A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, therefore i had been avoiding getting into political comments, but it has dawned on me that it is not necessary to be a diplomat, a bureaucrat or a politician or a journalist to comment on something, i can comment as a citizen too.
What i have decided to write about today has long vanished from the news, even those who were agitating for and against it, have consigned it to oblivion.
The ideas expressed in this blog are also not entirely my own, they are slightly abridged, but i have a birth right for plagiarism here.
The boundaries of the various countries on this planet keep changing, some innocent people will attribute it to the Alfred Wegner's theory of Continental drift but most of the time its a reflection of the changing ideologies of the nations and its political masters. The disintegration of the USSR is one such instance. Formation of Bangladesh, ramification of North and South Korea just augment this fact further.
Division is therefore a constant and perpetual process, but all nations don't succumb to it - China is one such nation. It has 34 states, numerous languages and one national language. Taiwan is not a part of China ( courtesy American Diplomacy), but China considers it also to be its integral part. It doesn't hesitate to call arunachal Pradesh its part, controls a large section of PoK, so it would be erroneous to say that all nations disintegrate.
Its however safe to say that those nations who citizens and politicians have a strong political will and whose allegiance to their country is uncompromising are not subject to disintegration. External powers are also successful only when the internal disturbances allow them to be so.
I am not going into the external disturbances here. When ones own house is in disorder its hasty and inappropriate to comment on the neighbors.
Division when voluntarily done, for the administrative convenience without external pressure is sagacious. But where it is imperious then it is not necessarily in national interest. In India any division; be it that of the country, states or district has never been in national interest.
The division of the country was a brain child of British Diplomacy, but there was a significant section of Indians for whom religion came first before country, and unity was definitely not cardinal.
The formation of one state on the basis of language was enough to stir the hornet's nest, and more states were carved on the basis of language. Later more states were formed on regionalism : Uttarakhand, chattisgarh and jharkhand.
The irony is the state that was formed on the basis of of language now wants to separate state for development..wow !!!
We never learn from History, the moment we agreed for creation of Telangana we yet again dug our own grave; Maharashtra wants Vidarbh, UP wants bundelkhand and harit Pradesh even the peaceful state of Rajasthan wants a Maru Pradesh. Best was when J& K asked for three separate states; as if it needed any more division.
If it was only aimed at development then it would not have been a political issue. Here i am not even getting into the filth of Naxalite influence or the religious factors that govern the divisive feelings.
We are faced with a similar situation at the district level: Mallapuram in Kerala was made a separate district on account of it being a muslim Majority district, ditto for the Mewat district in Haryana.
If Harit pradesh is carved out of UP we will have the first state in India that would be a Muslim majority one; yeah thats all we need - a mini pakistan.
Yesterday i was blaming the journalists but we have all gotten the priorites wrong; we have an inverse pyramind of priorities, I me Myself first, Voter first, my family first, my religion, my caste and to heck with the country.
For national integration the thought - words and actions of its citizens should be alike , as the Ved says:
Sam gachhadhwam, sam vadadhwam sam vo manaansi jaanaatam :
Meet together, talk together, let your minds apprehend alike.
Aufwiedersehen
Suyasha
PS: yesterday someone told me "blog on books was predictable... Surprise me". i tried...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Ode to the Joy of Reading
I am profoundly disappointed with the standard of journalism in India. Much to my chagrin they have got all their priorities wrong. What Sania Mirza does even in Lahore grabs the headlines but what inflation does, is none of their concerns. They say public memories are ephemeral, I beg to differ, they are not ! Newspapers make a vicious attempt to do so. The news moves from the first page to the 3rd and then to a meager column on the 10th page where it escapes from an average reader's notice.
I didn't start this blog for proliferation of melancholyand intend to write on something that makes me happy; reading gives me immense pleasure hence i will write about some of the latest reads.
I will start in a chronological order:
1. The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama: I till date don't know what made me read that book. Its just not relevant even in American context. Its just a way too Utopian. The Americans were certainly deceived in the man. A good orator and writer does not necessarily make a good administrator and politician. If I go only by the evaluation of the content of the book then also the book is a disappointment for anyone living outside America, even for America because what he thinks is just not pragmatic. Its just a more verbose pamphlet of a Democract candidate, as he was then. Those who have lauded praises on the book must have been beguiled by the man.
