The rains seem to have finally caught up with in the city after being a recluse for about one month. And as usual my loyalty towards the met department once again took a beating for handing over counterfeit dates about the early onset of monsoons this year..
Blaming the rain gods and the met dept. just seem to be the tip of the iceberg as far as the hydro management crisis in my household or in fact the whole city of Mumbai is concerned.
Unlike countries like Great Britain where the weather seems to the most important topic of discussion over a pint of beer,leisure takes a sorrow turn when our very own lakes start running dry..This now may start seeming more like a environment conservation documentary but the dilemma each monsoon puts us all Indians is certainly way beyond that friendly chilled pint of beer..
The pump machinery in my house ceases to suck in enough water through the pipes anymore and the water crisis deepens not only in the household but also the neighbourhood. To counter this challenge I end up installing an even higher capacity motor pump. But to my sheer disbelief the results are absolutely dismal. All I get is a higher electricity bill with the same old trickling droplets of water in the source pipes..
Just a today ago the harsh truth dawned upon me that about 20 percent of the water is actually wasted by leakage.Now that's comes down to a huge number considering the enormous amounts of the precious liquid consumed by us on a daily basis.At least now I know where exactly the bulk of the supply is getting wasted on the way to my house. Things are not going to improve till the rains play hide and seek with the inhabitants of the nation.Lest the human evolution undergoes a drastic manipulation of genes and enables us to consume saline ocean water,days of a big catastrophe would not be far from now..
Wish the rain Gods spare me and country from a drought and help avert a calamity in the making..For all those around please save water..The end might be near...
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Cricket cricket everywhere...
Phew...Just a few days back and I was super excited at the prospects of Team Hyderabad winning the second version of IPL.And in style they won. Not less than two weeks and the mania is back. The popularity of T20 seems to be going overboard with every month and everyone seems to be cashing in on it. But how much seems to be enough?
Thanks to the men of the earlier decades that we still have some other games like soccer and tennis in the offing which saves us from the over whelming dosage of cricket. Though I cant deny the fact the cricket is and will remain the most popular game in my country India, but the fact is do we need to buy each and everything offered in the name of cricket? After all I certainly can't deny the fact it is the only game to have brought pride to the nation time and again.
After all the hoopla, the World Cup T20 starts of today in England, another cricket crazy nation. Though it seems now-a-days that the game actually originated in the Indian sub-continent rather than in England. The inaugural ceremony though turned out to be the damp squid thanks to the heavens downpour. And by Gods Grace, thankfully, I won’t see Mandira Bedi with her most weird hairstyles and awful costumes.This time we have a newer face Shonali Nagrani for Company who adds the oomph factor to the game. Though she has been given the task to sit in the studio and ask some stupid questions and simultaneously doling out 10,000 Rs for a right answer, she does add to the glamour of the game.
And good news to all those people like me who even after browsing through the so called entertainment channels for hours cannot find anything worth viewing. At least I know what exactly I will go through when I sit back and watch a T20 match for the entire three hours.
Over to the game, it should be a smooth sailing for us since we play minnow teams Ireland and Bangladesh in the group matches. And to top it all one thing that's surely attractive is the T20 World Cup trophy which is much prettier as compared to the badly designed IPL trophy. On the flip side the cheerleaders are absolutely next to trash!! Can you in your wildest of dreams imagine a T20 match without the pretty cheerleaders dancing their way at each and every big move in the game? Over the 2 years, I have started associating T20 with cheerleaders and lo there are a few of them hopelessly shaking a leg or two as if they haven't been paid their dues.This would definitely take away the eye candy of many such ardent fans.
But we, particularly as Indians have reasons to keep our heads high. One, we are the defending champions and without doubt would want to retain the crown with us and two, I was delighted to see two of our very own brands Reliance Mobile and Hero Honda with their banners right in the center of the field. Now that's what I call an achievement as far as Corporate India is concerned which proves India as a nation surely has the capabilities to rescue the world out of this economic crisis.
