My crap

What next

2011-11-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

Probably for the first time in my life, I feel I don't know whats my target is. Ever since I have tried to realize myself, I have always worked towards something. There was always this question of 'whats next?' that has pushed me, guided me and forced me to choose paths. Be it my early days of school, where I had to work towards achieving good grades, be it the high school that made me want more and aim for better colleges, there has always been a target to achieve. Even after college, when I was employed, I was always a fish out of water, with me working to secure myself a college of great reputation for my higher studies. It was getting into the company of my dreams once I was in grad school, that became my target. Now that these things have been achieved, I am terribly confused. I feel like roaming around unknown territories, getting into uncharted waters,blindfolded. I think I need to be patient at this juncture.Once I take up new challenges arising out of my job and I think I can regain my normal self. Or is it that we have been brought up in this way, in a world full of competition that we tend to forget what we love and start loving what we do? This thought has been lingering in my mind, bothering me and would bother me,I suppose, until I realize what my next target, towards what that I need to work on. I pray, hopefully that this day comes soon.

Independence Day

2010-08-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest grouse this year is the loss of a public holiday as our "beloved" Independence day falls on a Sunday.I think its necessary for us to really reconsider this holiday of ours. It has become so customary what a public holiday would be like. Most people are glued to their idiot boxes, with special programs in every channel which use these occasions to garner high viewership to promote themselves. These holidays came into effect to make people understand what these occasions really meant. But none seem to understand its value. Independence day and Republic days have become so stereotypical. Be it the opposition bashing speeches after flag hoisting or the programs aired on TV with just a half hour slot for some patriotic songs to "celebrate" the occasion close to dawn when none would be awake. Independence day is perceived only as another special Sunday. Hence its better to work on these days to contribute to the country rather than lazing around as we have failed to understand its very essence and will never bother to understand it in the future.

Notes of a simple devotee

2010-06-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Anybody coming to Sri Parthasarathy swami temple after a couple of years would find a sea change in the environment and in the surroundings of the temple. To start with, a whole array of new flex banners of the deities adores the walls of the temple obstructing and covering the intricate murals on the walls. To a devotee like me, things like these are huge turn off and take away a feeling of spirituality that you generally associate with any temple.

The second major change that one notices is the wooden steps connecting the temple. A temple is a place that provides you an ambience that is complete with peace and tranquility. But then, the constant movement on the wooden steps takes away the peacefulness completely.

The third major factor is the lighting. The entire temple is peppered with high intensity focus lights that maks the entire place bright. But they are everywhere and too much of them spoil the atmosphere and make the entire place look artificial. Usage of such high intensity lights not only irritates the devotee by blinding the eyes but also has a huge environmental impact and also consumes lot of power. Also the usage of similar lights while the deity is taken out on the streets has the same impact.

http://www.naturalnews.com/025765_cancer_melatonin_health.html

http://environment.about.com/od/pollution/a/light_pollution.htm

The fourth noticeable aspect is that there is a huge influx of cheap plastic covers that fills the entire temple. Though the temple makes every effort to make the place clean, it is still unable to stop the growth of plastic covers.

The last two factors have a major environmental and economic impact. When the whole world is concerned about global warming and spread of toxic plastics, we at such an ancient temple have forgotten our ancient best practices of using tree leaves and cloth bags to carry stuff to the temple. Also the usage of low intensity lights would not only save expenses on current charges but also contribute to a pleasant ambience that would help in providing a conducive atmosphere for every devotee.

I would only want the temple authorities concerned to take necessary steps in doing away with such unwanted and unnecessary stuff that makes the pilgrimage to the temple to look like a picnic.

Women's Bill

2010-05-08T07:12:00.000-07:00

Lot of hue and cry have been raised over the 33% reservations that was passed in the RAJYA SABHA alone. The woman's bill does no good to the womenfolk of this country. By bringing this, I strongly feel that they are limiting themselves to 33%. I accept there aren't many women in Indian politics. But thinking that this bill would change that would only stay as a hope. For, Lalu Prasad has already shown the way by making his wife the CM of Bihar when he was forced out by a judgment. Rabri, till date does not know anything, by her own admission and she was just a mere puppet in the hands of Lalu. If people supporting the woman's bill call only this as empowerment, then this truly is an empowering moment.

