RAINDROPS FROM THE HEART OF THE MIND.........

It's spring in Delhi... and probably the last rains of the season

2015-04-03T09:40:00.003-07:00

So it rained today.

Delhi, in its true form, is usually either freezing or burning always. It's early April these days, and spring is showing up.

We saw the first rains of the season today. Caught in the bus while the beautiful water rained down the empty streets of Delhi, I felt the rush to run towards the exit and Breathe... just breathe in the gentle breeze and embrace the little tiny cool raindrops falling on my face.

What a shame to have been caught in that enclosure! Watching most of my colleagues roll up the glass windows, it occurred to me that they were missing out on what possibly could be the last rains of this season. The were in fact, definitely missing the moment. This beautiful moment, which would never come back.

In any case, I knew that no matter what gives, I am absolutely attuned to every change the weather takes...

Sultry - Cranky

Cold - Drowsy

Fall - Peace, at last!

More thank anything else, Delhi is sure is sure to take up its imminent summer up a notch this time!

Perfecting the art of building a comfortable Workplace

2015-04-02T11:21:00.003-07:00

Google has constantly been topping the charts on Fortunes' best companies to work for. It's a given -considering all the gourmet delicacies, massages, free gyms, pets and the freedom of the likes that are available for the employees. Not to forget the fat pay cheques and the pleasurably long parental leaves... Ahh... the perks. Don't you wish you were there!

Speaking about perks, I would like to delve upon 'Are perks really the secret behind a happy workplace'. I sincerely believe that a good workplace is simply created by having indispensable quality that holds value to your people, something that pulls them to the shore every time they look towards jumping into the ocean of opportunities.

It has become imminent for organisations today to take a deep look into it and at the same time understand that this quality has to hold a corporate essence, such that the entire entity revolves around it. There have been plenty of organisations in the country in the last few years intending to create that edge and identify that quality, which is why this feature is becoming even more valuable with time.

Coming back to our point of discussion - the perks. While most of your precious members wouldn't flock away for a free massage or a few extra leaves, it is however, still important to understand how many miles do you care to go extra for your employee, and how do you go about it.

You perk, and your organistion need a mutual alignment. An eCommerce company needs to have perks that speak for the company, moreover the industry. One of the good strategies would be to ensure frequent interaction amongst the people at the workplace. Organise get-togethers, meetings and events simply with agenda to have an informal communication. Push in conversation starters with food, activities, seminars and such.

Make it personal. And make it an indispensable part of the organisational culture and it would never seem like an effort. This relationship-based perk would someday be the reason why someone would avoid crawling over to your competitor, which is giving away foreign trips and hefty bonuses as its perks.

Deepa Mehta's 'Fire' (Movie Review)

2013-04-29T05:24:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of days, I was busy looking for a download link to this movie. Unfortunately, I could not find one. Today, I decided to finally watch the low resolution version on YouTube. (I am talking as low as 360p!).

Deepa Mehta, Director, decided upon the movie at a time when a woman's sexuality in India was still a taboo. It questioned the basic formation of rules laid down upon an Indian woman to define something as simple as a relationship.

The movie tells the story of a traditional Indian household, a joint family of five. Between Radha (Shabana Azmi) and Sita (Nandita Das), the daughter-in-law of the house, the former has a staunch devotee of a spiritual Guru as a husband who is also practicing celibacy while the latter's husband is involved in an extra marital affair with a Chinese girl. Narrating something as simple as that, the movie unfolds in an interesting pattern. Both the women, who have had arranged marriages according in traditional customs, are unable to receive their man's love. As the two confront their situation, they find solace in each other's arms and gradually come to terms with the increasing sexual affinity towards the other.

The story of the two women who have known nothing but tradition all their life have found pleasure in a homosexual relationship speaks tons about whether social media has anything to do with the increase in the number of people coming out of the closet. A woman denied of sex for almost thirteen years and the other, still exploring her sexual freedom outside her failed marriage, chance upon the sexual tension between them one fine day which ultimately takes shape of a strong and healthy relationship.

