Re-define Honesty, God, Stupidity

Re-define "Honesty"

This sweeper lady had found cash of around INR 2.3mn in the AC coach of a train and had handed over it to the Railway Protection Force as a good Samaritan. 

Now, my question to her or whoever concerned is why did she return the (entire) money? I would have supported her if she had taken a bundle for herself and returned the remaining.  If I would have seen it, I would have taken a bundle as a token of a self-reward / a fine for leaving the the 2.3mn rupees in train.  

I am sure if the money was from savings over the years, it would have been in bank and not carried in hand.  I sincerely doubt that this money is a part of some illegal transaction.  So, a self-reward does not break the honest trait of the individual.  Moreover, I think the sweeper is a religious / spiritual person which had made her to return the money honestly.

Hence, I request the so called religious / spiritual gurus, leaders to make an amendment in the respective sections of honesty which would enable people like this lady to live a grand life for a day or two.

Re-define "God"

Its a diamond crown worth around 15mn INR (as reported), donated to Madurai Meenakshi temple.  I have not read yet who the donor is.  Somehow, few donors do not do their donations publicly.  Temples also have this policy of not disclosing the donor names.  Why should people donate anonymously or the temple not disclose their names?

Why do they donate to temples in the form of jewels?  It stays there in that form for a long time helping none.  God is always great even without a single penny in hand.  That money can be used for many other purposes for the development of the society.

Rather, if people donate for education it would be better for the society or government should bring the policy that people can donate towards education anonymously.  

Why don't all the temples get converted to schools like how it was once upon a time!?

Re-define "Stupidity"

I don't know if I am the only one who feels that this ad is stupid.  

Stupid for it says Mt Everest as "Just a pile of stones".  I went to their FB page and posted in their wall, to remove the ad from all its appearance - there was a swift response - they removed my wall post.  

If I was the copywriter, I would have shown more stupidity by showing the earth under the shoe and say "Ju Ju bi...the world is just a pebble stone".

Images Source: TOI

Crazy People

Rewind: 15 years back

I studied in a government school. The classes were under thatched roofs (proper buildings now) and it was a common wall which separated two different classes. If three of us would bang the wall once it would fall down completely. Such was its strength. One side of the wall polished and painted in black served as black board. The other two sides of the class would be open. Natural light, natural air…! My class was near the small play ground and all the time all my vision used to be in the ground on other students coming for the PT classes. At any given point of time, the small ground will be occupied from morning to evening with some or the other class students. This school has a different concept of co-education. The school was only co education, not the classes. The class would either be full of girls or full of boys. And the small ground is meant for girls to play coco, rings, badminton etc…That way having the class near the small ground I have almost seen the entire population of girls in our school. Not only me, everyone in my class except the first two rows! These girls are of the kind that when out of school we spot them in public places like railway station, bus stands, tuition centers and say a hello; they don’t respond to us. We were aliens…! For them, the natives were matriculation school boys. They were considered brilliant. Holy cows, there were people from matric schools for whom I have taught mathematics and computers!!

During school days, the uniform would differentiate who is from which school! And holidays were the only respite for us that we could go around in color dresses. Everyone would be in colour dresses. But, our competitors in matriculation schools were so intelligent that they go around with their ID cards in public places. And that’s the height of craziness, show off…seeking priority in everything! In a way the society paved the way for this. The school’s association had an effect on us. Government schools are considered third grade…! So naturally the matriculation guys would want to distinguish themselves to take advantage on everything.

Playback Now:

My office is located in the IT capital of India – Electronics City, Bangalore. All the top named Indian IT companies are around my office campus. There are few crazy employees. I call them crazy as they are always seen around with the ID cards tagged in their neck. In tea shops, road side chat shops, hotels, public bus stands and everywhere. As per my understanding, the ID card is purely for official purposes and a proof of the organization’s association with the employee.

This is a very common scene in the airports, especially Bangalore. When the check in or the security clearance seems like delaying their boarding, the very next step is they tag their ID around so that they would get some priority. Fair enough. Understood the situation…!

Once I was in the city railway station and I saw a guy and a girl with their ID cards displayed. I was amazed on why they had to wear it in a railway station. The time was 11PM then! Fine… Okay…

Once, it was early morning 4AM. The train had just arrived in Tiruchirapalli railway station, south TamilNadu. There was a girl alighting from the train sporting her company ID around her neck. What the heck!!! Why during early morning 4AM!!!?

Once in Tiruvalla and Chengannur railway stations in Kerala, once in Koyambedu bus stand, Chennai in the night. And the recent one is when I was travelling back after the holiday season. It was Sunday night 11:30 PM. This guy was not even wearing the ID around his neck! In one hand he had his luggage and in the other hand he held his ID by showing his organization’s identity. I was thinking if any preference or tie ups is present between the bus and the organization. At that time in the night, returning back from holidays, why is that he had to display it to all the passengers. It’s a good and popular and trendy organization he works for. But why does he want to show off at that time and place. He was walking inside the bus to and fro 2-3 times. I felt it as the height of craziness! The best part was all the passengers did not even bother to notice him. I, to show my hate toward that attitude just pulled on the blankets covering my face while he was near my aisle seat.

