I wish to know…

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I wish to know…

When I am gone, at the tip of a rope

Or the last poison drop

What do they tell about me?

Compelled by a social creed,

To speak only glory of deceased

They’ll call me all that I always wanted to be called

I wish to know…

When I am gone, after losing to hope

Struggling up to the final drop

What do they think about me?

Some not-so-close will grieve for days

Others closer shall for months

I shall then become part of the rusted records

I wish to know…

When I am gone, becoming nothing but memory

Roaming aimless and free

Will you show me my beloved ones, even if they can’t see me?

I loved them so much more than me

And that shall continue to be

But never once did they care to feel nor did they ever see!

-Shyam

At Gunpoint

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First appeared in 21Fools e-magazine.

This article is not to be viewed as a negative criticism of the great efforts of our social workers who have forever brought people’s problems to the notice of the rulers. However, it aims at highlighting the importance of not viewing national politics as a taboo left to perish in the hands of a few corrupt people. The country needs smart and intelligent youth with sufficient life knowledge behind them to take a plunge into national politics now more than ever! As a nation of youngsters, it is also our duty to now give our long serving leaders a break to retire and spend some peaceful years relishing the fruits of their years of hard work. It is time for a more focussed next generation India that can take on today’s superpowers.

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“You know that 64 year old industrialist Bharat, the famous man who was born on 15 August 1947? Someone’s kidnapped his wife and is holding her at gunpoint!”

Bharat is the head of a big family. His wife, their many children and grandchildren, and several other relatives- close and distant, and friends –all live in one large house in New Delhi. Bharat had started his business at a very young age but his risk fearing business model never earned him much returns. About twenty years ago, on the advice of one his sons, he revamped the whole business model, got into some foreign collaborations, introduced computer systems and today his company has, in its own rights, reached a point where they can dictate terms to foreign conglomerates! An unbelievable case of ‘rags to riches’ in the last four or five decades, as other players stood gazing at their development.

With large families and large fortunes come large scale intra-family feuds. Bharat was showing signs of ageing and there was a general consensus for flushing in younger blood into the company. As a result there have been widespread conspiracies brewing within the household over the last few months. But this one was a shock to everyone in the family!

Bharat never thought that one of his sons and a few ambitious grandsons would kidnap his wife, and bring his empire to standstill! “Could this have happened anywhere else?” he thought.

Bharat had registered more than half of his business in the name of his wife, and she was his pillar of strength. In his own words, “she is the reason for his existence”. They were about to bid for an international project in a couple of days that could get him and the company a global centre stage presence in matters of policy making, and this kidnapping drama had only brought everything to a grinding halt!

Bharat was down and depressed, determined to bring his better half back home by negotiating with his ‘own sons and grandsons’! By kidnapping the lady her kidnappers had brought peril to the same business that they were demanding for, and this was as stupid and futile an effort as young Kalidas’ chopping off the very branch of the tree on which he was sitting!

Needless to say that complete lack of focus on what must be a collective effort towards growth of the business can impede its progress and pull it down to the very foundation it was built upon!

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This is not an aimlessly cooked up story without an ending. It is pretty much a fictionalisation of the present state of affairs in India.

India and its governance are represented by the protagonist who shares the name Bharat with it. The business he builds up is our economy and position among the other countries. The foundation of our nation undisputedly lies in our democratic set up, and it is the same thing that has been held at gun point by a few children and grandchildren who are none other than the citizens of our country.

However pure and honest their intentions are, what social crusaders like Anna Hazare and now Baba Ramdev are doing is nothing but holding the country and its government at the gunpoint of a threat. Albeit it is true that in our history we have Aurangazeb who waged wars against his father and brothers to prevent disintegration of the vast Mughal Empire so that he could be the only ruler of the dominion, and later Mahatma Gandhi who held the vast British Empire at the virtual gunpoint of a threat to go on indefinite hunger strike if they proceeded with oppressive governance.

But neither are we governed today by selfish monarchs nor are we fighting a foreign empire!

The government in New Delhi is elected by the people of India to lead the country, and reviewed for extension after every five years. WE the people of the country are solely responsible for OUR representatives WE elect to the capital. And it is only unfair if we ourselves do not let them focus on running the country. By going on mass protests and agitations, we are only pulling our country down by not allowing our ministers and bureaucrats to focus on what they must be.

Recently, Baba Ramdev created a flurry in the national capital with his threat to go on fast if action was not taken on corruption and black money. This brought some very important cabinet ministers to the New Delhi airport awaiting his arrival in his chartered aircraft, for negotiating with him to pull out of such a protest. Is this way of influencing the working of our democratically elected government with the support of a section of the population and media, the right way to go about brining a change?

