Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Chak De India!!!
This is an old post posted on Wednesday September 26, 2007 - 12:02am after India's win in the first T20 World Cup... I am posting it again when Indian team has crashed out of T20 World Cup'09
People on both sides of the road, people on rooftops, people on walls, people on trees, people braving the rain, people bringing the city to a stop. People cheering any one who passed, people cheering anyone with a tricolor in his hand, people cheering any BEST bus passing, people sending a roar up in the air for just about anything. A cavalcade of bikers with tricolors, a cavalcade of cars with tricolors, a cavalcade of police on bikes, then a van full of dancers and DJ blaring out loud music, and then the open double decker bus with the heroes waving the tricolor. And everyone cheered the T20 world cup winners.
I was the witness to the cliché “India a cricket crazy nation” today. 60% of Mumbai came to a halt as the cricketing heroes of the nation returned from their winning escapades in South Africa. The adulation was something to be seen to be believed. Crores have been raining on these champs since the moment they lifted the coveted trophy. Dhoni and his soldiers have written history and that too against the nations archrivals. And the nation is proud of each one of them.
But what about the other heroes of the nation? Those who lay their lives every time we are up against our archrivals in a game which if lost the price you pay is nothing less than your life. Does anyone even remember these heroes? Leave alone crores, has anyone ever bothered to ask whether their families are getting a decent livelihood?
Wonder why we didn’t give the Kargil heroes such a welcome? May be we were busy sulking about the Indian cricket team’s performance in the 1999 World Cup.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Windows '98
While returning home I saw some kids roller skating on the road. They would hardly have been 7 or 8 year old. I remembered my own days as a kid. To enjoy we would generally stick to games like cricket or playing tops or flying kites. But today its the age of roller skates or skate boards and virtual games.
These kids have been born with these gizmos in their hands. Mobile phone is a normal thing for them and is a hep thing for an 8 year old to have. Internet is something without which homeworks are out of question. Google is the present version of the good old Oxford dictionary. You aint kool if you dont have the biggest Bey Blade (most of us dont even know whats that) or if you dont watch, or play or have a set of Pokemon gizmos.
I know that I am too young to talk like this but think of the time when our kids will come to this world. Blue tooth enabled appliances will be the norm. Simulated strategy games which will be played in real time would have taken the place of roller skates. The latest version of windows which would run on your palm tops would be Windows don't know what. The latest Pentium offering would Pentium 10^10 a 100 ghz processor. The hottest selling toy would be BOOMLAKUA and I have no idea what that would be. But times would have changed drastically. Technology would have changed and we who think are using the latest technology proudly flashing our high tech gizmos in front of our friends would suddenly become outdated or in terms of an IT professional obsolete.
But the million dollar question is that will we be able to instill, the same values, the same culture, the same ethics that our parents have given to us? The sense of patriotism that I somehow feel is slowly diminishing in today's youth will that be wiped out by then? Will people start becoming obsolete like Technology?
Did you say no?
Think about this the number of divorce cases have been rising steadily. The number of extra marital affairs has been rising steadily.The plight of the knowledge worker is on the rise. The nuclear family system is on the rise.The time people spend with their families is decreasing. The time people give to their children is decreasing. The number of old people homes have been rising steadily.
Are we working towards our own doom?
Think about it or one day we might be obsolete like Windows 98...
These kids have been born with these gizmos in their hands. Mobile phone is a normal thing for them and is a hep thing for an 8 year old to have. Internet is something without which homeworks are out of question. Google is the present version of the good old Oxford dictionary. You aint kool if you dont have the biggest Bey Blade (most of us dont even know whats that) or if you dont watch, or play or have a set of Pokemon gizmos.
I know that I am too young to talk like this but think of the time when our kids will come to this world. Blue tooth enabled appliances will be the norm. Simulated strategy games which will be played in real time would have taken the place of roller skates. The latest version of windows which would run on your palm tops would be Windows don't know what. The latest Pentium offering would Pentium 10^10 a 100 ghz processor. The hottest selling toy would be BOOMLAKUA and I have no idea what that would be. But times would have changed drastically. Technology would have changed and we who think are using the latest technology proudly flashing our high tech gizmos in front of our friends would suddenly become outdated or in terms of an IT professional obsolete.
But the million dollar question is that will we be able to instill, the same values, the same culture, the same ethics that our parents have given to us? The sense of patriotism that I somehow feel is slowly diminishing in today's youth will that be wiped out by then? Will people start becoming obsolete like Technology?
Did you say no?
