La Indian Thought

Face

2011-06-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

Not everything in life works out to be smooth. There are hiccups, there are heart aches and there are face burns, though most of them occur figuratively rather than medically. I have often felt that the cause of all these worries and agony is a face. People influence our life more than situations. In occurrences where situations are involved, they too seemed to be created by men themselves. Men imply face. These numerous happenings dot our otherwise merry-go-lucky life with unpleasant memories. I then try to draw a figure of that face in my imagination. You will be amazed by what I see in that picture. I find me. Now with years of experience of doing that, I feel like seeing more and more of me. So it turns out like a blunder to curse people zillions of time when they were actually not responsible for that. In plain and straight words I have cursed others for no fault of theirs. If I speak in a more religious manner then I would say that I have invited many a sin. But sometimes it seems relaxing to openly confess about that.

No matter how right the saying goes that every word out of the mouth is like a Rubicon, confession is satisfying. We may conceal things to others; we may try to conceal that to our selfish self. But in reality things are different. Our conscience and the conscience of the person subjected to our curse know the reality. So how much we try, we can never hide reality. Oil and truth always gather on the surface. How hard we may try to conceal, they surface. Faces are never lost. We may even lose the name, but faces are never lost. When the earth is just a globe, time is just the ticking clock, and life a busy stock exchange, faces are the eternal truth that somewhere and out of nowhere emerge and ask us to save your grace when there is still time. Forgive often, forget more, but not the ones that you commit but the ones that others do.

Why don’t you understand?

2011-06-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most common questions that people ask. This is one of the most frequent subject that people complain of. Not just that this is one of the most important topics on which arguments are centred on. It creates sourness in the relationships. And often this causes many relationships to fail at testing times.

Life is a mixture of times of happiness and adversities. Men in this world are not supposed to have a bed of roses. There are many things that bother people. Some of those bothering are related to relationships. By some common logic that governs the universe, we can safely assume that no relationship has a smooth sailing. There are moments of turbulence. These moments come when we have arguments. We always complain that the other person does not understand me. Knowingly or unknowingly we have extended the realms of the word “understanding” beyond the limits of its real sense. We commonly feel that the person does not understand me when our thoughts are not agreed to, or rather we don’t have our way the way we want to happen. There is nothing mysterious than the human thinking. Arguments continue because we feel that the person arguing does not understand us. But rather the thing is like; we are just not being able to get our ways agreed upon.

Differences are the essence of human behaviour. They are a way to progress. They must be respected with all due sensibility. Life is the most perplexing reality where the relationships make it a pleasant journey. Assuming that we are supposed to have our way out in every of our thoughts is thoroughly insensible. On a more jovial note I would like to add that some Newtonian forces do act here. It is like, if you do not understand the other person then how are you supposed to expect that people will understand you. Being stubborn will lead you nowhere. Assumptions and prejudice are the two most important things that jeopardise the arguments that would have been healthy otherwise. We should always remember that relationships are very difficult to create and nurture but very easy to break.

Love Sandwich Patience

2011-06-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Patience is the biggest virtue that everyone must have. Nothing is better said than this. It is one of the most virtuous of human values as it helps to keep one’s anger within control. Sometimes though, such glorifications of human values look stupid. At some of the occasions, action, even though it incurs much damage, is warranted. There are moments in life in which your emotions, ego, attitude, and everything that can be mentioned are devalued to the gallows.

There are some improvising questions that appear as the hallmarks of English language etiquette. One of them is “do you mind me having this?” This is something that people ask before they intend to share something of yours, or want to take something from you. Often this question irks you. There are people who won’t wait to get a response from you. They would ask and very politely take it away. How social this looks? Here you can be patient. But it turns really ugly when people do not feel it necessary to bother you with this petty and silly question of theirs... that is they take without asking. Do not they understand that not everything be taken for granted?

It is really agonising when people take relationships in the same league. You may have a zillion peccadilloes but still you have some right to not remain patient. You feel like getting burnt down to the ashes. Sometimes something is more than enough of the many “enoughs” that care to bother us in our lives. Cannot beat about the bush any more but it really pricks when you see your girlfriend dating other men. She needed space. That is what she had said. And I had agreed. Never knew that the space she needed would be so much that it would make me loose all the little space that I had. Life is full of troubles. And troubles seem to cloud over you when you don’t speak out anything.

You can be patient in your life. But just because you are, you cannot be on every occasion. Thinking about this is really prickly. You cannot be cool. And more than that you are a moron, when you write all these, knowing that she is not your girlfriend and it is just one sided love that you are doing. You know that eventually you will be rejected but still you love her with all the passions in you knowing that she does not love you.

When care is elusive from the "one"

2011-06-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

Each time your emotional liabilities are aired out of the cocoon, your life undergoes a paradigm shift from the confines of hidden fear to the realms of profound maturity. Emotions are difficult to control. No matter how far they are from reason, they are very near to action. And these actions which are very too often maligned with emotions are not that often considered to be civil. We generally repent at such actions. Though, sometimes we make a volt face that we have done that right, but deep inside, we know how much they are really worth of.

