I'm absolutely sick and tired of how the general public is being treated in this country. The recent incident of the attack on girls at a Mangalore pub is deplorable to say the least. This group calling itself 'Ram Sena' is an insult to Lord Ram himself. They might as well call themselves Ravan Sena. What right do these men have to barge into a pub and hit and molest these women! Who gave them the right??? What's the government doing? The law-enforcement authorities are busy giving protection to politicians, industrialists and celebs. Any policemen left out from these appointments are sent to 'safeguard' the public against such hooligans. And even when they do arrive on the scene, it’s either too late or they arrive just in time to pick up the pieces. How is it that the media is able to reach the spot well in advance to capture these incidents on tape?
It is rumored that the media was intimated about the Mangalore fracas well in advance. Why didnt even one representative from either the electronic or the print media inform the law enforcement authorities?? Is it because they would have lost a good piece of news if the police had intervened and stopped the sevaks from wrecking havoc? If so, the media is as much responsible for what happened as much as the Ram Sena sevaks were. Whats gonna happen to these thugs? Nothing. They'll be put behind bars for a few days after which their leader will take them out on bail. Shouldn’t this be a non-bailable offense? What about those poor girls who have gone though such trauma? I cannot imagine what they must be going through. I am sickened by what’s happening around the country in the name of cultural policing. No one has the right to commit such heinous crimes with the excuse of upholding Indian culture. Is it cultured to treat women like this??? Why are extremist groups like these being banned or disbanded? These groups are as bad as terrorist outfits.
I am deeply disturbed and distraught. I don’t know what else to write. I just hope and pray for a better tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Ro(w)dies
The current season of Mtv Roadies makes me feel sick to my stomach. I used to actually like the first few seasons. They were really about survival of the fittest. Tasks were interesting and challenging. Elimination of a roadie did not throw up a huge controversy. Now the show is just filled with manipulation and back-stabbing. Each participant plots against every other participant.
Maybe its all made up, but the entire 'Roadies' generation is filled with foul-mouthed, arrogant and dis-respectful bunch of youngsters who think its cool to use swear words.
In the earlier seasons we had Mr.I'm-too-cool Raghu throwing off attitude, and now there are two of them! Two bald, bespectacled men sitting and passing judjement on people. These men sit on their high horses and call people hypocrites and other such awful names. Hosting/conducting a reality show is one thing; inviting youngsters to audition and participate in a TV show just to humiliate them in front of millions of people is downright rotten!
Last night's episode had this innocent babe from Haryana who had quite a tough time answering the anchors' questions. Raghu and Rajiv were throwing accusations at her, calling her all sorts of names and making her feel bad about who she is! I do not understand why anyone would go through so much torture and humiliation just to get on a TV show. Granted, you get noticed and receive a huge cash award; but it’s not worth demeaning oneself in this manner. Ex-roadie Ashutosh alias Ashu's key to popularity was his notorious behaviour on the show. It even got him an entry into 'Big Boss'(another piece of trash).
In my opinion the perfect reality show is 'The Amazing Race' on AXN. Its a test of strength, wits & intelligence. Shows like Roadies and Big Boss must be banned for the mere idiocy and vulgarity of their content.
Maybe its all made up, but the entire 'Roadies' generation is filled with foul-mouthed, arrogant and dis-respectful bunch of youngsters who think its cool to use swear words.
In the earlier seasons we had Mr.I'm-too-cool Raghu throwing off attitude, and now there are two of them! Two bald, bespectacled men sitting and passing judjement on people. These men sit on their high horses and call people hypocrites and other such awful names. Hosting/conducting a reality show is one thing; inviting youngsters to audition and participate in a TV show just to humiliate them in front of millions of people is downright rotten!
Last night's episode had this innocent babe from Haryana who had quite a tough time answering the anchors' questions. Raghu and Rajiv were throwing accusations at her, calling her all sorts of names and making her feel bad about who she is! I do not understand why anyone would go through so much torture and humiliation just to get on a TV show. Granted, you get noticed and receive a huge cash award; but it’s not worth demeaning oneself in this manner. Ex-roadie Ashutosh alias Ashu's key to popularity was his notorious behaviour on the show. It even got him an entry into 'Big Boss'(another piece of trash).
In my opinion the perfect reality show is 'The Amazing Race' on AXN. Its a test of strength, wits & intelligence. Shows like Roadies and Big Boss must be banned for the mere idiocy and vulgarity of their content.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
India under siege
With the current spate of terror attacks in the country, leaving the house and getting back safe seems to be a blessing. The attacks on the Taj and Oberoi Hotels as well as the rest of Mumbai has saddened me to a great extent. Over a 100 dead, 187 injured and still counting! These stats dont seem wake up the authorities to the growing threat surrounding this country. Every time a attack of this magnitude takes place, politicians begin playing the blame game. The opposition starts questioning the party in power and try to manipulate people into voting for them in the next election. With the elections coming up, I'm sure BJP is going to cry itself hoarse pointing fingers at Congress for the terror attacks.Why dont both the parties (rather everyone involved) unite and try to solve the issue instead of gaining political mileage out of it??
When is all this gonna end? Didnt the authorities get whiff of this on their radar? Such an organized crime wouldnt have gone unnoticed. Is our security system so bad that there have been more than 10 such incidents in 2008? Unless the government or the requisite authorities take stringent action, this is will continue. I wrote a similar post in Jan 2007. Sadly, nothing has changed.
When is all this gonna end? Didnt the authorities get whiff of this on their radar? Such an organized crime wouldnt have gone unnoticed. Is our security system so bad that there have been more than 10 such incidents in 2008? Unless the government or the requisite authorities take stringent action, this is will continue. I wrote a similar post in Jan 2007. Sadly, nothing has changed.
Monday, September 08, 2008
4th September 2008
I ran from one hospital to another, begging for an ambulance, while my grandfather lay unconscious at home.
That fateful morning, when I was just stepping out for work, my grandpa called out to me and said that he was feeling weak and was going to faint. My mom & I made him sit down and gave him a glass of water. A few minutes later he collapsed.
Shocked and completely unaware of what to do next, I frantically called up my aunt and told her that grandpa has fainted.
I ran out to get a doctor living next door; however, she wasnt in. At once I took out my bike and rushed to the nearby hospital. When I said that I needed an ambulance, pat came the reply, "Madam, the driver is not available. We’ll dispatch one in half an hour". I was furious! I yelled back saying "An ambulance is meant for emergencies and this is indeed an emergency"!
However, they refused to comply. I was given the number of another hospital in the area. When I called that number, I was re-directed to another place. This went on for a few mins, during which I realised that I need to personally fetch it from somewhere. I rushed to the second hospital, where I had a row with the security there about parking my bike in the car parking zone. The guy made me remove my bike and park it elsewhere!
On enquiring about an ambulance, I was asked to wait. Ten precious minutes later, a doctor arrived on the scene and began enquiring about my Grandpa's medical history! Finally, with an ambulance & a doctor in tow, we began our journey back home. We had lost almost 20-25 mins.
As I entered my house, I saw the doctor next door attending to my Grandpa.
