The Flat Earth Phenomenon

A review of the Quota System

2009-02-06T13:51:00.001+05:30

A Review of the Quota System

Hailing from a well off Catholic family ,possesing a decent academic history , I had been a strong critic of the reservation system even before the quota for OBCs was introduced . After sweating it out to secure an admit at a recognized government engineering college , I envied the ones who had made it ,despite an additional denomination in their All India Ranks compared to mine .Full tuition fee waiver , additional books from the library ,special mentoring and come final year preference in recruitments to PSUs was what awaited them . This is what prompted me , like numerous likeminded individuals to oppose the additional 27 %reservation for the OBC who, if the numerous commissions set up are to be believed make up nearly half of the population .

A profound understanding of the socio-economic condition prevailing in India shall however establish the contributions and the relevance of reservations in India. The caste system that had prevailed in India for centuries had made education a privilege of few upper class families ,plunging a large section of the society into illiteracy and backwardness .The Indian state had thus ,after independence realized that the creation of a developed India would be possible only with the development and emancipation of all sections of the society , primarily through education and employment . It is for this noble ends that reservations for backward sections of the society were introduced in the Constitution.

Sixty years of the quota raj till date however calls for a scrutiny of the system, that has shamelessly endorsed caste over merit. One thing for sure , it has extended education and development to sections and regions that could one once never dream of the same sixty years ago and has almost eliminated upper class hegemony over art , sports and politics . But have reservations, in sixty years fulfilled the its founding objectives?

It has definitely reinforced the caste system, the very caste system that our founding fathers wished to abolish. Contrary to traditional vogue, every community now longs to be classified as backward to claim a piece of the cake for itself .The government did the right thing with the economic ceiling for the OBC category, but they got it wrong when they raised it to 4.5 lpa. In a country where the average per capita income is around Rs.30, 000, the onus must be on uplifting the lower sections ,rather than establishing an economic parity between the not-so-rich and the well off .Most importantly , the system has till today only established a backward section among the backward castes . While there are families that have been beneficiaries of reservations ever since independence, another section continues to receive no substantial benefits from the same. Families that have benefited from reservation can afford better education, tuitions and facilities for their wards, who eventually outperform first generation learners and lay claim to admissions to the best colleges and jobs

It has to be understood that reservations alone cannot help eliminate backwardness and bring education to all sections of the society .The country still has regions where students have to tread for miles to reach school. Many lack proper infrastructure and teaching staff while a majority run empty since parents are reluctant to send their wards to schools .As for reservations, it should not be extended beyond two generations to allow the truly backward segments from benefiting from the same

Reservations had been established by the country’s founding fathers with the noble vision to bring prosperity to all sections of the country .It would be a shame if we remain unsuccessful in this venture

even a century after it was conceived

Wanted Next: Reservations in the Indain Cricket Team

2008-12-01T16:49:00.004+05:30

In a country where selection the best educational institutions and the most lucrative government jobs are made not on the basis of merit but(of all things ) on caste ... is it fundamentally correct in this cricket crazy nation to field a cricket team sans the same .. ??
Is not being part of the INDIAN CRICKET TEAM , equivalent to an IIT degree .....After all isn't the country more interested in Dhoni's hair style , than an IIT grad's research work ??

Considering the fact that the government has a say in the functioning of the Cricket Associations and that it is the duty of the govt. to control an institution that holds such a sway on the minds of the people ,its not long before the "enlightened" Ajit Singh demands reservations to be implemented in the same too... After all , its the duty of the state to bring about an equitable distribution of resources and opportunity.....

Key Issues in this context ...........

1.Its a know fact that cricket was an upper class affair ever since it was introduced in India by the British .Teams often included the Maharajas and wealthy aristocrats besides British citizens ,and the rest were left with crude substitutes aka the likes of Gilli-Danda .... Should these people , who have faced centuries of oppression not be given a chance to forward there quest for cricketing excellence??

