Random thoughts on Serious stuff

I deserve it. Brands give me a certain status .They give me a sense of reassurance and to the fact that u don’t have to think about the quality. And mind U I have earned that.

But is it all so simple and clear?

Consider this …There is no sense of guilt when it comes to downloading pirated software or music but when it comes to buying books on the street then it is about ethics. Rather buy from authorized ones than buying on the street.

To think of it…it’s a mix of badge value and a certain hypocrisy which is there in every one of us. As long as the brands have badge value, it doesn’t matter where they are coming from. Whether it’s the Levis slim fit from a Seconds store or a n Amartya Sen classic from a street vendor, both have badge value and they both tell you a lot about the owner of the same. We set standards for ourselves and strive hard to measure to them. However, its difficult to match the same.

So why the double standard?

There are 2 dimensions to this. One is about taking the moral high ground while the other is a bit complex.
The other flows from a certain philosophy which in ingrained in today’s generation. A generation that has reaped the benefits of the new globalised economy and who on their individual talent/kills have managed to make the most of it. However, at one level, this has also brought in a sense of arrogance and self-righteousness in them. Instead of considering themselves fortunate (In a country where just 25 % of the population can afford to be a PG, Where University fees are 1/10th of their global counter-parts, ) these guys are involved in government bashing complaining the poor infrastructure and the corrupted bureaucracy .Not even once will there be any discussion about elevating poverty, or the right of these people of access to health education etc. These guys are obsessed with the latest technology/fashion and betterment of their lives .Narrow minded self interests (Making Shanghai out of Mumbai) not even considering the fact that 50 %of the city’s population stays in slums and you ‘l need to address their rehabilitations. What is important to them is the showcasing of India to the globall world. Hence the need for Expessways. Big dams like Narmada/Tehri that enable electricity and irrigation. But nobody has the answer as to Who’s development?. What about the displacement of lakhs of ppl along the dams, their rehabilitation. oes neone care? Not even for to bear in mind that general apathy towards other people and a feeling of

The same attitude is reflected in the way people have started reacting to political parties and their agendas. Modi is considered to be the hero when it comes to development and his no nonsense style of working is drawing applauds from his severest opponents. Others have started projecting him the future PM of the country. Forgeting the fact that the same person was indicted by the SC and who is unapologetic about the mass pogrom that was unleashed on the minority community in 2002.


No wonder. This general apathy of the middle class towards others and an attitude that serves their narrow interest

When vendors selling utility items come at your doorstep. They are greeted with Trespassers will be prosecuted. Simultaneously, there is a demand to clear footpaths get rid of these vendors who sell street food and other utility items.
There are a nuisance and intrusion to your daily (private) life. Not even thinking fro a moment that they are providing usl service at our doorstep, one that we need to appreciate rather than crib.


Parallely, likes of Reliance and Tata’s entering thereis a the Retail Revolution primarily providing the same services however in a more organized and better environment.
The entry of these firms will guarantee economies of scale and hence lower prices. Thus ultimately bringing down the cost per item...

Well the larger problem is how do you ensure in a country like ours
Is Consumer as the king the right philosophy ?


Why is this important is because as a source of employment it plays a very imp role. In a country with abysmally low literacy levels, a large % of population is dependent on physical skills whether agricultural labourers or blue collar workers in factories

Consider a few stats…” 26 % of the population is below the poverty line. Manufacturing sector contributes to just 20% of GDP , this workforce is primarily composed of unorganized labor which has very few skill sets. When it comes to health , education and human development we rank below sub-saharan economies>
On the other hand services sector demands certain basic skill sets and only the educated can derive benefit out of it whether is retail malls or BPO's.



Then the moot question again comes to in a country where there is such a huge disparity between the rich and the poor and where 40 %of the population has access to meals only once, what can be done?

The conventional way to go about that is letting the government decide...It is not my problem...I pay the taxes every year and if they are not contributing towards betterment of other people a and are filling their own coffers it is only that much I can do..

So the question them remains that if people are going to buy only branded clothes, what happens to the numerous thelas and vendors who supply fruits and vegetables at your doorstep. Those who have very little or no education but rely on such work like buying in wholesale market and selling to consumers…
What will happen to them post the Reliance fresh and Subhikshas of the world.



