Kidding - What can I write, when I cant write

Dear Diary
Today, I saw another kid write a diary
But then I dont know to read or write
And even if I knew
I wouldnt get time from the work, to write

To celebrate growing old, birthday
Hope the children stays young, is the wish today
Some said, today, April 30th, is my day
Anti Child Labour Day, Today

After having outlived my use
My kids, will I too have to use?
Or their future will I be able to choose.
And save them from abuse and bruise and say I refuse?

Wish I could think about myself & my future today
But I have to work for my family to survive, today
Though to think about myself and write a diary I dont have time,
Hope someone will think of me and spend for me their time...

-Perhaps by a child, from the data given below



Few data on Child Labour in India from http://www.cry.org

Children are often treated as the "property" of the very adults who are supposed to take care for them, being ordered around, threatened, coerced, silenced, with complete disregard of them as "persons" with rights and freedoms.

•17 million children in India work as per official estimates, NGOs numbers though are higher at 100 million

•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.

•1 out of 4 children work… at cost of a childhood.

•A study found that children were sent to work by compulsion and not by choice, mostly by
parents, but with recruiter playing a crucial role in influencing decision

•When working outside the family, children put in an average of 21 hours of labour per week

•19% of children employed work as domestic help
•90% working children are in rural India
•85% of working children are in the unorganized sectors
•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.
•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
•500,000 children are forced into this trade every year

•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.

Aargh Diaries - When women ask for "IT"

Back at the office after arguing against the suspension, based on this
heard Mr.C say women who wear scanty clothes are asking for "it", as he opened his tiffin box during lunchtime.

I quickly walked over to him and grabbed some of the contents of his tiffin box in my hand and as he opened his mouth to protest, stuffed it in his mouth.

And calmly returned to my seat.

In a rage, he ran over to the sink, spat the contents out and demanded an explanation from me.

I replied sweetly "Why Mr.C, the contents of the tiffin box were in front of you, you were probably in your mind asking for it. Why bother if its hot or if you enjoy only if you are feeded lovingly by someone you like. If you cant tolerate even a mouthful of, food you like, made by a person you like, at a time when you want to eat, and chew it, what makes you so sure of what women want in their vagina "


Aargh !!
Not always that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach

Now to deal with irritated folks at my office, I am busy writing to political parties and the media, that if people have their food in front of them, they are asking for it to be stuffed in their mouth, never mind when or by whom.

Any support?

Aargh !! Gayathri is Not Aargh.Aargh Diaries Series is a fictional account of Aargh, an annonymous character whoose gender and other details are supposed to be unknown.

Insulting Men

Saamna says that women should dress "properly" and thus avoid provoking men into raping women.

And TOI did come up with a splendid edit in response to it saying,thats just Insulting Men. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1089322.cms
Well said TOI.

But then for some, here is the suprise part,
50% of the persons who read Indiatimes, agreed with Sena. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1088714.cms

Does this reflect the attitude of Indian, not necessarily.
Does this reflect the mindset of Indiatimes readers, Perhaps.

Here we have a website, which has a new pic of a woman everyday.
Pray will someone explain the logic of it?
I dont say dont put up a pic of a woman, but why ONLY women.
Are there no pictures of men, nature etc which can be interesting and inspiring.

If Sena is objectifying women. And what is Indiatimes doing?
Isn't it insulting men, by saying, the only pics which are suitable for the website will be that of female models?

Afterall should I expect better from its readers when the website suggests that women can celebrate Women's day, by getting Cosmetic Surgery,
http://women.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1043589.cms

Whats worse then Sena's attitude
A hypocritic, holier than thou attitude?

Do U Know - Tuberculosis

An infectious disease caused by a bacterium
There are about 2 million new cases each year

India accounts for nearly one third of prevalent cases globally.
It kills nearly 500,000 people in India each year.

In India,
Each day, 20,000 get infected and 5,000 develop the disease
Each year 18 lakh people develop it, of whom 8 Lakh are infectious
More women die due to it, than all causes of maternal mortality put together (India has one of the highest maternal mortality rate in the world and every 5 minutes a woman dies due to childbirth).

This disease is Tuberculosis

Sray got it right.

for more http://www.doctorndtv.com/feature/feature.asp?ID=114

Aargh Diaries - Monday Morning Mystery

The lady in the corner, has become a Monday Morning Mystery.
Today to work, she wore a black purdah, without a headscarf and became the talk of the office.

