Whatcha gonna do about it?

You crib, you moan, you even spam your facebook friends
But when the dust settles down and the blood cools
Whatcha gonna do about it?

You protest, you strike, you even stop eating for a while
But when everyone goes home and the crowd thins out
Whatcha gonna do about it?

You write, you speak, you even get down on your knees
But when the stillness is endless and there seems to be no answer
Whatcha gonna do about it?

You bicker, you argue, you even raise some money for it
But when the event is over and the seasons change
Whatcha gonna do about it?

You harass, you cry, you are even ready to destroy
But when sanity returns and love is proclaimed
Whatcha gonna do about it?

You think, you ponder, you even contemplate asunder
But when the bills come due and life goes on
Whatcha gonna do about it?

The shaky moorings of an ideological centerist

I had a more cooler title for the post but I can't remember it for the life of me! The title could be misleading in many ways, because the definition of a centrist varies depending on who you ask; from a spineless rat to a highly practical deal breaker. I am personally not very comfortable with the tag of a centrist seeing that there are too many pseudo centrist out there, which brings us to the question of the definition of a centrist.

The reason I find the moorings shaky is because they do not have the adamantine morality of the right or the freewheeling social boundaries of the left. This is further compounded by the fact that they hate both extremes but are equally poised to embrace either on most issues.

On the topic of definitions, I have seen - all the more frequently now-a-days - that conservatism and right-wing are used interchangeably. I beg to differ on that synonym as all right-wingers are social conservatives but not the other way around. A simple point of reference is that the right-wing in the US generally tends to be the Christian right while in India they would be the Hindu right. Conservatives on the other hand tend to be hard to define along religious views. Same applies for the left too, while the serious left have no religious underpinnings, the liberals are from all religious and non-religious persuasions.

That being said, I am ready to prod on with my rambling. So how does a left of the right of the center conservative liberal find myself at the crossroads? that question hides the answer!

There are times when I wish that things were simple and right and wrong was black and white like the conservatives want us to believe. The very idea seems Utopian and gives you the familiar longings of a simple life. Then there are times when I wish people would understand that traditions were made for men and not the other way around. Growing up in an ultra-conservative society with very rule based and sometimes hypocritical values I have come to recognize and value the solid comfort that conservative ideas provide. There is not much of a grey area when it comes to conservative ideals while across the spectrum its a lot more grey with no idea of the were the black and white start.

I have often wondered how this ultra-conservative boy could move to the non-conformistic and shifting sands of the center? It was probably the cultural shock of the contradictory characteristics of conservatism in different cultures. More importantly though, it was the realisation that the conservations "WWJD" Jesus I was raised to believe was more a non-conformist liberal who challenged the prevalent traditions and cultures. I never thought to question the fact that Jesus ate with "sinners" while I would not be allowed to talk to "morally bad" people.

Does this make me want to be a hippie? (A lot of people in South America really think that all Indians are Ganja smoking hippies). Far from it, I could never truly be a snob (Inspite of various attempts). And why would I not be able to call myself a liberal? The fact that I would have to care more about animals than humans, the perpetrators than victims and assign all responsibility of evil to the society rather than the individual.

Starting on this blog I really didn't know where I was going with it, neither has then position changed in the last couple of days that I have been trying to finish it. It started out more as a attempt at putting down my frustration in finding people with exactly similar views. I do realise now that by my definition I am not going to find somebody else with the same exact views on all topics. I have also come to realise the fact that inspite of the shaky moorings, I would not want to be self righteous, condemning right-winger nor a snobbish, superficial left-winger.

I also did realise that I needed to finish this post!

In Memorium - DGS Dhinakaran

It has been another long hiatus ... probably the longest thus far. The reason for me being back is not a joyous one though, the loss of the only person I considered as my spiritual father and idol (Yes I said Idol).

Dr. DGS Dhinakaran, or to me (and tens of thousands of others) Dhinakaran Thatha (grandfather) was not one of those fire and brimstone preachers but a person who let the power God speak for itself. He responsible for the the life changing and saving experience that I had written about sometime back. That was the not the only impact he had on my life.

It all started with my father, searching for a job, dedicating his life to Jesus at one of Thatha's meetings way back in 1987. He was probably the only person of The Word not ridiculed by my father and that is saying something. Through the years my family got to know him in a more personal way and got to see that he lived his life in accordance with what he preached.

I am not one given to fawning over people or idolizing them. One of the rare exceptions to that was Dhinakaran Thatha. He was not a God man but man of God, who was blessed with rare powers. For the pseudo secularist this may sound as hocus pocus, probably I would have been at the forefront of such thought if not for the miracle in my own life. I have seen him call out individual people from among hundreds of thousands. I have not seen a more strong proponent or knowledgeable person of the Bible. It was this biblical knowledge that made me aspire to be like him. He was not one of those "theological" or "modern" preachers, but a back to basic Bible believing evangelist. He was the most prominent Indian preacher of the last half a century and probably one of the most prominent ever. He transcended boundaries of race, creed, caste and social status.

All of it did not come easily to this did not come easily to him. It is a long way from the person who could not pass his bachelors for two consecutive years and was on the way to committing suicide at an early age of 20. His life changing moment came when his unsuspecting uncle led him to Christ on his way to the railway track. It was not all rosy after the conversion;Contrary to popular belief Christ does not offer a problem free life he offers free life through all problems of this world. The long list of sickness and troubles ranged from kidney failure, heart attacks, accidents with most bones in his body broken to the loss of his daughter. Through all this he had his family have been the beacon of God's love to Millions. There were times when I have prayed that I wanted the powers that were manifest in his life, but I scaled back on them when I understood that all of this came at a great cost. Like he used to say, the only way that you could feel compassion for your fellow beings was to walk in their shoes, that my dear friend is not easy.

