Don't worry if you haven't made head or tail from the title of this post. Even I wouldn't have about a month ago. This comes directly to you from IIT Madras lingo. I am working with some Junta from this Insti for some time now and yes, I am sure I will add at least hazaar arbit words to my vocab before I complete my stint with them.
Anyways, peace max. This post is definitely not about them. This is more about an Arbit funda which governs Indian roads today. Everyone who drives anything even remotely resembling a vehicle in any of our Indian cities knows how much of a Kamikaze the entire act is. Bikes that meander freely and autowallahs who surprise with F-16 maneuvers are commonplace. Close shaves are so common that they beg to be re christened as routine shaves. Anyways, my concern is with the scenario in which a close call actually crosses the threshold and results in a small brush. In majority of the cases, it would have just resulted in some paint peeling off or a minor scratch. But No, we belong to utopia and we don't tolerate even a single case of takkar. No way!
2 strokes of paint suddenly start costing a fortune and names of the invaders ancestors are ready to be mouthed out! Forgive and forget is just too bad an option to be even considered !
Grow up! Even Mathematicians can prove that the probability of accidents on Indian roads is close to 0.5 if not more. Thank your stars that your name figured in the brush ups and not in the crash overs and move on ! Life is more than a bucket of paint or a couple of hammer blows on your car .
Monday, December 18, 2006
Freedom to choose your life partner!
I remember a laid back evening in Hyderabad when I brainstormed with a good friend of mine over double standards of Indian junta. Badri is a well read guy, holds a US masters degree and designs semiconductor chips for his living.
Badri had argued then that Double standards are universal, I stuck to my stand that its not. There were two categories of people I maintained, ... Ones who exhibit them, and then the rest of the crowd who don't. I thought I was right. At least till recently.
Suddenly, Double standards seem ubiquitous. The new age Indian youth defies my logic. They/we chat with friends cutting across religious and linguistic barriers, stay with them , eat with them but Naa..we won't marry them ! ! ! Never !
Young India today is becoming an interesting case in point. The post liberalization kids are smart, fun loving and go getters. But they are seriously risk averse. At least in their personal life that is. I was talking to one of my friends in office yesterday when she almost gasped at the idea of such a marriage. Blasphemy ?...ooops !
I remember my school days when one of my close friends, Roy had asked me such a question. We did have a fitting argument fight back then, when I almost heroically silenced him saying that 14 years of our education is a sheer waste of time if we still end up discriminating amongst people based on such mundane things.
But there is another angle to it now. Marriage is a sacred institution and I have always stood up to preserve its sanctity. And hence the natural hate for people who use it as an alternative to achieve a better lifestyle or growth in their career. And yes, the genPrev (previous generation comprising of our parents) have religiously ensured that it is slowly but surely reduced to a game where nothing but economics rules the roost. Had Steven Levitt been an Indian, I bet the great Indian arranged marriage would have found an illustrious place in freakonomics, if not a seperate book in itself.
Hundreds of marriages are breaking down everyday. It's not money that is lost then. It's something more human and more precious .
I am not submitting the idea that everything will be hunky – dory when you are with your chosen one, but at least you would have spun by then a thousand beautiful moments of your life together ! I may sound a bit American here, but I’ll never understand the funda behind walking away one fine morning with a girl u never knew before in your life or vice versa.
I am not equating the practice of ‘Sati’ to arranged marriages, but then when an era changed, our countrymen never realized how outdated their customs & practices are. It required an iconoclast like Raja Rammohan Roy to fight and weed it out. A nation is marching ahead with confidence today, It’s necessary that strong foundations are laid /re –laid into the society as we march ahead on them. Pillars of double standards will hold no good for anyone.
Being an avid fan of HR case studies, I have come to believe that people make the essential difference. Be it in your company, be it in your personal life.
And yes, When I love or care for a person, I just look at the person. Period.
Anything more and I think Steven Levitt can take over !
Badri had argued then that Double standards are universal, I stuck to my stand that its not. There were two categories of people I maintained, ... Ones who exhibit them, and then the rest of the crowd who don't. I thought I was right. At least till recently.
Suddenly, Double standards seem ubiquitous. The new age Indian youth defies my logic. They/we chat with friends cutting across religious and linguistic barriers, stay with them , eat with them but Naa..we won't marry them ! ! ! Never !
Young India today is becoming an interesting case in point. The post liberalization kids are smart, fun loving and go getters. But they are seriously risk averse. At least in their personal life that is. I was talking to one of my friends in office yesterday when she almost gasped at the idea of such a marriage. Blasphemy ?...ooops !
I remember my school days when one of my close friends, Roy had asked me such a question. We did have a fitting argument fight back then, when I almost heroically silenced him saying that 14 years of our education is a sheer waste of time if we still end up discriminating amongst people based on such mundane things.
