Indraneel's Memoir

Bangalore AUTOWALAS!

2011-07-24T13:49:00.001-07:00

Autowalas of Bangalore are more like a rat snake which a farmer wishes to keep at bay, but eventually lets in to curb the menace of rodents and frogs. Though many Bangaloreans might say Bangalore autowalas exhibit more dangerous behavior of deadly snakes who eat farmer and the snake too. The comparison is inevitable considering the endemic we are going through due to unavoidable dependencies on them and due to the way these autowalas take us on ride almost every time.

It's been about a year since when I am commuting to office by auto and with every passing day feelings of helplessness and anger are rising in me. And with no surprise everyone who has travelled in auto rickshaw in Bangalore has the same opinion with alarming regularity.

What is making matters worse is the indifference to the whole situation by the immensely corrupt bureaucratic (RTOs) and policing system which goes hand in hand in shielding these autowalas.

I have categorized the types of autowalas in Bangalore based on their ability to make the life of their passengers worse in the descending order of their existence:

1. Those who refuse to go where one wants to go
By one logic even if we give them the right of choice to choose the business they want (though the nature of public service is such that no right of refusal is ever permitted ethically), the least we expect is the courteous reply. Most don’t even bother to respond or worse some even glare with intense disgust and drive away
2. Those who boast of tampered meters proudly and mostly with defiance to objection
9 out of 10 drivers either deliberately don’t accept it when a passenger objects or justify it on the pretext of rising fuel prices and come down to street fight
Height of this gesture can be seen when they justify this with even policemen when some passengers take them to police station and shockingly policemen just warn them and let off
3. Those who demand excess amount on top the fare
If one refuses to pay, then they justify stating their meter is accurate and hence the demand is their right
Some demand excess money by stating they won’t get a return passenger and funnily this amount is sometimes more than the fare itself (if fare is X, then you are expected to even pay 2 X to 3X)
4. Those who demand 2 to 3 times the fare after 9PM although legally the fare cannot be more than 1.5 times the meter reading between 10PM and 8AM
This takes an ugly shape when an unlucky commuter has no other means to travel at night and as a result he / she ends up succumbing to this ill polity
5. Those who take the passenger for a city tour even if the destination is right next door
Most have fallen prey to this at least once in their lifetime in Bangalore. This breed of autowalas is about 20% of the lot and surfaces based on the obliviousness of the passenger to his/her surroundings
6. Those who cheat
Now this one is rare but has happened to many of us. One pays the fare and taking stock of the situation driver shows you a lesser amount than is paid and cunningly persuades you to pay the balance
7. Those who eve tease / misbehave with women
I know of at least 5 women who have confided in me of instances where in autowalas have either made obscene remarks or made intolerable moves sighting a lonely woman

Apart from these dispalying epidemic like symptoms in their behaviour, most of them display frighteningly disturbing tenacity to disobey law of which few I am aware are stated below:

• 90 of percent of auto rickshaws still run on analog meters thus enabling them to easily tamper their meter readings much to the inconvenience of passengers
• About 50% of auto rickshaws emit dangerous levels of smoke reminiscent of steam engines. Sadly everyone who trail such autos by walk or in a vehicle has to breathe in large amount of smoke and feel dismayed every time
• Now this one takes the cake. There are these autowalas who in the midst of our overly dense traffic noise find a solace in altering their silencers to sound like a CONCORDE and give rise to awful experience by making mockery of the policemen when they drive right in front of them

Share your experience in our fight to protest to teach these autowalas a lesson!

No One Killed Jessica...

2011-01-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

Alas...Tragic indeed that it took the life of an innocent girl to awaken this country to the power of being united. And it is in this spirit that No One Killed Jessica is a fantastic articulation of expression of hard faced reality that no one is above the law.

Poor child Jessica lost her life for some moron son of a high headed political godfather few years back. Her biggest fault was that she refused a drink to that monster as the party was over. But then what the country witnessed was a no small ordeal of sorts involving everyone from powerful politician, judiciary, media and most importantly the common man.

Everyone who is more than 25 years old or so today must be remembering this whole episode unless they have lived in a skull devoid of media. I remember in my college days every news channel and newspaper carried this news extensively and describing how an influential clout can get someone away from the jaws of judiciary thus leaving a permanent impression on my mind. But then little did anyone of us knew that nation backed by the media can upturn the court's ruling by persuading the legal system to pursue this case suo moto.

And what a turnaround since then. A candle-lit procession in Delhi in support of Jessica made the country stand up unanimously and be at the backbone of support to her sister in fighting this case again.

I just can't forget what happened in those few days in India as for someone who is made to believe by the stereotyped movies and middle class mindset that one can get away with anything as long as he has the phone number of some don / politician. This incident of people movement has thankfully left such an indelible mark on me that I have all again since then started believing that faith needs to be restored in our system and every injustice ought to be fought with unrelenting gut and conviction.

I highly recommend this movie to every adult and teen in India and everywhere else as No One Killed jessica beautifully captures the sensitivity of the issue balancing it with enough dose of inspiration for you and me. Of course not to forget the heart moving songs like Aitbar, Dua and Yeh Pal.

Jessica sadly had to sacrifice her life but I am sure her beautiful soul is lying in peace finally now that there are many in the country today that are just no ready to go down without a fight.

Lastly good job Rajkumar Gupta for directing a meaningful movie for the nation. This will always remain one of my favourites.

A Preamble of Love

2010-04-07T05:25:00.000-07:00

Dearest Sweetheart,

One more day passed as it is already 12'O clock and what a day it was. I am naming yesterday March 05, 2010 as the most memorable day of life in last 3 years and among the 5 best days of my life.

As usual my door bell rang 6-7 times in the morning at 940 AM and assuming the person to be my house maid I opened the door. And hey god you almighty I never imagined you could be so kind to me that you will send your angel to my doorstep especially as it wasn’t even thought of in my wildest dreams. The moment I saw the angel’s face there was a sudden surge of oxygen in the body as if I just awoke from coma, and for a moment I couldn’t believe that it was her, it was that savior goddess.

As I had determined to pull full stop to all old ties with this angel just a day before, to save me from redemption for hurting her, I was going through perhaps the hardest ordeal of my life. But the next day the moment I saw her at my doorstep all my determination evaporated like camphor on a fire. As this angel entered my home with the same charm as ever in her face glittering with gracious smile, I couldn’t believe that god has chosen me to be so lucky by having her footprints in my home.

As I kept looking into her deep black eyes, my a-minute-before-steel-like-heart just started being human again at lightening speed. And further as I continued to dwell in the heavenly feeling of having met the angel again, I just started loosing control of myself and succumbed into her vivacious arms trying to convince myself that it is for real.

The warmth of her body aroma just engulfed me into eternity giving a taste of ecstasy.

All this meant only thing that I am smitten by a bug more proficiently known as LOVE.

However time and time again it is seen that all good things have a life of their own. And perhaps love is one among them much to the dismay of my inherent belief in these four letters that have defined and carved an impression of mankind since Adam and Eve.

Hey angel, thanks for giving those 60 most memorable minutes to me. That will be a gift like nothing else for light years to come.

Love you more than anybody else in heaven and earth.

Love,

Indraneel 4 U

IPL Shocks Again: Ooops

2010-03-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

Photo Courtesy by 'The Hindu'

Modi, Modi, Lalit for this one:
IPL auctions for new teams shocks the country again by garnering more than $600mn for Pune and Cochi alone in total. Just unable to comprehend the maths behind paying more than $330mn each for Ahmedabad and Cochi as any rationale I am trying to arrive at snubs by left bran thinking as some might call it.

As Harsha Bhogle said on TV sometime ago, to him it's like buying a stock for many a times its face value with an appreciation prospect of many times over. Hmm just hope in this case it was the work of those skilled with investment expertise and not a mere business gamble.

However what is intriguing the most is the means by which the two winners will fund everything from auction price to teams...especially considering that off late Sahara is not in the good books for its not so correct PR in the media. More interestingly, the Cochi owner Rendezvous Sports’ genesis is unknown to anyone. Even our all time favorite sniffer Google too failed miserably in giving us any information on this new entity.

However all it means to cricket aficionados is only one thing...IPL is going to get bigger and more fun (‘going to’ because from where the players will be sourced is yet unclear).

Hmm now I am going offline and will be back shortly to end this post.

