India Against Corruption!! Really?
It’s good to see a lot of people chant India Against Corruption slogan. Good, there is awareness. But, are we really fighting for it? India Against Corruption, Really? I’m a believer of the quote – “Be the change you want to see”. Are we really fighting against corruption, in that sense, have we taken the first step towards the fight against corruption? Don’t be deceived by the topic. I’m not going to talk about Anna Hazare. I’m not going to talk about Lokpal – Neither of the two versions. I’m going to talk about you and me.
When we talk about corruption, it is so deep-rooted in our country that we are forced to bribe an official to have him do even what he is supposed to do and for what he is being paid. There are two parties involved here – One who gives and one who takes. If you are one among the millions who chant India Against Corruption slogan, I believe you belong to the former category. This is the question I have for you. Have you stopped bribing? If not, stop bribing or stop chanting the slogan.
Now that millions are fighting against this Government to have a bill passed. But, who gave them that authority? Who sent them to the Parliament? Isn’t it us who elected them? If we feel that they are corrupt, Aren’t we corrupt in electing them? Or have they become corrupt all of a sudden after being elected. I have a simple presentation here for you. If you are someone who doesn’t vote because you don’t believe in any of the candidates, you are already corrupt. You are letting someone else proxy, or you are letting your voice down so that you don’t even figure in the stats. If you don’t believe in any of the candidates, vote for 49-O. Yes, you gotta sign and reveal your identity to vote for 49-O, but aren’t you proud revealing your identity in support for Anna Hazare? How many of us spend time researching the background of all the candidates before going to the poll booth?
The next category I’m going to talk about is a tricky lot. They vote someone because he/she is his/her dad/mom/uncle/aunt/cousin or some one known and close to any one of the mentioned relative. They do so because they believe that if the one that they vote for wins the election, they would benefit in some way or the other. This group would easily go out and say that they elect them because they are so much in to social welfare activities. Cut the crap!! we know!! A Good governance would do all that is good for you. If you are looking for any benefit beyond that, you want the Government to be biased and you are CORRUPT. If you belong to this group, don’t embarrass India by shouting India against Corruption slogan.
I’m not writing this post against the slogan. I love my country so much that I want people to realize the real value of this slogan. That realization should start from self! I’m really happy to hear this slogan. I want a lot of meaning and value attached to it.
Jai Hind!!
Cheers,
L
So near, yet so far
We had team lunch at Restaurant Kumarakom, Velachery, Chennai last monday. I reached the restaurant at around 12:45, parked my bike outside the restaurant and was about to call one of my colleagues when I was interrupted by a kid. The kid was carrying a handful of sketch books and was pleading me to buy one. I disconnected the call and told the kid that I have nothing to do with these books and asked her to look for someone else who would buy the books. The next few words she spoke were shocking. She said – “Bro, you need not buy any of these books. Please buy me some food. I’m starving”. Those were not easy words to digest. I got back to my senses with my mobile phone ringing. I answered the call from my colleague, looking out for the kid who was talking to me just a few minutes ago. I found the kid having already crossed the road and pleading people on the other side of the road. There was plenty of food available just a few meters away as the restaurant was nearby. Someone had hidden all this food from her eyesight. So near, yet so far.
The other day I saw a kid getting down from a yellow ferrari at the American institute situated on the same road. It feels so good to see a ferrari in Chennai. But what did this kid do that the other kid did not. How life looks so different for two kids on the same road. The road was the same, but were they heading in the same direction? Poverty at this tender age is so hard to digest.
A look at the poor India
I’ve been very busy with my life that I’ve not been able to update my blog. But I’ve been visiting my dashboard very often all this while. I wanted to update my blog on 31st December writing up a review of how the last year had been. But I didn’t find time for it. Nevertheless I’m back here to take you through the poor India in 2011.
Last Friday, during our usual Friday night gossip, we somehow landed on the topic of TASMAC shops. This triggered a chain of thoughts in my mind. Government is earning a huge chunk of money out of these shops. But whose money are those? Government is announcing a lot of projects with the money earned out of such shops. But who are the customers of these shops? When we think about it, it’s the daily wagers who pour in their money for half a bottle of poison that they get from these shops. What is the salary of these daily wagers? With this inflation and raise in the prices of basic amenities, how would their families afford to satisfy their basic needs if these stupids keep depositing their salaries in TASMAC shops. I wouldn’t care if the guys who pour in their money into these shops are the only ones to be affected. Think about their family. Why should they suffer? What mistake did they commit other than somehow getting into the family of these stupids. So here I’m with few suggestions to the government to save these families.
1. Reduce the time of functioning of these shops. So these drunkards see the closed shops for most of the time. Still there would be a few stupids who would stop working and wait at the doors of these shops.
