The Optimist, The Pessimist & The Realist...

Year 2008 has gone in to an oblivion and Year 2009 has began on a somber note and at the same time has been shrouded in conflict and blood. If one would have hoped for a peaceful beginning to the new year, their hopes have been shattered by the harsh reality of the events that have marked the start of 2009 and it seems the current year will be no better or might even turn out to be worse than its predecessor. If one is to take stock of the events of 2008, it would not surprise me if tragic events outweighs all the other happenings. I don't want to sound like a cynic with a board saying 'End Is Near - World Is Doomed' or mean to be a pessimist. I have always been an eternal optimists who believes that after every dark and stormy night, a beautiful day is ready to breakthrough and the darkness of the night will be dispersed by the first rays of Sun.

This very characteristic of mine forces me to look for a silver lining on every dark and gloomy cloud and this could be one of the reason that out of many events of 2008 - right from the first reports of U.S. recession to China's Olympic games and earthquake, from assassination of Benazir Bhutto to 26/11 Mumbai Attacks, from India's satellite launch to Iran's first space center, from Pakistan's general elections to Bangladesh's elections, from ouster of Pervez Mushraf to election of Barrack Obama - I was overawed by an event that no one had control over it or was not a handiwork of any human, I was overawed by a celestial formation in the sky - 'Triangular Conjunction Of Moon, Venus & Jupiter.'


The celestial conjunction was spellbinding and it seemed that someone up there is looking after us and giving us a smile with Venus & Jupiter being the pair of eyes and the Crescent Moon taking the shape of a curled lips and at this juncture a question struck me as a bolt of lightning - Is this formation just a coincidence or was it a handiwork of some Supreme Power beyond our comprehension? To me it has to be a handiwork of a Supreme Power for 2 reasons, one was the shape of the formation - The Smile and it was such a reassuring smile that you feel at peace with your inner self and the second one is the astrological reason. The involvement of the elements in this conjunction - Moon (associated with a person's emotional make-up), Venus (associated with harmony and beauty) and Jupiter (associated with prosperity and good-fortune) can not be a coincidence as these are the very attributes that are required and one needs to have them in today's socio-economic scenario of the world.

I am not saying that one has to follow optimism blindly and not think practically, but there is a thin line between thinking practically and thinking pessimistically. According to me there are three types of person in the universe - Optimists, Pessimists And Realists and according to me only one to lose out is a pessimists and the reason for this is very simple and can be explained by the cartoon by Morparia that appeared in a newspaper (Mid-Day - 03/01/2009):

As you will see the Optimist gains half glass of water, realist gains 50% of business even though he is practical about 50% drop in business, but what does a pessimist gain??? Pessimist gains nothing...

Satyam Sunderam No More.

Today finance world has been rocked by the admission of fraud by Satyam Computers founder & chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and the investors vented their ire not only on Satyam stocks but also on the other stocks in the exchange, over the genuineness of the accounts. B.Ramalinga Raju's resignation in no way amounts to penance or remorse as the India's image in the world financial markets has already been tarnished and will take a credible time to regain the trusts of major financial institutions who play a major role in India's financial trade.

Financial markets all over the world are in a turmoil and crisis and India, though in a little better position then other countries, was still in a vice like grip of a bear phase and the moment it seemed that bear phase will morph in to a bull phase, one Mr. Raju came out with a attitude of shotgun murrugan and shot down both the bull as well as the bear and then with a feeling of remorse came out with a holier than thou statement is nothing but a hogwash.
As a lay-man, it would be difficult for me to understand the finer details or get to the nitty gritty of the fraud, but one thing is for sure that when Mr. Raju was cooking the books as per his taste, were all the other chefs (read: Board Of Directors) were sleeping and Mr. Raju admitting his responsibility for the fraud does not acquit the board of their lacunae. This means only one thing and that is either the board of directors were just a decoration on the company's annual reports or they are equally responsible for the scam and are now covering their stains by pointing fingers at Mr. Raju. They have conveniently forgotten that when you point a finger at someone, there are three other fingers that are pointing in your direction.