March 23, 2010:

Just resumed writing this post as the headline in Business Standard today said 'Sahara Mulls IPO For New IPL Team'. WOW WOW WOW...looks like Indian businessmen have really come of age or at least are trying to be there where the Wall Street-goers blink. I mean ‘AN IPO!!!’

As this ongoing surge in confidence of Indian businessmen and their thinking looms large, the day is perhaps not far when Indians give developed countries a taste of their own medicine by redefining how businesses are run and thus clinching new deals which are unheard of :)

One Hell Of A Curious Case

2010-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Went to a DVD library to rent out a movie yesterday evening and ended up bringing 'The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button'. Now after having completed this two and half hour movie I must say it was one joy ride worth not missing. The entire story with every emotion of human life embraced in it makes up for ones cravings to watch a quality movie.

Everything in this movie right from script (adopted from a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) to dialogues to perfect delivery of scenes by actors of the likes of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett have taken it to a class of its own altogether. One very interesting reason why most including me have watched this movie is because of its Oscar glory in 2009. Now after having watched two highest Oscar winners of 2009 'Slumdog Millionnaire' and 'The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button', I now believe that Slumdog was simply overrated vis-a-vis the latter. With due respect to the makers of Slumdog, one thing that takes the cake out of its way is the intricate decipherment of every aspect of ones birth till death that is otherwise shadowed in our subconscious alacrity.

From a rather deemed intellectual point of view some may argue that there is something to be learnt from everything. But either in an ignorant or a snobbish manner most tend to dismiss eternal statements many make and that is where this movie beautifully conveys the importance of Human Life in probably or perhaps one of the most spectacular ways possible. If not more there are at least few dozen instances and dialogues in the movie that uphold one or the other fabric of life and relationships which act like the source of constant inspiration and direction to tread the remaining life.

Few of my favourite dilogues from the movie are as follows;

Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?
Life can only be understood backward. It must be lived forward.
Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.
For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

Sell everything but self respect

2009-11-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

How many times have we heard of people from all walks of life right from our very own civil servants, beauracrats, law makers, politicians to new age evils of corporate world like Ramalings Rajus playing with sentiments and lives of people paying no respect to their offices of power. What about the rest of us then, the common man? Are we different, are we ethical, are we human?

Episode I
I was driving back home from the office at around 720 PM today. And barely that I drove for about 200 meters I was struck by a lightening of sorts upon seeing two well dressed youngsters in probably their 20's knocked down another guy in his 20's on a two wheeler and started bashing him in every part they could lay their hands on and the very next moment before anyone could decipher the torturous occurrence, one of two attackers picked up a half a foot stone from the sideway and hit on the victim's head. Thus fell the victim on the ground bleeding severely in a pool of his own blood. Two attackers walk about 25 meters, get on their bike and zoom away.

Episode II
All this in full public display on a busy Bangalore street when almost everyone on the road walking, riding, driving back home became spectators. Nothing moved on the road as everyone stood still watching whatever happened until the two attackers climbed their bike and sped away. As if struck by their conscience of humanity at least a handful among hundreds watching started yelling at the attackers and ran to catch them. Rest started moving on their usual course of journey called life (in other words a hell disguised as life not shaken by anything at all).

Now we have heard and seen umpteen number of such stories all around us ever since we could scratch the surface and dig into our memorial neurons. So what is pity in the above incident...that the two men or rather generation X or Y mercilessly almost killed a defenseless person for no apparent reason clear to us, or that the hundreds watching didn't move an inch to help and save the victim from the claws of pain, or that the those watched felt a rush of adrenaline pumping hard cursing themselves to be devoid of SPIDERMAN kind of supernatural instincts to save the victim. Truth is there actually is no difference between any of the above 3 cadres of men and women by any yardstick of correctness.

In retrospect this merely looks like a reflection of our fundamental way of living now we all are so highly accustomed to. Who says we as friends, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, neighbours....humans when stirred by their heart roaring pain or unjust incidents stand up to the occassion and ultimately come out victorious. Such examples are far and few. More specifically in a country that has had the finest of men ever born on this Earth, the sacrifices of millions of people over decades hasn't yet turned a new leaf in the history of mankind. Petty politics spanning almost 60 years disguised as riots, communalism, second grade treatment of underprivileged by those in the power, heinous acts of crime committed against children and women are perhaps just an extension of our deliberate ignorance, just to be shielded from their existence.

So then what does it take for us to be stirred and driven by the principles of humanity or may be life? Terrorist attack on our soil killing thousands, rapes on women by the insanity of man's libido in riots like Godhra, division of people in the name of religion, cast by our few good for flamboyance politicians, or the daily exploitation of a common man by the lawfully empowered unlawful police, or the incident like the one narrated at the beginning where hundreds were mute spectators of bloody violence quite literally. In fact none of the above has done anything to awaken us to the ultimate truth behind ones purpose in life.

Wealth, health, power, influential networks, mean nothing if at the end of the day we do not have the basic instinct to stand by the ethical paths taught to us since our childhood, at home, in schools and colleges of chasing and choosing the rightful path.

A far cry indeed...

Mourning Stephan Gately's Death

2009-10-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Back from a drive with my friends and incidently switched on TV...and guess what! 'We miss Stephen Gately' was getting flashed on News 9 with 'Words' playing in the background. What a shock to have heard this news. Somehow missed this news in Print and TV earlier, but really aghast to know the lead singer of Boyzone is no more alive.

This year surely is one among the many black years in the history of music. First MJ and now Stephen's loss is highly dissonant.

Thanks Stephen for giving some wonderful music for us to cherish forever. As they say you never know when one is gone...I pray to almighty that may the loss be for the better and may your soul rest in peace.

Love you forever. Your 'Words' will never be forgotten in this world.

LIFE AT CROSSROADS

2009-08-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday (as per IST to be politically correct) completing 27 years of my life. At the outset it was a birthday of one of 6 billion plus living in this world and hence no significance can be attributed to it at macro level. But yes as an individual it is nevertheless important as to me it meant the first 23 years I was under the embracement of my family, clad in love, care, security, and more than all gifted identity. Not that the remaining 5 years didn’t have it, but yes, things have changed, exposure levels have soared to new heights (often termed with opulence as EXPERIENCE), growing ideas of achieving triumph in our endeavors are crying for new identity in my every sphere of daily life that I am going through, be it work, society and even relationship.

So then what all I have actually done or achieved so far as someone who was let go off family nest in search of identity in the past 5 years. Tautly speaking I can proudly proclaim of having survived the competitive world of employment opportunities thus successfully inching a bit farther from family (do I mean it?…of course not). There’s another feat much like the feather in the cap, of successfully staying on in one company for more than 3 years now or may be of not being expelled (pun intended). Well actually this one is less to do with my credentials (which are in fact none) but more to do with sound management practices my company has put in place.

Okay, going by what I said if both near achievements are probably mere acts of coincidence then what actually are my achievements. Frankly Speaking NONE (first two words inspired from TIMES NOW's Frankly Speaking with Arnab).

Cognitive dissonance

For the uninitiated cognitive dissonance as stated by Wikipedia ‘is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously’

So what exactly is I am trying to express or may be address through this piece of writing. Hmm….it issssssssssss cognitive dissonance.

It is said that largely our thinking is shaped by the initial years of our life. Going by this logic, I should have promptly acted in the path laid by family, friends, completed a degree or so in engineering or medicines, married a socially acceptable pleasing wife (pun intended), worked in a MNC may be with a plum foreign posting, occasionally paid lip service to my country, my world, by contributing in bits & parts (in fact a popular way of getting rid of guilt of living a much envied life vis-à-vis unconditionally deprived). Sadly or perhaps fortunately I haven’t done any of the above, thus failing miserably here too…:) To put things in perspective, not that any of the above is wrong, just that the subscription to it looks unconvincing.

For those of you, who have read so far yet not breaking monitor screens, let me stop beating around the bush and come to the point. Since past few years now I have been feeling an increased inclination to do something different than all of the above. Something that quenches my thirst of fulfilling dreams that I have been seeing off late. This uneasiness has been associated with doing something which can be called as eternal by any yard stick of my imagination. That is of being part of the tribe of those men and women who have left an indelible mark on this earth by compromising and sacrificing their interests, desires, luxuries, and sometimes life. And thankfully this tribe is not hidden in jungles of Amazon but disgracefully in our myopic self centered way of living called no-time-for-anything-else-today. But every time someone somewhere has crossed this ‘line of control’ also known as my-life-for-me-and-my-family-and-everything-I-want, we have seen people achieving more inner wisdom else thus even becoming inspiration for many.