Unable to resist, I walk over to her cubicle
Aargh : "Are you feeling cold?"
Corner Lady (henceforth CL),with a smile : "No" and gets back to work.
Aargh : "You are err wearing a purdah"
CL : Nods without looking at me.
Aargh : "Well I remember reading some years back that a woman in Kashmir was beheaded because she was not wearing a purdah, I think."
Again nods without looking at me,
Aargh : "Errr its yours?"
CL : "Neighbour"
Aargh persistently : "But isnt headscarf also important?"

CL : "Its not religious"
But without smile and before I could come up another question on cross examination, she says, "If you dont mind, I am busy".

And so slowly I go to my cubicle. And by a silent signal, everyone in the office, step out slowly to the conference room. Work can wait, mysteries cant.

And I grab a notebook and pen (no my Boss has not provided me with a laptop yet) and hurry with my own cup of coffee. Thankfully she is busy with her work and doesnt join us.

And I decide to just take notes, and since the theories were flying around, cant say who said what. But a male voice is MV and a female voice FV.

MV1 : "She might be getting married and her fiancee could be fundamentalist"
FV1 : "She is already married. And I know her husband, he is nothing of that sort"
MV1 : "Well maybe he is getting married again and got converted you now. And she might not want divorce so might have decided to convert."
FV1 : "Well if thats the case one wouldnt want people to know that, why do something attention grabbing like this"
FV2 : "Well this is probably to get attention from everyone in office."
MV2 : "Wear miniskirt to wear attention, why this"

Aargh : "Maybe because she doesnt want attention "
All roll eyes
"to what she is wearing I mean" I bravely finish.
All Men shake their head, while the Females seem to think its a good idea.
FV1 : "Well yeah what if she couldnt get the matching blouse"
FV2 : "Or maybe the dry cleaner left a stain and she saw it at the last moment"
FV3 : "Or she didnt get time to iron"
FV1 : "Or maybe she didnt get the right accessories"
FV3 : "Or maybe she wore a skirt and realised she had to wax"
FV1 frownin at FV3 : "It could be scar or rashes too."
MV4 : "Hope its not AIDs or anything contagious"
A collective shudder.

MV1 : "Or perhaps she just got up late and thought its more important to be punctual than dress to work"
FV2 : "Or perhaps she went jogging and didnt have time to dress"
MV2 : "Maybe she is going to a party directly after work and she is wearing something too hot beneath it"
A moment of silence as the males imagine her in something hot.
FV3 with sarcasm "Perhaps she thought some men will finally look at her face while talking"
Some men who had been examining FV3's neckline, look away.
MV2 : "She could be just lazy and didnt want to take time to dress"
FV2 : "Or she could be tired of being trendy. Its not that easy, just when you think you have worked out the season, another magazine says something else."
FV3 : "Maybe her husband got her something horrible and she wore it please him and borrowed a purdah so that we wont laugh at it"
FV1 : "Or maybe there was a tear and she thought its more important to be punctual"
FV2 : "Or maybe she travels by bus and gets molested, you know whatever we wear, its never easy"
FV1 : "But then why wear it at office"
A pause as FV1 and FV2 exchange significant looks and look at MV2.
MV2 (with a guilty look, looks away and then to correct his image) "Probably someone from her family is forcing her. This is gross, we must offer her help"
MV1 : "Well, it could be domestic violence and she could be covering that up"
MV4 : "Whoa why should we blame the husband, when we dont have a clue. And it could be love bites too"
FV1 : "Or Maybe she is pregnant and there is a promotion next month. Who will give her a promotion, if she would go on maternity leave for 4 months in future"
MV3 : "Well perhaps her weight increased over the weekend with something she ate, her regular wear perhaps didnt fit, and she doesnt want everyone to know"

MV3 : "But is there a dress code which would apply for her? "
MV2 : "Well I think there is something on dressing decently ..."
FV1 interuppts : "And who defines whats decent"
MV2 : "Well but I dont think we can apply that rule here. But why not wear a kimono, the silk thing Japanese wear, why this. This, this is so against the culture."
FV1 to MV2 : "Yeah and the suit you are wearing had been part of our culture"
Hostile looks between FV1 and Mv2
M3 : "Hey perhaps its something from Lakme India Fashion Week"
F2 : "No way. I would know and can you imagine someone designing this?"
M2 laughs : "Maybe she is wearing some designer stuff, but realised it was not practical and is concealing it."

