Modi is back

So Modi is back, a bigger, stronger version of him I must add. It was a clean sweep, something that may be even BJP didn’t expect. I am no fan of Modi, but I was impressed by the way he carried out his campaign and went on to win the election. During the campaign there was an aura about him. The entire focus was Narendra Modi. The Gujarat election was all about one man. Like him or hate him, he was everywhere. Even after the “Merchants of Death” comment, Modi remained unperturbed. The allegation played in his hands and became stronger. Modi had a master plan for the campaign while Congress was clueless and disoriented. There were no local leaders being promoted. They were busy preparing the stage for the national leaders. Leaders like Solanki and Vaghela were forced to take backstage as people kept wondering who would become the chief minister in case they came to power. “Denial is a dangerous soporific.” And if the 2007 Gujarat assembly election results have shown anything beyond the obvious — the obvious being the overwhelming mandate given by the people of Gujarat to the performance of Chief Minister Narendra Modi — it is that the Congress has been yet again caught sleeping. Congress had little to speak beyond Modi bashing. At times they seemed to lose the plot completely, and sounded out of sync of their own words. The mandate of Gujarat was also a reflection of the dominance Modi has. Even without the support of BJP veteran Keshubhai Patel, and the RSS backing Modi managed a thumping majority, which left the Modi critics baffled.

Modi was a one man show in Gujarat. All other leaders of the BJP seemed irrelevant. He is a tremendous orator. The way he can swing the audience with his words is astounding. He gets the crowd emotional. Once emotional, the votes are already won. Because once your heart takes over, you are no longer in a position to think. This is where Modi hits hard. In his speeches he used one line often, “do you want Modi to be your leader? Then vote for BJP”. It was as if the local BJP candidate was a mere formality on the face of democracy. While Modi was swinging the votes to his favour the Congress filled the stage with people who could not even speak fluent Hindi leave alone Gujarati. Modi went on making claims of development (much of which was exaggerated) while no one was there to counter him. Modi played the right mix of hindutva and development. He made the right noises at the right places. It was a master at work.

What implications does this victory have at the national scene? Nothing significant. For BJP there are two noteworthy points. One it will give them a confidence and a much needed boost to an ailing party. Secondly, there is a headache in the name of Narendra Modi. Now that Modi has got the confidence of the entire Gujarat virtually, it means he can make more noises at the BJP Headquarters, something that old Advani would not want to hear. Congress has no worries at the national scene due to this loss. I have always believed Congress’ tactics are much suited at the national level, while they have not yet figured out how to win states. What Congress needs to correct is their failure in implementing the Common Minimum Programme and not their loss in Gujarat, the rest will fall in place. Personally, Mayawati sweeping UP elections is a bigger worry than Modi claiming Gujarat.

To sign off I would just like to add that Modi deserves all the accolades for the way he carried his campaign and returned to power with a thumping majority. But I wonder had Congress had a better plan may be we would have had a different result. May be this article would have sung praises for someone else.

Social Snobbery

There was a national outbreak of rage and anger when the news of the CEO of Orient Express claiming that a closer association with the Taj group could only spell a “reduction and erosion” of the brand value of his own hotels broke. I wished he tried booking a room at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai where a luxury suite sets you back by a hefty 3000$. It was considered the worst possible snub in the face of the growing corporate India which seems on a rampage, buying nearly every property on sale. Another news that stood out was the survey that stated that nearly two thirds of Indians have a higher opinion about our culture and our economy. It’s not exactly clear why, if we are such a self-confident people, we jump through hoops each time one of our own gets Corporate America’s approval. If we think we are better then it’s only natural that we will get a nod ahead of others. May be the reason lies in the underlying hypocrisies on the face of the growing India. We as a country are still battling with caste disparities and discrimination. When we discriminate and snub people for belonging to backward caste why do we expect a different behavior on the part of Americans? While we swagger with confidence as we fight for our rightful place in the new world order, how do we react to exactly the same conflict on home turf? We still see old politicians too feeble even to walk contest polls and a new energetic young leader get snubbed at the face and ruthlessly made to sit out. Same goes in Indian cricket. We still see our old warriors bite to dust but never is a newcomer promoted with the same exuberance and more often their activity is limited to just carrying towels and water bottles. Doesn’t the situation sound woefully similar? Why is Gautam Gambhir from Delhi given chance after chance while other people are fired at a single mistake?