The character that I really wanted to imbibe from him was his study of the bible and his time on his knees. He could quote more scriptures than any person I knew and would buttress all that he said with the Word. He would also spend more time on his knees than any person I know. On a personal note, he was probably the only preacher that had my father's full attention inspite of how tired I was which is saying a lot again for those of you who know him. There probably are more eloquent and charismatic preachers but none of the eloquence or charisma can help a person in need only the word of God could and that's what you got from him with a whole lot of singing and wit.

He had his detractors, mostly from the Christian community who couldn't couldn't stand his fame or who wanted fame by criticizing him. It only galled them even more when he didn't respond to their criticism. One incident stands out in my memory, when his daughter died a Pastor of a fundamentalist church sent him a letter stating that she was killed by God for have flowers on her hair (According to him too ostensible for a Christian).

His ministry was to the broken hearted, a ministry of Compassion. He could relate to him like few others could, just becasue of all that had happened in his life. He knew what it was like to loose a loved one, what it felt to be in constant physical pain and agony and the emotional pain of failure, poverty and ridicule. That was the cost he paid to bring hope to millions and to touch the lives of many more.

He was probably not the most famous or well known of men but to me he was somebody that I want to be like. Somebody who ran the good race and finished it with his head held high. Somebody who touched millions of life with his words of comfort and hope. Somebody who was instrumental in me having a second life.

I will always miss him!

P.S : I know this is not like my usual posts but this is personal.

Smoking is injurious to health

Brazil seems to have tried to take on smoking by its horns. They don't just tell you that cigarette smoking is injurious to health but also give you the proof. I got these pictures right off of the cigarette boxes themselves. Not that it has don't any good to the hardcore smokers but the new ones are taking the hint!!

If only the other countries would do the same. Even though I think its stupid when tobacco companies get sued by people who use tobacco, I have had to change my opinion on how the advertisements affect young minds. I was talking to a kid who quit smoking a couple of years back, seems his main motivation factor was seeing the Marlboro cowboy smoking a cigarette on a horseback. Brazil has banned smoking commercials for the past few years because of this reason.

I couldn't get a picture but I saw a warning with a dead fetus!

License to Kill

No I am not talking about Mr. double O seven, I am talking about the fundamental right that everybody has to kill another person in Iran. All you have to do after you kill them is to claim that they had questionable morality. Even the supreme court would side with you. The best part : you don't even have to be right. So if you don't like the guy that your ex is going out with ? shoot him and claim that you saw them both walking together (two of the victims were killed for this reason).

If only rest of the civilised world would adopt this policy we wouldn't need the police, the people would police themself. Just imagine how much better this world could be if you were allowed to kill anybody you didn't like ??? wouldn't just the people you love make it a better place ? And this would reduce the population control issues that India and China are facing. Now I know why a theocracy is wonderful and why Pakistan got it right.

People the mixing of religion and state should be promoted across the globe, it should be the next great idea after communism. The concept is not bad, the wonderful people who are more closer to God than us can tell us how to live. They know becasue they are more closer to "God". So if they say kill, there should be no problem. If they say hate, no problem with that too ... because it is the will of God and we are all the devils.

The castist Church!

I know its been some time since I have ruffled some feathers. So here I go again.

It all started out because of this issue called "marriage", and when it was determined that I like my peers had attained the marriageable age, the proposals have started pouring in putting me on the defensive.

These proposals have added a new word to my lingo, "caste" (I am a nadar if you must know) which has never been a part of the my conversational jargon, suddenly finds itself in preeminent position.

The fact of the matter is that there is a can of worms waiting to explode in the church in India, atleast the ones that the generational Christians belong to. It has always been a open secret that caste has always factored in the church inspite of no theological grounds for differentiation between people.

Some may argue that the denominational split in the Christian church gives some leeway for castism to be practiced within the church. Some other appeasers of castism use the example of the tribes of Israel, which cannot but be called asinine.

Before I get ahead of myself, for the uninformed the connection between my proposals and caste is that in India, its not just enough to have the same belief system (as in religion) but you need to be part of the same 'caste' or social system. Theoretically Christians and Muslims don't have the caste system. Which has prompted various 'lower caste' people to convert to Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.

The fun part of it is that the generational Christians have always been following the caste system specially when it comes to marriage and such. I can't speak for Islam or Buddhism but the non-castist nature of Indian Christianity is a farce.

So why this sudden outburst from your's truly? Because I just snapped, because I just want to make a stand, because I am crazy and most importantly because the God I know does not differentiate. And if he does not differentiate who am I to do so (Romans 14:4)?

I cannot stress enough the negative and demoralising effect of castism in general, but to have it as part of my creed just makes my blood boil. Those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it ... and the Indian Christians haven't learnt anything from their western counterparts. I know it would be hard to wipe away, people being people, but looks like there is nobody ready to tackle the issue head on. What about me? me ... I am nobody, I can't even convince some of my own close relatives of the oxymoronic nature of a Christian caste system! So I do what I do best write about it and hope I can break down a few walls in the process.

I definitely have some earfuls coming my way for this post, but then again I got a thick skin and it is always funny to watch people defend something that is indefensible.

