The Rejuvinated New Government

Finally the portfolios have been allotted and the new ministers are raring to go. It is really heartening to see some new faces which were badly needed in key ministries. The appointment of Mr. Sibbal in the HRD ministry is particularly welcome as the ministry was tottering and badly needed some drastic change of guard.

The new ministry looks reassuring and somehow the confidence in the team rises on seeing some very prominent and able people in key ministries. Also the step of moving Mr. Kamal Nath to the Roads and Highways ministry is a welcome step as it would certainly improve the kind of roads which have been neglected during the past tenure of UPA. Call it the Rahul effect or whatever but somehow I as a citizen of India feel more secure by seeing the current group of ministers at the helm and am optimistic of India rising and growing during the next 5 years though my optimism might soon fade away as it generally does when the thing comes to action. Politics is a dirty fabric and somehow or the other even the extremely effective and efficient tend to get self indulgent and defensive. It is due to this that the work on the ground suffers.

I certainly do wish the new government well and hope that it presents a tough stand on the Australia racism issue. It is extremely necessary that something is done about the blatantness with which racist attacks happen in Australia and the world community as a whole should condemn it. Even more condemning and shameful is the prosaic attitude of the Australian government towards the issue. The world should work as one against the problem.

The US also wants India to sign the NPT. The response and the course of negotiations would certainly be interesting. Another major issue is the obvious, which is the Recession.

Thus, there are numerous issues facing the government and it needs to be very meticulous and methodical in its handling. Good luck to them...

Signing off....
SM

'Mohan (60%) + Man (40%) = Manmohan' - Back again

Finally India will have a relatively stable government after such a long period of conundrum. The fact that the Congress has emerged on top is quite astonishing. Finally it will be a single captain boat which can sail in a particular direction without being diverted. The emphatic win has certainly raised the hopes of the commoner and the elite alike. The stock market gave a resounding bow to the new leader by making a historic day on Monday when it closed twice due to positive circuit breakers. 2100 points is what the Sensex gained. The industry is certainly hopeful which was also quite evident from the interviews of many industrialists on TV. The key portfolios in the government are getting decided and it is being assumed that selection for ministership will be on the basis of qualification and ability rather than armtwisting by allies. The cabinet will have to be inclusive but certainly this time the Congress will have a greater say.

Lets see who gets what. A lot of names are in the reckoning and I wish and believe that ability and performance should be the only bases for getting a cabinet berth. India will certainly have a better and safer future if common sense prevails within the CWC.

Wishing the new government the very best...

SM

My favourite TV show

Well what could be better? For a TV buff like me who watches loads of crap and a bit of useful stuff on the ibox (I prefer intellingent to be used in place of idiot for i), it would be quite an ordeal to single out a single show and call it my favourite. I mean I just watch so many of them and like so many of them. But for this show it certainly would have been a tough choice but having this show play on the TV makes it almost a no contest. So folks here and now I announce it... My favourite show on TV is BOSTON LEGAL.

Now that I think of it I just can't seem to find anything else which could change my mind. I mean how can it be something else. The show has got everything, a protagonist who loves to play with the law and has wicked ways of dealing with wicked people and takes twisted ways to get the law to go straight and get the guilty punished, we have a voyeuristic and promiscuous lead who brings the funny side and adds spice, we have a female lead who is the most sought after woman in the office, then we have numerous psychologically challenged people. All in all its fun and in all the fiasco and chaos the court cases and the closings by the famous lawyers from the 'Crane, Poole and Schmidt' firm are certainly enthralling. The judges are pure characters and all these ingredients make up an hour of extremely lovely and intriguing TV watching.

For someone like me who is an avid TV watcher it is hard to find something which really interests me besides the news, sports and comedy and here we have finally found a show which I love. I strongly recommend the show to everyone of you but obviously with an advisory that don't watch it with your parents or your children 'coz there would be moments when you would find yourself extremely uncomfortable.

Have a wonderful time watching it on Saturdays and Sundays at 10 PM on Star World....

SM

Thank You readers..

Dear Readers,
I would like to express my sincerest of gratitude for your encouragement. It is only through your constant feedback and encouragement that I can carry on with this endeavour. It is really nice to hear about you people reading my blog.

I will try to be more regular in my postings. Guest writers and requests for articles on specific topics are always welcome.

SM

Elections Ahoy!!!!!

Well finally its that time of the year again when the country is abuzz with campaigns and slogans eulogizing the governance and initiative of the government in power on one end and the opposition trying to bring forth the mismanagement and incompetent administration of the incumbent on the other.
Well it has to be said that this election as always has once again awaken some very old leaders from their long slumbers and they are once again at it. Manipulating and strategizing their next course of action to achieve the magic figure of 272. Congress has already come out with its list of 23 candidates which contains some prominent former SP leaders. Well treason and defection in the political world is called shift in ideology and hence I respect and empathize with the rapid change in ideologies in this country. Well it is not the thing of the past but rather the present and it is here to stay because the Indian system is a multiparty one and with the growing influence of regional parties and increasing number parties the government is bound to be a coalition and the very base of coalition is built on compromise and manipulation. What this in turn means is that no single manifesto will give the clear direction of governance to be followed and not even the big two the BJP and Congress could claim to show the Indian people a glimpse into the future through their manifestoes. So governance will once again be a cocktail. Lets just hope that it is a yummy one and that India continues to grow amid all the hues and cries and rallies and campaigns.

