If there is one single thing in my life that I most cordially hate, then it is people trying to fix me up. Yeah I mean matchmaking. How much ever people justify it, matchmaking is not right. It sort of takes away your right to make your own decisions and choices. I have been a victim so many times that I have lost count.
It is not flattering to be calculatingly nudged towards a guy especially if you have some grey matter in between your ears and can judge for yourself if you like the guy and would like to be introduced.
I have never indulged in match making myself because I think it is interference in a person’s personal life. I have faced situations where a guy who fancies a gal in my friends circle has requested for an intro. If I know the guy fairly well and am convinced of his sincerity then I do tell the girl of his interest. Never more than that. Then it is upto the girl to take it further or reject him. And if the girl was not interested then no power on this earth will make me try and convince her otherwise even if God himself tells me to!!!
The most irritating thing about some guys is that they go overboard when trying to match make a friend with a gal. When a girl shows disinterest they take it upon themselves to somehow convince the girl to the contrary. This includes subtle hints to the good character of the guy and pointed references to his undying interest in her etc. I have seen some disastrous relationships take birth due to this. All because some people did not want to respect a person’s right to make a choice and say “no”. I must at this juncture admit that there are girls who cave into such pressure and that some match made relationships do blossom too. But then it still does not justify the aggressive matchmaking described above.
I just wish people who match make realise that there should be interest in both parties before they start aiding and abetting the couple. I wish they realise that they are responsible for the consequences of their action. Having just been through the matchmaking tactics of some people let me tell you it doesn’t feel nice to be hounded like an animal. Yeah that is what it feels like.
( p.s I am in scorching Delhi now. Any place place worth visiting where I will not be roasted alive?)
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
End of an era
Long time ago, my Dad opened my very own bank account at a small branch of a centralised bank near my house. The bank catered to the small village like township where I live, on the outskirts of Bangalore. My first deposits were money given on birthdays, my First Holy Communion, Confirmation, pocket money savings etc. I felt so proud the day I opened my account.
When I started working in ad agencies during weekend, my bank account started taking on a respectable look. The first time it touched 10 K I nearly swooned. I felt rich!!!! ( of course it took a year to save that) I was walking on air and showed by passbook to everyone and sundry.
Times have passed. Now I bank with a MNC Bank as my salary gets credited directly into my account. My bank pays my phone bills, insurance premium, credit cards bills automatically. I make direct money transfers instead of writing cheques and always getting my signature wrong (:p)
Today I went to my old bank to close my account. It’s been years since I stepped in here. The squalor of the place hit me first, then the crowd and then the noise. Most of the old staff had taken VRS and left. Strange faces looked at me bored.
I told the lady behind the counter that I wanted to close my account. She looked at me accusingly and I felt that old familiar feeling when I had gone to close my BSNL account...guilt. The staff at BSNL made me feel like a Capitalist that had endangered their jobs. The eyes looked at me accusingly and then she told me to give a letter requesting the Bank Manager to close the account. I had already taken the letter. She looked disappointed. She then told me to get it endorsed by the Bank Manager.
The Manager looked at me up and down like a school Principal and wanted to know why I wished to close the account. I told her that I already had another account and did not wish to keep this one. She checked my account and turned around and said that there was quite a decent sum in my account and I should make it a fixed deposit. I told her politely that I had already made investments for this year and would she please close my account. "I am against closing an account " she said as though it was her discretion to close my account or not. I felt like a student back in the Principals office as I stood next to her desk. She finally approved the closure in the PC on her desk and returned the letter to me.
I was back to the lady who now asked me if I had a cheque book. I replied in the affirmative. Seizing the chance, she immediately returned the letter to me asking me to come back with the cheque book. Pushing the letter back I told her evenly that the cheque book had no leaves left. She looked disappointed and irritated. She checked my account in her system and barked " There is too much money in here. I cant give you cash, It will have to be a DD. It will take time. Please wait!!!"
I told her I will be back as I stayed close by. The smug expression vanished as she realised that she would not get the satisfaction of seeing me sit and wait. Then a brainwave struck her. "Do you have a Credit Card?" she asked. I replied in the affirmative. "Well you will have to come with your credit and a letter stating that you are cancelling the same and then we will close the account. Please come on Monday" she said dismissively. I took out the Credit Card from my wallet and handed it over to her. She hid her disappointment well. She pointed to a man on the table next to her and asked me to surrender the card to him with a letter.
I walked upto the credit card cancelling man and handed over my Credit Card. Before he could say anything I asked him for a piece of paper. He gave me a computer printout sheet. I asked him for a pen. He looked at his pen and said that he cannot give me the pen so I can go home, write the letter and come back. I turned around and asked the man sitting on the table behind me if he could lend me a pen. He gave me one while credit card cancelling man looked at him daggers. I wrote a letter cancelling my Credit Card and gave it to Mr Credit Card Cancelling Man. If looks could kill then my last post would have been my last post. Mr Credit Card Cancelling Man picks up the phone and calls the Head Credit Card Cancelling Man and gets the disappointing news that I had no dues. He grumbles and cancels my card on the system.
I was back with the lady now who had by now lost the will to fight. She tells me that I could withdraw any amount of money I wanted. I clean out my account and walk out of the bank with a sigh of relief. I am glad I will never have to come in here again and feel like a third class citizen!
As I walk out I can hear the manager’s voice in my head "Why do you want to close your account?" If she doesn’t know why, then it is no point telling her is it?
When I started working in ad agencies during weekend, my bank account started taking on a respectable look. The first time it touched 10 K I nearly swooned. I felt rich!!!! ( of course it took a year to save that) I was walking on air and showed by passbook to everyone and sundry.
Times have passed. Now I bank with a MNC Bank as my salary gets credited directly into my account. My bank pays my phone bills, insurance premium, credit cards bills automatically. I make direct money transfers instead of writing cheques and always getting my signature wrong (:p)
Today I went to my old bank to close my account. It’s been years since I stepped in here. The squalor of the place hit me first, then the crowd and then the noise. Most of the old staff had taken VRS and left. Strange faces looked at me bored.
I told the lady behind the counter that I wanted to close my account. She looked at me accusingly and I felt that old familiar feeling when I had gone to close my BSNL account...guilt. The staff at BSNL made me feel like a Capitalist that had endangered their jobs. The eyes looked at me accusingly and then she told me to give a letter requesting the Bank Manager to close the account. I had already taken the letter. She looked disappointed. She then told me to get it endorsed by the Bank Manager.
The Manager looked at me up and down like a school Principal and wanted to know why I wished to close the account. I told her that I already had another account and did not wish to keep this one. She checked my account and turned around and said that there was quite a decent sum in my account and I should make it a fixed deposit. I told her politely that I had already made investments for this year and would she please close my account. "I am against closing an account " she said as though it was her discretion to close my account or not. I felt like a student back in the Principals office as I stood next to her desk. She finally approved the closure in the PC on her desk and returned the letter to me.
I was back to the lady who now asked me if I had a cheque book. I replied in the affirmative. Seizing the chance, she immediately returned the letter to me asking me to come back with the cheque book. Pushing the letter back I told her evenly that the cheque book had no leaves left. She looked disappointed and irritated. She checked my account in her system and barked " There is too much money in here. I cant give you cash, It will have to be a DD. It will take time. Please wait!!!"
I told her I will be back as I stayed close by. The smug expression vanished as she realised that she would not get the satisfaction of seeing me sit and wait. Then a brainwave struck her. "Do you have a Credit Card?" she asked. I replied in the affirmative. "Well you will have to come with your credit and a letter stating that you are cancelling the same and then we will close the account. Please come on Monday" she said dismissively. I took out the Credit Card from my wallet and handed it over to her. She hid her disappointment well. She pointed to a man on the table next to her and asked me to surrender the card to him with a letter.
I walked upto the credit card cancelling man and handed over my Credit Card. Before he could say anything I asked him for a piece of paper. He gave me a computer printout sheet. I asked him for a pen. He looked at his pen and said that he cannot give me the pen so I can go home, write the letter and come back. I turned around and asked the man sitting on the table behind me if he could lend me a pen. He gave me one while credit card cancelling man looked at him daggers. I wrote a letter cancelling my Credit Card and gave it to Mr Credit Card Cancelling Man. If looks could kill then my last post would have been my last post. Mr Credit Card Cancelling Man picks up the phone and calls the Head Credit Card Cancelling Man and gets the disappointing news that I had no dues. He grumbles and cancels my card on the system.
