Why are we like this?

It was 5:30 in the evening on a rather sunny Bangalore sunday. I was watching the news on the TV. The usual stuff, politics, sports scandals etc. Suddenly I heard the phone ring. My friend,lets call him Murthy, asked me if I was free to meet up. Well I was bored all day so I was more that relieved to meet someone. Once we met, we discussed various stuff ranging sports to politics. And the moment we discussed politics and good governance, Murthy got a bit cynical. He kept on cursing the system. I told him that it would take sometime for things to change but he would not listen. I asked him for ideas to make things better but he didn't seem to care too much.I gave him concrete examples of how things are changing and how life is becoming better than what it used to be. I tried to convince him that things aren't that bad but he kept comparing our state to that of the the western powers. In the end, It turned out to be an inconclusive argument.

The other day I was sitting at home when I heard my mom, dad and Uncle talk about some topic related to how kids behave these days. They went on to say that kids who don't respect their parents are gonna suffer. They discussed their feeling about how children these days disobey their parents. I partly agreed with them considering the fact that lots a kids need some discipline and should learn how to talk to elders.But the went on to say that today's kids are useless and don't use their head. And are spoiling their future. They said that kids these days want bikes and cars and pocket money to enjoy. And yes, they came up with dialogues like "I bought a cycle when I was 26" etc etc. They went on say that technology is spoiling us further and that it has done more harm that good. Kids spend a lotta time on the computer and watching TV. They predicted that the same technology would kill us and that and that kids should spend more time thinking about how to earn more money for that family. I popped in and said that its wrong to only look at the negative aspects of today's technology and one must acknowledge and admire the boon in it. If it wasn't for technology, kids would not be able to talk to people who are thousands of miles away using the web chat. Kids can now book train tickets for their parents using a technology know as the internet. I argued giving many more examples saying that kids have become smarter with the advent of technology and kids are becoming more independent and that they must be encouraged. But, the elders again didn't care a damn and told me that I was too young and haven't seen the world. They could not give me any solid reason but did not consider my comments too.

It's a hot weekday. All of us are slogging trying to give our best at work. Finally we decide to give ourselves a break and head out to that balcony to have a cup of coffee. We relax in the shade and then someone pops up an argument. They say that the company is not good and it does not cater to the need of the employees. I ask them why they felt so. They said they don't pay us well. They went on to compare the company to the likes of google and they other biggies. I had a simple a question. Do we do work that deserves a paycheck of google standards? They were not ready to accept my argument. I asked them what they thought was needed to be done by the company to change its employees fortunes. And i didnt get one solution. They went on to say that I should not work very hard and should rather go home early and not work late as i usually do. I argued that at one end you guys wanna work less and go home early and on the other end you wanna big paycheck. They just smiled and said yes. I've been in several conversations with them and not once have they said that they like the company and are proud to be a part of it. They to compare the company with ones that are not even in the same segment as that of ours. When I bring out fact and figures they just shun it away and behave as if what they say is final and what the truth is doesn't matter. I mean give it a min and think about what you said.

There are many such examples that we come across in our day to day lives. Why have we become so cynical? Are we really living in such horrible times? Cant we admire any thing in life. Cant we take up responsibility to change things. why is the problem always someone else's problem. Have we turned blind to all the good things in life. Even the media always highlights the negative news and hardly considers publicizing the positive. Why do we complain so much? Why do we add to the problem rather than being a part of the solution? Do facts and figures not make any sense to us? Why do we influence people with negative thoughts though there is no basis to our argument? Why do we do this? Just to convince ourselves? When will we change? When will we contribute to the society. When will we start to encourage natural true talent? We don't care if we are right or wrong but we try our best to demotivate the and prove others wrong. When will this change? Will we ever become wise?

The Unemployed literate

Education ... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading.

- G. M. Trevelyan



Almost everyday, one would definitely come across articles in the news papers that motivate its readers to invest their efforts in teaching and educating the younger generation. The Government keeps coming up with various programs to educate the youth and children of the nation and are often supported by management gurus who are often in the hunt for the limelight. NGOs, which are often considered as messengers of god by the general (ignorant and at times anti-government) public, also come out with their philosophical, yet noble ideas to support and promote education for all. B-schools, social clubs, volunteers jump in and 'adopt' villages in order to educate them and teach them. With these kinds of efforts one may definitely hope that one day the whole country would 'literate' in its literal sense.



