Today is the 13th and to be selected as “Desicritic of the day”,is a great start to the day.
Pleasantly surprised.I consider myself a novice, still floundering in this gargantuan universe of erstwhile bloggers.
Gratefully accepted though. It means a lot since the site in question is among the best we South Asians can boast of.
Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest–whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories–comes afterward. These are games; one must first answer.” -Albert Camus
When one awakes in the morning, opens the papers, and is startled by the news of the suicide of a co-actor, then after the initial despair, outrage,helplessness, what comes to mind is the saying which I have quoted above.
Read news clipping; (more…)
Quote
WASHINGTON – Betty Friedan, whose manifesto “The Feminine Mystique” became a best seller in the 1960s and laid the groundwork for the modern feminist movement, died Saturday, her birthday. She was 85.
Friedan died at her home of congestive heart failure, according to a cousin, Emily Bazelon. (more…)
A true Love Story
Going back into the recesses of my mind, a voice emerges. Clear and lucid. In the throes of a party. A sea of smiling faces, laughter, mirth, camaraderie, at its best. Suddenly there was silence. An announcement was made, and an expectant hush fell over. The song began. It was resonant with melody, sounded good to the ears. A little girl was watching . She froze. Shyness seemed to take over completely. But nobody noticed nor did they care. (more…)
A whole page dedicated to a news item “Alert citizen gets cabbies taxi seized for over charging”. It seems an everyday occurence, but what was unique and therefore creditable was the effort the concerned citizen invested in seeing the action through. He had been over charged to the tune of a couple of 100 bucks or so. Not having discovered it at the time of payment, though suspecting foulplay, he went on to locate the cabbie at the airport, from where he had previously hired it. To his good fortune and the cabbies misfortune, the same guy was parked there. On a complaint from the citizen the cabbie was hauled, though he raced to unplug the cables which he had used to enable the meter to run faster. It was too late. His cab was confiscated.
The good news was that this is exemplary and reformative, hopefully. The bad news being that on a conservative estimate, 90% of the cabs and auto rickshaws in India are manipulated. It is not practical and feasible to expose the errant drivers on a daily basis, especially if one is a woman. For one, no cabbie is going to relent getting his meter checked. For another, it is easy to temporarily rectify the manipulated cable, when danger approaches and later revert to the same modus operandi. Frustrating?? Oh yes.. that is putting it mildly. Is there a way out? Most definitely. Stricter rules, easy appraisals, periodic checks, consumer friendly complaint cells, cooperative (meaning also incorruptible.. but that is topic for another blog) Police officers, stringent punishments.
Translate the above incident into almost every area of life in India. Corruption is , to my mind , the most rampant evil, in need of immediate rectification. For the simple reason, the inroads it makes , affects us directly or indirectly , which leads on to serious repurcussions in housing, employment, food, you name it. Inflation has its roots in something as innocuous as a corrupt municipal officer, or even a clerk at the housing board, who sanctions plots to the highest bribe. It is the trickle effect over 57 years, that has impeded our progress at every stage.
I believe that India could have been a power to reckon with. but those in Power, betrayed India.
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Sachiniti 