Mumbai Meri Jaan

Finally after a long hiatus from writing for various reasons (laziness being the biggest one) I have decided to start  writing again.
Bombay has got me to fall in love with it all over again in the past 4 days. Although I had a rough couple days when I landed.  The Humidity,  noise and the sheer number of people everywhere overwhelmed senses and made me think where the Bombay I lived in and loved had gone.
But as soon as I roomy NRI glasses off and began embracing my roots I began to see a certain energy a certain glue that keeps this city together.  Most people don't have much but are happy, content with what they have and willing to sacrifice a bit more to help a loved one or even a stranger.
The Chaos as first gave me the chills on how does one survive in a city this size with 21 million people and not get trampled at a crowded street or get lost in a grocery store, but then I noticed a rhythm in the chaos, a certain way the city and it's people are doing this exotic dance,  perfectly synchronized to each heartbeat of the 21 million citizens. From navigating a crowded sidewalk or zipping through bumper to bumper traffic on motorbikes or expensive cars everyone knows what to do, what your next move will be, which may seems foreign to anyone who hasn't lived here for a prolonged period of time.
As soon as I embraced the chaos and admitted to the reality that this is not going to be a western city ever, it will never be perfected because it is perfect in it's own way. It just needs a bit of cosmetic upgrade other than that the smiles,people and the spirit will take it through any situation

No other city in the world may capture my heart like Bombay has. Bombay I love you

Arm Chair Activism or True Revolution -- Lokpal Bill Analysis

For those of you who know me already know that I am very opposed to the Lokpal bill. But I have to Admit apart from the fact that Team Anna is trying to shove it down the government's throat I didn't know too much about the Bill. But I am sure I am not alone, Most of the supporters also don't know what the bill is about. Someway is better than the way things are going so I can understand people getting behind a vision that will create a more Corruption-free Indian System.

This is My take from the bill, There are a few clauses that worry me as these are a form of Parallel government that may become the same monster we have on our hands in the form of the Congress party.

The basic aim of the bill is that

n It will create a Watchdog or ombudsman body that will oversee everything done by the government and prevent Scandals by Politicians and Government officials , Something that is Highly needed and I will also confess to that

o 6 Members will form a Panel:

§ “Members will be appointed by judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean record, private citizens and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory process.”

§ “A selection committee will invite shortlisted candidates for interviews, video recordings of which will thereafter be made public.”

o A Few basic questions for this part of the bill are: Where do you find the Clean Record Government and Judicial Representatives ?

o Aren't these the guys causing the problem right now ?Private Citizens: out of a population of 1.2 Billion how do you select 4 or 5 private citizens, What is the criteria for selection and How do I trust anyone to do my bidding on governmental Matters ? And if there isn't another efficient way to Select a Private citizen than Elections then what is the point of this whole movement

o I am sure people will be tripping all over each other to be part of this investigation committee. Knowing the love of power we have, how can you be sure that these Private citizens are not harboring political ambitions ? or they will not become corrupted by the system ?

o Also since you can see so many corruption cases how can 6 people handle all the investigations ?

o Will I have to give a CAT style entrance exam or write an essay to get an interview call.

The Worrying Clauses are:

n Lokpal will have the power to initiate prosecution of anyone found guilty.

n Lokpal will have police powers as well as the ability to register FIRs.

n Lokpal and the anti-corruption wing of the CBI will be one independent body.

These clauses have given this bunch of ambitious future Changers so much power that they are bound to get corrupted. All these clauses are the powers that are given to a government and over time people stop doing their duties but keep exercising their rights. What is the guarantee that these people will not turn out to be the same people we threw out of the building ? and How sure are you that they will not abuse the power they have to their own advantage.

Also the Financial and Fiscal impact of this movement cannot even be quantified i will try

This is my analysis if this really has to work at every level:

n At the top 6 Committee members overseeing the LOKPAL investigations

n Every State has let's say 1 Lokyukta(Lokpals for States) Committee which has say 6 more members (6* 29 states= 174 members)

n Every Lokyukta Committee will have atleast 6 more members in every district that would mean at least 640 Districts X 6 members each (3840 members)

n And Finally Every Village has atleast 2 members so 638,365 villages X 2 = 12,76,730 Committee members

n So the Total numbers of Members you need to Run a Successful Lokpal Committe are 12,80,750- you might have a 10,000 in 1 chance to be on a committee somewhere.

The Financial Compensation to these people should be high so that they don't get corrupted with amounts of money. I do trust people's integrity but I don't think I can fry and eat Integrity.

So Let's say a member gets an average payment of Rs. 20,000 per month (it's a low number but let’s trust integrity also)

so that will mean Rs. 2,40,000/ year X 1,280,750

Brings our Total to Rs.307,380,000,000 (Rupees Three Hundred Seven Billion Three Hundred Eighty Million ) !! Did you burn your Anna Hazare Sign yet ??

I understand the Attraction to get behind a movement that is against this corrupt government but we have to take a look at hard facts. Team Anna has done a very good job manipulating the youth through Social media, Status Messages like the ones below are posted by my friends who I have known for a long time, Some are written out of the information they have some are Copy and paste one’s.

“Anna is set free.. This is seems to be a replay action of what Gandhiji did to British raj. I hope the results are the same. :)”

“I guess the Govt is still waiting for someone to approach them with a bribe to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill!”