2. Life of Pi : a Booker Prize winning book by Yann Martel. It was a captivating read. I say this because I finished the book in one night. I didn't like the book when I started it, especially the protagonist's take on religion but the story picks up gradually and after that there is no keeping it down. The story is real and surreal at the same time. I don't know how writers manage to do that. By all means a one time read just don't expect it to be true. Infact before this book I was prejudiced against the prize winning authors. They complicate the plot too much. This was a very welcome change.
3. Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister: is a satirical political sitcom by Sir Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. I have forgotten the number of times i have read this book. I guess I read it once every quarter. My colleague says that even on my death bed I will request that a Chapter from the book be read out to me. do I need to say more. According to me its the finest book ever written, I love everything about the book, the language, the characters, the plot. The book was made into a serial on the BBC too and was devoured by the then British Prime Minister, Margret Thatcher who also makes an appearance in one of its episodes. However the serial just can't replace the book. So if you give my recommendations any weight go and grab your own copy .
you can thank me later !!!
Aufwiedersehen
suyasha
I didn't start this blog for proliferation of melancholyand intend to write on something that makes me happy; reading gives me immense pleasure hence i will write about some of the latest reads.
I will start in a chronological order:
1. The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama: I till date don't know what made me read that book. Its just not relevant even in American context. Its just a way too Utopian. The Americans were certainly deceived in the man. A good orator and writer does not necessarily make a good administrator and politician. If I go only by the evaluation of the content of the book then also the book is a disappointment for anyone living outside America, even for America because what he thinks is just not pragmatic. Its just a more verbose pamphlet of a Democract candidate, as he was then. Those who have lauded praises on the book must have been beguiled by the man.
2. Life of Pi : a Booker Prize winning book by Yann Martel. It was a captivating read. I say this because I finished the book in one night. I didn't like the book when I started it, especially the protagonist's take on religion but the story picks up gradually and after that there is no keeping it down. The story is real and surreal at the same time. I don't know how writers manage to do that. By all means a one time read just don't expect it to be true. Infact before this book I was prejudiced against the prize winning authors. They complicate the plot too much. This was a very welcome change.
3. Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister: is a satirical political sitcom by Sir Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. I have forgotten the number of times i have read this book. I guess I read it once every quarter. My colleague says that even on my death bed I will request that a Chapter from the book be read out to me. do I need to say more. According to me its the finest book ever written, I love everything about the book, the language, the characters, the plot. The book was made into a serial on the BBC too and was devoured by the then British Prime Minister, Margret Thatcher who also makes an appearance in one of its episodes. However the serial just can't replace the book. So if you give my recommendations any weight go and grab your own copy .
you can thank me later !!!
Aufwiedersehen
suyasha
Monday, April 26, 2010
Time you old gypsy Man will you not stay, put up your caravan just for one day !
There is a fine adage popularly known as Murphy's Law which says" if anything can go wrong it surely will", and how can it not when you yourself lay the foundation stone for it.
I take pride in calling myself an organized person, organized not to the extent of being paranoid about it, but yes organized. But yesterday was an exception....here goes the story.
We had no power since the time I got up on Sunday morning, on calling up BESCOM we found out that there is a major fault in the line and we cannot expect it to be back before 1800 hrs. with little choices left we decided to explore the Indiranagar 100 feet road.
It was IPL 3 final on Sunday and wherever I went, the discussion on the game was in full swing I am no fan of cricket, its not a game that interests me either, In fact you can sometimes even find me criticizing the game in public. But since everyone in Bangalore seemed to be supporting Mumbai and just to be a rebel I decided to support Chennai - the underdogs.
The morning's wanderlust had already cost me my heels so going home and watching TV sounded like a good idea. I started watching the game and on surfing i found that HBO was showing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I have read the book some five to six times and have watched the movie an equal number of times but still decided to watch it simultaneously.
Chennai won the match and Harry Potter also manged to survive... yet again !!! and I finally dozed off at 0100 hours. For a person who has to get up at 0600 hours and report in the office at 0800... it was late.
So this is what happened in the morning .....I got up at 0715 which is very late by normal standards and cause of some trepidation too. By the time I got ready it was already 0800 hrs. The BMTC was out of question and I decided to take an auto and no one seemed willing to go anywhere near MG Road and another precious 5 minutes were lost. One agreed to come only at the condition paying him 10 Rs. extra.
We were half a kilometer en route when I thought it was a good idea to call up the office and inform them that I might be late and realized that i had forgotten my cell at home. I hung my head in exasperation only to find out i was still wearing bathroom slippers :(
I have finally managed to reach work @ 0830 and staying in hiding, avoiding my boss at all costs...keeping my fingers crossed and waiting to see what more can go wrong today.
