After long time I am writing... but at least I came back. I lost touch in between and I thought I am not going to come back but my eager of writing came back.
When I was not writing I was reading, not much but I was.... I had lost interest in both but its back. I found one blog. I went thru few posts and I liked it.
I also started reading a book Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb. This was his best selling book. This is a no-non sense book. Purely for those who are interested in maths. Book gets boring at times :-) as it is maths in words... and logic and as name suggest about randomness in life. Give a try to read this book. I even have a copy of Black Swan from same author. Its kinda sequel of Fooled by...
Finally an advice for those who are in late twenties and early thirtees. During current recession I saw many people around me getting fired left and right. I saw people insecure (I too feel at times). On complete other topic, I see people having habits of eating crisps, chips, chocolates, buscuits and some snacks. I was never for, for such food. I call this junk though I am tempted to eat those sometimes.
But I feel to tell everyone, even if you may not like it do it salad every day. Eat fruits. Try to have minimum travelling time from home to office and back, this gives you more personal time. Utilise it. Do walk for 45 mins at a stretch in a day. You are not getting any younger anymore. Keep your self fit. This will keep you enthusiastic thru out day. Try to love your job if you cant find the job you love :-) and if not then at least respect and be loyal to it because at the end of month it is paying your salary. Have nice day, evening and night :-).
Friday, 8 May 2009
Friday, 27 March 2009
Migration and Recession : Part 2
Globalisation!!! The definition means growth to global level. Who needs this? Companies like Pepsi, Coke, Mac D, Pizza hut, Wallmart. Why is this required? People are starving they need food... that is what Pizza hut is for. You are eating pizza aren't you thirsty? Coke/ pepsi is the answer. Not much hungry? Mac D..... Well today is special day let us cook.... then you need Wallmart.
These are just examples.... but thinking back on above examples what we really need among all these? Actually... nothing. We donot require coke or pepsi or pizza hut or Mac D. Then who requires? It is for those who had that"big" vision to go global, who desired to earn lot of money. Come to any business, no one does it for charity. Business is money. Everyone is in the race to create wealth. That is why companies go public... shares are traded, money is exchanged. Few people get wealthy and more get poor. But hunger for money never stops. To feed that hunger, expand. Go out of the box. Increase profit. Find new markets.... create need which is not there... tap the untapped.
Really isn't this what businessman, big organisations and product companies do? Someone thinks about the prouct, someone thinks about the market, if there is no market then people are made aware that they need that product. Well that is what is required. If you are successful in creating market people will buy your stuff and you start earning... if not you fail measurably and loose everything. How exactly this is realted to migration?
You started company... you are making profit. How will you increase the profit? You have to find cheap labour... cheap raw material. How??? Here is the answer then... always some part of world is richer than rest. People who have wealth are concentrated in some parts. To increase profit readuce manufacturing costs... get cheap labour. When you are looking for cheap labour you are looking for people from outside where you reside. This is just an example... there are more reasons for migration. But most obvious reason the money. People migrate to a place where they think can live comfortably. Where they can earn good and live in good condition. Only factories, companies can make this happen. Fast money and fast life style, people are running around for money and for peace. But I am sure answer doesn't lie with pile of money.
These are just examples.... but thinking back on above examples what we really need among all these? Actually... nothing. We donot require coke or pepsi or pizza hut or Mac D. Then who requires? It is for those who had that"big" vision to go global, who desired to earn lot of money. Come to any business, no one does it for charity. Business is money. Everyone is in the race to create wealth. That is why companies go public... shares are traded, money is exchanged. Few people get wealthy and more get poor. But hunger for money never stops. To feed that hunger, expand. Go out of the box. Increase profit. Find new markets.... create need which is not there... tap the untapped.
Really isn't this what businessman, big organisations and product companies do? Someone thinks about the prouct, someone thinks about the market, if there is no market then people are made aware that they need that product. Well that is what is required. If you are successful in creating market people will buy your stuff and you start earning... if not you fail measurably and loose everything. How exactly this is realted to migration?
You started company... you are making profit. How will you increase the profit? You have to find cheap labour... cheap raw material. How??? Here is the answer then... always some part of world is richer than rest. People who have wealth are concentrated in some parts. To increase profit readuce manufacturing costs... get cheap labour. When you are looking for cheap labour you are looking for people from outside where you reside. This is just an example... there are more reasons for migration. But most obvious reason the money. People migrate to a place where they think can live comfortably. Where they can earn good and live in good condition. Only factories, companies can make this happen. Fast money and fast life style, people are running around for money and for peace. But I am sure answer doesn't lie with pile of money.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Migration and Recession : Part 1
Migration or even recession is not a new concept to world. We Bharatiya have seen since long so called brain drain. People argued about it whether it is really brain drain or not. After dotcom and Y2K bubble busted thousands or may be lacs came back, then every started talking about reverse brain drain. But is there anything called reverse brain drain? I don't think so.
Recent recession affected area like USA, Europe and worstly affected UK are seeing people fleeing back to their home countries. Recent news might have capture eyes of people if not I am giving here few. Australia is chaning their migration policy and reducing migrants by 30%. Malysia is going to reduce foreign workers to 1.8 million from 2 million (Here actually figure seems very less but it is 10% of current foreign migrants.) and who have already reduced 60,000 migrants in last year. UK is changing work permit, skilled migrants and residence permit rules. So what will happen to those people who are not able to keep their jobs in such outsider countries? They have to return back to their own country, in most cases.
Recent news which is flashing here in UK is about Polish people. There are around 1.2 million Poles here in UK. Already many have started migrating back to Poland. It is warned by economic adviser in their country that about 400,000 Poles are likely to go back to their home country. What these people were working here? From how long? Why are they going back? Will you call this reverse brain drain?
I want to write more about this, in the next part.
Recent recession affected area like USA, Europe and worstly affected UK are seeing people fleeing back to their home countries. Recent news might have capture eyes of people if not I am giving here few. Australia is chaning their migration policy and reducing migrants by 30%. Malysia is going to reduce foreign workers to 1.8 million from 2 million (Here actually figure seems very less but it is 10% of current foreign migrants.) and who have already reduced 60,000 migrants in last year. UK is changing work permit, skilled migrants and residence permit rules. So what will happen to those people who are not able to keep their jobs in such outsider countries? They have to return back to their own country, in most cases.
Recent news which is flashing here in UK is about Polish people. There are around 1.2 million Poles here in UK. Already many have started migrating back to Poland. It is warned by economic adviser in their country that about 400,000 Poles are likely to go back to their home country. What these people were working here? From how long? Why are they going back? Will you call this reverse brain drain?
I want to write more about this, in the next part.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Something to share...
I have thought of such kind of situation, I have seen few of my friends going thru similar situations and reacting totally different than what I could have done. This is one very good write up with nice ending. Article is in Marathi and should be read by everyone who can read it.
Link for the article is here. I am also pasting it here....
Link for the article is here. I am also pasting it here....
बीप. बीप... बीप. बीप... बीप. बीप... "हा पेजर फेकून द्यायला पाहिजे", असे त्रासिक सूर लावत मी तो आदळत बंद केला. आदल्या दिवशी रात्रीच एक रिलीज संपवून पहाटेच्या साखरझोपेत, नुकत्याच झालेल्या साखरपुड्याच्या आठवणीत पहुडलो होतो. परत डोळा लागतो न लागतो तोच फोनची घंटा खणाणली. आधी पेजर आता फोन. नक्कीच आमचा रिलीज मॅनेजर असणार या खात्रीने वैतागून डोळे चोळत मी फोन उचलला. "Who is it? " मी खेकसलो.
"अरे सुदू, हं ऐकू येतंय का? मी दादा बोलतोय"... आतापर्यंत माझी झोप उजाडलेल्या सूर्याएवढी उडाली होती. भारतातून फोन येण्याचं प्रमाण स्काईपआधीच्या दिवसांत अगदीच नगण्य होतं. पूर्वी एकदा आईने कोणासोबत तरी बाकरवडी पाठवू का म्हणून फोन केला होता तर मी खरडावून सांगितलं होतं, "तुझ्या फोनच्या खर्चात बाकरवडीची पाच पाकिटं आली असती. यापुढे मीच फोन करत जाईन. " भारतातून दादाचा फोन यायचं काहीच कारण नव्हतं. माझ्या हृदयाचा एक ठोका चुकला. सगळं ठीक तर असेल ना? "बोल दादा", मी थोड धैर्य गोळा केलं.
"आधी खाली बैस आणि नीट ऐक. मी अहमदाबादहून बोलतो आहे. बाबांना एक जबरदस्त ऍक्सिडेंट झालाय. डोक्याला खूप मार बसलाय. ते सध्या कोमात आहेत. आई-मी पुण्याहून आणि वैभवी-दादा (माझी होणारी बायको आणि मेहुणा) मुंबईहून अहमदाबादला पोहोचलो आहोत. पण तू काळजी करू नकोस. आय. सी. यू. मध्ये डॉक्टर नीट काळजी घेत आहेत. पिल्लू (बहीण) परीक्षेच्या तयारीत पुण्यात आहे. तिच्या सोबतीला तनुजा (दादाची होणारी बायको) घरी आहे. " एका दमात त्याने मन हलकं केलं. तोवर माझं धैर्य पूर्णपणे कोलमडलं होतं. कसाबसा हुंदका आवरत मी विचारलं "आणि आईऽ कशी आहे? " ती जरा मनाने हळवी आणि तिचा बाबांवर प्रचंड जीव. "घे तिच्याशीच बोल." त्या दिवशी आईला प्रथमच एवढं हिमतीने बोलताना ऐकलं. तिच्या आत्मविश्वासातला फरक लक्षात येण्याजोगा होता.
वैभवीशी एका गंभीर विषयावर बोलायचा हा माझा पहिलाच प्रसंग. या पूर्वी 'गुजगोष्टी' करणं किंवा नवीन फियान्से या नात्याने इंप्रेशन मारण्याचाच अनुभव होता. तिने तिच्या निपुण डॉक्टरी आवाजात "बाबा नक्की बरे होतील" असा दिलासा दिला आणि मी कसाबसा सावरलो.