“Anna Hazare says bring back the Black money.
Do you know what will happen if 1,456 lac crore comes back?
1.India Financially No1
2.Each district will get 60000 crore and 1 village will get 100 crores
3.No need to pay taxes for next 20yrs
...4.Petrol 20Rs, Diesel 5Rs, Milk 8Rs
5.No need to participate in this revolution just support Anna Hazare by posting on your wall.
I did my job for a better India on a brighter tomorrow!”

“Mixed Emotions:

Jailer asks Ajmal Kasab: Y r u so happy today?
Kasab : I m not indian, I hate India, I Killed Indians, but I' m very safe in India.

Journalist asks Anna Hazare: Y r u so sad today?
Anna: I'm Indian, I Love my India and Indians, but feel unsafe and I'm not sure when I will be Killed. But, I will still continue to fight.”

“Government against corruption?? i doubt that...the government is against ppl opposing the corruption!! Shri Anna Hazare hum aap ke saath hai..”

“Before 1947 Gandhi ji was FREE to express his disagreement through peaceful means. Today after 64 years of INDEPENDENCE a person is fighting against corruption but Govt is not giving him space for protest. Govt is trying its level best to crush this mass movement against corruption. IS INDIA REALLY INDEPENDENT? 16th Aug, 2011. We all have to support Anna! This is a NOW or NEVER moment. Are YOU READY?”

· Cabinet Minister have a maximum age limit of 70 years

· No Minister is allowed to run for more than 3 terms in his lifetime

· Any MP ever connected to a Scandal and proven to be guilty has to be banned from Election and Immediate relatives also have to be disqualified.

· Any Person who has a court case against him should not be allowed to run in an Election

· The IAS has to be phased out and replaced with young MBA’s (we have a few million of those each year) who have a business mentality and can bring it to their positions

· The government should introduce an incentive/penalty plan to reward/punish government workers for doing their job. A person who completes all the work he is assigned will get a bonus and a person who fails to meet their quotas will get 3 warnings and then will be fired

For Now what can be done is that we vote in every election. Make sure we register a No-Vote if you don’t like the candidates in your area, A No-vote will ensure that all the candidates get disqualified and a new election will be held with new candidates.

Let’s try and use the rights that the Constitution has given us 1^st and fulfill our duties, If we are doing that I don’t think a corrupt government can stay in power and slowly but surely the system will get cleaned.

A reminder from History : Gaddaffi, Saddam , Stalin, Lenin , Hitler, Mussolini were all trying to liberate their people from Tyrannical rules, But power makes everyone hungry. And trust me just because an Old man wears a white hat doesn’t mean he is going to be your Gandhi. Until I get proven wrong and publically laughed at All the best

Democracy going to the Dogs ?

Hi All, I have not Written in a long while but here it goes,

There has been a lot of talk about Anna Hazare's Lok Pal movement and how that will help Indian's use the Democratic process better. But we keep forgetting the Big picture, Whatever is wrong with India is due to the Ministers WE ELECTED, with or without Participation. So what are you all complaining about.

I am a big fan of Democracy and let me tell you What Anna Hazare is trying to become is the person, That 41 years ago help "LIBERATE" Libya from an "EVIL" leader and his name is GADDAFI. That's why its very important to follow DUE DEMOCRATIC process, it's not the perfect system but the fairest.Anna Hazare is not a democratically Elected leader and he should not be talking decisions for the rest of us, unless he wins an election. The lokpal bill is not a Democratically selected bill.

Yes it seems like we need a revolution to get out of this mess India is in but who are the leaders of the Revolution be ??? Rahul Gandhi ? Milind Deora ? or some other old Hack ?? The problem with the Indian middle-class (I am one of them) is that WE DONT VOTE, and why is that because we are too busy staring at the TV or "WORKING".

The Population that votes gets what they want,

• The 27% below poverty line people always vote , what do they get - Alcohol, Money, Houses/Slums, Electricity for their Slum, Ration cards etc,
• The Rich people vote they get publicity because they are "helping" the nation chose leaders
• the Farmers vote and get Free electricity, Farm subsidies, No Income tax etc
• What does the Middle Class get for not Voting ?? Higher Taxes, Corruption, No Development, Joblessness, Lower Standard of living, Inflation and big MIDDLE FINGER,

And the Middle Class Deserves it, If you think talking to your Friends and bitching at NDTV about how corruption is killing India is voting then you are wrong, If we really want change Why dont we go out and do the simplest thing in the world, Stand in line and vote.

Also if your name is not on the voter list, dont be relieved go to the office and make sure you have it on there. The Government knows the Middle Class is like the GUY/GIRL WHO GOT RAPED SO MANY TIMES HE/SHE ENJOYS IT or Doesn't EVEN CARE about IT ANYMORE and that's why they want to put the smallest obstacle in your way and know that you will not follow through and fix it so that you can use your right to vote

A few years ago a report said Bombay alone was contributing for 40% of the Income-tax revencue for the whole country, It was 2% of the population then, and i'm sure Bombay's voting rate would've been less than 50% and the middle class voting rates would've been less than 25%, So 75% of Bombay's middle class are not part of the discussion when it comes to big picture issues. So who's responsible?

