Chintanaigal

The NEET Leak and the Root Cause

2026-07-26T15:39:35.924+05:30

What led to the NEET Leak?

While Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned, finally, now, the government has passed a law introducing more stringent punishment for people who leak papers, PM has promised that he will do everything to safeguard the youth.

1. The moot question is why the leaks occur. The obvious answer is greed for money. And it is not wrong. As it is said, it is important to ask give Whys before arriving at the root cause.

a. Only a few are not greedy for money. So, it should not be surprising that those that leaked the paper did it to earn a quick buck.

2. Why did those that pay for the question paper pay the steep price for the paper?

a. They paid for it because they wanted their ward to be doctors?

3. Why do they want their wards to be doctors?

a. Most want their wards to be doctors because as a doctor one can earn a lot of money.

4. Why do doctors make a lot of money?

a. Because the medical profession, like most other professions, has become profit oriented. Enough has been written how this happens

5. Why has this happened?

a. Many of the private medical institutes are either run by public limited companies or are public limited companies and they have to ensure that their share price keeps growing for which they need to keep showing higher revenues and higher profits.

All this starts with a relative or a friend who comes home asks the child, however young, a seemingly innocent “Child what do you want to become when you grow up?”

If the child answers says “I want to be an engine driver, or bus driver, or a conductor or teacher” it leads to a moment of mirth for the adults and embarrassment for the parents of the child.

Instead of the answer of the child is “Aunty/Uncle, I want to be a doctor” or “Aunty/Uncle, I want to be an engineer” and the answer will be “Very good”. This sets off the tone for the future of the child for the child and for the parents.

This ends up in the pressure to succeed in NEET, it ends up in the parent spending tons of money in putting their ward through the coaching classes, it ends up in students committing suicide when they are unable to meet the expectations and manage the pressure to succeed, it ends up in people leaking the paper in an attempt to make a quick buck.

What can be done to stop this rot?

The first the entire education needs to be revamped. It needs to be revamped not in the direction in which this government needs to be taking it or do what the earlier governments did.

We have to start with we as Indians, the government and the rest of the politicians included need to admit that there is a need for social reform. A reform needs to eliminate or reduce the differences between the citizens of our country. We have to be Indians first before we split ourselves on any other aspect. This split by religion, caste, gender, language, economic strength, choice of food needs to be eliminated. There has to be unit and good understanding among ourselves. We have to have empathy for each other, not apathy or worse antipathy which is what we have now for each other.

The education should be holistic. The rote based education needs to be changed, it should move towards a more discussion, not debated, based education. The fight among languages and imposition of language needs to be removed.

English should be accepted as the common language of communication between the people speaking different languages. The regional languages must be encouraged. History, Geography and other subjects can be taught in regional languages besides the regional languages itself. Maths, Science should be taught in English.

Higher education in Science, Technology, Medicine, Commerce and Law should be in English. The reason being most of the knowledge base in these subjects are available only in English. Literature, Art and even management (some English will be required because many management knowledge is in English) can be taught in regional languages. Studying foreign languages should be made easy, not difficult.

Most importantly there should be vocational education. Those who are good at any form of art should be given education which helps them grow in their area of strength. A pass in standard 10^th, 12^th or even worse a graduation should not be made compulsory as long as they are good at their task. Along with that respect and pride in labour must be encouraged and inculcated.

This true unity in diversity along with real education is what will help India come out of this morass into which they have descended. The question is which government will take it up and where will it find teachers to kick-off the change?

The arrogance of PM Narendra Modi and BJP

2026-07-26T11:59:16.997+05:30

The last few weeks has seen the naked arrogance of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party BJP is full display. The party expected that the protests will die down soon as they had already shut down their X account. They expected that only a few 100 protestors will turn up and will soon disperse especially after they had taken Sonam Wangchuck forcibly to the hospital. They felt cut the head and the trunk will fall down automatically.

Their digital media was working overtime spreading conspiracy theories saying this was sponsored by AAP, sponsored by the Americans and other Western powers to bring down the Modi government as they were scared that India will soon supersede America and other Western powers under the eminent leadership of Modi. They also had a NEET topper release a video saying that he improved his score by studying harder and staying away from protests. The Modi bhakths were trying their best to malign and tarnish the protestors in all ways they could.

All one has to see X feed of Narendra Modi and BJP to see how much resentment is simmering. Pick up almost any self-congratulatory post of Modi or BJP or for that matter any other BJP bhakth. Every post had more retorts than praises or congratulations on achievement.

If Modi and BJP had a little less arrogance, they should have read the sentiment of the people, but their arrogance blinds them. They have a feeling that they should dictate and control the future of India and drive in a direction where Hindi becomes the preeminent language and Hinduism (hardcore version) be the only religion. It is difficult to fathom why they are driving towards this goal. Even RSS doesn't seems be so stridently demanding this as a goal. Yes its offshoots like VHP and Bajrang Dal will not shy away from such demands.

One hopes that Modi and BJP learn and give up their arrogance and learn to build consensus. Given the past, this looks unlikely. Demonetisation, abolishment of article of 370, farm reforms, the three language policy of CBSE, delimitation, the building of metro depot at Aarey in Mumbai, the cutting of the mangroves for coastal road in Mumbai all goes to show that Modi and his party are unlikely learn and this is a sad for India. Demonatisation, abolishment of article 370, farm reforms were all required. They could have succeeded if the right stakeholders had been included in the decision making and a consensus had been reached before they were brought forward. Instead the government wants to thrust down the throats of the citizens of India.

The opposition is clueless and have no leader, worth their salt, or any plans which gives Indians the confidence to say that they can bring down this government and elect the opposition, but I guess it nevertheless happen in 2029.

For creating this situation, we have to thank the CJI, another sycophant of Modi, for provoking the youth from their slumber by calling them cockroaches (irrespective of how many times he says that people interpreted him wrongly, this will stick). He has only aggravated the situation by saying that the has no time for hearing cases against the atrocities of police against the protestors.