The solution is quite simple. No rocket-science, no government intervention, no complicated and convoluted policies but a simple and straightforward way.
But often such solutions are either overlooked or people find it so simplistic, they become

Also it’s more than a solution, it is a philosophy.. a way of life. Also need to understand that ther are ways to life.
However I fell even at the individual level there’s a lot that can be done. The simplest way to-do that is to ensure that the money goes to the bottom of the pyramid. In an economy which is still a developing one and is not a perfect economy as well ethics come in secondary and primary to all this is how can you create employment...
So whether it is buying books at the traffic signal or buying pirated music on the roads. You should go ahead and buy those...because if as a society u cannot guarantee employment to others nor can u provide them opportunity. We as (informed) consumers
Should intervene.


Hence the choice that we make can change all this. We are a 400 million class who are the primary beneficiaries of the 90’s globalization era. We have benefited enormously
Whether it is better products and services or access to education and new employment opportunities. But what keeps us occupied today is world of branded products and the status, imagery associated with that. Also today it is about personal growth and advancement at the cost of other things. Everything is seen through the lense of consumption and hence assigned all that comes with Money. Hedonism rules and there no guilt attached with it.

Considering all these, the task becomes even more daunting.

Jayka India Ka

In a world, where Pasta, salsa and Saturday Nite fever dominate urban Mind space, a Programme that brings back the lost flavour of what they call ‘Other India’.


.A programmme that makes you pause and reflect on what really is India and more importantly telling us that u too are part of the same.


Started in response to the SC which in 2007 issued a ban on street food in Delhi citing it as unhealthy and unsafe, Jayka India Ka today is one of the few ‘Alternate’ programmes
on the otherwise senseless and mind-numbing stuff doled out on cable television.


It was started/conceptualized as a programme exploring local cuisines or to be more specific celebrating local street food. . However now has moved onto celebrating local culture and how food forms an intrinsic part of the same.

From Mumbai to Amritsar to Delhi to Varanasi, each episode showcasing a unique lifestyle, a way of living…. and with the tantalizing and mouthy watering delicacies ranging from the Kesar Dal of Amritsar to the Jalebi-Samosa of Indore, it’s also a foodie’s delight.

So guys whether bored watching the same things again and again, or just plain curious about the country we live in, tune in every Sat eve 18.30 or Sun noon at 1.30 for catching a glimpse of the Flavour of India.

Music and lyrics

If after 24 years of your life, u come to realise that there is something known as lyrics which till now u were completely oblivious abt, makes u really wonder wat were u doin all these years?

(This is not the first time I ve felt like this though);-)
its this sudden fascination/realization with lyrics that has left me completely speechl;ess and l keep cursing myself for all those years wasted in not understanding poetry.
However the positive thing is that each and every song is like a new one to u.

Now slowly but surely u start understanding this stuff and it doesn’t take u long to figure out y ppl like gulzar are revered in this country.

So currently this stuff is driving me crazy ,however one thing that tops the list is Urdu ghazala and shayari.
Hard to belive,but is such a short period of time have become a big fan of shayari

I always liked ghulam ali and Mehndi hassans of the world but now with the lyrics I am on a diffrnt planet..

However as its always the case, u are inclined to listen and feel only those things that match your current emotional state and if u want that feeling Of VOW
9 out of 10 times that’s the case.

Neways this mehndi hasan ghazal Just sums up my current state-

The mukhda goes-

Humein koi gham nahi tha
Gham e aashiqui se pehle
Na thi dushmani kisise
Teri dosti se pehle.

However The antara is wat is killer -

Yeh ajeeb imtehaan hai
Ke tumhi ko bhulna hai
Mile kab the istarah Hum
Teri bedilli (indifference) se pehle

Mcdonalds-BF-GF

The latest McDonalds TVCs using two kids as boyfriend-girlfriend comes as an anomaly to the rest. Apparently based on the trend of ‘up-aging’, the ad seems to want to get away with a literal rendition of the same.

Worldwide, McDonalds is a family brand with a focus on kids. The warm rounded curves of the letter M are designed to welcome families, especially parents of young kids. It’s a place where kids can be left to themselves, without having to monitor them constantly. If anything, McDonalds is the place where kids can be exactly what they are – kids.

‘Up- aging’ is a consumption oriented strategy aimed at bringing about consumption behavior of early teens amongst the pre-teens. Not converting pre-teens into oversmart wannabe semi-adults. Despite the seeming ‘cuteness’ with which the kids speak, the ad probably puts more parents off than bring about beatific smiles.

