When my parents came to Bangalore I had a dilemma where to take them. I thought that taking them to temples and parks would be the safest option so that they won’t get bored. As it turned out I took them to Lal bagh the first day. They got bit tired after watching all the different trees and love-birds (pun intended). Then I wanted to take them to a place nearby. So I took them to Visweswaraya Museum.
My mom and dad have a nose for science. We used to watch science related programs on TV like Surabhi on doordarshan from my childhood itself. So they quite naturally loved the science stuff in the museum.
In the ground floor there were working models of various mechanical components especially engines. The Kamalhassan movie style balls moving through various pipes and taking different paths and finally reaching the starting point was fascinating to watch. Demonstrations of waves and ball moving up with the help of pedal power were nice learning experiences.
In the other floors there were models in Electronics, Space science and Bioscience. Electric arc formation during lightning was also demonstrated with good effect.
We also saw a 3D video show in which they showed about underwater exploration. At one point we felt as if a thing in that movie was moving straight towards our head. The 20 minutes video was awe-inspiring.
We also attended a science magic show. In that the ‘magician’ showed magic based on science. He burnt a paper but it didn’t change into ashes. It was brought back as it was before burning. He did that by soaking a paper in a chemical (whose name I don’t remember) and water mixture. He lit the paper with a matchstick. Due to lower density the chemical stays on top of the paper and it alone burns. The water saves the paper from burning.
He performed various tricks. Finally he called me up and asked me how many of his questions I have answered. I said none. So he said I deserve punishment and asked whether I want a single punishment or the same punishment 100 times. I obviously opted for the first one. He took one square board with a big nail on the center of the board and told me to sit over that. All broke into laughter and I told I would better go for the other punishment. Then he gave me another square board with 100 nails on that and told me to sit over that. He gave the board to another volunteer and told to check the sharpness of the nails. They were sharp indeed. I bravely(!) sat and the audience went silent for a moment. Nevertheless nothing happened. I knew nothing would happen because pressure = force / area. Since force was spread all over the area pressure would be less and hence I won’t tear my trousers and its contents.
If you get time do visit the museum once. It’s definitely better than spending time in parks and malls. What I have mentioned in this blog is very less. There are lots of interesting stuffs and I guarantee that you won’t get bored.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Commercialism or Faith?
Last weekend, when my parents came to Bangalore, we visited 3 temples. The temples that we went were huge. Those temples were awe-inspiring architectural marvels. Most of the Gods’ statues were decorated with Gold, diamonds and other valuable stones.
Nevertheless they didn’t give us a divine feeling. Getting tickets to see the Gods’ statues sooner and at close quarters gave me a sense of false faith. Are the poor not allowed to see the shrine at close quarters just because they don’t have money?
You lose the feeling of the divinity and tranquility associated with temples when you see various shops and eatables within the temple premises. What would a child who comes to visit the temple think? It might think that temple is yet another shopping mall.
In another temple they had kept miniature models of Gods and their avatars that move with the help of motors and microprocessors. As we had expected tickets were collected to see these things. Selling books, gold coins, lamps, etc adds to these. How much more can one commercialise things!
The money, which is gained in such a way, is purportedly used to support a charity school. In this case the temple authorities could very well spend the entire money used to build the temple for the cause of charity. The gold, diamonds and other valuable stones used for decorating the statues and gopura would be worth lakhs and they could have rather been used to serve the poor and the downtrodden.
I do donate to one charity school. I visit the school in regular intervals and have some fun with those children. What could give you more happiness than seeing a poor child getting new clothes during a festival? Give some money to the poor whenever you can and see their happy faces. That will give you more peace and satisfaction than visiting thousand such temples.
All that said I maintain that I am not an atheist. I do believe in God. According to me temple is a place where there is peace and you can meditate and pray. Temple is a place where there is no difference between rich and the poor. For me God is not a statue decorated with valuable stones. God is Love.
I would like to quote a few lines from a song in my favourite movie “Anbe Sivam”:
யார் யார் சிவம்
நீ நான் சிவம்
வாழ்வே தவம்
அன்பே சிவம்
Nevertheless they didn’t give us a divine feeling. Getting tickets to see the Gods’ statues sooner and at close quarters gave me a sense of false faith. Are the poor not allowed to see the shrine at close quarters just because they don’t have money?
You lose the feeling of the divinity and tranquility associated with temples when you see various shops and eatables within the temple premises. What would a child who comes to visit the temple think? It might think that temple is yet another shopping mall.
In another temple they had kept miniature models of Gods and their avatars that move with the help of motors and microprocessors. As we had expected tickets were collected to see these things. Selling books, gold coins, lamps, etc adds to these. How much more can one commercialise things!
