To my Teachers.. The Reason I am here.
5 days from now, we have Teachers Day.. 5th Sept. I wonder how many of us remember the day.
Even I dint... Yesterday, a cousin of mine wanted some song for Teachers Day, on which he can perform during assembly. I was amazed that Google failed me miserably. The Search related to "Hindi Teachers Day Song" churns up miserable results (and related searches too)
It got me thinking... How much importance to we give to teachers in any case.. In the best case, once meeting an old friend, we might recall a teacher "Abey woh Physics ki maam thi na... Sahi Padhati thi".. But other than that.. almost nothing...
Hence it is not a wonder that Teaching is not that high on priorities of Individuals these days... As a career, it is not that attractive.. True, there have been some positive trends with many professionals opting for teaching as a line.. But the numbers still remain quite dismal.
For me, Teachers have been a guiding hand for every step of my life, both personally and professionally.
Be it in primary school when I was just out of home and teachers calmed and consoled me, or when I was taught the basics of maths-something I am proud of till date, or when the world opened to me via Social Studies and Science, or when in class VIIIth a teacher guided my parents when I was stepping into teens, or when in IXth when I thought studies are the last priority, or in XIIth when my ego got better of me, or during engineering for some of the best stories ever, or during Interview time of mba when a teacher helped me see who I really am, or during mba when a teacher guided me to the career path.
Not all the teachers were actively involved, and I learned a lot by just observing them.. A way almost all of us have been influenced by them
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my teachers, no matter if you remember me or not and convey that you are the reason I can look in the mirror, and recognize myself.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Lets go South!!!
Once upon a time in Mumbai
"Pak raha hai be... Weekend ka kuch karo"
"chal bahar nikalte hain kahin"
"Kidhar"
"South Bombay chalte hain... raste mein decide karte hain"
And its quite obvious... South Bombay is blessed with all the awesomeness... Beach, marine drive, pubs, bars, discos, babes, malls, class...! U name it. "North" Bombay is more of boring weekday kind of place...
Onto Delhi..
"Abey!! South Delhi ke discos be!!! Its a crime you dint go to South Delhi while you were there... Has to be the best location ever"
For Hyderabadi Miya, North Hyd is just a place where Paradise is (and hence the coveted Biryani).. Otherwise, they just prefer being in southern part of city! Am not talking extreme south, but the location around Hussain Sagar Lake which many prefer.
Even in Bangalore.. baring the MG Road area (in central part of city), Kormanagla (Forum) and BTM Layout are among the best known chill-out places..
In Kolkata too, South City Mall is more famous than any other mall (barring City Center 1) and South Kolkata is supposed to be Posh compared to the Dumdum or other "northern" areas
Aint it too much of a coincidence!!!!
"Pak raha hai be... Weekend ka kuch karo"
"chal bahar nikalte hain kahin"
"Kidhar"
"South Bombay chalte hain... raste mein decide karte hain"
And its quite obvious... South Bombay is blessed with all the awesomeness... Beach, marine drive, pubs, bars, discos, babes, malls, class...! U name it. "North" Bombay is more of boring weekday kind of place...
Onto Delhi..
"Abey!! South Delhi ke discos be!!! Its a crime you dint go to South Delhi while you were there... Has to be the best location ever"
For Hyderabadi Miya, North Hyd is just a place where Paradise is (and hence the coveted Biryani).. Otherwise, they just prefer being in southern part of city! Am not talking extreme south, but the location around Hussain Sagar Lake which many prefer.
Even in Bangalore.. baring the MG Road area (in central part of city), Kormanagla (Forum) and BTM Layout are among the best known chill-out places..
In Kolkata too, South City Mall is more famous than any other mall (barring City Center 1) and South Kolkata is supposed to be Posh compared to the Dumdum or other "northern" areas
Aint it too much of a coincidence!!!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
email ids
Dedicated to so many contacts I have!!! You know who you are after reading this!! :D
Have you ever noticed how funny some people's email addresses are! When I say some people, I too am a part of the whole thing... But thats besides the point
1. The most common email address... Simple and boring... Name and Surname.. like my active one..
2. Name of celebrity.. I really hope this incites some of the characteristics in you.. I would really love to bat like Sachin, Rahul, Saurav and Bowl like bhajji and Zaheer at same time!!
3. Self Proclaimed Hunk.. handsomemale1990 is now busy!! I wonder with what!
4. Self Proclaimed Sweetheart... tanutheheartbeat is now offline.. My condolences!!
5. Random Years.. gautam_2003.. Ok I get it.. 7 years since you heard yahoo.com
6. Proclaimed Age.. satish23_4ever.. Thats so.. girly!! "How old are you?" "Check my email address" "uh... sweet_16 got a sex change!"
