Apathy

My classmates are planning on organising a New Year Party in keeping with Law School traditions. Rs. 1, 300/- have been collected per head to organise this grand event. I did not pay and have no intentions whatsoever of paying for this. The detailed budget was forwarded to the Class group today and one among the heads of expenditure was 'bribes' connoting probably the money to be paid to cops for disregarding rules with respect to partying late at night.

Earlier this month, in an exercise that was initiated by me, someone who abused a privilege and blatantly so was re-called to a team that is meant to safeguard interests of a larger group (as a whole and not merely, individuals). Both these incidents have left an indelible impression on my mind. What could be a better forum than my own blog to vent these emotions.

If by chance one among my classmates were to read this post, perhaps the first criticism of the same would be based on the 'freedom of choice' implying that everyone is free to choose his/her course of action. Fully aware of the probability (howsoever low) of such a reaction, I thought I would state that it is the same 'freedom of choice' argument that justifies my comments- few choose to keep quite and others choose to make a fuss albeit discreetly and I chose to be a part of the latter group.

Having delineated the justification (for lack of a better word) for this post, I have expressed my opinion about the two incidents rather, chain of events described in the first two paragraphs of this post; in the following points:

• On occasions wherein socially relevant issues are discussed in class almost everyone has something or the other to say. Going by the tenor of these comments one would expect some commitment to being part of the solution to such social problems. However, going by the careful inclusion of bribes as a head of expenditure I must say all those arguments were just made out of inner compulsions to exhibit one's sense of logic or to reveal the lack of it, in other's arguments.
• There are certain people who seem to be very interested in history- sacrifices made by young people for liberation of what we call India today, the emotions that drove such honourable men to make those sacrifices. These people never lost an opportunity in class to painfully outline their conception of and respect for such heroic deeds. These attempts, in light of their contribution to what culminated in relation to both the re-calling of that person and the party seem to have been made out of a desire to impress others with the insight. These historical events, their love for these events all this seems to be just another interest to these people.
• There are certain other people who swear by propriety and other such words when speaking in public. But in private they don't want to fall in the bad-books of anyone even at the risk of endorsing someone who did something wrong.

The long and short of what I intend to express is, apathy is deep-rooted among my classmates. The very same bunch could not donate money to a corpus for flood victims, they never thought of contributing to a corpus such as National Defence Fund; but when it comes to enjoyment, money is no more a problem. And beware, all of them are or at least would want to be known as socially responsible people. I, at times; feel disgusted to be a part of a group that is by and large so inconsiderate to issues that affect all. In such times when the entire country is reeling under terrorism my esteemed classmates choose to go ahead with their plans to throw a rambunctious party all with booze and music without perhaps thinking once of those for whom life will never be the same again and this new year will not be so happy.

Responding through candles

I had the opportunity of viewing parts of an interview with Preity Zinta telecast on Headlines Today, earlier this morning. The actress talked with fervour about how in her opinion, every family should get at least one son/ daughter to join armed forces and other things , prior to the commencement of the candle-march. I am not sure about the origin of candle-marches as a mass response to undesirable occurences but to believe one among my class-mates, the movie Rang De Basanti inspired the new trend of these candle-marches. As I was watching the clip of candle-march held after the dastardly attacks on Mumbai, someone remarked how these marches created a security hazard more than anything else.

This post was not intended to be entirely devoted to the utility of candle-marches but at the risk of contradicting myself I shoudl pose the question- what purpose do these marches serve? Call me a consequentialist if you may but in my opinion the utility of these marches is if not nothing, very close to nothing. The media get an event to cover, participants get an opportunity to perhaps exhibit placards but does this lead to any change, any effect on people who should perhaps be thrown out of their cosy chairs? The answer clearly is no. Assuming No, to the be the answer a pertinent enquiry shoudl perhaps be directed at exploring alternate means of tackling such situations, means through which we (the people) can achieve something for our own good and for the good of future generations that will take birth in our country.

The same middle class that exhibits unmatched enthusiasm when it comes to participation in events such as Marathons (another trend), candle-marches etc. shies away from exercising its franchise, from accosting officials, from garnering money and support for people who lay down their lives for the country and are not even spoken about- electronic media flashed news items devoted to the sacrifice of three IPS officers and Major Unni, but another martyr Havaldar Gajendra Singh was conveniently forgotten perhaps because he was not a Commissioned Officer unlike Major Unni. I mean no dis-prespect at all to Major Unni or the three IPS officers but what I do intend to highlight is the apathy with which the media and the middle class treats the sacrifices of constables (police and para-millitary forces) and non-commissioned officers.

In a democracy such as India, in order for an issue to assume importance (int he eyes of those who have been conferred the power to do something in that regard) what matters is being noticeable as a vote-bank. If the same avid supporters of candle-marches were to organise themselves and accost officials, politicians and such other 'public servants' (and make this a continual affair) perhaps the impact would be much more and qualitatively better.

I have been enrolled on a seminar course dealing with the unknown aspects of the Indian National Movement and the most apparent facte of all struggles seems to be the presence of the middle class. Most of the Revolutionary Terrorists hailed from the middle class and so did most of the leaders of the Non-violent movement. It is the middle class that is uniquely situated- in terms of being vulnerable to inefficiencies of the 'system' and having the numbers to combat such inefficiencies. What's needed is a beginning.

ISSUE

I'm creating a post after a long time. Several things kept me away from the Internet in general and the blog, in particular. Thanks to the box sold to me by HP, calling it a laptop I have been virtually disconnected with cyberspace for past so many weeks. This led to me a resolution- no more HP products.

