Feel For Them

How consensus was achieved for Lokpal

2011-12-17T03:45:00.000-08:00

Living up to its true characteristics, Congress led UPA government at the center has reportedly proposed caste based reservations on the lokpal panel. The draft bill, prepared by the party’s so called intelligent chamchas (sycophants), mandates for 50% quota to the scheduled caste, scheduled tribes, other backward castes and other sections of the society. First and foremost, two seats will be permanently reserved for the Italian citizens (namely, Mrs. Antonia Maino, popularly called as Sonia in India and her son Rahul Gandhi who allegedly holds Italian passport in the name of Raul Vinci). These two will have the veto power to choose a person of their choice, in the public interest. However, such person must be a boneless, gutless and speechless person. Other prerequisites could be like the person should be well -educated (preferably a Harvard alumni) and prime- minister- ship. Two seats will be reserved for the scheduled caste and one seat each for scheduled tribes and other backward castes. Women and minority community will also be adequately represented on the panel. Since the panel is likely to comprise of nine members, it has been decided that a woman from the general category should be given this honor. Through unconfirmed sources, it has been learned that this post has already been offered to Kiran Bedi and she has secretively consented for the role. With this one smart move, Congress has sidelined other members of the Team Anna. Arvind Kejariwal was seen visibly miffed at the development. However, some reliable sources hint that this post may well finally go to Rita Bahuguna Joshi. Even, the BJP leaders were taken aback with this masterstroke.

Further, after Mayawati’s initial protests that the inclusion of lower bureaucracy is a conspiracy against the dalit community, other dalit and OBC leaders joined the chorus and demanded that as group C employees mostly comprises of their communities, so they should not come under the purview of lokpal. They, in fact, should not be investigated at all as the corruption money is inevitable to beat the inflationary pressure. However, only after Abhishek Sanghvi, head of the panel, assured them some concessions and promised to incorporate a proviso that only a member of scheduled caste can investigate the corruption cases against a babu belonging to the scheduled caste, they relented.

Is Hindu terrorism really a threat?

2010-12-29T05:33:00.000-08:00

For sometime, the comments made by certain incredulous congress leaders on the so-called ‘Hindu Terror’ has been hurting me. And holidaying in chilled weather of Delhi gave me leisure to write on the subject.

First, I must say that I don’t want to waste my energy on castigating Digvijay Singh, the shrewd congress politician, who is nothing but a useless, hopeless and insecure sycophant like another congressmen. Now, I will turn to young Gandhi scion, Rahul Gandhi. I praised him in my last blog titled “Rooting for Rahul” dated June 9, 2009. http://feelforthem.blogspot.com/2009/06/rooting-for-rahul.html

But after startling revelations on Wikileaks, he disappointed me giving an impression that of an utterly immature kid who is being projected as the future Prime Minister of our great country. I sensed as if he was extremely misguided and ill-advised politician who had no commonsense or brain of his own. He should have educated himself before making any stupid comment. I agree that terrorism has no color but how one can dare to compare between a nationalist organization and international terror outfits or home grown Islamic terrorist organizations. Indubitably, some of the RSS members have been indulged in anti-national or anti minority activities but such one off cases don’t make the whole organization a terrorist entity. If an army-man is found guilty of sedition, does it make entire armed forces treacherous? Have the people of this country forgotten what some CRIMINALS in congress did during emergency or in 1984 riots?

The RSS members participated in several social and political movements including freedom struggle, which Rahul’s great grandfather spearheaded. They have contributed and volunteered in the nation building including relief and rehabilitation work. Any mischievous act by its member cannot belittle its contribution to the Indian society. Rahul and his retinue must know the important roles played by the RSS in the liberation of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Goa; war with China and emergency.

As far as propagating its ideology is concerned, we must understand what they preach first? What is wrong in imparting our children about India’s glorious past, culture and values? If Christian missionaries can be allowed to carry out their conversion agenda in the garb of social upliftment and education, why is this fuss for RSS run schools?

Neither I entirely agree with the opinions and views enunciated by such nationalist entities nor I act as their spokesperson. I also don’t intend to join RSS in the future as well. But I see that there are strong discontent and uneasiness among certain section of the Hindu societies. Certainly, they are fed up with so-called Muslim appeasement by our government and incessant Islamic terrorist attacks from within and across the border. Particularly when we have been invaded, oppressed by the outsiders for centuries. I don’t have any personal grudges against Muslims. But, I believe there would be natural and spontaneous responses to such attacks. Generally speaking, Hindus are tolerant and moderate community; we have welcomed outsiders, adapted to changes and practiced what is best in other faiths. But their tolerance cannot and should not be taken for granted.

I will give some example of discrimination against them. In our own country, there are certain parts where Hindus are not allowed to freely practice their own faith. I believe ours is a secular country so much so that we afraid to raise the issue of oppression of our own people lest we are labeled as communal. Hindus are raped, looted and harassed in our neighboring countries but we don’t bother. Indeed, we don’t mind even when Pandits are cleansed in Kashmir. Because we believe they are law & order problems. We don’t wage war against the states where Hindus are harassed or prosecuted like Muslims do for their religious brethren in Palestine or Iraq. I don’t claim that India belongs to the majority but the minority must not take the advantage of our tolerance. Refer to following link: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/09/india-muslims-attack-hindu-procession-injuring-50.html

Many such stories we get to know from across the country such as West Bengal. In my own home district, some of my friends and their families have been forced to leave Muslim dominated areas to safer havens. This is not to suggest that all Muslims are bad or threat to Hindus. But it disturbs that talking of our own culture, religion and well being of Hindus makes us communal. Unfortunate, very unfortunate.

Today's Musing

2010-12-22T21:03:00.000-08:00

Friends,

I am back after a hiatus. There could be two reasons for not blogging these days- either I have started taking my professional job seriously or I have nothing important to write about. In this shrinking world, where test cricket gets squeezed to one- days and then reduced to twenty-20 model; where we find it difficult to read lengthy reportages, or for that matter even our text books, begetting blogging to micro-blogging a.k.a. tweeting, I too have resorted to two- three liners on the Facebook. And people believed I could be a good script writer. I know I am not a good writer but for a while I was scared if could lose the writing habit. My friend, Joy, will scoff at me that it is not writing but a typing habit. So, I decide to return to my absurd writing (typing). It may bother you, but it makes me happier, indeed.

I am mesmerized that things are really shrinking. Be it glaciers, space, play grounds, greenery, natural resources, our homes sweet homes, families, social lives, our values, friends list, to name a few. But there are certain things that are growing in size such as population, pollution, corruption, natural disasters, crimes, immorality, enmity etc. in our societies.

But one thing will never grow in size, for sure. That is the distance between you and me. One thing that will never be scarce is my admiration, my concerns for you. One thing that will remain intact, no matter what, is my wish for your well being.

Albeit I started with something else in my mind to write about but that unpredictability is very nature of a writer. S/he begins her/his journey in certain direction but finally reaches altogether at different destination. It maybe a bliss or it maybe a defect, depending on where you finally land in. Well, right now we have reached at the end of this very eventful year and what an opportune time to convey my all wishes to you for the new year that would become old exactly after one year! And that is the time when I shall renew my wishes, with same amount of zeal, zest and gusto.

Till then, keep smiling at every step, in every adversity. God bless you always!

Some simple solutions

2010-04-22T00:26:00.000-07:00

No matter how big the problems may seem to be but, if we look around, there should be some astonishingly simple solutions. We have this tendency to complain for every problem and blame the government agencies for every misery. But remember we are the one who elect our government and are very much an integral part of the system. There is no point in carrying out candle light rallies or forwarding emails to hundred of thousand strangers unless we take some action.

I will give you some good examples. Water scarcity is a big problem not only in remote villages of Rajasthan or overpopulated Delhi but also in seaward cities like Mumbai. Kofi Annan once had said that the next world war would be fought on water issues. India is fuming that China is building dams on river Brahmaputra while India is building dams on Indus which has Pakistan screaming blue murder and threatening terrorist action. So, what do we do to conserve water? Nothing. We realize its importance only when our taps go dry. But what is the solution, boss? Solution is, as I said, very simple. Stop using western styled toilets. Every time you urinate, mind you, you flush out one bucket of water. And like you, million people waste thousand gallons of water everyday. Similarly, many of us use bathtubs. Why cannot we resist bathing like buffalos in the ponds? I am not just preaching rather I do practice it as well. I don’t drink water supplied by the municipal corporation; I leave it for more needing people. On serious note, I use one bucket of water to bathe.

Similarly, let us find the solution of terrorism. Beefing up our vulnerable security bandobast every time we are attacked by the terrorists is not going to help us. In this case, we will have to understand the problem. Most of the terrorist activities are either financed by oil rich states like Saudi Arabia or some other illegal means like opium smuggling and movie piracy. Will you vow not to buy pirated DVDs? I guess you will not. Oil emerged as the dominant source of global energy demand in the 1960s and it would be foolish to talk about stopping its consumption altogether. But we can reduce it for sure. Let us start using public transportation. If all of us become responsible we can curtail oil consumption to a great extent. It will not make Arab Sheikhs pauper but surely would make them poorer and might affect terrorism financing at least to some extent. Similarly we can curb corruption by just not paying bribes no matter what. But are we going to take some pain and suffer? That is the question. We want solutions without doing anything.

Now, we can see that every individual has a vital role to play in solving apparently difficult sounding problems. Let us act now and stop complaining.

Islam to conquer world

2010-04-12T03:34:00.000-07:00

Of late, my sister warned me not to write about Islam. I apologize but as soon I have something to share with you I fail to resist. Months ago a dear friend of mine who practices Islam educated me that one of Islam’s prophets has predicted that at the end of the day there would be only one religion and that is Islam. At that time I laughed off but now I realize that he was absolutely correct. Islam is indeed conquering the world. Islam came to India in early seventh century with the advent of Arab traders. Then many Muslim invaded India and brutally looted her. Over 95% of Indian Muslims are Hindus converted to Islam. Of course, not all of them could be converted by force only. There were several reasons for conversions and include largely forcible bloody conversion, influence of sufi saints, en masse conversions of lower Hindu castes oppressed by upper Hindus and temptations given by Muslim rulers etc.

However, there are hardly traces or known reasons of conversion in states like Kashmir and Bengal (including Bangla Desh). As Vijay Kumar says “Kashmir was a Hindu land continuously for 5,000 years. Islam went there as an imperial force, subjugated the local people, and conquered them, both politically and demographically, after 5,000 years of Hindu peace and civilization. Today the Kashmiri Hindus are refugees in their own land. They have been reduced to a minority. It is not Kashmir alone. Now Muslims of India wants Mughalstan, the Land of Mugal empire. They want to build an Islamic state from Pakistan to Bangladesh that includes the entirety of north India”. Thus, if Kashmir can be conquered why not India or for that matter the whole world?

Many countries have fallen prey to invasion by Islam. Pakistan which was an integral part of “Bharat” for ages has now become a rabid Islamic country. Nepal which was the only Hindu nation has become secular country. Turkey was Christian; Iran was Zoroastrian; North Africa and the Middle East were predominantly Christian; Afghanistan and Central Asia were Buddhist; Egypt was Coptic, orthodox Christian before they become Islamic nations. That makes me believe that the day is not far when we might see North America and most of the European countries as Islamic republic nations.

I have no issue if people choose to convert to Islam. But there are several fundamental problems with this religion and those who convert to Islam or are already practicing it must be told the truth. I tell you, after finding Hinduism boring studying Islam is really fascinating for me. This is the time good Muslims come forward and disown those parts of Koran that are unacceptable to a modern civilized society.

Here are verbatim interviews of Vijay Kumar who is running for office in America who is actually making the issue of Islamic Jihad a significant part of his campaign. He has some valid points.

I am a native of Hyderabad, India, which is where I first encountered the Muslim culture. We have a substantial number of Muslims there, a higher percentage than most other parts of India, and I began to observe things that troubled me. Later, I traveled a number of Islamic nations, and I lived in Iran from 1976 to 1979, during the Islamic Revolution of Ayatollah Khomeini. I immigrated to the United States in 1979. All my life, I have been interested in political thought. During my travels, I came to realize that Islam is unlike any of the other world religions for a variety of reasons, and they summate to the Islamic ideology behind Jihad.

First, Islam was conceived as a world empire to govern all mankind. It teaches that all the world, and everyone and everything in it, already belongs to Islam-some people just haven't been made to understand that. Until they have, according to Islam, they are considered "infidels" and inferiors. Put another way, the Islamic view is that all of us in the world are subjects of the Islamic Empire, and those of us who do not acknowledge our subjugation to it must be overcome and brought to submission, through conversion or force. No other religion in the world has such a purpose of world conquest and domination.

Second, Islam does not allow any introspection or self-criticism. It calls for total acceptance, total submission. The very word "Islam" means "submission," and the word "Muslim" means "one who submits." The other side of submission, of course, is domination. Islam seeks to dominate every individual and every nation into submission. In that, it shares a key element of slavery, which the civilized world has properly decried and abolished. Such submission is a political act. I am a freeman, and I refuse to submit to Islamic hegemony.

Third, Islam does not have any exit policy for its believers. The act of submission required to become a Muslim is held to be final, irrevocable, and permanent. So criticizing or questioning Islam or its teachings or leaders, or attempting to leave Islam, all are considered severe crimes against Islam, punishable by death.

And now about Jihad

All of that is what drives Jihad: Jihad is a permanent war against the unbeliever and his land to bring about his submission. It has been going on for fourteen centuries all over the world, which is why I coined the term "Universal Jihad." Islam's Universal Jihad is the single greatest threat to Western civilization and to the entire non-Islamic world in general. It is more dangerous than Nazism and Communism combined.

Nazism, Communism, and Islam are all three totalitarian ideologies. Communism and Nazism, though, lack a system of transcendental metaphysics, which Islam has. Nazism and Communism do not claim to be religions, and there is no threat of hell-fire to hold over its adherents. By contrast, Islam is a totalitarian form of governance that also claims to be a religion, and so has proved to be far more sustainable than any other form of aggressive totalitarianism.

The doctrine and politics of Universal Jihad have been assaulting the world for 1,400 years. It is exactly what launched the Christian Crusades, which were an attempt to save European civilization from the relentless onslaught and wholesale murder of invading Muslim forces.

Under Universal Jihad, non-Muslim civilizations have been annihilated. To mention just a few examples: Turkey was Christian; Iran was Zoroastrian; North Africa and the Middle East were predominantly Christian; Afghanistan and Central Asia were Buddhist; Pakistan was Hindu; Egypt was Coptic, orthodox Christian. All have fallen prey to invasion by Islam.

Today, Universal Jihad has been brought to the West-not just by overt violence, but through every strategy and tactic conceivable. Islam is not just the faith of another immigrant group; it is a complete political and paramilitary ideology. Political Islam is here to Islamize the Western nations, and that includes the United States.

So Universal Jihad is a permanent form of warfare against the infidels, their nation-states, and every non-Islamic form of government in the world. It has been Islam's mandate for 1,400 years that other cultures must submit to it. Islam is devoted to an eternally-unchanging doctrine: it is obligated to conquer entire world.

No one needs to take my word for it. Syed Abul A'ala Maududi, a Pakistani, was arguably the most influential Muslim theologian and thinker of the 20th Century. He said the following point-blank:
"Islam wishes to destroy all States and Governments anywhere on the face of the earth which are opposed to the ideology and program of Islam regardless of the country or the Nation which rules it. The purpose of Islam is to set up a State on the basis of its own ideology and program . . . [T]he objective of Islamic Jihad is to eliminate the rule of an un-Islamic system and establish in its stead an Islamic system of State rule. Islam does not intend to confine this revolution to a single State or a few countries; the aim of Islam is to bring about a universal revolution."
Any Muslim or apologist who claims otherwise, or who insists that Islam is just "a religion of peace" is not arguing against me: they are arguing against their own most revered leaders and experts on Islam and its true purpose. They are spreading Islamic propaganda that has no other purpose than to lull the infidel into a false sense of friendship and security.
World War I was won in four years, World War II was won in six years. But the Israel/Palestine and the India/Pakistan conflicts have not resolved after 62 years. Why? It's simple: Muslims do not want peace, they want conquest. When they enter into an alleged "peace accord," it is only a ploy to buy time to build their position for ultimate conquest. This is by their own creed: in Islam's system of "ethics," it is perfectly acceptable to lie to mere infidels.
In the case of Israel, the West has never been 100% behind Israeli sovereignty. Both the West and Israel have always only wanted to buy truce with the Islamic nations-never peace. It is an endless case of appeasement that puts Neville Chamberlain to shame.
As I have said before, and as history proves conclusively and invariably, Islam does not recognize pluralism, and Islam never wants a lasting peace with any non-Islamic people or states. When Muslims are in a relatively weak position they may offer truce-a temporary agreement-but never lasting peace. Even a cursory study of the treaties made by Muhammad proves at once that every Islamic treaty is merely another tactic toward ultimate conquest and domination. He set the standard for using treaties as a path to conquest.

Since then, Islam has been waging a relentless war for the past 1,400 years against every non-Muslim within their reach. In the last century, technological advances have extended the reach of the Muslim world considerably. Anybody who believes that it's suddenly going to change-for any reason, through any amount of "diplomacy"-is either grossly uninformed or delusional.

Islamic imperialists have no desire at all for peaceful coexistence with Israel. They want to annihilate the "Zionist Entity." By the way, during the last 60 years, Israel has absorbed more than a million Sephardic Jews from Arab countries. The Arab nations, on the other hand, refuse to absorb two million Palestinians. It's a sad irony that two million Palestinians are considered so important while at the same time the suffering inflicted upon 50 million Kurdish people by Muslim nations goes almost unnoticed, unremarked.

Muslims do not recognize the right to existence of either Israel or India. They simply consider them roadblocks to world conquest that need to be removed, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes. Universal Jihad is infinite, endless war against the infidel. It has been formally, blatantly declared. To the Muslim, Jewish Israel and Hindu India are nothing more than inferior infidel nation-states that must be torn down and brought under Islamic control.

To read more click
http://www.politicalislam.com/blog/the-wrong-way-to-fight-jihad-march-2010/

Hindu v/s Hinduism

2010-04-07T00:52:00.000-07:00

There is misconception that Hinduism is related to Hindu religion. For beginners I must tell that there was no concept of Hindu as a religion before Britishers came to India. Being Hindu was like being a citizen of Hindustan (aka Indian). It was Britishers who estblish Hindu as a religion to distinguish them from Islam and Christianity.

Well, I just got a beautiful comment posted by some Martin Luther on Deniel Pipes Org. Please read it if you want to know the difference between Ethnic & phelosophical Hindus and why one cannot convert you to Hinduism. Read on:
______________________________________________________

Nobody can convert you to Hinduism

Submitted by Martin Luther (India), Nov 21, 2007 at 01:45

It is deplorable that people compare religions. You can compare religions founded by an individual - like Islam, Christainity or Sikhism. But it would be impossible to compare with hinduism. All religions are founded upon "Faith" But Hinduism is founded upon "Cosmic Truth". There are two sections in Hinduism - (1)Ethnic (2)Philosophical. The ethnic Hindu can be compared to a Muslim and manyways you can see ordinary hindu is more superstitious than a muslim. Ordinary hindu may have blind faith like Islam.

But the real hinduism cannot be compared. First, please try to understand Vedanta, Brahmasutra, Upanishad or Gita before talking about Hinduism.

Religious texts like Bible and Quaran can be comparable to Puranas or Amar Chitra Katha. But can't comparable with even the preliminary philosophical text like Gita, let alone Vedas.

So if you want to live in a blind faith (mind-level) it would be better live as a Muslim or Christain or ethnic Hindu. But nobody can convert you to a real Hindu. But you can get yourself convereted. How? Like according to cosmic. Ask the question "Who Am I?" The answer will lead you to real Hinduism. Then you can announce, "Yes, I am a Hindu"

Media is generally anti-Hindu. VHP and RSS trying to make Hinduism in the line of Islam. But real Hinduism will survive - it is known as "sanatana dharma" (an eternal and ever-present (even if not ever-visible way of life)

Threats From Within

2010-04-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

Just look at this picture. This is the picture of 75 CRPF peronnel massacred in a Naxalite ambush which is published in today's Economic Times. I dont feel like commenting on the same. Hapless Indians!! Firstly, they are poor and secondly they have neighbours like China and Pakistan who are primarily responsible to instigate and provide all possible support and apparatus to the terrorists and are determined to annihilate India. I read three news headlines in today's peper:

__________________________________________
Maoists killed 75 CRPF Jawans
Chinese hackers hit vital institutions
LeT eyeing India's core sector, says US think tank
__________________________________________

After reading the news of this gruesome murder I got so disturbed that I could not concentrate on work but I noticed my colleagues the first thing they talked about after coming to the office is- which stock to buy/sell today or what is the market today. As Brahma Chellaney, a policy research expert said "The governmnet is sleeping. It does not realise it is being repeatedly slapped around by Chinese". Should I add something to his statement? Not only our governmnet, all of us are in deep slumber and to wake up from amnesia we need the sporadic dose of such attacks. We have been attacked in past by outsiders- first Muslim invaders then Europeans and Britishers. I guess we are used to it. We have lost our senses.

Living in China

2010-04-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure after reading this piece of article you would say to yourself “Thank God!! I was born in India.”

In India, there are layers of courts where you can appeal. Nobody is above the law and one can be prosecuted in a very transparent manner (albeit it may take years to get the justice). We give fair trial to even the mass murderers like Kasab. People are so mindful and media is so active in our country that on many occasions we have forced the government to go defensive and roll back some undemocratic or draconian laws (remember TADA?).

Now, visualize the Supreme Court, media and Indian press as puppets in the hands of government. Can we trust state owned broadcasters for honest coverage? In China, it’s like being fully dependent on state owned broadcasters for biased news, opinions and state sponsored propagandas as most of the media firms are directly run by the Chinese government. As far as freedom of speech is concerned you cannot criticize the government, CCP’s authority, you cannot raise the issue of independence like peoples of Kashmir, North East and other parts of our country do. Words like democracy, freedom, independence, fundamental rights etc. would be alien to you. I suspect if they also scrutinize and filter the Chinese edition dictionaries for such words and I wonder how dictionaries would look like in China. What can you expect from them when their government itself is actively engaged in illegal cyber attacks and hacking?

