Alabandical

Let’s Castigate the Caste System!

2014-04-19T00:13:00.000-07:00

A major upheaval of sorts is required to urge the legislators to revisit the Caste based Reservation System. An analysis based on the current social and economic status could well tell us if the law is actually helping the poor, or if it’s in fact suppressing talent and demotivating the meritorious.

Lifting the downtrodden is one thing. Continuing to support ‘The Lifted’ is a blunder. Providing a large chunk of already scarce college seats and Government jobs to people with caste certificates (as opposed to the people who genuinely need support) is stupidity. If left unchecked, this could even lead to proliferation of ST/SCs with more number of helpless upper castes marrying lower castes for obvious benefits. The law would then lose its point.

The current reservation system is obsolete and needs a revamp based on economic statuses of people. It’s sad to realise that no politician has broached this subject. It’s even worse to hear educated and experienced people like Nandan Nilekani recanting their former stands and urging further reservations in private sector as well. What is this, if not vote-bank politics?

This massacre of ‘Right to Equality’ gained legitimacy for a good cause. But are we going to continue until it turns into exploitation?

If the argument is based on platitudes like ‘The Greater Good’ and ‘Uplifting the poor’, who else could be more capable in creating jobs and opportunities than the genuinely meritorious?

There must be other ways to uplift the needy castes. It’s a shame to say now that B.R. Ambedkar was the only genius amongst us, and that we are incapable of coming up with something better. We need to brainstorm and find other routes to raise our underprivileged rather than letting our youth sacrifice their credits won by merit.

My Stand!

2013-12-29T00:25:00.001-08:00

Let me make my stand clear. I do not support Modi. (The reason being ideological differences) But, I support the fact that it’s time to give Modi a chance to prove himself. Much the same way we have given Kejriwal a chance.

After all, India is a democracy; and if Modi fails to live up to the expectations of young India, and if his predisposition towards religious ideologies and non-secular politics assumes higher priority over his development methods , then he cannot- let me say it again- CANNOT remain in power for longer than two terms at max. There would be another revolution of sorts with parties like AAP coming to power, and the un-precedented elections of the present would become commonplace, with people’s mandate reigning high.

In any case, the Indian race is sure going the right way. The mirage now appears to be an actual oasis.

The Khobrgade aftermath

2013-12-20T13:04:00.001-08:00

While condemning the nature of arrest of Indian Diplomat might be acceptable, engaging in similar (if not more) indecent acts is not.

Devyani Khobragade, Deputy Consul General, was handcuffed and strip searched for having breached an American law, a treatment I am in no way justifying. But Indian officials retaliated like jealous school kids and snubbed the U.S. diplomats. They even went to the extent of calling off security around the U.S. embassy. One BJP member suggested arresting homosexual partners of U.S. Diplomats.

There was even stone-pelting on a Domino’s Pizza outlet in Mumbai by irate protestors, who wanted to take their anger off on anything remotely American. Irony being their remarkably time-tested tolerance towards (mis)-treatment of women in their own country.

These acts, while suggesting immaturity of the political class, showcases India in a bad light, thereby placing the U.S. on a relative moral high ground.

The whole thing reminds me of a particular instance from the Indian history. The civil disobedience movement, and the massive campaign in Bardoli, Gujarat.

Gandhiji called off the massively successful movement due to the Chauri Chaura incident, wherein our Indian revolutionaries had burnt down a police station. Gandhi writes in his experiments with truth-
“If the revolutionaries did not assassinate the British, then the British Raj’s ideology of moral superiority and their counter-violence would not be justifiable.
Anti-imperialist terrorists gave the British, ideological and military legitimacy, in the eyes of many”

Do you see the connection here? He meant us to protest, but not in the same way as the opponent.

Our response to the Khobragade situation demands diplomatic measures and negotiations, and not outright displays of displeasure.

Let peace prevail.

Why give Anna all the credit?

2011-08-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

Newspapers and the media are screaming- the victory is Anna's. but is it?
the act of fasting could have been done by anybody.

For a massive agitation of any kind, a representative is essential. The opposite party (in this case, the govt) or any other third party would find it easier to communicate with or refer to the selected leader/representative rather than to the whole mob. A man, preferably old, with a little history in social service in his resume could conveniently fit the role and perform it effectively. And that's what Anna Hazare did.

Of course, the initiative taken by him needs to be applauded. Not denying that at all. But the applauds must be equally divided between Anna Hazare, Team Anna (Kiran bedi, Arvind K and others), The Sponsors for the campaign ( they apparently paid huge amounts) The people, and The Media.
How could one forget the media?! Honestly, fasting is being done by several people at several parts of the country for various reasons.. compared to them, Anna doesnt stand out as anybody greater. But if anna's fasting gained such massive support, it's because the media helped. My kudos to media. Be it the common wealth games, the IPL match scandal, the 2G scam or the Adarsh housing scam, it was the media which made them big issues and helped the problem at hand seep into people's minds and bring their tolerance levels to the brinks.
so come on, lets not call it Anna's victory. It's India's victory!

PHINEAS AND FERB! Everybody's cartoon!

2010-07-17T09:38:00.001-07:00

I was watching my favourite cartoon Phineas and Ferb on Disney channel when there was a knock on the door. Not wanting to miss Dr.Doofenshmirtz's hilarious monologue with Perry-the-platypus (or agent P), I chose to leave the doorknocker keep knocking for a while.

This is one cartoon that I love; and which is very ingeniously drafted with a clever & witty humor track that can catch you unawares. The more number of times you watch an episode, the more details you notice.

