The spectre of Corruption...

First, a little background. Surya Rao is a minister from East Godavari district in AP. Diwakar Reddy is a minister from Anantapur district. As has been the practice from a long, a minister from one district is appointed as incharge of another district. Diwakar Reddy is the incharge minister of East Godavari district, from which Surya Rao is a minister.

Now for the news: Surya Rao, called a press conference and Diwakar Reddy of siphoning of Rs.7crores from funds meant for his district.

For people in living in AP or for those who closely follow the politics of AP, this might not be "news". For we are all used to hearing about corruption in this government. Most of the time we hear about amounts for which ordinary people like you and me cannot even count the number of zeroes!!!

But this particular case is very disturbing in nature. One minister is accusing another minister of corruption!!! Not an opposition member or a disgruntled enemy. A minister. These people have sworn oath to the constitution, which like it or not, is the ultimate authority in our country. These people have affirmed that they will live upto the ideals of the foundations on which our country was found.And these same people are fighting on the streets.

And as is his wont, the Chief Minister just rubbished off this fight too, and said everything has been "settled". What was "settled", we will never know. How it was "settled", we will never know.

All we know is that this spectre of corruption will surely not end here.

Here's "Vish"ing him more glory....

I don't mean to belittle the T-20 win, but somehow being the "world" champion of a game that is actively played in 8 countries pales in comparision to being crowned the world champion of a game in its purest form. That too thrice.

That's Viswanathan Anand for us! For a game that originated in our country ages ago, it was not befitting not to have a world champion for so long. Anand has single handedly bought back the glory that truly should belong to us. For more than 20 years, he has consistenly performed on the world stage, fought the Russian domination with gusto, silenced his critics ( funny right, that even he should be answering critics!) and most importantly inspired so many of today's youngsters. So much that I even lost count of the number of Grandmasters we have!

And by the way, lest I didn't stress on this point too much, ending the Russian Domination is no mean thing. It's just phenomenal. Maybe that is a small word too. Kramnik is no small opponent. He beat Kasporov too! True glory to the country in this sport has been attained today!

In a country that is obssesed with the kind of haristyle's sportspersons maintain, or the kind of dresses they wear on field and off, Anand has shown to us how single mindedly focussing on the sport with minimal "extra curricular" activities could bring glories to the country.

It feels brilliant to have been there to see him play and win.

Here's "Vish"ing him more glory....

Violence as part of daily life..

Right from the black and white era, there has always been a satire in our movies in which one of the character will open up a newspaper and read only death related news and then sigh with exasperation. I used to always think it is an overdose and does not clearly reflect the situation in the country.

How I wish I still can think in the same way. Day after day, week after week, most of the news is indeed about violence that erupts in some part of the country or the other. Violence that could have been prevented in the first place; violence that could have been curbed while it was happening; and violence that could have been prevented from spreading. Be it any state, and be it any reason, it is truly a very sad reflection of our collective intelligence that we let such violent perverts take over the law and order of the land.

So many of us keep on protesting against such indecent and cheap methods to make one's point, but all that protest is lost in the world of "vote bank" politics. The only people who have to listen to us refuse to do so, taking shelter in the fact they will lose elections and thereby power if they do the right thing. What use is the power of, when you cannot ensure the safety of innocent civilians. What we need and what we look for in people who are in power is action; not just an analysis of why the same event keeps repeating again.

To counter argue that the previous governments were also not very efficient is ver childish in nature. While dealing with lives of people, how long can the state and central governments blame each other and then do nothing about it. The fear factor that is gripping the country is undoubtedly detrimental in nature. I simply fail to understand what it is that is stopping the police from acting tough; what it is that is stopping the politicians from acting tough; and above all what it is that is stopping the Home Minister from acting tough!

There are so many times that I feel so helpless. Are we really safe from the whims and fancies of leaders whose only sense of duty stems from the fact that they want power, only power and nothing else. Alas, the only thing I can do is write and protest. And live in hope that I don't lose hope that the system will change.

To the moon, we will go soon!

The next time you look at the moon, tell him we are coming! :-)

I told my mom last night that the launch of Chandrayaan-1 will be at 6:22am. Now, she wakes me up at 5:15 only saying that maybe they will start the coverage earlier only! aaaa... anyways, I insisted and persisted that I will get up only when the alarm will go ring ( first at 5:30 and then at 5:39 :D) !

Coming back to our topic, what a sight it was :-) To see the glow in the faces of all scientists at Sriharikota. And more remarkable was the way all of them spoke after the satellite entered the earth orbit. Some 10 of them spoke, and were way too modest for an achievement of this kind. 1-2 liners congratulating everyone... that's all they spoke ! No big big bashans. But I hope they will have a big bash though..... because they all truly deserve it!