But how does one define the term 'literate'. Kerela, a state often referred to as "Gods own country", is reportedly said to be the only state in the country with a literacy rate of 100%. Something that every Kerelite can be proud of isn't it. But are they? Or has the term literate been misunderstood or overrated? Though the state's literacy rate is impressively high, why is it that the most sort after profession in Kerela is 'Nursing', rather than the main stream professions like medicine(as a doctor) or engineering or for that matter, even business . More often than never, nursing, though noble, is often considered as a profession for those who aren't bright enough (at least in a nation like ours that is driven by cynicism). Then what does the literacy rate represent? Is the ability to read and write enough to consider someone as a literate? Even if we do consider this ability as an important criterion to define literacy, does it contribute to the progress of the nation? Are these efforts just creating a bunch of unemployable literates?



Highly possible isn’t it?





Imagine a situation when we have a whole population graduate out of school. What would be the first thing that they would want to do? Find a job? Quite obviously that could be the first thing they would try to do. But when you have such a vast population hunting for jobs, how do expect, if not all, at least a majority of them to get them? The basic intention of education is to groom a person to think differently or in the more "INDIAN" context, make them "Employable". But if you don’t have jobs, how do you expect education to bring about a change in the system. The papers are filled with news of unemployment with the recession just adding to the damage. Looking at all this, one question that lingers in my mind is whether the emphasis on education is really all that India needs. Can education also solve all problems that we face? Are we spending too much time trying to solve the problem of education, when we should be thinking of creating jobs and careers? We have professors from various B-schools going to villages and spending quality time in trying to solve the problem of education. Don’t you think they must build strategies to make this education useful instead?





Some great person once said, "Necessity is the mother of all inventions". Similarly here, education is needed for employment. But if employment opportunities aren't created, what is the justification in the education for all propaganda? I am not against education. All i am saying is that we are spending way too much time and effort in solving the problem of illiteracy rather that solving the problem of unemployment. One may argue that once the problem of illiteracy is solved, it would automatically lead to other problems like unemployment being solved. But looking at the current facts and figures, it seems that unemployment is causing more damage than illiteracy. It’s driving people with a master’s degree to do petty jobs that can give him and his family only one meal a day. Is this what he had invested in? Highly debatable isn't it.



I'd like to take moment to emphasize on the kind of education that is being imparted these days. With the current "syllabus", all that people learn is to leave their villages and venture into the cities to pursue their ‘dreams’. Obviously this would only add to the already existing problems faced. Why doesn’t this education emphasize on helping individuals to think differently and use their acquired knowledge to their benefit. Why do i get a feeling that education is just making man greedy. Is education the pathway to the disappearance of villages? We are already facing a food crisis. Is it only because the population has increased or is the reduction in farming area also a factor? Why is the educated population leaving their ancestral land and moving to the city?



In short, I feel education is very important. It will take some time for the literacy rate to rise. But i believe that the government and other must start investing a larger share of their efforts in creating jobs and reducing the unemployment numbers. And let’s support quality approach to education and not a quantitative one.

I Felt Like I Was In A Blockbuster Movie

Movies are fun. What makes us enjoy the unrealistic crap one can find in most movies? Is it the idea that such masaledar stuff happens only on the small/big screen. How do the film makers come up with such crazy unrealistic ideas. An entire village tortured by few goons. A fight scene in the middle of the city with people crowding around. The hero tackles 30-40 villians single handed . Do they have brain storming sessions where they come up with such ideas and the craziest of them is selected and added in a movie? I used to laugh at the various action scenes is several movies until one day, when i found out how actually these ideas are generated.

It was a busy Wednesday morning and I just got down from my bus and started walking towards my office. I was all exited as i had got my first assignment in my new project the previous day. As I was walking from Domlur towards the congested intermediate Ring road, I was thinking of various ways to solve the problem of asynchronous functions in a multi-threaded programming environment.

As i was walking, I looked up and say the terrible Bangalore traffic jam near the flyover. Although, somewhere in my mind, i was cursing the Bangalore civic authorities, I was actually happy because now I could cross the road without waiting. I grabed my chance and ran through the vehicles that were constantly honking in the scorching hot sun. Once I crossed the road, I got back to my programming problem. However my eyes fell on 2 pretty girls who were waiting for a bus at the bus stop. I began thinking to myself, if I had a bike, I would have tried offering one of them a ride. I began visualising that situation in my mind when i suddenly heard the brakes of a BMTC bus.

