Aadhar is actually nir aadhar

When Nandan Nilkeni was given the reigns of the mammoth task of creating a Unique Identification for each citizen of India, I was wondering if this would be one project were we indians could proudly tell about a really successful project which gave India & its citizens a new identity. 

However, after seeing the absolute chaos today at the post office Aadhar center of Malleshwaram, I understand that this is also going to be a new hog wash. The Aadhar form barely has a few details, and doesn't come in an electronic form or an easy to carry form. Instead, it is a big almost A4 size long and about half as wide sheet which may or may not be laminated. This is your UID in the democratic india.

I was really expecting something much smaller, more technologically advanced and easy to use. I understand that when the government has to provide this free of cost, it is a huge burden on our treasury but after recent stint of scams and scandals i wonder how HUGE is really huge for our Treasury...

 

More UID info here http://uidai.gov.in/

A habit getting rare - Reading

 I am sure the day is not far when, "U" will be an oxford dictionary word which means "You" and "gr8" is considered and optimized replacement for the word "great" since it needs one to type 2 more letters. The article here describes, how a study UK brought the problem of SMS and Facebook to light. Today we all are busy though we are not doing much, our internet time has increased many a times and reading seems to be something one has to do when he gets a new Email or a SMS. 

One need not understand expressions like "Searching something in a Hay stack" or a "As you sow, so you reap". Infact, it is difficult for me to understand how can one live without reading the wonderful books like "The famous Five" or the "Three investigators". I still remember when i would frantically cycle to the nearest library after my UT or unit test, to read the latest issue of "Chacha Chaudary" or "Champak". Looks like the cartoon network and the bevy of other channels, with their tons of poisonous episodes displaying strong emotions like envy, hatred etc although with an good intention...That good wins over the bad; have replaced these weekly or fortnightly magazines. Uncle pai is dead ( May his soul rest in peace!!)...I just wonder how long before Tinkle and Amar chitra katha too vanish in the oblivions of our ever advancing society....

Is the "Gandhi Era" reaching its expiry date?

Facebook is filled with funny quotes..One of my all time favorites is...

."Sonia jiski mummy hai, wo sarkar nikammi hai"...

But really has Anna messed up the Hornets nest by his fast. The government seems to be extremly confused as to what is to be done, and what not. First they arrest Anna...and then the release him. And then they allege that BJP and other parties are hand in glove with Anna. Sometimes, i trust that over government, which has highly qualified people like Manmohan Singh (also called MMS in slogans) and Dr. Chidambaram ( who by the way is already being seen as the future PM) holding its reigns, seems to be acting like a mouse that is trapped in a room which has no furniture and no where to hide. By the way, the nature of Rats is to hide...they run very fast...but they need place to hide...Same is with govt which doesn't know where to hide its face...Even Sonia's veil which was there to protect the ministers is missing.

It is clear that many of the Leaders have a lot to lose if the Lokpal bill is passed. No doubt, and independent body would hold the corrupt people by their balls. However, why do you want to react like idiots? Are you so stupid guys? You have eaten the countrys millions of bucks....Atleast now stop.

The agitation that Anna started has now taken almost an Ego trip now. It is clear that that fire has started and the smoke is rising...It is only a matter of time before the "Gandhi Era" is burnt down to ashes for good and a new system emerges. 

Corrupt India

I was a frequest visitor to Mr.Varma's blog, having added a link from my own blog to his. However blogging like anything else is associated with some kinda fashion. We all used to Orkut and now we all Facebook. Saying that we are using this to keep our social lifes alive is lame. Because if that were the case, there was practically no reason to abandon Orkut. Same has happened with Yahoo messenger & Google. However, this post is not about technology and where it is going....

I have started active blogging again...(let see how long i remain active)

I came across a beautiful piece by Mr. Varma here, where he talks about the mis-interperetation of the Lokpal bill. I remember that as india nudge towards the World cup finals and looked promising every other indian on FB had the "Bleed Blue" batch...and soon when the Mr. Hazare went on fast they had "Anti corruption" batches. People would say that this is their way of supporting the cause...but is this really the way? Varma points out in his article that corruption is a symptom and not the diesease itself, which i without doubt agree.

That brings us to the fundamental question why are people corrupt? However, before we can get into that we need to understand a bit better perhaps, what exactly is corruption?

