It was Sunday morning and we got talking about how it's been a while since we ate out. These days newspapers, magazines, travel and news channels all seem to be talking about food, good food. The Times of India even comes out with regular updates of its Good Food Guide booklet. What made it a done deal was Kunal Vijaykar's Sunday morning show The Foodie on Times Now.
My wife and I decided that's it; we have to eat out today. Once that decision was made came the mouth-watering but laborious task of narrowing down on a mutually agreeable restaurant.
We thought Italian, disucssed Mexican, travelled through Chinese lanes, sniffed at imaginary Thai delicacies, wondered about Lebanese, and drew pizzas and burgers on paper. By now you must have decided what a wonky couple. I agree, we are more than wonky. Imagine what happens when two indecisive Librans decide to set a common agenda.
But wait, there is a twist in the tale. Any guesses on what we settled for? Surprise, Surprise... it was good, old, clean Udipi food. That decision taken, we landed at a restaurant called Woodlands near Juhu beach in the north-western Mumbai suburb of Vile Parle.
The setting was decent but not out of the ordinary. As we drank water we discussed the ambience, compared it with many a new-age joint and found it was bit wanting. But what the
heck, we were there to eat the food and not the ambience.
As many others we first settled for the Idli-Vada samabar routine. That's one thing my friends and relatives find funny. You see, for TamBrams, idli is a home affair. So most of the people who know me find it funny that I go to a restaurant and order something that is made at home almost every second day. To them I say, can't help it, I am addicted.
Then it was time for the main course. I settled for a Bissibele bath, while my wife ordered a Mysore Masala dosa. The food was excellent, the service to die for. I am yet to see waiters in the fancier restaurants that I have visited serve me like they do in mst Udipis, with love and a smile straight from the heart. I guess that enhances the tase of the food, increases your appetite, and sets the mood for the day.
The service brought back memories of a fancy Chinese restaurant that we had visited a few months ago. The food was decent at the most, the charges exhorbitant, and unbelievable as it
may sound, we had to serve ourselves. It was buffet you see. It left me with the feeling of having been cheated. What idiot would want to pay 1000 bucks for an averagely decent meal and then end up serving oneself. You guessed it right, this idiot.
Back to the Sunday in question, we wound up our meal with steaming cups of filter coffee, again much better than the lattes, mochas, and cappucinos in westernized outlets. For all the food that we ate, I was pleasantly surprised when the waiter brought the bill. A grand total of Rs.240 plus taxes.
On our way back from an excellent value for money lunch, we were left thinking of the many lunches that we have had over the years at some fancy hotels. Rarely did we walk out feeling so content and satisfied. And the money had nothing to do with it.
So friends, for us when it comes to eating out nothing comes remotely close to the Udipi experience. And at least I am yet to come across anyone known to me who has been laid low by
an Udipi meal, money and otherwise.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
The Indian Patient
All of us must have visited a Doctor's dispensary at some point of time in life. And all of us must have observed how time becomes all important the moment patients enter a clinic.
Why do we visit a doctor? I guess because we are ill. And logically when we are ill aren't we supposed to relax, take it easy? Then why is it that some patients always appear to be in a tearing hurry to see the doctor?
Obviously whatever one is suffering from ain't life threatening 9 of 10 times if we have walked into the clinic to meet the physician. Then why is it that some patients give others the look of I have more important things to do in life than you; so why don't you wait while I sneak in for a quick peek?
Clinics today have become mobile business centers. Cellphones are ringing from all sides. Imagine the plight of the very ill, the discomfort that the different shrill tones cause. And the misery doesn't end there. You will get to hear everything from the prices of shares, to how Bush is ruining the world, all within the confines of a 10 x 10 clinic. Speaking softly is not a virtue, especially if we are tying to look important.
Amid all these conversations most patients have an eye on the Doctor's door and a foot ready to charge. It's almost like a mini battle being waged; who outhinks the other, who is quicker on his feet than others.
What happened to ethics. People must have taken appointments, many must be waiting for hours. So what gives a few the right to assume that they are the chosen ones and hence should have the right to see the doctor the moment they land?
Seventy, eighty year olds are waiting patiently while twenty somethings are pacing up and down, trying to bribe their way past compounders or charm their way in if muscle tactics fail. And their reasons for the hurry are as varied from not wanting to miss a movie to reaching for some dinner party on time. My question: if they are fine enough to watch a movie in an airconditioned auditorium, attend dinner parties, then why are they wasting their time and testing the patience of people who are there because they are unwell.
It's interesting times that we live in. Health is wealth we say, but many do not spare time to mend a tired body or a fatigued mind. All of us are in a hurry. But when will we stop to realize that to enjoy life, one has to be alive and healthy. Or are we willingly courting death in our quest to Live Life King Size?
Why do we visit a doctor? I guess because we are ill. And logically when we are ill aren't we supposed to relax, take it easy? Then why is it that some patients always appear to be in a tearing hurry to see the doctor?
Obviously whatever one is suffering from ain't life threatening 9 of 10 times if we have walked into the clinic to meet the physician. Then why is it that some patients give others the look of I have more important things to do in life than you; so why don't you wait while I sneak in for a quick peek?
Clinics today have become mobile business centers. Cellphones are ringing from all sides. Imagine the plight of the very ill, the discomfort that the different shrill tones cause. And the misery doesn't end there. You will get to hear everything from the prices of shares, to how Bush is ruining the world, all within the confines of a 10 x 10 clinic. Speaking softly is not a virtue, especially if we are tying to look important.
Amid all these conversations most patients have an eye on the Doctor's door and a foot ready to charge. It's almost like a mini battle being waged; who outhinks the other, who is quicker on his feet than others.
What happened to ethics. People must have taken appointments, many must be waiting for hours. So what gives a few the right to assume that they are the chosen ones and hence should have the right to see the doctor the moment they land?
Seventy, eighty year olds are waiting patiently while twenty somethings are pacing up and down, trying to bribe their way past compounders or charm their way in if muscle tactics fail. And their reasons for the hurry are as varied from not wanting to miss a movie to reaching for some dinner party on time. My question: if they are fine enough to watch a movie in an airconditioned auditorium, attend dinner parties, then why are they wasting their time and testing the patience of people who are there because they are unwell.
It's interesting times that we live in. Health is wealth we say, but many do not spare time to mend a tired body or a fatigued mind. All of us are in a hurry. But when will we stop to realize that to enjoy life, one has to be alive and healthy. Or are we willingly courting death in our quest to Live Life King Size?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Is Water, Food, Clothing, And Shelter Only For The Rich?
Isn't being born on Earth supposed to come with some privileges? All of them basic such as water to drink, food to eat, a place to stay, and clothes to wear.
Then why is it that more than 50% of the world's people are deprived of these needs?
We human beings take pride in success and nothing succeeds like succes. A classic example of this point is Team India. In March, most of them would have been scared to even venture out of their homes for fear of being attacked. The reason: a first round exit at the 50-50 World Cup. Today, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is going to Mumbai AIrport to receive them and the players are going to be then taken in a motorcade to the Wankhede Stadium to be felicitated. The reason: we are the T20 World Champions.
As a reader you would be wondering what's the connection. I assure you there is a strong one.
We as a race have used success as the benchmark for survival. We proudly spout Darwin's Survival of the Fittest theory. My question: Is suffering and misery the only rewards for those who ain't as succesful or as gifted as some of us? It's a different issue that the successful also suffer and most waddle in miseries of the imaginary kind.
Have we as a people become a inhuman race? So much so that we do not bat an eyelid or spare a thought while profiting from the suffering of others?
Am I to assume that if I am very ill and do not have the money, then the only option for me is to die? Aren't hospitals supposed to care for the ill? Isn't medicine supposed to be a noble profession? Or is there nothing noble in today's world that ain't a for profit?
Homeless children roam our streets scavenging, shifting junk in dustbins to find a morsel to eat. It ain't vastly different in villages where kids are dying of hunger while the rest of the world is busy packaging food for a profit.
Most people do not have drinking water, while a few are profiting from bottling this very life saving commodity. Most people do not have a decent roof over their heads (please do not call slums homes), while a few are busy pocketing and selling vast tracts of land for a cost that most can't afford.
So is water, food, clothing, and shelter only for the rich? What happened to the basic rights of people to these essentials?
Please do not tell me that people need to work hard to get these things and please do not quote religious texts to tell me one should not be bothered about the fruits of labor or it's one's karma. Most people who do not have one or more of these essentials work harder that most in air-conditioned offices who surf the net to appear busy.
These are convenient answers to mask crimes committed by a few on the many.
We cite proudly as enterprise how Dhirubhai Ambani in his early days melted currency coins in Uganda because the gold that came out of those coins were worth more than the value of the denomination on those coins.
Ambani senior had questioned "Is it a crime to make money?" I say no. But yes it is a crime to profit from the misery of mankind. And we all know that it ain't possible to be super rich if one is squeaky clean.
So what are we celebrating here, the enterprise of corruption and crime? Were the same things to be done by a desperate farmer or beggar, the poor fellow would not have expereinced freedom for the rest of his life.
As answers to most of my queries we will cite government inefficiencies and a whole lot of other reasons. But to me it nothing but the plain greed of a few. The day we started acknowledging sleight of hand as enterprise, the day started recognizing wealth as God, we as humans failed God.
You can call my writing a crib, you can call it waste of web space, but once you finish reading it, I assure you none, including me, can walk away free of guilt of not having succumbed to the lure of wealth. So much for the right to live!
Then why is it that more than 50% of the world's people are deprived of these needs?
We human beings take pride in success and nothing succeeds like succes. A classic example of this point is Team India. In March, most of them would have been scared to even venture out of their homes for fear of being attacked. The reason: a first round exit at the 50-50 World Cup. Today, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is going to Mumbai AIrport to receive them and the players are going to be then taken in a motorcade to the Wankhede Stadium to be felicitated. The reason: we are the T20 World Champions.
As a reader you would be wondering what's the connection. I assure you there is a strong one.
We as a race have used success as the benchmark for survival. We proudly spout Darwin's Survival of the Fittest theory. My question: Is suffering and misery the only rewards for those who ain't as succesful or as gifted as some of us? It's a different issue that the successful also suffer and most waddle in miseries of the imaginary kind.
Have we as a people become a inhuman race? So much so that we do not bat an eyelid or spare a thought while profiting from the suffering of others?
Am I to assume that if I am very ill and do not have the money, then the only option for me is to die? Aren't hospitals supposed to care for the ill? Isn't medicine supposed to be a noble profession? Or is there nothing noble in today's world that ain't a for profit?
Homeless children roam our streets scavenging, shifting junk in dustbins to find a morsel to eat. It ain't vastly different in villages where kids are dying of hunger while the rest of the world is busy packaging food for a profit.
Most people do not have drinking water, while a few are profiting from bottling this very life saving commodity. Most people do not have a decent roof over their heads (please do not call slums homes), while a few are busy pocketing and selling vast tracts of land for a cost that most can't afford.
So is water, food, clothing, and shelter only for the rich? What happened to the basic rights of people to these essentials?
Please do not tell me that people need to work hard to get these things and please do not quote religious texts to tell me one should not be bothered about the fruits of labor or it's one's karma. Most people who do not have one or more of these essentials work harder that most in air-conditioned offices who surf the net to appear busy.
These are convenient answers to mask crimes committed by a few on the many.
We cite proudly as enterprise how Dhirubhai Ambani in his early days melted currency coins in Uganda because the gold that came out of those coins were worth more than the value of the denomination on those coins.