The way it is going, Modi's slogan should be "Iss baar sau paar",

Women's reservation bill

2026-04-12T13:15:00.001+05:30

The present government is proceeding ahead with the women's reservation bill. They want to expand the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and give this excess seats to the women. It is being touted as gift from Mr. Narendra Modi to the womenfolk of India. It will be advertised repeatedly that this government has done something which no other government had the guts to do and so they must be voted back to power. It is purely a tactic to try and ensure that they win the next set of elections, especially the one in West Bengal and hence the timing. Day by day this government is revealing and reveling in the cunning politics of Machiavelli and Chanakya.

The women of India need to decide do they need reservation or equality. Reservation is given for those who are incapable of competing with the rest. It is like the handicap in golf or horse racing or many of other such sports. Do the women want to accept that they cannot compete with men for the open seats?

The power to bring equality in the society lies with the womenfolk. The men have no reason to try to bring about this equality among genders. Most are not even willing to talk and those who talk, tell that women are weak and need to be protected. The womenfolk need to train their sons, brothers, and other menfolk around them so that they start treating women as equals. It will take a few generations for this to turn around, but I find only a few women walking down this path. Unless this becomes a mass movement, it is unlikely to find traction. In my opinion radical feminism is not a good way to approach this problem of patriarchy. And the women need to ensure that it doesn't make a complete U-Turn.

Yes biologically and physically, on an average, the women are weaker then men, but in the rest they can be equal if not better. To fight elections one does not need physical strength, so why the reservation?

The other issue is that, it is already difficult to get to consensus with 500+ people, with 800+ people on the floor it is going to be chaos.

This is just optics for the BJP and Narendra Modi.

The second point is that, to increase the number of seats, delimitation will be mooted. While the government has stated that they will not increase the seats of any state and that the increase is bound to be proportional, it is becoming more and more difficult to believe what this government says. It has lost its credibility to a large extent. It will be surprising if the number of seats in the Northern state where BJP is strong, get the bulk of the increase in seats. It is unlikely that the Southern states will get any kind of significant increase of seats.

This women's reservation bill should raise an alarm among the womenfolk, but it will more or less be passed unanimously as every party will want to stake the claim that they were the ones who brought the women's reservation bill and hence they should be the one's to get the credit.

A song in of Jamshedji Tata - And my family history and the Tatas

2026-01-26T18:01:00.002+05:30

An audio recording of a song in praise of #JamshedjiTata the founder of #TataSons sung by my 93 (she was 84 at the time or recording) year old aunt spent her childhood in #Jamshedpur

My paternal grandfather lost his entire inheritance of Rs. 10000 in a printing press. He was naive and his partner not just ran away with the capital, but left my grandfather in debt. The debt was closed with the help of my grandmother’s father. He had a BA in law, but he failed miserably in the court as he was an extremely soft person. He worked for a short time under another advocate, but probably was soon sent back home for lack of initiative to be a lawyer.

He was without work for a long time. Finally through some contact he was promised a job in TISCO at Jamshedpur. Being from an orthodox Brahmin family from the South and not knowing the language they were hesitant to move to North of India. Finally having no choice they moved to Jamshedpur. My aunt was all of 5 at that time. My father had not yet been born.

They landed up at the place of another South Indian who had been in Jamshedpur for sometime now and was well off. They landed very early in the morning and waited in the garden of the house. When the lady of the house woke up she took my grandfather and his family (grandmother and my aunt) and took them into their household.

My grandfather joined TISCO as a clerk and started working. They continued in the house of this family for sometime. Soon tongues started wagging and rumour was spread that this person was keeping someone in the house provided by the company and was making money. Even though this was untrue, not wanting to get entangled with law my grandfather’s family was sent to the house of the house resident’s brother. Soon enough my grandfather was lucky to get a quarters from TISCO and they moved into this residence.

Here is where my father was born and my aunt lived her childhood among the other families, many from South India and others from other places, most working at TISCO or TELCO. She lived there till she was married and after which she moved down South. Her marriage did not last long. Her husband gave up his job and started building a house on his own, on the promise of help from his family. But they did not keep up to it. All the while she insulted and tortured by the wife of her husband’s elder brother.

Finally her husband landed at Jamshedpur and he also got a job in ELCO. But life was not to be kind to my aunt, her husband passed away even before he joined TELCO. She then continued to live in Jamshedpur and that is how she is with us now as she kept shifting with my father (who was born soon after they shifted to Jamshedpur).

Given this history she is extremely attached, thankful and grateful to the Tatas and even today whenever she sees the word Tata her eyes light up. Tata’s she likens to the saviour of our family, and she is not wrong, as just before getting the job at TELCO, the situation had become so bad that my grandfather along with my grandmother and my aunt were planning to drown themselves. The story in the family is that when they reached the river bank they were met my an old man who saw my grandfather and told him to go back. He said that he will get a job and also have a son to look after them.

While my father did not work for the Tatas, I ended up getting a job at Tata’s and my aunt feels so good every time I wear a T-Shirt bearing the words “TATA”.

That is the legacy of TATA in my household.

Dowry

2026-01-26T17:42:00.000+05:30

1961 the Anti Dowry act was passed. It was expected that this will eliminate the obnoxious tradition of giving and taken dowry. It has been 64 years since this act has been passed and it has failed to deter people.

Yes there is a section of population which probably does not indulge in it due to the fear of the law, the rest who do not indulge in this is purely because of the fact that they realise it is not right to ask or give dowry.

Fear of law only achieves the goals to a certain extent. Unless this is followed up with the education and where required reward for following the law it is unlikely to have a big impact.

Unfortunately it is the females who continue to be the perpetrators of this system. Not that the males are not, but the females are complicit in this crime and many times are the ones who make the demand and keep torturing the bride for not have brought “enough” dowry.

