tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49600963312285724392024-03-13T09:41:54.324+05:30Voice of the SoulA voice for all aspects of societyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-87008605769519721222012-07-30T21:45:00.000+05:302012-07-30T22:13:38.710+05:30The Story of a Village<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently visited my father's family at their village - Wathar, Maharashtra - after a year. I used to visit the village when I was younger and still in my early teens. I was then of an age that granted me all the liberties of ignoring whatever the hell elders did. Then last year in July, I decided not to be that <i>little boy</i> to my family anymore. Nearly seven years had passed since I had visited my family, and hence found it necessary to reconnect with them. That was when my journey to the village as a grown man began.<br />
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I set out to meet my loved ones again, this July. It was during this visit that I began noticing a change, a big one at that, occurring throughout the the network of villages, but more so in ours. The vast expanse of greens, which in the past captured my sight wherever I went, were now being compromised in favour of something that "ought to" indicate "progress": development.<br />
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I saw plenty of buildings - tall, short, wide, angled, indulgent, minimalistic and so on - scattered across enormous stretches of land. New businesses were flourishing, evident in the massive numbers of people flocking to stores in search of PCs, cell phones, tablets (yes, iPads too), LCD TVs and high-end music systems. It wasn't only the electronics market that attracted great numbers; there were plenty of electrical and automobile repair and maintenance shops, mobile recharge stores and sufficiently expansive stationary and gift stores. Even more astonishing was visiting the local shop to ask for Pasta and still be seen as perfectly human.<br />
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I asked around about the cause of such startling flourish and vigour, and almost unfailingly received the same response: the building of the flyover. It is said that the building of a flyover, which leads all the vehicles travelling along NH4 over the village, in effect leaving it undisturbed to a certain extent from all the earlier traffic and commotion, helped all future development in the village. It may have been that Wathar felt more independent, and that its unforeseen ability to cope with an entire flyover project from construction to finish may have given it the much needed confidence to keep going.<br />
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A section of the national highway, NH4, extending out from and through my village towards the nearest developed town, Kolhapur, was seen littered with industries. Some of the notable companies I glimpsed were BMW, Mahindra, Toyota, Porsche, Ford, and so on. One part of the stretch, locally known as the MIDC, which is actually a corporation established under the Maharashtra Industrial Act on August 1, 1962, boasted a whole range of full-fledged industries functioning in full fervour with assistance from the Maharashtra government. I witnessed an aerospace manufacturing lab and a process plant, and tens of other small and medium-scale factories, all employing sufficient manpower from nearby villages, enabling greater production and higher economic output through increased employment.<br />
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I stood surprised, both pleasantly and otherwise, as I witnessed all this development in action in a village that I knew in the past to be just a small place washed in divine beauty; where seemingly innumerable species of birds chirped and sang merrily and where every person knew everyone else; where when it rained, the skies seemed more generous, and where the rays of the sun fell only as though meaning to make the atmosphere pleasant; and personally for me, where I could wake up at dawn in a sweater and sit sipping a <i>half-chai</i>, watching all the trucks of different sizes and tourist buses pass by. The copious dwellings with their trademark thatched roofs seemed only to reduce the distance between people. Now, the homes were even closer, but it didn't indicate people living closely; rather, it symbolised building of more and more houses, mostly for purposes of monetization, by eliminating some more lush green.<br />
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I must admit, however, with great joy that the transformation has enormously benefitted the lives of the people of Wathar. Medical clinics are available within the village and can be reached in a few minutes; whereas, the advanced hospitals are not further than a couple of tens of kilometres. The medical stores are within walkable distances, and so are the financial institutions; for example, the cooperative society that enables financing opportunities. The marketplace has always been thriving, and the "mini" supermarkets have now taken on a life of their own. There are two schools in the village, each with its vibrant classrooms and playground, and the presence of many committed teachers who unconditionally support and nurture their students. I had the opportunity to visit one such school where my lovely sister is a student of class seven. I witnessed an amazing joy and celebration within the school precincts, and was immediately taken in by the experience. I knew at once that these were bright times.<br />
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I leave you with the words of M. K. Gandhi,<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;">"I would say that if the village perishes India will perish too. India will be no more India. Her own mission in the world will get lost. The revival of the village is possible only when it is no more exploited. Industrialization on a mass scale will necessarily lead to passive or active exploitation of the villagers as the problems of competition and marketing come in. Therefore we have to concentrate on the village being self-contained, manufacturing mainly for use. Provided this character of the village industry is maintained, there would be no objection to villagers using even the modern machines and tools that they can make and can afford to use. Only they should not be used as a means of exploitation of others."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small; line-height: 24px;"> </span></blockquote>
Source of Gandhi's lines: http://www.mkgandhi.org/revivalvillage/index.htm<br />
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com4Bangalore, Karnataka, India12.9715987 77.594562712.724026199999999 77.2787057 13.2191712 77.910419699999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-90277031221321456102012-03-05T21:39:00.000+05:302012-07-27T16:00:21.187+05:30Ramachandra Guha's Makers of Modern India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFzTQVsrah7nYXo1tRUZyVW67yGX9gyrU_mJea65-dFnWO_1LF6nIwyF6N7wlb8B70xWpCvQWr35atpifIQbN5WsPAktgt1gd2Zgg3vg9RQo_Ne21wG8jwoIbgaD4x_wwCjkfZWOa1VwV/s1600/07sm_Guha_jpg_280648a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFzTQVsrah7nYXo1tRUZyVW67yGX9gyrU_mJea65-dFnWO_1LF6nIwyF6N7wlb8B70xWpCvQWr35atpifIQbN5WsPAktgt1gd2Zgg3vg9RQo_Ne21wG8jwoIbgaD4x_wwCjkfZWOa1VwV/s320/07sm_Guha_jpg_280648a.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As I read through the pages of <i>Makers of Modern India</i>, my ignorance strikes me hard on matters relating to Indian history, especially on the contributions of the great Indian writers who have, without a speck of doubt, changed the course of India towards the better. The first few pages of the book, as introduced by the erudite writer, Ramachandra Guha, enumerates, and discusses in short, the various writers he chose to bring forth to the reader, and the reasons for choosing those particular ones. The point that stands out for me, which Guha implicitly conveys, is that these were writers who wrote (or rewrote) the Indian condition as much as they wrote about it. Guha also goes on to say, that although India is a very unusual case in having had “so many politicians who were also original political thinkers,” it is not an entirely unique case, as demonstrated powerfully by the first generation of American nationalists - Madison, Hamilton, Jefferson and Franklin. There are some other names that must be mentioned, and I will have you hear to Guha’s own words. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“This was also true of Jose Marti of Cuba, Leopold Senghor of Senegal and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, who participated in movements to free their country from foreign rule while writing important works of propaganda and/or scholarship.”</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Guha, in his introductory remarks, also claims India “to be the most interesting country in the world,” and calls it as “the impartial judgment of a historian, not the partisan claim of a citizen.” I have no wish to be accused of having such a remark be plucked out of context, for which reason I provide his elaboration on the given point.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“For one thing, India is very large and contains one-sixth of humankind. For another, its territory is astonishingly diverse, with its peoples differentiated by religion, language, caste and ethnicity, as well as by ecology, technology, dress and cuisine.”</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I welcomed Guha’s remark, not because I partly shared it, but because I could now question it, and go over my entire train of thought. I do agree with him to a large extent, but I would be lying if I said India is the most interesting, simply because of my knowledge of various other regions in the world that have stunningly beautiful and breathtaking histories and cultures that flow down to produce the wonderfully complex, yet heart-warming and elegant societies. But even as I differ with him slightly, I most certainly agree with him on something that he draws attention to, which I wasn’t aware of, or at least not in the form that he gives it. He says,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“There were, and are, five revolutions simultaneously occurring in India: the urban revolution, the industrial revolution, the national revolution, the democratic revolution and the social revolution. The key word here is <i>simultaneously</i>.”</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The makers of Modern India have lived through these revolutions writing about it, as they continually shaped and reshaped it. Their highly insightful yet laborious writings are with us, and form the backbone of the book.</span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-22249297718454026562012-01-21T19:42:00.002+05:302012-01-21T19:42:34.177+05:30The Journey of 1876<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Lying untouched on my bookshelf for nearly two years, Gore Vidal's glorious <i>1876</i> - one among a series of books comprising the <i>Narratives of Empire</i> - found itself glued to my palms drawing a nervous zeal. My endlessly insatiable lust for the written word had me starry-eyed with <i>1876</i> in my grasp. Closing the bookshelf door, I carried the book with me on to my bed. The immediate flip of the cover after a minute-long look at it gave me the inkling of an exciting journey that lay forth.</div>
