Rang De Basanti? - May be!

Over the past few days, I have been getting a feeling that my life is falling into a very boring and monotonous rut. This is in spite of the fact that I’ve been spending a lot of time watching movies, going out for dinners, spending time with friends and other such activities. Then why do I feel the way I do? Well, before I could find anything else, what struck me and what made me write this piece is the fact that I’ve hardly been in touch with current affairs. I am totally oblivious to what the current political scenario is in India. Hardly do I read the newspaper and even if I do, it’s just a glance over the headlines. I’ve hardly followed a story or developed interest to read an entire article. I am least interested. Why so?

This, I think, is mainly due to the fact that the extent to which most of the government’s activities affect me is minimal and I work with a multinational company which further minimizes this. A hike in the petrol prices by a rupee doesn’t affect me as much as it does to my dad back home. The auto rickshaw drivers in Hyderabad went on a strike a couple of days back since the govt. is introducing new rickshaw meters. All the tampered meters will be rendered useless and the extra penny or two that they used to earn on every ride is lost. I am pretty sure that the potato and onion I buy near my house are a rupee or two costlier than what I could get a couple of kilometers away. But I still don’t make the effort. It simply amazes me how I’ve become so indifferent to all this.

I was a great advocate of the idea that every Indian citizen should exercise his/her right to vote but I myself haven’t exercised that right till date. I feel there should be something I should do about this. I need to realize the ground reality that even today, more than 50% of Indians live in the rural areas and they totally depend on the government for their prosperity.

We blame the state for poverty, illiteracy and corruption. But today, do any of us who started from a middle-class society and are now far better placed even remember the cause? We’ve all left it behind and don’t want to look back at it.

I don’t know how to conclude this since an attempt to make it sound inspiring and asking the reader to contribute to the society is completely futile unless he/she feels the urge himself/herself.

I believe, I owe the nation and the society and no matter how bad politics is, it is our responsibility as the new generation to clean it up.

But And it rained!

Its been five days since i got back home and the first two days were enough for me to experience the brunt of the heat. Yesterday, though, we were party to the storm which is always a prelude to the mosoon here in baroda and it was fun. It has been raining since then and it can't get any better... It did enforce some changes btw, we shifted back indoors from the terrace where we used to sleep in the summer.

Looking forward to some more rain and drop in the temperature. Monsoon rocks!

The ubiquitous cell phone

My encounter with this gadget dates some 7 years back when my uncle bought one. "He's a doctor. Needs a mobile phone for emergency calls" - my mom said it. It was a 10*5*2 cm cuboid, weighing 600 grams and black in color. I was quite impressed then. But today, I'm quite irritated.

It’s extremely annoying to see a friend busy messaging over the cell phone when you're out in a group. The person is never there with you. Probably makes one feel important to continuously receive messages and attending phone calls while the others try and look for some company.

"Can you pass me some paneer.... beep... and then when I was about to... beep... what's the... beep... ... ..." - Oh! I got a message.

Dubya is here...

My last two days at home have been spent reading and watching and listening about our very own George W Bush who's now here in India. I remember the time when Clinton came a few years ago and the kind of atmosphere that was created then. He was more than welcome then and everybody was gaga about his visit. This time though, I couldn't really see the same excitement. On the contrary, there have been wide range protests against the visit and from what I heard last, there has been violence in Hyderabad.
I've followed almost every bit of news that's come up over this trip since I haven't had anything else to do except watching the television back here. It started of with my fascination for "Air Force One". Read about it in the news paper (as in the defense system, the luxuries and of course how there were going to be 4 of those aircrafts that were going to land in Delhi) two days before Bush arrived. Now that its 4 hours from when he leaves for Pakistan, I've seen a whole lot of the whole trip. Starting from the issue over the “break of protocol” by the Prime Minister, to the N-deal, the visit to Hyderabad, the meeting with Murra the buffalo to the one at ISB and have also seen a whole lot of reactions. I've heard Arundhati Roy calling home the less intelligent president, the protest from the Left, Manmohan Singh's calling him the most friendly and also how India is now one of the rich and powerfull countries according to Mr. Zakaria of the New York Times.

Coming to what I've gathered of Bush's personality from the whole trip, I've seen him totally nervous and not at his best, a rather unpolished and stuttering US president at the press conference after the talk with the Prime Minister at Hyderabad House, then a little mocking fellow at the Lunch and finally a little better and well informed (the kind the US President would be expected to be) one at the ISB. He does look very amiable to me but he has to be a shrewd fellow. After all he is the president of the United States.

On the protest against him, I guess its good that it’s happening. It’s required and sends the right message across. Of course, nobody in India liked what happened in Iraq and neither are people ready to forget, but on the same lines, if one has to talk about the kind of welcome he got from the Government, I would've more or less done the same if I were the Prime Minister. It is only in the interest of the people of India. It would only be foolish not to welcome the President of the world's most powerful country.

As a whole, I would see the progress of events to be just the right way forward. The agreement on the nuclear issue seems to be a great deal in India's favor and definitely the opposition has not gone unnoticed.

I miss my computer.

Currently am at home and sitting in a cyber cafe... the only place I can find a comp to myself. Don't have one back home and if you go to a friend's place, I doubt if I can do what I want to. I remember replying to messages which would just say.. "Sitting in front of my comp and doing nothing". That used to be fun too. I don't play much games or anything on my comp- its too outdated for all that- a PIII 500 MHz with 64 MB SD RAM and a monitor which is almost approaching “monochromism” is definitely not one's idea of a computer these days, but whatever. I still like it. It’s the only one which has always been up and running and supports any hard disk on earth, even if its one that has only 31 pins. All my music, pictures, movies, sit-coms and everything is out there in room no 109 probably gathering dust. I wish i could carry it wherever I go.

No music- I miss my comp.

Its been a long time since anything has been put up here. This comes from the digital library where i wait for a classmate of mine to come and help me out with mass transfer..
Mass transfer!!!! Now, what do i say about it... I think everyone has already heard enough about it, and how i'm going to flunk that course this year. My mom has been duly informed that her daughter might not pass a course.. Anyways, enough about mass transfer. Just thinking about it makes me all depressed. Thankfully, nobody is around me, or else i would've got a shouting.. :D

I just can't wait for this semester to get over... after that, HOME.. :)
There's no place like home... :)

City girls more adventurous as compared to guys!!!

That’s what The Mumbai Mirror had to say a few weeks back. Reasoning? Statistics show that 20% more girls have opted for unconventional branches as compared to their male counterparts who went for more tested branches such as engineering, medical etc.

Well, even a 5th standard kid can object to the statement saying 20% means nothing as far as we don’t know 20% of what. Let us exempt this slip-up of “India’s COMMERCIAL capital’s” daily. Does it still make any sense? The question is whether your take “adventurous” as a credit or a discredit.

I strongly feel it to be foolish for somebody to opt for something strange just out of a spirit of adventure. Decisions that affect one’s future can’t be guided by an exploratory upsurge.

Why should I give up an engineering degree for one (not sure if I can call it a degree at the first place) in dog training or shoe designing! Yes that’s what they call adventure.

It seems, when it comes to printing 48 pages of junk, this all that people can find. Talk about statistics!