As most other things this too is easier than done, as most are (I am) either reluctant to shed their comforts or are simply unwilling to experiment with truth.

This is where ones like me fail to comprehend, as they have believed the time will come for them to act. But when the calling of their purpose strikes like never before, when they strive to strike a balance between selfishness and living for the change, the real dilemma arises. Join a NGO, volunteer for government machinery for the needy, be a journalist and try to seek a solution, start a social enterprise…well none of the above has been tempting enough so far. Nevertheless the calling has far outweighed the method of execution and hence has sort of perplexed me to ensure THE SOONER THE BETTER.

So when is it then? Am I going to ACT NOW or may be tomorrow, may be a month later, may be a year later…or may be when the time will come for me to act (pun intended).

Zhansi Ki Rani Lakshmibai: Pride of Every Indian or Rather Every Human

2009-08-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

I was browsing channels few hours ago and incidentally came across a title of one Zee TV sop Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahani...Zhansi Ki Rani, literally translating into 'story of a brave woman....Queen of Zhansi'. We all have heard and read about Lakshmibai from elementary school level but little did we know then that personalities like hers have actually shaped and have sown a seed of new wisdom for us to follow even when the British are no more around. In spite of being habitual of paying no heed to Zee TVs and Star TVs for their saas-bahu kinda serials, this time I decided to hang on for few minutes to see what this serial is all about. As many of such history inspired TV dramas are preposterous in nature for not stating the history as it is, this one seemed a fairly less extravagant effort in portraying the life of a legend called Zhansi Ki Rani.

Few scenes in the 30 minute serial were perhaps so appealing in nature that it even made me question could these incidents shown be real? A quick googling later helped me understand that in fact the very nature of Lakshmibai's life, account by account is an intriguing narration in itself.
That's when I decided to know more of her larger than life persona by reading her biography on http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/jhansi/index.htm And as author N S Ramaprasad has rightly put it in the prelude "She was the queen of a small state, but the empress of a limitless empire of glory."

The inspiration from this moving introduction was far more than just convincing for me to spend my last 45 minutes in reading her small yet highly significant life story. As is being shown in TV and as present in her biographies one thing that catches ones attention is how she had shown a character of 'patriotism, self-respect and heroism' par excellence from her pre-teens. Hence as we proceed through the pages the things become more and more clear that her childhood marriage to the King of Peshwa, early demise of her husband, denial of travel permission to Varanassi by British to shave her head, even the death of her infant were not mere facts of an unjust Almighty but a means of self discovery for Lakshmibai to take reigns of Zhansi one day and live a life no one in this world has ever lived...though only for 22 years.

I urge everyone to go through the biography of Lakshmibai and take part in process of self discovery. We may no longer have colonial powers around but dominant ills like dowry, rape, domestic violence, infanticide, foeticide etc are still looming large going by disgusting national statistics, we need 21st century Zhansi Ki Rani like Lakshmibais who will stand the test of time and fight the menace.

On an emotional but logical end note, her biography has once again after many days has made me ponder on after all what is it that people like Lakshmibai, Jeejabai, Onake Obavva, Tipu Sultan, Bhagat Singh....Maj. Sandip Unnikrishnan and many such souls are made of. Circumstances, values, or what is it that has defined their conscience far outweighing their own will to live for themselves like most of us do.

Sexuality Through Our Myopic Lenses And Beyond: Scrap Article 377 In The Country

2009-07-05T06:33:00.001-07:00

References: The Economic Times and Deccan Herald

Who established heterosexuality as the only 'natural' means of expressing your sexual orientation? A question mainstream social India has no answer for but is thriving on the basis of this myopic assumption. Right from the time one is born society imposes on you a belief that the only natural instinct of a man or a woman in this country is to find a soul mate of the opposite sex. Your schools, friends, parents, movies, government and everybody else believes it and so are you expected to believe it.

Not that am trying to defy the age old myth mainstream Indian population holds by saying we are utterly incorrect in our assumptions but today the times are different. The onset of globalization along with the free media in this country have given us enough instances to count on the definition of what each of us believe of those who think otherwise about heterosexuality as the only 'natural' thing. Because of the wisdom our values and the very culture, that everyone in this country seems to own and understand, have given us it is seemingly becoming obvious that somewhere by imposing this myth onto ourselves as the eternal truth we are doing injustice to the very spirit of human life.

Nobody has the intrinsic right to define what ones sexual preference should be and especially in the context of the world rising to the occasion and understanding this and thus scrapping their laws that once identified anything other than heterosexuality as the crime. Not to look for away, Delhi High Court's phenomenal verdict on PIL filed by Naz Foundation is a first towards correcting the historical injustice the Article 377 was exhibiting. What is highly appreciable is the detailed painstaking effort the duo of judges have put in while decriminalizing consensual sex between people of same sex.

Thankfully at least in Delhi today proclaiming one’s sexual indentity as a gay or lesbian is not a taboo (not that it is any important but as a matter of equalty) and individuals can lawfully make the decision of choosing their partner of any sex. All this means only one thing, even though Article 377 once criminalized homosexuality, the fundamentals on which constitution is based honoring the right to equality and freedom is above all worth admiration.

As Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Ajit P rakash Shah, who gave the verdict along with Justice Muralidhar, said "moral indignation, howsoever strong, is not a valid basis for overriding individuals’ fundamental rights of dignity and privacy. In our scheme of things, constitutional morality must outweigh the argument of public morality, even if it be the majoritarian view.”

It is always true that human perceptions or beliefs are formed and influenced by environment, consisting of upbringing, education, exposure via reading, media, and existing beliefs among people that get imparted to during our interaction. It is quite understandable then that people confide themselves in social values even though at times overriding the principles of equality as in this case. As Dr Ambedkar wrote it “Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realize that our people have yet to learn it.”

It is then in the interest of all us that society as whole opens its eyes in the midst of our divergent views upholding the basic thread of our culture of being inclusive to diversities.

My Wish List For Better India, Better World :

2009-07-05T06:25:00.000-07:00

Child Rights
Orphan Rehabilitation
Empowerment Of Women
Regulation Of Sex Trade
Decriminalizing All Sexualities

Deepest Condolences To MICHAEL JACKSON

2009-06-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

Many come and go, some make us laugh, some make us cry, and some make our lives more colorful. Michael, though you existed somewhere in this world till 25th June 2009, made my days more meorable with your cherishable music. I can't forget the beautiful songs composed that connect me to my soul. It is disheartning to realize that you are no more alive among us physically. With deepest sorrow I pray in almighty that may your soul rest in peace and our love be with you like a guiding angel. Lastly your music still rocks and will continue to rock as long as mankind will be alive.

I will miss you...Let your music 'Heal the World'.

Love,
Indraneel

The Manjunath Shanmugam Integrity Award 2009

2009-06-11T00:26:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

You are invited to the presentation ceremony of the Third Manjunath Shanmugam Integrity Award. This award honours and encourages those who are working to uphold the values of truth and honesty in Indian public life. The award carries a citation and a cash prize of Rupees One Lakh. Please show your support by attending.The award is in memory of Manjunath Shanmugam, a young Indian Oil officer and Alumnus of IIM Lucknow, who was murdered in the line of duty while fighting corrupt practices. The Trust fought the case successfully, with all 8 accused found guilty: the main accused given the death penalty and the rest, life imprisonment.The distinguished Award Jury comprised Mr. Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief of Indian Express and Chief Executive Officer of Indian Express Group, Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan, CEO and M.D. of Infosys Technologies Ltd, Ms. Rama Bijapurkar, a recognized thought leader on market strategy and consumer issues, all eminent citizens of our country.
Event Details
Date: Saturday, June 13, 2009
Time: 4:00pm - 4:30pm: Registration and Tea /Coffee
4:30pm - 6:30pm: Event Please be seated 5 minutes before the Programme starts. We are following a strict time schedule
Venue
IIM Bangalore Auditorium

Chief Guest
Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Ms. Aruna Roy

This is an open event. However, we request you to register and kindly confirm your presence, to help us plan for the event. While entering the IIM Bangalore campus on the day of the presentation ceremony, please carry a printout of this event or mention the name of the event to the security.