I think India is still tormented by the worst form of social snobbery. Unless we confront our class prejudices we would be guilty of the same narrow mindedness that we have to face in the global arena. Just as the world can not put India under leash, we can not keep the rest of India confined within walls created by social differences.

why can not two people from the opposite sex be friends

I could never have imagined a movie with a female friend of mine to be so simple. It was exactly two friends hanging out together like I have done millions of times now. This raised a very pertinent question in my mind, why cant two people of the opposite sex hang out like normal friends. For a few minutes I was conscious of the glaring glances of the people who presume something irrelevant. But then I realized they had nothing better to do.

When a guy walks up to a girl to talk it doesn’t mean that he is hitting on her. OK may be in most cases it is like that but you can not generalize and pass a judgment on him. People say great relationships are based on friendship. But we do forget that friends were also strangers at some point of time. Unless we intermingle more freely we will never be able to shatter such barriers that the society has built around us, which actually chokes us. Imagine a guy who has never talked to a girl in his life after marriage. He has no clue about how members of the opposite sex think, talk and react. And you throw him to an alien world and wish for a happy married life. Do you seriously think it will work? It may have worked when women were subdued and had no voice but in today’s age of women liberisation this isn’t the case. They have a voice and they are heard. People often complain that certain people do not know how to treat women but excuse me did they ever get a chance to get to know to how to treat them. For them all strangers are alike so a behavior shown towards a male and a female are exactly the same. But for us they are perfectly normal for males but extremely derogatory for females.

We have to rethink the why we handle our society. Unless we create an environment in which the two sexes can freely interact and be friends I am afraid the future seems darker. Such an atmosphere is prevalent to certain degree in the metros but in the suburbs let alone the rural India situation is still bleak. But even n metros we can not say that it is a fully tolerant society. We can not tell our parents about a new friend that we have made for some obvious reasons. To hide one truth we create a mountain of lies and finally the parent loses faith on their children. But we never hide a male friend from our parents. Why can not we be just ourselves like we are with our other friends? If somebody wishes to make a difference he is termed a playboy. Something for us to ponder……………

Carnage........

“The City of Joy turned ugly”, this can be a dramatic movie title. And why not, it seemed no less than any drama. Such was the dramatization, and so well orchestered was the performance of the characters that the audience was left awestruck. They did not know what to do; they had never witnessed such a performance.

Well surely one thing is certain that all is not good in Kolkata. For first time since the riots following the ugly Babri Masjid demolition the army was deployed on its streets. It is hard to tell whether the people feel a need of an uprising against the seemingly oppressive CPM, or are they being provoked by some people guided by vested interests. Whatever may be the case it has broken the peace and harmony of the city that was once proud of its tolerance. It was a perfectly normal day. Little kids went to their schools, people jostled their way to their offices unaware that hell was about to break lose. Suddenly, their was a road block on Ripon street. Then there was simultaneous blocking of Park Circus and A.J.C. Bose road. What followed was watched in dismay by bystanders. The protesters against Taslima Nasreen had turned violent. There was a noise about a clash. Without a slight hesitancy the army was deployed on the streets by the honourable chief minister of West Bengal. The same person had waited for things to go out of control in Nandigram before even thinking about deployment of army. Did he panic? Well unfortunately, may be yes.

What is troubling is that all this happened in the city which never had such a history. Spare a thought for those students who were trapped in their schools till late in the evening and those office goers who had to deal with those hours of trauma. There was uncertainty in the air. No one was sure what the next minute had in store. For the first time there was fear in the eyes of the residents of Kolkata. It was an ugly face and certainly we wouldn’t like to see that face again. We would like the harmony to be maintained in the City of Joy. Hopefully the government would figure everything out but more importantly us as residents of this country must together fight out such people with such vested interests.