It is not the intended result, but the actual impact that matters in such things. As responsible citizens of this democracy, it is required of us to ensure that we choose the right people to lead us. If we do not find any among the existing politicians of today, it becomes our duty to find ideal ones from among us and provide them the opportunity. And worse still, if there is no one else worthy of contention, plunge into the pool ourselves and promise to remain morally truthful in spite of all the eye-glittering opportunities that might come our way in the future.

Our fellow-state Pakistan is no stranger to coups that result out of dissatisfaction in the governance. We have thankfully been pro-democratic and non-violent in our approach to our problems so far, but it does not take a Rang De Basanti to jump from being a passive critic to an active participant in our own nation building process, does it?

 

Mobocracy against the world’s largest Democracy

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“A democracy cannot be arm-twisted by a mobocracy” Well said Manish Tiwari!This is what must have been drilled into all those people, right from the beginning, who thought that anyone with a handful of followers and a sensation hungry media could make a monkey out of the elected body consisting of people who have years of experience of running the country through its various ups and downs in history.

Who is Anna Hazare? Who is Baba Ramdev? Or those people who claim to be with them like the Bhushans? Pappu Yadav is also a supporter of their mission who went on a fast in jail to display his relation with their ideals and objectives. Humbug! They are all overnight crusaders against the problem that has existed in our society for years more than many of their age.

The supporters of this so called ‘civil society representatives’ are of two kinds. One who are genuinely impacted by the social malady raised by them, and two the younger generation who have had ‘no first hand encounter’ with the corruption they are protesting against but are fairly excited at being a part of the Indian equivalent of the Middle East uprising.

The former category of supporters are assets, in the sense that they can give accounts of real life corruption incidents that can flag off the investigations against corrupt officials and organisations. The latter are a bunch of disoriented gullible victims of the new media craze who aspire to turn heroes like Wael Ghonim in Egypt, hence and otherwise a liability in the long term.Besides what can they contribute positively to the protest when their awareness of corruption is limited to the traffic policemen at the junction and to what is shown in Bollywood movies!

Anna Hazare does not have many true followers, and he is no 21st century Mahatma. One of Anna Hazare’s biggest achievements in reviving his village Ralegan Siddhi (the feat that made him popular first) is to ‘forcefully’ abandon alcohol and tobacco. How many among the Anna loyalists can claim to be totally alcohol and tobacco free? Also, Anna is no Gandhian style activist as there have been accounts of violence under his aegis in Ralegan Siddhi to ‘discipline’ the grown up people of the village and forcing them to live a life that he preached.

He is said to have justified his action of beating up alcoholics in the village thus. “Doesn’t a mother administer bitter medicines to a sick child when she knows that the medicine can cure her child? The child may not like the medicine, but the mother does it only because she cares for the child. The alcoholics were punished so that their families would not be destroyed.”How ridiculous and anti-democratic is this?

Anna’s social activism through the age old Gandhian tactic of ‘fasting unto death’ in front of a large crowd of sympathisers and thus tying the hands of the administration goes back to 2003. He used the same weapon against in 2006 for the RTI bill and once again in 2011 for the Jan Lokpal bill.

Such estranged and self-distancing attitude against the elected government in a democracy is highly unbecoming of a responsible citizen, and compelling the government to dance to one’s tunes by holding it up against an emotionally agitated mob is by far completely inappropriate way to deal with things- in particular a policy or bill which is supposed to go through a constitutional process before implementation.

The subcontinent countries have a highly inflammable socio-economic scenario that in addition to the ever growing population can be a highly potential and lethal political weapon if capitalised smartly. Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev have to be political puppets, for otherwise they could end up becoming causative agents of a cataclysmic uprising that might see no real outcome but an end to our stable democracy and a nation-wide political riot!

Capital punishment for corruption is both impractical and absurd, and as dangerous as the blessing given to Bhasmasur (in Hindu mythology). At one end, it could work out to be the most successful effort to reduce the country’s population as innumerable number of people would go to the gallows orphaning their families behind and at the other end of it, the punishment could become the most successful method used to settle political scores with unrelenting officials at various levels by hooking them to a corruption case! (something akin to how narcotics helps the police today). Both of these outcomes are not intended, but inevitable in case the law comes into force.

