There are some days when happiness and dissatisfaction occupy you at the same time. Those days give you a strange feeling of restlesslness. Today was one such day. Work at office usually keeps me busy. Yet I make it a point to make myself a part of any fun events that my company has to offer me. So today when we had the women’s day celebration, I was there in time. My teammates’ have an interesting coolness quotient- they find it cool to boycott just anything which does not fit into their regular idea of a day at work. So, I went alone. All others had come in gangs. I felt awkward about being in a fun event all alone. But I didn’t regret it, it was not the first time either.
There was only one girl in the whole crowd who I really knew- Richa. Infact, I had come to know of her when I did anchoring for the talent council two months back. (Goes to say that almost anybody I can meet at fun events in my office would only be known to me through another fun event). The first event was the musical chair. I braved 3 rounds. But unluckily, I was in the back of one of the smartest girls in the group- Richa. When it came to her vs me, I came out in the fourth round. My musical chair continued for a while, as the audience chairs had been taken for the game.
Then was time for dumb charades. Dumb charades is one game that really excites me. I was zealous and asked “what kind of dumb charades?”. The organizers told “Hindi movies”. Isn’t that enough to turn me off? By that time, Richa herself invited me to their team. (I was a little surprised given that we don’t really know each other that much, but when it comes to silly guts that many girls surprisingly don’t possess, I am usually remembered- and I guess the anchoring would have given her that notion). But I told them that I don’t know to either guess or act Hindi movies. (Hey you, I can understand and even talk hindi that can make a native hindi speaker hang, but Hindi movies- no, not really).
Some argument from me and a couple of others persuaded the organizers to allow English and kannada as well (not that I know many English movies, but with years of childhood practice, atleast I can enact them). But now, I didn’t have a team. Finally I found a couple of more girls who wanted to play- one Hindi and one Kannada. My persuasion worked and they settled for English. I am usually popular in the acting side of dumb charades and so I chose that and I excitedly taught my newfound team umpteen number of symbols. Finally we got to play. The first round was easiest- “face off” was the movie and we got it in 6 seconds (ofcourse, we were the fastest). The second round was hangover. I showed “hang”. I managed to show “empty”, but they could not guess “over”. I finally showed them “6 balls in Cricket” and 6 balls make an “over”. We got it in 51 seconds. In the third round, we were supposed to find the movie and sing a song from it. I vetoed it out saying we can’t sing songs from English movies. The song idea was dropped. Next time, they tried making it tougher “Me, myself and Irene”. I even managed the fourth word with a combination of “eye” and “ring”. By this time, the organizer shook hands with me and said my acting was great. The participants asked us to come to the centre of the stage so that they could all see us. (That’s some shameless boasting, but you gotta admit sometimes I can manage good work too!)
They gave “Sherlock Holmes” and I acted it with “Home” and “Lock” and my wise team cracked it. Next, they wanted to make it so tough that they asked suggestions from audience. One girl suggested “Love at the time of cholera”. Now imagine doing this in two minutes, an unknown movie with 6 words and how do you ever act cholera!. My team could find “love and the time of fever-call” (I tried to explain them that it is a fever which starts with “chol” and it ended up like this. Infact, we managed this despite wasting some time asking for a notebook to write down the words they found- the name was too long for them to remember!). We could not make the last word, but this round was only for the three finalists and all three teams had not found their answers. So we survived.
Then came the spoilsport. In the form of cake and samosa. All of us had them and my teammate overdid it with two samosas. She came back from the break pretty late and by that time I had protested to the organizers not to give such long names.
Other two participants had cracked the final round in 23 and 24 seconds. I was given “fifty first dates” for the final round. Wouldn’t that be a cakewalk? Infact out of all the movies I enacted, this is the only movie I had seen and one of my all time favorites).
I tried to show “fifty” with five in one hand and in my other hand, I joined my thumb and index finger to show “0”. The audience had found the answer by then. My team came up with a brilliant “O-5”. I gave up and tried the second word. This should be easy. I had given the specific example to my teammate earlier that if I show “1”, guess “first” etc. I showed “1” finger, my teammates came up with “one”, “oneself” etc. I persisted asking them to tell something like “1” and my teammate came up with “2”. (How brilliant, if I wanted to show “2”, wouldn’t I have simply shown two fingers!!). The two samosas were really doing the talking now. I tried to indicate coming “first” in a running race. They came up with “run” etc. I switched to the third word “dates”. I had told them earlier that if I show the watch, try guessing date, time, etc. It didn’t work, and I could not successfully show them a calendar too. They guessed “five point someone” and I finally gave up. The stars of the show ‘gave up’, because the cakes and samosas had overtaken them!
