Its all about feeling good!

One the one had you have people who murder scores of people for a (, rather in the name of a) cause. And they feel good about it and no remorse as others see it.

The person admits he has no remorse (which is expected of a person comiting such an act). Yet people are aghast over it! Would a remorse from that person make these people feel any better? Why expect such a thing. This ain't a movie!

And then these people feel helpless yet irate over it all. So to make themselves feel better, in the name of solidarity blah blah blah they decide to do a candle / silence vigil. In honour of people who dies to save their way of living.

They ramble and express their sadness so much and most of these people will forget about the people who lost their lives in a few months, until the next! Why? Coz they don't know what else to do other than question sitting in comfort of an A/C room or donating an amount for the relief operation.

How does the candle light vigil help? Maybe it would make the families of those who lost dear ones feel that the whole nation is with them. Only to be forgotten in no time!

They all want to do something but then don't. Too much trouble. So what difference did they make with the vigil? They moaned! And yes of course, prepare and deliver speaches. Did that sound familiar? Politicians? Election Campaign?

Words and no actions. (At least politicians have an accountability factor. Its another matter how much they care about it.) Thoughts but no action. Why? Coz they want to feel "good".

I am not against these vigils or prayers, but I fail to see the point. They just spend money, flowers, candles, renting out a place, logistics and all, and for what? That money and better the effort could be better spent on helping someone better their life, doing what it takes to thwart re-occurrence of such events. But then again that is also about feeling doing something to feel "good".

So now we have three groups.

1. Those who don't moan and get on with their life. These people get the world back on their feel quickly.
2. Those who moan, feel good about it and then forget it all just as quickly as the previous bunch.
3. Those who put the effort to make a difference to the future by acting on it.

I hardly see any difference between the 1st two. For it is the 3rd who do what has an impact irrespective of how they feel.

Reminds me of merovingian stating in the matrix reloaded how we humans are so not in control and all that matters is the way we feel!

An interesting read at the onset of the untoward events lately - http://6ampacific.com/2008/11/30/better-security-takes-money-and-willpower/.

In the wake of attacks on mumbai

Read this - http://www.deccanherald.com/CONTENT/Sep152008/scroll2008091590090.asp?section=frontpagenews.

Notice that the article is dated Sep 15. And yet these events in Mumbai.

I will agree to the fact that it is easy to be in my position and make statements. But the with the current situation it looks like the government is helpless in defending its people AND self from such terrorists attack.

If am not surprised we are not gonna see much but for people getting ahead with it after hearing a statement of condemn from the PM. With all due respect to that chair I hope the PM is doing more than just condemn.

Only this time terrorists took a plausibly genuine issue for an excuse!

The funny thing in my industry ...

the IT Industry, is that EVERY TOM, DICK & HARRY wants to be an entrepreneur and have a company of their own #-o.

It is so damn cliched. Am totally sick of such people. Almost all but a few I've seen are talkers and no doers (count me in on that one).

Which made me wonder as to what set apart those who make it and the wannabes? The difference is the one between perseverance and interest.

Growing up sucks!

Something I realized off-late is that the more we learn the less flexible we become. Now I am not talking of the extraordinary people. What makes ordinary people so ordinary is how much they get institutionalized with the beaten path that they fail to explore things they would otherwise.

Imagine an Engineering or a Management graduate (sorry about the choice, but such people are the ones I encounter the most). Most people would only want to do something related to their field EVEN THOUGH they might have capacity to be better at something else. You might argue that you'll never know what it is you are best at. But my point here is that people fail to see themselves doing other things.

With most people degrees and education become blinders like for a horse. Now contrast this with a child.

Every wondered at how they explore the world. Agreed that they have less things to worry about, they are well taken care of and all. But ain't these excuses things that we burden ourselves with even when we don't have to?

I miss being that child that I was. No I am not talking about long long ago in a galaxy far far away. Its hardly been a few years since things changed, rather I changed. A friend of mine pointed this out during his last visit to India. I didn't understand it completely although I didn't deny it :). Whats the point in being this way, loosing your very essence in the name of being mature? Being compliant with the society has taken greater importance than being thyself.

