thoughts too many...

Google Buzz -- risk of being flooded with spam

2010-02-14T08:18:00.002+05:30

We all like google, don't we ? I am personally a big fan of google though there have been concerns about google holding too much of our data to feel comfortable. Nevertheless google has never failed to impress with its ingenuity. The recent addition to google's repertoire is the google buzz.. a tool that connects several social networking platforms into one.

But this time around google seems to have got it wrong or at least that is how it appears. One of the popular online discussion forum has come out with a review saying that Google Buzz may be a potential breeding ground for spam. The article can be found here

BVOCS

2010-02-11T18:10:00.002+05:30

'Warming can turn world more fragrant' reads Times of India, more here

Courtesy Wikipedia

Biogenic volatile organic compounds

One important thing to consider when assessing the urban forest's effect on air quality is that trees emit some biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). These are the chemicals (primarily isoprene and monoterpenes) that make up the essential oils, resins, and other organic compounds that plants use to attract pollinators and repel predators. As mentioned above, VOCs react with nitrogen oxides (NOx) to form ozone. BVOCs account for less than 10% of the total amount of VOCs and BVOCs emitted in urban areas. This means that BVOC emissions from trees can contribute to the formation of ozone. Although their contribution may be small compared with other sources, BVOC emissions could exacerbate a smog problem.

Not all species of trees, however, emit high quantities of BVOCs. The tree species with the highest isoprene emission rates should be planted with caution:

Casuarina (Beefwood)
Eucalyptus
Liquidambar (Sweetgum)
Nyssa (Tupelo or Black gum)
Platanus (Plane)
Populus (Poplar)
Quercus (Oak)
Robinia (Black locust)
Salix (Willow)

Trees that are well adapted to and thrive in certain environments should not be replaced just because they may be high BVOC emitters. The amount of emissions spent on maintaining a tree that may emit low amounts of BVOCs, but is not well suited to an area, could be considerable and outweigh any possible benefits of low BVOC emission rates.

Trees should not be labeled as polluters because their total benefits on air quality and emissions reduction far outweigh the possible consequences of BVOC emissions on ozone concentrations. Emission of BVOCs increase exponentially with temperature. Therefore, higher emissions will occur at higher temperatures. In desert climates, locally native trees adapted to drought conditions emit significantly less BVOCs than plants native to wet regions. As discussed above, the formation of ozone is also temperature dependent. Thus, the best way to slow the production of ozone and emission of BVOCs is to reduce urban temperatures and the effect of the urban heat island. As suggested earlier, the most effective way to lower temperatures is with an increased canopy cover.

These effects of the urban forest on ozone production have only recently been discovered by the scientific community, so extensive and conclusive research has not yet been conducted. There have been some studies quantifying the effect of BVOC emissions on the formation of ozone, but none have conclusively measured the effect of the urban forest. Important questions remain unanswered. For instance, it is unknown if there are enough chemical reactions between BVOC emissions and NOx to produce harmful amounts of ozone in urban environments. It is therefore, important for cities to be aware that this research is still continuing and conclusions should not be drawn before proper evidence has been collected. New research may resolve these issues.

DSDS 2010

2010-02-07T15:48:00.000+05:30

DSDS 2010

Public Voting at DSDS 2010 at the end of the Ministerial Session on Building on the Copenhagen Accord

What is the most important element in the Copenhagen Accord?

a. 2 degree target 24 %

b. Financial commitment 23 %

c. Coming of USA on board 29 %

d. Forestry 9 %

e. Measurement, Reporting, Verification Provisions 14 %

What among the following do you think is the most crucial to operationalize the Copenhagen Accord?

a. Domestic Legislation in USA 25 %

b. Legally Binding Agreement in Mexico 26 %

c. Clarity on sources of finance 11 %

d. A bold political will 31 %

e. It cannot be made operational 6 %

Tiger 350

2009-07-31T13:26:00.000+05:30

What do tigers and thousands of school children in India have in common? They can both roar extremely loudly, and they both need desparately for the world to get back below 350 ppm CO2.

Yesterday over 1,000 school kids from across Delhi, India, braved sitting (or lying) in completely drenched grass and under a hot, hot sun for an hour to form a giant Tiger-350 aerial image with their bodies. Photographers and media climbed up on top of Teen Murti Bhavan, the home of Jawaharla Nehru, the first prime minister of India -- not quite as tall as the crane that was intended to be there, but enough for a beautiful image and call to action for sure... (time lapse video below)

www.350.org

Tiger/350 aerial image in Delhi

2009-07-22T19:44:00.002+05:30

The Indian Youth Climate Network, Delhi Greens, Sanctuary Asia, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, The Shri Ram School, The Climate Project-India, Nature First, Green India States Trust (GIST), Center for Social Markets, Wildlife Conversation Trust, Bengal Tiger Campaign, National Tiger Conservation Authority, and 350.org, are all coming together for a Rally and a Tiger Consultation - of what is perhaps the LAST CALL FOR SAVING THE TIGER AND HUMANITY.

Please join us on 28 July for a historic aerial art demonstration for tigers, 350, and action on climate change. And be inspired by visiting speaker, Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org.

The aerial art is going to look like this

Wish to be a part of it/help us in making it: please get in touch with me

suren@iycn.in

0 9990767380

Trains Collide in Chennai - Mystery prevails

2009-04-29T21:38:00.001+05:30

The train accident in Chennai is shocking to say the least. According to the media accounts and from what we get to hear from somebody who seems to be from the establishment, some unauthorized miscreants took the train that was supposed to go to Tiruvallur and started the train ahead of schedule.
Southern Railway General Manager MS Jayanth said the train started "unauthorisedly" half-an-hour earlier than scheduled and went on a wrong line, colliding with a departmental train hauling empty wagons. Speculation is already on the rise and there are even terrorist group colours are being given to the incident.

There are some very fundamental things which I fail to understand. I have been always fascinated by trains and a die hard fan of some of the train simulator computer games. Having traveled in the train which had been taken for the 'joy ride' for almost 4 years and out of interest, there has been a basic understanding of how these trains work which makes me wonder about the reasons being given for this accident.

First and foremost, driving a train is not a joke. Its quite a confusing task given the number of parameters to be checked before even moving the train and the entire process is just complex that if you don't have a formal training it is next to impossible to drive a train. Secondly the kind of systems that the Indian railways has in place, a train being smuggled away silently without attracting anyone's attention is simply seems implausible. The train has gone on to collide head on with a train and that means there has been a lapse somewhere. If the goods train, which was at the receiving end, has been on the right track and as per schedule somebody has been observing its movements and approved the route and track and other associated things. Now the suburban electrical multiple unit (EMU) has passed through two stations. From my general observation I can recognize that there are enough mechanisms inside every stations which forewarn about an approaching train and the signal systems are also interlinked to this. As the train approaches the station's limits there is some form of an indication or the other to the person in charge. In spite of passing through Basin Bridge, which is one of the most important stations in the route, the train has by and large remained unnoticed until it collided.

I would follow the probe closely to understand how exactly this happened or is there some sort cover up is being attempted. Whatever reasons the railways is giving till now is simply unbelievable.

Rural Energy Project

2009-04-18T19:33:00.002+05:30

The Indian Youth Climate Network has recently launched the first Rural Energy Project, a project that is going to bring light in the lives of 70 families of landless labourers in a village in Coimbatore, TamilNadu. This could potentially save the money they spend on fossil fuels for lighting and there by become sustainable too.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/13/stories/2009041350600200.htm

The technical details are -- MGR Nagar: 75 homes. Families below the poverty line. Profile: landless laborers. Access to drinking water: two times every month. 5 homes have access to electricity there. Most homes are informally constructed. With the help of Shanti Ashram, the villagers collected money (Rs. 600) to purchase the lanterns (they were subsidized).

The Sunflower (Solar Lantern): A remarkable product made by DGESL. Solar-LED technology. Can last up to 14 hours of continued use without diminishing quality of light (life of LED= 50 years). Solar panel (5W), 6v. (20 year warranty). Lux output: 75 lux @600mm (exceeds MNRE specification). Efficiency is greater than 92% (exceeds the MNRE specification). Battery--will last 1.5 years max and can be purchased anywhere for Rs. 130. There's a guarantee on repairs for up to a year by DGESL.

Next step would be taking this forward and make it a model village of sustainable development.

P.S. Those who might be confused as to why I am writing this, I am involved with the Indian Youth Climate Network for quite sometime.

the come back

2009-03-30T19:35:00.002+05:30

At last, i've managed to gather my thoughts and pen this blog. There are a plethora of reason why i have been so infrequent with my blog. In short, life has taken a sharp turn and has become too busy in a short span and every now and then i find myself standing at a cross road and taking some vital decision. Nevertheless, it is exciting like never before. A bit of responsibility, a bit of expectation and a lot of new opportunities is how I can sum up and generalize what I've been upto these days.

Though i havent been updating my blog, i havent quit writing. I have written a couple of articles and published them in a couple of websites.

Here are something which are dominating my thought process these days.

The unusual rise of the stock markets (23% in 11 sessions) and the deep cut it took today... Conspiracy theories are already making rounds, equating it to the G20 conference scheduled on the 2nd of April. Dr. Manmohan Singh is also attending it and the outcome of the meeting, if not solve the economic crisis, is sure to make the markets shoot up or plunge again. Fingers crossed.

The general elections are due and we are just about a fortnight away from the first phase of polling. I term this elections as dirty politics at its best. Till date, i have not come across any political party foucssing on the many different problems in hand. Instead Varun Gandhi's speech is hogging the prime time, just the way the political masters wanted and the media running after TRPs falling prey to the plans.

Isn't this ironical in the world's largest democracy? (or is it one of the characteristics) We are in very interesting times, where one makes all kinds of statements on air and get what one wants out of it and come out the next day and say that it was not done by him/her but somebody has doctored the incident. This is not about any single incident and every political party has a incident or two to its credit.

India is having a gala time in New Zealand. After a long time, test cricket is back at its best. Though i havent been able to follow them as closely as i used to but still it is a feel good factor to see India doing well. More so in a stage where the IPL has been making news for some time before it finally was shifted out of India. If somebody denies the fact that they have done everything to cash in on the ad revenues they could make by airing the matches at 4 pm and 7 pm during the summer vacations, he is obviously a IPL fanatic.

And not to forget the Conficker worm which is deemed to be a timebomb in waiting and is all set to explode on the 1st of April. Of late, i have become a fan of spam mails and the way they operate and started digging a bit deeper into it and am simply fascinated by the sophistication of the conficker worm. Beware, you may also be carrying the worm and check with microsoft or anti virus sites to secure yourself.

linux at last

2009-02-21T11:14:00.002+05:30

I am on linux, finally. A full fledged operating system replacing or substituting windows.

There were days when simply out of interest and curiosity i tried to get Linux going in my computers and i was fairly successful to the extent that i was able to partition the drives and install a working version of Red Hat Linux but i couldn't replace microsoft windows, the reason being the various components couldnt be configured properly and the reasons were not too complicated. Either there were not drivers or people were simply apprehensive about it.

Now, i have installed Ubuntu and i must say that Linux has gone through a sea change. From being a complex mechanism to work with and limited to only a select few who had the knowledge to tweak the driver files and it was highly technical, to say the least, Linux today has evolved so much and is user friendly in the true sense of the term.

The ubuntu installation can be obtained free of cost, either in the form of CD's by registering with their site or can be downloaded from the same. Installing it was also not a problematic issue either, unlike the past. Ubuntu supports NTFS file system which is a highlight. This is particularly of use to the normal windows user as the windows installations in the last 2 years, normally have an NTFS partition.

The interface is just cool and has been designed exceptionally well to give the same look and feel and the ease of use which windows may provide. Summing up, Ubuntu is a total hit with me, discounting the few network issues and driver issues.

and the mobile phone is going places

2009-02-16T22:22:00.002+05:30

The penetration of mobile phones into the Indian society is phenomenal. People of my generation ie those of us who in our mid twenties have seen a sea change. We have seen it as an ultra expensive odd looking devices with exorbitantly high usage charges which catered to the cream of the society and we are seeing now as a mass produced commodity which is going cheaper by the day and with the flooding of the Chinese mobiles the prices have fallen to unimaginable levels. For about 5000 bucks one could easily get a state of the art mobile which has the latest features which could be associated with any branded handset and at times they offer more too.

One gets to hear a lot about the mobile phones being abused and the jokes of a milk vendor or a farm labour using a mobile phone is not uncommon. Little do we realize how important these people who occupy a lower to middle income group are to the mobile cos and their business potential. The reason for this perception is the recent incident where I happened to strike a conversation with a cycle rickshaw puller.

I hired the rickshaw to go home from a friend's place and since it was half past nine, the road was quite empty. The empty road seems to be a rickshaw pullers paradise and he was going at a breakneck speed. When he was precariously negotiating the final turn, I was able to hear a mobile phone ringing and not to my surprise, he pulled one and had a gadget with bright flashing lights in his left hand. He had a short conversation, informing the person at the end about his destination and the time frame. I couldn't resist myself from asking him how he is able to manage the expenses and yes, I did ask.

I was surprised to hear that he spent about Rs. 150 every month for the connection and what was more interesting was the logic behind his usage. The logic is a simple Rs.30 recharge a week which means 4 recharges a month and one more in case of extraordinary circumstances and in all sums up to Rs. 150. Now, a person who earns about Rs.250-300 a day, managing Rs.30 shouldn't be a herculean task. The justification he gave for this expenditure is the even impressive. Shopkeepers from the nearby market areas have his contact number and when they have to transport goods to the a customer's house, they give him a call to see if he is around and can do the work.

Thus we come to the next question, is the 150 bucks spent in a month an expenditure or an investment. Obviously in this case it is a worthy investment. The mobile phone here has too many roles to play – a communication tool, a business facilitator, entertainment etc to name a few. No wonder, idea mobile uses Abhishek Bachan as a brand ambassador and rolling out advertisements aimed a totally new segment which is nothing but promising.

Part II of Dunu's Talk

2009-02-12T21:03:00.000+05:30

Part II of Dunu's Talk

After touching upon various issues related to the individual, he went on to offer his thoughts on the policies of the Governments, the Delhi state government in particular. Again, this was centered around the idea of trying to maximize usage and not attempting to optimize resources and he quoted two examples.

One is the number of cycle rickshaws in use in the city of delhi. In a city where only 8% of the population using cars and the rest using the public transport, the policies are grossly imbalanced. While there is a cap on the number of cycle rickshaw's to be added to the city every year (around 50,000), there is no cap on the number of cars. The reason cited is that rickshaws will add to congestion.

The second is about a proposal given the rag pickers association of Delhi. The waste generated in the city is technically the property of MCD. The rag pickers association offered to segregate the waste before sending it to the dump. The proposed to separate the plastics, the degradables and other consumables so that the load sent to the dump is a fraction of the total waste generated. Also from the vegetable waste they proposed to have a small composting pit in every local park of size 10ft by 10ft and make manure out of it. The government rejected the proposal and chose to lease out the work of transporting the waste to the dump to private players who get paid per the kilogram of waste they transport.

He concluded by stressing on the importance of taking action which invariably would be initiated by the people who are affected by the policies. People who care about the environment and climate would obviously find many of these policies disappointing and therefore have to come together to take action and urge the power wielders to create more appropriate policies.

Talk by DUNU ROY in JNU

2009-02-08T09:27:00.003+05:30

Dunu Roy is an excellent speaker, needless to say. His way of putting things into place and questioning the logic behind the existing system is something which makes him so special and he is always relevant. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend his talk in a event organized in the JNU.

Some highlights of his talk -

Architecture of a place or building needs to be in accordance to the climate of that region and the type of society one lives in. It did make a lot of sense because, many buildings which we come across never seemed to have taken this into account. The result of these inefficient designs would be increased used of electricity in an attempt to make living comfortable. If we make an effort to think a little out of the box, we would understand the depth of this. If done on a large scale, this would make a huge difference in the amount of resources consumed. Same is the case with planning the city.

The city of Delhi is well known for its traffic bottlenecks, every now and then. I have personally been in those long traffic snakes crawling at snail's pace spending about an hour to travel a couple of kilometers. What is more baffling is that only a meager 8% of the total road users use cars and approximately an equal amount of them use bikes, which means that a majority of the users, a good 80% use buses and other means of transport. But the city's infrastructure seems to talk otherwise. It doesnt care about the 80% and we are moving towards multi layered parking – a technology which is going to make the cars, which were traveling horizontally, travel vertically. Interpreting this scenario from a different perspective throws a lot of new things which were in the dark or kept in the dark. Adding a 1000 more buses would make a lot of sense rather than adding 1000 more cars. In terms of easing the congestion of the 80% users, better fuel efficiency, efficient usage of parking spaces. Also, there is a cap on the number of cycle rickshaws being added to the city where as there is no cap on the number of cars.

The BRT corridor which faced a lot of criticism from the main stream media is an interesting case study. Users of the BRT were interviewed and the popular perception was built that BRT is adding to traffic problem. The irony is this was, out of the 78 people who were interviewed for this purpose, only a handful 3-4 were bus users who appreciated the system. For a system which was created to make bus travel faster and safer, the point of views of car users were taken and the public were fed with information which is irrelevant.

Most of us don't use the pavements which were built for the use of pedestrians. They are literally non existent in many places and even if they are present, they are mostly uneven and one of the biggest discouragements for a user is the need to get down and climb up the pavement at every entrance. The basic flaw here is that the roads which cut the pavement should have been made to climb up and go down while keeping the pavement flat. This in a way could have acted as a speed breaker for the vehicles while making walking and cycling a pleasure.

The final point he made, or in fact the basic idea around which his entire talk was based on, was that there is a fundamental flaw in most of the policies and designs which aim for maximization of usage rather than optimization of the existing resources. What matter is “I've a car” and not “We have a bus”....ideally this should be the other around. Are we thinking like this ???

PS: This is part of this talk which I felt are the key points. I would write the remaining in the next post.

bushobama :)

2009-02-06T08:20:00.000+05:30

Though i am not a fan of email forwards, this picture i received from a friend was interesting. Reminds me of Kamal Hasan's Dasavadaram

summary of the previous parliamentary session

2009-01-26T21:21:00.008+05:30

This is the second time i wrote an article for the viewspaper. My earlier post on Benazir's death anniversary got published in the same section of the viewspaper. Generally i post it in my blog here before sending it to other websites. this time though it got published before i could update my blog :)

A summary of the 14th session of the 14th lok sabha

The final session of the 14th Lok Sabha, before the General Elections, is likely to begin on the 16th of February and likely to extend till th 24th. The previous session was so eventful. The session started on a promising note with a special two day session on the 21st and 22nd of July for the sake of the Indo-Us Nuclear deal. The parliament saw historical debates on the deal with some making it to the most watched in YouTube, an indication of the global reach of the business of Indian Parliament, only to end as one of the saddest and shameful days in the history of the Indian Parliament with the elected representatives showing bundles of cash. Some important issues like who gave the cash, how the MP’s managed to sneak in such large amounts inside a high security zone like the Parliament, why they decided to display it at the very last moment, while they were aware of it before hand, so on and so forth are still at large while the session ended on a successful note.

