Lost in Wild

The guilt of a nation

2013-01-05T11:07:00.001-08:00

The interview of the Delhi gang rape victims friend has been broadcast.It was really a chilling interview.With tempratures in Delhi already so low i am afraid quit a lot of people may have frozen out of shame if not out of cold.
About 50 people in cars and bikes ,the chest thumping candle burning,death punishment demanding ,holier than thou class of Delhi citizens crossed the luckless couple lying naked on the road till the police vehicle reached.No one helped.
What happened from there onwards is the same old story of institutional failure of institution crafted in a particular manner where they are bound to fail.
I hope we all will bring some humanity in our eyes for whatever laws you make if ordinary people are so ruthless and heartless ,caring only about selfish interests and not about those fallen on the wayside , rest assured more tragedies are bound to happen.

The common man and crimes against women

2012-12-24T02:27:00.001-08:00

Lets put it this way, the "common man" is not the nice guy or the perennial victim portrayed in cartoons of R.K Laxman but really a bunch of sadist molesters, eve teasers , rapists and criminals behind female infanticide . Its not the Politicians in the parliament who go around teasing girls on the streets and aborting girls from the wombs in hospitals but your friendly neighbourhood “common man .”

Ask any girl returning home after dusk on a lonely street, in a small town, if she finds the sight of a "common man" approaching her comforting or disturbing & you will get the answer to the kind of feeling any sundry individual evokes in the minds of girls . I think it’s the much hyped "common man" and the "cultured" women in the nook and corner of our country who keep our culture of male dominance alive in our country and if you want to know why North India is worst affected try finding the answer in education and Dowry system and not in Police system.

And what are we as a people? We are a sadist bunch of people which on one end of the spectrum derives pleasure in crime against women and on the other end there are cruel calls for death punishment. In the last few months you feel so scared to publicly state that even on principles you are against Death Punishment. Some are even calling for chopping off body parts to be included in our Law Books because it works in Saudi Arabia!!! If Death Punishment was a deterrent then murders won’t happen in US , China and India .If chopping of body parts by Law was an effective deterrent then the Taliban Administration would have been a champion of Women's freedom and security and Afghanistan the beacon of Humanity and freedom.

The "common man" is quite pathetic and the man on the street is the real criminal .The Political class is the exact mirror image of this brute on the streets. We are all hand in glove. The criminal grows with the extra glass of milk that the he gets instead of his sister. I condemn the acts of "common man".

Man is a Personal Animal

2012-10-08T11:11:00.001-07:00

Society is a myth.Indeed its the most incurable evil propagated since aristotle called man a social animal.Man is a troubled social animal if and when he is , and keeps seeing a disfigured reflection of his natural beauty from the mirror of his society.Indeed a man can only be happy on a hilltop.I have suddenly started respecting the introverts.Their aloofness is quite a shield.It effectively gaurds them from the atrocity of seeing a crude self image reflected from a rather coarse society.An individual lives on his own.Man is a Personal Animal.

Anna and Kejriwal Part Ways

2012-09-22T04:55:00.002-07:00

Lenin once said ""You don't stand on Marxist positions, you sit on them, even loll on them."

It was a decade after he said this Lenin formed the Marxist Government in Russia. Its the same for all ideologies and ideals .Big ideologies or small, good or bad ones, need sacrifice of far greater and sustained period.

I never supported the struggle for Lokpal coz it was so ideologically bankrupt and useless piece of legislation .I never imagined the end would be such a big damn farce .Its ok to have a fast with 300 people after seeing the crowd of a hundred thousand but then great people stand together in times of utter defeat.

Marx and Engels married to each other’s ideology and remained friends till death , the ever so young Che Guevera and the now so old Fidel Castro always appear on Cuban posters together (Anna doesnt want to be on the same poster as Arvind ) ,Even Hitler and Gobbels lived, killed and commited suicide together , Nehru and Gandhi never agreed ideologically and had very different plans for independent India but then stood together and between them stayed over 20 years in Jail but remained together for , even lesser mortals like Vajpayee and Advani stood together for 5 decades.

It’s such a crying shame, after preaching anthems of morality (half-baked from top and fully burnt from bottom), the two foremost self-proclaimed knights of national morality have decided to part ways .

If Anna wanted to wage a social struggle with Arvind leading a political struggle they could have easily done it like Gandhi and Nehru . But Gandhi wasn’t a fake Gandhi . He had a political and ideological vision like none other of his generation . He was outsmarting the likes of Churchill in their own game of self

It is not very honourable to burn the sails of an already sinking ship but I would rather do it than risk the prospect of Baba Ramdev getting the reins of our country, with a Generation full of a Nazar Surashkha Yantra buying educated professionals, faking as intellectuals, hyper active on television and social media ,with nothing more than flimsy propaganda and rhetoric and ever no naïve about the social landscape of our streets and countryside . This is an era of reckoning for the developing world. It’s now or never .And I am so sad that after being left behind in almost every aspect of human development we will be handing over nation to ultra-orthodox Religious bigots

Maxim Gorky was a life time friend of Lenin and said this to his friend Lenin when they were thinking of joining the government "'your comrades want to sit in parliament, while we think the working class must prepare for battle.' Aravind Kejriwal and Anna should have taken a leaf out of Maxim Gorky’s ideas.

Atheist's Wager

2012-09-17T09:55:00.001-07:00

Hitler believed in God . Gautam Buddha did not.

The reason is quite simple Athiest's Wager . The Athiest and Agnostics by instinct or by choice , by study or by intelligence believe in the Athiest's Wager . I will quote form wikipedia the main Idea of the Wager .

"The Atheist's Wager is an atheistic response to Blaise Pascal's Wager regarding the existence of God. While Pascal suggested that it is better to take the chance of believing in a god that might not exist rather than to risk losing infinite happiness by disbelieving in a god that does, the Atheist's Wager suggests that:

You should live your life and try to make the world a better place for your being in it, whether or not you believe in god. If there is no god, you have lost nothing and will be remembered fondly by those you left behind. If there is a benevolent god, he will judge you on your merits and not just on whether or not you believed in him. "

Now unlike the spiritual an athiest is naturally a more passionate person who belives in life more than after life . Most instinctively he belives that it is quite more realistic to love your fellow men than to love an unseen God . Moreover he really believes in the benevolance of God since he quite knows that God would not be like you petty Politician who would only give you a better position if you prostrate in front of him but would take into consideration how you treated your fellow men and yes fellow women.