I am gonna try to be that kid I once was. I know I risk losing some people (incl. close ones) in the process. But if they don't understand / accept me for what I am ( - I can be a pissoff a**h*** at times :D) then its only a matter of time until it falls apart. I wonder how many souls are out there who can put up with "me".

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A Request to the Indian Media:

Please don't be hyper cynical and throw baseless hypothesis over incidents you don't understand. You hold a very responsible position of giving people information. A lot of people believe it. Viewership and ratings are not everything! Use your influence wisely.

Unfortunately like I always say its a point of view :|.

The plight of Headlines Today

There is a new channel here which goes by the name of - 'Headlines Today'. I don't sit much in front of the T.V., but I happened to watch it while I was having lunch today. Ever since I came in until I left, all that was telecast was about some wrestling news around this character khali.

Yes, a while back I did express my reservations about these news channels being very cynical about everything happening. But this is even worse. Looks like HT has really run out of news that it telecasts such things. I presume almost all but for the naive know that these shows are orchestrated like mega-serials. And yet these guyz seem to have nothing better to put on air *duh*. It football season again and they could very well put some exclusives on that or whatever. Wonder how people at HT feel about calling themselves a new channel. They should probably consider rebranding themselves as some entertainment channel rather than calling it news.

Shame on HT! I hope at least some of the other new channels are better than this.

1-Day Helmet Mandate

So it is true! The government or someone associated with them have made all the money they needed through the sales of helment. Its been just over a day since the mandate came into effect and now that they've made the money they need the government goes ahead and advises cops to not fine people for not wearing a helmet. Instead cops are to catch hold of them and make advise #-o. IT CAN'T GET ANY MORE OBVIOUS THAN THIS :). A state government sponsored spam, thats what this is - in the name of public good. Absolutely brilliant, about 500-1000 bucks from each household that runs on two-wheelers. Yet again its the tolerant middle class which gets punished.

People talk of one government being corrupt and the other is not. BS. This government is equally corrupt if not more. I wish someone bring up an investigation into this and bring to light what happened in the background if not to justice.

Helmet day

Today was a nice day to go on the roads :). I could see most of the 2 wheeler driving people wearing helmets thanks to the mandate in effect from today. And of course my own share of fun out of it >:).

Many of the adults were wearing helmets that don't quite fit to their head. Finding a helmet that fits a head is like finding a dress that fits a woman :p, only the former is applicable for both sexes :D. It was funny watching ppl whith HUGE heads wearing a helmet the bottom of which only comes down until their cheeks ;)).

And ladies (not chicks) wearing em :p, my goodness! ROTFL! They look like alien being who have landed from some other planet ;)) peeping through as if trying hard not to pass out. To top it all are those flabby people who after a big struggle successfully get their head inside the helmet. Little do they know how much they could affect an on lookers. Their skin would literally be squeezing out of the open areas as if waiting to burst. Quite gross actually.

And btw, its not gonna be long before people again start using the trick they did a few decades back to void the effectiveness of such a mandate. I don't want to mention that here and help make void something good. And as before I expect to see sect oriented PIL's being filed in a while such as sikhs not being able to wear it with their turbans and such.

Actually this move makes me wonder if the government struck a deal with helment manufacturers. Further, if a helmet is not carefully choosen it could be quite harmful to the driver in case of an accident. I am not too sure about this but I'v heard that with your chin unprotected there is a good chance of breaking ur spine depending on how you fall. Besides it saved me once from a bad head injury when in fact I was only driving at about 20-30kmph. Contrary to what most people believe you don't have to be driving fast to have a fatal head injury, coz it depends on the way you fall and what lies in the path.

In case you still havent picked one yet, please pick one which has a chin and not the one that all open to the front. And please don't buy the excuse that the sweat will cause baldness. Its just a belief and its genetics thats more towards baldness than sweat.

The good thing about this move is that I am considering getting a bi-cycle for my frequent travel within 3-5km radius which I do pretty often. Clean and Green! If I do, this time I'd go for a geared one which *doesn't* luk like a BMX bike.

Safe driving! to all the bikers out there.