The speculation of the possibility of early polls and premature dissolution of the 14th Lok Sabha were all laid to rest with the ruling coalition going for combining the monsoon and winter sessions, which, though a departure from the existing conventions, a gamble which paid off to the extent the Government survived and the parties in power were able to buy time to prepare for the next elections

The session extended from the 17th to 24th of October and from the 10th to 23rd of December, comprising of 18 sittings with a total number of work hours of 96 hours and 15 minutes. 34 government bills were pending before the parliament before the session begun of which 31 were discussed and passed. So says the official statement of work released by the Lok Sabha secretariat.

During the same time span, 22 new bills were also introduced.

Date Number of Bills
Passed

21st Oct 3
22nd Oct 2
23rd Oct 4
24th Oct 4
12th Dec 2
17th Dec 3
19th Dec 1
22nd Dec 4
23rd Dec 8

On the final 2 days 12 bills were passed, apparently without any discussion amongst which were important bills like the amendments to IT ACT, amendments to the number of Supreme Court judges, Prevention of Corruption Amendment Bill, to name a few. Also, 270 Private member bills were pending before the start of the session and 13 more were introduced. None of them were discussed and the session ended with a increased number of such pending bills (274) – 1 was part discussed and 9 of them were removed from the list of pending bills.

The next session of the Lok Sabha is likely to begin on the 16th of February and is expected to go on till the 24th. In all probabilities, this is going to be the final session before the General Elections.

The same set of people who were responsible for the above is going to contest and if not the ruling party, the opposition is going to come to power but the situation is not going to radically change.

It is widely believed that the elected representatives in the Lower House are directly answerable to the people of India and with each minute of the parliamentary proceedings costing several thousands of tax payers money, one wonders to whom they are responsible or who is responsible for this mockery.

Story -3

2009-01-15T10:37:00.002+05:30

I was half way through.

The voices from below are quite audible. Though backed by different thought processes, the voices tried to convince me to stop moving ahead and come down. Some cited that it is not a normal practice to do things the way I was doing and discourage me, while others sounded caution by detailing the impending perils, if something goes wrong during the pursuit. Amongst these voices, I was able to see those handful of people who were behind me in this act and sporting appreciation in their faces.

This isn't the first time I am hearing such comments. Situations vary but the essence remains the same. Some see me as abnormal, some felt that I do risky things in life, to name a few. May be I am not averse to taking a risk and exploring things.

Suddenly I realized that I lost pace and decided to step up things failing which I risk going back to square one. Moments later I could see the top.

As I approached the top, I could see a host of people standing there and the grim and stern looks on their faces said it all. They also seemed to share the same view about what I had just done but nobody can now discourage me. I recollected how it all started with the challenge of a friend "can you climb to the next floor in a descending escalator?".

A tribute to Benazir - but have things really changed ?

2008-12-27T20:32:00.002+05:30

Today is one of the saddest days in the world's history. Exactly a year ago, on this same date, Benazir Bhutto was brutally assassinated during a campaign rally in Rawalpindi. There was a loud hue and cry following the incident. The responses ranged from a call to book the real culprits to crack down on the insurgents/perpetrators behind the whole incident.

A year later, if we sit back and see what has been done, one finds that the outcome is literally nothing.

Following the assassination a lot of things changed or so it appeared. Her widower, Asif Ali Zardari became the President of Pakistan, her son made entry into politics and her party did manage to form a civilian government in Pakistan. But still the incident of this magnitude dint have any significant outcome. Neither has the situation improved while it appears to have deteriorated further nor has the perpetrators been brought to the books, despite the talks of constituting an international body to investigate and find out those who are behind the crime.

"In the tradition of a true Bhutto, she faced certain death rather than abandon her principles or the people," Zardari said in a message to the nation to mark the anniversary.
"The tyrants and the killers have killed her but they shall never be able to kill her ideas, which drove and inspired a generation to lofty aims," he said, adding that democracy was the only way to fight militancy.

One wonders what is the significance of these statements considering the fact that there is very little visible progress. For a person like Benazir Bhutto, whichever political ideology she belonged to or whatever be her past records, this is not the way one should die and definitely deserves due justice. While that remains a big question mark still, these statements appear to me as mere mockery.

Things are not very different in other parts of the world and India is not an exception to this. If we dig the last year's history there are enough instances of many such incidents which raised a lot of noise across the spectrum, the media channels fighting for the highest TRP ratings through the prime time discussion shows with a lot of experts (read so called), the media trials, the concocted stories, the shamelessly telecasted fake mms clips and the character assassination of a little girl...... but, how many of them are still remembered today ? What is the outcome of all the frenzy ? Probably one should agree to the fact that “public memory is short lived”

Copying it, right ?

2008-12-22T17:58:00.000+05:30

Things that with go with the image of cool guy/gal or a hip teen or any of those terminologies which hint at some body who belong to the modern high tech age:

1. An audio player, better if it is an I-Pod but others will also do, filled with at least a couple of gb’s of music.

2. A state of the art mobile phone with the latest features, without worrying about whether one would, at all, use those features.

3. The currently much-talked-about is also one of the accessories. This range of this particular item is so vast but its presence is almost common amongst all.

4. A computer or a laptop with latest movies and/or songs. If the person happens to be a techie of sorts then the computer is bound to contain the latest versions of many software applications, a handful of games too and if the person is a bit of an academic, a host of ebooks is also not ruled out and the list is not exhaustive.

Little do we realize that at one point or the other, we are contributing to something called as the copyright infringement. Agreed there are quite a few people around who don’t indulge in copyright infringement but a majority of us cannot claim innocence.

So what exactly is copyright infringement??? Let’s see how our law codifies it. In India, copyrights are governed by the Indian Copyrights Act of 1957 and section 51 defines infringement as

51.When copyright infringed: - Copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed ---

(a) When any person, without a licence granted by the owner of the Copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights under this Act or in contravention of the conditions of a licence so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority under this Act ---
(i) Does anything, the exclusive right to do which is by this Act conferred upon the owner of the copyright, or
(ii) Permits for profit any place to be used for the performance of the work in public where such performance constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work unless he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for believing that such performance would be an infringement of copyright, or
(b) When any person ---
(i) Make for sale or hire, or sells or lets for hire, or by way of trade displays or offers for sale or hire, or
(ii) Distributes either for the purpose of trade or to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, or
(iii) By way of trade exhibits in public, or
(iv) Imports (except for the private and domestic use of the importer) into India,
any infringing copies of the work.
Explanation.--- For the purposes of this section, the reproduction of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work in the form of a cinematograph film shall be deemed to be an "infringing copy".

In simple words, if we, without proper rights, duplicate something that is meant to be commercially productive for the author/creator, it definitely is a copyright violation.
So if it is against the law, what is the punishment for the violation? Section 63 outlines it as -

63.Offence of infringement of copyright or other rights conferred by this Act:- Any person who knowingly infringes or abets the infringement of ---

(a) The copyright in a work, or

(b) Any other right conferred by this Act,

Shall be punishable with imprisonment that may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Explanation. --- Construction of a building or other structure, which infringes or which, if completed, would infringe the copyright in some other work shall not be an offence under this section.

On the global scenario, India and China are the two countries which violates copyrights the most.

I did not feel like arguing when one of my teachers said…”if we strictly interpret the Indian copyright act, every individual in the metros at least, would have to be jailed for at least a year”… right na ?

Article by Yogesh Chabbria- financial turmoil and the way ahead

2008-12-15T01:36:00.001+05:30

Every single person who has access to television news or a newspaper is aware of the global financial turmoil. The collapse of Lehman brothers did send a very powerful shockwave across the global financial fraternity. The factors that led to this financial meltdown are very complex and it did not happen over night or even over a year. It has been building up for quite a while and eventually the indiscriminate lending to boost the consumption has created a scenario where there is no more cash left in the system to lend. But how much will a layman understand by these terms recession, credit crunch, slow down, melt down etc? I was in fact taken by surprise when a colleague of mine said that she did not opt for a software job because there is a financial turmoil in the US.

Recently I came across this email forward carrying the subject, “An Interesting Article By Yogesh Chabbria” and it spoke about how Lehman brothers collapsed. I’d never heard of this author before so I requested my demigod google to throw some light and figured out that he is an economist and the article was posted in the website www.moneycontrol.com. The article is very an excellent one and very lucid. It sums up the whole story of the financial crisis in a few sentences and even gives out suggestions on how to act in this scenario and it is a must read and here it goes.

LATELY, I have been thinking a lot about the Lehman crisis . Spending money that they didn't have and going beyond their means is one of the main reasons for their situation today. In fact that is the cause for the current economic crisis in the US. When I see all this happening, I can only remember the good old days. Then, karz was bad. People looked down upon those who took loans. Parents would not give their daughter's hand in marriage to a man with loans. But of course, the times have changed now. Everyone I know has a loan. The buzz word is EMI (equated monthly installment) . Today, you can buy everything on EMI - a house, a television, even an i-Pod. In fact I know of someone who just bought a fancy BMW 3 series on EMI, instead of buying a cheaper car outright with cash. I mostly prefer to take public transport, but then I am an old man with old thoughts!

Anyway, coming back to what caused the crisis. Imagine having Rs 2 lakh in your bank account, no regular income, yet buying a house worth Rs 65 lakh, in the hope of selling it for a higher price. Even if the price of the house fell by just 5 per cent (that is Rs 3 lakh), you will go bankrupt.

This is what Lehman Brothers did; with around USD 20 billion they went and bought assets worth over USD 600 billion. Isn't it suicidal and simply foolish?

I am sure things would have been different, had I been the head of Lehman brothers. But who wants an old conservative man like me to head a complex financial institution.

But there are a few lessons that we can learn:

1.Live a balanced life and avoid overspending.

2.Don't buy things we don't need.

3.Don't buy Branded goods.

4.Don't buy excess Food, Cloths, Cosmetics, Footwear, electronics and Fashion accuracies

just think before you buy.

Tip: World still has a lot of growth ahead and the future holds immense opportunities for us. Let us make the most of it and save and invest it wisely instead of wasting our precious little on things we don't need.

5.Try to balance life with work (No one is happy to work in their professions) .

6. Don't stress out your self, after work try to do some extra activities like swimming, yoga, walking, running where you can divert your mind from stress.

A thumb rule: Health is more important than money.

7.Try to understand each other (Wife and Husband) in financial matters and help each other.

Tip: As soon as you get your monthly salary, set aside a fixed amount, usually 35 per cent, for insurance, savings and investments. You can then spend the rest.

8. Not all loans are bad. Loans that are 'need based' (home loans, education loans) can always find a place in your finances against those that are largely 'want based' (Credit cards, personal loans, car loans).

9. Borrow only if repayment is financially comfortable.

A thumb rule: Keep EMIs within 35 to 45 per cent of your monthly income In that respect, there is one American who I really respect – Warren Buffet. He has lived in the same ordinary house for over three decades, drives his own medium sized car and leads an extremely regular 'middle class' life. If that's all it takes for the richest person on earth to be happy, why do all of us need to take extra stress just so that we can get things which aren't even essential?

Blue line blues

2008-12-06T19:35:00.004+05:30

Every single trip in the Delhi buses is a unique story on its own and one learns a great number lessons from it. Recently during a couple of such trips, i came across these incidents which made me ponder over them and i still am.

A woman, appearing to be in her late thirties or early forties was standing towards the rear of the bus. The conductor was issuing tickets in the over crowded bus and was moving towards the back of the bus. I ain't sure what exactly provoked her but suddenly an argument broke out, in fact it was not a simple argument but the woman started shouting on the top of her voice. From what i understand, i believe that the conductor has asked her for the ticket fare and she said that she is standing in a crowded bus, holding her daughter in one arms and may not be comfortable to take out the money and is not proper of him to ask for it and the conductor had replied that her dignity was in her hands. The woman went on abusing him and the conductor apologised to her and literally tears were rolling out of his eyes while the woman demanded the bus be stopped in a Police Station. After a while she went silent and started to move towards the front side of the bus. When the bus stopped she got down with her daughter and walked away, without paying the fare.

The same bus, but a few days later. A young man was standing in the front side of the bus and the bus was nearing a busy bus stop. The conductor came to the front and requested everybody move a little inwards so that women can alight comfortably. This person remained defiant. He maintained he needn't move and there is no small deal of discomfort he will cause. The conductor first pleaded and said he never meant to insult him but just he wanted to make more space for women passengers. Then he tried to raise his voice and finally he forcibly pushed the person a couple of inches backwards. As the driver slammed the brakes, this young man finally stepped back due to the pushes. Nevertheless, he still maintained that he was right and that he standing there would never have caused any discomfort to anyone.

I am not going to draw any inference or pass judgment on anybody's actions. It simply is a window to the thought process of people. Everybody involved in all these incidents seem to be right and have a valid case. The thing which makes me ponder is that, in both the incidents, there were enough opportunities that would have avoided the incident spiraling into a problem. Even if one of the players had relented a bit, there would not have been this ugly scene created. May be i am also guilty to the extent that i could have facilitated one of those opportunities while i chose to remain a mute spectator.

Facebook Developer Garage New Delhi

2008-11-21T07:22:00.003+05:30

The Facebook developer garage is going to happen on the 29th of Nov, 2008(Saturday) at 726 Udyog Vihar Phase V, Gurgaon, India.

The day long event would focus on unleashing the power of facebook applications and would be a stage to explore business opportunities or simply socialize with likem-inded people:).

The event is brought out together by New Delhi developers and Tekriti Software Private Limited.

Facebook Platform Program Manager, Kelly Winters, will kick off the event and will speak about the latest developments on Facebook Platform.

More details will be posted soon :)

Visit the link for more details http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33645728018

Chandrayaan ... hail ISRO

2008-11-15T22:08:00.003+05:30

It was half past eight on a Friday evening and I was standing in a over-crowded Delhi's infamous Blue line bus with just enough space to have both my feet firmly grounded to the floor. At the same time, India made history by successfully setting foot on the moon and planting the tricolour on the surface of the moon.

The Moon Impact Probe that was aboard Chandrayaan separated from the craft and started its descent towards the moon. 25 minutes from its separation, it crash-landed on the moon.

The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) is one of the many payloads the Chandrayaan spacecraft is carrying. The MIP is a 35kg cube roughly of the size of our computer monitors. The primary objective of this probe is to demonstrate the fact that we have the expertise and technologies that are required to land a probe/craft at a predetermined time at a predetermined place on the moon, Shackleton crater in this case.

The MIP had three instruments on board:
1. Radar Altimeter – TO measure the height
2. Video Imaging system – To capture and send videos of moon during the descent
3. Mass Spectrometer – TO analyze the moon’s atmosphere during the descent.

The MIP crash-landed on the moon and within minutes the probe died. This is a precursor to what is called as a soft landing that may be required to land probes/manned missions on the moon.

The MIP was onboard the Chandrayaan spacecraft. The Chandrayaan spacecraft is indigenously built for preparing a 3 dimensional atlas of the lunar surface and conduct mineralogical and chemical studies on the moon. It is a cuboid shaped craft of side 1.5m weighing about 1.4 tonnes. It is designed to accommodate 11 payloads, 5 built by ISRO (including the MIP) and 6 other payloads from the Indian and the International scientific community. The payloads include instruments from Germany, Bulgaria and the US.

The Chandrayaan spacecraft was launched on the 22nd of October from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. After a series of intricate and tricky maneuvers that includes lowering and raising the orbits by firing many rockets at precision times and locations, the spacecraft entered the lunar orbit on the 9th of November from which orbit the MIP was launched.

The craft was launched using the indigenously built PSLV or the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which has four stages – solid and liquid propulsions at alternate stages with additional strap on motors to provide extra thrust.

The success of the mission simply announces our arrival at the international stage. With this, we have joined the elite group of nations that have succeeded in sending a probe to the moon. The highlight of the whole story is the cost incurred. At about Rs.350 crores, this is one of the cheapest lunar missions and has opened the door for numerous future business opportunities.

The photograph of earth as viewed by the onboard camera of chandrayaan

Bill Gates in Delhi

2008-11-09T20:19:00.003+05:30

Microsoft has been both widely appreciated and criticized for the way it does business and the tactics it has been employing to retain the market share. Whatever said and done, nobody can question the mettle of one of the most brilliant minds of our lifetime, who was behind this monumental success -- Bill Gates. Ironically, little is known about the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation which is doing a phenomenal work. In a recently held program in IIT Delhi, Mr.Gates had come and interacted with people.

To read more about this please check this blog http://delhivoice.blogspot.com/

chapter 1 Delhi to Chennai

2008-10-04T21:11:00.005+05:30

This is going to be the first part of the series of posts i am planning to write about the recent travels. Before i begin, i must really thank the readers of this blog. But for their presence and encouragement, this blog would have met the same fate my previous blog had met after a hiatus. Thanks guys.... love you all.. :)

Delhi to Chennai

After having come to Delhi, i had been traveling to Chennai atleast twice a year and except for one time it was always on the TamilNadu express. There is something unique about traveling in train and particularly in this train. It takes about 32 hours to reach Chennai. This 32 hours are is really interesting to me. Sometimes it is full of fun at other times it is solitude nevertheless it has always been very peaceful. Another reason why i like it is except for your mobile you are out of touch with the external world. I have got to meet many interesting people some of whom have continued to come with me in life even after the short travel (it is short :p) and not to forget the breath taking, mind blowing central indian landscape.

The train is generally scheduled for departure from Delhi at 10.30 pm and i usually tend to leave home at about half past 8 pm so that i would be left with more than 45 minutes to spare which i always spend by walking the length and breadth of the station trying to ascertain how many 'tamilians' can be spotted in the station (no particular motives behind this but simple curiosity). Not deviating much from the usual conventions, this time too, i left home approximately at the same time and reached the station with only 15min to spare, thanks to the auto driver who insisted on refueling before proceeding any further and took a wrong road only to find it blocked due to undergoing Delhi Metro construction. With only 15mins to spare i proceeded to check the electronic display to ascertain the platform number (though i am quite aware of it) only to find a malfunctioning display. Not in a mood to take chances, i got it confirmed from the assistance booth and finally reached the same old platform 12 with hardly any place to stand, let alone finding a seat or a bench to sit. The remaining part of the routine passed without largely eventless and i got myself glued to my berth ( a window one ;) since it was a lower berth and luckily nobody requested a swap this time around). The night's sleep was also peaceful and i really enjoy sleeping in the train with the train swaying like a cradle.

