Of slaps and shoes and sealing wax - Indian Express

Of slaps and shoes and sealing wax - Indian Express

The well written article by Tavleen Singh speaks my mind and that is why i am posting it here. So please do not think that this the trend i'm going to follow from now on. I hope to gather my thoughts and write down my own opinions, more often.

A saint in blue jeans

For me, Steve Jobs was a saint in blue jeans. Sainthood is always not about moving away from the worldly existence, to live in complete isolation, searching nirvana. If your goals are clear, thoughts are pure and you have a very stable mind, you can achieve whatever you have intended to, in this very world itself. Steve left behind his impression on millions of lives; a most vital trait of any true saint. I was not surprised witnessing the outburst of emotions which gripped the world as the news spread. People are hurt. I've never seen such uniform expression of feeling, in the visibly culturally diverse world.

It takes more than business acumen to touch lives of people in Patna and Palo Alto, in the same manner.  It needs charisma.

Steve was no conventional business executive, but someone with impeccable sense of human wants. A greater understanding of tomorrow. He used to say that it is not consumers' responsibility to know what they want. He was someone who dared to look beyond spreadsheets, presentations and numbers. He firmly believed that there are things which are beyond science and can be comprehended only with obsession. He was true, as everything in this world can not be justifiable and practically applicable. He was very good at typography which he attended after dropping out of school. He always gave credit to the time he had spend learning fonts, curves and minute details paid to each letter to give artistic finesse. He said he used it all when first designed Macintosh computer came out, the first with beautiful typography.

The journey from first Macintosh to the iPhone was a result of continuous effort towards bringing precision into every little effort - every time. Such was his eye for detail that his colleagues used to hate him for that. Even a smaller gradient difference in colour never missed & never ever tolerated. This can only happen when someone really cares and takes ownership of the act. You take any Apple product, two thing you will always find in balance, style and quality. Any mismatch in any of the two will result in mediocre product, which is in plenty in the market. The attention to details and superb taste of design differentiated Steve Jobs from others.

There can be volumes written on this great man, already thousands of pages are available on the net about Jobs. I wish everybody in India should read about him in great detail. We are in  desperate need of thought leaders like him to shape India of the 21st Century.

Steve, may your soul rest in peace. I can only say that your genius was unmatched. You will continue to inspire young minds, generations to generations, to think beyond obvious. World will miss you our very own Saint in blue jeans. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
                      

Team India looked so helpless

It is said wisely by someone that "It is easier to reach at the top, what is tough is to remain there." And Indian Cricket Team testified the statement by giving up so easily (4-0) against English team. I text to my facebook wall immediately after the match, "Indian team's expected 4-0 defeat against England, i call it blackwash as whitewash is too sophisticated a word to waste on this kind of performance".

My above outburst is a mix of sheer frustration, anger and depression, over the abysmal performance which could not have been any worse. In my opinion, no statistics or post series analysis can bring out the real cause of this debacle.

We, the Indians, not so long ago were over the moon when the same team brought World Cup to us. What a day it was! Many who had witnessed the most spectacular world cup victory, ever, in 1983 at Lord's, were almost lost all their hopes to see that happening again. It happened, history repeated itself. We danced like maniacs, all night and all day. It was a strange feeling, cannot be comprehended in words. To the generation, who have only seen video footage and heard the heroic stories of the team who fought like winners, the moment when MSD lifted the adored trophy, left them mesmerized for years to come.

In the same contrast, the current defeat is too harsh and too soon. What happened suddenly? The people of this country was jolted and awaken by the English storm and the glory is written-off in a flash, mercilessly.

Who should be blamed ... the great batting line-up on paper, school like bowling on bowler friendly pitches and conditions, injuries, too much cricket, wrong selection, IPL, BCCI ??? The list is endless and patience is challenged. 