The organizers felt so “sorry” for us that they managed making up a third prize on the spot with chocolates. The winners and runners-up took home some crockery sets. (Incidentally, the winners had cracked the first few rounds almost at the verge of time-out). It was difficult for me not to scold my teammate who later said her favorite movie was “50 first dates”. But you can’t really scold a stranger, can you!. But her own friends saved me the trouble by scolding her themselves. I was glad when we came so close and really sad when we lost in such a silly way. But if I think about it more, I didn’t have teammates in the first place. What if I never found them, even if I did, what would have happened if they could not guess, lets say “face off” or “hangover”. That’s how the optimistic side of me consoled the “It’s an unfair world” side of me!
On an indirectly relevant note, one thing really bothers me. Why is it that a lot of us find it cool to simply boycott participating in competitions, meetings etc. I did that grave mistake in my childhood and missed so much fun. I do it even now at times. Sometimes, it’s due to peer pressure. For example, putting a project call on mute and gossiping on our own. I think it’s part of our culture. I am just wondering whether people from other countries grow up with the same attitude??!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
peraanmai- watch in theatres
When I watched nadodigal a couple of months back, I was glad that such no nonsense movies are coming in Tamil. I always love it when surprising movie packages come from lesser known directors- five star, azhagiya theeye, kalluri for example. A recent movie that makes me really proud is peraanmai. I had watched some scenes and thought it's going to be different from the usual movie. But it was much more than that- A wonderful and informative package covering so many aspects- patriotism (not the usual vijaykanth patriotism!!!), tribals (It was really nice that the director had touched a largely unexplored subject), space science and even the cute giggle of girls. I have never written movie reviews so far and nor am I going to write one today. All I want to tell you is please watch this movie in theatre- we really got to encourage and support such different and sensible scripts...
Monday, November 16, 2009
A poem on global warming
I've always opined that we haven't given serious thought about global warming. The news about the international conference that's going to happen at Copenhagen made me think more seriously about it. I found out so many facts that I had been blissfully unaware of. For example, did you know that ten of the hottest years in record are within the past fifteen years? Isn't it time we act, to save us and our children from a living hell?
A small poem that I wrote in dedication of this cause:
The day I came alive, the world was warm and cozy;
In days that came again, the earth is hot and crazy.
When I was a kid, the hills were full of ice;
Then it all melted, now it’s not so nice…
In years just bygone, floods and droughts were rare.
Now they come so often, yet no one seems to care…
All microbes that harm, they grow because it’s warm;
My earth has lost it’s charm, why should I still stay calm?
With every tree that’s felled, there’s more CO2 in the air
Let’s plant some trees, and use papers only when fair
Let’s recycle all we can, it makes our land cleaner
A little care here and there, can make my earth greener
Plastic bags and bottles, real killers they are;
Let’s carry our own bags to shop, and make others aware.
Take the bus, try car pool;
You’ll find it really cool!
TV, computer, even lights, switch off when not in use;
We won’t take them for granted, they heat our earth profuse.
Let’s shun the coal, let’s go solar,
High time we make our earth cooler…
If this poem kindled some interest in you, you can read more by browsing through www.greenpeace.org
A small poem that I wrote in dedication of this cause:
The day I came alive, the world was warm and cozy;
In days that came again, the earth is hot and crazy.
When I was a kid, the hills were full of ice;
Then it all melted, now it’s not so nice…
In years just bygone, floods and droughts were rare.
Now they come so often, yet no one seems to care…
All microbes that harm, they grow because it’s warm;
My earth has lost it’s charm, why should I still stay calm?
With every tree that’s felled, there’s more CO2 in the air
Let’s plant some trees, and use papers only when fair
Let’s recycle all we can, it makes our land cleaner
A little care here and there, can make my earth greener
Plastic bags and bottles, real killers they are;
Let’s carry our own bags to shop, and make others aware.
Take the bus, try car pool;
You’ll find it really cool!
TV, computer, even lights, switch off when not in use;
We won’t take them for granted, they heat our earth profuse.
Let’s shun the coal, let’s go solar,
High time we make our earth cooler…
If this poem kindled some interest in you, you can read more by browsing through www.greenpeace.org
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Reliance mobile is such a nasty fraud
Ok, I agree others do fraud too. I have used vodafone and got bills for unused amounts, I've used tata indicom and known how irresponsive they are. But they never made me write a blog so late into the night. But Reliance did. So, read on!