We have to realize that Democracy is a Duty not a right, and if we keep failing at it we are giving rise to Anarchy, Ask the People of Afganistan or some african countries and see how fortunate we are to be able to elect a representative, But we don't value it, This Government- Middleclass relationship is an abusive one because the "Middle-class is the Wife who cooks the food and then goes and earns money to support her Drunk husband, But the Husband is busy using that money to sleep with Whores and know all that she still sits there and cries, Doing nothing" if the middle class doesnt want to be jerked around like this it has to rise up and do the fundamental Duty and vote for the person they choose.

"56% of the Indian Populace is Middle Class" - you know with 10% more votes in the same direction and you will get what you want, the leaders you want, the issues that affect you will be looked at, you will be part of the debate.

I think it's necessary to clean your own house before blaming the BMC for not picking up the trash at your doorstep

And After that long rant, HAPPY "INDEPENDENCE" DAY

My rant on Religion

Religion has got me thinking lately.
The wars, the discrimination, superiority complex, racial attacks etc have all upset me a lot. A deep analysis (which has eroded my hours of sleep) led me to concluding that there is only one reason for all this : RELIGION.

What does religion give people : Hope, expectation, discipline, peace of mind, the strength to get out of difficult situation
This is what the people who made these religions wanted you to believe.
What religion really gives us:

Ignorance : If religion doesn't say it we don't do it. If you don't believe in evolution because religion said so I will sponsor a "Lobotomy" for you. Evolution and Intelligent design are not Parallel theories. Sending kids to school would not make them religiously backwards or send them towards the Devil but it will make them better human beings, try explaining that to the Taliban.

Discrimination: Religions have found ways to trouble people from different faith or their way of living life.
Gays can't marry because the Bible says so, Women lose their "right to choice"(more on women later), laws are made because god said so.

Honor Killings and Terrorism : Honor killings have become a way of life in some parts of the world because its a way to assert your religious beliefs into everyone. Terrorism is believed to have it's roots in Islam but the Crusades in the outset of Christianity was where this all start from. Islam has just made it more fashionable.

Religion makes you live in a state of Denial cause your parents have created a belief system that makes you scared of a guy who sits in the clouds looks at your every move. You want to give up this backward belief but then you are scared that if there is a GOD he would punish you at Judgment day.
Logically thinking How can I Man/Woman/UNWORLDLY power monitor 6 billion people 24 hours a day ? at this point everyone would say "He's GOD he possesses powers that no-one else can imagine" this is how ignorant religion has made everyone.

I would love to denounce religion but I believe it takes a lot of strength to not believe in an Invisible spaceman which I don't have right now. And besides I'm too Indian to not believe in a GOD, its the basis of an Indian person's existence and denouncing religion would mean denouncing family, community and the becoming a "Black Mark on the family" so sadly I'm not fortunate enough to denounce religion in the near future.

"A catchy quote from a dead president should be here"

The Recession Proof Nation

The recession is official and the world can see it, The Big One(USA) caused it but the other nations are the one's suffering from it more than the US or the other G-8 countries. I admit the world runs on the excess buying from the average american, So we need to give him/her the money to buy again to keep the developing nations from starving. 

But one point that everyone is missing is the fact that India will not be affected to the similar extent in most ways, for the below-stated reasons:

- We are Smart: We invented the ZERO and that helped the US make the bailout amount as big as possible(with 10 odd "0's", and also to show the company's profits for 2008 = "0". We are the brightest young people in the world because we know more about Math, Science, Entreprenuership and Finance and therefore making bad decisions is not in our DNA(The Americans have a Monopoly on making Bad decisions from Veitnam to the Bailout) So we are sure not to make a bad situation worse. 

- We dont like Living on Debt- except for the current generation of highly paid young professionals who have been watching American sitcoms for the last 10 years, most of the Indian populace doesn't like buying everything on Loan. Be it Cars, Houses, TV's etc. before buying these we always look at financing 80% of the amount from our pockets rather than the Banks.

- We have a sane Banking system- Our banks are very government controlled, which may suggest the socialist side of India, but if these banks are not going under left, right and center I am happy about it. Indiscriminate loans to people who will never give them back is the root of the recession equation(Sub-prime crises). Also the low number of credit cards helps the nation remain in their limits of spending.

- We don't go to war!!-  I sometime cite this as a "Lack of BALLS" from the government but thank god the government does not listen to me. Imagine if George Bush ruled India, we would have gone to war 4 times since the December Highjacking to the Bombay Siege. But I think the developmental agenda  is more important to India and I agree with that after careful consideration.

- America Can't Live without the Friendly Indian on the other side: Be it computers, Call centers, software, financial solutions, America can't live without hiring Indians and rightly so. They wouldn't want Mexicans going"Aye Ombre how many I help you" or Chinese people helping them with their accent and then Computers. It shows that Knowledge is better than being Assembly line robots.Yes India is loosing jobs but it would not oblige these big Corps to shift them elsewhere as India has set itself up to be the KPO destination and we will be till the end of time.

- We are Economical : We have recession proofed our future cuz soon you cash-strapped westerners will be begging us to give the TATA Nano as that will be the only car you can afford thanks to your friendly neighborhood bank :-D, We are trying to invent the cheapest Laptop, Mobile phone and a few other things that we need in the future. 

So India is pretty recession proof, My dad doesn't think it is but from across the oceans the reality looks better. 

The Dance of Democracy- 2009

To,

My imaginary audience (specially Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Mountbatten et al)

Sorry to keep you'll waiting but it's not like ur there, it's just that "I see dead people" is why i talk to you.