Secondly, the cooked books were audited by a reputed firm 'PriceWaterhouseCoopers' or well known as 'PWC', so will any one tell this lay-man as to what these so called professional and internationally acclaimed firm was up to and again it comes down to two options either PWC was not doing it's job properly or there was some kind of hand in glove tactics. Any which way you look at it, I don't buy the statements of the board of directors that they were not aware of the fraud as it is not the first time that the accounts had been manipulated or altered and the same were being manipulated for several years and I am also not selling the idea that Mr. Raju is only a fall guy, but what I am saying is that everyone including Mr. Raju, the present board of directors and the auditors have to take collective responsibility for this Mega fraud and the guilty should be severely punished in order to deter the future scamsters and fraudsters.

The statement of Mr. Raju in his resignation letter - 'It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten' - is amusing to say at the least and if nothing else. So in short he is saying that he purposely initiated this scam and then could not stop because of fear of backlash, but the question in moot is what made him initiate such a dangerous ride, in which the danger of being eaten up was right from the beginning at the time of sitting on a tiger. I understand from this statement is that even though Mr. Raju knew the dangers that lay ahead, he chose that particular path in order to stay afloat in a rat race and fill up the pockets of those around him as well as himself.

At this juncture there is nothing else we all can do except sympathize with the employees and the investors of the company and even the Government showing their true colours has promised to inquire in to this fraud. This will be easily one of the worst corporate moments in the history of Indian Corporates.

Furthermore, from the outset it looks that this scam is just the tip of the iceberg and there are more skeletons hidden in the Satyam closet, and when revealed the repercussions of the same can be easily acquire Titanic proportions...

Sheep In A Wolf's Skin!!!

"Aisa nahin hain, bade shahron main aisa ekad hadsa hota rahta hain, is liye total intelligence failure hua aisa nahi hain"
[English - "Its not like that, in big cities one-two incidences can occur, but saying that it is total intelligence failure is not correct"]

This is the sentence that most of Mumbaikars (Mumbaites) will not forget in a hurry and may go down in history as one of the worst quote given. The speaker was none other then Mumbai's Ex-Deputy Chief Minister Raosaheb Ramchandra Patil, better known as R.R. Patil.
Mr. R.R. Patil was forced to resign because of one sentence uttered by him and it seems that it has also spelled doom for his political career. I am told that this sentence was a genuine slip of tongue as Mr. Patil is not very well versed with spoken Hindi and the matter is still wide open for discussions. We could go on arguing the matter, but the point I want to highlight is not whether what he said was an genuine error or his apathy towards the Mumbai attacks.
I just want to highlight one point here and that is when ever any politician is questioned or accused, they create a lot of hullabaloo and racket with the help of their goondas disguised as supporters. They start shooting from the lips and give of statements to the press without putting on any thinking cap and without giving a second thought to their own image or the country's image. The prime example of this are Mr. A.R. Antulay, Mr. Narayan Rane, Mr. Raj Thackeray etc., these gentlemen took the law in their hands for their personal benefit. On the other hand Mr. R.R. Patil, after resignation, went to his home town without any statements or without calling any press conferences or creating a racket. He might have resigned under pressure, but how many politicians can you name who have done the same thing when pressurized? At least I can't think of any.

Mr. R.R. Patil was instrumental in closing down of Dance Bars and we all know he could have made truck loads of money in the deal, but he chose not to and went ahead with the ban. How many politicians you know of who really tried to put an end to nuisance that was harming our society? Mr. R.R.Patil is known for his so called 'honest image', and is known as "Mr. Clean" in his fan circles. He is also affectionately referred to as Aaba (meaning "father") by people of Maharashtra. In the latest crisis his image did take a beating but he put up a brave face and accepted his mistake and resigned quietly and what ever his foibles were this one step of his has earned him my respect.

We have many politicians who are actually wolves in a sheep's skin, doing political rounds looking for a kill to fill their coffers and hunger. All these years we have been mute spectators and victims to this mauling and when the time came to hunt the pack of wolves down, have we ended up killing the sheep in the wolf's skin???

