Kunal Mahajan's Blog

Mera Desh Chor Hai ?

2011-04-07T10:54:00.001-07:00

This amusing title is not taken from a Bollywood potboiler, but it was what I had read on the back of a truck 15 years ago, when as a kid I was touring Rajasthan with my family. The writing on the truck obviously didn’t go too well with my dad , who had then howled an abuse on seeing the same.

I , being a kid was indifferent then. But to think of it today – What was actually wrong with the writing ???. To me = Absolutely NOTHING.

If one were to go by the Headlines in 2009-2010 , it is tough to find a single day when the newspaper headline did not mention a SCAM.

· CommonWealth Games Scam

Officially worth 8,000 crores , it discounts the various projects worth another few hundred crores that Kalmadi has got in his sons name.

· 2G Telecom Scam

Fondly called ‘The mother of all scams’ , it has caused an overall loss of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore to the government.

· Adarsh Scam

Plot taken in name of martyrs , Adarsh scam saw all whose who from politicians to IAS to IPS to even ex army personnel getting into it.

· ISRO Spectrum Scam

We’ve heard a lot of misdoings of the USA but have you ever heard of NASA getting on the wrong side of the law. Well India’s NASA (read ISRO) is just the opposite.

· IPL Scam

Who can forget Lalit Modi and his mischief’s as the IPL boss?

· Satyam Scam

Satyam is the biggest fraud in the corporate history to the tune of Rs. 14000 crore.

· Defence Scam

What can be more shameful than the Nation’s elite Army being involved in some or the other scam as the years go by.

These scams were worth lakhs of crores of rupees and their beneficiaries are just a hand full.

If there was a Olympic Race for the most corrupt Nation , India would strike Gold, year after year, and improving the distance between the distant Runners-Up i.e. Russia. The Swiss Banking Association report, 2006 figures speak for themselves.

TOP FIVE Deposits with Swiss Banks

INDIA $1,456 BILLION

RUSSIA $470 BILLION

U.K. $390 BILLION

UKRAINE $100 BILLION

CHINA $96 BILLION

Simple Math tells us that India with $1,456 billion or $1.4 trillion has more money in Swiss banks than rest of the world combined. This amount is about 13 times larger than the country's foreign debt. With this amount 45 crore poor people can get Rs 1,00,000 each.

This is the country where officially 37.2% of the population is poor and 21 per cent of the Indian population is undernourished. According to the World Bank, 46 per cent of Indian children below the age of five are underweight, and the World Food Program says that close to 30 per cent of the world's hungry live in India

The country's overwhelming population is often given as an excuse to justify poverty and starvation in India. This theory is applicable only if the state itself is poor and has no means to procure enough food for its people. India is not poor, even though 70 per cent of Indians are. And the reason India cannot be called poor is – the richest of Industrialists today are Indians , the fastest growing Economy is India. But the concentration of wealth only in a few hands is a reason for great worry – the divide between the Rich and Poor , Rural and Urban , Educated and Illiterate in India is only widening with each new day.

There are many countries in the world that got their Independence after India and are already doing much better than India.

· How many years is the Aam-Aadmi going to bear all this injustice?

· Will we be asking for Roti, Kapada, Makan, Sadak, Bijli even after 100 years after Independence ?

· How many years are we going to ask for reservations and shun real education ?

· How many years do we want to help the Government keep minorities backward and keep them wanting ?

· How many times are we going to elect the same bloody corrupt politicians, who on their Election Affidavit claim to own no Car , but are seen roaming around in Imported sedans worth crores ?

Talking of the last point , I find it amusing when a Sharad Pawar or a Rahul Gandhi says he owns no car, when the whole of Pune knows that each inch of prime land here belongs to the former. (Did anyone say Lavassa ?? Ohh I hear Magarpatta and Amonora too. And lets not forget who allowed DB Realty to take away the Yerwada Police Station Land :) ). And the world knows that the latter’s family should be a majority shareholder in the billions slashed in Swiss banks.

It is high time now the Indian in us rose to the occasion and help curb corruption by standing, solid as a rock, behind Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh and Arvind Kejriwal and by lending support to the Jan Lokpal Bill.

A look at the salient features of Jan Lokpal Bill:

1. An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up

2. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.

3. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.

4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.

5. How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.

6. So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month's time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.

7. But won't the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won't be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.

8. What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.

9. What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

10. It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption.

Mercurial Vistas - A Long Wait

2010-10-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is a story of a boy from a small village and his tryst with education, and after.

Circa 1987-92
Born in a small-time farmer’s joint family of 7 members, in a remote village of Maharashtra, his arrival was celebrated with great pomp by the family, affluent, only by the village standards. Being the first grandchild of the family head, he was nicknamed “Bhaiya” meaning “the elder”.

Everything was going smooth, until one of the neighbor; one day said “What a rogue kid”. Being the pampered child, everything was meant to be ignored; however, his naughty-by-nature attitude was being seen as a great hindrance to his healthy upbringing, if he were to have one. After his countless pranks and innumerable complaints by all and sundry, the decision was made. The boy was to join a Boarding School in Pune, better known as ‘Oxford of the East’.

Circa 1992-94
The 90s was such a time that things weren’t really costly in Pune, and for a family of four working individuals (though three of them were farmers), the finances were the least concern, atleast initially.

With the help of one of the relatives, an appointment was arranged with the Principal of the most prestigious school in Pune- The Bishop's School, Pune. However, it's not tough to conclude that there was no place for the uncouth in the premier institute. This was Pune , a very big city , and thankfully, no efforts were made to throw the weight around, by any of the family members.

One of the suggestions heeded by the boy’s father, worked like a miracle. “ Admit the boy in another school for his LKG, UKG. Let him learn English there, and excel in studies. Then come back here “ .

In 1994, the same Principal was more than happy to admit the child, who in the previous two years had learned much more than what was required of his age.

Circa 1994 -2004
The first few years were definitely like fish out of water for the boy who hadn’t seen multi stories building, hadn’t heard such crisp English, never seen people wear a blazer before. Conversations were very tough to make, because the confidence was inadequate. Time being the best healer, things fell in place soon, and the uncouth villager was being groomed to be a Thorough Gentleman.

Just when things were going all right, and expectations were being set high , something happened that changed the entire mettle of his life. February 6, 2000 , his father came to visit him in school, along with his friends. However, little did the boy know, it could be last time to feel loved. February 11, 2000 was the last time his father breathed- the boy was orphaned. The father met with a deadly road accident near his village , killing him on the spot.

