Write about the Right in the Right Place

RTE. Right To Education.

Have you heard about it? I am more or less sure that you have. But where do we all get to know about the RTE? Mostly in Newspapers, a few magazines, blogs etc.

All the places that are untouched by those for whom the RTE exists. Because they're the ones, who cannot read, or if they can, they do not reach these high level media.

So here is the question, how to let those-who-need-it-the-most know about RTE?

A simple suggestion is, mass media. Let it be known in every home through the mass media that is Doordarshan and All India Radio.

And other than that?

We can tell about the RTE to the very targets of RTE. Kids.

We can have chapters about RTE in the syllabus, say, from V standard or so, so that every kid knows about his or her basic right, and the very schools who might be a block in the RTE would be assigned to teach it. Of course, it is not as easily done as it's said, but even if every kid has written about RTE in her books, the average knowledge of a kid about the RTE will be much more than it presently is. And that CAN make things much better, provided the NCERT and others are able to make every kid understand how important RTE is for them and kids around them.

Taking Government Seriously

Before UPA-II, I never took governments seriously. When they said they were going to do something good, I'd consider that their time pass, and when they actually declared something good, I'd consider them lollypops for the public. But now it's different. Now every time the government comes up with some really important and big, even things I have always wished to happen, all I think is How many thousand/lakh crores can be made out of this and/or how is the government going to control people with this measure/law. This is what I find unfortunate. I hope a non-working government (say NDA) would be better than this.

We need Education, not just Literacy

Just now I was reading the report on 2011 census on The Hindu website. I wanted to know a specific statistic, something which has bothered me for different reasons at different times. When I was a child, I was just curious to know how many girls per 1000 boys are there in India. But today, I look for the child sex ratio, to know how we are faring at being humans. Because the number now gives, more or less, an idea of how many girls are being aborted in the country.

Yes, very sadly, the static I wanted to know about read: 'Child sex ratio in 2011 is 914 female against 1,000 male — the lowest since Independence.'

And right after that, was another statistic. 'According to the data, literates constitute 74 per cent of the total population aged seven and above and illiterates form 26 per cent. The literacy rate has gone up from 64.83 per cent in 2001 to 74.04 per cent in 2011 showing an increase of 9.21 per cent.'

So, we have the highest literacy and the lowest child sex ratio by the new census. A little Googling gave me this data: 'At the Census 2001, sex ratio of the population in the age group 0-6 years has been registered as 927, in India, declining from 945 in 1991 and 962 in 1981.' (Source: censusindia.gov.in)

Now we are more literate, more well-to-do, have more means, and kill more girls, even before they are born. It's sad that we still are not able to believe as a nation that girls can be equal to boys, that girls ARE equal to boys. As a result of literacy, we are able to do whatever we want, but we still are not educated enough to know what is right and should be wanted. The end result is the same again, to move ahead, we need to change a lot, but above all else, we need to change our mentality. I can only hope that by the next census there is more education and not 'Just' literacy, so that we are able to make progress. Equally.

Class X board exams: To be or Not to be?

Union Minister for HRD Kapil Sibal says that Class X board exams are a trauma and should be scrapped. Newton's first law soon follows up and almost everybody rises against the change. A minister trying to Change the system, and public against him. All so natural. But in between, the question is, WHY should the exams stay or go?

Newton's First Law:

No doubt, it's the simplest and the best (latter under scrutiny) it go the way it is going, whatever, wherever, however it is. Class X board exam take place like an annual event where millions participate, some win, some lose, and some get lost somewhere. Something that is happening for the years I have seen, and my parents too.

Trauma:

I do not know whether Class X boards are a trauma or not, but I remember that Class X board exams was the time in my life when I had problem sleeping properly. Throughout the exams. And no doubt, people make a 'Hauva' out of the boards. Neighbors and relatives get an extra thing to gossip about, and parents, to brag about. So do students. But the biggest blow comes from school, mostly public schools where conducting two to three PRE-BOARDS has become a trend. Schools create unnecessary pressure on students to Perform well in boards and maintain the "School's results".

Useless:

It hardly is of any use. We need a class XII marksheet everywhere and class X is required for just age certification. Is that all the importance of such hype? Actually class X board exams were made to serve a purpose that no more exists. When most of the schools were till class tenth and mostly students had to go out after tenth to continue their studies, board exams worked as a scale on which every student could be scaled. Never mind different boards as every board thought it was the only existing entity, or at least worked on this assumption.

But now that every school provides education till class XII, there is little use of class X boards. We can simply conduct boards after class XII which ARE (not can be) used for the admissions already.

