Trash trash and more trash!

The fact that news channels sensationalize and have a SLIGHT tendency to over exaggerate...i cant emphasise the word slight enough.... is well..... kinda like saying Bush occassionaly has his foot in his mouth.....

with the departure of those oh-so loved K, saas bahu...or whatever u call them-serials.... people, apparently have found themselves with a lot of free time in their hands! ( yeah even i was surprised to find out that people actually watched them.... ritualisticaly..... and not even to laugh at the miraculous births and rebirths of characters, nor at the constant stream of affairs and affairs in affairs or the perpetual bawling of one of the central characters of this circus called _______ *fill in the blanks with an appropriate name*) these people thrilled to bits with their newly found freedom, might turn, albeit with good intentinos of keeping abreast with national events, to our "premiere news channels" only to find a slightly different kind of entertainment there...... some of the most ridiculously inane breaking news captions would greet you when u turn on the "idiot box".... did u SEE the pictures?? all i say is....I rest my case...... sint the one abuot rahul and his food habits just brilliant! :)

on a more serious note though.... the insensensitivity and lack of discretion shown by the media, though at times justified by quoting the rather cliched "Its a dog eat dog world out there", is rather disturbing..... not to go into details but the coverage of the aarushi case and its subsequent dramatisation to the point of competing with those very same soaps that have been so graciously discontinued is...well.... rather invasive and hurtful to say the least...

all the media people reding this blog *yeah right i wish!* would probably have steam coming out of every nook and cranny... but let me appease them.... im not saying that all that they do is rubish! they've done some amazing work and these blemishes should not take away from that..... We the People, Big Fight and the like are good endeavours at helping address the issues affecting society at large..... but at the same time... you have to admit.... some of the things they show truly are... just plain stupid! i think ill stick to friends and seinfeld thank you very much, what say?!

Vote! Vote! Vote!

There were photos of Shaina NC, A.R. Rahman and other celebrities in the paper today urging students to vote. Shaina had even come to the DU campus all the way from Mumbai and egged people to exercize their voting rights. Then there was a tirade about "youth power" and how the votes of the "young" people matter a lot in modern India. (I don't know what's the yardstick for young because in politics even 38 year old Rahul Gandhi is young).

Will you vote? I want to vote, not because I actively support any party, but because I have never voted and want to see how it feels like. I like to think my one vote would make a difference. But does it? Well, that's been highly debated in the glossies especially during these election times. Moreover between the BJP and the Congress, there isn't much difference except that the BJP is overtly sectarian and the Congress is what the BJP likes to call pseudo-secular. Their economic policies are more or less the same. Both oppose the other's policies for the sake of opposition and when elected pursue the same policies.

Some people don't vote because they think voting won't make a difference as politicians will always be corrupt. All they do is talk about how the country is going to the drains and how we need real leaders(like Gandhi and Nehru) to save the country and...The fact is that it is very easy to blame the politicians for all that is seemingly going wrong with the country. How many people who are ready with their armchair analysis after every tragedy or disaster would actually be a politician and work for the development of the country? Most likely nobody.

People who don't vote(because there's nobody to vote for) and won't stand for elections; do such people have the right to criticize the Government or politicians? Yes, it's quite difficult to win elections(especially for the educated middle-class who most likely won't have their caste/religion combination right), but even standing for elections is a step towards changing the political scenario. Unless we become politically aware and active, we don't have the right to criticize politicians. It's we who elected them(even if we didn't vote. Passive voting?). As Jug Suraiya wrote "We can condemn the ugly face of politicians, but we must remember it's the same face that we see in the mirror every morning."