I was back with the lady now who had by now lost the will to fight. She tells me that I could withdraw any amount of money I wanted. I clean out my account and walk out of the bank with a sigh of relief. I am glad I will never have to come in here again and feel like a third class citizen!
As I walk out I can hear the manager’s voice in my head "Why do you want to close your account?" If she doesn’t know why, then it is no point telling her is it?
Friday, May 11, 2007
About turn...
He: Hello is this 123456789?
She: Yes
He: Hi, I am XYZ.
She: Oh!
He: Listen! I don't know how to tell you this but I am not ready for marriage yet.
She : *whew* me tooooo!
He: I am just 26!
She: And I am still younger!
He: My aunt sort of promised your aunt that she will make me meet you.
She: I know!
He: So what do we do?
She: I have no idea.
He: Well let’s honour their promise and meet up for a couple of minutes. We can then go back and tell our respective aunts that we met and that we didn’t like each other.
She: Great! When do I meet you?
He: Would 6 pm be alright?
She: Perfect!
Next day
He: Hi
She: Hi! I told my aunt that I didn’t like you *smile*
He: Oh!
She: My aunt will never do this anymore not after the firing I gave her for setting me up like this.
He: Ok! hmm well can I meet you today?
She: I don’t think so. But why?
He: Well....I am doing a rethink on this whole marriage issue...
She: I wish you best of luck then. Bye
He: Wait...!!!!
She: *slams the phone down*
She: Yes
He: Hi, I am XYZ.
She: Oh!
He: Listen! I don't know how to tell you this but I am not ready for marriage yet.
She : *whew* me tooooo!
He: I am just 26!
She: And I am still younger!
He: My aunt sort of promised your aunt that she will make me meet you.
She: I know!
He: So what do we do?
She: I have no idea.
He: Well let’s honour their promise and meet up for a couple of minutes. We can then go back and tell our respective aunts that we met and that we didn’t like each other.
She: Great! When do I meet you?
He: Would 6 pm be alright?
She: Perfect!
Next day
He: Hi
She: Hi! I told my aunt that I didn’t like you *smile*
He: Oh!
She: My aunt will never do this anymore not after the firing I gave her for setting me up like this.
He: Ok! hmm well can I meet you today?
She: I don’t think so. But why?
He: Well....I am doing a rethink on this whole marriage issue...
She: I wish you best of luck then. Bye
He: Wait...!!!!
She: *slams the phone down*
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Massacre of the senses
I am so so fed up of watching celebrities and cricketers in ads. This celebrity exposure overdose has successfully reduced my already pathetic TV viewing time to zero. Maybe there is an audience out there for this celebrity endorsements, but I am totally fed up. You pick up a magazine or a newspaper and even here you have some celebrity grinning or looking gravely at you. Does anybody in the ad agencies and product marketing teams know that most of us are fed up of this celebrity overdose?
I personally find ads with regular models more palatable.
I was recently watching the Malayalam DD channel. The hostess was a regular girl with DD's trademark make up. But it struck me then that she looked startlingly refreshing to my TV weary eyes. The DD people are so real compared to the plastic dolls in the private channels! I get a severe case of gaudy toxic syndrome after watching Channels like Zoom and Zee for more than five minutes. There is more designer clothes, make up, pedicure, manicure, furnishings and light in a single program second than in an hour of a DD program.
I am not suggesting that private TV channels should go the DD way. But I personally am finding it increasingly difficult to watch the over made up sets and backdrops and stars of these channels day in and day out. It is like an assault on your senses.
Compared to these channels, Star World is refreshing to the eye. Its pastel shades and non intrusive backdrops a treat to behold. On the other hand the sets of a private Indian channel looks like a furniture, furnishing, electronics cum designer wear showroom!!!
The news channels are comparatively okay except for CNN IBN and Times.
Sometimes I watch a bit of Malayalam serials when a visiting relation from Kerala puts it on. The overkill here is in terms of negative emotions. Revenge, anger, hate and lots and lots of tears. Everyone is planning revenge on the other. Everyone seem to hate everyone and plotting against other! The strident background music is a strain on your nerves and soon you feel a little jumpy and irritable after watching these serials for some time. But I also realise why all this is so addictive. It would be very difficult not to watch the next serial when a possible outcome of a plot is left hanging in the air. Luckily Malayalam serials are not big budget, saving us the clothes and make up overkill.
A hilarious scene from a Hindi serial I saw long time back. A heavily over made up and over clothed actress telling another heavily over made up and over clothed actress that she will "change into better clothes" to go out with her. My jaws dropped as I wondered what she would do to make her appearance better. There was nothing more that a makeup man or clothier could do to enhance her appearance!
Perhaps this is the infancy of Indian TV channels and in the long run, tasteful sets and soberly dressed anchors will give our eyes a break. Till then I stick to Star World and DD.
I personally find ads with regular models more palatable.
I was recently watching the Malayalam DD channel. The hostess was a regular girl with DD's trademark make up. But it struck me then that she looked startlingly refreshing to my TV weary eyes. The DD people are so real compared to the plastic dolls in the private channels! I get a severe case of gaudy toxic syndrome after watching Channels like Zoom and Zee for more than five minutes. There is more designer clothes, make up, pedicure, manicure, furnishings and light in a single program second than in an hour of a DD program.
I am not suggesting that private TV channels should go the DD way. But I personally am finding it increasingly difficult to watch the over made up sets and backdrops and stars of these channels day in and day out. It is like an assault on your senses.
Compared to these channels, Star World is refreshing to the eye. Its pastel shades and non intrusive backdrops a treat to behold. On the other hand the sets of a private Indian channel looks like a furniture, furnishing, electronics cum designer wear showroom!!!
The news channels are comparatively okay except for CNN IBN and Times.
Sometimes I watch a bit of Malayalam serials when a visiting relation from Kerala puts it on. The overkill here is in terms of negative emotions. Revenge, anger, hate and lots and lots of tears. Everyone is planning revenge on the other. Everyone seem to hate everyone and plotting against other! The strident background music is a strain on your nerves and soon you feel a little jumpy and irritable after watching these serials for some time. But I also realise why all this is so addictive. It would be very difficult not to watch the next serial when a possible outcome of a plot is left hanging in the air. Luckily Malayalam serials are not big budget, saving us the clothes and make up overkill.
A hilarious scene from a Hindi serial I saw long time back. A heavily over made up and over clothed actress telling another heavily over made up and over clothed actress that she will "change into better clothes" to go out with her. My jaws dropped as I wondered what she would do to make her appearance better. There was nothing more that a makeup man or clothier could do to enhance her appearance!
Perhaps this is the infancy of Indian TV channels and in the long run, tasteful sets and soberly dressed anchors will give our eyes a break. Till then I stick to Star World and DD.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
The King of goodtimes in the sky!
Last month I spent a lot of time with Kingfisher Airlines. Now my room looks like a Kingfisher brand zone with KF pouches and umpteen KF headphones and KF pens. In fact red is the dominant color of the room now .
KF rules the roost in service, decor, ambience and popularity. The queues at the KH check in counters are long while other airlines sport deserted look. Since my office Travel Desk has a tie up with KF most of us fly KF except those who are on Jets miles privilege scheme. These people curse for being stuck with Jet. Not that Jet is bad but KF is better :)
Some observations on KF:
KF is perhaps the most potential candidate for a hijacking in the near future, if the terrorists who took a heavy beating to their morale by the quick turnaround of the Mumbaikars after the Mumbai blasts, ever think of trying to rattle us Indians again.
At Trivandrum last month, the last flight out had just one guy scanning baggage and then stamping the scanned baggage, That is over 200 pieces of baggage being scanned by one person! He was of course not too thorough due to the abnormally long queue that formed due to this. But the KF staffs (KFS) is polite and in the not so remote chance of you being hijacked, they will mind their p's and q's when they inform your near and dear ones of the unfortunate accident.
KFS: Mr P, It is with great regret that we inform your Sir, that your beloved daughter was travelling on ill fated flight number IT 7000 that was hijacked to Bihar.
Dad: $%^&%@
KFS: Our sentiments exactly Sir which protocol prevents us from verbalising. Thank you!
The food they serve is superb. Just the right quantity with a lot of thought going into the menu. The famed KF Air Hostess was just pre launch propaganda. The KF girls are mostly short and ordinary looking but very very well trained and extremely polite and very friendly.