All these people were from that one particular set of companies. The glorified ones in India…! Not all…!

When I tell these to my colleagues they tell more and more of the same kind. Absolutely insane stuff! I could only relate these to what I had experienced in school. Getting a feel that people don’t grow really!

Seeing all this, I make sure as soon as I make the last swipe in office I remove and put my card inside the bag. I just want to be myself. When out of organization I am one among the one billion in the nation. The common man! And I would like to remain the same. I don’t want to be associated as a person who holds some position in some company. I don’t see anything to do with the associations around me. I want to know if this is some kind of phobia..! I don’t understand this behavior. Is this the way an individual is valued…!!!

Next time I am going to ask someone why the %$#& is that they wear the ID all the time! I doubt whether they will wear their marriage rings / mangalsutras like this! Crazy people…

Just be yourself guys...

வெகு நாட்களாக இந்த தளத்தில் தமிழ் எழுத்துகளை பார்க்க வேண்டும் என போலவே இருந்தது. அது தான் இந்த தமிழ் பதிப்பு. இது நான் தமிழில் எழுதும் (தட்டும்) இரண்டாவது பதிப்பு. முதலாவது பெரும் சர்ச்சைக்குள்ளாகியது. இப்பொழுது எந்த எண்ணமும் இல்லாமல் தட்ட தொடங்கி விட்டேன்.

திடீரென்ற இந்த தமிழ் பற்று எனக்குள் மீண்டும் வருவதற்கு காரணம் பல விஷயங்கள், சில மனிதர்கள். எப்போதும் எனக்குள் இருக்கும் அந்த தமிழ் பற்றுக்கு காரணம் மூவர். முதல் நபர் இறந்தும் இறக்காமல் இருக்கும் மகாகவி சுப்ரமணிய பாரதி, இரண்டாவது, என்றும் இளமையாக இருக்கும் கவிஞர் வாலி. மூன்றாவது, எப்பொழுதும் புதிதாக முயற்சி எடுக்கும் கலைஞானி கமல்ஹாசன். கமலின் புதிய கவிதை ஒன்றே இந்த பதிப்பிற்கு தூண்டுதல் என்றால், அதில் ஆச்சிரியம் இல்லை.

ராவணனின் பத்து தலைகளும் பத்து விதமாக யோசிப்பது போல என் ஒரு தலை ஒரே நேரத்தில் யோசிக்கிறது. சில நேரங்களில் ராகங்கள் கூட பாடுகின்றன. ஒரு தலை ராகம்...! ராகம் உண்டாகும் பொழுதினிலும் கர்நாடகத்தில் தொடங்கி,ஹிந்துஸ்தானி மற்றும் மேல்நாட்டு மெட்டுகளுக்கு செல்கிறது. மண்டைக்குள் ஒரு ஜுகல் பந்தியே நடக்கிறது!

Nelly Furtado (Furtado என்று தமிழில் தட்டினால் கிட்ட தட்ட பரோட்டா என்று காட்டுகிறது Google Transliteration), Katy Perry போன்ற பெண்மணிகள் பட்டை கிளப்புகின்றனர். ஒரு பெண்ணின் ஆழ் மனதில் இருக்கும் உணர்சிகளை இப்பெண்மணிகள் பாடுகின்றனர். நமது கமல்ஹாசனும் அதையே பாடுகிறார்.

கலவி செய்கையில் காதில் பேசி

கனிவாய் மெலிதாய் கழுதை கவ்வும்

வெள்ளை பளிச்சிடும் பற்கள் வேண்டும்

குழந்தை வாயை முகர்வது போல

கடும் நாற்றமில்லாத வாயும் வேண்டும்

காம கழிவுகள் கழுவும் வேளையில்

கூட நின்றவன் உதவிட வேண்டும்

சமையலின் போதும் உதவிட வேண்டும்

சாய்ந்து நெகிழ்ந்திட திண்தோள் வேண்டும்

மோதி கோபம் தீர்க்க வசதியாய்

பாறை பதத்தில் நெஞ்சும் வேண்டும்

அதற்கு பின்னால் துடிக்கும் இதயமும்

அது இரத்தம் பாய்ச்சி நெகுழ்திய சிந்தையும்

மூளை மடிப்புகள் அதிகம் உள்ள

மேதாவிலாச மண்டையும் வேண்டும்

வங்கியில் இருப்பு வீட்டில் கருப்பென

வழங்கி புழங்கிட பணமும் வேண்டும்

நேர்மை வேண்டும் பக்தியும் வேண்டும்

எனக்கென சுதந்திரம் கேட்கும் வேளையில்

பகுத்தறிகின்ற புத்தியும் வேண்டும்

இந்த தமிழ் எனக்கு பிடித்திருக்கிறது...!ஒரு பெண் எழுதியது போலவே இருக்கின்றது இந்த கவிதை! எப்படி ஒரு பெண்ணாக இருந்து யோசித்திருப்பார் என்று யோசித்ததுண்டு. அந்த நேரத்தில் தான் ஒரு பழைய ஞாபகம் நினைவிற்கு வந்தது....