Now for every Hitler there exists a Stalin and for Agnostic Buddha there exist a hundred God fearing Prophets. So a guy can argue that a persons religious view has no correlation to him being a better Human . Now this is quite valid an argument .But the point here is a rational agnostic or athiest understanding the wager quite well will believe in working in the interest of his neighbours and friends and all other Humans , While a rational spiritual (what a paradox ) will believe in "Believing" .

Pascals Wager

2012-09-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

Its amazing to the hilt . Once people have slogged hard to get money and have found it in plenty they need Spirituality. Its not that they leave the money they have earned to the God foresaken masses . No that doesnt happen . It would be very foolish to expect someone to giveup material things they have given their life for . But when people have earned enough , more than what they can ever imagine to even spend they start looking for spirituality . This is no self actualisation need as defined by Maslow . This is greed upon greed .

Once the rich and intelligent have secured things on this Earth they are now looking on to consolidate it . Everyone knows this life is transitory . Even the athiest knows it quite well that unless somone develops a cure for death life is just gonna vanish like a puff of smoke into nothingness . The rich men are rich due to many reasons one of the most important being a continuous drive to secure the best for themselves for the present and ofcourse for the future .

Most people instinctively understand Pascals Wager .The Rich instinctively crave for the best option . The neo Rich crave for the same and more .Now with the above link you can easily read it but i would still copy it below:

"The philosophy uses the following logic (excerpts from Pensées, part III, §233):

"God is, or He is not"
A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
According to reason, you can defend either of the propositions.
You must wager. (It's not optional.)
Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain"

In simple words If you believe in God if he exists you will get heven you will not lose anything if he doesnt exists .If you dont believe in God you will burn in hell if you are wrong , even if you are right you will gain nothing by not believeing .

The search for spirituality is the search for infinite gain . Some people believe , some people are convinced , some are cunning , some are simply rational .The belief in God is quite simply the most rational choice .If not rational its the most gainful of all available choices . Well an intelligent fellow will always reach the same conclusion - Why take chances ??

Koodankulam Anti nuclear struggle

2012-09-13T12:25:00.003-07:00

Some people rightly have no problem in seeing villagers depend on cowdung cakes for fuel . Such people rightly oppose greenhouse gases and are scared to death by the prospect of radiation from nuclear energy .These people include the villagers themselves. I am not one of these people . I have no problems if people enjoy a Japanese lifestyle and then one fine day find themselves in a Fukushima kind of situation . If I have to choose a lifetime of cowdung cakes and Fukushima I choose Fukushima .

Writing is difficult

2012-09-09T09:58:00.001-07:00

I always wanted to be a writer inspite of my very limited talent with words and letters, grammar and vocabulary , English and Hindi. For years till class X , understanding these limitations very well I had decided Journalism would be my chosen option of earning a livelihood. It’s a fact well understood by writer that writing is the least artistic of all arts . Journalism is the least artistic of all written arts .No wonder the Jobs available would be more. Hence for a man of recognised limited talent it was the most viable of all available options. Viable and available are so rhyming, especially in life.

Well long long years after the limited dream of being a Journalist died a quite death, without any deserving burial ceremony, I had decided to write at least a few articles every week in the least Journalistic medium of all available-viable medium .I decided to use this blogging account of mine that Google throws at us free. Of course Google never gives anything free but then I don’t mind it here and I am strongly avoiding the temptation of getting into this fact.

I decided that I would blog and after a while after some months I would proudly call myself a Blogger. A less talented journalist. An even less talented artist. But a writer none the less. A writer of extreme insignificance but a writer for sure. Now many people write wonderful emails all day. No less in creativity and imagination than any accomplished fiction writer. But that doesn’t make them writers .A writer is one who earns a little or great living or a little or great hunger by virtue of his writing .Emails writing professionals in spite of all their creativity do not earn a living through writing mails. Some professionals may still differ on that definition .But here I must say that if some of us are earning a living by virtue of writing fancy emails then there is no reason why we should not consider them as artists .

To make sure there is an element of seriousness in all this -2nd innings of mine at a writing dream -I decided to add a financial element to my Blog. I used all kinds of advertisement. I still use a few. A newspaper or a magazine is not worth its salt if there are no advertisements. A Blog is no better without it. A not for Profit writing is not serious unless you are doing it for donations. It’s another matter that most writers never make a serious profit from writing and I am firm supporter of the idea that serious artists including writers should die of either Drug Abuse , Alcoholism or atleast Hunger just like a famous Rockstar or our authors of Hindi textbook stories. But never the less its quite offensive of writers to pretend that there is no financial element to writing . It devalues their effort. It’s a serious question mark to the professionalism of the writer. A budding writer should always avoid the temptation of writing for free. A serious artist should always charge a fee.

Having made all necessary preparations for my new found pursuit I decided to take a dive with the intention to write atleast twice weekly and had decided to write daily after sometime. When things weren’t moving well I asked the help of a dear friend to just keep the Blog going .He gave up as easily as he took it up. Now with a few months passing by it has become writing twice monthly. I have already lost the guts to justify myself as a serious Blogger to myself, let alone the ever so distant dream of being an unread useless "Writer”. But all said and done I have understood one thing that gives me some hope and solace - WRITING IS DIFFICULT.

India is a Super Power !!!

2012-08-20T07:39:00.002-07:00

For four years Times of India keeps on harping how we are in the same league as the developed countries US ,UK ,FRANCE ,GERMANY and just the super power about to happen . And we the guliable readers are ofcourse ready to bite the bait . Even though our salaries may not have increased in the current appraisal but the feeling that the nation we are born in is some kind of Super Power in the community of nations makes us feel so great.

Now our newspapers are quite aware that we all know really that there is poverty all around us .And that our cities are the dirtiest and the filtiest in the world unless you are only comparing with Bangladesh .we are no where near the literacy rates or per capita income of the

Now a clever fellow coined the term BRIC . The Russians and the Chinese and the Brazilians were proud to be cemented with each other in some kind of brotherhood deviced by Investment Bankers . Anything can go wrong but it is impossible to disregard the wisdom of a research done by one of the Big 5 American companies . So India was just about to happen .

