Choosing a Academic Stream

This is an interesting concept for me, because it is one that can be used most by parents to figure out which academic path is best suited for their child. Note, this a methodology to pick a study stream that is most suited to the persons mentality, and does not deal with the success in that study or the career that comes after it. Its about putting the child in the best possible position, given the circumstances.

The methodology is quite logical. First list out the stellar significations of the cuspal sub lord of the 4th house, which is the primary house of formal education. Then list out the stellar significations of the Dasha lords that will be ruling during the period of higher education and career (because if someone asks you for advice on what to study,  it is only logical to suggest that curriculum that will be most applicable to what you think he/ she will do in the future). 

It is important to first note down which Graha denotes what sort of a career, so that relevant  study paths can be looked at:

Sun: Government or government approved service, security, own/inherited business, copper, gold, wheat, medicines, chemicals, medical or medical related field etc

Moon: Water related work (navy, docks, ports, water department), salt, fish, pearls, business related to liquids, milk, petrol, cooking, farming, travel, juices etc

Mars: Soldier, police, detective work, chemist, dentist, surgeon, butcher, barber, iron and steel, cook, engineers, physicist, foundries, weapons work, land, construction etc

Mercury: Brokers, teachers, lawyers, arbitrators, advisors, writers, journalists, printers, publishers, astrologers, accountants, translators, travel agencies, mathematicians, marketing and advertising, PR, communications of various types etc

Jupiter: Higher education, colleges, religious institutions, law related, hospitals, managers, finance, judges, banks etc

Venus: Films, dance, sports, entertainment, singers, all types of artists, vehicle related (garages, car salesmen, automobile engineering, drivers), farming, sex workers, aesthetics related, sweets and sugar, Opticians, beauticians, glass work, tea and coffee related, perfumes, beauty products, finance and money etc.

Saturn: Iron work, coal related, mining, hair related, wool, leather and such animal products, bone related work, museums, archaeology, detective work, death related work (grave yards, slaughter houses etc), family planning work, astrology, Air conditioning work etc

Rahu: Jails, graveyards, black coloured things, black magicians, illegal work, rag pickers, daily wage labourers of different sort, low status work, thieves, photography, scientists, dealing in antiques and broken down things, electronics repair, radiation and X Ray, tantra vidya etc

Ketu: Medicine related, especially surgery and medicinal manufacturing, yogis, siddhas, astrologers, beggers, occult subjects like astrology and meditation etc

To put it in a modern context and very broadly, 

Saturn, Mars and Mercury combining with the 8th cusp can be deemed to be of 'Engineering' stream. 

Venus, Mercury, Jupiter combining with 2nd 6th, 10th or 11th cusp are of 'Commerce' stream.

Sun, Mercury, Mars combining with 5th 8th or 12th cusp are of 'Medical' stream. Moon too will come here but it will be in subjects lie Psychology.

Moon owning the most sensitive sign (Cancer), deals more with Arts side of studies. 

In terms of signs:

Engineering: Aries, Scorpio, Gemini, Virgo

Commerce: Taurus, Libra, Gemini, Virgo

Medicine: Aries, Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius 

Now, lets try and apply this to a few charts:

Chart 1 (18 July 1986, 10:40AM, Morena) 4th cusp and pertinent period Dasha significations:

Ra: 7

Ma: 4, 3 8; Ve: 12 2 9 

Ke: 1

Ju: 6 4 7; Su 10 11

Ve: 12 2 9; Su: 10 11 

Ma: 4, 3 8

Ve: 12 2 9

Me: 11, 1 10; Sa  3 5 6

Ke: 1

Ju: 6 4 7; Su 10 11

Ve: 12 2 9; Su: 10 11

Ma: 4, 3 8

Ke 1

Ve: 12 2 9; Su: 10 11

Su 10 11; Ju 6 4 7

Mo 3 11; Sa 3 5 6

A simple glance at the significations will tell the reader that Sun signifying 10 and 11, and Venus signifying 12 2 9. I have also highlighted them to make it easy for the readers. The native's Ascendant falls in Virgo.  