Those to whom arranged marriages seem incomprehensible, this additional castist corollary would only add to the mystery.

So here it is the gist of the whole post, castism has no place in Christianity ... for that matter no place anywhere else.

This is a call to arms against dowry and castism. Somebody has to so its gonna start with me!

“I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; he can't be any worse.” - Mark Twain

“Ideas are fatal to caste” - E.M Forster

The great equaliser - Football

Put your football cleats on its World Cup time! The Football (soccer to Yankees) is probably my favorite sport in the whole entire world. Its charm probably is in its simplicity. Two sides, one ball and all you got to do is kill the ball with a small space. You don't even have to buy a leather ball, paper rolled into the shape of a ball and held together with rubber band would do as well ... also forget part of the cleats, just need your two feet!

I was watching the Argentina vs Ivory Coast match yesterday and I was given many more reasons to love this game. I watched as a opponent got fouled and then in amazement the culprit giving the victim a hand to get up ... also saw a couple of opposing players patting each other after a particularly good dribble or shot. You would be hard pressed to see such scenes in any other professional team sports specially in America.

The sportsmanship was not the only thing that struck me, the fact that Ivory coast was observing a ceasefire for the duration of the world cup was a testament to the universal appeal of the game. If only it helped solved such situations permanently ... I know that is wishful thinking.

I have been talking to a couple of friends of mine who think its a girlie game 'cause you don't get t beatup on your opponent like in American football or Ice hockey and my only retort to it was that this was a poor man's game. This can be played in slums unlike the other aforementioned games. Also the slums have produced the best players the world has ever seen. This is the only stage in the world that the countries at the bottom of the food chain can beat the ones at the top. I remember playing in my school against the evening schoolers(from the nearby slums), they would literally cream up in our Nike cleats with their bare foot.

I know lots of people would like to say that the Olympics would hold the honour of uniting the world. I know the Olympics has its place but football is special, for the only reason that there is only gold and there are more people (Almost a quarter of the world's population) watching you kick the behind of the best countries in the world.

Its not without its fault. Racism in the European countries has been on the rise, and in a drastic measure, the captains of the teams read a massage against racism before each game. Its obviously caused by a fringe group of people.

The thing that irks me the most personally is the fact that the two countries with one third of the world's population don't have the capacity to qualify for this tournament while puny countries like Trinidad and Tobago could. I would easily like to put the blame on the system ... but countries like Ivory coast don't even have a system ... and then I realise what a great leveler football is!

BTW : My football jersy number is 4 and Maradona was the best football player ever!!!
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A bird in hand

I was listening to the radio a couple of days back when I heard this song which goes something like 'A bird in hand is worth one in the bush is worth one on a electric wire', which instantly sounded like one of those meaningless songs that are the rule rather than exception now-a-days. And then suddenly realization hit me like a ton of bricks on a glass window, this song had a deeper meaning that I could ever imagine.

'A bird in hand is worth two in the bush' is one of those oft' quoted and misquoted sayings. The song though was at a entirely different level, subtle though it might be. How often do we esteem one person over another? How often do we put down one person to show up another? Or how often have we knowingly or unknowingly estimated one life over another?

I know what some of you are guessing, I am getting sensitive here (An unknown quality to me).

We thinking highly of a person in power more than the homeless. I have been in situations where somebody gets a place of honour just because they know somebody who is powerful. I don't want to get into the argument about how a person works all his life to be recoganised. The differences that I want to point out is in judging a person by the what he belongs to, by who he knows, by what society says rather than by what he is.

To further drill this point home, the sermon at my church last week was a eye opener. The Pastor passed around the flyer that wanted people to write down a list of various things that people thought were important. It ranged from important clothing brands to important women not in the entertainment industry. More often than not people picked the expensive ones for inanimate objects and people in power for the people centric questions. And then he proceeded to ask us why we didn't consider the brands that we normally use as important? Why we didn't consider our own relatives and friends as important? The worst part of it all was that he was right.

Our sense of importance seems to be highly wrapped and twisted. We cannot survive without our friends and family but we accord more importance to people we don't even know or will never meet. We don't consider the simple things in life that we cannot live without as important rather spending all that adulation on things that we don't need, that we would buy just to impress people we don't have to!

It was definitely an eye opener for me, atleast God is not a respecter of personsRomans 2:11, or I am definitely screwed(Pardon the French)

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Leviticus 19:15

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The Passion of the Code

I know I am joining the party late, oh well better late than never. All this rhetoric about the Da Vici code has finally gotten to me. I can't remember another book generating this kinda reaction from people in a long time since the Satanic Verses by Salman Sushide.

Though there is no scope for a fatwa here, there have been book burnings, call for banning and all other sorts of melodrama by people who want to wear their religious patriotism on their sleeve. Being a person of the faith that is technically at the receiving end of this 'book/Movie', I am left scratching my head if this what Jesus would do (WWJD).

From my 'limited' knowledge of the Bible I know that He asked us to famously turn our other cheek not talk about blasphemy and call for the head of people with different views. I have heard some people even call it treason! What I don't I don't understand is how can you commit treason against something you don't belong to? Technically I can't commit treason against Uncle Sam can I? Against India, heck ya! The asininity seems to have permeated people in all walks of life including the Vatican.

The film in itself doesn't seem to have made much of an impact like the book. Though I must agree that it was good marketing tactic jus like Mel used for the Passion Of Christ. And the Catholic church just bought into it lock stock and barrel.

