Alka Dwivedi

I find an interesting comment here.
This time I haven’t asked Tanmoy whether I can publish his comment on my blog. I know he won’t mind.

I remembered a small incident at a very early professional life of mine. In those days, I had just joined as an Economist with Confederation of Indian Industry. While I was attending the CII World Economic Forum(CII’s flagship event attended by big names from industry), I met this elderly gentleman who has standing alone in one corner of the huge hotel room. I was just two months old in the profession perhaps and I thought I shall start by introducing myself to this man who appeared “not-so-posh”and “not-so-important” (actually many people attend CII meetings by paying huge sums just to come close with CII employees). Thus, I went up to him without any inhibitations and started talking to him about different topics. He was not very impressive while speaking and more than him I was the one who was speaking . I was immature to say the least, and I was very proud within, feeling as if I was telling an ignorant man - what all CII does and what all I generally do! I was foolish not to even remember how he introduced himself. After a while, I gave him my visiting card (the first ever person to whom I gave my first professional card) and told him that if he needs any help from CII he can contact me. He told me, he did not have his card in his pocket but asked me if I can give him a paper so that he can give me his contact details. I gave him another of my visiting card, on which he wrote his name and office phone numbers.

As I thanked him and went away I looked at the card - he was Mr. Narayanmurthy - the then CEO of Infosys whom I could not recognize. I felt really silly but was amazed to see his modesty while listening to literally “stupid chatter” from a young executive like me. The entire day at the event I did not even come near to him. However, during the evening when I accidentally bumped into him he recognized me and told me; he liked listening to me and wishes that I do very well in my career.

I shall forever remember this incident not because he is a wellknown executive but because in my early days in profession after meeting him I realized despite being an achiever one can remain grounded and one’s face can reflect that “Yes, I have toiled hard and have become an achiever”.

I felt enriched after being touched by the sheer genuineness. I wish India has more professionals like him.

Alex has expressed his desire to be a teacher. And a veteran Suvro Chatterjee has some advice for him.

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Thanks for that article from one who has been a teacher by choice for 27 years now, Alka, and best wishes to Alex, who wants to become one. But Alex, especially, be warned:

1) In todays’ milieu, you will have to earn respect the hard way, and that too will be partial (the kids may respect you while the parents may not!), and mixed with a lot of opprobrium and ridicule;
2) You are not very likely to make the kind of money that your talent and your labour deserves - society expects teachers to be poor or at best middle class, while it’s all right for cricketers, filmstars, surgeons and lawyers to be rich;
3) To make things worse, your friends and relatives will call you a fool for having chosen such a ‘bad’ career, so nothing can sustain you except your own convictions and ideals;
4) Most heartrending of all, most of your students will never understand just what you did for them, or will forget quickly, or will take ages to realise and get back to say ‘thank you’!
5) If you want to get rich, you will have to turn your tutorial into a sausage factory, so that all the heart and most of the mind will go out of education, and you will end up selling cram-sheets to allow vast numbers of mediocrities to get through this examination or the other.

Naturally, there are few takers for the career: it’s only the rejects from all other professions who fill up 90% of the posts. What that augurs for any nation’s future is the thought that gives me sleepless nights.

I am reposting one of my old poems. The idea of reposting this poem germinated yesterday, the Valentine’s Day. But I resisted posting it on that grand day.

Music floating in the air,
Whispering voices
enveloping me,
Fizz of dainty wine,
Playing on my tongue,
Transporting me
to a different planet,
Not at the happening restaurant
Of town.
They promised a slice of heaven
And kept it too!

At peace with the world and myself
laughing vivaciously,
I came out.
The Doorkeeper sprang into action
Saluting us promptly.

But why this salute?
Done nothing
except, having fun
Money can offer.

Searching for answers,
I remembered
those weighty sentences,
ALL of us being greatest creation
Of nature.
Why does one equal
bow to another equal?
Why this abject gesture
of one creation
to another creation of the same God?
Why? Why? Why?
I asked aloud.

Stupid!
Spirit always cloud your faculties,
He was saluting to
The Distant future,
Sparing his progenies
from saluting my progenies.

I found Helen “Item girl” or cabaret dancer of yesterday in a totally different dance number. Its a pleasant surprise to watch her dancing like this.

When I watch TV or read newspapers and magazine I often whine over how can they publish substandard materials and oversell glamor to unsuspecting readers. Whenever anyone dares to ask why they don’t publish much about people who are doing substantial service in the various fields the answer is, “It doesn’t sell.” People are more willing to read about Aish Rai sipping tea in a dhaba than what an obscure person is doing to educate street children. Is it correct?