To learn more about the Manjunath Shanmugam Trust, please visitwww.manjunathshanmugamtrust.org
RSVP: Ms Aqhila Banu 080-32518394, or mst2009@kestone.in

Looking forward to your participation,

The Manjunath Shanmugam Trust

Mangalore Attack Saga: Beginning of Triumph for the Right

2009-02-28T04:43:00.000-08:00

News flash: NCW member Nirmala Venkatesh received the much deserved treatment (sacked from the NCW membership). In the wake of the incidents created by moral policing, and inhumanely backed by the likes of NCW member Nirmala Venkatesh, it is becoming unbearable with passing day for our women to breathe the spirit of freedom.
Though there are people like Minister of State for Child Welfare and Women's Development, Smt Renuka Chowdhury, who are defying every possible notion by taking on the system for subdued right of inquality endorsed by our political system from the likes of Yediyurappa, our country will not ever forget the incident that happened in Mangalore and the follow up events that are taking place in Karnataka in the name of culture, religion, etc.
Amidst all this dark shadow casted state of affairs in the country there are people like Nirmala Venkatesh, member of NCW, who are accountable by every rule laid in NCW to uphold the dignity and equality for women, who take pride in insensitive and irresponsible remarks.
It is in this light we as a nation saw the never before seen coscience moving uproar in the society backed thoroughly by all humane youth to stand against the anti social agendas of Sri Ram Senes and the like. The sacking of Nirmala Venkatesh from NCW thus reaffirms our belief in the right to live and let live.
It is only going to be a matter of time before we as citizens unite in large numbers and fight these self proclaimed custodians of culture towards a better society...

Victory No. 1: Muthalik Calls Off Violent Valentine's Day Protests!

2009-02-13T01:41:00.000-08:00

Wow, looks like people power has started ticking in again. News reports say that Muthalik has called off the violent protests in lieu of their information that some miscreants have plans to disrupt the peace in the city. Hmm, does he and his goons know that nobody else in the city is given the status of miscreants par humanity that his own men?

It is far cry from when they started off opposing the very existence of Valentine’s Day and their threats to its endorsers. The only logical explanation to this move seems to be the secret directive from their own fatherly state government and Police to not to take law in their hands due to the mounting public outrage.

However it is hard to believe these extremists powered by political motives when they say ‘they will protest non-violently if they spot anyone dressing indecently.’ We have no problem with your protests Mr Muthalik as long as they are conducted within the purview of the law. Everyone in this country has the right to express and voice their opinions.

I congratulate everyone involved in this movement to uphold our fundamental rights of freedom and equality, though the true feat will actually be achieved by ensuring a smooth Feb 14th and only the dawn of the Feb 15th will make things clear.

Having said this let us still be on our tenterhooks and keep a vigil on these anti social elements as we have planned. Continue with PUB BHARO, now more so with grace and freedom.

Thanksgiving E-mail and Photographs: Peace procession: 7th Feb 2009

2009-02-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

Dear All,

With the happiness of highest magnitude I am writing this thanks giving e-mail to you.

Please see below the link to view the photographs of the procession:
http://picasaweb.google.com/abuzerdaudi/PeaceProcession7thFeb08#

History:
The day was 07th Feb, 2009, sunny Saturday morning in Bangalore, a bunch of 100 odd citizens mostly youngsters, a high visibility locale, a peace procession, cause - protest moral policing and express support to Mangalore pub victims. A perfect setting to say finally the souls are awakening.
From years now we have been coming across news of injustice and seen violations of fundamental rights of individuals in our country and every time we felt the need to do something. It was on 24th Jan that we saw the horrific incident of hooliganism in a Mangalore Pub, and that when we decided enough is enough, no matter what results or outcomes we face, we are not going to sit back and feel surrendered as a symbol of injustice to our conscience anymore. Thus came out my thoughts on blog http://www.indraneelinbangalore.blogspot.com/) and eventually took shape in the form of a peace procession. So with tremendous anguish and outrage against those barbarians of human values we started coining up ideas with few colleagues and friends and decided to hold the procession on a 1st Saturday, which was 07th Feb 2009.

Preparation:

With no background of holding or participating in any procession earlier, post the circulation of invitation to everyone, actually did I start feeling the heat in terms of:
Permission – law and its long muscles won’t let your life to be easy even with a right reason…:-)
Route – toughest in terms of convincing the police, finally sadly had to settle for a not so prime location M G Statue, compromising on Brigade or Church Street, but even then took tad a week to have official permission
Attendees – to ensure large participation from people of all walks of life, be it professionals or students, depended on media, Internet, pamphlets and word of mouth
Safety – – it took a while for me to figure out how dow we maximize safety of our people from any notorious elements during the procession, thus came in few Innovas (emergency escort vehicles) and an ambulance as any untoward incident was the last thing we could have expected post Mangalore attacks

D-Day (7th Feb 2009):
I reached the venue at 0800 AM with those who have worked with me all along to ensure the success of the procession. It was around 830 AM when a bunch of 5 people comprising 3 boys and 2 girls joined us. And as the times passed by, people started walking in individually and in groups of 2 to 3. The proposed time to start the procession was 1000 AM, but to our surprise despite having more than 300 interested people expressing their desire to participate only about 50 people assembled at this time. Then came Pratigya with all the more energy and there followed her bunch of adrenaline moving friends and soon our procession was about to start.

Needless to say that as was proposed, all the participants had black ribbons as a sign of protest against Mangalore Pub Attacks and filled in Good Citizenship Form.
And as was expected media was present.

Focus and Outcome:
Some of the things that came out of this procession were just nice too be described in mere words. I have always believed that most men and women are good human beings and given the right platform and conviction can rise up to the occasion.

A senior citizen joined us with her daughter and grand daughter in support of the cause. What really heart moving was the sheer commitment that she showed in protecting our fundamental rights and how she has upheld it throughout her life which was obvious from her energy and never say die attitude….thank you grandma (Ms Saldana) from all of us, our country needs many more men and women like you.

Another very interesting and heart moving incident was the way in which women took up the cause, and became evident as one girl in pink top and black scarf spoke to one news channel about her constitutional rights in a truly passionate manner, and thus was by far according to me the best motivating moment.

At this juncture I specifically salute all women who have taken up this cause. Great job and we are proud to have you as the citizens of the country.

This is not to say that the men’s contribution was any less. All you men out there who have not surrendered and taken up this cause are no less than heroes to me. And it became quite evident when I requested few women to come in the front for a media group photo, a lady wearing black top smilingly turned off the request stating you guys posing for cameras will set out an example of men’s support to the cause. Thanks all of you for being so united, a bit emotional element here….

Be it bank professionals, lawyers, corporate trainers, IT professionals, architecture professionals, housewives, students, other professionals, you all have just proved that this country has a fighting spirit and will not bow down to few anti social elements.

The most important element was the fact that the procession got the correct coverage which it deserves in the light of the unfortunate moral policing and has already reached Vidhan Soudha hopefully along with many other protests that took place in the weekend as our cause is united.

Post procession:
I woke up at 0900 am the next day morning all more confident, and the spirits were really boosted to see the photographs of procession with the correct messaging in all leading dailies, with Indian Express putting it on front page. Soon by 1100 AM it became clear to us that almost every newspaper be it English, Kannada or Telugu, in fact all have inserted our procession photograph and with correct caption or messaging (with the exception of 2 English dailies).

Future:
The path to the ultimate victory of human endeavor cannot be tread by one peace procession but by many such activities which propagate our message well into the larger sections of the society and create awareness, thus motivating others to come forward empowering themselves in making the country a place worth living

In this spirit we need to have many channels of expresseing ourselves, to make it a bigger voice in terms of causing the right vibration and achieve the overall objective of eradicating moral policing and support the unfortunate victims. For this need your coordination and support. So in the wake of looming threats by few moral police against couples on Feb 14th, we are planning to go all out in spreading the right message and hence I urge you to please come forward and know the plan and put your ideas. This one needs to happen fast and really fast.

Vote of Thanks:
We thank all those who coudn't participate in the procession but have their hearts out to support our unanimous cause. We wish to see you soon in action.