Bailout Package - Should You Oppose Or Support?

US economy is in a grave trouble and this has been repeatedly said by Paulson since a long long time but no one paid any heed to him. Now when the boat is sinking people are questioning him why should America approve the bailout plan and why should he be the only person to be trusted with the plan and money --without any oversight board to keep sight on him?

My take on this is, Americans who ask this question are out of their minds!!
They are questioning Paulson who actually is the only alternative because if they do not approve this plan they will sink US economy for decades.

People are worried that if this proposal goes through real estate prices will go up.But my dear friends where is the money to buy at higher prices. Don't forget, once burnt twice shy.
Let me ask you a question. If America does not bailout itself then who will? You think other countries would dare to buy these kind of debts-- not a bit.

As Warren rightly points out that the US Government does not have any limit on borrowing so why not borrow at good rates, turnaround things and then make money out of the deal.

Paulson is a great guy and much more sensible then George Bush and he has rightly opted to turnaround the tide and take the American economy out of this storm. I am sure he will buy at low prices, good enough to make a profit, and he surely has plan to get out of this trouble.

I guess taxpayer does not need to get worried because if bailout does not happen they will suffer all the more.

You think sellers can outsmart Paulson by trying to sell him garbage at any price? I don't think so he is one of the smartest person in America and does not need to be doubted.

Social Networking - Trendy Fad!!!

Social Media Networking (SMN) has taken the internet by storm. There are a plethora of social media platforms that are springing up everyday. For the people who are unaware about this new concept, SMN is a platform where people and friends from different walks of life and different parts of the world come together and discuss about various topics, share pictures, write articles, exchange ideas, promote products, entertain in short practically share their lives or maybe it is just a way to keep in touch. Some of the best examples of social media networking websites Facebook, Orkut, Flickr, Bebo, MySpace and Twitter.

Why we believe that Social Media Networking is a Fad and not a trend?

 Youngsters and tech savvy enthusiasts join these networks and reunite with old friends, make new friends and discuss on various topics. But after a point in time the interest level in these networks fades away with lesser and lesser visits to these sites. Besides, with so many forms of social media popping up, people tend to join every new available network and ultimately get bored with the whole concept. Also, there is always a lack of quality about what people like and talk about, which leads to declining interests in the sites. Facebook however has stood the test of the times and has come up with newer applications and ideas to keep the interest alive. Film producers and celebrities have used these networks extensively to create an awareness of their products. Biggies like Yash Raj and Subhash Ghai have also joined the bandwagon. But it becomes really very difficult after a point in time to generate the return-on investment & time spent on these websites. Although it is argued that the these platforms need to be looked at as a form of awareness creating platform rather than a return on investment, it does become important for any business to make sure that the amount & time on promoting its product online generates reasonable moolah.

A Social Media Network always does help in forging strong relationships and could be an invaluable tool for a PR firm but it cannot validate the returns on investment. For these reasons it becomes very important to note that the social media networking would soon be forgotten form of marketing and would just become a form of entertainment.

Below are the reasons why Social Media Networking is not a great business to invest in.

It lacks the advantage of getting repeat business.

The barriers to entry in this industry are very low. Almost anyone can start a business around this concept.

Although there is brand awareness, the brands lack well articulated positioning in the minds of the consumers. 

Only a few websites like Twitter have been able to position itself in the minds of consumers.

Every new form of networking idea can give a potential competition and blow to the existing czars of networking..

One who is involved in the business of social media networking would not be able to increase its pricing for the consumers with rising inflation due to intense competition.

No one knows how this platform would evolve tomorrow and how the technology would change. It is difficult to predict. For example no one knew some years back that blogging would become a potential revenue generating tool and a tool to spread news at lightning speed.

India - More Of Millionaires And Less Of Slums & Dogs.

Amitabh Bachchan has criticized Slum Dog Millionaire. Really this guy has chutzpah to criticize a film which has won Golden Globe Award and the same time an actor of his dignity would definitely have a deep rooted logic behind his criticism.

