    |
| Green Bee eater |
 |
| Tree pie |
 |
| Brown Headed Barbet |
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
India against Corruption?
People are pouring on to the streets in support of Anna Hazare and the lokpal Bill and this is not just in India but Indians across the world are pledging their support for him. Now for a country which still has difficulties dealing religions of people, it is a big thing for people to come around in support of one person and protest peacefully.The government is still trying to grapple with surge of people supporting Anna and how to come out of this logjam and maybe come out with a bill which will not curb their right to smuggle money, dignity or whatever it is they do sitting in those high chairs in their AC offices (am sure they do not work there).
With the stronghold increasing day by day I, however still stay cynical of the bill. Why? Because there is a larger question here to be answered which people are not seeing right now and I do not know how I will fare in that so rather than being cynical it is just that I do not faith in myself whether I will be to do justice to the larger question that the bill raises.
Do not get me wrong here, I want to fight corruption and the bill shows hope in achieving that very lucrative and hitherto unreachable goal.
Lokpal Bill if implemented in its totality will do wonders for the Indian Society, just imagine getting your License without having to pay more than necessary( though I did get mine like that so there are a few honest officers around even in UP), getting your FIR lodged irrespective of your religion or caste. If this happens we will be able to call India 'Golden Bird' in its true essence.
But then why the shade of pessimism in me. I'll tell you why. We are forever cribbing that the politicians are corrupt but then ask yourself are we also not corrupt to some extent, after all it is we who elect them. The answer would be we are not as corrupt as they are but then one can only be as corrupt as the amount of power you have, greater the power greater the corruption.
Now I put forth the larger question here that i referred to above
With the stronghold increasing day by day I, however still stay cynical of the bill. Why? Because there is a larger question here to be answered which people are not seeing right now and I do not know how I will fare in that so rather than being cynical it is just that I do not faith in myself whether I will be to do justice to the larger question that the bill raises.
Do not get me wrong here, I want to fight corruption and the bill shows hope in achieving that very lucrative and hitherto unreachable goal.
Lokpal Bill if implemented in its totality will do wonders for the Indian Society, just imagine getting your License without having to pay more than necessary( though I did get mine like that so there are a few honest officers around even in UP), getting your FIR lodged irrespective of your religion or caste. If this happens we will be able to call India 'Golden Bird' in its true essence.
But then why the shade of pessimism in me. I'll tell you why. We are forever cribbing that the politicians are corrupt but then ask yourself are we also not corrupt to some extent, after all it is we who elect them. The answer would be we are not as corrupt as they are but then one can only be as corrupt as the amount of power you have, greater the power greater the corruption.
Now I put forth the larger question here that i referred to above
- Are we willing to pay fine of Rs. 500 for a traffic violation instead of wriggling our way out by handing Rs. 100 to the cop?
- Are we willing to let a meritorious kid take the seat he deserves than buy it for our kid?
- Are we willing to treat our drivers and maids with the equal dignity that they deserve as being humans?
- Are we willing to give them emoluments that we get?
- Are we willing to give up our SC/ST privileges because we do not need them?
- Are we willing to wait our turn no matter who we are?
These are the few questions that have me thinking. Ask yourself these questions
I will now leave with these closing words--
" Politicians are only corrupt because they know they can bribe their way to the top, in essence they know that the common man does not have the character to refuse what they have to offer"
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Friday, 8 July 2011
Monsoons
Love them or hate them but you just can't ignore them.
In fact, in India especially in Delhi one can never ignore any season, if its winters people die because of the cold wave, if it's summers people die of heat wave, if its rainy season people die of water, so be it any season you just cannot ignore it.
I am one of those few privileged ones who can enjoy the delicious mangoes that summers bring from the confines of my AC, who can enjoy the sarson ka saag in the winters without having to worry about freezing to death but monsoons tend to be a different affair altogether though I am still better off considering my house does not get flooded or I do not get cut off from humanity because the river running nearby has flooded and even though we as a country boast of being able to maintain 8% growth rate when the rest of the world was reeling under recession but are still unable to manage our rivers which we know (for the last hundred years at least) will flood or take preventive measures to protect people living around them, but monsoons do have a knack of troubling the rich living in cities as well, more so if you live in a city like Delhi where infrastructure caters to only one-fourth of the population living.
But I still love them. Why? In a country which is drenched with Sun, it is nice to have few months off from him.
I like getting wet in the rain, letting my hair down, taking out my cycle and going away and laughing at people running helter skelter to escape from it and in the process giving others a chance to laugh as well. I also love seeing the Yamuna relive its glory and reclaim the land that is rightfully its. The fresh and clean trees are also a welcome sight after the dust laden leaves of summers, the smell of sun baked soil receiving its first shower of the season, the little shoots of budding everywhere giving a look of green carpet spread across.