P.S The bill was not passed in Lok Sabha. For it was traded to gain support against the Cut motion brought in by BJP.

மேரேஜ்னா பரவாயில்லப்பா social matter, divorce case எல்லாம் வருது.

2010-04-11T01:55:00.000-07:00

I get reminded of this dialogue by Koundamani - 'மேரேஜ்னா பரவாயில்லப்பா social matter, divorce case எல்லாம் வருது.' ,after a Andhra minister intervened in Sania-Shoaib marriage issue.. What a foreboding dialogue by Koundamani..

Hussain and Khajuraho

2010-03-22T23:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday's edition of Hindu had contradictory news juxtaposed in its pages. On one side, it had a discussion board of eminent personalities voicing their views on M F Hussain's paintings which were criticized for its content while at the bottom, it had an article on the beauty of Khajuraho paintings. Though there content were similar, the differences between the them was apparent. Hussain's paintaings had Hindu gods and Mother India painted nude and Hussain himself once said that his way of abuse and making it disgraceful was to paint it nude. Hence this would amount only to sacrilege. On the other hand, everybody admires the sculptures of Khajurao. In fact, many places in India has sculptures carved in a compromising position or carved nude. Why isn't then there an uprising from the so-called guardians of the society. The reason could be because the intention behind these sculptures being structured that way could be noble at that time (Not that it isn't now). One reason that I learnt on seeing a sculpture of a King carved sans clothes was that the King felt that the dress code would gradually evolve and would be different in the coming generations. Not wanting to confine his image, he had asked to carve it that way. How foreboding?
Thus its only the intent that needs to be questioned and not the painter himself. After all in this democratic world of ours, its his right to paint want he desires and its our right to question that if it hurts our sentiments.

BJP

2009-10-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

The recent tussle and turmoil thats happening to the country's primary opposition party is something that was on the cards ever since the charismatic A.B. Vajpayee decided to call it a day. The election debacle only acted as a catalyst and provided an opportune moment for disgruntled cadres to voice their opposition against the party.

The recent outbursts by its senior leaders and their subsequent expulsion from the party is mainly because the BJP wants to project L.K. Advani as its prime leader, not to the liking of many in the party. Advani's peers while he was in RSS and subsequently in BJP, wanted a greater share in the power pie after Vajpayee quit. When this was not happening, they invented reasons to bring to light their plight so that their position and say in the party would acquire greater significance. Yashwant Sinha wanted analysis of the poll defeat almost immediately and wanted that to be over before their Chinthan Baithak. Jaswanth Singh, courted controversy with his book on Jinnah while Arun Shourie questioned the leadership and some of the decisions taken. Brijesh Patel came out in the open with his comparisons on Advani and Vajpayee.

These are definitely testing times for BJP. This is the time where the baton is passed to a new generation and a complete re-assessment of its policies would take place Their commitment to Hindutva may also be shaped in a different way with younger and fresher brains at the helm. The two biggest challenges for the BJP hence would be the way they shape their ideals as they still are very much unclear about their policy on Hindutva while attracting the minorities too. This is because, its trying to shed its communal tag heaped on it by other parties which are more communal than the BJP. The second biggest challenge is that the BJP should not be bogged down at this point and should wait patiently until things stabilize before taking important decisions.

Only time should tell whether the country's chief opposition party stands to fight another election or becomes obsolete, making it a thing of the past.