2.Considering the command the BCCI has over the ICC , Cricket can be made a 15 player game
so that implementation of reservation may not reduce the chances of the general category .
(Elections are nearing....its important not to alienate the upper class )

3.India should field 15 international teams competing on a rotational basis to provide an opportunity for every cricket enthusiast in the country ..To hell with the lack of coaches and ample training facilities

4.Impotantly-The team shall comprise of 21% SC-ST , 27 % OBC and remaining General quota .... Unfilled seats in the reserved segments shall not be open to the General category .... the team shall rather field a team that is a few players short ..

5.The coach shall be from the ST-Minority group-below creamy layer category ---- In short ,
NOT a recogonised player , since most have already reaped a fortune through T.V contracts

In memory of my Moser Baer pen drive ....

2008-11-22T12:35:00.002+05:30

I realize you are no longer here when I have to compile this blog sitting at the net lab ( I can smell a blown A/C thermostat ) ......I know the 4 months you spent with me were more of a nightmare..I remember you had to remain in my jean pocket for almost a week .. I know you survived a fall from the second floor of the hostel ....and lay in the wet grass all night ..
I know you were subjected to numerous unsafe removals and were infested by the countless virus that plague my laptop......
Despite all these abuses .. you remained loyal to me ...The CAD exams, the assignments,those blog transfers and those exam eve notes .....you stood by me ...

I hope the Fu#Q$g B#@t# #d who stole it from me keeps you happy ..

An open letter to Adam Gilchrist

2008-10-26T16:26:00.003+05:30

"Dear" Gilly ,
I do not know why we Indians "loved" you.I remember the entire Lapis Hostel T.V room applauded when you walked in for your final innings.We cheered every time you came up with another one your blitzkriegs and every time you "walked" , we felt "Cricket- the Gentleman's" Game was still not extinct.

What transpired this week has however cast a shadow on all your achievements and all the respect that you held in the cricketing fraternity . By labeling Sachin Tendulkar,someone who has commanded an equal , if not greater respect amongst the cricketing world ,a poor sport (!!!!???) you've literally snubbed your own self.
If you thought some bygone Aussie slogger could taint the image of a cricketing God ,worshiped by more than a billion people ,I'm sorry but you're grossly mistaken.
If you could deem Sachin a poor sport simply because he was not available for a handshake, then to hell with all your Aussi customs . A team which wished to maintain the true spirits of the game would not indulge in badmouthing every individual who came on field and would not rely on snaring his wicket by beating him mentally .As far as the Harbajjan affair is concerned , Sachin will be known in the future for having stood by his team mate in the moment of crisis .Did anyone cry foul when the Aussie media coined the "Turbanator"? . Would that not count as a racial abuse ?Besides, Symondds surely reminds me of a monkey,so what's wrong calling him one
You probably did it just to sell a few extra copies of your book. If it was so, you really have succeeded . I can assure you of buying a copy myself.You could live the rest of your life in peace without playing another of those IPL matches for that disastrous team but what that has cost you is something you can never trade back .
In India they say it takes years to build respect , but just seconds to lose it.
I tore your poster off my wall yesterday.

Mathews

Hail Piracy!!!!!

2008-10-20T20:03:00.000+05:30

Sunday marked a milestone . I had purchased my first text book in 4 years of Production Engineering!!!
I had never set foot in P.R Books ( which thankfully provides a 15% discount for NIT students ),despite the numerous trips I made to the Chatram shopping area ( primarily to the Trigger outlet ,that has discounts all round the year) owing to the following reasons

1.The faculty's obsession with PDFs and PPT which have been in circulation ever since the formation of the dept.

2.The 5 lending cards the library provides , besides the book bank scheme

3.Naveen's camera

4.Why buy textbooks when you know "it" all...........

What forced a breach of this pardigm was my decision to have a shot at GATE , simply because everyone else was doing a GRE or a CAT and that I needed to have another door open if Godrej did a Lehmann.

540!!!!! is what I paid the shopkeeper for the only available book for GATE- Production and Industrial Eng.I was trying to digest the sudden vacuum in my purse, when the shopkeeper consoled me saying the new reprints were priced at 640 !!!!...