The vacuousness of the whole opposition is that it would erode the faith of the 'faithful' which is a whole lot of balderdash, according to me ofcourse. The bottomline is that the church has failed in its duty to educate the flock. They have spent more time trying to figure out what the wordings of the doctrine is than to attend to the simple moral and religious foundation of its existence, the divinity of Jesus Christ. And now to put all the blame for the weakening of the faith on a two bit movie is not only preposterous but also just plain irresponsible.

I think its time for the church to start on its commission and let the burning and protesting to the others.

But I(Jesus) say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Mathew 5:44-48

Divide and rule!

A technique invented by the British imperialists, now perfected by the Indian politician. Divide they do by caste, creed, religion and geography, specially when its election time. This time round with elections occurring for five states in India.

The biggest divider this time around happens to be the "Human Resource Development" Minister Dr. Arjun Singh. He let out the cat among the pigeons by calling for reservation in the post-graduate level education at the premier educational institutions, medical colleges and private industries. It is a good election time gimmick to gather some votes, but it stinks of 'rasheadedness'.

At the outset let me state that I am not against reservation(caste/race based). Mainly because I do not have an alternative solution to it.

I just have an issue with how it is implemented. If the government spent as much time on primary education for the lower castes to bring them in par with the mainstream, we wouldn't have to resort to reservation at this level. There are certain fields that I believe should not be touched by reservation and the major area is medicine. I would feel safe to know that my doctor has the brains to get into medical college and has not had the medical degree forced on him due to reservation. It would be definitive be better to raise the standards of the down trodden rather than lower the bar. It would be oxymoronic, to call the Indian IITs and IIMs as one of the best in the world while we try to get in people under reservation.

In reality this reservation would only benefit the ricer of the lower caste, who have any idea of the perks of the system and would not really reach the intended audience of the lower income group. Instead of trying the top down model, the powers that be would be better off to try the bottom up model, if they really want to make a change.

The other interesting question that arises is how politicians implement such polarising moves with impunity. The cause lies in the fact that the middle class never really votes ... they are just happy to live a contended life with no social responsibility. What the politicians are trying to do is speak to the uneducated (Who incidentally is not helped in any by such measures) who speak the language of division. Its easy to get the loyalty of a person who does not understand the consequences of such actions and whose caste loyalty is worn on his sleeve.

If the middle class and the educated masses want to prevent such divisive policies from seeing the light of day, they would have to put aside their complacency aside and be ready to actively exercise their social responsibility. The best way to do it would be by voting (against such policies)!
P.S: For daily updates ---> The Odyssey

Wired

I know I am growing old, the 'generation next' has given way to the 'generation virtual'. Gone are the days when email and the occasional website were cool enough, now they are the bare minimum. In this day and age of instant gratification, instant relationships weren't far behind. Enter the networking sites to bride the gap. I remember learning the ropes of getting penpals across the globe first by using magazines and then through websites. Now its all about the instant messages, pictures, videos and a 101 different ways to communicate with mostly non-lasting relationships ... not that my penpals lasted too long :)

I, like everyone else, hate to loose touch with friends and these new modes of keeping in touch have almost eliminated the chances of loosing touch (Ofcourse there is no antidote to apathy or the technologically challenged). It has also spawed a new era of virtual relationships, that sometimes really throw you for a spin ;)

Before I continue here is a rundown of these sites that I am aware of!

• Orkut - This one is from Google. Sends you for a spin with its undependable server responses. Has a huge Indian/Hispanic presence and a good way for the IT guys to show how cool they are ... lets you set people's coolness,sexy and trusty levels. As expected I am non of those!!! Atleast according to this site. Lets you upload upto 12 pics and has a limit of 500Mb for each one.
• Hi5 - Huge Asian/Hispanic presence, and is more cumbersome than orkut. Makes up for it by letting you have complete control over your page. Lets you post unlimited numbers of pictures. Lets you give "Hi5" to your friends ... surprisingly I got a few of those. Also have friends of friends put up photoshop edited images of mine with their "friends".
• MySpace - Probably the most famous of these sites. I only became a member yesterday after being told about it by more than 10 people in a single day. Has more than 63million members and growing and according to a source the second most visited site currently. Comes with its own baggage of being too well known. Too much advertisement!!!
• Facebook - A networking site designed specifically for College and high school students in the US. Networks you according to your school or alma mater. You need a valid US college or high school email id to join. Lets people keep in touch by using the comments feature.
• Bebo - Mainly American presence, uses the person's school to network. Mainly used by High school kids, and before you all think I am a phedophile, want to remind you that I am still a kid ... at heart!

There are million others like Xanga, Ringo ... each tragetting a different demography, geography and social network.

They are indeed a great tool to keep in touch, I can't count the number of old friends that I have hooked up with 'cause of these sites. They also seem to fill the deep seated voyeuristic thirst of homo sapiens with all the wealth of information about completely random people! I am surprised by the amount of personal information that one can glean from these sites (Including mine). Obiviously in the race to be known by millions privacy ranks near the bottom.

The lack of privacy of most of these sites have led some colleges to even block access to them. A college in Texas just did it, while a school that my friend is working at, is very seriously considering the same measure. These are pretty fertile ground for sexual predators and stalker. Am not trying to be too negative but then that's the world we live in. Ofcourse I personally don't have the fear of being sexually assaulted, jus' 'cause who in their right mind would want to do it to me ?? Joking apart its always good to take personal conversation offline at such sites and maintain as much control on your own information as possible.