Ambani senior had questioned "Is it a crime to make money?" I say no. But yes it is a crime to profit from the misery of mankind. And we all know that it ain't possible to be super rich if one is squeaky clean.
So what are we celebrating here, the enterprise of corruption and crime? Were the same things to be done by a desperate farmer or beggar, the poor fellow would not have expereinced freedom for the rest of his life.
As answers to most of my queries we will cite government inefficiencies and a whole lot of other reasons. But to me it nothing but the plain greed of a few. The day we started acknowledging sleight of hand as enterprise, the day started recognizing wealth as God, we as humans failed God.
You can call my writing a crib, you can call it waste of web space, but once you finish reading it, I assure you none, including me, can walk away free of guilt of not having succumbed to the lure of wealth. So much for the right to live!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Lonely Child
I saw a baby in the park
Playing all by herself
I looked for her mother
And found a servant instead
My mind traveled into the past
To the same old park
I saw my sister at play
With kids of her age I say
They laughed, they sang
They pushed one other to the ground
The air was ringing with joy
Of little hearts playing in happiness
Mothers seated on benches
Rejoicing the sea innocence
Exchanging notes and sweets
Describing many a anecdote
I hear the screech of tyres
It's back to the future
In front of me the lonely child
With none to play and a servant in tow
Playing all by herself
I looked for her mother
And found a servant instead
My mind traveled into the past
To the same old park
I saw my sister at play
With kids of her age I say
They laughed, they sang
They pushed one other to the ground
The air was ringing with joy
Of little hearts playing in happiness
Mothers seated on benches
Rejoicing the sea innocence
Exchanging notes and sweets
Describing many a anecdote
I hear the screech of tyres
It's back to the future
In front of me the lonely child
With none to play and a servant in tow
House Warning
How does one describe residential complexes of today? Matchbox houses, community homes that look so identical that they would make Prakash Karat and company proud (you see equality is their USP), or dog pens?
I was looking at an advertisement placed by a large recently-listed builder in one of the national newspapers. The builder claimed to be selling dreams not homes. One look at the picture that went with the ad and I realized how true.
It was indeed a dream that was on offer. But an ugly looking one. There stood a giant structure with maybe over a 1000 flats. It reminded me of some of those sci-fi flicks where for some strange reason writers and directors depict aliens as gory creatures living in frighteningly monstrous abodes.
I took another look at that ad and this time what caught my attention was the scheme. Pay Rs.50,000 and take home the key. Yes, I said to myself, the rest we will keep sucking in EMIs. If I were to buy the house outright it will cost me Rs.12 million. If I opt for the EMI, Rs30 million. I guess that's a conservative estimate.
Rs. 12 million for this pig pen, I asked myself. The communists would have been proud at the construction, but would have seen a US hand in the pricing. The monster breaks down all walls of differenciation. Each house looking a mirror image of the next. Two we call a twin, so what do we call a 1000? A freak show, I say.
So now we will have 1000 more families living together in similar prison sells. Living the great urban dream. How I yearn for the time when each home had an individual feel and look. Yet there was unity in diversity.
Today, we are united in greed, divided at heart. How times are a changing. I know change is the only constant and out of chaos will emerge sanity. But I rue the passing of innocence, the coming of deception. But there is hope as I await the return of innocence. Maybe in vain, but there is great joy in letting hope float.
I was looking at an advertisement placed by a large recently-listed builder in one of the national newspapers. The builder claimed to be selling dreams not homes. One look at the picture that went with the ad and I realized how true.
It was indeed a dream that was on offer. But an ugly looking one. There stood a giant structure with maybe over a 1000 flats. It reminded me of some of those sci-fi flicks where for some strange reason writers and directors depict aliens as gory creatures living in frighteningly monstrous abodes.
I took another look at that ad and this time what caught my attention was the scheme. Pay Rs.50,000 and take home the key. Yes, I said to myself, the rest we will keep sucking in EMIs. If I were to buy the house outright it will cost me Rs.12 million. If I opt for the EMI, Rs30 million. I guess that's a conservative estimate.
Rs. 12 million for this pig pen, I asked myself. The communists would have been proud at the construction, but would have seen a US hand in the pricing. The monster breaks down all walls of differenciation. Each house looking a mirror image of the next. Two we call a twin, so what do we call a 1000? A freak show, I say.
So now we will have 1000 more families living together in similar prison sells. Living the great urban dream. How I yearn for the time when each home had an individual feel and look. Yet there was unity in diversity.
Today, we are united in greed, divided at heart. How times are a changing. I know change is the only constant and out of chaos will emerge sanity. But I rue the passing of innocence, the coming of deception. But there is hope as I await the return of innocence. Maybe in vain, but there is great joy in letting hope float.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Season Of Love
There's love in the air
It's that time of the year
The rain's bidding adieu
There's hope in the air
Give in to its call this fall
It's the season of peace
Looking at us with hope
Begging us to yield to its call
Will we rise together
Listen to the heart's call
Give life a new chance'
And embrace the season of love
Will we move with the times
Or watch time pass us by
Will it be the usual if
Or will it be a season of love
As trees shed dry leaves
And await a new beginning
Will the world shed its fears
And give love a chance
Time and tide waits for none
Will it be a moment wasted again
Or will we open our hearts to love
This season of love
It's that time of the year
The rain's bidding adieu
There's hope in the air
Give in to its call this fall
It's the season of peace
Looking at us with hope
Begging us to yield to its call
Will we rise together
Listen to the heart's call
Give life a new chance'
And embrace the season of love
Will we move with the times
Or watch time pass us by
Will it be the usual if
Or will it be a season of love
As trees shed dry leaves
And await a new beginning
Will the world shed its fears
And give love a chance
Time and tide waits for none
Will it be a moment wasted again
Or will we open our hearts to love
This season of love
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Indo-Pak Joint Agreement
What if Indian and Pakistani leaders have a high level meeting wherein they come to an understanding on how to live and let live? The manifesto of the survival guide will read somewhat as below.
1) We will mutually agree from time to time to rake up irrelevant cross-border issues to divert attention form pressing internal matters.
2) Pakistan will every three months send a few thousand armed men across the border into Jammu & Kashmir. This will help Pakistan to reduce religious pressure at home. India will benefit by having a reason to post its army in J&K. The army will be gainfuly employed in hunting and eliminating the Pakistani intruders. A win-win situation for both Pakistan and India.
3) India will allow Pakistan to send arms experts to carry out a series of bomb experiments across India once every 7 to 8 months. The twin benefit: it will help Pakistan research and develop newer bomb technologies while the explosions will help India curb it's burgeoning population.
4) India and Pakistan will agree to disagree on the Siachen issue. That will help the armies of both nations to gainfuly employ men across this inhospitable terrain. Also another diversionary tactic for both countries to ward off public attention from more pressing internal matters.
5) Both countries will compulsively indulge in an arms race. The benefits: possibly one day both India and Pakistan will have enough arms and ammunition, nuclear or otherwise, to obliterate the Rest of the World. That fear, they hope will give them the bargaining power to force America and allies to accord India and Pakistan Superpower status.
6) Politicians of both countries will agree to mutually cooperate in the procurement of arms from suppliers known to them so that kickbacks are higher, and the fear of the news of kickbacks getting into wrong hands is near zero.
7) Both countries will shift attention to Bangladesh. Pakistan will shift all training camps to Bangladesh soil and India will eventually shift all troops along the Bangla border. The benefit: It's more easier to contain the situation if things get out of hand and also have a whipping boy in Bangladesh if things go wrong.
8) Pakistan will help India forge better ties with China. For India, the worry on the Arunachal Pradesh front is reduced. For Pakistan, China will act as a stronger deterent in case of escalation of tensions with India.
9) Indian politicans want the whole of J&K to be Indian, Pakistani politicians want the whole territory to be Pakistani. The Kashmiris want Independence. But who cares what the Kashmiris want. (Kashmiri Pandits, your position is like that of Tibetans. So no point in protesting or harboring hopes of going back to Kashmir. Find accomodation and gainful employment in other parts of India.) The solution: Pakistan will keep sending armed men, India will maintain troops, though at a minimum. Once in a while we will mutally agree to escalate tension. Otherwise, we will keep snipping at each other. This will be called the Great Art of Peaceful Mutual Disagreement. The logic: it's better than fighting a costly war.
In short, Indian and Pakistani politicians will live happily ever after. Damn the people of both countries.
1) We will mutually agree from time to time to rake up irrelevant cross-border issues to divert attention form pressing internal matters.
2) Pakistan will every three months send a few thousand armed men across the border into Jammu & Kashmir. This will help Pakistan to reduce religious pressure at home. India will benefit by having a reason to post its army in J&K. The army will be gainfuly employed in hunting and eliminating the Pakistani intruders. A win-win situation for both Pakistan and India.
3) India will allow Pakistan to send arms experts to carry out a series of bomb experiments across India once every 7 to 8 months. The twin benefit: it will help Pakistan research and develop newer bomb technologies while the explosions will help India curb it's burgeoning population.
4) India and Pakistan will agree to disagree on the Siachen issue. That will help the armies of both nations to gainfuly employ men across this inhospitable terrain. Also another diversionary tactic for both countries to ward off public attention from more pressing internal matters.
5) Both countries will compulsively indulge in an arms race. The benefits: possibly one day both India and Pakistan will have enough arms and ammunition, nuclear or otherwise, to obliterate the Rest of the World. That fear, they hope will give them the bargaining power to force America and allies to accord India and Pakistan Superpower status.
6) Politicians of both countries will agree to mutually cooperate in the procurement of arms from suppliers known to them so that kickbacks are higher, and the fear of the news of kickbacks getting into wrong hands is near zero.
7) Both countries will shift attention to Bangladesh. Pakistan will shift all training camps to Bangladesh soil and India will eventually shift all troops along the Bangla border. The benefit: It's more easier to contain the situation if things get out of hand and also have a whipping boy in Bangladesh if things go wrong.
8) Pakistan will help India forge better ties with China. For India, the worry on the Arunachal Pradesh front is reduced. For Pakistan, China will act as a stronger deterent in case of escalation of tensions with India.
9) Indian politicans want the whole of J&K to be Indian, Pakistani politicians want the whole territory to be Pakistani. The Kashmiris want Independence. But who cares what the Kashmiris want. (Kashmiri Pandits, your position is like that of Tibetans. So no point in protesting or harboring hopes of going back to Kashmir. Find accomodation and gainful employment in other parts of India.) The solution: Pakistan will keep sending armed men, India will maintain troops, though at a minimum. Once in a while we will mutally agree to escalate tension. Otherwise, we will keep snipping at each other. This will be called the Great Art of Peaceful Mutual Disagreement. The logic: it's better than fighting a costly war.
In short, Indian and Pakistani politicians will live happily ever after. Damn the people of both countries.
Honk Nation
Automobiles here, automobiles there
In all colors and designs
But one thing in common
It's the horn
We honk in a crowd
We honk in solitude
We honk to move man
We honk to move mammals
In sound and cacaphony we live
We have hands, so we will
No Honk boards on the way
We honk the rule away
My car cost me a bomb
I paid too for the horn
If not for nothing
I'll honk to make my money talk
We honk when it's red
When there's no where to go
We honk in the night
When the streets are quiet
Yet so many accidents
Lives lost in vain
Yet we honk for no reason
You see, we're Honk Nation
In all colors and designs
But one thing in common
It's the horn
We honk in a crowd
We honk in solitude
We honk to move man
We honk to move mammals
In sound and cacaphony we live
We have hands, so we will
No Honk boards on the way
We honk the rule away
My car cost me a bomb
I paid too for the horn
If not for nothing
I'll honk to make my money talk
We honk when it's red
When there's no where to go
We honk in the night
When the streets are quiet
Yet so many accidents
Lives lost in vain
Yet we honk for no reason
You see, we're Honk Nation
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
QOTD YES, QOTD NO
For most Indians today, the favorite way of exercising their franchise is the mobile phone. On every channel you have newscasters, VJs, or anchors exhorting us to make a difference.