The gap between such idealistic propositions and the political reality in our country stems from the inexperience among the persons involved from facing the ground reality. Performing social work or teaching yoga is nowhere close to running a country. In both the cases, you cater to a suffering mass that craves for your help to come out of its pains and despairs. On the other hand while running a country and especially a democratic pseudo-continent like India, the greater challenge lies not in doing the right thing but in avoiding the wrong thing that could instantly charge up the crouching tigers like fellow politicians waiting for an opportunity to pounce on you. Idealism and Utopia are words that were never a part of the political dictionary in a hard core democracy like ours.

It is never about keeping everyone happy, it is about keeping the most of them as much happy and satisfied as they can be kept! It is not about making everyone stand in a queue, it is about making ‘everyone’ believe they are the first in the queue! That is how a democratic setup functions, and corruption (in a small but wide scale) is very much one of the key lubricants that ensure the smooth running of such a setup, and hence cannot be completely eradicated overnight in isolation, by a mob of agitated and spirited people taking on the elected government and its seasoned politicians.

Jai Hind!

Change Has Come To India

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The people’s mandate yesterday wasn’t all that surprising but the margins had more to say than mere numbers. Like someone told on television yesterday, the voting for once was influenced by issues other than caste and other petty mundane yardsticks that have defined electoral reactions over the decades in India.

Each of the victories has a different message from the junta to the politicians, and thankfully all of them are constructive and development oriented. Let us go state by state.

1. West Bengal
The undisputed case of a historical result, overturning a 34 year old Communist rule and handing it to a lady with stronger communist values! Yes, the people of Bengal have not forgotten their Communism, but the leaders of the Communist parties have. They have voted for the political leader who stood by the poor working class in their fight against international conglomerates. The have voted for the safer custodian of true Communist values.

The result is special because it sends out a clear message to the political parties that the true power of a democracy still lies with the people, who want to change with changing times. A political outfit that cannot reinvent itself with time is obsolete and unworthy of people’s support. But the good news for the Communist party is that there is a lot of scope to change.

The average Bengali voter did not vote against the Communist for what happened in the last 2-3 years. Instead he looked around and saw how various states have emerged in the past thirty five years. He contemplated how in spite of being one of the first metro cities in the country he has had to be a passive onlooker when cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune rose to international standards of popularity and prosperity. He stared at the improvement in lifestyle of the people in most of the other Indian states and then turned back to find the same slums from Dominique Lapierre’s City of Joy behind him.

At this juncture the average Bengali decided that it was time for things to change. But now what remains to be seen is how his life travels from here now that the red light has turned green!

2.Tamil Nadu
The forever underestimated population of Tamil Nadu has now shown why they would not allow that trend to continue. Elections in the state have always been a contest of freebies and bribes. The more the money and gift you offer, the more likely you are in power. But the math this time was not so simple, especially for the ruling party.

While political parties blame the anti incumbency factor for the result, the clear margin of AIADMK victory in the state indicates that the junta has come of age. Corruption and disgrace to the state is intolerable to all sections of the society- both rural as well as urban, even if the persons in question have been their ideological leaders for years together!

Also, the decades long trend of political parties trying to capitalise on the illiteracy and lack of awareness among the people from the rural areas by showing them bright prospects ad iterim in the run up to elections has backfired.

The message – the days of blind hero worship and generational loyalty to a particular political outfit are gone, and elections in Tamil Nadu like any other state will be driven by results!

3. Kerala
One of the most intellectual set of voters in the country. I believe that Kerala is one of the few places in India where a politician however old or strong is brought to his/her knees by the public at the time of elections.

A five time state minister since 1957 K.R.Gowriamma and her party’s complete wash out from the scheme of Kerala politics after yesterday’s election result is the latest example of the ruthless attitude of the people of Kerala when it comes to politics. Also notable in this context is the election of long time NRI Dr.Shashi Tharoor from the state capital constituency to the Lok Sabha in 2009, when the people did not allow regional sentiments (Dr.Tharoor is not a native of Tiruvananthapuram and has never lived in Kerala) to work against a bright and highly educated candidate with international exposure to represent them in New Delhi.

By offering the UDF an utmost wobbly government under the strict supervision of opposition leader Comrade VS, there is no way the government can even consider deviation from the people’s expectations. Also this was probably the best way people of Kerala could show their appreciation to the clean and uncorrupt Left leader VS Achuthananthan, at the same time expressing their displeasure at his fellow partymen and disgust at the intra-party issues and problems in the left front!

The message from Kerala- Checkmate UDF! One wrong move and you’re gone!

4.Assam
Keeping Assam to the end is analogous to saving the best part of the cake for the last bite! Assam is the perfect example of the change that summarises all the aforementioned messages.

The one and only message that goes out from here- Do your job impartially to the best of your abilities in the welfare of your people and you shall be voted back to power. No anti incumbency factor for performance oriented governance. This is how a progressive democracy works!