In my view, there is a act of corruption going on, when one gets some undue advantage at anothers cost intentionally. Huh...is that too difficult...Well not really. It is not just about bribes....rules etc...Any act of unjustice that is unpardoned intentionally equates to an act of corruption.

For E.g if i get a mark more than my neighbor for the same answer, just because my mom knows the teacher well ( common in India) and the Teacher did this intentionally...then i am sure the teacher is corrupt. He might not have taken any bribe...but nevertheless he denied someone else something.

Bribes are the next level. I am sure the 1st bribes would have started as a result of favoritism. I have a soft corner for "X" and "X" get some priviledges because of that, Y wants these priviledges so he bribes me ...in terms of money, in terms of praise ( like praising your boss to get a hike) etc...this is where we have the roots of bribe...If machines where to make all the judgements for us based on fixed set of rules...they would be unbaised and which means there would be no way to bribe a machine...For example you cannot bribe the ATM machine to do your transaction faster...But perhaps you can bribe the babu at the bank to ensure that you can get ahead of the queue.

So to add to the suggestions that Varma makes in his blog i would say high use of techonlogy will ensure that there is very little the babu's can do. Will this lead to mass unemployement....Definitly...but then this was earned by the babus by not doing their jobs perfectly when they should have..

Varma says that Govt is involving itself too much into the affairs which it should not. I like the example of 165 licenses to open a hotel ...Well I would say to start with ensure that 164 licenses can be got electronically without human interference...Because in India we have a lot of Internal divide too...The country comes together when we play against Pak a cricket match or when we are at war...Techology infusion at each level is expensive but this is the price we will have to pay for our mistakes in the past.

It is clear that the face of India is going to change in the coming year. I just hope that the face change is for the good...and not just again a fashion thing...like in the past ...

 

 

 

Back in Germany

Aparently the only time my blog gets my attentions is when i am in Germany. However, attempts are on-going to ensure that it gets my attention even at my motherland. However, this post is because i read something that really made me feel quite honored. Its about Ms. Rajawat. Before you say, Rajawat who?....she is one of the youngest "Sarpanch" or village head and perhaps the only one who holds an MBA. She took part in the 2 day conference conducted by the UN. You can read more about her here.  We in India need more of such women and men who can help our villages and are having the vision to look beyond the computer screens & AC rooms. Ain't it great that we are getting such an important message from a women in a so called "Male dominated Indian Society"?

 

 

 

Inflation leads to deflation

The article here claims that the inflation has gone down this month...Hmm, the only thing i can see getting less inflated or deflated for the English enthusiasts; is the common man's wallet (Which includes me too). My dad does the shopping of the fruits in the house and if i may be a bit wordy here, he is one of the most persnickety person's when it comes to making note of prices and comparing. He tells me that none of the fruits are any cheaper than the last month. On one had there are crores of rupees being discussed in Air-conditioned rooms over "under the table" deals for almost everything under the sun starting from "Road Projects" to " Telecom bandwidth allocation", From "Cricket Teams" to " Land allocation"; On the other hand there are people who are dying everyday on our streets because of hunger and poverty. 

While Mr.Mukherjee claims that it (Inflation) will ease to just 6% here  I really have my doubts if this is really going to effect my expenses in anyway. 

I hope my manager dudes take a note of this...when they decide upon my salary for this season...

Sambar death!!

I cannot fathom the torture the boy would have gone through while he was in the hot "Sambar Kadhai"...Yes, You read it right. A boy was killed when he fell into a sambhar vessel. Though some might find it really funny that a death occurred due to Sambar...and there would be some wise asses who would call this a tasty death, I find it really unfortunate and also inconvenient to come to believe that we are staying in the same society as these poor children, who have to live under hazardous conditions even to get their right to education. 

After having a look at the above state of affairs in the Bangalore university examinations...i wonder if the boy jumped into the sambar to show his protest against our pathetic system???

 

 

The rhetorical cracker story

As the skies are getting illuminated by the bright sparks from the innumerable number of Firecrackers being lit by kids and adults alike, i began to ponder over the topics which gain popularity each year during the Diwali season and that is "Ban Crackers because it leads to child labor". Each year scores of hours of discussions and talk shows happen in air conditioned rooms where intellectuals discuss over the evils of crackers and talk about how they blow a dent in our environment. Then there are environmentalists who boldly come to the studio's in their 4 and 6 cylinder cars to tell you that the pollution level rises by 40% during Deepavali. 

