Riot Rot: Collective Effervesence

30th November 2006

Collective effervescence (CE) is the energy formed by a gathering of people as might be experienced at a sporting event, a carnival, or a riot. This energy can cause people to act differently than in their everyday life.
- Wikipedia

Today again we got to see the "great" CE in action through Bombay and other places.

Imagine the scenario:
1) There some statue in some remote corner of UP in kanpur that ppl dont even know any hell about
2) someone deforms this statue
3) the people who consider the statued person (thankfull no more) their leader and god are engraged and beliee they have to avenge this insult.

the result
50+ buses burnt
4 people killed
hundreds of vehicles with their glasses broken
thousands injured
loss of productivity running to hundreds of crores of rupees due to disruption
trauma for everone whose loved ones have left home and havent given back a message that they are alright.........

is the "act" avenged?? I surely think not///
Ok at the risk of being called a "racist" i am hereby getting some facts and opinions out:

1. This was the "Dalits".. firstly I dont know why they have to be called so, there is no difference between them and me... does dalit mean downtrodden THOUGHT? i think not... then why do they so proudly call themselves so? Done they have shame to extol their dalitness rather than integrating into society?
2. Statues should be banned ... be they anyones...
   
3. Tomorrow, will they kill all the pigeons and crows because they defacate on their great leader?
4. The loss of public property like busses, buildings, cars, lightposts is so LIGHTLY condoned!
5. even if a kid who does not understand much knocks off a vase and breaks it, the parent will admonish it so that it does ot repeat this mistake.. has the government done aything? where are the riot control police? where are the water cannons? where are the rubber pellets? once twice and three times when they are subject to this treartment, they wil not repeat this
6. Spray the mob with some colour like red which is indelible for at least 4 days so that everyone will identify that this bastard was rioting somewhere.. this social stigma itself will stop rioters... i wish i can patent a product or idea like this
   

There has been so much of a loss... i have lost almost half the day as a result of being tortured like this. I took a round and round route and avoided the mob, but my workers bus was stranded and I spent an agonising 2 hours till they came to the factory. They had only gory tales of broken windows, beaten men and abusive and violent women... and they were shaking!

my canteen was forced shut by a 100 goons ( i still refuse to call them dalits) and i was forced to feed my workers from my personal pantry :-(

So we have to only wait for the grand finale on the 6th of december when hordes of them (sounds like pack of hyenas) descend on Bombay and shit around Shivaji Park turning it to resemble a public toilet. They will come in all trains without tickets, come drunk and molest women and children, create havoc and fear.... all in all i shudder to await the next 6 days... and another event is the aniversary of the babri masjid demolition....

why do we have this CE? Why does it turn a peon, a clerk, a labourer into a monstor? What is the sum effect of all this violence and damage? is there anything to gain except fear and repulsion for them in our minds? is there any logic left in their lives? can they look at their children in the eye and say "what i have done is right"..... difficult qustions with no answers!

God Bless our country.... try your best to convert it into paradise... and we have the capabilitiy to turn paradise into india!
I shall still FIGHT.... fight for my right to freedom and to keep that I have earned? i dont have to give it to a second hander......

John Galt ... where art thou? come show us the guidance and thy atlantis............

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Dilbertisms

30th November 2006
The month end is here.... so are a lot of mundane tasks like monthly reports, filings, tax returns, excise maters, etc etcjust fished out some of the alltime great dilbert strips.... i just love the sense of humor in irony that scott adamns is able to get into this situation! hes awsome!the characters are there in some shades in every office around the worldEnjoy this sharing....



 

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Dilbertisms

30th November 2006

The month end is here.... so are a lot of mundane tasks like monthly reports, filings, tax returns, excise maters, etc etc
just fished out some of the alltime great dilbert strips.... i just love the sense of humor in irony that scott adamns is able to get into this situation! hes awsome!
the characters are there in some shades in every office around the world

Enjoy this sharing....





