How To Keep Jobs Happy

Dear M.Ps',

If the intention of using an iPad is to save resources, why don't you *buy* your proposal ?

It would save Rs.48,100/ head. A total of Rs. 1,031,700, which according to prior calculation would feed 32,240 Indians thrice, on a given day.

You would ask why do I bother about a crore, when there has been a 2.5 crore loss every day during the winter session. Tell me about it!

Well, here is an idea - why don't you actually fast for an iPad ?

At least, get an internet connection done in the Parliament.

Signed.

PS: I really don't mind if a crore is going to save my country a one lakh and a seventy five thousand crores. Oh yeah, Maths. Oh yeah, iPad.

India Against Corruption - The Fight From Chennai

( You can read the same on Craptivate, The South Reports, cplash )

Honestly, I forgot the password to my personal blog. Its been ages since I posted anything constructive ; been ages since I posted anything. Being Indian, I would fail miserably, if I don't contribute to the social media activism against corruption. Hence, this post.

Venue : 153, L.B.Road, Adyar, Chennai - 20.

Time : 16th August - Indefinitely

I thought I should take a day off, make myself available at the fasting center in Chennai in protest of the Jokepal bill which the Congress advocates. A half-constructed building at Adyar plays host to the events and activities of IAC, Chennai. The Indian tricolor is seen all over the place, candlelight vigil, men and women of all kind, volunteers who remind you of 'Ini oru vidhi seivom', chants of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Vande Mataram, Thamizh slogans in favor of Jan Lokpal, 36 Indians / Chennaites who are on an indefinite fast and survive on the smell of few lemons - The energy there is unbelievable. The protest has risen on an exponential scale and I get a faint sense of how 1947 would have been. End of the day, I realized - Change is tough. Change is slow. But, change is inevitable. Fast. Fight. Below, are five moments, which captured my imagination and owned my heart.

At Five.

Unity in diversity will remain India's biggest unsolved mystery. The support was something, I never expected. A candle light in one hand, an Indian flag high up, in the other. People who hardly knew each other, lending their candle light to light the rest. Co ordinated, across India, this was something which wasn't new, yet this was something symbolically special.

At Four :

The last thing I would expect, was to see a sweet, little girl, dressed in a black and red top, wave the Indian flag. Certainly, she wouldn't know the difference between Lokpal and Jan Lokpal, or Raja and Kejriwal. She, sure did know, that her country was important and that she had to be there. In a trice, she was the cynosure of every eye.

( BTW, photo credits goes to - Ashwath Ram )

At Three :

My friend and myself, bumped into two students. One from Spain and one from Peru. Surprised, I asked them what brought them there. The Spanish girl, pointed at the Indian flag she was holding. She even asked me, why I wasn't holding one.

At Two :

Make shift arrangements, with limited resources have been made for the fast. A raised stage, covered with mattresses and lemons provided for people who were fasting indefinitely. Just below the stage, were a few more sheets laid for people who were on a relay fast ( for a fixed period of time ). My eyes were focussed on an old man, dressed poorly, unkempt white hair, lying down on a corner of the stage with a lemon on an indefinite fast. It struck me hard. Here was I, a 21 year, old guy, doing nothing better than clicking pictures. I nudged my friend. He nudged me back and asked me to look at the other end of the fasting stage. An youngster was lying down on an indefinite fast. On either side of him, was a crutch. It struck me harder.

At One.

"Epdi irruku - Indha pudhu thozhil ? ( 03:40 )" - I've listened to this dialog from Kitty umpteen number of times and felt the thrill every single time. Rajnikanth. Period.

It was heartening, and least surprising to see him be an active leader of IAC, Chennai. Engaging in an open and frank conversation, which lasted more than half an hour, he narrated an incident which was close to his heart.

A student had walked up to him after a talk at an engineering college, held his hand and said - " I'd like to be honest. I want to join the cause. My parents in my village, object to it and ask me to concentrate on my academics. What do I do ? " Kitty, walked up to the stage with the student. The question was received with an applause. It was every student's dilemma.

Kitty said, asking him to reply to his mother, "Ma, I love you so much. I'll be a responsible student and study well. However, over the past days, I've become a little more responsible and mature. I promise, I'll take care of you. But, this is the time, that your elder sister needs me. I need to take care of your elder sister - Mother India, now.