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The return of <i>Charles Schermerhorn Schuyler</i> to the land in which he was brought up - New York - is captured in a manner invoking heartfelt emotions, warmly associated with the 'coming back home' of a near-and-dear one. </div>
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"Grey clouds alternated with bands of bright blue sky; sharp wind from the northwest; sun directly in our eyes, which meant that we were facing due east from the North River, and so this was indeed the island of my birth and not Brooklyn to the south nor Jersey City at our back."</blockquote>
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Ironically, a near-and-dear one is accompanying him during his return to the city. More than thirty-five years have swept in time since he last breathed the familiar air, and Schuyler along with his widowed daughter <i>Emma</i>, the <i>Princesse d'Agrigente</i>, are soon swarmed by a mass of journalists who are thrilled to greet Schuyler and The Princess! The Harper's Monthly, the Herald, the Atlantic Monthly, and others, exhale a slew of questions about the princess and, more importantly, Schuyler's position in support of Governor Samuel J. Tilden. </div>
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Schuyler, at this juncture, details at length, and at every stage, the need for him to seek sources of money by capitalizing on his journalistic writing. He measures the dailies, the weeklies, the monthlies, all against each other in the hope to secure the highest bid. For he knows his duty of having Emma fed and housed in comfort, at least until she is married off, must be fulfilled. At this stage, a critical pursuit comes to light: Schuyler is banking on the election of the Tilden administration as a means to his future livelihood, for he hopes to seek a diplomatic position with the administration while returning to Europe.</div>
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In the meantime, Emma and Schuyler find themselves attending all kinds of social and political gatherings where they get acquainted with a number of interesting people. Emma, especially, takes a liking towards Denise Sanford, who, co-incidentally, also finds a warm place in Schuyler's heart. However, Denise's husband, William Sanford, turns out to be quite the pseudo-intellectual, boorish person who raises a strong dislike in the minds of the father-daughter duo. </div>
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John Day Apgar's love for Emma and her apparently equal but conditional reciprocation forms an interesting part of the book. The rather dull and uninteresting lawyer, belonging to the wealthy descendants of Apgars, falls in love with Emma. However, Emma, although feigning reciprocation, calls off her love for him towards the end and, in haste, marries William Sanford after the sorely tragic demise of Denise during the process of childbirth.</div>
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Schuyler, along with his close cohort of journalists, cover the entire lead-up to the 1876 presidential election. The run-up to the election proves closely contested, but Tilden emerges victorious. The celebration that ensues is heartwarming. Schuyler's retirement plans seem highly secure with everything falling into place the way he had hoped with Emma's marriage, too, around-the-corner. However, in what seems like a dubious decision, the state of Florida, after initially reporting Tilden as victorious by the popular vote, declare the election in favor of the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in what may be called as one of the most cunning last-minute indulgences in debauchery and abjection.</div>
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Schuyler is left puzzled by the turn of events, which doesn't just include his professional future. He comes to know of Emma's marriage with William, and it shocks him. However, it turns out that he is not to be affected by anything more. </div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com1Yeshwanthpur, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India13.0279661 77.540915613.0124961 77.521174600000009 13.043436100000001 77.5606566tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-18256499036037514102012-01-20T17:30:00.000+05:302012-07-27T16:02:13.952+05:30The Threat To Our Freedom & A Case To Protect It<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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THE INDIAN CONDITION<br />
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Twenty-four years have passed since <i>The Satanic Verses</i> realized itself in print and needless to say, in full glory in the hands of the public before it was, to incisively emphasize, snatched away from the public purview in many countries by slapping it with a ban. However the wounds, entirely self-inflicted I must say, lie fresh on the skins of the deeply religious. Sometimes I wonder if any of the Muslim protesters have ever even read the novel, or considered its "blasphemous" parts for once with an open, inviting mind. The latter doesn't seem likely at all, for in order for it to happen, one needs to keep his or her faith aside. One who fails to do so, make no mistake, is harboring a large incoherence, knowingly or not, in his or her world view.<br />
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That a man, who can easily lay claim to being an architect of a whole new branch of literature, is being made a part of a political plot that aims to keep him outdoors - based on "hurt religious sentiments" - is a nightmarish scenario. That Rushdie must be stopped from gracing the <i>Jaipur Literature Festival</i> is not only ludicrous, but hate-laden and blasphemous, if you, gentle reader, can permit me the use of the word outstripped of any "godly" or "religious" connotations otherwise deeply drilled. That Rushdie should be declined a visa was a highly ignorant proffer in the first place, so smoothly discarded by Rushdie through his tweet, "Regarding my Indian visit, for the record, I don't need a visa." However, he decided against it for the fear of having to face death in the eye swiftly arose.<br />
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The cancellation of Rushdie's visit made possible by a mere minority group - political and religious - and the silent spectators dealing in obfuscation - the government - cannot go down well as India boasts of its secular-soaked nature and being the largest democracy in the world, a proud upholder of its constitutional rights. The one question that ought to have taken the center-stage, perhaps much more important than the question of freedom of speech and expression, very aptly pointed out by Soli Sorabjee, the prominent Indian jurist, can be asked thus: <i>Could preventing Rushdie from setting foot on the Indian soil when he was not deemed a criminal by any court of law be constitutionally accurate?</i> The book had seen its ban twenty-three years ago, but could that amount to the author being regarded a criminal? Rushdie was not a 'criminal', in which case he could not have been blocked from entering India.<br />
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The right of a citizen to freedom of speech and expression, yet again, is requiring to fend for itself with little or no support from the upholders of the constitution, the government of India, which is now clearly open to all forms of appeasement. In recent history, when the <i>Bhagvad Gita </i>was slated towards a ban in Russia as it was called upon as "extremist literature," there was a large hue and cry, and an almost explosive fit of rage firmly declaring, in indignation, the labeling of Gita as a result of gross misinterpretation. The Indian government had to interfere, and hold talks with the Russian counterpart, in order to explain to them the "hurt sentiments" of the Indians in both India and Russia. The same India has been intently pro-active in banning a large number of books, including the ban on <i>The Satanic Verses</i> in 1988, displaying a severe incoherence in its stand towards the freedoms of speech and expression.<br />
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The blemish has also been brushed on to the lively fine art forms that are painting and cartooning. The regrettable case of M. F. Husain being driven out of India by the shameful forces of the violent right-wing Hindutva groups will be forever etched in memory as a disgrace in gargantuan proportions. He was responsible for influencing a whole generation of artists and, not unlike Rushdie, dared to go beyond the ordinary to create works of art, which portrayed the gods and goddesses in a glittering new light. However, he had to face such traumatic experiences such as to watch his house under attack by Hindu groups, and to be slapped with the unfair and pity-invoking charge of "hurting sentiments" of people. That the <i>Picasso of India</i> was banished in such a third-rate manner is impudent and shameful.<br />
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A CASE FOR FREE SPEECH AND EXPRESSION<br />
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In a sparkling mellifluous speech on the Freedom of Speech and Expression at the Hart House, University of Toronto, Canada in November 2006, Christopher Hitchens dared, in supreme confidence, to summarize the works of John Milton's Areopagitica, Thomas Paine's Age of Reason, and John Stuart Mill's On Liberty "in one go," and here is what he said,<br />
