Practical dreamer

You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'

— George Bernard Shaw

Man with some drive

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.

— Henry Ford

What a thought!

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up.

— Jesse Jackson

Vote for your freedom

Freedom from foreign rule is a part and parcel of India’s history. As Indians we should definitely remember and salute our freedom fighters but a true homage to them would be casting our vote in favour of the most suitable candidate in any election, be it civic body, legislative assembly or parliamentary elections.

It doesn’t matter if your vote or your family’s vote is all that a good, honest candidate gets. If every discerning voter casts his or her vote without being influenced by a candidate’s or party’s chances of victory instead of complaining about bad governance, in future we will enjoy the fruits of good governance. This is also something, which our freedom-fighters had dreamt of.

Like anything else this will not happen overnight it is a long drawn-out process and the best gift this generation can give future generations. After all, no one can clean a mess without getting their hands dirty.

Every Independence Day should be a wake-up call to India’s youth and middle class to dutifully take a vow that they will not shun democratic politics as something dirty but as something of the people, for the people and by the people. Otherwise our freedom will be hostage to corrupt and selfish leaders and we will have only ourselves to blame.

Rear view

I have always prided in the fact that I live in the future and believe that the best days are yet to come, but sometimes I am forced to reconsider my stance.

The front-page headlines of newspapers screamed minimum taxifare in Sharjah will be Dh10. That puts 1998 into the privileged category of good old days, at least from a salaried person’s point of view, because the maximum fare or flat rate during that period was Dh5. Effectively, for the present minimum fare you could travel to any point in Sharjah and return home.

A glass of tea cost merely 50 fils as against Dh1 at present. Also one could fill a small car’s fuel tank with Dh50 and groceries cost only a fraction of what they cost now.

I know many Gulf veterans would want to correct me by arguing that the 1998 period was not exactly “good old days” and that tag rightfully belongs to the period a few decades before it. Now going by my own experience and the rising cost of living I will have to agree with them.

The thought that 2010 will look greener in 2020 should bring a smile to our faces.

Mind without walls: Anil Kumar

I like to imagine that my mind is a dwelling place without walls, door, lock or key. Of course, I face the risk of others trampling over my belongings (thoughts, views) and the downpour and harsh sunlight of criticism. But this will be a house without limits, hospitable and welcoming towards all. It will be ever-growing in boundaries, maybe encroaching, but not violating.