Richa_Ritwika_Bloggers_World

Environment and Economy - A trade Off

2020-04-29T00:36:00.000-07:00

Last week on 22nd April the Earth Day was celebrated. This day came into existence in 1970 which was to honour our planet Earth. However in the past few years this day is more focused with the environmental issues faced by this very planet, Earth. One thing which has changed over the years is the human population which has grown exponentially and this population needs to be accommodated on this planet itself. Science and technology is still exploring another planet where some of the human population could be shifted but until then we all will have to adjust on this planet, Earth only. With the human's quest for a luxurious and comfortable life a lot of inventions have happened over the years. From travelling in bullock carts to driving a car; from rowing a boat to sailing in a cruise ship; from living in mud houses to staying in concrete houses - the list is long.

In this quest of a luxurious and comfortable life, we humans have used a lot of earth's resources and destroyed many other resources. From removing green dense patches of trees to blasting rocks or mining underground we have been playing with the mother Earth. The impact of human activities can be seen in the form of climate change, global warming, greenhouse effect, ozone depletion are few to be named.

Last year a 16 year old Swedish environment activist, Greta Thunberg, suddenly gained popularity when she addressed the environmental issues. The girl's concern is that because of current environmental issues people are dying; people are suffering; the ecosystems are collapsing. She was concerned as to how would planet earth change for the younger generations and the damaging effects of this change.

As the year 2019 was ending there was a news from the southern hemisphere of the world. The forests in Australia caught fire and the reason for these forest fires was climate change. The air quality was 12 times more hazardous. The forest fires killed many animals. Who knows many species would have become extinct during the fire outbreak.

However as we enter the second quarter of 2020 things have changed. Most of the world has been locked down because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This lockdown has reduced significant levels of human movements across the world. Various parts of the world have reported seeing animals coming out on roads. In a country like India also people have seen elephants roaming around on roads. The air quality has been improved significantly. People in Punjab can see snow clad mountain peaks which are located in Himachal Pradesh. The water quality has also improved significantly. The Yamuna river located in Delhi has cleared and the foul smell has disappeared. The Ganga river is also said to have gone on a self cleaning mode. As per the television or print news the river water has become pure enough to drink. Car horns have been replaced by soothing chirping sounds of birds. The young generation of children can finally see birds flying in sky and can actually count stars in the night sky. It is said that the earth has gone on a self healing mode.

But then the question is what will happen once the world gets back to normal? When the lockdown gets over what will happen? We, the humans, will again engage in our own regular activities and again it will take a toll on the mother Earth. Can people really sit at home and keep working forever? Can innovation and invention stop? Once the economic activities begin the earth's environment will again start getting affected. Children like Greta who desire for a better planet can we really give them a planet of their dreams? It will be interesting to see to what extend does the world change.

P.S. Chirping of birds captured during lockdown - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db-049W7vqc

A Plastic World

2020-04-28T04:15:00.000-07:00

Imagine the entire world was made of plastics. The house, the tree, the sand, the sky - everything made of plastics; but then could we humans survive? Would plastic become our staple; a reason to live?

Unfortunately that is not the case. I remember since my school days I was told plastic is bad for the environment. Since the time science was divided into physics, chemistry and biology we were told plastics are non biodegradable. Since the 1990s I was aware that plastics do not decay like food waste. Infact the idea plastics are non biodegradable and hazard for environment would be existing even before the 90s. As plastics do not decay they just keep piling up.

If plastics do not decay and are harmful for the environment then why do we use it?

By 2010 most shops started charging for the carry bags. As a customer most of us would happy pay that extra 5, 10, 15 or whatever extra amount was being charged. However slowly in a country like India government started getting concerned and decided to put a ban on plastics. Those who are environment lovers came with the idea of carrying own bags for shopping.

The question is that we all know plastics are harmful for the environment; then why dont we put a stop on the production of plastic bags? If there will be no plastic bags being manufactured automatically we will switch to cloth bags and maybe carry our bags for shopping.

In schools we are definitely taught plastics are harmful for the environment but the very next minute we might buy something from a shop or vegetable cart and demand for a plastic bag. Maybe the roadside cart sellers find it easier to provide stuff in a plastic bags so they keep a stock plastic carry bags.

The best way which has been found to educate these roadside sellers is by police threatening them that they will not be allowed to sell their stuff. Some even fine these roadside vendors. Why they dont fine the customers who ask for plastic bags? Arent customers who demand for plastic bags equally responsible for the plastic menace?

Once I went to a mandi in a village near Ranchi and the villagers clearly said without a carry bag they will not sell their stuff. In the mandi a person was selling the jute carry bags at Rs. 10. So anyone who did not have their own bags first had to buy a jute carry bag and then only could they shop around.

Now a days plastics are being used in road construction. Plastics have been rated and more and more places are being encouraged to go plastic less. But still there are a lot of products which we have to package in plastic bags. Even though our government is promoting the idea of Swach Bharat still we throw away plastic covers here and there.

Can we really reduce the consumption of plastics? Can we really try creating a plastic free world? By when can we expect people carrying their own bags and those who are not doing so then some action being taken against them?

I am sure no one would like to wake up with plastic covers all around them.

The Investigation - 2

2014-05-21T00:17:00.001-07:00

In the meantime techniques were being used to find out laptop details and finally they were able to find the laptop number and the address from where it was purchased. The address from Bangalore itself; police went to the shop and gave the laptop details. It was a small one room shop and the owner would be somewhere in his 50s; he found out the date of purchase of the laptop. Police asked the shop owner that whether he had a CCTV camera installed to which the owner said there was a CCTV and it was working. Police asked the owner to give the footage of the day when the laptop was purchased. The footage was taken and analyzed; with the help of date and time mentioned on the bill the person who had purchased the laptop was identified. Police could see a young man’s face and started developing the face and published it in all the leading daily newspapers. Also the same face was circulated on the social networking sites and shared across by people. Police was not sure that whether this man was alive or not but he was the only hope for them to reach to the culprits.

Almost one month was over after diwali and everyone in India had got busy with the New Year which was few days away. A photoshop enthusiastic guy took the photo of the face which was being circulated on the social networking site. He started playing with the photo by putting a beard with different styles and then he came across a face which he had seen somewhere. He started adding other features and he was shocked to see the exactly same face of a guy is working at his office. He was not sure about what he should do and with both the photographs (one circulated on internet and another which he had created) he took them to his HR and discussed with her. Immediately they informed police and when the police reached the office they gave them details of the employee whose photo was developed using photoshop. However just on the basis on this photograph the guy could not be arrested police needed some more evidence.

The cyber cell of the office was involved and they started tracking the system on which the guy used to work. The guy did just one mistake that once he opened his personal mail from the office system. The personal mail was hacked and police found out all the planning and plotting which was done for the Bangalore blast. Finally the guy was arrested on the basis of these mails and he admitted to be involved in the crime.

The mails revealed details about how the entire blast was planned. Before the blast certain people started working as the hospitality and ground staff at Bangalore airport and started scanning each and every detail. The time taken for the bag to travel for the bag on the conveyor belt to the luggage scanning machine was calculated. A proper training was given to the lady for the blast. These people had already figured out that the luggage which is carried by the person is not scanned at the entry on the airport. They considered this to their advantage and this is how the entire terror attack was planned.

Bangalore was always on the hit list of terrorists and they were looking for an opportunity where maximum threat could be created among people. Finally the other culprits involved in the case were also caught and the Indian police along with the help of certain good citizens of India was able to solve the case.

-- The End

In places like Ranchi or Varanasi check-in luggage is scanned before collecting the boarding pass. However in places like Delhi or Bangalore I believe the check-in luggage is scanned after the passenger collects the boarding pass. The difference in the check-in luggage scanning process for domestic flights in different cities could be best known to the airport authorities. This story is purely based on imagination and with this story I don’t wish to give any suggestive ideas for deadly crime.

Also I would like to add that on September 2001 when there were twin attacks on WTC and one attack on Pentagon (US Defence Headquarters) the security at airports became a big concern. After 2001 also there have been several incidents of terror attacks in flights and plane hijacking. On 26 November 2011 again when there was a terror attack on Mumbai's Taj Hotel everyone across the country was shocked. Terrorism and terrorists who are ready to kill themselves and take away lives of innocent people are the biggest threat for humanity. A human bomb will never come knocking at our door and seeking permission for an attack.

P.S. If you feel the imagination in the story is good please share it across with your friends. There could be certain loopholes but I have tried my level best to ensure the flow of story doesn’t bore the readers. Well sharing is free and I hope as a reader you will acknowledge this story by sharing it with family and friends.

P.P.S. With this story I complete my 50 blogs; some good and some not so good.

Thanks for taking out time and reading the story.

The Investigation

2014-05-21T00:11:00.000-07:00

Police started developing the face which they saw on CCTV. While watching the CCTV footage they figured out that the lady had got down at the airport from a bus. From every stoppage where the bus stopped the CCTV footage was collected. In the meantime a sketch of the lady shown on the CCTV was developed and published in all the leading daily newspapers with the hope that someone will identify.