I wonder the many questions that we ask ourselves in the fury of emotions. I wonder how much they matter in the long quest to fulfill our ambitions which we refer to us as the “greater goals in our life”. They are many: “Do I deserve this?”, “Why it’s always me?”, “Why I am the one who suffers always?”, “Why no one listens me?”, “Can’t I expect only this much?”, “Why am I so unlucky?” And a zillion others which more or less means the same.

During our course of life we learn many values. During discourses with other people we talk of many such values. We know the answer when we ask, “What we should do when we are not cared for?” We know that it’s not like we are not cared for, but it’s like we are not cared by the “one” and in the way we long to be cared for. Just because we are not cared by that “one”, we presume that we are not cared by anyone. We cannot substitute that care by the “one”, but we should remember never to disrespect that care which we get from our family and friends. “Care” is precious; “life” is even more. If we are able to get ourselves over such emotional liabilities then we could at least care back people who care us and be at least happy even if we cannot be the happiest person in the world.

The nasty corporate, the corrupt politicians and the ever elusive black money.

2011-06-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

The world is now going gaga over selling. There is a multitude, which are into devising products that they can sell. They sweat day and night working out. They are in continuous pursuit to out-do each other in carving out products, services and anything charming (obnoxious) that they can sell. To do that we have hundreds of scores of people passing out of the technical colleges, business schools and management “guru-cools” mushroomed throughout the urban patches of our country. If music, dance, art, soap, oil, “services”, sex can be sold then “yoga”, “sermons” and “preaching” can also be sold. This is it if the question is just about selling.

The corporate worlds of which many of us are a part are in many ways better in corruption than the corrupt politicians. We do know it, but sometimes or rather most often, we try not thinking about it as we know that we are on a slippery turf. It is something more than clear how often money exchanges hands in not so legal ways, trading asses with axes. We know what the bottom-line is all about and the ways to save them. There are times in which we perform things which are at loggerheads with our conscience, but we shy off from those things saying “it’s fair is business”. This is something that we learn from the very day we enter into this corporate world. Every day millions of people are duped through half clear insurance policies, sim cards, bonds, products brandished with false-promise advertisements running day long over the scores of television channels. And the more ignorant of the millions are looted. This is the simplest of the corrupt practices that are prevalent in the corporate realm. Going up, we see billions going to the hands of the people in the government to gain favour and licences for unqualified companies. There is call for transparency in the government but the private sector is something that is in the darkest of the worlds where no light of transparency can ever penetrate. Well it is a rather gigantic taboo to talk about this as it is a “dear” way to make money.

But above all it is politics that is up for grabs for everyone. Anyone who is cunning and shrewd will persist. The ultimate seat of power is politics which everyone strives for. Lawyers, doctors, writers, businessmen, corporate honchos, bollywood celebrities and virtually anyone from any realm is welcome. There is a lot of money in politics. Whether you are in power or not it does not matter, the donations are always there. The cap on spending money in the election campaign seems miniscule to the amount that is actually spent during the campaigns. There are no records for those. Nor any one bothers to stick to the rules. Starting from the decorations, hoardings, banners, private jets “ferrying” politicians to different sites, sound systems, security of the politicians, police officials engaged in the work, food for the people in the rally to the scores of vehicles carrying the crowd form far off areas to the rally and then back home. Then there are the under carpet money, booze and sleaze and other desperate attempts that are done as the last attempts to buy the votes. As if these cost nothing! Does any of the politicians has any right to talk of corruption after all this corruption in governance and elections? Yes they do as they are the ones to raise the issues and make laws. It really does not make any sense when they accuse a “yogi” doing politics in raising the issue of corruption. If they have the right to raise the issue then everyone has. All can do politics. Politicians corrupt or otherwise, claim to do everything for the welfare of the people. Well everyone can do that. Then there are accusations of communalism. It is really hilarious in India for the political parties to accuse each other of communalism. One is responsible for Godhra, other for Sikh genocide and both for Ayodhya. And damn their mouths when they talk of communalism.

Every issue is an issue. It has got some face value in itself. It may be the case of corruption, human rights, child labour, dowry, freedom, land acquisition, pollution or anything else. Everyone as a citizen of India has the right to do that. Especially everyone when the politicians being corrupt can raise the issue of corruption. Raise the issue, see that the proper laws are made, and then everyone can be tried within those laws- politicians or civilians or anyone- even those who has made the laws. The constitution gives the power to the politicians to serve the people and not to rule them. We make the first mistake when we say that they are the rulers, no they are the servants and the mandate is for that. Then it gives the right to speech as one of the fundamental rights from among the seven. Everyone can speak even the convicts and truants. When we talk of us being in a land of free people with civil rights, democracy and liberty and mandate, we never talk of stick, we talk of speech.

It is certain so that anything of the otherwise can make us presume that the elusive black money rules.

