What is your verdict?

I am back here after a looooong time and its not because I didn't have anything to tell.. its only because I've been super-busy with my online store for my handmade items. You can find the link to my store onto your right on this page.. So, what made me break the silence??



Image courtesy: rttnews.com

Yes.. Its the Ajmal Kasab verdict on the Mumbai Terror attacks.. Half the world is debating whether he should've been given death penalty or life time imprisonment..I will present my case here..

For a guy who came mentally and physically prepared to die on a suicide mission, do you think death penalty is really a punishment? Isn't life time imprisonment a better punishment for a man who wanted to die killing innocent people?! Sometimes, death is not a punishment..It could be a relief..

So, I wish they had given him life-time solitary imprisonment..so that he will ROT in jail..physically and mentally.. I don't know about the legal loopholes, but I really wish it wasn't death penalty that he got.. what is your verdict?? Leave your comments with your verdict..

-Josie

Since when...

...did they start naming natural disasters?!?
Cyclone Phyan..Hurricane Katrina.. Hurricane Ike.. Hurricane Jimena..Typhoon Morakot!!
Who on earth names them?! Funny naming business it is!!

Nadodigal - a magical journey!

I watched this movie yesterday and I couldn't help but write this. This movie starts where the other films finish. We have seen countless movies where a couple's friends move heaven and earth to get them united. And, this movie starts there and explores the aftermath. The entire movie is based on one line: a friend in need is a friend indeed.



Image courtesy: Indiaglitz.com

This film is a excellent example for a great success when the story is good and a script that does justice to the storyline. Sasikumar as Karuna has done a real good job as the protagonist who along with his friends Pandi and Chandran try to unite his childhood friend Saravanan with his lady-love Prabha much against their parents' wishes! Pandi becomes hearing-impaired and Chandran loses one of his leg while Karuna loses his lady-love in their efforts to unite the lovers.

Then comes the irony! The lovers decide to separate within a few days of their marriage as they realize that they are incompatible with each other. What the friends decide to do after hearing this news forms the climax. The climax explores the failure of fleeting relationships in this ultra-modern fast-paced world. The movie has an engaging screenplay, keeping you guessing on what would happen next. Its not your run-of-the-mill predictable formula movie! All the actors in the movie have done justice to their characters. The one who stands out the most other than the main cast is Chandran's father who displays an unwavering optimism through the adversities.



Image courtesy: Indiaglitz.com

To think that one of the heroines Abhinaya who plays the sister of Sasi kumar and Chandran's love is hearing-impaired is unbelievable. I found this out only after the movie and never once during the movie did I doubt that she is deaf and dumb. She deserves a standing ovation and the director Samudhrakani and Sasi Kumar deserve an applause to have helped her enact this wonderful performance. Ananya as Nallamma, Karuna's love plays the village belle role with ease and poise.

The subtle screenplay with comedy interspersed in unexpected frames make this movie an enjoyable watch. This movie gives us the hope that good cinema is still around.Tamil cinema these days has become bold enough to cast ordinary looking people who are close to our lives in characters that seem very real. There is no unrealistic heroism or idealistic situations in this movie. The movie was as close to reality as it can be and yet had the magical quality of good cinema!

Music by Sundar C Babu is engaging as well. The song "sambo siva sambo.." is like a war cry and stays with you even after the movie is over. The background score is good too without overpowering the screenplay. Vaali's lyrics for the song "Ulagil entha kaadhal udanae jeyithathu.." touches your heart as immediately as you hear Hariharan's voice singing it.

This movie is not a commercial entertainer but, there is something for everyone in it!

Verdict: Must watch!

Whatta shame?!!?!

The recent news that made me feel ashamed of our nation's bureaucrats was that our former President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam was frisked by the US Airlines company, Continental Airlines It saddened me to know that a man of such greatness and importance was frisked by an American airlines company in our own Indian soil!!

When this topic came for discussion at our lunch table at work, I asked my colleagues: "Do you think we will do this to Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton?!? and, we let this happen to our own former President in our own soil!!". One of my colleagues quipped: "We won't do this even to Monica Lewinsky!!"

Whatta shame!! Lets go dig a hole and hide our heads in it!!

After a long time..

