UTOPIA

I found on net, a speech given by our prez Dr. APJ Kalam, and thought of sharing it with my readers.

It is worth reading, inspiring, and sthg to learn from.Here follows the text of the speech.

Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters. I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary.It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T.Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India.
For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation. Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.

YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don’t work, the railways are a joke,
The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?

Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don’t throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity… In Singapore you don’t say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn’t dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, ’see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.’YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop,’Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so’s son. Take your two bucks and get lost.’ YOU wouldn’t chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.

Why don’t YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don’t YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay, Mr. Tinaikar, had a point to make. ‘Rich people’s dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,’ he said. ‘And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?’ He’s right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? ‘It’s the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons’ rights to a dowry.’ So who’s going to change the system?
What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and thegovernment. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one’s conscience too…. I am echoing J.F. Kennedy’s words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians…..

‘ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA
AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY’

Lets do what India needs from us.

Thank you,

Dr. Abdul Kalaam
(PRESIDENT OF INDIA)

I, being not tht rich to afford flights, travelled by train this week.
Waiting for the train, I noticed sthg and so wished to put it into words.
Though the status of railway stations is changing in our country, but it still has to make giant leaps if it has to become world class.
One major contributing factor to it,I feel, that makes a difference can be their cleanliness.I have seen stations abroad, n they are much more cleaner than us.y is it so, n how can we match them?

First of all, its the climate of India, being tropical, tht brings in a lot of dust and filth.Use of plastic also contributes.But the biggest factor is the attitude of people. They consider railway as their property and dont care at all abt the platforms.Who cares abt putting the used glass in the appropriate place, just throw it away newhere.
Same is the case with the people who travel by train, they feel no shame in throwing away filth on the tracks.If we have to have cleaner environment, better stations,tracks and train compartments, this attitude has to change.

Now, it is easier said than done. People cudnt b made to change their mindset in a day or even a month. It has to be a gradual effort, and has to be backed by determined efforts.
Let me list down ways in which I feel this can be achieved, or say approached.

1. Public awareness is a must, u shud hv posters everywhere teaching ppl abt cleanliness. I think Railways has already done tht, but i think the intensity is not there. These posters or messages are few and far between.Flood the place with them, and make ppl read them.

2. There are some category of ppl who cud use dustbins, but coz of lack of it, they are forced to take the easy way out. As in (1), make dustbins throng the station or the compartment, just make people notice them. Now, ppl wud say tht it wud involve more costs.I have a way out. Today when corporates are ready to shell out money on nething n everything, there wud not b a dearth of them for this cause. So, those dustbins cud b sponsored.

3. Make ppl pay fine for making the railways and trains filthy. This fine shud b just above nominal, so tht it hurts those who pay. There shud b drives across stations, and ppl must b made 2 pay for this.I don’t think there wud b many ppl who will repeat the mistake once they pay the hefty fine.

4. I remmber a subject of SUPW at my school level, which happened to be a free period for most.We were required to contribute to the society by planting trees, cleaning parks etc. , but i don’t think it was tht seriously done.I think tht is the case with most of the schools.Govt. cud actually make it mandatory for students to have min. grades in this subject to pass. These students can then be utilized in doing sthg productive. One way I see them useful is in this context.Students cud b given a day off from studies, and can be taken to these stations. They will not only be involved in cleaning them, but more so in educating ppl. It feels bad for elders to learn sthg from kids, and thus it will have an effect.

This initiative has to be kept up for a substantial amount of time, so tht it does make a diff.I cannot say with surety tht these ideas will work, but I think they will definitely play a role for the start.If they are carried out properly, in an organized manner, and kept a tab, they can surely contribute to making a difference.

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I am one of such species who wud b “cast away” n wud not utter a note of discontent, if I
have a TV with a cable connection.In short, a TV freak. I watch ABC to XYZee on TV.
On weekends, if nothing interesting is planned, I practise “Vipassana” with my TV being the live witness.So, just out of all this TV overdose, I cud come up with some topics 2 comment upon n write it on my blog.