This left the entire family devastated and the entire village in disarray. Hundreds that had gathered to pay their last respects were unable to console the sobbing family. Amidst the great grief, a strong decision, that of sending the boy immediately back to the school, was taken.

Being always surrounded by friends and teachers, all of whom were very dear and close to him, the boy never missed anything. His life was just the same as before, except when he got emotional letters from his mother and grandfather. Barely in his teens, the boy gathered great courage not only to console his folks at home, but also to not break the sad news to any of his friends, lest they start consoling him and reminding him of the horror.

Academic life was never hampered as such, however back home , the joint family had grown to 13 and with the gem of the house no more, finances were a reason of concern. Sympathy in his favor, his education was never hampered, and deservedly so, the boy excelled in all frontiers at school.

But all this while the boy didn’t realize what preparation were going on to facilitate ‘ his present ‘. With the draught setting in, the farmer's family unable to make ends meet had to borrow money at 16-18 % interest from banks, more so because June was not only the time to pay fees, it was the time of harvest too. Gold jewelry was sold too, and when the boy heard it- he was shattered.

Leaving no stone unturned the boy passed his Class X Board Exams with flying colors and sought admission in the esteemed Fergusson College in Pune city.

Circa 2004-2010
Passing out from a premier school helped him make many good friends. After 12 years in a boarding school, college was a free jungle- no restrictions, no rules, and unfortunately- no studies. The materialistic greenery of College spelled doom for him. He just managed to scrape through his Class XII Board Exams and his performance in his Engineering Entrance was even worse. The ‘hep-n-happening’ crowd of the college airs surrounded him no more. He had realized his follies, but time had passed.

Being unable to seek admission for Engineering in Information Technology stream (which he wanted very badly) even in the not-so-good colleges, he realized why it is said “Survival of the Fittest”.

This had many ramifications back home. Figures being pointed, falling in the eyes -were just the façade. Sympathy was no more, and neither was the will to arrange for the currency needed for the most crucial phase of his academic life.

Disappointment notwithstanding, the boy’s grandfather arranged for the moolah in a surreptitious manner and repaid the boy’s Uncle-in-Pune, [ who was the farthest in blood relation, but closest in understanding the meaning of “blood”] , who had already paid the required amount in a college that was willing to admit the boy. This, obviously was done through a few contacts and paying a bribe too, but then, principles were to be kept at bay, at least then.

“The first year in Engineering in Pune University is the toughest”, was the one sentence he heard countless times, right on the first day in the Engineering College. Having already realized his follies, and willing to make amends, the boy started life afresh. Passing the 1^st semester with a decent score increased his confidence, (he couldn’t get back all that he lost, so soon though) , and he passed the 1^st year with a First Class.

Now that the academic life was getting on the right track, things had to go wrong in some quarter. The brothers of his late father, were unhappy that courtesy was shown to the boy despite him failing the “Trust Test” a year before. They were right in their own way, since they had toiled hard for the money that was put in, which they could’ve invested for their own children too, who now were pretty much needing the same kind of education that the boy enjoyed. The boy wasn’t their “own”, is only an emotional misact, practicality should be the norm in 21^st century, and so it was.

As though this wasn’t enough, a few property issues started to crop up. Not that the land was worth anything substantially “priceless”, it was enough for the feud to break up the joint family of 60 years.

Back in college, the boy didn’t enjoy his college very much and obviously so, it wasn’t like any of the premier institutes he had had the opportunity to study in. There was very little he could do, and even if he wanted to, things back home weren’t very smooth to ask for support. His aged grandparent’s, and his widowed mother’s tireless labor was helping pay for his education. Since other members of his erstwhile joint family were only indifferent to his condition, they deserve no mention.

2010
Being in the final year of his engineering expectations were high again, more so back home, since the last three years had been great in the academic sense. Campus Placements is single criterion an engineering institute is known for, nowadays. Being from a lesser known college, he was hesitant to dream big, although all his friends from other reputed institute had been placed with handsome pay packages and in firms of great repute. As they say “Every Dog has its Day”, and so did this one from an underdog institute. The pay offered was less but the Company was a reputed one. “ Beggars cannot be choosers “ could actually describe the situation better.

September 2010
The boy joins the training academy of the Software firm he was placed in through campus recruitment. Going away from Pune was little lamentable as compared to the prospects of finally getting a chance to make up for the time lost – the time to prove himself had come.

October 1, 2010
After a hard day of training, the boy is sitting on his study table reading “ The Complete Reference –Java” , on which he is to be tested the following Monday, he overhears his friend's jovial chord “ Our 1^st salary has been credited”.

Without getting too excited he completed the chapter he had been reading, before heading to the ATM to read “ Your Account has been credited with Rs 10,400 /-“.. Blame it on the mediocrity of middle-class-family ideas, or the paucity of funds he might have faced, though it was just a meager stipend, he finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel.

Happiness knew no bound this day, when the boy actually realized he was the 1^st Software Engineer from his small hamlet of 1000 odd people. Though life could’ve been more beautiful had a few godforsaken circumstances not been reality, “All’s well that Ends Well”

Though it’ s just a beginning, the boy dreams that he will someday go back to the village, and help create a few such stories that start from - being a farmer’s son- getting educated to be a software engineer- and perhaps going back again to help some else toe a line alike.

PS: The writer himself is the " boy " being talked about.

TeArS ! !

2010-05-07T01:01:00.000-07:00

There are times when you don't really understand what is troubling you . One such time these thoughts troubled me even more.

Sometimes , I don't know why ,

I feel all alone even in a crowd.

And when before sleeping I try to reason - why ? ,

Tears flow down through my eyes.

After a few minutes when I've just about started

thinking -why ? ,

I start weeping thinking -why ?

Knowing there's no one even to wipe my tears ,

I gently console my own self , and

I start crying out , again

thinking -why ?

A Cricket Fan's Letter to Lalit Modi

2010-04-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

My Dearest Lalit Modi ,
   On the onset Congratulations !!! ... your little baby called IPL is a $ 4 Billion Enterprise 2day, not to mention the many case studies designed to study its success by the most prestigious B-Schools, all around. You obviously know I'm not mad to write to you for only this.

   Since your exit from IPL is most likely , it is my sincere request to reveal all the insider information you have regarding the irregularities regarding the same. This will help you explain your side of the story and inevitably help the Nation know who the (more important) culprits are.

   It is no surprise that the most powerful politicos are only bothered of getting tax exemptions for the IPL matches , in the state of their influence, while the people they represent are made to pay tax on the tickets they buy. Had you paid tax to Maharashtra Govt. , it could've helped the state repay at-least a small amount of the huge debt , the burden of which it is already reeling under..

