tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61382162096218282222024-03-12T21:25:50.597-07:00I live in a free worldIn this blog, I plan to write about my thoughts on random things, which are solely my personal opinion.
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<strong>You can subscribe to this blog using <a href="http://iliveinafreeworld.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"> this link for atom feed</a>. </strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-31691661359189601672011-08-03T15:52:00.000-07:002011-08-03T15:56:16.633-07:00Criminals to be kept out of contesting polls?Couple of years back I had put forward a proposal to keep out the netas that are convicted criminals in a lower court, from contesting polls. See my earlier post <a href="http://iliveinafreeworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/cleansing-parliamentvidhansabhas-in.html"> here </a>.<br />
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Looks like someone got a better sense (thanks to Veerappa Moily) and the government is thinking of making this a law. See the TOI news piece <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Those-charged-with-grave-crimes-may-face-poll-bar/articleshow/9474792.cms"> here </a>.<br />
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I am excited, even though it is still too early. But this law would go a long way in cleansing our political system. Hopefully somebody somewhere has not given up hope and fighting from within the government to save the future of India.<br />
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May it happen...!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-77457449486547051052011-05-17T20:39:00.000-07:002011-05-17T20:39:50.967-07:00Fearless cricket, what about a fearless life?Heard Virendra Sehwag the other day after an IPL match,<br />
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'I told the boys to play fearless cricket'.<br />
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How simple, but profound! Sehwag's style has always been fearless, it has not worked in all matches for him. Given the success he had in international cricket so far, it is difficult to say that the odds of succeeding playing fearless cricket is low. If anything, he has done much better than some other methodical players who have always been afraid of losing their wicket and at some point in their career ended up losing their place in the elite class. Being fearless does not guarantee success, but does it guarantee peace of mind? At least for some?<br />
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Being fearless frees you from the burden of future, as you can't expect much and just take whatever comes along the way.<br />
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I wonder why it is so painstakingly frustrating to stop thinking about the future? That is where all the fear starts. What happens if I lose my savings some day? What happens if I catch an illness tomorrow that has no cure? What happens if something wrong happens on my way to office today?<br />
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Fear of unknown plays such a big part in our lives.<br />
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How I wish life was that simple and I could suggest somebody:<br />
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"Go out there into the big world and live a fearless life".<br />
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Alas, how I wish...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-47869503649211226742010-09-18T15:03:00.001-07:002010-09-18T15:03:20.065-07:00Three super successful men and learningsSachin Tendulkar, Amir Khan and A. R. Rahman - Every time I watch these there super successful legends, I notice three common traits:<br /><br />Child like enthusiasm,<br />Profound love for work<br />Innocence and simplicity even in chaos<br /><br />These must be important keys for success.<br /><br />What is amazing is how these men have managed to maintain these traits over so many years of professional life, and every time can exhibit it, use it to their advantage. These are good lessons for me.<br /><br />Let us say I am a software engineer, my day to day job is to find issues in code and fix them for a better experience of the customer. Or may be to come up with innovative solutions that a customer will find useful and save resources in the world of automation. How do I maintain same level of enthusiasm of finding or fixing a bug after so many years of programming? How do I go about thinking of a solution as if I am the only one who can solve the customer's problem best possible way - year after year, days after days of doing the same job ?<br /><br />I have to be in love with every aspect of software engineering. I see that is the only way. That is my lesson - that is probably the easiest way to remain successful.<br /><br />On the contrary, the lessons I learn from somebody like Himesh Reshammiya is - don't ever overestimate yourself. Never be proud that you are beyond your profession. One is limited by own powers, and at some point or other you are bound to run out of steam. The key to keep going is to find that self motivation to fall back in love with your work, once again - and to submit to that love instead of trying to conquer it.<br /><br />What a simple way to live in harmony !<br /><br />Thanks for those lessons Mr Tendulkar, Mr Khan and Mr Rahman - keep inspiring us...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-76660461630653204642010-08-26T20:28:00.000-07:002010-08-26T20:36:20.422-07:00Vedanta project and politicsAll this news about Vedanta's bauxite mining project in Odisha coming to a halt really puzzles me. Was the Odisha state government blind ? Did they do nothing to consider this one year back ?<br /><br />I am not saying all corporates are responsible enough towards the environment or the people involved. However, in a democratic and developing country with enough scientists and environmentalists around - can't the government find a way to mine in an environmental friendly way ?<br /><br />And if it was purely environmental, why does Rahul Gandhi suddenly realize that the tribal people exist ? On one hand the central government says that the decision was NOT POLITICAL. But then why is a politician who is not involved in governance in any way decides to visit the area at a very crucial time ? Where was he one year back ? Where was and will be he when those people will go back to their daily struggles of gathering meager money to survive? Does he offer an alternative to them?<br /><br />Can't the government enforce the mining is done in an environmental friendly way and ensure employment to the ones who would be losing their livelihood otherwise? Why is that every corporate establishment has to go through the political game instead of the governance game ?<br /><br />It saddens me to no end to imagine that any industrial development will be delayed by at least another 5 or 10 years. I completely agree about protecting the environment, but the tribal people in Odisha need the money to come out of poverty. Some or other solution has to come out of it.<br /><br />I wonder if the ministries can't afford few environmentalists and mining experts to sit together and form a guideline for mining in that area.