The Kingdom of Colours...

A rosy haze,














A puzzling maze,














An airy sight,















A distant flight,



















A golden latch,















A vibrant match,















A glittering night,















A soggy bite,















A sparkling frame,















A swirling dame,




















A perfect smile,



















A glance so vile,















A brownish hue,



















A royal view,

A tilt so slight,

A breeze so light,















Under a shade of Grey,



















I had a sublime day,















Dear Rachit, Kundan, Rajveer
Gaurav, Tau and others,
In trying to screw a few,
I'd put everyone on the skew,
While blood still curls for some pests,
I swear I'll make amends for the rest.

Yours truly,

Debu

P.S.- People, I've taken up another moot court competition that should keep me occupied for July. Bad habits, die hard!

Shootout at Jaipur!

All I can tell you now is that a dangerous shootout took place at the Jaigarh Fort yesterday. Details Coming Soon!

A Foreordained Submission...

Before coming to Delhi in May last year, I only had faint memories of this ancient metropolis (is it an oxymoron?) from my visits years ago. However, the resplendently orange elephant at Appu Ghar, the rasping male voice emanating from a loud speaker at the Red Fort light & sound show and the Ice Cream vendors at India Gate were all well entrenched in my cerebral alleys even as I tried hard to recall the other details of the city.

Although I got to know a lot about Delhi’s people and culture during that visit, thanks to soaring temperatures, I couldn’t muster enough courage to explore much of the city. The visit in November, however, was quite different. While mornings saw me drawing inspiration at the Supreme Court, evenings witnessed Delhi holding my gaze.

So as I moved about the city this time around, the nonchalance with which I found myself dealing with the Auto-Rickshaw wallahs told me that I now knew Delhi fairly well. And when the sweltering weekend couldn’t keep me from venturing out to discover more of Delhi, I could finally realize that I had been won over. I had at last succumbed to Delhi’s allure.

The city has so much of history and culture embedded into it that anyone with even a dab of aesthetic ability is bound to fall in love with it. And as for me, a bit of this place runs in my blood. So, in spite of that initial hostility in May last year, it was inevitable to be smitten by it.

Here’s what caught my eye,

Chandni Chowk

The place is as old as the Red Fort with sweet shops dating back to the 18th century still operative. My maternal grandmother was born and brought up here in a huge Haveli that still exists [my mom’s a North Indian]. In spite of being very crammed up, the fact that this place was at the heart of the 1857 riots makes me appreciate its aura at every visit [Read William Dalrymple's The Last Mughal: The Eclipse of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857 to know about what happened at the Chandni Chowk].














Amidst the age old temples and shops, as one observes some people squabbling with a petty Cycle-rickshaw Wallah over a meager amount of money, one realizes that if only the omnipresent 'Big M' was equipped with senses, it would have surely smirked at these people who had just spent a fortune inside without even bating an eyelid. That hazy structure at the end of the road is the Red Fort!















The mesmerizing Light & Sound show at the Red Fort. A must visit for those who understand India’s History.














I happened to enter into a narrow lane known as the Parathe Waali Gully. It has eat-outs functioning from the late 1800’s which specialize in making Parathas of every possible kind. I could just about gather enough courage to have one!

Chawri Bazar














This is another place teeming with life very close to Chandni Chowk. This picture depicts conventional India’s tryst with modernity. The chaotic traffic and the scary electrical connections hardly hint at the state-of-the-art Metro Rail Station right under this place.

Jama Masjid














Another marvel of Mughal Arhitecture not very far away from Chandni Chowk.














On a sweltering evening around three hundred years back, his forefathers could as well have been found where he sits today.














Fried Chicken at brightly lit traditional eat-out near Jama Masjid…














Although I didn’t have any, I’m sure it would be better than KFC. Unlike KFC, they don’t have to add any preservatives for God’s sake!


India Gate














Visit India Gate on a Public Holiday to see how Indians hailing from rural and urban backgrounds flow into each other like two rivers.














As Sun dipped down over the green expanse around India Gate on that unusually overcast Sunday, scores of people converged at the place to cool off.