2. Raise the price of liquor whenever there is a need to raise the price of petrol/diesel/LPG. At least a few would give up alcohol just because they couldn’t afford to buy liquor at such a high price. There would be a few stupids who would resort to cheaper liquor that may prove fatal to their lives immediately.
3. Shut down the shop between 1st and 10th of every month. Every month, this would help their families somehow get their basic needs satisfied in this time period.
The above suggestions are not intended at people who are well off and choose to spend at TASMAC shops. If their family is not affected, I’m not concerned even if it means they are taking slow poison. They have chosen to die slowly. I’m only concerned about the families where the family depends upon him and poses a sad, disappointed face every day on seeing him get back home drunk. I’m concerned about those families where the children work as labors to help their dad get some alcohol every day.
If we can not save all the families, we would at least end up saving many of them.
Government,
Color Television may/may not help. Shelter being provided is appreciated. But how sure are you that these guys would allow their families enjoy all these. They may very well sell all these for two days’ liquor expenses. Please create awareness. Poor India is drunk.
Wish you all a happy and a prosperous 2011.
Share your thoughts on this. Let us discuss more about this in comments section.
Cheers,
Loga
Confession of a Fighter
This year has been fantastic in terms of experiences. This year has taught me so many lessons that have helped me realize my destiny. My life, so far has been full of challenges. When I didn’t care about securing a rank in school, I was challenged to top. I didn’t back out. I worked hard, I did well, but I didn’t win. I was written off, when I challenged myself to exceed all the expectations in my higher secondary results. When a foreign dept in college challenged us, I worked with a team to show the whole college what we are worth of. When the head of my department rejected our final year project proposal, citing that, only saints can work on such projects, my team worked hard to show them that we may not be saints, we may not be IIT geeks, but we do not back out of any challenge. I loved working on the challenges in a part of my work-life so far. I have lost most of the challenges I’ve tackled so far, but have never backed out of any of the challenges. I’ve always worked with a lot of passion in all of the challenges. So when I ask myself what my passion is, among all of them, working on challenges comes out on top. Proving something to someone by winning the challenges have remained my passion throughout. But the question is who have I tried to prove so far? Who am I trying to prove now?
I have been enjoying what I enjoy doing – working on challenges and proving. I have been very self fish so far by covering myself in my comfort zone. When I was confronted with a different game plan, I didn’t like it. When I had no choice, but to live with it, I asked myself so many questions. This is one question I’ve never asked myself till this year. Trust me, it is never easy to put yourself out of your comfort zone; but when you do so, you either get benefited or kill your own soul. I had to put myself out of my comfort zone. I did and I hope I will be benefited. This year has helped me ask myself so many such questions. When you ask yourself questions, your mind will not calm down until you find answers to those questions. My mind did the same. Who am I trying to prove? Who should I be trying to prove? I need not prove anybody. When I win challenges, only I would feel proud when 80% of others don’t care and the rest would already be looking to get what they can get out of that. If there is someone I should be proving – that is ME. I have a lot to prove to myself. The experiences this year have helped me question myself and find an answer to this question.
PS: I wanted to keep this post for 31st December. But I couldn’t hold this that longer. This is only a part of what I would be updating on 31st December.
Birthday Week
I celebrated my 24th birthday on 19th Oct, last tuesday. I wanted to add this post on the same day, but didn’t find any time to do. This b’day was special with lots of wishes. It makes you feel special when lot of people wish you with a pure heart, with nothing to hide and with nothing to seek in return. Here I’m updating my blog with how the year between my 23rd and 24th b’day had been. Before I start, I would like to wish myself good luck for the next year. Last year had been full of experiences – Depressions, failures, disappointments, happiness here and there. I had a few major lessons for life learnt in this year. I had a chance to know a lot about myself during this period. I had a chance to know a lot of people – few nice and gentle, few who are philosophical, few who live by their principles, few with passion in their eyes, few pessimists, few self-centered and many more. This was a period when I made few more friends. There were a lot of disappointments along the way, but how I stood them all and still stand shows myself how strong I’m as a character.
I consider myself lucky to have experienced all this at this age. I’m sure my dad would not have gone through all these when he was 24. There were no major achievements this year. But I think this is how it was supposed to be – to know more about myself than proving others who I’m. I lost a mobile a month after my 23rd b’day and got my first smart phone a month before my 24th b’day. I’ve lost few more things along the way this year. I wish I get them back by next b’day. This was a year when I added a lot of posts to my blog. I will not promise that I will add at least one post more than the number of posts I added last year. I promise that I will be frequent to this space. I will come back to this space to update how the year between my 24th and 25th b’day shapes up. I wish I come back to this space with a lot of good news next year. I wish myself luck to get what I deserve. Thank you all for making me feel special on my b’day and Thanks to all who made an impact in my life last year.
