Be part of something bigger than yourself

I came across a link some days back while browsing the net. I got the link from a friend in twitter. Its called 1001 rules for my unborn son. Its an awesome source of small tips that a father-to-be is jotting down for his unborn son. The list has reached No. 376 as of today. Each day I've been checking this site for updates. The site has got a tremendous number of rules which many would want their kids to know. Most of these are what one would classify under common-sense. There are some recommended songs for the kid, some wonderful snaps which tell about the world we live in and then there are sprayed in between some lovely quotes; some inspiring, some funny and some outright thought provoking.

Like these

Since the dawn of parking lots, man has sought to fill his gut with food and alcohol in anticipation of watching others exercise. - Homer Simpson

The public has always expected me to be a playboy, and a decent chap never lets his public down. - Errol Flynn

Good clothes open all doors. - Thomas Fuller

You get my point right! One such quote i got from this site was

Be part of something bigger than yourself. - MAJ Doug Zembiec USMC

The quote was from a unheard of Major in the USMC(US Marine Corps). I found it a rather profound statement amidst the funny and comical statements in the list. The link given with the name took me to the website of the Arlington Cemetery which is the burial ground of men killed in action in the US. I was overwhelmed by the writeup given about Maj. Zembiec, which went on to tell about his valour and bravery which earned him the name The Lion of Fallujah a moniker he no doubt earned under fire.

Major Zembiec was killed in action during a Baghdad firefight. He had previously distinguished himself several times on the battlefield – earning a Bronze Star (with the Combat “V”) and two Purple Hearts.H e was, by all accounts, a Marine’s Marine. There are few higher honors one Marine can bestow upon another.



The page had some touching snaps and the write up gave accounts from his subordinates, colleagues and family members.



You can tell a lot about a man by the people who make the effort to attend his funeral. Zembiec was laid to rest in the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Some 40 of Zembiec’s enlisted men were in attendance – some coming from as far away as Camp Pendleton in California. One Marine officer was quoted as saying “Your men have to follow your orders; they don't have to go to your funeral.”

Also in attendance were some 15 generals in addition to several other active-duty and retired Marine officers. Again, nobody is required to attend these ceremonies. One can tell he had the respect of those he served under, and those he commanded. I found a photo essay tribute to Major Zembiec here.

I was touched by some thoughts Zembiec had jotted down in several notebooks – things he wanted to accomplish, things he wanted to impart unto others. Here’s what was shared with the Washington Post’s Dan Morse:

1. Become the greatest husband and father ever.
2. Be a man of principle. Fight for what you believe in. Keep your word. Live with integrity. Be brave. Believe in something bigger than yourself. Serve your country.
3. Teach. Mentor. Give something back to society. Lead from the front. Conquer your fears. Be a good friend. Be humble and be self-confident.
4. Appreciate your friends and family. Be a leader and not a follower. Be valorous on the field of battle. And take responsibility for your actions.
   

Most of the above quoted lines came under the heading “Principles my father taught me.” Would that we had more fathers imparting such wisdom unto their sons and daughters.

I am remembered these lines from history when people speak about him.

“Day by day, fix your eyes upon the greatness of Athens, until you become filled with the love of her; and when you are impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that this empire has been acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it.”
- Thucydides, The Funeral Speech for Pericles


Another touching set of words that made me truly respect this man was a letter he wrote to the mother of a soldier who was killed.

"Your son was killed in action today. Despite intense enemy machine gun and rocket propelled grenade fire, your son fought like a lion. He remained in his fighting position until all his wounded comrades could be evacuated from the rooftop they were defending. It was during his courageous defense of his comrades that Aaron was hit by enemy fire.... With the exception of the Marines on Security, every man in the company attended the service. Aaron was respected and admired by every Marine in his company. His death brought tears to my eyes, tears that fell in front of my Marines. I am unashamed of that fact."
- Douglas Zembiec, Captain, U.S. Marine Corps, writing to the mother of Aaron C. Austin, included in Operation Homecoming by Andrew Carroll

This shows his respect for those who serve with him and that is what earned him the praise of men around him. May his soul rest in peace and his tale inspire millions to take up this fight against the horrors of terrorism and other forces of evil.

Don't Let The Memory Of The Brave Drift Away

Longest weekend of my life

The title may look like the one in Five point someone, the day where Hari and his friends Ryan and Alok meet with so many unfortunate incidents. Well in my case it isn’t as bad as that. But then that’s fiction, this is life. It all started when I got to my OFFICE :) on Saturday, 13th of April. It was the off day for my boss and technically I was the section head for the day:P. I was pretty happy about this, but if I knew the things what were in my way I’d never have been so keen to take up that position. It was the first time since I joined IFFCO that some SERIOUS responsibility had been given to me. Earlier it was always one particular unit in the section that I had to take care of, either a heat exchanger or a filter or a scrubber or something like that. Never had I got charge of the entire reactor with me, the maintenance of the world’s largest phosphoric acid plant was under me for a day. Yahoooooooooooooooo wanted to shout this from the top of the fume stack. But then what to say, something aren’t that good. It started when I got to know that one coupling had broken and that too in a critical place. It was a small flexible flange coupling that I’d always seen only in drawings in my s4 and s5 classes. These things were what we called as small fry in those days, things that were easy to draw because they had a symmetrical shape and weren’t having too many ratios to remember. If you get the shaft diameter, you can get the flange diameter, based on that you choose the number of nuts and bolts, and based on that you get the flexible packing thickness. But here the problem was that the gearbox shaft had a bigger diameter and the motor had a smaller shaft, so for this bit I’d to redesign the coupling. Also due to years of use, the shafts were worn off from their original diameter. The actual dia was supposed to be 160mm, but around 4-6 mm was lost. So while fixing the new one I’d to make sure that all these factors are taken into account. Being the senior-most with the least experience in the plant has its share of disadvantages; you’re always looked upon by the subordinates, either with jealousy as someone who got ahead of them through some more years in a better college or as a knew-it-all. It’s also very difficult for me to manage my temper with these people. Some are utterly lazy, typical to a govt job. They know that they won’t be dismissed from their jobs and so that job security is what makes them lazier. Some are worse, who tell me to stay away from any job and telling that even if I don’t do anything I’ll get paid. At times I also do these things, like now when I’m sitting in the library and updating my blog:). It isn’t a healthy practice to bunk one’s responsibilities, but then working in a chemical factory isn’t that motivating. At times you do need to take a break off from work to recharge your batteries.