Who said India didn’t have a Grand Public Bath? It’s a different matter alltogether that the architect who designed the landscape around India Gate would be perhaps turning in his grave.














He bubbled away in anticipation of attracting some kid’s attention...caught mine instead.

Connaought Place














In addition to being Delhi’s main commercial centre, this place has showrooms of all the major apparel brands.

Heat



















As this man braved the heat (it should have been around 45 Degree Celsius that day) to eke out a living, I marveled at his determination to make ends meet. A substantial population of India lives in villages. Just imagine their plight in this heat! Our country is naturally disadvantaged.

Power Cuts














As temperatures soared, power failures became the order of the day. The inverter at the place I’m putting up at could only power the common hallway at nights. I couldn’t sleep much for three consecutive nights. Thankfully, I had George Orwell and Amitav Ghosh for company in the hallway.

Eat-outs in order of liking (from my visits during the course of all three internships...and excluding the international chains)















Oh! Calcutta (Expensive, but worth the money...at Nehru Place...Ironically, I was taken to this place by Adarsh, a close buddy who happens to be a Mallu)

Karim’s (World Renowned...near Jama Masjid)

Zen (Authentic Chinese Food...South Extension-II)

Eatopia (Food Court at the India Habitat Centre)

Andhra Bhavan Canteen (all you can eat for just 50 bucks...and the that too for quality food... at Ashok Road)

Nathu’s Pastry Shop (Excellent Sandwiches...Bengali Market)

A Continental Restaurant at Khan Market…(Can’t Recall the name)

Pot Pouri...(at Connaought Place)

Banana Leaf(Flavoursome South Indian Food....at Connaught Place).

Sarvanna Bhavan (Lip Smacking South Indian Food...again at CP)

A Rajasthani Restaurant at Dilli Haat (South Delhi)


Being a teetotler, I woudn't be able to apprise you much about the 'Boozing Scene' here. And although I could have given you an insight into New Delhi's modern, magnificent infrastructure, I wanted a raw feeling to persist right through this post.

People, if Bombay Talks, Delhi Rocks!

A Recollection...

Hello People! Delhi is on fire! All my mental faculties have been fried to a frazzle! So, while I regain them, leaving you with the story of an incident very close to my heart {had posted it around two years back...quite obviously, my aspirations are no longer the same ;)}:-

On the wing to Hong Kong...

It takes around five hours to Hong Kong from Delhi and this information was communicated by the small monitor embedded in the seat of the passenger sitting in front of me. The Sardarji sitting next to me was a British citizen and was too big for his economy class seat. The air hostess had to vex him twice to make sure that he puts on his seat belt.

As we waited for the takeoff, the captain announced that the flight would be delayed by few minutes as a passenger required some medical attention. At this, Sardarji got quite perturbed and after few authentically Indian vituperative epithets in British accent, narrated an incident:

"They would have thrown him out in US. Once, I had this swelling in my toe, and requested for some medical attention only to have been given the option of going out."

The 'take off experience' wasn't as religious as the one on my last international flight (read Bangladesh in Retrospective-I).However, I was edgy enough to concentrate on the monitor which displayed the route map and also informed about the altitude, tail wind speed, etc. while the other passengers nonchalantly watched the umpteen channels available on their respective monitors. A brisk confabulation with Sardarji ensued soon:

S-So, where're you going?
D- I 'm a law student. Am going to participate in a moot court competition to be held in Australia.

S- Where in Australia?
D-Gold Coast

S-Why do you want to study law? (Then followed certain imputations on our system)
D-(Trying to defend myself)...Well, you cannot debase the entire profession just because of a handful of miscreants. (And in an extra-defensive move)In any case, I want to become a law teacher (thinking that it would be too much for Sardarji)

S-(Even before a second had elapsed) How will you have the conscience to teach something you know wouldn't be realized?
D-(Taken aback...with that sinking feeling) Well, not always...you see...

S-(Cuts me short) How long will you be there?
D-(with that 'just got screwed feeling) A Week.