(ஆங்கிலத்தில் தொடறலாம் என நினைகின்றேன். எனக்கே இது கொஞ்சம் அதிகமாக தெரிகிறது... உங்கள பாத்தா எனக்கு பாவமா இருக்கு...)

While reading Kamal's lyrics I got reminded about Paulo Coelho's book Eleven Minutes. Its a novel on how Maria becomes a sex worker. Almost the entire book narrates the rumblings in Maria's mind. "I’m the one who should feel ashamed for being unable to arouse them, but, no, they always blame themselves" writes the author on behalf of Maria. Do read the book.

Here both the writers have written on the same plane. Feminism. When a female writes the same way either the book is banned or the writer is issued a fatwa! On the other hand, men have been better in expressing the feminism thinking inside them. And it doesnt mean they think like a lady.

There is this "Man" thing attached to men all the time. For ex: when women cry it is considered they are innocent and a man cries its considered he is weak, immature. Crying is a natural feeling of expressing depression without words. What is it to do with a male / female thing...! (The best is how girls perceive it...when you /me cry its that we are those weak poor individuals and they get moved when Shahrukh / Salman cries on screen...they are considered Macho)

This crying thing is just an example. A man is put an artificial pressure for the whole life surrounded the "act like a male" tag. Tony Porter explores this with reference to his own life. He shows how this mentality drummed into so many men and boys can lead to disrespect, mistreat, abuse women and each other. And his solution to this is break free the "man box". Check out what he has explored. Video Courtesy: TED

Just be yourself guys... When you feel to hit, hit it hard.

Corporate Social Responsibility

6 years back, I as a management graduate with my team was in a seminar organized by the IT department of Government of Tamilnadu. The seminar had the CEOs of the biggest BPO companies in Tamilnadu. BPO was at its peak at that time employing fresh graduates with hefty salaries. They were talking on the skill set that a fresher candidate should possess if wanting to be employed in BPO industry. I wondered and started to think why for a back office job a fresh graduate is required! There is no work for the brain there and no skill set is required except language for which the companies were anyways training the candidates. Employing fresh graduates for BPO is actually a way of restricting their thinking. I called BPO as Brain Paralyzing Outfits. My team members did not accept my thought. They defended it gives a fresh graduate an exposure and also made them confident and independent. It was actually the money paid which make the young graduates go for BPO jobs. Then, I started to make a plan which will enable the candidates to work as well pursue their higher education. It was basically a shift system which will benefit the society on the larger scale and also meet organizational goals.

Yet, a thought was there in my mind on why for a BPO job a fresh graduate is required. Why cant physically challenged people struggling for a life, be employed for those jobs or why not single senior citizens be given an opportunity rather than making the young graduates restrict themselves. I strongly felt there is no learning or thinking nature in BPO and it’s a danger in the future when these organizations grow big employing all the fresh graduates out of college. I used to keep discussing things like this with one or the other. After a while, all these passionate thinking passed away just like several others.

Today, I got this invitation.

It makes me feel good that the Government is acting on it. It’s a PPP model. Samarthanam Shrishti will be an unique BPO/Call Centre Training Unit for the Disabled at Peenya. This initiative is first of its kind in India along with a similar setup at Hubli started recently. This project would train 300 physically challenged youth across the state of Karnataka. This is a first step and hope the corporate too will support this and it’s where the real corporate social responsibility lies.

Its all in the Game

There are three things in the world which take over almost every human in the universe. 1. The alcohol “kick”; 2. The nicotine “kick” and 3. The football kick..! A survey during last world cup revealed that football is on top of sex and mother for males. When the ball is taken near the goal post and gets passed in between the players for a goal, my excitement level shoots up irrespective of which team is playing. And if it is the team plays, I forget the surroundings.

This world cup, I have been making huge noises never minding the neighbor, texting people on the fly during the match in midnight and bunking office hours. I have been supporting Maradona’s team and I felt very bad for they lost to Germany. I have never ever felt like this for India losing to Pakistan in a cricket match. Germans were outstanding in the tournament. Greece and Ghana had played a wonderful game as well.

Argentina may not have a good defense on field but off the field the players have a tremendous defense and it’s from their coach himself and more than that the people of Argentina. The fact that thousands of people gathered to give a supporting welcome backing their team from South Africa is definitely something precious. While Maradona’s position as coach is questioned after the team’s exit, their people were seen holding signs such as “Diego 2014” say it all.