I saw the grief-stricken faces of my mom, aunt and cousin and realised that it was all over. The doctor whom I had brought tried to revive him but to no avail.
I wonder if the hospital(s) had reacted on time and dispatched an emergency vehicle, my Grandpa would have survived.
At 85, he was a little weak and had lived a full life. He had had a massive attack. I guess it wouldn’t have been possible.
But, if it had been a young and relatively healthy man/woman in his place, those precious 20-25 mins could have been crucial.
Such disregard & disrespect for medical emergencies is found only in this country.
The Indian Medical Association should make note of the fact that there are no ambulances available when there is the dire need for one.
Hospitals like the ones I went to should not be allowed to function in such a relaxed and haphazard manner.
We paid dearly because of the inefficiency shown by the hospital staff. I hope and pray for a better system to be put in place so that this does not happen to another poor soul.
That fateful morning, when I was just stepping out for work, my grandpa called out to me and said that he was feeling weak and was going to faint. My mom & I made him sit down and gave him a glass of water. A few minutes later he collapsed.
Shocked and completely unaware of what to do next, I frantically called up my aunt and told her that grandpa has fainted.
I ran out to get a doctor living next door; however, she wasnt in. At once I took out my bike and rushed to the nearby hospital. When I said that I needed an ambulance, pat came the reply, "Madam, the driver is not available. We’ll dispatch one in half an hour". I was furious! I yelled back saying "An ambulance is meant for emergencies and this is indeed an emergency"!
However, they refused to comply. I was given the number of another hospital in the area. When I called that number, I was re-directed to another place. This went on for a few mins, during which I realised that I need to personally fetch it from somewhere. I rushed to the second hospital, where I had a row with the security there about parking my bike in the car parking zone. The guy made me remove my bike and park it elsewhere!
On enquiring about an ambulance, I was asked to wait. Ten precious minutes later, a doctor arrived on the scene and began enquiring about my Grandpa's medical history! Finally, with an ambulance & a doctor in tow, we began our journey back home. We had lost almost 20-25 mins.
As I entered my house, I saw the doctor next door attending to my Grandpa.
I saw the grief-stricken faces of my mom, aunt and cousin and realised that it was all over. The doctor whom I had brought tried to revive him but to no avail.
I wonder if the hospital(s) had reacted on time and dispatched an emergency vehicle, my Grandpa would have survived.
At 85, he was a little weak and had lived a full life. He had had a massive attack. I guess it wouldn’t have been possible.
But, if it had been a young and relatively healthy man/woman in his place, those precious 20-25 mins could have been crucial.
Such disregard & disrespect for medical emergencies is found only in this country.
The Indian Medical Association should make note of the fact that there are no ambulances available when there is the dire need for one.
Hospitals like the ones I went to should not be allowed to function in such a relaxed and haphazard manner.
We paid dearly because of the inefficiency shown by the hospital staff. I hope and pray for a better system to be put in place so that this does not happen to another poor soul.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
I've lost the will to write!
Working for an IT company has made me a robot. I go to work at 9, sit at the computer all day, come back home at 10 or so, eat, check my email and finally hit the sack at 11.30. Weekends are no different. If I don’t go to work, I sleep, watch TV or go out with friends. My hobbies such as reading or even blogging (which is what I’m doing right now), have been cast away due to either lack of energy or even interest (to a certain extent).
As a teenager, I mostly read pulp fiction, though mom constantly urged me to read more of Paul Theroux, P.G. Woodhouse, Bill Bryson and others. Nowadays, I find it hard to concentrate even on a little piece of written matter for more than 15 minutes. Is it my job that has made me this way or have I just lost interest? As software engineers, we have been molded to solve problems by writing programs and documenting them in the worst possible manner. We are taught to copy and paste code in just the right places that we do not bother to read what's in it.
Has this made my attention span so short that I’m already planning to give up finishing this??
Whenever I get some time off, I feel like doing something that doesn’t exercise my mind too much. Watching the idiot box and sleeping don’t require much thinking; although they are brain – numbing activities.
I've lost the will to write! Help!
As a teenager, I mostly read pulp fiction, though mom constantly urged me to read more of Paul Theroux, P.G. Woodhouse, Bill Bryson and others. Nowadays, I find it hard to concentrate even on a little piece of written matter for more than 15 minutes. Is it my job that has made me this way or have I just lost interest? As software engineers, we have been molded to solve problems by writing programs and documenting them in the worst possible manner. We are taught to copy and paste code in just the right places that we do not bother to read what's in it.
Has this made my attention span so short that I’m already planning to give up finishing this??
Whenever I get some time off, I feel like doing something that doesn’t exercise my mind too much. Watching the idiot box and sleeping don’t require much thinking; although they are brain – numbing activities.
I've lost the will to write! Help!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Mumbai Nagariya
My recent (first) trip to Bombay was one of the coolest trips I’ve been on. I haven’t been on that many, of course.
Our flight was slated to take off at 6.15 PM… and Air Deccan, well, being Air Deccan, was an hour and a half late. The ‘beauty’ in flying with this airline is that the seats are not numbered or reserved. Their mantra is “First come first serve”. We had to rush to the plane to get our seats. We wanted 3 in a row. My friend rushed ahead of the 2 of us and caught good seats. My friend kept murmuring “I’m never flying this airline again!” - I had to agree with her!
We reached Bombay (sounds better than Mumbai) at around 10.15 PM. By the time we collected our bags and got into a cab, it was 10.45. We were going to stay over at my friend’s aunt’s place in Colaba. The drive takes almost an hour from the airport. I think Bombay is the only city in which 3 girls can travel by taxi after 11 PM. We reached Colaba by 12, had dinner and went to bed.
Mumbai has an old world charm to it that is so overwhelming. The old Victorian – style buildings are so picturesque that my friend and I took more pictures of the buildings and roads than of each other.
Since our shopping was confined to mostly Colaba and the surrounding places, we narrowed our focus down to Colaba Causeway. The place consists of a steady stream of road-side stalls along with stores housing some of the biggest brands in the business. Name a brand and you’ll find it in Causeway. It also houses the famous Parsi colony – Cursow Baug. The Gateway of India was a 10 minute walk from the place we were staying in. It’s funny that we never got to see the Gateway up close. We were too busy eating – out and shopping. :)
Matunga was our next target. The place is full of South – Indians, especially Tamilians. With a temple, a few dosa – idli eateries and Nalli surrounding it, Matunga looks a lot like Mylapore (if you’re a Chennaiite).
One of the most beautiful sights I saw in Bombay was of Haji Ali bang in the middle of the Arabian Sea. There is a 500-yard long causeway that leads to the shrine. With sea on both the sides and no railings for support, it’s quite an exciting as well as nerve racking walk down to the dargah.
I have one grouse, though - Mumbai is quite dirty and smelly. I guess with millions of people waltzing in and out of the place every year, its bound to get crowded and dirty.
