Anna Hazare has been voted as the Person of the Year / The Indian of the Year by many news channels and newspapers recently. Even international press has noted him as one of the top news makers of the world in 2011. And why not? After all, this 74 year old Gandhian has changed the way Indians look at corruption and given all of us hope that this disease can be removed from our country. As I wrote in a poem, he has come as our Messenger of Hope in 2011.

Below are what I feel are the top 5 take-aways from this movement so far -

1. Strengthening of Democracy

Anna Hazare has spend all his life promoting the decentralization of power in democracy and his asking for a Lokpal, free of any government control, is another step in this direction. By directly involving the people in his protests, and highlighting the point that the people are the real masters and the politicians only public servants elected by them, he has made it clear that they should proceed in accordance of the will of the public.

He and his team have taken the issue of Lokpal to the people in small… Read the rest

In my previous article , I had a doubt about how the public will react to Anna’s second fast unto death. I was more skeptical about the response to his Jail Bharo call. But I am glad all my skepticism has been proved wrong. The public has responded, and how. Tens of thousands of people have come out on the streets in support of Anna Hazare. People have courted arrests in hundreds and in Delhi, police has to convert a stadium into a jail to keep those arrested. There were around 100,000 people marching to India Gate in Delhi and around Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Now can the government arrest them all?

I am really glad that the public has risen to the call given by Anna Hazare. But what is special about Anna Hazare that he has galvanized the whole nation when most of us didn’t know him at all a few months ago. How is one man able to dictate terms to the government? How has he cut across the social and economic divides of the populace which is so deeply entrenched in our society?

History of Work Done

He is an ex-army man who fought in the 1965 Indo-Pak war and later build his… Read the rest

When nothing around you is going your way,
When nobody is hearing what you have to say..
Times like these are the real test of your will,
For amid storms is the challenge to stand still..

When your life will take a sudden turn,
When you will reach a point of no return
Just keep moving ahead despite of every hurdle,
For there is always light at the end of the tunnel..

When all you get is blow after blow,
When every hope and promise seems hollow
You have to decide how high you want to rise,
For you know in every crisis there is a prize..

When nobody around you knows what to do,
When everybody is searching for a clue
That is the time for you to stand strong,
For every night ends no matter how long..

When everything looks like falling apart,
It is very important not to loose heart
For every step you take against the slope,
You are giving rise to a ripple of hope..

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Recently I was talking to a friend of mine, who has been a state level Taekwondo Champion of the state of California. She was telling me about her strenuous training program which she used to follow when she was training. Among other things, the one thing which she told me was that they were not allowed to use the word “tired“ even if the trainer asked them to do 300 push ups. She said “tired” was the word which they could use only after they turned 80.

It is often said that what you say is what you get. What we think leads to what we say, and what we say leads to how we act. So in a way, if we closely watch what we are thinking and saying, that defines our actions and results. Whatever we say, whether good or bad, is picked up by our subconscious mind and and it makes that real. So saying that you are tired will actually make you feel tired and you will have all the symptoms of being tired to prove that. But we don’t realize that it was our word which caused it in the first place.

So when… Read the rest

When one crosses a road,
It’s a triumph over a challenge!
In few steps hope is echoed,
Inspiring others to take a plunge!!

Roads get crossed everyday,
By people like me and you!
Many will follow the way,
But lead shall only a few!!

Have you rested too much,
Then why not begin to play?
It’s time to leave the crutch,
And see what is far far away!!

Riding on the shoulders of hope,
And dancing under the blue sky!
Jump holding on to destiny’s rope,
And even gravity we shall defy!!

Lets leap into a dream land,
Where nothing is impossible!
It is time for all of us to stand,
To fight for and win our battle!!

On the way hardships might arise,
If you think you can’t take the load!
Just close your eyes and visualize,
The sight of a man crossing a road!!

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The whole country has come together,
As people fast with their countrymen!
Anna Hazare’s fast is getting bigger,
For all our dreams about India, Amen!!

The World Cup win united us,
As people came out on the roads!!
Corruption is something serious,
It is high time public anger explodes!!

It is only an act of sacrifice,
No point in just being angry!
A small act of yours will suffice,
For one day, just stay hungry!!

Make the people around you aware,
And let the corrupt see we are awake!
Let them find a place to hide somewhere,
To their activities let us put a brake!!

It is our country, our money,
Will not let it go down the slope!
Let us all support Annaji fully,
For he is our messenger of hope!!

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