Freakonomics

THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF FREAKONOMICS is to reveal counterintuitive and often unsettling truths. Levitt aims to show the world how it is, not how we wish it were or how the "conventional wisdom" deems it.
Levitt knew that exposing such truths would cause no small amount of offense in numerous quarters. In one chapter sure to make enemies, Levitt asks, "What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?" The answer: Both groups are willing to cheat. I don't want to ruin all the fun and describe how Levitt reaches his almost undebatable conclusion, but one must admire the audacity of a man so willing to stand up to both the teachers' unions and sumo wrestlers.
But Levitt is just getting warmed up. Another chapter details the similarities between the Ku Klux Klan and real estate agents. Levitt and Dubner relate a hilarious anecdote about an intrepid southerner named Stetson Kennedy, who, over 50 years ago, turned the Klan from a frightening, shadowy entity into a national laughing-stock by leaking their previously secret nomenclature to the Superman Radio Show. The show then proceeded to have Superman take on the Klan. Having their ridiculous and child-like terminology (Klavern, Klaliff, Kludd, Exalted Cyclops, etc.) broadcast on the air as Superman vanquished them irrevocably humiliated the Klansmen.
The point of the comparison between the Klan and realtors is to show that both entities "make their money" (so to speak) the same way--by hoarding information. For the Klan, the organization's dark secrecy was the information the Klansmen hoarded. Once their secrets were revealed and the Klan's pathetic nature made widely known, the KKK was almost instantly a spent force.
For real estate agents, the hoarded information is the actual condition of the real estate market; real estate agents tend to deny this valuable information to the customers they are purportedly serving. As is the case throughout the book, Levitt supports his assertions regarding the slippery nature of real estate peddlers with thorough and impressive statistical analysis.
It is actually one of the many small miracles of Freakonomics that, in spite of the dense and complex nature of its many arguments, it is from start to finish a good read. Much of the credit for this doubtlessly belongs to Levitt's co-author Stephen Dubner. So skillful is Dubner that even a two page definition of regression analysis passes by not just painlessly, but pleasurably.
FREAKONOMICS IS MOST LIKELY to become controversial (and perhaps notorious) because of its chapter on crime and abortion. During the first half of the 1990s, a bewildering variety of experts forecast that America would soon be engulfed in a virtual tsunami of crime.
Happily, these prophecies of doom proved wildly off base. To paraphrase an old saying, failure is an orphan but success begets a thousand politicians vying for the credit. In this case, there were several seemingly plausible explanations for the non-explosion (and indeed reduction) of crime. Some experts said Rudolph Giuliani's and William Bratton's innovative way of implementing Jams Q. Wilson's "broken window" theory of sociology saved the day. Others pointed to tougher gun laws. Still others suggested more policemen or more widespread use of capital punishment deserved the
credit.
While it was wonderful to believe that the aggressive removal of squeegee men or some other easily implemented--and therefore easily repeated--policy decision saved our society from the super-predators, perhaps the actual explanation for society's success in this struggle is more disquieting. Levitt convincingly argues that the fortuitous drop in crime of the late 1990s was due to 1973's Roe v. Wade decision.
Here is Levitt's theory boiled down to its essence: "Decades of study have shown that a child born into an adverse family environment is far more likely than other children to become a criminal. And the millions of women most likely to have an abortion in the wake of Roe v. Wade--poor, unmarried, and teenage mothers for whom illegal abortions had been too expensive or too hard to get--were often models of adversity . . . Just as these unborn children would have entered their criminal primes, the rate of crime began to plummet." Levitt goes on to support this assertion with an almost unassailable statistical analysis (although given the discomfiting nature of his argument, it is likely to be vigorously assailed nonetheless).
Talk about courageous; it's hard to imagine who on the political spectrum is going to be comfortable with this theory.
But Levitt is careful to stress that he is just describing the world as it is, and not making normative prescriptions. As he says near the book's conclusion, "Freakonomics-style thinking doesn't traffic in morality . . . [I]f morality represents an ideal world, then economics represents the actual world."
In Freakonomics, Levitt has described aspects of that "actual world" with stunning originality and breathtaking audacity. How our society responds to these realities is of course an open question, but Levitt and Dubner have done their job. They have written one of the decade's most intelligent and provocative books.

FANTASTIC FOUR : RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

Let's start out by saying that fantastic four 2 is much better than it's predecessor. Better story, better acting, great new character, and great humor.

Story- The Silver Surfer comes to Earth to destroy it because his ruler Galactus has to feed off of other planet's destruction. This story actually worked very well, i liked how the surfer was mainly doing it without thinking about it, towards the end, Susan convinces him that it isn't right and the Surfer tells Galactus that he will no longer serve him, and leading on to the ending.

