The Indian Dream

58 comments
This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 3; the third edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
This one was really tough for me! (even though I voted for this title) ..I will need to call in the cavalry on this one. My cavalry usually is of half a dozen specialists. Who have specialized in doing absolutely nothing! They arrive, kid around a little and start discussing "The Indian dream".
   One said, " who better to know about the Indian dream than the Common Indian Man."
     n I was like.....
     Who is this common man?
Someone said ;
   Doctors? (Are u kidding me? take a visit to a hospital u'll see they are anything but ""  common "  )
   Lawyers? (gimme a break ! lawyers, common ? haven’t u learned anything from those lawyer jokes ? )
   Bus/Auto/taxi-wallahs ? (yeah right and all those bloggers writing their heart out against their 'tactics' must be the 'bad guys')
   Students? (lols! have u seen students agitating? ..they are force to be reckoned with)
   Govt servants?(really that’s the best you can come up with?)
   how about politicians then ?(lols! gimme a 'second' break, a few more minutes and someone might declare God as "  common "  )
.
   Anyone else got some idea??
 
   This discussion lasted nearly an hour and then our over-developed procrastinate instincts took over. We as usual gulped down everything in the fridge, playing 'nirvana' at high volume. Meanwhile my other natural instinct played in for a nap in the most awkward of times.
   Here i am sleeping like a 19 year old drunk baby and I see a light (was this the long awaited divine realization to an atheist?) ..
   i see a old aged man coming towards me.. he had a not-ironed shirt tucked into some old fashioned jeans, Thick glasses and simple sandals on
  


   Me- hallelujah! God
   He- God! God! , where is god? (nearly shaken)
   Me- U aren’t God?
   He- No! I am the common man!
   Me- COMMON MAN! Didn’t expect u here
   He- No one expects me anywhere :(
   Me- since you are here! can I ask u a favor?
   He- sure
   Me- can u give me an insight on the Indian Dream, I got this blog post to finish for this contest.
   He- what's a blog?
   Me- it’s a.....blah blah blah!
   He- my ears hurt! Leave it ...asks whatever u wants to!
   Me- k lets start! Who are u?
   He- I am the common man. I am one, I am many. I see all but none sees me. I am the crowd, yet so alone. I am strength, yet so weak. I am speed yet so slow...
   Me- ok ok OH! COMMON ONE...Enough with the philosophical mumbo jumbo, let’s get to the business.
   He- U asked! U should be more discreet in your question.
   Me- "discreet" big word for u, don’t u think! Very well
   1. What do u think about "education" in the Indian dream?
   He- Education, hmmmm.. my daughter just got into college. She is doing engineering, she worked her heart out for IIT but couldn’t get in, they didn’t have enough seats for people like us. And I didn’t have enough money to get her into some other hi-fi college. Still 50,000 Rs/- per semester i have to pay. I should have listened to my uncle about aborting the girl child. But no I had to be all modern and literate.
   Me- Good thing you didn’t listen to your uncle!
   He- Me too, but sometimes I wonder if after all this effort she put in, what if her in-laws don’t allow her to work. It’s the tradition in our community that women do the house work and men work outside
   Me- why? women are as good as men in every field!
   He- I don’t live in a metro you see! we have a joint family in a small town so we have to go by the traditions.
   Me- oh! .... Speaking of working!
   2. What about "employment" in the Indian dream?
   He- My son just got a job in a multinational company. He did his MBA last year but couldn’t get a job due to recession, times have changed for us now. He sends some money back. Along with my income its more than enough for us to meet our expenses.
   Me- Good for him! Your son married?
   He- No, but we are looking for a suitable girl for him.
   Me- shouldn’t he be the one looking?
   He- I told you about our family, he will probably go for some big city girl out of our community and this is not allowed in our family. We marry where our elders want us to marry.
   Me- talk about old fashioned! So what about you? Any plans for the future?
   He- you get old enough to marry boy, you will know what I mean,
   Leave it. I retire this year from my job! I worked there for 32 years. I have found a nice plot in my area and I want to make a house of my own on it.

