Prof.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam on our media : A must read

This is quoted from one of the speeches given by Dr.Abdul Kalam.Its about the attitude of
"the Indian" in India and abroad.Its time that we start taking note of this sincerely instead of just reading it and forgeting it the next minute.You might have come across this article in the tabloids or in the newspapers.But i guess giving it one more read is a better option instead of looking at the pics of "Ash-Abhishek engagment" ..

"Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own
strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing
success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.

Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into
A self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such
Achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and
disasters. I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper.
It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken
place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the
picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert
into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that
everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were
inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.
In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.
Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so
obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We
want foreign technology.
Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize
That self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving
This lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I
asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a
developed India.
For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You
Must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly
Developed nation. Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a
vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise,
choice is yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, The
airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the
absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore .. Give him a name - YOURS.
Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your
International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads
or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they
are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent
of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to
the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed
in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status
identity... In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to
eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out
without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of
the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to,
'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would
not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the
traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and
so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty
coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in
Australia and New Zealand .
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU
Use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ??? We are
Still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a
Foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will
throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If
you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why
cannot you be the same here in India ?
Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of
Bombay , Mr. Tinaikar, had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on
The streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he
said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the
authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they
expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels
the pressure in his bowels?

In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done
the job. Same in Japan .. Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's
right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all
responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to
Do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We
Expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking
Garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray
piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide
clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of
bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food
And toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least
opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the
service to the public.

When it comes to burning social issues like those related to
women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations
and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the
whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone
forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?
What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our
neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the
government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a
positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our
families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and
wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic
sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards
hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise
their system.
When New York becomes insecure we run to England . When England
Experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the
Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian
government.
Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of
Feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for
a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am
echoing J. F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to
Indians.....
'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE
INDIA WHAT
AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'
Lets do what India needs from us.
Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending
some Jokes or non-sense junk mails."
Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalaam
(PRESIDENT OF INDIA )

Shame on Indian Media??? Really what a shame...

By the time u guys read this news, the body of Major Manish Pitambare, who was shot dead at Anantnag, would have been cremated with full military honors.

On Tuesday, this news swept across all the news channels 'Sanjay Dutt relieved by court'. 'Sirf Munna not a bhai' '13 saal ka vanvaas khatam'
'although found guilty for possession of armory, Sanjay can breath sigh of relief as all the TADA charges against him are withdrawn'
Then many personalities like Salman Khan said 'He is a good person. We knew he will come out clean'. Mr Big B said "Dutt's family and our family have relations for years he's a good kid. He is like elder brother to Abhishek". His sister Priya Dutt said "we can sleep well tonight. It 's a great relief"

In other news, Parliament was mad at Indian team for performing bad; Greg Chappell said something; Shah Rukh Khan replaces Amitabh in KBC and other such stuff. But most of the emphasis was given on Sanjay Dutt's "phoenix like" comeback from the ashes of terrorist charges. Surfing through the channels, one news on BBC startled me. It read "Hisbul Mujahidin's most wanted terrorist 'Sohel Faisal' killed in Anantnag, India . Indian Major leading the operation lost his life in the process. Four others are injured.

It was past midnight , I started visiting the stupid Indian channels, but Sanjay Dutt was still ruling. They were telling how Sanjay pleaded to the court saying 'I'm the sole bread earner for my family', 'I have a daughter who is studying in US' and so on. Then they showed how Sanjay was not wearing his lucky blue shirt while he was hearing the verdict and also how he went to every temple and prayed for the last few months. A suspect in Mumbai bomb blasts, convicted under armory act...was being transformed into a hero.

Sure Sanjay Dutt has a daughter; Sure he did not do any terrorist activity. Possessing an AK47 is considered too elementary in terrorist community
and also one who possesses an AK47 has a right to possess a pistol so that again is not such a big crime; Sure Sanjay Dutt went to all the temples;
Sure he did a lot of Gandhigiri but then...........

Major Manish H Pitambare got the information from his sources about the terrorists' whereabouts. Wasting no time he attacked the camp, killed Hisbul Mujahidin's supremo and in the process lost his life to the bullets fired from an AK47. He is survived by a wife and daughter (just like Sanjay Dutt) who's only 18 months old.

Major Manish never said 'I have a daughter' before he took the decision to attack the terrorists in the darkest of nights. He never thought about having a family and he being the bread earner. No news channel covered this since they were too busy hyping a former drug addict, a suspect who's linked to bomb blasts which killed hundreds. Their aim was to show how he defied the TADA charges and they were so successful that his conviction in possession of armory had no meaning. They also concluded that his parents in heaven must be happy and proud of him.