Still there are arguments in favor of class X boards. Like a student gets to learn, or a student find his/her first public exposure which is important for further life. Or, boards make students more serious. But about all these arguments, my belief is that a student who is serious will be serious and one who doesn't have to, cannot be made serious by board exams. While a turn around can come at any point, I do not think board exams can be used as substitute for the schooling system as it's the entire schooling which is expected to make a child responsible, not the board exams.

So, for now, I think we do not need class X board exams. But then, if they have to be replaced, the replacement should be proper and not in a haphazard manner. We are in no hurry to remove a system that is there for ages just because our HRD minister got the idea now. I think he should take his time and do the needful firmly and after proper planning.

On Election Results

Oops! I have started writing but I do not know what I wanted to wrote in the first place. It's just that I was happy, am happy with the way Congress has won. Yup. It's not that Congress has won. It's the WAY Congress has won. Winning almost a majority, and with people like Mulayam and Lalu licking their feet to get into the government. Yes. I think I can write on what I liked and disliked in these results. But before, I'll go on my day. The day that was D-Day for many.

What a day it was. I got up at seven, and went straight to the TV, while all others were sleeping at my home. (I had gone to my sister from my rented flat so that I can watch PROPER TV there, and not my TV tuner card on the Dell laptop.) After waiting till 8.15, finally the first leads started dropping in. The leads had hardly crossed total seats when the power went off.

!!!

Okay. I was cool. Reading The Bridge Across Forever, and hoping that the power will be back soon and I won't miss much fun. It was. After fifteen minutes or maybe some more time, the tally had crossed around hundred and in a way that was enough to change the colors of those around me. Apparently, most of my family is slightly to not-so-slightly pro-Hindu - the English speaking, or English understanding middle class Yogendra Yadav yesterday talked about. Though, I guess the class is getting converted at its own speed, which may increase with Rahul Baba coming in. I'm probably the first member in my family.

Back to the results. Congress had started gaining a difference in the number of seats which almost never reduced. I was expecting it to be something around 30-35 but the difference went on and on and reached almost Hundred. Anyways, what happened after that is known to everybody. Finally Congress had a small margin to cover to get the majority and Manmohan Singh was given a mandate to retain the Prime Minister's post.

So let me come back to what I liked, or disliked in the poll results.

There were a lot of things to be liked. First of them, of course was that Left was left out. After all those years of wondering why public keeps on voting to the left, I was witness to a big fall in left's votes and seats. I believe that people always knew that left did not work, but probably they voted the Left for its ideology. And this ideology suffered a major setback when Somnath Chatterjee was thrown out by his party. Probably people took that very seriously, besides other reasons.

Equally important was the fact that in Bihar, probably for the first time, it became difficult for Lalu to get a seat (though he managed to defeat Rudy by 5k votes) and Paswan couldn't save his seat either. At the same time Mayawati and Jayalalitha, whom I call two big fat stubborn ladies (both have a competition when it comes to being either), were not given much bhaav by the public. I think public has very clearly said that either the politicians have to work, or they can sit at home. The same can be confirmed by the votes Nitish got for himself in Bihar or Sheila Dikshit got in Delhi.

But the most unexpected thing for me was the rise of Congress in Uttar Pradesh. I was not expecting a number of more than 12-13 for the party in the largest state. But Rahul Gandhi magic really worked and helped Congress reach places nobody expected.

And yes, one good thing was Shashi Tharoor coming to the parliament. Such people are needed there. In fact such people should be given a place in the cabinet and Shashi Tharoor can be a brilliant person for a start.

For dislikes, there are a few things that I didn't understand. First was the number of seats Mulayam Singh Yadav got. Probably that is the result of his voters coming back to him after trying Mayawati who seems to have failed in giving the great administration she had promised.

Another thing that I could not understand was the BJP's sweep in Karnataka after the widely criticized incidents of Mangalore when the CM completely supported Ram Sene. I am unable to understand whether its public's support or their short term memory.

But worse of all is the results of Maharashtra. Raj Thackeray's MNS getting more than one lakh votes in all constituencies in Mumbai and affecting the votes of BJP Shiv Sena is not a very good news. Unfortunately, this is not at all surprising as we know it HAD to happen.

Overall, the public has done a lot of good, and BIG things this time. But I think there is still scope for them to learn some things, which includes getting above people like Raj Thackeray and Varun Gandhi. I hope we'll see even better results in the next elections. In 2014.

Waiting for the Big Day

It's been a long exercise. The polls. Started almost a month ago, finally the drama is about to end, within a week. The 13th of this month will present us with the end of the polls and 16th will bring us the results of the polls and end of the drama. Only to start a new one.