So India finally shifts into election mode after months of speculation. It is a good opportunity for the Congress(I) to throw their weight around and show that they are the biggest party in India. But they can fall flat on their face if they make it their main proposition for the elections, I still remember the BJP being in the same position and failing thanks to the infamous "India Shining" Campaign.

So who should our dear voters go for in those 30 seconds in the polling booth? Some options

Congress(Rahul Gandhi/Some other Muppet)- The Democrats of India and their Psuedo-"Secular" agenda, but behind the scenes they have been playing a very dirty game. Winning the elections by giving insane amounts of reservations in a move to "better" the society by creating equality. Making Rahul Gandhi the face of the congress is not going to help, cuz the govt is going to be run by the Italian Lady anyways, we saw how effecftive Dr. Manmohan singh was under that arrangement. 

BJP(L.K. Advani)- The Indian Republicans and their Hindutva (Hindu nation) agenda which would make us the Hindu version of our effing neighbor. I think the BJP should not be voted for unless they come up with a real good reason as to why people should vote for them. I dont think demolishing a Few holy places on the name of  6000 year old imaginary holy places is an appealing agenda to vote for, Nor is having a Hindu nation. 

BSP/3rd front (Mayawati) - There is no way that India would want Mayawati to be the Next PM, no offence to the so called backward castes. Unless I want her statue next to every Gandhi statue in India or the world. She is an evil lady with the intentions of levelling the playing field for "their" side by rushing the majority's rights. The 3rd front will only be there to chip away at the votes of the Big Two and then be in the situation to play coalition politics when it come to government formation. As far as this being the year for CHANGE aka OBAMA for the minorities, it took the US 231 years to elect a minority leader as President and he is a guy who will do a better job than Bush, Can Mayawati even do a better job than I.K. Gujral(PM for a few months)? is my concern   

RJD(Laloo Yadav) - Democracy is almost never going to kick into top gear in my generation, So why don't we vote for Laloo Yadav, We know what he did with the railways and to top it all he will never let there be a dull moment in the parliament. He should be the guy to represent India because he's funny and smart(every girl's ideal guy- trimming the Bush around the ears would work though) On a serious note he will be a part of the Congress coalition but for me the Ideal Candidate for the PM's Chair.

CPI(M)- The communists with their unprogressive agenda should be thrown into freggin russia or N. Korea to teach them what happens if we blindly follow what Karl Marx said in 1920, they lost all the bargaining power when they challenged the congress on the Nuclear deal. And i think except for their strongholds in the East no once else will be stupid enough to vote for them.

Samajwadi Party(Amar Singh)/the other South Indian parties - These parties are there to be a part of the coalition game, so they play with their very customized region to region petty agendas to garner the votes required to make them even more powerful than the winning party.

The Hurriyat Party(Guy with Black Hat and round glasses) - HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH , i would vote for them to be put on the next train to F***ing Pakistan. 

Me :-)  Yes you all can vote for me and i'll give everyone a big party in the PM's residence, and the opportunity to tell your friends you know the PM, how 'bout that. I think my Imaginary audience would vote for me !!!!

And Btw everyone must be so following Lead India back home, but how many of those so called leaders have actually done something after those hour-long debates on how they will make India a better place ? I think the Middle-Class holds the key, i understand we are fed up of all the bullshit we get from the politicians which never comes to life. But we have to realize as the middle class is no longer a target market for politicians they dont care about our wants anymore. We make up around 55-60% of the population, but the Below poverty line Population of 27% will rule as they all vote and we frankly dont have the time or dignity to stand and the line and make the vote count.

I still think evil agendas like Religion, Reservations, Anti-Reform, Opposition Bashing will be agendas ruling this election too. And Education, Women's Rights, Infrastructure, Unemployment, Human Rights will no even be mentioned, So best of Luck for the next 5 years of hell, whoever wins.

Peace

Critique welcome.

Black or White- The endless Dilemma for the Brown kids of Canada

 I am finally back to the rousing chants from my imaginary audience (oooooooooooooooooo)

Staying and observing in Toronto i noticed one very constant among the Kids with Indian subcontinental(brown) roots; They are constantly pulled between the choice they think they are suppossed to make at a very early age; the choice that should not matter but is made by every brown kid which is to be either BLACK or WHITE, i may be generalizing the fact that i have seen so man y kids looking Brown but acting black or white. 

The trend has become even more confusing when i put in a factor like : while in School the kids act and behave Black and Gangsta but the day they have to work and enter a white collar they suddenly realize that their Black avataar would not help them fit the bill of being the "White" collar worker who sits at the desk curning numbers and making mega bucks.

I am always against the stupid practice of Indian natives to tell these kids that they have to behave indian and not like Canadians but are we forgetting the fact that they dont give a shit about india as they are not Indian, they are Canadian citizen born and brought up here So, Why should I expect a Canadian Brown boy to talk in an accent which is notoriously famous among the Grocery store owners ?

The fact that there is a complete Identity crisis for the Brown kid staring at the future is the most worrying; blinded by this decision he therefore tries to become the next LeBron James or Micheal Jordon, starts wearing Basketball jerseys ,Gansta sytle glasses,long tshirts and the very "i mean very" low pants. I think its a bit of a ride of convinience that they take cuz they cant try and make thier skin look White even after applying 100 pounds of Fair and Lovely makes them take the path of taking a tan(or something like that) and try being black for a few years as a substitute for being the real deal and therefore become "COOL" ..........not. 