My mom says books are always an investment . As far as that goes, the first page was off the moment I had finished flipping through the first chapter . The paper quality was thankfully better than a newspaper ,at least it did not blot!!! . From the content,I could draw two conclusions

1.I was the God of Production Eng,

2.The author had graduated from somewhere really "close" by

Shattered by the days misadventure ( the equivalent of six trips to the Dhaba ) , I got down to watch "Kidnap", the Minisha Lamba starrer , also featuring Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan , which I had failed to get the tickets for the last time I was at Kochi .The first thing I could make out was they had made a whore out of Minisha Lamba . I really liked her in Bachna Haseeno, but I'd prefer anyone(even Mallika Sherawat) over her for such roles .I managed to watch the entire movie thanks to the scroll bar on the VLC player. I remember the tickets were priced at 70 bucks at Kochi. It wasn't that bad a day after all ....

And then I found this clip before a Malayalam movie requesting people to buy originals!!!! I mean .. wtf ????
In a country like India, where the average man earns a 100 bucks a day ,imagine parting with the same for something like Kidnap , or those totally ridiculous publications that fill bookstores.

A very trivial question:

What would you consider a greater loss ? An average man "wasting" an entire day's wage on a sub standard product , or the big corporations and rich businessmen who make the same losing a few crores ?????????.

I think that sums it up......

Hospital bound ?? ....Beware ....

2008-10-13T11:53:00.002+05:30

I compile this thread immediately after being prescribed Paracetamol tablets for a running nose .Considering my "minor degree" in medicine after having tried every tablet at the Appolo Pharmacy in 3 years ,and the fact that I still carried my Mom's database of ailments ,symptoms ,precautions and suggested medication , I would deem the 45 minutes I spent waiting for the doctor(with misdirecting permutation of letters against his name) in the so called Hospital lobby a blatant waste of time ,that I could have utilized in more constructive activities ,primarily sleeping,which does not feature in my scheme of things these days owing to the extended load shedding.

My Mom had warned me of Tambi doctors' obsession with injections the day I fell ill for the first time in coll . I remember being injected for diarrhea ,insect bite ,alergy and just about everything raising speculations of a nexus between Dispovan and the medical staff. To top it all , a fat old nurse who insists you take the shot on your ass .!!!!

The best incident I can remember of happened in Sem IV.My room mate ,the bi-sexual with special interest in the dwarf in the adjacent room complained of stomach pain on the eve of the "Foundry Technology " cycle test . At the hospital , after some preliminary examination , that resembled segregation of rotten tomatoes , he was declared to be suffering from severe appendicitis and was to be rushed to the Sea Horse Hospital in the city immediately.The doc even compiled a reference letter requesting immediate attention.
The ambulance and its driver , who repeatedly complained of missing his dinner , thankfully got us to a near empty SEa Horse in quick time .
The duty doctor , who repeated the "inspection " process concluded
" NO need to worry, chumma gas only " ,and prescribed two Rantidines -the tab equivalent of the Gelusil antacid. Luckily, the driver drove us back to the coll against his "City drop only" protocol and I was able to put in some valuable hours prior to the exam

I refrain from making any further observations coz I still have another six months at this campus ,and the mess food definitely makes another trip a huge possibility.

So , the next time you do fall ill ,

1.Rush to Sea Horse .The best place in Trichy , They might however burn a hole in your pocket with all the unnecessary tests and scans the doc insists on

2,Take to the BHEL Hospital :Decent docs. However , be ready to be treated more like a pest than a patient

3.If ur too lazy/sick to go out of campus, check out the dates when another doc with additional letters against his name drops by ( six times a month to be precise ) .

Suggessions of a frustrated Indian youth

2008-10-12T11:50:00.000+05:30

Over the last few months , Deepika Padukones,Minisha Lambas and exotic holiday locations that made up a major part of my dreams ,were being gradually replaced by the spiders,deserts and mess food.Although I initially presumed it to be a by product of my mental instability owing to repeated kelas in the campus recruitment process,I figured the prime reason for the same was improper sleep patterns thanks to the a ridiculous load shedding schedule .4 hours a day ( 8am-9am,3pm-4pm,9pm-10pm and 3am-4am) virtually meaning I had only 4 hours of sleep a day