The Jet staffs on the other hand are cold but proactive if you ask them for anything. They work like automatons. Their dull uniform doesn’t help matter either and you feel like you are sitting in a sterilisation chamber. The KF ambiance is unbeatable due to the color "red" dominating the cabin. If only they would remove the terrible “Great Indian comedy show" from their in flight entertainment, the flight would be just perfect.
The announcements by the pilots are informal, freindly and with a personal touch... a joke or two, apologies if there is a delay due to traffic congestion, promises of making up the delay and an informal introduction of the crew. The announcement is conversational and KF manages what other airlines cannot i.e. make the passenger "feel at home".
Well I had good times with the King of Good Times. And that is saying a lot since I fly with them regularly and they are yet to disappoint me. Kudos to whoever thought of and designed the entire Kingfisher experience.
KF rules the roost in service, decor, ambience and popularity. The queues at the KH check in counters are long while other airlines sport deserted look. Since my office Travel Desk has a tie up with KF most of us fly KF except those who are on Jets miles privilege scheme. These people curse for being stuck with Jet. Not that Jet is bad but KF is better :)
Some observations on KF:
KF is perhaps the most potential candidate for a hijacking in the near future, if the terrorists who took a heavy beating to their morale by the quick turnaround of the Mumbaikars after the Mumbai blasts, ever think of trying to rattle us Indians again.
At Trivandrum last month, the last flight out had just one guy scanning baggage and then stamping the scanned baggage, That is over 200 pieces of baggage being scanned by one person! He was of course not too thorough due to the abnormally long queue that formed due to this. But the KF staffs (KFS) is polite and in the not so remote chance of you being hijacked, they will mind their p's and q's when they inform your near and dear ones of the unfortunate accident.
KFS: Mr P, It is with great regret that we inform your Sir, that your beloved daughter was travelling on ill fated flight number IT 7000 that was hijacked to Bihar.
Dad: $%^&%@
KFS: Our sentiments exactly Sir which protocol prevents us from verbalising. Thank you!
The food they serve is superb. Just the right quantity with a lot of thought going into the menu. The famed KF Air Hostess was just pre launch propaganda. The KF girls are mostly short and ordinary looking but very very well trained and extremely polite and very friendly.
The Jet staffs on the other hand are cold but proactive if you ask them for anything. They work like automatons. Their dull uniform doesn’t help matter either and you feel like you are sitting in a sterilisation chamber. The KF ambiance is unbeatable due to the color "red" dominating the cabin. If only they would remove the terrible “Great Indian comedy show" from their in flight entertainment, the flight would be just perfect.
The announcements by the pilots are informal, freindly and with a personal touch... a joke or two, apologies if there is a delay due to traffic congestion, promises of making up the delay and an informal introduction of the crew. The announcement is conversational and KF manages what other airlines cannot i.e. make the passenger "feel at home".
Well I had good times with the King of Good Times. And that is saying a lot since I fly with them regularly and they are yet to disappoint me. Kudos to whoever thought of and designed the entire Kingfisher experience.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The sister act
When a baby girl is born to Indian parents her parents have great dreams for her. They dream of her going to a convent school and then to a convent run college and then getting herself a husband due to her "convent educated" status. In fact the craze for convents is so much that we now have anyone and anybody opening "convent schools". I think Mr Rupinder Singh who runs the St Jesus Convent School and Ramesh Kedia who runs St God Convent School are visionaries. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if they have branches called St Convent School , St Sister, St Church and St Cemetry. Anything that sounds remotely Christian is prefixed with the "St" and used as a name for these schools. Recently a school called St Anthony's was in the news for physically punishing a child. Turns out the owners were an ordinary couple who also had a flower nursery.
When people run out of names they become innovative and we have St Lilly, St Rose and St Lotus to name a few. Some people go for an authentic touch and we get schools like St Meera and St Radha. Well they were saints weren’t they? The word ‘saint’ in any other language would still be a saint!
Among the upmarket schools we have names like Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and even Ivy League. I heard there is a school called IIT!!!
With education becoming a lucrative business with millions to be made, schools are mushrooming everywhere. The St God School was a two room tenement. Today it had classes from Nursery to 10th in a span of just 5 years! The owner incidentally is uneducated. That in my humble non MBA opinion is the best example of business acumen!
The other category of schools is the Kindergarten variety. The owners of these schools are more sober though some do go a little overboard with names like 'Little Angels' (guffaw) and 'Dolls'(double guffaw). Excuse the loud unlady like laughter but I was a KG kid too some time back and neither was I an angel nor a doll. Neither were my classmates. We were more like mud encrusted devils with bald patches of scalp from where many an enraged classmate had pulled our hair out. There was more hair flying in our class that in a fur factory. (I dared to grow my hair only after reaching high school!)
Most of these schools are garages or asbestos sheet covered tenements. But the full classrooms do give you hope that education is finally being regarded as an asset by people who rarely sent their kids to school once. On the flip side if this unbridled growth continues then education will become just another commodity, but like a commodity, competition may just keep prices in check.
When people run out of names they become innovative and we have St Lilly, St Rose and St Lotus to name a few. Some people go for an authentic touch and we get schools like St Meera and St Radha. Well they were saints weren’t they? The word ‘saint’ in any other language would still be a saint!
Among the upmarket schools we have names like Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and even Ivy League. I heard there is a school called IIT!!!
With education becoming a lucrative business with millions to be made, schools are mushrooming everywhere. The St God School was a two room tenement. Today it had classes from Nursery to 10th in a span of just 5 years! The owner incidentally is uneducated. That in my humble non MBA opinion is the best example of business acumen!
The other category of schools is the Kindergarten variety. The owners of these schools are more sober though some do go a little overboard with names like 'Little Angels' (guffaw) and 'Dolls'(double guffaw). Excuse the loud unlady like laughter but I was a KG kid too some time back and neither was I an angel nor a doll. Neither were my classmates. We were more like mud encrusted devils with bald patches of scalp from where many an enraged classmate had pulled our hair out. There was more hair flying in our class that in a fur factory. (I dared to grow my hair only after reaching high school!)
Most of these schools are garages or asbestos sheet covered tenements. But the full classrooms do give you hope that education is finally being regarded as an asset by people who rarely sent their kids to school once. On the flip side if this unbridled growth continues then education will become just another commodity, but like a commodity, competition may just keep prices in check.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Appy Fizz Radio Jingle
I fell in love with this hilarious radio jingle when I heard it for the first time. It still brings a smile and a chuckle when I hear it. Wait for the video to load and Enjoy! :D
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Instant news!!!
I saw something on CNN IBN ( streaming content) the other day that made my jaws drop.
The program: CNN IBN special program
Title: Cricket's dark side
Presenters:Bhupender Chaube, Bob Kalra and a Geo TV rep live from Pakistan.
Bhupender Chaube to Geo TV rep in Pakistan: Your chanel has allegede foul play in Bob Woolmers death.
Geo TV Rep: We haven't alleged anything, but Inzamam ul Haq gave Bob a lot of trouble by not reporting for net practise.
Bhupender Chaube: This is a serious allegation. You are saying that Inzamam was the casue of Bob's death.
Geo TV Rep: I did not say that. I said he gave Bob the maximum amount of trouble.
Bhupender Chaube (shouting):How?!
Geo TV Rep( looks like he wants to slap Bhupender): He stressed out Bob by his disobedience and failing to report for net practise.
Bhupender Chaube: Thank you for coming on the show.(turning to the camera) As you can all see the Geo TV rep has made a serious allegation that Inzamam ul Haq and the Pakistani team stressed Bob to his death!
Bhupender Chaube kept screaming CNN IBN style and was desperately trying to sensationalise the issue,a trademark strategy of CNN IBN! News presenters from CNN IBN can be seen visibly excited when a news breaks and every effort is made during news hour to sensationalise the same. Background music adds to the melodrama.
How does this reflect on CNN I wonder. Or does CNN have no hold over the instantaneous content creation, sensationalisation and delivery of its Indian subsidiary?
( p.s will post the link to this video if I can get hold of the same. This program appeared around March 23rd)
The program: CNN IBN special program
Title: Cricket's dark side
Presenters:Bhupender Chaube, Bob Kalra and a Geo TV rep live from Pakistan.