But then just before the Olympics were truely about to happen most miraculously the Power all over India went off . A Super power with no power for days all over the country was quite a painful experience to the fist thumping patriots . And loo when the power returned to the patriots the sight of Indians finding themselves no where near the Chinese and Americans in Olympics was a big blow to the super Patriots of TOI kind . Hope they refrain from using this Super Power phrase for India atleast for some months after these Olympics and concentrate on the definition of Poverty Line like "The Hindu" does.

Sons of Soil vs the Outsider

2012-08-20T02:28:00.001-07:00

The question used to be Political , some thought it was economic but now I am sure this has become hilarious .The last few days has been tragic to the point where it became dubious and then laughable .Poor Bodos are killing the very poor Bangladeshis .Sons of Soil vs the Outsider . Sounds like the latest game launched by Nintendo .The "Us vs "Them" game has come full circle .

North East People working in our lowermost strata like security gaurds and cooks in small restaurant make a frantic exodus from their adopted cities .I cant think of a more stupid tragedy. It doesn't even make sense .It makes no economic or Political sense whatsoever.

Hindus always hated Muslims and Muslims always hated Hindus till recently . It created such a one sided equilibrium that it became Politically irrelevant.Now people who where so used to getting political mileage from the Politics of hatred are perplexed . They are experimenting and fomenting new types of hatred most ably amplified by the sheer hatred that all of us have for the "Other". This Other could be -Region , Religion , Caste , Sub caste ,Language ,Gender , Idea , Ideology - anything under the Sun that Separates Us from them.Some people are so refined in this game that they have created a new form of hatred . Political vs Non Political .

This Sons of Soil vs the Others game is not particularly Indian . The game is played globaly and is a superhit everywhere .Lets see a few examples of this SoS vs others game played in its different versions around the globe.

Obama is promising to make sure jobs don't go to Indians .He is making speaches against jobs going to Bangalore like they used to make against the speaches against the mighty Soviet - Union in the 60 s and 70s . I hope he gets to see the data of poor Indians living below a dollar a day.

Australians were beating Indian students black and blue without reason (unless they were trying to avenge Harbhajan Singh.

MNS and company were beating up the poor taxi wala till they realised they needed one to go home after the beating was over .

In Srilanka it was SoS Singhala's Vs the Tamils . They didnt stop till they painted a very green country quite Red with each others blood .

Hindu's thought there was some kind of shame till a 500 year old Mosque was not brought down .And they brought it down with all shamelessness.

The Taliban thought that the Bamiyan Buddha was standing too tall in a Taliban country . They brought it down with equal shamelessness.

Back in country the Kashmiris have always thought they needed some kind of special status ,for God knows what reason except that they are fairer than other Indians ,which anyways automatically gives a special status to anyone in this Colour Maniac Fair and Lovely loving country of ours .

Lets understand the present tragedy .The people of North-East have been fighting as SoS for last 65 years . To them everyone else is an outsider ofcourse and since they have not much to share with others they want to have everything for themselves .If you thought North Eastern people are one think again . The people of Nagaland , Manipur , Assam , Sikkim , Mizoram , Meghalaya, Tripura dont exactly behave like brothers to each other .They have been fighting pitched battles among themselves for quite long . Its only in Delhi and Bangalore they realise that they are after all treated as one by the equally SoS people who consider them outsiders .

My state and your state my country and your country is a ridiculous definition . You don't own the whole state and its work environment just cause you were born in it .And in Assam its just poor people killing the very poor people.The insecurity in the minds of North East People in Bangalore needs to be dispelled and they must feel free and secure to work there . Just cause they come come from poor states doesn't mean they need to feel insecure. And historically all of us are Migrants or Outsiders , The Aryans were migrants, The whole population of Australia and USA is Migrant. .Still Feel proud about it like Columbus and Vasco.Going to some other land in search of opportunity should be looked as aspirational and cool.

While we can keep blaming Pakistan for this tragedy and every other tragedy,of course an Outsider is the best person to blame for any tragedy ,its time we look into ourselves .Hate spreads like love does . We have to decide which one to let loose.

Selling Spirituality

2012-08-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

I just heard it a few hours back . A top league "Baba" is selling the water used for washing his feet - "Charna Amrit" for Rs. 5000/- per person . It seems the said Baba has caught bad cold since they continously washed his feet to meet the massive surge in Demand for this "Charna-Amrit".

In another news published in TOI a highly educated ,long time athiest has suddenly turned devoted and is seeking the blessings of another Guru and started running his Ashram.

I have now changed my views on how religion should be treated after realising its Economic Significance and Business Prospects. There is a limit of selling something that is tangible like Rice and Wheat , Iron and Steel. But there is no limit to selling intangibles like..... you gusses it right..... insurance ! Its real fun when you look into it.More intelligent people sell something more intangible - Reinsurance . The most intelligent invention has been the paper money. Those who can print it can keep all power. Those who have power can get it Printed. Finally the powerfull people can print it and keep it all and throw a few penny at us.

Now taking into consideration that we are not brilliant as the West in inventing economic products ,dubious or otherwise ,and in the near future no one in the world is going to buy Reinsurance from us, its a brilliant idea to sell spirituality in as many ways as possible.Its Intangible . Intelligent people are already selling it . We have been historically professionals at selling spirituality. We just need to corporatise it to make sure genuine talent is not left out and investment comes in quickly.Spirituality has this USP, you can declare the monopoly over strange powers quite incomprehensible by awestruck laymen ever ready in a queue to buy everything under the Sun .

The product basket is amazing ,you can sell bookish Religion , services like Astrology ,Vastu -Shanstra (competition with Feng -Sui makes it more interesting ) and Products like Nazar Shuraksha Yanta , healing methods like Reki and ofcourse spiritual retreats to hill stations .Real earnings lie in collaboration with top corporates. It even helps HR guys to show something new in their scorecard.

