Hello There!!

3 years and 3 months! That’s how long it took me to update my blog again. pity. Anyways, let’s start afresh, shall we? 2017 was a momentous year for me. Personally as well as professionally. Finally shed the proud tag of being a bachelor and tied the knot. Professionally, my school project has started to shape up. Tiny steps yet but very much in right direction. My other passion stocks did really well but it has less to do with my skills and more with general trend of the market in the year gone by. Any idiot would have made money picking any random set of stocks. So pretty lucky that way being fully invested. Writing took a back seat and it feels like as if I have totally forgotten how to weave words. This blog which is was lying dormant since ages was screaming for revival so I kind of forced myself to write things.. Any thing.. Hence this post. So that was the brief about my life in the year 2017.

However, what I am more interested in talking about today is my reading practice last year. As can be seen from the picture, I managed to finish 27 books and almost 10,000 pages. It’s not really a great number if you look closely at so many other vociferous readers on goodreads but somehow I am pretty pumped up about it. It feels good, you know. Reading gives me so so much satisfaction. There is so much to know. The more you read, the more you realize you have so much more to know. Else it’s like a frog in the well story. As I turn older and start accumulating myriad experiences, reading in a strange sort of way crystallizes them all. Taking me to the far away land. In complete harmony with my increasing silence and solitude. Reading a passage, holding still, reflecting on certain ideas triggered by a nondescript sentence. The joy upon finding a paragraph that resonated with the cacophony of your silent being and this endless urge to be left alone with a book with no one in vicinity.

However, as like any sphere of life, it requires a bit of discipline. Not much. Just a tiny little bit. And it was as simple as it was profound. An Old Article by Shane (of farnamstreet fame- I just love this site) made me read every day instead of going whole hog one day and nothing, the very next. It brought some sort of tranquility and regularity. In nutshell, it was as easy as deciding on a certain number of pages as per your time, appetite and interest and you end up finishing a number of books every year. I somehow have this feeling that reading a minimum 25 pages a day made me a bit wiser and more broad minded.

Damn! Writing feels hard. This post feels more like an office draft. But yeah, I am trying to start scribbling again. I guess I am employing the trick of self commitment made in public domain. ;). Hope it sticks.

And people…do read, ok?. A lot. Flaunting on goodreads gives you more satisfaction than on FB. 😉

Succumb or Perish!

Sometimes you find yourself trapped at that secluded space of life where you find yourself unable to reach to anyone. You silently hope for others to reach out to you as one does to one’s equal. But that remains a hope. Just that. You are stranded in that corner as a loner, by choice and by chance as well.

When the entire world finds you incapable of offering anything substantial, you tend to turn into a plague for them. The words of hope, empathy starts appearing like begging bowls of pity and consolation. You can’t see any semblance of respect in those eyes. All you see is an intense gesture of revulsion whispering blames at your door for being such a miserable sight. What could be more devastating than that? It’s not just survival of the fittest but acceptance of the fittest also. Your acceptance is subject to your actual and perceived ability to offer. This actually completes a self-prophesying cycle.

From the journey of being an innocent boy to a bitter teen to a confused and disillusioned adult, occasionally you forget to let go of those unspeakable grudges. May be its because of a disenchanted spirit collecting garbage from others’ emotional outpouring combining with a ego fuelled soul? Or may be because of instability of emotional senses who could never really mature from half complete teen development?! How about the inability to hold back your tongue which insists on speaking your mind and putting across the forthright convictions emanating from it?

In a world made fertile by conspiracy theories of unscrupulous minds, isolation is often the natural culmination of your reluctance to compromise and you have no choice but to deal with it and suffer because you made the choices. World never owed you a loving, especially when you have a reputation for being difficult. Succumb or perish!