...I am back here to write something!I have been neglecting this blog, working more on my other blog. I wanted to write about many things as and when they were happening but, I postpone it and then it becomes outdated! One thing that nagged my thoughts is the recent attacks on Indian in Australia! Its very sad and Australia as a nation should be ashamed of itself for not being able to protect its guests! The Indian government is playing the onlooker's role in the Australian attacks on Indians. Why couldn't we issue a travel advisory warning our citizens about how unsafe Australia is?! How long are we gonna be spineless?!?

And, the ads on TV as usual kept and keep me intrigued! Can some one explain what this Ad is trying to convey?!



Of course, the song is catchy and my son loves to watch this ad!

Why is SRK a bad manager??

Here is why:

• He thinks he is the best manager in the world.
• He wants the team to perform right from the word "GO".
• He thinks his team should ALWAYS win. He doesn't like to lose.
• He thinks being rude and demotivating the team will make them perform better as they will fear him.
• He thinks money can bring his team victories.
• He is a bad manager.

Seeing the IPL league matches, its no surprise that the Deccan Chargers are in good form after their poor start last season. The team management had confidence in the team. They didn't make any haphazard changes in the team hoping for the team to perform better! Changing the captaincy sends out a wrong message to the team that the management doesn't have confidence in the team and it also puts a pressure on the replacing captain. What can a Captain do that the team couldn't do?

Deccan Chargers are a perfect example for a team where there is good management. I assume the Owner of the team has left cricketing decisions to the team, which is letting the team perform to its fullest potential. When there is no mismanagement clutter in the environment, the team is happier to perform. I hope the managers of the world take a lesson here that a positive environment goes a long way in getting the best out of the team.

SRK should leave cricket to the people who play cricket. Then, his team may start a winning spree. Till then, he can only hope for a miracle.

Where is this world going to?!

We've been seeing a lot in the news regarding the ugly turn ragging in colleges are taking these days! Made me think of my college days..of how I was ragged and how I did! It was pure and harmless fun from both sides! But, hearing the ragging stories doing the rounds these days send a shiver down my spine. Young freshers in college being beaten till they go blind! That's shocking! I am glad I finished college in better times! I was only asked to count the number of trees in the campus, made to sing and dance. The funniest that they made me do was to play kho-kho with jus one other girl. Imagine: I had to sit on the floor and she will run around me and when she says "GO" I will start running around her while she sits on the floor. It was HILARIOUS, not at that time though!

But, I don't think freshers these days are made to sing and dance or asked to count the number of steps and trees in the campus. They are being asked to strip and booze. And, when they refuse to comply, they get beaten black and blue! Is that why we are bringing up our kids? Jus so that they have to go through this at college! I can't imagine how twisted the minds of these Senior kids are these days! Kids these days aren't brought up with values. I am scared of the time when I will have to send Alvin to college!(He is not even into pre-school now!)

I have read somewhere that one should have a past juicy enough to share it with his/her kids when the time is right. I will definitely share my youthful days with Alvin. But, imagine the college freshers who are losing their youth to ragging!Who would want to recollect the trauma of stripping in front of strangers?! What will they have that can be shared with their kids?! Sigh!

Career crossroads,anyone?!

I have been in this corporate rat-race for quite sometime and its taking a toll on me. I need a break. Maybe that's why I am not compelled to write anything here too..

Thanks for all the people who still check here often.. I will be back soon when I get over this phase or at least the mental block! :-)

The Curious Case of Pink Chaddis!

I am sure most of the young Indians understand what I am talking about! Yes! The 'pub'rouhaha dats been brewing in the metros! The Moral policing of the various Senas in this country! I totally support the cause of the Consortium of Pubgoing,Loose and Froward women! No, I dont drink.Neither do I go pub-hopping! But, I support their cause! A recap for those who are out of context: The so-called moral police of India called Sri Ram Sena(SRS)led by Pramod Muthalik attacked women in pubs saying that they are maligning the Indian Tradition. So, they attacked and molested them in broad daylight! Now, the SRS has warned against the Indians celebrating Valentine's day as they consider a celebration of love against Indian tradition and culture, a culture which gave the world Kamasutra and Khajuraho! So, a group of young Indians have started this campaign for donating used/fresh pink chaddis(underwears) to Pramod Muthalik and the SRS as a token of love for St.Valentine's Day! What an idea?!?