The world has changed a lot in such a short span of time. But perhaps the most important incident (rather, a chain of incidents) of late has been the terrorist attacks on Mumbai. While this has presented yet another opportunity to our leaders and bureaucrats to blame our neighbour perhaps this is the right time to view the issue of Pakistan sponsored terrorism (in the sense of terrorism having roots in Pakistan although not necessarily sponsored by the Pak government) - perhaps now is the time to think of solutions that will hold us in good stead if terrorism were to strike again from the eastern side of our frontier. Most importantly, perhaps it is the time to test all 'traditional' and cliched arguments in respect of Indo-Pak relationship.

I think crucial to the understanding of the involvement of Pakistan in terrorism and terrorist acts on our soil is an appreciation of the fact that ISI and Pakistani Armed Forces long ago established and created a niche for themselves above Government. So no matter who the PM or President of Pakistan is, these agencies are capable of continuing to plan and execute these plans independent of any support from the Government.

All arguments calling for a 'decisive' war with Pakistan must perhaps be tested against this truth- we launch a war, we win the war and then ... what next? Even the almighty US is finding it difficult to tackle hardcore Islamic militants in the Tribal belt of Pakistan- will we prove to be any better?

Similarly, all arguments for tackling this issue solely at the diplomatic level need to be tested against the fact of ISI-Pak Army duo being capable to fund and support terrorism on our soil irrespective of any support from the government. Will any civil government of Pakistan be able to rein in these elements without facing the threat of elimination?

The answer, in my humble opinion clearly lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum (whose ends consist of decisive war and diplomacy) and it is the job of those 'foreign policy experts' to find a solution.

Colours of terror

Our country seems to be embroiled in a debate over what qualifies as terrorism and what does not. The saffron-brigade all for Bajrang Dal argues that the latter is not a terrorist organisation. The brigade also seems reluctant to paint incidents of dastardly attacks on people belonging to minority communities whether near a mosque at Malegaon or churches in Orissa in the same colour as blasts by SIMI activists. This strikes me with question(s) - if a christian and a muslim is as much an Indian citizen as a Hindu then why this reluctance in labelling an equally abhorrent act as 'terrorist act'? Is the word 'terrorism' confined to atrocities suffered only by people belonging to the majority community? Why should 'saffron terrorism' be treated any different from 'Islamic terrorism'?

वाटिका

पुष्पित-पल्लवित वाटिका नष्ट हो गई- जीवित से निर्जीव हो गई। आशा थी कि पौधे वृक्ष बनेंगे परन्तु क्या ज्ञात था माली का मोह ही अल्पकालिक है- ऐसी स्थिति में भला आंधी को क्या दोष दें।

Chasing cars

I'm not sure if it happens to others as much it happens to me but (for some strange reason) I feel disappointed when things that I don't really want become inaccessible to me. At this stage the future looks secure but a bit vague. The ultimate question of what I want to do with my life has started knocking again on the door to my mind- only this time with double intensity. At times I run for cover while on other occasions I just accept disappointments as a part of my destiny. As it is I was morose on account of my best friend being down with fever- the news of non-inclusion on a list that I believe looks incomplete without my name on it struck me really hard ... much harder than I expected. Though I really would not have wanted the end-result of the inclusion (the lack of which makes me sad now); there is an aura of a huge loss around this event. Perhaps after a couple of months I would realise the overall significance of this disappointment but till then my self-confidence would be badly in need of some boost.

Time went by

It's been almost a month I scribbled in my blog. Time went by at a fair pace. The government won (rather, survived) the trust vote. People have said things and I have laughed at them. This post in particular is dedicated to the comments of our own Registrar. He told one among my comrades on the RCC that the large number of examinees taking the NLS Admission Test (now CLAT) can be attributed to the quality of faculty and not the quality of placements.

Needless to say, this statement qualifies to be tagged the BIGGEST LIE OF THE YEAR. The second part of his statement was a bit more pinching- " ... we don't want to encourage corporate placements ...". I don't quite understand the aversion of people like him to corporate placements- the list of such people includes the former CJI (and the ex-officio Chancellor of NLSIU). But before that it seems it is high time the RCC gave the Registrar a page or so bearing placement statistics for the previous batches. He'll realise that the maximum number of people have been recruited by UN-INCORPORATED partnership (law) firms who shouldn't be described as corporates. So, the term 'corporate placements' is a vague term. If the discomfiture (to the Registrar and the ex-CJI) is caused by increasing recruitment by Law Firms then they might do well to make themselves aware fo the fact that most of such firms do have litigation groups in addition to several other practice groups (which take care of transactional work). The idea of utopia in respect fo placements of NLS students would be realised (for such people) if most of us were to pursue litigation which is clearly not an option for people like me who have spent so much of their parents' money and more importantly who have no lawyer in their family. If such people are seriously interested in making litigation an avenue pursued by more number of students they should know this can happen only by making it a lucrative option (even the late socialist Mao Zedong said being rich is glorious).

But somehow I get the feeling that such people are acolytes of the 'senior counsel system' of practice wherein individual lawyers and not firms represent clients. This system will hopefully become a thing of the past in the days to come and pave way for litigation to become a lucrative option. That's what such people should be aiming at.

The House

The government faces the 'trust-vote' today courtesy comrades who believe and vehemently argue that 'the deal' will make us a slave of the US for the next forty years.

As to the economic/scientific rationale for entering into such a deal I am a bit ambivalent. Dr. Kalam seems to be all in favour of the deal whereas a group of scientists (including an ex-chief of BARC) believe that 'the deal' should be avoided. They argue the deal will enable the US to dump outmoded nuclear technology upon us which we will happily accept should this 'deal' be concluded. However, assuming this deal enables and does not cast an obligation upon us to procure the nuclear technology (described s out-dated by the group of scientists) I wonder how that can be a strong ground for opposing the deal. However, their criticisms serve to focus on a very important issue- that of upgrading our nuclear-energy generation facilities and switching over to new technology so as to make them more efficient.