Let us first take Sun and 10 11 for analysis. 10 and 11 stand for honour, dignity, authority, political power, government or gain from government, own business, permanency. Now putting this together with Sun, we can get that this person has something to do with the government and/ or has his own business. Sun can give medical stream, but it is not signifying the 5/8/12 houses needed for medical or related fields. Sun is signifying the 10th house which falls in the 'commerce' house category.

Lets look at Venus and 2 9 12. 

2nd house  - wealth, family, vehicle 

9th house - higher education, pilgrimage, justice, travel etc

12th - foreign lands, imprisonment, hospitalization, losses,  

Now Venus' natural signification of vehicle fits well with travel and foreign land, so perhaps a travel tourism or cab business will be a good fit for the individual. 

Venus is 'commerce' planet. Additionally, the native's ascendant is in Virgo, a 'commerce' sign as well. Venus signifies 2nd house of wealth further nudging me towards a commerce/ finance related field. 

As such travel related work and Commerce field will be suited for the individual. In fact with the 4th CSL strongly signifying 2 9 11  one can say that the native will be good at studies and do a professional course like MBA finance, or even Chartered Accountancy.

In reality, this native is a Chartered Accountant, who is running his own business (own practice) and in fact lives far away from his native place and needs to travel considerably for work. 

Chart 2 (19 Dec 1991, 17:14, Thana) 4th cusp and pertinent period Dasha significations:

Sa 8 9 10; Mo 3 12

Mo 3 12; Su 4 7

Ma 6 7 12; Me 6 2 5

Ra 7

Ju 4 8 11; Ve 1 6

Su 4 7; Ke 1

Su 4 7, Ke 1

Ma 6 7 12; Me 6 2 5

Me 6 2 5; Sa 8 9 10

Ju 4 8 11; Ve 1 6

Ve 1 6; Ju 4 8 11

Ju 4 8 11; Ve 1 6

Ve 1 6 and Me 6 2 5 are most prominently represented at the stronger levels.

Mercury represents both engineering and Commerce, but as it does not signify the 8th house I will take it in the commerce category.

The Asc is in Taurus, a commerce ascendant and two commerce planets are strongly signifying the commerce houses of 2 and 6.

Mercury and 5 could have also given the person a possible career path in communications and entertainment.

In reality the native is a chartered accountant and works in the finance department of one of the country's largest Air Conditioning company.

Chart 3 (18 Dec 1964, 20:23, Ratnagiri) 4th cusp and pertinent period Dasha significations:

Ve 4 11; Sa 7 8

Ra 11
Mo 1 11; Ma 2 5 10
Ve 4 11; Sa 7 8
Ve 4 11; Sa 7 8
Ma 2 5 10

Ju 10 6 9; Ve 4 11

So Ma 2 5 10 and Sa 7 8 are most prominently represented.

The Ascendant is in Leo.

Mars natural significations are land, construction, iron, cutting, butchering, sharp instruments.Now combine it with house significations: 2 -wealth, family, mouth, which gives fields like income from land or property, 5 - healing, entertainment, art, sports, etc so perhaps a sportsman or an action star or surgeon, 10 reputation, govt position, etc - so perhaps in the armed forces or employed by the government in some position of respect.

Saturn's natural significations are death, cold places, hard things, long duration illnesses. Now combine with house significations: 7 - marriage, opposition, spouse, legal bondages, and 8 - accidents, getting hurt, death, going in depth, extreme difficulties etc.

In reality the native was a skilled surgeon who had to stop conducting surgeries due to an accident and then focused on helping terminally ill patients.

I will continue my research on the career + education front, and keep adding more charts as I get time to analyse them. Readers should kindly contribute cases that fit and do not fit the bill either in the comments section or email me at bhairaviuvacha@gmail.com

How fate changes! #EventStudy

Its been sometime since I have posted, what I would call, an "educational piece". So here goes. The chart below is of a native who moved abroad (from India) and did really well in material life till the dasha changed. The Dasha lord gives us an indepth look of why things changed the way they did and serves as an underline as to why jyotisha should be used to map out ones life so that one can optimise the good times and prepare for the bad. I will be doing this analysis using core Krishnamurti Paddhati and the role of the sub lord in it.