What started with the color matches and the mudpot based "Diya" better known as the "Bhakthapu" is today an whole industry, which has been plagued perhaps since its very inception by child labor. However, while we try to point fingers at this industry, we some how fail to see that the whole town of Sivakasi or lets say the best part of Sivakasi, Tamilnadu feeds off firecrackers. A complete ban on fireworks would as well mean stealing the livelihood of this town. Further to this what most of might not be aware of, thanks to our media which promotes what is juicy, is that there is a big racket of crackers being produces illegally without proper licenses or safety measures taken into consideration. This is where you would find most of the child labor, since that would bring bigger profits to the cracker-mafia (Funny that we have mafia in India for everything). Instead of every season playing a blame game and by having some dumb jokers come on the television to tell us about the ill effects of Crackers and how it promotes child labor, why cannot we treat this an opportunity. Why cannot the industry be better controlled by avoiding child labor, enforcing strict quality control on the manufacture of crackers and promote innovation in this area. A google search tells me that the Indian fireworks industry once locked horns with the Chinese Firework giants only to ground down to dust. The reason is not only that our varieties of crackers is scarce, but also that like many or of our other products, they are considered sub standard, unsafe and mostly unpredictable. Anybody who has burst a couple of bombs during Diwali would tell you this. It is a saddening fact that each one of knows most of these things and we still try to solve the wrong problem. 

Yes, crackers pollute....but so do our cars, bikes industries. However, no one protests then!!. We tends to love or hate something based on how it is portrayed. Why cannot open spaces be organized where all the residents can come together in burst their crackers? That way the pollution is to some extent localized. The changes are necessary, but not at the cost of someone's livelihood. One would prefer to live 40 years and die with respiratory problems than dying in the next 1 year due to hunger. It makes sense to gradually reduce our habit our crackers, giving sufficient time for the industry to look for newer options. Or how would it be, if we start concentrating more on creating crackers for the export market? Atleast the pollution is not ours anymore? Or how about creating low polluting crackers? Norms in the automotive industry have given us cars that promise to pollute less, why not norms for crackers?

Something for the MBA's and decision makers to brood over???

 

 

 

Has the Internet...netted us?

Out of my class today my classmate asks me ..."Why do you blog?". It got me thinking, why i blog or better why people blog, tweet use more of the so called social networking sites? Is is that we are not able to express ourselves well enough in our physical forms by talking to people, by interacting with them ? or is it because we live a dual life were we are what we want to be, in our internet self and are what are expected to be, in flesh and blood?

At the outset of internet, there was a huge rush of people who found it as a wonderful way to express their ideas and let their creative juices flow all over the electronic media. People used it to connect to people who were earlier only available via the telephone. Soon the internet manifested itself into a space where people not just ventured to express their creativity, but also to express their views over topics which otherwise were out of their bounds. It also became a playground for demonstrating ones wit and wisdom. Mud slinging via internet is no more new. Attention grabbing via controversial statements on social networking sites has become a modern day fad. Sashi Tharoor being the baton bearer for the Indian youth by making statements about  "Cattle class" and sorts. 

What was initially designed to just transfer information between a group of computers has gone to become so huge that it has a personality of its own. It is almost like the internet is something that has its own life and we all have made this a part of our life. I for one cannot imagine a life without internet, because for every bit of information that i need, i just google it. This shows how much i am dependent i have grown to this beast. I call it a beast because when it is good it is great and when internet turns bad it can be worse then your darkest nightmares. There have been umpteen number of cases where Internet has played a lifesaver. At the same time with malicious worms, viruses and hackers on the prowl it is almost as scary as a walk in the darkest streets of Pennsylvania in a cold winter night. 

Online gaming, chat sites and public forums give us a new perspective of life. We can be what we want, who we want and do what we like to do . However, we have got so much involved in this that we have started to be more of what we are online and in reality we are trying to lead a life which suits the demands of the polished society that we try to impress all the time. It makes me wonder if there has been more that the necessary amount of intrusion into our lives by the so called " Social Networking". 

