We hear this so often. India has come of age. India is a globally known super power these days and no one can ignore India anymore. But have we ever wondered how true is this?
Take some recent instances which prove this to be wrong. First, the episode of Shilpa Shetty and Jade. This incident still goes to prove that Indians are still facing racist remarks all around the world. This piece of news got all the attention as it was involving a big bollywood star like shilpa shetty. What if it was you or me?
Next, we can take the episode of Mohd. Haneef, who was framed by the australian authorities and when they released him due to mounting international pressure , we see an arrogant Australian Govt. who is refusing to apologise. They fail to recognize this as an insult to to a country and a community rather than an individual. At least, their co-citizen Ponting was reasonable enough to aplogize to Sharad Pawar after the incident during the finals of champions trophy.
And last, the present England-India cricket match, where England are unable to register the fact that they have both the luck and weather Gods pitted against them in the favor of India and are involving in sledging and all other unparliamentary behavior on the field. And to add to this the umpires don't seem to take notice of that at all.
All this makes me beleive that India still has a long way to go. For me, we have not gone much ahead of the station where Gandhi was thrown out of the first class compartment in South Africa more than a hundread years ago.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
If .. only if..
There are moments when you feel overwhelmed and lamented at the same time. You feel you could rewind your life to re-live(read re-plan) some parts of your life again. I had these kind of mixed feelings when I attended the BarCamp Bangalore 4 today.
Overwhelmed because the aroma of intelligence in the air was filling my heart with happiness, sad because I was a guest in a place where I dream to be a part of. It was a dream for me once to be a part of IIM-B. But this happened to be my first visit there.
Lets take the architecture first. (P.S :I am not a hardcore architecture analyst to give this review but just trying to put up some feelings. ) Awesome piece.. The half finished look makes one wonder if some construction is still going on or what. The big blocks used gives the building a royal look. The unpainted look gives the building a feel which cannot be matched by any ( or may be all paint was used by likes of Shankar for painting roads and mountains). The lush green campus, creepers on the walls, the rainy cold weather of the day all added to the magic. The hostel blocks are also made of the same blocks and are equally aesthetic in look. Not to mention of the infrastructure available, most of the campus is Wi-Fi enabled and each hostel room contains a wired network in addition to that.
After relishing all this for a full day, I wish life had a rewind or re-boot switch with which I can go back to the past and plan and prepare to join IIM-B again. But then, the bird in bush may be more tempting but not always better than the one in hand. And when I think which feeling is more dominant in me about the day, I would definitely say it has to be the feeling of an accomplishment of participating in such an event . How wonderful it would have been if... only if......
Details of the events and experiences will follow soon. Keep watching this space.
Cheers. :)
Click here for the album link.
Overwhelmed because the aroma of intelligence in the air was filling my heart with happiness, sad because I was a guest in a place where I dream to be a part of. It was a dream for me once to be a part of IIM-B. But this happened to be my first visit there.
Lets take the architecture first. (P.S :I am not a hardcore architecture analyst to give this review but just trying to put up some feelings. ) Awesome piece.. The half finished look makes one wonder if some construction is still going on or what. The big blocks used gives the building a royal look. The unpainted look gives the building a feel which cannot be matched by any ( or may be all paint was used by likes of Shankar for painting roads and mountains). The lush green campus, creepers on the walls, the rainy cold weather of the day all added to the magic. The hostel blocks are also made of the same blocks and are equally aesthetic in look. Not to mention of the infrastructure available, most of the campus is Wi-Fi enabled and each hostel room contains a wired network in addition to that.
After relishing all this for a full day, I wish life had a rewind or re-boot switch with which I can go back to the past and plan and prepare to join IIM-B again. But then, the bird in bush may be more tempting but not always better than the one in hand. And when I think which feeling is more dominant in me about the day, I would definitely say it has to be the feeling of an accomplishment of participating in such an event . How wonderful it would have been if... only if......
Details of the events and experiences will follow soon. Keep watching this space.
Cheers. :)
Click here for the album link.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Future of Indian cricket
Headlines read " India NOT in world cup 2015". The story starts this way... India is out of the contention for playing in world cup 2015 after losing its final qualifying match with Canada in the ICC qualifying tournament held here in Sharjah. .......