Here's wishing the Indian Cricket Team to go for it once again and prove that they are and will be the King of T20...
Thanks to the men of the earlier decades that we still have some other games like soccer and tennis in the offing which saves us from the over whelming dosage of cricket. Though I cant deny the fact the cricket is and will remain the most popular game in my country India, but the fact is do we need to buy each and everything offered in the name of cricket? After all I certainly can't deny the fact it is the only game to have brought pride to the nation time and again.
After all the hoopla, the World Cup T20 starts of today in England, another cricket crazy nation. Though it seems now-a-days that the game actually originated in the Indian sub-continent rather than in England. The inaugural ceremony though turned out to be the damp squid thanks to the heavens downpour. And by Gods Grace, thankfully, I won’t see Mandira Bedi with her most weird hairstyles and awful costumes.This time we have a newer face Shonali Nagrani for Company who adds the oomph factor to the game. Though she has been given the task to sit in the studio and ask some stupid questions and simultaneously doling out 10,000 Rs for a right answer, she does add to the glamour of the game.
And good news to all those people like me who even after browsing through the so called entertainment channels for hours cannot find anything worth viewing. At least I know what exactly I will go through when I sit back and watch a T20 match for the entire three hours.
Over to the game, it should be a smooth sailing for us since we play minnow teams Ireland and Bangladesh in the group matches. And to top it all one thing that's surely attractive is the T20 World Cup trophy which is much prettier as compared to the badly designed IPL trophy. On the flip side the cheerleaders are absolutely next to trash!! Can you in your wildest of dreams imagine a T20 match without the pretty cheerleaders dancing their way at each and every big move in the game? Over the 2 years, I have started associating T20 with cheerleaders and lo there are a few of them hopelessly shaking a leg or two as if they haven't been paid their dues.This would definitely take away the eye candy of many such ardent fans.
But we, particularly as Indians have reasons to keep our heads high. One, we are the defending champions and without doubt would want to retain the crown with us and two, I was delighted to see two of our very own brands Reliance Mobile and Hero Honda with their banners right in the center of the field. Now that's what I call an achievement as far as Corporate India is concerned which proves India as a nation surely has the capabilities to rescue the world out of this economic crisis.
Here's wishing the Indian Cricket Team to go for it once again and prove that they are and will be the King of T20...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
A day lost....
Just another usual yesterday and things were moving at a smooth (read ridiculously slow) pace as usual. Morning passes by doing daily unimportant activities and follows the so very important homemade lunch which I feel still deprived off after surviving away from home for more than two years. The thought of having a sumptuous lunch makes me feel lethargic; forget about actually gulping down the plate full.
And no sooner than this, the indolent brains inside my head signalled the start of ultra sluggish behaviour and lead me into to the "Go to Bed" syndrome. Having taken a resolution to avoid moving into deep slumber after every meal, I decided to switch on the PC to help me survive the sleep onslaught. And then came a shocker, I was literally stunned when I saw the system flashing a limited connectivity in front of my eyes. That signalled the end of my laxity and coaxed my mind into contemplating the world of possibilities without my dear Internet connection.
Surely in this Internet age, life doesn’t get a better best friend than the small little two computers that sit on the right hand of our monitor screens. Getting connected suddenly seemed to be the most important mission of my life. After hurling several imaginary abuses at the MTNL guys for suddenly disconnecting my life (from the Internet), started the grand endeavour of resurrecting my Internet connection.
As expected, the so called help lines (call centres) lived up to their reputation of being of absolutely no help. On dialling the supposed magic digits, as usual I was greeted with the world famous "You are in Queue. Please dial after some time" recorded message. I think MTNL should take a cue from the private companies who at least take the pains to record such cliché messages in beautiful female voices. Nevertheless, after around five minutes of forced torture some lady finally took pity on me and took the call. And then within the next 15 seconds it was all over. Bang! She kept the receiver after handing me over the mandatory complaint number, even before I could ask her the countless questions that I had in my mind. And subsequently, I was pushed into the lifeless world of no connectivity with no orkut,no gtalk,no Internet banking, no moneycontrol.....Life seemed to be going nowhere and came to a complete standstill for the first time ever. I took solace in the sole source of entertainment called 'Television' which perhaps could console me just for half n hour (with the innumerable amount of junk available).