The comrades on the other hand seem to be disgruntled solely with the fact that the US is at the other side of the table for negotiations- I wonder how they would've reacted if China had been the other party.

This situation has turned out to be a critical juncture for the country. For, if the government stands, it will push up the FDI limit in sectors such as telecom and insurance (badly in need of capital infusion) which I believe will help the educated masses inasmuch as many more job opportunities will be created. Like several others, I am eagerly awaiting the result of today's 'trust (or the lack of it) vote' and perhaps for the first time in my life; I hope a government led by the Congress survives.

Ego, lies et.al.

I was aware of the fact that twin-tendencies of obsession with one's ideas and failure to reconcile with other's views are dangerous for any team. But I was unaware of the influence of these twin-tendencies upon the capacity of a person to speak the truth- I had a first-hand experience of the same a couple of days ago when an insecure and egoist (and also a liar as I later found out) person who unfortunately is a part of the same team as me sought to force his opinion into the minds of those who were not at all willing to hear the same hackneyed points all over again. The drama is all set to reach the next stage wherein; in pursuance with the grossly false and ridiculous account, the same person will try to influence my peers to indicate their unwillingness to confide in me - I am lying back on my pillow smiling at his desperate moves. A lesson for life, indeed!

अंधेरे में लजाता आपका मुख-मंडल - मानो पूर्णिमा की रात्रि हो और मेघों में प्रच्छन्न विधु किसी कवि को झाँक झाँक कर नई रचना की प्रेरणा दे रहा था।

स्रष्टि की सम्पूर्ण रसना समेटे आपके पुष्प-वर्णीय अधर ; मेरे संयम की परीक्षा का सर्वाधिक दुःसाध्य प्रश्न बन गए।

उस शांत वातावरण में आपके नेत्रों की चंचलता - उनके खुलने, झुकने और बंद होने के साथ बढ़ती मेरी व्यग्रता।

वही अन्धकार, वही क्षण और उस घटनाक्रम के सर्वाधिक महत्वपूर्ण पात्र- आप, मेरे जीवन- रुपी नाट्य का सर्वाधिक स्मरणार्थ अंक बन गए हैं।

आशा है शीघ्र ही प्रति-दिन इसी भांति ये अंक खेला जायेगा एवं मेरे मन के भाव कठपुतली सरीखे आपके अनकहे शब्दों द्वारा नियंत्रित हो जायेंगे- उस समर्पण में ही जीवन का वो सुख है जो स्वच्छंद होकर कोई क्रीड़ा करने में नहीं।
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I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.

पत्थर को देखा- समुद्र के किनारे लहरों के थपेड़े सहता हुआ एकाकी खड़ा है। उस से जुड़े न जाने कितने पाषाण- कण लहरों के वेग से प्रभावित होकर उसका साथ छोड़ गए; परन्तु वह अडिग है।

कदाचित इस आशा में कि कभी कोई साथी धारा के विपरीत प्रवाह कर साथ आ मिलेगा। परन्तु वह जानता है कि साथ लगने वाले कण भी क्षण भर के साथ के उपरांत पुनः समुद्र की ओर खिचे चले जायेंगे।
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I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.

Back in namma Bengaluru nagara

Another internship ended, so did another vacation and I am back in namma Bengaluru nagara only this time as a final year student.

Examsssssssss

"Exams are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer." Charles Cotton
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Exams commence from tomorrow. Another phase of four days of less sleep and less food. Like all my classmates I am eagerly awaiting the commencement of the next trimester (which could not be postponed because there is apparently a policy decision involved- the policy sought to be observed in not agreeing to postponing the commencement being that of sticking to the status-quo at any cost). Anyway, the next trimester will hopefully mark the onset of a new phase in our lives wherein we will no be subjected to examinations (at least not these many).

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तुमने मन की बात कह दी आज ये अच्छा हुआ हम तुम्हे अपना समझते थे- बड़ा धोखा हुआ।
जब भी हमने कुछ कहा उसका असर उलटा हुआ- आप शायद भूलते हैं; बार-हां ऐसा हुआ॥

Earn this .. earn it!

I watched 'Saving Private Ryan' for the nth time today. I couldn't resist the temptation of watching the movie from the first scene to the last. The manner in which this movie portrays the dilemma of a soldier is simply inimitable- a scene in the 11th minute (or so of the movie shows how a young recruit is taking shelter behind a barrier, unable to gather the courage to step out into the line of fire. The second dilemma faced by the party led by Captain Miller is in respect of engaging and neutralising a German machine-gun position- Miller chooses to attempt to neutralise the position for he does not want any other party of his countrymen caught by surprise. Miller faces yet another dilemma- whether to shoot the German soldier who was a part of the very party holding the machine-gun position responsible for fatally injuring Wade; or let him go. But perhaps the best part of this movie is one towards the end when unsuccessful in his attempt to get the bridge blown up and shot several times Captain Miller is immobilised. On seeing a tank approaching he picks up his revolver and continues firing at the tank until a P-51 Mustang shoots it down. The true spirit of war, the naked reality of a battle, the dilemma of a young soldier, the indefatigable spirit of Captain Miller and so on- to cut the long story short it is perhaps the best movie based on war ever made and needless to say this movie is a testimony to the versatility of Tom Hanks's acting.

Pit of despair

I find myself lonely and in a pit of despair.

Just when I thought you would understand - you refused to.

If only tears could fill this pit for me to swim out; if only you could hear my voice and see my sincerity; if only you could feel how terrified I am; if only you could allow me to be close to you; if only you could picture my heart sinking on seeing the castles wreck.

