Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Rising of Aam Aadmi ...




Indian politics had always been one of my interests but last few years were quite a roller coaster for a common man. Gone are the days where synonym of politics was Congress. India has seen a lot .. BJP ripping off Congress from head to toe and winning the Lok Sabha Elections, BJP changing the face of politics. But we must admit BJP ran their elections with a marketing strategy and let’s face it, we all knew that Congress had done enough bad to the country and it was time for a change. BJP did make some smart choices. My favorite once was to side-line the seniors, come-on it’s time to retire. Regardless of the controversies around our prime minister which personally never affected me (as if we have never seen our ministers doing anything wrong/controversial); I am very impressed by Modiji’s profile. His stand on Economic Development in Gujarat was splendid and his efforts made Gujarat one of the investment platform. I have never come across any leader who has guts to order demolishing temples. All in all Narendraji as a Chief Minister of Gujarat is something every state needs.
I am sure most of us might have thought this about our Prime Minister and hence the thought of being lead by such a powerful man is truly in parallel to their slogan “Ache Din Aayenge”. And we already have started seeing many global initiatives taken which are commendable. But I cannot resist thinking about some of the national “quick” changes that BJP government tried and failed miserably and later became “lost news.” I do agree we need to see the “big picture” and this is too early to raise a red flag but for a common man, especially for youth don’t we need some national level changes which will inspire them and not run out of India the first chance they get?
I remember during their campaign, the focus was on speeding government decision-making. The “Swachh Bharat Campaign” was a good thought, half-baked, poorly organized campaign.  At the end, garbage was thrown purposely on the street for celebrities to clean it. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Garbage-spread-on-street-purposely-before-Delhi-BJP-chief-and-Shazia-Ilmi-participate-in-Clean-India-campaign/articleshow/45058960.cms
We all know we need a proper garbage disposal system. Why there wasn’t an effort on those front, or was this just something done on the side by our government to keep us happy?
 Still I don’t see any efforts on making that damn Aadhar Card work. Promise was made to bring back the money from Swiss account within certain days. This was the first time ever that an effort was made to reach out to the government by creating a website where we could send any information/complains/suggestions. Are they even read or it was just a strategy to make all of us subscribe to it just to show the count and later send “Festival Greetings”.
I am not saying all of this is possible with a blink and having BJP government in power means finding a genie. All I am saying is are we again going the route of making promises to common man to keep them happy? We can easily be up-front and start something constructive rather than just showing off.
I remember I had this discussion with few of my friends before BJP won and was of a strong opinion that AAP needs time, it is not a matured party and Congress should just die and hence only hope and good hope we got is BJP. AAP have their own share of disasters. The perfect way to describe them is bunch of young kids getting together to make a difference without knowing anything about politics. Politics is not something one should take for granted. You need to be in the system to change it and can’t just go on a spree thrashing people and expecting them to later help. 
Just when I thought that now we have to wait and watch what our government does for us , to my surprise “Kejriwal became the CM of Delhi”.  Both are two different things, but I am sure BJP is shaken and now we can hope, their again won’t be a monopoly in politics and hence no one can sit on their asses until next elections. It’s always nice to have a strong opposition and I can see that in AAP. Kejriwal had become the joke of the town, but he did apologize and toned down his rebellious image. So if BJP’s controversies don’t bother me, it’s just fair to say that we should always give a second chance. Things that I use to dislike about AAP, constant nagging, complaining, and thrashing opponents are much toned down now.
I hope with this new role AAP realizes that it is at the end politics and an appreciation to the chair is needed to be taken seriously. And being a part of the system you need to believe in it.
It would be very interesting to see where this goes and how (if ever) BJP reacts to this. But glad to know we have one strong government in the center and a hope for a better one in state.



Tuesday, September 2, 2014

As I am nearing 30 ....




Older you get wiser you become.. I have been hearing this say for quite a while now..
I am not sure about being wiser... but I would agree upon being more calmer..
I see a difference in me, my thoughts , my approach towards life.. I always wondered if there was something missing in me..
Do I lack some kind of a soul because of which I feel so indifferent on some aspects of life...

But as I logged in today to start my routine after a relaxing weekend I happened to read a simple blog from Meryl Streep(http://ioadicaeu.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/i-no-longer-have-patience/) . Nothing extraordinary .. but there it was a simple truth that people just can't digest and I feel that's where and why I stand out sometimes..


I might sound too old.. but as I look back there are so many things that I would have done differently..
I lack patience and I am not guilty about it. I have just simply reached a point in my life where I do not feel the necessity to please every single person.
I do not judge people in what they do but at the same time I don't like people judging or expecting something out of me which I don't want to do.
I hate people who can't appreciate and even those who pretend to appreciate..it just gets on me now a days too quickly..
I refuse to stay at a place for too long where I can't be myself. And I hate people trying to interrupt my life.

I just feel I lost so many years not just trying to please people but also just being patient and taking all the crap I could.. as if I had to and that was my job..