Dynasty Rule

2009-06-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

When our neighbours like Nepal and Pakistan are demanding and persevering for democracy, India is slowly turning to monarchy- dynasty rule silently without anybody noticing it. If recently concluded elections are to be taken as an indicator, the dynasty rule is here to stay. Most politicians today fight for seats for their kin and if not granted abuse their parties before parting ways. This phenomenon exists in every state right from Tamil Nadu and Kerala in south to Jammu in North. and from Maharashtra in West to Arunachal and Assam in East. Karunakaran and Muralidharan, the father and son duo are the most famous ones from Kerala while in Tamil Nadu the list is endless and well known, topped by the polygamous Karunanidhi. The state of Andhra has some well known names with NTR, his daughters as well as his son in law- Chandrababu Naidu apart from sons of YSR and other party leaders. Karnataka can boast itself of the controversial H.D Kumarasamy and erstwhile PM Deve Gowda while Maharashtra has the Thackerays that makes them gain entry into this coveted list. Not to be left far behind is Sharad Pawar with his daughter Supriya and the Dutts - Sunil, Priya and Sanjay. Orissa has Naveen Patnaik, son of Biju Patnaik while Lalu and Paswan have their close kin in prominent positions in the party. Far East, we have Agatha Sangma, daughter of ex-Speaker P.A. Sangma. Coming to Central India, U.P has the Yadavs- Mulayam Singh, his son Akhilesh. The rest includes the Badals of Punjab, Chautals of Haryana. Jammu has Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, children of predominant parties of Jammu. These are just a handful of names from a huge list as the Mahajans, Anubumanis and Natwar Singhs have been left out.
But the top slot would always remain with the Nehru-Gandhi family who have ru(ined)led India all these years. Its remarkable that this family has sustained its rule and grip on the world's second populous nation for these long years cutting across 4 generations. Think Indians would always favour a monarchy for they have been under a democracy (if you can call it one, given the above list) only for the last 50 years and rest of its rich history has always been under monarchs.

Secular Parties

2009-05-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Its election time and the entire country is resonating with promises, sops, concessions and resolutions. Its no different here, especially with the elections scheduled only in the final phase, it has given the politicians ample time to work out their strategy and analyse trends. The major deciding factor in elections here are the caste. On one side, you have a group of people proclaiming to form a casteless society while others play politics with caste as their trump card. The irony lies in the fact that the two groups are the same and are in no ways different. All political parties here are just “democratic front office” of caste organizations. No, its not the BJP, its all other parties accusing BJP of being non-secular when they themselves are confined only to a small community of people. The PMK is the political outfit of Vanniyars, Sarath Kumar’s’ SMK is for nadars, not to mention TMMK for Muslims and other trivial parties for various other communities. Though DMK or AIADMK will not figure in that list, they cannot be discounted from the fact that it was them who nurtured and nourished these outfits. What an irony when these people accuse BJP of being non-secular?

Madras

2009-03-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Madras – It’s a special word that conjures up lot of beautiful memories to me. Though it is Chennai now, I prefer it to be Madras. One reason is that it was Madras when I was born. Lots of things have changed after I was born, especially in the last decade, but Madras to me, has always and will always retain its old charm.
A decade back, lots of areas of the present Madras were unknown. Its core part was Mylapore and areas around it.It would be very hard to believe that places like Nanganallur and Thiruvanmiyur were only suburbs and didn’t qualify to be a part of Madras.
During its nascent days, Madras was a village with dense forests all over the area. Quoting Thirumangai alwar in his reference to the present day Triplicane, he says the sun’s rays would not even pass through the thick vegetation cover. The areas that we know have interesting facts behind their present names. Triplicane or Thiruvallikeni is from the pond with ‘alli’ flowers. Mylapore is ‘Mahila puri’ meaning the place of women.
There were lots of followers of Madhvacharya in the vicinity of Triplicane and hence their place was called ‘Rayar pettai’ which , with the passage of time became ‘Royapettai’. Apart from the vegetation, there was also abundance of cattle and the place of this activity was ‘Dhenu pettai’. Dhenu in sanskrit meant cows. It is this area which is called Teynampet. Similarly, the Thousand lights area, translated to Tamil is called ‘Aayiram vilakku’ which has its origins in ‘Aayar vilakku ‘, the place were cow herds lived.
Change has always been happening, but in spite of this, Madras has always preserved few things for posterity.

Near Death Experience (NDE)

2009-02-24T22:47:00.000-08:00

For software folks plying in share autos on OMR, NDE is an everyday affair. Being packaged into a rickety share auto with 8 other people, you only pray that you reach your destination in full shape as you boarded the auto. The auto carries 8 people at its back apart from 2 burly fellows on either side of the driver. The way the the driver runs through the traffic, with the poor condition of roads adding to the woes, only traffic signals provide you with some respite. But then, these people jump traffic signals too. With the twists and turns , you are squeezed so badly that even your clothes may become loose the next time you put them on. You heave a sigh of relief only when you get out of it. But then, you simply endure it to reach office in time. Thats an Indian for you who endures all this to reach office just because they charge you 5 bucks less than the regular autos.