Bhupender Chaube to Geo TV rep in Pakistan: Your chanel has allegede foul play in Bob Woolmers death.
Geo TV Rep: We haven't alleged anything, but Inzamam ul Haq gave Bob a lot of trouble by not reporting for net practise.
Bhupender Chaube: This is a serious allegation. You are saying that Inzamam was the casue of Bob's death.
Geo TV Rep: I did not say that. I said he gave Bob the maximum amount of trouble.
Bhupender Chaube (shouting):How?!
Geo TV Rep( looks like he wants to slap Bhupender): He stressed out Bob by his disobedience and failing to report for net practise.
Bhupender Chaube: Thank you for coming on the show.(turning to the camera) As you can all see the Geo TV rep has made a serious allegation that Inzamam ul Haq and the Pakistani team stressed Bob to his death!
Bhupender Chaube kept screaming CNN IBN style and was desperately trying to sensationalise the issue,a trademark strategy of CNN IBN! News presenters from CNN IBN can be seen visibly excited when a news breaks and every effort is made during news hour to sensationalise the same. Background music adds to the melodrama.
How does this reflect on CNN I wonder. Or does CNN have no hold over the instantaneous content creation, sensationalisation and delivery of its Indian subsidiary?
( p.s will post the link to this video if I can get hold of the same. This program appeared around March 23rd)
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Caught between two worlds
My very good friends in school were the Anglo Indian twins Audrey and Mel. Audrey and Mel left for Australia like the many Anglo Indians who left the Indian shores in search of a better life amidst "their own people". Their father a lathe worker soon got a job, and so did their mom. They finished their schooling and are now working in Australia.
A few years back Audrey and Mel's mom Sheila and elder married sister Rita came down to India to visit relations, make a pilgrimage to Vailankanni and spend a day with us. They come down every year and always make it a point spend a day with us. My mom and Sheila were and are good friends having called each other up numerous times to check on our homework, school notes and the innumerable school concerts and plays where they helped with the costumes and music. Sheila is an accomplished Pianist, my mom is an accomplished seamstress. Between the two of them they did manage to make some lovely music and clothes for our school plays and concerts.
During Sheila's regular visits, we realised how lonely she was in Australia. Her annual trips to India was what kept her going insane from loneliness. Her elder daughter who did her schooling and college from Bangalore also tells a tale of loneliness amidst plenty. She tell us of her neighbours of 12 years whom she hasn't seen till date and many other tales. Mel and Audrey miss Bangalore like hell but are yet to make the kind of money to visit India.
My aunt who had migrated with her family to New Zealand too faces the same situation. In her case she did the wise thing of not accepting New Zealand citizenship and hence can come down to India for longer periods as her kids are grown up. She stays with us mostly and from her we hear of the good future her kids have in NZ and how reluctantly they return to New Zealand after every holiday in Kerala. Her children spend all their holidays in India unlike their peers who go abroad for holidays.
The story repeats itself with many people that I know have migrated to Australia and New Zealand. They are happy, they have the best life has to offer yet they go back with tears in their eyes and a lump in their throat and after every visit to India start saving with a vengeance for that next trip to India.
A few years back Audrey and Mel's mom Sheila and elder married sister Rita came down to India to visit relations, make a pilgrimage to Vailankanni and spend a day with us. They come down every year and always make it a point spend a day with us. My mom and Sheila were and are good friends having called each other up numerous times to check on our homework, school notes and the innumerable school concerts and plays where they helped with the costumes and music. Sheila is an accomplished Pianist, my mom is an accomplished seamstress. Between the two of them they did manage to make some lovely music and clothes for our school plays and concerts.
During Sheila's regular visits, we realised how lonely she was in Australia. Her annual trips to India was what kept her going insane from loneliness. Her elder daughter who did her schooling and college from Bangalore also tells a tale of loneliness amidst plenty. She tell us of her neighbours of 12 years whom she hasn't seen till date and many other tales. Mel and Audrey miss Bangalore like hell but are yet to make the kind of money to visit India.
My aunt who had migrated with her family to New Zealand too faces the same situation. In her case she did the wise thing of not accepting New Zealand citizenship and hence can come down to India for longer periods as her kids are grown up. She stays with us mostly and from her we hear of the good future her kids have in NZ and how reluctantly they return to New Zealand after every holiday in Kerala. Her children spend all their holidays in India unlike their peers who go abroad for holidays.
The story repeats itself with many people that I know have migrated to Australia and New Zealand. They are happy, they have the best life has to offer yet they go back with tears in their eyes and a lump in their throat and after every visit to India start saving with a vengeance for that next trip to India.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Fears and phobias
Recently I realised that I harbor some really irrational fears. Most of these fears are due to real life incidences that have happened to others. Some of the things that make me worry unnecessarily are:
1. While driving under a flyover I feel that a bus or a truck will fall on my head :p
2. I always carry a duffle bag with my laptop inside while driving my Kinetic. Every now and then I must check the bag strung on my back to ensure that my lappie is inside. I am sure one day I might leave the zipper of the bag open and my lappie will fall down or someone will steal it from the bag at a red light or traffic jam.
3. I am very scared of geysers left too long to heat. I feel it will burst and spill hot water all over me.
4. I am scared of gas cylinders. I feel one will burst, chumma just like that when I am around.
5. My greatest fear is my lappie crashing and hence I do data back up once a week. I have a pile of CD's with data backed up. In fact it was this fear that made my last boss and this boss issue me with a PC too. But I still back up my files on a CD :p
6. Due to some horrible coincidence I almost always end up flying in an ATR aircraft. I am damn sure that one day those giant fans will come loose and make a neat pile of 'sliced silverine'.
7. While reversing the car I am so sure that one day I might run over a small child. So I double and triple check to see if there is no one behind before I reverse.
8. I am scared of construction sites and walk as far away as I can from them because I feel that something will come crashing on my head.
9. While walking my doggies I make sure that they walk to my left. I am afraid that a vehicle will go over them since they so small.
10. I drive both my brothers crazy if they are out late (and vice versa). I just cannot sleep properly till I know that all members of the family are all under one roof safe and sound. SMS'ing me just does not help.
11. I am damn sure that one day I will forget the password of my blog :p I can remember what I wore for my 4th birthday but I cannot remember passwords. To counter this when I change my password I immediately store it in my PDA.
12. Another great fear, now fast subsiding is someone hacking my blog and taking it away or worse putting objectionable content in it.
Now someone please tell me their irrational fears so that I know that I am not the only one.
1. While driving under a flyover I feel that a bus or a truck will fall on my head :p
2. I always carry a duffle bag with my laptop inside while driving my Kinetic. Every now and then I must check the bag strung on my back to ensure that my lappie is inside. I am sure one day I might leave the zipper of the bag open and my lappie will fall down or someone will steal it from the bag at a red light or traffic jam.
3. I am very scared of geysers left too long to heat. I feel it will burst and spill hot water all over me.
4. I am scared of gas cylinders. I feel one will burst, chumma just like that when I am around.
5. My greatest fear is my lappie crashing and hence I do data back up once a week. I have a pile of CD's with data backed up. In fact it was this fear that made my last boss and this boss issue me with a PC too. But I still back up my files on a CD :p
6. Due to some horrible coincidence I almost always end up flying in an ATR aircraft. I am damn sure that one day those giant fans will come loose and make a neat pile of 'sliced silverine'.
7. While reversing the car I am so sure that one day I might run over a small child. So I double and triple check to see if there is no one behind before I reverse.
8. I am scared of construction sites and walk as far away as I can from them because I feel that something will come crashing on my head.
9. While walking my doggies I make sure that they walk to my left. I am afraid that a vehicle will go over them since they so small.
10. I drive both my brothers crazy if they are out late (and vice versa). I just cannot sleep properly till I know that all members of the family are all under one roof safe and sound. SMS'ing me just does not help.
11. I am damn sure that one day I will forget the password of my blog :p I can remember what I wore for my 4th birthday but I cannot remember passwords. To counter this when I change my password I immediately store it in my PDA.
12. Another great fear, now fast subsiding is someone hacking my blog and taking it away or worse putting objectionable content in it.
Now someone please tell me their irrational fears so that I know that I am not the only one.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
The new use and throw culture
I have just got back from a three day vacation at a resort near Trivandrum! I didn’t have the time to go into the city but the ride from the airport to Poovar, was an eye opener of sorts! Fields and ponds filled with plastic and refuse. Plastics and garbage was dumped everywhere especially on empty plots of land. Trivandrum airport is perhaps the cleanest AAI airport in India. It just goes to show that our cities and our airports are a reflection of the inhabitants that dwell in that area.
