A small article in today's paper told me that Ahmedabad is observing "No horn day" today. This simply means, when you go out on the road today on your two or four wheeler, keep your finger off the horn. Did we really follow it?
Honestly speaking, I forgot about it, till one bright beam of light struck me from the heavens above and I remembered not to honk today. But I promptly forgot about it the very next moment when one !@#$*% guy on a flashy bike tried to do something stupid right in front of my Activa. A loud honk to express my annoyance and a dirty look and I sped away. And then again I felt guilty. So, typical of all p(r)etty criminals, I started noticing how many of us were actually following the "rule of the day". Funnily, no one was !
Its really not surprising. Let me elaborate.
1. We as Ahmedabadis are very honk friendly. We have a special honk for every need. We have a style to express annoyance, and one to express anger, and yet another one to just say hi to closest rider. And yet another one to flirt with the next rider. And still another one to just show happiness. And the list just doesnt end. Honking to us is what the status message on GTalk is to most chat addict friends of mine. And now you ask us not to honk !!! :-O We'd rather stay at home than be on the road and not honk!
2. The "no horn day" was really not publicised well. I mean, usually, the radio is full of it and all leading dailies start talking about it atleast a week in advance. I open the paper today to see which politician called who what (as a side note, if you are looking to learn "colored words" do read these political articles) and I see a small note saying "Please refrain from honking today. We are observing No Horn Day". Man! You think I am going to remember this? Specially after it was you who made me dependent on your repeated reminders about something which is going to happen 2 months later!
So, all in all, the "no honk day" was as good as a "more honk day". Such initiatives are good, but they serve no purpose if observed only for a day. I dont know what was the intention behind this particular "Day" but if it was educating people about noise pollution and encouraging them not to honk so much, it fell flat on its face. Instead of just simply observing "days" we should make short long term plans and try and create incentives for people so that they follow the Day 365 days a year !
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Pots about Potter
Another movie !! All Potter fans going crazy again. (Not to mention the Radcliffe fans as well).
So on a lonely Saturday morning, I am sitting and flicking channels (basically timepassing) and I come across a few "audience reviews" of the movie. And, the amazing part is that most of the people on camera said that if you have read the book, you're gonna be disappointed with the movie. Now I havent seen the movie yet, but still, am gonna air my views about it !!!
Actually, I am not surprised with the review. And I have nothing against the makers of Harry Potter. I am a complete book worm and for any book-movie pair, I always feel that the movie doesnt do justice to the book. And, I have my reasons for that ....
The first and the foremost, when I read a book, I am imagining the settings in my mind. If the book says "it was a dark and stormy night, there was thunder and lightening" I have a mental image of it. Now when I see the same thing in a movie, my brain goes dead. It is not allowed to imagine a dark and stormy night with thunder and lightening. It is simply shown the backdrop of the scene of action. A movie adapted from a novel, is like watching a person (or a group of people's) perception of the book or the story.
The other reason why I prefer the book version is that when I read, I feel that the author is telling me a personalized story. That again is because I choose to perceive it differently. And when somebody discusses the book with me, I realise that the other person also was told the story personally and we differ on our interpretations of a few things. Its like drawing different lessons from the same incident. But, when you watch a movie and discuss it with a friend, you dont discuss what you percieved in the movie, you simply discuss who performed well, how lovely the special effects were, etc. Its not that you dont want to discuss the lessons/story of the movie, its just that there is none to discuss and dispute about, coz both of you have the same notions (the ones which were shown to you!)
Now I am not really against the movies adapted from novels, mind you. Sometimes the novels are just too thick and bulky and dragging on forever kinds. You have to watch the movie and appreciate that someone(s) actually went through the book, took in the minutest of details and re-created it all for you...
On a parting note, I want to just applaud the special effects of the movie - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Its sheer creativity that has breathed a life into the pictures I had in mind about the back drop of the story. If there is one reason why I love these movies, its this.
Cheers !
So on a lonely Saturday morning, I am sitting and flicking channels (basically timepassing) and I come across a few "audience reviews" of the movie. And, the amazing part is that most of the people on camera said that if you have read the book, you're gonna be disappointed with the movie. Now I havent seen the movie yet, but still, am gonna air my views about it !!!
Actually, I am not surprised with the review. And I have nothing against the makers of Harry Potter. I am a complete book worm and for any book-movie pair, I always feel that the movie doesnt do justice to the book. And, I have my reasons for that ....
The first and the foremost, when I read a book, I am imagining the settings in my mind. If the book says "it was a dark and stormy night, there was thunder and lightening" I have a mental image of it. Now when I see the same thing in a movie, my brain goes dead. It is not allowed to imagine a dark and stormy night with thunder and lightening. It is simply shown the backdrop of the scene of action. A movie adapted from a novel, is like watching a person (or a group of people's) perception of the book or the story.