That, I felt, summed up the very essence of the entire movement. India needs every child of hers to fight against corruption. The future is the reflection of the present, and that present begins, Right Now.

Be there, 153, L.B.Road,Chennai.

The Lazy Blogger

Facebook status updates are for the lazy blogger. Indeed.






















Apart from all the status updates, I've been up to a lot of other things as well. For example, I've contributed to :

Kochi IPL Team.
Adarsh,Mumbai.
CWG 2010.
Telecom companies.

Tax money.Period.

ITW wishes all its readers A Happy 2011.

Tharoor, Twitter and Trouble !

The full article can be read here, as well.

Shashi Tharoor is packaged just about perfectly. Representing the distinguished and dignified Modern Day Indian Politician, an even better communicator (orator / columnist / diplomat - who can convince you to join an engineering college and yet make you look forward to it, knowing well it is a second hell),and more importantly,he's perhaps India's most favorite tweeter - Thanks and Unthanks to Jacob Joseph.

In an erudite discussion,during a tweet-up meet with Shashi Tharoor at Chennai , Excerpts from the interaction:

Scene 1 : Shashi Tharoor sits on this huge red chair,signing autographs for Shadows Across the Playing Field.

*ST surrounded by people,walking up to him,managing to get thru' the crowd*

ITW : Mr.Tharoor, a few questions ? Do I ask you now ?

*The Shashi Tharoor bass voice is heard*

ST :Your questions shall be posed inside the hall !

*looks down,signing autographs*

ITW: A photograph with you ? Possible ?

ST : You should,but after this !

*ST walks upto a group a women,assosciated with the Bharatanatyam dance programme to which he was invited;and poses for a couple of photographs*

-- Times Now hadn't broken news of Sunanda.So,I didn't make an attempt to search for her in the group --

Scene 2 :

Shashi Tharoor needs to be applauded for this. The efforts he takes to connect with the people, interact with them,up - close,and engaging in active discussions. I doubt if any other Indian politician carries it out in such a magnitude,with the exception of Rahul Gandhi who pulls off a stunt here and there. *salutes to ST*

*A spacious hall, thirty tweeple, and Shashi Tharoor at the point of intersection*

After excusing himself for his voice,and answering an array of questions ranging from his sons, books and political controversies ( Read Ram's post),

*points out to me*

ITW : A few questions, sir. Which Indian cricketer,present or past,would make a good commentator / writer ? *asked this keeping in mind his love for the game,and his skills with the quill*

--- Tom Alter had earlier answered Aakash Chopra / Sourav Ganguly---

ST : *laughs* How on Earth do I know that ?

ITW: Fine,then. I' ve always wanted to ask you this. You ve been an international diplomat. How does it feel like to be on par with the politicians in India who have criminal records against their name. I mean,some of them hold higher posts in Office,than you?

ST: You see,The United States regards the Indian National Congress as one of those few political parties which accommodate people, who ever they are. It's a kind of an amalgam of people of all classes. There are people from the reserved sections, different castes and religions. Some have risen from the grass root levels and reached the top . . .

ITW :Err . . . I'm perfectly fine with people who rise from the grass roots and reach the top. What I'm not fine with, is politicians *** ***** ****** for Rs.*** a vote and reach the top.And you know who I'm talking about!

ST:*laughs,again*I do.Well,that's not under my jurisdiction. I can't help working with them. Its up to the Prime Minister, actually I'll go on to say its up to the Congress President as far as forging allies is concerned. All I can do is,ensure that the people of my constituency, Trivandrum get a fair deal for voting me in.They have reposed their faith in me,and I have to repay them,back.

Towards the end of the discussion, Feroz Khan,pointed out to me,that no Minister has been elected consecutively to the Parliament from Trivandrum twice. Would be interesting to see what happens.


Oh,forget all other ST - Twitter controversies . The Shashi Tharoor - Lalit Modi face off is as intriguing as it can get. Two intersting angles, I came across.

