Spoken words

The Mumbai ordeal is over for now. And peace has returned, momentarily of course. Its a rude shock to all of us, and the pain is being felt even more, because the rich and the powerful of India have been hit, unlike the common man who was hit in such past incidents. This was a whole different group of people who had to bear the brunt of terrorism in its worst form. A elite group, that can afford to eat at Five Star luxury, dont use local trains and send only their servants to buy vegetables at the market. And when this segment of elite Indians are angry, a lot of change and reforms can be expected in the system. Well, not that my opinion will have much of a bearing on the wise policy makers of the country, i would like to request them to pull up their socks and start working seriously. Here are a few of my recommendations from a common man's perspective. DON'T POLITICIZE terrorist activities : When so many people die helplessly, seeing politicians argue about who is respon

There is never a period of extended peace in the country. Just when things seem alright and peaceful, someone comes up and stirs up the hornet's nest. The gruesome acts of terrorism in the financial capital of the country, just shows the guts of these inhumane perpetrators. What did all these people they have killed ever do to them? Now don't bring in the stories of avenging those who died in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia or Kashmir - the videos of which were shown to motivate them. Because these people were just normal people going about their normal lives, and had nothing to do with armed conflict till the day they were killed in cold blood. That too for absolutely no reason at all. It has been almost twenty four hours, since it all started in Mumbai. Such coordinated attacks show a well researched and planned operation, and was different from the way things used to be carried out by them. Such deviation from their conventional method shows that they were aided by a well informed

Well, I am not talking about the India - England ODI series, but rather the situation of Tamil Nadu, currently under the siege of heavy rains. Many parts of the state have been severely battered by cyclonic winds and torrential rains. The losses have been huge - both material as well as of life. Well, we cant control nature, but what we can control is how we handle the situation. We cant stop the rain, which is actually a good thing, but at least the losses and inconvenience can be minimized. Fine, let me not get carried away too far. Helping out the rural villages seems very far away, when we cant even manage the water in the capital of the state - Chennai...!! Every year its the same old story. Promises are made to improve the storm water management infrastructure, but barely a line is drawn after the rains stop. Badly planned suburbs as well as major streets submerged in a lot of water, with floating debris, doesn't make for a very pretty sight. And having more than a foot of

The only sort of pirates that i was familiar with, were the types that sell/download pirated software and movies ( No wait... the other pirate i know is Captain Jack Sparrow... Ahem ). But then, all of a sudden, the Somalian sea pirates ( some prefer to call them terrorists ) are all over the news and in the Gulf of Aden ...! And they have a quite a crafty racket set up. Their modus operandi involves using fast motor boats to get near merchant ships, clambering onto them, holding a gun to the crew's head and demanding ransom from the owner of the ship. And this plot of their works, as some of the demands for money were met by the shipping corporates. In fact it worked so well that it has begun to happen a lot more frequently than one could ever imagine. Eleven raids in ten days, and a about seventy five ( and constantly rising ) in this year alone, seems like a desperately frantic attempts by the Somalian pirates to make a quick buck. Equipped with a few large Russian-built "

The global financial crisis has affected almost everyone. Either its the looming danger of losing your job, or the fear of complete closure of the industry itself. In this current scenarios, as small and large companies are desperately trying to be in the green, cutting down on the excess workforce seems to be the first viable solution for them, as generating any profits seems definitely seems out of the question. So spending so much on operational costs seems most "wasteful", given the fact that they are getting back very little in return. Cutting cost by other means, certainly was of some help, but wasn't enough. Like the lavish perks showered on the managerial level have been choked this year. So no expensive gadgets, leather handbags or luxurious Caribbean cruise for them this year. Others got their salaries cut down significantly, or were denied the raise that was promised to them. Companies planning to come up with new launches have put their plans on hold. But thin