Delhi International Art Festival 2011

Dilliwallahs are in for an extended treat despite the culmination of the festive season. A fortnight long Fifth edition of Delhi International Art Festival (2011) commenced on 31st October wherein more than 2000 performers from 28 countries are going to exhilarate the mood of art lovers. I did not get a chance to attend earlier editions but after witnessing 3 days of consecutive performances, I can safely pronounce myself as a fool to have missed previous festivals. All forms of art including international bands, visual arts, plays, film screenings, dance and music programmes are on offer from countries as diverse as Egypt, Hungary, Spain, Colombia, France, Mexico etc apart from our very own India. Hard to visualize any art lover resisting this temptation.

More than 25 venues are scheduled for diverse performances. I was instantly hooked on when, Mawlawyiah Dervish – a dance troupe from Egypt gave us Whirling Dervish. Honestly, I did not understand a single word of what singer Amer El Tony sang but then, whoever said -music knows no barriers, stands corrected. One did not actually require understanding the Egyptian language. Audiences were enthralled with the circular dervish dance, whirling around singers. It was amazingly soothing. I managed to record to a small video though the quality the not very good.

Warsi brothers from Hyderabad had us rooted to our seats with their soulful Sufi renditions. It was for the first time, I was watching a live Qawwali show and I must say, I had a gala time.

For those curious about Warsi Brothers- “Warsi brothers is an Indian Qawwali musical group (traditionally known as qawwali party) comprising of brothers Aziz Ahmed Khan Warsi and Zaheer Ahmed Khan Warsi and eight accompanying artists. Based in Hyderabad, the group kept the qawwali tradition alive by accommodating multiple genres, especially those composed by Hyderabadi poets. They represent authentic form of qawwali”. – Source-enotes.com

Apart from that, there was “Ocean of Love” by South African group led by Veruskha Pather. Show was based on ragas and contemporary music along with African drums and other folk instruments. A beautiful blend of Russian ballet, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and African folk dance.

To finish with, I must mention performance by Paté de Fuá, a Mexican band at Kamani Auditorium. The strength of the band is combination of different musical influences, which gives it a rather unique touch. The instrumental variety includes accordion, bandoneon, cavaquinho, banjo, cornet, alto horn, guitar, vibraphone, marimba, contrabass, drums and voice (I was not really familiar with some of these names). According to DIAF booklet, the band dabbles in genres, such as, Dixieland, traditional jazz, tango,pasodoble, bal-musette, etc.

DIAF does a wonderful balancing act of showcasing us established artists and simultaneously introducing us to young, unknown talents. Life doesn’t come easy for any of us but these cultural galas can satiate our search for faith, catharsis and some of the answers.

P.S- One can find detailed schedule of coming performances on diaf.in.

Apologies for the video quality but that’s as good as I could manage from my sitting position.

Corrupt Indian Health Practices

The news of corruption in India is perhaps as shocking as presence of Taliban and Al-Qaida in Pakistan. So when you come across corrupt medical practices and experience it yourself, it can only create a stir in your heart and nowhere else. I have always been somewhat aware of seamy side of commercial medical practice because of my personal background but never been a direct victim of it, until now.

The story goes like this- I had some problem in my lower back so I went to a reputed Orthopaedic specialist. Found him yawning while I entered into his chamber, witnessed his continued yawning while he pretended to hear me for 2-3 minutes and he was still yawning when I left his chamber. His profile says, he regularly visits some of the most prominent private medical institutions in Delhi. He did not ask me much about my medical history, nor checked me personally. All he did was to recommend complete MRI scans of lower spine, dorsal and cervical. Note that, I only had problem in lower spine but the Respected Doctor prescribed all the three parts with specific instruction to go to a particular diagnostic center of his choice.

Now that’s for you, are the modern doctors today. A profession which was/is associated with charity/generosity is being used by pseudo life-givers as a tool to earn unscrupulous amount of money. Whether it’s paediatricians peddling gratuitous medicines by playing on the fears of parents or surgeons insisting on large sum of money before they can commence operations during an emergency or gynecologists pushing for caesarean by scaring the minds of patients or simply writing prescriptions for irrational drugs, majority of doctors have stooped too low. Some doctors, as in my case, prescribe expensive and unnecessary tests for the kickbacks they receive from diagnostic centres or pharma companies. There is no dearth of such cases.