Rembering The German anti-Nazi activist, Pastor Martin Niemöller

2011-06-09T04:19:00.000-07:00

The famous poem that is still remembered to deal with the inner hypocrisy, was a masterpiece in itself.

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me -
and by then there was no one left to speak out for me.

It just makes me feel how right this piece of text speaks out to the inner dilemma that one faces before he comes out or denounces something. It is rather a call that asks people to take a stand on matters that are important and relevant. In some rather metaphorical manner it asks or rather provokes to take some side, political or otherwise. You may often feel safe and hearty when you remain neutral, away from the rudeness and sometimes the finesse of the intricate and complex arguments that are disposed off in front of the society from time to time.

But more than anything this piece of poetry moves to unimaginable extents.

Who Will Give Rajbala Her life Back- Congress or Ramdev?

2011-06-09T03:42:00.001-07:00

How can the congress government, Ramdev Baba, or Corruption itself be more important than precious life? No one, no one's comments, arguments can give her back the life she lived. Friends value life more than anything else.

People think and say, some don’t think but say, but there are others who have nothing to say. Life is more of a dilemma when you are asked to say something. You would speak your heart out if it were left to you, but when you are asked to say that in person, then you would rather say something political, something illustrious, something rather that sounds good to the ears. Whatever it may be but it is most uncivilised when you talk something to hold your ground and back it up with preposterous arguments and alien logic.

Corruption is a problem but it cannot be more important than life. Life is precious. They broke the neck of a woman, who is now fighting for life. Even if she survives, doctors say she will be paralyzed neck below for life. Police say this was done with minimum force. MMS says this was inevitable. Corruption or no corruption, first its human life. If you can't be a human first then there is no value for talking of values, egos, politics, communal-ism, corruption. Does anyone care? It is the end of the world for that family. What would have happened if a minister's neck were broken? They would run amok and burn down the whole nation (You have history which has witnessed what happens when a leader is killed and the fallout there after.)

It was not a candle lit rally of the celebrities. It was not attended by lip-stick smeared, high heeled, ladies straight out of the beauty parlour. It was not a demonstration of the page-3 urban hobnobbers. It was neither one of the “bhadraloks” who argue with self proclaimed ceremoniousness about anything and everything over the evening tea. It was not of the women who get out of the houses to do social service just because they are bored and their impotent husbands couldn’t satiate them. It had no bollywood in it, where celebrities take off their black goggles when they appear before the camera. It was not of the political leaders who protest in the secure X+ environment with more body guards and policemen disguised in plain clothes than actual protesters. It was not by the ultra-precious babalog. It was not by leaders who in their forties claim to be youth leaders or octogenarians who have the only prop of experience to stand upon. It was not a rally of a person who is named Ramdev. It was not a demonstration of a group named RSS. It was not because she was not anyone among them. She is poor Rajbala. She was there because she felt that it was about corruption. She felt that corruption is a menace and something must be done about it and she was doing that something that she could do and that she felt to be important. Now she is somewhere where she could be nomore anywhere.

Government is a post of servitude. They are servants of the people. They are there to serve people like poor Rajbala. It is often said that the constitution empowers the people. It entitles the people to be the king. Some say that no one is above the constitution of India. Is that a fantastic notion that we are supposed to have? It is just like a precarious paradise that she knew was never there or she was moron enough to believe in it. Does the four lakh hundred crore or whatever value it is quoted give back the life she had? Does the Jan Lokpal Bill give her back her life? Does the government of India’s “it was inevitable notion” give back her life the way it was? Can Sonia, Rahul, MMS, Sibbal, Digvijay, Sushma, Advani, Jaitley, RSS, SRK, Salman, Ramdas, Devdas, Vedvyas and the enlightened media give her back that to her and her family? HELL NO.

They accuse politics, they accuse communalism, they accuse thugs, they accuse dhongi babas, they accuse idiot politicians like the ones mentioned above, rants, comments, accusations , cross accusations, saffron, green, “our party is the best”, corruption, black money, lok pal, hartal, bla bla bla .
No one can better her. No one can solace her family. One can treat it as a LOSS or just as a loss. Dear everyone imagine losing a life the very moment in your family when you decide to talk. Value life more than anything because it is the only thing that you cannot create once you destroy.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: My Green Commutation

2011-04-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

Making the commute green is the best way of going green. At times I have to go to the nearby places. Sometimes I have to go to the places just a few blocks away. So for going I have the option of our family car, a motor bike, a bicycle and my legs. Legs and bicycle are the greenest modes of commutation. So I use them the most and go green. In other words using the active modes of commutation is to go green.

I live close to the place I work and use the telecommunication to interact with people rather than visiting them in person. That saves a lot of unnecessary energy.

