According to the Telugu calendar, today is the first day of New Year, titled Virodhi (meaning 'enemy', 'against' etc.) Doesn't sound like a good name for a year we all look forward to, to bring in positive change...does it?! What more?! This also happens to be an election year in India. And if positive change is not to be expected, based on predictions, then the prospects shudder me to no extent.
However, to a large extent, last year seemed to be a pretty bad year what with the earthquake in China, financial meltdown, recession, Mumbai attacks, etc. taking unprecedented toll on the common man. The politics and governance in India reached new lows as well last year.
What could go worse this year?! The politics?! The governance?! I can believe that - and we already see that in play.
But God! Save innocent lives and make this year better than last year atleast in that count. As for politics and governance - they reached such lows even God is helpless. The system has to correct itself after it can't go down any further.
Anyway, enough of the dark stuff. Wish you all a very pleasant new year! Even in the darkest clouds, we can see silver linings. I hope and wish for many such silver linings this year - so much so that the darkness could be withstood and forgotten.
Swasti!!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
He believes he can fly
Remember the song from Space Jam - I believe I can fly ?! Datta reminded me of it when I was driving the boys to school the other day.
I was driving and stopped at a red light. Datta was chatting non-stop about what he would do when he grows up (which is another story for another time, as he has no concept of linear time and thinking; and thinks he can be a Benjamin Button - you know what I mean!)
So anyway - when I stopped at the red light, he didn't see the red light - and asked me to keep going. I told him I can't as the light turned RED. His response was: "I want our car to fly in the sky so we don't have to stop for red lights. I want our house in the sky. I want my day-care, annayya's (big brother's) school in the sky, our play ground in the sky, walmart in the sky, temple in the sky...". Chandra caught on as well and true to their mood then, they kept on and on...until they built a whole community in the sky.
Sometimes I am scared to ask them to do anything that looks like conditioining them, lest I should stunt their creativity. Well, that's only sometimes, though. :) Let's see what they become...
Swasti!!
I was driving and stopped at a red light. Datta was chatting non-stop about what he would do when he grows up (which is another story for another time, as he has no concept of linear time and thinking; and thinks he can be a Benjamin Button - you know what I mean!)
So anyway - when I stopped at the red light, he didn't see the red light - and asked me to keep going. I told him I can't as the light turned RED. His response was: "I want our car to fly in the sky so we don't have to stop for red lights. I want our house in the sky. I want my day-care, annayya's (big brother's) school in the sky, our play ground in the sky, walmart in the sky, temple in the sky...". Chandra caught on as well and true to their mood then, they kept on and on...until they built a whole community in the sky.
Sometimes I am scared to ask them to do anything that looks like conditioining them, lest I should stunt their creativity. Well, that's only sometimes, though. :) Let's see what they become...
Swasti!!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Goal without a plan? Yes, sometimes...
My first significant goal after getting out of my home as an adolescent (for Bachelors education) was to get out of the country. During my M.S. education and initial years of employment in USA the strategic goal was to get back to my home country while still young. As the years passed by, the desire to get back not just to my country but to my hometown as well grew bigger and bigger.
We decided to return in October, after 15 years in USA. Do we have a plan? Yes and maybe. Do we need a well structured plan to get back to our homeland? The desire to get back to our roots and become a socially relevant entity there is strong enough in us and we believe that will get us to our current goal.
Do we need to plan and execute to it always? Sometimes the excitement is in doing things as they develop, while not losing sight of the goal. And we look forward to reaching there.
Swasti!!
We decided to return in October, after 15 years in USA. Do we have a plan? Yes and maybe. Do we need a well structured plan to get back to our homeland? The desire to get back to our roots and become a socially relevant entity there is strong enough in us and we believe that will get us to our current goal.
Do we need to plan and execute to it always? Sometimes the excitement is in doing things as they develop, while not losing sight of the goal. And we look forward to reaching there.
Swasti!!
Friday, March 06, 2009
The forgotten Martyrs
Wherever there's an attack by rowdy/terrorist elements on a celebrity (or plural), the whole world including the govts. and the media only focuses on the well being or predicament of the celebrity. Seldom are the lives of the security forces and the innocent passers-by given a second thought.