Gaganachukki/Bharachukki Waterfalls

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I haven't seen many places since my entry into Law School. But among the very few I have; Shimsha/Shivanasamudra is indeed the best. The date was Aug 20, 2007.
Gaganachukki waterfall has been barricaded so one can appreciate the breathtaking view only from a long distance.
Bharachukki waterfall on the other hand can be accessed through steps cut into the plateau. The volume of water, the number of small waterfalls and the view just overwhelms you. We (Me, Tutu, Lolu and Tagore) followed the daring act of a middle-aged man in crossing the really fast flow of Cauvery to reach an island whereupon we could reach a place directly under the water falling from a great height. Little conviction did we need to venture under the water- falling like a spate of whips on our bodies.
Not to forget the number of small reservoirs we came across on the way.

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जाना हो तो जाओ !

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जाना हो तो जाओ मगर कुछ पढ़ते- सुनते जाओ; मेरे भावों के उद्वेग को दो क्षण देखते जाओ।

मन में आशा का जो बीज बोया था तुमने वो अब पौधा हो चला है- जाना हो तो जाओ; जड़ों में मट्ठा देकर जाओ।

साथ तुम्हारे हुमको कुछ, लक्ष्य मिले; नए उद्येश्य मिले- जाना हो तो जाओ; मगर नए ध्येय सुझाते जाओ।

तुम्हारी सहायता से अपना एक रूप, पीछे छोड़कर आए हैं - जाना हो तो जाओ मगर सत्मार्ग बताते जाओ।

अब तक की सहयात्रा से अनेक मधुर स्म्रतियाँ जुड़ बैठी हैं - जाना हो तो जाओ; इनकी हत्या करते जाओ।
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I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses:Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.

रात और योद्धा

रात के निबिड़ अन्धकार को चीरते हुए दीपक ; मरघट से सन्नाटे में दूर कहीं, बैलों के गले में बंधी घंटियों की सरगम; कालिमा को चुनौती देते चन्द्रमा और नक्षत्र - कौन कहता है कि गाँवों में रात शिथिल होती है ?

ये सब मात्र विरोधाभास नहीं; उस संघर्ष की ओर इंगित करते हैं जो स्वर्ण-पुरूष का आगमन होते ही किसी को खेत में; किसी को घर के चूल्हे के आगे; किसी को कतरनी पर; किसी को बाग़ में करना होगा।

क्यूंकि हमारी पुस्तकों के प्रष्ठ भले ही रक्त-रंजित युद्धों का बखान करें असल युद्ध तो कृषक खेत में, मौसम की रुखाई से; स्त्रियाँ घर में चूल्हे के आगे झुलसाने वाली गर्मी से और कहीं कोई निर्धन अपने रोग से लड़ता है।

योद्धाओं को देखने किसी छावनी में जाने की आवश्यकता ही क्या जब हमारे-आपके बीच ऐसे-ऐसे योद्धा मौजूद हैं जो हर दिन अस्तित्व का युद्ध लड़ते हैं - अपने लिए और अपने परिवार के लिए।

One more war

To the elite who wanted to snatch what 'should' belong to the ordinary.

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One more war; before weapons drop;
One more war; before we give up;
One more war; before we lie;
One more war; before comrades flee;
One more war; before the dusk;
One more war; before the moon sets;
One more war; before the sun rises;
One more war; before mind is clouded;
One more war; before body gives in;
One more war; before I die.

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Bas intna sa khwab hai

The image on the left is that of Sony Ericsson K 790 i - object of desire for me; for the past six months or so. FM, Music Player, 3.2 MP camera- everything I ever wanted out of a cellphone. April is about to end- one more month and I'll go to New Delhi or Mumbai or maybe stay back in namma Bengaluru nagara for an internship. This internship will, in all probability be a paid one (for once) and the khwab will hopefully be realised.

Mistrust

It's said that Venture Capitalists suffer in their personal life because they spend half their day looking for some flaw in business plans submitted to them for consideration. Analogically, if one is surrounded by people who have betrayed their loved ones and kept them in dark; he/she will find it hard to trust others. I had a first-hand experience of this theory if I may call it so. Anyhow; now that it appears I have almost begun the process of salvaging myself from the quagmire (at least it seems so) I've understood how dangerous and destructive mistrust can be even on petty issues.

Sleep

Sleep has started knocking on the door to my mind and I am feeling terribly lonely ... without you- waiting for a night when we'll lie beside each other hand in hand, gazing at each other ... waiting for sleep to knock again.

