Is India Scared of Executions??

Yesterday, I was came across a newscast on the stay order of Madras (shouldn’t we say Chennai???) High Court on the execution of the three convicts of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. While the honorable President rejected the mercy petitions in August 11, Tamilnadu legislative assembly passed a unanimous resolution asking the government to commute the death sentences which was followed by the HC stay order. This reminded me of the numerous mercy petitions that are currently in pending in various courts, MHA and President over the death sentences already declared. It also brings in a question in my mind that why is executing capital punishment so difficult in this country? And if the country is so much against it, then why do we have it altogether when we cannot exercise it? In addition, there are three major concerns, I would like to discuss further.


1.     Why is there a biased morality when it comes to mercy petitions for the convicts?
2.     Does the government need to revise the considerations on mercy petitions? Why is the country not clear on its stand on death penalties?
3.     Can our country afford to keep such petitions pending that take a toll on country’s exchequer (which is essentially tax payer’s money)?

The senior counsel of the three convicts of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, which includes eminent lawyers Ram Jethmalani, R Vaigai and Colin Gonsalves, argued citing violation of Article 21 of the constitution which cites “Protection of Life and Personal Liberty”. On the other hand, the human rights organizations express concerns on death penalties as they violate a person’s right to live. However, this is looking only on the one side of the coin. If we look into the crimes executed by the convicts, it mainly involves homicides and murders. From the victim’s perspective, the convict has also violated the victim’s “right to live”. It is amazing how HROs, polity and the supporters of the convicts completely overlook this perspective while lobbying for the mercy petition in the court or to the President.

Looking into the history, India has a terrible record in executing the executions (not something to moan about but delving into further details reveals it as a terrible record). Looking into the number of death sentences awarded, there is no concrete data available. However, according to Amnesty International, more than 378 death sentences have been ordered as a total of six years between 2001 and 2010 but none of them have been executed. Last execution that took place in the country was seven years back when Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed in a rape+murder case. As per the latest news, there are 17 mercy petitions pending before the President (this does not include Afzal Guru since his petition is still decaying in the offices of MHA and yet to be forwarded to the President). The current president has, so far, disposed off three petitions – Mahendra Nath Das, Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar and the three assassins of Rajiv Gandhi. However, if someone feels that the story ends once the President rejects the petition, hold-your-breath. All the three rejected petitions have found rescue squads in their respective states. While Guwahati HC stayed the execution of Mahendra Nath Das even after President’s rejection; Tamilnadu HC stayed the execution of the three assassins by eight weeks. On the other hand, stage is being set for the clemency petition of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar as the Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal wrote to the President to re-examine the mercy plea of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar. Looking at the history, it won’t be surprising if Punjab HC does the Guwahati and Tamilnadu. These are just the three of the 17 pending petitions. And we are not considering the ones that await recommendation of MHA, like that of Afzal Guru. There are more in line like Ajmal Kasab, whose petition is currently in Supreme Court. Looking at the route, if SC rejects the plea, the petition will go to MHA for recommendation after which it will reach the President’s table. The entire process is easily expected to take at least 10 years.

The question is why this country is having such a high level of sympathy for gruesome murderers? Killing, in any form, is a violation of a person’s right to live. By morality or by religion, none of the human beings have any right on another one’s life. However, when one human violates this right to the other, does the former deserve enough for a consideration on the same right? Rights are always accompanied by duties. If we enjoy the right to live, it is our duty to let others live. Keeping such convicts alive, that too because of this loophole in the system, can set a dangerous precedent and a potential threat for the national security where the murderers will be sure that they would be allowed to live for free (inside the jail) for many more years, no matter how grave their crime is. The mercy petitions also questions the morals of the people involved in filing these petitions. While having sympathy for these convicts since they share the same state or religion can be understood, but having blind sympathy that surmounts all ethics and values is what is baffling. The supremacy of human life should not hold true in these situations.

The concern here is not only on the moral grounds but also on the financial grounds. In May 2011, the ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) sent a bill of Rs.10 crore to the Maharashtra government behind the expenditure on guarding Ajmal Kasab. Similar, probably little less, goes for Afzal Guru as well. Let us just say Rs.7 crore. Now, multiply this by 10 years. That amounts to whopping Rs.170 crores combined, only for two of the convicts. If we add the three convicts of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, it will multiply, probably, 1.4 times, which means Rs.238 crores. The question is, can our country afford to keep these convicts for such a long time? If we divide Rs.238 crores by our population, it would come to be roughly Rs.2 per head. It would be interesting to do a survey and ask people if they would like to give Rs.2 to the government for guarding terrorists like Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru (or for that matter, any grisly murderer). Anyone wonder, what will be the answer?

To conclude, it’s time, the country should clear its stand on executions and show the convicts their right place. There is also a need to fix a timeline for President to decide on mercy petitions and a clear law that states the President’s decision as supreme and non-appealable. This will help in faster resolutions of the cases and will save a considerable amount of taxpayers’ money which is wasted in harboring the evils of the society.

Mr. Future Prime Minister

While the entire nation was gripped to the Lokpal lock-jam for the past 13 days with all eyes glued to Anna Hazare, MMS and CSM triplet (Chidu, Sibal and Mukherjee), I was looking for the comments from that one person who is seen as the future of India, not just by the Congress party but also by the people of India (at least the ones who voted in that survey). While he did make a brief and purposely strong presence at the end, what he came out with was something which was not only unexpected but also uncalled for and not the need of the hour or priority.

However, when I see people going blindly insane behind him to embrace him as the future PM of the country, I understand that this is the same age old judgment inability of the Indians that has brought India to where it is now. While we love bashing our politicians, we forget that these people haven’t come from Mars or Jupiter. These are the MPs that have been elected by us. And let’s not forget that this government has been here for more than 7 years now and was re-elected by the same set of people who made it victorious in 2004. While making mistake is completely human, repeating it or not rectifying it is not. As I go through the self-made CV of this guy, who is said to be the future prime minister of the largest democracy of India, it looks like hiring a 23 year old fresh MBA grad for the position of company CEO.

While his so-called “game changing” idea did not receive much attention or any takers, it confirmed that he was far away from the ground realities of the current situation and the priorities therein. His speech looked more like an image building exercise which evidently backfired. While the “game changing” idea was largely mistimed, he failed to provide rationale behind that thought, which even evokes a doubt whether the idea was original or was coming from some Nehru-Gandhi bootlicker. On the contrary, it was the other young Gandhi who scored the home run with his assertive, yet articulate, and well controlled speech. However, needless to say that even he is not someone who can be contemplated for the top post, even if NDA comes back to power.

While India might want to imitate the US by bringing in a young person, to the top position, it should not forget that it is not the priority. While young age is definitely an added advantage, it should not be a criterion. Looking into what the so-called future PM has done in the past, he is millions of miles away from the likes of Nehru, LB Shastri, Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh. The only history that speaks in his favor is the example of Rajiv Gandhi, who was just four years old in politics when elected for the top post. While his father went on to become one of the most respected PMs of India, exceptions do not amount to generalization.

