Crazy crazy….

The recently ended commonwealth games is more in news not because of the performance of sports stars( vewww they are just sports person in India) or the medals India won but because of the controversy about Bollywood stars eleven minutes performance. The fact that the government paid them 40 crores for their 11 minutes performance in an event which is totally related to sports raised quiet a lot voices. Had this amount been used for the development of sports, India would have won many more medals. Making it worse, these stars flew in business class unlike the economy class by the sportsmen.

Film industry is always hyped in India, but giving them more importance than sports persons in a sports event is disgusting. Sports men are never stars in India, we hardly know any one who brought these 50 medals to India in the common wealth games, such is the acquaintance of Indians in the sports. Thanks that Indian cricketers are not victims of this anonymity due to the Indians ever increasing craze for cricket and not to forget Sania mania. She has been much hyped recently and she is now a days not able to sustain her achievement, she lost all her seven encounters in the first round itself recently. This can be attributed to the hype created by media making her complacent. We Indians admire only young and glamorous sport stars, and hype them so much making them lose their form. Sania is the only sports star apart from cricket who has recognition. Why are Olympic medal winners Karanam Malleswari (bronze in weight lifting), Karni Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner (bronze in shooting), P T Usha (lost bronze in 1/100^th sec), the Indian hockey team (8 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 2 bronze), are not recognized. The Indian hockey team has the record of first biggest score of 24-1 beating USA.

It’s not confined to sports, there are many sectors whose achievements go unnoticed. People know little about the soldiers who sacrifice their lives for the country. On the other hand, there are instances where people ended their lives because of their craze for actors. On the release day of south mega star Chiranjeevi’s film ‘Indra’ a youth ended his life in a theatre for not being able to get the tickets. The police was unable to control the crowd during the first week in the theatres so they started issuing tickets in the police station. This shows how mad people are over this industry. The actors taking due advantage of this craze, campaign for political parties, endorse the brands, and also events like common wealth games charging crores of rupees. Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai who proclaim themselves as patriots should have given their performance in the common wealth games without charging money, after all it was just a 11 minutes performance representing our country.

Kannada actor Raj Kumar’s death has resulted in unrest in Bangalore. People furiously marched on the roads and destroyed buses and other public property and also fired them. I am still confused why is the public furious or rather on whom, it was just a natural death, had it been any murder then their fury is understandable. Then why destroy public property and create chaos? This shows how stupid people can act for these stars.

Film stars becoming politicians when they retire is not new Jaya prada, Shatrugan Sinha, Vijay Shanti, Sunil Dutt the list can go on… some even do both simultaneously. I don’t understand how could they do justice to two full time professions. Govinda, Mohan Babu, Kota srinivas Rao, Babu Mohan and many more… Some times it seems like films and politics are same… seeing many people in common. It is not confined to India, it is just about every where, Arnold Schwarzenegger vowing as California governor proves it.

I suggest film stars should take the route of Chiranjeevi instead of exploiting the public craze towards them. He started Chiranjeevi blood bank and Eye bank and made public aware about the services. He recites the same in the introduction of all his films, and the number of donations to this trust shows how people regard their idol.

United or divided

The congress government decision to introduce reservation for OBC Categories in the premier institutions of India, thereby raising the reserved seats to 49.5 percent including the existing reservation for SC/ST is vigorous prejudice and discrimination. Enough is done by the government for the development of these castes from past 50 years. The more it executes reservation the more divided is the nation. India is a secular country which enforces reservation on the basis of caste, as weird as it sounds, reservations are violation of articles 15 and 16, which guarantee to all citizens the fundamental right to equality and equal opportunity under the state.

The premier institutes like the IIT’s and the IIM’s are prestigious worldwide because of the quality students it produces every year. It’s a pride to India that these institutes are on par or even better than the world’s top institutes like Harvard. According to the US news channel ABC, getting admission into IIT is more difficult than getting in Harvard. Only 2% of total applicants get admitted into IIT compared to the 10% in Harvard.