My reflexes made my head turn in an instant. Though my head was kept turned, my legs were moving constantly towards my destination. It didn't look like some accident, nor did is look as if someone had just averted an accident. Just then the bus driver of the bus got down pushing through the crowd of women around front door of the bus. He looked shabby with his shirt buttons open and lousy hair cut. he could have been in his early 30s and his eyes were filled with anger. He went pushing through the crowd and finally got hold of a middle aged man with slight grey hairs near the footpath besides the gutter. And in an instant started thrashing him. Well the other man also tried to defend himself by landing a few punches but was over powered by the speed and aggressiveness of the bus driver. Slaps, punches, filthy verbal abuse flew all around. The bus had around 50-60 passengers, all of who were staring at the tamasha outside. in the meanwhile the bus driver managed to grab a stick from a nearby gutter and began pounding the rib cage of the middle aged man, who was trying hard to block the blows and manged to punch the driver a few times. With the kind of filthy language they were using, it seemed like one of them had verbally abused the other led to this real life action. Two wheelers stopped as people began to crowd around and it seemed like they were enjoying a free show. I just screamed and asked them to let go, but in vain. Since no one was making an effort to stop the fight I decided to venture in myself. I ran in and tried to separate them with all my power. And that is when i got my dose of punches and blows. The bus driver was about to hit the other man on his head when my hand came in the way. The blow was a good solid one. Wonder how my bone didn't crack. Tother man tried to grab the opportunity and tried to land a heavy punch into the ribs of the driver but again he found the wrong person and i found myself in his way. The saliva that flew from their verbal abuses now found ground on my already sweaty forehead. The pain was excruciating, but I managed to hold my balance. I tried to ask a few people who had gathered around to help but they just smiled, as they were enjoying the free real life cinema fight scene. I gathered all my courage and decided to give it one last try to separate the two gladiators. I manged to squeeze through them and finally got the firm grip of the middle aged man and pushed him to the side and came directly in the way of the bus driver. At that moment i felt like giving the bus driver a tight blow myself just to calm him down and stop the fight. I tried my best to block him from getting to the middle aged man who was now on the ground after my push. Just then the bus conductor came to the rescue. he managed to get a grip of the driver, and i manage to grab that stick from his hand. Still there was no one who came up to help us. everyone was crowded around as if we were performing a street play. somehow the conductor dragged the bus driver away and i dragged the other man away from the scene. No one seemed to be hurt as the anger was still raging within them. i pleaded with the middle aged man to leave the scene keeping an eye on the bus driver. But still the crazy public was just staring at us but not a single pair of hands to help. I felt like i was in a block buster movie where there is a fight in the middle of the road and the public is just watching us. I did feel like the movie's hero as i had managed to stop the fight.

Once things settled people began to disperse and i decided to go my way towards the office as i was already late. thanks to my block buster movie contribution. i walked up to my office and then realised the huge swelling on my hand. But it didn't bother me much. But what bothered me the most was the people's attitude. they just stood there enjoying the fight but no one tried to stop it. There were more that 70 people there but no one helped stop the fight. After all they has50-60 seconds of action. I felt proud of myself for ending the fight but at the same time I was very angry cause firstly I was hurt and secondly no one came to our rescue. Well one thing is for sure. I realised how crazy "unrealistic" ideas come up in movies. These ideas are born from real life experiences like the one I had. When people standing there enjoyed it so much that they didn't bother to stop it, I can imagine how much they'd like it on the big screen. Cheers to the Public.

WHO AM I ??????????

"It's like people call me a rock star or this or that. And I go, 'Don't call me that. I don't think of myself in those terms. If you have to call me anything, call me a chameleon'." - Meat Loaf



I walk with the crowd. But i eat my food alone. I sing with everyone. But i enjoy my music alone. I talk about pubs and discos. But frankly, never been to one. I dream and talk about the freedom. But i have hardly opened my wings. My government is helpless and hopeless. But its I who have cursed them to this state. I imagine myself as a Spartan warrior. But I fear the very weapon I hold. I can interact with anybody I meet. But I hardly face myself in the mirror. I may be a Roman in Rome . But I am a frog I'm my own bottomless well.



I walk alone in the rain with no intention or gain. I am popular among those i know. But I visit MacDonlads alone. I give tips to my friends about the new bikes in the market. But I myself travel 30Km a day by public transport. I come from a family of noted soccer players. But I cant run a kilometer without taking 7 breaks. I have a regular decent Job. But i think of quitting every evening. I smile and laugh when I am with people. But I cried a Thousand rivers when I was alone. Now I'm swimming for the shore. Now I want to find my true identity. I may be a chameleon and have a million colors. But now I'm in search of my true color. And i will go all the way to find out "Who Am I?".