His focus, so far, has largely revolved around reviving the IYC (Indian Youth Congress), NSUI (National Students Union of India) and Congress’ prospects in the UP, a state that accounts for largest number of seats in LS. However, there is very little he has done on a national front that can make him a possible candidate for the top post. His promise to eliminate family, patronage and money from Youth Congress has hardly seen the light as he failed in delivering to what he said, according to the recent reports from Indian Express and India Today. While he has projected himself as a strong advocate for a landmark “Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill” and asked the PM to introduce it in the current monsoon session, it is to be seen whether he walks to talk before the monsoon session ends on September 8. Being the “Prince” Gandhi, he should not face much problem in influencing the PM on the same. However, action is always a function of conviction. His refusal to take up any ministry in the 2009 UPA government is just another example of this.

However, people in India think via their hearts rather than heads, the reason why he is still a favorite in spite of no strong credentials. That is precisely, also the reason, why Gandhi family exists in politics. There are many root causes for the brain wash the Gandhis have done till date, which ranges from illiteracy and poverty to corruption and charisma. His position and presentation in the most contentious issue of the modern India clearly suggests, it’s long time to go before he proves himself worthy of the revered post. It’s time Indians think straight and call a spade a spade.

Is India Getting Carried Away (as of 21st August)

Today, I heard Anna Hazare speaking for the first time, and every second of his speech sounded like “Mein mahaan hoon, I am the greatest….. I did this, I did that…. follow me, follow me”. The more I listened to him, greater was my conviction.

That brought me a question: Is he really the savior that the Indian public/media is portraying right now or is he some bluffmaster? Is he just playing with the public sentiments? Is holding a government for a ransom, the right way to bring Jan Lokpal? Who asked him to frame a draft of the Jan Lokpal? More than that, who asked him to force it onto the government?

While the objective of the movement seems right, the way of doing that is highly debatable. I heard people drawing parallels between him and Mahatma Gandhi (which, by the way, he is doing himself by having a background of Mahatma Gandhi at Ramlila Maidan). However, there are many differences between his movement and Gandhi’s movements. The greatest of them being that Gandhi was fighting against a foreign government, NOT elected by the people of India. India, now, is a free country with democratically elected MPs in the government. Also, Gandhi did motivate people to join him but never ever by praising himself, which came at a stark contrast to Anna Hazare who can be called a narcissist to a certain extent. With examples of how he was the one who stopped the amendment in the RTI proposed in 2007 to how he brought government to his feet in Tihar jail, the veteran just went ga ga about himself. Taking the entire credit for one particular event, forgetting the huge public support behind, is not a sign of a good leader; not at the national level. His leadership qualities, leaving apart the non-violence part, are in comparison with Adolf Hitler.

Also, there is a difference in conducting a movement/campaign for something like Jessica Lal case or reservation and Jan Lokpal Bill. There is a democratic process set for executing such bills in the Parliament and, being a citizen of India, one has to respect that democratic process and the institute called Parliament. Saying, “Pass this version of the bill or I will fast unto death”, is unconstitutional. You cannot stand out of the system and order the system to do this, do that, because you have the thousands of people backing you up blindly. This is even more dangerous than MPs doing scams, because then you have the power but you don’t have the accountability. If the Team Anna wanted to get the Bill into action, they should have fought the election, should have got elected in the Parliament, and should have lobbyed strongly for the bill. However, that is the tough way out. Easy way out is to bash politicians, everyone will join you because Indians simply love it.

At the end, question that remains to be asked is whether the Indians are getting carried away in the Anna wave? The anti-government sentiment created in the country has the potential to create chaos (Egypt-like situation) and disturb law and order some day or the other. While things happen slowly in a democracy, they do happen and that’s the best way to do it. Passing the bill overnight (18 days is like overnight in a democracy), that too when the structure and the details of the bill itself are yet to be finalized, without any extensive discussion and under the public pressure, can invite significant problems in future, for which Team Anna won’t be held accountable since they are not the constitutional representatives of the Indian public. A large section of the Indian public won’t understand this, especially the ones who are at Ramlila Maidan, right now.

While I support the anti-corruption movement, the modes operandi doesn’t seem right. To conclude, I also came across the interview of Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal by Karan Thapar on Devil’s Advocate and, I must say, there were some very important and unnoticed issues raised by Karan Thapar that are worth pondering upon. At the end, I would urge the public to exercise discretion and think independently before supporting any particular side.

Being Salman Khan

And here we are...... the moment it seems he is forgotten, he comes back with a BANG (or DABANGG)!!! He gave audience what they really WANTED (just when pure action movies were getting extinct). And now all READY to make the statement once more that he is no less than any Khan and there’s much more left in him for his career.

But undoubtedly, he is one of the most controversial characters in India. A personality, with equally passionate set of people who either love him or hate him to death. There are set of people who idealize him for various reasons, mainly physical fitness. At 45, you cannot expect much from a person, but he refutes his age with a command. On the other hand there are people who condemn him for his felonies.

Hunting of black bucks, regular love affairs, road rash that killed one person and injured several, on set pranks with co-stars and what not? He has given every reason to his bashers to get back on him regularly. An overly passionate and possessive lover; a hot potato, which heroines find hard to handle; short-tempered angry young man; all this is what makes Salman Khan a bad boy. A BAD BOY? REALLY???

Ummm.... not really!!! There has been a brighter side to this personality as well. While his fans very well know his philanthropy which largely use to go unnoticed in media till he started off with Being Human Foundation, which officially made him a philanthropist – a sort of, may be – if not completely. Besides the philanthropy, he has been instrumental in supporting many new comers in the industry, Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif being the major ones. While he helped the junior Roshan with body building and getting him ready for his first movie Kaho Na Pyaar Hain, which went on to become that year’s biggest blockbuster, he and his family supported Katrina when she was completely new to the industry and nobody knew her. Salim Khan (his father) family has been one of the most open and accommodating families in the industry that accepted Helen as a step mother, Malaika Arora (in spite of differences) and Katrina Kaif as a part of their family.

So, it really depends on the person whether he/she sees the half glass empty or half glass full. More often, the full part of the glass goes unnoticed. But over the years, he has proved one statement again and again... that there’s only ONE SALMAN KHAN!!!

Inflation... she's a daaiyan!!!

I can’t stop myself from remembering that famous song from the movie “Peepli Live” which said “Sakhi saiyaan to khoob hi kamaat hain, mehngaai daayan khaaye jaat hain”. It’s really ironic to see that in spite of having a highly eminent economist on the country’s executive head position; India is suffering from one of the most trivial economic issue – inflation. At 18.32%, the current food inflation levels are triple the global food inflation levels (compared to the levels in Nov-2010) and comparable to many North African countries. However, our honorable economist is still silent.

Clearly, the issue is not just economical but also political here. As the media storms on to the Agriculture Minister cum ICC President Sharad Pawar for his negligence, there is a little our Honorable PM can do. With nine MPs in the government, Sharad Pawar has enough balls to make the PM think at least twice before taking any action against him. Nowhere in the world, there would be an MP, who would be handling two totally unrelated posts, one international and the other national. Yes, it happens only in India and clearly, Mr. Pawar seems to be interested in nothing but POWER. While he did ask for a reduction in burden within five days of taking over as the ICC President, it was the least to make road for his daughter into the ministry rather than his concern for the future of the ministry or the country.