Rane = Bane

2009-01-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

The aftermath of Mumbai terror attacks have seen a spate of resignations. The foremost among them was that of the useless, incapable Shivraj Patil. The second hi-fi resignation was that of Vilasrao Deshmukh, the CM of Maharashtra. But the latter's resignation was succeeded by drama that woul put any country and its politicos in disgrace. The chief architect responsible for this pandemonium is the opportunistic Narayan Rane. When the entire world is sympathising with India and Mumbai in particular, Rane rebelled against his own party just because he wasn't given the Chief ministership. When the need of hour is unity, moles like Rane are a bane to our entire system. No wonder India is only tagged as a 'developing country' inspite of its abundant resources.

At this time of crisis, people expect unity from politicians cutting across parties and ideologies not feuds without principles within the same party just. People like Rane should not be allowed to contest because they are not service-oriented. They do not have even the slightest intention of serving the nation and its people. They have entered into politics with the sole aim of garnering money. Weeds like Rane need to be removed from our entire system for it to be more effective. I only hope that the people do away with people like Rane, setting an example for other states to follow and for other opportunistic politicians a lesson.

Is the ruling party really concerned about Sri Lankan Tamils?

2008-11-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

The Chief Minister owes a great deal of gratitude to the director of a film starring Vikram. Just like the politician who rakes up an issue which has been an issue for a long time to revive his sagging career, Karunanidhi has raked the the issue of Srilankan Tamils to gain political mileage, diverting the entire attention from the raging power crisis in the state. SriLankan Tamils definitely deserve a better livelihood and we should go all the way in helping them achieving it. But these acts of the politicians are only gimmicks to shroud the people's memory making them forget their own misery and their fellow country men. There are thousands of small scale industries such as weavers spread over the entire state for whom power supply is supremely important to sustain their livelihood. Making them devoid of power supply would eventually lead to famine and starvation and the world's perception of India as a poor country with famines all over will never change. One more atrocious act is forcing school children to form human chains as demonstrations to attract publicity. Instead of wasting tons of resources in the name of creating awareness. the money could have been spent on improving the current situation. All these are done not in the genuine interest of Srilankan Tamils but only to divert the attention from the raging power crisis and also to cash in on the situation of Tamils by evoking public sympathy in their favour, by showcasing the agony of Tamils. The only motive and outcome of this whole exercise has been and still is to gain political mileage and divert the attention of people from the 'current' situation.

Communism and Atheism

2008-10-30T09:58:00.001-07:00

Is communism a name of party or is it just the opposite of capitalism? Is atheism an integral part of communism?

Well, to me communism is neither of those listed above. Its just a feeling like love, hate and desire. And more importantly, communism is in no way related to atheism. I strongly believe its possible for a core communist to have immense belief in God. In fact, when people realize there is a Super power above us, they are automatically overwhelmed by their feeling of humbleness and would treat the fellow beings on par with them, which I think is the essence of communism. There are many true communists in this country who are equally conscious of the presence of the Almighty. All religions preach people only to treat everybody as their own. But I wonder where the concept of atheism being an integral part of communism came into existence. Probably because the first breed of communist leaders were atheist. And people, greatly influenced by their principles, could have actually seen it to be a part of communism and could have accepted it. But then. What everybody does in the name of communism is only its diluted version with core values sacrificed and replaced by corruption.

Right

2008-10-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

The word 'right' has now got a whole new connotation. Previously, it meant 'correct' or just the direction apart from the huge paras listed in dictionaries. Now, this word is more increasingly used to convert statements into questions. A full fledged statement, suffixed with 'right' is being increasingly believed and portrayed as a question asked. People have started using that to such an effect that there is no awareness on 'isn’t it' type clauses.

The source from which they pick up these should be someone with a decent command over the language who must have used it to camouflage the blunder. This, with frequent usage should have made life easy for people who have picked up these things to put a question to others.....

Back after a long hiatus.

2008-10-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know why i didn't write. Its not that i had nothing to write but i didn't feel like writing one. I have also decided not to make this blog a dedicated one to politics which I actually wanted it to be. I just hope I continue to write with more consistency and frequency.

