Of UP and Bihar

Walking into the department, I overheard the security personnel talking about Biharis and UPites facing trouble with their jobs. With their Hindi and dialect, I could understand the tinge of concern in their voices when discussing the issue. They themselves must be from one of these two states. I felt ashamed, hurt, angry, I don't know how to explain that feeling. Here they were Indians, worried about their future just because of the place they were from - wondering about being driven out.

We spend main pages day after day in newspapers and talk time on national news as well as otherwise, venting our anger, disgust and annoyance of how our brethren are treated in Australia. But, here, right here, we have our own people worried about the backlash they have received and are still receiving at the hands of their own. But, there is very little noise about it. Of course the politicians concerned have their names in the front page of the newspapers. Otherwise, what else ?

Why ? Ofcourse, those who have gone to Australia for studies are better off as they have the means to fund their education there. On the other hand, people from Bihar and UP who come so far away, away from home, family, the land they love, their language, their customs to a totally different place are more or less people who have hardly anything - except the hunger in their stomachs. Even though the country is still India, things are so different (in India, every 100 kms besides the landscape, language, dialects and customs change) - and all for what ? For a means to survive.


Most of these people live a frugal lifestyle, sending money back home, for there is a whole family dependent on them. They live huddled up like cattle (I remember Tharoor, of course) but that is exactly how it is, in a single room with a minimum of 5-6 people. They spend the best parts of their lives, alone, slogging it out, just to survive. And when their physical strength fails, they go home, to a life, where nothing much is left, where savings are non-existent, and health fails.

I remember my dad's lines. He had people from Rajasthan and UP working for us when building our home. He said, "They are such simple people. Very hard working and happy with what they get. They do earn but send almost all of it home and live life in penury. And all this they do, because of the hunger in the stomach, because of the conditions at home. They are nice."

So, why are we so rude to them ? Why do we differentiate ? Why is it that we don't see their pain ? Why don't we see their suffering, their loneliness ? Their large hearts ? Their will to work, in distant land. Why can't we treat them with respect ? Why........... I can't understand this. This human suffering brought about by man himself, because of the way he treats his own. I don't understand this cruelty.

And to politicians, who play politics, I don't think you know the meaning of the word "Hunger". If you say, yes, you know, then, it is not the same "Hunger" I am talking about. And you would never ever understand it.

New age autos

TVS has introduced its new model of autorickshaws. Compared to the ones today, they look stylish, glamorous.....don't they ? Who wouldn't want to travel in them.

Time Passes By

It was only yesterday
When I saw a new land
Met new people
Made friends
Thinking ties will last
As strong and close
For a lifetime.

Seasons have changed
Time has passed by
I find myself wondering
Yes, memories are fresh
As has always been with me
Conversations crystal clear
But, I know I am out of touch
With reality for sure.

Reality, I do not know
Know not how they are
I hope all are happy
Can only hope
Communication so easy yet hard
Chatting so little
Seeing impossible.

It's so sad sometimes
When I look back
At that beautiful limited time
Knowing it's never going to be the same
It's never going to happen again
It's becoming a dream
Happened in distant land.

It was only yesterday
Wasn't it ?

An Ode to Love

In Picture: Firefighter David Tree shares his water with Sam during the Victorian bushfires.

Sam the koala, who shot to fame when she was rescued during Australia's bushfires in February, died today. She was found walking gingerly on scorched paws past a fire patrol near Melbourne when one of the firefighters spotted her. The firefighter was photographed holding a bottle of water to her lips.

That image was for me the picture of hope that man and nature can coexist peacefully. That man has the power to understand and give fellow beings of the earth their space and freedom, if only he will.

Confused

"What they did was not wrong, the way you perceived it was wrong". I am confused - who is wrong then ?

"I didn't mean it that way, the way you interpreted is wrong". I am confused again - what does this mean ?

"There is nothing like that happening , you are imagining things". Uffa, these lines......
........

LEAF - Nissan's zero-emission all-electric car

Cooked Up - III

8. No culture or language is better than the other. Each has its beauty. Just appreciate it.

9. Interest or disinterest of a foreigner in a culture or language depends on the people practising it, their love, understanding and in their ability to be inclusive.

10. If there is a person in your group who never voices their opinion or escapes on some premise when there is an issue(need not be serious), beware of that person. They are what is called a 'silent killer'.

(I know, the 10th one may not be acceptable to many people, but then experience is the best teacher.)