 

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Feels like Heaven

21st November 2006

For a change I am plagarising someone elses work. This is posted by my friend saleha at http://www.immaculatemissconception.blogspot.com/ lot of things also struck a chord with me hence i reproduce it down here with my own comments in blue

Why does it feel like heaven when-

• You sip on homemade chicken corn soup with lotsa pepper on it? If I wrote a book, i would call it Chicken Corn Soup for the Weary Soul being a veggie cannot vouch for it
  
• Ma strokes your hair, even if when someone else touches our manes, we leap to attack? I even went through a phase, when I learnt how maranoid my mom was that my waist length hair would get lice in India, I would purposelt scratch my head and tell her I felt itchy, and she would spend hours, poor soul, looking for the lice that didn'e exist. I think she realised the trick, cuz soon after that, I was handed a Hot Pink Lice comb and told to do my own lice-hunting. :(
• You snuggle up to someone of the opposite sex in a completely platonic way, simply because you feel so comfortable with them? I have done this..several times, and it feels like heaven, though there arent too many men who I deem comfortable enough to snuggle with. yep perfectly true... ...
  
• You add curry leaves (Karvapplai, kari patta,Murraya koenigii) to hot oil tempering. I get extremely aroused by the whole process of cooking. I am saying this now, so you dont think it unusual the number of times i will make gastronomical references. the smell is nice... as also adding hing/ asefotida
  
• You look at your inbox and there is a mail from a good friend, out of the blue? It is sad the equally heart-breaking, gut-wrenchingly painful feeling of opening your inbox, and not hearing from the person you sent a long, honest mail to. . In our age this is absolutely true. I always think email is the best form of communication after a personal meeting. Phone can get warm on the ears!
  
• To drink hot lemon tea on a december night, on your balcony? 'specially in cities like Delhi,Pune,Bangalore,Mumbai..... Raghu: yummy!
  
• To snuggle...with a book, on a rainy morning, and drift in and out of slumber?Raghu: sadly this was done in my childhood... cant do this too much now! but has happened at night more often to me after a hard days work and all i want is to sleep but also cannot put down the book as i have spent so much time reading!
  
• To hug someone you love dearly? For no reason, just because you are glad they are there? Raghu: Munnabhai's lessons of "Jhaadu ki jhappi" are the most amazing ever... It works with everyone... even when i hug my dog i feel so nice.... maybe the theory is the proximity to another heart which is creating the electrical impulses to resonate!
  
• To see the smile of wonder and appreciation on someone's face when you cook for them the first time, each time? Raghu: yeah even this... being a good cook had seen lots of it before... however these days there is no time or enthu to spare this heavenly thought!
  
• To eat something as simple as daal chaawal, simply because Ma made it, and you havent seen her for 1 whole year? Raghu: hmm dal chaawal is the greatest thing everywhere. I remember this one trip to china and i was so
  
• To see the smile on your proud father's face when he tells his friends what you do for a living? Raghu: perfect.... i live that a lot too :-) and makes me feel awsome ....
  
• To see the joy on someone's face when you give them something, even if it cost you an arm and a leg? Raghu: thats the mastercard ad? hmmmm
  
• To get a manicure? or a pedicure? or a facial? or an oil massage? Hell, I feel good even after i have just been waxed!! Raghu: oil massages are the most awsome stress relief busters... if there is a massuerette who is skilled enough... the pain ans stress goes off like candle in front of fire!
  
• To look at a lush green patch from your window, on a rainy afternoon, and imagine nice romantic/sad romantic songs being picturised? Ok, I dunno if anyone else feels good doing this, but I do.. Raghu: I dont :-)
  
• To drive leisurely on a highway with rain pouring gently, with no civilisation around you, the beat of your favourite song blending in? Raghu: driving on the long streches with music and alone or with company is always a pleasant experience.... however, these days "no civilization" is no place!
  
• To be flirted with that cute guy/girl you have been stealing glances at all evening? Raghu: yep yep yep
  
• To try on that pair of jeans that fits like a dream? Raghu: hahah its a dream!
  
• To find out that this guy/girl you have a secret crush on, likes the same lesser known songs as you? Raghu: yeah happens often i guess! so its taken as a sign?
  
• To be kissed by someone for the first time? I swear, its a beautiful feeling, each time. Sigh!! Raghu: the first time everytime... and sigh! :-)
  
• You have a hot bath on a cold morning? Raghu: yeah!
  