Acting-Mr. Fantastic: ehh, he was the weaker of the four, some scenes he didn't look like he was totally into it. Invisible Woman: A tad better, some scenes she was absolutely superb, and others.....Human Torch: In my opinion he was the best of the whole bunch, his humor was flat out hilarious, and when he needed to be serious, he could be serious. The Thing: About the same as the first film, not bad, but not perfect, some times you coulden't understand him too well,but other than that he was fine.

Characters- Silver Surfer was amazing, he looked great, and was just a really cool character to watch. Doctor Doom was Iffy, In my honest opinion, he shoulden't have been in the film at all, he just wasn't needed, i would have loved to see them fight it off with Galactus.

Ending- Doesn't give away anything, but leaves you wanting more and knowing that there will be a sequel and the Silver Surfer will be sure to be in it.

Think On Your Own

Why aren’t there many entrepreneurs coming from IITs, the premier institute of India. IITs are so called the accumulation of crème from India….. yet there not enough startups to encourage us. We must stop here and ask us why? Why are these brilliant students not trying to make a Google or a Yahoo? Why aren’t these students willing to venture out on their own? Ask me and I will answer that the society is to blame at large. Indians are not big risk takers by nature. They have a fear of failure. Added to it these students are fed by the family and society that they are going to join a big company and earn moolah and basically remain slaves for a lifetime. We can not see beyond the horizon. We can’t battle the insecurity within us. People look for security in a job. This is the reason why people are reluctant to join small startups because they can’t see any future for themselves. It’s a shame that startups from any college can match up or even better than those coming from IITs. The prime reason for this trend is it’s not the college background that matters when it comes to startups it’s the person’s nature that matters. I urge everyone reading this blog to come out from the shell and think new. Think what difference you can make to the existing scenario and try to think on your own. Be the master of your own destiny!!!

OCEAN's THIRTEEN

Just went to watch Ocean’s Thirteen the other day… Let me set it straight I liked the movie. It took a fair bit of trouble to convince my friends to go and watch the movie……. especially after the Ocean’s twelve bogus. It’s not that I am a great fan of big star casts nor that I am a great fan of George Clooney yet there was something about the movie that made it certain that I am going to watch the movie ever since the trailers were on air.

In this third installment, however, the boys aren’t in the game for the business. No, this time it’s personal. When one of their own, the irascible Reuben (Elliott Gould), suffers a heart attack after being double-crossed by malevolent hotel mogul Willie Bank (Al Pacino), Danny (George Clooney), Rusty (Brad Pitt), Linus (Matt Damon) and the rest of the gang decide to hit Bank where it hurts. They orchestrate it so not only will they ruin the hotelier financially by turning the tables on the precept that the house always wins, but also hurt Bank’s pride by giving his big new Las Vegas hotel a bad rating. The Ocean crew even manages to rope in their old nemesis, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), on the scam since Benedict can’t stand Bank or the monstrosity he has built on the Strip. The plan is a bit convoluted and seemingly damn near impossible, but the moral of the story is this: Mess with an Ocean, you get pummeled by the waves.

It was a gripping story of revenge yet without bloodshed, simple manipulation. It was a great account of how one can use science to manipulate a casino and cause loot. Yet it never seemed a sci-fi movie because none of the concepts were high flying.

What has always made the Ocean's installments work is the freewheeling spirit and good-ol'-boy camaraderie from its eye-candy cast. Even though they are a bit more somber this time around--you know, worried about Reuben and all--the actors are still clearly enjoying themselves. Clooney and Pitt continue to be the suave ringleaders, finishing each other’s sentences and commiserating over the problems they are having with their respective spouses/girlfriends--which, in turn, explains why Tess (Julia Roberts) and Isabel (Catherine Zeta-Jones) aren’t in the movie. Basically, this “isn’t their fight,” and they aren’t needed. Actually, it’s Damon’s Linus who gets a love interest--sort of. The usually green Linus gets a chance to prove his mettle by donning a disguise (a big fake nose, to be exact) and wooing Bank’s second-in-command, the tough-as-nails Abigail Sponder, as part of the plan. She’s played winningly by Ellen Barkin, who fits right into this gentleman’s club. All the others are also in top form, proving they could keep making these movies and we’d never get tired of watching them play.