In the CCTV scanning police found out that the lady had taken a taxi to reach to the bus stop. The taxi number was noted and the driver was contacted; the driver gave the location from where he had picked up the lady. Further investigation showed that the lady had changed 4 taxis and all taxis were booked from different numbers with different names and they had been activated just one week back. However the police was still not able to find the residence where this lady lived; there was no idea that whether this lady lived in Bangalore or she had come from some other city to Bangalore just to execute the terror mission.

As the police was busy in their investigation; the people of India got busy with a candle march procession and started demanding for a safer India. People from all walks of lives had joined this procession and there was serious concern raised over the safety of people travelling in buses, trains, and flights. The identification process of those who died in the blast was completed and families were informed of the darkness which would be there during this diwali. Both the center and state government announced compensation for those who died in the blast; the money which these families would be receiving could never fill the emptiness which was left in their lives. However other than crying and missing their loved ones there was nothing more which these families could do.

Diwali was over and almost after 15 days of blast police was still not able to find any clue about the lady. And then one fine day an old lady visited the police station with a photo; the photo was of the same lady who had blasted herself; the old lady said she had seen her photo in the newspaper and she wanted to give some information. The old lady said that she had gone to a wedding and when she returned back and was looking at the newspaper she found this photo. She gave the residence address where the young lady lived and immediately the police rushed to the location. The door was locked; police broke down the house; they started finding the evidence which could be useful for them. There was a laptop but it was completely destroyed; there was nothing in the laptop which could help the police in getting closer to others who were involved in the terror attack. However police took the laptop in their possession and started interrogating the people living in the neighborhood.

During the interrogation they got to know that the house belonged to someone who was living in US and gave the house to the blast lady on rent. The person who had given the house was contacted and details were asked as to how was the house given on rent. The person said that the house was given on rent with the help of a broker and broker details were given. The broker who had given the house was contacted; he checked his file and found out the booking details. He gave the identification proof which was given by the lady. Police began tracking of the address which was mentioned in the id proof but no such address existed. Police started feeling that they will never be able to solve this case.

Link to the third part: http://richaritwika.blogspot.in/2014/05/the-investigation-2.html

A Terror Story

2014-05-21T00:07:00.001-07:00

Bangalore – the silicon valley of India which has attracted people from different parts of India for jobs and has an important role to play in the economic growth of India. A city which has been overcrowded with the youth population and Bangalore has been warm enough to welcome everyone. This is a story based on this city of Bangalore.

It was the time of Diwali; the festival of lights which is celebrated on a grand scale in North India. Diwali celebrations start with Dhanteras when people buy new things for their house and it is a good day for people who are in the gold business. The second day is choti diwali when people lit 5 Yam ka diyas infront of their houses all night. The third day is the main festival when the entire city is lighted with diyas; everyone wears new dresses; young children burst crackers; neighbors gather together to celebrate the festival. The fourth day is padwa which is an important day for married couples. The fifth and the last day of diwali celebration is bhai duj which celebrates the spirit of love which is shared between brothers and sisters.

People working in Bangalore were going to their homes during the festival of diwali so that they could celebrate this festival with their families. There was huge rush on the Bangalore and Yeshwantpur railway stations; airports also saw huge crowds and almost every airline was completely booked. There were long queues at the check-in counter where people were collecting their boarding pass; some people were sitting at the Café Coffee Day center; some were busy over the phone; some had proceeded for security check after collecting their boarding pass.

The entire airport could see people busy in something or the other and suddenly there was a loud noise. There was a blast at the area where check-in luggage is scanned and as everyone started rushing towards that area there was another blast at one of the queues in the check-in counter. The airport police rushed towards the blast site immediately; there was an environment of shock among the people who were present at the airport; people were speechless and they were not aware about how to react. The area of blast was immediately sealed by the airport police and the police started collecting any possible evidence which they could get from the site.

High alert was raised in every airport in India and a thorough scanning of people started. The casualties and victims of the blast were immediately shifted to hospitals; the job of identifying the identities of people began. It was a sad day for Bangalore as almost 50 people lost their lives in the blast and around 20 people were injured. Blood, burnt bodies, destroyed faces was what could be seen at the blast site. However the police officials had to keep their emotions aside and work together to find out any small evidence which could lead to the culprit. After every individual and their luggage was scanned thoroughly the flight departure and boarding process resumed back again.

The CCTV scanning began and police started finding out the source for the twin blasts which took place at the airport. The luggage which had blasted near the scanner was identified; there were few officials and workers working at the scanner who lost their lives. Now with the luggage police started identifying the person who had checked in the luggage. The face which they saw on the CCTV was of a young lady who had blasted herself and in the process killed 50 people. The investigation and search for the person responsible for blast began.

Link to the second part: http://richaritwika.blogspot.in/2014/05/the-investigation.html

Atithi devo bhava

2013-08-18T01:17:00.000-07:00

Atithi devo bhava. Iss baat ko hum Indians bahut hi gambhirta se lete hain.

Ek atithi wo hain jisne ek Indian se shaadi ki aur aaj wo India ki bahu ban gayi. Unke pati ke jaane ke baad India mein unko maan samaan mila. Aur wo iss desh ki hi ban kar reh gayi. Iss atithi ko humne aisa apnaya ki sabhi jaruri muddo par unki bhi rai li jaati hain. Hum yeh maan kar chalte hain ki wo India se utna hi pyar karti hain jitna wo apne desh se karti hongi.

Ek atithi wo hai jiski khoobsurati ke log deewane hain. London se India aayi; apna safar b-grade movie se shuru kiya aur phir belly dance sikh kar Sheila ki jawani pe khoob dhoom machaya. Aaj wo jis movie mein jis actor ke saath aati hai wo movie aur wo actor charcha mein aa jaata hai. Inko hum Indians ne aisa apnaya hai ki acting bhale na aaye phir bhi inki movies ko hit jarur karwate hain. Sayad India mein inke jaisi khoobsurat haseena nahi milegi isliye ek videshi atithi ko apnaya hai.

Ek atithi wo hai jo bahar videsh mein pornstar ke naam se famous hain. Unko bhi hum Indians ne khule baahon se apnaya hai. India ki sayad hi kisi pornstar ko itni ijjat aur pehchan mili hongi jitni inko di gayi hai. Inka sayad sapna honga jo aaj yeh bollywood mein heroine ka kaam karti hain.

Ek atithi aaj kal dance ke apne jalwe bikhair rahi hai. TV ke reality show mein aati hai khoob jum kar naachti hai aur logon ka dil jeet kar le jaati hai. Kismet hue to jaldi wo bhi bollywood mein heroine ke roop mein nazar aayegi.

Ab yeh to hue bade logon ki baat; agar hum apni baat kare to jab videsh se koi atithi aata hai hum usse badi sehajta se angrezi mein baat karte hain. Ghar par jab usko khane ke liye bulate hain to ghar mein 5 saal ka bacha bhi ekdum faratedaar angrezi mein baat karta hai. Magar hum dusre ki maatra bhasha tab kyu nahi sikhte jab kisi Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Bihari, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Kanada, Malayalam, etc. ko apne ghar bulate hain? Kyu kya atithi videshi atithiyon se alag ho jaate hain?

P.S. Agar blog pasand aaya hai to link share kijiye :-)

Recreational Adventurous Proactive Entertainment

2013-04-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Before you start reading this blog I would say that it is not intended to hurt anyone's sentiment.

Scene 1:

Roshini is alone at home. She is feeling hungry and she is not in a mood to cook so she decides to order the food from outside. She calls at the restaurant to order food.

Roshini - "I wanted to order food but before I order I wanted to know who would come to deliver food at my house?"
Salesman - "Mam our delivery boy will deliver the food at your place"
Roshini - "You dont have any delivery woman? You know the country is not safe for women; what if your delivery boy does something wrong with me?"
Salesman - "Mam trust us we do a complete check before we hire someone"
Roshini - "Trusting a man is next to impossible. All men are the same"
Salesman - "Mam do you want to order food or should I cut the call"
Roshini - "Yeah yeah take my order"

After 30 minutes her door bell rings and she quickly goes and opens the door. Delivery boy is standing on the door.

Delivery boy – “Madam your order.”

Roshini – “How much is the bill?”

Delivery boy – “Madam 200 rupees”

Roshini – “Wait here I will go inside and bring the money.”

Roshini goes inside in her bedroom. The house is completely empty there is no one else except her; she is all alone and her house is in such a location that if anything happens inside the house no one will get to know. Roshini comes out and pays Rs. 200 and the delivery boy leaves. Roshini calls at the restaurant from where she ordered the food.

Roshini – “I had ordered food at your restaurant.”

The person checks the number and finds out the details. He replies back – “Madam your order has already been sent. It would be reaching your place in sometime.”

Roshini – “I have got my order but I wanted to complain about your delivery boy.”

Salesman – “We are sorry mam if he did something wrong. We would fire him immediately.”

Roshini – “I wanted to complain that he did not do anything wrong. I was all alone at the house but he did not even make an attempt to force himself on me. What kind of delivery boys you have at your place. These day every where men are raping women but your delivery boy is simply useless.”

Salesman was confused he had no idea what he should reply back.

Scene 2:

Roshini is at office. Today she will have to work late night and so she has asked for a drop service to her place. A list is mailed across with the car details and people who would be travelling with her. Roshini checks the list and there are 4 other co-passengers with her; 3 are women and one is a man. She would be dropped second according to the list. After seeing the list Roshini goes to her manager.

