Thursday, January 6, 2011
Politics: The last resort of the scoun#@*%
Recently read the book by Ken Follett "Fall of giants." Interesting story spun around the first world war and the Russian revolution. The book is quite riveting, and brings out the sheer futility of any war. But throughout the book, I just couldn't help but think that really, nothing has changed. Politicians were irrational and oblivious to the concerns of the common man then, and so they are now. Using flimsy arguments and personal prejudices, they think their views about the society resonate the truth. Nothing could be far from it.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Books I read - "The Kite Runner" and "Mother Pious Lady"
The Kite Runner - one of the most poignant books I have read. Its really moving. A tale of the utter selfishness and ultimate guilt of one human being, and the undettered devotion of another. Lot of cultural underpinnings. Also saw the movie based on the book - equally moving.
The other one - Mother pious lady written by Santosh Desai is just passable. Am an ardent admirer of Desai's columns in the ToI, but the book really disappointed me. He just rambles on and on.... too much condensed in too little space, and Desai is not really his insightful self. Looks as though the book was written in a hurry.
The other one - Mother pious lady written by Santosh Desai is just passable. Am an ardent admirer of Desai's columns in the ToI, but the book really disappointed me. He just rambles on and on.... too much condensed in too little space, and Desai is not really his insightful self. Looks as though the book was written in a hurry.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Modi vs Rest of the world
Modi sucks of nepotism.
Praful and his family are involved; so are Sharad and his family; PC and PM (our "honourable" union ministers) stand to gain an upperhand over NCP and thus breathe free; N Srinivasan owns CSK; The Governing Council of IPL is inept and defunct, clueless as they were about ownership, profits, bids etc. in IPL; Somebody's son and would-be (hopefully) daughter-in-law bid for a franchise, but of course, for him, there was no conflict of interests despite being a Governing Council member; a prominent opening batsman and a member of governing council apparently (acc. to a leading newspaper) wanted a stake in one of the new franchises; etc....
The Governing Council of IPL holds an amazingly simplistic explanation about its apparent lack of knowledge about the ongoings in its own turf. The members simply said that they trusted Modi whenever he told them anything. They completely believed in his virtuous status, and never even thought that he could do any wrong. Wow!!! If only the whole world could run like this, I mean we all have some lessons to learn from the G. Council.
But, suddenly, the G. Council decided that everything is not hunky-dory. Skeletons fell out when unnecessary disclosures were made. After all, everything remaining under wraps is usually the perfect solution to all problems of corruption in the Indian scenario. But, unfortunately, one disclosure led to a chain reaction. Charges were traded. The ruling political party also suddenly saw windfall in this entire drama. They could get rid of their long-standing problem of dealing with their "ally". So they gathered all income tax officers they could lay their hands on, to raid every premises they could think of, to taint as many owners they could, find out as many skeletons as possible in the IPL's and particularly, Modi's cupboard, and whoa, emerged scrupulously clean. If only they could exhibit such tenacity in dealing with matters that concern citizens of this nation.....
And this is so typical. Modi obviously knows his fair weather friends. True oppotunists to the boot, the G. Council members feigned being clueless till they were getting everything without moving a muscle. The concept, execution, getting franchises, marketing the idea, and everything else was done by one man, and one man alone. Now, when everything is in place, of course, he is expendable.
And look who is talking of morality, corruption, nepotism, transparency ..... The party which never in the past bothered about becoming allies and having ministers against whom charges of corruption worth crores were levied. Of course, that is all for a greater good, after all, the country cannot afford to spend on another elections. What will happen to poor, unfortunate people like us? Who will show us the way?
And the best part (saved the best for the last), the party in power has always handed the baton of the country to its first family. First Chacha, then his daughter, then the son, then the daughter-in-law, and finally, the anointed king, the son (or will it be the daughter?). They and their cronies talk of nepotism? This really sucks. When the greatest democracy of the world can be run as a family fiefdom, why can't IPL (even if the charges against Modi are true)?
The BEST comment came from the pompous megalomaniac Rajiv Shukla, whose only claim to fame is his untiring ability to ingratiate himself with his party president. His comment was, "I will do everything to save cricket." Kudos to the only saviour of Indian cricket, the toady Shuklaji.