I was greeted by a bright and sunny weather the next day. The train had crossed Jhansi and it was time to savour the Tamil Nadu express pantry's menu. Though it is not essentially a treat to your taste buds, it is definitely a safer bet than experimenting something from the platform. One thing i don't like in TamilNadu Express or for that matter any other train is the lack of trash bins. The search for one on two coaches on either side proved futile and i had to be content storing them in a plastic bag and keeping it under the wash basin, with a hope that when the train is sanitized on the way, it would go to the proper place and not like this

The weather was really good to brighten up your mood to face the next 24 hours in train and i was getting ready to my most favourite pass time. You guessed it right... gazing out of the window and enjoying the amazing central indian landscape. After having studied geography,a bit in detail, these landscapes paint a different picture apart from their visual beauty. Most of the times it leaves me wondering about the evolution of that landscape and i get lost in thoughts of presence of water to a height of 200 meters above ground, slowly eating away the pieces of rocks from lofty mountains, millimeters at a time, for so many years and evolving into a mountain pass or a small water body passing through two blocks of mountains or a gradually subsiding land with a gentle slope with a small stream.... no amount of words will describe the experience but a few pictures might :). Madhya pradesh, the third state to come since the starting is simply awesome

When i was still wondering, the trained pulled into the Nagpur station which brings us to the 4th state of the jouirney, Maharashtra. One thing i never miss in Nagpur is the Oranges. I see them all round the year and the prices haven't changed in all these days i have traveled. During my childhood, i have heard from my neighbours that one has to get down and refill the water tanks on the train at Nagpur station, if the toilets need to be used any further. Fortunately it is not the case these days. The entire train was properly sanitized and the tanks refilled by the railway employees. The poor maintenance of the station though catches my attention every time and nothing much has been done in that regard so far. Not to forget the Haldiram and Nescafe stalls in the platform which i never fail to visit :). Here again the brilliant scheduling of the train comes into picture. It has been so timed that the train reaches one major station during the time of a meal and those are the only stops in its journey of roughly 2300 km. Nagpur coincides with lunch time and mostly the train runs an hour behind schedule. As the train pulled out of the station i slipped i was already planning for a short nap which actually turned out to be a rather long one.

The evening was largely event less and passed with a cup of tea and some more gazing until sun dipped and disappeared finally. The co passengers did not strike a chord this time around and by and large the interaction never went beyond exchanging pleasantries. From evening to twilight to dusk to night the transition was quiet and the train entered the state of Andhra Pradesh. Many of us have read about smog and if light permits we can actually see the presence of smog in some of these places in andhra where huge factories (cement i guess) are located.

A good night's sleep again with a cradling effect brought the next morning as Chennai greeted me with a big bright smile, along with a factory coughing out enormous amounts of smoke and i had the opportunity to catch the smile on the frame.

The next phase of the journey is going to take me from Chennai after a gap of 1 day to some other interesting places of Tamilnadu.... do keep a watch out and please do tell me how bored are u with this :p

Comeback

2008-09-24T07:19:00.000+05:30

Atlast, i have decided to break the shackles of laziness and other restricting factors and make a comeback into the world of blogging. It has been quite some time since i blogged last, more than a month. The last month had been so eventful, filled with some life altering events (people who know what it was will agree..no?) and some great learning experiences which is going to be the theme of the next couple of blogs.

During this period, i had the opportunity to go on a tour, the most hectic and the well planned and executed so far in my life. When talking to one of my pals, he was very eager to know more about the places and towns (majorly in Tamilnadu) and gave me the idea of writing a travelogue about the entire trip.

A brief overview of the trip - The trip was on the cards for a long time and in fact, tickets for the onward journey had been booked well in advance (about 75 days in advance). The purpose of the trip was to attend a marriage, get some governmental work done (which requires one's physical presence and a couple of other personal works. But due to some sudden and unforeseen changes, the trip had to be stripped off of its last 4 days, which made things very hectic. I travelled about more than 5000km on rail and road over a period of 14 days exactly and covered some interior parts of Tamilnadu.

Rest to be followed soon.... Get ready for the journey ahead.. gonna be hectic :)

The lost boy of Sudan

2008-08-18T14:29:00.004+05:30

Lopepe Lomong was born on the 1st of January 1985 in the small town of Kimotong, in southern Sudan, to Awei Lomong and Rita Namana. Sudan was in the midst of a second civil war. Lopepe was a happy little child living with his parents. On a Sunday morning, the family was attending church when the soldiers of the state backed militia stormed the place. They abducted six year old Lopepe along with other children to be trained as soldier. The children were taken to a military camp and made to stay there for about three weeks during which they were made to survive on water and very little food. Lopepe met three of his friends there in the camp, people whom he called ‘angels’. The older boys had spotted a hole in the fence surrounding the camp and have decided to escape. Lopepe also escaped with them. On a moonless night, they sneaked out and ran for 10 days without knowing the destination but with the only aim of escaping the camp. They ran through the day and slept during the nights. They slept with their head facing the direction they should run inorder to avoid back tracking their way. Unknowingly they strayed into Kenya. They were captured and sent to a refugee camp. Meanwhile, his family thought he had died and burried him in absentia. He also belived that his family was no more.

Lopepe lived in kenya for 10 years. The camp was getting food, as little as it was, through UN program and so the authorities were not bothered about them. When he was 16 years old, Lopepe was adopted by an American Family under a resettlment program. He was resettled with Robert and Barbara Rogers, in New York State. The Rogers have since gone on to sponsor many other Sudanese refugees. He attended high school in the Tully and went on to attend Northern Arizona University. He went on to become a naturalized citizen of the US in July 2007. Lopepe was active in sports. He specialized in the 1500m run but is a serious contender in every mid-distance race from 800m up to and including the 5k.

The incidents above relate to a person called Lopez Lomong. Wondering what is interesting about this person? Lopez was the flag bearer for the American Team at the Beijing Summer Olympics. He was unanimously chosen as the flag bearer by the team captains.

Lomong qualified for the US Olympic Team on July 6, 2008, one year after gaining his US citizenship."Now I'm not just one of the 'Lost Boys,'" he told reporters. "I'm an American."

Though Lopez failed to qualify for the finals in Beijing Olympics, he has not failed to impress and inspire.

obesity vs presidency

2008-08-04T16:27:00.002+05:30

Presidential Election in the US has been hogging the media limelight for quite a while now and I suppose it will continue till one is finally chosen. Several serious and contentious contemporary issues are dominating the political debate this time around like the withdrawal of forces, alternate energy, economic crisis, sub prime woes, unemployment and the whole world will look forward to the views of the two, one of whom is set to occupy the one of the most powerful offices in the world.

There was an article in British news paper, “The Sunday Times”, which read “Obama might be too thin and too fit to appeal to voters who tend to like candidates with flaws that they can identify with”, quoting a article published in The Wall Street Journal. The article goes on commenting about the obesity data in America and how Obama could be at loss due to his fit physique and further delving into his life style, food habits etc.

If factors like these are going to decide the voting pattern, in the so called and much celebrated “meritocratic society”, I would rather say it is no different or even worse than primordial factors like caste, family, kinship deciding the voting pattern. What say?

RBI policy hike, inflation, the economic outlook and the common man

2008-07-29T18:02:00.005+05:30

The India growth story seems to have hit a temporary stumbling owing to both global reasons (like oil prices) and the domestic overheating of the economy caused by a steady growth of about 9%. Of the several issues that are inviting RBI’s concern in the recent times, inflation occupies the top spot, given that this is the election year. The RBI has been maintaining a hawkish stance for a while now and the First Quarter Review of Annual Statement on Monetary Policy for the Year 2008-09 brought out today, is very much in those lines. Two of the key rates viz., the REPO and the CRR have been hiked which essentially would make money supply dearer and result in reduced spending and consequently reduce the demand side of the market allowing the supply side to catch up and thereby reduce inflation. I would make an attempt to write how this move is going to affect or benefit the common man.

First off, the hike is not sudden or unexpected. It has been happening over a period of time and this seems to be the culmination and the only difference being that it sends out a clear signal that the RBI is more concerned about inflation than about growth, in a scenario where signs of slow down are obvious and needs to be given a boost.

REPO or Repurchase agreement is a tool, which is used by the RBI to infuse liquidity into the system. It is the rate at which the central bank lends to other banks or buys the government securities from the market and thereby increases the cash flow in the system. Increasing this rate would mean that it would be costlier on the part of the banks to borrow money from the central bank. CRR is the Cash Reserve Ratio – that part of the total assets of a financial institution, which should be kept as liquid cash. Increasing this rate will mean that banks will have lesser money to lend.

When both these rates are hiked, it is obvious that liquidity would be squeezed. When there is lesser money in the system, consequently the interest rates on various loans like auto/housing/personal etc would be raised so as to keep the banks up and running. As the interest rates go up, it would discourage borrowing from banks leading to a decline in the spending. Consequently prices would slowly ease out and thus inflation would come down. In short a common man may have to drop those plans, which would require a loan to be taken from a bank, owing to high interest rates.

The problem with this approach is that if lending becomes costlier, it’s going to have an adverse effect on the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment. These are companies that borrow from the banks to purchase raw materials or to expand their units in order to take up a new order etc. As a result, their cost of production increases and if not accompanied by an increase in the selling price, they are heading for a lessening of their profit margins. If they decide to increase the prices, they might end up losing customers. The large corporates will also face a problem when it comes to borrowing to carry out their expansions. When expansions are halted, the potential job opportunities it could result in are also cut down. In short, growth will slow down.

It is important at this juncture to realize that growth has to be compromised a little to take on inflation, which would have disastrous effects. A slow down in growth will affect only a certain section of the people and not necessarily in an adverse manner but spiraling prices would hit the common man hard. Growth has to be more sustainable and inclusive to have more a greater impact. If we can reduce our excessive or conspicuous consumption a little for the sake of easing the pressure on the bare minimum survival needs of a society at large it isn’t a bad proposition. To that extent the moves of the RBI, though a little tough, are well thought off and proactive but it remains to be seen how soon the effects would set in as the inflation figures, in the present scenario, is also dependent on the external factors like the price of crude and the commodities on a global scale.

The Communist Parties in India and the Nuke Deal

2008-07-25T14:40:00.006+05:30

Politics in India doesn’t have a good reputation amongst people of India itself. Every party has its own unique ideology (if there was one), a specific vote bank, a group of people to lead and a set of business people to back them driven by some form of ties or primordial relations or pure business interest. In spite of these wide variations, all the political parties stood a common ground when it came to one agenda – the money mantra. In some way or the other, most of the political leaders look forward to securing their future and, if possible, for a couple of forthcoming generations, by carefully exploiting the existing system to fit their interest. Out of this quagmire, I have always appreciated one school of these political parties that dint always subscribe to the above mentioned traits generally associated with a political party – The Communist parties. The respect came from the fact that they dint indulge in political vendetta and have always worked for the common man and striving to put forward that agenda to the fore and most importantly not indulging in petty/cheap politics. But in the recent drama relating to Indo US nuke deal and the Communists’ protest that eventually culminated in a confidence motion, all the appreciation I had for the communist parties was eroded primarily due to three moves/statements amidst other ‘non-sense’.

When the debate was about increasing India’s energy security and diversifying the mix, Prakash Karat gave the idea of increasing the state’s investment in coal fired power plants. Even a layman should be able to understand the negatives of increasing the number of coal fired power plants given the environmental impact they would leave behind and if the worst has to happen, the present generation could face the brunt of climate change. More over, a more realistic problem would be the dwindling coal supplies. The contention that the NSG might cut of fuel supplies paralyzing the reactor is put forth against the Indo US nuke deal but there would come a time in the near future when the coal fired power plants wouldn’t have coal to continue operations. Shouldn’t we go towards the future or should we go backwards?

Assuming the moral high ground by the communist parties is the second thing, which dampened the respect I had for them. “We will make it politically impossible for the government to go ahead with the deal”, said Prakash Karat. Frankly speaking, I couldn’t digest such a statement from a political leader of repute. There are many other instances of the assumption of moral high ground like calling for secular parties to unite, tie-up with BSP etc are nothing short of opportunism and it makes them no different from other political parties. Another important issue which irks me a lot is commenting on the deal leading to surrendering the sovereignty of India to a foreign country or letting a foreign country influence India’s policies lest we forget the closeness of the communist parties to the other communist nations of the world and history shows that their position is not entirely unquestionable.

The final blow came in the manner the speaker Somnath Chatterjee was removed from the party membership. They might defend it with enough reasons, the decision may be legally correct conforming to the anti defection laws and in line with the constitution, in accordance to their party rules but no body can deny the basic reason. The base line is that the Party wanted the Speaker to resign from the chair so that he can vote against the government. Again this makes them no different from any other political party. When a person is elected as speaker, he is considered to be above party lines and is assigned responsibility to run the house. Technically the decision of the party may be right but when they speak about morals and ethics not being respected by other parties, they too stand no different.

I dont intend to justify the actions of either UPA or NDA. My simple contention is that in this case, the communist parties behaved so badly and dint stand up to their crediblity.

I was Tagged... 1st proper personal blog i guess

2008-07-21T22:01:00.008+05:30

Gauri has tagged me. I should thank her for this as I have accomplished something that I have been thinking to do for quite sometime but was finding myself only too lazy to do it. I wanted to import the posts from my previous blog but since blogger wont allow it, unlike wordpress. Since the tag demanded that I should relate the keywords to the previous posts, it got me working and I ended up finding the way to import. (It in itself is worth another post). Btw this entire post was not an easy exercise for me. Probably the one which the maximum time.

Though I am going to complete the tag, I am not very sure as to how much I would meet the basic criteria of the blog, as I am not used to writing personal posts. I did write something personal but they are largely related to me and very little about others’. Nevertheless, I will make use of this opportunity to write those, which I haven’t written before.

Family: Something that I have not really written about. At best, there could be some passing references here and there about my mom accompanying me somewhere or meeting my brother after some time. Talking about my family, in my case it doesn’t refer to my parents alone but a whole host of people from my dad’s brothers to my maternal uncle, every single person is equally important to me and I have borrowed a trait or two from each. Even if modernity breaks the traditional joint family and takes us towards a nuclear family, technology ensures that jointness is not dying anytime soon and I have lived(ing) through it.

This post probably has a few references to my family.

Friends: They have been my lifeline and will continue to be. Life would have been so different but for their presence. My personal opinion is that friendship is the most beautiful thing a human being can posses and could lead to amazing things in life. Again, here too I don’t find many posts I can relate to but as the tag demands I may choose the blog directly below this as one which mentions about a conversation I had with a friend but not about the person per se.

Yourself: After having imported the old posts, I am able to visualize the change in my perceptions in a variety of issues. When I read some of them, I can see the influence sociology and some of my friends have had on me in the recent past. It seems as if I am discovering myself and this blog is a reflection of that fact, more so when seen in a comparative perspective with respect to my previous writings.

For example, in this post I have talked about changing food habits and vegetarianism but now when I see it from a environmental stress and limited resources perspective, I now believe it is better to be a vegetarian. There isn’t a separate post where i have written it

This post is a bit philosophical I guess which I wrote in the fit of the moment after reading an article in the newspaper. Rightly the column was named Inner Voice.

Love: Something that is rarely found in its purest form and I am happy to have some genuine people around me. But sadly enough, there aren’t posts about them except a few passing references here and there. Probably I am a little weak when it comes to expressing love and emotions in words and writing but I also believe that when it is from your heart it reaches the destination without any big obstacles.

Anything I like: I like clicking pictures for which my other blog needs to be checked http://thedigitali.blogspot.com/. Being a software professional by education, I like to tweak with a code here and there and most of the times it is this blog template itself. Out of everything I like, I think the most influential one is my liking for sociology and I feel it somehow finds its presence in most of the posts I have been writing since I started learning the subject, which in itself was purely by chance.

technology and language

2008-07-10T13:14:00.001+05:30

The following is a rough reconstruction of a casual conversation between a friend and me (represented by A and B respectively).

A: hi, how are you doing?

B: I am good how about you?

A: great

B: been to college?

A: yes…. tired after traveling up and down

B: hmm

A: brb

B: ok

A: m back… had to close all the open widows

B: oh! use firefox na

A: yup

B: version 3 is out

A: oh is it good

B: it is … moreover you can open many tabs in a single window rather than many windows

A: arre…. I meant the physical windows, the windows in the house

B: lol

A: else mosquitoes will invade… so closed everything

B: weird coincidence… have to blame bill gates for naming this as windows :p

Funny! Isn’t it? Even I brushed it off as humor, on the first instance but on the hindsight, it left me wondering about the impact of technology on our lifestyle and now language also. If we make a simple analysis, we might be able to figure out the scale of the impact. “Mail me”, “message me”, “call me” are something, which I can recollect as I write this but I am sure there is much more to it. No?

Federer Syndrome and the Wimbeldon

2008-07-05T06:52:00.003+05:30

"The Federer Syndrome, a severely distressing and painfully debilitating condition that can lead to abject public humiliation, is a rather common affliction in men’s tennis today. Symptoms vary but sufferers normally experience a suddenly diminished sense of self-belief, a shocking inability to come to terms with reality, and, typically, tend to harbour the illusion that the enemy is really a friend.

The condition — a variation of the Stockholm Syndrome — is so named because it generally strikes men when they happen to be standing across the net from Roger Federer and conducting serious business in a major tournament. Even players who are renowned for their mental strength are not immune to the ravages of the Federer Syndrome, as the Aussie Lleyton Hewitt found out in the 122nd Wimbledon championships on Monday." wrote Nirmal Shekar for The Hindu on 1st July.

The semifinal match with Marat Safin of Russia reiterated this fact. Safin, being the first Russian to reach the semifinal stage, was expected to give a tough fight atleat. Given the fact that he ousted the no.3 Djokovic of Serbia made one imagine of a good contest. In the end, the match turned out to be a lopsided affair with Federer setting the trend early in the first set itself when he took a 4-1 lead in about 7 minutes from the start of play and the rest of the match was more or less on the same lines except for the 2nd set which went to a tie breaker.

Now, the stage is big. Federer has reached the 6th consecutive Wimbledon final and has to fight it out with the in-form Rafa, who is also playing marvelous tennis this season. The contest eventually boils down the mental toughness with both of them excelling in all the shots and strokes that are in their inventory. Look out for the Federer's Serve and Rafa's Volley.

Recall Elections in Chhattisgarh

2008-06-29T07:35:00.003+05:30

A fortnight ago, something unique happened in the lesser-known state of Chattisgarh, which unfortunately failed to grab the attention of the mainstream visual media. The people of Chattisgarh have stripped three elected representatives of their position by the exercise of what is called as “right to recall”. The heads of two Nagar Panchayats and a Municipal Committee voted out of office by the people are Bharti Sonkar (Congress), president of Gunderdehi Nagar Panchayat, Sitaram Ganekar (Independent), who headed the Nawagarh Nagar Panchayat and Koren Khalko, president of Rajpur Municipal Committee.