The other major sign of this new generation is the virtual social net that this has provided. For people who not only want to keep in touch with old friends but make new ones too this is one of the best option. It really speaks to the socially challenged to be bold and be people they really are not. I guess it makes them feel happy to have so many hundreds and thousands of "friends". All I can say is "whatever makes you happy".

I don't know how much of it is good, but it is indeed funny to see yesteryear's movies with virtual holographic girlfriends and almost seeing it in reality now. I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist but I do know that these virtual relationships don't help in building any real people/social skills. I see so many of these people almost living in the virtual box with all their social interactions being virtual. Its almost like you a real life prep kid! The person across the network has noway of knowing you other than by what you write and that is an easy way out for people with things to hide or with a low sense of self-esteem. And this it not a sweeping generalisation of all users, but just a group of them.

This environment has almost no real consequences for your actions on it. You can say and do almost anything that you want and nothing is going to come off it. If you try saying more half the things that is said on these sites in India and you would sure to have a ton of bricks fall on you :). That probably is its huge appeal, the ability to be a rebel with out consequences.

Before I let you go take a taste of this virtual world, I'll leave you with a taste of what you can expect ... these are actual comments taken from these sites... these are the "pickup lines"!

hey ...sa wur profile...impressive...wud like to know more abt u ....so wat do u do ???. me in to advertising.................u?

Hi,this is ***** from hyderabad.I want to be your orkut friend.waiting for your scrap.byee

hey wassup dear????
u look like a die hard rock fan...is it sooo????
wat type of music u listen yaar????

These aren't even the funniest once :( where does all the information go when you really need it!!!

P.S: Sign up has started for the preview of the new look www.ulyssesdavid.com. Have finally started on this long overdue project. So if you want to be part of the beta testing team, let me know. Those signed up for updates would be automatically included ;). As usual don't forget your daily dose of tamilnole.blogspot.com

Green Card!!!

No not green bucks!! Just a card, which states that you can have the rights that you pay your taxes for. Ask any Indian (For that matter any other national on worker's visa) in the US and he would be a subject matter on this, even somebody like me who will violently defend his plan to go back "home".

And before I continue, yes I have applied for green card. Now that the full disclosure is done ...

The reason for this post was a lunch discussion that I had with a few colleagues of mine on the merits of going back to India versus settling down in the US. And boy was there a wide gorge in our opinions. But the general consensus was that, it is a very personal choice that every individual has to make depending on his or her situation.

The thought process that went into deciding on staying in the US was led by the charge that India is woefully lagging in the technological advancement compared to the US. You just can't get an iPOD as easily in India was a favorite refrain. Add to that the noise and other sorts of pollution and corruption ... its a pretty dirty list, explained by a single phrase "standard of living".

On the other hand for people like me its the people that make all the difference. And in that I don't mean that people are better anywhere, its just that blood is pretty thick for me. That and plus I don't have to cook, clean or wash ... ever!

There is a third group of people who complain that they would go back if things got better. In sense the corruption, poverty and pollution went down and the standard of living went up. The catch in this line of reasoning is that there is nobody to take a lead to make a change. This is like asking someone to bear the pain so you can enjoy the fruit. Not that it's wrong in a capitalistic environment but doesn't it sound hollow when you act concerned but don't do anything about it. The road to hell is paved with good intentions

"The quickest way to a green card is marriage"

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New World Order

I can vividly remember the Coco-Cola company coming into India, with the opening up of India's economy in 1992, as the first MNC riding piggy back on the shoulders of India's market leaders at that time the Gold Spot company, . Within a very short period of time Coco-Cola had flexed its muscle and staged a successful hostile take over of the company. The Thumbs Up pictured on the left and Limca are the only remnants of the old soda range. The flagship Gold Spot was replaced by fanta. The hostile takeover scared the other India companies to such an extent that all talks broke down between them and the MNCs for a whole year. So why this lesson in history? Two recent events ...

The first was me getting a case (24 count) of "Thumbs Up" from the India store. I remember how we used (still do) call Coco-Cola and Pepsi as a wimp's drink compared to Thumbs Up! So it brought back memories of how the fledging new open economy was attacked by the well loaded MNCs.

The second event ... flash forward 14 years and a technology boom later. The world has turned more capitalistic than ever (even red china), thanks mainly to the pressure of the US of A and the third world countries are finding the pros of having a capitalistic society. And then its protectionism all over again, this time from the flag bearer of the Capitalistic free society, good 'ole Uncle Sam. I am talking about the Dubai Ports Deal, which provided a common ground for both democrats and republicans. And it seems that prejudicial politics has overcome the basic tenets of free trade and a level playing field. Am I calling them racist .... no... its just shows that they are not ready for the new world order. How can a bunch of horse riders "barbarians" living in a kingdom gain a foot hold in their own backyard. I don't think there would have been so much furor if this had been a European "civilized" company.

This is not an isolated event ... across the ocean, France is trying to prevent Lakshmi Mittal (An India) take over Europe's largest steel manufacturer. And here racism is pretty apparent. They just can't seem to comprehend how a country that they controlled not more than half a century ago, would now have to the guts to come into their house and rule their ... steel. Its unthinkable for the Europeans who weren't below putting up "Dogs and Indians not allowed" signboard in India to now loose to an "Brown" owned company.

Welcome to the reality of capitalism ... its a dog eat dog world, the pandora's box has been opened and no amount of tears over job loss and out-sourcing is going to close it. The best thing to do is to get on your feet and eat before you are eaten.