Yesterday's newspapers brought great news. The Electricity Board had realized that their 4 hour load shedding had failed to generate enough discomfort amongst the public and had gladly increased the period to 6.5 hours a day on the pretext of the Wind God's alienation of Tamil Nadu
The news gave me a shock,a rather wild one , first thing in the morning . I wished to pull my hair off, I wished to jump off the roof,before I realized I was already in a pool of sweat since the current was "gone" as early as 6 a.m
Like the Director says -"Stop Complaining,Suggest Solutions"
1.Comrades who opposes the nuclear deal should be locked up in Stalin era concentration camps and made to generate electricity through exercise cycles attached with dynamoes
2.The college must set up bio gas plants alongside every hostel .Since output is determined by how much students eat, the Director would be forced to improve the mess food quality
3.Every class room in the CLC has 12 fans and 20 tubes , all of which remain on ,despite the strength of the class
Solution: Classes must be terminated
4.The air conditioner at the Octogon runs off the generator so do all the computers that are scarcely used.
Solution:Close down Octa , provide net at hostel rooms
More suggesions in this regard are welcome ....

Why policemen make bad salespersons

2008-10-10T12:14:00.001+05:30

Sitting through another one of Suresh Gopi's epic police movies brought me memories of some really interesting ordeals with policemen . As for the non -Mallu readers , typical ingredients of Suresh Gopi movies include

Captain"Vijaykanth style plots,often involving terrorist groups who choose Kerala over lucrative spots in northern India
Flashy abbreviation ,the latest being R.A.T.S(Railway Action blah blah),
Dialogue deliveries that would remind you of Shankar Mahadevan's Breathless
SUVs that have had an overdose of designer stickers
Extensive use of multi camera shots, slow motion and a nerve wrecking background score
Vocabulary that would make Aussie sledging sound like lullaby

My last encounter with a police man happened this summer in Chennai at precisely 11.30 p.m on Anna Salai ,right opposite Spencer Plaza .After being thrown out of StarRocks by a bouncer who reminded me of a over grown boar,Monsi , Bhoopi and me deemed traffic signals to be deserted at that time of the night.Apparently , we had grossly under estimated the "efficiency" of Chennai's cops .We were picked , 2 pillion drivers on a bike is unfortunately against the law. The cop, who seemed to be making his way home,seemed elated on having a catch on Sunday eve and demanded a paltry Rs.1500 -(Gosh!!that was 4 trips to Pizza Hut .....)15 minutes of repeated pleas and negotiations involving references to NIT Trichy, empty pockets ,late night tuitions and even the future of India , we settled on 50 ... three hundredth of the initial demand(I am not changing it to 30 ).He was so touched, that he even let us ride back to our homes , "2 pillion" since it was impossible to find an auto at that time of the night.

PREJUDICE..........!!!!

2008-10-07T20:17:00.002+05:30

After having suceeded in having the name of a company alongside mine on the tp(Training and Placement ) dept. site in precisely my tenth attempt ,I decided to pack up and head home for two reasons

1.My ass had been the subject of some really harsh treatment by almost everyone who crossed my path on the way back to my room ,and I deemed it prudent to prevent another assault lest I give Bipasha Basu any competition

2.Nine failures, 4 hours of power cut a day and a dreadfull mess had brought me too close to a nervous breakdown

I had to defer my return by a day due to some "personal" issues , and made my TRIP BACK TO Trichy in a near empty Tea Garden express on Monday as against the regular "house -full " of Sundays .(Thanks to "Production Eng. ",it really din't take me long to make up my mind )

It had rained heavily that night and the entire compartment smelled of a barn . Seated in my cubicle ,just opposite me was a rather quaint looking man , easily above fifty with a heavy beard ,associated with pious Muslims . Next to me was a middle aged lady whose nativity could be guessed easily based on the heavy gold chain and Cross .

As the journey progressed , the lady ,I found ,maintained a continuous glare on the lone plastic carry packet the old man carried .While the old man was away, she whispered ,"Wasn't Jodhpur where the bomb blast had taken place?".Apparently , the old man's carry bag had the label of a textile merchant in Jodhpur ,and the lady had framed a connection between the old man , his packet and the Jodhpur blasts .
I could sense she was close to a nervous breakdown when some time later the man drew a pen knife from his pocket to cut an apple he carried in his carry bag.She immediately requested the TTR for a seat change citing a dirty berth , although her true concerns could easily be deduced.