But there is another angle to it now. Marriage is a sacred institution and I have always stood up to preserve its sanctity. And hence the natural hate for people who use it as an alternative to achieve a better lifestyle or growth in their career. And yes, the genPrev (previous generation comprising of our parents) have religiously ensured that it is slowly but surely reduced to a game where nothing but economics rules the roost. Had Steven Levitt been an Indian, I bet the great Indian arranged marriage would have found an illustrious place in freakonomics, if not a seperate book in itself.
Hundreds of marriages are breaking down everyday. It's not money that is lost then. It's something more human and more precious .
I am not submitting the idea that everything will be hunky – dory when you are with your chosen one, but at least you would have spun by then a thousand beautiful moments of your life together ! I may sound a bit American here, but I’ll never understand the funda behind walking away one fine morning with a girl u never knew before in your life or vice versa.
I am not equating the practice of ‘Sati’ to arranged marriages, but then when an era changed, our countrymen never realized how outdated their customs & practices are. It required an iconoclast like Raja Rammohan Roy to fight and weed it out. A nation is marching ahead with confidence today, It’s necessary that strong foundations are laid /re –laid into the society as we march ahead on them. Pillars of double standards will hold no good for anyone.
Being an avid fan of HR case studies, I have come to believe that people make the essential difference. Be it in your company, be it in your personal life.
And yes, When I love or care for a person, I just look at the person. Period.
Anything more and I think Steven Levitt can take over !
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Raj, Simran and the wave called DDLJ !
I watched, err re-watched DDLJ for the nth time this weekend. Ok, for all those who are not in sync with acronyms of Bollywood movies , DDLJ is Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge , a romantic movie with Shah Rukh and Kajol starring in it. It has been almost 11 years since the release in 1995, but the timeless value and excitement generated by the film just refuses to die.Two scenes that I particularly like in that order are the ones in which Shah Rukh says to himself that if Kajol loves him then she would turn back to see him before she boards a train . And then he keeps on uttering the word 'Palat' (Meaning turn back in hindi) until she finally turns. Boy, those dreamy eyes of Shah Rukh in this scene are worth a thousand dollars .
The second is the way he refuses to attend Simran's (oops,Kajol for you) wedding outright when she says that she'll send the Invitation card. Nothing much is said in this scene but the way Shah Rukh says it with his eyes just bowls you over. Take it from me, every jilted lover can relate to this. It's impossible for anyone to see his most prized possesion being taken away before his own eyes.And for ever !
And yes, as for Kajol , the song sequences are the ones I love the most , especially the way she opens up in song 'Mehndi lagaa ke rakhna' with a word of caution for her love to keep things secret ! Not to mention the bubbly drunk Kajol in 'Zaraa sa jhoom loon main'...
Kerala stands still ...
Most of my Keralite friends miss their homes so much that they invariably end up traveling from places like Bangalore/Chennai or Hyderabad almost once every fortnight to ahem.. ‘God’s own Country ' .
My parents live near Chennai and so I have never felt the need to visit Kerala that often. But then, there always used to be a feeling that I am missing some action that’s happening back home.
So go , did I to Kerala for a latest round up of things that are happening.
And now after thorough research, just a small piece of advise to my Mallu(Slang for Malayalees) brethren. Do go to Kerala to keep in touch with your loved ones. But if you are like me, then please don’t bother wasting money. There is absolutely nothing happening there. In fact, I bet if you take someone who hasn't seen Cochin for the past 10 years , he would be able to navigate through shops and streets with ease over there.
Development is the last thing on the agenda of politicians. I don’t want to crib about that here for sure but just to make things clear, the main agenda of the powers-that-be in the last 2 months has been deciding whether to increase a dam's height by 10 ft or not , Making law to circumvent Supreme courts order to install speed governors on private buses and the like.
So dear Mallus, stay put where you are , enjoy life ! Kerala is standing still for you, so that you don't have any problems whenever you plan to return.
It seems God himself has to take initiative to change things in his own country!
My parents live near Chennai and so I have never felt the need to visit Kerala that often. But then, there always used to be a feeling that I am missing some action that’s happening back home.
So go , did I to Kerala for a latest round up of things that are happening.
And now after thorough research, just a small piece of advise to my Mallu(Slang for Malayalees) brethren. Do go to Kerala to keep in touch with your loved ones. But if you are like me, then please don’t bother wasting money. There is absolutely nothing happening there. In fact, I bet if you take someone who hasn't seen Cochin for the past 10 years , he would be able to navigate through shops and streets with ease over there.
Development is the last thing on the agenda of politicians. I don’t want to crib about that here for sure but just to make things clear, the main agenda of the powers-that-be in the last 2 months has been deciding whether to increase a dam's height by 10 ft or not , Making law to circumvent Supreme courts order to install speed governors on private buses and the like.
So dear Mallus, stay put where you are , enjoy life ! Kerala is standing still for you, so that you don't have any problems whenever you plan to return.
It seems God himself has to take initiative to change things in his own country!
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