That Unique & Pleasant smell of Diwali...!

So it's that time of the year again when the air around is much more ebullient, moods across are unanimously joyous and people on the streets are all in a festive mode, yes it's the festival time in India once again.The festive season starts in late August with the reverberating Dahi Handi and Janamashtami bash, then it's the vibrant 10 day long Ganesh Festival which sets the tone for the festive season which is further toned up by the 9 day long Navratri festivities, where in the idols of different avatars of the Goddess are made and worshipped for 9 days and congruently the colorful Dandiya Raas adds more valor to these festivities, and all this eventually ends with one of the biggest and widely celebrated festival of the country, Dussera. Also amidst all these annual festivals we also celebrate Id with lots of fervor, which falls in the holy month of Ramzan. But the undisputed Amitabh Bachchan of these festivals is Diwali, which is celebrated by one and all irrespective of their faith,sex and race.

In my childhood whenever somebody asked which is your favorite month of the year, I promptly told them its February (that being my b'day month), but in my heart I always had a toss up between February and the months of October/November, mainly attributed to an entirely joyous and festive mood prevalent in these months. And till this day the lead up to Diwali always has an inexplicable but pleasant string of feelings attached to it, the air around is actually so buoyant with lot of freshness and positive vibes that you can virtually smell that Diwali has arrived. And this beautiful something happens every single year, giving you a feeling of Deja'vu!

The smell of fresh paint and white washing in the house makes you realize the fact that Diwali has arrived. The shopping spree in which the entire family or the entire locality or rather the entire nation indulges in before the Diwali day is infectious. All round the year we tend to plan our shopping in and around Diwali; the excitement and frenzy to wear new clothes in Diwali is absolutely matchless. That smell of Diwali special snacks cooked around all the houses is so damn tempting, those dry fruit stuffed Gujiyas, those crispy Salonis, those spicy Mixtures and Chudas, those delicious platter of umpteen variety of sweets apart from the regular Dahi Vadas, Chholey, and Puris are all in a sense a true indicator of the festive and celebration mood around.

And how about our mothers and sisters drawing those beautiful and colorful Rangolis infront of our houses, for hours, to make our houses seem even more beautiful and all set and ready for the D(iwali) Day! Then that further decorating of our houses with flowers, festoons and banana leaves, those string of colorful lights hanged all over the house to make it shine and glitter in the festive glory. That hyper exuberance and super excitement to buy and burn the fanciest of crackers and noisiest of bombs weeks before Diwali which almost turns into a show of might between the fiercely contesting neighbors, are all an experience of its kind.

If this is not all how about all the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood lined up for release in and around Diwali, making it even more special. Also those mega Diwali special offers flashed all across the town by all the leading shops and brands, be it Clothing, be it Furnishings or be it Automobiles, one can easily sense the Diwali mood in the markets which are comfortably five times more crowded than normal. Though the ways and means in and around Diwali might have changed a bit in the last few years, like a greater focus on a greener Diwali as against the noisier and the polluting one earlier, a health awareness amongst the masses to consume lighter and oil free food, even a sad diversion from the pure and natural form of sweets and snacks around Diwali to a much adulterated and a synthetic one these days but the essence and the zeal still remains the same.

Literatures and history might say that Diwali is a Hindu festival but any resident of this country very well knows that this beautiful occasion is not barbed by any religion or faith. Even a Muslim lights lamps and decorates his house on the Diwali Day, a Christian burns crackers with the same excitement as a Hindu does, and a Sikh family cooks and eats as many sweets and delicacies in Diwali as any Hindu family does. Such is the grandeur of our culture, such is the beauty of this festival and such is the unity in diversity of our great Nation.

A Very Happy, Joyous & Prosperous Diwali to All!

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Bollywood Frenzy - Big B, TV, Laughter & Dog Fights!

Big B - An Epitome of Grace and Sophistication!

Dan Dann Dannn Dann Dann Dannn Dannn Dannnnnnn......! Yes its that time of the year when the KBC jingle is back and it's back with its best executor, Mr Amitabh Bachchan! And without any surprises, the excitement, frenzy and the hoopla is on the same levels as it used to be 10 years back. Though the story and might of Indian television vis-a-vis Indian Cinema has transformed in a big way in this period but the power, panache and impact of this gentleman is still the same, if not more. And this effect is even more remarkable when you see all the Big Khans, Kumars and Chopras on some TV channel or the other which wasn't particularly the scene 10 years back. But amidst all the stiff competition this man stands apart and stands tallest in this elite crowd. And this is not due to his excellence in Hindi Cinema over last four decades or for his innumerable feats and awards for his acting skills but it is more to do with his personality, humility, conduct and respect for one and all. He is undoubtedly one of the best orators of the country we have today irrespective of the language he speaks in, be it Hindi or be it English. But amidst all this, what stands out particularly is the importance he gives to each and every participant who comes and sits in-front of him, howsoever rich, poor, good looking, learned, ignorant or ordinary the participant may be he treats them all with the highest degree of respect and makes sure that each of them feels special and not subdued by the fact that they are sitting in-front of the biggest superstar of the millennium. And when we are talking about these things, we are not at all taking into account his acting credentials or any other achievements, we are just focusing on his conduct, mannerisms and humility which are nothing short of exemplary. No wonder he is matchless, be it any of the contemporary superstars trying to rule the roost of the Television Industry. Undoubtedly Mr Bachchan is everybody's favorite and a role model for most of us. We can go on to heap truck loads of accolades for this man but probably the best way to coronate this gentleman is by calling him a 'Very Very Good Human Being', which is a rarity in present day context. He is the Big Boss, He is the Master, He is the biggest Khiladi and he truly has a multi crore Heart! Kudos to you Sir for being an inspiration for years and years!

Laughter is the Best Medicine, but today this Medicine is Adulterated!

It's a common adage that the toughest thing on earth is to genuinely make somebody laugh. And in today's world where people are so preoccupied with their self invited troubles, the value of a laughter or a smile has risen manifolds. Any thing which makes us smile or feel unburdened is well and truly appreciated and welcomed by one and all, and amidst all this the most potent medium of transmission of such a contagious and infectious attribute is the Cinema or the Bollywood. For all the countrymen Bollywood has always been the one constant which has evolved itself many a times and every single time it has offered something or the other to the audiences across a diversified strata of people. But comedy has invariably been the most sought after recipe all the while. No wonder that demand for comedy movies has always been HUGE and our film makers have never let us down. If we travel down the memory lane we just can't complete our journey without talking of the timeless classics made by Hrishikesh Mukherji, be it Guddi, be it Anand, be it Bawarchi, be it Golmaal or be it Naram Garam, the connect, the impact and the simplicity is just phenomenal and second to none. These timeless classics have touched our lives so deeply that each one of us is able to relate to these beautiful classics to an exemplary extent. Not only these movies have made us laugh out loud for years and years but they have all done so with a very good social lesson. Naturally the demand for such socially engaging, light hearted and jovial movies is still very huge. Obviously enough we still see so many of Comedy movies shelved out every single year. But unfortunately the level of finesse, excellence, connect and simplicity have declined dramatically. The comedy content in most of the today's movies is so loud, vulgar and inappropriate that they are unable to make us genuinely laugh out from our hearts. The formula e which are used today to make us laugh are that of Sex, Vulgarity, Nudity, Loudness and Homosexual puns,all being a huge digression from the movies made in 70s and 80s which always concentrated on getting as close to the common man in its conduct thereby inducing an environment of fun, enjoyment and wholesome entertainment. There is huge dearth of excellent comedy stuffs which is sans these uncalled of stuff which force us to laugh on the sheer stupidity of the act rather than the genuineness and connect with our daily lives. Though there are still quite a few exceptions who are treading the paths of Hrishikesh Mukherji, in the name of Munna Bhai & 3 Idiots fame Raju Hirani and makers of other beautiful movies made recently, like Do Dooni Chaar, Khichdi and Herapheri (only part 1), but we need quite a handful of others too, to create the magic weaved by the directors and yesteryear film makers. Because the true comedy is not about hitting somebody on the wrong body parts and forcing people to laugh on such stupid ugly acts, but it's more to do about hitting the right chord in the viewer's heart by the sheer tenets of simplicity, connect and social impact.

