Real and Fake

I like reading Shashi Tharoor in The Times of India every Sunday. This time, it was about fake things versus real. And here is my opinion which I sent back through the ToI website.

(You can read the article by from the link given in the top right corner, 'Get real, we are living in a fake world', or simply clicking the title of this post, that is 'Real and Fake')

Thanks Shashi.

Pretty right. Absolutely right as far as drugs are concerned, and even in general, I feel we should buy original and not fake.

But sometimes piracy helps those who are not helped by originals. In today's context, I am talking about books.

Previously it was the market of CDs (read movies) that was dominated by pirates. But then, the prices of Video CDs (and even audio CDs) came down and people started buying originals, piracy taking a backseat. And though piracy hasn't been abolished completely, Moserbaer and T-Series are dominating the market with their low price CDs or say, reasonable price CDs.

Back to books now. India has a large market of pirated books. And I have bought a number of pirated books in Bangalore and Chennai, most of them Non-fiction as I used to read whatever I got in library as far as fiction is concerned. I have never liked buying pirated books but then, I didn't have much options. I don't think my parents can 'waste' rupees 495 for buying me 'The Elephant, the tiger and the cellphone' until it's going to help me out with my studies or my job or something equally important. In fact, until I start earning enough money myself, I can't think of buying a rupees 500-600 book. And I feel an average Indian student is more or less in the same situation, with the exceptions of a few rich.

Now, the options I have are:

1. I do not read the book and wait for getting a job first.

2. I stop my other expenses for a month or a half and collect money to buy the book.

3. I go to the market and get a duplicate copy for 70-80 rupees.

I think the third one is the simplest, and the best in my scenario. And in case of most Indian students. Or a lot of them, to say the least.

I still say that I do not like pirated things. I bought Chetan Bhagat books because I could afford one easily and so was the case with The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. And I feel that if prices are made a bit more people friendly, piracy can be removed to a large extent.

PS: I still haven't bought 'The Elephant...', hoping I buy an original as I'll be joining my job soon.

Blasts

It's 8:56 by my watch. And seems there is a race going on between news channels. Times of India, where I saw the news for the first time had been showing news of 6 blasts and now isn't talking on numbers. DNA is showing 9 blasts on its headlines whereas IBN live claims 17 and Aaj Tak is talking about 13 blasts.

And though they say blasts were low intensity, pictures don't suggest such 'low' intensity. I mean, of course they might have not been high intensity, but the 'low' thing is quite misleading.

As the news came, I was a bit shocked as it was continuously second day for blasts. But the real shock came when I heard my mother saying that there were 14 blasts. I opened the TV and then the sites of IBN and Aaj tak telling me more than I had read.

I still doubts all the figures but one fact is that this day has been really shocking. I had not even changed the 'Are we habitual to bomb blast news now' tag on my Orkut profile when this came up.

I know there is not much going to happen for this except that there will be POTO or POTA again when the next government comes, but I wish the politicians don't politicize this issue and do something positive together. Though I feel this is going to remain just a wish as this is yet another chance of throwing mud at each other for our leaders.

For the rest, may God help us. That's all I can think of.

Next is Where

7 blasts rocked Bangalore today.

After Hyderabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Faizabad and Jaipur, it's Bangalore. And I think now we have become quite used to such news. We see, look shocked, count the numbers, lament on the situation of country, and change the channel.

Not that I feel we, as general public, can do a lot about it but I feel the way we are getting used to bomb blasts is not only wrong, it's strange too.

I am not sure about others (and welcome others' opinions on this) but when I saw the blasts' news I was soon thinking, rather calculating which town or city could be the next victim now. I also feel this attitude is wrong and I feel I need to change my outlook about this.

Also, I want to know if there is anybody who thinks the same. If yes, please give your opinion.

From Jaipur to Quota

Mr. Bainsla has done it for his community. Going all the way from Jaipur to NCR, he has found his way to Quota. Where does this 5% comes from is another problem. The first problem is, what if I want reservation tomorrow? Shall I opt for the same track? Collect a few thousand people and reach block the roads of NCR?