A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from the office. This provision is enshrined in Section 47 of the Chhattisgarh Nagar Palika Act, 1961. According to the law, if three-fourth of the total number of elected representatives of the municipal bodies gave it in writing to the district collector demanding recall of the president, the district administration, after verifying the circumstances, could suggest to the state Government accordingly. The state Government then would send the proposal to the state Election Commission for conducting an election to recall the president. In other words, if the elected councilors in a municipality are not happy with the performance of their President, they can initiate a proposal for the process of recall provided three fourths of the total number of elected councilors give it in writing. Subsequently the election commission conducts a ballot where people are given two choices – to keep the person in power or remove him from office. If a majority of the votes i.e. 50% or more is cast in favour of removing the person from office, he automatically relinquishes power and fresh elections would be called for.

The dissatisfied councilors, using this act, expressed their lack of confidence in their Presidents leading to a recall election that resulted in the three heads losing office. Bharti Sonkar had managed to get only 1389 votes in her favour, while 1977 voted against. Sitaram Ganekar got 805 in favour and 1146 against while Koren Khalko lost the race by a slim margin of 73 votes – 813 for and 740 against.

The roots of this provision can be traced to similar law in the state of Madhya Pradesh, out of which the state of Chattisgarh was carved out. Palavika Patel, the former president of Anuppur municipality in Madhya Pradesh, was ousted in a similar fashion in 2002. The state of Maharashtra is also attempting to put such a law in place but the lack of political will is major stumbling block. At the national level, though, the idea has been doing rounds since finding mention in the Government Agenda in 1977 by the then ruling Janata Party government but yet to fructify into a concrete idea. Even though the lack of political will is being claimed to be the biggest reason, citing how in the US, 18 states passed a similar legislation following the trend set by California, it will be unfair to consider so for the reason that even in the so called most developed democracies or other political setups around the world, a similar option is largely unfound.

When considering the political climate in the country, it would be a bit premature to consider this isolated incident as a sign of growing people’s empowerment or emergence of participatory democracy because the initiation of this process is still a political agenda. Those who lost power are quick to attach conspiracy theory and political vendetta versions to the story. Similar recall elections have been held in the past but they largely went unnoticed and even a case, involving the recall of Mr. Vimal Chopra, is awaiting final decision from the court. Nevertheless, the recall in Chattisgarh is still considered significant because it involved removing three people from office and it has managed to generate some interest. The mainstream media, however, remains aloof (I did search for a story covering this in IBN Live and NDTV websites) to this incident quite understandably because it doesn’t generate much TRPs as compared to aishwarya rai being pregnant.

Lester Brown in New Delhi

2008-06-14T07:44:00.003+05:30

Dr.Lester Brown, unarguably one of the most influential thinkers of our time and an expert Environment Analyst, was in New Delhi recently and I had the privileged opportunity to listen him talking. He was addressing a group of audience in the Teen Murti House auditorium in New Delhi on the 13^th of June, on the release of Hindi Version of his latest book Plan B 3.0 Mobilising to Save Civilisation. The book deals with the major areas where humanity is facing crisis and the ways to resolve the crisis in the most pragmatic manner possible. I would like to highlight some of the important points that were raised during the interactive session that lasted for about an hour. Also present in the panel discussion was Mr. Bittu Sahgal, editor of sanctuary magazine who is seen listening attentively as Dr. Brown speaks in the picture below.

Changing the tax regime is one of the most important steps according to Dr. Brown. His contention is that people pay for the production of fuels or technology but they don’t pay for the outcomes. For instance, while for the petrol that we purchase, we are charged right from extraction to retail distribution, we are not charged for the environmental impact we cause due to the usage of petrol. This is an area of concern. Introduction of a green tax or a carbon tax would serve as a powerful retardant from the overuse of those articles that leave an impact on the environment.

Political will is also essential to make this happen. One of the more relevant points raised during the discussion was that the economic measures finally rest upon those section of people who are exposed to tax and occupy a relatively higher position in the society whereas the problem needs to be addressed at the grass roots who are the worst affected and where the real solution lies. The possible solution to this question is a mass movement. Dr. Brown highlighted how in the US, the civil societies have gone up against the move to construct coal fired power plants and have successfully stopped the construction of plants which do not satisfy the emission norms. Also he highlighted upon the need to shift focus towards the usage of alternate clean/green sources of energy for which he again cited the example of the state of Texas has proposed to set up a wind farm with a capacity of generating 23000MW of clean energy, enough to address the needs of the majority of its population. T. Boone Pickens, one of the oil barons of Texas has also invested in a 4000MW plant as a part of the grid. This exemplifies the fact how the world is shifting towards alternate energy.

Another interesting point that came up in the discussion was how the diversion of food crops to the alternate energy projects in the US has led to the increase in the food prices globally. Dr. Brown stated that almost 25% of the corn production has been set apart for the bio fuel projects.
The session ended with stress on how the youth have to come together in a mass mobilization to address this problem, as we are the ones who would be living in this earth and face the brunt of some of the mistakes our previous generations have committed.

A detailed biography of Dr. Brown can be had here

The Plan B 3.0 book can be downloaded at http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/Contents.htm

vodafone and money lending !

2008-06-11T07:08:00.002+05:30

Ever since it began operations in India, Hutch has never failed to impress us with the way the company has approached the Indian consumer and still continuing it after becoming Vodafone. Be it the advertisements or the promotional activities, the company has always managed to stay discrete. I, for one, am a great admirer of the ads they roll out, as it is one of those very few advertisement campaigns that don’t bank upon a ‘skin’ show and doesn’t target the sexual insecurities of men to put the message across. It has always been sensible, precise and has been able to connect well with the audience. When it comes to the offers and the customer service, the company has managed to be a cut above the rest. (At least from what I have experienced)
The Indian mobile phone landscape is dynamic, witnessing an enormous growth and considered to be one of those markets with great depth and opportunity. To keep pace, the government has granted license to a number of new operators and the subscriber can expect a very competitive market in the future with imminent cuts in the call charges by the existing and new operators so as to have an edge over the competing company. From a business perspective, the companies need to be innovative enough to avoid their the profit levels from being squeezed considering the fact that the call charges in India are some of the lowest as compared to the global peers. The operators are concentrating on making the subscriber use one of the many VAS they provide and thus increase the spending per user and I am sure we all are victims of those pestering nonsense at least once in a day.

In what I presume as a move towards boosting the average user spending, Vodafone has recently introduced something called as “chotta credit” whereby if the subscriber runs out of calling credits, the operator is willing to extend a credit of Rs.10 against a service charge or Re.1, and the credit would be adjusted during the next recharge. One has to appreciate the extent to which the company has read the average middle class user’s mindset. With the spending on the mobile phone occupying a fixed value in the monthly budget, there is every chance for the user to run out of talk credits and go through a muted phase during the month ends. But what is even more interesting is the economics involved behind this whole concept. If seen from a different perspective we may realize that for a credit of Rs.10 the company recovers a sum of Rs.11 back. In economic terms, this is equivalent to granting a loan at an interest rate of 10% and the recovery period is very minimal because the user has to shell out money any case, to make further calls from the mobile. Supposing that a lakh subscribers use this facility twice in a month, the company would easily make a profit of Rs. 2 lakhs without providing an actual service. It has left me wondering if this is a new form of money lending, virtual though!

2008-05-30T21:39:00.011+05:30

The possibility of a social crisis after an attack is a more serious problem than the actual attack itself and triggering such a crisis would be the motive of an attack. Fortunately this doesn’t happen in India often. Unfortunately attacks happen and is fast becoming more of a regular phenomenon.
One point, which did not get much of a highlight in the media is, why Jaipur was the chosen city to stage the attack. Neither was I much concerned of this fact but the moment one steps into the city, it is impossible to go without noticing the uniqueness of the city, the very fact for the city being the target. “Pink city”, as it is referred is truly pink. Every building inside the city carries on the tradition of the pink city and painting the exteriors pink. Even the mosque, which is generally painted white and green following their traditions, is painted pink inside the ‘pink city’.
If one takes a closer look at the settlement pattern in Jaipur, it offers a whole new perspective of the city and the entire pictures falls into place automatically. The roads cut at right angles and on one road is the ‘Hindu’ settlement and on the other side is the ‘Muslim’ settlement. It becomes more interesting when one sees that the mosque is located inside the hindu settlement and the temple is in the other. Such is the plan of the city that each other respect the others’ practices and approve of it. On the outlook, this must have appeared to be the vulnerability that might be exploited to trigger a crisis. Fortunately it dint happen
The entire attack took place in a stretch of this road at intervals and to inflict maximum damage, the bombs had been planted on alternate sides so that when people take refuge on the other side, they are vulnerable again.

One of the explosions was at this very site, the gate of a hanuman temple.
In spite of everything the city showed remarkable resilience, which, I think, is owing to the unique social structure it has. I managed to get a shot of this person sitting inside the bus. I am not sure what prompted me to click this local teenager (I suppose) but to me his looks seemed to convey a message. Does it to you? Please leave it in the comment

blogathon - politics

2008-04-23T17:48:00.001+05:30

How do we change the focus of politics from caste/religion to grass-root issues?

Are the grass root issues independent of the caste and religious factors? Are they two independent entities or the two sides of the same coin, is a question that needs to be addressed before going about discussing how do we change the focus.

Numerous grass root issues exist in the present day scenario and the most glaring of them is poverty. For discussion sake, let us consider poverty an important issue and try to answer the question in discussion. Available statistics show that at least a quarter of our population are not in a position to afford a square meal per day and the ground reality is even worse, if the cases relative poverty and those who are living on the margins are also taken into account. One widely accepted cause for this kind of poverty is the lack of education and awareness. When one looks into this grass root issue, the solution seems to be quite obvious and simple. Extending education to the affected would make them aware and address to their poverty issues also. But in actuality, it’s not that simple an issue to be addressed. Unlike the Scandinavian countries, where the government extends a suitable job opportunity to every single citizen based on his abilities, it is literally impossible for us to extend job opportunities to everybody so as to address the issue of poverty. In order to effectively address the issue of poverty, the solution lies in identifying and grooming the indigenous knowledge possessed by people – knowledge that was accumulated and perfected over the centuries and creating ample channels to convert that knowledge into livelihood or in other words, encouraging to the cottage industries.

For a moment, lets step out of this discussion and try to understand something about India and the Indian society. In the past, a couple of other successful civilizations co-existed and thrived around the same time as ours but vanished from history in a few centuries. While their descendants exist today, it is not essentially the same kind of society that had once flourished and was highly successful. Ours is a bit different and unique in the sense not only did it society stand the test of time but most of the customs and practices have also survived. One of the key factors for this success is the ‘village’ of India the role of which has commanded the appreciation of all those who attempted to decipher the secret of this success. Every village was a self-contained, self-sufficient and a complete system. Everything that was necessary for a particular community was produced and consumed within the community itself. This could be held as the origin and the meaning of the caste system. It was largely an occupational classification where different castes addressed to different needs of the society and they were mutually dependent on each other for their individual needs and over the years the corresponding castes have accumulated knowledge over their trade. Numerous examples can be cited to prove this assertion.

Getting back to the topic of discussion, if the cottage industry needs to be given adequate importance, it indirectly means touching upon the caste identity and consciousness of the people. It can be argued that with education we can train anybody to do any job but the efficiency of such a proposal needs to be checked and it may not be possible to see the results anytime in the near future. For instance, it may not be a very good idea to pick somebody dairying community and make him study electrical engineering. There is a fair chance that this might further aggravate the problem by leading to some sort of identity crisis. Rather it might be a good idea to impart education regarding dairying itself, which could amount to honing the accumulated knowledge and adjusting the trade to the contemporary needs. As seen above, this scheme would surely touch upon the caste consciousness.

If the major work of politics is policy making which ultimately has to cater to the needs of different sections of the society, it is next to impossible to remove the caste factor from it. The success in resolving the grass root problems thus remains in the fact, how the caste card is played in the game of politics. If seen in the proper perspective, it may well be used in a constructive manner to address not only poverty but many other grass root issues also. Alternatively it could well be played in a divisive and destructing manner, and the standing testimony to that case are some of the present day’s grass root issues. It would not be wrong to consider that these issues are partly because of the very same fact.

humanness ?? is it running dry

2008-04-15T19:18:00.001+05:30

The Delhi blue line service has been all over the news and not for good reasons always and this incident is also involving a blue line bus but thankfully it has nothing to do with the bus service or those who run it.

A physically handicapped person got into the bus and stood near the seat near the door, the seat that is typically meant for them to avoid any discomfort while boarding or de-boarding. A couple of women were sitting in that seat and its normal for anybody to expect that the seat would be offered to that person, even if it were not marked out. To my surprise, the women were just not interested in taking note of the person standing there. The person after a brief period requested for a seat. It was the reply that made me feel so bad. One of them just turned him down and asked him sit by the side of the driver i.e. on the gearbox. The person went to the extent of even saying that it is written above that the seat is marked out for them and simply they refused to budge. A small argument broke out and the scene did not look nice. The incident lasted for about 2 minutes and when I just couldn’t take it anymore, I decided to end it by offering mine.

Any justification can be extended to this incident to defend their stand, but the simple question is “isn’t there any humanness left?” There is a disabled person standing near you and you are sitting, shouldn’t the natural human instinct direct the person to get up and offer a seat.

This incident may just be an aberration and probably such narrow-minded people are low but then it gave rise to a question in my mind.

Is the world becoming more materialistic and is the humanness tap running dry slowly?

It might not be possible to draw any big conclusions based on this particular event but when correlated with the similar things happening all around the question at least seems to be sensible. Should we consider this to be a normal phenomenon which happens when the society progress given the recent economic boom and the globalization factors? Or is it case of loss of values? Is there somebody who can be held responsible? Is the individual himself/herself?

PS: Nothing personal against anybody nor it is targeted towards any particular section of the society.

short story 2

2008-04-03T18:23:00.006+05:30

a part of this story is adapted from an incident which i wrote in my old blog.  i am not sure how i am going to fare in this attempt though his is one of my personal favourites.   as always, comments/criticisms are welcome.

  

Dream Come True

He was heading back home. After a busy day’s work, he had been to the railway station to see off a friend who got married recently and consequently relocating to another town. The sky had opened up in the evening drenching the city for about half an hour and it was clearly visible on the pavements. The weather was quite pleasant which made the long ride a bit comfortable and enjoyable. There was an obvious sense of relief running inside him as it was a Friday and he was eagerly looking forward for the weekend.

The phone in his pocket started singing a popular song from the latest flick, when he was a few yards from his house. He pulled it out and simultaneously kicking the side-stand of and switched the head lights off as he put the bike to rest just in front of the gate. When he saw the screen, his face also lit up – it was her. He started walking around the perimeter of the house subconsciously, as the conscious part of his brain was engaged in listening and replying as the discussion ranged from the traffic jam that happened on his way to office in the morning to the friend he had just seen and they finalized the plans for the next day. He hardly paid attention to the call for dinner and gestured to his mom, with the free hand asking his parents to go to bed and they understood the call might be long, given the fact that he is getting married in a couple of months. The next thing he realized was he was on the bed, after about an hour later, fidgeting the TV’s remote control. The TV automatically turned itself off in 15 minutes time as it had been programmed to do so.

It was quarter past midnight and for some strange reason he woke up. It was very rare of him to wake up in the middle of sleep. Sitting on the bed, he felt that something was amiss but was not sure what it was. Puzzled by this unusual behaviour of his, he went to the kitchen for a glass of water. It was when he opened the door for a gasp of fresh air, did he realize what had went wrong. There stood the reality glaringly before his eyes, which made him feel stupid, angry and worried at the same time. As he recollected the turn of events, the mistake became clear. He couldn’t forgive himself for leaving the fortnight old bike, outside the house with the keys still in it and he knew there couldn’t be any rational justification to this gross failure. The dejection was clearly visible in his face as he went to bed again with a million thoughts flashing across his mind. Let alone the other aspects of legal procedures and stuff, he was primarily worried about facing his parents in the morning and more importantly he simply couldn’t digest his own deed. Again, he never knew when he slept though he did not want to.

He was the last person to wake up the next morning. Since it was the weekend, the atmosphere in the house was lazy and relaxed. He sat up on the bed and started recounting the incidents of the night. He felt somebody was entering his room and he could sense it was his dad with the newspaper in his hand. He sat beside him with the coffee mug, discussing about the Friday closing of the stock markets and enquiring him if he was free on the Sunday evening to take him to a relative’s place as he had promised to visit them over the weekend. He was listening absent-mindedly growing more and more confused within. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that everything was a DREAM.

the intelligent and the fool...

2008-03-25T17:04:00.002+05:30

Going to Sarojini Nagar is always a pleasure and more so if you are a resident of Delhi and in a position to go there once in a while and for those tourists who come to Delhi, it is definitely a must see. For those who have not heard much about it, I would put it as a 'Fashion Street' of sorts, though you can get anything under the sun but getting the right product at the right price is a matter of expertise. A fortnight back, I happened to go there, obviously for shopping, and had a very unique experience, which lead to some realizations.

It was the weekend and the crowd was all over the place. From shops on the pavement to flagship stores everybody was busy convincing the customer about their product, with an aim of making an additional buck by taking advantage of the increased influx over the weekend. Suddenly there was a huge commotion and the shop keepers started shouting something at one another and within minutes the outlook of the whole area changed. The additional steel frames which was an integral part of almost all the apparel shops to hang clothes on display, disappeared and so did the ones which were on the road. The ones on the footpath went deeper inside and suddenly the streets had more space for walking. The most interesting thing was to do with the pavement shops, who for some reason, kept their belongings inside the nearest shop and stood unassociated.

As this process kept flowing in a domino fashion, the reason for this chaos emerged from the street corner and it was nothing but the civic authority evacuation van accompanied by some officials in another vehicle. I started wondering who was intelligent and who was a fool. Should we call the shop keepers who are always in a constant state of alertness to successfully avert their shop from being taken to task for illegal encroachment and the pavement sellers who are successfully able to hide their goods and pretended to be a onlooker, as intelligent ? Or should we call the authorities who had come to inspect the market and was completely unaware of these encroachments as they were not in place when they passed a particular shop, as fools ? Shortly after this incident, I learnt that this was a regular exercise and nothing unusual about it. I guess it won't be wrong to assume that a similar story exists in every city.

When it came down to this question of who is intelligent and who is a fool, I had this realization. It is we, who pay the taxes or in other words, paying the monthly salary to the authorities who are to be held accountable, who are the real fools in the whole story. Nothing against the seller who is making way for his daily bread through this market or the shopper who wants to get the best bet but if this is the reality then what is the point of having a civic system and competent authority who seems to have a blind eye to the reality.

Until one gets a more than obviously visible fake product carrying a popular brand name, at a fraction of the original's cost, WHO CARES ?????? and ironically enough, I believe, the same authorities would very well be the consumers of the products from the same shops which they would have inspected.

my first short story

2008-03-09T23:48:00.004+05:30

Dear readers, this is my first attempt with a short story. though i wanted to write one for quite sometime it finally materialized today. comments/criticisms are welcome and hope i would not bore you to the core.

