This Sunday I had no plans to go and watch a movie. However, just when I was settling down with the idea of being completely alone with my novel, the wretched phone rang. I would here like to add that I have a very strong sixth sense, and this incessant ringing of my phone was screeching premonition in bold letters in my head. Still, I picked up the phone and had the pleasure to hear the voice of a very dear friend of mine. After the much rushed into pleasantries, my friend asked me in a pleading voice, “Will you accompany me to watch Harry Potter?” For those who are my mere acquaintances, please note that I am a BIG Harry Potter fan. The mere mention of the name can get me started for hours. And the sound of those words, by even Hitler would make him a personal favorite of mine. However, if any information of the above mentioned epic is tampered with, it makes me see red and little demons of fury start dancing behind my eyes, shooting little thorny spikes at the ignorant git. To say that earlier conversions of this novel into a movie had this effect on me, would be an understatement.
So, although I was quite sure that this again would be an assault on my memories of the magical world of J.K Rowling, I gave into my better side and agreed to accompany my friend. As we all know, misery only brings along more misery with it, I had another thing coming at me. The theatre in which we were supposed to watch the movie only had the Hindi-version of it. I personally love Hindi as a language not just because it is my mother tongue, but also because it is so beautiful. However, hearing Gryffindor being referred as ‘garud duar’ is taking it too far. So, anyway I went in, hoping against hope that the script would be in tandem with the novel and will at least try to give the main fraction of the novel a lead.
However, not only was I disappointed in that area, but I also had to endure kids who had no clue about the book or the previous versions of the movie and a couple in making as well.
Let me first present my views about the movie. David Yates (director) and Steve Kloves (writer) either tortured J.K Rowling into agreeing with this version of her book, or they bribed her. How else could she watch in silence the brutal killing of her imagination?
The director was apparently more interested in showing Daniel Radcliff as a wannabe Casanova and not a teenager on his way to adulthood, struggling with feelings like love, unknown to him till now. This is the part in the series where Harry realizes the burden of his responsibilities while desperately trying to hold on to the feelings, which an average teenage boy of his age has. In the novel he has to constantly choose between being the 17year old and the one who is suppose to kill the darkest wizard of all. The fact that he kills Voldemort in the next part is a clear indication of what he chooses for himself. The Harry in the movie, however lacks any such complexities and is more interested in dating a girl he meets in a restaurant, than going with Dumbledore to help kill Voldemort.
Why so much of importance was given to Ron and his love life was beyond me. Rupert is good at making comical faces. However, to see the same emotion on his face from different angles, for more than an hour, hasn’t made him anymore popular with me. Emma Watson has once again succeeded in reducing Hermione to a sad looking, no expression, and no depth girl whose only aim in the movie was to crib about Ron and his love interest Lavender Brown.
The role of the potions book, which is the inspiration for the name of the novel and the movie as well, has suffered the blink and miss syndrome, thanks to the director. Tom Felton a.k.a Draco Malfoy who should have been the protagonist of the movie, came across as nothing more than a guest appearance. The story of Voldemort, his childhood, his rise to power and his apparent flaws which formed the crux of the novel were shoved under the carpet. David Yates must be mercifully in nature, for he shot a few scenes which at least suggested that Voldemort was still a part of Harry’s life when he was in his sixth year, and did not actually consume the love potion (which seemed to be on everybody’s mind, on the sets at least), thus falling in love with Harry and sparing his life in his show of love.
All in all it is a movie which can give new meaning to the phrase ‘self-inflicted torture’. Even as I was going through this torment, there was more in stored for me. A few kids sitting behind me were translating the Hindi version into Marathi and somehow they got into a discussion of Dumbeldore’s broom (something even J.K Rowling hasn’t thought about). So once the discussion on his non-existent broomstick died down, a row over whether pop corn is better than samosa started. I was already having a hard time getting over these conversations, when the guy sitting next to me started nagging his friend (whom he hopped to make his girl friend), about her family and life in general. The girl was quite uninterested in the guy, which was apparent from her nonchalant behavior, but I guess was sitting with him because he paid for her tickets. Not that she was interested in the movie. The fact that she talked to some other guy discussing every problem of her life over the phone for the next 20 minutes, was a proof of the above mentioned fact. My loud comments on how people, who talk on phone while watching a movie in a theatre defined insensitivity, went unheard. Finally I had to butt in her monologue and show her my ticket, confirming to her that even I paid for the ticket and that I would like to at least see without any distractions how badly the movie has been made. That shut her up fine.