Any one I am sure would agree to the fact that our law system and judiciary are one of the worst functioning bodies in the country. We never have much respect for the law -  and we make it a point to safely break as many as possible. As for those who are well read with the subject of law - the lawyers - don't have too much of respect for it either. As it turns out they learn law only to find ways to break it. No wonder most turn out to become politicians ( read as criminals ). Lawyers are quite plainly associated to be liars and criminals. And judges are assumed to be corrupt and inefficient. This doesn't mean everyone is like this. Just that the general  perception is such. And unfortunately its true most of the time. So why this sudden interest regarding the lawlessness in the country? That's because, I like many others, just had the opportunity to see ( on TV  of course ) some hideous acts of violence amongst aspiring lawyers, at the Dr. Ambedkar law college in Chennai

The Indian Armed forces are one of the most respected organizations in the country. Especially the Army, which gets the most honor amongst them all. The code of discipline and courage is legendary. Their passion devoid of all fervor, other than for service towards the motherland. Once a soldier, is always regarded as a soldier. People respectfully give titles to men who have served in the army. Such is the respect given to the soldiers of the country. Yet recent revelations on the Malegaon incident , have greatly tarnished the army's secular image. Never would i have imagined that men in the army would be involved in such forms of treason. That too amongst high ranked officers. Soldiers who had fought off terrorism, had become one of them. Yes, these of course are the actions of a few, and should in now way brand all the soldiers similarly. Yet the reputation of the army has taken quite a beating. Why this scares most, is because of the sort of training they undergo, and the amou

First of all I am happy that George Bush is not the President of the United States any more*. And second, i am happy that George Bush is not the president of the United States anymore**. And finally, i am happy for Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. And i guess he is black too. Not that it should make a difference, or be even considered as a statistic or a record. But i suppose it is a big deal, and gives a lot of hope to many in America. As well as a reason to celebrate for those who share their roots with him, back in Kenya.   He does have quite a lot of hot stuff to handle right now. The economic crisis is just one of them, and what a big mess it is. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will soon have to be handled and sorted out, as cleanly as possible. And i bet there are several other diplomatic and political problems to face as well. He has promised a lot to the Americans, frustrated by wars, terrorism and economic problems . And everyone hopes that he delive

Wishing All a Happy and Prosperous Diwali ( Deepavali )...!!

D iwali is here.. and like every time its a joyous moment of celebration and festivities. Not just in India but also in lots of other countries, where Indians are in abundance...! So as usual it involves a lot of celebrations, shopping, traditional stuffs... and the dreaded crackers. I am not a big fan of crackers, as anyone who knows me for more than 2 years would be able to guess why. The reasons are many, but the solution is in fact very simple. Don't burst crackers...!  One of the reasons is the pollution it causes. The other reason being the alleged use of child labour to manufacture them. And of course the fact that they are highly irresponsible objects to have fun with. F or the first reason, well, i suppose everyone knows the smoke and and noise that they produce. They hardly think of the long term consequences of them. We are actually contributing to Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide as well as other harmful gases, raising the levels considerably on the days of Diwali.

Well, it may have been quite a while since someone showed interest to visit our nearest celestial neighbor -  the Moon. So on 22 October, 6:20 AM IST mission Chandrayaan-I will be launching off to explore the moon's surface, untouched by an Indian Spacecraft ever. In fact its the first time an Indian spacecraft is going so far away form the Earth. Sending back a lot of knowledge about the the celestial body and hoping to break new grounds in planetary explorations. Also the knowledge acquired will be shared with the entire world. The mission objectives as quoted by ISRO are to map the surface of the Moon and to conduct mineral analysis. As well as to deliver numerous ground support stations and facilities on the moon's surface. These are supposed to aid in future moon missions by making available a usable basic infrastructure. Many equipments going to be set up on the surface have been contributed by many space agencies across the globe. This is indeed a global initiative an

Really funny things happen when you throw in big corporates, innovative ideas and a lot of competition. Like this whole ad war that started around the big red couch. Well, the story goes as follows.Airtel in a bid to spice up their launch of digital television service, started a series of teasers, without giving  a hint to what it was about. Just a red couch and the line "See you at home" was said by a cowboy, an African Zulu tribesman, a rock band , cartoons resembling Timon from the Lion King.... and many others. But no one had much of a clue as to what it was or which company it belonged to. Though probably someone could connect it to a television based product or home delivered pizzas. Anyway, the build up continued... So Reliance's digital TV service - BIG TV - decided to crash in on Airtel's party by putting up their own promotional advertisement with the big red couch. To suggest as if the whole build up was for their BIG TV. How they came to know ofAirtel