He sat there stirring his cappuccino, looking at it. He wore a smile which was a mixture of gratitude and a slight irritation nevertheless he looked relieved. The day has not been particularly kind to him. Having a bad day at office is nothing unusual but today it has been a little different.

It all started when he woke up an hour late in the morning. The alarm clock, which he managed to find after a two hour search, had failed to live up to his expectations. He realized it only when he woke up and saw that it had stopped at 1.am itself – he had not used the alarm clock in years. Though he had made it just on time for the appraisal meeting, it came at the cost of breakfast.

After attending the grueling but successful meeting, he collapsed into his chair and looked at the monitor, absentmindedly. The date on the desktop calender seemed to remind him of something. Suddenly it struck him … it was the birthday of a friend. He tried hard to recollect the mobile number but to no avail. Hastily he scrambled through some of his old telephone books but alas!, the attempt was futile. He even tried to leave a scrap via orkut but it the firewall scorched his requests. With no option left, he sent a mail conveying the birthday wishes.

He would have certainly forgotten to send a request asking for a fresh cheque book from the bank, but for the timely remainder by a friend. While sending this mail, he realized the friend whom he had wished in the morning had replied to the mail. Obviously it was ‘thanks’ mail but he had successfully managed to draw flak for not having enough to time to make a call and wish. He was simply frustrated, partly because of his inability but there was little he could too other than accepting it and desperately waited for the clock to hit 6.

He was the first to leave the office, without even waiting to bid goodbye to his colleagues. The drive of 30mins was filled with thoughts of the day’s incidents. As he entered, he was greeted by the ever smiling customer desk executive. Upon production of the receipt, he was made to wait for a brief period of time and before handing it over he was advised to be careful while handling it and that if its dropped into water again, the possibility of resurrection is very bleak.

Without a second thought, he headed to the coffee shop in the adjacent building. After ordering his usual coffee, he pulled it out of the bag and pressed gently on the top. It blinked to life as he saw his own photo in the background. He heaved a sigh of relief and unconsciously he smiled.

love is in the air, literally

2008-03-01T07:38:00.003+05:30

Agar aap janna chahte hain kisse hoga apko pyaar aur kya hoga unka naam. Type PARTNER Date of Birth Eg PARTNER 14021986 & send to 53131. Rs 3-sms.

How intelligent systems have become these days. A simple date of birth and the capacity to pay Rs.3 can find a partner for u. Is it the partner? no the message says it will find the name of that person. Fantastic isn't it? Even without the very basic information, the systems can predict the course of your life. I wonder if there is actually somebody out there who would be desperate
enough to know the name of their life partner this way.

If that's not enough, you can even check the compatibilty of a couple. I am sure this is going to give the marriage counsellors, the astrologers, etc etc, a run for their money.

Pyar k season par hamare Love Guru se janiye kitna gahra hai aap dono me pyar? Type LOVE (ur name) (partner name) eg LOVE ANUJ SANCHI & send to 53131. Rs 3-sms.

Fuel Price Hike and can we do something to keep it control............

2008-02-16T13:21:00.000+05:30

Government of India has decided to hike the prices of petrol and diesel – a logical step that must follow if the prices of input increase. The input here being crude oil and taking into account, the kind of fluctuation in the global crude oil prices, the price hike, barring a governmental move to absorb the rise, is almost inevitable. This kind of an increase, I believe, is true for any country, which is largely dependent on the external sources to meet its fuel demands and more so in case of India where crude oil constitutes a fair share of the total imports. It has to be understood that governments and the oil marketing companies too have certain constraints and so eventually the consumer also would have to share a part of the burden. In India, it is this fact, which raises a lot of eyebrows and a certain bone of contention particularly for the opposition and to those who have a control over the survival of the ruling government.

A lot has been/is being debated about the price hike and the impact it could have on the common man. This line of argument does carry merit. Though the hike might seem marginal it would, in fact, have its effect on product pricing. For instance a hike in transport costs for the producer will affect the whole cost structure as it flows through various levels and finally come to the consumer at an increased cost. The way fuel is priced in India is unique. Many might not be aware of a concept called cross subsidy that is being practiced in our country when it comes to fuel needs. The most striking example of this practice is the LPG cylinder, which is an integral part of every household. In a free market, the LPG cylinder should cost almost twice the price we pay. The differential cost is being compensated in form of the tax that is levied for petrol and diesel. The rationale behind such a set up could be to keep cooking gas price affordable even to those who cannot afford an own vehicle. The section that demands that taxes be cut or reduced to keep the price under control often doesn’t highlight this point.

Is reducing the tax the only way to keep the prices under control? There are talks about using CNG or bio fuels in place of petroleum so as to reduce the dependency on the fast shrinking global oil resources but those alternatives do not come without a price and realising their full potential may not be mature enough to be in the immediate picture as yet. There is one other dimension to this pricing story that is being neglected (deliberately?), i.e. the consumption angle. A reduction in consumption would have its impact on product pricing and any layman could understand that logic. If the demand is more, the price has to increase correspondingly and to some extent we are also to be blamed for this.

A sample calculation would make things more evident. For a 100 crore strong population, let us assume about 5 crore people use some form of a vehicle and thus require fuel. If each of us can reduce the consumption by 2 liters each week by using other forms of transport, it would work out to be an interesting equation. The 2 litres is, by any yardstick, very nominal but for calculation purpose let us assume it to be so. Every week, the reduction in consumption would be to the tune of 10 crore litres and translated to current market prices, it would figure at savings of about Rs. 450 crore/week, approximately. The total savings would work out close to Rs 1500 crore a month, which if again reflected in the price, could to some extent bring down the price.

The proposition may be crude and not backed by appropriate data but is definitely worth an attempt. It could well be a means to take this issue of controlling the price directly to people rather than debating about it endlessly in the office rooms. Almost in all the previous occasions of a price hike, invariably it was used a political weapon. The events that generally follow the hike would be protests, agitations so on and so forth by all other parties except the ones at the helm, which always tries to defend its stand. Instead, if there were an attempt made to reduce consumption, it would surely reflect in the overall scenario for demand supply is the main driving force behind a free market economy. It doesn’t sound impossible or impractical right? But I guess it is highly improbable. Those who have the ability to influence masses should lead from the front, but in a situation where a cultural occasion or a marriage etc are being used as a showcase of wealth and sheer wastage of resources by the same leaders, the chances that this will set an example are bleak.

Remarkable progress in the recent years as a country and as an economy has given rise to a burgeoning spending class (sometimes more conspicuous of nature), which naturally has resulted in increased demand for everything including fuel. A normal household has graduated from one two wheeler not more than 2 decades is now brimming with at least 2 or more of them and in many cases a family car is also quite visible which means the fuel usage has increased manifold while the family or the number of people remain the same. The same situation exists in relation to electricity too but that story is even more pathetic. It is always easy to play the blame game and criticize those who are in power or those who are answerable by virtue of their official position but before that a little self-introspection would be good. People must be aware or made aware of the consequences of their various activities, which would be the most effective weapon while combating critical issues like this nature.

sms ing money the premium way

2008-02-10T00:21:00.000+05:30

It has not been ages and those days would be, if not fresh, at least sticking in the memory to most of us – the days when there used to be a post card yellow in colour, which was used to participate in competitions held by the tv channels. Subsequently it evolved into a special post card meant for this purpose, called the competition post card. This too was subsequently replaced by the telephone.

The latest in this list is SMS. Truly the mobile phones have revolutionized the way in which people communicate. From taking part in KBC to answering for the question of the day, from voting for Indian idol to voting to choose the Indian of the year, or whatever be the issue, the simple answer would be the SMS. How simple it has become, just tapping a few keys and done in matter of seconds, registering the individual’s opinion. There is a little known flip side to this issue.

For the purpose of these sorts, the telecom companies have something called as the premium SMS, which is actually charged at a higher cost than other services which the company normally offers. There exists are tie up between the tv and telecom company for revenue sharing, the point which is not known to the actual sender. In simpler words, the total revenue made out of these premium SMS is actually shared between the television company and the telecom company. There are two glaring examples in front of us which would make the picture more clear.

First is KBC3. This program reportedly received a whopping number of SMS from anxious participants who wanted to participate in the show. (There was a news paper article which clearly listed the actual number of participants, the number of messages received and the revenue sharing too). Apart from other revenues, the company made away with a hefty sum of money from the pockets of those who didn’t actually participate in the contest. The second and even worse case is that of Indian Idol. The winner from the final two contestants is decided based on the number of SMS votes he gets. There were documented accounts of people collecting money to cast SMS votes for a person from their region. Now this raises the question. Is the person who is talented of the two chosen as the winner or the person who is able to get the maximum number of SMS votes or indirectly give money to the TV Company through the revenue sharing model it would have already struck. The more ironic fact is that the loser also ends up paying almost the same amount a little less if not equal.

Every company does business to make money and no one can complain of that fact. The thing that bothers me is that how these companies, using the star power of some celebrities, making unknowing people spend their money and make profit out of it.

Are these contests a test for the talents and capabilities or a display of the financial muscle the person commands ? to put it crudely or in a different dimension, the person who bribes most wins....

The magnificent Taj

2008-01-26T22:07:00.000+05:30

The French President was here and the biggest worry of a particular section of the media (or is it the majority?) is the absence of Carla Bruni. Had she accompanied him the TV channels would have hit a jackpot. There would have been a discussion during prime time and a few experts(?) would have been invited to the studios to analyze the issue in great detail. The print media too was not an exception. Almost the entire mass media reported the same day and the next day that Sarkozy was alone at Taj, the symbol of love. That brings me to the point of this blog, Is Taj a symbol of love. Surprisingly enough the answer could be a no too.

Without a doubt, the Taj is indisputably one of the most magnificent architectural masterpieces of all time. It certainly is a pride to India and deserves the top position in the list of 7 wonders for times to come. But what exactly does that building mean? what is the idea behind the construction of this marble-marvel? These issues do warrant some attention before declaring it as the symbol of love.

To understand the meaning of the building we may need to understand the Quarnic verses beautifully inscribed outside it in the form of calligraphy. One of the 22 verses compares the Taj with the Garden of Paradise where the appeased souls of the dead find refuge. The verse reads

(It will be said to the pious): O (you) the one in
(complete) rest and satisfaction!
Come back to your Lord, -- well-pleased (yourself)
and well-pleasing unto him!
Enter you, then, among My honored slaves,
And enter you My Paradise!

Enter whose paradise is the point to be taken note of and this is the inscription found at the entrance. Other verses stress on purity of faith, how paradise looks like, day of judgment etc which seem to have more of a religious outlook than being romantic.

The lay out of the building also needs to be looked into. It is generally believed that the layout of this marvel has been modeled based on the descriptions given for heaven as given in the religious texts, including the symmetry, the shapes, the dimensions, the gardens, the water channels and the location of various elements of the entire structure.

Taj Mahal, thus, can well be held as a symbol of power and prosperity. It showcases the economic affluence and pinnacle of Mughal architecture. Above all, it is conceived and created as a representation of paradise.

Somebody (well versed in medieval Indian history) once jokingly pointed out that if Shah Jahan was so deeply in love with Mumtaz why did he give her the trouble of bearing 14 children. (she actually died while giving birth to the 14th child) In fact there is a school of history which believes that Shah Jahan apparently died of an overdose of aphrodisiac. May be a sarcastic perspective but still it has a point.

History is one subject where everybody has the luxury of interpreting the facts in whichever way we like and thus we may never know what the real picture is. Also the facts presented in various historical sources are well subject to the bias of the creator. I somehow feel this argument more convincing than it being a symbol of love.

Thats the building under question. A truly mesmerizing piece of art and it justs melts you when you walk towards it from the entrance. The feeling is better felt than expressed in words and i, for one, am not sure if it is romanticism or something else. Nevertheless, it is a visual treat which has no parallels and is also the most photographed building in the world including this one below, shot by me ;).

Food habits, vegetarianim and eating meat

2008-01-23T21:36:00.001+05:30

This post is inspired by a fellow blogger's blog about some food practices in the society(Click here) which seems not so relevant to the present situations. Below are my views on the issue.

Abstaining from meat eating or eating a vegetarian diet has been given many interpretations in the light of religious, ethical, moral and medical reasons. For a moment lets step away from these traditional and contemporary view points and approach this issue from a rather different and interesting angle, which looks more compelling. (at least to me)

Mankind is absolutely dependent on vegetation to meet the entire nutritional requirements. Plants are the only producers of energy. The produce their food by means of a photochemical process called as photosynthesis. All other living creatures in this earth are dependent on this energy either directly or indirectly and the same energy flows through different levels.

As a thumb rule, when energy flows across different levels, only 10% of it is transferred to the next level. The graphic below represents what is known as an ecological pyramid showing the energy transfer rates across various levels.

The amount of energy possessed by the primary consumer for instance, a goat is 1/10^th the energy possessed by the producer i.e. the plants. In other words, if a given amount of plants could support 100 people and if people are eating goats instead, only 10 people can survive because the energy transfer from plants to goats is only 10%. To make it even simpler one can say that if 1000 calories are available from plants directly, only 100 calories are available from the goats, which feed on the 1000 calories. If people are vegetarians or dependent on plants alone then a larger number of people can be supported with the available resources.

This could be the true rationale behind having vegetarian food habits or abstaining from eating meat, given the fact the human body and the biological systems within it are well adapted for meat eating.

If eating meat was not good for human health, why in the first place is our digestive system equipped to digest them and why do we have ‘canines and incisors’ tooth that are designed for cutting and tearing meat? Often people fail to differentiate between eating and over eating.

On the other hand we need to take into account the scientific advances which mankind was able to achieve. From a subsistence agriculture that was largely dependent on the forces of nature for water and essential nutrients, agriculture today has gone to different levels. Even barren lands can be cultivated these days. Commercial and intensive agriculture has its downsides too but thats a different story altogether. The fact of the matter is that dependency on plants has been brought under control, at least in theory.

The second but not so important reason for avoiding meat could be the disruption in the food chain it might cause. The food chain is an intricate inter-linkage between different organisms in the process of energy flow. Even if one component of the food chain is altered in numbers, then the upper levels might not get enough food while the lower levels might over grow thus leading to chaos. Given the fact that consumable meat is grown on an industrial scale the problem of disrupting the food chains seems to be invalid.

Its all about the individual's choice and conscience when it comes to the question of eating meat because both the arguments seem valid. Evolution of species guided by the survival of the fittest theory is the one which has shaped all the living organisms and one of the basic principles of the survival of the fittest story is meeting the nutritional requirements. Deer, which is long believed to be a herbivores (yes thats what most of the schools teach, at least i was taught so) may not be one anymore. There are evidences caught on camera about the Red Deer in the Scottish Island of Rum eating the head and legs of live sea birds to meet the calcium requirements so that it can grow its antlers better, which is the sign of a healthy male. The size of the antler plays a significant role in the choice of mate/healthy male for reproduction. If this practice gets coded in their genes, there may come a time when the deer eating the sea birds would become a part of their food habit and it may not be called a herbivore.

PS: The dear story is true. If interested, it may be checked here.

Anne Frank, her book and the world

2008-01-17T21:43:00.000+05:30

For the first time, I am attempting to write about a book. It’s not my intention to write a book review for the book has been reviewed by the most competent and the best people suited for the job. What I am going to write below is just things that struck my mind not while reading alone but for quite some time now and there was show in a tv channel, in which some of people associated with and mentioned in the book were interviewed which moved me to write this blog.

The Dairy of a Young Girl - It’s the printed version of a personal dairy written by a girl in her early teens while her family was forced to go into hiding, fearing sure death in the hands of the Nazi forces, in the German occupied Holland in the World War II era. That is the simplest description one can give but certainly the book deserves a lot more. The Nazi government ordered the persecution of Jews by sending them to the concentration camps citing racial reasons. More often than not the kind of trouble Germany was subject to by the then superior powers of the world is forgotten. Nevertheless, it, in any way, doesn’t justify their acts, which is inhuman to say the least.

The family of Otto Frank moved from Frankfurt to Amsterdam as soon as the newly elected Nazi party and its leader Adolf Hitler, their only fault being owning a Jewish identity. As Holland too was invaded by the German forces, the Franks, like countless other Jews, were forced to abandon what ever they owned and confine themselves in secret places to avoid being sent to the concentration camps, which was nothing but an avenue to systematically murder people. The hiding place for the Franks happened to be a warehouse of an office building and they were supported by a group of Dutch friends. The youngest daughter of Mr.Otto Frank is Anne Frank, the writer of the dairy(read book).

The book is a brilliant depiction of human emotions – emotions of all kinds joy, sorrow, distress, agony, pain, love – you name it and it has found its expression in the writings of Anne. But the facts written in the book carry a more serious and deep meaning. It shows the suffering that innocent people go through for no fault of theirs. The most basic point, that a family has been in hiding, limiting themselves within four walls for more than two years and struggling for mere survival, in itself explains everything. Surviving on stored food, dependent on friends for getting anything, lack of access to education, business and medical facilities, precisely compromising on the basic human needs, are some of the most visible problems they face in exchange of their life which is endangered by the beliefs of a single individual or a group of people, unknown/unseen.

The quest to gain control over material resources and subsequent wars are nothing new to mankind. It would have evolved as an after effect when resources became the private property of an individual/group/community/region. The only qualitative difference one can possibly observe from the historical accounts is that in the past, wars have been fought in secluded and barren lands, far away from human settlements and these struggles did not impact the innocent citizen much. What ever be the reason citied for the war – be it in the larger interest of the territory or a personal fancy – people did not suffer much. The present scenario shows a far worse picture. The quest for resources have been given a political colour and proclaiming to bring about a change in the invaded territory (whether the territory wants the change or not have been grossly ignored in almost all the cases), invasion are being done and on top of all INNOCENT PEOPLE DIE, people who have the least to do with the struggle or the perceived reasons leading to the wars. The past decade alone would stand as a striking testimony. If one wants to have a peek into the sufferings of people during a war, this book is one of the best as it paints the reality aptly.

"It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart”, wrote Anne Frank in one her final letters before being by betrayed by another human being leading to capture of the Franks and sending them to concentration camps. The only person to survive the ordeal was Mr.Otto Frank who was left with nothing but memories and the dairy.

Though he claimed that the German race was pure and superior, Adolf Hitler himself could not be a German citizen after all. He was a born Austrian and there are disputes regarding his father's race and also there are accounts which say his father might well have been a JEW !

Pongal festival and its meaning

2008-01-11T11:53:00.000+05:30

The pongal/sankaranti festival is around and the following post is an attempt to analyze the different aspects of it. What i have written below is merely a part of the whole concept, only that much i was able to understand. Correct me if i have erred and comments/criticisms are most welcome.

