SO MANY THINGS.......

3 years,6 semesters,x classes (minus y class bunks!!), z seminars, n term papers, m tutorials.......1 GRADUATE.....well,this is the most important fact, isn't it? Other facts and figures will follow!! But, how much wise or at least a little bit wise, has the fox(aka myself) become?

SANTA AUR BANTA KA FUNDA

Santa : O Yaar, from now on we shall celebrate Christmas twice a year in Punjab!!

Banta: But why?

Santa : Oye!! Simple- one as usual on 25th of December and another on this day to mark the ban of Da Vinci Code, Yaar!!

(No offence to members of the Sikh community)

A little bit humour......a little bit wise!!

WELL, ONE LAST TIME.....
Some soul food on anti-reservation(and something new) for one last time-
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/ias-toppers-mantra-all-merit-no-quota/11395-3.html

http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=SC%2C+ST+students+gets+In%2Dflight+training&id=88398

Just for the sake of being....a little bit wise!!

ARREY, DAN-DA, BOI-ER JHAMELA MITECHE! BUT, AAMIR-BHAI, AAPKA KYA?

In the week that has gone by and the one that ends after two days, a lot of culture curry has been cooked up by our “desh ke vidhaata”. First, it was the case of breaking the Code : a holy task which was taken up not by Pope Benedict XVI but our very own Priya Ranjan Das Munshi! Commendable, considering that the interests of so many ‘believers’ (2.8% of the country’s population and distinct from believers the world over) were at stake. So, while the film started raking in the dollars in the rest of the world, those responsible for bringing it to India had to shelve their plans for another week. Now, it is Aamir ‘Activist’ Khan who is facing the wrath of the rulers of a state for speaking out against its ‘development’. And yes, it is the ‘people’s voice’ in the state that is demanding an apology from him. And, he has given no for an answer.

Whether Aamir’s acts are misfired PR stunts or genuine empathy is a different side of the debate. What is important here is the n number of routes that the authorities take to populism. Be it Da Vinci Code or Fanaa, Hollywood or Bollywood, there is no dearth of issues for sustenance of what else…..votebank politics.

“India is the world’s largest democracy.” That is why, it has governments that are a thousand times more enlightened than the people. That is why, the ministers consider themselves higher authorities on Christianity than the Pope. That is why, its queer politics forms the subject matters of PhD theses in Harvard and Oxford. That is why, celebrities here step on a minefield if they say something on ‘people’s rights’.

Notwithstanding all this, Da Vinci Code and Fanaa have even got my mother hooked. As she eagerly awaits the release of the blockbuster duo, she is also catching up with the print version of the former. And, she is as comfortable in the world of Hollywood and Bollywood as a penguin would be in an Amazon rainforest! So, Dan-da, you have reason to celebrate, because boi-er jhamela miteche (excuse me for going vernacular) and you are all set to reach every corner of India. But, Aamir-bhai, aapka kya? Maybe after Fanaa’s release, some people will become……a little bit wise.

WHERE ARE YOU, INDIAN GORBACHEV ?

“Go easy on the rhetoric” – thus spake a fellow blogger. Well, I shall try my best to heed his advice as I write further. But, the sensitivity of the issue is such a constant provocation……anyway. Sometime from now, I shall be writing an exam in which I will have to answer questions on Russian foreign policy. Don’t know how I will fare in the exam. But, as I sit with yet another of those drab and repetitive objects – the ‘xeroxes’- in the dead of the night…..rolling over to the life of the morning, I try to entertain myself by thinking up an odd comparison. This is between our incumbent ‘rockstar’ HRD minister – Arjun Singh and a ‘hep’ Soviet personality – Leonid Brezhnev.

How can this come about? Well, both neared/are nearing the sunset of their lives when they came to occupy their respective designations. Both needed/need help when having to reach out for the microphone or having to shift from one chair to another (no offence to old age). And, both see/saw their respective countries in the same way as they did in their childhood. While one wanted to prop up a great ideology by sending KGB officers in every corner of the globe, another wishes to prop up the downtrodden of his country by giving them quota-seats gift wrapped (even though the recipients might have no idea as to how they shall open their gifts). The history of mankind never ceases to witness supreme benevolence!

No, this is not rhetoric. This is not Rang De Basanti-style politician bashing or any anti-Arjun blog, as my fellow blogger would sarcastically put it. This is just an attempt to grope in the dark. When Brezhnev and his comrades had their fill of ‘Sovietising’ the world, someone called Gorbachev set about undoing their actions. Will I be wrong in asking for an Indian Gorbachev now? Will I be asking for the moon? Or, is it time for me to stop shouting from the rooftop? Maybe it is…..as time on writing against reservation is really running out……as a “Reserved Generation” is all set to become a reality…….as another outraged friend’s text message calls the government names……..yes, words really don’t break bones, as you said, Mr. Singh (even though the lathi-wielding police cares two hoots about breaking the protesters’ bones)…..yes, I am laughing at my own silly little joke. But, the question keeps lingering within me – ‘Where are you, Indian Gorbachev?” “When will you come……to make us a little bit wise?”

