Do U Know - Delhi female foeticide figures

Birth registration figures recently released show that at least one in seven girls in this town/city is eliminated at the foetal stage. The statistics using a model that took into account biological principles, said the 80:100 sex ratio of the 3 lakh births recorded during the first six months of last year indicates at least 30,000 ‘missing’ girls.

The birth records January and June 2004 only 819 girls were born for every 1,000 boys.

In some of its localities, its 762 girls to 1,000 boys, 784 girls to 1,000 boys, 792 girls to 1,000 boys.

According to Census of India 2001, child sex ratio here was 865 girls to 1,000 boys -- well below the all-India average of 927

The statistics for the last three years is worse than the ones for the last 15 years

And this city/town in India is Delhi

Preppy,Rage,Idiot,Mausmi,Busybee,Spark,Mahesh got it right.

The city’s most elite area, south Delhi, is the worst . In south Delhi, the figure is -- 762 girls to 1,000 boys. In Rohini, northwest Delhi, the ratio stands at 784 to 1,000, while in Najafgarh, in the southwest corner of the city near the Haryana border, it is 792 girls to 1,000 boys.

from http://infochangeindia.org/WomenItop.jsp?section_idv=1 and
http://www.expressindia.com/news/june17/nation4.shtml

Black - No Filmi Formulas

I am sure everyone by now has seen the movie Black or read its review.
I liked it. Because it didnt make use of :

The Standard Film Formulas for Blind. I can think of 12 but I am sure the creative directors have more in store

1.

Romance Formula : A person falls in love with Rani and deliver dialogues about love being blind. 2.Good Ending Formula : Rani gets eyesight in the end, wants to thank Amitabh, but realises that Amitabh had given his life while saving her from some goons and had donated his eyes to her. (I dont why the films say its both eyes, when it will be one eye.) 3.Songs & dance in fun locations, whenever possible Formula : Songs from mother in agnoy, father in agony, heroine in agony or a dream in Swiss with songs to match 4. Unnecessary relations with a twist Formula : Amitabh doesnt have a son who marries Rani. Rani is not Amitabh's daughter who had been adopted. Or Amitabh isnt her long lost uncle. (Would require extra cast of grannies and grandpas and host of uncles with their wives). 5.Rape is a must Formula : An attempt to rape scene, Amitabh rescuing her in the nick of time, by bashing the goons. 6.Family oriented Hero Formula : A brother who lives for her (in between he will dance with the heroine, bash the villains, cry in agony after her rape and suicide and swear revenge and kill the badguys and tell a lengthy courtroom dialogue and then get released due to public support or if punished,get released after couple of months) 7.Revenge Formula : Someone to blame and avenge. Perhaps an enemy of her honest father who got killed, who is responsible for her medical condition. She swears revenge and with Amitabh's help avenges her medical condition. Formula no.2,5 etc can also be combined with it 8.Success feels good Formula : She succeeds at college immediately, scores the top rank and a song follows 9.Song is always a good Climax Solution Formula : Amitabh teaches her a piano tune. And in the climax in a party, she plays the tune and it all comes back to Amitabh and he sings a song. 10.Blackmagic Formula : She becomes blind because of some evil powers. And there is a quest for a diamond which will enable her to get sight and hear. Amitabh is not just a teacher but a vampire slayer in disguise as a teacher :) 11.Blind Person's best friend Formula : Can be adapted with other formulas. Has a dog which helps her in revenge or romance etc. 12.Go Tech Formula : Amitabh is an alien who gives her eyesight and hearing capablities, before leaving for his planet

By the way, I think many forget the other black, Its black not just when there isnt light, but its also black when you dont have your life, your memories. Lets cherish the gifts we have, and appreciate the responsibilities that go with it.

For those of you touched by the movie, sure we cant bring light to every visually challenged person. But after our death we can make a difference for two persons. http://www.myeyeworld.com/files/eyebanks.htm

If its irritating, just to find a post in black, imagine how it would be to spend the life in darkness or in silence.

Please dont hurt the eyes

Decide to Donate Today

Do U Know - Ewaste

This waste contains more than 1,000 different toxic substances harmful to human beings and the environment.
Some parts from the products are resold by the recyclers and the rest burnt in illegal dump yards near residential colonies by these recyclers or dumped along with the municipal waste and then burned, releasing toxic and carcinogenic substances into the air.
Barium found in this waste could damage the heart and liver while other chemicals such as beryllium cadmium are poisonous and could lead to cancer. Chromium, lead and mercury also pose severe health risks.
At present the environmental laws in India do not specifically cover this waste regulation
And this waste is ewaste.

Chemicals such as beryllium found in computer motherboards and cadmium in chip resistors and semiconductors are poisonous and could lead to cancer.
Chromium in floppy disks, lead in batteries and computer monitors and mercury in alkaline batteries and fluorescent lamps also pose severe health risks.
Computers and mobile phones are known culprits but tubelights and children's toys are others
Import of e-waste, mainly from the US, under the garb of donations is adding to our woes. Obsolete computers are thus dumped in India.
India is a signatory of the Basel Convention On The Transboundary Movements Of Hazardous Wastes And Their Disposal, which came into force in 1992 and has been ratified by 159 countries. But the convention allows import of such waste from nations such as the United States which has not ratified the treaty.
Bangalore home to 1,422 foreign and domestic technology firms is one of the key cities which could be affected.
Central Pollution Board, has formed a working group to tackle the problem

from http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13601252

Saurabh Singh

17 year old Saurabh Singh from Narhai in Uttar Pradesh has topped NASA's International Scientist Discovery exam. Amazingly Saurabh had never heard of NASA ISD exam till he began preparing for his IIT entrance exams. Indian President.APJ Abdul Kalam, finished seventh in the test in 1960 and Kalpana Chawla, had stood 21st in 1988.

Congrats Saurabh Singh. We are proud of you.

Do U Know - Compulsive Shopping Disorder

• Its a disorder. Its not an addiction or an obsession.
• It is part of a group of disorders called Impulse Control Disorders. These include Kleptomania (the impulse to steal) and Pyromania (the impulse to burn things).
• People with this Disorder actually feel aroused or anxious to do it. The problem is that they feel relaxed while doing it, but feel remorse afterwards.But in moderate amounts the same activity can actually act as a therapeutic activity to cope with life's tensions
• An estimated eight per cent people in the United States are affected by this disorder.
  The number of cases of people suffering from it is less in India because it is not a very common disorder. Also, it is not a very defined disorder; cases of specific diagnosis are not common.
• It could happen to anyone, but is found especially among those suffering from frequent spells of depression
• This disorder is also common in people who suffer from a mania, commonly described as being on a high. People with manias act in extremes -- they love more and hate more. (Huh?)
• More women than men tend to fall prey to this disorder. (Hmmm)
  

And its called Compulsive Shopping Disorder

http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2004/sep/08ga-shop.htm for more info:)

Do U Know - Child Commercial Sex Workers

In India,
•There are approximately 2 million children between the age of 5 and 15 years and about 3.3 million between 15 and 18 years in it.
•They form 40% of the total population in it
•80% of the children in it are found in the 5 metros
•71% of the children in it are illiterate
•500,000 children are forced to enter it every year
And its Commercial Sex Workers
from http://www.cry.org For the remaining data, my post, Read This Challenge http://wisedonkey.blogspot.com/2005_01_23_wisedonkey_archive.html

Other Links The busting of a group that used to kidnap children and push them into flesh trade in Agra has brought with it a shocking story. For over five years the girls were given hormonal injections on a regular basis to hasten their physical development. This was done to facilitate their sale to pimps and sex workers in Mumbai. http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Minor+rescued+from+flesh+trade&id=60463

Discuss :
Legal aspects : THE IMMORAL TRAFFIC (PREVENTION) ACT, 1956
Punishment for keeping a brothelfirst conviction - rigorous imprisonment 1-3 years, upto Rs.2000 fine.2nd and subsequent conviction, 2-5 years, or upto Rs.1000 fine or both.If that victim is a child (less than 16) or a minor (16-18) prison 7-10 years
For living on earnings from prostitutionupto 2 years imprisionment or upto Rs.2000 fine.If due to child (age less than 16), 6-10 years imprisonment.
Procuring, inducing or taking person for the sake of prostitution 3-7 years and Rs.2000 fine.if against will of the person 7-14 years imprisonment. If a Child (less than 16 years) and against will, rigourous impriosonment 7-life.If a minor (16-18 years) and against will 7-14 years
This is what I gathered from http://helplinelaw.com/bareact/index.php?dsp=immoral-trafficWould Welcome other information or clarification. Is this punishment enough?

Social aspects
So what happens when these 5 lakh children who are forced into this every year when they grow up, would we prefer if they got rescued but never come across us? Will we react differently if a friend or a sibling decides to marry that person? When it comes to the marriage prospects of ourself or our near and dear, would we feel they carry a stigma? Perhaps we cant change the world, but surely we can change ourselves if we want to:)

Do U Know - Diabetes

• A non communicable disease
• Almost 3.2 million die from it every year
• India has 30 -33 million patients suffering it
• Every 4th patient in the world suffering from it, is an Indian
• Indians are genetically more susceptible to it
• WHO predicts the figure will be 40 million by 2010 & 74 million by 2075
  And India is going to become the Diabetes capital of the world.
  
  WHO chose India to host the fourth World Congress on prevention of diabetes and its complications recently. A study conducted in India by the Diabetic Research Centre team lead by Dr.A. Ramachandran in Chennai, has found that a change in lifestyle could prevent diabetics. A change in lifestyle meant regular exercise and proper diet as the study found that a sedentary lifestyle, stress and improper food habits accentuate the chances of contracting diabetes. WHO also decided to have India and Africa as sentinel sites for the campaign based on the `Diabetic Action Now' programme. for more http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/feb/15sugar.htm
• 
  Diabetes and YouDo you think you could get diabetes.What do you think you should do to decrease the chances of getting itAnd most importantly, WHEN do you think you should think about it

Do U Know - Gold aint great

• The industry consumes a tenth of the world’s energy,
• It spews out 30-50% of the globe’s toxic emissions
• It imperils 40% of the frontier forests
• It is the world’s most polluting industry, in the conventional sense of causing waste and toxic effluents.(The top prize could go to the nuclear industry which, while admittedly not causing global warming, produces the most harmful waste, which remains radioactive for thousands of years and is virtually impossible to store, not counting the omnipresent risk of catastrophic accidents in power plants.)
• And its Gold

Seems a single gold ring generates a staggering 20 tonnes of waste! http://www.nodirtygold.org/pubs/20TonsMemo_FINAL.pdf

Due to copyright reasons dont want to post more, the above information is based on http://www.infochangeindia.org/analysis56.jsp So please refer to it if you want more information and comment. Frankly I am suprised. So if anyone has any contradicting data, do give the links :)

Do U Know - Coffee

• Its the the second most highly traded commodity in the world after oil. (Third if we count narcotics.)
• Wayanad produces 82 per cent of it in Kerala
• During the last 10 years Wayanad has earned the country foreign exchange worth Rs 4192.48 crore through the export of it alone: an average of Rs 381 crore per year
• Around 120 farmers in this area, committed suicide in 2004 due to falling prices
• Wayanad's growers have lost over Rs.800 crore on it since 2001
• Its retail price has not fallen but the producer's price has fallen from Rs.70- Rs.130 a few years ago to around Rs.15 per kg now
• The farmers may be getting three paise on each rupee that it generates
  And its Coffee
  
  Based on “ WAYANAD (KERALA): "What do you mean you have no fresh coffee?" we asked. But the waiter was firm. "We have Nescafe." This is coffee territory, yet you cannot get the local brew in any restaurant here. Drop in at the Coffee Board in Kalpetta to enquire why this is so - and they offer you a cup of tea. "We do have a filter," our host apologises, "but there's no powder in the office just now." http://www.indiatogether.org/2005/feb/psa-coffee.htm

Happy Valentine's day to my blogmates

Some are yet to get their date
Some yet to find their soulmate
And tougher when the person you are sure is your soulmate
Doesnt reciprocate

Well now, many have found other mates
Welcome to the wonderful world of blogmates
Faceless, and mostly nameless,
yet caring and sometimes praying for you
With you in good times and bad times too

Thank you God for blessing us with blog mates
Happy Valentine's Day to all my blogmates

adi,amita_dsa,another.blogger,aztec,busybee,colors,commonsense,DJ,
doggy,fantababy,Freedom,gary,geminidoc,Gladiator,Gladiatrix,Gurlinluv,
Happygrl,jim,kalpesh,Leonnerd,mann,mausmi,maverick,max,Maya,metallica
mezzanine,Mflying,miseema,mrs em,my space,neelima,Nisha,nkotb,
o3blogs,pearl,Poonababe,Prabir Ghose,pramod,preppy,quetzal,rage
Rumandcoke,sapphire,shady,spark,strength,sunny,sunnyd,Terrific,
techj,wcm,wgaf,xxx
I have tried to wish you all individually in your posts too.
Please forgive me if I have omitted anyone.

Van Gogh on Valentine

Life007 was filled with dread. Valentine's day was approaching. And what was worse than the day, were the days before the days. Colleagues asking about plans, friends ringing up to ask about plans and every website talking about plans. So had called in sick and was busy surfing the net for a date.

In colleges, had told, I have to concentrate on studies, and later I have to concentrate on my career. When you are 22 people think you are looking around, 23 you get advise and suggestions, 24 shocked looks and probably the thought, hmmm something wrong. But at 25 ! Life007 groaned.

Indian has a billion million people and surely a good percentage of that is in my age group and surely a good % of that would surf the net. Is 25 that old. And the panic, should have thought of this last month. Perhaps its too close to V Day (Oh God please, will it be a We Day or Just Me Day)

Whats my life if I dont have someone to love me. (Ok sure my friends,family and dog love me, but whats life if someone doesnt love me). Here I am ready to give my unconditional love, and why cant someone hear the sincere voice from my soul. Oh I just feel worthless, life007 thought. As though I am not worthy of being loved. And a prayer to God. OK take your time, with making me meet my soulmate, but atleast let me get a date, so that I wont look alone on that day. And get sympathetic reassurances from friends and smirks and snide remarks from my enemies.

An idea. Write a blog. Put in a few hearts, and write a profile. Surely there would be others like me. No. Not hearts. It would look too cliched and seem desperate??Ok maybe a rose. Hey what can be wrong with a rose? But probably others would think of rose and it doesnt reflect me anyway. And why limit the options. Just a good friend out on date would do (Obviously not of the same sex). Hmmm a sunflower. Bright, Sunny & Cheerful.

And then suddenly remembers another sunflower, by the Dutch Painter Van Gogh. Van Gogh - his paintings are worth millions today, but he had sold only one painting in his life. One neednt sell it for millions, but surely a few thousands, or atleast few hundreds. The thought that someone appreciates your art and wants to own it. And the paintings which were perceived worthless, have now become priceless!

(In March 1987, even those without interest in art were made aware of van Gogh's Sunflowers series when Japanese insurance magnate Yasuo Goto paid the equivalent of $39,921,750 for Van Gogh's Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers at auction at Christie's London, at the time a record-setting amount for a van Gogh.)

Hmmm but how fair is it to let yourself be judged by the society? And then suddenly the desperation and dread vanished. Life007 decided to not Worry,about finding a date. Sure would try to find a soulmate or a just a friend. But if it was not possible, instead of lying to friends and staying at home, like last year, and cursing the corporates for adding more hype and the fate etc, would go out and give love to those who needed. There are plenty of oldage homes and orphanages, just to start with. The humans there dont need just food clothes and shelter, they too need love. And if Valentine's day is about love, then why not give them, that unconditional love for atleast a day...

Valentine's day today may be hyped by some corporates for their own benefits and might result in some peer pressure on the "plans". But an individual cant do much about it.
And thus realising its stupid to worry about being single or to suffer from low self esteem, life007, wrote the blog. Never mind if one didnt have a "date" on Valentine, just love life and be cheerful . Van Gogh's Sunflower had Always been priceless.

On Valentine's Day

Just because you haven't yet met your soul mate

or managed to squeeze in a date

No need to grumble and bemoan your fate.

Life can still be fun,

even if you are just one

Hey be thankful you are one

And not a none.

Remember the Van Gogh was never worthless

Even when it was unappreciated, it was always Priceless

Other Posts on Relationships
Tag Relationships

Life007 is not a guy?

Life007 is not a guy, he decided.
In a chatroom when Life007 had mentioned "I have some good forwards on women, interested", he had had given his email id.

Of course he had assumed it would be some pics, which he could forward to other guys or some stuff like women have 826 cosmetics in their handbag, which he could forward to everyone and better even write it as a blog.

And then came the first forward. Marriage & Women. Surely it would be some fun stuff, about wife being a nag etc..it wasnt. It said

=======================================================

Indian Women, think before you leap into marriage.

1.In India, marital rape is not a crime. The present law is a contradiction of the unanimous resolution at the UN conference in Beijing, September '95. The resolution guarantees every woman's right to say no to sex as she wishes, specifically wives.

2.A married woman is NOT the natural guardian of her child but an unmarried woman is the guardian of her child.The father's endorsement on every document is still mandatory in schools, colleges, banks, employment matters, domicile and travel documents, licences and all other official identity papers needed by an individual.

And if there is a divorce, the father can still remain the guardian. Geetha Hariharan, a divorcee, had to go to Supreme Court in 1995 when the Reserve Bank of India refused to allow her to sign the documents necessary for investment bonds for her minor son.

Though more than a decade ago in 1989, the Law Commission in its 135th Report recommended that both the mother and father be declared natural guardians with equal rights over the child, this is yet to be implemented. A step in this direction is the Tamilnadu government order making it mandatory for schools to list the mother as joint or sole guardian of the child.

http://www.infochangeindia.org/features96.jsp

3.Though husbands will talk about her right to her parents property, most will not talk about her duties to her parents, financially and emotionally. While he will expect her to participate in his duties to his parents

4. She will have to change the lifestyle habits of over two decades, and others will think just because she is a woman, she will have to accept if the food tastes different, the newspaper, magazines,TV programs are different, the God you worship is different etc. But if he visits her house, he wouldnt appreciate the difference even for a week.

5. If she chooses to be a homemaker, her work will not be recognised or appreciated and it will more tougher to be financially independent and take care of her parents and siblings. Her work would be 24 x 7 without retirement, but if she chooses to work, she would be expected to get the tasks done. Her work will be triffle if she has to do by herself, but even a single task which he has to do will negotiated and argued.

6.She would be expected to treat her in laws as parents but her in laws will think of her as a daughter in law whoose every action should be scrutinised and interpreted for signs of her thinking of splitting the family.

7.If you want a relationship, you can always have a live in , If you want a child think of adoption if legally possible or contact a sperm bank.

8. A common myth when a woman, thinks of sports, hobbies, studies and career is whether that would affect her marriage chances. After all a suntan would be viewed as a dark woman, and a teacher is ok, but a policewoman or lawyer would seem "undomesticated". Singing is ok, but even classical dance could be frowned. Well millions of female foetus have been killed. And unlike the rest of the world, the ratio is fewer women for more men (unless you live in Kerala). And logically more men are going to remain bachelor then women ending up as spinsters. There are 933 women for every 1000 men. And the future is going to be tougher, since in the age group of 0-6, the number of girls per 1000 boys fell from 945 in 91 to 927 at the national level, and in states like Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, its fallen below 800 ! http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/sep/hlt-census.htm

http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/aug/09dilip.htm

If you think of life as an onetime lifetime choice, why worry about the society. Those who care for you will be there for you, even if you dont marry. Marriage is a risky venture. This is not to stop you from marriage, but to make you think about what you value most. If you value freedom, right to your body, right to make the right decisions for the child, your duty to your parents, then is marriage the best option for you and is your partner the right choice?

Bungee Jumping is not for everyone. But if you think its fun, just make sure the rope is strong before you leap. Think before you leap.

PS : If you forward this information to atleast one person, you will experience a change of fortune and the good luck would increase with the number of people you send it to.
But if you delete it without sending, please dont blame anyone if bad luck visits you, in direct proportion to the number of forwards the one who had forwarded this to you had made.

In its first stage, the post was forwarded to 500 people, out of them 383 persons forwarded it to their friends and they wrote back to mention that Lady Luck visited them within a week. And it varied from a sudden promotion to a winning a car as a prize (the person had forwarded to 1832 persons). But the 117 people who decided to delete were suprised at the sudden setbacks, it varied from car accidents to sudden lay offs and in two cases being struck by lightning.

This is in the second stage. And its being sent out to 5000 people. We are in the process of having a website, with the names of the people who have benefited by forwarding this email. And so do mention what Lady Luck did to you to the person who forwarded this email, and that person will mention it to the person who had forwarded it to him/her and thus prove to the scientists, with email linkchain, the amazing goodwill and good luck the net can generate.

PPS : You dont have to read the entire, just forward - Life007

=======================================================

Oh now I understand why Life007 sent this, he thought, but why hadnt he written about not having to read it earlier. He thought of cutting and pasting that message on the top, then decided he didnt have time for it, and just forwarded it to everyone in his addressbook.

I will compensate it with a forward on North and South Indian women he decided. And if I get a promotion, I owe it Life007 and I must remember to write back to him and prove the scientists wrong. Now if I post it in a blog, will 1832 persons see it he wondered..

Other Posts on Relationships
Tag Relationships

Hunger

HUNGER: DO YOU KNOW THE FACTS?

It is estimated that one billion people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. That's roughly 100 times as many as those who actually die from these causes each year.

About 24,000 people die EVERY DAY from hunger or hunger-related causes. This is down from 35,000 ten years ago, and 41,000 twenty years ago. Three-fourths of the deaths are children under the age of five.

Famine and wars cause about 10% of hunger deaths, although these tend to be the ones you hear about most often. The majority of hunger deaths are caused by chronic malnutrition. Families facing extreme poverty are simply unable to get enough food to eat. The Hunger Site began on June 1, 1999.

Please remember to click every day to give help and hope to those with nowhere to turn. Every click counts in the life of a hungry person - from http://www.thehungersite.com

Short Sleep Solution

Uttam Manohar Nakate slept thrice on the job therefore Bharat Forge sacked him. The High Court upheld his right to snooze and awarded him damages. But the Supreme Court has decided to uphold Bharat Forge's decision though. So now those who wanted to take a nap at office can't threathen their HR with court proceedings. Some tell me that the matter can be reviewed if there is a PIL or through support from Parliament etc. While those wheels are set in motion, some ideas for sneaking a nap at work.

1.Sunglasses.
Well you can claim eye infection for 1 week or better claim sunglasses at work reduce the glare and increase productivity

2.On the phone
Glue a dummy phone to your ear and no one will notice the nod. Er dont snore though.

3.Files
Especially if you work in a government office. Simply pile up the files on the table and you have a wall to guarantee your privacy.

4.Naive Boss
Circulate a rumour that you get visions if you sleep during the day. And mention you had a morning dream about the boss. Later tell the boss, his family takes advantage of him, never understands or appreciates him enough etc.

5.Meeting
Fix a meeting and escape while you can..

6.Concentration
Say your productivity increases when you concentrate with eyes closed. Dont forget to hold a pen, as though you would write down your thoughts any minute.

7.Competition
Circulate a rumour that the competitor is doing well because of a 1 hour compulsory siesta. (Coroborate with colleagues in competitor's company.)

8.Blackmail
Mess up a colleague's job and say it happens when you don't get good sleep(not frequently please)

9.Emotional Blackmail

Mention you worked the whole night over a file you took home yesterday

10. If nothing works, circulate about (MY) Short Sleep Solution
Another research group in USA has confirmed the importance of small doses of sleep at work. Unlike earlier groups which dealt mainly with sample data, this study was coordinated by a group from a reputed university and the in-house Human Tesources Team of a Fortune 500 company.

Reliable sources within the company have confirmed the overall improvement in productivity and profits over the years. But the company is not willing to go public at this juncture, since it seems to fear that its competitors might start enforcing this practise too. The practise, which was started in one branch office nearly 12 years ago, extended slowly throughout the organisation.

Now it has become mandatory for employees to sleep atleast for a few minutes at work.
Suprisingly even the employees were reluctant to implement this concept and many faked the sleep and were uncomfortable with the concept. But within few months there was a stark difference between those who slept and those who didnt and gradually all the employees and managers have been forced to agree due to the consistency of the results.

When asked, how the break in the work load was handled, the managers point out that it is impossible for any employee to concentrate the entire period on the task. Earlier they used to resort to gossip,surf the net,smoke or just drink infinite cups of coffees. But while gossip affects team performance and net surfing distracts the employees, and smoking, coffee etc have medical side effects, and indirectly add to the stress, sleep doesnt. The employees maintain that now going for a short nap break has become as natural as a coffee break and obviously more beneficial.

To queries on whether alarm clocks have been placed on all the tables, the spokesperson laughed and mentioned that while sleep was mandatory, the employees used their discretion and ultimately were accountable to the deadlines and tasks.

The short sleeps at work policy has also resulted in increasing the employee loyalty. An employee of the organisation, after being assured of confidentiality, admitted that, even though he received better offers from other organisations, he was not inclined to quit the organisation, since he felt he wouldnt have functioned at the optimal level if he had not had the short doses of sleep. And felt that by implementing the policy the organisation had sent out a strong message that "It Cared".

Origin
Though many research groups are claiming credit, like many management techniques, this technique too seems to have its origin in the Oriental. Many Japanese & Korean corporates have also been practising this for some decades.

How does it work.
Even the cynics of Applied Industrial Psychology agree that stress can hamper employees productivity and sleep is an easy stress buster. Though some managers wondered if there would be a fall in output, the managers were startled when they realised that there was minimal employee absence due to medical reasons. And a short nap not only seems to calm the employee but seems to endow the person with better decision making ability and work concentration.

Scientists who have recorded the brain wave patterns of these employees point out that a brain works best after the short nap and are able to record the brainwaves and prove their point by assigning various tasks to the employee. Amazingly not just blue collar job performance, but even white collar job performance has improved. The technique also seems to be without race or gender or other bias. After all, isnt sleep universal.

In short, the new age management mantra for Success is Short Sleep Solution .

The Journey Continues

Another hour,day,week,month,year,decade, decade and a half
The journey continues

Governments have come and gone
The journey continues

When you must flee ancestors home for 5000 years, to save your life
The journey continues

Not a NRI, just a refugee,yes there is a diwas,Sept 14th to remind
The journey continues

Not at home, but in Jammu or Delhi or somewhere in your country
The journey continues

Its a genocide, but still not an election issue and because no one seem to care
The journey continues

Lifestyle changed, lives born, another day of dread and disease, and many dead, and yet homeless
The journey continues...
==================
January 4, 1990. A press release issued by Hizb-ul Mujahideen, set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1989 to wage jihad for Jammu and Kashmir's secession from India and accession to Pakistan, asking all Hindus to pack up and leave?

Shops, business establishments and homes of Kashmiri Pandits, the original inhabitants of the Kashmir valley with a recorded cultural and civilisational history dating back 5,000 years, are marked out.

As many as 300,000(to 700000) Kashmiri Pandits have fled their home and hearth and been reduced to living the lives of refugees in their own country.

Two-thirds of them are camping in Jammu. The rest are in Delhi and in other Indian cities.

The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the crime of genocide in New York, in 1948, declared genocide as a crime under international law.

The Convention defined genocide as any act committed with the idea of destroying in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. This includes such acts as:

Killing members of the group .
Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.
Deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to physically destroy the group (the whole group or even part of the group).
Forcefully transferring children of the group to another group.
As per this UN definition of genocide, there is no reason why the ethnic cleansing perpetrated against Kashmiri Hindus should not be treated as genocide. There is no reason why the people and countries behind this act of genocide should not be held responsible and criminally prosecuted.

Links
http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/19kanch.htm
http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/20guest.htm
http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/17guest.htm

5 minutes

Unicef says Every Day Every Minute a woman dies while giving birth?
Should there be so many deaths for the births? Is this a preventable
tragedy?
Well it seems preventable when we divide the figure between developed and
developing nations
Maternal mortality rate in developing nations is 1 in every 13 woman while
in developed nations its 1 in every 4100 women
Lets forget the world and talk about India. Surely our stats would be
better.It isnt

Almost two-thirds of Indian women, mostly living in villages, give birth at
home. More than half of this country�s women are anemic and only 20 percent
of mothers receive all the required components of prenatal care. One out of
six women who give birth are between the ages of 15 and 19.