Finally the movie ended, and I had a chance to give my friend a cold stare in the light outside, which she was very cleverly ignoring in the dark of the movie hall. She looked at me and said that she will treat me to a sandwich from my favorite joint. Deciding that I needed to sit down and eat, I forgot about the three wasted hours of my life and went for it.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Harry Horror
Friday, May 8, 2009
One night...
The night that fell around her was as dark as her thoughts. The occasional passing by of headlights sent a shiver down her spine with emotions ranging from panic to relief, jostling for space in her heart and brain. Finally she spotted a garage a little off the road.
There were eerie voices coming from the jungle on either side of the road. Or maybe she was imagining it. Resolutely ignoring the erratic thumping of her nerves she set towards that poor imitation of a garage. It was basically a rag pulled over three bamboo sticks and tires and tools all around. The light that fell on those truck tires all around somehow made her realize the smallness of her frame. The small yellow light glowing inside was laced with smoke of ‘bedi’ and cheap cigarettes. Her smelling senses were sent for a toss with sweat and liquor mixing with piss and grease. Her eyes stung remembering the ‘evening in Paris’, a gift from her father which was on the dressing table at the inn.
A sudden flash of arms and teeth brought her back. The panic which was jumping up and down in her body, quietly settled in her stomach making her feet and arms immobile. With wild eyes she looked at the mane of long dark hair on a high forehead and kohl rimmed eyes. “Are you ok Madame?” he asked, “Is your car broken”? Somehow she managed to mumble, “Down the road”. “Well there is a mechanic here, Raj will send him”. He said something to a relatively small person in the local language, which she took to be instructions towards her car. “Where do you want to go? You are not from here”.
“I am a tourist. I live in a nearby hotel,” she replied a little haltingly. “Come I am going that way. I will leave you in my truck” he said and gestured towards a giant black figure. The sheer mass and meanness of the vehicle seemed to make it much darker than the night surrounding it. The exhaust pipe seemed to be going directly into her heart and creating a holocaust of emotions inside it. Not sure if or not she should tell this stranger about where she lives, she stood rooted to the ground wondering how in the name of god she can politely but firmly reject him. “Don’t worry Madameji nothing will happen.
here are two kids in the back of the truck. You can sit with them” he said and smiled. The genuine smile wrapped with those words spoken seemed so true to her that her fears if not evaporate did subside a little. She went back and indeed there were two small boys there. She sat with them and the truck started with a roar. Those kids sat in a corner staring outside in the night with a comfortable but firm silence pushing everyone in their own worlds. She followed their gazes and stared at random things. Tress, small shops, headlights, stars, legs, moon, road. After a while the truck stopped and she realized that she has reached her hotel. While she was about to get down her eyes fell on s few markings on the legs of those kids. They were moving a little on the side and she realized with light falling on their right side from the lamplight outside, that there was frozen blood on their hind side. That blood was all she could think of while she stood on the curb of her inn and saw the truck dirver leave after passing a broad smile..
There were eerie voices coming from the jungle on either side of the road. Or maybe she was imagining it. Resolutely ignoring the erratic thumping of her nerves she set towards that poor imitation of a garage. It was basically a rag pulled over three bamboo sticks and tires and tools all around. The light that fell on those truck tires all around somehow made her realize the smallness of her frame. The small yellow light glowing inside was laced with smoke of ‘bedi’ and cheap cigarettes. Her smelling senses were sent for a toss with sweat and liquor mixing with piss and grease. Her eyes stung remembering the ‘evening in Paris’, a gift from her father which was on the dressing table at the inn.
A sudden flash of arms and teeth brought her back. The panic which was jumping up and down in her body, quietly settled in her stomach making her feet and arms immobile. With wild eyes she looked at the mane of long dark hair on a high forehead and kohl rimmed eyes. “Are you ok Madame?” he asked, “Is your car broken”? Somehow she managed to mumble, “Down the road”. “Well there is a mechanic here, Raj will send him”. He said something to a relatively small person in the local language, which she took to be instructions towards her car. “Where do you want to go? You are not from here”.
