It was thunderous applause. With my neck bedecked with garlands, I raised my head to look around at the exuberant audience that assembled to get lessons on taking politics as a career. With a gentle nod and a broad smile, I got up to address the gathering.

​Wanted men/women to join us at DTA (Dirty Trick Association). Age and qualification - no bar. Must be vocal with fair command in local dialogues although sensible and meaningful utterances are no prerequisites. Experiences in roadside fights, hurling abuses and calling names will be added advantages. Preferences will be given to those who underwent jail terms on charges of fomenting political, parochial and communal troubles. Really talented persons can look forward to bright future in a premier political party and can aspire to become a Minister in due course.

​I am there for many many years – in fact, since time immemorial. Almost all those from urban and semi-urban areas and are generally well-off, know me by name. I am attractive, I am powerful. Despite this, people consider me the roots of many evils. It is indeed ironical that while people usually show their disapproval and express their contempt for me publicly, they seldom have any inhibition to embrace me behind the closed doors. In fact, they are eager to receive me with open arms. Their hypocrisy and double speak, to put it mildly, are commendable. 

A news item date-lined Kochi is doing the round today. It has gone viral on social media as well. The Kerala state Excise Commissioner has reportedly commented that certain provisions in the present law could land a person to jail for staring annoyingly at a woman for 14 seconds.

Since our last post on corruption over a couple of years ago, it was thought there would be no further debates – and no blogs – on bribery and corruption, since the country is getting through a period of renaissance. The hopes were based on solid facts. Several events of significance that took the country by storm surprised everyone. People looked serious: Corruption is an evil practice, it must go. ​

The whole world seems to be against me the Corrupt.  But is it really so? Isn’t it because of the breeding ground made available to me that I am corrupt. If people were genuinely and sincerely opposed to corruption, how 

Raju was highly excited and thrilled. His breathings were heavy and fast. He looked at his cell phone and read the sms again and again. Is he dreaming? He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself to ascertain if he was indeed awake. The message was clear and distinct. It read:

“You have won 750,000 pounds in CNN World News Poverty Alleviation Award, winning #7, to claim it contact Dr Jim via Email cnnworldnewsdept@live.com”.

Honesty is a word of the past! The high-sounding words like ‘honesty’, ‘integrity’ and ‘truthfulness’ do not carry any meaning any more. It is money and money all the way, right from the top to the bottom. The end justifies the means. If the end is to accumulate wealth, the means could be anything – deception, outright dishonesty or forgeries. The god of ‘money’ is all-powerful, as he can swiftly wash-off all the sins associated with the means to accumulate cash.

It was a cool October evening  when I settled down on my laptop to look for incoming mail. This had been a usual chore for me for quite some time. While glancing over the list of mail, I stopped at one that came from one of my old colleagues.  ‘Surprising’, I murmured, ‘never did this gentleman ever use email to write to me.’  Our usual communications – on occasions like festivals – had been through SMS only. With a mixed feeling of surprise, curiosity and urgency, I opened the post   to find a very distressful communication. It went something like this:  

It was dark all around. The sound of the lone barking dog outside was intruding into the all-pervading silence in the air. It made the environment eerie and frightening,
There was a knock at the door. Who could be there at this dead of night? I became all the more nervous and anxious. The door opened slowly meanwhile with a creaking sound, and a tall human-like figure emerged, as if from nowhere. I was terrified, and sprang up with a shudder. Is it a ghost story unfolding in real life? I wondered. My lips were dry and my body were trembling like a dry leaf. I was at a loss to know what was happening around me that was so weird.

Who does not want to be rich? A rich man is an influential man and an empowered person. He is important, he is VIP and he is the virtual king. The whole world seems to be at his beck and call. Who will not like to avail himself of this privilege?