Premarital Sex - new form of Legal Marriage

A couple of days ago, hon'ble Chief Minister of Karnataka Sri. Siddaramaiah had expressed inclination towards cutting down marriage expenses; and a day later, the Madras High Court finds an appropriate solution for this - 'Premarital Sex'. Can it get any simpler, I strongly doubt.

If any unmarried couple of the right legal age 'indulge in sexual gratification', this will be considered a valid marriage and they could be termed 'husband and wife'.
- Madras High Court

Image Courtesy: Ronke Alao; Concept: Prashanth

It's important to mark the Day 17th June 2013, when Justice C. S. Karnan passed an order to modify the judgement given by the Coimbatore family court in maintenance case of a couple and said if a boy is 21 and girl 18, they shall acquire the 'freedom of choice' guaranteed by the Constitution of India. Does the so-called 'freedom of choice' meant 'premarital sex'? definitely not, am sure.

Were you wondering how to honor premarital sex a legal marital status? - 'Either party to a relationship could approach the Family Court for a declaration of marital status by supplying documentary proof for a sexual relationship' the Court opined. That's fine, but, what would possibly make a 'documentary proof' for 'sexual relationship'? If at all this was slightly elaborated upon, it would have been much more easier to 'make marriages happen' in the near future.

'On declaration of marital status for a sexual relationship, a woman could establish herself as the man's wife in Government Records and all Legal rights applicable to normal wedded couples will also be applicable' the Court added. When lawyers are smart enough to utilize the smallest loopholes in the Law and uphold injustice, Justice C. S. Karnan with this judgement has kept a trench dug wide open; it shall not be of any difficulty to seek (in)justice based on this 'controversial judgement'.

The Hindu, India Times, CNN-IBN India, DNA, Sify and others reported this 'historical' judgement online and succeeded in pushing up their page rankings to the top on Google for a transitory period of time to the key word 'premarital sex'. 'If after having sexual relationship the couple decided to separate, the husband could not marry without getting a divorce from the wife' - this judgement, however, has given a new twist to the concept of 'premarital sex', which will soon make the 'curse' a 'boon'.

The Court also said 'Marriage formalities as per various religious customs such as tying of mangalasutra, exchange of garlands, exchange of rings or registering of a marriage were only to comply with religious customs for the satisfaction of society'. This, simply makes the existing deep-rooted solid foundation of Hinduism/Christianism to give way and completely collapse it's strongly built social architecture in India. If slogans of boycott are heard against this, surprise not!

In the past, marriages were said to be made in heaven; but in future, marriages shall be made on beds too..

Whr ru, Mr. Politician and Party??

If you are a regular driver in Bangalore, am sure by now you are made 'Christopher Columbus' - for exploring all possible shortcuts to commute across; being born & brought up here in Bangalore, am no different. To save a few minutes while driving every morning to College, I take this street connecting Srinigar to Gavipuram (area where the well-known Sri Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple is located). Gavipuram is also called as Kempegowda Nagar and the street am talking about ends in front of the Kempegowda Swimming Pool entrance.

On 31st May 2013, Friday morning, it was yet another drive-away for me in this congested-yet-convenient street on my way to College. Usually no thing off-the-road succeeds to drag my attention while driving; it was an unusual thing that caught my sight instantly at the end of the street - a blocked manhole, which had no other go than overflowing its content along the street walk path. I slowed down a bit to see where it ended up flowing - after a course of about 20-25 meters, the gushing filth found its way into a nearby road-side channel - thanks to Newton & Gravity!

(click image to enlarge)

The scene got no better the next day - 01st Jun; a day after - 02nd Jun; later on 03rd Jun. Today being day five since this was happening, I stopped by. As there was a huge building coming up adjacent and a pretty high compound wall of a well-built apartment on the other side, none other than few pedestrians were found around to talk to. Just because of the fact that the residents are a few handsome yards away, it was totally unfair to leave this blocked manhole unattended even after five days. It would be a shock if the residents haven't reported this to BWSSB yet and wouldn't be a surprise if the driver of BWSSB Kambi Truck (which cleans the clogged manhole) retired from his service on 31st May 2013.

Just a month ago almost all political leaders contesting for the then Karnataka Assembly Elections, 2013 & party were busy moving along this very street, literally 'begging' for votes from the residents of Ward No. 155, Hanumanthanagar. Many a times, election canvass was a major threat to the regular commuters on-road. Every contestant promised of making our 'dwelling' a 'fancy heaven on earth', which practically could be a day-dream for many years to come by. Youth, getting involved in active politics was the highlight of this assembly elections in the Constituency. THE ANSWER TO BAD POLITICS IS GOOD POLITICS, NOT NO POLITICS - agreed; agreed. But, good politics should definitely not end with elections, right? When leaders can successfully mobilize their volunteers for canvassing during elections, why not actively mobilize them to periodically patrol around the constituency to address the grievances of general public even after elections??

Dengue, this season, has slowly been able to penalize many of their invaluable lives; Hon'ble Chief Minister is in serious search of ways to supply cheap liquor to the poor; the elected MLAs are too busy demolishing some interior walls of Vidhanasoudha to make their stay a comfortable & memorable one and officials have a lot of other social services to 'deal' with (like the recent KPSC recruitment racket). In midst of all these - pity the public, please..

ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯರೇ ಶತ್ರುಗಳು..

ವೃತ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯನಾಗಿ, ಇಂತಹ ಶೀರ್ಷಿಕೆಯಡಿ ವೃತ್ತಿಪರ ವಿಚಾರವಾಗಿ ಚಿಂತಿಸಿ ಬರೆಯುವ ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯತೆ ಬಂದೊದಗಿರುವುದು ಬಹುಶಃ ದೌರ್ಭಾಗ್ಯವೇ ಎಂಬುದು ನನ್ನ ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ. "ಹೆಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಹೆಣ್ಣೇ ಶತ್ರು" ಎನ್ನುವ ನಾಣ್ನುಡಿಯು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿನ "ಯುವ" ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಅಕ್ಷರಶಃ ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುವಂತಹ "ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶವು ಇಂದು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯಾಗಿದೆ" ಎನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ "ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶವನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ" ಎಂದೆನ್ನಬಹುದೇನೋ?? ತಿಳಿಯದು.

ಕಳೆದ ಗುರುವಾರ, ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಪೇದೆಯೊಬ್ಬರು ನನ್ನ ದ್ವಿಚಕ್ರವಾಹನವನ್ನು ತಡೆದು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿ ದಾಖಲಾತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಪರಿಶೀಲಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಎಲ್ಲ ದಾಖಲೆಗಳನ್ನೂ ಅವಸರದಲ್ಲೇ ನೀಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನನ್ನನ್ನುದ್ದೇಶಿಸಿ ಅವರು ಕೇಳಿದ ಹಲವು ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಉತ್ತರಿಸಿ ಕಾಲೇಜು ತಲುಪುವ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ತಡವಾಗಿ, ತರಗತಿಗೆ ಗೈರುಹಾಜರಾದರೂ ಸಹ ನಮ್ಮ ನಡುವೆ ನಡೆದ ಅಲ್ಪಾವಧಿ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆಯ ಕೊನೆಗೆ "ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯ ವೃತ್ತಿ, ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ, ಸರ್ಕಾರೀ ಇಲಾಖೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯರ" ಬಗೆಗೆ ಅವರಿಗಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಭಾಸವಾದ ಉನ್ನತಾಭಿಪ್ರಾಯವನ್ನು ಇಮ್ಮಡಿಗೊಳಿಸಿದ ಸಂತಸ-ಸಮಾಧಾನವಿತ್ತು; ಆದರೆ ಇಂದು, ಅದೇ ವಿಷಯವಾಗಿ ತೀವ್ರ ನೋವು-ಅಸಮಾಧಾನ ನನ್ನನ್ನಾವರಿಸಿದೆ.

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಪಶುಪಾಲನಾ ಮತ್ತು ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಸೇವಾ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಖಾಲಿ ಇರುವ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಾಧಿಕಾರಿ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳನ್ನು ಭರ್ತಿ ಮಾಡಲು ಅರ್ಹ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಂದ ಈ ಹಿಂದೆ ಅರ್ಜಿ ಅಹ್ವಾನಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಭರ್ತಿ ಮಾಡಲು ಉದ್ದೇಶಿಸಿದ್ದ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಕಾರಣ, ಸರ್ಕಾರೀ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇವೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸುವ ಸದವಕಾಶ ಸಿಗುವುದಾಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲ ಯುವ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯರೂ ಹರ್ಷಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು; ಆದರೆ, ಅದು ಬಹುಕಾಲ ಉಳಿಯದಿದ್ದುದೇ ವಾಸ್ತವದಲ್ಲಿನ ದುರಂತದ ಸಂಗತಿ.