1. Aravind Chandrasekaran says and I quote ,

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Here's my hunch about the whole issue: Rendezvous sports being a new comer and won the bid? It sounded murky to me then, all the more since Tharoor was with them. I feel there was deal on between Modi and Tharoor then to make Kochi win, which broke down later. So Modi comes out to make issue. Tharoor sends IT... See More to Modi, to grab any evidence against him as well as he knows Modi would have taken money in the past. So there cud be three endings. The dispute between Modi and Tharoor is sorted among themselves and soon they will quiet everyone including the media and you will wonder what happened to the issue. This seems unlikely as opposition as caught the opportunity well. So Tharoor will soon offer resignation with Sonia will accept to make sure Congress doesn't suffer and the issue will go into oblivion. Or Congress backs Tharoor and get the heck out of Modi and make Tharoor look like hero.
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A) The line in bold is to be noted - ST was asked by a reporter at the Tweet-up, "Do you tow with the idea of Kochi as an IPL franchise?"

ST: "I'm not towing with anything at the moment,except the bat(presented by Chennai tweeple) as off now. ( ST didn't leave the slightest hint, I repeat his communicating skills are worth more than his weight in gold.)

Now,rewinding to that answer,leaves me with more questions to answer about ST.

B)Modi and Tharoor - Yeah ? Possible. Sounds likely but I still believe that the dealings would have been fair and clean. It is alleged that Jacob Joseph was also involved in it. ST's Officer on Special Duty, now comes out with curt statements that Modi was a drug addict in his boyhood. Oh,yeah,he was. But Mr.Jacob,didn't all that strike your brain during the bidding ?

Jacob Joseph,again is a nice guy.No offense.Spoke with me for a few minutes, gave me his visiting card,asking me to call up anytime for help. Sticks to Tharoor always. But again, getting personal after all the happenings,knowing Modi's character well and before the process, is asking for trouble.

C) I doubt if ST would quit,unless he is forced to. Media trial would probably stop if Sachin Tendulkar scores a double ton for MI and things would die down. Speaking of things dying down, here is the second angle.

2. Creation of Solvable Crisis - Benedict Gnaniah.

Where the popular Social Media Enthusiast,an even better friend, in a brilliant post, stresses a very interesting point. ST,being Mos - External Affairs has staged all this along with the Congress, diverting The Opposition's attention from the bigger picture - Manmohan Singh selling India to Obama at Washington, consequently, signing the Nuclear Agreement.

I still have my doubts whether ST would stoop down to such a level. Being the author of thousands of pages of heavy text , an effective orator getting into trouble because of 150 characters and few conversations - Welcome to India.

Either ST is too much for India to handle, or India is too hot for ST to survive.

Both ways, we just can't afford to lose Shashi Tharoor, for the communicator cum administrator he is.

PS : "Yaaru Sir, Indha Figure - uh ? "

Jin-Nah!

The last time Mr.Muhammad Ali Jinnah rose from his grave into prominence in my life was in Feb '06,when I tried to rake up as much history as possible about him in due of my High School Examinations. Burried along with the books in Mar '06,he rises and stands tall again in Aug '09 brushing aside the likes of Rakhi Sawant(the only place where her photo isn't splashed on a piece of paper is her Birth Cert.) to burst into the scene as the top newsmaker.The Partion Debate is interwoven with the Case of the BJP - Jaswant Debate.History is a compilation of facts,the way you interpret the facts,forms your opinion/notion - in BJP terms,ideology.ITW's attempt at unlocking the Jinnah Jinx is presented :

1. Was Mr.Jaswant Singh,in the first place right in writing about this posthumous character ?

• Barack Obama would do well to know who set the idea of Jihad (Holy War) rolling - Mr.President, it was none other than M.A.J's Muslim League which deescribed Direct Action as "holy war against the enemies of the Muslim nation."
• Kolkata,then Calcutta was turned into "City of Dead" when violence was unleashed on Hindus,residing there.The Direct Action Day, initiated by Jinnah had succeeded.
• The Hindus' angry retort at Bihar,the agonising spread of communal flames burnt the very idea of Unity.
• Every terror attack,each communal riot at India's crown - Kashmir ; Every Khan being stopped at the U.S airport - Jinnah's idea of Ji *** continues to haunt.
• His brainchild/birthchild - his product Pakistan has become the global headquarters for breeding terror.