A long silence follows as Sardarji dozes off and lies like a mountain between my window seat and the loo where I needed to go for quite some time now. I gather the courage to wake him up and squeeze my way into the aisle. I come back in roughly five minutes only to find him lying like a log on his seat. The lady standing in queue for the loo cannot hold back her smile as she watches my emphatic efforts to awaken Sardarji go up in smoke. He finally allows me to squeeze my way back.

The captain suddenly interrupts the passengers' in their in-flight entertainment and a thousand things cross my mind before he finally speaks, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. Sorry to disturb you in your in-flight entertainment. If you could look to your left, we have a beautiful sight...the Himalaya Mountains...and we’ll be flying past the Mt. Everest in about five minutes...enjoy your flight. Thank you for flying with Cathay Pacific."

I immediately glance to my left and mutter God knows what all words to myself...at some distance, the snow laden peaks emerge out of an even cloud cover that stretches below on both sides of the aircraft and brightly shine in the afternoon sunlight against a spotless blue sky...I am left pondering on my providence.

After some time, as the aircraft starts to descend, I check my laptop bag to make sure that my passport and tickets are in place. The aircraft touches down on a landing strip few meters away from the South China Sea while I am left wondering as to how could the sea which was visible till the last moment, suddenly vanish. The sea green coloured water reappears as I look beyond the airport compound through my window. As I get ready to disembark from the aircraft, I hear the chief air hostess say, "Thank you for flying with Cathay Pacific. Have a nice stay at Hong Kong."

Of Cats and Dogs...

Gandharv, Zuber, Shantanu, Bhavin and Me...reliving the school days!


Three weeks have passed since I came back from Bombay. In the face of no real challenge at hand, this period can be said to be one of the most uneventful phases of my law school life. so far. I didn’t even come near anything having to do with my future profession.

However, having said that, I utilized this period for rejuvenating those bits of my life which had been left unattended for quite a while. Catching up with long lost (not literally) friends, reading some brilliant works of fiction, socializing on the internet like never before, working out, and most importantly, introspecting.

Introspection quite obviously took me for a ride of emotions inter alia, happiness, dejection, satisfaction that comes with any accomplishment, emptiness and even despair.

So many things have taken place in these three and a half years of my existence at the law school that if I start penning down all my experiences and come out with a book, I might as well give Chetan Bhagat a run for his money! Jokes apart, the moot point is that controversies and Debanshu have always walked hand in hand at HNLU. There hasn’t been one semester where I didn’t land up in some or the other kind of jhol (aka soup)! My problem is that I am very arrogant at times and vengeful too. I have always believed in the following:

Tit for tat,
It has always been like that,
You killed my dog,
I’ll kill you cat.

Though killing somebody’s cat (not literally…you know what I mean) does tend to satisfy me, I do it only and only when somebody kills my dog. However, as any true Gandhian (is there one?) would tell you, being vengeful is extremely immoral. It makes you go round and round in a cycle of unhappiness. It’s a cycle because once you kill somebody’s cat for avenging the death of your dog, he would move heaven and earth to have a shot at your other dog. And if he succeeds, you would again run after his cat and this cycle would continue for ever.

I want to be out of this cycle once and for all. To facilitate this, I hereby tender an apology to all whose cats have been killed by me. Not that I lack the ability to kill any more, but just that I want to spend the remaining short period at the law school in complete peace.

And yes, I’m leaving for Delhi tomorrow. Back to the grind! And thankfully so!

Illusion...

Reflecting upon the bygone days, as life threw up certain unprecedented questions, I happened to chance upon the following lines which in my limited understanding of this world and its people affirm a brilliant truism,


Duniya jise kehte hain, woh jaadu ka khilona hai,
Mil jaaye to Mitti hai, Kho jaaye to Sona hai.

The Master Science

Ever since man came to become a social animal, it is ‘Politics’ that has continued to govern his journey from the cradle to the grave. This is an attempt to unravel some complexities of this rather subtle concept.

Technically speaking, Politics is the theory and practice of government. A closer look at this apparently simple definition reveals many imbricated meanings. Politics actually is the science that governs the interrelationships between human beings. It is a science because of the certainty with which it predicts human behaviour. And it is through the notion of ‘Political Power’ that any relationship in a given society can be explained.