<br /><br />In our country, sad part is - while in government, people forget to do good governance, and continue to do politics.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-90100761013536266692010-07-29T19:48:00.000-07:002010-07-29T20:04:34.351-07:00Forest dwellers and the future that awaitsThe other day I was reading this article about how the Odisha government has violated some parts of the protection for 'forest dwellers' in sanctioning land for the POSCO project. And that got me thinking ... in today's world, does it make sense to protect forest dwellers by preserving their natural habitat for their living?<br /><br />How long can the natives continue to depend on the forest to earn their food and shelter? Is it sustainable? At some point or other, the industrialized and mechanized world will invade their space. And if they refuse to join the main stream, what have they gained? A status in museums ? Is that the right choice for them?<br /><br />Can an Adivasi continue to sell 'kendua' and 'mahula' and have a better life?<br /><br />Is not it better to give new opportunities to these people so that they can gel with the modern world - and learn the rules of the mainland they live in?<br /><br />I am observing the popular media make them heroes and detest corporatism and industrialization. But do these gentlemen have an answer for the next 50 years? When an average child will be spending her time exploring the world through a computer, the Adivasi girl would still be hunting for firewood to help her mom cook food. Is that what the media envision for the Adivasis?<br /><br />We have to remember the old colonization days - the British rule, they came from a mechanized world and took over our ancient civilization within no time. But we in India, should not draw parallel with that about the Government of India. The government is not perfect - but it does not have policies to colonize the forests. The only way going forward for preservation of forests and protection of forest dweller's interest is to let the government take steps in bringing in money so that these can be done in a systematic way.<br /><br />All Adivasis are not visionaries, and the whole government is not evil.<br />Media needs to co-operate with the government in educating less aware people and explain the world's rules to them. We all have a responsibility to bring them into the modern world with grace so that the people don't suffer. After all, we are a self-ruled elected set of power holders - not some east India company employees.<br /><br />And for god's sake, media needs to stop glorifying the anti-industry movements in Odisha. On one side they cry about Odish'a poverty, on other side they don't let any industrialization project proceed peacefully. Do they have a solution to offer to bring Odisha out of the poverty? Selling forest-originated biological materials is not enough - we have to sell our mineral resources - but in the process, gain maximum benefit so that at some point we become self sufficient in industries so that some alien organization is not giving us only a meager percent of what we deserve in terms of economic growth from our resources.<br /><br />For heaven's sake - let some big industries come up in Odisha - that is going to be our only way of coming out of the sorry state of economic affairs. Ancient ways are not enough - we compete in a modern world and we need to stand up!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-63880133726169406392010-04-19T20:41:00.000-07:002010-04-19T20:57:00.116-07:00Yet another powerful person, corrupted. What else did you expect anyway?This whole IPL corruption story was so expected, that it is almost boring.<br />See <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftimesofindia.indiatimes.com%2Findia%2FLalit-Modi-involved-in-betting-murky-deals-I-T-report%2Farticleshow%2F5830420.cms&h=6d881">this</a> news article on times of india for what I am talking about.<br /><br />In a country like hours, where there are hardly any honest people in power positions, whenever you see money flowing all around - it is very natural to expect that some 'locha' is going on somewhere.<br /><br />When was the last time we heard that some great business idea or political initiative was done purely for the sake of business? There are always people with vested interests, who just want the best thing for themselves or their family.<br /><br />It is so very tiring to hear about yet another scandal.<br />How much is enough, really? And when will better sense prevail in the society!<br /><br />The spiderman dialogue which I like very much - 'with great power, comes great responsibilities', does not seem to have gone down into any powerful person's head.<br /><br />And for Mr Tharoor, he still has a lot to learn about Indian politics. There are numerous politicians sitting in the parliament having done enough 'ghotala' and still going strong. Sad thing for Tharoor is that, he could not handle such a small ghotala and was disgraced in public. He needs to learn better politics.<br /><br />And there is no hapiness in saying that yet another corrupt minister is gone - because I am quite confident that all the rest of them are even more corrupt than Mr Tharoor.<br /><br />Hmmm, it is so tiring, it is so so boring. Yaaawwwn....<br /><br />Bring on some more sports on field - waiting for the IPL semis and final.<br />Cricket is better than the political game, anyday!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-2655489413999902832010-03-29T22:27:00.000-07:002010-03-29T22:46:41.541-07:00The principal who had not forgotten his adolescenceContinuing with my series of teasers...<br />Earlier one is <a href="http://iliveinafreeworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/rebels-and-results.html"> Rebels and Results. </a><br /><br />--<br />Polished leather boots always clamped his big toes. With such force he used to walk, the whole concrete corridor would shake like a wooden platform under pressure from a battalion of soldiers. Our principal was more like an army major than an electrical engineer. He had probably forgotten his casual student days. Hari used to claim that he must have been a strict disciplinarian during his college days - just like him. Nobody had the courage to ask him that and it remains a mystery to date.<br /><br /><br />Exactly at 8.05 AM he would start in his government white ambassador car. His driver was the only driver in that small town to be dressed like a typical Hindi movie car driver. Mr Nandi insisted that he be dressed that way or lose his job. I had this feeling that the driver also enjoyed this special status even though he criticized Mr Nandi behind his back.<br /><br /><br />At 8.10 AM the white ambassador will take a turn at the main gate and at 8.18 AM the heavy boots will start their long walk from principal’s room in the corner. By the time the sound of boots faded, there will be a list of teachers who missed their first class or came late. Other teachers, the old ones, the new ones and the lazy ones hated Mr Nandi. Nobody wanted to be in their first classes holding chalks by 8.20 AM. But if you missed one class, you will be summoned to principal’s room with the knowledge of all your students. Mr Nandi would just barge into the classroom and politely request the professor to see him after the class. The whole class would have this meaningful sarcastic smile filled with pity. The teachers had no choice but to be on time.