The resort was situated in the backwaters and we had to take a 15 minutes boat ride to the resort. The boat wound its way through coconut plantations cutting through the slimy green waters afloat with garbage. The gently flowing backwaters were bespeckled with hawaii slippers, used clothes, paper cups and plates and general refuse. As the boat chugged its way to the resort we could do nothing but sit in stunned silence at the sight before us.
At the resort jetty we were greeted by girls in traditional Kerala attire who garlanded us amidst the din of the chenda played by two energetic guys in traditional clothes. The beat was too foot tappingly bollywoodesque.
Tourism is here to stay in Kerala and the resort had the mandatory Yoga enclosure, Ayurveda House etc to give the foreigners that authentic Kerala experience. In the evening a barbecue was arranged for the guests and the next day morning I saw the Styrofoam plates afloat in the backwater surrounding the resort. Mineral water bottles, tetra packs and other garbage lined the waters edge. The resort was a clean and green oasis in a desert of refuse. It was a little too much for me. I remembered a Kerala, that not so long ago was hailed for its clean and neat people and civic sense.
What has happened to change this overnight? The thousands of resorts that have mushroomed up in Kerala, generate tons of plastic refuse everyday. Recycling as a culture does not seem to exist. I asked a hotel staff what they did with the mineral water bottles as she said that they are thrown away!!
As countries like the US grapple with the problem of garbage disposal and have ship loads of plastic bottles plying the sea for years looking for a port to dump their load, what is going to happen to India with a larger population and no culture of recycling? How long is the land and the environment going to take the abuse? Unless the government steps in and educates the public about garbage segregation and disposal, the Kerala we once knew is doomed to become a giant garbage dump.
The resort was situated in the backwaters and we had to take a 15 minutes boat ride to the resort. The boat wound its way through coconut plantations cutting through the slimy green waters afloat with garbage. The gently flowing backwaters were bespeckled with hawaii slippers, used clothes, paper cups and plates and general refuse. As the boat chugged its way to the resort we could do nothing but sit in stunned silence at the sight before us.
At the resort jetty we were greeted by girls in traditional Kerala attire who garlanded us amidst the din of the chenda played by two energetic guys in traditional clothes. The beat was too foot tappingly bollywoodesque.
Tourism is here to stay in Kerala and the resort had the mandatory Yoga enclosure, Ayurveda House etc to give the foreigners that authentic Kerala experience. In the evening a barbecue was arranged for the guests and the next day morning I saw the Styrofoam plates afloat in the backwater surrounding the resort. Mineral water bottles, tetra packs and other garbage lined the waters edge. The resort was a clean and green oasis in a desert of refuse. It was a little too much for me. I remembered a Kerala, that not so long ago was hailed for its clean and neat people and civic sense.
What has happened to change this overnight? The thousands of resorts that have mushroomed up in Kerala, generate tons of plastic refuse everyday. Recycling as a culture does not seem to exist. I asked a hotel staff what they did with the mineral water bottles as she said that they are thrown away!!
As countries like the US grapple with the problem of garbage disposal and have ship loads of plastic bottles plying the sea for years looking for a port to dump their load, what is going to happen to India with a larger population and no culture of recycling? How long is the land and the environment going to take the abuse? Unless the government steps in and educates the public about garbage segregation and disposal, the Kerala we once knew is doomed to become a giant garbage dump.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Quantity or quality?
There is this really nice Airtel ad that is playing on radio these days. The ad talks about the life of an average Indian who has to wait in the que for everything, whether it is at the Ration Shop or Bus stop , public water taps etc. The ad ends by declaring that with Airtel you don’t need to wait in a que when dialling KBC!
I haven’t heard a more striking ad than this one, because it made me pause and think about our population like no other ad/campaign has done till now. And if this approach was taken for population control campaigns, I am sure the common man on the road will also pause and think. There is no better way you can drive home the fact that our unchecked population growth is the reason for our miseries than by pointing out the areas of discomfort that unchecked population growth creates. Just by preaching “chota parivaar sukhi parivaar” is not going to help as our people are used to and ignore the numerous, save water, save gas, kind of insipid advertisements that the government rolls out from time to time. If the government is really sincere then it has to hire people to think like the guys who made that Airtel ad. Point out to the common man how unchecked population is affecting him on a personal, more intimate level.
My maid takes a day off when she has to buy ration as the que starts forming by 4 am in the morning in front of the ration shop. She has to get up at 4am everyday to catch water as water comes for just an hour in the slum she is living in. However if you ask her why she has to go struggle for the basics amenities of life she doesn’t have a clue. She thinks that shortage is a fact of life and will not think twice about having another child. She already has four kids.
As more and more working couples are opting for just one kid, the percentage of children who will get good education compared to the number of children who will not, will be abysmally low. In the not so distant future the uneducated and or partially literate will horribly outnumber the literate productive taxpaying population. How will the FM run this nation then? Will we as a country become a cheap manual labor pool vis a vis the technical talent pool we are today?
A scary scenario indeed!
I haven’t heard a more striking ad than this one, because it made me pause and think about our population like no other ad/campaign has done till now. And if this approach was taken for population control campaigns, I am sure the common man on the road will also pause and think. There is no better way you can drive home the fact that our unchecked population growth is the reason for our miseries than by pointing out the areas of discomfort that unchecked population growth creates. Just by preaching “chota parivaar sukhi parivaar” is not going to help as our people are used to and ignore the numerous, save water, save gas, kind of insipid advertisements that the government rolls out from time to time. If the government is really sincere then it has to hire people to think like the guys who made that Airtel ad. Point out to the common man how unchecked population is affecting him on a personal, more intimate level.
My maid takes a day off when she has to buy ration as the que starts forming by 4 am in the morning in front of the ration shop. She has to get up at 4am everyday to catch water as water comes for just an hour in the slum she is living in. However if you ask her why she has to go struggle for the basics amenities of life she doesn’t have a clue. She thinks that shortage is a fact of life and will not think twice about having another child. She already has four kids.
As more and more working couples are opting for just one kid, the percentage of children who will get good education compared to the number of children who will not, will be abysmally low. In the not so distant future the uneducated and or partially literate will horribly outnumber the literate productive taxpaying population. How will the FM run this nation then? Will we as a country become a cheap manual labor pool vis a vis the technical talent pool we are today?
A scary scenario indeed!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Popping the bubbly!
A superrrr quarter review!
An incredibly successful multicity marketing campaign!!
A commedation mail from the big boss himself!!!
And a shiny new plaque that says
An incredibly successful multicity marketing campaign!!
A commedation mail from the big boss himself!!!
And a shiny new plaque that says
"Outstanding Employee of the Third Quarter"!!!!
Today has been the most satisfying day of my life, professionally!
Man...am I hot or am I hot!!!
*sizzle*
p.s Extremely sorry for being so modest, but if I could, I would hang this post in the sky for the whole world to see!!!
:)
Today has been the most satisfying day of my life, professionally!
Man...am I hot or am I hot!!!
*sizzle*
p.s Extremely sorry for being so modest, but if I could, I would hang this post in the sky for the whole world to see!!!
:)
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Summertimes
All pictures courtesy: Corbis
Summer is here...! I have always hated summers but summers as a kid are full of joyful memories...of Final Exams,half day school and coming home early, playing all afternoon and generally enjoying life as another academic year came to a close. Till school closed we stayed in Bangalore and after that it was Kerala till school opened.
The summers I spent in Bangalore remind me of so many things:
Water melons: These would arrive in the Bangalore markets by January. We would buy them only when the weather heated up as eating water melon in the cold is no fun at all. We ate them plain…it was like biting into fragrant snow. My mom made watermelon juice too but nothing like eating watermelon as it is.
Grapes: Summers is the best time to eat grapes! I would keep grapes in the freezer of the fridge and after a time they became sweet cold grape ice!!! Amazingly simple to make fruit ice! I still do that! :)
Lassi: I think I might have broken some kinda record for drinking lassis. Somehow I was never fond of salty lassis. I preferred sweet lassis and I still do. In fact I survived more of liquid diet than solid diet during summer.
