Some very disturbing rather very provoking incidents in the political circuit in Maharashtra.
I don’t know how I should contain/curtail my anger on R. R. Patil’s re-appointment as the Maharashtra Home Minister, just as we are nearing 26/11! I mean how dare these people re-appoint him as the state Home Minister?!? It is as if these politicians are teasing us and saying,’ Oh you commoners, you are fools and you shall always remain so. See, we thick-skinned ba****ds will spare no effort/no opportunity to suck the last drop of your blood, strangulate your hopes, if any and ensure that you re-elect us the next time”.
I seriously want to talk to Mr. Chavan and ask him the reason why R.R Patil is made the state Home Minister? It is surely adding insult to our injury. And I can’t beat that R.R.Patil has absolutely no qualms about expressing his desire to be re-appointed as the state Home Minister. Absolute shamelessness and disgust! It is all about number games and it will never be about governance.
And it surely is about making all so “non-issues” the very sole agenda by these political parties to gain some sort of quick,cheap mileage. The MNS MLAs attacking one of the ministers on the ground that he decided to take oath in Hindi and the quick vandalism that followed is extreme goondaism and that too by people who we elect to form a system of governance! I am not pro or anti any particular leader or political party, I am for anyone and everyone who can stand true to the expectations that we commoners are legitimately entitled to hold, considering that we elect them, anyone who works with sincerity, but I guess by setting these standards or this yardstick I am being too demanding of these so called netas because I don’t think anyone of them has any sincerity or any sense of responsibility. Noboday gives a damn to the basic problems that we, the commoners have been facing over these years. Governments come, stay, mint money and our problems remain the same, with add on every year! Roads here in Mumbai will never lead to SHANGHAI…why? Oh, just see the highway approaching the domestic airport from Andheri it is all pot-holes and nothing else..thats the HIGHWAY….buses, rickshaws everything runs on a systematic ‘haftaa’ system, the law makers, the police, the administration connive with these service providers, set their rates at which they sell their integrity and we are doomed into suffering, which if we refuse to accept and try to resist, it will only frustrate us to no end!!!
I am extremely upset and angry and I actually don’t even know what my reaction should be so that this pent up frustration gets a vent and burns these b*****ds for once and for all!!!!
SHAME ON THE MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT!!!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
BOBBY, CAN YOU HEAR THIS?
Never thought what Robert F. Kennedy spoke in 1968 would become most relevant in today's times.I couldn't muster courage to analyise what he had said in one of his speeches in the Cleveland City Club, Cleveland, Ohio, April 5, 1968...
Reproducing the Web version of this speech , which was made for the convenience of readers and researchers. It was produced from a press release for the speech, which can be found in Robert F. Kennedy's Senate Speech Files.
I would urge you all to take a little liberty and replace the word "America" with the word "World"....
"This This is a time of shame and sorrow It is not a day for politics I have saved this one opportunity to speak briefly to you about this mindless menace of violence in America which again stains our land and every one of our lives.
It is not the concern of any one race The victims of the violence are black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown They are, most important of all, human beings whom other human beings loved and needed No one - no matter where he lives or what he does - can be certain who will suffer from some senseless act of bloodshed And yet it goes on and on.
Why? What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr's cause has ever been stilled by his assassin's bullet.
No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders A sniper is only a coward, not a hero; and an uncontrolled, uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of the people.
Whenever any American's life is taken by another American unnecessarily - whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence - whenever we tear at the fabric of life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole nation is degraded.
"Among free men," said Abraham Lincoln, “there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet; and those who take such appeal are sure to lose their cause and pay the costs."
Yet we seemingly tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common humanity and our claims to civilization alike. We calmly accept newspaper reports of civilian slaughter in far off lands. We glorify killing on movie and television screens and call it entertainment. We make it easy for men of all shades of sanity to acquire weapons and ammunition they desire.
Too often we honor swagger and bluster and the wielders of force; too often we excuse those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of others. Some Americans who preach nonviolence abroad fail to practice it here at home. Some who accuse others of inciting riots have by their own conduct invited them.
Some looks for scapegoats, others look for conspiracies, but this much is clear; violence breeds violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleaning of our whole society can remove this sickness from our soul.
For there is another kind of violence, slower but just as deadly, destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night. This is the violence of institutions; indifference and inaction and slow decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor, that poisons relations between men because their skin has different colors. This is a slow destruction of a child by hunger, and schools without books and homes without heat in the winter.
This is the breaking of a man's spirit by denying him the chance to stand as a father and as a man among other men. And this too afflicts us all. I have not come here to propose a set of specific remedies nor is there a single set. For a broad and adequate outline we know what must be done. When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies - to be met not with cooperation but with conquest, to be subjugated and mastered.
We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community, men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort. We learn to share only a common fear - only a common desire to retreat from each other - only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force. For all this there are no final answers.
Yet we know what we must do. It is to achieve true justice among our fellow citizens. The question is now what programs we should seek to enact. The question is whether we can find in our own midst and in our own hearts that leadership of human purpose that will recognize the terrible truths of our existence.
We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of all. We must admit in ourselves that our own children's future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others. We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge.
Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanish it with a program, nor with a resolution.
But we can perhaps remember - even if only for a time - that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short movement of life, that they seek - as we do - nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.
Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our hearts brothers and countrymen once again."
(Oh I wish America understands what R.F. Kennedy meant...Oh I wish America stops playing the double game....)
Reproducing the Web version of this speech , which was made for the convenience of readers and researchers. It was produced from a press release for the speech, which can be found in Robert F. Kennedy's Senate Speech Files.
I would urge you all to take a little liberty and replace the word "America" with the word "World"....
"This This is a time of shame and sorrow It is not a day for politics I have saved this one opportunity to speak briefly to you about this mindless menace of violence in America which again stains our land and every one of our lives.
It is not the concern of any one race The victims of the violence are black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown They are, most important of all, human beings whom other human beings loved and needed No one - no matter where he lives or what he does - can be certain who will suffer from some senseless act of bloodshed And yet it goes on and on.
Why? What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr's cause has ever been stilled by his assassin's bullet.
No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders A sniper is only a coward, not a hero; and an uncontrolled, uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of the people.
Whenever any American's life is taken by another American unnecessarily - whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence - whenever we tear at the fabric of life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole nation is degraded.