Way to Go Raju and others who are the true heir of Hrishi da's school of entertainment because after all laughter truly is the best medicine:)!

Dog Fight Bolly Style!

How can a talk of Bollywood get completed without some tadka, gossip and Dog Fight? The tradition of marketing, publicity and promotion by the most innovative means before the release of any movie is a common thing. But can it get more interesting when two of the most popular if not successful directors of the industry slug it out blatantly on each other. So every time Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) has his movie ready for release, he never misses an opportunity to promote his movie without taking some potshots at his fiercest foe, KJo (as he likes to be called) or Karan Johar (as his parents christened him). RGV clearly states that his movies aren't for the KJo's fan who are born and brought up watching those monotonous sob sob family movies which are unrealistic and stupidity par tolerance, according to him. He further goes on to say that KJo has only one formula which he packs and presents by different names, not even altering the cast of his movies in a considerable way. And on all this dirt the usually reticent and feminine KJo takes a masculine stand and retorts with a vengeance by quickly pointing out that RGV's collections from all the movies he has made in the last decade taken together are still short of what any of the KJo's movie have garnered. Moreover KJo goes on to say that even the crow of Phoonk 2 (one of the many flop ventures of RGV) has refused be a part of RGV's forthcoming release Phoonk 3. And what is even more interesting is the fact that both these not so gentle men vent this out openly in the media. Though its a common fact that neither KJo nor RGV are known to be the all time best technicians film industry has seen, both being on the right side of the tide at some moment or the other. But certainly their dogfight has always been a real treat for all avid cinema goers, if not their movies.

Keep slugging it out Sirs, it's truly thoroughly entertaining!

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Test Cricket Vs Rest of the Cricket!

In the fast food age and the item number era of Mallika Sherawat and Malaika Arora not many heads turn for the timeless marvels like Kajol and Madhuri, but the real connoisseurs of art always prefer spending on the later ones, howsoever arty, slow pace and contemporary their style of entertainment might be. The true ecstasy evolves from the finesses, grace and sophistication and not by the means of brazen audacity or outrageous exhibition of power and flesh. One may eat unlimited Pizzas and Burgers but for survival he has to depend on the conventional Daal and Roti; an item song can add some zing to the movie but for that movie to be a HIT you got to have some really good actors, technicians and a well written script because a bunch of item songs can’t go on to make that movie a success; a girl friend or a boy friend might seem to be the most loving, caring and understanding companion but in due course nobody can replace thy parents who are the roots of one’s existence; And this holds true in all walks of life including the unanimous religion of this nation, CRICKET, whose new variants are posing a serious threat to its ultimate format, TEST CRICKET!

In this era of nonstop 20-20 and 50-50 cricket not many heads roll when the focus shifts to the apex format of the game. The latest and the shortest version of the game provides so much thrill, excitement, entertainment and moolah that it is bound to garner more eye balls and followers vis-a-vis Test Cricket. The most common argument given in favor of 20-20 and against the Test Cricket is that when one gets more thrill and excitement in just 1/15th of time than why should one waste 5 days of his time without a guaranteed result in the match. Not only the current crop of fans and followers are shifting their focus to 20-20 but even the younger generation of cricketers are focusing to make a mark in only the T-20 arena which is in stark contrast to the Rahul Dravid’s generation where the ultimate aim of any budding cricketer happened to be that of representing his nation as a Test Cricketer. But now even the talks of being a Test player have gone for a toss, youngsters these days get themselves equipped with a tattoo even before facing their 1st ball in the international circuit (read kohli), some are so very peculiar with their hair style, that they change their beard and hair styles more often than they eventually get to play for their country (read uthapa) and some show all-round skills right from their 1st game for the country but unfortunately these are all non-cricketing skills like dancing, sledging, mimicking etc(read sreesanth). So amidst all this, Test Cricket? One must be joking:)!

Ironically all one needs to succeed in the shorter format is just the brute power against the rock solid defense, impeccable technique, excellent temperament, choreographer’s footwork, tight rope walker’s balance and acrobat’s agility required to succeed in the test format. And in true sense these are the ingredients which make the Test Cricket beautiful! Undoubtedly the shorter formats generate more revenues and are more thrilling in nature but the gratification, pleasure and ecstasy one derives from the subtle nuances of test match cricket is second to none. No wonder the course of a match changes in a few balls in 20-20 cricket but the strategies, traps and guiles of the test match over the period of full 5 days and the subtle turn which the course of a test match takes over a session of play is just too alluring to be even compared to any other format. Moreover when the concept of this game was coined it was not to make money or to thrill the audiences the way 20-20 is doing today because anyways for those purposes we still had Stock Markets and Sherlock Holmes movies; naturally the aim behind this beautiful game (read test cricket) was to play the game at its utmost sanctity and derive pleasure from it.

For that matter all those uncountable centuries and the mountain of runs scored by Sir Sachin Tendulkar in this format, those magnificent spells of spin bowling and wizardry casted by the great Shane Warne, those deadly spells of swing bowling and toe crashing Yorkers bowled by the invincible Wasim Akram, those magnificent fourth innings match saving centuries scored by the champion batsman Brian Lara on the fifth day wearing track against Australia, those innumerable wickets taken by the wily old fox Muttiah Murlitharan on even the most placid of tracks, those jaw dropping murderous batting display by destructive Virender Sehwag and that sheer artistic magnificence flowing out of the bat of Very Very Special Laxman every single time his team is on the brink of a defeat are all far more superior in class and skill than those 20 ball 70 runs scored by some Keiron Pollard in a 20-20 encounter or for that matter those super over cliffhangers which decide the fate of the match by sheer muscle power as against the class and skills which the above mentioned gentleman showcased to decide the fate of a match. And undoubtedly Tendulkar, Lara, Warnie, Akram and others are the guys who are the all time favorites of even the younger generations be it the audiences or be it the budding cricketers. And even these gentlemen played 20-20 cricket or are still playing it, but they never endorsed it at the expense of Test Cricket, in fact at some point or the other they gave up their 20-20 or ODI career to prolong their test match career, so why are the present day budding cricketers who idolize these great gentlemen, running behind the money rather than continuing with the rich tradition practiced by their predecessors. And if their only aim of playing this game is to make money, than there are many other avenues where they can make more and faster money. But the broader aim of the players, organizers and all the followers should be to preserve the sanctity of this beautiful game whose byword has always been FAIR!

