Indian Frugality ... ... ...
Of course, we knew about it. Guess it is high time that the world realised it:
Enjoy frugality in these tough times. The habit will last a life time!
Regards,
N
Friday, 19 December 2008
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Confusing the readers
Confusing the readers
Came across the following piece in a column entitled "The Ahimsa Way" by one Ms. Usha Jesudasan in The Hindu today (November 16, 2008):
Had it been in an obscure publication, one would have chosen to ignore the same. However, when it comes in The Hindu, it calls for a prompt response:
As the author herself rightly claims, there is no single definition of "Simple Living" that is universally accepted. Even if such a definition were to exist, one doesn't comprehend how "wanting more" by someone else's definition can be a form of violence.
Dear Ms. Usha, please, for heaven's sake, don't invent new definitions of violence. We have enough of violence as it is. Once we start expanding the gamut of what is considered violent behaviour, you'll find more and more people becoming immune to the same, and, as a corollary, become more willing to indulge in violent behaviour.
If, for instance, one's value system includes murder and arson as violent behaviour, a certain percentage of people will be willing to indulge in violent behaviour.
However, if we extend our attention to, for instance, mosquitoes, and claim that killing mosquitoes is also a form of violence, you'll find a much higher percentage of people ready to be violent. This will potentially lead to a dangerous situation because while people will be more reluctant to move from "non-violent" to "violent" behaviour, they are likely to be more willing to move from one level of violent behaviour to the next higher plane of violence.
Surely, this cannot be the purpose of anyone espousing the cause of Ahimsa.
Regards,
N
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Humility
Humility
Of late, there has been a lot of talk about how
- India is "destined to" take on a leadership role in the comity of nations
- Indian system of pragmatic (read slow, steady, socialistic style of introducing reforms) financial policies & systems is protecting the Indian economy
- India can and will teach tons of things to the rest of the world, especially to "failed economies" like USA, Europe, etc.
In this context, it is nice to hear sober voices which bring us back down to earth. Read on to have a look at Narayanamurthy's views on India and its potential to play a leadership role in the world:
Regards,
N
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Compulsory conversions & causes for backlash against Christians
Compulsory conversions & causes for backlash against Christians
Got this one from a cousin. Out of curiosity, I visited the link given below.
Wonder about the veracity of the contents in that link. If any of you know about the veracity or otherwise of the same, do let me know.
If however, the contents are true, India is (and Indians are) certainly in trouble. It is only likely to increase the numbers and percentage of radical Hindus, Christians & Muslims, while reducing the moderates (who, in any case, just keep their mouths shut and bother nothing about the society around them till they are indeed personally impacted).
Regards,
N
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Need for Self-regulation in the media
Need for Self-regulation in the media
I'm sure that all of us would have had experience coming across stuff that is "not appropriate" for different audience segments or target groups.
Here's one such article that I came across in Times of India, Chennai, on October 12, 2008:
I certainly don't consider myself to be either prudish or part of the increasingly common brigade of moral police.
When one sees an article of the above "type" in a magazine that's generally focussed on a certain type of audience - say, magazines focussed on adults, or upwardly mobile "forward-thinking" folks or "yuppie youths", I'll certainly have no qualms about the same.
However, Times of India is a newspaper that's supposed to be meant for the masses. TOI readers include
- Young pre-teen kids
- Senior citizens - including a whole lot of traditional, orthodox senior citizens
- Impressionable teenagers who may not yet know enough to differentiate between "right" and "wrong" (Though others of the same age from a completely different background may be entirely capable of differentiating between "right" and "wrong")
- Youths from "traditional" backgrounds, possibly in their first jobs who may again be "impressionable" because they are "suddenly seeing a lot of money" with a lot of freedom and independence - but yet to know the real implications of the freedom and the responsibilities that go with it! Here again, others of the same age group but from a completely different background will react differently.