Pirates And the Indian Navy

And so I got his weekly call a little earlier than usual. Like a little kid who had just realized that his christmas present was the latest enviable gizmo gadget, he was excited and jabbered something about witnessing history, pirates and the Gulf of Aden….."You must have read it in the newspaper today!!...and I saw it happen through my own binoculars.."…for a person whom newspaper = comics + crosswords + the occasional light doses of news encapsulated with coloured pictures and snazzy illustrations…and of course the random headline, it all seemed Greek to me….so I did the next best thing and googled it…and boy!!...I have to admit I was a tad surprised. The Indian navy has not always appealed to me as a "knight in shining armour"…what with the constant media depiction of its ageing naval fleet, obsolete equipment and dwindling underwater combat fleet. Statements issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General like: "The Navy is now left with more than 50% of its submarines having completed 75% of their operational life. Some have already outlived their maximum service life."...and the occasional scandal did nothing but help tarnish its image in my mind….HOWEVER!!...thanks to the fact that there was an overwhelming need for blog entries I now have a much MUCH better opinion of our naval defence.The Gulf of Aden figures high in the world economy as it acts as the vital waterway for shipping. Approximately 11 percent of the world's seaborne petroleum passes through it to reach the Suez Canal or regional refineries on the coast…a mentionable fact being that the other route via the Cape of Good Hope is longer and economically not viable….it doesn't take brains to figure out why this region is associated with a lot of piracy!!....from all my childhood experiences I can definitely vouch for the fact that pirate attacks are not as glamorous as portrayed…unlike the pirates, merchant ships have no way of defending themselves from their ammunition laden enemies and thus resort to (what I used to call) " hose pipe" defence. Cadets and officers take shifts to watch potential 'pirate entry points' armed with nothing but a hose pipe. A powerful jet of water is all that prevents the ship from being hijacked!!Getting back to our Indian Navy…it's the worlds fifth largest navy!!..its battle won is seen as a long awaited response to the increasingly bold pirate attacks. This is the first reported encounter between a naval ship and a pirate 'mother ship'. The INS Tabar encounter (if I may call it that) has now encouraged India to send more of its naval ships to patrol the region….a sign of power and achievement….whether or not you may feel positive about our Defence, this is truly a proud moment for each and every Indian…And as for what really happened on the 18th of November, these little smudges of conversation say it all: "We were monitoring the conversation on the VHF between the pirates & the Navy Commander….he gave them a lot of caution & warnings….though they spoke in pidgin, when things started heating up well surprise!!-- the pidgin pirate spoke the queens english!!....now that's no illiterate somali, but someone educated & probably well organised…...the fellows had arms and explosives and made the mistake of taking shots at our navy frigate who in the end boomed on his guns…earlier to this,we had info from a coalition helicopter about the location of the pirate craft on our path & adjusted our course to steer about 5 nautical miles off……. I believe, with one pirate mother ship blown up, they have a setback and this is the 1st time that a pirate craft has been challenged and made to taste their own medicine………..news will travel fast and we hope that with more Naval patrolsthat the scourge may be wiped out!!!"

Its a dogs world!

In march 2007, two children were mauled by stray dogs in semi rural Bangalore. This unfortunate accident shook the city. The ever prolific media went on a frenzy with write ups by imminent citizens and concerned socialites on the supposed ‘doggy menace’ that the city was experiencing. They glossed up this accident and blamed the authorities. The authorities in turn blamed the NGO’s. What followed was a simple and a civilized solution. A death sentence to all the stray dogs of India’s wannabe “Silicon Valley”.
Soon the city authorities were doing what they claimed to be “for the good of every Bangalorean.”
Cleaning the filthy roads? De congesting traffic? Providing security on roads late at night? Every good government does that. (except this one!) These issues were too trivial for the pro active and benevolent authorities. They instead decided to concentrate all their resources on the problem that was at hand. The incorrigible dogs! Soon heroic dog catchers could be seen zooming in and out the roads. The ‘compassionate’ government officials promised the city that each animal would be treated ‘humanely’ at the time of its death.
So much for sensitivity!
The real picture was that thousand of animals were subjected to death by strangulation, electrocution and crushed skulls with boulders (after bleach thrown in their eyes to make them blind and docile.)
The most insane aspect of this activity was that dogs with collars and snipped ears (a sign indicating that they had been vaccinated and neutered earlier) were caught mercilessly as they were more human friendly. The few actual ferocious dogs were left behind as the Homeric catchers could simply not get hold of them. The victims were then dumped into cages and left there for hours before being transported to the site of their extremely peaceful death.
The rational solution to this situation which any individual with an iota of sense and compassion will see was not eliminating every dog in the city. Instead scientific methods (Animal Birth Control- ABC Programme) could have been used to control the population and keep out the real strays that had been a threat. The problem of wild dogs was not in the urban populous areas around the city but in the peripheral areas where the CNVR (Catch Neuter Vaccinate Release) programme had not been implemented.
What fascinates me at this point is the human behavior in response to the animal behavior. It is indeed heart wrenching that two children lost their lives. But what is more aggrieving is that instead of finding a pragmatic solution to prevent such unfortunate accidents from happening in the future, civilized men played the ‘tit for tat’ game with these animals.
How could anybody irrespective of not being an animal lover support this decision?
It makes me wonder. Today the government goes on a ‘stray dog’ killing rampage because a feral street dog attacks some one. Tomorrow will it go on a ‘stray human’ killing rampage because a feral man on the road attacks someone? Where is the humanity in the contemporary world? Where does the periphery of tolerance end and bigotry (bordering on stupidity) begin?
Educated modernized people living in a metropolitan city KILLED almost an entire population of dogs. And after every election we continue to wonder whether The Congress or The BJP would be better at developing the city!
I do not expect everybody to be a passionate animal lover. I am not asking one to turn into a vegan animal rights activists. All I’m asking is that is it too hard to care about another life? Is it impossible to be aware of animals living in the space around us? Is it too Utopian asking people to be a little tolerant towards other living creatures?
What is most frightening here is that Bangalore was not the only Indian city to experience this. Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai…almost all the Indian metros have at some point or the other in the last decade succumbed to this archaic practice. For the 2010 common wealth games, New Delhi has decided to rid itself of its dog and cattle population. Meetings have been held and intense discussions on the subject are taking place. The Municipal Corporation is looking into the possibility of using the ABC (Animal Birth Control) programme or the CNVR (Catch Neuter Vaccinate Release) programme. What we can only hope is that the civic authorities of Delhi do not undergo a sudden change of heart and implement easier methods like the ones used by their ‘civilized’ Bangalorean counterparts.

Indian Television:Substance or Trash????