Entrepreneurship is not lacking in our country .People have already Run television channel like aastha and yoga schools etc . But these are not far reaching and are not able to get the kind of investment that is required and the ordinary household savings is taken away by the inefficient neighbourhood Astrologer .We must concentrate on the most hardseller of Spirituality ,the modern "Baba" or the "Guru". They already have the marketing machinary let them get the much required investment .

But the problem is most of the money coming to these Gurus is big Black money and hence the demand of Ramdev is absolutely justified . If Indian Black money goes to Switzerland how will the fledging Spiritual Industry contribute to national growth. Bring back the Black money for sure let it used for the prospering homegrown Spiritual Sector . Indeed corrupt people have this strange love for spirituality . I dont know what they really are trying to do . Either they are trying to bribe God by offering a cut or trying to make God a partner in crime. Whatever..... it is for sure ,the Spiritual Industry has the power to roll the Black Money back in the economy just like Casinos.

Its time to take it to the next level.I suggest that Religious , Spiritual and Yoga gurus should be allowed to form companies and list them on BSE and NSE . Many would suggest that the way people are selling Spirituality, it has now become a commodity and should be allowed to trade at MCX !

If America has grown on the strength of brands like Nike and Coke we can ofcourse grow on the strength of powerful brands like Nazar Shuraksha Yantra . All it needs is Global marketing and an efficient distribution network they already have amazing ads ready for televison . And ofcourse think if America can be so powerful selling Coke at half a dollar per bottle what wonders can our spiritual industry do selling Charana- Amrit at Rs. 5000.- per bottle .

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." Now what was a problem to Bertrand Russel is a solution to us . Let the wise men keep wasting their time doubting . I am now on the side of the fools and the fanatics . We will make good business out of Religion & Spirituality .I am finding it very difficult to resist this as a career option myself . Given the talent that I already possess of being certain about myself I find myself exactly fitting Russels quote !

Jai Baba Abhishek!!! Doesnt sounds quite catchy to build even a Milion Dollar Spiritual Company. Guys suggest me some great Pseudo names that somehow attracts Dollars and Euros!

JLT

2012-08-13T00:48:00.001-07:00

I cant understand how people can believe in 'afterlife'. I have to pinch myself to keep believing 'life' itself is real.

Nowhere to go Nowhere to hide .

2012-08-09T11:30:00.003-07:00

The worlds so big The world’s so wide

Nowhere to go Nowhere to hide

From the scorching sun

From the Blazing Gun

From the sinister lies

From the earthly ties

From the daily run

From the lack of fun

I think I am a bit rebellious

I think am going delirious

I think I am going mad

I think you were poisonous

And that makes me a bit sad

The worlds so big The world’s so wide

Nowhere to go Nowhere to hide .

WHAT’S SO ‘SPECIAL’ ABOUT ‘GHANA’?

2012-07-29T00:07:00.001-07:00

By Hemant Firke

July 29^th 2012

Cyber Exploration of this West African country ultimately made me realize this.

‘The Gold Coast’ achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957,becoming one of the first African nations to do so from European Colonialism.

‘Ghana’ was adopted as the legal name for the ‘The Gold Coast’ post independence.

The word ‘Ghana’ means ‘Warrior King’ and is derived from the ancient Ghana Empire which once extended throughout much of West Africa.

Country hailed as a solid democracy with nine government-sponsored spoken languages, English being the official Language with four major religions, Ghana is a diverse nation and one of the best growing economies in Africa.

The number of individual languages listed for Ghana is 79. Of those, all are living languages.

Ghana has a population of about 24 million people and Christianity is the country's largest religion practiced by 69.1% of the total population.

The Ghana Stock Exchange is the third largest Stock exchange in Africa after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Football is the most popular sport. Ghana became the third African country to reach the quarter final stage of the World Cup after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. The app store has a special app available by name “what my name in Ghana’ which tells your name in Ghanaian languages.
With over 95% of its children in school, Ghana currently has one of the highest school enrollment rates in all of Africa.

Lake Volta in Ghana is the largest artificial lake in the world.

Remember ‘Kofi Kingston’ from WWE Raw Brand, is a Ghanaian Professional Wrestler well known for his feud with ‘The Viper - Randy Orton’.
Rappers from the same soil, ‘Dizzee Rascal’ and ‘Tinchy Shryder’ today are well known Rap & Hip-Hop artists in USA.
Now the most fascinating part of the story: ‘Store Business Names’ in Ghana.
Ghanaians consider their country a Christian nation and it’s visible all over the country.

Stores in Ghana have religious names for no unobvious reasons...

‘Bride of Christ’ Aluminium Works
‘In God We Trust’ Fast Food
‘My God Is Able’ Plumbing Works
‘God Did It All’ Fashion Centre
‘Anointed’ Fashion
‘In Step with the Spirit’ Enterprises
‘Anointed Hands’ Furniture Works
‘Blood of Jesus’ Electricals
‘Lord Is My Shepherd’ Hotel
‘God Will Provide’ Supermarket
‘God First’ Carwash

‘Only Jesus can do it’ Shoe Shop

(Is this a reference to ‘walking on water’????)

‘Lord J’ Clinic

Store names that are simply funny...

‘Cut and Roll’ Beauty Centre
‘Together As One’ Welding and Fabrication
‘Don't Mind Your Wife’ Chop Bar
‘Korea Man’ Electronics
‘Look and Take’ Electricals
‘Yogaman's’ Haircut
‘Lady Diana's Memorial Shop’, Dealers in Mineral Water and Soft Drinks
‘Gina Pee Pee’ Communication Centre’


‘I Shall Not Die’ Motors!!! (‘Immortality Guarantee!!!!’)

As Ghana mourns with sudden demise of their President John Atta Mills on July 24^th, 2012, the country will always be ‘The African Exceptional’.

May be that’s the reason why ‘Bournville’ promoters have chosen Ghana as their best cocoa brand ambassador although it is the ‘second’ largest Cocoa producer in the world.

Something special, isn’t it??

Tribal Mentality of Human Beings

2012-07-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

There is a great tribal mentality still left in modern human beings. We just want to have a tribe and to have a head or leader ,almost instinctively.We need to have a tribe in the name of country, in the name of state, in the name of region and religion or caste or class or language maybe.Having a leader or a head is so much an integral part of our lives whether in our family or at school, at office or in society. Leaders and heads make us feel more tribal and more secure while they enslave us and make us feel feeble at the same time. This is the reason why we can’t live without a Queen in England and a President in India even after electing a horde of other decision makers through ballots. It just feels a bit more secure to the tribal nations in perennial turmoil to have a stable head of state.