Today was an interesting day. Somehow, after a long time, NDA looked like it was really some alliance. For the first time, felt like other than UPA, there were more options. Probably a bit too late, but at least before the end of elections, people got to see that there was something called NDA which was more than just Advani who showed up on every ad the party has released.

But more interestingly, the drama, which was named NDA's shakti-pradarshan by the TV channels, seemed more Modi centric than Advani centric today. Not for once did I feel that the Prime Ministerial candidate of the NDA was L K Advani. Nor did I feel the power that is NDA supposedly going to have according to its campaign. In short, the NDA's slogan of Mazboot Neta, Nirnayak Sarkar (Powerful leader, Decisive government) looked fake. It seemed that if the NDA comes in power, Advani will be as powerless as Vajpayee was with his 13 parties (that's the number I remember, no guarantee on that)

And while Narendra Modi shook hands with Nitish Kumar, without technically breaking the latter's promise of not calling him in Bihar, Modi also indirectly expressed his wish to join everyone and hence come on to the national stage in future. Something that is feared by many.

For now, the only thing is the results that will come out on 16th May. I remember how eagerly I used to wait for my annual results when I was in school as they were also announced on 16th May. But this is something that is making me even more curious. And I don't think this curiosity will end soon, because the question is not just whether Manmohan or Advani will be the PM, but the question is who will control the future of India. Will it be people like Modi? Or Rahul Gandhi?? Or Varun Gandhi???

My Bangalore: Tickets, anyone?

Right now it's election time, and so, everybody is busy talking about politics and politicians, and hence, about corruption. But traveling in Bangalore I came to know how deeply we are into corruption. Here are a few examples of what has happened with me in the past six months of BMTC travel.

The first, and a highly common practice is the minimum fair minus one rupee system. When u get into a bus for the smallest ticket journey, (3 rupee or 4 rupee, depending on bus) u give exact change to the conductor and he returns you one rupee, like a substitute for the ticket.

More fearless conductors happen to tend to similar practice on higher scale and leave two-three rupees on tickets for longer journeys.

Now the interesting part is what happens when you protest and demand for a ticket. Mostly conductors don't want problems and give you a ticket if you demand for one. Some do nagging and you may need to raise your voice a bit to get the ticket. But then, there are more interesting incidents taking place too.

Once on my way to Marathahalli bridge from whitefield, I met a conductor of high corruption index. It was a Pushpak bus but when I entered the bus I didn't realize and took exact change of rupees eight in my hand, the normal fare for the distance while the actual fare was rupees ten. Now when the conductor came, I asked him for a ticket to marathahalli and he said it was ten rupees. Now he happened to see the change in my hand and asked how much it was. Before I said it was only eight, he asked me to give that itself and moved ahead without giving the ticket. When I asked for the ticket he first tried to ignore me, and when I raised my voice to call him up, he finally said that it was rupees ten and gave me a ticket after I gave him two more.

And then there was the show time. When I was getting down, the conductor asked me if I had the ticket. And as I showed it to him, he almost snatched it from my hand. now that I was on the steps, I didn't want to argue, and so I came out. And the conductor earned a full ten rupees as I'm sure he'd have reused the ticket.

Another, more interesting case was when I was traveling with three friends by a new BIG 10 bus. This time it was from Marathahalli to whitefield. I asked the conductor for two tickets as two of us had passes and he gave me one ticket and one pass. He also told me in Kannada to give the pass back to him when I get down. Though I don't understand a lot of Kannada, I got what he meant. As I was getting down, the conductor asked me for the pass, and while I gave it back, I commented that he had earned a full eight rupees. At that time he was a bit apologetic in tone and reiterated that there was someone who had not given the money for pass while he had took it out of booklet, and so he was trying to get the money back.

Though in the last incident I felt that the conductor might be true, it is also a fact that conductors sometimes do use passes to make money. Once coming to whitefield again, I was given a used day pass by a conductor when I protested for not being given the ticket. This was after ten at night and so the conductor didn't ask for the pass when I got out of the bus.

Most of these incidents look very small but they are a matter of concern for two reasons. First, these incidents anyway give rise to corruption and bring corruption to our daily lives possibly more than anything else. Secondly, these incidents, when seen from a larger frame, must be costing lacs of rupees everyday to BMTC as BMTC buses make more than 70,000 trips everyday.

I think there should be some effort to stop this practice. My suggestion would be that BMTC customers be given badges carrying their names and a unique ID and one should be able to lodge a complaint against such incidents through Internet, phone, and at BMTC offices and if there is a certain number of complaints against a conductor, there should be action taken against him. I hope the overhead of maintaining such a system would be less than the money lost by BMTC due to the bad practices going on currently. And we shall be making a better society anyway.