The year was 2019. Sakshi Gupta was finishing her post graduation in electronics VLSI technology. Her parents were delighted to have found a groom for her. The groom was from a decent family in Ambala and were fairly well off. Her parents found the groom and his family decent enough and they acceded to all the requests of the boy’s family. This include a fridge, car, enough gold for the bride, a lavish wedding in Ambala. Sakshi Gupta’s parents spent close to a crore for the wedding.

The bride and groom shifted to Gurugram where the Sakshi’s parents again paid the majority of the portion of a flat bought for the bride and groom.

Everything seemed fine. The young couple had a daughter even as Sakshi finished her post graduation and enrolled for her doctorate. Then things started changing. She was first forced to call off her plans to get a doctorate. The man started getting inferiority complex being married to someone who was more educated than himself. She started working and somewhere things broke down and things did not stop with verbal abuse. The man started beating Sakshi and this was an “educated” person from a decent background who was doing this. He was not attached to their daughter either.

Finally unable to bear the physical and mental torture from her husband Sakshi moved back to her parent’s place with her daughter. They then filed for a divorce stating incompatibility. The boy’s family agreed to settle for an amount (think no alimony but money paid by the woman) and then at the last minute they jacked up the amount and also wanted the flat in Gurugram transferred on the man’s name. They were least bothered about the little girl that was the result of the marriage.

Finally Sakshi’s parents approached a police office who was known to them. He asked them to file a case of domestic violence stating that things are unlikely to move without this. With great reluctance they filed this. The man’s family filed a counter “mental harassment” against them at Ambala.

It took more than two years for the divorce to be settled with a lot of compromise from Sakshi and her family. She now stays with her parents along with her daughter.

This is not fiction but a true story (name of the lady has been changed). This is the state of affairs in our country 64+ years after anti-dowry act was passed. One wonders where did the law makers go wrong. It appears that law can only do so much. With the executive (both the police and the judiciary) being corrupt one cannot hope for justice and even before that what is our education system doing?

While we can fault the Macaulay education for many of the ills, this cannot be attributed to Macaulay’s education system. It is a fault in our society. We have to take the right steps to correct it. One definite step is to change our education system to truly “educate” and inculcate in our children “equality” and “empathy”, true Vasudeiva Kutumbam, not the one that is being touted about by our politicians. If we can do that and bring in universal education then we can hope to eradicate these ills in our society over a few generations.

The question that arises is who will bell the cat?

The Unstoppable BJP Juggernaut and the Struggling Opposition

2026-01-17T19:05:00.002+05:30

The latest defeat of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, the NCP under Sharad Pawar, and even the faction of NCP led by Ajit Pawar (despite his alliance with the BJP in the state government) once again underscores a stark reality: the BJP juggernaut has become a formidable, well-oiled electoral machine. The opposition, fragmented and disoriented, seems incapable of mounting a serious challenge. Instead, they are being relentlessly steamrolled.

Whatever strategy the opposition attempts, the BJP seems to stay one step ahead. Armed with immense financial muscle, the party now floods the public space with advertisements — their effectiveness aside — and outspends rivals even in municipal elections. The same leaders who once criticized “freebies” or revdis are themselves distributing largesse to secure votes, at times stooping as low as outright bribery. The momentum appears unstoppable.

But if this trend continues unchecked, one must pause and ask: where is India headed? To the outside world, the country might appear to be progressing — and indeed, in some ways it is — but the methods and mindset driving this progress raise deep concerns about the nation’s long-term direction.

The government’s persistent agenda of alienating non-Hindu communities is fraught with peril. Its drive to purge what it deems “foreign” and replace it with a narrowly defined version of what is “Bharatiya” is equally troubling. Pride in India’s genuine civilizational achievements is entirely justified — and there are many to celebrate — but trying to recast ancient myths as scientific fact or to rewrite history to suit political goals is deeply misguided. Claims that India had airplanes because of the Pushpaka Vimana or nuclear weapons hidden in the verses of the Mahabharata may serve political theatrics but not national progress. Similarly, renaming every city or landmark to erase any British or Mughal trace will not make Indians feel more liberated — only more divided.

There is no doubt that India’s education system needs an overhaul. However, the effort should be to create informed citizens who are proud of their heritage yet capable of critical thought. Rewriting textbooks to vilify Mughal rulers and glorify only Hindu kings not only distorts history but risks reviving old communal wounds. India’s strength has always lain in its diversity — in recognizing that every leader, every era, and every community has both virtues and flaws. True nationalism embraces that complexity.

What the Opposition Must Do

The critical question, therefore, is this: how can the opposition halt this BJP juggernaut? The answer lies not in mimicry or reaction, but in genuine reinvention. Here are a few essential steps — difficult, yet indispensable — if they are to win back the trust of the people:

Rebuild grassroots connections. Engage deeply with citizens — not on the basis of caste, creed, or language, but through empathy and action. Understand their struggles, provide real solutions. When a person faces corruption or injustice, stand with them. Help them navigate the system and fight back — that will inspire loyalty far more than slogans.
Promote public hygiene and civic sense. Encourage communities to maintain clean surroundings, and educate them on the social and health costs of neglecting hygiene.
Teach real history and real pride. Celebrate authentic achievements of India’s past without distortion. Instill critical thinking and respect for truth.
Combat addiction and exploitation. Launch sustained efforts against alcohol, tobacco, and substance abuse — problems that quietly destroy families and productivity.
Foster unity in diversity. Work to bridge divides across caste, religion, and language. The narrative of harmony, not hatred, will rebuild India’s moral foundation.
Confront corruption decisively. Take visible steps to root out corruption — not just by criticizing the ruling party, but by keeping one’s own house clean. Every exposed instance of graft strengthens democracy.

If the opposition can commit to these principles and rebuild from the ground up, they might one day find that elections take care of themselves. Authentic service earns enduring support — far more than populism or propaganda ever can.

However, the pressing question remains: will the opposition rise to this challenge? Do they have leaders with the conviction, foresight, and integrity to lead such a transformation? Unfortunately, as things stand today, the answer seems to be a resounding no.

Until that changes — or until the ruling party stumbles — India will likely continue under the same political dispensation for many years to come.