We all know how China has indulged in both an ethnic and cultural genocide in Tibet. How the entire international community have suffered from a collective amnesia on what China has inflicted on Tibet and not raised any meaningful protest to dissuade China from its continued brutal suppression of Tibet so far. Recent Google’s exit has exposed how Beijing government could be so vulnerable and insecure. Blocking Tiananmen Square massacre search shows how horrendous they could be. No matter how they may appear to be strong but the truth is they are coward rulers and once the people of China wake up to their senses, the Chinese wall will collapse in jiffy.

How would you react if you are labeled as rural or urban and if you have to seek work permit in order to migrate from Samastipur to Surat or Dhanbad to Delhi? In case you don’t have work permit or it has expired you would be imprisoned and deported to your native place. (Something the Thakre clan wants to implement in India). Think about it- you (and family) spending whole life as an outsider and second class citizen in your own country.

Imagine if your government intervenes in your personal matters like marriage, education and employment? Imagine if your government prohibits you and your spouse to have a sibling for your daughter. Imagine if you have to shed your religious identity to join the ruling political party e.g. Congress or BJP. Imagine if your government decides who should be the priest of your neighborhood temple or mosque or if it controls the contents of your religious books.

Trust me if I were the citizen of China, I would have been executed for writing this outrageous article. Look at the picture enclosed and you will know what methods of torture Chinsese police use. They are the sophisticated version of Talibans, and believe me, they are bigger threats to the human kind and their rights.

War & Peace

2010-03-30T02:26:00.000-07:00

Enough Islam bashing!! Some friends of mine lambasted me after I unraveled the truth about Islamic scriptures. I want to clarify, once and for all, that I am not against Muslims or their faith. I love the sound of ‘Azaan’, I visit their holy places, I admire Muslim actors and I have many Muslim friends and I often miss them to be with or to talk to them. But it should not stop me from sharing the truth. And you know that truth is always bitter. I will continue to regurgitate even if that means losing my beloved friends.

Forget about what religious books say. Here we will zero in on what is happening around the world. I will not attempt to deduce anything this time. Rather I will leave it to you. Read following news headlines and tell me if it is Islam v/s Christianity & others or savage people v/s civil societies? Are not we living in difficult times? Despite all the advancements and education, people are killing each other. They have become prisoner of their mindsets.

__________________________________________

Ahmadinejad: "With God's grace," Israel "will be annihilated"

Two female suicide bombers strike Moscow subway, at least 37 dead

Taliban actively training child suicide bombers

Indonesia's largest Muslim organization rules in favor of underage marriages

Baghdad: Islamic supremacists have "closed music stores, prohibited the mixing of the sexes, banned wedding parties, imposed the Islamic hijab on women and murdered gay men"

Christian militia group arrested, allegedly threatened Muslims, Hamas-linked CAIR plays victim card

Saudis spending millions to spread jihad, hatred of West among Balkan Muslims

Nigeria: Islamic court bans Twitter and Facebook for holding debates on Islamic amputation

Armed with knives, bricks, and sticks, Misunderstanders of Islam attack Christian villagers in Bangladesh, injuring 50

UK's main Muslim TV channel: Wives must not refuse sex with spouse

Sarkozy says France will ban veil

"Are Israeli leaders funding terrorism against America, as the Saudi King, before whom Obama bowed, does?"

Hamas used children as human shields and launched attacks from mosques and hospitals

Leftist/Jihadist Alliance illustrated

Canada: Muslim child brides on the increase

Pakistan: Jihadist bombings kill 45 in Lahore

More search engine self-censorship for Muslim countries

New Jersey jihadist arrested in Yemen worked at nuclear power plants
Egyptian Islamic cleric: "The Jews are behind the misery, the hardship, the usury, the whorehouses, and any form of corruption that is spread in the land"

Afghanistan: Women crowd secret shelters with scars from "fists, knives, burns, electrical cords"

Nigerian jihad leader: "Islam doesn't recognize international boundaries, we will carry out our operations anywhere in the world if we can have the chance"

___________________________________

UNHOLY QURAN

2010-03-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

The learned but honest Muslims will tell you that these Islamic terrorists are doing just their religious duty and are trying to revive the real Islam that it used to be. The mysterious Quran, all in all, talks about killings, intolerance, and imposition of Muslim desires all over the world and suppression of all other religions in order to establish the rule of Allah. Muslims are obliged to obey the order of Allah (Muhammad actually) and binding religious duty.

Here are some of the appalling verses from Quran that I reproduce so that Muslims who wish to understand their religion in its true flavour, become aware thereof.

• There is no God but Allah & Mohammad is His prophet. Part I of 6.

• Verily, those who disbelief (in Islam, Quran & Mohammad) from among the people of the Scriptures (Jews & Christians) and Al- Mushrikun will abide the fire of hell. They are the worst of creatures. 98:6

• The prophet said “nobody who dies & finds good from Allah (in the hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world & whatever is in it. . except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah’s cause).” He said “A single endeavour of fighting in Allah’s cause in the afternoon or in the forenoon is the better than all the world & whatever is in it. Sahih Al- Bukhari Vol 4, BK52, Hadith 53

• Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah & His Messenger and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (Islam) among the people of the Scriptures (Jews & Christians) until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission and feel themselves subdued. 9:29

• There is no compulsion (i.e. coercion) in religion. 2: 256
[This is from the first part of Quran which is relatively peaceful in nature. All the peaceful verses in the Quran were revealed at Mecca when Muhammad did not have an army at his disposal. A few years after the hijra to Medina when Muhammad raised a army and accumulated a lot of wealth by robbing innocent citizens through raids, he spewed up the violent Quranic verses which command Muslims to wage war and murder non-Muslims or convert them to Islam either through marriage (for woman) or by force (for men).]

• Kill the unbelievers wherever you find them. . . but if they repent and accept Islam then leave their way free.

• Then when the sacred months of the Islamic calendar (1st, 7th, 11th and 12th) have passed, then kill the Mushrikaun wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as- Salat or Islamic prayer) and give zakat then leave their way free.

Verily, Allah is oft- forgiving, most merciful. 9:5

• The recompense of those who wage war against Allah & His messanger & do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified, or their hands and feet be cut off on the opposite sides, or be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in the world and a great torment is theirs in the hereafter. 5:33

• The prophet cut off the hands & feet of the man belonging to the tribe of Uraina and did not cauterise (their bleeding limbs) till they died. Sahih Al- Bukhari, Hadith 795

Guys, I am tired typing this bullshit article. I hope it’s more than enough to know the real Islam. In case you want more stuff then please do let me know. Well, I must thank my brother in law from whom I stole these stuffs. Hope he would not mind it.

Islam Exposed: A Threat to Civilization

2010-03-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

Those who say it is a holy book which talks about love, peace and harmony, either have never understood its messages or hide the truth from the world. Some learned Islamic scholars have attempted to enlighten us particularly misled Muslims through empirical research and study. It is indeed an uphill task to summarize those thick books on Koran and address a serious subject like this in a nutshell. However, I have tried to make it as crisp as I could.

Before we proceed to scurry through the Islamic sculptures, it is inevitable to know about the prophet Mohammad who claimed to meet the Allah (the Supreme Power who does belong to the followers of Islam only?) and compiled His messages in Quran. Mohammad is regarded as the noblest person on the earth, a role model for his truthfulness and trustworthiness. Muslims love Muhammad more than they love themselves, their parents or their children. Muslims pray for Muhammad and lovingly say peace to him whenever the name of Muhammad is remembered. For Muslims, Muhammad is Islam, and Islam is Muhammad. Muhammad is the most important person in Islam. And any attack on Muhammad is perceived as an attack on Islam. That is why there are laws in Islamic countries that prescribe death for a person who insults the prophet. Sunnah describes his deeds at length. I am re-producing few statements from the book “The Truth About Muhammad” authored by Rashid Alamir. He is an American Indian born in Kashmir who later converted to Christianity. He might be biased to some extent toward his acquired faith but whatever questions he has raised are compelling for all of us.

The Sunnah, which is the heart of Islam, depicts Muhammad as a bandit, a pirate and a rapist. No wonder those Muslims who have read it deny the Sunnah. Muhammad was a trader before he married Khadija, a Christian and his first wife.

In his childhood, Muhammed briefly worked as a shepherd and made a few business trips on behalf of his ‘soon to be wife’ Khadija. After his marriage he stopped working and roamed aimlessly around the city of Mecca. The Sunnah narrates that he even visited some caves. In one of these caves he encountered the spirit that revealed the Quran to him. After the death of his wife, when Muhammad ran out of Khadija’s wealth, he took to looting, kidnapping and slave trading and when he moved to Medina, he became a professional mobster.

Muhammad’s eternal profession was looting innocent caravans and settlements, killing the man, raping the captured women for 2-3 days, and then selling the captured women and children in the slave markets for money. Yes, Muhammad was a professional bandit and a slave trader. And his business was blessed by none other than Allah who legalized the captured wealth and women (called booty in the Quran) for the enjoyment of Muslims. It is all very well detailed in the Sahih (Authentic) Sunnah collections of Al- Bukhari, Al-Tabari, Ibn Ishaq and Imam Muslim.

Muhammad married Khadija not for love but because of her money. Khadija who was very wealthy married Muhammad because Muhammad was a handsome man in his youth. So on both sides the reason for marriage was the gratification of the flesh. Muhammad lived on his wife’s money and during her lifetime would not dare to marry any other woman fearing the wrath of his wife.

Muhammad and his henchman did every time they raided a caravan/settlement they killed the able bodied man, raped the woman (Sometimes Muhammad liked a teenage woman and kept her as his wife after raping her) and then sold the woman into slavery. It is all very nicely given in the Islamic Sunnah. It is also important to know that Muhammed did not go out and fight with the unbelievers; rather, his companions did most of the ugly work. However, Muhammed had a responsibility to make sure that looted wealth was equally distributed. He merely charged one-fifth of the looted goods, known as Khumas, for his service, which of course was a sizable amount for his living. Obviously, handy-dandy Allah was very helpful in legalizing the robbing business. Muhammed, in fact, made his Allah involved in it, and had him declare in the Quran.

Muhammed, as Muslims argue, fought defensive wars, meaning he only combated to save his precious life. Yet he earned booty without a fight. Apparently, enemies of Muhammed attacked him maliciously, but brought their wealth with them, and delivered it to Muhammed upon defeat. They even rewarded Muhammed with their own wives and children to become slaves, while Muhammed was busy saving his life. Such belief, though, seem absurd to any sane person. Muslims and the non-Muslims who are itching to sacrifice themselves as dhimnies desperately cling to this kind of fallacy.
There is no mention of Muhammad anywhere in world history written by Historians. Whatever we know about Muhammad today solely comes from the Islamic sources. Islamic Scriptures come in three flavors. Firstly there is the Quran. Then there is the Sunnah (Islamic Traditions). And lastly we have the Hadiths. Hadiths are reports and anecdotes of Muhammad from the mouth of his wives, disciples and companions.
Muslims believe that the Quran is quite literally the Word of Allah, whereas the Sunnah was inspired by Allah but the wording and actions are Muhammad’s. This is the primary difference between the two flavors. They argue that the Quran has not been expressed using any human words. Its wording is letter for letter fixed by Allah. The Quran is made up of 114 surahs (chapters) arranged in descending order of length. Muslims claim that these surahs were allegedly revealed to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel over a period of 20 years. Each surah is divided into verses called as ayat (singular ayah). There are in total around 6,600 verses in the Quran. The Quran claims for itself that it is "mubeen" or "clear" and written in pure Arabic and Muslims will tell you so (actually lie to you). But the fact is that roughly one fifth of Quran does not make sense in any language. In other words, a fifth of the Quranic text is just incomprehensible. This means that out of the 6,600 Quranic verses, approximately 1,200-1,300 verses are completely beyond the understanding of man. In Quran 3:7, Allah claims that only he can understand them. In the entire Quran in total only 700 verses can be understood in their entirety.

If the Quran is not comprehensible - if it can't even be understood in Arabic - then it's not translatable. Mullahs and Islamic Scholars fear that. And since the Quran claims repeatedly to be clear but obviously is not - as even speakers of Arabic will tell you – Muslims do not want it translated out of the religious Arabic it is written in. At most it can only be by hearted like a parrot and that is what most Muslims are doing without actually understanding it. Many Muslims claim that this lack of understand-ability as a divine miracle of Allah. The actual fact is that Muslims are so blinded by faith that they can see Miracles everywhere in the Quran.

The inconsistencies in the Quran are extremely easy to find. God may be referred to in the first and third person in the same sentence; divergent versions of the same story are repeated at different points in the text; divine rulings occasionally contradict one another. It defends these contradictions by asserting the right to abrogate its own message ("God doth blot out or confirm what He pleaseth") thereby proving that the God of Islam is a whimsical fool who cannot make up his mind (or an Arabic Bedouin depending on which you choose to believe).

According to the The Quran was revealed in two phases – at Mecca thereby called the Meccan surahs and then at Yathrib (present day Medina) called the Median surahs. The Meccan surahs were revealed earlier to the hijra to Medina. The Meccan surahs by and large preach peace and tolerance while the Median surahs are extremely intolerant of other religions. Quranic concept of abrogation or cancellation of the verses, most of the peaceful verses in the Quran were considered "Mansuch' or cancelled by the violent ones. Muslims know that but are purposely lying to you to save their face.
All the peaceful verses in the Quran were revealed at Mecca when Muhammad did not have an army at his disposal. A few years after the hijra to Medina when Muhammad raised a army and accumulated a lot of wealth by robbing innocent citizens through raids, he spewed up the violent Quranic verses which command Muslims to wage war and murder non-Muslims or convert them to Islam either through marriage (for woman) or by force (for men). Since Muhammad could not remember many of the Quranic verses which he had cooked up earlier (See Tabari I:299) he came up with a noble doctrine. If a later Quranic verse contradicted a Quranic verse earlier revealed, then that old verse was cancelled out by the new verse. This principle of Islam is called as Abrogation and is one of the most important principles of Islam. Though Abrogation is a fundamental principle of Islam, most Muslim scholars have trouble pinpointing which are the exact verses abrogated in the Quran. Each Muslim scholar will have a different list of verses abrogated.

One wonders how an eternal revelation of God could have such time-bound revelation in it. It seemed at odds with the nature of God – the all-knowing, all-wise, creator and sustainer of the universe; the eternal, self-existent one. But for muslims such things do not count. They are totally brain dead when it comes to the Islamic scriptures and will never question its integrity and numerous contradictions. Which God could be so flimsy in mind that he had to change his commandments? The Question that now arises is, Was Muhammad Lying? Or had God gone Nuts?

The author recounts several hundreds of inconsistencies and scientific and historical errors in the Quran, (all wild imagination of Mohammad) which I have escaped due to lack of space. He sums it up as the most pathetic piece of scripture ever written. It is for those who have never warmed a bench in a school.
The Sunnah is mostly made up of Hadiths. Hadiths are reports and anecdotes of Muhammad from the mouth of his wives, disciples and companions. Each Hadith references a verse in the Quran and since the Quran lacks context and chronology, the hadiths are extremely important in deciphering the Quran. They give meaning to the practically useless Quran.

The Quran contains hundreds of commands ordering Muslims to obey Muhammad, to believe in him, to follow his example and so on. And these lifestyle examples and deeds of Muhammad are found in the Sunnah. The most trusted and reliable Sunnah sources are the history of Islam by Al- Tabari called the Tarikh al-rulul wal-muluk (or the Tarikh), the biography of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq called the Sirat Rasul Allah (or the Sira) and the hadith collections of Sahih Bukhari, Imam Muslim and Ibn Saad. Almost 99% of the history of Islam and the life of Muhammad can be derived from these five Sunnah sources. The most sacred of the Sunnah sources for Muslims is the "Sahih Al- Bukhari". It comes in nine volumes, and contains thousands of Hadiths. It is accepted by all Muslims as the authentic words of Muhammad and ranks as the most accepted book of Islam after the Quran. Ibn Ishaq’s Sira is the earliest written book on Islam, written some 120 years after the death of Muhammad. It provides the lone account of Muhammad’s life and the formation of Islam. The Sira’s chronological presentation is similar in style to the Christian Gospels and this makes it extremely important. Sadly we do not have a original version of this book today. The only edition of Ibn Ishaq which has survived till today is that which was edited and abridged by Ibn Hisham some 50 years later. And in his abridged copy, Hisham wrote that he was omitting text that was detrimental to the spiritual health of the prophet (Muhammad) and would hurt certain people. In other words he sanitized the behavior of the prophet and removed all references which would hurt the projection of Muhammad as a prophet of God. Thus, Ibn Hisham removed most of Muhammad’s immoral behavior; behavior that would immediately show the world what a immoral person Muhammad was and many of his controversial actions.

And the funny part is that most of the trusted Islamic Scriptures do not depict Muhammad as a prophet of God, but a ruthless murderer, pervert and money grabber. They do not show him up as a holy man, but as a bandit leading over 70 robbery raids, a rapist, a sexual offender, a pedophile and a man who spewed up “Scripture” to serve his own interests. Other interesting thing I learned were that Mohammad was demon-possessed and also attempted suicide several times over a period of three years by throw himself from the tops of high mountains.

It is a known Islamic practice, that when Muslims are weak they will agree to anything. Once they become strong, then they negate what they formerly vowed. This principle was first formulated by none other than Muhammad. Here are the relevant words,

"The Prophet said, 'If I take an oath and later find something else better than that, then I do what is better and expiate my oath.'" (Bukhari: V7B67N427)

The Tawhid
In Islam the concept of Tawhid refers to the oneness of the Muslim God Allah. Muslims claim that Allah does not have partners (like in the case of the Christian Trinitarian God). Unfortunately for these Muslims a closer examination of the Islamic Scriptures and beliefs does prove beyond any doubt that the Islamic deity is a duality. The Islamic deity consists of Allah the alleged God of Islam, and his replica on earth Muhammad. Have a look:

Allah salutes Muhammad (Quran 58:8)
Allah and Angels Worship Muhammad (Quran 33:56)
Obeying Muhammad is obeying Allah (Quran 4:80)
Annoying Muhammad is annoying Allah (Quran 33:57)
Muhammad’s booty is Allah’s booty (stolen good during a raid) (Quran 59:7)
Muhammad and Allah had the same Tastes
Allah was desperate to please Muhammad Quran 33:51

Mohammad & Women
Muslims love to say that Muhammad their “holy prophet” married many women out of compassion. That is not true. Most of Muhammad’s wives were captives of war and were young, gorgeous and in the prime of their life. Muhammad married them because they were sex bombshells and he desired them in bed with him. As far as women were concerned Muhammad did not believe in compassion. Here is what Muhammad had to say about woman and marriage. The prophet said that, "the woman can be married for religion, her fortune, or her beauty. So marry one for the religion" (Abu Issa al-Tarmidi, Sunan al- Tarmidi, Medina n.d., p.275, B: 4, H:1092)

The Quran which Muhammad revealed to the world describes woman as “fields ready to be ploughed by man whom man should plough whenever they can” (Quran 2:223).

Identity Crisis?

2010-02-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

हिन्दी हैं हम वतन है हिन्दोस्तान हमारा

Recently when asked what his religion is, Rahul Gandhi replied that the national flag of the country is his religion. India is known for its unity in diversity. We are multi cultural, multi linguistic country where there is a room for everybody and for everything.

Rahul’s great great granddad, Motilal’s father moved from Kashmir to Allahabad where his great granddad, Jawaharlal Nehru, and grandmother, Indira Priyadarshini, were born. She fell in love with Feroz, a Parasi youth, and married despite his father’s opposition. She also took up the surname of Mahatma Gandhi, a staunch believer in Hinduism and a raw Gujarati. His father, Rajiv Gandhi carried this legacy and married to his lady love, Sonia Maino, an Italian. His notorious uncle, Sanjay Gandhi was forced to marry a Sikh woman, Maneka. His sister married to Robert Vadra, a half Hindu and half Christian.

So, it’s very difficult to figure out what proportion of Rahul Gandhi is Hindu or Parasi or Christian. But you can safely say that Rahul Gandhi wears many identities. He is a true Hindu because he believes in Vasudhaiv kutumbakam (the whole world is one) - a very important philosophy of Hinduism. His mother is from Italy and the lady he wanted to marry is Spanish. He is a Parasi, Christian, Kashmiri, Bhaiyya and a Dilliwala. But above all he thinks he is an Indian. And that is what matters to be.

Punish the hooligans

2010-02-05T04:11:00.000-08:00

I often shudder to think how people in war ridden areas live. Life must be difficult besides high probability of getting killed. You never know from which side a rocket will fall on your home and . . . Even if you are alive it is worse as survival becomes an issue without food. I have read that people struggle to survive without food and water for months. Does it not sound scary? It is.

My friends in Kashmir invite me to visit the place called heaven on the earth, but I am so afraid that I never pick up enough courage to go there. Though things are not that bad as in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan and Pakistan (coincidently all of them are Islamic nations). I understand this world cannot be devoid of conflicts. There are problems but I think there are people who always look for lame excuses to spread violence. They don’t think twice before burning the vehicles on petty issues. Most of them who indulge in riots and violence are illiterate or undereducated and poor people. However, the real culprits are those who instigate them to do so, who never step out of their home, who never face the bullets and who escape it unscathed and never get punished severely.

I read in today’s newspaper that a general shutdown has paralyzed life across the Kashmir Valley for sometime over the death of a schoolboy. Yes, every life matters but in India thousand people die of cancer, TB etc. More than thousand people die by falling from the local train every year. So, what is the big deal? I tell you these Kashmiris are agitating not because a kid was killed rather because he was killed by the Indian shoulders. They have problem with everything that is Indian. Such innocent people are killed, raped, murdered in other parts of the country as well. Do they create so much violence? Actually, the separatists use every single pretext to create ruckus. Such troublemakers must be dealt with sternly.

Stop Spreading Venom

2010-02-04T01:42:00.000-08:00

Bal Thakre writes about Rahul Gandhi that he has lost mental balance as he is still single despite advancing age and it is in this frustration he has insulted Marathi people and Maharashtra. In fact, I don’t know how to react to his well versed comments. He is such a mature guy and an octogenarian. You can easily gauge who is losing mental balance and who is desperate. You should not heed to what people like Thakres, Togadiyas say. They are just power mongering people. Best way to deal with them is to ignore them. I wanted to speak in Mr Thakre’s abusive language but I respect elderly people. Why does he not understand that he has lost the game? Why people of Maharashtra have kept him out of power for the last over 15 years? I wish to tell the cousins- Uddhav and Raj- to grow up. People want development, progress and basic amenities, not your populist hate speeches. You can win once but not always.