This hyper controversial movie was sparingly released in few parts of India and that too faced several challenges. The Thackeray party, Shiv Sena, as pathetic as ever, boycotted the showcase of one of the emerging mainstream Indian cinema. Not just Mumbai, even places like Delhi and Calcutta saw resentment from other religious-political leaders saying the movie "spoil [Indian] women" and younger generations by teaching "unhappy wives not to depend on their husbands" and informing the public about "acts of perversion." Though the metropolitan states were open to new ideologies, the religious and political opposition was such that it made it next to impossible for them to watch it.

Towards the end of the story, Sita, asks Radha to elope with her as confrontation (with Ashok, Radha's husband) would be tough knowing language knows no such word for homosexuality. This dialog really impressed me and did put put me into a deep thought. Why is it still forbidden? Isn't one of of the chapters of the book, Kamasutra, based on homosexual relations between a man and his servant. Don't we know already that homosexual relationships come as natural to human beings as any other form?

Hypocrisy continues to be a part of the Indian tradition is all I can conclude from the sour reception of the movie.

Right to food secured??

2013-04-03T22:21:00.001-07:00

The Food Security bill 2013 has brought in a vast amount of changes. It addresses the issue of hoarding of food grains against starvation of thousands of poor in the country.

The last food security bill, the food security bill 2011, was a huge disappointment. According to the article in The Times of India, 'The Big Letdown of the Food Security Bill' dated October 18, 2012, "The problem is that the bill does not mention how the government will identify people in each group. Since lawmakers have passed the task of identifying the poor to individual states without saying what methods to use, officials will likely continue to conduct poverty surveys in an erratic, unsystematic way. Critics say this would leave many people out of the public food system and to avoid this lawmakers should allow all citizens to buy cheap grains from public shops."

This year, the food security bill promises maternity benefits of Rs. 6,000 in installments to pregnant and lactating women as against that of Rs. 1000 in the Food Security bill of 2011. Child benefit remains the same with the mid-day meal scheme.

One of the major reasons for the failure of such plans is lack of focus of the agricultural sector. A huge majority exists in the farming sector which loses out on during the food price escalation period. In spite of producing abundant food grains, the poor in the country are not being fed adequately as most of it gets wasted in the absence of storage facilities. There can be no bigger shame for us.

Student of the year?? Really?

2013-03-31T03:26:00.000-07:00

The movie released last year with great pomp and show among the school and college going kids. I was never never looking forward to watching this flick and I did not watch it, until yesterday. I have a strong reason for that: I am sick for the past 5 days and am not allowed out of my room. Alas, I had watched all the movies available with me but this. So I sat down for it.

Honestly, I found the the manner of unfolding of the story very uninteresting. It is very cliche. This style: friends gathered together and discussing the the protagonists of the story, has been seen in familiar movies of the 90's like Chalte Chalte and even in the Imran Khan's debut movie, Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane na, which for some reason I found tolerable. Karan Johan anyway has been known for heightening the levels of cliche.

The story was again a mirror image of Kuch Kuch Hota hai with gender changes.

Now, since I had missed the movie and everyone else had already watched and repented, I thought there was no issue of lack of info on my part. But in some time, I witnessed a sudden change in fashion and the student behaviour. Girls wouldn't give their red lip paints a miss even for a day and guys would really leap for attention and popularity like never before.

The speech which Sudo delivers at the end to the school principle, Yogi, is co-incidentally similar to what I want to say to Karan Johar for directing such movies. He too is single and probably has a dream of living his characters in real life. This movie which has made brands like Prada and Armani sound like Globus and Pantaloons has reduced fashion to be just for a class of society. . What about a common man's daughter/son who cannot manage to get attention from the opposite sex? What if he/she are not perfect at dance but master the art of painting or origami or magic? It reflects that the student of the year trophy is deserved by someone who is extraordinarily popular, a fashionista at the least and must have minimum of two people of the opposite genders fighting for them. Not a bit of my life there! So I did not find it anywhere close to reality.