As you might have guessed I had no time for a breakfast today... so will sign off to see if I can manage to find any...
But I wish you all a very good day today and for the whole week !!!!
Liebe Grüße
Suyasha
I take pride in calling myself an organized person, organized not to the extent of being paranoid about it, but yes organized. But yesterday was an exception....here goes the story.
We had no power since the time I got up on Sunday morning, on calling up BESCOM we found out that there is a major fault in the line and we cannot expect it to be back before 1800 hrs. with little choices left we decided to explore the Indiranagar 100 feet road.
It was IPL 3 final on Sunday and wherever I went, the discussion on the game was in full swing I am no fan of cricket, its not a game that interests me either, In fact you can sometimes even find me criticizing the game in public. But since everyone in Bangalore seemed to be supporting Mumbai and just to be a rebel I decided to support Chennai - the underdogs.
The morning's wanderlust had already cost me my heels so going home and watching TV sounded like a good idea. I started watching the game and on surfing i found that HBO was showing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I have read the book some five to six times and have watched the movie an equal number of times but still decided to watch it simultaneously.
Chennai won the match and Harry Potter also manged to survive... yet again !!! and I finally dozed off at 0100 hours. For a person who has to get up at 0600 hours and report in the office at 0800... it was late.
So this is what happened in the morning .....I got up at 0715 which is very late by normal standards and cause of some trepidation too. By the time I got ready it was already 0800 hrs. The BMTC was out of question and I decided to take an auto and no one seemed willing to go anywhere near MG Road and another precious 5 minutes were lost. One agreed to come only at the condition paying him 10 Rs. extra.
We were half a kilometer en route when I thought it was a good idea to call up the office and inform them that I might be late and realized that i had forgotten my cell at home. I hung my head in exasperation only to find out i was still wearing bathroom slippers :(
I have finally managed to reach work @ 0830 and staying in hiding, avoiding my boss at all costs...keeping my fingers crossed and waiting to see what more can go wrong today.
As you might have guessed I had no time for a breakfast today... so will sign off to see if I can manage to find any...
But I wish you all a very good day today and for the whole week !!!!
Liebe Grüße
Suyasha
Friday, April 23, 2010
# Buracracy is a challenge to be confronted with a righteous attitude, a tolerance for stupidity, and a bulldozer when necessary - Anonymous
What i am writing today is not what i had in mind for a Friday afternoon, i had much pleasant ideas.
But while my train of thought was still boarding its station, i had a rendezvous with the Indian bureaucracy and there.... all thoughts lost and the only thing i could think about was files and clerks.
Bureaucracy in India is as ubiquitous as is God in its Theology. My job requires me to deal with the bureaucrats on a very regular basis and its not just the lethargy that is so discouraging, its the sheer attitude that drives you to the point of frustration.
The people who work there are a moral vacuum, irrespective of how Gross your problem is they would treat it with a noble indifference and apathy. the best part of it is the attitude is so pervasive that everyone from the topmost echelons of power to the peon carries the same disgraceful attitude forward.
Here i am manicuring only the tip of the iceberg, i am not even getting into the other areas which hold it back they are too grim to be dealt with.... i have already started the weekend on a disheartening note and don't want to carry the pessimism for the next two days.
So here i wish you all a very happy weekend !
Alles Liebe
Suyasha
But while my train of thought was still boarding its station, i had a rendezvous with the Indian bureaucracy and there.... all thoughts lost and the only thing i could think about was files and clerks.
Bureaucracy in India is as ubiquitous as is God in its Theology. My job requires me to deal with the bureaucrats on a very regular basis and its not just the lethargy that is so discouraging, its the sheer attitude that drives you to the point of frustration.
The people who work there are a moral vacuum, irrespective of how Gross your problem is they would treat it with a noble indifference and apathy. the best part of it is the attitude is so pervasive that everyone from the topmost echelons of power to the peon carries the same disgraceful attitude forward.
Here i am manicuring only the tip of the iceberg, i am not even getting into the other areas which hold it back they are too grim to be dealt with.... i have already started the weekend on a disheartening note and don't want to carry the pessimism for the next two days.
So here i wish you all a very happy weekend !
Alles Liebe
Suyasha
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page"
Yeah i know i claimed that this blog is going to be about current affairs, but the IPL has been hogging the limelight for so long now that i have decided to take a sabbatical.
