Let me feel free

“Liquor is a bad thing to use. It is not a great thing to endorse as well.” These are the words frequently preached by our elders in India.

I take these arguments because there was logic to support it. I accepted the logic of its ill effects regarding health and social conduct. Health concerns and my social image kept me un-introduced to alcohol and cigarette for a period of twenty five years of my life. I never tasted an alcoholic drink and any source of smoke in this substantial part of my life despite of the fact that I was away from my parents putting alone at a very young age of 14. I spent almost 12 years out of my parents’ sight. There was nobody to keep vigilance on my activities. The pocket could have easily afforded the expenses.

Frankly I was not aware of any law that prohibits us using alcohol within a certain age limit. If I still could stay clear of these addictions it was due to the health concerns, family values and my social portrait not any regulation.

The term regulation has turned out to be a challenge here in India. Whatever happens we are on the foot to curse rules and regulations. “Regulations should be stringent. New laws should be framed. The laws are not being enforced effectively.” These quotes are very frequent among the people whenever social values are challenged.

Can laws and restrictions settle the social issues exclusively? I am afraid, these can’t. It can be attributed to the simple reason of fundamental human nature. Human being is a born rebellion. Whenever there were efforts to restrict a community or an individual to certain limits, there was a revolt.

The recent incidents in the capital city of India indicate that the lawmakers do not want to accept the realm. There was a debate in the Delhi legislative assembly regarding the minimum age to consume alcoholic drinks. There was a big hue and cry inside and outside the house. Ultimately the existing status of the tax and excise act was kept in tact by maintaining the minimum age to qualify for a peg at the level of 25. These laws are continuously breached deliberately or due to ignorance. There fore such regulations are frivolous.

Similar reactions outraged on the suggestions given by union health minister Ambumani Ramadoss to Amitabh Bachan and Shahrukh Khan regarding on screen drinking and smoking.

Public health is, no doubt, of primary concern but these are definitely not going to tackle the issue. If average drinking age in India is growing young, If India is the biggest producer of liquor in Asia and if the consumption and smuggling of narcotic drugs in India is at its high, it can not be attributed to the effect of movies only. It could be a factor but very-very small.

LAST WORD –

Transformation is the universal doctrine of nature. Therefore society should also adopt the transformation but it should not be created by force. It should come itself.

After a long duration of oppression Indian society started its new life 60 years ago. This is a very small period of time for a society to change. Let the time play its game. There will be a time when society would be mature enough to eradicate the evils of its own

Another Power Cut! Oh Not Again!

"Money makes the mere go." It may sound a bit old but is universally true. A huge population in India is still living in dark. Tribal and rural areas of different states don't have the necessary infrastructure. Those parts of the country where the infrastructure is in place are struggling for the power supply. The places where power supply is available for 5-6 hours a day must consider themselves lucky.

This crunch in power is affecting the life of the common man. But it is hurting the agriculture severely. This is a matter of concern as we are already struggling to feed the billion mouths. Agricultural output is in decline as most of our irrigation in the states like Punjab, Haryana and Utter Pradesh (biggest contributors in terms of food grains) depends upon the ground water. It requires electricity to pump the water out. If the power remains absent for a major part of the day it can be easily understood how difficult it would be for an ordinary farmer who don't have the supplementary resources like generators.

This problem is not only confined to the remote places of the country. It can be felt even in the metros. Delhi does not qualify to be the capital city of India- world's biggest democracy and fifth largest economy. 4-5 hours power cut is a regular feature in Delhi. The person from the different parts of the country who comes to Delhi with different purposes suffers the most.

This is true for the ordinary citizens whereas the corridors of power glitter day and night with access of power supply. Electricity is being used as a source of decoration in the so called posh areas of the city. Hundreds of bulbs glow when shadow embraces the houses of the affluent. Scores of electronic gadgets work without any time bar. Religious and public institutions are the most extravagant in terms of electricity which is a disaster for the countries like India.

An information under rti has revealed that in the last five years Rashtrapati Bhavan has consumed elctricity of the worth 16.5 crore. The prime Minister's residence spent a sum of 3726000 Rs on the eletricity bill in the last three yeers. calculations suggests that the consumption of electricity in the Rashtrapati Bhawan in one year was sufficient to glow a toll of 12 villages with a strength of 5000.

This is just because they are in a position to pay for that and our constitution has entitled us with a right to live a better life. They are using their right and so should they. What about the moral duty to ensure the better life of the fellow citizens? Would their social status, glory and life standard come down if they abandon this showoff for even a hour or two? Is it the outer shine of a religious structure which defines the divinity or the faith on the God?

Answers of these questions are quite articulate. The only requirement is to give a sincere thought on these. Perhaps Mr. Gopal Krishan Gandhi (Governor of West Bengal) Pondered upon these questions and got the answers. To put the governor house in dark for two hours every day was a consequence of his sincere thoughts. This decision is there for political interpretations but there would be a few to deny the nobility of the idea

Keep prices low for dog’s sake

My landlord’s dog Maggie, whom I have already introduced to you in an article earlier , is few of those who have learnt to cope with the on going worldwide trend of food crunch and rising inflation. The quantity of milk in her bowl has been reduced drastically to 100ml from the earlier 500ml a day.

The dog found it hard to come in to terms with the recession. But ultimately it seems that the worldwide chaos over the food scarcity was enough to convince her.

During a regular outing with her master last night she confronted a stray dog. Observing them minutely they looked like sharing the enigma of increasing prices of essential commodities. The other dog has recently given birth to seven puppies but ironically she had less concerns. Maggie might have asked her the mantra behind this. And the response was not difficult to imagine.