Corruption amongst Indian doctors is rampant. It is my personal experience to witness doctors collaborating with Sonography doctors who do the Doppler’s test and write phony reports about the foetus development. Report will mention things like, the child is upside down or cord is around the neck etc. Private hospitals can’t earn much from normal deliveries so they use all the tricks to make patients go for the caesarean. It does not end there. Several pathology labs (mostly in smaller cities) will take the blood samples, will throw it in the back alley and will submit a report of someone else to the patients. Imagine, these unfortunate patients are prescribed drugs on the basis of such reports. The health professionals who are considered closest to God’s presence on earth because of their life-saving credentials are shamelessly playing with emotionally distressed people.

It is hardly surprising that most of the people have lost faith in the moral and ethical values of doctors. A famous Neurosurgeon in Delhi recommends on an average 10 MRI scan every day and for that he gets to earn 40% commission on every recommendation. Who can we trust when the Supreme Court of India declares the governing council MCI (Medical Council of India) as “den of corruption”. Arrest of its chairperson Ketan Desai further proves that medical education is acknowledged to be a business investment and medical practice gives the returns. Love of money has replaced the basic foundation of modern medicine, i.e., philanthropy. Deception, bribery and conflict of interest have become the new troika that defines modern day health practices in India. Though, these elements are dangerous for any business but downright deadly in medicine. It’s a shame that healthcare has become a money-spinning game.

Every year, thousands of Indian physicians and surgeons visit exotic locations. These visits are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies in lieu of unnecessary prescription of drugs by the so called messiahs of the society. In the light of such revelations, no wonder, doctors hardly prescribe alternative medicines for their patients. Last known, nature never offers bribes. How could these doctors whom society places on a high pedestal look in the mirror afterward? Is it self-deception which allows them to live with the fact that they are being bought? Or they stop questioning these practices by terming this a routine practice in medical field?

What’s the solution? I can’t seem to find any. The Indian Medical Association (IMA), largest association of doctors in India, has never taken an initiative to the declining standards of morality in its members whereas the heads of the regulatory council of medical education, the Medical Council of India is embroiled in allegations of payoffs.

A doctor’s confession published in The Hindu- “We, doctors, know for sure from our long years of grueling studies that most of the symptoms are self-limiting, most others are trivial and very few are serious. In the name of evidence-based medicine and defensive medicine, we order a battery of investigations even for trivial symptoms. The cut practice and cost recovery of hospital equipment play a prime role in decision-making. Unnecessary tests are a loathsome burden on patients and, at times, result in false positive results leading to unscientific treatment”.

Another practicing Psychiatrist says, “Corruption occurs in three forms- split-fee, pharma-company interference and performance of unnecessary tests and procedures. In my experience corruption is practiced by almost all doctors.” To finish with, it would be too harsh on my part to generalize these revelations. There must be a good many doctors who voluntarily choose to put the care and welfare of their patients as their first and foremost priority and concern however hard it may be in an increasingly difficult and competitive market economy but these doctors should be considered more as exceptions rather than rules! The regulatory bodies must take control of the deteriorating health practices in the country or else…

And by the way, I got MRI done only on the lower back and did not visit that orthopaedic specialist again.    

Image courtesy:-themanipaljournal.com

Long Live Middle Class!

Middle class makes up for a sizable chunk of the society but that hasn’t really transformed into any sort of real power. Yes, numbers do matter and we can take to the streets a la, Jasmine revolutionaries or piggy riding on the likes of Anna Hazare or Yoga Rockstar, Baba Ramdev but that’s as far as we can go or think of going. Middle class is meant to suffer in the hands of politicians, bureaucrats and under the weight of its own expectations and ambitions.