Every five minutes, an Indian woman dies from complications related to
pregnancy and childbirth, adding up to more than 100,0000 deaths a year, one
of the highest rates in the world.

Every 5 minutes a woman dies while giving birth.
And why dont we spend on healthcare
Well we have to ask our minister.
But why will the minister care
when you dont care

What is the value of our life, if we dont respect the process which gives
life.

Motherhood should be about life, not death.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, spend atleast 5 minutes for this issue.
It might be just 5 minutes in your life to you. But 5 minutes is all it
takes before another Life dies. An Indian woman who dies while giving birth.

Lets not expect others to care when we dont show we care. Care to spend 5
minutes

Dog Dislikers

"I don't think Ash is beautiful" . Try telling this and the response will vary from "Shall I fix an appointment with an optician" to "Don't think only crazy people visit counsellors, perhaps you should see one". However this is not about Ash, its about saying things you can't get away with it. This is for dog dislikers.

Heard of dog lovers but never heard of dog dislikers? Well likely, because no one will admit to it. But unlike those who think Ash is not beautiful, the number is bigger:)

Dog dislikers don't hate dogs (that will be hard to believe, for the dog lovers). On the contrary Dog Dislikers appreciate the dog for its sense of loyalty and respect it perhaps more than humans, for the unqualified love it oozes on its owner. But they just happen to wonder, if the dog might bite them. I am sure there is some phobia which describes the fear of being bitten by other animals from monkeys to tigers. But since many people dont keep monkeys or tigers at home as their pet, these people (ie those who have a fear of being bitten) focus their fear on dogs and dislike dogs only because they are kept as pets. And lets face it though there are other pets, a barking dog is more intimidating then a mewing cat or a chirping parrot or just fishes etc.

And with due apologies to the technical people who will frown at me for using the word "dog disliker", I would like to go ahead and make suggestions on how to deal with dog dislike.

Situation 1
Your best friend has a dog. And when you ring the doorbell, you can hear it barking. What would be the best course of action?
a.Run back, before the door opens?(extreme pessimist)
b.Pray to God and hope a miracle happens and the dog is tied. (extreme optimist. The first rule of every dog owner is that the dog should never be tied.)
c.Call your friend before hand and tell him/her to tie the dog and hang up before further questions are asked. (a realist)
d.Call again, before you ring the doorbell to check if the dog has been tied (a prudent realist who knows the uses of mobile phones)

But sooner or later, you will be demanded a reason. Don't ever say "I have signed up for eye donation. Eyes can be donated till 6 hours after death . Anyone can donate except those with HIV, jaundice or death from dog bite". You might be technically correct. But no dog owner is going to accept that their dog could bite. In fact even if you are bitten, you would be the person who provoked, not a victim.

So what do you do? The best one in my opinion, is to talk about a cat in your neighbourhood. Which keeps rubbing itself against you when you leave home and your worry that the dog with its acute smell, might smell the cat in you and start sniping at you. Sounds too fancy, well if you can think of a better one, do tell me. But this one would work. Even if your friend says you got the idea from reading this, look shocked and offended. Be firm. Give a nickname to the cat (eg Sharp Claws) . Discuss that its unfair, that cat owners are not made as accountable as dog owners. Your friend will forget this blog and start agreeing with you. (Dog lovers arent necessarily cat haters but they will accept their dogs hates cats and they carry a grudge against the cat owners for their lack of accountability)

Situation 2.
The smart dog has made the connection between you and being tied up. And doesn't stop barking. Should you offer it something.If it barks or snarls at you, insist its because of the Sharp Claws. But if you want to buy dog food be careful. Many dog lovers won't care about the brand of food, you give to their children but its not the same for their dog. So get the exact details. (if your boss is a dog owner, this is one of the best ways to pacify him/her, which isn't mentioned in those self help books).

Situation 3.
You have the dog biscuit, should you give it directly to the dog.A firm no. Your hands will probably tremble, since you will be wondering if the dog can distingush your fingers from the biscuit, and doesnt look good if your boss or friend notices your hands trembling. And the dog would mistake the trembling hand for a teasing hand. Best if you hand it over to the dog owner. Dont worry, the dog would have smelled the dog food on you when you entered and sooner or later would make the right connections. Even if it doesn't, you score points with the dog owner.

Situation 4
When a dog owner wants to bring over the dog to your house.
Mention that Scary Claws clawed out a doberman's eye. And the new building association rule forbids visitors dogs. (If you arent the Association President, tell Scary Claws belongs to the Association President. If your friend lives in the same building, stick with mere Scary Claws tales.) Think back to how many believed the Delhi monkey man stories. Just be firm with your story.


Situation 5
When your spouse/sibling/kids want a dog in your house. As per the undiscovered laws of DNA (fate), every dog disliker's parent,spouse, siblings and children will love dogs and would want to keep one as a pet.
Keep a framed picture of a dog in your house. (Tell it was your friend's dog, and you havent yet got over its death decades ago. It was so special blah blah blah and thats why even though you are crazy about dogs, you don't go near/own another dog). Scores points with dog owners, and also prevents your spouse/children wanting a dog. In fact if anyone talks about dogs, start staring in a detached manner at the picture. If you acquire a pic now, and your spouse argues, its because of this blog. Again look, shocked, anguished and admit you read it, and then add that it bought back saddened memories of your childhood dog. Just be firm, did Laloo become a Railway Minister, by giving in to accusations? Lack of WMDs doesn't affect Bush stances on Iraq, does it?

Other things you can do.
Ask dog owners their dog's birthday (look shocked if they say they don't celebrate it.) Remember the birthday and get a gift on that date.

Keep a book on dog care, and discuss it.

Keep atleast one dog toy in your display cupboard.

The extremes will go for a dog wallpaper or screensaver.

In short learn from the politicians, Actions dont count. Just creating an illusion of an enemy (scary claws) and tributes to past leaders count and a firm lie wins over truth

You & Tsunami Relief

There are people out there who need us, lets not let them down. Nature didnt distingush, why should we. We have seen the Fury of Nature, now is the time to display the Force of Human Compassion.


A MUST VISIT BLOG http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com Contains lots of information on how YOU can help, including help in kind, various ngos working towards this cause, and list of Funds you can contribute to. If you are working towards this cause, and would like to invite support, you can make a mention of that too in this blog.

For mainly Indian relief coordination, one can visit http://www.indiatogether.org/relief/tsunami They also have a seperate blog which allows us to post queries and answeres on Tsunami Relief under the section Who What Where?

PRIME MINISTER'S NATIONAL RELIEF FUND

To donate Online to this fund, please click on the link http://www.sify.com/pmf.php

To remit funds through Money2India, kindly follow the steps given below:
1. Log on to your Money2India Account with the URL: https://m2inet.icicibank.co.in/m2iNet
2. Click on the link "Make a Donation"
3. Add Prime Minister's National Relief Fund as your registered beneficiary. Select your donation options - e-Transfer (Only in USA), Net Express (DBS Bank in Singapore only), Power Transfer and Cheque Transfer
4. Select ICICI Communities Tsunami Relief Fund from the Existing Receiver drop-down list. Provide the relevant remittance details - Amount and Currency. Do not forget to put the donation option code GF1” and click on "Submit"
To contribute by way of cheque/demand draft
12 banks have been authorised to receive such donations. They are State Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Dena Bank, Syndicate Bank, Corporation Bank, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, Allahabad Bank and Citi Bank.
Donations could be made by cheque or draft in the name of the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund and sent to the Prime Minister's Office, South Block, New Delhi-110001.
The nationalised banks will not charge any commission on preparation of draft in favour of PMNRF.
Contributions could also be sent through money orders with no commission chargeable.
The contributions to PMNRF have been notified for 100% deduction from taxable income under section 80 (G) of the Income Tax Act.
Form for Cheque / Demand Draft http://gayathiri1.tripod.com/id35.html

Form for payments through Credit Card http://gayathiri1.tripod.com/id35.html

Information for payments through Bank Transfers http://gayathiri1.tripod.com/id34.html

NRIs & Foreign Nationals :
Besides the other modes of payments,the contribution towards the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund can be deposited with the Indian Missions abroad clearly indicating your communication address. Formal receipt will be issued through the respective Mission.


Contributions to the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund
The Contribution may be sent either by cash or cheque or Demand Draft drawn in favour of "CHIEF MINISTER'S PUBLIC RELIEF FUND" addressed to : The Joint Secretary to Government and Treasurer, Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund, Finance Department, Secretariat, Chennai-600 009. Receipt will be given immediately on credit of the amount contributed to the fund Account which is entitled for 100% Tax Relief under Income Tax Act 1961. For addtitional information http://www.tn.gov.in/misc/cmprf2003.htm

These are additional links which can be useful. But please note that I am not recommending any fund. Use your discretion while making the contribution.


Red Cross
People who want to help may send bank drafts/cheques in the name Indian Red Cross Society, New Delhi. One may also deposit cash or relief material at the Delhi office. The society is accepting everything except perishable items and used clothes. Address: Indian Red Cross Society, 1, Red Cross Road, New Delhi - 110001 Phone: (011) 23716441, 23716234 Donate online by clicking on https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp
=========================

Hindu Relief Fund
A relief fund has specially been set up to receive contributions, which are fully deductible under the Income Tax Act, and will be made over to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund/Chief Ministers' Relief Fund.
Readers may send their cheques or drafts payable to "The Hindu Relief Fund" Kasturi Buildings 859 Anna Salai Chennai 600 002 INDIA
Contributions will also be accepted at all our branch offices.
All contributions above Rs.2,500 will be acknowledged in the newspaper.
You may also use your credit card to make the contribution online http://pay.hindu.com/thrfpay/thrfpay.jsp
For Bank Transfers :
Account Name : The Hindu Relief Fund Accoun No.102914 Account With Central Bank of India, Raheja Complex, Mount Road, Chennai 600002 Swift Code : CBININBBMDR
=========================

ICICI Communities Tsunami Relief Fund
which is managed by GiveIndia (www.giveindia.org) - an organization actively associated with the relief work in the disaster-struck region in the south-eastern coast of India. GiveIndia is a professionally managed non-profit organization that has undertaken commendable relief work during natural calamities such as the earthquake in Gujarat.
Log on to http://www.money2india.com
Click on the link “ Make a Donation ”
Add ICICI Communities Tsunami Relief Fund as your registered beneficiary
Select your donation options - e-Transfer (Only in USA), NetExpress (DBS Bank in Singapore only), PowerTransfer and ChequeTransfer
Select ICICI Communities Tsunami Relief Fund from the Existing Receiver drop-down list
Provide the relevant remittance details - Amount and Currency
Do not forget to put the donation option code “GF1”
Submit
Various ways of transferring Money2India
e-Transfer : A completely online method to transfer money into India.
ChequeTransfer : A convenient option that eliminates the need to visit a bank, just mail your foreign currency cheque.
PowerTransfer : A unique internet based wire transfer facility.
NetExpress : Fast online money transfers from Singapore through DBS Bank
=========================

Times of India
To contribute to this effort cheques may be sent payable to:
• Times Foundation, The Times of India, Dr D N Road, Mumbai – 400001).
• Times Foundation, The Times of India, 7 Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi – 110002. Contributions can also be made through www.timesofmoney.com and through www.remit2india.com For more information on the above please contact: • Madhura / Anuradha at Bombay 022-56354376/4398/4345 • Angela / Sandhya / Sagar at Delhi 011-23302864/2856/2103 You may also visit www.timesfoundation.org . E-mails can be sent at timesfoundation@timesgroup.com All donations above Rs 1,000 will be acknowledged through the newspaper.
=========================

NDTV's trust fund, The Hope Trust
Donations can be made to: HOPE - Tsunami Relief Fund and sent to:
The Company Secretary,New Delhi Television,W-17,Greater Kailash-1,New Delhi-110048.
All donations are tax deductible under section 80G of Income Tax Act,1961.
=========================

Indian Express Citizen's Relief Fund
The Indian Express, 3/50, Lalbaug Industrial Estate, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, Lalbaug, Mumbai 400 012.
If you live outside Mumbai, please send demand drafts. You may also send your contributions to your local office of The Indian Express. If you live overseas, please send dollar-denominated pay orders. All contributions are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80G.
Please mention your address so that we can send you your 80G tax-exemption certificates.
To donate online click on http://subscriptions.expressindia.com/bpd/tsunami/form.html

Sulekha.com
It has partnered with Association for India's Development (AID) to raise money for the relief efforts in India following the devastating earthquake/tsunami that has claimed thousands of lives. Sulekha.com has created a matching fund This fund will match dollar-for-dollar all contributions made through Sulekha to AID.. If you are an individual or a corporation interested in becoming a matching fund donor or have any questions about Sulekha-AID Tsunami relief fund, please write to Arti Patel at arti@sulekha.net The money raised will be given to AID to support their disaster relief efforts. The Association for India's Development (AID), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization and all contributions to AID Inc. are tax-deductible in the US( Federal tax-ID is 04-3652609). For online credit card payments http://www.sulekha.com/aidtsunami

Coffee Club

Muse : I thought you loved your coffee
Self : Of Course I do!

Muse : Then why turn down an offer for free coffee with some great people at the Coffee Club?
Self : The Coffee was great. Even though it wasn't Filter Coffee.

Muse : That leaves me even  more confused.
Self : It was the Terms & Conditions
Muse : Everything has Terms & Conditions. We just click Accept and hope that we haven't confessed to some crime, or said we won't object to any crime against us.
Self : OK, let me read it out
Muse : Go ahead

Self reads Terms & Condtions of Coffee Club :
1. This is the Terms & Conditions for drinking free coffee at the Coffee Club.
2. Though the space would be supplied by the Coffee Club, the Coffee drinker has to get the ingredients, prepare the coffee and will have the rights to drink the coffee, or give the coffee to his friends, or just throw it down the drain.
3.The Coffee Club only provides space and nothing else
4.The Coffee Club is not responsible if you mix salt or spice in your coffee and also if you accept such coffees from your "friends"
5.If the above happens, the Coffee maker is responsible for it, not the Coffee Club
6.The Coffee drinker and Coffee maker should not use the coffee to add any substance other than the normal ingredients of a coffee.
7.The Coffee Club retains the right to inspect the coffees prepared, and to throw it
away
8.Moreover the Coffee Club retains the right to close the club at anytime and not mention when it would open again.
9.The Coffee Club reserves the legal right to publish the contents of your coffee to the world if required, and also to modify the coffee, or to snatch the coffee made by you and throw your coffee down the drain, in part or whole

Muse : Wait I dont see anything wrong in it. What else did you expect? If you were in a Mumbai Local now, you would appreciate the value of space.

Self : Well I agreed to the terms & conditions. I dont object to them closing down without giving reasons and other points, I didnt object to them allowing anyone and everyone inside the club and thus the unruly behaviour by some and also the policy of sometimes switching coffees.
But its too much, the right to modify my coffee and then the right to throw my coffee down the drain Without giving reason

Muse : Hmmm

Self : I dont believe in brewing coffee, only to watch it go down the drain, without any reason

Muse : But you went there not just for the coffee but also for the friends and the aroma from others coffee.

Self : Oh I will visit it. But I wont make the coffee. And if some of my close friends make me a cup, I will sip. (Hoping that the cuppa wont be suddenly snatched of course)

Muse : And if your friends want your coffee
Self : Well I frequent 6  Coffee Clubs other than this, so they can come there to taste my coffee. Hey Muse, can you lend me a hand in making Coffee..

Muse : Hmmm sure but let me think of the Terms & Conditions first...

 

PS : For the record, though I think some of my blogs & posts have been unnecessarily deleted, I bear no grudge with O3. I am glad that its back. Its definitely the best blogsite around, and the O3 bloggers are definitely fantastic people to blog with. But my personal priniciples prevent me from posting further here. Happy New Year to everyone at O3 including O3 administration

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Mine

"Stop being Childish. You are 30" my neighbour was saying when she opened the door to me. I was taken aback. But since she was looking at her younger daughter, who seemed to be sulking on the sofa, I realised she had probably addressed it to her 13 year old daughter and not to me and I had misheard the 30. "Hi.Sit. Will be back with coffee" My neighbour said (to me this time) and darted into the kitchen. And I was sitting in her drawing room with her two daughters who were strangely silent. I raised my eyebrows to her other daughter who was 17 and she explained. "Three days back, a relative Simi came to our house. Sis drew a potrait of Simi to show it to Mum. But Simi also saw the potrait and wanted it. When Sis was out of sight, Mum gave Simi the drawing. Sis got upset over it and refuses to show any of her drawings to Mum, Mum was trying to pacify Sis saying Simi will not be invited again. Sis then drew a drawing with her crayons and showed it to Mum. But sis had drawn only drawn the words "It was mine. U gave it away". Thats why Mum said stop being childish." At this point the 13 year old broke her silence and said "I didnt say I didnt want Simi to come here. I just want my drawing back. And now Simi has taken it away. I would have given itto Simi, if Mum had asked me. But Mum didnt ask me before giving. Mum had no right to give it.The drawing was mine" I hesitated then said, "But you wouldnt have been able to draw, if your Mum had not given you all the painting material and not encouraged you, and you drew it to show your Mum, and your Mum didnt give all your drawings. She just gave one away.  And she has in the past framed, some of your best drawings.Your Mum is very busy, try to ignore this." But the little girl sulkily said  "It was mine" Just then my friend entered with the two cups of hot coffee. And the girls left the room. As I sipped the hot coffee, I thought ,thankfully the problem isn't mine. And then over the coffee pondered What is mine Doesn't everything belong to the divine. If something is not with us due to design Why be depressed and whine Instead of accepting it and saying I am still fine If only the ego's invitation we could decline And ask ourself, What indeed is mine...

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Force Against Fury

Just when one thinks one has read about everything that happened in 2004 and can move on to 2005, along comes the 5th largest earthquake in the century and the largest in the last 40 years. And the resultant tidal waves and the flooding have caused lots of destruction. And as I write this, the full extent of the calamity is not yet known.

What will be the news after a week. Will we just move on? Will this be just another addition to 2004?

When nature strikes, it doesnt discriminate does it? Probably relief help would be asked. To help we need not desert our day to day lifestyle, but lets not forget to support the ngos or government.

There are people out there who need us, lets not let them down.

Nature didnt distingush, why should we. We have seen the Fury of Nature, now is the time to display the Force of Human Compassion

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New Year Resolutions

The New Year is a good time to make resolutions but what is the point of resolutions if we cant keep them?

The right time for new year resolutions is Now. Surely you would have an idea of what you would like to be your new year resolution? Well start implementing it today. And see if you can maintain it and modify it accordingly on the New Year eve.

Tips for new year resolution

Review your last year's resolution.
Have you succeeded, if not, why have you failed. Examine it and if necessary keep the same resolution this year too.

Drastic never works
No one can change overnight, so avoid drastic resolutions

Not toooooo easy please
Not being drastic, doesnt mean it shouldnt be challenging.

Not too many please
Keep a focus. Yes we would all like to become everything to everyone, but doing everything may not be possible, and the chances are that we would get discouraged and give up after a month. Maintain a core focus for each year, if you are able to do achieve everything else , great! But dont give up on the core.

Let it be for a year not a day
New year is the time to plan for the entire year. Let the resolution not be something for which you need just couple of days.

Have a plan
Whats the point of intention if you cant think of execution?
Write down what you have to do carry out the intention and of course, do it:)

Reminders
Sometimes its easy to forget the resolution after the New Year euphoria passes away, and one is tempted to postpone the resolution to the next year. :) Plan to remind yourself of it throughout the year. Make a mention of it in the diary, online reminders or if required inform people close to you about your resolution.

Strengths , weakness, Opportunities Threats
Enhance your strengths, act against your weakness, see what how you can utitlise the opportunities for the year and see if you have to prepare yourself against any threats.

Bifurcate your tasks into Urgent and Important, Urgent but not Important, Important but not Urgent, not Important, not Urgent.
Let your resolution concentrate on what is not urgent but still important to you.

Suggestions
New year resolution need not be about people quitting bad habits , it can be about deciding to learn something new, to do something differently, better management of Health, Wealth and Time etc

All the best and Happy New Year

Pawn Power - Wise Donkey says

"Wise Donkey, I want to achieve greatness but how can I do it, when I am born in an ordinary family. What are the chances for an ordinary person like me becoming extraordinary?" asked one of my friends.

Wise Donkey's reply
Well mate, Shakespeare said, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them"

In the chessboard, the king is born great, and queen by her association with the king has greatness thrust upon her. (In real life it can be other way around too). But think of the pawn. It might start by being an ordinary pawn but with Planning, if it completes the 6 moves, it can have the Powers of the queen.

Biologically birds can fly, humans can't. But haven't we supassed the birds now and have flown into space too? Don't be intimidated by the environment, its a thought unfit for humans :)

And if you become "great" and if you give an acceptance speech in some award ceremony, dont forget to thank your friend Wise Donkey :D

Began with a Rupee for Laloo

Manmohan noticed that Laloo was procrastinating many decisions. Being an economist, he decided to use the power of compounding to teach a lesson and invited Laloo to a game of golf.

Manmohan told Laloo that if he missed the first hole he would have to pay him one rupee; from there on it would be double for every hole that he missed. Laloo thought for a moment. Manmohan was asking money for every hole he would miss, not every shot, there are 18 holes, and they were starting at Re.1 one only. He tried to calculate how much he would lose if he missed all the 18 holes, but decided it wouldn't be much anyway. And of course he couldnt get it right immediately in every hole.

And at the end, he gave a Rs.100 note to Manmohan and asked for the change. But Manmohan asked for the balance of Rs.1,30,972! Laloo got angry and asked for
the calculation. Prepared for it, Manmohan gave him the calculation sheet. Hole
Amount Owed

1 1

2 2

3 4

4 8

5 16

6 32

7 64

8 128

9 256

10 512

11 1024

12 2048

13 4096

14 8192

15 16384

16 32768

17 65536

18 131072



Metaphorically, what we do not realise is that when we postpone doing something in life even by a day, the gap in the beginning is only "2 minus 1" but the gap later is "131072 minus 65536". Our procrastinations may not hurt us too much in the beginning but what we will be deprived of in the long run can be very damaging.

Thankfully Manmohan didnt invite Laloo to a game of chess and start at Re.1 for the first square ask it to be doubled for every square in the game i.e 64. It would have started at Re.1 and for the 64th square it
would have been Rs.18,446,744,073,709,600,000. Even chess, at the 16th square , quarter way mark its just Rs.65,536. And in the half way mark at 32nd square, it becomes Rs.42,94,967,296. And remember it started at Re.1.


We understand the importance of health and fitness but we postpone our efforts in that direction. We realise the importance of financial planning and investment but we procrastinate our initiative that direction. We comprehend the importance of board exams but push our preparations till it becomes a crisis. We find pushing papers into the pending folder as the most convenient option.

Of course you can replace the characters with your own personal favourite characters and get a good laugh. Or you can decide, the life and the lifestyle you want at 60s and 70s. The benefits of any habit or deed, good or bad is always compounded. We may not appreciate the
importance of healthy food or exercise or financial planning or communicating our love to our family now. Most of us are still at an early hole, lets make the choices now. And let the power of compounding work, in every sphere of our life. Perhaps Laloo wouldn't have agreed if he knew about the magic of compounding in the beginning. Now you know it, if you decide to procrastinate even now, you will be dumber than the Laloo in the story.

The choice is yours :)

Forward

Muse : You just deleted another email from a friend without reading it..
Self : That was not an email, a forward
Muse : So??
Self : I dont read forwards and dislike forwards
Muse : Just because one might receive a wrong call, doesnt mean one doesnt answer the phone. If you dislike forwards, dont forward it to someone. But why not even read it.
Self : Just calculate the number of friends one has, and then multiply it with the n number for friends they would have and so on.. Everyday Everyminute I am sure someone in that link will be forwarding an email to another, and that will reach me. If I spend my time reading all of them...
Muse : But what if its important.
Self : Well those who know me, know I wouldnt open a forward and if its important, they can send it as an email.
Muse : Then how come you received one
Self : Well the person probably decided to forward it to everyone in address book. And so the forward has reached me too. And unfortunately the others in address book will now have my email id, even though I didnt give it to them , because of this practice of forwarding to everyone in the address book. And they will add me to their address book and next time there is a forward, will forward it to me too.
Muse : Well agree thats an disadvantage, but what if you are missing on the joke of the year, most beautiful picture of the century, etc.
Self : Well, its possible and I accept I might be missing out on something but I am not prepared to waddle through all the forwards I receive everyday for it.
Muse : Thats just an egoistic approach
Self : If thats your opinion, fine, but thats all it is.:)
Muse : Hmmm so this is going to be a blog post..
Self : Yes. I thought perhaps there would be others like me. But who hesitate to mention it to others and silently endure the forwards, even the ones which occupy most of the storage space immediately. Perhaps it would be reassuring to them to know that there are others out there who share their dislike of forwards.
Muse : Hmmm who knows one day even this could be forwarded by emailSelf : Possible, after all there are many who forward without reading :)

Lessons from a Cat

Muse : Still numb,dumb,glum?
Self : Hi Muse. Yeah if all these deaths & destructions werent enough, I have to deal with an accusation in O3 about me giving information on Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for gaining attention and for making a comeback! And then it was me having multiple ids! I think the latest is me spreading rumours about who made the accusation!Even though I had clearly stated that I have respect for the opinion and willing to edit if anything, if it diverts attention from the cause.
Muse : All I have to say is look and learn from the cat.Saying this Muse disappeared and I went in search of a cat...

Well I looked at the neighbourhood cat and made the following observations.

1.Independence
I wondered who owned the cat. Irrespective of ownership, the cat seems to have an identity of its own
Independence is important

2.Control
Watched the cat as it walked and also when it ran. The Elegance and the Control. Confidence seemed to ooze from it.
Appearances and the way one carries self does count.

3.Cats dont care to communicate or clarify
The cat caught my stare, but just stared back. Looking at it, I had no idea if it had just had its meal or yet to have it. Obviously the cat hadnt read self help books and other suggestions on communicate and clarify
Dont communicate and clarify unless it has a purpose.

4.Stiff upper lip
Would the cat be sad. Its easier to notice sadness in dogs, but a sad cat?
Don't discuss your problem with everyone. Everyone has problems of their own.

5.Self Esteem
Many would have heard the phrase "Stroke the dog, it thinks you are God, stroke the cat, it think its God". No I didnt go and stroke it. But the cat didnt look needy either. It seemed to think it was God, even when I didnt stroke it.
Dont let others determine, what you think of yourself.

6.Bad Omen
When a cat runs across your path. It would seem its a bad omen. But I doubt if it bothers the cat.
One cant please all the people, all the time. Concentrate on what you are and what you want to be

7.Landing on your feet
I watched the cat climb gracefully up, but when it had to jump down, it landed on its feet.
Even if there is a fall, the important thing is to not lose balance and control. Take the rise and fall, comfortably in your stride.

8.Respect
We love dogs. But somehow though I didnt even like the cat, I had to admit that I respected it.
Never aim for people to like you. You will just end up doing things which will make them like you. Instead, do what you like, even though people may not like you, they would respect you.

9.Love & Loyalty
Dogs are supposed to be man's best friend. Hmmm what about cats. They are not exactly enemies. I am sure the cat would be friendly to someone, it chooses. Dogs might have the "die without you attitude ". But cats I felt would be wiser.
Sure love, loyalty is important, but not at the cost of self. Relationships are important, but Self is more important.

10.Silence
I realised the cat was still staring at me. And I dont know if there are humans out there who can win a staring contest with cats. Well I couldn't. Hmmm I thought, did I get intimidated by a cat. A bark from a doberman is different, but hey the cat didnt even mew. Hmmm if it had mewed would I have been intimidated??
No wonder they say silence is golden.