If Rahul says Mumbai belongs to all Indians how can it be an insult to the people of Maharashtra? Complete nonsense!! Do you know how many Marathis are holding key posts at the centre? And can you tell me how many ministers in the Council of Ministers are from Uttar Pradesh? Congress which has been trying to regain its lost citadel- Uttar Pradesh- won 21 Lok Sabha seats in the last election but none of them got a Cabinet post in Council of Ministers. Maharashtra grabbed most of the key berths (see the list). Moreover, the Prince of Congress and his Italian mother chose a Marathi lady- Pratibha Patil to become the first woman President of India. They also obliged two other Marathis including the most inefficient minister Mr. Shivraj Patil giving them governor’s post.

People of Maharashtra know in whose hands they can feel safe and sound. Stop fooling yourself. There is a world beyond Mumbai and Maharashtra.

_________________________________________________

Ministers from Maharashtra

Murli Deora - Cabinet
Sharad Pawar - Cabinet
Shushil Kumar Shinde - Cabinet
Prthviraj Chavan - MoS Independent Charge
Mukul Wasnik - Cabinet
Praful Patel - MoS Independent Charge
Vilasrao Deshmukh - Cabinet
Gurudas Kamat - MoS
Prateek Prakashbapu Patil - MoS

Ministers from Uttar Pradesh

Salaman Khursheed - MoS Independent Charge
Sriprakash Jaisawal - MoS Independent Charge
Jitin Prasada - MoS
Pradeep Jain - MoS
R P N Singh - MoS

Work 24X7

2010-02-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

“The Exchange is upgrading the capacity of capital market trading system by implementation of horizontally scalable architecture. Existing Trading system architecture will be revamped by using a distributed processing concept. Towards this, the Exchange is conducting a special live trading session on Saturday, February 06, 2010.”

- NSE Circular No. 073 dated February 3, 2010.

Guys, brace up yourself to work on Sundays if you are working in the capital markets. Indeed, it would a double whammy for those who work in the capital markets. NSE, the largest stock exchange in India, appears to have decided on extending trading days. Yes, they might force us to work on Saturdays as well. It would be interesting to see how its arch rival BSE responds to it. Although their move to extend trading hours starting from 9 o’clock (from earlier 9:55 AM) failed to ramp up volume, these stock exchanges are desperately doing every bit to bolster their profitability by increasing volume. They reasoned that since Singapore market opens earlier than ours they were losing business. But you tell me will it make any sense to you if you regularly buy stocks in Singapore and the guys in Mumbai open their shops a little earlier? I suppose, you will not switch over to the Mumbai guys.

True, they should care about the investors and their patrons. Why should they bother about the people who work in the broking industry? This community must learn to live with it. Commodity markets remain opened till midnight. Forex markets, I guess, are open for 24 hours. So, we should not resist the change, rather we should welcome it.

Honestly speaking, what saddens me is this change is derived from the sheer greed. Two exchanges hold the whole nation to the ransom. Few people take some decisions in an arbitrary manner and the people, who have no say and no means to protest, suffer. Anil Ambani is also in the fray to set up a stock exchange. I will not be surprised if he offers trading on Sundays as well. You never know, some frenzy people may like to trade in the midnight or even while holidaying with family. It is like selling vegetables or tea in late night. Good luck.

I am stuck and may soon take a call on changing my job profile.

The Trade Secret

2010-01-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the obnoxious pain in my stomach, I had to visit a hospital. I was a bit chary while telling my surname to the Marathi doctor worrying it might affect my proper treatment. Just a day before, my cousin had told me that some Marathi people in government and its agencies showed hostility towards the North Indians. Albeit, I have found this community very humble and nice, my worries were palpable. Thereafter I also visited an Orthopedic surgen (Marathi again). My conversation with him:
“Deepak, you have sacroiliitis (never heard of it, perhaps kind of arthritis) in your left lower back where a mild swelling has taken place. I will inject you to squeeze all the swellings. I am telling you it will work like magic and all the pain will vanish for forever. But it will cost you Rs 1500”.
“But is it that serious? I have visited many good doctors including AIIMS but none of them prescribed for any injection. Rather they recommended some yogic exercises instead”.
Well, seeing no option I consented but insisted on the name of that drug. I sensed he was hesitating to tell me the name. “Actually it is a trade secret” said he sheepishly.
“Why? Have you invented this drug?”
“No. But only I know thru my experience where it works. And since you visit AIIMS doctors. . .”

I promised him not to divulge his trade secret but wanted to ascertain its actual price. I was aghast. Its price was meagre; just Rs 57 and that fellow charged me Rs 1500 in addition to the amount I paid as his consultancy fee. Was the trade secret the real reason? Did he want me to cough up more because I was a North Indian? Or, the real motive behind it was simply to make some extra money? God knows.
I could feel that that pain in lower back was seething into my heart.

Resignation Letter

2010-01-08T04:11:00.000-08:00

My colleagues often come to me for assistance in drafting a resignation letter for them. Since I am a bit good at letter writing I am used to it. There was a time when people would request me to write a love letter but with the advent of mobile phones and fast life love letters have become a thing of past now. So, we were talking about resignation letters. The standard format (memo) of this type of letter would be as follow:
________________________________________________________________________
Dear Sir,

This to impart you that due to some extremely personal reasons I repudiate this firm from the post of Manager (Finance) with effect from January 8, 2010. It was a great learning experience working with you.

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to work with you and this august organization. I would like to work with you again in future if any suitable opportunity arises.

Yours sincerely
XYZ
_________________________________________________________________________

This is the standard format. What they mean and would never write is as follows:
_________________________________________________________________________
Hey you,

Listen idiot. Finally my day has come to say fuck you off. For months, I have been looking for this day. These were worst part of my life and I would always like to forget. You know, I have never seen such a duffer like you. I just wonder who made you the boss. At times I thought of slapping you but my conscience stopped me doing so. I am telling you are really a crazy hopeless fellow.

I swear I will never work with you and kind of this firm again. Firms, people like you manage, will always doom. Get lost.

Hip hip hurrey!!!

Raju’s Hat trick

2010-01-06T00:07:00.000-08:00

Rajkumar Hirani has bowled us over again. I loved 3 Idiots and feel it is basically Munnabhai Part III. I would call it a full entertainment package Raju style. Though 3 Idiots is not a very great film as far as cinema is concerned but yes it tickles your funny bone as well as makes you cry throughout. About Raju, I must say he set out from where Hrishikeshda left. Their films have same flavors and flair, with some social message and most importantly they tell things in a very subtle and simple manner without sounding preachy. For example, Mr. Price Tag represents our materialistic mindset which tells us how brand conscious we have become nowadays. If I gift you a watch you would weigh my affection with the price of the watch, not by my underlying emotions.

We must salute Raju and Abhijaat Joshi (the screenplay writer of Raju’s films) for his catch lines instantly connecting with the audience irrespective of the age, gender or class. You still remember “Jaadu ki jhappi”, “Gandhigiri” and “All is well”. You just wonder how simply he has conveyed these intriguing philosophies with simple words. Moreover, his protagonists notwithstanding simple, one among us often outwit us with their smart logics. They offer you simple solutions for problems no matter how large they may seem to be.

We must appreciate people like Raju who think beyond ‘boy meets girl’ type stories and dare to test the uncharted territories. For Aamir I would say he is getting younger and refined with the age. As far as the controversy over giving credit for the story is concerned, I must say it highlights the importance and the paucity of good story writers in Hindi film industry.

3 Idiots: A must watch film.

China: India’s Enemy No. 1

2010-01-04T05:51:00.000-08:00

Let’s get realistic and not carried away by euphoria and emotions. For the last 60 years we have been obsessed with our stubborn and incorrigible neighbor, Pakistan. In the last decade we have left it far behind in terms of growth and prosperity. If our approach has been forward looking, progressive and we are aiming to send our men on mars, our neighbor is strangulated by its own demons created to sabotage Indian tranquility and harmony. But mind it, it is not Pakistan but China, India should be worried about. Pakistan is just a pawn in China’s hands. Pakistan is like a parasite that needs charities to live on. During cold war it was used by America when world was bipolar. After USSR collapsed Pakistan was no longer inevitable for the United States until the World Trade Center was brought down.

Before we discuss why China is a threat to India we must understand China’s past behavior. We should never forget that China attacked us in 1962 and captured a large part of our territory. They retreated only after the UN’s intervention. That time China was not that strong- economically as well as militarily. But now, it has not only had military wherewithal it is also set to be the second largest economy. China is the largest investor in the US treasuries and since the Uncle Sam needs Chinese money he cannot afford their wrath. Don’t be in illusion that US will come to our rescue in case we are invaded.

It was India the US offered a permanent seat at the UN but thanks to Pandit Nehru’s generosity he recommended to bestow that honor to the dragons. In lieu of it they gave him an unforgettable gift in 1962. He was so broken that soon he died by this betrayal. It is pertinent to mention that the US recognized China as a sovereign state only in early 70s. I am sure China will veto India’s candidature whenever UN is expanded. So, can we trust China? The other reason to worry is: in China it is a one man show. There is no democracy and few people run that country. In contrast, India is a soft country ruled by fragile and narrow minded leaders who lack political will power. India has never invaded any country ever but can she defend herself? We all know China is far ahead in terms of military might and infrastructure. In a strategic preparedness they are building railroads in Tibet and other adjoining terrains. Recently, when people of Ladakh tried to build road Chinese soldiers reprimanded us and we kowtowed. Our leaders become nervous whenever Dalai Lama visits Arunachal Pradesh.

The whole world knows that China gave nuke technology to Pakistan gave it to North Korea. Cheap and substandard products made in China are already ruining our small scale industries and soon they will target bigger players too. They have been aggressively signing deals with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. We all know China supplies weapons to Maoists in Nepal and India. They are already building dams to divert river Brahmaputra, are engaged in construction activities in PoK and issuing visas on separate piece of paper for the people of Kashmir. What else we need to awakening? Is this a beginning to a full fledged war? As long as they outperform us it is fine but can China digest our economic growth and be a mute spectator to our becoming an economic superpower? This is where clashes will begin.

Let me sum it up with William Dalrymple’s wise words “China is attempting to encircle India. It is making deals with India’s neighbors and its presence in neighboring countries is increasing dramatically. India has to stop thinking about Pakistan as its big rival. It’s nothing compared to the potential danger that China can pose”.

New Year Rumination

2009-12-31T01:26:00.000-08:00

Friends,

I feel embarrassed on the eve of New Year when people, who hardly know me or speak to me or keep track of me in the last 12 months, pour in flowery messages in my inbox. I hate forwarded messages devoid of any personal touch. It makes me feel I am one of the unwanted lots. The message you get has already been circulated to thousand people. The sender does not care if you receive it or not and whether you are really doing well. But s/he makes sure you receive that ‘fake and insincere wishes’ of her/his penchant.

I don’t want to wish you ‘a happy and prosperous new year’. I rather sincerely pray that people including my friends and acquaintances be healthy and happy forever. I pray for less violence, less suffering and more happiness to all of you not only in 2010 but beyond. Bob Dylan sang “Times they are a changing.” How can every New Year be so repetitive then? It should be either worse or better. So, I wish coming year would be different for you and would give you something more than you ever expected. Let us be more humane, kind and considerate. Let us do ‘good’ so that good attends us too.

Thank you so much for bearing with my nonsense blogging.

Cheers!!

The league of extraordinary gentlemen

2009-12-28T23:28:00.000-08:00

What is common amongst Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods, ND Tiwari and Haryana DGP SPS Rathore? They all are innocent people and not normal human beings like you and me. They are achievers. They came from grassroots and leapt into fame by sheer hard work.

It was not Bill Clinton’s fault if Monica Lewinski fell in love with the most powerful man after God and the most charming person of his time. When Tiger Woods slept with a dozen women he was just following Lord Krishna’s message: Love and be loved. It is unfair if you put entire blame on him and spare those beautiful blondes for seducing him. After all he is just a man. If the sage Vishwamitra could fall prey to Menka’s arousing beauty what can you expect from an innocent American? By the way why are we so obsessed with other’s sexuality?

And why are you singling out Mr. ND Tiwari? It’s a matter of getting caught red handed. You are clean as long as these crazy media people set their stinging eyes on you. My friend told me that he saw a young politician (happily married) with a call girl in a five star hotel. We should not fool ourselves. Just because Mr. Tiwari was found lying beside couple of women dressed in nondescript clothes, you cannot ignore all his contributions to the polity and our society. And most importantly, you should rather appreciate his physical strength. He is a performer even at 86. Are you jealous of him?

Finally, poor Rathore! I don’t understand why so much uproar is for? This is nature’s law that stronger animals exert their power on weaker ones. What is a big deal if a person who is supposed to protect us harasses us? I swear I love the way he smiles. Nothing new! We must learn to live with it now. Innocent women are being raped and killed everyday in Kashmir as well other North East states by our own security forces. Do we ever get to hear their cries?

For movie buffs

2009-12-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

Of late, I watched half a dozen films of different genres and I feel I must share my ideas with you. The first film I watched was “Kundun” by Martin Scorsese. This is based on His Holiness Dalai Lama’s life. It tells us how 14th Lama was found, groomed to lead his nation, how China invaded, suppressed and butchered the people of Tibet. They protest China’s overtures and eventual incursion but in true non- violent manner. But there is no point in expecting kindness or mercy from brutal, maniacal Chinese led by Mao. Lama seeks help from all peace loving and democratic countries like India and US including Britain but none of them gives heed to his cry. Lama and his people still believe good always prevails over bad. Indians have been ruled by the outsiders for centuries in their own country thus they understand how it feels to live in exile far from your own country and roots. I pray they regain their lost pride and return to their beloved home.

Another film I watched was “Trikaal” by Shyam Benegal. One more story about suppression and liberation but with happy ending. It tells a story about people of Goa just before Portuguese left and it was annexed to India. We learn how Portuguese unleash terror among the folks and use every trick in their quiver to convert them to their own faith. It has drama, sex, comedy, betrayal etc. The film starts with the protagonist who returns to his home after 25 years in search of his roots, culture but at the end he realizes that was not the case. He returned to find his love, mistress, and probably his illegitimate son who have lost in the crowd. Excellent treatment and great story.

Other films that I watched include Do Aankhein Barah Haath by V. Shantaram, Golmal (old one) and Teesari Kasam. Some films you can watch again and again and again and would not it be incomplete without Meghe Dhake Tara (Bengali) by Ritwik Ghatak?

Money & Facts

2009-12-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

If I ask you what is the most revolutionary thing ever happened to the mankind you would say wheel, fire etc. Answer is indeed correct however I feel the more accurate answer would be money and facts. It has become so important for us that we cannot surmise our existence without them. Today, all that matters is the insensate lust for money, money and more money. Trust me, money rules the world. We are defined by the money that we have or we don’t have. People are bought and sold as if they have no say over their selves or hearts. Everything else is secondary. World is getting materialistic day by day.

Other thing that has trapped us is ‘facts’. Charles Dickens would say: “Facts. Stick to facts. In this life we want nothing but facts”. The moment we start recognizing alphabets, we are burdened with facts. Most of them are meaningless and useless. And even if they are important how can it be so important than our selves, freedom and life? How does it matter if you don’t know the distance between the earth and the sun? Or when did Babar invaded India? Who is the 22nd President of the United States? What are the profit margins of the Dow Chemicals or Reliance Industries?

You may survive without food, water, oxygen or shelter but not without money and facts.

How many Telanganas?

2009-12-14T03:07:00.001-08:00

The current political situation in the country reminds me of the book “Kitne Pakistan” by Late Mr. Kamleshwar. The demand for the new state Telangana has raised many questions. Should new states be created on the basis of religion or language? Why cannot we live together? Does it really help in brining about inclusive development? Are the larger states the primary reason for our backwardness? Is our regional or lingual identity more important than our national pride? Probably yes. We must recall that before Britons came to India, there were thousand kings and their kingdoms. There was nothing like united India and national pride. All the rulers fought with each other for their self interests. Those characteristics are still in our DNA. We are Marathis, Gujaratis, Biharis, Kashmairis, Punjabis, and Tamil except Indians.

Now, they are demanding for new states from every terrain. UP’s Chief Minister has already proposed trifurcation of the state into three parts (Harit Pradesh, Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand). There are demands for separate Gorakhaland (West Bengal), Jammu (J&K) and Vidarbha (Maharashtra). People are agitating for separate states in other parts as well such as Tamil Nadu. How far can we go to satisfy every faction of the society?

The only benefit I see in such euphoria is there would be more Chief Ministers and politicians. There would be more opportunities for pillaging public money. May I suggest that we should give the statehood to all the 612 districts? It will create enormous job opportunities for all the criminals and corrupt political class. For the rest of us, nothing will change. After 62 years of independence over 37% Indian population live below the poverty line, is not it enough proof to corroborate this point?

A struggle with oneself

2009-12-08T23:23:00.000-08:00

It still pinches me if somebody says that I gave up my film making dreams and opted for the safer 8-8 job. Sometimes I feel I could have striven harder, I should have been more aggressive. . . I never slept without having food; I had not to walk on foot for want of bus fare; I had not to wake up late night so that I could save money on morning breakfast. I rather relished on my parents' hard earned money; slept little longer and was quite choosy whom I wanted to work with. A part of me says I did not struggle.

Anupam Kher had to work in a massage parlor to eke out his basic needs. Gulzaar worked as an bookshop attendant so that he could read as much as book he wanted. Javed Akhtar spent sleepless nights in the dingy corner of the Rajkamal Studio. Several others had to sleep on the roadside and starve for days. I did not do all this. Does it mean I was not sincere in my efforts? Maybe.

Once Anurag Kashyap had said “you struggle with yourself”. It is absolutely your call whether you want to chase your dreams or follow the herd. Recently a filmmaker, who is in the industry for over 20 years and has made several films, said to me “it demands passion, madness”. Sounds good but it was a very difficult call for me, indeed. I think struggling with oneself is the most painful process and it may last for the whole life. Of course, struggle is a relative term. Shahrukh believes he struggled because he could not afford a can of beer everyday.

I believe I am still struggling.

Suppressed Desires

2009-12-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

Hello friends

I am back and I am back with some nasty thoughts which are just innocuous feelings and hope you will not be offended after reading this.

I always wonder if we are free men or women. Are not we carrying the baggage of civility, morality etc? Most of the time, we do things to make others happy and not for ourselves, because people don’t like certain things, you are compelled to abide by.

Let me confess that I have many wild but suppressed desires something I would not be able to fulfill at least in this life time; more because you cannot expect to live like a savage in a civilized society. I have been a simple, suave and shy person but I am really sick of it. I want change; I want to be more unruly, cunning, and mischievous. I indeed want to be extremely loyal to my partner but I also tempt to have dozen extra marital affairs. But the irony is you cannot be good and bad person at the same time.

You know, I always wanted to elope with my woman, a wish which is not going to be fulfilled. I also feel like kissing strangers (girls, of course) roaming on the street, holding them from behind. But you know the consequences. You see, I am so romantic but the sad part is I cannot have romance like our filmy actors do in the films. I also wish to have some illegitimate babies like Pandit Ravishankar and Aamir Khan have.

I also feel the urge to slap those who spit every now and then or who smoke at public places or who create nuisances; shoot down the corrupt and criminal people. The list of these desires is really long. . . .

Check out if you have any.

Prophecy and God

2009-11-20T04:40:00.000-08:00

Religion always fascinates me. Albeit I believe in God, the superpower, by whatever name you may address Him or Her, but dislike the way people blindly follow their faith for whom questioning the certain tenets and dogmas of their religion is a sin. I love reading religious books however my approach would always be critical. I would not stop laughing when I found funny things telling us what we should do or what we should not.

I never believe in prophecy and that is why I am not impressed with certain religions. Today, while sitting idle I decided to read about Prophet Mohammad. I found him very interesting as I used to in my childhood days. Certainly, he did excellent job by civilizing his barbarian society; he brought about many good changes to his folks’ lives. But I don’t buy this argument that he was a messenger of the God or whatever he preached was God’s message. It happens in every society when certain practices or customs are trussed with religion in order to extend its acceptability. For example, Tulsidas authored ‘Ramcharitramanas’ and claimed that Hanumaan himself came in his dream and approved the book to give it the required authentication. Albert Einstein once had said that religion works like opium. People stop applying their mind when it is related to the religion.

I know the ardent followers of Islam will castigate me for writing this piece. But I don’t care. Well, if I am not wrong in Malaysia meditation was banned on the ground that it is against Islam. Sounds funny? Well, they should know that their revered prophet used to practice it while living in the caves and mountains. Secondly, since I don’t believe in this prophecy thing I was quite happy to learn that there are people who have exactly the same opinion what I have; that Mohammad was an ordinary man. Let me reproduce what I read on Wikipedia: how the West views him.

“Learned European circles of the time interpreted the data in such a way that Muhammad was viewed as a charlatan driven by ambition and eagerness for power, and who seduced the Saracens into his submission under a religious guise. . .after the reformation, Muhammad was no longer viewed as a god or idol, but as a cunning, ambitious, and self-seeking impostor. . .Boulainvilliers described Muhammad as a gifted political leader and a just lawmaker. . . ."

The purpose of writing this piece is not to hurt your sentiments but to make you aware that start questioning what we are taught; just don’t follow it.

A letter to the Thackerays

2009-11-18T01:14:00.000-08:00

You know there are weird people in this world. The kind of people I am going to talk about are really funny. They ask your name and then surname. If you say ‘Kumar’ as your surname then they will press you further to tell your complete name. If your surname does not suggest what is your caste they will become anxious. Some frank people bluntly ask what your caste is. I don’t understand this behavior more because they are not going to marry their daughter or sister with you.

More weird people are those who vandalize your property if you call Bombay instead of Mumbai. Beware!! Orissa has been rechristened as Odisha; Bangalore as Bangaluru. Make such a list of all those places that have been renamed of late. Precaution is always better than the cure.

Some people watch only Sunny Deol’s films because he is a Jat; not because of his acting skills. There are others who admire Sachin Tendulkar not because he is an iconic cricketer but because he is a Marathi or Brahmin. Some hate Amitabh Bachchan because he is from Uttar Pradesh and not from Maharashtra. I think they should make a list of people who are not from Mumbai. Issue is one is from Mumbai should be determined from which generation- from your generation or from your great grandfather’s? But then they will be the first to vacate this city.