Think about this the number of divorce cases have been rising steadily. The number of extra marital affairs has been rising steadily.The plight of the knowledge worker is on the rise. The nuclear family system is on the rise.The time people spend with their families is decreasing. The time people give to their children is decreasing. The number of old people homes have been rising steadily.
Are we working towards our own doom?
Think about it or one day we might be obsolete like Windows 98...
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sex Tourism
What is Sex Tourism?
Sex tourism is defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with others. Sex tourism of children would therefore be defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a child younger than the age of 18. It is against the law for any citizen of the United States to travel to another country to engage in sexual activity with any child younger than the age of 18. Individuals who partake in this illegal activity are subject to prosecution in the United States even if they committed the crime on foreign soil.
While much of the initial international attention on sex tourism of children focused on Thailand and other countries of Southeast Asia, there is no hemisphere, continent, or region unaffected by this trade. As countries develop their economies and tourism industries, this form of tourism seems to surface.Economic difficulties, civil unrest, poverty, and displacement of refugees all contribute to the growth of this industry. The United Nations International Children's Educational Fund (UNICEF) released a report in 1997 estimating more than 1 million children, overwhelmingly female, are forced into prostitution every year, the majority in Asia.3 End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), however, also reports increasing evidence of children being exploited in former Eastern Bloc countries. Reports of children entering prostitution, being exploited by foreigners and aid workers, and trafficked to Western European brothels are coming from the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Russia.
Introduction
To many governments around the world, international tourism can be the answer to economic growth and development. Tourism also brings consumerism to many parts of the world formerly denied access to luxury commodities and services. Growing consumerism and the commodification of sexuality may also be contributing to an increase in sex tourism of children.
Why Does It Occur?
Children will continue to be victimized by these sexual predators for many reasons including
Anonymity
Availability
Affordability
Lack of child-protection laws in foreign countries
Low risk of detection
Role of the Internet
Unfortunately there are still numerous small travel companies throughout the world that promote sex tourism of children by identifying resorts where prostitution is widespread. Because these companies are so small, they rarely draw attention from law enforcement.
In addition the advent of the Internet has revolutionized the growth of the sex-tourism-of-children industry. Some Internet chatrooms, message boards, and online organizations not only encourage this form of tourism, but give detailed instructions about how to partake in it.
The various areas of the Internet allow offenders to communicate with others who have already traveled to another country for this purpose. From the comfort of their own homes, they can plan their vacation and purchase their tickets with relative anonymity.
Statistics
Although it is nearly impossible to provide accurate statistics about the number of children involved in prostitution, the examples below provide an overview of the problem.
Cambodia: As of 1995 one survey found minors from 13 to 17 years of age comprised about 31 percent of sex workers.
China: As of 1994 the Peking People's Daily reported more than 10,000 women and children were abducted and sold each year in Sichaun alone.
Costa Rica: The capital city of San Jose is home to more than 2,000 child prostitutes. Across the country, children are regularly sold to foreign pedophiles as part of sex-tour "packages."
India: In 1995, 20 percent of Bombay's brothel population was composed of girls who were younger than 18, at least half of whom were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive.
Sri Lanka: 100,000 children between the ages of 6 and 14 are kept in brothels and an additional 5,000 children between 10 and 18 are working in tourist areas.
Taiwan: Estimates indicate the number of children in the sex industry to be around 100000.
Sex tourism is defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with others. Sex tourism of children would therefore be defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a child younger than the age of 18. It is against the law for any citizen of the United States to travel to another country to engage in sexual activity with any child younger than the age of 18. Individuals who partake in this illegal activity are subject to prosecution in the United States even if they committed the crime on foreign soil.
While much of the initial international attention on sex tourism of children focused on Thailand and other countries of Southeast Asia, there is no hemisphere, continent, or region unaffected by this trade. As countries develop their economies and tourism industries, this form of tourism seems to surface.Economic difficulties, civil unrest, poverty, and displacement of refugees all contribute to the growth of this industry. The United Nations International Children's Educational Fund (UNICEF) released a report in 1997 estimating more than 1 million children, overwhelmingly female, are forced into prostitution every year, the majority in Asia.3 End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), however, also reports increasing evidence of children being exploited in former Eastern Bloc countries. Reports of children entering prostitution, being exploited by foreigners and aid workers, and trafficked to Western European brothels are coming from the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Russia.
Introduction
To many governments around the world, international tourism can be the answer to economic growth and development. Tourism also brings consumerism to many parts of the world formerly denied access to luxury commodities and services. Growing consumerism and the commodification of sexuality may also be contributing to an increase in sex tourism of children.
Why Does It Occur?