And the best option to go to the far away places is to use the public communication system. It is always easy to venture out in the car or in a motorbike or even catch a cab. And it is uncomfortable as well as difficult to get into the public transport. But I bear this much of difficulty so that I could go green and at the same time do a lot of benefits for myself. This helps me a lot to improve my fitness level as well as my psychological status. It helps me to integrate physical activity in my day to day life and save a lot of money by being less car-focused. It is a fact that using the public methods of mass transport uses less energy than individual commutation.

Also it is good to understand the concept of "single occupant vehicles" as reducing the number of such vehicles helps us all. It improves health, reduces the need to build additional roads, lesser costs for maintaining the existing roads, creates greener communities and at the same time makes the environment better for all.

I think that people never understand another benefit of using the public transportation. When I am not driving then I have some more free time. At that time I can make some phone calls, type some text messages and also get time read a newspaper. Sometimes I even get time to prepare for the meetings. I can even get time for socializing. I can chat with the fellow commuters and that certainly makes my mind fresh. And at the same time it is good for the community. It reduces traffic congestion, air pollution, noise. Lesser health care costs are another benefit for the community as well as for the individual. And more importantly there will be an increased sense of security as there will be more people on the road. Also the personal communication between the people will increase.

I believe in ride sharing when I commute with my car. I have some of my neighbors who work nearby my office and some on the route. So that way I drop them out at their work places whenever possible. That way I share prices of the gas and parking. And at the same time I get some moments to socialize with them.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: My Ways Of Keeping My Bathroom Green

2011-04-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

My bathroom is green. The floor of my bathroom is made up of recycled tiles. These tiles are made up of waste glass from windows, mirrors, bottles, jars etc. They also contain some non-toxic and non-hazardous industrial wastes such as special clays, feldspar, granite dust, sand, and silica. During the laying of these tiles I ensured the use of non-toxic sealers.

The toilet is well lighted as I have two large skylights. And for the light at night I have installed compact fluorescent bulbs. A lot of power is saved that way.

I have taken a lot of care in saving water in my bathroom. There is a dual flush toilet installed and also some low flow water faucets in the basins. And my habits are also green. I do not keep the tap open while I shave and brush the teeth. The shower head is also low flow one. But the best thing that I do is that i take shorter showers. The water drain from the bathroom has been diverted to use the waste water in the garden. And the best advice from me is to put a sealed bottle inside the flush so that less water is wasted.

To talk of the shower curtains: I have done away with the plastic curtains and instead use linen curtains. Also I make the least use of toilet paper. And the paper that I use is recycled.

My bathroom is clean and I use some green methods to clean them. I do not use the toxic detergents and the disinfectants. I use vinegar and baking soda for cleaning my bathroom and at the same time I use the soaps instead of the detergents.

After bathing I use the lemon water to rinse the body after taking the shower. It acts as a good deodorizer. And at times for heavy deodorizing effect I use orange peel powder. I use soaps instead of using bath gels and shampoos as they are economical in the sense that less of soap will have the same effect as more amount of gels and shampoos. I avoid using the anti-bacterial soaps as they contain triclosan which is an endocrine disruptor. Also it reacts with sunlight to produce dioxin, a highly carcinogenic and toxic family of compounds, and can react with the chlorine in our drinking water to form chloroform gas, a probably human carcinogen. I avoid heavily packaged products and I prefer to buy the local made products wherever possible because they consume less energy during transportation.

For the water heating purposes I have tank less water heaters in my bathroom. They are very green indeed. They consume less electricity. Also in addition to that they take less space and they have very less waiting time - doesn't it sounds beneficial for those cold winter mornings!

And my interiors of the bathroom are colored white and there are many reflecting surfaces, four mirrors in it. Well this is for the fact that my low power light source does the same work that a higher powered bulb would do in a conventional bathroom.

The pipes that I use for the drains are not of PVC but instead I use the cast iron pipes. They are greener and at the same time do not give out harmful toxins into the water. Also they have recycle value.

Also more importantly I regularly check the water pipes and the drainage pipes so that there are no leaky end and joints - as small things count!

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

2011-04-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

We should act now and we should act fast. There are many ways in which we could make a difference. There are perhaps a zillion ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint. Starting today i will provide a way every few days that would help us reduce the carbon burden on our earth and help it keep green.
Pledge for a Green Earth.
Before reading further please switch off all the unnecessary lights and fans and other electricity consuming devices that are kept on. Take a deep breath.

Earth Day : April 22

2011-04-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Today is Earth day. Each of our effort matters. Can't we take an oath to celebrate each day of the year as Earth day? It is earth which gives us everything everyday. Now it is our turn.

Love Earth

Let us join our hands to pledge to work in every way possible and redouble our efforts to reduce our carbon foot print on this planet. We should remember that it is not just us who stay on Earth but there are billions of species who call Earth their home.

For The Lovers of Sunday.

2011-04-21T01:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is just another Sunday. You get up in the morning and you are busy thinking of ways to be lazy for the rest of the day. And in the evening when you call it a day, you are busy and really busy. You are one among that tried and frustrated lot who is clever enough to know that in a few hours you get Monday, that would steal all the pleasantries of your “busy- being- lazy” self enjoying Sunday.

