What I Missed While Walking Past the Kanchi Mutt

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A place I passed every day without really understanding it. As a kid growing up in Malleswaram, devotion wasn’t something we discussed — it was just in the air. The smell of agarbathi in the evenings. The noise of vendors lining up on 8th cross before a festival. The quiet expectation that you showed up, bowed your head, and moved on. Ganesh Chaturthi. Varalakshmi Vratam. Deepavali. Janmashtami. Ugadi. The calendar moved, but the pattern stayed. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Malleswaram was part of my daily route to school. Not something I questioned. Not something I deeply understood. Just… there. Every morning, on my way to school, I would slow down for a second in front of the Mutt. Just enough to bow my head toward Kanchi Kamakshi from outside the gate — and then hurry along before the school bell. It was a ritual for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it came from devotion. I did it because my parents did it. The street...
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NatWAR in(out of) Congress

It is disgusting to see that one of the cabinet ministers, Mr. Natwar Singh along with his son was involved in the Oil for food program in Iraq. The Congress party wanted to be absolved of all charges. It was surprising to see that the Congress was not getting behind Natwar in the whole issue. Obviously it is clear now. The Congress had to protect its leader and supremo, Ms. Sonia Gandhi as she was clearly at the receiving end. She had supposedly sent letters through Natwar to procure oil contracts in Iraq. Now, this looks like the plot has been lifted directly from a Bollywood flick right. Absolutely filmy! But, then when was politics in India without all the surpise elements. There are so many things going behind the scenes that it becomes virtually impossible to figure out what is happening. We just know of pre-poll alliances and post poll alliances coupled with totally flawed and broken vows, but we have absolutely no clue of the intricacies interwoven in complexities that goes on in the political areana.

Congress was looking at an appropriate opportunity to expel Natwar from the party. Natwar too was making things easy for Congress to come to this decision. He went ahead and moved a privilege motion against Dr. Manmohan Singh, our honourable Prime Minister on the issue of the leakage of Justice Pathak report on the Volcker Commision report. This issue has put Natwar in the limelight as far as other parties are concerned. BJP, JD(U) and Samajwadi Party have made it very clear that they are supporting Natwar and have already begun to portray him as a national hero who was made into a scapegoat. Politics show the true colour in people, but the sad part is people do not have a choice, as the same set of leaders have to come back to power.

This issue has blown up in such a way that it is really going to be interesting to see how this issue shapes up in the coming weeks.

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