The native began his career in the Rahu dasha.. Let us see how the Rahu Dasha of the native was supposed to be, after all the Dasha determines the status of the native!

Rahu posited in 8 (Rahu is untenanted, ie. no planets in its stars so strong signification of 8)

Conjunct with Saturn: 8, 2; Venus: 11, 5 6 10 (Venus in 11, cusps 6 and 10 are empty so strong sig)

Sign lord Sun: 1; Venus: 11, 5 6 10 (Sun in Asc)

Star lord Venus: 11, 5 6 10

Sub lord Ketu 2 (Ketu is tenanted, so weak signification of 2)

Aspected by Saturn 8, 2; Venus: 11, 5 6 10

Sign lord Saturn 8, 2; Venus: 11, 5 6 10

Star lord Jupiter 7, 1, 3

As one can see, Rahu is giving results strongly of houses 1 6 10 8 and 11 and weakly of houses 2 and 5. The sublord is strongly giving results of houses 3 6 7 10 11 and weakly of 1 2 5 8. It is clear that 

With strong signification of 6 10 11 by planet and star and of 6 7 10 11 by sub and sub’s star, it is clear that financially this was a very fruitful period for the native. The 8th signification perhaps gave him some problems at work or in the family, it also made him do his work using bribes etc, but a positive 6 10 11 at the deciding Sub level, it could only turn out positive for him. As such, he stayed with this wife and children in grand style in a lesser developed country (Rahu). There was also troubles with spouse in this period due to the 1 6 10 significations, but the strong stellar signification of 11th cusp, supported by the Sub's  signification of 7 and 11, ensured that despite separation etc the spousal relationship did not break.  

The native moved abroad in November 2007 to an African country. Notably, despite there not being any strong significations of moving abroad by Dasha lord, Rahu is the natural karaka of foreign countries. The 3rd cusp is also strongly signified by the starlord (JU) of the sub lord. The actual move abroad happened in Ketu Bhukti and Sun Antara. Regular readers of the blog will know how Rahu and Ketu usually send the native to a lesser developed region of the world, so this native was sent to Africa!

Ketu is in its own Sub and its significations are as follows:

Ketu 2 (Ketu is tenanted, so weak signification of 2)

Aspected by Saturn 8, 2; Venus: 11, 5 6 10

Sign lord Saturn 8, 2; Venus: 11, 5 6 10

Star lord Jupiter 7, 1, 3

It is clear that it was the Sun antara that provided the impetus for going abroad, look at the significations:

Sun 1

Star Venus 11, 5 6 10

Sub Mercury 12, 9, 7

Subs Star Ketu 2

As can be seen the sub Mercury is a very strong significator of long journey (9) and foreign land (12). This move was followed by a “HUGE jump in salary” to put it in the native’s words. The Why is clear from the significations of 6 10 11 of Rahu, Ketu and Sun.

Rahu dasha ended in February 2015, after which Jupiter dasha started. Now lets look at Jupiter’s significations.

Jupiter: 7,3 1 

Star lord Saturn: 8, 2 

Sub lord Mars: 1, 4, 11, 12

Sub’ star Sun: 1

Jupiter is tenanted and as such will primarily give results of its starlord Saturn which is posited in 8. The 8th house is a malefic house that deals with accidents, insults, disappointments, delays, hurdles, stress, bad decisions, all types of losses etc. 

To analyse what sort of troubles the native might face one would have to see the 8th CSL  and its significations. The 8th CSL is also Jupiter, which we have seen signifies 8 and 2. As such the native best avoids driving or any hazardous activity since 1st, 8th and badhaka (7th), maraka (2 and 7) and 4th (end of everything) are signified. The saving grace is that 7th is weakly signified. 2nd signification means problems regarding money flow and problems regarding family. 2nd is also the vyayasthana for the 3rd house which deals with documents and travel which suggests some problems in getting permissions and hurdles to travel. All these issues the native is currently facing in spades. 