Parents of Major Manish are still living and they have to live rest of their lives without their beloved son. His daughter won't ever see her daddy again. Finally Major Manish, to my generation is a greater hero, someone who laid his life in the name of this great nation.

It is a shame for us since this Army Major's death news was given by a foreign TV channel!!!

La-La awaits me

While I write this, I am pained to an extent but then there is some bit of joy too.! Guess what , I am getting back to Singapore - a semester that awaits me : a not so tough one i should say but nevertheless trying to get back to being busy.

My NUS life has been sorta patchy especially with regard to some of my results. This definetly makes me wonder if i am made for Comp.Sci after all - May be i could have shunned away Engineering itself and gone into some other stream - a doctor may be.. But then its a bit too late and i need to garner some interest in the field that I have chosen.

Otherwise its been an awesome 1.5 years in Singapore..I love the city for its splendid source of balance in terms of work-hygiene and so on but then the place gets monotonous and boring, as do all the other places..Infact i felt that this 20 odd day break was longer than my semester itself.Pretty wierd for me to say this esp when we international students love to be back home amidst our friends,family and ofcourse the glorious Indian food..but then again when u end up sleeping half the day and waking up to your proper day as the sun sets, you know that you are out of place to some extent (atleast thats what i feel after 4 days of this kind of Americanish routine)..Then again, its nice to be lazy especially after a tiring semester and a small internship..

The feeling of going to Singapore gives me some fresh energy and i bubble like a small innocent child..infact when puttas once buzzes me and tells me "mahesh, iam leaving blore tom mning", i go on saying "wow thats amazing" and then realizes that she goes on saying "huh?U mad??"And then i realize may be its not the same for all, may be their sentiments are bigger, may be they are just too much attached , may be they are worried about a multitude of reasons but then it doesnt bother me to any extent..

But then the energy that comes out thro my veins when the flight captain says "To the port of Singapore " is someting that i love, be it the n th time i visit the place..may be my affinity towards the la-la place could be coz of it being my first visit abroad but then i simple love the place..Looking forward for one more semester of hard work , some tennis with sandeep along with some steamy discussions abt Australia and England(India and SRT will be my nicks in google talk for sure!!!), some mind rattling debates with Vaas and co about India (whether the country is going to the dogs!)nice dinners and lunch with my favourite people and ofcourse literature with puttas and fafu in my team and kicking some Anuja,Shashi and Vaas ass!The propsects seem to be intresting!

Fed to the dogs

Indian cricket to the dogs!!SRT - the vice captain of India..A delight for cricket lovers no doubt to see the little man don some big responsiblities again..As it is said, when the going isnt easy,trouble comes falling into your lap..Dilip Vengasarkar has no doubt just done that for the little man!
When his place in the Indian team is under scrutiny, the selectors throw the vice captains buck to him just before the biggest tournament in cricket..Sums up the Indian attitude!!
Way to go - indian team to the dogs

Laxman dropped?

India lose a series and axes fall on V.V.S.Laxman - a familiar disheartening tale.Laxman has to be the most unluckiest of the lot of the Indian cricketers who have had a stint with the national side.At 32 and counting, his chances of cementing himself have gotten dimmer and the exclusion from the West Indies tour of India has proved to be a major setback right after the 2003 debacle.His tale has to be titled as "Very very sad laxman"(very very special seems to be ages ago).Born and brought up at Hyderabad, he made his debut way back in 1996.The 90's had those remarkable one test stincts - Ganguly (1992),Dravid(1996) all having one or two tests before been shown the doors only for them to return more strong and hard hearted.But for laxman the scripts have been written differently and in a more sad and empathetic way.

At his sublime best, VVS Laxman is a sight for the gods. Wristy, willowy and sinuous, he can match - sometimes even better - Tendulkar for strokeplay. His on-side game is comparable to his idol Azharuddin's, and yet he is decidedly more assured on the off side, and has the rare gift of being able to hit the same ball to either side. The Australians, who have suffered more than most, paid the highest compliment after India's 2003-04 tour Down Under by admitting they did not know where to bowl to him. Laxman, a one-time medical student, finally showed signs of coming to terms with his considerable gifts in March 2001, as he tormented Steve Waugh's thought-to-be-invincible Australians with a majestic 281 to stand the Kolkata Test on its head. But even though he had another wonderful series against the Australians in 2004-05 with two centuries, one of them involving back-from-the-dead, match-winning, 300-plus partnership with Kolkata ally Rahul Dravid at Adelaide, he hasn't quite managed the consistency that could have turned him into a batting great