The cartoon plot is an interesting one. Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher are stepbrothers and kids who want to make each day of their 104-day summer vacation memorable. They are extraordinarily brilliant for their age and thus create extravagant roller coasters, beaches, circuses etc on their backyard. Their teenage sister, Candace tries to "bust" them and report their activities to their mom, but is never able to. Phineas and Ferb have a pet platypus named Perry.

The sub plot usually consists of Perry-the-Platypus who leads a double-life and is actually the secret agent (agent P) posted to check the activities of Dr.Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the mad scientist who considers himself evil. In the end, Perry always manages to foil Doofenshmirtz's plans and in the process, inadvertently destroys Phineas and Ferb's backyard innovations. This way, Candace never gets to show her mom what her brothers do in the backyard.

The characters created by Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and Dan Povenmire reflect the authors' intention to highlight lesser-known things. For e.g., the species of a platypus (Perry) is rare and striking. This animal is found in parts of Australia and is known for its bizarre appearance. It looks as if a duck beak, a beaver's body and an otter's feet are sewn together to make an animal. The platypuses make one of the only five mammal families that lays eggs (note- mammals are species that produce milk to feed their young ones). In addition, the Platypuses are electro-receptors, venomous and possess various other interesting qualities.

In one episode of Phineas and Ferb, (episode- Tip of the Day) the boys create an awareness campaign for the word AGLET (meaning, the shoelace tip), which again, most people are not aware of. The episode describes it as "The most useful, but tragically ignored inventions."

Candace is a typical teenage girl who's non-stop musings, attempts to bust her brothers and subsequent goof ups make her an adorable character. Ashley Tisdale's voice fits the character perfectly.

Dr.Heinz Doofenshmirtz & Perry the Platypus (agent P)

Talkative Dr.Doofenshmirtz makes up for his usually mute nemesis Perry the platypus. He wins the most funny and pitiable villain award, hands down. Most of his inventions are results of his neglected childhood and so are aimed at terrorizing the tri-state-area. He's got a flair for naming his inventions with a suffix '–inator'.

The supporting cast consisting of, Isabella, Baljeet, (Phineas and Ferb's friends), Jeremy (Candace's crush), Major Monogram, Carl the intern, etc is also ingeniously created and great to watch.

On the whole, the series gets all five stars from me. If there's one cartoon that everyone can enjoy, I think it's this one. Three cheers to Phineas and Ferb!

VIVA LA ESPANA

2010-07-13T09:34:00.001-07:00

The one month is over! The FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 has finally come to an end. The world would now move on to another event to quench its ever burgeoning hunger for excitement.

THE GAME

The world cup final between SPAIN and THE NETHERLANDS was a war, indeed. The game saw scores of yellow cards, disappointing free kicks, roughness, referees and first-aid people butting in every few minutes, and finally, a spectacular and a dramatic goal by ANDRES INIESTA, taking Spain to its first ever world cup victory in history!

The remarkable thing was that the goal kept eluding itself, only to be scored in the 116^th minute of the game, when everybody thought it was going towards a penalty shootout.

LOST OPPORTUNITY

Holland would have won the game, had the incredible shot at the goal by ARJEN ROBBEN during the 61^st minute, not impeded by goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who clearly got lucky!

The ill-luck of the Dutch was evident right from the time THE OCTOPUS picked Spain for the win, which would have no doubt dipped the Dutch's confidence at least by an inch.

SOME OBSERVATIONS

Ø The din of VUVUZELAS was not as pronounced as they were in previous matches. People seemed deeply engrossed in the drama unfolding before them that was the match. ;)

Ø And as my friend and ardent football enthusiast, Kannan noticed (and I later conceded), the Spain coach did resemble SNOOPY, the dog. (No offence intended) J

Ø Finally, the world cup proved (just like in the IPL 2010) that fair play always triumphs!

Neither David Villa nor 'little' Wesley Sneidjer, the close contenders of the GOLDEN BOOT received the award. But it was young Mueller of Germany, who stole the spotlight and the BEST PLAYER title, being the youngest, yet the brightest player of FIFA WORLD CUP 2010.

Bidding adios to the world cup related excitement until the next one in Brazil in 2014,

Yesh J

Foot-follower writes...

2010-07-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

Never did I think I would follow a football match, let alone being a fan of the sport. But the current FIFA 2010 has sure invoked the interests of innumerable football-illiterates. Whether it's the ubiquitous Waka-Waka ringtones or the constant voices of 'which-team-do-you-support?' that inspired me to follow this game, I don't know; But the game has captivated me to an extent that I monkey-jump each time there's a goal, contort my face in all possible forms (worse than even Maradona) when the ball shifts to the opposite side, and indulge in nail-biting during the edge-of-the-seat moments.

The round of 16 and the quarterfinals saw some shocking exits. England, under Wayne Rooney, couldn't make it to out of the first 16. The France team, after an embarrassing spat between the coach and themselves, walked back home. Brazil and Argentina, the two undisputed South American favourites were defeated by Netherlands and Germany respectively in the quarter finals.

Right now, I'm waiting to watch the first semi final match between Uruguay, (for whom this is the first time into semi finals since The 1970 World cup) and Netherlands. The match starts at 11:30 pm (Indian time) and I've even decided to bunk college tomorrow on account of pre-final-excitement symptoms, for Germany and Spain are all set to take on each other in the other semi-final round at 20:30 hrs tomorrow.

And finally, Thanks Africa, for hosting such an awesome game... and I kind of like those vuvuzelas :)

Cheers,
Yesh