आईवडिलांपासून दूर राहणार्या प्रत्येकाचं "Worst Nightmare" माझ्यासमोर खर्या आयुष्यात उभं राहिलं होतं. तो पहाटेचा फोन वाजला आणि सगळं काही बदललं होतं.
आठवणींचा पूर
डोळ्यांसमोर सतत हाय-डेफिनिशन मध्ये आठवणींचा सिनेमा चालू झाला होता. मन अचानक वीस वर्षं मागे गेलं. लँब्रेटावर सगळा कुटुंब-कबिला घेऊन निघालेले बाबा माझ्या डोळ्यासमोर आले. समोर हॅंडल धरून दादा, मागे पदर-साडी सावरत, लहान बहिणीला आवरत बसलेली आई, आणि सगळ्यात मागे स्टेपनीवर मागल्या सीटला कवटाळून, कसरती करत मी! हे सगळं अवडंबर आणि (स्टेपनीवर मला नको त्या ठिकाणी दणका देणारे) खड्डे सांभाळत, बाबा मिष्किलपणे विचारायचे "आहेस का रे सुदू... का पडलास मागच्या मागे? ". आज तेच बाबा अहमदाबाद सारख्या अनोळखी गावी, आयसीयूमध्ये आयुष्याशी झगडत पडले होते, आणि मी ५००० मैल दूर राहून काळजीशिवाय दुसरं काहीच करू शकत नव्हतो. स्टेटबॅंकेतल्या नोकरीच्या कामाने अहमदाबादला गेलेले असताना त्यांच्या कारने रस्त्याच्या कडेला उभ्या असलेल्या ट्रकला धडक दिली होती. डोक्याला बसलेल्या मारामुळे 'स्कल फ्रॅक्चर' होऊन खूप रक्तस्राव झाला होता. मेंदूला सूज येऊन एक बाजू पॅरलाइझ झाली होती तर दुसरी बाजू अनियंत्रितपणे सारखी हलत होती. नशिबाने सारख्या परदेशवार्या करणारा दादा तेव्हा मदतीला भारतातच होता.
विचारांच्या कल्लोळाने आता माझा मेंदू बधिर होऊ लागला होता. Helplessness was killing me. बर्या-वाईट विचारांचं डोक्यात थैमान चालू होतं. पिंजर्यातल्या वाघासारख्या येरझारा घालण्याशिवाय काहीच करता येत नव्हतं.
महिन्यापूर्वीच बॅंकेतल्या कामाकरता बाहेरगावी असलेले बाबा, आमच्या साखरपुड्याकरता मोठ्ठी सुट्टी काढून आले होते. त्यांच्या आनंदाच्या भरात ते पोस्टिंगला असलेल्या कोणत्याशा गावाहून तीन लग्नांना पुरेल एवढं सामान घरी घेऊन आले होते. साखरपुडा उरकल्यावर ते पोस्टिंगच्या ठिकाणी निघाले तेव्हा मी ऐटीत वैभवीला रेल्वेस्टेशनवर त्यांना सी-ऑफ करायला घेऊन गेलो होतो. सामान चढवून माझी वैभवीला सिनेमाला घेऊन जायची घाई चालली होती. माझा उतावीळपणा त्यांनी नेमका हेरला. "तुम्ही निघा आता. गाडी सुटायला अजून वेळ आहे. मी बसतो काही वाचत. " वैभवीने मला चिमटा काढत शांत केलं. बहुदा तिला म्हणायचं होतं "अरे मुला, तू वडिलांना हमाल म्हणून सामान लोड करून द्यायला आलाहेस का सी-ऑफ करायला? " पण शेवटी माझ्या पोरकटपणाला प्रोत्साहन देत त्यांनी आम्हाला बोगी बाहेर काढलं. शेवटी गाडी सुटली... एकदाची... आणि मी उड्या मारत सिनेमाला जायला काढता पाय घेतला.
आपल्या माणसाचं मोल ते दिसेनासे होईपर्यंत का कळू नये हे मला अजून कळलं नाहीये. मला वाटतं आपला सर्वसामान्य व्यवहारीपणा 'आपल्या' लोकांनाही लावायला हरकत नाही. जसं आपण नाही का, दुकानातल्या सुपर-सेल वर तुटून पडतो... "एंजॉय व्हाईल सप्लाईज लास्ट!"... तेच लॉजिक. फरक फक्त एवढाच की हे सप्लाईज संपले तर हजारपट जास्त मोल देऊनही परत मिळत नाहीत.
यू. एस. ए. ते आय. सी. यू.
मी रोज अपडेट घेत होतो. दिवसाची रात्र आणि रात्रीचा दिवस होत होता. मी स्वतःला कामात गुंतवून घेण्याचा विफल प्रयत्न करत होतो. अहमदाबादला आता बाबांच्या मदतीला दोन्ही 'होणार्या डॉक्टर सुना' 'लोक काय म्हणतील?' ह्याची पर्वा न करता धावून गेल्या होत्या. माझ्या आणि दादाच्या सासुरवाड्यांनी लग्नाअगोदरच सासरेबुवांची काळजी घ्यायला त्यांची 'पाठवण' केली होती... ते पण एका नवीन गावी, केवळ जाणिवेने... विश्वासावर. माणुसकीने पारंपरिकतेवर विजय मिळवला होता.
मी आतुरतेने वाट पाहत असलेली गुड न्यूज काही येत नव्हती. शेवटी मी मनिषाताईला फोन केला. ती
पुण्यातली आमची शेजारीण. एक नामांकित डॉक्टर, नुकतीच बदलून अमेरिकेत आलेली. तिला तपशील देत अखेरीस मी विचारलं... "ताई... मी जाऊ? ". "किती दिवस झाले म्हणालास तू कोमात जाऊन? ".. "चार".. "लग्गेच निघ". मग माझी चक्रं हलली. दोन दिवसा आधीच घेतलेली कामाची जबाबदारी 'हॅंडोव्हर' करत मी निघालो. It was a leave without pay, but worth every penny lost.
माझ्या सासूबाई, मुंबई एअरपोर्टला होणार्या जावयाला धीर आणि अहमदाबादचं तिकीट द्यायला स्वतः आवर्जून आल्या होत्या. एका आईच्या मायेने सांत्वन करत त्यांनी मला आधार दिला. अहमदाबाद एअरपोर्टला घ्यायला दादा आला होता. मला सावरून घेताना तो चेहर्यावरची काळजी लपवायचा असफल प्रयत्न करत होता. शिक्षणाच्या निमित्ताने आम्ही समजायला लागल्यापासून एकमेकांपासून दूर राहिलेलो असल्याने आम्हां भावांतली भावनिक संभाषणाची ही पहिलीच वेळ, केवळ फॅक्चुअल तपशिलांवरच संपली.
आय. सी. यू. च्या बाहेरच आमची पलटण भेटली... आई आणि सोबत तिच्या होणार्या सुना. माझं बाहेरच इतकं ब्रेन-वॉशिंग झालं की मी आत नेमकं काय पाहणार आहे याचीच मला धडकी भरली. वैभवीच्या पाठोपाठ मी एक-एक बेड आणि पडदा ओलांडून जात होतो आणि अनेक कुटुंबांची अगतिक स्थिती पाहत होतो. कोणी ८० टक्के भाजलेलं, कोणी हार्टअटॅकमधून सावरणारं, कोणी ऍक्सिडंट होऊन लोळागोळा झालेलं, एका पडद्याआड ताटातुटीमुळे एका पत्नीने फोडलेला हंबरडा... मन पिळवटून टाकणारं ते भयाण वातावरण होतं. एव्हाना मला भोवळ आली. कसाबसा तोल सावरत मी बाबांपर्यंत पोहोचलो तर धक्काच बसला... तो औषधांचा उग्र वास, सलाईन, रक्ताच्या पिशव्या, जीव असल्याची ग्वाही देणारं ईसीजीचं ते निर्जीव यंत्र, अनेक ट्युबांचं जाळ, टेबलावर बाटल्यांचा खच, तोंडावर सुतकी भाव ठेवून कामात मग्न नर्स आणि बाबांचा अनियंत्रित हलणारा एकच हात... फोनवर मला धीर देताना हे सगळं बरचं सौम्य करून सांगण्यात आलं होतं. मला सावरायला दोन दिवस लागले.
मी रोज अपडेट घेत होतो. दिवसाची रात्र आणि रात्रीचा दिवस होत होता. मी स्वतःला कामात गुंतवून घेण्याचा विफल प्रयत्न करत होतो. अहमदाबादला आता बाबांच्या मदतीला दोन्ही 'होणार्या डॉक्टर सुना' 'लोक काय म्हणतील?' ह्याची पर्वा न करता धावून गेल्या होत्या. माझ्या आणि दादाच्या सासुरवाड्यांनी लग्नाअगोदरच सासरेबुवांची काळजी घ्यायला त्यांची 'पाठवण' केली होती... ते पण एका नवीन गावी, केवळ जाणिवेने... विश्वासावर. माणुसकीने पारंपरिकतेवर विजय मिळवला होता.
मी आतुरतेने वाट पाहत असलेली गुड न्यूज काही येत नव्हती. शेवटी मी मनिषाताईला फोन केला. ती
पुण्यातली आमची शेजारीण. एक नामांकित डॉक्टर, नुकतीच बदलून अमेरिकेत आलेली. तिला तपशील देत अखेरीस मी विचारलं... "ताई... मी जाऊ? ". "किती दिवस झाले म्हणालास तू कोमात जाऊन? ".. "चार".. "लग्गेच निघ". मग माझी चक्रं हलली. दोन दिवसा आधीच घेतलेली कामाची जबाबदारी 'हॅंडोव्हर' करत मी निघालो. It was a leave without pay, but worth every penny lost.