Be real Be authentic and I think it will be just fine.

My life in Toronto

Hi my imaginary audience who were waiting for this post for such a long time, it time for u to read another masterpiece from the real world.

I've been in canada for the past week, I know i left in a real hurry and all but thats life and wat can i say this has been a journey that has taught me a lot and will teach me a lot of things before this ride is over but somewhere i feel empty and lonely even though i am living with a very caring family but still feels like i left something important back in Bombay. 

The few things that are different here:

1) everything !!!!!

                                                          This is nothing like India is it 

2) and i mean everything !!!

3) cars on the wrong side of the road

4) its been ages since i heard someone Honk the horn (ya its illegal here i can imagine my dad spending all the money he earned on fines here)

5) No one can bribe the Pandu 

6) Everyone has a cool car here.

7) You can call a 60 year old prof by his name in the class.

8) No late submissions on assignments(ya no "postponing" projects, not like the good old days at Tolani)

9) The only time u go shopping is at the weekend.

10) No vada pav

11) $500 fines for littering (hell try doing that in Bombay, it will be a human rights violation )

and the one change i hate No crossing roads without a signal comon u must be kidding 

and Did I mention 1 mbps Download speed at college ,icing on the cake innit?

Things that are not different :

1) Punjabis all over the place 

2) Chicken Tandoori/tikka etc.

3) dal makhni and other punjabi foods 

4) u have to look at this one

                     WTF a Paan SHop in toronto but ya a cool one considering it has a neon sign.

5) and Indian Traditions of course.  

 so at that note i will end this post the next post will have fotos of my college and more fotos from Toronto, comments are welcome.

Cofessions from my Secret Indentity

Hi Guys(i know nobody reads this but i am optimistic someone will),
I had a few confessions to make about the time from the day i left college till today,
i HAVE TO ADMIT it has been exciting, tiring, exhilarating and financially rewarding time for me.
The last 2 1/2 months have seen me

--- Plunging to the depths of my dignity by joining a Call Centre for the money that it offered me for the time i would spend lazing around the house life a piece of furniture. I learnt a few things but hell it doesn't matter.(People have heard rumours of this news for the last month or so)

--- I also applied for a PG course in Canada and spent the last 1 1/2 months arranging everything to make it happen right from my LOAN, VISA down to my underwear. The work's not done yet but there's a good chance i will leave at the end of the month.

I could have said hell nobody needs to knows what i do after my life at college but then i can't write a blog post out of thin air then innit!

Anyways hope u had a good waste of ur 3 mins by now get back to ur busy schedules or go lie down on ur bed and yes WISH ME LUCK

World War v3.0????

If u think of things on a Cocky note:
USA and Germany are still dividing the whole world silently.
How ??? u may ask.

AC Milan- Inter Milan
Arsenal- Chelsea
Manchester United - Liverpool
Barca- Real Madrid
Real Madrid- Athletico Madrid
India - Australia (cricket)
the list goes on
why did i mention these great rivalries ??

Because they are all the examples of USA and Germany are tearing apart the world and funding another world war.

U must be wondering where am I going?
SO now we get to it Adidas and Nike the world's 2 largest sport companies (Nike- USA ,Adidas- Germany) They have been tearing apart the world for years now with endorsing the world's biggest rivalries from both sides.

Event the UEFA Champions League Semi- finals and Finals are being contested by Nike and Adidas head to head.

So think of is it a Quasi war we are still soldiers for ?????
We all are representing one Side depends on which brand u like and just like the Previous two World Wars, America is winning by a huge margin.
Comon u Germans buck-up and win the Champions league through Chelsea

Reservations - A Disgusting Political Drama

Just fresh from day before yesterday's joy from the news of the congress cabinet reshuffle which showed signs of the new generation taking over the Government and Judiciary have again failed the expectations of the students from the open categories.

A 27% reservation in institutes of higher learning for OBC's ?? No disrespect for caste but haven't we Indians wasted a lot of our valuable time in constructing the caste system that we spend the same time deconstructing it too.

The government has become so Impotent that they want to hide their problems and deficiencies by such a populist move??
The real problem lies in our primary eduction system. If a person is Born in the OBC category he gets reservations in everything from hospital costs, Education, secondary education, higher secondary education, Graduation and Now post graduation and Job selection. SO all in all he gets reservation in every walk of life and then make us open category students feel underprivileged.

So to the government of India stop covering up and making these people retarded and let them fend for themselves rather that helping them and making them weak.

If there are any reservations that i support it is the reservations based on economic status/Income quotas, that is the only fair basis for reserving seats anywhere.

Hope the government is listening!!!

p.s. If we don't vote this government out of power the government will force us out.

Farewell-"An End of a Journey"

Ya i realize that i have to write about other important economic and socieal events around the world - The Zimbabwe election, Tibet Situation, The end of the Great Indian Dream, Criticizing the University and The two Laning and Concretion of the road outside my building but I think if i dont write this one I will never write this, SO here goes:

The Farewell is supposed to be a very emotional moment fot many of us but strangely i didn't feel a thing maybe I was too anxious about wat will happen in the future which is beckoning 20 or so days later when i will walkout of my protected hideout called College- The world maybe cruel and the much awaited Career in the corporate world awaits with a grin on its face, LIke that of a Butcher towards a Young Goat.