However, the sublord has the power to divert these results. The Sub Mars strongly signifies the 1st and 4th house. 1st house suggests self efforts, which the native will have to put in. The 4th house suggests that the native will get help from his home country and family. However the 4th house is also a malefic house suggesting it will also aid the other malefic house (8th) in creating troubles for a native.

Indeed as soon as the Jupiter Dasha started the native was cheated by his foreign supplier and he suffered a huge loss to the extent of selling off his home, and living on borrowed money. His travel documents have been impounded by his creditors and he is unable to return to his home, even though his family in India is taking efforts. His wife and kids had to come back to their home country and he is left alone to fend for himself in the foreign land (1st cusp signification impact). In some ways it could be argued that he is imprisoned. In fact the only reason he is not in jail is because the primary cusp of confinement, i.e. 12th house is weakly signified and 4th house of own home is strongly signified.

Now with travel documents confiscated (illegally) the native is unable to travel back to India to be with his family. Without travel documents, no work is possible and the native is currently living off the help of his friends. Again the 8 and 11 combination coming into play with him getting unearned income. But 11 is weakly signified, hence only meager amounts are coming in even as the 'sting' og 8th house (insults) is intact. 

So when can he return to his home land?

The houses to return are 2, 4 and 11. Lets see the significators of the same:

2nd house: House lord is Saturn, Jupiter and Venus are in Saturn’s stars. Ketu occupies the 2nd house, Mercury is in the star of Ketu. So Mercury (A), Ketu (B), Jupiter (C), Venus (C) and Saturn (D) are the significators of the 2nd house (in descending order of strength)

4th house: House owner is Mars. There are no other planets in the 4th house. Since Mars is becoming the sole significator of the 4th house, we will see if there is any planet whose sublord is Mars. Jupiter is such a planet. Thus, Jupiter (A) and Mars (B) become significators of 4th house.

11th house Mars is the house owner, no planets in Mars nakshatra. Venus is in the house. Saturn, Rahu, Sun are in the star of Venus. Thus, Rahu (A), Saturn (A), Sun (A), Venus (B) and Mars (D) become significators of the house.

So in total, Mercury (A), Ketu (B), Jupiter (A), Venus (B), Saturn (A), Rahu (A), Sun (A), and Mars (B) become significators of the 2 4 11 combination.

Since ability of Jupiter to send the native back is not in question (has full combination of 2 4 11), we can say that the current Bhukti Antara combination of Saturn-Mercury (lasting till Jan 1 2018) will bring the native back. Note, Jupiter (Dasha lord) is a strong significator of the 4th house, Saturn (Bhukti lord) is a strong significator of the 11th house and Mercury (Antara lord) is a strong significator of the 2nd house.

A challenge accepted - the aftermath

Regular readers will remember that I had received a very dishonorable challenge from a practitioner of Vedic system of astrology. The gentlemen who in fact had referred to me as a fraud used to be a high official in the police force. The challenge and how I won it was can be read about in detail here.

Anyway, so in that post I had written that marriage of the native is impossible till March 2018. After that there is some chance. Best chance is in the period 5th Dec 2023 to 10 Nov 2024, but that itself is a slim chance. This chart is not one that is destined to have a happy marriage at least as per me. As usual I always pray that let me good predictions come right, and bad ones come wrong.

So I heard that the native's marriage is fixed for March 2018. Naturally I was happy for the family and also somewhat satisfied that my prediction has sort of come true. But only somewhat satisfied as truly if you asked me this is still not the best time for the marriage to happen ('best' being relative to this chart ie).

As a result I kept checking with my friend on the marriage preparations. As (bad) luck would have it, I was just informed that the match has fallen through. The hall was booked and invites had gone out. But marriage was cancelled last minute. What can one say. Man proposes,  the graha disposes.

May Bhairavi give the native whatever is best.