Roshini – “Sir I have a complaint.”

Manager – “Yes Roshini tell me. What is the issue?”

Roshini – “I wont work late night tonight.”

Manager – “Roshini you know this delivery is urgent and we need to deliver it tonight. And what is your issue; you are being provided the drop service then why are you worried?”

Roshini – “Sir the problem is with the drop service only. First there are 3 women and next my stop is second one. I don’t get an opportunity to be all alone with the driver and the other male passenger. This is not fair.”

Manager – “Roshini are you out of your mind?”

Roshini – “Sir where men force themselves on women at late nights then how can I be out of my mind?”

Her manager did not have any reply to her question.

Scene 3:

A guy along with his family has come to see Roshini for marriage. The family lets them sit alone and they are left to talk to each other.

Bahadur – “You have anything to ask then go ahead ask me I wont mind it.”

Roshini – “Have you ever raped any woman and murdered her after that?”

Bahadur – “No”

Roshini – “Acha atleast you would have raped the women even if not murdered her”

Bahadur – “No”

Roshini – “Then you would have definitely molested a girl”

Bahadur – “Not at all”

Roshini – “Then you must have passed lewd comments on girls”

By now Bahadur has lost control. He replies back – “Listen madam if you are not interested in marrying me then simply say it. I am not a criminal that you are asking me all these questions.”

Roshini – “Let me tell you one thing that these day dowry is not based on the family background or educational qualification but the severity of crime committed by the man. For instance if a guy rapes and murders a girl then he would get 10 lakh as dowry; when he just rapes a girl he would get 8 lakh dowry; when he molests a girl he would get 5 lakh as dowry; for passing lewd comments or stalking a girl he would get 1 lakh of dowry.”

The way these days news related to rape and safety of women is being shown in media it seem that in future all men would turn into rapists. The candle march protests which are done with the slogan 'teach your son not to rape a girl' or 'do not tell your daughter not to go out tell your son to behave properly' or 'do not touch me my dress is not a yes' what kind of messages do these slogans want to create? Already girls do not go out alone at nights and with such incidents only more fear will be created for female gender in India. Things might be worse but concrete solutions should be found out such as women employment as delivery women; autos run by lady drivers especially at night; and many more such steps can be taken.

Share your feedback on the write-up. If you like the write-up then share the link across with your friends.

Do check the comments at the end shared by people.

And it rained...

2013-03-07T12:12:00.001-08:00

Radha was a final year engineering student who had been placed in one of the best MNCs in the country. There were just few months for the college to get over and since it was the last semester the bonding between her friends had increased. They would roam around in the campus and spend most of the time in canteen. The last few days of engineering got over with parties and fun. Till the last day everyone was busy filling up each other’s scrap book; a token of remembrance for future. Finally the day arrived when Radha was parting her ways with her friends with whom she had such a wonderful time for 4 years. There were tears in everyone’s eyes and everyone was hugging each other. This was the time they realized how much they would be missing each other. From the college Radha went back to home.

Radha was 21 and she had completed her engineering; she also had a job from campus. She full filled every requirement for the search of the suitable groom. Somehow Radha was not ready for marriage yet; as soon as she landed at her home the prospect of her marriage started being discussed. Her father decided to create her bio data and start the search for that suitable groom who will marry his daughter. There was a detailed discussion with the relatives about how the search should begin and before the search began there were suggestions of getting some beautiful photographs.

Radha was informed that they would be going to a studio where some professional photographs of her would be clicked in the studio. She wore a light blue saree and did some light makeup and came out. Radha was not at all interested in the studio drama but she did not have much options. The studio person started asking her to give different poses; instructions related to chin up or chin down; the place where she should keep her hand; with all this drama Radha was just getting more irritated but she could not show her irritation on her face. She quietly kept doing what her parents wanted her to do and finally after an hour of photo sessions they left the studio.

Next day Radha’s father brought the photographs and showed it to her and her mother. She could see how much changes were made in the photograph and how they had tried to show her more beautiful than she actually was. Thanks to modern day tools such as photoshop which are helpful in modifying the photographs but anyway her parents were happy so even she was happy looking at the photograph. The next few days before her joining at the company was tough as the only discussion which would happen in the house would be related to her marriage. The prospective grooms and their details was what were discussed at the house and Radha was desperately wishing to join her job and runaway from this discussion.

Finally her date of joining arrived and quick arrangements of travel were made. Her parents and her brother accompanied her to the new city where she would be joining her job. On the way she was given list of instructions about being aware of her colleagues with whom she would be working; and the importance of performing well in the job. Her parents accompanied her till the training center and since during the engineering days Radha had stayed in the hostel she was not feeling much pain of separation; still on the first night she decided to stay with her parents. She kept her luggage in the hostel of the training center and went with her parents to their place. Next day she got up early and rushed to the training center.

It was her first day at job; there were around 200 other people along with her who were joining the job that day. She could find some familiar faces from her college but she had never interacted with them before. Now she was no more student but an employee and she felt excited about the fact that she would be earning her own money. For one week induction program of freshers at the company happened and then the training program began. It was three month long training and Radha was pretty much engrossed in her training; during her training period the discussions about marriage was not happening much. Radha was relieved that she could completely concentrate on her job.

Her training was over and her posting location had arrived. Radha had to travel on diwali to Kolkata and this was the first time she would not be at her home during diwali. Radha was bit sad but she realized in job such situations will keep coming and she was going to miss many more festivals in future. At the new place of her job there were no projects so technically Radha was on bench. During her bench period she had nothing much to do; she had made some good friends during her training days and like her they were also on bench so they would mostly chat over the office communicator.

One year of her job got over and by now Radha had got into a development project. She was enjoying her job and everyday she was learning something new. Finally her father informed her about one prospective groom whom she had to meet at Delhi. The bio data of the guy was forwarded along with his photograph and Radha scanned the bio data there was nothing much in the bio data except for the general details about his school, college, job and family. Date, time and place for meeting were fixed and Radha along with her family would be meeting the guy and his family. She had to travel down to Delhi as the guy worked at Delhi and his family also stayed at Delhi.

Radha was feeling awkward and she had no idea what she would be talking there; this was the first time she was actually going to meet a guy with the prospect of marriage. She was asked to wear a saree and she wore a saree. A restaurant was decided where the family would be meeting. The families met at the decided venue; she was standing there tensed; everyone got inside the restaurant and sat on the table. The parents began talking to each other but both Radha and the guy were sitting down tensed and did not know how to start a conversation. Finally the parents pushed them to talk and they started a conversation. They discussed about their college; their job and then there was silence. Finally Radha and the guy got to spend time alone and they were still not sure as to what should they talk about. Her first meeting ended up with nervousness and tension and a big question which Radha was asking herself was she ready for marriage yet.

Anyhow Radha’s father called up guy’s family and they said a sorry and made an excuse that the match did not fit well. They wished her father all the best for future search. Radha’s father was a bit disappointed and reasons for rejections were being discussed. Maybe it was a problem with Radha’s teeth so it was decided that Radha would get braces and get that perfect smile which would attract the guy.

Next few years went like this only where Radha would meet a guy alone or along with his family and they would come up with different excuses. ‘The girl is fat’, ‘she is not tall’, ‘she is not smart’, ‘sorry the kundali did not match’, and host of other excuses. With every rejection there would be disappointment and Radha would be upset thinking about how bad her parents would be feeling. Now the meeting process was becoming unbearable for Radha and she was not sure what men wanted in a wife. She thought it would be better if in this technology savvy world a guy could interact with her over the phone or chat with her on internet they could get a better understanding whether their frequencies matched or not.

Her father did not give up and kept on searching for the suitable groom who matched his requirement. Radha was given a detail of one guy who she had to meet and he worked at her city itself. Radha decided to be casual herself and meet him the way she usually dresses up. Radha wore a short kurta which was above her thighs along with a churidar. They were to meet at a mall at 12 in the afternoon. She took her sling purse and left; by 12 she reached the mall; she messaged on the number given by her father that she had reached. The guy replied back that he was on his way and asked her to wait at the entrance.

Radha was waiting at the entrance; looking around at people and thinking did they know her purpose of visit at the mall. Anyway she ignored them and finally one of the suitable grooms selected by her father arrived. He went straight towards her and they exchanged ‘hi’ ‘hello’. They decided to go inside and sit in the foodcourt and become more comfortable.

They started talking; they were all the usual questions as to what do they; their hobbies; how do they spend their time and finally it was time to get up and leave. They both started walking towards the exit of the mall and found it was raining heavily. Neither Radha nor this guy had brought an umbrella so they were stuck in the mall. They did not know what to do now. Finally Niraj, that was the name of guy whom Radha was meeting, said there was not much option but to wander around in the mall till it stopped raining. But the question was where they should go; they hardly knew each other and they decided to walk around the clothes department of the mall.

Finally Niraj asked Radha – “Do you watch movies?”

Radha – “Yes. Why?”

Niraj – “I was thinking that we should go for a movie till the rain does not stop only if you don’t mind.”

Radha – “Ok.”

