Thursday, December 31, 2009

Ask Questions...

Freedom of speech is something that has been endowed upon us by the constitution. Now, to what extent we use it or allowed to use it is matter that is quite debatable. Even the government that rules us, curbs that freedom to a greater extent and refrains us from speaking our mind or saying what is correct. The other angle to this thought is what is to be spoken on a public domain and what not. Who decides this? The speaker or law-makers? We have laws that states we cannot make inflammatory speeches, talks that violates the integrity of the country, anti-national remarks and comments on any community that can cause instability in the peace. What about somebody’s opinion about another individual? Can anyone say he/she feels about another person in a public platform in a civilized way, let me repeat ‘civilized way’? Or is it just not allowed?

Is an individual free to express his opinions on the current corporate culture being a part of a corporate himself? Is a journo allowed to discuss the loopholes in the present journalism system? Is a politician can have common public forum/platform where he can also have a direct interaction with the public and start analyzing the government policies and procedures? Many such intriguing questions baffle me for a simple reason because I live in the largest democracy of the world and we take huge pride in it. We started our journey of independence from a phase where we had to build everything, from public infrastructure to media to industries. When we almost reached the top of all these things we started thinking business out of everything. And business lands us in big trouble. It makes us materialistic.

That’s why today we find we have got some top news channels doing some of the best reporting & coverage, yet not joining hands for any common cause to build a better mode of communication of information. Why a Rajdeep can’t talk to a Pranoy for any joint initiative, it’s going to work wonders. There was a time when we had almost zero facilities for our national level players in sports, yet we were a top team in hockey, with each passing year not only our ranking is falling but today we find ourselves nowhere in the world scene. This has not happened because we have run out of talents, this mainly is the result of our lack of interest in the upliftment of such a sports. Neither the government nor the hockey federation is worried about this down-slide. But we call it our national sports. Why our sports academies are not getting the grants in time, and whenever they are getting they are not able to use it or misuse it quite well. Why do we need to host Commonwealth Games with the worst possible preparation and spend more than 1600 crores and forget about some of our traditional games like kho-kho or kabaddi, which are on the verge of extinction. Think over it. We face droughts and floods almost every year in some or the other part of our country. And after so much discussion we have even set up a ‘so-called’ Crisis Management Team. But what is that team doing exactly? Waiting for another such natural calamity to hit us and then rush to the site for some photogenic visits. Then some monetary aids and ‘renewed promises’ for ‘next time’. And the poor public waits for their turn to death. Time moves on and things. When it happened to you that you were quite excited about attending a lecture during your school or even college days? Why? Haven’t we studied to learn, or have studied to get those grades and then to forget and go ahead. Why can’t we have an education system aimed at making the curriculum more professional & exciting at the same place? Even in our B-schools we talk about CGPA. We talk about percentage and campus placements. Universities in the west have methodologies that take the students beyond mugging up concepts and rather apply it, why can’t we? In UK you will find specialization in soccer! And finally our politics and politicians. We have seen our politicians for last 60-odd years running our country in their own ways and we have seen some good ones too! How many of them made it possible to bring the common man as close as possible to the government and have a different say? When we have introduced the Right To Information Act, opposition opposed to death not to make it happen. They were not successful and I felt that the public won. Actually that was just the beginning, yet our have not disclosed what the people wants. They have disclosed what they want to and how much they want to. With every changing government, this Act is modified to suit their taste. Now when all some Shashi Tharoor did, made the democracy little more accessible from a social networking site, everybody who is not getting their share of popularity is having some serious problem. For God’s sake, can’t we start accepting differences, changes and truth? He has maintained his individuality, his say & his stand for all the policies that the government has made and his take on them. He kept his 5.5 lacs of followers updated about his everyday work (sometimes every minute as well!). Did I say more than half a million in my last sentence, oh freaking ‘yes’. That’s a number which is more than the viewership of some of today’s news channels. Now that’s going to a big problem in today’s news hungry media industry. As long as Mr. Tharoor speaks to the journos, they are happy or he is being so transparent. If he speaks on a social networking site, then he is accused of speaking on a public domain and it becomes a crime. I understand how many minutes of breaking news the channels are losing! Shame on those hypocrites and for God’s sake let such politicians live in peace. 550000 people who are following Mr. Tharoor can’t be wrong then; the site even has an option for the followers to un-follow! Even today we have parties like ‘Left front’, who has the outstanding track record of opposing all the new proposal/policy/initiatives taken by any government. Today, the country from where they have brought in their ideology is one of the super-powers of the world and they are still limited to their own small ground in the eastern parts of India. It’s only a matter of time Mamta & co will finish them off or they come out with some revamped ideologies and progressive thinking to appeal to today’s population.

