Friday, December 30, 2005

Dear Coppers....You suck!

The recent terror attacks in Bangalore have left me shocked. I always used to think that Bangalore will remain a safe haven, free from any sort of terrorist attacks. But i couldn't have been more wrong. I just pray that this does not open the floodgates to future attcks.

The time is now apt for us to review our security, or rather to be more specific, our security forces. The police, in their present form and mode of operation, are a joke. Give any constable who stops you on the road 50Rs, and he'll let you off with a smile. The guns these guys carry are no match for the hi-tec automatics the terrorists own. Can we hope for proper protection from these jokers??

I am led to beleive that the intelligence network of Indian Security Forces is very vast and solid. But all that seemed to be of no help when a lone maniac opened fire in the holy grail of Indian Science education. Of course, it cannot be of help. People who are motivated by religion are very hard to stop. But letting this guy get away was by itself a serious lapse on behalf of the forces. There has been talk about the Bangalore police being forewarned about possible terror strikes. But sadly, no attention seems to have been paid to it. If this kind of scenario continues, then Bangalore will become the softest target for terrorists.

One last word about cops...this time the Traffic cops....Biggest bunch of cheapos.
Well, most of them at least, and they spoil the name of those who work honestly. You wont find one cop in an area where there is a jam...but you'll find dozens in the middle of some other busy road, catching hold of people and finding one pretext or another to fine them (This fine does not fill the coffers of the government...Instead it pays for the personal betterment of the cop)

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Ignominy Awards 2005

This is a list of the people who desrve the "Ignominy Awards" for being total jackasses this year. The list follows no particular rating....But everyone mentioned in this list deserves a kick in the b**t.

Sourav Ganguly : For thinking of the Indian Cricket team as his personal fiefdom, only to be brought down with a thud. A clear case of connections being more important than performance.

Bal Thackeray : He may be an icon, but he sure is a fading one. The people of Maharashtra have shown their back to him, strongly proving that development is more important than the regionalistic rhetoric that Thackeray espouses.

Deve Gowda : Has thought of it as his birthright to throw a spanner in any developmental work required in Bangalore. Promotes dynastic politics, and though highly incapable, indulges too much in Governance these days, when he slept through half his term as Prime Minister.

George W Bush : Inarguably, the main cause of America's biggest mistake after Vietnam. Fighting a war no-one really wants, the leader of the free world is himself a highly embattled man, trying to find excuses to go on with the war, which is now turning out to be a little more than the "overstaying of an unwelcome guest".

MPs stung by Cash for Questions and MPLAD scam : Sickos...thats the only word I have for these guys. A symbol of how our political system had degenerated to being the refuge of the corrupt and the cowardly.

All the Terrorists in the world : Burn in hell, you b******s.....

This list can go on-and-on-and-on, but i'm already very depressed by this. I will now spend some time in making a list of the peole of the year, who made life a little more better for all the people around them. Hopefully, that'll make me feel a little better.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Rambling on....

The interference of the government (by this i mean a couple of politicians) in the functioning of the Bangalore University does not augur well for the future of one of the largest universities of the country. Of course, BU by itself is no paradise, with regular cases of malpractice (by the authorities, mind you, not just the students) and extra large stupidity by evaluators being reported. But put in a bunch of ignoramus politicians, whose sole reason of being in the affairs commitee, or whatever they call it, is that they run a couple of colleges, and you have the path to self destruction. God save BU.

I have a grouse against our present CM Mr. Dharam Singh. Two actually:
1. How did he make money enough for the grand wedding he arranged for his son?
2. Why has he allotted prime BDA land to undeserving people, members of his ilk?
That he has cut across party lines in allotting sites maybe shows that he's just trying to buy their silence on the former issue.

Who the heck is this Devraj dude? Every year, around this time, i see huge hoardings put up by his "Fan Club" celebrating his birthday. Each of these hoardings cost close to 10 grand. The cost of buying an underpreviliged kind one meal for a year is 1500 bucks. Why can't Mr. Devaraj ask his fans to do this, instead of spending unnecessarily on ugly banners, with himself in quite ridiculous poses?

Mr Siddaramiah's stand that the Krishna Temple in Udupi is government property is sure to raise a stink in the coming days. Using this issue as a political plank stinks of callousness and cheap gimmickry. It is depressing to see another bright mind that is Siddu resorting to cheap vote bank politics. Guess there's no hope!

Elton John finally wed his long time partner David Furnish in a civil agreement cermony...In an age when homosexuality is still a punishable offence in an erstwhile colony. We need to review this law, and even if gay marriages are unlawful, let's not make the same rule for being diferent. Everyone has a right to choose the way he/she wants to live...as long as they mind their own business that is.

On a more personal note, I am now the proud owner of a 29" television and a 5.1 channel output DVD player, both manufactured by PHILIPS. What can I say...I am overawed by the majestic presence of the above mentioned items in my living room. Looking forward to couch-potato days ahead.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Kill the Pervert

The incident of a sex-pervert driver raping and murdering a call-center employee has shocked our entire nation. Expectedly, it has provoked an angry response from the BPO industry. There have been demands for swift immediate justice, and calls for the death penalty to be handed out to the errant driver in question. I fully endorse this call. In fact i say, chop of his d**k, and let him bleed to death.