I agree with the Thackerays that Mumbai belongs to marathis and not to India or Indians. So, you have to decide if you want to be a proud Indian or Marathi. Look, you cannot be both. Having its own prime minister and president would be a great idea. May I also suggest that all the outsiders should leave Mumbai immediately? Let us start with the Parsis; they came from Iran. Most of the actors are from north India particularly Punjab; so ask them to start their own Bollywood in Punjab. Bachchans, Aamir Khan, Javed Akhtar etc. are all bhaiyyas and must be extradited to Uttar Pradesh pronto. I am sure people from Maharashtra have every potential to become superstars. Why should they allow outsiders to blossom here?

Last but not the least, they should stop worshiping Krishna and Rama both are bhiyyas as they born in Mathura and Ayodhya respectively. The festivals like Ganpati utsav should be banned immediately because Ganesha is a bhaiyya (his father Shiva is from Kashi aka Varanasi).

But before you start acting upon my suggestions first ask them to change their surname from Thackeray to Thakre. Else people will get confused if they are William Makepeace Thackeray’s descendants.

I had a great hope when Raj Thakre formed his own party and named it Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. I am sorry Raj. You have disappointed me. May I also suggest that you should change the name of your party to Maharashtra Destruction Brigade?

A lesson from Pakistan

2009-11-17T03:22:00.000-08:00

In Pakistan 438 bomb blasts have taken place so far in 2009 killing 1,339 people and injuring 3,469 people. (Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal). In other words, on an average at least one blast takes place everyday in Pakistan killing at least 4 persons and injuring 11 persons everyday. Since 2003, over 23,608 people have died in terrorist violence. Out of this, 7,325 were civilians, 2,761 security forces and 13,608 terrorists. What is more appalling is that 43% people have died in just year 2009. I wonder why people in Kashmir still want Kashmir to be annexed to Pakistan. And those who want a separate state based on a particular religion should know that Pakistan was formed for this very reason. They must ponder what future it holds for them.

Well, don’t be too complacent. In India too 854 people have died in 2009 as result of left- wing extremism mostly in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal as against 638 in 2008. Over all 1,943 people have died in 2009 so far out of which 586 were civilians, 390 security personnel and remaining terrorists. And these are not Pakistan sponsored violence. They are home grown murderers who want India to become like Pakistan. India like other countries is grappling with war like situation primarily because there are external forces that don’t want India to be a strong country. We all know who gives sophisticated weapons to these fanatics.

Almost in every state there are terrorist outfits spreading terror. For example, CPI (Maoist) in UP, Haryana, MP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka; Lashkar-e- Tayaba, Jaish-e- Mohammad, Hizb-ul- Muzahiddin and others in J&K; NLFT and ATTF in Tripura; NSCN in Arunachal and Nagaland; Ulfa, NDFB, BW and KLNLF in Assam; HNLC and ANVC in Meghalaya and UNLF, PLA, PREPAK, NSCN and KUKI Groups in Manipur. (Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal).

There are narrow minded and selfish people everywhere who practice divide and rule policy. But we, the Indians cannot be fooled around for long time. This recent Maharashtra assembly election just proved this. I am sure others who believe they can achieve what they want thru violence will soon realize this and will join the mainstream. Let us make India proud. For those who love fighting; those who want to have fun by killing people and relishing marijuana should go in our neighboring countries because India is for peace loving and forward looking people.

Sweeping with the same broom

2009-11-05T23:28:00.000-08:00

Most of us are judgmental and very often we generalize everything. After Satyam scandal we believed all Indian companies are like that only. After Arthur Anderson’s fall we believed all Chartered Accountants are vulnerable and involved in manipulation. Yesterday, few of my colleagues were making fun of practicing chartered accountants that bribe them they will increase your turnover to Rs 4 million. Hike the amount further and they will make it to Rs 8 million and so on so forth. Agree, most of them do some cosmetic changes but does it mean all of them are like that only? In most of the cases, they are asked to do so by their clientele and refusing to them means losing the business. Nobody wants to be corrupt by choice however they cannot justify it as an excuse as well. They must remember their acts may compromise the integrity of the profession. However, it's pertinent to mention that in every profession you find some good men and some bad men.

Recently, I read in newspapers that a primary teacher forcefully took some nude picture of his 10 year old student. Another primary teacher reportedly raped a student. Should we believe all the teachers are rapists?

I remember while returning from my school I decided to take some rest under my favorite banyan tree. There were some women laborers taking afternoon naps. One of them asked me what the time was. Meanwhile other woman asked me if I was coming from the school. Before I could reply another lady opined “Who knows if they go to study. My guess is they go there to bite on the cheeks”. Actually a day before a boy had bitten on a girl’s cheek. And the folks believed we loved to bite than study. Perceptions are always deceptive.

Glorifying False Godman Culture

2009-11-04T01:37:00.000-08:00

Look at this picture. Aint it disgusting? This is KV Kamat. Mr. Kamat is a 1971 batch MBA from IIM (A) and was at the helm at the ICICI group until recently. He was joined by other who’s who like Ashok Chavan (not in picture), the head of Maharashtra state in India, prostrating before a fake, self proclaimed and tainted god man. They are educated people and the role models for many in India. What message this picture is conveying? That India is a country of fools? Or Indians worship the fools?

I understand India is a holy and religious place and a gateway to the spirituality. She has produced several great sages who has enlightened, spearheaded and guided the whole world and taught us tolerance, harmony, peace and kindness. But in the garb of saints and noble people, you usually find wolves. I am sorry for being blatant but this is how I feel about these so called **** (I don’t want to use cusswords). I don’t intend to single out anybody but I don’t like this very idea of worshiping self proclaimed god men, no matter how nobler they are. I don’t find them different from Chandraswami. Trust me, most of them are power mongers and greedy bastards (oops!! Sorry I could contain myself).

You fail to fathom why we need them? Well, as long as we pamper them, as long as we fool around ourselves and refuse to disown them, these parasites will continue to suck and grow upon us. Should I mention what Nana Patekar had once said about them? I guess it would be too much!

Proving self importance

2009-10-29T01:13:00.000-07:00

I have sensed it and I am telling you this from my own experience. In any organisation people working in front end departments like sales and marketing have attitude problems. They harbour superiority complex against other workers in back-office departments like accounts & finance. Agree; they generate revenues for the organisation but that is what they are supposed to do. You are doing just your job and not any favour to anybody. You just cannot undermine the role finance guys play; arranging required funds to expand the organization and the working capital to run it smoothly. You cannot underestimate HR people’s importance, who select able hands in the best interest of the firm. Running an enterprise is a team work like sports where every player’s contribution is critical to win the game.

But it does not happen that way. It’s possible that you never get what is fairly due to you. You work harder but somebody takes the credit or hogged the whole limelight. My film editor friends would be chuckling after reading this. After watching a film we hardly bother to know who the editor of that film was. Actually, we become so spellbound by the charming lead pairs that we hardly give a thought to it who had given the background score or who edited the film. Do you know who KK Mahajan was? We learned Hrishikesh Mukharjee only when he chose to direct films. We leanred Resul Pookutty only when he won Oscar for the best sound mixing.

Knowledge is a subjective thing. You may be an expert in your discipline but you cannot fix simple things like a leaking tap. You get stuck if your PC or mobile stops working. Similarly, you can neither sew your clothes nor have a haircut unless you are a true Gandhian. You may be a tax expert but you may not know m of the music. You may be the most efficient engineer but may be zero in zoology or history. In a society everybody has a vital role to play and we must not snare at them or deride their contribution. You know, only an ignorant person can believe s/he knows everything or s/he is indispensable to the organization. Only a newly rich person flaunts his wealth. A learned person becomes more humble.

Why I admire SRK

2009-10-22T00:34:00.000-07:00

Certainly Shahrukh Khan is not a great actor. At best he is an entertainer who does ridiculous things on the big screen. I am sure he is aware of this. However, I like him for two reasons. 1. He is an achiever, a success. He listened to his heart and pursued his dream despite all the odds until he accomplished it. I know people in the film industry who grimace at him and treat him as an outsider. Once upon a time Dhirubhai Ambani had got the similar treatment from these industrywalas. They harbor hostality towards the outsiders and will not entertain them unless they have a father/uncle in the industry. But trust me; it is always an outsider who outdoes these insiders. Unfortunately, in this process many ‘outsiders’ are devastated and lost. Now tell me, was Prithviraj Kapoor not an outsider at some point in time? Or for that matter, were the Wadias not the outsiders at some point in time?

The other reason I love SRK for is: he gave damn to everything for his lady love, Gauri Chhabra. In our orthodox society where inter community marriages are a big deal, he defied all the customs and got married to her and most importantly neither of them had to convert to other’s faith. He believed both faiths can co-exist in the same home.

India needs more such Shahrukh Khans.

Hold on, Mr. Sibal

2009-10-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

It’s strange. Our proactive and over enthusiastic HRD Minister wants you to have a free ride till secondary school (10th standard) but is set to put a speed break after higher secondary (12th standard). In other words you don’t have to study till X standard as certificates will be doled out but you will face the music once you come out of the school uniforms. He proposes to raise the eligibility condition for admission into IITs from the next year by increasing the minimum marks in Class XII to 80-85% from presently 60%. They argue that this is to contain the mushrooming coaching institutes and make XII exams a serious affair. You mean to say students don’t take this exam seriously? Moreover, does this burgeoning growth of coaching institutes not hint at pathetic level of education quality in schools? Why would one splurge on coaching institutes fees if one has excellent schools?

I don’t buy their argument for three reasons. First, you have ‘n’ number of examples where students might not have scored good marks in schools but they have excelled exponentially afterwards. You may not get 80% for so many reasons but that should not stop you from pursuing your dreams. They believe if your score is 79% you are the loser and you don’t deserve to be an engineer. Fuck you. Secondly, some state boards such as U.P. Board are not generous enough to give you 90% plus marks. If you score 72% marks it maybe equivalent to 85% in other boards. And last but not the least, is not it weird that you exempt X students from exams arguing it gives much stress to them? But you debar them from aspiring to become engineers?

It’s absolutely farce, Mr. Minister. Any attempt to raise the blanket eligibility condition must be opposed out rightly. Thankfully Kapil Sibal has backtracked now.

Unruly Indians

2009-10-20T00:04:00.000-07:00

I thought we did care for global warming and depleting environment. Every Diwali makes me believe that we all love to show off. We may forward stupid emails throughout the year vis-à-vis Save Mother Earth but when it comes to celebration we forget all the norms, we lose control. I am really disappointed with this insanity in the name of Diwali celebration. Do we really care for elderly and sick people? Do we care for other’s rights and comfort? Instead of discouraging our kids we ourselves indulge in such madness.

Next time, when you burst crackers and forward me any nonsense forwarded emails about global warming blah -blah think twice about my anger and helplessness. Think how irresponsible you are by causing damage to the environment? Please remember these crackers affect environment in the following manner:

1. Air Pollution affects health especially to diseased persons, elderly people and children.
2. Water and land pollution pollute our Resources Rivers, lakes and seas.
3. Noise pollution can cause deafness and stress among us.
4. It takes several weeks to bring back the normal air quality. Did you notice the haze those crackers had caused just above your head?
5. Fire hazards cause huge damages to life and national property.

You know, these crackers are manufactured by the innocent kids who are the victims of this profession and who will suffer from skin & respiratory disorders. And if these facts have not moved you yet, think about your own kids and their future. On a serious note, let us say no to crackers. For those who don’t heed to us, let us appeal to the government to ban these crackers. The pollution control department broadcasted some messages but it won’t help. Let us appeal our government to completely ban these crackers. It would be foolish to believe these unruly Indians will ever mend their ruckus ways. ‘U’ of us starts with you, my friend.

Doordarshan

2009-10-16T00:11:00.000-07:00

This is for those who have grown up watching Doordarshan channel which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. I am sure most of us would become nostalgic about how we eagerly waited for our favorite programs sitting in front of the TV set hours before they would be telecast.

Mile sur mera tumhara, Anek Chidiya, Jungle Book, Chitrahaar, and those weekend films were great attractions for me. Doordarshan, no doubt, gave us the finest and quality programs like Chankya, Bharat Ek Khoj, Tamas, Humlog, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Kakkaji Kahin, Ghalib, Neem Ka Ped, Mahabharat, Ramayan, Surabhi and so on so forth. I believe Doordarshan was killed by its own people, bureaucracy and red-tapism. I feel it can regain its lost prestige provided it starts maintaining its quality, originality and innovative approach. There is a large part of the audiences who are sick of today’s senseless sagas and so called realty shows.

Of course, we have very good channels today for example; Discovery, NG, History, HBO etc and they never compromise with their benchmark standards. Given the chance, I prefer cartoon programs such as Tom & Jerry or Mr. Beans. But yes, I miss Budhai and Mr. Yogi. I miss Doordarshan and my childhood days.

Romanticizing with numbers

2009-10-15T04:04:00.000-07:00

After Satyam fiasco is it Reliance Communications? We don’t know who is right as far as allegation of under-reporting of revenues is concerned. Was it just a coincidence that Ambani Junior meets Pranav Mukherjee in aftermath of this incident? You know these developments are disturbing. They have shaken up investors’ confidence in the corporate entities, auditors, management and independent directors acting in the fiduciary capacities, in addition to regulatory agencies such as SEBI. Should we need someone to push for compliance with corporate governance? I am sure, for most of the entities it is a headache, very few companies do it voluntarily. It is a general perception that companies fudge with numbers. You will find hardly few companies that don’t indulge in manipulative practices.

Most of them use every trick in the books to maximize profitability and top-lines. This company (Reliance Communications) reported all forex gains in the Income Statement when it was favorable but when they incurred huge forex losses, they routed it through Balance Sheet without restating their financial statements of the previous periods. It is not common in India only; multinational companies too resort to such modus operandi ignoring all ethical values and ethos. Memories of Enron, Sunbeam, Arthur Anderson, and Lehman Bothers etc. (toxic derivatives were their brain child leading up in sub-prime crisis) will never be faded. Did you read the today’s headlines- U.S. firms snatch government projects, bribing Indian Ministry officials?

Honesty is, certainly, not the best policy these days.

India’s most dependable(s)

2009-10-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

Without whom India cannot progress? Who are they our country cannot survive without not for a moment? Army! No way. We don’t wage war every day. Youth! Not really. Most of the youth are inefficient and thus unemployable. Businessmen? Sorry. They are too busy tweaking government policies and making handsome profits. Workers? Absolutely not. They are very lazy. Then who else?

Well, the answer is “the stooges” that means chamchas. Our country can never excel without them. Although they are omnipresent and can be seen everywhere but they are found mostly in political parties and within the government and its agencies. Without them not a single file is cleared. Without them you cannot get election tickets, you cannot extract favours from the government, you cannot win contracts or you cannot get positions. They exist in us- you and me. Those who don’t learn the art of buttering cannot succeed in life. However, it must be practiced in a very subtle way. In fact, being politically correct is one of the ilk of sycophancy. Just like keeping mum when speaking the truth is essential amounts to telling a lie.

They always get fair treatment. They will be the first to get promotions, pay hike, bonus and other incentives irrespective of their performance. You may ask how it is not an unfair treatment. Boss, everybody has some survival traits. So what if they don’t have the required set of skills? They know it very well how to please the bosses, how to read their minds and what their weaknesses are. They are very good at what to offer them and at what time, which information they should squeal to. They also look forward to liaison with the boss of the boss and are smart enough in switching their loyalty when the time is congenial.

Great satirist Harishankar Parsaayi writes about them: Everybody has at least one chamcha. Successful persons may have more than one. More you are successful more you have them. Even leaders like Gandhi or Churchill had them. Whenever upheaval has taken place in the world it has taken place only because of these chamchas and not their leaders. It happens when these chamchas apply their own savvy. Thus, leaders must ensure their chamchas never apply their own minds.

Further, there exists a hierarchy in them. For instance, Prime chamcha, Deputy chamcha , Additional chamcha, Joint chamcha and so on so forth. You have to respect this hierarchy and must not shun the established order. These chamchas are the backbone of our system. Without them the whole democratic premise will collapse. Long live Chamchas Raj.

slickers

2009-10-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

Do you find anything common here?

A. आदिल शाह, बांद्रा वेस्ट, मुंबई
खुला चैलेन्ज. सौ प्रतिशत लाभ की गारनटी. नौकरी, मनपसंद शादी, संतान सुख, खिलाया पिलाया हो, कोर्ट मैटर, बिझनेस मे लाभ, वशीकरण और ए तू झेड समस्या के लिये तुरंत संपर्क करे.

B. डा. तोलात, H.E.S.P., करोलबाग
सर्दी, खांसी, नाझ्ला, भगंदर, कैन्सर, एड्स, फ्लू, पक्षाघात, बांझ्पन इत्यादी सभी प्रकार की बिमारियो का इलाज होता ही. संपर्क करे सोमवार से शनिवार. रविवार बंद.

C. XYZ Financial Services Ltd, Mumbai

We offer a wide array of services including Insurance, Wealth Management, Property Services, Equity Trading, Commodity trading, Mutual Funds, Loans, etc from leading Banks and Financial Institutions. A complete solution for all your financial needs under one roof.

Why we don’t win a Nobel?

2009-10-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

Two headlines attracted my attention today. (a) Can Indians in India win Nobel prize? (b) No Indian varsity among top 100. Both headlines tell the same story and point towards the same problem. On many occasions, I have raised the issues of quality of Indian education, teachers and apathy towards them from both the society and government agencies. So, I will not touch this time now.

Is not it a shame on us that since 1930 we have not won a single Nobel prize? Does it mean that we lack innovative minds or Americans are biased towards us? Have they vowed that unless we land on their soil and work for them, they will not consider us for the Nobel?
There are plenty of reasons for not winning this most coveted prize by Indians. And the primary reasons are that we lack required environment or platform for innovations. Just funds are not enough to create scientists, we must realize that. Second important reason is to do with our genes. We Indians might excel individually but we fail to perform as a team, community. We lack team spirits, maybe because of our diversity in community, region or language. We excel in foreign lands maybe because we are forced to adapt and exposed to better environment, where people recognize merits and encourage accomplishing the potential. In India, you will find baiters more than the mentors.

Have you watched the film ‘Ek Doctor Ki Maut’ (Death of a Doctor) by Tapan Sinha? Watch this film you will get the answer why we don’t win the Nobel.

It’s not all about money, honey

2009-10-08T04:40:00.000-07:00

One day a neighbouring lady- tailor asked me “Sir, would you like to appear on the program ‘Sach Ka Saamna’?” I replied “No”. He argued “How can you refuse such an offer? You can win Rs 10 million”. I did not budge and remain firm. Then I explained to him it was a question of principles and not about winning some prize money. I asked him “Will you participate in a program where they ask you to stripe off and show your buttock if they pay you Rs ten million?” He whined “How can I?” I insisted “What if they give Rs 20 million?” He got the answer and agreed to my point of view.

Revealing the personal secrets of my life is akin to stripping off in the public. These are my private properties and not meant for public entertainment. Of course, there are people who don’t mind doing a naked parade for few bucks, but that is their choice. One has to decide how far one can go to compromise with one’s values. I can never promote products such as ghutaka, cigarettes or others that are injurious to health no matter how millions you are gonna offer me.

Interestingly, my previous company too has changed its tagline. From "it's all about money, honey" to "things beyond money".

Love & Marriage

2009-10-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

Those who believe I write crap need not to read this. Brainiacs are welcome.

Love is life. Love is motivation to live. Love is essential to become success and famous. It can take you where you want to be, indeed. Love makes it possible. Some people are lucky enough to get love from their spouses but marriage does not guarantee it. Marriage often gives you a partner to wash your laundry; enables you sire your children. However, it may not give you that illusive true love. Sadly, we are forbidden (morally) from loving someone except our spouses. But what if you bump into that person someday? And a sudden feeling- Oh! I should have waited a little longer.

You know, sometimes it happens when you truly believe somebody is your other half. Who can understand your mind; who you can share your thoughts with; with whom you can take a stroll even in the midnight. It could be platonic or asexual relationship- a relationship of an admirer, philosopher, guide etc; maybe more than the best friend. It seldom happens when you find someone perfect compatible. Like perfect competition in economics, things like perfect compatibilty and true love are hardly come by. But who has stopped you from craving? Well, I do believe that you can love persons as many as you can with the same intensity, passion and care.

It’s unfortunate that in India there is not much scope for it especially if you are a married person. Perhaps that was the reason why great people looked beyond India. Pandit Nehru found love in Edwina whereas Subhash Chandra Bose found it in Schenkl, an Austrian. Gandhi had both of these worlds. I read he had intense relationship with Sarla Devi, I do not know.

In India even if you find such person, I warn you, don’t go ahead (if s/he is already married) as you risk your life. You have to find someone like Mr. Mountbatten.

Learning things hard way

2009-10-06T00:39:00.000-07:00

I was quite surprised to know that one of my friends has rechristened me as ‘Mr. Negative’; albeit I am an eternal optimist. I admit, my songs and blogs may sound a tad tragic and complaining but trust me I am full of life, a self motivated person. Hard times sometimes make you feel low but certainly prepare you for the bigger challenges. Whatever happens happens with a purpose. Had Charles Dickens not faced it he would not have written “Hard Times” or Fyodor Dostoyevsky would not have authored his masterpieces ‘Idiot’ and ‘Crime and Punishment’. I don’t say I am gonna write any masterpiece though. But unless you face it you don’t have a story to tell. Like what Mr. Azim Premji recounts today. He says he learnt more from difficulties and failures than from successes. Let me summarize what he learnt from his life.

# To be successful you have to be challenged by something, and then have the resolve to deal with it. This is the surest way forward. I learnt that challenges, determination and passion is what propel a person. I also learnt that often you have to go out seeking challenges because challenges may not come seeking you.

# If you want something very much, you can actually make it happen, irrespective of the odds. As a living example, despite my age and the ageing grey cells, I did complete my Electrical Engineering degree at Stanford, 33 years later in 1999. Let us also know that there is no substitute to action. That to me is the starting and the ending point of being an entrepreneur.

