Sir! Post!

அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே

இச்ச்கத்து ளோரெல்லாம் எதிர்த்துநின்ற பொதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே
துச்ச்மாக வெண்ணிநம்மை தூறுசெய்த பொதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே

- மகாகவி சுப்ரமணிய பாரதியார்.

I do know a lot of people who read this blog do not know Thamizh (Tamil). So, here's a bit of translation.

" Do not fear. Do not fear even when the entire world opposes you.

 Do not fear the cold stares that people give you".

- Subramaniya Bharathiyar. 

Why I began with those lines. The reason is pretty simple -  Mr. Kapil Sibal. Minister for IT and Communications, has asked social networking firms to filter objectionable content, particularly with reference to UPA chief -Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister- Manmohan Singh. The analogy is pretty simple, when a team fails, the captain is the first one to draw flak, and here - well, needs no further explanation.

Well, it is quite apparent that the UPA is full of Taliban people disguised as Indian politicians. Starting off a few weeks ago was planning commission chairman Mr. Ahluwalia, who somehow brought about a random number to indicate the minimum amount of money required per day to survive in rural and urban India. And now, it's the turn of another educated person. 

Seriously. Mr. Sibal. What were you even thinking? And now your loyalty towards the nation as a whole itself is under scrutiny. When you took your oath, you pledged your loyalty and service to the NATION.  Loyalty and service to the UPA chief DOES NOT become loyalty to the nation. A BILLION people are under so much pressure due to your government, which has like every other government before it, forgotten how they got elected. 

We the people can only share kolaveri videos and post good pictures of your youth icon Mr. Rahul Gandhi is it? And politicians who deserve to be ***censored*** are just slapped in this country. You talk so much about censorship and all that stuff, but are you even concerned about the people who elected you? Shame on you for even calling yourself an Indian, living in a free democratic republic.

This is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. The government is concerned about the personal image of some very powerful people, while the average Indian struggles to make ends meet. We all get abused by you politicians day in and day out. A few days back, a teacher was slapped in Punjab, by an illiterate sarpanch. The audacity that you politicians have to tell us about abusing you. We the people are abused by you - economically, physically, psychologically, verbally and at times in some cases, even sexually. 

By the way, you said, "Hate speech must be banned."  Why would an ENTIRE nation hate all you politicians? When all you politicians, particularly the government, have done nothing worthwhile for the nation, there obviously will be hatred towards you. And now you say that people cannot vent their ire on a social forum just because one of your colleagues got slapped and that some of you may even be attacked in future? Didn't you know all this before coming to power? And you are all scared despite your Z category security? So lame.

And if you did really want to screen posts on Google, you should have made them get our map correct for a start.

All you politicians make sure that no one else comes to power by doing all sorts of illegal things such as booth capturing, cash for votes, political assassinations and threatening people. And when you do come to power, you indulge yourself by building statues of yourself, amassing huge amounts of wealth and property and all such things.

Honestly, have a chat with your own conscience Mr. Sibal, you too would feel like giving a nice tight slap to certain people. For a few minutes, forget that you ever were a politician, a minister, a man in power. Think of yourself as the common man of India, put yourself in his shoes and think. Would you really feel that you and your government have done anything good for the people? Would you really ask Facebook and Google to screen content now? Learned and educated people like you and me should realize that not all people go off to slap someone like your colleague or throw stones at someone else's house.

Exceptions do not become examples Mr. Sibal. We are living in a civilized society. The world has evolved and so must we, if we are to become a nation greater than what we are at present. Criticism should be welcomed from anywhere, and especially if it comes for the people who elected you.

Do something good for the people Mr. Sibal. The people will respect you.

Jai Hind.

P.S: This blog may not be alive tomorrow. I'm very thankful to all those who have read this blog all these days. Thanks a lot for all your support.

An unsung hero...

Millions of pages have been written about the world's greatest batsman - Sachin Tendulkar. People have run out of praises about him. He is the god of cricket. However, as the tour of Australia is next on the Indian cricketing calendar, and it might well be the last tour down under for Sachin Tendulkar and a couple of his other illustrious colleagues, namely - V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid.

Both Laxman and Dravid have been in the background as compared to the other duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, when all four of them played. Of all four V.V.S is obviously the one who has been least sung about. His epic 281 Vs Australia at Kolkata is obviously his greatest achievement, and his shoes will be way to huge for anyone to fill. India will somehow find someone to at least bumble around wearing his shoes.