However, as the media cries loud for the ousting of Sharad Pawar and “aam-aadmi” busy to make the end meet, the issue of food inflation is more of a logistics issue in India’s context. Currently, FCI (Food Corporation of India) possesses storage capacity (25-30 million tonnes) for only a third of country’s total food production. As the rest of it lie in the open for rotting, it is high time for the corporation to increase the storage capacity. There is a need for a long term storage plan which focuses on storing the food surplus in a way that it becomes readily available for transportation in drought years. With the country like India having a status of “alarming” in the 2010 Global Hunger Index, wastage of one-third of the food reserves itself is a shame, least due to inability to store them properly.

More than just the storage, the need for better storage in terms of temperature and humidity management along with better protection techniques from rodents is the call for the day. Faster food transportation across the countries will certainly improve situations wherein the north Indian states will not have to depend on Pakistan for onions when there is an onion surplus in Nasik. Quick transport, particularly for the temperature and humidity sensitive commodities such as onions and apples will facilitate price reductions. While the FCI officials went out to China for searching the answers to the questions related to food storage, they forgot the time-tested and effective Indian techniques to store food that have been in practice in rural India.

While all of these are long term solutions, there are three major quick-fix steps, as I see, that are absolutely necessary for the government to take in order to control the food prices.

1. Transport the necessary part of the food reserve as soon as possible to the areas where the demand is more than the supply

2. Release Mr. Pawar from his duties as agriculture minister, or at least the portfolio of consumer affairs, food and public distribution

3. Ban the futures trading of agricultural commodities

With ICC World Cup coming up in next month, there is no way this 70 year old guy can handle the food price inflation issue as his preference seems to be in saving his international position rather than the national one. In this situation, it is illogical to put the whole country on ransom for one person’s desires.

Home Coming....

So finally, Pranay, and probably Sanjay as well, are planning to come back….. leaving behind all the comfort of the western world…. all the dollars…. and needless to say, HOT GORIs. And I would be the happiest person if they do come. Although to be politically correct, one need not wish like that coz they’re having the best of their career out there. They are getting what they truly deserve for their hard work and all the hardships they’ve faced in life. But, at times, the selfish Jay inside me does want his best buddies near him.

Whenever I talk to him these days, it’s like he is missing his homeland and his family badly. I can empathize with him since even after living just few thousand miles away from my family I miss them at times very badly. More than that, it’s the situations of our families which necessitates that we should be with them, or at least near them. And besides just the situation, it’s the loneliness we experience even after being surrounded by so many people. While I have roamed around some of the best cities of the world, experiencing so many comforts of life, had some of the best facilities where I live, a good salary job that satisfies more than my needs, the little soul inside me longs for that cushion of mom’s lap, that hug from father, that love from the little sister, that rotli-daal-bhaat-shaak, that juice round the corner after the dinner, those evening walks till Jivraj over bridge and so many other things.

Even after being so far, what makes us so connected to our roots, our family and our city? It has to be the values and culture that our parents imbibed into us right from our childhood. At times I wonder if our generation would be able to do so with our kids. As I see, with forthcoming generations, we are getting more and more disconnected with our family and getting closer to our friend circle. As we become more and more cosmopolitan citizens, the cultures are getting mixed. We no longer belong to a particular region. It’s not an easy task, in such a scenario, to make sure our children remember where they belong to.

I think the greatest challenge for our generation would be to imbibe the same ethics, culture and values in our children as our parents imbibed into us.

The First Proposal

Well ya, we’ve come of the age where our elders (strictly… elders) think that its time we have someone in life. The time when they start hunting for our life partner (assuming that we haven’t found one so far…. which, in my case, is true ;(). So, got this call from mom yesterday telling me that her Mama has suggested a girl from his friend circle and if things can move forward. Fortunately, my mom doesn’t think it’s the right time (just like me) and it stopped right there. However, a start has been made.

While I still don’t think I am old enough to get into this whole marriage thing, quantitatively I am closing down to the age where an average Indian man gets married.

It’s funny though when I think about it. Parents find out a potential partner for you and within few days (or hours in worst case) you need to decide whether you can spend your life with her. Its also high risk as one wrong decision can cost you your life. But this is something you cannot avoid. The best way to escape is to find yourself a partner… something which I haven’t been able to do so far.

But the thing that scares me the most is that whether I would get the right partner that I am looking for? Will we be able to understand and appreciate each others differences? Particularly in the case I get “arranged marriaged”, I am sure my parents will try to get me too good girl (unless the girl is able to fool my parents and the whole family ;P) which, I think probably, not the one I would like to have. The cultural differences are simply too much… or may be it is just in my mind. I don’t know.

But yes, things are moving now. And one year from now, it will be officially launched. Well, I wish I get somebody before that…. :D

A Place Called Ayodhya - It's time to move on!!!

O yes, the verdict is finally out… nobody gets the full dairy-milk… share the pieces brothers!!! Ya, that’s what our parents taught us when we were kids… Everybody happy (or sad, may be). Ya, only those for whom it matters!!!

I am not sure if I’d be visiting Ayodhya in my life, let alone for the temple. No no, I am not an atheist… but no place for religious fanaticism either. And I am sure; there are millions of young Indians who are in the same boat as I am. The sacred birthplace of Lord Ram has been polluted over the years by our great politicians and so-called religious leaders. It’s time to bury old wounds and start afresh.

The other day, I was reading the question by Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai on IBN who asked, HAS YOUNG INDIA MOVED WELL BEYOND AYODHYA?

If I consider my own observation, definitely it seems that the young India has better things to worry about than just Ayodhya. While an average youth struggles to make the ends meet in this country with rising inflation, fuel prices, food shortage (needless to say, artificial) and, oh how can I forget, Naxalism and Terrorism (icing on the top); it’s insane to believe that today’s youth will be bothered by such verdicts. As in one of the shows on TIMES NOW (not sure, I even saw Star News, Aaj Tak and India TV on that day :P), statistics revealed that the number of people in the country who have heard about Ayodhya issue has been decreasing over the years. These are, definitely, the signs of change. A change, that drives the new India to endeavor for a better future rather than fight over the history.

This, definitely, does not undermine the importance of Ayodhya issue. An issue, that has the potential to set India ablaze, for which RED ALERT was declared in number of cities across the nation, cannot be undermined for sure. However, if I consider my own observation, the anxiety about the verdict was more due to its consequences. Young India was not worried whether it would be a temple or a Masjid. With a country with more number of temples, mosques and churches than schools, colleges and universities, one temple/mosque less shouldn’t make any difference. And for a developing country like India struggling to make its mark on the world map, religious fights will only push us back in time instead of progressing ahead. Young India, instead, was worried that if the verdict goes in the favor of one party, it would lead to bloodiest consequences.

Well, good that Allahabad High Court followed the path of non-alignment (thanks Mr. Nehru!!!) to provide a verdict that would pacify both the parties (or three if we include Nirmohi Akhara). Three days on, no signs of any disturbances. Let the wisdom prevail!!!

It's High Time!!!