I have decided to move to another topic close to my heart : Travel !
but since I am a maverick at heart my ideas of travel might not confirm to the normal standards of tourism so the list might seem to you what shall i say "avant garde".
I have been born in India so the country deserves the right to be explored first; i have selected 5 places which might be or might not be "tourist attractions"
1. Konark: The sun God is my favorite; It has an aura that commands respect and is at the same time benevolent, so it deserved to be first on my list. Words don't do justice to the architecture of the place and its rightly known to be the place where the language of stone surpasses the language of man.
2. Meghalaya: The Switzerland of the Orient is the next on my wish list. Its a less explored destination which makes it all the more necessary to be seen in its pristine form.
3. Nalanda: The seat of knowledge and a melting pot of scholars from all over the world, even the ruins have the power to transport you to a completely different era. The place was understood to be insatiable in imparting knowledge.
(Takshshila would have been my priority but courtesy a lot of things i have to be satisfied with seeing Nalanda).
4. Sarnath: The place of pilgrim for the Jains and Buddhists holds a completely different connotation to me. its the place from where we derive the symbol that signifies India; the lion capital. I don't know about you all but the very sight of the lion capital mounted on a pillar fills my heart with awe and reverence.
If its so majestic on a computer screen how majestic it would be in reality I can't even fathom.....
5. Jim Corbett National Park: Most of you would have understood me now to be a predominantly an "ancient History of India " student, but I have another area of interest and that is nature, Jim Corbett is any adventure seekers paradise. the very Royal Bengal Tigers in its abode is not to be missed for anything.
I know my wish list was a completely different take on tourism but i forewarned you I was bit of an Iconoclast !!!
Suyasha
I have decided to move to another topic close to my heart : Travel !
but since I am a maverick at heart my ideas of travel might not confirm to the normal standards of tourism so the list might seem to you what shall i say "avant garde".
I have been born in India so the country deserves the right to be explored first; i have selected 5 places which might be or might not be "tourist attractions"
1. Konark: The sun God is my favorite; It has an aura that commands respect and is at the same time benevolent, so it deserved to be first on my list. Words don't do justice to the architecture of the place and its rightly known to be the place where the language of stone surpasses the language of man.
2. Meghalaya: The Switzerland of the Orient is the next on my wish list. Its a less explored destination which makes it all the more necessary to be seen in its pristine form.
3. Nalanda: The seat of knowledge and a melting pot of scholars from all over the world, even the ruins have the power to transport you to a completely different era. The place was understood to be insatiable in imparting knowledge.
(Takshshila would have been my priority but courtesy a lot of things i have to be satisfied with seeing Nalanda).
4. Sarnath: The place of pilgrim for the Jains and Buddhists holds a completely different connotation to me. its the place from where we derive the symbol that signifies India; the lion capital. I don't know about you all but the very sight of the lion capital mounted on a pillar fills my heart with awe and reverence.
If its so majestic on a computer screen how majestic it would be in reality I can't even fathom.....
5. Jim Corbett National Park: Most of you would have understood me now to be a predominantly an "ancient History of India " student, but I have another area of interest and that is nature, Jim Corbett is any adventure seekers paradise. the very Royal Bengal Tigers in its abode is not to be missed for anything.
I know my wish list was a completely different take on tourism but i forewarned you I was bit of an Iconoclast !!!
Suyasha
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
My stint with a language !
I will digress today from current affairs and will write on the language, no i am not writing on how we have ignored our own national language for a foreign one, neither will i plunge into some jingoism about nationalism, i am writing my experience of learning a foreign language and leave the cerebration to you.
At the very outset i would make it clear to you all that i am not a language prodigy, but i take interest in learning; so when i moved to Delhi from the sleepy town of Ajmer in Rajasthan i decided to take advantage of my sojourn in the national capital.
After a lot of contemplation i decided that i would learn German; not that i had any great inclination for it initially; the institute was the closest and i had a direct bus from my home and so i enrolled myself in Goethe Zentrum New Delhi.
From the first level which was at that time known as the "Grundstufe 1", i knew i had made the right choice.
German is spoken in only three countries of the world which are smaller in size and population when compared to the state of Uttar Pradesh in India but their Institutes are spread world wide in almost all principal cities of the world.
The didactic is superb and venerable. From day one you don't use a word of English or any other language for that matter. Innovation in teaching methodology reigns supreme ; games, conversations, team work, Grammar, everything is streamlined.