Rahul Dravid's shoes will be the ones noone can even hope or even want to fill. The kind of pressure that he has soaked up all these years, doing everything for the team  - noone will ever want to be in his place. Even when the entire Indian team collapses around him, he'd be the rock in the middle, playing his characteristic innings of holding up one end.

What has he not done for the team? Bats at number 3, kept wickets, even played some pinch hitter knocks, holds up one end steady, has even bowled, taken tough catches, has run with quicker batsmen like Yuvraj and Kaif, and has even been the captain, but has been praised a lot less than either Sachin Tendulkar or Saurav Ganguly. Indian cricket should be thankful for the presence of this gentleman cricketer who has given his all for the game and the team.

Dravid was dropped from the ODI side at one point of time, because he couldn't make fast runs, but his absence has always been felt whenever India started collapsing. The guts that this man has to steady a ship and even take the team close to winning matches or at least face saving draws - no words. Respect.

I was just thinking about the Indian test side today, especially with respect to replacements for Dravid, Laxman and yes, of course, You-Know-Who too. Nope. None of them can be replaced. In fact, truth be told, India are yet to find a proper replacement for the worst of the fab four - Saurav Ganguly (Yes. He can be regarded as the worst of the fab four and Yes, I am a die hard Ganguly fan, who says this). Scary thoughts, just to imagine an Indian team travelling to England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa without The Wall. On a green top like in New Zealand - no Dravid, no score.

India have gone on tours previously with at least one of the fab four to rely on, and at most times, it has been Rahul Dravid on whom India have depended on to take control of the batting in the middle. India will have to search for appropriate replacements and groom them properly, if they want to see someone make at least half the number of runs that Dravid has made in his test career till now.

That day of the year.

Another 26/11 has dawned. Kasab is still alive and the 26/11 probe will go on till Sun Tv broadcasts the 1 millionth episode of some serial. Kanimozhi will even get bail, but Kasab will not be hanged, nor will India's elite anti-terror units get what weapons they request for. And we will remember the martyrs who saved our haves staying in the Taj and the Oberoi, and the cops at CST who tried to save our have-nots and Tukaram Omble, who was killed trying to apprehend Kasab.

Mumbai will forever be in fear and Indian media will forever telecast the happenings of 26th November 2008. Petrol prices swell and so do our netas pockets, with no relief to the common man's burden. While prices of essential items in TN have been increased to an extent that Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia's Rs. 32/ day norm looks like a figure that he might have reached if he was planning for India during Shahenshah Akbar's time.

Kolaveri takes the nation by storm but the kolaveri that we actually need here is something that Sharad Pawar was given a taste of. When one politician gets just slapped there is a huge furore and such unity displayed, which sadly is missing when all our money goes waste in the form of parliament sessions - which never take place. Thousands of Indians are starving across the country, while all our MLAs and MPs eat 4 sumptuous meals a day.

When the voting public who voted people to power struggle to get into a bus and reach their shifts on time, our CMs and PM happily stop the traffic to reach their bathrooms to have a nice comfortable shit.


Yet another 26/11 dawns and the aam aadmi is still not sure of whether he will return home to die another day, while no good politicians who have done almost everything to ensure that they live happily till they die are given Z category security - and just because of one slap/slipper. An entire nation clamours for that kind of security from terrorism, corruption, weekly price rises and whatnots that have been imposed on the people. When will we get it?

Another 26/11 will dawn next year and who knows what we might be seeing then?

Talents gone waste...

I am writing this post just after Messers. Salman Butt, Mohd. Amir and Mohd. Asif have been found guilty of charges of spot fixing which was levelled against them. It is such a sad thing that cricketers have failed to learn from one man who brought the game into disrepute a few years ago. But that man had the guts to accept his guilt. That man was Hansie Cronje.

I had great respect for Hansie Cronje, and I still do respect him, just for the one reason that he stood up and accepted his crime. Salman Butt and Mohammed Asif had the guts, not to accept their crime, but to stand up and say that they did not do it. Not only that, they even traded shit about each other.

Everyone would remember Salman Butt's classic century against India in Kolkata a few years back. An innings that I can still watch just for those classy square drives which he played and the fantastic footwork that he displayed against the spinners, to steer Pakistan to victory and end undefeated.