Method of recitation of mantras

I am writing this as a easy way to tell those who consult with me as to how to recite these mantras. I am not advocating willy-nilly recitation of these powerful sounds by readers. Now when I think a mantra is appropriate for someone, I can point them to this post instead of individually explaining to everyone:

1) Background:

Chanting to be completed in 21 days at most. Can complete earlier if you increase count. Chanting to be done everyday in the same spot, facing the same direction (East) and at the same time (+/- 5 mins at most). Sit on an aasana.

2) Sankalpa (to be done on just the first day):

Light a ghee lamp. Sit facing east the lamp in front of you and with a empty plate or vessel in between you and the lamp. Take Rs 1/2/5/10 coin in your right palm. Take some haldi-kumkum, any 1 flower, a little rice and spoonful of water in the same palm. Touch your right arm at the elbow with your left hand finger tip. Hold your right hand in front of you. Close your eyes and pray to the graha (whose mantra you will be reciting) and to your kuladevata to a) solve the specific problems your are reciting the mantra for (mentally detail the issues) and b) to help you to complete your sankalpa. Then pour contents of the hand into the vessel in front of you. You can keep the coin with you or give it to a temple. The other contents can be put at the base of any plant or tree (preferably flowering ones).

3) Chanting:

Chant the prescribed number of malas ( mala of 108 beads to be used) everyday. Do not vary the number. For example, if you are supposed to chant 8 malas, then you cannot do 7 one day and 9 another 8. 8 means 8.

4) Can I use a counter instead of a mala?

Yes. As long as the count is the same. I prefer a mala.

5) What time is best for chanting?

Anytime. but keep it fixed. Preferably late at night, but not compulsory.

6) Can I chant twice or thrice a day (ie 4 malas in the morning and 4 in the evening)?

Yes. As long as you keep this EXACTLY constant and not vary it. Also follow the rule regarding time, place and direction.

7) Can I chant on a full stomach?

Keep an hours gap atleast from a full meal and chanting. Keep a glass of water close to you to sip in the middle if you so require. Sit comfortably. It is important that you are not physically disturbed during the chanting, ie. someone touching you, or you getting up to answer the doorbell or talking on the phone, or petting your dog etc.

8) Do I light the cow ghee lamp everyday?

Not necessarily, but I feel a positive change in environment when I do light it and I prefer to.

9) Can I eat non-veg and drink alcohol during the days I am chanting?

No. In fact if possible then try to maintain brahmacharya to the extent doable.

10) Can a woman chant during her periods?

Ideally try start on a day so that chanting does not coincide with the monthly cycle. But if unavoidable, then its ok to chant then.

11) How loud to chant?

Just so much that you can hear yourself. 

12) What are the Mantras for the Grahas?

May Bhairavi give you whatever is the best for you!

Verdict on Triple Talaq

India awaited a historic verdict from its Supreme Court on the barbaric religious practice of Triple Talaq amongst Muslims. I felt the urge to check what the outcome might be a couple of hours before the 5 judge bench (consisting of judges from 5 different religions) to hear the issue and rule on it.

The chart I cast at the time was as follows:

Lets look at the chart first. Rahu is the graha that signifies Islam and thus Muslims. Rahu is within 1 degree of Leo. While I dont follow traditional astrology, they regard the first and 29th degree of any sign as especially powerful. Note I use geocentric latitudes and true node calculations.

The sign Leo signifies the Govt and is owned by the Sun. Sun is also present in the Sign of Leo as also is the Moon. Both Sun and Moon are significators of the government. So all in all, Rahu was in a critical degree of a sign that signifies government and conjunct with 2 grahas that signify government. This suggested to me that if anyone acts on this barbaric religious practice, it will be the government and not the court.  

I looked at the ruling planets of the time which were Moon, Mercury, Ketu, Sun and Mars. For the court I would have liked to see judicial planets like Jupiter or Saturn take prominence and thus concluded that the barbaric practice will not be removed on the court's direction, but on action from the government.