There may be thousands of controversies around. But, no matter what, Maradona is my favorite player. If there was a crowd to watch the match, there was a crowd to watch the legendary player too in the field. Wish I could be designated as the photographer to shoot him during the match. It was pure entertainment to watch his love for football and I did share his emotions while the team lost.

After the famous Hand of God goal in 1986 Maradona said, "I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came... I told them, “Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it." Hand of God got its name from this line of the player - "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God". The frustrated England team manager stated it as “Hand of a Rascal” during the press report.

Short in height, he moves like a snake in the field. The videos on the internet will tell you about the legend better than my words. Actually, people who are short are fast in the field. It was that short guy Bala Murugan who had coached me. Very few of my friends reading this will believe that I play football.

And Maradona is a reason that I am back to follow football after a long gap. It was a football match I played which shattered a dream of mine 8 years back. Since then I had stopped playing and following the game. But when I came to know Maradona becoming the coach of the team I couldn’t stop myself getting into the game again. Argentina may have lost the word cup but they haven’t lost the game. They have certainly played a beautiful game far better than other teams and I am looking out for a Argentine jersey.

This is not just a game. Its a religion and you dont have to be a religious leader to reach heaven. Following it itself takes you there.

Do you know Osama Bin Laden is a hard football fan?? Goooogle to believe it or not and find which team he supported... :)

The Ecosystem (read if you care)

Connecting with the earth makes us come alive with the vitality; loss of such connectivity makes us anemic physically, mentally and morally.

We, in the name of modern lives are actually disconnecting the loop in the natural ecosystem in the name of scientific innovations. The biggest sufferer in this is our mother nature and very less people are aware that it’s going to hit back - if not us, our children. A very tiny thing we do towards protecting our soil makes a huge impact.

I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Srinivasan, popularly known as Vellore Srinivasan. This man is working on waste management for over 2 decades. Most of us living in Chennai would know the vehicle with red and green colour coming to our homes to collect the waste twice a day. Very few of us know what happens to that waste once it’s taken from us.

Mostly the wastes collected from households are not segregated (bio-degradable and non bio-degradable mixed) and are filled in landfill sites. In Chennai it is Pallikaranai and there is a place like that in every city. Since they all are mixed up they don’t decay in the earth and pose a threat to the environment. Rather if they are treated well in our home right away, the waste becomes a resource. It’s not a huge task to treat waste as it seems to be. I am sharing what I know and learned over the days. This can be modified anyways for improvisation or anything wrong in the process is welcome to be notified.

The maximum of waste from our households is kitchen waste – vegetarian and non vegetarian. Treating this reduces 70% of the task. When I say “treating” it’s not a huge process. It’s very simple.

Step 1: It has to be put in an earthen pot separately instead of the regular dustbin where waste like plastic covers and other non – biodegradable waste are collected.
Step 2: Keep putting the kitchen waste into the pot. Spray some mix of cow dung with water on top of every filling. And cover it with a piece of jute material once the pot is full.
Step 3: Relax. In 45 days time, the whole thing becomes 1/3rd in size. The filled stuff gets converted to compost which is rich nutrition for the plants. That’s it. The kitchen waste is treated. This process is called composting.

The compost is a rich organic food the plants. This is only for vegetarian waste. Non – vegetarian waste has to get treated separately. However, egg shells can be treated separately. It can be dried up and smashed to powders which are rich calcium for the rose plants. Who doesn’t love a healthy and beautiful rose!!

If cow dung is not very much available, earth worms can be added or dry leaves or newspaper can be shredded and added with the waste for the compost. Further, as like how air is essential for us to breathe, similarly the waste also needs air for it to get composted. So, make few holes around the pot from the bottom (say 2 cms from the bottom and middle). The jute cloth will allow air to get in from the top. A little moisture is also very much essential as like water means to us. If buying a pot and drilling them seems to be a huge task, there are ready made compost pots available for sale at a nominal price. Visit www.dailydump.org for details.

It’s an ecosystem. What comes from the plants goes back to the plants. It’s simple. All we need to have are few plants around our home. They give us fresh air, flowers and a fresh feel to us all the time. If you don’t have plants in your homes, try to have few. Even if you don’t have the flair for plants there are people to buy the compost from you. Yeah, what you think as waste is actually a resource.

Few may think that the waste stinks, but its really not. It stinks only if the compost is too wet. And stirring the compost can overcome this issue.

One of the major non bio-degradable things which we waste is plastic bags. Way to treat them is to re-use them. Carrying existing bags to market places or using paper bags or cloth bags really helps the environment a lot. Carrying these re-usable covers in our office back pack, cars, bikes never increases the weight. I remember folks used to collect and segregate the milk covers, newspaper to sell it off. It’s re-cycled. It fetches money. It’s just a small contribution from every individual which helps the environment.