Vilasrao Deshmukh visited Siddhivinayak Temple this morning and was accorded VIP treatment. Is it correct to accord VIPs special treatment? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N to 6838 or some such number and make your voice heard.
MS Dhoni is BCCI's new 50-50 captain. Are the selectors right? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N.
Suburban Mumbai is drowning as a cloud burst. Why should the cloud burst over Suburban Mumbai and why not over South Mumbai? Is the government responsible for the cloud burst? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N
A pipeline has burst and millions of liters of water have gone waste. Is the municipality responsible? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N
You can see many such issues, some more trivial these, being aired on live television as breaking news and channels literally using sublimal messaging to get the viewer to respond. How necessary are these polls?
Agreed that in cases such as that of Jessica Lal, Nitish Katara and others where recourse to law had failed the media played a major role in generating public opinion that saw justice being done.
But how right is SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N for anything and everything? We viewers must also understand the dynamics behind these SMSes. Do you think that channels are really interested in our views? 99% of the times the answer is no.
There is TRP to be managed, money to be made. Or do we think that these channels are purely helping our telecom companies grow their businesses? No, I say. Most viewers may not be aware that such SMSes cost Rs 3 or more per text message. Are we to believe that the news channels have no revenue-sharing deals with telcos?
In short, 99 of 100 times SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N is an easy way of earning a quick buck while making the viewer feel important. So viewers, think before voting for anything and everything. All that you will achieve is in helping channels and telcos laugh their way to the bank. And for what, giving us a false sense of being in control?
Vilasrao Deshmukh visited Siddhivinayak Temple this morning and was accorded VIP treatment. Is it correct to accord VIPs special treatment? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N to 6838 or some such number and make your voice heard.
MS Dhoni is BCCI's new 50-50 captain. Are the selectors right? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N.
Suburban Mumbai is drowning as a cloud burst. Why should the cloud burst over Suburban Mumbai and why not over South Mumbai? Is the government responsible for the cloud burst? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N
A pipeline has burst and millions of liters of water have gone waste. Is the municipality responsible? SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N
You can see many such issues, some more trivial these, being aired on live television as breaking news and channels literally using sublimal messaging to get the viewer to respond. How necessary are these polls?
Agreed that in cases such as that of Jessica Lal, Nitish Katara and others where recourse to law had failed the media played a major role in generating public opinion that saw justice being done.
But how right is SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N for anything and everything? We viewers must also understand the dynamics behind these SMSes. Do you think that channels are really interested in our views? 99% of the times the answer is no.
There is TRP to be managed, money to be made. Or do we think that these channels are purely helping our telecom companies grow their businesses? No, I say. Most viewers may not be aware that such SMSes cost Rs 3 or more per text message. Are we to believe that the news channels have no revenue-sharing deals with telcos?
In short, 99 of 100 times SMS QOTD Y or QOTD N is an easy way of earning a quick buck while making the viewer feel important. So viewers, think before voting for anything and everything. All that you will achieve is in helping channels and telcos laugh their way to the bank. And for what, giving us a false sense of being in control?
Water Today, Air Tomorrow?
Equity analysts, newspapers, especially the pink papers, and the general public at large have been talking a lot of Water as the next big investment idea. In the last few days, I have received many calls from investment advisors and friends asking me to add stocks of companies in water or related areas to my portfolio.
That set me thinking. Wasn't water in the first place supposed to be for free? Isn't water a basic necessity for life on earth? Then how come this life saving commodity has turned into a great investment opportunity?
As in everything else, I found the answer in greed. Twenty years ago when I was in college, the concept of bottled water had just hit the market. We friends used to laugh at this concept and call the companies engaging in this business as fools.
I won't be too harsh on myself for then dismissing this idea as twenty years ago there was no cable television and our fathers did not have disposable incomes that could enable us to take off on European and American holidays every year or at least every alternate year. Isn't that the norm now?
Twenty years ago, which I would call the beginning of the era of unparalleled opportunism, we hadn't yet start mapping all successes in life with material possessions and gains. Hence, we never thought of water as the next big "opportunity".
We were wrong and how I wish that this one instance our judgment wasn't so off the mark. The reason: India as a country is already groaning under the weight of its own people. Hence, resources are scarce. Governments are talking about alleviating poverty and uplifting the "aam aadmi". Businesses are spouting gyan about coporate social responsibility or CSR.
And on the ground, these very politicians and businessmen are getting together to cash in on the next big thing, WATER. I have just one question: If governments can't ensure the supply of at least free potable water, forget food, for its people, then why should they be in power. If businessmen are trying to make their billions by capitalizing on people's thirst, how different are they from common criminals.
Many common criminals we may argue are driven to stealing by abject poverty. Agreed, but is that what is driving politicians and businessmen to sell water and fill their coffers? I say no. It's simple and plain GREED.
We as a people look up to politicians and businessmen with the vast power and wealth in their possession to help their fellow countrymen live a life of dignity. Is building water cartels and profiting from this unholy trade the way to serve people?
Politicians are meant to help the country grow, take the people forward, while businessmen are meant to help society enrich their lives even as they grow. However, when politicians and bussinessmen collude to benefit from the miseries of this very people, then forget 9.5% GDP growth, even 20% GDP growth will not lead to much change on the ground.
And after water, I believe AIR would be their next big opportunity even as they first parch the land and then quench your thirst for a few silvers. Don't be surprised if the government if not today but five years down the line says that India will need to import water to meet its needs. It's possible, if we as a nation can import wheat after a year of bumper in-house wheat production, anything is possible.
Now coming to Air. I may sound paranoid, but I have every reason to be and so should you be. What guarantees do we have that this politician-businessmen nexus would not pollute our environment to an extent that air in its normal form becomes a killer, unfit for human inhalation?
Then we will see business houses with their CSR spouting masters sitting in some part of Europe or America, sell oxygen tanks and gas masks, and launch millions of related businesses. They will open oxygen bars, already common in places such as Tokyo. Who knows, Oxygen could be the next big outsourcing opportunity. Only here, we would be procuring Oxygen. A huge outsourcing opportunity for th Western world.
The logic would be: those who can pay will live. The others will perish. An extremely efficient way of population control. What say friends?
I know people will say what's the use of writing? What are we going to do to counter this problem.
For starters, we can all decide not to buy bottled water. Promise to carry water bottles from home when we travel. Didn't all of us carry five-liter cans when we took long journeys not so long ago? So what's so wrong in doing so now? Promise to ensure that our vehicles are maintained well so that they do not add to the pollution. Promise to car pool, and wherever possible use public transport. Promise to use less polluting fuels like CNG, LPG over petrol and/or diesel. Promise to not smoke and for those with this habit, try and kick it.
Now, it's in our hands friends to defeat these opportunists who are trying to profit from human miseries. Maybe we can't prevent them from exercising their right to earn a decent livelihood. But we can at least not buy from them. They can only sell if they have a market for their products. Friends, it's time for noncooperation. Unfortunately, this time not against the British, but our very own.
That set me thinking. Wasn't water in the first place supposed to be for free? Isn't water a basic necessity for life on earth? Then how come this life saving commodity has turned into a great investment opportunity?
As in everything else, I found the answer in greed. Twenty years ago when I was in college, the concept of bottled water had just hit the market. We friends used to laugh at this concept and call the companies engaging in this business as fools.
I won't be too harsh on myself for then dismissing this idea as twenty years ago there was no cable television and our fathers did not have disposable incomes that could enable us to take off on European and American holidays every year or at least every alternate year. Isn't that the norm now?
Twenty years ago, which I would call the beginning of the era of unparalleled opportunism, we hadn't yet start mapping all successes in life with material possessions and gains. Hence, we never thought of water as the next big "opportunity".
We were wrong and how I wish that this one instance our judgment wasn't so off the mark. The reason: India as a country is already groaning under the weight of its own people. Hence, resources are scarce. Governments are talking about alleviating poverty and uplifting the "aam aadmi". Businesses are spouting gyan about coporate social responsibility or CSR.
And on the ground, these very politicians and businessmen are getting together to cash in on the next big thing, WATER. I have just one question: If governments can't ensure the supply of at least free potable water, forget food, for its people, then why should they be in power. If businessmen are trying to make their billions by capitalizing on people's thirst, how different are they from common criminals.
Many common criminals we may argue are driven to stealing by abject poverty. Agreed, but is that what is driving politicians and businessmen to sell water and fill their coffers? I say no. It's simple and plain GREED.
We as a people look up to politicians and businessmen with the vast power and wealth in their possession to help their fellow countrymen live a life of dignity. Is building water cartels and profiting from this unholy trade the way to serve people?
Politicians are meant to help the country grow, take the people forward, while businessmen are meant to help society enrich their lives even as they grow. However, when politicians and bussinessmen collude to benefit from the miseries of this very people, then forget 9.5% GDP growth, even 20% GDP growth will not lead to much change on the ground.
And after water, I believe AIR would be their next big opportunity even as they first parch the land and then quench your thirst for a few silvers. Don't be surprised if the government if not today but five years down the line says that India will need to import water to meet its needs. It's possible, if we as a nation can import wheat after a year of bumper in-house wheat production, anything is possible.
Now coming to Air. I may sound paranoid, but I have every reason to be and so should you be. What guarantees do we have that this politician-businessmen nexus would not pollute our environment to an extent that air in its normal form becomes a killer, unfit for human inhalation?
Then we will see business houses with their CSR spouting masters sitting in some part of Europe or America, sell oxygen tanks and gas masks, and launch millions of related businesses. They will open oxygen bars, already common in places such as Tokyo. Who knows, Oxygen could be the next big outsourcing opportunity. Only here, we would be procuring Oxygen. A huge outsourcing opportunity for th Western world.
The logic would be: those who can pay will live. The others will perish. An extremely efficient way of population control. What say friends?
I know people will say what's the use of writing? What are we going to do to counter this problem.
For starters, we can all decide not to buy bottled water. Promise to carry water bottles from home when we travel. Didn't all of us carry five-liter cans when we took long journeys not so long ago? So what's so wrong in doing so now? Promise to ensure that our vehicles are maintained well so that they do not add to the pollution. Promise to car pool, and wherever possible use public transport. Promise to use less polluting fuels like CNG, LPG over petrol and/or diesel. Promise to not smoke and for those with this habit, try and kick it.
Now, it's in our hands friends to defeat these opportunists who are trying to profit from human miseries. Maybe we can't prevent them from exercising their right to earn a decent livelihood. But we can at least not buy from them. They can only sell if they have a market for their products. Friends, it's time for noncooperation. Unfortunately, this time not against the British, but our very own.
Monday, September 17, 2007
A Giant Spitoon Called India
What's is it with us Indians that we think the whole country is a huge public toilet or one large spitoon? Many may have written and spoken about this topic in length, but little seems to have changed on the ground. Most of our brethren continue to defecate, urinate, and/or spit as, when, and where they choose.