   Me- I thought u lived with a joint family.
   He- yes I do, but i pay rent to my uncle, it gets too crowded there sometimes. It’s not like i don’t enjoy there, we celebrate holi, diwali together. A few months ago my cousin’s daughter got married so we all chipped in for help. But a man deserves his privacy. there is always some argument or the other. You won't believe the kind of opposition i got when i decided my daughter would go to college.
   Me- And that was a very good decision you made!
   So all this corruption that i heard you have to bear is it all true??
   He- Its not so bad, once you get the hang of it. Let me tell you a secret work does get done without bribery too. But you need patience, not Gandhiji's patience because that might run out i am talking about common man's patience. This man i know got his retirement money after 11 years of court case.
   Me- ohk! Tell me one thing...all this fuss about India changing.. Is this all true?
   He-Yes its true, I have been taking that same road to work for all these years and potholes seem to be friendlier now. But i did visit Delhi after 15 years and my god has it changed all i see are roads, roads n more roads, I don’t know what they did to all those trees but they really out did themselves on roads. It took me 2 hours to find my relative's place. Though his house didn’t seem to have changed much.
   Me- K... Are you a political person?
   He- Not really, I remember this instance when i took my revenge at a politician. This guy offered me money to vote for a politician, I accepted the money and voted for the other guy. The politician won anyway ... but at least I don’t have blood on my hands..
 
   Wake up! Wake up! Sleepy head you have been dozing off for hours now, this girl has called like dozen times...New girlfriend? ... We got Milan vs. Zurich (btw Milan lost 1-0) in a few minutes and what about your blog post?
 
   "Where is that guy?”, I said . Who? "you must have been dreaming".
   Maybe I was!, You won’t believe who i saw!.....God? .... no, the common man. Oh! .. What did he say? Usual stuff about how life is a bitch..... Did you got something interesting for you blog?
   Not really! He was all sad n grumpy and stuff like all those old guys; my daughter this, my son this... Not one word about the policies of the govt, about Gandhism, religious tolerance, etc.
(Maybe, thats all that common man dreams about... Interesting!!!) 
  No chance ......  I think i need to Google something about the Indian dream.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Image credit : Desicritics.org

58 comments

narendra October 3, 2009 at 1:54 AM

Oh really sir,i thought of skipping this post...glad i dint..i loved the style an the tone..and the ton me too!!Wonderful sort of journey it was...though i have a few complaints with the ending..i mean the way it was ended..i dint want me to wake up so soon...

greatl...

Nethra October 3, 2009 at 2:30 AM

It is a long one. Read half of it. Will read the other half some other time.
It was a good read :)

Gomathy S October 3, 2009 at 2:55 AM

Okay that was a really different take.. & the pic is it from google or your own ? :)

Vishnu October 3, 2009 at 4:02 AM

dude.. that was ossum.. maybe nirvana helped u to attain nirvana..lol..
it was a great read..liked ur way of narration..
somehow felt that the last 2 questions didnt relate to the topic.. u moved a lil off topic.. but who cares.. i liked it..

Avada Kedavra October 3, 2009 at 5:14 AM

Hey that was a nice way of presenting.. really liked it!!! that's true.. the common man cares only about these days.. he doesnt need to care about the govt or other things.. nice post!!

Nανєєη October 3, 2009 at 7:55 AM

@Narendra
I am also glad u didnt... :) I would have extended it more but as u say u almost skipped this one, i presume for being to long.

Nανєєη October 3, 2009 at 7:57 AM

@Daisy blue
The pic is from Desicritics.org ... and from the most awkward post on that site :P

Nανєєη October 3, 2009 at 8:01 AM

@Vishnu
Maybe they did ... :P
am glad u liked it !
i actually went on for a detailed character sketch of the Common man about his innocence intertwined with daily life problems... did go off topic though!

Nανєєη October 3, 2009 at 8:07 AM

@Avada kedavra

thanks.. This post also gives an intake on the dream life of a Teen from a fairly big city. Thats also the contrast of diff. Indian dreams, i try to depict here. :)

Karthik October 3, 2009 at 8:45 AM

I've never thought about common man in this way. The opening lines of the post are very interesting. Who is the common man? If there is a common man, then there has to be an uncommon man as well. So who is this uncommon man? Manmohan Singh? Well, never mind..
You are right. We can't sum up Indian Dream as a single entity. It varies from person to person.
Very nice presentation. A thought provoking post. :)

Darshan Chande October 3, 2009 at 10:03 AM

An impeccable portrayal of common man. And in such an outstanding fashion!! Funny-interesting-intellectual!