It is hypocritical for feminists and intellectuals to enjoy the pleasures and conveniences of capitalism while sneering at it.... Everyone born into capitalism has incurred a debt to it.
Camille Paglia

Goddamned!!!

You heard me right!!!

I am just sick'n'tired of a bunch of Jackasses hijacking my religion and my culture. Not satisfied with just hijacking it they also want to represent me!! And I am not the only one affected by it, almost all cultures and faiths seem to have been taken over by bigots!

I watched the evolution debate rage on in the American education system and didn't say anything 'cause I wasn't affected by it but when a bunch of people start messing around with my culture and history in the American education system, I got serious issues with it.

To give you a little background on this issue ... It all started with the review of the history syllabus in the California state education system. A bunch of people took it upon themselves to correct some "misconceptions" about ancient Hindu practices in India and rewrite a little bit of history according to them. There were some valid corrections to be made but they used this chance to create their own version of history.

The fact that this effort was led by a bunch of RSS (Rashtriya swayamsevak Sangh) off shoots damages their credence in my sight. Joined together by a group of organisations that we would call "communal" in my country, they decided to make merry. And to support their arguments they were supported by bogus expert indologists.

So how did this bunch outrage me? They denied the caste system as it existed/exists, denied that it was hereditary, denied that the 'untouchables' ever existed/exist in India (sic). They want the kids to learn that the untouchables were called so because day performed the dirty jobs and not vice versa.

Again they didn't just stop there ... they want the kids to learn that the Aryans were the real residents of Ancient India (sic), which negates the widely accepted theory that the Dravidians occupied most of ancient India before the 'Aryan' Indo-European race came and settled in the north of India. I should know being one of the Dravidian! Why should we(Indians) ask American kids to learn any different when we are taught the Aryan invasion theory in Indian schools(If you do a google search now, you would see that most of the top results call it a myth or question it).

To those who are not so intimately connected to this development it might not be a big deal but it did touch a raw nerve in me. The fact that they tried to use subversion to get their point of view across by setting up a pseudo website pretending to care about the welfare of the untouchables. The site looks innocent enough now but they didn't start out that way. Most of the links on their website pointed to communal groups that usually took advantage of them until a research group decided to take notice.

It takes a lot to push me over the edge, obiviously this was not the only event that singularly pushed me over the limit. The protests over the cartoons are still going on.

I wasn't really going to get into that controversy (for fear of my life ..ha ha) but CrackerJack did give it a shot. What I see in all this is just plain hypocracy. The newspapers claim that they want to prove a point about freedom of speech by printing the cartoons, while the selfsame newspaper refused to print a satiric portrayal on Christ sometime back. The west seems to be wondering what all the fuss is about but talk to them about abortion and watch the violence erupt. The mullahs issue fatwas while teleevangelist issues assassination lists (But ofcourse in the west they apologize).

The Christians protest anything that goes against their definition of family values, the Muslim imams add fuel to the fire by adding pictures that were not even published and go against their own code by carrying around the picture of the prophet. The Muslims don't want anybody to make fun of their prophet but will make fun of the Jews and the holocaust. The Hindus will not let valentine's day corrupt their culture (Do you know where Kamasutra comes from?), they will send their sons and daughters to America and wear Nikes and Reaboks, but will blame the west for its own decadence. The Jews, well they just don't care about anybody but themselves, 'cause we are all gentiles. The Christians, they can't understand jihad, but the crusades?? That's another story.

They believe that they are blessed for all that they do, some expecting 70 virgins, some hoping for a higher position in their rebirth and some hoping to get a golden mansion, but they don't relise that they are "Goddamned"

So where does it leave us all who really want to follow our creed says ?? Somewhere in between

Matthew 5:44 - But I(Jesus) say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you...

P.S: A partial list of violent reactions

The Man stiffs us - Indian Style

Many of you might have read that Ford and GM are going to be cutting a lot of jobs to keep up with the competition and many more of you are aware of the technology driven resurgence of the Indian economy. The connection might not be apparent but there is definitely one if you look below the surface.

I am definitely pro out-sourcing (even though one day my job might be on the line), it is the price you pay to have a capitalistic economy. And the past few years have out-sourcing has been specially good to India. Kids my age are earning what their parents would have earned when they retired (If they were lucky). This has been driven by the information technology industry to a large extent. But the rosy picture belies the harsh well guarded truth, in a word sweat shops have been out sourced to the developing nations by the developed nations.

The bottom line has forced the companies out source, but I still can't figure out what motivates the off shoring companies to use sweat shops and screw(pardon my French) their own country men!

The source of all this rage is more close at heart... recently the vendor that I am contracted through to MasterCard was bought over by Wipro, one of top three technology/out sourcing companies in India. Though the change of guard did not affect me, it definitely had a big impact on their direct employees (Most of whom were expecting a better deal from such a well know /recognized company. The first transition meeting went on pretty good I guess, but then that was just a charade (Now I know what they teach in business school).

Yesterday one of colleagues who is a direct employee (Now called a wiproite) heard from them, the new package that they were getting. He was pretty let down, not only did they rescind from their word at the first meeting, they pretty much screwed(for lack of a better word) the employees. Their overtime was taken away (Even though my friend spends most of his time at the office), they sick leave was taken away and the vacation days was reduced drastically. To add insult to injury, their insurance was downgraded so they had to bear a part of the month payment.