The Gujjar 'protest' has set a significant 'example' for many leaders. Whereas Raj Thackeray had achieved only political recognition for himself, Bainsla has really 'achieved' something and I very much fear this is going to be a pattern that might be followed by some community or the other before elections.

Instead of any action against those who had blocked life in the NCR and Rajasthan, the government has awarded the 'agitation' with a 'special' quota which comes from nowhere and once challenged in court, may even go unimplemented.

But I feel it's not the quota that is the real problem with the Gujjar agitation. It is what process they have followed and what can become a trend after seeing the instant success of the agitation. There is no need to tell how badly Gujjar agitation had affected life in Rajasthan, NCR and even UP, affecting number of trains also, some of them even cancelled or diverted.

In short, whatever the motive, Rajasthan Government has set a bad example with the way they have tackled the issue. Also, I feel any such protests that affect life of general public, such as blocking of roads or trains etc. should be banned by the law and those laws should be enforced properly.

Language Love vs Rules

It's been long since I have blogged. In the mean time, I have had a number of reviews and seminars. And finally my engineering is over, with just one thing remaining, that is result. And I don't think there is much I need to do about that now, following the sayings of Shrimad Bhagwadgita. :)

So here I start all new again, on the same blog.

Yesterday when I was coming home from the Bangalore station after leaving my college, I noticed there are vehicles with number plates written in local language. Since I do not happen to understand much of Kannada, I found it was wrong, ethically because many people who need the number will not be able to read it, especially with the number of outsiders Bangalore has, and legally, because I think all vehicles should have number plates written in Arabic numerals . (1-2-3-4 etc.)


In fact the vehicle I saw was an auto which should, in accordance with law, have a yellow colored number plate, while there was a white one. I think such things should be avoided so that we can have better traffic regulation.

versus

I really have no idea why I'm writing what I'm writing in the manner I'm writing. Basically this is a result of the brainwaves that were in my head for a long time.

If u think there is any specific point u didn't get, ask me n I'll try n explain.

If u get nothing n still want to, ask in parts please. :)

Love vs Arrangement vs Force

Personal life vs Family reputation

Personal fears vs Elders' Experience

Personal experience vs Elders' fears

Young vs Old

Children vs Parents

Possibility vs Impossibility

Positive vs Negative

Negative vs Positive

Positive vs Positive

Negative vs Negative

Months of practical vs Ages of theory

Early vs Sudden

Logic vs Emotions

Emotions vs Logic

Pragmatic vs Traditional

the list actually goes on...

Child labor: Solutions?

When I came to know about the child labor for the first time, I was a child myself and thought of child labor as one of the worst things. Even when I had not seen the worst face of it. But today, after having seen various facets of it, and after knowing probably all of them, I am more confused about the question that, "Can child labor be completely eradicated?"

There are a number of places where children are overtly exploited and certainly child labor in such places is against humanity. But is it that child labor, in all its forms and all the places, completely wrong?

There are a number of child laborers in my college mess and when I noticed that, I felt it was wrong. It was against the law. (not really as law checks births certificates which, I recently came to know, make all those children of 18+) But then, later I felt there was actually nothing wrong as these children were not doing something that exploits them. It was very normal work which any child could easily do.

But...

The big question is, they are not getting education. They are not getting what it takes to rise their standard of living, yet at the same time they are poor children who are rising their standard of living. That means, to rise their present standard of living, these children are losing their future too.

What is the solution?

Ironically, when asked, most of them are happy with their lives and do not want to study as they are 'already earning money and that is what is the motive of studying'. This was what these workers were reported saying when the college offered a work study program. (I was unable to get a further detail of this as I cannot talk to these guys myself cause of my own illiteracy in the local language)

So here is the problem to which we need to find the solution. If we really want to see our country progressing and people's living standard higher, we need to change this mentality. But I have no clue how to do that.

In fact sometimes when we see the immediate effects of this illiteracy, I feel really sad. It's strange when I see those mess workers with cellphones in their hands but they cannot operate them even at the basic level and come to us to ask how to operate them.