The already existing reservation blesses the SC/ST attend colleges with almost no fee, ultimately we tax payers are the ones who take the burden of their fee, this being a cycle.

Ratan Tata, chairman of TATA Groups criticizing this act severely said that this is nothing but division of nation and would bring no development. Tata recently crossed the borders and went hunting in Harvard campus, nearly 10 students have been recruited by Tata from Harvard campus. With 50% reservation in all premier institutes it is an accepted fact that the quality of students will come down, making more Indian companies taking the route of Tata for brightest talents.

The very purpose of introducing the reservations is achieved long back. Dr Ambedkar wanted equality for backward and scheduled castes. It was introduced in the period when these backward casts are treated like untouchables. He felt that with reservation (agreed for only 10 years initially) in education and jobs, these people will acquire some social status, which would lead for equality.Initially agreed for 10 years and got extended and still exists. Equality is achieved long back, infact more fraction of these people are exceeding. All the top government positions are occupied by the backward classes. The circumstances at the time of introduction of this reservation are not the same and there is no purpose in its existence now.

According to me, reservations shouldn’t be on the basis of caste, a real development of the society is achieved when these reservations are based on the financial positions of people. Demarcate people according to their financial status with a clear and defined demarcation line and let only one among these families enjoy this reservation that too with small %, otherwise there would be hindrance to the economic development of the country with merit students lagging behind.

I was going through population control measures taken by China and was really amazed by their strict rules and procedures followed on the size of family. China, the biggest competitor of India in the BPO sector, identified the factors for the hindrance of their development and has laid certain harsh though necessary rules. India on the other hand is trying to implement the rules which further hamper the development.

It is sad to see that no party has raised their voice against the UPA government’s decision on the reservations. This clearly shows that no politician has got courage to terminate this reservation with fear of losing votes. They are just craving for power and the service to the society is the last thing they would do or probably will never do. Sad to see all this happening under the rule of intellectual president and prime minister.

Merit is the most important in professions like medicine, nobody wants a low grade student with little knowledge on medicine to be a doctor, after all it is a profession which deals with life. May be this is the reason behind their recent protest in New Delhi. The protest ended up with a clash with police. The police used tear gas and water cannons, to disperse 400 students who tried to meet HRD minister Arjun Singh. Probably Indian students should take the route of Nepalese to make our plea heard to these deaf politicians.

Life in America

In one word …It’s cool dude… no no it’s busy, no organized, no routine, no fun… AArrrgghh I am myself confused. But surely can say one thing… quiet different from India. Ahhh India… reminds me of my city… Hyderabad.

Right from the minute I landed in US I experienced this huge difference. For us in India, a city would be full of tall buildings, with little or no greenery and a glimpse of open land/ground in centre of city is almost impossible unless there is a park. The drive from airport to little Apt of our’s was quiet shocking to me. With that picture of Indian city in my mind, I was perplexed finding all flat structures without even a single building raising to two floors above the ground. And in the heart of city you can find green and empty lands, contrary to our city centers like Ameerpet or Abids, may be because of the low population density here. Down towns are the only places in all cities where we can see tall buildings. Shopping malls, Theatres with 4-5 screens, chain stores all are flat, probably I felt it more because I landed in Texas, the biggest state of US. The comforts in India are necessities in US, even a Pizza delivery boy would come in a big car to deliver a pizza.

When I am talking about US I can’t stop praising the roads here. They are so organized and simplified. Driving to other cities is as simple as pressing a button… Yes, get the directions with a finger touch on key board and simply follow them. All the freeways have numbers and all the small roads have names, and there are huge boards on the roads helping us follow the directions. I always wonder how people commute from one city to other in India.The flyovers here are awesome, you can find 5-6 flyovers, one over the other.

Nature seems to be much more beautiful here, the fall colors, the green hills are all adorable. My first experience in snow is unforgettable. I played like a kid making snow balls and hitting others. Yet to encounter the experience of Niagara FallsJ , The gambling in Casinos in Las Vegas…probably we could never get such acquaintances in India.