"Among free men," said Abraham Lincoln, “there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet; and those who take such appeal are sure to lose their cause and pay the costs."
Yet we seemingly tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common humanity and our claims to civilization alike. We calmly accept newspaper reports of civilian slaughter in far off lands. We glorify killing on movie and television screens and call it entertainment. We make it easy for men of all shades of sanity to acquire weapons and ammunition they desire.
Too often we honor swagger and bluster and the wielders of force; too often we excuse those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of others. Some Americans who preach nonviolence abroad fail to practice it here at home. Some who accuse others of inciting riots have by their own conduct invited them.
Some looks for scapegoats, others look for conspiracies, but this much is clear; violence breeds violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleaning of our whole society can remove this sickness from our soul.
For there is another kind of violence, slower but just as deadly, destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night. This is the violence of institutions; indifference and inaction and slow decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor, that poisons relations between men because their skin has different colors. This is a slow destruction of a child by hunger, and schools without books and homes without heat in the winter.
This is the breaking of a man's spirit by denying him the chance to stand as a father and as a man among other men. And this too afflicts us all. I have not come here to propose a set of specific remedies nor is there a single set. For a broad and adequate outline we know what must be done. When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies - to be met not with cooperation but with conquest, to be subjugated and mastered.
We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community, men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort. We learn to share only a common fear - only a common desire to retreat from each other - only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force. For all this there are no final answers.
Yet we know what we must do. It is to achieve true justice among our fellow citizens. The question is now what programs we should seek to enact. The question is whether we can find in our own midst and in our own hearts that leadership of human purpose that will recognize the terrible truths of our existence.
We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of all. We must admit in ourselves that our own children's future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others. We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge.
Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanish it with a program, nor with a resolution.
But we can perhaps remember - even if only for a time - that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short movement of life, that they seek - as we do - nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.
Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our hearts brothers and countrymen once again."
(Oh I wish America understands what R.F. Kennedy meant...Oh I wish America stops playing the double game....)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Time Management?
Stuck with my thoughts, a little bit of work …could not get the time to write…uhhh…I guess I will have to revisit my time management lessons…
Ohhh…this reminds me of few unpleasant happenings –probably owing to either sheer lack of time management or absolute disregard towards it. What happened to Mewad Express near Mathura, where it was halted by manual intervention and was standing on the tracks on outer line near Mathura Station and within minutes another train is allowed a green signal on the same track-BANG ON- casualties on rise and routine investigations to follow up this unfortunate incident. This is not funny at all! Newspaper archives hold numerable stories of such unfortunate incidents that have occurred in the past-off hand I clearly remember the Kalindi Express’ head on collision with a high speed moving train- same track-same story but different lives getting altered forever….nobody pays for their mistake and I guess no one is bothered-this isn’t my pessimistic attitude-this is reality check!!!
We haven’t learnt from our past mistakes/experiences at all, had it been the case at least similar tragedies wouldn’t be repeated…and it’s really shameful that the degree of human element/intervention involved in all these incidents seemingly rising with each new incident happening. I feel like screaming a loud and am afraid that won’t help me vent out even half of my pent up frustration!!! So, what do we do? Do we wait of more such instances and keep feeling sorry…I guess that’s what we have been doing, that’s what I am doing right now….
What happened last Saturday when a over bridge collapsed on the local train in one of the sub-urban stations in Mumbai? Nah…not just a one off incident, not a mere accident-it smells of red-tapism and acute politicization of this city’s administration- wow… ‘Politicizing Administration’, intriguing, isn’t it ?
One of my random chats with friends, we were discussing life as we live here and those who have moved to US and such other countries. It was a very casual chat. One of my friends had returned back from US for settling down in life-yeah getting married and starting a new life here. Of course for that friend of mine-it was a great great ‘welcome-back-to-home’ feeling and there were absolutely no regrets…our discussion went a little further and all of us agreed that WE DO NOT SEE ANY VALUE TO HUMAN LIFE HERE, whereas my friend says on personal experience asserts that in US- the way the government offices function, they police, the medical system, everything shows a great values to lives of its citizens.
I have my choices clear, probably I am one of those who get extremely emotional and may be a little aggressive when it is about India versus any other country, but I cannot ignore this and I cannot deny the truth-and yes this is my personal experience…Am sure most of you would agree with me on this.
I feel the test of a good & efficient administration/governance is to see what is the quality of life of the common people/ the aam-junta. The moment you ask this to yourself you know the answer-for us here, miserable is an understatement!
Ohhh…this reminds me of few unpleasant happenings –probably owing to either sheer lack of time management or absolute disregard towards it. What happened to Mewad Express near Mathura, where it was halted by manual intervention and was standing on the tracks on outer line near Mathura Station and within minutes another train is allowed a green signal on the same track-BANG ON- casualties on rise and routine investigations to follow up this unfortunate incident. This is not funny at all! Newspaper archives hold numerable stories of such unfortunate incidents that have occurred in the past-off hand I clearly remember the Kalindi Express’ head on collision with a high speed moving train- same track-same story but different lives getting altered forever….nobody pays for their mistake and I guess no one is bothered-this isn’t my pessimistic attitude-this is reality check!!!
We haven’t learnt from our past mistakes/experiences at all, had it been the case at least similar tragedies wouldn’t be repeated…and it’s really shameful that the degree of human element/intervention involved in all these incidents seemingly rising with each new incident happening. I feel like screaming a loud and am afraid that won’t help me vent out even half of my pent up frustration!!! So, what do we do? Do we wait of more such instances and keep feeling sorry…I guess that’s what we have been doing, that’s what I am doing right now….
What happened last Saturday when a over bridge collapsed on the local train in one of the sub-urban stations in Mumbai? Nah…not just a one off incident, not a mere accident-it smells of red-tapism and acute politicization of this city’s administration- wow… ‘Politicizing Administration’, intriguing, isn’t it ?
One of my random chats with friends, we were discussing life as we live here and those who have moved to US and such other countries. It was a very casual chat. One of my friends had returned back from US for settling down in life-yeah getting married and starting a new life here. Of course for that friend of mine-it was a great great ‘welcome-back-to-home’ feeling and there were absolutely no regrets…our discussion went a little further and all of us agreed that WE DO NOT SEE ANY VALUE TO HUMAN LIFE HERE, whereas my friend says on personal experience asserts that in US- the way the government offices function, they police, the medical system, everything shows a great values to lives of its citizens.