This is a very basic set up which we can be adopted in our homes in our daily lives, but this is not everything. There are different kinds of waste like human hair, nails and so on. These are well differentiated in the site http://www.zerowastemanagement.org/ and to know what can be composted in home please visit http://dailydump.org/what_can. Treating them is easy when it is segregated at source. Once the waste is segregated, it is no longer a waste, it’s a resource.

Mr. Srinivasan preaches as his religion at a community level employing physically challenged people and the below slides show you how it is done. UNICEF recognizes and supports him but still there are community level challenges faced everywhere this is tried to get implemented. Volunteers to help out are always welcome and actually are required in bunch.

For more information on Waste Management and composting please browse through http://www.zerowastemanagement.org/ and http://dailydump.org/home_composting and of course Gooooogle. Let’s do our bit now to help ourselves in future.

Whose responsibility is it?

Two persons Mr Shivaraman and Mr. Gopalakrishnan from Chennai hold a patent for an innovation that enables a hard disk to store 30TB of data and this is with the help of Nano technology. They are offered a job by Seagate for 1.4 crore. Is there no Indian company to utilize their innovation??

I remember my old days where our team tried to bring out such innovations especially in Nano technology and Bio metrics. The event was conceived to showcase these kinds of innovations to the corporate world in the budding stage itself which would help our country and the individuals as well in their early stages with proper support. We couldn’t execute what we dreamt for the only reason that we were students at that time.

The point here is there are so many Shivaraman’s and Gopalakrishnan’s out there spread all over. Who is going to recognize them, nurture them with the necessary support and make our country grow healthy??

Amendment

This government definitely has the potential to take the country in a better way than any other governments I have seen.

I fully support Mr. Sibal’s new proposal of abolishing pre school education before 4 years. I feel this is a basic thing which is more meaningful. Parents are finding it mad to get a KG admission for the children. By peer pressure they stuff the so called intelligence by making the kids memorizing all sorts of data. That’s bad for the child. Here is what Mr. Sibal was talking.

“Pre-school should be based on non-formal education and in order to attend pre-school, children should be four years before March 31. Formal schooling can begin when the child is six years old.”

“The reason for interaction with Principals is because many feel that the present system of admissions is traumatic for children. It becomes impossible for children of three years to seek admission to school. There are incidents of children stammering due to stress. When a child witnesses the competitive environment in school he/she is traumatized.”

We should never leave the children to face all such difficulties at that tender age. I am sure parents will also agree to this.

We surely need amendments to the present education system in the country and it starts from the Pre School. Education is the only way that can this nation a better place to live.

Religion

I feel and put it hard when I think about this topic. Not only my views are different from my family members on religion but I think there needs to be a change at least with the next generation. Any religion is a package of rituals, customs and habits which promotes happiness and well being at daily level. Mostly it compromises of customs which are devised some thousands years back for well being. My pondering is, they were devised long back and today is not like that day. Does everything devised then make relevance now? Does it not need upgrades or changes or customizations according to the changing world? If it cannot be customized to promote happiness why are they customs then?

It is evident that people who got to think and do these; the so called religious heads float organizations and make money out of it. People don’t even think what and why they do when it comes to religion. They just blindly follow. There are few who do everything against the religion and still propagate it. Every religion at a base level tries to promote love, share, care, peace and togetherness among people. Are these propagated and followed properly? Then who are those and where should the change happen?

I have been encountering religion based discussions for the past months and all these thoughts keep hovering on my mind. Yesterday I read this piece of story in TOI. I think this is how it should be. An excerpt of it here and please read the full story on http://tinyurl.com/yfojghe

"A few months into my pregnancy, we had decided that we would not give our child any religious identity"

“We are not against religion, but who are we to choose a religion on our baby's behalf? We will expose him to the values of different faiths and cultures, and when he grows up he will be free to follow any faith—or none if he wishes.”

Strong in their decision the couple had a fight with the local municipal office for leaving the religion field empty in the birth certificate form.

"Are you ashamed of your Hindu identity? Why don't you want your child to be known as a Hindu?" an officer asked her rudely. She shot back that while she was proud of her Hindu roots, she was not a practicing Hindu. "Why in a democratic, secular country can't parents take a decision like not giving any religion to their children?" she asked the officer.

Unconvinced, the officer cited a technical problem and passed the matter on to a higher official who understood their plea but still cited the technical problem that the system cannot accept if the religion field is left empty. There were four choices on the form—Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Others.

The mother did not want any of them for her child, as even Others required them to identify the sect or community. She argued with the officer some more and finally agreed on Others, but without any identification. "Others is just to facilitate the generation of the certificate. We know our child has no religion" she says.

Now, this is called a change. There is always a first time for every time. I am sure there are lots of couples wanting to do the same, but pressured on by peers and society. It definitely needs huge courage to face this nation choosing to be a liberal.

“But it's just the beginning of the several hurdles which are bound to crop up ahead—at the time of school admission or securing a passport for the child, for instance. We are prepared for those battles too" says the mother determinedly.