<br /><br />By the way, did I tell you about this ego fight among teachers about their positions, roles and promotions?<br /><br />“No dad, not now! We see that in our college even today, please skip that!” My kids screamed in unison. “Okay, okay, let me go on…”<br /><br />So, I went on, about Mr Nandi, whom, personally I considered as one of the best administrators I have seen in any academic institution.<br /><br />He did his engineering from an IIT, the most premier engineering institute in India. IITians took a lot of pride in their “IITian” status. So, Mr Nandi, just like any other IITian, would not lose a single chance to enforce the fact that he was superior to all his peers, not only in position, but also as an engineer. Most of our teachers secretly admired IITians and always felt lacking in their technical knowledge even though that was not true for many of them.<br /><br />Anyway, it is not about the teachers fight, I will reserve that for another day.<br /><br />Kids, it is about how Mr Nandi had not forgotten about his college days.<br />And knew exactly what the students wanted.<br /><br />Nevertheless, by his disciplinary actions over time, he had acquired a notorious reputation among his peers, and admiration from us students. That is because we realized that as long as he is at the helm, the college policies can only be student friendly as he understood our pulses.<br /><br />During our first year in college, all of India saw a major student movement against Mr V. P. Singh’s plan to implement “Mandal Commission” recommendations. There were many deaths, student agitations reported from almost all colleges. And we were not to be left behind.<br /><br />Among our seniors was Mr S. Shravan, a no-nonsense third year student who loved to remain in touch with contemporary affairs. I suspect he had a desire to be a student leader. But in an engineering college, nobody wants student leaders.<br /><br />Unless the leader could convince the college management to spend good money to bring the prints of the latest movie for private screening.<br /><br />OR<br /><br />The leader could convince the ladies hostel matron to keep the visiting hours longer than usual on special days like Valentine’s day or Rakshya Bandhan. Oh yes, you heard me right, Rakshya Bandhan was a special day, even for the hot blooded teenagers, for specific reasons. Let me keep your curiosity burning for some more time kids.<br /><br />Coming back to student leaders, certainly, nobody wanted a leader who was serious about making a point. Those kinds of student leaders, who later would play a bigger role in state or national level politics, are not found in engineering colleges. They are found mostly in Arts or Commerce colleges. In a way, the engineering students did not bother much about the country going to the hands of useless goons – as long as they were assured good jobs and nice social status in our poor country. <br /><br />The general colleges that taught less job oriented courses, play bigger roles in manufacturing powerful leaders.<br /><br />Shravan would find that out in a bitter way.<br /><br />His dreams of making national news on Mandal Commission would remain unfulfilled.<br />Bcause Mr Nandi knew exactly what the students wanted and had not forgotten the days of his adolescence.<br /><br />“Come on dad, no more build up please, tell us! …”<br /><br />And I was thinking where I start about Shravan’s heartbreak. I admired the guy, his focus and dedication for the bigger roles in life. And I was one among the culprits, that guilt will only burn with me on my last day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-81251356944227035692010-03-27T21:04:00.000-07:002010-03-27T21:40:32.822-07:00Blog as an outlet for complaining?I was doing some introspection on why do I like to blog.<br /><br />Is it that I want to complain about something, against some system and when I write it here I feel better?<br /><br />Is it that I just want people to know what I am feeling strongly about?<br /><br />And why is it important to spill out my frustrations, complains, strong feelings in a blog page?<br /><br />Hhmmm, I would not say any of this is the reason for my blogging.<br />You might see some strong feelings in my writings, but it is definitely not a vent to let out my frustrations.<br /><br />For me, writing here or writing a poem is a way of expressing some thought that is crossing my mind. If the moment passes, the writing or the poem never comes about. Later, sometimes I am happy that I did not write it, but most of the times I think that some output of that thought process would have made a point. It could have made some of you see my observation or poise for a moment to ponder over the topic.<br /><br />So, my introspection conclusion is that this blog is not a result of some negative moments in my life, this is a result of my urge to bring notice to some topics, which matters to me, to you and to most.<br /><br />Theme of the story is, I am back to writing days ! Please do let me know through your comments if you think some topic is useless and did not manage to evoke a thought in you. Whole purpose of my expressions here is to stir some feelings inside you after observing my observation :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-49747379851599864852009-08-21T16:24:00.000-07:002009-08-21T17:18:46.866-07:00Information overloadThe world wide web started with hardly any useful information for the likes of an average internet user of today. It started simply as a way of communicating conveniently among the universities and science labs. See the history of WWW on Wikipedia here -> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_World_Wide_Web"> WWW </a>.<br /><br />When all types of industries, institutions and geeks started uploading information on the WWW - publishing and sharing, then came the likes of search engines Lycos/AltaVista that became popular. See the history of search engines on Wikipedia here -> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine"> Search engines </a>.<br /><br />Then came Google - which completely changed the way people browsed the internet. Instead of typing an address in the URL bar of the internet browser, they started with Google always. A lot many percentage of people still do the same.<br /><br />But with the amount of information that can be browsed on the WWW these days, google search results are also overwhelming. So much so that it is becoming impossible to conclude reading on a topic, you never know how much is enough.<br /><br />You search for a news piece and find millions of hits!<br /><br />How do you know that which ones are worth reading, or good! Good articles are now at the mercy of the Google page rank algorithm.<br /><br />Imagine the amount of difficulty a new portal will have - aggressive marketing, and ads everywhere like on TV/radio is probably the only way of boosting initial number of visitors. Even if a portal has excellent articles, tremendous value - unless millions of people hit it, it will not feature in the initial pages of Google search results. And the problem is even more glaring is the portal deals with generic topics.