A cousin was recently ordained as a priest after years of study in a seminary. If I remember right, as soon as he completed his 10th standard, he left for the seminary and we would see
very little of him after that. I guess visits to one's home are quite restricted and the number
of days of 'leave' allowed would also be less.
Anyway, after what seemed like an eternity, he finally was ordained as a priest last month.
The ordination is a big affair in the parish, with invitations sent out to all relatives/friends.
A lavish lunch is also arranged after the function and it is customary for attendees to come
with a gift, though it eludes me why we should indulge in gifting material things to someone
who is planning to pursue abstinence from material pleasures. Anyway...
The itinerary was the same for my cousin's ordination also and apart from the bishop of
the diocese (like a district, comprising many parishes), there were quite some priests that attended the function. Among them was our ex-bishop, who retired a few years ago. Given below is an almost verbatim extract of the conversation the ex-bishop had with the father
of my cousin.
Bishop (B) : Hmmm. So, this must be a big day for you. You must be proud of your son.
Cousin's Dad (D) : Ofcourse I am, Your Holiness. I have been waiting for years to see my son
become a priest.
B : BTW, how many sons do you have ?
D : I have 2 sons, Your Holiness.
B : And what does your other son do ?
D : He has a well-paying job in the Gulf*.
*Gulf is Mallu-speak for Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, and/or any country with Arab connections.
B : Oh, great. So, now both your sons are in the gulf. :-)
D : ?????
I am sure most Mallu Christians would have understood the humor involved in the Bishop's
last statement. Just to clarify for the benefit of those that did not understand.
While most priests (I am talking Catholic here) are involved in their work of tending to a
parish, working to ensure that the church members follow the path laid out in the Bible etc, there are some (exceptions are everywhere, you see) who use priesthood as a lucrative
career and indulge in building up wealth for their family.
I guess with quite some funds at their disposal, it is not exactly that difficult to amass wealth
in this profession (if I may call it a profession). I personally know atleast 2 such priests. A job
in the Gulf is supposed to be very well-paying (though salaries & opportunities are coming down). With priesthood also turning out to be a lucrative occupation for some priests, the
bishop was hinting that both the brothers are now in lucrative occupations.
Its a long time since I met my cousin or talked to him. When I knew him as a kid, he was
pretty serious about becoming a priest and doing good for society. I just hope that he still maintains those ideals and that he proves the bishop wrong.
Before I start getting flamed, let me make a few things clear :
1. I am a practicing Christian and happen to be a Catholic also.
2. This article is not intended to put down Christianity in general or the Catholic Church specifically. I am just pointing out real-life incidents.
3. I am sure that such things happen in both other Christian denominations and other
religions and is not something confined to only Catholic priests.
4. I also know Catholic priests who have devoted their entire life for the upliftment of lower sections of society, by providing medical /educational facilities in remote areas like Assam, without any interest in wealth or material pleasures. I salute their devotion to God and their untiring efforts for helping fellow humans.
5. This article is only about the exceptions, who I hope comprise only a miniscule part of the
clergy.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Who is actually mentally unstable ?
I was at Chennai Central station today morning to pick up my parents who had come for
their annual weekly visit to Chennai. May is not a nice time to be in Chennai. Infact most Chennai-vasis head for cooler places in May, to escape the furnace-like sun. But then with
only 3 seasons (hot, hotter, hottest) in Chennai, there is actually no ideal time to visit Chennai.
I had arrived 30 mins before the scheduled arrival time and had some time to kill. Got a
copy of the Deccan Chronicle (DC) to while away the time. The DC is supposed to be the
latest English newspaper in town. I have been reading The Hindu for decades now and I
am yet to see any other English newspaper in India that even comes close to it in providing
a complete and fulfilling reading experience. It would be grossly unfair to even consider
the DC as competition to The Hindu.
The DC is just a glossy tabloid with shoddy reporting, poor and gramatically wrong English,
and low-quality newsprint. The only good thing about the D.C. is the glamour shots of movie stars and Page3 personalities and gossip about both Indian and Hollywood film stars. Nice to while away time, but not if you are serious about news.
Anyway, while I am reading the latest on Britney Spears & Paris Hilton (they are permanent fixtures in the DC), I see a mentally challenged person roam about the railway station. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable asks him to clear of the station, but is ignored.
A couple of RPF guys go up to him and try to make him leave the station, which he resists.
They push him, he falls and then they manhandle him, without even taking into consideration that he is not capable of rational thinking like normal people.
Soon a small crowd gathers and by the time other RPF guys arrive and clear the crowd, the
guy is bruised at many places and bleeding. There are many like him that roam the streets
of Chennai. Agree that they do not need to be in a railway station. But lacking a home and
people to take care of them, where should they go ? And even if you want them off a public place, there are better and humane ways to achieve that.
The guy has now been shoo-ed out of the station and things are getting back to normal when
a Tamilnadu Police inspector arrives at the scene after hearing about this incident. He calls
the RPF guys and gives them a good verbal lashing for hitting the guy. His point is, "What is
the need to use force, especially on a mentally unstable person ? What if he gets seriously injured or even dies ? Who will take the responsibility ?"
The RPF guys are now silent and try giving excuses for their highhandedness, like "We did not hit him. He fell down by himself and got injured." etc. However, there were enough eye-witnesses around who told an entirely different story. The police inspector was really incensed by the behaviour of the RPF guys and was talking about having them put behind bars.
Even though rare, it was good to see a policeman being humane and considerate towards civilians. By the time I left, the RPF top brass had also landed and if I am right, they would have arrived at some kind of settlement with the T.N. police.
their annual weekly visit to Chennai. May is not a nice time to be in Chennai. Infact most Chennai-vasis head for cooler places in May, to escape the furnace-like sun. But then with
only 3 seasons (hot, hotter, hottest) in Chennai, there is actually no ideal time to visit Chennai.
I had arrived 30 mins before the scheduled arrival time and had some time to kill. Got a
copy of the Deccan Chronicle (DC) to while away the time. The DC is supposed to be the
latest English newspaper in town. I have been reading The Hindu for decades now and I
am yet to see any other English newspaper in India that even comes close to it in providing
a complete and fulfilling reading experience. It would be grossly unfair to even consider
the DC as competition to The Hindu.
The DC is just a glossy tabloid with shoddy reporting, poor and gramatically wrong English,
and low-quality newsprint. The only good thing about the D.C. is the glamour shots of movie stars and Page3 personalities and gossip about both Indian and Hollywood film stars. Nice to while away time, but not if you are serious about news.
Anyway, while I am reading the latest on Britney Spears & Paris Hilton (they are permanent fixtures in the DC), I see a mentally challenged person roam about the railway station. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable asks him to clear of the station, but is ignored.
A couple of RPF guys go up to him and try to make him leave the station, which he resists.
They push him, he falls and then they manhandle him, without even taking into consideration that he is not capable of rational thinking like normal people.
Soon a small crowd gathers and by the time other RPF guys arrive and clear the crowd, the
guy is bruised at many places and bleeding. There are many like him that roam the streets
of Chennai. Agree that they do not need to be in a railway station. But lacking a home and
people to take care of them, where should they go ? And even if you want them off a public place, there are better and humane ways to achieve that.
The guy has now been shoo-ed out of the station and things are getting back to normal when
a Tamilnadu Police inspector arrives at the scene after hearing about this incident. He calls
the RPF guys and gives them a good verbal lashing for hitting the guy. His point is, "What is
the need to use force, especially on a mentally unstable person ? What if he gets seriously injured or even dies ? Who will take the responsibility ?"
The RPF guys are now silent and try giving excuses for their highhandedness, like "We did not hit him. He fell down by himself and got injured." etc. However, there were enough eye-witnesses around who told an entirely different story. The police inspector was really incensed by the behaviour of the RPF guys and was talking about having them put behind bars.
Even though rare, it was good to see a policeman being humane and considerate towards civilians. By the time I left, the RPF top brass had also landed and if I am right, they would have arrived at some kind of settlement with the T.N. police.
Monday, May 14, 2007
All due to lack of an extra needle. And some smart thinking...
My colleague came to work today wearing a nice slim watch from Titan. Since it looked very new, I asked him if he bought it recently. He said that it was 2 years old, which seemed odd because the watch looked as if it was just taken of the showroom display.
He said that he had gifted it to his Dad 2 years ago, but his Dad had not used it even once
and had left it lying in its original packaging. Since I know that my friend is very chummy
with his parents, there did not seem to be any possibility of his Dad trying to put him down
by not using a gift from him.
Unlike most parents, they have been very supportive of him at all stages of life, been more
like a friend than a parent. And to top it all, when he expressed his intent to marry a girl
that studied with him in Engineering college, they gave the green signal. This, inspite of
them being from different states, speaking different mother tongues and possibly different castes. The only common thread that bound them was that they practiced the same religion.
So, it was intriguing to me as to why such a parent would refuse to wear a gift from his son.
Then my friend mentioned the reason for his Dad not using the watch. It was because the
watch did not have a "seconds" hand. It had only an "hour" hand and a "minutes" hand.
Now, it sounded all the more intriguing to me. A "seconds" hand is sort of dispensable in a
watch for most of us. Who times time by the seconds anyway ? Unless you are using it to
time your microwave cooking or to do a 0-100 run of your car. And anyway, microwaves
come with their own timers. And it is not easy/accurate doing a quick 0-100 run and
timing it simultaneously yourself.
Turns out his Dad is a doctor and needs the "seconds" hand to time the pulse of his patients.
Hmmm. Inspite of the effort he would have put in while selecting the watch, my friend
missed one of the critical requirements of his Dad who would be the recipient of the gift.
Thus, his gift, for which he would have spent money, time & effort, was not really
appreciated by his Dad.
Today, gifting has gone real big. People gift costly stuff like DigiCams, iPods, bikes, cars etc
to their loved ones, including kids. But while we do not hesitate to spend our money, are we really spending that extra effort to know what gift would be appreciated by our loved ones ?
A little effort spent in understanding their needs would go a long way in enhancing the satisfaction of the gift recipient. And which in turn will make you also more happy.
From experience, I have found that kids are the easiest to gift to. You just ask them what
they need and they frankly tell you. They do not think of wanting something and ask for something else like us adults, just because we do not want the person to splurge more dough.
And once they get the gift, they are so happy that it brings a smile to your face everytime
you just think of it.
He said that he had gifted it to his Dad 2 years ago, but his Dad had not used it even once
and had left it lying in its original packaging. Since I know that my friend is very chummy
with his parents, there did not seem to be any possibility of his Dad trying to put him down
by not using a gift from him.
Unlike most parents, they have been very supportive of him at all stages of life, been more
like a friend than a parent. And to top it all, when he expressed his intent to marry a girl
that studied with him in Engineering college, they gave the green signal. This, inspite of
them being from different states, speaking different mother tongues and possibly different castes. The only common thread that bound them was that they practiced the same religion.
So, it was intriguing to me as to why such a parent would refuse to wear a gift from his son.
Then my friend mentioned the reason for his Dad not using the watch. It was because the
watch did not have a "seconds" hand. It had only an "hour" hand and a "minutes" hand.
Now, it sounded all the more intriguing to me. A "seconds" hand is sort of dispensable in a
watch for most of us. Who times time by the seconds anyway ? Unless you are using it to
time your microwave cooking or to do a 0-100 run of your car. And anyway, microwaves
come with their own timers. And it is not easy/accurate doing a quick 0-100 run and
timing it simultaneously yourself.
Turns out his Dad is a doctor and needs the "seconds" hand to time the pulse of his patients.
Hmmm. Inspite of the effort he would have put in while selecting the watch, my friend
missed one of the critical requirements of his Dad who would be the recipient of the gift.
Thus, his gift, for which he would have spent money, time & effort, was not really
appreciated by his Dad.
Today, gifting has gone real big. People gift costly stuff like DigiCams, iPods, bikes, cars etc
to their loved ones, including kids. But while we do not hesitate to spend our money, are we really spending that extra effort to know what gift would be appreciated by our loved ones ?
A little effort spent in understanding their needs would go a long way in enhancing the satisfaction of the gift recipient. And which in turn will make you also more happy.
From experience, I have found that kids are the easiest to gift to. You just ask them what
they need and they frankly tell you. They do not think of wanting something and ask for something else like us adults, just because we do not want the person to splurge more dough.
And once they get the gift, they are so happy that it brings a smile to your face everytime
you just think of it.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Do movie/cricket stars bring in enough sales to justify the steep fees paid to them ?
The idea for this post originated during one of the weekend drink sessions with a few
buddies, who all happen to be marketing guys with fancy MBAs and stuff. Normally,
the topics discussed never deviate from Reema Sen, Jothika, Asin etc etc (Tamil/Mallu actresses, for those not in the know). :-)
But somehow we veered to cars, stars promoting cars, the value (if any) that they add
to the brand, in terms of sales etc.
One of the guys (an MBA from a premier institute) and a manager at an MNC at B'lore,
is of the firm opinion that stars add a lot to the brands that they promote, in terms of
sales, brand recall, value etc. He is a big SRK fan and SRK's promoting Santro was the
main reason why he bought the Santro many years ago. So, if a guy who understands
the dynamics of business/marketing can take a purchase decision based on adulation,
I guess there will be lots more out there who think on the same lines.
However, my personal view was quite the opposite. I do agree that stars provide immense visibility (eyeballs, in marketing jargon) to a brand and also aid brand recall. But do they
have an effect on sales, as in increasing the sales ? I am sceptical of that.