Imagine receiving an sms like this from your service provider "You should marry atleast once in your life. If you get a good partner, you will be happy. If not, atleast you will become a philosopher". I know you curse me for wasting a minute of yours. But imagine if I had to pay for this- one rupee per day. For getting an sms like this daily- many times in a language (Hindi) I don't even understand. Imagine if I got auto-subscribed to this without me actually asking for it (I know, you know me better than to think I would have subscribed for it). This service is aptly named 'bakwas'. Now I send an unsubscribe sms as per their instructions but it never gets done. I keep receiving these sms for 10 days. One day, I get an sms that "Your subscription has been auto renewed at rupees 10 for next 10 days". I send an unsub sms again and get no response. I call the customer care and tell them what happened. The sweet service person tells me "You explicitly subscribed for it and you will have to inform us to unsubcribe. Now I will place a request and it will be deactivated in 24 hours". After 24 hours, I get a bonus. That day's bakwas sms comes to me as 20 duplicate copies. Now, will u permit me to start getting irritated? I call the CC again and they tell me no such request for deactivation has been taken. I tell them, please take in a request now atleast, they tell the same irritating "dialogue" that they are trained to say. After waiting invain for three days, I call the customer care again. This time I get smarter and ask for a service request number. They give me too, cho chweet. This goes on two more times and then I think it's time to react.
I call the customer care and they tell me that there are no services subscribed for me right now. I demand they give me back all the money they have stolen, they tell me they don't have records of the money they have stolen beyond three days. (wow, reliance keeps records only for three days, awesome, and it's my problem if I don't complain within 3 days). I say "I will not put down the phone until u give me back my money". I told you they are sweet, they simply cut my call, giving me no bothers. This cycle happens five times within half an hour, each time me having to repeat the same story to a different "officer". After that, it stops for the day. How? When I call the customer service after that, my call automatically gets disconnected (wow, what an advanced technology reliance, could you use some for ur customers too?!). I try registering a complaint in their website, and the complaint never gets recorded after three attempts. I give up (Isn't that natural?). When I give up, I assume that I won't be taken the 10 rupees one more time. But I get an sms after two days saying "Your next subscription amount will be taken on 31st oct 2009. If you don't want, unsubscribe". I send the unsub sms two times, each time getting a reply "Request can't be accepted now, please try later".* I call the customer service (That was this night). Isn't it time I shout at them? (My state of mind doesn't allow me another choice). The CC officer tells me "Maam you are talking badly, I will have to cut your call. But you know what, he is the only honest person I've talked to in reliance so far (Right from the day I entered reliance web world to actually enquire about getting a reliance connection). Well, hez polite enough to tell me that he will cut the call. I tell him "Ya I know cutting the call is what you guys do, it's your choice". He gives me a lecture that I have to let him finish his sentences and continues the call on that condition (I sarcastically tell him, "we are here to listen to you, please go ahead sir"). He tells me that no such request has ever been placed for unsubscribing. He checks and tells me that I have called them 18 times this month, but never logged a complaint. I give him an interaction number that his colleague gave me for the complaint few days back. He checks and tells me that the interaction number doesn't even exist. (Hello, am I really talking to reliance or is this a wrong number?!) He says one more time that he has placed a request and gives me the interaction number. Now, the game will continue, even from tomorrow, until I will finish my exising balance (and I am sure Reliance will help me in that like a dear friend). After this, I will throw off the phone. I googled for reliance fraud and I saw so many similar complaints, even an opinion poll on how reliance deducts money from customers by unfair means. I have vowed already that I will avoid using Reliance as much as possible- be it reliance phone, reliance fresh, reliance foot print or their broadband or mutual funds or their calling card.
Everyone knows that there have been so many accusations on reliance-Example: How reliance fresh, by providing items at cheap rates that only they can afford (for initial advertisement) have grossly affected the road-side vendors. Let's stop the monopoly of the family. Let's let others live too. So think about it, if you really need to patronise reliance....
More developments on 1st nov 2009:
My bakwas service is still not deactivated ofcourse, again cc officer has taken another complaint today for that. (BTW, yesterday, in a couple of my calls, which I have recorded, they did admit that I had placed some deactivation requests on 22nd and 24th october and it has not been completed due to technical problems. My complaints on other days are yet to be admitted). No reply for my escalation email to reliance nodal officer.
*I have many times seen 2 or 3 rupees deducted from me on days I never called or smsed anyone. (When money gets deducted, reliance prepaid doesn't send alerts of last call or sms charges the way other service providers do.) Today, I tracked it closely and called CC for this. I learnt that they have charged me for the smses i have sent to unsubscribe for that same bakwas pack (It's supposed to be a tollfree number- 155223. But they say that I smsed to 0155223 and so I have been charged. I have checked my outbox, there is no 0 before the number I smsed. Infact I had even received reply from 155223 for those smses (What else, they were "request could not be processed, please try later"). When I asked her to take a complaint, she told she cannot take a complaint for this coz their records showed a zero in front and cut the call. That's reliance for you. If you are already using reliance services, monitor them closely, I am sure you will find out a lot of discrepancies in your bills.
