Journey for a Dream

Insider Trading, Corruption, Nepotism, Favouritism, Conflict of Interest – these are all words one can hear often when Government/Politics is being discussed. These are also words that have enough destructive power to overthrow governments, cause great losses to society and sometimes even death. In an interview with Robert Frost, long after the Watergate scandal broke out, Richard Nixon shouted “When the President does it that means it is not illegal”. When Nixon would’ve directly/indirectly ordered the tapping of phones, was he fully aware of his actions? Did he know what the gravity of the matter was? When I first watched the interview, I found the incident too far to relate to. When the 2G Scam and the Coal Scam broke out, it still was all in the air. I knew it was wrong but I didn’t quite understand the core of it. For more than a year now I have been working with a state government very closely. Associated with its highest office and with an extremely broad mandate, I have a...

“He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly”- James Allen I have always been at peace with the fact that I have and will have to forgo a lot in order to achieve what I wish to. It starts with a party you wanted to attend with a few friends, moves on to a wedding of a close relative, then on to some material comforts, further along to some relationships you built over years and before you know it you reach a phase where you’re efficiently maneuvering life’s obstacles in order to maintain the focus on your aspirations, on “what matters most!” When Gandhi sailed to India after his stint in Africa, did he realize that he will one day have to sacrifice everything he has, including his life, just to ensure freedom? Was he okay with it? There’s no way of knowing. But questions like these and stories such as his have always inspired me to strive harder. To take the pain beca...

The NDLS-CDG Shatabdi makes its way through the onslaught of raindrops towards its destination, Chandigarh; the city beautiful. One of the richest and most fertile belts in India, part of the massive road built by Sher Shah Suri, the Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) from New Delhi to Chandigarh has been my most frequented path this past year. Working with the state of Haryana on its flagship initiative, the Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associates, I have witnessed and been associated in a multitude of decisions that got taken in the hallowed buildings of “Sarkar” (Government)! Sitting on the last seat of the AC coach in Shatabdi, I look at all the people sitting and living their lives in their own way, oblivious to my existence. Just a few days ago, I was listing out to one of my friends all the things we have been able to achieve this last year in the state. At the end of it, it struck me that nobody would ever know or speak of all this say 10 years down the line. May...