I noticed a very strange phenomenon that is gripping Indian Media now.It is being sabotaged by the female gender, with the distinct possiblility of the extinction of the male gender from the scene altogether.
I have drawn these conclusions over a period of time. U can urself notice this if u can spend some time surfing on news channels.Whether it is NDTV 24*7, CNBC TV 18, Headlines Today, Times Now or any other channel of repute;all of them are being slowly n slowly being made to be a part of this silent revolution. These gals/ladies can talk on any topic, whether it is cricket,golf,food,health, talk shows, cars n even Formula1. N its not tht they talk rubbish, they make sense, it doesn’t seem tht they r just repeating lines out of rote.Not tht I am a misogynist, but this phenomenon sure asks for attention.

So, how did this happen, n y is it taking roots?
Let me analyze in my own way.

First of all, how exactly did this thing happen. I still remmber those days when overclad aunties greeted me on Doordarshan,when I was young.I cud still recall some of them, Nazma Sultana, Maheshwari(i forgot her first name though i still remmber her face), were ubiquituous by their presence. At that point in time, say a decade or more back, it was not such a common profession for ladies. Also, u cud hardly find young gals being part of
media.It was mostly an aunty bastion. Then slowly, as the female-lib happened, n India
prospered economically, girls started breaking the glass ceiling and started entering such
domains which were majorly male-dominated.
Also, the mindset changed, n the profession which was earlier not considered very respectful started getting some due respect.Gals started coming out of those usual doctor, teacher kinda moulds, n even parents started encouraging their daughters to venture in.
It was also fuelled by the entry of new news channels which wanted more n more media persons.

Now, if it did happen how is it taking roots?
Tell me, who would not like to listen to the boring news if a glamorous anchor is telling it.It wud make the experience much more interesting.It is the X-factor of gals tht makes them suitable candidate for the channels.A female anchor is more affable, more to-the-point.
Also, it is considered and is also true that females have better command over the language, they have better written and oral communication skills, which is one of the most important contributing factor.
Also, as i have been tracking the growth of these news channels, I cud c tht compared to
male journalists, female ones are not much vulnerable to poaching by other channels,which makes them good investment as reliable and dedicated resources.
Also, while on field, there are many cases where a female journalist makes inroads in
precarious situations by using their usual charm, though i am not ruling out tht they find
themselves at loss in some situations too.
N lastly, as these new breed of journalist come into picture, they result in some dedicated
eyeballs. At least i can vouch for that. There are some of my fav female journalist, n the
list is growing everyday. I watch almost whtevr they comment upon.
Names like Sonali Chander, Geetanjali Kirloskar,Maneka Doshi, Ayesha Faridi hook me for whtevr they say.

So, this phenomenon is live n happening, n i wud b least surprised if few yrs. down the line they r the ones ruling the Indian media, with even a possibility of an extinction of males from this field altogether.
Watch out, it is not tht far-fetched.

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Kannada superstar Rajkumar is dead.

And being in Karnataka, I have been subjected to a new phenomenon. I am still to live it fully, but at least the start looks ominous.

It was really surprising to find that people here have already confessed themselves as murderers of Rajkumar, before anyone cud even raise a finger.

My office is completely empty, else for some vella ppl.Everyone has left fearing tht his death may trigger violence.Now s.body plz tell me if a superstar has died a natural death, wht is the fault of a common man in tht.

Was the commoner at fault for not providing him some super-tonic tht cud hv kept him alive forever?

Whtever b the case, but it just sounds too foolish to me.

I just dread the day when sthg happens to Rajnikanth.

For all those who are offended with even this one line, my apologies.I dont wish s.body to blame me later for forecasting his end.

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Fashion Week in India this year saw some bizarre incidents, which were adequately captured by our news-hungry media for the lecherous audience.One model lost her top, while another had a crack at the butt.What this has provided to the people is fodder for gossip.
Now the questions being debated is “Was that deliberate or sheer coincidence?”

Let me bring out my views on the subject.
I would not be judgemental about the whole issue but would try to be objective on it.
Indian fashion industry lacks media footage, and doesn’t have a local presence, forget
aboutbeing known worldwide. When one counts the cities on the fashion map, there is hardly any Indian city that figure in it. So, mayb it was just to create interest in the whole
event, to get more media coverage n create some controversies.Though this would not create a flutter with international media,as being topless is considered no big deal,going by the stuff tht channels like FTV dole out.

So, was it an attempt on the part of the designer to grab more attention to his/her
collection? Can be a possibility, considering that the responsibility of the fabric and its
being worn by the models lie more with the designer themselves.Why would someone go for such a cheap stuff that tatters by some stiff catwalk of a model.