(improved with ChatGPT5)

Untouchability and Constitution of India

2025-12-19T10:35:00.006+05:30

Reflections on Power, Equality, and the Indian Constitution

In the book Assembling India’s Constitution: A New Democratic History, the authors highlight a sobering historical reality: certain high-caste Hindu leaders, including the Shankaracharya, vehemently opposed the constitutional abolition of untouchability. It is a disheartening truth that human history is often defined by a resistance to equality. Across every culture and era, communities that hold the "upper hand" rarely relinquish it willingly; instead, they strive to preserve the hierarchies that benefit them.

The Universality of Hegemony

While this specific context is Indian, the phenomenon is global. We see this impulse toward supremacy reflected in many forms:

Racial Supremacy: Where white-skinned populations have historically fought to retain dominance over "colored" people.
Gender Hierarchy: Where men seek to preserve authority over women.
Socio-Economic Power: Where the wealthy and the politically connected unite to protect their status at the expense of the marginalized.

The Vision of the Constituent Assembly

In light of these pressures, the wisdom of the Constituent Assembly must be lauded. Despite intense pushback, the committee remained steadfast, declaring all citizens equal and enshrining Universal Adult Franchise from the nation's inception. This was a radical act of faith in the common citizen.

The Debate Over the Voting Age

However, the later decision to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 remains a point of significant contention. One could argue that this change was less about empowering the youth and more about political survival—a move by the Congress party to capture a younger demographic.

There is a valid concern that civic maturity and a genuine concern for the nation’s future often develop only after an individual has "settled" into adult life, typically in their mid-to-late twenties. From this perspective, rather than lowering the age to 18, the government might have better served the country by raising it to 25, ensuring a more experienced electorate. This shift highlights how even democratic reforms can be influenced by a desire to retain power.

The Search for a Social Revolution

What the world truly requires is a "social revolution" led by a collective that believes unseweringly in the equality of all humanity and the right of every living being to live freely. But in a world so deeply fractured by divisiveness, we must ask: where will such a group emerge? Is a global shift toward true equality even possible, or is the human drive for dominance too deeply ingrained to be overcome?

(Improved by Gemini)

Misogyny in India

2025-12-19T10:03:00.001+05:30

In the book excerpt from the book The Song of the Clay Pot by Sumana Chandrashekar the author says that the world of Carnatic Music is full of misogyny. The male artistes refuse to have a female percussionist. The reasons are never known, it is just that it is a tradition.

Traditions arise due to various circumstances and become entrenched in the society. It becomes difficult to shake them. At the same time not trying to change a tradition which does not align with the current right thoughts, with right reasoning, needs to be considered.

In this example it is important that newer artistes start breaking the taboo and let women percussionists play alongside them. The women can lead the change, even if the men do not wish a change.

This has to happen vehemently, but silently. It has to send a message to those artistes not willing to take on a women percussionists, "Look, you are in minority". If this movement is kick started then it will take at least a generation for the men to accept this change.

This kind of misogyny is present not just in Carnatic Music, but is present in every facet of life, in every part of the world, including the so called "progressive", "advanced" nations of the West that pride themselves in leading the change. They forget that their women were not allowed to vote for a very long time and even today women change their name, not the men. The children take the name of the father, not that of the mother. By default in most societies the inheritance goes to the male children.

All this needs to change. The biggest driver will be education. The teachers (given that many of them are women) have to start driving these aspects into the heads of the children right from the beginning. The stress has to be on equality of gender and mutual respect for humans (irrespective of any difference between them) has to be cultivated from childhood, for the society to change and become better.

Expecting the privileged men to take this step is foolhardy. Will the women who, are the most of time guilty of discriminating against their daughters and even more towards their daughters-in-law take up the gauntlet to bring about the change?

Tree Cutting in India

2025-12-07T09:56:00.000+05:30

Just click on the link Google Search of Tree Cutting the Last Month and check the number of protests against cutting trees.

Going by the sheer volume of trees marked for cutting it will appear that whole of India is a forest and the only way to develop India is by cutting trees.

While everyone, including those who are asking for trees to be cut know fully well the precarious situation of the environment not only in India but through the world. Despite this knowledge trees are being cut and being cut indiscriminately. All this to create more "comfort" and "luxury" for humans.

Trees are cut for the following reasons

1. To "develop" agriculture to feed humans

2. To "develop" infrastructure so that humans can go faster

3. To "develop" infrastructure so that humans can stay "closer to nature" luxuriously

4. To "develop" infrastructure so that humans can easily go to worship their Gods

5. To build wooden furniture so that humans can have "better luxury" furniture

6. To cook food so that humans can eat

Just look at the above points, except for the last point which is driven mostly due to lack of access to other types of fuel the rest are meant for "bettering" the lives of humans. What they are not realising the is the dreadful future that they are creating for themselves. The next few generations may manage somehow to avoid all the ill effects of global warming but the future generations are going to have a tough time.

It is high time that the Government, not just of India but of the entire world, accept global warming for a fact (somebody knock that that joker Donald Trump on his head and thrust this fact into his head) and work towards conserving the existing forest cover and in fact make attempts at afforestation.The afforestation should be based on local flora and not imported "good looking" flora which only serve as decoration and do not help the local ecosystem.

It is not we are averse or lack the technology to build tall skyscrapers. Just come and take a look at Mumbai or Gurugram. The height of the buildings are going up every day and they are scaling higher and higher heights. Now take a slum cluster in a city like Mumbai. If the slums are removed and are housed in a sky scrapper the amount of land that will be freed up will be phenomenal. This land can be used to create greener, gardens and parks. There will be enough left for the "real estate builders" and the "politicians" to make sufficient "black money" of the constructions in the remaining area. But this is unlikely to happen given the level of human greed. Everyone wants to earn so much money that so that they end up worrying how to make more money and how to safeguard the ginormous amount of wealth they have accumulated. Environment, Global Warming nothing matters to them. All that matters is that my wealth has to increase and sometimes it is that my power, hold over humans, has to increase.

