Paunch

Stand with your back straight and pushing your neck very
slightly forward, look down at your feet, by moving your eyeballs. If your
vision is not eclipsed by the protrusion of a nasty mass in the abdominal
region, then you have prevented yourself from acquiring the ownership of a
ghastly disgrace- “the Paunch”. I say this because the world today is taken by
a storm by the concept of ‘thin is in’ and it isn’t a juvenile crime to bear a
full-fledged paunch. Believe me friends, having a noticeable paunch can be more
shameful than being caught red-handed in drug-trafficking !!

The rounder the belly, the wealthier the man, is now a
bygone. Today, the global citizens call themselves health-conscious. There is
more than just a marginal difference between health-conscious people and health
freaks. The most dreaded activity of these health freaks is standing on the
weighing scale. A slight deviation ( in the +ve direction ) from the subsidized
number of kilograms might traumatize them for perhaps the next 13 days. If they
wake up in the morning to realize that they have lost 650 gms or more, they get
a high which an avid drinker will not relish even after several pecks of the
finest vodka. It is difficult for me to picture them further losing weight in
the measure of kilograms, as that may result in their total disappearance from
the face of the earth. That reminds me of ‘anorexia’. Now, the difference
between anorexia and malnourishment is that, the former is a health statement (
analogous to fashion statement ) and the latter one is a health disorder. Models,
who walk the ramp…( lets call them the ‘classy dahlings’) are anorexic and
street children (..the regular earthlings ) are malnourished.

Having a paunch has its own set of limitations. You have to
safely ignore the ‘looks’ of the ‘toned’ elements of the society. Loose-fitting
clothes suddenly become the must-haves of your wardrobe….a measure taken to
prevent some major faux-pas. Figure-hugging 
clothes are meant for those whose figures are not disfigured!! Next,
remember that when posing for a picture, avoid a side profile of your complete
self. It will only make you appear less attractive ( greek god that you are!).
If you are used to taking deep breathes and then holding onto them, till your
tailor registers your ‘vital-statistics’ for assembling your new wardrobe, then
BEWARE,,, it can be a gruelling task to squeeze yourself in those clothes (
stitched in accordance with the misleading waistline ). It can also give you an
impression of having expanded by an inch and a half more since the time of your
visit to the tailor and the delivery of your new clothes with an improved
size!! So, just whole-heartedly accept the paunch…and be yourself.

After all, it gives you a chance to revamp your style…( now
that the tee’s don’t fit you, …kurtas have to cover up ). Having a paunch
(already) enables you to crash all your calorie counters without feeling
guilty. It also allows you to curtail expenses on footwear, as anyways the feet
are nowhere to be seen.., thanks to the paunch coming midway. So, why splurge on
boots??? Instead buy belts that can be wound around your larger circumference,
that vividly stands out. The paunch makes you look less vulnerable and can help
you in making space for yourself while taking the public transport. It is
understood that there is no scope for a fourth seat if 2 out of 3 people
sitting on a bench in a train compartment, have a fair sized paunch.

But, that does not mean you disregard the bitter fact that
“YOU” are gaining weight (extra weight….to be precise ). The paunch cannot be a
belonging you will long to behold, caress or treasure. A bit of exercise and a
controlled diet can restore the ‘make-up’ of 
your stomach. It is essential to realize the importance of healthy
living because a toned and fit body along with a razor-sharp mind does give you
a true sense of well-being.

Nevertheless…..the jubilation of playing ‘tabla’ on that
very paunch is inexplicable!!!!

Biased load-shedding

No, this one does not reiterate the fact that Mumbai is
exempted from a torture called load shedding, the regularity of which is
commendable!! It throws light ( and not power, as we are deprived of it ) on a
different subject for contemplation.

Thane and the stations that follow ( lesser known to most of
the Mumbaities ) and Navi Mumbai are subjected to a daily ritual of  “load-shedding”. It is a fancy term coined
for the power cuts which are executed at a frequency which is greater than that
of a peculiar novel song played as a “fresh hit” on Zoom. Interestingly, Mulund
( the princess of suburbs – as per the claims ) and Bhandup are conveniently
set apart from Mumbai when it comes to power cuts. So, these localities are not
excused even though they belong to the island city. Now, I’m done with the
geographical details.