- Couples in marriages where one partner is a bit of a "modern, independent person" but the other partner may be from a traditional, orthodox background or, worse still, from a rural, traditional, orthodox, poor family and may be too dependent on the first partner for livelihood. (In such a case, the person concerned may not even know the meaning of terms like informed consent, open marriage, etc.)
Considering the obvious implications of such an article on target audiences such as the ones mentioned above, I guess that the articles should certainly not be published in newspapers like Times of India.
I'm equally sure that folks interested in such "Open Marriages" will find enough of sources both in the print media and in the world wide web to take care of their need for such articles. Both for curiosity value and for actually reading about "like-minded folks"!
Any reactions???
Wonder what Times of India will have to say about this!
Regards,
N
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy, thy name is Political double-speak
Nothing new about this. However, the heights to which politicians indulge in double-speak does, sometimes, surprise us.
Here's an example from the Communists (CPI-M) of India.
They've consistently preached against the government owned PSU companies, including Navarathnas, ought not to invest in "The Gambling Den", ie., in the share market.
But, ... ... ... ... Guess what! For their own political party funds, they have a different set of norms. To improve returns, they've been investing in equity mutual funds.
Do enjoy the above link!
Regards,
N
Friday, 5 September 2008
Concern for pets, or questionable vanity???
Concern for pets, or questionable vanity???
When one is a leader of global consequence, one is expected to be a role model in every way possible. Wonder if you folks find this stuff from Putin as "Acceptable behaviour"???
Regards,
N
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Brother kills brother over money dispute
Brother kills brother over money dispute
Another sorry news item which disturbed me recently:"
Two brothers had a fight over sharing of the insurance policy amount received on the death of their father. The fight lead to one brother killing the other!
- Couldn't they BOTH understand that they ought not to be fighting for stuff like money, especially considering the fact that they are likely to have been in the period of mourning after their father's demise?
- What kind of values and belief systems are being taught in our schools, families, etc. to allow such incidents to take place?
- What were the other members of the family doing while these two brothers were fighting? That too till the point of killing one of them!
- Did the fighting brothers think about the impact that their dispute will have on their near and dear ones?
Guess that we all should re-start inculcating the right values in the minds of all our children like the proverbial "good old days".
Regards,
N
Saturday, 16 August 2008
"Safety" Pin Proves Unsafe
"Safety" Pin Proves Unsafe
I came across an article about how an open "Safety" Pin was surgically operated & removed from the stomach of an eight-month old baby. Apparently, the pin had remained in the child's body (stuck into some part of the stomach, "safely") for over a month before it was discovered and removed surgically.
The cause:
The pin, which was attached by the mother to her chain / mangalsootra, must have been swallowed by the child inadvertantly when it was being hugged/carried by the mother.
Can't mothers be more careful - at least till their children grow up a bit more?
Regards,
N
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Lights Out Campaign against Global Warming!
Lights Out Campaign against Global Warming!
Hi folks! You must be aware of the "Lights Out Campaign against Global Warming" that is being splashed around in every media vehicle that one comes across!
I have a different take on this matter. Perhaps a bit controversial, but with a certain logic to it:
- Who are the folks who start this initiative? Haves or Have-nots?
- My guess: It is the bunch of "Haves" who organise such initiatives (including, most probably, in this instance as well)
- What kind of environment-consciousness do the typical "Have-nots" have?
- Usually, they are extremely environment-consciousness - because, it is in alignment with their economic self interest - They end up re-cycling everything that they can, ranging from old clothes, old plastics, old paper, old anything and old everything. And, they hardly ever use too much of environment-unfriendly products, simply because they can't afford it.
- What kind of environment-consciousness do the typical "Haves" have?
- Just the opposite of Point 3 above - Typically, they are the ones who splurge on a dozen different electric, electronic, petro-product guzzling equipment virtually every day. To top it off, they end up trying to preach to the "Have-nots" from the top of their ivory towers and indulge in tokenism of this kind.