Food for thought, ain't it?

 

The profession less chosen!!

These days we are having quite some interesting discussions going on in our German class. These are usually based on very interesting social aspects like Child Education, Vacation and various other topics like alternative medicines and their influence on our life. Though the main aim in the German class is not to make us aware of these social problems or provide us with interesting topics to brood over, it does influence my mind and my thinking during the day to day activities that i do. 

Last week i saw a really heart rendering sight. It might not be what many people would find amusing. Most might not even agree that there was anything heart-rending in what i am about to describe. However, I am sure who ever is doing it, is doing it because there is a very good reason to do so. The scene - Heavy rain is pouring down with all its vengeance on the pothole ridden streets of Bangalore. On the dark corner are standing a few girls who are inordinately dressed in dresses which neither suit the climate or the location. They don't seem too happy about standing there but stand there trying to manage their makeup in spite of the wrath being showered by the rain gods. Some are negotiating with potential customers, some of whom shamelessly are feeling them, as one would normal touch and feel a vegetable in the Saturday market before deciding to purchase it. Yes, I am talking of the scores of Sex-workers, Prostitutes or any other sick name in the abundant set of Indian languages.

I am sure many of you who belong to the class of people, who consider even reading the word "Sex" is a crime would have started creating opinions about me. However, Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and it stinks to the other!!. I am sure that the girls standing on the side of the road on that cold evening were not thinking about making money but rather were perhaps trying to make their ends meet. It is quite clear, that on an evening when most of us would love to sit in our houses and drink a cup of hot tea, let alone venture out in the cold rain, these ladies or girls ( some of them being too young to qualify to be called ladies) were standing that side of the street, upholding their bosoms just to attract the potential customers. Yeah, they have to do this else most would just feel them an leave. It is such a sick thing that this is all being done just to meet their frugal needs and to ensure that some of their loved ones are not dragged into this flesh trade. Neither do these Sex workers get proper education nor do they have a regular income. Use of condoms and ensuring safe sex is a luxury that these beings can barely afford. 

My question is very simple. Are they also not doing a job like any of us? I am sure the highly critical would start protesting that we are selling our skills while doing our job and not our body. India being a highly cultural land, we are not supposed to do such things!! Bullshit!! Hunger or basic necessities in life do not understand the borders of land or greatness of our culture. When a girl ( these days guys too) have nothing else to offer, they can offer their bodies. Sickly enough, we have enough buyers in both categories to buy these wares that are for offering. This brings us to the pointed question - Should this be banned? For whatever reasons!! Maybe we turn passionate towards prevention and revival of our culture or maybe we realize that Sex-workers are leading a life no better than slaves in the yesteryears and try to uplift them...However, the question still remains...should we ban them? 

This question has been lingering in my mind, not because i am a pervert but because i wonder if banning solves the root cause. The Root cause is that there are lot of girls who are not able to make their ends meet by any other means or because they have already become a part of the so called "Dirty" class of the society and can no more come out of it. Instead of banning which anyway will do no good and ensure that our law enforcers can further more extort these people, how would it be if we legalized the whole things. Provided the Sex-workers with a decent identification, ensure that their kids go to decent schools...make laws for them by which they can ensure that condoms are used, ensure that they get proper medical care and social recognition when needed. I am sure that such topics would mean shaking up the hornet's nest but these are hard issues that one needs to think over and come up with solutions that can really stand the test of time. 

I find it funny that we all live in the society, understand the problems and most of the time know the root cause...but unfortunately try to choose the solution that is the most inappropriate, inadequate and sometimes introduces further social problems....

Food for thought...ain't it?? 

 

Osama wants to create Mumbai in Europe.

In the report here Osama claims big as per the report below

World's most wanted terrorist is masterminding an unfolding plot to launch Mumbai-style attacks on European cities and top US officials have told Islamabad that LeT and Haqqani network are working on the plan with al-Qaeda.

All i can say that if anywhere in the advanced European countries like Germany or France anything like this is planned, then Osama would be soon more than sorry. Going into the land of Walters and Heckler&Koch is not a childs play. Though Germany is a generally peaceful country, the cops are very well equipped and trained. Unlike the Mumbai police quipped not more than Qualis and world-war-2  leftover iron helmets these European nations have access have latest intell coming from multitude of sources, drive fast Mercs and carry powerful firearms. 