But on a macro level BCCI is responsible for the current mindset which is prevalent among the masses these days, be it the audiences or be it the cricketers. Though the more established and successful players are still choosing what they want to play and what they want to skip but by and large it is BCCI who is not only dictating a majority of its players by scheduling jam packed tournaments but is also by its financial might trying to maneuver things across cricketing boards of other nations. However on the face of it every now and then BCCI tries to project that its platter is clean by converting a 7 match ODI series into a 2 match Test series plus a 3 match ODI series, but that is still not doing any good to the Test Cricket. The broader aim of BCCI should be to promote the youngsters to play Test Cricket rather than luring them to be a part of filthy rich IPL tournament. Although tournament like IPL makes financial sense for both the board and players at the same time, but in the longer run it is doing not contributing to quality of cricket as such. And amidst all this the most worrisome fact is the state of Indian Test Team post Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman! They are in the evening of their career and we are yet to find their apt replacements; and with the increase in number of 20-20 games all at the expense of Tests, things are only going be to get worse.

There is nothing wrong with 20-20 cricket or for that matter any other shorter format of the game. But this formula of shortened game, heightened excitement and quick money is only dirtying the game rather than beautifying it. No wonder with the advent of these formats the instances of match fixing, spot fixing and gambling have risen enormously. However these malpractices can’t be attributed solely to the shorter format and rather it’s prudent to treat this as a sheer coincidence that these things didn’t exist in the old age era when only Test Matches were played because this has more to do with the individual’s conscience and morals than the version of the game he is playing. At the end of it, it’s an individual’s choice as to what he wants to play or what he prefers to watch but any form of the game shouldn’t be promoted at the expense of the other. And Test Cricket being the purest, fiercest and the most competitive form of cricket should be handled with utmost care and preserved as a real gem; youngsters should be taught the importance of true values and hard work and the fact that they should adopt the game for the sheer pleasure of continuing the rich tradition of Test Cricket rather than pursuing it for just making money, money should just be treated as a byproduct of pursuing this as a career and not the sole aim of adopting it. Only then we can dare to the see new Dravids, Tendulkars, Kumbles, Warnes and Gilchrist of Test arena, all of whom not only excelled in Test cricket but by their hard earned temperament, technique, balance and poise but also marveled at the shorter formats too.
Long Live Test Cricket!

Behind the scenes – A lot of my friends laughed on me when I took a sick leave on the 3rd day of recently concluded Ind V Aus test, but luckily it paid off as the little master went on to score his 14,000th run and 49th century on the very same day:). That’s Gratification for me!

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How to tag CWG -2010, Success or Failure?

Woohoo...so we did it! What an exhilarating Opening Ceremony, stand out performances by our athletes and an equally reverberating closing extravaganza. Nobody could have thought of or asked for anything better. But what is even more surprising is the fact that how come general perception about this mega event changed so drastically in just 3 weeks time? When almost a fortnight back everybody was up and bashing the very concept of CWG being staged in India all guns out, dreading all sorts of untoward mishaps like infrastructure collapse, hygiene mess up, security breach and think what may, how come such a huge turn around in such a short span? Was it because of the fact that we never expected that we as a nation can stand up and deliver such a high quality global event or was it mainly because of the media created hoopla, with media just trying to mint money by showcasing the event in its extremes rather than being a prudent source of broadcasters or was it the general pessimist and downplaying attitude which we as a nation possess and practice?

Actually its a mix of all such negative characteristics, off-late media in general has been more concerned about the TRPs rather than serving the nation with the right quality news stuff, we as a nation have always been a self depreciating lot, low in confidence and usually a pessimist bunch. But then the million dollar question is how should we grade this mega event, Super Successful or an Utter Failure? Are our athletes really so good to have clinched all those medals which they eventually ended up with? Was the closing and the opening ceremony really a world class and a never before showpiece spectacle? And do all those financial irregularities and the massive corruption done on to the lead up of CWG, really counts for nothing, once that we have ourselves declared the games such a big HIT? Well a YES or NO answer to this question won't do the desired justice to this complicated issue, rather the most prudent and practical way of handling these set of questions would be to answer them in parts and with full objectivity.

So if we just talk of the way this event has unfolded in front of the world, it is actually remarkable, it might not be the all time best spectacle but still it ranks very much at the top. The opening and the closing ceremony were a true masterpiece which stumped, floored, wooed one and all, and even the global media was very upbeat in lauding the finesse, grandeur and magnificence of the entire show. Not only this the hospitality and the facilities which were eventually being provided to the athletes and the visiting contingents were ostentatious and world class to say the least. Though there were big doubts and question marks over everything linked to the games but at the end of it we should salute all the artists, delegates and workers who delivered such a high quality product in the end. We well and truly deserve a huge round of applause for making our nation proud in the global canvas and by being the best possible hosts to our esteemed guests. So on the whole a 10 on 10 for a marvelous showpiece, heart warming hospitality and an excellent conduct of the game!

Now if we talk of the brilliant performances of our athletes in various games, well any amount of accolade, praise and felicitation will fall short in celebrating their efforts. Over a 100 medals across various stream of sports is a truly commendable job and it shouldn't be an exaggeration if we single out these brave hearts as the true winners and the reason for the success of this mega event. These players are the ones who actually made us shift our attention from the debacles and fiascoes before the start of the event to the actual games. These are the heroes whose efforts eventually brought that smile on our faces with their valiant on field efforts.But amidst all these celebrations just a tinge doubt, how have they turned themselves into such high quality athletes overnight, when we struggle to win even a single bronze medal in the Olympics and when we are still not out of the celebration mode evolving out of the lone Gold Medal which we won in the last Olympics,so how come such a quick turn around? Well without any offence against any of our medal winning athletes, we should not forget that none of the world beating countries in the sports arena are a part of Common Wealth Games spectrum, be it USA, be it China or be it any American or European sporting stalwart. Add any one of them in these games and for sure they will wipe off all the medals in a hurry. And we should also not discount the fact that out of all the participating nations too, many of the top athletes across various sports pulled out at the last minute due to their apprehensions about the facilities and the security arrangements made for the games. But cynicism aside we should not stop ourselves from cheering up and praising each of our medal winners in the Games. So again a 10/10 for all the medal winners and other participating athletes of our country who actually made us realize that the Common Wealth Games 2010 was all about the sports and the athletes and not about the corrupt organizers and lackadaisical politicians but still a long way to go!