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"It's not just the right of the person who speaks to be heard; it's the right of everyone in the audience to listen, and to hear, and every time you silence somebody, you make yourself a prisoner of your own action because you deny yourself the right to hear something. In other words, your own right to hear and be exposed is as much involved in all these cases, as is the right of the other to voice his or her view." </blockquote>
He went on to add,<br />
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"Indeed as John Stuart Mill said if all in society were agreed on the truth and beauty and value of one proposition, all except one person, it would be most important - in fact, it would become even more important - that one heretic be heard because we would still benefit from his perhaps outrageous or appalling view. In more modern times, this has been put best by... Rosa Luxemberg, who said that the freedom of speech is meaningless unless it means the freedom of the person who thinks differently"</blockquote>
Hitchens's arguments - in the form of the authors he quotes and explains - are now ostensibly more relevant than ever before. In the case of Rushdie or Husain, who dared to "think differently," they were banished and made to shut up, in effect, stealing our right to hear them out. The buck doesn't stop there. Not only are we blocked from, say, reading Rushdie's books or viewing Husain's paintings; we don't get to decide what we see or read or hear. <i>Then</i> may I ask you, as did Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who gets to decide? To whom do you grant the right to decide which speech is harmful? Alternatively, who is the harmful speaker? The law does suggest the need for a person to decide for you. Should you accept such a law?<br />
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Consider the Danish cartoon controversy. A Danish newspaper (and other European publications) displayed caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in 2005 and early 2006. All hell broke loose after the cartoons were out, since it failed at distilling sufficient humor, one would think, to the Muslims across the Middle East and Africa, and much of Europe, who resorted to rioting, and burning of churches and embassies in the process of which 200 people lost their lives, and many were injured. Would you say that such a mass-violence was justified? The cry of "hurt sentiments" was utilized once again to cause grave damage to life and property. When Jytte Klausen decided to publish her book The Cartoons That Shook The World, the "Yale University Press decided to ask two dozen experts on Islam, terrorism and diplomacy, whether it should include the cartoons in a forthcoming book..., the answer Yale received was unanimous and vehement: do not print the cartoons," reported The New York Times. I can as much claim to be offended as the religious do when such an act as that of publishing cartoons is prohibited.<br />
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David Irving, a British historian, was arrested by the Austrian police in the southern state of Styria on November 11, 2005, under the arrest warrant issued in 1989. He was arrested in accordance with The Verbotsgesetz 1947 (Prohibition Act 1947) which, in its 1992 amendment, introduced the prohibition of 'denying or grossly minimizing the Holocaust or other Nazi war crimes,' which was the cause of Irving's arrest. Now referring back to Rosa Luxemburg's proverb, would it not be the case that Irving's right to speech, in the form of his holocaust denial, ought to have been protected? Instead, he served his sentence in a prison, only to be released in December 2006, and banned from ever returning to Austria.<br />
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THE ESSENCE<br />
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Many more cases are crying to be opened up, but their services may not be required any more for my purposes right now, for I think, the point, if not already made, is mildly but surely crystallizing.<br />
<br />
Where does one draw the line?<br />
Who qualifies to decide when a speech becomes a 'hate-speech'?<br />
What measure of one's speech leads to another's right to claim offense?<br />
<br />
On making such an inquiry, I think there is none who qualifies for it. And that any form of speech and expression must be allowed for, and not gagged by certain politically-and otherwise-motivated groups.<br />
<br />
<br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-62042631924122620622012-01-15T14:49:00.000+05:302012-07-27T16:02:22.229+05:30The Leading Babudom of Asia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Welcome to Babudom - the Kingdom of babus.<br />
<br />
Have no doubts,<br />
They rule the roost.<br />
Show no bouts,<br />
When they steal your fruits.<br />
<br />
As if India hadn't had enough of the kings ruling their provinces in the past, the inept, inefficient, money-monger rulers - the babus - seemed to have claimed the top spot, if only from the bottom-up.<br />
<br />
Indian bureaucrats have been given a rating of 9.21 on 10 for the "terrific powers" they seem to make use of so well, which deems them terribly efficient, if only in corruption. However, is this a thing to be surprised at? I think none of us are surprised. It was a well-known fact. But as always, the power of numbers - often the representation of accountability - seems to have created an embarrassment, and a big one at that! After all, India likes to think of itself better than at least Vietnam, or South Korea, or Taiwan, or Philippines, or Malaysia, or Thailand.<br />
<br />
Nope, sorry, they have bureaucrats who are able to do more.<br />
<br />
In my recent post - <a href="http://critiquevoice.blogspot.com/2012/01/political-commentary-for-2011-year-gone.html">Political Commentary For 2011 - The Year Gone By</a> - I mentioned the "plummeting confidence in investing in Indian markets," which, among many things, "led to the crash of the rupee." This lack of confidence is a product of the wide-spread scope for graft allowed by the licence-permit raj, and the brakes that stop us while heading towards holding civil servants accountable. The world sees it; certainly, the investors - foreign or national - see it clearly, and hesitate making any investments, and in some cases, keep away from it, the result of which was slapped down our faces in the past year, and continues to leave us red-faced.<br />
<br />
Pursuing the underpinnings of such an embarrassing performance takes us for a walk through our slow judicial processes and "fickle" regulations. That trying a corrupt official under the law is such a long and difficult task makes it even worse for investors and businessmen.<br />
<br />
For the citizen, too, it spells a nightmare. You wouldn't need to move very far in order to find out for yourself. Just walk to the nearest state government office - the Regional Transport Office (R. T. O.) - and you will be caught in a web of bribes and snail-paced slow-moving, unnecessary processes. My experience at the R. T. O. is recorded here - <a href="http://karan-soulvoice.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-experience-at-rto.html">read it here</a><br />
<br />
Although caught in the act, the one thing we ignore, as Indians, is that there are plenty of honest bureaucrats who are presently battling through such stormy environments put in place by the "system." Much too often, we treat bureaucrats and the corrupt as synonymous, but in most cases, it is far from truth. It is important as citizens of India that we put things in perspective and don't gun down every bureaucrat who walks the streets. Lately, a motivation towards getting ourselves immediately out of the rut has been flowing bottom-up, and is now resonating even among the top officials, bureaucrats and politicians. In the process, a number of bureaucrats have been ordered to move their belongings, only some, to the four-walled cells, that we so warmly call jails. Other measures like the installation of a Lokpal Bill and the institution of Lokayuktas can only have us positively move towards weeding out corruption.<br />
<br />
Good things are due in the next few years. For now, we will have to deal with the blemish.<br />
<br />
<br />
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</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-52611271275801422012-01-11T02:30:00.002+05:302012-01-11T02:30:57.809+05:30"Speak in English da"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
How many times do you hear your friends ask - "hey, where are you going <b>da</b>?" Or have someone exclaim - "we will have so much fun <b>da</b>.."<br />
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<br />
When I hear it, I sometimes wonder - why do I do it? I certainly don't do it while I'm writing. In fact, it was with much difficulty that I placed "da" in the above sentences. Why do we do this here in India?<br />
<br />
I actually googled the term "da" and didn't find much other than the usual suspects - Dearness Allowance and the unit of measurement, popularly known as 'deca'. That's how far Google was ready to go. Or, rather that's how far I was ready to go with Google - a few seconds of search.<br />
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My train of thought regarding the state of affairs in the English language in India started one night when I was reading Hitch - 22 where, in his memoir, Christopher Hitchens talks about his friend Martin Amis's love of the English language.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Martin never let friendship take precedence over his first love, which was and is the English language. If one employed a lazy or a stale phrase, it would be rubbed in (there, I have done it again), no, it would be incisively <i>emphasized</i>, with a curl of that mighty lip and an ironic gesture."</blockquote>
<br />
This had me think about the level of importance we ascertain to the phrases we use in our conversation. Of course not everyone needs to be the genius Amis is, but do we take our speech for granted? We are usually very careful about the clothes we buy; certainly in shopping for gadgets. Also about our food, our home, our pens, and certainly our <i>drinks!</i> Then why is it that we choose to ignore our incorrect use of the English language. I'm a co-conspirator, too, mouthing off <i>da</i> whenever I find the need to connect with another person at the same level. I don't use <i>da</i> when it comes to conversing with people who don't use it. But then, that's a social trait. There is a need in all of us to connect, and in the process, we mutter things we don't want to and utter thing we don't wish to.<br />
<br />
