Is the parliament worth it ?

Regular scuffles between opposing parties, disregard for the speaker, low attendance, cash for questions, etc.; is this the parliament our leaders, the avant-gardes of our constitution had dreamt of ? The year 2008 has seen more misconducts, to speak in the politest manner, than had ever occurred in the history of the parliament. Recently, the childish behaviour displayed at the constituent assemblies in Orissa and Karnataka seem to underscore the already blemished image of the members of parliament. Surely, these people cannot be our representatives. It has been popularly said that, "If a gang of monkeys be let loose over a few typewriters, eventually we would get the complete works of Shakespeare." But, I surely haven't heard about a gang of monkeys running a democracy. Well, now it doesn't seem impossible any more. The Lok Sabha speaker Hon'ble Somnath Chatterjee made a shocking revelation that, "In the year 2008 about 25% of the parliament time was unproductive." That means, 25% of the public money from taxes has gone down the drain. Wait, there is still one upside to this i.e., we have room for development. To use this room judiciously we, the youth, have nothing to do but, to vote for the right people. We surely can do better than this. "Jago Bharat Jago !" 

The Maverick

Recently, I read the Autobiography of the famous entrepreneur and adventurer, the founder of "VIRGIN" , Richard Branson. He is one of those CEOs who believes in living life to the fullest and stands with unabashed bravado on its face. Born in England in a small town, he was truly English blood i.e., a proportionate mixture of brazenness and simplicity. He suffered from Dyslexia in his early days and found it hard to deal with numbers. That was a time, when Dyslexia was not yet recognized as a disease. If you couldn't do maths, it meant that you were not paying enough attention. Corporal punishment was thought to be the best way to deal with such children. Perhaps, this episode of his life agravated his dislike for numbers. In his later days, he had quoted, "Numbers cannot be trusted at all. They can be easily twisted to make you believe in anything." Despite this setback, he followed his heart supported by his mother and founded "Virgin Music". Then, he worked with bands which later became famous such as "The Rolling Stones","The Human League", etc. Later, when his newborn company was in decent position, he gradually expanded its horizons, entering into "Virgin Books" and "Virgin Airways". This was when he seriously thought about adventure and pulled off many death-defying feats with Air-balloons. Recently, he has launched the "Virgin Galactic" and aims at Space Tourism. He is one of those persons who has succeeded in all the ventures he has undertaken. His motto truly inspires the philosophy of his company, "Screw it! Lets do it!".  

Jai Ho !!

This sudden telekinesis to the global stage has caught us unaware. Allah Rakha Rehman, the perpetrator of this cultural shock, just stands modestly and smiles. Today, I won't talk about the movie and bore people who haven't been given a moment's respite from the constant reminding by the news agencies. Frankly, I am not happy for "Slumdog Millionaire". Why does it always have to be an outsider to jolt us out of our stupor ? I do not mean that Danny Boyle should not have been allowed to shoot in India. What I mean is, we have lived in India for ages and understand it better than anybody else in the world. But, when it comes to cinema we, unfortunately, go for the false razzmatazz. Many Indian directors shoot almost all of their movies abroad. Isn't it ironical that people come to India, shoot movies and documentaries and sweep away the Oscars ? For the lesser informed public, a documentary "SMILE PINKI !" got the award for the best Documentary on a short subject. It was shot completely in India and revolves about the life a girl called Pinki. This will surely serve as an eyeopener for the Indian cinema fraternity and raise their respect for the subject called "INDIA !!".

Oscar Fever

This is surely going to be the event of the year. Yes, I am talking about the 81st Academy Awards ceremony due this Sunday, the 22nd of February 2009. The Hollywood Boulevard is being transformed from a usually busy, typical american street to a high profile venue adorned with the famous "Red carpet". About 50 Oscars will etch the names of their winners in the history of cinema, 8 of whom may find their way into the lap of "Slumdog Millionaire" which showcases a rags-to-riches story of a young indian slum-dweller who eventually goes on to win 2 million rupees in the popular gameshow "Who wants to be a Millionaire ?". There is much anticipation in India, a country still waiting for its much deserved Oscar glory. The transition of the Oscars from 1929, when it all started with an audience of 270 and 15 oscars inside a banquet room at the Kodak Theatre, to 2009 is indeed fascinating. The venue is the same but now, millions of eyes would be glued to their television sets making it one of the most watched t.v. events after the Beijing Olympics. "Overwhelming" is the word I would use !

The Mexican Paradox

Mexico is a country that shares about 2000 miles of border with the United States. The first thing that comes to mind is, the development and prosperity of the world's richest and most powerful country must be surely rubbing off on Mexico. But, it seems quite the contrary. The present day Mexico is rent with drug-traffickers and gang wars. There appears to be no control of the government over the dire situation. There has been a critical history between the two countries because of the frequency of mexicans crossing the American border illegally (some had even tried to smuggle drugs into the country). But this time, the situation seems to be grim. The circumstances faced by the common mexicans may compel them to cross the American border. People are scared and have lost faith in the administration. Despite the vertigo it is in, Mexico has always stabilized itself. It has held regular elections, paved roads and educated its people. But, the momentum is continuously being broken by such problems. The best thing, now, would be to avoid a civil war otherwise it would leave a permanent scar on its face !

Making linux popular

In a country where "Microsoft Windows" operating system dominates, a common user like me completes his short span of life without even, so much as, tasting the concept called "Open Source". One might say, I can get a pirated version of Windows software, why do I need Linux ? In a country like this, it is difficult to find linux users. Keeping this in mind, Ubuntu has taken a step forward in popularising linux. The latest version of Ubuntu i.e. version 8.10 boasts of a new improvement. It has provided an option where an average Windows user can install Ubuntu inside windows like any other ordinary application with no need of formatting or partitioning any drive. Two days ago my friend told me about this. This was the thing I was looking for. With the drives of one's system full to the capacity, one has to think twice before partitioning. So, Windows users go ahead and try linux ! You will surely find it interesting. For one thing, its free,fast and easy to install. The best thing is, its virus-free. Well, there you are !!

The Gaza bombings

It seems as if history is being repeated though on a smaller scale. About 8 years ago, the placement of US troops in Afghanistan in reply to the 9/11 attack created a very similar situation. Though the US government harped on the "promise to save Afghanistan from the Taliban", the thing that eventually happened was the killing of innocent civilians. Even after almost 8 years the world's most wanted person is still "the most wanted". Though US was in a much better position to make a different choice, it chose to do what it did. The situation in Gaza is far from stabilizing anytime soon. What certainly becomes clear is that the US is more an opportunist state than a protectionist one !