# It may seem very elementary, is that hard work and passion pays. With the passing years, I am even more convinced that, all the thinking, the best of strategy and greatest of intelligence, can achieve little in the absence of hard work and passion. Also, one has to go against the grain of common wisdom. I have learnt to respect wisdom more than strategy and intelligence. However, I have also learnt that to build something, to create something different one has to inevitably go against the grain of common wisdom. However daunting it may seem, there are times when one has to trust one’s instincts and act, ignoring all the wisdom around. Opportunities don’t wait for any one, certainly not for strategies or strategists. Opportunities are here today and gone tomorrow.

# The most important learning is a deep unflinching commitment to values. I started off with this notion that I would not compromise on Integrity. The fact is that I did not face a conducive environment to practice Integrity, in those days. My notion was that values come first and business success follows. I can candidly admit that my belief was deeply tested through many years of painful learning process that I went through. This ‘unflinching’ commitment that I talk about is not something that happens just because of overnight resolve.

Courtsey: Economic Times

Have we progressed?

2009-10-05T00:34:00.000-07:00

The joke goes like this. Google before you ask any stupid question. Unfortunately, there are certain questions that you can not find on Google as well. I often ask myself: have we progressed? And the answer I get is a firm NO. Read on.

Centuries ago, there were uprisings against the oppressors; dictators and killers. It is still there. Then, there were people, who invaded other countries, it still happens. Then, the mill-owners exploited their workers; these workers still suffer. In those days adulteration was common, traders used to hoard ration. It is still rampant. We then worshiped the kings or queens, now we flatter the politicians. We are still at the mercy of corrupt and tainted rulers. You see, nothing changes. Those problems are still there; only characters have changed. Their names and designations have changed. We still have the oppressors and the victims; the haves and the have nots; the rich and the poor.

Now we have mobile phones still there are misunderstandings and gap of communication. We have huge food grains in our warehouses; still people are dying of hunger. We have world class hospitals and doctors, still people are dying of cholera, TB, malaria, flues etc. We have world class educational institutions yet they cannot produce visionary people or great leaders; they can produce only mediocre. We have made stringent labour laws to protect the interests of workers, provide them basic social security, yet they strike and protest for the injustice meted out on them. Now, we are educated but don’t have work. We have sophisticated trains and buses; still they are too crowded to travel. Even in the age of "one night stands" we struggle to find a suitable life partner.

Is erecting buildings and infrastructure a development? The British erected the best buildings ever in the world. In India, our parliament, the President’s house, the Supreme Court, Gateway of India, India Gate and several other beautiful structures were erected by them only. Shahjahan made one of the seven wonders Taj Mahal; Shershah Suri was the first to make the best connecting roads in India that is called G.T. Roads. The point I want to make here is buildings and roads were made earlier also.

Now, you ask yourself: Have we really progressed?

Remembering 'Gandhi'

2009-10-01T01:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is holiday and also MK Gandhi's birthday. I wish we had 365 such Gandhis. Well, what reminds us of him? His emblem on the currency note? Probably yes. I have read the book "Gandhi's assassination and I" by Gopal Godase, Nathuram's younger sibling. He almost convinces you that it was inevitable. It's just like killing all whitemen for the atrocities meted out on the Palestine people. I agree Gandhi's persisting demand to give Rs 50 million to Pakistan, its timing and other circumstances were quite provoking for the Hindus as well. But you just cannot justify killing by whatesover reasons of a Mahatma who dedicated his whole life to the people. Having said that, I do believe that Gandhi's real killers were his own men- Congressmen.

Interestingly, it was a white man who deemed it appropriate to make a film on such a legend. Our Indian filmmakers were too busy with their romancing, singing and dancing actors to spare a thought about it. Someone who closely worked with Sir Richard Attenborough once told me how he was betrayed and duped by these Congressmen. Actually, he needed crowd for shooting his film so he sought their help. He paid them generously. When shooting was over people complained that they did not get a single penny. Sir Attenborough had to cough up once more. Besides, these Congressmen did not bother to ensure that those starving poor people return to their home. Most of them were compelled to settle in Delhi.

Coming to the holiday part, may I suggest that national holidays should be announced on the birthdays of all other Gandhis? Such as Indira, Feroze, Rajeev, Sanjay, Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka and our own Varun?

Correct English

2009-09-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I really wonder how have I managed doing poetry in English so far, a language I have never been comfortable with. It is sad that in the course of learning it, I lost the connection with my own mother tongue. However, I can boast that I have taught many of you some simplest things about English. I do see people using Hindi words in their confabulations such as ‘toh’, ‘na’ and ‘arey’. They also use incorrect words like ‘sirji’ or ‘cousin brother/sister’. I have observed many grammatical mistakes and I can give several examples. And the most common error is related to ‘Indirect speech’. I have also noticed many of you use erroneous spellings. For example- accept (instead of except), aspect (in lieu of expect), loose (for lose) etc. You must understand that one spelling can change the whole meanings altogether such as using ‘rape’ in the place of ‘rap’. Of course, we are not suppose to know the Shakespearean English but the basic knowledge is necessary. Once a lady had thanked me for such silly mistakes. She learned the difference between ‘lose’ and ‘loose’ at the age of 83, though English was her first language.

But now, I have to learn what I used to believe as incorrect English. These Americans are really crazy. They use ‘check’ for ‘cheque’; ‘good’ for ‘goods’. I surmise how we will communicate if China becomes a superpower and we are forced to deal with ‘Chinese English’?

We, the youth

2009-09-24T00:39:00.000-07:00

Ironically, today’s youth don’t have any political view. They are happy doing chit chatting with so called internet friends. They spend hours on browsing YouTube, downloading games, songs or poking their friends on social networking sites. And when they go outside, they go to pubs, theatres or clubs and consume hashish kind of stuffs. Meanwhile if they find time they attend college and exchange notes that would ensure them passing score. After college they take up some job and life ends there. For middle class youth it starts after the tenth or twelfth standard. Once I had met such girl who had just passed 10th standard and was clueless what a resume is all about. Actually she was looking for some job. I understand they need pocket money or sometimes they have to support the family. But at a time they need proper education and upbringing they are pushed into 9 to 8 mesh. Further, that education is ultimately a hopeless thing. Well, when I see today’s reckless, casual and headless youth, I often get disturbed.

Bhagat Singh died at the age of 24. Vivekananda was barely 21 when he attended the Parliament of World's Religions in 1883. Now, meet a 24 year old and you will soon learn what a moron he is. Blank, completely blank. Well, you would say “I don’t want to become a Bhagat Singh”. But you cannot become even if you want to. You have neither that physical strength nor the mental strength. He went on a 63 day hunger strike advocating for the rights of prisoners and those facing trial. How long can you survive without food that too for your country? He believed in anarchism and communism. I am sure both these terms must be foreign to your knowledge. He read the teachings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky and Mikhail Bakunin and was an atheist. What do you read my friend? Femina, Stardust or Mumbai Mirror? It is more important to exercise your cerebral muscles than building the biceps.

And it is not about becoming someone. Question is where we are heading to? If these youth are the future of India then sorry to say that our future looks gloomy. You see, I am not the only one who is worried. If you think Obama is a good and wise man then know what he has to say. He calls upon the US students to reduce using facebook stuffs and spending quality time with studies, health and social cause. Hope, at least, you listen to him.

Boss, designation matters

2009-09-23T00:30:00.000-07:00

Years ago I used to see people in their middle age working as managers or chief managers. In fact I saw many who retired when they were just head clerks or deputy managers. Thus, I had this impression that you could become a manager only after 40 or so. In late nineties, several private players including multinationals set up their shops in India. That was the time when I saw a barely 20 plus as a senior manager. I used to get surprised when I would see a 30 plus as vice president. In fact, in my first job, I forgot to bargain for it and when I realized it, it was too late then. Of course, I took many years to get used to this.

Cut to 2009. One day I overheard few IT guys in my office arguing on something. Soon, I came to know what the matter with them was. This fellow who must be a vice president, was quite whinny. “How would you explain what do you do as a vice president? They make everybody vice president these days even if one serves the tea in the company”. One of my friends, who has been working with a big four auditing firm since 2003, is still an assistant manager. Poor fellow! Well, I am quite optimistic and I am sure someday they will make me C*O.

In my previous company they had several regional CEOs. I think it really works. So, I suggest some more innovative and glossy designations in lieu of repetitive and boring ones. For example, Chief CEO, Super Senior CEO, Senior CEO, Joint CEO, 1St CEO, 2nd CEO, Zonal CEO, District CEO, Branch CEO and so forth. And if you don’t have that much patience then open a consultancy firm (it does not matter if somebody comes to you for your advice or not) and appoint yourself the Chairperson, President, MD, CMD whatever you may like. Well, I would prefer to become the Premier as I am really fed of these repetitive stuffs.

Shakespeare once wrote “what is in the name”. Were he alive, he would have agreed- boss, it matters.

Body shopping

2009-09-22T01:04:00.001-07:00

I would be the last person to believe that I know everything. Everyday, I learn new things for example ‘body shopping’. Yesterday, my friend, a regular blogger who writes goodie goodie things about life told me that he was busy with body shopping. This shrewd blogger who had numerous affairs in the past is now planning to settle down in life. For the last two years he has been aggressively searching for his soul mate but in vain. God knows how many girls have paraded before him so far. I really pray he soon gets the most beautiful wife on the earth.

But the word ‘body shopping’ is still bothering me. I referred to many dictionaries and could not find its meaning. Help please.

How successful you are!!!

2009-09-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

You must have heard your friends muttering there is nothing like success. It is also said that success has thousand fathers, failure has none. But what is success?

Well, it is a relative term. What is success for you may not necessarily be for me also. I know such person who is doing fairly well and whenever he speaks to me and learns that I am not doing well, he becomes more content and assured. The moment I will start getting paid than he does, he would become unsuccessful. That is his definition. Perhaps, I would be successful when I will make couple of good films, buy a chopper and go back to my village. Many of us measure our success in monetary terms and it makes sense to some extent. However, just as we consider a long term trend in technical analysis to have a holistic view, it is pertinent to have a broader view of life. Just as we cannot have a broader perspective from sitting at Nagpur or Mumbai. of the whole world.

You will always find great people, hard workers never getting what is justly due to them. And it applies in every walk of life. For instance, there are several damn good actors but we don't know them. Contrary to this, these so called 'superstars' are ridiculously paid and given undue importance. So, is the inference- mediocre and under performers always rule the world? Getting bored? then skip reading this article from onwards.

Choice is yours- what you want to be. A mediocre or genius. Please don't rush to the conclusion yet.

The list of the losers has some respected names right from Buddha, Marx, Vivekananda, Che Guevara, Gandhi, Einstein etc. They all failed miserably as my friend would say. Now are you gonna reconsider your view? Not yet? Fine.

Look, films made by Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Govind Nihlani etc. will always be seen and studied worldwide even in year 2100. We still read books written by/ on Gandhi, Marx and the like. Our our great grand children will also read such books. They will also listen to Mozart or Beethoven and read Shakespeare. Agree?

Herodotus writes that in 5th century BC there was a businessman much richer than Bill Gates. Do you know his name? Even I don't recollect. But we know Herodotus. We will soon forget YSR who died recently in a plane crash. Can you tell me who was the first Chief Minister of UP or Maharashtra? Or any prominent businessman other than JRD of 60-80s? I am sure that Dhirubhai Ambani too will be forgotten 50 years down the line as the names like Modis, Birlas, Dalmiyas etc. are aliens to us now. The argument is successful people and their work live not in decades but in centuries and millennium. What you should ask now is- can you become like them?

You know, sometimes I wonder what is the point if I am doing the same petty things what billion people have been doing everyday? Unfortunately, most of us don't even realize that.

These CFOs

2009-09-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

If you think you are underpaid and deserve a lot more then you are not the only one who thinks so. If you believe that the CFO of your company does not deserve his/her position and also that s/he would not get an accountant's job in case s/he is sacked; you are not alone to have such belief. My brother was talking about his boss that he was a CFO with Lehman Brothers. Aah!! He expressed his anger "he is such a moron that person like him would not get an accountant's job in India. I fully agree with him and can relate to this situation as I have experienced it too. One of my friends too shared the same sentiment. He told me that the GM (Finance) of his previous pharmaceutical company had invented a new formula to calculate Gross Profit i.e. Sales minus Purchases. Yeah, you just wonder how such people get there.

You know, sometimes, your boss does not want smarter subordinates. They always prefer dumb and sycophants over hardworking, sincere and a person with integrity. So, please don't fret if your boss does sound like an idiot, does not give you what is fairly due to you. That is the lesson what makes a boss, a bad manager.

Making wrong comparisons

2009-09-18T00:41:00.000-07:00

Well, let us talk something boring. I would like to share some information with you. You would agree that comparison can always be made among the equals. Roses should be compared with flowers and not with elephants. Following are some of dissimilarities that make any comparison with their counterparts completely ridiculous and absurd. If Dow Jones rises by 4%, is it comparable with 3% rise in the Sensex? You decide yourself.

DJIA is a price weighted index while S&P 500 is a value weighted index. Until recently unlike Sensex, Nifty was not adjusted for the free float (public holdings). CPI method is used across the globe for the measurement of the inflation but in India we use WPI. The CPI inflation is still hovering at a double digit; in June 2009 it was pegged at 9.6% while the WPI figures are showing us that inflation has nosedived. Further, in the US, the GDP growth is calculated on quarter on quarter basis while in India it is year on year basis. Furthermore, analysts often doubt about the veracity of the statistics released by the Chinese government. Who knows how they arrive at the rosy pictures. These comparisions may give us some trends but definitely are not comparable in true sense.

New Definitions

2009-09-14T00:59:00.000-07:00

Weeping & Crying
The difference between weeping and crying? When we cry, tears dont roll down. Heart bleeds and mind become silent. And then, nobody can hear you. Do women weep and do men cry?

To want & to wish
The difference between to want and to wish? When you demand you want. Only competent and hardworking people, want. Those who are incompetent and fragile, wish.

Home
Lastly, my friend told me the new definition of 'Home'. It's a place where you can scratch where it is exactly itching.

Must watch Hindi films

2009-09-11T02:22:00.000-07:00

You must have come across people who don’t like watching Hindi films. I know such people who pretend that they have never heard of Amitabh Bachchan or Shahrukh Khan. But they flaunt their knowledge about Hollywood. How can you fret when Yankees don’t recognise and frisk an Indian superstar? (By the way, Bob Dylan who is a much bigger personality than any Khan was also frisked at the same time which went unnoticed). Our own people boast they never watch Hindi films or cannot speak Hindi. And I am not referring to those whose vernacular language is other than Hindi. This is unbelievable that you live in India or a place like Delhi, Mumbai or nearby and you don’t understand or speak Hindi? You know, some ignorant and insecure people secretly wish to be distinguished from the ordinary lot. They speak English because it segregates them from the common men. The intention is they want to prove they are different. They are special, indeed.

However, there are several Hindi films that are milestone and one must watch them. I am telling you will be surprised to know that such films have been made in Hindi. Although there are numerous such Hindi films; I recommend some of them for you which I have recently watched. So, if you are looking for some good, sensible, eye opener and thought provoking but entertaining films, just grab these DVDs.

Pyaasa, Kagaz Ke Phool, Naseem, Katha, Aakrosh, Masoom, Pushpak, Sadma, Matrubhumi, Satya, Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi, Salaam Bombay, Amu, Maya Memsaab, Ardh Satya, Roja, Raghu Romeo, Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Droh Kaal, Dharavi, Sardari Begum, Iqbal, Ek Duuje Ke Liye, Choti Si Baat, Raincoat, Pinjar, Maqbool, Jaagte Raho, Do Beegha Zameen, Ijaazat, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and Anand.

Among latest flicks are Dev D, Aamir, Mumbai Meri Jaan, A Wednesday, Johnny Gaddaar and 3 Deewarein.

Crazy South Indians

2009-09-09T01:07:00.000-07:00

Question is: are the south Indians more emotional than their northern counterparts? Or are they just the craziest people on the planet? Well, idol worshiping is not uncommon in us. I have read that fans do buy their idol’s undergarments and shit (yes, you got it right) in the auctions. But the way south Indians do is simply unparalleled. Remember when Rajkumar died in 2006 how his fans ransacked and created chaos across the state? Again, when YSR died, over 67 people reportedly committed suicide out of love or shock. It’s very strange, is not it? I remember when Rajiv Gandhi was killed I was quite disturbed. I was more disturbed because I would not be able to see him anymore- my childhood long cherished wish.

I guess I must not crave for certain things. I wished to meet Rajiv Gandhi and he was killed. I wished to join Lehman Brothers and it collapsed. CLSA must thank me for not having a wish to join it.

Wanna date?

2009-09-08T00:34:00.000-07:00

My friend is really worried these days. He often dates and complains that his girls never look at his face or pay their attention to what he is talking about. Rather they try to find out which brand of shoes he is wearing (their fathers must be cobblers) or what is the quality of the fabrics (they may be fashion designers or their fathers must be the weavers). He laments that he does not have great body. What should he do? Build biceps, career or work harder for money? All this just to woo a headless girl? I suggest him to make lots of money. Today, girls all that care for is money. If you bequeath billion dollars to your favourite dog they would not mind marrying that dog which is something has happened in the past. Can you explain the logic behind aging actresses marrying some indsutrialsts or NRIs loaded with money? Most of them were already married when they tied the knot. Even second rated actresses prefer NRIs. Now my friend is planning to buy a car as he tells me that they don’t expect him to come on bike-unless it is a sports- bike. I knew a girl who wanted to marry someone who had a 'Lancer' car. His dating experience has really scared me and I don’t think I would ever date anyone in my life.

Am I getting obsessed with women? Well, if you find more interesting topics then please do let me know. I remember once someone had suggested me to write about my equity research. Frankly speaking, I understand for most of you it would not be of any interest. And even if we discuss the crude oil price or not, it will move the way it has to. Our discussion will not make any difference to its momentum. So, better we talk about hot and happening things. What say!

I suppose I have invited enough wrath of this community by writing against them, so I promise I will contain myself and try not to comment on them anymore.

To see or not to see

2009-09-07T00:15:00.000-07:00

The lady who sits in front of my seat is quite charming. I don’t know if she is married or not. Hmmm. For the last 20 days I have been deliberately not giving her any attention and I suppose she would be furious. How dare I ignore such a damsel? Either I am a stupid or you know what. But for the kind information of all the gorgeous women on the earth, I am very much straight. I learned that she was the head of HR department. Then one day I said ‘hi’ to her but she did not smile back. Rather she was aghast, confused, happy or a mixed feeling that she could not react.

It is a real problem. When you ogle a woman it offends her. When you don’t, it offends too. What to do, man? I have noticed many a times that when I look admiringly at a girl, her mother would begin to stare at me. And that girl would hesitate to give any insinuation even if she likes to admire my cute face. Strangely, some mothers follow their daughters wherever they go like shadows. Uff!!! So, I beseech all mothers not to come in between two loving people. Sometimes, it also happens when I get confused who to look at- the daughter or her mother? In fact I get embarrassed when either compete with each other- who is looking prettier?

It is said that if you like a girl watch out for her mother’s shape. You will get a fair idea how that girl is going to look like after 15 years from now.

My dream girl

2009-09-05T02:09:00.001-07:00

How does it feel when one of your colleagues gets hooked or married? I don’t know about you but somewhere deep inside I feel sad, very sad. It feels as if I have lost one great opportunity. I am not sure but something like that- a feeling of great loss. Even if I had never thought of her from that perspective, I become restless “Oh God! one by one, my all options are getting exhausted”. Honestly speaking, I start thinking about them only when they get hooked and I feel as if somebody is whispering in my ears “All the lines to this route are busy now. Look for another; best of luck”. I have also found my wicked mind secretly praying for their break up. Then I console myself “Maybe God has preserved someone better for me”. I make it a point that I croon the song "mere sapno ki raani kab aayegi tu. . ." everyday in the loo. I dont know why she does not listen to it.

My all male friends would agree that finding a suitable girl to get married is not a child’s play. After all it is not a question of few months; it may make or mar our life. Girls too face similar dilemma though. Just imagine if the marriage does not work? Our parents who get paranoid for our instant marriage would not be able to handle that shock. We are not Americans, we are Indians and most of us are one woman man (except few occasional deviations). But do we expect too much from our prospective partners? I guess we are not expecting someone to walk on ramp and touch our parents' feet as well. I feel sometimes that our dream girls can probabily be found only in dreams. In the same vein I would like add that in a vehicle both the wheels should be of similar size. If we fix one tractor’s wheel in a car it won’t work. Compatibility is inevitable and a pre requisite for any “And they lived happily ever after” stories. I see some of you have already started scaling down your parameters.

Yesterday night only I realised that we have really progressed. These mobile operators are really getting smarter. When I SMSed to know my unbilled amount of telephone bill I got an SMS instead:

“Dial 58888 & speak to your DREAM GIRL. Rs 7/ minute”.

Let’s twit

2009-09-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel I should stop blogging. Why because everybody is blogging these days. Did you read this joke?

An executive telling his colleague “I wonder why boss keep asking me for explanations, he could easily read my blogs”.

You know when things become accessible to everyone, people start misusing it. My friend asks me why do I blog and suggests me to do some introspection instead. “What is the need to share everything with anybody?” He cajoles me. He has a point but how would I showcase my intelligence then? Maybe like everyone I too have a suppressed desire to get noticed? I sincerely apologize and trust me that it is not my intention to give you gyan all the time.

Technology is changing too fast. Now they have introduced twitting after blogging. It is easier you know. You just have to write about “I, me and myself”. What is in your mind, how do you feel, what are you doing etc. You just write and your best pals who are eagerly waiting to post their comments will oblige you. Don’t know why my friends are so reluctant to my blogs. I guess few years down the line we will not be speaking to each other and instead will type on the screen even if we are sitting side by side. Have a look how people these days twit:

Mother to her son: “Beta Chintu, come and have breakfast. Dad is getting late”.

Sister to Chintu: “You go and have it. I am over phone right now”.

Rehan to Sweetie: “You are looking so gorgeous today in that black suit”.

Sweetie to Rehan: Thanks. But Nikita too has worn the same design. She is so mean. Look how ugly she is looking”.

Chintu to his friends: “I am not wearing underwear today. It is so cool”.

His friends to Chintu: “Cho chweeet!”

Chintu to his girl friend: “Yesterday night you did not give me a good night kiss. I felt very bad”.

And his friends will write hundred comments.

His girlfriend: “Sorry Jaanu, I will give you this time hundred kisses”.

And her friends will write two hundred comments.

Rita: “I am fed up with my beau. I don’t want to see him again”.