ಸರಿಸುಮಾರು ಐದು ದಶಕಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಕೃಷಿ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದ ಅಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಹಾಗೂ ಬೀದರ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಮಹವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳನ್ನು ಬೇರ್ಪಡಿಸಿ, 2004ರಲ್ಲಿ "ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ, ಪಶು ಹಾಗೂ ಮೀನುಗಾರಿಕೆ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಗಳ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ"ವನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸಲಾಯಿತು (www.kvafsu.kar.nic.in). ಅಲ್ಲದೇ, ಇದೇ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದ ಸ್ವಾಮ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊಸದಾಗಿ ಎರಡು ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಮಹಾವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕ್ರಮವಾಗಿ ಹಾಸನ ಮತ್ತು ಶಿವಮೊಗ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಘನ ಸರ್ಕಾರವು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿದ ನಂತರ ನಡೆದುದೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಅನಾಹುತಗಳೇ ಸರಿ!

"ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯರುಗಳು ಉತ್ತಮ ಆಡಳಿತಗಾರರಲ್ಲ" ಎಂಬ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೋ ಏನೋ, ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಸೇವಾ ಇಲಾಖೆಗೆ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯರೇತರರನ್ನು ಆಯುಕ್ತರನ್ನಾಗಿ (ಆಡಳಿತ ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ಥರು) ಸರ್ಕಾರ ನೇಮಕ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಪುಷ್ಟಿ ನೀಡುವಂತೆಯೇ, ನೂತನ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಬೀದರ ಮಹಾವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯವು "ಮಾನ್ಯತೆ" ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಅವಸಾನದ ಭಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ, ಹಾಸನ ಹಾಗೂ ಶಿವಮೊಗ್ಗ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಮಹಾವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳು ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಪರಿಷತ್ತಿನಿಂದ ಮಾನ್ಯತೆ ಪಡೆಯದೇ, ತನ್ನ ಎಲ್ಲಾ 72 ಪದವೀಧರರ ಭವಿಷ್ಯವನ್ನು ಅತಂತ್ರವಾಗಿಸಿವೆ. ಮಾನ್ಯತೆ ಇರದ ಮಹಾವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದ ಪದವೀಧರರೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಸರ್ಕಾರೀ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಾಧಿಕಾರಿ ಹುದ್ದೆಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯ ವೃತ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದುವರೆಯಲೂ ಸಹ ಅರ್ಹರಾಗದಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ದಾರಿಕಾಣದೆ ಕಂಗಾಲಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ದಿನಾಂಕ 27-05-2013 ರಿಂದ ಚಾಲನೆ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಾಧಿಕಾರಿ ಹುದ್ದೆಯ ನೇಮಕಾತಿ ಪ್ರಕ್ರಿಯೆಯು ತಾರತಮ್ಯದ ತಾಣವಾಗಿ ಪರಿವರ್ತನೆಗೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಅರ್ಹ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯ ಪದವೀಧರರು ದಾಖಲಾತಿ ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆಗೆ ಒಲವು ತೋರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೆ, ಅರ್ಹರಲ್ಲವೆಂದು ತಿಳಿಸಲಾಗಿರುವ ಪದವೀಧರರು ಪರಿಶೀಲನಾ ಪ್ರಕ್ರಿಯೆಗೆ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಪರಿಗಣಿಸದ ಕಾರಣ ಕೆರಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ ಕುಲಪತಿಗಳು, ಇಲಾಖಾ ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಕಾರ್ಯದರ್ಶಿಗಳು, ಮಾನ್ಯ ಪಶುಸಂಗೋಪನಾ ಸಚಿವರು ಮತ್ತು ಮಾನ್ಯ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಯವರನ್ನು ಅನೇಕ ಬಾರಿ ಭೇಟಿಮಾಡಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗೆ ಸೂಕ್ತ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಒದಗಿಸಿಕೊಡಲು ಕೋರಲಾಗ್ಯೂ ಇದುವರೆವಿಗೂ ಯಾವುದೇ ಧನಾತ್ಮಕ ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳದ ಕಾರಣ ಕಂಗೆಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ತಾರ್ಕಿಕವಾಗಿ, ದಾಖಲಾತಿ ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆಗೂ ಮುನ್ನವೇ ಕೆಲವು ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳನ್ನು ಅರ್ಹರ ಪಟ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕಿಸಿರುವ ಸರ್ಕಾರೀ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ನಿರ್ಣಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಾರ್ಥಕವೆನಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ.

ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ, ಆಡಳಿತ, ಮಹಾವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ, ಮಾನ್ಯತೆ, ಇಲಾಖೆ, ನೇಮಕಾತಿ, ಅರ್ಹತೆ - ಇವೆಲ್ಲವುಗಳ ಸಂಕೋಲೆಯಿಂದ ದೂರ ಸರಿದು ಆಲೋಚಿಸಿದೆವಾದರೆ, ವೃತ್ತಿಪರ ಹಿರಿಯರಾದ ನಾವು, ಯುವ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯರುಗಳಿಗೆ ವೃತ್ತಿಪರತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರುಗಳು ಉಜ್ವಲ ಭವಿಷ್ಯವನ್ನು ರೂಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಯಶಸ್ಸು ಗಳಿಸಲು ಅನುವಾಗುವಂತಹ ಸಂಭಾವಿತ ವೃತ್ತಿಪರ ಸಮಾಜವನ್ನು ಒದಗಿಸಿಕೊಡುವ ಬದ್ಧತೆಯ ಹೊಣೆಗಾರಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ನಿಭಾಯಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ವಿಫಲರಾಗಿರುವುದು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ಗೋಚರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

Social Sense

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses play a vital role in my daily life; since they are my only means of commuting from home to work and back. It's such a 'pleasure', 'fun' and 'adventure' traveling in BMTC buses, one can realize it by personal experience alone. If you ain't traveling in BMTC, you definitely are missing the cruise of life for sure!

I always try to keep myself calm and relaxed while in city buses, in spite of all the drama happening around; mostly ending up falling asleep* (*if at all I get a seat to sit). Many a times I do wonder, how on this earth am repeatedly ending up sleeping in a crowded public shuttle? that too in BMTC! Does this effort of mine deserve an applause??

It was probably 6 months ago by now and an early morning when I (as usual) managed to (literally) jump into one of those speeding buses busy running a 'rat race' towards their common destination. Hardly I could find a few other passengers in the bus, who were still showing signs of discomfort recovering from their adventurous act of getting into the bus. Though the tupperware box getting burnt by the hot rice packed by my wife inside bag needed all the air gushing in from the window, I luckily could slide shut the glass shutter with ease (sometimes the windshields seldom move and some would have no handles, while few others might have went missing!).

While numerous PHP codes kept on dancing in joy for me being unable to put them right into the logics, a guy in his mid-teens gave a blasting entry with his cell phone singing aloud an old Kannada 'melody' - PREETIYALLI IRO SUKHA GOTTE IRALILLA.. HUU ANTIYAa? UHUU ANTIYAa..?? With this, my PHP application trying to find a way in executing the given logic crashed at once.

"Excuse me.." I spoke instantly
The guy looked at me, in response
"Can you please put your headset on?"
"I don't have one.." he complained
"Then, please mute the sound"
"Why should I?"
"Don't you think it might disturb others around?"
"Now a days drivers have FMs playing loudly in buses, would you go objecting at them too?" - an elderly-'looking' man interrupted and advised me "You cannot control things in public places.." while the song was still on and loud. Following this, couldn't even think of debugging my crashed codes for rest of the day; I was (sort of) upset.

It was only yesterday, I saw a notice displayed in one of the BMTC buses, which read:

Translation: BMTC, Head Office, Shantinagar, Bangalore - 27. Notice for passengers & students: Playing music loudly from mobile phones in buses causing noise pollution and inconvenience to co-passengers is prohibited. It is a punishable offense. Please co-operate.

On reading this, I felt more unhappy than happy; for in this modern educated world, people tend to forget, neglect and never try to understand even simplest things unless enforced by law; the need of the hour seems to be 'social sense'. Sigh..

4 - a rOll Over of 3

On 04-04-2012, 'four' 'firsts' did happen in life:

1. Going for a movie with my wife (16 months) after marriage
2. Watching a Tamil movie on a big screen
3. Getting to see the ambiance of PVR Cinemas
4. Me visiting Forum Mall (being a Bangalorean?? shame!! huhh..)

