Open Letter to Mamta Bannerjee

Dear  Momta Didi,

WHAT is wrong with the Indian Railways? Ever since you have taken over the damned portfolio, the railways are going back to where they were before Chara Chor hamra Laloo had taken over. Yet another accident has taken away from your credibility as the Railway Minister. This time in Madhya Pradesh.

23 people lost their lives on Monday morning when a goods train ran into the Gwalior- Indore Intercity Express. The accident has been blamed on 'human error' as the cabin man forgot to change the track for the goods train that jumped a signal. Didi, you thus have a more than pathetic track record of 270 deaths in 15 months in your tenure as the minister.

Only if you had bothered with the railways in depth instead of changing the menu of the trains and adding fish curry to it and starting duronto trains to and from Bengal (wtf is with the name anyway? Sounds like yet another Bengali dish) You also gave more priority to your elections in West Bengal and have never made your ambitions of becoming the CM of WB under wraps. In fact you are brash about it. Then pray why are you bothering with railways anyway.

But what really gets my goat are sentences that follow news articles of accidents.

"Railway minister Mamata Banerjee has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next kin of the dead, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 for those with serious and minor injuries respectively.

Besides announcing monetary compensation, the government has also promised jobs to the next of the kin of those killed in the mishap."

Didi, do you know how much money has the Railway Ministry had to give out thanks to your lack of leadership skills? Lets not even start to think about the jobs. First there are the million and one quotas for jobs, and then this. Kin of railway accident victims. Don't get me wrong didi. I think they deserve the jobs more than anyone in any quota does. But wouldn't it be better if they had their family members alive and well, still working, still earning and happy? Or maybe if the 'minor injury' victims had their limbs about them?

Time for drastic measures Didi. Shape up or ship out. You've had more accidents to your name in recent times than most other railway ministers. Don't start off about the Naxals already, let me finish. Something somewhere is clearly amiss. Be a good leader and set things right and NO, I don't mean a Kolkata Bandh for the love of God.

Yours pissed offed-ly

Nishtha

To Dadoo, With Love

Written on 28th August 2010

Today, I return the books Dadoo, my grandpa, my nana borrowed in 2008 from the library he had been a member of for 25 years. Today Dadoo will truly be at peace. Overdue books was never his thing.

Dadoo could read two books at a time.He travelled VT daily till he was well into his 80s. Dadoo could do a lot of things others couldn't. He was undoubtedly the most extraordinary man I've ever met.

I never really could tell him how awesome he was. But I have a feeling that he always knew. After he passed away in February this year, I've been inundated with stories about Dadoo I had never been told before. I just can't stop feeling bad about the fact that I had but 20 years with him.

Wherever you are today Dadoo, I hope they have tons of books for you. The thriller ones. :) Miss you Dad!