MV4 : "Or perhaps she is planning to steal something from the office"
Now thats interesting and unable to resist, I decide to add filmi touch to it.
Aargh : "Well she could have been raped on her way to work, now how many women who get raped, file a complaint? Perhaps she wants to pretend its normal and so wearing a purdah to hide the torn dress and scratch marks."
Irritated looks from all.
"Or perhaps she has become possessed by some spirit"
More irritated looks from all.
To get back at them, I add : "Perhaps she has decided to become a suicide bomber"
Horrified looks from all.
Then realising its pointless to terrify them "Well it could be just a dare"
Everyone relaxes.

We would have brainstormed more but Boss arrives on time (i.e exactly one hour 10 minutes late). And we hurry back to our cubicles.

Curious, I go back to her cubicle and hand her, the notes of the coffee break meeting.
"Just tell me if your reason is written here."
She reads it. Smiles and even laughs.
Then beckons me to come near her, so that she could whisper it in my ear.

But instead of her scent and a soft secret, I hear a shout or is it a scream?

And startled and in shock, open my eyes to see my Boss frothing in rage, at having caught me sleeping at work.

Aaargh !!!

Ignoring the firing, I turn around to catch the corner lady in her cubicle, demurely at work.

I am Halfdazed,
And can see only her face
What did she wear to work today
I wondered, and heard my Boss say
"I suspend you for a month from today"

No Monday Morning mystery,
I got suspended, thats the story.

Women cant drive? Taking her for a ride?

Aaaargh will there be no end to the bias!

Now women are bad driver and should be banned from driving, says a blogger. Hopefully and Thankfully all guys are not like him.

A bad driver is a bad driver. And if a woman is a bad driver, and if you have met a woman who is a bad driver. Call her one. But that doesnt mean all women are bad drivers and that women should be banned from driving

I dont know if any other country bans women from driving. Saudi Arabia does. And well all should cool and calm there right?No. got this from arabnews.com

• "Saudi Arabia has a well-developed and maintained road system.
• Highways and roads are often three or four lanes wide and flat, straight and smooth.
• Yet, despite the excellent driving conditions, Saudi Arabia has ONE OF THE HIGHEST ACCIDENT RATES in the world.
• Last year alone there were over 300,000 accidents reported and approximately 4,800 deaths.
• Eighty-one percent of people who die in hospital are car accident victims.
• All these accidents and deaths translate into a financial liability for the country of SR21 billion annually. "

(I think that comes to more than 210 billion Rupees. And alcohol is prohibitied, so rules out drunken driving too!) Well thumbs up to the woman there who said, if you wont let me drive, I will fly and became a pilot :) And so its not that just women are bad drivers.

Is there any stats to compare the percentage of male drivers vs female drivers, other than bias amongst few and a sterotype image of women? If Saudi Arabia has one of the Highest accident rates, where only men drive, it doesnt reflect logically to me that men are better drivers. I dont use it to say men are poor drivers, or women wil be better drivers, simply to point out driving errors are Human errors.

And is it so tough for some to accept women as humans?

Families suffer after an accident. Men and Women both get affected. Its tragic and changes life and lifestyles. Whats important is road safety and not winning ego trips.

Women can drive, if you think to the contrary, perhaps its just because you want to take her for a ride?

PS : For every opinion, its not possible to collect the most reliable data and then base the opinion. Sometimes many go by personal experiences. Just because a blogger here (male or female), thinks women are bad drivers, doesnt make women, bad drivers nor does it perhaps make, those who hold that opinion MCPs.

After all, if from tommorrow, if majority of the bad drivers I meet, wear denim jackets, I would be wary about drivers who wear denim jackets and perhaps might say there could be a scientific reason for this, even if there is a country where denim jackets are banned and even if that country has one of the highest accident rates in the world :D

But would I be justified in saying those who wear denim jackets should be banned from driving, without any study, scientific evidence etc?