It may appear to be a cynical view (and I hope it is so) but the truth seems to be that we are headed for a disaster not in far future but in the next 50 to 100 years. Only God can drive sense into the heads of the humans in power to ensure that we are able to steer away from the looming disaster.

Review - Tigers of Tadoba - Volume 2

2025-09-27T22:12:00.000+05:30

A work of love from the authors. The book clearly illustrates the fascination and passion of the authors have for the tigers, and it is worth it.

The initial section of how to figure out the age of tigers and how to identify a tiger are very insightful. One needs to carefully watch the stripes of the tigers to identify them, Just like two humans do not have the same fingerprint, not two tigers have the same pattern of stripes. Another interesting information is that the stripes remain the same from birth to old age, ratifying the adage "A tiger does not change its stripes".

The authors give details of about 48 tigers from the older generation, born between 2008 to 2016 and 14 tigers of the new generation, born 2019 onwards.Along with the details of the older generation tigers are three photographs, thoughtfully selected so that one can see the frontal view and the left and right flanks. The patterns on the face and flanks are important for identifying the tigers as individuals. This is a very good book to carry with one when one goes to the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve for safaris.

The book does not have too much of text but the photographs more than compensate for it. As they say a photo is worth thousand words. Each photograph in the book is worth is weight in gold. From the front cover to the back cover the photos are simply wonderful.

Buy and see to enjoy the photos.

A must read for all the wildlife enthusiasts.

Experience of Vande Bharat Train

2024-10-12T18:36:00.001+05:30

Recently I happened to take the Mumbai - Shiridi Vande Bharat Express. The impression that one gets when a Vande Bharat train streams into the station is one of awe, maybe not awestruck but definitely awe. That we in India can manufacture such a train should be matter of pride.

Vande Bharat Train Entering a Station

Once one enters the train what one sees also gives a good feeling. After having seen the regular trains of Indian Railways one does feel that we have done something nice and better than we have done in all these years.

It is nothing like what one sees in the normal trains.

It runs fast. The one in which I traveled touch 130 Kmph which is not bad considering the speed of the other trains in India.

The seats are comfortable, much more than in any existing train. They can be turned 180 degrees. So one can turn it 90 degrees to watch the scenery outside or one can turn it 180 degrees to face the seat in front/back and have a discussion with those sitting there. (I was in the executive class so I am not sure of the other class).

The few places where there is enough scope for improvement are as under

1. Food Service leave a lot to be desired

2. Despite notices saying do not pay the attendants any tip they come and ask for tips

3. The mounts of the seats are sturdy to put it in a euphemistic way. They are not sleek. One can understand that it needs to be sturdy, but it will be good if it can be made sleek as well and make it move with a little lesser effort.

4. The toilets are bio toilets which is good, but again the spit and polish is missing in them.

So all in all not a bad effort at all. It is indeed a good move forward, but there is scope for further improvement.

Next time I will try the vistadome and see how it feels like.

Elections 2024

2024-06-16T13:36:00.006+05:30

The Loksabha elections in India culminated and the results took everyone by surprise. The BJP led by the one and only Mr. Narendra Modi had set a target of 370 seats for his own party and 400+ for his coalition. The exit polls predicted that Mr. Modi and his coalition will more or less reach close to the numbers that they had targeted.

When the results were declared on the 4th of June, Mr. Modi's party did not even reach the majority seats of 273. The BJP managed only 240 seats and the coalition ended up with 293 a little above the majority. The INDI Alliance managed to prove everyone wrong. The Indian National Congress ended up with 99 seats and the alliance 200+ seats.

Mr. Modi had to keep up a good bravado to face his party workers during the "victory" meet. Definitely there would have been an introspection within the party about the state in which they find themselves.

Here are some reasons and suggestions for them to ponder over

The Ram Mandir was the biggest bet that BJP was going on. But looks like it did not get them the seats they wanted. This shows that the common citizen is more interested in earning a livelihood than visiting temples. There is a only a small set of people who, if at all, are interested in the Mandirs that BJP promises. The consequence would be that Kashi and Mathura will go to the back burner. It is unlikely that more temples will be unearthed.
The attack on Muslims during his speeches are unlikely to have gone down well with the common citizen. The common citizen has now quarrel with the Muslims as such. There is definitely an undercurrent and suppressed feeling of major differences with the Muslims among the Hindus (which is rarely highlighted by the local media) and vice versa (which is never highlighted by the foreign media). Attacking the Muslims openly and brazenly will only end up with loss in votes and seats.
The usage of Hindi everywhere will definitely alienate the South of India renaming laws, ranks of military in Hindi or Sanskritised words will not win votes except, if at all in the
Renaming of places to remove any trace of the Mughals and other are things that will appeal to only a few and not the entire population. The worst was trying to rename India to Bharat. It is already called Bharat in many contexts
Nationalism was lacking in India, but taking nationalism to the extreme is not going to take anyone anywhere. Extreme nationalism is harmful, linking everything to nationalism or anti-nationalism will make things worse.

In short BJP proved the cliche "Pride comes before a fall". All the good work done to boost India's image, all the good work to upgrade railway trains, all the "revdis", even when blaming the opposition for the same fault, (some revdis were necessary) all went down the drain.

There are many thing that needs to change in the approach and strategy of BJP if they wish to win the next elections. They need to tone down many of their rhetoric. Hope they realise their mistakes and change in the right direction it will help India and its citizens.

Beginning of Rains in Mumbai

2024-05-13T16:40:00.001+05:30

Actually not really the beginning, but just a precursor to the rains in Mumbai. Today afternoon Mumbai experienced a dust storm (one wonders where from came so much dust) and then this was followed by a rain storm with thunder.

The dust storm before the rains part 1

The dust storm before the rains part 2

Exhilarating trailer to the Mumbai monsoons - the rain storm

The Underdog

2022-10-24T11:36:00.003+05:30

Why is it that one wishes to side with the Underdog all the time. Is it because one considers oneself, or is actually, an underdog?

