Its been a week since the dance of death was played out in Mumbai. Everyday there are outpourings of grief, anger, frustration and concern directed against our neighbours, politicians and others. I share all these emotions as apart from feeling concerns for my relatives in Mumbai I also had to deal with a personal tragedy during the same time.
In addition I also have questions -
- why is it that we are facing these tragedies again and again?
- why is it that we are such a weak state?
- is it only the case that we have an inefficient home minister?
- why is it that if the home minister was inefficient he was asked to go after 4 years in office and numerous previous terrorist incidents?
- why is it that within the initial 5 minutes of the attack the 3 officers who were leading the investigations into the right wing terrorism were killed?
- why is it that out of the 10-11 incidents of terror that day the focus was only on Taj and Oberoi?
- was our media responsible in showing live the positions of our security forces? Did it result in the terrorists getting updated information about from where they were getting the threats?
- what purpose is served by politicians resigning / or being forced to quit now? is this accountability? shouldn't accountability be accompanied by punishment?
And many more such queries for which I know I will not get answers.
However, I do believe that somewhere deep down we as people are also responsible for the problems we are facing. We are perceived as a weak state because our disregard to Law. We take Law for granted. We are corrupt to the core. Yes our politicians, police, the machinery is corrupt but doesn't the politician or the police come from us? How many times have we paid bribes to get small favors or work done? How many times we break the Law in our every day lives? If we cant be Law abiding how do we expect that the people we elect are going to be any better? I have not voted for over 10 years and then I question the quality of governance I get. When I never was part of the exercise of choosing the government how can I question the governance I get. We as people have personified the "chalta hai" attitude. Everything is negotiable including our value systems. And we are weak because we are corrupt. We only have a sense of Indianess when we as a nation are attacked and two days later we forget everything.
For us to have a better situation we need to be make sacrifices - sacrifice the urge to get work done faster by paying bribes, sacrifice the urge to show the fellow Indian down, sacrifice our personal liberties so that the system can be made stronger, sacrifice the urge to find easy solutions e.g. blaming neighbors for our own ills and sacrifice the easy laid back attitude we have. "Chalta hai"has to be replaced with "Nahin chalta hai".
For the situation to become better we as people need to do our bit. We cant depend on others to do this for us. In addition I have a small request - Can we pass a law that anybody who even has a court case / chargesheet pending against him/her is not allowed to contest elections? Should we file a PIL for this because I cant expect the present politicians would pass any such legislation. I also don't think asking ministers to quit after an attack is a solution. They need to be given warnings and given one more chance to fix the problems. If they fail again they should be tried for "dereliction of duty" as any other normal person and punished.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
You bet its convenient!!!
Well to be frank, its not convenient .... its DAMN WELL AWESOME!!! Just awesome. I can do it anywhere, its always available, as soon as I step inside the door its all there connected and waiting for me, its at my beck and call 24/7 and the price is fixed once and for all - no negotiations ....its my WLAN connection which I finally was able to configure and get online today. It is for my 32mbps unlimited download / upload internet connection :D :D :D
I was successful at my 2nd attempt after blowing up one cable modem and being without telephone and internet for sometime. I tell you it was worth it. Previously I have been advised to have a good internet connection and get a WLAN router but I was just fine with my dial up but today I am much better than fine! I am very very fine! Yes I am a late entrant into the wired home concept but u bet I am gonna make up on lost time with a vengeance!
Media center or Airport?
I was successful at my 2nd attempt after blowing up one cable modem and being without telephone and internet for sometime. I tell you it was worth it. Previously I have been advised to have a good internet connection and get a WLAN router but I was just fine with my dial up but today I am much better than fine! I am very very fine! Yes I am a late entrant into the wired home concept but u bet I am gonna make up on lost time with a vengeance!
Media center or Airport?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Where is peace?
Sitting outside home I look at the news of tragedies and blasts in India with a different perspective. Somehow being faced with these kind of incidents everyday had made me immune to them. Now that I am detached and can only read about these incidents on online newspaper reports, these incidents touch me in a different way.
Since July this year almost every week or 10 days there have been incidents of serial blasts. Initially we used to associate terrorism with Punjab or Kashmir with sporadic incidents in the rest of the country but off late no part of the nation seems to safe or peaceful. We are being attacked with impunity anytime, anywhere.
This time we have a homegrown group to blame for these acts and no foreign powers. What despairs me is the absolute helplessness we are faced with with respect to these acts. The government seems absolute powerless in ensuring security and peace.
On the International Non Violence Day we are forced to accept that we are inherently a violent race.
Since July this year almost every week or 10 days there have been incidents of serial blasts. Initially we used to associate terrorism with Punjab or Kashmir with sporadic incidents in the rest of the country but off late no part of the nation seems to safe or peaceful. We are being attacked with impunity anytime, anywhere.
This time we have a homegrown group to blame for these acts and no foreign powers. What despairs me is the absolute helplessness we are faced with with respect to these acts. The government seems absolute powerless in ensuring security and peace.
On the International Non Violence Day we are forced to accept that we are inherently a violent race.
Bunker crashing a golf course
Yep, you read it right. I bunker crashed a golf course today - crashed through a bush and right onto the biggest golf course in this part of the world - how and why is another story but what was surprising was that the course was empty, carts were empty, the club house was empty; everything was so dead and forelorn. Then it stuck me - the world economy is on the precipice.