The money, which is gained in such a way, is purportedly used to support a charity school. In this case the temple authorities could very well spend the entire money used to build the temple for the cause of charity. The gold, diamonds and other valuable stones used for decorating the statues and gopura would be worth lakhs and they could have rather been used to serve the poor and the downtrodden.
I do donate to one charity school. I visit the school in regular intervals and have some fun with those children. What could give you more happiness than seeing a poor child getting new clothes during a festival? Give some money to the poor whenever you can and see their happy faces. That will give you more peace and satisfaction than visiting thousand such temples.
All that said I maintain that I am not an atheist. I do believe in God. According to me temple is a place where there is peace and you can meditate and pray. Temple is a place where there is no difference between rich and the poor. For me God is not a statue decorated with valuable stones. God is Love.
I would like to quote a few lines from a song in my favourite movie “Anbe Sivam”:
யார் யார் சிவம்
நீ நான் சிவம்
வாழ்வே தவம்
அன்பே சிவம்
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Bad Way to Know People’s Needs (KPN)
Last Sunday night I had a horrible experience with KPN bus service. GG's friend (girl) was supposed to leave on that night in KPN bus to her hometown from Bangalore. She had booked a Sleeper bus that was supposed to leave at 11 p.m. She had reached the place at 10 p.m. itself.
The other buses came and went but her bus never came. Finally at 12.30 a.m. the KPN guys had told that the bus has met with an accident and they don’t have spare buses. They just offered to refund the money. They told the stranded passengers to find their own way out. When GG’s friend had asked the KPN guy how could they be so irresponsible, that guy responded rudely, “We are like this only”.
The passengers got agitated and fought with the KPN guys. At one point one of the passengers who is a lawyer went on to slap the KPN guy. Then the KPN guys took steel rod and the situation seemed very precarious.
GG’s friend panicked and called GG and I went to that spot at 1.30. By the time I went Police had reached. One of the passengers called up the Police and the Police intervened at the right time.
The Police, however, were only able to stop any violence from happening. The KPN manager came at around 1.30. He said that since it’s Sunday they didn’t have any spare buses. He told that he has called up Vellore KPN guys and they are sending a bus. That bus will come only by 4 a.m. The Police couldn’t help much when the manager told like this.
The Police told the passengers to take a call. After all the drama most of the passengers didn’t want to stay anymore in that office that didn’t even have a toilet. Almost all passengers got just the refund of the ticket cost and left.
The sheer irresponsibility of the KPN guys was shocking. How can they keep the passengers in waiting at late night when they knew their bus had met with an accident? How can they be so rude to their passengers without whom they can’t run their business?
KPN refunded just the ticket cost without even the tax amount. Compare this with an airline; in Europe if your flight gets postponed by a day the airlines have to give each passenger 500 Euros per day as compensation.
It’s more appalling to know that a well-established bus service like KPN lacks even spare buses. How do these guys operate such a mammoth bus service when they don’t even have a spare bus?
It was a sorry sight to see women among the passengers. They were horrified after seeing all the verbal and physical fight. By the time we collected the refund and left the place it was 2 a.m. Leaving the passengers helpless in the night was a terrible thing.
The most ironical thing was KPN stands for Knowing People’s Needs. If this were their way to know people’s needs they have a long way to go indeed.
The other buses came and went but her bus never came. Finally at 12.30 a.m. the KPN guys had told that the bus has met with an accident and they don’t have spare buses. They just offered to refund the money. They told the stranded passengers to find their own way out. When GG’s friend had asked the KPN guy how could they be so irresponsible, that guy responded rudely, “We are like this only”.
The passengers got agitated and fought with the KPN guys. At one point one of the passengers who is a lawyer went on to slap the KPN guy. Then the KPN guys took steel rod and the situation seemed very precarious.
GG’s friend panicked and called GG and I went to that spot at 1.30. By the time I went Police had reached. One of the passengers called up the Police and the Police intervened at the right time.
The Police, however, were only able to stop any violence from happening. The KPN manager came at around 1.30. He said that since it’s Sunday they didn’t have any spare buses. He told that he has called up Vellore KPN guys and they are sending a bus. That bus will come only by 4 a.m. The Police couldn’t help much when the manager told like this.
The Police told the passengers to take a call. After all the drama most of the passengers didn’t want to stay anymore in that office that didn’t even have a toilet. Almost all passengers got just the refund of the ticket cost and left.
The sheer irresponsibility of the KPN guys was shocking. How can they keep the passengers in waiting at late night when they knew their bus had met with an accident? How can they be so rude to their passengers without whom they can’t run their business?
KPN refunded just the ticket cost without even the tax amount. Compare this with an airline; in Europe if your flight gets postponed by a day the airlines have to give each passenger 500 Euros per day as compensation.
It’s more appalling to know that a well-established bus service like KPN lacks even spare buses. How do these guys operate such a mammoth bus service when they don’t even have a spare bus?