Power, as defined by scholars, is the ‘ability’ of an individual to influence the behaviour of others. Examine any relationship in a society and you would see that its existence or non-existence is determined by the exercise of power by the players involved.

Relationships between Government and the people, parents and their children, husband and wife, employers and their employees and even between two friends are shaped by the exercise of power by one in relation to the other.

All our acts relating to other individuals are directed at influencing their behaviour. When a car salesman tries to convince a customer into buying a car, he is only trying to influence the customer’s behaviour in order to ensure that he does buy it. The customer on the other hand remains skeptical through out the process, asking questions every now then, and in the process influencing the behaviour of the salesman who is forced to give his best. If the customer ends up buying the car, the salesman was more effective in exercising his power than the customer and hence can be called more powerful. But, how does this happen? How does one become ‘powerful’?

It is here that ‘ability’ assumes importance. In the above example, if the car salesman has an experience of more than ten years, his ability of influencing the behaviour of a customer is obviously high. And unless the customer has a very good understanding of cars himself, he would find it extremely difficult to not succumb to this ability of the salesman.

The logic of the above argument can be extended to each and every relationship in the society. Be it the Prime Minister and his Secretary, a lawyer and his client, a beautiful girl and her beholder, a doctor and his patient, a CEO and his employee, a software-professional and his client and even a taxi driver and his passenger, they are all perpetually caught up in this clash of ‘abilities’. They are all trying to influence each other and more often than not, it is their natural ability or education/training that determines the final outcome as to who overpowers whom. The crux of the argument is that we are all perpetually involved in politics which is shaped by our respective abilities to influence the behaviour of others.

But then why do we enable ourselves? What makes us crave for power? The answer lies in understanding a highly complex facet of the human mind, i.e., the ego. Ego is our own idea of our worth in the society we are part of. It is to increase this worth that we channelize all our energies throughout our lives. No human mind is bereft of this inherent quality. We try to look good, impress others, earn money, and move ahead in life with the sole purpose of increasing our self worth in the society. While a rickshaw puller works hard to give good education to his children so that his own self worth increases in his society, a CEO of company does that to make sure that his company earns the highest possible profit, increasing his self worth in the process. Our ego therefore, is the single most determining factor in directing our desire to enable ourselves - going to the gym, working hard for the exams, working hard at the work place are all means of augmenting our abilities- for influencing the behaviour of others.

Disparaging as it might sound, but the fact remains that in trying to impress upon your boss, in engineering somebody’s downfall and even in seducing your partner, you are doing nothing but playing politics. Politics, in no uncertain terms is the art of making what seems impossible, possible. And yet it is a science that governs all others.

So, before you throw a jibe at a politician involved in the governance of the country, do remember that he is one of your own tribesmen, a little less enabled then you perhaps.

What is imperative for you is to be aware of your own politics. This is because understanding your own politics is the ‘key’ to understanding why certain things ever happen to you.

This life is a political battleground. Don’t play blindly without thinking about the pros and cons of your actions. And make the right moves. You would always get the same results. It’s the master science after all. And always remember that you can’t help but play.

And be on your guard. Because this game stops only with your end!

© Debanshu Mukherjee, 2007.

P.S.- I’ve been a student of political philosophy in my first year at law school. The politics of International Relations (American Realism, a theory that traces the American foreign policy from the World War Days to Vietnam and Iraq, among other theories is my all time favourite) was by far the most interesting part of the two semester long course. Our course teacher, Dr. Maheshwar Singh, a PhD from JNU was extremely effective. This is my first attempt at looking at politics from a micro perspective.

I am currently reading the Age of Capital by Eric Hobsbawn and another book on the Indian Securities Market.

New Abode...

That's our new campus under construction...had gone there in the evening today.

The picture was taken from quite a distance and hence not very imposing. The structure is in the form of a humungous circle with three floors. The best part about it is the library which is designed to resemble that of the Harvard Law School.

It's located around 25 kms south of Raipur on the Jagdalpur Road.


It has been constructed on an area of 70 acres with a budget of 50 Crores!


Can't wait to see the final structure...am apprehensive about its distance from the city though.

Anniversaire!

People, my blog turns two years old today!