Democracy is just your 2nd best bet ,though I have never been at ease with the concept . I don’t have a voter id card, never felt the need to get it except as an address proof, in this age of KYC. I Detest dictatorships specially in business organizations .There is indeed no difference in your life if the dictator is not in the parliament but inside your office or at your home . Indeed its worse as the dictator gets closer to your life.

So when I try to see into myself I have a severe distaste for meritocracy, theocracy , dictatorships and of course democracy . Cause is quite simple. All these systems are nothing but a system or a philosophy of having leaders chosen or imposed. I am strictly against the idea of having leaders, elected or otherwise. I stand against the idea of having masters elected or nominated ,by the force of bullet or by the force of ballot .It doesn’t matter much either ways .

The anarchists failed to put it in the right perspective. There need be no disorder and it shall be a simply stable world if we just put out this idea that there is some need to have some ruler and to have some leaders and to have some masters and to have some bosses.I believe in the theory of evolution and I am sure a day will come when humans will evolve into a better species where they will not accept the leadership of fellow humans and treat each other as equals and will yet have a flawless collective society like emperor penguins without chaos and anarchy. I just propose that we live like people in two huts separated by a distance of two hills , taking care of themselves .We just smile when we meet each other and be friends or be un-bothered .

PS :We dont need good leaders . We need no leaders.

Roll back the ‘Fun-Tastic’ times

2012-07-16T02:09:00.000-07:00

BY HEMANT FIRKE

July 16^th,2012

I am sure you remember the times when all members of the family used to come together to watch Chitrahaar or Circus on Doordarshan?

Glued to my seat, I used to watch various exciting series, turning a deaf ear to my mother's call, sometimes ignoring invited guests at home who used to keep on asking me all sorts of nerdy questions about my studies. Sunday evenings were the most awaited for ‘Only Movie of the Week’.

The ones who ain’t aware of this, have missed a lot of, how Indian Television came up the old blues and how our society used to operate with Doordarshan? The jingles of ‘Ek Chidiya Anek Chidiya’, and patriotic song such as ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ became popular on TV taking over every household by storm.

TV Shows such as Shanti, Buniyaad, Hum Log, Nukkad were the drama entertainment back then while children enjoyed watching Mowgli and Pingu.I enjoyed the most popular song of those days ‘Chaddhi Pehen Ke Phool Khila Hai’ and the most interesting part was the opening line ‘Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hai, Pata Chala Hai’. It is still so refreshing.

The ticker before each show with the Doordarshan logo and its ‘Signature Montage Tune’ became hugely popular. Remember that ‘aeeeeeeee-aee-aee-aee-aee-aeeeeeeee’. I can never forget the faces of the news readers at the news hour in my life.

Few Classic Doordarshan shows:

- Hum Log

- Buniyaad

- Nukkad

- Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi

- Shaktimaan (India's first superhero!!!)

- Bharat Ek Khoj

- Chanakya

- Mungeri Lal Ke Haseen Sapne

- Mr Yogi

- Karamchand

- Chitrahaar

- Superhit Muqabla

- Vikram Betaal

- Potli Baba

- Tenali rama

- Circus

- Fauji (starred Shahrukh Khan)

- Alif Laila

- Rajani

- Wagle ki Duniya

- Lifeline

- Shrimaan Shrimati (My Fav)

- Tu Tu Main Main

- Zaban Sambhaal Ke

- Dekh Bhai Dekh

- Surabhi

- Stone Boy

- Chandrakanta

- Jaspal Bhatti's Flop Show & Ulta Pulta

- Commercials like Laxman Sylvania, ECE, Frooti, Gold Spot, Lijjat papad, Complan Boy (Shahid Kapur) & Complan Girl (Ayesha Takia), Parle G, Breeze, Moti Sandal, Rasna and many more.

How many of you remember these shows? Ahhhhhhhhhh, those were the days!!!

What is wrong with today’s generation?

‘kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi’.....ufffff....thi toh thi… what the %#&$ ... ?

* The son is elder than the parents.

* People return after death, and I'm not talking about Reincarnation.

* The never dying ‘Ba’ can discover exclusive column in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ for

her limitless age and enthusiasm to thrive for more, and I guess no granny died before

watching the 4th generation of the family.

* Everyone lives in a super luxurious house but no one goes to work.

* The superjealous vamps, ‘Nanand’ and ‘Saas’ can even give a run for the money to the FBI

agents.

* And the perfect bahu is probably ‘Adidas Ladies Shoe’ because for her ‘Nothing is Impossible’.

* Expect a Twist?? which originally never existed.

* A ladies ‘Shopping Mall’ in itself.

* ‘Pehli baar Bahu ke haatho ka bana halwa’ is always out of the world.

* Every new guest entering the house, never actually leaves, and gets settled for ever.

All I like is ‘The Ramu Kaka’, who actually looks like ‘Ramu Kaka’!!!!

Torture Alert

I am amazed to find some young people in our cities who regularly watch these series. Some like me would always reject these soaps on grounds of feminism. Most would simply not want to sit at home voting for this nonsense domestic politics. We would rather be out having fun and enjoy life. Not thinking of anything more heart sweating than the latest bicker with our girlfriends/wife or boyfriends/husband.

Who has the time for these boohoo stories? By the way…..

Roll back the ‘Fun-Tastic’ times for us and end the

‘Tele-Fornication’ meltdown of today.

Indian Kids, English Parents!!!

2012-07-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

By Guest Author : Hemant Firke

English language has become such an important aspect of our life that the makers of Bollywood movie ‘Roti, Kapda aur Makaan’ today would like to rethink and add it as a fourth ask for ‘The Mango People’.

Many would have noticed and written on this, but I realized when I was speaking to one of my school friends, a few days ago, as how she has become ‘Mommy Bolt’ running around her kid asking to do things against his wish and that too in English.