Here are some facts:

“Although Reader’s Digest was founded in the U.S., its international editions have made it the best-selling monthly magazine in the world. The magazine’s worldwide circulation including all editions has reached 21 million copies and over 100 million readers.

The first international edition was published in the United Kingdom in 1938 and was sold at 2 shillings. Reader’s Digest is currently published in 50 editions and 21 languages and is available in over 61 countries. In 2006, the Reader’s Digest continued to expand, marketing three more new editions in Slovenia, Croatia and Romania. As from October 2007, Reader’s Digest expanded in Serbia.”

“Reader’s Digest is a monthly general interest family magazine. Although its circulation has declined in recent years, the Audit Bureau of Circulation says Reader’s Digest is still the best-selling consumer magazine in the United States, with a circulation of over 10 million copies in the United States, and a readership of 38 million as measured by Mediamark Research (MRI).”

What does this magazine publish? Juicy details of lives of Britney Spears or Pamela Anderson? Certainly not. This magazine sells optimism, extraordinary battles of ordinary souls, clean humor, family values etc. Reader’s Digest sells and sells better than other magazines whose editors claim that story of ordinary mortals don’t sell.

It seems as if Maharashtra is a privately owned property by Mr. Raj Thackeray. And only he has the privilege to decide who can reside in Maharashtra and what festivals they can celebrate. Why he questions Mr. Amitabh Bachchan only? I think Vinod Khanna too was a MP, fought elections from Punjab and not from Maharashtra? Mr. Shatrughan Sinha contested elections from Bihar and not from Maharashtra. Mr. Rajesh Khanna was a MP and was elected from Delhi. Mr. Dharmendra is a MP and not chosen to represent Maharashtra but Rajasthan. Why single out Mr. Bachchan? That his name will provide maximum publicity? Or Mr. Thackeray knows the Punjabi spirit of retaliation? They will not take it kindly to be beaten up on the streets of Mumbai and pay him back in the same coin?

I thought these things existed in stories only. Amrit sent me this link:

Four months into her pregnancy, Lorraine Allard was devastated to learn she was in the advanced stages of cancer.

Doctors advised her to have an abortion and start chemotherapy straight away.

Instead, with steadfast courage, she insisted on waiting long enough to give her unborn son a chance to survive, telling her husband Martyn: “If I am going to die, my baby is going to live.”

A caesarean delivery was scheduled at 26 weeks, but Mrs Allard went into premature labour a week before and Liam was born on November 18.

She then started chemotherapy, but died on January 18 - having left her bed a handful of times to cuddle her son beside his incubator.

“Lorraine was positive all the way through - she had strength for both of us,” Mr Allard said yesterday.

“Towards the end we knew things weren’t going well, but she was overjoyed that she had given life to Liam.”

What the husband says about her final moments:

“On the day Lorraine died, she hadn’t eaten for two weeks and couldn’t drink.

“I laid beside her and she was gripping my hand quite tight.

“We were like that for about half an hour. I could feel against my chest that her heart was slowing down. She just slipped away after that. It was very peaceful.

Did the mother want to be known as a sacrificing martyr ?

“When Liam is old enough, I won’t tell him that Lorraine gave her life for him, but I will say she made sure he had a good chance of life.

“She told me she didn’t want him to feel bad about it.”
Its as simple as that!

How the dancer is singing with her body and how graceful her movements are.

I have read this article in “The Pioneer” months ago. It states,

“Did you know that at least four to five weddings in Delhi equal the scale of the Chatwal and Mittal wedding every season? Just because their money is fatter than their name doesn’t mean that the big fat Indian wedding is not becoming chic, luxuriant and most importantly, high net worth. So what if you cannot get a Versailles, you can get married in a flotilla of Venetian gondolas, book an island and if your commitment is worth the wait, then even a space on galactic flights. Foreign brands, emeralds and rubies, theme weddings, exotic locations, multi-cuisine dinners, celebrity guests and star performances no longer make news. Not when a farmer is giving up his horse to pick up his bride in a helicopter. What does make news is whether the entire bouquet has had a designer upgrade. Even if the bride has pancaked her face with the latest of Chanel, is wearing the limited edition Jimmy Choos or the Calvin Klein bra, a wedding is nothing if each item of her trousseau isn’t a roll out edition of the latest from the fashion houses in Paris and Milan. And her gifts for the entire khandaan don’t empty out London’s Bond Street. Anyway what’s a wedding if you aren’t serving fresh fruits from Turkey’s Unifrutti and a playback video of the entire proceedings on a 50-inch Bang and Olufsen? And if you can trot out a firang wedding planner as your calling card, it will be more than the cherry icing on the cake. ”

Fine. I keep hearing about these weddings. But someone please write about what happens after. Do such weddings help in bonding better between newly weds? Having theme weddings promote stronger and long lasting ties between husband and wife? If parents hire foreign wedding planner will it promote more love between the marrying couples? Can anyone shed some light on these insignificant facts?