And believe me it has got nothing to do with being rich or poor. I have seen beggars have a go on our compund walls and I have seen guys owning Mercedes cars open the door or roll down the window and splash the ashpalt with red or brown paint, depending upon what their gutters, oops mouth, is masticating at that point of time. I just have one question: Why eat anything that is so inedible that you need to spit it out?
This malaise cuts across religious lines. I guess it mainly has to do with lack of ownership. You don't see this happening in most parts of the Western world and the Middle East. However, off late the bug seems to have bitten many in Sweden. But wait before we jump in joy; studies show that it is people from our part of the world who have decided to fertilize Sweden.
No wonder we find it extremely difficult to get visas to any country remotely Western. This reminds me of a Lalu joke that used to do the rounds a few years ago. It went like this: A Japanese prime minister on his visit to Bihar told Lalu, the then CM, that give us Bihar for three years and we will turn it into another Tokyo. Pat came Lalu's reply: Give us Tokyo for three days and we will turn it another Bihar. To my Bihari brethren, no offence meant.
As I said, it has to do with ownership, or lack of it. To me, we as a people don't think that anything that is not registered in our names is ours. Hence, roads and public infrastructure are not ours. So why bother about keeping them clean. It's the government's job, right?
The problem to this solution lies in people understanding that though it is public property and we do not own it, we do pay for it. For those smartalecs who believe that since I do no fall into the income tax bracket, I can deface public property, here is the answer. Dear friends, you also pay for the building and maintenance of public property. Remember the VAT and local taxes extra that you pay on almost every item that you buy?
Yes, that's right. It's your property too. So people take ownership. Even if you feel it's a waste of time advising people against it, you can refrain from doing so individually. That's all we need; if every one of us acts individually, we can and will make a difference collectively. The point is do we think strongly enough that we own more than our homes; we own India and India makes our home.
And believe me it has got nothing to do with being rich or poor. I have seen beggars have a go on our compund walls and I have seen guys owning Mercedes cars open the door or roll down the window and splash the ashpalt with red or brown paint, depending upon what their gutters, oops mouth, is masticating at that point of time. I just have one question: Why eat anything that is so inedible that you need to spit it out?
This malaise cuts across religious lines. I guess it mainly has to do with lack of ownership. You don't see this happening in most parts of the Western world and the Middle East. However, off late the bug seems to have bitten many in Sweden. But wait before we jump in joy; studies show that it is people from our part of the world who have decided to fertilize Sweden.
No wonder we find it extremely difficult to get visas to any country remotely Western. This reminds me of a Lalu joke that used to do the rounds a few years ago. It went like this: A Japanese prime minister on his visit to Bihar told Lalu, the then CM, that give us Bihar for three years and we will turn it into another Tokyo. Pat came Lalu's reply: Give us Tokyo for three days and we will turn it another Bihar. To my Bihari brethren, no offence meant.
As I said, it has to do with ownership, or lack of it. To me, we as a people don't think that anything that is not registered in our names is ours. Hence, roads and public infrastructure are not ours. So why bother about keeping them clean. It's the government's job, right?
The problem to this solution lies in people understanding that though it is public property and we do not own it, we do pay for it. For those smartalecs who believe that since I do no fall into the income tax bracket, I can deface public property, here is the answer. Dear friends, you also pay for the building and maintenance of public property. Remember the VAT and local taxes extra that you pay on almost every item that you buy?
Yes, that's right. It's your property too. So people take ownership. Even if you feel it's a waste of time advising people against it, you can refrain from doing so individually. That's all we need; if every one of us acts individually, we can and will make a difference collectively. The point is do we think strongly enough that we own more than our homes; we own India and India makes our home.
The Great Mumbai Auto Ride
I am a creature of the three-wheel autorickshaw. For some strange reason I simply love travelling by them. It doesn't matter that the four-stroke Re has given me lumbar and cervical spondilosis.
Everytime the wobbly tricycle runs over a pothole, my back and neck sink deeper into my body. Maybe I am a masochist, maybe plain stupid. But a rickshaw ride for me is akin to the little pleasures that one waits for in daily life.
They come in all types, new old, big, small, some even come with music systems attached, dishing out music of the DhinChack variety. They have pictures and/or idols of God near the handle. And as if to balance it, they have pictures of one or more Bollywood actors and actress in the back.
I guess the logic is when the ride gets rough, the traveler can lose himself or herself in the imaginary arms of these gorgeous looking women or handsome looking men. Now who prefers what, I leave it to the reader. It's a democratic country and it's getting increasingly difficult to determine who swings which way.
Another interesting part of the autorickshaw is the driver. I call them pilots because most of them do not drive fast, the fly low. And most engage their customers in conversations on topics ranging from the condition of the roads to their client's or their own sex lives.
On one such journey, I had a pilot who wanted to know if I was married. I said yes, least suspecting the next logical question and the jam I was about to get my self into. The next prompt question, How many children?
I said none. Immediately he asked, Just married? I said No and before he could ask I obliged, I have been married for 11 years. Immediately he looked back, as if to ascertain if all the right things were in the right places. He was driving at around 50 KMPH and my fear was he was going to crash into something. I told him to look ahed and drive to which he said, I have been married for 5 years and I have three children.
To me that sounded like if I can have three children in five years, I have the basics right. Hence, even if I go to sleep while driving, there is no way I will crash. Skill you see can be extended to all facets of life, provided one is skillful.
Next question, Have you seen a doctor? I didn't have the heart to tell him that may wife and I do not have children by choice. So I said yes, and both of us are fine. Immediately popped the next query, What's your profession? I asked him what does that have to do with not having children? He smiled and said, it's the age of the BPOs you see. If you work at night and your wife during the day the chances of getting into the act are non-existent.
Brilliant, I said to myself. Must talk to my friends who run BPO organizations and tell them to esnure that their employees get time to enjoy sex. Could hurt productivity otherwise. As I just got off that thought, he took off again.
Have you tried alternative methods. I said, pardon me, what do you mean by that. He sheepishly said, different positions. I chose to ignore that comment. But he was not one to give up. He said tongue in cheek, have you met Shri Shri 1008 Bababoothnath? What creature is that, I asked. He chided me for showing disrespect and said he was a man of great powers and has helped many a couple beget children.
I immediately thought, yeah I know how he must have done that. Some virile baba I thought. But kept that thought to myself to avoid a confrontation. That by the way is another middle-class trait, avoiding confrontation under the garb of nonviolence. The fact of the matter is I did not feel strong enough to get into an any kind of physical altercation with that guy though he was half my size.
I politely told him I do not believe in babas. I was expecting him to get aggressive, but luckily he changed track. He asked me if I have ever visited Ajmer Sharif? I said no and was hoping the conversation would end as I had almost reached my building gate. But no such luck.
I asked him to stop and paid him the money. As I was about to turn into my building, he stopped me and said, you must visit Ajmer Sharif. It will work. Within a year you will have a son. I just looked at him and said sure. That's all the energy that was left in me after 70 minutes of education on how to get my act right.
As I walked into my building, I had a silly grin on my face as I recapped the conversation. And as I reached the enterance of my wing, an aunty who lives on the groundfloor asked me, Haven't seen you wife in sometime. Is there some good news?
Everytime the wobbly tricycle runs over a pothole, my back and neck sink deeper into my body. Maybe I am a masochist, maybe plain stupid. But a rickshaw ride for me is akin to the little pleasures that one waits for in daily life.
They come in all types, new old, big, small, some even come with music systems attached, dishing out music of the DhinChack variety. They have pictures and/or idols of God near the handle. And as if to balance it, they have pictures of one or more Bollywood actors and actress in the back.
I guess the logic is when the ride gets rough, the traveler can lose himself or herself in the imaginary arms of these gorgeous looking women or handsome looking men. Now who prefers what, I leave it to the reader. It's a democratic country and it's getting increasingly difficult to determine who swings which way.
Another interesting part of the autorickshaw is the driver. I call them pilots because most of them do not drive fast, the fly low. And most engage their customers in conversations on topics ranging from the condition of the roads to their client's or their own sex lives.
On one such journey, I had a pilot who wanted to know if I was married. I said yes, least suspecting the next logical question and the jam I was about to get my self into. The next prompt question, How many children?
I said none. Immediately he asked, Just married? I said No and before he could ask I obliged, I have been married for 11 years. Immediately he looked back, as if to ascertain if all the right things were in the right places. He was driving at around 50 KMPH and my fear was he was going to crash into something. I told him to look ahed and drive to which he said, I have been married for 5 years and I have three children.
To me that sounded like if I can have three children in five years, I have the basics right. Hence, even if I go to sleep while driving, there is no way I will crash. Skill you see can be extended to all facets of life, provided one is skillful.
Next question, Have you seen a doctor? I didn't have the heart to tell him that may wife and I do not have children by choice. So I said yes, and both of us are fine. Immediately popped the next query, What's your profession? I asked him what does that have to do with not having children? He smiled and said, it's the age of the BPOs you see. If you work at night and your wife during the day the chances of getting into the act are non-existent.
Brilliant, I said to myself. Must talk to my friends who run BPO organizations and tell them to esnure that their employees get time to enjoy sex. Could hurt productivity otherwise. As I just got off that thought, he took off again.
Have you tried alternative methods. I said, pardon me, what do you mean by that. He sheepishly said, different positions. I chose to ignore that comment. But he was not one to give up. He said tongue in cheek, have you met Shri Shri 1008 Bababoothnath? What creature is that, I asked. He chided me for showing disrespect and said he was a man of great powers and has helped many a couple beget children.
I immediately thought, yeah I know how he must have done that. Some virile baba I thought. But kept that thought to myself to avoid a confrontation. That by the way is another middle-class trait, avoiding confrontation under the garb of nonviolence. The fact of the matter is I did not feel strong enough to get into an any kind of physical altercation with that guy though he was half my size.
I politely told him I do not believe in babas. I was expecting him to get aggressive, but luckily he changed track. He asked me if I have ever visited Ajmer Sharif? I said no and was hoping the conversation would end as I had almost reached my building gate. But no such luck.
I asked him to stop and paid him the money. As I was about to turn into my building, he stopped me and said, you must visit Ajmer Sharif. It will work. Within a year you will have a son. I just looked at him and said sure. That's all the energy that was left in me after 70 minutes of education on how to get my act right.
As I walked into my building, I had a silly grin on my face as I recapped the conversation. And as I reached the enterance of my wing, an aunty who lives on the groundfloor asked me, Haven't seen you wife in sometime. Is there some good news?
The Guru
My daughter is a doctor, son an MBA, . Many times a day I keep hearing these words. Parents proudly talking about their daughters and sons. It warms the heart to see parents speak so lovingly of their wards. But never have I heard a parent who talks about the contribution of teachers to the success of their children, not even as an afterthought.
That's a sad tale in a country which traditionally places the teacher immediately below the parents and just above God: Mata, Pitah, Guru, Devam. We are a race that prided on the Gurukul system. A race that to this day proudly tells the story of Eklavya the archer, who readily offers his thumb to his guru, a person who did not teach him, but in front of whose idol he practised to become an ace archer.
I was traveling by the local train when I heard a man tell his companion: Arre sir, do you know how greedy teachers of today have become? They are charging Rs.2000 a subject for private tutions. I turned around and asked him, have you bothered to find out why they have to give private tutions in the first place? He replied, how does it matter. I tell you these teachers are plain greedy and money crazy.
Before I could reply, he got up to disembark. I sat thinking. Are our teachers greedy as the gentleman in the train and many parents like him think? If they are, then why? It took me just a second to get the answer to my question.