I have a few questions that I would like to ask Pramod Muthalik and his SRS.. Who gave him and the SRS the authority to attack innocent people? Is attacking women good culture? When the entire world in moving into a futuristic world, he wants Indians to go back in time and live like animals as we used to. A tradition is not a written rule to be followed. Its an evolving potpourri of culture and society that moves ahead with time! If we were to follow the traditions that once were being followed in this country, then women from certain castes wouldn't be wearing clothes above their waist and widows will be burnt along with their husband's funeral pyre! That backward were our traditions!

Men like Pramod Muthalik and Raj Thackeray are cowards who can show their might only against the "weaker sex"(I dont like this terminology!!)as they call us! They can only mobilize the illiterate and drunkards towards the cause of moral-policing! Find one educated person in his right mind supporting their cause. You won't! Where was Raj Thackeray when the Mumbai Attacks were going on?! He was too scared to step out of his home.Where was his Uncle Bal Thackeray at that time? All these men are spineless cowards who satisfy their hunger for domination by oppressing women and quench their thirst for power by ruling over the illiterates and hooligans! Cos, they can only show their might among their likes! They are scared that the women in their communities won't give a damn about the men if they also go the 'forward" way like the pub-going women..

Pramod Muthalik and his men have now threatened that if they see any couple(a guy and a gal) being together and holding hands on Valentine's Day , they will either take the couple to the nearest Police Station and get them married or make the girl tie a rakhi to the boy and make them brothers and sisters!Wat crap?! Instead, if all the hooligans spend their energy in cleaning up our metros or regulating traffic, our cities will be better places to live in.

They(Pramid Muthalik, the Thackerays and their Senas) have achieved what they are after. If they have made me blog about their activities, they have achieved their most important goal! Fifteen minutes of fame! But,they have also started a movement among the educated youth.. a campaign against these SOBs that the Youngistan of India will not take these kind of crap lying down! I totally support the Pink Chaddi Campaign . We need more campaigns like this in this developing yet mentally-backward country.

One motto will save this country: Live and let live! We have enough troubles with our neighboring nations! We dont need such moral police to create tensions within! Let us live and let live! So, if you guys leave me, I have to go rummage my closet. I have a donation to make! ;-)

Ghajini - The phoenix!

The long pending review of Ghajini! Here we go..

I watched the movie at last and I want to tell the world about it! Its a must watch movie! The Director A.R.Murugadoss has analyzed the Tamil version enough and has eliminated all the flaws in the much better Hindi version! Aamir Khan as a man with seething anger and vengeance for the killer of his ladylove has done a good job!All credit should to the director and Aamir Khan! Aamir Khan has gone the "six-pack" way though there was no need for it in the movie!



Photo Courtesy: Sify.com

All the actors have done their job! Aamir is awesome as a man with unquenchable anger! But, he is starting to look old! He looks quite old against Asin. Asin looks very innocent!She is an odd one in the Bollywood film industry! Doesn't look like the usual size-zero waif-like heroines found in the North! More like the "healthy" Southie Heroine! She better return back to South Indian Film industry before committing a harakiri of her career in the North! Jiah Khan is also convincing! She comes as quite a daring lady in the movie..unafraid neither to meet a psychopathic-looking hero nor to meet the underworld goons! Quite a lady of this century, I shud say!

I liked Surya better for the first half of the movie..for the romantic scenes! But, the Hindi climax was way better than the Tamil version! I personally don't buy the twin-theory in Indian films! So, I was happy that the twin-element was not there in the Hindi version! The climax is fast-paced unlike the Tamil version dat dragged a bit! The scenes where Aamir looses his memory again in the presence of the villain were awesome! One kept praying for his memory to come back somehow and wreak a havoc to the villain! Finally, he gets his revenge as the villain himself digs his grave!

AR Rahman has done a good job with the songs though the Tamil version had better and more haunting songs by Harris Jayaraj. The background score is good! But, the songs are no match for the Tamil version!