Our trip was coming to an end and we did not want to get back; but did so with a heavy heart and an arm full of shopping bags. Our flight back home was late, as usual (thanks yet again to AD). Nevertheless, the trip was worth the wait and I would kill to go back. As they say, “Maut aur Mumbai se koi vapis nahi aata”.
Our flight was slated to take off at 6.15 PM… and Air Deccan, well, being Air Deccan, was an hour and a half late. The ‘beauty’ in flying with this airline is that the seats are not numbered or reserved. Their mantra is “First come first serve”. We had to rush to the plane to get our seats. We wanted 3 in a row. My friend rushed ahead of the 2 of us and caught good seats. My friend kept murmuring “I’m never flying this airline again!” - I had to agree with her!
We reached Bombay (sounds better than Mumbai) at around 10.15 PM. By the time we collected our bags and got into a cab, it was 10.45. We were going to stay over at my friend’s aunt’s place in Colaba. The drive takes almost an hour from the airport. I think Bombay is the only city in which 3 girls can travel by taxi after 11 PM. We reached Colaba by 12, had dinner and went to bed.
Mumbai has an old world charm to it that is so overwhelming. The old Victorian – style buildings are so picturesque that my friend and I took more pictures of the buildings and roads than of each other.
Since our shopping was confined to mostly Colaba and the surrounding places, we narrowed our focus down to Colaba Causeway. The place consists of a steady stream of road-side stalls along with stores housing some of the biggest brands in the business. Name a brand and you’ll find it in Causeway. It also houses the famous Parsi colony – Cursow Baug. The Gateway of India was a 10 minute walk from the place we were staying in. It’s funny that we never got to see the Gateway up close. We were too busy eating – out and shopping. :)
Matunga was our next target. The place is full of South – Indians, especially Tamilians. With a temple, a few dosa – idli eateries and Nalli surrounding it, Matunga looks a lot like Mylapore (if you’re a Chennaiite).
One of the most beautiful sights I saw in Bombay was of Haji Ali bang in the middle of the Arabian Sea. There is a 500-yard long causeway that leads to the shrine. With sea on both the sides and no railings for support, it’s quite an exciting as well as nerve racking walk down to the dargah.
I have one grouse, though - Mumbai is quite dirty and smelly. I guess with millions of people waltzing in and out of the place every year, its bound to get crowded and dirty.
Our trip was coming to an end and we did not want to get back; but did so with a heavy heart and an arm full of shopping bags. Our flight back home was late, as usual (thanks yet again to AD). Nevertheless, the trip was worth the wait and I would kill to go back. As they say, “Maut aur Mumbai se koi vapis nahi aata”.
Monday, September 17, 2007
JBJ reprise
I dont know if I can publish a retraction to my own post, but I'm doing it anyway. Finally watch Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. In my opinion, its one of the worst movies of 2007. I can even put it as "One of the worst movies of the new millenium". Never did I imagine that I would be talking like this about the man who gave us Saathiya and Bunty aur Babli. Its too early in his career for him lose his touch, so i guess he has just side-tracked a tad with JBJ. Shaad, get back on track, dude!
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom rocks!
I've listened to the title song "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" a million times and I've not grown tired of it yet. Shankar-Ehasaan-Loy are amazing. Cant say the same for the other songs in the album. But the title song rocks!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
The film that changed my life
The film that changed my life is "City of Joy". Based on the book by Dominique Lapierre and directed by Roland Joffe, City of Joy is a tale of this bunch of daily wage workers in Calcutta into whose world comes an American - Patrick Swayze. The reason I was so enchanted by the movie is that it touches upon the rawest of human emotions. It talks about poverty and sacrifice in such a manner that it doesn’t make you depressed, rather it motivates you to do something for the betterment of the under privileged. The scene that touched me the most is the one in which the American doctor acts as a mid-wife to a leper. The family is overjoyed that the baby is born with all its fingers & toes intact.
I have watched the about 5 to 6 times and every time I do, I learn something new from it. This is one movie that made me THINK; something we rarely do after watching these so called rom-coms!
I have watched the about 5 to 6 times and every time I do, I learn something new from it. This is one movie that made me THINK; something we rarely do after watching these so called rom-coms!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
F.R.I.E.N.D.S
I know there are thousands of people around the world who think that FRIENDS is just an overrated sit-com not worth their time. I couldn’t disagree more. I adore it.
For those who feel the way I do, read on.
I’ve been watching Friends, ever since it first aired on Star Plus (before the latter turned completely Hindi centric). I can surely say, I’ve watched almost every episode 4 to 5 times and some of the episodes maybe even 10 times. I know it sounds crazy but I just can’t seem to get enough of it. In my opinion has been one of the best sitcoms ever to hit television. It could not have got all those Emmys just by being ordinary.
Every character is unique. Monica, the finicky, obsessive, clean-freak who lets you eat cookies only if you promise to vacuum the apartment later; Rachel, the self declared fashion queen, who gossips like there’s no tomorrow; Chandler, quick-witted, commitment phobic, chilled out guy who is always trying to get in touch with his feminine side; Joey, the dumb but sweet neighbor to the girls, who never remembers the name of the girl he spent the night with; Ross, the geek of the group who still thinks that it was ok for him to cheat on Rachel cos “They were on a break!” and Phoebe (alias Pheebs), the craziest among them all but the sweetest.
I guess I’m gushing but I can’t help it. Let me list some of the best lines from the show.
Phoebe and Monica are out with two guys. Phoebe’s date is foreigner who can’t speak English and Monica’s date is that guy’s interpreter.
The first episode. Rachel has run away from her wedding and is taking refuge in Monica’s house.
Joey buys a couple of hideous bracelets for Chandler and himself.
At the hospital, when Karen (Ross’s ex-wife is about to give birth to Ben).
Rachel wants to get an annulment from her marriage to Ross.
Ross is trying to convince her not to.
Let me end with…..
For those who feel the way I do, read on.
I’ve been watching Friends, ever since it first aired on Star Plus (before the latter turned completely Hindi centric). I can surely say, I’ve watched almost every episode 4 to 5 times and some of the episodes maybe even 10 times. I know it sounds crazy but I just can’t seem to get enough of it. In my opinion has been one of the best sitcoms ever to hit television. It could not have got all those Emmys just by being ordinary.
Every character is unique. Monica, the finicky, obsessive, clean-freak who lets you eat cookies only if you promise to vacuum the apartment later; Rachel, the self declared fashion queen, who gossips like there’s no tomorrow; Chandler, quick-witted, commitment phobic, chilled out guy who is always trying to get in touch with his feminine side; Joey, the dumb but sweet neighbor to the girls, who never remembers the name of the girl he spent the night with; Ross, the geek of the group who still thinks that it was ok for him to cheat on Rachel cos “They were on a break!” and Phoebe (alias Pheebs), the craziest among them all but the sweetest.
I guess I’m gushing but I can’t help it. Let me list some of the best lines from the show.
Phoebe and Monica are out with two guys. Phoebe’s date is foreigner who can’t speak English and Monica’s date is that guy’s interpreter.
Monica: “My guy has coupons. You guy can’t even say coupons!”
The first episode. Rachel has run away from her wedding and is taking refuge in Monica’s house.