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Just 24 hours and I already see some people making use of the workaround :). Wonder how many people out these would spot it. The face of Chennai roads would be soo different then.

Honkers worse than hookers

Indian roads and me just don't get along well. I invariably loose my temper pronto everytime I set out. The most irritating thing that ticks me off is those incessant bleady honkers. I believe in much of the rest of the world most people honk to let know one is doing something wrong or is causing inconvenience to others. Fundamentally I thought people rarely do that (honk) to catch immediate attention in case of emergency and such.

But down here a whole lot of idiots think they are some maharaja and keep honking all through so that people make way for them. Seriously challenged I say. Since we have tropical weather down here its easy to irritate people. Honking is not used to warn but to incite another guy into doing something he/she wouldn't do when in the realms of sanity. So the thumb rule here is that you irritate fellow drivers and get through.

I remember once when some young guy with his car audio blaring was driving behind me and started honking to get me off the road, obviously by irritating me. It wasn't a wide road and not a place to do stunts, but this guy was on adrenaline. So I choose to give it back in kind >:). I made sure that he couldn't get past me and was driving pretty slowly right in front @ about 40kmph nicely enjoying the wind and getting the pleasure of that guy going nuts honking to get rid of me ;)). The guy finally overtook me at a turning (yeah people do that while turning here) after some skidding and got past and accelerated in roads where it was pointless. Anyways he went past my home and I effortlessly got past him on my bike despite his crazy driving.

Indian traffic is such that despite the spead at which you drive the time you take to reach a destination doesn't vary more than 5 / max 10 mins. So why get you BP up honking and why irritate fellow drive. Some crack pots would sure be there. I own a bike which can blare too but I seldom honk (once or twice in a week's drive). Like wise these busses, autos and even some smart (as they think they are) two-wheeler drivers honking at your back as you wait at the stop line for the seconds to tick from 5 sec to 0 before the signal hits green. They literally barge into the road before its their time not giving consideration for a person probably comming perpendicular believing signal green = road path. I feel a little bit of patience and consideration for fellow drivers can make even driving through traffic a not so bad an experience. Unfortunately I ain't hitler to change peoples mind.

I notice a similar disregard for others when people park their vehicles. Sure you'd be annoyed if someone parked their vehicle in a manner that you can't take yours out. Nevertheless that is how people park. My own dad did it y'day and fortunately he saw me annoyed as I complained and parked it in a more acceptable fashion.

I don't think this is too much to ask or too difficult to do. I believe if the police and traffic officials create awareness amongst people as much as bullying them things could get much better on citizens and them. Maybe they don't probably thinking that their job depends on trouble makers. I have come to agree the fact that you can't drive without breaking any rule in chennai, and so do traffic police. But at the least we can make it more tolerable to one another. Being nice to other ain't too much to ask or is it?

Celebrations at whose cost??

All chennaites must be knowing by know as to what was behind the chaotic traffic situation in the city this evening. For the benefit of the others, its the 50th year of our honourable Chief Minister Mr. M.Karunanidhi as legislator and the party is celebrating it in grandiose.

Considering the estimated number of people who would come to attend it, lots of arrangements have been made in the city. Traffic diversions and alerts to offices so that people would leave early to aviod getting stuck in heavy traffic. Glad they did that much.

But there is something most of us don't know about. Neither did I until I evesdropped on a conversation. I happened to be travelling in the evening and got stuck at a places for 5-10 mins and just overhead this narration by a nearby cab driver. I was shocked beyond words when I realized what was being forced onto the people.

Turns out that all these cab / transport operators have to volunteer 4 vehicles and 40,000Rs to the party towards the event. Oops, did I say volunteer! Of course since it is "voluntary" its pretty legal. As for those who don't volunteer, we'll they'd just have a tough time with their license to operate their unit :). For obvious reasons this will never be covered in the media or made an issue of since the event is embraced by dignitaries holding office in the state and central government. This is where it gets better. All the money spent will be shown as party expenditure while all of it goes into somebody's pocket.