Inspite of all this, if J.S found reasons to glorify M.A.J through the prose and text of little under 700 pages book,I suppose he is this Nice Guy Muslims search among the Hindus.All said and done, carrying the tag of an Indian - J.S is entitled to his Freedom of Expression and Speech and the other Democartic Rights, Jinnah's counterparts formulated.Whether he is justified in the glorification or rather the de-demonisng of Jinnah is upto the 'Interpreter' of Facts - the common man.Our ideolisation of J.Nehru shouldn't bind us to Nehru's side alone and hence refuse to see the bright side of another individual. J.Singh, has done just that, to which he has every Right - Right or Wrong.

*finger on lips* - Jinnah might have avoided a civil war and more human loss. ITW conviniently chooses to avoid that,and more complexities.

2. Was the BJP right in expelling Mr.Jaswant Singh?

- Definitely,not.

• The last time I read a book furiously was when Ms.Rowling released the last of her seven books on HP.Skipping lines here and there,the fiction was gripping and made a fascinating read.The fact that Mr.Rajnath Singh or any other BJP party member,read the 669 pages of heavy verses - difficult to comprehend - in less then 36 hours amazes me.If he/anyone denies this Herculean task - all I ask is this - How do you expel Jaswant Singh from the Party as a result of the thoughts echoed in his book without even reading the book completely?!?!

PS:Dynamic Hindu Incarnate,N.Modi had banned the book in Gujarat.Effortless way to escape reading.

• L.K.Advani publicly condemned the "secular"(Duh!) vison of Jinnah in the latter's Presidential Address on Aug - 11th,1947.Advani was made to step down,no denial - but he wasn't expelled was he ?!?! Just because the name was L.KAdvani and not Jaswant Singh.

• C.Rajagopalachari's personal sizing of Jinnah didn't differ much from Jaswant's.He thought Jinnah was a decent,secular(?!?!)politician worthy of engaging in a serious dialogue.Rajendra Prasad and the entire Parliament observed a couple of minutes of silence after the demise of Jinnah.Would the BJP now go against CR,RP and possibly go on to create a rift in the ideologies of S.V.Patel and CR,if not,then WHY Jaswant?!?!

A senior leader,30 years of experience - expelled.The Chintan Bhaitak brought about verything to Shimla,except their minds.

3. Drawing Comparison with India : From Midnight to Millenium - What could have been done to J.S.

A must read work of S.Tharoor,India:FMTM has been revisited and the new edition has an added chapter of the Gandhi family,in which Mr.Tharoor plays the game fair and square. Without any inhibitions,he writes -

• At Indira Gandhi - questions her disposal of power and her vision beyond the eradication of poverty.
• Takes gentle digs at I.Gandhi's husband ( questioning the consequence of his political career if he was a liquor agent and didn't carry the surname) and S.Gandhi at how, an Italian girl minus a Bachelors Degree and being confined to the Residences of the P.M (Rajiv) has rosen to the masses and how she never studied political philosophy at Cambridge,but English.
• Brings out the ghosts of the Bofors corruption scam under Rajiv.

The Congress' success story lies in its ability to accomodate people with different ideologies (Including a match fixer,seat formula fixers from South and cut throat politicians).The fact that the Congress didn't make S.Tharoor's India:FMTM a big issue( not that he was wrong,I second him.)and instead recognised his merits and posted him in the Cabinet Ministry(A whole family from S.India incl. Mr.A is there,So What? :P) is commendable.BJP has still got to learn a few tricks.

• A show - cause notice to J.S, a warning, or a decision after a personal face - to - face talk wouldn't have hurt.

Verdict:The BJP,in the first place needs to understand that a book is a book,and so will it remain. Debating and expelling leaders like J.S, for expressing views about the incidents which happened sixty years back is just callous attitude resulting in catastrophic times for the Party.There are BIGGER issues which BJP needs to focus .Solve the present-day country matters first and then live in the past. You can't just ban a book fearing the wrath of pro-Hindu groups.Sheer stupidity - Hindutva. Get this straight -WE,Hindus and Muslims are children of the same Mother,Mother India.

*sigh* That would put rest to half a million problems , if only BJP didn't expel such authors and ban such text.

Quickie Updates!