I would not like to stretch on this or draw any conclusions , but believe me nothing really happened during the rest of the journey , at least nothing that the lady had predicted.

What transpired in the cubicle is simply what prevails in the country today ,

P-R-E-J-U-D-I-C-E

Dedicated to LAPIS 57

2008-09-23T20:39:00.002+05:30

After having spent 2 years with a lunatic with extreem suicidal tendencies,a colour blind psychopath artist ,a bi-sexual with special interest in a dwarft next door and a kleptomaniac bombshell , I simply relished the thought having an entire room all for myself ,for the next half of coll life. I believe my "unlucky" room mates ,and as a matter of fact, the entire batch felt the same ,when we almost unanimously ,opted for single rooms , over a fresh , 2 tier hostel with neat toilets and shower bathrooms.

Two years at NIT Trichy had taught me one thing for sure -" To hope for the best and prepare for the worst ".My mom had packed me a mosquito net, a room freshener and a long cloth to cover my nostrils ,while I rid my room of the existing inmates -Dust. The rest of the package, including a broomstick had to be abandoned at home , simply because I felt moving around the railway station , broomstick in hand wouldn't be all that ,well .. cool .

Lapis,20 rooms wide on each side lengthwise,resembled a giant spreading its arms wide open . The new Director's so called reforms had at least got it a fresh coat of paint ,and it no longer resembled the haunted house of ragging days.Speaking of paint,they did spare Lapis from the mirror cracking combination of colours synonymous with buildings on this side of the globe.The room number seemed fine , atleast numeroligically , considering my fascination for the number 7. Dust ,as expected blinded the first sight of my new abode . After an emphatic ordeal , involving numerous trips to the bathroom,duels with spiders and hide and seek with the wind , that brought all the dust back in , I finally had the chance to "analyze" what the college had "generously" presented me .

The first thing that I did notice was that one of the four walls, that should by trivial civil engineering logic make up a room , was painted in the most ridiculous of pinks!!! This along with my pink curtain ,pink netlon and nearly pink bedsheets would later make my door the gathering point of hooligans(and subvert gays) residing in the adjacent rooms, and encourage them to endorse their love for the colour and the most unbearable females to have walked in this coll,in the form tell-tale graffiti just outside my room.

Smeared on my walls was also the ex inmate's manifestation of his love for a Sangeetha . Considering the green and yellow paints that adorn most rooms , I believe he resisted a paint job , to save his love from being blinded a layer of fresh paint .

I tried my best to cover up all these follies with posters and just about anything that closely resembled one including Prakash Karat's editorial on how the nuclear deal would put India in a jinx.And where better to find them , than the coll library itself. Flicking one from the library , is however, more an art , that I will try to elucidate on ,in my upcoming blogs

The only thing I did find in abundance in my room ,apart from dust , were cloth liners (4 of them to be precise), reflecting the ex-inmate's inhibition for the benign process of washing his clothes.

The one thing that sets Lapis apart from the rest of the hostels is its fan - the ones that you see on railway coaches. The architects may have realized pretty late that the ceiling height of their "masterpiece " was so low that even Titus could not risk raising his hand, if they went with the traditional fan . Thanks to the same , I've often had dreams of falling off the upper berth of the train home .

My room today boasts of a laptop with a connection to the most "un happening" lan in coll , a heap of clothes that I have been planning to wash for the last 3 weeks , a bed that has been undone for ages , books ,that 3 years of Production Engineering has taught me , are only junk along with mosquitoes, cockroaches ,lizards spiders and a host of other creatures I live in harmony with .

I'd love to keep goin , but they just started playing football outside(yeah,Football!!!) and they seem to miss me ..

The Mallu Connection

2008-09-22T12:17:00.000+05:30

The friend of mine recently observed that the only thing that did attract a "Mallu " ,had to be (a) Mallu . Although I could contradict her views citing my obsession with Deepika Padukone , Aloo Paratha ,Rasgullas and a host of other "non Mallu" creations , I quipped if she did have a point .
After a bit of soul searching and introspection , I realized that not only had she hit the bull's eye ,but also posed a question that I could never answer.