Splashing water with the garden hose: A favorite pastime. Most of my friends came home during weekend and holidays, as there is so much place to run around in my house, besides the village and farms close by. After running around and getting heated up, we would take the garden hose or the farm sprinklers and get ourselves thoroughly wet. It was the most fun activity and was usually done without getting caught. And the clothes dried just as easily in the heat.
Lemon Juice: I think my mom must have made gazillion litres of lemon juice during summers. I still love freshly squeezed lime juice and am waiting for the heat to hit us to drink a glass of lemon juice Kerala ishtyle.
Sugar Cane Juice: My mouth is watering already as I write this :p I think I pushed up sales graph of sugarcane juice wallahs a couple of miles higher on the chart. "Typhoid Juice", "Lizard Juice", etc were some terms my Dad used to keep us off sugar cane juice but that was an impossibility as these guys set up stalls every where, making it convenient to lop across the street and have a chilled glass far away from the watchful eyes of our parents. Regular news of kids who were hospitalized due to sugar cane juice and Ice Cream from roadside vendors which were read aloud had absolutely no effect on us.
Cucumber: Summers are synonymous with Cucumbers in Bangalore. And the Cucumber sellers had this wonderful masalas that made this enormously tasty veggie tastier. My favorite was a liquidy coriander chutney that the cart fellow would smear over the cucumber...yummmm.
Swing: Summers remind me of the swing at home. Somehow swinging in the cold Bangalore weather was no fun. But summers time ‘swinging’ was a treat!. As the swing rose higher and higher we felt like we were flying over the flowers and trees. It was an awesome feeling!
Summers and summer holidays were so much fun when we were in school and college. I am making this into a tag as I think we should relive from time to time the fun times we have had.
1. Write 8 things you enjoyed doing during summer/summer holidays.
2. Tag some people with the happy memories! (No need to post pictures!)
So I tag Alexis, Ganja Turtle, Neihal, Jiby, Jeseem, Fleiger, Mathew and Mind Curry to do The Sunshine Tag! :)
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Ad-ministering public health
Summer is approaching and the Central Govt. is floating quite few ads on Radio to warn people of the possibility of outbreak of diseases and teach the public the basics of health and hygiene.
Man one: Lala please give me some chole.
Man two: Why lala, salt is less today, didn’t let your sweat drip in the food? (derisive laughter)
Man two: And food is tasteless today, why… did you wash your hands before you cooked today? (derisive laughter)
Man two again: How can this food compare to the good taste of food served in dirty plates? (derisive laughter again)
Till here the ad is scripted very well in Hindi. Then comes this part that drives home the point that our Ministers have their ears to the ground and know what they are talking about.”
'Sushma Swarajish' voice: This is no laughing matter. Insist on your food vendor washing his hands thoroughly before cooking, using clean and purified water for cooking and sterilising the plates for your good health.
This is a public service announcement bought to you by the Government of India.
(loud derisive laughter from silverine!!)
Man one: Lala please give me some chole.
Man two: Why lala, salt is less today, didn’t let your sweat drip in the food? (derisive laughter)
Man two: And food is tasteless today, why… did you wash your hands before you cooked today? (derisive laughter)
Man two again: How can this food compare to the good taste of food served in dirty plates? (derisive laughter again)
Till here the ad is scripted very well in Hindi. Then comes this part that drives home the point that our Ministers have their ears to the ground and know what they are talking about.”
'Sushma Swarajish' voice: This is no laughing matter. Insist on your food vendor washing his hands thoroughly before cooking, using clean and purified water for cooking and sterilising the plates for your good health.
This is a public service announcement bought to you by the Government of India.
(loud derisive laughter from silverine!!)
Monday, March 12, 2007
The Red caste system
It was sometime in middle school that I was introduced to Communism via a lesson in Social Studies. As the teacher explained Communism, it’s birth and evolution and then the revolutions, I couldn't help but be impressed with the system. It looked picture prefect and the school text book laid a wonderful picture of Utopian nations like China, Russia and some other communist’s countries. This seemed like such a nice system where everyone had a job and everyone was equal and there was happiness and contentment all around. I could almost feel the contentment oozing out of the text book. So it was with stars in my eyes that I came home that day and as usual regurgitated the whole thing to my Dad. My Dad didn’t say anything as I was too young then to talk of government owning the means of production, principles of supply and demand etc.
Then I heard an observation by my cousin sister who used to fly with ‘Indian Airlines’ in the eighties. This observation opened my eyes in a way no book could. She talked of plane loads of Russians who came in droves to India on holiday in the 80’s. After flying for many years she had by now learnt to classify passengers at first sight. From these commie hordes she clearly discerned three or four types of people, which I later realized was a type of class system followed in communist countries.
The first class, was well educated, spoke good English and would refuse anything served on board. They would insist on French Coffee, Swiss Cheese etc which ‘Indian Airlines’ did not carry. So they preferred to eat nothing on board. They wore the latest fashion from Paris and Milan and they were attired from head to toe in designer clothes. They reeked “wealth”. This type also stayed in 5 star hotels as she would see them checking in when the crew checked into the same hotel.
The second class was the bureaucrats who had uniformed army men escorting them and given preferential treatment etc. They were polite and would take whatever was offered to eat. But the crew was intructed to take care of them as they were ‘Diplomats”. They would be met at the tarmac with cars that would whisk them off.
The third type was a little less high brow. They were polite and spoke a little English and usually checked into two and three star hotels.
The fourth type was a boisterous junglee type. This class formed the largest number among the Russians tourists. They were the laborers of the Communist economy. They were uncouth but friendly and grabbed whatever was on offer for free like sweets, cotton, Saunf etc. They were herded like cattle and stayed in really cheap hotels. They were treated real badly by the accompanying Russian escort and were used to being treated like crap.
From my cousin’s sisters observation I couldn't help but feel that no matter what the system we follow, we cannot escape classification. How much ever we try to create an equal society, we will fail as no man is made equal. There are some of us who are physically fit, while some are mentally superior. Some are good in business while others are good in numbers. When such disparity lies among humans, a system like Communism was bound to fail or flourish only under duress.
In the case presented above it is clearly visible that a sort of caste system is in practise in Communists countries. Besides an unofficial reward system exists to reward the intellect and productivity of outstanding citizens among them. It is a sort of invisible Capitalism. Unbelievable!!
( One of the best posts on this issue is here)
Then I heard an observation by my cousin sister who used to fly with ‘Indian Airlines’ in the eighties. This observation opened my eyes in a way no book could. She talked of plane loads of Russians who came in droves to India on holiday in the 80’s. After flying for many years she had by now learnt to classify passengers at first sight. From these commie hordes she clearly discerned three or four types of people, which I later realized was a type of class system followed in communist countries.
The first class, was well educated, spoke good English and would refuse anything served on board. They would insist on French Coffee, Swiss Cheese etc which ‘Indian Airlines’ did not carry. So they preferred to eat nothing on board. They wore the latest fashion from Paris and Milan and they were attired from head to toe in designer clothes. They reeked “wealth”. This type also stayed in 5 star hotels as she would see them checking in when the crew checked into the same hotel.
The second class was the bureaucrats who had uniformed army men escorting them and given preferential treatment etc. They were polite and would take whatever was offered to eat. But the crew was intructed to take care of them as they were ‘Diplomats”. They would be met at the tarmac with cars that would whisk them off.
The third type was a little less high brow. They were polite and spoke a little English and usually checked into two and three star hotels.
The fourth type was a boisterous junglee type. This class formed the largest number among the Russians tourists. They were the laborers of the Communist economy. They were uncouth but friendly and grabbed whatever was on offer for free like sweets, cotton, Saunf etc. They were herded like cattle and stayed in really cheap hotels. They were treated real badly by the accompanying Russian escort and were used to being treated like crap.
From my cousin’s sisters observation I couldn't help but feel that no matter what the system we follow, we cannot escape classification. How much ever we try to create an equal society, we will fail as no man is made equal. There are some of us who are physically fit, while some are mentally superior. Some are good in business while others are good in numbers. When such disparity lies among humans, a system like Communism was bound to fail or flourish only under duress.
In the case presented above it is clearly visible that a sort of caste system is in practise in Communists countries. Besides an unofficial reward system exists to reward the intellect and productivity of outstanding citizens among them. It is a sort of invisible Capitalism. Unbelievable!!
( One of the best posts on this issue is here)
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Woe'men's Day!