It is indeed a very sad thing that apart from hunger, disease and natural disasters, there is another factor that kills children.... The scourge of the Open Bore wells.. ( eerie background music ) !!! Well.. a rather stupid reason for sure, but it does happen. Probably not in any other part of the world, but definitely in India. And is it too difficult to curb this children killing "menace"..?? Doesn't seem so. Definitely not difficult as fighting poverty or polio. Then why does it happen again and again and no one seems to care. Sonu, a 2 year old boy, was almost buried alive in a 150 ft deep bore well in Agra, is just one of the victims in a long list of similar incidents. The 4 day rescue operation by the Army, only resulted in the recovery of his lifeless body. Well, after such a long time, no wonder he didn't make it through..! Imagining myself in his place is both scary and discomforting. And it wasn't the first time, but will it be the last...?? Well, the m

By now every ram, arun and vijay ( Indian versions of Tom, Dick and Harry ) where ever he is, would be quite aware of the financial "situation" in the world. So what happens when a big financial institution crashes..?? People fear that other institutions will collapse as well. In a financial setup, set backs are common when something major like this happens. But are all fears justified...? Definitely not.. Sometimes they just make matter worse. Like the rumor that a major Indian bank - ICICI - was doomed because they had invested in American banks. So what happened was that people began to rush to the banks and ATMs to withdraw their hard earned money..!! But the way a bank functions, its not possible to return everyone's money within a day..!!  NO bank can do that..!! Definitely not possible..! A bank doesn't keep all the money it collects from its customers, in their vaults. They circulate and invest it..! How else are they able to give you an interest on your dep

I don't really understand the ration card or the Public Distribution System (PDS). Quite simply, because we don't need the so called subsidized rations. By "we" i mean people who can afford to buy from air conditioned supermarkets, and have cards to swipe the bill. Yet due to some strange enlightenment in our political system, they deem it necessary for us to have it as a source of identification. Well that part is ok , but the trouble is we even need to get our rations regularly. Or else the card gets canceled, which implies you lose your identity. Even though we ( my father :P ) pay our taxes for the roads, lights, sanitation and not to forget the subsidized rations as well, without the ration card, the local administrative bodies and many other organizations don't accept you as a valid resident of the state. ( Used to need that for buying LPG Gas as well... thankfully that is not needed anymore ) Earlier, we didn't feel the need to have one, because we co

"Calvin : Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man? Hobbes : I'm not sure that man needs the help ." With that, I am here again to talk about my second most favorite topic after global warming - and that is... corruption. Well, it came to my notice that there actually was a way to measure corruption. A relative measure of course. A Global Civil society organization called Transparency International had conducted a study and the results probably didn't surprise many. At least it didn't surprise me. Some may have gone into a denial mode, but in such things there can hardly be any argument. Talking about India in particular, it ranked at the 85th spot. I initially felt extremely happy, because my initial assumption was that we would be leading the list of the most corrupt, at least in the top ten. And now i saw that we were in the 85th...! I thought i owed all the politicians and bur

That is what Kaspersky Anti Virus thinks of my blog. Well. it began just like any another normal day, and i as usual started my online rituals with logging on to Gmail, and Pidgin ( a chat application ). All was fine till a a window pops with the familiar words "Hi da". After an exchange of a few pleasantries with my friend, he informs me that he was not able to access my blog. Holy Saint of Samaypuram...!! Well, this same friend had apparently sounded the warning bell when another fellow blogger's blog had been hacked recently. Fearing the worst i went to my blog and saw that all was well, and that 10 more people had visited my blog since the day before ( A sigh of relief ). All seemed peachy perfect. Nothing out of the blue what so ever...! So i asked him what was the reason for the alarm, for which he replied that Kaspersky ( his trusted Russian Anti virus program ) had blocked my blog. With a perplexed mind, I ask him what it actually said..? And this is what he copie