   So many watts of electricity is made available for IPL , but why does my neighbor die in the operation theater due to power failure , why do my farmer friends have be awake all nite watering their fields (cos there in no power the whole day)

   The IPL saga is making me believe that the Sharjah Days were better , atleast we knew who is fixing n who is betting. Today the same people may be investing under many benami transactions ..n You are thinking you are the only one taking us for a ride.. remember the nation has had enough of terror in the form of Let, JeM etc ..n also in the form fake currency ..bollywood funding et all.

   Do u genuinely think that the people of this Nation are fools enough to believe that the Lok Sabha Elections 2009, was the sole reason to shift the IPL-2 venues from India to South Africa (where betting is legal , not to mention the many white collared criminals who have made it their sweet abode) ???

   Such transactions are only making the Indian diaspora weaker, cos our elections are rigged , our money is fake , the proceeds of our investment in property or a movie ticket go to some one (you know who) sitting in Dubai and now ..you are giving us feeling that by watching IPL we are only harming ourselves.

   Complaints are many .. Just hope you get an honorable exit you sincerely deserve to having made your services available to IPL (Not for all the things mentioned above ... but for making a little money for our Cricketers too). More importantly , please expose as many culprits as you can - not much for saving urself , but for this Nations Cricketing fans , who keep enjoying the matches , not knowing its all a fixed drama of power, money, alcohol et all ..and that cricket is just the facade.

   Thanking you for having given the nation a thing called IPL. My Best Wishes to you for your life ahead , and sincerely hope you use your intellect , charisma, and well built connections to generate another $ 4 billion (infact even more), but in a more genuine and transparent business model.

   Yours truely,
   Kunal Mahajan
   [A once-upon-a-time avid Cricket Fan]

Gandhigiri -> Comments on my Facebook Post

2010-02-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Rahul Gandhi visited Mumbai.. n I posted a comment on my Facebook wall.. n here are one of the most strong comments that it invited ..take a look

Note # 1 : These are the private views of the individuals , and I request the same to be respected.
Note # 2 : Please do not frame opinions about me or any individual based only on the following conversation
Note # 3 : Please DONT FORGET to read the Summary at the end of the post without any prejudice

Kunal Mahajan Rahul Gandhi visits Mumbai.Big Deal ya, who's really bothered.All that he wanted to do was make his presence felt..in the wake of Bihar Assembly Elections to follow soon, N ya.. How can a particular City belong to ne particular kinda ppl.We all knoe it. U need no brains to answer dat... however.. our politicians seem to have nothin better to do than earn gud TRPs for the news hungry Media. Indian media sux big time

Yesterday at 9:59pm

· Comment · Unlike

You, Dhiraj Rane, Sahil Kanjwani, Wasim Wani and 11 others like this.

Rahul Patil for the first time i really felt shiv sena is being run by a coward dats uddhav not balasaheb!!! when the leader is insane what do you expect from its followers

Yesterday at 10:18pm ·

Vikas Hirekumbi aha dude watch out 4 wat ur sayin...there mite b sum worshiper of d sena listenin..............lols

Yesterday at 10:21pm ·

Kunal Mahajan m nt against the sena...at all... but... fanatism is ruining the nation... media is more destructive than our politicos

Yesterday at 10:48pm ·

Nisarga Sharma u \m/ ROCK \m/ dude

Yesterday at 10:49pm ·

Geetika Handoo there's no end to this debate... no one here is good they just fillin up there account and we followin them like moron's

Yesterday at 11:58pm ·

Rushi Pol Tax maharastra pays to the central government, is distributed among some states...... The influx has to stop.... Develop your own region... Don't betray your people... These people think the incoming is free.... go back to your people.... Let us be....

Today at 1:54am ·

Kshitiz Chauhan The point is why to hurt anyone in our country for no reason whatsoever.Issues could be created out of anything.

We are one country and everyone has a right for comment but lets ensure that it does not get personal to anyone.It is easy to hurt anyone but it is difficult to win one's trust and affection.

Today at 2:01am ·

Sanjay Singh Bisht what u mean my immigrants we all are pl of one country.....we dnot need passports to travel i india...so from where this immigrant thing came..

Today at 7:05am ·

Kunal Mahajan thanx 4 da comments folks... did u realise one thing -> How each 1 of us got carried away with ones own ideas and beleifs.... dats what these politicians do... they take us for granted...cos they know that the public is feather brained.... and the media plays this dirty game hands n gloves with these politicos.. remember the "malegaon blast case"... where the Congress tried to take advantage by giving the press a new jargon "Hindu Terror"... dats how easy it is for these ppl to create differences betwn us... they r no better than the British who Divided & Conquered... if nebody is to be blamed for these shitty state of affairs, it is we - who get influenced far-too-easily by the media... M glad RGV showed the vulgar side of the press in his movie Rann... i was actually hoping for such an eye opener for my countrymen...a long time since... there is a conspiracy in every controversy that the media creates 2day.. gone are the days when the media played an instrumental role in promoting Swadeshi and Satyagraha... dont build your opinion by reading a certain section of the media... United we Stand and Divided we Fall... dats true... but regional issues are as important for the Nations Integrity as are the National Security issues for World peace. Some1 will polarize a certain elements to be State fanatics... while the other will make us believe that taking High Moral ground is the only hope for sustaining national unity... well folks.. these are all gimmicks... its time we realised that the true colours of our Nation are not those that our so-called-Leaders want us to see through..

Jai Hind..JAi Maharashtra...

(Note i've written Hind B4 Maharashtra..and it shall be the same...always)

Today at 10:06am ·

Rushi Pol @Tatsam: U can settle in any part of the country no doubt.... but its the influx I'm talking about.... loads and loads of people come here taking the jobs those r rightfully ours... They live in slums.... If the same thing happens in J&K they'll do the same.... And people here fight for reservations... There shouldn't be any reservations... There are enough jobs available for our people... Don't even get me started on that....

Today at 11:44am ·

Rushi Pol @kunal: Pick a side..........

Today at 11:51am ·

Amar Ghorpade More so the congress party says it has done things to protect the rights of maharastrian people in mumbai, whereas ud see that all kinds of people have reservations in mumbai and no one but the marathi manoos has no one to turn to. there are no reservations these out siders benefit in alll walks on life money,education ,jobs travelling etc.these people come frm outside and do dadagiri on marathis.and bcoz of these things there are very few maharashtrian peopleleft in mumbai.take it frm me i hv lived there my entire life!

11 hours ago ·

Amar Ghorpade I dont hav nething against non maharashtrian people i just want to make it clear that both the thakeras and the gandhis are just doing politics they r just playing games wid everyone!