For more on the post which provoked this post Click here

Uprooted & yet, waiting to blossom

So India lost an oneday cricket series to Pakistan. How terrible na..
What could be worse? How about when you dont have a country to cheer?
Of course in our case, at the moment, it would be, no team to curse:)

I read My Kind of Exile by Tenzin Tsundue, which won the Outlook Picador Contest in 2001. Perhaps you had read it then, but then guess its better late than never for me.

If you havent read do read it. Or should Tenzin Tsundue bomb or kidnap innocents, to get attention?

The bud was about to blossom, to its glory
But just before it could spread the petals and enjoy the spring
It had to be uprooted .
And so the bud, still waits,
to blossom, in a land of its own.

Click on the link to read the essay Now

Do U Know - Parliament Cost

Every day, Rs 1.23 crore is spent on the Parliament, which means every
minute in Parliament costs Rs 23,000.
from : mid-day.com

Polls - 6 match ban on Saurav Ganguly

Earlier Appeared on Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Cricket - 6 Match Ban on Ganguly in http://g3polls.blogspot.com.
Shifted to this blog with comments.

Six match ban on Indian Captain Saurav Ganguly is
1.Good Riddance
2.Tragic
3.Racist (huh??)
4.Fair
5.Unfortunate, but Ganguly had it coming
6.Harsh
7.The rules need to be reexamined
8.Dont Care

Whats your take :)

Ganguly banned for six ODIs - Rediff


I would vote for 7 here is why http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20050425&fname=Ganguly+%28F%29&sid=3

Hmmm Inzy seems to think its harsh

# posted by wise donkey at 8:26 AM 11 comments

11 Comments:
AngelzFear said...
WD,
If i could make a combo 5 and 6,
only one option 5.

It was harsh, but Ganguly had it coming....but then rules are rules....
10:58 AM
Dinesh said...
I'd say 5.
11:07 AM
wise donkey said...
angelzfear dinesh :)
11:24 AM
Sray said...
I would say 6. People should remember that his batting performance is a separate issue here.
8:24 PM
wise donkey said...
http://in.rediff.com/cricket/2005/apr/14gang.htm guess anyway he will play the 5th odi :)
11:23 PM
Anonymous said...
5, 7.
possibly 3?(not sure).

seriously, why should people give a shit about half an hour's extension?

IMO, only if the game extends by an hour - and due to the fielding team/captain's actions should someone be penalised.

I know about all the crap of TV time being cut et al, but I dont see how it should matter.

a billion eyeballs versus a million? I would gladly take the former thank you.

Very few places would you see that Cricket has eaten into what a billion other people *might* want to watch - if they do, it inevitably wont clash.
11:47 PM
w said...
oops, that was me.
11:47 PM
vyuha said...
ofcourse it has Harsh .. uhh which option was that !?
11:43 PM
wise donkey said...
harsh , the no.6 one a.mit:)
12:13 PM
vyuha said...
yeah , ok 6 , thanks gaya :) - u know i hve a bad short term memory :)
12:18 PM
wise donkey said...
a.mit :d
12:28 PM

Aargh Diaries - Cricket Catastrophe

There are still some souls in India who think cricket is a waste of energy. OK OK I will be specific - men's cricket. (They dont have an opinion on women's cricket because, though they reached World Cup final, most dont know they exist.)

But what no one considers a waste is the post series analysis. So what if the Indian team has a laptop, software etc, I wonder if any computer can compete with the billion opinions which will be discussed now.

Well what can we do when India wins? Party all night, burst crackers, distribute sweets and tell the next day wow did u see the match etc? So we will have some commentators singing praises and we will have to endure the cricketer who is the flavour of the month, in few more ads.

But when we lose :

We can moan and groan at parties and say Indians are not tough enough mentally.

Discuss that cricketers come in too many ads. (Never mind we wouldnt imagine boycotting even a soft drink they endorse.)

We can focus all our energies on criticising the team. And now our life would have a goal, which will be for the welfare of the nation.
Now every Indian (except those on the team) will have one common enemy - Indian Cricket Team (never mind the hunger, corruption, maternal mortality rates, neonatal death rates etc).