Then again,how about a Virender Shewag?He has had similar or more failures than laxman.Again one can argue that Shewag can bowl and field while Laxman cannot bowl and can only field in the slip cordon.(His slip catching abilities are amazing and his blinders at 2 nd slip and gullies have given India some crucial breakthro's).But again, we are talking about V.V.S.Laxman who hails from the southern half of the country unlike his close buddy who comes from the capital.The autobiography of John Wright has this line that says "mate,suggest dropping me to the selctors and u ll find urself out of the job" sums the attitude that our players have..Under Saurav Ganguly, the dice was heavily loaded against the South Indians - only few debutants emerged in his captaincy that spanned almost 5 whole years(Yohannan,Balaji,badani,venugopal Rao).And it isnt surprising to say the least to find none of them in the scheme of things now.Infact,Anil Kumble was made to sit out despite his heroics in West Indies in favour of Harbhajan.Although one can go about ranting that harbhajan was the younger and more verstaile, selectors comfortbly axe the old south indian war horses while the North Indian underperformers go under the cover despite their lack-lusture form.Shewag is a recent entry into the elite list.

It is indeed baffling to see a pattern emerging out against the southies but then thats the reality and its hard to digest.The fate of laxman is very much on the walls, with virtually no chance of his re - entry into the ODI team and with the likes of youngsters like Dinesh Karthik and Raina giving his place a real run for the money, one can comfortably ink his career as the one that was ruined by badluck,fate,illtiming and above it all-selction blunders.May be the thumping off drives and those gorgeous flicks are no more to be seen from Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman.

SRT - A legend fading away

The euphemisms had run out. On May 23, 1999, as Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar dedicated an unbeaten 140 runs to the memory of his father who had passed away just four days ago, millions and millions of Indians considered themselves blessed. On that day India rewrote the definition of the word Pride. It now read: Sachin.

Sachin's return had brought back hope once again to a World Cup almost snatched away in the bud. Sports writers groped around for adjectives to describe his feat. But, it seemed that they had run out of superlatives. The word "best" seemed too little; the word "great" fell short by far. When Sachin Tendulkar took his guard that day, India came to a standstill. Every backlift was accompanied with a million prayers, every stroke played with passionate pride, every boundary with boundless joy.

The light had gone out in his life. Yet he brought it back to every cricket lovers' life.

As he entered the arena, he looked like a little vulnerable child. But once he took his guard, there were angels all over the field. They seemed to have come down to protect him, watch over him, help him keep his calm and concentration, making him nothing short of invincible. As he hammered 140 not out in 101 deliveries, he stopped only to look up at the skies at 50 and then again at 100 as he wiped a tear from his eye.

At the end of the day, no other than his mentor, Sunil Gavaskar said in a voice choked with emotion. "We are truly blessed with special talent." Wrote Gavaskar later, "...Even the Gods stopped to watch" And the Prime Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, seemed to echo the sentiment of the entire country as he said, "The whole of India is proud of you. You have showed the entire nation, especially the Indian youth, how to serve the nation by overcoming each and every adversity."

He is truly a legend, a master of techniques.His god like off and straight drives and those mightly sweeps and cuts might all come to an end one day .. And sadly the day doesnt look too far beyond the World Cup..Sachin has had a horrid run of events from the time India was under Rahul Dravid.His ODI form has gone from bad to worse and his test fortunes dont seem to take a turn to the other side either.The last test in RSA typified his recent batting woes and by padding against a debutant left arm spinner, it can clearly be said that a nail has been smashed into his retirement coffin and it wont be long after the world cup that he might have his ODI chapter closed .After all he has been a part of over 350 odi's and has been the greatest servant for Indian Cricket - during those miserable post 1999 WC trauma and during the match fixing scandal.

But hey then for how long will he ride on his glory?Its been a year since Sachin got some form and its been since 2001 that he has been on this 'on' and 'off' switch.May be the ODI toll is telling on him, may be he is getting to become a grumpy old man, may be his family and social life have a say or may be he has just lost his momentum and confidence.But then, the rules are the same for a young Pathan and for a old war horse.With due respect he has been given a long rope and unfortunately the rope never seems to end.Its high time that Indian selectors show some fairness and show some concern towards the future of Indian cricket and follow the Australian Boards policy (have the teams welfare infront of the individual).With sheer talent getting wasted in the ranji circle - courtesy some lackluster attitude of the selectors who go in for old warhorses than fresh new blood, the future of Indian cricket needs to be in the mind of the selectors.Sachin can indeed be a part of this future(for a small period to come) but then his ODI mood needs to be tightened up and his place needs to be given up for grabs.