Finally, Shiv Sena has let the Australian and Pakistani players play in the IPL. While Pakistani players will not be able to play anyway in this edition of the T20 extravaganza, Australian players in the IPL will add a lot of excitement with the likes of Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne (all veterans) to play for Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals respectively. In their last three movements, Shiv Sena found itself all alone in the agitation with almost zero public support.

The first agitation came against Rahul Gandhi’s Mumbai visit on the issue of North Indians being tortured in Maharashtra. While the Sena chief challenged the young Gandhi to visit Mumbai, RG not only visited the city but also traveled in the local train, speaking with the local people and providing open views regarding the issues. The Sena lost the battle to bite the dust.

The second one started when SRK made a statement regarding the inclusion of Pakistani players in the IPL. Shiv Sena took this issue to ban the forthcoming film of the King Khan, My Name is Khan. However, the Sena found itself alone in the agitation as the multiplex owners screened the movie after receiving government assurance with respect to security and movie lovers too came in flocks to watch the most awaited movie of the year. While the cinemas went houseful, the Sena chief Bal Thakery took out the fury on public saying, “Let those who love Pak-lover SRK watch MNIK”.

The third defeat came as Sena finally agreed to let the Pakistani and Australian players play in IPL-3. While the Sena chief maintained that concerns regarding the security of Indians in Australia made him terminate his agitation against Australian cricketers, it is public now that Sena is finding itself isolated in its agitations. However, the Sena supreme didn’t fail to lash out his agony saying “Let Australian cricketers come here, let Pakistani cricketers come here. Let trained terrorists come here. Sena will do nothing”.

It is time when Indians have shown that they are tired of such jingoism or narrow minded nationalism. In today’s world of globalization, stopping innocent foreign people from entering your country on the basis of some stupid narrow minded ideology is not at all acceptable, let alone stopping your own countrymen from other regions. It’s high time when such anti-social elements in the country understand that such chauvinism is not going to work anymore.

Once again...

It happened once again….. the thing which I would have wanted to avoid at any cost. Don’t know how but I ended up sounding stupid once again. Often when I recollect my 2 years stint at MDI+ESCP, I don't see myself having made any significant contribution to the class or the school. Probably the worst two years or the worst set of friends I have made in my life.

Two days back, I replied to the post by Vabs regarding a small mention of our batch in Business Standard. I couldn’t resist myself replying to the mail after seeing people go “Oooo… la la” over the article. While, on the first look, I found my argument perfectly valid with a slight indication over the possible batch bias happened in the article. However, once again the argument was collectively dismissed. I don't know how do I always end up on the wrong side of the table in every debate I have with the batch.

I haven’t been replying to the group mails since long. However, this time I replied, just to end up sounding stupid once again. While this doesn’t happen on a routine basis but with MDI batchmates, it has happened almost everytime. And the tragedy is that I cannot digest the fact that I could be wrong all the time.

Today when I read the actual facts about the article I could not believe myself to give a judgement like that. While wisdom demands a strong knowledge of facts before passing on a judgement. I don't know how did I missed out this time. Or is it just the destiny that I would keep on sounding stupid in front of my MDI batch?

Grown Up (supposed to be posted in October 2009)

This Diwali was one of the best Diwalis of my life. Back home is always fun. But it becomes even more fun when you meet all your near and dear ones. And Diwali is the time when you expect everyone to be at home. While I met all the family members back home, meeting friends is always special. Especially the ones with whom you’ve shared your childhood. I was really excited to meet them all. Especially Javed, Anjali, Nirali and Krupali with whom I’ve remained regularly in touch. Unfortunately Chinmay and Anvesh weren’t able to make it otherwise it would have been even more fun. Anjali got added to the non-attendant list later on. We all have spent some of the best time of our lives together at Don Bosco School. The school, where I spent 10 years of my schooling life or I should say 71.42% of my schooling life from 1st standard till 10th.

This time, two great news made me more excited to meet them. First one, Nirali was getting engaged to a guy in the US who was doing his PhD there. Secondly, Anjali was also getting engaged to a guy in Ahmedabad, about to complete his CA. This made me realize how fast the time has passed. Yesterday, you were playing with them in school and today, they have grown up to get married; to dedicate their life to that one person called “husband/wife”. They’ve grown up so much so to take up the responsibilities of their own. So matured in their behavior. Never realized where the time went by!!!

Yesterday, we used to get worried about homework, class tests, terminal and annual examinations and today we are talking about job, marriage, settling down n all. 10 years down the line the topics will change again. What will remain the same would be the strength and the sweetness of the friendship.

At New Home!!!

After a week long search, we (me, Uma and Chheda) finally landed up in a 4BHK flat; barely 5 mins walk from our office, which was largely empty since it was semi-furnished with only wooden furniture i.e. cupboards. We ordered pizza for the dinner, since we were all dead tired and had no energy to go out and look for restaurants. Since internet wasn’t there in the new flat, waking up till late night was out of question. So went on a calling spree to all the people whom I thought was important and spend my time talking to them on phone. However, it was the night which became memorable; and now all the more memorable since I would be writing it down.

Dreams are often weird since there you see some of the weirdest things which could never happen in real life. You see people from different parts of your life jumbled at one place you would have never visited. The first night at my new flat became memorable because of the same weird dream I saw during sleep. The next morning, I kept thinking about it. I wanted to sleep again to watch the dream ahead but the clock was ticking and suggesting me to wake up and get ready for the office. I don't remember the dream completely as of now but still can recall a good part of it.

It started with me roaming around in Amsterdam, looking for house to stay on rent. While moving around I crossed signal after signal and don't know when but landed up in an Indian majority area in the city. Although the layout of the locality didn’t prompted anybody from even guessing that it can be Amsterdam but nonetheless, we do see such weird things in dreams, right? It was largely a filthy area. I don't remember what happened in between but I went on a scooter with someone on the highway. Now we jump directly to that part of the dream which made me thinking about making that thing happen in real life.

In that part of the dream, I saw myself sitting in my 5th standard classroom of Don Bosco with my Nirma class of IT. And in that class I saw everyone in the class with whom I don't speak today (although I haven’t been in touch with most of the people but there are some with whom I don't speak deliberately). Mainly it involved Bhoomi, Khushboo and Rucha. My 5th standard teacher was taking the attendance. While the class is going on, Bhoomi is moving around in the class to the rest of the boys for some or the other work (her usual habit of getting things done from boys). Khushboo and Rucha come directly to the class from airport with their luggage since they arrived from US. While Bhoomi is roaming around, she suddenly turns around and hits a boy on head with her file. That boy is Rahul Gupta as he and his friend Kartik (both are my MDI classmates) laughs out loud.

I don't remember clearly what happened after that. However, when I woke up, the thought of the dream made me think that what will happen if our entire Nirma IT class meets up again. Since passing out, equations of many friendships have changed. How would people react on seeing each other? How would the class configuration go about? It’s interesting to think about. But the big question is how this could happen? It’s practically impossible, let alone a wonderful thought though.