Update as of 6th nov 2009:
Another 10 rupees got deducted on 3rd nov 2009. My BP rose again and I gave a complaint. For the past couple of days, I haven't received that bakwas sms. Now that I've got into the addiction of calling reliance to give a complaint whenever I am bored, I called them right now. To say, thanks for deactivating, but please credit me back atleast this 10 rupees (Afterall, I had complained within 3 days as per ur requirements!). The first person I spoke to, told he'll place a complaint for that and cut the call. The second time I called, a person tells me that I have subscribed to another pack by IVR on Nov 3rd (That's something similar to bakwas, couldn't understand the name). My God, that's the beginning of whole new round, OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Imagine receiving an sms like this from your service provider "You should marry atleast once in your life. If you get a good partner, you will be happy. If not, atleast you will become a philosopher". I know you curse me for wasting a minute of yours. But imagine if I had to pay for this- one rupee per day. For getting an sms like this daily- many times in a language (Hindi) I don't even understand. Imagine if I got auto-subscribed to this without me actually asking for it (I know, you know me better than to think I would have subscribed for it). This service is aptly named 'bakwas'. Now I send an unsubscribe sms as per their instructions but it never gets done. I keep receiving these sms for 10 days. One day, I get an sms that "Your subscription has been auto renewed at rupees 10 for next 10 days". I send an unsub sms again and get no response. I call the customer care and tell them what happened. The sweet service person tells me "You explicitly subscribed for it and you will have to inform us to unsubcribe. Now I will place a request and it will be deactivated in 24 hours". After 24 hours, I get a bonus. That day's bakwas sms comes to me as 20 duplicate copies. Now, will u permit me to start getting irritated? I call the CC again and they tell me no such request for deactivation has been taken. I tell them, please take in a request now atleast, they tell the same irritating "dialogue" that they are trained to say. After waiting invain for three days, I call the customer care again. This time I get smarter and ask for a service request number. They give me too, cho chweet. This goes on two more times and then I think it's time to react.
I call the customer care and they tell me that there are no services subscribed for me right now. I demand they give me back all the money they have stolen, they tell me they don't have records of the money they have stolen beyond three days. (wow, reliance keeps records only for three days, awesome, and it's my problem if I don't complain within 3 days). I say "I will not put down the phone until u give me back my money". I told you they are sweet, they simply cut my call, giving me no bothers. This cycle happens five times within half an hour, each time me having to repeat the same story to a different "officer". After that, it stops for the day. How? When I call the customer service after that, my call automatically gets disconnected (wow, what an advanced technology reliance, could you use some for ur customers too?!). I try registering a complaint in their website, and the complaint never gets recorded after three attempts. I give up (Isn't that natural?). When I give up, I assume that I won't be taken the 10 rupees one more time. But I get an sms after two days saying "Your next subscription amount will be taken on 31st oct 2009. If you don't want, unsubscribe". I send the unsub sms two times, each time getting a reply "Request can't be accepted now, please try later".* I call the customer service (That was this night). Isn't it time I shout at them? (My state of mind doesn't allow me another choice). The CC officer tells me "Maam you are talking badly, I will have to cut your call. But you know what, he is the only honest person I've talked to in reliance so far (Right from the day I entered reliance web world to actually enquire about getting a reliance connection). Well, hez polite enough to tell me that he will cut the call. I tell him "Ya I know cutting the call is what you guys do, it's your choice". He gives me a lecture that I have to let him finish his sentences and continues the call on that condition (I sarcastically tell him, "we are here to listen to you, please go ahead sir"). He tells me that no such request has ever been placed for unsubscribing. He checks and tells me that I have called them 18 times this month, but never logged a complaint. I give him an interaction number that his colleague gave me for the complaint few days back. He checks and tells me that the interaction number doesn't even exist. (Hello, am I really talking to reliance or is this a wrong number?!) He says one more time that he has placed a request and gives me the interaction number. Now, the game will continue, even from tomorrow, until I will finish my exising balance (and I am sure Reliance will help me in that like a dear friend). After this, I will throw off the phone. I googled for reliance fraud and I saw so many similar complaints, even an opinion poll on how reliance deducts money from customers by unfair means. I have vowed already that I will avoid using Reliance as much as possible- be it reliance phone, reliance fresh, reliance foot print or their broadband or mutual funds or their calling card.