Monica: “Joey, don’t hit on her. It’s her wedding day!”
Joey: “What? Like there’s a rule??!”
Joey buys a couple of hideous bracelets for Chandler and himself.
Joey: “Look! We’re bracelet buddies!”
Chandler: “That’s what they’ll call us!”
At the hospital, when Karen (Ross’s ex-wife is about to give birth to Ben).
Ross: “Where is she? She must still be in the cab….”
Rachel: “Don’t worry Ross, it’s probably $1 for the first contraction and 50cents for every additional contraction!”
Ross stares at her
Rachel: “What! It’s ok when Chandler does it?”
Chandler: “You have to pick your moments”
Rachel wants to get an annulment from her marriage to Ross.
Ross is trying to convince her not to.
Ross: “Common… just once in a while when you fill out some form, you check the box that says Mrs instead of the box that says Miss. Its right next to it!”
Rachel: “Oh! I was under the impression the boxes were far apart!”
Let me end with…..
Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?
Smelly cat, smelly cat, its not your fault...
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Salaame...
I guess I’m writing this too late, but I want to make my voice heard. Just finished watching Salaame Ishq. In my opinion, it is probably one of the most over-hyped, substance-less (if there’s such a word!) movie I’ve ever seen. The promos made it out to be this love saga which will bring a tear to the eye but what I got were stomach cramps. Ok… I think I’m being a little too harsh here. Let me give you the low-down on SI.
6 love stories, 6 beautiful endings is what Nikhil Advani promised the audience. And what he finally cooked up was a 3 and a half hour long boring tale of these 12 odd people dealing with love and life in their own boring (forgive me for using this word twice) way. Here, I must mention that the only stories that really held my interest were John – Vidya’s and Govinda-Shannon’s. The final scene of former couple was heart wrenching, with both Vidya and John (surprisingly) putting in amazing performances. Govinda as the innocent taxi driver is cute as well as witty. Even though Anil and Juhi’s story did not hold my interest for a long time, their performances did. Salman as Rahool (?) was boring (with a capital B). His dialogue delivery is stilted and incomprehensible. Half the time, I found myself leaning towards the screen trying to figure out the words that were tumbling out of his mouth. And why the hell does he have a wired accent?? Priyanka is ok as Kamini, the item girl, but gets a little too irritating at times. Sohail and Isha are cute though they did not get much screen time. All things considered, Salaame Ishq is worth watching only for Vidya, John, Govinda and Shannon (maybe even Sohail and Isha). The others just slow down the pace of the movie.
I wish Nikhil Advani comes up with a better movie next time and shorter one, please!
6 love stories, 6 beautiful endings is what Nikhil Advani promised the audience. And what he finally cooked up was a 3 and a half hour long boring tale of these 12 odd people dealing with love and life in their own boring (forgive me for using this word twice) way. Here, I must mention that the only stories that really held my interest were John – Vidya’s and Govinda-Shannon’s. The final scene of former couple was heart wrenching, with both Vidya and John (surprisingly) putting in amazing performances. Govinda as the innocent taxi driver is cute as well as witty. Even though Anil and Juhi’s story did not hold my interest for a long time, their performances did. Salman as Rahool (?) was boring (with a capital B). His dialogue delivery is stilted and incomprehensible. Half the time, I found myself leaning towards the screen trying to figure out the words that were tumbling out of his mouth. And why the hell does he have a wired accent?? Priyanka is ok as Kamini, the item girl, but gets a little too irritating at times. Sohail and Isha are cute though they did not get much screen time. All things considered, Salaame Ishq is worth watching only for Vidya, John, Govinda and Shannon (maybe even Sohail and Isha). The others just slow down the pace of the movie.
I wish Nikhil Advani comes up with a better movie next time and shorter one, please!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Make us feel secure
We've come a full circle. Life used to be so uncertain in the 17th, 18th and even the early part of the 19th century. Common cold, high fever or even a few broken bones were termed deadly. It is the 21st century now and things havent changed much. Even now, I cant be sure that I'll be alive and kicking tomorrow. I may have to finish writing this soon because if I'm not around tomorrow, this would be an unfinished train of thought. Jokes apart, life now, is uncertain for different reasons.
Militant outfits are mushrooming like never before. Bomb blasts and shoot-outs are so common that people have become de-sensitised to violence. The recent blasts in Mumbai, Varnasi and Delhi have shown how fragile life is.
Talking about uncertainity is not going to get us anywhere. What are we going to do about it? Security in public places should be beefed up. And I dont mean, just a dozen more policemen. Recently, I was at this multiplex watching the flavour of the season, Dhoom 2. At the entrance, there was this guy checking our bags. He was doing quite a good job of it. After the movie, we went to a mall to just do some harmless window shopping. The mall has about 5 to 10 entrances. There was an armed security guard only at the main entrance. And even the tommy gun that he was carrying seemed to be of no use. It was so huge that it would take him a day or two to lift, aim and shoot. It resembled one of those long stemmed rifles on display at museums. Wonder if he got it from one such place.
My point is, why make a farce of having a security guard around when the guy cant even pick up his so-called weapon?
Why has there been no such incident in the recent past in the US or the UK? Cos they have really woken up after 9/11 and the London bombings. We should be doing the same thing. Copying good stuff from the west is not that bad an idea. What say?
Authorities, please wake up to the real fear around us and make us feel secure.
Militant outfits are mushrooming like never before. Bomb blasts and shoot-outs are so common that people have become de-sensitised to violence. The recent blasts in Mumbai, Varnasi and Delhi have shown how fragile life is.
Talking about uncertainity is not going to get us anywhere. What are we going to do about it? Security in public places should be beefed up. And I dont mean, just a dozen more policemen. Recently, I was at this multiplex watching the flavour of the season, Dhoom 2. At the entrance, there was this guy checking our bags. He was doing quite a good job of it. After the movie, we went to a mall to just do some harmless window shopping. The mall has about 5 to 10 entrances. There was an armed security guard only at the main entrance. And even the tommy gun that he was carrying seemed to be of no use. It was so huge that it would take him a day or two to lift, aim and shoot. It resembled one of those long stemmed rifles on display at museums. Wonder if he got it from one such place.
My point is, why make a farce of having a security guard around when the guy cant even pick up his so-called weapon?
Why has there been no such incident in the recent past in the US or the UK? Cos they have really woken up after 9/11 and the London bombings. We should be doing the same thing. Copying good stuff from the west is not that bad an idea. What say?
Authorities, please wake up to the real fear around us and make us feel secure.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
My Rainy Day Experience
This has by far been my worst rainy day experience ever!
It was raining heavily and I was coming back from work. Usually the journey takes about 20 mins; and if the traffic is bad, about half an hour. Not more. Today it took me an hour and a half.
Dad called me several times throughout the evening asking me how I was gonna come home. Since I was in the middle of an conference call, I couldn’t talk to him properly. Finally I called him back at 9. He asked me to take an auto home. Ignorant of the situation outside my office, I walked all the way to the end of the road and tried to flag down one such three wheeler. No one stopped. Meanwhile, my dad called back saying that it was only drizzling and that I can come back by my bike. Since it was indeed drizzling there as well, I decided to take my bike home. Little did I know that it was the most idiotic decision ever.