Astronomical meaning:

The rotation of earth around its own axis and the revolution of earth around the sun is the basis of the occurrence of day/night and the various seasons respectively. The earth is tilted 23 1/2 degrees to the vertical, which leaves only one hemisphere facing the sun at a given time. The hemisphere that faces the sun has summer season and the other has winter season. After six months, the vice versa happens. This is astronomically referred as due to the apparent movement of sun. The sun moves south to north and north to south between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, though in reality it is the earth’s tilt that is responsible for the position of sun.

As the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, it has summer in the months of November and December and we have winter because of the northern hemisphere being titled away from the sun. As sun gradually starts its journey back towards the north, seasons are poised for a change. The day on which the sun enters the territory of India coincides with Pongal’s eve. When the first rays of the sun, which is now directly positioned above the Indian mainland, hits, it is seen as a reason to celebrate. In short, it signifies the change of seasons brought by this event (end of the winter season) and ultimately recognising SUN as the main and only source of energy to the earth.

Traditional practices:

The first day “bogi” is to get rid of the old articles in the house. The second day is celebrated as “pongal”, which is paying respect to the ultimate source of energy, the sun and it is celebrated by offering the first produce from agriculture to the sun god. The third day “maatu pongal” or the day in which the cattle which assist man in agriculture is paid due respect and honoured. The fourth day “kaanum pongal” is directed towards strengthening human relations and seen as an opportunity to forget the earlier animosities between people and a day of reunion and joy.

Latent meanings:

Though it is seen as a harvest festival, it carries some deeper meanings that are very necessary for the existence of mankind. The underlying meanings teaches one to see sun as the ultimate source of energy, living harmoniously with nature, respecting animals and reaffirming human relations – the fundamental principles which define existence and continuance of society. As the sun proceeds further north into the Indian territory, different regions have festivals by different names to signify this event. Thus, as long as celebrating pongal is a part of our culture it enlightens one that nature is superior to man and human relations in a community needs to be harmonious so that not only the individual’s life is happy but also they leave a sustainable world for the future generations.

The forthcoming part about culture change and evolution is inspired by my fellow bloggers. No offence directed towards anybody nor I am anti west and their culture. I for one strongly believe that there is a lot to learn from the west too. This is a comparison and a few questions that have been lingering in my mind and I hope I do some amount of justice to it.

Change is the only permanent thing and culture is no exception to this fact. Cultures change and evolve over a period of time, based on the prevailing conditions. In olden days life style of people was a bit different from what we have today. The normal household contained articles that were perishable by nature. Also, almost none of these goods were mass-produced in industries and practically everything was a natural product. Therefore burning them on “bogi” did not lead to pollution. The present scenario is not the same. Already we are living in a polluted atmosphere and it is unwise to further worsen the situation. (On the contrary, there is a view that certain things, which when burnt, could actually reduce the pollution). This may be held as evolution of culture for the times have changed and so does our needs and requirements. Just because of the pollution factor one cannot write off “bogi” under the premise that it is furthering pollution. There is no other event that could remind one of the sun’s re-entry into our land and the importance of nature. The irony is that the cultural prescriptions meant to stress the importance of nature has in itself, in a way, is contributing to further deterioration of nature and this, I believe, is an outcome of the ignorance and lack of understanding of the actual rationale behind this event. A vulcanised rubber tyre or chlorine containing Polythene, things that are about 200 years old cannot undermine the importance of an astronomical event, which is eternal and is of utmost importance not only to the present generation but for times to come. (I don’t mean to justify the burning of such items or discount the service these inventions have brought to humanity but a changing culture must adapt itself to the existential reality without diluting the basic principles.)

The “kaanum pongal” i.e. the final of the 4 day festival is aimed at stressing the importance of human relations and communal living. The second longest beach in the world, the marina beach of Chennai, would be literally jam packed on that day. So do other places of gathering. Till date not a single untoward/immoral/indecent incident has been reported in spite of the fact it attracts such a massive public gathering and celebrations. Roughly about a fortnight before “kaanum pongal” comes an event called the New Year and not a single year passes without atleast one dark incident.

All the festivals and occasions that are prescribed in the Indian culture and tradition, cutting across the geographical extent of the country, has one thing in common i.e. recognizing the importance of nature and living life in a sustainable manner, which could be the greatest asset one can leave for the future generations.

vehicular insurance

2008-01-05T23:43:00.000+05:30

There are four mandatory documents you need to posses if you own or just drive a two/four wheeler in India. Failure to posses one or more invites a penalty.

The registration certificate – to prove the authenticity of the vehicle

The tax token – to show that the Government has not been cheated

A Driver’s License – a proof of the driver’s capability to drive

The mandatory insurance cover – the document which made me write this blog.

The insurance recommended by the Government is for the vehicle. The general procedure followed is that the premium is calculated according to the amount insured (generally the cost of the vehicle) and the customer is required to pay it to the insurance company on an annual basis. What is the vehicle insured for? In case of wear and tear, in case of an accident or some other misfortune when the vehicle is damaged, the customer may have relief from the bills.

Let’s just compare this with the normal insurance which is done for us. The amount insured is chosen, premium calculated and paid on a regular basis for a fixed time. In due course the customer gets some benefits and at the end of the policy term, the insured amount is paid back and in case of a misfortune, the amount is paid back immediately.

Now the real issue is that when the insurance for the vehicle is paid, except for claims made in case of wear and tear and provided the terms and conditions of the company are satisfied, the customer gets back a part of the amount we spend for the spare part which is replaced. Generally, the labour costs and cost of certain spares like plastics are not refunded. How many people actually claim? But every owner is expected to pay the insurance year after year until he owns that vehicle. With progress, the old vehicle is either exchanged for a new one or sold and the insurance premium paid till that time goes where – nowhere but the insurance company.

When nobody except the insurance company is actually benefited from the so called insurance cover for the vehicle what is the logic behind paying it? Why has it been made mandatory to posses an insurance cover? Or if there is a legitimate reason to justify the amount spent by the people in the name of insurance, what is the reason?

Government statistics show that as on 31^st march 2004, 72718000 registered vehicles are there in India. Let’s assume that at least 1/10^th of them are under insurance say at an average cost of Rs.1000. The figure comes down to Rs.7,27,18,00,000. That’s a whooping 700 crores ! How much would have been the customers’ claim? I doubt if it would have been 1/100^th or even 1/1000^th. Now that’s just a rough calculation for the year 2004. The number of vehicles has increased by geometric proportions and now in 2008 the figure spent on insurance would have easily shot up proportionately.

At least, if all the vehicle owners were made to take a life insurance for themselves it would have served the common man better than this farce!

gujarat elections

2007-12-26T12:31:00.001+05:30

My view on the recently held gujarat elections. I have tried my best not to make this a political story but a general observation of the entire process, from what we got to know through the visual and print media. Comments/criticisms welcome

Elections – the hallmark of a democracy – a decision making process but the interesting aspect is that the consensus reached here is on a massive scale, often that of crores of individuals. Being the largest democracy, elections in India are unique because of the sheer numbers, the diversity in the population, the whole process of conducting the elections and for other reasons also. The election in Gujarat is not an exception to this but there is more to it.

Gujarat is a fore runner in India for quite a number of issues. Be it the father of our nation or the success of co-operative farming (AMUL) or IIM –A, Gujarat is always on the top and it is a state with high Human Development Index as compared to other states. A prosperous state which has had some of the trying circumstances in the past in the form of both natural calamities and man made calamities. This coupled with the fact that the election in this state would influence the direction in which the national politics should head in the future, made the election technically very important.

Campaigning for the elections was expected to be the most controversial part of this election and it dint prove to be a wrong proposition. It is evident that the fight is between the 2 major parties with different ideological orientations. Fighting elections on the basis of ideology is not new but there was something qualitatively different in this case. The political organizations were indulging in abusing or ridiculing the other based on some incidents in the past. Hardly there was any mention about the administrative or such lapses of the present government and what will the opposing force do to rectify it, if granted a chance to be in power and the ruling party too dint touch this aspect. The accusations have gone to a more personal level than being targeted at the larger organization. It was more like a race to capitalize on the unfortunate incidents of the past, trying to give it a political colour which would suit the present situation. Invariably all the political forces have such dark incidents to their credit and one wonders who is trying to prove whom as right or wrong.

Media – the 4^th pillar of democracy, as it is popularly known as, but what we are experiencing might make us re-think the logic behind calling it so. The controller of elections has clearly stated that all campaigning must end 48 hours before. The basic idea behind this is that the voter should not be influenced by anything and must cast a vote with a free mind. This logic has been grossly violated with the advent of the so called 24X7 tv news channels, each of which claims itself to be the best. Every party has one such channel on its side or every channel has one party to side with. One particular channel claimed that it has found discrepancies in the voters’ list and somebody had developed a special algorithm which would find the duplicate voters in the master list and this program was telecast the day before the elections and the flaw was blamed at a particular group. Is this not influencing the voter? And not to forget the exit poll drama when there is a second phase of polling remaining.

The election commission of India did a commendable job when it comes to organizing the polling and conducting it without any untoward incidents. The model code of conduct issued by the election commission is an attempt to regulate the contestants from wrongly influencing people. Nevertheless, our politicians are shrewd enough to find ways and means to bend everything, without violating the rules but still manage to do what is prohibited in the rules. Despite being a constitutional body and being bestowed with all powers to ensure free and fair elections, but the ground reality is that the EC largely remains a passive force.

All said and done but the elections are over and people have given their verdict. The ruling chief minister managed to prove that he is still good enough and popular amongst the people and at the helm of affair once more. All the drama has been finally put to rest only to return after 5 years with a different form but same nature. The story of Himachal Pradesh elections has just begun and that will be yet another interesting thing to observe.

India w(h)ining

2007-11-28T19:08:00.000+05:30

(I understand that terms like GDP, Trillion Dollar Economy may not go well with everybody but the basic idea is something else so kindly read till the end and please don't forget to leave your comments)

“Numbers have a significant mass impact” commented a famous economist very recently in one of the leading dailies. It was a comment on India becoming a trillion dollar economy. Wow, India has joined the elite club of 12 countries with a trillion dollar economy. What an achievement. 60 years ago when we won freedom, India was nothing more than a bundle of Princely states which were either siding the British or fighting the British or fighting among themselves. We have achieved something which, the independent US could never have thought of in the first 60 years immediately after their independence.

GDP growing at 8% per annum and we are expecting to take it to a double digit figure pretty soon, a situation which is making everybody to wish be a part of our growth story and it is amply proven by the record inflows of foreign capital into the country. Consequently the Sensex hit the magical 20,000 points mark. Oomph! Sensex climbed nearly 5000 points in a matter of 10 months. Compared with the 12 years it took to go from 100 points to 1000 points … mind-blowing!!!!

The income per head in India too has nearly doubled from Rs. 20,000 in 2001 to Rs. 36,700 in 2007, says another statistical analysis.

The total number of telephones has increased 2 and a half times in just 2 years to 250 million from 102 million in 2005, improving the tele-density from 9.4 to 21.8. It does not seem difficult to reach the target of 500 million by 2010

The most recent figures show that India was the consumer of ¼ of the total mobile phone sales of this quarter in Asia. The figure is an astounding 2.45 crore new handsets sold in this quarter till September 2007 that’s a staggering 15% of global sales.

Great numbers and much more to add. Space research, cricket, software, pharma.. you name it we make our presence felt in that field. Growth across all sectors from economics to pharma to technology is very much visible. Remarkable, truly exhilarating...... but hey did we miss to mention some other figures that are very obvious? something all of us invariably encounter in our daily life.

26% of our total population i.e. roughly 25 crore of the 100 crore people or every 4th person around us is not able to have a square meal per day, everyday, possible. That’s just the figures of the documented number of people who live under abject poverty i.e less than Rs.50 a day and if we are to take into account the numbers of relatively poor (like those who can manage Rs.55) the figure would stand somewhere around 35-40% of the population. Amongst the calorie conscious class who go for green vegetables instead of fried food in order to cut down the number of calories consumed per day, are people who find it almost impossible to afford the required 2400 calories per day for mere sustenance and survival. In simple words it means a quarter of the population is living below poverty line(BPL)with reference to global standards. These figures too are mind boggling!!!!
The costliest land deal ever in India, a whopping Rs.2700 crore shelled out by 3 leading companies for buying real estate in Mumbai, to build office complexes and parking lots. Such a huge quantum of money locked in hardly 25 hands, if redirected, could easily feed those 26% for minimum 100 days that is at a rate Rs.100 a day. The point is, when 3 corporates could shell out that much money, is the government short of funds to effectively run a poverty alleviation program ? What are we doing?????

Someone famous once said “there are three kinds of lies in this world. Lies, damned lies and statistics”. Should we wonder which of the above statistics is truth and which is a lie? (I wish the figures in the latter half are lies! ) or if they are true, who is responsible for those figures ?
India is not short of resources of any kind be it financial or technical nor we are short of able planners and administrators. But there remains a small gap between the resources and beneficiaries which needs to be bridged. The gap is small and obviously visible but a complex mixture of many attributes, which eventually turn out to be individual specific precisely of those who are in power !

To hang our head

2007-11-25T19:06:00.000+05:30

To hang our head - - ostensibly - - and subsequent, to find
That such was not the posture of our immortal mind - -
Affords the sly presumption that in so dense a fuzz - -
You - - too - - take Cobweb attitudes upon a plane of Gauze !

--Emily Dickinson

Just four lines but quite a heavy one.

Landed on this one while looking for something else and it was strong enough to grab the attention of an accidental passer-by. Written in the mid 19th century, no doubt, it reflects the then existing conditions but seems relevant even today. Interpretations of this poem by various scholars vary from, the author criticizing the society to criticizing god. any comments ???

2007-11-23T18:36:00.000+05:30

The Eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts"

1. I'd really rather you didn't act like a sanctimonious holier-than-thou ass, my mother, when describing my noodly goodness. If some people don't believe in me, that's okay. Really, I'm not that vain. Besides, this isn't about them so don't change the subject.
2. I'd really rather you didn't use my existence as a means to oppress, subjugate, punish, eviscerate, and/or, you know, be mean to others. I don't require sacrifices, and purity is for drinking water, not people.
3. I'd really rather you didn't judge people for the way they look, or how they dress, or the way they talk, or, well, just play nice, Okay? Oh, and get this into your thick heads: woman = person. man = person. Samey = Samey. One is not better than the other, unless we're talking about fashion and I'm sorry, but I gave that to women and some guys who know the difference between teal and fuchsia.
4. I'd really rather you didn't indulge in conduct that offends yourself, or your willing, consenting partner of legal age AND mental maturity. As for anyone who might object, I think the expression is go fuck yourself, unless they find that offensive in which case they can turn off the TV for once and go for a walk for a change.
5. I'd really rather you didn't challenge the bigoted, misogynistic, hateful ideas of others on an empty stomach. Eat, then go after the bitches.
6. I'd really rather you didn't build multi million-dollar churches/temples/mosques/shrines to my noodly goodness when the money could be better spent (take your pick):
1. Ending poverty
2. Curing diseases
3. Living in peace, loving with passion, and lowering the cost of cable
I might be a complex-carbohydrate omniscient being, but I enjoy the simple things in life. I ought to know. I AM the creator.
7. I'd really rather you didn't go around telling people I talk to you. You're not that interesting. Get over yourself. And I told you to love your fellow man, can't you take a hint?
8. I'd really rather you didn't do unto others as you would have them do unto you if you are into, um, stuff that uses a lot of leather/lubricant/Las Vegas. If the other person is into it, however (pursuant to #4), then have at it, take pictures, and for the love of Mike, wear a CONDOM! Honestly, it's a piece of rubber. If I didn't want it to feel good when you did it I would have added spikes, or something.

Sounds sarcastic ?? they are, infact, the commandments of a religion guiding its followers and others in matters of life, worship, sexual conduct and nutrition.

Pastafarianism, a religion founded by a Physics graduate of Oregon State University. Reacting to the decision of the Kansas State Board of Education to introduce and teach the concept of Intelligent Design as an alternative to biological evolution, Bobby Henderson(founder), sent a open letter to the Board arguing against the introduction of Intelligent Design teaching and that his theory is also equally valid.

Intelligent Design is an assertion that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection". In simpler words it means that certain things in this universe are very complex and so ordered that it cannot be comprehended by the normal human mind and that they are created by a more intelligent entity(presumably god). For instance, we having 2 eyes, 2 hands, 1 brain :p, 2 legs, etc etc are consciously created by that intelligent entity and our human body is not just a product of natural evolution, which actually seems to be aimless. ID is simply an argument about the existence of GOD, without explicitly mentioning it. Natural Selection, on the other hand, suggests that the present human body is a product of millions of years' of evolution, shaped by the climate, vegetation, environment etc, in short "NATURE".

Pastafarianism, thus came into being in 2005 as an opposition to this move of the Kansas State Board of Education to abandon the theory of Natural Selection and incorporate the Intelligent Design concept as an approach to explain the origin of life. It adopted the Flying Spaghetti Monster as its deity and a set of rituals were formulated.

It sparked off a significant amount of interest and has gained enough popularity for itself, so much so that it was a discussed in the annual meeting of American Academy of Religions, earlier this month. certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. Academics say while its inclusion in the program may get laughs it is a serious debate on the essence of religion exploring questions such as "does religion require a genuine theological belief or simply a set of rituals and a community joining together as a way of signaling their cultural alliances to others?" or in short, "is an anti-religion like Flying Spaghetti Monsterism actually a religion?"

Whether it is accepted as a religion or not is not as significant as the other thing which is unique about this religion(or parody religion). While the antecedents of most of the religions in this world are obscure and a matter of debate of intellectals, this at least has a clear account of events which led to the origin and development of the religion. Who knows ? There is every possibility that it could develop and become a full fledged religion and command a greater following than the existing ones and we can also take some amount of pride saying that we actually saw the origin of a religion as compared to people belonging to the past couple of centuries. I wonder if this blog of mine could someday become the object of study of the intellectuals trying to find accounts of the origin of pastafarianism. Sounds super imaginative and exaggerative ? not impossible though !

Courtesy Wikipedia
Full article
Intelligent Design
Website
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

2007-11-18T20:39:00.000+05:30

Life, for most of us, has panned out more or less in the same manner. The statement may appear too generalized but true to some extent. the creativity and independent thinking got almost killed under the name of education, when we were admitted to some school. Of the many things our parents analyzed before admitting us to one such school, the most important one is the quality of education being imparted to the children and only after being sufficiently convinced in that respect, did they make the admission. That signaled the end of our liberties.