People here are so polite, they smile and say ‘Hi’ and wish you a nice day, even though you are complete stranger to them. Americans care for handicapped people, they have reservations every where starting from the parking place.

Rules and regulations are strictly followed on you irrespective of the power you have. Freedom of expression/speech is not just in books, the movie Fahrenheit 9/11 uncovering the facts of Bush’s presidency and his connections with the Soudi Arabian businessmen including Bin Laden, reveals the extent of freedom in expression. An Indian film can never bring forth black faces of any ruling leader, even a small coincidence of any character in the movie with a real life politician will create lots of chaos ending in ban of the film. A pepsi ad here can show a coke can and advice people ‘Don’t drink coke, drink pepsi’. Unlike our Indian Pepsi ad, where they try to imitate a coke ambassador or a coke package and advice us not to drink coke beating around the bush.

The education system here is designed so well giving little or no pressure to the kids and the official age for admission of the kids in the school would be 5. Learning is not confined to just classroom, there are many good approaches for practical learning. Kids start attending classes like swimming, soccer, skating at age of 4 or 5. Extra activities are equally encouraged.

Speech on USA advancement will never terminate, why not it is a super power country. Now let me tell you some facts about the life in US. Life here is routine, mechanical and full of tensions, you don’t know when you are going to be fired. You will neither be made a manger nor given a hike even after being eligible, because you are an Indian. Week days you work hard, and weekends are the only days where you get some time to relax or freak around. You are left with little time after your laundry, cleaning and vacuuming sessions.

My whole writing about the life in US is reminding me of my home town. Life was much more beautiful then, those relations, those family get togethers, those attachments. Those marriages of our cousins, long lasting anthyakshari , dumb charades, not to forget thambola, hiding of the jiju’s shoes… The college life, freaking around with friends, be it be necklace road or a secret lake, the pani puri bandi’s. Every thing is sweet memory.

US might be a super power nation advanced in almost all the fields than India, working here brings us overseas experience apart from $$,but India is India, Though we complain on things like under development and corruption in India, we value our tradition, culture and our sentiments which are unbeatable. There is joy being in our place with our dear ones.

Where are relationships heading to????

‘Ram’ and ‘Laxman’ are two brothers who love each other and care for the feelings of other. They go to school together, have food together, and sleep together. Their parents felt proud of their kids being so attached. Soon they grew up got married and had kids, one night their father suffered a heart stroke and died. There came the issues of owning the property. Soon the good days are ended, the brothers fought with each other like enemies, and they played foul with each other. They hated to talk to each other, and this lasted for ever…. Seems like a story of your house? I am sure there are lots of brothers all over the country, other than the Ambani’s, the Bachan’s, the Mahajan’s, who can relate themselves to this story.

Hindu culture values relationships either it be mother and son or husband and wife or a brother and sister. The elder brother is considered the head of the family after the father. It’s the land where Ram and Laxman are born who stood unitedly even during the hardships. But it’s sad to see the brothers fighting for petty issues and even going to the extent of killing each other. Probably because it’s the same land where brothers like Vaali and Sugreev are born.

The recent attack of Pravin Mahajan on his elder brother Promod Mahajan on a black morning, for treating him like ‘dirt’, shows the extent to which the relations are deteriorated. Poor Mahajan is still battling for life.

The Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil’s wrangle over the ownership of the family owned business conglomerate ‘Reliance’, went public after their father’s death in 2002. They din't speak to eact other even in public meetings. With three million investors, a family feud in Reliance concerns more than the Ambanis.