Ever since the city’s traffic police have placed barriers in such a manner that people coming out from my office cannot take a right turn to enter Sardar Patel Road (SP Road), I’ve had to take a round-about route home. I have to go all the way to Saidapet, take a U turn and enter Sardar Patel Road via Chinnamalai. I had to follow the “rules”. So, I was off to Saidapet to take a U turn. That part was fine. Only after I took the U did I realize that the way back till Chinnamalai is jam packed. All of a sudden it hit me that my dear scooty was running on reserve. Great! Vehicles were inching along. Literally. I was worried about running out of petrol and getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. There was no bunk in the vicinity.
The only thing I could do was pray. It had started raining heavily. I was drenched to the skin and was shivering as well. For about 100 vehicles that took the Guindy route from Saidapet, one vehicle went towards SP Road. So the traffic was blocked completely by those taking the Guindy route. I had to take a left to the SP Road. All the vehicles that wanted to turn right were on the left extreme and did not even allow us to go our way. After about half hour of waiting in the traffic, I crossed Saidapet court. I started thinking of possibilities. What if I run out of petrol? Should I just leave my vehicle by the side of the road and walk home? But how will I be able to walk? I hadn’t even covered half the distance. I would have to walk about 5 to 6 kilometers.
As I passed Birla planetarium, another traffic jam was waiting for me. I least expected this place to be crowded cos usually traffic is smooth here. The reason of course was some of the vehicles that wanted to again go to Guindy/Velachery had to turn to the right whereas I had to turn left. They were blocking most of the road. Again there was an agonizing inch-by-inch movement with me constantly chanting Hanuman Chalisa, praying that the monkey God should somehow help me reach home.
Another half hour had passed by the time I entered the SP Road. The rain had become heavier and I was shivering. Nerves in my neck started pulling my jaw downwards which made it impossible for me to chant my fav mantra. Nevertheless, I carried on, hoping it would help me reach home soon. Upon entering SP Road, the traffic was smooth. I reached home in 15 mins flat.
It was raining heavily and I was coming back from work. Usually the journey takes about 20 mins; and if the traffic is bad, about half an hour. Not more. Today it took me an hour and a half.
Dad called me several times throughout the evening asking me how I was gonna come home. Since I was in the middle of an conference call, I couldn’t talk to him properly. Finally I called him back at 9. He asked me to take an auto home. Ignorant of the situation outside my office, I walked all the way to the end of the road and tried to flag down one such three wheeler. No one stopped. Meanwhile, my dad called back saying that it was only drizzling and that I can come back by my bike. Since it was indeed drizzling there as well, I decided to take my bike home. Little did I know that it was the most idiotic decision ever.
Ever since the city’s traffic police have placed barriers in such a manner that people coming out from my office cannot take a right turn to enter Sardar Patel Road (SP Road), I’ve had to take a round-about route home. I have to go all the way to Saidapet, take a U turn and enter Sardar Patel Road via Chinnamalai. I had to follow the “rules”. So, I was off to Saidapet to take a U turn. That part was fine. Only after I took the U did I realize that the way back till Chinnamalai is jam packed. All of a sudden it hit me that my dear scooty was running on reserve. Great! Vehicles were inching along. Literally. I was worried about running out of petrol and getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. There was no bunk in the vicinity.
The only thing I could do was pray. It had started raining heavily. I was drenched to the skin and was shivering as well. For about 100 vehicles that took the Guindy route from Saidapet, one vehicle went towards SP Road. So the traffic was blocked completely by those taking the Guindy route. I had to take a left to the SP Road. All the vehicles that wanted to turn right were on the left extreme and did not even allow us to go our way. After about half hour of waiting in the traffic, I crossed Saidapet court. I started thinking of possibilities. What if I run out of petrol? Should I just leave my vehicle by the side of the road and walk home? But how will I be able to walk? I hadn’t even covered half the distance. I would have to walk about 5 to 6 kilometers.
As I passed Birla planetarium, another traffic jam was waiting for me. I least expected this place to be crowded cos usually traffic is smooth here. The reason of course was some of the vehicles that wanted to again go to Guindy/Velachery had to turn to the right whereas I had to turn left. They were blocking most of the road. Again there was an agonizing inch-by-inch movement with me constantly chanting Hanuman Chalisa, praying that the monkey God should somehow help me reach home.
Another half hour had passed by the time I entered the SP Road. The rain had become heavier and I was shivering. Nerves in my neck started pulling my jaw downwards which made it impossible for me to chant my fav mantra. Nevertheless, I carried on, hoping it would help me reach home soon. Upon entering SP Road, the traffic was smooth. I reached home in 15 mins flat.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
A Sign
My usual routine is to chant Hanuman Chalisa on my way to work everyday. Of course, I can make time for it at home, but that almost never happens:). The route I take is picturesque; trees on both the sides and cool wind blowing thro your hair. As I was driving, I saw a small monkey at a distance. It seemed to me that it was smiling. I was taken aback quite a bit but drove on. As I neared the ‘monkey’, I realized that it wasn’t a monkey and was in fact a large rock by the side of the road. I could have sworn that it was indeed a cute little primate. Anyway, as I smiled to myself and drove on I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to chant my favourite prayer. It dawned on me just then that my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. I had been warned by the monkey God himself, not to forget Him.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Is the Indian Judicial System a farce?
With the recent flow of shocking events, I’ve lost all faith in the Indian judicial system. A professor gets beaten to death, on camera, by a bunch of hooligans and the latter walk away scot free; a woman gets murdered at a bar in front of hundreds of people and instead of punishing the murderer, the bar owner is targeted and harassed for not possessing the correct liquor license! What the hell is happening to our country? Have we all become blind? Why aren’t the culprits being put behind bars even when the evidence is right in front of our eyes?
In Prof.Sabarwal’s murder case, the poor guy and his colleagues were clearly threatened on camera by ABVP and NSU activists. The Chief Minster’s reaction to the murder is that it must have been an “accident”. The camera doesn’t lie. Has he no conscience? BJP is just trying to squirm away from the whole controversy by saying that those who have committed this heinous crime were never a part of their party and that they have nothing to do with them. The CDs that bore the evidence of the murder were clearly doctored. Nothing is gonna happen to the case. It will just lie like a dirty old sock in the last drawer. This entire furor in the news channels will go on for while and once another high profile murder/investigation comes into the picture, the cameras will pan in the other direction, forgetting that there was one Mr.Sabarwal who did not deserve to die such a gruesome death.
Jessica Lall and Priyadarshini Mattu. Two names that we’ve heard a lot over the past few years. Why? Because their cases too still lie in the can, waiting for re-trial. The person who shot Jessica Lall in front of hundreds of people is getting away with it cos he is the son of a high profile politician. Apparently, justice is not being done because there is not enough ‘evidence’ pointing towards him. All those who bore witness to her murder, have turned hostile because of threats to their lives. Ms.Mattu’s case is all the more depressing because the judge who chaired the first trial has said on record that he knew that the person on-trial was in fact the killer, but he had to be acquitted just cos of lack of proper evidence. What is this country getting to where people committing un-forgivable crimes get acquitted?
