You have the power
Pissed about what happened at Bombay? Tired of inept and toothless politicians who make the same promises every single time and yet… here you are in the aftermath of yet another attack?
Feel that lighting candles, wearing black (clothes, armbands), doing silent protests and signing “I’m outraged” petitions are sweet, thoughtful but ineffective?
Then here’s the cause for you. A group of people have come together to take on the government. Demand real change. There’s a real list of demands.
Ok, cool, you say. But how on earth can you enforce your demands?
Well, with your vote of course.
D’uh. But all the political parties suck.
Exactly.
Huh?
Withhold your vote. Go to polls. Most definitely go. But mark that you are withholding your vote. You are officially abstaining and recording your abstinence.
Why does that matter? The party with the most votes wins.
Not quite. There’s a wonderful little clause, 49-O of the People’s Representation Act that says if a majority abstains, the results of the election are voided.
HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT??
That is power – in YOUR hands!!! I am so excited I am jumping up and down.
Oh and one more thing. You know your taxes that you pay every year? The country counts on it to run. Stop paying that until the demands are met (I’m not asking you to violate the law – read the manifesto on how you can still be a good citizen)
Excited? Good. Read the draft manifesto.
Every single Wednesday until the demands are met people will gather at all the major metros. Join them. Sign the petition there. Go to vote and abstain. Refuse to pay your taxes if the demands are not met.
Join the people-powered movement.
You have the power. Use it for good, young Jedi.
Being thankful
Thanksgiving was spent being glued to the computer. Monitoring the #Mumbai twitter stream, tweeting like a maniac and watching NDTV and CNN-IBN online.
It didn’t feel like there was much to be thankful for.
Like so many have said, this felt more personal than any other terror attack. I never spent much time in Bombay before I met R. But Bombay is as much home for him as NY is. He spent a year living and working in the Oberoi Trident and every time we went to India, we went to Bombay. We stayed at the Taj. We stayed at the Oberoi.
The last couple of times we were there it was to contemplate moving to Bombay. I hated the thought of it. I’d just gotten my mind around living in NY and now I had to move to a(nother) dirty, crowded, overwhelming city? No, thank you. I still remember a late night drive from the Oberoi to Oval Maidan to get advice from a friend on how to deal with scary prospect of having to live in Bombay.
Circumstances changed and we never ended up moving to Bombay, but R spent a lot of time there each month. And every time he was there he did a dozen meetings at the Oberoi and the Taj.
Because of the limited time I spent in the city, because of the fact that I’d stayed in the two hotels briefly, because of having eaten at the restaurants, this felt so personal.
But imagine if I had grown up there. Imagine if it was part of my life – woven into the fabric of my being. That’s what it is for a lot of people in Bombay and it is those people and the people who were caught in the nightmare who have the right to feel truly overwhelmed.
When R heard the news, he smsed everyone he knew in Bombay. Almost everyone smsed back. One of our friends did not. So I emailed her just to check in. She emailed back. She’d been a hostage for 11 hours. One line in her email has stayed with me all day and will stay with me for a long time to come – she spent the 11 hours “… waiting to be slaughtered”… But providence in the form of the commandos, or destiny or fate stepped in. She walked out of the Taj alive.
2008 has been an incredibly difficult year personally. One filled with minor and major struggles including a very serious health issue of an immediate family member that we are still dealing with. But this Thanksgiving, there’s actually a lot to be thankful for.
I am thankful my friend is alive and okay.
I am thankful so many were saved in Bombay.
I am thankful R’s trip to Bombay is this week and not last week.
I am thankful that J&G are in my life – adorable and incredible.
I am thankful that we identified the health issue when we did and am hoping and praying the person recovers completely.
I am thankful to have R in my life.
I am thankful for my family and their love.
It is easy to be thankful in a great year. This thanksgiving tested that. But even in the bleakest of times, it is important to me to realize that I am so fortunate. Important to me to pause and appreciate what I have. So even though this post is late, it was something I had to do.
Despite everything going on around us, I hope all of you have a lot to be thankful for as well.
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