माझ्या सासूबाई, मुंबई एअरपोर्टला होणार्या जावयाला धीर आणि अहमदाबादचं तिकीट द्यायला स्वतः आवर्जून आल्या होत्या. एका आईच्या मायेने सांत्वन करत त्यांनी मला आधार दिला. अहमदाबाद एअरपोर्टला घ्यायला दादा आला होता. मला सावरून घेताना तो चेहर्यावरची काळजी लपवायचा असफल प्रयत्न करत होता. शिक्षणाच्या निमित्ताने आम्ही समजायला लागल्यापासून एकमेकांपासून दूर राहिलेलो असल्याने आम्हां भावांतली भावनिक संभाषणाची ही पहिलीच वेळ, केवळ फॅक्चुअल तपशिलांवरच संपली.
आय. सी. यू. च्या बाहेरच आमची पलटण भेटली... आई आणि सोबत तिच्या होणार्या सुना. माझं बाहेरच इतकं ब्रेन-वॉशिंग झालं की मी आत नेमकं काय पाहणार आहे याचीच मला धडकी भरली. वैभवीच्या पाठोपाठ मी एक-एक बेड आणि पडदा ओलांडून जात होतो आणि अनेक कुटुंबांची अगतिक स्थिती पाहत होतो. कोणी ८० टक्के भाजलेलं, कोणी हार्टअटॅकमधून सावरणारं, कोणी ऍक्सिडंट होऊन लोळागोळा झालेलं, एका पडद्याआड ताटातुटीमुळे एका पत्नीने फोडलेला हंबरडा... मन पिळवटून टाकणारं ते भयाण वातावरण होतं. एव्हाना मला भोवळ आली. कसाबसा तोल सावरत मी बाबांपर्यंत पोहोचलो तर धक्काच बसला... तो औषधांचा उग्र वास, सलाईन, रक्ताच्या पिशव्या, जीव असल्याची ग्वाही देणारं ईसीजीचं ते निर्जीव यंत्र, अनेक ट्युबांचं जाळ, टेबलावर बाटल्यांचा खच, तोंडावर सुतकी भाव ठेवून कामात मग्न नर्स आणि बाबांचा अनियंत्रित हलणारा एकच हात... फोनवर मला धीर देताना हे सगळं बरचं सौम्य करून सांगण्यात आलं होतं. मला सावरायला दोन दिवस लागले.
"पप्पाजी"
बाबांच्या अपघाताचा सविस्तर तपशील लवकरच मिळाला. त्यांना जीवनदान देणार्या देवमाणसांच्या भाषेत सांगायचं झालं तर.... "मै (मेहुलकुमारजी), अंबालालजी, विमलजी, राजेशकुमारजी और बिरजूभाई, अमावसके दिन मंदिर जा रहे थे, मारुती वॅन मे। रास्तेमें भीड देखी तो समझा ऍक्सिडंट हो गया है। पप्पा का बहोत खून बह रहा था। बेहोश थे। कोई हाथ लगाने को तैयार नहीं था। हमने सोचा भगवान ने हमें मंदिर के बजाय यहां उन्हे बचाने के लिये भेजा है। खून को हाथ से रोक कर हमने पप्पा को उठा के वॅन मे डाला और ले गये गव्हर्न्मेंट हॉस्पिटल। कंपाउंडर बोला एफ.आय.आर के सिवा हात नहीं लगा सकते तो बिरजूभाईने उसके कान के नीचे एक थप्पड लगाई। डॉक्टरसे, नेता का नाम लेके ऍडमिट करवाया। सर पे दबाया हुआ हाथ निकाला तो खून की पिचकारीसे बगलवाली वॉल रंग गई। बाद में पप्पाजी के पॉकेटसे बँक का कार्ड मिला और किसीने मम्मीजी को फोन लगाया।"...
या चाळीशी-पन्नाशीच्या सर्वसामान्य दिसणार्या गुजराथी बांधवांनी असामान्य काम केलं होतं. त्या गडबडीत त्यांचा हरवलेला मोबाईल, रक्ताने माखलेली गाडी... ह्याची त्यांना पर्वा नव्हती. आम्ही त्यांना हरवलेल्या मोबाईलचे पैसे, येनकेनप्रकारेण देण्याचा प्रयत्न केला. पण हे असामान्य लोक आम्हां सामान्यांची पैशाची भाषा बोलायला तयारच नव्हते.
त्यांना हवी असलेली गोष्ट पैशाने विकत घेण्याजोगी नव्हती.... "हमे तो बस्स, पप्पाजी को उन के पैरों पे हम निकले थे वो मंदिर ले जाना है... तो हम को सब कुछ मिल जायेगा।"
त्यांनी आमच्या आईला "मम्मीजी" तर बाबांना "पप्पाजी" ही पदवी प्रेमाने बहाल केली होती!
मदतीचे हात
आमचं नवीन कुटुंब आता हॉस्पिटलच्या एका खोलीत वसलं होतं. ६x६ ची खोली, एक खिडकी, एक दार, एक बेसीन, एक फॅन... बस्स. त्यात आम्ही किमान सात लोक - आई, तीन मुलं, दोन होणार्या सुना, दूरवरून प्रवास करून येणारे नातलग आणि गोडबोलेकाका. ते मूळचे मराठी, पण अहमदाबादला स्थायिक झालेले. त्यांच्या मराठीला एक गोड गुजराथी हेल होता. आमचा त्यांच्याशी आधीचा काहीच परिचय नव्हता. ते बाबांच्या बँकेत नोकरीला होते. तिथूनच त्यांची बाबांशी थोडीफार ओळख झालेली. आपल्या गावी, आपला एक सहकर्मचारी मृत्यूशी झगडतो आहे आणि त्याचं कुटुंब नवीन गावी एकटं पडलंय ह्याच कल्पनेनं त्यांना 'व्यापलं' होतं. आम्ही आळीपाळीने २४ तास बाबांसोबत असायचो. ड्यूटीवरील डॉक्टर आणि नर्स नीट काळजी घेत आहेत ह्याची खात्री करायला, बेडसोअर्स होत नाहीयेत आणि ते खाली पडणार नाहीत याची काळजी घ्यायला. दिवसभर बँकेतलं काम संपवून गोडबोलेकाका रात्री आठाच्या ठोक्याला हजर असायचे, फ्रेश! अधूनमधून सोबत आईला आधार द्यायला काकूही असत. "अहो, तुम्हा सगळ्यांना दिवसभर आहेच की... मला काय बँकेतच जायचं आहे." असा ते विनोद करत. "मी जागतो सकाळी २ ते ६. तुम्ही जरा झोप काढा", असं म्हणत सगळ्यात कठीण वेळ ते मागून घ्यायचे.
याआधी मला कॉलेजात सबमिशन्सच्या आदल्या रात्री नाईटस मारायचा अनुभव होता, पण ही जबाबदारी फारच मोठी होती. काही रात्री बाबांच्या उशाशी जागल्यानंतर, मी अनेक रात्री झोपेतून ओरडत भेदरून उठायचो. कायम एकच स्वप्न... ऑन माय वॉच, मला नकळत डोळा लागलाय आणि त्यात बाबा पलंगावरून खाली पडलेत आणि मी काहीच करू शकत नाहीये. मेंटल ट्रॉमा झालेल्या लोकांना असली नाईटमेअर्स पडतात म्हणे. युद्धातून परत येणार्या सैनिकांना किती मानसिक तणावातून जावं लागत असेल, नाही? त्यांचे अनुभव तर अजून कितीतरी जोखमीचे आणि भयावह असतील.
आत्या, काका, मामा, त्यांची मुलं, सुना, फॅमिली फ्रेंडस... सगळे कामातून वेळ काढत भेटीला, मदतीला, आधाराला येऊन जायचे. त्यांनी नवस बोलले, उपास केले, पारायणं केली, अंगारा पाठवला. प्रत्येक जण आपापल्यापरीने जमेल तशी मदत करत होता.
अहमदाबादच्या मराठी व अमराठी लोकांनी सर्वतोपरी मदत केली. रोज सकाळी चहा आणि आंघोळीचं गरम पाणी तयार असायचं. रात्री दादाचा मित्र आईसाठी पथ्याचं जेवण घेऊन यायचा.
बाबांच्यात आता मराठी, गुजराथी, पंजाबी आणि बंगाली रक्त वाहत होतं. प्रथम, काही भेटीस येणार्या नातेवाईकांनी रक्त दिलं. अनेकांचे ब्लडग्रूप मॅच व्हायचे नाहीतं. अजून रक्ताची गरज पडली तेव्हा मेव्हण्याने त्याच्या ऑफिसच्या अहमदाबाद शाखेत आवाहन केले. आवाहनानंतर तासाभरात अनेकांनी बाह्या वर करत, काहीही मोबदल्याची अपेक्षा न ठेवता, आनंदाने रक्त दिलं. आपण एक जीव वाचवतो आहे ह्याच भावनेने ते उत्साही दिसत होते.
ह्या सगळ्यांच्या आधारावर आम्ही सगळे नवीन गावी तग धरून होतो आणि रोज उगवत्या सूर्याबरोबर परत mission "increasingly" impossible च्या मागे लागायचो.
दोन इंची ब्रेक-थ्रू
आता बाबांना कोमात जाऊन एक महिना उलटून गेला होता. आलेली दिवाळी फुसक्याबारसारखी अपेक्षा उंचावून निघून गेली. कोमा, इन्फेक्शन, तापाशी लढताना अनेक औषधं झाली, सीटी स्कॅन झाले, अंगारे, पोथ्या, पारयणं, नवस झाले. प्रत्येकाने आपापल्यापरीने प्रयत्न केले. पण यश मात्र हाती लागत नव्हतं. एवढे उपाय करूनसुद्धा रिकवरी दिसत नव्हती आणि टेन्शन वाढत होतं. माझं मन आता वैभवीच्या "बाबा नक्की बरे होणार" या मंत्रावर शंका घ्यायला लागलं होतं. "हे बघ, स्टॅटिस्टिकली, कोमात पाच दिवसांनंतर वाचणार्यांचं प्रमाण..." माझं गणिती वाक्य अर्धवट तोडत ती म्हणायची "ते काहीही असो. मला खात्री आहे बाबा नक्कीच, शंभर टक्के शुद्धीवर येणार. " शेवटी एंडोस्कोपी स्पेशालिस्ट कडे गेलो असताना 'युरेका' क्षण आला. तोंडातली फीडिंग ट्यूब २ इंचांनी भलत्याच ठिकाणी औषधं पोहोचवत होती. दोन इंची ट्यूबचं महत्त्व त्या दिवशी कळालं. आमच्या आशा परत पुलकित झाल्या. प्रयत्न नव्या जोमाने सुरू झाले.