UNTITLED

Its been a long time since I have written anything worthwhile ( or rather anything for that matter). May be it was mere laziness on my part or just lack of any creative flux crossing my brain.The heat of the summers has dried up the cells responsible for ticking of the brain and the creative juices have all dried up.

So now that I have started writting , What should I write on??? Invariably people expect some extravagant writeup even if the issue isn't signficant even remotely to us. We have become used to reading stuff that are so deep that even the best scuba divers cant find it . Nor am i romanttic enough to dream of a beautifull offspring in the middle of the Thar.

Then why would anyone read some crap written by some lazy fellow. But this feeling has not dettered those great men whom im admire nor will it deter me.Writting is a very important form of expression. He was't a fool who said "Pen is mightier than the Sword". A small article published somewhere in the newspaper can cause a stable government to disintegrate or a relationship to turn sour. Remember the public spat between Mr. Karunanidhi and Mr. Dayanidhi Maran. It was a mere opinion poll conducted by the newspaper that led to the resignation of one of our very able ministers, who transformed the entire IT sector on its heels.

He showcased the power of an individual. He showed us that if someone decides to take up matters in his hands and wants to make a difference what he can achieve!!!!!!!!!! Instead we prefer to lay back and allow things to take place at its own speed. We must wake up and take a resolution to make a difference. All great entrepreneurs were made because they decided that "enough is enough!!! I have to make a differnce ,I have a better way of doing things and I will show it to the world. "

Coming back to the power of writting ... Writting over the years has proven its might. But alas in our country the press is slowly losing its edge. When news channels are all over the place with new STORIES its the printed media thats trying to save grace. I think no one would challenge me if I say that newspapers are the only source for some reliable news. Our writers have gone places with quite a few booker prize winners amongst us we can surely be proud.

THE CLASS 12 B RAP......

So everyone sing along (if u kno how 2)
Dis is our class and dis is d way v’ll
Remember it and so will u.

We’ve got Abhishek’s by the pair
So there’s great need to despair
One’s a Singh who’s an ax-ellent guy,
The other’s Chaudhary of whom you can always have enough.

Then there’s Saneesh who has no surname,
Strange as it may seem, he’s got company
In Saurabh a.k.a.. Balaji (cricketer)
Who is Bihar da stud.

We,ve got Paarth and Jatin, yes I know,
Tremble now for the have got no competiton.
You can’t miss them in a crowd, (even if
You try to), or lose them in a storm.

Let’s sing a song for the broken hearted…
No it ain’t Bon Jovi, it’s Somik
Who got laid off by another girl he hardly knew.
I don’t know, he should have learnt by now
But I guess too much gel does that to you.

Somik sings too but he ain’t he only one.
We’ve got musicians in the likes of Rajit
Who can sing and play the guitar either on
Its strings or banging away at its back.

Wait! Stop the press! Hollywood’s signing
Up Sagar to play skeletor next
And while they were at it they decided
To cast Kartik in E.T.2.

Now here come’s the surd brigade.
It’s lead by Gunveet (Gunni) who racks
His brains be it study or troubling ma’am.
Next in line you’ve got Gurpreet who is the
Silent Einstein type and at last you have
Chanpreet who’s all mixed up. Come
English period he is nearly ready to faint.

And while we’re still talking in three’s, why forget
The Deepankar, Santosh and Abhishekh Singh trio.
The first two are two of a kind, though their jokes are
Eye openers their characters are all right and of the
Third I’ve spoken before though mention be, his jokes are fine.

And if we have mentioned English,
How can we forget Alok, the one
Who opens his mouth and stupefies,
Mystifies and astounds all with his
Flamboyant use of language.

The trumpets are blowing and the computers
Downloading. Yes, Saikat the ‘King Of P’ is
Here It doesn’t matter if u don’t know what it
Means, you’ll learn soon and if you do.
Bow your heads and stand in line.

Look is it a cactus plant or a porcupine?
No, it’s just Shaurya going to bansal’s again.
Is that a computer I hear whirring or a bookshelf falling??
No, it’s just Sankalan thinking again.

Some of us have virtues never seen,
Like Himanshu who is the fastest ticket booker you’ve ever seen
Or Rishabh who’ll sniff out every
Movie cd ever been.