Tanmoy has e-mailed me this post ages ago. But I was unable to merely copy paste it at my blog. Sorry Tanmoy. I will not be THAT late in future, if you honor my mailbox with your sensitive posts again.

The death of this young man, Rizwanur, created a political storm and heads rolled in the process. The CBI still wants time to solve his mysterious “suicide.” But how his classmate Tanmoy views the whole thing? Read for yourself.
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It has been a long while since I have posted something afresh on this space. Being busy with office and family serves as the easier excuse but it is more to do with my inability to find something positive to write about because not at all times I feel like writing about my personal life.

Rizwan-ur-Rahman was my classmate and a better student than I was. I still remember in class six, we participated in one quiz together where he answered one of the most difficult questions that Derek O’Brien would have ever asked in a quiz. I don’t really know what grave crime he ended up committing that he had to die in such mysterious circumstances but I know one thing such incidents show the intolerance and frustrations that our society is suffering from. His death made me feel so miserable that I can’t express in words. I keep on wondering that while both of us were playing around in our school corridors none could probably gauge what lies ahead of us?

I sincerely hope that the truth behind his death his unveiled and justice is done but whether even justice in this case would help us to help our beleaguered society to rise, I have my doubts! The cynicism is more because most amongst us have accepted the current social fabric as the way it is and I have my doubts whether we want to contribute to its change.

Every day when I open the newspaper sitting in Delhi I find numerous incidents which defy any definition of civilization. In most of these the main protagonists are affluent, staying in plush localities, have basic literacy, command respect amongst their circle of friends. What is more surprising is the fact very few in this city are bothered that such an incident has happened around them and involving one of them. People out here have taken their helplessness for granted as they don’t even try and discuss whatever has been happening around them. I don’t think they even read newspaper to be generally aware.

Truly surprising for me because here I am in a state of stupor where my helplessness on such incidents is rendering me ineffective, non-productive according to a colleague as I am feeling miserable for being unable to contribute anything to change this social state. And to top it all, I make the mistake of feeling that if not everyone but most people who think they are educated would be as affected as I am.

While living in society there is hardly anything that is personal as howsoever selfish we might be we are at some point or other impacted by the happenings around us. We may not realize it all the time because of our ignorance but the day we would be directly impacted, I wonder how we would react especially when most of us prefer to remain unaware.

Economic growth statistics show us amongst one of the emerging Nations but undoubtedly we are facing tremendous social degradation with every passing day. Day in and day out we are leading an insecure life that is superficial and one of an escapist. We prefer to be the way we are and accepting being numb and in effect our superficial human existence is turning us into schizophrenics foolishly celebrating their insignificant existence.

Time to time I harp on the same topic and I know that. I do it because this ineffective society is the biggest mystery that I have ever encountered and I honestly feel clueless how this would sustain itself. Loopholes exist in all systems but unless and until there is universal public commitment how do these loopholes get blocked, I wonder!

Take the case of Nandigram for instance. It is easy to state that the ruling Government is responsible for all these killings, but aren’t in some way or the other all of us responsible to give rise to such events repeatedly in our country. We say, what could we have done? I am in search of a way out because I myself do not know and I am ashamed of my state because of this incapacity, but then there must have been ways. Still – there must be ways in which we can possibly contribute.

Whenever I have tried to analyze the situation at Nandigram I have had biases. At times I have felt the West Bengal state government is supporting this mass genocide and at times I have felt that trusting Mamta Banerjee’s oft dwindling credentials is the worst that I can do. But in all these I have felt perhaps as individuals we have not done enough to prevent such events from happening and thus all should share the blame by taking only side which is of humanity.

But being ignorant as I have been mentioning we are nipping the smallest of chance in changing any such scenario in its bud. May be I am stupid in thinking that our awareness of the situations that we live in would probably save us from a doomsday which might be looming large but one thing is for certain the doomsday would certainly come. Any theory would tell you that a state of disequilibrium is not sustainable but then we might end up paying heavy price for the society to attain equilibrium.