7. Playboys/Playgirls. loverboy2006 is now available.. Girls!!! Are you listening!!!
8. Last one.. To cheer you up! smilewidsakshi is now online! life4meenal are you listening?
PS. To all the perverts.. None of the email addresses are real... names are changed... So dont go on adding them on gtalk!! :P
PPS. No offenses meant..
Have you ever noticed how funny some people's email addresses are! When I say some people, I too am a part of the whole thing... But thats besides the point
1. The most common email address... Simple and boring... Name and Surname.. like my active one..
2. Name of celebrity.. I really hope this incites some of the characteristics in you.. I would really love to bat like Sachin, Rahul, Saurav and Bowl like bhajji and Zaheer at same time!!
3. Self Proclaimed Hunk.. handsomemale1990 is now busy!! I wonder with what!
4. Self Proclaimed Sweetheart... tanutheheartbeat is now offline.. My condolences!!
5. Random Years.. gautam_2003.. Ok I get it.. 7 years since you heard yahoo.com
6. Proclaimed Age.. satish23_4ever.. Thats so.. girly!! "How old are you?" "Check my email address" "uh... sweet_16 got a sex change!"
7. Playboys/Playgirls. loverboy2006 is now available.. Girls!!! Are you listening!!!
8. Last one.. To cheer you up! smilewidsakshi is now online! life4meenal are you listening?
PS. To all the perverts.. None of the email addresses are real... names are changed... So dont go on adding them on gtalk!! :P
PPS. No offenses meant..
Thursday, August 12, 2010
History Repeats Itself
Was just talking to a friend of mine.. His parents are thinking of getting him married....
I asked him... wat kind of girl is parents looking for...
"I just want some one who is matured and talkative types.."
"Mom-Dad want her to be well educated and pretty, and from a family of our stature"
"Dadaji says she should be UP brahmin"
This is pretty usual these days... right?
Some Couple of Thousand Years back, all a father wanted was
"My daughter in law should be from well-educated family"
Just that today we call that "well educated family" as brahmin, and that father as propagator of caste-ism..
PS: I am sorry if I offend anyone. This is just a thought...
I asked him... wat kind of girl is parents looking for...
"I just want some one who is matured and talkative types.."
"Mom-Dad want her to be well educated and pretty, and from a family of our stature"
"Dadaji says she should be UP brahmin"
This is pretty usual these days... right?
Some Couple of Thousand Years back, all a father wanted was
"My daughter in law should be from well-educated family"
Just that today we call that "well educated family" as brahmin, and that father as propagator of caste-ism..
PS: I am sorry if I offend anyone. This is just a thought...
Monday, August 9, 2010
Corruption and Us
Common-Wealth-Games... Twitter and Facebook are littered with jokes of CWG, and rightly so. India is hosting an international level event, with funds worth Rs 50,000 Cr (nearly 10 billion USD) exchanged, and we are seeing bureaucracy at its best!
Corruption, as I see is a perfect example of Principal-Agent Problem. There is a person, who is an agent (or representative) of government. He, in ideal eyes, should act in the best interest of Government. But he is also an individual. He has a family. Salary, for govt officials, is never too high. His son wants to attend a Public School, wife wants foreign lipstick. So, he takes slight leeway and indulges in taking govt decisions which favour him slightly.
Now, on larger scale, salary is never enough. And we expect a person earning 60k a month at max to handle dealings worth 500cr plus. And that too with 100% efficiency. Isnt the idea a bit too far-fetched? Specially since he got to that level by bribing a few officials, dealing with a few judges and all?
I personally have accepted Corruption as Integral part of our society. All of us are corrupt at certain level. How many of us nominate for being in committees in graduate college so that we can get access to funds?
Then, what is the solution? Transparency? Too broad a term for me!
The thing is, no1 wants to make themselves accountable. So govt, who is incharge of change, wont make the change. And that is where our vote counts. The middle class and upper class should realize the importance of their vote. This can be done by atleast going to vote. When a prospective MP/MLA sees a sizable population from urban area coming out to vote (say 70-80%), his policy will change to suit them! This is a slow process.. But nonetheless will ensure change in atleast 20-30 years.
Our govt has given us One basic right. Vote. And we should always make total use of it!
Corruption, as I see is a perfect example of Principal-Agent Problem. There is a person, who is an agent (or representative) of government. He, in ideal eyes, should act in the best interest of Government. But he is also an individual. He has a family. Salary, for govt officials, is never too high. His son wants to attend a Public School, wife wants foreign lipstick. So, he takes slight leeway and indulges in taking govt decisions which favour him slightly.