And it continues with intricate details of the match played which are not of concern to us for this blog. Believe it or not I dream of reading this headline. I mean I yearn to have this piece of newspaper in my hand soon. Before you jump into conclusions of calling me a traitor or some one who hates cricket or some one who is pessimistic, I would like to explain my point.
I feel this should happen because the current Indian team, its management, coach (or no coach) and the selection process are all hopeless ( to put it very mildly). Ever wondered how many selection flaws keep happening and how poorly the richest cricket board in the world is managed. After 2007 world cup debacle we had the board taking some stern steps like linking performance with pay but for how long... Even before India played a single series they reverted back to their old ways of grading players into A,B and C grade and paying them according to their grade which God only knows was decided on which ancient match. Regarding the selection process, we know players are selected into the national team from the ranji and other domestic cricket matches.(* Conditions Apply) But how are players selected for ranji. To be a part of a prestigious cricket club in India you need to be at least from an upper middle class family. How many from the lower and lower middle class really get a fair chance to play and try for the ranji teams? And as soon as someone gets selected for ranji next target for him is to appear in the national team. And they make their debut at the age of around 20. So where is the bench strength of India team. Just to give an example how things should be , a player of Mike Hussey's caliber made his debut into international arena at the age of 30 + .
Coming back to my dream, the next day, BCCI is dissolved and all the money in it is used for conducting a national level talent competition for cricketers where anyone can participate and then a team is constituted for each ranji team from where the national team is picked up.(*Conditions Apply)
And then...........well lets not dream too much.:)
*: I am taking an ideal corruption free selection process into account for this.
And it continues with intricate details of the match played which are not of concern to us for this blog. Believe it or not I dream of reading this headline. I mean I yearn to have this piece of newspaper in my hand soon. Before you jump into conclusions of calling me a traitor or some one who hates cricket or some one who is pessimistic, I would like to explain my point.
I feel this should happen because the current Indian team, its management, coach (or no coach) and the selection process are all hopeless ( to put it very mildly). Ever wondered how many selection flaws keep happening and how poorly the richest cricket board in the world is managed. After 2007 world cup debacle we had the board taking some stern steps like linking performance with pay but for how long... Even before India played a single series they reverted back to their old ways of grading players into A,B and C grade and paying them according to their grade which God only knows was decided on which ancient match. Regarding the selection process, we know players are selected into the national team from the ranji and other domestic cricket matches.(* Conditions Apply) But how are players selected for ranji. To be a part of a prestigious cricket club in India you need to be at least from an upper middle class family. How many from the lower and lower middle class really get a fair chance to play and try for the ranji teams? And as soon as someone gets selected for ranji next target for him is to appear in the national team. And they make their debut at the age of around 20. So where is the bench strength of India team. Just to give an example how things should be , a player of Mike Hussey's caliber made his debut into international arena at the age of 30 + .
Coming back to my dream, the next day, BCCI is dissolved and all the money in it is used for conducting a national level talent competition for cricketers where anyone can participate and then a team is constituted for each ranji team from where the national team is picked up.(*Conditions Apply)
And then...........well lets not dream too much.:)
*: I am taking an ideal corruption free selection process into account for this.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Saluting the true Indian Spirit
To the question of which is the most memorable event of your life , he answers ( not in his exact words) " Removal of pain of a young girl affected by the polio and her ability to ride a bicycle after using the light weight Floor Reaction Orthosis made by using carbon-carbon material was the most memorable event in my life."
I am not talking about any hi-tech doctor , I am talking about our honorable President Dr. Abdul Kalam. ( Read: former President if you read it after July 25). This was spoken to a gathering of IBM employees as a part of their annual gathering called the INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP FORUM held at Bangalore on the magical date of 6/6/06. Many believed it to be the date of Satan, but for me it was one of the happiest moments of my life. A day when I was really proud of my country.
Mr. Kalam spoke about IBM, its history,its founder, its path towards innovation for more than 45 minutes which concluded with a standing ovation from the more than 30000 people gathered there. Such was the power of his speech. He had gathered more information about IBM , than may be any of the IBMers gathered there.