एके दिवशी आईच्या नकळत, तिला बाबांच्या उशाशी बसून त्यांचा हात हातात घेत हळुवारपणे कोमातून बाहेर बोलावतांना पाहिलं. बाबा आपलं बोलणं ऐकत आहेत असा तिचा विश्वास होता. याआधी माझ्या नवतरुण खुळचट फिरंगी विचारांच्या भरात मी त्यांना चिडवायचो "अरे काय तुम्ही... फक्त ऑफिस, घरकाम, मुलं... हेच का तुमचं आयुष्य? जरा हातात हात घेऊन पिक्चरला का जात नाहीत? एवढं काय ते लाजायचं." आईपण कमाल करायची. पूजा समारंभाला बाबांसोबत "मम आत्मनः" करत, पळीने उदक सोडताना नव्या नवरीसारखी लाजायची. नंतर मला उपदेशाचे पाठ मिळायचे... "अरे प्रेम असायला हातात हात घालून, नट-नट्यांसारखं गावभर गाणी म्हणत हिंडावं लागत नाही". तो उपदेश माझ्या 'मॉडर्न' डोक्याच्या आरपार निघून जायचा. आईचं ते हळुवार बोलावणं ऐकून असं वाटायचं की अचानक बाबांच्या हातांना परत संवेदना यावी आणि आईच्या हातांना त्यांनी अलगद धरून घ्यावं.
ट्यूब योग्य जागी बसल्यानंतर, आधी निरुपयोगी ठरणारी औषधं आता आपली किमया दाखवू लागली होती. चार पाच दिवसांनी हाताचं ते अनियंत्रित हलणं बंद झालं. हळूहळू त्यांच्यात संवेदना येऊ लागली, डोळ्यांच्या पापण्या हलायला लागल्या, ओठ थरथरायला लागले. अखेरीस एक दिवस बाबा त्यांच्या आवडीचं स्तोत्र, विष्णुसहस्रनाम पुटपुटत हळूहळू कोमातून बाहेर आले. त्यांची आतल्याआत चाललेली स्ट्रगल तेव्हा दिसली. आमच्या आनंदाला पारावार उरला नाही. बाहेरच्या नुकत्याच संपलेल्या दिवाळीच्या फटाक्यांचे आवाज आमच्या मनात परत जागे झाले.
त्या नंतर आमची रोज ओळखपरेड चाले. बाबांच्या नशिबाने त्यांना बायकोचं नाव नीट आठवलं! मुलांची नावं एकदम आठवली नाहीत मात्र त्यांनी एकेका वाक्यात तीनही मुलांची व्यक्तिचित्रं त्यांच्या मिष्किल शैलीतून इतकी बेमिसाल मांडली की आम्ही सर्वांनी तोंडात बोटं घातली. बाबांच्या स्मृतीत आम्ही पोरं नावांनी नाही तर आमच्या 'करतुतीं'नी घर करून होतो!
ते हळूहळू चालायला फिरायला लागले आणि घरी जायची परवानगी मिळाली तोवर अहमदाबादेतल्या आमच्या वास्तव्याचा दीड महिना उलटून गेला होता. त्यांना पूर्णपणे पूर्ववत व्हायला एका वर्षाहून जास्त वेळ लागला.
अहमदाबादहून निघायच्या आदल्या दिवशी बाबांना वाचवणारे गुजराथी बांधव आवर्जून वॅन घेऊन आले होते, त्यांच्या पप्पाजींना आणि आम्हां सगळ्यांना त्यांच्या श्रद्धेच्या मंदिरात व आपल्या घरी जेवायला घेऊन जायला. त्या दिवशीच्या खाकर्याची आणि उंधियोची चव काही औरच होती.
देव + माणसं = देवमाणसं !!
माझा चमत्कारांवर, अंधश्रद्धांवर विश्वास नाही. माझ्यामते बाबांचा सर्वपित्री अमावस्येला झालेला अपघात हा केवळ को-इन्सिडन्स होता. कदाचित त्या रात्री जरा जास्त अंधार असावा. पण 'देव' ह्या संकल्पनेने आम्हां सगळ्यांना आशा दिली हे मात्र खरं. हतबल क्षणी, मनुष्याच्या ताकदीच्या बाहेरही अनेक गोष्टी आहेत ह्याची जाणीव होते. "आसमान में रहनेवाला जादूगर" काही किमया करून जाईल ह्या पुसटशा आशेवर आम्हाला संकटातल्या दिवसांना सामोर जाण्याचं बळ मिळालं.
आभार मानायचे ते कोणाकोणाचे? रस्त्यावर निपचित पडलेल्या अपरिचित व्यक्तीला मदतीचा हात देणार्या जीवनदात्यांचे? की बाबांच्या रिकवरी फेज मध्ये त्यांचा आत्मविश्वास परत द्यायला एक बिनकामी पोस्ट तयार करणार्या स्टेटबँकेतल्या स्नेह्यांचे? की सामजिक भोचकपणा झुगारून देत, फुलटाईम घरचे डॉक्टर्स देणार्या आमच्या सासुरवाड्यांचे? की दुखाःच्या क्षणी आपापल्यापरीने आधार देणार्या सगळ्या आप्तस्वकीयांचे? हे सगळे लोक तर आभारप्रदर्शनाच्या फॉर्म्यालिटी पलिकडे गेलेले आहेत. माणुसकीने आपलंसं करणारे हे लोक भेटल्यावर माझा देवावरचा विश्वास वाढला नसला तरी देवमाणसांवरचा विश्वास नक्कीच दृढ झाला आहे.
बायकांच्या भावनिकतेवर पुरुषदृष्टीने कितीही विनोद केले तरी, रात्री रडणार्या बाळाचा आवाज ऐकून फुटणारा पान्हा आणि आयुष्याशी झगडत असलेल्या नवर्याची काळजी घेणारी बायको बघितल्याशिवाय त्या भावनिकतेची आणि संवेदनक्षमतेची खरी किंमत कळत नाही.
देश, वेष, भाषा, जात ह्यांच्यापलीकडे गेलेली माणुसकी पाहिली की माणसाचं खरं 'नेचर' कळतं. भावनेच्या आधारावर, संवेदनक्षम मनं मोकळी करत जाणारी ही चालती बोलती देवमाणसं भेटली की त्यांच्या पावलावर आपली छोटी पावलं टाकण्याची प्रेरणा मिळते.
जीवनदान देणारी उदात्त मनुष्यवृत्ती पाहिल्यावर, जेव्हा जीव घ्यायला निघालेले, लोकांना एकमेकांपासून दूर करणारे, संकुचित वृत्तीचे मराठी-बिहारी, रशियन-जॉर्जियन, हिंदू-मुस्लिम जातीयवाद ऐकले की वाटतं, "वि कॅन डू बेटर दॅन धिस". बाबांच्या एका जुन्या वहीत लिहिलेला शेर आठवतो - "अष्कों को जो शबनम समझे, दर्दों को जो सरगम समझे, इन्सां है वो इन्सां बडा, जो दुश्मन को भी हमदम समझे|"
रक्ताची नाती
कधीकधी जुन्या आठवणींना उजाळा मिळतो, उंधियो खाताना घास घशात रेंगाळतो, डोळे पाणावतात आणि आमच्या आयुष्याला नवीन वळण देणारी १९९९ची ती अहमदाबादमधली दिवाळी आठवते. आम्ही सगळे त्या अनुभवातून खूप शिकलो. हा माझ्या डोळ्यांनी पाहिलेला, मनाला जाणवलेला फक्त चार महिन्यांचा आढावा. बाकी लोकांचे अनुभव बरेच वेगळेही असतील. पण ते मी इथे सांगणं योग्य ठरणार नाही.
झाडांमधून जंगल पाहायचं असेल तर जरा दूर जावं लागतं असं म्हणतात. आज या गोष्टीला बरीच वर्षं झाली आहेत. आता दुरून माणुसकीचं जंगल कसं स्वच्छ दिसतंय!
आम्हां दोघा भावांची लग्नं ठरल्याप्रमाणे दोन महिन्यांतच धूमधडाक्यात साजरी झाली. सासरकडच्या मंडळींनी जय्यत तयारी केली होती. अंगावर पांढरा कोट आणि गळ्यात स्टेथस्कोप घालून अहमदाबादमध्ये डॉक्टरच्या रुबाबात वावरणार्या सुना, आता नऊवारीत आणि दागिन्यात लाजल्या सवरल्या होत्या. त्यांच्या सौंदर्यावर सजलेला तो आत्मविश्वासाचा, अमाप जिव्हाळयाचा, आणि माणुसकीचा अदृश्य दागिना त्यांचं रूप अजूनच खुलवत होता. लग्नाला सगळ्या नातेवाईकांत, शुभचिंतकांत अहमदाबादच्या खास नातलगांचा पण समावेश होता. अंबालालजी, मेहुलकुमारजी, विमलजी, राजेशकुमारजी, बिरजूभाई आणि गोडबोलेकाका आवर्जून आले होते.
आमच्या रक्ताच्या नात्यांत आता अनेकांची भर पडली होती. 'बहनेवाला खून' थांबवणारी, पिशव्या भरभरून रक्त देणारी, आणी एका तान्हुल्यागत काळजी घेत बाबांना नवजीवन देणारी... "रक्ताची नाती".