<br /><br />Probably the next step in search is a question-answering kind of system, that can search within the Google search results to pull out useful results. And they will introduce their own ranking algorithms...<br /><br />With so much information on the WWW these days - if you are a student or an upcoming professional - you are clueless about how much information is enough, and you can never be sure that you did not miss out on some valuable information. It is just impractical to find the best category by browsing through search engines.<br /><br />It is tiring, it is endless.<br /><br />These days I find Wikipedia as the best source of information to know about anything, and have stopped browsing through Google now. I search on Wikipedia, browse known and trusted news portals like Nytimes/BBC/CNN/Timesofindia/Hindu, and be done with it for most of my reading on the internet.<br /><br />I know there are millions of web pages sitting out there with valuable information about so many things I would benefit from. But have to live with the incompleteness.<br /><br />May be soon Google will not be the starting point of net browsing any more, people will go back to typing the URL address on the internet browser :)<br /><br />Unless..... somebody comes up with search templates, where you can fill values based on which you want to search - and generic fields which google/yahoo/bing all understand and give you results accordingly. Then the ranking algorithm is yours - the user's. And there can be default set of values for users who don't care either way.<br /><br />Or<br /><br />Unless.....somebody comes up with the big daddy of Google using some magic... :)<br /><br />Until then... so long ...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-37565986025266367532009-08-12T19:14:00.000-07:002009-08-12T19:37:15.755-07:00Loads of friends<em>Thy who hath friends, has learnt the art of living... - anonymous </em><br /><br />Friends on Orkut, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Random sites (rediff.com, indiatimes.com, bigadda.com whatever), on iGoogle (Google just launched social network applications on iGoogle - check it out if you have not so far), MSN messenger, Yahoo messenger, GTalk, Skype, Yaari, on X, on Y, on Z... hhhmmmm .... <br /><br />Loads and loads of friends everywhere - through every portal.<br />Have you learnt the art of living?<br /><br />From <em> savvy </em> at 10.15 AM: Running for a meeting...<br />From <em> savvy </em> at 10.30 AM: Getting bored in the meeting<br />From <em> savvy </em> at 11.00 AM: God, finally it is over!<br />From <em> savvy </em> at 11.15 AM: Need coffee after that boring meeting<br />From <em> savvy </em> at 11.30 AM: Dreaming about lunch already<br />From <em> savvy </em> at 12.30 PM: Wow, I am in the coolest restaurant in the city!<br />...<br />blah<br />blah<br />blah<br /><br />Okay, okay, point taken - you want to know how your friends are doing, and what they are up to. But these? Running commentary of daily activities? Would you opt for that?<br /><br />You care a lot about your friends and would love to know what they are up to.<br />But certainly, a continuously tweeting friend is not cool at all :)<br /><br />Gone are the days when there were mails from friends written thoughtfully, about their happenings, their feelings, their thoughts and how they are going on about their life in general. - <em> Those were fun to read, brought a smile on your face. </em><br /><br />Gone are the days when a friend would call up sometime to ask let us meet over lunch or snacks to catch up. <em> Those were the coolest restaurants around the city, even with the most careless cook. </em><br /><br />Can you imagine what happens if all your friends start tweeting/scrapping/walling/poking you at the pace as in my example?<br /><br />Friends are one of the best things about life, you love their updates tweets/pokes/scraps/mails/phones/meeting-over-lunches ...<br /><br />And then, there are people who are literally loading the communication portals :) They are still the same friends you care about, but they all seem distant when you have to opt for 'don't show updates from this person' because of the communication overload.<br /><br />Happy tweeting/scrapping/messaging/e-mailing ... whatever ... !Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-43621728032189233242009-06-17T20:33:00.000-07:002009-06-17T22:47:46.863-07:00To whichever country you go, have the fruits of that countryIn Odia, there is a popular saying "je deshe jaai, se phala khaai" - which means, to which ever country you go, eat the fruits of that country. One way it is logical, that you don't have to import/export a lot of things required for your daily living, is not it ? :)<br /><br />Now that I am based in the USA for sometime, it makes all the sense to try eating the fruits here - and yes, for somebody like me who grew up in a far away place from the north India regions where fruits are in abundance, oh boy, happy I am to see all the different types of juicy and fresh fruits here! I believe, if I don't eat lot of fruits in USA, it is kind of an insult to being here!<br /><br />Keeping the literal meaning aside, if you think about the proverb, it actually means that just gel with the local culture. USA is one of the best places on earth to gel - it welcomes all kinds of people, from all over the world, and being the richest country, it attracts so many foreigners for work. In India, I never saw so many non-indians, like the way I am seeing non-americans in america. It is definitely a much much more favourite destination to stay, and not just to visit.<br /><br />However, to me, it looks like people from different cultures and ethnicity tend to form their own close groups as social circle. It might be kind of an identity crisis, an urge to hold on to your own culture as much as possible - just to have that "I am still close to home" feeling. For example, indians who would have ignored some festivals while living in India, tend to being particular about celebrating those when in USA. I wonder why that urge ... I mean, holding on to one's own culture is fine, but doing that out of a 'otherwise I am lost' feeling is not exactly healthy I guess. Over time, you are a bunch of 'desis' who just move around with desis, and even if they stay here for like 20/30 years, their complete friend circle is only desis ...<br /><br />Hmmm ... may be that is a good thing to do in the long run, at least you are not exactly lost, but hold on, is it true? You are lost in India also when you go back after 30 years, and you are lost here as you never attempt to gel into the society...<br /><br />It is just my observation until now, but may be this is the reason why the next generation grow up into becoming ABCDs - I wonder what happens in the second generation!<br /><br />Anyway, I am also trying to have the fruits of this country, and stay close to the desi culture as well :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-63429700807014702112009-05-21T21:35:00.000-07:002009-05-21T21:38:57.965-07:00Government versus votersAmusing.<br /><br />That is what I would call the recent parliament election results.