As another May 11 approaches !

May 11 (and the dates around it) always holds a special place in my life, and these could be the reasons, most of whom have hardly anything to do with me,the person ! okay, lets go chronological

* 1857, the first war of indian independence, essentially started on May 9, and the Indian soldiers recaptured Delhi from the Brits on May 11 . here's something to read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Delhi_(1857) .

* 1951 : Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then President, performed the Prana Prathistha ceremony of a renovated Somnath Temple. And I so love to quote his words, year after year

"By rising from its ashes again, this temple of Somnath, is to say proclaiming to the world,that no man and no power in the world can destroy that for which people have boundless faith and love in their hearts..... Today our aim is not to rectify history, our only aim is to proclaim anew our attachment to the faith , convictions and values on which our religion has rested since immemorial ages"

* 1998 : The Pokhran tests . Years before, I wrote this article combining the 1951 and 1998 incidents . Needless to say, at a time when Indo-US nuke deal is a matter of great debate, I just wonder- what if India did not do those tests at that time ? would we have ever ??

* 2000 : At the turn of the "millenium" (as per Gregorian...) , the "equal pay day" hit a pretty bad May 11, compared to an April 7 in 1999 !! In 2003, it was a better April 15, and this year, it again hit a bad April 25 ! Feminists and proletariat of the world, unite :-)

* Last year, on May 11, I wrote this time pass (or "day" pass ??) article ...

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So, what do we have in store this year ?

Apart from the personal aspect that, it would be the first day after 4 months of having taken up the academic excercise that I am currently on (and the hope that some miracle saves me by then), it also is the election results day for the state elections in India

I 've got mixed thots on this... for one, the main oppossition party, BJP hardly have any presence in any of these places.. it never stopped surprising me on why they have failed to understand the basic psychology of these states, so badly.

That apart- Kerala - well, mostly the devil will replace the deep sea - no surprises. The good part - as some one said, hopefully Achuthanandan is the last communist left in Kerala, and let him finally taste - albeit, at 84- what he has been thirsting all these days : would be interesting to watch !! The bad part - the great amount of violence unleashed by the left , in the name of protests, including by the likes of a brainwashed-young Sindu Joy (couldn't help notice !!), will get an "approval" from the people in the form of election results

W. Bengal - Buddha shall smile again !! As my Bengali friend keeps saying, "non-Bengalis will get it tomorrow" and it always remains a tomorrow !

TN - well, eventho' initial predictions favored the fat lady, current ones favor the old man .either way,what do i care ? - yathaa praja, tathaa raja

Assam - Disunity among the opposition, is leading to a hung assembly, as oppossed to what could have been a clear Congress defeat....

There seems to be a calmness and silence , during these days running upto the result-day .. but how much ever insignificant these results may seem to be, something tells me, its going to be the beginning of something - good or bad, I donno ....

Looks like as always, May 11 is like a gentle breeze, carrying with it, impressions from the past, and a message and hope for the future....

3, 2 , 1 .....