Each coin has two sides, so do the monsoons. Its not just the rivers that flood but also the roads so in case you are driving around this time in Delhi or Mumbai please don't take the underpass, there are traffic snarls everywhere. If you happen to be using public transport user (such as myself ) be sure to carry a deodorant and a good book with you, will not suggest an umbrella because when it rains in Delhi it most certainly pours and your umbrella will just be insufficient. Let me tell you why you will need a book and a deo-- Like I mentioned there are traffic snarls everywhere so a journey of half hour can take you two hours and what better way to pass this time than by catching up on reading. Since your fellow commuters will also be wet and after a long day at work smelly as well, a deodorant can work effectively in providing a short term relief from the stench. This is if public transport is available because more often than not as soon as it rains the already erratic system becomes completely dysfunctional.
In order to enjoy the monsoons you could do the following -- Take leave during monsoons but this not possible for most of us, the second option being, Work from home. Another one could be to pitch a tent in your office and live there, this will also cut on your travel time and might end up increasing your productivity and maybe earning brownie points with your boss. And if none of these work fold your hands and pray to God that no road is flooded, there are no jams and the transport system is working like clockwork and in addition also say a prayer that God listens to you and pays heed.
Good luck and hope you enjoy these monsoons.
In fact, in India especially in Delhi one can never ignore any season, if its winters people die because of the cold wave, if it's summers people die of heat wave, if its rainy season people die of water, so be it any season you just cannot ignore it.
I am one of those few privileged ones who can enjoy the delicious mangoes that summers bring from the confines of my AC, who can enjoy the sarson ka saag in the winters without having to worry about freezing to death but monsoons tend to be a different affair altogether though I am still better off considering my house does not get flooded or I do not get cut off from humanity because the river running nearby has flooded and even though we as a country boast of being able to maintain 8% growth rate when the rest of the world was reeling under recession but are still unable to manage our rivers which we know (for the last hundred years at least) will flood or take preventive measures to protect people living around them, but monsoons do have a knack of troubling the rich living in cities as well, more so if you live in a city like Delhi where infrastructure caters to only one-fourth of the population living.
But I still love them. Why? In a country which is drenched with Sun, it is nice to have few months off from him.
I like getting wet in the rain, letting my hair down, taking out my cycle and going away and laughing at people running helter skelter to escape from it and in the process giving others a chance to laugh as well. I also love seeing the Yamuna relive its glory and reclaim the land that is rightfully its. The fresh and clean trees are also a welcome sight after the dust laden leaves of summers, the smell of sun baked soil receiving its first shower of the season, the little shoots of budding everywhere giving a look of green carpet spread across.
Each coin has two sides, so do the monsoons. Its not just the rivers that flood but also the roads so in case you are driving around this time in Delhi or Mumbai please don't take the underpass, there are traffic snarls everywhere. If you happen to be using public transport user (such as myself ) be sure to carry a deodorant and a good book with you, will not suggest an umbrella because when it rains in Delhi it most certainly pours and your umbrella will just be insufficient. Let me tell you why you will need a book and a deo-- Like I mentioned there are traffic snarls everywhere so a journey of half hour can take you two hours and what better way to pass this time than by catching up on reading. Since your fellow commuters will also be wet and after a long day at work smelly as well, a deodorant can work effectively in providing a short term relief from the stench. This is if public transport is available because more often than not as soon as it rains the already erratic system becomes completely dysfunctional.
In order to enjoy the monsoons you could do the following -- Take leave during monsoons but this not possible for most of us, the second option being, Work from home. Another one could be to pitch a tent in your office and live there, this will also cut on your travel time and might end up increasing your productivity and maybe earning brownie points with your boss. And if none of these work fold your hands and pray to God that no road is flooded, there are no jams and the transport system is working like clockwork and in addition also say a prayer that God listens to you and pays heed.
Good luck and hope you enjoy these monsoons.
Friday, 1 July 2011
Morning
The red Sun opening its eyes from the deep slumber
The whip of cold air before it turns into a ball of fire
The song of birds before it is silenced by humans
The fragrance of flowers before it is blown away by pollution
The empty roads before they turn into a pool of cars
There is something about mornings...
Monday, 27 June 2011
Lokpal Sense Nonsense
I am not one to be comment on recent happenings or on politics in general but the recent Lokpal Bill has forced me to pen down my few thoughts on it.