It was during our vacation in Manali, for the first time I happened to see the song 'why this kolaveri di?' played in some (really don't remember which) channel; but, impressive it was! 'Hes Dhanush, S-I-L of Rajanikanth singing it for his own movie directed by his wife Aishwarya' - introduced my wife while we were breaking our fast early in the morning with bread-omelette. 'Hmmmmm...' I said; neither my wife knew nor me, whether it was my response to the song or the tasty dish.

Even after '3' (a little more than 'too') much of thinking for '3' days after watching, I really don't know why the movie is named '3'?. 'Why the name 3?' was my first question to my wife, who had no clue either and my conscious failed to pick any glimpse from the movie relating to '3'. Is it because '3' stars Dhanush (son of Director KasthuriRaja), Aishwarya (daughter of Rajanikanth) and Shruti (daughter of Kamalhassan) are involved in making this movie, the name '3'?

The movie feels fresh in every aspect, Aishwarya seem to have proved herself in this debut. Dhanush justifies his 'psycho' brand while Shruthi looks promising. Winning edge is the fact that the movie takes almost everyone back to their teen-age, which none can forget throughout life. With the pleasant aroma of 'love' from 'kolaveri' song, it will be a definite 'shock' to see the movie starting with the funeral of 'Ram' (Dhanush). Flashback trick used by Aishwarya really works in relieving viewers from this 'sentimental' shock. Re-recording alone reveals the extensive homework made behind the screens right from Script writing to Movie making.

'why this kolaveri di' song rocks on screen too; all the credit goes to Anirudh Ravichander, boy behind the Music. Enough has been made for the song in the Movie to help it find itself a place with ease adjacent to its Album version. Distributors did make sure to highlight 'why this KOLAVERI DI' on all stills, which signifies the importance of this song in the success of the movie as such. Also, this song gains a lot of 'meaning' (with bipolar disorder) on screen unlike in album to answer much of the critics it had gained for lyrics.

Film making is not just all about it. With its tragic end for Ram not disclosing his psychological disorder to Janani (Shruthi) and committing suicide, I strongly doubt if the movie successfully conveys the message 'Suicide is not the solution for Bipolar Disorder; it can well be treated to cure with the advancement in Medical Science', which is flashed on screen by the film makers soon after the abrupt dismissal of the screenplay. Instead, the movie would have been made in such a way that it conveys the message by itself.

'ok mama.. now theme changeu..'

The movie has gotten a lot in it to say that 'love can win anything'; very true. Ram scoring highest in Physics (coz Janani joins him in tuitions) and Janani's dumb sister starts speaking with her love towards sister are two such instances. Now, why not Ram cure his bipolar disorder after marriage with the 'love' that exists between them? Support program is one of the suggested therapy for bipolar disorder patients, a wife would definitely qualify for carrying out this.

Given a chance for me to play Aishwarya's role in this film making, I would have made Ram to disclose his psychological condition to Janani (frankly speaking, it isn't easy to hide 'anything' from wife) after marriage and given the responsibility of curing it to Janani.

'whaa wat-a change over mama..'

This way Dhanush would have made his way out of 'psycho' trend, Shruthi would have saved a lot of her tears for not crying, movie would have entertained all group of audience, love & life would have dominated and won over mania & suicide, viewers would have got into a positive frame of mind towards life at the end and most importantly there wasn't any need to flash the 'message' after the screenplay since the movie itself would have successfully conveyed it by then.

Finally, with all these changes I would probably not let the movie be named '3'. For all the successful changeover I made, with the existing '3' stars another superstar 'ME' would have been added to name the movie '4'!!

'super mama ready.. oneee twooo three 4'

ಮಾನ್ಯ ಸಚಿವರುಗಳಿಗೆ ___ ಗೃಹ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರದಿಂದ ಮೇಕ್ರಿ ವೃತ್ತದ ಮಾರ್ಗವಾಗಿ ದೇವನಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಅಂತರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣಕ್ಕೆ ನೀವು ಸಾಗಿ ಹೋಗುವುದಾದರೆ, ಹೆಬ್ಬಾಳ ಮೇಲುಸೇತುವೆಗೆ ಕೆಲವೇ ಮೀಟರ್ ಅಂತರದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಎಡಭಾಗಕ್ಕೆ ಮೇಲ್ಕಾಣಿಸಿದ ಫಲಕವೊಂದು ಗೋಚರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸಾರಾಂಶ ಇಂತಿದೆ:

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸರ್ಕಾರ
ಲೋಕೋಪಯೋಗಿ, ಬಂದರು ಮತ್ತು ಒಳನಾಡು ಜಲಸಾರಿಗೆ ಇಲಾಖೆ
ಯೋಜನೆ ಹೆಸರು	ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರ ಹೆಬ್ಬಾಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಮಾನ್ಯ ಸಚಿವರುಗಳಿಗೆ 15 ವಸತಿ ಗೃಹಗಳ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ
ಯೋಜನಾ ಮೊತ್ತ	5,500=00 ಲಕ್ಷಗಳು
ಯೋಜನೆಯ ಕಾಲಾವಧಿ	20 ತಿಂಗಳು
ಯೋಜನೆಯ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಕ ದಿನಾಂಕ	23-10-2009
ಯೋಜನೆ ಪೂರ್ಣಗೊಳ್ಳುವ ದಿನಾಂಕ	ಜೂನ್ 2011

ಇದೇ ಮಾರ್ಗವಾಗಿ ಕ್ರಮಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ನನ್ನೊಬ್ಬ ಗೆಳೆಯರಿಗಾಗಿ ಕಾದು ನಿಂತಿದ್ದ ನನ್ನ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಈ ಫಲಕವು ಕಾಣದೇ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಕೂಲಂಕಷವಾಗಿ ಅದರಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಮಾಹಿತಿಯನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ನಿಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಓದಿಕೊಂಡೆ. ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಆಳದಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೋ ಪುಟಿದ ವಿಷಾದದ ಅಲೆಯು ನಿಟ್ಟುಸಿರಾಗಿ ತೇಲಿಹೋಯಿತು.

ಇತ್ತೀಚಿಗೆ, ಅಂದರೆ 2009 ರಲ್ಲಿ, ಬಳ್ಳಾರಿ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ 1957 ರಿಂದಲೂ ಅಸ್ತಿತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಮೈಸೂರು ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಕಾಲೇಜು ಕಟ್ಟಡವನ್ನು ತೆರವುಗೊಳಿಸಿ, ಸಚಿವರುಗಳಿಗೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ವಸತಿಗೃಹಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ ಮಾಡುವ ಸದು(ದುರು)ದ್ದೇಶವನ್ನು ಅಂದಿನ ಸಚಿವರಾದ 'ಸನ್ಮಾನ್ಯ ಶ್ರೀ' ಕಟ್ಟಾ ಸುಬ್ರಮಣ್ಯ ನಾಯ್ಡು ರವರು ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದರು. ಆದರೆ ಅದೃಷ್ಟವಶಾತ್ ಅವರ ಆಶಯ ಫಲಿಸಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಹತ್ತಿರದಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೋ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಉಚ್ಚ ನ್ಯಾಯಾಲಯದ ನ್ಯಾಯಾಧೀಶರುಗಳಿಗೆ ವಸತಿಗೃಹ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡುವುದಾಗಿ ಸುದ್ದಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಸೈ ಎನಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಹವಣಿಸಿದ್ದು ಈಗ ಇತಿಹಾಸ.

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಮಾನ್ಯ ಸಚಿವರುಗಳ ವಿರುಧ್ಧ ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕವಾಗಿ ನನಗೇನೂ ದ್ವೇಷವಿಲ್ಲ. ಒಬ್ಬೊಬ್ಬ ಸಚಿವರುಗಳೂ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಹಾಗೂ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು ಕಂಡ ಮಹಾನ್ ಮೆಧಾವಿಗಳಲ್ಲವೇ? ಅವರುಗಳ ಜನಸೇವೆಯನ್ನು ಹಾಡಿ-ಹೊಗಳಿ ಗುಣಗಾನ ಮಾಡಲು ಪದಗಳೇ ಸಿಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲವಲ್ಲ! ಇವರುಗಳಿಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಹೆಬ್ಬಾಳದ ಪಶುವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಕಾಲೇಜನ್ನು ನೆಲಸಮ ಮಾಡಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ವಸತಿ-ಗೃಹಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಿಕೊಡುವ ಬದಲು, ಪರಪ್ಪನ ಅಗ್ರಹಾರದಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಾದರೂ ಖಾಲಿ ಜಾಗವಿದ್ದರೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚುವರಿಯಾಗಿ ಕೆಲವು ಕಾರಾ-ಗೃಹಗಳನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿಸಿಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಉಪಯೋಗಕ್ಕಾದರೂ ಬಂದೀತು.. ಅಲ್ಲವೇ?