In conclusion, I reiterate my belief that the mandate of the assembly polls clearly indicate that change has indeed come to Indian politics. In partnership with the wave of anti corruption movement across the country and youth participation in nation building activities, we have a bright and development oriented future to look forward to! 🙂

Finding The Perfect IT Dulha

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These days, in most of the matrimonial proposals I hear around me the bridegrooms are from the IT industry unlike the olden days when they used to be predominantly employed in banks or the government. So I was wondering how one would go about comparing two people in the IT industry especially in this period of changing beliefs, fresh thoughts and sceptical approach to conventions and traditions.

Everything written herein is intended for unadulterated fun. Any form of inconvenience or displeasure to anyone because of the content is deeply regretted. In other words, NO OFFENCE MEANT TO ANYONE.

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[Settings of a common 21st cent. upper middle class house in urban India. Mother, housewife, in her fifties. Daughter, ‘Four years experienced’ IT professional, entering later half of her twenties.

A not-so-costly yet luxurious looking sofa set and an LCD screen television. A manhandled Dell Inspiron laptop lying on the teapoy, along with its accessories. A few papers carelessly spread on the sofa.

Daughter, dressed in summer casuals, sitting with folded legs on the sofa clutching a cushion close to her body. Mother, dressed in cotton saree, poring over some print outs.]

Mother

I found these two cases interesting. Vicky and Bunty. Both software developers in good companies.

Daughter

What about the third guy Ronald?


Waise… doesn’t Ronald sound like a Christian name? How did he get into that list?

Mother

Arre… His name is Rohan. Ronald is the name they’ve given him in his BPO. But I had strictly told panditji not to send any BPO CVs. Developer or even Tester phir bhi theeeek hai… (with a tone of compromise, and then sternly) But pucca NO call centre!

Daughter

Ma… I don’t want a support guy also. They have shifts and all… It’s a big pain…

Mother clearing a few papers away from the sofa. Now holding on to the two sheets in front of her and reading from them.

Mother

Vicky works in a captive unit of an American company. Permanent employee of that firm.


He is less likely to be benched or lynched. What say?

Daughter

Yeah ma, but service me onsite chances are more na? I mean if he gets a good project, he can jump to that company and we can settle abroad right? Waise how old are they?

Mother

Bunty is five years. Vicky six and a half. But Bunty has two onsite trips already… Vicky to onsite sirf map pe dekhta raha hai! [Laughing]

Daughter

Haha… I told na. US or UK? I don’t like going to the US. I want to settle in London. But they are still in recession. That’s the problem. Projects nahi milenge.

Mother

[Looking carefully into one of those papers]

Hey look, Vicky is applying for lead roles in other companies. He might become manager soon… Then it becomes a very good case to proceed. Hain na?

Daughter

Check who has jumped more number of companies? More companies, more salary and less likely to have had any strong love affair! [Laughing]

Mother

Both in their third firm… Equally good if you ask me. Kya kare?

Mother, rearranging the papers on the sofa and sipping from her glass of coke. Reality show running on the television, obviously on mute.

Daughter picking up the laptop.

Daughter

Let’s match some horoscopes ma. [Logs in to facebook]

Mother

How? I don’t have their horoscopes. And who believes in them anyway. Sab kuch to computer manipulated hai…

Daughter

This is 21st century horoscope. More accurate than your previous generation ones. Hehe…

Let’s see… Vicky and me… See friendship… We have thirteen mutual friends… We both like Eminem, Pink Floyd, A R Rahman… We support Mumbai Indians… He likes NIIT? Must be some nerdy certifications guy… Hmmm… On the whole five out of ten… just ME.

Mother

What’s ME? And Bunty?

Daughter

That’s the annual ratings ma… It means ‘meets expectations’.

Yeah… Here we go with Bunty. We’ve got ten mutual friends… Both like photography… Again AR Rahman… Aamir Khan… We like similar series… Both play Farmville… Hmm… Interesting. He likes cooking! Wow! Thats definite brownie points for you… And ye blog bhi karta hai? Not bad… He gets seven on ten… Exceeds expectations for sure…


Aakhir blogger hai! He’ll survive somehow… At least he has something else also, besides me, to drain out his frustrations! Haha…


Selected for appraisal… Chalo, isi ko pataathi hoon ab! I always hated arranged marriages!


File dot close…

A Grandpa tale… Or Life Lesson?