- In fact, this kind of tokenism usually results in enormous energy consumption by way of
- an increased traffic of emails, SMS, Phone calls, etc. on this subject
- a flurry of "candle-burning" symbolism, for which a whole host of them will come to the venue of "candle-burning" in their "petro-product-guzzling" private vehicles - not by public transport, not by human effort-driven modes of transport such as walking, bycycles, etc.
- an explosion of media coverage of the entire gamut of activities that would have been "planned" for the "occasion" by everyone who is a who's who of every town and city around the world - be it politicians, artists, sportspersons, corporate czars, etc.
Considering all the above, I seriously doubt as to whether such campaigns result in any meaningful result against the campaign objectives.
Instead, the campaigners can choose the following alternatives:
- Use public transport instead of their private vehicles once a week / fortnight / month
- Avoid using airconditioners (at least at home) once a week / fortnight / month
- Avoid using electronic gadgets like TV, ipods, laptops, grinders, mixies, radios, etc. (at least at home) once a week / fortnight / month
- Avoid sending unnecessary mails (or marking copies of mails to unnecessary persons) - Apparently, even this has an impact on global warming
- Skip non-vegetarian food once a week / fortnight / month - it is highly energy inefficient
- Stop subscribing to all those "junk" mails, newspapers, magazines, etc. which one never reads
- Choose the "email" option to receive stuff like bank statements, mutual fund statements, etc.
- Try disconnecting one's personal mobile connection unless it is mandatory to have one according to the employer (after all we did live without mobiles for a very long while)
- Explore the possibility of practising the above 8 points instead of just talking and yapping about global warming.
Regards,
N
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Accident kills unknown software engineer - Does this deserve a Page 1 mention???
"Accident kills unknown software engineer"
Does this deserve a Page 1 mention???
Times of India, Chennai, dated July 16, 2008, carries an article titled "Engineer killed by Corporation lorry driven by cleaner" on Page 1.
Read this link:
At the outset, my heartfelt condolences for the family of poor Agnes. May her soul rest in peace. Also, I certainly hope that the police authorities take appropriate action against the people responsible for this accident - directly and indirectly.
But, ... ... ... ... ...
I was under the impression that TOI is supposedly a national newspaper. Since when did an accident killing an otherwise "unknown" person become worthy of a Page 1 coverage of a major newspaper.
It is soooooooo odd that I don't have words to express - Most certainly, this news item at best deserves a brief mention in the inside pages of the newspaper.
Will someone tell the Editor, TOI, that she/he should not goo of on a holiday to Antartica when the newspaper is being printed???
Regards,
N
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Overload of Cricket
Overload of Cricket
Overload of cricket - We've always had this right form my student days (at least).
However, I never really realised that even the cricketers will start cribbing about it, especially when the cribbing is done by folks who are fairly successful and in good form.
To top it off, I certainly didn't expect someone who's obviously in the "good books of the selectors" otherwise like Dhoni to crib about an Overload of Cricket and about the packed schedules - and, most importantly, didn't expect him to make himself unavailable for a full series against a serious team like Sri Lanka.
My only doubt: Would any of these folks have the courage of conviction to make themselves unavailable for the next IPL season for the same reason - after all, this is likely to be more "stressful" and "tightly-packed schedules" than any Test series!
Regards,
N
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Bumbling Cops, Convict Escapes - For a second time!
Bumbling Cops, Convict Escapes - For a second time!
One more about cops: This time, they allow a convict (who was supposedly being taken to court) to escape - Interestingly, for a second time!
Wonder what will come next???
Regards,
N
Cop gets into a shooting frenzy!
Cop gets into a shooting frenzy!
Things often don't get crazier than this - a story of how a cop gets into a shooting frenzy, that too at his wife's home ... ... ... Read on:
And we thought that cops were supposed to be taking care to ensure that other citizens obey the laws of the land!
Regards,
N
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Dumb ads - The University Collection, Indian Terrain
Dumb ads
"The University Collection, Indian Terrain"
There are ads, ads and more ads - However, some of them are so dumb that one starts wondering whether the ad agencies were paid for the ad by the client or by the client's competitor(s)??