So I’d planned such a break last weekend, it was a weekend which had a Monday as holiday. So I’d planned to go to Kolkatta. The city had a special place in my heart because the last time I went there, even with the uncomfortable ride I had, I’d enjoyed the time I spent in the city, with its British era buildings in esplanade, Museums, huge parks, zoo’s, not-that-great-looking-but-functional metro rail system, good looking gals, rosagulla’s, sandesh and other sweets, fish curries, communists who talk at lengthy why Nandigram isn’t a problem and that Prachanda will be a great PM in Nepal, Elgin road bookstores, Esplanade road-side shops selling anything from key chains to shoes, taxi’s that never charge as per the meter, Kali temple @ Kalighat, infamous hand pulled rickshaw’s, aspiring Ganguly’s and Baiching Bhutia’s playing around the Maidan area, high tech office building’s in salt lake, City Centre at salt lake with the Inox, Eden Garden’s with the huge Knight Riders’ posters. All these are things that would make anyone want to visit this place. As I mentioned before I’d visited Kolkatta last month, I had wanted to write about the worst train journey of my life, but then the beautiful city made me forget all the pains. This time I had come prepared and even though I had to get the ticket in Tatkal quota, spending more than twice what was the normal fare, I was willing to go. I found just one more person willing to accompany me and that was my roomie Nagendra. We both took the night train to Kolkatta that arried at 5 AM, after having spent some time in the waiting hall, recharging our cell phones and discharging ourselves:), we hit the road and took the 1st bus to Esplanade. Even at 9 AM not many restaurants were open; maybe Sunday’s are late openings for the shops in Kolkatta, or maybe we were just in the wrong area. We finally decided to have breakfast in a hole-in-the-wall kind of restaurant after a long search to see if we had some good place open. Surprisingly the food was better that what we expected. After filling our stomach’s we went to the Victoria memorial. We were quite early and being a Sunday the crowd’s weren’t there, except the lover’s who held hands and other parts right from the morning:D. By 10 AM the museum in the building opened and we walked into a collection of paintings and photographs that took us back into the 30’s and even early 18th century in some cases. We traced the history of Calcutta city in the Calcutta Gallery. It was the best section in the gallery from my opinion, because:

1. It was an air-conditioned section
2. It had very descriptive footnotes on each photograph and painting explaining what it was.
3. It had a very huge collection of souvenirs from many collectors.
4. It showed how the 1st capital of British India was shaped and what all struggles took place to have control over it.

After spending a good part of the morning here, we went to the destination that I had planned to visit after my last trip. It was Crossroads, the bookstore in Elgin Street. I loved the place right from the time I stepped in, such a neatly stacked and well arranged bookstore, with shelves and shelves of classics, bestsellers and what-not. It had got all the books that one would need. It had been the reason why I’d got back to my old habit of reading. I spent a good time in the store. I was very very happy to find that the manager remembered me from the last time, when I had asked for Hitchhiker’s guide the galaxy. He had looked crestfallen when he found that they didn't have such a classic piece in sci-fi. So when i went the next time i casually asked just to see if he remembered to get that book. To my surprise he got me the 6-in-1 collection of all the stories of Hitchhiker's guide. What a dedicated manager:), After this we decided to go to the famous park street. Bought a couple of stuff for friends back @ hostel, or else they'd have us branded with all the kitchenware if we forgot them. Then on the way we went to Netaji Bhavan, it was a nice experience. With a lot of memorabilia about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the INA it was again a great experience to see the photos which depicted the creation of the rebel wing of Indian freedom struggle. Then in the evening we went to the Kali Temple in Kalighat. The temple was full of devotees especially due to the Bengali New year eve. We managed to spend some time there without being bugged by the pujari's who're hell bent to make you do some kinda offering. All these travels were made possible due to the Kolkata Metro rail. Its nothing compared to the Delhi Metro, but then for something that was started off in the 80's i'd say its a great engineering and technological feat. The metro has convenient timings and has stations at almost all major locales. Also a ride to the taken is on the Tram. Its something that'll make you completely forget that you live in the 21st century. Its truly a legacy of the British era, that the communist sarkaar is still operation. After visiting the temple, we had one more place in our itinerary and that was to visit Eden Gardens. We had seen it in the morning from far, when we were going around Esplanade. We had heard that the Australian's in Kolkata Knight Riders were having their practice sessions in progress in the evening and when we reached esplanade we could see two of the four floodlights lit. It was an amazing sight to see the largest stadium in India(maybe the world interms of cricket stadia's). We reached there and tried a lot to get in, but the security persons were letting in only the people from media, that too after a very strict pass verification. As we were cursing the security, SRK and others in IPL it started to rain, with a very forceful wind blowing across the stadium. In the wind the giant posters of the Knight Riders in the top of the stadium got torn and i had a smile(ente revenge) muhuhuhhahahhahahha.

After this we took a cab and reached Howrah Station, there i took this beautiful view of the Howrah Bridge, thus ended the longest day in my life(errr typo, longest weekend of my life)

Street shops in Kolkata, a nice way to spend evenings


Rickshaw pullers in Kolkata-Something that i don't agree with

Wi-Fi @ Cuttack Station

Victoria Memorial @ Kolkata

Taxi ride in kolkata

Me on top of the books!

Bird Watching(and some background watchin as well)

For more pics goto my Orkut Album
PS: If some of the terms in the post above aren’t understood by non mech readers, its NOT my fault, you were the one who didn’t want to take up mechanical engineering, not me:). As we used to say in college, You see the difference between Man And Machine, We Don't!!! & Machines rule the world "We rule them "

Emergency - For whom?