Now waiting for Chandrayaan-1 to get into the moon's orbit... More later !

Sachin! Sachin!

I know a lot of people have already said what I am going to write. I know what I am going to write will sound a lot cliche. But, I am anyway going to write, because you know what... it is the fact!

Each time Tendulkar crosses a milestone, clips of some of his best shots are played over and over again on the TV. And watching them over and over again is such a pleasant sight! I mean, there is real beauty in his game. There is grace in his shots, and there is confidence in his composure.

To have played cricket for 19 years is an achievement in itself. To have endured the pressure of being the icon of Indian cricket and then perform for so long is no mean achievement. The critics fail to understand that in such a long journey, there are bound to be pitfalls. I was listening to someone tell on TV that though it came a little late, it is better late than ever. What rubbish! How does the duration of the record take away the sheen off it???

Either way, I am not getting into any arguments with them because I for one believe that Sachin has really no point to prove to us anymore! I for one feel extremely lucky to have watched him play and enjoy the treat he provided to all of us :-)

Kudos to master!

Kidnapped....

I was walking up the stairs ( or standing on the escalator - whatever! ) with friends. Now this friend says Hi to another friend of his! This guy asks - "So, are you also going to Kidnap because you didn't get tickets for any other movie?". Now that is what I call a bad omen..... and while walking into the theater, only hoped that the omen was false. Alas! It was not to be.

A multi-crore home in Mumbai does NOT have a caller ID. You will get confused between the heroine and her mom. Both of them compete in styles of dressing, make-up and dialogue delivery. Ah... the dialogues. Akanksha was telling that the script writer might have dozed off while writing. I think in that process his brain also slipped from his knee to the ankle, thus rendering it more ineffective!The heroine after getting kidnapped wears skimpier clothes! Imran Khan has only one expression all throught the movie. Maybe he will be given the "Best Static Expression" of the year award. And when the heroine requests for more water to bath - guess where she is taken?! To the beach.... yes! to the beach!!

So, there you are. Heroine and her mom at their competitive best in dressing in adverse circumstances. Kidnapper at his static best in all circumstances. Father at his ridiculous best in any circumstance.

And I guarantee you , you will at best be confused! :D

Let's say Tata to Mamta!

"Tata babu, you might be saying Nano Nano, but we will keep saying No-No, No-No". So thundered Mamta Banerjee in one of her 'fiery' speeches. However, one point is always amiss in her speeches - logic!

I was watching TV yesterday ( had to switch it on by geting up from bed because a friend insisted I see how shabbily the anchor maintained her hair!!!), and the channel was covering from Singur, interviewing the affected families after the shutdown. People, while talking to the reporter, started crying. Their only source of livelihood now gone. Some were watchmen, some others did other jobs in the plant. All gone now. The reason - Mamta Banerjee.

We live in a democracy, and majority opinion counts. However, that is in no way implying that we don't care for the minority. They have to be adequately compensated too. It is however difficult to satisfy everybody. The left parties still think in terms of old times, and therefore for them to allow Tata to set up a plant is a leap in itself. For all the opposition I generally have against the left parties, one argument I am NOT willing to buy is that they did not offer an adequate package. They are a very pro-poor, pro-farmer party, and I believe they would have offered nice packages.

And w.r.t Tata's, Jamshedpur is the perfect example of how they take care of the town they function in. What better example did you need Mamta ji?

Mamta ji, you are now clearly responsible for removing the cogs of the wheel that was moving towards industrial development in Bengal. Maybe it is time for us to say "Tata to Mamta".

Chinese Bandi - Anytime, anywhere :) !

Well,not anytime given that they "operate" in the night ;-) ! But anywhere... yeah!! Simple menu, high quality! No need to break your head to choose what to eat! Food for thought is not required here ;-) (ok, I know it is a PJ, but couldn't resist!) Each place has its unique taste, and needless to say all are equally good.

The amazing thing is the successful business model it creates! The revnue it generates is also quite impressive for the owners! One of them I know built a house in his village!

Ask me if you need some quick guidances, because most of the places I eat are in gullies and it is kind of difficult to explain them here!!

By the way, here's the perennial question that keeps bothering me: Wonder when the Chinese will get the idea of opening Indian bandi's? :D !!

Point never touched ...

At first I found the drama gripping. Then towards the climax, found it a little perplexing, and while coming out of the theater I started thinking. A Wednesday is getting good reviews not because of its drama, but because of its central theme. And more importantly, nobody ever touched this theme before. The anger of the "stupid" common man.