It's such a pity that such talent goes wasted in their lust for money. I have always enjoyed watching good cricket, no matter who plays it. I would even confess that I am a fan of Wasim Akram and I have enjoyed watching Saeed Anwar bat (Yes. I did hate his monstrous 194 against India), and No that does not make me a fan of Pakistan cricket. It's just a few of their cricketers that I like.

During their prison terms, no doubt all three of them would, at some point of time, regret what they have done. However, regretting that is no punishment for bringing the game into disrepute. Hansie Cronje did not go to prison, I don't know why, but he was banned for life. One thing about Cronje was that he had the guts, I say again, the guts to accept to what he did - That itself showed that Cronje was remorseful of his crime. Something that these young cricketers failed to do. They chose to defend themselves of a crime, which they took part in and were blatantly guilty of.

Why is it that the lust for money made so many talented cricketers into such cheap low lives who would sell their career, the great game and even their countries? It is so sad to see such talents go waste...

The game can no longer take hits like this... All those who love cricket as much as I do, would love to see the game live beyond generations and I hope those professionals (who play the game and read this article) would care to make the game a cleaner one.

The Great Indian Independence Struggle

A struggle that began with Gandhi has now brought us fighting once again for Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi is dead? Who said so? He still lives in the Indian currency note. Take out the 100 Rupee note and Gandhi smiles back at you. That smiling man is smiling in heaps of bundles of notes in our neta's pockets and bank accounts (Of course -not in terms of Gandhis, but in terms of Benjamin Franklins and whoevers).

India is now united against one of India's biggest diseases (not AIDS). CORRUPTION. India's biggest bhimari (disease). Leading from the front is one man named Anna Hazare, who is emulating Gandhi by uniting an entire country to fight corruption. A non-violent struggle, which will always be a thorn in any government's flesh, be it the Empire in which the sun never sets, or the filthy money monging Indian politician who all come from varied backgrounds. Right from A.Raja to Manmohan Singh (who is branded as "Mr. Clean") every single one of them is party to a crime which has taken place against a billion people.

Can this government even think of contesting the next elections? If anyone from this govrnment contests and wins the next election - it means 2 things, one - we are dumb and stupid and we do not eat food (please substitute food with it being processed out of our bodies) and two - it means that probably that person will get his good share soon.

The Indian government formed by the Indian National Congress and its allies, which includes the DMK of which A.Raja was a minister, has only done everyting that it possibly could to ensure that no one will ever vote for them again. Scams of the magnitude of Lakh Crore Rupees were unheard of until Mr. A. Raja was caught. A scam of such a huge magnitude took place with no knowledge of the Prime Minister of India? Nonsense. Rubbish. And Dr. Manmohan Singh wants to stay out of the Jan Lokpal?

Everyone is equal in the eyes of the law and our lawmakers do everything that they possibly can to make sure that they stay above the law. This Congress government is even worse than our colonial rulers who imposed absolutely dictatorial acts to undermine the Indian people. What is being done is very similar to what happened then. The sun set on the British Empire and it won't be long before corruption and the corrupt in India meets their fate.

Cleaning India of corruption is no mean feat and it will require a lot of effort from us the people - remember - We are a republic - by the people, of the people and for the people. The day we root out corruption will be the day that we can really call ourselves an independent nation. Our grandparents used to wonder if we would be able to live in a Free India, today we are wondering if we might be able to give our grandchildren (if not our own children) a Free India - an India, free from corrupt netas, incompetent and yet such useless governments (which are filled to the brim with people like Kanimozhi and A.Raja and the lot).

Can we make India corruption free? I hope it happens. I would like to see my India corruption free. I hope we all live to see the day that corrupt politicians get CORRECT punishment and a government, which actually is made by the people, of the people and for the people.

INDIA AGAINST CORRUPTION!!!!!!

P.S: Did you put up your facebook/twitter status for Independence day? Food for thought.

Alaipayuthey....

One LOVE story that I truly Love. Of course, I hate stupid love stories like "I hate luv storys". But, Alaipayuthey.. NEVER. Right from the moment I stepped out of the theater, I was thinking "what a love story.. so, is this what love is?" And I was just in 9th standard at that time.

11 years have rolled by since that Mani Ratnam masterpiece, so many movies have come and gone, so many love stories, told, forgotten and buried, but Alaipayuthey - has only managed to make me fall in love with it, all over again, every single time that I see the movie.