The lexicon defines a sham as a trick that deludes and a scam as a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation. It would be very difficult to find a better example of a phenomenon that is both a sham and a scam than the Emergency declared in Pakistan yesterday. President Musharraf felt the heat of the judiciary rising and smartly he got his way through to rule Pakistan for more time by declaring an emergency stating that the terrorist activities have been on an increased scale right now. Pakistan has had worse attacks than those happened in the past week, when the Lal Masjid was besieged by STUDENTS and they had military operations to get the people holed up inside.


The statement of the emergency declaration points out in particular to the "INTERFERENCE by some members of the judiciary in government policy, adversely affecting economic growth, in particular". I can't understand how the country's economy be negatively affected by the judicial system in the country. For those who don't remember Musharraf's face-off with the judiciary, just rewind back a few months and you'll hear about a Chief Justice Iftikar Chaudhry, who was 1st dismissed off from the Supreme court and they reinstated after huge uproar from the lawyer's and the international community as a whole. After incumbent General Pervez Musharraf won the 2007 presidential election, the Supreme Court stated that it would deliberate as to whether he was eligible to run in the first place. The court then announced that it would delay its decision on the case. Parliamentary elections are due to be held in January 2008. This was what might have really prompted Mr Mush to unleash a period of emergency in the terror-affected nation.

Why is it that whenever a head of state goes into declare an emergency for his/her own political stability they take cover under a term called NATIONAL SECURITY. We ourselves had a black period of emergency in the LARGEST DEMOCRACY in the world. The period was marred with infringement of rights by the POLICE and the whole nation was thrown into the DARK AGES with widespread torture, unwanted sterilizations, illegal land acquisitions, lock-up murders and what not!

The same is happening across the border now and strangely we have a govt in place that is WATCHING AND WAITING for a reaction. They should have condemned this strongly and atleast come up with a statement, if not from the PM itself. I don't know why we have such a spineless Govt. in place to rule us, which doesn't take any STRONG decisions or even when they do take some off-hand strong decisions, they don't have the conviction to see it through entirely(rem the INDO-US Nuke deal?)

I feel sad for the people of Pakistan who are now to suffer a period of darkness, a period where they won't have any of the rights guaranteed by their constitution or have the pleasure of switching channels because private television in Islamabad have been taken off the air as police stormed their offices with orders to remove all equipment.

To top all this off Mr Mush came up with this awesome joke on the national television, wherein he EXPLAINED to the nation WHY he took this BOLD and UNFORTUNATE step. His historic words:

Today I'm making this address because our country is on a dangerous juncture, trapped by internal crisis and internal divisions. In the history of nations, time of difficult decisions come. Pakistan also has to make important and painful decisions. If hard decisions are not made then Pakistan's integrity is under threat. Before saying anything I promise the decision made is on the basis of first of all for the sake of Pakistan. Above all personal interests is Pakistan. The Nation would agree on this. In the last months the situation has changed very quickly.

At the end of this speech, he also alluded to US President Abraham Lincoln, saying that Lincoln's suspension of certain rights during the American Civil War in order to save the nation is analogous to his declaration of a state of emergency for Pakistan. Where lies that great soul and where lies this LIAR. This liar who sieged power from the hands of a democratic ruler by means of a Military Coup. Now am not justifying Nawaz Sharif for his actions of not allowing a plane to land in Pakistan on that eventful day, but still he had the mandate of the people. Here is a man who wields power as if its his birthright and then goes across the world saying how much he is ALL FOR democracy and peace and how he hates the Islamic Fundamentalists and is all support for the WAR AGAINST TERROR.

HOW I HATE THIS LIAR!


PS: The opening lines are borrowed from a question that i got for a mock CAT paper i got today morning. Felt that those lines were apt to describe the situation better than anything else.

1st Drive

Driving is one of my passions and i just can't have enough of it. To make sure that my driving doesn't cause any discomfort to the government and also to my finances i took my driving test yesterday. It wasn't much trouble and i passed without a single mistake.

I was beaming with pride and my mind was filled with happy thoughts of me zipping through the city roads with ease at pretty high speeds and heavy metal coming through the speakers. But all these thoughts were put to rest when i took the car out for a small drive to the city yesterday itself. It seems people all across the town are on the roads and no one's home. I had gone to a few temples and to my surprise all seem to have even ignored the god's. There were hardly 20 people in the heavenly houses.

Then when i reached east fort i found where all the people have been. I wish i had a mobile with a cam and could capture people jostling for space on a 10 foot wide road and hitting each other with their elbows for space and bargaining for goods ranging from handkerchiefs to shirts and sari's on the roadsides.

When i tried to park the car near the pazhavangadi ganapathi temple i had a real tough time. A retail GIANT had opened its store( i wont' call it a store, its a mega structure) and coz of that parking was something that you couldn't do, to top it off the designated bike parking spot was taken over by a party leader and his honchos and they used the spot to have a PUBLIC meeting to which no one was giving two hoots. The guy was going on about the injustice meted out to the people by the ruling govt and the ignorance to the critical affairs of the people like flood relief and the like. Who has time to listen to all this, the only thing people will have in mind is the 30% off @ ramachandran's or the buy 2 get one free offer @ parthas or the buy a mixer, get a pan @ Ibrahims.

Now one can't blame the people for taking up consumerism to the heart. But what else to do when the shops and establishments are wooing in customers with hitherto unheard of offers and prices. We have offers for things ranging from inner wear to plasma televisions. Is this a good way to go for our economy? I say its a great way to go for our economy. But is this the way to go for our country? I disagree. We've deviated from the principles of socialism that were instilled in us by the founding fathers. We've given up the idea of Aam Aadmi as the UPA says. They've forgotten the Aadmi in their slogan and gone ahead to help develop(or exploit) our country to get more Microsoft's and IBM's to open shop here.

