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
http://www.dailymail.co.uk

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

Let India be India

There are people who accept the superiority of American political system and recommend the same for India. A section of people proposes to adopt the western concept of education in India. Recent incident of Sania Mirza’s flag desecration case has initiated a debate on freedom of expression in India which is entitled by our constitution as a fundamental right.

Whenever we confronts any flaw in our system we waste no time to admire the American or western system. This time it was no difference.

A reputed English Daily published a four column story on the same issue. It described comprehensively why Sania won’t be hounded in the US for insulting national flag. It mentioned that in America to burn its national flag is not an offence. To protest against the state policies people are free to ruin the emblem. This was attributed to the absolute nature of freedom of expression in US. The story says Indian version of freedom of expression is not absolute. The story ends saying “Clearly, India has a long way to go before it can catch up with the US on this civilisation issue.”

Now the million dollar question is can India afford to catch the US on this issue? My answer is negative. We are culturally and linguistically diverse country. These national emblems imposed by the constitution are the strings responsible to hold us together. We can’t let these symbols of our integrity to be insulted.

This doesn’t mean that I support the case against Sania Mirza as it seemed that it has been framed deliberately. I strongly feel that Public Interest Litigations (PIL) needs to be scanned so that dignity of an individual is maintained.

We have our own system. It may not be the best in the world but it is not the worst either. Solution is here within. It requires the eyes to locate and hands to execute. So let India be India.