I remember, being a kid, I used to keep myself real busy with comics, gully cricket, Duck Tales, Mahabharata, trying to do Mowgli adventures and WWF acts. My parents on the other hand never realized the need of speaking in English with me at that time. I used to laugh on the very fact as I grew older. But times have changed.

Now, I have stopped laughing at parents who desperately try to speak in English with their kids. Because it’s not funny anymore.

I understand that they feel totally substandard that they were born in India and try to compensate by being ‘English’ in and out.

“Rinku ... I can’t be able to take you for playschool today!!” is not funny anymore.

Because, “You gave audition in Indian Idol for fun, no?”

“You don’t use ‘Olay-Total Effects’ to look young, no?”

If you like the language, learn to construct basic sentences.

I have a strong desire to blame it on English speaking countries for this. However, I believe they possess good promotional skills. I have nothing to take away from the Chinese, Germans, Japanese and French, though. We Indians, often called as ‘Suntanned Asians with Napolean Complex’ by the western countries, unfortunately have always followed them to the speed of light than to lead.

Definitely Tastes Best With Hands

It is not over yet because I recently heard IT-software parents coercing their kid to speak in English and "trying" to eat Dosa with spoon and fork. I would have ignored them for speaking in English; but the meat here is, eating Dosa with spoon and fork ???!!!!

NAÏVE SELF EXPLOITATION BY HEMANT FIRKE J J

29^th June 2012

Crazy Kalra

2012-07-01T00:20:00.001-07:00

All these quotations are original constructions and destructions of my friend ,philosopher and guide Abhishek Kalra .He did his MBA and was selling Insurance and as a consequence was actively considering suicide in those days. And you know I had all copy rights to publish it anywhere in case he commited suicide.Then he got married .So the copyrights are all mine .

I am not bothering to edit anything here . What may seem to me a typing error maybe a genuine piece of wit .He said he was inspired by Oscar Wilde and his paradoxes . I think he was ,in those days, two steps ahead of Wilde .Have a look at his

Crazy Quotations

I was a man of few words, until I learnt them.

I love only two kinds of women ones who wear spectacles and others who don’t.

In life there are no shortcuts, but then again life is all about finding shortcuts.

The hallmark of a modern man is that he trades greater shit for lesser shit.

I am most kind hearted I forgive myself all my mistakes.

I am a libertarian I give myself full liberty to feel right, even when I am wrong.

I turned God-loving the day I discovered Pascal’s Wager.

Your life is a parody, your passions are proxy, you are not yourself, you are some body else.

Then god said let there be light and there was light but am still wondering if there was anything worth looking at.

Old age and Sales catch up with you sooner than later. Old age and Sales catch up with you no matter what.

I am a Marxist, I love Groucho Marx

When Bono sang with or without you I think he was talking about the society.

I am a dreamer, dreams come without the 12.24 per cent service tax and you can have them on a dry day too.

A love story is not worth its salt if does not end in Murder, insanity or suicide.

There are only two kinds of men, the ones who “Get Laid” and the others who “Get Late”.

I am so wise at times I can even understand what I am saying.

Women have a god like status in my life, I learnt very early in life that it is “Man proposes and Woman disposes”.

When I heard of Re-insurance I thought it was insurance against the risk of having to sell insurance.

I am very athletic, you will always find me jumping to conclusions and running away from difficulties.

I am most consistent; I seldom mean what I say.

I was regularly irregular before becoming irregularly irregular.

The only thing worse than being sincere, is looking sincere.

I hate the unpredictability of our times, nowadays one can’t even be sure of getting robbed in a bank.

I am most generous, when the going gets tough; I let the tough get going.

Democracy is some for all, communism is none for all and dictatorship is none for all and all for one.

I got to know very early in life unfortunately through experience that when you are lost, you are actually lost.

It takes a man of wealth and taste to appreciate the beauty of sorrow and suffering.

Women are always sure of what they are saying except when they mean it.

I am always sober except when I am not drunk.

Men are always sure of what they are doing except when they understand it.

Men are never so, cruel except when they mean well to others.

All romantics are idealists, a cynic is an idealist gone wrong, and therefore all cynics are romantics.

I get mortally scared whenever I feel I am beginning to understand myself, thankfully it is always a phase which passes quickly.

Women take to matrimony like a fish takes to water.

A man may not be rich enough to pay his credit card bills but he must always be rich enough to buy his death.

I thought life was beautiful, till I discovered the word pathetic.

Men take to matrimony like a coloured man takes to thai cuisine.

I use to take things seriously but then I discovered their importance.

The memory of a woman would never let a man contradict himself.

I was so taken aback by the event of my birth that initially it left me totally dumbfounded for almost a year.

I came, I saw and I ignored…

I could, I did not and I cribbed…

I came, I wandered and I went…

I wished, I wished and I wished even more…

I should, I would not and I don’t mind…

I heard, I saw and I enjoyed…

I listened, I observed and I cried…

I lived, I loved and I lied…

I thought, I could not and I died…

I was, I am and I will be…

The best mistress one can boast of is convenience.

I lost my marbles so long ago that now I don’t even remember when I lost them.

To be certain in life looks so calculating.

I became a mortal the day I was born.

To fall in love with your best friend’s wife is lazy and to fall in love with his sister unimaginative.

The news channels have created maximum unemployment by putting the workers of rumour mills out of business.

Work till you job hop, shop till you drop, write a blog, listen to some pop, same does the entire crop.

For some, pole in the hole is the sole goal

I don’t want to be idle, I want to be careless instead.

The hallmark of a learned man is that he reads himself correctly but is helpless about the way he is.

Of all the things I like most dislike tops the list.

I am a faceless man walking on a nameless road living a hopeless life in a soulless world.

We are an Iron pumping, Air kissing, Bed hopping, Back biting, Bungee jumping, Soap watching, Mobile wielding, Net surfing and Job switching generation

What drives me impatient is the patience of the patient.

The toughest temptation to resist is that of making a generalization.

There is no limit to the patience of the patient and the impatience of the impatient.

The biggest tragedy that can be is a world without scandals where men love their own wives.

Procreation would be an impossibility if women were to love men for their virtues.

There would have been no humanity had women loved men for their virtues.

To sell or not to sell, that is the negotiation.

To work or not to work, that is the vocation.