Or was it an attempt by the model herself to get notorious? Again I’ll not rule this out, as
the career of a model spans so less a time that they wish to make the most of it.Getting
into controversies is one way of becoming famous,people will remmber ur name, and u can become recognizable, though for wrong reasons(I cud still recall model Jesse Randhawa in this context).But again this argument is dicey coz in the above cases,though one model had the guts to carry it off very well(n i appreciate her for tht), the other looked disturbed
by the incident.

Internationally,there have been numerous cases of such wardrobe malfunction which to me looked staged rather than genuine.

So, what is the verdict. 60-40. I give 60 for getting it staged, and 40 for the genuineness.
Wht say ppl?

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I was really impressed with a marketing strategy in which i found myself being caught.
It so happened tht i started following a Business Mag long time back, at tht time it came
very cheap, around 5 Rs.I always knew they r gonna raise the prices one day or the other.N so it happnd, they raised the price to 10 rs., after abt 5 yrs. of such low prices. In tht period, they hv got many readers like me. N now among them, they got some sure shot subscribers who can’t do away without it. It became like the daily newspaper, u get up in the morning n the first thing u shud come across shud b the day’s newspaper. At least for me, it goes like tht. But wht I am telling u is a familiar strategy tht many companies apply 2 attract consumers. Bait them with lower prices initially, n then when they can’t do without it, raise the prices.I found sthg diff. phenomenon happng coz of this.

Its my personal experience, but i’m pretty sure this is not restricted 2 a few ppl, n many ppl r affected by it. Actually, i’m a kinda reader who reads mags from cover to cover.There were times, when i cud afford it, but with life becoming busy, it is becoming distinct. But i still keep all those mags with me till i finish reading evrythg.So, coz of this disease, I c myself buying evry issue of the magazine whenevr i venture out on weekends. I know tht i already hv a pile of those at home, but the mag has made me so instinctive tht i go on buying it.I think this is where they hv triumphed.First getting the readers, hooking them, n then making themselves indispensable. I’m sure newspapers like TOI must hv followed a similar kinda startegy in their own times.
But wht r the resons behind it? Y am i hooked 2 it.
When i delve deeper, I found out some logic 2 back it up.Now, when one uses a product, in this case a magazine or a newspaper, he has no prior knowledge or reputation for it. He just goes ahead trying sthg new.Over the period, when he finds the quality good n better than the contemporaries,n the product is also relevant to his needs, he tends to respect tht product.N over the period of time, this respect gets converted into a bond.Like some personal relationship, one forms a relationship with the brand, n tends to identify with it.It is this definition in our subconscious tht makes us to go for it impusively.

I am sure that this phenomenon must hv been captured by marketing gurus, but it caught my eye just now. I dont know wht they call it, but i tend to call it “The Subliminal Bond”.

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Yesterday was a sad day for Indian cricket, no doubt. A day when a demi-God was brought down from the pedestal by a few unscrupolous men, and his abilities being put under scanner by others. I am talking abt yesterday’s incident at Wankhede when Tendulkar was booed on being getting out on a solitary run.This has followed a long dry spell of runs, when he has not scored a decent amount of runs.
The debates about his eventual retirement have surfaced yet again, and the shout of ‘Endulkar’ is again being heard.

So, will this mark the end of Tendulkar??
I can’t answer this question at present, but going by his performance on field, the day doesn’t seem 2 far. He looks completely ill at ease while batting these days.His footwork is nowhere, n even novice bowlers tend to scare him out. His palpable face while facing Shoaib Akhtar in Pakistan, and his lying on ground with his head down on getting bowled, are the worst pictures in the lifetime of any cricket fan. So, the fact is that his batting has suffered and he is no longer the old “Ton-dulkar”.It happens to everyone at some stage of their carreers, so it is no different for him.But then another question beckons Team-India-How long are we going to carry him along, at the cost of poor cricket.
I don’t know his personal traits to that extent, but feel that he is a person of grit and determination. But at times like this, people refuse to accept their weaknesses. They simply clinge to their position becoz of the past performances.
I feel its time Tendulkar take a decision about himself, coz Team India can’t b put 2 ransom for so long.Either somebody has to take a harsh decision on him, but I think that would be a bad end to such a great cricketer.