Now am not saying its a bad thing. Its a great thing to happen. Because of the rapidly growing IT sector thousands of engineers and graduates like me are getting jobs and much better salaries than our seniors got as freshers 2-3 years ago! I feel great that an engineer is paid a salary 1/2 that of a guy with same qualification gets in th US. But its better than getting nothing and sitting @ home sending in applications to the PSC tests and waiting for the red tape to cut through you until you've nothing else to do but go for a job for which your hefty degree wasn't of any use.

Now we hear about IIMites giving up 7 figure salaries and going to start NGO's and their own ventures. For this reason i feel the move from the govt to start more IIT's n IIM's is in the right direction. Just hope that their's something left of humanity in the scores of graduates coming outta the elite institutes and colleges.

With this hope i leave the rest to thee, dear god!

God's own news!

Before reading on 1st go through this piece of news that i got from a friend
Sreesanth's food habits

You'll need mallu fonts and ofcourse be a mallu to read it. But for those who think this is too much, please do that small bit and am sure you'll be happy about what you did. Get the font from here. If you're still not able to check here.

This is the level to which India's largest circulated "regional newspaper" has stooped to. I can't understand such a stupid piece of NEWS will come from a publisher which also runs the Manorama Yearbook, one of the trusted books in my list till now! They publish more than 20 major and minor journals and this is what they came up with?

Even their ad nowadays in national channels about their much touted readership of over 15 million was funny to watch, where they have shown INDIAN's fighting over stupid reasons like the the readership of their language's newspapers. My 1st thoughts when i saw that ad was, why the hell isn't any nationalist group or individual coming in strength to force a ban on this piece of crap. Where is the so called SPIRIT of National Integration now? But then who would like to make the paper with the largest readership unhappy?

Coming to think its not just this paper that has been in news in Kerala. Recently Kairali channel, run by a party so well known for having great spirit of unity among themselves, stabbed one of their own leaders in the back. In fact they did this to the CM who's ruling the state. Wonder what they'd do to the lesser mortals.

The program was an interview with a RISING STAR in the business scenario in Kerala, Mr Faris Aboobaker. The interview was conducted by none other than Kairali TV MD John Brittas. I had regarded him as among the best news persons' ever to be born from the Malayalam News channel world. He used to handle heated discussions with ease and had been an impartial face in a channel that has come up with some good name till now. I still remember a debate where he had snubbed a sitting MP from Kerala for their silence in the Parliament about the Salem Railway zone.

In this particular interview, which i missed to see, he appeared very meek and was allowing Faris to show his full arrogance and was particularly silent when Faris kept on making remarks about the CM as if the CM was someone who worked under him. Now the whole of Kerala knows that the program was just another brick in the wall that's coming up between the two stalwarts in the CPI(M) Mr Pinarayi and CM Achudananthan. The interview was ended abruptly and Brittas says that Kairali did only what any normal channel would do and also that the whole interview was NOT scripted. But seeing the way in which one after another accusations were made against the CM and nothing was done to stop it, one can hardly agree with that line.

Media coming up with stupid news is the rule nowadays, but when it becomes a weapon in the hands of LEADERS trying to achieve their personal gains, the whole scenario changes. We've seen how media has 1st written off and then gone to praise Rakhi Sawant's, Shilpa Shetty's and even Sanjay Dutt now. We see national debates on the rising hemlines of Bollywood actresses and stars dating other stars. God only can help when matters come to this stage. But then where is GOD? Why is he silent? When will we see ACTUAL NEWS in the so called news channels?

Letter Written in the year 2070

The following is from a mail forward that i received a few days back. I liked the idea that the creator wanted to publicise. Its an issue that we all should have thought about from a long time ago and it is something that will be a problem for us by 2070, if not earlier.

Here's the Letter:

This is the year 2070,I have just turned 50,
but I look and feel 85.
I suffer from serious kidney problems,
because I do not drink enough water.
I'm afraid I do not have much time left to live.
I am one of the oldest people in this society.

I remember when I was a child of 5.
There were lots of trees in the parks,
houses with beautiful gardens,
and I could enjoy having a shower for half an hour.
Everything was very different.
Nowadays we use towels with
mineral oil to clean our skin.

Before, women had beautiful hair.
Then, my father washed his car with
water coming out of a hosepipe.
Now, my son does not believe that
water could be wasted that way.
Now, we have to shave our heads to
keep them clean without the use of water.

I remember there were
SAVE WATER warnings on outdoor posters,
radio and TV, but nobody paid attention.
We thought that water was to last forever.
Now, all the rivers, lakes, dams and
underground water beds are
either dry or contaminated.

Industry came to a standstill,
unemployment is sky high.
Desalination plants are the
main source of employment
and workers receive part of
their salary in drinkable water.

Assaults on the streets for a
can of water are very common.
Food is 80% synthetic.

Before, it was recommended an
adult drinks 8 glasses a day.
Nowadays, I am only allowed half a glass.
We now have to wear disposable clothing,
and this increases the amount of litter.
We are using septic tanks, because the
sewerage system does not work for lack of water.

All the people look horrible,
wrinkled due to dehydration,
full of sores caused by ultra violet radiation,
as the ozone layer is almost gone.
Skin cancer, gastrointestinal infections
and of the urinary tracts are the main causes of death.

Due to the excessive drying of the skin
young people of 20 look like 40.
Scientists have no solution to the problem.
Water cannot be produced, oxygen is not
sufficient due to the lack of trees and vegetation,
and the intellectual capacity of the younger
generations is severely impaired.

The morphology of spermatozoa in
many men has changed.
As a consequence, babies are born
with deficiencies, mutations and physical deformities.

The average life expectancy is 35 years.

Water became a very coveted treasure.
Any green zones crossed by rivers are
guarded by armed soldiers.

Where I live, there are no trees,
because it seldom rains.
If it does, it is acid rain.
We were warned to look after
the environment, but nobody cared.

I tell my son about the green fields,
the beautiful flowers, the rain, how
we swam and fish in the rivers and
dams, drinking all the water we
could, and how healthy people were.

He asks: Daddy! Why there is no water?
Was I guilty ?
My generation destroyed the environment.
We did not heed the warning signs.
Now our children pay a very high price!