While it is a fact that we are reminded many a times about the suffering of the victims of terror attacks, never has the anger and fear of the common man been captured so well in mass media. Alll we hear is "the city limps back to normalcy". "The city ka citizens become resillient the very next day". And I realised this was far from true the very next day after the Hyderabad bomb blasts. Riding my bike the very next morning was a totally different experience which I cannot express and cannot forget too.

Some people might argue that the movie might be a little far fetched in showing a common man doing so many things, however the moot point to be noted is that the actual emotion of him has been the central point in the film.

Anyway, we can write on and on. Such meaningful movies will keep the debate going on. And it is necessary too, for it reminds us of our duty to remain vigilant.

ohh, and by the way, this may seem insignificant now, but I watched A Wednesday on a wednesday :D :D. So much for now ... need to sleep, it's already thursday :D

"Blessings of his leader" ???

"It was available with us in Delhi also. But what was not available was the timing, the place and the method to be used for the purpose" - Shivraj Patil, Home Minister of India.

Maybe the terrorists have to apologize to him for not publishing their time table. Next time, they will surely take care of it I guess.

Now, let us dissect his comments more. He tells us in the interview, that he "had information about the possibility of a terror attack in the capital even before Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi conveyed it (to the PM)."

Ok. Modi met the PM 10 days back. So worst case, let's assume Patil had the information 1 day before that. So, for a full 11 days, the IB just had information that Delhi will be the target. Isn't that something that needs to be worked on? Did Patil call for meetings and discuss the possibility of how the attacks might be triggered instead of waiting for the " timing, the place and the method"? Did Patil discuss threadbare with the IB whether all the information has been shared with the state police and whether proper follow up action is taking place?

Bomb blasts have become a regular occurrence. Serial blasts that too. So, instead of just rubbishing the opposition demands for POTA etc, why doesn't he come up with possible solutions? Does it take 4.5 years to think about how to counter? It is an acceptable fact that these attacks cannot be totally prevented, but the frequency with which they have been occurring will put any nation to shame.

Ok, let's get back to his statements. "My party's ethos is to do justice and to see it is done in a manner that contains and controls criminal and terror activities, and at the same time does not give any opportunity to human rights violation,? What is he trying to tell us? That he runs an organization that cannot come up with credible evidence of involvement of people? What human rights violations are we talking about here? In your interest of seeing to it that you don't lose votes, you will not bother to arrest suspects also. And then they go about planning these attacks, killing people. And yet somehow we talk about human rights violation. haa!

Finally, "I have the full blessings of my leader". The question asked was "Do you have the confidence of your leader?". A simple answer would be, "Yes, I believe so". or "Yes, I have the full confidence of my leader". But no. He chooses to ridiculously twist the statement and tell us, "he has the blessings of his leader". Now, it is left to anybody's guess if he was referring to the Prime Minister or the president of his party when he said "leader" !

And lest he didn't realise - Ultimately, what is important is that he should have the "blessings" of the people, not of the leader.

Mr. PM, Do you have the guts...

...to sack your Home Minister?
If you are still further looking for proof to sack him from the job, then I pity your position sir. I am so pissed off at him that I don't even want to write about him. Apparently, he was "sorry for whatever happened" last night in Delhi. You know what sir - we are sorry that we have such an incompetent Home Minister who only comes up with new words each time there is a blast, but never comes up with a new solution.
So Mr. Prime Minister, as a concerned citizen, I challenge you sir. Do you have the guts to sack your Home Minister?

Proving them wrong..

People just fancy writing sports persons off. I guess that's the easier thing to do. The difficult thing obviously is done by the sports persons - proving them wrong!

What the Williams sisters did this year was exactly this! The women's tennis circuit is so open-ended that we tend to forget who won what grand slam at the end of the year! But it's easy this year because the sisters have won 2 grand slams! Serena now has 9 grand slams to her name and wants to get into double digits. There really seem to be no rivals to the sisters - Venus beat Serena in Wimbledon, Serena beat Venus here ! Looks like the rivalry is confined to the family!

Roger Federer! Critics were quick to ask " Is he finished"? He is not comfortable on clay, and yet reaches the finals of French Open and critics ask "is he finished?". Year after year, he reaches the finals of at least 3 Grand Slams and yet critics ask "is he finished?". And I guess they got their answer today. No.

13 Grand Slams and still going strong.... Roger that! :D

A complicated relationship

During the course of my +2 education, one of my teachers once told our class, "A teacher is a bridge between the textbook and the taught". It has been about 10 years since he told us that, but that sentence still reverberates in my mind.