Finally with humility, respect and pride I salute everyone for coming forward in a true spirit of humanity and thus leave fingerprints on the walls of history as good citizens by your participation!

Special thanks to media: We also definitely owe very special thanks to all reporters who have also contributed largely to our united cause by articulating the message to the larger masses...from Bangalore Times, Bangalore Mirror to The New Indian Express.

With love,
Indraneel Murkumbi
genyindia@gmail.com

IMPORTANT: Peace Procession Update

2009-02-04T05:06:00.002-08:00

Dear Participant,

With a sigh of relief I confirm that the peace procession is indeed confirmed for tomorrow dated 07th February 2009.

For timings and the agenda please contact me immediately:

Format of the rally:

Ø Two participants will walk in a row followed by rows of two participants in each row
Ø One black ribbon will be provided to each participant at the point of meet
Ø Black ribbon can be used to cover the mouth or tied on a hand or around forehead as a symbol of peace protest
Ø Slogans slanting, loud speakers or any other form of protest not specified in the format of the rally will not be allowed and falls outside the purview of the permission obtained for this peace procession by the police
Ø Please note that the participation of number of participants in the peace procession is beyond the control of the organizers, however best efforts have been put to ensure awareness creation

Help!

An ambulance is on standby for first aid and emergencies
Mineral water is available for all
A vehicle is on stand by to escort women and men in case of any untoward incident with women being given priority

Finally I, Indraneel Murkumbi hereby state that all care has been taken to make sure that the peace procession gets completed with peace and diligence.

No deviation from the plan discussed above is covered by our planning and hence I request you all to stick to the plan and thus achieve the maximum mileage from the peace procession in condemning the Mangalore Pub Attack against women and specifically moral policing.

For any suggestions, tips, complaints please contact me at +91 9342210058 or indraneelbm@yahoo.com and I will graciously reply to your queries.

We Condemn Mangalore Pub Attack And Moral Policing

2009-02-04T05:06:00.001-08:00

Last Chance To Participate In The Peace Procession:

Peace Procession
Change: MG , Mahatma Gandhi Statue
7th February 2009
10 AM to 12 PM

Important Note: Please note that the meeting point for the peace procession has been shifted from Trinity Circle along with the route. Now the peace procession will start from Mahatma Gandhi Statue on M G Road. The information has been e-mailed to all participating.

"Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead

No better prelude than the above one better describes the following arrangement of words or rather an invitation to you and your like minded friends and family members.

This day it is not enough to be a good human being; it is absolutely must to be a good citizen. It is with sadness of highest order that the entire country heard and then saw the shocking footage of the attack and molestation of women in a pub in Mangalore by 40 goons of a right-wing political religious outfit. This soon after followed by the Karnataka CM’s categorical remarks on the ‘pub culture’ has just given aid to the agenda of such outfits. We the citizens and the youth of this country strongly condemn this disrespect and moral ground taken by few men, including the Karnataka CM.

We the youth of this country feel obliged to state at this occasion and send awareness to the rest of the country and especially the political fraternity that we respect, love, salute and also feel proud of our country, culture, heritage and societal values. However we request you to hear us out, understand us and give us an opportunity to keep our point of view in front of you. We as youth are always and will always be with our leaders as long as they understand us and are ready to be empathetic.

With this very agenda I extend the invitation to you to be part of our initiative to convey our united message to the rest of the world by being part of the Peace Procession to be held on 7th February 2009, Saturday commencing from Mahatma Gandhi Statue on MG Road.

If you have it in you to be the change that you always thought of or even otherwise, then kindly contact us and be part of this parade and thus lay one more stone to the stronger foundation for our present and future.

Note: We do not endorse any political ideology nor are we into making any profit and this initiative is purely driven by few of us who have their hearts out to protest Mangalore attacks and moral policing leading to Talibanisation. We do not expect you to make any contribution other than your valuable time of few hours on Saturday.

I once again request you to participate in large numbers and spread the word among your friends and family. Please call or e-mail to be a part or to know more about the procession:

RSVP:
Mobile: +91 9342210058
E-mail: indraneelbm@yahoo.com or genyindia@gmail.com
Please Share Your Comments on Blog

Pramod Mutalik: Not Just A Leader Of Rack Sack Hooligans Supported By BS Yediyurappa

2009-01-29T09:41:00.002-08:00

Breaking News: Pramod Mutalik's phone conversations with Malegaon Blast Intercepted
Source: TIMES NOW
Time: 11 PM IST, 29 Jan 2009
Story: Those of you bothered to read my last blog and also those who prefer to keep themselves updated on current affairs know who Pramod Mutalik is? For those uninitiated he is one of the much celebrated leaders of so called hindutva group called Sri Ram Sena (founder), recently black listed in our minds fore the party's attack on women in Mangalore pub Amnesia. I first happened to know him in 2001 when during my college days I attended the hindutva meet out of curiosity addressed by Pramod Mutalik and another ill hearted saffron leader Praveen Togadia. During their venomous speech against another religion, I happened to even forget my own standing in the heat of the moment (but then I was only 19 then). So powerful was their vocal paraphernalia that it even explains why many a times educated fall pray to their vicious agenda. The only other heartening thing in the world during their speech was the fact that even the higher rank police officers attending that meet were playing mockery to the Indian constitution by being party to their speech.
I just wonder what makes these people spill the hatred ness in the society to the highest possible levels, mostly in the form of hindu-muslim divide, and shockingly in a violent way. And now the tentacles of their ill thoughts have taken a new stride by going a step ahead, not just confining themselves to creating hindu-muslim division but dividing the people on their age, by inducing never before thought ingredients like raising a voice on pub culture, short clothes of women, destroying shops on Valentines Day......and many more, disgusting indeed.
It is worthwhile to think whether it is a judicial use of my time in devoting few minutes of life writing about these shameless guinea pigs. But then I want to make a point to them that if you can go long way in your way in polluting our society then I can go a really long way too in stopping you and thus save the innocent people from getting inflicted by you.
With each passing year it is becoming alarmingly clear that unfortunately a party of repute BJP will only do more harm than good for the peace, but still people fall prey and vote them to power. Now enough is enough. I will with many like minded people start fighting against your statements, rallies, speeches and also your very existence in power until people unite and throw you behind bars for all the bad that you have created.
Advice de facto to Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa: I have as a Gen X of this country lost complete trust in you in leading us towards a better society and want to see you and your party out of power at the earliest. If no more BJP, then less and less of hindu-muslim clashes, less and less of Godhras (Gujarat), less and less of generation differences, less and less of attacks on women.
Warning to right-wing radical religious groups: Awaken to the power of generation youth or else we will leave you in dust to cry for your life.
And finally unraveling the breaking news: As if the above criminal instincts are not enough there’s another feather in Pramod Mutalik’s cap of having one-to-one contact with Malegaon blast accused. Hmmm now what say friends…testimony to my blog...:)
Moral of the story: Ban the following right wing outfits immediately in the country