In my opinion, Tendulkar should understand that his days are over, and there should not be any embarassment in accepting that, as he has alreasy given so much to the country,and is undoubtedly among the all-time greats of cricket.What approach he can take is step down for a while, work hard on his shortcoming by playing domestic cricket, or mayb county.Then make a comeback for a tough series, score plethora of runs, and just when people start thinking that he has resurrected himself, he announce his decision to hang up his boots.It would be like going down fighting, and not as one on the knees.
I would like to bring the example of Pete Sampras, who after a long reign at the top in tennis, has to undergo same kind of humiliation. He took a break, came back, won a no. of Grand Slams, and just when people thot he’s back with a vengeance, he decided to retire.

I feel that would be a befitting farewell to a player of the stature of Tendulkar.
I just hope he’s thinking on my lines.

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Just a random poem I composed this morning.

I do flutter in emotions,
and become pessimistic,
I can feel my heart in motion,
and tht too erratic,
Just when i feel that my patience will snap,
Life bounces back.

Times are surely changing.

Some signs of changes in case of creatures,i did note are:

1. Sparrows have almost vanished from our env. I still remmber tht in my younger yrs. when sparrows used 2 move around in our houses.And this phenomenon is not only limited to India, its even gaining ground in Europe. Read this post, Vanishing Sparrows

2. The other day I heard crows crowing right in the middle of the night.

3. There is one rooster who lives s.where near 2 my house, n he starts his usual sounds(cock-a-doodle-do), around 12:30 in the night.I hv not followed him till morning, but he does carries on till i sleep. Its so ironic tht earlier ppl used 2 get up listening 2 his sounds, now they hv started sleeping with it.

I am still 2 find out completely reasons 4 this change in environmental conditions.But they sure point to something amiss.

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It was another weekend, and I was looking for another escape.I had plans to visit Mysore,
wht tht I have fallen in love with the place.But my frenz had other plans on their mind.So,
i was asked 2 reach Mysore by Friday night. As i had committed for a party on tht day, i cudnt go tht early.After partying hard on Friday, I had 2 get up early on Saturday 2 reach
Mysore.On reaching i came 2 know, v r heading 2 swhere, there were a few options.N it was decided tht on reaching the intersection, v’ll take the decision.So, finally me n 4 others , Aps, Suppi, Rohit n Kapil headed 2 Coorg.

The road was bumpy,n the heat was scorching.V kept going with some intermittent breaks in btw.V finally reached Coorg around afternoon. It is around 120 kms. from Mysore, and the place is named Madikeri, Coorg is the district name. Before tht place, on a diversion, you can also visit Abbey Falls. So, v headed towards it. It was steep ride up the hills. V
finally reached the falls, which already had a warning at the entrance saying “Every year
lot of unwary visitors lose their lives on the slippery rocks”. I think very few ppl read tht, forget abt heeding the advice.The place has become rotten, n ppl have made it filthy with plastic wastes. Though the falls were good, but the filth made me feel bad.V spent some time there, but ppl got enthused in btw. So, v headed up the hills 2 c the source of the falls. It was again a difficult n dangerous rock climbing exercise( i must now get used 2 it, and will definitely carry proper gear next time i venture on such trips, coz such rock climbing hv become almost regular feature of my trips).V din go much further, and came back when v were exhausted on the way up.
V then headed 2 a sunset point named “Raja Ki Seat”.It had its charm, and the crowd swelled at the time of the sunset. The setting of the sun in the far off mountains is a good scene, and one of the best attraction of Coorg.Otherwise it doesn’t had much 2 offer, or may b v din go with proper homework 2 lookout for other places.V then headed for some food n drinks, n found a dilapidated env. being referred 2 as the “best” hotel in Coorg.
After spending some time, v headed back as nobody was in the mood 2 stay back for another day.Car drives back home were good, with lots of music, drivers driving on a high, n some cacophonic sounds of some wannabe singers. The occassional stoppages had their usual charm, and one such memorable one was right in the jungles, with pitch darkness, n no sign of ne living thing nearby, even their were very few vehicles crossing.
Our wannabe singer used his throat 2 perfection, n then v cut a caper in the middle of the night n the middle of the jingle. God forbid, if v met some animal. But, neway tht was fun.
So, tht was my weekend trip 2 Coorg, full of fun, adventure n reaching out 2 new locales.

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