The idea of this post came from recent diesel and LPG price hike. Whether its rising inflation, increased commodity prices, skyrocketing real estates, nasty service tax/education cess or rising cost of everything under the sun, it’s essentially middle class population that has to bear the brunt. I wonder, whether all these talks of inflationary pressure on our household expenses has any effect on the rich echelons of the society?! The middle segment has neither the resources of the rich nor the fatalism of the poor who silently perish. For any government, middle class has always been a soft target.

There can’t be any cataclysmic change which will prove instrumental in uprooting this curse. On our part, Indian middle class is no less responsible for some of the mess. It has stopped the celebration of the ordinary and taken the baton of new superpower or new-age consumers high on the Viagra of more spending capacity, far too seriously. They call it ambition, moving to the next level but in reality, it is more likely a case of blatant mimicking of the ‘rich’.

Not long back, we had global financial meltdown. Agreed, it was triggered/conspired/instigated by the banking behemoths but segment that really suffered was middle class. Whether it was axing of jobs, reduction in salaries or inability to splurge, the “half-have’s” had it really tough. Yet, if we look closely at the phenomenon, the primary reason behind the breakdown can be attributed to people’s inability to save and useless addiction to splurge. All the large banks, mortgage firms, stock brokers, marketers, advertisers etc know all they need to do is to arouse that “I belong” feeling within the foolish middle class population.

Most of these victims couldn’t balance their own checkbook, so what they got was overdraft fees. No prizes for guessing, the banks forced them into not paying attention, right? They had to have those 50” 3D LCDs/Plasma because this will make them feel affluent. Again, they added that price tag onto their credit cards and yet they complained about lack of savings. The neighborhood uncle talked about this phenomenal stock that was going to give 1000% returns in a month and they got burned!

I am not done yet. Some of my friends/colleagues, typical middle-class junta but high on house mortgage, bonuses, perceived above average salaries, are not really familiar with what a budget is but will turn into gluttons once they come across a fast-food joint and will buy useless smartphones, without knowing what android refers to. Despite all that, the middle class wannabes still have the gumption to blame banks for all the horrible decisions taken by them. So either this category is completely brainless and blind when it comes to managing their finances or they should accept that they are spineless enough to be controlled by high-flying shrewd bankers from some dark dungeon board room or something!

This is basic Economics 101. But I am afraid, not many of them are really aware of game of economics or even history books which clearly states that, in the Crash of 1929 the politicians, the bankers and the elite, with connections in high places and enormous credit and cash reserves, bought up everything that was for sale. Yes, you read it right. The bourgeois never made money. Worse of all, this middle class always lives with one cherished delusion and that is, very presence of intellectual or artistic gifts masquerading as ‘divine attributes’ helping them in closing the distance with the ‘Have’s’.  The hungry resourcefulness cannot be compensated by the careful pretensions of personas that are somehow inherently invested with a loads of aspirations colored in shades of self-pity.

The middle class segment of Indian society is anyways, the least privileged one. So, they should either accept the inevitable with a pinch of salt or try reducing the pain of reality by finding their “internal locus of control” in the bowels of their withering mind. And if nothing here written by me is making any sense then please, unplug your computer and stick a wet finger in the electrical socket.

Long Live Middle Class!

Image source(for graphical representation only):- impactlab.net

Broken Society

How many times have you heard people from different walks of life cribbing about things- mundane stuffs to issues concerning national welfare? Did I hear, on a regular basis? Oh Yes, It starts very early in the morning when you switch on your TV hoping to get some good news but since when good news started to bring TRPs? News channels will talk about another raid on CWG premises, financial channels will talk about impending doom and gloom scenario in Ireland and Greece and I wouldn’t even bother to talk about soap operas. Then comes your maid complaining about water shortage and rising cost of onions. If by chance, I get an auto for Janakpuri metro station, I always have to heckle over exorbitant fair charges but then auto walla will respond, “Bhai saab, yahan pe subko tension hai. Koi khush nahin hai..”.