It was a sorry sight to see women among the passengers. They were horrified after seeing all the verbal and physical fight. By the time we collected the refund and left the place it was 2 a.m. Leaving the passengers helpless in the night was a terrible thing.
The most ironical thing was KPN stands for Knowing People’s Needs. If this were their way to know people’s needs they have a long way to go indeed.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Art of cooking
Not long ago I used to think that cooking was a very big deal. I used to wonder how my mother toils in the kitchen. When our batch girls started to cook and boast the next day, “we cooked sambar yesterday. We tried rasam day before”, I used to be jealous thinking how healthy these people are eating and what a great deal of work they do after going home. Only after we started cooking we came to know how simple it is.
Thanks to Pachai we cook anything and everything these days. Before Pachai became our roomie we used to cook only non-rice food like dosas, chappatis, omelettes, upma, idly etc. These days we often cook full meals - rice with sambar, rasam, curd (ofcourse we buy curd), poriyal (sometimes 2 poriyals) and appalam. Man it’s so easy. Some of the pics we took are ample testimonial to this (Iam posting these so that you won’t have any doubts in our cooking). You can see the sambar decorated with coriander and cut tomato (this is what is called heights!). And the best part is we don't use any podis and we add so much vegetables.
Earlier we used to compromise the taste. In the very early days we used to think, “we have eaten Anna University hostel food itself. We can simply eat anything. We will survive even if we were put in some other planet”. If we put less salt some day we used to tell “if salt is less it’s good for health”. Even if salt is more we won’t lose heart. We used to say the dialogue “if the salt is too much then we will get more anger (romba uppu sethu kitta romba rosham vanthurum)”. One other day when carrot hadn’t boiled properly we told ourselves “partially cooked food is better than fully cooked food! (samaikkatha unave sathulla unavu)”
These days we don’t have to resort to such consoling words. Pachai has become a master cook and we the master cutters and choppers.
The other day when Sorna and GG came to my home for dinner they were so much enticed by the taste that they ate more than what we thought they would eat for the entire week! They gorged so full that they simply couldn’t walk home and I had to literally drop them at their doorstep.
Well Pachai says he’s not able to eat outside properly these days since he is so fond of his own cooking. So much so that he told his mom that she isn’t upto the high standards he set with his own cooking
We started cooking on New Year’s Day of 2007. It’s been more than a year and we like it more and more as every day passes by.
Thanks to Pachai we cook anything and everything these days. Before Pachai became our roomie we used to cook only non-rice food like dosas, chappatis, omelettes, upma, idly etc. These days we often cook full meals - rice with sambar, rasam, curd (ofcourse we buy curd), poriyal (sometimes 2 poriyals) and appalam. Man it’s so easy. Some of the pics we took are ample testimonial to this (Iam posting these so that you won’t have any doubts in our cooking). You can see the sambar decorated with coriander and cut tomato (this is what is called heights!). And the best part is we don't use any podis and we add so much vegetables.
Earlier we used to compromise the taste. In the very early days we used to think, “we have eaten Anna University hostel food itself. We can simply eat anything. We will survive even if we were put in some other planet”. If we put less salt some day we used to tell “if salt is less it’s good for health”. Even if salt is more we won’t lose heart. We used to say the dialogue “if the salt is too much then we will get more anger (romba uppu sethu kitta romba rosham vanthurum)”. One other day when carrot hadn’t boiled properly we told ourselves “partially cooked food is better than fully cooked food! (samaikkatha unave sathulla unavu)”
These days we don’t have to resort to such consoling words. Pachai has become a master cook and we the master cutters and choppers.
The other day when Sorna and GG came to my home for dinner they were so much enticed by the taste that they ate more than what we thought they would eat for the entire week! They gorged so full that they simply couldn’t walk home and I had to literally drop them at their doorstep.
Well Pachai says he’s not able to eat outside properly these days since he is so fond of his own cooking. So much so that he told his mom that she isn’t upto the high standards he set with his own cooking
We started cooking on New Year’s Day of 2007. It’s been more than a year and we like it more and more as every day passes by.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Phishing in dirty waters
One of my friends got a phishing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/email/phishing.mspx?ifs=0
http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs.html
mail purportedly sent from customer-service@hdfcbank.com. It told the account holder to review her one-year account transactions. It was followed by a suspicious link, which on clicking resembled the HDFC page but the site’s address was not that of HDFC. My unsuspecting friend had clicked the link and that brought her world crashing down. A huge sum from her account had been transferred to an unknown HDFC account in Surat.
On contacting the Bank officials we came to know that the guy had withdrawn the money quickly. The official also added that my friend was not the only one to be affected. 4 other transactions have happened within half an hour towards that account and that guy had withdrawn the entire amount.