Everyone knows that there have been so many accusations on reliance-Example: How reliance fresh, by providing items at cheap rates that only they can afford (for initial advertisement) have grossly affected the road-side vendors. Let's stop the monopoly of the family. Let's let others live too. So think about it, if you really need to patronise reliance....
More developments on 1st nov 2009:
My bakwas service is still not deactivated ofcourse, again cc officer has taken another complaint today for that. (BTW, yesterday, in a couple of my calls, which I have recorded, they did admit that I had placed some deactivation requests on 22nd and 24th october and it has not been completed due to technical problems. My complaints on other days are yet to be admitted). No reply for my escalation email to reliance nodal officer.
*I have many times seen 2 or 3 rupees deducted from me on days I never called or smsed anyone. (When money gets deducted, reliance prepaid doesn't send alerts of last call or sms charges the way other service providers do.) Today, I tracked it closely and called CC for this. I learnt that they have charged me for the smses i have sent to unsubscribe for that same bakwas pack (It's supposed to be a tollfree number- 155223. But they say that I smsed to 0155223 and so I have been charged. I have checked my outbox, there is no 0 before the number I smsed. Infact I had even received reply from 155223 for those smses (What else, they were "request could not be processed, please try later"). When I asked her to take a complaint, she told she cannot take a complaint for this coz their records showed a zero in front and cut the call. That's reliance for you. If you are already using reliance services, monitor them closely, I am sure you will find out a lot of discrepancies in your bills.
Update as of 6th nov 2009:
Another 10 rupees got deducted on 3rd nov 2009. My BP rose again and I gave a complaint. For the past couple of days, I haven't received that bakwas sms. Now that I've got into the addiction of calling reliance to give a complaint whenever I am bored, I called them right now. To say, thanks for deactivating, but please credit me back atleast this 10 rupees (Afterall, I had complained within 3 days as per ur requirements!). The first person I spoke to, told he'll place a complaint for that and cut the call. The second time I called, a person tells me that I have subscribed to another pack by IVR on Nov 3rd (That's something similar to bakwas, couldn't understand the name). My God, that's the beginning of whole new round, OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
why do people like these stuff?
Hi friends,
I have been having a few questions of late:
(1) Why do people like to listen to different renditions of the same song, though the music remains the same?
For example, the original movie song is probably the best (though not always), but still people love to listen them being resung by singers on stages and even participants in competitions.
I can u'stand one reason could be that it is a very different experience listening to music live than recorded. But we even love to watch others sing on TV. Why?
(2) There are so many novels on earth that we still haven't read. But why do we have authors writing new books and people wanting to read the latest novels?
Again, one reason could be that these books will be contemporary and we can relate to it better. Any other reason?
(3) Why are blogs so popular? I can understand if people google to search for facts. But how is it that people are interested in knowing the opinions of other people (which are usually what blogs are), even of people they don't personally know.
(4) Why do people write blogs in the first place?
If you can think of more answers, please, please do comment below :)
I have been having a few questions of late:
(1) Why do people like to listen to different renditions of the same song, though the music remains the same?
For example, the original movie song is probably the best (though not always), but still people love to listen them being resung by singers on stages and even participants in competitions.
I can u'stand one reason could be that it is a very different experience listening to music live than recorded. But we even love to watch others sing on TV. Why?
(2) There are so many novels on earth that we still haven't read. But why do we have authors writing new books and people wanting to read the latest novels?
Again, one reason could be that these books will be contemporary and we can relate to it better. Any other reason?
(3) Why are blogs so popular? I can understand if people google to search for facts. But how is it that people are interested in knowing the opinions of other people (which are usually what blogs are), even of people they don't personally know.
(4) Why do people write blogs in the first place?
If you can think of more answers, please, please do comment below :)
Monday, September 7, 2009
Creating a passionate India
Wrote this essay for a competition in my office. And
happened to win the first prize too! Here it is for u.
We live in a democratic country, where we have the freedom to express our thoughts. Our press and media have the right to publicize what they know. Our children go to good schools. Our women walk independently on the roads. We choose our government. Medical care is at our door step. We claim right to information. Future is in our hands- our own and our country’s too.
Yet, why are we constantly complaining of corrupt authorities, bad weather and mediocre standards of living? We are looking up at western countries, aping their culture and yearning for their luxury. With passion, you and I can make our own country like that.