But that was not all. On making several futile attempts (which also included me bashing up the same lady on phone for her utter dismal behaviour at rescuing me out from the connectionless life) at resurrecting my Internet connection, the truth finally dawned upon me that there was a major server failure and the whole network was affected. After this, started the endless wait hoping that the MTNL guys do wake up from their slumber and get going at some CRM in order to retain grumpy customers like me. For the first time in life, I realised the horror all clients go through when he/she faces an issue and we as employees, sometimes though, get over with our tea/coffee breaks.
The no connectivity syndrome not only made me feel restless but also drained me of my emotional health.The only hope around was to expect a miracle and the servers would stand up right on their feet.After going through the entire ordeal for some 30 hours, life finally returned a whole circle and thankfully I was back on internet with my mind full of wierd thoughts about the day lost in my life...
And no sooner than this, the indolent brains inside my head signalled the start of ultra sluggish behaviour and lead me into to the "Go to Bed" syndrome. Having taken a resolution to avoid moving into deep slumber after every meal, I decided to switch on the PC to help me survive the sleep onslaught. And then came a shocker, I was literally stunned when I saw the system flashing a limited connectivity in front of my eyes. That signalled the end of my laxity and coaxed my mind into contemplating the world of possibilities without my dear Internet connection.
Surely in this Internet age, life doesn’t get a better best friend than the small little two computers that sit on the right hand of our monitor screens. Getting connected suddenly seemed to be the most important mission of my life. After hurling several imaginary abuses at the MTNL guys for suddenly disconnecting my life (from the Internet), started the grand endeavour of resurrecting my Internet connection.
As expected, the so called help lines (call centres) lived up to their reputation of being of absolutely no help. On dialling the supposed magic digits, as usual I was greeted with the world famous "You are in Queue. Please dial after some time" recorded message. I think MTNL should take a cue from the private companies who at least take the pains to record such cliché messages in beautiful female voices. Nevertheless, after around five minutes of forced torture some lady finally took pity on me and took the call. And then within the next 15 seconds it was all over. Bang! She kept the receiver after handing me over the mandatory complaint number, even before I could ask her the countless questions that I had in my mind. And subsequently, I was pushed into the lifeless world of no connectivity with no orkut,no gtalk,no Internet banking, no moneycontrol.....Life seemed to be going nowhere and came to a complete standstill for the first time ever. I took solace in the sole source of entertainment called 'Television' which perhaps could console me just for half n hour (with the innumerable amount of junk available).
But that was not all. On making several futile attempts (which also included me bashing up the same lady on phone for her utter dismal behaviour at rescuing me out from the connectionless life) at resurrecting my Internet connection, the truth finally dawned upon me that there was a major server failure and the whole network was affected. After this, started the endless wait hoping that the MTNL guys do wake up from their slumber and get going at some CRM in order to retain grumpy customers like me. For the first time in life, I realised the horror all clients go through when he/she faces an issue and we as employees, sometimes though, get over with our tea/coffee breaks.
The no connectivity syndrome not only made me feel restless but also drained me of my emotional health.The only hope around was to expect a miracle and the servers would stand up right on their feet.After going through the entire ordeal for some 30 hours, life finally returned a whole circle and thankfully I was back on internet with my mind full of wierd thoughts about the day lost in my life...
Sunday, May 31, 2009
What wrong have we done?
For ages, the Indian outlook of sending our kids to foreign destinations for higher studies has dominated our culture. Not long ago parents used to be overjoyed with pride and their eyes glimmering with the very thought that their kids were either studying or working in some foreign destination away from home and earning plenty of dollars. But not anymore!