11 hours ago ·

Rushi Pol Amar man we have to clean up the mess.... I don't know why these people don't work in their own region ...I wont go in U.P. or Biihar to work..... They are betraying there own land ... Its like stab in the back... Drive taxis there.. I'm sure people there would love to travel in taxis ....

11 hours ago ·

Wasim Wani Thackreys r playing very old cards, instead of waving their stick on biharis and up wallas , why dont they raise real issues dat r haunting maharshtra. Most f maharshtrian popultn is composed f farmers, these poor fellows dont give a damn shit whether mumbai belongs to marathis or not. For instance take dis,agricltr minister of india s from maharshtra and farmers of mahrstra r suffering most.Nearly 29,000 farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra between 1997 and 2005, official data show. No other State comes close to that total.have thackreys ever raised such issues

Regarding congress they r bloody hypocrites. Media ,entertainment,financal world evrythng has been hired by them, so they can always turn tide in their favour no matter wat it costs.so itz time to wake up and give a good kick at their bloody asses instead of getting locked in loggerheads and scratching each others heads....

8 hours ago ·

Rushi Pol @Tatsam: You don't get the point do u? How many u think travel to new york......What kind of merit is required to drive a taxi, or do a menial work... Jobs like these are taken up by immigrants thru bribes and illegal licenses.... Mumbai is a financial center... yes ... who made it??? biharis??? Why is bihar or UP not a cosmopolitan or a financial center... U know these are just "terms".... The government jobs like the ones in railways... Locals should be given preference first and its the law... We are not talking about Engineers or about the people with good degrees .... Its the less privileged people.. Those jobs.. they come here [ "LONDHE" ] ... live in slums... get these jobs and settle here ?? why cause its a financial center.... This has to stop...

8 hours ago ·

Sanjay Singh Bisht @RUSHI ....WHO GAVE U THE RIGHT OR ANY PERSON TO DECIDE WHERE I SHD LIVE AND WORK ....THERE ARE PPL FROM MAHARASHTRA WHO ARE WORKING ABROAD SO THEY ARE TAKING THERE JOBS ...EVERY TOM DICK HARRY FROM HERE WANT TO GO ABROAD SO TATS CORRECT 'DO U THING SO'??? ITS ONE COUNTRY WE CAN LIVE ANY WHERE ANY WORK ANY WHERE ....AND DUDE THE MAXIMUM PPL IN TOP POSITION IN ANY COMPANIES ARE NORTH INDIANS TELL ME HOW MANY COMPANIES HAVE TOP OFFICIALS FROM UR SO CALLED LAND...ITS JUST THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST....SO ACCEPT THE FACT.....

7 hours ago ·

Abhinav Iyer woah!!!..why r some ppl so regionalistic here??..@sanjay-u mention 'one country' n later go on to discriminate...strange!!

@rushi-'immigrants' r not to blame..who stopped our(marathi) ppl from driving taxis or doing other menial jobs..d bihari's never stopped us..is it forbidden??..so blame d government n not d ppl u call "mess"..

7 hours ago ·

Abhinav Iyer its like accusin d person b4 u in the queue who got d last ticket for a movie n the point about bribes n illegal licenses..its like penalising d person buying d ticket in black n ignoring d person selling those tickets..

7 hours ago ·

Sanjay Singh Bisht @ABHINAV....I WANTED TO MAKE A PT ...M TOTALLY AGAINST THIS SHIV SENA AND MNS THING ....LET PPL LIVE ...THEY ARE BREAKING A COUNTRY

6 hours ago ·

Abhinav Iyer n finally mumbai is d financial capital BECAUSE of its diversity not inspite of it!!!..get over dis regionalistic debate guys!!!instead of lamenting d loss of jobs of marathi youth celebrate d 11.4% growth reate of 'bihar' in 2009 or d growth of jharkhand or orissa for dat matter

6 hours ago ·

Sanjay Singh Bisht I AGREE WITH U TATSAM......

6 hours ago ·

Deepak D Phopase @Tatsam:Wat kind of bullshit ur speaking "wiping ur regional ass" . dont u have respect nd love for ur own state and its people ? u r just behaving like a Lunatic who just wants to force his views on others . y dont u blame the regional politicos of the states whose poor people hav 2 migrate for jobs in such huge nos. r they not to blame in this context. i dont understand dis biased frame of mind these people hav towards us . We never blame the people for migrating in maharashtra ,we have always welcomed everybody with open arms . But dont these regional politicians feel the need to develop their own state rather than letting their people to settle in other states ndthen fight over their fundamental rights??

**Everyone plz mind ur language wen u speak on such sensitive issues so tat nobodys sentiments r hurt**

5 hours ago ·

Wasim Wani i m enjoying this....Guys plz go on...and use some fucking dirty language. Dont act like gentleman, otherwise facebook will loose its purpose

4 hours ago ·

Sanjay Singh Bisht I LOVE PPL OF MY COUNTRY.....I DNOT WANNA BE BIASED WITH PPL FROM A PARTICULAR PART OF OUR GREAT NATION....

2 hours ago ·

Rushi Pol Let me make things clear first.. I'm not talking about the corporate sector, or students with higher degrees... My only concern is with the jobs for the less privileged. Now here are some facts. 1)24 nov. 2003 53 migrants were killed in Assam as a part of anti migrants campaign. 2) On June 06 2009 2 Biharis were killed in karnataka 3)In 2009 KPF (karnataka protection Force) stormed the exam centers in protest of Bihari candidates. 4) Indira gandhi on 13 December 1972 said and I quote in LOK SABHA “ While we stand for the principle that any Indian should be able to work in any part of India. At the same time it is true, that if a large number of people from outside come to seek employment, that is bound to create tension in that area. Therefore, while I do not like the idea of having any rule, one has to have a balance and see that the local people are not deprived of employment”

Sanjay Neerupam says he’ll distribute lathis among biharis in Mumbai.. How do u think I’ll respond to that. … The slums in Mumbai consists of 54% of the migrants (highest in India)

Now you talk about Mumbai being a financial center.. There was a ‘Sanyukta Maharastra Andolan’ in 1960 and Mumbai was a part of Maharastra. 55 Marathi people died in the Andolan… So its upto us…

Now what I don’t understand is that there is violence against the migrants far worse than Maharatra in other states. Why are people not talking about that …

The next time you even think of speaking against a MARATHI … first go fuck yourself…..

2 hours ago ·

Kunal Mahajan tatsam..lets not get vulgar here..