Now last but not the least, a thought for our corrupt organizers and politicians who overshoot the cost of organizing these events by not twice or thrice but by 117 times? Now shall we really care about such things once the games have been successfully completed without any hiccups? In fact the easiest possible thing to do now is to just dump this issue of financial irregularities in the cold storage! And that's what we have been doing all along since our independence, a flurry of scams and scandals, a plethora of investigation and probes and the unanimous outcome of all such financial quandary has been a Cipher! But if we actually want to move ahead in the global arena , its high time we treat these things very seriously and we actually do a thorough, unbiased and politics free probe and make all the culprits accountable for each and every misused penny, after all every ounce of it is the tax payers money. And even if we deploy half of the walloped amount by these greedy politicians and organizers in the welfare and development of proper infrastructure for our athletes, one day we can surely replicate this medal tally in the Olympics. Hence amongst all the accolades and glory we are showered with post the successful completion of the games, its very easy to forget everything which happened in the lead up to this huge event, but at least for the sake of our persevering athletes its very important to treat all the offenders on merit rather than treating them on their financial or political might. So even after a successful hosting of the CWG 2010, a 0/10 for the organizers who not only messed up with the common man's money but also made a mockery of our national pride!

So all in all it has been a roller coaster ride, a very peculiar case study in itself. There are plenty of things about which we should be proud of and at the same time there are some really serious issues, which if not addressed pretty soon and in the right stead can be very detrimental to our nation. It's so very easy to remain complacent and bask in the glory of successful completion of CWG 2010 and there is nothing wrong in it either, but our broader objective should be to cleanse this malignant system plagued by the vices of dishonesty and corruption only then one fine day, we can dream of being a potent contender for hosting the Olympic Games!

Bird's eye view : It's easy to criticize, tough to applaud but super duper tough to be FAIR!
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Heartening memories of the Past or Disheartening roadblocks of today?

Why does it happen that things which are no more in our control now or not in our reach presently seem so very beautiful, no matter how useless or painful they appeared at that point in time?

Why do we so dearly miss those tiffin boxes which our mother used to give us in the school days? Why are those yesteryear sandwiches still the most delicious ones we have ever had, irrespective of the variety we have today by the virtue of Mc Donald’s, Subways, Dominos and many such omnipresent outlets?

Why do we still remember, search, long and appreciate each and every toy we have played with even two, three, or four decades back even though now we have access to all the latest American, Chinese or Japanese toys just by a mouse’s click?

Why do we still remember and cherish each of those rides we took on Dad’s age old Scooter, which at that point seemed to be the ugliest automobile on the road, when now when can ourselves own and ride the most expensive sedan available in the market?

How can we still recall each and every moment of those birthday parties staged at home with the entire colony being a part of it and despite the fact that the evening menu just had five items in all, water being the fifth item other than Samosa, Rasgulla, Cake and Navratan Mixture, when now we celebrate even our Car’s birthday at one of the town’s leading Five star?

Why can’t we stop humming, grooving and literally dancing on those old Shammi Kapoor classics when we have far more technically sound and perfect artists in the name of Jackson and Hrithik?

Why do we still talk for hours on those age old Doordarshan classics like Humlog, Buniyaad, Circus, Mahabharata, Chitrahaar, Dekh Bhai Dekh etc every now and then when we have thousands of soap of various kinds running 24*7 across hundreds of channels vis-a-vis the poor Doordarshan of yesteryear which is on its death bed now?

Why do we still love flipping our black and white photo albums which had only a limited array of hardbound pictures in comparison to a hundreds of GBs of photos and videos we have clicked through our latest and most advanced Digital and SLR cameras?

How is even a 5 year old able to recognize Gandhi as the father of nation, where even half of us don’t even know the name of present Vice President of India?

Why do we still love to see the recordings of Sachin Tendulkar tonking the great Shane Warne for 15 runs in an over when today likes of Yuvraj Singh are blasting 36 runs in an over?

Why do feel so nostalgic thinking of those Software Engineering or Financial Management classes, which at that time seemed to be the most boring, irritating and bunk able lectures? Is it because we want to learn those subjects now or do we feel nostalgic fantasizing about those carefree days?

We may meet our best of friends every now and then over a cup of coffee or for dinner at a fine dine restaurant, but why is it so that every time we meet, we invariably talk and miss those street food we had during our college days?

Is it all because we as a human race are generally a sadist lot or is it a recurring reminder and a warning to live and enjoy every moment of our life to the fullest. No wonder what, not many take lessons from such hints and hence more often than not we spend our time either cribbing on our present state or pondering on those beautiful memories of the past.

It’s not that we are living a miserable or a dreadful life now, there are chances that we are super busy in our professional lives and don’t have that extra time to celebrate and cherish the beauty of every moment to that extent. But certainly life is still as beautiful as it was in our childhood, school days, college days or say 1 year back, in fact the very moments which we are cribbing and cursing now will seem to be rosy 10 years down the line. So it’s all in the mindset, it’s all about the attitude and gravity with which one conducts his life. That’s why even a poor man earning a paltry sum and living on the street seem to be much happier than most of us who have all the luxuries in life. And the reason why he is happy is the fact that his attitude is much better than us, he hardly thinks or cribs on what he is not having, rather he chooses to feel good about what he has and how those things have made his life so beautiful.

By the grace of god, human mind is very selective, it tends to retain only the happy and beautiful moments of life and erases off the sad and sorrowful moments, no wonder we don’t remember the sad moments of our lives as vividly as we remember the smallest and oldest of our happy moments. There is nothing wrong in pondering upon the memories of the past and dwelling upon them but that should not be at the expense of getting our present getting affected. As up and downs are a part and parcel of life, but only those guys stay happy and go the distance who know or who have learned the art of living their every moment to the fullest.

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Ayodhya - The Non Issue!

A national dispute which is 19 years old, may be 60 years old or probably 500 years old, has still kept the largest democracy of the planet on its toes. The Ramjanam Bhoomi - Babari Masjid dispute or let’s not leave any chances of controversy and phrase it the other way round too, the Babri Masjid - Ramjanam Bhoomi dispute, is a classic example of how emotional we are as a nation. But the manner in which our nation has handled the situation especially on the day of the verdict by the Luck now High court i.e. 30th September 2010 is nothing short of phenomenal. The same controversy shed so much blood 19 years back that it became the darkest moment in the history of this proud nation, not only it damaged the nation's image on the global canvas to mammoth levels but it also left deep scars of trust deficit in the minds of millions of innocent Hindus and Muslims. And the people of both the faiths are still paying the heavy price for that debacle by means of Godhra's, 26/11 and a lot more such heinous tragedies all across the nation. But the reason why we should pat our backs for our conduct during and post the high court verdict is that we are living in a more dangerous set up today vis-a-vis the setup two decades back. With so much media coverage and such a high degree of tension brewing up between ourselves and our neighbors, with terrorist outfits always on a lookout for creating havoc, globally too the threats of terror on the name of faith and religion has become such a major security concern, that one has to be very tactful in conducting oneself in such touchy moments, no wonder we as a nation deserve a very high degree of encomium for showing superb maturity in such a tricky scenario.