Happy Women’s Day to all of you gals out there. Today was a day of fun and excitement at the office with flowers for the ladies and a special lunch too. Besides, today was a significant day as most of us remembered to wish each other and sent out mushy ppt's and html mails with roses and pictures of women in various avataars.
After lunch we were as usual on a stroll around the campus when a senior colleague narrated an incident that happened some years ago when she was in college. Her Dad had just retired from a public sector company and the family decided to go back and settle down in their home town, Trivandrum. My colleague enrolled in a college in Trivandrum. One day on the way to college, at a road junction, some guys mouthed some obscenities at her. Enraged, as she had never heard such filth before in Mumbai where she had studied earlier, she confronted the guys and proceeded to give them a ticking off. She was polite in her language. The guys got aggressive when they heard her and demanded and apology for "thinking too much of herself." In their own words, when a girl walks on the road she invites such attention. If she was too particular then she could come to college in a car or sit at home, they said.
Soon the boys gathered a crowd and began heckling her. Someone called the police who came and took and girl and the boys concerned to the station. Soon a whole group of college students from the boy’s college landed up at the station, shouting slogans and asking her to apologize. The Inspector, sensing the situation asked to apologize. He told her that he understood her predicament but this was Kerala and the only way out for her was to apologize. The girl held her ground. Soon her father was called for. The Inspector again pleaded with him to ask his daughter to apologize. Instead of asking his daughter to apologize, the old man walked out of the station and amidst heckling and booing held his hand up in bought them together and apologized for his daughter’s behavior. Emboldened by this move the cops managed to tell the boys to disperse.
A few weeks later the girl and her family moved to Chennai. The public humiliation and the derisive laughter of neighbors was too much. There was much rejoicing in the community for teaching “the mumbai” girl a lesson. Satisfaction all around. They had taught another “westernized girl” to toe the line.
Ironically this happened the day after International Women’s Day. And more ironically this happened in the most literate State in India.
Happy Women's Day to all of you lovely ladies,young and old and not so old. You gals rock!!! :)
After lunch we were as usual on a stroll around the campus when a senior colleague narrated an incident that happened some years ago when she was in college. Her Dad had just retired from a public sector company and the family decided to go back and settle down in their home town, Trivandrum. My colleague enrolled in a college in Trivandrum. One day on the way to college, at a road junction, some guys mouthed some obscenities at her. Enraged, as she had never heard such filth before in Mumbai where she had studied earlier, she confronted the guys and proceeded to give them a ticking off. She was polite in her language. The guys got aggressive when they heard her and demanded and apology for "thinking too much of herself." In their own words, when a girl walks on the road she invites such attention. If she was too particular then she could come to college in a car or sit at home, they said.
Soon the boys gathered a crowd and began heckling her. Someone called the police who came and took and girl and the boys concerned to the station. Soon a whole group of college students from the boy’s college landed up at the station, shouting slogans and asking her to apologize. The Inspector, sensing the situation asked to apologize. He told her that he understood her predicament but this was Kerala and the only way out for her was to apologize. The girl held her ground. Soon her father was called for. The Inspector again pleaded with him to ask his daughter to apologize. Instead of asking his daughter to apologize, the old man walked out of the station and amidst heckling and booing held his hand up in bought them together and apologized for his daughter’s behavior. Emboldened by this move the cops managed to tell the boys to disperse.
A few weeks later the girl and her family moved to Chennai. The public humiliation and the derisive laughter of neighbors was too much. There was much rejoicing in the community for teaching “the mumbai” girl a lesson. Satisfaction all around. They had taught another “westernized girl” to toe the line.
Ironically this happened the day after International Women’s Day. And more ironically this happened in the most literate State in India.
Happy Women's Day to all of you lovely ladies,young and old and not so old. You gals rock!!! :)
Sunday, March 04, 2007
The smooth and potholed spiritual road
Warning: Very very long post
Sometime back during a conversation between me and my colleague, it came out that he was a rabid Atheist. And like most Atheists this gentleman too tried to bait me, a believer into an argument about the existence of an entity called, God. This gentleman lets call him SJ, felt that even without following a religion he was a good human being as any other religious person. He really didn’t need to go to Church or bow and scrape his knees on the Church floor to be a good human being. I asked him how he had become in his own words a “reasonably good human” being. He told me that he did what he thought was right, followed his conscience and was reasonably nice to people. I then asked him how he had learnt to judge what was right and wrong. He was a bit taken aback and gave me a reasonably unconvincing answer. I then pointed out to him that it was his God fearing parents who had influenced him the most during his growing up years and it was their beliefs that shaped him to be what he is today. He had imbibed the values of Christianity and after a point like a child who is on walker, discarded the walker and begun to walk alone. I thought he would slap me from the expression on his face.
This post is not about how corrupt religion has become or about the evils perpetrated in the name of religion. This post is about a great way of life called Christianity that now lies in the hands of nincompoops. Today, Christianity is a great learning ground for a child. We grow up learning that God loves the poor and meek. We are told to help the needy and sick and the downtrodden and we learn that it is our duty to help others in distress. Our simple questions are answered eloquently if we are lucky, by people like Sr. Mary.
Then comes adolescence and suddenly there is no one to guide us or answer the complex questions that is aroused in the mind of the young adult by the very teachings of Christianity. The usual clichéd answers by incompetent spiritual leaders and teachers lead to disillusionment and finally for some a fall away from the Church. You cannot teach people to think independently and then bullshit them. And herein lies a vacuum that the Church should seriously look into. The challenge lies in addressing this generation that the Church had nurtured at a young age. There is no one to take on the mantle from the primary and secondary Catechism teachers. Kids are left in a limbo.
Another area the Church has to change in is the attitude of Priest that they are owners of the Church. They preach from the pulpit that “you dear people are the Church, not this building” but advise them on matters regarding the Church and they brush you aside. Recently I attended a more than jam packed Sunday Mass at one of the overflowing Churches in Bangalore. After the mass I asked the Parish priest why he wasn’t increasing the frequency of Sunday Masses like other Churches and his flippant answer was that the faithful should not mind the minor discomforts of a crowded Church. I wanted to do some really unchristian things to him right then.
The Church should be made a community property and not a place where you come as a infrequent visitor on Sundays. When you give the onus of the Church in the hands of a few people, then you have to ensure that these people are squeaky clean or else as representatives of the Church a single wrong move by them can jeopardize the Church itself.
A vast majority of people like me still follow the religion ignoring the nincompoops that our religious leaders are, because we realize that we are what we are to a great extent due to our religion and ironically this religion has also enlightened us to recognize the nincompoops and ignore them.
I now practice my religion on my own volition and not because I am born to Christian parents. Which I think what Christianity is all about. It is not about the word ‘Christian’ in the religion column of a Passport form. Of course I will slap you back if you slap me…I won’t turn the other cheek which is why I am still Silverine and not St Silverine. But I also believe that had I been born a non Christian I would have eventually converted to Christianity at some point in my life.
This post is not about the merits of demerits of Christianity or other religions and so comments on the same are not welcome. This is just a dispassionate look at the state of the Church today.
Thank you Mind Curry for finally prodding me to right about something I wanted to write for a long time with your excellent post.
And apologies if I sound preachy, feel free to throw eggs on the monitor and yes, some green chillies too and ...guess you all know the drill by now :p
Sometime back during a conversation between me and my colleague, it came out that he was a rabid Atheist. And like most Atheists this gentleman too tried to bait me, a believer into an argument about the existence of an entity called, God. This gentleman lets call him SJ, felt that even without following a religion he was a good human being as any other religious person. He really didn’t need to go to Church or bow and scrape his knees on the Church floor to be a good human being. I asked him how he had become in his own words a “reasonably good human” being. He told me that he did what he thought was right, followed his conscience and was reasonably nice to people. I then asked him how he had learnt to judge what was right and wrong. He was a bit taken aback and gave me a reasonably unconvincing answer. I then pointed out to him that it was his God fearing parents who had influenced him the most during his growing up years and it was their beliefs that shaped him to be what he is today. He had imbibed the values of Christianity and after a point like a child who is on walker, discarded the walker and begun to walk alone. I thought he would slap me from the expression on his face.
This post is not about how corrupt religion has become or about the evils perpetrated in the name of religion. This post is about a great way of life called Christianity that now lies in the hands of nincompoops. Today, Christianity is a great learning ground for a child. We grow up learning that God loves the poor and meek. We are told to help the needy and sick and the downtrodden and we learn that it is our duty to help others in distress. Our simple questions are answered eloquently if we are lucky, by people like Sr. Mary.