Monday is just another day. It is a green grinning jealous evil, panting to bite your bum red. With all my Monday bashing I keep my adamant desires burning – do not even try to read in between the lines- desires to curse the Monday for the whole day. But you never know why you accept Monday with this sort of sick prejudice. It’s all work and no play.

Tuesday is just another day that comes with its own set of maladies. It takes the tumescence out of the freshness that somehow crept into Monday from the engorged Sunday. You long for another Sunday. Also you get amazed at the hard work that you do all through the long Monday just to get rid of one pretty day Monday. Somebody should have made you get rid of all six days. But that is the silly paradox of Tuesday. You remain pale.

Wednesday is just another day. I would rather call this day the day of acceptance. You accept the reality that you are heading into the middle of the week and there is nothing that you could do to help yourself. I mean you could hardly punch your way through the days into Sunday. Love thy own self. Love thy work.

Thursday is just another day. Where you are somehow tired physically, but your mind gets raunchy. Your fingers are overactive and you never mind tiring through the day. Now you are somewhere where you know that you are through the better part of the week. This day makes you see crimson in everything. You blush a lot and sometimes make others blush. You have people calling you naughty.

Friday is just another day. Where you are busy, but the clock seems slow. You look tired but you somehow keep the springs under your feet. You admire yourself but still you don’t know why you choose one of your flauntier shirts. You caress your hairs but you never go any near to the self inflicted orgasm. Instead some way you fake them for yourself to at least remain in the notion of happiness.

Saturday is just another dayhh! Your muscles are sore but the springs under your legs are stout. Your shirt is tout, you feel sleek. In some mysterious ways you remember all the good things, life seems more lovable and living seems more likable. You welcome everyone with a pout. You find that your shoulders and your waist is more into singing. You wear your smile whole through the day. You nod your head to everything and anything that you come across.

And then you enjoy the evening to get into sleep. When you wake up- you get Sunday which is just another day..

Bromances and brokeback !

2011-04-21T00:53:00.000-07:00

Bromances and brokeback !

This wonderful fun-read is from a blogger across the border. Just enjoy reading this fun filled comments that she has collected and compiled. Thumbs up for Tazeen!

So Cricinfo tweeted this photo with a “So much love in the Pakistan team” caption earlier today.

and the Pakistani twitteratti responded with this photo saying what about this one?

Pakistani tweeples thought that the picture with Ajmal and Akhtar was more bromance whereas the one with Sachin and Sehwag was more ... errr. Brokeback.

I asked people to come up with captions and here are some of the more interesting ones.

@shiringul “if I lose my head, it's your ass on the line!”

@a_bong "I got your back ..."

@ammaryasir Sehwag: "Pedicure?" Tendulkar: "Ahaa, usual preparation for the big match against Pak"

@absarshah 'Sucking the marrow out of life"

@kamranbukhari “Ass, gas or grass, nobody rides for free”

@alexpressed “baout yaraana lagta ay!”

@fayyazahmed Tendulkar: "Cover my behind, will ya?"

@Ahmad_Malik “After an intense batting session, Sehwag helped Sachin take care of his guard problems.”

Click here to read the rest of this beautiful post.

Agent Provocateur: Dirty tricks by Congress

2011-04-21T00:39:00.000-07:00

Agent Provocateur: Dirty tricks by Congress: "Spiteful act, deplorable deed The Congress is just not reconciled to the idea of Gujarat, more specifically Narendra Modi, showing the way..."

Fight Against Corruption

2011-04-21T00:21:00.000-07:00

It is hugely ludicrous to let the allegedly doctored CD about the Bhushan duo to catapult into the limelight. It is preposterous to see the politicians to comment on the integrity of these people. Do they want to make fool of us? They are the ones who are fools to believe in the idea that people will buy their attempts to malign the members o f the civil society who are to draft the bill. They are doing nothing but eroding the support base that they enjoyed and on who’s voting they are in a position to comment.

This present government seems like being in some sort of a state sponsored corruption arrangement with all like minded people- other politicians, corporate and beauracratic sycophants. Everyone is into the cover up spree.

I have no anguish regarding the fact that the Bhushans may be into some sort of corruption which seems highly unlikely. But the main fact that makes me more apprehensive about the government is the fact that it is try all the shots that it has to sabotage the efforts that are on to fight corruption. It is a democratic country. No doubt in that theoretical aspect. There is also no doubt in the fact that money holds influences. It is indeed a strange paradox to live with, at being born in a democratic country.

Some have brought up PILs in court against the appointment of the members of the civil society into the committee drafting the anti corruption bill. They argue that there are enough laws in our country and the country needs no more laws. But if they were laws then would the country have been in this state? He argues that the problem is with implementation. But if these things are not implemented then there must be laws to implement them- laws that are transparent.

It seems that the entire hullabaloo that the government is doing is to keep the rest of the unexposed scams under wraps and to protect its people from getting punished for practising its policy of state sponsored corruption.