While writing this blog, the outcome of the Modi vs the others battle has not reached its conclusion, but any decently aware Indian know the fate of an enterprising, and unservile person. He gets thrown out by the corrupt, dysfunctional system.
NOTE: I do not bear allegiance to any political party, all of which have a common ideology of promoting their personal interests only.
Praful and his family are involved; so are Sharad and his family; PC and PM (our "honourable" union ministers) stand to gain an upperhand over NCP and thus breathe free; N Srinivasan owns CSK; The Governing Council of IPL is inept and defunct, clueless as they were about ownership, profits, bids etc. in IPL; Somebody's son and would-be (hopefully) daughter-in-law bid for a franchise, but of course, for him, there was no conflict of interests despite being a Governing Council member; a prominent opening batsman and a member of governing council apparently (acc. to a leading newspaper) wanted a stake in one of the new franchises; etc....
The Governing Council of IPL holds an amazingly simplistic explanation about its apparent lack of knowledge about the ongoings in its own turf. The members simply said that they trusted Modi whenever he told them anything. They completely believed in his virtuous status, and never even thought that he could do any wrong. Wow!!! If only the whole world could run like this, I mean we all have some lessons to learn from the G. Council.
But, suddenly, the G. Council decided that everything is not hunky-dory. Skeletons fell out when unnecessary disclosures were made. After all, everything remaining under wraps is usually the perfect solution to all problems of corruption in the Indian scenario. But, unfortunately, one disclosure led to a chain reaction. Charges were traded. The ruling political party also suddenly saw windfall in this entire drama. They could get rid of their long-standing problem of dealing with their "ally". So they gathered all income tax officers they could lay their hands on, to raid every premises they could think of, to taint as many owners they could, find out as many skeletons as possible in the IPL's and particularly, Modi's cupboard, and whoa, emerged scrupulously clean. If only they could exhibit such tenacity in dealing with matters that concern citizens of this nation.....
And this is so typical. Modi obviously knows his fair weather friends. True oppotunists to the boot, the G. Council members feigned being clueless till they were getting everything without moving a muscle. The concept, execution, getting franchises, marketing the idea, and everything else was done by one man, and one man alone. Now, when everything is in place, of course, he is expendable.
And look who is talking of morality, corruption, nepotism, transparency ..... The party which never in the past bothered about becoming allies and having ministers against whom charges of corruption worth crores were levied. Of course, that is all for a greater good, after all, the country cannot afford to spend on another elections. What will happen to poor, unfortunate people like us? Who will show us the way?
And the best part (saved the best for the last), the party in power has always handed the baton of the country to its first family. First Chacha, then his daughter, then the son, then the daughter-in-law, and finally, the anointed king, the son (or will it be the daughter?). They and their cronies talk of nepotism? This really sucks. When the greatest democracy of the world can be run as a family fiefdom, why can't IPL (even if the charges against Modi are true)?
The BEST comment came from the pompous megalomaniac Rajiv Shukla, whose only claim to fame is his untiring ability to ingratiate himself with his party president. His comment was, "I will do everything to save cricket." Kudos to the only saviour of Indian cricket, the toady Shuklaji.
While writing this blog, the outcome of the Modi vs the others battle has not reached its conclusion, but any decently aware Indian know the fate of an enterprising, and unservile person. He gets thrown out by the corrupt, dysfunctional system.
NOTE: I do not bear allegiance to any political party, all of which have a common ideology of promoting their personal interests only.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Why we must have ideals in our lives...
Worldly pleasures and pressures usually make us forget about ourselves. We reminisce about ourselves only when we get into a fix, or find ourselves completely lost. But our life can become much better, and far simpler if we imbibe a few ideals diligently in all aspects.
Obviously, ideals are extremely personal, and one requires very strong convictions to stand by them despite several temptations and troubles. For instance, Khaiyyam saheb, the famous music composer always stood by his values of not compromising on the quality of the music he composed. He went to great lengths to know what type of music he should compose. He understood the background of the film (including the historical background), learnt the story, found out who was acting in the film, on whom the song was picturized, read the lyrics, etc. He never worked with film makers who felt that making a music composer understand all this was a waste. He did far fewer films than many other music composers, but each song that he composed is a gem. He frequently turned down offers of films that didn't match his convictions. There is an obvious trade-off vis-a-vis money, popularity, pressures from family etc. that he undoubtedly must have faced. But such was his conviction about his beliefs that he turned a blind eye to all of these.