This blog will take a look at some of those ads from time to time. Be warned, however: the order in which one lists / elaborates these ads is no indication of the extent to which those ads are dumb. Here's one such ad:
Take a look at Page 4 of the "Times Life" supplement of Times of India dated June 8, 2008 - There's a rather vague ad supposedly for "The University Collection, Indian Terrain". Despite taking a careful look at the ad, I couldn't fathom head or tail of it.
Among a whole lot of other things, I couldn't understand:
- The communication brief, if any
- The intended meaning of the copy (fortunately, it was at least short - just read "Street lessons"
- How the ad differentiates Indian Terrain from other brands
- The role of the two maces in promoting the product!
- The relevance of the background or the copy to the sub-brand "The University Collection"
If there's someone who happens to be brilliant enough to have understood the above ad, will she / he please elaborate the meaning for the benefit of lesser mortals who read this blog?
Regards,
N
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Murder of Aarushi & Hemraj
Murder of Aarushi & Hemraj
I can understand the media hounding a celebrity like Diana (Charles) or our own bollywood Khans & Bachchans.
I can even understand a small box item of this double murder in the papers or a passing reference of the same in a couple of TV channels.
To watch it repeatedly days on end with every new development including some third house neighbour's ex-servant's fourth cousin's views is really taking things way too far.
If the media is going about hounding the cops (whether Noida police or CBI or Scotland Yard, for all you care!), seeking their views almost akin to a running commentary of a T20 Match, what can we expect the cops to do?
My dear media friends, for heavens sake, "Lay off"! Let the cops do their job. Give them some time. If, after a certain period of time there's still no new development, then you can always go for a follow-up story. Please!
Regards,
N
Impact of TV & Wearing Helmets - Part II
Impact of TV & Wearing Helmets - Part II
I certainly hope that this doesn't become a trend.
After I posted about Anandam & Simran Thirai showing two-wheeler riders without a helmet, today (June 17, 2008) it was the turn of yet another serial - "Kasturi" to show a guy riding a bike without a helmet.
Hope that the cops do something about it.
Regards,
N
Monday, 16 June 2008
Shitting on the beach
Shitting on the beach
The title of this post is intentionally direct - hopefully not too offensive for the readers who choose to read this blog! However, I'm sure that it is far less offensive than what one is forced to endure every time one visits the Marina, the pride of our beloved Chennai.
If we walk down to other beaches of the city like Santhome, Foreshore Estate, Eliots, etc., things are equally bad. Whenever we go anywhere near the water eagerly, we end up having to see the results of someone who lacked civic sense. Or, worse still, we're forced to endure the actual person in the act!
Why can't we, as citizens of this otherwise wonderful country, that too in a city which prides itself for its cultural heritage, do something about this?
- Folks who "use the beach" as an open-air toilet should desist from doing so.
- Authorities who are supposed to be responsible to take care of our beaches should enforce rules
- Corporates with some conscience can consider providing a series of toilets / mobile toilets at the beach for the benefit of one and all
- We, the beach-loving citizens, can and should express our thoughts in a firm and forthright manner whenever we notice people "in the act"
- We, the beach-loving citizens, can and should support other citizens who are trying to address the problem.
I can perhaps understand or even tolerate general littering on the beaches (at least for now!), but certainly not human excreta!
Regards,
N
Impact of TV
Impact of TV
People generally believe that TV has a large influence on viewers at large, and children in particular.
Considering this, there must be some care on what is shown on TV channels. Unfortunately, our channels don't seem to care.
Chennai has a "Compulsory Helmet" rule in force for two-wheeler riders.
I happened to watch episodes of two popular Tamil Serials on two different channels on TV today (June 16, 2008):
- "Aanandam" on Sun TV at 7.30 PM
- "Simran Thirai" on Jaya TV at 8.30 PM
Both the episodes showed two-wheeler riders riding without a helmet. What was more appalling was that on both occasions, the riders represented the Police!
Will the authorities do something about these?
Regards,
N
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