Comportment is one thing which invariably all schools were good at and many a times it was simply beyond our comprehension as to how we are being straitjacketed into something. Nothing to be complained of that fact but the reality is we did not have the opportunity to realize what is being done to us. Well, most of us did not have any big choice but to go to the school as a good student and strive hard for that one goal many parents expected i.e. being first in the class. (though i was never one but the expectation did exist). Year after year, we participated in healthy competition with our fellow beings in the class(who also carried similar expectations) and man those were the most enjoyed days in our lives. Many long to get back to school days and re-live the fun.

Slowly emerged in the horizon was the inevitable question of a career. We studied hard so that we can beat our previous performance. When it came to the question of selecting the stream in which we wanted to build our career, all the schools seemed to have too little seats to offer that we had to be at the best of our performance to secure one of them. Obviously there were other institutions too, which offered the same syllabus and subjects, but we were told that it would be a compromise on the quality of knowledge we gain. There were some of us who ended up achieving the desired course and there were some of us who were not able to do things by choice but simply chance. There did exist some regret when some dreams were shattered but still we moved on. Once the discipline in which we planned to build our career got decided the next challenge rolled out - the race for the best college. From the plethora of competitive exams around, we had to pick and choose the best one so that we can build a bright career and live a happy life.

Though this race is not qualitatively very different except for the fact that the competition was against some invisible runner for the same position (ironically sometimes the same person would end up being the best friend) and so the atmosphere would turn intense. Hard work only pays. Two to three years of study and study alone forgetting almost the entire world around us. When the rewards were given again the situation was not very different. Some were able to exercise their choice and some had to be content with the chance and there were others, like me, who were not befitting to both. Either get a college of you choice but not the course or vice versa. (in fact, 2 years into my college i realized that it was merely the brand name of the institution which marked the difference between the students and most of the times it did not have any quality of knowledge.. thank god at-least now i was able to realize it). Undoubtedly, the college days were the unforgettable days to all, cutting across all known forms of differences that existed between us.

After all these sustained efforts and struggles, the logical culmination would have to come in the form a dream job or again an admission into some other college which could promise us a even brighter career. Again there could be some of us who are not interested in reaching this logical culmination but planning to take up something else, influenced by something in our path.( i belong to this category) Once again the story continues. Neither did the competition die nor did the competitive spirit in us the only change could be the change in competition. The competition to get the best in life. All through this story we learned to tweak ourselves to meet the new challenges and live up to the expectations of the newly evolving circumstances. There also may be the not so lucky ones who might have missed out at one, some, many or even all these stages.

A few days back, while flipping through pages of the newspaper, i came across something thought provoking and eventually that is what made me write this. "Arguably, the greatest thing the human brain does is 'making the future'. Since it's such a a superb 'anticipation machine', you begin to reap gratification even from a completely non-existent gift. But when such a person fails to win the much coveted prize, he may experience as much sorrow as though he had actually received and then lost the award" . Well, i am not very sure about how aptly the write up matches with this statement but i strongly have a conviction that at least my story matches to it, to some extent. It doesn't ever mean that one should be searching for the best in the life but simply to throw light on what had been pushing us all the while.(me at least!)

I am beginning to feel that it was that non-existent gift which had been guiding me all through,the one over which i might have developed fantasy because of the surroundings or system or the institutions but still i m not sure if this was what i really wanted.

Now the next question looms large. If we have not been always doing what we liked but simply driven by that non existent gift promised to us by something or the other, is it possible to change. Have we come very far into the system that it is almost irreversible? will the system allow us to change? can we ? can i ?

P.S. It is not my intention to offend somebody by writing it in a 'collective' tone but somehow i felt i would not be the only one !

glimpses of banglore through the lens

2007-11-15T09:20:00.000+05:30

nature is beautiful with and without human intervention !

2007-11-15T09:17:00.000+05:30

The government runs here !

forces of nature create wonders

2007-11-13T07:44:00.000+05:30

flower and thorn

2007-11-13T07:36:00.000+05:30

cycle of life n death

2007-11-13T07:32:00.000+05:30

2007-11-13T07:20:00.000+05:30

2007-06-02T23:57:00.000+05:30

Chennai week

Well... its my penultimate day in chennai of this visit and the count down to return back to preparations has already begun. I thought i would put in brief about the week long stay in home.

* This time around, I happend to see my younger brother after a long time ( about an year ). Though i am not the emotional one, seeing him after such a long time was a happy thing.

* Bought some really good books ( not texts of course) from the scrap dealer and still haven't started even one book ( hoping to finish atleast one, during the train journey back to delhi)

* The attempt to open a new bank account ended up rather comically or humiliating should i say ? Something had forced the pretty lady in the bank to question me if i was a major( more than 18 yrs of age and not the military major) I am not able to make out what exactly made her ask such a question. Was it my appearance, which i believe can be the reason only if the person is half blind or was it my approach towards her or was it simply due to the fact i took my mother with me ( but still i am a mom's boy).

*Paying a formality to many a relative, that too in the blistering chennai heat, was a rather boring job. Thought i generally like to visit them once in a while, this time it was not a very pleasant experience. Blame it on the summer or otherwise. One common reaction i got in every house was that i had lost weight(ya true.. i had shed about 6 kgs in the past 5 months.. not a huge amount but now i satisfy BMI norms). I am still wondering if their contention was i lost " weight" or "i" lost weight.

*The family dinner after really a long time was surely a night to remember. The ambience in the restaurant and the staff dressed in traditional attire was something new and unique.

Finally today--

*shopping thru the morning and almost the entire afternoon. Goods ranging from hair care stuff to clothing to tooth brush and a whole lot of useless crap too... not to forget my new pair of shoes :D.

* a dinner to remember with my friend. the chineese restaurant which was evading my visit since its inception in the neighbourhood, finally fell vicitim to my hunger. I did not disappoint me in the end and has surely won a second visit from me the next time i come to chennai.

By the time i finish this blog, it is already past midnight and sunday has arrived according to my computer's clock. Another 20 odd hours of stay left in chennai and would basically go in getting my bag's ready. ( yes i have not yet started packing my things and i am used to doing it in the eleventh hour) .

So Delhi, here i come again to trouble u for another 5 odd months and see what u have got in your bag to offer me this time aournd.

2007-05-28T12:00:00.000+05:30

Exam and the week after

The 6 hours a day - 7 days a week gruelling classes for the past 5 + months, loads and volumes of books scattered all around the place, the never ending syllabus, the always incomplete looking preparations, the unpredictable question paper and above all the exam itself, which has made even the most brilliant minds have butterflies in stomach, for which i am no exception... everything culminated on the 20th of May.

We reached the center well in advance, so advance that even the examination officials hadn't come. But I was not the only one. I had ample time to have breakfast and made a last minute attempt to overcome my guilt by going through the parts of the syllabus which I thought I am not fully prepared. Basically it was a valiant attempt :p to do something, in a couple of hours, which I dint do in the 6 months. It was not very long before I came to the conclusion that there is nothing really I could change in the final moments and decided to quit the book finally. After a couple of all the sms es, I proceeded to the examination hall with a really blank mind. The optional paper was for 2 hours in the morning and I was able to complete it comfortably for the paper was straight forward and to some extent not very tough. The general studies paper in the afternoon and the 2 hours allotted for that also vapourised like 2 minutes. The only problematic area of the entire examination was the seating arrangement. Given my height and frame, the bench assigned for me could hardly accommodate half of me. To compensate, i had to sit in an awkward posture, perpendicular to the direction in which people normally sit. While the rest of the people in my room sat facing the black board, i had to sit facing the window.

I am not planning to explicate my performance in detail and i would be extremely happy to let the examiners do that work. On my part i feel that i would completely rule out the chance of getting a call for the mains exam. This time around it is not a matter of how good i had performed but the performance of the other examinees also does matter this time. As far as i am concerned i am still skeptic keeping a 60-40% chance of qualifying and getting a call for the mains. Later i came to know that a substantial number had skipped the exam and i ain't sure in what way that is going to effect my chances. I had only about a day's time to prepare for my trip to Bangalore.

The train was scheduled at 7 am and I reached the station with a little less than an hour to spare. My fellow travellers were really sweet people and the 36 hours journey went of well. I happened to meet a person who had also given prelims and i couldn't help myself discussing the paper with him. The discussion din't last long and quickly digressed to other topics. In the end i managed to gather a few really nice wordly complements from people. (:D). I finished off a Jeffery Archer book in flat 8 hours during the journey and arrived at Bangalore at around 7 pm, the following day and it wasn't hard locating my friend's place and going home.

Though this is neither the first time I am going to Bangalore nor the first time I am going to visit a friend, this particular trip was a bit different from 0thers and i was pretty excited. This is the first time i put my hindi speaking skills to test and i myself was delighted to see the progress i had made. After the scorching heat in Delhi, the climate itself was a big relief. Be it watching 4 movies back to back, eating in the near by food shop, the coffee day cappuccino, the mc donalds's happy meal, roaming about in the streets , talking endless crap .... I happened to spend quality time with my friends and i throughly enjoyed every single moment of it. Soon the day to get out of the natural refrigerator and step into the oven called Chennai, had come and I started to prepare for the 2nd train journey of the week.

The train was scheduled to arrive at a station called KR Puram at 6.15 am. Not so sure about the distance, i decided to book a cab, the night before itself. On enquiry, i learnt that it was about 45 minutes travel from my place and so i booked the cab at around 4 am, hoping to reach the station around 5 am. The cab came at the right time, only to drop me at the station at 4.40 itself. After hopelessly walking the length and breadth of the station in a failed attempt to kill time, I thought i would ask the station master about the train's arrival ( it was 5.15 am then). Such was the reputation of the train, i got a wry, sarcastic smile as reply when i told him its printed in the ticket that the train is supposed to come at 6.15 am. "It is always like that. It will not come before 7 o'clock. definitely after lal bagh express only" -- was the final reply i got. At-last, the train pulled in at around 6.50 and the rest of the journey was largely event less. The train, in fact, arrived at chennai even before the scheduled time and reaching home in Chennai would never be a problem. Now, very soon, i have to start packing for my return to Delhi in the first week of June.

2007-05-13T22:44:00.000+05:30

Booking tickets for the future

Though having lived in Noida for about 7 months now, i have never ventured far into this place. My places of visit were really limited rather, i never had the necessity to venture out. But this time around, as i am doing nothing useful, i decided to get the tickets, for a tirp to home booked myself.

I reached the railways booking office at around 10 am and finding the place was not really tough. The very first impression i got was that the place is filthy and stinky, far worse than i had expected. Assuming that there would be a passenger information system in the office, i dint note down the required details to fill the form, expect for a vague idea about the train number and unfortunately, the PIS was not to be found anywhere. I decided to try my luck with numerous wall hangings, which had the train details but in vain. I then realised that there is infact an enquiry counter but that also had a long queue. With no other choice left, i stood in queue, only to find that the person who should be handling the enquiry counter, is not in his seat. Luckily, the wait for my turn was not too long and i got my details conformed.

With the form filled now, i had to choose from the 5 other queues for booking. There wasn't much of a difference in the number of people in each of the queues and choice of queue dint seem to matter. I took one of them, and had my tickets booked soon.

The entire process had left me exasparated but when i looked back of the days happenings, i realised that may be this is the best way to cater the people who are not computer literate and the the PIS would not have served a miniscule amount of the purpose it is meant for besides i would end up needing a repair once in a week. Ironically, the other side of the city, barely 2 Kms from away, the city is filled with the offices of some of the top notch IT companies in the world, the choicest restaurants, every other retail store and luxury shopping.

As for the journey, for which i had booked tickets, is going to be one of the most important one in my life. With the prelims around the corner, i have to decide what is gonna be my further plans and where i would end up after the exam. From this perspective, this particular trip is going to provide answers for a variety of questions which is already in my mind and hopefully a lot of
other questions which are likely to crop up during the due course of finding answers for them.

2007-04-27T11:53:00.000+05:30

Food for thought

    I should admit that these day i do watch a lot of tv than i used to before, particularly after the previous test. May be i am getting tired of studies or worse a sense of complacency has crept in into me. But i guess i have overcome it and getting back to studies now, only a couple of days lie between me and the second test. Nevertheless, 12 hours a day study is not going to assure me of clearing the exam and i also don't regret what i am doing.

        These days, there is a lot of buzz about the changing food habits and its effects on the lifestyle of a person. Every other day, some tv channel or the other airs a program on food or lifestyle and there comes a dietitian or doctor and gives tips regarding the food habits and their impacts on living. Some common ones - avoid coffee as it contains caffeine which is not good for health. Avoid junk food because they are not typical Indian ones and their ingredients do not match with our traditional food and the body might not accept it properly. Avoid fried items as they contain trans fat ( some new discovery) , which might lead to heart burn and eventually may lead to cancer. On the whole, they increase the chances of diabetes, cholesterol, heart attack. Sounds really scary sometimes, when you get to watch them. Avoid aerated drinks, the one which has taken the worst beating and termed as poison or pesticide. ( may be if we have a 2nd green revolution, we should try out this new pesticide.)

     Given these, how much practical is it to follow these. If we are to follow these, the only way is to almost, stop eating outside and depend only on home made food for our survival. No more coffee day, no more pizza hut, no more marry brown, no more dominos, no samosas, no coffeee, no pizzas, no burgers, no french fries........ I believe it is only a matter of time before the researchers would find some fault with food cooked at home and sooner or later they would prescribe a diet which would match our ancestors (ie) eating only green leaves and vegetables, straight from the trees and plants. That would be food sans fun.

     Much better option would be development of some pills, which would provide one with all the required essential vitamins, minerals etc etc. It would have many advantages - it would be hygienic, one can avoid the time wasted towards cooking and eating, it saves water, it saves electricity and also is environment friendly because it doesn't leave behind any garbage. A prototype of this tablet is already in existence and i believe astronauts carry them during their space missions, but the fact that Sunita Williams has carried a pack of samosas with her should not be forgotten. Isn't these changing food habits a part of the human evolution ? And can't human body, which had adapted itself to the changing habits of the human race over 200o years, tackle this ? Come what ever, i am not ready to sacrifice the fun associated with them even if its going to claim a year or two of my life...... after all, what is life without fun!!!

2007-04-15T23:47:00.000+05:30

Well, today turned out to good day at the end as i was expecting a big disaster to happen. Though the disaster did happen, the magnitude was far less than i had predicted and infact it has boosted my morale up by considerable marigin. :p all this philosphical touches are flowing from my mind, through my fingers, into the key board blah blah... hehe.. yes, indeed, i had a test today infact 2 of them. Morning was the optional subject and afternoon was the general studies paper.

Having decided to compelete studying a good chunk of the syllabus within a stipulated time this month, i ended up restructing the room to create a studious atmoshpere, only to watch more tv and sleep during the day-time. Although i realised that one night's stand before the exam would not suit UPSC, its pretty hard to break the pattern which i had been following with immaculate precision, to crack all those exams i had come thru my life till date. Given these circumstances, i proceeded with blind faith to take up the test, with the sole aim of not getting a sub zero score and anything else would be just fine.

In the end, i had done geography reasonably well ( i am not able to figure out how...... may be the question paper was easy or the 5 1/2 months classroom sitting is paying off to some extent.. god only knows ) and the general studies paper a little better than what i had expected. Whatever be the outcome, these tests have boosted my confidence,( in the sense that, if this was the paper not only me, many would end up doing badly :P)and strength. It has let loose an euphoria around me that i my mind doesn't intend to touch the books for another couple of days, inspite of the fact that the next test is just a fortnight away. Despite having decided to take stringent measures to compelete the remaining of the syllabus before it, i am quite aware that the aforesaid sequence of events are sure to happen this time too.(about which i will write in a week's time). For now, i have kept myself busy with a new pass time errrr. .. it shud be time waste, in the form of reading the entries of the orkut scrap book ( yours or your friends' or your secret crush or wateva) which had been entered a couple of years ago. Sounds silly na...!!!!! but try it, its worth trying

2007-04-10T23:22:00.000+05:30

finally i have successfully over come the procrastination, which had prevalied for a week or so and decided to scribble something today and with the cricket world cup underway, i thought i would write a 2nd post on cricket.

     India's exit ( i prefer not use any exaggerating adjective here given the team's performance in the recent times, plainly speaking i dint have higher hopes), had made many lose their interest in the world cup. The death of Bob also came as a blow and of late, the array of issues which have been
dogging Indian cricket. Given these circumstances, coupled by a trip to Chennai ( where there is no Max Channel), i thought i had lost the interest i had for cricket, for good reasons atleast at this point of time.

     Today's morning newspapers read that it was a W.I vs S.A match today and is a crucial match.  I was not particularly interested in it.  Around 6.30 pm i switched
on the idiot box and was doing the usual fidgeting with the remote control when this match caught my eye. After 10 mins i found myself positioning on the couch with a bottle of water and sufficient supply of chewing gums, ready to watch the game. It was then i realized the deep truth in the statement of one of the advertisers after India's so called debacle, which read " we have advertised for the game cricket and not for 'men in blue' ".   Next to hinduism, i guess cricket has the second largest following in India and cricket has
definitely not lost its charm, atleast with me.

    But there is one thing which has lost its charm in this world cup. The once bubbly and much
sought after Mandira Bedi and her hosting skills are nothing better than pathetic. Despite she
dressed in designer clothes and her co host, the lanky charming Charu Sharma, who is dressed in
trendy Louis Philipe wardrobe, their screen chemistry, due to some reason, is just looking very
miserable to me. Blame it on India's bad performance or the climate of the carribean or simply she might be home sick, to me they both appear like victims of sibling rivalry.

2007-03-28T15:48:00.000+05:30

i happened to come across some interesting optical illusion pictures and thot i would share them

try counting the black dots in this picture

this picture is amazing. please everybody try it out

2007-03-18T23:00:00.000+05:30

A day to remember in Cricket's history

Neither Chappel ( a cricketing genius of his times and still is), the much feared "Sultan of Multan", the respected "Wall", the newly found and so called depth in the Indian batting line up, the balanced team that "Team India" was (may be is), the trump card this world cup that India had in the form of a person who has been scoring 98 runs every 100 balls he plays (read Dhoni) nor the special puja's and yagna made for Team India to bring back the cup to India or the blue billion campaign has helped India to score a win over Bangladesh. Poor performance by the batsmen, no assistance for seamers from the wicket, some boys are out of form, the decision to bat first after winning the toss was wrong, guruji's (yeah its chappel) plans erred somewhere could be some of the innumerable reasons which can be counted upon for explaining India's loss or better Bangladesh's win over India(positivist approach is what guruji has recommended).

The instances of a relatively weaker team beating a team which is better off, is not an entirely new phenomenon, as cricket is a game of uncertainty and filled with surprises and thus India's loss is one such happening. But this particular loss has raised some intriguing questions, which need to be looked upon in greater detail.