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Not another Birthday party

Tushar Tarun alias Tutu alias Thoku alias Shaktimaan turned 23 on 1st of April (Fool's day). On this ocassion the 'b'day boy' treated me, Tagore, Abhishek (since he doesn't read my blog anyway I guess I could have used his nickname Lollon), Babua and Munna at SBX, Gopalan Mall on the night of March 31. The main attraction of this gathering was undoubtedly Lollon's antics- how I wish I could upload a video showing how he inimitably twisted his index finger and said, "Abhas, yaar ek question". What was meant to be my brain-washing and perhaps leg-pulling session soon turned out to be 'dragging' and 'threatening' session with Lolu virtually dragging everyone who dared to venture out of thie vicinity of the table back to their place and threatening to break open a bottle on the head of anyone who dared to interrupt him in course of his sermon about the virtues of 'alcohol consumption'. How could Tutu be far behind, he joined Lollon in launching a barrage of allegations against me - for not living my life to the fullest (read, quitting consumption of alcoholic beverages), for living in a state of self-denial, for losing my individuality and thereby leading the life of a pensioner when I was hardly 23. For the first time in my life I felt I could give these Jain monks and ascetics a run for their money if only I continued to live in the same state of self-denial for a few more years. Then began a poetic illustration and elaboration of 'my principles' by Lollon. At this juncture it struck me- I had perhaps heard a similar description in the movie Dharmadhikari wherein Jitendra accuses his father (played by Dilip Kumar) of being a patthar ka insaan, neeti-vaan insaan. All this while, Lollon had been vehemently denying being under the spell of UB pitcher. This spell of patronising sermons was marked by Munna's attempts to mimic Tagore's pronunciation of k(h)ana and his short-lived visits (thanks to the zealous dragging by Lollon) to the table occupied by Madam S'kam who happened to be there alongwith Mr. S'kam himself. The party abruptly came to an end for me when I realised that the Rs. 300/- offer had indeed done wonders for Lollon, Munna and Tutu. By the time I could leave, Lollon had gulped few glasses of the stronger beverage which was being consumed by Tutu and Munna. Anyhow, I returned to the hostel with Babua. The next day I bunked off the last two hours and came back to the room. I noticed the door to Lollon's room was ajar and I went into his room. The brilliant orator of the last night was down with a nasty hangover and the first question he asked me was "..how did I reach the hostel last night?"- this from a person who was claiming not to be drunk at all and in a condition to ride his bike at 100. Perhaps I have been a bit too harsh on the chief victim of the irrestible Rs. 300/- offer, but then I had to choose a scapegoat to justify the title of this post.

Engineering terrorism?

In an article published in the Times of India today, Shashi Tharoor refers a research at Oxford University done by two sociologists who aver that the study of engineering helps produce a mindset that makes one prone to radicalisation. They argue that by virtue of its predisposition to certain non-negotiable and absolute principles, it may lead engineers to follow an ideology with its own immutable laws.
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The article can be accessed at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2910478.cms-

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Had it been like most other co-relation based revelations I'd have not even bothered to read beyond a couple of lines of this article. However, this research does provide some interesting explanation - predisposition to absolute and non-negotiable principles, the researchers claim; is one step short of the predictable laws of engineering to following an ideology or a creed that is infused with its own immutable laws. This forces me to think- how far can a predisposition to certain 'non-negotiable principles' lead one to fundamentalism/terrorism? To illustrate, a law student is aware of the principle of natural justice (put simply as per this principle, no one shall be condemned unheard)- this principle is considered to be the cornerstone of any civil society and thus a non-negotiable one. It is indeed rather difficult to think how a predisposition to such principles can lead to a person becoming influenced by terrorist ideology. It seems to me, ridiculous to make such an assertion (as made by the researchers) without making a reference to the significance, meaning, objective which it serves (especially relevant in case of law) and corollary of such principles. Shashi Tharoor, the author of this article recommends that making it compulsory for every engineering student to take at least 20% of his courses in the humanities might be the solution as it will help one to appreciate other cultures, the unity of human aspirations etc. However, in view of the propaganda that is passed of as humanities especially history, it necessary that instead of a mechanical inclusion of humanities; an inclusion of basic philosophy (so that one is able to appreciate logic and hopefully argue logically not emotionally), historiography (so that one is able to appreciate how bias affects history-writing, how events can be interpreted and presented in several ways and how our ideas about certain 'truths' are nothing but fallacies), sociology and economics (so that, if not more, one is (at least) able to understand why a $ 100,000 salary is not equal to a Rs. 39,00,000 salary); needs to be aimed at. I like to think of myself as a prospective policy-maker and legislator and hence this post has assumed the nature of a recommendatory document to be submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Why Blog?

I had a very interesting conversation with Harsh and Kota today about the significance of maintaining a blog. What's the real motivation behind doing so? Kota admitted to posting on his blog but he refused to reveal the address of the same because it is meant for "only few people." When I find that my blog has attracted just one comment till date (not that I expect many people to comment) I often think about this issue and the answer is simple. The blog is on the net- accessible to all. When I post on my blog I derive an inexplicable comfort from this act. It's as if I've conveyed my feelings to everyone who didn't bother about me; everyone to whom I have always wanted to say so many things and perhaps will never be able to do so. So, comments or no comments; I shall continue to post on my blog and who knows one day when I become famous (not just an obscure guy like I am now) this blog could turn into a money-spinner for me. Till then, I choose not to give up.

Experts and their opinions

Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it. Robert Heinlein
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The gentleman whose photograph appears on the left is Bhupendra Choubey, the chief political correspondent of CNN-IBN. He also authors a blog on http://ibnlive.com/- you can find the link to his blog in a section titled ibn blogs. I happened to read his blog today- he had commented on strong action taken by Bahen Mayawati against an IAS officer whose wife had organised a fashion show at their residence- apparently this fashion show was a part of a tea-party. Mr. Choubey (who, I later found out has been ridiculed for his abysmal attempts to mimic Rajdeep Sardesai in the TV-show face the nation) avers that most of the IAS officers are not even aware of a certain provision of the service rules which prohibits the organisation of such events at their official residences. He also states that Bahen Mayawati herself is guilty of throwing lavish parties on several occassions and this he says is the reason why he is so agitated with her strong action. He goes on to accuse the CM of doing nothing to change the ground realities in the state and having no vision for the development of the state and towards the end compares her with Nitish Kumar and applauds the latter.
I certainly cannot appreciate his sentiments. In fact, I cannot help but feel agitated at the nonsense paased off by so called political experts as news (in this case a blog which finds a place on the website of a TV channel which prides itself on the quality of its content). Mr. Choubey has certainly never studied logic in course of his education. If the change in so- called ground realities is the parameter on which the effectiveness of a regime is to be tested then Nitish Kumar certainly does not deserve to be treated with anymore respect than Mayawati- not because he is inept but for the simple reason that these realities (as will be pretty clear to anyone who has faced them unlike journalists who occupy cosy rooms) take a lot of time to change in a country like ours. He talks of vision but doesn't define it- going by the plain meaning of this word, conception of plans such as Taj Expressway, Taj Corridor and now Ganga Expressway does indeed indicate vision. I could've gone on and on about the apparent fallacies in his arguments but then it occured to me that the attitude of Mr. Choubey is in fact a reflection of tendencies of so-called expert-journalists, political experts and the like. One can't forget how year after year the predictions of the Exit-polls conducted by various agencies are proved wrong. Not just that, far from sticking to their area of competence (if any) these political experts (especially psephologists) poetically justify their predictions and more often than not, they also describe what the political scenario should be like. Now, qua a citizen of India anyone has a right to express his/her opinion about the desirability or otherwise of a particular party coming to power however when one is facing the camera and spelling out his predictions in respect of an election; such judgments only go on to indicate that in all probability their feelings, their pre-conceived notions, their desires have affected the objectivity of the process through which they claim to have predicted the future or gauged the public sentiment. It's appalling to see how such mediocrity and illogicalness has become a characteristic of the fourth estate.