2 hours ago ·

Wasim Wani @RUSHI : Had i been at ur place may b i wold have reacted in somewhat similar manner..though i would not have been carried by the holow slogans of these politicians as u r.Its all a hogwash. I can understand ur Sentiments, but then ur frst responsibiity is towards ur contry and its integrity. Instead f blaming biharis and up wallas , try 2 find out d reasn as to why local population is getting marginalised...U know all big entrepnrs in mumbai r Gujaratis, marwadis, from all sections of society.So mumbai is collective effort not an isolated one.

Regarding problem f slums, most f them r bangladeshis..here again itz becoz f vested intersts of ur poiticians that they r not deriven out

2 hours ago ·

Rushi Pol @Wasim: These are my thoughts ..... Me Maharastra cha , Maharastra Majha .....

2 hours ago ·

Wasim Wani @rushi : i wish u would have added a little indian flavour in that comment

2 hours ago ·

Kunal Mahajan hw is one any-lesser-indian if one talks like Rushi above

2 hours ago ·

Wasim Wani @kunal : comment like that makes one sound linguistic

2 hours ago ·

Kunal Mahajan @wasim is being linguistic a threat to national integrity.....o wat

about an hour ago ·

Wasim Wani @kunal: i think u still haven't learned any lesson from 1000 years of slavery under foreign rule..yeh dil mange more..bang

about an hour ago ·

Kunal Mahajan @tatsam r u giving up o somethin,, plz dont... express ur views freely.. only dont use abusive language

about an hour ago ·

Sanjay Singh Bisht @RUSHI..... IF ALL THE NORTH INDIANS GO FROM MAHARASHTRA .....MAHARASHTRA WILL COLLAPSE IN A MOMENT....

about an hour ago ·

Wasim Wani @sanjay : thats too mean

about an hour ago ·

Kunal Mahajan @ Sanjay what i fail to understand is..y is everybody fighting..n y isnt ne1 paying ne heed to what i said in my mornings post... i'll paste it here gain..ppl plz go thru it...

did u realise one thing -> How each 1 of us got carried away with ones own ideas and beleifs.... dats what these politicians do... they take us for granted...cos they know that the public is feather brained.... and the media plays this dirty game hands n gloves with these politicos.. remember the "malegaon blast case"... where the Congress tried to take advantage by giving the press a new jargon "Hindu Terror"... dats how easy it is for these ppl to create differences betwn us... they r no better than the British who Divided & Conquered... if nebody is to be blamed for these shitty state of affairs, it is we - who get influenced far-too-easily by the media... M glad RGV showed the vulgar side of the press in his movie Rann... i was actually hoping for such an eye opener for my countrymen...a long time since... there is a conspiracy in every controversy that the media creates 2day.. gone are the days when the media played an instrumental role in promoting Swadeshi and Satyagraha... dont build your opinion by reading a certain section of the media... United we Stand and Divided we Fall... dats true... but regional issues are as important for the Nations Integrity as are the National Security issues for World peace. Some1 will polarize a certain elements to be State fanatics... while the other will make us believe that taking High Moral ground is the only hope for sustaining national unity... well folks.. these are all gimmicks... its time we realised that the true colours of our Nation are not those that our so-called-Leaders want us to see through..

Jai Hind..JAi Maharashtra...

(Note i've written Hind B4 Maharashtra..and it shall be the same...always)

about an hour ago ·

Wasim Wani @sanjay: u should learn 2 rspect local culture and its traditions....Dont make any shitty comments like that

about an hour ago ·

Anant Chauhan he's no less n Indian but all i see is that he's actually more concerned about one state than the Country...anyways Kunal totally in your support..blame the media brothers..nd dont be so inflenced by it...

by the way

Anyone remembers da pledge...or it was just for the sake of it that you guys use to recite it in school.

about an hour ago ·

Kunal Mahajan @sanjay let your language project your responsibility towards society.. and not your ignorance

about an hour ago ·

Rohit Kulkarni kunal, jab 2 comments aaye the.. tabhi maine bola tha.. ye post tera hit hone wala hai.. :D

about an hour ago ·

Wasim Wani Kunal is a very shrewd man...He knows where 2 strike a chord

about an hour ago ·

Dhiraj Rane Let me tell u da most impt. thing: The person who is behind all this issue, Mr. Balasaheb Thackerey, who shows, dat he seriously wants to fight for sons-of-da-land, himself was born in Indore...I, and a lot of ppl hav been born and bought up in Maharashtra..Now....wat if we ppl ask him, if u aren't born in Maharashtra, if ur roots aren't from Maharashtra,who da hell has given u rights to fight for us ppl? We, don't want to get into all these crap things...we just want Maharashtra to prosper...and this is not at all possible wid Shiv-sena and M.N.S luring around da lobby of state assembly...

Let me ask 1 more thing...wot gr8 miracles has Rahul Gandhi done by visiting Mumbai, by changing da routes of da plan?

In his interviews wid students, he too criticized da Thackerey family...Was dat da maturity level he was to show to every1?

Y shud he increase da cold war...He is always welcome to bring prosperity to Maharashtra,but plzzzz.....these visits, are a bloody show-off and he shud stop doin it...waste of time, waste of police resources..and just a big waste of time..a complt day OFF to da state assembly...

WE all shud say 'Jai Maharashtra'...but it shud be said wid our own will..not any political pressure...

and plzz, all u western-culture-hyped ppl, saying it is not indecent or 'gavthi', as u ppl keep saying it...plzzz...it u r truly proud, flaunt it...

50 minutes ago ·

Omkar Bhagat I'm MNS supporter so down goes Uddhav..

48 minutes ago ·

Wasim Wani @dhiraj: good one

47 minutes ago ·

Omkar Bhagat Mumbai belongs to Maharashtrians first then to others.

44 minutes ago ·

Wasim Wani @omkar: Here comes another very political sceintist who's comments were very much needed... "Mumbai belongs to Maharashtrians first then to others" is a very childish statemnt a big joke.Omkars plzz do some googling and find out who r leading honchos in financial and entertainment world in mumbai . And plzz stop inflicting ur stinking society here

37 minutes ago ·

Dhiraj Rane @ U all EHSAAN FARAMOSH NORTH INDIANS : ppl say y shud we hurt any outsiders...wot da hell is this? i mean u keep on sending sewage frm ur states in my state and we build up OUR Govt. for Ur SEWAGE-MANAGEMENT??? U ppl occupy prime locations in our cities, use our resources, eat up our jobs,increase da crime-rate,destroy our culture, and uppar se, U want we ppl to behave in accordance wid u ppl? Go and shove off ur *#&@$..u ppl r just turning to bcum a head-ache for us ppl...plzzz...leave our state...dont u ppl hav, even a little bit of self-respect??? we r literally throwing u ppl out of our state, and still u BHIKARIS want to stay here?