These phases would probably pass. Perhaps in our lifetime we would not see any change in our mindset. The growth statistics would keep on showing promise but in reality I feel we would never be able to call ourselves civilized and progressive if our social fabric does not undergo a sea change towards humanity. And awareness and sensitivity is the first step in making a difference. In a world where apparently technology is in our command, I think we should not wait for the likes of Buddha or Vivekananda to emerge from amongst us unless we believe technology has only gifted us better weapons of mass destructions but not humanity. Whatever might be the case, we need to emerge for us to survive otherwise ignorance would someday set our own house on fire and it can be any day! But by the looks of things in the environment I am currently in I feel surrounded by people in perpetual stupid slumber.

On craigslist you can put ad about anything. See what a woman was saying about herself and her pursuit.
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Okay, I’m tired of beating around the bush. I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy. I’m not from New York. I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don’t think I’m overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars, restaurants, gyms

-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won’t hurt my feelings

-Is there an age range I should be targeting (I’m 25)?

- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side so plain? I’ve seen really ‘plain jane’ boring types who have
nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I’ve seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What’s the story
there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they
hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY

Please hold your insults - I’m putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I’m being up front about it. I wouldn’t be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn’t able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.
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Two Guys Answer:

THE ANSWER
Dear Pers-431649184:
I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament. Firstly, I’m not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here’s how I see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a cr@ppy business deal. Here’s why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here’s the rub, your looks will fade and my
money will likely continue into perpetuity…in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won’t
be getting any more beautiful!

Let me explain, you’re 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold…hence the rub…marriage. It doesn’t make good business sense to "buy you" (which is what you’re asking) so I’d rather lease. In case you think I’m being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It’s as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

With all that said, I must say you’re going about it the right way. Classic "pump and dump." I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.

**********

MY ADVICE:

Dear Pers-431649184:

I also came across your posting with great interest. I am a 28 year old Wall Street trader who qualifies as an eligible suitor under your $500k/yr rule. In fact, I make over a million and can usher a woman into a comfortable, true middle class lifestyle (not like those 500k lower-middle class chumps who have to make do with the junior two-bedroom).

I am sympathetic to your goal in finding a rich man to marry. The milk needs to be sold by the expiration date. But since this is premium milk, why would you settle for less than premium prices? I would like to address some of the questions that were previously missed by the other gentleman and provide constructive advice on where to find your match.

The culprit, I believe, may be that you are also looking for qualities aside from money - such as looks, personality, and a sense of humor. However, men who have those qualities learn at an early age that they do not need money to attract quality women. As the saying goes, if you can get the milk for free, why pay up for the cow?

What you need to look for is someone who is long money, and short the other aspects. They are not easy to spot, since you are biologically wired to overlook and ignore them. However, the next time that you are at a expensive black tie event, and you are introduced to the short, bald, overweight man who fidgets nervously whilst making conversation with you, pay special attention to him.

Here’s an inspirational story for you. An acquaintance of mine who was also an classy and articulate woman as yourself was able to land that guy - who also happens to be one of the top ten guys at Google. This is the type of stuff that gold-digging moms read to their gold-digging daughters at bedtime. Perhaps you need to make a location change to Silicon Valley - miracles like these happen almost everyday in a land where you can randomly throw a rock and hit a rich nerd squarely in his Kim-jong Il glasses.

I wish the best of luck on your sales project. As for me, I am also available for a short-term lease. However, for marriage I wouldn’t consider a woman unless she can bring beauty, brains and self-motivation to the table. I do not want to dilute my gene pool and end up raising a bunch of Paris Hiltons.

All the great love stories of the world are of unmarried couples. If they were married their love stories might not have been that great. In modern times, Our busy schedule rarely permits us to nurture “relationships.” But still from time to time we come across people who have more love for each other than legendary couple like Romeo & Juliet. They might not get into history books but nevertheless their love transcends any epic or time.

Here is a wife who faithfully took care of her husband for not one, two, three, four or five but nineteen years. Gertruda’s country, Poland, changed from communist dictatorship to democracy, the economy changed from socialist to capitalist, but this woman’s faith remained unchanged.

For 19 years she spoonfed her husband Grzebska and kept him moving sideways every hour to prevent bedsores. Grzebska sustained serious head injuries in an accident and slipped into coma in 1988. Doctors were not optimistic about his recovery. But Grzebska’s wife, Gertruda had never given up on him. She brought him home and took care of him religiously. And one fine day Grzebska has woken up from his 19-year-old slumber. What fascinates him most is cell phones!!! What he says about the globalized world:

“‘When I went into a coma there was only tea and vinegar in the shops, meat was rationed and huge petrol queues were everywhere,’ he told the Polish news channel TVN24.