People who use netbanking ought to be aware of such things. HDFC officials send cautionary mails to their customers regarding phishing. In their mail they tell customers not to reveal the passwords to anyone including Bank officials. They also specify that the Bank will never ask for account no or password from their customers simply because they already know it. Unfortunately some mail clients identifies these warning mails as spam.
We see many such phishing cases in newspapers. Being caught unawares in such a nasty scam can be painful. I happened to accompany my friend to the Cyber crime police station this Friday after she fell prey for such a scam. The police traced the IP address of the sender to be from Bulgaria. The guy has obviously used Proxy address making it difficult for the police to nab him.
In the police station I happened to see another one guy who had lost an unbelievable Rs.10 lakhs to some fake company claiming to get him work permit in UK. As long as there are gullible people there will be people to deceive them as well.
We know how hard we work to earn every paisa. We should know how to safeguard such hard-earned money. As my dad used to say it’s harder to safeguard the money you earned than to actually earn that money.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/email/phishing.mspx?ifs=0
http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs.html
mail purportedly sent from customer-service@hdfcbank.com. It told the account holder to review her one-year account transactions. It was followed by a suspicious link, which on clicking resembled the HDFC page but the site’s address was not that of HDFC. My unsuspecting friend had clicked the link and that brought her world crashing down. A huge sum from her account had been transferred to an unknown HDFC account in Surat.
On contacting the Bank officials we came to know that the guy had withdrawn the money quickly. The official also added that my friend was not the only one to be affected. 4 other transactions have happened within half an hour towards that account and that guy had withdrawn the entire amount.
People who use netbanking ought to be aware of such things. HDFC officials send cautionary mails to their customers regarding phishing. In their mail they tell customers not to reveal the passwords to anyone including Bank officials. They also specify that the Bank will never ask for account no or password from their customers simply because they already know it. Unfortunately some mail clients identifies these warning mails as spam.
We see many such phishing cases in newspapers. Being caught unawares in such a nasty scam can be painful. I happened to accompany my friend to the Cyber crime police station this Friday after she fell prey for such a scam. The police traced the IP address of the sender to be from Bulgaria. The guy has obviously used Proxy address making it difficult for the police to nab him.
In the police station I happened to see another one guy who had lost an unbelievable Rs.10 lakhs to some fake company claiming to get him work permit in UK. As long as there are gullible people there will be people to deceive them as well.
We know how hard we work to earn every paisa. We should know how to safeguard such hard-earned money. As my dad used to say it’s harder to safeguard the money you earned than to actually earn that money.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Champions of hearts
What a fitting finale it was! Commentators were rightly saying, "Can you say who won?" Both were smiling broadly after the match. At the end of 3 1/2 hours of engrossing tennis one could say Tennis was the real winner. One couldn’t take the eyes off that match. Well-played guys! You rocked!
No Federer, no Nadal in a Grandslam final after quite a long time. It may well be the end of a dominating era. Inspite of being a Fedex fan I liked this change. One cannot keep watching someone winning over and over again. Only when there is rivalry will a sport thrive.
When Nadal and Federer were in semis, many wouldn’t have thought of such a final. Tsonga with his Mohammad Ali looks and brutal attack have downed many a top 15 player but he fell in the final hurdle albeit after a valiant effort. The muscular Nadal had told helplessly in post-match interview, “What can one do? He has a big serve, he runs fast and he has a range of shots.” His power packed shots and indomitable stamina are great indeed! His shot to get the first set in the final was a classy lob!
Novak had created waves after his stunning victory over Fedex. How many times have we seen Federer go down in straight sets? Federer was forced to eat humble pie He had to console himself by saying, “I have created this monster that I have to win everytime. But making it to the semis is a good thing too”. He didn’t look like the dominating guy who he usually is even against an ordinary player like Tipsarevic.
There was respect and mutual admiration between the players. Novak and Sharapova, whom the “Djoker” Novak used to often make fun of,
No Federer, no Nadal in a Grandslam final after quite a long time. It may well be the end of a dominating era. Inspite of being a Fedex fan I liked this change. One cannot keep watching someone winning over and over again. Only when there is rivalry will a sport thrive.
When Nadal and Federer were in semis, many wouldn’t have thought of such a final. Tsonga with his Mohammad Ali looks and brutal attack have downed many a top 15 player but he fell in the final hurdle albeit after a valiant effort. The muscular Nadal had told helplessly in post-match interview, “What can one do? He has a big serve, he runs fast and he has a range of shots.” His power packed shots and indomitable stamina are great indeed! His shot to get the first set in the final was a classy lob!
Novak had created waves after his stunning victory over Fedex. How many times have we seen Federer go down in straight sets? Federer was forced to eat humble pie He had to console himself by saying, “I have created this monster that I have to win everytime. But making it to the semis is a good thing too”. He didn’t look like the dominating guy who he usually is even against an ordinary player like Tipsarevic.