They went up to the multiplex and booked movie tickets for the next show. In the meantime they decided to have lunch together and they took Indian meal from the foodcourt. Finally they went for the movie and they had a good time together; they laughed; they passed comments and they were not feeling that they were strangers. The movie was over and as they came out it had stopped raining also. They both said a good bye and left the mall.

Finally late at night Niraj messaged Radha – “It was nice meeting you.”

Radha – “Same here I also had a good time.”

Niraj – “I was wondering if we could spend some more time together.”

Radha – “Yeah sure that would be a good idea.”

Niraj and Radha kept meeting, talking, messaging each other for a month and finally they decided they would be getting married. Niraj and Radha informed their parents about marrying each other. The families were happy that finally their children will be getting married.

The marriage date was also decided and even on that day it rained. It rained and Niraj and Radha remembered how they met each other; liked each other and would be very soon married to each other. It rained and brought happiness in the life of Niraj and Radha.

It kept raining and Niraj and Radha kept looking into each other’s eyes as they got wet. Some rainfalls are hard to forget.

P.S. Do you love rain?

Puppy Love

2013-03-01T22:28:00.002-08:00

She is a brown colour dog with white patch below her neck and at the tail end. Her name is Jenny. She does not have a home; she stays on the roadside. Many times young kids throw stones towards her which forces her to run away from the place. She does not have lustrous hair but still she is chased by male dogs. When it is too hot she takes shelter below any car which is parked on the road.

She is pregnant and she is about to deliver cute little small puppies. At 3 in the morning she gives birth to 4 cute puppies who are yet to open their eyes and see the different colours of world. They are yet to see the brightness of sunlight; the darkness of moonlight. These 4 puppies are a mix of black and brown. This is the first time Jenny has become a mother but there are mother instincts which has made her take the responsibilities of her puppies. Jenny might not know who is the father of her puppies but she does know that she is their mother and they belong to her.

She knows she has to save her puppies from those kids who throw stones at her to save her puppies. Earlier when these young kids use to throw stones at her she would run away but now when these kids get any near to her puppies she starts barking violently at them in self-defence. She knows she has to feed her puppies and grow them until they are independent enough to face the harsh world around them. For feeding her puppies she needs to feed herself first.

There is a lady in the locality who gives her food two times but that is not enough for her to fill her stomach. The food given by the lady is also shared by other street dogs like Jenny so Jenny gets only a limited portion of food. After this Jenny has to search the trash bins and garbage thrown by people. In her search she also has to be alert of people who come running with a stick to chase her away. After all these people don’t know that Jenny has become a mother recently.

Once Jenny feels she had got enough food to feed her puppies she returns back to them. They are crying in hunger but as soon as they feel the smell of their mother they start trying to reach her so that they can drink milk. In the process of drinking milk one puppy trying to push away the other puppy. They are yet to see their mother and by the smell only they identify their mother. Jenny takes them in their lap and gives them the comfort.

At night when they go to sleep Jenny covers them under her and provides them the warmth. She does not have the luxury of making herself warm with a blanket. Finding food for herself and feeding her puppies has been the process until one evening when it started raining suddenly. Jenny had to find a safer place for her puppies to protect them from harsh rainfall. She started shifting her puppies to a safer place where the water drops would not reach her puppies. She lifted one puppy in her mouth and took it to the safe place. She repeated this process for the other three puppies.

In the process of shifting her puppies, Jenny did not realize that one of her puppy got hurt. It was not her intention to hurt her puppy but she was tensed; she was worried; she wanted to make sure her puppies were safe. In her tension she held one of the puppies too tight that her sharp teeth pierced into the puppy and caused wound on the puppy. After she shifted all the puppies and she was relaxed that her puppies are safe and then she realized that she had hurt her child. She licked the wound of her puppy; after all that is how animals try to heal their wound.

She started giving extra attention to the puppy who was hurt and everyday licked the wound in order to make sure that her puppy was getting healed. She would caress the small puppy; give comfort; take care of it; as there were no animal doctors whom she could approach and get her puppy treated. The hurt puppy was yet to see the sunlight; yet to see the sunset; yet to see the brightness and darkness of the day.

Finally the day arrived when the 4 puppies opened their eyes to see the world around them; the world which they could just smell for a long time; now they could see this world. The hurt puppy saw the sunlight; the color of his mother who had been taking care of him; the sunset; the moonlight. Jenny was happy to see that her puppies could see the world but little did she know about the future.

That night was the last night of the puppy who was wounded. He succumbed to the injuries and he died. God gave him the chance to see the world before he died. The whole day Jenny was sad; she was upset; she had lost one of the four puppies; she sat next to the dead body of her puppy; she had tears in her eyes. She knew her puppy was gone forever; she kept licked him for the last time with the hope that he might open his eyes again. But he was gone; a precious part of Jenny was gone; Jenny had to live and live for her other three puppies.

Motherhood is the best emotion and it is present in every animal. This blog is dedicated to the feeling of motherhood.

P.S. Do share your feedback on the story.

P.P.S. Dedicated to all animal lovers across the world.

Durga Puja

2012-10-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

These lines are from an ad campaign done during Durga Puja at West Bengal.

Saptamite prathom dekha,

Astamite hasi…………………………………..!!!!

Nabamite bolchi ami ,

Tomay bhalobasi………….:-) :-)!!

Dashamite hathath keno akul holo pran,

Pran pratima ebar tumi …….

Jabe ki bhasan …………………. :-( :-(

One of my friend told the story behind writing these lines. Here is what he said to me.

Durga Puja is a big festival for Bengalis. During this time people get a chance to buy new clothes, ornaments and jewelry. Boys wear new dresses and visit the pandals in the city. While girls also come out of houses and visit pandals. Girls also wear new dresses, jewelry and ornaments. During this time boys get to meet many girls in the pandals. The girl smiles and confesses her love for the boy. But the boy is worried that like the way Goddess Durga is immersed on the 10th day of the celebration, will the love of the girl also immerse??? The girl has become a goddess for the guy and the feeling that the love might immerse makes him sad.

While my understanding about these lines are that saptmi when the pandals open the child gets to see the Goddess for the first time. On asthami the child notices a smile on the goddess. On navmi the goddess tells him you are a good person and I love you. On dashmi the child is sad because he knows the people are going to immerse the Goddess and she will go away. :-(

Definitely we cant say that boys go to pandal to find a girl who will become his life partner. As there is a saying that har shike ke 2 pehlun hote hain. So people can look at these lines in different ways. The important thing is that 3 days everyone is visiting pandals, buying new dresses, jwelery, ornaments, celebrating Durga Puja. But every good thing has to end and the puja ends on dashmi with the immersing of the idol of Goddess Durga.

At last I would just say Happy Durga Puja, Navratri and Dusshera. So people enjoy the festival to the fullest. :-)

Reservation in India

2012-09-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

What is reservation? Reservation is when a person books a place in restaurant, flight, train, bus etc. The pre-booking of place at restaurant does not ensure that the quality of food which would be served by the restaurant would be good or the seats of the flight, bus or train would be comfortable. Reservation just ensures that a place has been secured in advance. When reservation does not ensure quality food in a restaurant the person might fall sick because of bad food.

Now let me talk about reservation in education in India which would be given to those who are considered people from backward class. These people definitely get an ensured seat in a good college because of reservation but then who will ensure the quality of engineers, doctors, lawyers and other professional students which would come out from the college. The government which has given reservation to backward people in the name of upliftment will they ensure quality?

Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar who is popularly known as Babasaheb came from a dalit family but he became the first law minister of India. When he became the law minister there was no reservation for position in the Indian parliament which led him to become law minister; it was his merits, skills, dedication and hard work which made him law minister of India.

Reservation in education for backward class should be strict NO rather government should ensure that good primary education is provided in every part of the country and these people are encouraged to attend schools and become competitive enough to clear the competition exams on merit and occupy the seat along with upper caste candidate on the basis of merit and not reservation.

The question which the government should ask themselves is that whether primary education is reaching out to the poor people staying in villages; are there enough government schools and teachers who are willing to provide free education to the poor people.

But again providing a good primary education is not just a responsibility of government we as citizen of India also have some moral responsibility towards this. In the movie Swades it has been beautifully shown a NRI comes back to India and spreads the message of education. Something similar has been shown in the movie Arakashan. But real life is not a movie and the modern Indians who are voicing their opinion regarding reservation they should ask themselves are they ready to go to a place where there is no electricity or no water connection and teach the children in such places. Are we ready to treat everyone equal in our classrooms irrespective of which caste, creed, culture, color, place, religion or gender one belongs to.

By providing reservation what government is doing is definitely not right but we should ask question to ourselves that is our attitude to those people who belong to backward class right. The backward class should ask the question to themselves that is reservation what they really need to prove to the world their worth. Only when every Indian will get ready to spread primary education among children irrespective of their caste, creed, culture, color, place, religion or gender would be time when we would really see a change; a change that would be positive; a change which would be for the betterment of every Indian.

I am also against the concept of donation which the rich people avail so that they can ensure better education for their child but right now my concern is over the caste based reservation. A positive change is very much needed and upliftment of those who are financially weak is required but providing reservation in the name of caste is not an answer for the change. Let both rich and poor people prove their worth through merit rather than paying money or getting admission in reserved quota. Let there be a fair competition between all the categories so that there is a feeling of a just society.