Soon, I think, life on earth will not be possible,
as the destruction of nature has reached an irreversible stage.

How I would like to go back and make mankind understand…
...that we still had time to save our Planet Earth.


…
Save water for out kids, if not for anyone else.

The above message was an Article published in the magazine "Crónicas de los Tiempos", in April 2002. Five years since not one law has been passed for the misuse of water. The only awareness that the governments spread are a few Save Water signs and a few plans to harvest rain water. Maybe it is because the world is too busy fighting for OIL and exploiting nature. The fight for OIL is so widespread and POPULAR that we even have a on-line Role Playing GAME named OILFIGHT. What has the world come to? Where is it heading to? Will the letter come true? Will our children be fortunate enough to have a bath that we take for granted, or the healthy drink of a glass of water?

All these questions are not posed at the readers, but at the so-called "All powerful" leaders of the world. Hope they'll come to their senses before its too late!

Have a look at the following links as well:

Hidden agenda behind the invasion of Iraq
The War for Oil

Effects of a Stupid Rule!

The pictures explain it all

Siva Sena ppl on roads with TRADITIONAL headgear in the protest march!

Effects of a stupid rule on a handsome young man

Don't know why am against(yeah am against this crime which makes me look like an idiot) this rule which is supposed to save lives. But then the guys who ruled from the courts in Kochi will have no idea how uncomfortable and clumsy these CHATTI helmets are, would they? These things were designed for one purpose and that was to save the head of the wearer from injuries and i feel they do justice to that role. In addition to protecting one's life they also help guys(and their girlfriends) who want to hide their identity from the glaring eyes of the public.

But then the major headache comes when we go to buy one of these. One friend was telling that the queue in front of the helmet shops reminded him of the queue he saw in front of New theatre for the tickets of Sivaji, if not more. The major problem facing the riders is that the helmet prices have increased overnight and the govt is taking no action against traders exploiting the situation by levying excess price from consumers. Helmets that used to be priced around 450-500 before the ruling suddenly jumped to the 700-800 price range. This time the shop owners aren't that lucky because the last time this rule was implemented(in 2003) the condition was that ANYONE who's in a two wheeler has to have a helmet, even the pillion rider. Thankfully the court somehow spared the pillion riders this time.

Lets look why the Honourable High Court of Kerala came up with such a ruling in short notice. Well first of all wearing helmets is COMPULSORY under the rule 347 of the Kerala Motor Vehicle Act. So till now the govt. hadn't implemented it because it caused a lot of trouble for the motorists to wear it and take it around. Even now while implementing the ruling from the court, the Hon Home Minsiter Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has given strict orders to police not to harass two-wheelers in the name of helmet. The main issue here being that the policemen are liable to fine a motorist without a helmet Rs 100. But trust me the minister's ruling has been obeyed strictly, i'll say even stricter than the court's directive. Nowhere in the city will one be seeing a policeman checking if the riders are wearing helmets or not. Seems even the police dept doesn't want that 100 bucks from the riders. But this same court had in 2003 said that effect of the Rules and the Act was that the driver and pillion rider were "under the obligation to wear a protective headgear''. So i don't know how long this is going to stand.

Rules stipulate that the helmet should be of ISI standard. But the people who buy never care and we can see numerous non existent brands coming up with all kinds of shapes and sizes. Its like the "Make hay while sun shines" syndrome. Traders are fleeing the customers till the rule is there and i can't see an end to that exploitation.

Would like to hear what you all will say. I just wish this is repealed as soon as possible.

PS: People will start a community for anything these days. Proof for it is the I Hate Helmet community in orkut.

A later addition i got today:

Thought ppl should see this!

An Inconvenient Truth!

An Inconvenient Truth, is a documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide. I had heard a lot about it from the media and had been searching for the film on the net. I got hold of it last week and downloaded it(illegally of course) and saw it 2 days ago. The way Al Gore presents the facts really made me stand up and take notice of what's happening to the world that we are living and how badly we have affected the balance of the earth.

The documentary is based largely on a multimedia presentation that Gore developed over many years as part of an educational campaign on global warming. The film premièred at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opened in New York and Los Angeles on May 24,2006. It is the third-highest-grossing documentary in the United States to date. Both Gore and Paramount Classics, the film's distributor, have pledged proceeds from the film to further educational campaigns about climate change. The film, which opened at film festivals, was promoted with tag lines such as "A global warning", "We're all on thin ice", "By far the most terrifying film you will ever see", and "The scariest film this summer is one where you are the villain and the hero".


Rather than simply listing facts in a dry, mechanical manner, the film places its subject in an emotional—and moral—context, with dramatic plot elements. Sprinkled between the charts and graphs are moments of humour and emotion. Al Gore quotes many a personal incident that made him make this film, like his son's death, his sister suffering from cancer and so on.

Coming to the issue that the film handles;The vast majority of climate scientists around the world agree the climate is changing and the globe is warming. 2006 saw the hottest summer in 70 years and the first six months of '06 were the warmest on record - poised to break the record 2005 set of the warmest year on record - worldwide. In addition we are having record rainfall like that we had in Mumbai this year and the last year. Also there is an exceptional increase in the number of Hurricanes and Typhoons that have hit US and Japanese coastlines.

In spite of all this the USA is yet to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol now covers more than 160 countries globally and over 55% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Still USA is not adhering to this protocol simply because the USA thinks it will cause UNWANTED losses in the form of modernisation of factories and equipments to meet the new stricter emission norms. But they fail to realise that the future is looming upon us and the next ice age will rush onto us, unless we do something about the way we are ruining the planet. Only USA and Australia figure in the list of the so called "DEVELOPED" countries which are yet to ratify this protocol, which may save the earth for our children.

The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, has refused to ratify the Agreement and has argued that the protocol would cost Australians jobs, due to countries with booming economies and massive populations such as China and India not having any reduction obligations. The United States, although a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, has neither ratified nor withdrawn from the protocol — though their one-time representative, Condoleezza Rice, remarked that the Protocol was "unacceptable" at the time it was presented to her. The protocol is non-binding over the United States unless ratified.