Children will continue to be victimized by these sexual predators for many reasons including
Anonymity
Availability
Affordability
Lack of child-protection laws in foreign countries
Low risk of detection
Role of the Internet
Unfortunately there are still numerous small travel companies throughout the world that promote sex tourism of children by identifying resorts where prostitution is widespread. Because these companies are so small, they rarely draw attention from law enforcement.
In addition the advent of the Internet has revolutionized the growth of the sex-tourism-of-children industry. Some Internet chatrooms, message boards, and online organizations not only encourage this form of tourism, but give detailed instructions about how to partake in it.
The various areas of the Internet allow offenders to communicate with others who have already traveled to another country for this purpose. From the comfort of their own homes, they can plan their vacation and purchase their tickets with relative anonymity.
Statistics
Although it is nearly impossible to provide accurate statistics about the number of children involved in prostitution, the examples below provide an overview of the problem.
Cambodia: As of 1995 one survey found minors from 13 to 17 years of age comprised about 31 percent of sex workers.
China: As of 1994 the Peking People's Daily reported more than 10,000 women and children were abducted and sold each year in Sichaun alone.
Costa Rica: The capital city of San Jose is home to more than 2,000 child prostitutes. Across the country, children are regularly sold to foreign pedophiles as part of sex-tour "packages."
India: In 1995, 20 percent of Bombay's brothel population was composed of girls who were younger than 18, at least half of whom were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive.
Sri Lanka: 100,000 children between the ages of 6 and 14 are kept in brothels and an additional 5,000 children between 10 and 18 are working in tourist areas.
Taiwan: Estimates indicate the number of children in the sex industry to be around 100000.
The Four Step Love Theory
The Four Steps of Luv Theory as proposed by Dr. Vivek Singh goes something like this... Step 1: Falling in Luv (Read: infatuation)
Step 2: Making Luv (Read: have sex)
Step 3: Unmaking Luv(Read: Fighting over petty things like comming late to the coffee shop)
Step 4: Breaking Luv(Read: Break off)
This goes to prove the fact that everything that falls must break unless its unbreakable. So dont fall and dont break.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Imaginary World.
Sometimes sitting in the cafeteria you start staring into the void. Suddenly the world around you starts to move in slow motion. You can hear nothing. You can see nothing. You can feel nothing thats happening around you. You stagnate but the world around you is changing. Your mind is blank. People pass from in front of you and you just look through them as if they never existed. As if you never existed.
The only thing that exists are the faces of your loved ones. Floating in the air as if reflections on a calm lake. Nothing else maters. Nothing else exists. This is the real world that exists beyond our imagination.
And then BANG someone drops a plate and you are suddenly thrown into the imaginary world of chaos and stir. People all around you, shouting and screaming, contesting and competing, crying and weeping, laughing and playing. The imaginary world that we live in...
The only thing that exists are the faces of your loved ones. Floating in the air as if reflections on a calm lake. Nothing else maters. Nothing else exists. This is the real world that exists beyond our imagination.
And then BANG someone drops a plate and you are suddenly thrown into the imaginary world of chaos and stir. People all around you, shouting and screaming, contesting and competing, crying and weeping, laughing and playing. The imaginary world that we live in...
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Lover Pines
"So do you want to mary her", he asked, " yes", he said. "Then whats the problem", asked the old man, "She doesnt want to marry me", he said still looking out of the window.
"So does that make you sad", said the old man, "Yes it does", Said he. "So what do u do about it", "I goto the mandir every day atleast five to six times a weak" Said he. "And why doesnt she wants to marry you", " Because she is from another religion", said he.
"Do you still meet her?" " no we are not on talking terms any more", "Why thats so sad" said the old man. " So do you go to meet her" asked the old man. "no I dont I goto to the mandir instead, whenever I think of god I feel I am close to her" he said.
"You should go to her as many times as possible and to the mandir only once in a while and you can tell her that you have given her a place which is higher than that of god's" the old man adviced.
The sardar from Infosys Mohali smiled and continued looking outside the window, as if he was trying to search her beloveds face in the river below the bridge.
"So does that make you sad", said the old man, "Yes it does", Said he. "So what do u do about it", "I goto the mandir every day atleast five to six times a weak" Said he. "And why doesnt she wants to marry you", " Because she is from another religion", said he.
"Do you still meet her?" " no we are not on talking terms any more", "Why thats so sad" said the old man. " So do you go to meet her" asked the old man. "no I dont I goto to the mandir instead, whenever I think of god I feel I am close to her" he said.
"You should go to her as many times as possible and to the mandir only once in a while and you can tell her that you have given her a place which is higher than that of god's" the old man adviced.