To continue further into the memoir,<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If one committed the offense in print - I remember once saying "no mean achievement" in an article - the rebuke might come in note form, or by one's being handed a copy of the article with a penciled underlining."</blockquote>
<br />
When I read this, I was struck with a sudden awareness of how we borrow phrases from every where else and use them, or almost molest them. Like Hitchens's use of "no mean achievement," we borrow a number of such phrases over and over again not being aware, even for a second, that we are stifling our creativity and squandering it. I think it is the age-old classic of <i>die before think</i> that gets a man to use stale phrases. Let me quote Bertrand Russell,<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Most people would sooner die than think; in fact they do so."</blockquote>
<br />
The all-pervasive aversion to <i>thought </i>is no secret after all. All you need to do is to climb down the ladder of history a bit, and you'll find the enlightenment thinker repeatedly being tortured, kept at a distance, and condemned in very many cases, in spite of his thought sowing the seed for the growth of the scientific, political, national and industrial revolutions. I have from a very young age adopted the method of the thinker and love to bring forth a spirit of inquiry into all things important to me. Socrates himself put it so powerfully with a wisp of inspiration,<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The unexamined life is not worth living."</blockquote>
<br />
It is in fact in Socrates's or Russell's spirit - of inquiry - that I write this post. Hitchens closes in on the paragraph saying,<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"He could take this vigilance to almost parodic lengths. The words "ruggedly handsome features" appear on the first page of <i>Nineteen Eighty-four</i> and for a while Martin declined to go any further into the book. ("The man can't write worth a damn.") He was later to admit that the novel did improve a trifle after that. Years later, when I gave him the manuscript of my book on Orwell, he brought it to our next rendezvous at a Manhattan bistro and wordlessly handed it back. He had gone through it page by page, painstakingly correcting my pepper-shaker punctuation." </blockquote>
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<br />
<br />
Such was the tenacity of Amis over the English language. Now, most of us, whether in India or else where, speak more in English than in any other language. It is only fair that we, to begin with, stop taking our words for granted, and further, learn to have a deep-rooted respect for the words we choose to use - be it in print or speech. For it is <i>you</i> who is the creator of those words, and it is <i>your </i>personality that is reflected in your speech.<br />
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<br />
To finish up and gather the argument in one place, I think our <i>choice</i> of words, in any language whatever, needs to have its place rightfully beside our <i>choice </i>in shopping, clothing, buying, reading, so on and so forth.<br />
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Happy Speaking!<br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com3Vittal Mallya Rd, SR Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India12.9715987 77.594562712.724026199999999 77.2787057 13.2191712 77.910419699999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-68206443130016736252012-01-08T19:18:00.000+05:302012-01-11T02:47:11.167+05:30Dan In Real Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<br />
To be honest with you, <i>nothing</i> Steve Carell <i>ever</i> does is boring. Also, <i>nothing</i> he <i>ever</i> does is fancy. It is his uncanny ability to act-out awkward circumstances artfully and to bring to life the very same "regular" routines of our every day that makes him a "must-watch."<br />
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<br />
This movie, if you can go the mile and trust me, is no different. It starts with Dan (Steve Carell) - a father of three daughters - who, after losing his wife a couple of years ago, has become morose and lives in a sullen home comprising of what we may call a dysfunctional family. In spite of the gloom environs, he manages to keep himself happy through his writing. He writes a regular column in a newspaper that is seen to bring about a positive change in the lives of many a readers that go teary-eyed over his stand on principles of honesty, authenticity, and the age-old maxim of <i>family comes first</i>. While he finds joy through his writing, it is increasingly hard for him to get into the lives of his fast-growing daughters.<br />
<br />
On the day of every year that they visit Dan's family at their house in a small country-place, which I know not where, the father and his daughters set out in the car towards the country-home. On reaching, everyone is delighted to meet them, but unknowingly set into motion a cloud of concern over Dan's reluctance to move on with his life and do something for himself. After a day or so, Dan's mother "orders" her son to "get lost" intending for him to go to the serene environs nearby to get some fresh air. He obeys, and visits a bookstore - <i>Book and Tackle Shop</i> - by the windy shores of a brook. He then finds a beautiful and <i>vivacious </i>(the vivacious bit was at the least what I definitely thought) woman - Marie (Juliette Binoche) - glancing around the bookshelves to find books that match her rapidly altering, diving and flying emotions. Mistaking Dan to be a salesman, she takes his help, and he kindly, and expertly, obliges with a whole set of books. She immediately finds out that he isn't a salesman, and calls him <i>smooth</i>. He replies with that joyful wit of his - <i>I'm definitely not smooth. I'm Dan</i>.<br />
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<br />
The meeting at the bookstore leads to a long and interesting, albeit intimate, conversation. They fall into a place where they are bound to each other.<br />
<br />
Let me not indulge into any more scene-setting, and let you go ahead and watch the movie if you like what you hear.<br />
<br />
I think the movie is humorous. It captures, so brightly, the essence of family. It stands for a love that doesn't depend on <i>judging another carefully in order to make the right decision</i>. It stands for the love that people dismiss so easily by calling it "infatuation." It outlines the feelings of a single-dad, contrary to the popular scheme of things where we are used to seeing single-moms going through hard and turbulent times to raise their children, going through the difficulty of raising his 3 daughters. And it really melts the heart to see them all come together in happiness towards the end. <br />
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A special mention - gorgeous soundtracks. You can listen to them over and over again.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-89931991522878235772012-01-04T21:41:00.000+05:302012-07-27T16:02:31.480+05:30Political Commentary For 2011 - The Year Gone By<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
I must convey, with shame, the miserable plight of the citizen as 2011 unfolded itself. The nation was forced to hear a capricious clamor against political drama that saw its ebbs and flows, and was left hoping for some kind of respite. The respite came. It came from a man who people called a <i>Gandhian</i>, for some strange reason, and a <i>Socialist</i>, for even stranger reasons. The movement he led, and the team he formed (or was it a team that came together?), started widespread protests <i>against the injustice</i> caused by an ever-elusive Lokpal Bill. It magnetized a nation towards its movement. And movement it was! - it swiftly moved towards protests <i>against the Congress</i>. Although I hold the view that it did not have any non-partisan roots to begin with, it was now showing off its opposition to Congress as a manifestation of its "principle" of opposing "wrongdoers." Whether or not Congress forms a bunch of wrongdoers, Team Anna is now cloaked in bias.<br />
<br />
The recent efforts, by Congress, in particular, in passing the Lokpal Bill in both houses of the parliament was laudable. I oppose strongly the view that it was they who "made sure the bill wasn't passed." Furthermore, I think Team Anna's "Jail-Chalo" ("Jail-Bharo" being its early variant), and a 3-day fast along with a constant hollering of its staunch supporters was quite unjustified, as the bill at the time was being discussed with sufficient, if not much more, rigor within the precincts of the parliament. They drew embarrassment after witnessing crowds in numbers that didn't meet their expectation. Mumbai found at least a decent proportion of mass, thanks to the older men and women who felt it a privilege to see a "Gandhian" in action. I heard people on TV say quite clearly, "I never saw Gandhi when I was young. I'm here to see Anna, who is like Gandhi; and he will free our country from corruption." No, he will not. There is a parliament in place for a reason. The powers bestowed upon the parliament are to be upheld. The constitution, our country's founding document, needs to be upheld until the very last breath. And with regards to freeing a country of corruption, it won't happen. Just like criminal law doesn't bring the crime rate to zero, laws against corruption will not halt it. It can certainly be curbed by a proper system that lies on a foundation such as that of Lokpal.<br />
<br />
The parliamentary sessions throughout the year saw obstructionism at its best. The parliament is in place for unfettered reasoned debate, and not for political parties to push forth their malignant agenda. In those days where the parliamentary proceedings proceeded as civil, there was a case of dwindling attendance. That such a historic and monumental, if not near-holy, emplacement finds itself struggling to invite discussions and debate for the country's progress is quite abhorring. The people of India will not tolerate such indifference and disregard towards the duties conferred upon them. <br />
<br />