Solar Energy and India

2012-08-03T00:45:00.000-07:00

19 states, 3 power grids and one problem – blackout and half India became dark for hours. Reasons of the blackout as mentioned by the official people is that few states were overdrawing the power allocated to them and so the power tripped. But no proper maintenance of the equipment could also be the problem which affected north, east and north-east regions of India together.

The problem happened and every news channel covered it. People spoke about the problem over social networking sites such as facebook, twitter. But now with this problem it is time to realize coal will not be there forever after all it is a non-renewable resource of energy. So we need to switch to renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind and frankly India has ample solar and wind resources which should be tapped for power generation.

Many countries in the world are already using solar energy for electricity generation. Germany which has topped the list of countries for the usage of solar energy for providing electricity and the country has been doing great job in providing electricity to the people. In India also we can see that the electricity problems in Gujarat have gone down with the use of solar energy. So tapping solar power for electricity generation definitely looks a positive solution for the electricity problems in India.

With the usage of solar energy such blackout problems will definitely be avoided in future. This would also ensure that even rural parts of India are lighted up and people in villages have electricity. It is not just the government who should setup solar power plants but the people of India also need should take some responsibility of using solar energy for future benefits. Every individual houses, apartments, schools, hospitals, colleges and offices should be advised to install solar based geyser for having hot water. The initial setup cost of installing solar geysers would be high but then people would save electricity bills. There are other benefits also of using solar energy well this source of energy does not create pollution which is created by using thermal energy. There are no radioactive wastes which are there by using nuclear energy.

Well the future will only tell whether people have realized the benefits of using a clean, green and eco-friendly source of energy. But if in future we don’t want breaking news related to half of India having a blackout then solar energy is definitely the answer which the government should focus upon.

P.S. Share your views regarding alternative sources of energy for electricity generation.

Why Jharkhand is neglected in the Railway Budget

2012-03-15T23:51:00.009-07:00

Let me share a small story which happened with me last year. In February 2011 I was travelling to Ranchi from Bangalore and there were college students in my coupe. The train starts at 8:30 AM in the morning from Yeshwantpur which reaches Hatia (a place in Ranchi itself) on the second day at 7:15 PM in the evening. During the day we people were mostly silent and not saying much. By the evening we co-passengers started talking and discussing various things. One topic which we started discussing was the inconvenience of travelling from Bangalore to Ranchi. We all said that how difficult it is to get a ticket in the bi-weekly train; even after booking the ticket one month in advance it is tough to get a confirmed ticket. Also since there are no direct flights this bi-weekly train is the only option for students or take a train/flights from other cities which increases the cost. We know it has been ages since students/working professionals have been coming to Bangalore from Ranchi and even in these 10 years there is no direct connectivity between Ranchi and Bangalore on an everyday basis.

During this rail budget I read North-East complaining that their region has been neglected but there was no such opinion voiced from Jharkhand. I wonder why are the problem of travel from Ranchi to other cities limited only in the train journeys where people discuss this issue. Why there are no newsletters or blogs or stories written about this? Why even media is also not interested in the problems associated with Jharkhand?

I remember when Bangalore Metro (Namma Metro) progress was not happening everyday Times of India would have a coverage asking the govt when the work will get over and how much time will it really take. Now it has been more than 10 years since the Koderma to Hazirabagh line was announced by the NDA government and still we dont know what is the progress in this. There is no media coverage; no follow ups; no updates as to when will this route get the much awaited line.

I wonder how many more years will it take to see a change in Jharkhand. I hope those who have spent 16-20 years in the state of Jharkhand also voice their opinion and make the world realize Jharkhand is no less state in India.

I hope to see a change in Jharkhand and with that hope I have written this blog.

Share your opinion about this :-)

कहानी फसबूक और ओरकुट की...

2012-01-19T21:32:00.000-08:00

यह कहानी है 2 दोस्तों के दुश्मन बने की. फसबूक और ओरकुट 2 अछे दोस्त हुआ करते थे. हर समय साथ रहते; साथ खाते; साथ सोते; साथ पढ़ते; साथ खेलते. दोनों की दोस्ती इतनी गहरी थी की दोनों एक दुसरे के लिए जान भी देने को तयार थे.

फिर एक दिन ऐसा आया जब ओरकुट को फसबूक का साथ बेकार लगने लगा और उसने सोचा की नए दोस्त बनाये जाये. ओरकुट नए दोस्त बनाने लग गया और धीरे धीरे फसबूक को भूलने लग गया. ओरकुट अपने नए दोस्तों में इतना खो गया की उसने फसबूक को पूरी तरह भुला दिया. ओरकुट की हरकत देख फसबूक बहुत दुखी हो गया. दुःख में फसबूक बहुत रोया फिर उसने फैसला लिया की वो भी नए दोस्त बनाएगा.

फसबूक ने भी लोगों से दोस्ती करना शुरू कर दिया. फसबूक अपने दोस्तों को पा कर बहुत खुश था और उन्हें खुश रखने के लिए जितने जतन हो सकते थे करता. लोग फसबूक के दोस्त बन कर बहुत खुश थे; इतने खुश की उन्होंने ओरकुट के दोस्तों को बोला की एक बार फसबूक के दोस्त बन कर देखो. ओरकुट के दोस्त अब फसबूक के दोस्त बने लग गए और उन्हें फसबूक का साथ पसंद आने लग गया. फसबूक अपने दोस्तों को हमेशा कोई नयी चीज़ दे कर खुश कर देता; लोग बस इसी सोच में रहते की अब क्या खास होने वाला है. लोगों को ओरकुट की याद तो आती पर उसके पास जब भी जाते वो वहीँ पुरानी बातें करता और लोग उससे बोर हो कर फिर से फसबूक के पास वापस आ जाते. फसबूक के नए surprises लोगों को अछे लगने लग गए और फसबूक के दोस्तों का नंबर दिन ब दिन बढ़ने लग गया.

फसबूक को अपने नए दोस्त इतने पसंद आये की वो ओरकुट के बारे में सुना भी पसंद नहीं करता. अगर कोई ओरकुट के बारे में कुछ बोलता तो फसबूक वैसी हरकत करता जैसे इस फोटो में दिख रहा है. फसबूक की यह दुश्मनी ओरकुट के लिए कभी ख़तम होगी या नहीं यह तो पता नहीं पर लोग फसबूक के दोस्त बन कर और फसबूक को पाकर बहुत खुश हैं. फसबूक और ओरकुट एक दुसरे के कितने ही बड़े दुश्मन क्यों ना हो पर इन्होने दोस्त बहुत बनाये हैं.

3 Things I like about Orkut

Testimonials where my friends shared their honest feelings about me.
Profile visitors
I added the communities of my interest and still had loads of members and good amount of discussion unlike facebook where the member number doesn’t go up

Facebook is 'नया दिन नयी रात'; hard to keep a track of previous discussion… :-D

P.S. Scooters came to an end and people started using bike. Similarly Orkut has come to an end and people have started using facebook.

P.P.S. Share your views about the social networking sites.

P.P.P.S. Click on the ads.

Equation of Marriage

2012-01-16T03:49:00.000-08:00

There are many questions in life for which people look for an answer; for some questions there are answers given by various theories. But there are few questions for which we humans are still looking for an answer; questions like

What happens after death?
Can someone be reborn?
Is there a previous life?
Why do people love?
How to explain the feelings of love?

And for me at the moment the most important question is why do people marry; how do they decide to marry someone? Is there any science involved in marriage?

Now mathematics being my favorite subject from childhood I tried looking at the prospect of marriage from the mathematics angle. If marriage had an equation then what would be the variables required in this equation. So the step one is to identify the variables involved in selecting a person for marriage. The variables which I can think of are – age, looks, height, weight, income, education, family background, habits (like drinking or smoking or food), hobbies, interest and lifestyle.

After deciding on the variable the next step is to assign weights to these variables but how to decide the weights of these variables or parameters is again an important question in marriage. After all the weights of these variables would be varying from person to person. Infact there could be a possibility where the weights to certain variables could be zero.

If I look deeper into the idea of marriage then one thing I can say that the variables of marriage cannot be decided looking at the lives of other people. To sum it all one has to decide the variables and weights which s/he feels are important for the marriage.

My marriage equation would be something like this:
Age + height + income + education + habits + hobbies + interest + lifestyle

Whichever equation you select for marriage I hope you have a happy married life filled with all fun and frolic. :-)

P.S. If you see the ads on the blog then please click on it.

What if a Girl Proposes a Guy?