The world over we Indians are known to be the most docile creatures God has ever created. We constitute a sect of people who just strive to earn a better living and making our lives comfortable. And subsequently arise the ambitions and aspirations to perform better. Right from the unassuming maid servant to the high flying corporate executive each one of us is actually trying to move up the social ladder. But where do these aspirations of the submissive Indian take us? Are we slowly and steadily getting habituated to getting dominated and harassed by the so called racially superior creatures that seem to have evolved from the same Ape species from where we have?
The horrifying tales of Indians getting racially and physically ill-treated in Australia is indeed appalling. Rewind a few months back and stories of Indian students getting brutally attacked and cold bloodedly murdered in broad daylight was quite a common phenomenon in the most talked about nation, the USA. The gruesome killings followed some protests and after some assurances from the governments the issue just went down the drains. Now the same fate seems to haunt our students in Australia. The question here is what wrong have we done?
Is the very decision to gain admission to a foreign University turning out to be the biggest blunder of our times? I believe the answer to this in the recent spate of events should be a firm Yes! The most obvious question that arises again is "Why are we Indians targeted then?" keeping in mind the biggest irony that Indians are the biggest contributors to the plethora of Universities in the US and specifically Australia, which thrive whole heartedly just on Indian or Asian students. Some universities are able to survive just on the tuition fees paid by the foreign students. The reason behind this is that the local students are either being too happy with their limited education levels or they are too ignorant to pursue with their higher education programs because the idea of higher education just doesn’t impress them.
To top it all the main reason why we Indians are targeted is sheer jealousy. The very fact that a foreign national (especially Indian) residing in their country(Australia) and earning more than them is turning out to be indigestible for them. According to these so called natives who have over the years turned out to be racist freaks, Indian migrants in their countries are just fit for the jobs of either cab drivers or call centres. After all the mudslinging racist remarks that we Indians are subjected to for years in countries like USA,UK and now Australia, this jealousy has now taken the form of dreadful acts of physical abuse.
What can we do next? Prevent our deserving students from studying in foreign Universities or give the offenders a piece of their own pie? Coming from the land of Mahatma Gandhi certainly makes us complacent and hitting the Australians at their own games is not a good idea. But then when the matter is of sole survival for our students we just can't keep quiet by being a mere spectator. It might not be long before the same calamity strikes one of our very own friends or colleagues.
As of now the safest option to me seems to be to discourage all students to study in these foreign universities till the time these racist freaks learn to civilise themselves and stop being overtly envious of our ambitions and achievements. And special thanks to Mr. Bachchan for frankly declining the Australian honour that was to be conferred upon him.
The world over we Indians are known to be the most docile creatures God has ever created. We constitute a sect of people who just strive to earn a better living and making our lives comfortable. And subsequently arise the ambitions and aspirations to perform better. Right from the unassuming maid servant to the high flying corporate executive each one of us is actually trying to move up the social ladder. But where do these aspirations of the submissive Indian take us? Are we slowly and steadily getting habituated to getting dominated and harassed by the so called racially superior creatures that seem to have evolved from the same Ape species from where we have?
The horrifying tales of Indians getting racially and physically ill-treated in Australia is indeed appalling. Rewind a few months back and stories of Indian students getting brutally attacked and cold bloodedly murdered in broad daylight was quite a common phenomenon in the most talked about nation, the USA. The gruesome killings followed some protests and after some assurances from the governments the issue just went down the drains. Now the same fate seems to haunt our students in Australia. The question here is what wrong have we done?
Is the very decision to gain admission to a foreign University turning out to be the biggest blunder of our times? I believe the answer to this in the recent spate of events should be a firm Yes! The most obvious question that arises again is "Why are we Indians targeted then?" keeping in mind the biggest irony that Indians are the biggest contributors to the plethora of Universities in the US and specifically Australia, which thrive whole heartedly just on Indian or Asian students. Some universities are able to survive just on the tuition fees paid by the foreign students. The reason behind this is that the local students are either being too happy with their limited education levels or they are too ignorant to pursue with their higher education programs because the idea of higher education just doesn’t impress them.