The public came out in support of Ms.Lall and Ms.Mattu’s families. Why can’t they do the same for Prof.Sabarwal? I believe there’s strength in numbers. The only thing that can save this country right now is unity.
In Prof.Sabarwal’s murder case, the poor guy and his colleagues were clearly threatened on camera by ABVP and NSU activists. The Chief Minster’s reaction to the murder is that it must have been an “accident”. The camera doesn’t lie. Has he no conscience? BJP is just trying to squirm away from the whole controversy by saying that those who have committed this heinous crime were never a part of their party and that they have nothing to do with them. The CDs that bore the evidence of the murder were clearly doctored. Nothing is gonna happen to the case. It will just lie like a dirty old sock in the last drawer. This entire furor in the news channels will go on for while and once another high profile murder/investigation comes into the picture, the cameras will pan in the other direction, forgetting that there was one Mr.Sabarwal who did not deserve to die such a gruesome death.
Jessica Lall and Priyadarshini Mattu. Two names that we’ve heard a lot over the past few years. Why? Because their cases too still lie in the can, waiting for re-trial. The person who shot Jessica Lall in front of hundreds of people is getting away with it cos he is the son of a high profile politician. Apparently, justice is not being done because there is not enough ‘evidence’ pointing towards him. All those who bore witness to her murder, have turned hostile because of threats to their lives. Ms.Mattu’s case is all the more depressing because the judge who chaired the first trial has said on record that he knew that the person on-trial was in fact the killer, but he had to be acquitted just cos of lack of proper evidence. What is this country getting to where people committing un-forgivable crimes get acquitted?
The public came out in support of Ms.Lall and Ms.Mattu’s families. Why can’t they do the same for Prof.Sabarwal? I believe there’s strength in numbers. The only thing that can save this country right now is unity.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Too little, too late?
Global Warming. Two words that we’ve been exposed to for about 10 odd years. I don’t think people really understand the gravity of this concept. Just finished watching a half hour program on Global warming on a 24*7 news channel. I learnt that even though many of the developed countries are trying their best to reduce the level of emission of toxic gases, as per a recent study, it is too little, too late.
Apparently, the recent floods all across the country have been due to global warming. The tsunami, the recurring earthquakes and all those hurricanes that hit the coast of Florida, were repercussions of the same phenomenon. More such freak climatic changes are in the offing. The program also highlighted probable occurrences over the next few decades. For example, by the year 2050, some of the European countries will no longer have acute winters; by the year 2060, the Swiss Alps will begin to melt; and by the year 2100, winters in the Eurasian continent will begin to resemble Ice Age. All this sounds so scary. Most of us would jus shrug our shoulders saying, “We’ll be over 60 by then. Why do we have to worry?” Excuse me; shouldn’t we be worrying about our descendents? Our children? What if by the beginning of the next century, the population of human beings starts dwindling? Most of you may think that I’m way over my head. But just think about it… I’m sure each of you is as concerned as I am.
If there were a simple solution to every problem, then everyone on this earth would be immensely happy. There isn’t one. Therefore, even though it is too little, too late, we can do something about this right now. For starters, think twice before taking the car out to visit the corner shop. Instead, walk. Air conditioners are the main culprits. Use them sparingly. Do not dump your old computer just because a newer and slightly better model is in the market. Instead, you can upgrade your old one. The reason being, computer scrap (popularly known as E-waste), is clogging up dumping yards all over the country. Toxic gases produced while recycling e-waste, is contributing to global warming.
We shouldn’t be the only ones concerned. The government has to take actions on India becoming the dumping ground of the west. 80% of the e-waste generated in the US and UK, is dumped in India. This is due to the fact that we have the cheapest recycling process! The workers in these plants are exposed to the toxic gases and chemicals day in and day out.
Most of you would just skim though this article as “just another article on global warming”. I request each of you to think about this at least for a couple of minutes and try and contribute in your own way towards the betterment of the environment. After all it is our world, our home.
Apparently, the recent floods all across the country have been due to global warming. The tsunami, the recurring earthquakes and all those hurricanes that hit the coast of Florida, were repercussions of the same phenomenon. More such freak climatic changes are in the offing. The program also highlighted probable occurrences over the next few decades. For example, by the year 2050, some of the European countries will no longer have acute winters; by the year 2060, the Swiss Alps will begin to melt; and by the year 2100, winters in the Eurasian continent will begin to resemble Ice Age. All this sounds so scary. Most of us would jus shrug our shoulders saying, “We’ll be over 60 by then. Why do we have to worry?” Excuse me; shouldn’t we be worrying about our descendents? Our children? What if by the beginning of the next century, the population of human beings starts dwindling? Most of you may think that I’m way over my head. But just think about it… I’m sure each of you is as concerned as I am.
If there were a simple solution to every problem, then everyone on this earth would be immensely happy. There isn’t one. Therefore, even though it is too little, too late, we can do something about this right now. For starters, think twice before taking the car out to visit the corner shop. Instead, walk. Air conditioners are the main culprits. Use them sparingly. Do not dump your old computer just because a newer and slightly better model is in the market. Instead, you can upgrade your old one. The reason being, computer scrap (popularly known as E-waste), is clogging up dumping yards all over the country. Toxic gases produced while recycling e-waste, is contributing to global warming.
We shouldn’t be the only ones concerned. The government has to take actions on India becoming the dumping ground of the west. 80% of the e-waste generated in the US and UK, is dumped in India. This is due to the fact that we have the cheapest recycling process! The workers in these plants are exposed to the toxic gases and chemicals day in and day out.
Most of you would just skim though this article as “just another article on global warming”. I request each of you to think about this at least for a couple of minutes and try and contribute in your own way towards the betterment of the environment. After all it is our world, our home.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
The Khans and the media
Recently two of the most popular Khans of the hindi film industry have been in the news for two different reasons. Aamir, for lending support to the Narmada Bachao Aandolan and Salman, for getting sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in the black buck poaching case.
Aamir’s involvement with the Narmada Bachao Aandolan, got him a lot of flak, from both the media as well as politicians. This noble cause cost him dearly, with hoodlums tearing down his posters and burning his effigy. This so-called anger was not just from the people of Gujarat, but the media as well. The news channels are being so sarcastic that they’re making fun of the whole thing by comparing it with his recent hit “Rang De Basanti”. He is being made a laughing stock.
The reason Aamir supports this cause is that he believes that the villagers who might be affected due to the building of this dam, should be properly re-allocated and proper cultivable land be given to them. He has nothing against the people of Gujarat.
Mr. Narandra Modi, in his speech during his “dharna”, was speaking as if Gujarat is not getting its due and that Aamir is against Gujarat getting water. How dare Mr.Modi threaten Aamir on national television to sabotage the screening of the actor’s forthcoming movie “Fanaa” if he does not apologise to the people of Gujarat? And the opposition is quiet!!!!!!!