To re-quote Mr. Bachchan - "If Slumdog Millionaire projects India as [a] Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations."

I believe that there lies truth somewhere in his statements. I have been in US for three years of my life and one thing that took be aback was the perception US and rest of the world has about India. India in their minds exactly depicts the slums projected in this film. The very notion of people being wealthy in a country like India turns them off. Haven't we seen foreigners coming to India and taking pictures of poor and helpless all the time. At least, I have seen it happening most of the times.
I believe that people around the world need to be shown the wealthy side of India, too, when they visit our country. This initiative needs to be taken by the tourism ministry of India.

What people today are forgetting is that in spite of the downturn in most of the economies of the world, India, still, is confident of its 5-6 % GDP growth. Which country in the world today can even think of a growth in their economy? In fact it is the internal domestic consumption of India that helps it to grow. Also the world forgets that India was once upon a time the wealthiest nation in the world. Foreigners invaded us, and thus, is our state of poor and destitute.

I think now it is up to the Government and our celebrities who represent India abroad to create a brand "India" portraying a lot of riches. Although, I do believe that in India there are two extremes of the society -stinking rich and weeping poor one should not forget that even USA faces such a situation. Only the difference is in the way the image is sold to the world. USA in fact is facing extreme financial turmoil and rich are getting poorer whereas in India rich are getting richer and poor are not getting poorer, mind you, but they are earning well slowly and steadily.

PETA - Aware Or Beware.

Ms. Shobhaa De very recently in one of her blog post noted down her reservations regarding the PETA and their method of advertising and as an individual I have no reservations about some one putting forth their views, but I also could not hold back my views on this issue.

According to me we all are always worrying about the means and methods instead of looking at the end results and similarly Ms. De is too concerned about the way PETA is marketing rather then the awareness PETA is creating. Well let me ask you do you know that PETA has created awareness among two million members worldwide? Give me one form of marketing that can create so much awareness in such a short time? So what if celebrities show off their bod to promote this campaign? Have you watched the video on PETA website? Have you seen the cruelty done to animals.
Believe me every inch of ones bod flaunted for these poor animals is worth its weight in gold. I agree that there are many other campaigns to create awareness but none is as strong as the one used by PETA. It uses the most famous marketing campaign SEX SELLS!!! Period. Whether it feels cheap or not, its the best way to promote awareness. It directly relates to consumers psyche and their behavior. Rather than take PETA to court why not take people being cruel to animals to court. Why not use energy to help PETA?

I would rather question advertisements of undergarments that are doing the rounds then question advertisements of PETA and it is not that PETA is exploiting any women in order to do these bare acts and these very models and actresses have no reservation in showing off in a movie flick or a fashion ramp, then why not do it for a better cause.

I am all for PETA and had I been a celebrity I would not have hesitated showing off my bod to the world for its sake rather then showing it off for the sake of getting an entry into Bollywood or Hollywood.

Ms. Shobhaa De's reservation against PETA - http://shobhaade.blogspot.com/2008/09/peta-aur-ghaseeta.html

Taliban For Dummies.

TALIBAN - Today there is rarely any other word that is as powerful as 'Taliban'. The moment you utter this controversial word, the world around you has a comment or an opinion to share. Today Taliban and it's misdeeds are often all over the print as well as news media and due to this highlights in the media, people are unaware of the reason as to why Taliban was founded and why it is has become exactly opposite of what it means.
 

So what is this Taliban? Talib means student, one who is willing to learn the ways of Allah and Islam. Afghanistan was ravaged by Mujaihideen (Islamic Militant) bandits who would loot the travelers and rape small girls and boys as well as Russian insurgents and in order to fight these criminals, few students formed a group and vowed to fight Mujahideen criminals and get rid of them. This group came to be known as Taliban - a group of Talibs and enjoyed a enormous goodwill among Afghanis.

