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 Chenn...

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 de...