Its good for team spirit too.
Neighbours who will turn the other way to cries of help, will agree over chai, coffee or cold drink, on who needs to be sacked.
Colleagues who wouldnt see eye to eye on a project, will agree whole heartedly on Tips to improve Team Spirit and Team Strategy. (err Cricket Team of course)

I will have to check with Saas Bahu Expert Ekta on whether Saas Bahu will agree on the national disgrace and also if she will feature Saurav in a Serial - Kyonki Commentator bhi Kabhi Captain tha (and let Saurav have a gala time criticising every cricketer on earth)

Never mind the Men's cricket team not doing their job, tommorrow the main job at work for many would be to unanimously criticise them. Supreme Court can say they will function inspite of Ram Navami, but it cant say, Indians should work inspite of a Loss. (Especially after we lost to Pakistan. What a national disaster and shame na..).

Of course the Indian public have been denied their treat and Ganguly was not the captain, and everyone's blue eyed boy was the captain during the last 2 matches. (Grrrr why didnt Afridi give Saurav a torrid time?).

But that will not interfer with the media having a glorious time.
There will be polls on who is to be sent to the chopping block.
Advise from cricketers who earlier didnt perform, telling the team where they went wrong.
And last but not the least, match fixing will raise its head. And now the media will wonder if any hidden camera will work any wonders (for their ratings of course). And even if proof is not there, one can always talk of that possiblity.

Mushji sure knew about timing. Whats important to Indians, the team winning or plight of Kashmiri pandits? Well if what gets discussed is any indication, its definitely the former. Hmmm, perhaps he thought if India won the whole series 6-0, we might not care about giving him some chunks of Kashmir. And well think of it the other way too. If Ganguly had been the captain and lost the series 6-0 and Manmohan had agreed to some compromises, who would have been in media's headlines, Ganguly or Manmohan? OK OK I wont ask dumb questions.

Well I would write more but I am now going to join others, to check if there are any TV cameras in my street and confess my Despair, Dejection, Distress, Disillusionment, and Declare its a National Disgrace and Demand that the entire cricket team be Banned, Jailed, or Drowned depending on the channel in question.

And along with the nation, I say Aaargh.
No, not at the team losing.
No, not at the time I spend on watching it and discussing it...

Aaargh if only BCCI could be sensible and appoint me as the next Coach...

Do U Know- Headscarves banned in schools, public offices etc, in Turkey

A nation of around 72.3 million people.
Approximately 99% of them Muslims.

Headscarves - regarded by secularists as symbols of radical Islam - are banned in official ceremonies, schools, universities and public offices, for around last 80 years.

The country is Turkey
Sray, spark , Triplex, Sangeeta got it right

From :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3476163.stm
For the past 80 years Turks have lived in a secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who rejected headscarves as backward looking in his campaign to secularise Turkish society. Scarves are consequently banned in civic spaces in the country.

Vertically Challenged Cricketer err Tendulkar

Muse : Write something new. The Indian Women's cricket team has lost the final 2 days back and your blog looks tremendously out of fashion.

Self : You are suppose to inspire me. But you are too busy watching men's cricket.

Muse : And what are you doing, while typing this post arent you sneaking a glance at Tendulkar's batting.

Self : Speaking of Tendulkar's batting, I was thinking perhaps I should do a post on being sensitive to challenged people's needs.

Muse gawking and gasping : Tendulkar is challenged?

Self : Well he says he is vertically challenged and hence has problems with sight-screen.


Muse snorting : Another delay, in a delayed match. Shastri was right, he should just come earlier and mention where he wants the sight-screen. For that matter Shastri was again right, when he said, why should others worry on where the sight-screen should be as long as it is according to specification. If Tendulkar is unhappy, thats his problem. I am tired of seeing Tendulkar guiding the sight-screen in every 2nd match.

Self limbly : Well he says, only he faces that problem because he is vertically challenged.

Muse : He probably faces some advantages for being short, (dont ask me to be politically correct), so will he give up that?

Self : I dont know, whether he would have been a better or worse batsman if he had not been V Ced. Or whether if the umpire had said no changing sight-screen, he would have got out next ball or scored less, but ultimately what matters to me is not the sight-screen but the joy I get in Tendulkar's batting.

Muse a bigger snort : You wouldnt have said this if Afridi had done the same.

Smart retort from Self : You wouldnt have said this if you were Tendulkar

Muse : So shall we go back to the post

Self : Ha Ha this is the post

Muse shocked : What nooooooooooooooo. Not another post on cricket. In 6 months you have posted more than 100 posts and each on different topic. But you (due to me) havent covered a topic twice. But 4 posts on the theme of cricket, (without counting your earlier 2 posts related to it) is just toooooooooo much.