From Zero to Non-Zero

After Mumbai, Mangalore is the new victim of a new 'sena'. It's not been long since Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirmana Sena (or whatever it is) went a bit silent after the 26/11 attack on Mumbai, and a new savior of society is born who is saving the public by beating girls.

Right now the newborn or at least newly identified Ram Sena (or whatever is, again, I don't really want to care) is busy giving out mediophile statements as a follow up to their act of bravery, or at least society-cleaning (I'm just guessing their words as I'm not really giving their words a read).

It's interesting how all of a sudden a person or an organization who was nowhere comes up and almost challenges the government as they say they won't take law into their hands now, but if the government fails to act, they'll decide what to do next.

And now, my experience tells me (hail Indian politics, I feel I've seen so much at 23) that the guys involved will be able to find some tickets for the next or post-next elections and maybe even get a seat or two.

So here comes the conclusion of this sweet little exercise of getting inside a pub and beating girls, 'not molesting them but maybe giving a slap or two', in their leaders' own words. The guys who did it of course get arrested and all, their pictures (and even interviews) are published, they become popular (rather anti-popular) and hence known faces, and finally they get a place in Indian politics.

Whatever happens, one thing is sure, that the guys become zero to something non-zero. And that pays. Always. Can we stop this?

Aw c'mon

Half an hour earlier I was sitting in mess-cum-restaurant for my dinner, watching trailers of new Hindi movies when some guy sitting behind me asked the teenage waiter to put on some news channel. The waiter followed and I was watching NDTV instead of my favorite 9XM (though today it was SET MAX before changing to NDTV).

Anyway, I thought I'd see it till the guy is there and didn't protest. Now as I was watching the news, the first interesting thing was Priya Dutt being disappointed with brother Sanjay for going to Samajwadi Party instead of Congress. Dear Priya, it suits the image. Munna Bhai fits well in a Bhai Log ki Party. Also, maybe he idolizes Amitabh Bachchan and so following him.

Now came the news that was selected as the news of the day by NDTV people. NDTV was hurt (or trying to show it was hurt) by some corporates showing their support for Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India, and they fired a burning question (that's what I'm taught, all questions burn, and I know they did during school): Is it correct for India Inc to project Narendra Modi as PM?

At the time I was watching the show, the public response was divided 60-40. In favor of the question. Or against the channel, as far as I could see. At that point of time I could only find comments that were against the sin the business community had committed. And my guess would be that comments have to be filtered by the channel, though I expect that the numbers aren't.

Now an hour or so later, when I casted the 786th vote (O, what a number!), I could see the numbers changing to 50.5/48.1, still more people being magnanimous enough to ignore the crime of the India Inc. which, my guess is, comes after opinions being affected by the channel.

Now this relates to the third news where Sonia Gandhi had said that the Freedom of Expression of the news channels will be maintained and they should not worry about the same.

My question is: Is the freedom of expression only for news channels? What is wrong if certain business people support and project a person for the Prime Minister's post? Because according to me, in a democracy like India, anybody can speak up and speak out (just like an old Airtel ad) so why shouldn't the business community who have done our country proud and continue to do so?

Anyway, as far as my personal opinion goes, there is nothing wrong with projecting Modi as the Prime Minister, not because I think he's a great person or something but simply because there is hardly a better choice with us. In fact Mr Advani, who is currently thinking of himself as the Prime Minister elect of India, is hardly better and can be as bad as Modi on a given day as is clear from history.

So I guess we can make Modi or even Lalu the Prime Minister. In fact, thinking of Lalu, I feel they all get better when they come to the centre (compare the situation of Bihar and Indian Railways).

Hmmm. It's fixed then. I support Lalu for the Prime Minister in the coming elections. Anybody hurt with that? ;)

Kill piracy.. Shall we ever?

It's a question to which i've no answer. Really. India has changed a lot in the past few years. So has the entertainment industry, especially in its try to curb piracy. The rates of movies' cd's have come down to an affordable and reasonable rupees 150, Moserbaer has brought a number of movies at prices down to earth, Cinema halls have changed to multiplexes, at least in big cities, and we've movies on tv in just a few months.

But still, with all these things changed, one thing that hasn't changed is piracy. The number of movie goers has increased, number of cd buyers has increased, but i don't think the number of pirated cd's sold has decreased. I can still see pirated cd's being sold in shops, roadsides, and buses and trains.

The fact is that at the time of writing i'm sitting in front of tv where my sister's dvd player is showing me a blurred rab ne bana di jodi with a blurred voice.