You meet your friend and the conversation involuntarily veers towards plight of our state and its politicians. Perhaps it is typical lower and middle class whingeing and certainly more than that; anger and immense conflict. This non-stop flow of opinions does tend to make you believe whatever they are prophesying. Despite all the claims of India shining and the mad rush to prove ourselves as country of hope in 21st century, we all are grumpy. If you are well-educated and own a bit of conscience, things appear further bleak. Forget about the alleged prosperity that we have come to acquire. The only common strand on the ground, among the rich or the poor or middle class is hysterical greed and ambition, frustration, and increasing polarization between different sections of the population.

The only people that are truly happy are authors of self-help and motivation books because we all are not just unhappy but also pretend to portray our lives as perfect one which further adds to the state of permanent anger, angst and stress. What is it that causes cases of randomized violence and armed attacks in the streets of Delhi, Mumbai, and other metros in broad daylight? We have started to program ourselves to total incompetence and hypocrisy. Most of the middle class people are neo-rich and do not like to miss one opportunity to show their neighbors and acquaintances how gladly they are willing to be ripped off to assuage their wannabe aspirations.

Check out those high-flying professionals. On the surface of it, they exactly know what they are missing and how to fill up those empty-sockets but instead, everyone I meet is frustrated to killing point, working 18-hour days, hating every minute of it, but unable to get off the corporate treadmill. Of being seen as ‘successful’.

The constant flow of bad news, corruption, rape, violence, apathy etc does not shock us anymore. Actually, it takes a lot to shock we hypocrite Indians simply because, you and I are not as virtuous. It is less about corrupt politicians like Kalmadi and Raja and more about why the hell, I did not get that chance! The great Indian dream is built on apathy and carelessness towards everything that does not come in between me and my dreams. And if, by any chance you point fingers at authorities not caring for general population then, please, first look at your own existence and whether you have contributed an iota for others in proportion to your complain list?

I believe, I am a part of a broken society where we idolize nothing but success, where we are always desirous of being a part of glitzy nightclubs and where we don’t even have to make any sort of effort to ignore bad things. We are turning out to be shallow people in addition to being hypocrite. Hypocrisy is in Indian blood effectively demonstrated through centuries of our evolution and stories. More on that, in a different post.

Who among us is fit to write about morality? Certainly not Me but didn’t I just tell you, we Indians are hypocrites?

Mediocrity Rules

Mediocrity rules, don’t you agree to that? Wherever you go, whomsoever you talk, the only thing that can make you connect to your circumstances/people/things is mediocrity. It’s in our DNA. Words like genius or excellence are so very revered which is also an indication of simple demand-supply mismatch. Just imagine, you being termed genius and how happy and high that makes you feel! All of a sudden, you find yourself elevated above mediocre bunch of people surrounding you!

A sociological study says, mediocre people are programmed to like mediocre stuff and mediocre stuffs are designed in a way that mediocre people have to like them! Confused? Nah, it’s simple actually. Why do you think about phenomenal success of Ghajini, Dabangg, Avatar, Chetan Bhagat etc? Huh, so much for popular choice! No, if you find people proclaiming Dabangg or Ghajini is so full of entertainment or Chetan Bhagat rocks etc, don’t find yourself dismayed. It is just the principle of mediocrity.

Let’s probe further. All humans have a common ancestor about 10,000 years ago and you must be aware of our similarity with bonobos and chimpanzees. Science says, we share about 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees and that makes us a part of biosphere. We were not designed specifically with ample dosage of intellect and blessing from your favorite God or Black Hole or whatever you prefer to call it. We just managed to evolve in a better way. We always assumed that, earth is the centre of universe and everything else rotates around us. But it needed a Galileo or Copernicus to prove this basic truth but before that churches and Pandits and Maulavis etc etc had burned/prisoned and tortured many souls for propagating this blasphemous truth.

So the fact is universe is substantially larger than humans first thought. We also took our own sweet time to realize; Milky Way Galaxy is just one of thousands of galaxies. So the final conclusion according to Copernican principle of Mediocrity was “Earth is a relatively ordinary planet orbiting a relatively ordinary star in a relatively ordinary galaxy which is one of countless others in a giant universe, possibly within an infinite multiverse”. Lest we forget to add, “Inhabited by billions of ordinary animals known as humans”!