What next? The government would probably sponsor free food program for all families under a monthly income of 5000. How? All families with an income of over 10,000 will have to give a percentage of their ration and 2,000 in cash as contribution towards the same. Reminds me of Atlas Shrugged, where people in authority make such laws that people have to break them for their very survival. I wouldn't be surprised if it got to that level although I hope not.

I am not against celebrations and such. Kalaignyar M.Karunanidhi is a great man in his own rights. All things apart he makes a great administrator and no one can deny that and I deeply respect him for that. But this is something I least expected from his party and the organizers of the even. Sad but true. Fortunately or unfortunately, I cant verify the verity of what I overheard.

This revealation reminds me of the plight of auto-rickshaw drivers as narrated by one. Turns out that the limited permit the goverment issues at nominal prices are bought by influencial men in bulk. And those wanting to drive an auto have to pay upto 10 times those stipulated by the government to get the permit from these guys, usually mortgaging their vehicle. Why wouldn't the auto drivers demand unfair charge when they are being taxed like this?

The only different I see between much of the west to India is that in the west you got to bribe to go against the norm, while in India you have to bribe if you want things to be done right. What can we do when the very people who are meant to uphold the law get into such acts. How different is this from the ones imposed on us during the british raj? Honestly I am not asking them to be 0% corrupt, coz that just doesnt fit well with democracy. Afterall, everyone needs to make money. But such impositions on business and people can definitely be minimal if not completely avoided. (Now I am talking in absolutes #-o *gosh*).

God bless this country.

Everyone's envy India's Pride

After god know's how long, I'v felt a sense of pride of India. Think it was when the last time an indegenous accomplishment was reached - pokharan and our NAL made airplace that broke the sound barrier (bare with me if the particulars are incorrect). ISRO's mission to recover the capsule on re-entry after being launched into space was a GRAND SUCCESS. A moment to truly celebrate and realize the possibility of a manned mission to moon, atleast in my lifetime :).

I do not know how many people followed this story amidst the inconsequential HOT debates on TV. How can you, when such an achievement is aired for hardly 5-10 minutes, while debates over trivial issues take up much of the prime time. Oblivious, most of the viewers fell to the trap manipulating their sentiments. Ironically, the debate turned out to be as inconsequential as the matter itself. So much for prime time. If you still don't know what I mean, its the Racism issue in some show which I don't wanna mention here. I just went on to the new channel web sites and as expected none of them had put this on their top stories. This event is over visible under the "More Stories" category. "Shilpa Shetty" & some british female are all in the news while these scientists achievements hardly get 5 mins in the air. Ain't that something to be proud of :(. And thanks a ton to "The Hindu" for having put this new as their headlines.

On another note, a few words on the "India Poised" campaign. I was very glad to realize how there was an unanimous agreement that our education system is the bottleneck towards upliftment of the economically backward sections of society. Another interesting point was made for the question - "Indian political system seems to be in bad shape. What would it take to clean up the mess?". And a gentleman answered - "The system is fine. Its the people who are the problem. You, me and hence the politicians", ha ha, how true. And then of course the fact that the policies of different political parties at the centre marginal differs, esp now that most of them are thinking forward. And this one too - Gone are the days when people used to flock out of India, here is a time when our beloved NRI's are all eyes to get back home. The one point that really caught up my attention was CPO (Creative Process Outsourcing). That was music to my ears ;).

There is a say that goes like this - "A man doesn't understand beyond what it takes to earn his next meal". This is as much the root of the problem as I can see it. Education does help, but it is going to take a long time given to incapability and rigidity of the current system. But I feel that the media can do a much better job in enlightening the people *right now*. Of course "IF" they would choose to air more consequential and motivating stuff at prime time. Unfortunately most of the time they pick on the sentimental side of things and project themselves as the channel which has unfolded a grave situation in the country. Not that they don't make valuable programs, but very very few of these get aired at prime time. "Money" / "Rating" is the operative word.

On the other hand, who can blame them? Every channel targets higher ratings. Most people are more interested in knowing as to what is happening between Abishek Bachan & Aishwarya Rai #-o. I am just wondering as to how much of misplaced values the media is perclorating into the public. Guess am beginning to talk in absolutes now.