Though some might argue that if Jews have Jerusalem as their holiest place, signifying it as ‘THE’ place of their ultimate deity Jesus, Muslims have Mecca - Madina as their ultimate place of worship and place where the founder of Islam took birth, Hinduism being the third largest religion in the world , with Lord Rama being its main deity, have to still fight for a bloody, communal and a legal battle to attain the ownership of the place which they believe is the birthplace of their apex deity, Lord Rama. Now there can be various schools of thoughts on this belief but the worst aspect of this issue is the fact that it has been used for gaining political mileage by various political parties in the past, parties like BJP and Shiv Sena are the ones which came into forefront riding on the emotional wave created through this sensitive issue. Though it’s a common myth that only extremists groups like BJP, Shiv Sena and VHP are responsible for baking their bread on the Ayodha burner, but one should not discount the lackadaisical role which the oldest and self proclaimed secular party by the name of Congress has played in this debacle. The heartthrob youth leader of the 80s Mr. Rajiv Gandhi was the one who opened the gates of the disputed monument for Hindus to offer their prayers; Why this disruption of status quo? Obviously to strengthen their Hindu Vote bank. Also there was a Congress Government at the center when that horrendous act of demolishing the Mosque took place, and to believe the argument that the center had no clue about such a mass movement building up is nothing short of a big Joke. So it would be wrong to blame only a few political parties for such a fiasco, rather it can be safely assumed that all the political parties who should have acted sensibly and handle the issue with a lot of care have actually made a mess out of it for their own gains. And the tragedy is that even today there are netas who are hoping to resurrect their careers on the debris of a mosque.

But the obvious silver lining in this so very controversial issue is that the fact that the fate will be decided in the court of law vis-a-vis the bloody route which some shenanigans adopted two decades back. Though some might agree to the verdict and some might not but thankfully with the court of law being involved in the proceedings, everybody is expected to atleast respect it. Though even I am confused with some of the decisions passed on by the Luck now high-court bench, like declaring the disputed land as the actual place where Lord Rama took birth, now with facts put forth by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) one can factually come to a conclusion that there was a temple here centuries back on the ruins of which the Mosque was built, also ASI can ascertain the timelines as to when and by whom the monuments were built but how can they adjudge that this was the very place where the Lord Rama took birth, that to me is quite confusing. Though there might be various other parameters and facts which the court of law might have relied upon, but on the superficial level none of the logics supporting this premise came out in the public. Obviously it’s absolutely unfair to be judgmental on the issue or towards any particular sect based on the awareness of incomplete facts, but if decisions in the court are taken based on faiths and beliefs rather than facts and concrete evidences, it is not a fair implementation of justice, no matter whom it supports, be it the Hindus or be it the Muslims.

Though my standpoint on this issue is totally different from what is happening in the true sense, I believe neither Lord Rama nor the Almighty Allah would have preferred to be worshiped in a place which is soaked by the blood of hundreds of innocent people. And why is it so damn important for us as a nation to have either a Mandir or a Masjid there? What good will that to the poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, hunger and plethora of such problems which have crippled our nation for decades? At max it will pacify the egos and testosterones of some octogenarian politicians and will result in some more blood shedding but it will hardly do any good to the development of our highly talented nation. And how can we discount the amount of security threat it will pose to the new monument, it’s very easy to dream of a win win situation and peaceful environs once a Mandir or a Masjid is built, but by default the very day the monument comes into existence it will become a top terror target for all the mischievous outfits. So when we are already living in a set up where all the places of historic and national importance are under the constant terror threat, can we actually afford another high profile monument? Though it’s a different debate that we as a nation should be having the firepower to tackle any such probable mishaps, but nobody can deny the fact that any monument built after so much animosity and blood-shedding won't be a soft target for all kinds of unwanted activities.

Now there have been various school thoughts which have been proposed as a probable solution for this age old problem, in fact the high court has also come up with a three leg partition formula for all the (three) interested parties who are fighting the battle legally, though this solution has surprised a few, shocked a plenty and amused a section but I personally don't think that this formula of divide and unite can ever work, it will have its own share of new problems which are difficult to foresee at this stage, but given the adrenaline rush we as a nation ride upon, it will be more of a mess than an ambitious solution! I don't know why some common sense and sanity is not prevailing in the cauldrons of court rooms and government think tank offices? Why are we so hell bent in having a religious monument there, can’t they think that having a Hospital, School, Orphanage, Old Age Home or a Playground will contribute more to the society than having a place of religious importance which will be a constant cause of irk for a section of society. They can think but probably by doing so all our ministers, politicians and bureaucrats will become jobless, literally unemployed, because these are the issues which they have been giving a communal tadka all along with a vision to build their large empires, so if these issues cease to exist, they (ministers, politicians) will also fall into the category of endangered species.

But I am still very proud with the way YOUNG INDIA has handled this issue, they are very well aware that a Mandir or Masjid in Ayodhya won't contribute to their well being in Madurai, Bikaner or Aizwal, so there is no point being judgmental, emotional or stupid on this issue, which in turn is eventually a very threatening signal for our leaders but a very welcome and promising sign for our nation.

Lets us all not let this communal wave of Saffron or Green get into our nation's superfluous path of tremendous growth and prosperity today and show the world that why we are the greatest democracy in the world and a very strong super power of tomorrow!

JAI HIND!

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kin...

Horrid adaptation to the Wify's mode of Shopping!

Few months earlier shopping to me meant buying of bare minimum things in life, like clothes, footwear,watches,eatables and occasionally some gadgets like cell phone, cds and laptop. And none of these buyouts took more than half and hour or so, 20 minutes for googling and finalising the model or the variant and 10 minutes inside the shop for completing the transaction and coming out with the desired item. But things have changed drastically for me in the last few months, no need to mention this change is again attributed to my change in status not the financial status because that has become even more miserable,I was living with the hope that my salary will automatically double in due course but things have rather taken an altogether sad turn, earlier I used to pay for 1 credit card bill but now by default I am paying for 2 (unfortunately the 2nd is not by my name), earlier (most of the times) I used to pay only for my clothes, watches, foot wears and gadgets but now by default I am paying for hers too, earlier I used to at least get some tranquilizers by means of occasional gifts but now such inflows have virtually ceased rather the outflows have almost doubled, needless to say I am paying for two mobile bills now, earlier when the flat rent used to be shared by 5 guys, I am paying the entire sum now, so with the Internet, maid, electricity and numerous other routine things. Understandably the financial status has changed the other way round, but the status change which I am emphasizing on is the marital status, undoubtedly life has become beautiful and pleasantly different after this marital status change but still these little, funny and financially aching things are worth mentioning:).

So when few days back Mi lord expressed the desire to visit the near by pottery shop to buy some articles I thought it won't be a big exercise but will limit only to buying some flower pots and clay water containers. However as always she proved me utterly wrong and it turned out to be an exhausting affair, but thanks to my learnings from past experiences I applied all my skills to weather this storm in the most prudent way I can and I think eventually I came out with a minimal damage. When we reached the pottery shop, I realized that it is injustice to call this a shop because the size and diversity which that outlet possessed, it was a virtual pottery supermarket and also the beginning of my miseries. No wonder the expected 20-30 minute affair turned out into 2 hour long excursion in which Mi Lord analysed, en-quired and bargained on all the items present in the store. She spent ample amount of time on almost each of the items present there, while I was cursing myself all the while but still wearing that plastic smile of a very sensible and accommodating husband accompanying her patiently in all her scrutinies.