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The best way to come out of a writers’ block is to (re-) start off with something not so creative, yet delivering a satiating output, so that on the response to this output one can build upon. So here I am, writing about a story that I heard from my grandfather as a child. The story isn’t particularly great, but its got hell a lot of stuff for a thoughtful brain. So here it is…

There lived an old guy in some part of India in a small village (although not in any way relevant to the story, such a start helps many people identify themselves with the good old days of grandpa and grandma tales) He had a son who went to the town everyday to work. Now this old man was very old (LOL at the sentence), and he had a wish. He asked his son to bring him betel leaves while coming back from work every day.

The first day the boy brought some extra betel leaves. The man had some and stored the rest away (in a fridge? I don’t know!). The next day when his son brought fresh betel leaves, he chewed the ones he had put away the previous day and replaced them with the fresh ones. And this routine continued. The old man continued to keep the fresh leaves safe and chew the stale ones.

Probably I used to fall asleep by this point of the story, for I fail to recollect if there is anything further in it! Never mind, my interest lies only up to this part.

As a child, this story wasn’t anything fascinating. But as I grew up, there is something I found ingrained in this story that reveals itself only to its seeker.

‘The ability to discard’ is a character that we Indians, in particular, lack. To throw away anything, we think twice, thrice and endless number of times only to decide to put it away for ‘some’ use in the future (this fictional purpose shows up every time we think of discarding something but never after that!).

Open the refrigerator and you can find food older than a week or eatables that got past their expiry date craving for your attention there. The best place to look for your family heritage, especially if you are living in your ancestral house, is the attic and overhead storage units that remain neglected since the time you have ever known them. You can be certain to find an old diary or photograph or sometimes much bigger elements of your ancestry there! In cities, we live in relatively small apartments with hardly three or four rooms but still manage to misplace something or the other every day. Like my mother frequently says, “Half of one’s life is spent in searching something or the other.” LOL!

And another thing with us. We associate everything around us to religion. Flowers, food, paper. You name it and I can find something religious about it! Until very recently (to be precise, until I completed graduation) it was a sin to shred paper before discarding it. I would be disrespecting Goddess Saraswathy if I did so. Throwing away food was beyond sin! Accumulating trash over trash, in the process! Health and hygiene – gone to the dogs! Don’t worry, God will take care of it. “Humbug” I’d say, if I were allowed to have an opinion on this one. But alas! That would be another symbol of my sinful irreverence.

So coming back to the old man and his betel leaves. He was a typical Indian scared of trashing eatable stuff. If God becomes angry, he may never get betel leaves again! But the truth is that even our religions teach us not to accumulate trash- physical or mental. Discard the ones that do not serve any purpose. For only if you discard the useless can you replace them with something good, something new and useful; and only then will life and lifestyle improve.If he had thrown away the stale betel leaves on one day, he could have probably chewed fresh ones for his entire lifetime.

So, Think fresh, Eat fresh, Be fresh! Make a conscious effort to never accumulate trash, in any form!

Cheers! 🙂

Image Credits: federico stevanin

Why should Japan wear a mask?

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A brief look into the science behind tsunami and the risk involved in the Japanese tsunami and Fukushima nuclear reactors.

It was a Sunday, the day after Christmas. We were attending the lecture on fluid mechanics at one of the premiere coaching centres for entrance into the Indian Institutes of Technology in Chennai. Dr.Ananthan, a highly respected Physics teacher, speculated to have been considered for some of the highest honours in Physics in the last sixty odd years was pacing up and down the class (as he normally did) while trying to think of the best way to explain the concept in mind.

His driver, who was sitting in the car downstairs listening to the radio, ran up to our classroom completely panic stricken and announced that water in Marina beach was receding. The teacher dismissed this as some speculative news aired by careless media, and continued with the class. After a while, the driver was again at the door, this time claiming that the water was now flooding into the city! Chaotic information, and even more chaotic information dissemination. Luckily, the teacher decided to bow down to the pressure from the driver and to a few concerned parents who had seen the rising water levels on television and wanted to confirm the wellbeing of their wards.

This was my first impression about Tsunami that struck in 2004. Roads were blocked, and our persistent demand to the bus driver to take us through the road along Marina to have a prima face look at the radio jockey’s claims, were turned down. Little did I know until I came back home and saw in the television that we were talking about ferocious giant water waves more than thirty feet tall, travelling at almost 500km/h.

A tsunami wave is different from the ordinary wind generated wave in the sense that it travels at speeds as high as 800-1000km/h compared to the ordinary waves that travel at 8-100km/hr, and has a wavelength of 100-500km compared to 100-200m in ordinary waves. The wave period can vary between 10 minutes to 2 hours while that of an ordinary wave is 5 to 20 sec. This gives us a picture of the enormity of the Tsunami waves when compared to the ones we enjoy watching at the beach.