Further confirmation came when I saw the cuspal sublord (CSL) of the 6th house. The 6th house or cusp gives victory over the opponent. It is Mercury and Mercury is retrograde. Mercury is in Purvaphalguni which is a nakshatra owned by Venus. Thankfully Venus is not retrograde as that would mean that an adverse verdict would be pronounced.

Anyway, since 6th CSL is retograde it means result will be delayed till Mercury goes direct. Mercury goes direct only after Sept 5 2017 and means any action on the Talaq issue is possible only after. That further confirmed that whatever order the Court gave today would be a middle of the road kind of an order as 'finality' is impossible today. 

But then what sort of an order can be expected. I was sure it will be a positive-ish order because the 6th CSL was strongly signifying the 10th house of reputation. (Again it didn't signify 11th house, so gain today was impossible). But 10th house means that reputation protecting order would be there. 

Now look at DBA, Ketu-Sat-Venus. Such an interesting combination of the DBA isnt it? Ketu signifies mixed castes, and it was a religiously diverse bench pronouncing the order. Moon was in Magha Nakshatra which aspires for a high chair and glory. Saturn, for I was curious about a court judgement, and Venus, because the judgement is about marital relations. Its amazing how things just align up in jyotisha as times!

Ketu has a negative combination of 6 8 12 but joined of an equal powered 10 and 11. Thus we can say it is marginally positive. Saturn has a 6 in planet and 12 in nakshatra, countered by a single 10 at the nakshatra level. This is a unfavourable planet. The only positive I can take of this is that it comes under a positive Dasha lord (Ketu) and at the sub level it has only positive houses signified. Venus is positive as well, a solitary 8 cannot do much. it has also a 10 at the planet level and a 11 at the sub level. So marginally a positive. Overall one can say that the DBA are positive but only after a struggle with the negatives. 

This further strengthened my belief that it is foolhardy to expect a table thumping judgement from the Supreme Court on the Talaq issue today. It will be a positive judgement but actual concrete action on this barbaric religious practice can only come from the government after September 5 2017.

This is what happened in reality. The bench ruled 3T as "unconstitutional" by a 3-2 vote and while suspending its use for six months asked the government to legislate to ban the practice completely. I think this is in harmony with what the grahas foretold this morning when I saw the chart.

PS:
For those wondering if I have practiced post facto astrology, the answer is NO. I had made a succint prediction on my twitter much before the verdict. Only elucidating it here for those interested in learning.

My first dog!

Is it apt, or is it almost ironical, that a dog should show up in one’s life when it is raining cats & dogs outside? But as they say…it happened to me! Finishing my Pooja on a Saturday morning a few weeks back, I was surprised to receive a call from a neighbor warning me of “a dog sitting right outside your door”. While I had never kept pet dogs till then I have always had a very soft corner for them. Opening the door, I find this bundle of sweetness curled up, wet, hungry, and shivering with cold outside:

 

My wife too has not been a pet owner, but she shares my affection for canines. We quickly got a few towels and manage to rub him dry through all his licking and hugging. We noticed that he had a limp in one of forelegs (perhaps due to the long walk from wherever he came). Since I have studied Jyotisha, I took his coming as a divine sign. After all he showed up on his own on a Saturday and just like Lord Shani who limps, he too came with a limp. Who adopted whom exactly, is thus a question that will remain unresolved.

My wife named him Coco, and like every good husband I know not to argue. “He looks like hot chocolate”, she said. And I agree. Coco’s antecedents are unknown. But given that he sought out a human house for shelter suggested that he was domesticated. Not having a collar meant that he has likely been abandoned. 

Quick visit to a doctor followed. I will recommend Dr. Aher to any other pet owners in Pune near the Baner, Aundh area. He is a young chap and clearly loves working with his patients. Since we didn’t know Coco’s vaccination status we got him vaccinated in a day or two of his arrival. Coco had a lot of ticks that were taken care of by some ayurvedic powder (helpfully provided by a fellow dog loving neighbor) and some meticulous picking by my wife. The doc suggested some de-worming pills which we gave him immediately that evening. Additionally, we are giving him calcium supplements, Vitamin A supplements, and something for his limp which appeared to be a swollen joint caused by excessive strain. There is also a liver tonic we mix with his milk.