Now, on larger scale, salary is never enough. And we expect a person earning 60k a month at max to handle dealings worth 500cr plus. And that too with 100% efficiency. Isnt the idea a bit too far-fetched? Specially since he got to that level by bribing a few officials, dealing with a few judges and all?
I personally have accepted Corruption as Integral part of our society. All of us are corrupt at certain level. How many of us nominate for being in committees in graduate college so that we can get access to funds?
Then, what is the solution? Transparency? Too broad a term for me!
The thing is, no1 wants to make themselves accountable. So govt, who is incharge of change, wont make the change. And that is where our vote counts. The middle class and upper class should realize the importance of their vote. This can be done by atleast going to vote. When a prospective MP/MLA sees a sizable population from urban area coming out to vote (say 70-80%), his policy will change to suit them! This is a slow process.. But nonetheless will ensure change in atleast 20-30 years.
Our govt has given us One basic right. Vote. And we should always make total use of it!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Don
Inspired the movie "Once upon a time in Mumbai" I started researching a bit on so called Dons in Indian History. We have had plenty... But Majorly 2... Their story resembles movies in every aspect... Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan.
Both the names are quite famous... but the striking thing was reason for their rivalry.
Dawood was the mastermind of 1993 serial blasts.. and this was the reason of rift. Chhota Rajan considered this to be against the nationality of India. Killing Civilians was not his business... But then, how many lives has his drug business cost..? And then there was Haji Mastan... Smuggler, but he donated loads to Anti-drug campaigns!
That got me wondering.. what is the business of these people.. Is it really all drug trafficking and murder, or as many movies have suggested, helping out the needy.. Bending government rules where necessary... Smuggling to meet the arbitrage by taxes...
Lets see a bit of history of major crimes...
till 1980s, smuggling was the major anti-govt act... but then the historic deregulation happened... and u can almost trace of net value of these dons decreasing in late 80s and early 90s...
Then in 1990s, came the era of betting... again very much illegal, along with sponsorships of movies... which has been driven down in recent times due to stricter regulations on match fixing and transparency in movie investments.
Almost at the same time came video piracy.. (and fortune of Chhota Rajan)... But it is also decreasing these days because most movie CDs are available at 50-100 Rs...
Currently, we are running high on Software Piracy, Games, etc... Some one in the backlines must be making huge money out of this... Only to come out in open maybe 5-10 years.... as the next don.. perhaps the next Dawood...
Wonder what the next big anti-government act will be!
But the question is.. Are these people really as anti-India as we portray, or are they anti-government, but nationalist none-the-less... If its later, I believe that it is a big, and repetitive failure on the part of government...
And if they are really anti-government.. are they supported by political parties? Or maybe some bureaucrats? And are the actions and inactions against certain Dons merely government's way of forwarding their agenda?
Both the names are quite famous... but the striking thing was reason for their rivalry.
Dawood was the mastermind of 1993 serial blasts.. and this was the reason of rift. Chhota Rajan considered this to be against the nationality of India. Killing Civilians was not his business... But then, how many lives has his drug business cost..? And then there was Haji Mastan... Smuggler, but he donated loads to Anti-drug campaigns!
That got me wondering.. what is the business of these people.. Is it really all drug trafficking and murder, or as many movies have suggested, helping out the needy.. Bending government rules where necessary... Smuggling to meet the arbitrage by taxes...
Lets see a bit of history of major crimes...
till 1980s, smuggling was the major anti-govt act... but then the historic deregulation happened... and u can almost trace of net value of these dons decreasing in late 80s and early 90s...
Then in 1990s, came the era of betting... again very much illegal, along with sponsorships of movies... which has been driven down in recent times due to stricter regulations on match fixing and transparency in movie investments.
Almost at the same time came video piracy.. (and fortune of Chhota Rajan)... But it is also decreasing these days because most movie CDs are available at 50-100 Rs...
Currently, we are running high on Software Piracy, Games, etc... Some one in the backlines must be making huge money out of this... Only to come out in open maybe 5-10 years.... as the next don.. perhaps the next Dawood...
Wonder what the next big anti-government act will be!
But the question is.. Are these people really as anti-India as we portray, or are they anti-government, but nationalist none-the-less... If its later, I believe that it is a big, and repetitive failure on the part of government...
And if they are really anti-government.. are they supported by political parties? Or maybe some bureaucrats? And are the actions and inactions against certain Dons merely government's way of forwarding their agenda?
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