I have my choices clear, probably I am one of those who get extremely emotional and may be a little aggressive when it is about India versus any other country, but I cannot ignore this and I cannot deny the truth-and yes this is my personal experience…Am sure most of you would agree with me on this.
I feel the test of a good & efficient administration/governance is to see what is the quality of life of the common people/ the aam-junta. The moment you ask this to yourself you know the answer-for us here, miserable is an understatement!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The BEST place in the WORLD
Its so wonderful to be with your family…Hmmm…and probably those who stay away from their folks would appreciate this even more…that there is no place in the whole wide world like your HOME SWEET HOME….
Hmmm.. don’t know why I am writing all this…I mean my folks are around and am so very thankful that I don’t have to stay away from them…but I have a lot of friends who stay away from their home…either for work or studies and the hard fact is they don’t have options to choose-it is surely a compulsion…I guess I am writing all this because a lot of my friends have gone to their respective home towns for Diwali their happiness of being home is reflecting in a lot many ways-
In fact I have stayed away from my folks and I know it is not easy at all-but at times you really cannot help and that’s when you got be strong to accept these obvious choices and more importantly be strong so that your folks back home get their share of strength from you…uhhh,,,damn sentimental stuff…I don’t usually express this but I guess today I can’t help it either….
Personally speaking, I am not very comfortable with this but my friends have shown me that how one has to learn to live with these hard choices and create a second home a little away from their HOME, with wonderful friends around…in whatever circumstances, keep fighting and be happy and this will surely make your folks nack home, very happy and probably that is what ultimately matters…
Uhhh…I don’t want to make this Diwali mood any sombre- I am really happy for all my friends who are at HOME, I can empathise with them,,,,and I know all of them must have had a greatttt Diwali, just by being with their families…
Probably I can’t express my feelings any further…I am thankful that this Diwali was peaceful-all that we all must ask for is PEACE FOR ONE AND ALL…peace at home, at work, a basic minimum level of mental peace that is so very essential-for us to enjoy festivals, for us to celebrate LIFE….
SHUBH DIWALI!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
RANDOM THOUGHTS: SERIOUS CONCERNS!!
It’s October, Diwali approaching in less than a week now and instead of witnessing the scenes of white washing in the households everywhere, it was a complete devastating wash by rainwater….October witnessing floods; instead of preparing for the beautiful autumn, it seems the ‘seasons’ are in a state of utter confusion or rather they are absolutely helpless…I mean what we studied in school, April-May- for summer, June to September rains, October-November mild autumn, December to February chilling cold, March sultry dry all set to welcome April….all this is rather ‘bookish’ in today’s context…and it’s a matter of grave concern. You know what, this is the result our selfishness, our not agreeing with the proponents of the theory of sustainable development and even if we did agree and understood what it means-I guess it was too much of asking to sacrifice for future-which in anyways is uncertain-so why bother!!! Well, so here we are, in the midst of global warming spreading its wings in more than ways we could imagine…The climatic change, which is for worse, is a result of our recklessly abusing and exploiting the environment!!! Is it a catch-22 situation…whatever it is…too late to mend and make good the damage…the fact is WE ARE STUCK and STUCK BADLY…Can we now at least think about stopping this abuse and exploitation, can we adopt sustainable development as the core principle for development, can we pause and re-assess our needs v. greed…imagine what kind of damage have we caused to the environment that it has ultimately led to a dangerous imbalance in the climatic cycle…what will happen to agriculture and everything that is associated with it-OUR LIVES for sure….meanwhile at least if we all could pray with honesty and sincerity….
This 2nd October 2009, one of the movie channels showed GANDHI (that’s quite ceremonious) and I watched the entire movie…that surely forces one to think and re-think…firstly a terrible disgrace that we have taken our freedom for granted, that freedom for which millions laid down their lives-that freedom which was the only ‘romance’ for Shaheed Bhagat Singh and likes…and then there is one lean, thin, absolute ‘common man’ figure with his dream and vision for independent INDIA that he wanted to achieve through the toughest route ever-NON VIOLENCE…Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Whether one agrees or not and irrespective of our views on M.K Gandhi being responsible for the partition, we cannot ignore the determination that M.K. Gandhi had for our country freedom and that his was a charisma beyond explanation-for once you see that a person who enjoys blind following by an entire nation-did not abuse his power-imagine the same in today’s context-scary and suicidal-God forbid but if Behenji of U.P gets such a following-she would auction our country and disappear….I don’t know why, but we all somehow love criticism- ofcourse as long as we get to criticize others! That’s what we do with M.K.Gandhi…I guess some people do it to pretend being intellectuals-that criticizing M.K Gandhi is quite a fashion-blame the partition on him- I am not saying he wouldn’t have been responsible-of course being a human he too was fallible-but what I don’t agree is that why do we only see what he could not do or the wrongs that he allegedly committed-I guess it’s easier and more convenient for us because if we discuss and debate the negative aspects, no body would ask us to follow or inculcate such acts/commissions and on the other hand if we attempt to understand what his contribution is, the goodness in him, the determination, we might be expected to follow all of that-that’s not convenient-so the easy option is the blame game-after all we are the champions…
I am not saying that you don’t have a right to your own views/opinion, of course you do but before all of that just try and find out if you could inculcate or even appreciate what values and principles shaped M.K.Gandhi’s life and ultimately shaped the pace and picture of our freedom struggle…M.K Gandhi had said that India lives in it’s villages and India’s development and growth of its economy can happen only if the villages are made autonomous, self-dependent and when the local crafts are revived-you know what-it is now that I truly understand what he actually meant-I understand the gravity and importance-because now I see MADE IN CHINA labels on virtually everything that was and that is essentially INDIAN-in its origin and culture---its surely double jeopardy---I call for a SWADESI MOVEMENT all over again!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
AAO SCHOOL CHALEIN HUM….
AAO SCHOOL CHALEIN HUM….
The HRD minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal on Monday, Aug 24 2009 emphasized on:-
1) The importance of teaching Hindi in schools;
2) A uniform core curriculum for Mathematics and Science for all school boards;
3) Need for independent accreditation body for school education;
4) Enactment of Children's Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill;
5) Encouraging private investments in education, reviewing the functioning of existing deemed universities and the need for a regulatory authority in higher education.