Distance

dis·tance

Pronunciation:

\ˈdis-tən(t)s\

Function:

noun

the quality or state of being distant: as a: spatial remoteness b: personal and especially emotional separation
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The lovely smile; the enamouring fragrance; the gentle touch;
the roaming about, hand-in-hand; the passionate embraces; everlasting caresses; the murmured promises; those moments of silence - everything seems like clouds on the horizon; like faint images of trees afar on a foggy morning; like a delineation with faded colours. The distance between us brings back memories of the time we spent together and I wonder what's dearer to me- these memories or those moments?

Indian Railways

My parents can't afford to disturb their monthly budget by buying me a flight ticket so I have to travel between my hometown Unnao and Bengaluru by train. I have traveled (by train) on this route on more than 10 occasions now and having read the often appearing reports in the newspapers and magazines about the great turnaround of Indian Railways for quite some time now I was prompted to vent my thoughts on this which I admit have largely been shaped by my experience in traveling by train and also few articles which have sought to present the true picture of this turnaround. One among such articles was one authored by Mr. Subir Roy, an economist whose articles are published regularly in the Business Standard. In this article the author had averred that on the basis of ROCE (Return on Capital Employed- a measure of the returns that a company is realising from the capital employed by it. It is commonly used as a measure for comparing the performance between businesses and for assessing whether a business generates enough returns to pay for its cost of capital) the performance of the Indian Railways during the tenure of Shri Ramvilas Paswan and Shri Nitish Kumar(if I remember correctly) was much better than its performance under Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav. Besides, the other day Nitish Kumar stated that at present the tracks are being over- utilised to the extent of 160 %- assuming this to be true this data presents a rather scary picture of the days to come. Relying upon my experience I can say one thing without hesitation- on grounds of punctuality, quality of food, cleanliness, availability of water and other such things (which in my opinion matter much more to a traveler than the balance-sheet of Indian Railways) the situation hasn't changed much and on certain grounds deteriorated. The simple issue is- for a service oriented orgainsation like Indian Railways what should be the parameter against which its success should be gauged? If it is things which I attach a greater importance to then it's ridiculous to say that a turnaround has taken place. Far from it, even on grounds of ROCE, other ministers (assuming they can be credited for the good financial performance of railways) fared better than Lalu. It's a pity to see newspapers and magazines of repute portraying an incomplete picture in favour of Lalu. At the cost of maintenance Mr. Lalu is busy burdening the already over-burdened infrastructure of Railways with his populist announcements mostly in the form of new trains from/to his homestate.

Back in 'namma Bengaluru nagara'

The internship, the short stay at home- is past now and I'm back in Bengaluru. The first day i.e. day before yesterday was devoted to cleaning and washing the room to get rid of the dust and the cobwebs- my room appears much more inhabitable now. The best thing about this trimester certainly seems to be the return of Prof. Nandimath which heralds the onset of another golden era- one of sexy slides, kickass jokes and everything else which makes a class interesting.

Akse, Shalimar et. al.

On Sunday i.e. 17th the Seva Niketan gang- me, Antonio (Doc), Lakshya, Oneal and Mayank went to Akse beach situated about 5 KM from Malad railway station near INS Hamla. The road leading to the beach is bordered by lush greenery. The board bearing the warning that it is dangerous to swim at the beach doesn't deter people from doing so. The last occassion on which I went to this lovely beach was in June when I spent some groovy time at this beach with Vivek. The beach appeared as appealling to me (as it was in June) and Mayank was also impressed by its vastness and the rock formations which imparted a pristine look to it- we took of our T-shirts headed towards the sea. Lakshya joined after sometime. Doc and Oneal refused to venture into the waters - the doc cited a tendency to develop rashes and Oneal refused because he deemed it an insult to the great beaches of Kochi to venture into the murky waters of the Mumbai Sea. The water, the sunshine, the rocks all made it a great experience. Another thing about this beach is that unlike Juhu and Girgaon this beach is not so crowded (thanks to the fact that it is relatively less known) and it's much more vast. Having spent some great time at the beach we headed towards Byculla and decided to dine at Shalimar restaurant, Bhendi Bazar (near J.J. Hospital). The claim to fame of this restaurant is (1) you can get awesome Mughlai food here at very reasonable price and (2) it is owned by Azmi Junior, the son of Abu Azmi the Samajvadi Party unit president and also a Rajya Sabha MP- I understand he's the current boyfriend of Ayesha Takia. The food here was really good and filling- especially the rabri and the banana-shake. However, as the cliched saying goes- all good things muct come to an end; my stay at Mumbai is drawing its end. It feels really sad to leave my Seva Niketan buddies but at the same time I feel happy at the thought that this stay turned out to be really meaningful- I earned the acquaintance of so many nice people, the internship was a relly good learning experience and last but not the least I received the news of Pankaj Bhaiya's placement as a senior consultant with E & Y. I'll leave the great city of Mumbai tomorrow with sweet memories.