Coming back to his favorite moment, he came about discovering this light weight material while doing some research for rocket launching while he was with ISRO. But he found true happiness when it came of use to a young girl who used artificial limb made of that material was able to ride by bicycle in front of him. Thats compassion according to me and thats what India has been showing to the outside world. His life can be an ideal example not only for Indians but for the whole world as to the fact that our origins have no relation with the heights we can reach in our life. And that the higher you reach the more compassionate,humble and gentle you become.
P.S: This is not one of the numerous mails getting circulated canvassing for a second term for Kalam as the President.
I am not talking about any hi-tech doctor , I am talking about our honorable President Dr. Abdul Kalam. ( Read: former President if you read it after July 25). This was spoken to a gathering of IBM employees as a part of their annual gathering called the INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP FORUM held at Bangalore on the magical date of 6/6/06. Many believed it to be the date of Satan, but for me it was one of the happiest moments of my life. A day when I was really proud of my country.
Mr. Kalam spoke about IBM, its history,its founder, its path towards innovation for more than 45 minutes which concluded with a standing ovation from the more than 30000 people gathered there. Such was the power of his speech. He had gathered more information about IBM , than may be any of the IBMers gathered there.
Coming back to his favorite moment, he came about discovering this light weight material while doing some research for rocket launching while he was with ISRO. But he found true happiness when it came of use to a young girl who used artificial limb made of that material was able to ride by bicycle in front of him. Thats compassion according to me and thats what India has been showing to the outside world. His life can be an ideal example not only for Indians but for the whole world as to the fact that our origins have no relation with the heights we can reach in our life. And that the higher you reach the more compassionate,humble and gentle you become.
P.S: This is not one of the numerous mails getting circulated canvassing for a second term for Kalam as the President.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
tring! tring!... The bugger!
Imagine... Monday morning 9.30 AM ..you set off late from your house for office due to whatever reasons and you are stuck in a very bad traffic in the Hosur Road.. You still happen to maintain your cool and wait patiently wait for the traffic to clear so that you stand some chance of reaching office in time.. Suddenly your mobile rings.... Thinking it is a call from office as you are late for the meeting scheduled.. you sideline your bike (which means you allow another 5 to 10 vehicles to pass you in a minute's time).. pick up the phone seeing a new number which you cannot identify.. you remove your helmet and then put the phone on to your ears.. and then you hear a recorded message from hutch or airtel( P.S. : Such calls are more frequent from the former than the later)... you feel like scolding the person on the other side of the line in all goddamn languages you learnt all through your college life.. but there is no one to listen to you.. angrily you disconnect the phone and start back on the road but by the time you do this you have lost at least 15 mins of your time as the traffic is growing now.. and you are stuck again..
This is the height of consumerism... a mobile subscriber already subscribed to a particular service gets a tele-marketing call....And worse so... the call is immediately followed with an sms informing you of the same scheme... These are not the only useless calls which we get...There hardly goes a day when we do not get a call selling credit cards.. or personal loans or some health insurance or some country club membership... It is really pathetic.. We cannot (read should not) show the anger on the person making the call b'cos this happens to be his/her profession.. But what we need to think is .. is this the correct way to sell a product...
I am thinking now how to end this blog... I mean, what solution can one give.. may be chuck the mobile phone altogether... Oh! I am getting a call on my mobile... Need to attend it and find out if it is a useful call...
This is the height of consumerism... a mobile subscriber already subscribed to a particular service gets a tele-marketing call....And worse so... the call is immediately followed with an sms informing you of the same scheme... These are not the only useless calls which we get...There hardly goes a day when we do not get a call selling credit cards.. or personal loans or some health insurance or some country club membership... It is really pathetic.. We cannot (read should not) show the anger on the person making the call b'cos this happens to be his/her profession.. But what we need to think is .. is this the correct way to sell a product...
I am thinking now how to end this blog... I mean, what solution can one give.. may be chuck the mobile phone altogether... Oh! I am getting a call on my mobile... Need to attend it and find out if it is a useful call...
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