Along with revealing the plan to scrap class tenth board exams. Addressing the Council of Boards of Secondary Education, Mr. Kapil Sibal said:
"Our education system should change from MOTS (More of the Same) to HOTS (High Order Thinking Skills). We should create knowledge which will be used by other people. Now we are a recipient of knowledge and in the future we should produce the knowledge."
Finally somebody talks about ‘reforming’ our education system, how sustainable, how appropriate and how feasible are these proposed reforms is a question that we will have to answer in order that we hit the bull’s eye!
Quite often my friends and I engage in random chats comparing our ‘school days’ with today’s school life and every time that comparison leaves all of us with a feeling of sincere gratitude and we cannot but thank our luck/stars that we were better off than kids today!
I am quite sure that most of you reading this will agree with me on this at least! And I guess this feeling of gratitude extends to the generation of our parents and grandparents and with each preceding generation it only gets more sincere & deeper.
But why?!?!? Has it got something to do with the so-called ‘tough’ & ‘monstrous’ school syllabus of today or is to with the onset of ‘globalization’ & ‘commercialization’ of our classrooms today. Whereas I agree with the latter part of the statement, I do not think that school syllabus of today is ‘tough’ rather at it is quite meaningless, irrelevant, misleading (wherever politicized), not updated, infact I am given to understand that there have been cases where the syllabus books were full of grammatical errors and erroneous facts. I will refer to a few examples to corroborate the aforesaid:-
- Referring to the latest new article in the Times of India of April 2, 2009, Bangalore Edition which carried a story titled, “Physics textbooks ridden with errors”. This article gives tells us shocking instances of errors relating to concepts, definitions or even diagrams in class 8 and class 9 textbooks.
ü For example, the class 8 textbook explains the twinkling of stars thus -- for the observer on earth, the light appears to come from a point, say B, although it originated from another point, say A. Because of the variation in density, the extent of bending (light) changes continuously. So the observer on Earth sees the star at B at one instant, C at another and so on. This causes the star to twinkle.
Wrong theory, say teachers.
"This is completely wrong. Just because of the point shift, the effect of sparkle cannot be felt. In fact, all points are bright," said a retired physics teacher, who wants to remain anonymous. "The angular size of the star is an angle made by the star at the pupil of the eye and is nearly zero. Therefore, a thin pencil of light from the star passes the earth's atmosphere and reaches the eye. Due to atmospheric turbulence, the ray of light passes through the eye on and off, giving the twinkling effect."
ü Unclear diagrams.
Even the diagrams are unclear. "In one diagram, emerging light, after passing through the prism, is parallel. But emerging light from the prism is always dispersed. The issue here is that the book is unclear in showing the dispersed portion," the teacher explained. Strangely, in the class 10 textbook, the diagram correctly shows that light is dispersed after passing through a single prism.
If you would recollect, there was a big political drama on ‘re-writing’ history for the school textbooks when Mr. Murali Manohar Joshi was the Union HRD Minister. I do not want to dissect all that because whatever it was, the basic issue got sidelined and what we saw was a dirty game of politicizing education at the hands of opportunist politicians! This is what happens, this hype that gets created or rather is deliberately created to divert/diffuse attention from the core agenda/issue and ultimately we are lost, either in frustration or enjoyment in witnessing the myriad political gimmicks that are played to score political mileage!
Can you imagine ‘factual’ errors, ‘distorted’ information, ‘erroneous’ data that the school textbooks are subjected to and all of this coupled with absolute lack of will to identify and address the problems/issues. Each political party wants to manipulate the school curriculum-surely to appease its vote banks! I see a sudden onset of ‘commercialization’ of education, politicization of course!
I am saddened by the fact that in all of this we have disregarded the importance of ‘teaching the basics’ in school, to begin with that includes a sense of discipline to be inculcated. But how do I expect this, to teach and inculcate discipline-we need disciplined, upright and honest people-and this class of people is an alarming minority today! Most of those who come to school to teach are rather ‘SALESMAN/SALESWOMAN as the case may be!
Teaching Computers, we must, that is the need of the hour, but who is tell the kids the mathematical tables to compute/calculate basic math sums. Oh… I forgot, for that we have ‘coaching’ classes….
Scrapping exams in once again trying to divert from the core issue-this is no solution to anything that is plaguing our education system today. I read and also heard a lot of people talk that this is indeed a step in positive direction which will help reduce the stress levels amongst children! STRESS IN SCHOOL?!? It establishes that we are failed miserably to even identify the core issues/problems. How do you accept this premise of exams and schools now being labeled as STRESS CENTRES? All this is because of our approach towards studies, towards exams that has lead to extreme degree of unhealthy competition, and that too, not amongst the kids but amongst their parents!
As I write this today, I am yet to gather my thoughts on a lot of issues that I feel must be addressed before we engage in the mindless exercise of turning the school education system completely UPSIDE DOWN!
I hope to hear from most of you, who occasionally spare some time to read my posts, on your reaction to this-scrapping of exams-is is the step in right direction?
And I am quite sure that unless we realize where the problem actually lies (definitely not with having board exams), we will continue this act of injustice towards the kids-taking away from them their golden period –the SCHOOL DAYS…..
(Photograph: flickr.com)
Monday, September 28, 2009
WHEN IS OUR 'DUSHERRA'?!?
Hmmm….it’s festivity all around and once again I can’t stop myself from penning down a few thoughts that are close to my heart and I can’t escape these…
So it’s the day that we celebrate the triumph of good over evil- we call it Dusherra or Vijaydashmi….the underlying spirit is let good prevail over evil and it does…this day we worship Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, reinforcing our belief in the guiding light of knowledge that can overpower the ever prevailing darkness-that guiding light of knowledge that can pull us through the shambles of superstition and regressive thinking..but the saddest part it-we don’t want to know the meaning of these festivals, so long as we get a holiday to ‘chill out’, to go shopping etc etc…we don’t need to know the reason and/or significance of any of it…but yes ofcourse-if it’s a ‘general knowledge’ question-we can tell that Dushherra signifies the TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL!