“I am a tourist. I live in a nearby hotel,” she replied a little haltingly. “Come I am going that way. I will leave you in my truck” he said and gestured towards a giant black figure. The sheer mass and meanness of the vehicle seemed to make it much darker than the night surrounding it. The exhaust pipe seemed to be going directly into her heart and creating a holocaust of emotions inside it. Not sure if or not she should tell this stranger about where she lives, she stood rooted to the ground wondering how in the name of god she can politely but firmly reject him. “Don’t worry Madameji nothing will happen.
here are two kids in the back of the truck. You can sit with them” he said and smiled. The genuine smile wrapped with those words spoken seemed so true to her that her fears if not evaporate did subside a little. She went back and indeed there were two small boys there. She sat with them and the truck started with a roar. Those kids sat in a corner staring outside in the night with a comfortable but firm silence pushing everyone in their own worlds. She followed their gazes and stared at random things. Tress, small shops, headlights, stars, legs, moon, road. After a while the truck stopped and she realized that she has reached her hotel. While she was about to get down her eyes fell on s few markings on the legs of those kids. They were moving a little on the side and she realized with light falling on their right side from the lamplight outside, that there was frozen blood on their hind side. That blood was all she could think of while she stood on the curb of her inn and saw the truck dirver leave after passing a broad smile..
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Life's about Eternal Optimism
He Speaks in a voice that suggests a rare mixture of politeness and authority, which also defines his personality. His face has lines of experience etched on it and a smile that promises its charm even in tough times. I was interviewing ajai Chowdhry, the cofounder of HCL and Chairman & CeO of HCL Infosystems.
I wondered what is it that makes this man tick? Who are the people who can in-fluence such a person? So,when I ask him, he takes a moment to ponder and replies, “I don’t think I can attribute it to any single person. However, the person who comes closest is my co-founder, Shiv nadar. It’s quite impossible not to get influenced by his charismatic personality.” So, what is it about nadar that influences him so much? “He always believes in looking ahead and has a positive attitude,” he says. Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory, said George S Patton. So what are the challenges that Chowdhry faced? “There have beenmultiple challenges. For example, how do you set a growth trajectory in a particular time? Sometimes it is through organic growth, on other occasions through joint ventures and acquisitions. We have done it all,” he says.
I wondered what is it that makes this man tick? Who are the people who can in-fluence such a person? So,when I ask him, he takes a moment to ponder and replies, “I don’t think I can attribute it to any single person. However, the person who comes closest is my co-founder, Shiv nadar. It’s quite impossible not to get influenced by his charismatic personality.” So, what is it about nadar that influences him so much? “He always believes in looking ahead and has a positive attitude,” he says. Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory, said George S Patton. So what are the challenges that Chowdhry faced? “There have beenmultiple challenges. For example, how do you set a growth trajectory in a particular time? Sometimes it is through organic growth, on other occasions through joint ventures and acquisitions. We have done it all,” he says.
So, what are the learnings in these phases? “In the 1990s, when we went for joint ventures, we learned from global leaders and scaled ourselves up. at that point in time, we felt we are a passionate company. We soon realized that passion alone was not enough and that processes and qualities are as important as passion and people,” he says. Every company or an individual plans for the future. But, Chowdhry has a different take. “you can make a five-year plan but it’s never going to be sufficient. From being a hardware company addressing B2B, we went on to address B2C segment, and then we decided to go for systems integration as well,” he explains.
It’s said that time tests everybody. For Chowdhry it was the year 1991, when there was limited foreign exchange in the country. “During this period, our products were dependent on the components that were imported. So that was quite a challenge for us,” he says. To grow a business, it takes time and effort. To grow faster, it takes more time and more effort. But, it’s imperative to strike a balance between personal and professional life. “I have a methodology by which I detach myself from work the moment I reach home. One needs to train oneself. Despite the fact that you have a mobile and a laptop, you need to keep away from these devices. I believe
I have done a fairly good job in mastering this skill,” he adds with a smile. His smile is contagious and I smile back. Before I could stop myself, I ask him the question that was burning in mind. What makes an entrepreneur successful? “an entrepreneur’s biggest skill and strength is to be optimistic at all times, particularly during crisis. He has to be an eternal optimist. even at difficult times, he should talk about growing and not give up hope,” he says.
A leader is a dealer in hope — something that napoleon Bonaparte said so many years ago. It’s fascinating to know that someone follows his advice even today.