Self : Well when cricket is on, I cant think of much and anyway there is a Do U Know tommorrow, so this wont be on top for long. And this can be an intropspection on should we be more sensitive to the needs of challenged people in all walks of life. Whether we should care if buildings should have ramps, and see if we need to redesign to make it easier for challenged persons.

Muse : I fail to see the connection between your post and thought. It would be different if you wrote a post on Cricket by Visually Challenged or if you would have written a post on how tough it is for Vertically Challenged men to find dates:) (You write on how many men expect fair brides, how about on how many girls expect husbands to be taller than them)

Anyway Tendulkar has scored a fifty and cricket is interesting. Post whatever you want, and let me enjoy my cricket.

Women Cricket & Ads on TV

Hmmm did you see the pics, of the Women in Blues, anyone looks like Anna (Kournikova)?
No. If anyone had looked like Anna, would the sponsors have kept away? After all talent is not the first thing they look for.

But I think now, the girls will get more corporate support now, after all even if they dont win on Sunday, they did enter the finals of the World Cup for the first time.

Who do you think will jump onto the bandwagon or use women's cricket in their ads?
Well the fairness cream definitely. Now we will have ads not of just girls becoming commentators using fairness cream but of a girl hitting a six but not finding a guy and torn between net practise and her tanned face. And some well wisher will give her the Solution and hey presto within a week or 10 days, she will score a match winning shot, which will be a six and yeah a guy in the stadium will catch it and of course he will be handsome rich and eligible and ask the girl if she would marry him and she will have 2 trophies thanks to the fairness cream, one for the Person of the Match and the other Mr.Admirer of Ms.Fair Face.

We can of course have similar ads from toothpaste, talcum powder, lipsticks, hairoil, shampoo, soap, deo or anything which gives the women the self confidence she needs to face the bouncer and get a man.

And not forgetting the napkins. Imagination boggles when I think of the variations they can come up with , but then I notice a cringe from the reader,so wont elaborate :)

And dont forget the appliances. What a successful women cricketer uses at home. From the gas stoves, non stick pans, grinder, blender, fridge, washing machine ... And of course the detergent she uses for her whites,

The chocolates she eats, the credit card she uses to buy groceries, and the jewellery and anything and everything, which she uses or buys for her kids and spouse.

So its just not colas,cars,beverages,biscuits,bandaids,bike and TVs .. there is a vast market out there and atlast on TV, for better or for worse, women and cricket will not mean just Mandira Bedi in a noodle strap.

PS : Wonder how far we are from the day when a girl can write in her matrimonial profile,
Hobbies : Playing cricket. Instead of Singing, Reading, Knitting:)

Kidding - World Cup Wish 4 Indian Women's Cricket

Dear Diary
I hope the Indian Women's Cricket team wins the World cup in the final against Australia.
Then atleast they might come more on TV
and people will realise girls can play cricket too.
Now Mummy Papa say if I play cricket I will lose my complexion
and no one will marry me.
And at school though there is a boys cricket team, there is no girls cricket team.
And I dont know with whom I can play and practise.
If I play with the boys no one takes me seriously
And many think its just an excuse to be with boys.
(Mummy Papa get angry and say this will affect my image too).
So hopefully they will win.

But even if they dont win, I will not give up.
After all these players would have started playing a decade back
And they would have faced the same problems
But they didnt give up, did they?

A 14 year old girl.


pics from
http://specials.rediff.com/cricket/2005/apr/08cric4.htm
http://specials.rediff.com/cricket/2005/apr/08cric3.htm

Aargh Diaries - World Health Day

I entered the office and the Lady in the Corner (I will think of a better nickname later) wished me with a bright smile ,"Happy World Health Day". I mumbled a thanks and wish you the same, and got another excuse to delay starting my work.

Thought, what does stuff like these mean to me?
Do I get a day off? No. Do I get gifts and wishes and ecards? No. (On the +ve side I dont have to send ecards and give gifts and no one can be upset with me for forgetting them).