But I seriously feel that like all other festivals that have given our lives some meaning, that signify the importance of goodness, even our ‘celebration’ of today has become completely symbolic!!! No, I don’t mean to say that we must do way with the traditions, not at all but I feel we must not forget the reasons, the true essence of these festivals and today is the day to let the evil in us die at the hands of goodness that is hidden in everyone-let it prevail over the evils that have engulfed us-let the goodness be set free in order to set ourselves free from the clutches of evil that’s within all of us-I guess that would give us the true reason to celebrate Dusherra in its true spirit and essence…
Ravanaa symbolizes evil and centuries ago that evil met with its end-that was just to show us a way to keep fighting the evil around us and today I must say that there’s a bit of Ravanaa in every one of us…and today it is important that we fight the evils within us-only then can we can understand the meaning of celebrating the victory of GOOD OVER EVIL!
At least I want to celebrate this way and I will… to begin with I am going to steal some quite moments for myself and list down the ten ill habits of mine, those which make me little mean, those which hampers my growth, those which affect my loved ones badly and those habits that I know are not good-it could be as silly as procrastination and as serious short temperedness and I would make all sincere attempts to conquer those to let the goodness in me prevail over everything else- that would be my tribute to the legend of Lord Rama’s victory over Ravanaa!
That is what we all need today…each one of us to wage war against the evil within us and only then can we realize and sensitize ourselves against the greater evil that our society is subjected to-the evil that is eroding the value system- evil that is making us ‘inhuman’!
Today, the evil within us surmounts over the little goodness that we all have and I need not elaborate how?!? The disgusting picture of our society today is nothing but a true reflection of our inner self and it’s TIME WE CLEANSE OURSELVES OF ALL THE EVIL WITHIN US TO CELEBRATE THE TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL…
Sunday, September 20, 2009
LIFE ON 'SALE'?!?
Hi there! How’s life treating you all? It’s been a bit busy this side …sometimes I like this ‘busy’ ‘ness’ and sometimes I just want to escape this maddening rush of ‘things-to-do’ and ‘targets-to-accomplish’ manic kind of life…where it’s all about getting somewhere in life...and that ‘somewhere’ always remains ‘that somewhere’, and our chase continues… because probably we are “cultured” or “tutored”: to lead a life that largely resembles a herd mentally-just go on and on….why.. cause we have to get to “that somewhere”…so, no stopping for anything- to steal those silent moments for ourselves-to feel the love around us-to feel the emotions that bind our families-to feel that happiness that lies within us---that happiness which you and I have cause we have wonderful people around us-our families and friends and even to feel the pain-of others-I feel we have insulated ourselves…and that’s how, like I said in one of my previous posts, we mean ‘business’ in everything that we do-that’s how our lives are commercialized- ON SALE-FOREVER….
That’s the kind of “culture’ which is the in-thing today and it hurts to see today’s children losing their innocence in this era of die hard materialization and ruthless and dirty competition!
I am thankful because I have people around me to tell me that life isn’t a ‘chase’, life is rather a journey packed with experiences of all kind to make this journey a loving and memorable one-life is surely a jigsaw puzzle which wouldn’t be complete without our family and friends- what I mean to say is life is all about ‘living’ and ‘loving’ rather than ‘getting that somewhere’. Yes, I am placing highest regard/value to ‘HUMAN REALTION’-which is so important for a healthy life and a strong social fabric- STRICTLY NO 'SYNTHETIC' THREADS!
That’s the kind of “culture’ which is the in-thing today and it hurts to see today’s children losing their innocence in this era of die hard materialization and ruthless and dirty competition!
I am thankful because I have people around me to tell me that life isn’t a ‘chase’, life is rather a journey packed with experiences of all kind to make this journey a loving and memorable one-life is surely a jigsaw puzzle which wouldn’t be complete without our family and friends- what I mean to say is life is all about ‘living’ and ‘loving’ rather than ‘getting that somewhere’. Yes, I am placing highest regard/value to ‘HUMAN REALTION’-which is so important for a healthy life and a strong social fabric- STRICTLY NO 'SYNTHETIC' THREADS!
Would wrap up with this –
Before every movie is screened, we have NATIONAL ANTHEM recital in every movie theatre and that’s mandatory, (Trust me I am so very thankful for this, I get to sing my National Anthem) In one of the multiplexes in Mumbai, what we get to see is the NATIONAL ANTEHM recital by INDIAN ARMYMEN, hoisting our national flag at SIACHIN GLACIER and reciting JAN GAN MANN…I was literally frozen to see that-the sudden gush of blood in my nerves-that chill and sudden lump in my throat-it was such a chilling moment where I felt so much but today I am at complete loss of words to express that feeling-of pride, belongingness –of respect and yes of my ( hopefully ‘our’) indebtedness to them…and this assures me that I am not an insulated and mechanical soul out here-that like those at SIACHIN GLACIER-even my life is not for SALE!
EID MUBARAK...:)
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Dignity of Labour- Heard this one before?!?
I must thank you all for taking time for reading these posts and sharing your views and I most sincerely welcome your comments, suggestions .I would love to see this as a platform for keeping the debate ‘alive’- as someone very rightly said, “ mere senee mein nahi,tere sene mein sahi, yeh aag kahi na kahin to jalni chahiye”!
So, what say, any thoughts on our “Shaurya”?!? Let me know what it means to you…it should mean something to each one of us...it could be as simple as a life lived with honesty and dignity. (Is it that simple!?!) Don’t you feel that these words ‘honesty’ & ‘dignity’ are used as mere ‘decorative’ words and probably we hardly bother about the ‘intent’ and ‘spirit’-we have been made to understand that these are rather “larger than life” phrases, hopelessly idealist! May be this is an interpretation of convenience…may be….
Long time back, I had read about ‘Dignity of Labour’ and I sincerely believe in this, I try my level best to never hold /show any disrespect to any form of labour ….and why not, everybody cannot afford a white collar job and everyone who works/strives hard to earn their living through hard work deserve all the respect in the world, (personally speaking, the only exception are those typical Indian ‘politicians’).
I want to dedicate this one to the “CLEAN UP!” gang of Mumbai , those men in green, without whom this city would choke and suffocate to death…I salute them, they are one of the real Khatron Ke Khiladiiis! Do they need any more introductions?!? Oh, most definitely yes. Because we just don’t bother to notice these men working round the clock to clean the mess that they don’t create…Come on… I am talking about the CLEAN UP MUMBAI squad, those guys who immerse themselves into the filthy rotten stinky garbage, that comprises of all the possible variety in the world, ranging from wet rotten and decayed food items, packed with unbearable, beyond description “stink” that can suffocate us in just 5 secs (or may be less!) make us go fasting for days… because after that experience we would probably puke at even the sight of a single morsel, forget about ‘eating’ food! These men have got one of the toughest job-CELANING THE SHIT THAT WE CREATE and yes, we at our ‘ungrateful’ best!!! After all why should we be-it’s their B***DY job and probably they mustn’t be qualified for anything else!