The division of the Birla Empire after the death of Gansyam Das Birla, third son of the founder of Birla group Raja Baldeo Das Birla, in 1986 was due to the ownership feud. Although these disputes never went public, the division of the empire itself is the proof. The family comes together only to celebrate marriages and mourn deaths. But after years there came yet another reason for the family to stay united, the will of Priyamvadha Birla in which she bequeathed all the assets of MP Birla group- estimated over 5000 crores, to an outsider of the Birla family- R S Lodha, auditor and vice chairman of many companies of M P Birla group. This is a big shock for the family, where an outsider is coming under the family roof. The Birla’s are battling this together.

The disputes between brothers in family owned business is ubiquitous. This is just not confined to the brothers in area of business. This more often occurs in the cases where one of the brothers is celebrity and the other is anonymous. The not so popular brothers in most cases suffer from a complex resulting from inferiority. To name few, Amithab Bhachan’s negative terms with his brother Ajithabh, misunderstandings between CM Rajasekhar Reddy and his brother Vivekananda Reddy, differences between Chandrababu Naidu and Ramamurthy Naidu,In the recent attack on Mahajan, Pravin Mahajan admitted the reason being ill treatment by his brother.

The disputes in families are not bound to brothers, even the purest of the blood relations have disagreements, which sometimes end up in loss of life. There are many instances all over the world where a blood relation is ended up with ‘blood’.

Nepal heir and apparent crown prince Dipendra, murdered his parents, King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, his brother, sister, two uncles and three aunts, for not accepting his choice of wife. He then shot himself and later went into coma. He died three days after being in coma.

We read similar instances of brutal murders with in the family day in and day out in news papers. Sad to see the families, which are supposed to bind together in happiness and hardship, killing each other on petty issues.

Changing Men....

Gone are the days when the egoistic men used to come home feeling lofty about being the sole earner of the family. World is changing at faster pace, you buy a new electronic good, by the time you come home you end up finding it obsolete. In this e-era, every thing is e-this, e-that…. Developing India is not just about technology, it is about people and culture too. Repercussion of this eera is the equal status for men and women. Man is not the only bread earner and woman is not the only home maker in a family. Working women and changing attitude of men towards these women is ubiquitous. In fact men are looking for brides who are working, independent and have self-esteem.

Men now enjoy spending time with the family, given a chance to work extra and earn extra, they are declining it not wanting to cut down the time spending with kids and family. Even the busy high class socialites take out higher fraction of time for family. In fact young fathers relish changing the nappies of their babies. They hold spoons, ladles and knifes not just for eating but also for cooking. They are helping wives in kitchen too. Wife earning more than husband is no longer an issue.

Gone are the days when few professions are only for men. Women can fly planes, join Army, police, bus conductors etc. and the good chunk of women in these professions reflects the change in men.

The responsibilities during the child’s birth are just not women’s, young couples attending pregnancy and a child birth class is not uncommon. The expectant father is allowed to discuss issues pertaining to birth and fatherhood openly and honestly, this makes them understand their responsibilities as father and a husband.

Women are locked up in houses for ages, even after so much of change in culture and attitude of people we still find women of few communities are not allowed to come out without ghoonghats. There is still so much to change. Young, modern and educated India has surely come out of it, still the illiterate and backward society has a long way to go.

I know I am here talking about a fraction or rather a section of society, but it is good to see liberated women atleast in one section. Changing times will surely bring about change in the whole society, if not swiftly, gradually. A tribute to all the men who stand under this writing, and who soon will join this suit.

Indian Law

‘Slow and steady wins the race’, this if you are thinking is a proverb, then you are mistaken -this is the policy of Indian Law. No matter how many amendments are made, no matter how many new acts are implemented, but the basic policy will remain the same- ‘Slow and steady wins the race’. Only about a third of major crimes like murder and decoity are solved and less than 10% end with convictions. ‘Booming economy’ is the hot topic about India worldwide now, but unfortunately to most of the common people it makes little or no difference.

The US law on the other hand is so advanced that you can check online about a person’s criminal background. India is definitely ameliorating technologically, but there are few things which need to grow better not for the profits it is going to make but for the losses it makes when not improved, the Indian courts and law is one among them. Staying stagnated is worse.