And it is only when I look back I suddenly realized -  11 years have gone by!!! Wow.. and it just seemed like yesterday night that I walked out of Devi theater after watching this.

I don't think I need to tell this movie's story now, as everyone would have watched it quite a few times - thanks to Sun Tv, Vijay Tv, etc. However, I must say, it is such a timeless classic, which has only been so enjoyable, that I have never been able to quit watching this movie.

Well, coming to the question - "What is love?" That's a very tough question to answer. Different people have different meanings. However, it will all come down to just that special someone, who can turn each of our lives up side down.

I guess I have run out of words to write about this movie and about love. I think I was better off just watching it for the billionth time and I am going back to continue it. I hope, I have performed an Inception on you to go watch the movie now. :)

Love stories...

Guys.. Im writing this post right after watching a really stupid movie called "I hate Luv Storys".... No offence meant but it's not really my kind of a movie.. Utterly depressing.. deplorable.. and I am not using expletives on my post.. but seriously- I'd consider it one of THE WORST movies of my life...

Well.. this post is not about that (I know I am getting a bit stereotypical here like a la karan johar's movies).. but seriously, its about more serious issues. Love - successes and failures.

Why do people break up? I hear all sorts of new reasons each day. People give reasons with big words such as compatibility issues. compatibility -  what does that mean? Means a girl and a guy need to agree on certain things (mostly sensitive things such as respecting each others families, sex, etc and that s only in 20% of the cases, and in the remaining 80% its on some rather silly things such as drinking, smoking, returning home late at night, rash driving, etc). Some people have a list of items with each criteria having an AND condition on it, which means all conditions MUST be fulfilled and must be Mr or Mrs perfect, as the case maybe.

I don't mean to say that all people breakup just like that. What I mean to say is trading off is the way to live. Guys, if your girl doesn't like you drinking, then try not to drink (or at least try not to get caught.. :P) Oh, and compromises are not only for guys, the same goes for girls as well (not the drinking part.. well - maybe some exceptions).

Breakups are such a cruel thing. Probably the worst punishment that people in love with each other can give to each other (and it is yes, a huge torture to the friends of the people who break up... just kidding -friends are always there to help) . Breakups happen for various different reasons, but at any point of time, there is always one of the two, who still wants to get back.

And to the question - why don't things work? Have you seen any machine work on its own? Even a TV? You have to switch it on, increase the sound, adjust the picture, set the TV properly in a good setting, all that. Love is also a machine. Love also needs its own bit of adjusting, care, etc. Of course, there will be fights, arguments, separations, at times even lack of time for each other, but all of those will just be a passing phase for people who are strong willed in a relationship.

This article might seem like utter bullshit ( I'm no love guru or something..) but I really thought I should write about this, after watching that movie.

A conversation....

Not long ago, someone asked me. What is India all about? What does India have that we (America) don't have?
I asked her in return. What do you THINK that you HAVE?

She replied. "We have culture, military, arts, science and technology, a great economy, money power, a strong democratic system, a peaceful life. That's some of the few things that we have. Now, tell me. What does India have?"
I know half of you would quickly flash through that memory of a movie in which the guy who plays Amitabh Bhachchan's younger bro saying "mera paas maa hai". True, it would have sufficed truly.

My reply "India has got a culture, a tradition that goes far beyond the time that mankind would remember. India invented plastic surgery, zero and taught the world how to do agriculture, trade, commerce, governance, science and economics, when the rest of the world was still just learning to pluck hair out of their heads. When you talk about culture, do you know how old America is? I don't know how old India is. India has been around since before Christ. Modern India has been around for only the last 63 years though, but imagine how close India is to becoming a world superpower. Without India and our contributions there would be no world, no new world."

She looked at me and I knew she was seriously working on her counter attack "Well. If you guys were around for as long as you say, why haven't you become the world's greatest superpower?" I knew this question was coming. I replied "If you haven't noticed, every nation has had its time. India was a world superpower, until your ancestors from England came and set foot in India. America rose to be a world superpower not more than 80 years earlier, to be exact since the first world war. India was ruled by a colonial power for over 200 years. Now we are a free country. A country which is once again on the ascendancy."