New Currency

During my last days at MDI, once I came across a news item that reported launching of a new 10 rupees coin by RBI. Surely, life in India is becoming more and more expensive as the years pass by. I still remember Rs 4 Vadilal ice-cream cup at Kankaria when we were staying near Maninagar. Today the same cup might be costing anywhere above Rs 10. Earlier, my father’s salary use to come in the bundle of Rs 10 notes. 100 rupee notes were used on rare occasions. Today we see 500 bill more often then before. At times Rs 1000 note also gives its glimpses. So, no wonder we have phased out 25 paisa and 50 paisa coins. In few years, even Re 1 coin would also be an antique item.

So, why don't we just replace the lowest unit of Indian currency by Rupee instead of paisa? We can even rename the Rs 100 note with something indigenous. Some new name for Rs 100 note. Re 1 would be equivalent of the lowest unit of the currency just like 1 cent in Europe or 1 pence in UK. While Rs 100 would be called 1 “something”. RBI can even introduce a coin for that 1 “something”. RBI can even introduce a competition for the public to suggest a name for the new currency just as it did for the symbol of the Rupee currency. The new currency with a unique symbol can become India’s identity in the international arena just like Dollar and Euro are for US and Europe respectively.

Change

It is said that “The only thing Constant in life is Change”. Pretty much true!!! Last two years has brought a lot of it in me. Last week, in an interview, I was asked the same thing. “What is the difference between the Jay Mehta of 2007 and Jay Mehta of 2009?” Ofcourse the conventional interview answering wisdom dictates us to beautify all our answers and this beauty is often at odds with the actual facts. Nonetheless, the question remained in my mind for the rest of the evening, thinking about what Jay Mehta was in 2007 and what he is in 2009.

Certainly, a lot of changes have occurred to me in these two years. And situations have played a prominent role in bringing out these changes. Being away from the family was the biggest situational change that has happened over these two years in which I have been with family for some 20 days only. Rest all has been either in Gurgaon or in Europe. I have become more mature in understanding with respect to my outlook towards life. There are many harsh realities of life which you don’t realize until you face them. These two years brought me to the darker side of the world, which is not as perfect as we see. As Kalpanafoi told me, very correctly, you don’t get good people everywhere. You have to be careful, alert and smart. 

I came across people who never missed any opportunity to rip you off. There were people who took the advantage of my goodwill to get their work done. There were also people who helped me but then showed it off everywhere. It is better to be in a poor position then to accept a help at the cost of self-esteem. These experiences taught me that at times you would be all alone to help yourself. There might be people who would be in a position to help but then you have to see post-help consequences as well. And it is always better to achieve a small height on your own then to surmount the Everest with the help of rope-way. At the same time you also have to see whom you are helping or doing a favor and does that person deserve that help or not. Being always good doesn’t help you as people ought to take undue advantage of that. As Chaanakya said, “A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first”. 

Another major change that came was accepting the failure as a part of life. Every person in this world has failed at some point or the other. But it is how you take that failure decides your fate ahead. Since I hardly saw failures in my pre-MBA life (got admission in my favorite engg college in my favorite discipline, 8 pointer till the second last sem, excelled in CAT, cracked both the interviews of MDI… where’s the failure???), it became difficult when they started hitting me regularly during these two years. And the biggest mistake you can do after the failure is to misjudge your abilities which most of the people tend to do. These two years have taught me to accept the failures as a part of life and believe that something better is always stored in future. As they say, “Success is never ending, failure is never final”. There is also something called luck that plays a major role behind your success. Most people are scared to accept that but it is true. My previous article titled “Luck” elaborates more on it. 

These two years also made me more conscious with money since I always made it a point to track my expenditure; be it Gurgaon or London or Paris. While in Ahmedabad, I never really cared for my expenditure which, perhaps, was the reason I wasted a hell lot of money on unnecessary things. But after I started tracking the expenditure I now understand how Mom managed our home with the limited salary of Dad. Although still not much disciplined, I certainly believe, this independence has brought in some kind of responsibility as well. 

Besides the one mentioned above, I also thought to ask someone else as well to tell me what changes he/she has observed in me over the past two years. And who can be the better person then the very own Pranay. He has been the best friend of mine since the first year of engineering and knows me the most. The same day during our regular chat on yahoo, I asked him the same question and he was all set to reply. He said that compared to 2007, I am more responsible and sensible now. The way I talk and the way I present myself has brought a paradigm shift in my personality. 

Now our talks don’t just revolve around girls. We talk about everything from national issues to religious extremism and societal problems to family matters. Although every time, it doesn’t matter which topic we start with, we end up discussing job scenario which is why we finally move towards discussing the chicks since that’s the only topic that can cheer us up. Nonetheless he says that there has been a lot of maturity in the way I bring out my views even with respect to the future life post-marriage since over the past two years I realized that the rosy world of love, which I had in my mind during engineering, isn’t indeed that rosy and sometimes realities can crush your dreams. So, it better not to have any dreams at all. Besides that you have to take into consideration your family wishes as well and have to be very thoughtful before entering any commitment. 

Change is inevitable in life and more so during the early life when you come across most of the life experiences for the first time. The two years has definitely helped me a lot to evolve myself into a little better human being and I’m sure the coming years would help me evolve further.

Biofuels – not so green fuel

Biofuels have been largely regarded as a greenest alternative to solve the world fuel problems. However, the recent studies have revealed startling facts that suggests that the green fuel is not really that green. When we talk about biofuels, we are essentially talking about ethanol, used after mixing with petrol, as well as biodiesel. Discussed here are the five major problems that have occurred due to increased use of biofuels:

 Deforestation to support global demand for farm lands to produce crops for biofuels

 Global food crisis because of diversion of food crops to produce biofuels

 Depletion of ground water level

 Extinction of Endangered species

 Creation of “Dead Zones” in Gulf of Mexico

One the major sources of making biofuels is farm crops mainly maize and sugarcane for ethanol. Vegetable oils are the major source for biofuels in Europe while corn in US. To support the global mission for biofuels, large amounts of forest lands are getting converted to farm lands so that they can be used to grow crops like maize to produce ethanol. As the global demand for such crops increases, more and more forest lands are getting converted to farm lands.

Earlier the plant-based fuels were considered better then the fossil fuels as the calculation was done that the carbon emitted by burning plant-based fuels was absorbed back when the new plants grow. However, the emission did not include the carbon emitted during the process of converting the plants into fuels i.e. refining and transporting etc. Destroying forests for biofuels pumps in more CO2 in atmosphere then they could save possibly as replacement for fossil fuels. The fact that farmlands absorb less CO2 than rainforests reveals a serious accounting error as the calculation totally overlooked the land use change in the analysis. According to Joseph Fargione, scientist at Nature Conservancy, clearance of grasslands releases 93 times the amount of greenhouse gases that would be saved by fuel made annually from that land. The destruction currently taking place, especially in the rain forests in the tropics and grasslands in South America, has tremendously increased the carbon emissions into the atmosphere since these ecosystems are planet’s natural sponge for carbon emissions. 

Besides this, there is also direct linkage between the global food crisis and increased acreage of crops that are being used to produce biofuels. As farmers get government incentives to produce crops that are used to produce biofuels, more and more farmers switch to crops for biofuels rather then to feed the nation. In US, the recent government subsidies have ensured that around 30 million tonnes of maize have been diverted to produce ethanol. This can lead to increase in global food crisis, particularly wheat since more and more crops get diverted to production of biofuels instead of going to consumers. Taking the example of US farmers, earlier the US farmers used to rotate crops between soybeans and corn in alternate years. Now they have stopped and produce only corn for biofuels because of government incentives. This increases pressure to produce soybeans elsewhere which is Brazil right now as it produces most of the world’s soybean presently. The price paid is by jungles of Amazon which are being cut for this reason and the consequences of this deforestation have been already discussed above.