Is it a phenomenon only with the pesssimists, the ones that are diffident, the ones that are average or below average?

The only exception is when ones own country is playing one supports one's own country even if the other team happens to be the underdog.

Why this discrepancy?

Unable to control one's emotion and remain "stoic".

The NSE Saga

2022-03-21T18:19:00.001+05:30

What has it come to? A dynamic lady leading a leading stock exchange of not just India, but of the world is found guilty of abusing her position and is found being led by a scamster "yogi". She has been found divulging the company strategy and financial details to the unknown "yogi". Based on his advice she appoints someone who has no background in stock exchange as a consultant and then elevates him almost into the top management cadre of the exchange.

Chitra Ramakrishnan, the name has been dragged through the mud in the last month or so. Not many, except those in the financial industry, would have heard about the lady. She was among the chosen few who was inducted into National Stock Exchange from IDBI. She was the blue eyed girl in IDBI and was made part of the team who were expected to setup a Stock Exchange as rivals to the Bombay Stock Exchange

BSE had been ruling roost as the country's premier exchange for several decades now. The BSE was run, managed and exploited by the brokers. When a normal retail investor placed a buy order he would be told that the stock was bought at the highest price of the day and when the retail investor placed a sell order he would be told that the stock was sold at the lowest price of the day. Who enjoyed the difference? Of course the brokers who were the only ones with exclusive access to the trading floor of the BSE. And they also charged the investor the brokerage fee. Double cream for the broker and double whammy for the investor.

There were other shady deals like the now infamous badla deals. Where one could buy and sell shares even if one did not have the money to buy them or the shares to sell. One could keep rolling the buys and sells till one ran out of steam. The infamous Harshad Mehta, with the connivance of the bankers exploited the exchange and rolled in money till the weakest link came apart sinking him and the exchange.

The brokers were all powerful in the exchange and they dictated the rules and regulations. The National Stock Exchange was setup to counter this all powerful lobby and at the same time it was supposed to win the trust of the same. brokers to become its member and work with an electronic system. They would have a limited say in the rules and regulations. SEBI had been setup to establish vigilance of exchanges while it was yet to grow teeth and fangs to scare the exchanges its presence could be felt hovering over the exchange.

The NSE under Mr. R. H. Patil and the team of young turks including Mr. Ravi Narayan as the CEO and MD and Mrs, Chitra Ramakrishnan successfully setup first the money market and then the equity market. It was a huge success. What made it successful was the trust the retail investors placed in the electronic trading. Electronic Trading made it possible and SEBI made it mandatory for the brokers to disclose the exact price at which the trade was done. This along with the stringent audit of the accounts of the brokers made it difficult for the brokers to charge the retail investors more than what they should.

While the late nineties and the beginning of the new millenium saw the rise and rise of NSE the regional stock exchanges (Cochin, Ahmedabad, Calcutta) got reduced to the level of brokers. They were forced to shut shop. All the listing from these exchanges were moved to BSE and NSE and these exchanges remained as an exchange only in name. They ended up being glorified brokers.

In 2013 when Mr. Ravi Narain moved out, it was no surprise that Mrs. Chitra Ramakrishnan took over the helm of the NSE. Nobody could have imagined what was to come. Mrs. Chitra came under the influence of a "Yogi" who claimed to be in the Himalayas and he conned Mrs. Chitra to reveal a lot of information about the Exchange. He also pushed Chitra to taking on Mr. Anand Subramanian who was the spouse of a close friend and an employee of the exchange. Now what exactly prompted Mrs. Chitra to be taken in by the "Yogi" will be known only to her, the "Yogi" and God.

This is what possibly happened. Mr. Anand Subramanian who would have Mrs. Chitra personnally, or at least through this spouse is likely to have create the facade of the "Yogi". He might have pretended that this "Yogi" is a highly spiritual person who had helped him in his career. He would have further acted like he was introducing Mrs. Chitra to the "Yogi" and would have made the "Yogi" impress Mrs. Chitra by revealing secrets about her and her family which she may have shared with her colleague and friend. Mr. Anand would have seen this as a golden opportunity toi further his growth. Mrs. Chitra seems to have fallen hook, line and sinker for this "Yogi" and she started giving Mr. Anand Subramanian more and more powers based on instructions from this "Yogi".

How Mrs. Chitra claims to have met the "Yogi" and how Mr. Anand Subramanian conned her on this front is so far known only to those two. It seems to be a fact that they both travelled to Seychelles and other tax havens together. What was the relationship between them and how far it extended is also at this time known only to them.

It is pertinent to note that there possibly was no protest, at least in public and there were no whistle blowers at NSE who spoke up against the one upmanship of Mrs. Chitra. There would definitely have been heart burns enough to raise the heckles with NSE. This is thanks to the typical Indian mentality of "Boss is right and Boss can never be wrong" Even if boss is wrong tell them that they are right. The culture of not questioning the "leaders" (Can we even call them leaders?) in the Indian Corporates (It is not to say that the corporates of the other countries are any better and there is enough evidence to prove that it is almost the same in most countries) that helps the head of the organization to have their say in the running of the organization. As long as the organization is financially doing well no one questions the head. And in this case NSE was going from success to success under the mantle of Mrs. Chitra. There was no seeing back for NSE. In the derivative market BSE was decimated and in the pie of BSE in the equity market was very less compared to that of NSE. NSE was also equally successful in the other markets that it ventured into. So no one questioned Mrs. Chitra.

What brought about her downfall was something of which she is very unlikely to be guilty of. It was the starting of era algorithmic trading, which is nothing but a way for the rich to get richer. Brokers who were rich enough to put up their own server, create their own algorithms, who are able to push back a speculative order milli or sometimes even microsecnds before other rich borkers made money. Most of these are speculative trades. It was a mechanism to beat the day traders who bought and sold or sold and bought on the same day so that the only settlement they had to do was to pay up for the loss or to collect the money when they profited. Now instead of a human speculating it was a machine, an algorithm which did the speculation.