"Tell me something about your culture." I asked her. "What do you know about your culture?"
"Well, we have so many buildings, so many different writers, artists, great men and women like Martin Luther King, who have shown the world what we are all about." I decided to barge in "Looks like you don't even know what culture means. Culture refers to what a country/community has developed all over the years. India's culture also has so many art forms, artists, architectural marvels and also great men, who are revered in all parts of the world. Do you know any language that has existed for over a thousand years? Don't say English. English was spoken only after probably 1500s and 1600s, till then the official languages used in Britain was Latin. And I don't know too many Americans, who speak proper English. My mother tongue- Tamil has been around for over two thousand years. You can't find an inscription in America which dates back to Before Christ, while you can't find inscriptions in India, which don't date back that long. That itself is evidence for how long Indian culture has been around. We were born in our land. You guys came from Britain, to settle here and create a new world for yourselves."

"Why is India dependent on the U.S?" was the next question. I laughed. "Can you see one company which does not outsource at least some part of its operations to India? Now who's dependent on whom? Maybe we are just biding our time till we can show you what the true meaning of the word superpower is. I can't tell you till when we might just go on with this game, but one day it certainly will stop and that day is not too far."

"Well, I was watching this video where this guy talks about healthcare in India." said my friend. "I too saw that video. You know what. He is such an idiot. I can't believe he can say such things on air and the youtube description for that video was also inappropriate."
"Why do you say that?"
"1. Indian healthcare costs are certainly lower than in the U.S. That's because you shell out maybe 1000$ and that's about 50,000 Rs. in Indian money. Same emergency will cost you a few hundred dollars lesser. And by the way, the countries that have cheapest healthcare are Canada and France. They treat people for free.
2. The description of the video reads "...insulting an ally" India is not an ally to the U.S or to any other country in the world. "

"Pakistan?"

"There would have been no Pakistan and no place for Osama Bin Laden to hide and no terrorists, had only we been allowed to take them out completely and had only developed nations such as yourselves stopped supplying arms to a country run by terrorists. It's a well known fact and no one can refute the fact that America supplied and still does supply arms and intelligence to Pakistan, while Indian brains come here to study, settle down, pay taxes which go towards funding yet another weapons research technology which will protect American lives. Two faced."

I could see this conversation meandering to a sort of an opening gambit of a blame game, when I decided to leave before she could ask another question. I left soon after that reply. Just told her I had to go somewhere and I left. I knew that I had made her think. I knew she would get back at me sometime when she had a chance, when she had done her extensive research. I am waiting for that day, when she can ask me a question and I can answer it with disdain saying that "Guess who's the world's superpower now?"

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn........

I couldn't think of a good title for this post... and I happened to be yawning when I was starting to type this post.. and hence the nice big yawn....

Ok, I saw this video on youtube. It's a really hot one making the rounds over the last few days. A lot of responses pouring in for one Ms. Alexandra Wallace,  at UCLA. Well, if you haven't seen the video, here it is for you.

Oh, don't be scared of the thumbnail shown above, go ahead and click it. You can see the video.

I guess you've seen the video now. She's "the girl with American manners"... oh wow... Really???? Then you shouldn't be talking such shit on a public portal where people will certainly see your face, identify you and the next time if you happen to visit China, Japan, Singapore or wherever in Asia, you'll find yourself very popular.

Well, rather than me talking a lot more about this, (that's because I've got a lot to say to this girl, and it may turn racist at a point of time. And if I do start making some comments bordering on the lines of racism, there's not going to be much of a difference between me and Ms. Wallace.) you can as well read the comments on Youtube.

I'm going back to my yyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn................

UDRS- Umpire Decisions RUINING System

The league phase of this tournament is not yet over and we have seen sixes flying, some stunning catches being taken and some simple ones being spilled (yes, you know whom I'm talking about), excellent displays of batting and bowling, a tied match, upsets, huge run chases, a TV being broken, and yes, of course, umpires messing up decisions tanks to new fangled technology, which has only, as Dhoni says, "adulterated human decision making".

What the decision review systems have brought with it is more confusion. Reminds me of Michael Crichton's words "A complex system will always a lot of problems". A complex game such as Cricket has N number of problems. Rules are written in a language which border heavily on the lines of ambiguity. Sometimes, I'm sure even the greatest lawyers, judges and pundits of the game must have been confused by some rules.