In another 90 minutes of time she finalised two show pieces which looked grossly ugly to me, but I couldn't gather the strength to express my true feelings and I opted for the safe path of patience and admiration. She then picked up a handmade clay tortoise, which was probably a keyholder or a fruit holder or a coin holder, infact I still don't know what it is meant for but by the look of it that certainly seemed to be a useless object at that point , but Mi-lord was so enchanted by it that I preferred to keep mum. Then amidst her own calculations and logics behind buying that article she murmured that keeping a tortoise (type article) in the house brings lots of money, naturally hearing this me being a typical man started feeling for that lifeless tortoise and all of a sudden that ugly tortoise seemed to me the most beautiful creation in the world by man. Awe-inspiring ! Thereafter I praised that tortoise to such extents that even she became sure about buying that tortoise. She eventually went on to buy as many as 5 useless show pieces in that 2 hours span but I was very content with my conduct during this otherwise stupid and meaningless shopping session, though admittedly that tortoise was also one of the reason why my irritation and cribbing quotient was remarkably low that day:).

But this was not the only instance with her highness when I have to operate out of my '30 minute shop anything funda', it had happened quite a few times earlier also. When we were setting up our house immediately after marriage, I tactfully decided upon all the items to be bought by the same '30 minute shop anything funda' through the aid of google and various other comparative websites and I was pretty sure that we will go into a electronic megamart, book the items, pay for them and come out in the minimal time. But expectedly enough the story wasn't this rosy and tables were turned upside down the moment we entered the store. Where according to me a 180 or at max 210 litres refrigerator was quite sufficient for two of us, she straight away booked the 330 litres variant without letting me even ask the logic behind such an act. Now, that refrigerator stands taller than me and atleast 3 gals of my wife's size can easily fit in that, but then you don't have the luxury of doing things by logic and reasons. The same happened with almost every item, be it the super wide, flat and theatre-esque Television set on which the leading ladies of Television cry religiously for 4-5 hours every night and I have to tolerate these melodramatic scenes every single day and that too on that ultra huge television set; or be it that extra fluffy sofa set, 501 functions microwave, ultra complicated food processor or those irritatingly gigantic wardrobes. Initially I tried to force my way by means of my own logic, rationale and sensibilty theories but her simple advice to me was - 'you should only be concerned about the bigger issues of life and leave the smaller ones to me', at the face of it I became very happy with opportunity of handling the bigger issues but she was quick enough to clarify the bigger and the smaller issues. By bigger issues she meant Indo Pak Peace process, when should Tendulkar retire, should Mayawati strike an alliance with BJP in the upcoming elections and etc etc and by smaller issues she meant all the issues related to our household. Understandably I had no choice hence now I try to just concentrate on the bigger issues of life by writing some stupid blogs:).

But the most painful moments are those everyday rendezvous with each of those objects at home, be it those ugly showpieces, be it that giant refrigerator or be it those various other wify's choice items. Every time I stare at them or walk pass them they seem to be laughing at me, virtually teasing me and making a cacophonous chorus dig at me. I some how feel so lonesome at times that it actually seems to be a 'me vs my wife and her troop' battle to which I have surrendered conveniently by now, rather I am trying to make friends with those dead but strong foes. But yeah this has become a part of life and I have accepted Mi Lord's diktat of handling the bigger issues and letting her take charge in the smaller ones, though my only hope and companion amidst all this chaos happens to be Mr. Tortoise:).

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kin...

Collapsing Bridges, Ceilings, Beds & National Pride, its CWG 2010!

Common Wealth Games 2010, New Delhi! A lot has been said on this and a lot more will be said on this in the coming few weeks, most of which has been sad and most of which will probably be sadder but the matter of fact is every ounce of this intriguing story is far more exhilarating than one might have thought of. Initially the entire nation was gasping for some fresh breath after knowing about the huge corruption and misuse of tax payers money by the organizers and the extent of financial muddling they have done. But honestly speaking it is nothing new, we have had a rich heritage of scams, scandals and buffs involving mammoth sum of money, though this one has surpassed all its predecessors by a huge margin, still the essence remains the same.

So even if keep these financial killings aside there are still some serious worries in store. The attitude which the organizers of the event are flashing is nothing short of outrageous. Well, you delay the delivery of the final product by a few weeks or at max by a month or two, its acceptable, but if you delay it by months and almost by a year its far from tolerance, in fact the lackadaisical attitude of our authorities have brought us in a scenario where the nation is just a week away from the opening ceremony and still some of the event sites are still giving a picture of a construction arena. GOSH! And still these shameless authorities are not willing to accept the fact that they have messed it up big time around, the chief minister of the state brazenly says, these things are part and parcel of any big event and things should be ready by 3rd of October (the opening day). Which eventually means no time for trial runs which were scheduled to start 6 months before the event and all this is happening in a setup when we have taken the responsibility to host a global event. Thanks to these shameless authorities, India Shining has transformed into India Whining!

And even if we trust these ministers and organizers that the infrastructure will be ready by the opening day, though logistically and statistically it seems a mere impossible task, what about the quality of infrastructure and services they have finally come up with. When you have taken more than double the time to get the infrastructure ready, the least one expects is a good quality facility setup and some really high and world class standards of services for the foreign delegates and participating players, but after delaying things for so long have we eventually placed ourselves in a position to deliver such high quality infrastructure gems? The collapsing foot over bridges, falling ceilings in the games arena, dog sh!t laden service apartments for the international players, security arrangements are such that an Australian media crew easily enters the games village with tons of explosives and a lot more similar debacles just days before the event hardly puts up a rosy picture on the global front for our Nation as a whole. And the icing on the cake are the justifications given by our ministers and organizers for these fiascoes; the collapsed foot over bridge wasn't meant for the players it was meant for the common man, thereby blatantly declaring that for them the lives of common man counts for nothing; the falling ceilings shouldn't be considered as a fiasco as it is a routine thing and can happen anywhere, wish these ceilings fall on their heads if not anywhere else; on the dog sh!t and the filthy state of service apartments meant for players the argument is that the hygiene standards for westerners and Indians vary strikingly, so these things should not be blown out of proportion, I wish even these ministers are forced to stay in such unlivable conditions at least for one day. So instead of taking the moral responsibility for the awry state of affairs, they are still passing the buck to each other and behaving as if its not a big deal at all.

These ministers and organizers have become the laughing stock of the entire nation, the daily infrastructure debacles, consistently missing deadlines, most of the countries threatening to cancel their participation in the event, major sponsors unwilling to continue with the event's sponsorship, even the Indian sports star are openly condemning the mess that has been created by the bureaucrats, organizing committee and politicians and over that the humorous and unwitting excuses offered by these mess mongers. Its entertainment unlimited, it couldn't have gone this interesting, enthralling and fun filled if all the things would have been in place and without an ounce of disarray, in such a scenario it would have been a just another low profile event with nobody even bothering to take notice of this event. But thanks to the mess created by our esteemed organizers, this event is already rocking and its surely gonna give the likes of KBC, Big Boss and the most anticipated Bollywood flicks a true run for their money and will definitely top all the TRP charts in the coming weeks.