1.Although I was put in a room comprising a Tambi ,a Kandu and an MP guy in my first year at coll(gosh, we did have fun!!! ) at the extensively guarded Agate hostel, I made up for that in the next three. In my second year, I had two in my room , and an other eight in my adjacent rooms(of couse , Mallus) ,and we occupied the top corner of Jade,famous for its water shortages and soaring temperatures .And in the third year , we demanded an entire wing at Lapis , so we never felt "insecure " even while walking all the way to the toilet . Speaking of toilets, its been a blessing here at Lapis , considering the use of the flush and the tap was taboo for my wing mates at Agate and Jade .

2.The last three girls I tried to hit on were Mallus , and the only one I ever dated was a Mallu too. Its not that I never cast my eyes on girls of other origin , its just that things got moving only if it fulfilled that all important condition. In fact I can remember having asked every girl I have met till date of her nativity if I did not know already.

3.42% of the all the songs on my laptop are Mallu ,although I never have played through the entire collection . From the timeless collections of Wayalar , to the latest releases , I have them all .I frantically search for updates to my collection,every time I connect to the lan (Now is no time to discuss how many hours I remain connected or how many GBs I share on the lan !!!)

4.The last time I dined out with a non mallu was 7 months ago ,and although Bhoot has been insisting on a "First year Room Reunioin" for long , I still have not been able to get that going . Frankly , the last time he did ask me , I was down with a bout of L.M ,after having gorged at the totally "Tambi " Dhaba the previous night

5.I made it a point to cheer for Sreeshanth , every time he ran into ball , and in spite of all the thrashings he received and all the crap he got involved in , I remain loyal to the "budding star" from God's own country. I even have a clip of his all important catch at the 20-20 finals on my comp.

6.My phone may have numbers of the Mallus in the P.G courses , but there are people in my own batch I have hardly spoken to in 3 years .

7.All the teams I have been in , in 3 years at coll , was labeled the Mallu team , or at least the majority of my team mates were Mallus

8.The last non Mallu movie I watched at a theatre was "DUS" , alhough I would attribute that to the exhaustive pirated movie collecton that our hostel lan flaunts of.

9.Inspite of having traveled all over India , I believe Kochi is the most happening city and Thodupuzha the most beautiful place in the country .

10.To top it all ,I love it when there's a hartal, a fight or even the slightest uprising against the most insignificant of things . I love to be loud , I love to swear at the top of my voice .I can't sleep without sitting through a power cut and I simply enjoy chaos ,all of which reminds me of my dear land while I get baked in the
"Desert Sands of NIT Trichy "

The Door Darshan Saga

2008-09-16T15:21:00.000+05:30

I'm one of the few city bred kids in India who has had privelidge of having spent his childhood watching the state
run brodcasting network -Doordarshan .Thanks to my parent's concern about my education ....and "over education" , cable T.V has never seen the light of my drawing room in the 18 years I spent at home . This spared me from the disrtactions of cricket matches , pokemones and of course ...the likes of a la FTV... blah blah which had caught the fancy of every other friend of mine . Although the blog is critical of the network , the achievents of the same in the years of operation cannot be disregarded .
True to its name , Door-Darshan has reached out to most of the distant villages and in a way helped integrate the country . Weather reports, Krishi Darshan and the NCERT distance education program have surely been benificial to a large rural population .

I would often spend my time after school (3 p.m-4p.m ,before the sun went down , and the conditions were suitable for play in the ever burning Chennai ) in front of the only available channel on the idiot box . This along with the few odd hours I have spent in front of this 24 hour maddness run have been instrumental in defining the following perspectives ...

THE NEWS :

Easily the biggest misnomer . Never has the channel been on par with the hundreds of other channels that now occupy every inch of the spectrum . Since Door Darshan also owns a News channel ( which I hav never bothered to tune in to)
, the English news is only a fifteen minute ordeal . With very few fresh stories , its more a review of what happened the previous day .The only thing that might keep you listening is some gorgeous newsreader , who last only
a few days , before she's axed or roped in by another channel. The regional news ( at 7p.m and lasting half an hour ) , a la Podhigai and DD Malayalam ,covers the most unimportant of events and the most insignificant of statements of any ruling party member.From commisioning of public toilets by an MLA , to inaugration of statues , you can have them all.