SIMI
BJP
Shiv Sena
Sri Ram Sena
Bajrang Dal
Maharashtra Nav Nirman Seva

A Blot On Humanity: Attack On Women In A Mangalore Pub

2009-01-25T03:12:00.000-08:00

Minutes ago at about 455 pm IST, happened to see this unfortunate footage of horror on TIMES NOW where in a group 40 men enters a Pub in Mangalore assaulting unsuspecting visitors, comprising mostly women. Absolutely a disgusting incident indeed. As today being Sunday and tomorrow Republic Day here in India, I was in a bit of holiday mood when suddenly exasperated by this news on TV. Sadly feeling highly helpless for not in the power to bring those guilty behind bars and punish as severely as they could remember until they are alive.
Just can't tolerate these shenanigans anymore...Justice must prevail to innocent men, women and also to pub employees as few hooligans calling themselves portrayers of Indian culture have no right what so ever in executing moral policing. Looks like time has come in to ban these outfits, as I do not find any difference between extremists like SIMI supporters, Shiv Sainiks, Raj Thackareys, Sri Ram Sena and rest of the b*******.
It was heartily appalling to see those men with self interested touted religious agendas entrusted with a cultural angle, abuse and perhaps molest women present in the pub. Hey Mangaloreans I know you guys are not bad as those Sri Ram Senaites are making out to be and sending wrong signal to the world, so come and rise above their agendas, close their offices, refuse the social acceptance to them, catch hold of Prasad Attaval (head of Sri Ram Sena) and make him count stars with as stringent punishment as you can, if the law does not take its course quickly enough.
It was more so disgraceful to see one Sri Ram Sena spokesman defending the pub episode on national television as 'these school or college going girls have no right to wear short clothes as an insult to our values', now my question to him and their their demeanor is who on Earth is you think of yourself to execute such barbaric acts of crime with high headedness.
Never dare think of such things in Bangalore and people like me will chop you off your dirty thinking and clear the misnomer in your mind that with few goondas around, forming Sri Ram Senas, you can't win over the values humanity has stood upon. And in this spirit I also urge NCW (National Commission for Women) and National Human Rights Commission to fight until the hooligans are brought to justice. And hey Mangalore Police team, if you have slightest respect for women, the very cause of your life, then act transparently and with your entire mite to make pluralism, secularism and right to freedom a default fundamental commodity to all. If nothing else then at least remember that our Indian constitution stands on the foundation of these pillars.
A word of caution to the rest of India: Be prepared to take on moral policing as and when it appears, as at no point in time we must surrender to their interests, which in all likely cases is not going to be beneficial to our soceity. Be it from Shiv Sainiks, Raj Thackareys or Sri Ram Senas, it does not matter to us anymore.

One Day of My Life: Worth Many Years

2008-12-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

Aah, where to start? After all it has been one good day of my life that will be remembered as long as I will be in my consciousness. C K Prahalad, Nandan Nilekani, Kanwal Rekhi, Carl Shramm, Apurv Bagri, Desh Deshpande.......to top it all Shereen Bhan......confused! What would you call someone if he had the chance to face these legends in one single day, I would call it 'saat janmonka phal?' Well read below.

It was 16th Dec 2008, a beautiful day in Bangalore, venue Grand Ashok (recently name changed to Lalit Ashok), occasion was the annual gathering of global members of a world renowned private institution acclaimed for its spirit of mentoring upcoming entrepreneurs. Menu of the venue were all this biggies, not just for the designations they hold like Chairmans, MDs, CEOs, Presidents but for their outstanding contribution to the noble cause of entrepreneurship they have upheld from years. Some of them even founded among the most successful companies of anytime in the world, and then there were those who have written books which are considered the outstanding publications of all time, and then there were those who have funded from one to six successful upcoming start ups across India and Silicon Valley thus providing the much required capital and mentoring.

Right from the time the first guest surfaced at the registration desk at 1130 am till about 730 pm, the day was completely action packed and to me, for someone who have religiously seen and worshipped these achievers on television and in newspapers it was nothing less than the joy of India winning world cup finals...And I mean it. There were though many other occasions in my life when I have come across similar people like Narayan Murthy, Rama Bijapurkar and many others invaluable people, this was different than all. One of the reasons was the sheer joy of finding all these men and women discussing, debating and unanimously committing to the knowledge sharing to not so well established and budding entrepreneurs and most importantly inducing right ingredients like innovation to wannabe entrepreneurs was just breathtaking.

One thing most important to take away from this entire occasion was my old belief that the World and India in particular is the place to be in now for all right reasons. One common thread that brought all these phenomenas under one roof was their untiring passion and hunger to see the growth in all its forms, across all sectors and their ability to feel part of the world economy.....who says it doesn't pay to think big. Now the question is what separates all these men and women from the rest of us, I think as they all echoed, their ever growing passion to do something more, the willingness to take risks, the courage to walk down the untrodden path, the foresight to see beyond failures, though continuously learning from them, and most importantly the conviction to trust their instincts.

History across the ages has repeatedly shown that all great leaders had these qualities which distinguished them and have been the key reasons why we remember them and cherish their successes. Then why we, the rest do not just follow these and carve a mark for us as well.... easier said than done perhaps.

Ok ok guys I know who you have been kind enough to read and you want me to finish this blog. Hmm but wait guys here comes the best part of the day. Those who have read my earlier blogs know that I have been kind of inspired by this domain of business from about 5 years now. But what nobody knows is that among all of TV I watched, newspapers and magazines I read, biographies and books I gazed through, had three or four personalities who have left an indelible mark on my heart and brain. One who tops of this list is 'Shireen Bhan', the enigmatic and most popular face of business reporting on Indian television.

I would not regret forgetting wearing my clothes on one morning after bath as much as I would regret forgetting even her name....that is the extent of my admiration for her. As if her eloquent, charismatic, intelligent, and above all her lively character was not enough the fact that she is also among the most beautiful faces of all time adds to make her my most loved women of all times...:)
To know more of ‘Shireen Bhan’ just Google her name and there you will have from the mouth of others just to testify my right claims.

When the proceedings of the day were over and I packed my bags along with my colleagues and started walking to the poolside bar and orchestra to call it a perfect day, there I see this 'Shireen Bhan' in pink salwar looking as ravishing and putting beautiful steps and stopping my breath for few seconds. And here I went like a rabbit to stop her and tell her what all she means without wasting a single moment extending a small piece of paper I was holding and she scribbles 'good luck, Indraneel'.........

Now guys what do I call it, a day manna from heaven or 'saat janmonka phal'. Whatever may we call it the fact that this day indeed is the one that I will probably cherish as along as I live.

Though not sounding formal I thank those individuals without naming them for having given this opportunity to make this day of life worth many years of living....love you guys.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi: Aditya Chopra Weds Ekta Kapoor!

2008-12-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

This is 0215 am IST, Dec 14, 2008 and I just returned from watching Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi....sounds great title isn't it? Well true to its name going by the love we Indians seem to have on so called happy ending movies, this surely is a great title. There's special reason why I took writing this blog immediately after the movie.

So let me first talk of the movie....hmmm, Aditya Chopra, Aditya Chopra, Aditya Chopra, what I mean is as we know from our past it was written all over our minds that movie will have a happy ending and hence no element of suspense prevailed on the climax in our minds despite Chopra brigade trying its best to create a twist here and there to keep us on tenterhooks. To speak my heart out I consciously think there was neither anything wrong with the movie nor with the direction and as piece of sheer entertainment I am generous to bestow 3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars to Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Shahrukh, his co-star debutante Anushka Sharma have played their parts well with the special acclaim to Anushka and has come across as someone with potential to evolve. The music too is also just about enough to remain in the memory for an average period with one or two good numbers.

Now let me come to the real issue why you started reading this blog…the core issue. What comes to mind spontaneously whenever there is mention of middle class housewife in India....going by the Aditya Chopra brigade the description should read something like this, a sari clad woman who wakes up before her husband every morning, cooks breakfast and lunch together so to keep his lunch box ready, washes all clothes, cleans the entire house daily, finishes all household chores, keeps dinner ready to provide him hot servings post his so called tiring schedule (pun intended) in the office, takes his permission for any investment or spending and in other words for all money related matters, oops the list is endless........summing all this is she is loyal to husband (read subservient).

I am neither against the Indian culture nor am I against the thesis of loyalty or affection for the family but I am dead opposite to this ideological system followed in the country from decades. Where on earth is written that husband should always work and woman should always remain in the four walls thus being the prime object of house arrest....I technically do not find any difference between Masood Azhar detained by Pak as house arrest and our Indian women who undergo this.

Thanks though to the ever growing tribe of educated men and women who are outrightly abandoning this unspoken code of conduct and are not shy to flaunt their fundamental rights of equality, be it in any field.....and thanks to this tribe that even their next generation is preached on the changing values in the society. Even though I have least interest in the ideology of feminism, the chauvinistic touch by our filmmakers and by large our saas-bahu serials quite often awaken this thought in me as today's generation will not stand up for this age old custom. It is understandable that the entire society as a whole especially the not so urban part of this subcontinent has built an ecosystem which has this philosophy of housewife being the lady servant of the house and hence will require the persistent efforts by those who understand it is the time to evolve in eradicating this menace. I am not against any woman or man for undertaking the household responsibilities but what I am trying to say is it should be a matter of choice and interest unlike now where it is an unwritten golden rule in many Indian families which is thrust on women right from the time they reach puberty.

Having said this there is also a growing populace of men in India who consistently put efforts to be a genuine part of this change thus extending a helping hand right from changing the baby diaper to cleaning the house. I have though criticized certain filmmakers who believe in this notion, will not hesitate to congratulate and thank those new thinking filmmakers who have been showing this change in their movies from few years now.