Light of a Lamp

She stared at the few hundred rupee notes in her hand. She had requested her employer to give it to her few days earlier, to enable her to do some New Year shopping. To celebrate the New Year in her own humble way. Of course she had to be careful with the money, her husband was no more and her family depended on her.

Yet now the money meant something else to her and she continued to stare at it. Her eyes focussed on the man smiling at her from the hundred rupee note. Why was He smiling?

Because, she had the money and was full of joy, or because he knew that if she were to give it someone else, she would still have joy and someone else too would share the joy...

She wished the thought wouldn't enter her head. Her employer had talked about contributing to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. They will be contributing in thousands, a few hundreds from me wouldnt make a difference, a voice said from within. But another voice insisted that she too, should do she do her best for the Tsunami vicitms. After all she thought even success of a movie worth crores, is determined by people who buy tickets for less than a hundred. Perhaps there is strength in numbers, she decided.

She went back and returned part of the money to her employer and asked her to give that money too to the relief fund.

Her employer smiled at her in amazement. Yet, declined and said she would contribute on her behalf too.

Her hand clutched the notes tightly. After all if the heart was not going to care for her stomach, the brain and hand should. But her soul was into giving and the hand that clutched, slowly stretched.

And she insisted that those notes too should be included, while taking the DD. And discovering the joy of giving, She Smiled.

Her employer, who had lamented about the Fury of Nature, now saw the Force of Human Compassion. She had thought disasters were the Curse of Gods, but realised that they were a Challenge to bring out the God within. Stunned she too, Smiled.

Later, a woman suddenly orphaned by the Tsunami,

thought she had none and that there was no point in living.

Yet when she got the relief, she realised that though

one cannot get back the lost lives,

Or get back the lost lifestyle,

Someone out there still cares,

And even if its not everything,

There is someone who wants to wipe away her tears.

And she too smiled.

Realising the Joy in Giving, the Giver Smiled

Stunned by the Force of Humanity, her Employer too Smiled

Realising that people still care, and that life can go on

The victim felt a Reason for Living and she too Smiled.

Its not a laugh, but just a smile. And a bittersweet smile.

But instead of just crying, even after the Tsunami

India still manages to Smile.

Some might Laugh when others make a mistakes

Some Indians Smiles when they correct, even God's mistakes.

And what can be more fun then discovering the Goodness within?

Just like a lamp, which never loses its glow

when it lights another

Many light a lamp,

During the darkness followed by disasters.

The light of these lamps spreads throughout India

And leaves India Shining & Smiling.

Wherever you are, Whenever you read this, its never too late to make a donation by cheque or draft in the name of the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund and sent it to the Prime Minister's Office, South Block, New Delhi-110001 or if you want to make the contribution online or by credit card of bank transfer etc, visit the url http://pmindia.nic.in/relief.htm

Discover the Joy of Giving.

You will smile and someone else too will smile,

Come, Join the India Smiling Campaign.

Happy BirthdayMIL

Muse : Hi you look very happy today, your birthday?
Self : Not my birthday, my mother in law's birthday

Muse : Must be special lady,
Self : Well in today's world, how many think of their Daughters in Law as their Daughter
Muse : She doesnt have a daughter of her own?
Self : No.She has an adorable daughter
Muse : Hmmm, so anything special about you?
Self : Not at all. In fact my cosister is a better bahu than me,but she treats the 3 of us as equals.
Muse : Did she have a fantastic mother in law
Self : Unfortunately no, life had not been kind to her.

Muse : Yes I got to admit that it is interesting
Self : And what more, she expects her son to be a son to my parents. When my younger sister was going to get married, the first thing she said to my husband was that he must get involved in the wedding as a son.
Muse : Now that is something, there are many women who crib their daughter in law doesnt treat them as a mother, yet when it comes to their son..
Self : Exactly

Muse : So you never have problems
Self : Who doesnt have problems, but if I have a problem,she will be the first person to know it. Sometimes its even before I know about it.
Some years ago, I was alone with them and working. I came home tired and took rest saying I was having a mild headache. Most mother in laws would just view it as an excuse for being lazy. But inspite of my protests,she dragged me to the doctor. I was diagnosed with a far more severe illness and according to the doctor if I had come the next day, my chances of survival itself would have been in question.
Muse : Wow. What about the other family members, planning to come up with posts on them too.
Self : All I want to say is if there is any goodness, kindness in me, I owe it to every member in my family. But I wouldnt be writing about them because I dont think they will be comfortable with it. I am
writing about my mother in law because, she can be a source of inspiration to many. Life was not good to her, yet, she didnt become cynical or change any of the goodness in her. Instead of getting even with people and miseries in life, she chooses to be good and gets ahead.

Muse : So whats the gift you are going to give her
Self : Unfortunately I am not with her at the moment, and I could just talk with her over phone. Amazingly, she thinks thats enough of a gift..me telling her "Happy Birthday " and talking with her for some time.
Muse : Mother
Self : Yes Mother a who loves without expectation. MIL, Mother in Love

posted in O3 on 8th january

Leos

Well there are 12 zodiac signs whats the big deal about Leos. Well there are many animals , why is the Lion the King of jungle?

The pride and joy of being a Leo
Well there is a satisfaction in associating yourself with a sign like Leo. You want to throw up your head high in the air and say aaaaaaaaah I was born to rule. I can't imagine a Libran being able to say that. Sure you have balanced views etc, but what can be more exhilirating than power ?
Leos are probably creative (or like me like to think they are creative) and ambitious (well if you are associated with power what else will you be?) And proud. Well why not.

But I am sure there is one thing that puzzles Leos. Why there are other Leos. After all, why so many rulers? Leo bonding? Well hmmm tough to say. They will support a fellow Leo, but cant imagine them being comfortable for long with each other. And Leos of the opposite sex, together? Ha just watch the sparks. Of course other than agreeing on what fabulous people Leos are, I can't imagine two Leos agreeing on anything else.

Leos love being dramatic and being in control. If they were fast bowlers they would aim mainly to get the batsman bowled. Not some lbw or a slip catch and to rely on the umpire and the fielders.

What Leos wear. Its easy to spot a Leo besides their emotional characteristics. Leos feel its their duty to dress dramatically. Not differently please. They wont be eccentric, but just dramatic. If Leo has to wear just a bit of black they will make sure every bit they wear is black. In weddings they will be most dressed person or just plain and say they dont believe in dressing up. Dont worry about spotting Leos, Leos think its their duty to make it easy for others to spot them.

And its tough being a Leo. They need people (to appreciate and cherish them). But other Leos won't do that to them all the time, and if in company of superiors(?) or equals (?) its tough and barely tolerable and though they love appreciation, hate the weak and meek too. And I suppose other zodiacs will say its tougher for them to deal with Leos.

So some tips on dealing with Leos
Leo Spouse
Leos like to have the final word. Leos are like fast bowlers. And as Gavaskar said let the fast bowlers dominate for the first one hour and then you can dominate them for the day. So its ok if you give in to them. The Leo will always believe that if you give in, it is because of their power of arguement and that for some unknown reason they are always wise and right. Let them have the final say, the lion becomes a content cat. But go on arguing only at your own peril.(unless you are also another Leo). Don't forget to ask their opinion frequently and if you disagree with their taste, compliment them on their fantastic taste and mention that everyone thinks the Leo spouse has a fantastic taste, and just when they swell up in pride, mention, you since you are a non-Leo, you don't have the confidence to carry it
of, or not comfortable with the choice etc. They will tend to agree. After all they are magnanimous, aren't they. And if its a Leo male remember his birthday, if its a female remember the day you met, the day you got engaged, the day she first spoke to you etc. Or better instead of good morning greet her everyday with "Happy Returns of the Day".She won't be offended even if she cant think of a reason for this greeting. For that matter Leo males will be equally impressed with this strategy. And irrespective of what the Leos buy for themselves, they will always approve/buy better stuff for their spouse, never foget the generousity card.(provided the spouse follows the rules and Appreciates). Unfortunately the generousity card can be misused by others with a hardluck sob story, so hold on tightly to the purse strings by Appreciating Leos for trusting you to make the decisions)

Leo Employees
Leos like being the boss. Even if they are not the boss, they will think they are the real boss and will soon become the boss. So if you are boss to Leos, well, watch out they will aim to be Your boss while other signs might just aim for your position. And HR dept should love them especially those in low salary paying companies. Salary is not everything. Give a fancy title, tell them they are the world, the company needs them and dont forget to give them the Employee of the Year award every year.And you will have a loyal lion until another HR reads this blog and uses this technique to snatch your Leo.

Leo Boss
Well its a repetition. But still for those employees who have been getting on the wrong side of their boss, dont forget to compliment them. Hmmm dont think a Leo cant distingush between compliments and flattery. But generally though they have a good memory they can be forgiving and the tempers do cool down after a while. And really I dont know what anyone can say against a Leo Boss. They are just doing what they were born to do.

Leo Colleagues
Well its a combination of above and if you want them to do something just tell them you dont know how to do it and pretend to not understand instructions if they tell you. Ha! How Leos love showing off that they alone can do certain things.

Leo Child
Parenting Leo children can be tough. Appeal to the sense of responsibility and just be careful . When they grow a bit older they will start behaving like your parents. And it you have more than one Leo child, I will pray for your family peace.

Leo Parents
If both your parents are Leo, unless you are a Leo, hostel would better. (Unless you find a Leo hostel warden there).And if one of your parent is Leo, just hmmm butter up to that parent and you will get everything you want and more.

If you notice, I will never mention how Leos should deal with others. Simply because, they don't believe in dealing with other signs, just leading them :)

Leos are courageous too, but I can't imagine a Leo fighting a war if there were no medals.

Above all Leos love a laugh, though not always at themselves : )

Disclaimer : All of the above statements regarding Leos are fictional and any resemblance to Leos (and that this blogger happens to be a Leo) is purely coincidental. But if other bloggers agree with it, I will say Thanks :) and will think Of course I knew. I am always right.

PS : If you want to post comments on Leos please don't forget that its Leo with a capital L. Leos notice these things

Tags
Leo
Leos
zodiac

Dress of a Woman - Wise Donkey says

A wailmail, "I told my friend , if a woman wants a man to grab her, she dresses sexily. Don't you think I am right? "

No.
To use a metaphor.If there is a window display, its to attract the shopper, it will not justify a shopper stealing the stuff, and saying it was done only because it is displayed. Display doesnt mean its available.

But if you think I am wrong, and go ahead, beware ,many women might know a karate kick. And I would gladly use that story too in my post.

Now please dont say I objectified women, or say they have a price etc, I dont think the dude would have understood it if I had said ghar mein ma bahen nahin hai kya.

Dude dont dare,
to judge women by what they wear,
or because they choose to bare.
you might be lucky to escape with a glare
or on top of her voice loudly at
you she will swear
or you might have to escape from her heels pair
or worse your garments she might tear
Or worst might just kick you hard there, beware
Or even worse, you might end up in prison care

If you think this is unfair
It applies to females in your family too, so dont despair

When donkey deserves a kick

When the donkey deserves a kick
Muse : So when i speak to self is it wise donkey or gayathri
Self : Well both, but you can assume gayathri since thats the name everywhere
Muse : I liked the wise donkey better. I am wise and you are the donkey.
Self : Think whatever you want. I took it only because I happened to have an url called kick. And I am big fan of the donkey in Shrek. But this is not about the donkey name, its about other bloggers.
Muse : Excuse me, but is it wise, what if you offend someone?
Self : Well I am doing this because of a request from a blogger. And I dont intend to offend anyone, but if I do, I will apologise, and hope people out there are not like me who will remember and sulk.
Muse : Hmmm shall we start with Quetzal. Why Quetzal is your favourite blogger.
Self : I liked the name. And generally found the comments interesting. But I
didnt understand a bit about the Psycho babble. And Quetzal remembered my anniversary and sent a care, when I had just mentioned it casually in Terrific blog and also remembered Terrific wedding date. Since I remember all the birth dates etc, nice to see someone similar

Muse : Well Bee is your definite favourite among comments
Self : Yeah bee is not just my favourite but I think a favourite among all bloggers. I still grin when I think of her "axe effect". I really envy her ability to reply coolily. And she can be little cheeky too. She is really my idea of ideal human.

Muse : Well Rage isnt :)
Self : Well of all the idiotic things, being a Leo makes a difference I guess. I already have a fan page for him so dont want to add more. But he can be sarcastic sometimes, which i really enjoy. I remember his comments to O3blogs on the number of votes in the poll, it
still makes me smile and he did say he thought eye donation a noble gesture and now I am his sister... Sigh if only he wouldnt disagree on the Indian Muslim part ...

Muse : xxx is going to be upset that you mentioned Rage after bee
Self : Well he should be glad that I am not doing it alphabetically then he would be the last. Well he is my other brother. Nice chap (which would be hotly disputed by almost everyone) but he has a quirky sense of humour. And bee has a sobering effect on him. Ironically both my brothers believe in abusing someone who enters the blog world, abusing each other most of the time and posting song lyrics.

Muse : You had to apologise when you said adi and xxx were one or lost twins etc.
Self : Hmmm well you never know. But adi is special blogger to me. I wrote 3 blogs and didnt get a reply and I was about to leave the blog world for good so
posted the blog Thankfully no one reads this blog. Then adi posted a comment saying I am a loser. Well it just angered me for giving up and wrote the BBC blog and well here I am..And when I look back on the nearly 5 digit internet bill, that perhaps Adi would have a better life:) because of my blog on smoking does make me think I have done something. And though Adi irritated me a lot, when I got the vote from him for the poll, I was really very touched. Sort of full circle, the guy who calls you a loser, votes for you.

Muse : Too many polls, according to pramod
Self : Well yeah I do get carried away. Pramod's by line would be call spade a spade. Well he does, and people respect him for that. Would be nice if he would increase his number of posts though.:) Whatever he writes its sincere and interesting and balanced. When I start wondering about whether I am overreacting, I
will look at busybee and pramod for the balanced view to compare mine with. And of course he also likes cricket :) I liked his idea of chatroom blog today a lot. And I am relying on him to tell me when I do something idiotic. :)

Muse : Mihir the note, writes balanced posts
Self : Yes. All his posts are interesting and unbiased. Wish he would comment more. Generally I hate reading posts on cricket, they are just too shrill. But whether its politics or cricket, Mihir is unbiased and fair.

Muse : But you wouldnt say the same for dejavu
Self : No way! I was browsing through some October blogs and found that many were from dejavu. I dont how, but our views never match. And boy did he irritate me by deleting my comments on the homosexuality blog. But later he allowed them but, then didnt reply and I must have checked that blog for the 100th time in couple of days to see
if he had posted a reply. Hmmm maybe I should check one more time again. And with posts like the one on divorced couple and Ash, mother India. Never mind, he is a Leo too :)

Muse : Being a Leo helps on O3. After all if dejavu and rage had been aries I bet you wouldnt have written this. And perhaps there wouldnt have been harmony.
Self : Well may be its true. Well we owe this to Preppy. Herself a Leo. Though again she is another one who I wish would blog more often. Met her alter ego today. Muse dont ever mess with preppy's alter ego. I forgot to check with her regarding pets.

Muse : Speaking of Leos arent you forgetting the Taurus God
Self : Well he has shifted to spaces. But hopefully will visit o3 too. His favourite pic is of the cat which got killed by the curiousity. And seems he is good at Chess too. Well I dare not speak anything negative about him otherwise
I will rot in hell according to Him

Muse : There seems to be another God, who says God doesnt exist
Self : Yes Gladiatrix (hope I got the spelling right). I thought I was going to create a record in o3 by posting long comments. She will beat that record easily. All hail the Gladiatrix and please dont compare me with her, she will throw you to the lions.

Muse : Why is your attitude towards Wizard hostile. As if you want to throw him to the lions
Self : Well compliments are essential for Leos but flattery is a big no no. One of the other main reason for choosing the donkey was because I was called a genius who has to be in planning commission. I perceive it as the most offensive insult addressed to me. Enough about Wizard.

Muse : Speaking of insults, surely you must have been suprised when max supported you in domlady blog when rahul made an offensive
comment.
Self : Frankly I was suprised by others response too. Busybee of course will speak against abusive comments always. Rage and xxx moral responsibilities of brotherhood perhaps :) but yeah max was a pleasant suprise. But seems there are 2 Max in O3 and I am yet to figure out which one I should thank. And he is from aamchi Mumbai, so another connection :)
And this blog is because of his request.

Muse : Kalpesh is another blog you like
Self : Yes. I loved his 5 stages of drunkeness. One of the best posts I have come across and since it was topical it was too good :) But he also doesnt comment a lot on all blogs. Time I guess.

Muse : Speaking of time even Ayub mentioned it.
Self : Yes.Seems he blogs from browsing center and he gets irritated when he check my sify blogs and finds its filled with stuff I had written a month earlier on O3. But I rarely
visit his post, since its filled with photos. Though I cant see them, I am assuming it wont be in my taste. But then he suddenly writes about Bhopal stuff too. Well he doesnt care to represent the Indian Muslim and though I disagree with him on that, its none of my business.

Muse : Speaking of tastes, what about Crazy fellow's khaasbhaat
Self : Well I did read some and did post my comments. You could say some posts to be about sex education and well why not. Of course I would also write about safe sex etc. But then who will read.

Muse : Well speaking of reading, seems xxx didnt read sunny's blog because he thought it could be by Freedom
Self : Freedom, well I had high regard for him earlier but sometimes he can be amazingly childish when it comes to deleting comments etc. But I admire him for posting about his bisexuality and trying to write something different. I
disagree with him for deleting comments by Wgaf

Muse : Wgaf hmmm. One month you seemed to be agreeing with everything he says and the next month disagreeing .
Self : Well it depends on the topic. We both dislike Congress but when it comes to other stuff we agree to disagree.

Muse : Speaking of disagreeing , the one person who always seems to disagree with you, Mann
Self : Well, again I guess it depends on the topic. Other than mann I cant think of anyone whom bee dislikes, and it sorts of validates my dislike. But then he is just another blogger who has a different point of view. And who knows there could be some topic we both might agree on.

Muse : A person you like even though you might not agree.
Self : Well shadyman. I dont remember all his posts at the moment. But mostly its stuff that I like to read. But was it tough trying to convince him on the
love topic!

Muse : I wasnt talking about shady I was talking about Rumandcoke
Self : Well rumandcoke, is witty. A pity he doesnt post often. It cant be because of lack of ideas.

Muse : Speaking of ideas, Jay is it.
Self : Yes I do read his posts. But he has never commented outside his posts to my knowledge. Other bloggers like him are RkSharma,yossarin,delhi diva, Ravikumar Shinde,m flying. I think its not fair to write about them as they wouldnt be able to read it.

Muse : But you should write about Delhi diva!
Self : Well now I just read the first and last line of her posts. I find it boring when people do not reply to your comments.

Muse : Well its better than over reacting to your comments
Self : Rahul or Miseema? Well Rahul I have posted my reply in his blog. But must point out that as wise donkey I also said when he asked about women
in sari, jeans etc that just because he would react in the same way to a woman in a dress which was also worn by his sister and a manequin, doesnt mean all would react in the same manner. He certainly didnt abuse the "wise donkey"like he abused "gayathri" id for ask your mother regarding the way women dress.
Re.Miseema, well I am amazed. Mentioned as a lawyer and I went and wrote a big comment on how nice to have a lawyer blah blah blah and then asked for some advise, so I gave then I was amazed to find being accused of thing and being asked if I would want to be a lesbian partner. Well no more comments from me on any of Miseema's blog. Though I did wish the urls wouldnt be wasted.

Muse : Another person who uses multiple urls, commonsense.
Self : Muse have you mentioned your caste and age, its important for commonsense to know it before your statments are judged:) I
thought the bike post by commonsense would be the only one I wouldnt post a comment on..

Muse : Speaking of posts you dont read..
Self : MarcoPolo by lonelyaztec. She is one of my favourite bloggers. Has a good sense of humour when it comes to her posts in lonely aztec. But when I read her travel blog, one gets frustrated. So only when I have time for vactions will I read her travel blog.

Muse : OK lets move on to a rapid fire round. Another of your favourite bloggers
Self : Poonababe, though she is not that frequent nowadays. Dunno why.

Muse : Latest friend
Self : Colors. Though why she likes watching scary movies beats me.

Muse : Latest blog discovery
Self : Sunny is a female and is the writer of the Conficius blog. I loved sunny's comments especially in quetzal blog. my favourite is the one in response to why men cant fly. And sunny can
give me and doggy company in Spaces

Muse : Blogger who has a good blog elsewhere
Self : Hima in blogspot. Though I visited it only once. It was impressive.

Muse : Blogger you miss
Self : Terrific . But wouldnt want him to blog now either. Let him enjoy his honeymoon.

Muse : Bloggers you wonder about
Self : Rachana, Maharaja, deleted their blog for reasons i cant understand. Prajith Nair no more comments from that id. lost soul no comments or posts

Muse : Bloggers who are back
Self : Sapphire, looking forward to more. DJ came back and has now gone?

Muse : Bloggers you have forgotten to mention and who are going to be mad at you.
Self : With Sam likes my wise donkey version more I think. Was much encouraged by his comment. Myspace has a blog but I remember only the latest posts and not much of personal history between us. Techj, I
actually dont remember much of his posts, remember the bangalore one though. And I was shocked when he mentioned me in the Wolf blog as one of the person to meet and still wonder a bit if its a hidden joke :)

Muse : Last but not the least
Self : The O3 editor. .I might disagree with you. But I am grateful to know you are back. Atlast the O3 features have changed. Hurray!!!!!!!



PS : All the views are biased and if it doesnt match the reality all I can say is the donkey deserves a kick sometimes. :)

The first kick. Self : Muse a correction. Atheism post was not by Gladiatrix. Gautam it could be but Gautam commented on that post and said disagreed with the post. So cant say for sure its Gautam. Lets forget that post. The important point is the comment posting capablity of Gladiatrix. So I will still say Hail the Gladiatrix

The second kick. I
wanted to mention ipex123 who had reads but doesnt comment, and believes for some weird reason commenting requires skills :)

posted by Wise Donkey on O3

Kiss Snap Soul

When an newspaper took a snap of a kiss
Those whom we thought were kissing started hissing
They fumed at the snap
And snapped at the paper for publishing the snap

So instead of an angelic kiss
The kiss could now become, a Dementor kiss
Will the kiss, suck out the soul, (money) of the newspaper

Or will the plaintiffs and the defendents
Kiss and make up

Will it inspire Ekta Kapoor to write
Kyoki mein kissi ko kiss nahi karthi

Will it inspire Sunjay Dutt to act in
Kis(s) ko Kalas

Will it be used as a poll issue during Bihar elections.
Paswan : Last time Lalo promised the roads of Bihar will become smooth like the cheeks of Hemamalini, but this has been become as real as the Kiss of Kareena!

The best solution for all concerned would be to appoint a commission. It will go on and on and on and on...

Before Walking off into the Sunset

Aaah the Romantic Movies and Mills & Boons ! The couple get married, walk off towards the sunset and live happily ever after. Hmmm but before you decide on the marriage, do think twice about your mate and the choice and your commitment. Don't get married if you want to get married for the following reasons.

1. The Age
Of course each one has their own "age". Sometimes we determine it, sometimes its parents,friends,relatives and the neighbour next door.
When you are sure the Age has arrived, look around but don't decide unless you are sure of some other things too.

2. Wannabe
All the friends have got married. Surely I should too.
If your friend goes to a dentist, would you go too? Just because your friends do it doesn't mean you should do it too or importantly that it is good for you.

3.I want to have sex
Variations I want more free sex,
or I am tired of waiting, I wish someone made love to me etc
Marriage is not just about sex, though its one of the main aspect in marriage. Marriage doesnt guarantee good sex though. And sex with a person you dislike is worse than no sex.

4.What will they say
If I go on waiting everyone will think there is something wrong with me or that I am an homosexual etc
Never ever do something only because otherwise people will "talk". If not on your sexuality those who want to gossip, will gossip on something else. I agree its not pleasant when you seem to wait for eternity and you get proposals from the same sex. But hey you cant please all the people at all the time.
And I agree spinster is not as pleasant as bachleor but the society is not going to be there for you. Its your life.

5. I want more money
I want to improve my lifestyle. I will get a dowry if I marry or if I marry and be a homemaker I dont have to work etc
If you marry someone for money, be prepared that the other person will marry you for money too. And also be prepared that the spouse won't stick with you when you go through sticky times.

6.I want to cash in on my looks
I wont deny that a person will get more proposals based on looks in their twenties than in their forties (unless you have some rare gene or visit the plastic surgeon). But if all you have to offer is looks, you won't have it for eternity. And some better looking person can still come along. And if you find it tough to believe looks aren't everything, think about Princess Di.

7. Hot!
Oh yeah fine if it is temporary. The person looks hot and if the way to spend some time with that person is marriage and even if it is temporary, why not?
Tell innocent divorcee and see the smirk.
The second hand tag is tough. And it will be tougher to convince your soul mate, of your commitment next time around. And if you think you are going to find endless queue of "hot"people, well even if you are rich, they are going to be interested in the riches not you.

8.I am lonely
Variations, I am bored (I have achieved all I want so why not try something new etc.), would be good to have someone around the house and share some chores and bring some money.
If you are lonely get a pet, If you are bored you need a hobby not a hubby, if you want someone to help around the house get a housekeeper, and a spouse might bring money but can also spend your money too.

9.Duty
Parents want to finish their duty, grandparents want to see their grandchild before they die etc. Variations, I want to do my duty to the human race.
Its your life and your relationship. Sure
you are eternally grateful to them. But show your gratitude in some other way. And regarding your duty to human race, pay your taxes and use less plastic and fuel etc.

10. I want to have fun on marriage day
Variations, I want to wear that dress (which one is supposed to wear on marriage date), be the center of attention etc
Throw a party and get some other dress. Sure in marriage someone else could bear the party expenses but if the marriage doesnt work, divorce lawyers are more expensive compared to the cost of couple of parties.

11.My boyfriend/girlfriend proposed
Dating is not the same as marriage. Everyone tries to be on the best behaviour during dates.Dating is similar to advertisements and Marriage is similar to maintainence and after sales service.

12. Good friends
Our families are good friends. The mate also is good looking and decent. (i.e
looks sane and no criminal history) Seems to be interested and our family is keen. Ok love can be develop after marriage too. But people are pleasant to strangers, dont take it as a guarantee. Refer to my earlier advise on dating too.

My parents didn't have a problem. Why would I have?Try watching one channel for a day without remote control. Your parents watched Doordarshan and didnt complain, did they. Can you watch for 15 minutes a stuff you don't like on TV? Our lifestyle has changed. We expect to make the best out of every moment in life. And your mate is going to expect the same too. Just be prepared for it.

Marriage is not a guarantee to make life better. It is not a Tablet which will cure for All your problems. But its like a Tonic which can Enhance your life.

PS : If you want to marry because you want to enter the records books on the number of marriages or because of a new reality tv programme, I really don't know what to say other than Aaargh:)

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Single & Ready to Mingle

Guys
Met a girl, want to ask her out.
You see someone who looks decently beautiful and smart, could be coworker or someone you know casually. All you want is some good time and get to know the person better. No, not love at first sight, but just interested.Well if you want to ask her out, you have to do it, not me :) But some tips which could help you.

1.Ask for lunch, not for dinner.
Dont ask her the same day, she may not be genuinely free. Ask her, for the next day. If she refuses, and says she is not free, dont pressurise her immediately and ask for another day. Ask her when it would be convenient and ask her to tell you. If she doesnt give you a day within the next 2 days and doesnt follow it up with an explanation, drop the topic.

2.If you are asking after just introducing yourself, ask for a coffee. If she says she doesnt drink coffee, watch her expression. If she is smiling she could be genuine and ask her the alternative. But if she is grim, please dont suggest tea, give a casual shrug and move on :) What if you hate coffee? Too many movies showing spiked softdrinks,& icecream would depend upon the season, and it would look like addressing a kid, of course you can say milk shake,juice, tea,lassi or something else, for convenience I mentioned coffee. I am not telling you to order coffee, just to ask out for a coffee :)

3.The girl next door.
If you are talking with her, dont talk when someone from the building can see you too together. Gossip can be damaging. Communicate clearly. While you might be just interested in a date, she might think you had been in love with her for some years and last thing you need is a duel between her parents and yours due to communication gap between you both. Meet her outside the building and ask casually about the coffee.