Is it that only institutions like Parikrma can make all the difference? In that case it will take really long to eradicate child labor from our country as there is an extremely small part of population in the reach of such institutions yet. (For details of Parikrma see post 'Thanks Shashi') Or is that we can also do something useful at our level? If yes, how? and if not, why?

Don't Message and Drive

Don't drink and derive is old. And though it has not lost its importance, there is a new thing that people need more.

It is: Don't Message/Call and Drive.

Yes. The biggest problem on roads today doesn't seem to be drunk driving. It seems to be driving while on mobile. People who drive with their cellphones in hand seem to be far bigger a danger compared to drunk drivers as they are everywhere.

We do not easily find drunk drivers everywhere but drivers busy with their phones can be seen anywhere, any time of the day. They are on empty roads, and busy ones, the most crowded ones with long jams. And they can be as bad as drunk drivers many a time even if they are in their senses. In fact the same has been established by studies also. That you can check here.

The ironic thing is that people who are considered to be good citizens are usually found driving while simultaneously on a call or messaging. But these good citizens can be very dangerous for others as well as themselves.

As we dial a number or type a message, we have to take our eyes off from the road that makes driving risky. Also, when we talk on phone, distraction certainly comes into the picture and the efficiency of driver goes down. I have seen many incidents where people talking on cellphones have bumped into other objects or people, resulting in little to fatal damages.

Therefore, it is important that if you intend to use your cellphone while driving, you take a headset or some such device which is suitable for talking while driving. And still, it is advisable not to get too involved in conversation when you're driving.

I think we need to understand this problem and make people aware of the dangers of using cellphones while driving. But the most important is to start with yourself.

Why do we think so much?

I generally go to the Forum mall in an auto. That is, whenever I come to Bangalore. It takes Rs 65 to 80, depending on where I start. For the last two times, and that is when I went alone, I gave almost Rs 65-70 to the autowallas.

This time my Jijaji introduced me to a new option by telling me the number of bus going from home to the Majestic. (although its an altogether different matter that I always come from Majestic to home by bus only, I never cared to notice the bus number as I know the platform there)

So I reached the 18th cross bus stand crossing the cricket ground in front of the home and caught bus number 252 to Majestic. There were no seats in the bus and I was standing all the way. No big deal, actually.

Reaching Majestic, I asked a conductor where to get a bus to Kormangala. He told it was just in front. I reached the place he had pointed towards and with my aadha-adhura knowledge of Kannada (only written, I can't speak a word, except beda) I read it was for Kormangala only. Getting nearer I realized I could read in English also as the small lists of stoppages were bilingual.

As soon as the bus number 171 came, people gathered at the gate. The passengers from inside the bus came out and then, I know I was inside the bus, and somehow found a seat.

Almost 5 minutes later, the bus was full of crowd and there was hardly place to stand. Just next to my seat there was an elderly person standing with a bag in his hand. I'm not very good at guessing age of people but he was not less than 50. I cannot say whether he was below 60 or even more than that.

Seeing such an aged person standing beside me, I felt bad. I thought I should offer him my seat as it was not a big deal for me to go standing in a city bus. I do it half the time I travel in city buses. But I was thinking, and thinking. At least ten minutes I was thinking before I actually offered him my seat and he asked me something in Kannada, most probably it was if I was about to get down. I didn't answer properly, blabbered just something in a sign of no, and stood up.

All the way I was thinking i had done something good, all the more so when I was feeling a bit tired, as the journey took more than 45 minutes I think. But I do not know what and why I was thinking when I was sitting.

But later, when I was standing there was one question in my mind. Why do we think so much while we do some good work?

PS: I would also like to know if you have the same thing applicable to yourself. Please tell if it is so. And if you find any reasons for that, what they are. Thanks.

Thanks Shashi...

This morning I was reading The Sunday Times of India (our library gets the ToI one day late, else this sentence 'd not be a news) as I had to pass time before marking my attendance in the department office (Alas! have to do that daily) when I came through the column of Shashi Tharoor called 'Shashi on Sunday' in which he had given example of schools where students were taken from the families that were too abd in condition and earned extremely low wages. He tells in the article about Parikrma, a school in Bangalore where eligibility criteria for admission is 'family income less than Rs 750/month' and the students after receiving education get as good as those from general convent schools.