2012-01-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

20 interesting responses :)

1) You are proposing me..... (guy is shocked)
2) Why are you lying; don’t joke with me. Are you serious??? You love me???(guy is confused)
3) You mean to say that you love me and you want to marry me.... Are you crazy??(guy is tensed)
4) I talk to you nicely that doesn’t mean that I love you but yeah sure we can be good friends.
5) Ok its a very good proposal. Initial analysis shows that its a good proposal but we have to find out complete impact list for it.
6) I have to keep your proposal on hold till I receive any rejection comments from Sweety, Pooja, Aarti, ...... goes on.
7) Listen I am not saying no to you but I am also not saying a yes… First let me settle down... I am not able to support myself how will I support you… I mean love cant happen without money sweetheart…
8) Er... Thank you!... Me... ummm...er...(disappears)
9) Hee hee... I am the guy so I should be proposing you... hee hee…
10) Have you lost your mind???
11) Er... I dont have a problem but I don’t think my mom will like you....
12) Do you like sports??? Read harry potter??? Have spicy food???
13) Hey did u actually think about the situation... And I think I have to write a new LRP(Love response pack) for the same... Please reply to my mail within EOD.
14) Did you go and watch some boring romantic movie???
15) You sure??? Can we lock this answer??? (Loves KBC)
16) India again lost the cricket match and you are bothered about love. (A big cricket fan).
17) Our frequencies don’t match.
18) Are you drunk???
19) I am a follower of Hanuman ji… I have never thought about any girl this way…
20) Do you like ravan???

P.S. Some of the responses given by friends.
P.P.S. Add more responses... :-)

P.P.P.S. If you see the ads on the blog then please click on it.

Sayamvar

2011-12-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

A girl holding a garland and waiting to put over the guy she will marry. There are around 10 guys in the room selected as potential groom. The girl starts walking

1st Guy: Not me
2nd Guy: No please not me
3rd Guy: Photo mein to badi achi dikh rahi thi. Asal mein to bahut darwani hai...
4th Guy: Bhaago bhoot aaya
5th Guy: Kya dekh kar mujhe select kar liya. Koi bachao mujhe
6th Guy: Yeh phool to ache hain par iss ladki mein mujhe interest nahi
7th Guy: Bache ki jaan longi kya
8th Guy: Ladki matlab musibat
9th Guy: Iske bahut kharche honge main isse afford nahi kar sakta
10th Guy: Subah kis ki sakal dekh kar nikala tha. Koi aur musibat hoti to bhi chalta par ladki no way....

P.S. Your reactions?

Education

2011-04-30T07:10:00.000-07:00

Education is the best thing one has and I hope with this blog once again you will realize the importance of being educated.

It was a bright sunny day with not much crowd in the bus. And then a lady boarded the bus; this lady could not see the brightness of the day but could definitely feel the heat of the day. This lady who boarded the bus and occupied the front seat was blind. But she doesn't realize that the lady sitting next to her cant speak; her co-passenger was a mute.

After sometime the bus stopped at a red light and the blind lady asks her co-passenger what will be the next stop. The mute lady takes the hand of blind lady and with her finger she writes the alphabet of the next stop; the blind lady connects the alphabets and she understands her next stop.

The blind lady in curiosity asks “Why did you not say the word itself”. The mute lady again takes her palm and write “I cant speak; I am mute.”

Then there is a silence for sometime then the mute lady again takes the palm of blind lady and asks her “Which stop you will get down?”

The blind lady tells her stop and the mute lady replies in her own way that “Even I will get down at the same stop.”

The ladies get down at the stop but in this small duration of the journey they both become good friends.

The idea conceived in bus where I keep observing various kinds of people.

And believe me education is not just for people who have all their senses working properly but also for those who have some physical disability. Education is the best tool for communication.

A small email, letter or instant message can end up all fights and bring people close. I hope every Indian gets the basic level of education.

Holi 2011 Blog

2011-03-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

When I started writing I never thought I am going to write so much... But jitna likhe hai kaphi hai mere liye... :-)

होली के चर्चे हुए,
रंगों पर खर्चे हुए,
खाने को मिला अछा पकवान,
कुछ लोगों ने पिया भांग,

होली का त्योहार भी निराला है,
बुरा न मानो कह कर दिलों को मिलाता है,
अपनों को और करीब लाता है,
दुश्मनों को भी गले लगता है,

हर रंग एक हो जाता है,
हर रंग एक ही बात कहता है,
छोड़ दो यह लड़ाई झगडा,
बंद करो जात पात के नाम पर दंगा,

जब रंग एक हो सकते हैं,
तब क्या लोग एक होकर नहीं रह सकते?

एक फूल की कहानी...

2011-03-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

यह कहानी है एक नाजुक से गुलाब के फूल की जिसने एक पोधे पर जन्म लिया और उस पोधे को मिलने वाले पानी और खाद से वह बड़ी हुई. कुछ दिनों के बाद मैंने देखा की वह सूरज की किरणों से और ज्यादा खूबसूरत लग रही है. उसकी खूबसूरती का एहसास भवरों को भी हो गया था; वह सब उसके आस पास मंडराने लग गए. गुलाब भी इस बात से खुश थी और अपनी खूबसूरती पर इतरा रही थी. धीरे धीरे उसकी पंखुड़ी मुरझाने लगी; दिन गुजरे और गुलाब की खूबसूरती कम होने लग गयी; भवरों का आना भी बंद हो गया. और एक दिन मैंने उस गुलाब को नीचे ज़मीन पर गिरा हुआ पाया. देखा लोग उसके ऊपर से उसे रोंध्ते हुए जा रहे हैं.

उसका जीवन तो फिर भी अच्छा था कम से कम वह अपनों के पास तो थी. उसकी सहेली जिसको उसके चाहने वाले ने पसंद किया और पसंद करते ही उसको डाल से अलग कर दिया. अलग करते वक़्त उस चाहने वाले को कुछ कांटे भी चुभे पर वह नहीं रुका; उसने गुलाब को पोधे से अलग कर ही लिया और उसे अपने घर ले गया. कुछ दिन उस गुलाब को संभल कर रखा; फिर धेरे धेरे गुलाब मुरझा गई; उसकी मीठी खुशबू भी ख़तम हो गयी; उसके बाद उस आदमी ने गुलाब को कचरे में फेक दिया. मैंने सोचा पहले वाले गुलाब का अंत तो अच्छा था; कम से कम अपनों के पास थी वह; दुसरे वाले के अंत में तो कोई नहीं था वह भी नहीं जिसने इतनी महनत करके उसे अपनों से अलग किया था.

हम लड़किया भी गुलाब की तरह नाजुक और कोमल होती हैं. जब तक खूबसूरत रहती हैं भावारे की तरह लड़के आस पास मंडराते हैं और जब खूबसूरती ढलने लगती हैं तो बहुत कम लोग होते हैं जिनको हम सच में अपना कह पाते हैं. वैसे एक ऐसा चाहने वाला मिल जाता है जो अपनी पसंद की लड़की को पाने के लिए कांटो से गुजरता है; शुरू में लड़की का बड़ा ख्याल रखता है; फिर धीरे धीरे चीज़ें बदल जाती हैं.

लड़की जो कभी शक्ति का रूप मानी जाती थी आज बस एक फूल जैसी नाजुक बन कर रह गयी हैं. और ज्यादातर अपनी परेशानीयों के लिए वह खुद जिमेदार हैं. एक औरत ही एक लड़की को जन्म नहीं देना चाहती; एक लड़की खुद अपनी शादी में अपने घर वालों को दहेज़ के लिए मना नहीं करती; और भी बहुत कुछ है जिसके लिए वह खुद जिमेदार हैं.... अब यह लड़कियों पर है की उन्हें फूल जैसा नाजुक और खूबसूरत बना है या सच में लड़की होने पर गर्व महसूस करना है.

What did you gift your valentine?

2011-02-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

Pappu Munni ke ghar gaya iss Valentine's Day.

Pappu ne Munni ke ghar ki ghanti bajayi; Munni ne darwaza khola.

Munni - "Tum yahan phir se? Pappu saala dance nahi kar paya aur badnam Munni ho gayi"

Pappu (SRK style) - "Oh Munni darling... Dont be upset... Pappu loves you. Dekho main tumhare liye gift bhi lekar aaya hoon."

Munni - "Gift kaisa gift? Phir se wahin purane red roses?"

Pappu - "Nahi Munni iss baar kuch special hai. Chalo apni aankhen band karo."

Munni - "Kuch meetha lekar aaye ho kya? Khane walo toh khane ka bahana chaiye. Bole toh chocolates."

Pappu - "No Munni. Tum aankhen toh band karo."

Munni - "Dekho na roses hain, na chocolates hai toh kumse kum ek teddy de do."

Pappu - "Tumne kya mere pyar ko itna sasta samjh rakha hai? Main toh tumhare ek bahut mehngi cheez laya hoon."

Munni - "Kya?"

Pappu - "Khud chal kar dekh lo."

Munni - "Yeh kya hai..."

After a silence of 2 seconds

Munni - "Ek bori pyaaz?"

Pappu - "Ek bori pyaaz ki kimat tum kya jaano Munni darling, khane mein swad lata hai yeh pyaz, garibon ki bhookh mitata hai yeh pyaaz, inflation mein high returns dilata hai yeh ek bori pyaaz. So what do you think Munni?"

Munni - "Munni khush hue. Par iss pyaaz mein pyar kahan hai? Kahan hai pyaar bolo Pappu. Kya yeh pyaaz badnam Munni ko Shiela jaisa pyar de sakta hai?"

Pappu - "Munni pyaaz ka rang hai gulabi aur Pappu ke pyar ka rang bhi hai gulabi. Aur yeh Pappu ka wada hai ki woh tumhe itna pyar denga, itna pyar denga ki Shiela ki jawani bhi thandi padh jayegi."