There have been quite a few umpiring errors in recent times, that too with the use of such advanced technology. The worldcup may lack the cutting edge of the hotspot or the assistance of the snicko, but certainly, it has the hawkeye to make some of the LBW decisions easy for the umpire. All that the umpire has to do is to ask the third umpire at the behest of the player who questions the decision. Despite technology which can show out and not out clearly, there are some utterly stupid umpiring errors made.

Technology has been introduced into a game as lengthy as cricket, which once Hitler commented when watching a test match "I could've conquered another country in 5 days", to make sure that correct decisions are reached. Of late, there have been ghastly errors which show reputed umpires in poor light. Why do such errors occur?
1. Umpires these days rely far too much on technology. All the parameters for an LBW decision are shown on a big screen alongwith the reply, but the technology still cannot judge the amount of turn or bounce that the pitch provides at that point of time. The umpires would love to see hawkeye telling them that also, so that decisions can be made properly. What do you guys have a brain with immense cricketing knowledge and experience for?
2. Rules, rules and more rules, which are made ambiguous by each letter.

I could think of only 2, and there could be many more.

Gone are the days when good umpiring decisions were made solely by the two on field umpires. Maybe, with the advent of such technology, umpires could be done away with in the future. Lets just hope that we don't find that happening really soon. Cricket would never be the same if not for umpires like Billy Bowden, and Simon Taufel. Humans can make errors, even utterly stupid ones, on their own that is, but the game will live on. When technology interferes with plain and simple human decision making, it not only makes some highly respected umpires look foolish, it also causes a lot more confusion and sometimes even controversy when the decision making is thrown back to the on field umpire.

The game can only improve by either standardizing the UDRS components. Either make it all (hotspot, hawkeye and snicko) or nothing at all. An already complex game doesn't need a further complexity in terms of absurdly wrong decisions made even with the help of technology.

The 63 years that never were...

Yeah. You are right. You guessed it absolutely right. This post is about the lady who turned 63 just a few months back.

A nation ruled by the British, who dominated not only India, but also most part of the world for the better part of the 19th century, gained her independence in 1947. What for? To still be marked as a "developing nation", when nations such as Japan which was nuked in 1945 zoomed upward making itself as a world leader. Singapore, a nation not bigger than the city of Bangalore now standing as one of the world's best country, while most of our cities are languishing with poor facilities.

I hate to damage my own country like this. I love my India and I'm sure everyone of you, which ever country you maybe from LOVE yours.

Why is India like this? Well, some of the most obvious reasons are listed here:

1. Corruption -  Ah, yes. That is number one and I won't hesitate in betting that we are number 1 in that. The age old vice introduced by our British rulers and imbibed in our system ever since then has become a national practice. Thanks to this  we have hardly seen much of a development, except for the swelling bank accounts and the sprawling villas of our netas.

2. Indifference -  Thanks to the 1st cause, this one has also evolved.  When have we ever cared about giving or taking bribes to government officials, politicians and of late even educational institutions which demand huge amounts as donations to secure admissions. We have grown used to bribes being taken and given.

3. Reservation - Not railway ticket reservations, not air ticket reservations and certainly not reserving seats at restaurants. It's about reserving a HUGE chunk of seats in educational institutions for people based on CASTE, RELIGION and not based on economic affordability.

4. LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE PEOPLE AND THE NATION. Very evident among our netas. Ever remember an Independence day or a Republic day, when the entire nation, 1 BILLION Indians standing up for the national anthem? There has always been an occasion where a politician or a police chief or a government official has been caught sitting or disrespecting the national anthem or the flag. Lack of respect for the people who vote for them is utterly disgusting. Our politicians come begging to our doorsteps for votes and after the election, people are treated like shit.

5. A judicial system which tries a dumbass terrorist to show the world that we will give him a fair trial, while politicians who swindle lakhs of crores of Rupees are let off with just a commission of some "eminent" politicians investigating the matter. Neither will the commission give their reports early enough to prosecute the perpetrator, nor will the terrorist be hanged soon.

6. Power and money talk, more than the voice of the common man. Police fail to prosecute criminals backed by politicians. Agony, disgust are all that people get when they try to file a complaint with the police. There have been cases where just because the perpetrator has been a big shot's relative, the case just has to be dropped. Pity. Apart from that, only people with power enough to change election results at will, by rigging polls come to power.