Hatred, politics and violence

A new mesiah for Maratha manoos; Raj Thakeray has been born and the recent spate of violence against fruit-vendors, taxi-drivers etc heralds the onset of what seems to be a new era in the politics of Maharashtra. The other day I read an article by Rajdeep Sardesai ( if I remember correctly) wherein he had argued that what's common between Bal Thakeray and his nephew is that both have concentrated on propagating hatred for certain communities- it was initially Gujratis, peopl e from souther states, Muslims and then North Indians (an incorrect term going by the classification of states according to the zones ; Bihar falls in the East Zone and Uttar Pradesh in the Central Zone- the only basis seems to be terming anyone from a state lying north to Maharashtra as North Indian). I guess this applies to the whole country- in almost every state one can find political groups (claiming to be flag-bearers of some or the other cause) projecting a community as the sole reason for all problems faced by the state (or the city in the case of Mumbai). Whether it be Shivsena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, BJP, BSP (in its earlier days when Behen Mayawati vehemently urged dalits to assault people from so called higher castes with shoes- the phrase used was tilak, tarazu aur talwar; inko maaro joote chaar translating roughly to- Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas deserve to be beaten with shoes). Before concluding I'd just like to mention the unfortunate incident in which a Maharashtrian rather a Marathi speaking Maharashtrian Haribhau (an employee of HAL) was killed as a result of stone-pelting by MNS activists and all the MNS chief had to say was sorry- I wonder how one can claim to be what Raj Thakeray claims to be with such scant regard for human life. If he was really serious about being the saviour of Marathi Manoos perhaps he would have probably urged his workers to name the accused instead of trying to pass on the blame to someone else.

New friends

I have not been able to post anything of late- have been kind of busy and on other occasions when I could have posted something I could not because now that I have to pay for accessing internet I use every moment possible to chat with friends.
Friends ... have earned the acquaintance of so many people - really nice people thanks to Seva Niketan. It's really amazing how you become friends with other people- it's not part of a plan - (like a cliched line often used in Hindi movies although in context of love). I happened to meet these people in the canteen - was introduced to these people by Anurag (my ex- roommate here) ... Mayank, Lakshya, O' Neal, (Dr.) Antonio .. thay have become really close to me. We share jokes, food and our thoughts on random issues. The stay at Seva Niketan has turned out to be a good experience. However all's not well- the most important person in my life has been very sad of late and it's really hard to put a mask of happiness while in the company of my new friends.

Internship, procession et. al.

It's been so long since I last posted- have been kind of busy. The internship at SAT has been really good so far thanks to the very approachable staff. Yesterday on my way back to Seva Niketan (which I have come to believe is managed by frustrated people who will become morose and start pontificating at trivial issues) I came across a procession of Krishna devotees some of whom were seated on decorated bullock- carts and tongas. One among the various banners read "Ahimsa parmo dharmah" - anyone who noticed the poor bulls bearing the load of ten-fifteen people would have realised the hypocricy of the 'devotees'. Not to mention the fact that the traffic came to a standstill for about half an hour. Come to think of it, so many problems would be solved (rather cease to exist) if only people learn to restrict religion to their homes. More later.

Mumbai Chronicle

A rather lazy Sat'day I must say ... explored more of Byculla- around Clare Road. From the window in my room which overlooks Ismail Merchant Chowk I noticed a small girl knocking on the door of every car that stopped at the signal- begging for some money/ food without much success. But then she discovered a ball lying on the divider and the next moment it appeared to me that she forgot everything else- devoted to rubbing the ball with her dirty frock trying to get rid of the grime and dust. It was indeed an apalling sight and what was more painful to me was the thought that with a bit of luck she might've been born to better off parents- for no fault of hers she was deprived of all the opportunities which evry kid deserves. A rather cliched topic it might be; but for those kids struggling for every morsel it's a harsh truth which they have to face everyday- all for no fault of theirs!

In Mumbai :-)

I'm in Mumbai (after almost 6 months) and I can't stop smiling- the weather's lovely. I arrived only last night and I took a cab from CST to Seva Niketan. However, the cab driver wasn't quite sure about the location of Seva Niketan and I asked an elderly Muslim gentleman- he responded to my Salaam with a smile and explained the route to me in great detail. The locality of Byculla (where Seva Niketan is situated) exudes old world charm- buildings, Parsee ladies clad in their tradiional attire .. everthing's just great.... to be continued.

LES (Last Exam Syndrome)

Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer. Charles Caleb Colton
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Tomorrow's the last exam: International Law-II and so the right time for this post.

syn·drome: noun : a group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality or condition.

I'm not quite sure if I can claim to've coined the phrase which serves as the title of this post but I've through experience recognised several constituents of this syndrome and quite a few of my classmates agree with me.

• Irrespective of the exam scheduled on the last day (whether it's DPC or Torts) you find it doubly hard to concentrate (on the day before the exam).
• Images of home, your last vacation et. al. become very vivid even though you know you'll head for some other city for an internship - particularly true in the case of people like me who hail from obscure places- place seems to be a better word ... I don't really know if my place qualifies as a city.
• You tend to spend a lot more time in sipping coffee/tea (in the mess or outside).
• You derive some strange comfort from gazing at the train/air-ticket.
• You discover a brilliant song which has been lying in your laptop for ages but never found a place in your playlist.
• You tend to be unnaturally calm in the face of load of untouched (leave alone reading it) material for the last exam.

I'll extend this list some other time. It just occured to me ... damn, where did I keep my tickets?