4.A friend of the girl next door.
Well if you are her friend, just ask her to introduce to you next time. But if she is not your friend, just catch her when no one is around, describe the girl you are interested in clearly,(no not the vital stats please:), since she might have many friends), and give your email id and ask her to pass it to her friend. Girls might be reluctant to give their email ids or their friends email ids. So its better if you give yours. Just ask the girl next door to tell her friend to send a Hi to your email id.

4.You meet someone on the street,shopping mall etc, dont know what to do. Well make eye contact and smile. If she smiles back, say hi and walk over. If she blushes, smiles and looks away, hmmm try one more time, but if she doesnt smile, please ignore.
Huh what do you say after Hi, well say your name and what you are doing etc. And dont stand too close to her. See if she says anything, if she replies with she doesnt care who you are, or creates a commotion, stay calm, dont be flustered. Just say you thought she was someone you had studied with at college, etc and walk away. All girls wont do it, and if the same thing happens more than three times with you continuously, I think you dont know to differentiate between a smile and a scowl from a girl. If she gives her name but doesnt say much, just give her your email id. Unless she gives, dont pester her for her id, phone no. etc. Of course you can give your phone no. too, but I am just being cautious.

She doesnt email you and you meet her next time. Please ignore her. If she has lost your email id, let her come forward and mention it. Smile at her but dont approach her.(Though the movies might recommend asking if a hanky is hers or asking the time etc, its just too corny for some. Just say your name, with a pleasant smile, if you cant think of something original).

If she is with someone, dont approach her even if she seems interested in you. If she is interested, she will find a way to dump the persons she is with. Keep an eye on what she is doing, but dont follow her. If you lose her, see if you can catch her again around the same time, the following day, or the same day of the next week. But dont approach a girl when she is with someone, its just not worth it.

5.Your buddy
She has been a good friend for sometime, you want to go an extra step with her. Not love, but to explore the possibility of love. Well start with asking her out to coffee, lunch etc. But explain to her its ok if she is not interested in it.

If you think this is tough then think of these guys -Not able to meet a girl.

1.Well there are some dating sites. Also there are sites for classmates from schools and colleges. Hmmm, well you will have atleast some idea of that person and they too will have some idea about you. Get in touch with them and try your luck :)

2.Attend more social functions including all your friends and colleagues weddings:) (A bad idea, your boss's girl or your colleague's sister. Unless you are serious, dont. If its your colleagues sister, just make sure it will not affect the office relationship.)

3.Chat rooms, blogs on the net are not a bad idea, but be careful, there could be plenty of fakes.Try to be more specific, for example join groups which share your interests. Have your homepage. Just be more cautious, and if you have to meet someone, meet in a public place. Dont insist on a pic, but if you are interested, just ask her out for a coffee in the afternoon. And if you think you have fallen in love, even though you have not see her photo, wait till you see her in person before declaring it.

4.Check the email forwards. It could be a friend of your friend of your friend...Well not exactly a total stranger :)

5.Broaden your horizons, but dont do something you are not comfortable with.
If you like books, visit couple of more libraries, bookshops etc and keep an eye out for interesting girls. But if you loathe books, dont do it. Its stupid to pretend and when she finds about it on the date, either she is going to think you are desperate to meet girls (well it could be true, but its not that cool to admit it) or that you are madly in love with her (well that too could be true, a shared interest is not a prerequisite for romance. But the topic here is dating which is about exploring the possibility of romance. Its not necessary that you will fall in love with her, and when she thinks you are in love and when you are not in love, the date is just going to go sour)
Please dont look at telephone directory and start trying your luck randomly
and also dont hang forever around colleges.

I have suggested lunch or coffee, the other ideas:
Why not a movie?
Well the movie is not a bad idea, but its a bad idea to talk about yourself or get to know the girl during the movie.

Beach, garden etc ???
The girl might hesitate to come on a first date to these places, where it would be easy for you to assault her too.

Sports events, music concerts, etc
If you know she shares your interests, do go ahead, even if you wont be able to get to know each other during it.

A friend's party
It is not a very bad idea, but are you sure you want her to know your friends :D and the timing might not be convenient for her and she might feel overwhelmed if she is the only one who doesnt know everyone and you might not be able to spend time with her.

Asking her out for bowling or a game of tennis etc
Well it depends on the girl, but dont think you will be impressing her by being macho and beating her throughly, on the first date. And its not necessary that just because she is a girl, she cant beat you. Is your ego and heart capable of handling losing to her?
Both of you will just end up competing with each other, not knowing each other. But if circumstances force you to have a first date like this, its ok to go for the win, but just be diplomatic and play it down and say everyone has good days and bad days.

Discotheque
Unless you know she frequents one, dont mention it as a first date option. The time factor would make her hesitate.

What do you talk on date
Well you can tell about your hobbies and interests. Dont go on talking about just yourself. And do ask questions to your date but dont be too inquisitive. Dont talk about all your problems, anger and frustration on the first date :) and dont boast too much about yourself even if what you say is true, its preferable to be slightly modest:)

If you already are engaged, or have a committed boyfriend/girlfriend etc, or you are a widow/divorcee etc do mention it. Ideally in some cases, you should have mentioned it before the date :) But if you have agreed to it, to just check the person out, or thought that it is just a friendly invite not a date, or because as a guy, you couldnt bring yourself to say no bluntly to a girl who invited you, or for some other reason, do make a mention of the relationship on the first date.

If you have split with someone, you could mention casually, but please dont go through the entire history of the relationship on the first date.

Dont get physical with on the first date itself.

Second date
If you know each other, dont ask her for the 2nd date on the 1st date itself. The day after the date, talk to her casually, (well how about goodmorning and the weather, even if you cant think of anything else). If she makes reference to the your date, ask her if they could meet some other time. But dont get too specific. If she avoids you, you know her answer. Dont scowl at her but dont talk to much with her and be pleasant with her and let her know you got the message and you are cool with it. If she agrees do ask her next week. It need not be lunch or coffee, ask her opinion. If she says she is not free during the week, same routine as first date, keep it open and tell her to tell you, when she would be free. So you dont have to pester her.

Girls
The above should apply to the girls too. But lets face it, girls are more shy and frankly, dont like to appear to be too aggressive.

Met the guy, could be a longtime colleague, or a guy you just happened to meeting in a mall.
Well look into his eyes, not his face or top of his head or beyond him. Just the eyes. Even two seconds is enough. Do that thrice in a week, if you are in the same environment, bus etc. If he doesnt make an approach to you, forget it.

He made an approach, you got nervous and blew it. Well dont expect him to run after you, go and be friendly to him, he cant bite you for that. If you cant do that, atleast wish him good morning in a pleasant manner. Its not going to be easy, but it doesnt mean you shouldnt try. But once bitten twice shy, I doubt if he probably would not ask you out again because he wouldnt like rejection or appear pushy. Afraid you will have to do the asking here.

Oh so it is ok to ask?
If you are already introduced to him, its ok to ask for coffee, if you can manage it casually. But just be prepared for his rejection. He could also be polite and agree while he might not be interested. So dont get carried away.

When it is a friend of boy next door
When you are not that friendly with the boy next door, it can be tough. But just walk up to him, and as calmly as possible, describe the guy and ask him for his email id. And send an email to the guy, saying hi, I am ___. Met you ___ and got your email id thru ____. Bye. Thats enough. If the guy doesnt respond, forget it. Of course you can also give your email id.

So girls can suggest movies,beaches,parks etc? Use your discretion though I wouldnt advise it. What I said re, sports events, music concerts, applies here too.

And if you want courage to muster asking to him, you could walk out with him couple of times and talk generally, if you are working together etc.

If you have asked him for the coffee, dont approach for the second date. Let him ask you. But keep the communication channel open by being pleasant to him. The guy could be unsure on whether you are still interested in him and perhaps if you are interested in him, think you would ask for the 2nd date also. On the other hand the guy could have been emotionally pressurised to accept the first date or he might not be interested in you. Its safer to not ask for the 2nd date, but just be pleasant and polite.

Can't find a guy.
Huh even though the population is in favour of the girls, sometimes Mr.Right is not always around the corner.

Well what I said for guys apply here too, but just be more careful when you have to meet strangers. Dont paste your pic on the net, even if it increases the chances of meeting Mr.Right, it just increases the chances of you meeting Mr.Wrong a lot.

Common for both
Everyone would be curious to view your picture. But that doesnt mean you will have to share it with everyone. And the pic of the person displayed need not be the true pic.

Keep two email ids, one for important stuff like etransactions, family etc. And the other for friends. Especially friends who forward emails to everyone on the planet.

Exchanging email ids instead of telephone nos. Generally when its the first date, one might blabber or get nervous or get too excited etc. Therefore email id is better then phone, it gives both of you plenty of time to get composed and then compose what you want to say:)

What if you discover you are not interested in the second date, especially if you have asked for the first date. Well its insulting when you suddenly ignore the person, especially if you know the person, be pleasant but do maintain some distance. Though cliched, if the other person mentions another date, make an excuse of not being available and the I will get back to you routine.

Though tempting avoid asking your dates for their friend's email ids :) If you want to ask, ask after you are on good terms with that person.

Valentine day
Well here I am clearly talking about dating not romance. Its better to go on a date and check for the chances of romance then to give the impression that you are madly in love and then break up after a month.

Obviously all are not the same, and these are just broad guidelines. These are not rules, magazines are there for that.

The idealists would object to my term of dating being "exploring the possibility of romance".This post is not for these idealists. It would of course be lot easier if people just fall in love at first sight. But it doesnt happen always.

And how does one know that the quest has ended? Aaah thats another post:)

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Compatibility Checklist

Should one wait for eternity for the soulmate? Not at all. Just be clear on why you want to get married and what you want from marriage and what efforts you are willing to put in. Love sure is great, but two compatible individuals can make a marriage work too. And for your convenience have thought of a Compatibility Checklist

1. What is the room temperature we both are comfortable in. (9 out of 10 you will like AC during the night and your spouse wont or the other way round.)

2.What time do you sleep and wake up. (Think its dumb? Ask and you will be amazed)

3. My parents are not perfect. Please love them and tolerate them What you want me to love your parents too??? And I should consider their suggestions while making my decisions??? What do you mean by being polite to your friends? And how will you treat my friends?

4.What do you watch on TV or is it ok if we have different tv and watch different programmes.Similarly, do we have to do everything together? Shopping, movies etc.

5.If its a holiday will you like to prefer to go out more or slouch around the house.

6.Do you read books. What do you read. If its the same choice,decide who gets to read it first. If one reads and other doesnt, decide what the other will do when one reads.

7. Everyone loves music. Find out the volume the spouse prefers to hear it in.

8. How much of your salary do you spend on other family, past loans, lifestyle,hobbies etc. Do you believe in investment, and what do you prefer to invest in and what do you think are basic essential expenditure (list out. just eating out , clothing, etc won't do). How much can we spend without checking with the other. and vice versa.

9.What are your bad, irritating, annoying habits which you wont change even for me.

10. What are the dates I should remember (Include family and friends important dates too.Write down and save it). What are the gifts I can buy and not buy. Is an utility item a gift? Are you sure you love suprises?

11.We all love net. Check the number of computers and the internet connections and also the sites the partner would visit and their net ids. (The nteractive websites list is particularly important. Who wants to complain, flirt etc , only to find out its your spouse). If both of you are bloggers -Agree to not visit the spouse blog and vice versa. No one likes criticism and there can never be enough of appreciation.

12.Do you know to cook? Do you clean after cooking? Who should cook when and ask them to be specific on their food preferences. Just Indian, Chinese won't do. How many spoons of sugar in coffee, how spicy, how much oil, coconut whatever etc. (Better if each write down the specifications and negotiate.)

13.What is your favourite problem solving technique?
Astrologer, counsellor, family, friends, mag columns, ignore etc and mix and match them. Of course all problems are not similar. But be prepared for the techniques.

14.Can we discuss sex?

15.When to have children, and what each one of us should do for the child. (Discuss nappy changing, doing homework etc too. Not just being a role model for the child blah blah blah). And if any career adjustments should be made after having children.

Please note that all the points apply to men and women unless specifically excluded.But if all this is tough for you just ask think what you would like to do if you get 15 minutes of free time. And ask the other person to think and then tell. If it matches, go ahead. Hmmm sometimes thats all you get to spend with the person in a day.

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posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 3:06 PM

Wanting to go for a Drive, But taken for a Ride

DaimlerChrysler India, on Thursday, handed over the keys to the first Rs 5-crore Maybach, the country's most expensive car to Pan masala tycoon Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal. Dhariwal bought the car as a gift to his daughter, Janhavi, on her 21st birthday.
"Aur mere liye?" that was the question asked to Jalal Agha in the Pan Parag advertisement many years ago. And thanks again to Mr.Dhariwal, 5 days after the incident, I am sure many drawing rooms are again echoing the same words or words to that effect.
I have already written a post on birthdays ( Happy Birthday Mr.Singh http://o3.indiatimes.com/funundersun ) so not going to talk about it from birthday angle, though many kids are going to
say "I am not asking for a Rs.5 crore Maybach, just a ...."whatever. But other than the kids, I am sure many are wondering if not the Rs.5 crore car, should one own atleast a Rs.5 lakh car. Especially, if like me, you come from Chennai and have to travel by autorickshaws. Wonder if, instead of bargaining and paying the money to the friendly neighbourhood autowallah, wouldn't it be wiser and easier to get a car loan from the customerfriendly bank.

Well here are 5 points you could consider...(and they are not about depleting ozone layer and rising oil prices)

Reason 1 : I can drive it to my office
Check 1 : Check if the office has a carpark and more importantly if you will be allocated a car park. (Imagine the office space required for 20 employees and the parking space required for parking even 10 cars, duh)

Reason 2 : I can drive my college friends around (from wannabe Janhavis)
Check 2 : And your parents will know your friends smoke. (if you don't have friends who smoke or have an excellent freshner in car..how about you have "n number of friends" and all ns can't fit inside the car and those who don't fit in, will be angry and you will lose "n"-"those who fit in the car-1" friends) (those who fit in the car - 2 if you intend to have a driver). ;)

Reason 3 : Shopping will be a better experience. And there would be more space for shopping bags compared to autos/2wheelers/bus/trains(especially Mumbai trains)
Check 3 : No one is going to give a car owner any bargains (if you buy anything from the street). And you will have to shop not at the places you want, but only in those which have good car parks. And just because the mall has a car park, doesn't mean you will get car parking space during weekends. And if you do get space to park, you will start wondering why its not crowded. If you think you can shop, and someone can drive around and will pick you up after your shopping. Think again. The car could be stuck in a traffic jam, with you carrying 3 big bags. (If you think you can get away with it, by offering to drive around. Think twice, no one would believe you were in the traffic jam and I don't have to elaborate the consquences to you)

Reason 4 : It would be cool to visit friends and relatives in a car
Check 4 : Haven't you seen the signs "Visitors are requested to park the car outside" in almost every building gate. And again, the road is going to be filled with cars on weekends (both parked and moving). And instead of visiting those whom you want to visit, you will start visiting those who have car parking spaces for you.

Reason 5 : .But it looks good with the neighbours and others. So what if other places may not have ample car parks, I have one. Let me buy it, park it and then see if what it says in this blog is realistic.
Check 5 : Sure. A car is a status symbol. But only a clean car. You may cover it, but still the dust does creep in. And did you calculate the buckets of water you need to clean a car. You are not going to win the neighbourhood popularity contest if you spend the scarse water on cleaning a car you don't use.

To conclude, if you have booked a car park at the office, or if your "n number of non smoking , non beer/nail polish spilling friends" , exactly matches "the number which the car fits-1" or if you all your favourite shops,relatives, friends have ample car parks, and you dont mind spending on car wash or mineral water for washing a car, go ahead buy the car.

I just wanted to make sure that, just because you want to go for a drive, the car manufacturers don't take you for a ride.

And you can thank me for thinking about you/enriching your life with this excellent blog by, posting a comment mentioning the same. (Yes now you can post comments, it works!! And for those who prefer to post irrelevant comments, before you decide to vent the frustration of the last few days, on this blog, remember the �remove comments� button;) ). Perhaps if I used it to remove unflattering comments too, some might be tempted to post only praises. Hmmm;)

PS : For those who can't believe I can be kindhearted and want to know if I have any hidden agenda against cars or if I would benefit economically from this post (As it happened when I suggested couple of NGOs in Read This Challenge in http://o3.indiatimes.com/funundersun ), all I want to say is there are 2 kinds of bloggers.
1. Those who are the "Boss" at the office and have ample time and access to internet and
2. Those who are unemployed, and hope that blogging will somehow earn them a Nobel Prize in Literature. (I strictly belong to the 2nd category).

posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 2:48 PM on O3

Right to Life for the Wife

A woman has legal recourse if she is abused by her husband or her inlaws. But a woman doesnt have the right to protest against rape by her husband And doesnt have the right to insist on condomns in this age of HIV+ This is not an Indian Women's Issue, but an Indian Issue.

The right to life, for the wife

Dont I have the right to life?
I ask you, says the wife

Unprotected sex is high risk,
Unprotected oral sex is medium risk,
Is my life, asks the wife,
To you all, worth this risk?

Even animals have people protesting against their slaughter
Why does no one think of me as their daughter.
Lets talk about right to safe sex
This issue is not just for chromosome xx

I have to go through this Everyday
Do something for me atleat Today
December 1st, World AIDS Day.

Published on 1st December 2004 in O3

Blog Killer

Whats the best thing you can get in office ?Salary without work,Promotion without work, Sexy hmm colleagues..

wait. whats the next best thing you can get in office?duh.

how about unlimited access to net?oh ok. not bad. can finally visit some suggested sites..
and...well also visit messageboards, chat rooms and blogs and give my opinions.

oh and your opinons, what will they be about?well you know my opinions. i may not go out and vote but for starters, i think the latest trend is Muslim bashing and..

STOP

huh?

well thats the reason I started this topic. what would you call a person who broke our law

criminal????

well do you know the law??sheesh get to the point.

Well if you read the Indian Penal Code, 153A says statements that promote enmity between religions are unlawful; 153B says the same about pronouncements that those who profess a given religion are traitors. punishment with imprisonment up to three years or fine or both. you are kidding!!

no.you can check http://www.helplinelaw.com/ and in bare acts section go to Indian Penal Code. I have copied it for you and have given it in the end.

you dont have free net and you research about this!! anyway what happened to freedom of speech and expression?

well every right has its responsibility and break the law , you face the law. and dont glare at me I didnt make the law

and all those bashing on the net???? why do the websites allow it?

done by those who don't mind breaking the law. they think only when they are caught and prosecuted they should worry about it. or perhaps by ISI. it would be nice if the Indian Muslims believed Indian Hindus believe they are the Enemy No.1. and re websites, well i would like to know too. but if we delete all the messages, under these laws, what would be left, and who would care to comment?

well what if you believe , can't you tell what you believe?

well if you think your belief is more important than the law, its your choice. But don't forget you are breaking the law..********** (translates to remind me to never read this blog)

=======================
Indian Penal Code153A. Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony(1) Whoever-
(a) by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, or
(b) commits any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity, 89[or]
89[(c) organises any exercise, movement, drill or other similar activity intending that the participants in such activity shall use or be trained to use criminal force or violence or knowing it to be likely that the participants in such activity will use or be trained to use criminal force or violence, or participates in such activity intending to use or be trained to use criminal force or violence or knowing it to be likely that the participants in such activity will use or be trained to use criminal force or violence, against any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community and such activity for any reason whatsoever causes or is likely to cause fear or alarm or a feeling of insecurity amongst members of such religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community,]
shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
Offence committed in place of worship, etc- (2) Whoever commits an offence specified in sub-section (1) in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.]
89[153B. Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration(1) Whoever, by words either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise,-
(a) makes or publishes any imputation that any class of persons cannot, by reason of their being members of any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community, bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established or uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, or
(b) asserts, counsels, advises, propagates or publishes that any class of persons shall, by reason of their being members of any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community, be denied or deprived of their rights as citizens of India, or
(c) makes or publishes any assertion, counsel, plea or appeal concerning the obligation of any class of persons, by reason of their being members of any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community, and such assertion, counsel, plea or appeal causes or is likely to cause disharmony or feelings of enmity or hatred or ill-will between such members and other persons,
shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
(2) Whoever commits an offence specified in sub-section (1), in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to five years and shall be liable to fine.]

Please Dont Hurt the Eyes

Please don't hurt the eyes, they have life.

Please don't burn, or bury them.

Eyes can change lives, and they have life.

When during the despair of a dear one's death,

Don't forget to call a hospital within the six hours.

Unless due to jaundice or a HIV+ , or death from a dog bite.

Don't hurt the eyes, they have life.

Wouldnt you have done anything to save the dear one's life?

When they are alive with life for the six hours,

Why would you want to kill the dear ones eyes?

Dont hurt your dear ones eyes, they have life

What if you were blind folded for a day,

How tough will be - the walking and working ,

Won't life be filled with wondering and worrying .

What if this was the life of one of your dear ones,

Won't you make an attempt to get them sight?

But why not the same attempt, to give two strangers the sight?

When you can bring light to two lives,

Why hurt the eyes, when they have life?

Don't let anyone kill YOUR eyes,

Call the eyebank today.

When we can take an insurance policy to provide for the dear after our death,

why not provide for very our own eyes?

Dont we owe it to our eyes?

If you don't allow them to live, you kill them.

Dont hurt the eyes, they have life.

PS : For those who are interested in taking one step further, this link might prove useful http://www.myeyeworld.com/files/eyebanks.htm

Cookbooks are Hot

Muse : Yestereday you described yourself as a stay at home blogger. What happened to your plan of writing a book and making money?

Self : You forgot the Nobel prize for Literature part. Well I started on writing a book, then I remembered the first page generally is for dedications and I started writing on whom I owe what and the list is still on. I dont want to offend anyone

Muse : Skip it. First become successful then write on whom you owe it to. Have you decided on the topic of the book ?

Self : How about on issues

Muse : Thats what blogs are for. Do you think anyone is going to buy a book about issues

Self : How about religion. Its a hot topic now

Muse : Again I can't imagine people paying to read about it. And since I am familiar with your stuff, more people will burn your book than read it. You might earn some fame but no money.

Self : Uh what about romance

Muse : You never read romance. Thought you hated Mills and Boons

Self : Well I thought I am romantic so why read books on romance.

Muse : Hmmm you might say this on record and then people will think the same about your book. No one would want to think of themselves as unromantic. Something else. How about law?
Self : Well I can't write Grisham stuff (btw can you check with Grisham's Muse and find out why Grisham himself is not writing Grisham stuff?). If I write legal stories based on Indian courts, it will be more about endless adjournments.

Muse : Never mind law. Crime?

Self : hmmm crime pays huh. But again I will write about endless adjournments. After all the story shouldnt end with the criminal being caught. In reality its those who complain or become a witness who get caught in the legal web for a long time. How about erotic stuff

Muse : Who reads it when you get to see it on music channels for free?

Self : hmmm what about a family drama novel

Muse : Same reason, enough of it on tv soaps.

Self : Well what about humour. I cant find anything humourous on tv and people do need a laugh.

Muse : I agree but I and the other bloggers dont understand your sense of humour. No think of what people want to read.Self : Well I am not well versed in any technical aspect.

Muse : No I meant how about a book on food

Self : But one doesnt get Nobel for Literature by writing that

Muse : True but still lot of money in it. Last year alone 24000 New Cookbooks were published.

Self : hmmm what a coincidence 24000 people die everyday from hunger, thehungersite mentioned it.

Muse : Please no issues and if you are writing a cookbook please Dont talk about the health angle too.

Self : Oh I will try but who reads cookbooks?

Muse : Well who has time to learn cooking. Only after you start a career and move away from home and get tired of the tasteless expensive stuff available outside, do you think of learning cooking. TV might have endless programmes on it but who has the patience to record it and view it before cooking. And people dont have time to take printouts from websites . Cookbooks are the best.

Self : hmmm Muse if I have to write on cooking, I would need your help

Muse : Of course do you think people who send recipes to magazines and websites or write cookbooks ever try it themselves. Its always pure Muse stuff. The only thing we omit is "all recipes are fictional and are products of author's imagination and any resemblance to actual food is entirely coincidental."

And the first thing to plan when you want to write a book, is the bookcover not the dedication list. Get a gorgeous model on the bookcover. Some would think, even if the recipes don't turn out good, atleast the cover looks good, and buy; while others might think, perhaps if I tried these recipes, I will look like this model and buy.

Upma Varieties

Upma is an easy snack. Generally people think of Semolina upma, Vermicelli upma and Broken Wheat upma in South India. While sabudana kichadi (Sago upma) is well known in Maharashtra. I have written some more upma recipes , enjoy the upma varieties

1.Semolina (rava) upma
Saute rava in a dry vessel till it turns golden brown. (Can be done earlier and stored)Heat 2 teaspoon of oil, add mustard, asafoetida, 3 greeen chillies, ginger pieces, curry leaves, and half teaspoon of black gram dhal and half teaspoon bengal gram dhal (cashews optional). Add chopped onions and saute till they turn golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and stir till they turn get cooked.
For 1 cup of rava use 1 and half cup of water. If you want the upma more as a paste, use 2 cup of water.
Add the water. Wait till it boils, add 1 teaspoon of salt for 1 cup of rava. Add frozen peas. After the peas are cooked, add chopped corainder leaves and then add the rava and stir immediately. The rava absorbs the water in few seconds. Before adding the rava, its optional to add lemon juice. If the soured taste is preferred sour buttermilk can added instead of lemon juice, adjusting the quantity of water accordingly.

2.Bread upma
Break the bread into small pieces.Heat 2 teaspoon of oil, add mustard, asafoetida, 3 greeen chillies, ginger pieces, curry leaves, and half teaspoon of black gram dhal and half teaspoon bengal gram dhal, half teaspoon turmeric powder (cashews optional). Add chopped onions and saute till they turn golden brown. Add pieces of bread. The salt should be lower than other upmas, since the bread would have salt. Therefore add approximately half teaspoon of salt.

3.Idli upma
Break the idli into small pieces and same as bread upma..

4.Vermicelli upma
Fry vermicelli in a dry vessel and keep aside. Heat 2 teaspoon of oil, add mustard, asafoetida, 3 greeen chillies, ginger pieces, curry leaves, and half teaspoon of black gram dhal and half teaspoon bengal gram dhal,(cashews optional). Add chopped onions and saute till they turn golden brown. For 450 gms of vermicilli approx 3 cups of water will be required. When the water boils, add around 2 flat teaspoon of salt and frozen peas and after the peas are cooked, add the vermicelli and stir till it gets cooked.But it depends on the type of vermicelli, if more water is needed, do not pour the entire quantity at the same time, as the upma will lump up. Sprinkle water little by little, mix well and cook.

5.Broken Wheat (Burgul) Upma
Same as Semolina upma, but need not be sauted before mixing with water. Depending on the quality, use 2 cups of water for 1 cup of broken wheat.

6.Beaten Rice Flakes (Avul) Tamarind Upma
Soak a lump of tamarind and prepare tamarind juice. Wash rice flakes. And add them to the filtered juice. For 1 cup of rice flakes, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder and mix in around 1 cup of juice. Let it stand till flakes fall out in grains. Heat 2 teaspoon of oil, add mustard, 1 teaspoon of black gram dhal and bengal gram dhal and 3 red or green chillies. Add the soaked beaten rice flakes. Scald till it becomes dry.

7.Beaten Rice Flakes (Avul) Lemon Upma
For 1 cup of Rice flakes, soak in less than 1 cup of water with salt and turmeric powder as above and proceed. And after it is dry, add juice of 1 lemon.