Let’s dig into the attitude of a typical Indian today. We find bribery the easiest way to get things done. It’s boring to queue up on poll day. Some of us spit on the roads and throw trash on the streets. We use train toilets at stations. Worse, we don’t even spare the roads. We buy stuff without bill to reduce a wee bit of tax. A few look down at a woman’s capability. We employ children and underpay them too! Electricity and water is still wasted, as though our children and grandchildren don’t ever need them. We choose to gain five minutes by not shutting down the computer each day. We hesitate to donate blood. We judge people by their looks and language. Some of us ask for extra plastic bags at shops. We still identify us by caste/religion, and practice untouchability in its subtlest form. We would rather donate for a religious cause than a humanitarian one. We spend our fortunes on the global brands, while bargaining for pennies with the local vendors.
We stare with sympathy (or call it morbid curiosity) at the sight of an accident and just move on while the scene gets to the back of our minds. Even after this, we think of helmets as shields that protect us from traffic cops. Our head wears it when the police are around and our bike wears it the rest of the time. We don’t give way for ambulance though we know it has a better reason to hurry than us. We skip traffic signals and ride on the pathways. We drive on the wrong side of roads, risking the need to bribe a cop. We drive for miles all alone, depleting petrol and increasing pollution, while pooling is easier, much economical and reduces traffic jams.
Why this double standard? My answer to this lies in the attitude and values we carry. How many of us will be ‘ok’ with doing a murder, or a physical assault, or even a small theft for that matter? We know by brought up that they are morally wrong (and legally too!). But when it comes to the misdemeanors, which are left unpunished or ignored by law, we carry a diffident outlook- that it’s ‘ok’ to bribe a police or bunk an electoral poll or to skip a traffic signal. A lot of us teach our children that these are wrong. Education too emphasizes the ethics. Yet we fail to implement them ourselves. Children are our best imitators. They follow us and we end up making a whole new generation of what I would call ‘Humans with mediocre values’. We believe it’s ‘ok’ to skip some rules if they would make our lives a little easier. We fail to realize that it’s costing our society and country the growth we could otherwise afford easily. We fail to realize that it only makes life tougher in the long run. We think it is the politicians, who have to change.
Our selfish mind might ask “Why should I be the one to change?” The answer is simple. We are here today because our society was kind enough to let us come so far. If not for Gandhi (and thousands of anonymous Indians who fought for us without recognition), we would not even be a free country today. If not for the people who fought for women’s liberation, our society would only be fifty percent alive. If not for the people who strived against caste discrimination, we would still be living in a dark world. If not for us today, our posterity would live in a doomed and deprived society- devoid of water, fuel and humanity. Isn’t this enough motivation, to be the passionate citizen?
What can we do, as passionate Indians to revive our lives? We can split this in two phases. The simplest and most immediate part is to ‘Refrain ourselves from doing the wrong things and get ourselves to do the right things’. The second and the more satisfying action plan is to do ‘more than just our duty’.
Let’s talk about the first part first- It consists of casting our votes, doing things the bribeless way, not defiling the streets, switching off the unused lights and electronic gadgets. We’ll stop exploiting the weaker sections and be more sensitive to our ecosystem. Let’s be a little more considerate towards our fellow humans and animals. Not very tough, considering what a difference this would make to our country as a whole.
Let’s come to the second part now- the one that excites me the most. The ‘do something more about it’ part. Nothing on earth can be as rewarding as this. All it takes is a little time- the time we would otherwise spend on reality shows, idol worship and idle gossips. This time could potentially make a whole world of difference- when we spend it on teaching a poor kid or creating awareness of global warming. We can spend it in planting a tree or making the life of a physically challenged easier.
The best part about the efforts we put in here is that they are so wonderfully scalable. When you help someone, the positive energy is simply infectious. That someone passes it on to a few more people. And the chain goes on. Chances are that, the goodwill will be returned to you one day, very soon.
Fortunately, all it takes from the passionate Indian is his/ her own willingness. Nothing more at all. Our mind has a strange way of working. It often does not find out what it has been missing until it gets it. That’s why I say, let’s join our hands and do our bit to create our passionate India. Sooner than later, all eyes will be on us. You and I will be the next Mahatma. Lesser known no doubt, but much revered.
happened to win the first prize too! Here it is for u.
We live in a democratic country, where we have the freedom to express our thoughts. Our press and media have the right to publicize what they know. Our children go to good schools. Our women walk independently on the roads. We choose our government. Medical care is at our door step. We claim right to information. Future is in our hands- our own and our country’s too.
Yet, why are we constantly complaining of corrupt authorities, bad weather and mediocre standards of living? We are looking up at western countries, aping their culture and yearning for their luxury. With passion, you and I can make our own country like that.