I am a big fan of Jothika, but I have never ever even thought of buying any of the products
that she endorses. Infact, I avoid buying products endorsed by her. I try to keep my
adulation separate from my purchase behaviour. Infact, if I were to buy products that she endorses, I would feel used, because that is what the companyis trying to do in the first
place by having her endorse the product.
I also feel that using personalities for endorsing products, increases the cost of products,
because the company would have to add the fees paid to the stars to the product. So,
whenever possible, I consciously avoid buying products that use stars for endorsement.
A recent example being our refrigerator purchase a few weeks ago. We avoided Whirlpool,
LG etc only because we did not want to line the pockets of Kajol & family and Abhishek
Bachan. Instead, we went for Samsung, which did not use any stars for endorsement.
Another important thing is the association of the endorser with the brand/product and
how the consumer perceives it. In the case of Santro, only a naive buyer will assume that
SRK actually finds value in a compact car worth a few lakhs and will be driving one in
real life. For most of us, it is pretty clear that SRK did it because he was paid enough to
lend his name to a brand. I cannot relate a filthy-rich actor like SRK with a compact car.
If SRK were promoting a Merc or something, I would see value in that, because there is a possibility of his actually owning/using that car which suits his image. But driving around
in a Santro ? Nah...
But then if you noticed, Mercedes Benz does not use personalities for promoting their cars. Because those personalities anyway aspire for the Benz brand and to ride in one.
There are various examples from the Indian auto scenario itself, which we could consider,
apart from SRK-Santro. There is the Maruti Versa fiasco where inspite of the Bachan father -son duo promoting the van, it flopped. And more recently we have Abhishek promoting the Fiesta, while Saif/Rani promote the Aveo.
Fiesta is selling pretty good, but how much of it is due to Abhishek ? Its more due to Ford's
Diet Diesel campaign, which claims a mileage of 30kmpl or more per litre of diesel for the
Fiesta-D. Now that's an intelligent way to spend marketing bucks, instead of lining the
pockets of some movie star. Ofcourse, whether it is truly ethical is debatable, because a guy
who swallows the Diet Diesel marketing gimmick and expects his car to return that mileage
in his daily city commute, is in for some serious disappointment.
Aveo is not selling much - so did the strategy fail here or did it not sell due to some other negatives ?
As far as car purchase behaviour in India goes, it is usually about mileage (kitna average hai ?), looks, size (get the biggest car at that price point), maintenance costs (American is costly to maintain compared to Japanese) etc.
A very accurate quantification of the value addition that stars make to the brand with respect
to the fees they charge, might not be possible. As some marketing guy said, "I know that half
of the money I spend on advertising is a waste. The problem is I don't know which half it is."
But then, the fact that SRK still endorses Santro in new advts, means that the guys at
Hyundai seem to be quite pleased with his contribution.
We could not reach an unanimous conclusion. Just that we agreed that while it could work for some products, it could backfire or not work for others.
Any readers that are willing to share their gyan on this, could answer to :
1. Will you buy a car (over other similar or better options) just because it is endorsed by
your favourite personality ?
2. What about products other than cars ?
3. Do you think stars help increase sales of cars they promote ?
4. Do you prefer an advertisement featuring a personality or one that just gives relevant technical info about the car's merits ?
Might give us some points to ponder over during our next drink session.
buddies, who all happen to be marketing guys with fancy MBAs and stuff. Normally,
the topics discussed never deviate from Reema Sen, Jothika, Asin etc etc (Tamil/Mallu actresses, for those not in the know). :-)
But somehow we veered to cars, stars promoting cars, the value (if any) that they add
to the brand, in terms of sales etc.
One of the guys (an MBA from a premier institute) and a manager at an MNC at B'lore,
is of the firm opinion that stars add a lot to the brands that they promote, in terms of
sales, brand recall, value etc. He is a big SRK fan and SRK's promoting Santro was the
main reason why he bought the Santro many years ago. So, if a guy who understands
the dynamics of business/marketing can take a purchase decision based on adulation,
I guess there will be lots more out there who think on the same lines.
However, my personal view was quite the opposite. I do agree that stars provide immense visibility (eyeballs, in marketing jargon) to a brand and also aid brand recall. But do they
have an effect on sales, as in increasing the sales ? I am sceptical of that.
I am a big fan of Jothika, but I have never ever even thought of buying any of the products
that she endorses. Infact, I avoid buying products endorsed by her. I try to keep my
adulation separate from my purchase behaviour. Infact, if I were to buy products that she endorses, I would feel used, because that is what the companyis trying to do in the first
place by having her endorse the product.
I also feel that using personalities for endorsing products, increases the cost of products,
because the company would have to add the fees paid to the stars to the product. So,
whenever possible, I consciously avoid buying products that use stars for endorsement.
A recent example being our refrigerator purchase a few weeks ago. We avoided Whirlpool,
LG etc only because we did not want to line the pockets of Kajol & family and Abhishek
Bachan. Instead, we went for Samsung, which did not use any stars for endorsement.
Another important thing is the association of the endorser with the brand/product and
how the consumer perceives it. In the case of Santro, only a naive buyer will assume that
SRK actually finds value in a compact car worth a few lakhs and will be driving one in
real life. For most of us, it is pretty clear that SRK did it because he was paid enough to
lend his name to a brand. I cannot relate a filthy-rich actor like SRK with a compact car.
If SRK were promoting a Merc or something, I would see value in that, because there is a possibility of his actually owning/using that car which suits his image. But driving around
in a Santro ? Nah...
But then if you noticed, Mercedes Benz does not use personalities for promoting their cars. Because those personalities anyway aspire for the Benz brand and to ride in one.
There are various examples from the Indian auto scenario itself, which we could consider,
apart from SRK-Santro. There is the Maruti Versa fiasco where inspite of the Bachan father -son duo promoting the van, it flopped. And more recently we have Abhishek promoting the Fiesta, while Saif/Rani promote the Aveo.
Fiesta is selling pretty good, but how much of it is due to Abhishek ? Its more due to Ford's
Diet Diesel campaign, which claims a mileage of 30kmpl or more per litre of diesel for the
Fiesta-D. Now that's an intelligent way to spend marketing bucks, instead of lining the
pockets of some movie star. Ofcourse, whether it is truly ethical is debatable, because a guy
who swallows the Diet Diesel marketing gimmick and expects his car to return that mileage
in his daily city commute, is in for some serious disappointment.
Aveo is not selling much - so did the strategy fail here or did it not sell due to some other negatives ?
As far as car purchase behaviour in India goes, it is usually about mileage (kitna average hai ?), looks, size (get the biggest car at that price point), maintenance costs (American is costly to maintain compared to Japanese) etc.
A very accurate quantification of the value addition that stars make to the brand with respect
to the fees they charge, might not be possible. As some marketing guy said, "I know that half
of the money I spend on advertising is a waste. The problem is I don't know which half it is."
But then, the fact that SRK still endorses Santro in new advts, means that the guys at
Hyundai seem to be quite pleased with his contribution.
We could not reach an unanimous conclusion. Just that we agreed that while it could work for some products, it could backfire or not work for others.
Any readers that are willing to share their gyan on this, could answer to :
1. Will you buy a car (over other similar or better options) just because it is endorsed by
your favourite personality ?
2. What about products other than cars ?
3. Do you think stars help increase sales of cars they promote ?
4. Do you prefer an advertisement featuring a personality or one that just gives relevant technical info about the car's merits ?
Might give us some points to ponder over during our next drink session.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Licensed to cane ?
Yesterday evening, I was walking to the neighborhood grocer to buy some garlic, needed in the kitchen to prepare a dish of mussels (kakka in Mallu speak, not sure about the Tamil for this).
The main road in our area is perpetually in chaos, due to two TASMAC liquor shops that are
too close to each other (diagonally separated by 50 metres or so, max). Since the Govt. has allowed so-called bars attached to every liquor shop, the roads are a mess with wrongly
parked bikes, cycles etc. Not to mention, the men that are standing around or walking about unsteadily.
Just as I turn the corner to get onto the main road, a police jeep with 2 cops passes me and
stops in front of one of the liquor shops. Leaving the jeep parked in the centre of the road,
with the engine running, the 2 cops jump out and start caning a group of guys standing nearby.
Imagine getting a whack on the bottoms/back with one of those police lathis. To the best of
my knowledge, the guys who got hit, were not in the midst of a brawl or any such nonsense, which could have invited the policemen's wrath. They were standing on the side of the road, which I do not really think is a crime. Getting caned for this is not only illogical, but also
high-handed behaviour on the cop's side.
I guess I was lucky not to have been hit. If I had been at that spot just a minute or so earlier,
I could have been considered part of the group and got caned, for no fault at all. I was so irritated by the cop's behaviour and wondered what I would have done if I was one of the
guys who got hit.
I would like to think that I would have protested and argued with the cops. But in reality,
would it work to argue with such guys, especially when they are using the power of their uniforms ?
Arguing back would only invite their wrath and could result in some case being foisted on
you - creating nuisance in public or something. Which means more trouble for you, making
the rounds of police stations and courts. So a rational person would, I guess, just try to make
a run for it and escape the stick, instead of arguing with these guys.
With the Gujarat cops in the news due to their trigger happy ways, I guess it is time cops
all over the country are re-trained to be public-friendly and to use the power vested in
them judiciously. And while we are at it, we should also re-work their salaries keeping in
mind that they are seriously underpaid. That should help atleast some of them in giving
up their corrupt ways.
The main road in our area is perpetually in chaos, due to two TASMAC liquor shops that are
too close to each other (diagonally separated by 50 metres or so, max). Since the Govt. has allowed so-called bars attached to every liquor shop, the roads are a mess with wrongly
parked bikes, cycles etc. Not to mention, the men that are standing around or walking about unsteadily.
Just as I turn the corner to get onto the main road, a police jeep with 2 cops passes me and
stops in front of one of the liquor shops. Leaving the jeep parked in the centre of the road,
with the engine running, the 2 cops jump out and start caning a group of guys standing nearby.
Imagine getting a whack on the bottoms/back with one of those police lathis. To the best of
my knowledge, the guys who got hit, were not in the midst of a brawl or any such nonsense, which could have invited the policemen's wrath. They were standing on the side of the road, which I do not really think is a crime. Getting caned for this is not only illogical, but also
high-handed behaviour on the cop's side.
I guess I was lucky not to have been hit. If I had been at that spot just a minute or so earlier,
I could have been considered part of the group and got caned, for no fault at all. I was so irritated by the cop's behaviour and wondered what I would have done if I was one of the
guys who got hit.
I would like to think that I would have protested and argued with the cops. But in reality,
would it work to argue with such guys, especially when they are using the power of their uniforms ?
Arguing back would only invite their wrath and could result in some case being foisted on
you - creating nuisance in public or something. Which means more trouble for you, making
the rounds of police stations and courts. So a rational person would, I guess, just try to make
a run for it and escape the stick, instead of arguing with these guys.
With the Gujarat cops in the news due to their trigger happy ways, I guess it is time cops
all over the country are re-trained to be public-friendly and to use the power vested in
them judiciously. And while we are at it, we should also re-work their salaries keeping in
mind that they are seriously underpaid. That should help atleast some of them in giving
up their corrupt ways.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Mind your portions - avoid food wastage
Wang's kitchen is a chinese restaurant chain in Chennai. Not sure whether they are present
in other metros or not. Anyway, some of us from work went out for lunch at their Adyar restaurant last Thursday, as we were bored with the usual vegetarian meals served at the
office pantry.
Nice restaurant in the basement, with just a few tables occupied even though it was 1PM. However, that was to change soon as a huge crowd (another office party) rushed in to
occupy most of the remaining tables.
There were three of us and between us we ordered a chicken fried rice, a vegetable fried
rice, a chilly lamb and schezwan prawns. The food was pretty good and we enjoyed the
lunch. However, one thing I noticed was that the portions were huge, especially the rice.
By the time we finished our meal, we had consumed only one rice and maybe 1/3rd of the
other fried rice. Given that the three of us were normal males and not on any diet, I guess
this says a lot about the size of the portions.
So, just a helpful hint for those that plan to try out the nice fare at Wang's, please go easy
on the rice and also order your side dishes carefully, so as to not end up wasting food (and money, ofcourse). If you are going as a couple, stick to just one rice. You could order 1 or 2
side dishes, depending on your apettite and how much you consume.
With so many Indians (and others worldwide) not getting even one single meal daily, it is definitely not a good idea to waste food. I am not sure what restaurants dowith the food
that customers waste, especially the food that they have not even touched. It would be
nice if they keep this food separate to feed someone who would otherwise go hungry.
in other metros or not. Anyway, some of us from work went out for lunch at their Adyar restaurant last Thursday, as we were bored with the usual vegetarian meals served at the
office pantry.
Nice restaurant in the basement, with just a few tables occupied even though it was 1PM. However, that was to change soon as a huge crowd (another office party) rushed in to
occupy most of the remaining tables.
There were three of us and between us we ordered a chicken fried rice, a vegetable fried
rice, a chilly lamb and schezwan prawns. The food was pretty good and we enjoyed the
lunch. However, one thing I noticed was that the portions were huge, especially the rice.
By the time we finished our meal, we had consumed only one rice and maybe 1/3rd of the
other fried rice. Given that the three of us were normal males and not on any diet, I guess
this says a lot about the size of the portions.
So, just a helpful hint for those that plan to try out the nice fare at Wang's, please go easy
on the rice and also order your side dishes carefully, so as to not end up wasting food (and money, ofcourse). If you are going as a couple, stick to just one rice. You could order 1 or 2
side dishes, depending on your apettite and how much you consume.