I respect the liberty the artists have in expressing their skills in all its forms but need to guard themselves against succumbing to the power of mass attraction at times....the point to be noted here is that I am not saying ban smoking in movies because it is injurious health, as I truly believe it is a matter of personal choice to smoke and hence artists have the creative freedom to smoke on screen but the same is not true for the inequality issue mentioned above....it is indeed a very fine line that will differentiate the right from the wrong in the society due to changing values.

Now this is where I found a common thread between Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi's theme and our modest Ekta Kapoor, who is a household name due to her ever increasing popularity (wish popularity goes down steadily) of K series of soap operas which strictly speaking show nothing but lady servants in the form of rich bahus and saas' wearing silk saris and expensive jewellary round the clock....wonder whether Ekta was subjected to any psychological shock by a woman in her early days.

So finally ladies and gentlemen welcome to the ideological marriage of Aditya Chopra and Ekta Kapoor and thus the invitation reads Aditya Chopra Weds Ekta Kapoor!

Fashion, an invigorating symbol of progress

2008-12-11T02:43:00.000-08:00

411,000,000, the exact number shown on the first hit of submit tab on google for FASHION. A term much used and liked by the people across the horizons and cuts across age barriers with ease. So what is fashion after all....a phenomena, a way of life, part of various cultures or a byproduct perhaps. For the uninitiated by wide consent it is considered a synonym for glamour.

Human aspirations by far have no boundaries but the one that knowingly or unknowingly takes the center stage of ones personality is appearance and the aptitude to be fashionable is psychological and believed to play a self esteem boosting role. Madonna's tiny daughter expects her mom to buy her a million daughter dress crafted by the finest designers, actresses choose to wear the latest season wear buying them off the shelves as and when they hit the stores, girl next door tries to emulate the jaw dropping looks of Cruz or Ash seen on TV, a senior KG kid demands a latest Nike shoes....and many more examples mean only one thing. The fashion industry is mushrooming like never before.

Fashion TV, Fashion magazine and now a movie by the name Fashion says the craze of fashion this world has glued into. It is seen generally that people take to fashion much easily than to any other of habit, perhaps there's a logic to it. It gives a sense of accomplishment in day today lives to dress well, look well, be liked by others thus increasing your chances of being the talk of the town. Page 3 parties are a more recognized phenomena to the cities’ elite to flaunt their fashionable accessories, cars and ....

India though is a country that has waken up to the fashion revolution much lately, even though the filmdom has been defining the fashion quotient in the country from past few decades, country as a whole has only taken up the fashion mantra at the end of last century...thanks to the media for so widely exposing the facet of fashion to us all. How else do you explain a farmer entering the supermarket in the rural India wearing the black goggles, colorful dhotis with the painting by locals.

Sceptics though have always believed that Indian culture has been full of abundant examples of Indian men and women dressing with utmost grace and charm, be it Rajputs, Marathas, Mughals or even our local fishermen to say the least....and I echo with these sceptics as well. How else would one explain Ritu Beris, Manish Malhotras of this world presenting the fabricated versions of Indian clothing in International fashion shows.

Fashion though like every other industry has its goods and bads....the passion of being at the top of fashion era has made many to embrace fashion in their consciousness to an extent that the recent episodes of many young models succumbing to anorexia and cases of wardrobe malfunctions across the globe has left black scars on the fashion industry which will take some time to fade away from the memory lanes.

Lot of fire but water eventually: However not any more

2008-12-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

It was just amazing to see and hear many of my colleagues in office discussing and to some extent debating my last blog Let us start the movement in our small way....but most important was the passion with which we all came up new ideas and thoughts and one common thread that prevailed all along the heated discussion was national interest though unknowingly. With many people out there with genuine interest it is heartening that country with so many people like you with fire inside is still not standing on a leg of pride and defiance against the trouble makers.

There probably is one explanation to it....though more than ten read my blog right in front of me two to three got up and spoke and discussed which according to me gives rise to two irrational concepts:

Firstly among youth of mid-20s something if 10 are motivated enough at least 2 will stand up with real fire on the burning issues
These 2 come out with new ideas, debate pros and cons but are not motivated enough to drive the change and ultimately water will cease the fire

Hey folks let us not loose the heart, what I derive from this simple explanation is that:

Firstly we need to find creative ways of motivating more and more, which can happen right from the grassroots level, mentoring, teaching at schools, colleges, developing a sense of belongingness towards country, letting kids and teenagers know that there exists a life beyond your and our families and need to embrace the larger life in a true context of national pride, giving testimonials on the fact that the days of lip service to the country and its people are gone and those who envision change with innovation and empathy are tomorrow's leaders, while we sit in plush air conditioned offices there are billion lives around the world suffering from chronic hunger is also an essential ingredient to keep one rooted to ground, respecting those who have always lived and died for the larger than life cause of helping, protecting and growing our society is also of paramount importance thus to live a lasting impressions on teen minds that we salute all those who have lived for all of us and will continue to do so

Secondly on further continual motivation from all quarters, sense of hunger among these individuals to do that extra bit will automatically give out those very few who will come forward to stand up. At this inflection point we need systems in place to encourage these motivated revolutionists and bring them to a platform where their energies and anger are channelized into a right fruitful direction.

I call them motivated revolutionists because as I very strongly believe that going forward the foundation for a desired new tomorrow will be laid by the common man turned new age homosapien who knows what it takes to bring irregularities of the system in the public light, is not afraid to take on the system if necessary and if he or she believes in the larger picture. Sadly though from where I am seeing at the moment the environment is least conducive to inherit these motivated individuals....but nonetheless I am not going to stop trying to unite these revolutionists.

I sincerely appeal to all those few who are reading this blog and especially those very few who feel the need for motivated revolutionists and feel can be part of them to come forward and I see no reason why we will not make a difference.

Let us start the movement in our small way

2008-12-10T01:54:00.000-08:00

It's really been long and tiring to hear everyone talking of change this country needs in terms of better governance, increased accountability, change in age old archaic laws etc, but we luckily have started seeing the wave of change off lately be it RTI act, emergence of new generation MPs like Jindal, acceptance in the society that able leadership may not be the forte of only old but young can deliver too, the fact that more and more NGOs are mushrooming thus playing a pivotal role which even our so called beauracracy has not been able to accomplish, the social acceptance in the business world for PPP (public-private-partnership) and many more indicate the initiation of this paradigm shift in the state of the nation we as a country are looking forward to.

At the same time the metamorphosis of the sort we all as nation so desperately desire in the midst of new challenges and social enemies like terrorism can only happen if we all in unison echo the same vision and are ready to drive the change ourselves. It is easier said than done as we all are seeing on national media post Mumbai attacks, every political party of its consequence hasn't left a stone unturned in blaming the failure of the ruling government in preventing the terror attacks this despite knowing the problem is much bigger and needs to be addressed at the grassroot’s level. As the reports indicate the RDX used was smuggled by bribing the customs and police....The question is whom do you blame? To say the least this has been happening from decades and is being curbed only as a lip service in the aftermaths of the events like this one. The example stands testimony to millions of such issues happening in India round the year.