This is not a isolated incident, my friends working for the technology companies either here or in India are almost slaves to the company. The salary is definitely better than any other business sector, but money does not make all things right. A lot of my friends working both in India and the US work from 7:30 to 8:00 in the morning to 11:00 in the night and a lot of times even later. All this while receiving only 1/5 th of the hourly rate that their companies get paid for them.

My mentioning of sweat shops might be a little exaggerated in the technology context (try making an employee work such hours with no compensation in a US based company), but it still holds good for the other industries like manufacturing (Walmart is a well known exporter of the sweat shops to China). The companies in the developed countries might not be legally in the black but ethically they are. Meanwhile the companies in third world countries are making hay before legislation (often ineffective) is brought in.

The reason I tied Ford and GM to this situation is because they are on the opposite end of the spectrum. They paid too much and are now paying for it. Believe it or not they have one employee working for every three retirees they are supporting, not a good ratio I should say. This is also the reason that these new age companies use for the maltreatment of their employees. The funny part is that they keep complaining about the attrition rate of their employee, what do they expect ... uncomplaining bots ??

For all the buster of the top executives, its the working class that gets short changed on both ends of the spectrum!

Some food for thought ...
How much would buy a woman for ... 20$s?
If you are on the path to a tummy tuck like me
Another reason I am all for the death penalty

History doth repeat itself!!!

ReadyMade Excuses

To join issue with CrakerJack, I don't use those articles because I don't need those excuses to explain why I like food. I just love food so. (Period) That been said this is not the only article that tries to explain why we do certain things. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think scientific reasoning and research is a fable; and the truth cannot be farther from the truth. But sometimes we let scientific data overshadow common sense. And before you are crucify me as a right wing fundamentalistic rabble-rouser, let me state my case.

Lets start with the most prevalent excuses to commit a crime ...

• Society doesn't care
  
• Childhood environment was not conducive to all round growth
• People always made fun of me
• Nobody don't understands me/what I go through
• Mom/dad was drunkard/drug addict
• I had nobody to love me
• The world is unfair (sic)
  
• I did not understand the full repercussions of my action (criminally insane)
  

a note of caution: I do not believe that these are entirely false but to just blame them for everything ... come on give me a break! The world is fair because it is unfair to everybody, so just deal with it. To blame their hard childhood for all their actions as grown ups just speaks to how much they have really grown up. Hardships usually make people better, so the actions of a person usually speak about the inner character of a person rather than what people did to him when he was kid.

From criminal behavior to the hornets next that CrackerJack stirred up ... its become a case of statistics and percentages now a days, actually its totally chaos on what to do to keep healthy. Though things aren't that bad, the basic premise still remains the same: eat just enough and move your body. But some people take it the extreme, starving themselves or working out more than two hours a day. Chill out people ... you ain't going to live forever, so why give up on that banana split or the cream filled doughnut with chocolate on top?? (Man I am going to get myself a banana split after I finish this). I would classify anybody working out for more than an hour as insane and maybe somebody who needs to get a life! I know people who are too lazy to work around the house but not too lazy to hit the gym. There are also people who look all buff(like me!!) but have no real strength!

Science is the scapegoat used as an excuse by people for all the above mentioned. I heard once heard this from a friend, that it is possible to prove any premise if you have a sufficiently skewed sample population.

Oh did you know that 1 in 5 kids has ADD (BOSS you can correct me). So all you do when you see a hyper active kid is give him some tablets to calm him down. Where I come from they just call those kids mischievous!

I accept that we need scientific innovation and the role that science plays in making our lives better. But science does not have the right to trample common sense underfoot. These are the reasons you have people who need stupid labels warning about obvious dangers(Anybody seen 'this is not a toy' sign on plastic covers).

Also I think our drug abuse problem stems from the fact that we always want to quantify stuff and need a readymade solution to all of life's problem, be it either a simple headache or a severe trauma!

Maybe we are not generation next but generation ReadyMade

“The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.”

P.S: CrakerJack seems to have generated more comments on a single post than I could in a month!

The great leveler!

It's none other than education! The moment Eve bit off that fruit, education assumed the role of being the chief weapon in human hands. I know a lot of people would disagree. But whatever the power of the nuclear bomb, the pen is still mightier than the gun.

How come you say? The cold war is over and we know who the winner of it was. But now that uncle Sam is the undisputed big boy, there is a challenge at a new level ... the lack of qualified labour with Math and science knowledge!!! The onslaught of developing countries like China and India is on and no amount of defense spending can change that. The developing countries have figured it (and rightly so) that the only way to make the world a level playing field was to make education a priority. Being a alumni of the Indian education system, I can safely say that world class education may be a little way off but any education does make a difference. Indian's and Chinese may not have as many guns but they sure do have a lot of engineers and you know that "Engineers build the world".

Its not just the international arena where education seems to make a difference. Through out history, this scenario has be played out over and over again (history does repeat itself if you didn't know), one race/caste/class of people keep other race/caste/class of people down by denying them education. People have always used the lack of education as a method to keep the downtrodden down. Its not for nothing that the great criminal brains had more brains than brawns!

In the great Mosaic that is India, the caste and class distinction has only now been marred because of the rise in the literacy levels of the common people. Its not uncommon to see kids studying by the street light because of the lack of electricity at home. And I do personally know of families where the parents work 18 hour days so their kids can have an education and a better future. Education is a luxury to the really needy and taken for grated by the well-to-do.

Its hard for a person to fight for his right if he doesn't even know that he has rights. That's where education comes in! Education has really transformed the Indian society. I just went through the richest list of India an found that more than 60% of them had started from scratch. This would not have been possible in the Indian society's setup if not for education.