In my opinion, team either took the tour not seriously or they lack the skill set to adapt (both technically & physically) to the conditions. Whatever the case may be, we had a chance to reaffirm our position in the world cricket, in all forms of the game. The fact is, commercialization of the sport is causing serious threat to the pure form of the game called 'Test'. This format surfaces the fragility of both the team and the individual players. The real dominance on this game cannot be established till a team rule over this format with resolute and long term focus.

As life is about moving on, team India must also. We must give them a chance. They have done some gross errors on the field and they must look into it and correct it. We have slipped on to third position in ICC Test ranking after the series loss, still many test matches are scheduled this and coming year. We can make it back to the top, provided we show the 'focus and 'will'. BCCI should also look into the matter more holistically and at micro level. Players fitness should not be compromised and all should get enough room to relax their muscles.

The Test series in England have dissected our fall back strength and our dependence on the charisma of few greats. So the most important task of the team management will be on priority to cement the bench strength, aiming the long term goals. There is a necessity like never before, to relook at the talent hunt, from the nook & corners of this vast nation. When Najafgarh and Ranchi can give Sahwag and Dhoni, respectively, then i am sure that we do need to seriously take note of this fact.

Let's hope we do better in the upcoming one day series in England.

'Chorpal' that's what i call the govt version of Lokpal bill

Friends, imagine a scenario, suppose all the chors/thieves in their parliament are forced to draft a bill which will punish them for stealing. Hummm...interesting situation...isn't it?

I am sure all the chors will start protesting, shouting and kicking around first hearing the news. After lot of intervention and deliberations internally they may come to the conclusion that they cannot escape and will have to surrender to the growing public demand. Unwillingly, all the chors of the parliament house will  elect 5 members committee to draft the Chorpal bill ...afterward it will be presented to the standing committee to pass the same in the parliament.

Following are the possible highlights of Chorpal Bill:

> Chorpal will not be answerable to either any chor, police or any other institutions other than the Chorpal


> There will be different categories for chors (expertise, skills, overall experience, coverage area etc.)


> Chori above 5 Lac rupees will not cover under the new law


> Bank robbery, ATM loot, house breaking  are excluded in the law


> The income tax chori of more than 5 lac will be entitled for tax relief for another 2 years


> All the major theft through falls tendering, inflated vouchers/bills, licensing and other fund forgeries are exempted in the new law


> There will be special Chor court to hear the cases pertaining to the Chorpal. There will be a strict vigilance of the proceeding of the cases, as per the new draft no case can be closed within minimum 15 years 


> Chorpal will give special recognition and privileges to chors who have parked their money in foreign banks


> The law will exempt chors with theft less than 10 lac rupees only if he/she has family history of chors 


> All the existing privileges applies to ST, SC and OBS quota will also apply to chors and will be given their due benefits according to their respective castes


> Family members of the chor parliament will also be exempted from the law


> Chorpal may in the special cases reserves the authority to exempt cases against chors with exemplary display of bravery and sheer grit while executing the chori

In the interest of keeping a democratic environment of chori and promoting sense of pride and security among the respected chors, the chorpal drafting committee is asking for suggestion to further safeguard the interest of chors.

Jai Chorpal
Looking forward to a Strong Chorpal

No excuses for the a looooonnngggg pause!!!

Yes friends, i do no wish to put across any justification or apologies for not updating my blog for past so many months. In fact it may be of no use. I'm sure i do lack the consistency which is very much required for any writer (i'm sorry if it is too early to call myself one), putting down his thoughts on paper or electronically.

I do not want to wish or promise either that i will be consistent from now onwards, i know i may fail again. I can genuinely try to be little more frequent as it is for my own good.

Seeking all of your support.

Regards,

Resurgence of Bihar

Bihar always been the capital of India's political theatre. Although every nook & corner of this great nation been politically fertile, Bihar always remained special. Since the time of the likes of Gautam Budhha, Ashoka, Kautilya and Chandragupta, the region has proved its mettle, time & again, in political initiatives and intellectual supremacy. The state has always played the central and pivotal role in shaping the political dynamics of the nation.