The final scene shows an Aamir living a quite life playing with a few kids , still the same "short-term memory loss" patient ... but,with no unspent anger...with no need to remember a gory incident..no need to avenge a death...with a memory of only his lady-love! An out and out commercial entertainer! A Hindi movie I watched after quite a long time and I am glad I watched this movie! A movie to be watched in the theaters! All credits to Aamir and AR Murugadoss!

Year 2008 - Recap!

This year is gonna come to an end in a few hours! Somehow, the excitement of a new year is missing in me! Maybe I am getting old and getting used to seeing new years fly by! ;-) I am in a retrospective mood looking back on things that happened to me or affected me..in no particular order.

I started this year as a new mother to Alvin.. He crossed his first b'day this year in October! I had a job change. I got chicken-pox! I gave it to my son too! He gave it to his GranPa. Infectious diseases are a pain! We shifted house this year!This has become a tradition every year for us! I kinda have gotten used to moving to new houses quite often that I feel stagnant if we stay in a particular one for a long time! But, the current set up has suited all of us and I wudn't want anything to jeopardize it..

Coming to things that affected me.. The Mumbai Terror Attacks on Nov 26th. It had the entire nation glued to the news channels! My heart goes out to those who had to go through the ordeal;salutes the hero in every Mumbaikar and the Indian Armed forces; bows down to the martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting the terrorists!... The economic slowdown that has been going on! Barack Obama becoming the US President!Why can't India get a young PM and a Prez?!? ...The Shoe-Shower that the outgoing US Prez George Bush got in Iraq! Lotsa ppl would want to remember it forever!

The political scenario was hopeless as usual in India where every elected politician was vying for the award for the top non-performer! The award goes to Mr.Shivraj Patil, the former Union Home Minister. Cash was flashed in the Parliament during the No-Confidence motion against the UPA government in power! The common man lost faith in the political system after the Mumbai terror attacks!

2008 was a year of surprise when it came to movies! While the North was continuing to dish out the usual crap like Bachna ae.. , Karzzz,and Yuvraaj; the South saw some surprise hits in different genres like Anjaathae, Saroja, Varanam Aayiram ,Subramanyapuram and once-in-a-lifetime efforts like Dasaavathaaram! Thankfully, TR, the sloth bear dint make any movies!

Hope year 2009 also is as eventful as 2008!

Wishing all the visitors of my blog a happy and prosperous New Year 2009!

Ad wars!

Indian TV viewers must be shocked to see the recent brand war between Horlicks and Complan! The moment I saw the new Horlicks ad, I thought both the brands have gone thru Merger/Acquisition! But, it doesnt look like it! Never before has it been seen in India media where two brands blatantly attacking each other. Check out the horlicks ad!




I couldn't find the complan ad that came as a retaliation for this one! I dont like this! All you corporate brands out there, please take creative potshots at each other! Please make Ad viewing a nice experience for us, as we are stuck with hours of commercials during a cricket match! I like the following Ad for Set Wet Zatak deo which pokes fun at Axe deo! Watch it! Its quite funny!



Keep 'em creative ppl! Keep 'em coming!

Vaaranam Aayiram - A tribute to all the dads in the world!

Warning: Girls who go to watch the movie, go at your own risk!!

Surya. This guy makes you fall in love with him. Through out the movie. He amazes you in all the stages of life! As a son and as a father! Its a poignant movie about father-son relationship seen through the eyes of the son! All credit goes to the actor and the director of the movie!

Surya is synonymous with dedication and it shows through out the movie. He has managed to live the characters he has played. As a father who wants the best for his son, Surya plays the role of Krishnan , a cool father for his generation. He will make you wish that all fathers were like him! .. a father who lets his son chase his dreams!

Simram plays Malini, w/o Krishnan and mother of Surya played by the actor himself. Its a nice comeback role for her and you can say she can give a lot of contemporary heroines a run for money! The love between the seniors is shown very touchingly.. the way they dance to their son's song and afterward the father gently massaging his wife's feet.. lest they hurt! Sigh! Makes all the married couple wish to be in the same love at that age!

Sameera Reddy as Surya's first love,Meghna has done her job.To look nice! So, does Divya Spandana as Priya , Surya's love after Meghna dies! Divya had more scope for performance as a person with unrequited love for a person who didnt acknowledge her existence till he needed her! She has done justice to her role!

