Debarth's Den

The eighth day of November 2016 will be etched deeply in the memory of many a mind around the world for the fact that an event which was deemed possible but not probable in the remotest consideration was carved into reality by the American public – Donald John Trump had not just defeated the crowd favorite, Hillary Clinton in the race for the US Presidency, but virtually battered her out of contention long before the final results were out. Donald Trump, a man thus far known more for his brashness, misogyny and political incorrectness than for his achievements in the political arena, Trumped all contrary expectations, including those of a majority of Washingtonians, not to mention those of a battle-bruised media – impaled time and again by his unrelenting barbs, to become the President Elect of the most powerful nation of the world. Trump’s election rallies leading up to that phenomenal victory were flush with promises of resurrection of America in the eyes of the world (under ...

What happened to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose? How did he die, and when? The answers to these two questions have been shrouded in a dark cloak of mystery for close to seven decades now. The only piece of information that was released for public consumption was that Netaji died in a plane crash on 18 th August 1945. This particular explanation has been dismissed by many, including one of the members of the committee (Shah Nawaz Committee, 1956) which submitted the report, as farcical. Two more commissions of inquiry happened at subsequent times under different governments but the actual truth of Netaji’s disappearance and death remained elusive to the laity. Yet, the truth exists, although it lies hidden from public view in the confidence of the Indian State. And the currently raging row about the Nehru government’s snooping on Bose’s kin, that too for two decades after Netaji’s death, is making it increasingly harder for the government to conceal the truth any further, on whatev...

Narendra Modi – the enigma surrounding the man, and the thought processes that drive his indefatigable existence, have confounded the best of political and social pundits - both in India and abroad. While Modi is fast developing into a symbol of India for the World, and a symbol of change and development for the vast majority of the Indian polity, he is still looked upon as a symbol of divisiveness and authoritarianism by his political opponents, many of whom were unabashed and crude in the expression of this view before and during the elections, but are now forced to constrain their opinions after Modi became PM. One thing that everyone will agree upon however, although some may reserve this opinion to themselves, is that there is no one in the Indian political scene today who can match Modi in terms of oratory, diligence and incorruptibility.   Ever since Modi was unanimously chosen as BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate back in September 2013, his political career has b...

It’s been a while since I have had either the reason or the motivation to pick up a pen and write; write with a cause, and an enthusiasm to lend expression to my deepest feelings. Very rare has been the occasion when I felt words and sentences taking birth in the deepest corners of my heart and flowing spontaneously to the tips of my fingers. Very seldom, if ever, does an imagined perception of goodness, beauty or virtue manifest itself in real life in the form that it was imagined or dreamt of. Even the magnificent Yarrow could not live up to Wordsworth’s imagination ("Yarrow Unvisited" & "Yarrow Visited "). When such a thing does happen, however, it happens unexpectedly, as in this case, in the unlikeliest of times and places, and it would be a sheer waste not to record the priceless sentiments of such an occasion for the sake of posterity. My most recent encounter, a sweet tryst in a dreary environment, reminds me of Wordsworth’s Lucy. Lucy inspired...

December is a month Indians will begin to dread every year from now on, and not without reason. Last year in December the nation was put through the agony, the travails of the aftermath, and eventual death of a girl who was the victim of the most inhuman form of rape the county has ever known. This December, something of a similar nature has happened to yet another Indian lady, this time an Indian diplomat on foreign shores, at the hands of the Administration of supposedly the “the most civilized nation on earth”, the US of A. Last year’s gruesome crime in Delhi took months of civilian protest and uncountable debates in and off the courtroom to finally come to a decisive climax in the form of death sentences to the accused (barring one who escaped punishment due to his “tender age”). This year’s equally appalling crime by a bunch of thoughtless, racist individuals in the US State Department and the US Police has evoked similar scenes of protest and animated debate across the countr...

Humankind is deemed to be God’s supreme creation, purportedly at least, with all the versatile faculties at its disposal. Our intelligence, our powers of understanding and analytical thinking have lifted us above other creatures, to a level of superiority that is by now virtually unsurpassable. However, with power comes responsibility, and with intelligence comes empathy and kindness, all of which are necessary to keep the balance of life on earth at a sustainable level. We, as the species appointed for the care, nurture and protection of the lesser creations of God, be it the flora or the fauna, need to exercise our power and intelligence in such a way as to make co-habitation of man and animal harmonious on our planet. Many civilizations have realized the importance of this tenet, and have successfully developed and infused in their peoples a culture of kindness towards animals, so much so that animals in many developed nations are treated almost at par with humans. Today, the lev...

It is hard to believe that Rajesh Khanna is no more. The news gave me a jolt when I first saw it on TV. It was so unexpected and seemed so unreal that it saddened me more than I would have imagined. It felt as if Rajesh Khanna with his departure from the world has also taken a part of my dreamy childhood with him. Rajesh Khanna. The name still has a magical ring to it, even after all these years. The square features, the twinkling smile, the disarming charm, the romantic voice – every one of these characteristics were personified by Rajesh Khanna on the silver screen to such perfection that, even today, it is impossible to think of him as a man separate from the characters he portrayed. There never has been, and perhaps never will be a taller icon of romanticism in Bollywood and Indian cinema. Rajesh Khanna is one of my earliest memories, and someone I had begun to love and admire long before I even began to understand the language of movies. My mind floated back to those...