In the same year that my teacher told us that particular quote, we were also taught by a teacher who took some sort of pleasure in beating the students! We were also taught by a teacher who had a penchant to pick up not so good students and make a mockery of them in the class. We were also taught by a teacher who, at the slightest pretext, threatened the students with dire consequences in the final exams. All through my educational career since, I have come across such teachers in the majority. Teachers who enjoyed to wield their power, but did not want to own up the responsibility that comes with it.

If the foundations of a bridge are not strong enough, then the bridge is sure to collapse. So is the case with this bridge. And the onus for making this foundation strong is more on the teacher than on the student. Unlike other relationships, a student-teacher relationship is not build on trust. It is built on the comfort levels the teacher can provide to the student. It is built on mutual admiration. The student admires the teacher for understanding his/her limitations, and the teacher respects the shortcomings of the student, and then tries to bring the best out of him/her. It is built on hope. Hope that the student will come out a better person upon completion of the course.

But in today's world of competitive exams, the average and not so average students on looked down upon. Most of the times it so happens that the bright students of the class are given preferential treatment over the average and not so average students. It is one thing to be looked down upon by the society, but if the person entrusted with the responsibility of making you a better person, shirks that responsibility within a couple of weeks, imagine what kind of effect that is going to have on the psyche of the student.

Here are a few examples. A bright student seldom fears to ask a doubt in the class. One of the reasons is that he/she is sure that the teacher will not call the doubt a silly one. If a similar doubt is raised by an average student, most of the times, he/she is always told what a silly doubt that was. In lab sessions, a bright student is not asked too many questions, but an average students is pounded with questions, the answers for which sometimes the teacher themselves do not know clearly (this is true...I have seen them happen).

All students obviously do not have the same level of intellect. Nor do all of them have the same interest level. Isn't it the responsibility of the teacher to see to it that each student realises his/her true potential? The most common method to make them study is by instilling a sense of fear in them. I still fail to understand how beating a student will make him a better student!

There are students who refuse to be taught. There are some who think being rude is confidence. I am not talking about them here. There are a lot many students who, if provided with the right guidance, can shine in their careers. Improving the confidence levels of a student can do wonders to him/her. Unfortunately, most of the time, either the student is deemed good or deemed fit for nothing.

A teacher is the only person who is entrusted with the enormous responsibility of making a average student into a good one, a good one into a better one, and of making the better ones the very best. At each stage of their education, students, bright and dull, look up to them to learn, they look up to them for help and they look up to them to grow. Instead of realising the true greatness in their profession, most of the teachers (particularly at the +2 level) feel that instilling a sense of fear will earn them respect. Mr. Vajpayee was right when he said (though in a different context), a sense of respect has to be commanded, not demanded. And when respect is commanded, the student-teacher relation will blossom to its fullest.

The "New" un "clear" deal !

1st Fact: There is a document circulating in the US.
2nd Fact: That document was written by the White House to the US Congress.
3rd Fact: There are some portions of the document that don't match with what was agreed between India and US.
4th Fact: The state department has asked that the document be kept a secret.
5th Fact: Anil Kakodkar says he knew about this document and the fact that this has to be kept a secret.
6th Fact: Yet Kapil Sibal has the guts to tell us that the document is NOT a secret!
7th Fact: Kapil Sibal also said once “That the U.S. can live without this agreement, there is no doubt. That India should live without this agreement is certainly a matter of debate”. You can read the full article here, and my questions here.

Now, if the document has no binding on US, then why on earth would the US come up with it?? It might have as well saved some paper :D. If the document is binding on the US, then obviously it will have to override the bi-lateral agreement. So, we will be in a position where we might have to toe along the US line. Technically, we are not "bound" by the document, but then it doesn't require a genius to figure out the contrary!

So, whom is Bush cheating? His Congress? Our country? If Anil Kakodkar knew about this document, then the PM also must have know about it. Was this document discussed threadbare then? Of course, we will never be told all this in the interest of "national security". And then, very convieniently, the topic will get diverted to "energy security", with the new "youth icon" telling us that the deal will help Kalavati's son become a collector.

And before we forget, will Mr.Kakodkar please have the decency to tell us how many more such documents exist? And will the PM atleast now come and talk to the people of the country, while Madam mulls over when to conduct elections ( with the inflation "stabilizing" at 12%, apparently people are now happy )!

Final Fact: There is always something new in this deal, but the deal is never clear to us. Such is the state of this "Newclear" deal !

I, Me, Myself

It's me and no one else
I eat and it's in my pulse
Anyone with a weak heart,
From here you should part :D
I am good and cause no harm,
And it's all found in my charm :P
Welcome to I me myself
Loads to come from my shelf!!

10,000 ...

Before you people think that I am writing a review for some stupid english movie... i will spill the beans!

Today is the 10,000th day of my existence! :-) :-) :-)