“She” says that she is neutral and she is not mentoring Digvijay’s and Kapil’s comments. It is strange and hard to believe. They ask to have faith in the constitution of India but how can we have any faith in the people who safeguard the constitution. They say they are the elected representatives of the people. I ask my conscience: Are they really? But it does not agree. I can with no rationality call these corrupt people my representatives. No matter what but just because I support the cause for which they (Bhushans) are fighting, I support them.

Keep Your Mouth Shut

2011-04-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

My Teacher said: while working keep no stone unturned.
I replied: While turning the stones they shouldn't roll. Because a rolling stone gathers no moss.
Then I got to listen to his rantings, rumblings, nagging, panting and finally his borborygmi.
Moral: If you are not Anna Hazare then keep your mouth shut.

My 2 Cents!: An Inception about Inception!

2011-04-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

My 2 Cents!: An Inception about Inception!: "It's quite obvious that few have mastered the craft of film making like Christopher Nolan has. But what is really gratifying with his latest..."
Well read this interesting post from ADITYA MAHESWARAN about the movie inception in his blog.
The movie is an open battlefield for all those people who want to make there assumptions regarding the storyline of the movie, "heard" to be correct. And here comes a rather dignified assumption- but there is not anything that deludes your thought process.

Ramblings: Countering allegations,conspiracies and attacks

2011-04-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

Ramblings: Countering allegations,conspiracies and attacks: A post from Mayank Gandhi.

"Participatory democracy = a process emphasizing the broad participation of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems.

Citizens are not just voters. Democracy does not just come once every five years. The participation of citizens in the daily activities of democratic functioning is the hallmark of a vibrant democracy. And any democracy without a fifth pillar - a powerful and responsible civil society, would be lame duck.

A demonstration of a powerful civil society was visible when Anna Hazare and the citizenry of the country used peaceful coercion to kickstart a process of reforms. After 42 years, 6 rounds of rejections in the Parliament and complete ignoring of the entreaties of some of the eminent people of India - all avenues of normal democratic engagement were exhausted. There was no way except for Anna Hazare to stake his life for the nation, as Gandhiji had done before independence. If columnists and political leaders call this act as premature and blackmail, so be it.

Anna Hazare's demand is for participation of the civil society in the formation of a committee to draft a strong anti-corruption bill. After the Bill is drafted, it will necessarily have to pass through all the democratic institutions including Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It will not bypass any of the democratic structures.

You may go to Azad Maidan in Mumbai any day of the year and you'll find scores who are sitting in hunger strike, unheard and unseen. The only reason, the government took cognizance is because of the moral stature of Anna Hazare, the right cause and tremendous public support. No government is going to listen to people who fast, without these criteria. Therefore, to assume that Anna Hazare's fast has set up some precedent is incorrect.

Annaji somewhat irrelevant remark on the grass root development in Gujarat and Bihar has been twisted to mean support to Narendra Modi's communal action and being pro-RSS and anti minority. Suppose I praised someone's shoes- does it purport to supporting everything that he does, including wife-beating? :)

..."

My Infamous Rant

2011-04-13T12:57:00.001-07:00

I shun this country!! Each time I do it, there are some people who call me up to say.... why do you do that? Look all the beautiful things, look at its culture, history, tradition. They ask; are you not patriotic?
Are we supposed to see all the beautiful things? It’s all roses till they are exposed to the thorns. I will shun everything- till my anger is over. I will pledge for action but I know that I won’t act. No one acts. Let it be so. Well in some moments I too will start to ask the patriotic credentials of someone who shuns India! Everyone forgets. So do I. Everyone fears. And I fear too. Everyone is busy. Can’t I be busy?
We run away from reality, it is because we shy away from our own life. Our life has been just a conundrum since we know it. We try our hand solving it and we fail. So we find recluse in running away from it. We never act; when someone acts we shun him... for the fear that we may have to act if we support him. We are very busy; we are preoccupied with our duty, family, society and our laziness. We blame others never ever thinking- was I responsible? We never try to venture out of our confines of comfort till that day when we bear the fire of being on the receiving end. We talk, shout and blabber nonsense in the confines of our friends who will listen us no matter what we say. We shout and think that we have done out part, or rather type and think the same- in a way I am doing it right now. We call ourselves “people of reason” being the “mere” people in our democracy who feel who can lead their peaceful life till someday....they fail to see the light of the day. I am just into some minor agony that made me type this... some childish shenanigans that will get lost into the wilderness in just a few moments. It won’t take long before I forget what I have written.
It is such a democracy where we have to die to be heard. Can’t I shun this country’s people? – the people who run it, the people who are close to who run it, people with money who feel like they can do everything that they want. These people died but we should FORGET THEM, for we fear to meet their fate if we act. There are people who are corrupt, we should fear them as they can murder anyone to hide that they are corrupt.