-सुदर्शन महाबळ
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Recession : What brings Software Engineers to reality...
I have seen pain in eyes of those who are not in this industry and I have seen how they are suffering. When will people in this industry will learn that money is not which lasts long. The way people in software/ BPO spends is USA mentality. "Jio yaar!!" that's what is funda. Everyone in software industry is trying to buy land/ flats/ apartment. Well and the hunger doesn't stop at one place but they need multiple. One for husband, one for wife, one for child and multiple if children. No wonder prices of everything goes up.
This was a forward but should be read and understood by all.
This was a forward but should be read and understood by all.
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Mumbai Attack Sponsor
Bharatiy government is now probing into money transaction that might have been linked to Mumbai attack.... the news says.
Around Rs 2000 cr and 200 banks have been used to navigate this money to Bharat which was used for Mumbai attack. If government releases name of banks which were used for these transactions I wonder how many banks name may come up. I wonder if we have any policy for money laundering. US, UK and most of Europe have there policies around illegal use of money. Any bank involved in money laundering is heavily charged and may even be banned from any transaction. These rules if not already should be in place for all banks which operate in Bharat.
All banks, bank staff and anyone who works for bank may be not an employee of should be aware of these policies. If we dont set it right... same thing mught be used again against us.
A movie is released around same topic a week back, The International. I think everyone should see the movie which shows what impact money laundering can have. I can describe the outline of movie here. An international bank IBBC from Netherlands is involved in money laundering. Interpol is tracking the bank. Money is routed from African country to this bank. Weapons are purchaed from China and are supplied to these African countries. Interpol and few agent from America tries to invade their plan. It is fast paced movie. You just dont get time to think about anything till the last frame. But in a process you come to know everyone from top to bottom and from left to right, is involved in this. You can get in this mess thinking of trying to solve it. But you CAN'T.
Around Rs 2000 cr and 200 banks have been used to navigate this money to Bharat which was used for Mumbai attack. If government releases name of banks which were used for these transactions I wonder how many banks name may come up. I wonder if we have any policy for money laundering. US, UK and most of Europe have there policies around illegal use of money. Any bank involved in money laundering is heavily charged and may even be banned from any transaction. These rules if not already should be in place for all banks which operate in Bharat.
All banks, bank staff and anyone who works for bank may be not an employee of should be aware of these policies. If we dont set it right... same thing mught be used again against us.
A movie is released around same topic a week back, The International. I think everyone should see the movie which shows what impact money laundering can have. I can describe the outline of movie here. An international bank IBBC from Netherlands is involved in money laundering. Interpol is tracking the bank. Money is routed from African country to this bank. Weapons are purchaed from China and are supplied to these African countries. Interpol and few agent from America tries to invade their plan. It is fast paced movie. You just dont get time to think about anything till the last frame. But in a process you come to know everyone from top to bottom and from left to right, is involved in this. You can get in this mess thinking of trying to solve it. But you CAN'T.
Banglore Incidence... Something not new for Maharashtrians
News in Deccan
http://www.deccanherald.com/CONTENT/Feb92009/city20090209117445.aspA letter from Saugata Chatterjee of Bangalore:
A few of my friends and I were just paying our bills and coming out of our regular Friday night watering hole and dinner place in Rest House Road, just off Brigade Road, and most of the women in the company were already standing outside. Some of us outside were smoking, people were happy, there was laughter and jokes, as there were many other people in the street, all coming out, satiated, in the closing hour of the various pubs and restaurants around.
Suddenly from up the street a massive SUV comes revving and speeding, hurtling down, and stops in a scream of brakes and swirling dust, millimeters away from this group of 4 women, barely missing one of their legs. A white Audi, imported, still under transfer, with the registration plate of KA-51 TR-2767. Some millionaire's toy thing, that in the wrong hands can kill.
Naturally the women are in shock. And quickly following the shock comes indignation. These are self made women running their own businesses, managing state responsibilities for global NGO firms, successful doctors. They are not used to being bullied. So they turn around, instead of shrinking back in fear. They protest.
And as soon as they turn around in protest, the car doors are flung open, and a stream of 4-5 rabid men run out towards these women, screaming obscenities in Hindi and Kannada against women in general, fists flailing.. Some of us who came in running at the sound of the screaming brakes now stand in the middle in defense of our women, and then blows start raining down. One of the goons make a couple of calls over the cellphone, and in seconds a stream of other equally rabid goondas land up. They gun straight for the women, and everyone a few well-meaning bystanders, acquaintances who know us from the restaurant, basically everyone who tries to help the women starts getting thoroughly beaten up.
Women are kicked in the groin, punched in the stomach, slapped across the face, grabbed everywhere, abused constantly. Men are smashed up professionally, blows aimed at livers, groins, kidneys and nose. A friend is hit repeatedly on the head by a stone until he passes out in a flood of blood.
A plain-clothes policeman (Vittal Kumar) who saunters in late stands by watching and urging people to stop, but doing absolutely nothing else. A 'cheetah' biker cop comes in, with our women pleading him to stop this madness, but he refuses action, saying a police van will come in soon and he cannot do anything. Everyone keeps getting hammered. Relentlessly.
The carnage continues for over 20 minutes.
Finally when the police van does come in it is this vandals who are raging and ranting, claiming to be true "sons of the Kannadiga soil", and we are positioned to be the villainous outsiders, bleeding, outraged. How do the cops believe them, especially seeing the bloody faces of our men and the violated rage of our women, while they carry nary a scratch on their bodies? Don't ask me! Yet, it is us who these goondas urge the newly arrived law-keepers to arrest, and the police promptly comply, and we are bundled into the van, some still being beaten as we are pushed in. Some blessed relief from pain inside the police van at least, even if we are inside and the real goons outside, driving alongside in their spanking white Audi. The guy who was hit by the stone is taken separately by the women to Mallya hospital.
Inside the police station at Cubbon Park it becomes clear that these goons and the police know each other by their first names. The policeman in charge (Thimmappa) initially refuses to even register any complaint from me, on the purported grounds that I am not fluent in Kannada and I have taken a few drinks (3 Kingfisher pints, to be precise) over the evening. No, it doesn't matter that I didn't have my car and was not driving, and no, it doesn't mater that the complaint will be written in English. We watch them and the goons exchange smiles and nods with our our bloodied and swelling eyes and realize in our pain-clouded still-in-shock brains the extent of truth in the claim of one of the main goons when he claimed earlier in the evening in virulent aggression: we own this town, this car belongs to an MLA, we will see how you return to this street!!
This was the turning point of the saga, I guess. For we refused to lie down quietly and be victims.
One of our girls, a vintage and proud Bangalorean who is running one of the town's most successful organic farming initiatives, took upon herself to write the complaint, when I was not allowed to write the same. Another Bangalore girl, a state director of a global NGO firm,
wrote the other molestation complaint separately on behalf of all the girls. Some of us called our friends in the media and corporate world. Everyone stepped up. And even when the odds were down and we were out, we did not give up, and as a singular body of violated citizens we spoke in one voice of courage and indomitable spirit. That voice had no limitation of language, not Kannada, nor English, or Hindi. It was the voice of human spirit that cannot be broken.
And in the face of that spirit, for the first time, we saw the ugly visage of vandalism, hiding behind the thin and inadequate veil of political corrupt power, narrow-vision regionalism and self-serving morality, start to wilt.
We spent 6 hours next day in the police station. The sub-inspector of police who filed our FIR, Ajay R M, seemed a breath of fresh air inasmuch that he did not appear a-priori biased like others, even though the hand of corruption and politico-criminal power backing these goons was still manifest in many ways: a starched, white-linen power-broker walked in handing over his card to the sub-inspector in support of the goons; the goons got an audience with the Inspector because of this intervention, while we had to interact one level lower down in the hierarchy; the plains cloth policeman of last night, even though he had arrived far too late in the crime scene, gave a warped statement, passing it off as a "neutral" point of view, repeatedly stressing that we came out of a pub and hence were drinking, positioning this as a 'drunken brawl', while completely forgetting to mention the unprovoked attack against the women and the one-sided vandalism and violence that ensued. I guess one cannot blame the low ranked police officer the criminal connections of these goons must be pervasive enough for him to be careful..
Thanks however to the impartial handling of the situation by Ajay, soon the goons were all identified. The lead actor was one Ravi Mallaya (38), a real estate honcho and owner of a small property off Brigade Road which he has converted into a "gaming" (you know what that means, don't you?) adda. The others identified are Mohan Basava (22) of Chamarajapet 12th Cross, R. Vijay Kumar Ramalingaraju (25) and Shivu Rajashekar (20). All are residents of 12th & 13th Cross in Vyalikaval. Their bravado and machismo were by that time evaporated. It was good to see their faces then.
Of course nothing much happened to them, nor did we expect it. They were supposed to be in lock up for at least the weekend till they were produced in court, but we understand that they were quickly released on (anticipatory?) bail. The car, purportedly belonging to an MLA, also does not figure in the FIR, apparently for reasons of "irrelevance to the case".The media also have given us fantastic coverage and support so far, strengthening the cause.
The goons meanwhile, as an after thought, also filed the customary reverse complaint on the morning after we filed our own complaint: the women have apparently scratched the car! (Why did they not file the complaint the same night, considering they came to the Police Station in the same car? Why was the car allowed to be taken off police custody? Why is the car still irrelevant to the case and not in the FIR? Questions.. questions..).
Is this the end of this saga? Probably not. Are these women, more precious to us as friends and wives than most things in our lives, safe to walk or drive down Brigade Road from now on or are the goonda elements, slighted by this arrest and disgrace, are lying in ambush, waiting, biding their time to cause some of us more grievous harm? We don't know. Is there reason for us to remain apprehensive of future
attacks and victimization? Perhaps.
But here is the point.
We stood up.