With so many Indians (and others worldwide) not getting even one single meal daily, it is definitely not a good idea to waste food. I am not sure what restaurants dowith the food
that customers waste, especially the food that they have not even touched. It would be
nice if they keep this food separate to feed someone who would otherwise go hungry.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Stretching the rupee to the maximum
We Indians are adept at the art of stretching every rupee to the maximum and extracting
the maximum possible value from any resource. Is it any wonder that we have applied the
same to mobile phones also ?
Mobile phone rates in India are currently among the lowest in the world. Handsets are also available at very low rates. Mobile penetration and usage is increasing by the day. Just look around you and I can bet that out of every 10 people in a public place, atleast 5 are yapping
on their mobile. Gone are the days of the brick-heavy handsets and Rs.17 per minute rates
(for incoming calls also, if you remember).
Inspite of all this, Indian ingenuity can be seen in how we use the system, but without paying
a single paise and still be within the law. This ingenuity comes in the form of "missed calls".
A missed call does not cost either the caller or receiver anything, but could convey a lot
based on some pre-decided protocol between the caller and receiver.
I personally am a very low phone user. I hate being on the phone - landline or otherwise. Nothing to do with phones per se. It's just that I do not talk much. Ofcourse, past a few
pegs, I open up, smile and horror of horrors even laugh out loud. Strange are the ways of
alcohol. :-)
Anyway, coming back to the point, "missed calls" are a great way for people like me to communicate without actually talking to someone at the other end. I use missed calls
almost on a daily basis. Mainly to communicate with my car pool partner. I car pool to
work with my colleague who lives some 5 kms down the road to our office.
The arrangement is that he walks to the main road, from where I pick him up. To avoid
either of us having to wait for the other, we use missed calls. It takes me some 20 minutes
to reach his place. Just as I leave home, I give him a missed call on his mobile. So he knows
that in 20 odd minutes from the time of my missed call, I will be there. Not a bad way to synchronise timings without spending even a penny. I am sure the mobile phone companies would not really be pleased with this arrangement, though there is nothing they can do
about it.
While caller identification helps a lot in us being able to use the "missed call" feature in cellphones for pre-determined communication, I am not sure whether anyone tried using
the land phones in a similar manner. I do remember one of my sister's friends using the
landline in a similar manner. She used to call her friends on their landline and hang up after
2-3 rings, which according to her was what she did when she thought of them. So, when her friends got such a missed call, they could know that they were being remembered at that moment.
Quite affectionate and caring, you would say. But to me it was really an irritating thing,
because when you hear the phone ringing, you would leave what you were doing to attend
to it, but by the time you reach the phone, it has stopped ringing. You can imagine how
someone would feel after a few such attempts. I finally had my sister tell her friend to stop
this irritating way of remembering her.
Not sure if people in other countries also use "missed call" communication like us. Never
heard any of my friends in the US or Europe mentioning it. But quite possible that people elsewhere are also using this in their own ingenious ways.
the maximum possible value from any resource. Is it any wonder that we have applied the
same to mobile phones also ?
Mobile phone rates in India are currently among the lowest in the world. Handsets are also available at very low rates. Mobile penetration and usage is increasing by the day. Just look around you and I can bet that out of every 10 people in a public place, atleast 5 are yapping
on their mobile. Gone are the days of the brick-heavy handsets and Rs.17 per minute rates
(for incoming calls also, if you remember).
Inspite of all this, Indian ingenuity can be seen in how we use the system, but without paying
a single paise and still be within the law. This ingenuity comes in the form of "missed calls".
A missed call does not cost either the caller or receiver anything, but could convey a lot
based on some pre-decided protocol between the caller and receiver.
I personally am a very low phone user. I hate being on the phone - landline or otherwise. Nothing to do with phones per se. It's just that I do not talk much. Ofcourse, past a few
pegs, I open up, smile and horror of horrors even laugh out loud. Strange are the ways of
alcohol. :-)
Anyway, coming back to the point, "missed calls" are a great way for people like me to communicate without actually talking to someone at the other end. I use missed calls
almost on a daily basis. Mainly to communicate with my car pool partner. I car pool to
work with my colleague who lives some 5 kms down the road to our office.
The arrangement is that he walks to the main road, from where I pick him up. To avoid
either of us having to wait for the other, we use missed calls. It takes me some 20 minutes
to reach his place. Just as I leave home, I give him a missed call on his mobile. So he knows
that in 20 odd minutes from the time of my missed call, I will be there. Not a bad way to synchronise timings without spending even a penny. I am sure the mobile phone companies would not really be pleased with this arrangement, though there is nothing they can do
about it.
While caller identification helps a lot in us being able to use the "missed call" feature in cellphones for pre-determined communication, I am not sure whether anyone tried using
the land phones in a similar manner. I do remember one of my sister's friends using the
landline in a similar manner. She used to call her friends on their landline and hang up after
2-3 rings, which according to her was what she did when she thought of them. So, when her friends got such a missed call, they could know that they were being remembered at that moment.
Quite affectionate and caring, you would say. But to me it was really an irritating thing,
because when you hear the phone ringing, you would leave what you were doing to attend
to it, but by the time you reach the phone, it has stopped ringing. You can imagine how
someone would feel after a few such attempts. I finally had my sister tell her friend to stop
this irritating way of remembering her.
Not sure if people in other countries also use "missed call" communication like us. Never
heard any of my friends in the US or Europe mentioning it. But quite possible that people elsewhere are also using this in their own ingenious ways.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Interesting advertisements.
Recently, I am seeing some real nice work in advertising, which is not only original, but also thought-provoking and something to which we can connect.
Quite a welcome change from the usual boring stuff like Mr.Pipsqueak (Sachin.T) exhorting
us to go for Boost, because it is the secret of his energy. God, how I hate ads that have him.
No human-like quality there, more like some extra terrestrial creature talking to you.
The recent TV ads for Airtel are pretty good and plays on the sentiment thing that is
associated with humans in general and Indians in particular. The ad starts with an old couple (Grandma & Grandpa) in India who have a young visitor. It's their grandson from a son that
left them long ago and went to some foreign land (must be US for all I know). Maybe he fell in love with someone whom his parents did not approve of and thus left home for her. Hmmm,
the plot becomes interesting with a love affair, strict parents and stuff thrown in.
Anyway, the prodigal son has now sent his young son to go meet the grandparents and recreate the relationship. Grandpa initially is kind of angry (well, anyone in his place would be) and says something like "Why has he come now after all these years ?".
But then the 3rd generation has access to something the previous generations did not - cell phones. And ofcourse the Airtel network. He dials papa dear in the US and hands the phone
over to Grandpa. The son says "I am sorry, Dad" or something like that. Grandpa's heart
melts and he pardons the prodigal son, with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Quite a moving ad. Atleast, with a plot and duration of only some 30-odd seconds, the
creators have really done a good job. Ofcourse, will I change to Airtel due to this ad ?
No, I will stay with BSNL. While BSNL is not the epitome of service, they are not bad either.
But then, Airtel as a brand has gained some place in my psyche. Which might be of use to
them at some point of time. Maybe when I get around to getting that broadband connection
at home, which has been pending for a long time.
While I love advertising in any form, my favourite is the print media. Some recent ads from sneaker companies have been interesting and gained my admiration due to their creativity.
Will showcase them in the next few posts.
Quite a welcome change from the usual boring stuff like Mr.Pipsqueak (Sachin.T) exhorting
us to go for Boost, because it is the secret of his energy. God, how I hate ads that have him.
No human-like quality there, more like some extra terrestrial creature talking to you.
The recent TV ads for Airtel are pretty good and plays on the sentiment thing that is
associated with humans in general and Indians in particular. The ad starts with an old couple (Grandma & Grandpa) in India who have a young visitor. It's their grandson from a son that
left them long ago and went to some foreign land (must be US for all I know). Maybe he fell in love with someone whom his parents did not approve of and thus left home for her. Hmmm,
the plot becomes interesting with a love affair, strict parents and stuff thrown in.
Anyway, the prodigal son has now sent his young son to go meet the grandparents and recreate the relationship. Grandpa initially is kind of angry (well, anyone in his place would be) and says something like "Why has he come now after all these years ?".
But then the 3rd generation has access to something the previous generations did not - cell phones. And ofcourse the Airtel network. He dials papa dear in the US and hands the phone
over to Grandpa. The son says "I am sorry, Dad" or something like that. Grandpa's heart
melts and he pardons the prodigal son, with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Quite a moving ad. Atleast, with a plot and duration of only some 30-odd seconds, the
creators have really done a good job. Ofcourse, will I change to Airtel due to this ad ?
No, I will stay with BSNL. While BSNL is not the epitome of service, they are not bad either.
But then, Airtel as a brand has gained some place in my psyche. Which might be of use to
them at some point of time. Maybe when I get around to getting that broadband connection
at home, which has been pending for a long time.
While I love advertising in any form, my favourite is the print media. Some recent ads from sneaker companies have been interesting and gained my admiration due to their creativity.
Will showcase them in the next few posts.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
From the mouths of babes...
Was at the Apollo First Med Hospital yesterday evening for a doctor appointment.
Due to some wierd reason, this doctor does not take appointments, but uses the
first-come-first-served method of seeing patients. Which means, almost always it is like
a 2 hour wait before you get to see the doctor, irrespective of what time you come in.
Usually I take a newspaper or magazine to while away the time. But since I forgot it
yesterday, had to be content watching movie songs (minus audio, due to being a silent
zone) on TV or just looking around observing the people nearby.
There was this cute kid, around 6 years old who was sitting near me, eating a pack of
Little Hearts biscuits. Just to beat away boredom I stuck up a conversation with her
and got to know that her name is Niveda (nice name) and is in 1st standard at the
Sacred Heart school. Since there was a "Heart" in both her school's name and the
biscuits she was eating, I just asked her if she knew what a "heart" meant.
Instead of a verbal reply, she just drew an imaginary heart shape in the air with her
fingers. And when I thought she was done, she added, "Heart means Love" and started
giggling. I was caught unawares - did not expect a small kid to be knowing about the
mushy side associated with hearts. And boy, her Mom was so embarassed and tried to
hush her.
But then, with constant bombardment via TV of film based programs, it is not surprising
that today's kids pick up such details early on. We can't really blame the kids - they are
only shaped by what influences they are exposed to.
Due to some wierd reason, this doctor does not take appointments, but uses the
first-come-first-served method of seeing patients. Which means, almost always it is like
a 2 hour wait before you get to see the doctor, irrespective of what time you come in.
Usually I take a newspaper or magazine to while away the time. But since I forgot it
yesterday, had to be content watching movie songs (minus audio, due to being a silent
zone) on TV or just looking around observing the people nearby.
There was this cute kid, around 6 years old who was sitting near me, eating a pack of
Little Hearts biscuits. Just to beat away boredom I stuck up a conversation with her
and got to know that her name is Niveda (nice name) and is in 1st standard at the
Sacred Heart school. Since there was a "Heart" in both her school's name and the
biscuits she was eating, I just asked her if she knew what a "heart" meant.
Instead of a verbal reply, she just drew an imaginary heart shape in the air with her
fingers. And when I thought she was done, she added, "Heart means Love" and started
giggling. I was caught unawares - did not expect a small kid to be knowing about the
mushy side associated with hearts. And boy, her Mom was so embarassed and tried to
hush her.
But then, with constant bombardment via TV of film based programs, it is not surprising
that today's kids pick up such details early on. We can't really blame the kids - they are
only shaped by what influences they are exposed to.
Monday, April 30, 2007
More kiddy talk. But with reasoning and maturity.
Some time ago, I had posted here about my niece Divya's interest in a power above.
Looks like she is quite serious about religion, which is not a bad thing. Irrespective of what religion we all belong to, it is always good to have faith in a power above and to spend some
time in conversation with God, be it in a temple or church or any other place of worship.
Inspite of my sister and brother-in-law's lukewarm attitude to religion, Divya somehow is
quite serious about the whole God thing. She drags them to church on Sundays, which they
had not been doing for a long time. She also started attending Sunday school (sort of Bible classes for kids).
As she learns stuff in Sunday school, she also gets more doubts. Sample this.
Last Sunday, she was told about the incident in the Bible, where Jesus feeds a huge crowd
of people (5000 or so) with just a few loaves of bread and some fish, that his disciples had
with them. It is supposed to be a miracle that Jesus did and I am guessing that the teacher
at Sunday school used this incident to bring out the miraculous power of God.
So, Divya comes back home and tells her Mom about what she learnt at Sunday school.
Divya : Amma, the teacher told us the story about Jesus feeding 5000 people with just a
few loaves of bread and a few fish.
Amma : Wow, that's good.
Divya : Amma, I know that God is powerful and it is easy for Him to do such a miracle.
Feeding 5000 people with such a small amount of food should be easy for God.
Amma : Yes, God is capable of miracles.
Divya: While I do believe in God and my heart accepts what I learn in Sunday school,
there is a small problem.
Amma : What is that ? (Oh, oh, trouble starting.)
Divya : Inspite of my belief, there is this Satan lurking inside me who sort of taunts by
asking how it is humanely possible for a person to feed such a big crowd with a few fish
and bread ?
Amma : Hmmmm.
Divya : And you know what? This Satan also asks how there could be such a lot of leftovers
after the people had their fill. (As per the Bible, after the people had eaten, the leftovers
collected were enough to fill many baskets.)
Amma: Hmmm. That is where faith comes in. You have to just have faith and believe.