One of the keys to succeed in algorithm trading is to get the latest price as early as possible. So the elite brokers were allowed to setup their servers almost alongside the servers of NSE where the trading took place. This is what happens world over in the exchanges where algorithmic trading is allowed (which is today all the major stoick exchanges). Now to ensure any software works without failure one ends up hosting more than one servers from which the services provided by the service provider can be availed. So keeping that principle in mind NSE had setup two servers to serve the prices to the brokers. The other key point is that the prices were sent to the brokers on a first come first serve basis. This was possibly not a public knowledge to begin with.

Now what is being stated are two situations that could have happened. On a particular day a broker might have complained that their servers are getting the price with a long delay. Someone from the operations might have inadvertently told the broker about the existence of the second server. Now when the broker tried connecting to the second server they would have noticed that they get the prices much earlier than on the main server. This broker or the set of brokers would have used this knowledge to now start connecting to the second server to get the price earlier than the other brokers.

The second possibility, which while possible seems a little unlikely, is that some of the brokers could have got to know some of the operators on the NSE side and would have weedled out the presence of the second server or could have got into an agreement that if they are given the whereabouts of the second server they would give a cut of their profits. The regulatory and investigative authorities seem to believe that this has happened. And it is on the basis of this that Mrs. Chitra has been arrested. Even if this was the case it is unlikely that Mrs. Chitra would have come to know about it and it is very unlikely that if it had been brought to her notice she would have let it be that way and have accepted a cut in the illegal profits.

What exactly happened at NSE between the operators and brokers is anyone's guess. It is unlikely anyone will come forward to confess the truth. Did some one connive with the brorkers? If not did someone notice the usage of the second server? If so did they understand the import of the usage of the second server? Did they notify the management? Was Mrs. Chitra aware of this? Seems very unlikely. but unfortunately for Mrs. Chitra this incident has worked against her. Her, if we can call it that, abuse of power by bringing in Mr. Anand Subramanian and elevating him to such a high position in quick succession which is what should have been investigated more in depth has been sidelined to a large extent and the preferential feed of price to some brokers seem to have taken precedence.

To summarize is Mr. Anand Subramanian guilty. Absolutely without any doubt. Is Mrs. Chitra or Mr. Ravi Narain guilty. Very unlikely. If at all Mrs. Chitra, at least to begin, seems to have been naive to believe in the "Yogi" introduced to her by Mr. Anand. Later on the relationship might have taken a different turn and she could have found herself in a situation where it was difficult for her to say that she fell for a charlatan. If at all she is guilty, it is of abusing her power as the head of the organization to bring in someone who was incapable of the holding the post he was given by her.

As for the preferred price feed issue as mentioned earlier it would most likely have been an inadvertent revelation by some operator at the NSE. It is unlikely that they connived with the brokers for a cut. If this has happened the change in the life style of the operators in that time period would clearly reveal who all benefitted.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

2021-06-19T15:36:00.003+05:30

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book is all about people that one may term "insane". Dr. Oliver Sacks tries to bust this myth. The book is about people who have strange neurological disease. Each patient is unique in his or her disease.
They get these disease due to various reasons, either an accident or it is from childhood. The behaviour of many would appear strange to the ones who do not know them. But under the right circumstances and under the right supervision these people do blossom and come close to normalcy.
Some of them are extremely talented in some way. Some of them are encyclopedia of music, some can count the matchsticks that fall out from a match box and also relate to some mathematical relation that can be derived from/for the number. Not all of them are insane or dumb.
It is nevertheless a strange world which is difficult to imagine. Hope the book evokes the empathy of the ones reading it.
WARNING: If you are paranoid about your health do not read it. It can give you strange thoughts.
A good read.

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The Paradoxical Prime Minister by Shashi Tharoor

2021-06-01T21:00:00.003+05:30

The Paradoxical Prime Minister by Shashi Tharoor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Shashi Tharoor has put his whole heart behind the book. It is an election campaign for his Congress Party from him.

He has tried his level best to punch a hole in everything that the Modi government has tried to do and the Modi government has given him enough material to puncture them.

As one reads the book one gets the feeling that Mr. Tharoor expects Modi to lose the 2019 elections spectacularly. He would definitely have been surprised at the election results where his party was once again decimated and the people of India voted Mr. Modi back to power with even more majority.

In his eagerness to pull Modi down he has used some numbers without looking at the history. One glaring errors is India's rating in terms of freedom of media. He says that Indias ranking dropped precipitously to 140. If he looked up the site that he quotes he would see that India was ranked 140 even during the UPA reign.

While Modi has not crowned himself in glory. His silence in not pulling up the "cow vigilantes" and other atrocities in the name of religion, attempts to thrust Hindi on the South Indians not only switch off the halo around him, but also show how biased his thinking is.

At the same time like everyone Mr. Tharoor spews enough calumny against demonetization and implementation of GST. Demonetization was a daring move and GST was a good move. Yes demonetization was initiated early. The government should have pushed for ePayments and only after sufficient adoption of ePayment should the government have pushed for demonetization. And the second mistake was to print as much currency as was in circulation before the demonetization. The corruption in the banks was unanticipated by the government. This was unprecedented corruption of huge proportions.

Overall not a very great read except for those who are hardcore anti-Modi. If you are anti-Modi then do read the book, you will enjoy. If you are Modi bhakth then do not read the book as you may end up tearing it up or breaking your ebook reader. If you are like me who is neither then stay away from the book, you will get nothing. :-)

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Kohinoor - The story of the World's Most Infamous Diamond by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand

2021-05-05T18:15:00.004+05:30

Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond by William Dalrymple
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An intriguing story of what could be said to be the world's most enigmatic diamond.

The book starts with what could be possibly references to Kohinoor from the early 12th and 13th centuries. During this era it is not clear if the diamond referred to was Kohinoor or some other one.

Most likely from the time of Babur the diamond referred to is the Kohinoor.