THAT’S OUR ATTITUDE! We don’t even acknowledge their presence and like them there are loads of other people, who we take for granted and also go to the extent of belittling them-simply for what they do! Surely then, ‘Dignity of Labour’ is Greek to us! I mean I really fail to understand how can we be sooo ungrateful to people who work to make our lives simple and better? Just imagine, if there is no CLEAN UP squad, will you and I even think about getting into that garbage van to clean our own mess! Oh, most definitely NO, because we don’t even touch personal dustbins that are parked outside our respective houses/apartments-forget about this community service! So what if all that piled up garbage has been contributed by all of us, we would rather hire people and get this filthiest job done by them!!! What respect, after all we are they are getting paid for their job!!! THAT’S OUR APPROACH! And it’s suffocating, it’s disgraceful and it surely reflects that we don’t have any sense of respect for individuals/humans, forget about inculcating something called as ‘DIGNITY OF LABOUR’!
Imagine what the extent of their misery that drives them to take up a job of this nature…and they have to do it-to feed their families, to arrange two meals for themselves and yes they have to eat to survive- I really wonder how do they manage all this?!? They should be classified as working in one of the most hazardous environments and all thanks to us! We wouldn’t dirty our hands even in sorting the garbage at home-everything in one basket, cooked food, rotten vegetables, leftover, etc etc etc, why should we sort the dry and wet garbage ( Ideally we must do a thorough sorting of the household garbage)after all we have hired these men to do that for us! We are surely devoid of the basic civic sense and yes, hygiene to us is restricted to Dettol bottle and fancy face wash gel/cream!
If we cannot do our bit to be responsible citizens, if we just don’t have the ability to clean up our own mess/S**T, probably the least we could do is given these men their due-the respect and the recognition that they deserve for what they do everyday and still they haven’t forgotten to smile- CAN WE SMILE AT THEM TELLING THAT WE REALLY APRECIATE THEIR GUTS AND WE RECOGNIZE THEIR EFFORTS, CAN WE JUST SMILE TO SAY THAT MUMBAI SHINES-THANKS TO THEM!
So, what say, any thoughts on our “Shaurya”?!? Let me know what it means to you…it should mean something to each one of us...it could be as simple as a life lived with honesty and dignity. (Is it that simple!?!) Don’t you feel that these words ‘honesty’ & ‘dignity’ are used as mere ‘decorative’ words and probably we hardly bother about the ‘intent’ and ‘spirit’-we have been made to understand that these are rather “larger than life” phrases, hopelessly idealist! May be this is an interpretation of convenience…may be….
Long time back, I had read about ‘Dignity of Labour’ and I sincerely believe in this, I try my level best to never hold /show any disrespect to any form of labour ….and why not, everybody cannot afford a white collar job and everyone who works/strives hard to earn their living through hard work deserve all the respect in the world, (personally speaking, the only exception are those typical Indian ‘politicians’).
I want to dedicate this one to the “CLEAN UP!” gang of Mumbai , those men in green, without whom this city would choke and suffocate to death…I salute them, they are one of the real Khatron Ke Khiladiiis! Do they need any more introductions?!? Oh, most definitely yes. Because we just don’t bother to notice these men working round the clock to clean the mess that they don’t create…Come on… I am talking about the CLEAN UP MUMBAI squad, those guys who immerse themselves into the filthy rotten stinky garbage, that comprises of all the possible variety in the world, ranging from wet rotten and decayed food items, packed with unbearable, beyond description “stink” that can suffocate us in just 5 secs (or may be less!) make us go fasting for days… because after that experience we would probably puke at even the sight of a single morsel, forget about ‘eating’ food! These men have got one of the toughest job-CELANING THE SHIT THAT WE CREATE and yes, we at our ‘ungrateful’ best!!! After all why should we be-it’s their B***DY job and probably they mustn’t be qualified for anything else!
THAT’S OUR ATTITUDE! We don’t even acknowledge their presence and like them there are loads of other people, who we take for granted and also go to the extent of belittling them-simply for what they do! Surely then, ‘Dignity of Labour’ is Greek to us! I mean I really fail to understand how can we be sooo ungrateful to people who work to make our lives simple and better? Just imagine, if there is no CLEAN UP squad, will you and I even think about getting into that garbage van to clean our own mess! Oh, most definitely NO, because we don’t even touch personal dustbins that are parked outside our respective houses/apartments-forget about this community service! So what if all that piled up garbage has been contributed by all of us, we would rather hire people and get this filthiest job done by them!!! What respect, after all we are they are getting paid for their job!!! THAT’S OUR APPROACH! And it’s suffocating, it’s disgraceful and it surely reflects that we don’t have any sense of respect for individuals/humans, forget about inculcating something called as ‘DIGNITY OF LABOUR’!
Imagine what the extent of their misery that drives them to take up a job of this nature…and they have to do it-to feed their families, to arrange two meals for themselves and yes they have to eat to survive- I really wonder how do they manage all this?!? They should be classified as working in one of the most hazardous environments and all thanks to us! We wouldn’t dirty our hands even in sorting the garbage at home-everything in one basket, cooked food, rotten vegetables, leftover, etc etc etc, why should we sort the dry and wet garbage ( Ideally we must do a thorough sorting of the household garbage)after all we have hired these men to do that for us! We are surely devoid of the basic civic sense and yes, hygiene to us is restricted to Dettol bottle and fancy face wash gel/cream!
If we cannot do our bit to be responsible citizens, if we just don’t have the ability to clean up our own mess/S**T, probably the least we could do is given these men their due-the respect and the recognition that they deserve for what they do everyday and still they haven’t forgotten to smile- CAN WE SMILE AT THEM TELLING THAT WE REALLY APRECIATE THEIR GUTS AND WE RECOGNIZE THEIR EFFORTS, CAN WE JUST SMILE TO SAY THAT MUMBAI SHINES-THANKS TO THEM!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
JAAGO RE!
JAAGO RE!
Hmmm…I guess the thought on celebration with responsibility didn’t seem to appeal to anyone…well much to my expectations….