The row over allowing for a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail was yet another whip that cracked the pot. That the decision went in favor of the <i>kirana shops</i>, as Jug Suraiya calls them, or the <i>bania</i>, a term preferred by the "Swaminomicist" <i>Aiyar</i>, is indicative of the petty and trifling considerations given to the citizen - the consumer, in this case. With the help of the organized vote-bank - the <i>kirana lobby</i> - the BJP successfully held a nation-wide bandh - all at the expense of potential profits for the consumer, and for a community widely used for political mileage (not this time though) - the farmers. The advantages of allowing FDI in retail are aplenty, and if the kirana shops survived, if not equally flourished, while the Indian retail giants burgeoned, my view is that they will hold their own despite the arrival of foreign retail giants. There are live examples to be had - China, Germany and South Africa.<br />
<br />
The plummeting confidence in investing in Indian markets led to a crash of the rupee. Seeing new lows every time it touched them was heart-wrenching. There was much demand by the politicians and corporations for the RBI to intervene in the currency markets, but some very relevant arguments were presented against such a move. Swaminathan Aiyer, in an article in The Times of India (18/12/11), said in response,<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"This would be a terrible mistake. The rupee's fall is not a technical monetary phenomenon. Rather, it signifies a loss of confidence in India by foreign investors, and by Indians too."</blockquote>
<br />
He went on to add a very crucially relevant precedent,<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Caution, please. Remember that exactly the same arguments were put forward in Thailand by businesses and banks in 1997 to prop up that country's falling currency. That propping up helped only temporarily, emptied Thailand's treasury and sparked the Asian financial crisis. We must not fall into the same trap."</blockquote>
<br />
Although the rupee is now only very slightly improving, it will take much time for the investors - both foreign and national - to gather courage in response to any light that is to brighten the economic scenario. It is a slow but definite process.<br />
<br />
These issues, and a few more, are still awaiting a blast of fresh air. The year 2012 could bring forth reforms; and could certainly free the country of its policy paralysis; It could well bring a powerful, yet accountable, anti-graft law; and could also improve the economic situation. It could bring FDI in retail to the shores, and subsequently ameliorate the farmer's plight. However, <i>to think that is a mistake</i>. The year will not bring forth any of these. Only a <b>national government</b> can. Political parties working together in unison will hold the key for advancement in each facet, be it cultural, political, economic, scientific, or social in 2012. And I think it a mistake to cherish the "Anna movement," which surlily puts, so falsely, the government and the citizen at odds with each other. Its downfall has already been espied by the whole of India. I think the age-old virtue of unity, and to agree to disagree still works wonders. To tolerate such cockamamie division of the people of the country, and to put one against another, is to encourage it. We can do with a bit of coming together.<br />
<br />
Oh, and yes, one other thing that would most certainly help - so aptly and effortlessly phrased by Jug Suraiya - <b>getting on with the job</b>. <br />
<br />
<br />
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</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0Bengaluru, Karnataka, India12.9715987 77.594562712.724026199999999 77.2787057 13.2191712 77.910419699999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-77457576701800441952012-01-03T15:41:00.000+05:302012-01-03T15:41:49.116+05:30Freedom For Women - Far Fetched? - I Don't Think So<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yet again, the women in our society are questioned on matters concerning their choices - dressing, in this case - and are forcibly made the cause of the most heinous and bone-chilling cruel acts of rape and sexual harassment.<br />
<br />
The comments of Karnataka's Women and Child Welfare Minister, C C Patil, and Head of Committee against sexual harassment in Bangalore University, K K Seethamma, invites contempt because of the high positions they hold in office, and that they form a part of a community that stands for women's welfare and protection. Their prejudiced and archaic views truly reflect on the safety of women in today's society. For instance, the notion, among Delhi'ites or friends of Delhi'ites, is clear - the capital city is filled with young, capricious individuals with raging hormones looking to strike in the dark. It won't take much of a conversation before you hear from them - "You walk out after 8.30pm, and you are sure to invite trouble." With this menace hovering over, not just Delhi but, each city of India, people repeatedly find ways of shifting blame over to women. Rape or Sexual Harassment is a crime, and has no justification whatsoever.<br />
<br />
The other point called into question is that of freedom. The two ministers seem to prefer a dress code which, in effect, restricts women from making their own choices. "Even when one wears saris, long-sleeve blouses must be worn. I tell my students they must wear long kurtas when they wear jeans," uttered Seethamma during her conversation with TOI. I think women have the right to wear whatever they wish and whenever they wish to do so. "Showing off their skin" is nobody else's business.<br />
<br />
Time and again, statistics have proved that the type of dressing does not influence the number of rape cases. Women wearing saris in villages get raped; women wearing tube-tops get raped in cities. At the same time, you have little girls of age 5 to 8 years being raped. How does any of the prejudiced views account for the rape of little girls?<br />
<br />
It is this kind of cheap, inconsistent and contradictory views uttered in public against the protection of women's rights that brings forth contempt. It is a deep insult to a woman's dignity and integrity. As people living in a free and open society, it is our responsibility to stand for its values by defending our stance against its opponents, and to uphold them with the deepest of passion. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-2572247471895913802011-10-23T21:17:00.000+05:302012-01-11T02:46:17.114+05:30The Three Musketeers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Deciding to watch <strong>The Three Musketeers</strong> on my mother's birthday turned out to be a great idea, for it was an entertaining movie to watch along with the family. Holding below-average expectations from the movie, I was taken aback. The movie finds essence in the actors playing their roles superbly, whether it be the voice of Matthew Macfadyen (Athos) or the brute-strength and comicality of Ray Stevenson (Porthos); the silent, serious (almost hidden) Luke Evans (Aramis) or the young, racy, boisterous Logan Lerman (D'Artagnan). <br />
<br />
Milla Jovovich (Milady) left me breathless with her seductive eyes and bewitching body. She was so captivating that one could almost get caught up in her alluring <em>witchcraft</em>, so to speak, for she portrays the two-faced, unfaithful lady.<br />
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Although the name of the movie assumes a central role to the three musketeers, it is not to be. The center of attention is <em>D'Artagnan</em>, a boy from a small town, looking to serve France in the role of a Musketeer. In spite of that, Athos, Porthos and Aramis keep us entertained quite consistently throughout the movie. </div>
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The movie does contain errors, like for instance, the absence of a <em>Versailles</em> during the reign of the king, Louis XIII. One confouding element, though not an error, is the battle among <em>flying ships composed of heavy artillery</em>, which brings a sense of modernity, and a subsequent incoherence. The science of it all was quite hopeless too. Nevertheless, it was still great fun.<br />
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Although not a masterpiece or a classic in any way, and not even close to the brilliance of the original book, it is still suprisingly humorous and provides for amazing fun and entertainment. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-47758680630189769052011-10-10T15:14:00.000+05:302011-10-22T19:49:34.258+05:30The Torch-bearers of the Nation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">India</place></country-region>’s history calls for a powerful youth-led social activism. 1883, the year that witnessed the beginnings of the civil rights movement by a <em>young Gandhi</em>, can be regarded as a spark that rapidly spread the fire of youth-led social activism ever since in Modern India. That which Gandhi started, refuses to die down even today, as it created an <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">India</place></country-region> that was never to tolerate any form of social injustice. Inside of this creation, it was the youth that were to be the torchbearers carrying the bright light of ever-inspiring <em>social change</em> from the revolutionary leaders of the past. As is said on countless occasions, yet never ceasing to be true, the future of <country-region w:st="on">India</country-region> lies in the hands of youth, and social activism is that vehicle which can bring about ownership and responsibility among the mass, contributing towards accomplishing an extraordinary future that <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">India</place></country-region> envisions. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>P.S. </strong>This was an article I had submitted to The Education Times as a part of their contest in which 150-word articles concerning the role of youth in social activism were invited from all over India. They selected 5 entries. Mine didn't appear in the newspaper, but it surely belonged here as my personal piece of writing. </span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-29914754520688027882011-09-27T19:17:00.000+05:302012-01-11T02:48:42.695+05:30Crazy, Stupid, Love.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The movie is indeed crazy; not all that stupid, and full of love. In fact, it is based on the idea of having that <em>one true love</em> in your life; the one <em>soulmate</em> that you're destined to find, here, on Earth. One doesn't need to go far in their heads to connect with the movie. It is simple and touches you straight to the heart. Steve Carell is a typical husband who has been in a marriage for 25 years, and Julianne Moore is that typical (not all that typical in India though) wife who deals with so much in life that she chooses to withdraw and find another man who could bring bury her concerns. Ryan Gosling, in my view, has been ultra-sexy in this movie and has played the character of a hot hunk picking up women from the bar each night bloody damn well. When Steve finds out about Moore's affair and her need for a divorce, he goes into a shell, finding a way out of which, for him, gets seemingly impossible. Drowning his sorrows in a bar, he finds Ryan calling on him to help him rediscover the man he was once upon a time. I found this part incredibly meaningful and real. All too often, men find themselves losing their identity in a relationship that has lasted years together. It is the continual revival of the <strong>Self</strong>, in my view, that ensures one leads a more happier and fulfilling life. <br />