We believed in the power of individual citizens even in the face of hooliganism, intolerance, corruption and power mongering. Even though many of us have the option of leveraging political or government connections, we deliberately chose to fight this battle as individuals. Sure, these connections have been activated and they have been kept informed, should the worst case scenario unfold tomorrow. But we have chosen to not leverage them. And in every small win we register as a group of individual outraged citizens of Bangalore and India, however insignificant these milestones may be in the larger scheme of things, there is one small notch adding up in favor of what is right, one small notch against what is wrong. And we believe that every such small notch counts, each such mark is absolutely invaluable.
It is the people who make this city, this country, this world. It is you and I, as much as the terrorists inside and outside. And in our small insignificant little ways, it is my responsibility and yours to not shirk from investing effort – not just lip service or any token attempt, but real effort – in backing up what we ourselves believe in. It is so easy to logically argue that everything is corrupt, nothing is worth it, there are so many risks involved. We must not fall trap to this escapist trend. We must not fail to try.
Next time you feel outraged, violated, abused, don't let it go by and add up to your list of litanies and complaints. Stand up and take it to the limit - at least your own limit. Not in the same way as they wrong you, but in the way that every citizen, at least in theory, is entitled to complain and protest. Do not let the hooligans power rant scare you or prompt you into submission. Do not allow the corrupt cop make you give up trying. Carry the flame forward. Try harder. If are up to it, start right now.
Forward this note to everyone you want to be made aware of this. Post it in your own blogs. Talk about it amongst your circles. And if anyone of you should like to step forward with a word of empathy or advise, talk to me. Comment.
It is not Bangalore that is going to the dogs. It is us. We have far too long become accustomed to let everything go. And the more we let things go without any protest or fight, the dormant criminal and dark elements of the society get that much more encouraged. Every time we turn the other way, the hooligan next street gets incentivized to push the boundary a little further, provoke a little more, try something a little more atrocious. It is time for us to refuse to let this go on. We are responsible for making ourselves proud. Lets believe in ourselves. We can do this.
My name is Saugata Chatterjee. And I am standing up.I refuse to let Bangalore go to the hooligan slumdogs, even if some of them are pets
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Developed or Developing
Heathrow expansion was carried two or three years back at London. Terminal 5 was developed over period of two years or so and it is operational since last year. There was opposition to terminal development as residence did not want nuisance and ofcourse for environment. But there campaign was late and gone in vain as government did not budge.
Now there is plan to expand Stansted airport. This will increase passengers by about 10 million yearly. But this time people are quite efficient for protest and they have taken authorities to High Court. Hearing will happen in another three days but this is how people are being aware of climate change and the surrounding change happening around them.
After reading this news I just remember another news on Pune, Maharashtra, which I read last week. Amidst general election fever picking up, Maharashtra government is in a process to approve fund for Pune international airport at Chakan. I have heard that even Mumbai airport is not utilised fully. This may or may not be true but have the requirements of international airport been evaluated actually for Pune?
But I think very few people have this question in their mind... all the farmers have been moved or are in a process of being moved from the allocated land. God knows how many of them have been paid as per market rate, farmers whose fields have not been taken by government will be sold to builders and they will move from there.... In short when I look at Chakan airport, I can see +CO2 -food from Maharashtra.....
Now there is plan to expand Stansted airport. This will increase passengers by about 10 million yearly. But this time people are quite efficient for protest and they have taken authorities to High Court. Hearing will happen in another three days but this is how people are being aware of climate change and the surrounding change happening around them.
After reading this news I just remember another news on Pune, Maharashtra, which I read last week. Amidst general election fever picking up, Maharashtra government is in a process to approve fund for Pune international airport at Chakan. I have heard that even Mumbai airport is not utilised fully. This may or may not be true but have the requirements of international airport been evaluated actually for Pune?
But I think very few people have this question in their mind... all the farmers have been moved or are in a process of being moved from the allocated land. God knows how many of them have been paid as per market rate, farmers whose fields have not been taken by government will be sold to builders and they will move from there.... In short when I look at Chakan airport, I can see +CO2 -food from Maharashtra.....
Friday, 20 February 2009
Mindset
This was a forward email, but liked the message....
As my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.
"Well," he said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." My friend was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? So make an attempt to grow further.... Why shouldn't we try it again?
"YOUR ATTEMPT MAY FAIL, BUT NEVER FAIL TO MAKE AN ATTEMPT."
As my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.
"Well," he said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." My friend was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? So make an attempt to grow further.... Why shouldn't we try it again?
"YOUR ATTEMPT MAY FAIL, BUT NEVER FAIL TO MAKE AN ATTEMPT."
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Rashi and Horoscope
Few days back I read a book on Punarjanm (Rebirth), by P. V. Vartak. I found answers to some of my questions, may not be fully satisfactory but which can lead to new thinking. Today I came across one news in sakal about Rashis and horoscope. A lecture was given by Pro. Prakash Parekh of "Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti".
It is nice to have discussion about such topics and try to investigate on this. But what I found in news is they just ridiculed about the subject. I am believer of Rashis/ Horoscope. I believe this is a science though it is not established like science. There are many proofs if you want to verify which can proove this science.
Though I use to believe this is a science I could not relate why and how exactly it is related to Grahas (Planet) and Nakshatras. My friend told me that earlier there were only Nakshatras and Grahas which vedic people used for predictions. There were no Rashis. It was later when it was hard to explain and figure out formation of Nakshatras, Rashis were created. They consist of 2.25 Nakshatras. Still I could not find reason how Grahas can impact anyone's life.
Well I could find two good reasons for this. First is, Moon and Sun even being at such vast distance affect on sea, which is huge. It cause high tide and low tide, on perfectly regular interval. This cycle is never missed. We are leaving on same earth why is it hard to believe they can also have impact on our body. After all, all communication within out body is done using low electric pulse, isnt it? It can be affected by extenal factors.
Second reason is written in the book I read, which I meantioned at begining. This thought can be digested only by those people who believe in rebirth or reincarnation. Whaterver are our deeds or Karmas in current birth are getting transmitted in atmosphere... it just gets reflected by the planets.
Though this sounds incomplete explanation I think if we investigate more about this we can definitely find some proof of relevance in horoscopic science. We may not rely on what our horoscope but definitely we should not discard it.
It is nice to have discussion about such topics and try to investigate on this. But what I found in news is they just ridiculed about the subject. I am believer of Rashis/ Horoscope. I believe this is a science though it is not established like science. There are many proofs if you want to verify which can proove this science.
Though I use to believe this is a science I could not relate why and how exactly it is related to Grahas (Planet) and Nakshatras. My friend told me that earlier there were only Nakshatras and Grahas which vedic people used for predictions. There were no Rashis. It was later when it was hard to explain and figure out formation of Nakshatras, Rashis were created. They consist of 2.25 Nakshatras. Still I could not find reason how Grahas can impact anyone's life.
Well I could find two good reasons for this. First is, Moon and Sun even being at such vast distance affect on sea, which is huge. It cause high tide and low tide, on perfectly regular interval. This cycle is never missed. We are leaving on same earth why is it hard to believe they can also have impact on our body. After all, all communication within out body is done using low electric pulse, isnt it? It can be affected by extenal factors.
Second reason is written in the book I read, which I meantioned at begining. This thought can be digested only by those people who believe in rebirth or reincarnation. Whaterver are our deeds or Karmas in current birth are getting transmitted in atmosphere... it just gets reflected by the planets.
Though this sounds incomplete explanation I think if we investigate more about this we can definitely find some proof of relevance in horoscopic science. We may not rely on what our horoscope but definitely we should not discard it.
Monday, 16 February 2009
Dubai: Land of opportunity in East
Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down
Bryan Denton for The New York Times
Published: February 11, 2009
Published: February 11, 2009
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sofia, a 34-year-old Frenchwoman, moved here a year ago to take a job in advertising, so confident about Dubai's fast-growing economy that she bought an apartment for almost $300,000 with a 15-year mortgage.
An abandoned car in a parking garage in Dubai. One report said 3,000 cars were
sitting abandoned at the Dubai Airport.
sitting abandoned at the Dubai Airport.
Now, like many of the foreign workers who make up 90 percent of the population here, she has been laid off and faces the prospect of being forced to leave this Persian Gulf city — or worse.
"I'm really scared of what could happen, because I bought property here," said Sofia, who asked that her last name be withheld because she is still hunting for a new job. "If I can't pay it off, I was told I could end up in debtors' prison."
With Dubai's economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.
The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town.
No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai's major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy.
Instead of moving toward greater transparency, the Emirates seem to be moving in the other direction. A new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country's reputation or economy, punishable by fines of up to 1 million dirhams (about $272,000).
Some say it is already having a chilling effect on reporting about the crisis.
Last month, local newspapers reported that Dubai was canceling 1,500 work visas every day, citing unnamed government officials. Asked about the number, Humaid bin Dimas, a spokesman for Dubai's Labor Ministry, said he would not confirm or deny it and refused to comment further. Some say the true figure is much higher.
"At the moment there is a readiness to believe the worst," said Simon Williams, HSBC bank's chief economist in Dubai. "And the limits on data make it difficult to counter the rumors."
Some things are clear: real estate prices, which rose dramatically during Dubai's six-year boom, have dropped 30 percent or more over the past two or three months in some parts of the city. Last week, Moody's Investor's Service announced that it might downgrade its ratings on six of Dubai's most prominent state-owned companies, citing a deterioration in the economic outlook. So many used luxury cars are for sale , they are sometimes sold for 40 percent less than the asking price two months ago, car dealers say. Dubai's roads,
usually thick with traffic at this time of year, are now mostly clear.
Some analysts say the crisis is likely to have long-lasting effects on the seven-member emirates federation, where Dubai has long played rebellious younger brother to oil-rich and more conservative Abu Dhabi. Dubai officials, swallowing their pride, have made clear that they would be open to a bailout, but so far Abu Dhabi has offered assistance only to its own banks.