Indecisiveness

Just when everything seemed settled- all issues and doubts resolved; just when I thought I knew what I wanted out of life; just when I thought I knew my own mind - everything changed in a matter of few days and I find myself back to square one. I have no one to blame but myself.
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Just the other day I was talking to one among my close friends in Law School. We were chatting about how everything had changed ever since we came to Law School. He called me the embodiment of metamorphosis and to be honest I did derive some inexplicable happiness from his vivid accounts of the changes he had observed in me. The conversation meandered into an appreciation of our lives in course of which I proudly proclaimed how happy I was with my life and how everything was going on smoothly. The very next day I received the news of a rather adventurous gesture by one of my classmates to a certain person with whom (I believe) I share quite a few interests. It's a pity that I have never been able to talk to this person about the interests we share. We do talk regularly but mostly about mundane issues- issues about which we're expected to (and required to) interact. Few occasions on which this person wanted to talk to me about other issues were lost (for the lack of a better word) by me thanks to one or the other reason- I distinctly remember on one of these occasions I was undergoing a terrible phase of mood-swing and on other occasions I guess I was overwhelmed and I couldn't really gather the courage to extend the conversation. Anyway; ever since I received the above mentioned news, nothing has been the same- every moment I feel compelled to think about certain decisions I made in the past and whether I was mature enough to have made those decisions. Last night I was asked to attend a certain gathering (part of an established practice in Law School to celebrate an occasion in a certain manner) which I did- this person was the cynosure of the gathering and I gave something to this person just to convey my best wishes. In another couple of days I'll leave for Mumbai and this person (I am told) will leave for Delhi- a break lasting about 8 weeks. Perhaps, I'll be able to think clearly about this whole thing which has been occupying my mind during this period and make a decision.
It's really amazing how vagueness (of thought, of reality) can be soothing at times!

Outsiders

" ... people coming from outside have tarnished its (Mumbai's) image" :Uddhav Thackeray.

I was in Mumbai for about three weeks in June, 2007 and for the first few days (thanks to the irksome humidity) I badly wanted to leave. However, gradually I developed an appreciation for the city and towards the end of my stay I fell in love with Mumbai. For one, people were very approachable and helpful - if this quality could be quantified I would mark Mumbaikars 10/10 anyday. I'm looking forward to staying in Mumbai again- for about 5 weeks from 17th of this month.

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outsider: a person who does not belong to a particular group http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/outsider

The Thackerays have time and again proved themselves to be not amenable to any positive debate. The Sena brigade has paid homage to outsiders yet again (as mentioned in the heading of this post) and I was prompted to write something about this. They have been using the term to refer to non- Marathis living in Mumbai- asserting time and again that Mumbai is for Mumbaikars (Marathi speaking inhabitants of Mumbai). If priority in time of inhabitation were the criteria for deciding who could be branded as an outsider; most of the Marathi folk inhabiting Mumbai today would be outsiders from the perspective of the Kolis who certainly inhabited Mumbai much before the former. Were few descendants of cavemen (whose implements have been discovered on several sites in present day Mumbai) alive today; most of the inhabitants of Mumbai would've qualified as outsiders. Why should a Marathi- speaking Maharashtrian be regarded more of a Mumbaikar than a Gujarati or a Parsi or a Baghdadi Jew or a Brijbasi whose ancestors moved to the city few centuries ago- the state of Maharashtra surely did not exist then. Now that the state of Maharashtra does exist as a part of India; on what basis can Thackerays claim Mumbai to be only for Maratha Manus. Why should a Bihari or a UPite have any less right of moving to Mumbai than a Maharashtrian? Apart from this being a matter of legal right, in my opinion every UPite, Bihari, Gujarati, Parsi, Tamilian (often ridiculed by Bal Thackeray in his cartoons) who has toiled for years in the city commands lot more moral basis for living in Mumbai than the Thackerays. Outsiders haven't tarnished the image of Mumbai- it is people like Thackerays who have. The so called outsiders have built Mumbai from an obscure archipelago to a booming financial centre. Mr. Thackeray; take away the contribution made to this great city by the Parsis, Baghdadi Jews, Gujaratis, Sindhis, Marwaris and not to forget the Britishers who laid down the basic structural foundations of Mumbai and perhaps then you'll realise what outsiders have done for Mumbai and what you (with your deplorable and atrocious politics) will never be able to do. Jai Hind!

मेरी प्रिय प्रेरणा-स्रोत।

अप्रतिम सौंदर्य से ओत-प्रोत, हे मेरी प्रिय प्रेरणा-स्रोत !

तुमको है समर्पित मेरी लेखनी कि ये उज्जवल ज्योत।

तुम्हारे विधु-मुख के दर्शन, शीतल करते मेरा कण- कण;

कजरारे सुन्दर कमल-नयन; देते हैं मुझको नवजीवन,

तुम पर न्योछावर है मेरे जीवन का प्रतिक्षण।

तुम्हारी मुस्कान की एक झलक ज्येष्ठ में, श्रावण का आभास कराती है,

तुम्हारे केशों की मोहक छवि, मुझे चैन की नींद सुलाती है;

तुमसे विछोह की कल्पना-मात्र मेरे ह्रदय को विदीर्ण कर जाती है।

मेरी स्वप्न- वाटिका में कभी तो अपने पग धरो;

मेरे आशा- पुष्पों को अपनी स्नेह-धारा से सिंचित करो -

देकर प्रेम का महादान इस मूरख- निर्बल पर दया करो।

तुममें खोने की है आकांक्षा, दूजा नहीं मेरे मन में खोट;

साहस करो, विश्वास करो; हे मेरी प्रिय प्रेरणा-स्रोत॥

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I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.