I just watched both Salman’s and Aamir’s interviews on TV. I’m not here to judge anyone; hell, who am I to do so. But I could see a world of difference between the way the two spoke. While Aamir was unfazed by the riots going on in Gujarat following his decision to support the noble cause, Salman bhai was “blaming” the person who is responsible for making his mom ill (Salman’s mom fell ill as soon as he was arrested).
What’s happening to the media? Somebody does a good deed and he gets thrashed for it! Another, kills endangered species, receives punishment, comes out on bail, celebrates by dancing on the roof of his house, and gets praised for it!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
We wanna change rooms again!
During the final year of my undergraduate studies, I went on a tour to Delhi along with my college mates. It has been one of the most eventful trips I’ve ever been on.
Our agenda was to board the Tamil Nadu express and go to Delhi directly without any stop over. But due to last minute itinerary changes by one of my professors, we got down in Agra in the dead of night. When we reached our hotel in Agra, due to complete lack of sleep, I passed out. However, I regained consciousness in a few minutes when one of my friends handed me a mint. I guess all I needed was a little bit of glucose. As soon as we entered our rooms, we crashed on the bed because we were sure that we would be woken up in a couple of hours by our chaperones.
As luck would have it, we woke up in a few hours, fresh and kicking, for the fun to begin. The ‘fun’ began with each of us drinking a glass of coffee/tea made from camel’s milk (a fact we were unaware of at the time!). We visited the usual suspects in Agra starting with the ever enchanting Taj Mahal. After lunch, the same day, we left for Meerut and subsequently for Jaipur. Speaking about lunch…….. the food on the trip was arranged by my professors. Three cooks accompanied us! Somehow or the other, double beans would land up on our plates during every meal! And I, being a double beans hater, would just pick on the food. Ok. Let me get back on track. In Meerut and Jaipur, we visited two beautiful temples; a Krishna temple and the famous Birla Mandir, respectively.
The journey from Jaipur to Delhi was horrendous. We left Jaipur at around 9 or 10 pm and expected to reach Delhi by 3 the next morning. Our dear driver could not keep his eyes open and stopped the bus at a road side dhaaba. He wanted to sleep off his tiredness for about an hour! So, in the middle of the night with a bus load of girls, the driver just parked the vehicle near a highway dhaaba and caught his forty winks for an hour! None of us could sleep! We had our hearts in our hands till we were on the road again.
By now you must be wondering why I’ve named this article “We wanna change rooms again!”. Hold your horses, I'm getting to that!
We reached Delhi at around 4 am. We weren’t given much time to sleep as we had to get ready by 8. The hotel that we stayed in was called The Heritage. It was quite a good 3 star hotel. A couple of friends and I shared a room. The first room (and I say “first” because we changed 2 rooms after that! More on that, later) that we were given was perfect except for the fact that the bathroom did not lock. We did not mind because there was nothing else wrong with the room. I was the first to have a bath. Both my friends were asleep and so I did not bother to inform them. As soon as I stepped out of the shower, my right foot slipped, my left foot hit the wash basin and my head hit the ground with a resounding thud. I had cut the second toe on my left foot. My friends did not hear me fall down. After a couple of minutes, I managed to get myself together. We weren’t happy with our current room and so asked the hotel authorities to provide us with another one.
The second room was good (?) except that there was no fan or a/c. There was one fan, but it was a wall – mounted one and was really small for the room. We did not mind and so decided to stay there. That day we went to a number of places like Qutub Minar, Raj Ghat and Birla Temple. That night, after dinner, I went up to my room early while my friends were still in the lobby. As I was entering the room, I heard the sound of gushing water. My instincts told me that something was terribly wrong. I opened the door to the bathroom and could not believe my eyes. The entire bathroom was filled with steam and hot water was pouring out of a hole in the wall, where the shower previously existed. It dawned on me just then that if I had entered the bathroom a few minutes in advance, I would have suffered terrible burns. My professors thanked my lucky stars that nothing of the sort happened. Anyway, we had to change rooms again! This time, however, the hotel authorities weren’t as polite as they were the last time in spite of the fact that we weren’t responsible for the turn of events. One room service guy was sent up to ‘assist’ us with our baggage. He just walked in without knocking, rudely picked up our luggage without even asking us and showed us to what would hopefully be our third and final room!
The third room was a class apart. The front door did not lock. I am serious! I am not making this up. I guess we were just destined to get faulty rooms. We were able to lock the door from inside but anyone with a key could open the door; i.e. the hotel authorities, if need be, could open the door with their key. Once again we decided to manage. We barricaded the front door with our suitcases. That is all that we could do.
There was one thing unique to this room. There was a door in one corner of the room. We did not know what it led to. The door looked like a one way mirror. If you’ve seen the movie ‘Humraaz’, you’ll know what I’m talking about. As a matter of fact, the 3 of us had just seen the movie before leaving on this trip. With all the room changing, we were tired and even a little scared to open the door and find out what’s behind it. We could hear weird noises from the other side, which led us to believe that there was something supernatural about it. Or that it indeed was a one – way mirror and that someone is watching us from the other side. We wanted to desperately find out but none of us had the guts to open the door. In the room next to ours, there were 4 of our juniors. Leaving aside our pride, we asked one of them to open the door. When one of those girls was about to open it, the phone that was in the corridor outside our room rang. It echoed across the entire hall. We were already on pins and needles when the door was being opened, and when the phone rang my friend just broke down. It took her a while to calm down. The door was finally opened. It was a balcony! We had got a room with a view! It wasn’t a one way mirror. And those noises were due to pigeons. Thereafter, we slept peacefully.
All jokes apart, now when I look back at my trip to Delhi, I realize that even with all these weird happenings, it was one of most enjoyable trips that I’ve ever been on.
Our agenda was to board the Tamil Nadu express and go to Delhi directly without any stop over. But due to last minute itinerary changes by one of my professors, we got down in Agra in the dead of night. When we reached our hotel in Agra, due to complete lack of sleep, I passed out. However, I regained consciousness in a few minutes when one of my friends handed me a mint. I guess all I needed was a little bit of glucose. As soon as we entered our rooms, we crashed on the bed because we were sure that we would be woken up in a couple of hours by our chaperones.
As luck would have it, we woke up in a few hours, fresh and kicking, for the fun to begin. The ‘fun’ began with each of us drinking a glass of coffee/tea made from camel’s milk (a fact we were unaware of at the time!). We visited the usual suspects in Agra starting with the ever enchanting Taj Mahal. After lunch, the same day, we left for Meerut and subsequently for Jaipur. Speaking about lunch…….. the food on the trip was arranged by my professors. Three cooks accompanied us! Somehow or the other, double beans would land up on our plates during every meal! And I, being a double beans hater, would just pick on the food. Ok. Let me get back on track. In Meerut and Jaipur, we visited two beautiful temples; a Krishna temple and the famous Birla Mandir, respectively.