I am sure my sister would have found it tough to answer these seemingly kiddy, but serious questions. I for one am happy that Divya understands the concept of good (God)
and evil (Satan) and the constant conflict between the two.
While I am happy that my niece believes in a power above, all I hope is that she also
grows up being tolerant of other religions and the people practising them. I would not
want her to grow up with any "My religion is the best. My God is the only true one."
kind of attitude.
May atleast her generation grow up imbibing the good things in all religions and avoid
fighting each other in the name of religion.
P.S. : I am sure my sister will have quite some explaining to do when the Sunday School
teacher tells Divya's class about Jesus bringing back to life a person who died. :-)
Looks like she is quite serious about religion, which is not a bad thing. Irrespective of what religion we all belong to, it is always good to have faith in a power above and to spend some
time in conversation with God, be it in a temple or church or any other place of worship.
Inspite of my sister and brother-in-law's lukewarm attitude to religion, Divya somehow is
quite serious about the whole God thing. She drags them to church on Sundays, which they
had not been doing for a long time. She also started attending Sunday school (sort of Bible classes for kids).
As she learns stuff in Sunday school, she also gets more doubts. Sample this.
Last Sunday, she was told about the incident in the Bible, where Jesus feeds a huge crowd
of people (5000 or so) with just a few loaves of bread and some fish, that his disciples had
with them. It is supposed to be a miracle that Jesus did and I am guessing that the teacher
at Sunday school used this incident to bring out the miraculous power of God.
So, Divya comes back home and tells her Mom about what she learnt at Sunday school.
Divya : Amma, the teacher told us the story about Jesus feeding 5000 people with just a
few loaves of bread and a few fish.
Amma : Wow, that's good.
Divya : Amma, I know that God is powerful and it is easy for Him to do such a miracle.
Feeding 5000 people with such a small amount of food should be easy for God.
Amma : Yes, God is capable of miracles.
Divya: While I do believe in God and my heart accepts what I learn in Sunday school,
there is a small problem.
Amma : What is that ? (Oh, oh, trouble starting.)
Divya : Inspite of my belief, there is this Satan lurking inside me who sort of taunts by
asking how it is humanely possible for a person to feed such a big crowd with a few fish
and bread ?
Amma : Hmmmm.
Divya : And you know what? This Satan also asks how there could be such a lot of leftovers
after the people had their fill. (As per the Bible, after the people had eaten, the leftovers
collected were enough to fill many baskets.)
Amma: Hmmm. That is where faith comes in. You have to just have faith and believe.
I am sure my sister would have found it tough to answer these seemingly kiddy, but serious questions. I for one am happy that Divya understands the concept of good (God)
and evil (Satan) and the constant conflict between the two.
While I am happy that my niece believes in a power above, all I hope is that she also
grows up being tolerant of other religions and the people practising them. I would not
want her to grow up with any "My religion is the best. My God is the only true one."
kind of attitude.
May atleast her generation grow up imbibing the good things in all religions and avoid
fighting each other in the name of religion.
P.S. : I am sure my sister will have quite some explaining to do when the Sunday School
teacher tells Divya's class about Jesus bringing back to life a person who died. :-)
Walk the talk. And kids will follow.
An old incident, that happened in 2000 while I was at Gent (Belgium) on work.
Was reminded of this when I saw school kids helping the cops regulate traffic on the roads. Reinforces the saying that the best way of making kids lead, is to set the right example.
Walk the talk and kids will follow.
Its 8AM and I am walking to the bus stop near Sint Pieters to catch the bus to office. I had planned to be at the office at 8:15AM, but woke up late. I see a number 70 bus coming at
the end of the road and I don't want to miss it because the next one might be 10 minutes
away, for all I know.
But I have to cross over to the other side of the road to catch the bus. The signal is green
for the vehicles and red for the pedestrians. There is a guy waiting to cross the road with
his small kid (5 years old max). I see no cars on the road and the bus is approaching fast.
If I wait for the pedestrian signal to turn green, I might miss the bus and will be late for
office. I decide to make a dash for it as there are no cars coming.
I put a foot forward and then decide not to, because there is this guy near me and it does
not seem to be the correct thing to do in a country where people follow the rules. I decide
to wait for the signal to turn green, even if it means that I will be late.
The guy was watching me all through because he said something in Dutch to me. I told
him that I follow only English. Then he said in English "Please do not set a bad example
for the kids to follow".
Man, I was so embarassed. But at the same time, it really struck me why we in India
are a people who never follow the rules. Or why we follow them only if the cop is around.
I understood that it's because we as kids did not get the proper example to follow. If only
our parents/elders had respected the rules, we would respect the rules even if big brother
was not around, and India would have safer roads, to say the least.
I told him that I was sorry and crossed the road, when the light turned green. The bus
came in just after that and I reached office as planned.
Maybe we can't do anything about the present generation who bend the rules, apart from
trying to change ourselves. But there is still hope, as we can instill the right example for the
next generation to follow.
Was reminded of this when I saw school kids helping the cops regulate traffic on the roads. Reinforces the saying that the best way of making kids lead, is to set the right example.
Walk the talk and kids will follow.
Its 8AM and I am walking to the bus stop near Sint Pieters to catch the bus to office. I had planned to be at the office at 8:15AM, but woke up late. I see a number 70 bus coming at
the end of the road and I don't want to miss it because the next one might be 10 minutes
away, for all I know.
But I have to cross over to the other side of the road to catch the bus. The signal is green
for the vehicles and red for the pedestrians. There is a guy waiting to cross the road with
his small kid (5 years old max). I see no cars on the road and the bus is approaching fast.
If I wait for the pedestrian signal to turn green, I might miss the bus and will be late for
office. I decide to make a dash for it as there are no cars coming.
I put a foot forward and then decide not to, because there is this guy near me and it does
not seem to be the correct thing to do in a country where people follow the rules. I decide
to wait for the signal to turn green, even if it means that I will be late.
The guy was watching me all through because he said something in Dutch to me. I told
him that I follow only English. Then he said in English "Please do not set a bad example
for the kids to follow".
Man, I was so embarassed. But at the same time, it really struck me why we in India
are a people who never follow the rules. Or why we follow them only if the cop is around.
I understood that it's because we as kids did not get the proper example to follow. If only
our parents/elders had respected the rules, we would respect the rules even if big brother
was not around, and India would have safer roads, to say the least.
I told him that I was sorry and crossed the road, when the light turned green. The bus
came in just after that and I reached office as planned.
Maybe we can't do anything about the present generation who bend the rules, apart from
trying to change ourselves. But there is still hope, as we can instill the right example for the
next generation to follow.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Stick to just one if you can't treat them same
We recently had a family (my friend, his wife and their two boys aged 6 and 2) over for dinner.
This family is known to us for many years now, but we were meeting after sometime as they
had moved out of Chennai two years ago.
When they were in Chennai last, the family was only 3-strong as the younger kid was not yet born.
Since they lived in the same apartment complex, we used to see them a lot and would spend quite
some time with the elder kid Amit. He was like any other 4-year old kid then, a little naughty but
overall a good chap. He was pretty much an extrovert, with no hesitation in talking to even people
he was meeting the first time.
I shared quite some common interests with him - affinity for anything sweet, hi-speed biking/driving
and racing Remote Control (R/C) cars. We used to spend quite some time racing R/C cars on the apartment terrace.
But seeing him after a gap of just 2 years, he seemed an entirely different person. Though he did recognize me, there was not much enthusiasm. Not even when I brought out the latest R/C car that
I had got from abroad. He sort of kept to himself, sitting along with his parents, instead of joining me and his kid bro (Sumit) as we raced the car. I was surprised by this huge change in his behaviour and initially attributed it to the natural growing-up process. However, the actual reason was to be clear soon.
A few moments after Sumit took a fancy to one of the cars and moved to one end of the living room, Amit slowly came to my side and took the remote of the car that I had with me. I was happy that he was slowly coming back to his normal self and tried to make some small talk with him.
He had just about raced the car for a few minutes when Sumit rushed over to us and grabbed
the car from Amit. He tried to resist, very briefly, but gave up when his parents in unison said, "Amit, let your bro have it. He is a small kid, na". With a pained expression on his face, Amit
gave up and returned to his perch on the sofa. I was unsure as to what to do - console Amit
or get Sumit to part with one of the cars.
Similar instances happened during the evening, with Sumit staking claim to anything that big brother had and parents always supporting the younger one. I could see the pain in Amit's eyes,
the embarassment of having to always give up and the dismay at his parent's partiality towards
his brother. If left unchecked, I felt that this would lead to a serious lack of self-confidence in Amit and probably even hatred towards his bro.
Finally after dinner, when Sumit snatched the ice-cream cup from Amit, I had had enough and intervened to restore the cup back to Amit and gently but firmly chided Sumit. I then called my
friend out, as if for a smoke and impressed upon him the negative fallouts due to their always supporting and encouraging their younger kid at the cost of the elder one.
The fallouts could range from something as minor as anger towards his brother, to more serious issues like lack of self-confidence, becoming introverted and a generally gloomy outlook to life.
I think I have made my friend understand the seriousness of the situation. Meanwhile my wife
was busy talking to his wife on the same lines.
I sincerely hope and wish that the parents understand their folly and change their partisan behaviour, atleast from now on. I fail to understand how parents can treat their offspring differently. There is no rationale to doing so and I feel such parents are better off with only one kid.
Why take the trouble of having more than one kid when you cannot treat them on par ?
It's not just this couple. I know a lot more like them. In some cases it is partiality towards the younger / youngest one and in some cases it is partiality towards the son, while ignoring the
daughter. Either way, it is not healthy behaviour expected from parents. Such behaviour
will also result in problems for the favoured child. They get used to having their way always at
home and assume that it would be the same outside too, which most often would not be the
case, leading to disappointment and frustration.
All aspiring parents, if you think that you cannot treat your kids the same, stick to just one.
This family is known to us for many years now, but we were meeting after sometime as they
had moved out of Chennai two years ago.
When they were in Chennai last, the family was only 3-strong as the younger kid was not yet born.
Since they lived in the same apartment complex, we used to see them a lot and would spend quite
some time with the elder kid Amit. He was like any other 4-year old kid then, a little naughty but
overall a good chap. He was pretty much an extrovert, with no hesitation in talking to even people
he was meeting the first time.
I shared quite some common interests with him - affinity for anything sweet, hi-speed biking/driving
and racing Remote Control (R/C) cars. We used to spend quite some time racing R/C cars on the apartment terrace.
But seeing him after a gap of just 2 years, he seemed an entirely different person. Though he did recognize me, there was not much enthusiasm. Not even when I brought out the latest R/C car that
I had got from abroad. He sort of kept to himself, sitting along with his parents, instead of joining me and his kid bro (Sumit) as we raced the car. I was surprised by this huge change in his behaviour and initially attributed it to the natural growing-up process. However, the actual reason was to be clear soon.
A few moments after Sumit took a fancy to one of the cars and moved to one end of the living room, Amit slowly came to my side and took the remote of the car that I had with me. I was happy that he was slowly coming back to his normal self and tried to make some small talk with him.
He had just about raced the car for a few minutes when Sumit rushed over to us and grabbed
the car from Amit. He tried to resist, very briefly, but gave up when his parents in unison said, "Amit, let your bro have it. He is a small kid, na". With a pained expression on his face, Amit
gave up and returned to his perch on the sofa. I was unsure as to what to do - console Amit
or get Sumit to part with one of the cars.
Similar instances happened during the evening, with Sumit staking claim to anything that big brother had and parents always supporting the younger one. I could see the pain in Amit's eyes,
the embarassment of having to always give up and the dismay at his parent's partiality towards
his brother. If left unchecked, I felt that this would lead to a serious lack of self-confidence in Amit and probably even hatred towards his bro.
Finally after dinner, when Sumit snatched the ice-cream cup from Amit, I had had enough and intervened to restore the cup back to Amit and gently but firmly chided Sumit. I then called my
friend out, as if for a smoke and impressed upon him the negative fallouts due to their always supporting and encouraging their younger kid at the cost of the elder one.
The fallouts could range from something as minor as anger towards his brother, to more serious issues like lack of self-confidence, becoming introverted and a generally gloomy outlook to life.
I think I have made my friend understand the seriousness of the situation. Meanwhile my wife
was busy talking to his wife on the same lines.
I sincerely hope and wish that the parents understand their folly and change their partisan behaviour, atleast from now on. I fail to understand how parents can treat their offspring differently. There is no rationale to doing so and I feel such parents are better off with only one kid.
Why take the trouble of having more than one kid when you cannot treat them on par ?
It's not just this couple. I know a lot more like them. In some cases it is partiality towards the younger / youngest one and in some cases it is partiality towards the son, while ignoring the
daughter. Either way, it is not healthy behaviour expected from parents. Such behaviour
will also result in problems for the favoured child. They get used to having their way always at
home and assume that it would be the same outside too, which most often would not be the
case, leading to disappointment and frustration.
All aspiring parents, if you think that you cannot treat your kids the same, stick to just one.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Tamilnadu through the eyes of a Belgian from Lokeren
Looks like email forwards do serve some purpose, after all.
Received one yesterday with the following link
http://www.pbase.com/oochappan/
It has the most awesome photographs that I have ever seen. The theme is mostly Tamilnadu
with special emphasis on Madurai. Did some investigating and found that it is the work of a Belgian (Lokeren town) who since 1987 spends the first three months of the year in Tamilnadu.
Oochappan is the name of an old person he met in Tamilnadu and which he uses as an alias/nick. Checked with my Belgian colleague who also is from Lokeren and it seems this person is a good friend of my colleague's cousin. It sure is a small world.