Let’s dig into the attitude of a typical Indian today. We find bribery the easiest way to get things done. It’s boring to queue up on poll day. Some of us spit on the roads and throw trash on the streets. We use train toilets at stations. Worse, we don’t even spare the roads. We buy stuff without bill to reduce a wee bit of tax. A few look down at a woman’s capability. We employ children and underpay them too! Electricity and water is still wasted, as though our children and grandchildren don’t ever need them. We choose to gain five minutes by not shutting down the computer each day. We hesitate to donate blood. We judge people by their looks and language. Some of us ask for extra plastic bags at shops. We still identify us by caste/religion, and practice untouchability in its subtlest form. We would rather donate for a religious cause than a humanitarian one. We spend our fortunes on the global brands, while bargaining for pennies with the local vendors.
We stare with sympathy (or call it morbid curiosity) at the sight of an accident and just move on while the scene gets to the back of our minds. Even after this, we think of helmets as shields that protect us from traffic cops. Our head wears it when the police are around and our bike wears it the rest of the time. We don’t give way for ambulance though we know it has a better reason to hurry than us. We skip traffic signals and ride on the pathways. We drive on the wrong side of roads, risking the need to bribe a cop. We drive for miles all alone, depleting petrol and increasing pollution, while pooling is easier, much economical and reduces traffic jams.
Why this double standard? My answer to this lies in the attitude and values we carry. How many of us will be ‘ok’ with doing a murder, or a physical assault, or even a small theft for that matter? We know by brought up that they are morally wrong (and legally too!). But when it comes to the misdemeanors, which are left unpunished or ignored by law, we carry a diffident outlook- that it’s ‘ok’ to bribe a police or bunk an electoral poll or to skip a traffic signal. A lot of us teach our children that these are wrong. Education too emphasizes the ethics. Yet we fail to implement them ourselves. Children are our best imitators. They follow us and we end up making a whole new generation of what I would call ‘Humans with mediocre values’. We believe it’s ‘ok’ to skip some rules if they would make our lives a little easier. We fail to realize that it’s costing our society and country the growth we could otherwise afford easily. We fail to realize that it only makes life tougher in the long run. We think it is the politicians, who have to change.
Our selfish mind might ask “Why should I be the one to change?” The answer is simple. We are here today because our society was kind enough to let us come so far. If not for Gandhi (and thousands of anonymous Indians who fought for us without recognition), we would not even be a free country today. If not for the people who fought for women’s liberation, our society would only be fifty percent alive. If not for the people who strived against caste discrimination, we would still be living in a dark world. If not for us today, our posterity would live in a doomed and deprived society- devoid of water, fuel and humanity. Isn’t this enough motivation, to be the passionate citizen?
What can we do, as passionate Indians to revive our lives? We can split this in two phases. The simplest and most immediate part is to ‘Refrain ourselves from doing the wrong things and get ourselves to do the right things’. The second and the more satisfying action plan is to do ‘more than just our duty’.
Let’s talk about the first part first- It consists of casting our votes, doing things the bribeless way, not defiling the streets, switching off the unused lights and electronic gadgets. We’ll stop exploiting the weaker sections and be more sensitive to our ecosystem. Let’s be a little more considerate towards our fellow humans and animals. Not very tough, considering what a difference this would make to our country as a whole.
Let’s come to the second part now- the one that excites me the most. The ‘do something more about it’ part. Nothing on earth can be as rewarding as this. All it takes is a little time- the time we would otherwise spend on reality shows, idol worship and idle gossips. This time could potentially make a whole world of difference- when we spend it on teaching a poor kid or creating awareness of global warming. We can spend it in planting a tree or making the life of a physically challenged easier.
The best part about the efforts we put in here is that they are so wonderfully scalable. When you help someone, the positive energy is simply infectious. That someone passes it on to a few more people. And the chain goes on. Chances are that, the goodwill will be returned to you one day, very soon.
Fortunately, all it takes from the passionate Indian is his/ her own willingness. Nothing more at all. Our mind has a strange way of working. It often does not find out what it has been missing until it gets it. That’s why I say, let’s join our hands and do our bit to create our passionate India. Sooner than later, all eyes will be on us. You and I will be the next Mahatma. Lesser known no doubt, but much revered.