 Even though there is no evidence, it is widely believed that Taliban was supported by CIA in order to fight Russian insurgency in Afghanistan and as per the universal law the Americans are reaping what they sowed, if the theory of CIA support is true. After the success against Russian insurgency, Taliban had no real purpose and agenda and should have been disbanded, instead was misled by certain elements for personal and political gains and without any proper guidance, Taliban fell in to wrong hands of fanatics and instead of being students of Allah and Islam, they have become students of terrorism and oppression.
 

These fanatics under ruse of Sharia Law and Islam, torture their own people and curb the rights of their own people. According to these zealots anything that gives happiness is bad as it gives rise to crime and this is the oldest trick in the book that has been used by the past oppressive rulers to keep their subjects under their thumbs. The worst affected, under Taliban regime are women, even though Allah and his prophets have preached to show the highest respect to womankind. Taliban is nothing else but a bully picking on soft targets and will bully only when no one is watching, but the moment they are reprimanded or warned of stern actions they will run away crying.
 

If there were any hypocrite, then it would have to be Taliban and one of the prime example of the hypocrisy is that Islam prohibits its followers against vending or consumption of any intoxicants, but under the Taliban regime the opium farming and smuggling is at its peak in Afghanistan, secondly Islam teaches one to be compassionate and tolerable against other caste and race, but Taliban are foremost in terrorizing and killing innocent people of other caste but have also spilled the blood of their own Muslim brothers.
 

Taliban has lost whatever respect they enjoyed initially not only globally but also in the eyes of their own Muslim brothers and more specifically in the eyes of Allah. Taliban for me today does not stand for anything Islamic but is just the opposite of everything that Islam stands for. If some one was to ask me what is Taliban, I would say it is -T(errorize) A(nguish) L(oathe) I(gnore) B(oycott) A(llah's) N(ame).
 

It seems that fanaticism has become a fashion statement and everyone wants to jump on to the band wagon of fanaticism, it is no longer limited to Muslim, but has spread to other religions also and the apt example of the same are the recent events in India - Malegaon Blasts, Pub Attack in Mangalore etc. The so called Ram Sene that reared its ugly head in India has first to learn to adopt and imbibe the virtues of Lord Ram, before criticizing other cultures and attacking soft targets. What is the difference between Taliban and Ram Sene, according to me absolutely nothing, as both are trying to force their beliefs on the people and create havoc if they don't have their way.
 

Today Taliban is synonymous with all things wrong and let's hope that while we all don't hold ourselves back in criticising Taliban and their ways, we should at least peek behind our backs and check whether we have any such elements albeit hiding behind a different mask.....

Pope Condemns Condoms - Whose Side Are You On?

Everyone has an opinion on everything, but the problem arises when a public figure airs his views on a particular subject and it soon snowballs into a controversy and things turn for worse when it involves a religious figure head opining on condoms. Pope Benedict has been largely criticized for his remarks on the use of condoms.

Pope Benedict is of the opinion that use of condom could increase the problems of HIV/Aids and further endanger public health. Whereas the remark has drawn lot of criticism from lots of quarters, I don't see anything wrong about the remark and the same should not be criticized only because the Pope has spoken against the usage of condoms, but one should try and understand the logic behind such a remark. We all know that Pope is not some common man on the street who would just shoot his mouth off to gain cheap publicity.
 Today, everyone will agree that condoms are not 100% safe in avoiding HIV/Aids, yes; it may be helpful to an extent. The only way to ensure 100% precaution from HIV/Aids is to practice marital fidelity and sexual abstinence. I can clearly see the logic behind the Pope's statement and that is to avoid spreading of HIV/Aids, the activists have to prioritize preaching of fidelity and abstinence on top basis and the promotion of condoms should be kept to minimum. Persons infected with the deadly virus may have sex with different partners, using condoms as they believe that using condom is safe. But therein lays the chance and a definite risk that the uninfected partner would catch an infection.

Today, would anyone of you have sex with an infected person using a condom? I would not and I am sure none of you would dare take the risk, even if a condom is used as there always be an underlying fear of contracting the disease. Not even for a second , I am not saying that people with HIV/Aids should be isolated or discriminated. There may be arguments coming forth that condoms are necessary for those indulging in sexual activities with more than one partner and that is exactly the point Pope is trying to highlight in saying that condom would higher the risk of the virus spreading as infidels would indulge in sex thinking that it is safe and whereas the need of the hour is to promote fidelity and awareness in youngsters as well as teenagers to abstain from having sex with multiple partners.