Politics and Family

2007-05-23T03:37:00.000-07:00

Karunanidhi (M.K) has sacrificed the lives of 3 innocent civilians for his ‘poles apart’ sons to recoincile. All this happened because of a poll result published in a daily, owned by his nephews, predicting his successor.

At the first place, India is not a monarchy where the successor is chosen from the ‘royal’ family. India, atlest going by the constitution is still a democracy.Secondly, M.K has not done any good to the people all this 50 years he has been in office for the daily to conduct a poll to predict a worthy successor. Thirdly all the members listed in the poll where only kins of M.K. This explains the situation present in this state. M.K and his family members have been ‘ruling’ this state except few gaps where the situation is not any better.Now with M.K ageing, the tussle for the party leadership has come out in the open.The contenders included his two sons and his daughter and his grandnephew. Only in this state do we have family in politics to such an extent(except Congress where the difference is that there are only 2 contenders for top post – Rahul and Priyanka). M.K is credited as the first one to begin involving his sons in politics, giving them top post in the state machinery. Never did other earlier leaders bring their family nor such was there any tussle for the party leadership when the leaders died. Even when Annadorai and E.V Ramasamy (periyar to outside world) died, the reins were taken over smoothly by others. This is the first occasion where such an event has immediately triggered violence. What is more alarming is that this has happened when M.K is still there. What may happen after his death may be beyond imagination. Such is the way M.K has brought up his power thirsty sons.

While all this has been happening, it is Dayanidhi Maran who evokes sympathy. In spite of distancing himself from his brother’s TV network, he has been compelled to put his papers. Maran’s removal from cabinet and the way the grand celebration of M.K took place when all these were happening shows M.K in a much poorer light. Maran did not participate in the event. Whether he voluntarily opted out or was forced to skip is debatable.

Finally, it was a poll conducted among the public and not party members. It is only the party people that will select M.K’s successor(thats what we believe) and not the public.If the party men had realized this, no violence would have occurred. Its high time the politicians of the state behave, take actions and decisions sensibly

Rahul 'UP' Gandhi

2007-04-27T00:50:00.000-07:00

Well well well. He was expected to make his presence a little earlier but now he has made it. Rahul Gandhi – the youth star the congress is banking upon to salvage its pride in its elections has joined the bandwagon of politicians courting controversy. Congress has always tried to win over the Hindi heartland consisting mainly of UP to maintain a lead over other parties and to establish its rule in the centre. Hence it has always projected its prime ministerial candidate as one ‘for the UP’, be it Rajiv Gandhi or at present – Rahul Gandhi. But, in the case of Rahul Gandhi, one needs to accept that it has failed miserably. Further rubbing salts onto its wounds, Rahul has stirred the hornet’s nest by claiming that it was his family that was responsible for the independence of India and the creation of Bangladesh.

If it was his family that had got independence for India, then what about the cases of other freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives to set India free? Were they all dummy? I think Rahul bunked his history classes while in school. Someone should enlighten him on the history of India before Congress and others make him a prominent contender for the prime ministerial berth.

Commenting on Bangladesh’s independence and Indira Gandhi’s tactics to attract votes at a time when governments of India and Pakistan are pursuing a peace process shows his immaturity in politics. Rahul needs to learn more. This is only his first tenure as MP and banking on his slender shoulders is a clear fact that Congress does not have anyone to attract the masses. Rahul needs to work more before he his offered the prime ministerial berth.

To all those people who heard his speech about child education in the parliament, these controversies are a real shocker. He is still young and can learn a lot. But with no proper guidance inside the congress, he may very well succumb to the pressures and become a mediocre politician. He is the star among the next generation politicians and hope he does not become ‘just one of those many politicians‘.

Indian Public

2007-03-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

Indians in general are a happy bunch of people. India was ranked as the nation having fourth happiest population in the world in a survey conducted sometime back (We didn’t beat Aus even in this but we beat Bangladesh). We get satisfied easily and have fewer expectations. This may be our boon as well as a bane. A normal Indian gets easily elated when he gets a good cup of coffee in the morning. That would make the day for him. Buses at correct time, the weekend or even leaving office before time would make our people happy with a sense of achievement. But, this also means the normal Indian has very less expectations of him and does not aspire for greater heights. No wonder corrupt politicians are ruling the roost in this country. Same mindset applies to even commodities bought by our people. Indians prefer goods that come with ‘free’ packages. ‘Buy 1 and get another free’ is the best business tactic adopted to boost the sales here.