The farewell was great, but i think the 3 years of college made me realize that i could become a success in any job if I want and also told me how to deal with failure.

From being a Cross-KT student in the 1st year to Being a Podium finisher for the rest of my days till date i had seen everything and enjoyed the journey.

College is a time when we make friends, enemies and ignoring the people you don't like and contending with things being said behind your back- and then coming together and helping the same person who you hate to copy in the Tests. It has been a journey where you like staying with people and not staying with people but help everyone when they are in need or ask for help when you are in need.

And as evey BMS student would tell you "Help and Enimies" can come from places you dont expect. All i want to say that I have enjoyed the journey and taken all the hard feeling with the most sporting attitude.

And everyone should leave aside their reservations against each other with respect to whatever happend because we would love to have people who you want to share or tell about your success to.

Cheers everyone and have a great life ahead, earn a lot and give back to society and "ME" if you can hehe.

Cheers to the Future leaders

University Criticism Beta 2.0

This just in,

I got this hot bit of insider news:

"The papers we write with all the hard work and dedication(we means everyone - me in this case) are not being checked with sincerity"

This papers are being checked by some people who are not even teachers of the subject they are checking and not just that they are not even related to the field.

Imagine an Economics teacher checking your Board paper for Finance :-(

I think the teachers are not ready to check wat they have taught their students
or they are too scared to accept the fact that they are not good enough
or The university doesn't really give a shit for our future.

With my board papers on the helm i thought i should bring this to the notice of my fellow students and also the teachers if they would ever care to read this.


Neways try your best and i hope the best comes to you( I hope that 4 myself the most)

The Education system for a Billion leaders????

I recently got my results for the 5th Sem i scored a decent 73% which by my standard is pretty high. I also came 2nd in my class, topped a subject etc etc etc.

But there was one essential thing missing in the aftermath of the results, the Joy you get from getting that kind of a score. No doubt ppl may say i'm a good student and the likes but i dont think it is fair to judge some1 from his marks.
Now that i got a decent %age and am in a position to criticize the most common yardstick used to judge talent in this country, I wanted to have a say.

I was never a very good student academically although i always scored 70%+ on crucial board exams. But even if i scored fewer than that i was happy as I believed in my ability that i may not be the best one on that score-sheet but i'm well within myself and have the intelligence to get wat i want someday. I still remember i couldn't clear my ATKT in QMB(math) in 2 attempts and still had that outlook that marks didn't matter but i was called by other ppl as an excuse i made for my constant failure to get where they were.

TO the real point, the Indian education system has always been a quantitative system which meant

NO. of Pages filled= No. of marks scored

I didn't like mugging up answers and vomiting them on the paper so the story was that i wrote what i thought did justice to the question asked and finish my paper get 60 % and be happy or rather indifferent and life would go on. I decide to try and look into the life of students who were doing well and got to this very important formula and all you toppers who are reading this would also agree with this.

I was happy with my life until a teacher of mine told me to start writing bigger answers as they tend to fetch more marks and i decided to "Sell my soul to the devil" and i became this answer writing monster and I filled almost 32 pages in every exam in my 5th sem and wallah !!!!
I got 73% but then i realized i didn't really matter as i was not happy seeing my results.

I still think i fell below my dignity to get the marks i got.

Students always will be forced to do this till the examiners start taking a better view of the papers or the universities start paying them higher royalties for checking the papers.
But i think the exam system should be scrapped and Grading based on various exercises should be introduced which would give education a more holistic approach but Considering what I or any sane Indian in his right mind would do " i would go and sucj-up to the teachers and get what grades i want, even the teachers would do the same thing for the external examiners and so on.

The written paper therefore cannot be scrapped. But the format should be changed which would enable students to gain more knowledge about the subjects and therefore become more successful in the future. There are various different models the university can use (or wait are there really anyone's that the university would like to try??? i don't think so) There can be surely an objective 4 answer choice paper which would make the students realize the importance of studying everything from a subject or maybe the paper can be made very analytical and therefore make the writer of the paper think and write a 20 mark answer in 10 lines or so that will be a bit too much on the qualitative side which students are not used to,but its never too late.

p.s. I didn't study too much I hate being a brain but the money you get in the for of Book coupons kinda help :-)

Astrology and others- A science or .................. ?

Recently i have come to know a lot of info abt astrology and the other forms of future and personality introspection techniques and yes things have been too positive too be convincing.

every astro prediction in the paper would have words like "you would meet someone new" , "there will be family probs", " Your boos will be angry", you will struggle to meet deadlines" all these are almost the given conditions for any humans day to complete if he read the astro or not.

So wat makes Tarot, Astrology, Numerology etc. so appealing to all the people?

I think it is the positive praise about themselves that sets the tone for people going for these kind of predictions.

When the prediction says X is a very kind hearted person or Y helps everyone, Z is the light bearer or A is the smartest or B will be very successful; the respective people will be very happy and positive abt the respective technique.

But on the other hand if it Says X is an arrogant and headstrong , Y is Selfish, Z is Dominating, A is Dumb, B will not become someone worthwhile in the course of life ; these will certainly send the recipient into a fit and make him swear by everything he cares about not to believe in these techniques .

I think these techniques were and maybe are relevant today but the problem is that it has become so commercialized that the truth if any is often hid from the recipient(or customer) as the world in general is very diplomatic they refuse to tell you about your weak points and will always glorify your strong points and make you feel like another Rupert Murdoch, Donald Trump, Julia Roberts and the likes.