Wonder why the corporate marketing wizkids are yet to make a big deal of this. Will I get free medical check ups, or premium reduced on health insurance on this day? (If any takes the idea from my blog, do mention atleast a thanks, I cant imagine anyone paying me for original ideas). When will there be concerts on World Health Day sponsered of course my cola makers, chip makers and mineral water made by cigarette & alcohol companies. Perhaps in few years.

Hmmm at the moment, its just about media putting up press releases from WHO which it doesnt read. (Check World Water Day gaffe by CNN Indiatimes etc here).

This year's Theme is "Make Every Mother and Child Count "

So what are WHO's press release highlights?

• About 530 000 women a year die in pregnancy or childbirth,
• More than Three million babies are stillborn,
• More than Four million newborns die within the first days or weeks of life,
• and altogether 10.6 million children a year die before their fifth birthday,
• Out of a total of 136 million births a year worldwide, less than two thirds of women in less developed countries and only one third in the least developed countries have their babies delivered by a skilled attendant.
• More than 18 million induced abortions each year are performed by people lacking the necessary skills or in an environment lacking the minimal medical standards, or both, and are therefore unsafe. As a consequence, 68000 women a year die.
• Almost 90% of all deaths among children under five years of age are attributable to just six conditions. And most of them preventable.

This happens not in the developed but in the developing mainly, therefore its preventable. And its still a Major problem in India. Check 5 minutes and Do U Know - neo natal deaths

But then, this is not even worth discussing, unless its children killed by terrorists in a school. So I wont bother to discuss it with my colleagues during lunchtime today or with friends after going home.

It doesnt touch my reality. So what if my apathy kills mothers and kids, so what if some would think of me as a passive terrorist, I will blame the politicians and move on... Yeah in the 5 minutes it took to write this post, an Indian woman just died..

Aaaaaaaaaaargh. I have been wasting my time. I better get the latest on Dada, Prince Charles Wedding and aah there is an interesting article on jobs according to zodiac, in Indiatimes. Better update myself on that.

Required homes for 5 pups

A fellow blogger in Bangalore has 5 pups and wants to find them homes.
For details and pics of the pups visit Click here

Do U Know - Asia Urban Air Pollution

In Asia - with half of the world's city dwellers - more than 500,000 people die every year from diseases related to Urban Air Pollution

Upto two-thirds of the approximately 800,000 deaths and 4.6 million lost life-years due to urban air pollution across the globe annually occur in the developing countries of Asia, says the World Health Organisation (WHO).

WHO estimates that 1.5 billion urban dwellers face levels of outdoor air pollution that are above the maximum recommended limits.

About half a million deaths each year globally can be attributed to particulate matter and sulphur dioxide in outdoor air. Bringing suspended particulate matter down to safe levels could save between 300 000 and 700 000 lives annually, said WHO.

According to the HEI report, combustion is mainly responsible for the pollutants being emitted. In poorer cities, the burning of refuse (garbage and biomass) contributes considerably to air pollution. (See the Do u Know on Ewaste ) Although centralised refuse burning on a large scale is largely responsible, small-scale burning also has a large impact in most Asian cities.

In most cities, the main source of combustion is fuel use, which tends to increase along with population size and economic activity. Although emissions vary according to combustion conditions and emission-control technology, fuel type is a useful indicator of potential emissions; coal and biomass are high-emitting fuels while liquefied petroleum gas is a low-emitting fuel.

According to the HEI report, air pollution in Asian cities is closely linked to levels and trends in economic and social development. In addition to rapid industrialisation, urbanisation, population growth and demand for transportation, meteorological conditions too influence air pollution levels in most South Asian and South-East Asian cities.

Projections suggest that Asia, owing to its expected economic growth, may experience substantial increases in its use of coal and motor vehicle fuels.

In addition to outdoor urban air pollution, indoor pollution is also a serious source of concern in the developing countries of Asia where 60-80% of households rely on solid biomass fuel for cooking and heating. These fuels are usually burnt in low-efficiency, unvented traditional devices and result in high levels of indoor air pollution. Women and children face maximum exposure because they spend most of their time indoors, working with or near combustion sources. Around 30-60% of urban residents in low-income countries reportedly live in poor households and are exposed to high levels of indoor air pollution.

Quoting recent studies, the HEI report says the effects of indoor air pollution include acute lower respiratory infections in children below five years, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

Aargh Diaries - Mr.Popular & Saurav Ganguly

A friend from Visakhapatnam wanted my suggestions on party conversations and being Mr.Popular.

