a new story. Marc Andreessen, a founder of Netscape and a board member of Facebook did it for Barrack Obama very neatly.

What makes me write this post is the recent tweet by Sashi Tharoor that Oct 2nd, should be a working day instead of a holidy in India.  He said on Twitter,

Gandhiji said — Work is Workship — and we enjoy holiday on his birthday. He would have wanted us to work harder today.

In political circles this might have created a controversy but the work-is-workship believers indeed cheered up Tharoor’s tweet. What amazes me is the speed at which social media is connecting the politicians and the people. A politician who wants to connect cannot give loose excuses and visit only once in 5 years. And the young India is liking its leaders speaking their mind on such platforms. As long as this constructive effort is underway on Youtube, Twitter, Facobook and other social media giants, the next generation would hopefully find itself close to it’s leaders.

Few weeks ago we were celebrating Basoda – a special festival amongst certain communities in India, where for 1 entire day we do not use any form of energy. COLD is the word associated with this day. The entire day is spent in this manner.

- Wake up early, and take a cold water bath. Though it would be terrible in US (east coast)

- Go to a temple, pray!

- Then begins the eating spree, all food cooked previous day.

- Entire day no tea, coffee (you can have cold), no using gas. In earlier days I have heard that people never used electricity. They use to light oil lamps and go to bed early.

- So the idea is not to use any form of energy, heat.

This year while doing this, I realized that inspite of calling it a religious festival, it is more of environmental festival. Our forefathers might have thought that if everybody spends one day without energy, it would be just great. There is no other way to explain it otherwise. I mean apart from the fact that there are religious stories, which tell the significance of eating cold etc etc. I mean it’s a religious way of helping nature. 

I am sure other sects might be having similar ways to help the earth. If not, I find such events to be very effective. Well we did observe EARTH HOUR, isn’t it? How effective was it? But had people observed it “religiously” (pun intended) it would be so helpful. Now think about observing an “EARTH DAY” (23 more hours) with this religious twist. It’s gonna rock. Atleast in India (and mind you we are 1,147,995,904 people) as we tend to do anything and everything for religion. (now letz not go there)

Forgot to mention one thing: this thing is also called as “Mata ka Thanda” or “Sheetala Mata ka Thanda”.

Remember Amitabh movie, Deewar. In this movie Amitabh carried the stigma of his father’s indiscretion, that could not be washed as it was tatooed on his hand (Mera Baap Chor Hai).

The recent trends around corporate failure around the globe is an alarming wake up call for all of us. White collared frauds are no less heinous crime than a mass murder. Don’t you think so. Following the Satyam fiasco, thousands of hearts are broken who were thinking of going overseas so that they can earn more for their child’s education, dreams shattered of paying up EMI of a new house they bought. And all this coming at this hour when India and world economy least needs anything like this.

I don’t know about Hollywood, but I will not be surprised if RGV makes a remake of Deewar, in which instead of making a tatoo with Mera Baap Chor Hai (My Father is a thief), he uses the line Mera Baap CEO Hai (My Father is a CEO)