Real Concern..

BEEP BEEP .. .. BEEP BEEP

As usual, my cell phone did enough to drag my attention to the reminder I had set a couple of hours ago. Knew I was already late to go and pick her; the delay was intentional since Dad told me before walking out to wait for Mom to pick her from School on her way back from temple. As she didn't turn up yet, I had to interrupt and take a leave from my laptop; though am working (hard) even from Home, it isn't getting any better than hectic.

Remember reading in the newspaper, BBMP Mayor had instructed to repair the ever getting worse roads in the City, asphalting was taken up in the street that connects Home to School, just 100 meters away. Somehow, I made my way alongside the truck and men at work around and reached the Gate-2 of the School. While looking for my niece there, I could hear a conversation happening:

Teacher-1: "You haven't given the leave letter even today?!"
Parent: "Okay, I will get it tomorrow sure"
Teacher-2: == busy moving up and down the nearby staircase ==
Teacher-1: "Tomorrow you have to get the letter without fail"
Parent: "I will, definitely"
Teacher-1: "We need it for the ISO filing, it's very important"
Parent: "Okay, Okay.."
(Parent makes a move out and am next)
Me: "Are they all LKG students?"
Teacher-1: "Whom are you looking for?"
Me: "Unnati.."
Teacher-1: (loudly) "Unnati.." (pause) "..where is she?"
Teacher-2: "Unnati is parent-pick na?"
(Both of them stare at me, don't know if I looked anything similar to the terrorist photograph that was published in the newspaper following the blasts at Delhi High Court [I didn't had shaved, may be what was the reason!]. I just end up trying to figure out Unnati, my little niece)
Teacher-1: "Who are you?"
Me: "Am her uncle, came to pick her"
Teacher-2: == goes blank with no words ==
Teacher-1: "We don't know who you are. You need to get a letter of authorization from Parents"
Me: "I know you don't know me, but the kid does.. she is born and bought up with me around"
Teacher-1: "No, we can't send her without the authorization letter"
Me: "Why authorization letter?"
Teacher-1: "We need for ISO.."
Me: "Well, firstly, where is Unnati?! She is not seen here?"
Teacher-2: "Someone might have taken her already"
Me: "SOMEONE!#*.."
Teacher-1: "I mean.. usually one of her grand parents pick her up"
Me: "Today they both are unavailable.. am very unhappy you ask me an authorization letter but at the same time say somebody has already picked her up. Am in-charge of  an ISO certified unit, so aware of these ISO stuffs.."
Teacher-1: "Unnati is in B-Section, I need not answer you"
(Handling highly 'talented' members of my team at work, this wasn't any new to me - shirking to extend moral support to a colleague while 'responsibility' matters)
Teacher-2: "Am very sure that Unnati will not go with anyone else other than her grand parents.."
(I was very happy hearing this, it's nice that her teacher had so much of confidence on the kid. I felt proud of Unnati)
Me: "You are so keen to get the authorization letter for filing but are not so keen about the safety of the children??!"
Teacher-2: "Please call back home and check Sir, they might have taken her already"
Me: "I myself have locked Home, none will answer my call.."
Teacher-2: "Immediately go home and give us a call back, we are too worried now"
Me: "But, how can a kid go out of the premises without the knowledge of so many staff and security around?"
Teacher-2: "Am sure someone.. I mean, one of her grand parents might have picked her up. From tomorrow you ask them to inform us before taking her from here"
Me: "I shall ask them to do so. At the same time, you do take proper care of the kids.."

Thousands of thoughts started colliding each-other in my gray-matter while I walk back Home; never know how I managed to get beyond the asphalting men. Reaching gate, the very sight of Unnati happily plucking flowers and playing in the garden at Home gave me so much of a relief.. I just can't explain it! Mom had picked her and took the other way to Home coz of the asphalting stuff happening in the normal way they walk to School.

It's good that policy makers at Educational Institutions are taking all possible steps to keep them up and ahead in the 'race'. No matter the ISO certifies how systematically an Organization is managed, but it shouldn't be the primary objective anyways. The real concern at Schools must be the security and safety of the innocent little kids, since they can easily prove to be the highly unpredictable lovely little creatures on Planet Earth.

Picture Courtesy: Saint Joseph Academy

Pick ur Partner - the scientific way!

Don't marry the person you think you can live with;

marry only the person you think you can't live without. 

~ James C. Dobson

'Greatest challenge in life is to pick a (nearly) perfect life partner' - My personal opinion. I do not expect everyone to accept this statement of mine! However, one's partner will be most influential in shaping up the post-marital life of an individual. Again, it's my personal thinking 'only'.

Now, let me not get into all the details as to how our parents and elders try and find a match to be our partner for life. Sometimes, individuals happen to face (rather, are forced to face?) huge difficulties in getting their (astrological) profile match with someone, just because they were born on some inauspicious day or time; if this happens with a girl.. God bless her! Such will be the torture imposed on her by our well-educated, modern society in the process of she getting married. Well, for being not responsible to be born on the presumably inauspicious day and time, how fair is it on our part to make him/her the victim of social prejudice? - is another debatable topic altogether.

While we try to match two individuals for compatibility, along with the age-old traditional custom of asking for the horoscope, how if we also request for a recent blood screening report? Did I sound nuts? Hmmm.. I strongly recommend that an would-be partner's blood should be tested, at least for:

1. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS): We ain't getting married to make life a hell, right? It doesn't mean that we are suspecting someone by insisting their blood report for HIV as there are a lot many ways other than unprotected MPS (Multi-Partner Sex) through which one can get infected with HIV. Our intention is only to ensure that an would-be spouse is free from AIDS and not to correlate it for assessment of one's personality the other way round. It is proven that sex is one of the most important factors responsible for a successful married life, which would be impossible without a healthy partner.

2. Blood Group: In recent days, one of the most unpredictable things frequently happening in life is Medical Emergency. We can never say what happens to one, when! Along with the intensive technological development in the health care industry, there seems to be an equivalent increase of risk to life. Blood transfusion might be mandatory in certain emergencies, which cannot be catered to unless we know the blood group of an individual as blood group system in humans is highly convoluted. If we know the blood group of our spouse, we can act wise (anticipatory donor or recipient) in case of any future medical emergencies.

3. Rh Factor: Other important blood group system in humans, which is of utmost importance during blood transfusion and pregnancy. When mother is Rh-negative and father is Rh-positive, the chances of the baby being Rh-positive cannot be ruled out. There are every chances that an Rh-negative mother produce antibodies to destroy the RBCs of an Rh-positive fetus she is carrying in her womb at pregnancy, leading to abortion at worse. Key-factor is the husband to be Rh-negative; so, then, where should all the Rh-positive boys go?! Again, thanks to the advancement in medical technology - we can successfully monitor such pregnancy complications to birth, though the risks are quite high. Knowing mutual blood Rh Factors, it is more comfortable to plan for children after marriage.

Said that, lets see who can make one's ideal partner?

1. Who is free from HIV. Obviously.
2. A girl with blood group AB and a boy with blood group O (AB is universal recipient and O is universal donor and ours is a male-dominant society, so let males play the donor and females, recipient).
3. An Rh-positive girl and Rh-negative boy.

Before our marriage, when asked for compatibility, matching our horoscopes an astrologer predicted that me and my wife would have complications in second and subsequent pregnancies. Though his prediction can be substantiated based on the Rh-compatibility grounds, he had utterly failed in our case since my wife is Rh-positive and me Rh-negative. The astrologer had no time to study the Rh Factor and pregnancy complications, leave him alone please.

If you are yet to get married, be dare enough to ask for a blood report of your would-be partner. Do pick an Rh-negative boy if you are a girl and pick an Rh-positive girl if you are a boy. Happy married life, in advance!

ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವ?!