• You get a good haircut? Raghu: not really... for a guy if its anything other than a good haircut... the barbers gonna get it!
  
• You get your first pay check? Raghu: this is heady stuff! and to get a gift for the people u love with it and the look of pride on their face... priceless!
  
• You stand up for someone or something you believe in? Raghu: in hindsight... a feeling of satisaction
  
• You dance with someone for a song that belongs to the two of you? Raghu: yes !
  
• When you hold a baby, watch it gurgle with glee, take its first tentative, awkward steps, say your name for the first time? basically all the baby firsts.. Raghu: yep
  
• Someone tells you that you did the job well? Raghu: all the time!
  
• you experience something for the first time? Like snow, a roller coaster ride,bungee jumping, a new city, a monument.. Raghu: any first!
  

I wonder, there are so many things that make us happy, yet we find reasons to be sad..

Thanks for writing this saleha... sorry for the plagarism! A lot of these touched a chord with me too... hence to came off .... btw she writes awsomely well!

Signing off
Your lovable don
Raghudon!

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Random Thoughts

19^th November 2006

Random Thoughts
"Ideas are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny."
- Carl Schurz (1829-1906)

Awsome…. And also theres another one that makes a lot of sense to me:

“When I took the leap, I had faith I would find a net, instead I learned I could fly…”

I have this printed out in bold on my desk and I read it everyday to remind myself that my capabilities need exploring. Unless I take the risks I cannot learn. Unless I take the first steps, I cannot falter and I cannot walk…..

In my life I always relish the notions of challenges. The thrill of doing is even more important than the act itself. The kick I get out of having so many people work for me, for us to achieve deadlines, to make quality equipment out of sweat and blood (keeps happening that ppl get injured), the satisfaction t see it in operation in the airports and thinking “I HAVE MADE IT” is priceless. Money comes and goes but it is this satisfaction that remains.

Peace to all and thank you for reading my rantings on the net! Do drop in a comment once in a while so I know you have been reading it and I will get encouraged to write more original cntent rather than copy paste

Rags

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Why do we need Friends?

This is an awsome cartoon forwarded by Pramoth. Kinda reminds me of the fact "friend in need is a friend indeed"

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Letter to Prime Minister

17th November 2006

An open letter to the Prime Minister of India by Atanu Dey.

I havent seen anything written more powerfully than this for a long time.

Abhorrent Discrimination.

If there is one thing that makes me see red, it is senseless discrimination in general and unfair treatment of people. But when it comes to discrimination based on a person’s religion, I abhor it with every fiber of my being. It disgusts me and I feel nothing but contempt for people who discriminate based on religion (or lack of religion, in some cases.) One of the distinguishing features of a civilized society is that it does not treat people differently based on their belief systems. Those societies that do discriminate based on belief systems are retrograde, regressive, backward, ignorant, bigoted, intellectually bankrupt, and generally deserve the derogatory label “third world country.”He starts off with a bang and builds on it. Great read.

Thanks to http://ecophilo.blogspot.com/ for refering!

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Carreer Specializations

A human being should be able to ...

change a diaper,
plan an invasion,
conn a ship,
design a building,
write a sonnet,
balance accounts,
build a wall,
set a bone,
comfort the dying,
take orders,
give orders,
cooperate,
act alone,
solve equations,
analyze a new problem,
pitch manure,
program a computer,
cook a tasty meal,
fight efficiently,
die gallantly.

Specialization is for insects....

The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, Robert A. Heinlein

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Tryst with the gardner

8^th November 2006

 

Walking down memory lane

 

We used to go ransack the buildings tap after a strenuous game of cricket or footbal which was actually used y the gardner to water plants. They usd to also lock the tap but we brooke it down

 

mali finally used to keep a danda o beat and chase us away... we then went to the secretay of the building and got his written approval ... we carried the leter proudly to show the mali

next day when we were drinking water and he came chasing us... i showed him the letter... he looked at it from 4 diff angles and i was beaming like a superstud....

 

then the inevitable .. he said "areee mereko c**utiya banata hain... mujhe to padne hi nahin aata hain"

i got one big whack on my but and had to practice my best imitation of carl lewis in the 100m dash!