Never let it be said that we do not enjoy our
Classes, for you forget Bhrigu Kaushal who loves
Economics and it is even rumored he goes to bed
Clutching his eco book to his heart.

I don’t where to begin for there’s much to say about Arjit.
He plays soccer really well. OOPS! That’s it.
And just for the rhyme’s sake here’s Aurijit,
He plays soccer too but his game is a losing game.

And now when we’ve talked about Aurijit how
Can we forget Priyank, buddies for life.
His jokes are always worth a good laugh,
Especially hi instant ones.

Oh shoot me now till I’m dead
Lest Deepak start one of his jokes again.
Deepak I know you didn’t mind it
You’re a great guy, so please don’t cry.

Ankit’s a cool guy or ‘Someone with his
Head on his shoulders’ as Meenu ma’am would say.
Abhay is a rarity, fast to flare and quick to
Chill. It’s good to have him around.

We’ve got a lot ex-VIP’s n our class.
There’s Suchit who is the ex-Asst. Sports captain
And Siddharth Sawhney, the class ten school topper
Who now spends his days starting chalk fights in class.
Behind Sawhney we often find Ravi propped up
Against the wall sharing with him a laugh or two.

Rohan Jain could give Dickens and Twain a run
For their money with the kind of stories he churns out.
And Pranay give us a run around in the break trying to
Protect our food coz he need energy for FIITJEE and soccer too.

Mohit’s a fine guy who sits by himself studying away
While Shrey and Himanish are usually at each other’s
Throats (for fun of course), Vaibhav sits by and
watches the show.

The class is occasionally visited by Anuj who pops
His head in for a day or two and is then gone for a week or so.
The same can be said for Piyush too but he is visible
Much more and is often found humming a tune or two.

And then there’s me, Sidharth Sreekumar.
This time modesty goes out the window
When I proclaim I am the best there is,
Hopefully, maybe or never be.

In the end we sing:
Yeh pyaar hume kis mod pe le aayaaaa,
Ki dil kahe hi (not hi, HAI), HAI
Koi to bataaye, kya hogaaaa
TA-RA-TARA-TAAAA
And since we don’t know the remaining
Lines we sing this over and over again.

I no longer feel like studying................

It's now a week to the endsemester examination and i am not feeling like studying. i sit here contemplatig on how much i have changed from the past semester. I was never like this.I have always hated studies but have never been this frustrated with studies. Has IIT changed my outlook.....????

I no longer feel like studying. I don't feel like doing anything for that matter. I am no longer my usual self. I have spent 18 years of my life studying and studying under pressure , sometimes of my teachers sometimes friends n sometimes myself...... so this new found freedom is a bit tough to handle for me. First semester I still reeled under the pressure and did not realise that its no longer those days where scoring marks is the be all and end all everything.

Somehow i have reached a stage where even when i score marks i am not happy. I have scored marks scaled many skyscrapers now no more. I wish no longer for marks. That fire has beeen extinguished but i am now left in a state where i know no more what i want.Thats also a state that troubles me........

A new resolution.......

What am i doing here....??? Why have i been sent here.. ?? What is my purpose in life????? These questions keep crossing my head whenever i sit idle or have nothin to do. The only purpose these serve are to depress you and leave you in a void from where you have to fight and come out. The best thing to do is not to think about it... but is it possible???? I ask myself.....No i don't think so..We have to look for other alternatives the best one is dont sit idle....isn't that the logical answer. But as simple as it may seem it is not that easy. You can not remain occupied for 24 hours a day. There are times when you are really left to sit idle and your mind is set free to wander around and brouse through every event through the day. That is when you realise you have done nothing but wasted your day.

Ideally one must not think such disturbing and depressing stuff. They are useless. Keep yourself ocupied , elders tell you. But someone tell them no matter how much you try you cant keep yourself occupied through the day..... Every year i start with a resolution that i will try and minimise the time wasted, but every year passes and i realise i am there from where i had started.

There are many thngs to do on this planet so go out and keep yourself occupied i tell myself but alas i am only lying myself. But no longer i am almost determined not to contain any illfeeling towards myself...and no matter what i am never going to ask myself what i am doing here.I am not going to give myself a chance to ask myself this question..........