Social Tweet served Indian style!

Facebook, Orkut and Twitter were probably designed to keep people connected across the world. It created a virtual world where people thought they could Like, Poke &  Follow people. Well, almost. But we can't really do much without Indianizing everything we get our hands on. Mc Chicken burger has a little brother named Mc Aloo Tikki and Subway sandwiches have fillings of Chicken Tikka. 

So while orkut came up with background themes for occasions like Diwali and Holi, all of these social networking sites had an option to access them in Hindi. While surfing one of the days I came across a blog, that glued me on to it. This blogger by the name of Krisha Ashok in one of his blog entry talks about Indianizing the 'Like' button in facebook. His writing hilariously takes you through the various possibility that the Indians will create even in a simple social networking site like Facebook. Even more interesting is that the buttons would have the possibility of exceptions. Eg: I like the picture but not the caption, or I like but don't get the wrong idea. 

I do agree we like to modify the things our way, but that is probably how we make it acceptable to the masses here. I guess every city in the world has a trade mark, we as Indians may have just found ours!

The Scam Sham

Scam scam here and there, not a country to live? This is the thing about the people here, we not only like to blow things out of proportion, but we like to stick to the theme. Like this time the theme is scams. The article by Swapan Dasgupta in the editorial column of the Times of India, talks about the same subject. The 2G spectrum scam and the involvement of various industrialists like Ratan Tata, along with lobbyist Niira Radia has led to the worry of those who are the citizens of the nation. The politicians have always been known to be corrupt the latest example being the Commonwealth scam and the Adarsh housing scam. But the involvement of the corporate world with the policy makers has been a blow to those had hope in the capitalist setup.

A very known journalist, Swapan Dasgupta writes how in the midst of all these scams we only see the negative side and how to thrash all the people involved. He talks about all these areas where faults exists, but how we as the citizens of India have to channel the anger in the right direction instead of maintaining a stagnant picture. In all honesty, I see that as the truth, except it is much easier said than done. The first step as he says is to channelize the energies in the right direction, but which side is the right direction, is yet to be known. I really like his thoughts in to words in the following lines :

"Instead of fighting the cancer, a lynch mob has, however, set its sights on mocking the famous, destroying reputations and creating a mood viciously hostile to entrepreneurship — the force that propelled India’s growth story. "

Corruption indeed, is no less than a form of cancer plaguing our society. It surfaces with various names and faces and keeps us occupied in trying to figure out which disease is it. Instead of treating it like a disease and looking for the cure, we choose to first find where it came from than how to deal with it. The question yet again comes back to us, ' If we the people make the government, then why don't we have the courage to face the repercussions of our decisions?' The answers lie within us, only we choose to let them be dormant.

Top 5 Scams in India

1. 2 G Spectrum Scam 

           2. Commonwealth Games Scam

  

           3. Telgi Scam

        4. Satyam Scam

 

       5. Bofors Scam

It is amazing indeed that the country has so much of money to fill the pockets of such frauds!

For the love of fetish!

Heights of crazy fetishes have been redefined once again. As if it wasn't enough to have crime and atrocities against humans in the world, the next target is the weak who cannot voice their views. I'm referring to animals who cannot speak for themselves while they undergo torture by humans, just for sadistic pleasures.
This article that was published in the Times of India today talks about little animals like rabbits being the prey to the entertainment for some Chinese girls.There are videos made of these Chinese girls play and kiss little animals like rabbits, puppies and kittens and take glass slab keep on them and sit on it so as to crush them to death. Or to make it more interesting and sexy, they wear pencil heals and stand and jump on the little animals so as to kill them. This is the most horrendous and outrageous act of cruelty. As if the Chinese were not satisfied with killing dogs mercilessly to eat their meat.

This is not the first time that cruelty against animals has been taking place. The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA) have been fighting for various causes like against KFC and Mc Donalds unethical slaughter of chickens, animals is entertainment, killing of baby seals in Canada, fur from animals and force feeding of goose liver. Although PETA has intervened in the 'Animal Crush' matter, it is not an organisation that will be able to counter such fanatics who like to torture animals for their own amusement, it is we the people who can drive the change. If we have a heart for our own children, why kill the children of dogs, cats and rabbits. After all they too have a heart, don't they?

Real or reel life hero?

In a nation of mixed cultures, races, and strata of the society, there is always a news that keeps us occupied. So today when I was going through the newspaper, the Nation page of The Times of India had a very interesting piece of news. The article was about the famous bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, because he had developed an allergy to an anti biotic he took. This landed him straight in the hospital.

Hrithik Roshan maybe the heart throb of many, but I'm not sure if that news featuring of the National page of the newspaper would benefit the lives of even a few. A country where every hour there is a shortage of water in villages of Jharkhand and electricity in small villages and towns, focus still remains on a bollywood star. Since it is published in a national newspaper, hence people read. But as a news reporter, do we print what the readers like to read or do we follow the 'Indian Norms of Conduct' and go ahead with the moral duty of being a journalist, reporting, accurate and fair, free from any biases.

It is not just about popularity anymore, sometimes it gets as obscene as you can think.Two days back in the same newspaper the famous celebrity Kim Kardarshian was quoted on the international page of the National newspaper. Her dilemma was on the size of her twin assets. Wow! that is really some interesting piece of news very essential to the humankind.

The point here is simple, as a journalist if you can help even one person by making him heard by the medium of the newspaper, you have indeed justified your job!

Judgement Day

The much awaited verdict to the pending case of Aman Kachroo came out in the papers today. The defaulters responsible for claiming the life of a student over meaningless ragging were sentenced 4 years imprisonment. It may be an end to the struggle that Late Aman's father has been going through. But a question still remains unanswered to me. Has the justice prevailed?
In this case the defaulters may have realized the repercussions of their action done under the influence of alcohol. But this still remains one of those cases that came to light because the parents and the concerned people chose to speak about it and hence gained the right to have these guys tried in the court of law. Every single day there are in numerous cases of rape, molestation, teachers beating up students to death, and everyday these cases are buried under piles of money and connections. There is no end to raping many such Ruchika Girotras or torture of the Aman Kachroos.

This judgement might set examples but it still remains the tip of the iceberg.

Roadside Grey

Every red light that one stops on in Delhi, little girls and boys are seen in tattered clothes begging for money or selling colourful pens or balloons. I came across one such traffic signal. And these were my thoughts.

Standing among the beautiful rainbow of colors
Blue green red and yellow,
Is all he could see.
Those tiny hands had more than they could handle,
The different sizes made it look like a perfect family.
Gleaming lights added to the drama,
The honk, made him see the reality again.
Little feet in the tattered slippers,
Blood pained cracks made it impossible to walk.
The cold breeze doesn't bother much,
The soft child skin is there no more.
The lungs are out of air,
Giving life to those balloons,
His dreams are shattered by the lonely nights on the red light.
The eyes only shine at the glimpse of a prospect customer.
My heart aches to ask him,
Why don't your parents save you from this plight.
Where I get my answer looking at the foot path,
The old lady is tying the balloons to a stick.
My car starts moving and the little one disappears.
But the memory of the little boy with balloons,
Stays fresh in my mind

Institutions like Child Line India, look into rehabilitating such kids. Maybe we can lend a hand!