I would be the last person who would want this Bill to fail but being the skeptic that I am especially when it comes to the way my country is being run, I am sorry but I seriously do not see it going anywhere.
Indian constitution has been amended some 96 times as compared to the American Constitution whose numbers are much less, so the drafters had the sense that the constitution will be required to be changed with time which is good but has that helped us in anyway. We still have instances female foeticide, honour killings and rape so our efforts to empower the women seem to have gone in vain.
The forest Rights Act, 2005 says that the tribals are the owners of the forests they provided they meet a few criteria laid down by the act still we see Vedanta, POSCO projects being cleared by MoEF subject to some restrictions which any Indian citizen will vouch can be approved once a 500 rupee note is handed over to the clerk, so there goes the Forest Rights Acts.
In similar ways go the other such as Coastal Zone Management Acts etc. so on what basis do you think that the MPs will be willing to share with us their black earnings, after all they are not your usual run of the mill MPs, they hold quite a criminal record in their name and who will investigate them? IPS officers? The force itself does not boast of very clean officials.
All these ministers, CMs, PM (I am sorry Dr. Singh but seeing your absolute inadequacy in running the country efficiently and keeping mum to all the atrocities going around everyday just makes you a party to it as well) are here to do nothing but suck every ounce of blood from us. After all, what happened the night of black Saturday is not unknown to us, that night can be compared to nothing less than the Jallianwala Massacre.
I sincerely hope that everyone proves me wrong, and the Lokpal Bill is more of sense than nonsense but somehow I am not convinced.
I would be the last person who would want this Bill to fail but being the skeptic that I am especially when it comes to the way my country is being run, I am sorry but I seriously do not see it going anywhere.
Indian constitution has been amended some 96 times as compared to the American Constitution whose numbers are much less, so the drafters had the sense that the constitution will be required to be changed with time which is good but has that helped us in anyway. We still have instances female foeticide, honour killings and rape so our efforts to empower the women seem to have gone in vain.
The forest Rights Act, 2005 says that the tribals are the owners of the forests they provided they meet a few criteria laid down by the act still we see Vedanta, POSCO projects being cleared by MoEF subject to some restrictions which any Indian citizen will vouch can be approved once a 500 rupee note is handed over to the clerk, so there goes the Forest Rights Acts.
In similar ways go the other such as Coastal Zone Management Acts etc. so on what basis do you think that the MPs will be willing to share with us their black earnings, after all they are not your usual run of the mill MPs, they hold quite a criminal record in their name and who will investigate them? IPS officers? The force itself does not boast of very clean officials.
All these ministers, CMs, PM (I am sorry Dr. Singh but seeing your absolute inadequacy in running the country efficiently and keeping mum to all the atrocities going around everyday just makes you a party to it as well) are here to do nothing but suck every ounce of blood from us. After all, what happened the night of black Saturday is not unknown to us, that night can be compared to nothing less than the Jallianwala Massacre.
I sincerely hope that everyone proves me wrong, and the Lokpal Bill is more of sense than nonsense but somehow I am not convinced.
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Since I have, as yet not figured out how to put caption under my photographs I am writing a description of the photographs here.
The first 12 pics are of the place where we lived. We lived in a small institute away and when I say away I mean far far away from civilization. It was a decent accomodation but I do need to mention that the loos did not have any flushes, but none of us really cared about that. We had amazing food cooked on a chulha ready whenever we had to leave, be it 6 in the morning or 8. Though the people there tried their hand at North Indian food but not to much avail, but it's the thought that matters right!.
Then comes the pics of our first hike. God! was it thorny out there! We started out at 8:30 am in the sun. The thorns really slowed us down as they would hook into our clothes and skin and some of them had some amount of poison in them which discoloured our skin. After sometime the narrow walkway we were walking on also vanished, we were left with no guide as to the trail whatsoever. But we had work to do, so on we trudged, with the sun making it no easier and all we had was grasses to hold on to and to save us from falling down, though there was little possibility of that happening as there were so many thorns, we were sure that if we fell we will probably get stuck in them some five feet below us. At 12:00, after 3 and a half hours we reached our destination, had some food there did our work and then started our walk downhill which proved to be more treacherous than the uphill one. Finally at 2:30pm we reached back. But the work was not over as yet as as soon as we reached we were asked to take a bus to Kodaikanal, so at 4:30, after packing our stuff we were off again. But buses are not that easy. After waiting for an hour, a bus comes but with people hanging outside it we decided against that option and took a taxi instead.