Nανєєη October 3, 2009 at 10:45 AM

@karthik & Darshan

Glad u guys liked it :)

MADHU RAO | (INDImag.COM) October 3, 2009 at 11:36 AM

A very different take. Though there were many that hit the mark, my favorite was "..accepted the money and voted for the other guy..". We need more of that -- a bit of an economic redistribution(the money) with a social justice(still vote for the right guy..)..

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Appreciate it..

Dhiman October 3, 2009 at 11:42 AM

Common man ...hmmm.... I thought I too am a common man... cause I am very common and am a man...but don't they say each person is unique so ...Who is a common man :D

Nανєєη October 3, 2009 at 12:06 PM

@madhu rao
This should start happening more often, would help strengthen the democracy... this trend has been seen in the recent years.
n thanks for stopping by :)

@Dhiman
Everyone is unique, just like everyone else :P

narendra October 3, 2009 at 12:29 PM

curse me a million times if i had skipped this one...no skipping from now on!!nice post agian..

Chetan Maheshwari October 3, 2009 at 2:48 PM

good one
i must say you covered all points in a unique and beautiful manner
all the best

Nανєєη October 3, 2009 at 3:09 PM

@narendra
dont sweat it ! ... people do usually frown upon long blog posts !!

@chetan

thanks buddy .. glad u liked it :)

Pramathesh October 3, 2009 at 6:39 PM

Ineterestingly said!

Siddhesh Kabe October 3, 2009 at 8:40 PM

So that's how u look...that is an interesting approach!!!


Btw.. u r sweet...saw that notice on sidebar with my name in it. :D

Nανєєη October 3, 2009 at 9:37 PM

@ Mr. Pramathesh
good interesting or bad interesting ? :-?

@Sid
My first awards in blogosphere, They deserve a befitting reciprocation :)

Harsha Chittar October 3, 2009 at 10:30 PM

nice post, liked the way you have handled the subject

Miss_Nobody October 3, 2009 at 10:51 PM

I LOVED it! A very *A Wednesday* take but,uniquely presented.fun read and thought provoking..g'luck!

Shilpa Garg October 3, 2009 at 11:36 PM

Ok...when I opened your blog, I was stumped!! It has the same template as me!! :)
A yet another different style of expression. Liked the way you shared the Indian Dream in a conversational form.
Good one! :)

Nανєєη October 3, 2009 at 11:47 PM

@Harsha
Glad u liked it :)

@Miss nobody
Now when i think of it the portray of the Indian man does resemble the "A Wednesday" .. But what can i do ... thats the perfect portrail of Indian common man n his frustration in recent bollywood flicks.
Am glad u liked it .. G'luck to u too

@Shilpa garg
Yes i noticed that too ...
Glad u liked it ..... :)

Shruti October 4, 2009 at 12:54 AM

Great read and i liked the way you presented this topic!
An apt picture too!!
My first time here :) Liked it!

Aneet October 4, 2009 at 1:15 AM

So was Milan losing to Zurich your Indian dream? ;)

Nανєєη October 4, 2009 at 2:19 AM

@ shruti
Thanks ... i found this pic in most awkward of places :P

@ Aneet
That was My (an Indian) nightmare ... :(

Nasrajan October 4, 2009 at 2:27 AM

Good organizing of fonts for the conversation... :-)

I loved the way the common man appeared :-) A clash between the old and news way.. :-)

Anonymous October 4, 2009 at 4:58 AM

a good one...
I liked the arguments put forward by the common man...u described them true and well..

Saimanohar October 4, 2009 at 7:25 AM

Great interpretation of the common man..

Madman October 4, 2009 at 7:40 AM

i had strange feeling of hearing the quotes of A wednesday. hmmm i must have been dreaming. nevertheless nice post.

Nανєєη October 4, 2009 at 9:00 AM

@Nasrajan
Thanks ...I mainly emphasized on two diff indias
one of the blogger n one of common man

@RSV
Glad u liked it

@Saimanohar
Thanks

@Venky
When i wrote it ... A wednesday was nowhere in my mind...but eventually common man is so common :P

Soin October 4, 2009 at 12:38 PM

milan fan??gunner here..anyways man speaking to the man in ur dream was cliched..free

Nανєєη October 4, 2009 at 3:41 PM

@soin
Yups milan fan ..... Atleast u got olymplacos good !! :)
I tried to keep both blogger and the common man at drastic ends. Thats why !!