With very close observation i have seen till the time the positives are being said the Response is gr8 and These techniques are true but the fist hint of weaknesses or unpleasant traits and the response is right opposite to it. The people have stopped accepting the truth and have become habitual to only the positives in their profile by these techniques that they refuse to accept that they have a weakness.

The people doing the business of telling futures have somehow suppressed the true art and made it a listener friendly business so that they don't hurt the customer's feeling.

p.s. My card on the Tarot is the Hermit- I'm supposed to be a very good blah blah blah person
and my Astrology profile says i'm a Virgo- it gives the same traits as my Tarot- ya i feel nice but i'm still the eternal skeptic ain't I ?

Sportmanship on the BENCH

i have been late by this time to tell u abt wat happned abt a 20 days back.

The BMS fest season kicked off with Dahanukar where the Tolani BMS team won the Football tournament- the only thing we participated in.

Fast forward 4 days ahead at Raheja and we were ready to the same by defeating Rizvi 2-0 we were ready to get our hands on the trophy by knocking out their B team, But faced with the task removing the highest Hurdle and favourites to won the Title Rizvi- A.

And just the worst possible start a goal at the end of Half time by rizvi and they looked set for a win. but then 5 mins of Madness which saw a Tolani Player scores 3 goals and a bad reaction to a tackle which almost lead to a RIOT.

Ya the Rizvi players faced by the prospect of defeat showed that they were sore looser and the Sportsmanship took a backseat as player went for each other's faces punching, kicking each other.

They took it further and called people to Hit if not kill our team. I was ashamed for that moment to play the game , for the 1st time in my life. People didn't believe in the basic fundamentals of sport "Friendship" but fundamentals i think have changed.

The Rizvi players somehow showed no matter how educated they might be somehow they still are illiterate at heart. I saw BMS students call up people to make it a gang war and i Thought BMS students were supposed to make it big in life as they had better manners and fundamental rules of life but my belief were battered just like the guy who was punched in the faced with his lip bleeding profusely.
At the end I tried to put some sanity to the situation and forged a compromise and my team walked out ( or maybe everyone from our team was feeling happy to be in One piece)
At the end of the day Tolani are disqualified on account of "causing a riot " and Rizvi get a bye therefore maybe Rizvi have won the tounament.

The news is out to the world and all the CL's of respective events want an assurance from us before inviting us to a sports event that we will not "cause a riot" again.

Common knowledge has it that Raheja and Rizvi have good relations and they let Rizvi through on account of the money they paid for the overall event which was close to Rs. 35000 as entry fee.So we know y we were disqualified.

At the end of the day I thought Money and influence were named in the Starting 11 game and Sportsmanship was left to warms the bench .
I think they go to the nearest Big Bazaar and buy some more Sportsmanship with their monthly ration.

Diwali... The festival of Lights or is it Noise?

With diwali just around the corner just as my exams.
I have been in a good mood with the festive activities all over, the ceremonial cleaning, the decoration, the rangoli, diyas, the lights etc and yes sadly the crackers too.

I have always had a problem with crackers being a part of Diwali, or any festival for that matter. but wat can i say it has become part of tradition to burst crackers and create a lot of light with all the noise which is free with it.

Bursting crackers as a festive activity has been a Chinese tradition, Diwali had always been a festival for meeting and greeting each other and lighting diyas and living life in all the festive splendor that India can offer. New clothes, pujas, sweets, the eternal river of love flowing throughout the country had always been the highlight of diwali but then came the new tradition Bursting crackers, that pushed the stop or more optimistically said the pause button on all the other traditional activities that used to happen.

The elderly in the house still believe that the traditional puja and other ites have to performed with all the rules attached to them, so a hint of tradition may still be alive.

I have no hate for crackers, but the fact that it took away so many important activities which were a part of the festivities is the problem.

I still can remember that i had not done ne thing gr8 last diwali, as in meeting and greeting or crackers i didn't do all that cause the environment outside was not even fit to breath let alone meeting and spread the cheer and the main culprit the "Crackers".
Yes as i listen to the mayhem caused by these crackers while writing this blog i feel the Festivities being burnt up along with those crackers but then i always thought that children would think its cool or facinating to light up some crackers but they are too young to understand the implications of their fun.

The day of Diwali in Bombay(its the only city i've been for Diwali) i think would be the equivalent to a highly polluting factory's chimney. It is difficult to breath, see and most importantly hear in this atmosphere. It leads to largescale pollution and environmental degradation, you may say its one day but how about causing 4 carbon credits worth of pollution in that one day?( 4 million tonnes of CO2 gas ) that sounds like a lot.

Kids can't understand these finer points but teenagers, adults and parents can so why do i see so many adults lighting up crackers?

I have religiously not lit up a single cracker for the last 4 years and told people about my reason for the same; people have often told me " what can you alone do to prevent the pollution?" but why can't I if i can stop 2 friends from lighting up crackers a year and so on we'll atleast control this menace.

I have a friend who's younger brother aged 10 years said he would buy Clothes and Books rather than buying crackers, which is a very matured thought at his age . So that takes my tally upto 3 people in the last 4 years but it includes a 10 year old so i think i am doing my bit to spread the real message of Diwali.