However the channel has to be creditted for not relying on sensationalism to woo the TRPs , something which the other news channels have been very keen on , a fact reflected by the Arushi murder case (I don't think the DD people ever knew of it )

The Cricket match

I greatly admire Door Darshan for its success in telecating all of India's home matches and a few overseas match although I do not know the exact detials of the numerous court cases than have transpired . I think DD took the pain ,since its staff felt they did not have to sit through their boring telecast atleast when a match was going on.

To watch a match on DD is not all that free.The price- "Hindi commentry" of "some people" who I believe have not represented India in even Football. A mishit is termed a "badiya shot" , a full toss labeled a " badiya gend and " every player who gets beaten twice "an out of form " .And believe me , watching a cricket match on MUTE is not all that fun .
Post match analysis ,coined the Fourth Umpire tries to make a Mandira Bedi out of an ex women's team captain , and has the host trying his best to put in a Harsha Bhogle effect.With " on studio pitch analysis " and opinions and predictions that change at half time , its another way of telling the viewer to switch the T.V of till the players had their lunch . The best thing that ever happened on the show was when a phone in viewer denounced the program live , an the host tried his best to potray a faulty network effect , when the views were heard loud and clear even to the viewer .

And to top it all , DD seems to have forgotten the protocol of telecating ads only at the end of overs . A chat with the umpire ,a bat change ,and even a field change is interupted by the same ad that has been mercilesly played after every over since the start of the match.

The Weekend Movie :

Gone are the days when DD used to movies that you would have hardly heard of . The Friday and Saturday night movies are more or less recent movies ,although never true to the Blockbuster and Superhit tags that they are given.
The last movie I did watch went on for 4 hours , and the next time I watched the same , I realized I had been through 90 minutes of advertisements in my last "effort".Not just ads, you also have to go through prologues of DD's exclusive serials that you would never even dream of watching.Add to that the community welfare propogandas
"how to prevent Malaria", " how to protect yourself from Aids " "Education for all " " Immigration Coincil guidlines" and the wildest of bullshit , in the most nerve breaking compilation. All this when you were to be watching your favourite movie .

continued.....

2008-09-16T15:18:00.000+05:30

"SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH ", in a font size that almost overshadows the brand name is what greets you every time you have bartered
close to a tenth of your day's wage with that friendly vendor for that packet which contains your elixir of life . I mean....... " What the f@$k ? " . Do you not deserve those few minutes of peace , that those quint words shatter even before you've lighted up .. ?? Should you not have your reward for having spent those horrifying fifty minutes in Mr.Whatsover's class? Do you not deserve that one little break , from your work , from your boss , your girlfriend or whatsover? Finally , do you not have the right to smoke ,or do whatsoever with something you've paid for , in peace ?

Add to top it all , a "health" minister who feels cigarettes have to be banned . Come October 2 , a law that virtually defines where you "Can" smoke will be put in place .Add to that a sequence of poorly conceived and directed advertisement campaigns that are mercilessly repeated in between the already nerve shattering "stuff" they put up on Doordarshan ("I'll write about them next )

1.An even greater number of people die every year in plane crashes , road accidents , electric shock , train derailments etc etc . Ever seen a warning at the railway station saying "Traveling by train is injurious to health " ?

2.After having pumped tar,nicotine and smoke for ages , are not the lungs of a chain smoker better adapted to survive in the polluted cities of the new world?

3.If your forefather's had not smoked the hell out of their lungs, who do you think would have sponsored that lousy cricket team of ours

4.How could India control its population , if all the people who die of lung and mouth cancer ,well....do not die ??

5.Imagine Fidel without his cigar ...... thats half the job done for the Americans

6.What would Shah Rukh Khan do during cricket matches ? watch the game ??

7.Would you ever venture out of the college gate ?

8.RGV's actors would have to do better ...after all, what would cover their faces ?

9.What would happen of the 3 million people who depend on the tobacco industry ?..what about the doctors and the pharma companies ?

10.How would the one's who don't smoke stand a chance in admissions, jobs etc , if the ones who do ,don't make way .....

P.S: I don't smoke .....