There was respect and mutual admiration between the players. Novak and Sharapova, whom the “Djoker” Novak used to often make fun of,
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6909103471287172831&q=djokovic+sharapova&total=205&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
have not only become winners of the cup but also had another similarity. Both paid tribute to the opposing crowd in a magnanimous manner. Sharapova, who had knocked out Henin, had said, “Ivanovic has a great future. The Serbian crowd was very loud. But still I love you guys”. Similarly her tormentor Novak cheekily said, “If Tsonga had won today he would have been very deserved winner. The crowd wanted him to win more. But don’t worry guys I love you all.” You are champions of people’s hearts as well Maria and Novak!
There are few matches that you won’t forget for a lifetime – SA vs Aus semis in ‘99 worldcup, the epic chase of 434 by SA, Fedex-Safin semis in Aus Open ‘05, etc. This Aus Open semis and final were some of those!
Not very far from all these events in Melbourne, the honest Gilchrist has decided to hang his gloves. How many times have we seen him walking once he knows he is out! I accept that he has had his share of controversies with a ball in his glove during the recent world cup final. That apart, he has been spectacular. What a swashbuckling batsman he was! The most important aspect was that he has been the record holder for the most no of dismissals. Being a keeper when Mcgrath and Warne were bowling might make that sound simple. But he was a man who has given his 100%. Hats off Gilly!
have not only become winners of the cup but also had another similarity. Both paid tribute to the opposing crowd in a magnanimous manner. Sharapova, who had knocked out Henin, had said, “Ivanovic has a great future. The Serbian crowd was very loud. But still I love you guys”. Similarly her tormentor Novak cheekily said, “If Tsonga had won today he would have been very deserved winner. The crowd wanted him to win more. But don’t worry guys I love you all.” You are champions of people’s hearts as well Maria and Novak!
There are few matches that you won’t forget for a lifetime – SA vs Aus semis in ‘99 worldcup, the epic chase of 434 by SA, Fedex-Safin semis in Aus Open ‘05, etc. This Aus Open semis and final were some of those!
Not very far from all these events in Melbourne, the honest Gilchrist has decided to hang his gloves. How many times have we seen him walking once he knows he is out! I accept that he has had his share of controversies with a ball in his glove during the recent world cup final. That apart, he has been spectacular. What a swashbuckling batsman he was! The most important aspect was that he has been the record holder for the most no of dismissals. Being a keeper when Mcgrath and Warne were bowling might make that sound simple. But he was a man who has given his 100%. Hats off Gilly!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Brewing entrepreneurship MBA style
Yesterday I along with my friends had gone to Brewhaha http://www.brewhaha.in/index.html , a place similar to Café coffee day but with a difference – you can play various games.
The very idea seemed innovative. The place had a home like environment with pillows, sheets etc. We can sit relaxedly and play games. What’s more Wifi connection was also there. We can buy snacks in addition to coffee day style coffee. We kept ordering food items while we were engrossed in our games. Well to be frank, others concentrated in the game. I played when there was no food left ;) That was the real ploy people keep ordering while they play.
We played a game where we had to find the word with the help of shapes drawn on cards. You can watch it here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3121760223278786369&hl=en
It’s only Rs.20 per hour per person – affordable, yet a good way to spend time. If you get time do visit this place. You will never feel the time running by.
This place has been started by two IIM A guys. It’s nice to see IIM guys becoming entrepreneurs like this. They end up doing what they love to do. Atleast there are few to resist working for a lucrative salary in a MNC and chase their dreams.
In one recent survey in IIM B, 72% had told they wanted to become entrepreneurs. But the real no of guys becoming entrepreneurs is very low.
One of the IIM professors ridicules this trend telling that most of the interview candidates tell they want to become entrepreneurs at some point of time. If that were true half the country will comprise entrepreneurs. Some safely tell they will become one after 15 years which is as good as telling they will never become one. Some go to the extent of telling they want to serve the country (by working for a MNC :P ). Read more at:
http://www.banglani.com/blog/?p=12
It takes real courage to chase your dreams. As Bharat Ratna Abdul Kalam rightly said : “Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career.”
The very idea seemed innovative. The place had a home like environment with pillows, sheets etc. We can sit relaxedly and play games. What’s more Wifi connection was also there. We can buy snacks in addition to coffee day style coffee. We kept ordering food items while we were engrossed in our games. Well to be frank, others concentrated in the game. I played when there was no food left ;) That was the real ploy people keep ordering while they play.
We played a game where we had to find the word with the help of shapes drawn on cards. You can watch it here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3121760223278786369&hl=en
It’s only Rs.20 per hour per person – affordable, yet a good way to spend time. If you get time do visit this place. You will never feel the time running by.
This place has been started by two IIM A guys. It’s nice to see IIM guys becoming entrepreneurs like this. They end up doing what they love to do. Atleast there are few to resist working for a lucrative salary in a MNC and chase their dreams.