In the Indian context, if we talk about biofuels, sugarcane is the primary source of ethanol in India. Although it is a fact that sugarcane is not a food crop and thus doesn’t pose such problems that are in West, but one should not forget that sugarcane is a water-intensive crop. Increased production of this crop would lead to greater absorption of groundwater and thus depleting the water level which is already dangerously low. 

Another major problem which is indirectly linked to biofuels but directly linked to the deforestation currently undergoing to make way for biofuels is the extinction of several species that reside in the forests. Amazon is a home to around 30% of the world species with some of the rarest ones like pink river dolphins, jaguars, pumas, snakes, butterflies and innumerable insects. The rate at which it is getting deforested fears some environmentalists that it may be totally gone by 2050. In Borneo - Indonesia, the rainforests are home to Orangutan, Sumatra Tiger, Asian Elephant and Sumatran Elephant. It is believed that at the current rate of destruction, Orangutan would be extinct in next 10 years. Increase use of biofuels would only add pressure to the rapid deforestation that is currently undergoing.

Lastly, the increase pressure to produce crops for biofuels is dangerous for the marine life as well. Reportedly, there are “Dead Zones” that are created in the ocean of Gulf of Mexico. “Dead Zone” is an oxygen starved patch in an ocean and is caused by decomposing algae that exhausts oxygen and suffocates marine life to death. According to June edition of National Geographic, one of the major reasons for “Dead Zones” in Gulf is because of increased use of fertilizers that farmers use to produce corn for biofuels. The fertilizer runs through Mississippi and mixes in ocean to lead to death of marine life.

Thus, it is seen that although world over people are getting positive about bio-fuels, the fuel is not so green in reality. The government and the organizations world over should instead concentrate on alternative energy sources like Solar Energy to run automobiles. There is a need for extensive research on solar cars or electric cars that can run longer distances on a single charge. Innovations are also going on for the cars that can run with hydrogen fuel. Besides that another dimension that government could work upon is to develop biofuels that do not require raising crops like the ones made from agricultural waste products. Such options would be far greener then the biofuels.

Luck

The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose.

-          Chris Wilton

 

Yesterday night, after a long long time (in terms of days), I planned to watch a movie just to get a break out of my boring routine. So I picked up the movie “Match Point” which was the resident of my computer since long and awaited its turn.

The above dialogue is with which the movie begins. The movie is centred on a former tennis star, Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who falls in love with Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson) who is his friend’s fiancée. Later on that friend becomes his brother-in-law but the lust for that lady makes him enter into an extra marital affair eventually making Nola pregnant. He plans the murder of Nola, projected as a burglary, to end the story. Generally, in movies, it is seen that the one who does the evil eventually gets punished. However, Match Point is different. Luck favours Chris and he escapes the murder and lives happily forever with his wife and family.

The point here I ponder is that how many times in life we would have said (or even thought), “Gosh, had this not happened I wouldn’t have made it”. The fact is that in life most of things happen with sheer luck. As told by Chris, people are scared to admit this. When I look back to my life, in lot many things luck has played a major role. Hardwork is mandatory but if something goes wrong; all the hardwork goes in vain. For example, you work really hard for your next job interview but while on the way you encounter a traffic jam and reach late and lose the opportunity. Who will you blame?? Your luck?? Yes, exactly. You break a traffic signal but exactly at the same time another guy breaks the traffic signal too. Police cop can catch only one of the two. If you’re lucky you’d escape. If you’re not, you’ll get caught.

We have been so obsessed with hardwork and when someone doesn’t succeed we quickly assume that the person didn’t work hard (same holds for our perception when a person succeeds). But the fact is that there is a thing called LUCK that plays a major part in what we are today and what we gonna become tomorrow. 

Provoked

It was a repeat night for me as I was still working on my dissertation after getting an extension of two days for submission from my mentor professor. Being a “normal” MBA student, it is impossible for me to concentrate on my work beyond few minutes. So, I was talking to Pranay as we do it daily. 

With parallel processing (text chat with Namrata + Pranay + dissertation work) on the way, Pranay suddenly gave me shocking news about his school friend who passed away today. She committed suicide. He was highly upset since she was one of the closest friends of him (I wonder who is not from Daman!!!) and had been in touch since last 17-18 years. Initially aunty thought not to give him this bad news (which I believe wouldn’t have helped) but eventually she thought better to disclose it to him. Already depressed from the job scene in US, this was totally uninvited trauma for Pranay and I would pray this need not happen but reality often defies wishes.

I wonder why that girl took this level of extreme step. This has been so far the second suicide incident in my friend circle after Chaitanya who did the same little more then two years back. Why people do this? Don't they think about their parents, friends, siblings or near and dear ones before terminating their lives? Suicide needs huge amount of guts and unless pushed hard, nobody reaches this extreme. But no reason on earth justifies such suicidal acts. Human life isn’t so cheap. There are so many lives attached to every single life (otherwise we wouldn’t call man a social animal). 

My previous post with the same title talked about provocation in positive spirit. But here I question, what provokes people to take such extreme steps?

Helpless

After completing my mid-night (2am IST) fiesta at Arcus, I return to my room to complete my dissertation report. Since this has to be my last trip in the campus today, I put on my night clothes so that only two activities remain on board. Complete the report and sleep. However, as always, I tend to check my mails and updates on social networking sites (gmail, yahoo, orkut, facebook and mandevian) to make sure I don't miss something important. But today, before that I checked the yahoo messenger where I left Pranay on hold to go to Arcus. But he left with Sanjay and Adarsh to go to see the Empire State Building in NYC (something which they were planning since ages).

No updates on gmail or yahoo. Nothing new on orkut or facebook. So I reach for mandevian ID which includes all redirected mails from my MDI mail ID as well. Today there was one really important mail. More important then perhaps any Placecom mail as well. A girl called Aparna from PG08 batch called up for help from the MDI community. A 22 year old friend of hers is suffering from a lung cancer and has to undergo a surgery (BMT – Bone Marrow Transplant) in the Apollo Specialty Hospital in Chennai. Coming from a middle class family, the poor parents cannot afford this 12-15 lakhs surgery after already spending about 7-8 lakhs on the chemotherapy treatment over the past one year or so. So now the family has decided to go to public for help in terms of donations. 

Sometimes I wonder how cruel the life can be to someone. Truly spoken, if you want to know how fortunate you are, listen to someone else’s misfortune. Chemotherapy is one of the most painful treatments of cancer. Besides that BMT is one of the most complex surgeries in the medical domain from the knowledge so far I have known. That 22 year girl would probably not have done anything bad to anybody in her life but still she has encountered such ill fate. More frustrating is the inability to help her in financial terms. By no means can I fathom the agony of her family. Sympathy won’t treat her. This is another occasion where in I feel so helpless not been able to help someone to come out of his/her miseries. All this MBA+Engineering renders meaningless.