Every individual has ups and downs, be it in life or in sport, and Shewag running into a bad patch is completely acceptable. But, in a match which begins India's quest for the title of world champions, if not smashing the ball to the stands and set the ground on fire, he could have at least tried to stick to the basics, which surely would have given much better results. Another aspect is that the team which claims to have some of the finest players of spin bowling ( in fact three players with more than 10K international runs) and some of the highest individual runs scorers, there was an obvious struggle to face a disciplined bowling by the Bangladeshi spin bowlers( and they need to be commended for their effort). Even scoring run a ball seemed to be an uphill task at one point of time. The aggression shown by a 17 year old lad, in coming down hitting 2 sixes of Zaheer's bowling, somehow seemed dint appear at any stage of the game of a team, which has already won the world cup once and has loads of experience of dealing the most difficult situations of the game, in its bag, only never to be taken out and applied in a game (may be if some corporate agrees to sponsor that also, we might see it out one day). Even if we accept the fact that there was an disappointment with the bat, what was shown with the ball was all the more worse.

Pakistan's fate in the hands of a debutant team was no better but worse. They have a new set of reasons to explain their predicament, in the form a team dogged with doping problems, few key players missing out the game due to match ban and injuries, the old horses failed to deliver so on and so forth. But, the fact they suffered a humiliating defeat ( not very unacceptable i guess ) should be an unforgettable incident in history.

Whatever be the reasons, here are two great teams, teams which had and has some of the all time greats of the game and has the capacity to produce many more in times to come, teams which had made history by winning many games, which has now again made history by suffering the worst defeats, if not in terms of play, i would say in terms of an approach towards the game. Both the teams still have a couple of reasons to feel slightly better over the other. Though the chances are slim, India still has a slight ray of hope left to qualify to the next stage at least. On the other hand, Pakistan, despite fact that they are not going to qualify to the next round, can have some peace of mind because they need to depend on other teams performing or not performing well, to decide their chances of qualifying.

May be the blue billion campaign is not very powerful with only a few players in it and i guess if more players had participated in "Ooh aah India, Aa ya India", we would have had brighter chances of qualifying if not easily, convincingly atleast.

2007-02-08T23:24:00.000+05:30

Last weekend i saw a good movie..........

-> The leading lady is the daughter of a wealthy business man.
-> The handsome hero is a ordinary middle-class person(bestowed with good drawing skills).
-> They both happen to meet while traveling.
-> The lady is engaged to another rich man and her fiancee also accompanies her.(eventually happens to be the villain)
-> Fed up with the rich but shallow life the lady proceeds to commit to suicide and the hero saves her.
-> Despite the fact that the lady merely considers her fiancee as a friend but not a suitable husband her uncaring mother pushes for the marriage for financial security, to maintain their current lavish lifestyle.
-> Though both are attracted towards each other, the heroine is inclined to ignore their growing affection because of her engagement and social standings. But eventually she offers her heart.
-> Not able to digest the relationship between the two, the fiancee/villain frames the hero for stealing and tries to dispose him off.
-> When the beautiful lady is perplexed there is an unexpected twist in the story and everybody's life is in grave danger.
-> The two men tried to save the life of the lady who refused to take the help and preferred to stay with the hero.
-> The villain who does not have a true love escapes from the danger.
-> In the quest to save the lady's life, our hero sacrifices his life and finally saves her.

How many films with the same storyline have we come across so far.....?? but, this particular movie, which made me write this blog is a little different(may be in most of the movies which we had seen, either the hero kills the villain or being a broad minded person, lets the villain unhurt but rarely the hero dies). The sound track of this movie sold more than 27 million copies. The movie also holds the record for the highest-grossing movie of all time in the worldwide box office. Most of all, having been nominated in 14 categories, it won 11 OSCARS and the movie is TITANIC.....

Though the storyline seems to be very familiar with us, the flawless re-creation of the legendary ship has blurred the line between reality and illusion to such a degree that we can't be sure what's real and what isn't. It's as if they had built an all-new Titanic, let it sail, then sunk it.

2007-01-08T21:11:00.000+05:30

when situation demands...........

"bhaiya shah jahan road jayengae"
"aap ke paas paanch so ke kullae hai..?"
"bhaiya aas paas koi photo studio hai..?"
"kithnae dhoor idar say.?"
"eh khan market kaisa chalna..?"
"aree pandra rupya leno na..?"
"thoda aagae chalo ..?"

I am still wondering how these statements came out from my mouth. Though it may not be linguistically correct, it was a major stride forward in my progress towards our national language.

Having decided finally to submit the UPSC application, i started my journey from home. I knew very little about my destination but banked it on a person who promised to pick me from the metro station. On reaching the metro station, i found that the promise has disappeared like the early morning fog had in the sunshine, fog being the promise and sunshine being his aunt whom my dear friend had to pick up( mind that i was on time but an hour after i had promised) and so i had nobody but myself to blame.

I was resolute to submit the application, come whatsoever. I started my quest with an auto driver, who, though not clear about the place i asked for, was able to successfully decipher the broken Hindi i spoke and after a simple struggle i reached the gate, behind which stood the building where the hopes of the numerous aspirants was visible, me being one of them.

It is very unlike me if i had done something pucca and 100% without any error. In proof of this statement, i realised that i had forgotten to paste my photograph in the application. **** from here on please incorporate the so called hindi statements wherever u feel it fits ****. With the help of a shopkeeper, i was able to figure out that there was a place called Khan nagar somewhere in the vicinity and i would be able to find a photo studio there. I decided to try my luck and proceeded towards the place i was told. After a couple other hindi interactions with some citizens of India, i finally arrived at the market place( it was really a nice place to shop but make sure u carry enough reserves. The advertisements about every other article makes one feel one wants it, though many don't really know what they really want). Though lady luck was on my side in finding the market place, she had taken a lunch break when i was searching for the photo studio. My hindi skills took me to photostat shops instead of a photo studio. However, a security guard was able to decode my hindi and i finally, i was standing before a photo studio after a struggle of 30 mins. ( i later realised that had i taken the next road i would have landed in the studio in less than 3 min, blame luck..!!!).

The job at the photo studio was much simpler as people there spoke English and made my job simpler. However, i was on a high speaking hindi for so long that i went to the guy who was fidgeting with the computer and spoke a few words and as expected he wrongly understood what i meant. Out of the shop i came and was clutching a cover with snaps, a symbol of success in my expedition. Back i came to the UPSC office and went to the post office counter only to find that it was now their turn to take a lunch break. A wait of another 20 mins and a couple of small procedures made my job complete. "Bhaiya(without any consideration for the age, the safest word in hindi) rail bavan thak janae..??" the last hindi words i spoke today. "bees rupiya" came the reply. In a matter of 20 mins i found myself sitting at a unoccupied seat, listening to a lecture which might be of no consequence, after a brief struggle of getting through the seats and disturbing the peace of a couple who had found solace in the class room.

Though i knew little hindi and even little about delhi, the experience of my visit to the upsc office has given me greater hopes. At the end of the day, i was beaming with confidence and i am sure i can crack, if not the upsc examination, atleast the city of delhi for sure.!!!

Last but not the least, the Paapdi chat i ate outside the office in a small gap in my hectic and adventurous schedule was simply awesome and it was the only place which dint disappoint me in my entire day as i got what i wanted and how i expected it.

2006-09-28T00:10:00.000+05:30

The unremembered hero

This person is a symbol of heroism of the youth,a symbol of courage, a symbol for patriotism, a person who welcomed death, his spirit is an unfalling source of inspiration for the youth even today. Thanks to the bollywood for giving a movie, so that atleast ppl can recogonise this yet another forgotten hero of the Indian struggle for independance. He is Bhagat Singh, one of the most famous martyrs of the Indian freedom struggle

a breif note on him....

He is Sardar Bhagat Singh (1907-1931), a person who knowingly walked into the jaws of death, at the age of 24, with a smiling face with the sole wish of freeing his motherland from the clutches of the British rulers in INDIA.

Born in a family of patriotic fighters, he too got essence from his family even at a tender age. He grew up to become a freedom fighters just as his father and uncle's were. The very idea of revolution was planted in his mind at a tender age itself. At the age of 12, when he heard about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, he visited the site and collected a bottle of mud, wet with the blood of the Indians who died and put the bottle in a niche a worshipped it with flowers.

He thought of starting a revolution in India, like the russian revoloution and he was working towards it. Though he did many jobs, for instance working for a publisher, running a dairy farm etc, he simultaneously worked towards the revolutions( he learnt to make bombs and set up a bomb factory).

The death of Lala Lajpat Roi, while opposing the simon commission, was a terrible loss for the freedom struggle and Bhagat was appointed to kill the officer who ordered the lathi charge, which led to Lajapat Roi's death. But the identity of the officer was mistaken and they eventually killed another person who hit lajapat roi, though their vengence was on the officer who had ordered the charge. After the killing he and Rajguru ( another freedom fighter and symbol of courage ) managed to escape but the British Government had stepped up its actions to capture him.

Unable to resist the torture suffered by the villagers, both Bhagat singh and Rajguru decided to surrender to the police, fully konwing that death was certain. They decide to throw dummy bombs and get the attention of the polic. They did as planned, the bombs never hurt anyone and the two stood with pistols in hand. When the police backed on seeing the pistols, they dropped their pistols and surrendered. Eventually they were hanged to death on march 23, a day before the actual plan (march 24) and the body was secretly burnt to ashes, so that none of his family members even could get a glimpse him/his body, for one last time.

"The aim of life is no more to control the mind, but to develop it harmoniously; not to achieve salvation here after, but to make the best use of it here below; and not to realise truth, beauty and good only in contemplation, but also in the actual experience of daily life; social progress depends not upon the ennoblement of the few but on the enrichment of democracy; universal brotherhood can be achieved only when there is an equality of opportunity - of opportunity in the social, political and individual life." — from Bhagat Singh's prison diary, p. 124

So y suddenly about bhagath singh

75 years after his sacrifice, 59 years after freedom, today(september 27th)
is the birthday of a young person, who was known for his fearlessness of death and his appreciation of martyrdom. Sad part is his date of birth is not as famous as that of aishwarya rai's ( no offence, just an example). A man, who hoped his death would inspire the youth of India to unite and fight the British Empire, is almost forgotten in this age.

It is even acceptable that his his birthday has been forgotten, but the worst is that he along with two others(Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev), who were freedom fighters and sacrificed their lives for the sake of the nation and its well being, were described as terrorists in one of the school history books. Dosent he deserve the recognition and shouldnt his birthday be celebrated or better remembered.

a few quotes by the martyr

it is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas. Great empires crumbled while the ideas survived

I have been arrested while waging a war. For me there can be no gallows. Put me into the mouth of a cannon and blow me off.

http://www.shahidbhagatsingh.org/ refer that site for further info on him

HAIL THE REBEL

2006-09-15T11:49:00.000+05:30

Can calculations decide the fate of a game.....

Brilliant comeback by the master blaster and a good knock by the young gun.......everything went a waste .. thanx to the duckworth lewis system.

The same team which was in a good position scoring 172 runs for the lost of one wicket had lost the remaining 9 wickets for a matter of 29 runs, one of the worst slides ( 5th infact ) in the history of cricket and that too not long back, only a couple of days ago and this time they were pronounced winners.

Cricket is a game of uncertainity and suprise and wonder how the match officials most of whom were great players in the past, were convinced with the fact that west indies might have gone to win the match, considering the fact they were ahead of India, from the calculations they have made.

The same duckworth lewis system had caused many bad endings in the past and wonder how it is being accepted by the ICC......

2006-09-12T23:27:00.000+05:30

The star wedding

Two stars of the tamil film industry Surya ( the darling of many girls ) tied the knot to Jo aka Jothika ( a good actress btw ). Both of them are really good performers on the screen and the lead pair in many hit movies paired in real life too. So nice to hear

The next day all the three inboxes were filled with the marriage photos of the wedding. And when i logged into orkut i can see many profile photo's have been replaced with photos from the wedding and also the albums were filled with the photos. Most of the popular TV channel news had the news about this wedding.

The day of the wedding was a very aspicious day according to the tamil calenders and there were numerous weddings on that particular day. I happened to attend a wedding in a hall which was close to the vadapazhani temple. The temple alone had 156 weddings inside it. People from far across the state had come to the temple for getting married, accompanied by their friends and relatives.

The place was thronged with ppl on that day. Traffic was diverted. Instead of reaching the temple in 100 meters through the road, we were divereted to travel an extra 2kms to same temple. Finding a parking slot was another nightmare. Luckily we managed to sneak the car in front of closed shop believing that the shop wil remain closed for the day ( and fortunately it did ). In and around the temple there were about 160 marriages and virtually the traffic had come to a stand still. I have never seen so many people in one place on any ocassion ( guess there might have been 5000 ppl ) filled in the two streets between which the temple was placed.

Surprisngly not even a word about this was not up in the TV channels neither they seem care to bother about the difficulties the public faced on that day, but the marriage of two cinema stars, for which not many were invited due a alleged terror threat. A wedding which might have had 500 odd ppl was filled with all security measures while the place which had more than 5000 ppl din have even half of the security given to the star wedding.

The media is very much intersted in the star wedding rather than bringin to light what the common man faced on that day and

most interstingly in the press meet after the star wedding, the press was intersted to find out whether surya and jo will still live in the joint family or move to a seperate house..!!!!!

2006-09-05T11:03:00.000+05:30

bored

it has been quite some time since i have written my previous blog, the real reason being i m not sure of wat to write. too bored these days that i dint find anything intesting to write about.

a fortnight's vist to my native gave a good change from my bored life here at chennai the irony though i did exactly wat i was doing here in chennai (eat, sleep, orkut, tv, YM and scrabble ) but on a different time scale though.

now i am waiting for my next change in my life which is due to happen in a month's time if everything goes according to plan... until then i hope to scribble something here

2006-07-12T19:46:00.000+05:30

A True Incident in my life

Recently the sky opened up in chennai. So did the roads after the showers. I had to drop a relative, who was going back to the native, at the railway station. After getting a word of caution from my friend about the road condition, i proceeded with my journey to the station. The ticket counter was crowded as usual and after a long wait of 45 mins, i sucessfully got the ticket handed it over and started my drive back home.

At about 9.45 in the night the city was unusually calm. I have been around the city many times at that time previously but that particular day seemed unusually silent or may be it appeared so to me. There was not much traffic on the road and i reached my place pretty quickly.

Upon reaching home i parked my bike and rang the door bell. As mom opened the gates, dad handed me the cordless phone. The call was from my close friend and i was talking with him for some time. While with the phone in hand i had changed clothes, did a face wash and had my dinner tooo. Dint i say i talked with him for some time..... The to and fro bike journey had burnt out every muscle in my body and i wanted to hit the sack asap. As i was preparing myself to sleep i bid bye to my friend, shtudown my comp etc and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Suddenly in the middle of the night something from inside prompted me to get up immediately. Confused, i got up and i realised that I HAVE LEFT MY BIKE WITH THE KEYS IN IT, OUTSIDE THE GATES. The sheer thought sent a chill down my spine. Within a fraction of a second, i was out of bed and opened the doors without a slightest noise only to see my bike MISSING.

Not having the courage to wake my parents at that time, i silently went to back to bed. The bike which had been an integral part in my life is no more with me. I dint know how i would face my parents the next day. Thousands of thoughts ran across my mind. I din want the night to end and wanted dawn to be postponed. I din know how and when i slept.

The next morning, it was my dad who woke me up. I got up and sat puzzeled in my bed. I took me a couple of minutes to realise that everything was jus a DREAM

2006-07-10T23:13:00.000+05:30

Serial Killers

Switch on the television any time and u can find a serial ( mega serial ) being telecasted in atleast one of the tamil tv channels. It may be a regular episode or the retelecast of the one which had been played the night before.

Countless serials are being produced and telecasted these days and the revenue from them is also so good. These serials make the housewife hooked in front of the television and no wonder the advertisements targeted towards the household are nearly fighting for a chance for being telecasted during the show. In the 30 min time slot, the serial's content ia hardly worth half the time.

Though many mega serials are being telecasted the story line seems to be the common factor in most of them. Some of the popular themes which are followed in most of the serials these days are

vengance
hatred
women sufferage

The main lead or the lead pair wil be subjected continuous troubles by the villain and the lead successfully negotiates all the troubles and comes out with flying colours. Atleast one serial per channel will be of this sort.

In one of the serials, the mom and her three daughters all have marriage failures, everybody has split from their husbands or din get married. Their family is targeted by the troublemakers from all fronts and still they manage to fight out their way out. The good part is that she shows courage to fight out the evils but then why should she be portrayed as a sufferer for most of her life time. People justiy their stand stating that wat they show is what is happening in the world and reality but why cant the happenings which are good be convyed through their serial. Why cannot be the raise in the cement and steel prices be shown and how it reflects on the life of a civil engineer and the workers be shown instead of showing how a murder is being committed and how the murderer plans his escape.

Though it is jus another serial repeated exposure to this kind of concept might well have an influence on the lives of the viewer. Even worse if the viewer is a child. The chances of being influenced are high.(somehow human beings get influenced by the bad things rather than the good ones ) Not to say that all serials are like that, there have been a few execellent serials in the past and even in the present but then they are quite a few in number.

What has happened to the other genres of comedy, action, historical, patriotic, thirller, suspense etc.. Have they been forgotten by the makers..????

Though money making is the motto of everybody, it wil be a lot better if the makers have a bit of social responsibility and change their products a little bit. If they can understand the fact that there are so many people who can get influenced from the play and if they can act with a little amount of social responsibility, the serials can be an effective medium of conveying messages to the people. Unlike movies which is a three hour issue, these have a greater exposure over ppl typically for a few years and can well be effective.

2006-07-09T08:51:00.000+05:30

As Fifa draws to a close ( Blessing in disgusie )

One month of footbal action is getting over today.... Fifa 2006 had many intersting turnarounds... The big names in the world of football went down, players criticised and the refreeing was also a topic of discussion. Whatever, the final clash is going to happen tonight between two really deserving teams.

Thanks to chennaities who readily accepted the conditional access system (CAS) for viewing paid channels, while the rest of India decided to protest against it and had it withdrawn.

Under the tag of fifa, i was enjoying ESPN, star sports for about a month and so now a little sad that fifa is coming to a close.

While the football matches happening in the night, the mornings were filled with classic cricket matches, the srilankan tour etc from cricket

The chennai viewer who doesn have a set-top box is lucky because the wimbeldon closely followed up with the fifa and thank god they both end on the same day.

F1 championships also occured in this time period and the f1 lovers were also blessed.

Vow........ now do we thank SCV for giving us the opportunity to see these sports actions or do we blame them for having enforced the conditional access system and thereby blessing us with the act of missing the important sports action.

maybe the one month telecast of fifa is a marketing ploy to make the user long for sports action and buy the set-top boxes................ god only knows

2006-07-07T22:34:00.000+05:30

well.... atlast i m into the world of blogging... i have been planning to open a blog page for quite sometime but was not sure of wat i m gonna write( still i aint ).... but eventually i have created one now.... readers of my blog will have to bear with my amateruish writing and i hope to improve it some time in the future..............