The documentary emphasises these point with SOLID FACTS, rather than scientists giving boring speeches and graphs and charts that make no sense, Al Gore puts the facts in very easy to understand numbers and graphs. He personally explains the melting of various glaciers and ice shelf's, with pictures, video's and audio content. The film includes many segments intended to refute critics who say that global warming is insignificant or unproven. For example, he discusses the risk of the collapse of a major ice sheet in Greenland or Antarctica, either of which could raise global sea levels by approximately 20 feet (6m), flooding coastal areas and producing 100 million refugees. The documentary shows the projected areas that could be submerged by the rise and includes areas like Kolkata and Bangladesh. Water from Greenland, because of its lower salinity, could halt the Gulf Stream current and quickly trigger dramatic local cooling in Northern Europe, pushing it into an ICE AGE.

Now all the scientists across the world have been unanimous when it comes to the fact that the green house gases are being emitted and they do alter the climate by causing unwanted heat to accumulate in the atmosphere. But then some do show reservations as to when the break even point will be attained. Such thoughts 1st came to my mind when i saw "The Day after Tomorrow".
That film really scared me and that was how i started to look for facts, as to how much truth is there in the film. But after some time i had dropped the topic and moved on, until i saw this documentary. The documentary and the film will really push any sceptic of the global warming program to take notice of what's happening around the world. The amount of data that has been collected over the years, the changes that are visible to naked eye all point to the fact that its coming to us much faster than we ever thought about it.

The documentary ends with Gore noting that if appropriate action is taken soon, the effects of global warming can be successfully reversed by releasing less carbon dioxide and growing more plants or trees. But then these are just small steps, major changes have to come in the upper echelons of power by changing government policies and laws.

Visit Climatecrisis for joining hands with the initiative and cut-down your GHG emissions by following the steps in the site for a better tomorrow!

Politics of Clemency

Why is there so much furore over the hanging of Mohd. Afzal, a criminal condemned of masterminding the attack on the Indian parliament - the very symbol of Indian democracy?? Now let's find out a few things about this "innocent" soul who according to many was just at the wrong place in the wrong time. Wikipedia describes Afzal as :

Mohammad Afzal is a Kashmiri accused and convicted of conspiracy to storm the Indian parliament in December 2001. In 2004, he was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of India. The sentence was to be carried out on 20 October, 2006. The sentance is now stayed, after his family filed a mercy petition to the the President.

So if the whole world considers him as a criminal who had the courage to mastermind the attacks, why is he given so much importance all of a sudden?? Why are so many news channels and newspapers taking pains to publish stories against his hanging?? India being a democratic country gives the right to each person to plead for clemency upon sentence of capital punishment.

But here we have a TERRORIST, who planned a attack that led to the death of :

One gunman, wearing a suicide vest, was shot dead, the vest exploding. The other four gunmen were also killed. Five policemen, a Parliament security guard, and a gardener were killed, and 18 others were injured. No members of the government were hurt.

He caused so many deaths and now we have a former CM of J&K ( Mr Farooq Abdulla) saying that the whole country will go up in flames if he's to be hanged, that the judges who convicted him will not live long. This is an open threat from a person who ruled Kashmir for so many years. This shows the level to which a politician will stoop just for gaining political mileage out of such a gruesome act. Who cares how many policemen, military and para-military force members laid down their lives to protect the symbol of democracy that is the Parliament of India.

What was the purpose of this daring terror? If the Parliament were symbolic of the national pride and personality it was an attack on both. If the Parliament were symbolic of democracy, it was crime against democracy. If the seculars would regard the Parliament as a symbol of secularism Afzal attempted to wipe out that very icon of secularism. If the Parliament represented freedom and the rule of law in India he exerted to snuff both. This attack nearly brought India to war with Pakistan in the year 2002, a week after the attack, India mobilised and deployed its troops to Kashmir and Punjab in what was India's largest military mobilization since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War amid calls from the United States and the United Nations (UN) on India to exercise restraint. If the politicians were serious then, what happened all of a sudden now?????

Now if one were to examine the grounds on which the clemency is demanded, the 1st arguement from his wife is: He wasn’t given a fair trial. He wasnt given a good lawyer. His confession was forced.

Well even if he's innocent as his wife and other supporters say, then why hasn't he opened his mouth even once saying that he didn't have any hand in the attack. Now about the part that he was beaten into his confession, still he's not eligible for clemency as the only violation here can be Human right's violation to a prisoner under custody. But no one's mentioning about that!

Now on the arguement that there would be widespread violence in Kashmir if he's hanged; well that remains to be seen and what any Indian citizen should do at this moment is support the judiciary for taking such swift action on a case that is of such national importance. We should support the justice system and not the dreaded criminals who will be rescued by another hijack like that of IC-814 which shouldn't be allowed in the future and repition of IC-814 is a well founded fear and I think the then governement did a big mistake succumbing to the terrorists demands.

If Afzal were to be given clemency, it would only mean a moral victory to the terrorists, frankly speaking taking away the life of a convicted-terrorist, is a much better alternative than, spending the hard-earned money of the Indian taxpayer, on life-time maintenance of such a terrorist. This is reason enough and exact justification for hanging Afzal. If the politicians can successfully get clemency to Afzal, then it is assured that Terrorism is bound to rise to greater heights and trouble all of mankind.

The family of Kamlesh Kumari, a CRPF Jawan who died in the attack has said that they will return the Ashok Chakra awarded to her, if the president accepts the petition. This the last thing that should happen to India. This would demoralise the million's of troops who secure the borders of our nation and are ready to lay their lives for the safety of each and every Indian. The government should never consider the clemency petition and should set an example to each and every budding terrorist that he wouldn't be allowed to walk away with a few years in jail to come out and commit another heinous attack.