And her friends will write few hundred more comments.

Rita will soon upload dozen of her intimate pictures with the same boring boyfriend.

And thousand comments will follow.

This is the scenario today. We want everybody to know every detail of our life. I understand after reading all this you will be irritated why the hell I wrote I all this. Just think of those who do all this throughout the day. By the way you if refer to dictionary the meaning of twitting is to harass with persistent criticism or carping.

When I was jobless

2009-09-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

देखी ज़माने की यारी

बिछडे सभी बारी बारी

(Film: Kagaz Ke Phool; Lyricist: Kaifi Azami)
It’s really frustrating to be a jobless; more frustrating when you are well qualified, experienced and competent. You lose not only in terms of opportunity cost; you also have to deal with the stigma that you are being sacked. Nobody will come to ask you if it was your own fault.

One fine evening my boss told me that our company was shutting down the research desk and all of sudden I found myself on the road, the road that knew no destination. In sheer desperation, I sought help of those I believed to be my friends as well as complete strangers. Save few, none of them bothered to ask me how I am doing? Some even stopped taking my calls while some began to avoid me lest I sought their help. Some who used to boast of their great contacts disappeared from the scene. After two months, I got the job but my stars seemed to have a hoodoo on my career line. The day I completed my one month with the new company I was told in the evening by the same boss that company was not going ahead with its plan to set up the research desk. I was back to square one.

Fortunately, I have great parents and family to fall back upon and look up to. I am really grateful to those who heard me out and consoled me. During the period I could learn to distinguish between true friends and fair weathered friends. It did not hurt me that they did not get me the job. It was rather their unwillingness to say ‘hello, how are you doing? Don’t worry I am there, things are gonna be alright’. Let me thank my friends who were there for me all thru (I am sure they know whom I am referring to). There were moments when I almost cried, felt being sneered, shunned, snubbed and shattered. However, these tough times gave me strength and I resolved not to give up. And that fight is still on. You know, living on your own terms is not that easy. Now, if I lose my job again (a possibility that cannot be ruled out) I know whom not to approach.

Pandit Nehru was right when he said- One can learn much from others, but everything worthwhile one has to find out or experience oneself. There are some questions which each person has to answer for himself or herself.

After the Iron Man

2009-09-02T00:28:00.000-07:00

What do you find common in between the twin towers and Mr. LK Advani? Both were the iconic figures of yore, made out of steel and melted and collapsed like a castle of cards. Poor Advani. Even his opponents would agree that he is genuine, nice and relatively honest politician. I absolutely don’t have any problem with his party’s ideologies because more or less all the mainstream parties when they are in power are the same. Anyway, it would be almost impossible for the BJP to find his suitable replacement, a leader of his caliber and stature. The only problem with him is age is not at his side.

The BJP’s fall in all aspects saddens me and I pray it recuperates soon. Any democracy requires a strong and effective opposition. Certainly we would prefer BJP over any other regional one man parties or idiosyncratic leftists. BJP needs Rahul Gandhis who can work tirelessly for the party with a long term horizon. Fortunately, as Congress has Mrs. Gandhi, it has a mentor in RSS to admonish its power mongering politicians.

Now they are talking about generational shift. In other words, pave the way for the young fresh blood. It’s difficult to understand why there are two definitions of ‘youth’- one for politicians and one for us. If Sushma Swaraj, who is approaching 70 is young then what about me? You would agree that 60-65 is the ideal age of retirement. I wish to see a 40 plus to head all the national parties. Those who have crossed this age limit should gracefully retire and spend time playing with their grand children.

Festal madness

2009-09-01T00:20:00.000-07:00

All the festivals are celebrated together and the philosophy behind them is to bind the society with the thread of harmony and brotherhood. Every year we celebrate a number of festivals. There are numerous petty occasions being celebrated particularly by the Hindu society. Barring prominent ones such as Holi and Diwali, I hardly come to know which festival is when. My younger brother, who is a teacher, recently told me that out of 365 days almost 185 days are holidays. I fail to fathom if there is a solar or lunar eclipse then why there should be a holiday? Moreover, an eclipse lasts hardly for few minutes then why the hell schools and colleges should remain closed for the whole day?

During Diwali or Ganpat festivals, this festal madness goes out of control. Billions of rupees are spent on patakhas? Cannot we celebrate without polluting an already polluted atmosphere? Noise pollution becomes unbearable these days and the most affected are elderly and sick people. On Holi, we apply dangerous colours containing harmful chemicals that cause skin allergies and other diseases. On the occasion of festivals like Dusshara, Durga Pooja etc. we waste not only money but also contribute to air, sound and water pollution. These celebrations are only hazardous for the environment and society at large. I show my pity when I see a beheaded Ganesha or his mutilated hands after the visarjan. I am sure God would never be impressed with such hoolladbaazi and lunatic demeanour.

I was reading the comments in a newspaper where a reader objects to any opposition to such merriment and asks those who have problems with these sound and air pollution to go to the Himalayas. What an irresponsible statement this is? I do believe we can celebrate all the festivals peacefully without all these nonsense frills. This is the high time we nip all such stupid things in the bud that cause to pollution and increase the level of global warming. Causing nuisances to public is not a celebration or divinity. If it is divinity then these religious fanatics- mostly illiterate or slum dwellers, are the most divine souls.

Let us make this beautiful planet a better place to live. Let us take our first step in this direction. I am sure God will be happier.

Passing thoughts

2009-08-26T02:30:00.000-07:00

Two events drew my attention this week: Ambani brothers’ gas feud and Jinnah’s secular credentials. Though I am nobody but I feel this urge to give an expert opinion even if it is unwarranted.

About gas feud

In case Supreme Court rejects Anil’s claim to get the gas from KG D6 to the tune of 28 mmscmd @ $2.35 for 17 years and his rights for 40% gas at the market price in all prospective gas discoveries, what will Anil do? Simple solution is he should go back to his respected mamma Kokilaben. He must ask for splitting of the erstwhile business afresh. I have sympathy for the younger sibling. Of course he only agreed on those terms of demerger because he was promised the coveted gas. In that case he should handover all his ADAG group businesses and stake claim for the reins of RIL. Will Mukesh agree is anybody’s guess.

In case you want to read further the mother of all corporate sagas, I suggest you must read following two articles:

Ambani Gas battle Business Today dated August 4, 2009

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12292&Itemid=1&issueid=64§ionid=22&limit=1&limitstart=0

At war again India today dated August 6, 2009

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55485&issueid=118§ionid=30

Mohammad Ali Jinnah

He was a Muslim as the name suggests and fought to create a country based on religion. He had argued that minority Muslims had no future in British India dominated by Hindus. The underlying meaning was he could never have become the Prime Minister of India because the community which worshiped him as messiah was in minority here. He was a politician and as you know politicians don’t have any religion except that of doing dirty business. As far as his secularist credential is concerned of course he was. He was an educated person and married to a Parasi Dina. The latter chose to stay in India and her descendents are the owner of FMCG giant Britannia Industries and Bombay Dyeing. Eveybody is secular as long as his interests are protected. Remember Mohd. Azharuddian realised that he was a Muslim only when was caught in the match- fixing scandle.

Lastly

Did you see the posters of upcoming film ‘Kisaan’? I was really mesmerized by seeing an Indian farmer’s toned body portrayed by Sohail Khan. We should be thankful to him who changed our perception about Indian farmers who we believed were destined to commit suicide due to poverty and hunger. We might have lambasted Bimal Roy or Satyajit Ray’s attempts to portray Indian peasants in poor light. I think we should give Sohail some national award for this noble cause.

Waiting for Haraamzaadey

2009-08-25T05:28:00.000-07:00

The easiest part of filmmaking is you don’t require a great story or good actors. Music is readily available. All you need is an expert mixer who can smartly mix up stories of past two three hit films. Incorporate some bikini clad scenes and item songs. Movie is ready. Wait. The most difficult job is yet to be done. And that is to decide on the title of the film. We have exhausted all the options. First we used old titles such as Deewana, Deewana Mastana, Deewar, Daag, Deewanagi, Devdas, Mohabbat, Barsaat, Aag etc but with some tag lines viz. Daag, the fire. Then we made Raaz I, II, III; Dhoom I, II, III; Krish I, II, III etc. Again, faced with the deficiency of any suitable title, we started using meaningless or irrelevant titles such as Chal Chalein, Ta Ra Ram Pam Pam, Say Salaam India, De Dan Dana Dan, Dil Bole Hadippa etc. Now what?

We have also used gaalis for the titles. Have a look: Amaanush, Darinde, Khalnayak, 420, Nalayak, Rakhail, Tawayaf, Harzaayi, Dalal, Sautan, Nazayaz, Kambakht Ishq, Kaminey blah blah. What next we can expect? Kutte, Kutiya, Kasaayi, Haraamzaadey, Ben***d, Ch***a, Bhan**ye, Habasi, Ma ki *****, Dog**a etc. Please don’t get offended; these are the rhymes toddlers in my village often recite. Post Kaminey as usual other filmmakers will follow suit for sure and you see, there is a great scope.

By the way kudos to Vishal (Bhardwaj) for making good films including Kaminey. He has done a good job but I feel he has succumbed to Bollywood success or lack of it. The end of the film could have been handled better. Maqbool is still his best.

God save us

2009-08-25T00:42:00.000-07:00

Ladies and ladies

Please forgive me for being harsh and biased towards your community. Guys, I am really sick of these species. I just wonder where they get so much energy from. Why do they talk too much? True it is that not all of you are like that only. However their non- stop gossips and laughing make me feel like crying. I really hate their voice modulation. Their world seems to be confined to their husbands, boyfriends, mothers, in- laws, recipes, make up, hair style, electronic gadgets, clothes, jewels and lots of stupid and trivial things.

I am really disturbed right now. Maybe because my sitting arrangement is such that I have to share space with HR peoples (mostly women). Poor fellows, what else they can talk?

Tips for writing a book

2009-08-24T00:26:00.000-07:00

Nowadays since every Tom, Dick and Harry is writing a book. Then why don’t you write one? I am giving you some tips hereunder.

Who can write?

Write a book if you wish to become famous or make quick money. Who can write a book? Well, anybody can write who has been retired and has no work. It does not mean to write a book you have to retire from your active life. You can write a book even if your career is on the descending curve. Generally, people in their twilight years start this adventure either to remain in the limelight or become controversial. Some people also use this as a weapon to threaten “give me election tickets or make me governor else I am gonna write a book”.

What to write

It does not matter what you are going to write about. It is something you have to decide but whatever it may be make sure it creates furor and controversy. In order to be a smash hit- a film or a book, has to create controversy. The first step is to find a person either the most hated or admired by the masses. Then see how you can be associated with him/her. I advise you to write about a person who is already dead. Then you can claim that s/he used to confide in you and sought your advice on various issues before taking any steps. Find out the most controversial historical events such as partition, emergency, and some high profile riots. Write antithetic views and claim that person always believed so though never acted upon them. For example, claim in your book that Nathuram killed Gandhi at the behest of Nehru who instigated him to do so. Claim that Nathuram had told you before preceding to Birla Bhawan that Nehru had promised him to rescue him later but backtracked. Write you had extra marital affairs with some noted actress who is no more or that you are an illegitimate child of Mohandas K. Gandhi or Nehru. They will never come to defend you know that. Please spare Jinnah; he is passé now.

Will US economic hagemony end?

2009-08-22T00:46:00.000-07:00

During global financial crisis of 2008 there were lot of debates if the US would be able to maintain its economic hagemony in the changed world? I believe so. Infact, they have faced similar situations in the past as well viz. Vietnam war. Their military edge, superiority of dollar (despite faltering economy), power to veto any untoward policy change at any world forum, our overdependence on US consmer's extravagance and political will to go to any extent to serve its interests will make sure that the US remains a superpower for a forseeable time. A very ineresting story to read.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/08/21/stories/2009082150260900.htm

A must read.

Don’t fume Shahrukh.

2009-08-16T04:19:00.000-07:00

Poor SRK. Americans are the other bastards. They are supposed to be the most ignorant and illiterate species on the planet. They believe they know everything and don’t want to know more other than the names of their street and country they live in. It may be a surprise for you if they can tell you their dad’s name. It is believed that an average American does not know the name of his state’s president. And you guys are expecting them to recognize bloody Shahrukh Kkkhan? Look brother, I don’t think they have done any wrong. They were just doing their duty according to their best knowledge and sense. It was Shahrukh’s fault. Why did he go to their country? Did they invite him to come and get stripped? Don’t get angry and humiliated, baby. Realize that you are nobody. They know that we may hate Americans but love their country and whatever that is American. You may become a Don, whom the cops from 11 countries cannot catch; you may dance and romance with beautiful damsels in films produced by your extended family members; you may be an iconic figure of a poor and illiterate country like India. But dude, in front of a semi literate cop, you are a ‘nobody’.

Please don’t take it by heart. It has posed a challenge before you. Sign more movies preferably in Hollywood. Try to romance with blonds and white skinned bitches. You need to become a bigger star enough to be noticed. Show some sympathy to the hapless Americans who have lost their jobs and houses; who are coping with one of the worst economic crisis. Better you donate some dollars (they don’t accept bloody Indian rupee as they know Pakistanis print counterfeit Indian currencies these days). Give them a big hug and promise that they will get a warm welcome if they come to the earth (India is on another planet they are aware of). Please don’t forget to invite them. We are ready to reciprocate.

These leftists, bastards

2009-08-16T04:05:00.000-07:00

Right now I am reading ‘The Communist Manifesto’ and it was a great surprise for me to know that communism talks about the welfare of the workers and the proletarians. Karl Marx along with Friedrich Engels wrote this book (which is regarded as Bible of the communism) because he was appalled by the living conditions of the working class. After years of empirical research he propounded some theories. But I will discuss it next time in detail and as of now I want to say something else about Indian leftists who proclaim to be his followers.

I admit and respect the fact that they are learned and intelligent people who talk (just talk) about common men’s good. They have right to make some opinion and propagate it. However, let me tell you these fellows don’t practice communism. They are not communists at all. Communism, that exists in theories only, has been misused by the clever people to suit their vested interests. Just like self styled socialists Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh used JP’s teachings for their own ends. Just like the Congressmen abandoned the Gandhism immediately after the latter’s demise. Just like Praveen Togadia is ignorant of Swami Vivekananda’s teachings. Just like we tell our children that we should speak the truth but we never practice it. Let us make it clear that Marx was a thinker, a scientist and people like Jyoti Basu or Prakash Karat etc. are not, by any yardstick, a communist or Marxist. Then who they are? You know, they are the real bastards.

Let me come to the point and explain why I hate them. They don’t believe in religion, country, patriotism etc. and rather feel shame being an Indian. In fact, the beautiful part is they don’t believe in anything. Even I don’t vouch any kind of fundamentalism including nationalism. But I love my country and its people. Well, these people are indeed the double speakers and double doers. They criticize fanatic Hindus but spare extremists like Islamic fundamentalists or naxalites? Dudes, there cannot be two punishments for the same crimes. But these comrades have two opinions: one for Hindus, one for Muslims; one for America, one for China; one for the centre, one for West Bengal or Kerala where they are ruling. They wail that our policies are influenced by Uncle Sam, but they gleefully accept whatever China says. They keep mum if China invades us or stakes its claim on Arunachal Pradesh.

They are the perennial traitors who apologize for their mistakes once in a decade. You must remember they did not participate in freedom struggle. And when China attacked us their leader EMS Namboodiripad refused to condemn it and said that they had just strolled into the territory they thought was theirs. They fret when America attacks Afghanistan but they don’t feel opening their mouth when China kills innocent people in its own state. They panic when Muslims are killed in Palestine but they don’t give a damn if Hindus are massacred in the neighboring nations. They don’t deem it fit to raise the issue of poor pandits being killed and cleansed in the valley. You welcome when Nepal become a republic country from the only Hindu nation but you never react when Islamic countries treat non- Muslims as second citizens. They protest if workers are laid off but they oppose any move that may help bring in foreign capital for expansion, growth and employment generation. Why these double standards?

Interestingly, when a top Chinese think tank suggests breaking India into 20-30 independent states with the help of some neighboring countries (read Pakistan, Nepal, Bangla Desh, Myanmar etc.) our leftist leaders says it does not warrant any response from them (as it is too insignificant to talk about). Stupid, how can they anger their big brothers in China? I suspect they get secret funding from China to undermine our (not theirs) country. Better we deport these conspirators to their own country, China.

Who got us independence?

2009-08-14T02:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we will celebrate as Independence Day. Exactly 62 years ago India got independence from Britain. You know, many absurd questions are hopping in my mind but I promise I will not ask them right now save few. In school, we are taught that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi got us independence. Is this true? Are we deliberately depriving of the truth? Nowhere in our text is mentioned that two greedy people’s ego, whims and vested interests led up to partition and over 300,000 people died during the bloodbath. I feel at this juncture, it is imperative for all of us to know the truth.

During British rule

For most of the nineteenth century, India was ruled by the British. India was considered the jewel in the crown of the British Empire. Queen Victoria had been made Empress of India and the British had a major military presence in India. Indian nationals had no say in central government and even at a local level, their influence on policy and decision making was also minimal. It was India’s destiny that numerous invaders assaulted her to run up and pillaged her enormous riches. Thankfully, the British were the last rulers in India.

Congress

The Indian National Congress played a vital role in the freedom movement. In 1885, educated middle class citizens had founded the Indian National Conference (INC). Their aim was to get a much greater say in the way India was governed. Later the British government decided to cede some of powers however, they controlled all central government and within the provincial governments. They kept control of the key posts of tax, defence, foreign policy and law and order.

It was Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the first nationalist leader with a deep understanding of India’s grassroots, and a considerable following, who first voiced the idea of Home Rule in December 1915. In aftermath of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, people rushed to join the INC and it very quickly became the party of the masses. Gandhi was the iconic leader in the Congress who took the movement of freedom to the next and probably conclusive level. Till 1942, Congress demanded dominion status. In 1935, the Government of India Act was introduced. However, it was useless firstly because the British never ceded dominion status ever and secondly the princes who still ruled areas of India refused to co-operate with the provincial assemblies so the second strand of the Act was meaningless.

Gandhi’s contributions

Post WW-I, Gandhi took the reins of the INC. He was the tallest figure followed by Subhash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Sardar Patel. He talked of ahimsa, or non-violence. He was regarded as too-mild, too-moral and too-impractical maverick. In 1920, under his leadership, the INC launched the first movement of protest – the Non-Cooperation Movement. He abruptly withdrew it after the Chauri Chaura case carried out by Chandrashekhar Azaad and Bhagat Singh. He again launched the Civil Disobedience Movement in March 12, 1930 by breaking the new salt taxes levied by the British govt in Dandi. As a result of it, the British led by Lord Irwin appealed to the Congress to work with them.

During World War II, the Congress decided that India should co-operate with Britain on the understanding that complete independence would be granted to India after that. The Indians provided valuable military help in the fight against Japan especially in the campaign in Burma, now Myanmar. The British promised dominion status for India once the war had ended. Do you think Gandhi had any choice other than supporting the British? Foreign affairs and defence were in the hands of the British. Moreover, they were unwilling to discuss the issue of independence during wartime. This had the members of the Congress wondering about the intentions of the government. Meanwhile, the divide between Jinnah's Muslim League and the Congress' aims and demands had grown sharper. In early 1940, Jinnah declared Pakistan as the goal of the League.

The British always showed Gandhi the lollipop of independence. They met him here and there and never committed anything. After the fall of France in 1940, Gandhi retorted, “Do or die” and launched the Quit India movement on August 8, 1942 in Bombay.

As I said he was too idealistic. But whatever he did he did not do for himself. In a country like India, full of greedy people and stooges, he stood taller than any other leaders. His biggest achievement was that he kept India united till we got the independence. His three abovementioned movements led to the nationwide uprising among the masses to fight against the rule of the British and achieve freedom for the nation. Ironically, although Gandhi allegedly sided with the Muslims and accused of giving Pakistan away too easily, his heir apparent Nehru ditched him in his last days.

The violent movements

If Gandhi adopted non violent method, there were others who believed that only violent methods could cripple and help the British Empire uprooted from India. Tilak, Bhagat Singh, Azad and Bose were among those who followed such method. It is difficult to say to what extent they succeeded in their mission, but certainly they contributed to the movement for independence.

At a time when the Congress was demanding for a say in the decision making process, Bhagat Singh demanded complete freedom. The idea was later lifted by Nehru. Bose took the side of rivals of the British and established Indian National Army. He influenced the British army as a result there was rebellion in the Air force and the Navy. The British feared of another sepoy revolt after 1857.

The World War II

After World War II, the British seemed keen to wash their hands off India. Britain was so devastated after WW-II that they couldn't keep their colonies together as they were economically and militaristically weak and vulnerable. They needed aid from the US and the US had compelled them to get rid of all the colonies. And India was not the only country that was set free under the US pressure. One thing is very much clear that Gandhi’s Ahimsa did not get us independence. Nobody likes to kill his chicken that gives the golden eggs. It was a coincidence that the Britain became weaker post WW-II and at the same time Indian freedom movement intensified. The British would have suppressed Indian movement as long as they could because cheap Indian raw materials powered their industries. Somebody rightly observed that being an imperialistic country the last thing they cared for would be to listen to the Indian uprising.

So, it may sound weird. But credit goes to Adolf Hitler and Japanese rulers who started the WW-II and helped us get independence. They had invaded Poland and China respectively which led to the war.

Religion and dietary dilemmas

2009-08-13T01:54:00.000-07:00

Until couple of years ago, I did not know the followers of ‘Jainism’ never used garlic, onions etc. in their food. They are strictly vegetarian and teetotaler. Why because their religion talks about ahimsa and forbids killing animals to eat them. Probably, the founders of the religion did not know that even a plant is a living thing. It takes birth, has life, breathes in and out and dies. Had they known it, I wonder what they would have suggested their followers to eat? Even in water you will find bacteria that make it sweet and potable. I am afraid if they see the curd thru the microscope, they would stop consuming it also.