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The twist in the tale that you don't see coming (if you have not already watched the trailer a dozen times along with the "Making of Crazy, Stupid, Love.") is that Ryan falls in love, and very dramatically so. This is where the <strong><em>love</em></strong> part of the movie sets in. With a few more twists and turns, the movie ends in a reinforcement of the aforementioned idea of each one destined to have his/her one true love. <br />
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It is a lovely movie to watch; touches all those romantic souls (including me) quite deeply. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-80992179390598028252011-08-30T22:47:00.000+05:302012-01-11T02:49:36.198+05:30What's at the Source of Commitment?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Commitment is a word used very often in the circles of loving relationships. In fact, it is so over-used that it muddles our understanding of what the commitment is towards. I have been pondering over the question of commitment in relationships all of last week. Is "commitment" directed towards the other person? Does saying "you are the person I'm committed to" make any sense at all? Or is it a commitment towards having an extraordinary life together with another? </div>
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Just spending a little while on these questions had me realize that my "commitment" in all my relationships was to be with another. That sounds fine, until of course, I realize that "being with another" is what I will find myself doing irrespective of how the relationship is. That brings with it an element of attachment as opposed to commitment. Attachment, more often than not, brings with it an element of failure when things aren't working. It brings in such emotions as sorrow, frustration and helplessness when things aren't going the way you want. <br />
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Reading ancient books, as well as the modern ones, that talk of acheiving enlightenment and pursuing a journey of Self-discovery, refer to one single word that most often finds at least a chapter dedicated to it. That word is detachment. When one is detached from the surroundings, one finds enormous power to fulfill on the commitment irrespective of the circumstances that seem to take with you it's tide. True power lies here. Standing in detachment, and not just flowing with the tide, one finds great power to make things happen.<br />
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Then what is commitment, really? Perhaps it is something you create for yourself and the relationship. You might say, "This is how our relationship will be" and you make it happen. You might say, "our relationship is one of joy and celebration", and you find yourself fulfilling on this every moment of your life with your partner. Creating a life that you want along with your partner and fulfilling on it might just be the commitment that takes the relationship a whole new level of satisfaction and fulfillment. <br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-45136576677560195362011-05-01T13:49:00.000+05:302012-01-11T02:50:33.064+05:30Joyous dinner in the face of gloom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It has been two weeks since my great-uncle expired. There was much grief and misery in the family as the news broke out. The women in the house wailing; the men expressing their sorrow through a still silence; the children confused as their glance moved over dozens of people weeping at the sight of a man sleeping on the cold floor. Since we're Maharashtrians living in Karnataka, we had relatives leave their houses in Maharashtra to visit the house and pay their condolences to the family at the earliest.<br />
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I was spellbound when I first heard of my great-uncle's death. But it took me only a few seconds to get back to an assuring state - <em>"Yeah, it happens to everyone"</em> - a view of life, or rather death, that I donned as I witnessed the death of my father when I was 9 years old. This view never fails me; and it still didn't; even after 12 years. My mother asked me to visit their house located a couple minutes away from mine. I refused. I told her I'd visit later. The death didn't seem to matter much anymore. My mother, a few hours later, asked me again to visit the house as the body would soon be taken for cremation. I had a moment of resistance but I didn't yield to it. I left for their house that instant.<br />
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At the house, I paid my respect to the man who had taken such great responsibility of the family. After the death of my grandfather six years back, my great-uncle took it upon him to be responsible for the family. It startles me somtimes when I think of how we automatically recognize the <em>"greatness"</em> of a man, or the <em>"strength"</em> of woman, when they are no more. Why don't we recognize it when they're alive? The man who led his life and is now dead is the same. It is just our actions and speech that undergo change. It is not a challenging task to know that this absurd quality stems from us, and doesn't have anything to do with the other.<br />
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After spending 15 minutes at their house, I was on my way home thinking of this most profound aspect of <strong>death</strong> - an all pervasive force of life. The profundity didn't last too long as I was back on my computer doing some mathematics. <br />
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A couple of days ago, my mother informed me of a lunch and dinner get-together at their house. I agreed, inspite of the age-old initial futile resistance. The next moment, I found myself sitting on a chair with a banana leaf on a small table placed in front of me. The silence was loud. My uncle, with whom I spent so much of my childhood, was serving me food on an ocassion that for sure didn't please him much. I sat in silence, as though in agreement with the cry of silence expressing, - <em>"yes, someone had died"</em>.<br />
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My uncle and I didn't speak much. I told him about my childhood memories of the place. He smiled. Much of our conversation was what he would want to serve next. I was liking the time I was spending there; so much so that I decided to sit there, albeit in silence. An hour had passed; it was time for me to leave.<br />
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That night, I returned for dinner. As I entered, a far relative came forward and greeted me. I felt the warmth as I was being greeted by people in the house. They were calling out to each other shouting out, "Karan is here. Let him eat. He must be hungry." I entered the hall in the house where 11 of us sat, waiting for the food to be served. There was much comfort and ease in this <em>"pankti</em>,<em>"</em> as we call a group sitting for dinner in Marathi. There was the one responsible man who was ensuring that none of us sit even for a second waiting for further servings. There was the funny guy who looked to entertain. There was the silent guy who took great interest in talking to me. There was also the guy who liked being entertained by the funny guy. Not to forget the ladies, who did the serving; and the other ladies who walked with great expression of experience as they walked the hall and the corridor. It was a <em>pankti</em> I liked being a part of. It was a family that hadn't sit together for many years. It was a family that was now automatically donning its roles in a group - any group leader's dream - except that each was his own leader here and there wasn't a need for any one person to lead. It was a night of together. We stood as one, and it showed.<br />
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<em>This is the essence of family</em>. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-10750435378526809662011-04-26T14:42:00.000+05:302011-04-26T14:50:04.347+05:30My experience at the RTO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I woke up late one morning only to see that I'm past the time that my class starts. It was going to be a herculean task to get ready and travel 20km by bus only to reach, at best, the 3rd class out of the 4 classes that day. After loitering around the house thinking about how I should be waking up early, I stumbled upon a great opportunity of giving my Learning License test and to complete the remaining formalities. My LL had long expired and it was restricting to travel out on the roads without a license.<br />
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I reached the RTO on my two-wheeler and went straight ahead to the parking lot. As I parked my vehicle into a vacant spot, I heard a person standing right behind me saying, "Boss, you've come here to get a license?". I replied hastily, "Yes". He asked me to follow him as he told me with considerable ease that he will guide me through the process. I followed him up to a certain place; asked him how much he would charge, as I soon realized that this was a person not directly involved with the licensing authorities. He quoted "approximately Rs. 50 here and there" with an expression that conveyed the amount was meagre. <br />
