Born To Win

We got independence not yesterday but a long long time ago. Once upon a time the British ruled us. Today the bureaucrats and politicians are the custodians of our well-being. The author has spend almost four decades of his life as a part of a stagnant system. This book is a narrative of a few days of his post-retirement life. He has allowed the dust and the rust of politics merely a superficial touch on his being. The subconscious depths, the absence of fear, and having convictions and also the strength to stand by them perhaps were a few of his personality traits which could prevent the unconscious daily accretion of self destructive corrosion. Every individual is a unit. Ten units join to form ‘tens’. Ten ‘tens’ make a ‘hundred’ and a hundred ‘hundreds’ a ‘thousand’...a population emerges... but the fundamental unit is still one individual. If the author being just one such unit could withstand the negative charges of the political and administrative pressures, why cannot we, in our unit capicities, stand against our visionless selfish custodians? His experiences and reflections provide and insight of our hollow governing system. The author, in his typical lucid, amusing but informative, direct manner, has penned down the X-ray of our political leaders and administration. The diagnosis is precise. Both the prevention and cure are in our hands. He has provided a stimulus but would we was respond from our deep slumber? Contents End of the road or a new turn, Free from chains, Avodiing the Government connection, Making the house habitable, Small office home office, Trying hand at fourth estate, House hunting, Entertain to be entertained, Without fear or favour, My life in 1998, To Nagpur RSS headquarters, Bangalore beckons, Fast track pension, no speed breakers, About Khushwant Singh, Honoring all religions, Kannadigas honour as a great son of Karnataka, A life long-time links with Karnataka, A piece of advice, Racing in life, Over security, Flying visit to Gujarat, Two dinners, one defamation and a small tiff, Visit to city beautiful and back to hot Delhi, Heavy food: a prelude to lethargy, Meeting my former boss and Prime Minister, Khalsa’s Birth, Petty pin pricks, Bypass to by pass future probelms, Heart surgery and a new life, Back to dear home, Post-operation days, Putting misery behing/Looking in new directions, From type writer to computer, Not Bharat Rattan, but Dilli Rattan, Couting days, Biting the hand that feeds, A year of body dissection, Teething trouble, Inside CBI: The Hindi version, Two rogues go, Those forgotten martyrs, The bsest walk is in the Lodi grave yard, Surinder praised as Gandhi is compressed, A new darling in our lives, Another companion out, Elections, criminals and politics, Jalalabad encyclopaedia, To pay or not to pay, Packing to pack off to Delhi, Some Movers and some Shakers, I turn sixty, Some are luck in losing bulge, Balancing life, No credit cards for me, Of leisure, of people, Poor amongst the rich, Dr Gandhi, the best, A slute to police martyrs, Bowing to the inevitable, Self-Driven and still safe, Air fatigue or Jet lag, Shrewd investments, Toothpain, my constant companion, Film Stars can be gracious hosts, Bofors again, Repeat interviews and views, Press license, Non-working culture, Catch me in kurta pyjama, All conveying ‘ooh’, Nobody dared to rub on the wrong side, Musings, It is easier to be fat than thin, More time in journey, than on work, Another encounter, Vehicle explosion in Delhi, In the galaxy of VIP’s, Vote bank is the consideration, Birth day celebrations, With familiar faces, Some introspection, Baba Farid’s, Faridkot plays host, Horses make fortunes for punters, In the centre of Hyderabad, Sojourn at ITBP House, Friday groups, Commissions and corruption, Tea addict, Body maintenance is like car maintenance, Reliving the heart surgery, It is Modi Nagar, not Moti Nagar, Computer on strike, Life and death co-exist, The big fight, Bofors, on the scence again, Home food best food, Preparation is the key, Sixty plus and still incorrigible, Godness, still prevalent, Another pilgrimate, another condolence, Of business and keeping gods happy, Need for trained commandos, No personal ethics, New Year Eve-nothing unusual, No bluffing, but a fact, A season of cultivating, Miss and mix-up, Ethics of advertising, Advertising and free choice, Unequal in market, unequal in life, Three decades plus four of married life, A taste of food poisoning, In Jalalabad in India, not in Afghanistan, Functions and celebrations, The chase of Jain Hawala case, Lunches, dinners and outings, Carrying everybody along..., Delhi Police is not up to the mark, Some mundane affairs/A fairy-tale wedding, Taking for a ride, Upside down, Cremonies and ceremonial presence, Condolence, mere pretence, Programme with more than objectives, Forgotten heroes, Weddings of the rich, Late nights not for me, System seems to have overtaken, Animals too like air-condioned comfort, Death in Ooty, Heavy rains spoil the day, To London, There is no place like home land, Amongst the super rich, Honouring the media, Publishers take writers for a ride, More about TV, Cheerful Sunday, Vasant Sahte, an Ignored hero, Meeting an Old, Young Turk, Long ques, longer wait, The Pride of India, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Writing undisturbed, I walk into a wrong wedding, Life itself is a game of jugglery, I am a film star, No nongovernment servant is guilty of corrupion, All cricket show, Dot.Com a new media, Delhi bureaucrat’s evergreen paradise, Time a valueless commodity, In the land of Lord Shiva, Evening at the Casino, Security checks in Kathmandu slower than snails’ pace, A day’s visit to my service alma mater, Magnetic appeal of good food, Should life always be such?, A late night wedding, Meeting a king-maker, The saga of school admissions, Shooting a film, Haryana shows a desire of improve, With an Indian, who made to the tope in British Columbia, Canda, Innovative ways of sticking to the job, Education is better than stock and a sure money spinner, Christmas, just another day for me, TV, no more an attraction, A good-bye lunch, Everybody wants a short-cut, Historical Gwalior, I bang into the anoher car, Predictable predictions, The book bridgeroom is absent, Who is who, and where?, These days, the tailor makes you a celebrity, Pay, Your honour, Choosie in hospital, Actural users, actually absent, Farmhouses or Palaces, In the Mecca or academic excellence, A five star hotel is a hotel not home, Punjabian the shan (Price and jewel of Punjab), Life goes on, Good governance, a universal requirement, Sacking through unpleasant, is at times necessary, Some glimpses, some functions, some home truths, Pressure tactice pays, Some partying, Convocation: then and now, Working couples, Sharing my views.