Passionate About India

Most political leaders aren't able to separate objective criticism of their policies/party, and take any kind of criticism personally. But at IIPM Think Tank, my job over the years has been to critically analyse policies and offer solutions throught our annual alternate Budget - to all ruling parties. Despite my efforts to be critical of particular instances of corruption or economic policies objectively, politicians across parties have requested me during TV show breaks to be less scathing and be nice. And yet there have been politicians who have come out and supported me whole heartedly. The person who supported me blindly was a great man called Vasant Sathe. It was a relationship of pure love. And then I have had positive vibes from many others. It feels so empty to see them going away, one by one. Or maybe I am myself growing old. One of those rare politicians I got very positive vibes from was Shri Arun Jaitley. A clean politician he loved the way I was ripping into the corru...

My father and my teacher, Malay "Mehthor" Chaudhuri. Mehthor is the Bangla word for a scavenger/mehatar. My father had become quite restless during the week before he breathed last, to officially change his name from Malay Chaudhuri to Malay "Mehthor" Chaudhuri. He felt unless we make an effort to change the system of casteist discrimination by embracing the discriminated as a very part of our existence we will not be able to see a new world. He had said that if anyone opposes his plan, that person doesn't love him enough. This was a dream he nurtured for more than a decade. Unfortunately it remained unfulfilled. Today as I try to write a few lines on him, I feel in his death I am doing justice to his thoughts. Yes, that was him. Unconventionally humane till the last day of his life. To me he was surely my father who loved me infinitely -like most fathers, but far more than that he was my purpose of existence for the last 30 years of my life ever since I entered...