When I used to donate blood two years back, I used to get some sense of satisfaction of having done something good for the society. But in the past two years, I don't remember a single incident when I have done something for my society, for my nation or least for my family. I wish to get back my pre-2007 life but the whirlpool created by this job scenario doesn’t allow me to do so. The more I want to come out of this vicious circle, the deeper I penetrate into it. But I try… and try until I succeed.

Dreams

“Sapney mat dekho… sapney kabhi sach nahi hotey. Mera baapu kehta tha. Lekin maine sapna dekha”. The famous introductory dialogue of the movie “GURU” had a lasting impression on my mind. Since my high school, I have grown up with dreams and the same coming true as well. 

Be it dream to score big time in 10th grade or getting admission in Nirma IT or excelling in CAT and getting admission in MDI, Gurgaon. I learned one thing that if you dream hard and work harder to achieve that dream, it ought to come true. Whenever I used to dream and work hard for it, I saw the dream realized and that’s what made my conviction even stronger.

But suddenly since last one year I saw the trend changing. The dreams have stopped realizing. The principle, on which I lived my entire high school and engineering, has suddenly started shaking. Although I am not able to stop the habit of dreaming big, but the pain of shattered dreams is becoming unbearable. It’s perhaps that this is the first time I have got exposed to defeats and not achieved something I have really wanted from my heart. I don't have any idea of what to do but just keep working to pursue my dreams in a hope that one day one of them will come true. As said by Lord Krishna in Mahabharata, “Karma kiye jaa, Fal ki chinta mat kar”

This is perhaps the first time I have felt so vulnerable although people around me keep reminding me that I am from the land of Sardar Patel, DHirubhai Ambani and Narendra Modi (although I don't have even 1% of the three aggregate!!!). And this is perhaps the first time I believe I need real good time to establish myself and develop myself as a person ready to take the responsibilities of the world. The earlier euphoric dreams of an amazing love life (especially during engineering) has already busted and as the life comes harsh at me, I realize that it will take a good amount of years to actually become responsible enough. 

But right now the thing that is pinching me is why my dreams have suddenly ceased to realize? What is going wrong and why?

Return

The more the job scene becomes dull, the less frequent is becoming my appearance on the blog. It’s been 42 days (less 4.5 hours of time difference I lost while coming to India from France!!!) since I posted my last blog.

It would be dishonest to say that I did not get time to write the blog in these days but the thought that I have larger things to do yet then just writing the blog, kept me avoiding this hobby of mine. And this is not the first time this has happened to me. However, this time it’s my conviction to prevent abandonment of blogging. So after enjoying 4 days of holiday when its time for me to seriously start something on the dissertation front, here I finally decided to make at least a small contribution to the concealed part of my life (I haven’t shared the link of this blog with anyone… gosh!!! Why am I writing this here??).

Although on the job front the status-quo has been maintained, but a lot of traveling has happened in these 42 days. Paris-->Hague-->London-->Gurgaon…. But that’s only in the initial 19 days. It has been 23 days in Gurgaon so far. I met lot of friends at MDI and planning to meet more as the day comes. But the people I am dying to meet are distant away from here waiting for me in Ahmedabad. Every alternate day I call up at home and the unspoken question is asked to me by mom that when would I return home? After initial spoken inquiries, the questions have ceased to be asked by mom since every time the answer remains the same. I don't know when the moment will come. But I pray to God that it comes soon.

Indian Extremism

Yesterday I came across a news item (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/shiv-sena-forces-lawyer-to-back-out-of-kasab-case/80619-3.html) that stated that some Shivsainiks people coerced a lawyer, Ashok Sarogi, in Mumbai who volunteered to play as a defense lawyer to Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only terrorist caught alive in the 26/11 attack.
Indian constitution gives right to every accused to have a defense lawyer and unless he/she has the defense lawyer, no trial can execute against him/her. The motive of Lawyer Sarogi was not to defend Kasab but to help complete a legal formality so that the perpetrator of the attack could be brought to justice. However, “budhhi kam, haath zyaada” fame Shivsainiks didn’t understand this simple logic and attacked the lawyer’s house till the lawyer gave in writing that he will not defend Kasab.
This leads to delay in punishing the Kasab but who cares?? Political parties are always in an attempt to take advantage out of everything whether it is Shivsainiks in Ashok Sarogi incident or Mamta Banerjee in the Tata Nano incident or all the parties over Sardar Sarovar case. Sometimes I do not understand why some people are so bloody difficult to convince about the logic. And unfortunately Indians are so damn emotional and the political parties take the advantage of the same and misguide people to the issues that are not so important. Right now what I see important is that the terrorist should be hanged to death as soon as possible, no matter how it happens.
People say extremists are in Pakistan. But what about India? Aren’t they here as well? BJP/VHP who first destroyed the Babri Masjid and now wants to build a temple at the same place (as if India is running out of land for temples; or for that matter India already have so less number of temples). Or the Shivsainiks who destroy properties worth lacs every 14th February. Or the Bajrang Dal who felt that few Australian tourists are trying to convert Hindus into Christians and so burned them alive in their car. Also the local Muslims of Godhra who helped in executing the Sabarmati Express carnage.
Sometimes I do feel that before blaming Pakistan on the attacks we need to first put our house in order. We have a huge military force to fight with Pakistan, but who will fight with these people???

Chaanakyaniti

I guess it’s true that history can provide the mankind, answers to the many questions regarding the present and the future. I realized this while reading Chaanakyaniti. Statement after statement, one realizes the richness of Indian intellect that established the rules of political ethics hundreds of years back but very much functional even in the contemporary politics. Although I have just started with the book, every single word strikes my brain and tries to retrospect to see the consequences if I followed the Chaanakyaniti in a particular incident.
I had a similar experience while watching Mahabharat as well. Our ancestors laid a rock solid foundation of our culture that even after so many foreign invasions; it is still intact and alive within us. Every statement cited by Lord Krishna in the holy Bhagwat Gita, provides direction to the human life and tells us about the purpose of our life. It gives us the precious knowledge of life cycle and how to break it. It tells us the difference between soul and body. And besides these, lot of invaluable knowledge that western countries didn’t even think of at that time.
These are just two instances. The more one explores the Indian history, the more he comes to know about the rich unexplored heritage India carries that needs no external help from US to solve its problems.

Shahrukh Khan interview on 26/11 on NDTV by Barkha Dutt

One of the best interviews of Shahrukh Khan I have seen. The amount of sagacity the person carries with him is just amazing.... Loved to listen to the views of the person.

Source: NDTV....

Indian Police

Our Police, whom we have always cursed.... This video is a must watch...

Thank you NDTV for this special edition dedicated to the brave policemen who are seldom appreciated for their work.