Jane Tu... Ya Jaane na was still partially inclined towards reality. But SOTY was plain OMG and totally in your face.

Today's youth is ready for the coming of age cinema like Shaitaan and A separation. In what world anyway, have schools ever been like that? At least I would love to see one. Or not.

So K.J., it is a humble request of mine: Stop playing on the school kids. Spare them Please!

Is Media really misinterpreting??

2013-01-07T08:04:00.001-08:00

Many a times, orators have commented casually upon important issues resulting in a 'foot in the mouth' situation. A day later we receive statements from them saying, “the media misrepresented their comment” or “twisted their words”.

How often have they accused the media of misinterpreting their quotes? Allow me to quote some of them:

Sheila Dixshit, Chief Minister of New Delhi:

In relation to the death of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan that happened in October, 2008, she said things like "All by herself till 3 am at night in a city where people believe...you know...you should not be so adventurous.''

The Times of India on October 3, 2008, reported, “A woman working till late in the night needs a male escort to return home. Else she might just get shot. The sentiment may not please too many Delhiites but that's the implication of what their chief minister thinks.”

Similarly, The Indian Express reported on October 2, 2008, “Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday came under attack from politicos and women activists for her comments on the murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan that 'one should not be adventurous.'”.

Later, on facing resentment from the people, she blamed the media for “blowing it out of proportion”.

Ratan Tata, Ex-Chairman of Tata Group:

In yet another interview, Ratan Tata spoke against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Few days later, DNA India on December 20, 2012, “Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has dubbed as "completely untrue" critical comments against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attributed to him in an interview and apologised for "any embarrassment" that the "misrepresentation" may have caused to him or the government.”

India Today reported on this incident, “In his letter dated December 10, he referred to his press statement issued on December 8 and said he had clarified that "I have neither 'lashed into the Prime Minister', 'rapped India' nor 'warned government of inaction'."

Vibha Rao, Chairperson of Chhattisgarh:

She made the following comments regarding women having an equal share of fault in sexual offences committed against them, “Women, influenced by western culture, send wrong signals through their dress and behavior and men often take the cue from those signals. Women display their bodies and indulge in various obscene activities. Women are unaware of the kind of message [their actions] generate.” She was quoted in an article published in The Hindu.

Mohan Bhagwat, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief:

The Times of India reported on Sunday, 6 January, 2013, the statement delivered by the RSS Chief, "A husband and wife are involved in a contract under which the husband has said that you should take care of my house and I will take care of all your needs. I will keep you safe. So, the husband follows the contract terms. Till the time, the wife follows the contract, the husband stays with her, if the wife violates the contract, he can disown her," Bhagwat told a rally here yesterday.”

RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav then cleared up for him saying that Bhagwat has been misquoted and added that he was referring to western marriages being based on a contractual system.

Bhagwat's remark was immediately slammed by the Congress, the CPIM and certain women's bodies for making sexist comments on women and marriage.

All the above quotes have been blatantly said, without the media making any interpretations at all. So my take on the issue is that, No, the media is not misinterpreting their words because they are what they are. Anyone reading/listening to that would draw the same conclusion as to what the media has drawn.

A lot could be done had their words been confusing or had any scope of making changes in it. Sadly, the words spoken have been ghastly loud and clear for any sane person to process as to what intention it really carries. Most of the above have been said during press meets and thus the media carries enough evidence of what has been already said to publish and broadcast it to the world.

Everytime the media gets blamed for blowing things out of proportion, it loses a part of faith the people have entrusted it with. Thus accusing the media of producing their irresponsible speeches must be strongly dealt with.