Monday, July 6, 2009
A day at the fields
Time for another blog… In the past couple of months, I have been in Trichy for more days than I have been at Bangalore.. Particularly because, I hate my job!!! But here again, I have a news. I have resigned my job to take up a more exciting offer, and my last date at IBM is the end of this month…
But that’s not what this blog is about.. It’s about my yesterday.. My brother has come from US.. Yesterday, we went for a field visit, near Manaparai….It’s one of the projects that my brother’s US based non-profit org funds… It’s an agricultural project for a local non-profit org called New Earth Team (NET) that they had funded 1 and ½ years back and my bro went there to see how the progress is. I immediately said I will go with him.. Though Trichy is where I have lived most part of my life so far, I hardly know a restaurant or a picnic spot or a bus route there… (pothi pothi valatha pulla) This wud be a chance for me to go around Trichy, visit agricultural fields, and (most importantly!) give me a topic to blog about!! ;) And yes, it did fulfill all 3 of my expectations…
We went about in town bus all the way till JJ college (As the norm goes, the conductor asked us to board the bus last, so that we won’t block the seat of someone going all the way till Manaparai). Looking out, the way was no different from any long distance buses we take.. Looking in, the movie in the bus was no different from any vijaykanth movie.. The only difference was the naatupura paatis asking me of everyone, which stop to get down (I only wish I knew!!!)
We got down and a guy came to pick us up in a bike.. It’s triples all the way to the fields, with him & my bro….At first, it was scary.. It was the first time I went triples after many years.. And then, the roads were so full of stuffs which cud make the bike skid.. But looks like the guy was an expert at triples.. He rode quite well… There was a group of women farmers (beneficiaries) who had gathered to meet my bro.. It was very entertaining as they brought their hands together, and when I almost expected them to say “vanakkam”, they said “Good morning”…I was clicking photos and videos as my brother inquired them about their progress and as they made appeals for “more seeds, malligai padhiyans and goats” as though he was the naataamai..Oh, for that matter I also saw the typical panchayat place under the arasa maram…(or is it aala maram?!)
Then we went to see the fields.. I have always imagined that fields meant paddy fields… And it’s true in most places now… (Gathered from my bro that people opt for paddy to any other non-traditional crops, thanks to the procurement prices that the government offers to rice and wheat)…But these ones were different.. There were jasmine fields (mixed cropping with okra and eggplant)!!! And there was muthu solam and makka solam fields (until yday, I didn’t know they were different).. There was aamanakku (from which we get castor oil), ellu (from which we get gingelly oil), kambu, sunflower (No candies to guess wat oil comes from it) and so many other crops, each field belonging to a different person… Sunfloweres have always been a fascination to me, I always try to photograph them while on bus, with little success, ofcourse). Yesterday, I got a chance to be so close to a whole sunflower field and enjoyed taking photos of them, with them (amidst the amusement of the villagers at my excitement about sunflowers)…The reason these farmers (all women, while men go out for other work in the town) grow these alternative crops is that it that the place has a scarcity of water.. Unlike water-demanding crops like paddy, these plants demand much less water, for which again, they are solely dependent on rain….I also got bribed with some fresh kothavarangais (My favorite!) from the fields.. After some time I realized what a different image, I had been having of villages from what I saw in the movies. Something totally different from what I would ever see in my life.. I always imagined them to be something that existed in far off places, which I would never see in my routine life.. But no, it wasn't to be so.. They are places close to mine.. Which I often cross when I travel in buses, in trains… Which I had always fancied with a sense of poetry, rather than realism…
The nice thing about these villages (ammapetai etc) was that people were still able to manage a decent quality of life, thru agriculture, cattle-raising, “nooru naal velai”- a government scheme which offers 100 days of work per year to each family with a job card, construction work in town etc… All kids went to schools, government or private… (No dropouts!!!) The only pathetic thing was about the founder of this org called NET who died recently. It looks like he has completely been into this NET for a long time, without caring much about his family, expect their immediate needs. He has left behind his wife (who knows nothing but her family and cooking) and three school-going kids, who now don’t know how to pursue their education. A couple of them have finished their plus two and one girl has finished her 10th. I feel angered by this guy who didn’t plan his own family’s future when planning so many other families’….It was an outright blunder.. Though the kids have passed their exams, they don’t have high marks that will win scholarships. Nor do they know the direction to find one… Now, I am getting know of so many kids like this, who need help (esp in trichy). Though I am able to do a bit for them, I am not able to do much, for four reasons:
(1) There are so many cases I get to know like this, and I find it difficult to choose whom to help and whom not, when I find all of them are genuine candidates
(2) It’s embarassing for me as an individual to ask for proofs that they really need the money, to ask for fees receipts etc
(3) It will be difficult for me as an individual to ask for funds from others to help these people
(4) It will be better to get tax exemption for these
The only viable solution I can think of, is to become a part of organizations who already do this. I know there are many schools and college alumnis, who setup their own small org to do this.. I would like to use this blog as a forum for finding these out. My dear friend who is reading this blog, if you personally know of an org like this, or if you have more ideas on this topic, I am sure you’ll share them with me.. Thank you and see you again
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