Let me come to the point. The duration of power cuts can be
anywhere between 3 hours to 9 hours depending on the closeness of the location
to Mumbai: eg. If thane has it for 5 hrs, then Kalyan will endure it for about
7-8 hrs on a daily basis. But still, this is not the bias about which I want to
complain. I believe that the power cuts are chauvinistic in nature, their
target victims being the ‘housewives’. The husband leaves for his work-place by
7, the children are off to school or college and our dear housewife ( victim of
male chauvinism )is  busy arranging hot
water for everyone’s bath. With all the appliances running on electricity, how
is she expected to grill, toast or knead the dough when the power is gone at,
as early as 6 in the morning??? It is widely proclaimed that Science and
Technology have paced up the life of a housewife. I’m sure that she would take
this with a pinch of salt. Next, in the afternoon, when the October heat
scorches and pierces into every household, the lady is left sweating and
struggling in an effort to beat the heat. The exhausted soul cannot even
peacefully take a nap for an hour or two, as the rising mercury makes it
grossly uncomfortable. Now, with the refrigerator disconnected for 3 running
hrs, she has to re-heat the cooked food to avoid the dismay over the spoilt
food in the following evening. Imagine the piteous plight of the female
standing in front of the burner, facing the flaming sun and no fans ( exhaust
or ceiling ) to move the heated air particles…. To top it all, if you house
lies facing the east-west direction ( believed to be miraculously beneficial to
your health and wealth, as per Vaastu-Shaastra ), then the intensity of the
incoming sunlight can be strong enough to shrivel you down.

Business failures, and financial losses seem to be the only
complaints that always surface everytime the concept of load-shedding is argued
upon. No one really bothers to consider the plight of the housewife who has
sworn to refrain from whining…

So, thank your stars if you are a student ( attending
colleges in Mumbai ONLY ) or a husband who can relish his lunch in the
air-conditioned room. The contents of this lunch are wrapped in aluminium foils…with
tender care and concern of the diligent woman who has been preparing it in the
blinding darkness ( as there is no blinding light, or any kind of light at that
point of time in the morning!!)..in anticipation of a cool breeze to soothe her
soul…..

Dated :  2^nd October, Every year

Sticking to the ordained schedule, 2^nd October arrived
in the year 2008 as well, to mark the event of Gandhi Jayanti. Historical
records say that Lal Bahadur Shastri was also incidently born on the same day.
The moral of the story being, two great individuals were born on this
particular day…and here we are, celebrating “DRY DAY” in their
honour.

Being a public holiday, I decided to venture out with a
couple of friends to do a typical girlie chore : SHOPPING. When 5 girls meet,
the expected number of giggles are conveniently outnumbered and the blabbing
continues incessantly. As we treaded along M.G. Road, I realized that the
number of hoardings paying obeisance to the great Mahatma had drastically
reduced. This year too, the banner sponsored by N*P was larger that that of the
BJ*. The shopping happened in spurts and we drove back to a friend’s home via L.B.S.
Marg.

The christening of the roads in Mumbai has been done very
thoughtfully. The means devised to remember these noble countrymen are
praise-worthy. ..( Gandhi market and Hindmata are also to be included. ).

The holiday served no purpose. There was hue and cry over
the newly imposed ban of smoking in public places. The government could not
find a day more auspicious than this to introduce this legal interference in people’s
habit. It was painful to see a ten-year old pick-pocketing, standing on
the  footpath, right under the signboard
bearing the initials L.B.S. Marg. It was equally
disgusting to see over-zealous lovers scribble their names       ( the names outlined by a distorted ugly
heart etched  in vermilion red
)on the pillar upholding the bust of the Mahatma. The television channels that
day showed just one movie – GANDHI. That marked the end of
patriotism for the day. The slump in the patriotic fervour was vividly
conspicuous. Perhaps, the spacing between 15^th August and 2^nd
October needs to be changed. Almost 7 months after Republic Day ( i.e. 26^th
January, to be precise ), the mercury of jingoism rises to high levels on
August 15^th. The levels exponentially crash in the next two months..
and “DRY DAY” is all that is left to be observed by us.

It is pitiable that the brave and courageous memories have
eventually faded and 2^nd October is just another day..oops!! a HOLIDAY..