My Std.10 CBSE pass certificate proved to be quite useful,stigmatizing the Electoral Officer present at the South Chennai voting constituency into letting me enter even when I didn't possess the voter ID-card.I had harbored hopes that my name would feature in the voting list,thankfully after a lot of running around,the officer's forefinger found -
K.Dinesh Kannan
Age:18
The beep when I pressed the button against The Slate fuelled a sensation of satisfaction in me that Democracy was still alive even though it wasn't kicking.Frankly,I never knew there were only 17k intelligent residents in South Chennai,a commendable number of votes for an Independent candidate - Sarath Babu.
A popular website www.sify.com had this interesting 'Start your Party' election in which Indianize The World finished Fifth among 31 other parties.
http://sify.com/news/election/party_details.php?id=37
Look out,South Chennai,ITW is here.During the L.S '14 elections,there are going to be 44 and not 43 candidates.:P
Mumbai's 'Enough Is Enough','Call for Change' campaigns after the 26/11 attacks remained confined to the lips as the electorate simply refused to step out of their houses.A mere 42 percent voter turn-out.Nothing short of pathetic.Cutthroat politicians and Danny Boyle will continue to survive, courtesy the remaining 58 percent Mumbaikars.
One needs to appreciate,admire and gape(that is all one can do)at the consistent growth of the number of politicians occupying L.S seats even while they are charged with criminal cases.
ITW's 10th post reads-
"a staggering 125 out of 538 seats in the Parliament, last term,were occupied by men who have been charged with criminal cases. The least that I long for is for that number to decrease."
Wishful thinking.An even more not-surprisingly,staggering 150 seats host criminalised politicans.Stiff fight though.42 from Congress and 43 from BJP.Look at the dirty competition.

With 500 bucks from my parents-

• I can entertain a club of five at Inox.
• Represent a Corporate in the Tribology T.T league and hopefully not end up as KKR.
• Play the fool and pocket it.

Guess what?One can actually end up with a valuable vote from an irresponsible citizen in the Temple City.What more?The same 'one' can rightfully stride into the Cabinet without the slightest of conscience.It runs(wheeled by)in the blood.What a sight - Shashi Tharoor amidst any other M.P and the Family Man in the Cabinet.

Brilliant,Congress.India is light years(or five)short of development.

A Wednesday

“Tamizha Tamizha Naalai Nam Naalai
Tamizha Tamizha Naadum Nam Naadae!”