<br /><br />Irony is that, some news channels and analyst forums are trying to show it as 'vote for good governance'.<br /><br />Good governance for last 5 years? <br /><br />Has the naxalite movements being channelised to better directions?<br /><br />Have we been able to stop the violent activities of the nothing-else-to-do maoists?<br /><br />Did we do the right thing and the best thing after the Mumbai attacks?<br /><br />Have we contributed much to the development of J&K (remember the politicising of amarnath land)?<br /><br />I have nothing against the ruling UPA personally, but the way the results are being projected as 'win for good governance', I am against it.<br /><br />It is as usual, vote for varied reasons, there was no single/multiple unified agenda for the parliament elections. Some regional feelings, some political dynasty emotions, some got-to-vote-for-someone and so on ...<br /><br />And some analysts are calling this election as 'death of communal forces'.<br />What??? With 150+ MPs of NDA, and given that it is termed as the 'communal forces' by the media, would you call it as death?<br /><br />... the varied reasons also include communal feelings, regional petty politics (remember the anti-northindia movement in MH?) and the Gandhi factor in UP.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I have a feeling that if our PM can be more adventurous, and decide to give the home ministry to Rahul Gandhi, it will be very eventful and hopefully there will be some positive steps towards a better india. I am assuming that Rahul has no personal agenda because he is already being given everything in a platter, he should use this opportunity to actually make a difference. And with youth on his side, and some innovative thinking, he can take the governance to another level.<br /><br />Have you seen <a href="http://election.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/may/21/slide-show-1-in-the-name-of-the-father-and-grandfather.htm"> this </a>, that lists out some young MPs with famous fathers/grandfathers in politics? I would not mind them as long as they don't have a personal agenda. One way, given that they are already so privileged, they can do lot better than others who are still building their money empires from politics in their first generation.<br /><br />:) Some positive thought that is!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-35084972662191754202009-04-13T07:09:00.000-07:002009-04-13T07:15:07.275-07:00thanksThanks to the ones who took the poll and I am encouraged to continue writing some other pieces of the story, will go on posting as and when they are ready.....<br /><br />The post 'Rebels and results' is an excerpt from a set of stories I am planning to write based on my college life experiences. I just wanted to run it through you guys to check whether I am completely off, or at least somewhere near 'readability'...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-7722209055592601042009-04-05T21:55:00.001-07:002009-04-06T14:39:40.612-07:00Rebels and resultsFrom the dark corners of the hostel corridor, Ramesh came running, panting, yelping for Hari. Opening Hari's room door with one hand, still breathing very heavily, chest thrusting up and down, sweat falling down his forehead - he cried "We have done it man! we have done it! Let us pack for home ... glee ... glee ... can't wait to attend my sister's wedding ceremony!"<br /><br />Hari, as calm as ever, so very acquired characteristic of a small town boy - gave a sigh. Left his books on his bed, slowly got up and glanced at Ramesh. "So man, credit goes to you!"<br /><br />And again, so very true of those small town boys, thought in his mind - 'Rascal, he has to attend a wedding, for that, the whole class has to suffer with a rescheduling of the exams! What happens to my hard work of 10 days preparatory holidays? Does somebody, the so called friends, care about it? All selfish guys, so full of themselves! What do I go and tell my mom, exams are postponed, yet again? How many times will she have to pay for my trip to village? Will Ramesh's dad pay for it? For how many of our batch mates ? Hoon... "<br /><br />Aah, and there he goes again, with the outward politeness. 'Ramesh, how did you do it, it seemed so unachievable with the new discouraging principal at the helm?'<br /><br />'Don't you know a thing? Come on man, don't study so much that you lose all clues about what is happening around this place. It is a long story - can't say it now.' Ramesh said, and started running ahead to other nearby rooms of his classmates to break the news.<br /><br />'Go back to your bed and continue studying, you will get 5 more percentage of marks this semester with the extra time .. haaa haaaa ....' . Ramesh's voice was heard from a distance, slowly fading, from the other corner of the long hostel corridor.<br /><br />Hari sighed again, even more deeply this time. Continued looking towards Ramesh's path and wondering what to do now. Neither can he concentrate on studying now, nor can he close the books and take part in the supposed-to-be-happening party in the hostel this evening. It is against his principles, he does not want to encourage anti-exams campaigns or take part in the victory celebrations. But does he have a choice? He closed his room doors and locked it from inside. Sat down noisily on the bed, forced his thought to concentrate on the chapter he had open in front of his eyes.<br /><br />At the other end of the hostel, a group was slowly gathering in front of Vish's room. There was excitement everywhere, loud shouts, door bangs, running footsteps all around. Ramesh was thinking hard on what should be done to make this evening as memorable as possible. .....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-5041070793294298922009-04-02T14:57:00.000-07:002009-04-02T16:29:21.867-07:00Cleansing the parliament/vidhansabhas in IndiaSaying that our political system is a mess - is a big under-statement.<br /><br />There are 1000 parties in India listed under the election commission for elections this year -> <a href="http://eci.nic.in/ElectoralLaws/OrdersNotifications/symbols170309.pdf"> see this </a>. What a huge list of choices with only few worthwhile candidates?<br /><br />Now one more startling fact is 120 MPs have criminal record in the current parliament -> <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/more-criminal-mps-in-14th-ls-than-ever-before/89301-37.html"> See this one </a>.<br /><br />Sri Sri Ravi Shankar <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/electionblogs/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/2428/53310/good-politicians-do-exist.html"> says </a> that good politicians do exist, provided people are aware and can take a good decision. I think it is an impractical solution, at least in 2009 - asking for majority voters to be aware and to choose right/wise-ly.<br /><br />What I wonder is, why can't we pass a bill saying that nobody can contest for MP/MLA posts if they have a criminal record? As in,<br />- pending case where s/he is not cleared yet.<br />- if there are any proven criminal record in any lower level court even though applied/pending in a higher court.