Consider the recent attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. 9-12 security forces have been killed in the shoot out. But all you hear about is how the cricketers escaped and how many got bruises in their legs, arms etc. (To give credit here, a couple of them with a bullet or two in non-critical parts of their body). Mind you, I am not trying to belittle the incident nor the suffering of the Stars. I am peeved at the raw deal meted out to the men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line to save these Stars. Dead or alive, the latter get all the attention and support. Dead or alive, the former never get a second look.
Blame it on .... WHO/WHAT? The corrupt politicians/governments? The celebrity crazy media? The public's insatiable 'paparazzi'sh' appetite, which is fed by the media? Or the degrading value for life (if it is not ours) ??
May the martyrs lives rest in peace! And their families stay strong, healthy and find better living.
Swasti !!
Consider the recent attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. 9-12 security forces have been killed in the shoot out. But all you hear about is how the cricketers escaped and how many got bruises in their legs, arms etc. (To give credit here, a couple of them with a bullet or two in non-critical parts of their body). Mind you, I am not trying to belittle the incident nor the suffering of the Stars. I am peeved at the raw deal meted out to the men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line to save these Stars. Dead or alive, the latter get all the attention and support. Dead or alive, the former never get a second look.
Blame it on .... WHO/WHAT? The corrupt politicians/governments? The celebrity crazy media? The public's insatiable 'paparazzi'sh' appetite, which is fed by the media? Or the degrading value for life (if it is not ours) ??
May the martyrs lives rest in peace! And their families stay strong, healthy and find better living.
Swasti !!
Monday, March 02, 2009
Wake up the bull? Not anytime soon...
Markets are going down for a few months now. Not just in the USA, but everywhere. One would think the indexes have tanked and they will start turning back up pretty soon. But every passing day brings with it some other bleak story - pushing the numbers further down. Once in a while we see speculators pushing it up a little bit, in vain hopes of the govt. recovery package doing wonders. But alas, we see the bear shaking its back ever more vigorously on the Street.
We have seen hundreds of thousands of jobs wiped out recently. Many more are on their way out. Again, not just here - but every where else as well. Banks collapsed. Many companies were shut down. Auto giants are on their way out or getting ready to be marginalized to being minions. One would think the nation would start getting into a savings mode never seen in recent times. But I haven't seen that in my community here where the restaurants and malls are ever so crowded even during weekday evenings, let alone on weekends.
Then we have the learned economists asking the public not to withdraw into their savings shell, but continue to spend as if nothing has happened. They say that is the only way to beat the recession. Yeah - right! Aren't these the same elite who brought about this situation? How can a reliable solution come out of their brains, which created this mess in the first place? Are we to believe that they realized their mistakes and now are prescribing the right formula?
Methinks, in simplistic terms, that all these economists and highly learned folks, complicated the otherwise keep-it-simple theories only to suit their own self serving purposes without any social relevance in mind. You earn money, save it and spend it for your needs first, and then wants. You borrow at times to meet those. But what we have seen is that the second step is missed completely in recent times and that the wants and may-be's have become needs and cannot-live-without's. All because of the media and marketing blitz added to the plethora of pundits that rule this world with their short-circuited brains and convoluted thinking.
Keep it simple, stupid!
Swasti!!
We have seen hundreds of thousands of jobs wiped out recently. Many more are on their way out. Again, not just here - but every where else as well. Banks collapsed. Many companies were shut down. Auto giants are on their way out or getting ready to be marginalized to being minions. One would think the nation would start getting into a savings mode never seen in recent times. But I haven't seen that in my community here where the restaurants and malls are ever so crowded even during weekday evenings, let alone on weekends.
Then we have the learned economists asking the public not to withdraw into their savings shell, but continue to spend as if nothing has happened. They say that is the only way to beat the recession. Yeah - right! Aren't these the same elite who brought about this situation? How can a reliable solution come out of their brains, which created this mess in the first place? Are we to believe that they realized their mistakes and now are prescribing the right formula?
Methinks, in simplistic terms, that all these economists and highly learned folks, complicated the otherwise keep-it-simple theories only to suit their own self serving purposes without any social relevance in mind. You earn money, save it and spend it for your needs first, and then wants. You borrow at times to meet those. But what we have seen is that the second step is missed completely in recent times and that the wants and may-be's have become needs and cannot-live-without's. All because of the media and marketing blitz added to the plethora of pundits that rule this world with their short-circuited brains and convoluted thinking.
Keep it simple, stupid!
Swasti!!
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