Teachers are underpaid, and their contributions in building and molding society unrecognized. That's what drives them to give private tutions. It's our apathy towards our gurus that is driving them to turn the noble profession of teaching into a commercial venture.
I asked myself whether we as a society have treated our teachers the way they should be, with respect? No, was the answer.
We don't see anything wrong in making money, and our children making more money. But we certainly have a problem if the Teacher wants to make money. We proudly take credit for the success of our children, and only remember our Teachers should our children fail.
Like us, Teachers are human beings too. Like us, they too have families. Like us, they too have children. And like us, they too want to do well in life and want their children to succeed. And as a society what have we done to alleviate the problems of teachers? Nothing.
No wonder Teachers are slowly turning into businessmen and teaching is turning into a commercial venture. As a society what we should do is ensure that the needs of the Teacher is taken care of, the teacher is wellpaid and his future secure. Only then will the future of our children and Society be secure.
The Ambanis of the world can run International schools for the rich. I have no problems with that. But I do have a problem with the general population not treating Teachers with the respect they deserve and to add insult to injury, expecting them to be miracle makers.
So people, if we value the future of our children, then we must learn to value our Teachers. Reward them and recognize them. Believe me, you will be helping India write a new chapter. A country where people will learn to respect one another. Our children are what we make them. And if we are not going to repect our Gurus, we can't expect our children to do the same.
That's a sad tale in a country which traditionally places the teacher immediately below the parents and just above God: Mata, Pitah, Guru, Devam. We are a race that prided on the Gurukul system. A race that to this day proudly tells the story of Eklavya the archer, who readily offers his thumb to his guru, a person who did not teach him, but in front of whose idol he practised to become an ace archer.
I was traveling by the local train when I heard a man tell his companion: Arre sir, do you know how greedy teachers of today have become? They are charging Rs.2000 a subject for private tutions. I turned around and asked him, have you bothered to find out why they have to give private tutions in the first place? He replied, how does it matter. I tell you these teachers are plain greedy and money crazy.
Before I could reply, he got up to disembark. I sat thinking. Are our teachers greedy as the gentleman in the train and many parents like him think? If they are, then why? It took me just a second to get the answer to my question.
Teachers are underpaid, and their contributions in building and molding society unrecognized. That's what drives them to give private tutions. It's our apathy towards our gurus that is driving them to turn the noble profession of teaching into a commercial venture.
I asked myself whether we as a society have treated our teachers the way they should be, with respect? No, was the answer.
We don't see anything wrong in making money, and our children making more money. But we certainly have a problem if the Teacher wants to make money. We proudly take credit for the success of our children, and only remember our Teachers should our children fail.
Like us, Teachers are human beings too. Like us, they too have families. Like us, they too have children. And like us, they too want to do well in life and want their children to succeed. And as a society what have we done to alleviate the problems of teachers? Nothing.
No wonder Teachers are slowly turning into businessmen and teaching is turning into a commercial venture. As a society what we should do is ensure that the needs of the Teacher is taken care of, the teacher is wellpaid and his future secure. Only then will the future of our children and Society be secure.
The Ambanis of the world can run International schools for the rich. I have no problems with that. But I do have a problem with the general population not treating Teachers with the respect they deserve and to add insult to injury, expecting them to be miracle makers.
So people, if we value the future of our children, then we must learn to value our Teachers. Reward them and recognize them. Believe me, you will be helping India write a new chapter. A country where people will learn to respect one another. Our children are what we make them. And if we are not going to repect our Gurus, we can't expect our children to do the same.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
One India?
Arunachal Pradesh is back in the news. The Indian government has claimed Chinese incursions. Jammu & Kashmir has been repeatedly bombed for over two decades. There is uneasy calm in the Punjab; we will never know when Khalistan will up its ante again. The North-East believes it is a separate zone and most feel anything but Indian in those parts of the country. The south of the country stands isolated from the North, led by huge language and cultural differences.
Yes, this is the reality of India, today's India. Looks like we are all bound together more by political compulsions than by choice. As a country we stand divided in thought by geography, religion, caste, culture, and a feeling that we are all partners in a coalition country that is sticking together for economic reasons than for the love of being one.
Every state blames other states and the Central government for its troubles. So who is to blame? Or should we fall back on our favorite enemy, the British. Blame the British for all our ills; we are saints and if not for the Brits we would still be living in a land of peace and prosperity.
I am sorry to be writing this but that is as far removed from the truth as one end of a black hole from the other. In fact, we have the British to thank for a country called India. If not for the British, we wouldn't have been a country. But I don't think most of us would want to buy that argument. That is our problem. We are jingoistic in our feelings toward India, but living in the country most of our thoughts are antinational.
We have politicians who thrive in dividing the country along religious and caste lines to retain power and fill their coffers. We have businessmen who indulge in all kinds of trickery to make their billions and are happy as long as their glass castles are not stoned. We have the Babus who think it is their birth right to rape the country, and watch in glee at the illegal children of corruption, greed, and sloth that they sire sucking the country dry.
And how can one forget about the aam aadmi, including me, who will watch all this is mute submission and dance to the tunes of the corrupt politician and religious zealots. Little do the people of the country realize the power that they hold. They unfortunatelty are bound by the rope of inaction, and so strong is that rope that the powers that be know they can get away with bloody murder.
These conditions set me thinking about the logic behind being a nation called India. Is there a rationale in being herded together like cattle by a few people whose motive is to profit from this mess called India?
It's fashionable to be Page 3 patriotic and loot the country under that garb. It's fashionable to blame Pakistan, Bangladesh and everyone else for our troubles but ourselves.
If we were united in thought and actions would any other country have been successful in creating chaos and leaving a trail of destruction here? I say no. But the sad part is we would prefer to be divided, align with enemies to bring down our own house, and shamelessly seek asylum in someone else's home and ideologies.
My question to all of us so called Indians is, is there any point in being bound together if we at heart do not feel one? I know that all those who benefit from the chaos called India will oppose my argument and call me antinational. I don't have a problem with that, because I know that a dog's tail cannot be straightened. The only way to keep the tail from curling is to amputate it.
For us Indians, I think it is time to decide. Do we want to amputate that portion of the body that thrives in profiting by dividing us? If yes, then it's time for collective action against the forces of antinationalism. If no, then it is better that we disband as a country and live in isolated glory, waiting for another Great Britain to come and rule us. Maybe we are not fit enough to self govern. May be we are only fit enough to be servants to foreign masters.
I know that people may call me an irrational fool and dismiss my arguments. My only request to all is just for a second think and then cross your heart and say that what I think if wrong. If you can do that, then I will know what ails India. It, dear friends, then would be nothing but the virus of selfpreservation at any cost. That would explain why we prefer to keep our homes clean, but show no sense of responsibility toward keeping our surroundings clean.
What we need to remember is our homes will only be safe if the country is safe. And the nation is certainly not going to be safe through selfpreservation. Hence, it's for all of us to decide whether we wish to live as one country or as colonies of slaves to alien masters.
Yes, this is the reality of India, today's India. Looks like we are all bound together more by political compulsions than by choice. As a country we stand divided in thought by geography, religion, caste, culture, and a feeling that we are all partners in a coalition country that is sticking together for economic reasons than for the love of being one.
Every state blames other states and the Central government for its troubles. So who is to blame? Or should we fall back on our favorite enemy, the British. Blame the British for all our ills; we are saints and if not for the Brits we would still be living in a land of peace and prosperity.
I am sorry to be writing this but that is as far removed from the truth as one end of a black hole from the other. In fact, we have the British to thank for a country called India. If not for the British, we wouldn't have been a country. But I don't think most of us would want to buy that argument. That is our problem. We are jingoistic in our feelings toward India, but living in the country most of our thoughts are antinational.
We have politicians who thrive in dividing the country along religious and caste lines to retain power and fill their coffers. We have businessmen who indulge in all kinds of trickery to make their billions and are happy as long as their glass castles are not stoned. We have the Babus who think it is their birth right to rape the country, and watch in glee at the illegal children of corruption, greed, and sloth that they sire sucking the country dry.
And how can one forget about the aam aadmi, including me, who will watch all this is mute submission and dance to the tunes of the corrupt politician and religious zealots. Little do the people of the country realize the power that they hold. They unfortunatelty are bound by the rope of inaction, and so strong is that rope that the powers that be know they can get away with bloody murder.
These conditions set me thinking about the logic behind being a nation called India. Is there a rationale in being herded together like cattle by a few people whose motive is to profit from this mess called India?
It's fashionable to be Page 3 patriotic and loot the country under that garb. It's fashionable to blame Pakistan, Bangladesh and everyone else for our troubles but ourselves.
If we were united in thought and actions would any other country have been successful in creating chaos and leaving a trail of destruction here? I say no. But the sad part is we would prefer to be divided, align with enemies to bring down our own house, and shamelessly seek asylum in someone else's home and ideologies.
My question to all of us so called Indians is, is there any point in being bound together if we at heart do not feel one? I know that all those who benefit from the chaos called India will oppose my argument and call me antinational. I don't have a problem with that, because I know that a dog's tail cannot be straightened. The only way to keep the tail from curling is to amputate it.
For us Indians, I think it is time to decide. Do we want to amputate that portion of the body that thrives in profiting by dividing us? If yes, then it's time for collective action against the forces of antinationalism. If no, then it is better that we disband as a country and live in isolated glory, waiting for another Great Britain to come and rule us. Maybe we are not fit enough to self govern. May be we are only fit enough to be servants to foreign masters.
I know that people may call me an irrational fool and dismiss my arguments. My only request to all is just for a second think and then cross your heart and say that what I think if wrong. If you can do that, then I will know what ails India. It, dear friends, then would be nothing but the virus of selfpreservation at any cost. That would explain why we prefer to keep our homes clean, but show no sense of responsibility toward keeping our surroundings clean.
What we need to remember is our homes will only be safe if the country is safe. And the nation is certainly not going to be safe through selfpreservation. Hence, it's for all of us to decide whether we wish to live as one country or as colonies of slaves to alien masters.
Friday, September 14, 2007
President Bush, Osama is Winning
9/11 made a hero of President George Bush. He proudly stood before the world and proclaimed death to the terrorist Osama bin Laden. Six more 9/11s have passed and the world awaits Bush to deliver on his promise. Osama is believed to be alive if not kicking, and Bush is kicking ass but hardly alive.
9/11 gave Bush the license to declare war on terror. The only problem, it was Bush's definition of terror. And believe me it varies hugely from the dictionary meaning of terror. What Dubya failed to realize was fighting terror with terror was what the terrorist wanted.
9/11 saw Bush play into the hands of Osama. I say that because I do not believe conspiracy theories that argue Osama is of Bush, for Bush, by Bush. Yes, Osama was a US plant in the country's fight against the Soviet's in Afghanistan. But I don't think Bush has the gut to use Osama against his own people.
9/11, yes, Osama was the mastermind. But by openly declaring war against Osama, Bush accorded him legitimacy. A nation as powerful as the US was talking of waging war against one man. Either the US overestimated Osama or lacked belief in its own power.
9/11, anyway one looks at it, Bush's actions post the World Trade Center carnage smacked of the machismo that prevailed in the Wild West of the early twentieth century. First Afghanistan, then Iraq, Bush blundered his way through leaving behind a trail of terror and destruction.
9/11 and actions that followed saw hundreds of thousands if not millions of innocent civilians lose their limbs if not their lives. All because Bush woke up on the wrong side of the bed on 9/11.