Books, Business and Bhagwad Gita
When I walked through the door less cabin, with paintings adorning the walls and a glass pane overlooking a beautiful garden, the ambiance impressed me. The man who entered after me impressed me even more. Witty, calm and someone with a sense of humor is how I will describe P Rajendran, co-founder and COO of NIIT. An IIT graduate, he can talk about politics, movies and spirituality with as much clarity as about computers and engineering. Reminiscing about his IIT days, he says, “I always wanted to be an outstanding engineer. I wanted to invent something”.
His passion for engineering can be traced back to the influence his uncle, the first engineer in the family had on him. “I was very much influenced with his strong ethics His professional attitude impressed me much”, adds Rajendran. So, was his uncle the biggest influence in his life? He thinks for a moment and replies, “No, he inspired me in a way, but not completely. I don’t think I have ever been influenced completely by anyone or anything”. He takes a moment before he goes on, “However, there is this book by W.Somerset, Razor’s edge. It made a lasting impression on me and opened my horizons to bigger world outside my own”, he says, suggesting me to get a hand on that book myself. I promise him to do that as soon as I get a chance.
His love for books is apparent from the way his eyes twinkle at the mere mention of the word. An avid reader, Rajendran has read everything from Ayan Rand to Bhagwad Gita. “I have marked some paragraphs in Gita red and put some tags on them. I sometimes go back and read those verses”, he adds. Influenced by Howard Roark, Rajendran believes that everyone should have an idol like him and think differently and respect and understand the other side of the story, without leaving the faith in one’s own belief.
Ask him about the toughest time in his life and he replies with a resolve in his voice. The same resolve that got his company through some of the worst times in the history of IT in the country. “I think 2001; the last slowdown was the toughest time for us. India was just starting to understand IT. ‘After 20 years IT dies in India’ was the general story going around”, he says. Someone who believes in the concept of FOF, fight or flight, he fought all right. “We went into aggressive marketing. There were 14 centers and rest franchise of NIIT around the country at that time. Some partners got scared and pulled out. So we went ahead and invested our own money and from 14 we went on to have 50 centers in the country. This reinstated faith in other partners and gave the message that we are going to go on”, says Rajendran.
The calm confidence in his voice suggests that he is someone who knows well how to balance his personal and professional life well. Ask him about this and he asks back quizzically, “I didn’t know the term personal life existed”, breaking into a chuckle the next moment. “I do not believe in partitioning my life in different compartments. It’s all integrated. If my wife calls me in a middle of a meeting I will pick up her call and if someone was to call me on a Sunday afternoon, I will pick up his call as well”, he adds.
So how does he handles difficult situations?“Depth of knowledge about the problem is of utmost importance. Also there should be a sense of urgency in tackling the problem and a laid-back attitude is a complete no-go,” he replies. His body language is a testimony that he believes in what he preaches. A straight back, alert eyes and a quite voice gives an impression of toughness and agility.
War movies, music and theater are things that relax him. “When my daughter was born, she was my stress buster till the time she was growing”, he adds.
Once I am done with the interview, he saw me take out the batteries of my Dictaphone and said, “You doing that to save energy right? I will give you a better idea, take a cloth and put it between the connection and the batteries, it will save both time and energy” and winks at me. I smile back; take my bag and leave, a little wiser and extremely satisfied with the meeting.
His passion for engineering can be traced back to the influence his uncle, the first engineer in the family had on him. “I was very much influenced with his strong ethics His professional attitude impressed me much”, adds Rajendran. So, was his uncle the biggest influence in his life? He thinks for a moment and replies, “No, he inspired me in a way, but not completely. I don’t think I have ever been influenced completely by anyone or anything”. He takes a moment before he goes on, “However, there is this book by W.Somerset, Razor’s edge. It made a lasting impression on me and opened my horizons to bigger world outside my own”, he says, suggesting me to get a hand on that book myself. I promise him to do that as soon as I get a chance.
His love for books is apparent from the way his eyes twinkle at the mere mention of the word. An avid reader, Rajendran has read everything from Ayan Rand to Bhagwad Gita. “I have marked some paragraphs in Gita red and put some tags on them. I sometimes go back and read those verses”, he adds. Influenced by Howard Roark, Rajendran believes that everyone should have an idol like him and think differently and respect and understand the other side of the story, without leaving the faith in one’s own belief.