We see pirated movies in hostels, no doubt, lots of them, coming from internet, traveling on USB drives and even wirelessly. But it's not that just students watch pirated movies. Even people who earn lots of money do watch these pirated movies, my sister just being a representative of them here.

In fact i couldn't resist the temptation to watch the movie myself. And i'm watching the movie too. It's hardly a great experience and nothing compared to watching a movie in the cinema hall. But when I can save money and time wasted not just in the cinema hall but more than that transportation, I think a little blur can be borne with.

Actually, for now, i don't think piracy is going to end. And so, I guess it's better I watch the movie now and we'll discuss the piracy problem later. But the fact is that this question will remain there. Will piracy come to an end?

Write priorities

Today I read news that says Bangalore shopkeepers will be fined if they do not write their signboards in Kannada. Even if it's not something Raj Tackeray like, I do not think it's the right path that we are taking.

I think we are setting our priorities wrong. I'm not saying that police is not doing it's work, not enforcing law where it should and not catching thieves, robbers and terrorists, but I still think we're in the wrong lane.

I don't really think it matters to those who are shopping whether the signboards are in Kannada or not. Whether they understand English or not. But I think it does matter if somebody hits you and runs and you are not able to read the number of the vehicle.

Yes, I'm talking about the law that deals with the number plates on vehicles in India. As far as law is concerned, every vehicle in India should have a number plate in Roman numerals which is ethically correct too as everyone cannot read numbers in local languages, especially in a city like Bangalore where lot of outsiders are there, while Roman numerals are known to everybody who knows how to read.

But still, I find vehicles on the road, public and private, which do not have number plates in Roman numerals at all. And I don't think anybody tries to fine them.

I don't disagree with the people who feel a shop in Karnataka should have signboards in Kannada. (In fact that way I get more practice of reading Kannada) But I think first we need to set our priorities right.

Can they leave at least THEM?

While the country salutes the heroes who fought the terrorists, our politicians don't forget to encash whatever they can. When I saw this banner, I really didn't understand what the local politicians showing on the left of the banner have done to get their pics smiling beside the Mumbai martyrs. Isn't it possible to leave some people without finding your personal benefits from them?



And yes, this is not about some party or someone specific. It's a shame to use the name of these martyrs for their own benefit for all the politicians, wherever they are and whichever party they belong to.

Is it Only Raj?

It's been really long since I want to write something about Raj Thackeray. I was hating him from the core of my heart. But for the past few days I'm not hating Raj that much. Actually it's not that I'm not hating Raj that much, but the thing is that I'm feeling more hatred for others now.

First of all, I should clarify that in what I write ahead, I do not support Raj Thackeray in any of the activities he has done or any of his statements or policies.

Actually this is something that was running in my mind for quite long. It was made more clear when I read an article by Mrunal Pande in 'Hindustan' and the spark for writing this came from the huge hoardings of LK Advani that I've been looking at for past one week while travelling in Bangalore buses.

Raj Thackeray is a selfish person. No doubt about that. He has done all things he could to get himself in the news and has put his hand on a pulse of many Marathis. At the same time, he has fallen to levels not generally found in today's India, that is, with a few exceptions from UP or maybe Bihar, mainly in the less educated areas of these two states.

But the way Raj has done it, he has found some support from even educated people, something that is not easily found in the 'less educated' UP or Bihar.

All this is certainly very unfortunate. More unfortunate is that people will still cast their votes in favor of Raj and he will get what he has done all this for.

But the most unfortunate thing according to me, is the silence of the so-called leaders of our country. Be it Sonia Gandhi, the lady above the PM and President of our country, or LK Advani, who probably finds himself the most suitable person for the next Prime Minister, or even Manmohan Singh, our Prime Minister himself, all are afraid of commenting against The Great Raj Thackeray. Of course, their party spokespersons have issued the press statements from the respective parties condemning the 'unfortunate incidents'. But our national leaders who are not hesitant to disturb entire rescue operations in floods, fires, earthquakes and bomb blasts just to show their faces, are hiding behind the curtains when they need to speak up. Actually I do not know what they fear, but I guess it must be fear of losing votes by some calculations because that is the only thing they are afraid of.

That's the reason I'm hating these leaders more than Raj Thackeray nowadays. What Raj has done is surely beyond all limits, but there is one thing I felt good about him when I compared him to these leaders -- that he has a stand of his own, however bad, wrong, dividing, disturbing or destroying it is. Our leaders are of no use if they cannot take a stand of their own in such conditions. When I compare the two, i feel there is no better to go to, while one is all set to divide the country, others are quietly watching the drama unfolding itself, waiting for the next move of the artist.