‘Now I see people on the streets with cell phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin. What amazes me is all these people who walk around with their mobile phones and never stop moaning - I’ve got nothing to complain about.’”

More Links:

Living Corpse’ Wakes After 19-Year Coma
Where are the food queues, asks Polish man after 19-year coma
Man Sees Changed World, Coming Out Of Coma After 19 Years

I simply feel elated when I read this news. ‘RJ who made derogatory comments could be arrested‘ And I am glad that Indian Idol III, Prashant Tamang’s fans and locals are out to teach this RJ a lesson. What I don’t feel good about is the violence part. It could have been achieved peacefully too. BUT ITS HIGH TIME WE START RESPECTING OUR OWN PEOPLE. AND IF WE CAN’T THEN BE PREPARED TO FACE THE MUSIC. The politicians are perfecting the ‘Divide & Rule’ policy’, we are not doing much to nullify these politicians’ move.

If we educated Indians can’t rise above regionalism, then what can be expected from others? I gather “educated” in today’s context means a professional degree, a job in a good company and speaking English with fake American accent and blasting Biharis, UPites, South Indians, Maharashtrians, Bengalis, Punjabis, Sardars, Haryanavis, Himanchalis, Chinkies, Gurkhas minus what you are. See where “MODERN EDUCATION” landed this RJ, Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd…

What our “educated”, “English speaking”, “cosmopolitan” male RJ has said for a certain section of the society:

The RJ, Jonathan Brady, who is popularly known as Nitin after a programme called Ulta Pulta Nitin that he used to host on some other FM channel, apparently commented in a live broadcast that “shopkeepers will now have to make their own security arrangements as Gorkhas have taken to singing.” The remark was made on his new programme, Khurafati Nitin on Red FM.

I am glad that the “Bahadurs”, “Gurkhas” and “Chinkies” are out to teach a “hep, metrosexual, barbarian” a lesson. It will certainly be a treat watching a “disguised bhaishahib” RJ perform before the people of Darjeeling. Perhaps during schooling our “disguised bhaishahib” was too busy perfecting his English accent and couldn’t pay much attention to the fact that Gurkhas belong to world’s finest warrior class!!!

People always hinted at models being dumb and beautiful. Or it seems beauty leaves a person the minute she acquires some brain power. I don’t know whether its true or not. But this news, UK rejects anorexic models, raises doubt about their brain power. It seems they have to be saved from themselves. And a group of hopeless bimbos need rescuing too who try to imitate them.

When I saw the plant for the first time I thought it is bottle gourd (Ghiya or Lauki) when I saw the fruit, I thought it will grow into a pumpkin. After few days I thought of it as off season watermelon but it turned out to be a melon!

Amrit, displaying it proudly!

What I know that there is no problem for assigning Rahul Bhaiya and Priyanka Didi sarkari bungalows. Though in what capacity / designation Priyanka Didi is living in a government bungalow, no one knows. They and their family have “sacrificed” so much for India and Indians. We will have to look after them and their coming generations for forever as Sarkari Damads. They have all the rights to enjoy every privilege with taxpayers money.

The link is not working but news goes like this:
HP land rules waived (The Statesman, India - 24 Aug 2007)
“The revenue department has given Mrs Priyanka permission to acquire land by giving relaxation in Section 118 of the Land Reforms and Tenancy Act, …” Should there be any rule for this family who “sacrificed” so much for the country? THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS THEIRS TO PLUNDER.
Today I read this news:
“Kalam, who has Z-Plus security cover, has been staying in the guesthouse despite his office making several representations to the urban development ministry for early renovation of the house in central Delhi allotted to him.

However, the work undertaken by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has been moving very slowly despite reminders from security agencies that want to install gadgets to protect the former President, who faces threats from several militant groups, including Lashker-e-Taiba.

Sand and construction material were seen spread all over the house at 10 Rajaji Marg. CPWD officials at the spot were unwilling to say when the house would be ready for Kalam to move in.”

Newspapers showing
Expectant faces,
Fearful faces,
Peeping out of windows.

As if asking,
Office hours had JUST begun
But how could life be over?
Suddenly, definitely, precisely
And clinically for everyone?

Expectant faces,
Fearful faces,
As if asking
We were just balancing
The morning coffee in one hand,
And files in another,
But how could life be over?