The diamond has moved from India to Persia, back to India then to England. The violence always accompanies the transfer of diamond from one hand to another. Practically every owner has lost something precious. Only the duration for which they hold the diamond varies.

The British use skulduggery to take possession of it from a young Duleep Singh the grandson of Ranjit Singh, one of the bravest Sikh and Dalhousie gives it as a present to the Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria is not protected from the black karma that the diamond seems to carry along with it. Prince Albert, her consort dies young leaving a brooding Victoria.

From then on the diamond graces the various crowns or bracelets worn by the British Queen and it looks like it has lost its black karma soon after it was cut into half by Prince Albert to give it the sparkle that it carries today. It has not done as much damage after the cutting.

An interesting history to read.

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The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

2021-04-04T13:09:00.005+05:30

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To be very honest did not try to read between the lines, so am unable to comment on anything hinted. The person is stranded in the Sahara desert and he meets a little prince who weaves a story about how he has come from a different planet or asteroid?
He leaves his planet and goes to multiple planets before coming to Earth and landing in Sahara. He has been waiting for close to a year before he meets the protagonist.
Need to read it once more to read between the lines.
A decent read.

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Zikora: A Short Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2021-04-04T13:08:00.004+05:30

Zikora: A Short Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A single woman is on the verge of giving birth to a child. She has been abandoned by her boyfriend who does not want to take responsibility. He is of the opinion that she should have consulted him before becoming pregnant.

Highlights the patriarchy in the society.

A decent read.

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Ahalya's Awakening by Kavita Kane

2021-04-04T13:07:00.004+05:30

Ahalya's Awakening by Kavita Kané
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A modern interpretation of Ahalya's story. As per original story Ahalya is married to Rishi Gautam and Indra in the guise of Gautam beds her and Gautam curses her to be a rock till Ram redeems her aeons later.

In Kavita's interpretation Ahalya is a very intelligent girl who is not allowed to grow her learning thanks to the patriarchy around her and ironically her mother wishes to get her married to Indra who is a constant visitor at their palace and is smitten by her beauty. Ahalya flatly refuses to marry Indra.

During a war she is sent to the ashram of Gautam with whom she has a lot of intellectual discussions and in the process the fall in love, without either one of them expressing it explicitly.

After her return home she becomes forlorn and it is exacerbated by the fact that her father and brother are arranging for a swayamvar for her. She finally spills her being in love with someone else, but succumbs to the pressure and agrees to the swayamvar which everyone predicts will be won by Indra.

Fortune favours her and Gautam surprisingly wins her hand and he comes and weds her too. The initial days of marital bliss turn bitter as she gives birth to one child after another, looks after and runs Gautam's ashram. Her learning comes to a grinding halt as the burden of managing everything keeps increasing. The bonhomie between her and Gautam evaporates and Gautam appears another masochist.

Indra comes in at the opportune moment and Ahalya willingly gives in.

The question the author asks is should Ahalya be punished the way she was. The author's answers come out when Ahalya meets Sita in the forest after she has been banished by Ram. The discussion between the two women is worth reading.

One wonders does it make sense to look at millenniums old events through the coloured glasses of present day feminism.

A decent read.

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Jayakanthan Sirukathaigal Thoguppu (ஜெயகாந்தனை சிறுகதைகள் தொகுப்பு) - 1 by Jayakanthan

2021-04-04T13:06:00.002+05:30

Jayakanthan Sirukathaigal Thoguppu - 1 by Jayakanthan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A the name suggests it is a series of short stories. Most of the stories are about the exploitation of the poor (read non-brahmins) by the rich (read brahmins). It could be based in any city or town or village in Tamil Nadu a few decades back. The situation has changed from then on and the exploitation has thankfully reduced. It has not disappeared completely as one would like it to.

This exploitation continues in the North of India to a large extent and time someone starts a social revolution to change this.

A decent read.

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Miss Moorthy Investigates by Ovidia Yu

2021-04-04T12:51:00.001+05:30

Miss Moorthy Investigates by Ovidia Yu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The location is Singapore and there is a killer going around killing young women and cutting off their hand.

Ms. Moorthy an English teacher in a catholic school gets dragged into the murder mystery when her colleague is also murdered.

Ms. Moorthy enters into the murky world of the rich and powerful and tries to figure out if it is her colleague's ex or her colleague's present richie rich playboy who could have killed her.

Using her wits she goes about solving the mystery.

A good read.

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(மலை மாளிகை) Malai Maaligai by Sujatha

2021-04-04T12:39:00.000+05:30

மலை மாளிகை / Malai Maaligai by Sujatha
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ganesh and sidekick Vivek get invited by a scientist to his bungalow in Kodaikanal. On the way they encounter a young girl who rebuffs Vivek's attempts to flirt with her.

They go to the bungalow taking the book that he has asked from them. They are shocked to find his body which seems dead. They also find the same young girl whom they encountered on their way to Kodaikanal who take the book from them.

They call the police and wait downstairs and when they go to the bed where they found the body of the scientist they find that the body has disappeared. The police pooh pooh them and go away.

In the meantime the girl's father has come in search of her.

When they go back to the bungalow they find him and he claims he has found a way for moving life from one body to another and goes on to demonstrate it which leaves them confused. They ask him to release the girl who has apparently agreed to volunteer as subject whom who can study.

They find that he has released her but they find something strange about the way she speaks.

Read the book to know what that is.

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One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat

2021-04-04T12:29:00.003+05:30

One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A highly successful girl decides to get married and arranges for a wedding in a hotel in Goa. He exes come chasing her and she is left confused on what to do?

How her exes try to woo her back and how the would be groom accepts her background forms most of the book.

The book ends with her going around the world rejecting the groom and finally she ends up meeting her would have been groom.

The author leaves it to the imagination of the readers as to what will happen.

An OK read. Has enough ingredients and masala to be made into another Bollywood "A big fat Indian Wedding" block buster a hybrid between Hum Aap Ke Hain Kaun and Queen.

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