Media may be blowing many celebrity rumors out of proportion, but situations like these, where someone talks of orthodox mentality which can prove harmful to the society, need to be condemned. Words coming from people who represent a state or a nation have the power to shape the psyche of the people of the country. Thus, they must be immensely careful of what they speak in public. In many a cases, a huge public outcry has been seen. In order to avoid such cases, instead of blaming the media, the orators need to watch their steps, at least when addressing the media.

So the question arises, what do we do when encounter such comments/statements from our politicians, industrialists and other persons of importance?

Only if you were actually there.....

2010-01-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

And just for that one moment,

I wish you were actually there.........

Although I knew you would not ever do anything for the cure,

Perhaps you just CANNOT do anything for I know that you are not even there...

Yet I hoped you were,

Just to make you witness the feeling of helplessness…

For just once, I would have preferred you to be a man

(If you find a woman’s role tough!)

And even if it were for a day, it would have sufficed,

For I would have LOVED to see you suffer.

As I knew you would have begged for death.

Still, I would have loved to see you breathing in pain…

For your end would only be for the start of betterment of this world.

Rude it might be of me…

But I pity the ones who think you are there.

They call you "The Omnipotent",

And yet you seem to exercise so little of your power.

Alas! You!!

Had there been some entity who possessed at least half of the power your folks claim you enjoy,

You would have been dead by now…

Maybe you are.

The Tragedy, Behind The Celebration.....

2009-10-18T02:55:00.000-07:00

This Diwali, while strolling on the roads, a strange realization took place deep within me.

Diwali was celebrated with great pomp and show last night with the houses embellished and the local crowd in the best of their apparels. What just escaped our celebration were the poverty stricken kids asking for alms all day, on the traffic lights which only compelled them into believing that the festive delights are maybe just not their cup of tea.

Crowd was not in a big number on the road yesterday. A reason maybe that would satisfy was that the most celebrated places for people (that would be some mall) were shut down by early evening.

Even if someone had wanted to go to some good place to have fun, one was left with no chance but to return home. But here come the needy to the rescue. Yes, the misfortunate vegetable vendors and some local street food vendors still awaited the arrival of Goddess Laxmi, who for them was in disguise of customers. It was only the lamentable plight of these vendors that they were obligated to work even on the celebration day. Very ironic was the fact that a major part of the city was graced with the expensive decoration, and people rolled up in designer apparels, and covered with fumes of crackers, while the other hapless minority was busy finding some reason and a way to celebrate the occasion. Yet the minor majority seemed pretty content in their way to enjoy the jubilation.

Perhaps it’s just the Almighty who finally decided to strike some balance between the world of the poor and the rich making the miserable feel the contentment of the festivity.

This guy, who bores me !!

2009-10-07T03:04:00.000-07:00

Always, there is this guy who speaks, just speaks. He doesn’t talk.

Amused by this rare variety, sometimes it is good to listen to him. I would reason that I never get a chance to mock. (Not because I don’t find such people dumb, but because seems to me that they are too much of a waste of time. Yeah, even to be mocked at!!). Anyway, so he is one of a kind who actually interests me. Speaking my mind “they should be charged for being listened to”.

I encounter such jerks every morning. Studying Communication requires one to talk to diversities. Unfortunately, this variety of “the dumb and boring” survives in masses. Pathos.

Surely, now this guy is something of an experience. I bet all of us have at least one of such variety in our respective workplaces, schools, colleges and maybe even be having one such of a family member (then I pity you)!!

Usually our (at least mine!!) day starts with getting late for college. Making an achievement, almost equivalent to winning a name in Guinness Book of world records, by reaching the target just on time, this hell of a scoundrel comes bothering “You know you reached just on time. Blah. Blah. Blah…………” Knowing the fact already, this guy is rescued from a fist, because the class starts. The temper within cools and softly, ends. And the day begins.

Reality T.V exibit everything, but reality !!

2009-09-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

The present scenario of the T.V. is not very enticing.

Thanks to the new adventurous taste of the viewers, abhorrent T.V. shows are being aired. Besides being

displeasing, lately they have also started being vulgar and crude in taste. Taking Splits villa for example, it consisted of everyone and everything, which could be unpleasant in taste. The contestants were asked to use insults, which ironically proved to be a great put off and gradually resulted in a decline in their TRP.