We the so glamorized below 35 odd youth of this nation cannot certainly bring the change phenomena with the blink of an eye as everyone seems to expect but we surely will take tiny steps in right direction.
Some preliminary but very essential difference we need as I feel are:

Abandon politics as a so called selfless domain, no individual or animal need never ever be selfless….the entire concept of selfless progress is a flawed one which has deep roots established in corruption, unethical conduct, thus emanating all the political ills of our society
We must form an institutionalized politics thus making every politician and politics at higher level accountable for its act, not only during his tenure but till his decisions are expected to influence the normal working of the system be it positively or negatively
Incentivise the politicians generously for their accomplishment....who on this earth by the way would like to remain at the helm of affairs of his division and still get only moral victories, guys we need materialistic incentives to motivate them
Hold the politicians or parties accountable levying a penalty, barring elections etc for any untruthful derogatory remarks which do not come on the basis of some established evidence....punishments can be borrowed from Election Commissioner's office
Enact a law into place barring any rogue element or party or an individual engaging in public scrutiny of other religion or caste or even a community...this one needs to be tough....our country is sick and tired of the likes of Praveen Togadias, Raj Thackarays and the so called moral policing, and the judiciary need to be tough on these monger of self interest
The choice of politicians to be based only on merit and no person with established evidence against him of any criminal intent or past should be allowed to contest elections
A federal body to only supervise and impose the code of conduct to these political partieis which are well drafted after a public opinion or debate along with the experts from people from all walks of life
Multi pronged strategies to be in place to ensure good governance in politics a la SEBI
Red tapism, shadow boxing, lip service to the knee jerk emergency control is a strict no no going forward
Encouraging the participation of general public in the decision making, also providing breeding ground for potential leaders is never to be left out of the eyesight
Ensuring the defiant systems like the above ones in place along with the all round implementation is at the end of the day in the hands of the current law makers sadly which makes me feel back to square one making me wonder will this ever happen
Nevertheless no matter what hiccups we may have to face at least we can put our best being the youth in 20s and 30s to strive to unleash a new leaf of change

Change we all see but fail

2008-12-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

In early century when I was 22 I decided now is the time to get going to live a life different from what my parents, teachers have dreamt of to live life of an engineer or a doctor, and like most other youngsters with the adrenaline rushing inside to be the change that textbooks have always spoken off on one fine day came to Bangalore. I was determined like never before inspired by India Today, Bussiness World and the like by the success stories they published again and again of Narayan Murthy, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Vijay Mallya and others.
I have somehow never luckily felt moved by the concept of locating somewhere else but India, more so by the headlines Indian businessmen have been making ever since I gained my senses from 5 years or so. Thanks to media world over by so widely articulating the India success story in all its forms be it engineering, management, entrepreneurship, science or even dabbawallahs and un-earthening the tremendous potential we as a country have, the consumer driven economy that it is.
True India has challenges probably very few countries have, be it corruption, politicians, illiteracy, poverty, etc but hey who says they can't be improved. As we all know the overall state of the nation has been gradually improving, thanks to the role played by media in highlighting the value of learning technology (computers), english etc, we are finally waking up to the vision the likes of A P J Kalam have always envisaged.
There's only thread that is acting as the biggest roadblock to the growth of the nation and it is not the population, not the geography and not the illiteracy to say the least but the so called constitutional democracy that is taken for granted in sheer disrespect to the architect who drafted every inch of it.
It's the Nilekani's, Shashi Tharoor's, you and me who need to take the oath to not to be submissive to these Raj Thackaray's, Deve Gowda's, Advani's, Narendra Modi's, 21st century Gandhi's and stand up courageously against their vote driven agendas and am sure the day will soon approach when we can say this is our India after all and embrace the change we all can cherish.
Well whether I will join that league of change makers....perhaps only time will tell.

Quash The Democracy Temporarily

2008-12-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

Terror..terrior..terror..the latest word to join the pary of state's inability to maintain law and order. And how? rewind to 26 Nov, 2008. Why don't the terrorists blast the assemblies? May be because they together form a cool ecosyste supporting each other just to drive home their agenda....in case of politics, agenda being votes.
Hey god we no more need those 524 MPs, or MLAs, all we need is one change.....an inevitable one, a leader who can show the change with the support from people. All we need now as a final resort is a la Jr George Bush leadership. A tough one to deal for the terrorists....we no longer can afford to laugh at famous uncle sam jokes, we after all need the same approach now. A watch at every nook and corner, and perhaps only Bush can deliver this leadership.
No matter what the world says we have a right to defend ourselves, now more so after Mumbai attacks and nothing less that post 9/11 approach of US will do. And who else than Bush, who delivered it for the past 8 years without even a single minor attack....hats off to you Mr Bush.
The CPI, BJP etc who don the hat of so called left wing politics at times are pure hypocrites....had Modi's, Advani's, Sonis's or Karat's kin died in the attacks, only then would have realized the importance of ruling with sanctity.
We all Indian's must unite and stand against the dirty shit of our post independence era called as politics and I believe the courage of standing against this system will automatically put things in place one after the other and will give our nation the new blood of leadership that we all desperately require. But people of India can't alone fight the terrorists, but can alone fight the pale system of politics and then together can stand all evils....be it LeT or Al Qaeda.

Hypocrisy Personified: Chiranjeevi

2008-08-27T11:24:00.001-07:00

There’s enough being written in the media about the marriage of Srija, daughter of Tollywood superstar Chiranjeevi and her elopement with a middle class person. Some questioned the values being propagated by the films and some presented the unbiased picture of the story. The million dollar question is what is at stake? Two hearts loving each other or father and daughter in a culturally bonded society or perhaps the wrath of youth of the nation for taking a U turn from his much admired lover boy image of Telugu movies into a hypocrite person?
Well to me it will always be the last one. Mr Chiranjeevi must not forget that he lived better pat of his career symbolizing the image of an actor with one who fights ills of society, one who respects women, one who cares for the people as a hero, and one who mesmerizes his lady love with his charm winning her heart. In a world where actors are also seen as heroes in real life thus raising the bar of expectations this unexpected gesture of turning a blind eye to his own values imposed on a larger section of society is really questionable.
Hats off to Srija for having the courage of standing up to the powerful clout of her father and taking everyone at task thus in a way reminding the whole country of many roles played by her father in similar virtual situations.
My point of bringing this matter to fore front is definitely not to offer my emotional support to Srija but to drive home the point that our society irrespective of education, profession is still full of such cheap ideological people who in the name of culture and values downsize the very sentiments of human values that stand a class above all those dubious roles played by such individuals. Marriage of Srija didn’t turn Chiranjeevi into a hypocrite person but just showcased this hidden trait of his to us thus killing numerous awakened 21st century fans.

Some laugh at your expense....Plagiarism

2008-08-26T12:47:00.001-07:00

Folks found this in print long back....don't remember the author. Thanks to him or her anyway:

Your book has a happy ending - I was so glad when it was over
This book is dedicated to my wife without whose cooperation in keeing silent it would not have been possible to write it
Divorce: Future tense of marriage
No one is ever satisfied. Poor men wish they were rich; rich men wish they were handsome; bachelors wish they were married; and married men wish they could run away
Today the only guy who likes to see a girl fully covered is her insurance agent

My Top 10 Hate List

2008-08-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

Corrupt Politicians
Female Foeticide
Dowry
Hypocrisy in us
Archaic Indian constitution
Molestation
Slavery
Saas-Bahu serials
Terrorism - Naxalism
Child Labour

iPhone iPhone iPhone!

2008-08-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Heard of it? If you haven't then it's very likely that you either aren't yet born or staying no-where else but in the jungles of amazons....
That's the Apple iPhone....most sensationalized creation by man ever. He he he to me it's just one piece of over hyped useless piece of instrument that doesn't even provide the basic features of tele-device. Well if one really wanna know it then here is the introduction....no camera compatibility, no message forwarding to its brother, no Bluetooth....what the heck?
True Apple guys are design geniuses but who cares....Let me name few more of its cousins. Apple must understand customers are ready to shell out any amount of money but hey guys don't rob them for something which isn't worth it. I can't imagine buying a Porsche or a Ferrari and then finding out it clocks 300 kmph only in test conditions....a pure s***.
Hey guys in India make sure if you end up buying it then it's 'coz you understand it the way it is and not because it's iPhone that sold more than a million pieces in just a week in US. Good Luck buyers.

Splitsvilla

2008-08-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Finally a winner in splitsvilla....dissapooooointingly it's Shraddha. Have followed this show quite closely a la Roadies and was worth it. Raghu Ram and MTV's this team luks like is rocking....r coming up with one after another sterling shows. Splitsvills was just one more spicy show with a grain of salt....two boys....20 girls....mind boggling concept.
I started off saying a chauvinistic show but realized it's game of one's own desire to be chosen or dumped in her quest to be winner. To add it realizing the sexist stint came the twister that ultimately man will be chosen by the lady winner....best thus far.
I am sure MTV has already started coining up the cases for splitsvilla 2 in line with roadies' success....but hey guys make sure the contestants really live up to the expectations.
Finally Miss Heena Pardesani you simply rock....unlucky dude Varun....not able to yet rationalize his choice of Shraddha thus intentionally knocking off Heena....is his ego playing role (a comment by dumped girl on Varun as an unlikely candidate for Heena in real life) or is he simply a man with no brains....whatever the truth be....the comment was right and ain't deserve Heena.....wtf Varun