It took its time coming but the storm has finally hit us big time. I mean I just do not understand how could bad debts be doled out to the tune which we are talking about - actually nobody seems to know the extent of the problem. The US Congress is squabbling over 700 billion dollars Wall Street bailout deal but what the "learned" congressmen do not understand is that it is not a Wall Street bailout package but a world economy support package. Not surprising when probably a chunk of them do not even know where Iraq is. However coming back to the problem at hand I am dumb founded to believe that the highly paid investment bankers of the world gave loans to people without any collateral or knowing that the person taking the loan would not be able to repay them. Ok, I can understand one or two such loans but the magnitude that it not just bankrupts an individual but threatens the whole world economy is beyond comprehension.
World is flat and this crisis proves that. Probably it also proves that lot more insights are required than pure capitalism to run a good business.
It took its time coming but the storm has finally hit us big time. I mean I just do not understand how could bad debts be doled out to the tune which we are talking about - actually nobody seems to know the extent of the problem. The US Congress is squabbling over 700 billion dollars Wall Street bailout deal but what the "learned" congressmen do not understand is that it is not a Wall Street bailout package but a world economy support package. Not surprising when probably a chunk of them do not even know where Iraq is. However coming back to the problem at hand I am dumb founded to believe that the highly paid investment bankers of the world gave loans to people without any collateral or knowing that the person taking the loan would not be able to repay them. Ok, I can understand one or two such loans but the magnitude that it not just bankrupts an individual but threatens the whole world economy is beyond comprehension.
World is flat and this crisis proves that. Probably it also proves that lot more insights are required than pure capitalism to run a good business.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Whats with the fahrt?
Every morning, I reach the parking lot and I enter through "Ëinfahrt".
Every evening I leave office and I am wished "Gute Fahrt".
I exit the parking lot through "Ausfahrt".
If this continue like this fahrt would become a fixation and the whole environment would stink..if you know what I mean.
This whole country is fahrting you know!
In the office the most common discussion topics are "who is fahrting what" or whether "i fahrt better than you" or whether "women are better fahrters than men" or "which navigation device allows one to fahrt better".
Today morning while coming to work I got lost while fahrting and I tell you it was not funny.
Every evening I leave office and I am wished "Gute Fahrt".
I exit the parking lot through "Ausfahrt".
If this continue like this fahrt would become a fixation and the whole environment would stink..if you know what I mean.
This whole country is fahrting you know!
In the office the most common discussion topics are "who is fahrting what" or whether "i fahrt better than you" or whether "women are better fahrters than men" or "which navigation device allows one to fahrt better".
Today morning while coming to work I got lost while fahrting and I tell you it was not funny.
Professional - to my surprise
I had a very pleasant experience with a local car dealer in Bangalore - Classic Automobiles. I sold my 2005 Honda City VTEC to them this month and they not only gave me a decent deal but also allowed me to keep the car for a week after the agreement was signed with them.
Payment was also promptly made and they were very proactive in pursuing the legal paperwork etc.
I would heartily recommend them to all.
Payment was also promptly made and they were very proactive in pursuing the legal paperwork etc.
I would heartily recommend them to all.
Intertial Displacement
Have you ever wondered why is it so difficult for most of the people to relocate? I have a reasoning around it and that is that humans being social animals are very good in growing "roots". The longer an individual stays in a location the stronger the roots become. Stronger the roots more difficult it is to uproot them and move on. In scientific terminology an object having more inertia would require more force to change its state.
I know any lame duck would understand where I am going with this. Well, yes I relocated lock, stock and barrel after spending 8 odd years in Bangalore. Over the past couple of days I am settling down in my new location and checking the soil to see how soon the new roots will grow.
Over the last weekend I spent time at the new apartment which will be my home for the next few years. It is so very beautiful. It is located quite close to the town center but is in a nice, quiet burrough. The place is comfortably large but not monstrous, has a covered parking, has nice ventilation and cheerful sunlight, warm colors, a green balcony and a private garden. Behind the apartment complex are huge expanses of wineyards where one can go running and mountain biking as there are small hills and rough terrain. It is quite a big change from the previous apartment I had and needless to say I love it.
By the way, I am celebrating "Indian summer" in the beginning of "European winter" as all my warm clothes are in the shipment which is somewhere in air and somewhere in sea. Waiting for bank account and credit cards to be available to make some purchases. Maybe its the start of new roots, eh?
I know any lame duck would understand where I am going with this. Well, yes I relocated lock, stock and barrel after spending 8 odd years in Bangalore. Over the past couple of days I am settling down in my new location and checking the soil to see how soon the new roots will grow.
Over the last weekend I spent time at the new apartment which will be my home for the next few years. It is so very beautiful. It is located quite close to the town center but is in a nice, quiet burrough. The place is comfortably large but not monstrous, has a covered parking, has nice ventilation and cheerful sunlight, warm colors, a green balcony and a private garden. Behind the apartment complex are huge expanses of wineyards where one can go running and mountain biking as there are small hills and rough terrain. It is quite a big change from the previous apartment I had and needless to say I love it.
By the way, I am celebrating "Indian summer" in the beginning of "European winter" as all my warm clothes are in the shipment which is somewhere in air and somewhere in sea. Waiting for bank account and credit cards to be available to make some purchases. Maybe its the start of new roots, eh?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)