Indians are equally an emotional lot. They pull down the houses of cricketers when they fail to play well. And they are the ones who celebrate India’s victory against a lowly Bermuda with crackers at 3 in the morning. These are the same people who catapulted Dhoni to fame in a short time and these are the same people who broke into his house when he failed in a single inning. These are the people who made a star out of Sania Mirza and the ones to criticize her time and again for her failure. With a huge population, everything gets blown out of proportion and gets over-rated, including the sensex.

India’s strength is her population. All nations have now become wary of India’ power and it is only a matter of time before India becomes a major force to reckon with. The only barrier to progress is the corrupt politicians who use the caste to kindle violence to gain political mileage. With much better streamlining among our people the result can be achieved in a substantially lower span of time.

P.S.

Link to the survey on the degree of happiness of Indian population
http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/oct/05happy.htm

No parking

2007-03-22T01:00:00.001-07:00

Haphazard parking of vehicles in front of gates is one of those irritating acts. It was a relief when few firms came up with ‘No parking‘ boards to be hung up on gates. It had a dual purpose, serving us as well as the firm, cutting short on their advertising expenditure. The fact that they themselves hung them without bothering us also added to our joy. With only a few educated people reading and understanding that, there were lesser vehicles outside the gates providing us a little breather. But this was only short lived. The next morning, the number of boards doubled. And within a week, the number had increased alarmingly to ten. After a week, there was no space for any other board to be hung. That was all we could tolerate and decided to remove them all except one, so that it could serve the purpose. Now came the next problem of choice - which one to have and finally we settled for the most clean board. All these were only for a few days as the entire cycle started once again with more boards. And now I am contemplating to hang a ‘No ‘no parking’’ board to keep them all away.

Whats in a name??

2007-03-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

Being in Tamilnadu I wonder whether people would call politicians in their states by their original names. Here you have people calling Karunanidhi as 'Kalaignar' , Stalin as 'Thalapathi' ,Jayalalitha as 'Amma', Ramadoss as 'Maruthuvar Ayya' and many more. This is one of the worst example of politician-worship. They haven't done anything to the people and are worthy to be called by such names. With Ramadoss being called as 'Ayya', Anbumani, his son, the Union Health Minister, who is not even an elected representative is referres as 'Chinna Ayya'. Atleast the others have some political experiance but Anbumani, who became a minister due to his father's outfit cannot be described by that name at all. This is pure politician- worship were the lower rung party cadres, deeply influenced and brain-washed by their speeches, are even ready to give their lives or take others' too.

One such ugly incident is the 'Dharmapuri bus accident' where some AIADMK workers, upset over Jayalalitha's arrest, set a bus on fire killing three women and injuring many more. This was certainly not the first and in all probablities will not be the last. The people, mesmerised by these politician's speeches, blindly 'worship' them and go to any extent in doing things to show their loyalty. Only when these people are enlightened about the politicians will they give up this culture of addressing them by these names. Until then more incidents like the bus accidents will continue.

A ruffian called Ramadoss

2007-02-22T04:06:00.000-08:00

Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK is yet another political outfit among the millions in the country. As with others, they haven't done anything to the people that requires special mention. Its founder Ramadoss publicised his outfit as one for the welfare of 'Vanniyars' and his party is also part of the UPA government at the centre.

Some of the recent acheivements of PMK and its founder include
1. Threatening Reliance and other such retail outlets to stop their food markets coming up in the city
2. Preventing the government from establishing SEZ.
3. Forcing governments to bring in reservation in private sectors.
4. Making politics out of cheap things and preventing one's right in many activities.
5. When nothing listed above is happening, he would be staging dharna all around the state in the name of Tamil.

While the centre is trying to bring in more foreign capital and investments in the country, the PMK founder is trying the upset the calculations of everyone. The reason given is that the local vendors would be affected. Though his argument is valid, its not entirely true. Reliance and others cannot set their outlets at all places. And they are no fools to setup their shops at all places. Worst, he has actually given deadlines for these firms to close their outlets.