I am not a narcissist who has a problem with all the systems that we have. The problem is I just can’t say all is well when I find loopholes in my own daily life, things I do, systems I myself am involved with. We can’t say all is well till we question everything. Corruption can only be eradicated if start questioning from the very grassroots level. Or else we can continue living our life with some false promises made to ourselves and some unachievable ambitions. I wish the public takes the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan seriously and get educated faster to start asking questions. They can start asking about the adulteration in their free mid-day meals. Is not that simple to start with? Or is it? Somebody, somewhere has to start. Those who have questioned have got two things: boot or recognition. In India getting the boot is easy than recognition, so the level of encouragement is less, that’s where we need to bring a change. Can we recognize those who raise their voice and questioning things happening around them? There are many such groups unlike Prince Dance Group of Odisha who go unnoticed for years together, and then they dissipate in the darkness forever. Can we have a platform to recognize these talents? Like this, questions are many. We need to ask them. We may not get an answer, may not get it most of the times. But we need to keep on asking them. Everybody makes mistakes, some big mistakes. But you can't hide in your room forever feeling sorry for yourself. At some point, you've got to get back out there, face up to things, and confront your fears. Some people are born to families where they do not need to ask questions in their lives, some don’t care. But we have to work our way to the top, put in the effort, and if we mess it up, we'll learn from it. Besides, sometimes it's not about knowing the right answer. Sometimes it's about asking the right questions.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Being Critical...

After India's first match win against the Lankas in the ongoing home series, my flat mates hailed India's victory while I reacted in my usual cautious way looking at the future predicaments on the same. One of them passed an instant remark: "we are not asking for your critical comments". To which all I said is that we are educated enough where we can afford to be critical. No more remarks followed after that, apart from one: "try to praise good things". It was told in the context of we playing better in death overs (even we gave away more runs!). My main reason for getting critical over this match is not the result, but the incidences which led it upto there. At the end of the day, cricket as a game lost. And in the circumstances wherein we are trying to save one-day cricket from complete extinction, this kind of slaughter of bowlers are serving no purpose.

Anyways, I knew for a fact that I won't be labeled as an alien for making such comments, so it was. Former & current cricketers raised questions over the pitch. Just presenting one of them. One who has seen cricket from closest quarters than any of us in last 15 years.


Disarm the bowler, kill the contest

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Friday, December 11, 2009

All Dan, all the time

All Dan, all the time

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Sorry Guys

I have updated two articles from 2nd page-cricinfo. Hope you all will like these witty ones whenever you are gonna read them. There has not been any postings for some time as our dear blogger for this blog has been too damn busy off late. So I have to put down my head for the betterment of this section soon.

I'll be back anytime soon with some nice pieces. Thanks for visiting (in advance, as always).

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Welcome Anu!!!

Below poem is written by my friend Anu Agarwal. She is working in Reliance Communication as Deputy Manager.Writting is her hobby and i expect many more piece of work from her side in future to keep this blog lively. 

Anu Agarwal

Through my window I can see
The stars shining bright striving hard to make it a dawn

The glittery fireworks, the dancing young crowd
The smell of baked cake and the songs bidding the year good bye....