So when everything is so mediocre about our existence then why are we so afraid about accepting our mediocrity? Intellect is a romanticized term and almost every one of us, feels like possessing it. Trust me, this is not a self-deprecatory defense mechanism employed by me to hide my own inadequacies or evoke a feeling of brotherhood or a futile attempt to assuage my perpetual self-doubt by praising me. The thought has remained with me for a while. As I mentioned while starting this topic, mediocrity is everywhere.

Some people might frown over this optimistic/pessimistic view (you see that glass half full / half empty crap). But here gain, it’s our myopic view that makes us think and popularise that glass metaphor. It’s so damn cheesy. You can be a realist or a spiritualist or a mix of both also. A realist will say, glass is half full and half empty. No more no less. Whereas a spiritualist will say, it doesn’t really matter. If finding the glass half-full makes you feel good, feel that or you can simply say, there is just a glass and some water. You refuse to bind yourself with limited notion of half full and half empty idiotic rhetoric.

Coming back to the track, I am not trying to propound a grand theory here. I am simply stating the obvious. I also accept, I have got no right to judge what is mediocre and what is not. In fact, mediocre people have got everything. I will be forced to cite examples of Chetan Bhagat, Twilight, Himesh Reshammiya, Ghajini, Shilpa Shetty, Big Boss, Roadies and should I dare to say, George Bush et al. Yes, mediocrity rules and it’s a common trait binding all of us. Else, there would always be a class chasm.

It’s illusive to find genius people. Despite trying hard, concentrating for few minutes, I couldn’t find one single person, I could term as genius, who could inspire me. So where do you look? Facebook, Orkut etc? Well, there also, a large percentage of people are mediocre and narcissists. Just like me. That’s why they connect with me and vice versa.

Honestly, I am not here to champion the cause of mediocrity nor am I asking you to forget the idea of running behind excellence. If you can reach perfection, go for it. I will love to watch your progress but yes, you can go only as far as what your society allows you to. Yes, there is always a possibility of you being the one who redefined norms and conventions but for that, you need to stretch beyond your DNA genesis.

If mediocrity rules, so be it. And if you are still reading this post, you have already made your stand clear.

Image source:- shannonstanley.wordpress.com

Female Sex Tourism

Ever heard of ‘R&R’? No, it does not signify ‘Rest and Relaxation’. It refers to ‘Rent a Rasta’. Directed by J. Michael Seyfert, ‘Rent a Rasta’ is an eye-opening depiction of female sex tourism in Caribbean Islands. Though, the movie chronicles the seductive ways of black locals and white-skinned Women in Jamaica, it very much represents a barely acknowledged form of sex tourism prevalent in other beach heavens also like Indonesia, Goa, Senegal, Jordan and certain parts of Africa. No less than 80,000 females from wealthy Western countries descend on Jamaica every year to satisfy their carnal desires. Local guys offering sex are termed as ‘beach boys’. Seeing sex to female tourists is a surging global phenomenon and if by any chance you get an opportunity to rent or download ‘Rent a Rasta’, you will be introduced to a new form of exploitation where it’s women who rule the roost.

The conventional wisdom has given way to empowerment witnessed by middle-aged, white-skinned women who otherwise feel ignored and unattractive. Native blacks offer their ‘services’ in lieu of money, electronic items, designer clothes and other material items. It is a thriving business that in some way reflects the declining social culture and weakening family structure in Caribbean. Women get their thrill when the beach boys pay their attention, find them beautiful and express their desire to satisfy them in every possible way. For most of these middle-aged and overweight spinsters, it is like discovering the gateways of a hedonistic world. They are not wanted by white men and because of social taboo, they can’t date black men so the only way out is to travel all the way to remote islands and seek uncomplicated sexual favours.

