Tag Archives: obama

A visit by our local MLA

Yesterday evening saw our local MLA “Jai Bhagwan Agarwal” paying a visit to our apartment/society. It was the first time ever that I was present while someone contesting elections came for a visit as a part of his campaign. It was a different and funny experience. Till now i had seen more campaigning for elections on film and tv then in real life. The cavalcade of the minister was proceeded by various people playing drums, holding banners of BJP and shouting slogans for their leader. Want to know their slogan for this time ?

Rohini ka Obama kaun ? Jai bhagwan Jai bhagwan ” –
Yes, you had to be there to believe it 🙂 Apparently they’ve been using this slogan all around the place.

After the MLA met his supporters who had come to greet him there took place a ritual (which as expected I had no clue about). Its one of those things that are apparently a regular affair around election time. The MLA weighed on a weighing balance and his biggest supporter and friend (a resident of our apartment) donated bags of 1 Rs coins that equaled his weight. I am told its a way to show one’s respect and trust.

Noise and people settled a bit after this and Mr agarwal spoke a few cliched words about how the residents of our apartments are important, how supportive they have always been and we’ll continue doing good things etc etc. The speech(if it can be called) lasted for five minutes before the procession moved to the next apartments leaving behind a few delicious sweet dishes to be circulated among those who had gathered

Obama’s campaign and the power of email

Email is not one of the things that comes to one’s mind when it comes to social media marketing. A world where shiny web 2.0 objects like facebook and twitter are at the center stage most people tend to think a bit too less of the classic email and the possibilities it offers. Lets see how Obama and his team leveraged the power or email to the hilt.”

Here’s a post I wrote on the appadom blog, read the full post here

Let the change begin.

In the guest post below by thepete from thepete.com shares what has changed in the political arena of US and how it should help to make things better.
———————————————————————————————————

After living in America for 8 years under the rule of George W. Bush, it’s funny to find myself trying to be hopeful. I keep having to remind myself of the amazing thing we Americans did the other day. A great many of us were expecting a neck-and-neck battle to last for days or even weeks, but in the end, American voters really, reeeeally
wanted change right now. Perhaps, once Bush has abdicated the Oval Office and Obama takes his oath, I’ll have an easier time accepting that things have changed. But what does change really mean to the US and to world?

Personally, I think it boils down to one simple thing. Race. No, I don’t think racism is dead. No, I don’t think a black man can be a better leader than a white guy and I sure as hell don’t believe the other way around, either. For 232 years, the USA has been led by a white guy. In the great scheme of things, we’re all supposed to
believe skin color doesn’t matter, but after two centuries of American presidents, I think it matters a LOT.

In one of our Founding Documents here in the US, “We the People of the United States” agree that “All Men Are Created Equal.” Electing a man with dark skin finally makes this statement in our Declaration of Independence mean something. For over two hundred years it’s just been words on a page written by men who, themselves, owned blacks as slaves. Now, finally, America seems to mean what it says (at least in one way).

Barack Obama will bring a perspective to the country that no other white president could. Being raised in a white family while being black, he will know what both experiences are like. He’s gone from literal rags to riches. Now, we hope, he will apply these life lessons to the job of American President. But there will be obstacles. He still has pressures from big business and the special interests to deal with. He’s also inheriting an economy that by most standards is in dire straights. If that weren’t enough he’s got American troops scattered around the globe leaving the
American military fatigued and stretched thin. God forbid there should be another 911-style attack on American soil.

He’s in a position where he’ll have no choice but to work with the rest of the world to solve America’s problems. George W. Bush has left us in a situation that I don’t think we can fix on our own unless we withdraw completely from the rest of the planet and I seriously doubt we’d do that. Thankfully, Obama comes across as an entirely reasonable person, willing to talk, willing to understand and willing to work things out. To me, he doesn’t seem like a “with us or against us” kind of guy. Compared to the Republicans that are on their way out, his perspective will seem incredibly unique.

If the American people are right, that unique perspective will serve him well in dealing with the rest of the Earth, as well as the citizens of the United States. We can only hope.

Oh, hey! I did it! I hoped! 🙂