Albeit its genre is essentially travel related, you would have noticed that I do post stories from my personal life every now and then.

I thank all my patrons from the bottom of my heart for bearing with me for these two years. Your support is what inspires me to go on.

Leaving you with my favorite post…

Rang de Basanti and John Rawls...

Keep inspiring!

Bombay Talking…

Life at the 23rd floor of that sea facing building wasn’t all that bad after all. Interns at law firms do not get the most challenging of assignments. Nevertheless, there still remains an ocean of theoretical and applied knowledge to imbibe and learn from. And I’ve just had my first few swigs. So, let’s see how things shape from hereon.

That apart, here’s Bombay in its own words...














Where old is new,















And companions few;















Where strangers gawk,















And shadows talk;















Where hearts are lonely,















And souls deprived,















Where love blooms,















Amidst ocean and the night;















Where life's so full,















And yet so empty,




,










Where dreams are made,















And lives get crushed,
















The city that inspires,

Bombay.

Telling the Untold...

I had purposefully restrained myself for publishing anything here before my tenure as President, Student Bar Association came to end. Now that it’s over, here I am, back to my own world, liberated; no longer responsible to any of the three hundred souls I had enjoyed serving so much; unshackled forever. As life as the President completes a full circle, I present before you stories from my personal (and not professional) life…

September

Prof. Rostam Neuwirth continued to enthrall...

The WTO Course continued to inspire as I became more and more engrossed in the subject.

October

Sudeep, a guy I had known from my school days who was now a batch mate at the law school was no more. We lost him in a road traffic accident. Life came to a complete standstill for quite a while. Reality had never been so harsh. And I had to face it!

November-December

I got placed at Mr. Ram Jethmalani’s chambers for what would be my first internship under a Supreme Court lawyer. Quite obviously, it was an experience of a lifetime!

Enjoyed Delhi for the first time. It's beautiful in winters!

January

The BONGS of HNLU!

I saw my idea of celebrating State-days at the law school being implemented with professional execution as students hailing from various corners of the country arranged what came to be known as ‘State Day Celebrations’. The law school was in a complete festive mode for the first three weeks of January as we got to taste lip smacking cuisine from all over India and got to witness performances reflecting the cultural ethos of the State concerned.


The Jessup Debacle: I can’t say about my teammates, but I knew I had not worked hard enough to expect anything at the India National Rounds. I had too many eggs in my basket this year for me to have taken up this Competition. I’ve learnt my lessons though. On a happy note, Chennai was so much better in January! Had fun in the malls!


February

No significant happening on the personal front.

March

I happened to get acquainted to one Mr. Indradip Banerjee, a benevolent gentleman and a pass out from NLS , who after having reached the heights of his profession was kind enough to come down to our law school to give us the ‘real picture’ of the world out there. He has helped me fine tune many of my life- fundas!

I am leaving for Bombay tomorrow for my first assignment at a law firm. I promise to keep you updated from hereon.

Ladies and Gentleman, I'm well and truly back!

A Presidential Clutter!

Hello People! It’s been quite a while.

Last month was underscored by a host of surprises. So when I was declared elected as the President of our Student Bar Association (a body of around three hundred undergrads) on the 29th of July, the happening belied all capabilities of foresight I could have had.

While the incident infused me with immense self-confidence, the days that followed have taught me lessons galore.

In our fledgling yet national law school, problems are the only constant. Not that these glitches are peculiar to us alone, but still this is not the best of times to have taken the office. Power has been defined as the ability of a person to influence the behaviour of others. While I’m still not sure about the ramifications of this value loaded concept on my post, I do realize that I’ve now become responsible to a lot of people.

When the new hostel facility was out and out rejected by a majority of our students, mass agitation was the inevitable outcome. While the fact that I stayed at my home made my locus standi (right to bring up a claim) weak, it didn’t deter me from dealing with some unprecedented confrontations.

As the Convener of the moot court society I was made to draft six pages of minutely delved upon rules for our internal moot court competition. Except for the eligibility criteria, the rest was well taken by the students. While the Faculty Advisors had vehemently proposed the initial eligibility criteria, owing to pressure from the student fraternity which wanted a more relaxed criteria, the volte-face within the moot society was inevitable. The rules were relaxed.