So if Kalmadi's suicide attempt fails due to a ceiling collapse; thanks to Guernsey and Jersey threatening to pull out of the Games, we now know these countries exist; three terrorists caught with several cans of dog-food and a premium laxative in the CWG village campus; also seeing the sorry state of preparations organizers are planning to place 'GO SLOW, MEN AT WORK' board at the 100 meters race track ; and looking at the brighter side as more countries pull out, the higher India will be ranked in the final medal’s tally. Amidst all these light banters and funny jokes floating across the nation on the CWG mess, there is a lot to worry about. Worry about the prospect of never getting the hosting rights of any global event, worry of being pegged back by at least 10 years in the race of being the superpower vis-a-vis China, and last but not the least the worry about our nation's name being badly maligned in the international arena due to these corrupt and reckless politicians.

Though the government might try hard to pass an undercover directive to all the 24 hours news channels and media agencies to not telecast too much on the CWG debacle, with an intention to stop the further fueling of dissent in the hearts of common man but unfortunately this mess is too big to be wrapped by such means. And there is not much which can be done now but the least we can expect from these mess mongers is an acceptance of their negligence and recklessness in organizing such a prestigious event. Now that the entire world knows that neither Kalmadi, nor Bhanot, nor Dixit or nor any other mortal can save this debacle from happening, the only hope we all can have is from the almighty GOD, but probably they have messed it beyond HIS repair too.

Post Script- Kalmadi takes the responsibility of the CWG debacle, minutes later world champion wrestler Sushil Kumar's bed collapses in CWG village.

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kin...

Ganpati, Yuvraj and Morality checks...!

Ganpati Bappa Morya!

The 10 day long ganesh festival marks the beginning of festival season in India, and if you happen to be in either of Mumbai or Pune these 10 days are undoubtedly the most happening, colorful and chirpy 10 days of the year. Ganesha being the lord of knowledge and the one who is at least remembered before the start of any new task, is undoubtedly the most popular deity across all faiths. And by my good fortune I again happened to be in this part of the country this time too and got fully soaked up in the Ganpati spirit. Though being away from my native home has its own disadvantages, primarily that I unable to be a part of the Ganpati festivities at home, especially the delicious 'modak treat' twice a day for 10 days straight, all this apart from being actively involved in decorating and lighting up the entire house, but being in Pune you sort of make up for not being at home by enjoying an altogether exhilarating environment all across the city. Huge Ganesh Pandals in every 50 meters throughout the city, and literally every single of them unique in their own way be it their size, be it their shape or be it their theme, another interesting thing about Ganesh Pooja is the fact that the atmosphere is not heavily clad with those religious mantras and shlokas; the mood is very joyful and in a sense its a period to enjoy and celebrate by all means, so one hardly gets to hear those religiously poised devotional songs sung by Anuradha Podwal or Anoop Jalota, in fact the entire town transforms into a virtual disco-theque with each of the Ganesh Pandal playing the latest bollywood dance number in full venegance; Munni Badnaam being the flavor of the season in almost all the Ganesh Pandals this year. Luckily enough for me my very close cousin who stays in the city celebrated the 10 day Ganesha worship cum celebration at his place and I tried my best to be a part of the festivities at his place as much as I can. But amidst all this fun and frolic the most touchy moment came on the day of idol immersion when I accompanied my cousin on the banks of the local river, and the moment we arrived at the banks a group of fully drenched lads came to us and offered that one of them will swim till the deepest part of the turbulent river and do the immersion right there, it was obviously in lieu of some monetary incentive but we found the deal quite alluring and exciting and were about to finalize that before being interrupted by three school guys, probably from the nearby DAV school, as there uniform read so, who told us not to go with those local swimmers but to immerse our idol in the municipal corporation water tank constructed strategically on the river bank with an objective to minimize the river pollution and contribute towards various other benefits arising from such a step. Though the other gang of boys were swearing ominously against those school lads for directly hampering their business prospect but we were so moved by the dedication and intent of those little school boys that there was no second thought about going ahead with the idol immersion in the water tank. I literally hugged those guys for devoting their time for such a valiant cause and congratulated them for their efforts, and what I got in return from those three ebullient guys was a loud chant of - Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Yuvraj Singh tu laukariya...!

From the cricketing perspective and in India's term we are about to play one of the most sought after, interesting and competetive series in recent times which involves playing 2 test matches along with 3 ODIs against our fiercest competitors, Australia. The mercury will drop technically in the coming few weeks but certainly it will trace the opposite path for the hard core cricket enthusiasts. And amidst such an exciting setup if the Indian selectors don't pick one of the most mercurial and flamboyant player of the current decade, Yuvraj Singh for the 1st test match between the two top sides, it is bound to fetch varied reactions. Infact the man himself reacted very strongly to this piece of news and openly expressed his displeasure with his omision and so did most of his fans and some cricket experts. But I don't see any injustice in this move, no doubt Yuvraj is one of the most talented batsman we have today, arguably one of the best finishers in the game,he has one of the best timing in game, he posseses a choreographers footwork, he hits the ball really hard and easily clears any boundary convincingly on a regular basis, he has hit six 6's in an over in the International arena which not many have even dreamt of doing, so what is that which holds him from being a regular name in the Test squad? Consistency? Attitude? or Temperament? I guess all three of them. But the irony is he posseses all three of them and still lacks all of them, he has been a consistent performer and most of the times the sole match winner in both ODIs and T20s, there is no denying on his credentials in either formats, but is he able to replicate the same in THE format i.e the Test matches, sadly NO. Its not that he hasn't got chances, he has been around for over 10 years and has played as many as 34 test matches but he still averages a meagre 35 odd runs per innings, which is way below the acceptable mark and also way below what he is capable of, so these long string of failures have to eventually cost him his place in the Test squad some day or the other, because not many get to play even half of what he has played without performing exceptionally well. Temperament wise, he has got the coolest head on his shoulders when it comes to finishing those humdinger ODIs and nail bitting T20 contests, but temperament in THE format (read Tests) means converting those 50s and 60s into big 100s and virtually batting the opposition out of the contest, hence unless you do so, howsoever big a star you might be in other circuits you are a NOBODY in this arena. And lastly Attitude, well not many risk the chance of confronting Yuvraj Singh on the field and whosover has taken the risk of doing so have paid very heavily for this, ask Flintoff and Broad about this. But there is very thin line between being positive and being rash or aggressive, which probably this guy crosses more often than not and is pretty clear from the fact that every time he scores a 100 he makes it a point to celebrate in a way that it seems he is literally abusing everybody present on the ground, which ultimately creates a very sorry picture. But when will this prince of Mohali understand that the likes of Sachin and Bradman have succeeded in the long run not just because of their talent and hard work but more so because of their humbleness, conduct and ability to handle success in the most graceful way. No doubts Yuvraj will make a comeback and in all certainity a strong one, but that should be by the virtue of his changed and Sachin-esque attitude and a string of strong performances in the domestic circuit and not by the means of his laurels in the ODIs or T20 format and certainly not by his 'I don't give a Damn' attitude because for India to a be a potent power in the world cricket we definetly need a very strong, grounded and flamboyant Yuvraj Singh!