9/11 if used rightly could have helped Bush emerge as a man of peace. Instead he chose to make terror his ally. What followed is more terror. For thousands of years one has seen that when humanity fights evil with evil, it becomes a part of the very evil that it set out to destroy.
9/11 saw history being repeated. Bush fought evil with evil, and has now emerged a larger evil. His actions have garnered greater support for Osama and his ilk among the Muslim world and fed his cause with dedicated children brainwashed to trade their lives for the luxury of knocking up beautiful women in heaven.
9/11 offered Bush a chance to lead the world to a new beginning. He instead chose to narrowly think of America first and humanity second, if he ever thought of it. So President Bush six years and billions of dollars down the line, Osama is winning and Americans are feeling no safer than they felt on 9/11. And yes, the world ain't feeling very safe either.
9/11 gave Bush the license to declare war on terror. The only problem, it was Bush's definition of terror. And believe me it varies hugely from the dictionary meaning of terror. What Dubya failed to realize was fighting terror with terror was what the terrorist wanted.
9/11 saw Bush play into the hands of Osama. I say that because I do not believe conspiracy theories that argue Osama is of Bush, for Bush, by Bush. Yes, Osama was a US plant in the country's fight against the Soviet's in Afghanistan. But I don't think Bush has the gut to use Osama against his own people.
9/11, yes, Osama was the mastermind. But by openly declaring war against Osama, Bush accorded him legitimacy. A nation as powerful as the US was talking of waging war against one man. Either the US overestimated Osama or lacked belief in its own power.
9/11, anyway one looks at it, Bush's actions post the World Trade Center carnage smacked of the machismo that prevailed in the Wild West of the early twentieth century. First Afghanistan, then Iraq, Bush blundered his way through leaving behind a trail of terror and destruction.
9/11 and actions that followed saw hundreds of thousands if not millions of innocent civilians lose their limbs if not their lives. All because Bush woke up on the wrong side of the bed on 9/11.
9/11 if used rightly could have helped Bush emerge as a man of peace. Instead he chose to make terror his ally. What followed is more terror. For thousands of years one has seen that when humanity fights evil with evil, it becomes a part of the very evil that it set out to destroy.
9/11 saw history being repeated. Bush fought evil with evil, and has now emerged a larger evil. His actions have garnered greater support for Osama and his ilk among the Muslim world and fed his cause with dedicated children brainwashed to trade their lives for the luxury of knocking up beautiful women in heaven.
9/11 offered Bush a chance to lead the world to a new beginning. He instead chose to narrowly think of America first and humanity second, if he ever thought of it. So President Bush six years and billions of dollars down the line, Osama is winning and Americans are feeling no safer than they felt on 9/11. And yes, the world ain't feeling very safe either.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Impatient Worker
Nothing succeeds like success, and what better proof to back that statement than India. But with success comes its own set of unique niggles. The Indian workforce is a huge example of what could rein in India's march.
People are in a hurry to rise the corporate ladder. Ask them where, and they will look at you as to what kind of a foolish question is that. Gone are the times when one joined a company and most likely retired from that same company.
The young generation of Indians, or GenX, are a confused and hard to please lot. On the surface, they come across as being sure of what they want. Probe a little and all the insecurities surface. Gone are the times when you rejoiced with your friend when he got a promotion or raise and patiently waited for your turn the next year or maybe the year after.
Today, logic dictates that if my colleague is good enough to receive a raise or a promotion, so am I. Damn the performance appraisals, the progress chart that tell a different story; the reason why your colleague and not you moved ahead.
That I guess is a factor of demand for skilled workers outstripping supply. It's an employees' market out there and companies are bending backwards to hire and retain talent, no matter how mediocre they be.
It's a classic case of a ball bearing, inconsequential by itself, but significant when part of a well-oiled machine. If that ball bearing falls out, the whole machine could stall, or function at maybe below 50% capacity. And that no company wants.
Patience is no longer a virtue, and staying put at one place for more than 18 months is equated to a person's lack of capability and inability to find better opportunity. Ask what is wrong with what they are doing or where they are working at present, and 9 of 10 times the answer will be, there's nothing wrong, it's just not in line with what the market demands.
The constant fear of being left behind in the rat race is all consuming. The mantra of the time is Rolling stones gather no moss. Wasn't that a negative 20 years ago? Yes, certainly, but no longer so.
This thought mirrors lifestyles in today's times. Everything, every decision is near term or in the immediate term. The virtue of investing time and energy in a venture and reaping the rewards as that investment blooms is history.
Employees now want the rewards first with no guarantee of deliverables. Freshers walk in for interviews and their first question is what's the package? We shall discuss other things only if the figure quoted is up to expectations.
No matter how fast the economy grows, not matter how times change, the golden rule of patience pays remains. People who fail to realize that may reap benefits in the near term, but in the long term their lack of loyalty to a cause will come to haunt them.
Another argument is there ain't much creativity in what I am doing. Ask them what's creativity, and they will sidestep that question. Ask them to be honest with themselves and say that they have done justice to the tasks on hand, most will be noncommital.
The logic is there is easy money to be made, so go ahead and make it. Tomorrow is another day, so why worry about it today. It's this attitude that could trip India and delay its transition from a developing country to a developed one.
People are in a hurry to rise the corporate ladder. Ask them where, and they will look at you as to what kind of a foolish question is that. Gone are the times when one joined a company and most likely retired from that same company.
The young generation of Indians, or GenX, are a confused and hard to please lot. On the surface, they come across as being sure of what they want. Probe a little and all the insecurities surface. Gone are the times when you rejoiced with your friend when he got a promotion or raise and patiently waited for your turn the next year or maybe the year after.
Today, logic dictates that if my colleague is good enough to receive a raise or a promotion, so am I. Damn the performance appraisals, the progress chart that tell a different story; the reason why your colleague and not you moved ahead.
That I guess is a factor of demand for skilled workers outstripping supply. It's an employees' market out there and companies are bending backwards to hire and retain talent, no matter how mediocre they be.
It's a classic case of a ball bearing, inconsequential by itself, but significant when part of a well-oiled machine. If that ball bearing falls out, the whole machine could stall, or function at maybe below 50% capacity. And that no company wants.
Patience is no longer a virtue, and staying put at one place for more than 18 months is equated to a person's lack of capability and inability to find better opportunity. Ask what is wrong with what they are doing or where they are working at present, and 9 of 10 times the answer will be, there's nothing wrong, it's just not in line with what the market demands.
The constant fear of being left behind in the rat race is all consuming. The mantra of the time is Rolling stones gather no moss. Wasn't that a negative 20 years ago? Yes, certainly, but no longer so.
This thought mirrors lifestyles in today's times. Everything, every decision is near term or in the immediate term. The virtue of investing time and energy in a venture and reaping the rewards as that investment blooms is history.
Employees now want the rewards first with no guarantee of deliverables. Freshers walk in for interviews and their first question is what's the package? We shall discuss other things only if the figure quoted is up to expectations.
No matter how fast the economy grows, not matter how times change, the golden rule of patience pays remains. People who fail to realize that may reap benefits in the near term, but in the long term their lack of loyalty to a cause will come to haunt them.
Another argument is there ain't much creativity in what I am doing. Ask them what's creativity, and they will sidestep that question. Ask them to be honest with themselves and say that they have done justice to the tasks on hand, most will be noncommital.
The logic is there is easy money to be made, so go ahead and make it. Tomorrow is another day, so why worry about it today. It's this attitude that could trip India and delay its transition from a developing country to a developed one.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Alien in My Homeland
This morning I realized that I am an alien in my own country. I was out walking at the Indian Airlines ground opposite the Military Camp in Santacruz (a western suburb in Mumbai, India)when I bumped into an elderly gentleman. We have seen one another almost everyday but never exchanged greetings. All that changed this morning.
I passed Mr. X on the track and heard the words good morning. I turned around to find him smiling; I returned the greeting and continued walking. After 45 minutes I decided to call it quits and plonked meself on a plastic chair in the lawn. I could sense a gaze and looked to my right, there was Mr. X.
He introduced himself and I was forced to do the same to avoid coming across as plain rude. As happens mostly in India, his first question was your name sounds south Indian, where are you from? I told him I was born in a place called Palakkad in Kerala on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border but have lived in Mumbai all my life except the first six months after birth. For those interested in geography, Palakkad is about 60 minutes by road from the business center of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
Immediately Mr. X said, then you are a Keralite. I looked at him and politely said no, I am a Mumbaikar (the equivalent of a New Yorker in NY). He smiled and said no, since you were born in Kerala, you can only be a Keralite. I could have but didn't refute him. I said bye and walked away thinking to meself, am I a Mumbaikar or am I a Keralite.
The educated call people like me TamBrams (short for Tamil Brahmins). This term is used to describe Tamil speaking brahmins from Palakkad whose ancestors are believed to have migrated from Tanjavur (Tanjore of old) some 400 to 500 years ago.
I reached home and called my cousin in Kerala. My first question, Would you agree if I called meself a Keralite? Prompt came the answer, NO. I was lost for words. I asked him why? His answer was simple: You don't belong here...you studied in Mumbai, lived all you life in Mumbai, then how can you call yourself a Keralite? I thanked him for his frank views and put the phone down.
I sat to have breakfast but couldn't focus. My mind was working overtime. I am not a Mumbaikar, I am not a Keralite. So who am I?
Suddenly the thought stuck me that if not anything I am an Indian. I was just about feeling happy when my enthusiasm collapsed. Indian? does that count for anything in today's India, I thought. The answer stuck me like a bolt of lightning. No, being Indian means nothing in today's context.
In today's emerging India it is important to be identified by place, caste, religion and all other possible mutated versions of identity. Being an Indian is just not good enough.
So dear friends tomorrow if the Shiv Sena or any other political party decides that people like me ain't good enough to live in Mumbai and start targeting us, where do I go? Certainly not Kerala, I may get the same treatment there.
If I cannot stay in my karmabhoomi (where I made my life) and in my janmabhoomi (where I was born), then there is little chance of any other state in the country accepting me. So what does that make me? the humble Indian?
An Indian without a state, an Indian in search of No Man's land. If such a situation does arise in future, what are my options. Are they a) seeking political asylum in some other country; b) changing my name to blend with the mob; and/or c) staying put and getting lynched by a mob ghost led by self-serving politicians.
As of now, I don't know. But what I know for sure is that being Indian must have greater value, must mean more than the word. That is what is lacking in today's India. We are First--Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Maharashtrians, Gujarathis, Malayalees, SC/STs, OBCs and all other identities, then as an afterthought, Indian.
The need of the hour is a radical shift in thinking. We need to be Indians first and Indians last. Will I see that happening in my lifetime? It's anybody's guess.
I passed Mr. X on the track and heard the words good morning. I turned around to find him smiling; I returned the greeting and continued walking. After 45 minutes I decided to call it quits and plonked meself on a plastic chair in the lawn. I could sense a gaze and looked to my right, there was Mr. X.
He introduced himself and I was forced to do the same to avoid coming across as plain rude. As happens mostly in India, his first question was your name sounds south Indian, where are you from? I told him I was born in a place called Palakkad in Kerala on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border but have lived in Mumbai all my life except the first six months after birth. For those interested in geography, Palakkad is about 60 minutes by road from the business center of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
Immediately Mr. X said, then you are a Keralite. I looked at him and politely said no, I am a Mumbaikar (the equivalent of a New Yorker in NY). He smiled and said no, since you were born in Kerala, you can only be a Keralite. I could have but didn't refute him. I said bye and walked away thinking to meself, am I a Mumbaikar or am I a Keralite.