27 minutes ago ·

Pushkar Joshi Mumbai surely belongs to whole India but there's some truth in the issue raised by MNS/Shiv Sena. The railway recruitment adverts weren't published in Newspapers in Maharashtra ... However in Bihar every newspaper the ads were presented... Thats the apathy of our state.

27 minutes ago ·

Omkar Bhagat wasim shud read these comments nw also d following links if he's so anti mumbai supporter

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/90-job-reservation-for-unskilled-labour/341303/

23 minutes ago ·

Omkar Bhagat kunal add up something man...

23 minutes ago ·

Wasim Wani @Omkar: Dont tell me this resrvtn bullshit...If orissa govt has done it does that justify that.

17 minutes ago ·

Kunal Mahajan fact of the matter is... to keep this nation flourishing and united... we need a very strong Govt. to balance well between the regional interests n da national 1s....

each one of them needs to dealt with differently yet in coherency,., Jobs should be made available to the locals... specially the unskilled jobs... the poor of one state cannot be starved in da name of national integrity.... 1 shud knw whre to take a moral high ground n when to respect regional sentiments

16 minutes ago ·

Wasim Wani @dhiraj: I said to omkar Now i m telling u."STOP INFLICTING YOUR STINKING SOCIETY HERE".india has no dearth of goons like u,Itz becoz f ppl like u that india sufferd under foriegn rule for so many years. There is only one sentence for ppl like u. "GET THE HELL OUT OF INDIA".

14 minutes ago ·

Wasim Wani @ i THINK COMMENTS OF KUNAL VERY WELL SUM UP THIS DEBATE

13 minutes ago ·

Deepak D Phopase Hey guys where is this Tatsam . He seems to have vanished all of a sudden .He is the one who instigated this debate agressively. He has no balls i suppose coz he cant stand his ground nd tats the reason y he has deleted his posts.

32 seconds ago ·

Rushi Pol @all: If u guys know who Anbumani Ramadoss is... He casted a slur against Rajnikant... Rajnikant says he is tamil... speak tamil... still someone like Ramadoss says he is not a tamil only cause he was not born there... What should we do to these north indians who live here and detest MAHARASTRA...

These migrants live here illegally in slums .... They are given 300 Sq ft place to live.... And a policeman, government employee is left deprived.... Electricity is provided to these slums ... and the farmers are living with 14 hours of load shedding....

There is nothing against Gujrathis, south indians, or guys from the east...cause leaders from there don't come here in maharastra and encourage them against us... have you ever seen jaya lalita, or karunanihi????? no.... but these biharis like sanjay nirupam are talking about distributing lathis to other U.P. guys...

Once a guy told me "Neone is allowed to work anywhere" and all the crap.... I asked him a simple thing... what will you do if a guy from other building plays in your compound and breaks all the windows and dirty the place??? He said "He'll kick him out" ......... "Well dats what we are doing" I said..... We don't want you guys in our compund......

SUMMARY

Kunal Mahajan -> thanx 4 da comments folks... did u realise one thing -> How each 1 of us got carried away with ones own ideas and beliefs.... dats what these politicians do... they take us for granted...cos they know that the public is feather brained.... and the media plays this dirty game hands n gloves with these politicos.. remember the "malegaon blast case"... where the Congress tried to take advantage by giving the press a new jargon "Hindu Terror"... dats how easy it is for these ppl to create differences betwn us... they r no better than the British who Divided & Conquered... if nebody is to be blamed for these shitty state of affairs, it is we - who get influenced far-too-easily by the media... M glad RGV showed the vulgar side of the press in his movie Rann... i was actually hoping for such an eye opener for my countrymen...a long time since... there is a conspiracy in every controversy that the media creates 2day.. gone are the days when the media played an instrumental role in promoting Swadeshi and Satyagraha... dont build your opinion by reading a certain section of the media... United we Stand and Divided we Fall... dats true... but regional issues are as important for the Nations Integrity as are the National Security issues for World peace. Some1 will polarize a certain elements to be State fanatics... while the other will make us believe that taking High Moral ground is the only hope for sustaining national unity... well folks.. these are all gimmicks... its time we realised that the true colours of our Nation are not those that our so-called-Leaders want us to see through..

Jai Hind..JAi Maharashtra...

(Note i've written Hind B4 Maharashtra..and it shall be the same...always)

Fact of the matter is... to keep this nation flourishing and united... we need a very strong Govt. to balance well between the regional interests n da national 1s....

each one of them needs to dealt with differently yet in coherency,., Jobs should be made available to the locals... specially the unskilled jobs... the poor of one state cannot be starved in da name of national integrity.... 1 shud knw whre to take a moral high ground n when to respect regional sentiments.

PS : Rather than commenting on the same lines, I would appreciate greatly if the reason for posting such a message is understood and some unhealthy comments like the above are not made in any of our minds, even privately.

Jai Hind Jai Bharat

Winner for Life - My Experience @ SSB

2009-10-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hey there, Just wanna share with u my experience at 22 SSB Bhopal. I am sure you all aware of the regular procedure of the SSB Interview, so I won’t dwell much on it. I reached Bhopal station on 10th July, 2009 early morning. The army people were to pick us up at 2pm... & it was barely 9am then. Getting bored I decided to have a stroll across the street. To my surprise Bhopal was as sad as Bhusaval or something.. well that aside..I reached the Board at 3pm and was shocked to see about 150 + guys like me assembled there ,from all across India, some of whom I had befriended at the station itself. We were allocated chest numbers for identification... n left to relax at our lines or dormitories. I chatted with many candidates there...it was almost like Bharat Braman.. :) Many of them were coming there for the SSB Interview for their n^th time, I as a rookie was actually very nervous.. However the instructions from the army gentlemen put me at ease in no time.

Here’s a day by day story of all that happened there.

Day 1 :

Here we were to get up at (any time you desire), but were to report to our exam room at 6am sharp. By the way, we were supposed to have our breakfast before that J. It was after ages that I was awake so early. Once in the exam hall all 150 of us were addressed by the head of the SSB. Then began the exam –> General Aptitude + Visual Reasoning + Picture Perception Test + Group Discussion. To be very frank I really don’t know what I did, except in the GD where I spoke pretty reasonably. The results were out by 1pm. They were calling out chest numbers ,around 47 from those 150 were selected and were all standing .. however on counting only 46 were standing .. n then came the yelling ”Chest Number 128..are you sleeping”.. I really didn’t know what was happening until the guy next to me reminded me that I was chest no. 128. Finally the man stood up... n there was a laughter....perhaps all were wondering what a **** I was. J

Never the less all congratulated me and the 47 of us were given our new chest numbers.. I was now 34. We all left for seeing off all our other friends who couldn’t make it.