In one recent survey in IIM B, 72% had told they wanted to become entrepreneurs. But the real no of guys becoming entrepreneurs is very low.
One of the IIM professors ridicules this trend telling that most of the interview candidates tell they want to become entrepreneurs at some point of time. If that were true half the country will comprise entrepreneurs. Some safely tell they will become one after 15 years which is as good as telling they will never become one. Some go to the extent of telling they want to serve the country (by working for a MNC :P ). Read more at:
http://www.banglani.com/blog/?p=12
It takes real courage to chase your dreams. As Bharat Ratna Abdul Kalam rightly said : “Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career.”
New year madness
We all saw the New Year madness and violence on women plummetting to dangerous depths. Not only Mumbai almost every metro had reported similar violence. Inebriated guys doing vulgar things on New Year’s Eve has sadly become common news now.
Blaming the women themselves for such heinous crimes is atrocious. To tell that the women were provocative dresses is way too much.
The police commissioner’s reaction telling that they cannot put one police for each woman is worth pondering about. How much can the police protect when there are so many mad people thronging the streets? It will be prudent for the women to take the safer side and remain away from such places where they are sure crimes are prone to happen on New Year’s Eve.
It was shocking to know that 32,481 murders, 19,348 rapes, 7,618 dowry deaths and 36,617 molestation cases had been reported last year. The number of crimes that go unreported will be much more than these numbers.
It’s all the more shocking to see Delhi on the top of the crime charts. The nation’s capital though is well developed financially is a laggard when it comes to law and order. When the average crime rate of the country went down by 0.02% Delhi’s crime rate went up by 357.2% more than double the national average of 167.7. Delhi has to take urgent steps to stem this rot.
A blanket ban on drinks in Anbumani Ramdoss’s style wouldn’t be the solution as there are people who drink to a safe limit and don’t cause problems. Alcohol meters to deduct the alcohol a person has taken using his breathe should be used in places like MG road on such occasions. Any person should be allowed inside only if the meter reading is within “safe” levels.
The sad part is most of the offenders are well educated and from decent families. Youth drinking too much and losing control is not a good sign for shining India.
These crimes should be nicked in the bud.
The real problem lies in existing weak laws/implementation of laws. The law should have enough teeth to bite such offenders. Punishing such offenders harshly will definitely bring down such crimes against women.
Blaming the women themselves for such heinous crimes is atrocious. To tell that the women were provocative dresses is way too much.
The police commissioner’s reaction telling that they cannot put one police for each woman is worth pondering about. How much can the police protect when there are so many mad people thronging the streets? It will be prudent for the women to take the safer side and remain away from such places where they are sure crimes are prone to happen on New Year’s Eve.
It was shocking to know that 32,481 murders, 19,348 rapes, 7,618 dowry deaths and 36,617 molestation cases had been reported last year. The number of crimes that go unreported will be much more than these numbers.
It’s all the more shocking to see Delhi on the top of the crime charts. The nation’s capital though is well developed financially is a laggard when it comes to law and order. When the average crime rate of the country went down by 0.02% Delhi’s crime rate went up by 357.2% more than double the national average of 167.7. Delhi has to take urgent steps to stem this rot.
A blanket ban on drinks in Anbumani Ramdoss’s style wouldn’t be the solution as there are people who drink to a safe limit and don’t cause problems. Alcohol meters to deduct the alcohol a person has taken using his breathe should be used in places like MG road on such occasions. Any person should be allowed inside only if the meter reading is within “safe” levels.
The sad part is most of the offenders are well educated and from decent families. Youth drinking too much and losing control is not a good sign for shining India.
These crimes should be nicked in the bud.
The real problem lies in existing weak laws/implementation of laws. The law should have enough teeth to bite such offenders. Punishing such offenders harshly will definitely bring down such crimes against women.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Thought-provoking Taare Zameen Par
Taare zameen par – the best movie I have seen till date. We don’t see many bollywood movies without masala songs, dance and fights. But this film managed to defy all these trends and still makes a huge collection in theatres. It was heartening to see people watching name rolls go on the screen after the movie got over with dazed eyes.
Most of the reviews give 4 out of 5 for this movie. I feel that 4 is too less a rating for this movie. This movie made more sense than 1000 Om Shanti Oms put together.
Please read this blog after watching the movie because it has spoilers.
The cute kid Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) simply steals the show with his emotional acting. His bindaas way of living and the way he dreams are awesome. He brings everyone to tears with his performance in “maa” song. Without telling any word over the phone he conveys the message and touches the souls of everyone.
Amol Gupta has to be given credit for the beautiful story. Never do we feel a let down in the intensity of the story. And Deepa Bhatia should be proud of her research indeed.