Each and every photograph is a gem. Well worth the time spent viewing them.
Received one yesterday with the following link
http://www.pbase.com/oochappan/
It has the most awesome photographs that I have ever seen. The theme is mostly Tamilnadu
with special emphasis on Madurai. Did some investigating and found that it is the work of a Belgian (Lokeren town) who since 1987 spends the first three months of the year in Tamilnadu.
Oochappan is the name of an old person he met in Tamilnadu and which he uses as an alias/nick. Checked with my Belgian colleague who also is from Lokeren and it seems this person is a good friend of my colleague's cousin. It sure is a small world.
Each and every photograph is a gem. Well worth the time spent viewing them.
New unethical tactics by credit card companies to squeeze customers.
Got an email forward today which mentioned that action has been initiated against two multinational banks for violating RBI guidelines.
They seem to have come up with a unique scam. They would deliberately delay sending
monthly credit card bills to customers so that customers will get delayed in dropping the
cheque. Then they charge late fees, interest, fine etc. And in cases where customers do
drop the cheque on time, the banks would delay realising the cheque deliberately so that
they can charge customers for late delivery.
Looks like these guys are not satisfied with the exhorbitant (30% p.a.) interest rates that
they currently charge for those that do not pay the monthly dues in full. It would be helpful
for credit card users to be wary to avoid falling in such traps.
Dealing with credit card companies is easy if you keep in mind a few things :
1. Pay no annual or joining fees for any card. Most card issuers today give fully free cards.
Remember that they need you more than you need them. And you have lots of banks to
choose from.
2. Pay your monthly dues in full - do not rollover your payments. The interest charged is
around 30% p.a. or more (though they will mention it as 2.5% p.m. to make it look low).
Also, once you start rolling over your dues, you do not get free credit even for fresh purchases.
3. Be aware that you have given no security / collateral to them. So control is in your hands.
There is no way they can make you pay any unjustified charges. Fight any unjustified
charges and just refuse to pay. Follow it up with a threat to close the card and go ahead
and do it if they do not relent.
4. Know that there is no free lunch. Buy on your card only if you can pay it in full when the bill
lands at you door next month. Avoid impulse purchases.
5. Credit cards are not evil. Infact they are very useful. It is just that you need to know how to
use them properly.
They seem to have come up with a unique scam. They would deliberately delay sending
monthly credit card bills to customers so that customers will get delayed in dropping the
cheque. Then they charge late fees, interest, fine etc. And in cases where customers do
drop the cheque on time, the banks would delay realising the cheque deliberately so that
they can charge customers for late delivery.
Looks like these guys are not satisfied with the exhorbitant (30% p.a.) interest rates that
they currently charge for those that do not pay the monthly dues in full. It would be helpful
for credit card users to be wary to avoid falling in such traps.
Dealing with credit card companies is easy if you keep in mind a few things :
1. Pay no annual or joining fees for any card. Most card issuers today give fully free cards.
Remember that they need you more than you need them. And you have lots of banks to
choose from.
2. Pay your monthly dues in full - do not rollover your payments. The interest charged is
around 30% p.a. or more (though they will mention it as 2.5% p.m. to make it look low).
Also, once you start rolling over your dues, you do not get free credit even for fresh purchases.
3. Be aware that you have given no security / collateral to them. So control is in your hands.
There is no way they can make you pay any unjustified charges. Fight any unjustified
charges and just refuse to pay. Follow it up with a threat to close the card and go ahead
and do it if they do not relent.
4. Know that there is no free lunch. Buy on your card only if you can pay it in full when the bill
lands at you door next month. Avoid impulse purchases.
5. Credit cards are not evil. Infact they are very useful. It is just that you need to know how to
use them properly.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Speed Post or Shoddy Post ?
Imagine the following scenario.
Your family needs to have an important document reach you urgently and decides to send it via Speed Post, which is supposed to be fast. You are expecting it to be delivered at your door the next day (private courier companies do overnight delivery between Kerala and Chennai).
Nothing happens the next day and the day after. The third day, you are seriously worried and
haul yourself to the nearest post office, who direct you to a post office which handles Speed
Post for your locality and which is like 5kms away.
You reach there at noon braving the Chennai heat. The clerk there takes the consignment number and feeds it into his PC. You are like, "Wow, online tracking. Real cool." He then says that the document reached them yesterday and was also handed over to the postman servicing your area and that you should have got it yesterday itself. You clarify that if you got it yesterday, you would not be here.
He goes, "You should get it today then. If not, come back here at 7PM and the postman will be available". You go back home and even till 6:30PM, there is no sign of the postman or the document. You make another trip to the post office. You wait till 8:30 PM for the postman to come, fuming at your people for having used Speed Post.
The postman comes in at 8:30PM. You give him the details and he goes through the mail in his bag. No, your mail is not with him. Another trip to the clerk, who again enters the Consignment Number into the PC. The status remains the same - Undelivered.
They dig up yesterday's paper records and find your document details. Marked in ink alongside
is "Enquiry". You ask what it means. The postman says that he had a doubt about the address
and thus marked it that way. You tell him that your family has been mailing you for decades now and at the same address and there is no way the address could be wrong.
Now, the truth comes out. The postman says, he is seriously overloaded with too many articles
to deliver. So ? So, he sent it back without even attempting delivery.
Can you imagine such a stupid reasoning from someone. He returned back a document without even trying to deliver it because he was overloaded. Yes, this is not fiction. But something that I went through personally over the last weekend. I was both worried about the document not reaching me and at the same time angry about the stupidity being doled out to me. It was really tough for me to keep myself from hitting that stupid ass****.
I complain to the Post Master who says its a mistake and mistakes do happen. I know that mistakes do happen. But this is no mistake, it is stupidity of the highest order and intentional
dereliction of duty. If he was overloaded, he could have delivered it the next day. Or left it at the
post office and I could have collected it from there. But No, he had to send it back.
My people got it back yesterday and have now couriered it back to me via private courier. If only they had taken this sensible step instead of using the shoddy service rendered by the Indian Posts.
Keep away from Speed Post unless you want them to screw up. You pay a premium and end
up with such service. BTW, if my people had even sent it via normal post, I would have got it on
the 3rd day. So much for premium service.
Your family needs to have an important document reach you urgently and decides to send it via Speed Post, which is supposed to be fast. You are expecting it to be delivered at your door the next day (private courier companies do overnight delivery between Kerala and Chennai).
Nothing happens the next day and the day after. The third day, you are seriously worried and
haul yourself to the nearest post office, who direct you to a post office which handles Speed
Post for your locality and which is like 5kms away.
You reach there at noon braving the Chennai heat. The clerk there takes the consignment number and feeds it into his PC. You are like, "Wow, online tracking. Real cool." He then says that the document reached them yesterday and was also handed over to the postman servicing your area and that you should have got it yesterday itself. You clarify that if you got it yesterday, you would not be here.
He goes, "You should get it today then. If not, come back here at 7PM and the postman will be available". You go back home and even till 6:30PM, there is no sign of the postman or the document. You make another trip to the post office. You wait till 8:30 PM for the postman to come, fuming at your people for having used Speed Post.
The postman comes in at 8:30PM. You give him the details and he goes through the mail in his bag. No, your mail is not with him. Another trip to the clerk, who again enters the Consignment Number into the PC. The status remains the same - Undelivered.
They dig up yesterday's paper records and find your document details. Marked in ink alongside
is "Enquiry". You ask what it means. The postman says that he had a doubt about the address
and thus marked it that way. You tell him that your family has been mailing you for decades now and at the same address and there is no way the address could be wrong.
Now, the truth comes out. The postman says, he is seriously overloaded with too many articles
to deliver. So ? So, he sent it back without even attempting delivery.
Can you imagine such a stupid reasoning from someone. He returned back a document without even trying to deliver it because he was overloaded. Yes, this is not fiction. But something that I went through personally over the last weekend. I was both worried about the document not reaching me and at the same time angry about the stupidity being doled out to me. It was really tough for me to keep myself from hitting that stupid ass****.
I complain to the Post Master who says its a mistake and mistakes do happen. I know that mistakes do happen. But this is no mistake, it is stupidity of the highest order and intentional
dereliction of duty. If he was overloaded, he could have delivered it the next day. Or left it at the
post office and I could have collected it from there. But No, he had to send it back.
My people got it back yesterday and have now couriered it back to me via private courier. If only they had taken this sensible step instead of using the shoddy service rendered by the Indian Posts.
Keep away from Speed Post unless you want them to screw up. You pay a premium and end
up with such service. BTW, if my people had even sent it via normal post, I would have got it on
the 3rd day. So much for premium service.
Is Chennai saying no (albeit slowly) to plastic ?
With plastic bags in use all over the place and the old jute shopping bags fading into oblivion, Chennai is no different from other Indian cities in plastic abuse. However, I seem to be seeing
an awareness about plastic bag usage and the environmental damage caused due to it.
Yesterday I was at a Spencers Daily outlet and the two customers (pretty girls) in front of me
at the checkout counter politely declined the plastic bags offered by the staff. I was mighty impressed, given the fact that anyone selling anything today dishes out a plastic bag to hold
the stuff that we buy from them, and which we have come to expect as a right.
I have been trying to avoid using plastic as much as I can. For all my grocery shopping, I carry
a jute bag and politely decline the plastic bags. Ofcourse, it does look kind of odd to go
shopping with a bag, something that we usually associate with the elderly. But then the
satisfaction of having done your small bit for the environment gives you a high.
And of late, I also see some shopkeepers asking if we have our own bag with us. For all I know,
he might be trying to save a few paise due to a plastic bag saved, but ultimately it reduces that much plastic going to the landfills. So, at the vegetable/fruit shop, I am able to get away with my tactic of avoiding the plastic bags offered by them.
It is only at the fish market that I usually fail. The plastic bags favoured by the fish sellers is the
real thin and low quality black kind, which I am sure would not be even food grade. I have tried taking my own plastic bag while buying fish, but they would nevertheless ignore me and smilingly use the yucky plastic bag.
Must try some more innovative means the next time, to avoid that plastic bag. :-)
an awareness about plastic bag usage and the environmental damage caused due to it.
Yesterday I was at a Spencers Daily outlet and the two customers (pretty girls) in front of me
at the checkout counter politely declined the plastic bags offered by the staff. I was mighty impressed, given the fact that anyone selling anything today dishes out a plastic bag to hold
the stuff that we buy from them, and which we have come to expect as a right.
I have been trying to avoid using plastic as much as I can. For all my grocery shopping, I carry
a jute bag and politely decline the plastic bags. Ofcourse, it does look kind of odd to go
shopping with a bag, something that we usually associate with the elderly. But then the
satisfaction of having done your small bit for the environment gives you a high.
And of late, I also see some shopkeepers asking if we have our own bag with us. For all I know,
he might be trying to save a few paise due to a plastic bag saved, but ultimately it reduces that much plastic going to the landfills. So, at the vegetable/fruit shop, I am able to get away with my tactic of avoiding the plastic bags offered by them.
It is only at the fish market that I usually fail. The plastic bags favoured by the fish sellers is the
real thin and low quality black kind, which I am sure would not be even food grade. I have tried taking my own plastic bag while buying fish, but they would nevertheless ignore me and smilingly use the yucky plastic bag.
Must try some more innovative means the next time, to avoid that plastic bag. :-)
Energy going waste instead of being harnessed.
Inspite of the almost all-year-round hot weather and occasional water scarcity, one thing that is awesome about Chennai is the un-interrupted power supply. Power cuts happen very rarely
and even when they do, the Electricity Board (EB) ensures that things are back to normal ASAP.
Compare this situation to say in Kerala, where apart from the official 2-4 hours of daily power
cuts (load shedding, as the EB calls it), there are unofficial power cuts that leave you sweating
and fuming.
With summer already setting in, nights are kind of hot and most people have started activating
their air-conditioners, though as of now, a ceiling fan is kind of enough. Yesterday night, power went off around three times for some 5 minute duration each time, which was surprising as it
was very unusual. Though power was restored fast, it made me think of how much of easily and freely available power we are wasting in Chennai and most other parts of India.
This comes in the form of solar energy, which in Chennai is freely available almost throughout
the year. The sun in Chennai is like a blazing furnace directed downwards and if it were not for
the sea breeze that we are blessed with, life could be hell.
The good thing is that this can be harnessed and used for a variety of applications. The traffic police had started an initiative some time ago to power the traffic booths with solar energy.
The solar panel on top of the booth would be enough to power a light and fan provided inside
the booth for the policeman on duty. However, from the looks of it, it seems this has been
ignored. I am not sure though.
As Chennai becomes a concrete jungle with more and more high rises (both residential and business complexes) coming up, isn't solar energy a viable and cheap option ? The terrace of these complexes should provide enough space to put up the panels and the energy could be
used for lighting purposes, thereby resulting in lessening the load on our thermal power plants
and also provide savings for the users in terms of reduced EB charges.
Our apartment complex consumes electricity worth Rs.4500 every 2 months. Of this, the bulk
of the usage (approximately 70%) is for powering the 4 water motors that pump water from
the underground sumps to the overhead tanks. I am not sure whether solar energy can be
used for energy-intensive applications like driving water pumps. However, it definitely can be
used for lighting up the complex which currently consumes the remaining 30% of the energy
drawn by us.
Ofcourse, the usual obstacle would be the initial investment for setting up the solar energy
system and for re-wiring the lighting system to be connected to the solar energy source.