India’s got talent has a desi cousin “ Entertainment ke liye kuch bhi karega” whose parentage/lineage is very uncertain………

Aped from the American T.V. show “The Moment Of Truth”, its Indian version “Sach Ka Saamna” has successfully gained TRP, pestering its rich and famous contestants to get richer, revealing embarrassing to its core truth of their life. Not only is it traumatizing to watch them divulge their life’s few kept secrets to the world for money, but also it is disgraceful for them.

Unfortunately and obviously, the actual reality shows like “AAP KI KACHEHRI” are unable to find viewers owing to the cheap and real reality of the “poor”.

Seems even the misfortune of the rich has made them earn a ransom fortune out of it. Isn’t it so?

Maybe, its somewhere us who are failing to distinguish between the truth and expected truth. What we see on the television today is what we someday wanted to see.

So where do we draw the line now? Well, perhaps it is time that we have an eye for better entertainment.

The Rising SUN.......

2009-09-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

My journey to Ladakh ...........

2009-09-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

A beautiful place. Beautiful people. It’s a land of the aesthetics.

My journey started from the 28^th August and ended on a somewhat very special note on the 7^th of September!!

For mom, I was supposedly traveling with college friends, which surely I wasn’t !! With a very close friend of mine, we were on our way to Leh (Ladakh).

We traveled from Delhi till Manali in a Volvo and continued till Leh in another bus.

Airways ply from Delhi till Leh .The buses are the longer route to the desired junction. Are you wondering why we chose the tougher option? I’ll tell you.

The scenery does not match that of any other place I’ve visited. Trust me I’ve not traveled less. I am eighteen and I’ve been more than fifteen hills. But the beauty of valleys and hills ranging from Manali till Ladakh flabbergasted me !!

The color of the snow capped hills for the first time explained me the grace of Snowhite.

Our stay in Leh was in a guesthouse run by a local Ladakhi lady. The scheme of guesthouses in Ladakh is highly enticing. This is because the rooms are decorated in the proper Ladakhi style. It consists of beds on the floor with attractively decorated Kashmiri and Ladakhi decors.

The locals are very gracious with their efforts to help out the tourists. It is the only place where people would step out of their way to put you back on your track.

The only trouble I encountered there was because of the food. There are merely any options for the vegetarians!

Shopping !! My favorite hobby !! They allow bargaining at its best !! I was not left with any money by the end of the trip as everything had been devoted to shopping !!

There are royal palaces situated on heights which very few prefer to travel on foot. I was one of the lazy tourists. I wonder why the kings preferred to live on such heights, especially when the invention of elevators did not take place. Phew !! Its tiring. Probably that is the reason there very few royal people left in the world.

Anyway, the palaces are rich with its history of Kings & the Queens. Although there was no one to describe the story of the buildings( we took no guide with us!!) , they seemed to speak their own story.

From my perspective, it has been an enlightening experience, both physically (yeah I’ve reduced a lot there) ∧ spiritually !!

On our way back, the snowfall took a toll on us. It delayed our return to Delhi by one day !! The only good thing about the snowfall was that the hills which we saw green in the previous journey were all white by now.

Probably my friend was right.

Everything that happens, happens for the good !!

Are arguments really neccessary in a relationship?