Condom is a mean that might or might not prevent the spreading of the deadly virus, but fidelity and sexual abstinence is a sure shot way of controlling the spread of this virus and these principles apply all the more where the illiteracy rate is much higher. To some fidelity and sexual abstinence may sound like drastic measures, but drastic times calls for drastic measures. Pope Benedict's remark should not be construed as a religious remark, but should be seen with a different perspective keeping aside one's personal religious beliefs and then we will be able to see through the reasoning behind the said controversial remark.

The world is divided over the usage of condoms; let's hear from you all - 'Do You Really Think Condom Aids in Controlling the Spread of HIV?

Is 'Slumdog Millionaire' A Proud Moment For Indian Cinema?

Controversies surrounding 'Slum dog Millionaire' keep springing up every now and then and it simply refuses to die down. Though the movie has swept various awards including the Oscars, the debate still rages on whether it really was a best movie of the year. Everyone agrees that it had a good storyline about an underdog achieving success against all odds, but it certainly was nothing extraordinary and at least I would not see the movie a second time.

Anyways, my argument is not whether the movie was good, average or best. My reservations are against those Indians, who are claiming the movie to be one of the brightest point in the history of Indian films. Yes, it is a matter of pride that couple of Indians have won the prestigious Oscar awards, but at what cost? In my personal view India has lost much more than it has earned. I really would like to know and understand the logic as to how Slum dog Millionaire has made India proud.

The film ‘Slum dog Millionaire’ is a story about Indian slum kids and their lives and the movie portrays nothing but poverty in India. During pre-independence days the Britishers compared Indians to Dogs and today after almost 6 decades a British film maker compares children living in Indian slums to dogs. The film maker made huge amount of money by showing India in a poor light on an international stage and I fail to understand what the Indians are being happy about or are celebrating about?

The movie does not depict the correct picture of India and only the ugly side of India has been glorified and we Indians are proud about it. What is there to be proud of?

* The children posing as guides at Taj Mahal and cheating the tourists.
* The children working in hotel refills the Mineral water bottle and cheating the customers.
* Pick pocketing, stealing and reselling tourist footwear.
* Grounding a car of a foreign tourist.
* Training and employing the children for street begging.
* Making a child blind to make him an impact beggar.
* Training and pushing young girls into brothel house.
* Children becoming criminals at the age they don't know what life is.
* Host of the game suspecting the knowledge of a slum boy and trying to mislead the participant.

These are nothing but an ugly and humiliating side of India, that all of us are fighting hard to eradicate. Even Hollywood journalist compared the movie to the Poverty Porn, but we Indians fail to understand this.

Let us all be very clear about one single thing - 'Slum dog Millionaire' is not an INDIAN MOVIE, it is a movie made by foreigners about the story of Indians. The only Indian connection is A.R. Rahman.

I completely agree with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan’s view about the movie which was posted on his blog: "If Slum dog Millionaire projects India as Third World dirty under belly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky under belly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations." Bachchan also states: "It's just that the Slum dog Millionaire idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not."

The whole thing is put into perspective by an another renowned film stalwart Naseeruddin Shah in his interview to Rajeev Masand on CNN IBN: “I enjoyed Slum dog Millionaire but can't understand why we are all behaving like it is an Indian success story. It's a Bollywood movie made in English. I don't enjoy Bollywood movies too much, but I enjoyed this one. It was a different take on the 'underdog shall triumph' formula, the feel good formula. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't see it a second time and I don't think that it was the best film of the year."

He further goes on to add: “I mean what's wrong with us? We are celebrating it as if we have made it, as if we are responsible for it, as if we financed it, as if we made the film possible. We are all behaving in that way. Everybody knows it's not an Indian film, it's not been made by an Indian, it never occurred to an Indian to make Slum dog Millionaire, it never occurred to an Indian to make Gandhi either for that matter, but we ran to lap up the accolades when they started coming."