Coco has brought a lot of joy to our lives. He is hard work, yes but it’s all worth it. No wonder dog owners live longer! Coco has seen a massive growth spurt in the last 2-3 weeks. He used to be able to squeeze out from our gate railings when came, now he cannot get his head through. The Doctor estimates that Coco is about 5 months old and will continue to grow for another 12 months. Already at a hefty 14 kilos, we expect Coco to level out at 30 kgs when fully grown. Look at him now!

  

We are still not sure what type of a dog he is. I know he is a local breed, generically referred to as Indi (for indigenous?) breed.  But judging by his patterns, uniform and very thick chestnut fur, black snout, tail and tips of ears, a symmetrical white patch on his chest, and his general demeanor, I suppose is some combination of an Indian Mastiff, Kombai and Gaddi.

  

The three pics above pics are courtesy of  (https://m.dogspot.in/9-indian-dog-breeds-never-knew-about/)

Indian Mastiffs are a north Indian breed and are excellent guard dogs and were, quite abhorrently, used for dog fighting purposes. Kombai is a Southern breed and has a characteristic black muzzle. It is primarily a hunting dog. Gaddi is from the Himalayan region and hence the furry coat. These are also excellent hunting dogs and can stand up to even leopards. Apart from the physical markings Coco has shown remarkable strength of character in not backing down from neighborhood dogs that are larger and could probably make him their chew-toy. In fact in several cases I have had to restrain him from charging them! We keep him mostly free in our front yard but needs to be tied up for a few hours everyday for the limp to heal. After all doctor has advised bedrest.

He is mouthing though and tends to bite and roughhouse with me quite a lot. So we recently got in touch with a trainer who will start classes on Sunday. Coco will soon be going to school! How quickly they grow up.

What keeps an Indian liberal awake at night?

The biggest, nay the only, thing that keeps the Indian ‘liberals’ awake at night is the complete lack of political opposition to the juggernaut that is Narendra Modi. Not only does it lack leaders to spearhead a campaign against Narendra Modi, they do not even seem to have issues to highlight. Deft handling of both, governance and politics, by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah has all but annihilated NDA’s political opposition.

Think about it this way. Narendra Modi became the NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate in September 2013 or thereabouts. But he had first come into the nation’s gaze due to the attention showered upon him by the mainstream media during the post Godhra incidents. This was in 2002. Even Modi’s harshest critics will agree that, at the very least, here is a man of extraordinary political acumen and intelligence. His ability to sway a crowd, whether in India or abroad, of masses or classes, in person or over a social media platform, is unparalleled in recent history. 

It took someone of this stature and intelligence over a decade to become a serious contender for the Prime Ministerial office. Now look at the opposition’s ranks today and try to identify who they have today that is of the stature of Narendra Modi in 2002. The Bookkeeper sees absolutely no one. As such, I am unsure if UPA has a PM candidate for 2024 even, much less 2019! One of the key reasons for this vacuum one surmises  is that UPA was hamstrung by having to project only one family as the panacea for all the ills of the country. They spent time, inventing, reinventing and re-reinventing ad nauseam a candidate who is quite frankly unelectable to the august office to which he aspires. No one else was developed or identified as a ‘plan B’.

But elections will be held and candidates will need to be put up. The question then is how the UPA will strategize in this situation. For this, The Bookkeeper makes one assumption about the UPA’s stand on 2019. The Bookkeeper believes that UPA has accepted that it is going to lose. Now they need to work around it. 

The Bookkeeper does not think that Rahul Gandhi will offer himself up as the general of a losing army. This would completely take him out of any post poll power equations. The myth of Priyanka Gandhi has also been busted in the minds of many. These are no longer the times when mere resemblance to a past PM will carry anyone through to the PM’s office. As such The Bookkeeper has ruled the siblings out.