This would require each flat owner to contribute some amount. Ofcourse all of the owners
are pretty well off and can easily afford this amount. However, they would look at this from
another point of view - what is in it for me ?
Well, to be frank, the only owners benefitting from this would be the ones staying in the flats, because the savings on power will be reflected in the reduced maintenance amount that they
pay monthly. So, those that have rented out their flats do not stand to gain much. And would therefore not be willing to fork out their share.
The tenants would ofcourse benefit due to reduced maintenance rates, but then they are there
only temporarily and thus would not be willing to contribute. So, finally it will be like running
around in circles, with nothing really happening.
One option is for the Govt to insist on new projects to compulsorily use solar power for the
exterior lighting. Just like rainwater harvesting was made compulsory.This would ensure that atleast new projects would make use of this huge source of energy, benefitting not only
themselves, but also lessening the load on the electricity supply system.
and even when they do, the Electricity Board (EB) ensures that things are back to normal ASAP.
Compare this situation to say in Kerala, where apart from the official 2-4 hours of daily power
cuts (load shedding, as the EB calls it), there are unofficial power cuts that leave you sweating
and fuming.
With summer already setting in, nights are kind of hot and most people have started activating
their air-conditioners, though as of now, a ceiling fan is kind of enough. Yesterday night, power went off around three times for some 5 minute duration each time, which was surprising as it
was very unusual. Though power was restored fast, it made me think of how much of easily and freely available power we are wasting in Chennai and most other parts of India.
This comes in the form of solar energy, which in Chennai is freely available almost throughout
the year. The sun in Chennai is like a blazing furnace directed downwards and if it were not for
the sea breeze that we are blessed with, life could be hell.
The good thing is that this can be harnessed and used for a variety of applications. The traffic police had started an initiative some time ago to power the traffic booths with solar energy.
The solar panel on top of the booth would be enough to power a light and fan provided inside
the booth for the policeman on duty. However, from the looks of it, it seems this has been
ignored. I am not sure though.
As Chennai becomes a concrete jungle with more and more high rises (both residential and business complexes) coming up, isn't solar energy a viable and cheap option ? The terrace of these complexes should provide enough space to put up the panels and the energy could be
used for lighting purposes, thereby resulting in lessening the load on our thermal power plants
and also provide savings for the users in terms of reduced EB charges.
Our apartment complex consumes electricity worth Rs.4500 every 2 months. Of this, the bulk
of the usage (approximately 70%) is for powering the 4 water motors that pump water from
the underground sumps to the overhead tanks. I am not sure whether solar energy can be
used for energy-intensive applications like driving water pumps. However, it definitely can be
used for lighting up the complex which currently consumes the remaining 30% of the energy
drawn by us.
Ofcourse, the usual obstacle would be the initial investment for setting up the solar energy
system and for re-wiring the lighting system to be connected to the solar energy source.
This would require each flat owner to contribute some amount. Ofcourse all of the owners
are pretty well off and can easily afford this amount. However, they would look at this from
another point of view - what is in it for me ?
Well, to be frank, the only owners benefitting from this would be the ones staying in the flats, because the savings on power will be reflected in the reduced maintenance amount that they
pay monthly. So, those that have rented out their flats do not stand to gain much. And would therefore not be willing to fork out their share.
The tenants would ofcourse benefit due to reduced maintenance rates, but then they are there
only temporarily and thus would not be willing to contribute. So, finally it will be like running
around in circles, with nothing really happening.
One option is for the Govt to insist on new projects to compulsorily use solar power for the
exterior lighting. Just like rainwater harvesting was made compulsory.This would ensure that atleast new projects would make use of this huge source of energy, benefitting not only
themselves, but also lessening the load on the electricity supply system.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Bite the bullet
Another campus shooting in the US of A. Tragic, considering the number of lives lost.
Young ones at that. India also has reason to grieve - two of them were of Indian origin.
But does it surprise anyone who knows of the gun culture in the US and the easy
availability ? Years ago when I was in the US for the first time, Wal-Mart was to me
a shopper's dream come true. A shop that had everything under one roof - groceries,
toys, medicines, clothes, electronic items, white goods, and so on - you name it, they
had it. What could be more convenient ?
But I was surprised to see a section for guns too. That was new to me - never saw one
in India or even Europe. The only sighting of a store selling guns in India was a shop I
saw somewhere on Mount Road in Chennai years ago. Don't know the exact location,
but I guess it is somewhere near Wallajah Road signal. Never had any need to go to
that shop. And anyway I don't think we can just walk-in and buy a gun in India.
For some days or even weeks, we will have the media making a big noise about needing
gun control. Like in the past, these will stay in the media and in the public consciousness
for some time and then people will move on. Till the gun strikes next.
Ofcourse the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the arms lobby will come out in
defence of the gun culture. As in the past, they will use the argument that "the right to
bear arms" is enshrined in the US constitution.
Yes, the constitution has it. But remember when the constitution was drafted? Like 300
years ago. At that time, it might have been relevant. Then, might was right in the States,
with personal security being the responsibility of the individual. With a good law enforcement system in place today, citizens need not be personally armed to be safe.
And ofcourse, it is not like the constitution is something sacrosanct. It's just a guiding
framework drawn by a few guys and mainly relevant to the time when it was created.
When any part of it becomes irrelevant, it needs modifications. That's why we have constitutional amendments. Atleast in India, we do.
They will also say that "It is not guns that kill, it is people". Yes, morons, we very well know
that a gun can't go off by itself and needs a human to trigger it. But then, without guns
available easily, does it not make it that more difficult for a person to go on a shooting spree ?
Ofcourse the really determined criminal will still find a way to get his hands on a gun. But,
atleast it will limit guns from getting into the hands of school kids, due to Daddy getting a
gun easily and not taking care to lock it up safely.
There is no easy way out here. Control guns if you do not want things to spiral out of control.
Young ones at that. India also has reason to grieve - two of them were of Indian origin.
But does it surprise anyone who knows of the gun culture in the US and the easy
availability ? Years ago when I was in the US for the first time, Wal-Mart was to me
a shopper's dream come true. A shop that had everything under one roof - groceries,
toys, medicines, clothes, electronic items, white goods, and so on - you name it, they
had it. What could be more convenient ?
But I was surprised to see a section for guns too. That was new to me - never saw one
in India or even Europe. The only sighting of a store selling guns in India was a shop I
saw somewhere on Mount Road in Chennai years ago. Don't know the exact location,
but I guess it is somewhere near Wallajah Road signal. Never had any need to go to
that shop. And anyway I don't think we can just walk-in and buy a gun in India.
For some days or even weeks, we will have the media making a big noise about needing
gun control. Like in the past, these will stay in the media and in the public consciousness
for some time and then people will move on. Till the gun strikes next.
Ofcourse the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the arms lobby will come out in
defence of the gun culture. As in the past, they will use the argument that "the right to
bear arms" is enshrined in the US constitution.
Yes, the constitution has it. But remember when the constitution was drafted? Like 300
years ago. At that time, it might have been relevant. Then, might was right in the States,
with personal security being the responsibility of the individual. With a good law enforcement system in place today, citizens need not be personally armed to be safe.
And ofcourse, it is not like the constitution is something sacrosanct. It's just a guiding
framework drawn by a few guys and mainly relevant to the time when it was created.
When any part of it becomes irrelevant, it needs modifications. That's why we have constitutional amendments. Atleast in India, we do.
They will also say that "It is not guns that kill, it is people". Yes, morons, we very well know
that a gun can't go off by itself and needs a human to trigger it. But then, without guns
available easily, does it not make it that more difficult for a person to go on a shooting spree ?
Ofcourse the really determined criminal will still find a way to get his hands on a gun. But,
atleast it will limit guns from getting into the hands of school kids, due to Daddy getting a
gun easily and not taking care to lock it up safely.
There is no easy way out here. Control guns if you do not want things to spiral out of control.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Akshaya Trithya - start something new.
A brilliant new scam by jewellers to get the gullible public flocking to them to buy jewellery,
goes by the name of Akshaya Trithya. For the past few years, jewellers have managed to
build an aura around this annual event and given it an auspicious image, going to the extent
of implying that it is lucky to invest in gold (in recent years they extended it to silver, platinum etc) on this day.
Now even banks (ICICI etc) have joined the bandwagon to sell their pure gold coins and bars
and advertise heavily during Akshaya Trithya. I would not be surprised if they soon add
stocks, mutual funds, real estate, cars, bikes etc to the list.
Some 4-5 years ago, no one had even heard of this supposedly important day in the Hindu calendar. If it was such an important day, how come we never heard of it till a few years ago ? So, what is this day all about ? I did a check on Google about this and got the following info :
Akshaya Tritya : (Jain) This day celebrates the day when Lord Rishabha broke his first year-long fast by drinking sugar cane juice. To begin anything new is considered very auspicious on this day.
So, basically it is just about starting something new and not really about stocking up so much
gold resulting in a shortage in other parts of the world. :-)
We Indians (atleast the 50% that are women and some of the men too) are anyway gold
crazy and don’t really require any special day to go gold shopping. If you have a doubt,
checkout the crowds in any jewellery shop in Kerala or TN. Inspite of this, there might
be some periods of the year when sales lag and some bright guy (of World Gold Council)
came up with this whole Akshaya Trithya story. And to avoid you inconvenience / disappointment, they even take orders much in advance of Akshaya Trithya and let you
collect the gold on the big day. How about that for customer service ?
Buying / selling jewellery is anyway a big scam with the jewellers adding overheads
(wastage, craftmanship etc) when we buy and deducting the same or more when we
sell to them. To sum up, we get a bad deal either way.
In short, base your gold buying decisions on need and not on the basis of advertising spins.
If you really want to start something new, how about starting that exercise regime you
have had in mind for years. Or a visit to the local orphanage to spend some time with the
kids there and maybe even do a small donation. Or funding the education of a less
priveleged youngster in your neighbourhood. Or setting up a local Exnora to keep your neighborhood clean.
Lots of ways to make a clean beginning. Just the will is required.
goes by the name of Akshaya Trithya. For the past few years, jewellers have managed to
build an aura around this annual event and given it an auspicious image, going to the extent
of implying that it is lucky to invest in gold (in recent years they extended it to silver, platinum etc) on this day.
Now even banks (ICICI etc) have joined the bandwagon to sell their pure gold coins and bars
and advertise heavily during Akshaya Trithya. I would not be surprised if they soon add
stocks, mutual funds, real estate, cars, bikes etc to the list.
Some 4-5 years ago, no one had even heard of this supposedly important day in the Hindu calendar. If it was such an important day, how come we never heard of it till a few years ago ? So, what is this day all about ? I did a check on Google about this and got the following info :
Akshaya Tritya : (Jain) This day celebrates the day when Lord Rishabha broke his first year-long fast by drinking sugar cane juice. To begin anything new is considered very auspicious on this day.
So, basically it is just about starting something new and not really about stocking up so much
gold resulting in a shortage in other parts of the world. :-)
We Indians (atleast the 50% that are women and some of the men too) are anyway gold
crazy and don’t really require any special day to go gold shopping. If you have a doubt,
checkout the crowds in any jewellery shop in Kerala or TN. Inspite of this, there might
be some periods of the year when sales lag and some bright guy (of World Gold Council)
came up with this whole Akshaya Trithya story. And to avoid you inconvenience / disappointment, they even take orders much in advance of Akshaya Trithya and let you
collect the gold on the big day. How about that for customer service ?
Buying / selling jewellery is anyway a big scam with the jewellers adding overheads
(wastage, craftmanship etc) when we buy and deducting the same or more when we
sell to them. To sum up, we get a bad deal either way.
In short, base your gold buying decisions on need and not on the basis of advertising spins.
If you really want to start something new, how about starting that exercise regime you
have had in mind for years. Or a visit to the local orphanage to spend some time with the
kids there and maybe even do a small donation. Or funding the education of a less
priveleged youngster in your neighbourhood. Or setting up a local Exnora to keep your neighborhood clean.
Lots of ways to make a clean beginning. Just the will is required.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Malayalee's obsession with elephants.
Yet another temple elephant on the rampage in Kerala. See link, courtesy Kairali TV.
The video is gory to say the least. A young guy (the mahout ?) is thrown around by an
elephant, like an old rag. Once it is done with the guy, the elephant turns its attention to
another elephant, which it pushes to the ground and then tries to roll it over with its tusks.
Finally it pushes the poor thing into a building barely tall enough for the animal to fit in.
Elephants are an integral part of the Kerala psyche. And most temple functions cannot do without them. The Thrissur Pooram has quite a few of them lined up, amidst a big crowd of people and loud fireworks. BTW, the Supreme Court has recently banned fireworks at the Pooram, citing noise pollution issues. Not sure how exciting the Pooram will be sans the
fireworks.
It is a common sight in our town to see an elephant led along the streets with people offering
it coconut leaves, plantains etc. It is quite a sight actually with most of the small road blocked
by the majestic animal and even the biggies like buses, trucks etc giving way. The bell around
its neck can be heard from a distance and we would come to the gate to see the animal.
However, everytime an elephant runs amok, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Fingers are pointed at the drunk mahout who ill-treated it or who made it walk for miles to a temple function or overworked it etc.
Maybe it is time to take an hard look at whether we really need to have these majestic animals lined up in the temple grounds, standing for hours in the hot sun and amidst the din caused by loudspeakers etc.
I am not sure whether the rituals really call for elephants to be present. If not, it would be sensible to excuse these poor animals from our prayers to the Almighty. We would be also saving some human lives in the process.