Pushkala October 4, 2009 at 7:23 PM

In the beginning it was like 'Oh God, yet another long blog post?!'
In the end, it was like "WOW! But why can't that guy dream for more? Who asked him to wake up so soon???"

What a brilliant way to depict the true Indian dream?! I'm impressed! :-)

Prashansa October 4, 2009 at 7:33 PM

The common man dreams are simple and about his own family. You are right! But these dreams only can bring about the change! Say- as he took the revenge on the politician!!:-) Lot more can happen...
Good post!

Nανєєη October 4, 2009 at 7:54 PM

@Pushkala
Thanks ! one can write a volume of encyclopedias on wants n life of the common man. They might sound meager but are the most important things in everyone's life.I wanted to convey that basic idea n i think i did that here.
n any more longer the post might have scared people away :P

@pra
Yes!... good education to children, A home for self etc are the basic dream of everyone. The country where all these dreams can be fulfilled can only be called a successful country.Hence this my depiction of Indian dream.
Glad u liked it :)

obaid October 4, 2009 at 11:52 PM

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obaid October 4, 2009 at 11:53 PM

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Sorcerer October 5, 2009 at 11:38 AM

wow! interesting..
stumbled across your blog
now in my bookmark

Bharathi October 5, 2009 at 1:02 PM

very good presentation. very innovative. I loved it.

aativas October 5, 2009 at 2:41 PM

Dreaming of common man would lead to dreaming for common man? I guess so. Liked the innovative presentation and the content too!

Nανєєη October 5, 2009 at 3:53 PM

@Obaid
thanks! would love to have a look at your blog.

@Sorcerer
Thanks for the bookmarking

@Bharathi
Glad u liked it :)

@aativas
Common man's dreams are common n they add up to a gr8er nation.A nation where dreams come true ;)

Pankaja October 5, 2009 at 6:02 PM

hey that was some interesting dream of yours (as an Indian) with a cool conversation with the common man about his Indian dreams :)
Good luck

Nανєєη October 5, 2009 at 9:27 PM

@Pankaja
I was expecting a divine realization n I got something better instead :)

Vipul Grover October 6, 2009 at 2:16 AM

Hey naveen my reading xperience is gettig better nd better.. Um so happy 2 have guys like u joining Blog-a-Ton this time.
What a way 2 put fwd a simple point tht Indian Dream is nuthing bt a common dream of survival..
Kudos man kudos :)

Lakshmi Rajan October 6, 2009 at 10:47 AM

Hmmmm... a comman man's dream from his own view point arising from his personal dreams..

what i liked most was the definition of comman man "I am the common man. I am one, I am many. I see all but none sees me. I am the crowd, yet so alone. I am strength, yet so weak. I am speed yet so slow..."

Nανєєη October 6, 2009 at 10:48 AM

@Vipul
thanks for the appreciation ....Glad u liked it :)

Nανєєη October 6, 2009 at 6:50 PM

@lakshmi rajan

Indian dream is after all a synthesis of those common dreams :)

Mahesh Aadhya Kalal October 7, 2009 at 2:33 AM

Am standing and clapping for you. :) :) :)

Kylez..aka...Mrs.P! October 7, 2009 at 5:20 AM

That was a great post! this is what I love about blogging, seeing life from a persepctive other than my own. You have a gift for writing.
P.s Thanks for the award!

Nανєєη October 7, 2009 at 11:47 AM

@mahesh
thanks dude!
appreciate the gesture :)

@Mrs. P
thanks, for the kind words :)

Paritosh October 7, 2009 at 1:28 PM

Dude... it is too good. I dunno about the dreams of a common man and how much you could have gone further; but the style is damn good. I am going to blogroll you. Don't wanna miss another of your posts. :D

Nανєєη October 7, 2009 at 2:39 PM

@paritosh
thanks for gesture :)

LORD October 7, 2009 at 5:37 PM

OOH That was cool, hope next time U see GoD in ur Dream :D , will tell you much more than what u ask :P
and a common man and not an old man... WIll tell You abt the left out things :D

Nανєєη October 7, 2009 at 11:59 PM

@lord
Yes am planning to have more dreams like this.
would love to encounter GoD in one of those :)

Mahammadhusen November 12, 2009 at 8:32 AM

nice post i loved reading it

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