The other reason why I prefer the book version is that when I read, I feel that the author is telling me a personalized story. That again is because I choose to perceive it differently. And when somebody discusses the book with me, I realise that the other person also was told the story personally and we differ on our interpretations of a few things. Its like drawing different lessons from the same incident. But, when you watch a movie and discuss it with a friend, you dont discuss what you percieved in the movie, you simply discuss who performed well, how lovely the special effects were, etc. Its not that you dont want to discuss the lessons/story of the movie, its just that there is none to discuss and dispute about, coz both of you have the same notions (the ones which were shown to you!)
Now I am not really against the movies adapted from novels, mind you. Sometimes the novels are just too thick and bulky and dragging on forever kinds. You have to watch the movie and appreciate that someone(s) actually went through the book, took in the minutest of details and re-created it all for you...
On a parting note, I want to just applaud the special effects of the movie - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Its sheer creativity that has breathed a life into the pictures I had in mind about the back drop of the story. If there is one reason why I love these movies, its this.
Cheers !
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The Hooch Tragedy - Looking under the hood....
The last few days have been a night mare for many families in Ahmedabad, specially for the poor labour class and the police. Poisonous county liquor has caused over 130 deaths so far, and we are still counting, with many more men in a critical condition and even more still consuming the county liquor. Now, whatever has happened, has happened; lets take a look under the hood and see what went wrong ...
Gujarat is a "dry state", which basically means that sale and consumption of liquor is baned. If you are caught with a bottle or worse, caught drunk, its a lot of police and legal mess for you (if you are lucky, you may get away with paying bribes, but we are all goody-goody and wont admit that happens, right?). In spite of the dry laws, Gujarat is not really dry. People do manage to smuggle in the alcohol and do consume it. (One thing I must point out is that you'll hardly find a drunkard on the road, people consume alcohol and then stay at home).
The police is normally hand-in-glove with the suppliers. They know who smuggles in the "good stuff", how they smuggle it in, who all are the regular consumers, etc. They have all the details you could think off. And yet, the choose to look away ! Probably, such a network is useful to them for procuring details about various criminals and terrorists. Yet this time, they have been caught on the wrong foot. A leading English daily ran a front page story detailing which police office gets how big a cut of the pie!
The poor labor class of the city. The ones who do the most menial of work. The ones without who, none of the other classes of society can function. What do those men do once they are done with yet another long hard day of work? Go home, rest and eat some food the wife/mother has prepared, and then, go to a county liquor den and drink away their day's earnings. Well most of them do that. If they manage to find their way back home, they will beat up the wife and kids. Ask the women folk of such men. They work as house maids or as cleaners in hospitals or as day laborers in farms, not to supplement their men's earnings, because the men have no earnings to supplement. The men earn and spend it all on liquor. Its the women's money that burns the fire in the kitchen and fills the stomach of the family members. And now, its those very hard working women, who are bearing the brunt of the spurious liquor. Its they who had to rush their drunken "better halves" to the hospitals, its they who had to beg the doctors and run pillar-to-post ensuring their "better halves" get a dialysis machine. And now, its these hard-working women, who will bring up their children as single mothers and provide for the rest of the family (which in any case, they were doing, but the man is always a moral support).
In the aftermath of this tragedy, a lot of people have come out blaming the dry laws of the state as the culprit for the widespread sale of county liquor. A very prominent industrialist and aviation big-wig even claimed that if the dry laws are done away with, we wont have the county liquor being sold and hence, never-ever will such tragedies repeat themselves. Personally, I don't think doing away with the dry laws will make any difference. In the other states, the labor class still depends on the county liquor as the actual branded stuff is still too expensive for them to buy. In Gujarat, those who can afford the branded stuff, still do consume it, and those who cant, still wont be able to afford it if the dry laws are lifted. The only thing that lifting the dry laws will affect is the law and order situation of Gujarat. The state will not be as safe a place as it now claims to be (though this image of Gujarat has also taken a beating recently). Crimes against women, such as eve-teasing, rapes, etc and accidents due to drunken driving will rise in the absence of dry laws.
The solution of this problem is not with the dry laws. This problem was born as a side effect of the Industrial Revolution and is there to stay till the men don't learn to respect their bodies and their families.
The solution of this problem is in educating the society. Of course, this is a very idealist solution and is not easy to implement at all. The men have to be taught to not depend on alcohol or tobacco to relieve their tensions. Its high time the men take a few lessons from the women folk. A woman, specially of the labor class, has many more things occupying her mind, but she'll never be seen indulging in a hard drink, or a smoke. She knows she has to take care of the children and of the husband. And in being fully aware of these responsibilities, she learns to swallow her worries and not resort to abusing her body.
