In the last few days there have been a "lack" of news it seems. It seems the channels have had to rattle on the same stuff over and over again. They were talking to people live all over the world about Gandhi's stuff being auctioned and many other blah blah blahs. Maybe its the silence before the storm as the elections come closer. But despite this one news item caught my attention and made me smile and had me tripping on it for some time at least. It was Hillary Clinton giving the Russian Foreign Minister a RESET button, hehehehhehe.... that was so cool... such nice sense of humour at such a level of politics is so nice to see... how much of it actually translates to real changes, i doNT know but at least there is an expressed intention and probably a confession of things going wrong in the past... Russia has been a fast growing power and it would seem that it woNT take long to reach where it was as Soviet Union. It is a country to reckon with. The recent Georgia issue (and also the Gas supply to europe via Ukraine(i think)) proved it all that Russia woNT take it anymore. The way it has been treated indifferently in the past couple of decades especially by Europe and the US. This gesture was probably an acknowledgment of things gone wrong in the relationship but it is also an acknowledgment of the power that Russia threatens to be.... But all this heaviness being tackled by giving a reset button was awesome... I doNT know if it would lead to actual changes or not but sure a great gesture...
It made me also wonder if it was high time for India to pass around a few of those buttons... Its high time one re looked at Sino-Indian or India-Pak relations... and the press conferences after these meetings are a sight to see... even when talking of increase of "friendliness" in these meetings it such an icy cold, hold your breath kind of declarations... maybe the buttons would make it at least a little warmer.... of course the onus is on both the side... i remember seeing the opening ceremony of the olympics last year on a friend's comp a few days after the actual event... It made me wonder then, as to the fact that it was probably the first olympics we indians could practically walk on to or drive on to (without needing more than one visa) but what did we make of it????? nothing,.. the olympics being held in china was a great recognition for china (and also the way they conducted it) as a country in the international arena... but caNT we also celebrate that for the region or our neighbours???? and why didNT it strike any of us or any of the chinese to do that???? it was a great opportunity both these countries had... but yeah, i forgot we were taking a stand for tibet, is it???? but remind me, did we do that???? i doNT think so..... i am totally for the tibetan cause and i think the way things are going tibet will be lost in a time not too long from now.. but as the dalai lama said, tibet is probably still alive only because it is alive inside the tibetans and the hope of the actual physical tibet to eXist is as good as null now.... but it is amaZing how faith and belief has pulled it through till now... as to how the spiritual leader is looked up at so much by tibetans all over... kudos to them... saying all that i doNT see india or anyone for that matter taking a stand for that.... as the olympics came, there was s surge of activity there... but forgotten as soon as the olympics got over... the earthquake also in a way helped the chinese... and they sure used the sympathy stuff... (for the first time they were relaying live the rescue efforts and all).... anyway, i digress too much... that s not the point... the point is canT these two countries make things a bit lighter between themselves... we need a reset button here!!!!!
khair, moving on to another thing that i saw a lot of recently, not by choice mind it but by force of tv channels, was the gandhi memorabilia auction.... about how the stuff was being sold off by james otis and how indian govt. was trying to negotiate a deal for it not to be auctioned.... or how the nri restauranteur was going to bid for it and if won would donate it to the indian government... i found the whole business quite useless... as in gandhi doesNT belong to india, he was an indian... the stuff was not stolen from india (as the recent chinese stuff that was auctioned off by christies, the chinese "symbols" were looted off in some war i think) or anything like that.... and india is NOT the rightful owner of the memorabilia just by claim... if the gandhi lineage would have claimed it, it would have been another thing altogether... but they are the ones who gave it in the first place... how come india became the rightful owner of the stuff, i didNT get it... gandhi's ideology has been propagated and followed by several thousands all over the world... and please we are not "gandhians" as a country anyway... even barrack obama has a gandhi portrait in his office or something like that.... so what does that mean... we have gandhi's portrait all over the country... so what does that mean???? nothing, if you ask me... gandhi was more than a person, was more than his stuff, it was in his ideologies that we should take pride in.... all said and done... we had indian government releasing statements as to how it would not allow its auction and how it would bid for it and somehow keep it in this country... do these people really believe in "gandhianism"??? khair, anyway, all said and done vijay mallya bid highest for the stuff and also promised to give it to the government (the logic of which i fail to understand, he should probably keep it in a museum open for public, the govt is satisfied with having the stuff in india and no more.. any which way they wanted to claim credit for the same).... but the irony of the situation is that it was liquor money that saved india's pride (pride - how??? i doNT know).... and there is something for all the gandhians in gujarat to bite on...
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