Hope

It is nearly three years that I have been in this campus. This tamarind tree is on the way between my department and the research scholars hostel. So, everyday passing by the tree, I have noticed her looking different as the seasons change. When it rains, she sprouts little bright green leaves that people use in their curry. When she bears fruit, most passersby would pluck one to taste the tamarind, green or ripe. Come summer, she would shed all her leaves and stand bare. She stood so this summer too...... But it has started raining, and to my utter horror I find that she is not springing forth with the showers. She stands, still, with branches brown, all bereft of life. I knew her passing by her everyday, seeing people enjoying her fruits. In India, it is a belief that a tree gives her fruits with all the love possible to the beings around. She for one, lived such a life. And now, ............ All around her, her compatriots are green..... not her. Wonder if she is gone but am still holding on, hoping that she will spring back... to life.

Mirror mirror on the wall.........

Watched for a month, and she visits this mirror everyday. She keeps looking at herself and pecking at the mirror. Wonder what she's thinking .................

Patterns in the Sky

Found this picture in the album taken on a visit to the Colosseum at Rome, Italy in December 2007.

Yes, it is a flock of birds swarming in the sky . Flocks of birds try to eliminate wind drag as much as possible when they travel through the air. The twisting and whirling that birds do changes the way the air moves over and under their wings, and therefore has an effect on how well the birds move through it. It is noticed that there is no leader in this sequence of movement - it's a collective effort. The same is noticed with fish, bees and ants. Out of the collective effort of the birds emerges a pattern.

Wiki's definition of emergence: In philosophy, systems theory and science, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems.

Cu, PostDoc Fellow, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, got me interested in this through his seminar. An intersting example he showed was about the traffic movement at junctions in India without the traffic lights. :)

The concept today is applied in the world of business and people management. In computer science, this area of research is called Swarm Intelligence and is being applied extensively in the area of robotics and networks. Man learning from nature.

Saina creating history

Ace woman shuttler Saina Nehwal on Sunday scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after she clinched the Indonesian Open title in Jakarta.


Congrats Saina.

Looking 10 years younger

It is demoralizing and partly insulting to be treated like a kid by a person who is behaving like one. It is difficult when you cannot get your point across, not because of lack of knowledge, not because of the lack of experience, but just because you don't look like you have it. A person looking younger than their age would definitely ask: "Is it my fault that I don't look my age ?"

Last week when my cousin spoke to me about how no one took her seriously, how her looks defined the way people treated her, I thought...... I have heard that before.

Why is it that we attach so much importance to appearances ? Why is it that our behaviour and attitude towards a person changes when we know their age and experience. Why is it that we want to look youthful but would treat someone who looks young at face value ? Is "appearance" the definition of a person ?

Whither justice

The opening scene of the movie, "Flash of Genius", speaks of ethics in engineering. An issue, that is hardly discussed in the Indian system of education. Be it engineering or the arts, today's environment makes it all the more important for individuals to understand what is ethical and what is not.

The movie, besides inspiring was painful. Yes, it was a David Vs Goliath fight. That the legal system can be used by corporations to extend a trial for years before the case is taken up is true in most judicial systems across the world. For the corporation, it might be one more case, but it means the end of life for an individual. Of course, we can admire Robert Kearns for what he did, for the legacy he left for future generations, but we cannot forget the cost he paid. Was it fair ? To him and his family that the judicial system works in such a way that on all counts it deters a person from contesting a case in court. The movie shows exactly what happens to a person, though strong, optimistic and determined. That way, the movie shows beautifully the lacuna in the system

The Indian legal system is an example. With over 2.6 crore cases pending in the courts, there is no surety that a person going to court will see the end in his/her lifetime. The advantage therefore is for corporations, for the rich and the mighty who have the money and the resources to run the case. It is also advantageous for the criminal, because by the time the case is taken up in court, most probably, the defendent and well as witnesses may have moved over to the other world. Also, for corporations, it is not personal. It is a job. For the person on the other side, it is his life. Isn't this so unfair ?

"Better late than never" is a line ill-fitting the judicial system. If to get justice, a person has to wait 10-20 years, like the Delhi theatre fire tragedy, or there must be a public outcry as in the Jessica Lal case, where is justice then. The wait and the running around of the courts, not to speak of the drain of health and resources, and harassment in many cases is worse punishment. Which makes me feel many a time, that the judicial system is an illusion, a farce, for there is no justice in the real sense of the word.