I am the best, let others know the rest.

Live life your own size.

If you can’t win them over, let them go

I always do my best and then let others do the rest.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of genuine fun, yours is not the sun and the ball of fire that it is.

Love may or may not be blind but lust sure is not.

The only thing worse than a nagging wife is a curious child.

In god we trust and in hopelessness we die.

Love is a shot through the heart and marriage is a shot in the foot.

Don’t get into the habit of trusting yourself, it can become an addiction.

I have never had any problems with my vision; it has always been six by six in hindsight.

One’s relations are good conductors of electricity; they keep on getting shocked all the time.

Coercion is the best form of persuasion.

The pain of exclusivity is so great that I never became outstanding.

Whatever you do just make sure that whenever you bathe you don’t get wet.

When the sun is shining don’t question which direction it has risen from.

Evolution is a virtue born out of a necessity.

Looks don’t matter except when you are innocent and look guilty inside a courtroom.

What is sleep but one short death and death but, one long sleep?

Rest is the best.

Abhishek Kalra

Brand India's BCG Matrix

2012-06-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

Does our generation really deserve to have children?

2012-06-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

This post only deals with the predicament of working parents. Women keep blogging about these topics but then men care as much. We who love kids as much as those with a big joint family, or which are ably managed by housewives and in rarest of rare cases by house-husbands (I wish I had the courage to become one of them full time) suddenly find that we are giving a raw deal to our kids . The alternatives are quite petrifying . One of the spouse has to quit the job .Or get an ill-trained maid whom you don’t know and just trust your kids in their hand or put the kid at the mercy of a good looking creche and then put your hand to your heart and say “ALL IS WELL”.Else force one of the granny's to stay with you endlessly unless your Dad is retired and you can force him too.(I have been cruelly using this option). In-case the grandmother is working that option too fizzles out. Or send the kid to live with grandparents if they are staying in a different city.

We may convince ourselves that we are giving the kids the best that money can buy but the fact is that what little toddler in your home requires is your time, full time. You may buy better chocolates and better toys than you got all your life but then you won’t be able to convince yourself that the best toy for the Kid that is you is not around to get these plastic stuffs. And there is no way to learn what the kid is going through all day cause when you return home, he always gives you a glorious smile.

And as days pass the kid doesn’t need less of your time and you don’t get any less busy. Of course your last temptation may be to imagine that as time passes the kid will become busy with school and activities. But then you are again banking on outsiders to ensure that your kids learn as much as possible. Where is your role?

I am not even arguing that one of the parents not working is an option in today’s uncertain and money dependent world where each breath requires constant flow of money and each month is laden with all sorts of bills possible.

Unlike the west where playschools and crutch are under strict regulations and any let up on their part can result in severe penalty in India the kind of daycare that is available is at best sloppy.And even if there is a problem they know that you cant sue them for a million bucks like they do in west. So there is no way you can force standards except for the faint possibility of buying standards .

As one of my friends described it, “The situation is scary”.

I would like to know what other parents thinks especially those who have gone through this phase and the kids are like 7-10 years old.

Why I dont matter to the Universe

2012-06-11T23:51:00.000-07:00

U are inconsequential, the dinosaurs were inconsequential, the big bang was inconsequential and the big bust will inconsequential. The tigers we are trying to save don’t matter either. Nature didn’t miss us when we were not there and it didn’t miss anything when the tigers were not there. It won’t miss us when we are all long gone .What matters is your own pain and ecstasy in the interim and I know u will bear it or handle it or die of it, in each case it doesn’t hurt the universe .And I tell u whatever good or sins u commit if its according to Gods plans he will not punish you for it either. And if God is just playing some kind if Maya video game with us then he won’t be bothered with what to do with u once u are dead.

Poem - A Random Goan Sunset

2012-06-08T11:39:00.001-07:00

Waging a war against the demons of shiny bright lights

First in the colors of crimson splendor I am born

In pitched battles like those in folk lore

Many a curses and abuses are sworn

The dazzle of bright white light

That steals the calm of nature

Each morning bearing the news of turmoil
Dragging the creeping present to future

The bright Sunshine in shiny white armour

With shining swords and shields at noon

Looks so invincible as the Gods of old Greece

It never looks it will gasp for breath so soon.

And i am full of friends

And I have a group of motley allies

And the gossip is of dread of darkness

And the world is so full of lies

The black dark cloud forming in rage

Against the heat and the fire

That those swords of sunshine unleash

And our fate looks so dire

The tiny proletarian wasp of steam

Gather to form the white summer Cloud

Still shivering and shimmering under the dread

Of the mighty forces of the Sun screaming aloud

And some of those clouds are in mood of a revolution

And they are turning black in rage

My allies take first blow to crumble down as rain

And some of them are put in a Shining Cage

And to mark its victory

Over the heaven and the sea

A seven colour arc of light is fluttered

For the vanquished to see

I am the champion of peace and sleep

And I roar Back with utmost glee

And I strangle The warship of the great enemy

Till it has sunk in the farthest point of the Sea

Burning gaze has lost to the great knights of darkness.

What was a few hours ago

A reign of immense heat and terror

Is now a humbled foe.

I am the Knight of the Darkness

And I am valiant warrior of peace

And with the magic of the starry curtains

I bring it down to the knees

The Practical Guide to Being an Atheist

2012-06-05T04:59:00.002-07:00

1. Religion stinks??? What else do you expect from something that is at least a millennium old?

2. Belief in God is ok as long as it doesn’t lead you to a stupid Religion.

3. Don’t fear just because Kapil Sibal is threatening with Blasphemy laws. All religions are blasphemous to each other.

4. It is belief in stupid practices that people want to impose in name of God.

5. Argue against the stupid practices. It is most stupid arguing against God.

6. Never indulge in an argument with a believer they will always lose.

7. Believers lose logical arguments on purpose.

8. The believer rejoices in his ability to believe in spite of all lost arguments.

9. When they are arguing hard they probably have a stake in checking your patience level.

10. God is just an excuse for a believer to do what is wants to do. Pray!!!

11. Recruit only the Religious for sales and marketing. They are good at marketing what doesn’t exist. Think of what they can do if something really exists.