The General Secretary (G.S.)

DISCLAIMER:

This article is for the
general public and specifically for the “socially
inactive class” of Veermata Jijabai
Technological Institute (V.J.T.I.), Mumbai, which bears a mention in the
subsequent areas of the document. The contents of the document are not meant to
intentionally hurt the sentiments of the GS, but to make the socially  inactive class of VJTI aware of their campus
happenings.

The life of a socially
active third year engineering student can either be absolutely
flamboyant or in plaintive shatters.

Now in a college like VJTI ,
which stands a host to various events like technical, cultural and sports ( not
to forget Rose-Day, Teacher’s Day and Ganeshotsav as well), the perennial
activity of the social group barely needs to be elaborated. Now, ‘Social
Group’ is nothing akin to BJP, BSP or JD. It is the first authority of
the college which conducts the year-round activities in the college campus. The
Social Group is a collection of some important students ( the degree of
importance of every student member can be best decided as per the personal
claims made by the student ) and some professors who re-direct the action on
the forefront. The Social Group invariably gives you ample opportunities to be
innovative, judgemental , blunt , conscious and most importantly politically
correct ( or ‘diplomatic’ in lay man’s terms ). So there is a bunch of
candidates ( includes “genuinely deserving” ones and “genuinely
claiming to be deserving” ones) who wish to apply for the illustrious
post of the General Secretary ( GS ). Believe me friends, you will never find a
larger number of aspiring engineers struggling to be a ‘secretary’( and that too a
‘general’ one!! ).

The horizons of the Social
Group encompass only the ‘socially active students’. As per a former mention, there
always exists a substantial number of students, who at the end of four years of
a rigorous (!!) course can claim to have the profound knowledge of running
motors or encoding programs. Categorizing them as “socially inactive” is
derogatory to their brilliant pointers and conceptual understanding. Yet, the
ease of addressing them like this, tempts me to use the phrase with a high
frequency. I’m sorry for giving into this temptation… The ‘socially active
class’ on the other hand knows how to conduct Pratibimb, Technovanza or
Enthusia..( names of our college festivals ) without having a fair
understanding of what is happening in their classrooms and majorly screwing up
their pointers on the scoresheet.

Note:  The
repeated use of the word “social” can be justified on the grounds that the
author herself is an existing member of the ‘Social Group’.

Now, back to our post of the
General Secretary - the process of getting selected as one is more
nerve-wrecking than getting a BTech degree altogether! The process is
elaborated as under-

Step 1:
This includes elimination of undeserving candidates. “Undeserving” is a relative term. Even a “genuinely claiming to
be  deserving” candidate may ‘find’ a fellow  candidate undeserving. The search results for
the ‘findings’ of the former for the
latter  can be varied – ranging from
animosity, jealousy or a simple reason that- “ he/she is not a part of my group
and/or I hate him” ( ‘group’ here does not  refer to Social Group but indicates friend-circle
). So, on such diverse grounds, we have 5-6 ( at times even 8 )
candidates ( who are unable to reach a consensus ) vying for three possible
vacancies. The elimination is the carried out by conducting elections which
forms the Step 2 of our elaborate process to reach the ornamental position of
the General Secretary.

Step 2: Elections

These are again of two types:

Staged and not staged ( i.e genuine ..haha!! ) . The early stage of
preparing for the elections includes garnering ‘support’. Now in VJTI, we have
a hostel. So, the support system consists of ‘hostelites’ and ‘localites’.
If  you have the right set of ‘contacts’ , your support system can
become exceedingly larger than that of your rivals. The contesting candidates
can exploit all fair means to ensure
an impregnable support system. Once this is done, an auspicious day is selected and three victorious candidates are
elected! ( I hope you appreciate the rhythm of this sentence..) if you find
this process to be genuine, then my class elections were of type 2.

Step 3:
The 3 candidates elected from every branch now have to submit a proposal to the
panel of teachers of the Social Group. The proposal includes an elaborate
description of  how they intend to
conduct the event and its various aspects like budget, sponsorship, publicity,
etc.. the proposal is comparable to the blueprint
of the mega-event . The candidates 
are interviewed  for about 15-20
minutes by 4 to 6 teachers. The total number of candidates can be anywhere
between 15 to 20 for the 8 most enviable positions of the Social Group.         