<br /><br /><br />Now now, if you think about it, it also seems impractical :) no political party will like to support such a bill in parliament (check out the list of political parties fielding candidates with criminal records to support what I am trying to say here).<br /><br />But then, can the election commission bureaucrats make a rule like that?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-91992174606950824412009-03-13T09:02:00.001-07:002009-03-13T09:22:57.478-07:00The political dramaWhen Orissa was going through all the turmoil in Phulbani after Sri Lakshamananand Saraswati's murder, BJP was probably seeing the golden opportunity to spread its wings in the state. So called communal feelings were at a high and the Hindu population was on a boil.<br /><br />No wonder, that the BJD and BJP have parted ways in Orissa. The political drama that unfolded this week was expected. BJP would have asked for more seats and BJD can't be expected to agree after such good response in local elections.<br /><br />Navin Patnaik has some guts, I must say, whether misplaced or not only time will tell. But he did the right thing for his party in Orissa by parting ways with BJP. He has been called the 'Betrayer' by some and 'a masterstroke player' by some. He is both, but he can play intelligent political games. There is no benefit to BJD from the partnership at this time, so why not break it! Nobody expects moral commitment from political leaders, not in India! BJP should have been more accommodating as it is the one who would have benefited from the partnership, they could have waited for a better opportunity to demand much more....<br /><br />I get this feeling that BJP has lost its charm, Congress has the momentum and the so called 'third front' is definitely not going to get majority to form a government at the centre. So, looks like we will again have a hung parliament with Congress forming 'yet another' alliance to form a government... whatsoever, it is sad to see no single party being able to convince the population about its credibility.<br /><br />In my opinion, all regional parties should be asked to contest at least from 5 or 10 states, to qualify for the parliament seat elections. That will discourage the regional sentiments and more and more political parties will be forced to look at the benefit of the country and not just for their own state or constituency. It is ridiculous to see regional agendas taking higher priority for the parliament elections.<br /><br />May the citizens rise to the occasion and vote for people who have the right election agendas and not for the ones who go on distributing 100 rupee notes ...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-32629108402060433302009-03-10T13:39:00.000-07:002009-03-10T14:01:59.775-07:00Change in co-ordinatesChanged co-ordinates from 18°37'50"N 73°47'20"E to 40°34'59"N 74°15'52"W.<br /><br />What I have immediately started missing is, as Dipti once said, the live telecast of cricket matches. I would have loved to watch - no rewards for guessing :) - the 3rd ODI between India and New Zealand.<br /><br />Weather is cold in this part of the world, air is dry, roads are excellent and humans are rare to find :)<br /><br />Anyway, after listening to 'highest number of jobless people in USA this month' news for almost two days, I am a bit cheerful about the other bit of news 'About 2 million jobs exist even in this market'. <br /><br />One can always choose to see the glass half full, and feel good even while contributing to one bit of the empty air in the other half :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-78571926389509646032009-01-21T10:27:00.001-08:002009-03-10T13:39:05.111-07:00The theory of perceptionA part of us is what we perceive to be.<br />A part of us is what others perceive us to be.<br />Which is the real 'us' and what percentages work best for a peaceful life?<br /><br />The other day I was trying to convince somebody on why it is ok for a brahmin to marry a non-brahmin, and how all human beings are born equal and deserve equal respect. Can you guess the results of my attempt? Na, I could not convince...<br /><br />And then there was this argument on whether females should work outside of the home or not, and yet again, I failed to convince the person. <br /><br />These things got me thinking, how/when and whether our perceptions should change. Yes, agreed that, whatever we are, our life is based on our set of values and perceptions about life and world. As our values change, we change as a person. But exactly when we start becoming better or worse, it is difficult to judge.<br /><br />I am watching myself changing perceptions as I have grown and migrated from village to town to city to abroad and all the way back again (I still live in a village, a small town, a town and a city to get a feel of all). Whether all of them were for good, I can't say. But yes, as a person I have changed, definitely. For better or worse, nobody can say, because these things are so relative and vary from person to person, nobody can make a judgement or concluding remark.<br /><br />I think the core set of values/perceptions never change though, and probably they make the 90% of the person who we are. And the 'social' values that is the remaining 10%, keeps on changing. All the problem starts when we focus on the 10% rather than the 90%...<br /><br />Anyway, the point is, as our perceptions make us what we are, it is so difficult to convince people otherwise. Even if most of the world thinks that it is a wrong perception, it is still difficult to convince the person. Reason may be, as the perception changes, the person has to change, and it becomes extremely difficult when there is no willingness. One has to let go of her identity and become another person altogether, it is surely not easy. But sometimes, it might be the right thing to do.<br /><br />So, go ahead and embrace change for better...whenever that is the right thing to do, that causes less pain to somebody and that embraces humans.<br /><br /><br />Change is inevitable, and change there will be, we have to decide our course - for it or against it - in all aspects of life.<br /><br />My theory of perception is, see everybody's perception and empathaize, that helps to understand the person and handle the situation in a better way.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-64874287582795006182009-01-06T10:54:00.000-08:002009-01-06T11:05:49.112-08:00An inspirational quote to start the new yearDisclaimer: it is not my creation.<br /><br />I don't remember where I had seen this or who wrote it, came across it while browsing through some old collection of quotes (college time hobby).<br /><br />And as expected, got inspired by it - once again.<br /><br /><em><br /><br />To dream the impossible dream,<br />To fight the unbeatable foe,<br />To bear with unbearable sorrow,<br />To run where the brave dare not go,<br /><br />This is my quest to follow that star,<br />No matter how hopeless, no matter how far.<br /><br />To fight for the right without question or pause,<br />To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause.<br /><br /></em><br /><br />Best wishes for the new year!<br /><br />May this year bring us peace which is not at the cost of innocent lives.<br />And may we have the courage and the wisdom to defend us and punish the criminals conspiring against our country.