12. Never be an atheist during festivals. It’s boring.

13. You may even miss out on Yummies !!!

Petrol Strikes Back

2012-05-31T00:10:00.000-07:00

First things First

If selling fuel is such a loss making venture why doesn’t the government simply shut down the stupid show? Billions of dollars of Gold is imported without government help. We also import a host of other stuff .People in this country are capable enough to import oil as well. And i bet if the deal done competitively and indeed these monopolies are destroyed oil prices will crash tonight. Anyways Gold price keeps on increasing. No one brings down the government cause of that.

Government is getting no brownie points from the public for this oil trade show. If there is still no profit selling Oil - Quit selling Oil .Please.

No Social Role

The talk of a social role Oil trading is nonsense .There is no social role. There is no social role in any act of trading. Never. If government had any ambitions of a social role it would be making hospitals and schools in rural areas and selling Roti each night to the countless hungry. It wouldn’t be spending all time manipulating Oil price if it didn’t mean serious monetary gains for the Government.

Daylight Bandits

First the State Governments, who play the role of daylight bandits without taking the Blame? The Price of Petrol without VAT is Rs, 61/ litre in Goa . If you are in a state where the price of Petrol is Rs. 78 then the value of this robbery called VAT is Rs. 17 .Call this robbery or Tax if you want. Change in nomenclature does not change the fact that this money is taken from you without your consent. It would have been a reasonable tax had the state governments spent it in some social or industrial projects. This is the money that the State ministers are using to make their statues in Parks. So about 20-30% of petrol price is state level robbery.

The Central Level loot

The central level loot can be defined thus .This is the money that Pratibha Patil is allocated for her International Visits. This is the money used to Buy Z grade security to the ministers and this is the money that is allocated for various scams. I am not giving this money with consent. This money is forcibly taken from us in each purchase. This is robbery. The truth is that Government is getting Loads of money from this petrol trade. These are in the form of taxes. How else do you suppose any government makes money in the world !!!

When the Oil Importing companies import Oil they pay custom duty .And then there is an education cess and then the excise duty. There are taxes on the Shipping companies and then taxes from the Oil Retailing companies .There is Income tax from a petty employee of Oil Company to Corporate Income tax from the Oil Retailing Companies.

Subsidy Talk

So a simple calculation Petrol of Government Profit is like this .

VAT - Rs. 10 -18(Depending on which State you are living in if not in Goa)

EXCISE DUTY - Rs.14.78/Litre (14.35/Litre+ 3% Education cess ) ( This is 2-3 Times the money the Government loses in subsidy )

Customs Duty -5 %

Education Cess –3%(Included above )

Subsidy- Rs. 2- 5 (depending on when the next elections are scheduled.)

We can check the Petrol Price Buildup directly from the Petroleum Ministry website .

Though the Government(Central and state) makes a cool Rs. 30 or more on every litre of petrol that it sells through various agencies, it will keep sulking over the subsidy loss of Rs. 2-5 per litre. I feel very insulted by the subsidy talk that the most Arrogant man in India Pranab Mukherjee renders now and then .The recent talk of of him as President and PM has mellowed him a bit. But he is forceful manipulator when it comes to Petro Talk. He will make a face like rich people make when they have to shell out a coin for an insistent beggar, and speak with grim expression and morose voice, how he is so painfully giving these subsidies .Will you ever hear him talk how much is the value of the loot that the central and state governments engage in.

Who is responsible?

Who is to be blamed for all this? Ofcourse the idot common man is to be blamed for it as he is so moved by the statue of his caste leader more than an industry in his area. Most importantly this idiotic common man will indulge in all sorts of dharna riots and hartal if an industry is proposed in his area . In a way this brutal treatment of the stupid population engaged in all sorts of caste, language and religion and regional bigotry and is very much justified. We damn deserve it.

Philosophy of our Economics -War for Money

Once you have led the population to the dangerous zone of capitalism with no social guarantees , let the population know that it’s an all-out war for money . Don’t give him hope that the government will do anything for him. Don’t fleece him for taxes either. Everyone from the beggar who sits near Hanuman Mandir to Vijay Mallaya will take care of himself . He that dies must die. An airline that can’t fly shouldn’t fly. Ban philanthropy and charity and government doles. These are the stuff that create false hope and false Messiahs. Only a ruthless pursuit of greed by the whole population, and i mean the whole population, can save everyone. Any false hope is a poison that will result in farmer suicides ,in middle class frustration and a recklessness on part of the rich .From a farmer to a Vijay Mallya everyone should know that you can announce bankruptcy or hang yourself but no one is going to bail you out .This is the mantra of survival.

Choice is Yours

You have a choice . You want these leech like taxes or you want the Rozgar Yozna , Vikas Yojna , MNREGA,government schools that don’t teach , government hospitals where you will die if you have to die .The population can save enough if it is spared these indirect taxes to send their the kids to a decent school and buy a health Insurance of Rs. 1000-2000 per person . We need no taxes and we need no subsidies. Roll back your taxes and roll back your subsidies. We don’t want any doles.

Ride Horse

It’s been too long we have been hearing this ‘bakwas’ that government is subsidising fuel. My brothers at home can you send me my old college bicycle by Patna-Vasco express or I am seriously planning to buy a horse. The most pertinent question today is what is the approximate mileage of a horse per Kg of grass and 'chana'?

Feeling Bored

2012-05-17T05:15:00.000-07:00

I am no expert in animal psychology . For that matter I am no expert in human psychology. I am just as much an observer as you are .But I suppose at the heart of the problem of human development lies the feeling of boredom . Had humans not been bored they would never have cared to invent the fire and the wheel and the planes and the rockets and the green house gases and whatever runs with that .I think people of America supported a war in Iraq more out of reasons of boredom than out of need for oil or for security . With a boss let lose all day in office u just want to be entertained with some live stuff at the end of the day . And whats better to watch than live planes and rockets taking off . Live men and women taking on an old despot still acting young .A bomb blowing off 3 appartments in Iraq with 300 people and an equal number of bodies and twice that number of eyes and four times that number of limbs always takes away more boredom out of your soul than watching friends season 7 for the seventh time or shall we compare it with nintendo . I am bad with video games except “roadrash.” And i think i should play it now .