The time has come and the inevitable happens..And its time we bow down to Sachin and thank him for all the wonderful entertainment he has given us .. Its been truly awesome and to watch him bat one of his greatest innings against Pakistan in Chennai (1999) will be one of the most cherished moments in my life..Kudos Sachin - you have changed the game of cricket!

India - A country in shambles?

This is my first "official blog" and being my new year resolution, i thought i ll hit the nail on the head by starting on something that's close to my heart ..

DISCLAIMER :
Iam a proud Indian and this article although might contradict that in lots of places, i wish to say that iam so proud to be an Indian but then the anxiety for my country has prompted me to write this more than anything else (apart from some steamy debates and discussions with loads of people..)

I have been in Singapore for the last 1.5 years and the country amazes me in every sense of it.Be it the roads, the luxury, the cars, the bikes, the system for everything they have that seem to be so well integrated and well in position, the multitude of cultures and most importantly the attitude of the people.The Singaporeans go into the books as one of the most perfection loving people that i have ever come across.Their attitude is something is what one should look into.(although i agree that they aren't the best people to hang out with if given a choice).I totally agree with people with opinions like 1."Singapore is as small as my d*ck and its so easy to get anything done. 2.Singapore is this so called democracy that's "Hitler" like and to put it in better terms (quoted from one of my buddies) "If Lee Kuan urinates, the country urinates" .. An answer to people who think so is based on one simple thing that i have mentioned already ..However small the place is, the attitude is what that ultimately counts. The people are so much in love with their country that they think 100 times before they do anything that they think might hurt the cause of his / her nation.May be one could say that these kind of values are inculcated either coz they see their parents follow the same or may because of National Service (for the men at least) ..But then lo!Its working isn't it?

So now India is something that amazes me with its sheer attitude of people,politics,everyday news and the list is sadly endless..This is something that's sad as one can observe that this is being said in a negative vein but nevertheless its all true..Red tap ism, bureaucracy is something that's part of all countries but then is corruption?Is poverty?Is illiteracy?Is rape,murder of children to this ghastly extent ever heard?Then as its said "welcome to India!"..
Welcome to India means u have invited urself to some trouble or the other..Lets consider this situation ..An Australian couple come to Goa for Christmas and then go down to Bombay for New year ,to gateway of India to find themselves being surrounded by horrible people looking at a chance to grab the women and molest her?Can u imagine how bad the state of mind will be for one foreigner when this happens to his wife on the New Year eve when he doesn't know the language, the people and the culture.That's a rude rude shock right?A tourist bus in Agra being attacked and several INDIANS injured as the people hurled stones at the bus thinking the bus had pple from the West and the icing on the cake goes something like this - A police man to the reporter says" they protested against Saddam's killings and we had no option as this didn't involve us directly " .. Have u heard of such comments?Shocking isn't it?Then i say again "Welcome to India".
So where are we now?In a middle of a huge quicksand?Where is India going towards?India - second largest growing GDP , great economic growth rate, boasts of having a huge pool of NRI's willing to spend crores for the sake of the nation and its economy.We have reliance, infosys,Wipro, Tata's,Bajaj and so on ..but then what?How does this affect the normal guy on the roads who is waiting to get an opportunity to either create trouble or get his hands on something that he might relish on - may be kids?may be lives?are we housing terrorism in those young innocent minds on the roads having nothing to do?Are we doing anything at all to manage those burning issues that has come to shed so much bad light on this great country?
Iam pained when i write this but then this is the harsh reality ..What is being done is so very slow that this might just not be enough..There might be new airports, new cyberabads,new electronic cities, new metros but then how about the basics for starters?Why is the attitude of people so bad?Are we so bad after all?Any girl who is reading this knows how much of ogling and stare happens when she walks on the road, or takes the bike or the car?Is there anything fundamentally wrong in our heads?Do we consider women as mere things to satisfy us?This is indeed shameful but then whats the solution?How will the India of 2020 (so to speak) be a country that looks up to women, looks more clean, free from pollution ,have great societies, have well educated people and more so looks more class with people and their polished minds?
May be iam just expecting too much for iam talking about India isn't it?The country is cursed and so be its destiny!!