Citing a technical problem is a lame excuse here. How big deal is it to change it or include a “Liberal” field in the form? Orkut has the option of choosing an option “Spiritual but not Religious”. Why not our own municipal corporations have it? Where should the change start from??

Runaway and Vanishing Brides

Runaway bride is a class movie made brilliantly with wonderful performances from Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. It’s a story of a reporter Ike who sets on to make a fact based report of a girl Maggie, who has a history of fleeing away from her fiancés. Finally Ike and Maggie fall in for each other and the wedding is set. On the bridal march, Maggie backs and flees leaving Ike. The reason was not that she felt Ike as the wrong person but she dislikes the big fat weddings. She then comes back and opens her mind to Ike.

“I love you, Homer Eisenhower Graham. Will you marry me?

[Maggie sits down, clears her throat]
I guarantee there'll be tough times. I guarantee that at some point, one or both of us is going to want get out…

But I also guarantee… [starts to cry] … that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Because I know in my heart... you're the only one for me.”

Wow! That was the touching moment of the movie. Way back in our daily life, every failed guy wants to hear the same from their sweethearts and the sweethearts too fail to see the whole picture around them both. I think forgetting, forgiving, changing themselves for better, commitment, understanding, care are all very much essential than the initial spark of love because these are the traits which keep the love burning bright at every stage. Both the partners got to have it for each other. We live in a fast paced world, gone are the days of Mills and Boons romance. And I keep pondering this: Afterall, life is once, who will not wish to live with the loved one thick and thin changing themselves for better!.

Well I guess I went off the topic for sometime! :)

Vanishing bride is a novel I have started with. It’s a very old novel and I have just finished few pages of it. Not a bad read though. Just an coincidence that both the movie and book are about brides in it and deals with relationships.

Today and Global Warming

Gearing up with full protection to face the rain and facing just the clear sky, seems to become a daily habit for the next couple of months which is so called the monsoon season. I read a news about Al Gore (remember An Inconvenient Truth!). When I say his name I feel like yawning. The documentary he produced was like that. But today there was something which I thought about what he spoke and what I have witnessed.

His documentary was on Global Warming. I am a lazy fellow and a hesitant fellow to update myself by reading (the reason behind is I sleep after reading 2-3 pages). So, I haven’t made any research on how the events connect to Global Warming.

In Mumbai, usually the monsoon starts by June 1st week and gets over by August end or September 1st week. Few Mumbaikars tell approximate dates as well. This year it was worse that till August 1st week there were no rains and there were few spells during October. It is like the entire Monsoon getting shifted. “So what! What’s the big deal! As far as rain comes its okay right!” ask many. These are the people who actually destroy the environment. Lack of rains or patterns shifting is a result of Global Warming.

The same is not only in Mumbai but in Chennai too. Chennai receives its part of rain during September - November. Today the first week of November gets over and we have received only few hours of rain. Our people with no knowledge of what it is spoil the environment. Mostly I see the “Chalta hai re…” attitude. It all starts from small habits like “Do not split on the road”, “Litter only in dust bins” and all the first grade lessons. We have missed to follow and lack self discipline. The same guy who makes the entire nuisance polluting the environment here immediately changes his attitude while in a foreign country. Can he do all those in places like Dubai? He will not. He will be s*** scared even to think about doing it.

We got to wake up to this. Some time back there was another new article reading “India might lose its south – west monsoon soon”. The change should happen within. We as individuals have to do something. Reduce usage of plastic bags; plant more trees or whatever could help the environment. I with an advice from a friend have reduced the usage of plastic bags. I say no plastic bags wherever I already have a bag to accommodate the stuff I buy and I carry existing carry bags to the store. I hope you would follow it too.

We are losing out Green. Do check out what the world does to protect it and what you can do as an individual. Visit Hopenhagen. Let me know too. We have a responsibility to give a better world to our children like how we recieved it from our fathers.

Need of the hour

Need of the hour - Formula for the nation's progress.

A fresh start…

A clean politics is what every average citizen wants in the country. Elections 09 seem to have indicated it. With congress getting a clear mandate, Mr. Singh and Rahul wanting to have a clean and young cabinet at least from their party, it gives a fresh perspective of the government. This election has also made the BJP and third parties to revise and redo their policies which were outdated. My interest in politics have pepped up again after a gap of over 5 years.

The UPA camp on deciding the cabinet looks refreshing with a bold and professional look. Mr. Singh once criticized as weak PM and lags in decision making, looks bold and energetic now. The portfolios to be given influence the performance of the upcoming government. MPs like Rahul, Scindia, Milind Deora, Maran, Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor and more with good expertise are definitely refreshing. Mr. Singh himself being one of the best economists in the world being a PM is a pride to our country. The first 100 days is to be watched out for few economic reforms. The noted economists’ magic is the need of the hour to tackle the job loss and the slowdown.