So, men, buck up and learn to face the harsh realities of life without looking for refuge in alocohol and tobacco. You have a lovely mother/wife/sister/daughter to learn your lessons from. Its best you learn them quickly rather than have the women take things in their hands and move so far ahead socially, economically and emotionally, that you'd then just be a (use and throw?) tool "to make babies" for them (maybe even science will then support women and eliminate your need for that too)!!
Gujarat is a "dry state", which basically means that sale and consumption of liquor is baned. If you are caught with a bottle or worse, caught drunk, its a lot of police and legal mess for you (if you are lucky, you may get away with paying bribes, but we are all goody-goody and wont admit that happens, right?). In spite of the dry laws, Gujarat is not really dry. People do manage to smuggle in the alcohol and do consume it. (One thing I must point out is that you'll hardly find a drunkard on the road, people consume alcohol and then stay at home).
The police is normally hand-in-glove with the suppliers. They know who smuggles in the "good stuff", how they smuggle it in, who all are the regular consumers, etc. They have all the details you could think off. And yet, the choose to look away ! Probably, such a network is useful to them for procuring details about various criminals and terrorists. Yet this time, they have been caught on the wrong foot. A leading English daily ran a front page story detailing which police office gets how big a cut of the pie!
The poor labor class of the city. The ones who do the most menial of work. The ones without who, none of the other classes of society can function. What do those men do once they are done with yet another long hard day of work? Go home, rest and eat some food the wife/mother has prepared, and then, go to a county liquor den and drink away their day's earnings. Well most of them do that. If they manage to find their way back home, they will beat up the wife and kids. Ask the women folk of such men. They work as house maids or as cleaners in hospitals or as day laborers in farms, not to supplement their men's earnings, because the men have no earnings to supplement. The men earn and spend it all on liquor. Its the women's money that burns the fire in the kitchen and fills the stomach of the family members. And now, its those very hard working women, who are bearing the brunt of the spurious liquor. Its they who had to rush their drunken "better halves" to the hospitals, its they who had to beg the doctors and run pillar-to-post ensuring their "better halves" get a dialysis machine. And now, its these hard-working women, who will bring up their children as single mothers and provide for the rest of the family (which in any case, they were doing, but the man is always a moral support).
In the aftermath of this tragedy, a lot of people have come out blaming the dry laws of the state as the culprit for the widespread sale of county liquor. A very prominent industrialist and aviation big-wig even claimed that if the dry laws are done away with, we wont have the county liquor being sold and hence, never-ever will such tragedies repeat themselves. Personally, I don't think doing away with the dry laws will make any difference. In the other states, the labor class still depends on the county liquor as the actual branded stuff is still too expensive for them to buy. In Gujarat, those who can afford the branded stuff, still do consume it, and those who cant, still wont be able to afford it if the dry laws are lifted. The only thing that lifting the dry laws will affect is the law and order situation of Gujarat. The state will not be as safe a place as it now claims to be (though this image of Gujarat has also taken a beating recently). Crimes against women, such as eve-teasing, rapes, etc and accidents due to drunken driving will rise in the absence of dry laws.
The solution of this problem is not with the dry laws. This problem was born as a side effect of the Industrial Revolution and is there to stay till the men don't learn to respect their bodies and their families.
The solution of this problem is in educating the society. Of course, this is a very idealist solution and is not easy to implement at all. The men have to be taught to not depend on alcohol or tobacco to relieve their tensions. Its high time the men take a few lessons from the women folk. A woman, specially of the labor class, has many more things occupying her mind, but she'll never be seen indulging in a hard drink, or a smoke. She knows she has to take care of the children and of the husband. And in being fully aware of these responsibilities, she learns to swallow her worries and not resort to abusing her body.
So, men, buck up and learn to face the harsh realities of life without looking for refuge in alocohol and tobacco. You have a lovely mother/wife/sister/daughter to learn your lessons from. Its best you learn them quickly rather than have the women take things in their hands and move so far ahead socially, economically and emotionally, that you'd then just be a (use and throw?) tool "to make babies" for them (maybe even science will then support women and eliminate your need for that too)!!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thoughts shape our future
Amazing!!! But true...
Ever thought of something, and it becomes true ? No? Ok... Ever wanted or wished something really desperately and it came true? All those things you feared the most and kept thinking about, came true? Yes? Thats the point.. When we think about something, we put energy into that thought, and if that thought "musters" enough energy, it starts manifesting itself. So, dont think of the bad things, and think a lot of the good things....
Now just because I said that, doesnt mean, you'll stop working and just keep fantasizing about the bike your dad promised to buy you. Thinking is no substitute for work. Your thoughts just give an event, that extra edge which makes it happen for sure.
Do you remember your grandparents telling you, to leave your troubles to God and not worry so much? This is the reason. The more you think of your troubles, you are inevitably giving the trouble energy to manifest itself. When you believe that God will take care of the problems (which he does...), you dont think so much about it and hence, dont energize it as you would/could have.