Dr. Amarnath Pandey,a doctor and RTI activist killed because he tried to expose corruption. http://news.worldsnap.com/states/uttar-pradesh/uttar-pradesh-rti-dr-amar-nath-pandey-activist-shot-at-99584.html
Satyendra Kumar Dubey: IIT pass out, also alumni BHU, died for he complained of the corruption in NHAI. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyendra_Dubey
Shanmughan Manjunath: IIM pass out, died because he complained of corruption in a petrol pump. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanmughan_Manjunath
Yashwant Sonawane, district collector, died at the hands of kerosene mafia.. again for he complained against corruption. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yashwant_Sonawane
Amit Jethava, RTI activist murdered, because he wanted to expose corruption. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_activists-across-india-stunned-by-amit-jethava-s-murder_1412954

Lieutenant colonel Akash Sachan, 41, had been victimised for blowing the whistle on an alleged
deal of substandard equipment supplied to the Indian Army. http://fightcorruption.wikidot.com/sachan
Lakhyajit Deka : CBI whistle blower, is in trouble for exposing corruption. http://fightcorruption.wikidot.com/lakhyajit
Others: source- http://www.infamouslists.org/

Lalit Mehta, founder of Vikas Sahyog Kendra, an NGO. Status: Killed on May 14-15, 2008 after exposing corruption in National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in Jharkhand's Palamau district.
Narayan Hareka, Naib Sarpanch. Status: Died under mysterious circumstances while investigating irregularities in the NREGS in Koraput, Orissa.
Jalil Andrabi, lawyer and human rights activist in Jammu & Kashmir. Status: Disappeared and body found with hands tied on 27th March, 1996, days before he was due to attend the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Dr. Binayak Sen, human rights and health activist. National Vice President and Chhattisgarh General Secretary of the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL). Status: Imprisoned for more than two years under the Special Public Security Act, 2005, (PSA) of the state of Chattisgarh, India. Update: Granted bail by the Supreme Court of India on May 25, 2009
Sapamcha Kangleipal Meetei, President of the Manipur Forward Youth Front. Status: Arrested in Imphal,Manipur for having organised a public discussion on â€œArming the Civilians and Its Possible Consequences (in Manipur)â€ and reportedly demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister of Manipur in response to his failure in terms of governance.
T. G. Ajay, a film-maker and human rights defender who has been documenting problems faced by adivasi (indigenous) communities in protecting their rights, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Member of the state executive committee of the Peopleâ€™s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL). Status: Arrested under the Chhattisgarh State Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA).
Sarita & Mahesh, social activists and members of the Institute for Research and Action (IRA) doing development work. Status: Murdered on 24 January, 2004 in Gaya, Bihar, India.
Shankar Guha Neogi, labor leader and founder of the Chattisgarh Mines Shramik Sangh (CMSS) which fought for the rights of over 8,000 iron-ore miners of Dalli Rajhara in Durg district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Status: Killed on September 28, 1991 in the Durg-Bhilai area in Chattisgarh, India.
Kameshwar Yadav, NREGA activist, questioned the nexus flourishing among officers, leaders, contractors and middlemen regarding minor irrigation work in Deori, Jharkhand, India. Status: Killed on June 7, 2008 in Gaadi, Jharkhand, India.
Tapas (Vimal) Soren, NREGA activist working in Hazaribagh District, Jharkhand. Status: Self immolated himself and died on July 2, 2008 at Charhi Chowk in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand after being local officials refused to release funds for work done by him and others in a NREGA project. Here are his last words.
A.T.Babu, an anti-liquor campaigner and State Convenor of the National Association of People's Movements (NAPM) in Karnataka, India. Status: Killed on 21st July, 2008 in front of two of his coworkers at Mayanagaram, Karnataka, India. Here are a couple moving tributes to the man.
Navleen Kumar, social activist who fought for the property rights of tribals in Thane, Maharashtra. Status: Killed on June 19, 2002 by two men who stabbed her to death on the roof of her appartment building at Nallasopara, Maharashtra.
Manoj Kumar Gupta, Executive Engineer in the Public Works Department, Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh. Status: Beaten and tortured to death on December 24, 2008 after he refused to pay up a sum of Rupees 50 lakh for the birthday celebrations of Mayawati, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Abhay Sahu, President of the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the organisation leading the agitation against POSCO, the South Korean steel major in Jagatsinghpur district, Orissa, was arrested on 12 October, 2008. More information on him here.
Shamin Modi, a senior activist of the Shramik Adivasi Sangathan, exposed the corrupt nexus of mining Mafia and politicians operating in the reserved forests of Harda and Betul District in Madhya Pradesh. Status: Brutally attacked on 24 July, 2009 at her residence in Mumbai. Previously, she had been arrested on charges of kidnapping on 10 February, 2009 at Harda, Madhya Pradesh. A video on people demanding her release is here.
Venkatesh, a RTI activist in Bangalore, had been instrumental in saving BDA property worth Rs 35 crore. He earned the ire of loan sharks by using the RTI act to expose encroachments and filing cases against encroachers. Status: Killed on April 8, 2009 under mysterious circumstances in Bangalore, Karnataka.
Prashant Rahi, a social activist and a former journalist for the Statesman newspaper, who spent years trying to organize landless landless laborers in Uttarakhand state. Status: Arrested in December 2007 and in jail since.
Satish Shetty, a RTI activist who exposed corrupt land deals and illegal constructions near Pune, Maharashtra. Status: Killed by three or four men who stabbed him as he was returning from a walk near his house on January 13, 2010