Overall, I feel it's not just Raj Thackeray who is trying to divide our country. All those who are sitting and enjoying this drama instead of trying to end it, are playing their roles in the drama too. And when this drama ends, I do not know where will me and my country be.

व्हाट एन आइडिया सरजी!

आपने अभिषेक बच्चन का व्हाट एन आइडिया सर जी वाला विज्ञापन तो देखा ही होगा जिस में अभिषेक मोबाइल फ़ोन की सहायता से गाँव के बच्चों को पढ़ाने का काम कर दिखाते हैं। वैसे वास्तविक ज़िन्दगी में तो बच्चों को ऐसे पढ़ाना आसान नही है पर यदि हम यू जी सी की हालिया बातों पर ध्यान देन तो हम शायद समझ पाएंगे कि अभिषेक के इस आइडिये को कहाँ अमल में लाने की ज़रूरत है।

हाल ही में यू जी सी ने कहा था कि भारत में विश्वविद्यालयों की संख्या बहुत कम है। अंकों में कहें तो भारत में आज लगभग 400 विश्वविद्यालय हैं लेकिन हमें आने वाले 4 साल में लगभग 800 और विश्वविद्यालयों की आवश्यकता है।

निश्चय ही हम इतने विश्वविद्यालय इतने समय में नहीं बना सकते। लेकिन हम कुछ और कर सकते हैं। आज भारत दूरसंचार के क्षेत्र में निरंतर प्रगति कर रहा है। आज देश में इन्टरनेट की पकड़ भी दिन प्रतिदिन बढ़ रही है। ऐसे में हम इन्टरनेट के ज़रिये उच्च शिक्षा को विद्यार्थियों तक पंहुचा सकते हैं। हम भारत के सर्वश्रेष्ठ अध्यापकों, कहिये professors और researchers के lecture रिकॉर्ड कर के उन्हें इन्टरनेट के ज़रिये उन्हें विद्यार्थियों तक पंहुचा सकते हैं और बाद में परीक्षाएं करा सकते हैं। सच कहूँ तो मेरे विचार से इन्टरनेट पर वास्तविक जैसी, या फिर उस से भी बेहतर कक्षाएं करायी जा सकती हैं।

कुल मिला कर इन्टरनेट से हम घर बैठे शिक्षा को सफल बना सकते हैं, लेकिन इसके लिए सरकार को एक पहल करने की आवश्यकता है। आज जब इन्टरनेट हर गीत और फ़िल्म को जनता तक पहुँचाने में सक्षम है, तो फिर शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में हम पीछे क्यों हैं?

ज़रूरत है सिर्फ़ उस विचार की, उस आइडिये की। यदि हम इस आइडिये को सफल बना पाये, तो भारत में शिक्षा का स्तर उठाने में और सहायता मिल सकेगी, और हम गर्व से कह सकेंगे -- व्हाट एन आइडिया सर जी!

पानी पानी रे

बिहार में पानी ने क्या कहर ढाया हुआ है ये तो हम सभी जानते हैं। लेकिन विडम्बना यह है कि इतने पानी के बाद भी हम कई लोगों के लिए पीने लायक पानी नहीं जुटा पाते। एक ओर सूखा तो दूसरी ओर बाढ़, ऐसा कितनी ही बार हमारे साथ होता है।

आज भी भारत की जनसँख्या का एक बड़ा हिस्से, यानि लगभग 10 प्रतिशत लोगों को पीने का साफ़ पानी नहीं मिल पाता। भूगर्भ से निकले पानी के कारण लगभग 7 करोड़ भारतीय अधिक फ्लोराइड्स मिला तथा 1 करोड़ आर्सेनिक मिला पानी पी रहे हैं, जो उनके स्वास्थ्य के लिए खतरनाक हो सकता है।

समुद्री तटीय इलाकों में एक और समस्या का सामना करना पड़ रहा है। भूगर्भी जल के अधिक उपभोग के कारण ज़मीन के नीचे समुद्री जल बढ़ रहा है जिससे ज़मीन के नीचे का पानी पीने योग्य नहीं रहता।

मुझे लगता है कि अब समय आ गया है कि हम इस समस्या को गंभीरता से लें और ख़ुद कुछ पहल करें। इस के लिए हम अपने घर बरसात से आने वाले पानी को बचा कर शुरुआत कर सकते हैं।

वर्षा से आए जल को कैसे बचाएं, इस के लिए यहाँ दिए गए लिंक को देखें।

http://www.kscst.iisc.ernet.in/rwh.html

यहाँ दिए गए चित्र, या कहिये चलचित्र की सहायता से आप आसानी से वर्षा के जल को बचाना सीख सकते हैं। और हमारी-अपनी प्रगति की दिशा में एक महत्त्वपूर्ण कदम उठा सकते हैं।

Olympics: More than Sports

I am often asked if the Olympic village - the vast restaurant and housing conglomeration that hosts the world's top athletes for the duration of the Games - is the sex-fest it is cracked up to be. My answer is always the same: too right it is. I played my first Games in Barcelona in 1992 and got laid more often in those two and a half weeks than in the rest of my life up to that point. That is to say twice, which may not sound a lot, but for a 21-year-old undergraduate with crooked teeth, it was a minor miracle...