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-48467594585762586362008-12-05T11:33:00.000-08:002008-12-05T11:58:48.053-08:00Gloom and sadness everywhere apart from the petrol priceMore and more evidence is pointing to security lapses and intelligence failure that led to Mumbai terror attack. Now you get one more channel to vent out your anger, not only our politicians, but security forces are also inefficient in planning and looking into the future.<br /><br />The drama called 'maharastra CM selection'... need I tell you more?<br /><br />Look at this list of thoughts in an indian's mind:<br /><br /><li> Our intelligence agency RAW is going through a lot of internal problems and is not able to focus on national security.<br /><li> Our intenal intelligence agency IB has not been able to provide actionable and specific information about domestic security.<br /><li> Our police force is ill-equipped.<br /><li> Our politicians (and you know what and how the most of them are) control how the security resources are deployed inside the country - using their own IQ level.<br /><li> The only visible thing so far has been done by the government after terror attacks is to change the political kursi-holders, like musical chairs, just rotate your guys and call them 'able leaders' so that public is happy for the time being in anticipation of some responsible action.<br /><li> USA does not want India to take any military action that might hamper their cause at this time.<br /><li> Pakistan goverment as usual makes vague and non-actionable statements which means 'we won't do anything', 'this too, shall pass'.<br /><br />Sad and gloomy I would say, I don't feel any better after knowing about all measures taken by the government. May god save the people of this country!<br /><br />I am confused with all the different haphazard reports by different media groups.<br />I don't know still how the investigation is going on and what exactly that captured terrorist has been saying about the source of the terror elements from where he came.<br /><br />This is what is called a democratic country and free media - keep people confused and distracted so that, the show goes on, no matter how badly and how slowly.<br /><br />The only thing I feel good at this point is the reduction in petrol price.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-69725679751500122312008-12-02T10:52:00.000-08:002008-12-02T11:06:11.335-08:00A joke called after-events of the terror strikeR. R. Patil is gone.<br />Some chiefs of securiy agencies are gone.<br />Shivraj Patil is gone.<br />Deshmukh will go.<br /><br />What the heck! Will that improve the situation? What is the hope? Anybody out there who believes that given these leaders are gone and some others will take over, our cities and people will be safer?<br /><br />Do we have the guts to bombard the training camps in Muzzafarabad or Karachi in Pakistan that are producing these terror elements? NO!<br /><br />We will keep pressurizing Pakistan to handover the known terrorists, list of 20, you remember? From good old 10 years back list? Huh! Who cares? Have they ever handed over any terrorist so far? Why will they do it now?<br /><br />I wonder what this is all about, and do our politicians and ministers really have any power to take any strong steps. Military action is out of question, as USA would not want it at such a delicate point of their own fight with Afganistan and Iraq. They need Pakistan army to guard the Afganistan border.<br /><br />What will happen next?<br /><br />Our investigation agencies will claim that they have enough proof against terror elements in Pakistan, Pak govt will say they don't agree - there is not much evidence, and then the whole cycle will be paused until next attack.<br /><br /><br />I am really sick and tired of seeing these things again and again. We citizens are really helpless, we can't defend ourselves, we don't have the flexibility of voting for better men/women as they are simply not into politics, and our security agencies are equally helpless in terms of power and duties to the netas.<br /><br />God help this country, and for the first time in my life I feel secure about our 100+ crore population, it will take lot more terrorists lot many years to wipe out us all - some will survive and reproduce to keep India afloat - in whatever shape and condition.<br /><br />Huh, enough consolation to myself.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-54719972116876406112008-11-30T06:52:00.000-08:002008-11-30T07:46:53.348-08:00Prayers and more prayersThe only thing that people like me sitting in their homes can do in these days of despair is to pray to god that things like the terrorist attacks in Mumbai never happen, to anybody, anywhere in the world. So close it is, it could have happened to anybody as the places chosen were indiscriminate to religion, economic situation of people, city or village you came from - ranging from CST station to TajMahal hotel's most luxurious suite. How barbaric and violent a human being can be, can it be any more than what those cowards did?<br /><br />For the first time in my life, peace-loving I am - to the core, feel like taking up a gun and killing those terrorists with only hatred and disgust for them. How can somebody shoot at children, old, helpless and people offering prayers to god ? And which instructor or mastermind can convince people to perform such dastardly acts? I don't know how to put my disgust into words, such things can' be performed by humans!<br /><br />I followed those two and half days of continous news about terrorist attacks and commando operations. First thing that came to my mind during the very first scenes of the situation was how come we have NSG stationed only in Delhi? Should not we have NSG commandos or likes in almost every sizeable town? The 8-9 hrs that the commandos took to come and launch a counter attack gave ample time to the terrorists to kill as many people and plan so well to capture hostages, blast rooms, blast floors in hotels. What is our government doing even after so many blasts in this year itself? And after Akshyardham attack? Why are we so reactive always? Why can't we be proactive?<br /><br />You form an anti-terrorism squad (ATS) and the chief does not even have an AK-47! What do you expect ? That the terrorists will come with pistols and revolvers? 9 Terrorists versus 18 officers. It is too costly for us - and even when you don't count the precious innocent lives.<br /><br />And by the way, will one Raj Thakre wake up and ask the UP/Bihar commandos not to bother coming to Mumbai to save Mumbaikars? How much will our politicians continue to play the religion/region cards, the narrowminded thoughts to gather votes? And if they are busy doing this, who will take up the charge of ensuring that our intelligence department is functioning properly, our security is adequate and our borders are safe? This attack suggests complete failure of our intelligence agency, the holes in our naval borders and the un-preparedness of our state governments to handle terror attacks.