He also gives his views as to why he is not keen anymore on working with foreign film makers: “It's not a big deal. The money is a little bigger and that's about it. Otherwise it's the same old story. In fact for those who have tasted stardom here it's even sadder that such people should try and now grab roles in the West because what they are going to get is not what they are going to like, I can promise you. Because you are confined to one tiny little cabin of Indian actor - the maharaja, the cook, the terrorist, the bairar (waiter) and so on. All you will get is anything which requires wearing a turban.”

This really shows what foreign film makers think about us Indian and I am not very proud of it, if anyone is , it is a sad thing. It is high time that we show the world what India is all about?

King Of Good Times Brings Gandhi Home.

It comes as a great relief for me that the drama over the auction of Gandhi’s memorabilia is finally over and hopefully this really will be the end, but the gut feeling is that more is yet to come. Who would have thought that even after almost six decades since his death, Gandhi will be able to make the headlines.

For me this auction and all the drama surrounding the whole episode is nothing but trampling of the very values that Gandhi tried to inculcate and the biggest irony is Gandhi’s family being thankful to a liquor baron Vijay Mallya. One of the vice and addiction that Gandhi always fought against and even today in the state of Gujarat, the state of Gandhi’s birth, liquor is still not permitted.

Vijay Mallya’s bid of 1.8 million pounds for Gandhi’s personal belonging is nothing but a preposterous and an extravagant expense in these times of recession. Gandhi’s soul would have been more at ease, if this amount would have been utilised for the causes that have been nearer to his heart. The war of words have already began between the Indian Government and Vijay Mallya, as Indian Government are claiming that Vijay Mallya acted on the their behalf, which of course is being denied by Vijay Mallya.

Everyone is talking about the sentiments that are attached to the items, but what use are these sentiments when Gandhi is only a statue to most which is cleaned and garlanded twice a year and for some is just a photo on the currency. Since years the name Gandhi has been used, exploited and sometimes abused by many for ulterior motives.

All said and done, I am very proud of the king of good times as he has brought Gandhi’s memorabilia back to India. Whether it was his personal decision or he was acting on the Indian Government’s behalf is another story altogether?

Now that Gandhi’s items are finally coming back to India, I hope with all my heart that his glasses will enable us to see his vision clearly, his pair of sandals will give us the strength to follow his path, his pocket watch will be a constant reminder of the difficult time he faced for us so that we can enjoy the good times and finally may his bowl and plate be a constant reminder to share whatever we have and be happy in it.

Gandhi's Items As Well As Values Auctioned...

Today it really pains me to see that for majority of people in India are more inclined in getting materialistic Gandhi's personal items as compared to Gandhi's values and teachings. There have been controversies after controversies as soon as James Otis announced that he will be auctioning the items that were used and belonged to Gandhi at some point of the time.
 
No doubt these items are a valuable and precious part of Indian history, but was the Indian Government sleeping all these years? Is the Government saying that they had no clue as to where these items were? Indian Government is leaving no stones unturned in trying to procure the Gandhi's personal belongings and it has resorted to threats, pleadings, legal methods in order to bring these artifacts back to India. It seems that Indian Government were left red faced when they heard about the auction and wanted to avoid humiliation and at the same time wanted to score some brownie points with the people of India as elections are coming up soon in India.In trying to save their face by getting the Gandhi's items, the Indian Government broke every possible value that Gandhi believed in and preached. In doing so Government have definitely proved one point that we are concerned more about Gandhi's items than his teachings. Also it so happens is that these items that were to be auctioned, were given away or gifted away by Gandhi himself and if it is true then Indian people have no right to it. Of course it would have been a different story altogether, if they would have been stolen and smuggled out of the country.
 
Talking about stolen and smuggled national treasure, the Indian Government should also show equal determination in getting back the Kohinoor Diamond back form England, as the same was definitely looted by the British empire during it rule over India.

A Political Strategy - RIOTS.