I was absolutely clueless about what's happening to the world markets, and the economical jargon confused me beyond any hope. But i knew that what was happening could or will in some way affect us, whether we understand it or not. And guess what, i had nothing better to do other than stare at the news on TV. Well... from what i understood, it all began with America's very generous credit policies. Which meant that credit or loans were given to almost anyone, without even ascertaining the fact whether that fellow could pay it back or not. Mostly these loans were provided to purchase houses. As more and more loans started to be given out to buy houses, the land value too skyrocketed. Accordingly, the loan amounts given started to become even bigger. Now coming back to the fellow to whom the loan was given, might not even be eligible for the loan for whatever reason it might be.   The banks didn't scrutinize much the details about him, and just gave him the loan. Even if he

It happened again. This time in the national capital, Delhi. Just when things appear to be a bit calm, things from no where came up and ruined the precious moments of peace. The lives lost are priceless, and the sorrow inconsolable.  We are among the several, countries that are living in a constant threat of dastardly intentions from these rogue elements. Those responsible are in no way proving any point. For what they did this is absolutely without any reason or justification. Spilling the blood of innocent people is one of the most easiest, and the only way employed by these COWARDLY SWINES ...! I guess its the pleasure obtained from doing such acts, rather than any objective that drive such maniacs to do evil.  Being in one of the terror hot spots of the world is no easy job. Stepping out everyday is almost the same as going in combat in a war zone. In fact the terrifying remains of Delhi's blast look nothing less than a ravaged battle field. But, we Indians are quite strong. Wh

Today, that is on the 10th of September, scientists will be attempting to recreate the "Big Bang" event, at the Swiss-French border. Yes, to recreate the event which gave birth to the entire universe. Atleast, thats the theory. Truly a one of a kind experiment, which would allow the scientists to see never before seen particles, elements and objects such as the black hole and inter dimensional worm holes...! All at a small and manageble scale. Hopefully everything is well contained and in control...! Apparently it has also been speculated that the experiment could even lead to the End of the World..!! Just imagine the whole world getting sucked into a black hole inside out..!! Gasp..!! Ahhh well...  According to the sources, the experiment is roughly as follows :  At a purpose-built underground centre near Geneva, the scientists are carrying out limited tests on a multi-million euro machine called the Large Hadron Collider. The ultimate aim is to recreate conditions that exi

Those living in Chennai would be very familiar with Ranganathan Street and its outrageous shopping crowds. I don't know about the others, but i simply hate those crowds over there...! I have never gone there to buy anything for myself. The only reason i go there is to buy some gift for some one's brother's or sister's wedding...!! Ah well... so its tough to move inch by inch in the swarming crowds, and then occasionally someone will shout in your ear, or step on your foot or brush their sweaty body against you... eeeww. I am always sacred of the possibility of someone sneezing at such close proximity to me..!! And if this wasn't enough, you have to be careful of your wallet, phone and other stuff in your pockets too...! Anyway, when i tell this to people, they say that I am being too snobby and that i should try to go along with the flow...! yeah right... Say what you want, but all this just sickens me..!! Though i didn't want to raise this, fearing some protest

Natural Selection, as proposed by Darwin, is the process by which nature selects the strongest to carry on their genes to the next generation. Or aptly stated as Survival of the fittest. Man already has reached a point at which physical changes have ceased. Though natural selection still continues. Nature normally eliminates the weakest or the sick from the pack. In case of man in the modern era there is a third angle to it - Economical fitness. So lets not ponder upon the elimination of the physically weak, as that has been going on ever since the first microbe wriggled on the planet. As for selection based on economic factors, it happens quite obviously, due to the economic disparity. Those weak in this are are naturally selected for elimination by other fellow men and nature as well. Here other than genes that are passed, social status and wealth are passed on too. Poor people are driven to less comfortable places where they are ravaged frequently by nature itself - like storms, cyc