The video is gory to say the least. A young guy (the mahout ?) is thrown around by an
elephant, like an old rag. Once it is done with the guy, the elephant turns its attention to
another elephant, which it pushes to the ground and then tries to roll it over with its tusks.
Finally it pushes the poor thing into a building barely tall enough for the animal to fit in.
Elephants are an integral part of the Kerala psyche. And most temple functions cannot do without them. The Thrissur Pooram has quite a few of them lined up, amidst a big crowd of people and loud fireworks. BTW, the Supreme Court has recently banned fireworks at the Pooram, citing noise pollution issues. Not sure how exciting the Pooram will be sans the
fireworks.
It is a common sight in our town to see an elephant led along the streets with people offering
it coconut leaves, plantains etc. It is quite a sight actually with most of the small road blocked
by the majestic animal and even the biggies like buses, trucks etc giving way. The bell around
its neck can be heard from a distance and we would come to the gate to see the animal.
However, everytime an elephant runs amok, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Fingers are pointed at the drunk mahout who ill-treated it or who made it walk for miles to a temple function or overworked it etc.
Maybe it is time to take an hard look at whether we really need to have these majestic animals lined up in the temple grounds, standing for hours in the hot sun and amidst the din caused by loudspeakers etc.
I am not sure whether the rituals really call for elephants to be present. If not, it would be sensible to excuse these poor animals from our prayers to the Almighty. We would be also saving some human lives in the process.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The best Easter wishes I ever came across.
Got the following Easter greeting as SMS from a friend.
He had no servants, yet they called him Master;
No degrees, yet they called him Teacher;
No medicine, yet they called him Healer;
No Army, yet the kings feared Him;
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world;
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him;
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
Happy Easter.
Incidentally, I received this from a friend who happens to be a Hindu.
Which set me thinking as to how he came up with such a nice composition
which sort of sums up almost all that Jesus Christ stood for in a few words.
It would be tough for most Christians to sum it up so beautifully.
The chances of his having received this from someone are remote, because
Easter holds no direct relevance for him due to his not being a X'ian.
You won't wish a non-Christian on Easter, would you ?
So, chances are it is his original composition and if so, it is a brilliant piece of writing.
With this kind of understanding/tolerance/acceptance of other religions, no wonder
India is still in one piece, inspite of the rare Babri demolition or Gujarat carnage ?
He had no servants, yet they called him Master;
No degrees, yet they called him Teacher;
No medicine, yet they called him Healer;
No Army, yet the kings feared Him;
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world;
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him;
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
Happy Easter.
Incidentally, I received this from a friend who happens to be a Hindu.
Which set me thinking as to how he came up with such a nice composition
which sort of sums up almost all that Jesus Christ stood for in a few words.
It would be tough for most Christians to sum it up so beautifully.
The chances of his having received this from someone are remote, because
Easter holds no direct relevance for him due to his not being a X'ian.
You won't wish a non-Christian on Easter, would you ?
So, chances are it is his original composition and if so, it is a brilliant piece of writing.
With this kind of understanding/tolerance/acceptance of other religions, no wonder
India is still in one piece, inspite of the rare Babri demolition or Gujarat carnage ?
Monday, April 09, 2007
Fire, Earth or Vultures ? Take your pick.
The last time I was in God's own country, a close pal's Dad expired and our group
of friends went to pay our last respects to the departed soul. I usually avoid both
funerals and weddings, ofcourse due to different reasons.
With funerals, it is the overall gloom, the crying of relatives which saddens me and
thus I avoid them. With weddings, I hate waiting for food and then the jostling to
get to the dining area etc. More importantly, I hate people watching me when I am
eating. So imagine my discomfort when not only am I sitting to lunch/dinner with
hundred others, but also being videographed !!! So, unless it is unavoidable, I attend
just the wedding ceremony and skip the food part.
But there was no way I could avoid attending the funeral as the guy involved was a
childhood friend. Also, his Dad was a nice, reasonable guy with whom I always had
small chats whenever our paths crossed. So, we went to his home and as is expected
are greeted by the normal crying and breast-beating. His daughter was the one most
distraught by her Dad's demise and was recounting various instances involving her
Dad. It was heart numbing to say the least.
After an hour or so, the elders decided that it was time to move on. Some of them
looked around the parambu (yard) and identified a mango tree which will be cut
down to provide wood for the funeral pyre. Hmmm. That was a new one for me.
Never knew the significance of mango trees in this context.
Anyway, some guys got onto the task of bringing the tree down and then chopping
it into logs. A pyre was made with the logs in the yard itself and after some rituals,
the body was placed on top of it. The son lit fire to the pyre, all the while crying and
everyone moved away due to the heat and dense smoke.
Having been mainly brought up in cities, which either have their cremation grounds
or electric crematoriums, this ritual of cremating dead in their own yard was new to
me. Infact this was the first time I even saw a cremation. Have attended some
Christian funerals where the body is buried.
Another city-slicker friend (and a X'ian) standing near me whispers, "Man, ain't it
strange that people burn their loved ones ? It looks so odd when compared to
burying them."
I gave it a thought. Yes, it does seem odd to burn your loved ones. But then how much
better is it to bury them 6 feet under the earth with tons of soil weighing upon them ?
Given the fact that I am claustrophobic, I feel suffocated just thinking about it.
My thoughts turned to the Zoroastrian way of saying goodbye to their dead - leaving
the body in an open elevated place (the Tower of silence) for vultures and the elements
to feed on. They consider Fire and Earth too sacred for the dead to be placed in them.
Different religions, different practices. To each his own. What remains in common is
the void left by the departed person, the memories associated with them and the
absolute fact that they are gone for ever.
P.S.: One practice followed in Chennai (or is it all of Tamilnadu?) that outsiders find
very odd is the ritual that happens when the dead body is taken to the cremation
ground in a procession with young men dancing, bursting crackers etc. Almost as if it
were a happy occasion. Inspite of spending half my life here, I still find it odd.
of friends went to pay our last respects to the departed soul. I usually avoid both
funerals and weddings, ofcourse due to different reasons.
With funerals, it is the overall gloom, the crying of relatives which saddens me and
thus I avoid them. With weddings, I hate waiting for food and then the jostling to
get to the dining area etc. More importantly, I hate people watching me when I am
eating. So imagine my discomfort when not only am I sitting to lunch/dinner with
hundred others, but also being videographed !!! So, unless it is unavoidable, I attend
just the wedding ceremony and skip the food part.
But there was no way I could avoid attending the funeral as the guy involved was a
childhood friend. Also, his Dad was a nice, reasonable guy with whom I always had
small chats whenever our paths crossed. So, we went to his home and as is expected
are greeted by the normal crying and breast-beating. His daughter was the one most
distraught by her Dad's demise and was recounting various instances involving her
Dad. It was heart numbing to say the least.
After an hour or so, the elders decided that it was time to move on. Some of them
looked around the parambu (yard) and identified a mango tree which will be cut
down to provide wood for the funeral pyre. Hmmm. That was a new one for me.
Never knew the significance of mango trees in this context.
Anyway, some guys got onto the task of bringing the tree down and then chopping
it into logs. A pyre was made with the logs in the yard itself and after some rituals,
the body was placed on top of it. The son lit fire to the pyre, all the while crying and
everyone moved away due to the heat and dense smoke.
Having been mainly brought up in cities, which either have their cremation grounds
or electric crematoriums, this ritual of cremating dead in their own yard was new to
me. Infact this was the first time I even saw a cremation. Have attended some
Christian funerals where the body is buried.
Another city-slicker friend (and a X'ian) standing near me whispers, "Man, ain't it
strange that people burn their loved ones ? It looks so odd when compared to
burying them."
I gave it a thought. Yes, it does seem odd to burn your loved ones. But then how much
better is it to bury them 6 feet under the earth with tons of soil weighing upon them ?
Given the fact that I am claustrophobic, I feel suffocated just thinking about it.
My thoughts turned to the Zoroastrian way of saying goodbye to their dead - leaving
the body in an open elevated place (the Tower of silence) for vultures and the elements
to feed on. They consider Fire and Earth too sacred for the dead to be placed in them.
Different religions, different practices. To each his own. What remains in common is
the void left by the departed person, the memories associated with them and the
absolute fact that they are gone for ever.
P.S.: One practice followed in Chennai (or is it all of Tamilnadu?) that outsiders find
very odd is the ritual that happens when the dead body is taken to the cremation
ground in a procession with young men dancing, bursting crackers etc. Almost as if it
were a happy occasion. Inspite of spending half my life here, I still find it odd.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Bhima, Hanuman, Draupadi and gang arrive in style at Chettikulangara temple
I had timed my Kerala trip last month to coincide with the Kumbha Bharani celebrations
at our local Chettikulangara Devi Kshetram (Mallu for Temple). The last time I had the
pleasure of seeing this was in 1988 during my pre-university days in Kerala.
So, instead of just going to Kerala for the weekend, I took the Friday (23rd Feb 2007) off.
The TVM mail dropped me at Mavelikara on time (well almost) and after a quick bath, I
headed off to the place where they assemble Bhiman (Bhim of Mahabharata). Each kara
(a kind of parish) has one deity and for us at Mattom North, it is Bhiman. The assembly
takes place near a huge banyan tree (aal thara) with a steel crane like structure erected only
for this purpose. Work starts in the morning itself to assemble his limbs and torso all made of
wood. The head is attached and then the structure is dressed.
From morning, people come to offer vazha kula (bunch of bananas) to Bhima, which are hung
around his fingers and all around him. These are auctioned off by the temple the next day.
By around 2PM or so, Bhiman is fully ready to be towed to the temple which is like 2kms away.
Enroute we have Hanuman and Draupadi and the various therugal (temple cart) joining him to
the temple. By evening, the roads are all blocked by people walking along with these deities.
It is something to be seen and experienced. Photos cannot do justice to the event. Still, posting
a few snaps for those that cannot make it to the actual event.
1) Bhiman getting readied for the occasion
2) A close up of Bhiman
3) People offering banana bunches
4) Hanuman getting finishing touches
5) Draupadi dressing up for the big day that comes only once a year
6)The theru from Anjilipra at the temple grounds
7) In this pic, the crane used to put up Bhima can be seen.
8) Bhiman being led to the temple in a procession.
9) The theru from Pela being led in procession to the temple.
10) The theru from Kaitha North being led in procession to the temple.
11) Friends from Chennai infront of the temple on a rainy day
at our local Chettikulangara Devi Kshetram (Mallu for Temple). The last time I had the
pleasure of seeing this was in 1988 during my pre-university days in Kerala.
So, instead of just going to Kerala for the weekend, I took the Friday (23rd Feb 2007) off.
The TVM mail dropped me at Mavelikara on time (well almost) and after a quick bath, I
headed off to the place where they assemble Bhiman (Bhim of Mahabharata). Each kara
(a kind of parish) has one deity and for us at Mattom North, it is Bhiman. The assembly
takes place near a huge banyan tree (aal thara) with a steel crane like structure erected only
for this purpose. Work starts in the morning itself to assemble his limbs and torso all made of
wood. The head is attached and then the structure is dressed.
From morning, people come to offer vazha kula (bunch of bananas) to Bhima, which are hung
around his fingers and all around him. These are auctioned off by the temple the next day.
By around 2PM or so, Bhiman is fully ready to be towed to the temple which is like 2kms away.
Enroute we have Hanuman and Draupadi and the various therugal (temple cart) joining him to
the temple. By evening, the roads are all blocked by people walking along with these deities.
It is something to be seen and experienced. Photos cannot do justice to the event. Still, posting
a few snaps for those that cannot make it to the actual event.
1) Bhiman getting readied for the occasion
2) A close up of Bhiman
3) People offering banana bunches
4) Hanuman getting finishing touches
5) Draupadi dressing up for the big day that comes only once a year
6)The theru from Anjilipra at the temple grounds
7) In this pic, the crane used to put up Bhima can be seen.
8) Bhiman being led to the temple in a procession.
9) The theru from Pela being led in procession to the temple.
10) The theru from Kaitha North being led in procession to the temple.
11) Friends from Chennai infront of the temple on a rainy day
Monday, March 26, 2007
A day at the Race Track - Track Day March 2007
This was one chance that I did not want to miss. Especially since I missed the last track day
organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) in 2006 at the track at Irungattukottai,
just opposite the Hyundai factory and few kms before Sri Perumbudur. It is like 30kms from
Nungambakkam, just to give you an idea of the distance.
A view of the track as seen from space. A run of the long loop would mean the whole track which
comes to around 4kms, while the short loop (half the track) would mean a lap of approx. 2 kms.
Only track Esteems (rented) and owner-driven street cars were allowed on the long loop. Those
driving FISSMEs, LG Swifts and LG Hyundais were limited to the short loop.
Track Days are events organised by the club to enable laymen like us to have a chance to
experience driving on a real track without any traffic signals or pedestrians playing spoilsport.
Drivers have two options - drive their own street cars on track OR rent cars (race Esteems or
Formula Indian Single Seater Maruti Engine (FISSME) or Formula LG Swifts or Formula LG Hyundais).
So, was eagerly waiting for the 24/25th March'07 weekend. Reached the track around 8:30AM.
Registered for a session (5 laps on the short loop) on the Formula LG Swift by paying 700 as
car rental and 300 for track rental. Well worth every second of the 10-15 minutes spent on the track.
First to go on track were the superbikes (usually 600cc and above).
All brands were there - Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha etc.