However, there is a silent and strict understanding between both parties and that is of keeping the liaison a complete secret. Quite a few documentaries have been made on this issue but it is hard to find them because of controversies surrounding these videos. Most of the beach boys are victim of relentless poverty and female sex tourism gives them a wonderful opportunity to make some fast bucks. For women, this is almost like a way to settle the score right with men in west who find these sexually-starved women unattractive.

These beach boys in Jamaica are also called ‘Rastatutes’ whereas women are termed ‘milk bottles’ because of their white skin. Women don’t have the option of visiting brothels and ‘Rent a Rasta’ offers them a chance to satiate their desires. Though, things might appear interesting to some and liberating to others, but ironically it also displays a continual blueprint of unreserved suppression and economic disparity of the islanders. In a way, it is a form of exploitation but of different form. So, if people have any false notions about Rent a Rasta being a risk-free pleasure ride of corneous white women gone wild, then it’s time to get it straight. It is more about a mushrooming inclination which is destroying free-flowing and exotic Caribbean culture and family structure.

:-Article & Image Source- rentarasta.com

TwitterMania

Almost twice a week, I get an email informing me about someone following me on Twitter. This ‘someone’ could be anyone from xyz to abc that I have no clue about. Most of these followers do not have any followers themselves but they are following like 200-700 people. Why? I have no clue. Why someone like me who hardly has few tweets to his name? Again, I have no clue because I don’t know any of them. This sets me thinking. People are either following someone or want others to follow them just because others are doing it as well. Call it a marketing gimmick or ‘popularity of brand Twitter’ or whatever you like but for many of us trying to be active on Twitter almost borders on desperation.

I have heard few guys saying, ‘What! You are not on Twitter? Come on Man, that’s just unimaginable!’ What the hell!These people make me feel as if my entire life hinges on being a ‘Twitterati’ and if you are not a part of this phenomenon, you are definitely technologically challenged. To me, most of the people trying to be active on Twitter do not make sense. It’s very much similar to a herd mentality.

If Tom, Dick and Harry is there on Twitter then so should I! Why? I don’t know but yeah, this is ‘in’! This is the fad we must be a part of or else I risk being labelled technology illiterate. Does it confuse you? Or gives you an indication of how easy it is to influence people! And what do most of these ‘fad-o-followers’ do on twitter? Well, some of the best comical and nonsensical stuff that you will ever witness. Just witness three tweets and responses!

Tweet One– Man, Delhi’s weather sux! Tempr is almst 44 and no respite in sight!

1^st Response-  yeah dude, this is jst so v bad! (enlightened, huh?!)

2^nd response- why don’t u go 2 a hill station! (Damn, y didn’t I think of it!)

3^rd response- Mumbai is no bettr either! (Uh? Really?)

Tweet Two– Saw Prince. Vivek Oberoi rocks.

1^st Response- Yeah man, stunts were amazing! (Sure, what good taste you have!)

2^nd response- yucckk! Worst film of the year! (Sigh! At last s’one is making sense!)

3^rd Response- copycat bollywood! Vivek’s acting starts wid flared nostril and end wid dat 1ly! (how dare you speak the truth!)

Tweet Three– Fever and cold is killing me. Don’t feel like goin office.

1^st Response- Awwww..poor baby. Did u c any doctor? (Cho chweet of you to ask that! Gurrrrrr!)

2^nd Response- that’s sad! Changing weather n all! Get well soon. (Zillion thanks for this wonderful suggestion)

3^rd Response- jst relax at home. Take crocin and anti-biotic. (Really? Why didn’t you tell me before?)

Tell me, was there any strategic importance attached with these tweets? I mean, none of these make any sense and yet you will find 80% of tweets going on these lines. Got the drift? If Delhi’s weather sucks then no less than 15 million of population are also going through the same thing and actually, it does not comes as a surprise if you realise why it’s called summer! If you have fever and cold then what’s the point making a noise about it? Seeking sympathy? Require attention? Want the world to notice that one of the most important persons on the planet earth is going through a ‘real hard time’? Get a life man!