The year that was of sinking sensex, barren job markets,
Inflated prices n oil crisis

When laurels of sportsmen were eclipsed by blasts 
And the success of corporate obscured by terrorist attacks….

The year that was a bag full of sweet - sour memoirs
Is here descending into the sand of time
Leaving behind the prints of glory and grief…..

A ray sneaking through the banyan leaves
Found the haven of my pillow
And I smiled for it’s the novel beginning
A new year……

I found the dew drops of euphoria, 
Settled on the petals of new era…
The zephyr of faith,
Promising dreams to come true…
And the bud of love and friendship, 
Making the moments bloom…

The chirping birds are wishing me good fortune
As the mooing cow asked for a giggle
Children going to school waved in ecstasy        
As the flowers from a dear friend,
 Made my day divine….

I have today my head held high
And the potential to touch the sky
It’s my resolution to be the best 
To be different from the rest …
Hard work and confidence would mark my day
Love and respect will guide the way

Those cheers I can hear today
For success and fame
It’s the celebration of change,
A race against all odds 
Not for this but also for years to come……

Let’s stand up for the new beginning mon-ami,
For the clock ticks and life moves on…….

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Welcome to the world of Peace

Today I am writing something different which is not at all related to this Blog’s main purpose. Sorry subu, but I can’t resist myself writing this down.

“Sare Jaha se acha Hindustan hamara”, If you like to visit God’s beach then go to Ganapatipule & Ratnagiri of Maharastra. Last weekend was little longer (Thanks to Gudipadwa) and I got an opportunity to visit Ganapatipule.

Ganapatipule is something close to 320Kms away from Navi Mumbai. The place is famous for Ganapati Ji’s temple which is around 500 years old. But main attraction for us was the Beach. The beaches in Ganapatipule & Ratnagiri are one of the best I have ever seen. (I have been to many in Bay of Bengal, though yet to explore Goa). The blue Ocean, clean beach and flat level of sea tide will tempt you for bathing again & again. The best scenery is while going from Ganapatipule to Ratnagiri, the sea surrounded one side by hills, travelling in zigzag fashion will make you feel that you are driving in South Africa. The nearby Raigad Fort(30 kms from Ganapatipule) built by Sivaji Maharaj is another place to visit. The fort is surrounded three sides by sea water & visual from top of fort to sea is amazing. Another place to visit is Maleswar( approx 40 kms from Ganapatipule). Its Shivaji’s temple situated at the top of the mountain. For temple you have to climb around 1000 steps. The best part is the Waterfall which is behind the temple. For the waterfall you have to put extra effort but it is worth. In summer having bath in waterfall is like heaven.

While talking about the journey I can’t skip the food part. The fish from Ratnagiri area is really amazing. I can’t forget in my life the taste of Surmaiee from Ratnagiri (Pamplet & Bagda are equally testy). The MTDC hotel is good and best part is all the rooms are sea facing. The hotel is located at beach only, so you can swim in sea throughout the day.

 

FOR FRIENDS (Others can skip it)

It will be incomplete if I will not say anything about my co-passengers in the journey.  These guys (Avinash,Ashis & Nitin) made each moment of the trip enjoyable. Thanks to Avinash I enjoyed a fantastic travelling experience in hilly area after a long gap (excellent driver in his own car). Ashish made sure I will taste all fish items. He is also in charge of our photo session department and last but not the least Nitin for his never ending talks. Guys you all made my weekend.  Big thanks to you all. Hope to explore new places with you soon.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Introducing The Blogger

Well, I would like to introduce Mr. Souvagya Pattanayak who is going to be the main architect for his blog, and not anymore just a guest blogger. He is a specialist in the field of Politics (national & international), External Affairs, Sports and Automobile and one of the most updated people around. The writer is a PGDBM in Marketing and is currently working as a deputy manager in Reliance Communication at its BHQ. I welcome him on my blog and he will be making this blog more enriching out of his busy schedule. 