Munni - "Oh Pappu I love you"

Pappu - "Toh chalo Munni kahin durr chale hum aur ek saath inn pyaaz ki gulabi wadiyon mein kahin kho jaye."

Pappu and Munni eating chicken do pyaza together. Background mein Papa kehte hain song baj raha hai :-D

P.S. What did you gift your valentine? :-D

Save Tigers

2010-05-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

When man hunts – he hunts for pleasure, for money and to prove it to the world rather the universe that he is the strongest creature created by god. Human must have started hunting for food but later it became a status symbol. Royal kings and rich people in the past hunted tigers to show their power. Tiger fur and tiger head was used as a decoration piece which hung at a place where everyone could have a good look. It was a pride to display tiger’s dead body in the palace.

But slowly humans thought of a smarter idea and decided to use tiger’s bone and fur for making products which could be sold. Products could range from medicines to soap to a soft fur coat. In past no one worried about the ferocious specie would become extent.

Now a days there has been talks regarding Save Tigers. The number 1411 has become a talk of the time. You get to see 1411 as number at every possible place where one can notice it easily be it at an airport, or on television, or maybe social networking sites, or an article on a newspaper. When I saw the ad of Save Tigers on television which began with a gun shot it shattered me.

There was one more video which made me think when will man stop killing this innocent ferocious animal. I would definitely say that tigers are innocent even though they hunt and kill other animals. But their reason for killing is for food or maybe in defence they attack. They are a carnivores animal and they survive on flesh and bones. Now you might question why cant a tiger become vegetarian and stop hunting? Also you might say if a tiger wont stop hunting then why should we humans stop hunting. Well the answer to this question can be that there is no one to plan a diet chart for tigers. Also they are not smart like humans who can adjust in concrete jungles. We cant force a tiger to change his eating habits, his living habits but we can definitely stop ourselves from hunting them.

Now coming to the video which was about how and why tigers are killed. In the first video they showed a tiger which had gone mad and use to attack in a village at night. For people living in that village it had become difficult to move around once the sun would set. In the day light when they thought they were secure this mad tiger proved them wrong and attacked a group of kids going to school and killed one kid. Finally the forest officer woke up and spoke to the villagers. They made a trap to catch this mad tiger and finally he was killed. But there was a lot of anger inside the villagers and they wanted to take it out by killing one more tiger. This time the tiger they chose was not mad was not someone who would attack without reason. The villagers surrounded the tiger and hit him with stones, beat him with sticks, rods. They kept attacking him and finally he gave up and died.

The other video was about how some villagers kill tigers and sell tiger fur. Sometimes these illegal killers of the tigers are caught but most of the time it is difficult for the forest officers to track such people.

When I saw the ads on television regarding Save Tigers I wondered is the message reaching to the right people. People who are not educated enough and who don’t really understand the meaning of a specie becoming extinct. As such I know that even this write up wont reach up to the people who stay in villages but still I hope people who are concerned about saving tigers need to work on a grass root level. Talk to friends and maybe volunteer with forest officer and tell the disadvantages of killing tigers to villagers. The message of save tigers should basically reach out to the people who stay in jungles and who feel animals don't have a right to live; a right to survive.

We have already encroached and occupied the major land of India. Jungles at most places have disappeared; trees have been cut down and concrete jungle have come up. We no longer can live happily in a jungle with other animals but still we can try to let other animal species live in peace. Its not just tigers but every animal be it an elephant or a deer or a lion. After all they also have a right to live; right to survive and we are no one to take away this right from them just for our pleasure or for few rupees.

If in any part of your mind you have a feeling to hunt down an animal just think again is your reason for killing valid and if there is no valid reason then I can just beg to you that please stop hunting and stop killing. This request is not only for killing animals but also humans. Stop killing and lets try making this country rather this world a better place to live.

-- The End

Views - IPL Lalit Modi's

2010-04-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand written in 1957 is relevant in today's generation also. IPL's Lalit Modi case can be seen as an example stated in the novel. I am sharing few lines written in the novel. I hope you will feel free to comment on the lines :-)

Hank Rearden is a man in the novel who created his metal but there were some people who could not see his metal sell and a court case was registered that he is earning profit from the metal which is enormous and he doesnt have a right to keep that money. In the next lines I will write what he had to say.

I work for nothing but my own profit- which I make by selling my product they need to men who are willing and able to buy it. I dont produce it for their benefit at the expense of mine; and they dont buy it for my benefit at the expense of theirs; I dont sacrifice my interests to them nor do they sacrifice theirs to me; we deal as equals by mutual consent to mutual advantage- and I am proud of every penny I own in this manner, I am rich and I am proud of every penny I own. Do I wish to pay my workers more than their services are worth to me? I do not. Do I wish to sell my products for less than my customers are willing me to pay? I do not. Do I wish to sell it at a loss or give it away? I do not. If this is evil, do whatever you please about me, according to whatever standards you hold...... There are more lines for that read Atlas Shrugged from page 440-445.

I hope this says my views about the man in question today Lalit Modi. He is like Hank Rearden who gave IPL which became a hit business. But there are people who are not getting the money from this business for free; some people are jealous with the fact that how could he give such a hit business. I dont know how many agree with me but my believe is that Lalit Modi is not wrong and if some team had lied action should be taken against that team and not Modi. Suspending Modi from IPL Chairman position shows that the world has not changed.

Do read the novel; I am sure you would love it. And if already read then I am sure you would have enjoyed it. :-)

P.S. Who is John Galt? ;-)

The Cat Story

2010-02-25T21:36:00.000-08:00

This is not a story about my pet cats Dyna and Tintin. They also have a cute love story that I will share some other time. J But this time its a story about the Common Admission Test(CAT). The first hurdle to reach the b-school one loves. Till 2008 this exam was conducted with paper pencil. Which means lakhs of question papers and OMR sheets were printed. And maybe an idea struck to the people organizing CAT that lets save paper and go online. After all being eco-friendly is the buzz in the air so how could CAT be behind in proving that they are also eco-friendly.

Well having an exam online has other benefits also like manual computation is not needed. With the help of the software the scores will be recorded automatically so it would lessen the burden on humans. Definitely no one is against online system. India is progressing and we should make use of computers to make our lives easier. We should use computers only to make our life easier and not become a slave of this machine.

This is a true story and the events of this story started from 9^th September 2009 and the story is still going on. The registration window opened for CAT opened from 9^th September and the last date of registration was 1^st October. This time instead of buying a CAT brochure (bulletin) from AXIS bank; one had to purchase CAT vouchers. After that instead of filling up a OMR form with details one had to fill an online form. Also with the online system there was no need to send the form through speed post. As already mentioned the benefits of online system our data got recorded automatically. But in this registration also there were issues. A person filled Jharkhand as the native state but the online system took Andhra Pradesh as the native state. So the registrations were stopped and the dates got extended for online registration.

Somehow the registration process closed successfully. The online CAT exam was to be held in 10 days and each day there were 2 slots. During the registration people selected the suitable date and time for exam. But some of them didn’t know that the date and time selected by them wont be suitable for the CAT server and it would crash because of technical glitches. The 10 day window of exam started from 28 November 2009 and was to end on 7 December 2009. I was lucky enough to witness as to what happens when a exam gets cancelled.

Being in job I could give the exam only on weekends and I love Sundays for exam so I selected 29^th November as my exam day. Though I wanted to give a little later and select 6^th December but I was a little late. 29^th November at 3:30 PM I took the print out of admit card to my center, Silicon Institute of Technology, Patia, Bhubaneswar. On the first day of exams there was no news of cancellation from Bhubaneswar center maybe because the exam was not cancelled at the whole center but only 1 lab. I was the lucky one to be given that lab. Though we were asked not to take pencil or pen leave aside other things. Only our presence with an admit card and id proof was needed at the center. Still I had taken pencil and pen in case of any emergency. Anyways I was asked to deposit that also to the center. Now instead of guiding the candidates in my lab to the exam place we were taken to a classroom. At the beginning everything was fine because we were asked to come 2 hours before the exam i.e. 1:30 PM.

We relaxed and waited for the next announcement. It was 3 and no sign of anyone organizing the exam but only the students doing timepass. Then the tension started building up. People started roaming around and started talking about the exam. In the process I also started having conversation with the fellow candidates. I spoke to 2 girls one came from Rourkela while the other came from Vizag to give the exam. Finally at 3:15 PM a lady from Prometric appeared in our class. Prometric is the one who has designed the exam software for CAT. And in India they have partnered with NIIT.

The lady called out few names and took them to the lab. It was 3:30 PM and I was still waiting for the exam to start. The 2 girls were equally tensed as to whether their exam will happen or not. To calm them down I said that yesterday the exam started little late. Though I was also not sure as to what was happening. Finally the lady came back and we were asked to proceed to the lab and we found few familiar faces. People who had gone before us were also sitting in the lab looking at each other. Yes even their exam was not started. We were asked to occupy the seat. There was nothing to do and with the way things were going on I could sense that the exam has been cancelled.