7. Incompetent leaders who feign ignorance when something as huge as a multi million crore scandal happens. Leaders who FAIL to show themselves as a true leader. Some are puppets in the hands of some other leaders. Such leaders not only prove themselves incompetent, but also prove themselves to be inhuman. They rig elections, win them, eyewash the stupid common people of India, with promises that never will happen. They even go to the extent of making sure that the traffic stops for them and their useless bloody lives, while a much more worthwhile life dies in an ambulance that is stuck in traffic

7 reasons why India is like this. 7 main reasons. Reasons that matter a lot more than common people like you and me ( I am assuming that the people who matter DO NOT read this post). 

World Cup 2011.

The day has dawned in one part of the world. The part of the world where it matters the most. The countries to which the sport matters the most. The world cup begins today.

The world cup will for sure draw curtains on some glorious careers and some not so glorious ones as well. For sure, this will be the last world cup for some of cricket's biggest names which includes Sachin Tendulkar as well. India take on Bangladesh today, kicking off their world cup campaign. Co-hosts of this world cup and both of them will be considered favourites by their own countrymen.

This world cup will be a glorious one. The demons of 2007 are sure to be exorcised, given the fact that this world cup is being staged in the hotbed of cricket- the subcontinent. What better place for the resurrection of the 50 over game? The euphoria that fans bring to the game in the subcontinent can never be matched anywhere else in the world.

This world cup is one of the most open tournaments in the history of the game. Almost all of the top teams are strong sides, with flourishing talent. Oh, well, that would bring us to the question of who's the favourite? Playing in the subcontinent would obviously make India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan as favourites, combined with Bangladesh being dark horses. It's tough.

For me- It's 5 letters, we wear blue and we have god in our side.

The Thin Red Line....

Anything can be done for friendship. Anything can be done for love. People do absurd things for both.

Friends go to the very extents, the very ends of the world to help each other. So do people in love. But when a guy and a girl are "just good friends" and when they go great distances to help each other- does it mean they are still "just good friends" or are they in love? That question can never be answered.

People always say, a guy and a girl can never be "just good friends". Provokes me to say- social stigma or just another dogma promoted by the society. Can a girl and guy be just friends- certainly yes. It can happen. Relationships are evolved on basis of sheer proximity. If a person starts to distance themselves from their friend, the relationship slowly dies out. However, it does not involve physical distance. Friends or even lovers separated by thousands of miles still can maintain their relationship, thanks to the advent of the internet, iphone, and whatnots. It's all about emotional proximity.

There's just a very fine, thin, red line, imaginary of course, which marks the boundary between friendship and love between a girl and a guy. This line gets breached only when one mistakes the others feelings for them. More often than not it does happen.

With Valentine's day approaching, I am quite sure a lot of people would like to profess their love to the girl/guy who's on their mind. It could even be their best friend. Who knows? Well, best friends falling in love is not rare, but the relationship between best friends can never be the same if one proposes and the other happens to reject. Such people rarely tend to remain friends forever.

People who are going to propose to that "one" on Valentine's day- please take care. You may either get yourself killed by jumping excitedly or by a broken heart. Whatever it is- life must go on.

I know whatever I said will be termed as bullshit and I probably might be burnt at stake for blasphemy. Alright. I'll end my bullshit with this.

No One Killed Jessica....

I generally don't write reviews for movies. That job- my good friend Rohit does, you can catch his blog at www.uberreelz.blogspot.com .. but, this one, I'm so compelled to write a review. Sorry Rohit, just this one time mate....

No One Killed Jessica.

Times of India SCREAMED out this headline in 2006 and it was then a storm started. One man shot a bartender in the midst of 300 other celebrity and influential guests at a party and nearly managed to get away scot free.

One absolutely brilliant movie to start the year with. An extremely powerful screenplay combined with a highly pumped up Rani Mukherjee, just nails down the movie to be possibly one of THE BEST movies in recent times.

Vidya Balan plays Sabrina Lall, sister of the bartender Jessica Lall, who was shot dead at a posh party in New Delhi. Her killer- the son of a Haryana politician. The politician dad plays every possible trick to get his son out of this murder case. JUSTICE IS DENIED to Jessica Lall. The lower courts acquit the murderer and his accomplices due to evidences, which were tampered and witnesses who were bribed and threatened to lie in a court of law.

Over 300 witnesses to a killing and not one person comes to be a powerful witness for the prosecution. Due to pressure from the media, who deliver the aam aadmi's voice to The President of India, the case is reopened and finally the murderer is convicted and sentenced to a life in prison.