Readers can themselves figure out why old stalwarts like Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh, Laloo Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Kharge, Kejriwal etc are also not in contention of the post of PM. The Bookkeeper will then not belabor himself.

The two pieces on the political chess board that mildly interest The Bookkeeper are Captain Amarinder Singh and Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar has had a blow hot – blow cold situation with the NDA and Laloo for the past few months. The Bookkeeper believes that politically, the correct move for Nitish would be to consolidate his position in Bihar and replace Laloo. Going head to head with Narendra Modi is not his priority. He may be seeing himself as more of backroom boy who will step in after the polls perhaps. But he is in no hurry whatsoever. He has time to wait, and wait he will. Thus The Bookkeeper believes that Nitish will not accept to become UPA’s PM candidate for 2019.

Captain Amarinder Singh is someone The Bookkeeper has come to respect among the current crop of his alternatives in Congress. As one of the few people in Congress who can win polls, I am sure he has immense clout within the Party. This makes him a serious contender to become UPA’s PM candidate. His biggest strength is his demand from both sides of the aisle which gives him strong bargaining power. Captain saab has not a lot to lose. If UPA loses badly, his position in Punjab will not be impacted. In his position, I would have been happy to become the Leader of Opposition as well and raise my national stature. In fact, The Bookkeeper would prefer having someone like him as LOP rather than the current crop. If Captain takes over the reins in 2019, it will thus to expand his hold in Congress, rather than Congress’ hold in India.

But I’m afraid, he too will be disappointed.

Assuming that the Opposition has given up on 2019, I believe they will use the opportunity to create a fertile ground for 2024. Lacking issues and personalities, the thrust of the Party will be to create narratives that can help launch a personality in time for 2024. 

What are the conditions that the narrative must satisfy for it to be chosen by liberals to vanguard their revival? First of all, it should have global appeal. It is easier for donation dollars to flow in that way. The second thing, it has to be a massively emotive issue. The sort of you cannot argue against even logically without looking like some sort of a bigot. They will smother you with political correctness. Thirdly, the issue must be one where the new ‘leader’ of the opposition must squarely fit into.

There are three main issues that The Bookeeper identifies:

1) Caste divide

2) Language divide

3) Women’s rights

The Bookkeeper believes that the liberal establishment will proceed on all three paths above at the same time and then based on whichever gains traction, decide their candidate. 

Narendra Modi has effectively cut off the “caste divide” angle by making Shri Kovind as the Presidential candidate (deservedly so). An astute choice of a Vice Presidential candidate has ensured that there is not North-South divide either. 

The ‘Language divide’ can also be tackled through negotiations. Honestly, apart from a couple of states it really isn’t a big issue for anyone else. There will be sporadic shop-board blackenings, a few book burnings etc., but apart from these, the BookKeeper doesn’t see this becoming the next vote bank.

While both above are viable narratives for the Left, the Bookkeeper believes that the third one, Women’s Rights, will be the sharpest arrow in the Left’s quiver. Expect a massive increase in news coverage of crimes (real and made up) against women. There will be sustained efforts to show that women are unsafe in India. In fact some basic spade work has already started months back. Why, even Indian’s refer to Delhi as the rape capital of the world. There will be a massive push, burkha marches, slut walks, etc for women’s rights in India as 2019 polls approach. Demand for more and more laws will be made, marriage as an institution will be severely targeted. In fact it would be the ideal platform for the Left if they can pitch a disgruntled Woman leader against Narendra Modi, who has a fairly ‘macho’ image.

Development will no longer be an issue. It will be a ‘men vs. women’ mandate in 2019 and afterwards. The Left has no choice but to do this. It is up to the Indian electorate to be vigilant and observe the strategy pursued by the Left. Within the BJP, it would be incumbent upon the powerful lady leaders and supporters to thwart any attempts at creating this parallel narrative by the Left. This is a narrative that simply cannot be countered by Men.  

The base case for this massive churn remains it happening in 2024. But it is tough to predict how a headless chicken driven to desperation will behave.