Indian Frogs in a Well

The show of single minded unity that for a rare moment gripped this vast country was only fleeting. The debate forums are back to rehearsed arguments over their easy binary distinctions, the politicians are back to passing the buck around while kicking up enough dust to make it seem like action, the media is flying off on tangents and has all but lost the plot, and the rest of us got back to our everyday selves, feeding our children and our hidden pyres of fear and loathing.

With an incident of this magnitude, widely described as one that would ‘change India forever’ , what is this great inner force that pits us terribly against each other, that relentlessly churns this mass of people around in a sickening cesspool? Why is the story of the Indian frogs in a well so accurate and so damning?

Like most big problems, the answers are mostly within, hidden deeply in our selves and not so much a creation of external forces. The fundamental reason, that causes me to desperately claw out at a fellow Indian who’s views, ideas, attitudes, principles, personality, image, affiliations may be contradictory, or challenging to me is because I identify so strongly with that other person. It is like having a part of my own self that I see acting unlike what I know myself to be. Of going against my very grain – an errant mental strain that is trying to be something else – higher, different, opposite – to what i am. And the frustration I feel at this charade, this complete disregard for my own ‘true’ self is something that causes me to lash out with such violence. It is a violence against myself – of an inability to reconcile parts of myself that refuse to obey me.

We would not get into impassioned debates and absolutely personal arguments and attacks of the kind we are so used to, with a person whom we do not identify with. Our oneness is the biggest cause for our divisiveness. And time and again, history shows this that there is no shortage of willing opportunists that would exploit this to their own benefit. The squabbling meanwhile, continues.

Shivaji Statue on Marine Drive

Shivaji statue to be 3 ft taller than Lady Liberty

An imposing equestrian statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji, three-and-a-half feet taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty, will be erected a kilometre off Marine Drive between Marine Lines and Charni Road stations.

A high-powered committee chaired by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday decided to shift the proposed statue from its earlier site near the Gateway of India. The meeting was attended by key officials from various departments, including the army, navy and VSNL. The navy and the Mumbai Port Trust had opposed the earlier site.

The statue will stand 309 feet at its highest point, including a pedestal of 153 feet.
A museum of historical literature and artefacts showcasing the era of the Maratha warrior will also come up at the base of the statue, besides an amphitheatre. A sound-and-light show on the Maratha warrior will be the highlight of the visits to the landmark.
The entire project, which is expected to cost Rs200 crore, will be completed in two years.

After naval officers approved of the site, Deshmukh told officials from the general administration and public works departments that the monument should be of international standards.

“The site should establish its international significance with a half-hour sound-and-light show revolving around the life of Shivaji in Marathi, Hindi, and English,” he said.
The chief minister later visited the site with his deputy RR Patil, chief secretary Johny Joseph and key officials from the Maritime Board, PWD and GAD.

A source from the PWD said the statue would be 1.7km away from Malabar Hill, 1.5km from Girgaum, and 1.8km from Nariman Point. The source said VSNL was initially apprehensive because its high-voltage undersea cables are in the vicinity. But the government assured the company that a minimum distance of 250m from the cables would be ensured.

The monument will come up on 7.5 acres, or 30,000 sq metres, and will have no approach road. Tourists will be taken to the spot in a ferry from a floating jetty at Nariman Point.

Officials said the statue would be cast in bronze and tenders would be invited once the government got all required permissions and conducted a detailed study of rock and soil.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1168149

Do we need this monument? Any ideas on why it should be built? Or why not?