I truly compliment these strictly religious people who get paranoid while eating out. Hindus eat animals but worship the holy cows, thus beef is forbidden for them. Muslims eat all kind of meats but eating lard is haram for them. Similarly, Jews don’t eat anything that may contain worms, insects or lard. Some staunch believers don’t eat paav bhaji fearing it may contain such insects; don’t use cosmetics that may contain alcohol or animals parts. Some true Muslims go one step ahead. They would not eat the meat unless it is a halal meat. Some of us make fun of people in North East, China or Korea that they eat dogs, reptiles etc. What nonsense these fanatics believe in is. You just cannot categorize that eating whale is haram but it is ok to eat any other type of fish. You cannot be selective. Either you eat animals or you don’t eat them. Don’t be a foolhardy. Eat whatever you want to, but please for God’s sake, don’t mix up religion and food. Alcohol is forbidden in Islam, how many Muslims comply with this?

Please try to understand that religions are made by humans and not by God Himself. Further, they were made thousand years ago. What was right at that time could be ludicrous today. This is the time we grow up. A religion cannot be more important than our life, freedom and happiness.

Discovery of India?

2009-08-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

In our history text, we had read that Vasco Da Gama discovered India. This fellow came in early sixteenth century. I wonder if India never existed before he landed here. We all know that India had strong trade and cultural relations with many western and Asian countries since Chandragupta Era or even before that. Our spices were famous worldwide. Our mathematicians had discovered zero and point. They had measured the distance between earth and the moon long ago Mr Da Gama was born. India was not like America. We had the most advanced civilization thousand years ago.

Mr Da Gama first came here in 1500 to set up a ‘factory’ or a trading base, then in 1502 to wreak havoc on the port and Arab trading vessels alike. He came here with a motive probably to stay, and he was to earn himself the distinction of Governor of all Portuguese possessions in India in the twilight of his life. While Da Gamma paved the way for the Portuguese to India, his predecessor Dom Alphonso D’Albuquerque chalked out and consolidated Portugal’s trade routes to India during the sixteenth century.

It is like the chicken discovers the egg.

Mud mud ke na dekh. . .

2009-08-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to know that I am not the only one who ogles at the women. A recent research has revealed that a man ogles up to 10 women everyday while women ogle up to 6 men a day. Men ogle at the women’s figure while women ogle at the men’s sexy eyes. Weird is not it? It further says that at an average rate of 43 minutes a man spends one year in his life time on admiring women. For women, this figure is six months in a life time.

Well, I cannot comment on the veracity of this research but it is amusing to see that there are people who deem it fit and have time to do such research on how much time we spend on admiring girls or for that matter on sneezing. I presume, for young people, there is hardly any interesting topic to natter about other than the opposite sex. What is in it that you spend the resources to do such useless research? And do the women really ogle at us? I have rarely found them doing so in India. Let me tell you the said research was carried out in the UK. Ours is a backward society. Our women may elope with their lovers, indulge in extramarital affairs or kill their husbands but I doubt they can ogle, molest or rape a man.

Let me confess. Sometimes I deliberately ogle at the women irrespective of their beauty, color, figure, size or height. But in most of the cases, it is spontaneous. Even if I try to control myself I cannot help but staring at them. As far as research with respect to women ogling at the men is concerned I have some doubts. Because I have experienced that women, does not matter how ugly or out of shape they are, never look back at me. Every girl thinks as if she is Cleopatra. I guess God has given them some sort of sensor or third eye. They can sense that I am staring at them without directly looking at me. Without giving me any inkling they can find out whether I am ogling at them or not, from the corner of their eyes.

My friends would agree that I am handsome and smart enough. Still I do a favor to a woman if admire her. They must feel obliged.

Reading habits

2009-08-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

There is an adage that friends and books should be few. But is not it important to know who good friends are or which are good books? In the age of technology and digital world we want everything on demand. We don’t want to explore experiment or take pain to learn something worthwhile. Perhaps, we have lost our appetite. And ‘we’ includes me also. Whenever I see thick books or long paragraphs I try eschew reading. I wish if somebody would just apprise them to me. How can I expect you to read those thick books then?

Reading is a good habit and it would never lose its relevance even in this digital era. Books are the best teachers. In old days many legends taught themselves without going to schools. Writers like Dostoyevsky never attended any school but they read, read and read. Of course, there are people who do not like reading books at all. Some of them think it is just a waste of time and energy. My aunt tells me that his younger son has passion for novels while elder one is just opposite to him. In childhood, whenever he would bring some novel, elder sibling would read the first few and last pages and tell his kid brother the story and its ending. Actually he never liked reading anything forget about text books.

It is also equally important to understand what we read. I can’t help but show pity on those who read drivel novels. But who will tell them what makes a novel good? If you read novelists such as Paulo Coelho, Jeffrey Archer, Grisham etc. how are you going to tell your child what good he should read? Before I started watching some great work in the world cinema, I used to think films meant Yash Chopra’s movies. Similarly, once I saw some good plays by Naseer Saab, I found other plays substandard. Why because I tasted the blood, because I set a high benchmark. The same formula applies to the good books also. The problem is we all are crazy for brand. If Obama writes a book we will buy it without giving a second thought. I would like to ask my Gujarati friends if they can tell me any three great contemporary writers of their language. The scenario is not different for other regional languages too. If I ask about good writers in Hindi literature, people don’t recollect any name beyond Munshi Premchand. But we will grab the first novel written by Mr Coelho or for that matter by Chetan Bhagat.

You might be thinking why I don’t tell you what good books you must read are. But why should I tell you? If you yearn to know good things in life, they will certainly attend you. But first ignite the fire in you and rekindle your thirst for better things. Nothing comes for free, not even good advices.

The lies about Hindi Films

2009-08-06T02:32:00.001-07:00

The strangest thing about Hindi films made in Bollywood is they are actually not made in this language. Even titles are in English. Scripts and screenplays are written in English. Those who write the scripts and screenplays for such films cannot speak pure and fluent Hindi. Characters mostly speak English, Urdu or slang; they never speak the language we call Hindi which is the “language of the state”. Rather, these films are made in Hindustani which is a confluence of different languages spoken by common people. I guess, in a Hindi film, Hindi is just 20-30% or even less. On the other hand, in a Marathi or Tamil film, it is over 90% Marathi or Tamil respectively. Moreover, people, who work in this industry, feel proud in speaking English. Speaking in Hindi is regarded as regressive or backwardness. So, is Hindi dying? Probably, the answer is yes.

Hindi is primarily spoken in northern states such as UP, Bihar, Delhi, Rajasthan and MP. But in so called Hindi films we see people who live in New York or London. Nothing reflects the lifestyles, problems etc. of people who live in these states. Situation is so worse that our filmmakers are totally dependent on Hollywood counterparts to borrow their concepts or for inspirations. In most of the cases, they lift the whole stuff coping shot by shot. It is ridiculous to classify films in categories such as art, mainstream, avan garde, masala etc. In fact there are two kinds of films- good and bad. And most of the Hindi films made are unfortunately bad. As far as actors are concerned they do everything other than acting. To become an actor all you have to do is build six pack abs. If the film becomes a major hit, you would be called superstar. In the industry we still, however, can find some twinkling actors though. But they are forced to play second fiddle.

The scenario is not different for the music industry. Music directors have mastered the art of bootlegging (plagiarism) without any twinge of hesitation or shame. The great music director, Pritam should be given Bharat Ratna for this herculean act. After all it is not a child’s play to decide which music should be copied. I really miss classical, sitar, tabala, dholak etc in today’s songs. Everybody can become music director or singer these days. We still hum songs sung by Sehgal, Rafi, Kishore, Lata or Mukesh. We still remember the whole lyrics of those old songs. Naina barse rimjhim.....; ik ladki bhigee bhaagi si...; kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khyaal...; chhookar mere man ko...; sau baar zanam lengein.... Now let me ask. Can you sing any song from Kambaqt Ishq?

You cannot blame the filmmakers. Suppose if they make films in pure Hindi, will the audience understand it? These filmmakers are to make profits, not to teach or educate you. I suggest we stop calling them Hindi films.

Accessibility

2009-08-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

While talking to my friend, he told me the very truth; a truth which has become a menace today. We have access to everything, be it information, entertainment, weapons, drugs, sex or anything that can be bought or sold. Internet plays an important role in our lives and we cannot imagine a life without it. Few years down the line, it would become hard for our kids to believe how we lived without internet or mobile phones. In my growing days, I had had hardly any access to porn mags or even pictures. It was only second year that I learned what was masturbation or blue film all about (thanks to my super seniors). Trust me, I was quite scared then. We had to wait for Chitrahaar or a film that Doordarshan would beam once a week. Now, we have numerous channels that bombard us with incessant, sometimes, same pakao contents. Children have mobile phone and with it come everything that we would not like them have access to.

It’s a great feeling to succeed after the hard work and perseverance. If I give you something without much effort you would not know the pains, sufferings, happiness and true value of getting it. In our days our pocket money was so meager that we could not buy ice candy. Now, our kids have to just demand and they are met pronto. Nowadays, before the moustache starts showing any sign, they have girlfriends and indulge in sex. Mothers encourage their daughters to have beaus. If you don’t have boy/girl friend, it is believed that something is wrong with you. Somehow it has become a matter of your prestige to lose your virginity in schools. In our fathers’ days, they used to romance through love letters. They used to steal shy glances, stand in front of their ladylove’s house or school for hours just for a glimpse. This generation takes a relationship to bed first. There is no romanticism left. This is the era of consumerism where everything can be come by. This is when we start abusing the resources.

We all have become addicted to electronic gadgets which is certainly harmful not only to our health but also for our proper growth. I may sound like an orthodox who belong to the old school of thoughts. But this is not the case. I am not against kids having mobile phone. I am not against losing virginity or watching porn. But I believe there should be some limit and parents should ensure they are complied with. What I am trying to emphasize is picking up the right and appropriate things from the supplies. The problem of excess- ability (i.e. excess accessibility) has become a problem for us. We are lost somewhere. We need to understand these gadgets are just the means to live and they should not be allowed to supersede us.

Remember what Kapil Dev used to say in an old Adidas’ ad: Simplicity has an amazing power. Alas! We understand this.

Friendship day’s cogitation

2009-08-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

This is what I could have done for you- send you an SMS or email on this friendship day, on your birthday or marriage. Frankly speaking, I don’t have time and money to meet you or attend your marriage. And it’s not my fault. In June this year, three of my friends got married. First marriage took place in Delhi, another in Bangalore and third one in Jaipur, and almost simultaneously. How can I be there at three places at the same time? Another aspect is monetary. A jobless person like me cannot afford rail tickets forget about air tickets, so, ideally they should have sent me tickets as well. I am sure they must not be complaining as they never bothered if I attended their marriage or not. But trust me; I sincerely craved to be there. Next time, if you (of course, I am not asking those who have already got married unless they remarry) want me to be there, please send me tickets (at least, sleeper class) as well.

July was also special. In this month my three other friends became proud parents. See, how smart I am. I saved my money by not visiting and gifting them. You may like to honor me with the title “Maha Kanzoos” but I really don’t believe in the concept of gifting. If you value love and wishes, accept them. I guess you must be muttering “good for nothing he is”. I know that you will take a sweet revenge and you would not turn up in my own marriage (despite promising till the D day). So, I have decided not to get married. In case I agree to sabotage a girl’s future, I will certainly not invite you because you would not get time to attend. Right? Yeah, I know, man.

If you think I am the only smart guy on the earth, then you are wrong. Though I don’t celebrate just one particular day as friendship day, but if the number of SMSs received is any criteria to gauge how much concerned your friends with you are, then I am very unfortunate person. I got just 9 SMSs today. Well, let me do the formality and wish all of you a very happy friendship day. May all good attend you. Look, I am not sending you SMSs because I am saving money oops !!! I am sorry. I am saving the environment by helping reduce the global warming. This is a fashion nowadays to do whatever you want in the name of global warming.

Further, I take this opportunity to wish those three friends who got married namely:

Mr Amit Marwaha
Mrs Rinku Jain
Mr Vineet Ladha

And those three who became proud parents:

Mrs Aarti Mishra
Mr Abhay Parekh
Mr Deepak Kharwad

May you all rest in peace. God bless all of you.

Wake up

2009-07-26T03:37:00.000-07:00

Of late, somebody who is actually nobody commented on my writing style. He said to me that I always criticized things and approached them with a negative bias. Something satirists do. Let me dispel this doubt that I am a pessimist. I do appreciate we should look at the positive things in everything. But do you think criticizing is so easy? What bother me are not the problems or shortcomings, rather the system or part thereof that beget mediocrity. I found mediocre people everywhere. What is more ironical is I am too a mediocre in many senses. We all are in the hibernation mode and there is none who can awaken us. For instance, we wake up awhile when November 26 or July 26 happens, and then we again go into deep slumber. It disturbs me that we are totally dependent on our neighbor and its weapons for such an awakening.

A majority of these mediocre people are happy because they never realize that they are mediocre. They never ask questions, they never see what is wrong, there arises no apprehensions in their brains and they never feel the urge to fight back. What they know well is to grouse every now and then. It pleases them and they become happier ever than before. Saint Kabir has said:

सुखिया सब संसार है, खावै और सोवै
दुखिया दास कबीर है, जागै और रोवै.

So friends, if I hurt your sentiments, be happy that you have it and you just need to be awakened. If nothing happens deep inside then admit you are nothing but a dead living body. May be,I am expecting too much from you. Honestly speaking, I don’t know why am I writing all this nonsense? Actually there is no need to do so. Our forefathers have already written and said enough. We just need to introspect and maintain our sanity.

Prejudices & double standards

2009-07-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

(Continued from ‘Hypocrite that we are)

Everybody is biased and influenced by certain viewpoint or dogma. Thus, it’s very hard to remain indifferent to our surroundings or environment and form unbiased opinion. If you are influenced by Karl Mark or Lenin then you would always speak in favor communism. If you are born and brought up in a capitalist country and reared in a college like Harvard, you would follow a capitalist approach. If you speak the truth you may be biased towards truthfulness. In most of the cases we choose things that are convenient or suitable for us. We all are double thinkers and double speakers. Our viewpoints depend on our race, religion, place, class, age, gender and upbringing. Masters will never be happy with their servants and vice versa. The poor will always complain against the rich for their condition. A Muslim will often accuse America for all the miseries in the world and the Americans would believe all Muslims are terrorists. We indulge in extra marital affairs but when our spouse does the same, we go berserk.

Actually everybody has his/her own comfort zone and it is difficult for all of us to come out of this zone. Your grandmother was not comfortable with jeans, your mother is not comfortable with miniskirts, and you are not comfortable with bikinis while your daughter may be comfortable with it. Because there is a certain limit to which one can be liberal. You may be ok with smoking while I may be fine with both smoking as well as drinking. On the other hand, she might have problem with both.

Sometimes we react differently for the same incidence in different situations. For example, we love to caress a girl if she happens to be closer in a crowded bus or train. We would crave for her proximity even if she is sweating or has bad odour, does not matter if she has a toned figure or is obese. Imagine how do we react if a man’s sweating body accidentally touches our back, soaking our fresh shirt? Would not we frown or scream at him?

Hypocrite that we are

2009-07-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

Aint we all hypocrite? We preach something and practice something else. We like modern babes as girl friends but when time comes for marriage we prefer sati savitris. If your neighbor is caught in some MMS scandal you will curse her but will probably be the first to watch that video. Generally girls would reject a bald man but would they if he is a billionaire? I don’t think so.

A survey that was published in HT Cafe on last Sunday corroborated this mindset. In this survey they had created two fake profiles of the same person with same bio data except that one is a rich businessman but autocratic and other a middle class but progressive and open minded person. The rich businessman is a male chauvinist pig who does not have time for his would be wife, is narrow minded and one who wants his wife to sit at home and take care of his parents and children. But friends, this rich guy got overwhelming response where women preferred him despite the fact that their profile stated about their ‘partner preferences’ as someone 1.who let me work and be independent after marriage, 2. Who is caring, loving and understanding with a liberal outlook towards women, 3. Who knows the balance between his personal and professional life, 4. Who believes in spending time at home, cherishing moments with his wife, 5. Who is a non- smoker and non- drinker, 6. Who has a great sense of humor etc.

In film ‘Pyaasa’ the protagonist’s ladylove ditches him because she does not want to spend her whole life with a pauper poet and opts for a rich businessman husband. I know a lady who wanted to marry an ultra rich businessman and you know why. She lives in South Mumbai and his tycoon lover stays in Delhi. But she is happy because she has an apartment in a posh area and good bank balance. Men are always at disadvantage. A young Manyata can marry a rich Sanjay Dutt who is approaching 50 while a 34 year old Aishwarya will always prefer a rich and younger Abhishek Bachchan.

It reminds me the joke where a taxiwalah asks the lady if she would sleep with him tonight for few bucks. She reprimands him still he insists and asks “what if a billionaire offers you one million for a night?”. To which she replies “I might accept that offer, if it were millions”. Meaning thereby it’s money not our principles that determines our moves. Heard that some thespians refused to come on the program ‘Sach Ka Saamana’, because Rs 1 crore was too less. Boss, money talks.

Continued. . .

Maya Tere (Pra) Desh Mein

2009-07-20T03:49:00.000-07:00

If I criticize Ms Mayawati, I may risk the allegation of having prejudices against the Dalits, a community she hails to. My surname which makes me an uppermost caste might vindicate such feelings. Even then, I would not hesitate to say that I hate Ms Mayawati (and politicians like her). In fact, I dislike writing something about her. I don’t buy this argument that criticizing her is an insult to the Dalits and believe that she does not truly represent this lot. She is indubitably least bothered about their upliftment and is too busy erecting statues and plundering the public money. Couple of years ago the people of Uttar Pradesh, who were fed of anarchy created by the previous Mulayam Singh government, elected her with landslide win hoping she would ensure good governance but she outdid her predecessor by unleashing complete lawlessness and criminals in the state.

The current mudslinging between the Congress state chief Rita Joshi and her is very unfortunate. It’s not surprising for us to see politicians using cuss words. Do you remember when the same Mayawati and SP leaders washed their linens in public in the early 1990s, when so called socialist Mulayam Singh Yadav and his government allowed the sycophants to rape and kill her? How can we forget all this? And how can she forget all this? The way she acted on Varun Gandhi’s hate speech and Rita Joshi’s senseless remarks, is very regrettable for our civilised society, democracy and our freedom of expression. You just cannot give me a capital punishment if I lambast you. If you do, then Mayawati should be hung first.

I would be very happy to see her confined to that state only. For me, she stands for corruption, ego, greed, narcissism, etc. I am sure you would agree that she is one of the worst Chief Ministers, the country has ever seen. When I say that she is very bad mouthed and ill-mannered politician who does not know how to carry herself, it has nothing to do with her caste. And it also does not mean that Dalits cannot be good politicians. Yes. I do appreciate her grit, mettle and political wit; that is why she has reached where she is now. To become a Chief Minister of the most populous state on your own, especially when you come from the underprivileged lots is a commendable job but after reaching there and forgetting your responsibilities and losing your senses, are equally deplorable.

Uttar Pradesh has produced many great leaders but now it is known for tainted politicians and poverty. These politicians who live on the fat of the land by exploiting the caste politics and mushroom at the expense of peoples’ sufferings should be despatched to the Antarctica. People must understand this and should rid of such rotten politicians if they want progress and prosperity.

I am busy

2009-07-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

There are two kinds of people in the world: ones who are genuinely busy and those who always pretend to be busy. I have seen many such people who often indulge in gossips but when they get some calls they act as if they are the busiest persons on the planet. I often meet such people who chatter most of the time with their office mates and when you call them up they would say “can you please call me after sometime, I am in a meeting”. I cannot help but laugh. I remember once when I was sitting with a somewhat popular actor, he got a call from some producer. I knew he had no work at that moment (and he later confided to me sheepishly) but he told him that he was too busy in a meeting. He later advised me that it’s important to tell people that you are busy and have ample work even if you are fed up of sitting idle. Honestly speaking, when somebody says ‘s/he is busy; the question crops up in my mind ‘is s/he telling a lie?’. It’s hard to believe one can be too busy to breathe or bathe. It’s all about prioritizing things.

When I was studying in Allahabad I had found out that most of the students had stuck a note ‘don’t disturb’ on their front doors. But they would love to get disturbed. If I would not go to their rooms, they would come to mine to violate their own policy of not getting disturbed. I also noticed that it was almost customary for every student to stick Swami Vivekananda’s picture on their walls. I was sure none of them would ever bother to know what Swamiji had taught us. The inference is we love to propagate things that are unreal.

Nowadays, you can figure out if your friends are really busy or not. One way is to view their Facebook walls. I find it interesting that they manage to steal time to play stupid games on Facebook and doing other bizarre stuffs but they are too busy to speak to you. Yes. I am not complaining. But the next time when you tell someone that you are busy keep this in your mind.

Censor ‘the Censor’

2009-07-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I don’t force you to read my blogs or agree with my views. I cannot. It’s all up to you to read or put them in your trash bin. Hence, you have complete freedom to delete them even without giving a cursory look.

Recently, I watched the film ‘Naseem’ directed by Saeed Mirza which revolves around an innocent but intelligent girl and her grandfather in the background of December 6, 1992. What disturbed me was that few most crucial dialogues of the film were cut by the honorable “Central Board of Film Certification”. A bunch of so called intelligentsias cannot decide what we should watch and what we should not watch. If we can elect sensible people who can run the government, why cannot we figure out what is right or wrong for us? Let us know, behold and then decide what is better for us. Why should we be subject to policing? You know, sometimes I get this fear that someday I might be arrested by the police if I read books on communal ism or naxal ism.

Exactly 62 years ago we were emancipated from the British and we termed it independence. Are we really independent or free? Our history is being doctored hence we are deprived of the truth. How can a certain government agency get the mandate to dictate what we should watch, read, learn, think or understand? Where is the freedom to choose what we should believe in? A child is told that s/he is a Hindu or Muslim and s/he is supposed to believe and behave in a particular manner. A wo/man is told to believe that this is the right way because it has been dictated by a group of people of certain faith or institution.

If we cannot question why a woman be forced to wear or not to wear burqa or jeans; if we cannot go to the pubs or listen to the western music; if we cannot paint the way we want; if we cannot express our views openly; if we cannot castigate the wisdom of the institutions; if we cannot call the bluffs of the fanatics; if we cannot say a spade a spade, then where is the freedom? Dude, this is not the freedom.

Judging people’s personality

2009-07-13T05:10:00.000-07:00

There are people who judge your personality by scrutinizing what accessories you have worn, which brand of clothes or pair of shoes you have worn. There are people who judge you just by your look. I often see people making fun of those who are not physically presentable. What is stranger is they form certain biased opinion about them without actually knowing them.