You actually have to fail intentionally as they don't leave any room for failure. teaching involves not only reading from a book but also listening to various situation you might face in Germany and how do people normally react to them and then simulate them.
As one advances in levels the standard gets higher but the classes remain equally inviting. From the study of business German to German Literature and economics everything is covered.
Its needless to say that i made excellent friends and contacts there.
I am not advertising for the language here, i tried to learn Spanish and French also later considering their more universal appeal and application, but the experience was not even half as enriching.
Kudos to the Germans who have made such deliberate efforts for their language, may we be someday inspired by them.
Suyasha
At the very outset i would make it clear to you all that i am not a language prodigy, but i take interest in learning; so when i moved to Delhi from the sleepy town of Ajmer in Rajasthan i decided to take advantage of my sojourn in the national capital.
After a lot of contemplation i decided that i would learn German; not that i had any great inclination for it initially; the institute was the closest and i had a direct bus from my home and so i enrolled myself in Goethe Zentrum New Delhi.
From the first level which was at that time known as the "Grundstufe 1", i knew i had made the right choice.
German is spoken in only three countries of the world which are smaller in size and population when compared to the state of Uttar Pradesh in India but their Institutes are spread world wide in almost all principal cities of the world.
The didactic is superb and venerable. From day one you don't use a word of English or any other language for that matter. Innovation in teaching methodology reigns supreme ; games, conversations, team work, Grammar, everything is streamlined.
You actually have to fail intentionally as they don't leave any room for failure. teaching involves not only reading from a book but also listening to various situation you might face in Germany and how do people normally react to them and then simulate them.
As one advances in levels the standard gets higher but the classes remain equally inviting. From the study of business German to German Literature and economics everything is covered.
Its needless to say that i made excellent friends and contacts there.
I am not advertising for the language here, i tried to learn Spanish and French also later considering their more universal appeal and application, but the experience was not even half as enriching.
Kudos to the Germans who have made such deliberate efforts for their language, may we be someday inspired by them.
Suyasha
Monday, April 19, 2010
Brevity is the soul of the wit !
Those who are into news and even those who are not into news by now know how dangerous can an apparently "harmless" social networking site be to your job.
Since the diplomat Mr. Tharoor became the junior foreign Minister he has been enduring eternal adversities, courtesy his incessant tweeting.
I always associated the word "Diplomat " with being laconic in expression; but this former UN diplomat seemed to defy all definitions and create new ones of his own and he was successful too until very recently.
The obiter dictum between the IPL Czar Lalit Modi and the junior foreign minister on twitter have now opened a pandora's chest and as has landed every one involved in a soup from which they are not likely to come out.
While Mr. Lalit Modi's fate hangs in balance Mr. Tharoor has lost it all: the job, the stake and may be the girl too ( it may be at a later stage though).
Lesson from the story: indiscreet tweeting can be detrimental to your job and to those who trusted you with their secrets.
Till the Government and IB carries out its investigation lets wait and watch
Anamika
Since the diplomat Mr. Tharoor became the junior foreign Minister he has been enduring eternal adversities, courtesy his incessant tweeting.
I always associated the word "Diplomat " with being laconic in expression; but this former UN diplomat seemed to defy all definitions and create new ones of his own and he was successful too until very recently.
The obiter dictum between the IPL Czar Lalit Modi and the junior foreign minister on twitter have now opened a pandora's chest and as has landed every one involved in a soup from which they are not likely to come out.
While Mr. Lalit Modi's fate hangs in balance Mr. Tharoor has lost it all: the job, the stake and may be the girl too ( it may be at a later stage though).
Lesson from the story: indiscreet tweeting can be detrimental to your job and to those who trusted you with their secrets.
Till the Government and IB carries out its investigation lets wait and watch
Anamika
Lot of people blog .... and today i join the bandwagon.
i don't know how many people would read this blog or benefit from it... but i think its a good way of expressing oneself especially in matters concerning us all.
i am someone who is very much obsessed with current affairs, since my letters to the editor don't seem likely to be published i try the easier way out.....
so here is my blog ; ab initio
Happy reading !!!
i don't know how many people would read this blog or benefit from it... but i think its a good way of expressing oneself especially in matters concerning us all.
i am someone who is very much obsessed with current affairs, since my letters to the editor don't seem likely to be published i try the easier way out.....
so here is my blog ; ab initio
Happy reading !!!
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