Tsunamis occur when there is a vertical displacement of the earth surface causing the water that occupied the region to turn into massive tidal waves full of energy ready to move in all directions. It is the energy that destroys cities and towns, and is depreciated by the resistance offered by the sea. The more the waves travel from the originating point (called epicentre) before striking the land, lesser is the energy content in them and hence the impact.

On March 11, 2011 at 2:36pm local time North Eastern Japan was rocked by their most powerful earthquake of the order of 8.9 on the Richter scale. By 3:40pm, water waves as high as 30ft strike on the Japanese coast washing away homes, vehicles and several other things in the process of invading the Japanese territory. But this was not to conclude thus.

Japan is low on fossil fuel reserves, and hence depends on nuclear energy for one third of their power requirements. The nuclear reactors in Fukushima have a rated capacity of 9096MWe and a fuel loading of 1100 tons U. In the wake of such a natural calamity, the impact on nuclear plant could turn things exponentially catastrophic. That is the reason why the entire world is now focussing on the possible nuclear impacts due to the Japanese tsunami more than any other aspects.

The biological impact of exposure to radiation is measured in Sieverts, abbreviated as Sv. An exposure to 500mSv, for however small a period of time, is considered very dangerous. An exposure to 20mSv is considered to be normal. However, health risks including an increased chance of cancer, mutations and deformed babies may result if radiation exposure exceeds 0.1 Sieverts. For one-time exposure of 0.5 to 0.75 Sieverts of radiation, nausea and vomiting will occur within hours, followed by hair loss.

In the long term, low exposure to radiation may cause cancer and genetic mutation while acute exposure in a short period of time can lead to skin damage, damage of the central nervous system or death, said Ngai Wai- tat, director of Hong Kong Baptist Hospital Nuclear Medicine Centre.

The Japanese officials have admitted that the radiation levels near the affected plants have been alarmingly high as 400mSv. There are multiple potential causes to a nuclear accident in Fukushima. For one, the repeated hydrogen and steam explosions in the plants would expose the nuclear core material resulting in massive penetration of radioactive elements in the vicinity, that could be very dangerous.

A nuclear reactor meltdown is a severe accident that results in the core of the nuclear reactor being damaged and exposed due to overheating. There can be a partial or complete collapse of the core, resulting in a large scale exposure to nuclear fuels with long half lives. Based on an improbable assumption that the nuclear fuel assemblies and control rods still retain their integrity in the Fukushima reactors, cooling with sea water mixed with boron as neutron absorber would help further damage.

Latest media reports claim that all six reactors at the Fukushima complex have problems — be it blown-out roofs, potentially cracked containment structures, exposed fuel rods or just the risk of explosion that has been great enough to force emergency measures, making it a bigger threat than the accident at Three Mile Island, but less impactful than the one at Chernobyl. The latest update as I wind up this article is that white smoke, in all likelihood steam, is seen coming out from the walls of the nuclear plant.

The radiation level reported in regions of human inhabitation is well below the dangerous levels mentioned above, and hence there is still hope of avoiding a massive nuclear tragedy. On a positive note, the Japanese are known to fight hard against nuclear attacks bouncing up to become one of the biggest economies in the world post World War II and hope they are able to redo the magic after this one as well.

For further reading: Resources

A play about Death- Review

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Has the loss of your loved one ever made you want to come face to face with death so that you can tear it apart? Or have you ever felt that you are just another character in a pre written play called life that ends with your death?

These are the two aspects that stand out in ‘A play about Death’ written by Thomas Manuel and Visvak Reddy that was staged at Alliance Francaise, Chennai over this weekend. The play was directed by Harish Aditya.

The play begins with a monologue by the character Peter. He describes himself as a playwright who wrote a play on death but before he could stage it, the lead character dies in an accident and hence has to abandon the plan. His role is central to understanding the concept of death described in the play.

Death, he says first, is nothing but a random unpredictable incident in everyone’s life. At a later point in the play, he debates with a fellow character Ralph whether death itself is the only proof of a real life?

Ralph is the other main character in the play whose role is central to the concept of life itself as a play. His argument with Peter on the differences in the life of a ‘real person’ and a ‘fictional character’ is both hilarious as well as thought provoking. Together they define the traits that distinguish a character from real person, while conveying the message that after all, we could all be characters in a play pre-written and directed by someone (you can say, God).