Altogether somewhere I read few years back that India will be able to show its superpower to the world by 2010. I feel this as the beginning.

Ooh la la law!! X(

Democracy is our nation’s strength and sometimes I feel it as a weakness as well. 10 terrorists came into the city and killed several people which the world knows. One terrorist is caught alive and he is interrogated. I guess he should only be interrogated. Why does the court need to give him a lawyer? Is the court trying to give him a chance of fleeing free which is not going to happen!! What is the motive behind booking some 300+ cases against one single terrorist and appointing a lawyer for him? There is a cost attached to all these court proceedings. He should be interrogated and his back links should be found on intelligence basis but I feel its waste of time and huge money in bringing him to court when the whole world knows he is a terrorist.

The above is an external affair problem and below is an internal affair.

Elections are in pace. I know for sure there is going to be no change after the election whichever party holds the cabinet. As a voter I see all the candidates as invalid and I decide not to vote. But there are a lot of chances that my vote will be misused. Thank god, I found out the section 49-O in the Conduct of Election rules. I have a right not to cast my vote which means I don’t need to vote for any candidate. It’s like me boycotting the election. It’s not going to affect the winning chances of the candidate but by this my vote can’t be misused. I felt happy about the law in place until I read about a loop hole in it.

The section says – “If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.” which means the anonymity of the voter is lost which is against the procedure of voting behind the ballot box and hence the rule cannot be used by any voter wishing to live peacefully.

Moreover, the EVMs don’t have the option of “None” or “Not applicable” which again forces the voter to vote on some candidates of no caliber. Its like wherever there is a provision of law there is provision of a loop hole as well. Our law sings to the every citizen's tune.

The Monk who could be wrong

True love can never react so as to cause pain either to the lover or to the beloved. Suppose a man loves a woman; he wishes to have her all to himself and feels extremely jealous about her every movement; he wants her to sit near him, to stand near him, and to eat and move at his bidding. He is a slave to her and wishes to have her as his slave. That is not love; it is a kind of morbid affection of the slave, insinuating itself as love. It cannot be love, because it is painful; if she does not do what he wants, it brings him pain. With love there is no painful reaction. Love only brings a reaction of bliss. If it does not, it is not love. It is mistaking something else for love.

The above lines are not mine. They are from the patriotic monk Vivekananda. I have read many quotes on the same. These lines are simple in explanation and true to some extent. He further says “When you have succeeded in loving your husband, your wife, your children, the whole world, the universe, in such a manner that there is no painful reaction of pain or jealousy, no selfish feeling, then you are in a fit state to be unattached.”

He means love detaches a person from the lively world. But, are we born to be detached? Mr. Monk, I wish I could debate this with you. We are born to live. Expectations, desire, pains and so on are humane nature. It may harm one but it depends on how we handle it. When you have someone loving you, it protects, nurtures, enables you to dream, achieve and do everything along with your partner. Looks like those lines are written out of love failure. He should have seen people around him behaving like how he has written.

Rather, I ponder, should love not have expectations? If two people are in a relationship and love for each other, should they be without expectations from each other?

I feel its all about understanding, sharing, caring and living for each other. You expect yourself to be understood by your partner and the same from the other side. You expect your partner to share, care, and love and live for you. The same levels of expectations are there from the other side as well. Love sustains when those expectations are met. Living for each other takes love to a greater stage and it wont happen when there is only taking in either side. From tiny daily issues to big long term plans there have to be adjustments with both of them.

Humans tend to lose themselves after only giving from their side and lose heart of not getting anything in return and all the negative aspects of love begin there. All these in a relationship need more patience and determination and when the passion to live exists all the odds fly like dust.

A thought to think!

There are hundred thoughts to think upon. One of them is below;

I witnessed two events this weekend which involved thousands of people gathering together. In one event, people were detaching themselves from what they truly were and in another (different set); they showcased their might & courage.

The first event was in a mythological place / a shrine where people thronged and were shouting slogans/prayers in praise of the Almighty. What they were exactly doing was that they were surrendering themselves to God asking him to handle their lives and asking him for favors. In the process there were chaos and fights in the crowd on who will enter the shrine first.

The second event was in New Delhi, the capital of India. It was the Republic Day parade in Rajpath. It had in its soil the great soldiers and citizens of the country. People in organized groups with sheer discipline and precision timing, showcased their might assuring themselves that they collectively will serve the country. The mighty weapons of the country, the rich culture of the multilingual states, the efforts of people in saving the country, were displayed, remembered & recognized. It was altogether a “We Can & We will” attitude showcased in the event which made feel proud & confident about the future in this country.

Now, both the events had people gathered together. In the both the events people were from the same country. The first event had people of one single religion at one place and the second event had people from different religions coming together for the interest of the nation. It is said that when people gather and pray, God gets delighted and grants their wishes. Sounds good and makes me to participate in it too. But, I would rather prefer to know my strengths and work in leveraging it to myself and the people around, because, it is also said that God prefers and helps people more who help themselves by putting in their best efforts for themselves and others as well.