8.Beaten Rice Flakes (Avul) Coconut Upma
Proceed as above and add grated coconut instead of lemon. The quantity of salt slightly and sugar can be added.

9.Rice Upma
For 1 cup of rice use 1/4 cup of red gram dhal. Break Rice and Dhal into small pieces.(Half teaspoon of pepper and cumin seed can be broken along with the rice and dhal) Sieve and use the coarse part.Heat 2 teaspoon of oil. Add mustard, 1 teaspoon blackgram dhal, 3-4 red chillies and few curry leaves. Add 3 and half cup of water. When the water boils, add the broken rice.And close the vessel.Cook over slow fire, stirring in between. Coconut gratings can be added towards the end.

10.Vegetable Upma
Heat 2 teaspoon of oil, add bay leaf, mustard, asafoetida, 3 green chillies, ginger pieces, and broken cashews . Add chopped onions and saute till they turn golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and stir till they turn get cooked. Add other chopped vegetables like carrot, beans, cauliflowers, cabbage, potato,peas etc and saute. Add approx 1 and half teaspoon of salt for every 1 cup of sauted rava/broken wheat/vermicelli/broken rice. Depending on the ingredient, use the required quantity of water.Instead of green chillies, red chillies or a masala powder can be used.

11.Dhal Upma or Rava pongal
If Rava is sauted and cooked red gram or greem gram dhal is available.For 1 cup of rava approx half cup of cooked dhal will be needed.Heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Add mustard, few crushed pepper and cumin seed, ginger pieces and cashew nuts. Add 1 and half cup of water.Add 1 and half teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper cumin seed powder. When the water boils,add the rava. And when the rava is cooked add the dhal and cook over a slow fire till they are mixed well. If the dhal is ready, and rava already sauted, will require around 5 minutes only.

12.Pasta Upma
Cook Pasta seperately.Heat 2 teaspoon of oil, add mustard, asafoetida, 3 greeen chillies, ginger pieces, curry leaves, and half teaspoon of black gram dhal and half teaspoon bengal gram dhal (cashews optional). Add chopped onions and saute till they turn golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and stir till they turn get cooked. Other vegetables too can be added and cooked. Add salt depending on the salt content of the pasta. And mix.

13 Oats upma
(not tried)
Heat 2 teaspoon of oil, add mustard, asafoetida, 3 greeen chillies, ginger pieces, curry leaves, and half teaspoon of black gram dhal and half teaspoon bengal gram dhal (cashews optional). Add chopped onions and saute till they turn golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and stir till they turn get cooked. Other vegetables too can be added and cooked. Add 1 and half teaspoon of salt.When the water comes to a boil add the oats. For 1 and half cup of water use 6 Tablespoons of oats. If vegetables are not used, use only 1 cup of water.Stir till it thickens.

14.Oats II
Boil 1 and half cup of water. Add 5-6 soya granules and 1 chopped tomatoes and half cup, other vegetables like peas, carrot pieces etc. Add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of peppercumin seed powder.If the quantity of water gets reduced due to the vegetables, add approx 1/2 cup of water. When the water comes to a boil. Add 5 table spoon of oats and stir, till it thickens. Note consume quickly since oats thickens after cooling. (This doesnt require oil and onions arent therefore used).Takes around 5 minutes to make depending on the vegetables used.
The consistency will be lumpy (due to adding oats directly to hot water. For even consistency. grind the oats into a powder and store and mix with lukewarm water before adding to hot water). But it will quickly thicken during the cooling period.

This is a recipe written more from health point of view than the taste and appearnce point of view.

15.Sago Upma
(Not tried)
Soak sago overnight. Drain excess water the next morning before preparing.Proceed as for other upmas and add sago and cook till it becomes translucent and add crushed groundnut pieces in the end. And garnish with corainder leaves. Optionally sugar too can be added.
Note : The water ratio for Rice Flakes and Vermicelli would depend upon the type. What I have mentioned is just an approximation. Please note of the above Vermicelli can be the trickiest one since, there are many varieties of it.

Do give your feedback through the comments:)

Thuvaiyals - Pastes that can be mixed with Rice

Thuvaiyals are Pastes which can be added to rice.
Coconut ThuvaiyalHeat 1 teaspoon oil, add asafoetida, when it bursts add 3 redchillies and 3 teaspoons black gram dhal. When the dhal turns red, add around 1/8th of a coconut and saute lightly. Grind with 1 teaspoon of salt, and water.A tiny bit of tamarind is optional.
Onion ThuvaiyalSame as above. Reduce the chillies to 2 and 1 big onion. Saute till it turns golden brown before grinding into a paste.Tomato can be used instead of blackgram dhal. When doing that, grind the paste and then saute.
Corainder Leaves ThuvaiyalPinch the leaves and wash well. 'Fry asafoetida, 3 red chillies, 3 teaspoon of blackgram dhal in 1 teaspoon of oil. Grind it with the leaves and 1 teaspoon salt. Tamarind too optional. Note the leaves need not be sauted in oil. option 2 Instead of blackgram dhal, 1 tomato can be used and it can be mixed while making vegetables salads with grated carrot or cucumber
Mint Leaves ThuvaiyalSame as Corainder leaves thuvaiyal.
Orange peep Thuvaiyal (Have not tried it)Choose the yellow variety. Scald the peel in 2 teaspoon of oil, with 2 teaspoon black gram dhal,3 red chillies, and asafoetida and grind with 1 teaspoon of salt. If water is not used, can be kept for couple of days.
Dhal Thuvaiyal.In 1 teaspoon of oil, fry half cup red gram dhal and 1 red chilli. Grind this with 1 teaspoon of salt and little coconut if desired.
Other vegetables too can be used to make a Thuvaiyal. Can follow the above principle.
Basically black gram dhal is added as a volumiser. Another volumiser is tomato. Which can be varied depending on tastes preferences. While adding water, while grinding in a mixie add it slowly instead of all at once.Never ever use black gram dhal without turning them red. Raw blackgram dhal tastes awful. :)

Rice Varieties

Generally for rice in a pressure cooker the measurement is 1:2.(for 1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water) for 3 whistles. For 3 persons approx 2 cups of uncooked rice could be required. When cooking directly it can be upto 1:3. The results would vary slightly with the type of rice. Basically some south indians eat boiled raw rice, and for idly stuff use parboiled rice, of course if you are abroad, you might mainly get basmati varities. Basmati too comes in parboiled form eg sella basmati and raw. There are other varities. But this is to give you a basic idea. Dhal varieties Red Gram is used for sambhar, rasam or on its own. Black gram is used for making idli dosas, and while seasoning curries. Bengal gram is used for seasoning or fried and grinded with corainder seeds and used for sambhar. Green Gram is used for pongal.  If greengram is not available, Red gram or Masoor dal can be used. Options with Rice 1.Lemon Rice 2.Coconut Rice 3.Tamarind Rice 4. Vegetable Rice 5.Tomato Rice 6.Pongal 7.Bisibellabath 8.Curdrice 9.Ghee rice 10.Onion Capsicum spice rice 11.Mint rice 12.Sweet Pongal.   1.Lemon Rice. Cook  rice seperately. Squeeze out juice of a lemon. And add a teaspoon of salt to it. In a vessel, for seasoning, 1-2 teaspoon of oil, add mustard, after they burst, add black gram dhal,bengalgram dhal 2-3 slit green chillies. Optional cashewnuts, groundnuts. Add half teaspoon of turmeric powder. And switch the stove off. Add the juice and stir well. Add the rice. Chopped corainderleaves can be added for freshness. Broken papads too can be added. 2.Coconut Rice Cook  rice seperately. Aprrox 1/4th of a coconut would be needed. In a vessel, for seasoning, 1-2 teaspoon of oil, add mustard, after they burst, add black gram dhal,bengalgram dhal, 2-3 slit green chillies. Optional cashewnuts, groundnuts. Add half teaspoon of turmeric powder. And switch the stove off. Add the coconut and 1 teaspoon of salt and stir well. Add the rice. Chopped corainderleaves can be added for freshness. 3.Tamarind rice Generally ready made mixtures can be used. If not available, it takes time to prepare the tamarind paste. Procedure for making a tamarind paste. Please note I have not tried this, but the recipe is from a reliable source :) Tamarind a big lump. small orange. Salt 1 and half teaspoon. fenugreek seeds 1 teaspoon, red chillies 10-12, turmeric powder half teaspoon asafoetida a bit, mustard 2 spoons. oil 1 ladleful bengal gram dhal 1/4 cup. Prepare a thick tamarind juice by adding water and filtering it out. Soak bengal gram and drain. Fry fengreek and asafoetida and break into powder. pinch red chillies. Pour oil in vessel, fry mustard and chillies, add soaked bengal gram dhal, and scald dry. add turmeric powder. pour tamarind juice. add salt and asafoetida and fenugreek seed powder. Stir over slow fire. When the water evaporates, the oil will float on top. Groundnuts, cashewnuts can be added at the seasoning stage. This paste can be kept for few days. Add required quantity to rice and add salt if required. 4.Vegetable Rice Prepare rice seperately. Pour couple of teaspoons of  oil, season with a bayleaf, add few cashew nuts, add chopped onions, and vegetables, like cabbage, carrot, beans peas etc. For the spice part either add a readymade masala or simply add 3 slit green chillies before adding onions. or Grind, 2 cloves, halfteaspoon of pepper, cinammon and other spices and add. Ginger garlic paste is optional and depends on the time available to you. Add around one and half teaspoon of salt. And when cooked add the rice. Can add chopped spring onions in the end. If you want to add soya granules, soak them in water and then add them while adding vegetables. Quickie veg rice. Cook potatoes while cooking rice in the cooker. Take a vessel, add oil, the spices cashew etc.Add peas.Grate carrots and add. And add to it,the peeled potatoes and rice. :) 5.Tomato rice Chop couple of big onions, crush garlic, and cut into small bits 3-4 ripe tomatoes, 4 greenchillies etc. Prepare rice seperately. Heat 2 spoons of oil, add mustard asafoetida, 4 green chilies, add onions and garlic. When the onions turn brown add the tomatoes. Let the tomatoes cook for while. Add 1 and half teaspoon of salt. Add chopped corainder leaves.Mix with rice 6.Pongal. For 1 cup of rice, use half cup of green gram dhal or red gram dhal. Cook both of them in pressure cooker. For seasoning, in 1 teaspoon of oil add mustard, ginger bits, couple of fresh black pepper 1 and half teaspoon of pepper cumin seed powder and 1 and half teaspoon of salt. Mix with rice. 7.Bisibellabath. (Please note these are functional recipes.) While cooking rice in pressure cooker, also cook around 1/6 cup, red gram dhal, bengal gram dhal, vegetables like, drumstick, carrot, beans, potatoes(skin peeled since with other veg). Soak tamarind. Saute 4 red chillies, 1-2 teaspoon of corainder powder, 1 teaspoon of bengal gram dhal,half teaspoon of pepper, and few bits of coconut. And grind them into a mixture. If sambar powder is available use it along with sambar powder or use just sambar powder. In couple of spoons of oil. some prefer gingelly oil:) fry chopped big onions and peeled small onions. Add the filtered tamarind juice, the grinded mixture and around 2 teaspoons of salt. when this comes to a boil. Add the other vegetables, dhals and rice and stir. The vegetables can be cooked in tamarind juice too. Cashew nuts in this too can be added during the seasoning stage. 8.Curd Rice. Cook Rice seperately. Add 2 teaspoons of oil in a vessel. Add, mustard, after it splutters, 2 chopped green chillies and chopped ginger. Optional additions included, soaked dry grapes, fresh grapes, grated carrot. Garnish with chopped corainder leaves. Add a teaspoon of salt. And mix with curd and Rice. To prevent it from going sour add milk . 9.Ghee Rice. Cook rice seperately. Add a spoon of ghee, 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds and some cashewnuts, and 1 flat teaspoon of salt if its upto one and half cup of rice. Mix with rice. Obviously more for kids.:) 10.Onion Capsicum Spice Rice Cook Rice seperately. Basically you can make this when you dont have time to cook other vegetables. Heat 2 teaspoon of oil.Add a bayleaf, 2 cloves, few cashews, add spices powder or powder (1 clove,1 bit cinammon, 2 cardamon,half teaspoon of pepper & corainder, cumin halfteaspoon, few cashew & badam optional,) add chopped onions and when they turn brown, add small bits of capsicum. and stir for few minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. And mix with rice. 11.Mint Rice Its tough to pluck all the mint leaves individually :) But if you manage to do that while watching TV, here is mint rice. Cook rice seperately.  Try to wipe with a dry cloth the mints to clean them. Add a teaspoon of oil, add asafoetida, when it splutters, add 2-3 red chillies, few blackgram dhal. When the dhal turns brown add, the mint. Saute in low flame. Then grind with a teaspoon of salt. Dont add water to this mixture if you want to keep it for couple of days. Mix rice with this powder. 12.Sweet Pongal Cook rice and dhal. In the ratio of half cup dhal for 1 cup rice. Dissolve jaggery (approx lemon size for 1 cup rice. ) in half water. In 1 tablespoon of ghee, fry cashewnuts, add the jaggery water, sugar couple of spoons, grated coconut and half cup of milk. Also add cardomom powder and soaked dry grapes. Add the cooked rice and dhal and stir, till it thickens. Note depending on your taste, vary the quantity of sugar, jaggery and coconut.

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Cooking Tips for those who dislike cooking

Cooking Tips for those who dislike cooking

Cooking tips for those who dislike cooking Without wasting time on why we dislike cooking and importance of cooking etc, I will come straight to the point. 1.Throw out the recipes books. Err atleast most of the recipe books. If you are a Tamilian, Meenakshi ammal's Cook and See is ok for giving an insight. But otherwise, today's cookbooks just mention recipes, we havent eaten before and we have no idea of whether it tastes bad because of our skills or the recipe. 2. Decide on what you like in your food. Eg, onion, peas etc which can be added to many things. Make it a point to include it. 3. Invest in a good vessel. Copper bottom vessels may seem good for fast cooking but you will have to stick around to stir continously to prevent the food from burning. I prefer a real teflon and if you buy the teflon, use the wooden spoon. 4. Avoid having many vessels. And its worse when you have to spend time to wash them all afterwards. Keep a small one for frying, one teflon for curry, one saucepan for boiling water stuff, one vessel for the sambar/rasam etc stuff and a cooker or anothe vessel for rice. For a person who dislikes cooking, having a kitchen with less vessels is less intimidating :) 5.Have a measuring cup and a teaspoon and tablespoon  for measuring stuff. So that next time u can do it if turns out well and write down what you did whenever anything comes out well. 6.Food is not just for hunger but also for nutrition. Thankfully we dont have to spend lots of time for cooking nutritious food. Soups, juices, salads all dont take lot of time. For tasty unhealthy food there is always a restaurant. Nutrition basics Use preferably extravirgin olive oil, forget butter, ghee, cheese, etc and go easy on deep frying Dont use salt in everything. A teaspoon of salt is the average for  one food item cooked for upto three persons. Dont add salt to salads. Grated carrots, cabbage with just lemon juice tastes good too. Limit the use of coconut. When making sweets, use sugar substitute. Instead of using more sugar and ghee to enrich a sweet, use more dryfruits. If you are a veggie, soya is useful since it has omega3. Have atleast one fruit a day, Everyone knows but never drink 8 glasses of water. Drink from a bottle and count the glasses you drink per day. Of course 8 is a general rule. Coffee is good for health if we filter it through a Paper filter. Dont confuse this with the filter coffee. Wholemeal bread is better than brown bread. same with wheat. Fengreek seed is good idea while eating oily or spicy food and is also used as a preservative factor in pickles etc. 7.Taste equilibrium. Basically its about balancing the spicy and salt. (Generally equal proportions). The spicy options are red chillies, green chillies, pepper, and smaller extent corainder seeds and onion which is not sauted. Salt is just salt, unless you use a salt substitute Sour mainly tamarind and lemon and mild substitute sour buttermilk and raw mango Sugar is sometimes the other element. It could be sugar, jaggery and the milder ones include coconut, fennel seeds I am not classifying the cumin seeds which generally goes with pepper or green chillies, the corainder seeds goes with red chillies and bengal gram dhal and stuff like basil, thyme etc which depends on individual tastes. 8.Damage control If your food is spicy, add salt or water or sweet element or all in combination. (If you add water dont forget to bring it to boil) For excess of other tastes use similar logic. If it is too thin, mix a tablespoon of riceflour or cornflour in half cup of cold or lukewarm water and then add it to ur food and bring it to a boil. Dont add directly it will just lump. 9.Keep a plan of what you want to cook. Generally we buy what is available and cook according to it. Its important to have an idea of what we want to eat  and it is definitely less stressing. Having a plan also helps when it comes to preparation. Eg stuff like channa or other dry beans variety have to be soaked overnight are a good source of protein. But unless we plan, we might not cook them. 10. Never waste your time aiming for perfection. Chapathi is important not a round chapathi.

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Aitraaz

Can anything be misrepresented in the name of art? Is nothing sacred? Will we allow a flag which doesnt resemble ours, to be passed of as our national flag? Similarly shouldn't  the law of the land be sacred?

Watched the movie Aitraaz. Sexual Harassment is a serious issue. A man or a woman can be sexually harassed at work. But are the scenes in the movie a realistic depiction of the legal procedure? Not only was the procedure unrealistic, even the definition was wrong. Surely when you hit another person on their posterior everyday as a greeting , its sexual harassment.

Bollywood doesnt like Hollywood comparisions. But can we imagine a Hollywood movie where the legal system is misrepresented?

What is the logic behind Censor Board, if movies misrepresenting legal procedure is cleared. Just because many movies in the past have done it doesnt mean others should be able to do it in future.

What is the literacy level in India. And what is the legal awareness level? How many today think its better to not get involved with the legal system, even as a witness? What will be easier, paying off a cop, or going through the legal system.

People worry about a seer's image if a case against him is not cleared on time. What about those who can't afford decent lawyers? What is the credibility of the system when its easy to get a warrant against the President?

For any society to function well, respect for the law is essential. (Thanks to the movies, the cases will be finished in couple of weeks and there is no procedure and just lengthy emotional dialogue and a judge who just says � order order�  to courtroom laughter.)  I dont think any other professionals would keep quiet if their procedures are potrayed wrongly. If a Surgeon in a movie, is shown to operate with an axe, for dramatic reasons will the medical profession remain quiet?

Judicial reforms are required. But why will the MPs care, when people dont care. But how will people care when they dont know the details? And when we dont have any medium to create legal awareness, atleast we can stop blatant misrepresentations? How will people demand for change, when they dont know what to change.

Ironically if the Lagaan movie director had decided to change a cricket rule and had decided that for a dramatic effect, a person would not be out if the bails fall but for a "bowled" wicket  all the 3 stumps should be knocked down, it would have created more furore.

Its not acceptable to mispresent a cricket law, but who cares about the law of the land?

Suggestion : Perhaps irresponsible potrayl of the legal system be penalised by a 1% tax on its revenue to discourage it

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Birthdays are Important Mr.Singh

I stared at my monitor stunned. What next I wondered, Bush saying Kerry was great in Vietnam? I am of course referring to the article in which our PM says he doesn't attach much importance to his birthday. Imagine, that from an Indian politician!

Birthdays are important not just for politicians but also to the ordinary citizens (the India Shining category. The others who voted, don't count much since they don't have access to internet and thus this blog, leave alone clean drinking water. (ok i know many who access this blog also have access to clean drinking water from their mineral water bottles only. but lets move on to the what i wanted to write about))

Ask any parent and they will tell how important birthdays are. Not their birthday, their little angel's birthday. Some parents approach it with a fervour and planning thats matched perhaps by only the organisers of international beauty pagents. Of course, commerce enters and there are organisers and budgets (who didnt know that).

A fashionable dress from a boutique is the start. (one neednt worry about not knowing the latest trends. The kid (sorry angel) would know . You are needed just to foot the bill. And then comes the cake. Gone are the days when it was just a chocolate cake. The shapes and colors are supposed to make a statement. And finally the gifts . If the uncles , grandparents have forgotten, its wise to give on their behalf. Or during their next visit, forget the little ones being polite to them. And each parent is supposed to give one gift and that does not include the dress or cake. return gifts too are to be bought for all the friends. And while choosing that, you are not supposed to repeat the last year gifts or copy a neighbour's good idea. Not unless, you want the child to be a social outcast. Many think an entertainer is essential. And that doesnt mean jokes or songs from
the parents. The invitation too is important. Though handwritten ones are ok. They have to be on preprinted cards. And never send invitations without consulting your child. The important thing is the invitations are for your sweetiepie's friends. Not your friends who have kids.

And thats not all. Important too are the birthday parties of the angel's friends. Preferably for each birthday party a new dress is required. The price for having a socially popular child can be high. And the dress would probably end up with a cake or an ice cream stain. And despite ads which claim that we have been finally liberated from dirt and stains, they do not seem to apply to children's clothes. And of course the gifts. There are best friends , good friends and close friends, and friends and many more category, epending on the child. And don't give similar gifts to all. And the same child who refuses to eat your best food, would be gorging on tasteless food of your neighbour.

Well what would be life here without birthdays. How many kids would care about Gandhiji, if 2nd October wasn't a holiday.

Birthdays are important for what they bring,
Happy Birthday, Mr.Singh.

Bush Blames Bond

Dear Diary,
Today (21.09.04), I have to make a speech in UN. And even though I have defeated the Extremely Evil Empire of Saddam, some still expect me to explain Iraq war. Well , it was just not about oil politics, you know me, I believed in Bond. When I was told the report about WMD was from intelligence, I assumed intelligent guys (and gals) supplied them and they were reliable (like Bond).

Sure I always tell, what people want to hear, not what I think. But that doesn't mean the Bonds serving our nation should do the same! After all in the Bond movies the President (or the Prime Minister) don't doubt Bond ! And they don't show a commission, or an enquiry goes into what has been done by Bond!

After I win the re-election, in the interest of future Presidents & Prime Ministers, I am going to do something about Bond movies. I am going to insist that they start reflecting reality. A new clause pertaining to Bond movies will have to be added to the Patriot Act.

Or perhaps in the next Bond movie I can ask them to tell that about a deeper conspiracy. A presidential candidate (obviously Kerry look alike) smuggles the WMD to ---- hmm somewhere; (Colin will know where) or better all the data was correct but the evil enemy hacked into CIA and changed the word Iran to Iraq. (then i can say, lets declare a war on Iran, the next axis of evil).

Yes no point in blaming Bond , when I can use Bond.
Gentlemen may prefer Blondes,
And re WMD believe not Bush, but Bond.

10 questions

You indulge in a sexual act, and your partner records it. Mobile phone is not the only way to do it, there are cameras which are as small as a bug.And not only just records it, but also puts it up on the net, and sends it to everyone you know. Or it could have been a third party who does it. Or you and or your partner could have been under the influence of drugs, or you would have agreed to the act, but not to the recording, or you could have agreed to the recording but not to the circulating. What do you think should be the law in the following options 1.The person who agrees to the circulation irrespective of gender,is below 16 years and thus may not be able to comprehend the effects of the circulation. And when a person is above 16 years : 2.If you and or your partner have agreed to the recording but not to the circulation, 3.If you and or your partner are not aware of the recording itself 4.If you and or your partner are aware of the recording and perhaps even the circulating is under the influence of drugs. (Would it make a difference if the drugs had been consumed without knowledge?)  5.If the recording is circulated for reasons of malice 6.If the recording is circulated for reasons of commerical profit (with or without malice) 7.If you or your partner are threathened with circulation and its a blackmail. 8.If you are above the age, but if the media decides to publicise it because a.one of the sexual partners is a famous person (could be at home too) b.the act took place in a public place c.because of legal action which you or your partner intends to take against the person who circulates. 9.If people decide to see it because of lust factor 10.If people decide to see it because of curiousity factor because of the media or because they know you When do you think the law of the land should step in, the above 10 cases When do you think its ok for people to see it, even if there isnt a total consent . Are you aware of the laws, relating to this. Do you think media will be justified in publishing links which will enable free downloading of images?  If all of the above are ok for guys, will it be also ok, if it is their sister or daughter who would be above 16 years of age. If you are a guy who has consented to the recording and circulation of a sexual act, but for some reason, you become temporarily unable to get an erection, and if the recording is circulated and you are being potrayed as Impotent, would you answer the above questions differently? PS : While obscene need not involve just sexual acts, it can even be a recording of a person in a changing room, for convenince I have asked regarding sexual acts.   Rather than use just as the DPS school incident in the background please keep this too in mind :  Jalgaon is a small but industrially prosperous town on the map of Maharashtra. On 24th June 94, the news flashed. Some hundred girls and married women had fallen prey to some local masterminds. How was it being done? The modus operandi was something like this By cheating or by tricking the girl: She falls in the trap. Once she enters the trap, it closes around her and forces her to repeated acts. Unfortunately, it is not mere mechanical repetition for her!. All the more repulsive thing in the entire episode was the degradation of the word 'LOVE'. It was not an act of love! but 'acting'. The simple method used stepwise was --(1) Acquaintance. (2) meeting. (3) More meetings planned. (4) Filmy style assurance of love at first sight or a small variation was, taking advantage of the girl's economic difficulty and trap her promising help. (5) Promise of marriage sometimes. (6) Coaxing her to meet privately in a hotel. (7) Challenging her to prove her love, or making her unconscious with drink. (8) Final act, for which, the stage was set with hidden camera's and peepholes. (9) Blackmailing her (and her family) to extort money with the help of those photos and films and threatening her of terminating the lives of her near and dear ones-brother-kids-husband, if she refused. (10) By the same technique using her further, forcing her to entertain friends or customers. (11) Forcing the victim to involve her friends-using her as a contact person. (12) Selling out and/or showing in parlours the video films of so-called one act.

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3 million brides and grooms. Find your life-partner at BharatMatrimony.com

Thankfully no one reads this blog

Self : "Er .."

Muse : "What a weak post reg Singh and kids birthday parties. "

Self : "Well no one reads it. Who cares what I post?"

Muse : "And then posting M.Moore's email. Didn't know that those in India got to vote in U.S prez elections."

Self : "Well, I just couldn't resist it. Its a feel good thing. For all the stuff , americans seem to have, they don't have a good President. And it can be also viewed as a warning. What happens when we don't vote properly. What if Laloo Yadav or Murli Manohar Joshi or Arjun Singh become our prime minister. But seriously, since Bush makes decisions for the world, it wouldn't be a bad idea if the entire world voted in US Presidential elections."

Muse : "Well there are others who had read your other posts in other blogs. What will those who respect your views on issues think. Won't you be letting them down. What happened to the prize winning writer. Will you be able to put this post along with your other paid and published short stories? Is it because you aren't being paid, the issue here? Or is it the lack of audience? That should not be an excuse. What if Sachin decided to play poorly, in a Ranji match, just because no one comes to watch it? "

Self : "I had never said anywhere that I am a good writer. I write not because I am good at it . But because I love to. "

Muse : "Well , if thats the way you want it, then fine. Thankfully no one visits this blog. "

(posted in o3 earlier)

Sai Baba maybe a Godman, but BBC is God

Muse : "You have been given a good idea by Adi (in a comment on the post “Thankfully no one reads this blog“), and you were thinking about it whole day, yesterday. Go ahead. write about it."

Self : "You mean re Sai baba!"

Muse : "Of course! (idiot ! why do i have to work with such a stupid person!" (David Dhawan would have been a better choice, or (sobs) even Dev Anand))

Self : "Well I saw the World Uncovered programme on BBC yesterday. The problem is I can't find anything funny in it. Except the Murli Manohar Joshi part of course. You know I hate him, in fact more than Moore hates Bush. But he is not a cabinet minister & there is no fun in making fun of him. Its like flogging a dead cockroach. "

Muse : (Grinding teeth) "The programme wasn't about Joshi it was about Sai Baba."

Self : "Well ok. I thought Saibaba was a good man. But now Ii am not sure. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. But no man or godman is above law. And if there is a petition to be signed to investigate the accusations, i will sign it . But i am not going to taunt all those who are still his devotees and say "ha ha you have been fooled"

Muse : "I wish you worked for the Brit tabloids"

Self : "Huh ?"Muse : "They will be out of business in a day. "

Self : "Well I told you earlier, I admit I am not good at writing. But I love writing. Of course it will be nice if someone read it and said i write funny stuff. .."