Emphasising on the concept that a character knows only that what his creator wants him to know, they also joke on man’s losing battle with information overload (his inability to know even the facts that directly concern him) and the distinction between friends and ‘facebook friends’. End of the play, they conclude, is death for the character.

A beautifully conceptualised and executed play by a bunch of post-teenagers, ‘A play about Death’ is indeed a hope for the bright future of Indian theatrics. The actors were brilliant. In particular, the guy who played Gordon, the common man. His natural yet humorous portrayal of the characters deserves special mention. The actor who played Ralph was emphatic to say the least, while the actions and dialogue rendition of the guy who played Peter were impeccable.

All in all, a well spent hour and a half. Must watch if you are interested in some satirical comedy on an abstract topic like death, that camouflages its philosophical message to be visible only to its seeker.

Cheers!
Shyam

[I have consciously refrained from naming the actors here because I fear that I might mix up their names and roles. If someone can give me the correct mapping, it’d be great! 🙂 ]

Open Letter to Vodafone Customer Care

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Dear Vodafone Customer Carers,

I must tell you that after one entire day gone between us to sort out the issue with my Blackberry connection, I have decided to concede defeat. YOU ARE HOPELESS!

It is high time that you adapt to some ‘Faster, Smarter, Better’ customer service as well, because otherwise the poor zoozoos will starve to death as we customers back out one by one. Here is what happened with me. Thought you might be interested.

I have
1. Dialled your customer service numbers more than fifteen times today in the last ten hours.
2. Heard “I am very sorry for the inconvenience, I will surely help you” almost ten times from random customer executives (some of them who did not have the slightest clue as to why I had called in!)
3. Waited for at least one of your associate in the BB team to turn up, for more than two hours!
4. Described the problem to five of your associates, who promised me action within 1 hour, 2 hours and 4 hours.

But at the end of all this, things have not gotten any better at my end!!!

And to top it all, the IVRS now religiously tells me “Sorry, the service is unavailable now!”. This in spite of my confirming with the concerned personnel that the service will be available beyond office working hours.

I am ready to share complete details of the problem and steps taken if you are interested, and assure me that you would get my phone back in service.

And I must addl here that this inaction is highly disappointing and has affected my day to day business. This is not the only time I have experienced negligient response from your customer care team.

-Shyam
(hnshyam@gmail.com)

For The Departed Friend

by

Like the wave of cold breeze

Touching the face of a weary Bedouin

You touched my arid life, like

A fountain of elixir, to give it life.

I thanked God for sending me

His choicest angel to lift my spirits.

To pull me up from deep fathom

Of dread, despondency and despair.

You became the music

That rang through the opera called my life.

You filled it with joy

And then you taught me how to smile.

Now when I have learnt to smile

And enjoy life, the way you always showed me.

You go away, far away,

Beyond the reaches of my sight.

God, it is unfair what you did

You had the trump cards, yet you cheated.

You missed your friend-the angel

So you snatched the light away from me.

Even Gods are jealous

For they crave for a friend like you.

This very divine selfishness

That has left me deserted in bereavement.

But fear not, my friend

The light that you left behind in me will never suffer

With teary eyes, I do swear

No darkness can enter my heart, where you shall live forever…

-Shyam

(7 Mar 2011)

Dhiru and sons- a chapter in modern mythology

by

Dhiru Mahadev started his career as an employee in one of the many British companies located in the coast of Aden. Although a humble beginning, Dhiru was always poised for bigger challenges in life. A few years into his career he met the two people who would become his working partners in future.

The first person was Brahm Dev, a man of impeccable knowledge and research experience. His intelligence was supreme and people felt he thought with not one brain, but four! The other was Vishnu Baba, an operations expert who knew to keep any plant running irrespective of any form of trouble, be it from employees or management.

So when they formed their venture ‘Hind Reliance’, Brahm took charge of R&D and was responsible for creativity and innovation, while Vishnu took charge of operations and plant management. Mr.Mahadev, being the biggest contributor in the venture, was responsible for final goods delivery and overall decision making. So he was nicked ‘Param’- meaning supreme.

Param meanwhile got married to Parvatiben, a good looking woman with a strong Gujrati background.The couple were blessed with two sons. The elder one was Ganesh Mahadev and the younger was Karthik Mahadev.

Ganesh was born with a speech disability. He was smart but would not talk. This made him very shy and tied down to his own world of books and stories. Very soon his friends started calling him Mook-esh (‘mook’ meaning dumb in Hindi). Karthik on the other hand was a very handsome extrovert. He was inclined to movies and show biz right from a young age. At one point he felt that his name Karthik was so not reflective of his ‘modern’ nature that he re-christened himself ‘Anil’ after his favourite star in Bollywood Anil Kapoor.