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾಮಾನಗಳು ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಬುಡಕ್ಕೆ ಆಘಾತಕಾರಿ ಪೆಟ್ಟು ನೀಡುವಂಥವು. ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಮೂಲ ಮಂತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಗಾಳಿಗೆ ತೂರಿ, ಸ್ವಾರ್ಥ ಅಭಿಲಾಷೆಗಳಿಗೆ - ಸ್ವಜನ ಕ್ಷೇಮಾಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಗೆ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕರ ಹಕ್ಕು-ಭಾದ್ಯತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಸಕಿಹಾಕಿ, ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕ ಫಲಾನುಭವಕ್ಕೆ ಅಧಿಕಾರವನ್ನು ಅನೈತಿಕವಾಗಿ  ದುರುಪಯೋಗ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು, ಶುಭ್ರ ಶ್ವೇತ ವರ್ಣದ ರಾಜಕೀಯವನ್ನು ಕೊಳೆತ ರಾಡಿಯಾಗಿ ನಾರುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿರುವ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳೆಂಬ ಗೋಮುಖ ವ್ಯಾಘ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಧಿಕ್ಕಾರವಿರಲಿ.

22 ಜನವರಿ, 2011 ರಂದು ನಡೆದ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಬಂದ್, ನನಗೆ ಬುದ್ಧಿ ತಿಳಿದ ನಂತರ ನಡೆದ ಏಕೈಕ ಆಡಳಿತಾರೂಢ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಪ್ರೇರಿತ-ಪೋಷಿತ-ಪ್ರಾಯೋಜಿತ ಬಂದ್. ತಂತಮ್ಮ ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕ ಕಾರಣ-ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠೆಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಸಮಸ್ತ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಜನತೆಯ ದೈನಂದಿನ ಜೀವನವನ್ನು ಬರಡಾಗಿಸಿದ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಖಳನಾಯಕರು ಸರ್ಕಾರ ನಡೆಸುವ ನೈತಿಕ ಅರ್ಹತೆಯನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡರೂ ಸಹ ನಾಚಿಕೆಗೆಟ್ಟು, ಅತ್ಯಂತ ದುರಾಚಾರಗಳಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿದ ದುರಾಡಳಿತವನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸದೆ ಅಧಿಕಾರಶಾಹಿಗಳಾಗಿ ಮುಂದುವರೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಹೇಯ.

ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಸುಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ, ಸಜ್ಜನ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರನ್ನು ನೆಪವಾಗಿಸಿ, ತಮ್ಮ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತರನ್ನು ಪ್ರಚೋದಿಸಿ, ಒತ್ತಾಯಪೂರ್ವಕ ಬಂದ್ ಗೆ 'ಸ್ವಯಂ-ಪ್ರೇರಿತ' ಎಂಬ ಹಣೆಪಟ್ಟಿ ಹಚ್ಚಿ, ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಆಸ್ತಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಾನಿಯುಂಟು ಮಾಡಿರುವುದು ಆಡಳಿತ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಷಡ್ಯಂತ್ರವೆಂಬುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಶಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಭಾರತೀಯ ಜನತಾ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತರು ಬಂದ್ ನ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ದಾಂಧಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಣ್ಣಾರೆ ಕಂಡ ಜನತೆಗೆ ಆಡಳಿತ ಪಕ್ಷದ ನಾಯಕರುಗಳು ನೀಡಿದ್ದು 'ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ತಮ್ಮ ತಪ್ಪೇನೂ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕರಿಗೆ ಆದ ನಷ್ಟಗಳಿಗೆಲ್ಲ ನೇರ ಹೊಣೆಗಾರರು ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲ' ಎಂಬ ಅಸಂಬಧ್ಧ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ. ಬಾಯಿಗೆ ಬಂದದ್ದನ್ನು ಹರಟಿದರೆ ಜನ ಒಪ್ಪುತ್ತಾರೆಂದು ನಂಬಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಮೂರ್ಖ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು ಬುಧ್ಧಿವಂತರು ಎಂಬುದು ವಾಸ್ತವ.

ಬಂದ್ ನ ನೆಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ವಾಹನಗಳಿಗೆ ಬೆಂಕಿ ಹಚ್ಚುವುದು, ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಕಟ್ಟಡಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಾನಿ ಮಾಡುವುದು, ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಪಾಡಿಗಾಗಿ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದಕ್ಕೆ 50 ಪೈಸೆಯಂತೆ ದಿನಪತ್ರಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾರಾಟ ಮಾಡುವ ರಸ್ತೆ ಬದಿಯ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಸುಲಿಗೆ ಮಾಡುವುದು, ಹೂಡಿದ ಬಂಡವಾಳದ ಸಂಪಾದನೆಯ ಆಶಯದಿಂದ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ಮಾಡುವವರ ಅಂಗಡಿಗಳನ್ನು ಧ್ವಂಸಮಾದುವುದು, ಗಗನಕ್ಕೇರಿರುವ ತರಕಾರಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಇನ್ನಿತರೆಗಳನ್ನು ಬೀದಿಗೆ ಸುರಿದು ನಾಶಮಾಡುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾರ್ಥಕತೆ ಕಾಣುವ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಪಕ್ಷಗಳದ್ದು 'ಹೇಯ-ವಿಕೃತ ರಾಜಕೀಯ'ವಲ್ಲದೆ ಮತ್ತಿನ್ನೇನು?

ಪ್ರಜೆಗಳೇ ಪ್ರಭುಗಳಾಗಬೇಕಿದ್ದ ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ, ಜನತೆ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳ ಬ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರದ ಅಟ್ಟಹಾಸ ಹಾಗೂ ಕುತಂತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಹರಕೆಯ ಕುರಿಗಳಾಗಿರುವುದು ಶೋಚನೀಯ ಸಂಗತಿ. ವಿವಿಧ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಪಕ್ಷಗಳ ಒಳಜಗಳಗಳನ್ನು ಸಮಾಜೀಕರಣಗೊಳಿಸಿ, ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರ ಜೀವನದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಚೆಲ್ಲಾಟವಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ದುಷ್ಟ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು 62ನೇ ಗಣರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವವನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಭಾರತ ದೇಶದ ಪ್ರಜಾತಂತ್ರ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಗೆ ಅಂಟಿದ ಕಳಂಕ; ಇವರುಗಳನ್ನು ಬುಡಸಹಿತ ನಿರ್ಮೂಲನೆ ಮಾಡುವ ಹೊರೆತು ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಮರುಸ್ಥಾಪನೆಗೆ ಅನ್ಯ ಮಾರ್ಗವಿಲ್ಲ.

Karnataka Bandh

Karnataka Bandh : TV9 Exclusive Pictures

22nd day of January 2011, Public all over the State staged Karnataka Bandh. Had they no better work to do? 'No. Six crore Kannadigas expressed their rage towards the decision of sanction given by Governor H. R. Bhardwaj, to prosecute Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa on allegations of corruption' - said BJP Spokesperson. I was all set to deliver a talk on Control of Bovine Tuberculosis in a training program today at Southern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, needless to mention that all my overnight efforts of preparation went in vain.

When none felt so, 'it was a self-motivated bandh by the Public' feels the ruling party alone! If true, I definitely have to appreciate the real swift decision with action of Public, vowing the fact that a state-wide protest initiated self-motivated; in less than a few hours. 'Was there a need to a self-motivated bandh be called for?' questioned the opposition and opined 'it was nothing more than a Govt-Sponsored Strike'. Like govt-sponsored bicycle, govt-sponsored ambulance and govt-sponsored bisi-uta, now comes the govt-sponsored bandh; no surprise!

Though I could only see a countable number of BJP members ruining the livelihood of many working class people everywhere, ruling party leaders addressing press told that it was the 'Public' who protested by extending overwhelming support to the BJP. They also said 'except few reports of stone-pelting and lathi-charge along with two buses being set fire, bandh was overall peaceful' - how can a few hundreds of BJP members do every damage allover? It ought to be peaceful, no other ways. For being the Constitutional Authority and sanctioning to prosecute the corrupts, H. R. Bhardwaj had to take all the blame of being responsible for every loss incurred due to today's bandh. The simple word 'Shame' seems to have  been disappeared from the dictionary of politicians; word 'Ethics' would be too much of an ask.

'Karnataka had never witnessed such degree of corruption before' said Mr. K. N. Balaraj, one of the two Advocates who had sought sanction from Governor to prosecute Chief Minister and others on allegations of corruption. Mr. Sirajin Bhasha, the other Advocate seemed confident when said 'there are no political or external forces behind our move and we never will relax until putting an end to this corruption'. No wonder both of them are now the real heros amongst the general Public.

POLITICS AT ITS WORST BEST..??!

Right to PPP

Image © Prashanth

Image © Mayank

Image © Mayank

Image © Mayank

Image © Mayank

Image © Rachel

right to PEE in PUBLIC PLACES

Should it be a Fundamental Right?