Step 4:
After  studying the proposals, the panel
can chose to eliminate candidates on various grounds ( attendance, scores,
residence, etc .. ) and select the most deserving candidates for the available
posts. The  results are declared on
another auspicious day and the new set of names of Social Group student members
are on display on the various notice boards of the college.

Now, the elaborate  process is over. The GS is selected. He/she
suddenly becomes the most sought after person in the college. People
want to talk to the GS, work for the GS and if at all you were not on good
terms with the GS, you might as well end up trying to develop good relations
with the GS. They say that “Rome
was not built in a day” but the GS definitely is!! This explains the
flamboyance of the life of a third year socially active engineering student… The
position of the General Secretary comes with immense responsibility and
enviable fame. It can even result in spoiling the  relations developed with peers  which flourished in the preceding years. The
GS has to bear the brunt of inefficacy on the part of team members, ego clashes
and difference of opinions and still get his/her  work done in the best possible manner.
This justifies the phrase ‘plaintive shatters’ used in the latter part of the
opening sentence of the document.

The GS has to do loads of
planning, organization, coordination and brainstorming with his/her colossal
team and most importantly – never be wrong. Even if the GS cant be right
everytime, it is instrumental for him/her to NOT be wrong. Very difficult
task….i guess!

To sum up, I can say that belonging to
the socially active class gives you a sense of the real world on a smaller
scale. So, there is an element of pride in being a part of the Social Group. What is in store for our GS hereafter will be
propounded in the next expert document to be released soon…!!!

Getting into the….queue ( …and not
groove )

One of the major
reasons for large-scale mass gatherings posing a potent threat to human life is
the failure to regulate the participating crowd. The onus of the regulation of
the people gathered in colossal numbers does not lie on the police alone. It
makes sense to discipline ourselves whenever we are a part of a crowd; rather,
one may ask why make the appearance of a crowd as an eyesore?? Cant we Indians
learn the laws governing the filing of queues and abide by the same?? In a
country where probably our mother was waiting in a queue bearing the anguish of
her labour before delivering us, I see no reason for bearing an inherent apathy
towards this institution of queue.

The unfortunate
incident of stampede at Nainadevi is a result of mismanagement of a crowd which does not give human life its due
worth. Another major factor contributing to this ruckus is
rumour-mongering. It once again portrays the typical Indian brain which shoots
to action without giving a rational thought to a volley of disarrayed ideas
thrown on them. If one person ( who has had an adrenaline rush ) decides to
react to a rumour as per his whims, he has an entire “herd” of thoughtless
individuals following suit.

Such incidences need to
avoided as  they CAN be prevented. In places bearing religious significance, special
methods need to be adopted to avoid the stir of the devout’s sentiments. The
access to the shrines and their pathways should be under constant patrolling so
as to avoid any kind of rumour mongering. Last but not the least, it is the
discipline that the devotees should exercise which can make a remarkable
difference and facilitate case of governing to the patrolling police.

To sum up
I can say that eventually it rests with the mortals to make their journey to seek
the divine blessings, safe and systematic…

Its time to gear up!

The cricketing action is worsening day
by day after the 20-20 victory. Looks like our boys are still on a high after
being the T-20 Champions. They need to realise that they are struggling to
remain on-field for the entire 50 overs in an ODI or display finesse in a 5-day
test match. It now makes sense to celebrate the victory well achieved by Team India 25 years ago at the '83 World Cup, because
the current team finds it difficult to  even get their hands on the Asia Cup. I hope serious and sincere efforts are taken by
our team to make up for this dismal performance.

Reflections

The following are beautiful ideals that I
managed to read and would like to share with all of you…the embodied way of
living would make for a beautiful life…we all are in a pursuit of a sin-free
life….live a life filled with goodness and warmth…

ˇ       
Confession
of evil deeds is the first beginning of good deeds.

ˇ       
 If
you confess your evil actions , you
have more sense than you had before; to see your error.

ˇ       
If you confess your sins ; you begin your
journey towards emancipation.

ˇ       
When your sins get washed away, you shine
with brilliance
and lustre
, which surpasses every form of material beauty.