SEZ or Special Economic Zones were planned to capitalise the boon in the IT market that has been happening for quite some years now. Ramadoss and his party, part of the ruling coalition in Tamilnadu, started agitating against the DMK government in setting up this SEZ and as a result, dropped the SEZ plan as this would lead to the DMK government losing power. Its an irony that Ramadoss, who once and even now 'famous' for his lumberjack activities is voicing his opinion on cultivable lands.

Reservation in private sectors is atrocious breach of one's right in choosing their employees. Ramadoss, once again wants jobs reserved for the so called minorities and once again it won't reach the real minorities. Reservation on economic front is acceptable because people from economically backward class need support from the government and others, for them to prosper. Ironically only the Rajasthan government has reserved seats for the economically backward people.

Making politics out of cheap things is Ramadoss' forte. He does that with aplomb attracting the attention of the masses and kindling his partymen's emotions against trivial and insignificant things and blowing them out of proportion. He forced Kamalhasan to change the title of his film. This is curbing an artiste's freedom to name a film. He ran into most of the cinema stars and abused actresses. He bashed the cinema people and warned them not to enter politics. At all times, Ramadoss is seen imposing his own autocratic laws on people with the help of his party. Any opnion that is voiced against such rules is met with violence.

When all this things are not happening, I am sure Ramadoss would be organizing dharnas in the name of Tamil. He does that at the cost of the other languages like Hindi and English.He forces people to have name boards of their shops only in Tamil. He wants people to name their wards in pure Tamil while he names his grandchildren in a different way. He lets his son(Union Health Minister) to wear garbs which according to him is an insult to Tamil tradition and there are many more that i haven't mentioned. He tends to forget that this IT boom is partly because of our English speaking skills.

Ramadoss was just an example. There are many more in other states. India will never shine until these kind of politicians are in power.

Reservations

2007-02-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

I suppose that the only place where you find everything in the country reserved for the so called minorities who are actually in majority is India. You have government policies of reserving seats to candidates based on their race and not on their marks and pride itself as secular. In states like Tamilnadu, its even worse as the 'minorities' take more than 60% of seats available irrespective of the field. The most alarming thing about these reservations are that
1. They dont really cater to the minority people like the scheduled tribes who need that for their upliftment
2. Meritorious people from the 'majority' group don't get their due as its reserved for lesser mortals due to goverment policies

These are essentially vote bank politics. Political parties in India, promise reservations to maintain their vote-bank and hence resort to such policies. Imagine when people without proper qualifications become doctors and pilots due to reservations. I would suggest these politicians to utilise services from such kind of people. I do not intend to insult the people getting their seats or got their seats through reservation nor am i claiming that these people are unfit, but, my ire is only over the government and its policies.

In a state like Tamilnadu, the various governments have been clinging onto this policy and the present quota suggested by the centre had already been in practice here. No wonder there was any real opposition from this place while the whole of North India was burning with rage over the goverment's announcement. Only the BJP raised slight opposition to this, but soon it was also threatened by the vote bank politics and hence gave up. Such is the plight of the systen in India.

In government offices. promotions are not based on your qualification but on your caste. Most people in the top management of offices get thei posts due to this biased policy of reservation. Again i don't intend to offend them, but its only that they've got some favoritism by the government's policies. And now this politician called Ramadoss who formed a outfit which is purely based on its race, wants reservation in private sectors too. What do we call this??

Parthasarathy

2007-02-15T09:38:00.000-08:00

Let me get started with my own name. The name 'Parthasarathy' refers to Lord Krishna as he was the charioteer of Arjuna in the Mahabharatha war. Here 'Partha' refers to Arjuna. I dunno this but in Triplicane, I am sure every third person you run into would be a Parthasarathy. Thats mainly due to the fact that the famous temple of Sri Parthasarathy Swamy is situated in Triplicane. Speaking of temple, this temple is a splendid one overlooking the Bay of Bengal which is just a stone's throw away from the temple. This is one of the 108 holy shrines or 'divyadesam' as people call it, sung by three of the twelve 'Alwars' of 'Srivaishnavism'.