Kick on their..

Image © Prajavani

Villagers boycott upcoming Panchayat Election for being deprived of basic facilities.

They demand not a stay in 'Resort'; true! All they need are the very basic facilities like road for transportation and drinking water to be made available in their village Haralahalli, Maddur Taluk.

Till date I was very happy for not shirking form my responsibility of being a sensible citizen in the biggest democracy; never have missed casting my vote in any elections since I turned magical 'eighteen'. But now, I feel really ashamed of being responsible for having put the possible best corrupts to rule us.

"None of them are good enough", I use to think looking at the contestants list at election. Just because they have invented the electronic voting machine, it doesn't mean to go push any one of the many buttons available. Hopefully, I never may leave my finger impression on the voting machine anymore.

"Boycotting elections will not help to bring the able to rule", told one of my elders when we were discussing about the issue. But, for that, I also don't want to help and bring the corrupts to rule! Personally, I feel, boycotting Panchayat Elections by villagers will definitely gonna be a  nice "kick on their a$$" for being bothered least by what they were actually elected for. Hopefully many of the sensible citizens will join their LEGS to make the KICK much more stronger.

Cheers to DeMoCrAcY!!

Humans & Humanity

Humanity @ its best..?!

Yesterday morning, (as usual) it was a bit late while I started to Office. Considering my threshold of laziness, that isn't news. Vehicle traffic on the road was (unusually) sparing! Feels good to see congestion-free 'Namma Metro' lanes in Bangalore. My contentment for getting a chance to drive along so peacefully didn't last too long; as I saw what you can see in the picture above.

Bajaj Chetak scooter (no matter), a Man riding (no matter), and a pillion kid (no matter), with a 'heap' of broiler birds hung all around (this, does matter; at least to me).

Firstly, there should have been some basic thinking happening before procuring the birds for slaughter (well, as far as I know, none opt to procure adult broiler birds for rearing). No issues with non-veg eating; but, that shouldn't be considered a license for committing violence. Birds would have easily been procured from a nearby source/vendor to avoid imposing immense suffering on their part.

Secondly, if at all it was a mandate to procure birds from a distant source/vendor, proper transportation facilities should have been kept handy in advance. When we want the pleasure of eating tasty chicken, why not spend a few bucks more on its transportation?

Thirdly, if it was circumstantially unavoidable to dump the 'heap' of birds at the back of a bike/scooter, minimum common sense should have been employed to drive safe. I observed (can be observed in the above picture too) he was riding so close to the footpath all along, some birds were crushed hard to the edge of the footpath and it was a painful scene to see the feathers of those birds flying out while their head and body being rubbed to the concrete blocks making them cry 'kok-cok'.. 'kokcockak'..

Why do people think it is the bird's fate to undergo such sufferings by being picked up for slaughter? Just because their lives are going to end in a while or so, should we put their life to such 'misery'? At least, by handling them appropriately to reduce the transportation stress, is it not possible to act humane?

No humans are going to live forever; every one of us are going to end our life one day or the other, sooner or later. But still, we make sure to enjoy all possible worldly pleasures throughout our life. Now, then, if 'we' can, why not the 'chickens'? If 'humans' can; why not 'other forms of life' on earth? I get the feeling that, it isn't possible unless those birds peck us to bleeding death.

Why Blame Women?

Have you ever heard of Men who marry another woman, for their 'wives being incapable' of giving birth to a 'Baby Boy'? If not, lucky you! I always wonder why on this Planet Earth, people crave so much for a 'Baby Boy'? May be they think their Gene is (in)valuable and only Mr. Boy can actually Drop it down the generation lane!!

Even in my family, I was born following two elder sisters and "If at all you were not born boy, I might have had a tough time with in-laws" said Mom once. Today, I still do not find any valid reasons, to substantiate the necessity of a baby being born boy than a girl. Both of them, either a boy or a girl, at the end of the day are Human Beings; also, they both have every equal right to be born and make a living.

According to Cytology, all (normal) human beings have 23 pairs of chromosomes (totally 46 chromosomes); out of which 22 pairs are autosomes and only 1 pair is sex chromosomes. These sex chromosomes are basically responsible in determining the Sex of an individual. A normal individual with 'XX' sex chromosomes is a Female and one with 'XY' sex chromosomes is a Male. During fertilization, a zygote (baby) is formed by one sex chromosome each from male (father) and female (mother). If both male and female contributes 'X', then the zygote is 'XX' (female); If male contributes 'Y' and female (can only) contribute 'X', the zygote is 'XY' (male). This is the 'XY Sex-Determination System' of human beings in a nutshell.

Biologically speaking, the crucial part of sex determination is played by the Y-Chromosome or in other words (normal) sex determination is solely dependent on male (father) alone. Although the process of sex determination is highly unpredictable and is a mere chance factor, it is crystal clear that female (mother) cease to share the responsibility in determining the sex of a normal zygote (baby).

For no reason and no fault of theirs, Women are being made responsible for the birth of a baby girl and are subjective victims of inhumane social torture from ages now. But, being truly responsible, Men have been safely enjoying a comfortable position in the family and society. It isn't forgotten that 'ours is a male-dominant society'; though male-dominance itself is a highly questionable debate, it definitely otherwise shouldn't authorize to 'torture women'.

With all the physiological pleasure and pressure of the 9-month long pregnancy, Women also are ably taking the curse and tolerating the social harassment in Silence. Isn't it now necessary to brand Men (with a red-hot iron) to be responsible for the sex of the baby born; and from the bottom of the heart say to Women 'Hats Off' & end her sufferings??

ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಬೆನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿ..

"ಇವತ್ತು ಯಾಕೋ ಮನಸ್ಸೇ ಸರಿಯಿಲ್ಲ.."
"ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಬೇಜಾರಾಗಿದೆ.."
"ನಿನ್ನ ಜೊತೆ ಮಾತಾಡಿದ್ರೆ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಸಮಾಧಾನ.."
"ನೋವನ್ನು ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಂಡ್ರೆ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಹಗುರಾಗುತ್ತೆ.."

ಮೇಲಿನ ವಾಕ್ಯಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾವನೆಗಳನ್ನು ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸಲು ನಮ್ಮಿಂದ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಬಳಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತವೆ, ಅಲ್ಲವೇ? ಮನಸ್ಸು.. ಮನಸ್ಸು.. ಮನಸ್ಸು.. ನಮ್ಮ ಸುಪ್ತ ಭಾವನೆಗಳನೆಲ್ಲಾ ತನ್ನೊಳಗೆ ಅಡಗಿಸಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಿರುವ, ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಶಕ್ತಿಶಾಲಿ ಈ ಮನಸ್ಸು. ಆದರೆ, 'ಮನಸ್ಸು' - ಇದು ನಮ್ಮೊಳಗೆ ಇರುವುದಾದರೂ ಎಲ್ಲಿ? ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೊಂದು ಅಸ್ತಿತ್ವ ನಿಜವಾಗಲೂ ಇದೆಯೇ??

ಭಾವುಕರಾಗಿ ನಾವು (ಮನಸಾರೆ?) ಮಾತನಾಡುವಾಗ, ಬಹುತೇಕ ನಮ್ಮ ಕೈಗಳು ನಮಗರಿವಿಲ್ಲದೆಯೇ ಹೃದಯದ ಮೇಲಿರುತ್ತವೆ. ಹಾಗಾದರೆ, ಮನಸ್ಸು ಎದೆಯ ಗೂಡಿನಲ್ಲಿದೆಯೇ? ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ಎದೆಯ ಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿರುವುದು ಎರಡು ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಅಂಗಗಳು; ಅವುಗಳೆಂದರೆ  - ಹೃದಯ (Heart) ಮತ್ತು ಪುಪ್ಪುಸ (Lungs). ಹೃದಯವು ರಕ್ತಸಂಚಲನ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ, ಪುಪ್ಪುಸವು ಉಸಿರಾಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಹತ್ವದ ಪಾತ್ರ ವಹಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಹಾಗಾದರೆ, ಇವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಭಾವನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸುವ ಅಥವಾ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸುವ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಇಲ್ಲ; ಅಂದ ಮೇಲೆ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಹೃದಯದಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದೀತು?

"ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯ ಯಾವ ಅಂಶವು ಆತನಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾಪಂಚಿಕ ಅರಿವನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿ, ಲೌಕಿಕ ಅನುಭವಗಳನ್ನು ಗಮನಕ್ಕೆ ತರುತ್ತಾ, ಅವನಿಗೆ ಆಲೋಚನಾಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಕೊಟ್ಟು, ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿಂತಿಸುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಹಾಯಕವಾಗುತ್ತದೆಯೋ, ಅದನ್ನು ಒಟ್ಟಾರೆಯಾಗಿ 'ಮನಸ್ಸು' ಎಂದು ಗುರುತಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ" - ಇದು English ನಿಂದ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ನೇರ ಅನುವಾದ ಮಾಡಿರುವ 'ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ' ಅರ್ಥ.

ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಒಂದು ನಿರ್ದಿಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ನಿರೂಪಿತಗೊಂಡ ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನ ನೀಡುವಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದಿಗೂ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಸಹಮತ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಮನಸ್ಸು 'ಆರನೇ ಇಂದ್ರಿಯ', 'ಹನ್ನೊಂದನೇ ಇಂದ್ರಿಯ' ಎಂಬುದಾಗಿ ವಿವಿಧ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇವಲ ತರ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ನಿಲುಕುವಂತೆ ವಿವರಣೆ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಮನುಷ್ಯನ ಶಿರಸ್ಸಿನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಗೊಂಡು ಪಾದದವರೆವಿಗೂ ದೇಹರಚನಾ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಗುರುತಿಸಲಾಗಿಲ್ಲ ಹಾಗೂ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನವಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಂದ ಮೇಲೆ, ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ಭೌತಿಕ ಅಸ್ತಿತ್ವ (physical existence) ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲೂ ಇಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬುದು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

"ಪ್ರತ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಕಾಣಸಿಗದೆ, ಕೇವಲ ಅವನು ನಡೆಸಿದನೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗುವ ಪವಾಡಗಳಿಂದ ನಂಬಲಾಗದ ಕಾರಣ - 'ದೇವರ' ಅಸ್ತಿತ್ವವು ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಾರ್ಥಕ" ಎನ್ನುವ ನಾಸ್ತಿಕರ ವಾದವನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೆ, "ಪ್ರತ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಕಾಣಸಿಗದೆ, ದೇಹರಚನಾ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖವಿರದೆ, ಕೇವಲ ಅದು ನಮ್ಮೊಳಗೆ ನಡೆಸುವ ದ್ವಂದ್ವ-ಪವಾಡಗಳಿಂದ ನಂಬಲಾಗದ ಕಾರಣ - 'ಮನಸ್ಸು', ಇದರ ಅಸ್ತಿತ್ವವು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಾರ್ಥಕ" ಎಂದಾಗುತ್ತದಲ್ಲವೆ?!

ಪ್ರಖ್ಯಾತ ಮನಃಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಜ್ಞರಾದ ಡಾ. ಮೀನಗುಂಡಿ ಸುಬ್ರಮಣ್ಯ ರವರು ಅವರ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧ 'ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಇಲ್ಲದ ಮಾರ್ಗ' ಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರಾದ ನಾವು ಆಗಿಂದಾಗ್ಯೆ 'ಮನಸ್ಸು' ಎಂದು ಗುರುತಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ತಾರ್ಕಿಕವಾಗಿ 'ನಾನು' ಎಂದಾಗಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಪ್ರತಿಪಾದಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅಂದರೆ, ದೇಹದಲ್ಲಿರುವ 'ಮೆದುಳು' ಎಂಬ ಅಂಗವನ್ನು ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ನಾವು ಮಾಡುವ ನಿರಂತರ ಚಿಂತನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಾರಣ ಸ್ವತಃ 'ನಾವೆಯೇ' ಹೊರೆತು ಅಸ್ತಿತ್ವ ಹೊಂದಿರದ 'ಮನಸ್ಸು' ಅಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬುದು - ಈ ತಾತ್ವಿಕ ವಿವರಣೆಯು ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕವಾಗಿ ಸರಿಯೆನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಸೋಜಿಗದ ವಿಷಯವೆಂದರೆ, ದೇಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರದ 'ಮನಸ್ಸು' ನಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಅಂಗಾಂಗಗಳನ್ನೊಳಗೊಂಡು ನಮ್ಮ ಮೇಲೆಯೇ ಇಡಿಯಾಗಿ ಸಾಧಿಸಿರುವ ಹಿಡಿತವು ಅಚ್ಚರಿಯೆನಿಸದೆ ಇರಲಾರದು.

"ನಾನು ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಮನಸಾರೆ ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.."
"ನನ್ನ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ತುಂಬೆಲ್ಲಾ ನೀವೇ ತುಂಬಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೀರಿ.."
"ನನ್ನ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಎಂದೆಂದಿಗೂ ನಿಮ್ಮದೇ.."
ಕೆಲವರು ಹೀಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಹೇಳುವುದುಂಟು. ಆದರೆ, ವಾಸ್ತವದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರದ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಇತರರಿಗೆ ನೀಡುವುದಾದರೂ ಹೇಗೆ ಎಂಬುದೇ ನನ್ನೆದುರಿಗಿರುವ ಬಹು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಸವಾಲು.

'ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ' ಬೆನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿ ಹೊರಟ ನನಗೆ ಕೊನೆಗೆ ದೊರೆತದ್ದು ಬರಿಯ 'ಶೂನ್ಯ'ವೆ ಹೊರೆತು ಅನ್ಯವಲ್ಲ!!

Cattle Slaughter Ban Bill

Animal Slaughter (Picture © Gopal Agarwal)

Couple of days ago, I attended a Seminar in NIANP (National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology) Campus at Adugodi, Bengaluru. Though the core subject was Animal Nutrition itself, there was no such constraints to our discussion at Tea-Break - so was the debate on The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010; which was passed in the Karnataka Assembly early this year. It was indeed a long break than usual, since the Slaughter Ban Bill came to debate. Although we happen to share tonnes about the issue, the final message for the day was (as put by one of the Scientists there) - "It definitely will lead to lot of Social Problems"!

BJP Government views: Honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka, B S Yeddyurappa, defending the Bill said "It was aimed at protecting cows and preserve cattle in Karnataka. A number of States in the Country including Gujarat, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir, already had similar legislation". One of the BJP Leader said "There will be severe shortage of milk in Karnataka if the current rate of cow slaughter continued".

Opposition Party views: Opposition Leader Mr. Siddaramaiah termed the Bill as "draconian", "anti-secular" and "unconstitutional". He continued "Laborers in industries such as shoes, leather, belts, nail polish, films, buttons and other beef products would lose their jobs" and added "such a bill can be enacted only in Hitler's regime". JDS said "It is an anti-democratic move and Yeddyurappa Government is worse than the regime of Stalin" and branded BJP Government "communal".

Animal Activist views: "This is a welcome move by the BJP Government" said an unidentified animal activist. "Enforcing strict laws including both penalty and imprisonment, helps to keep a check on violators. Offence being made non-bailable will definitely make a difference and reduces the suffering of dumb animals", the person thinks.

Hinduism views: "It was great humiliation and embarrassment when our Sacred animal - Cow was slaughtered in inhumane ways. I wonder how people are ignorant about the medicinal benefits of Cow urine, which have been proved by research. All the byproducts of Cow; from milk to dung are considered holy. The Bill has brought a smile on thousands of faces".

Islamic views: Leaders in Congress, who are Muslims, expressed their concern - "Bill would create hatred among different Communities and would lead to a deterioration in law and order situation". "Beef, makes the bulk of our food habits. Completely banning the slaughter of Cattle and sale of Beef in Karnataka has hurt the sentiments of a Community who are also a majority in the State" they felt.

Entrepreneurs views: "There are a huge number of Customers who prefer eating beef. We can see the unhappiness in their faces when said no beef cuisines will available at the Restaurant following the cattle slaughter ban bill. This might also affect our Business adversely".

Firstly, I do not figure out the logic behind replacing present 'The Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964' with the proposed 'The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010'. It indeed is 'unacceptable' when one's eating habits are being strictly monitored under 'Law'.

Nature, intends to maintain an equilibrium amongst various species of animals through its Food Chain. In the process, Man (basically an animal) consuming Cattle (an animal too) looks like a mere part of the complex Food Chain existing in the Environment. All these Cultures, Rituals and Traditions are man-made. How fair is it to germinate the seed of 'Hatred' within ourselves on the grounds of our own creations?

Personally I feel, when a Hindu can maintain a cordial relationship with a Muslim irrespective of the fact that Cattle is sacred to himself and a source of food for the other, ample chances can be anticipated for a peaceful living. Unless we have the capability to accept, respect and let exist the diversity in Religion, Culture and Tradition - considering humans 'the highest mature form of life on earth' can easily be abandoned.