Surya has given a riveting portrayal of a drug addict when he loses his ladylove Meghna to the Oklahoma City Bombing!The way he shows the suffering of a drug addict desperate for a shot is chilling... would make any punk kid wanna avoid drugs! The father advises his son to channelize his feelings into a positive energy as against wasting it on destructive habits like drugs and booze! The message is loud and clear, Mr.Director!

Credits should be given to Surya for his efforts to live the characters he has played. He must have gone through heaven and hell to change his physique to suit the age of the character he is playing. You never feel a glitch when Surya's character grows from a teen, to a college-kid to a drug-addicted adult to a middle-aged army-man. And, so is the transition of the father's character as a college-kid to a middle-aged father to an old man with a prodigal son! I am a sucker for a guy with a guitar and a man in uniform! and, Surya has managed to floor me in this movie as both!

Harris Jeyaraj has done a commendable job with the songs and the background score! All the songs are haunting and melodious and they manage to stay in your mind for a long time.. The song "Nenjukkul peidhidum maamazhai..." is my fave! But, then.. I like the other songs too ;-) The song lyrics are also good!

This is a movie where everything has fallen into place.. where nothing has gone wrong.. much like the Indian Cricket team's performance these days! ;-) Surya has jus raised the bar for performance by a Tamil actor and Gautham Menon has jus given his masterpiece, a tribute to his father!

My husband said that he was able to relate to a lotta emotions that filled the movie as he is a father to our son while being a son to his father! This is not an entertainment movie... this is a movie for the movie-lovers and to all the fathers and sons who enjoy their father-son relationship! Hats off to the Vaaranam Aayiram Team esp to Surya and Gautham! I am gonna watch the movie again, jus for Surya! ;-)

Things I saw on my way!

Last evening as I was returning home from work on my bike, I saw a few things that touched my heart..some that irked my conscience! I wanted to do something about them! But, I didn't.. for some reason or the other!

I was stuck in a traffic-signal.. and I saw a few children begging for money! There was one kid of age around 6 with another kid around a yr old or less perched on his hips, begging for money! The younger one was making some noises and they two were going around from one vehicle to another begging for money and food. It touched my heart to see a kid of my son's age to be in this plight! I wanted to help these kids! But, what do I do? I see this scene almost everyday on my way. Who will take care of these children? Is there a Government Plan to take care of these kids? What can I do to help these kids?! I was even thinking of adopting them educationally..

Then I saw a lady in a scooty, along with me in the signal! I realised dat she hadnt turned the ignition of her vehicle off even though the signal isn't gonna turn green for quite a while. On top of that, she was accelerating while on brakes.. Who is she doing a favor?!I hate ppl with no ecological common sense! She is wasting petrol and polluting the environment! I wanted to tell her to stop doing wat she was..but,I cudnt get her attention! Sigh!

The signal turned green and I moved on with a heavy heart! There was an auto-rickshaw going ahead of me..it was crowded as usual.. A lady was sitting near the entrance with a girl on her lap and the kid had her right leg outside the vehicle. I was irritated at the callousness of the mother! Doesn't she realize dat her daughter cud lose her limb if its hanging outside a moving vehicle?! I couldn't alert her as the traffic was moving fast and I couldn't risk slowing down.. Sigh! I only hope that the kid reached home safely!

Life isn't fair and square! The rich is getting richer while the poor is getting poorer! But, this news about Infosys is coming as a whiff of fresh air in this suffocating global village! It may be a calculated and diplomatic move by Infy but, if something good is gonna happen to the Society out of this, I will be more than happy! I hope this news is true and employees taking this offer will be true to their pledge.

Political irony of the day!

I am unable to keep quiet looking at the irony happening in India! Let me explain the two sides of the irony! one side,innocent Biharis and North Indians are being lynched in Maharashtra by the Goonda-Raj run by the Thackerays



Photo courtesy: The Times of India

On the other side, our External Affairs Minister, Mr.Pranab Mukherji and our Prime Minister are asking the Srilankan Government to protect the Tamils in their country. What an irony?!?