Rani Mukherjee has blazed through this movie as a firebrand reporter and Vidya Balan has portrayed Sabrina Lall as a strong character. Hats off to the editor, the director and the entire crew. It's not everyday that such a movie comes up on the silver screen. With a special mention to the music director for his "Dilli Dilli" track.

One interesting point to note is, except for Sabrina's family, every other character is fictitious, including Rani Mukherjee's character, which apparently never existed in the real case.

Ok. Movie apart. (ha ha ha... you fell for the movie review bit didn't you?).
1. Political power has ruined so many families in India. Justice has been denied to so many Jessicas. It's time to show that such people are not above the law.
2.The plight of Sabrina and her family following her sister's murder and during the trial has been shown very well in this movie, but isn't that the case of every single family that has been denied justice?
3. One dialogue that has such a great impact on this movie would be "Justice has been denied. You can live with it. I cannot."- Rani Mukherjee speaks that dialogue. If everyone of us feels that way for each of the Jessicas killed, then our judicial system would be far far far better.
4. It all comes down to one word- Corruption. Doesn't it?

No One Killed Jessica-  9.9/10 (No One Is Perfect). One amazing movie. A must watch for all of INDIA.

Of butterflies, hurricanes and tsunamis...

"I am an agent of Chaos." says The Joker. Chaos is everywhere. It's right before our eyes. It happens everywhere.

Chaos theory- for those who don't know anything about it. It's also known as the butterfly effect. To make it even more clear to my dear Tamil movie buffs, remember the opening scene of the movie Dasavatharam, where it shows a butterfly fluttering it's wings at the location of the Tsunami? That's what Chaos theory is all about. A harmless butterfly fluttering it's wings at one place might even cause destruction of unimaginable magnitudes at another. You will ask now- What crap is this? What has a butterfly got to do with destruction?

Good question. I watched this movie The Oxford Murders last night and I got a clear picture of what it (chaos theory)'s all about in a more concise way, as compared to Dasavatharam. The male lead of the movie says something very irrelevant to the murderer. A totally harmless statement, which leads to a murder and further triggers off a series of murders.

Unbelievable right? Something as harmless as a butterfly fluttering it's wings can cause a catastrophe. That's chaos theory. That's life. That's truth.

P.S: I know this post sounds really insane, but, really. I guess it's time to switch to some really stupid movies. Should stop watching highly intellectual ones.

Theory of Relativity....

Woah!!! Took me just about 15 seconds to come up with this title... This is in no way related to Einstein's theory of relativity...

Coming straight to the point- this post s all about some movies which I felt that I could relate myself and my life till now to. And this is no movie review. Those of you who were googling some of those movies listed here and finally ended up on my page, sorry guys, if you like it, go ahead and read, if not, carry on.

3 Idiots. I happened to watch this movie for the only second time and could completely relate to this movie. Though, I'm no genius who studied well and topped his college, I could completely relate to it since I do have a couple of "idiots" as friends. Well, a lot of their struggles in the movie, I could relate to, especially of a guy who is struggling to pass his exams and also of the one in the group who manages to come out on top always. One thing I learnt from the movie was that we aren't really doing what's we are passionate about (and I still am not doing what I'm passionate about). Not easy in a world which pays so much less for things that we are passionate about, is it?

Not really my kind of a movie. Romance. Not something that I'd completely relate to, but yes to an extent (Shhhh... I'm not telling how and all). I'm sure everyone who has seen this movie will say they can relate to this movie in someway.

Another movie that anyone can relate to. It's a pretty simple story. Gandhigiri rules. One particular scene in this movie which I felt totally moved was a scene where a guy calls up Munna's radio station.. saying he lost a huge sum of money in the share market and doesn't know how to face his father and how Munna helps him out. One fantastic scene, which will remain etched forever in my memory.

Chennai 600028 is all about friendship, rivalries, love, misunderstandings, booze, and yes of course lots of CRICKET. It s a close to my heart movie due to more of the reason that we played regular cricket, just about the time when the movie was released.  Not only does cricket give me the reason, it's also the various other aspects such as mokka comedies, friendships and misunderstandings also which gives us a reason to relate to.

There might be a lot other movies to which I can relate to, but these are the ones which came off the top of my head. Do feel free to add up your own list in the comments.... :)