A man made lightening struck,
From the sky
To plunge everything
And everyone in the eternal darkness.

Expectant faces,
Fearful faces,
As if asking
Would we melt together
With concrete and mortar?

Expectant faces,
Fearful faces,
As if asking
Was it our destiny
To be one with steel girdles?
And not with mother earth?
What had we done
In our lives,
To not to deserve a few feet
Below the earth?
But to evaporate
With the vapor of morning coffee?

I was listening to some old songs having the names of political leaders like Nehru, Gandhi, Shastri, Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose. Manoj Kumar’s “PURAB AUR PACHHIM” mentions Nehru, Gandhi, Shastri, Subas in the song “Dulhan chali, haan pahen chali, Ho re dulhan chali, ho pahen chali teen rang ki choli Baagon mein laheraaye ganga jamuna, dekh ke duniya doli…”

Kavi Predeep has written this song for the film Jagriti,”Dedi humein azadi bina khadak bina dhal, Sabarmati ke sant tune kar diya kamal…” Of course this song is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

Another song from Jagriti,”aao bachchon tumhen dikhaayen jhaanki hindustaan ki, is mitti se tilak karo ye dharati hai balidaan ki” mentions Subhas Chandra Bose.
If lyricists has to write a patriotic songs today, what names they can write? I have a very low IQ. My mind doesn’t provide the name of a single political leader. Can someone suggest any name?

When I heard news about AIIMS doctors not getting their degrees due to Anbumani Ramadoss, a Health Minister under Manmohan Singh. The current Tommy (PM) only shouts when Madamji orders him,”Tommy bark!” and never bites. His teeth were taken out by madamji to lock safely. Now it seems that Madamji has told Tommy Manmohan to heel. That’s the case with him most of the time. So this PM is resting on his …you know where..while his health minister is running amok.

What a common man expect from a Health Minister? New health plans? Tackling AIDS? How medical services can be availed by the remotest villages? But we hear nothing of that sort from this Indian Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. What we keep on hearing is his new policies (?)regarding AIIMS director Dr. Venugopal and schemes how to humiliate and sack this world renowned heart specialist. We are known to humiliate and erode great talents of our nation.

It happened with Dr. Har Gobind Khorana who was awarded Nobel Prize for medicine in 1968. But here in India he was found unfit for the job of a lecturer. It happens only in India.

Dr. Khorana is very famous in his native Punjab and a short story about his early career is taught widely at the high school level. It details his efforts to find a teaching or research job in Punjab after getting his Ph.D. and how he was unable to find a job despite his excellent credentials since he did not have political “pull” needed for such jobs. The story ends in a sentence that is now legendary in Punjab : “Mr. Khorana, the job was yours and we were about to sign the offer letter but then the Minister called and recommended his nephew and….”. Dr. Khorana returned to Liverpool shortly thereafter and never returned to work in Punjab.

The Ministers have not changed much since then. We are still paying for the whims of these sarkari damads (sons-in-law).

I am posting this from Amrit’s blog:

Just read a very sad account at Mridula’s IIT-K blog and I think the issue needs to be highlighted because such a rot is present everywhere in our society these days.

The canteen owner of one of the IIT halls came across a migrant laborer’s boy who had been stung or bitten by a scorpion or a snake. The canteen owner did everything he could have possibly done, but unfortunately he couldn’t save the boy. The reason: first the security guards at IIT didn’t offer any help, and when he took the boy to IIT’s health center, first the hospital refused to treat the boy because he didn’t have a health card (and they refused to accept the canteen owner’s health card) and when the canteen owner called the doctor who works at the center, she simply refused to come because the patient was a laborer’s child. In fact she screamed at the canteen owner for disturbing her. You can read the entire account on Mridula’s blog.

Since life in general has no value in our country, such incidents can only be avoided by severely punishing those who could have saved the kid but didn’t. The licence of the doctor should be revoked, she should be sacked, and then she should be arrested for causing death due to negligence. She is unnecessarily wasting a post that could have had a compassionate doctor. When you are lousy, your attitude shows everywhere — tomorrow she can easily cause death of a student or a faculty member. After all, every doctor takes the Hippocratic Oath before obtaining a degree and if he or she violates that oath, he or she doesn’t deserve that degree.

The guards should be sacked too because if they don’t have the feelings to protect a young boy, how can you expect them to protect the institute when the need arises?

Does this sound harsh? I don’t think so. The death of the laborer’s son is harsh, a death that could have so easily been avoided.