The sardar from Infosys Mohali smiled and continued looking outside the window, as if he was trying to search her beloveds face in the river below the bridge.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Crush
Bangalore, can be beautiful in the evening and that too on a lazy Sunday evening with less traffic, it looks even better. I had just come out of my cozy little PG room after finishing an excellent novel by Henning Mankel – The return of the dance master. Had some tea and was upon deciding on going to the nearest mall for one of my surveys for my business plan that’s when I noticed the long road towards Wilson Garden just off the K. H. Road (more popularly known as Double Road I haven’t been able to figure why). I settled for the later option. The road is lined by trees on one side mostly coconut trees and the view is magnificent. As I started to walk towards Wilson Garden I was hardly aware of the surprise that awaited at the end of the road.
Bangalore has these old buildings, Buses and even some places that seem as if they are straight out of R K Laxmans Malgudi Days books. And this road to Wilson Garden is one such place it looked absolutely beautiful with all the greenery. It is a wide road with very little traffic and the buildings that are there mostly belong to Bangalore Municipal Transport Corp. The coconut trees swayed in the breeze while some white clouds were flying in the sky. So I walked along enjoying the long lonely walk, I guess I am beginning to like this loneliness. It started to drizzle. I thought it would not rain for long as I couldn’t see any large piece of cloud in the sky. But Mother Nature can be surprising.
I continued to walk enjoying the rain. In a few minutes the drizzle became a steady rain and I was almost half soaked when I noticed a girl walking in front of me tripping on a pot hole and fall to her knees. I rushed immediately to her aid. I offered my hand, which she accepted and tried to stand erect. She grimaced with pain as she tried to straighten her left leg. It seemed she had hurt her knee badly. She put her right arm around my shoulders for support. I saw a clinic around 20 steps ahead of us. I suggested that we should go there. She agreed.
She tried to limp, all the while her right arm not leaving my shoulders and her cheeks so close to my lips that I only resisted giving her a peck (dont ask me how). My left hand was around her waist to support her and she didn’t seemed to mind. She was wearing a orange kurta and a salwar and she was as fair as a girl should be. We were soaked to the skin by the time we reached the clinic though it had been only a few steps but she walked really slowly. At last I helped her climb the last of the stairs to the clinic and she slid into a chair near by. How I wished the clinic had been a bit farther.
It turned out that the clinic had only one lady doctor and that most of the residents in that locality had chosen this very Sunday evening to fall ill. There was a long queue waiting outside the doctor’s chamber though there were enough chairs for people to sit. She tried to remove the wet strands of hair all over her temple and cheek and I thought she looked absolutely beautiful as slid into a chair beside her. She had big blakc eyes. “Does that hurt?” I asked. She nodded feeling her wounded knee. The salwar was torn at the place she was hurt and the wound showed through the torn piece of fabric. I could see she was bleeding. She saw me watching her wound and said “thank you for helping me”. I said that anyone would have done the same thing. “If I am not bugging you can stay with me until the doctor has seen me because I am dead scared of doctors especially of syringes” she said. I laughed out loud and said that it would be my pleasure; little did she know how much I was enjoying her company.
“I am Priya” she said and stretched her right hand towards me, which I took and told her my name. There was some familiarity in her face and voice, I thought that I had seen her somewhere but I was not able to place her just where. I am pretty bad at remembering faces or even names but I have this knack of remembering voices I think that’s a god’s gift. She asked me where I lived and I told her that I was living in a pg on the Double Road. I told her where I was from and what I was doing in Bangalore. She said that she had been all over India since her father had a transfer job. She said that she was born in Jamshedpur then her family had moved on to Kolkata, then guwahati, then ooty and many other cities, which I don’t remember. And now for the past one year she was living in Bangalore with her family and was working for some software firm. All the while I was staring rather stupidly at her beautiful face. I was so full of her that I forgot to mention that I was from Jamshedpur as well. She chattered about so many things and as usual I said very little encouraging her only to tell more about herself. I loved the way she spoke, the way she looked at me as if we had been friends since the 4th grade.
As the queue neared the doctor’s chamber I gave her my hand to hold and get up but she chose the door instead and limped inside the doctors chamber. Since it was a lady doctor and a lady patient as well I decided to wait outside. All the time wishing that the queue had been a little longer. She came out of the doctor’s chamber in 5 minutes and her knee looked swollen due to the bandage. I asked how she was feeling now she said that she was feeling better. I asked whether she would be able to walk and she said that she would be so I didn’t offer my hand or my shoulder this time. We slowly walked out of the clinic all this while she told me how grateful she was that I had helped her and said sorry to have kept me for so long.