Well though I dont buzz around in the party circuit and definitely not Mr.Popular, this doesnt prevent me from giving tips:D

Rule no.1
Talk about Cricket/Politics/Films. Someone or other is bound to be interested in that.

Rule no.2
Spout Statistics if possible, you will look knowledgable too. But dont go into tooooo much statistics. One stat per conversation should be your limit.

Rule no.3
Generally you dont have to talk a lot or know a lot to be popular, listening would do equally well and compliments will do more :) But dont go overboard, it will be treated as flattery. Stick to one per conversation.

Rule no.4
If you dont smoke drink or eat only veggies, and others have different preferences, dont advertise it. Just quietly follow it.

I sent this by email and thought perhaps I could elaborate on this in a book and was wondering if I would be able to get a 7 figure book contract when I received an email from my friend - he doesnt watch cricket.

Aargh!!

Didnt know there could be guys who dont follow cricket.

Well anyway those who talk about cricket need not be experts. And since there is going to be cricket match in Visakhapatnam tommorrow, cricket will be definitely discussed tonight, so came up with the following suggestions for his party tonight.

1.Say Saurav should be dropped. Unless you are in Kolkatta (and you are not in Kokatta), think the majority will agree. After all even after he won the match in Kochi, in Star News Match ka Mujrim, around 63% thought he was the Mujrim.

2.If someone dares to mention something like he is most successful captain, retort with he should become a Non playing Captain and laugh. Dont worry others will join in and laugh with you.

3.Even if he scores a century in the next match and you have a party next week, maintain the same and say oneday performance dont count or say the opposition took pity or say he survived because of poor Pakistan fielding and it would have been a different story if the catch had been taken.
(Seeing Saurav's form, he probably wont score the century and even if he takes, bound to give couple of chances and Pakistan fielders are not Kaifs.)

4.Dont say who the next captain should be. Some will think Shewag and some Dravid and some might even say Sachin or Yuvraj or Laxman (Since Vizag is in AP and Laxman from AP). Dont commit, just say, the first thing is to kick Saurav out.

5.Sachin is tricky since there are some who worship him and some who despise him. If you are aware of his scores, and if he fails, say he should spend more time on the nets than modelling for ads. Safer to avoid him or just say he could do better or better just say the players earn too much and should be accountable. Quote a few crores. No one is going to check it.

6.Talk about non performing players should be replaced with younger players and that there is abundant talent in the country. No need to mention the younger players names. Just a casual reference will do.

7.Talk about Indian pride and how the players should be more responsible when representing the country. Talk about how professional Aussies were in kicking out even Steve Waugh. Dont talk about what Aussies do to groom their players and encourage talent. And definitely dont talk about Indian pitches, or women's cricket.

8.If you dont mind getting offensive, add Ganguly removed his shirt in England now Pakis are removing his pants. (Ok Ok it was not mine, its from Match ka Mujrim).

9.Whenever possible see Match ka Mujrim, yeah I know you are not interested in cricket, but then according to me, even that programme is not about cricket either.

10.Never say you dont watch cricket, some will wonder if that means you are gay :)

PS : Received an email from him now..
Instead of thanking me and saying he is deeply obliged to me for the rest of his life, he is foaming and fuming.
Seems my friend had decided to practise my rules on the first person he came across today at a hotel and that guy turned out to be Saurav Ganguly.

Aargh !!!!

Well...my friend is lucky, if he had told something similar to Inzy, he could have come after him with the bat, like he did in the West Indies.
Sorry Saurav, Hope you too reply with the bat :)

Kidding - Win With a Wail

Dear Diary
I wanted pizza.
(Because I saw a Pizza ad on TV)
Mom said no.
I cried.
She still said no.
I cried more.
Dad came into the room.
Mom explained why I was crying.
He said he had a headache and scolded her for making me cry.
I kept on crying.
He got angry and he hit me.
I decided to cry more.
Mom and Dad argued.
I screamed.
They got tired with my screams.
They took me out.
They ordered pizza and burger and also french fries.
And wiped my tears.
And told me to be good and get good marks.
I said yes and smiled as I sipped the softdrink.
Its so easy to win with a wail.

A 6 year old.