Muse : "Yeah yeah i know. i heard you talking to your husband today morning. You are not good at cooking, but you love to cook for him. And though you don't know how to even spell Chinese, you want to cook Chinese for him and even though the poor guy doesn't complain, it will break your heart if he doesn't appreciate the food... (are you sure you weren't confusing the Chinese torture recipes with Chinese food recipes?) Tell me, you were good at those goody goody stories and posts on what people can do to make the world a better place. And few did read them. Why the sudden switch to this "funundersun". If you can't cook Chinese, get a book on Chinese cooking. Why start with experiments on what may be Chinese cooking?"

Self : "Oh I got tired of people thinking that those who are involved with causes are either super rich cool movie stars or nerds who can't sell even a pen and therefore end up making everyone feeling guilty about having even basic stuff like pizza and pepsi.""But i wasn't worrying about Sai Baba yesterday. I was just wondering if I would have believed it, if it had come in another news channel. A tabloid or its TV equivalent, say fox news." (Something like if my Chinese food was served in a Chinese restaurant, the assumption would have been "I don't like Chinese cooking" not , "are u sure this is Chinese food, this seems to be Chinese torture." And going further on that , why do we think that food cooked by a Chinese is authentic Chinese cooking. (and for that matter that Chinese look chef could be a nepali )and where does it say that all Chinese, cook good Chinese food?)

Muse : " Enough of Chinese. Lets talk about Fox.I like fox news. They have imagination , especially when it comes to news.. And fox channel has useful medical programs like Swan."

Self : "Perhaps it would have been better if NDTV had done it. Sort of hurts to have a foreigner do it. But anyway i trust BBC"

Muse : "So Saibaba maybe a Godman, But BBC is God?"

Self : "Well Gandhiji said Truth was God, And today BBC , NDTV, Times of India, Indian Express, Outlook etc stands for truth and trust. Whom do we trust, not the politicians, or the teachers or doctors, leave alone the engineers. And simply forget the lawyers. I have absolute faith in media. Of course not all of them. But some of them. "

Muse : "I know its none of my business. Isn't "only my sect knows about God", similar to "only the channels I like and only the newspapers I read, know and tell the truth?" “And is it ok, when the acceptance of the message, depends on ,who the messenger is ?"

Self :"I thought you were my muse, not my conscience."

Read this Challenge

It was very tough for me to read the contents of this link http://www.cry.org/crypage.asp (if u r unable to visit the link(www.cry.org -> projects and partnerships -> Statistics). Have given below an edited version of it.

If anyone can read it completely without feeling sick, do mention ur name. And for those who read it halfway and say its sad and quit, i will quote Bush "If you are not against them, you are with them".

Unless, you take a step to solve the problem, you are part of the problem.

So lets start the Read This Challenge
'The situation of underprivileged children in Indian
•40 percent of India's population is below the age of 14 years.
•About 60 million Indian children under the age of 6 live below the poverty line.
•Every second child in the country is malnourished.
•Almost 2 million children in India die every year before reaching their first birthdays.
•One in 11 dies before his/her fifth birthday.
•7 to 8 lakh children die every year from easily preventable diseases like diarrhoea.
•Children from 100 million families live without water at home.
•Children from 150 million families live in households without electricity.
•Less than half of India's children between the age 6 and 14 go to school.
•A little over one-third of all children who enroll in grade one reach grade eight.
•One in every ten children is disabled in India.

Education
•Girls are denied equal opportunities to attend and complete primary education.
•Unmet challenges include the improvement of the quality of schooling.
•India has the maximum number of 'out of school' children in the world.
•Only 60% of Indian children (the total child population below 14 is 228 million) reach grade V, and many of those 'completing' primary school cannot read or write.

The Girl Child
The alarming fact is that female infanticide or foetuses has increased over the past few decades. While in 1960 there were 976 girls born for every 1000 boys, in 2001, there are only 927 girls for every 1000 boys.
•1 out of every 6 girls does not live to see her 15th birthday
•One-third of these deaths take place at birth
•Every sixth girl child's death is due to gender discrimination
•Females are victimised far more than males during childhood
•1 out of every 10 women reported some kind of child sexual abuse during childhood, chiefly by known persons
•1 out of 4 girls is sexually abused before the age of 4
•19% are abused between the ages of 4 and 8
•28% are abused between the ages of 8 and 12
•35% are abused between the ages of 12 and 16
•3 lakh more girls than boys die every year
•Female mortality exceeds male mortality in 224 out of 402 districts in India
•Death rate among girls below the age of 4 years is higher than that of boys. Even if she escapes infanticide or foeticide, a girl child is less likely to receive immunisation, nutrition or medical treatment compared to a male child
•53% of girls in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate
•Every year 27,06,000 children under 5 years die in India. And the deaths of girl children are higher than those of male children.

Child Labour
•100 million child labourers in India work in hazardous or exploitative conditions.
•They work for 12 - 15 hours a day and earn less than Rs.3 per day.
•They work with explosives, metals, and poisonous gases from the age of 3 - 4 years.
•15 million of these children are bonded labourers.
•There are 11 million homeless children, living on the streets.
•One out of two children between the ages of 6 and 14 has no access to primary education.
•80% of child labour is engaged in agricultural work
.•25% of the victims of commercial sexual exploitation in India are below 18 years of age.
•Millions of children work to help their families because the adults do not have appropriate employment and income thus forfeiting schooling and opportunities to play and rest.
•Children also work because there is demand for cheap labour. High incidence of child labour is a result of high incidence of adult unemployment.
•Large numbers of children work simply because there is no alternative - since, they do not have access to good quality schools.
•Poor and bonded families often "sell" their children to contractors who promise lucrative jobs in the cities and the children end up being employed in brothels, hotels and domestic work. Many run away and find a life on the streets.

Child commercial sex workers:
•There are approximately 2 million child commercial sex workers between the age of 5 and 15 years and about 3.3 million between 15 and 18 years
•They form 40% of the total population of commercial sex workers in India
•80% of these are found in the 5 metros
•71% of them are illiterate
•500,000 children are forced into this trade every year

Mentally/ physically challenged children:
•3% of India's children are mentally/physically challenged
•20 out of every 1000 rural children are mentally/physically challenged, compared to 16 out of every 1000 urban children
•Mentally/physially challenged girls are at a particular risk to violence and abuse

' CRY donations start at Rs.100. Online donation possible.http://www.cry.org/
another very good site is http://www.icicicommunities.org/communities/index.asp (i am not an employee of these sites)

PS : And whatever we have done is not enough, the stats seems to show we simply don't care....

8 things you could have said but didnt

To many, today, your birthday, might just represent a holiday.Or the smiling face on the currency. I dont think you were perfect, who is ? To me, you represent the belief that the path is as important as the goal.
When 22 policemen were done to death, in Chauri Chaura, I can think of 8 things u could have said :

1. I didnt do it, so i am not responsible


2. My followers didnt do it . Its a frame


3. My followers were provoked


4. 22 lives. what about the millions of Indian lives!


5. Goal justifies the attimes unfortunate Path we have to follow


6. They were policemen, its similar to killing a soldier in war


7. They weren't civilians leave alone children


8. Appoint a committee

But you decided to call off the Non Cooperation Movement itself!
Hope that I discover your spirit in me, everyday, and not just on your birthday.

Posted on 2nd October 2004 in O3.indiatimes.com/funundersun

Technorati Tag India Gandhi

The Village

Wannabe scripwriter to his boss, a top scripwriter, in, where else but a 5 star hotel."Boss, you wanted a script like Sholay. I think I have a good idea .With a touch of Gudiya incident."

Boss wakes up and tries to focus on the wannabe and grunts.

Wannabe : "Set in a village.."

Boss : "Stop. I wanted a story like Sholay. But it should appeal to today's youth. This is the age of India Shining,sms and pizzas"

Wannabe : "Malika Sherawat can be one of the heroines"

Boss : "Hmm. Make it quick"

Wannabe : "I was doing some research on the internet and I came across this article.."

Boss : "What were you doing on the internet. I told you to watch Shyamalan's The Village and some other movies for a Sholay with modern touch inspiration. And I know what internet research means these days. I am still in touch with the youth"

Wannabe : " Boss let me tell you about some of the incidents I came across, then we can mix and match." And starts to read from his printout.
"Background is the atrocities of panchayat. Not the legislated, elected gram panchayats that are supposed to be governance's third tier. They are supposed to be mere rubber stamp. This is about caste panchayats that rule life in many of our villages: the community councils of elders—five or more, mostly upper-caste, and always male—who dispense justice at will and whim. Muscled by a medieval morality, these caste collectives of elders are known to punish by ostracising, publicly disgracing, making the guilty chew excreta, stripping, parading women naked, presiding over torture, mutilating, prescribing rape as retribution, even killing. But the one punitive device the caste panchayats use most commonly—social boycott—is also the one that they get away with with the greatest ease. For those living in the villages, "hooka pani bandh" is social strangulation, akin to death. "

Boss nodding with eyes closed. Wannabe pauses,not sure if Boss is asking him to go on or dozing. But decides to go on.

Wannabe : "In July this year, three Dalit women from the Mahar caste were gangraped by eight upper-caste men in Madhya Pradesh's Bhomtola village in Seoni district as "reprisal": because an upper-caste girl had eloped with a boy from their family. When, as demanded by the upper-caste Goli panchayat, the boy's family could not locate and bring the couple back within two days, the elders delivered retributive rape as justice. About 50 Goli men attacked the erring Mahar family, dragged its three women about two kilometers away. Where, eight men from the girl's family, including uncles and nephews, raped the women. All eight were later arrested, and the state government imposed a fine on the entire village for "abominable cowardice in remaining a mute witness to a gory happening".

Boss opens eyes: "Hero is a police officer.Two possiblities. The victim family could be his heroine, and he saves them before any thing happens. Or better, they could be his sisters. He is in city, his brother comes to him with the eloped girl. But after a lengthy dialouge, he convinces them to return to the village with him. But before their arrival, all his sisters are raped and they commit suicide from shame. The brothers pledge to avenge. The heroine could be a city journalist or lawyer who helps them. The main villain of course should be an ISI Terrorist. Who is in the hero's village and wants to smuggle a huge cache of bombs and missiles and is in collision with the Panch. Have the village near a beach and we can have some beach scenes too. But a fine on all the villagers is not a good climax. A long dialogue, and some good action hmmm lets see... we can work on it...ok continue..

Wannabe reading from the printout : "Around the same time, 60 villagers of Jhapa Udan, 17 km from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, watched a similarly morbid panchayat punishment being meted out to 48-year-old widow Sumitra Devi. Sumitra was beaten, stripped and acid thrown on her genitals; penalty for filing a complaint with the chief judicial magistrate against mukhiya Ambika Ram and his men, accusing them of filching the money allotted to her for an Indira Awas housing unit. Lying wounded and weak in a dirty ward in Muzaffarpur's skm hospital now, Sumitra whines out her memory of the court that punished her so: the mukhiya dragged her out of her home and the panchayat decided she was tarnishing the village's image by complaining about reputed people to outside authorities."

Boss : "No hero. Forget this, but we can include this in the first script"

Wannabe : "In February, a panchayat in the Babultara village of Marathwada presided over the thrashing of a Dalit woman by upper-caste Hindus. She had filled water from the only public tap in the village. Later, to ensure that lessons in local law had been learnt well, the panchayat ordered a boycott of all 25 Dalit households in the village of 2,000, the grocer wasn't allowed to sell food to them for many months. "

Boss simply yawns

Wannabe hurriedly skips couple of incidents and comes to ..: " Last month, a caste pancahayat ordered 21-year-old Sonu, widowed four years ago, to leave her marital home in Chaubara village in Haryana's Hissar district. Fault: Sonu wasn't playing the expected helpless homebound widow. She'd reaped fruitful harvests on the plot left to her by her husband, run a grocery shop, tailored clothes for added income, got her son into an English medium school. Soon, however, her brother-in-law took her as his second wife citing Jat custom: to usurp half her property. "Also, most male relatives began demanding sexual favours," says Sonu. "I beat up some, and began sleeping in the courtyard with a stick by my side. Spurned, these men spread canards; even an electrician coming to my house was immoral!" The moral police stepped in and sentenced Sonu to a year-long exile, without hearing her at all. "

Boss : "We can show the husband is a special agent in army. For a secret mission, he pretends to be dead. He fights terrorists and detonates bombs and comes back from the Kargil war, and fights his step-brother (brother won't do).And they live happily. But there is no punch and not much city angle..

Wannabe reading from the article again : " it benefits the nexus of politicians, bureaucrats, landlords, upper castes and contractors to keep power away from people. So, they keep the caste collectives working by ensuring the legislated panchayats remain weak. Only more panchayati raj, and a more efficient one at that, can eliminate the caste panchayats." " so you can have the hero fighting the politicians in the city."

Boss : "Audience will laugh at heros who ask for efficient Panchayati Raj. Fighting against terrorism is better. But we can think about this village touch.Especially a village with a good beach."

Boss : "Anyway enough about these incidents, what if it turns out like PhoolanDevi, can we fight the victims who say we stole their story?"

Wannabe looks pleased. He had anticipated this question."Boss, Phoolan Devi was famous and a bandit. These people couldn't fight even the unofficial panchayat, why will they drag you to court? And these things probably happen in many more villages, there probably is nothing unique about them."

Boss suddenly worried. "What about activists. Will they think it is wrong to treat these topics in insensitive manner?"

Wannabe : "But that can mean more publicity boss. I read after Gudiya incident this is the age of reality TV. Anyway films have been inspired by incidents like bhanwari rape, the train rape etc"

Boss : "they didnt do that well"

Wannabe : "But they didnt have heroines like Malika Sherawat"

Boss thinks and then decides."No. It can be thought of as unpatriotic and divisive. Work on the Sholay angle, but Gabbar is ISI and the heroine is a Pizza delivery girl"

Hmmm in o3

After complaining about the comments and talking about Indian Penal Code Sections in my new legaleagle blog, I find that since yesterday afternoon, we cannot post comments. And for the O3 coders who are already grinding their teeth and breathing flames and wondering how they could salvage their weekend plans , (surely O3 is working on our problems and have not gone away for the weekend??), I have added a new blog Hmmm, which frankly, just adds to their woes.
Imagine a mother who after endless lullabies and stories, finally manages to convince her child to go to sleep (similar to the efforts O3 took. in creating a blogs section, so that we could share our views however stupid, for free, yes for free!!) and imagine a neighbour's child coming and waking the sleeping beauty (a post in legaleagle saying how irresponsible of Indiatimes to allow some comments) and when the mother fights the impulse to smack the neighbour's child and is singing a lullaby to her own angel, (figuring out why the bloggers are not able to post a comment) the neighbour's child smirks and goes heh heh heh (well thats what the hmmm blog is all about). I am sure some are going to wonder if I suffer from multile personality disorder..
Anyway the tagline to hmmm says H3, Humourous, Marvellous, Multidimensional Material to me and just hmmm to you. Check out http://o3.indiatimes.com/hmmm and a pity you can't post a comment saying how funny and witty my new blog is ..
PS : The comments section has started working. So now no excuse for saying you couldnt post a comment on hmmm;)

posted on Saturday, October 09, 2004 5:08 PM

When Wife Becomes Sister

Wannabe writer : "Boss, imagine the title "Fight Sonia, fight."

Boss (one of the top script writers) "Maharashtra results are out? Anyway someone is making a film on Sonia. Why another film on her. I told you to think about a story for a romantic commercial film, not a documentary or whatever.."

Wannabe : "No Boss. This about another Sonia. Remember the Village story with the caste panchayats as the bad guys, another similar incident in Haryana. The Khaap Panchayat, an extra-judicial body, has ruled that 20-year-old Sonia's marriage to Rampal as illegal because they belong to the same gotra. Moreover, they have asked Sonia's husband to accept her as a sister by giving her a token amount of money. The Panchayat members have also told Sonia to abort her pregnancy.The Panchayat members say their decision is final and warn of violence if it is not accepted. "We remain firm on our decision. Our child might die, but we will not change our stance. We will not recognize this marriage. The government can look after the unborn child or they can do what they like," said Om Prakash Rathi, Khaap member. The administration has taken no interest in intervening in this particular incident, knowing that these Panchayats have the tacit support of the ruling political party.There have been four documented incidents of the Panchayat courts ending marriages in the last two years in Haryana. Rampal, who is under tremendous pressure to either leave his five-acre land or his wife, is in hiding though he has agreed to a divorce However, Sonia says she will not give up her and her unborn child's rights without a fight. "Wannabe looks up from the printout he had taken from http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Panchayat+dissolves+couple

Boss : "Sonia is not my sister. And so I don't care if she has to become her husband's sister. And if you want to search for ideas on the web, read Supperhit Phormula post in http://o3.indiatimes.com/lonelyaztec . “

PS : As on 17th Oct. The Supreme Court has banned the panchayat from interfering in the issue.Defying the Supreme Court order, the Asanda village panchayat has decided to shift the venue of its proposed panchayat scheduled for October 24th to decide on the matter.
posted on Thursday, October 14, 2004 3:34 PM in o3.indiatimes.com/funundersun

The Waves & The Rocks

The waves come, some gentle , some with a roar
Full of life, hope and cheer, towards the shore
But the hard rocks stand, on their way
and in a second, they splash and become mere spray.

And they withdraw meekly, back to the bay
Can I learn a lesson from that today?
But the waves don't give up, do they?
And years later, as sand, the rocks lay.
Oh the waves seem to have won their way.

Consistent efforts, do seem to pay
The immediate results - don't always count
Let the adversary's strength, not intimidate you,
Losing the battle need not mean, losing the war
Never ever give up, the waves seem to say

After 20 years

'After Twenty Years' was a short story by O.Henry about Friendship & Change after twenty years. But this post is about the lack of change and fraternity, twenty years after Delhi burnt.
So how safe are we?Riots need people. If more than 3000 were killed, how many did it take to kill them. So who can become a killer? And who can become a victim? Really anyone?

Twenty years ago, the people who died would have planned and lead their life, just like any of us. And yet suddenly in three days, for more than 3000 people, life ended agnoisingly, abruptly. And the lifestyle of their remaining family members changed forever. Read an article, that things didnt improve for the members of the few who were punished too. So Why? What was achieved?

If it could have happened in Delhi, surely it can happen anywhere? In a city that is a comfortable home to political refugees from over 40 countries, are the victims of 1984 forgotten ? Where can anyone be safe?

In 20 years, nine commissions and committees have inquired into the riots.The latest commission, one led by Justice GT Nanavati, is still to complete its inquiry. The government last week gave yet another extension to him. Of course swift and severe justice is the best way to ensure this but swift justice is not possible from a justice system that will take 350 years to clear its backlog of cases. And is the question of justice a just about When or also about If?

Similar number died on 9/11 and a war on terror started. But what do we do when terrorists who lead such operations become our rulers? Vote for them to keep us safe from other terrorists?

And please don't post a message saying, now we have a Sikh Prime Minister and things are ok. He is an Indian first. But if he had been on the streets of Delhi twenty years ago, he wouldn't have been viewed as an Indian.

Has India Changed after these twenty years to become a country where every citizen be viewed as an Indian first? Dumb question?What makes us so sure that we dont have to care or worry about it since it couldnt happen to us?

This post wouldn't have been possible without information from following links http://info.indiatimes.com/1984/1.html
http://info.indiatimes.com/1984/6.html
http://info.indiatimes.com/1984/3.html
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=58010
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/jan/04dilip.htm

Not because I Cant, But because I Wont

A response to criticism of my style of comments and also to this comment "btw gone are the gandhian days when we showed the other cheek for getting slapped on one!! in fact gandhi was killed for doing so....see if u show the other cheek for getting slapped on one ppl think that ur loco and locos like gandhi always get killed!! i bet even gandhi must be regretting he ever made such a statement.........................ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha "by Rage against Mad Dogs.
I am not a Gandhian, but I do respect him and try hard every day to be guided by his philosophy.
Gandhi on violence :"I do believe that where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence I would advise violence.Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence. Hence it was that I took part in the Boer War, the so-called Zulu rebellion and the late War. Hence also do I advocate training in arms for those who believe in the method of violence. I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonour."
"But I believe that non-violence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment. A mouse hardly forgives a cat when it allows itself to be torn to pieces by her." "But I do not believe India to be helpless. I do not believe myself to be a helpless creature. Only I want to use India's and my strength for a better purpose.Let me not be misunderstood. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
"Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute. The spirit lies dormant in the brute and he knows no law but that of physical might. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law to the strength of the spirit."
"And so I am not pleading for India to practise non-violence because it is weak. I want her to practise non-violence being conscious of her strength and power." and finally "If India takes up the doctrine of the sword, she may gain momentary victory."
But how feasible is this philosophy today in international politics ?Case 1.Bush vs Saddam HusseinOn December 19, 1983, Donald Rumsfeld was sent by Sr.Bush and Mr. Reagan to go and have a friendly meeting with Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq. Rumsfeld looked so happy in the picture. Just twelve days after this visit, Saddam gassed thousands of Iranian troops. Sr Bush and Rumsfeld seemed pretty happy with the results because The Donald Rumsfeld went back to have another meeting with Saddams right-hand man, Tariq Aziz, just four months later. All of this resulted in the U.S. providing credits and loans to Iraq that enabled Saddam to buy billions of dollars worth of weapons and chemical agents. The Washington Post reported that Sr Bush and Reagan let it be known to their Arab allies that the Reagan/Bush administration wanted Iraq to win its war with Iran and anyone who helped Saddam accomplish this was a friend of USA.I dont have to tell what happened in 1990 and later on till today.
Case 2. ISI encouraging terrorism in KashmirFidayeen (suicide cadres) have for years been mobilized, ideologically motivated and trained in Pakistan for export in the neighbourhood -- particularly to Jammu & Kashmir. While J&K witnessed six fidayeen attacks so far in the current year, with a total of 29 fatalities, 86 people have been killed in at least seven fidayeen attacks within Pakistan.High-profile targets of the fidayeen have included, among others, President Musharraf & the Prime Minister. The increasing deployment of fidayeen and the legitimization of suicide attacks is disturbing at another level as well. There have been reports that Al Qaeda operatives have infiltrated into Pakistani security agencies. For instance, a constable of the Karachi Police is alleged to have been the suicide bomber in the May 7, 2004-attack in which 15 members of the Shia community died at the Haideri mosque in Karachi. Earlier, a local intelligence official, Muhammad Naeem, was arrested in Islamabad on January 11, 2004, for allegedly tipping off the two suicide bombers who tried to crash their explosive laden vehicles into President Musharraf's convoy at Rawalpindi on December 25, 2003. To sum up the ostensibly US-friendly Musharraf regime is losing control over terrorist groups within Pakistan -- and, indeed, itself being targeted by them.
Those who live by sword die by sword. And doctrine of the sword gives only Momentary victory.
What has that to do with my style of blogging. I try to avoid abusive terms and try to not generalise groups. This attitude is not similar to what is being thought of as Gandhian principle of cowardice(which he and I condemn) but similar to Gandhian principle of non-violence. Not indulging in an action, not because one can't but only because one can and still won't .
Rage, if I dont use abusive language, its not because I Can't but because I Won't .
And if I dont generalise in return its not because I Can't but because I Won't. My comments will be attributed not just to me but also to groups I belong to. A reader from Indore, who could till now been neutral to Southies is not going to feel the same after reading your comments on Indian?Idol http:o3.indiatimes.com/hmmm
And when I generalise and think "the flow of language" is more important. I lose my position to justify my other positions.What is the difference between a person who passes a generalised comment based on gender to one who passes a generalised comment based on religion and to one who who passes a generalised comment based on region? To me None.
Bias and prejudice towards a group based on gender or relgion or region etc are a form of violence towards a group and are seeds of hatred. Just because they some of them May not grow into trees of hatred and violence, doesnt mean one should accept them all. Therefore I try my best to stand up to deal with them.
My resources are limited. There is a point in waking a person who is sleeping but not one who is pretending to sleep. And if I find that a person has closed the mind to arguements from me, I do give up trying to convince further. Or agree to disagree. Sometimes I decide to lose a battle to win the war. due to my limited resources of time and also my way with words :).
I try my best to fight in the way which is convenient to me and appeals to me, however small, however insignificant. And that to me is certainly better than using abusive languages to score a point or generalising because it is easier.
UItimately it comes down to what one wants to achieve through blogging.
posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2004 2:07 PM on O3