SM

My unfateful encounter with an Indian Ignorant Hedonist

A big, fat, OBNOXIOUS, ignorant, happy about nothing guy whose ultimate aim in life is to spoil himself in the petty and frivolous - No, he is no more only an American anymore but rather he has finally arrived... in my dear old India. Today I had the fortunate (read as 'unfortunate') encounter with this very being in my college canteen. He came with a beaming smile and a chuckle ever so nauseating which seemed to arise after every end, and sometimes even in the middle, of a sentence. Happiness and bliss was oozing out from him and somehow he always seemed so compelled to give his own bland solutions to every global and political problem being discussed there and was quite efficient in relating it to his own solutions. I don't know if it was just me or my perception of the person but somehow I ended up analyzing that my friend believed that all the world's problems could be solved if one is happy. Everything else was immaterial, be it the ever so imminent threat from terrorism or the recession looming large in the global economy, if he could get a burger with fries along with a coke in a McDonald outlet on his way to a two star rated movie, the world was perfect. His analysis and comprehension of our overzealous and effervescent debate on the condition of the India was that if you don't have the power, who are you to debate on the issue. He was not only critical in pointing out to us our shortsightedness in having a debate on an issue which we could not change as we obviously did not have a hand in it (and I thank God for it). Our data and information laden rationale was obviously just numbers and it was always in mankind's interest in just shutting its mind, eyes and ears and in looking around to find a TV remote to change the channel of the TV ,which had almost changed to a News channel, and switch it back on to watching the actual idols on the music channels battle it out on a biker show.

Well obviously these are the after effects of passing out of our Hinglish education system Schools where the children are much more concerned and worried about preparing chits for the exam and getting micro xerox copies of a girlfriend's notes than studying for the exam.

May be I am an idealist but these acts of ignorance are intolerable to me. I want people to understand that before any change to happen there needs to be feeling of discomfort and anguish against what is to be changed. There needs to be knowledge of what is the system and where is it going wrong. A mechanic is able to fix and engine only because he knows it inside out. Hence change can only be done if we know and understand what is the actual problem and what needs to be changed. Considerable thought and discussions are a part of the change process. It is these discussions and exchanges that will enrich us and arm us and as and when power is bestowed on us and we become capable we would be able to sort the problems out because we know them. Our friends who think that thought is needed and necessary only when power comes would be caught unawares. Money and power are fickle things and change hands very quickly and frequently. Hence to make the most of it we need to think about it now and act when we get the chance and not lose our chance in understanding the problem during our tryst with power because there might never be a next time....

Signing Off...
SM

Losing their way or Yearning for Guidance - The Indian Gen Next

The much famed Indian Education system seems to have infected with some unknown disease causing virus as it is not infusing and instilling the future of India with what is most dear to it, the basic human and moral values. We have had great reverence and respect for intellect from time immemorial and our education system was based on the premise of teaching children to be good and effective human beings valuing relationships, morality and civility. But something seems to have gone wrong. There has been rapid degradation in the basic behavior of kids which can be seen in their general demeanor and their behaviour. There is an arrogance, a tendency of getting away with things, a know it all attitude, a general lack of respect and condescension. One, many or all of these attributes can be associated with most of the youngsters today.

In the name of preparing them for a tough world are we giving them the wrong set of values or a gloated sense of the self. Are we showing them the reality before making them believe that you are the best for the sake of making them confident. Do they have the fibre to work hard and then earn it or we are forcing them to take shortcuts?

I do understand that a present day youngster has to face immense pressures. I myself have and am facing them. Be it peer pressure of being the coolest and smartest or the pressure of fulfilling the expectations of your parents and loved ones or even the pressures of measuring upto your own sense of accomplishments. It is a very complex and difficult world and one has to manage himself with utmost composure and self restraint or it won't take long for things in his life to get ugly.

But I also strongly believe that though the pressures are there but we are fully capable and intelligent and reasonable enough to face them. But what if the whole concept of right and wrong in our system is flawed. Our yardstick itself is bent. I see around me lots of people who want to make it big. They are confident and self assured but lack the will to work hard in the right direction. They prefer to take the shortcuts even if it borders around being called 'wrong'.

But is it really their fault?? In today's world the schools are increasingly becoming tolerant to errant behaviour by children. I myself see it in my college and even a school for toddlers. They get away with things and are not punished. This lack of strictness creates a mental attitude in that one can get away with anything and hence the growing unruly behaviour of children. Moreover sycophancy has taken centre stage by being termed as being the lubricant for the smoothening of life. I see it pervading every facet of life. It is a cause of frustration to the real workers but what can be done. The world doesn't care for your work but rather who you are or who your relatives are and how can they help me. This is how and why many children are given 'special' treatment and they grow up with a wrong sense of the self. They have a bloated perception of the self and an equally unreal and minimized respect for the world.

The education system of the old was quite good and children need supervision and discipline. Obviously one does not have to be a Hitler but giving them advice and telling them wrong from the right is also our responsibility. They are children and do not know and in the name of independence should not be left to wander or else there are mazes of paths that go in the wrong direction and very few in the right. We have to guide them and show them the path, just show them and let them decide on their own.

If we become a little more realistic and responsible our next generation would not be a 'bad' one. It is very easy blaming it on the next generation that they have lost the way but we have to ponder about why they have lost the way. It might just be that no one has ever been there to show them the right path. We don't have to repeat our mistakes and have to realise our responsibilities also. We owe it to humanity to make them civilized, moral and ethical beings and if a little stick does the trick then so be it. After all the adage does go, 'Spare the stick, spoil the child'.