Irony is, once booming - political, art, education & cultural powerhouse, is today considered to be the most backward, poor and badly governed geographic address of the globe. There are infinite factors, can be held responsible for the debacle. But I will emphasis on the lack of political will coupled with accute corruption in governance and public offices, the main culprits behind Bihar's pathetic infrastructure and abysmal socio-economic situation.

All said and done, volumes been said and written on the pricking 'Hows' and haunting 'Whys'. It is now important to re-focus on the changes that is taking place, in the socio-political landscape of the state.

24th November 2010 will be considred a historical day, when Bihar has once again showed its political maturity, by choosing the right government for herself. And the selection is unanimous, this makes it special. The people showed clear mandate to those, who delivered, leaving no more loopholes for anyone to exploit.

I don't want to name any political party or person exclusively related to the result, as it is irrelevant. A lot of people are already writing about it. What is important here, is to understand from the trend, the mood, the democratic curve, the power of commoners, political literacy of the so many illiterates and the economically marginalized.
The people of Bihar have shown that however they look like, whatever their castes are, whomever they believe as their gods, whichever situation they might be in, now all they care, is the common good for Bihar. And that's a huge collective breakthrough. These were the similar approach which brought great revolution like French Rev and kicked out King Luis-XVI and Tsar of Russia .

The resurgence of Bihar came at a right time when people of India need to look within and value their democratic decision. The power to vote should not be taken for granted or used casually. Afterall not everyone in this world having the priviledge to choose their own future, like we do. The government we get is the projection of our collective insight towards our future. It is the sure shot fear of rejection in the mind of our non-performing corrupt leaders, which will push their backs to the wall. And we will have right and able leadership to shape the future of our nation, in this crucial century. The method is simple, use democracy as a vaccum cleaner, to suck the pollutants out of the system.

Bihar election should be taken as a political alarm, which rung to wake our conscience. Many of you must be thinking that this is not the first time people have selected a govenment, with majority. I am sure, it is not the case. What is important here is to look at who choose who and in what circumstances. How powerful is the commitment to change for better. The selection of hope over despair. And above all, rise over all the mental prejudice, bias and myths. The economically not so powerfull state, is showing the nation, the way forward.

The people of Bihar has learnt from their past mistakes and now moved ahead to embrace the future, more confidently.

What is so AADARSH about it?

I wanted to write down some highlighters on Barack Obama's maiden India tour, eventually the longest so far by any US president. Now it will be followed by my take on yet another scam called 'Aadarsh Housing Society Scam'.

Ever since the news of the scam broke out by the media, i was wondering, where are we heading? Whom are we making fool? All our claims of superpower status, are for real or fake? Do we really deserve or ready for taking serious role in geo-politics? Why we are so concerned about calling Pakistan a 'Terrorist State'?

All the above concerns of our office bearers in Delhi are farce. When ours fundamentals itself are not in place, do we need to look outward? Can we really afford scams like Aadarsh society, 2G or financial blunders like CWG. Nope. We can't afford it anymore.

Recently published UNDP report rank india 128 among nations in Human Development Index. Even countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Srilanka are better ranked than us. Does it bother any one person who is asking for coveted permanent seat in UNSC? India should be told to first correct its fundamentals than should seek any global recognition or such political luxury.

We may soon be leveled, a country of hypocrats. This is not a wild assumption, it can be a stark reality of 21st century.

Until unless development is not uniform, not reaching all Indians, in every nook & corner of the country, till then the whole notion of GDP growth will remain mere economic denomination of privileged.

Justice should prevail in the nation and corrupts should be treated as traitors. I believe, in democracy, corruption should be handled promptly and with iron fist. People tend to feel more frustrated, when they see their elected representatives, are abusing trust, power & position, intrusted upon to them. The common people/voters feel cheated / handicapped and tend to lose faith in the system and take up arms for coercive corrections.

The government, police, investigation agencies and judiciary should work in tendam to deliver, to eliminate the menace, for forever. Till the time we let corrupts walk free, our civil society will remain in mess and we will see no uniformity in our development measures.