Let alone everything else aside; India being third highest in the population of Muslims (following Indonesia and Pakistan), how fair is it on our part to make such Bill a Legislation? It would not be a surprise, if the next Government chips in to say "Keeping in mind the amount of deforestation that is taking place, there is a need to seriously conserve our available natural plant resources. It can easily be achieved by making non-vegetarian a forced food habit". Well, any damn thing can be passed in the Assembly and all it takes is just a matter of few 'Crores'; ours is, anyway, a democratic Country!

do WE matter??

Who Matters?

Honorable Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Kumar Mukherjee was in the Loksabha Sessions lately when his cell phone rang! Who else can manage to get the cell phone number of a Finance Minister? It should definitely be a very important caller at the other end. No other ways, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee had to attend the call. It was indeed embarrassing for him, as it was a 'promotional call' from the service provider. Pheww!

Well, now.. how can such thing happen to a Finance Minister? That too when he was attending Loksabha Sessions? (What happens in the Sessions? Need not be mentioned I guess.. its rather an Open Secret, live telecast) Something should be done about this!

Youngest ever MP in the history of Indian Parliament, presently the Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications and Technology, Mr. Sachin Pilot was all set to take brisk action against these 'unwanted calls'. Soon he gave a statement to Media "Government will take necessary action to completely ban such unwanted calls and SMS". He continued "Unwanted Calls are now a menace, which doesn't exist in any other Country. Mobile Phone service providers are already been instructed to stop such Calls & SMS gradually". Exceptional, isn't it? Young blood has already started to change things around.

In any given single day, I do receive such unwanted calls and sms, at least about 5 to 10 each on my cell phone. Me having two of them, makes life worse. It wouldn't be an exaggeration if said that each one of us having a cell phone are receiving such unwanted calls and sms (as what I do) every day. It's almost like part and parcel of our daily life!

When just a single call to a Finance Minister can result in totally banning unwanted calls and sms in the Country, why not for our sake? Isn't it a menace for every citizen too? Is this the way we are treated by our Democracy? Somewhere (at least..), do WE all really matter to someone (at least..)? I just doubt it.

Gobi Manchurian, love it?

Be it a posh 5-Star hotel or a road-side eatery, Gobi Manchurian - basically a Chinese preparation finds it's existence everywhere in Bengaluru. The weather is so chill, been raining all day yesterday; I just am planning to hang out to eat something hot, tasty and spicy - Gobi Manchurian, so very yummy!

Gobi Manchurian

Errrrr.. the sun (looking at the sky) hasn't yet sunk, the real pleasure of eating Gobi Manchurian is at its best during night (no idea, why?!). Let me share something with you while the sun slowly finds his way to the other side of the world.

A couple of weeks ago, on my way back from office, stuck in the City's usual congested traffic, I happen to see a bunch of fresh, delicious, clean, healthy-looking Cauliflower piled up in a vegetable shop. They were so clean and fresh-looking; I don't ever remember even Mom managing to clean them so good at kitchen! I was all tempted to buy a couple of them; but the (really) slow moving traffic kept me off.

Fresh Cauliflower

Very recently (may be a couple of days ago), when having dinner (that's the time I usually manage to watch Television), TV-9 anchored a program in which the secret of the 'freshness' of Cauliflower was unveiled - ENDOSULFAN.

Callisulfan

Endosulfan is a colorless organochloride compound, widely used as a pesticide (insecticide & acaricide) against whiteflys, aphids, leafhoppers, potato beetles and cabbage worms. Use of this poisonous compound is banned in most of the Countries across the world; but, India still remains the world's largest producer & largest user of Endosulfan. Manufactured by Hindustan Insecticides Ltd. (a Govt. of India Enterprise - www.hil.gov.in), the product is marketed with a statutory note to be sparingly used. Practically, farmers are reported to be using the pesticide enough to make sure that abundant residues are stuffed-in to the Cauliflower before harvesting. Adding to this, farmers are taking all the pain to dip each and every single harvested Cauliflower in a bucket-full of Endosulfan solution (huhhh!) and make it look absolutely clean before dumping them to the Market to get a HANDsome money in return.

Endosulfan is reported to be acutely neurotoxic to insects and mammals, including humans. It adversely affects the Central Nervous System (CNS), Cardiovascular, Respiratory systems and also impairs Hepatic functions. Its severity of action during Pregnancy is shocking, resulting in major physical abnormalities in the new born. It is powerful enough to affect even the animals, substantiating evidences speak the truth. Googling a bit about Endosulfan, I found its extensive use in Kasaragod district of Kerala from the late 70s to 2001 has resulted in a tragedy, that continues to exist even today.

Endosulfan Victims in Kasaragod (Kerala)

Before Govt. of India takes any crucial & firm decision, how many dumb animals are to be disabled? How many more of us should fall victims to this deadly poison?? How many innocent children are to be born disabled for life??? How far the residues of Endosulfan are to be added to the Environment in alarming quantities????

Well, forget all these debate. Now, its time for me to order a plate full of 'Endosulfan Gobi Munchurian'. Are you game for it as well?

PRESS - No Offence?!

DISCLAIMER: This post is all about a mere observation. Need not be otherwise considered offensive.

PRESS..!??

Still afresh in my mind:

1. Watching on a leading TV News Channel (don't wanna name it anyways), highlighted coverage of a Government Servant being made a mess of, for having written BBMP on his personal vehicle!
2. Reading in a leading newspaper (again, don't wanna..), an exaggerated report on how Government Vehicles are being used for personal purposes (like dropping their kids to School).

The reporters got a 'nice pat' on their back, for such a brave achievement, both of which gained lots of attention. Government vehicles are public property, they burn fuel bought of public money, they are meant to serve the public, they are to be used for a public cause.. what not? Responses poured in! The concerned Government Officials were rightly embarrassed. Nothing wrong, haann?

Last Saturday, a Honda City drove into our Office premises. An elderly gentleman, walked straight to me and asked if he could have a look around our Farm! By the time we ended our conversation, his wife, daughter, and son had joined him. Digicam with the son, half-eaten pack of Bingo with the daughter, easy-to-travel suit of the wife and cool dark goggle of the gentleman gave me an impression that the family was on a weekend picnic. Nothing wrong, haann?

The bold and red (I wonder why, always written red?.. danger huhhh?) PRESS tag (both front and rear) on their vehicle caught my attention in no time. Though I managed to keep off the red tagged car, my camera couldn't.

How can this 'elderly' gentleman paste the PRESS tag, in bold and red, to his personal vehicle? (In my honest opinion, the Honda City had all the characters of a typical personal vehicle; alas! am not an RTO Official to issue a Certificate in justification) Hey, no! It is his Company vehicle.. Oh, great! Then, how was it his family hanging around in his office vehicle for a cool weekend picnic?

Media, has always imPRESSed public by preaching 'Rules & Ethics'. Whats it when the coin is flipped? Its real true when said 'we are blind to our own shadow'!

The Unsaid..

Past: We Two; Ours Two.

Present: We Two; Ours One.

Future: We Two; Ours None!!

With the changing days, the concept of Family Planning is also changing. Why not?

Modernization and Urbanization has increased the awareness among people in the Society, that women are no longer be treated as what they were from ages ago. Continuous efforts have made life better for women amongst men. Men are no longer the only 'bosses' and Women are no longer the only 'slaves'. We all are convinced that, women enjoy a better position in Society. Good.

According to a recent analysis of figures collected from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka (under National Rural Health Mission - NRHM), 99% of those who underwent sterilization during 2008-09 are women. I repeat, 99% of those who underwent sterilization (family planning operation) during 2008-09 are women.

Family - the basic unit of Society, still seems to be under the strong clutches of victimizing women. Though often we speak to substantiate that women enjoy almost equal status as men in a Family, it seems to be too far from reality. Why should only women undergo family planning operations alone? Are there no ways available to sterilize men? There are.. but men opt not to!! Why so? Have we ever thought of this?

Great people have been dreaming of the so-called Moral Society, not from today, way back from ages. But, with such a thing happening to women in the very basic unit of Society - Family, how can one expect Morality in the whole system of Society? This clearly shows that we (men) are not wholeheartedly sharing our social status with them (women). Have women gotten the justice they deserve?

I just feel that the change should be initiated right in the Family, and not in the Constitution with the '33%' thing. We shout aloud in public that women are given reservation in education, jobs, buses, railways, panchayats, parliament, what not? But, we never say what have we given to them in the Family!

Stats Speak the Unsaid - with 99% of them subjected to family planning being women, the torture on women does continue to exist in Silence and in Abundance. So, my dear 'gender counterparts', please be prepared; your turn is not too far..