‘Equality of law’ –everybody is given equal status and there is no discrimination on basis of cast, color, sex, power etc for Indian Law, This is what we studied or rather still studying in the books. But in reality it barely exists, there isn’t a single court in India wherein equality exists. ‘Politics, Power, Money’ these are the mantras used for unleashing irrespective of the crime you have committed. If we start speaking on this we can quote thousands of examples on this.

Sanjay Dutt is still not arrested inspite of he owning 2 AK 47’s and his connections with Abu Salem, the main accused in the Bombay blasts.

In the seven year old murder case of Jessica Lal, the accused Manu Sharma, son of Haryana mister Vinod Sharma, is acquitted, the reason being no witnesses and evidences, which is so very ridiculous as the murder took place in a bar where there was huge crowd partying. Kudos to the recent movie ‘Rang de basanti’, people have now evoked and the recent protest against flawed legal system near gate way of India proves it. In a poll conducted by NDTV 95% of people responded that they believe Manu Sharma is the murderer.

‘Two murder cases, two attempted murders and three cases of theft, case of criminal conspiracy, another of destruction of property by explosives, two cases of possession of illegal arms one case of culpable homicide’- If you think him a big criminal who is in wanted list with millions of cash price on head or a shoot at sight order, then you pressed the wrong button. He is 44-year-old Mohammed Rofique, Trinamul Congress candidate from the Garbeta East assembly constituency, West Bengal, who himself admitted all his crimes. Could you imagine any thing worse than this? He is not the only leader having so many cases pending on him, in Bihar and many other parts of West Bengal you can find a larger chunk.

US President Bush’s daughter Jenna 19 was cited for ‘alcohol possession by a minor’ as the legal drinking age was 21. Police did their duties and then only she was sent back. You could never ever imagine this to happen for our president or prime minister’s daughter.

The law and justice has become a playing ball for the powerful and influential rich families, the ultimate sufferers are the common public. I have heard of few cases where police inspectors take bribe even to register a case.

For every thing there is a tolerance level, it is high time for public to revolt against the injustice and this flawed system of law. Let us all go hand in hand and show this corrupted system our existence and the power of unity.

For my husband who feels I am not expressive

To me marriage is a bond that ties a man and a woman to a lifelong commitment. But everybody is not lucky enough to reap the fruits which is not uncommon, I would proudly say I am not one among them.

Life changed a lot after marriage, some for good, others are also for good only if taken in a right way. I have experienced a transformation of myself from a college going naughty girl to a responsible woman.. yes woman, indeed its hard to take yourself as woman, this is what I meant when I told that ‘others are also for good only if taken in a right way’.

Vijay, my husband, is a blend of a fun loving kiddo enjoying cartoons, a responsible person who is focused in life having a clear picture of what he wants from life. I can’t say he is go getter kinds, but surely can become one if he wants to. He is very determined and can surely win the world if he wants to, this might sound little exaggeration but to me he surely is. His first love is his car like any other guy, he even kisses n pats his car which makes me jealous at times… was just kidding.

I don’t believe in love at first sight, to me love at first sight vanishes at second sight. At the same time I had aversion for arranged marriage, where a person marries a complete stranger without knowing his likes and dislikes. Ours is not a love marriage, neither is arranged completely. We had an opportunity to know each other well and then acceded for marriage, of course it takes a life time to know a person completely.

As I told my life changed quite a bit after marriage, and Vijay is there at every step of it. He made me think big and aim high. I realized from him how consequential are aspirations to ones life. He emboldens me at every point of time. He loves reading books and infused the same in me. He boasts my confidence and makes me feel much more capable. I am not saying he is perfect a man, there sure are darker sides of him, but I can say the brighter side overshadow them.

I am basically not an expressive person, if Vijay can understand only my words, he will not even know the half of what I wrote here and if he understands the innerside of me he surely will know much more. May be at times being expressive brings people close, that is why is the writing here.