...A.R.Rahman’s brilliance blended with the emotionally touching lyrics would greet anyone who gives E.Sarath Babu, Independent Candidate, South Chennai a ring. On a fine Sunday morning, I was pleasantly surprised to hear his heart warming caller tune at a time when ‘political’ entertainment channels play ‘Nyabagam Varudhe, Nyabagam Varudhe ’,a song which has as much connection to the welfare of the State and Central as John Buchanan will have to the Knight Riders next year. Take away the ten questions, delete the Luck Factor, remove Anil Kapoor and chuck Danny Boyle, substitute them with hardship, pluck and a loving idly-selling mother, there you stand with, in Jamal’s shoes a level headed Sarath Babu, Director Foodking Catering Services. I was involved in a little chit-chat with him on phone, quite an interesting one at that. The BITS, Pilani and IIM-A graduate affirms during the conversation that education and hunger alleviation would be his motive when he makes it to the politically blotted landscape of the Indian Parliament. On a query regarding his inexperience in politics, Sarath counters that he’s got a fresh perspective free from “political baggage.” A couple of more stunning answers left me longing to campaign for this Samaritan.
Another candidate whom I had the privilege of interacting personally is an unassuming N.S.Venkatraman, Founder – “Nandini-Voice for the Deprived,” a NGO. Contesting with a ticket from the DSP, Mr.Venkatraman made a noteworthy statement in which he said “Progress shouldn’t be estimated by the growth of IT or a mission to the moon, instead it should be measured by the Happiness Index of the common man.” Point well made. In a country where 1% of the total population earns 96% of the money, how do the rest 99% survive?
A couple of other prominent candidates from my constituency are R.S.Bharathi from the DMK, who’s door to door campaign didn’t catch the attention of my father who continued to speak on his mobile when the bell rang, and a certain Mr.L.Ganesh - quite a busy bee as I ve hardly seen him even though he lives next street!
Note: S.Chennai has a record 44 candidates- the highest contesting from the state this time around. By the looks of it, next time around my constituency would boast of more candidates than electorates!
Zooming out from South Chennai to the whole of T.N, with 39 seats at stake, I ve been left pondering over two questions.
Q.1-Is this a fight for the Sri Lankan Parliament or the Indian Pariliament?
Q.2-More than a battle between M.Singh and L.K.Advani this is being made out as a neck to neck race between Mr.Karunanidhi and Miss.Jayalalitha.
There has been a significant change in the arithmetic, as T.N has witnessed a major political realignment since ’04.In the previous election, DMK-Congress along with PMK and MDMK had swept the polls with 39-0.The difference this time around is that the smaller Left parties and PMK and not surprisingly(MDMK-it’s a habit with them)have switched sides.
Coming back to Q.1, there has been striking difference of opinion within the camps, while PMK MDMK and CPI(M) have taken a stand for LTTE on the issue, AIADMK is opposed to it.
Similarly while Congress has shown a forceful line on the LTTE – the DMK iterates its sympathy towards the Tigers – though what made ‘him’ say “Prabhakaran is a good friend”-God Knows. NDTV had a ball with those five words!
The DMK, from a student’s perspective had proposed the establishment of an IIM at Trichy. Apart from that it was responsible for the long queues at the ration shops, some left disappointed because of the impurities and insects at the Rice-Re1/kg.Go around Chennai, those gigantic flyovers would capture your eye lens – Some just for the sake of it ! The National Rural Employment guarantee scheme and the scrapping of POTA are a couple of other achievements.
There are still some factors which have left me baffled.
1. How can a fast ever begin after breakfast and end a good while before lunch? The air conditioner and a well laid out bed with a few glycerin-used cine actors gave company.
2. Should a bandh be called at the drop of a hat? What’s the necessity? When normal life is affected aren’t the naxalites and terrorists winning?
3. How much can Jaya network influence a person? Day-1:They broadcast ads which show the plight of bus travelers.Day-2:I jump over the college wall, board an A/C bus from Sri Perumbdur to Chennai,to my amazement the bus rates are slashed.Day-3:Tempted by this,I do it again only to be left disappointed by the unstable mind of the Govt. who hiked the rates again and had to satisfy myself with a blockbuster of a movie screened during the journey – Sivaji.
4. The morphing of a political party into a family party. Posts are distributed among the family members as frequently as the TV sets (electricity?) and stoves (gas?).
A 908-crore worth desalination of water scheme, Rs 56,664 crores in four lane traffic system , Rs.1828 crores railway over bridges, Rs.1553 crores Salem steel rolling plant are highlights during the tenure. Transport – Inspite of all this its left a humorous Mr. Jeffrey Archer fuming at Landmark, about the traffic congestion – “Why do you draw the white crossing line in the middle of my car?” It’s been a sort of a treadmill walk, we seem to be moving but at the same place!
The AIADMK have been involved in as much as negative campaigning as the DMK. Manmohan Singh has escaped their attention, its target is KK. P.Ramdoss of PMK, an ally of the AIADMK had asked this question “Why doesn’t DMK quit the Congress when they hardly support the Tamilians?” – For the same reasons A.Ramdoss, his product , Health Minister didn’t quit.
Jr.Ramdoss made some remarkable progress in the Health Ministry when he banned smoking in public. Vaiko, MDMK, another switched over ally couldn’t escape the laughter in the drawing room or the ire and clever words of Devil’s advocate Karan Thapar in an interview a year back.
I can’t completely comment on the AIADMK as I had’nt completed my High School when they were in power. However, as of now they seem to be physically campaigning with the Left, their chemistry lies with the BJP and who knows – if arithmetic favors them Congress might go for a grab!
The DMDK leader might have an edge over J.K.Rithish (DMK) in terms of Who’s Who of Tamil Cinema-Tamil Politics but I doubt if they could affect the political arithmetic much. They would end up with the anti-DMK and anti AIADMK votes on the 13th.
Come Wednesday, the 13th,the numbers clearly favor the AIADMK but my first ever vote in the Indian Democracy would go for someone who is free from the political grasp, some one who is affliated to the people and not the party, some one whose mobile rings –
“Unnakul Indiya Rattham Unda,Illaya?”