As years went by, Dhiru Mahadev’s company became big and it looked like its employees could form a nation of their own. Dhiru would often quip to his wife, “Sitting in the twenty fifth floor of my office in Nariman Point, I feel like I am on top of some Kailash mountain and can see the entire world from a bird’s eye view.”

Mookesh and Anil went to the best school in the country and after completing their schooling in India, they were sent away for graduating in business studies from the US. When it was time for his sons to return after completing their graduate studies, Param found that he was a deeply worried and concerned man. He feared that bookish education in the US would be a handicap for his sons to run Hind Reliance. He feared that their decision making abilities will be affected by their Americanised perspectives in business, especially in a completely Indian company like theirs.

So he decided to test them.

One day after they were back in India, Param called his wife Parvatiben and their sons Mookesh and Anil to his study. There he was sitting with his close friend Mr.Narad Muni. Narad was a shrewd businessman who spent most of his life travelling across seas and shores for running his business. When they were ready, Param spoke.

“Sons, you are both very adorable, and we love you both. You have completed your education and have made yourselves eligible for bigger roles now. However, I would like to test you to know who among you is better suited at following me.”

“I have transferred Rs.1,00,00,000 to both your accounts. Now I will give you a maximum of one month to complete this assignment. Go and experience life to the fullest! Narad uncle will help you get your air tickets and all ready.”

True to their respective selves Mookesh remained sombre and unperturbed while there was a distinctive glint in Anil’s eyes. Within two days, Anil was cruising through the waters of Nile, while his elder brother Mookesh was slump on the couch watching Mind Your Language series on television.

Anil booked a Europe tour package that took him to the most exotic of places in the Europe. He cruised on the seas, went bungee jumping, yachting, rowing, and ice skiing and trekking through the Alps. He drank the most expensive liquors and slept with the most exquisite women from across the globe. He drove in the most luxurious of vehicles and interacted with many celebrities worldwide.

Meanwhile, his brother Mookesh preferred to stay indoors than outdoors. Much to the surprise of everyone around him, he went and joined Hind Reliance to help his father in business. In a matter of one week, he learnt the business in and out. By three weeks, he made Hind Reliance a profit of Rs. 50,00,000. Impressed by his effort at running the company, Param declared Mookesh as his successor.

When Anil came back from his tour, he was aghast to see that Mookesh had already been proclaimed winner in a contest that he considered uncompleted. Red faced, with a heavy heart he spoke to his father.

“Dad, you asked us to ‘GO’ and enjoy life. So I went out and experienced the best of everything in the world and came back. I learnt the best practices from everywhere and hoped to implement them in our company. But here I see that in spite of having not stepped outside the city, you have proclaimed Mookesh to be the winner. How unfair is that father?”

Param replied, “Yes, I asked you to experience ‘life’. By joining me at the company, Mookesh proved that ‘Hind Reliance’ was his life. What could have been a better reason to announce him as my successor?”

Not convinced at his father’s judgement Karthik ‘Anil’ Mahadev cried foul, vowed to never join his father’s company and walked out of the Mahadev family house.

Dhiru ‘Param’ Mahadev smiled. His wife Parvatiben cried. Their son Ganesh ‘Mookesh’ Mahadev looked expressionless, but his dreams sore high like a 60 floors tower worth US$2Bn in the heart of Mumbai city!

-Shyam

Confessions of a Depressed Mind

by

None of you can understand my feelings;

Coz it’s proven that empathy eludes happy minds.

My world is entirely different from yours;

Here hope is feared and inebriation cures.

——————————————————-

I do not see any light at the end of the tunnel;

Coz mine seems to be nothing but an endless ordeal.

There are many turns and bends in my tunnel;

But no big leap can inch me closer to that medal.

———————————————————

An expression I no longer use is the smile;

Every second I’m busy travelling hundreds of mind-miles.

My mental blocks can never fall in place;

Coz there are too many blocks and many more slots.

———————————————————-

I never managed to become a celebrity;

But every eye stares at me; every spoken word is about me.

I too was a true believer in God like you boys

Until I found that cruelty of life was immune to my choice.

————————————————————

My story is most often found in poetry;

Coz prose can’t hold the burden of sorrow that I carry.

I know that I am wrong in whatever I state,

For I have not been right about anything off late.

—————————————————————

But at the end of all this, a profound truth I realise;

That there is no ship that death cannot capsize.

If death is the result of every game, played however well;

Then why continue to rent my head for this devil to dwell?

—————————————————————-

-Shyam

(8.2.2011)