Finally the Prometric lady announced that due to technical glitches it would take time for the exam to start. One guy from Prometric was on phone and trying to do all sorts of permutation and combination, manipulations to start up the online system. But god had other plans and all his efforts went in vein. He gave up the battle of starting the online exam. It was 4:30 and we knew that our exam has been cancelled. One guy had come from Hyderabad to give the exam and he was really angry. Wonder why he had not registered for an Hyderabad center. Anyways whatever be the reason it was a real pain for those who had come from far off places just to give CAT 2009 online exam. Also for them coming back again for the exam would definitely be difficult. The girl from Rourkela had taken leave from office. Even if the exam got scheduled in between she could not extend her leave. Everyone had thought of some convenience but because of technical glitches the CAT exam was going to get inconvenient for few people.

At 5 PM the lady finally appeared again and declared that the exam has been canceled because of technical glitches. We were asked to collect our belongings. Also asked to get in touch with the CAT Prometric Helpdesk for getting the exam rescheduled. We were handed over a sorry note saying that due to technical glitches your exam could not be held.

Getting in touch with Prometric was another hard challenge. Their number was always busy so I decided to drop a mail. But these people were so busy that they could not check the mails. Wonder why then they had the contact us facility on the site when the things were to be done over phone only. CAT organizers knew that in this 10 days window it would be hard to schedule exam for everyone and extended it by a day. Finally I could get in touch with the Prometric fellows over phone and talk to them. They said that even after extending the exam for one day they would have to schedule it again sometime later. The exam was not just being rescheduled for those who could not take up the exam because of technical glitches but also those who had complained that their exam got over early because of end button. Or any other problem they would have faced during the exam.

The MBA exam communities like Bell the Cat on orkut would not have been so active any year as it has been active till date. People would come up and discuss their exam experiences. Not just experiences but also the questions giving a benefit for those going to take the exam in the later slot as the questions got repeated in the later slots. Wonder why couldn’t CAT come up with more question banks and have a fair exam. Also wonder what benefit these people got by discussing their questions in such online forum. Infact one person had posted a complete set of questions in an online blog. It’s a different story that now that blog has been deleted. But I am sure it would have been helpful for many people giving the exam.

Was I able to give the CAT again? Definitely I was but getting my exam rescheduled was also not easy. Immediately after the first phase got over the CAT organizers made an announcement (without any loud speaker but on their site) that they will have a second phase in January 2010. The second phase dates decided for the exam was 30^th and 31^st January. I kept calling helpdesk and they kept giving the same answer that it would be rescheduled. Thankfully I knew few people whose exam also got cancelled because of technical glitches. And I got the news that people have started getting their admit card.

I again called up the CAT helpdesk and this time they had a new story to tell me. According to them my lab was shifted on the same day and for them I was an absentee. For them it was true that earlier my exam was scheduled in the lab in which exam got canceled but they had again rescheduled my exam to some other lab. I was in shock with the news. I was angry, frustrated and wanted to kill the lady talking to me over phone. Still with a calm tone I said “Do you think I am fool to go and sit in the lab where the exam got canceled. If you want I have a proof that my exam got canceled. I was given a regret letter from the center.” The lady would have thought I would lose the battle and keep the phone. On hearing this now she went into a shock and said mail us a scanned copy of admit card. I said “I will mail a copy of admit card. Along with that I will attach the admit card sent to me.” She said ok fine and we kept the phone.

At lunch I came back and the first thing I did was to mail the copy of regret letter and admit card to the retake id given to me. Also immediately I called up at the helpdesk to make sure that they received my email. Once I was assured that they had got my mail I went and had my lunch. Days kept on passing and nothing was happening. 30^th was near and I was in a dilemma as to how will my exam be rescheduled. Should I call up the media and tell my problem. After all a person got his exam scheduled this way. His issue was that his exam got over soon. Or should I drop a mail to HRD ministry. I don’t know why but I didn’t want tobe a celebrity on television and opted for the second option.

I dropped a mail to HRD ministry stating my problem with the proves I had for being a genuine candidate to get an exam rescheduled. Though I didn’t get any response from them as I am a common girl(aam ladki). But it sure did help me in getting my admit card as the next time I called up the helpdesk I mentioned that I have dropped a mail to the HRD ministry. The person assured me that I would get an admit card on 28^th January by the evening and I did get the admit card. First it was for 31^st January 10 AM but then they rescheduled it to 30^th January 10 AM.

On 29^th January they mailed and messaged that because of cold waves in some parts of the country the exam would start by 12 PM and we had to reach by 10 AM. With an experience last time I knew there was no need to carry anything and only took the admit card and my id proof. Though in my jacket I had a Vaseline lip guard and my scooty keys. I reached the exam center and immediately I was given a pouch to keep my things. Then I was asked to go for a security check. The lady frisked me as if I was a terrorist who had come to blow up the exam center. She asked me to put the Vaseline lip guard, the scooty keys and even my non-digital normal watch inside the packet. Keeping the watch away was too much for me. If it had calculator or any other gadgets then keeping aside would have made sense. Also what is a need of a gadget when people can memorise questions and share it across the internet.

This time I went directly into my lab. After having a seat I was called up for a face scanning and finger print check. Thankfully like in jail I didn’t have to hold a card in my hand with my name and CAT registration number written on it. Finally when the organizers were sure that no candidate is a replacement of Munna bhai at the exam center the exam started. Though a guy had to show his id prove many a times and he looked like a gunda. Wonder what was the problem with his id card. Also for one guy his mouse was not working with which he was going to bell the cat. After all the hurdles, checks and trust the exam started. Where a demo of how to give the exam was given. I wont comment on my exam as I am not sure how it went.

As I said the story is still going on and now people are waiting for results. Earlier it was stated that the results would be declared on 22^nd January 2010 but since there was a second phase rescheduled on 30^th and 31^st January 2010 the dates have been postponed. After that the CAT site kept saying sometime in mid February. Then it got shifted to last week of February. Even the media has gone mad along with the students and to scare the students more TOI published an article that the results would be declared yesterday. And now the helpdesk has started singing a new song which says exam will be declared in the first week of March.

So many petitions signed by people, so many mails sent to the HRD ministry, so many parents complained, so many candidates complained, Orkut’s Bell the Cat has become a active community with so much of CAT discussions. So many things happening but still people say bhaiya aal izz well. With this I end my CAT 2009 online system the CAT story.

P.S. With this I have reached my half century of blogging and hope like Tendulkar I will make a double century soon. :-)

Pune Terror Attacks

2010-02-21T08:22:00.001-08:00

Seems like even terrorists were hit by the recession. There should be some reason for no attacks in India for so long. A country which has been hit by terrorist attacks every year had no major catastrophes after 26/11/08. On that day 10 terrorists created a big havoc in city and for 2 days we saw one of the biggest fights between the terrorists and Indian armed forces. Well definitely this blog is not dedicated to the 26/11 terror attacks.

This blog is about the recent terror attacks which happened in Pune on 13/02/09, a day before the valentine’s day. Though I am sure even after the terror attacks the city wont have stopped with the celebrations of valentine’s day.

I don’t know whether I should compliment the terror groups or feel sorry for the Indian intelligence. Wondering why I am saying so; the reason is quite simple because no one in Pune would have expected a terror attacks. Like it was not expected that there would be a terror attack in Bangalore, or maybe Jaipur, or how about Ahmedabad, or Hyderabad.

I am sure you all do remember the terror attacks in these cities of India. Do we know which city will be the next target? Atleast I don’t know the answer to this question. The only thing I know is that no city is safe. Next could be your city in the hit list of the terror attacks. I just hope whenever my death happens it should not be in some terror attacks.

I hope someday the Indian intelligence is able to grab the terrorists before they actually attack a city. And after grabbing them take some strict action but what can be a strict against people like them who are ready to die. Giving them a death sentence is definitely a very easy punishment for them. Maybe a Nazi torture which Hitler did is needed or some other form of torture so that these terrorists realize the importance of taking away those innocent lives which includes a common person like you or me.

A torture which can make these terrorists feel the pain of the family who lose their loved ones in such attacks. The loved one which could be a kid who doesn’t even understand the meaning of terror attacks. For others these are just stories or news but for those people who have lost someone in these attacks it’s a pain; a sorrow which will remain in their mind forever.

Thankfully I have not lost someone in these terror attacks but whenever I get to hear such news at some part of the country it shatters me. Just burning candles for those unfortunate souls who died in these terror attacks is not going to make me feel safer in this country. When will we get so strong that we will defeat these terror attacks? Or will it be never possible for India? I am not questioning anyone; I am not answering anyone; I am just feeling sorry for all those people who died in the Pune terror attacks.

At last even the terrorist groups were hit by recession and maybe they would have also fired some terrorists because they had to do a cost cutting. The basis of the firing could be the person who was asked to hold the gun was not capable enough to take away the lives of innocent people. Or the person was asked to kill the person s/he loved but s/he could not do that. Or a person fainted as soon as s/he saw blood flowing in front of him/her. Definitely there would be some reason that it took them so long to attack again in India. Or maybe they wanted a break as there were many terror attacks on India in 2008; infact every month there was an attack in India. Below link is the list of all the terror attacks which happened in 2008:

http://richaritwika.blogspot.com/2008/12/bomb-blast-in-india-in-2008.html

May the people who died in 13/02/10 terror attacks at Pune rest in peace.