You guys can go through his first post (below) on politics and the emergence of a national player in it.
Happy reading!!!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Hidden "Chanakya"

PLAY  LOCALLY  THINK  GLOBALY……..

The poll schedule has been announced, and the country is caught in election fever. While we discuss about politics many time question comes “Are the regional parties working for better interest of whole county”? The activities done by BSP, SP, AIDMK etc in past forcing us to rethink again & again. I believe there is nothing called enemy or friend in politics, but parties are not maintaining the minimum decorum to follow.

Why these regional parties are becoming kingmakers? The sole credit for this goes to so called national parties like INC, BJP, Janta Dal & Communist. For decades & decades these parties are taking voters as granted & smaller parties are coming into picture as MASHIHAA for particular region or sector of people. After 1992 Babri Maszid, Muslims moved from Congress to SP, after BJP’s Brahmin raj in UP dalits moved to BSP, Hindi & Non Hindi issue created AIDMK, Marathi Manus issue created Siva Sena, separate Jharkhand state created JMM etc. Many times these smaller parties created regional issues more dominance over national issues. On the other hand they know local problem, public demand accordingly play their politics.

Many of my friends say why don’t we follow Bi political system like UK or US? Why there are so many parties in India? As a largest democratic country, in India everybody can raise their issue and for that regional parties are taking advantage.

So what are you thinking guys? Which one is a better option? Regional or national???

 BJD & BJP SPLIT…..

This news has become the headlines from last couple of days. When I visited rediff and other sites people are asking the credibility of BJD & Navin Patanaik. I like to explain few points regarding that.

To fulfill Mr L K Advani’s last wish to become PM ( Which in current scenario looks impossible) BJP should utilize all its recourses. But in contrast they are doing just opposite. In Orissa now, BJP requires BJD more than ever. The last civic poll result showed the condition of BJP throughout state. While contesting separately BJD managed to gain power in many places where BJP couldn’t able to cross 5 councilors. The communal riots in Kandhamal  has already given MR CM a lot of headache. In all these condition BJP should have followed the instruction of BJD. Again the seriousness about the coalition is not there from BJP side. For last minute talk with Navin Patnaik they are sending a lesser known and low profile Rajyasabha MP, while they should have sent a big gun like Arun Jaitly. To talk with Mamta Banarjee who was having 5/6 MPs they have sent Late Pramod Mahajan in past, but in case of Orissa having 12 MPs they are not taking BJD seriously.

If BJP is thinking people will vote them on the name of Atalji, they are making fool of themselves. Navin Patanik came to power in 2004 for the second time because at that time, he was the best possible option to choose. On any given day if you have to chose the 3 best CMs in terms of their performance & credibility then the names will be: Narendra Modi from Gujrat, Shiela Dixit from Delhi & Navin Patnaik from Orissa. (Refer to India Today’s survey over last five years). Mr. Patanik is only 11 years old in politics but has gained a very high respect due to his clean image. I think now by playing single he will able to work better.

As the trust vote is over & Mr Patnaik has showed his majority in assembly, all fronts like to have him. A writer turned politician has kept all option open. He is taking support from 3rd front but not joining them. His party spokes person is saying they are still in NDA. Former president of Orissa Congress Mr J B Patanaik is saying everything is possible, may BJD will support congress in center. But Navin ji has kept everyone gassing. No one knows what is he going to do. He has done it in past by throwing ou big guns of BJD like Bijaya Mahapatra & Nalini Mohanty. It’s good to see he is getting reorganization in national politics which he deserves. Previously BJP has taken him granted as he never tried to create chaos in central. He is a person who believes in doing work silently. Outside Orissa people are thinking it is BJP who gave power to Navin ji. But the actual fact is it is BJD who gave success to BJP in Orissa.