But today I would love to say ... I am too old to take that shit!!!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Sanjay Dutt Saaga ..




I have been following this news for a very long time now. I am sure many have . Being a Mumbaite this has been very emotional to me  .. Lots of mixed emotions have run through me during this course ..

But today I am amongst those "Aaam Janta".. who might be feeling there is a rock bottom .. then there is loads of crap and then there is me.

I am going to emphasise on me being a "Aaam Janta" or rather say a Aaaam Janta who chosed to run away and be a NRI.

So this is how I see this :

On 19th April 1993 : Sanjay , oh I am sorry didn't mean to hurt people's emotions here , what I meant was Sanju Bhai was arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA).

He spent 18 months in jail and then was granted bail (So a person under TADA can get a bail)

Re-arrested in December 1995 and re-released in April 1997

In November 1993, a 90,000-page long primary chargesheet was filed against the 189 accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case including Sanjay

Balasahebh Thackeray quoted :
"Even the soul of Mahatma Gandhi would have wanted Sanjay to be freed."  -  Bal Thackeray, 31. July 2007


My Story and how am I related :

Honestly , not related at all.. and I am so happy to say this. I did not loose any one in 1993 Blast .. I just remember my parents trying to reach out to everyone they know making sure they were fine.
I am just an "Aaaam Janta" , who always pray that the blast that would happen next , should not happen anywhere near my loved one's vicinity. (Ofcourse, because I know blasts will happen)
I am not blaming anyone , just trying to understand my people, we lost lives , so if someone does a movie on Gandhism , is a star then we should let him go, WHy this was not proposed to Ajmal Kasab.
He was only 18 when he got into this , I am sure he must have had a better heart-breaking story for you guys. We should have respectfully taken him to some rehab and then made a better person out of him , isn't that perfect Gandhism.


Anyways , I can go on and on .....

On March 21, 2013 the Supreme Court gave the verdict to five years imprisonment.  - And my belief to our constitution , our law was restored

But , Sanju Bhai has still not surrendered and now have appealed for an extension - Wow .. An extension  .. And My eyes are back on newspapers all day long yet again

Whether Sanjay will be treated differently or not .. Well, we all know that by now...

I have seen nations fighting against Corruption , illiteracy , Population ,Drought and list goes on .. I have also seen nations tolerating and living with  those conditions  but a nation who have the courage to forgive support to Terrorism .. well.... "Mera Bharat Mahaan"



Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Apple-Samsung Saagaa .. Technology at risk ..





Definetly a major Win for Apple.After the verdict my emails and facebook were flooded with mixed emotions. Few liked the verdict as if they played a major role in the company itself and few were disappointment. I am not yet sure how I feel.

Whenever I think of Apple , first thing that comes to my mind is "arrogance" , "secretive culture" , "polished campaigns" , kind of a superior authority who thinks there customers are always wrong , "dumb" for that matter.

With Samsung and HTC One coming along and consumers moving away they just couldnt take the pain.Couldnt discover anything fascinating so

just decided to vobble on there
patent rights. I think Apple's ultimate targer is Android. The Samsung-Apple verdict was a good for Microsoft's Windows Phone. They were so incredibly happy that I heard they even tweeted about it.



Well, so what all these things really mean to us. First let me define US. When I say us, I mean we the consumers and then we the developers.So we the consumers looks like are not suppose to experience anything new or incredibly different. When I bought HTC One, I was fascinated with the whole experience , the UI , the interactions , amazing is the word for it. WHen I saw Samsung Galaxy I had similar reactions. So with all this drama am I again going to be forced to see that IE icon on my screen and use it even if I hate it and may be pay for some stupid upgrades or if you dont want that then may be pay some ridiculous about for an Apple product and if even you dont exactly get why it is so pricy still pretend as if it is cool, just to be part of "that" crowd.





With n going dramas of different browsers ,different engine and different OS, us the developers never had a good time with any of them. I just forsee the matter getting worse as if no one comes up with a pattern then it might get more challenging and then us the consumers might often get more messages saying , we do not support this version and blah blah blah





I strongly feel, that if any patent or rather on that matter any two competitors interfere in a growing technology it should be strongly discouraged. In today's world where we all are starving to achieve something new does it really matters whether some freaky layout is similar. That reminds me , doesnt all the touchpads have similar layout ?





I heard yesterday google and Apple are talking about patents . Wonder what that will bring up next.. but for now its Microsoft who is on the lead... so YAY Microsoft!!!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Dinner Date ...