The educated call people like me TamBrams (short for Tamil Brahmins). This term is used to describe Tamil speaking brahmins from Palakkad whose ancestors are believed to have migrated from Tanjavur (Tanjore of old) some 400 to 500 years ago.
I reached home and called my cousin in Kerala. My first question, Would you agree if I called meself a Keralite? Prompt came the answer, NO. I was lost for words. I asked him why? His answer was simple: You don't belong here...you studied in Mumbai, lived all you life in Mumbai, then how can you call yourself a Keralite? I thanked him for his frank views and put the phone down.
I sat to have breakfast but couldn't focus. My mind was working overtime. I am not a Mumbaikar, I am not a Keralite. So who am I?
Suddenly the thought stuck me that if not anything I am an Indian. I was just about feeling happy when my enthusiasm collapsed. Indian? does that count for anything in today's India, I thought. The answer stuck me like a bolt of lightning. No, being Indian means nothing in today's context.
In today's emerging India it is important to be identified by place, caste, religion and all other possible mutated versions of identity. Being an Indian is just not good enough.
So dear friends tomorrow if the Shiv Sena or any other political party decides that people like me ain't good enough to live in Mumbai and start targeting us, where do I go? Certainly not Kerala, I may get the same treatment there.
If I cannot stay in my karmabhoomi (where I made my life) and in my janmabhoomi (where I was born), then there is little chance of any other state in the country accepting me. So what does that make me? the humble Indian?
An Indian without a state, an Indian in search of No Man's land. If such a situation does arise in future, what are my options. Are they a) seeking political asylum in some other country; b) changing my name to blend with the mob; and/or c) staying put and getting lynched by a mob ghost led by self-serving politicians.
As of now, I don't know. But what I know for sure is that being Indian must have greater value, must mean more than the word. That is what is lacking in today's India. We are First--Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Maharashtrians, Gujarathis, Malayalees, SC/STs, OBCs and all other identities, then as an afterthought, Indian.
The need of the hour is a radical shift in thinking. We need to be Indians first and Indians last. Will I see that happening in my lifetime? It's anybody's guess.
Sacrificing God at the Altar of Politics
There goes the UPA government again. In an affidavit before the Supreme Court on the Ram Setu issue, the government has questioned the existence of Ram and the validity of the Ramayana.
In doing so, the government has willingly questioned the very existence of God as believed by over 800 million Indians and a few hundred million others around the globe. That shows the scant respect that the government has for the very electroate that voted it.
Or does this government think that the majority voted for the Opposition, and it's in power thanks to the Pakistanis? To me, that appears to be the government's logic.
I for one do not believe in dividing people by religion, caste, and/or creed. But I also will refuse to be a mute spectator when a government drunk in its own power rubbishes the belief and faith of nearly 80% of the country's population to achieve its narrow goals.
For the government, it appears to be a case scoring a few brownie points. Or is it that the UPA, rather the Congress, has been foolishly emboldened by TV channels indicating victory for the party if it were to call for a snap poll.
Most of us believe in the existence of God. Is that because we have seen or experienced the presence? I dare to say no. It's more due to belief in a higher authority that guards the universe. In God we trust, albeit blindly at times. So is it now for the government to decide whether God exists or not? Or is the government trying to play God?
Karl Marx had said "Religion is opium for the masses". The Congress under the garb of secularism has fed the masses this very opium. Even for a party famous globally for it's divide and rule policy, this is a new low.
Everytime we Indians wonder how low can this government stoop, the UPA lowers its bar by that proverbial yard. For that, dear friends we have ourselves to blame. We elected this monster to power. Now it's assuming Frankenstien proportions.
In doing so, the government has willingly questioned the very existence of God as believed by over 800 million Indians and a few hundred million others around the globe. That shows the scant respect that the government has for the very electroate that voted it.
Or does this government think that the majority voted for the Opposition, and it's in power thanks to the Pakistanis? To me, that appears to be the government's logic.
I for one do not believe in dividing people by religion, caste, and/or creed. But I also will refuse to be a mute spectator when a government drunk in its own power rubbishes the belief and faith of nearly 80% of the country's population to achieve its narrow goals.
For the government, it appears to be a case scoring a few brownie points. Or is it that the UPA, rather the Congress, has been foolishly emboldened by TV channels indicating victory for the party if it were to call for a snap poll.
Most of us believe in the existence of God. Is that because we have seen or experienced the presence? I dare to say no. It's more due to belief in a higher authority that guards the universe. In God we trust, albeit blindly at times. So is it now for the government to decide whether God exists or not? Or is the government trying to play God?
Karl Marx had said "Religion is opium for the masses". The Congress under the garb of secularism has fed the masses this very opium. Even for a party famous globally for it's divide and rule policy, this is a new low.
Everytime we Indians wonder how low can this government stoop, the UPA lowers its bar by that proverbial yard. For that, dear friends we have ourselves to blame. We elected this monster to power. Now it's assuming Frankenstien proportions.
Democracy or Demoncrazy
Looks like the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in India has given Democracy a new meaning. The government's actions seem to indicate that people power is limited to voting. Once in power, function like an autocracy and/or a dictatorship.
A prime example is the issue of reservation under which the government has turned a blind eye to widespread protests, all to satiate the ego of aging Union Human Resources Development minister Arjun Singh, one foot in the grave and the other on its way, and his newfound love for the backward classes.
I have just one question to Mr. Singh. He has been in politics for over five decades. Then why this sudden and irrational urge to grandstand? Is it because of the guilt of having done nothing worthwhile all these years? If yes, then Mr. Singh even now you have done nothing worthwhile.
Sixty years after Independence of which the main protagonist, the ruling Congress, has been at the helm for over fifty years, if Mr. Singh feels that the backward classes have not got their due, whose fault is it, may I ask? What was the Congress government doing all these years?
Another example of the government's foolhardiness is its plan to levy an exit tax on students taking up jobs abroad. The reason being given is it defeats the purpose of subsidy being provided to educational institutions such as IIM and IIT. My question is why subsidy in the first place? What is wrong in privatizing these institutions and letting market forces decide fees?
Even with subsidy, how many bright students from the poor and backward classes manage to secure admission to these institutions? Just a fraction, I say. That effectively means the government has been providing subsidized education to students who can afford the fees sans subsidy. That, dear friends, is how foolish this UPA government has been.
The Prime Minister talks of the need for executive salaries not going over the top. The reason: to avoid discontent and disconnect among the not so lucky. So what was the government doing all these years, hatching eggs while the gap between the rich and the poor widened?
I agree that the PM Dr. Manmohan Singh thinks well and wants to do a lot to bring the country out of the morass that it has slipped into. But that can hardly be said about his cabinet, which is filled with self-serving, corrupt, illiterate, uncouth Members of Parliament (MP).
The Opposition fares no better. The British employed the divide and rule policy in India. Our politicians seem to be sired by the illegitimate desires of the British. They act as different parties in public, but scratch eachother's back in private. That's the biggest reason why a politician, any politican, is rarely convicted and imprisoned for any crime committed.
A classic case is that of Shibu Soren. It's public knowledge that the man is nothing but a goon. He was found guilty of murder by one court only to be acquitted by another. The reason as always, lack of or faulty evidence. No questions asked.
The Finance Minister keeps on talking about accountability and bringing more people under the tax net. Fine, but should that definition be limited to the salaried class. The salaried class has been the most dilligent in paying taxes. So what does our FM do, tax them further as a reward for compliance.
The common man not only pays income tax, but pays taxes on every product that he buys, on food that he eats at restaurants...the list is never ending. My question, why should the common man be always burdened? Just because he is vulnerable, and has little power to defend himself?
Dear Mr. FM, show me one politician who has been raided, forget forced to cough up taxes. You may say show me, and I will take action.
I take up that challenge and give you the list here: Sonia Gandhi, Bal Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Gopinath Munde, Vilasrao Deshmukh, LK Advani, P Chidambaram, M Karunanidhi, J Jayalalitha, K Karunakaran, Keshubhai Patel, Shankar Sinh Vaghela, Shibu Soren, Chandan Basu (Jyoti Basu's son), Suresh Kalmadi, Abu Azmi, Baba Siddiqui, Nawab Malik, Arjun Singh, Abhijit Manu Singhvi.
Is this list enough to begin with Mr. FM? If you have the guts to walk the talk, send your tax inspectors after these guys. I will then say you are a man of your word. Mr. Thakeray was a cartoonist. How come he is worth over Rs 300 crore today? Have you or any government before your's bothered to investigate? I say not only you but no minster or government before you had the guts to to even casually ask Mr. Thackeray the source of his wealth.
Last but not the least, the question of the Sethusamundram project. Forget religious sentiments, forget what the BJP and the VHP have to say. Isn't it ridiculous to ignore warnings of scientists against damaging the Ram Setu or Adams Bridge? They warn of Tsunamis from Indonesia hugely hurting India if the structure is demolished or tampered with.
So what's the motivation for ignoring scientific advise and going ahead with the demolishing the structure? Or is it that money is more valuable than human lives for your Governement?
Mr. Prime Minister, the people demand answers for all these questions and more. Are you listening or is it a case of Nero playing the flute while Rome burned? Or should I in your case say Dancing to Sonia's tunes while India drowned?
A prime example is the issue of reservation under which the government has turned a blind eye to widespread protests, all to satiate the ego of aging Union Human Resources Development minister Arjun Singh, one foot in the grave and the other on its way, and his newfound love for the backward classes.
I have just one question to Mr. Singh. He has been in politics for over five decades. Then why this sudden and irrational urge to grandstand? Is it because of the guilt of having done nothing worthwhile all these years? If yes, then Mr. Singh even now you have done nothing worthwhile.
Sixty years after Independence of which the main protagonist, the ruling Congress, has been at the helm for over fifty years, if Mr. Singh feels that the backward classes have not got their due, whose fault is it, may I ask? What was the Congress government doing all these years?
Another example of the government's foolhardiness is its plan to levy an exit tax on students taking up jobs abroad. The reason being given is it defeats the purpose of subsidy being provided to educational institutions such as IIM and IIT. My question is why subsidy in the first place? What is wrong in privatizing these institutions and letting market forces decide fees?
Even with subsidy, how many bright students from the poor and backward classes manage to secure admission to these institutions? Just a fraction, I say. That effectively means the government has been providing subsidized education to students who can afford the fees sans subsidy. That, dear friends, is how foolish this UPA government has been.
The Prime Minister talks of the need for executive salaries not going over the top. The reason: to avoid discontent and disconnect among the not so lucky. So what was the government doing all these years, hatching eggs while the gap between the rich and the poor widened?
I agree that the PM Dr. Manmohan Singh thinks well and wants to do a lot to bring the country out of the morass that it has slipped into. But that can hardly be said about his cabinet, which is filled with self-serving, corrupt, illiterate, uncouth Members of Parliament (MP).
The Opposition fares no better. The British employed the divide and rule policy in India. Our politicians seem to be sired by the illegitimate desires of the British. They act as different parties in public, but scratch eachother's back in private. That's the biggest reason why a politician, any politican, is rarely convicted and imprisoned for any crime committed.
A classic case is that of Shibu Soren. It's public knowledge that the man is nothing but a goon. He was found guilty of murder by one court only to be acquitted by another. The reason as always, lack of or faulty evidence. No questions asked.