My message to Osama : Dude how many more innocents will you kill? Is killing your passion?

 

 

Crank Crank Crank

It is shocking to know that people derive fun out of something that could be a matter of life & Death. The latter in most of the cases because our traffic situation ensures that one cannot get to place in time if he starts early let alone if it is an emergency. 

It is not as if there are too many people taking ill all of a sudden. But of the 7,19,489 calls received in June, 40,000 were from kids simply out to play a prank.

The report here says that in many cases the adults encourage their kids to make such crank calls. The problem is that in the end we just put off these crank calls by saying that "Oh! he is just a boy!!". Sometimes a simple call done for fun or to derive some momentary enjoyment can mean that a bevy of people are on road running from pillar to post away from their loved ones, leaving perhaps more important tasks to attend to what the caller has just alerted them about.

A prank call to the police control room by an unidentified boy, sounding eight to 10 years old, Sunday afternoon that a bomb would explode in the upscale M.G. Road sent the city police into a tizzy and caused a scare in the area.

This just shows how irresponsibly can we behave at times. It is this lack of sense of responsibility in our youth that at time leads to many a crisis. Be it bomb scares or delaying flights by making hoax calls. The fact is that we just getting degrees will not help; one needs to be really educated to learn to live and also respect others lives.

The growing crowds

The sole consolation in the following headline was that atleast we were world leaders in one category.

India's burgeoning population has seen a five-fold increase over the last 100 years and will surpass that of China by 2050

The problem of population has plagued this country for long and even though there have been initiatives taken up by the government, not much has really come out of it. Yes we have arrested the population growth to some extent but not to the extent we would ideally like to have. While some countries have to worry about a diminishing population, India has to worry about managing its depleting natural resources among a mammoth population which only seems to keep growing. Sustained growth is only achievable when the stress on the natural resources is not extremely overwhelming. The problems of crime, exploitation and a widening social chasm is only looking northwards even in the backdrop of a growing economy primarily because we have many more mouths to feed, more bodies to clothe & bathe.
Lack of proper education is one of the driving factors behind teenage pregnancies. Uninformed youth, poverty and lack of awareness leads to unplanned growth of families. Religious beliefs are good to have, however individuals should understand that these ideas of avoiding contraceptive measures etc were coined in a different age where the demands of the society were completely different from the socio-economic conditions of today. Today we are at a point where the social economic fabric is already stretched to its extremes and may not be able to support the kind of population explosion we are talking about. Anarchy, increased crime rates and woefully low health and Sanitary conditions are in store for us if we do not act now and act well.

This is something of a black humor ...real meaningful cartoon

Hindi or Hinglish?

So if you thought You know Hindi and You know the national language....Think again...You might just be wrong.

Does India have a national language? No, says the Gujarat High Court.

In fact as per what we read in the article we don't have a national language. What do we have instead?  Hindi is an official language and not a national language.
Well for someone who is more familiar with languages like "C" and "Python" ...i think i don't give a damn about what language is chosen as National. However, what is sad is that we are still fighting based on languages and religions. When we are so divided internally do we really need an external power to divide us....after the British used the "Divide and Rule" policy....Indians have made it and habit to "Self Divide" and let others rule...Be it in the name of Religion, caste, skin color or geographical locations....

Air Hosting Nude?

Well that is a unique way of showing your protest ....but i am not really sure the authorities would be willing to give the paychecks after what these air hostesses did.....

So how can we make sure people take us seriously? I know, let’s take our clothes off and pose for a nude calendar!

I have two problems when i see the same problem in the Indian context....

1. The most troubled air line in india.... Air India has a very old crew...i don't know if posing nude would be an option even if they air hostesses did want to. Also the crew is known for its display of "Indianism" via flexing of muscles. 
2. Even if some young ones got a job of posing nude to make a few extra bucks....All i expect our ministers to do is show their support by buying the calender with nudies instead of trying to "really" help them.
   

But then we have another good way of showing protest ain't it...the one which we have mastered.

The time's running out!!