I had slogged for three days to come out with the rules. However, all of it went up in smoke. Not that I liked the initial eligibility criteria myself, but this was the first time that my hard work didn’t get any recognition. And more importantly, this was the first time I was working for others (without pursuing any personal agenda). The entire episode ensured that I cut a sorry figure for myself. I even contemplated resigning. After all, why should I work when my efforts don’t bring any results?

However, some deep contemplation brought me back to my senses. My religion too (Hinduism) expects me to work without bothering about the results. I’ve taken up a position of responsibility and I must work!

God willing, justice will be done to me!

On the personal front, the WTO Course offered by an Austian Prof. (who is here for this semester on an exchange programme) is giving me unparallel satisfaction. I hope and prey that I'm not jumping the gun. Intellectual Property Law also being offered this sem is fascinating too.

The year ahead would throw a lot many challenges. I would expect your active support.

Adios!

Let's Save the Tigers!

Although I am quite focused on making a career in International Trade Law, Tiger Conservation is an area I would always like to remain associated with.

I have visited the Bandavgarh and Kanha National Parks a legion of times in my growing up years and have seen and observed the tiger in its natural abode innumerable times. I recall being in Bandavgarh -in one of my several visits- around the time when Sita, a tigress had been poached. The discussions with various people associated with the park then, have for long remained ingrained on my memory. Such has been my association with Bandavgarh National Park that my parents- both doctors- were once contemplating about buying a house near the park. In fact, forests and wildlife have always remained subjects of my fascination. One of my uncles has recently retired as the Director of the Wildlife Institute at Deharadun, and he is another person who has inspired me to respect the forests and the wildlife.

After undergoing the Environmental Law Course in the second year of Law School, my resolve for doing something for the tigers only became stronger. I am aware that saving the tigers is indispensable for India’s water security (given the 'tiger-forest-water' link). However, I also look at the tiger as a heritage we need to preserve for the future generations. I have gone through the report of the Tiger Task Force (which was appointed by the PM last year to look into sudden disappearnce of Tigers from a National Park in Rajasthan) in parts. They seem to be more concerned about the human populations inside the parks than the tiger. Nevertheless, they do have some good suggestions for improving the enforcement agencies.

Having read Valmik Thapar’s Last Tiger -which relies on the WPSI report- in parts, I realize that it is the market for tiger skins and bones in Tibet (for skins) and China that fuels its poaching in India. As long as the source isn’t dismantled, the problem would always persist. The economic factor would always remain a driving force for the poachers. The porous Nepal border along with the ‘no visa required’ policy for movement across it, is another facilitator.

The Wildlife Protection Act even after hundred amendments can’t save the tiger as long as the market for tiger products is not dismantled. And since it exists outside our territory, the role of Public International Law gets underscored here. It is high time that bilateral consultations are entered into with China. We now have enough proof to show that activities in the Chinese territory are a source for tiger poaching in India. The ban on transboundary harm is a rule of binding customary international law.[1] This rule is embodied in Principle 21 of the Stockholm Declaration and in the new Convention on Biological Diversity according to which States have “the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States”. It makes a prima facie case for a petition to the International Court of Justice if China doesn’t co-operate as it is violating a customary rule of International Law.

I have interned under Satish Maneshinde, one the most prominent lawyers practicing at the Bombay High Court and can recall at least one case which involved the tiger and the Wildlife Protection Act. We were for the accused who got acquitted after a trial which lasted for ten years. I am convinced that we cannot expect much from the current system to save the tiger.

I have also submitted a research paper on ‘Legal Personality of Animals and the Animal Rights Discourse’ as part of my Jurisprudence-II course at the Law School and have looked into possible reasons for poor enforcement of Wildlife Protection Laws in India.

My rationale behind posting this piece is to keep me motivated right through the year for completing my paper on Tiger Consevartion. I would request my regular readers to chip in with suggestions.

[1] Catherine Tinker, Responsibility for Biological Diversity Conservation under International Law, 28 VAND. J. TRANSNAT’L L. (1995) 777, 806-09.