A revealing article. Read HERE.

Maybe you want to participate in the next Olympics. :P

Once again

I've been bugged by drivers using cellphones many times. But this time it was a bit different. I'd seen owners of private vehicles using cells while driving. But this time it was a driver from a state owned roadways bus, when i was in a bus to meerut. I realized there was something wrong when the speed of bus was irregularly increasing and decreasing. And then i found what the reason was. The driver on a cellphone. Again and again.

I think we need to do something about it. Because safety is much more important. But what can be done, i don't know.

True or Hopeless? Read it

In her Sunday Times column today, Shobhaa De writes something that moves you. Read it and decide for yourself how much you agree.

Little things make us happy. We are a bit too easy to please! One gold medal at the Olympic Games, and we are over the moon. As India enters the 61st year of its independence, it's important to get a few key perspectives in place. I heard about Abhinav Bindra's thrilling win from a bedraggled little girl selling tabloids at the traffic lights. It was raining rather heavily, and she was dressed in rags. Her tiny body and saucer eyes made her resemble the archetypal, romanticised waif — the poster girl for poverty, like the iconic image of the popular musical, Les Miserables. She tapped on the window of my car and lisped, "Madam, madam.... India ko gold medal mil gaya." She was shivering as she sold the damp paper to motorists, most of whom shooed her away.

The irony of the moment was hard to miss. While nobody can take away from crorepati Abhinav Bindra's individual achievement, the image of this emaciated street kid announcing his victory in distant Beijing, was a study in horrifying contrasts. Just a few metres away, i could see the rest of her family huddled under bright blue plastic sheets. The father was sorting out a heap of pirated books, while her mother was stringing jasmine blossoms into gajras... perhaps to adorn the chignons of our Mumbai memsaabs stepping out later for a night on the town. The kid was dancing with impatience, watchful of the traffic light turning green. Her unshod feet were immersed in puddles of filthy rain water. She could not possibly have known what that medal meant... but she did know it would sell more papers that day. And that made her happy! Amazing, how a complete stranger's win touches lives on different levels.

For the little girl, those few extra rupees may have translated into an extra vada pav at dinner. But for our canny politicians, Bindra's medal was an opportunity worth milking for their own glory. Take Maharashtra's chief minister, who magnanimously offered Rs 10 lakh to the gold medalist. Does this rich boy need it? Where does Maharashtra come into it? If the CM had Rs 10 lakh to spare and wished to acknowledge Bindra's victory, why didn't he put that money into a sports scholarship to benefit promising youngsters? Why offer monetary awards to someone who is a millionaire to begin with? Bindra is a particularly privileged sportsman who was born with a silver rifle... er ... spoon, in his mouth. He got to his present position, thanks to the happy fact that his father had the financial clout to support his son's passion. Lucky Bindra. He had what it takes to create a champion — the grit, determination and dough! India merely happens to be the country of his birth and can claim no credit for his impressive win. Bindra rose above and beyond what his country can provide... not only to him, but millions of others. He won despite being an Indian. Isn't that a really sad acknowledgement of this tattered state of ours?

But the waif at the traffic light proclaiming his victory to motorists does not realise this. She will never get to see the inside of a pucca home. For her, the blue plastic sheets will have to suffice. When she is a little older, her life will change. From selling newspapers, she may end up selling her body. Like so many others who survive on Mumbai's mean streets, turning tricks, hustling, peddling drugs. Her bright eyes and cheerful smile will be replaced by a hard, stony expression, a twisted mouth...but chances are she will still be working the same street, ducking into the back seat of an autorickshaw to satisfy customers looking for a monsoon quickie. If her father and mother haven't succumbed to some disease by then, they, too, will be languishing under the plastic sheets, living off her meagre earnings. Her line, "India ko gold mil gaya..." in such a depressing context, makes me ask, "Aur aapko — koila? Ya... woh bhi nahi?" Try telling her our Bharat is mahan. She may just punch you!

Original Text from The Sunday Times of India, August 17th 'o8.