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I brought the required documents along as he was doing all of <em>my work </em>- filing the documents, pasting the photographs, giving it a certain order and structure, giving it a seal of a <em>driving school</em> etc. He then walked around hastily and asked me for a total amount of Rs. 550 to get an LL and DL for both car and bike. I was initially shocked to know of the amount, but at the back of my head, I was quite sure it was very cheap compared to the Rs 1000+ that is normally paid. To be honest, I was confused. My eyes then wandered over the name of the driving school and I decided to go ahead as my work was getting done through "a driving school". I rushed back home; brought in the amount; paid it to him. He helped me with the further processes required to obtain an LL - go to the 2nd floor; stand in the queue; show the inspector the original documents; after the signature, get a challan of Rs. 60. I did just that and I was sure of what was to be done next. That made me comfortable as I found a smooth flow to the processes one after the other. <br />
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After completing the formalities, I gave him a call. He rushed to where I was and asked me if I had passed the test that I had just written. I told him I had. He was glad and he asked me to come another day to receive the LL. That day came, but I didn't get my LL. Then another day, and another day, and another day. Finally, I had my LL after more than a week's time. I was glad. He now asked me for Rs. 100 to be given to "someone". I paid him the amount and thanked him for all the work that he had done for me. He gave me the dates on which I needed to come back to the RTO to get hold of a DL. All was well and good.<br />
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When I think about the turn of events right from when I parked my vehicle in that vacant spot, I don't see anything "wrong" with what had transpired as opposed to the common conception. What really happened was that I unnecessarily spent my parents' hard-earned money and I found it very disappointing that I did it. One has the choice of going all by himself and get an LL by paying Rs. 60.<br />
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In these times where India is taking a strong stand on transparency, I think it is a great opportunity to look into the systems in place at the RTOs. Perhaps the govt. can make the processes more transparent and direct? Maybe they can employ people, especially, to guide people through these processes? The increase in expenditure (to pay these people who will serve at the RTO) will be a tiny speck compared to the govt. spending on various areas of civil and social aspects. The RTO serves us well. Why not take the service to a whole new level? </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-39351983833808776252011-04-01T20:05:00.000+05:302011-10-22T19:52:25.149+05:30Indo-Pak Cricket Fever<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The day of the India-Pakistan semi-final of the ICC World Cup, 2011, was absolutely <strong>insane</strong>. It started with the analyses of the match given by about a billion people across country. "Sachin will deliver", "Sehwag is the danger man", "we should bat first", "we should chase", "the powerplay should not be taken within the 40 overs", so on and so forth. Its such a feeling of one-ness when all one talks about is the thing <em>you</em> talk about; the thing <em>your neighbour</em> talks about; the thing <em>your neighbour's neighbour</em> talks about; is what <em>your city, state and country</em> talk about. I'm sure everyone's hearts were beating racily. On the other hand, there were people who, on watching so many crucial matches lost in the past, could not get past their cynicism and resignation. They knew "India could not do it". They knew "India did not have the bowling". They also knew "India was a poor fielding side". It was almost like a stand of morality imposed on the Indian team. It was after all a competition, which involves being better than your competitors, & there is no such thing as absolutes in batting, fielding and bowling.<br />
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I watched people drinking water in <em>green</em>-coloured bottles being questioned about their loyalty towards Indians. One particular person, on gulping down a forth of the bottle replied, "I'm indicating that India is going to gulp down the Pakistani's the way I just did". The madness quotient just raised its bar. Employees of various companies did not show up on the day, and it was all well understood by those who did make it. This is the sort of understanding one craves all of his/her life, and finds it a rarety.<br />
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You could find a very large density of people on the roads and at bus stops, all rushing back home to get to watch the match. I stood at a bus stop for nearly 25 minutes, and when my watch read 14:21 IST, I took an auto, and rushed back home. I found myself sitting in front of the tv at 14:30 IST. The match, of course, turned out to the be the thriller that it was expected to be. When India was finding itself nearing its glory, crackers lit up through out bangalore. People ran down & blocked the streets. The atmosphere was electrifying if one got on to the streets.<br />
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At the end of the day, I just found myself listening to the post-match presentation, after which I heard to all the expert comments looking for my own private <em>analysis</em>. Feeling satisfied at the way the day turned out, I put myself to a peaceful sleep. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-28272839199058238552011-02-16T20:31:00.000+05:302012-01-11T02:51:57.241+05:30No Strings Attached<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRQaXY05pgCQ-9SDNFaA4YCohOhg805Q57pJPAKpj_aiqXDRJtV4E_cDK5Kh33MuaT6Mm0ZRW2oXHl58hh7eh1y7DjXQW1Zr-bvDpWve6eoPKYGqhyvw1o1CVmSDDp4eZXy6LTyuKap0/s1600/No+Strings+Attached+-+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRQaXY05pgCQ-9SDNFaA4YCohOhg805Q57pJPAKpj_aiqXDRJtV4E_cDK5Kh33MuaT6Mm0ZRW2oXHl58hh7eh1y7DjXQW1Zr-bvDpWve6eoPKYGqhyvw1o1CVmSDDp4eZXy6LTyuKap0/s320/No+Strings+Attached+-+poster.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
The concept of the movie is age-old - can "friends with benefits" stay just "friends with benefits" for long? Well, so far, the answer has been a <u>NO</u>. <strong>No Strings Attached</strong> gives you that very same answer, although, in a fresh and realistic way.<br />
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Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman have done a really good job on the movie, and I'm gradually inclined to think that this was the best pair for the movie. Mr. Kutcher's charm was felt throughout and was great to watch! Mrs. Portman, on the other hand, fit into the character quite well. The intense, passionate, and the touching phase in the second half was a great contrast to the casual, messed-up, immature phase of the first half. The movie finally ends on a great note where Portman can't resist Kutcher anymore and falls in love with him.<br />
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Finally, I think this is a very entertaining movie to watch. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-36642825105232660922010-05-28T01:15:00.000+05:302012-01-11T02:53:07.876+05:30A Woman's Right To Freedom: Will She Get It?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After the Ruchika Girhotra case has taken a turn, for the first time in 19 years, towards the initial stages of justice, we are now struck with an episode that is more or less, an emulation to the former case. This case, though a new one, is an age old case when thought of it in terms of the events leading to the consequence - the death of 2 innocent women. A 2nd year Bachelor of Arts student returning home with an acquaintance on a scooter had to make a pit stop as the scooter broke down. The 2 policemen, Arvind Patel and Kanaiyhalal Tiwari, taking advantage of the circumstances, approached the women, but only to beat them up, tear open their clothes and make an MMS clip out of this appallingly shameful event. A complaint was registered which led to a couple of policemen, Praveen Tripathi and Ashok Tiwari, to turn up at the victims' house to record their statements. After realizing the absence of the father, the only member of the house, they issued threats to the girls. Soon after, both girls consumed poison leading to the younger sister's death. The elder one was admitted to a hospital but an attempt to save her life turned futile, as she died later that night.<br />
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Again, no action was being taken initially. It was only when the news channels took this case up and when people in the neighbourhood cried slogans and demanded action, did it warrant punishment against the accused. Suspension. Yes, it is <i>just</i> a suspension for now. It is said that on a particular condition, they can regain their freedom to don their uniform once again. Perhaps it is a way to cover up for all that they have done, metaphorically speaking. But its not possible now that the people are truly aware of the incident.<br />
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This is not a new issue. Women are harassed on the streets, on the bus, at the railway station, at the workplaces, so on and so forth. The only place where a woman could probably find herself safe is at the temple, many may say thanks to the strong and sacred foundations built into each inch of the walls; but then again, it only takes a very large number of people at the temple to let harassment surface again. No one notices it; the woman doesn't speak about it; case closed.<br />
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Sexual abuse/Molestation/Eve Teasing/Rape are all heinous crimes that give any sensible person a complete account of the mentality of men living in the society. It is necessary to demand a personal introspection by each one of us on the aspects of such cruel mentality. Its only after an honest introspection that a realization dawns upon us as to how sickening this <i>social evil</i> is.<br />
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There have been frequent attempts to try and understand the male instinct causing molestation. Many reasons like, for instance, out of lust, have been assigned to such grave incidents. There are also other reasons that come to mind, like, out of anger, to take revenge, so on and so forth. These reasons are true, yet do not speak of a remedy. It is shocking to know that there hasn't been a remedy on this - even in principle. By remedy, I don't intend to speak of the laws against molestation. There are a few. Please go through these particular links for <i>laws against molestation, sexual harassment and rape</i> : <br />
http://www.molestation.in/laws-against-molestation<br />
<a href="http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/rape_laws.htm">http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/rape_laws.htm</a><br />