Non Violence

Reply to WGAF's comment"Gayathri, a)I disagree that Gandhi stood up and fought for India in every battle. If he had he would not have been assassinated. b) You are merely arguing, in theory, about non-violence, when in practice you are talking about cowardice. Non-violence does not mean just being reactive, it also means we have to be proactive. c) What is an instrument of war for, if its not meant to be used in our defense, or in offense, to protect ourselves? What, are our defense services for, if we cannot get Pakistan/Bangladesh, et al, to do what is right? d) What, I ask you, have we gained by thinking judicious force is only defensive in nature? e) Pakistan, Did you read me championing the cause of terrorism anywhere? No, I am long past that. What I instead pointed out, was that we have a Water treaty with Pakistan, and we are on the upstream of the rivers. So if they can shed our blood, we can shed some water for them, as and when we want. Get the point? f) "If there is war, neither I nor Gandhi would say dont fight.or dont take action against terrorist for that matter. " Correct, but are we really looking at addressing the bigger issues of that? or going for the jugular? NO. Even that "HARDLINE HINDUTVA NATIONALIST" Lal Krishna Advani, could not use hot pursuit as a weapon."
I have in my blog on Gandhi said that I dont believe in following anyone and in learning from everyone. No human being can be perfect all the time including Gandhi and me :)
When I introduce the word judicious it obviously means thinking and choice.My concept is simple, thinking principle of violence works always is stupid. And equally stupid is thinking one should not use their strength. (In my opinion, India on foreign affairs has been doing the later). And strength is not just about military strength.
Nonviolence is about thinking of using strength. Not about not using strength even to defend, or using strength only to defend. Since offense sometimes, could be the best method of defense. Similarly forgiving can be an option but it is NOT THE option. Surely our reaction to a child hitting us by mistake is not going to be the similar to one who wants to harm us. I dont think it is easy to lay down preconditions for forgiviness but it would depend on the situation and what we want to achieve.
Also turning the other cheek, doesnt mean being passive. But just not being influenced by the strength of the opponent. A soldier without weapons who continues to fight because he believes in his cause doesnt mean he is a coward. Whether he would be wise and right depends on what would have been achieved by his fighting or by his turning back.
Thinking and deciding on the course of action is the essense of non violence and by ignoring a problem, we are not thinking. Thinking doesnt mean thinking for eternity, its important to arrive at a decision. And just arriving at a decision is not enough, implementation is important. And even if non-action is the decision, if the problem continues to exist, one must go back to the thinking stage, decide, and implement another alternative. I am not sure which stage India is stuck up, re its policy against Pakistan. But its policy is definitely not about nonviolence.
An example. When it comes to issues like nuclear, we have the non-first use policy. I agree with that.But that doesnt mean I accept Pakistan's policy which doesnt have the non-first use clause. Of course I perceive it as a serious threat. Some might say lets just nuke Pakistan now, while others will say wait for them to nuke us first and then nuke them. I am against both. Even if the entire Pakistan is wiped out, what about the people we lose? I believe in Aggressively trying to commit Pakistan to the policy thru international forums and other methods. In my opinion on the whole, we were stupid inspite of having the strength in international affairs
And if I have fail to convince people about non-violence the fault is mine not that of the ideology. I will try my best to answer your WGAF points. But please note that I am not an expert, and definitely would not be able to do justice to the topic to the extent it deserves. I would request you to do independent research and then decide whether you are for it or against it.
a.Gandhi cannot be perfect. Even though he advocated it, it doesnt mean he is the sole authority and representative of the ideology of non violence. There are chances that he thought judiciously and still came out with the wrong conclusion or wrong results. That doesnt mean that the ideology is faulty. 2.I absolutely agree reg. proactive. And if people confuse non violence with appeasement or non action, its not the fault of non violence principle.
3.Re use of defense forces. Saying we should use it all the time is wrong and at the same time saying we shouldnt use it at all is equally stupid. So sure there can be cases when we will have to use our forces or atleast Assert our Authority. We are not a small island. Surely we must make use of our strength. Strength need not be just military, it can be economic and political too.
4.5.6.I think i made it pretty clearly that non violence is not just about thinking about using strength in defensively. There can be situations when the immediate choice of defense might be offense, even when there is no physical offense from the opposition. To me nonviolence is just about thinking about usage of strength. Its not about postponing decisions or waiting for the opposition. And again there is a choice of weapons on either side, and usage of one weapon as against another too. I think what we have done is not judicious and not about non violence but just ostrich style dealing with situations. Judicious use of violence also means thinking about the method of violence :) Economic sanctions and political boycott etc too can hurt. I cant say which is better because I think it would depend on the case.
Well in US eg, its my take that, they encouraged Saddam against Iran without thinking Saddam might eye other countries too. That too me is, not judicial use of strength. (May be it was to some in Reagan Govt. But not to me :) )But after the first Gulf war, they still kept Saddam. And I know that they did try to remove Saddam in other ways. But that just wasnt enough. Either they shouldnt have encouraged him in the first place against Iran or after he invaded Kuwait not leave him as a leader. Surely they could have done then what they are doing now. And I think they would have had more international support then too. I dont mean they should have killed him, or occupied Iraq forever, but they should have removed his influence. In my recollection even during Gulf War, there was talk about use of biological weapons against US. And its amazing that someone thought "judiciously" and still decided Saddam was safe in power. Keeping Saddam in power after the Gulf War 1 was not an act of non-violence but just an act of stupidity (ie not being judicious) to me. I dont know if it was an act of forgiving Saddam. Just like violence should be a choice after thought, forgiving too should be a choice after thought.
Similarly Pakistan encouraged terrorism and didnt think that the terrorists who are trained to hit India wont hit Pakistan. Encouraging terrorists and terror leaders to me seems a policy of, encouraging a form of violence without thinking about consequences ie non-judicious. I think everyone knows the difference between terrorists and soldiers. And that I am not saying one should not have an army.
At the same time, ignoring threats and being willing to defend only when one is attacked or at times not even defending when one is attacked is worse than cowardly just stupid. Ignoring a problem to me is not judicious use of strength and our ability to think.
I should have in my first post talked about both non-judicious use of violence and non-judicious act of ignoring a problem. My apologies.
Theory and practical implementation.Theoritically our legal system is supposed to not punish the innocent. But can anyone of us guarantee that not even 1 innocent has been punished. And what about cases when a higher court disagrees with a lower court.What is a better option, punishing all accused or not having a legal system at all. Similar to arguement against democracy. If you cant have a democracy in its true form, dont have it at all. Because all we will then have is a farce. Similarly with the theory of non violence which means judicious use of strength. Like the legal system and democracy, practically it might not deliver 100% of the time. But to me rather than blindly commit any act, as a solution to a problem I would prefer to think before an action. Whatever the ideology, the implementation will be by humans who are not perfect.
Also its easy for me to say, when the results are wrong, that the person was not judicious and when the result right, they have been judicious. :) Judicious is a grey area. And sometimes results are grey too. An immediate defeat need not be a permanent defeat. So its all grey :) and I have tried to in the best way I could.
My main arguement was many misunderstand Gandhi by thinking non-violence means losing the right to defend.Gandhi was never against violence, but against cowardice. He believed in not just physical strength but also mental courage, and if one reads the full text of his message on which I based my arguments, you will find him applauding Rama for taking on Ravana. He certainly didnt say Ram shouldnt have attacked Ravan.
I have talked about what is not non violence. But I will finish my case with what is non-violence with reference to the above example itself.When Sita was abducted, Rama didnt take Ravana individually or go to war immediately.Neither did he give up hope by thinking how can a vanar army defeat the Rakshas.Nor did slam the door on diplomacy.He sent Hanuman as a messenger first. To spare Ravan if he returned Sita was the gesture of forgiveness. But forgiveness too should have a purpose and should not be equalled with appeasement.And when there was no other alternative he attacked. But he could also distingush between Ravan and Vibhishan. And didnt believe in indiscriminate attack on all of Ravan's clan.
That too me is the essense of non violence. And though it may not be easy to follow or implement, or guarantee results, non violence seems to be preferable ideology though not the best ideology. If Gandhi couldn't distingush clearly between the Ravans and Vibhishans At times or if he seemed to forgive even when it didnt serve a purpose, it is not the fault of the ideology. Why not pratise it ourself and be a better example for this concept than Gandhi? This ideology appeals to me and I leave each one of you to decide for yourself
posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 2:04 PM on O3

Light a Lamp

Diwali, the festival of lights
Is celebrated with sounds and lights
To celebrate light,
only fireworks one need not ignite
.Give some to the needy and see their delight

What you give may not be an eternal light
But like the lamps may give a temporary respite
But dont let that stop you from being you.
and prove that if not at all times, sometimes you can care too.
A lamp's light doesnt diminish by lighting another lamp

When you give, your spirits too dont become damp
Celebrate this festival of lights
By lighting a lamp in another's life
Wishing all the O3 bloggers a Happy Diwali

Sex life goes up in Smoke

Impotence, or penile erectile dysfunction, is the repeated inability to have or maintain an erection. Smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction by around 50% for men in their 30s and 40s. Smoking is a major and avoidable hazard for sexual health. Given that two of the three main side effects of smoking on erectile function are acute responses to nicotine, then immediate improvements on stopping smoking are possible.

Since December 2000, Canadian cigarette smokers have been encountering the world's largest and most graphic warning labels. The labels cover 50 per cent of the principal display surface (front and back) of tobacco packages. Many include vivid photographs of some of the ravaging consequences of smoking. In Thailand, labels on cigarette packages trumpet warnings that smoking causes impotence and many other nations are considering similar actions.
Hmmm so though there is a general perception that sex is important for men is wrong. Its not important to men who smoke.

Men who think that smoking boosts self-confidence and enhances their manliness to attract the opposite sex should find a mirror and see for themselves how the effects of smoking can turn off women.

Your hair may be thick and sleek now but continuous smoking weakens the immune system making you more vulnerable to diseases such as lupus erythematous, which can lead to hair loss.
Smoke gets in your eyes, too. Using sensual eye contact to express your feelings to someone special will probably have communication breakdown. Smoking causes and worsens several eye conditions. For example, 40 percent of smokers have cataracts, a clouding of the eye lens. Researchers have explained that smoke causes cataracts by irritating the eyes and it might be related to the body releasing chemicals into the lungs that flow up the bloodstream to damage the eyes.

Sending the sweetest smile may ruin your first impression because of the yellow teeth and plaque caused by the habit. Smokers crave for cigarettes in the same way children are obsessed with sweets and both cigarettes and sweets have one thing in common - they contribute to tooth decay. Dentists also warn that smokers are one and half times more likely to lose their teeth.

As smoking prematurely ages your skin, you will look older than non-smoking guys. Skin depends on many nutrients to keep it in good health. But when you smoke, it will deplete the skin of vitamin A, wear away protein that gives the elasticity, and block blood flow. Therefore, wrinkles and lines, especially around the lips and eyes, will appear earlier than you want them to.

Smokers' fingers and fingernails become yellowish-brown from the accumulated tar from cigarettes. The only way to avoid this problem is to develop some special ability in smoking hands free. Or wear gloves, hardly practical when lighting up.

Smoking reduces blood flow to the penis thereby causing impotence. Moreover, infertility is more common among smokers. Smoking can damage sperm and the DNA it carries, which can cause miscarriages or birth defects. Some studies have found that men who smoke have an increased rate of fathering a child who contracts cancer.

Another sexual disturbance is that smoking diminishes the sperm count.

From these health problems, smoking doesn't help make you a prince charming and it actually damages your masculinity. Guys, if you want to preserve your precious sperms, and have children to extend the family tree, then you have to quit smoking.
Virile Marlboro man, all smoke and no fire

PS : ONLY FOR SMOKERS
1.Were you aware of the health risks relating to heart and lungs
2.Were you aware of the health risks relating to sexual dysfunction
3. Were you aware of the health risks to those around you who inhale the smoke. ie passive smoking
4. Were you aware of the other health risks I have mentioned i.e eyes,hair,skin,sperm count etc.
5.Are you aware that smoking is an Addiction.
6.Do you think that the fact that leading cigarette companies now mention in the packs "Smoking causes sexual impotence" in some countries and that they do not protest against antismoking campaigns which mention impotence , add more validity to the fact that smoking can cause impotence.

Please note the label says "smoking cause sexual impotence". But while writing I mention "smoking CAN cause sexual impotence" and I have been more broadminded than the cigarette companies.
Please be sincere in your answer. I dont smoke and neither does my spouse. If I could take some time in researching for you, surely you can take few minutes in writing the replies
posted on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 5:07 PM on O3

Myths

1.Nowhere in this world can Muslims be secular or democratic
Turkey is a nation of 71 million people and 99% of the population are Muslims. It is a secular nation. To my knowledge, since 1920s a democratic parliamentary system. Religious laws were abolished and secularism became the cornerstone of the modern Turkish state. Headscarves - regarded by secularists as symbols of radical Islam - are banned in official ceremonies, schools, universities and public offices. And women who want to wear headscarves in these places, have to wear a wig to hide the headscarf! I mention Turkey because, many might think to say no to Islamic values when 50% of the population are Muslims might be tough, but to say no to it when 99% of the population are Muslims is tougher. And instead of saying headscarf by women is optional, when a nation has a Law to Ban it in certain areas, is definitely toughest and when 70 million Muslims in that nation accept it as the law, its definitely goes against the myth held by many.
To sum it up, many know about Muslims in France, where they are in a minority, protesting against Headscarf Ban. But may not about Muslims in Turkey, abiding by the Headscarf Ban, even when they are in the majority.

2.Only Muslims are terrorists
IRA, Basque (Spain), LTTE, Farc (Colombia) etc

3.Muslims want to kill people from other religion because their religion tells them to do it.
If it was true, Non-Muslims will not be working in Gulf Countries for example. Hindu religion too was used to justify sati. That doesn't mean Hindu men, want their wives to die with them. Majority in my view, dont discard the religion they had to practise at birth for its defective,intolerant beliefs, but discard what they think of as defective and practise what they can. Of course on topics like charity etc also, conveninece is preferred over conscience and religion :) And there are some who practise what they want, and use religion as their excuse.

4.Congress (I) is not a communal party.
Re.Shah Bano issue, how does that help an Indian Muslim woman? The ratio of women to men in the Muslim population in India is roughly 9 to 10. All it helped was votebank politics not mainstream Muslims. (I wont say it helped Muslim men because Muslim men have sisters and daughters and if its an injustice to them, it doesnt help them too) . Mumbai riots. Delhi riots. To control it and prevent another riot by taking strong action against the accused, What did the Congress do? And if a Muslim had assassinated Ms.Indhira Gandhi, doubt if the Delhi Muslims would have been safe.
By equating the Uniform Civil Code with an anti-Muslim agenda, the only Muslims Congress has helped are some religious Muslim leaders, who can't do anything concrete for the Indian Muslims, and justify their postitions by saying they are keeping the Indian Muslims safe, by combating the communal and keeping the Indian Muslims insecure and providing a votebank for the Congress.In my personal opinion Congress is a communal party.

5.The highlight of the recent census was the threat of growing Muslim population
The greatest revelation (some would say confirmation) of the census data is about the missing girl child. The document itself describes this as the most alarming fact emerging out of the Census 2001. It found that the child sex ratio in the 0-6 age group has been steadily declining in the country and the greatest culprits are states like Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh who fell below the less-than-800 girls for 1000 boys mark. The number of girls per 1000 boys in this age group fell from 945 in 91 to 927 at the national level, showing an alarming decrease of 18 points in just one decade. Instead of talking about the Muslim population, (I am not going in the comparision figures, but have a link for he census analysis http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/sep/hlt-census.htm (Family planning has been successful in countries like Iran too just for the information)Lets also focus on the Missing girl child of whichever religion. Remember guys it means less girls out there to marry :)

6.All Muslims support Pakistan in cricket matches and they are unpatriotic
Obviously all Muslims dont support Pakistan, (especially when we have Kaif,Zaheer Khan,Pathan regularly on the team). If a third generation Indian, in USA, in a tennis match between Paes and an American, decides to support Paes, would we go similarly ballistic? During the Euro Cup football tournament, when many Goans supported the Portugal team, do we go similarly ballistic(or do we worry if the Goans will support Portugal over India if there is a football match between the two?) I agree the relations between India Pakistan is not the same as USA-India or India-Portugal. But support to a team doesnt always mean supporting another nation. An Indian who supports Pakistan during an India vs Pakistan cricket match is Dumb and Stupid and should be Condemned. If we encounter it, lets condemn it but lets not brush the whole community as unpatriotic.

7.Only they have a seperate civil law and that shows they dont want to integrated
Hindus, Christians too have seperate civil law. That doesnt mean they arent Indians first. For the record I support an Uniform Civil Code. Especially in view of fairness of laws for both sexes. I was suprised to know that if Dhirubhai Ambani died without leaving a will and his property is not registered under Hindu Undivided Family law, it has to be divided among all five members of his immediate family, namely, his wife, two sons and two daughters. This won't be the case if the property is registered under HUF law. Married daughters and widowed daughters can't claim any property registered under HUF, he said. So his two daughters can't claim a share in the family's stake in Reliance Industries only his wife and sons can.

8.AMPLB is the official representative of Indian Muslims
The AIMPLB is not a representative body; nor is it a democratic body. In its existence the Board has done nothing much to improve the lot of Muslim women who constitute roughly one-half of the community. Its just one among many Muslim organizations and not one bit more authoritative than others.

9.Only in Islam status of women is poor.
Can we imagine a female Pope or female Shankaracharya. All religion have been used to discriminate against women. We saw extreme versions of anti-women policies like Taliban in Afghanisthan. Yet the same continent, could give women as leaders of two main parties in Bangladesh. Even in USA, women havent been able to achieve equal pay compared to men. I am not familiar with every law of every country. But to my knowledge Islam has been used in a greater degree as an excuse to deny equal rights to woman. But other religions are not free of fault either

10.Islamic terrorism is the main threat for India.
On November 21, 2003, the Union Home Secretary had disclosed that a total of 55 districts in nine states were affected by varying degrees of Naxalite violence. Just ten months later, on September 21, 2004, an official note circulated at the meeting of Chief Ministers of Naxalite-affected states indicated that this number had gone up to 125 districts in 12 states, with another 24 districts being targeted by the Left Wing Extremists under their current agenda of expansion. Official sources indicate, moreover, that, till August this year, Naxalite violence had claimed 405 lives in 1,140 incidents, as against 348 deaths in 1,138 incidents over the corresponding period last year. A total of 1,946 lives have been lost to Left Wing extremism over the period January 2001 - August 2004.In addition to the 125 districts currently under the influence of the Naxalites, and the additional 24 districts that are being targeted by them, there are at least another 63 districts in the country variously afflicted by different patterns of ethnic or communal terrorism and insurgency (Jammu & Kashmir: 12; Assam: 22; Tripura: 4; Meghalaya: 6; Manipur: 9; Arunachal Pradesh: 3; and Nagaland: 7). This takes the number of districts afflicted by terrorism and insurgency to 212, out a total of 602 districts in the country.

11.If the Palestine issue is resolved, Al Qaeda wouldnt attack and Al Qaeda is a symbol of war by Islam against the non-Islams
Though the issue is important, in my personal opinion, these are just Al Qaeda excuses. Al Qaeda attacks those it doesnt believe in or those who support, whom they think are their opponents. LTTE might target any person whom it believes is supporting its opponents, even a Tamilian who lives in their area or a non-Sri Lankan leader who opposes it. Terrorists are fanatics. Al Qaeda also attacks Muslims who dont support it. Its illogical to say Tamilians are Terrorists because, LTTE has Tamilians. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Lets not generalise everyone but focus on the culprits.

12.Indian Muslims love Pakistan more than India.
Would Indian Hindus love Nepal more than India. Or aspire to go to Nepal and live in a Hindu country?
To generalise all Muslims, especially Indian Muslims to me is unfair. Good and bad people can be found in all communities. Instigating insecurity between the Indian Hindus and Indian Muslims, is supposed to be the work of ISI not patriotic Indians.
I am not an expert on religion or international affairs. These are purely my personal opinions. If you disagree please use stats , facts, personal experiences in posting comments.

Good and bad people will be there in every community. Instead of generalising them, we should channelise our efforts to distingush and then attack the bad. As a devotee of Lord Rama, this personal opinion is based on my personal interpretation of Ramayan in which Lord Rama didn't equate Vibhishan with Ravan even though they were blood brothers .

If even some of these myths had been accepted as facts, decades ago, I dont think a Dr.Kalam could have become a scientist (I doubt if he would have become a President if he hadnt earned an reputation earlier). Lets not shut our minds to the Dr.Kalams, because of the Osamas and Rajeev Gandhis of this world.

Please note Indian Penal Code, 153A says statements that promote enmity between religions are unlawful; 153B says the same about pronouncements that those who profess a given religion are traitors. punishment with imprisonment up to three years or fine or both. Comments could be deleted due to these reasons by me.

Gandhi & the Congress Party

Gandhi & the Congress Party
On January 29th, a day before he died, Gandhi had a radical proposal that the Congress, its role fulfilled with independence, should dissolve itself as a political party and "flower into" an association for empowering the people of India. It would tackle illiteracy, ill-health, unemployment, untouchability and communal intolerance in every village in India. In proposing this a day before he was killed, Gandhi’s aim was two-fold. While Congressmen would be prevented from encashing for themselves their new-found power, the people of India would be strengthened in their equation with the state. Aware that the state of independent India retained a colonial and feudal mindset, Gandhi wanted yesterday’s freedom fighters to empower the citizen; and he was confident that parties old and new, from the left to the right, would fill the vacuum created by the Congress’s exit as a political body. Congressmen unable to live without politics could join another party, he said.
Source : An article by Rajmohan Gandhi http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20040823&fname=FCol+Rajmohan&sid=1&pn=2 Hmmm how many of those in Congress, talk about this when they discuss Gandhi?
And a pointless questions : If the Congress party had been disbanded, would India be different today? And what if Indhira had married a man with a different surname, would Congress still refer so much to MK Gandhi? What is in a name, be it a surname or a party name? And have “Congress”, & “Gandhi” become misused brand names.(referring to the Gandhis in Nehru's family not MK Gandhi's family)

Rage Fan Club

Dear Rage

You have lots of fans, your style is distinct. And though people like variety in blogs, they miss your ha ha ha ha has (huh is there any exact number?) Well I am sure some of your fans would know. Speaking of the number of fans, I think it will be easier to talk about who isn't your fan. To borrow your words, in the ocean of your fan club, there are few islands who aren't your fan.

Well you know I am not your fan. But lets not spoil your fan page by talking about my views on you. And yeah it doesnt mean I don't respect you or care about you.

You may not encounter mad dogs in O3. But having rage on your side helps especially when you want more hits to your blog to boost your ego. Of course rage can comment against your blog, but in the long run, why antagonise Rage and his fans? And O3 is filled with Rage fans.

Top Tips to get on Rage's good books

1. Mention you love Bangalore
2.Mention you hate Muslims, and they should be violently dealt with. Nuclear action against Pakistan Bangladesh and China also helps.
3.Mention all women are just after money and sex and you are willing to share your porn collection.
4.Mention you are a Pink Floyd fan
5.Mention you are a fan of Clinton/Vajpayee/Advani obviously don't mention you are a fan of Lewinsky,Dr.Singh,Sonia
6.Mention you hate techies/IT people
7.Mention you hate people from small towns who are jealous of others.
8.Mention you think Leos are the Best, (Using words like King etc have added advantage)
9.Mention you hate bloggers who hate rage & add that they disagree coz they don't want to face reality.
10. Dont mention all the above at once, and add the ha ha ha has. Rage will think you are trying to be him. Imitation is not the best form of flattery.

Rage ,I add pics to most of my posts & a fan page is incomplete without an image. Hope u like the pic and this too

When you read comments from rage against mad dogs
You wont be inclined to sleep like a log
O3.indiatimes is the stage
For comments from rage.
Many in duel engage
thru comments with rage.
never mind the war I wage
thats not important, in this age
Rage, take the centre stage
For your adoring fans this page.

PS : Some might wonder, why I would start a fan page for you, when I am not your fan. Well how many of our politicians really believe in the people they claim to follow ?

Poll : Popularity is the main criteria for a fan page, according to me. And from some of the blogger's comment, I thought that Rage is the most popular among all blogggers. Since I believe in democracy, starting a poll. Please vote for the blogger whoose's posts or comments you enjoy reading the most. Please note one need NOT agree, even if one enjoys. I know we enjoy our own comments. Self vote is not allowed :) And votes from regular bloggers only will be counted. :)

A fan page on Rage is not complete without Pink Floyd lyrics. I think this is your favourite one Rage :
Who are you and who am I
To say we know the reason why?
Some are born
Some men die
Beneath one infinite sky
There'll be war
There'll be peace
But everything one day will cease
All the iron turned to rust
All the proud men turned to dust
And so all things, time will mend
So this song will end
============Childhood's End: Pink Floyd


Poll Results : Rage : 2, Quetzal : 1 Gayathri : 5 Busybee : 6. Please mention only one blogger in your vote :)

YES THE WINNER IS BUSYBEE. I have already mentioned in the comments why I didnt make a fan page for her. And obviously it will be idiotic for me to make one for myself. If I have fans, I would be more flattered if they could recognise the spirit behind my blogging and try to keep it running, since I am stopping my funundersun now. The third in the poll is Rage and thats why the Rage Fan page. Of course all have not participated, but in my personal opinion, if more had participated, Busybee would have won by a bigger margin .

Tempting Top Jobs

Tempting Top Jobs
Tempting Top Jobs
A Poll among zodiacs on which is the most Tempting Top Job
President. Sorry reserved for Leos by their own popular demand
Vice President. Huh someone notices them?
Prime Minister Might get things done, but not an easy task to get even a small task done.
Coalition leaders . The real core power centre? And can do a la Amma and support different party during different election. Hmmm Geminis?
Leader of Opposition : Just criticise, hmmm criticise some more and try to make the government fall on their own ? Hmmm Scorpions
Forget PM content to be CM .Naidu style. (Never mind now an ex CM)
Super PM. (Aka Gandhi family or RSS nominee/ head ) Again another power center ? But will have to constantly deny being a power centre (Except Balasaheb) Hmmm no ways Leos, whats the point if we can't even brag.
Speaker Sorry doesnt mean you should speak but decide who should speak etc Hmmm cant say tempting trying to regulate some...
Supreme Court Justice, Librans is this tempting or being a retired Supreme Court Judge, heading a commission more tempting ? Cabinet Secretary etc : Executive is important too.
Army Chief (Not the technical head like the President. or a literal head like in Pakistan)
Other Topjobs which will be tempting can be mentioned.
PS : Please note everyone likes million dollars and this poll is about Perceived Power of a Post not money making posts and careers.
Poll Status
President : Reserved for Leos. Applications :from 4 Leos. Nominations received : Leo (Libran Busybee, should be reserved for the Leos, lazy and not too brilliant, as the prez does not really have to use his brains. ) Dont have to use brains doesnt mean one doesnt have brains bee :)
Vice President : Forgotten
Prime Minister : Libra (An application from Libran busybee reason All brains and adminstrative abilities, & diplomatic also, so can handle a coalition better. Librans are just the folks who could insult diplomatically) .Nominations received : None.
Coalition Leader : Application : None, Nominations : None
Super PM : Applications : None Nominations : None
Speaker : Applications : None Nominations : Aries or Gemini (from Libran Busybee because they have just the ability to tackle others verbally. Few could match these on a verbal duel.) Though in Parliament its not just verbal duel, chairs and mikes do fly sometimes.
Home Minister : Applications : None Nominations : Taurus (by Libran Busybee for reasons unknown)
Finance Minister : Applications : None . Nominations : Cancer (Cancer since perceived by busybee to be good at making and hoarding money) Hmmm Opinion polls attract service taxes, if a Cancer becomes FM will even blog polls attract service tax?
Defense Minister : Applications : None . Nominations : Scorpio (by Libran busybee Superb tacticians and fearless)
Supreme Court Justice : Applications : Libra (Busybee no reasons submitted) Nominations None. Controlling Judiciary and Executive. The perfect balance?
Cabinet Secretary : Application : None, Nominations : None
Army Chief : Application : None, Nominations : None

(old o3 posts)

Leo Bloggers

Regarding the suprising number of Leos on O3. Well if you have a caption which says Opinionated, Original and Outrageous where else would you expect the Leos to blog?
Leo Bloggers who postWell they like to think their posts are brilliant to say the least and expect their blog to featured on the blog page. Even if they write 10 posts on a particular day, they will expect all the 10 blogs to be featured and won't be happy or satisfied even if 9 blogs are featured.(Even if only 9 blogs are featured. And they are the author of all the 9, they will still believe O3 commited a blunder by not providing additional space for their 10th gem) They will expect it to appear on the indiatimes main page even if it means the editor has to forget about a scoop on Bush.(Bush doesn't count unless they write about him). And if their blog doesn't appear on the O3 list, they will write to TOI head and enquire if their employee has gone blind, or complain about favouritism or lack of standards, a conspiracy theory, ask if they can fill the vacancy etc. As I said they are creative, and in this too they will be creative. Other bloggers might get discouraged if their blog doesn't get featured. Not the Leo Bloggers, they will sulk and post a message saying they will quit. And if others reassure them on their worth, they will come back doubly charged with enthusiasm and will never give up blogging.
They post only for the world to agree, not disagree. Even if some might be stupid enough to disagree, they will post long explanations . And if the poor soul who criticised doesn't post a message saying I agree, they will pester that poor soul in other blogs and taunt them into either not posting comments anywhere or a “ yes I agree“ .
They keep copies or atleast a mental track of every blogger who has appreciated them and visit the blogger's blog to appreciate them even if they dont understand what the blogger is talking about. Don't forget they can be generous.
But if the blogger doesnt agree with them in the next blog, well, Shakespeare was wrong, hell has no fury like a Leo blogger scorned.
Some Leo bloggers do keep a printout of their blogs and pass it to their friends family etc. They also expect them to post a comment saying what a brilliant piece , I truly agree etc. If you are a non-Leo friend of a Leo blogger and dont know what to write in comments, ask the Leo blogger. They will understand you can be tonguetied and will help you out on the compliments.After all they receive compliments all the time, don't they. (If they dont deserve, its because of some conspiracy by the other 11 zodiacs).
Found a blog which seems to be constantly updated. Its bound to be a Leo blogger who has added a comma. And who also expects other bloggers to Notice that comma and Appreciate that comma.
Leo bloggers who commentWell they put in equal efforts while posting comments.
And they expect other bloggers to read and appreciate their comments not the post.
The best way to deal with them is to appreciate them for giving valuable insights. Then they will try to return the favour and be milder. Disagree with them, and you will find a comment longer than your post.
Already mentioned regarding their love for last word. If you want to increase your hits or want to have an impressive number of comments, just keep disagreeing with a Leo blogger.They will never ever give up, even if you stop replying to them and the entire blog world stops reading your blog, they will keep checking it to find out if you have finally agreed with them. And what better way to let your post last for eternity?
There can never be a Leo blogger who simply reads and doesn't comment. Understanding the post is not a prerequisite for posting their comments. Even if they have to fill 50 forms to register to post a single letter comment, they will do it. Its important for them, to let the others know they exist and that A Leo Blogger has honoured them by visiting their blog.
Never ever interupt a Leo blogger who is either posting a post or even a comment. Or complain about the telephone/internet bill. Even if you happen to be the Leo blogger's boss. (hmmm pseudo boss unless the boss is also a Leo). Leo bloggers believe that they are doing a service to the world by telling them what is right and wise . And believe that the blog world will collapse without them. And when you ask them to do something else, you are committing a crime against humanity.
Leo Bloggers will definitely check for reactions to their posts and comments more frequently than their emails or for that matter anything else.Non Leo Psychologists please dont start about compulsive behaviour disorder. Its done not because Leos are insecure, seek reassurance etc, but just because they value the contribution they make to the society and are conscious about their duty.
When one Leo blogger clashes with another Leo blogger, unless you are another Leo blogger, just keep away. Lions might fight amongst themselves but they dont approve of jackals who laugh at them either. And if there is anything worse than one Leo blogger attacking you, its more than one Leo blogger attacking you.
And if you want mercy from a Leo blogger do mention you are one of them. They do have a soft corner for other Leos, but just make sure they never know the truth, they can truly forgive anything except another zodiac pretending to be a Leo.
And if you have trouble with a Leo blogger, redirect them to this blog.(Don't tell me you dont can't identify them yet and there can never be a Leo blogger who fails to mention their zodiac even if they believe astrology is mumbo-jumbo). They will forget you for a while and spend their time, mentioning about the Leos or atleast reading this blog.
The 3 Os Leos definitely areLove to read/write abt selves even in blogsLimelight Leos love to hogThus lots of Leos on O3 blogs.
“Disclaimer : All of the above statements regarding Leos are fictional and any resemblance to Leos (and that this blogger happens to be a Leo) is purely coincidental. But if other bloggers agree with it, I will say “Thanks :) ” and will think “ Of course I knew. I am always right.“ And escape while you can, before I ask you about the points you agree and disagree.
PS : If you want to post comments on Leos please don't forget that its Leo with a capital L. Leos notice these things. This doesnt apply to Leos of course :)