Then was a Formula car session. These cars look like the Formula cars we see in F1, but fitted
with either Maruti800 engines or Maruti Swift engines or Hyundai Accent engines. In racing/dragging,
the power to weight ratio is a big thing. A Swift engine that makes 87bhp in a normal Swift weighing
thousand kg has a ratio of 0.087. Now put the same engine in a Formula chassis that weighs just
200kg and see the ratio zoom up to 0.435.
What this means is that the car is now super quick and needs expertise to be controlled. Drive it
like you drive your street Swift and you would end up in the grass or the barriers around the track
or worse could get into a bad spin on track.
Getting into the Formula Swift was tough even for me who is just 67kgs and average frame.
The C.G. is so low that you are almost sitting on the ground with your legs parallel to the ground.
The steering is pretty tight (intentional I guess) and the gears are not as smooth as your normal car.
Since I was the first to be flagged off, I got 2 laps more than the 5 that I had paid for.
On the straight section it is fun - the car roars and speeds like mad. However, could not take my
eyes off the track to the speedometer to check the max speed. The curves are tricky if you do not
take them properly. A guy spun around in front of me at a curve and I could avoid hitting him only
because I had reduced speed while entering the curve.
There were atleast 3 Porsche cars, a Nissan Skyline GT R (700 bhp), a Mitsubishi Evo, to mention
the big names. Ofcourse there were guys racing their normal cars too (Baleno, Honda city, Ford Ikon,
Santro, Palio, Lancer etc etc).
There was also a dirt track where you could drive Polaris All Terrain Vehicles (ATV) for 5 minutes for Rs300.
Pictures :
1) The awesome Porsche Carrera 911 (this car & driver combo beat the pants of all the rest on track).
2) The Nissan Skyline GT R & the Mitsubishi Evo
3) Superbikes
4) The Polaris ATV
5) Me getting ready to roll
organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) in 2006 at the track at Irungattukottai,
just opposite the Hyundai factory and few kms before Sri Perumbudur. It is like 30kms from
Nungambakkam, just to give you an idea of the distance.
A view of the track as seen from space. A run of the long loop would mean the whole track which
comes to around 4kms, while the short loop (half the track) would mean a lap of approx. 2 kms.
Only track Esteems (rented) and owner-driven street cars were allowed on the long loop. Those
driving FISSMEs, LG Swifts and LG Hyundais were limited to the short loop.
Track Days are events organised by the club to enable laymen like us to have a chance to
experience driving on a real track without any traffic signals or pedestrians playing spoilsport.
Drivers have two options - drive their own street cars on track OR rent cars (race Esteems or
Formula Indian Single Seater Maruti Engine (FISSME) or Formula LG Swifts or Formula LG Hyundais).
So, was eagerly waiting for the 24/25th March'07 weekend. Reached the track around 8:30AM.
Registered for a session (5 laps on the short loop) on the Formula LG Swift by paying 700 as
car rental and 300 for track rental. Well worth every second of the 10-15 minutes spent on the track.
First to go on track were the superbikes (usually 600cc and above).
All brands were there - Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha etc.
Then was a Formula car session. These cars look like the Formula cars we see in F1, but fitted
with either Maruti800 engines or Maruti Swift engines or Hyundai Accent engines. In racing/dragging,
the power to weight ratio is a big thing. A Swift engine that makes 87bhp in a normal Swift weighing
thousand kg has a ratio of 0.087. Now put the same engine in a Formula chassis that weighs just
200kg and see the ratio zoom up to 0.435.
What this means is that the car is now super quick and needs expertise to be controlled. Drive it
like you drive your street Swift and you would end up in the grass or the barriers around the track
or worse could get into a bad spin on track.
Getting into the Formula Swift was tough even for me who is just 67kgs and average frame.
The C.G. is so low that you are almost sitting on the ground with your legs parallel to the ground.
The steering is pretty tight (intentional I guess) and the gears are not as smooth as your normal car.
Since I was the first to be flagged off, I got 2 laps more than the 5 that I had paid for.
On the straight section it is fun - the car roars and speeds like mad. However, could not take my
eyes off the track to the speedometer to check the max speed. The curves are tricky if you do not
take them properly. A guy spun around in front of me at a curve and I could avoid hitting him only
because I had reduced speed while entering the curve.
There were atleast 3 Porsche cars, a Nissan Skyline GT R (700 bhp), a Mitsubishi Evo, to mention
the big names. Ofcourse there were guys racing their normal cars too (Baleno, Honda city, Ford Ikon,
Santro, Palio, Lancer etc etc).
There was also a dirt track where you could drive Polaris All Terrain Vehicles (ATV) for 5 minutes for Rs300.
Pictures :
1) The awesome Porsche Carrera 911 (this car & driver combo beat the pants of all the rest on track).
2) The Nissan Skyline GT R & the Mitsubishi Evo
3) Superbikes
4) The Polaris ATV
5) Me getting ready to roll
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
TN tops the wife-beater list
As per the National Family Health Survey-3, Tamilnadu tops the list in spousal violence
among the four southern states. And Kerala ranks at the bottom of the list, not just among
the southern states, but also in comparison with the other states also.
The national average is 37.2 % women suffering domestic violence and the listing of the
various states was as below :
Tamilnadu : 41.9%
Karnataka : 20 %
Andhra : 35.2%
Kerala : 16.4 %
Bihar, as usual topped the list at 59%. No surprises there.
So, what do these figures show ? Does literacy have any bearing on these figures ?
Kerala is the topper in literacy figures among Indian states. Does literacy help women's
empowerment ? I would guess so.
As was expected, politicians had to come out with their own theories of why things are
the way they are. The PMK leader is sure that liquor is behind this wife-beating and the
surefire way to remove this blot from TN's face is to ban liquor shops or atleast ban the
bars attached to the liquor shops. Rationale being that drinking will reduce as most men
will not be able to drink at home or afford the costly bars in hotels.
If liquor were the culprit, how does Kerala not figure above TN ? Kerala has one of the
highest per capita liquor consumption figures. And still the spousal violence figures are
much lower than that of TN.
Maybe it would be more worthwhile for him to goad his rank and file to go attend adult
literacy classes, instead of spending time blackening Hindi (and recently English also)
sign posts with tar or uprooting trees on the highways.
among the four southern states. And Kerala ranks at the bottom of the list, not just among
the southern states, but also in comparison with the other states also.
The national average is 37.2 % women suffering domestic violence and the listing of the
various states was as below :
Tamilnadu : 41.9%
Karnataka : 20 %
Andhra : 35.2%
Kerala : 16.4 %
Bihar, as usual topped the list at 59%. No surprises there.
So, what do these figures show ? Does literacy have any bearing on these figures ?
Kerala is the topper in literacy figures among Indian states. Does literacy help women's
empowerment ? I would guess so.
As was expected, politicians had to come out with their own theories of why things are
the way they are. The PMK leader is sure that liquor is behind this wife-beating and the
surefire way to remove this blot from TN's face is to ban liquor shops or atleast ban the
bars attached to the liquor shops. Rationale being that drinking will reduce as most men
will not be able to drink at home or afford the costly bars in hotels.
If liquor were the culprit, how does Kerala not figure above TN ? Kerala has one of the
highest per capita liquor consumption figures. And still the spousal violence figures are
much lower than that of TN.
Maybe it would be more worthwhile for him to goad his rank and file to go attend adult
literacy classes, instead of spending time blackening Hindi (and recently English also)
sign posts with tar or uprooting trees on the highways.
Monday, February 05, 2007
A cartoon is worth a long essay.
It's so amazing how cartoonists manage to convey such a lot in a picture, that
would take a long article with thousands of words to achieve. The cartoon in the
last issue of the Outlook magazine was one such.
Check out for yourself. No article against the foolish and illegal Iraqi occupation by the U.S.
could make more sense than this cartoon by Mr.R. Prasad.
Courtesy : The Outlook newsmagazine.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Does literacy not come with common-sense as an add-on ?
Kerala is associated with many things - monsoons, greenery, beaches, hills,
highest liquor consumption in the country and last but not the least literacy.
It is supposed to be 100% literate, in the sense that almost all the population
can do some basic reading, writing and arithmetic.
The people are in general well-read and can be depended upon to carry a
conversation about basically anything under the sun. And they have their
own opinion and viewpoint too. Here, I am not referring to the educated
guys, with a school/college education. Even those that have not had a proper
schooling, are pretty much aware of what is happening and do not miss the
daily newspapers.
However, every now and then, some news item about Kerala crops up which
makes you wonder whether it would have been better to add some basic lessons
in common-sense along with the adult education classes. Infact, why limit it to
the newly literate ? Even the school/college educated crowd could do with a
strong dose of common-sense.
The immediate provocation for this post was what I saw on the Kairali channel.
It was a program about a girl (aged 10 or so) whose parents died of AIDS, and
had only an aged grandma as the sole surviving relative. The kid wants to go to
the nearby school, which you would agree is a pretty normal desire.
However, what was abnormal was the opposition from the public, especially from
the parents of the other kids studying at the school. They do not want her mingling
with their kids, just because she happens to be afflicted with AIDS. I was like, "How
stupid can people be that they discriminate against a kid that is in that state due to
no fault of hers ?". What use is your being educated or literate if you have such a
mentality towards a kid ?
It was heart-rending to watch the program. The grandma is really old and thus the
kid takes care of all the work at home and then rushes off to school, where she is
kind of segregated from the other kids. How much would it hurt her tiny heart to
be subjected to such behaviour ? The kid should be admired though for maintaining
a cheerful demeanour even in the face of such crappy behaviour from the people
around her. She was calmly talking to the media about the problem she was facing.
The good news is that after the intervention of some sensible people and NGOs, she
is able to attend school, though some kind of passive discrimination still exists.
Actually, this not something that would happen only in Kerala. It could be any
other state. But, it hurts more when it is Kerala, because the citizens are supposed
to be educated, well informed and in tune with stuff happening around the world.
We even had cases where professionals like doctors and nurses refused to treat
AIDS patients. If that's how aware the medical fraternity are, why blame laymen ?
I just hope that Indians in general and Malayalees specifically treat AIDS patients
without any discrimination and be aware that normal interaction with them does
not lead to them getting infected, as they believe.
highest liquor consumption in the country and last but not the least literacy.
It is supposed to be 100% literate, in the sense that almost all the population
can do some basic reading, writing and arithmetic.
The people are in general well-read and can be depended upon to carry a
conversation about basically anything under the sun. And they have their
own opinion and viewpoint too. Here, I am not referring to the educated
guys, with a school/college education. Even those that have not had a proper
schooling, are pretty much aware of what is happening and do not miss the
daily newspapers.
However, every now and then, some news item about Kerala crops up which
makes you wonder whether it would have been better to add some basic lessons
in common-sense along with the adult education classes. Infact, why limit it to
the newly literate ? Even the school/college educated crowd could do with a
strong dose of common-sense.
The immediate provocation for this post was what I saw on the Kairali channel.
It was a program about a girl (aged 10 or so) whose parents died of AIDS, and
had only an aged grandma as the sole surviving relative. The kid wants to go to
the nearby school, which you would agree is a pretty normal desire.
However, what was abnormal was the opposition from the public, especially from
the parents of the other kids studying at the school. They do not want her mingling
with their kids, just because she happens to be afflicted with AIDS. I was like, "How
stupid can people be that they discriminate against a kid that is in that state due to
no fault of hers ?". What use is your being educated or literate if you have such a
mentality towards a kid ?
It was heart-rending to watch the program. The grandma is really old and thus the
kid takes care of all the work at home and then rushes off to school, where she is
kind of segregated from the other kids. How much would it hurt her tiny heart to
be subjected to such behaviour ? The kid should be admired though for maintaining
a cheerful demeanour even in the face of such crappy behaviour from the people
around her. She was calmly talking to the media about the problem she was facing.
The good news is that after the intervention of some sensible people and NGOs, she
is able to attend school, though some kind of passive discrimination still exists.
Actually, this not something that would happen only in Kerala. It could be any
other state. But, it hurts more when it is Kerala, because the citizens are supposed
to be educated, well informed and in tune with stuff happening around the world.
We even had cases where professionals like doctors and nurses refused to treat
AIDS patients. If that's how aware the medical fraternity are, why blame laymen ?
I just hope that Indians in general and Malayalees specifically treat AIDS patients
without any discrimination and be aware that normal interaction with them does
not lead to them getting infected, as they believe.
Monday, December 11, 2006
And the search for "indian dream girls" continues ...
This is kind of funny. I had a sitemeter installed on this blog recently.
More than knowing the number of visitors to my site, my intention was
to get an idea of the places from where they came from. The bonus was
knowing how and from where they linked to this site.
There were some that were searching for 'Danes' or 'Tranquebar' and Google
led them to "The Danes were here ?", my write-up on the Danish Fort at
Tranquebar. And there were others that were led here due to their searches
on topics that were written about on this blog.
However, the largest number of visitors that stumbled in here were those that
were looking for "indiandream girls". I am not sure what's special about this
variety of girls, but something tells me that the intentions were not really good.
Hmmm. Not the target audience that I was looking for, if at all.
More than knowing the number of visitors to my site, my intention was
to get an idea of the places from where they came from. The bonus was
knowing how and from where they linked to this site.
There were some that were searching for 'Danes' or 'Tranquebar' and Google
led them to "The Danes were here ?", my write-up on the Danish Fort at
Tranquebar. And there were others that were led here due to their searches
on topics that were written about on this blog.
However, the largest number of visitors that stumbled in here were those that
were looking for "indiandream girls". I am not sure what's special about this
variety of girls, but something tells me that the intentions were not really good.
Hmmm. Not the target audience that I was looking for, if at all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)