2008-05-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

Well, yeah, I may be the only person who thinks so!
But I really feel that to be in a relationship, fighting with your partner is not a very good idea. It just gives you reasons to spout out all the anger against the person at once.And the results are terrible. You may not even like to know the outcomes.
But in some cases it has resulted in loss of relationships, the relationships which may have been going very smoothly for a long time but has broken all of a sudden because your friend flirted with your boyfriend! No way guys, this no way to behave with your good old buddies.
You know what, whenever you have a fight with your friends or your boyfriends, it may be over, but somewhere down the line you will feel that the other person had done something wrong to you and there are chances that he may repeat it. The 'trust factor' that is the most important component of friendship, weakens. And when the trust weakens you start suspecting them of doing something wrong back again.
Be it your friends, your boyfriend or your parents, to know them better, quarelling with them is not the solution. You first have to talk to them about the issue that is bothering you. It is only then that they realise that you are having a problem regarding the respective subject. You have to give them a chance to speak their side of the story, rather than just keep on bickering about them.
Yes I know, many of you may feel that small fights strengthen your relationships. But the notion is completely wrong. You may always catch the wrong side of the rope and carry on with them. Rather hold on for sometime. Relax.
To know them better talk to them. DO NOT QUARREL!
So when you are over with this write-up, think about it. Do you still feel that fighting bring you closer to each other?If so, write about it.

The Unforgettable Moments Of Campus Life

2008-05-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

Bunking lectures, making efforts to catch all the attention towards yourself, getting scolded by professors for not submitting the assingnment on the dead line, coming to the campus in crazy fashions, getting along with your roommate, mocking teachers, the embarrassment faced during ragging, partying day and night, eating and cursing the unhealthy yet lip smacking snacks from the college canteen, daily gossips about who is going around with whom, who did what, when, where, with whom and on and on.............- This is the campus life.
Do you ever think you are ever be able to forget all of this. Actually you don't want to and moreover you don't have to. These are the few precious moments of your life when you did'nt need to care about picking up children from school or wonderig whether this month's salary is enough for the household expenses. This is the age when you are to enjoy.
But hey, there is a flip side too.
College life is stressful enough. There are loads of rumours about you doing the rounds.
College life is not all about making boyfriends and partying. There is something more to it.
It is about carrying your dreams in your eyes to become successful and fulfilling it.
And yes sometimes the college ragging reaches heights where newcomers wish to end up their lives.
Even though college campuses are full of people, they can be very lonely places when you don’t know anyone and haven’t found your niche.
With all of that, I would like to conclude that these memories are to be cherished forever and never be lost. Because life here won't give you a second chance. You go to college only once in a lifetime.

Life Is a Big Gamble !

2008-05-24T10:43:00.001-07:00

We all love to gamble, don't we? Yes because there is a crave that you may win it.But hey, ever thought about what happens when you lose? No I don't think so. Nobody wantys to lose. So why the hell care about losing the game. To tell you the truth it hurts, it kills you.
Alright, till the above paragraph we were talking about the gambling game. What about the games being played with us, our lives. A quite thought provoking question, isn't it?
In this competitive world, you would never know who is your friend and who is the foe. People who were meant to be with us forever, are hastily snatched from us without even been given a signal that something as aweful as that is going to happn to us. Today, everybody is full of contempt against you. So, what do you do now? Stop trusting people? No that is not the soluion my friend. Start building faith in yourself that you can do it even when the whole world is against you. Yes, you really need to prove them wrong ( if they really are! )These people are full of conpiracies against you. They would never let you win.
Why does it happen that whenever we trust somebody, he is the first one to break it. My elders had inculcated a value in me - Keep faith in somebody and it may bring a fine change in him for a lifetime. But, now I am taken aback by all of this. It is all just a matter which could have been true a decade ago. In the present day world man makes difficult to value your values.
The moment you start feeling that you know the answer, the good lord changes the question. He plays games with us. Games we never wanted him to play with us. We seem to be his little puppets whom he would play around according to his whims and fancies.
You never know what is coming up next. When everything seems to be going very smooth, life takes a huge sudden turn. It may make you end up sitting in a cell while the previous moment you were into some good mischief with your friends. Tomorrow seems to be big mystery.
With somebody who has been winning throughout his life, a losing may make him feel like a big loser. But, you never know! What may come. You may win , You may lose. But losing does not mean the end of your life. It is a signal from owner of the world that you now need to start afresh.

2008-05-24T10:43:00.000-07:00