Graphics designer should be congratulated as well. Especially for the 3 * 9 animations deserved applause.
Kudos should be given to Aamir for his excellent directorial debut. His absence in the first half was not felt at all. He hasn’t overshadowed the little star Ishaan at any point in the movie. I was inspired by the way he chose to play as one of the boys and not the hero in RDB. He somehow manages to exceed everyone’s expectations movie after movie.
A director is said to make an impact only if the audience think about the movie long after the movie is over. Aamir scores heavily in this respect. This story makes us think like no other movie does. It’s not just a movie about some kid affected by dyslexia. This story is true for all kids. It clearly shows how we treat kids and ignore their dreams and fantasies.
The movie potrays the way parents put lot of expectations on their children. This is emphasised when Ishaan’s dad does not appreciate Ishaan’s brother though he got into tennis finals in his school. The dad says to Aamir that his elder son is topper in all subjects whereas his younger son is good for nothing. He refuses to acknowledge the drawing skills of his younger one and says it won’t help his future. This just shows how our society still thinks of children as studying machines rather than identify the hidden talents in each child and nurture them. Everyone wants his or her child to be a doctor or engineer. They stereotypically think in commercial terms. Aamir rightly asks the parents “Why do you want to make money out of all this?”
The dad wants to enrol Ishaan in a boarding school and the mom ponders, “Where did I go wrong? Did I not grow him up properly?” They fail to think from the child’s point of view. As rightly pointed out by Aamir they look at the symptoms rather than the problem itself. At one point Aamir delivers the most influential and thought provoking dialogue of the movie: “Thanks for thinking that you are thinking about your child”. All parents think that whatever they do is for the good of their child. But is that right?
The movie also throws light on how commercial the schools have become. The Principal is literally searching for a reason to get rid of Ishaan with an easy excuse “ How can a teacher spend time on each and every child in the class?” I also happened to see a hoarding of an International school where a child is drawing and the ad reads something like “We nurture drawing talent of each kid” – very much trying to cash in on the success of TZP for their own commercial reasons.
Aamir’s way of making the child break out of his shell and come up and face the world with confidence are awesome. That is just the way every parent/teacher ought to treat his child. In Ireland every dad who has a child is required to leave office at 3 and spend some time with the kid. They recognize the value of spending time with kids.
When I was a kid I was not allowed to scribble on the walls. But after seeing the movie I thought to myself when I become a parent I will allow my child to scribble whatever he/she wants to. I will allow him the way he/she wants to become because every child is special.
Most of the reviews give 4 out of 5 for this movie. I feel that 4 is too less a rating for this movie. This movie made more sense than 1000 Om Shanti Oms put together.
Please read this blog after watching the movie because it has spoilers.
The cute kid Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) simply steals the show with his emotional acting. His bindaas way of living and the way he dreams are awesome. He brings everyone to tears with his performance in “maa” song. Without telling any word over the phone he conveys the message and touches the souls of everyone.
Amol Gupta has to be given credit for the beautiful story. Never do we feel a let down in the intensity of the story. And Deepa Bhatia should be proud of her research indeed.
Graphics designer should be congratulated as well. Especially for the 3 * 9 animations deserved applause.
Kudos should be given to Aamir for his excellent directorial debut. His absence in the first half was not felt at all. He hasn’t overshadowed the little star Ishaan at any point in the movie. I was inspired by the way he chose to play as one of the boys and not the hero in RDB. He somehow manages to exceed everyone’s expectations movie after movie.
A director is said to make an impact only if the audience think about the movie long after the movie is over. Aamir scores heavily in this respect. This story makes us think like no other movie does. It’s not just a movie about some kid affected by dyslexia. This story is true for all kids. It clearly shows how we treat kids and ignore their dreams and fantasies.
The movie potrays the way parents put lot of expectations on their children. This is emphasised when Ishaan’s dad does not appreciate Ishaan’s brother though he got into tennis finals in his school. The dad says to Aamir that his elder son is topper in all subjects whereas his younger son is good for nothing. He refuses to acknowledge the drawing skills of his younger one and says it won’t help his future. This just shows how our society still thinks of children as studying machines rather than identify the hidden talents in each child and nurture them. Everyone wants his or her child to be a doctor or engineer. They stereotypically think in commercial terms. Aamir rightly asks the parents “Why do you want to make money out of all this?”
The dad wants to enrol Ishaan in a boarding school and the mom ponders, “Where did I go wrong? Did I not grow him up properly?” They fail to think from the child’s point of view. As rightly pointed out by Aamir they look at the symptoms rather than the problem itself. At one point Aamir delivers the most influential and thought provoking dialogue of the movie: “Thanks for thinking that you are thinking about your child”. All parents think that whatever they do is for the good of their child. But is that right?