Reached kodaikanal, Sacred Heart College at 9:30 pm and were welcomed by some especially disgusting south Indian food. The pic comes after 4 hike pics and 6 bird pics, boy! was it creepy. I am generally not afraid of the dark and do not have a wild imagination but all alone on an entire floor in this place did give me goosebumps, but that still did not stop me spooking others around me. Will tell that story later. First the rules of this place- No talking loudly on the phone or otherwise, absolutely no noise after 9 and no joining of the beds.
It was spooky to the extent that people used to go together wherever they went at night even if it was just to get water. With the loos being on the far end of the corridor and absolutely no light to show the way and the wooden floorboard reaking under my feet one day I decided to go to the downstairs bathroom as atleast there was a light on there. And for this reason I rechristened the place as Bhoot bangla. But two good things ! my room had a skylight and slanting roof, so I never had to get up and open the door to realize whether its morning, just look up.Man I wanted to live in such a room. And awesome birds and you should be there to listen to the concert they hold in the morning. The 6 bird pics mentioned above are Kodaikanal Birds. An interesting fact about them is that some of them are found in the Himalayas and then in Palni Hills and not anywhere in between.
Then lastly come the pics from our second hike, though not as hard as the first one and not thorny at all this was fun too. I fell in love with the moss covered trees over there, hence you see a lot of pics of moss. Also saw a snake there and some of the lucky ones saw a Hornbill. Alas! I wasn't in them. This was where I realized i have some of an uncomfortable feeling around heights, but that isn't going to stop me from climbing to the highest point now is it? This hike was our last day of the trip which we thoroughly enjoyed and every little imperfection just contributed that much more to the memories.
Hope you enjoyed reading it as I did reliving those memories while writing.
The first 12 pics are of the place where we lived. We lived in a small institute away and when I say away I mean far far away from civilization. It was a decent accomodation but I do need to mention that the loos did not have any flushes, but none of us really cared about that. We had amazing food cooked on a chulha ready whenever we had to leave, be it 6 in the morning or 8. Though the people there tried their hand at North Indian food but not to much avail, but it's the thought that matters right!.
Then comes the pics of our first hike. God! was it thorny out there! We started out at 8:30 am in the sun. The thorns really slowed us down as they would hook into our clothes and skin and some of them had some amount of poison in them which discoloured our skin. After sometime the narrow walkway we were walking on also vanished, we were left with no guide as to the trail whatsoever. But we had work to do, so on we trudged, with the sun making it no easier and all we had was grasses to hold on to and to save us from falling down, though there was little possibility of that happening as there were so many thorns, we were sure that if we fell we will probably get stuck in them some five feet below us. At 12:00, after 3 and a half hours we reached our destination, had some food there did our work and then started our walk downhill which proved to be more treacherous than the uphill one. Finally at 2:30pm we reached back. But the work was not over as yet as as soon as we reached we were asked to take a bus to Kodaikanal, so at 4:30, after packing our stuff we were off again. But buses are not that easy. After waiting for an hour, a bus comes but with people hanging outside it we decided against that option and took a taxi instead.
Reached kodaikanal, Sacred Heart College at 9:30 pm and were welcomed by some especially disgusting south Indian food. The pic comes after 4 hike pics and 6 bird pics, boy! was it creepy. I am generally not afraid of the dark and do not have a wild imagination but all alone on an entire floor in this place did give me goosebumps, but that still did not stop me spooking others around me. Will tell that story later. First the rules of this place- No talking loudly on the phone or otherwise, absolutely no noise after 9 and no joining of the beds.
It was spooky to the extent that people used to go together wherever they went at night even if it was just to get water. With the loos being on the far end of the corridor and absolutely no light to show the way and the wooden floorboard reaking under my feet one day I decided to go to the downstairs bathroom as atleast there was a light on there. And for this reason I rechristened the place as Bhoot bangla. But two good things ! my room had a skylight and slanting roof, so I never had to get up and open the door to realize whether its morning, just look up.Man I wanted to live in such a room. And awesome birds and you should be there to listen to the concert they hold in the morning. The 6 bird pics mentioned above are Kodaikanal Birds. An interesting fact about them is that some of them are found in the Himalayas and then in Palni Hills and not anywhere in between.
Then lastly come the pics from our second hike, though not as hard as the first one and not thorny at all this was fun too. I fell in love with the moss covered trees over there, hence you see a lot of pics of moss. Also saw a snake there and some of the lucky ones saw a Hornbill. Alas! I wasn't in them. This was where I realized i have some of an uncomfortable feeling around heights, but that isn't going to stop me from climbing to the highest point now is it? This hike was our last day of the trip which we thoroughly enjoyed and every little imperfection just contributed that much more to the memories.
Hope you enjoyed reading it as I did reliving those memories while writing.
Saturday, 16 April 2011
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