ˇ       
Once you make up your mind to tread the path of truth,
all sins will be destroyed.

ˇ       
Sin is the mistake committed by the ignorant Jiva.
Contrition,
change of heart, is the only
condition for forgiveness of human sin.

ˇ       
There is no such thing as eternal
hellfire, for sinners. Eternal
damnation is an ungodly doctrine, a terror and nightmare for
all ages; to desist
people from doing wicked actions.

ˇ       
No
person is found on earth who shines with all the excellent qualities.
No one is wise at all times and no
one is a fool always.

ˇ       
The sinner today is the saint tomorrow. Hate the sin not the sinner.

Wanted an MBA groom for my Engineer daughter

This very articulate
demand uncovers the true purpose of educating the girl-child. The value
of MBA or Engineering education has been reduced to a mere game of figures
established at the end of the placement of a student pursuing these courses.

Bachelor of Technology (
BTech ) or Bachelor of Engineering ( BE ) is considered as a
fairly affordable degree for graduate studies ( as compared to Health Science
courses ) and the best one  to sustain a
good life ahead. Somehow, an engineer finds means easily to earn a decent
livelihood as compared to his counterparts. Even wondered why the demand for
engineering students is ever increasing inspite of  various other disciplines in the stream of
education?? These faculties also provide for multiple opportunities and nurture
talents. Then, why the bias?? The engineering syllabus is holistic and
coherent. It trains a student to identify and judge a
problem, find not one but multiple solutions to the same and apply the best one
to get it redressed at the earliest and also in the most economical way.
The four year course is designed to rigorously test the student through
projects, assignments, practicals, biyearly semesters, internships and
threatening deadlines. The technical exhibitions and festivals provide the
opportunities to the budding technocrat to get a brush with the pioneers of the
industry. The course provides multifarious aspects for personality development.
This probably explains as to why more number of engineers are becoming
efficient managers. This statement in no way implies or claims
that Engineers are better Managers or MBAs for that matter. The Engineering syllabus definitely equips us with
the technical aspects of management. The courses are rigorous and professional
in character. We are under an illusion of management education being associated
with better designation, salary and most importantly – a pompous status. Though
statistics reveal the stunning figures of salaries being offered to a MBA
student, the management education has a different perspective which is entirely
value-based. The gospel fact remains that management
education is more of introspection and being thorough with oneself – ones
interests, confidence, calibre and credibility. Only then one
can be judged on the basis of what he/she has to offer to the organization. An
MBA gives you the confidence to veer off the treaded path; pursue your dreams
and gives an impetus to innovation and experimentation. The course makes you
acquainted with all the aspects of running a company, which is priceless for an
innovative entrepreneur. It provokes you to think of the state of country’s economy,
understand the investment options and reap the benefits. It teaches you the
path to create wealth rather than just make money. It grooms the person to
serve the best to oneself – only then can he be an asset to an enterprise. An
MBA course prepares you to face the realities of life while you are still in
the process of shaping your dreams. Doing away with your graduation is no
reason to get into a MBA course. The management course gives you a chance to
figure out your strengths, weaknesses, passions and harness them. It leads you
to the path of illumination, innovation and self-recognition. The
course is more spiritual than professional, because its truest form is about
self-realisation.

So, all my dear mothers, its
time you realized that your daughter is no longer a “Material Girl”. She belongs to an elite class of educated
professionals, and is willing to be tried and tested by challenges. Her
education has lent her the confidence to trust her independence………….and an MBA
husband is not
the only thing
on her mind…….

Dear mothers,

your daughters are really
reaching for the stars…….. 

A Fair Game

Today , I
read an article which suggested to frame a curriculum which reaches to the
masses at the grass root level and which will be under the jurisdiction of a National Board for education in schools . This would make
sure that every child applying for his / her high school     ( Std. XI ) studies is at par with every other applicant. He
also gets the option of studying the respective
state language throughout his school years.

This year
SSC Board adopted the system of awarding internal
assessment marks which was already in force for the ICSE and CBSE
students. This year saw the pass percentage for the
state soar for the SSC students and the highest marks secured by the
state board student was comparable to his counterparts
from the ICSE and CBSE boards. This alone proves that the newly devised
framework of grading has worked in the favour of the student who is under
tremendous pressure when he faces the very first board examination. Framing of
a national curriculum implies the existing curriculum in various states and the
ICSE and CBSE boards be abolished; and  at the same time, this national curriculum is implemented in each and
every school in the country. The problem areas that instantly
surface are:  -   Affordability
to the parents in urban and rural areas
alike.