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But there seems to be no remedy to the occurrence of these appalling events. The laws are passed in order to punish the criminal. But is there a way to stop the crime? Yes, by changing the structure of laws in the judicial system. The judicial system is a very strong force to reckon with, but only if it has effective laws that not only punish the criminal, but also finds a way to reduce the occurrence of the crime. Maybe the judicial system needs a revisit on the laws that have been passed.<br />
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All in all, it is the awareness among people that matters the most. When people around the world realize the plight of women on facing such situations, we might just be fortunate enough to see a plummeting of such cases in future. <br />
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<b>Let us stand up for the women in our society. Let the natural symphony of our society be undisturbed by the cacophony created by the evil of sexual abuse. </b></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-17199122219836073792010-05-25T22:55:00.000+05:302011-10-22T19:55:40.946+05:30g-force and its effects!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Fighter pilots experience a certain <i>"g-force"</i> while maneuvering the aircraft at large speeds. The pilot could either be involved in aerobatics or trying to make quick twists and turns in a dogfight. While he is on to this, he is being subjected to a <i>g-force</i>. <br />
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To start, let us define what a <b>g-force</b> is. <br />
A g-force is the force that acts on a body due to accelerations. It is measured in terms of g(or relative to g, if you like it), which is the acceleration due to gravity on Earth, normally assigned a value of 9.8 meters per second per second, although it varies very slightly according to location and altitude. To put it simply, it is the force that you experience when you accelerate. Now isn't this a common experience? When you are in an elevator, you tend to be pushed down toward the elevator floor at the instant the elevator starts its ascent. On the other hand, you feel lifted up the elevator floor slightly when the elevator just starts its descent. In this case, you are experiencing a g-force.<br />
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You have also experienced g-force in other situations. Like, for instance, when you sneeze, you experience a 3g acceleration at the time of sneezing. A typical cough lets you experience a 3.5g acceleration. Roller coaster rides are designed to give you the thrill of going through accelerations any where up to 3g. Remember, you pay for the accelerations at an amusement park. Our body is an accelerometer. We react to accelerations. This is the reason you find the rides in an amusement park thrilling. If the roller coaster ride was on a straight line track that uniformly traveled at 40 km per hour, trust me, you would not feel a thing. <br />
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Now that its established, accompanied by personal experiences, that our body reacts to accelerations, its imperative that we study the effects of g-force. Humans can tolerate even 100g's provided it happens in a split second. The moment the human body is made to go through acceleration of even 10g for a period of time, it can prove to be fatal.<br />
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Now, let's get down to the effects :<br />
> The force pushes down on the lungs, which leads to emptying of the air. This gives you a sensation of lack of air and you experience fatigue. The person finds it difficult to breathe. <br />
> The force pulls the blood down toward the feet. This resists the pumping action of the heart which means, the blood doesn't make it to the brain. Due to the diminished flow of the blood to the eyes, your vision turns gray. On continual experience to g-forces, you will have tunnel vision after which, things will lose color, turn white and then, a complete blackout. You lose consciousness at this point; and its called GLOC - Gravity Induced Loss Of Consciousness.<br />
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The most suitable remedy is the G-suit. As aforementioned, the blood is pulled down toward the feet, resisting the pumping action of the heart; so the blood doesn't flow to the brain. Keeping this vital element in mind, the principle of the G-suit is designed in order to pump the blood back up the body to avoid the various effects such as greyout, tunnel vision, blackout, GLOC. Modern g-suits use compressed air to pump the blood back up the body.<br />
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Until now, we spoke about the effects of positive g's, which is the direction assigned to the g-force acting vertically downward along the body. The above mentioned effects are caused due to positive g's. Imperatively, negative g's leads to a force that acts vertically upward along the body. It would be relatively easy to take a guess at what the effect of negative g is. Suppose you are flying straight, parallel to the ground. You want to make a steep dive by pushing the nose of the plane downward. The primary experience you will have is that your weights lessens. You feel lighter. Just the opposite is true for positive g's. You gain weight while experiencing positive g's. The harder you push the nose down, the more weightless you feel. As I told you about the guesswork being relatively simple, negative g's result in all of the blood being pumped straight up to the head. As the negative g's increase in magnitude, the blood vessels in your eyes will rupture. This is known as <i>redout</i>. <br />
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There are someways you could avoid a redout. It is clearly given in this particular link - http://www.voodoo-world.cz/falcon/agf.html . I will take a few lines from it and paste it here, but for complete information, you could go through the link. <br />
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<i>There is a simple way to avoid negative Gs that also gives you much better maneuverability. Instead of pushing forward on the stick to dive /which creates negative Gs/ , roll your aircraft 180 deg. And pull back on the stick. If you roll so that your cockpit is facing toward the ground and then pull back on the stick, you will still be diving toward the ground but will be experiencing positive Gs instead. Your tolerance is much greater to positive Gs.</i> <br />
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That's all folks! <br />
Happy flying!<br />
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References :<br />
http://www.electronicaviation.com/articles/General/142<br />
http://www.voodoo-world.cz/falcon/agf.html<br />
http://avstop.com/ac/ac91-61.html</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4960096331228572439.post-16165466191728190492010-05-22T13:08:00.000+05:302011-10-22T19:54:48.797+05:30Guide to an independent study in Physics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">After considerable research over a few years, I have been able to put down a list of books that must be read by anyone aspiring to pursue a research/teaching career in physics. The list is created keeping in mind the single most essential assumption - <span style="font-style: italic;">you are going to sincerely learn the subject</span>. You are not going to read these books just so you can clear an exam. I'll reiterate - These books are for those who want to get an admission into a graduate school and then go on to pursue a physics career. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">General Physics</span> : <br />
1. Fundamentals of Physics - Halliday, Resnick, Walker<br />
2. Physics for Scientists and Engineers - Serway, Jewett<br />
3. University Physics with Modern Physics - Young, Freedman<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Classical Mechanics</span><br />
1. An Introduction to Mechanics - Kleppner, Kolenkow<br />
2. Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems - Marion, Thornton<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Electricity and Magnetism</span><br />
1. Electricity and Magnetism - Edward M. Purcell<br />
2. Classical Electricity and Magnetism - Panofsky, Phillips<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Electrodynamics</span><br />
1. Introduction to Electrodynamics - David J. Griffiths<br />
2. Classical Electrodynamics - Jackson J D<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Modern Physics</span><br />
1. Principles of Modern Physics - Ashby, Miller<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Thermodynamics</span><br />
1. Understanding Thermodynamics - H.C. Van Ness<br />
2. Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics - F. Reif<br />
3. Thermal Physics - Kittel<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Quantum Physics</span><br />
1. Quantum Physics - Eywind H. Wichmann<br />
2. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics - David J. Griffiths<br />
3. Principles of Quantum Mechanics - R. Shankar<br />
4. Quantum Mechanics - Eugen Merzbacher<br />
5. Quantum Mechanics - Cohen-Tannoudji C., Diu B., Laloe F.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Relativity</span><br />
1. Special Relativity - A. P. French<br />
2. Gravity, an introduction to Einstein's General Relativity - James B. Hartle<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Mathematical Physics</span><br />
1. Basic Training in Mathematics - R. Shankar<br />
2. Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences - Mary L. Boas<br />
3. Mathematical Physics - Butkov<br />
4. Mathematical Methods for Physicists - Arfken, Weber<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Important Reference Books</span> <br />
1. Theoretical Concepts in Physics - M.S. Longair<br />
2. Feynman Lectures in Physics - Richard Feynman<br />
3. Landau, Lifschitz series<br />
4. Classical Mechanics - Goldstein, Poole, Safko<br />
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The above list is light years away from being a complete one. It is a list intended to encourage undergraduate students to prepare well in order to get an admission into a graduate school, so he/she can feel confident in going about a physics career. <br />
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Good luck!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17215003746946824518noreply@blogger.com0