SOMETHING ELSE.......
Yet another anti-reservation post? Try these links below for some change and lots of soul food-

http://telegraphindia.com/1060523/asp/opinion/story_6255248.asp
http://telegraphindia.com/1060523/asp/opinion/story_6255404.asp


-The Telegraph issue dated 23rd May,2006,Tuesday.

The stuff above will surely make one a little bit wise!!

WE DONT NEED NO RESERVATION

We dont need no reservation,
We dont need no seat control,
Hey Arjun!!
Just leave we youth alone!!

RESERVED

Once upon a time, there was a bright, young boy,
Who always filled his parents with joy,
All the good things in life he deserved ,
But wherever he went he saw –
“Rights of admission reserved”

He was above the ordinary mass,
In school he always topped his class,
Every medal and certificate that he won, he very carefully preserved,
But, was his future reserved?

He wanted to be an engineer, he wanted to be a doctor,
He wanted to excel, he wanted to be an achiever

When the day of reckoning arrived, he was the one-
One in two lakh students – all, like him, meritorious,
All, like him, extremely laborious
Competing for two dozen seats,
Out of which, 50% were reserved
He was desperate, he was frustrated, he felt cheated,
By whom was his future being dictated?

He had been told – he was an “upper caste”,
This was his crime, or probably, the cold reality of time

Did he get through?
Did he win his prize?
Maybe yes….maybe no,
But, in the end…..could he be a little bit wise?

Same Old Story Repeated? What Would Rowling Say?

“Same old story repeated” – read the text message on my cellphone, reflecting the dejected tone of my ardent Right supporter friend. But, the Election Test Match 2006 is not an old story by any stretch of the imagination. It might be old wine in a new bottle – let another five years make that judgment. In the first place, how did this happen? Some fantasisation can help here.

They say that its Brand Buddha that’s done it his time for Bengal. Well, lets reanem Bengal as Buddhaland. Now, put Buddhaland in the realm of a magical world and let none other than J K Rowling and Harry Potter take over. But first, Harry Potter would have to morph into Hari Poddar. Now, where are the Malfoys, Dementors and Death Eaters? That is precisely the point – the magic of Buddhus Bubbledore (the magical alter ego of Buddhadeb Bhattachrya) is such that the Triwizard Cup (the Elections) have happened without any incident. Inspite of the presence of the Ministry of Magic (headed by Tandonelius Fudge) to monitor everything, Bubbledore’s magic has carried the day. Still, the contribution of Fudge and his representative – Debarty Crouch, has helped to check the influence of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (the Lord of Rigging). The Dark Lord, who threatened to create a lot of mischief, has not been able to gather his Death Eaters for the same.

Thus, Hari has won the Triwizard Cup as easily as grabbing the Golden Snitch in a Quidditch match – aided a lot by Bubbledore of course. Here, Hari is the symbol of the magic that is here to stay, for another five years at least. He represents the charm and the energy of Bubbledore that has won everyone’s hearts and disarmed his opponents. So what if Buddhaland has its own Snape? He can surely( or hopefully) be brought in line, unlike the Dementors and Death Eaters of Modiland. Now, all Hari and Bubbledore need is a portkey – a very special one. One that takes Buddhaland into a new era – where there is no perverse magic of the Maoists (trolls), the “party cadre” (Slytherins) do not bring everything to a halt, where more and more harbingers of development arrive on Platform Nine and three-quarters. One that makes all the inhabitants of Buddhaland – a little bit wise.

The long gap is explained by tapophobia(fear of tapping the keyboard) and sheer laziness!!
For a Secure Future, Not a Reserved One

“To reserve or not to reserve”- well, this question should not matter in the first place. The response to this question emerges as overwhelmingly negative even before it is posed. But, underneath, this does hide an issue that needs to be addressed – if we want to become “developed” from “developing”, that is (even after nearly six decades of independence). Sorry, I have to suppress a laugh here. Lo and behold! The geriatric ward of decision makers is here, have no fear. Among them, the ‘Arjuna’ emerges and talks of using ‘raths’ for progress in the age of the jet. Well, one need not go as far as the jet, but surely some contemporary thinking could help. Consider this – the constitution talks of removing caste inequalities (point of contention for reservation supporters) – reservations actually entrench caste identities more deeply; in this age – economic needs know no caste barriers, yet our decision makers continue to believe in the opposite; the government can use measures like economic basis for affirmative action, yet it believes reservation is the only tool at its disposal. To add to the icing on the cake – some say reservation does not compromise quality – look at the South. So, lets put the South and the North of the country in two different boxes and treat the former as humans and the latter as aliens(sic). Is the South the only place where backward caste people reside? Is it the only region which produces world-class manpower and is a model for social justice as well? An ardent representative of this school of thought actually went so as far as to say on national television that the IITs are for the privileged class only and no IIT-ian contributes anything to the country’s development? Is any IIT-ian listening? Besides, is getting into an IIT the ultimate symbol of upliftment? What does the poor OBC farmer in a remote village in Haryana need first – more land for cultivation, irrigation and electricity or a degree from a place where he says his children can never make it? At no point do I wish to deny quality education to anyone from the lowest strata of society? But, surely we can do with some innovative thinking – like scholarships and free textbooks?

Need I say more? Mr. Singh – is reservation the only way to being a little bit wise?