Recently the headlines of all the newspaper and news channel have ‘Breaking News’ of rioting in various cities of India and rioting takes dangerous propositions especially when they are based on religious sentiments. I am sure that all readers will agree that this kind of negative publicity will definitely drag India back by few years.

Whenever you switch on a news channel or pick up a news daily, you will come across sporadic incidents of religion based attacks by one religious group on a group of people from different religion which then takes the form of rioting which becomes free for all to attack whoever is swept in their way similar to Tsunami wave or a Cyclone, rioters fail to realize that the people they are hurting are the same people with whom they co-existed peacefully few days or months back.
Anti-Christian violence in South, bomb blasts in various cities of India, Clashes in Srinagar presents an ugly face of India that we shudder to think of and it seems that our country is reverting back to dark-ages. This definitely forces us or should force us to think are these sporadic incidents a result of unplanned anger and impulse or are a result of planned movement that uses ignorance of certain people to their advantage.

It is a worldwide situation and there are many conspiracy theories on the grape-vines that no group of rioters can take dangerous propositions without the help of certain selfish groups for example regional political parties or Government who want to undermine their political rivals which is gaining power or popularity in a certain part of the country. It is also seen or heard that the police or anti-riot troops reach a riot infected place much later when the riots have already scaled to a very violent stage and this clearly proves that the rioters are given a free hand to run amok.

Does this mean that India is getting intolerant towards each other’s religion, but that is not the case as there were few articles regarding Muslim actors performing Ram Leela and in the blasts that took place recently in Malegaon, where a group Hindus and Muslims helped the victims. If these reported incidents are true then where is the question of intolerance?

If the riots are caused due to impulsive nature of people, then such behavior does not spread in to massive fire ball that threatens to engulf a complete state or for that matter of fact a complete nation unless and until this impulsive anger is continuously fueled by a group of selfish people who want to right their own wrong and do not want the people to understand the real motive.

We need to ask ourselves again and again that why a certain selfish group control and orchestrate this mob frenzy. Is it that we have become no brainers and believe in what we hear and not apply our mind in order to look in to the reality of the matter and each one of us has to raise a question to our self is does such behavior shows our nation in good light…. This question can only be answered when we all look in to our own hearts and decide that enough is enough…

'Bal Diksha' - A Crime Or A Religious Step...

Jainism is on the rise and I am proud to say that I am a Jain by birth. Jainism according to me is one of the very few religion which is based more on scientific reasons than on beliefs.

Certain rules of Jainism such as one should not eat after dark is based on scientific fact that at night if one goes to sleep directly after eating it will make them obese. There are other many such rules which are mostly based on scientific findings but that details for another time....

At the moment the issue is 'Diksha' (Renunciation) of worldly belongings. In Jainism, Diksha means sacrifice of all the worldly belongings in order to turn themselves to religious activities and learn the ways of Jainism and then preach them to other people and I respect and honour such people who have courage to take up the decision of taking Diksha because it is not an easy path to stay on and follow.
Now the moot question is when a normal society does not allow a minor to take any decision for themselves and they have to be either affirmed by their parents or guardians, then how can they be allowed to take diksha's decision on their own. In some cases it is said that parents agree and stand by their child's decision. But are these minors who have still to see and understand as to what the world has to offer them renounce the world or is it some kind of pressure coming from unexpected quarters.

According to me, when parents are not allowed to get their minor children married and it is also punishable under the laws of our country. The same law should be applied to underage diksha or renunciaton and the law should not allow either the minor or their parents/guardian to take this step until they reach an age of 21 as according to most of the Jains - Diksha is a big step and in which one gets married to religion and then as in marriage polygamy is not tolerated and you have to be loyal to your partner similarly once you take diksha you have to be loyal to the religion and not desert it, if you are not able to maintain your vows.

And so called bigwigs and self appointed care takers of Jainism - please realize that more you approve of such 'Bal Dikshas', more are the chances of our religion getting a bad name as there will be more and more case when one realizes their mistake they will want to return to the society.....

Please think liberally and logically.