Using a burger as a bribe to impress one’s girlfriend aged (7-8 years) is an idea that belongs to the teenage/adolescent world. And one that is inappropriate for the sensibilities of that TG. Their representation in terms of the dressing, body language as well as the relationship dynamics is unabashedly consumerist under the garb of innocence, the brand is trying to promote.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtOTU_as2oY

Reservation at IITs and IIMs

Well guys, I have been reading all your opinions about reservation whether pro or anti (has anyone supported reservation) and it did make for some interesting reading.So I thought why shudnt I contribute something to it! I am not refuting anybody’s argument here.At the outset, I am dejected because most of the arguments (from both side) are jingoistic and nothing more than mere rhetoric with very little substance.Firstly In the entire argument that I am goin to make, I am in no way supporting Reservation being enforced in this manner.But yes, I believe an affirmative action has to be taken in whether voluntarily or forcibly and I have following points to make.Lets first quote some stats, If u have read Surjit Bhalla(for the uninitiated he is a renowned economist) article in Business standard,(I am not taking his argument into consideration,) But the stats only1. 85% of the population of the country belongs to backward castes i.e. if u include religious minorities as well, Brahmins form just 2.5 % of the population. Shocked? Now the point I want to make here is that, guys since childhood, if I may ask how many friends do we have from the backward castes, just give a thought and think for a sec why most of our friends are Brahmins. Consider your friend circle till today and I believe most of us will find 1-2 odd guys. Has that been done deliberately?Obviously not.
But the point remains that we have very less friends from the backward class. An odd exception will be there. 2. Now if u look at the % of population, if we say that the upper caste (open ) category which is about 14 % of the population occupies 61% of the job at the managerial level, while the remaining population occupies the remaining 49 %.If you consider jobs at the clerical level, these jobs are according to the respective share of population. Hence at the clerical level there is no discrepancy. But at managerial level there is.Similarly guys again look around u and in ur respective companies as well, how many people from the backward castes are in top management.I know software industries today will a large no of backward caste people but take a holistic perspective and consider industries across the spectrum u urself will realize that the % is negligible.Another point is that a lot ruckus has been made of term equality.3. Compare KHS student with a poor destitute child living in the tribal area of Nandurbar. Look at the kind of access he has, whether it is school, teachers, private coaching classes, access to internet etc. while the other guy who relies on govt schools where teachers are perennially absent and he has to travel 8-10 miles on foot to even reach the school.Is this equality?
Consider 12th std students, apart from our college, we had access to NM,KM,Khake etc, what did that guy have? Then the counter argument is made that if a guy is intelligent and hardworking, no matter what the circumstances are he will succeed in his career.Don’t u think guys that the argument is so naïve and simplistic4. Now let us come to the mother of all arguments?Most of the students who hail from ST.SC and OBC Background fail to complete engineering in 4 years and most of them quit after 1year.I know that this is true but there is another statistic that is not referred to.Only 12.5 %of all engineers pass outs are found employable by the corporates. This means there is a sizeable population from the open category as well that does not cope up to it!Secondly to state that percentage of dropouts of BC and OBC candidates is more than open category and hence to take an anti-reservation stance is nothing but a crude joke.It is the same way as saying that “as government schemes do not reach the poor like the mid day meal scheme for instance, hence they should be stopped. When 260 million of our population is below the poverty line, i.e. without access to regular 2 meals, even if the scheme reaches 10 %of the allocated populace it is 26 million my dear friends.The same way even if there are a large number of dropouts there will be a minority who will definitely benefit in the end. And this minority brings sea change to his community. As he goes back to his village in Nandurbar, He empowers the local youth, makes them aware of different opportunities
Also a more fundamental question is whether the education system in India itself problematic? This is because majority of the students pass engineering by PRAGATI, which means though he is an engineer, he doesn’t have the requisite skill. Hence an average guy also can be an engineer if given the opportunity.If u people start introspecting, u will realize that (ratta marke engineering pass kiya ja sakta hai)Also it is an open secret that today even if a guy has 60 % in HSC he can get admission to colleges through capitation fees, which obviously the poor cannot. No one objects to that. Capitation fees, which obviously benefit us. And after completing his engineering he gets a decent job which otherwise should have had gone to someone else if we are strictly speaking of merit.Also if u staunchly believe in education system then quota is just guaranteeing that guy admission to the course,if he is not capable to complete the course. he obviously wont make the grade.5. Now the counter argument made by typical middle class (bourgeoisie Capitalist) if I may say so is that “I myself am not casteist. I always judge people on basis of merit and believe in equality. I have friends who are BC,OBC as well as muslims and I do not discriminate at all..But guys the point I am making is that ur universe or consideration set itself is so narrow. That u never see the whole picture.If u go north of the Narmada, i.e. the UP.MP. Bihar u l realize what caste is?A progressive state like Tamil Nadu too has the worst form of caste atrocities U will find most of the Biharis having surname as KUMAR, ever wondered why?
When u start finding answers to such questions, then u wud probably realize the state of the country.and how deeply rooted it is.(there is a saying in marathi“ji jaat nahi ti jaat”If I may ask how many of u guys/gals wud marry a Dalit or muslim?Solutions are there, U can make reservations on the basis of class and not caste, but do u think our administrative machinery can cope up with something like this. Even today after implementing VAT 80 % of the traders do not pay tax..Tax to GDP ratio in India is a pathetic 16% while even in US it’s in the range of 30%Hence what I am trying to say that these people do have a valid point. Lets not debate about the Creamy layer and Non Creamy layer because Politicians have used that as a votebank tactic. Also a provision should be made to ensure that OBC from the creamy layer and 2nd generation OBC`s do not get the reservation benefitsHowever I think one possible solution to this problem is complete subsidy should be provided to primary education. Government should provide free education to all citizens of the country like was done 25-30 years ago . For eg-say25% of the seats in karnatak high school to be reserved for the poor and needy. Hence we people can afford the fees and these students can be benefited. There should be no discrimination. i.e. the son of Anil Ambani and son of a cobbler both attend the same school, have access to same teachers and samfacilities .Hence we can ensure that there is no discrimination at that level and there are no MERCEDEEZ BENZ INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS because it is here itself that discrimination starts, Government should get out of higher education and after 10th everything would be based on merit. . (though ghettoisation might start as early as 1st Std as these 2 groups of students will not mix with each other.)Solution sounds UTOPIC? Might be