Morality checks against an Investment Banker!

By virtue of my odd office timings (UK hours) I normally leave for home after 11pm and the normal mode of transport happens to be the office provided cabs. Naturally I am not the lone warrior working in this insane shift, there are many others of my breed, some being from the other gender too. But what compels me to put this particular incident over here is the latest directive which was being passed across to all the employees working and commuting in these shifts. The directive reads - every woman employee working in shift and commuting through the office cab will be provided with a security guard in the cab. The new rule seemed absolutely fine until the part B of this directive came into picture which said or which meant even if there are other colleagues in the cab, the so called private body guard will still accompany the woman soldier( read employee). So if the part A conveyed a message that this directive is being brought with a motive of providing safety to the female employees against the mischievous cab drivers in the odd hours, the part B very soon clarified that this directive is probably passed on with a motive to safeguard the female warriors against the atrocities of their male colleagues. I don't know what misdeeds some of my fellow male bankers did which led to the implementation of this new rule, but to see that security guard sitting on the front seat beside the cab driver every night while going back home makes me feel a little ashamed and also very furious that my character and morality is being questioned every single night. Though the employers are doing the righteous thing by implementing such a directive which eventually goes on to provide the much needed security which is very essential in creating a fear free environment of working for the fairer sex but they could have also done this by thrusting this responsibility on the shoulders of their male colleagues, which would have made this process seamless and wouldn't have created an awkward situation for the male colleagues too. Because by this logic all the woman employees should also be provided with a private security cum body guard inside the office premises at the work desk too, but since this is not done the employers probably assume that the carnal desires of an Investment banker shoots up after 11pm, thereby its imperative to safeguard the female employees by means of security guards after that time. But unfortunately for the employers the security guards also happen to be the male souls:).

kin...

MP's Pay Hike - Justified! *(conditions apply)

There can be only one issue on which our ever so petulant politicians can form a consensus amongst themselves despite their varied ideologies and selfish vested interests,and that is hiking of their own salaries. Never can one see a group of employees fighting so vehemently and shamelessly for a salary hike. In fact under normal circumstances nobody can dare to even think of such an audacious campaign but our ministers being their shameless self can do anything to fill their already overflowing cash sacs. So if an IT engineer,Mr Verma was satisfied with a 15% salary hike; Mr Agrawal working for a leading Investment bank was more than satisfied with a 20% salary hike; and accountant Mr Bajaj who was not so happy with a hefty 25% salary hike switched over his employer for a desired 30% pay hike, all of a sudden felt bad for themselves when they found out that the members of parliament of their regions were not at all satisfied with even a 200% salary hike their employer (government of India) proposed and in fact were far more agitated and aggravated than a hardworking employee working diligently for his employer without any hike for last 5 years.

And this is all in a scenario where a major chunk of the minister cadre falls in the elite bracket of multimillionaires who would hardly get impacted with such salary hikes or for that matter the monthly salary which probably forms only a minuscule of their huge assimilation of wealth. So what is that which our not so beloved politicians will get as remuneration from the Government of India after this astounding hike? A basic pay of Rs 50,000 per month, for which I don't understand the basis at all. A daily allowance of Rs 2000 on each day when the parliament is in session or when the house committees meet, so this is basically for throwing chairs and hurling shoes over each other. A constituency allowance of Rs 20,000 per month in addition to an equal monthly office expenses allowance of Rs.45,000 each month, this one as a reminder that they are all responsible for a particular constituency. A conveyance allowance of Rs 4 lakh, which might be most probably used as a maintenance amount for their hi-tech imported cars. And a revised pension apportionment of Rs 20,000 to former members, who have already looted the people of India to an extent which is beyond any calculation.

But this is not it, apart from such monetary benefits our tainted ministers also get a plethora of other rewards too. They themselves along with their spouse can travel any number of times in first class in railways, no wonder Indian Railways is still struggling to post significant profits, they can also claim road mileage for any of there road travels, no wonder being unaware of the fuel prices they hike it every other month much to the chagrin of a common man. They are also entitled to 150,000 free phone calls a year on 3 landlines and 2 mobile phones, probably to perform all their black deals seamlessly. They are also provided with a rent free housing in the most posh localities of national capital, where rents lie in the range of Rs 25-40 lakhs per month and the real worth of those bungalows (in the Lutyen's zone) is over Rs 100 crores. And over that the government also pays rent on furniture up to Rs 60,000, provides free washing of sofa covers, curtains, bathroom tiles. Gifts them with 50,000 units of free electricity every year and provides them 4000 kilo liters of water to splurge where a good chunk of Indian population is struggling for these basic amenities of water, shelter, electricity and clothings. But probably our government's rationale lies in the premise that unless these ministers are well equipped how can they serve the people of their constituencies. So the current state of living of a common man proves that even with all these unimaginable amenities our ministers are still not well equipped. Alas!

And if we talk in terms of CTC or CTG (cost to government) for each of these ministers it will comfortably overshoot the Rs 60 lakh per annum mark and might even touch Rs 1 crore per annum peak. And if we compare these remunerations and perks globally, our ministers beat the CTG's of their counterparts in the most developed nations too. But on the flip side if we think that these democratically elected members of parliament bear the responsibility for a huge population of people and they take care of the well being of these huge population, they well and truly seem to deserve every ounce of it. In fact if we talk in corporate terms where a CEO of a multinational company who heads say approximately 1 lakh employees receives a renumeration of Rs 1 crore per annum on average, is considered to be well deserved pay package trade off. So by that logic what these ministers are getting is still below standards. After all these ministers are serving and are responsible for on average 50 lakh people vis-a-vis 1 lakh employees in case of a CEO, so by that logic these ministers should ideally receive 50 times that of what a CEO is receiving. But these logics and calculations are all of an ideal case scenario and a lot of star marked conditions apply to them. The CEO of a company invariably takes his company forward by leaps and bounds in terms of turn over and assets year on year basis, in a totally transparent and corruption free environment, which certainly is not the case with the ministers of our country. The ministers in India harp on the very principle of making as much wealth as they can in their tenure of 5 years by means of scams, scandals and corruption of all means and thereby they hardly contribute to a year on year growth, rather by doing so they push back the growth and development of our country every single year. And eventually all this raises eyebrows and questions over the rationale of such a huge salary hike for our ministers.

Though statistically it can be proved that the remunerations our ministers are getting is a well deserved pay off taking into account all the constraints. But these statistics,logics and constraints don't take into account the factors of performance and corruption and hence this is a flawed system. Nobody will question any amount of perk or hike being awarded to these ministers if they attach the attribute of 'Performance' and detach the vice of 'Corruption' from their biodatas but this seems to be a far stretched imagination. So what can work in such a scenario is a performance based pay package for ministers, but the setup and environs in which we live who will decide the parameters on which the performance will be adjudged, because in due course they(ministers) can frame, manipulate and corrupt even that to suit their benefits.

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