The Varanasi Trail

Waft of burning incense,
Ganga adorned with flowers,
The Goddess' beauty shimmers,
As wishes sail her Ghats,

This mystic land unfolds it's mysteries,
As life unfolds her arts,
Birth and death all merges,
Anew the pilgrimage starts,

The Goddess serves her earthly purpose,
Purging the breathing frames,
Azoic bodies melt,
On pyres, sans, mortal pain,

Physical existence transfigured to dust,
From where the life began,
Soul uplifts in heavenly grace,
Alas! no bindings of man,

Path to be retraced by another, but they say,
For such is the truth of life,
Another body,another battle,
Another earthly strife,

Forever this land shall remain ,
Even as humans depart,
Resting on Shiva's trident forever ,
Containing the glorious past.

The Goddess will be here too,
Resplendent in her divinity,
I smile and bow in reverence Mother,
I too will come back,As a passing phase of humanity.

I silently follow this Varanasi trail,
with a soul enchanted with it's charm,
for i know, when time over me prevails,
Here, i'll discover my eternal calm.


This is dedicated to the holy place of "Varanasi" which holds a very special place in the psyche of every spiritual Indian.... It's believed tht although human life is ephemeral, it is repeated over and over again like a never ending circle till the soul attains "Moksha" or "Nirvana". The belief also says that, those who go on a pilgrimage to Varanasi and dip in the holy waters of Ganga, are purged of all their sins and those who die here attain Nirvana. It is written in the Puranas that Varanasi rests on the points of Shiva's trident and even after this earth is destroyed, the beloved place of Shiva will continue to exist till eternity......

Chinese Hypnotism

The flute is out and that hypnotic music has begun to flow again. Indians like me are hooked to the television set watching our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and our India Inc. sway to its tune. The performance is replete with contrasting emotions on stage. Dr. Singh’s reflexes seemingly defy his age to resemble an electron jump to the highest orbit, while the countenance and moves of our India Inc. representatives appear more guarded and resemble someone traveling on bumpy Indian roads, feeling the sudden highs and lows. Jet Airways Naresh Goyal can’t stop beaming at the possibility of getting permission for his Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco flight, while CII president Sunil Bharati Mittal can’t stop worrying about hidden implications of the Chinese trade offerings for the Indian industry. It is frustrating to watch this “grandiose ceremony” because that’s what it is and nothing more…. at least for India.

The most recalcitrant regime in the world- China is making India dance to the tunes of its shady promises once again and inflating the latter’s aspiration of striking a beneficial and trustworthy friendship with it- a desire which has remained till date the most futile and disadvantageous diplomatic mission for India, both strategically and otherwise.

The current effort towards achieving bilateral understanding between the two nations manifests in the document christened as “The Shared Vision for the 21st Century” which has been signed by the Prime Ministers of both the countries. The document spells out promises such as increasing the bilateral trade to US$ 60 billion by 2010. The mentioned trade goals appear symptomatic of the formation of a more productive cooperation between India and China, but at present even this appears more in the favor of China than India’s. At present India has a trade deficit of US$ 10 billion with China, in response to which China has promised to facilitate frequent buying mission to the former to neutralize the deficit. However not much can be banked upon. The bilateral trade between the countries is not complimentary to begin with. India which holds expertise in service sectors like banking and telecommunications is unable to find market in China because both are restricted areas there. On the other hand in the manufacturing sector China already holds supremacy and therefore Indian businessmen have to struggle again in competing with the Chinese goods. Chinese promises of increasing imports of Indian goods also look dubious in the backdrop of previous cases where during the WTO negotiations China agreed to import 17 agricultural items from India but actually came down to just 3, sending the decision regarding others to quarantine.

To our advantage India has received nothing more than verbal promises. China’s approach towards bilateral trade is tilting it more in its own favor than proving out to be equally profitable for India as well. Working on this line the Chinese Govt. is even pushing India for a Regional Trade Agreement. Even the RTA would bring an advantage solely to China by granting it a Market Economy Status, which will have drastic implications for domestic traders in India by further accentuating dumping of cheap Chinese goods in Indian markets.

While dealing with China we have compromised hugely on our national interest and that too again and again. In 1949 we were the first non-communist nation to recognize Mao Zedong’s People’s Republic of China and in 1950 it attacked on Tibet. In 1954 China signed the Panchsheel Agreement with India to mend its belligerent ways but in 1962 everybody knows what happened. In 1986 China again made incursions into Arunachal Pradesh and it still continues. The Indian Government and even certain section of the Indian Army continues to downplay China’s excesses to maintain its so called friendship by denying such incidents or by minimizing their significance.

Economic growth has evolved as an important aspect of our national interest just like territorial security was. So to learn from history, which is a wise thing to do, the bilateral trade decisions should be made with utmost care rather than being swayed away by the Chinese bonhomie displayed by Prime Minister Wen Jiabo.

We need to keep in mind that, even after holding such talks and making concerted efforts if we still can’t be sure of the possibility of China supporting India in it’s decisions which really matter, for instance backing it at the NSG or supporting its case and candidature to the UN Security Council then we can’t be sure of China’s intent and its often exaggerated friendly quotient either. The idea here is not to project China as a Dragon which always spits out fire whenever it opens its mouth but is to advise the Indian Elephant not to go out in the open without sharpening his tusks, especially when the playing field is not leveled.