The movie also throws light on how commercial the schools have become. The Principal is literally searching for a reason to get rid of Ishaan with an easy excuse “ How can a teacher spend time on each and every child in the class?” I also happened to see a hoarding of an International school where a child is drawing and the ad reads something like “We nurture drawing talent of each kid” – very much trying to cash in on the success of TZP for their own commercial reasons.
Aamir’s way of making the child break out of his shell and come up and face the world with confidence are awesome. That is just the way every parent/teacher ought to treat his child. In Ireland every dad who has a child is required to leave office at 3 and spend some time with the kid. They recognize the value of spending time with kids.
When I was a kid I was not allowed to scribble on the walls. But after seeing the movie I thought to myself when I become a parent I will allow my child to scribble whatever he/she wants to. I will allow him the way he/she wants to become because every child is special.
Umpires going "down under"
When I was in college there was a guy who used to win cricket matches neither by bowling nor batting but by umpiring for his team. Benson and Bucknor weren’t much different except that they weren’t umpiring for their own teams. Both have gone ‘down under’ (pun intended) in their judgements. Benson just stopped short of asking Ponting 'do you want to umpire instead of me?' by asking Ponting’s opinion on a catch. Cricket should have never witnessed such an event. He should have gone to third umpire if he had had doubt. But going to the third umpire wouldn’t have made much difference either considering the fact that third umpire screwed up in the run-out of Symonds.
Come to think of it – umpires make mistakes in Tennis, Football and every other game. Technology is not quick enough to give instant decisions and there is no guarantee that the decisions taken with help of technology will be right. So invariably we have to depend on umpires.
Nevertheless there should be an evaluation system for umpires as well. The correctness of their decisions should be given points and they should be ranked like players. There should be lesser retirement age for umpires. They can be made to umpire in practice matches compulsorily so that they will have some match practice.
Technology can be used in reliable areas like finding out whether a bowler oversteps the line. Ganguly, Dravid and other affected batsmen walking in anguish unable to utter a word against the umpire fearing penalty won’t do any good to cricket. Batsmen could be given limited number of challenges against umpire just like in tennis.
Think about the racism issue regarding monkey …. er… Symonds. In my opinion calling someone a monkey isn’t a racist comment. Symonds was not called as monkey because he was black. If any other white guy in the team had had monkey like appearance and weird hairdo that person would have been called monkey as well. Symonds being so sensitive and the whole team rallying around him is a case of trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
What was the necessity to punish Bhajji when there isn’t sufficient evidence? What is the match referee trying to prove with such an act?
BCCI sure has the financial muscle to pull ICC to make any decisions according to its whim and fancies. But is this approach correct? It’s definitely setting a bad precedent by arm-twisting ICC to get back Bucknor. What happens to Bucknor after the series is over? And what about Benson? What if BCCI were a relatively poor board like say Bangaladesh Board? In that case ICC would have stood firm with its decisions right?
Walking out of Parliament is not a good idea. You cannot stress your ideas if you are not inside. This is true for our boys as well. They shouldn’t quit the series. Come what may they must face it and fight bravely. Only that way can we prove a point to the arrogant and self-righteous Aussies.
Come to think of it – umpires make mistakes in Tennis, Football and every other game. Technology is not quick enough to give instant decisions and there is no guarantee that the decisions taken with help of technology will be right. So invariably we have to depend on umpires.
Nevertheless there should be an evaluation system for umpires as well. The correctness of their decisions should be given points and they should be ranked like players. There should be lesser retirement age for umpires. They can be made to umpire in practice matches compulsorily so that they will have some match practice.
Technology can be used in reliable areas like finding out whether a bowler oversteps the line. Ganguly, Dravid and other affected batsmen walking in anguish unable to utter a word against the umpire fearing penalty won’t do any good to cricket. Batsmen could be given limited number of challenges against umpire just like in tennis.
Think about the racism issue regarding monkey …. er… Symonds. In my opinion calling someone a monkey isn’t a racist comment. Symonds was not called as monkey because he was black. If any other white guy in the team had had monkey like appearance and weird hairdo that person would have been called monkey as well. Symonds being so sensitive and the whole team rallying around him is a case of trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
What was the necessity to punish Bhajji when there isn’t sufficient evidence? What is the match referee trying to prove with such an act?
BCCI sure has the financial muscle to pull ICC to make any decisions according to its whim and fancies. But is this approach correct? It’s definitely setting a bad precedent by arm-twisting ICC to get back Bucknor. What happens to Bucknor after the series is over? And what about Benson? What if BCCI were a relatively poor board like say Bangaladesh Board? In that case ICC would have stood firm with its decisions right?
Walking out of Parliament is not a good idea. You cannot stress your ideas if you are not inside. This is true for our boys as well. They shouldn’t quit the series. Come what may they must face it and fight bravely. Only that way can we prove a point to the arrogant and self-righteous Aussies.
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