Most of the tweets have this intonation of ‘Please notice me! I am also there! Me too, Me too’. Such creeps & such desperation! I do agree, twitter is a wonderful tool in hands of those who knows why to use it. It makes sense in the hands of marketing people, some web 2.0 savvy business punks but what’s your reason to be there! If you are following Shahrukh, Lalit Modi or some other big shot celebrities, at least that shows us our very nature of being a ‘peeping Tom’. Though, If Lalit Modi tweets, ‘having fun at spa. Relaxing time’, it does not make any sense to me but yeah, hundreds of other twitter guys will get their inspiration from that and waste some real precious time of their lives discussing that particular tweet. ‘The Times of India’ will inform us which celebrity tweeted what and we get our fodder from that.

Twitter is a handy tool if you want to advertise things. It makes sense for bloggers or for people who need to spread some relevant news in quick time or when some sort of healthy and informative discussion goes on and we feel tempted to share our 2 cents. But all the ‘Despos’ and ‘Me Toos’ of the world and that includes me, please try to find some good reasons for your tweets and if you don’t have any, be selective about what you tweet. World is not really interested in your attention-seeking cheesy tweets and if they are then, beware. Because in a world where self-obsession is the key that drives us, you are also bound to indulge in ‘Quid pro Quo’. If you are bombarding others with your crap then you need to be prepared for same. But I guess, you have already factored in that tacky barter system.

P.S- Well, having mumbled all those things, how about tweeting my blog update? Lolzz

: Image courtesy thegreatwahl.com

A Few Inches More

Day before yesterday, my room-mate casually asked me about height of some of our top bollywood stars and that got me going about how some of the greatest personalities of last century are short-heighted. There are hundreds of examples of ‘short’ people making it real ‘big’ in public domain. Yet, despite of this we people are obsessed with tall personalities just the way we have this ‘unfair’ obsession with “fairness”.

Mahatma Gandhi was 5’3” whereas Stalin was 5’4”. We simply cannot ignore this fact that many powerful men in world history were short. If you are a movie buff, how about realizing the fact that talents like Tom Cruise and AL Pacino are quite short by standard height benchmark. Even in Bollywood, take the reigning Khans; Salman, Amir and Shahrukh are below 6’ but their box office records are anything but ‘short’.

Male brigade is facing tough times in the era of stilettos. Poor, Nicolas Sarcozy always has to match up to his tall wife ‘Carla Bruni’. Similarly, Tom Cruise is always subject to humiliation while accompanied by his wife Katie Holmes who loves to wear stilettos. Sometimes, the female partner tries to make her man look taller by wearing flats. Yes, Katrina Kaif is one such benevolent partner.

The seeds of this height obsession lie in image associated with height. It symbolises power and even studies suggest the same. According to one study, short men are less likely to be promoted, hired or paid as well as their taller counterparts. Women also prefer to have taller companions. That explains why many short men are suffering from Napoleon complex or Short Man Syndrome.

The general perception also adds to this existing problem. Men are generally perceived to be tall, dark and handsome and who could provide protection to females. Vanity, eh?! Interestingly, short men also appear to be more aggressive which is nothing but a defence mechanism method to (over)compensate for the lack of height.

One direct beneficiary of this dilemma is fashion industry that has added few more zeroes to its bottom line by offering products like ‘Elevator shoes’. It is common to see numerous fashion articles emphasising value of ‘dressing tall’ and suggesting dresses that can add few more inches to one’s height. I wonder, should men be really this much troubled with the entire hullabaloo surrounding height factor?

Though, I am opining about height issue, perhaps I should take the initiative to contribute my bit. I am of around 5’10” and yet once in a while I keep blabbering about how 2 inches more would have been just perfect! Yes, good things do come in small packages. And if nothing else works out we can always initiate a campaign on lines of ‘Yes We Can’ and appoint someone like Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara to champion causes of short men ;).

:Image Courtesy- theinsider.com & huffingtonpost.com

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