I dont have a knack for reading books nor am i greatly given to gossiping.Therefore all i do when i am really idle is watch television.Now the awful transformation that the indian television has undergone with the advent of the mindless k serials and the overhyped and sometimes doctored reality shows has compelled me to think about developing more fruitful ways of recreation.The content of the news channels lacks substance and there is more trash being shoved down the throats of the audience these days.
The producers in their quest to get high TRPs have resorted to excessive eye candy and gloss and in due process quality has taken a beating.I feel the 'saas bahu' serials have literally ripped the soul of the indian television with these socio fantasies always harping on illegitimate children, back bitching, murders , infidelity and taking suspicion among couples to a new high.Most of the serials i tune in to at primetime show ladies heavily decked with ornaments either weeping endlessly or plotting some revenge.The worst thing about tv is repetition and a dearth of a well etched storyline .Reality Shows like 'Big boss' are catering to the voyeuristic needs of the TV audiences.They were supposed to break the clutter of the repetitive and monotonous soap operas that had flooded the entertainment industry but in no time, reality shows themselves have become the clutter. As many as 35 such shows are currently on air across a dozen television channels.The word reality used for reality shows could be quite a misnomer considering the fact that most of the shows are stage managed and are not set in natural settings.
Even the news channels have been gripped by the obsession to increase the TRPs.Media seems to have forgotten about the difference between news and non-sense,it has forgotten about its principles of ethical reporting, transparency and impartiality.Some of the issues which the news channels choose for coverage are extremely bizarre.For example what sense does it make when news channels report how a Principal had an affair with his student or that Aishwarya Rai carried a $10000 designer bag to a party or that the diet of Khali comprises of 2kgs chicken,a dozen eggs and several litres of milk.
Well the audience is left helpless with nothing worth watching to tune in to.May god bestow the producers with some sense to cater to the needs of the audience tastefully and rationally.May the indian television acquire a better outlook in the time to come.Amen.

"the five red lights go out and the brazilian grand prix is GO!"

Not the most happening site yet is it... our PF blog? YET being the operative word here.... neway.... seeing as it was suggested to me to write on the f1 season it suddenly struck me that today (or tonight if you're going to be SO particular) is the last race of the season so i decided to get one in just in time!!! If you're one of those people who think of F1 as the most pointless and ridiculously boring sports in the history of the world, well... im not too sure if ure going to be rivetted by this blog entry, but i hope to atleast make you sit and watch a bit of the final race! "whats the big deal about this? They just sit in a car for 2 hours and drive round and round the same damn road" my mum used to say.....the thing that she fails to see is that it is done at 300 kilometres per hour flat...with the engine screaming an awesome note..... with 5Gs (thats five times the force of gravity for those of you who are not scientifically inclined or just plain ignorant! :P) force on either side.....how people cant appreciate this is beyond me!

as for it being a boring sport..... most diehard F1 fans (myself included as u may have guessed!) will tell you that "the 5 red lights go out and the _____ Grand prix is GO!" are probably the......1,2,3...*counts on his fingertips like a lil child*... * finds that his fingers arent enough but perseveres*.....13 most exciting words in sports! 22 cars(now 20...poor spyker..ran out of funds..) hurtling down a straight at 200kmph.... ur made of stone if that doesnt get ur blood pumping!!!

And its not just our bhajji and the infamous joey barton(hes a footballer...what DO u do on weekends!:P) who perpetually have the gavel over their heads!!! F1 has more than its share of politics .. for those of you who arent satisfied until a little drama and spice is thrown in.... may i present the Mclaren Spygate incident ( they stole intel from ferrari...cheats!!!:D as u would have guessed...Im a ferrari fan!) alonso and his....well.....what do i call it..... down right stupid comments....( yeah...surprise surprise..I dont like him either!) ....the great Max Mosley and his escapades (lets not elaborate any further shall we.... they're... not fit for posting to say the least!)... and ofcourse...Michael Schumacher and everything he did...( no.... not a word aginst him!)....
well.... this season has been...up and down to say the least.... with Mclaren and ferrari getting an even share of the spoils....(thats generous coming from a ferrari fan!).. so this season ending race promises to be an absolute cracker with kimi (and alonso! hes just such a nut!) pledging their support to massa in his quest to wrestle the title away from hamilton.... will he be succesful? i pray to god he is..... so why dont u sit down and watch it? 1015 on sunday night...just skip facebook for half an hour and watch it... u wont be disappointed!

Talks This Year -2008

1. Secularism and Pseudo Secularism. Which is more Indian? by Prof. Rajeev Bhargava.
2. Secession as a viable option for Kashmir? Mr.Ashok Jaitly
3. Leaders for tomorrow by Mr. Binoy Job
4. Judging Justice by Prashant Bhushan and Indira Unni Nayar
5. Satanic Angels-Mr.Ahmed Boulane
6. Youth In politics
7. Poverty and Illegality-Dr.Usha Ramanathan
8. Imprisonment of Dr.Binayak Sen-Kavita Srivastava and Prof.Harish Dhawan
9. Disclosing The Right to Information Act-Mr. Wajahat Habibullah