To top it all the main reason why we Indians are targeted is sheer jealousy. The very fact that a foreign national (especially Indian) residing in their country(Australia) and earning more than them is turning out to be indigestible for them. According to these so called natives who have over the years turned out to be racist freaks, Indian migrants in their countries are just fit for the jobs of either cab drivers or call centres. After all the mudslinging racist remarks that we Indians are subjected to for years in countries like USA,UK and now Australia, this jealousy has now taken the form of dreadful acts of physical abuse.
What can we do next? Prevent our deserving students from studying in foreign Universities or give the offenders a piece of their own pie? Coming from the land of Mahatma Gandhi certainly makes us complacent and hitting the Australians at their own games is not a good idea. But then when the matter is of sole survival for our students we just can't keep quiet by being a mere spectator. It might not be long before the same calamity strikes one of our very own friends or colleagues.
As of now the safest option to me seems to be to discourage all students to study in these foreign universities till the time these racist freaks learn to civilise themselves and stop being overtly envious of our ambitions and achievements. And special thanks to Mr. Bachchan for frankly declining the Australian honour that was to be conferred upon him.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Bang on Target!!
Yesterday evening as I stepped outside my house for some household shopping (you tend to do such things when you are absolutely jobless or when you bored staying indoors within the confinement of the four walls(chaar dewarein), I was greeted with the surprise of a lifetime!
Early in the morning (I call 8.30 early), as I suffer from a compulsive disorder of browsing through the pages of our beloved national newspaper 'The Times of India’, the news of pre- monsoon showers on Wednesday by the IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) greeted me. Like any other citizen of the city, sweltering under the torment of our very own nearest star this news certainly brought a smile on my face.
And guess what, by the evening (out on a household shopping spree), I actually felt the impossible event mentioned in the newspaper taking shape. It turned absolutely dark and in a few minutes I saw the first rain droplets of the season come trickling down from the heaven.
Call it an overtly accurate prediction by the IMD or just a fortunate co-incidence for the weather prediction guys; it is definitely a respite for me and my fellow citizens. On an overtly optimistic note I certainly wish the IMD keeps predicting as accurately as they have done yesterday. Armed with Super Computers and the Doppler radars, I hope this wish turns out to be true in the near future and saves us from the deluge of July 2005.
Early in the morning (I call 8.30 early), as I suffer from a compulsive disorder of browsing through the pages of our beloved national newspaper 'The Times of India’, the news of pre- monsoon showers on Wednesday by the IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) greeted me. Like any other citizen of the city, sweltering under the torment of our very own nearest star this news certainly brought a smile on my face.
And guess what, by the evening (out on a household shopping spree), I actually felt the impossible event mentioned in the newspaper taking shape. It turned absolutely dark and in a few minutes I saw the first rain droplets of the season come trickling down from the heaven.
Call it an overtly accurate prediction by the IMD or just a fortunate co-incidence for the weather prediction guys; it is definitely a respite for me and my fellow citizens. On an overtly optimistic note I certainly wish the IMD keeps predicting as accurately as they have done yesterday. Armed with Super Computers and the Doppler radars, I hope this wish turns out to be true in the near future and saves us from the deluge of July 2005.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
And the loot continues..
Living in the garden city for more than two years has definitely brought myriad experiences to my life.Some good, the rest range from bad to worst.After spending my childhood in a major metropolis like Mumbai the so called pub (or garden city) either way u prefer to call it, does throw up a lot of challenges specially to an ordinary bloke like me who was neither a localite(i mean a Bangalorite) nor a member of the ultra rich luxurious life-styled hip crowd who are used to shopping regularly in malls like 'The Forum' or 'Garuda Mall'.