Few days back I had dinner with a close friend of mine. Usually, we friends end up taking a to-go and eat at my home watching TV. That reminds me, recently I bought a 59” TV with a 3-D view, it is just awesome. Well, getting back to my story, so I was having dinner with my friend and I realized we were having a conversation, what we were talking about isn’t important, but the fact we were talking to each other sharing few stories and not staring at that idiot box made me realize what all I was missing after I got that idiot box. This made me think even more, now-a-days I don’t call my friends that often, we have our what-so-ever communication or know about what is happening in our lives through facebook. Sometimes I make sure I “like” there comments or pics, sometimes I just ignore doing that extra step (see getting that lazy). Regardless, what that is or means , we have just skipped the part of “talking to each other”.
I am not much of a person who will share my life in facebook, I hate doing that , but I always make sure to log in facebook to know what’s happening with my friends. Weird, isn’t it why not just call. Am I getting lazier. And to top it all, my friends also are equally into it. I think everyone will agree to this, if you want to know where your friend is just login to facebook  . Also, not to mention few of my friends have started talking to their husband/wives or better-half on facebook. One of my friend even wrote on his fiancĂ©e wall, “ITS TIME” 10 seconds before getting married and then we idiots followed the drama congratulating them. HILLARIOUS!!!
All this makes me wonder , with we moving towards the “technology world” are we sacrificing those wonderful things around us which we might regret later. Now a days if you tell people to cut down on facebook and try to meet people socially, the response we get is we are going backwards again. Is that true? Or is it something we all should stop and think about for a minute.
I use to be the one who talks for hours and listen for ages from my friends. I remember my Mom use to say someday that idiot box is going to rule the world, and I could see my friends just staring at that TV  I wonder whether it has already happened. I wonder me buying this awesome TV was a mistake. I wonder whether facebook is really a social website or is something who is making us more lazy. I cant believe people updating there website without fail everyday but not calling friends or even for that matter their families.
Hmm.. something to think about….. I guess…….

Sunday, January 8, 2012

What Am I Cribbing About?

Last two days I realized a decent truth of my life. I am a working professional, who like any other professionals crib about all the inventions that have happened for the past decade. I happened to watch a show “Hilarious” from a stand-up comedian Louis C.K.and out of no-where followed it with a complete opposite genre, a Hindi movie Kabul Express and as if I was not done, followed my parade with a documentary from North Koreans. I am not sure what message the movie wanted to give to the audience or even if the director intended to give any message, but I think the show Hilarious and the documentary had already taken me to a world of reality-check and Kabul-Express just gave the last push. It was as if some external force trying to talk to me.
I have been to US now for 5 years and I think I have the issues what I like to call as “no-problem” issues. Let me explain this further, recently I had been to California. All said and done my excuse for delaying my trip was, it is a long flight from Raleigh, North Carolina and I had just come from India which is again 18 hours long flight. (CAUTION: My just been to India was like a month back). So looks like I was cribbing about six hours long flights which in olden times use to take 30 days with a life threatening risk involved. Also, to add to it I did not like the one hour lay-over between my connecting flights. I also sometime crib about usual delayed flights and wait on the runway and all kinds of stuff that one can image but dude after the delay; I just flew to my destination. I was actually sitting on a chair in the air. Hhh.. I guess I never thought of these things till now. I don’t think I am here to blame, because since I was born I have enjoyed this luxury. Flying is like an obvious thing for me. I can’t drive to a place which is like miles away, I have to fly.
Do you remember the days when we had a single phone at home, and that was the only point of contact to rest of the world? I don’t, because I never lived it. Mobile is like a necessity for me. When I went to India, the first thing my brother handed to me was a mobile with a pre-paid card. Like any other “youngster” in the town, I complain about the range, the data plan, and the network issues and so on and so forth.
Louis C.K in his show said “Dude, if it bothers you so much, go create your own” and all of a sudden there was a long awaited respect that came to my mind for Dr.Martin Cooper and Wright Brothers . Something else also comes to my mind here, I have been to Wright Brothers National Memorial which is in North Carolina, have seen all those gliders and flying machines of 19’s with appreciation but the moment I sit on a plane, I complain.
So now that I have told about my ugly “no-problem” issues, let me highlight one more thing which category of people have these issues, the one’s who really have no-issues at all. Come on... there are a set of people on this earth who fear or rather are not allowed to walk down the streets as they wish. Problems that we deal are something that they haven’t yet imagined is ever possible. They have different problems to deal with like, am I going to live today, is my family going to die, will I eat today. Women have complete different set of issues. They fear their marriage, something that every girl dreams about here in US and back in my home town since a teenager. The documentary that I watched showed me the fear that these people live in, the pain that has become an everyday affair for them.
I always say, India is my Janam-Bhumi and America is my Karma-Bhumi. I am glad both have given me the best of their worlds. I am blessed with an excellent combination of culture and freedom.I am proud to be an Indian and happy to be in US. Now, when I look back, I ask myself just one thing, seriously what exactly am I cribbing about?

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Security in your homeland ..

We are again flooded with articles concerning security in India after the recent blast.
The same old headlines that I have been so much familiar with now...
"Mumbai still fights" ; "Mumbai does not stop " .. I find all of them ridiculous .. why they don't understand its not that we don't stop by this tragic incidents .. it's just that we can't if we want to live.
Anyways.. with all this drama surrounded by the tragedy. I found an article which made sense .. a lot of sense ..

Why My Father Hated India