And many more.....
So friends, never expose corruption, never talk of it, if you see anything wrong, please forget as soon as you see it. Forget what I have written over here, thinking this to be some sort of chit-chat that happens every day, in the family, among friends, at the neighbourhood gossip stall (pardon me if I don’t call it the “pan stall”- you cannot shun anything that is Indian and anything that breeds politics). .In India we believe in the great tradition of FORGET AND FORGIVE (to people who are corrupt). Ha !
Lol!
But still then I salute ANNA HAZARE.

Vote me to get a Nano!

2011-04-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

It is really outrageous, to offer the voters nano cars on the pretext of voting the candidates to power. Silly enough to think that the people will buy into this proposition. Well how could one think of playing santa with the public tax payers money at a time when the social parameters are rock bottom. Road or no roads, you get a nano to ride down the alley.
Full news.

The Tale of Lost Psyche: Multitasking.

2011-04-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Multitasking is the buzzword of the current era. We call ourselves more efficient because, unlike our ancestors, we are more efficient in multitasking. There is this old fashioned word called "perfection" in fight with ultramodern "approximation". Multitasking can be said to be derived from this new found phenomena of approximation. It is here where we do something of a lot of things in the same time and make all the different works look complete. Well, how much heart we give into each of these things is a different question all together. Some may argue that there are unimportant daily chores that we have to perform which could safely be completed by multitasking.

Take for example of this extreme case that I noticed recently. Well, making a bit of a confession that I do not normally/usually peek into the rooms of beautiful girls, but that day I could not take my eyes off what I saw. She was beautiful but that is not the part of the discussion that I am into. She lives in a flat opposite to my room in a floor below, to make my "stares" safe. She was on a comfortable couch, perhaps trying to find some time to relax. What could be better, than to listen to one's favorite music while relaxing. She had her ipod ear plug lost into her pinna playing on full bass (may be it is an overstatement but at the least she was listening to music). But it was just in one of her beautifully pierced ears. On the other side she had a cellphone clung to her ear supported by her shoulders (hope I could rest my head on them...let it go!!). Her TV set was on (of course it was on low volume). She had her prying eyes on her favorite soap (and mine on her). Oh, how could she miss out on her favorite soap? Her right hand was busy copying some notes (may be on multitasking discourses) from another note book. If this was not enough, I saw her left hand descend into the tub of water that dipped her legs for some rinsing action. A half-fledged pedicure sauna in her room! I would rather call this multi-multi-tasking. It is tough to imagine how much she could have of everything. I wonder, how much of her heart would be there in everything she did. Resisting the temptation, all I could do was to resign the idea of thinking too much about that. I concluded that it was a simple yet strange case of lost psyche and the birth of the legend of multitasking. lol.

Forgive But Don't Be wronged.

2011-04-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things that we suppose to be simple are too ironic. With a religious overtone, we are sermonized to forget and forgive. This iconic statement that we are made to believe from our childhood sometimes make us prey to our own conscience. It is so because we are also taught that it is a sin to wrong, and it is a bigger sin to let yourself be wronged. So each time we forget and forgive, we ourselves be wronged. It feels a bit rather complicated, when viewed from such contrasting possibilities in a certain singular situation. Treating both the above contradictory suppositions to be discrete in different situations is easy, comprehensible and practicable. But if you are made to practice both of them in a same situation then you feel like being cursed. On one side you get tormented by the happenings where you are preyed upon, on the other hand your soft side tries to peek its head out and say "forgive"; where your heart and your conscience remain in a state of constant fight. It is when you really want to back up and shout out loud f*** you. And that too doesn't do any help to you.

A Gem Just For A Day

2011-03-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

A flower is a gem on the crown of nature.
...Even if for a day.
It knows that it has got a life that is short,
Still its nature's most vibrant ray.
It sings, swirls and dances to the tune of the wind,
Until its dry and gray.
We may have another day to our life,
But the flower never says "why I can't see the next day?"

Strange World, Isn't It?

2011-03-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

Just because you get clear of something doesn't imply that you do not have your share of woes to fight with.
Just because you can fight on doesn't imply that you need peace.
And just because you smile doesn't imply that you don't have any sorrows.
Strange world, isn't it?...Where people presume a lot knowing nothing about things inside you.

Our Care

2011-03-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

We can guard our thoughts,

Watch them with care....

But can we take them beyond our realm...

Where someone cares for our care.

Never live between "would she" and "wouldn't she",

When you know you deserve her~