It happened with me recently while I was strolling with my two friends. One of them was my communist friend who does not like the very idea of malls and hates Americanization. He has long hairs and wears long kurtas. When we approached a mall, he politely refused to enter into the mall for a sip of coffee. My other friend who was cautiously observing all this later asked me “was he ashamed to enter into the mall because he had worn kurtas?” I could not explain why. Let me quote what my friend had once said to me “both the person who is traveling in the taxi and the person who is driving are equally ignorant”.

It’s so appalling that a fashion expert advises women that if they want to know a guy, they should look at his wrist. She recommends small boutique watch brands worth Rs 12, 51,120. She further says “such watches show that the guy who is wearing such watches is confident in his own decisions... that's sexy”. Though this person is with a reputed company that manufactures branded watches, it indeed, shows her mindset. It’s like you are ‘behanji types’ if you don’t show your cleavage.

So, if I don’t wear watches, does it mean I am not so confident? It tells me that materialism is at its height.

When bad becomes good

2009-07-06T03:49:00.000-07:00

Once a Kashmiri girl had squabbled in my scrapbook “there is nothing wrong, there is nothing right, only thinking makes it so”. I often quote this sentence in my confabulations. We always curse baddies both in films and real life, but we forget that they play a very important role for a cause. For example, after king Birendra and his family’s massacre in June 2001, Gyanendra usurped the throne. His unscrupulous misdeeds and whims led to the end of monarchy in Nepal. The British came in India and ruled her for centuries, however, they taught us many things and most importantly they liberated us from the self indulgent, inefficient and lusty mushrooming kings. Similarly, in some sense Saddam led Iraq to democracy though we had to pay a heavy price for it. Thanks to Osama Bin Laden, the people of Afghanistan get rid of Taliban and women could breathe and get new lease of life over there.

Lord Krsna has said in Geeta that both good and bad are integral parts of Him. Thus, both are inevitable for the society.

Yes. Homosexuality is unnatural

2009-07-04T04:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my friend asked me to write something about recent HC's judgment legalizing homosexuality. I am not sure if he was really keen to know my views on this. The honorable court (I cannot question the ability of those learned judges) has adjudged to repeal section 377 of the IPC that decriminalize private consensual sex between adults of the same sex. It is the biggest victory yet for gays’ rights and a major milestone in the country's social evolution. Finally, India has become the 127th country to legalize homosexuality.

It’s not as if this homosexuality is new to our society. I know many homosexuals and bisexuals both in real life including some of the high profiles. I do believe it’s your personal choice if you want to sleep with a woman, man or any other animals. I have absolutely no problem with homosexuality, lesbianism or bestiality (when you have sex with animals other than the humans). But this becomes a problem for me when my spouse turns to lesbianism or bestiality. Albeit I would not harbor bad feelings for my friends no matter what their sexual preferences are.

However, if I go into depth and analyze the psyches behind having sex with same gender or with animals, I feel it is not natural. No doubt about it. It is akin to having sex with the children. If you criticize child abuse and think extra marital affairs is bad then why not homosexuality? Are you trying to be liberal? Look, there are so many weird people in this world who justify things whatever that suit them. There are liberals who have sex with their own children. You will lambaste them but they believe they are doing the right thing.

It’s interesting to note that sexual intercourse for most animals other than humans occurs at the point of estrus i.e. the most fertile period of time in the female's reproductive cycle. Only we do it round the clock.

Shame

2009-07-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

I am ashamed that I took 28 years to watch films like ‘Pyaasa’. It’s astounding how those prodigies thought ahead of time. It’s a shame for us that we did not give what was due to the mavericks like Ritwik Ghatak and Guru Dutt. If losing your virginity is essential before you turn 30, watching such great work is also equally important.

Somebody rightly said: had Guru Dutt’s offspring been active in filmmaking instead of Raj Kapoor’s, the Indian film industry would have been different. It’s really unfortunate that today’s generation don’t understand cinema. Actually they don’t have the ability to distinguish between good and bad cinema. But you can’t blame them as you will reap what you sow. Indian audience has been stymied by second class filmmaking who serve them poorly cooked food. However, things are changing and changing fast. The days are not far when the Indian audience will come of age and reject mediocrity; when they will demand originality in thinking.

I also feel sorry for watching ‘Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisin’ after five years it was released. I am sorry, Sudhir (Mishra). I thought you were just another ordinary filmmaker (after watching films like Chameli, Calcutta Express and Khoya Khoya Chand). But for God’s sake don’t give up and stop making good films.

Well, I am happy that I have watched them before I could die.

1969

2009-07-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

Well friends! The year 1969 was unprecedented in many ways.

It sowed many seeds of evolution and revolution. It was the year men walked on the moon. It was the year ‘internet’ was born. It was year first human eye transplant ever was performed. It was the year The Beatles made their last performance and released last album ‘Abbey Road’. It was the year Yasser Arafat took over the rein of the Palestine Liberation movement. It was the year when gay rights movement sprouted in NYC. It was the year when hundreds of thousands of people took part in National Moratorium anti-war demonstrations across the US protesting Vietnam War (can you imagine such awakening in India?). It was the year Yoji Yamada released first part of the 48 series Japanese film Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It's Tough Being a Man) which is the longest running movie series. It was also the year when the Naxalites formed Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and became active in other parts of India other than West Bengal.

I am thankful to my dear friend Joy who showed me the Woodstock 1969. Let me tell you something about it. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969 drew more than 450,000 people to a pasture in Sullivan County. It lasted for four days and you can click on the following link to see some of the images. In Elliot Tiber’s words Woodstock, like only a handful of historical events, has become part of the cultural lexicon. As Watergate is the codeword for a national crisis of confidence and Waterloo stands for ignominious defeat, Woodstock has become an instant adjective denoting youthful hedonism and 60's excess.

You still hum the song “summer 69” by Bryan Adams but this song has nothing to do with year 1969. In fact this is all about making love in the summertime. In the writer’s own words, it has to do with a sexual position i.e. 69. Interestingly, this song is the Canadian national anthem.

http://images.google.co.in/images?hl=en&q=woodstock+1969&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=n1JMSsPwC4fq6AOm66j7Aw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4

Innovation

2009-07-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

If at first, the idea is not absurd then there is no hope for it. - Albert Einstein.

Earlier when the word ‘innovation’ used to strike in my mind, a picture of Thomas Alva Edison, who invented bulb, photograph, camera etc. would float in the eyes. Nowadays it reminds me of Credit Derivatives Swap (CDS) etc. that uprooted the financial system of developed countries and is likely to be introduced in India soon. But innovation is the only way to progress and evolution, even if it is catastrophic. Think about it.

Any derivative instrument to hedge against failed marriage? An insurance policy against divorce (Guys you may have to pay alimony in case of divorce). In the States, parents can be punished if they harass (beat) their kids. Someday they can claim compensations for giving them birth as well. Insurance companies have huge business here. Take a policy, now.

It was Gregor John Mendel who propounded the theory of heredity. We have cross-bred animals, plants etc. There should be a research which breed is the most intelligent and physically stronger after numerous such cross- breeding experiments. And then we should breed only that race. Further, to solve the problem of overcrowded trains and buses, we should try nanotechnology in producing smaller human race. I read President Pratibha Patil too was talking about some innovation :-)

Cheers!!!

A joke for feminine chauvinists

2009-06-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

This joke was sent by one of my friends and I really like it.

“Why were males created before females?”
“Because you always need a rough draft before the final copy”.

Borrowed Identities

2009-06-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

When I came to Mumbai in 2005, I first paid visit to the temple called Film & Television Institute of India, Pune. I took an auto rickshaw from station to the institute. On the way the autowalah told me that he was born and brought up in Maharashtra only. “So, you are a Marathi” I commented. To this, he shot back “No, I am a Muslim”. In some sense it’s like replying “I am a woman” if I ask you “Are you Mrs. Mehta”. I could not understand why he went offensive. I think if I was born and brought up in Kashmir, I am a Kashmiri no matter what is my religious identity. If your son was born in America you proudly say he is an American. But you have problem with being called Marathi. Anyway, I have interacted with many Muslims who get embarrassed when you call them Indian. They love to be identified as Muslims. I don’t say all Muslims are like that. I say, there are many.

Sometimes I wonder how we are mentally conditioned. We are told to believe in a particular thing or think in a particular way and we blindly follow without questioning. One day a cruel Muslim emperor invades India and becomes the ruler. He carries out atrocities on the natives and forces people to convert to his faith. And now look, they think they belong to Mecca, a place they hardly have seen.

Before 1947, they were part of India. Once Pakistan was created they developed so much hostility towards their Indian brethren. In the name of religion? Which religion? The religion they borrowed from foreign invaders? But we should not blame them. It’s a human nature. Take the example of a family. After separation, the estrange brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani are competing with each other. Two three generations later, their offsprings will be as stranger as any other unrelated person. Similarly, earlier Gujarat was a part of Maharashtra and Uttarakhand was a part of Uttar Pradesh. Now you are Gujarati or Uttarakhandi and you have lost your erstwhile identities. I am mesmerized how easily we shed our old associations.

India belongs to Hindus

2009-06-23T00:41:00.000-07:00

मज़हब नहीं सिखाता आपस में बैर रखना.

Before frowning at this caption and passing any judgement you must try to find out who is Hindu? What is Hinduism or Hindutva? Of course, for most of us Hindu means people who belong to RSS or its affiliates like BJP, VHP or Bajrang Dal. Well, I will help you to understand that. It is too long to read I know. But it’s worth reading. It tells you who you are and what is your identity. It also tells that to be an Indian you have to be a true Hindu. If you refuse to be a Hindu you are not an Indian. You decide for yourself.

The word Hindu is derived from the river Sindhu otherwise known as Indus which flows from the Punjab. That part of the great Aryan race, which immigrated from Central Asia, through the mountain passes into India, settled first in the districts near the river Sindhu (now called the Indus). The Persians pronounced this word Hindu and named their Aryan brethren Hindus. The Greeks, who probably gained their first ideas of India from the Persians, dropped the hard aspirate, and called the Hindus Indoi. Even Supreme Court found it difficult, if not impossible to define Hindu religion or even adequately describe it. Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one God: it does not subscribe to any one dogma: it does not believe in any one philosophic concept: it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional features of any religion or creed. It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more.

The Hindu religion is a reflection of the Composite character of the Hindus, and is based on the idea of universal receptivity. It has ever aimed at accommodating itself to circumstances and has carried on the process of adaptation through more than three thousand years. It has first borne with and then, so to speak, swallowed, digested, and assimilated something from all creeds.

Sudheer Birodkar in his article says “the evolution of Hindu Civilization can be considered to be natural and continuing as there is no last messiah in the Hindu world view. In fact this is what distinguishes Hindu Civilization from the rest. And this is why Hinduism is called a Living Idea, guided by the sum total of human wisdom that is not considered to be embodied in one person, or one book, or one period of human history. Hence the term "Living". Hindutva is the articulation of this idea of continuity of freedom of thought from which emerge the multifarious Hindu Principles”.

The development of Hindu religion and philosophy shows that from time to time saints and religious reformers attempted to remove from the Hindu thought and practices elements of corruption and superstition and that led to the formation of different sects. Buddha started Buddhism; Mahavir founded Jainism: Basava became the founder of Lingayat religion; Jnaneshwar and Tukaram initiated the Varakari cult: Guru Nanak inspired Sikhism: Dayananda founded Arya Samaj: and Chaitanya began Bhakti cult; and as a result of the teachings of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, Hindu religion flowered into its most attractive, progressive and dynamic form. If we study the teachings of these saints and religious reformers, we would notice an amount of divergence in their respective views but underneath that divergence, there is a kind of subtle indescribable unity which keeps them within the sweep of the broad and progressive Hindu religion.

The Constitution-makers were fully conscious of this broad and comprehensive character of Hindu religion, while guaranteeing the fundamental right to freedom of religion, has made it clear that the reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jam or Buddhist religion, and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall be construed accordingly. It is a matter of common knowledge that Hinduism embraces within self so many diverse forms of beliefs, faiths, practices and worship that it is difficult to define the term Hindu with precision.

According to Veer Savarkar, Hindutva or Hinduism stands for Hinduness. The tenets of Hindu philosophy speak of the unity and identity of souls and not division. To Vivekananda, Hindutva taught self-abnegation. "Religion comes with intense self-sacrifice. Desire nothing for yourself. Do all for others." Hindutva gives the message of renunciation: to render the mind unattached even while absorbed in karma, like the lotus leaf is unaffected by water; selfless service to all and is against untouchabilty. The honourable Supreme Court too says that it is not to be equated with or understood as religious Hindu fundamentalism. A Hindu may embrace a non-Hindu religion without ceasing to be a Hindu and since the Hindu is disposed to think synthetically and to regard other forms of worship, strange gods and divergent doctrines as inadequate rather than wrong or objectionable, he tends to believe that the highest divine powers complement each other for the well-being of the world and mankind.

Is not it Hindu rishis who taught us four thousand years ago about Vasudaiva Kutumbakam (this world is one family)? And most importantly it gives you freedom to choose your own God or faith or way of life. It does not compel you to comply with centuries old and outdated dogmas.

Sources: Supreme Court ruling, Hinduism by Monier Williams, Wikipedia and Vivekananda & Hindustva by Bulbul Roy Mishra.

If we could know the future

2009-06-22T03:21:00.001-07:00

Swami Vivekananda says we can know about our past life by meditation. By the same yardstick I think we can see our future as well. In that case, it would have been easier to plan our life or career in a better manner. You could work harder if you would know that you would be short of 3 marks in first division. You could save your time and energy in directionless ideas. But then, the surprise element of life would be lost.

When I was a kid I used to wonder what I would become when I would be 50. To what extent I would be successful and how much money I would have in my bank account. I am still perplexed. Sometimes I become very impatient to know all that.

In Mahabharata, Bheema once requested his elder brother Yudhishthira to stretch the time so that their exile from the kingdom for 13 years could be reduced to, say, three days. Alas! If it was possible for us. Then the painful period of recession could have been reduced to couple of weeks. One could always skip the struggling days to happier times.

The rapist

2009-06-20T01:22:00.000-07:00

The Oxford dictionary defines the word ‘rapist’ as a person who commits rape and rape is defined as committing a crime of forcing a girl or woman to have sexual intercourse against her will. Somebody told me the Supreme Court has also ruled that a woman cannot rape i.e. only a man can rape. It may seem weird but is true. It may have been decided on the fact that God has made women physically weaker. But to exert force you need not to be physically strong. Anyway, going by the definition, thousand women are being raped everyday by their husbands. Since marriage gives a license to rape your wife, she cannot appeal in any court of law. I have seen such cases where husbands would come home fully drunk. It would start with non-stop abusing and then beating. Once when I tried to help a lady she fought back “Mera mard hai, kuchh bhi kare. Tera kya jata hai” Only then I realised some women love to be abused and, may be, raped.

So, why do people rape a woman? What makes it so attractive? Some suggest porn and/or childhood abuse as the root cause.Or is it animal instincts residing inside us that to be blamed? Is sexual deprivation the reason? Not necessarily. The thespian Shiney Ahuja is in the news for raping his maid. He is already married to a beautiful wife with a daughter. What led him to commit this crime? He wanted to change his taste? He wanted to show his manly power? God knows what was on his mind. But he is really a moron or why would have he gone off his rocker? Any babe would have liked to sleep with him forget about a maid. He should have tried to lure her or given loads of money to gag her. Now, even Rs. 10 million cannot restore his reputation.

Why don’t prices come down?

2009-06-19T00:59:00.000-07:00

A layman must be wondering why things are not getting cheaper even if inflation is in negative terrain. Inflation for the week ended June 6 turned negative for the first time in three decades to (-) 1.6% even as the prices of essential food items continued to surge. They may be heard complaining things are still costly and thus not affordable. I know most of you know why. So, I will explain this from a layman’s point of view for those who don’t understand economics.

In India, inflation (a general rise in commodity prices) is measured by change in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) comprising 435 commodities. So, if the prices of a majority of commodities (particularly of those having higher weight-age in the index) rise, inflation will increase. However, any fall in the prices of the constituting commodities will pull the index down.

So why don’t prices come down? Suppose a product was available at Rs 200 in year 2004. If its price increases by say 15% during 2004-08, that means it was now available at Rs 230 (in year 2008). When an economy grows fast, inflation too increases rapidly due to increasing demand. India has been growing at the average rate of 8% during 2004-08. Suppose, if there is just 1% inflation (i.e. the price increases by 1%) then the product will be still costly at Rs 232.10 (in year 2009). Even if inflation turns negative say by 1%, the product is still available at Rs 227.70 in year 2009.

India, not the right place?

2009-06-18T00:56:00.000-07:00

Why doing business in India is so difficult? Its 2009 ranking for the ease of doing business out of 181 economies, tumbled by 2 points to 122 from last year’s. It was ranked 180 on enforcing contracts, 169 on paying taxes and 136 for dealing with construction permits. China attracted $92.4 billion FDI in 2008 (23.6% up) whereas India achieved a substantial 85.1% increase in FDI in 2008—the highest increase across all countries—even as global flows declined by 14.5%. It attracted $ 46.5 billion in 2008 against $ 25.1 billion a year ago. Though year 2008 was unprecedented but still you can see how far behind we are in comparison to China. So what are those factors that foreign investors dither to invest in India? According to a brokerage report, top five factors are: 1. inadequate infrastructure 24%, 2. inefficient government bureaucracy 16.5%, 3. restrictive labour regulations 12.5%, 4. tax rates and regulations 12.3% and corruption 11.9%.

The UPA govt. has committed itself to push on infrastructure and has ambitious plan to spend $500 billion during the 11th Five Year Plan. Though it is unlikely that they will meet this target but even if they meet 75% of it, it will be a great achievement. Government is likely to introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST, replacing all indirect taxes like excise duty, service tax and VAT) at least from April 2011 which will not only increase its income, will also bring in transparency and efficiency. It will also make a case for lower corporate tax rate once economy is on the track. I further expect that government will soon introduce labour reforms at least within three years from now. If President Pratibha Patil’s address to both houses is any indication, then government is serious about institutionalising public accountability and introducing good governance. Furthermore, proposed audit of social flagship schemes are right steps to check corruption.

The only thing government has missed is reform in bureaucracy. That will be the biggest challenge for the Manmohan Singh government. Will he deliver is the billion dollar question.

Mere pass ma hai

2009-06-17T02:41:00.000-07:00

This famous dialogue in ‘Deewar’ is still relevant even after over three decades. In real drama, both Ambani siblings can claim to have mother on their side. It will indeed be a dilemma for Mrs. Kokilaben- whom to favor in RIL and RNRL gas row. You will not find any classic example where mother would play such a critical role.

Down with our judiciary which takes years to execute apparent criminals like Afzal Guru, Kasab and Manu Sharma. Now instead of doing its job properly it is busy with giving unnecessary advices like ‘always listen to your wife to remain happy’ or ‘consult your mother to resolve this issues’. Why do we have a legal system then? In RIL the public shareholding is close to 48% while 45% in RNRL. Further natural resources belong to the people of India and not to any company or family. But ironically, the judges upheld a family agreement signed by two warring brothers. It’s shame.

You must be wondering why Kokilaben is so important? It’s not that both brothers are afraid of her. Actually, Dhirubhai died without any will (of course, he did not know he would die so soon). So, brothers are eying a major stake inherited by her.

Pappu can’t dance sala

2009-06-17T00:41:00.000-07:00

I heard Abbas Tyrewala and Amir Khan together wrote this song, keeping Salman Khan in mind. I don't know the truth. Well, Pappu is the name of not a particular person. He is one among us who can’t do a simple exercise called dance. Most of us get nervous or feel embarrassed if we are asked to sing a song or dance in public. In our days, studies were everything that would make up for all other activities. Our parents never encouraged us to play games like soccer, hockey or even cricket. They believed it was a waste of time. We also could not indulge in other extracurricular activities like playing guitar, swimming or oil painting. But things are changing. We understand the importance of dance, swimming and sports that keep us physically fit. We know singing helps us relieve from mental stress. Of course, our kids born in better times!

Now we want to do all these stuffs but are short of time- pleasing bosses, clients, wife, children and old parents. Where is the time? We all are the Pappus of our times.

Stimulus and job opportunities

2009-06-16T04:08:00.000-07:00

Can government spending alone put the economies back on growth trajectory? Analysts will tell you that India managed to grow by 6.7% in FY09 mainly because of strong rural demand, flagship schems like NREG, whopping agro subsidies and implementation of the sixth pay commission. Now, will the government’s infrastructure thrust help economy grow by around 7-8% in the current fiscal? Dr Manmohan Singh and Mr Ahaluwalia believe so. I expect government will announce about Rs 1trillion fourth stimulus in the forthcoming budget. It will certainly boost demand and business confidence but the job market will take some more time to stabilize. This is the India’s story.

Now lets have a look on the US of A. Noble Laureate Paul Krugman says that the history of stimulus shows that it could not stem burgeoning unemployment claims. He gives example when Mr. Reagan cut tax rates but unemployment rapidly increased northward. He believes and most of the Americans as well that Obama’s billion dollar stimulus terribly failed to contain job losses and create more opportunities. We can take a sigh of relief.

A suitable bride

2009-06-16T00:35:00.000-07:00

Vikram Seth wrote ‘A suitable boy’. I dare not to buy this book fearing its thick size. I presume it would not be about how to find a suitable groom. But now he should write a sequel ‘A suitable bride’ which must educate today’s boys how to find a suitable match. Certainly, it would a big hit around the world.

Recently I peeped into various Orkut profiles in an attempt to understand what today’s girls think or expect about their dates. (Look, please don’t think I am finding out excuses to trespassing or I don’t have anything to do other than peeping). Many of them were fascinated by film stars like Tom Cruz, Brad Pit and Shahrukh Khan. Many of them were deeply attached with their mobile phones like a fish to water. I found several hundred names with suffix ‘Queen of the world’. I appreciated their fixation for cynosure. Their expectations for partner frightened me. Make no mistake about it. There is no or little difference between small town aspirants and their cosmopolitan counterparts. A young girl getting hardly Rs 15,000 a month expects to settle with a boy not earning less than Rs 100,000 a month. What an irony? And they call for to be treated at par with men. Here, let me add the fact that girls in their late 20s were quite realistic about their expectations. Boys, there is a hope for you.

I bet if you can find me a suave, simple and sweet village petite like we used to watch in films years ago.