The journey from Jaipur to Delhi was horrendous. We left Jaipur at around 9 or 10 pm and expected to reach Delhi by 3 the next morning. Our dear driver could not keep his eyes open and stopped the bus at a road side dhaaba. He wanted to sleep off his tiredness for about an hour! So, in the middle of the night with a bus load of girls, the driver just parked the vehicle near a highway dhaaba and caught his forty winks for an hour! None of us could sleep! We had our hearts in our hands till we were on the road again.
By now you must be wondering why I’ve named this article “We wanna change rooms again!”. Hold your horses, I'm getting to that!
We reached Delhi at around 4 am. We weren’t given much time to sleep as we had to get ready by 8. The hotel that we stayed in was called The Heritage. It was quite a good 3 star hotel. A couple of friends and I shared a room. The first room (and I say “first” because we changed 2 rooms after that! More on that, later) that we were given was perfect except for the fact that the bathroom did not lock. We did not mind because there was nothing else wrong with the room. I was the first to have a bath. Both my friends were asleep and so I did not bother to inform them. As soon as I stepped out of the shower, my right foot slipped, my left foot hit the wash basin and my head hit the ground with a resounding thud. I had cut the second toe on my left foot. My friends did not hear me fall down. After a couple of minutes, I managed to get myself together. We weren’t happy with our current room and so asked the hotel authorities to provide us with another one.
The second room was good (?) except that there was no fan or a/c. There was one fan, but it was a wall – mounted one and was really small for the room. We did not mind and so decided to stay there. That day we went to a number of places like Qutub Minar, Raj Ghat and Birla Temple. That night, after dinner, I went up to my room early while my friends were still in the lobby. As I was entering the room, I heard the sound of gushing water. My instincts told me that something was terribly wrong. I opened the door to the bathroom and could not believe my eyes. The entire bathroom was filled with steam and hot water was pouring out of a hole in the wall, where the shower previously existed. It dawned on me just then that if I had entered the bathroom a few minutes in advance, I would have suffered terrible burns. My professors thanked my lucky stars that nothing of the sort happened. Anyway, we had to change rooms again! This time, however, the hotel authorities weren’t as polite as they were the last time in spite of the fact that we weren’t responsible for the turn of events. One room service guy was sent up to ‘assist’ us with our baggage. He just walked in without knocking, rudely picked up our luggage without even asking us and showed us to what would hopefully be our third and final room!
The third room was a class apart. The front door did not lock. I am serious! I am not making this up. I guess we were just destined to get faulty rooms. We were able to lock the door from inside but anyone with a key could open the door; i.e. the hotel authorities, if need be, could open the door with their key. Once again we decided to manage. We barricaded the front door with our suitcases. That is all that we could do.
There was one thing unique to this room. There was a door in one corner of the room. We did not know what it led to. The door looked like a one way mirror. If you’ve seen the movie ‘Humraaz’, you’ll know what I’m talking about. As a matter of fact, the 3 of us had just seen the movie before leaving on this trip. With all the room changing, we were tired and even a little scared to open the door and find out what’s behind it. We could hear weird noises from the other side, which led us to believe that there was something supernatural about it. Or that it indeed was a one – way mirror and that someone is watching us from the other side. We wanted to desperately find out but none of us had the guts to open the door. In the room next to ours, there were 4 of our juniors. Leaving aside our pride, we asked one of them to open the door. When one of those girls was about to open it, the phone that was in the corridor outside our room rang. It echoed across the entire hall. We were already on pins and needles when the door was being opened, and when the phone rang my friend just broke down. It took her a while to calm down. The door was finally opened. It was a balcony! We had got a room with a view! It wasn’t a one way mirror. And those noises were due to pigeons. Thereafter, we slept peacefully.
All jokes apart, now when I look back at my trip to Delhi, I realize that even with all these weird happenings, it was one of most enjoyable trips that I’ve ever been on.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The Big B.E
At a family wedding I met a “kind” old gentleman, who retorted “Oh God! Why on earth are you studying B.Sc Mathematics?” when he asked me what I was doing. I was speechless.
It made me think if studying mathematics is that big a crime?
We live in a country where getting a B.E or a B.Tech degree is the be all and end all. Every parent wants his or her child to become an engineer and get into a good software job. Pure sciences have lost their place. They’ve become outcasts; kinda like how I felt when the same gentleman (at the wedding) went on and on about his grandson pocketing a handsome “software salary” after having done B.E. Electronics and Communication from some god forsaken college in the outskirts of Chennai.
After successfully completing my bachelors degree, I got into Anna University (one of the most prestigious colleges in India), to pursue Masters in Computer Science. I thought of it as getting the best of both worlds; I have mathematics as a strong base, and now I am specializing in my field of interest. In the third semester of my Masters, I had to attend a number of campus interviews from potential recruiters until I got a job with a CMM Level 5 company. Most of the tests I wrote were just an eye-wash. The companies wanted only B.E candidates. They might as well only call for B.Es. Why take the trouble of saying “All degrees” and insult others by recruiting only engineers?
I remember one such company whose test I had passed and moved on to the interview. I had to attend two rounds of interviews, both of which I did pretty well. I was quite content with my performance and was confident that I would get through. The results were announced the next day. Three B.E students were selected. The thing that was most shocking was that none of them were from a computer science background. One person had done “Metallurgy”, another “Rubber technology” and the third “Soil Mechanics”.
That day, it dawned on me that, what these companies are looking for, are not good programmers or people with computer skills, but people with ‘B.E’ as a suffix to their names.
Education is getting to be a farce. People no longer do the kind of job that they study for. If not medicine, “engineering it is” seems to be the mantra.
It made me think if studying mathematics is that big a crime?
We live in a country where getting a B.E or a B.Tech degree is the be all and end all. Every parent wants his or her child to become an engineer and get into a good software job. Pure sciences have lost their place. They’ve become outcasts; kinda like how I felt when the same gentleman (at the wedding) went on and on about his grandson pocketing a handsome “software salary” after having done B.E. Electronics and Communication from some god forsaken college in the outskirts of Chennai.
After successfully completing my bachelors degree, I got into Anna University (one of the most prestigious colleges in India), to pursue Masters in Computer Science. I thought of it as getting the best of both worlds; I have mathematics as a strong base, and now I am specializing in my field of interest. In the third semester of my Masters, I had to attend a number of campus interviews from potential recruiters until I got a job with a CMM Level 5 company. Most of the tests I wrote were just an eye-wash. The companies wanted only B.E candidates. They might as well only call for B.Es. Why take the trouble of saying “All degrees” and insult others by recruiting only engineers?
I remember one such company whose test I had passed and moved on to the interview. I had to attend two rounds of interviews, both of which I did pretty well. I was quite content with my performance and was confident that I would get through. The results were announced the next day. Three B.E students were selected. The thing that was most shocking was that none of them were from a computer science background. One person had done “Metallurgy”, another “Rubber technology” and the third “Soil Mechanics”.
That day, it dawned on me that, what these companies are looking for, are not good programmers or people with computer skills, but people with ‘B.E’ as a suffix to their names.
Education is getting to be a farce. People no longer do the kind of job that they study for. If not medicine, “engineering it is” seems to be the mantra.
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