Neither do I expect overnight changes nor am I looking forward to generating a mass following, this is just to clarify- I guess may be to myself! What was little surprising that be it good or bad, positive or negative, I didn’t get to see any reactions/responses and this is a more apparent danger that we face, i.e. our nonchalant attitude, that we don’t even feel it important to have an opinion on issues of public importance-I guess we enjoy being cynical-that’s easier!
Was just watching Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s “Rang De Basanti”, on UTV Movies- remember that ‘dialogue’ that no country is perfect, one has to take steps to make it perfect-yeah , that still remains a filmi dialogue!!! I know I am sounding like a self proclaimed patriotic preacher. Most definitely you must be wondering what on earth have I done prove my patriotism, that haven’t I enjoyed my sessions of long cynical chat and discussions to conclude that its a hopeless situation in our country; And that’s true, I have been a part of such discussions and it is also true that I have felt horrible after chanting the pessimistic notes doing nothing! I mean that was being hypocrite- cribbing and chanting patriotic slogans-what was missing was any action/act to prove otherwise and that’s when it dawned to me that this way I am no less a culprit than all those who are active participants in the systemic degeneration of the country!
I mean it’s like if I cannot do something to improve the situation I must atleast stop promoting cynicism! After all, unless we ‘dream’ it, we cannot achieve it! And this isn’t sheer idealism! Every small step that we take is going to go a long way in building that desired momentum that India needs today and probably what we really need is persistence and patience to keep that little ray of hope alive! We need to stop cribbing and start questioning, and question ourselves first!
Of course am not indicating that each one of us should become either I.A.S or and I.P.S officers, that we all must leave our respective fields and join the army etc, but what I intend to put across is that wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we can resolve to ‘not’ become a part of or participate in any manner in the ‘systemic degeneration’ of the country, even if that means sacrificing a lot of our material aspirations and desires, even if that means settling for a humble life that we must not have even dreamt of for ourselves- Are we ready for such ‘sacrifices’, if at all?!?
The other day I was watching the movie Shaurya and I have watched that nth number of times-it shakes my spine to see Caption Javed Khan’s INTEGERITY, his resolve to uphold the faith of his countrymen, his resolve to protect humanity above everything else!!! That was indeed the Shaurya of INDIAN ARMY, should it not be the same for every one of us?!?
To put it in simple terms, if each of is honest in whatever we do, in our personal and professional sphere, I guess that would mark the beginning of a change and we will start living in that INDIA for whose freedom, millions and millions have laid down their lives…
Ofcourse- “Ab khilana band aur pilana shuru”- Jaago Re…I like that one for sure!!
Hmmm…I guess the thought on celebration with responsibility didn’t seem to appeal to anyone…well much to my expectations….
Neither do I expect overnight changes nor am I looking forward to generating a mass following, this is just to clarify- I guess may be to myself! What was little surprising that be it good or bad, positive or negative, I didn’t get to see any reactions/responses and this is a more apparent danger that we face, i.e. our nonchalant attitude, that we don’t even feel it important to have an opinion on issues of public importance-I guess we enjoy being cynical-that’s easier!
Was just watching Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s “Rang De Basanti”, on UTV Movies- remember that ‘dialogue’ that no country is perfect, one has to take steps to make it perfect-yeah , that still remains a filmi dialogue!!! I know I am sounding like a self proclaimed patriotic preacher. Most definitely you must be wondering what on earth have I done prove my patriotism, that haven’t I enjoyed my sessions of long cynical chat and discussions to conclude that its a hopeless situation in our country; And that’s true, I have been a part of such discussions and it is also true that I have felt horrible after chanting the pessimistic notes doing nothing! I mean that was being hypocrite- cribbing and chanting patriotic slogans-what was missing was any action/act to prove otherwise and that’s when it dawned to me that this way I am no less a culprit than all those who are active participants in the systemic degeneration of the country!
I mean it’s like if I cannot do something to improve the situation I must atleast stop promoting cynicism! After all, unless we ‘dream’ it, we cannot achieve it! And this isn’t sheer idealism! Every small step that we take is going to go a long way in building that desired momentum that India needs today and probably what we really need is persistence and patience to keep that little ray of hope alive! We need to stop cribbing and start questioning, and question ourselves first!
Of course am not indicating that each one of us should become either I.A.S or and I.P.S officers, that we all must leave our respective fields and join the army etc, but what I intend to put across is that wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we can resolve to ‘not’ become a part of or participate in any manner in the ‘systemic degeneration’ of the country, even if that means sacrificing a lot of our material aspirations and desires, even if that means settling for a humble life that we must not have even dreamt of for ourselves- Are we ready for such ‘sacrifices’, if at all?!?
The other day I was watching the movie Shaurya and I have watched that nth number of times-it shakes my spine to see Caption Javed Khan’s INTEGERITY, his resolve to uphold the faith of his countrymen, his resolve to protect humanity above everything else!!! That was indeed the Shaurya of INDIAN ARMY, should it not be the same for every one of us?!?
To put it in simple terms, if each of is honest in whatever we do, in our personal and professional sphere, I guess that would mark the beginning of a change and we will start living in that INDIA for whose freedom, millions and millions have laid down their lives…
Ofcourse- “Ab khilana band aur pilana shuru”- Jaago Re…I like that one for sure!!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Celebrate Responsibly!
Celebrate with all your zeal and fervor, but celebrate with a meaning-don’t let these celebrations become hollow, devoid of the true meaning and essence…and I feel that is what is happening these days….
One of my friends told me that on the local train, enroute from Churchgate /CST to Andheri, between the santa-cruz station and vile parle station, there are certain very small hutments, adjoining the railway tracks, which have mushroomed in the last 6-8 months, he saw Ganpati Sthapana in a common pandal-like how these “Sarvajanik Ganpati Mandals” operate during this festival. Our point of discussion was something different-but it struck me, on altogether a different tangent-that watever the limitations, whatever be the constraint-here everyone tries to participate in the Ganesh festival-in whatever manner they can-limited resources-be it, but what matters is the spirit behind it! Frankly speaking, this example too can have extremely opposite/contrary interpretations. One, we may argue that all this just shows that who live in those handful of hutments are not all that poor-imagine they have hosted Ganpati celebrations like the rest of us-so may be its just too much waste considering giving them alms, if at all-after all it’s OUR hard earned money that we give them! Second and which is what is more convincing to me-that whatever it is, they have every right to participate in whatever limited scale they can and the small beautifully decorated pandal with Ganpati idol-where these people gather twice everyday to offer prayers (I am presuming that they do1) is probably one of the beautiful examples of triumph of faith/devotion over everything else-it’s surely a beautiful expression of one’s optimism, of the wonderful ability to be happy, to share the happiness-of the need to be happy-of the spirit to celebrate- indeed a beautiful example of the undying spirit!