Time stops at Shamli

Shamli station looked the same as it had the day before.
Same train stood at same platform and same dogs prowled beside the fence.I waited on the platform untill the bell clanged for the train to leave, but Sushila did not come.


Somehow,I was not dissapointed. I had never really expected her to come.

Unattainable, Sushila would always be more bewitching and beautifulthan if she were mine!

Ruskin Bond short story -(ending of the same )

Wonder Years

Weekend is the only time i look forward to nowadays.Just the simple thought of going to Pune makes the trip worthwhile.
How was ur weekend?One question that i really hate to answer on Monday Mornings.
And the answer more or less has to include the night clubs frequented over the weekend
which i seldom /rather never do.

So ":What is this Weekend all about?"
Nothing , just lazying away .dozing for 15 hrs of the day and while not sleeping reminding myself to read something.
Also a pseudo intellectual that i am, ask my mother for all the current magazines and current affairs and pretend to read those and actually manage to convince myself that i have read all those!
In reality what happens is just flipping through the pages of the same and readingthe last pages that includes page 3 gossip and Movie reviews.

But it also brings back thegood old days when life was so much simple with never having the time to think and days and weeks just passed by without noticing.More than one way it is nostalgic and gives u the chance to revisit and relive those very moments that u really cherished .Be it the Hanuman tekdi in the morning or the music on your PC at home.

This brings us to songs and the general fascination associated with it.
there is a list of my personal favourite songs on my PC at Pune and the same songs at the off desktop to. Although the songs that i listen to are the same,The feel of the songs on my personal Pc is very different than that of the office PC The setting of my room,me sittin actually slumbering on a wooden chair with legs outstreched on the bed and with head tilted on the back staring at the ceiling.No lights,event he comp screen is off .Its just that moment of privacy that u really long for .The songs in turn take you to that time where life was beautiful or atleast imagined it to be beautiful!
The emotions too are very personal and private and wouldnt want to disclose them for the fear that it mite reveal ur true self which u always try to cover up and project yourself as someone else!Something that reveals the inner person.

Another interesting thing happened this weekend.had decided to read a book referred by a friend.The book was little heavy to digest as a result of which was getting distracted at the slightest instance.It s more like u know u have to read the book,its imp ,talks sense and will be useful in further life as well.
very similar to exams during the school days,day before the exam when everything ie the entire portion had to be covered and distraction in such cases was most of the times from the opposite sex! ;)
And as i write this I am still dreamingabout ........Visiting me in the office all of a sudden after all those years. ;)
U enter the world of those dreams amd suddemly out of nowhere get a Jolt and realise that U are there to read the book/prepare for the exam and your future and career depends on that.And the stuff u are imagining wont happen in the next 100 years!But even after all those years some things hardly change and more importantly continue to remain the same.

Same study room, , same room and thinking about the same girl???