Because Everyone Needs Independence

Everyone has a right to Independence. And it's time we understand that.



Happy Independence day.

Jaago: Small Movies by Big Directors

A few months back I saw a short film called Positive, made by Farhan Akhtar, starring Boman Irani and Shabana Aazmi. I loved the film. Later I found there was another movie called Blood Brothers, that was around the same topic, AIDS. And today I found a blog entry on PFC that reviews both these movies along with two more. Here it is:

Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, for one of their project on helping humanity, have united with 4 directors Mira Nair, Farhan Akhtar, Santosh Sivan and Vishal Bharadwaj to co-produce 4 short films on issues regarding AIDS education and awareness. These short films are taking the AIDS awareness on more personal level with some beautiful and some incredible journeys involving blood relations, lovers and strangers with urges either sexual or just plain human.

1. Migration (2007).
Directed by: Mira Nair.
Written by: Zoya Akhtar.
Starring: Shiney Ahuja, Sameera Reddy, Irfan Khan and Raima Sen.
URL: MIGRATION

Migration is a set of parallel stories between a husband and his lover, husband’s wife, a mason worker his wife and infants. This short is very well directed, right from the drought death visuals to marine drive tides. The cinematography is eye catching. Thanks to Shiney Ahuja’s speaking eyes and Irfan Khan’s emotions for his lover, one way maybe. The core message of the story is delivered by sex education street actor Vijay Raaz with Beedi song in the background. Its the unconventional migration that is thought and written by Zoya Akhtar gives a different but convincing journey. It was exciting to see marathi stage and screen actress Sulabha Deshpande as Sameera’s mother-in-law, little has she changed from Choukat Raja’s (1991) mother.

2. Positive (2007).
Directed by: Farhan Akhtar.
Written by: Rajesh Devraj.
Starring: Boman Irani, Shabana Azmi and Arjun Mathur.
URL: POSITIVE

Positive is the story of AIDS awareness for a family as one of the members becomes HIV positive. The effects of it in a broad picture and a very tiny extremely personal point of view is very well written by Rajesh Devraj, whose future writings are Farhan Akhtar starrer Fakir of Venice and Shashanka Ghosh project Quick Gun Murugun. Boman Irani is fantastic with his lowering speaking abilities and at the same time with the desires of a young photographer to capture something. But it needed Farhan Akhtar’s trick to bring out the moment absolutely necessary for this story. The moment when Arjun’s character is positioning the rose in the window. This is perhaps the same transformation moment that occured in Dil Chahta Hai (2001) when Akash (Aamir Khan) calls up Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) only to realise subconsciously he dialed Sid’s (Akshaye Khanna) number. Incredible. Shabana Azmi is short but plays the character who has already past previously mentioned transformation.

3. Prarambha (2007).
Directed by: Santosh Sivan.
Starring: Prabhu Deva and Skandhas.
URL: PRARAMBHA

A truck driver (Prabhu Deva) finds an unknown boy Kittu (Skandhas) hiding in the back of his truck. Truck driver finds it unsolvable to get rid of an unknown boy riding with him. Kittu hands him a letter written by his mother with an address. Truck driver agrees to take him there. But then out of humanity he finds himself on a quest to make the people around Kittu realise what he feels for kittu. This movie is a cry out towards those strangers who might have some humanity left in them. Prabhu Deva does a great job. His apological and optimistic smiles are the driving force for the audience and kittu as well. Skandhas as Kittu is nothing short of a applauding performance. He represents the understanding son, rejected school friend and a happy boy. Though there aren’t many opportunities for Mr Sivan to use his lens he still captures the moments that do not need words.

4. Blood Brothers (2007).
Directed by: Vishal Bharadwaj.
Story idea by: Matthew Robbins and Ajit Ahuja.
Starring: Siddharth, Pavan Malhotra and Ayesha Takia.
URL: Blood Brothers

This story brings in the most courageous factor in the AIDS awareness. The point of view of the main victim, the one with the disease. This is the best short among the four. An ordinary man hears his doctor say that he is HIV positive. Devastated by the news he gives up on his life to find something that out smarts him. This is an absolutely astonishing story. This movie proves the fact that you do not need 1000 cuts in a 5 min movie to make it interesting. Though non-linearity exists in the narration it never seems a cliche by the creation of scars on Siddharth’s faces. This short challenges the viewer by putting in the shoes of the protagonist and ask them what if? Kudos to Mr Bharadwaj. This one is a must see.

Overall rating: 8/10.

Original text here.

PS: If the links given in the post are not good or working, you can also search for these movies on Youtube yourself. They are there too. In case there is any problem, you may contact me.