A few weeks back, I was searching for some documents in the boxes kept in my garage and found a bunch of papers there. The stack was a set of three articles that I had written for the first ever magazine published by my engineering college, VIT (in Pune, India). My friend, Raja Ghosh and I, were part of the editorial board and I remember him and I typing this on his dad’s old typewriter (him more than me). The papers and articles brought back lot of good old memories and I thought I’d share one of those articles with you.
This one was supposed to be a comic view about what the world would probably be like in 2020 AD. Considering that this was written in 1988, when I read it now, I think it could be considered as “almost” prophetic. The idea behind the article came from something my childhood friend, Bharat Chitale, had written for my high school magazine in 1979-80. Anyways, here is that article for your reading. Enjoy:
“Good Morning. This is the All India Radio giving you the news”.
“India’s Prime Minister, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, has warned the North eastern countries that they would pay heavily if they did not stop interfering with the internal affairs of India. The Prime Minister was talking to the reporters after the 73rd Independence Day celebrations in Delhi. “
Shucks – when will these people ever learn? Why can’t they believe in more action and less words? His father, Rajiv Gandhi, had made a similar speech as did his grandmother, Indira Gandhi and so did his great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru.
“The Prime Minister also told the reporters that India will not be exploding any more nuclear devices this year. He said that the country will now be producing fully indigenously developed aircrafts for the Air Force, tanks for the Army, and submarines for the Navy. The parade was marked with the usual gaiety and pomp, which has become associated with the ceremony over the decades. It was attended by dignitaries from the embassies, members of the cabinet, MPs and people from the various states. However, the Adivasis of the Bastar Area of M.P and the surrounding areas of Bihar, abstained from the ceremony as a mark of protest against the Government’s refusal to accept their language and to grant full statehood status to Chatthisgarha.”
When will these leaders stop playing with the minds of simple minded voters? The stupid voters never realize that they are mere playthings in the hands of these politicians, who incite the mobs to become violent, then withdraw and enjoy the ongoing drama that pursues.
“On the international front, the president of the newly independent Sindh and Baluchistan State has appealed to the public to work harder to ensure that their newly found freedom is harder is not wasted. He was speaking at a ceremony to mark the end of the week-long festivities which were organized to celebrate their independence from Pakistan. “
“In England, the Asian majority has assured the white minority that in no way will their interests be harmed. However, they have warned that no violence of any kind will be tolerated from the minorities.”
That is very amusing; it reminds me of the time when Mrs. Thatcher was the PM. The farsighted leader had foreseen this kind this kind of trouble, but was opposed by everyone. I bet she is laughing at all her detractors now and telling them “I told you so”.
“News from the war in Afghanistan is that the Chinese Army is now struggling to maintain its foothold in the mountainous regions, where the rebels have waged a gorilla war for some time. You may remember that Afghanistan was invaded by the erstwhile USSR in 1980 and then by USA in 2002. Both USSR and USA had to withdraw after a decade of occupation, that wrecked heavy economic turmoil in their homeland”.
Nobody has been able to rule the country in the last 2000 years. And that means nobody – from the inside or outside. So why do people keep trying… they should just cover that place with a glass bowl and watch the happenings from outside.
“In the news from the world of sports, the President distributed trophies to the outstanding sportsmen and sports women of the country. He praised the Indian hockey officials and players for winning the Olympic medal after nearly forty years. Some of you might remember that the Indian team last won the Olympic Gold in Men’s hockey in 1980, in Moscow. The President criticized the Indian Kabaddi teams for their dismal performance in the Olympics. As you may recollect, the men’s kabaddi team came a dismal 14th out of 16 participants while the women’s team came a poor 5th out of 10 teams. The gold medal in Men’s Kabaddi competition was won by American men, who narrowly beat the Japanese men. In the women’s section, Russia won the event by beating England.”
The same old story – the women always do better than the men. They should just stop sending the men to these tournaments.
“In cricket, Zimbabwe was placed very strongly against India in the third test match of the five test series. After scoring a massive five hundred and seventy two runs in the first innings, Zimbabwe shot out India for a paltry two hundred and twenty runs. Asked to follow on, the India team was in trouble again. At the end of the day, they were one hundred and thirty for five wickets. Zimbabwe has already won the first two test matches.”
Damn it – I always knew it was of no use picking these guys from Kashmir and MP in the Indian team. They might as well have chosen people from Andaman and Nicobar islands!! I miss the days when Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar used to bat!
“Meanwhile, in the West Indies, China defeated West Indies by eight wickets in the third one day international match, which was following the 25 over format. The Chinese won the series 3-0. Most of the damage to the West Indies was done by the Chinese pace bowlers, while the famous West Indian spinners could barely get any benefit from the wickets.”
Why do they even invite the Chinese to play? Everyone knows how strong that team is. They are practically invincible. The West Indies should just stop participating in International cricket for some time. They had even lost to Nigeria in their last endeavor.
“Back on the home front…….”
Kkrr – crash – screech ----- crackle --- click…..
Oh lord!! Power shortage still persists.