The more important affect of education is moral than financial. I have probably rambled on the caste system, dowry, segregation ... but the only effective antidote to these ills that I have found in my short life is Education. I know I am sounding like an used care salesman but the effect is there for all to see. The moral effect is not only seen in a developing environment like India but also in a developed environment like the good 'ole USA. Now that the developing countries are following the developed countries' formula, you see a slacking off from the top 5% richest people in the world, in that they don't think that a college education is worth it. They are just happy with their ability to play XBOX and use the IPOD. Ergo the rising economy of the third world. Not that I am complaining about a multi polar world.

I am not suggesting that education is the all encompassing solution to the world's evil. I would be a fool to think that, 'cause if that would be the case then the dowry and caste system in India would not exist among the educated. Which ofcourse is far from the truth more often than not. The dowry seems to increase with the amount of education that the person has. It is one of those quirks of human nature called greed I guess.

Inspite of all its potential it has failed to curb the basic human tendency to destroy. The same education that opened many people's eyes to segregation and castism also was a tool in the hands of racial and castist felons. The same education that helped cure sickness helped build the bomb. The education that made great minds like Gandhi also made Hitler.

But the fact remains that if a bonded laborer dreams of a better life, it would start with some education. Living in a country with almost 99% percent education it still amazes me how a country with 60% education survives.

I have had a few people talk to me about affirmative action in the US, the Indian equivalent of which is reservation. I do agree with the fundamental idea behind it but think that it could be implemented in a better way. But from what I have seen, I must say that it has made a difference good.

There is a fight going on in America about religion, more importantly intelligent design, in school. I would think the more important think would be what kind of education that kids are getting in school. I might not be that old but, I think I can safely say that education was not only supposed to teach us Math and Science but make us better and well rounded humans. I think schools now-a-days woefully lack on all counts specially the last one.

Now that I have rambled on the international and national effects of education, I am going to get personal. No its not about me but the slum kids that are coming to the after school program in Chennai, that I am lucky to be part of! Almost all of these kids parents are illiterate and are hoping for a better future out of the slums for their kids. And guess what they are betting on for their dreams to come true?? Education!!

The progress report that my dad gave me yesterday just lifted me up, we now have 6 class toppers and 7 who are second in their class. This is out of the 50 kids who come to the after school program regularly. I am just hoping that all of them would do as well. But it is a definite blessing to see them do so well.

I remember during my undergrad, there was this kid working for my dad, doing his undergrad just like me. He had to work 'cause his dad was a sanitation worker for the city and couldn't afford to pay for his education. Everytime I met him, it reminded me of all the opportunities that I and most of my friends took for granted.

Got some pictures for you from the christmas program that these kids put up on their own!!

"But if you ask what is the good of education in general, the answer is easy: that education makes good men, and that good men act nobly."

“Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.”

"To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
- Albert Einstein

We shall one day learn to supersede politics by education. What we call our root-and-branch reforms of slavery, war, gambling, intemperance, is only medicating the symptoms. We must begin higher up, namely, in education.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army. If we retrench the wages of the schoolmaster, we must raise those of the recruiting sergeant.
- Edward Everett

To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.
- Thomas Jefferson

The highest result of education is tolerance.
- Helen Adams Keller

Morality ... Responsibility ...

mo·ral·i·ty - The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct.
re·spon·si·bil·i·ty - The social force that binds you to your obligations and the courses of action demanded by that force; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty

Somebody said that we are living in the age of the common man. The age were individual right has been elevated to the pinnacle of social order in most countries. Having lived in two different countries and culture gives you perspectiverespective on the things like morality, responsibility ... and other such things.

For what I have seen in my short life on this planet is that there are basically two types of cultures, one where the individual is paramount and another where the society is paramount. But underneath it all the object is the greatest common good. The western world is all about individual freedom, which - according to me - is based on the logic that if the individual is free then the society as a whole is free. While in the eastern world, its all about the society based on the assumption that if the society is free then the individual has got to beessentiallyesentially the spirit of humanity is freedom and liberty for all.

But over the centuries the underlying spirit has be curtailed. You have people in the society-centric culture indulging in killing and rape using honour as a password to do it. And then in the individual-centric world its all about me, they forget that its as much about the person next to me as it is about me. The crux of the matter is the balance between collective/individual morality and responsibility.

In the US we want and have individual freedom, but don'responsibilityponsibilty that goes with it. If you kill somebody just blame it on your childhood or the lack thereof. Or if you steal and rob just blame it on society for not listening to you and giving you their time. If get cancer from smoking ... no worries ... just blame it on the tobacco company that "enticed" you. If you get fat ... just blame it on the restaurantsresturants. I wonder why nobody uses the same argument to jump of a bridge?

In India its the other way around ... You are notonly responsible to yourself but also to everyone in your family, extendeneighbor'sneighbours, friends, school ... work ... the list actually goes one. The word honour is bandied about in banality!! When in school they tell you what to study. What every Indian parent want is for his kid to become either a Doctor or engineer or to join the Indian Administrative Service. Want to marry somebody you like ?? don't even go there ... got to first check if the family is of the right status, caste and community, oh ya also the amount of money they have! I have written enough on the scourge of dowry!

Do we have solution?? Well stop making the society an excuse for your actions and start taking responsibility. Across the ocean, stop taking orders from society and live according to "your" morality, 'cause men were not made for traditions but traditions for men!

"I'm a sinner, I'm a saint I do not feel ashamed"