If you can still not digest or agree to my thoughts compare your activities with respect to crackers lit up:

1) People personally wished
2) Diyas Lit
3) Gifted a smile to an unknown person
4) Pooja or other religious activities performed
5) Candles or diyas ;it at religios places

calculate these as a ratio to the number of crackers lit and then conduct your own research.

I dont mean to spoil anybody's fun or offend any one but i think it is only correct to welcome Back Lord RAM from his Vanvaas with Diyas and a lot of Love rather than all the noise we make. I think even Lord Ram didn't want people to be inconvenienced on his homecoming not even his own disciples and we the eternal disciples of that same Higher power are not helping his cause as I can still imagine Lord RAM wincing in pain holding his ears caused by us to welcome him.

I dont expect an overnight change but the change will come willingly or forcefully but i think everyone will agree to this message partially or completely(plz tell me that).

Till then HAPPY DIWALI and spread the CHEER and not the NOISE

Happiness......... At last

Today morning i woke up with a friend's call, and he told me to guess wat he was all excited about and i thought it was his art exhibition but i was as contrasting as North and south poles, and then i guessed it that he might have atlast has a Girlfriend.

The news came to me as a gr8 victory of the human spirit and the fact that it came to me on the day of my completing 13th successful months of a very good relationship and that makes me even more happier.
Sahej has spent the last 19 yrs of his very good life Single and then atlast like looking at the morning dew just at sunrise the good news came and i was elated to here it.

He has finally go his due from life, which was perhaps the only thing missing from life. This has come as a welcomed good news cuz i have been going through a mental torture for the past few days.
and now I think things are falling into place, with a score of 22/150 in my a mock CAT the sunday before last i plunged down to new depths front he dizzy heights of 50/150(an IIM-A qualifying score ) and u guessed it right i was made to feel bad about it, in good faith ofcourse, i thank a very good and dear more than a friend to help me get my mind on the right track and get my focus back on track and then finally this Sunday i got 41.3 and i'm can just call myself content but not the performance is not wat will make me the best but with life not letting me go into depression thanks to the gr8 news from all over the place and especially from sahej.

Three cheers for life and a Toast to sahej and welcome to the Committed Club enjoy with care.

Differentiation ........ a Bane Naturally

I often see ppl being biased towards ppl we think are not good enuff for the attention. It makes me and disgusted at the "cool" ppl who are favourites.

It happens all the time Parents do it, Bosses do it, Friends might do it, Politicians do it, and Sadly teachers do it too. And teachers doing it is the most disgusting part.

I have seen teachers calling students who have given bad performances day after day but are still favoured and to add salt to the wounds are praised for it and called brilliant students. Maybe i have never been a teacher favourite student but then i love it to be that way cuz i think having some1 favoured by a senior always makes the individual weak as it gives him a false impressions that he is good, but the day you get out of the shadow of the favour and then u realize that ur nothing and ppl treat u like a liability cuz u are so used to having a hand behind u favouring you.

And not to mention students love it cuz y wont u love some1 who calls you perfect and the apple of their eye, even i would love it but the problem with me is that i cant be superficial just so that is please some1 to like me and favour me. I just like my dignity dying a slow death part by partm piece by piece every single day making me a weaker man, which is not acceptable.

I know i cant please everybody but then it is wat i am, if i please everybody i have to compromise and which is so unacceptable when it comes to falling below your dignity to compromise, ppl do it happily but i don't .

The teachers who do this are also not the very strong cuz they also need some1 to hold fort when every1 is against them cuz they are not good enuf to earn respect and make ppl look up to them.
Setting a good example for the students is the motto of the teacher, not helping some student become weak just so that they have a backing and a pawn in the class.

Justice has Been Served..... Painful But thats life.

Two days ago one of my favourite actors was sentenced to 6 years RI in a Possession of arms case.

The actor is Sanjay "Munnabhai MBBS" Dutt.

He has been an epitome of good living and social work for the past couple of years, But does this nullify the effects of his stupid acts in the past.

Flashback 1993-
Sanjay dutt gives his garage to the boys from Chotta Shakeel's gang and let them install a bomb in the trunk of a Maruti 800 so that Sanjay dutt can get his hands on the illegally imported(read: smugulled) AK 56 .

31st August 2007 - Sanjay Dutt sentenced to 6 years RI in a TADA case for possession of Arms and Supporting terrorist activities.

I know it is hard to digest that our our Munnabhai can be sentenced so harshly but give it a thought:

Sanjay Dutt helped in massacaring thousands of people just so that he can get his hands on an illegal rich boy's toy an AK56 Assault rifle. Sanjay dutt is not an ordinary man He is the son of Sunil DUtt and Nargis dutt arguably one of the best actors of their time and Sunil dutt also being an MP for many years with a very clean image.

It is the duty of every citizen of a country to protect his country's citizens and also prevent any harm to them. So Sanjay dutt with his extra ordinary resume shud've been the 1st person to say so to the right authorities but he didn't cuz he wanted his toy.

SO for a toy Sanjay Dutt watched the lives of 1000's of ppl just vanish in front of his eyes and saw the city of Mumbai cry, bleed and collapse but did he ever come in the light and face it, NO is the the sorry answer.
I really admire sanjay dutt but i think he deserves it more than the others b'cuz he cheated a nation, which trusted him with all its faith, for a very selfish motive i.e. A TOY which he cant even use openly.

So sorry Munnabhai But u deserve it and May you come out a changed man and regret wat you had done to this Gr8 city and to its ppl on that day of 12th March 1993