-        
Limiting the access of the parents to IB curriculum which adds a fair amount of snob
- value to the education.

-        
Recruitment of teachers to teach the newly framed syllabus and the re-training sessions that need to be provided to
the existing and the newly hired staff.

-        
The
admission criteria for the students in the
final year of schooling , the year before the system is established and implemented.

Though
the system abolishes every possible arguement especially concerning the
disadvantage that a state board student is exposed to as against his high
scoring counterparts of the New Delhi curriculum; the difficulties in the
process of implementing this board of education and reaching out to every nook
and corner of the country seem tedious as there are ample issues ( aforesaid )
to overcome. The state governments can frame such a policy, because the effort
seems worth it. Another alternative can be to stage Common Entrance Tests (CETs)
for all students securing admission into junior
colleges with no credit given to the standard 10 marks. Acquiring a minimum
pass percentage in std. 10 can be a pre-requisite for every
student applying for the streams of Science,
Commerce , Arts or Diploma Engineering. This again demands for a
syllabus which should framed for these exams without
providing bias to any state board of education. A question also arises
whether the student is prepared to go through the stress
of a competitive exam at an early age. Leniency in grading cannot be a
possible solution to ensure that a student scores well. It was well pointed out
that scoring a 100 per cent mark would also be a
possibility in the near future. The existing percentile system is a
feasible solution at this stage , but then again the students scoring above 90
percent at the ICSE and CBSE exams far outnumbers the SSC students. Hence, judging the student's merit on basis of his/her performance
in the competitive exams (CETs) makes the admission game fairer to play.

The Glory of Indian Cinema

The journey began in the early 1940s when Dadasaheb Phalke flashed his mute video clips on the projector screens. ..and today, we stand on the threshold to make our presence felt globally in the form of Bollywood.

Bollywood brings to our minds the exuberance of scenic locations, the rhythm of the hip-hop beats and the melody of music.

Veteran actors like Naseeruddin Shah , Amrish Puri,and the epitomic beauty Aishwariya Rai have become iconic stars not only in India but have significantly contributed to international films as well. The presence of fan clubs for the Khans, all round the world is not new to us. Today, we can proudly say that the Indian film industry is constantly extending its horizons.

India cinema has seen rapid evolution in the past decade. It is producing more of contemporary cinema. Financers are immensely investing in this industry which is witnessing voluptuous growth. It believes in catering the best to its cosmopolitan masses. The costumes, make-up, cinematography, special effects have greatly improved. This progress is not limited to the Hindi movies only. The vernacular medium of movies is also making a gradual impact in this success story. Slowly we are moving from the cinema theatres and adapting ourselves to the multiplex culture.

Yet again, every coin does have a flipside. Movies even today are the largest medium of mass entertainment. As a medium, it has the potential to mould the minds of its audience. Still, our directors are not thoughtful enough as to what they are showcasing to the masses , which does not really have a bulk of rational thinkers. The audience to our movies barely have a mind-set which can view the onscreen intimacy in an aesthetic way. They try to enact whatever  is projected on the silver screen. Excessive onscreen exposure by the film heroine invites lewd comments. Even an ordinary college-going girl has to be a victim of eve-teasing which has increased over the years. Sexually explicit material , violence, has been in one way or the other instrumental in  increasing the crime-rate. Movies like Metro handle the sensitive issue of  relationships whereas Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna justifies infidelity to a good extent. The comprehensibility of such issues remains limited to an elite class of audience only. Most of the time, a new Friday-release is such that it makes us uncomfortable to watch with our parents or grandparents.The Indian mind-set is yet to come out of the closet completely. People still believe that kissing can get a girl pregnant and talking openly about sex is a taboo.

 We still remain a country westernized in our thoughts but tied to its tradition. Indian cinema can be thoughtful and can be effectively exploited as a medium to revive our culture. It is good to learn from our counterparts ; but our authorities must  wisely decide what they should show its masses.