 

hahah

 

i was in the 6th standard then....

 

These memories can be sen at http://raghudonspeaks.blogspot.com

And are also arcieved on Orkut along with many others…..

http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=972&tid=1026648&na=4

ONE of the bestest communities that u will EVER have!

 

 

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25 Lessons....

Things I've Learnt at 27:

1> Learn to be vulnerable to life, people, events. Whats the worst that could happen? You'd get hurt, that will make you stronger.

2> Take life as it comes, planning does help, but fate gets its kicks from fumbling up your lines in this play called The Journey through Life, so don't expect life to be predictable, if you've forgotten ur lines....make em up! ;)

3> Give 100% of yourself to people, you have no idea how much it means to them.

4> Constant rule(I second, third n fourth that): Whatever happens, happens for the best...trust me. You'll come to know the beauty of that much later on or earlier if ur lucky.

5> Get a pet.

6> Don't equate everything in terms of money, cold cash, ze green stuff. Its just a means to an end. Life will be beautiful once you stop viewing it with dollar tinted glasses. Money is overhyped.

7> Yesterday is a dream, tomorrow is but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore to this day.

8> Learn to read between the lines. Someone might not be saying what your hearing, but something else.

9> You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder.

10> Never judge a book by its movie. Go & read Harry Potter/Lord of the rings NOW !!!!

11> There are four basic food groups, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles. 9 out of 10 people like chocolate. The tenth one always lies.

12> If A equals success, then the formula is: A = X + Y + Z, X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.

13> Walk on a rainbow trail; walk on a trail of song, and all about you will be beauty. There is a way out of every dark mist, over a rainbow trail - Navajo Song.

14> Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.

15> Smile as much as you can, its a magic spell in disguise. It will make you happy even if you don't feel happy from inside.

16> Start a trend of giving today.....give something meaningful to someone & ask them to pass it on.....if it comes back to you, you can truly smile.

17> Watch cartoons atleast once a week.

18> Do meaningless things like whiling away time with friends, drawing/painting flowers/houses/birds/trees, looking at the moon n the stars, helping ur mom cook food or ur dad with the handywork around home(no... don't reach for the electrician's number!), go for walks with just yourself, talk to ur dog/trees around you,etc. This very much adds to what you call true living without any pretense.

19> Hard work breeds brilliance. Working smart can get you on top; won't keep you there.

20> Genuinely help people, you will grow not only as a person but as a likeable person.

21> Fall in love atleast once in ur life & pray even all do!

22> Nobody is perfect......I am nobody!!!

23> Fan of the geek Morpheus........I love to sleep!!! (pssst....its my fav past-time)

24> Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul,
ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul
(One Ring to rule them all, one ring to find them all,
One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them all
)

25> It’s the blind leading the blond
It’s the stuff, it’s the stuff of country songs
If God will send his angels
And if God will send a sign
And if God will send his angels
Would everything be alright

 

(From my friend Himanshu)

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Catching BEST Bus

7/11/2006

I remember running and catching a BEST bus ... (well in the days of being in physical prim shape)

there was this one time I was getting really really late for college and i ran behind the bus like mad. almost 300 m i think. there was a cadbury perk in my pocket which also fell off in the bargain.. still i ran.... finally I caucht the bus... just a jump in slow motion (somewhat like my namesake DON in the movie) and then caught the handlebar and my foot magically finds the footboard... and voila I AM IN................ it was extacy

What followed was anticlimax. I heard a distinct tring... of the bell being rung... the conductor comes in a huff and says he wil not allow people who climb the bus dangerously to climb in ..i gave him some of my choiciest 4 letter words and did not relent and climb down. In fact also saw a seat and sat down with a 10 upee note in my hand for the ticket. He was really bugged by this behavior (sounds like ghandhigiri)

Finally after 10 minutes of being parked in the side of the road with the beeping horns et al... a cop comes in.. i jump in and give him my side of the story first and he called the conductor a "ghadva" aka donkey and told the driver to move on.... it was a small victory for my athletic abilities to not go in waste... more valuale than a price. Anyways bottomline was I was late for the lecture also! Haha…

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