Then comes adolescence and suddenly there is no one to guide us or answer the complex questions that is aroused in the mind of the young adult by the very teachings of Christianity. The usual clichéd answers by incompetent spiritual leaders and teachers lead to disillusionment and finally for some a fall away from the Church. You cannot teach people to think independently and then bullshit them. And herein lies a vacuum that the Church should seriously look into. The challenge lies in addressing this generation that the Church had nurtured at a young age. There is no one to take on the mantle from the primary and secondary Catechism teachers. Kids are left in a limbo.
Another area the Church has to change in is the attitude of Priest that they are owners of the Church. They preach from the pulpit that “you dear people are the Church, not this building” but advise them on matters regarding the Church and they brush you aside. Recently I attended a more than jam packed Sunday Mass at one of the overflowing Churches in Bangalore. After the mass I asked the Parish priest why he wasn’t increasing the frequency of Sunday Masses like other Churches and his flippant answer was that the faithful should not mind the minor discomforts of a crowded Church. I wanted to do some really unchristian things to him right then.
The Church should be made a community property and not a place where you come as a infrequent visitor on Sundays. When you give the onus of the Church in the hands of a few people, then you have to ensure that these people are squeaky clean or else as representatives of the Church a single wrong move by them can jeopardize the Church itself.
A vast majority of people like me still follow the religion ignoring the nincompoops that our religious leaders are, because we realize that we are what we are to a great extent due to our religion and ironically this religion has also enlightened us to recognize the nincompoops and ignore them.
I now practice my religion on my own volition and not because I am born to Christian parents. Which I think what Christianity is all about. It is not about the word ‘Christian’ in the religion column of a Passport form. Of course I will slap you back if you slap me…I won’t turn the other cheek which is why I am still Silverine and not St Silverine. But I also believe that had I been born a non Christian I would have eventually converted to Christianity at some point in my life.
This post is not about the merits of demerits of Christianity or other religions and so comments on the same are not welcome. This is just a dispassionate look at the state of the Church today.
Thank you Mind Curry for finally prodding me to right about something I wanted to write for a long time with your excellent post.
And apologies if I sound preachy, feel free to throw eggs on the monitor and yes, some green chillies too and ...guess you all know the drill by now :p
Saturday, February 24, 2007
An enigma...
Sonia was a slim and extremely beautiful girl. Fiercely independent and a go getter. She finished her Architecture from a leading college in Bangalore. Her parents, both successful doctors live in Kerala. While she was doing her engineering she spent her free weekends at our house as my parents were her local guardians. I was very fond of Sonia and she was my adopted elder sister. It was nice to have a sister and she slept in my room whenever she came over. We spent hours talking into the night. The bond between cousins is much stronger especially if you have stayed in each others house. After a point of time you stop being cousins and become family. I have several cousin sisters and I know the familiarity and trust that we share even though we meet only during vacations.
Pretty soon Sonia’s parents were looking for a groom for her. After a prolonged hunt they zeroed in on a boy from Trichur, a software engineer in a leading firm in the Gulf. I was aghast. I protested to Sonia that she would have no job opportunities in the Gulf. But Sonia was already in love with the photo of the groom. She would look at me dreamily and say that “You wouldn’t understand. When you grow up you will realize the importance of marriage and settling down.” Somehow even at that age, I realized that this was wrong. It felt ridiculous to see this girl who burnt the midnight oil in my house during weekends, completing complicated projects and earning a degree only to throw it all away.
Sonia’s groom was extremely good looking. He was a six footer and looked quite aloof at the Engagement. Sonia looked resplendent; she stood demurely her head bowed like a dutiful about-to-be wife. A faint blush lit her cheeks at the proximity of the strapping man beside her. I felt sick. Something was not right. I kept quite as my mom had pleaded with me to keep my sharp tongue in check for the sake of Sonia.
Sonia got married soon after and left the shores with her husband. Soon she was pregnant. And she had a baby boy. One day a cousin of my mom called up. She sounded absolutely thrilled at the scandal she was delivering. Apparently everything was not hunky dory with Sonia. Her husband beat her up regularly. He was a short tempered guy and a very jealous man. Soon, suspecting her fidelity he made her pregnant again so that she would look ugly and undesirable to other men. I sent frequent mails to her telling her to stop taking the abuse and leave him. But she never replied. I reasoned with her that she had the qualifications and the money to survive on her own, besides two apartments of her own in Kochi. Her mother called up my mom one day telling her rather sharply to rein me in and my ‘modern’ ways. My mom flatly refused as she said she found nothing wrong in my advice to Sonia.
The beatings and abuse continued. As soon as Sonia’s second child was born she was pregnant again. One day she came on Yahoo chat. I had nothing to say to her. What do I talk to a woman who deliberately takes punishments? As she filled me on the news, gushing over her children and their antics, I replied in mono syllables. An “ok” or an “oh”. She soon sensed my mood and enquired why I was being so distant. I told her rather frankly that I found her a loser for staying in an abusive relationship and a hypocrite…for chatting with me as though I didn’t know anything. She quickly said a bye and logged out.
Some time ago we heard that Sonia was back in Kochi to recover from an abortion. She had apparently lost her fourth child due to a merciless beating session. She was sent back to India with the kids to recover from the miscarriage. After her discharge from the hospital she packed her bags to go back to the Gulf. I made a last ditch attempt to stop her. But it failed as her mom would not allow her to take any calls from me. Sonia just left for the Gulf. She has a job now as her husband is unemployed. He has grown fat and is just as aloof as ever.
Is there any sane explanation for such behaviour?
Pretty soon Sonia’s parents were looking for a groom for her. After a prolonged hunt they zeroed in on a boy from Trichur, a software engineer in a leading firm in the Gulf. I was aghast. I protested to Sonia that she would have no job opportunities in the Gulf. But Sonia was already in love with the photo of the groom. She would look at me dreamily and say that “You wouldn’t understand. When you grow up you will realize the importance of marriage and settling down.” Somehow even at that age, I realized that this was wrong. It felt ridiculous to see this girl who burnt the midnight oil in my house during weekends, completing complicated projects and earning a degree only to throw it all away.
Sonia’s groom was extremely good looking. He was a six footer and looked quite aloof at the Engagement. Sonia looked resplendent; she stood demurely her head bowed like a dutiful about-to-be wife. A faint blush lit her cheeks at the proximity of the strapping man beside her. I felt sick. Something was not right. I kept quite as my mom had pleaded with me to keep my sharp tongue in check for the sake of Sonia.
Sonia got married soon after and left the shores with her husband. Soon she was pregnant. And she had a baby boy. One day a cousin of my mom called up. She sounded absolutely thrilled at the scandal she was delivering. Apparently everything was not hunky dory with Sonia. Her husband beat her up regularly. He was a short tempered guy and a very jealous man. Soon, suspecting her fidelity he made her pregnant again so that she would look ugly and undesirable to other men. I sent frequent mails to her telling her to stop taking the abuse and leave him. But she never replied. I reasoned with her that she had the qualifications and the money to survive on her own, besides two apartments of her own in Kochi. Her mother called up my mom one day telling her rather sharply to rein me in and my ‘modern’ ways. My mom flatly refused as she said she found nothing wrong in my advice to Sonia.
The beatings and abuse continued. As soon as Sonia’s second child was born she was pregnant again. One day she came on Yahoo chat. I had nothing to say to her. What do I talk to a woman who deliberately takes punishments? As she filled me on the news, gushing over her children and their antics, I replied in mono syllables. An “ok” or an “oh”. She soon sensed my mood and enquired why I was being so distant. I told her rather frankly that I found her a loser for staying in an abusive relationship and a hypocrite…for chatting with me as though I didn’t know anything. She quickly said a bye and logged out.
Some time ago we heard that Sonia was back in Kochi to recover from an abortion. She had apparently lost her fourth child due to a merciless beating session. She was sent back to India with the kids to recover from the miscarriage. After her discharge from the hospital she packed her bags to go back to the Gulf. I made a last ditch attempt to stop her. But it failed as her mom would not allow her to take any calls from me. Sonia just left for the Gulf. She has a job now as her husband is unemployed. He has grown fat and is just as aloof as ever.
Is there any sane explanation for such behaviour?
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