Day 2 –Day4

I was (shooting) eliminating the treacherous of all the enemy on the Pakistan border ...and suddenly I hear a bang.. ohh don’t worry..I wasn’t shot.. it was my alarm clock ticking at 4am..my deep slumber was broken.. all for the good though.. b’cos 2day we had to report on the field at 5am.

Once on the field ..”Gentlemen on the double..you are always suppose to double up once on the field. No lazy walk “ said a strict voice.. our Ground Officers were already there. There were a number of physical activities that we were asked to do..Jump, Run.. Think, Plan..Lecture etc.

Thankfully all these activities used to get over by 10am, at the most. After that we had the whole day to ourselves. Once the lunch was over we would hop into to rickshaw and go site seeing. Bhopal was grand old city.. and it was a delight to see the zoo, the lake, the mosque.. it was all very nice.

This was my routine for the all the three days.

The most amazing part of the SSB was the interview. Many of my friends from the NDA had told me about it..and it turned out to be better than I had expected... it lasted for about an hour..in fact more than an hour... n it was better than sach ka saamna J. The officer asked me about each and every aspect of my life.. and in a matter of an hour he knew me better than I could ever know myself J. I realised a few of my follies only after discussing it with my friends.. few of my answers didn’t really show me in good light. [I can’t write too much here due to obvious reasons, however I am open to discussing it in private]

Day 5

This is what they call the conference round, where almost 10-15 Army Officers (all in uniform for the 1^st time.. badges shining of gold..Spectacular scene..) make you sit in front of them for a short period.. They’ve actually made up their mind as to whom to take..and why. But then this round helps them better their decision. The results were announced shortly. As always the results were astonishing as people we had presumed would make it, actually couldn’t. Only 7 people now were shortlisted for the next round(Medicals), and I WAS NOT one of them. I really couldn’t have made it. [Remember I told you about my interview J ]

We then had lunch and after seeing off (and congratulating) those few lucky guys, left for the Bhopal Junction Railway Station to board a train back to Pune.

Lessons Learnt

· The Indian Army is undoubtedly one of the best in the world, considering their strict selection procedure, amazing Infrastructure, never ending zeal and unmatched Lifestyle.

· Officers from the Armed Forces are the best Gentlemen one can ever meet. No wonder that girls go mad after the men in uniform.

· After having lost all hope (actually respect) in all the examinations that I’ve given , due to their innumerable loopholes, SSB is the only testing funda that I can respect.

· SSB is one of the few immaculate testing procedure, with absolutely NO loopholes, and harnessing the best talent on the Indian soil.

· Though the Indian Armed Forces are facing a shortage of thousands of officers annually, there isn’t a 0.0000000000000000000000000001 % dilution in their selection criterion.

Personal Gain

Once I was just walking from the Candidates Mess to my room on the SSB campus, when suddenly I realised there was a change in the aura around me. It was almost instantly that I realised a positive change in my body language. [I was almost walking like an officer, already].

· On the field when I was asked to complete my Individual tasks, I was very nervous and apprehensive, since it was after almost 5 years that I had actually put on my sports gear. But to my pleasant surprise I not only managed to run quite fast but also jumping from or climbing a 8 feet wall, swaying across a bridge 15m apart using a rope, all just seemed a cake walk. It was just the mere atmosphere that was so encouraging.

· On the journey back from Bhopal, the girl sitting in my compartment was so engrossed in asking me about my SSB Experience, that we became friends almost immediately. [Girls just die for the men in uniform (though I wasn’t really the one..but I had almost become LIKE one)]. :)

· These 5 days taught me more about myself (and life) than the previous 5 years put together. SSB is best Personality Improvement programme one can ever have access to. By the way, it doesn’t cost you even a pence, the Govt. Of India spends nearly Rs. 3000/-,per candidate in those 5 days, your railway fare excluding.

· I was granted a 10 Day Leave from college [By the way, only a RSCOE [ www.rscoe.co.in ] student will know its importance, J].

I was a little disappointed to not have made to the final round, but somewhere all that I had learned in these days enthused an unprecedented confidence in me, just like the one that made some big personalities like Rahul Dravid, Shah Rukh Khan, APJ Abdul Kalam all of whom were at one time SSB Rejected Candidates. The confidence and glory that had been reinforced in myself then, definitely made me feel like “ WINNER FOR LIFE.”

India Vs Bharat 62 - 0

2009-08-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

As the sun rises on the 15th August, 2009 - the world will salute it’s greatest democracy (a universal nation with twenty-eight states, seven union territories, 30 different languages (18 of them officially recognized), 2000 dialects & of course 1.12 billion people of innumerable races and creed.) on its 62nd Independence Day. Most of those 62 years have been politically stable (not to forget the Initial days after Independence, the Emergency etc), technologically advancing and emotionally not that bad. What the world actually adores (and secretly dislike) is India’s stupendous success in Science and Information Technology.

India to the world is known because of IT advancements , talented work force, Nuclear weapons, Cricket, Bollywood , not to forget the beauty pageants every now and then. But these things matter to only about 30-40% Indians who live in the cities.

The rest obviously don’t call themselves Indian, not because they are not proud of the above factors, but because these hardly affect their daily lives. This fairly explains why they prefer to call themselves BHARTIYA , and being called INDIAN really doesn’t suit their native tastes.

Bharat and India are not separate pieces of land. However, they are separate states of mind. The notable point is how rural, backward, under-developed parts of the country are now routinely labelled as “Bharat”, and the non traditional, ethically poor- materialistically rich urban, educated forward, developed parts are conveniently called India.

The obvious irony is of course that “Bharat” which was renowned in history as a region of riches, vast resources and prosperity now connotes the poorest parts of the country.

The villages are yet to be electrified and you cannot reach these villages by any means except once in every 5 years, when of course the politicians make their way to beg for votes. . I beg to make a point here that it’s the only thing they’re good at, anyways.

India cherishes Kalpana Chawla making it to the space, or Sania Mirza going great guns, so much so that we are proud of an Indian playing the lead in Hollywood flick Pink Panther. But many in Bharat don’t even know that Pink is the English name for their Gulabi. The condition of the girl child is very poor because they are not allowed to attend the schools. The girls help their mothers in day to day activities and remain confined to their houses.The schemes of the govt. for the villagers are helping everyone except the villagers, to improve their living. The villagers get grains three or four times only in a year on their Ration cards but the entries are made for the whole year. The quality of the food cooked in midday meal is so poor that children fall ill after eating that food.