The Finance Minister keeps on talking about accountability and bringing more people under the tax net. Fine, but should that definition be limited to the salaried class. The salaried class has been the most dilligent in paying taxes. So what does our FM do, tax them further as a reward for compliance.
The common man not only pays income tax, but pays taxes on every product that he buys, on food that he eats at restaurants...the list is never ending. My question, why should the common man be always burdened? Just because he is vulnerable, and has little power to defend himself?
Dear Mr. FM, show me one politician who has been raided, forget forced to cough up taxes. You may say show me, and I will take action.
I take up that challenge and give you the list here: Sonia Gandhi, Bal Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Gopinath Munde, Vilasrao Deshmukh, LK Advani, P Chidambaram, M Karunanidhi, J Jayalalitha, K Karunakaran, Keshubhai Patel, Shankar Sinh Vaghela, Shibu Soren, Chandan Basu (Jyoti Basu's son), Suresh Kalmadi, Abu Azmi, Baba Siddiqui, Nawab Malik, Arjun Singh, Abhijit Manu Singhvi.
Is this list enough to begin with Mr. FM? If you have the guts to walk the talk, send your tax inspectors after these guys. I will then say you are a man of your word. Mr. Thakeray was a cartoonist. How come he is worth over Rs 300 crore today? Have you or any government before your's bothered to investigate? I say not only you but no minster or government before you had the guts to to even casually ask Mr. Thackeray the source of his wealth.
Last but not the least, the question of the Sethusamundram project. Forget religious sentiments, forget what the BJP and the VHP have to say. Isn't it ridiculous to ignore warnings of scientists against damaging the Ram Setu or Adams Bridge? They warn of Tsunamis from Indonesia hugely hurting India if the structure is demolished or tampered with.
So what's the motivation for ignoring scientific advise and going ahead with the demolishing the structure? Or is it that money is more valuable than human lives for your Governement?
Mr. Prime Minister, the people demand answers for all these questions and more. Are you listening or is it a case of Nero playing the flute while Rome burned? Or should I in your case say Dancing to Sonia's tunes while India drowned?
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Color of Money
We dance to the tune, sing in joy
The color is green, crisp and clean,
We slave by the day, fear by the night,
Treasure it more than life,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
Heat and dust, rain or snow,
We strive to chase, we drive in haste,
We watch life pass by, Or do we?
Time is relative, but it does pass,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
We bring nothing, take nothing,
Still accumulate we do,
We lie, we cheat, we kill without mercy,
No father, no mother, no brother nor sister,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
We look for reasons for life on Earth,
But selfish we get when life’s at stake,
In the quest for the all-powerful green,
We bury our conscience in the color of green,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
We call it economy, term it God,
We ever look for God in the color of green,
We pray to God, but guard his abode,
If God’s the creator, then why fear,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
The color is green, crisp and clean,
We slave by the day, fear by the night,
Treasure it more than life,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
Heat and dust, rain or snow,
We strive to chase, we drive in haste,
We watch life pass by, Or do we?
Time is relative, but it does pass,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
We bring nothing, take nothing,
Still accumulate we do,
We lie, we cheat, we kill without mercy,
No father, no mother, no brother nor sister,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
We look for reasons for life on Earth,
But selfish we get when life’s at stake,
In the quest for the all-powerful green,
We bury our conscience in the color of green,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
We call it economy, term it God,
We ever look for God in the color of green,
We pray to God, but guard his abode,
If God’s the creator, then why fear,
It’s money my friend, the color of life
A Time to Rock 'n' Roll
It’s time to rock and roll,
More money to spend,
More luxuries to accumulate,
Life’s never been a bigger blast,
The economy’s on a roll
The car stopped at a signal,
A tiny hand popped through the window,
Just a coin Sir, my stomach’s on fire,
I stared into the child’s eyes,
The economy’s on a roll
Malls are full, shoppers are on a roll,
Bags full of goodies, looks like it's Christmas,
The mall walls are full of ads,
Pay by cash, pay by card,
The economy’s on a roll
I passed though Downtown,
Looked pretty rundown,
Windowpanes were broken,
Doors had no brass knockers,
The economy’s on a roll
Eateries are full, hotels are a boom,
Pastas and pizzas washed down with wine,
Red and white, the glasses clink,
Outside, I saw a queue for the leftovers,
The economy’s on a roll
While the few was painted like the majority,
The majority suffered in silence,
For ever Merc that rolled,
There were a thousand hands folded,
The economy’s on a roll
More money to spend,
More luxuries to accumulate,
Life’s never been a bigger blast,
The economy’s on a roll
The car stopped at a signal,
A tiny hand popped through the window,
Just a coin Sir, my stomach’s on fire,
I stared into the child’s eyes,
The economy’s on a roll
Malls are full, shoppers are on a roll,
Bags full of goodies, looks like it's Christmas,
The mall walls are full of ads,
Pay by cash, pay by card,
The economy’s on a roll
I passed though Downtown,
Looked pretty rundown,
Windowpanes were broken,
Doors had no brass knockers,
The economy’s on a roll
Eateries are full, hotels are a boom,
Pastas and pizzas washed down with wine,
Red and white, the glasses clink,
Outside, I saw a queue for the leftovers,
The economy’s on a roll
While the few was painted like the majority,
The majority suffered in silence,
For ever Merc that rolled,
There were a thousand hands folded,
The economy’s on a roll
Charity to poverty... Changing thought
What is it about us that we always try to act noble? Everyone wants to do good, and the easiest way to do that is talk. A lot of talk. We talk of wanting to help others, we talk of turning this world into a paradise. We talk of ideal situations. Is life that simple? Is the world that we live in an ideal place?
Therein friends lies the problem. If all of us are doing only good, then why is the world so screwed up? Why is the gap between the rich and the poor widening? Why are followers of Hinduism, Islam, Christ and the millions of other ideologies fighting each other? If all of us want to make the world a better place, then why has the world not become a better place?
The reason is just one. All of us believe in the supremacy of our beliefs. We align with those who hold the same beliefs as us and call others nonbelievers. All of us proclaim that God is one. Yet we fight to prove that our vision of God is supreme and set out to rubbish the ideas of others who do not fall in line with our thoughts.
One question crosses my mind repeatedly. If we believe God is the creator of all humanity, then why is it that we take it upon ourselves to defend God and his rights. If God had the power to create the Universe, don't we think that he has the power to guard himself? Or do we think that we are more powerful than God Almighty and hence it's our duty to ensure that no harm befalls God?
Simple logic says that if God needs our protection, then he ain't God in the first place. We need to understand that God protects us and not the other way. If we believe that God exists then we also must agree to the fact that God is supreme. If we don't then we are deluding no one but ourselves. Then what we are doing is looking at God as a business enterprise, invoking whose name a huge pile of money is waiting to be made.
That my dear friends is the nature and premise of Organized Religion of any name.If we really are to live happy and peaceful on Earth, what needs to be shed is the sham of Organized Religion. We need to believe that devotion to God is personal and should be kept within one's heart; not forced down the throats of people by force.
If we really believe in the existence of God, then we wouldn't be so insecure, selfish, jealous, and egoistic a race.We have governments, NGOs, and dogooders of all kinds wanting to eradicate poverty from the surface of this earth. Then why are more and more people growing poorer by the day? Why is that kids of the poor do not even have access to the basic amenities like food, cloting, shelter, and education? Things that kids of the betteroff sections of society take for granted and show scant respect.
The problem is our belief in charity. We believe that by doling out a few currency notes, we have done out bit to eradicate poverty. Charity without focus is as good as feeding poison. On needs to understand that it is not in the best interests of governemnts and NGOs and other dogooders across the globe to end poverty. If they manage to do that, more so in quick time, then what will they do?
It suits them to keep the poor as poor as before or even poorer. That's how they survive and thrive. If collectively we wish to eradicate poverty, then what we need to do is not hand out dole. We need to see that the money that we give is spent properly. Accountability is the key. Also the poor need education and jobs. By just giving them some money and believing that poverty will be eradicated is foolish.
Logic shows that if we have the will, political and personal, then it ain't that difficult. However, if we keep giving out doles, then we are churning out more beggars. And when people know that they can get money for doing nothing but for flashing their poor or caste cards, then why on earth would they want or opt to work?
As a society we have to promote a healthy work culture, pan inaction, and see to it that the law of the land is upheld. The poor should be provided basic education, and with means to find gainful employment. After that, if they are found reverting to a life of inaction, they should be severely penalized. That will send a clear message that the era of beggars is over. What the world needs is a cleanup of the collective thought process. What say friends, are we game?
Therein friends lies the problem. If all of us are doing only good, then why is the world so screwed up? Why is the gap between the rich and the poor widening? Why are followers of Hinduism, Islam, Christ and the millions of other ideologies fighting each other? If all of us want to make the world a better place, then why has the world not become a better place?
The reason is just one. All of us believe in the supremacy of our beliefs. We align with those who hold the same beliefs as us and call others nonbelievers. All of us proclaim that God is one. Yet we fight to prove that our vision of God is supreme and set out to rubbish the ideas of others who do not fall in line with our thoughts.
One question crosses my mind repeatedly. If we believe God is the creator of all humanity, then why is it that we take it upon ourselves to defend God and his rights. If God had the power to create the Universe, don't we think that he has the power to guard himself? Or do we think that we are more powerful than God Almighty and hence it's our duty to ensure that no harm befalls God?
Simple logic says that if God needs our protection, then he ain't God in the first place. We need to understand that God protects us and not the other way. If we believe that God exists then we also must agree to the fact that God is supreme. If we don't then we are deluding no one but ourselves. Then what we are doing is looking at God as a business enterprise, invoking whose name a huge pile of money is waiting to be made.
That my dear friends is the nature and premise of Organized Religion of any name.If we really are to live happy and peaceful on Earth, what needs to be shed is the sham of Organized Religion. We need to believe that devotion to God is personal and should be kept within one's heart; not forced down the throats of people by force.
If we really believe in the existence of God, then we wouldn't be so insecure, selfish, jealous, and egoistic a race.We have governments, NGOs, and dogooders of all kinds wanting to eradicate poverty from the surface of this earth. Then why are more and more people growing poorer by the day? Why is that kids of the poor do not even have access to the basic amenities like food, cloting, shelter, and education? Things that kids of the betteroff sections of society take for granted and show scant respect.
The problem is our belief in charity. We believe that by doling out a few currency notes, we have done out bit to eradicate poverty. Charity without focus is as good as feeding poison. On needs to understand that it is not in the best interests of governemnts and NGOs and other dogooders across the globe to end poverty. If they manage to do that, more so in quick time, then what will they do?
It suits them to keep the poor as poor as before or even poorer. That's how they survive and thrive. If collectively we wish to eradicate poverty, then what we need to do is not hand out dole. We need to see that the money that we give is spent properly. Accountability is the key. Also the poor need education and jobs. By just giving them some money and believing that poverty will be eradicated is foolish.
Logic shows that if we have the will, political and personal, then it ain't that difficult. However, if we keep giving out doles, then we are churning out more beggars. And when people know that they can get money for doing nothing but for flashing their poor or caste cards, then why on earth would they want or opt to work?
As a society we have to promote a healthy work culture, pan inaction, and see to it that the law of the land is upheld. The poor should be provided basic education, and with means to find gainful employment. After that, if they are found reverting to a life of inaction, they should be severely penalized. That will send a clear message that the era of beggars is over. What the world needs is a cleanup of the collective thought process. What say friends, are we game?
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