We came out of the clinic and hailed an auto and she climbed into it. She said thanks once again and the auto started moving. She waved at me and so did I. I watched the tail lamp of the auto disappear round the corner. And the rain gods smiled on Bangalore once again.
By the time I found this cyber café I was fully soaked and as I sit here sneezing and keying these words into 360 I realize that I forgot to take her number or email id or any contact data of the girl who was my first crush when I was in the 4th grade.
Bangalore has these old buildings, Buses and even some places that seem as if they are straight out of R K Laxmans Malgudi Days books. And this road to Wilson Garden is one such place it looked absolutely beautiful with all the greenery. It is a wide road with very little traffic and the buildings that are there mostly belong to Bangalore Municipal Transport Corp. The coconut trees swayed in the breeze while some white clouds were flying in the sky. So I walked along enjoying the long lonely walk, I guess I am beginning to like this loneliness. It started to drizzle. I thought it would not rain for long as I couldn’t see any large piece of cloud in the sky. But Mother Nature can be surprising.
I continued to walk enjoying the rain. In a few minutes the drizzle became a steady rain and I was almost half soaked when I noticed a girl walking in front of me tripping on a pot hole and fall to her knees. I rushed immediately to her aid. I offered my hand, which she accepted and tried to stand erect. She grimaced with pain as she tried to straighten her left leg. It seemed she had hurt her knee badly. She put her right arm around my shoulders for support. I saw a clinic around 20 steps ahead of us. I suggested that we should go there. She agreed.
She tried to limp, all the while her right arm not leaving my shoulders and her cheeks so close to my lips that I only resisted giving her a peck (dont ask me how). My left hand was around her waist to support her and she didn’t seemed to mind. She was wearing a orange kurta and a salwar and she was as fair as a girl should be. We were soaked to the skin by the time we reached the clinic though it had been only a few steps but she walked really slowly. At last I helped her climb the last of the stairs to the clinic and she slid into a chair near by. How I wished the clinic had been a bit farther.
It turned out that the clinic had only one lady doctor and that most of the residents in that locality had chosen this very Sunday evening to fall ill. There was a long queue waiting outside the doctor’s chamber though there were enough chairs for people to sit. She tried to remove the wet strands of hair all over her temple and cheek and I thought she looked absolutely beautiful as slid into a chair beside her. She had big blakc eyes. “Does that hurt?” I asked. She nodded feeling her wounded knee. The salwar was torn at the place she was hurt and the wound showed through the torn piece of fabric. I could see she was bleeding. She saw me watching her wound and said “thank you for helping me”. I said that anyone would have done the same thing. “If I am not bugging you can stay with me until the doctor has seen me because I am dead scared of doctors especially of syringes” she said. I laughed out loud and said that it would be my pleasure; little did she know how much I was enjoying her company.
“I am Priya” she said and stretched her right hand towards me, which I took and told her my name. There was some familiarity in her face and voice, I thought that I had seen her somewhere but I was not able to place her just where. I am pretty bad at remembering faces or even names but I have this knack of remembering voices I think that’s a god’s gift. She asked me where I lived and I told her that I was living in a pg on the Double Road. I told her where I was from and what I was doing in Bangalore. She said that she had been all over India since her father had a transfer job. She said that she was born in Jamshedpur then her family had moved on to Kolkata, then guwahati, then ooty and many other cities, which I don’t remember. And now for the past one year she was living in Bangalore with her family and was working for some software firm. All the while I was staring rather stupidly at her beautiful face. I was so full of her that I forgot to mention that I was from Jamshedpur as well. She chattered about so many things and as usual I said very little encouraging her only to tell more about herself. I loved the way she spoke, the way she looked at me as if we had been friends since the 4th grade.
As the queue neared the doctor’s chamber I gave her my hand to hold and get up but she chose the door instead and limped inside the doctors chamber. Since it was a lady doctor and a lady patient as well I decided to wait outside. All the time wishing that the queue had been a little longer. She came out of the doctor’s chamber in 5 minutes and her knee looked swollen due to the bandage. I asked how she was feeling now she said that she was feeling better. I asked whether she would be able to walk and she said that she would be so I didn’t offer my hand or my shoulder this time. We slowly walked out of the clinic all this while she told me how grateful she was that I had helped her and said sorry to have kept me for so long.
We came out of the clinic and hailed an auto and she climbed into it. She said thanks once again and the auto started moving. She waved at me and so did I. I watched the tail lamp of the auto disappear round the corner. And the rain gods smiled on Bangalore once again.
By the time I found this cyber café I was fully soaked and as I sit here sneezing and keying these words into 360 I realize that I forgot to take her number or email id or any contact data of the girl who was my first crush when I was in the 4th grade.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.