Photo Courtesy: Indian Embassy,Russia's Newsletter

The UPA government should first try to protect its own citizens within its country limits and then go point fingers at another country! This must be one crazy government in power in India! God save the country!

Honest Leader of the day - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Ladies , Gentlemen and fellow-bloggers!

The award for the honest politician of the day goes to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran.



His achievements:

He has achieved the status of one of the most controversial leader of the contemporary world.

His best political statement:

"[The] American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road, and its next rulers must limit their interference to their own borders."

BBC reports: Addressing the General Assembly in New York, Mr Ahmadinejad also accused the US and Nato of being "aggressors" in Iraq and Afghanistan, and of starting wars "in order to win votes in elections".

Nice to see Leaders who speak their mind in this age!!

Funniest Politician of the day - Shivraj Patil!

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The award for the Funniest Politician of the day goes to the present Union Home Minister of India, Mr.Shivraj Patil.



His achievements:
He has achieved the state of "nirvana" where nothing matters to him, even the peace and health of the nation!
His best political statement:
"It (information) was available with us in Delhi. But what was not available was the timing, the place and the method to be used for the purpose,"
In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN, Patil claimed that the information was not actionable since it didn’t provide specifics on when and where the attacks would take place.

Oh!C'mon,Mr.Patil!! If we had the information you are talking about, don't you think even the meekest would've prevented the bomb blasts?!? Do you expect the extremists to give you the information to you before they go and make it happen?! Why are you still in power?!

Height of Fanaticism - The Thackerays!

I am flabbergasted by this political family - the Thackerays! They dont have anything better to do than instigate like-minded idiots to fight for something as flimsy as regional sentiment! When the entire world is warming up to the concept of a Global Village, these losers want to restrict their State to the natives. It is a known fact that the ancient civilizations flourished because of the trade-ties they had with different countries with varied cultures. How can they expect their State to prosper if they dont want to be nice to immigrants from other states?They think that they are doing good to Maharashtra! If you dont know who I am talking about, try a google search on Bal Thackeray and Raj Thackeray!

Who appointed them as the guards of the Marathi culture? If they are so consumed with their culture, they should be wearing langoti instead of shirt and pants like their ancestors did. It amuses me how an entire family can be schizophrenic. They live in a parallel world where only Marathis can live. They have been hounding celebrities from other state who did the only mistake of making Maharashtra their home.

I want to know what is their criteria for living in Maharashtra?! Isn't it enough to be a human being to live in Maharashtra? I want to know what is so special about the Marathis and their culture that the immigrants are polluting it.I want the Thackerays to give reason why we should believe that immigrants aren't worth living in their state. Will they take it lying down if all the Marathi immigrants in other states are plundered and lynched just because they chose to live in a foreign state?

Maybe someone should give the same treatment to the Marathis that the Thackerays are doling out to innocent immigrants in Maharashtra.Do you think they(The Thackerays) would care if a Marathi is dying in any other state? These are people who are drunk on their power and autocracy, who want to prove themselves that they are above the law. But, they are also heartless people who instigate the ignorant and the idiotic to fight for their own irrational beliefs.(I am sure they hypnotize their followers!). In the end, what do they have got to lose?! They are never the people who directly involve in violence. No stone ever gets pelted at them.No bullets get fired at them. It is their crazy followers who fight it out for what their leader irrationally believes in.

As long as there are idiots to follow these sociopathic leaders, these kind of violence will go on.. these kind of beliefs will be rooted in our country! God save Maharashtra! God save India!!

Rain! Rain! Go away!!

Hyderabad is one of the worst cities to be when rainy season starts! The large scale maladministration that is rampant here becomes evident during the rains! I commute on a 2-wheeler daily to work and it took me 2 hrs to cross a 6km stretch! I ended up with a back-ache! The road I take was repaired hardly a month ago and now there is no trace of a road there. There are gorges and canyons on the road. The rule is to drive on the left side of the road, but here we are driving on what is leftover of the road!!


Photo Courtesy: The Hindu

I pay my taxes regularly hoping for good roads and public infrastructure. But, no one in the ministries concerned are intent on serving the public.There must be a large scale scam involved in laying roads in Hyderabad because all the roads here are sub-standard and of very poor quality. Everyone involved right from the contractor to the Ministry should be taken to task.