"Why is Abu Dhabi allowing its neighbor to have its international reputation trashed, when it could bail out Dubai's banks and restore confidence?" said Christopher M. Davidson, who predicted the current crisis in "Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success," a book published last year. "Perhaps the plan is to centralize the U.A.E." under Abu Dhabi's control, he mused, in a move that would sharply curtail Dubai's independence and perhaps change its signature freewheeling style.
For many foreigners, Dubai had seemed at first to be a refuge, relatively insulated from the panic that began hitting the rest of the world last autumn. The Persian Gulf is cushioned by vast oil and gas wealth, and some who lost jobs in New York and London began applying here.
But Dubai, unlike Abu Dhabi or nearby Qatar and Saudi Arabia, does not have its own oil, and had built its reputation on real estate, finance and tourism. Now, many expatriates here talk about Dubai as though it were a con game all along. Lurid rumors spread quickly: the Palm Jumeira, an artificial island that is one of this city's trademark developments, is said to be sinking, and when you turn the faucets in the hotels built atop it, only cockroaches come out.
"Is it going to get better? They tell you that, but I don't know what to believe anymore," said Sofia, who still hopes to find a job before her time runs out. "People are really panicking quickly."
Hamza Thiab, a 27-year-old Iraqi who moved here from Baghdad in 2005, lost his job with an engineering firm six weeks ago. He has until the end of February to find a job, or he must leave. "I've been looking for a new job for three months, and I've only had two interviews," he said. "Before, you used to open up the papers here and see dozens of jobs. The minimum for a civil engineer with four years' experience used to be 15,000 dirhams a month. Now, the maximum you'll get is 8,000," or about $2,000.
Mr. Thiab was sitting in a Costa Coffee Shop in the Ibn Battuta mall, where most of the customers seemed to be single men sitting alone, dolefully drinking coffee at midday. If he fails to find a job, he will have to go to Jordan, where he has family members — Iraq is still too dangerous, he says — though the situation is no better there. Before that, he will have to borrow money from his father to pay off the more than $12,000 he still owes on a bank loan for his Honda Civic. Iraqi friends bought fancier cars and are now, with no job, struggling to sell them.
"Before, so many of us were living a good life here," Mr. Thiab said. "Now we cannot pay our loans. We are all just sleeping, smoking, drinking coffee and having headaches because of the situation."
A New York Times employee in Dubai contributed reporting.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
JaagoRe... Register
I have registered on JaagoRe site... though you wont be able to vote immediately because voter registration is closed, I advise to register on http://jaagore.com/SmartForm/smart_registration.php.
Make difference.
Make difference.
Monday, 9 February 2009
Christian Conversion in Bharat
This is after long time I am again writing something on blog..... Lots of thoughts were whirling in mind but could not put them together on time. Today I found this video on YouTube... This talks about conversions going on in Gujurath, Bharat. Till this point of time I have only heard or saw news that such things are happening across Bharat but did not think it was something worrying. But this video here shows the ground reality. This video is not complete and looks like is a cut from big story.
The video is telling stories which are not new but what is in news circulation already but with faces to remember. Normally when we read something listen something we tend to forget. It doesn't seem so important to us when it is some vague concept. But just relate the story to known face and it makes impact. Though faces are not known to us in the video but it makes a point in what is going on around us.
Christian missionaries are pouring money from all sort of mechanism for conversion. Villages are being converted. One of the man in this video who is some political leader narrates that if anyone starts church he can simply ask for donation from west and it is provided without question. There are many illegal activities being carried out in the name of god. Hindu god/ goddesses are being blackened. People are made to believe in Jesus saying he will cure there diseases, pain and he can do miracles. Well ignorant people are ready to accept anything without questioning and that is what is happening. Families are christanised by offering money. To any integrated mind this will not feel right. But still this is happening. This is a problem in North-East since long, Vivekanand Kendra and other people are working together there to stop this. They are converting people back to hinduism from christanity.
I feel this is high time since everyone objected talked about this, government needs to inturrupt somewhere and stop conversion happening in Bharat. When talked about this issue, government puts some figures showing there is actully declining of number of christians in Bharat. Well if that was the case then why are these things still happening here? Who are these people who wants to convert masses? But no wonder, since an italian christian person is running our contry with unquestioned authority, these sort of things are happening.
If I look deeply into issue, I can put two points here.
The video is telling stories which are not new but what is in news circulation already but with faces to remember. Normally when we read something listen something we tend to forget. It doesn't seem so important to us when it is some vague concept. But just relate the story to known face and it makes impact. Though faces are not known to us in the video but it makes a point in what is going on around us.
Christian missionaries are pouring money from all sort of mechanism for conversion. Villages are being converted. One of the man in this video who is some political leader narrates that if anyone starts church he can simply ask for donation from west and it is provided without question. There are many illegal activities being carried out in the name of god. Hindu god/ goddesses are being blackened. People are made to believe in Jesus saying he will cure there diseases, pain and he can do miracles. Well ignorant people are ready to accept anything without questioning and that is what is happening. Families are christanised by offering money. To any integrated mind this will not feel right. But still this is happening. This is a problem in North-East since long, Vivekanand Kendra and other people are working together there to stop this. They are converting people back to hinduism from christanity.
I feel this is high time since everyone objected talked about this, government needs to inturrupt somewhere and stop conversion happening in Bharat. When talked about this issue, government puts some figures showing there is actully declining of number of christians in Bharat. Well if that was the case then why are these things still happening here? Who are these people who wants to convert masses? But no wonder, since an italian christian person is running our contry with unquestioned authority, these sort of things are happening.
If I look deeply into issue, I can put two points here.
- First point is even though such vast amount of money is poured in for christanising, on larger grounds I feel they are still loosing. All this money, if I can say so, was once our's. British and other invaders looted it from us. They are just returning it back in some way or other :-). Even though people are getting coverted to Christianity, they are also converting back on their own to Hindism. No religion can remain on this earth if forced upon someone by any means.
- Secondly by some way it is our, hindu's fault that these christians are able to convert people from hinduism. Who are these people getting converted? Those all are mostly poor , illeterate, ignorant people. What do they need? Some help to survive, some help to feed their families, some education, some work and some pride. A person wont bother if he is praying to Rama, Krishna, Allah or Jesus as long as he is not able to survive. If getting converted earns him some money for leaving why will not he do it? I had discussion about this with my friend (Yogendra) recently. He was aguing that it is the fate of those people who face these problems. I agreed to what he was saying. But I had another point, it might be their fate, or previous Karma that made them face all the problems in this life. But as a human being, is not our duty to help these people? Rather for any organism? Why are we human, why do we are given ability to think? Because we can do something special than others... we should use that ability to help others.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Sat-yam Scam
Commerce minister Kamal Nath is stating Satyam Scam to be an isolated case.... As I read it here. But I am sceptical about this. How this scam can be isolated?
Rs 7000 Cr. are lost or may be we can say are in wrong hands. But how would we identify where that money is gone? Today TOI has published a NEWS saying, Raju family members are involved in 40 different companies beside Satyam. That means there are lot more transactions than initially thought as with Maytas.
Ramalinga Raju has also taken loan 52 lacs some decades back which he did not pay and sold the company with out paying the loan. I think we can safely point out his personal interest above anything else from this. I am sure it is not only him but many more political, non-political persons involved with Ramalinga Raju. It is the time which can prove me right or wrong.
Rs 7000 Cr. are lost or may be we can say are in wrong hands. But how would we identify where that money is gone? Today TOI has published a NEWS saying, Raju family members are involved in 40 different companies beside Satyam. That means there are lot more transactions than initially thought as with Maytas.
Ramalinga Raju has also taken loan 52 lacs some decades back which he did not pay and sold the company with out paying the loan. I think we can safely point out his personal interest above anything else from this. I am sure it is not only him but many more political, non-political persons involved with Ramalinga Raju. It is the time which can prove me right or wrong.
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Yuga's
Yuga's.... I had serious mis-information or mis-understanding of Yuga's. I thought first yuga was Saty-yuga then Dwapar-yuga, Treta-yuga and final Kali-yuga. I could not get the clue about treta-yuga and where to place it in order exactly. Well I don't go into my mis-understandings. I will put the facts which I found.
Saty-yuga was first one but second was Treta-yuga then Dwapar-yuga and final Kali-yuga. Vaman, Parashuram and Ramachandra were avatar's (incarnation) of Vishnu in Treta-yuga. They were not incarnation in Saty-yuga as I had earlier thought. Currently we are in Kali-yuga.
I have to read more about Kali-yuga but I could find attributes of Kali-yuga on wiki which says, rulers will become unreasonable. Rulers will no longer see it as their duty to promote spirituality, or to protect their subjects, they will become a danger to the world. If this is one of the attributes of Kali-yuga, then we can explain our current leaders and what they are doing.
My interest has increased in Yuga's.... Nice to know own culture, past and history.
Saty-yuga was first one but second was Treta-yuga then Dwapar-yuga and final Kali-yuga. Vaman, Parashuram and Ramachandra were avatar's (incarnation) of Vishnu in Treta-yuga. They were not incarnation in Saty-yuga as I had earlier thought. Currently we are in Kali-yuga.
I have to read more about Kali-yuga but I could find attributes of Kali-yuga on wiki which says, rulers will become unreasonable. Rulers will no longer see it as their duty to promote spirituality, or to protect their subjects, they will become a danger to the world. If this is one of the attributes of Kali-yuga, then we can explain our current leaders and what they are doing.
My interest has increased in Yuga's.... Nice to know own culture, past and history.
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Gaza Conflict
I use to read Palestine, Israel, Jews, Arabs and war between them. I am embarrass to say I knew nothing about this before. Even when Gaza strike started I was quite ignorant about the facts and history. Since Israel started war in Gaza stripe I was wondering what is that this little country so aggressive about? As shown in media, why are the killing innocents. I wanted to know. I wanted to know what has triggered this conflict. What happened in past that made created this issue? I was searching on internet and then I came across an article on BBC which depicts the changes on world map since 1940's. So now I finally know, there is no country name Palestine since 1993 atleast.