N Korea Joins the Nuke Club

On monday the North Korean news agencies announced that N Korea had become the 8th nation in the world which had Nuclear weapon launch capability sending panic waves across the world. It didn't come as surprise when all nations came up against the tests and condemed the action of the dictatorial N Korean regime. This was particularly clear in the stand taken by the US and Japanese administration. President Bush called the North Korean test “a threat to international peace and security” and condemned it as a “provocative act.” But Russia and China, which have veto power and have consistently opposed tough sanctions, did not signal that they were ready to go along with the American proposal. Britain, France and Japan said they were also pressing for strong sanctions, which the Security Council is expected to debate in the coming days.

Site of the N Korean Nuke test

But then it's a shame that these warnings come from a nation that has conducted more tests than the rest of the world, and was the first and only country to use a nuclear weapon in wartime. The U.S. has signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, but it has not yet been ratified by the Senate. The total tests by the USA come to a whopping 1,030 of which 815 were underground. They have had tests in any and every possible situation and now it is the strongest opposer to nations conducting nuke tests. Take the case of the Pokharan Tests in 1998, India had to get over a huge number of economic and scientific sanctions and it was kind of making the whole nation feel that these tests were unwanted and India shouldn't have carried them out. But then why shouldn't a nation that fully understands the dangers of using nukes, cause the only example of the destructive power of such weapons was demonstrated by the USA in the 2nd World War. This policy of the US is a effort to extend their own hegemony over the world as a whole.

I am not saying that N Korea is the leader when it comes to world peace, but then why condemn a nation when it develops nuke capacity??? I think the method of imposing sanctions will only isolate N Korea and make them feel that the whole world is up in arms against them and actually this might be the PROVOCATIVE action that Mr Bush was saying about.

Coming to think about the proliferation of nuclear weapons once N Korea becomes a nuclear power, there is reliable proof which says that China is helping Pakistan with its nuclear efforts. But then not a single nation condemns them, why this BIAS when it comes to smaller nations???? Or is it because half of the hardware that US needs comes from China?????? Now the US has close to 12,000 warheads which are capable of destroying the world a 1000 times over, but no one has a voice against the limitation of arms. The policies followed by the US govt across the world are the root cause of all troubles in the world. They were the one's who gave arms to the Taliban in the 80's and are suffering now from their own weapons. I think it's high time that the world community stands up and takes notice of all the bullshit that US is spreading the world over. First the US should stop all the atrocities that they are doing the world over and then start preaching peace to the world

Petrol becomes dearer !!

Am overcome with rage over each and every policy this govt makes. It's as if they are hell bent upon making the life of Ordirnary man miserable!! They say they are a govt that stands for the rights of the "AAM AADMI". But not a single move that's taken by this govt's done any good to any AADMI, let alone the AAM AADMI. The govt says the price hike is inevitable and that the international crude prices are what drives the prices high. But if we look at the prices of petrol in the countries around us, we are among the higest paying customers in the world market. Does anyone care why???

Well that's coz there are so many duties and taxes being levied upon customers like me. I still remember there used to be a sweet time when petrol was Rs 20 a ltr. Yeah frnds, ther were times like that. But now we are fools who believe that the petrol that we fill costs the Rs 50 that we pay for it.

The main reason that the govt's giving for the rise is that the international price of crude oil has reached $70 per barrel.Now lets do some calculations: From a Unit Convertor i got hold of in the net, i found that 1 barrel comes close to 159 lts. And $70 comes to Rs 3200. So that means 1 ltr comes to Rs 20. Now that's for crude and no matter how much the cost of petrol refining be it can't be 1.5 times the cost of crude. So the price of petrol should be lets assume Rs 30 per ltr(Am just assuming, coz i dnt knw wat's th refining cost).

So this means we pay about 40% of the petrol cost as TAXES!!! That's GROSS injustice, especially in a DEVELOPING country like India. We arn't a developed economy where the people can afford to pay such high taxes! The govt should cut back the tax rates or completly abolish taxing of petroleum products (i knw tht's a bit far fetched :D)

I wd surely love to have those Rs 30-35 a ltr era once again. Wat do you ppl say??

Another quota debacle

It seems that the govt is not gonna end the quota issue that easily, if we are to believe the comments from the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment (News From CNN IBN). If her words are to be believed then it's gonna come in private sector too. Not only education they are givin jobs for free too!!

This is just as i projected in my previous post (do we need reservations). The govt is moving just like i thought. They waited till the students agitations get cooled and now they have started to make the move to halt the Indian industry which had picked up some pace due to good initiatives from the govt and the world scenario as a whole. But all this would now come to a standstill as the govt is going to put in their sweet words and say " We aren't gonna force it on anyone, but it's social responsibility".

Yeah Social responsibitlity my ASS!! They do things to make half the population suffer so that the other half is OK. Is that wat SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC means???

The preamble of THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA says that

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

Well the 1st thng JUSTICE, i don't think anyone has heard about it being served anywhere in India, as we can hear from the numerous murder cases in which the killers are let go after years of litigation.

Then comes LIBERTY, yeah that's there in plenty. Truckloads of it, but only to policemen and to people high up in the ranks of power. Everyone saw what protesting students met with when anyone has the LIBERTY to have a demonstration, in a country that got its freedom through such peaceful and nonviolent protests. But now it seems those same leaders whoose forefathers did these agitations, turned a blind eye when students were lathicharged and protesters were gunned down with water cannons.

No one said anything about EQUALITY for a long time until this bill came up in parliament. Now it seems the people in power tried to read the constitution and just got their eyes till the PREAMBLE and already the whole country is shaking in its aftermath. But sadly they just seemed to notice this one word EQUALITY, and they are doing everything at hand to prove that they are the upholders of the CONSTITUTION.

Now if they continue in the same spirit and execute the rest of what is written in it, this would be the greatest govt that India has seen in recent years, but my instincts suggest otherwise. Now they have been in power for just 2 years and there are lotta happenigs now itself. The bills are being passed so fast that the media can't keep tabs on the proceedings of the Parliament. But the president sure reads all the bills before signing them. That's another rare feature of the present Indian administration.