“Well, there was nobody to help me but I could sustain myself. I find no reason why they wouldn’t make it either. Anyways, who cares if some of them surrender to the anguish? We can’t influence the governance. No body can even estimate of our population, let aside the accuracy. We have nothing to do with the retail outlets or wholesale markets because we have been making our livelihood from the garbage. The terms like undernourishment and obesity are meant for the domesticated ones like you. We are out of the stigma of health and wealth.”

Back in the room Maggie looked a little disturbed as if she was a little skeptical of her future. Her eyes were on the TV screen as BBC reports the turbulence in Haity, Senagal, Zimbawe and Bangladesh due to the shortage of food supply. At the end of the report the shift in status could be seen in her eyes. She would be happy because her position is better than her master’s as she doesn’t need to fight for the bread.

So, whatever the Reserve Bank of India declares in its annual monetary policy it is of a little significance for those millions of stray dogs in the streets of India. But the ones like Maggie are looking forward to this report.
Good luck Mr. Reddy!

LYNCHING THE SOUL

………..And another family was denied the right to life. This time the proud assailant was none other than the only son of the deceased family.

Apparent question that can knock your mind is “What’s new in that?”

So let me tell you, Nitin- the assailant- was not the genuine Verma, as the family used to be called. He was rather a proud habitat of an orphanage since the demised Verma family brought him to their place to fill the void in their own life. They showered on him everything they could. Like every other proud parents he was given the best of education, job and eventually facilitated with his so called love marriage.

At last the night came when the Verma’s breathed their last along with their daughter-in-law (of course Nitin’s wife).They were nabbed to death allegedly by their own son. You would ask what the reason is?

Whatever the reason might be it can not justify a murder and above all it requires a big heart to snatch the life of those who are there to protect you.

My intentions to cite this story is surely not to unfold a mystery or sensationalize the horrendous incident that took place in New Delhi. But it is to drag your kind attention to the bigger issue of adoption.

If I say these incidents do not alter the decision to adopt an innocent life, then I might be telling a lie. There are a few Sushmitas, Madonas, Branglinas and Jacksons who dare to adopt. The few who plans in the same line could revise their course in the wake of such dreadful actions.

This is certainly not good news for India as we have a lot of kids who are looking for a house and vice-versa. Unfortunately “KARNA”-a character of the epic Mahabharta who was proud to be called with the surname of his foster parents- no more find any follower.

For me no authority in this universe can guarantee to prevent such examples of brutality. Only conscience can be the solution. What does your conscience say? Do write to me……

DIGEST

Rats in ROMANCE
The adorable agouti that are the first of their kind to be born in the UK
http://www.dailymail.co.uk






















The look that says 'I've just eaten all your chickens': The fox who was too fat to flee the coop
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Can We Reform It

These were the days when I used to serve as a science teacher in a govt. school in Himachal Pradesh. A fellow teacher was being transferred from that school. He was willing to be transferred to a school of his own choice. He wrote an official letter to then chief minister (congress) Vir Bhadra Singh. The initials of the letter read as

“To
Raja Sahib Sh. Vir Bhadra Singh
Chief Minister
Govt. of Himachal Pradesh.”
I have no protest against writing a letter to a chief minister. My only concerns were about the language of the initials. Was it necessary to write ‘Raja Sahib’ in an official letter? Could he not have written chief minister of Himachal Pradesh only? Isn’t this a reflection of monarchism or feudalism dominating the democracy? These were the few questions which I need to be answered.

On probing he told me “This is how he likes to be addressed and there are a few who even don’t bother to mention chief minister.” Wasn’t this a clear case of appeasement on the teacher’s behalf and monarchial hangover on the CM’s behalf? This mentality is deep routed in the core of Indian mass.

Today when I heard Rahul Gandhi saying that there is no internal democracy in political parties in India. He also mentioned the “LAL BATTI” culture and his despair that common man is not getting a chance to join politics.

As he claims, he might have some solutions for this problem. The question is whether the solutions are realistic or not? I would like to go with the negative side. This is because we don’t have the virtue of fair play. We always take politics in terms of pulling down the other’s leg. The same idea is manifested by our political and social organizations. After the death of Nehru congress suffered a huge split in the absence of a dominating figure. The other parties could not retain there independent identity for the same reason. In nineties congress suffered a lot due to the absence of the dominance at the top. The story was no different for BJP after Bajpayee(conflict among the second row leadership). Therefore, Rahul Baba, it is not only the chief minister who likes to be addressed like that, but the teacher is equally amazed of writing these lines. You could mould the congressmen but who would mould the common man.
Pic from http//:www.msanjay.weblog.us

Redefining Love

“Where r u? I’m desperate to meet u. Pls, try to understand I can’t wait anymore. I want it now or never. Hu knows wt happens 2moro.” These were the lines flashed on my friends mobile screen. And mind you these were the midnight hours.
“What is this nonsense?” he uttered.

On probing , he confessed that this creative work was from his girlfriend.
“I wud like 2 avoid it b4 marriage. Pls control yourself”, he retaliated.
“I knew her for last five years now but she had never behaved like that” he murmured.

Sana (name changed) hails from Varanasi in Utter Pradesh, which happens to be the hometown of my friend Sumit (name changed). They have some strong emotional attachments towards each other. Now they are in Delhi. Their society does not enjoy a reputation to allow such kind of conversation especially on the part of female.

This story clearly suggests that restrictions can only make the things more complex. It is also evident that when these bonds are cleared the lava inside bursts out. Some time it can result disastrous consequences. The time has come to oppose this orthodox behavior of Indian society. We have to move faster towards the modernity( Not Obscenity). We must respect the biological needs.

The story has got another angle too. The term “love” ( which rarely happens) is being redefined by the youth. Girls are turning out to be more pragmatic in approach. This no more remains a life long pledge. They want to live it now. What is your take on that?

Pic from http//:www.bbc.uk