Chandra Babu Naidu laid a strong foundation for the IT industry in Hyderabad.But, gross negligence, lack of foresight and corruption at all levels of administration seem to have eroded the foundation. The powers that be in India work under the principle of "Make hay while the sun shines"! Everyone plunders the country to the maximum extent possible leaving the layman with a country characterized by bad roads, even worse traffic , crumbling infrastructure and corrupt officials.

Learning from mistakes is something the officials will never do.We still dont have many cities flourishing because of the administration there but we definitely have cities that crumble because of their lack of foresight. Bangalore is the best example.Why cant Hyderabad learn from the mistakes B'lore made?! Chennai as far as I know, is known for better traffic management among the metros. Why cant Hyderabad learn good practices from Chennai?!

There are lotsa instances where I feel the officials aren't using their brains which got them into power..The GHMC(Greater Hyderabad Muncipal Corporation) has constructed Road-Over-Bridges in many places including crowded places like Ameerpet, L.V.Prasad Marg and Dilshuk Nagar.But, they have forgotten to raise the height of the barricades on the dividers on the road to avoid people from crossing the road directly. The entire purpose of the road-over-bridge is defeated!!Who would wanna climb the stairs and cross the road when the road is open for everyone to jump into the traffic.


Photo Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle

Another instance I see is vehicles hogging Free-Left turns in the city.If the barricades are made such that anyone taking the Free-Left lane ends up in the road in the left with no chance of an U-turn for another kilometre or two, no one will think of hogging the Free-Left lanes.I see almost 8 traffic police officers manning the Cyber Towers Junction in Hitec city. But, guess who also use the road in this junction during the peak hours in the mornings?! Buffaloes! Almost 20 of them cross this junction right when daily commuters are struggling to squeeze thru the traffic! Then comes the hawkers-menace and eunuchs coercing money from the bike riders waiting for the green-signal. What are these traffic police doing all the while?! I will tell you what they are doing? They will stand in the middle of the junction on their traffic island and signal Go! Like we all dont know that green signal means GO!!They must have kidneys in the place of their brains!!

The list will go on if I talk about the stupidity of the officials here. What I am looking for is a Forum where sincere Government Officials interact with responsible representatives of the public to hear out their grievances and ideas,if any, to make this city a better place to live in. The population of Software professionals working in IT/ITES companies is increasing in Hyderabad and each and everyone of them is educated.The city can do much better if the administration creates a rapport with the people living here, involving them in the city's welfare schemes. But, I guess mine is quite a far-fetched dream!!

The Aarushi Talwar case - The unasked questions!

Almost everyone would have heard about the recent gruesome murder of an innocent teenager,Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj, the servant of her house in her own house when her parents were supposedly sleeping in the adjacent bedroom. The entire case can be tracked in this website.There has been so many theories on the motives behind the murders and too many suspects.. But, this case made me think about the lifestyle issues associated with it...

All the servants involved in the murders are male. I have seen that in many North Indian families, the servants and cooks are male. But, take a South Indian family which is looking for a servant. The search, by default is for a maid-servant. Why do you want a male stranger entering your home to do household work?? and,that too when you have a teenaged daughter at home?!? When the parents' profession is very demanding which requires them to leave their kid in the hands of servants, won't you think twice to leave your daughter in the hands of a man?? I am not saying that maid-servants are totally harmless but, with male-servants around, can't you see a disaster waiting to happen??

In this age of Internet and Social Networking, kids grow up with an overdose of technology. And, that comes with its own set of problems. How much can parents monitor their kids' activities on the Net?? For all you know, your kid might be chatting with a stranger online, giving information about your household, knowingly or unknowingly. Technology, and gadgets & gizmos to bring it into your life is not a solution for your absence from your kid's everyday life. A teenager in this century has a cellphone, computer on his own, a PSP or a XBOX to keep themselves occupied when their parents are away..When the parents allow these indulgences for their kids,it is their responsibility to make their kids understand the perils lurking in every corner.

It is indeed a sad thing that happened to Aarushi and Hemraj.I dont seem to be able to forget the innocent smiling face of that lil girl.. May justice be served in this case. May their souls rest in peace!