If this goes on the people in power would have a free march till the next elections, in which they would say "we gave your seats you give us votes". Now the thing that they miss is that more than half this country is made up of so called unreserved GENERAL category and that if they wish all these MP's would never see the steps of parliament again. But yeah they know the public in India, the India where only the lower caste's go to cast votes because the upper echelons of society are, in their words "too educated to waste time on this". So the govt's safe on that front too.

Let's all just pray that the govt doesn't have such brainstorming ideas on other social issues also.

Anti Reservation Woes!!!

It's sad to note that the anti-reservation protests are turning violent and still the govt. hasn't made a sound statement about the anarchy doled out on the protesting students in Mumbai and Delhi. It's pathetic to see policemen beating peaceful protestors who just raised their voice against a just cause. They were not there to protest against lack of infrastructure in colleges, or to raise their stipends. They were there for EQUALITY for all, so that the future generations of students in India wouldn't have to suffer the stupid decisions being taken byt populist governments and minister's who hide behind a veil of statements like "It's upto Parliament now!!" .

But there was one other side to all these protests that many missed. It was the sad plight of many sick people who came to the hospitals to be treated by the doctors. I don't know why the doctors refused treatment to these people. They didn't do anything to bring in the reservations, many of them don't even know why the doctors are having a strike. It is gross injustice to these poor people who have no other way out to get treatment. Almost all of them can't afford to go to private hospitals. The doctors should make it a point to see that in the course of fighting for justice, they are also being just to their duties and carry out their responsibilities.

The protests are happening all across the country and it's sad to know that not a single protest march or a meeting was held in Tamilnadu and my state KERALA. Maybe majority of us are not having any problems to this quota issue. But i would like to see some action on the part of the government seeing that so much has happened just when the minister concerned came out with the proposal, so what will happen if the real bill is passed.

That's a question which provokes my thought process and i am sure each of us will be thinking about the answer to it in near future.

Do we need Reservations???

The reservation system has been in place for close to 60 years now. When is someone in the government finally going to get the brains to say "Reservation doesn't work, lets get rid of it." Seems like every few years the enternal cesspool that constitutes our government finds new ways to screw us, the students as well as citizens of India. I am someone who would personally "BENEFIT" from the so called new quota for OBC's along with the exsisting reservations for SC/ST, but then why should i voice my opposition to such a move. Well firstly the governments that ruled India for so many years have had nothing to do with the interests of the minorities and the socially and educationally backward communites, this reservation system is just a method for them to garner votes from the minorities and that is exactly what happened in the years before, we can't blame any one party of being populist when they come with sops for some particular sections of the society.

But the present UPA goverment is doing all bad things at the wrong time, all their so called initiatives to protect the interests of the downtrodden communities is just a farce to gain political milage. They first started off with this issue by having a ruling to have 50 % reservations to Aligarh muslim university, since it's a MUSLIM university. The govt has shown that it is against the growth of India as a knowledge superpower, this was clear when IIMB wanted to start a campus @ singapore and the govt. opposed that move, but had to give in later.

I think this is a prelude to the proposed bill on community reservation in PRIVATE sector. This will affect lakhs of eligible people while the present decision is going to affect only a few thousands. So i think it's really time for the public in general to come up in full force against such stupid populist decisions.

Now with the polls loomin in 5 states, the timing of such a decision is clearly understandable by even a 5 yr old child. The govt needs such populist reforms to stay in power and they would do anythin to get power. Such a govt would only result in the downfall of the growing economy and would cause a setback to the educational institutes like it did when it tried to impose the family planning program back in the late 70's. People have come out in huge numbers including the people who belong to OBC's. That clearly shows the anger and frustration of the people towards the goverment's moves.

Now why should the people who benefit from the quota come against it; there are two main issues.
One is that the quota is for OBC's in general, which means the so called creamy layer is also part of the OBC's. That would mean that people who are already well-off would get more reservations to study @ premier institutes at the cost of other students. So the people who are REALLY backward stand no chance of getting the benefits. Those on the lowest rung of OBCs referred to as the Most Backward Class, feel that this fresh initiative will be taken over by the creamy layer and those who should be the real benificiaries would once again be left out. So the govt should frame rules to decide as to who is backward and who is not, and they shouldn't make it just on the basis of a income certificate which can be obtained from the offices by bribing the clerks. They should come up with a foolproof plan to find whoever is deserving.
Second issue is about the degrading of the standards of such institues which once had the crème de la crème of the student community will now have to cope with the students who come with not so great academic qualities, this would cause additional trauma to the students who get into the colleges on the basis of such reservations. Another issue that will cause trouble is that the overall prestige of such institutes would come down along with their name and reputation.

It is sad to note that with Other Backward Classes (OBCs) comprising more than 50 per cent of the electoral votes, no political party is openly opposing it. Only the students are coming in large numbers protesting such a ridiculous move by the govt.
Yesterday night within hours of announcement of the government's decision to hav the reservations in these institutes i got a mail from one of my friends frwd to him by students of IIT Kharagpur, it was about signing an online petition against the governments proposal to have the reservations. Within 8 hours of the HRD minister announcing the move, they had more than 3700 signatures, i was the 3702th person to sign it. Today when i looked it had crossed the 7500 mark. That is the amount of dissent against the govt's move.

It is not just the 20 central universities and the IITs and IIMs. Educational institutions like the six central medical colleges including AIIMS, National Law School at Bangalore and Indian Institute of Mass Communication will all have to comply with the reservations most likely from next year on. The IIT's are set to lose around 1300 seats in the general category, the IIM's close to a 200. The JNU is gonna lose more than 2000 seats, so will other universities and institutes having international reputation.

What the government should have done was to create the number of seats going down to reservations as additions from this year, that was what President APJ Abdul Kalam had to say on this issue, Then the students in the general community needn't worry since their seats would remain constant.

But i still strongly feel that it's high time the govt. got rid of the reservation, which is totally against the secular principles on which a country like India is modelled.

To join the protest, sign the petition here.

All are welcome to post their comments about my views.