Enid Blyton's England

Root Beer, Lemonade, Chicken and Ham sandwiches, the Autumn sun, picnics over the moors and an occasional mystery to spice up the vacation!!! And that's what England used to be; at least in the books penned by Enid Blyton and devoured by adolescents world over for a major part of their growing years. Every page added to the creation of that beautiful country side landscape, every paragraph made our minds wander off to that place, where 'SECRET SEVEN', 'FAMOUS FIVE' and others would spend their adventurous holidays. But alas, things have gone from good to bad to worse and finally to loot in England.
England is witnessing dark days, probably darker then dark ages; only made brighter by the rising inferno in several parts. Emotional unrest, deteriorating civic life, personal angst and not being able to grab that latest gizmo! People have been on a rampage looting spree, making most of the situation. Ethnics are crying foul over the settling of immigrants, who are mainly students. Their complain is that the latter has sidelined the ethnics in terms of opportunities and reduced their chances of buying a football match ticket! The immigrants on their part, portray their life as that of marginalisation and hatred. They are not provided with the same level of opportunities as their Brit counterparts. Things had reached a breaking point and protests turned to riots. Forget 'Lord save the Queen', it's over to 'Lord save the Harrods' now. Maybe it's also result of suppressed anger over not being invited to any of the royal weddings. But one thing is certain, none of them has read Enid Blyton. She is lost in time, gathering dust on some corner shelf waiting to be looted hopefully in the recent scenario. But people are more concerned with PSPs and Xboxes.
Rioting never led to any result except for damage of public property and loss of personal life. Trauma is what people will be left with and then, one wouldn't feel like playing with a gaming console. is this the time for another Renaissance, or is it just a stupid outrage. Whatever it maybe, England is losing both ways and there's not another Blyton to awaken England from its slumber.

IN- Dependence!

64 years hmm! Old enough to be eligible for pension but still juvenile for a democratic state. The most celebrated public holiday awaits being celebrated with pomp (and some criticism!) Everything we do, eat, drink, think will have an element of the tricolor; if not the media will help you to do so.
And then there's the cynical part of the day: when issues will be hotly debated, discussed, dissected and dramatized; yup,4D it is!
Coming to business, what are we celebrating independence from, now? Freedoms and unfreedoms will keep changing and subject to revision to keep towing our preferences. On what does our independence lie on? On what basis do we claim to be independent today? Where do we posit our independent status? We depend on nations for commerce, trade, alliance, security, knowledge and a plethora of reasons. One cannot decide its PoA without considering others' reaction. We cannot take policy actions neglecting the after-effects it will have on world stage.
Now one will say: we want freedom from corruption, from terrorism, from inflation, from red tapism, from XYZ's Swayamvar, etc! Very true indeed. Is a public protest, hunger strike (or any strike), a PIL, an RTI, an enquiry commission be able to rechristen our faith in freedom. It is easier to topple a monarchy, but how do you uproot a democratic system for a better one? How do we put the brakes on this machinery of the constitution? How do the legalities be done with? We are dependent on the system to co-exist; it runs for us and by us. If it is dispensed with, on what basis then do we call ourselves civilians in a civil society? What a waste of Paradox!
Maybe we should just relax and enjoy the day; and thank god it's a monday!

Death of THE DOLLAR

Obama hasn't slept for a week and the duration might get prolonged. Osama coudn'thelp in optimizing the situation after a certain extent. Fingers are being pointed across the Atlantic; questions are knocking the doors and the White House is getting tarnished.
As if the Heat wave sweeping across the nation with scorching 100 degrees for days together wasn't enough, another Recession wave is surging forward. Lakes have dried up all together and sings of an impending calamity looms. People are reeling under this unusually high temperature; two dozen lives have been claimed and this inferno is in mood for further damage. Added to this- the piling up Government debt and fear of millions of job loss. Republicans and Democrats never had it easy in reaching a consensus, and this time tensions escalated to the last hour. Countries world-over are losing faith in the dollar; its stability in the forex markets. Why wouldn't it be when everyone has their share of US T-bills in exchange for their exports. Major stock indices have fallen, people are withdrawing money and stashing in the safe heaven-Gold. Does this signal the end of DOLLAR; its supremacy? Shall we dig its grave and then, give a posthumous honour?
Suppose the Dollar dies(god forbid) under the given conditions; what will happen next? Who will fill its shoes, who will provide the security, who will gain global acceptance. Euro has its own share of problems- Germany and France ain't the only countries in Europe. PIGS are smelling of dirt and efforts to clean them up are not sufficing. Pound has its own country to look after: its coffers are depleting up. Yuan is so stubborn; is a sister-concern of dollar. Deliberately de-values itself. Rupee is feeding on supplements; is premature for this job. Yen has had its share of hay-days; is aging now and has lost value. The Dollar just rolled up in its grave!
We wouldn't want the dollar to die; not an untimely death at least. It may have lost its sheen but it ain't Charlie Sheen!