The essence here is that there are organisations out there which do a great deal for our country but are unkown to the most of us. If these organisations get some recognition, many people would like to help them as it is clear every such institution needs a lot of funds. And Shashi Tharoor here has done a good job by informing a lot of people about two such institutions.

I would like you to go through his article, which is in The Times of India, 17th Feb, 2008, Sunday.

The link is:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2788535.cms

Hillarious!

I had seen Aarti on flash, on my computer. But I had not seen a whole multimedia presentation on Maa Saraswati ever before. It thrilled me, really.

Udayan, Utkarsh and a few more had told me they'd be arranging a Saraswati Pooja on the Basant Panchami, today, 12th Feb, at 5:30 pm in Channa Reddy Auditorium. Yesterday again I got a message from my friend Ankit that he'd be in arrangement of Pooja and I was invited. I told them both I'd try my best to come. I wasn't sure cause of my review scheduled for Thursday, 14th Feb.

At 5 when I was in campus it struck my mind that I could go to the Pooja, and sometime before 6, I was in front of the Auditorium where I saw a notice saying that the venue was changed to Gallery One in the Technology Tower. I reached there and saw that the Auditorium, rather lecture theatre was almost 80% filled. Interesting.

I sat down on a chair (mentioning as some people later didn't get even chairs) near my friend Amit (basketball champ) and waited for the program to start. And when it did, it was a thrilling experience. I was watching a multimedia presentation which told about the Goddess of knowledge, art and wisdom, Maa Saraswati and asked for her blessings.

After that, there were a few Mantras being chanted on the VLC player and the lamps were lit. The entire theater, which was overcrowded by now, stood up. Something I could never think of. I mean the overall experience was something different. It was telling me what the future of our mythology was. It told me that with the change in generation, current technology was merging with everything and our culture and rituals couldn't be kept away from them.

Later students offered flowers to Maa Saraswati's photo (not online this time!! actually i hope this will be online by the next year) and finally, there was a QUIZ!!!

A mythological quiz. Where the questions ranged from the Avatars of God Vishnu to the names of Hindi months.

Phew!!

Is there something that the Hindi Literary Association people have not done? Actually it wasn't officially an event from them but then we all knew who had arranged it all.

Last but not the least there was my junior Suby Anthony who was, for the first time in this college (as far as I can remember, and I think I'm not wrong), was seen in a salwar-kurta. A yellow-white one.

I didn't tell the notice had urged people to come in yellow, the day being Basant Panchmi when people wear yellow, as I was not in yellow (Sorry, I had not read the notice). But at least half of the people were in yellow.

So finally it was a "RANG DE BASANTI".

Any doubts?

Jaago India

India has over 180 million cellphone users and 200 million people without drinking water. We are a young nation with over 55% of the population under the age of 30, yet 49% of our children under the age of 5 are underweight. We produce the largest number of engineering graduates every year through over 2500 colleges; but over 3000 schools do not have teachers. And the list goes on...

These are the starting lines of the official website of 'Jaago India' that is a trust promoted by the tata tea. 'Jaago India' "intends to create an an online community for the awakening and empowerment of the youth." The site has its discussion board of a different type in which topics are already present there and anyone can go and post one's own views there. Of course there is a column where we can add new topics.

The site bosts of big names in its advisory panel and is probably a brainchild of Sheetal talwar and Bhavna Talwar, the producer-director duo who made the much acclaimed, thought provoking movie Dharm that reached even Cannes.

The site talks on topics like corruption, illiteracy, poverty, child labour and female infanticide and has a collection of figures that can force you to think about these problems but still finds itself unable to find solutions to many of these problems.

Basically the site seems to be having a small number of members yet and there are many things that need to be put into order to make the effort a success.

For now, all I can say is that the step of starting JaagoIndia has been taken with a good intention and it would be good if you look at the site once, and also do something positive if possible.

The link is: http://www.jaagoindia.org/