At this point of song singing about our Bengaluru(as it is called now owing to name changing ceremony held by some of our very intellectual politicians) lets face some harsh ground realities.For an ordinary citizen, from another part of our vastly divided India staying here was not a cake walk.
Starting with the Hosur Road series of flyovers which seems to be under construction since ages(It was my hearts desire to see them completed and zoom to the Electronics City campus in a Company bus in less than 15 mins).However,this dream remained one as I returned to the place where I belong.
Coming back to the main point which really perturbed me was the errant behaviour of the auto-rickshaw drivers.For a harmless travel to say M.G. Road(which is one of the best hang out spots for both the rich and not so rich) from a place called B.T.M(more than 50 % of the IT populace resides in this area) the average fare would be around 55 Rs.However, there is hardly any day of the year when you can actually reach your destination at this fare.Mostly, the auto-rickshaw drivers will negotiate the fare way before you commence your journey on the pot holed streets of 'Namma Bengaluru'.This renders the so called meters absolutely ineffectual.And mind you they seem to be the most intelligent people on the earth.They can recognise that you are not a localite just by looking at your face at first glance.
As an icing on the cake,if it rains then God only save you from the wrath of the drivers.The moment it starts pouring, which is quite common in Bangalore even when its not our usual four month rainy season ,the rickshaw fare just doubles up.That means now a journey that I mentioned before would cost you a cool 100 Rs.Now that's what I call a pure act of day light "Looting". The same also applies when its night time when its actually "Party Time" for the drivers.Whether you belong to the filthy rich section of the society or some ordinary guy working in an ordinary IT Company in an even ordinary designation of Software Engineer,not a single soul is spared.
The main psychology that drives business in the garden city is that "If you cant pay me, someone else will" and definitely you don't deserve my services and better look out for something else that might suit your wallet.
Lest the rickshaw drivers come to know of Mr. Barack Obama's latest policies the ordinary (aam aadmi) as you call them continues to suffer and be at their mercy.
Tata Nano here I come.......
At this point of song singing about our Bengaluru(as it is called now owing to name changing ceremony held by some of our very intellectual politicians) lets face some harsh ground realities.For an ordinary citizen, from another part of our vastly divided India staying here was not a cake walk.
Starting with the Hosur Road series of flyovers which seems to be under construction since ages(It was my hearts desire to see them completed and zoom to the Electronics City campus in a Company bus in less than 15 mins).However,this dream remained one as I returned to the place where I belong.
Coming back to the main point which really perturbed me was the errant behaviour of the auto-rickshaw drivers.For a harmless travel to say M.G. Road(which is one of the best hang out spots for both the rich and not so rich) from a place called B.T.M(more than 50 % of the IT populace resides in this area) the average fare would be around 55 Rs.However, there is hardly any day of the year when you can actually reach your destination at this fare.Mostly, the auto-rickshaw drivers will negotiate the fare way before you commence your journey on the pot holed streets of 'Namma Bengaluru'.This renders the so called meters absolutely ineffectual.And mind you they seem to be the most intelligent people on the earth.They can recognise that you are not a localite just by looking at your face at first glance.
As an icing on the cake,if it rains then God only save you from the wrath of the drivers.The moment it starts pouring, which is quite common in Bangalore even when its not our usual four month rainy season ,the rickshaw fare just doubles up.That means now a journey that I mentioned before would cost you a cool 100 Rs.Now that's what I call a pure act of day light "Looting". The same also applies when its night time when its actually "Party Time" for the drivers.Whether you belong to the filthy rich section of the society or some ordinary guy working in an ordinary IT Company in an even ordinary designation of Software Engineer,not a single soul is spared.
The main psychology that drives business in the garden city is that "If you cant pay me, someone else will" and definitely you don't deserve my services and better look out for something else that might suit your wallet.
Lest the rickshaw drivers come to know of Mr. Barack Obama's latest policies the ordinary (aam aadmi) as you call them continues to suffer and be at their mercy.
Tata Nano here I come.......
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