Since 1993 there have been several handovers of land to differing degrees of Palestinian control. Jewish settlers in Gaza were withdrawn in 2005 but the West Bank is still dotted with settlements and a controversial security barrier is being built there.
Middle East conflict: History in maps
Palestine was among several former Ottoman territories placed under British control by the League of Nations. The mandate lasted from 1920 to 1948. In 1923, Britain granted limited autonomy to Transjordan, now known as Jordan.
The United Nations General Assembly proposed dividing Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international city. The plan was accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by the Arabs and never implemented.
After Britain withdrew and the Jews declared the state of Israel, war broke out with neighbouring Arab nations. Eight months later an armistice line was agreed, establishing the West Bank and Gaza Strip under the control of Jordan and Egypt.
Israel made huge territorial gains in the Six-Day War. It captured the West Bank - including East Jerusalem - Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the whole Sinai Peninsula. The Sinai was handed back to Egypt in the 1979 peace deal.
Since 1993 there have been several handovers of land to differing degrees of Palestinian control. Jewish settlers in Gaza were withdrawn in 2005 but the West Bank is still dotted with settlements and a controversial security barrier is being built there.
Satyam Bang....
Satyam chairman Mr. Ramalinga Raju, who made few disastrous decisions over last few weeks have not only taken down company only but have impacted more.
Satyam management which was always criticised by its employees (I know few guys from there) is receiving bash from all over now. After four of its independent CEO resigning last week and everyone looking forward to the board meeting on 10th, Satyam Chairman have dropped last straw. He admitted that he manipulated balance sheets of company, shown false figures and profit. Satyam's share which was trading at around Rs.600 months ago has been hit badly and now have tumbled to way below expectations to Rs.50. This is not good for the number 4 IT service company of India.
But its not only Satyam's share which is affected but it is credebility of Indian Company which is hit. All over world India is known for IT outsourcing. Years of hard work of many have earned reputation for this Industry and now it has been hit. Any foreign company before dealing with an Indian IT company will surely question it's credibility now.
Any company before outsourcing will surely want to know if it is safe with Indian company or not.... This is surely going to affect the business, market and Indian jobs. World bank, Merrylynch have already terminated their contracts with Satyam. Satyam management has set very wrong example but atleast it has opened the eyes proving that whatever is shown on saurface may not be real. Time to wake up and learn the reality.
Satyam management which was always criticised by its employees (I know few guys from there) is receiving bash from all over now. After four of its independent CEO resigning last week and everyone looking forward to the board meeting on 10th, Satyam Chairman have dropped last straw. He admitted that he manipulated balance sheets of company, shown false figures and profit. Satyam's share which was trading at around Rs.600 months ago has been hit badly and now have tumbled to way below expectations to Rs.50. This is not good for the number 4 IT service company of India.
But its not only Satyam's share which is affected but it is credebility of Indian Company which is hit. All over world India is known for IT outsourcing. Years of hard work of many have earned reputation for this Industry and now it has been hit. Any foreign company before dealing with an Indian IT company will surely question it's credibility now.
Any company before outsourcing will surely want to know if it is safe with Indian company or not.... This is surely going to affect the business, market and Indian jobs. World bank, Merrylynch have already terminated their contracts with Satyam. Satyam management has set very wrong example but atleast it has opened the eyes proving that whatever is shown on saurface may not be real. Time to wake up and learn the reality.
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
One of the Best article I have read: "The Next World Order"
This article I received in email forward. This is one of the best article I have read on Bharat and our Cast system. All propaganda created by politicians about cast system not being good, dalits are being targeted is mere to take political mileage. No doubt there are problems in areas for lower casts but so is problem with upper casts in other areas. No one will try to put that forward and support upper casts as it seems taboo these days.
Read the mentioned article here and one of the comment on this article here. I am even pasting the article here for my collection.
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Read the mentioned article here and one of the comment on this article here. I am even pasting the article here for my collection.
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The Next World Order
New Delhi
CHINA and India are in a struggle for a top rung on the ladder of world power, but their approaches to the state and to power could not be more different.
Two days after last month’s terrorist attack on Mumbai, I met with a Chinese friend who was visiting India on business. He was shocked as much by the transparent and competitive minute-by-minute reporting of the attack by India’s dozens of news channels as by the ineffectual response of the government. He had seen a middle-class housewife on national television tell a reporter that the Indian commandos delayed in engaging the terrorists because they were too busy guarding political big shots. He asked how the woman could get away with such a statement.
I explained sarcasm resonates in a nation that is angry and disappointed with its politicians. My friend switched the subject to the poor condition of India’s roads, its dilapidated cities and the constant blackouts. Suddenly, he stopped and asked: “With all this, how did you become the second-fastest growing economy in the world? China’s leaders fear the day when India’s government will get its act together.”
The answer to his question may lie in a common saying among Indians that “our economy grows at night when the government is asleep.” As if to illustrate this, the Mumbai stock market rose in the period after the terrorist attacks. Two weeks later, in several state elections, incumbents were ousted over economic issues, not security.
All this baffled my Chinese friend, and undoubtedly many of his countrymen, whose own success story has been scripted by an efficient state. They are uneasy because their chief ally, Pakistan, is consistently linked to terrorism while across the border India’s economy keeps rising disdainfully. It puzzles them that the anger in India over the Mumbai attacks is directed against Indian politicians rather than Muslims or Pakistan.
The global financial crisis has definitely affected India’s growth, and it will be down to perhaps 7 percent this year from 8.7 percent in 2007. According to my friend, China is hurting even more. What really perplexes the Chinese, he said, is that scores of nations have engaged in the same sorts of economic reforms as India, so why is it that it’s the Indian economy that has become the developing world’s second best? The speed with which India is creating world-class companies is also a shock to the Chinese, whose corporate structure is based on state-owned and foreign companies.
I have no satisfactory explanation for all this, but I think it may have something to do with India’s much-reviled caste system. Vaishyas, members of the merchant caste, who have learned over generations how to accumulate capital, give the nation a competitive advantage. Classical liberals may be right in thinking that commerce is a natural trait, but it helps if there is a devoted group of risk-taking entrepreneurs around to take advantage of the opportunity. Not surprisingly, Vaishyas still dominate the Forbes list of Indian billionaires.
In a much-discussed magazine article last year, Lee Kwan Yew, the former prime minister of Singapore, raised an important question: Why does the rest of the world view China’s rise as a threat but India’s as a wonderful success story? The answer is that India is a vast, unwieldy, open democracy ruled by a coalition of 20 parties. It is evolving through a daily flow of ideas among the conservative forces of caste and religion, the liberals who dominate intellectual life, and the new forces of global capitalism.
The idea of becoming a military power in the 21st century embarrasses many Indians. This ambivalence goes beyond Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent struggle for India’s freedom, or even the Buddha’s message of peace. The skeptical Indian temper goes back to the 3,500-year-old “Nasadiya” verse of the Rig Veda, which meditates on the creation of the universe: “Who knows and who can say, whence it was born and whence came this creation? The gods are later than this world’s creation. Who knows then whence it first came into being?” When you have millions of gods, you cannot afford to be theologically narcissistic. It also makes you suspect power.
Both the Chinese and the Indians are convinced that their prosperity will only increase in the 21st century. In China it will be induced by the state; in India’s case, it may well happen despite the state. Indians expect to continue their relentless march toward a modern, democratic, market-based future. In this, terrorist attacks are a noisy, tragic, but ultimately futile sideshow.
However, Indians are painfully aware that they must reform their government bureaucracy, police and judiciary — institutions, paradoxically, they were so proud of a generation ago. When that happens, India may become formidable, a thought that undoubtedly worries China’s leaders.
Gurcharan Das is the author of “India Unbound.”Saturday, 3 January 2009
Sensible "The Dawn"
I am really please to read "The Dawn". This is a Pakistani paper internet edition. I had read articles from this news paper before but today I found it really sensible and realistic. Whatever stated in paper is with the facts available, situation is analysed and no one is blamed for anything, writer's thoughts are rational....
You can read the post Taking stock after the Mumbai Attacks. Writer is aware that there is pressure from India (Bharat) and America. Writer knows there may be envolvement of elements from Pakistan, Laskar - i - taiba leader might have admitted the facts of there envolvement. Article doesn't deny anything, it doesn't say Pakistan is innocent and no it is being targeted. Writer accepts that there is possibility that all of this might have planned well in Pakistan. It asks government to disclose if there is any acceptance of Laskhar - i - taiba's role by his leader and in case if he has accepted. It asks for explanation and same time states that if those elements are Pakistani then we need to take steps to eradicate the problem of terrorism from Pakistani soil.
While targeting there own government it also put up questions like why Bharat is not directly sharing the facts or investigation details with Pakistan. Why is that some intermediaries like FBI is put in between. Well this was the same question I had in my mind which I posted in earlier blog post. Why is that we are not acting direct by giving proofs if we have or is it that we have no proofs and we are just point finger to Pakistan assuming it must have come from there....
You can read the post Taking stock after the Mumbai Attacks. Writer is aware that there is pressure from India (Bharat) and America. Writer knows there may be envolvement of elements from Pakistan, Laskar - i - taiba leader might have admitted the facts of there envolvement. Article doesn't deny anything, it doesn't say Pakistan is innocent and no it is being targeted. Writer accepts that there is possibility that all of this might have planned well in Pakistan. It asks government to disclose if there is any acceptance of Laskhar - i - taiba's role by his leader and in case if he has accepted. It asks for explanation and same time states that if those elements are Pakistani then we need to take steps to eradicate the problem of terrorism from Pakistani soil.
While targeting there own government it also put up questions like why Bharat is not directly sharing the facts or investigation details with Pakistan. Why is that some intermediaries like FBI is put in between. Well this was the same question I had in my mind which I posted in earlier blog post. Why is that we are not acting direct by giving proofs if we have or is it that we have no proofs and we are just point finger to Pakistan assuming it must have come from there....
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