So dont think so much, dont worry so much. There is a God and he will take care of your troubles, afterall, even He doesnt want people to be unhappy on this Earth. Just concentrate on your work and the rest will all fall into place.
Happy thoughts !
Ever thought of something, and it becomes true ? No? Ok... Ever wanted or wished something really desperately and it came true? All those things you feared the most and kept thinking about, came true? Yes? Thats the point.. When we think about something, we put energy into that thought, and if that thought "musters" enough energy, it starts manifesting itself. So, dont think of the bad things, and think a lot of the good things....
Now just because I said that, doesnt mean, you'll stop working and just keep fantasizing about the bike your dad promised to buy you. Thinking is no substitute for work. Your thoughts just give an event, that extra edge which makes it happen for sure.
Do you remember your grandparents telling you, to leave your troubles to God and not worry so much? This is the reason. The more you think of your troubles, you are inevitably giving the trouble energy to manifest itself. When you believe that God will take care of the problems (which he does...), you dont think so much about it and hence, dont energize it as you would/could have.
So dont think so much, dont worry so much. There is a God and he will take care of your troubles, afterall, even He doesnt want people to be unhappy on this Earth. Just concentrate on your work and the rest will all fall into place.
Happy thoughts !
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The power of "Karma"
Any Indian, or for that matter, any person who has some inclination towards spiritualism will be able to recite the values of Karma. Karma literally means action. The philosophy of Karma is simple - "As you sow, so shall you reap". So basically, you do a good turn, and somebody does you good too, you do a bad turn, and you get a bad turn back yourself. Is it really so simple? If I go slap someone, does somebody slap me back too? Not really...
Karmas have an additive property. Which means, you dont really get the results right as soon as you do some action. The results may be delayed, to the extent of being carried forward in the next birth. Well, rebirth is one topic we shall talk about sometime else. Now back to actions and their additive property...
Karmas have a way of piling up together. Do you know someone, who is really very good, very helpful, kind and nice? All the positive adjectives in your vocab apply to him/her. Yet, nothing good really every happens to him/her. Yes? Well, there is one living example of a person with a sum of bad karmas in a past birth. So if you have gone and caused a lot of people grief, you wont be sad immediately. Infact, you start believing that you have a lot of good karmas against your name and so your bad deeds actually get cancelled by it. But, you'll be hit on your face with cumulative grief all at one shot. Ultimately, we have to bear the fruits of our own (mis)deeds.
Thought is also an action. So if you think bad, you are bound to be hit with bad things. Have you ever noticed, if you are consciously positive in you thoughts, you kind of attract good things towards you? If you wish bad on someone, chances are your wishes will come true, but that will also get you something bad in return sometime.
Karmas arent even such a bad thing. They are not used for judging you. They are just there to teach you the lessons you should learn in life. Infact, if you realise the true potential of karma, you can very well use it your full advantage. Karma is a collective noun for human thoughts, efforts and actions. Hence, with a lot of good Karma, you can actually change your destiny for the good (or bad). Make efforts, rather untiring efforts, to reach what you really want in life. Pray and wish like you are hanging on for your life. Be a good human being and then watch the world really give you what you want !
Karmas have an additive property. Which means, you dont really get the results right as soon as you do some action. The results may be delayed, to the extent of being carried forward in the next birth. Well, rebirth is one topic we shall talk about sometime else. Now back to actions and their additive property...
Karmas have a way of piling up together. Do you know someone, who is really very good, very helpful, kind and nice? All the positive adjectives in your vocab apply to him/her. Yet, nothing good really every happens to him/her. Yes? Well, there is one living example of a person with a sum of bad karmas in a past birth. So if you have gone and caused a lot of people grief, you wont be sad immediately. Infact, you start believing that you have a lot of good karmas against your name and so your bad deeds actually get cancelled by it. But, you'll be hit on your face with cumulative grief all at one shot. Ultimately, we have to bear the fruits of our own (mis)deeds.
Thought is also an action. So if you think bad, you are bound to be hit with bad things. Have you ever noticed, if you are consciously positive in you thoughts, you kind of attract good things towards you? If you wish bad on someone, chances are your wishes will come true, but that will also get you something bad in return sometime.
Karmas arent even such a bad thing. They are not used for judging you. They are just there to teach you the lessons you should learn in life. Infact, if you realise the true potential of karma, you can very well use it your full advantage. Karma is a collective noun for human thoughts, efforts and actions. Hence, with a lot of good Karma, you can actually change your destiny for the good (or bad). Make efforts, rather untiring efforts, to reach what you really want in life. Pray and wish like you are hanging on for your life. Be a good human being and then watch the world really give you what you want !
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