Thank you Mr. Dhokalia

The IIMA Director, Mr. Bakul Dhokalia has given a shot in the arm to the protestors all over the country by spaeking out on the impossibility of implementing the increase of seats.

God Bless You!

Of Women and Children

Women are an amazing species. And I love them. Their passions are something we men can never understand; but isn't that what us makes love them?

As much as I love children, I am not a woman. I mean the affection that women have for children is something that we men can never feel, or at the very least never express. I love children. But I can never match the passion that my mom and grandmother, and in general speak with on children. Even my lady friends speak so affectionately of children. Piquant, isn't it?

My sister (cousin) has recently delivered; in December actually. The kid is unbelievably cute. Hes just turned over, and repeatedly bangs his head on the floor, as he is unable to lift his heavy head. When I mentioned this to my mom and grandmother, they went into nostalgic overdrive. I got a detailed description as to how children are at this age. As to how they turn over and dont know how to turn back and then get frustrated, how they repeatedly bang their head on the floor, how they learn to sit down, how they begin walking, how they have their first step and so on. I could only sit for 15 minutes and enjoy two women speak with rhetoric on their favoured topic.

Throughout those 15 minutes I hardly paid any attention as to what they were saying, but I was having an amazing conversation with their eyes. My eyes were rivetted to theirs as they recounted scores of children. They had after all seen plenty of them. My grandmother at least.

My cousin called today morning. And then suddenly we had two neonatologists in the room. "Feed him this." "Dont do that" "Dont feed him that". You know the rest.

Men will never speak of children in this manner, irrespective of how many children they have encountered. My father and uncle are classic examples. I guess testosterone is weird. Well progesterone and oestrogen at work are worth watching.

Anyways, here is my lovely nephew:

Unconditional Love

I stared into those becoming eyes,
Little pools of water are they,
Ensconced in a radiant face,
The most beautiful thing, on any given day.

I sat, and regaled that jolly laugh,
My indulgence almost does me blight.
I can't help but stare at that face,
Such beauty, is indeed a very rare sight.

Her hands delicately clasp mine,
As if, theres something that has to be said.
But, no words emanate from her,
And I continue admiring those cheeks so red.

That nose would give Cleopatra a run
For her money, and thats true.
That voice is comparable to a certain Miss Lata,
The feeling I am having is most certainly new.

She coos so gently into my ear,
When I grab that delicate hand of hers.
Her sweet scent hits me then,
My heart suddenly, out of its stupor, stirs.

“The most beautiful thing in the world is she”
Of that theres no doubt,
If the reasons above ain't enough,
“Shes my six month old niece,” and now no one will shout.

Thought for the day

The difference between an interesting conversation and beauty: Nothing

To the media

This post is directed towards the media of the land, especially to the newspaper editors and all the directors of News channels.

Respected heads of media,

The past week has had both the print and visual media, filling their media space with the account of the attack on Mr. Pramod Mahajan. As much as I respect the man, and the service he has rendered to our land, I sincerely opine that the coverage given to this was grossly exaggerated and, at most instances, quite unnecessary. Here are reasons why:

1: It is quite distressing to a family that is in the hospital, praying for a member of its own, worse still the patriarch, to have images of the patient splashed all over any form of accessible media. It is hard enough on them as it is, because the perpetrator was highly trusted. So to have the case be dissected, especially before the proceedings can actually take place in court, is quite unwarranted.

2: The method of reporting was, to be polite, distasteful. It was almost inciteful, and despite the fact that the attacker be punished for his sin, sadly the impact of the report shall be borne by his immediate family. Pravin Mahajan's children shall not be able to go school now. Just to remind you, they are all of 16 years of age. Forget being able to stand on their feet, they are not matriculates in all probability. His wife, who has been rendered practically a widow by the madness enacted out by her husband, shall not have any social life. As it is she might not be in a position to forgive her husband, let alone society forgiving him. Think about the impact that your coverage would be doing to them

3: Heads of the media, think about that mother who has lost two children. At this point of time, seeing images of her passing out on the coffin of her dead son are surely not on her mind. Also, detailing how callous her son was of his brother's death, is not going to be very comforting to her. Remember that her age has crossed 70.

4: Think about the target audience. I cannot speak for the whole land, but having hour long coverages of a funeral, are not exactly my kind of news. Mr. Pranoy Roy, I respected you and your channel. Its sad that you too have resorted to pandering through sensationalism.

Please remember sirs, that an overdose of medical brandy, leaves you intoxicated.

694224000 seconds and counting!

Well, those are the number of seconds that I shall have lived through at 10:44 am this morning. Its an amazing feeling that I have lived so long. It really is.

The day began well for me this year. I got the maximum number of calls that I have ever received in my life. And it felt really special to know that you have touched so many lives. It really did. It felt good to chat up in the dead silence of the night, walking on the balcony with a lovely cool breeze in my face, watching the street dogs fight amongst themselves, and switching in between so many calls.

After the calls were done, and my sleep truly vaporized, I sat down in the balcony to spend a little time with myself. With the hectic schedule of engineering, I really wanted this. The silence was almost eerie at times, but it was that silence that made me realize, that I am now truly on the path of adulthood. It is a surreal feeling, totally. So often we adoloscents discuss maturity as if it flows freely amongst us, without realizing that actually have a very long way to go.

The past year has been interesting to say the least. I have been through troughs that were indeed very deep, and have ridden crests that are quite unsurmountable as well. Thanks all you people, who were in the good and the bad times.

I also spent my time recollecting memories, both good, and bad. Thankfully, I have a very bad memory when it comes to pain, and so most of them were joyous ones. It made me realize, again, that I am 22! It was unnerving a tad, but then realized, that in reality, it is just a number. Its what you do with it that counts. I have realized that life is really a complex puzzle that we all set out to crack, but sadly some of us are satified with intermediate results. Yesterday night I have resolved that I shall not quit.

So heres to engineering, and a minimum of 694224000 seconds more. Cheers!

A sad day in Indian Politics

Yesterday, our Finance Minister, Mr P.Chidambaram, came out in defence of the reservation policy. It clearly outlines the beginning of the end for meritocracy in today's India. It is sad that a politician of his stature has to stoop down to mass based politics, to pander to the needs of his party.

Sure he said that seats must be increased in all the premiere institutions across the land, so as to not disadvatage the reservationless majority. But it is startling that a man such as him would make statements like, "Reservations would not dilute the quality of the institution". Its ironic that a man who would hail from iconic palaces of education should make such comments.

PC is definitely one of the most loved Finance Ministers that the country has ever seen. Well, he lost one of his admirers yesterday to disillusionment.

Here are some alternate perspectives
Mr Narendra Jadhav
Mr Sudhir Badani