But we seem to more bothered ‘whether the new perfume by Gucci is available in India’, or ‘why isn’t Starbucks opening shop here’ ?

In the 1960s when Lal Bahadur Shastri coined the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’, the farmers i.e. 70 % of our population contributed to about 45% of our GDP. Today the farmer contributes to only 16% of our GDP. If we so much love relishing the fact that Industrial Advancement has been unprecedented in India, why aren’t we ashamed of the fact that we have nothing to relish about the same in Bharat.

In the last 62 years , India and Bharat, have drifted so much apart that it will be difficult in the years to come, to believe that they were, once, the same. The day will come, I am sure, when the likes of Google , Microsoft, GE will have their global Head-Quarters here, but, the day also isn’t far when a Bhartiya will find it as an ordeal to match up with his Indian counterpart, on any parameter of social equality, if it will exist then, by any chance.

All the policy makers always talk of the term ‘inclusive growth’ – to be frank I really don’t know what it means, but surely do think including Bharat in mainstream talk of India will help her in the long run.

To conclude I would like to say, India Vs Bharat, when started in 1947 at 0-0 are today in 2009, at the score 62-0, not to mention the 62 Glorious Years of India’s Independence.

New York 9/11

2009-06-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

The title is inspired from the latest film on post 9/11 NY City.
Post 9/11 the West began looking at every brown colored human with suspicion. Every Indian, Pakistani... rather every Asian looked to them as a Osama associate. The film encouraged me to voice my opinion on the same. 1200 foreign nationals were detained (almost illegally in the US) for very many months...tortured to almost madness. Many of them were let off after a few months, only after having ' No Concrete Evidence'. Innocent people were detained on grounds of suspicion just due to the colour of their skin or the religion that they belong to. No one is born a terrorist (neither was Osama), circumstances drive them to the helpless path. Terrorists in Pakistan are shown videos of Pravin Tagodia , Narendra Modi just to incite them against the so called "Hindustan". Infact Osama had received his military training in the US. He nearly took the same nation by rampage on 9/11. His Jehad has made the people of his very faith to feel the humiliation everywhere in the world. People are branded Terrorist for being born in a certain country or following a certain faith. We keep talking of the world becoming a Global Village.. but in reality it is enormously far from it. As civilization is progressing, Man is classifying (mainly dividing) himself on many parameters - Nationality, Religion, Colour ... and the list is endless. Technology and comfort wise Man is progressing but regressing in terms of basic Human Ethos.

Easily...Humble

2009-03-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

A real story ...A gossip between two Unknowns in Shatabddi Express Train .........An interesting and a must read!(I suppose)
Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabddi express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought; he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do!! He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use. "Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop. Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car. "You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today everything is getting computerized. " "Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and stockily built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass. "You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside." Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naive ness demanded reasoning not anger. "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it." For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement. "It is complex, very complex."
"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the reply. This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence crept into his so far affable, persuasive tone. " Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do not sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing." He could see, he had the man where he wanted, and it was time to drive home the point. "Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centres across the country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?" The man was awestruck; quite like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination.
"You design and code such things." "I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "but now I am the Project Manager." "Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your life is easy now." This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, "Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality. To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his requirements, the user at the other, wanting something else, and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it yesterday." Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realization. What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.
"My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be in the Line of Fire". The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek. "I know sir.... I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire......." He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time. "There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top.
There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the tri colour at the top only 4 of us were alive." "You are a...?" "I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a soft assignment. But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier.
On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my captain sahib refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded... ....his own personal safety came last, always and every time." "He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the bunker. Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me . I know sir....I know, what it is to be in the Line of Fire." Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond. Abruptly, he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of a man for whom valor and duty was a daily part of life; valor and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes.
The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight. "It was nice meeting you sir." Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the tri color. Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute. It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was awarded the Param Veer Chakra, the nation's highest military award.
Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!

Touching life story.....

2009-02-06T01:32:00.000-08:00

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For

many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's

showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told

him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited

signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the

morning of his graduation his father called him into his private

study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine

son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son

a beautiful wrapped gift box.

Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man

opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily,

he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you

give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy

book.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in

business.

He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his

father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He

had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make

arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had

passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He

needed to come home immediately and take care things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and

regret filled his heart.

He began to search his father's important papers and

saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With

tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he

read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope

taped behind the Bible.

It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the

sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation,

and the words...PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not

packaged as we expected?

My Vow To You

2008-10-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

This is a poem i found on the internet..n just thought it would be nice to share it with you all..

When you are sad, I will dry your tears
When you are scared, I will comfort your fears
When you need love, my heart I will share
When you are sick, for you I will care

You will feel my love when we are apart
Knowing that nothing will change my heart
When you are worried, I will give you hope
When you are confused, I will help you cope

When you are lost, and can’t see the light
My love will be a beacon, shining ever so bright
This is my vow, one that I pledge till the end
For you above all are my wife and best friend

These words I have written, speak of my love for you
From my lips these words spoken, shall always ring true
God has blessed me, and with your hand in mine
Both of our hearts, will forever intertwine

Into all lives, falls pain and sorrows,
I promise together, we will meet all tomorrows
Happy in marriage, honor and love
blessed in unity by God above

- Earl J. Dawson Jr. -

You Are My Life

2008-10-09T03:57:00.001-07:00

There was a boy in India who was sent by his parents to a boarding school. Before being sent away this boy was the brightest student in his class. He was at the top in every competition. He was a champion. But the boy changed after leaving home and attending the boarding school. His grades started dropping. He hated being in a group. He was lonely all the time. And there were especially dark times when he felt like committing suicide. All of this because he felt worthless and that no one loved him.His parents started worrying about the boy. But even they did not know what was wrong with him. So his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and talk with him.They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him casual questions about his classes, teachers and sports. After some time his dad said, 'Do you know son, why I am here today?" The boy answered back, "to check my grades?" "No, no" his dad replied, "I am here to tell you that you are the most important person for me. I want to see you happy. I don't care about grades. I care about you. I care about your happiness. YOU ARE MY LIFE." These words caused the boy's eyes to fill with tears. He hugged his dad. They didn't say anything to each other for a long time.Now the boy had everything he wanted. He knew there was someone on this earth who cared for him deeply. He meant the world to someone. And today this young man is in college at the top of his class and no one has ever seen him sad!