Today after a while, i could spend a long day shopping for a impending journey. I had to wait at the restaurant in the mall, while my trousers where getting altered for the right length. On keen observation what i saw was that most if not all of the couple who were feasting there had a few things in common. All looked to be in their late 30's or mid 40's, all had atleast one kid ( obviously meaning that they were married!!) and apart from a high end mobile phone were sporting a really huge bulging waist (waste) line. With great feeling of guilt i looked southwards to see my own miniature version of a paunch that i had just seen a couple of minutes back and wondered, "Was this the same way a decade back?".
                                Sedentary lifestyle, high calorie diets and extremely stressful work atmosphere combined with the lack of interest in physical exercises seems to be taking its toll on a vast majority of the Metro population. Though it is very easy to see this with number of gym's and Spa's that have made home in towns like Bangalore and Mangalore, what really is more shocking is that it is not just the in the people on the wrong side of 30's that suffering from Obesity related problem, it is also the kids who prefer to spend more time in front of the Television or the Computer playing "Ungli Cricket" and "FIFA" as compared to the real versions of the sport. A report from Hindu here states that obesity is taking the form of epidemic. On one hand an argument crops up, and very rightly so that the youth these days are more health conscious and visit Fitness-Clubs more often then the youth from the yesteryears, What needs to be understood that inspite of this the figures of health problems relating to obesity related are only going northwards. Wiki here gives a list of how the obesity profile of India is currently.
                                Brisk walks in morning when you still have a chance of breathing clean air, a diet with controlled amount of saturated fats with higher concentration of fibers should help us in fighting this. However as with everything the first thing that needs to change is the mindset. We should try to accept and realise that we are sitting on timebomb that is ticking fast and realize that if we don't take care of our bodies then we would be ending up suffering from the same issues that we read about in newspaper and wonder ...."How could they let that happen to themselves??". It is something to a spare a thought to. 

waste management and disposal technician == BIN MAN

Now that is interesting....I am sure I too can add a few things to the list.

While at university I had a relatively well-paid job with the title surveyorship enumerator. I counted cars going through traffic lights.
Joe Wright, Glasgow

I am a Senior Engineer and i dont know what i am doing...:P. It is very often that we look at the lucrative job title or for that matter even the company name and take a decision to join it. However, only later we realize that what he have just decided would perhaps count in our worst decisions ever made. A job change should always under go sufficient research which includes talking to the folks who are in the organisation and also those who were in the organisation. This will give you with a picture which contains both Pro's and Con's. Also, putting forth the right questions will only yield you with favorable results. Just asking for someone's opinion would provide you with answers which you cannot compare or use to help you with you decisions so easily.
Anyway, I am sure each of knows tons of Job-Switching guru's ...who can perhaps even tell you what a company is looking for in you...
Bottomline...Do not take a decision based on Company or Job Title.

English is In

There has been a spurt in the number of bollywood movies which are using "English" Titles. While on one hand this shows that the average movie goer now is able to understand the title of the movie even though it is in English, it also shows that with tons of multiplexes opening we are able to get the educated class also into the theaters. ....Only worry i have now is that after reading this our MNS or ShivSena dudes should not get offended!! and burn down posters and theaters quoting that the films do not have a "Marathi" name!!

When the fox bites

Firefox is a great browser. With the right plugins it provides literally everything that you really ask for in a browser. However, plugins are sometimes a bit dangerous. Recently with one of the plugin + firefox + ubuntu made my firefox bookmarks, Menubars etc completely garbled. And with great difficulty when i would try to get to the add-ons section it would just crash...Poof!!...
For a moment i wondered should i reinstall Firefox .....but then i remembered that when one man is down the other one should help. I fired up my Opera and did some "Internetting!!". Soon enough I found what i was looking for.....Command line options...they come handy when everything else fails...
So....What i did...just fired up my FFox with the following option
firefox %u -safe-mode
Guess what, it offered me with a window asking what i would like to do ...like disable all addon's, restore defaults for Ffox etc....I just said continue and then disabled the plugin that caused me the pain...
Ain't that cool...actually there are a whole bunch of command line things that you can use to get stuff done...Check this out..

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Bearded Wife

Imagine what would have happened if this marriage had taken place..

Arab ambassador discovers bride is bearded and cross-eyed behind veil

And the best part is that the ambassador demanded that all the money he spent on her be returned. Either the ambassador is too naive...or the girl? Was she wearing the veil to hide her irregularities or to just maintain a religious outlook?
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