I also firmly beleive that the employer in question is party to the crime. One cannot say that they were ignorant of this, and hence cannot be blamed. The employer must have had a system in place where the employee is intimated of a change in the driver, if there is any. This can help in avoiding such incidents in the future. That multinational companies in India are dragging their feet in this matter is of grave concern. One need not have to think too hard about the repurcussions this sort of an incident would have had for the company, say in the USA or somewhere in Europe.

All said and done, we will remain a society that acts only after we have been struck by tragedy. Wonder if there is any way for us to realise that pevention is generally better than the cure?

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Review - Maria Full of Grace

To tell the truth, I had never even heard of this movie till i saw it in Akshay's list of favorite movies on Orkut. And then i was intrigued. Intrigued enough, by this movie I've never heard of, which was on Akshay's favorite list, to google for this movie. I found the screenplay (good enough)and boy, do i thank my lucky stars that i got to read such a brilliant bit of writing. So the review is not that of the movie per se, but that of the screenplay, but hey, the only part that gets omitted is that about the performances.

Maria is a girl from a small town in Colombia, with a dead-end job and seriously juvenile boyfriend named Juan. She then quits her job owing to some disagreement with her boss, and also breaks up with her boyfriend as she finds out that both of them are not really in love with each other. And oh, she's pregnant with Juan's baby too, by the way. To make matters worse, she gets berated at home for losing her job and depriving the family of a regular source of income.

Soon she comes in touch with a guy who offers her a job as a mule(drug smuuglers who use their body as a medium to get it across borders) and with it, lots of money. So together with her best friend Bianca, another woman called Lucy and a third called Constanze, all of them fellow mules, she boards a plane to America. A close shave with the authorities, which results in Constanze being caught and herself almost meeting the same fate, later, she manages to reach her contacts on the other side of the border. To her horror, she realises that Lucy is dead, and then, fearing for her life, she scoots, and lives with Carla, Lucy's elder sister. When Carla realises that Lucy and Maria work as mules, and that Lucy is dead, she kicks Maria out of her house. Maria, who feels she has a moral obligation to give Lucy a decent burial, makes provisions for it, with the money she makes meanwhile by selling off the dope she brings in.

The ending scene where Maria and Bianca are leaving for Columbia, and also the scene where Mrai looks at a sonogram of her baby, are specially poignant.

It's definitely one of the best screenplays i have read. The writing above does no justice at all to it. If anyone wants the screenplay, just leave a comment, with your e-mail ID. i will send it across.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Kolkata's G Spot

Contrary to what the G spot means to women across the world, it seems to be a raw nerve in Kolkata's case. And it's been touched...no, pounded and battered would be a better description. Our brothers and sisters from "the most cultured state of India" (highly debatable) are of the vociferous opinion that their son has been born with (or is it acquired?) the right to be in, sorry, lead the Indian cricket team, continual failure notwithstanding. Kolkata's G (Ganguly) spot is flaming. How else can you explain the behaviour of the crowd on that fateful day, when India got walloped at the hands of SA, in what is called "The temple of Indian cricket"?

I have a lot of respect for Bengalis. They are smart, well read, have the same political leaning as i do. But their fanaticism when it comes to sport and their heros is far-out, something that even i cannot comprehend. I have come across a lot of blogs wherein Bengali's speak of the injustice meted out to them(???)All this because Ganguly was kept out of the cricket team. OK, for a minute let me accept the theory that there is a deep rooted conspiracy to thwart the development of Bengal, starting with keeping their hero out of the cricket team (as is the opinion of my esteemed blogging peers). But how does it explain the behavior that day? It still leaves me baffled. That ways, Karnataka needs to do some serious soul searching. From 6 people in the cricket team at one point, it is down to 2 people (with Anil Kumble making an on-off appearance). Conspiracy Theories anyone? But at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, did we see jeers for our men-in-blue? In fact i can vouch that some other players in the team got a bigger cheer than local lad Dravid.

Another thing that bothers me is the total downslide of the Kolkata crowd from knowledgable cricket lovers to cheap hooligans. I do not need to elaborate on that point now, do I? Their behaviour in the recent past doesn't stand up as too much of an argument. I used to love watching games played at the Eden Gardens, no matter if it was on TV, because the atmosphere at the ground was so infectious, you could even feel it on the telly. But now, i end up hoping that the crowd doesn't go beserk or act weird. Now, in contrast, take the Chennai crowd. Their representation in the Indian team has been minimal, with some of their players being done grave injustice against (anyone remeber Balaji?). But still, that doesnt stop them from coming to the stadium religiously, even when their city is inundated with rain, to sit in the stands and hope for their heros to come out and get on with the game. Dravid was so moved by the sight (i guess he doesn't take support for his team for granted now, agter the Kolkata episode) that he actually went to the stands to have a word with the fans.

I have been to Kolkata once in my life, during the puja. I loved the place, vibrant and colorful, with the most advanced Mass Transport system in the country (at that point of time, at least). I am sure that the people there are as friendly as any other part of India. But the way they have elevated the sacking of a non-performer from the team to a "geo-political injustice" kind of issue leave me worried that the rise of the neo-regionalistic force on the lines of the Shiv Sena seems inevitable in the land that gave us Rabindra Sangeet and Satyajit ray among other contributions.

Please dont mistake my writing for being racist. I love my country, and I am an Indian first, before being a Kannadiga or a Bangalorean. It is this attitude that i wish to see in the crowd, in the Temple of Indian...aah...the temple of world cricket, Lords be darned.