Now, which one do you prefer to do?

Rama and Krishna missing

Accidentally happened to see new versions of Ramayana and Mahabharata in television. Somehow, couldn’t find the charm of the epics in those. Probably I feel the actors aren’t doing justice to the roles, especially the lead ones. I remember Ramanand Sagar’s and B R Chopra’s version of the same getting aired in Doordarshan which had made people involved into them. I would believe that was how it had been live years ago. Such were the actors’ performance and I have heard the actors would show such discipline while performing. The lead actor in the role of Rama and Krishna were Aryan and Nitish. They never committed to any other roles while these episodes were on. So, people would relate these actors as real Rama and Krishna. On the whole, it was a thoroughly religious time in homes whenever these episodes went on air.

The present versions lack those. The actors are visible in pubs and when you see them in the roles of Rama and Krishna, the passionate gods for crores….; it just drives crazy in head. I thank God that there are no new versions on the life history of Jesus Christ or Allah.

Naked brain

An intriguing topic…isn’t it!? It’s about how our brain is exposed to many on a daily basis. Somewhere in the post, you will also note the amount of area vacant in my brain.

No need to explain that the brain is the central processing unit of our body which sends signals for action. Can it be believed that our brain inside the skull is read and exposed to external sources!? Marketers use brain scans to grab attention of consumers. A simple online test can tell your personality, a suitably job and even find a perfect date for you. Technology advances swiftly that you can control anything anywhere and everything is exposed. From sex of the baby while in mothers womb to erasing part of memory in the brain, everything inside and outside is read and exposed by technology. What is the extent to which it can carry on? Is it a good sign or a bad sign?

There are AI, bio and nano technology in practice. A nano technology empowered costume can control the temperature of your body. The same can be used to control your EI as well. Few decades back, a common man would have not thought about the background of his emotions with people. Today we talk about stress, pressure, love, lust and things like that. We understand everything in detail, know their causes and sometimes take precautionary measures too. Some call this as learning. When you know about the causes of your actions then you have learnt about yourself, but if others read the same, aren’t you getting exposed!??

Small but BIG

After longing to own a personal player and with the money saved over months, a walkman is purchased. The model is not available in India and makes it an exclusive one among the other players around. People spend time to investigate the functions of the player and suddenly one fine day the software is corrupted. The files don’t play, songs swap with each other and the player becomes an un-functional device.

It’s sad that a newly bought player after long time goes dysfunctional. It had helped out to burst time and the songs have helped a lot in coming out of tense/stress situations. Suddenly without the player playing it makes feel like one hand is lost. It needs to be serviced.

But, the warranty is not applicable in India. Service cost has to be paid. It’s an unknown cost. There are several other commitments for the money in hand. A thought of sending it back the place of purchase is also there. But there is no one flying to take it. An attempt to repair it is also done but it got failed fearing the costs. Missing the player for a long time and after a wait of over 2 months, it is decided to make it function at any cost.

It is taken to a specialist and had to be examined for over half an hour. Cost based on time spent is calculated, minimum service cost is added to it and total approximate cost is calculated in advance before hearing the big shot.

The player is checked well on its functions and taken into custody. A form is filled on the customer details and card is taken out to be swiped as there is no cash. The card is given in the counter and the girl across the counter poses a “What is this for?” look.

A service bill is asked for the payment and the answer for it comes as “No Bill”. A question rises on how come an authorized service center cannot give a bill for the money to be paid and then comes the reply “You need not pay for this”. Oh! Uh!!

Books, Movies & Me

It’s a story of two people who look alike. One is a barber by profession and another is a trickster cheating people and grabbing their monies. The cops are behind this 1 guy and their target become 2, as the barber murders a girl for her dishonesty in their relationship and comes to a conclusion that all girls are #@#@!. That’s till he meets the girl who is in love with the trickster. She is a famous rich personality in the town. She falls in deep shock on knowing the truth about her lover and misses him badly. She settles down all the money disputes of her lovers'(trickster) by selling off all her property and still loves that guy deeply. The barber is stunned towards her love for the trickster. He decides to add on the trickster's list of crime to his and surrenders to the cops. All for love! He murders for getting cheated in love and changes his mind to save another love.

The above is just the gist of the story. The script was simply superb and this has surely gone to my list of classics.

This is made as a movie with title “Johny” – the protagonist in the movie. With good actors in the cast and ecstatic music the movie feasts senses. If this script would have been as a book, I am sure it would have taken me at least a week’s time to finish it. As a movie it was more appealing to understand with good actors in the cast.

Not only to the fact that I sleep over while reading, but somehow I strongly feel a 2:30 hr movie is much better than a 230 page book. I have finished “Nothing lasts forever” and that’s the book I have completed after a very long time and now on to “Bondage”. Definitely, it requires patience and concentration to read books.