Lost in time

It’s been 32 days since I wrote my last article in this blog. Ever since, I became so busy and so tensed about my work (not the office work!!!) that writing an article on blog seemed to be a waste of time for me. Every time I thought to write something, the Jay inside me reminded me of some important work that was pending and needed my attention (more then attention, the action).
This allegation of being very passive and dormant eats me from inside every moment. It’s like every time, there’s a battle going on to prove myself. Every time I think to write something on blog, the voice comes from inside, “There’s whole life at your disposal to write blogs. But you cannot afford to ignore the work you have in your hand”. In the last days of October, it was all visa issue on my head. Every moment, I just had various scenarios running in my hand with respect to the visa extension issue. After getting the visa successfully, it was all relaxation period at Nitinkaka’s place till 10th November during which I tried to avoid internet as much as possible. When I came back, it was all the job thing and internship report stuff that kept me busy all the time.
Even today, I had the rescheduling of the flight thing in my mind and to do it ASAP. Also the issue of job here was also pending and I have been waiting for my department VP’s reply on it since a week. Fortunately, today morning when I opened my outlook I saw his reply and got relieved. When I opened my gmail, I saw Rajeeta’s mail (my travel agent) regarding the rescheduling. So this issue is also solved. So, now there are no major issues pending as far as I remember. Then I thought to write at least a short article so that the month of November doesn’t go blank on my blog. But now I realize that I need to revise my definition of short article!!!

Whirlpool

Sometimes when you are trapped in problems you think why my life is so hell? Why God has given me all the troubles in life? Why only me? But it is when you talk to other people, you realize it’s not only you. There are thousands and millions of people in this world who has more serious problems then you. It is then you realize you have much better life then so many people in this world.
Yesterday, I was talking to Nidhi. I realized that life has not been fair to that girl at all. Every time I talk to her and know about her problems, I forget my problems. Coz after listening to her, it seems that my problems are no problems at all. She has three surgeries pending, two of which are very important and to be done asap while for the third one she has still to wait till seven months. Since her accident she has undergone several surgeries and her body has not been responding that well to medicines. Her study expenses are souring even though she has managed to extend her scholarship. Mama cannot support her for long and it’s high time she would have to seek help from her family who are already preparing for her sister’s wedding in which major amount of money is being injected. She has problems with her students’ visa in Mexico for which she has been fighting a legal battle since months. Aunty is again not doing well since she has lost much of her weight and has problems with her WBC count as well as hemoglobin level which is way below sufficient. Nidhi suspects cancer but no tests can be performed on her since the present body condition cannot withstand any test. Amidst all the problems Nidhi is fighting all alone with no support from anyone. Emotional support cannot materialize into anything significant.
After coming back from office, there was another shocker to me. This time from London people when Nitin forwarded us all, the mail her received from the Program Office of London ESCP-EAP telling that all the non-EU students who are with the students’ visa in London have permission to work for internship no longer then 12 weeks. Anyone found breaking this rule would be deported. This was a shocker to all the London people as most of the janta there had already completed their three months in September and were now on the verge of completing their forth month as well. School took their hands off this matter telling that they would not be responsible for anything that would happen to students. Some companies already told the interns to stop coming ever since they received this mail. London people are more worried about the monetary losses they would be making rather then the fear of being deported. Especially when the figure is in six digits when converted to INR, anybody’s heart would sink. No body knows what would happen. Vaibhav has already confirmed his return flight while Parul would also be more or less returning back. Rest all are fighting.
Yesterday night, while on my bed I thought about all this and complained to God that why I don’t have such a tough life? My problem seemed no problem at all after all this. Today morning, instead of chanting the shlokas in the morning prayer to God, I used the plain Gujarati asking God to clear all the troubles from my friends’ lives and give them what they truly deserved. I hope God will listen to me and take out my friends from their whirlpool of problems.

Tablet # 5

“Deepak did so many sins; I gave him a fire bath to wash his sins. I did a prison pilgrimage to wash my sins.”
- Kiranjit Ahluwalia to her mother-in-law in a letter written from jail

"I never intended to kill him; I just wanted him to stop hurting me.”
- Kiranjit Ahluwalia to Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/04/gender.ukcrime)

Provoked.....

As a last part of my weekend activity, I decided to watch a movie yesterday night before sleeping. Since I wanted to see something meaningful (I had an idea of what is called meaningless after watching “Raffu Chakkar” for 10 minutes the earlier night!!!), I opted for “Provoked” which seemed to be reasonably good movie when I glanced through it during the day.
It’s a 2007 Aishwarya Rai flick based on true story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia case of 1992 that shook the British judicial system of that time. The theme was of woman’s revolt against domestic violence in which Kiranjit Ahluwalia, an oppressed wife and victim of domestic violence burns his London-based husband down to death. However, after the initial judgment of life sentence was challenged on the grounds of diminished responsibility of a mentally, physically and sexually abused person, the British court freed the lady. Not only that, but this case became a landmark in the history of British Law and changed the definition of “provocation”.
Domestic violence has been prevalent in the male dominated Indian society where women are considered physically weak and metaphorically slave of her husband. However women are also burdened with dual responsibility of maintaining the dignity and respect of two families even if she has to sacrifice herself. Things are pretty much the same today even if we say we are a part of more developed country where women are more independent and modern. The education has to come from home itself to teach men to respect women and zero tolerance to domestic violence. Only then no women would have to go through the suffering like that of Kiranjit Ahluwalia.
Sometimes I wonder, of what matter these human beings are made of. From where do they gain so much courage to fight out the society; to challenge the absolute; to question the doctrine; to be so fearless to kill someone and then justify it? I would like to meet such people (Currently she is Slough near London, roughly 500 km from where I am currently) who took the lead in their fight against the devils of society. In the past, Raja Rammohan Roy, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Saraswati Chandra and many others fought against the devils of the society. During Jessica Lal case, media played a very key role in getting justice. I would like to know, what provokes this infinite audacity to go all out for a cause.

The toughest part.....

I was just thinking what to write in my blog, next. Just then, I recalled a statement made by my Nirma friend, Rushin. Although not that great friend but we had a great time in Nirma. He was in Computer Engineering while I was in Information Technology. So technically we were kind of cousins. We met indirectly via Mohit Malhan (to whom I met via Bhoomi, my classmate), who was also studying Computer Engineering at U V Patel College of Engineering. We had a yahoo group called “technocrats” (later on “tech_crats” and what not!!!) on which Rushin along with one of his friends Mitul Choksi, used to post articles on MWMS (Mishaps With Microsoft).
I met Rushin, face to face, for the first time in the night-bus (not the one of Happy Potter!!!) of Nirma when we were all returning from our computer labs after completing some research. After that we started meeting regularly discussing topics from all the corners of computer world. Once the trio (Me, Mohit and Rushin) met to discuss about the project and as usual we drifted away to the topics that were not at all in the agenda. Hopping from one to another we entered the MWMS zone. While praising Rushin’s work, Mohit asked him how tough it would be writing an interesting article every time. Rushin asked a self-answered counter question, “Do you know what the toughest part of writing an article is?” The obvious answer was “No”. He answered, “Deciding the topic”.
Today, when I have seriously started writing my blog, I realize this thing. Although, here I am not bound to write something interesting every time but still I should enjoy what I write. But the toughest part is to decide what to write so that I enjoy the most. Everyday there are plenty of things happening around (even if we say our life is routine) and you have to write some of the most interesting ones out of them.
I just wonder how fiction writers are able to conjure up so much innovative thoughts and create entirely new world which nobody has imagined. And they are able to do it every time.