Even in business, some business houses still uphold a few ideals that they believe in. Its the same for individuals. Some of us have ideals and stand by them, but most of us either don't have ideals, or cannot stick to them. Frequently, our reason for faltering is that this one occasion is an exception. But we all know the end of this line of thought.
Therefore, the prerequisite is that the belief in our ideals must be strong, and unshakeable. Then, one can easily decide a course of action, knowing well its consequences and trade-offs involved.
What is so important about having ideals is that it makes our ability to take decisions so simple and straightforward. We know immediately and instictively what the decision should be. And that decision will set us free.
Obviously, ideals are extremely personal, and one requires very strong convictions to stand by them despite several temptations and troubles. For instance, Khaiyyam saheb, the famous music composer always stood by his values of not compromising on the quality of the music he composed. He went to great lengths to know what type of music he should compose. He understood the background of the film (including the historical background), learnt the story, found out who was acting in the film, on whom the song was picturized, read the lyrics, etc. He never worked with film makers who felt that making a music composer understand all this was a waste. He did far fewer films than many other music composers, but each song that he composed is a gem. He frequently turned down offers of films that didn't match his convictions. There is an obvious trade-off vis-a-vis money, popularity, pressures from family etc. that he undoubtedly must have faced. But such was his conviction about his beliefs that he turned a blind eye to all of these.
Even in business, some business houses still uphold a few ideals that they believe in. Its the same for individuals. Some of us have ideals and stand by them, but most of us either don't have ideals, or cannot stick to them. Frequently, our reason for faltering is that this one occasion is an exception. But we all know the end of this line of thought.
Therefore, the prerequisite is that the belief in our ideals must be strong, and unshakeable. Then, one can easily decide a course of action, knowing well its consequences and trade-offs involved.
What is so important about having ideals is that it makes our ability to take decisions so simple and straightforward. We know immediately and instictively what the decision should be. And that decision will set us free.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
3 Idiots and Five point someone
3rd Jan, 2010
Finished reading FPS three days back. A story about three guys at the coveted Delhi IIT pursuing a degree in Mech. engg. The three losers who get low grades and one of them even manages to fall for the draconian prof's daughter. As it is, FPS reduces literary standards to a naught. A typical book about three losers at IIT is really no big deal. Unfortunately, I had to read it to comment on it. The movie is a lousy adaptation of a pathetic book. This comes after the the infamous "Shut up" by Vidhuji!!! Of course, the writers would never have conjured the story without reading the book. So to that extent, the poor author has the right to make hue and cry. Now, whether the sudden realization dawns after the stupendous success of the film or not, is a question of morality. But there are some differences, obviously there will be. Can a Hindi film hero be a loser? Never! So, while Ryan is a loser in FPS, Aamir Khan isn't. He can't be. So he did all the dumb things that the sidekicks did, but managed to top the insti. How weird is that! Madhavan particularly is wasted. What a talented actor! Wonder what made him agree to do the film.
Finished reading FPS three days back. A story about three guys at the coveted Delhi IIT pursuing a degree in Mech. engg. The three losers who get low grades and one of them even manages to fall for the draconian prof's daughter. As it is, FPS reduces literary standards to a naught. A typical book about three losers at IIT is really no big deal. Unfortunately, I had to read it to comment on it. The movie is a lousy adaptation of a pathetic book. This comes after the the infamous "Shut up" by Vidhuji!!! Of course, the writers would never have conjured the story without reading the book. So to that extent, the poor author has the right to make hue and cry. Now, whether the sudden realization dawns after the stupendous success of the film or not, is a question of morality. But there are some differences, obviously there will be. Can a Hindi film hero be a loser? Never! So, while Ryan is a loser in FPS, Aamir Khan isn't. He can't be. So he did all the dumb things that the sidekicks did, but managed to top the insti. How weird is that! Madhavan particularly is wasted. What a talented actor! Wonder what made him agree to do the film.
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