Road Repairs

why do we find road repairs and traffic diversions, only when we are late for an appointment?
and just when you want to post comments, indiatimes, changes the layout,(so that means changing the fonts in all my posts, grrrrr) and for some unknown reason, not able to post comments too!!
and in true road repair style, can't find a message which says down for maintainence!!
ah after all thats the charm of India, and now Indiatimes..
Hoping that yesterday's post in legaleagle, and dashing off the email reg. comments doesnt have anything to do with not being able to post any comments today...(oh oh.)( hey dont flatter urself. who reads feedback emails?)
and like Sphinx Sonia, O3 remains silent...patience is required and by tommorrow all will be revealed
(or like the road repairs, “ the maintainence “ could be continued only after the weekend...;) hmmm
posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 4:14 PM

Road Repairs - 2 Khulja Sim Sim
Still couldn't post a comment today. I post a comment, it accepts and then the same screen comes back, but this time the the title, name and comments are in red. being optimistic , i continue for 5-6 times. And ,it seems to accept And then, back to the same screen,but none of the comments get posted. Is this the infinite endless loop the software fellas speak about? And my mind goes into a theory frenzy (like Saurav, wondering what he can tell the media at Bangalore).(of course the media too will be thinking of various theories, each expert in each column, would say something different)
hmmm. back to the comments posting, i can think about following :
O3 people have devised a password to Exculusively Enable the Enlightened to post comments and didnt include me in that list (oh !sobs sobs . and khulja sim sim also didnt work).
Or perhaps, its a protest against the India's performance in Bangalore, (surely not because they are too busy checking about Kumble's loop to attend to these problem? Nah)
Perhaps I should try it for the 7th time, how silly I will feel if someone manages on the 7th time.
Or perhaps I should post a comment with contents like, O3 people are hardworking smart angels. who deserve a paid vacation (after giving final touches to this blog editor) in jamaica (oops thats not the place to be in after the hurricane) hmm how about european tour or anywhere they want to go,with first class air tickets and a 25% hike in their pay, and a fully furnished big bungalow in Bandra, Mumbai , and anything they can think of.. (since i can't think of much at the moment).
Or it could be some departmental communications probs like for road repairs. Last week it was the EB, this week it would be the water, next week it would be road repairs, and just when u finally heave a sigh of relief, the telephone dept would start work. but somehow they would assume the road repairs would come and clean up... and PWD (road repairs )would say we did work there last week, and if we work again it would result in increased budget deficit for this year. we will do it next year... and so, we just put up with it...and say ok remove the diversion signs, and a few bigger moulds on the middle of the road wont make a big difference, compared to the earlier road. We just want to get to our destination faster. (So o3, we know you are doing all this to make blogging a better experience for us, but few ungrateful pigs like me would request you to revert back to the earlier version)
Anyone passing thru Indian roads will realise that roads are not meant for traffic only. But are business opportunity for dynamic entrepreneurs who offer a bargain for almost everything under the sun. (The air conditioned malls are not for shopping but for escaping the summer heat and looking cool. I think only terrified phonrens buy from them). Anyway, back to my point about these D.E what happens to them during road repairs?
I can atleast post blogs. But what about those who don't have blogs but merely post comments . What about those hmmm “commentors” or should it be “commentators” ? How will they derive fun from life (without making mine a misery?), and what about the attention they deserve? What will they do, which site will they visit?
Or perhaps (a sudden brainwave) - All those “ people” was just one. One indiatimes employee who is perhaps now its ex employee, who was posting the comments just to get us to post some comments in reply. And O3 felt that with that employee gone, no one is going to post a comment and its not important to let others comment. Hmmmmmmm (not likely.( I didn't mean the theory but the chance of this blog or any blog written by me, to be in the O3 featured list. If u want to read further posts, bookmark now!))
Well there is one advantage in knowing that this post wont receive comments, u can write anything..with none to point out the lack of logic and other stuff a blog is supposed to have...so will try to enjoy this situation as much as i can..
Frankly, what is art, without audience? And whats the point of a blog, which one is not sure anyone has read? (Ok I havebeen made aware that at times comments are posted without reading the blog.But comments do count right. And how will I ever post a comment to other bloggers?)
And like those who pay exhorbitant amounts to watch a Wimbledon match, only to find rain (and no Kournikova ?) , and to add insult to the injury, find the cameras on them, - continue to wave and smile, as though it didnt matter, I continue to blog and even with the lack of comments
If anyone happens to stumble on this blog after the problem is rectified, they would wonder and perhaps ask why I made 2 posts out of a minor technical matter.
well the answer (well I have to go now, to think of an answer)
hmmmmm.....
posted on Saturday, October 09, 2004 11:43 AM in O3

Token Posts

Shortly after Joshi assumed office in March 1995, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray had made it clear that the Chief Minister would act on the commands served by his metaphorical "remote control". But no one made a big deal out of it..
But many still can't get over the Sphinx being in Command.
Sure the Prime Minister post is different from that of Chief Minister, but are there any other reasons behind it ??
1. Well, its interesting to think to talk abt. Who wants to to read or listen re issues like poverty , unemployment etc..
2.BJP is doing what the Congress would do.
3.There is a big difference, because she is a “ foreigner“ even if the fools who voted didnt realise it.
4.Woman controlling men?? (Amma had kept a token CM Paneerselvam but Amma wasn't a foreigner)
5.What if Rajiv had done a Laloo over Bofors, would it have been a big deal, if Sonia had become a token PM?
Hmmm.

PS : Any blog post without comments are just in my opinion token posts. If you can't post comments,(since some site maintainence seems to be going on) email gayathri19@indiatimes.com and I will post them as part of this post. (unless requested, wont be mentioning the email ids of those who comment. but if u do have a blog, do mention , i will mention link)
PPS : Since the comments form has started working, posting the email recd as comment.

posted on Monday, October 11, 2004 11:33 AM

A day is not enough

We probably have too many “Days” which are asscociated with our leaders (mostly Congress??) .
But I do wonder if one day we will have a name for 15th October, Dr.Kalam's birthday. Perhaps Childrens Day should be shifted ;) I think many children might find Dr.Kalam more inspiring than Chacha Nehru (Can't imagine Congress reaction;)). By the way, what exactly did Nehru do for kids. (If any one knows, please do post. ).
But I think instead of thinking about him for just 1 day in a year, better if we get inspired by him, and incorporate some of it in our day to day life. Hmmm does it sound to vague and pompous?
And so quotes from his website. http://www.presidentofindia.nic.in
"Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life."
"Thinking is progress. Non-thinking is stagnation of the individual, organisation and the country. Thinking leads to action. Knowledge without action is useless and irrelevant. Knowledge with action, converts adversity into prosperity."
"When you speak, speak the truth; perform when you promise; discharge your trust…. Withhold your hands from striking, and from taking that which is unlawful and bad…"
"What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of a human being, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful and to remove the wrongs of injured…"
"All God's creatures are His family; and he is the most beloved of God who tries to do most good to God's creatures."..
"God has not promised Skies always blue, Flower-strewn pathways All our life through; God has not promised Sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, Peace without pain"
"I will not be presumptuous enough to say that my life can be a role model for anybody; but some poor child living in an obscure place in an underprivileged social setting may find a little solace in the way my destiny has been shaped. It could perhaps help such children liberate themselves from the bondage of their illusory backwardness and hopelessness?.."
Happy Birthday APJ. I personally think a day is not enough for you..
PS : Re.Shifiting of Childrens Day, I do not say that Kalam, has contributed more to this country than Nehru, just a personal opinion that Kalam might be more inspiring than Nehru. Neither am I suggesting that Dr.Kalam is the best achiever ever,nor he is perfect etc. But surely even the crtics would agree with his last quote.
posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 11:14 PM on O3

Food for Thought

World Food Day every 16th Oct it seems. Well when far interesting things are happening in Chennai & Mumbai (Cricket and election results for those who might read it after couple of centuries and wonder what i am re. to ) who would want to think about World Food Day? Hmmm. So can we eat out today. Maybe a little more, dont want to offend the food. After all if we celebrate Valentine Day, shouldn't we start to think about celebrating World Food Day?
Hmmm so what do I write about on World Food Day? Well there is one thing I keep wondering. Why tasty food is not good for health and why does the nutritious healthy food taste, well you know how it tastes..Obesity has become a serious problem, where else but in USA (if I had said Ethopia, would you care to even absorb it ). Well you have one more day to celebrate and watch out ..Next year the greeting cards industry might bring out cards for it too.. with candies and pizza discount coupons attached. Hmmm..
Ps : For the “ purists“ who are writhing in agony and thinking she got the meaning wrong , well for your info I did read http://www.fao.org/wfd/index_en.asp But who would want to hear about “ The theme for World Food Day and TeleFood campaign for 2004 is "Biodiversity for Food Security". blah blah blah .Yet people depend on just 14 mammal and bird species for 90 percent of their food supply from animals. And just four species - wheat, maize, rice and potato - provide half of our energy from plants. blah blah blah.“ I read it in full, and if someone is interested in reading these stuff,read from the link and post your comments based on it and then I will talk about it. And to induce you to read it “ More than 840 million people remain hungry around the world and still more suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Global efforts have so far been insufficient to reach the World Food Summit and related Millennium Development goal of reducing the number of hungry by half by 2015. “ Tempted to read more on this, I didnt think so. Who wants to read about dying millions?
The click doesn't work in this blog. You wil have to visit www.thehungersite.com And some info from that site too. It is estimated that one billion people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. That's roughly 100 times as many as those who actually die from these causes each year. About 24,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger-related causes. This is down from 35,000 ten years ago, and 41,000 twenty years ago. Three-fourths of the deaths are children under the age of five. Famine and wars cause about 10% of hunger deaths, although these tend to be the ones you hear about most often. The majority of hunger deaths are caused by chronic malnutrition. Families facing extreme poverty are simply unable to get enough food to eat. In 1999, a year marked by good economic news, 31 million Americans were food insecure, meaning they were either hungry or unsure of where their next meal would come from. Of these Americans, 12 million were children. Millions of American being Hungry? Then why didnt I hear about a war on hunger? Hmmm
posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 5:43 PM on O3

Atleast in the Movies

Thankfully God isn't a scriptwriter for movies, so ...
Atleast in the movies, Nargis & Raj Kapoor can look romantically at each other in the rain and not worry about either of them falling into a manhole.
Atleast in the movies, rain + vehicles = a director who wants to shoot with a "difference" and mere close ups of tyres splashing water and rain + vehicles not= getting stuck up just when you have the most important appointment of your life in whichever mode of transport you are in. Be it a bike, auto, car, train, bus, boat or even a plane.
Atleast in the movies, rain + streets = heroines who haven't heard of raincoats & dance; without gathering a nasty crowd or catching a cold.and rain + streets not= lack of drainage system, and walking through three feet water even three days after the rain.
Atleast in the movies, rain + house = heat between the lead pair..and rain + house not= worrying if the leaky walls have a hidden message reg the construction quality, if you live in apartments, or worrying if your house will flood, if in slums, and searching for one, if you live on the roads.
And thankfully, atleast in Lagaan, the rain comes after the Indians win.
PS : I do like to include hmmm in all posts, but today, after what happened in Chepauk, its just grrrrr
posted on Monday, October 18, 2004 11:50 AM on O3

Why blog and not just comment

My reply to http://o3.indiatimes.com/questions by soul less
Advantages of posting a blog instead of mere comments
1.Even though its believed that a blogger has to put in more efforts than those who post comments its not true. Just because you are a teacher, you can ask questions. Even when you don't know answers and even if the others don't know the answer you can feel smart.Have you seen the no. of questions being asked in other blogs...
2.Once in a blue moon (ok this applies to my blog only) u might get a comment saying how good ur blog is. it feels great. and even though modesty may prevent you from framing it, you can always keep a printout and let someone see it accidentally and say "Oh I get it all the time"
3.If you dislike a comment, click Remove Comment button. Ha the power is amazing. (ok but dont use it frequently then others may stop posting comments on your blog or worse post comments about you in other blogs and you might not read them and thus not be able to defend yourself)
4.Time factor is very important . Pretend you are going to write a novel and if anyone grumbles about it say blogging is a practise and if someone comes up with a chore, just close your eyes and say you are thinking of the next blog post. If they persist, say you will mention their support when you make a speech after receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature. If they laugh or ridicule, look intellectual (a seperatate blog on that) and say a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. (ok this works at home not at office) If you are in office, say internet research for product promotion and improvement blah blah blah
5. Others do your thinking. Hmm, why I am not making this a post and typing this as a comment. Sorry soul less, I will make this a post of the day as a reply to this blog. PS : It will be nice if O3 has a referral prg and if after reading the above, more decide to blog, instead of merely posting comments, and they could appreciate me. (And O3 guys, if you have read this and have decided to appreciate me, don't worry on ideas for expressing your appreciation. I have a nice list) All the best Soul less ;)

Where are the Crores

Veerapan,the man who made crores.
In certain parts , a folklore,
For all his crimes and gore,
Now, is no more.

But where exactly are the crores?
Based on where he lived and what he wore,
surely the money would have been stored
With Swiss banks or politicians,the crores.
And is the chance of recovering the crores,
zero, and the topic a closed door?

posted on Tuesday, October 19, 2004 6:43 PM on O3

Not Super

Superb" I said. My 5 year old nephew “ corrected” me with "Super". In Chennai, there is only one word to describe that its fantastic,marvellous,er superb etc - Super. And most of the star heros have titles, to their names. But there is only one Super star. But this post is not about the Super star or the latest news on his latest movie.
But on what would have happened if Veerapan had kidnapped Rajnikant (for those of you who don't know about Tamilnadu and its culture etc... he is The super star ) and to those of you wondering why I am posting another post on Veerapan its because of the Indiatimes article http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/897722.cms
Actually I wanted to write about our nominee for Oscar this year "Shwaas". Seems it requires around a crore and half, for sub titles, screening costs, etc to promote the film at Oscars. (And I read Shiv Sena gave around Rs.10 lakh and BJP Rs.5 lakh, probably the Congress NCP etc too will give or has given).
Well what this has to do with Superstar? I think the Tamilnadu government would have probably paid the ransom if it had been crore and half and the public would have Approved. I don't intend to say an Oscar is worth more than someone's life.
But I just wonder the support the politics and people gives to film stars but not films. A film star is a crowd attraction during election rallies. And if he/she wants to become a candidate, out goes the regular party worker and in comes the star.
Marathi films have long lived under shade of Bollywood. And I am amazed that even after winning the National award, this should be the plight for this film.
And if people think that we should not crave for foreign recognition and its better for the government to spend money on poverty etc, then lets just stop nominating an Indian entry for Oscars. But if we send it as an Indian entry, shouldn't there be a regular mechanism to support its success from the government side? I am not saying the goverment should fork out the entire amount every year even when the producer can afford it. But there must be some policy on it. Why leave it to political parties and the rest.
Hmmm I know its not a Super Post.
But when film stars are important and when “ some” films are unimportant, the system isn't Super either..
posted on Monday, October 25, 2004 12:13 PM on O3

(Un)Uniform Code

It seems the The S J Dave School, located in Shehra village in the district, had set a 'uniform' code in 1999. Muslim students were to wear a badge with a star and Hindu students to wear one of Goddess Saraswati and it came to the notice of the District Education Officer (only) recently."Show cause notices have been issued to the school administrators and they have been instructed to stop the practice immediately," says Godhra DEO V J Shah . However, the practice in this school was started with the consent of the trustees that also included Muslims, Shah added.
Hmmm what about children whoose parents belong to different religions or orphans? What badge should they have worn? Important issues in educational system :)
posted on Thursday, October 28, 2004 12:03 PM on O3

Wanted - Police Jokes

Assam police now has added another to its Wanted list, Jokes. About - Them :)
“Police profession of late has been seen as an instument of hatred , corruption , suppression of freedom, violation of human rights and dignities ....thanks to the propaganda unleashed about this profession by various frustrated and motivated elements as also the negative projection of this service by the electronic and print media. This Profession probably is the most misunderstood one . Every force, every agency has its quota of sadists ,eccentrics and deviants ...so has this profession. Police profession is second to none ,,,,Police service has got its lighter side with plenty of jokes ,anecdotes and pleasant encounters with humour..Our effort would be to provide fun and pleasure with special reference to the men in Uniform..” from their website http://www.assampolice.com/jokes.htm
Hmmm no kidding :)
Takes courage, to ask someone to laugh at you,Lets give Assam police their due.Perhaps politicians and bureaucrats will take the cue?If they do, to handle net traffic, keep a seperate one for Laloo :)
posted on Thursday, October 28, 2004 12:12 PM on O3

Top of the World

Muse : I can sense you are feeling great. Is it because you have a post about you

Self : No, as far as the post is concerned, initially felt euphoric, but now scared. People are going to go hmmm is she "really deserving". And deep inside even I dont think I am that good at it.

Muse : Aah I never knew you could be humble and modest

Self : Not being humble and modest, just being realistic. Imagine a No.8 batsman who scores a 50 somehow. Not a match saving 50 but just a 50. Probably a batting pitch. And perhaps a catch dropped when at duck. And looks around at double centurions and centurions and better batsmen encouraging him, he feels great. Then he wonders, oh but how am I going to manage a 50 next time around. And he also feels, you owe it to those who support you to do something about it and perhaps devote more time at net to batting. Well feeling like that right now.

Muse : But I can sense you are feeling happy?

Self : The post proves I have good friends who can be kind to me and I am grateful to God for that. I have learnt a lot from all of them, and hopefully I will also be something to them. And nothing beats the feeling of having friends.

And yeah I feel as though I am on top of the world :)

reference : this Post : Truly Deserving

Word is Out

have given up trying to explain what I do on the net. If I say chat, people immediately understand. Say homepage or website, some nod and perhaps pretend to understand. Say blog and they look at you as though you said a Greek word.
Its great to know that many Americans before the Elections also didnt know of the word and it was one of the most lookedup words on a dictionary site this year. Blog will be a new entry in the 2005 version of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition it seems.
Well now that the Americans know what it means, hopefully, others will too. And when I say I am a Stay at Home Blogger , people will atleast understand what I do, though it might take a long time before bloggers are respected.
Does India need bloggers? Well absolutely according to me. Advent of multiple TV channels and websites doesnt mean we are getting more of the best. We may get what we want, but we dont get what we need. The essence of blogging is to write something eventhough you are not paid for it. How many of the opinions today are influenced by the advertisers. I once thought how nice it would be if I could blog and earn. Than I realised that if I wanted to earn,I would be writing about what the sponsors want me to write not what I want to write.
The other satisfaction of blogging is the comment feature. Even though there are many blogsites, I think bloggers prefer sites where there they get more feedback. So if anyone is reading this, do comment, we bloggers survive on comments. :)
And of course as any writer would agree, the best feature of blogging is -You are also the Editor. Aaah isnt that something!
Money, bloggers may not have Earned, But reputation they have now Earned. Well hurray, lets celebrate, now more people will know The Word.

Textbooks are not enough

Yesterday, came across a news item about some school textbooks mentioning Pakistan as an island and China as a part of India. I studied in Mumbai under the Maharashtra State board (1990 batch). History & Geography were my favourite subjects at school. I dont know whether I liked them because I excelled in them or whether I excelled because I liked them. This post is prompted not by my desire to mention how good I was in these subjects, but my desire to mention, why I am ashamed of myself when it comes to History & Geography.
In my school days I thought I was smart because I knew the capital of every African country. But I didnt know about PoK. What is the point of learning about Mauryas & Guptas when you dont know about Kashmir, the requirement of Article 370 etc? Why keep a student in dark till 10th standard about LOC. What is the point of learning about World Wars in detail, when the later war with Pakistan are just paras . We discuss about saffronisation of textbooks but not about Congressisation of textbooks. What happened in northeast during the freedom struggle, or what happened in South during freedom struggle? How on earth are people supposed to respect and care for people, they dont know anything about. All one read about was Gandhiji & Nehruji. People can write essays on Nehru but can anyone student write 5 lines on Sardar Patel, who played a important role after Independence, forget leaders from other parts of country? I can understand a textbook in North Korea not criticising their leaders, and not reflecting what actually happened. But under the Congressisation of education, haven't Nehru & Gandhi, become holy cows, who never did any wrong?
I wonder today how many history text books today, talk about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. Do the teachers discuss in classrooms, why they haven't been able to return inspite of having a democratic government? When PoK has been in existence for so many years and when many Pakistanis would have moved into it, what are our chances of having a map that also reflects reality.
I doubt it. And all those who think everything they need to know is mentioned in the textbooks and scoring marks is enough, will have to be disillusioned. To prevent it, why not include in the textbooks a line "The assumption that it is enough to know what is mentioned in the textbooks is false and ficititious. And if the knowledge turns out to be enough, its just a coincidence and in no way bears any resemblance to the intention behind textbook".

Why Pappu

Why Pappu
Pappu, a Hindu, 22 year old cable television operator, came from Azamgarh in UP, in October 1992, to Mumbai to look for work. He had been working for a cable television firm since then, installing cables in buildings.
On January 10th,1993, at 8 am, Pappu went to Kamathipura to buy some cigarettes. About 12 Hindu boys surrounded him and asked him his name. When he told them, they began to assault him with knives and choppers. Pappu ran to a private car and asked the driver for help; the driver took him to JJ Hospital. He said several policemen watched him being attacked but took no action. To my knowledge, he probably didn't die but, told journalists that he planned to return to Azamgarh, as he was too scared to continue living in Mumbai.
But why was Pappu a Hindu sliced with swords by other Hindus? I have omitted a small detail. He had a beard which made him “look like a Muslim”
If Pappu had been a Muslim, he probably deserved it according to some. If his attackers had been Muslims, that just Muslim violence according to some. And if he and his attackers both had been a Muslims, it just would illustrate Islamic intolerance to some.
Of course there would be another group who would be happy to use this incident to generalise against Hindus.
A community attacking a member of their own community during a riot, is definitely an odd incident. In my opinion, during all riots the attackers are blood thirsty criminals, and victims innocent Indians. This incident just highlights, what I think is obvious.

Stylish and Sensitive not Sissy but Sauve

Make way for the New Age Male, Metrosexual Male.

Why should only women have it all? Why shouldn't a man care about how he looks, and take care of his looks? Who says men who care about beauty must be gay? Are they New Age Men or Men who have taken a cue from the Lions and Peacocks and gone primitive? If a woman can wear pants and still be feminine, why can't a man wear skirts or sarongs and still be masculine? (Hey forget the Scots, didnt Indian men wear lungis?) And is Metrosexual Male just a male who wears feminine stuff, like make up and sarongs? No. The Metrosexual Male is not just about what he Wears, but also about what he Does and more importantly Why he does.

And who said boys don't cry. Why shouldn't one express emotions instead of bottling them inside. And whats the harm in crying for help if one needs it? If he faces sexual harrassment at office, he will act against it too. Who said men care about only about sex, in any form? And its not about competing with women for "rights",he can do the "duties" with elan too. He cares for his kid and thinks its cool to change nappies too! And woos his mate, not just by taking her to a fancy restaurant but by cooking at home and being proud of it too! And And who says only women can become a homemaker or a stay at home parent? He can compromise at times on career, for her too!

The New Age Female isn't a Superwoman who can manage office and home on her own, and is not ashamed of admitting it either.And is the Metrosexual Male her ideal partner, even if he could compete with her for the mirror? Hmmm will there be ads mentioning Metrosexual Male seeks a life partner? of Female seeks Metrosexual Male life partner? Will the New Age Female prefer him? Well time will tell.

In India, though men are more conscious about some cosmetics, they do go easy on the make up part. Though we may not have a Beckham, remember the Raymond man who proves he is cool, not by having ten gorgeous models running after him, but by taking care of a kid.

The Metrosexual Male is not about wearing and doing what others don't think is masculine, or wearing and doing Only what others think is feminine, but doing what he enjoys & still remaining Masculine. Men who prefer Self belief to Sterotypes, Men who think if they are Stylish or Sensitive, they are not being Sissy but being Sauve.

posted on Monday, November 22, 2004 1:55 PM in O3

Children's Day

Children's Day today. I don't know the logic of celebrating it specifically today. If someone knows do post. Even if Nehru's Birthday, what did Nehru do for children?

Just for information : There are more than 375 million children in India, the largest number for any country in the world.The government admits that the task of providing health care to 375 million children is an enormous challenge; especially since one-third of them live in conditions of abject poverty and neglect. Nevertheless, several achievements have been made:

• Age-specific mortality rates have declined. The decline in the age group 0-4 years and 5-14 years is substantial.
  
• Infant mortality rates have decreased from 134 in 1946-50 to 72 in 1997.
  
• Under-five mortality rates declined from 177 in 1980 to 100 in 1993.
  
• Every girl-child born today can expect to live up to the age of 58 years, as against 41 years in 1951-60.
  
• Every boy-child can live to 58 years, as against 42 years in 1951-60.
  
• More deliveries take place in health facilities (33 per cent in 1992-93, compared to 25 per cent five years ago).
  
• More children receive the essential vaccines protecting them from tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles and polio (42 per cent, up from 36 per cent). The Universal Immunisation Programme aims at immunising all 25 million children born in the country each year against the six vaccine-preventable diseases.

And yet

• Of every 1,000 children born in a year, 48 die within 28 days of birth. The incidence is much higher in the rural areas: 52 child deaths at birth.
  
• There are not enough beds to accommodate the 25 million annual births.
  
• One in 13 infants dies before reaching the age of one year.
  
• One in nine children die before reaching the age of five. This figure corresponds to official figures for 1961.
  
• Approximately 70 per cent of infant deaths occur in the first week of life.
  
• Acute Lower Respiratory Infection (ALRI) continues to claim15-20 per cent of infant deaths, especially in the first three or four months of life.
  
• 380,000 deaths occur each year due to Vitamin A, iron and iodine deficiencies. And 210,000 children are born cretins, or turn blind at pre-school age.
  
• Every year 7 to 8 lakh (700,000-800,000) children die from a preventable disease, like diarrhoea.
  
• In a country that has buffer stocks of food grains, nearly 75 million children below the age of 5 years are malnourished.
  
• 45 per cent of children below three are severely and chronically malnourished.
  
• Only 44 per cent of children have completed the immunisation schedule. A massive 14 per cent have not received a single vaccine.