<br /><br />We lack a backbone to go and bombard the terrorist origins in foreign territory, because we as a government have been too tolerant over years. We always fear about the after effects, but somewhere someday we will have to take such drastic step if we don't want to go on facing such blasts and attacks over and over... where is the end? As long as our neighbour countries are unsettled, jealous of our economic positions or power, we will have to face these kinds of cowardly acts by terrorists. They are clueless, they don't have any other better things to do in life and completely mislead about life and goals. God, I just can't believe there can be a human who thinks that by killing innocents, people you don't even know - you achieve something!<br /><br />Only thing that another human like me can do is to pray that such torture and unnecessary deaths don't happen to anybody, anywhere.<br /><br />And what can the law makers do to make sure that more people don't take up such cowardly path? There seems to be one 21 year old terrorist captured alive. After extracting all useful information from that guy, our police should just show him the his own acts of terror, make him hear those screams and helpless people in blood over and over until he goes mad and becomes mentally unstable. Then the police should release him and make him go back to his family and live a life of shame and disgust. I am sure nobody in his family will approve his acts. But will that be enough to deter others from taking that path?<br /><br />It is said that when there is too much injustice on earth, god will take birth to save the innocents and establish justice. How much is too much?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-2049605412816751822008-11-05T21:26:00.000-08:002008-11-05T21:33:42.270-08:00SecularismCame across this article on <a href="http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/27tarun.htm"> pushing hindus to a corner </a>.<br /><br />Can't help but have to agree with many points. I don't support radical actions of violence in any form, by anybody. But I really wonder at times that does secularism mean giving undeserved preferences to the minority?<br /><br />Why is the media so obsessed with highlighting and sensationalizing everything that has to do with minorities? One answer that comes to mind is: to make sure that the minorities are not oppressed. But, then why not give same coverage for issues with the majorities - just to make sure that humans are not oppressed?<br /><br />And by the way, should not a secular state have common civil code?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-1443936726947559572008-10-30T20:29:00.001-07:002008-10-30T21:01:24.044-07:00Many things, many thoughts and many missed opportunitiesMy mind is so full of things at this moment, don't know what to write and what to leave. Many things are out of context, but are still very much in context. Take for example a simple visitor visa for a country that survives on tourism. Now would you expect them to keep your passport with them for 5 weeks! Yes, that was no writing mistake, the Bahamas visa application centre kept my passport for almost 5 weeks! And just when I had lost hopes that I would make it to the USA as scheduled, it came. Not because they were concerned about my travel plans, but because there was a lot of persuasion and official requests from many people.<br /><br />Pune hosted <a href="http://cygpune2008.com/">Common Wealth Youth Games 2008</a> recently. Loads of road work was planned for the CYG. Take for example the Baner Road. Now it was supposed to be concreted before the games. That did happen only in parts, but will have to give credit to the municipality for finishing up the work with tar roads before the games. And hold your breath, they actually managed to beautify most of the roads around university and hinjewadi/balewadi, within 48 hrs! Dividers were put up, reflectors were fixed, huge sign boards were placed, potted plants were put up under fly overs, lush green grass lawns in some dividers were made within no time! Everybody, including the media went crazy in wondering how come Pune municipality, whose trademark is to delay things, and to delay things more - they could pull up such nice work within no time. Sigh - they are not that prompt rest of the time, still ...<br /><br />Here is a glimpse of the youth 'sobhayatra' just before the games. I watched it on F.C. Road. I am really sorry to have missed out all the action in CYG. Asked a friend to come for the closing ceremony celebrations, she said - come on, who watches CYG ? That to, live? ... well, many people thought otherwise and I guess the CYG was a success in terms of getting some decent audience.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fF211bsxFoo/SQp-rZ3yJiI/AAAAAAAAADw/82gVoyWyMIM/s1600-h/09-10-08_1719.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fF211bsxFoo/SQp-rZ3yJiI/AAAAAAAAADw/82gVoyWyMIM/s400/09-10-08_1719.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263158398680180258" /></a><br /><br />One thing still puzzles me. What are we celebrating through common wealth countries' sports activities? Having an informal organization to gather and do something for democracy, humanity and all is appreciable, but why choose common wealth countries? And why appoint <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations">the Queen as the head </a>still? Any mention of common wealth countries invokes the thoughts of BritishRaaj, and does not go well with our celebrations of membership and all ... I continue to be puzzled ...<br /><br />Well, so many thoughts, so many contexts ... will keep it for some other day. In the mean time, let me not forget to mention the spectacular success of our test team, of the veteran batsmen and the satisfaction of seeing Australian cricket team on their back foot :D Hail the indian cricket team, hail the luck or techniques of Dhoni's captainship (have not yet made up my mind either way).<br /><br />Hope you all had a great Deepavali...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138216209621828222.post-24177670985336889722008-10-02T23:37:00.000-07:002008-10-30T20:29:13.316-07:00Retirement for big five ?Came across this article on <a href="http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/372146.html"> cricinfo </a>. Wonderfully written, and close to heart - I too agreed with the writer on almost every account.<br /><br />It really hurts to see the media bragging and biting - at the same time, the likes of Ganguly, Kumble, Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar. All about the past, and present, and their current ineffectiveness and so on and so on... They have been players of such stature, they deserve being talked about respectfully, all the time, no matter who is the critic or journalist or audience. How can we be so selfish to deny them their such hard earned respect? The truth remains that some day they have to retire, let it be chosen by them, by their performance - the media people speculating all over and discussing only this thing ahead of the Australia series is very disheartening.<br /><br />I am looking forward to the Australia series, not for Dhoni or Harbhajan or Ishant Sharma - but for the big five. And whether they perform or not is their destiny, but they will surely have audience like me watching and praying for them. May god bless them with the courage to face a selfish nation's unfaithful and misguided cynics.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0