The aftermath

I think news channels spread more terror than the terrorists themselves do.I’m fed up of switching on to ndtv/times now/headlines to keep seeing “Breaking News” like Firing in Hyderabad,Hijack Alert at all airports,Explosives found at Hospital,Air-borne terror strike expected and the likes.

I have to go to Chennai in the near future.I’m still contemplating my mode of travel.If its flight,I might get hijacked and find myself on the way to destroying myself by hitting LIC building in Chennai[ Though the chances are slim that terrorists would hijack a one hour flight plane.They may not have time to unpack all their guns and bombs].If I take a train,there may be bombs here and there.I have no desire to burn horrifically to death.

And,with all due respect,I still don’t get it when people say we should try to eliminate terror at the individual level.Like how ??I neither have a bulletproof vest [ sigh.Cannot trust even that in India,can we?] nor the license to shoot.About voting the right people to power,shouldn’t the right people be the candidates ?On one of the talk shows,Raveena Tandon had suggested very articulately that if the people think,they can even change the Constitution to bring in laws to make sure that all politicians who come to power should neither hold a criminal record,nor have been into illegal stuff blah blah.That sounds good.

Other than that,how do I take on terrorists at the individual level? By just taking a pledge,can I change anything ? This question is being asked in all earnestness – How,exactly,can I ,just me,eliminate terror ??

Any answers,anybody ? I’m willing to go the extra mile.I want my little one to be safe.I don’t want to her just jump the wagon and leave the country.I want her to grow up here.And love it.

Sariyaa Thavaraa ?

This article in today’s Hindu Magazine really moved me.

Who are we,sometimes,to decide what’s right and whats wrong ? Who are we to say that its wrong for parents ,out of sheer poverty and love for their child,to sell their child ?

Is it ok to let my child be adopted by someone else ,and be happy in her well-being,when I am not able to provide for her ? I think any mother would  rather see her child alive and kicking ,rather than dead in her own arms.

Sometimes,the law gets it all wrong.

A lot can happen..

..in a coffee shop

Now ,this is one way to do your bit to society without being,exactly,selfless.Good!

God’s Warriors

Saw this program,yesterday,on CNN.It was titled “God’s Warriors”.What a paradox !! Jeez..how could God ,who is the epitome of all that’s good and peaceful have “warriors ” ?? People who want to catch up on who and who are fighting for what in which part of the world ,and what was the reason the fights started,tune into this one.Yesterday’s was about the eternal conflict between Israel and Palestine for Jerusalem.Today’s is on God’s Muslim Warriors.Is there one place on earth thats at peace with itself ?? Sigh.

ARR in prison ?

Did anyone read this ??

 

Quoting “Behindwoods New Bureau”

 

A.R. Rahman – the proud Indian he has always been, had released Vande Mataram on the occasion of the 50th year of independence and in the 60th year he came up with an album “Jana Gana Mana”.

Even though the intentions were good, he seems to have forgotten that there is a law that the national anthem should be sung in a specific way and should be finished within the stipulated seconds .And if done otherwise it is deemed as disrespect to the national anthem and could attract a sentence of a maximum of three years imprisonment. And now many people are ready to sue Rahman for this action.

“Do good, there will be none to support; do good, there will be hundreds to find fault”. How true is this statement!

ARR,thevaiyaa ??? There are somethings best left original.National anthema remix pannalaama ??
I haven’t heard his version yet,though.So I shall not comment on if its better than the original or not.Still,though he is a terrific music director,I really prefer to hear our national anthem as I’ve heard it all these years.

Orkut..grrr….quit.

What is it with online social networking ?? It takes all the fun out of suddenly meeting an old friend,out of the blue,at a mall,staring at him,his balding patch,his growing paunch,long and hard for a while , likewise from the other side,he/she staring at you with that look of incredulity (like,really ,is that you???) and then ,after a few seconds,that flicker of recognition.Pointing fingers and saying “Hey ! Is that really you ??!!!” .I mean,nothing can beat that.Why network online and get into trouble and maybe,even get killed ? Beats me.Are 15-16 year olds so dumb that they actually can believe a profile (that seems to have Lindsay Lohan as the profile pic) is for real and go out all the way to meet such a person ?!!! Who can be blamed for that ?Play safe,all those on Orkut.Its not worth getting killed to reconnect with old friends.Might as well wait for destiny to make you two catch up .You dont’ want destiny to catch up on you ‘cos you’re trying to screw it up by trying to socially reconnect online.[Did anyone get what I meant in that last sentence? ]

 

[P.S : I don't know why I am in this advisory mood for a while.Bear with me till I get back to I-am-writing-under-the-influence-of-my-brain-so-this-won't-make-sense mood.Reason for rant: this.]

50000 or 500 ?

I’m no feminist.There has never been a need for me to be so and I am really thankful to God for that.But reading this really irks me.

 

Why pay 50,000 rupees to your new in-laws when you can pay 500 rupes for an abortion ?

The first thing that irked me when I read this,was that,India is being projected like this in some international news site.Rarely have I seen articles in BBC that project anything beyond the slums of Bombay or the poverty stricken people in our villages,or the Devdasis,or umpteen other customs in our country that even most of us ,don’t find acceptable.What would the outside world think of us ?They probably have this image of slums all overwhere the country,dirty roads,inhuman customs..What the heck ?Thats not my country.This doesn’t happen everywhere.This is applicable only to the poor,not to us.

 

But,when I read the whole article,I started to get my doubts.Is female infanticide actually happening even in upper middle classes ??!!I don’t know if the prosperous Punjabi family that is mentioned is a reality or not.But,in retrospect,I’ve heard lots of colleagues,friends ,jokingly,calculate how much they could amass through dowry.Though,most of them,in principle are against dowry,rarely do they follow it.Totally agreed,standing up to family pressure is tough.But,its your priniciples you are standing for.The easygoing attitude is totally uncalled for ,when it comes to dowry.Put your feet down firmly and say no to dowry,whether you are marrying for love or for your family.Just don’t marry for money.The sanctity of marriage is totally lost when you do that.And,who knows,little thoughtful actions by a handful of people today could be the way to saving a few female foetuses,down the line.

Besh Besh

All you software engineers,the next time you decide to go get your fourth or fifth cup of caffeine from the vending machine,just read this before you do so.”Girl overdoses on espresso coffee”.And the overdose is after,just seven cups of coffee.I’ve seen(also been one of) many colleagues survive on coffee alone at office.After all,when your job’s as boring as it gets,you need all the caffeine to stimulate yourselves,I can understand.But,too much of a good thing does have its adverse effects.So,a cup of coffee a day keeps sleep away.But,seven cups of coffee a day,please don’t drink,I pray.

Ennannu solrathu ?

We are not the only ones cribbing about the Tamizh music industry.Listen to them .Since when ,did perfection become a flaw ??

Oh..ma..jong !

Now,I do play Mahjong on our laptop to kill time sometimes.I actually find games that are not time based more enjoyable(When I don’t like deadlines at work,one can hardly expect me to like deadlines @ fun.).So Mahjong suits me pretty good.Take all your time,find the matching tiles,eliminate the whole pattern.But,eeks ,little did I know the game could lead to epileptic seizures.To quote BBC ” a study by doctors in HongKong has concluded that epilepsy can be induced by the Chinese tile game of Mahjong.”Okie,they are talking about the real game,not the one on the computer here.Its also said that “Mahjong is cognitively demanding ,drawing on memory,fast calculations,concentration,reasoning and sequencing.”.

So,perhaps the next time you hear someone monotonously typing away at their workstations, either they could be hard at work ,or they might be playing Mahjong to epilepsy.