Another such striking example is near Andheri East highway-on the way to Malad, just after you have crossed the airport flyover, proceeding towards the next flyover-on the left hand side at the highway, there are I guess 5-6 hutments-more shabby and in extremely dilapidated state-but you’ll observe- Ganpati Pandal, which is made using torn clothes, some dry big leaves, some colourful newspapers etc and a small Ganpati idol, with a lamp and lots of flowers-just ask yourself what could this be-a sham or spirit worth acknowledging and respecting! I have regards for them…
Ultimately what matters is ones sincerity and honesty in whatever one does-and am a firm believer that work is another form of worship-that service to mankind is one sure way of expressing one’s regards to the almighty! But who cares-what I see today, (and let me now take you through some disturbing facts about ourselves) is that we have forgotten the very context, the very reason for and most importantly the very manner in which we must celebrate such religious festivals!
Nowdays it appears more like a competition, where each pandal would want to and infact does everything possible to display the “wealthier” side of its celebrations-of bigger and bigger Ganapti idol, of “added attractions” for the so called “devotees”, of its affiliations with the VIPs, (look at the hoardings that are on display, with pictures of every possible politician with the organizers of such pandals!)
Yesterday I saw people literally drunk to death, dancing like maniacs on loud raunchy song tracks-on there way to the visarjan!!! Disgust is what I can associate with this-nothing else! This is complete sham and is a natural consequence of the all pervasive commercialization and politicization of virtually everything around us! If this isn’t hypocrisy then what else can be a better example of our double-standards!
Just as few years back, when Mr. T.N. Seshan, the then Chief Election Commissioner endeavored to regulate the regime of political parties and candidates, particularly with respect to the money that is spent in election campaign, the manner in which campaign is being run, the do’s and don’ts of CAMPAIGNING for election-which is why now we have strict guidelines, a code of conduct which every political party has to abide by-in contrast to those harassing days when the loud speakers would rattle weird slogans throughout the day and night-not sparing a single hour of the day, when the political parties would freely demand ransom in the garb of party contributions-with no cap on their expenditure- making all of us dread those days of elections approaching! Just like this, in the context of these celebrations, I guess its time we regulate our conduct and celebrate with responsibility!!!
Following are the few things that call for immediate adoption:-
THE DON’TS
1) Guidelines to set up the upper limit/maximum limit of expenditure by each Ganpati Mandals
2) Guidelines to state that for every X kms, there would be only 1 or 2 Ganpati Pandals
3) Guidelines to ban movie songs from these pandals and also during any procession for visarjan.
4) Guideliness to penalize those who drink and participate in or get associated with these pandals in any manner whatsoever
THE DO’S
1) Let every sarvajanik ganpati mandal compulsorily discharge atleast one civic duty/ responsibility, it could be anything ranging from offering community service, adopting the locality for community service- I mean why not, after all service is the best worship!
2) Engage the children in interesting discourses, conduct sessions of bhajans, of chanting shlokas, of meditation-why can’t these mandals think in this direction!!!
This and much more, but lets start thinking….if we truly have any regard for the almighty!!!
I would really appreciate if you could let me know your views and loads of suggestions-if this seems convincing even a bit-lets try and build a charter that can be a value add and lets put this through!
I’ll leave you with a very touching coincidence-on Saturday, August 22, 2009, one the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi, I was busy preparing for Ganpati at home and at around 8:00 in the evening- I heard something like chanting of shlokas from a far distance and I thought to myself that this may be coming from one of the pandals or temples nearby- it was extremely pleasant to hear and later I realized that in a mosque nearby it was the beginning of Mahe Ramzaan!!! I couldn’t believe it-it all sounds so similar-there is striking similarity! The absence of clarity in what was being chanted-as I was at quite a distance from the mosque, gave me the opportunity to feel and appreciate the inherent harmony! I mean, it had the same effect. So pleasing to ears, after all prayers aren’t about RELIGION as they are about peace with oneself, harmony with everyone else!!! Indeed a beautiful coincidence!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Women Empowerment - Much ado about nothing
Often heard this phrase- Women Empowerment but it still seems notional to me, a lot more intriguing – as it continues to highlight the dichotomy between theory and practice! Somehow I feel that we have coined these flamboyant phrases to please ourselves!
The motive for Nitish's murder can thus be better understood in the context of socio cultural framework of society where in some sections of society from birth repressive socialisation of girls ensures that they are kept unaware of their rights…
This isn’t an illusion, just the picture as it stands today! Despite laws, more & more stringent laws, despite the new found love for the International Women’s Day, this gap still remains as wide as it has always been! It makes me question our own understanding of what we actually mean by empowering women- this phrase in itself sounds a bit chauvinistic, in so far as it first pronounces women to be inherently subordinate to their opposite sex and therefore require external assistance to help become capable, if not at par with men! I don’t know, but it in some way gives this sense.
I am not getting into the debate of the biological difference between the two sexes-of who is strong and who is not, infact I am consciously avoiding this line of argument, to me it is fallacious! All that I am trying to analyze is the reason for this gap-between our belief of empowerment and the actual state as it is and the answer lies within us-it’s a lot to do with our approach and attitude, a lot to do with our pretensions, our fake ego, our insensitivity and till such time we get over all this-no matter we get a thousand more Raja ram Mohan Roys, the ratio between our Kiran Bedis and Bhawari Devis would always remain this disturbing!!!
Do you remember the television ad campaign “Bell Bajao”, where it was an attempt to encourage people to intervene if they witness domestic violence and abuse-that called for attitudinal change, which was aimed at sensitizing people. Just imagine, we have a whole bible of legislative tools/statutes to protect and promote the interest of women, yet when measured in terms of efficacy- it is not noteworthy! We haven’t been able to sensitize ourselves, expecting attitudinal changes appear a distant dream….
(This is for my loving Maa and my little sister, with lots of luv!)
(Photograph: Anmol Dharmadhikari)
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