Ask him about the toughest time in his life and he replies with a resolve in his voice. The same resolve that got his company through some of the worst times in the history of IT in the country. “I think 2001; the last slowdown was the toughest time for us. India was just starting to understand IT. ‘After 20 years IT dies in India’ was the general story going around”, he says. Someone who believes in the concept of FOF, fight or flight, he fought all right. “We went into aggressive marketing. There were 14 centers and rest franchise of NIIT around the country at that time. Some partners got scared and pulled out. So we went ahead and invested our own money and from 14 we went on to have 50 centers in the country. This reinstated faith in other partners and gave the message that we are going to go on”, says Rajendran.
The calm confidence in his voice suggests that he is someone who knows well how to balance his personal and professional life well. Ask him about this and he asks back quizzically, “I didn’t know the term personal life existed”, breaking into a chuckle the next moment. “I do not believe in partitioning my life in different compartments. It’s all integrated. If my wife calls me in a middle of a meeting I will pick up her call and if someone was to call me on a Sunday afternoon, I will pick up his call as well”, he adds.
So how does he handles difficult situations?“Depth of knowledge about the problem is of utmost importance. Also there should be a sense of urgency in tackling the problem and a laid-back attitude is a complete no-go,” he replies. His body language is a testimony that he believes in what he preaches. A straight back, alert eyes and a quite voice gives an impression of toughness and agility.
War movies, music and theater are things that relax him. “When my daughter was born, she was my stress buster till the time she was growing”, he adds.
Once I am done with the interview, he saw me take out the batteries of my Dictaphone and said, “You doing that to save energy right? I will give you a better idea, take a cloth and put it between the connection and the batteries, it will save both time and energy” and winks at me. I smile back; take my bag and leave, a little wiser and extremely satisfied with the meeting.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A day's deaparting gift...
I was coming back by 492 as usual this evening. However, there were no ‘Ladies’ seat, as where it is generally written that it is allotted for our sex, was painted in white. I personally think that the conductor of the bus believed very strongly in non –discrimination on the basis of sex funda. Or maybe he was just done with resolving the many man-woman clashes over this particular issue. Whatever be the case, I ended up sitting next to a man on a seat, where usually a woman is seated.
Don’t get too excited we barely looked in each other’s direction, and completely forgot the existence of the other when the bus started to move. I was engrossed in my music and sometime while I was listening to some random song, I looked in his direction. He was crouched in his corner of the seat. He probably thought that if he dared to come on ‘my side of the seat’, I might just pounce on him and eat him raw (I strictly refuse to believe that my dead expression was the reason for his peculiar behavior, and strongly believe that either he has a very demanding lady boss or girlfriend, there isn't much difference either way, or else he must have been abused by a woman some time in his life). He also had his bag clutched close to his heart. It looked like his heartbeats were being pumped directly from this bag of his. I went back to my dead expressions and ‘Dard-de-Disco’ (One can only listen to this number if one is either drunk or drugged or has sat from 9-6 in his/her office with three meetings, with two different bosses who don’t see eye to eye. With me it was the latter one).
And then I smelled a very familiar smell for a fraction of five seconds. I must here inform anyone who is reading this that I have a strong olfactory sense. Perfumes, flowers are therefore my preferred options for any sort of gift giving or receiving occasion (those close enough to present me with my birthday gift please take note of this fact and for a change give me something that I really like. Also those who know my address are hereby given a chance to do some good in life by making someone else that is me, happy. :P) Coming back, this particular smell is actually from a perfume called ‘Charlie’. The last I smelled this smell was, when I was I guess 13 or 14 and my neighbor, Jigna, was learning how to make perfumes. She had made this particular one which she presented to me (my mum actually, but she never used it). I used to wear that perfume almost on a daily basis and was very fond of the smell. Anyways, this fragrance turned my attention to the person sitting next to me, as I thought he might be wearing that perfume. This man or rather a boy on his way to becoming a man was fair, wavy black hair with a touch of brown and an extremely peaceful face.
Night formed the background with light thrown from the yellow bulbs rushing past. This contrasted so well with the still image of a milky white face with barely smiling lips, white shirt, brown half sweater and blue jeans. That image gave me my first genuine smile of the day. I didn't like this guy in absolutely any way. I wasn't even thinking of him. But his presence somehow helped me relax. And that smell took me back in time when a whiff of perfumes on strangers used to make my heart flutter and flowers were known to me by their scent. I thought it was the day’s departing gift to me.
Don’t get too excited we barely looked in each other’s direction, and completely forgot the existence of the other when the bus started to move. I was engrossed in my music and sometime while I was listening to some random song, I looked in his direction. He was crouched in his corner of the seat. He probably thought that if he dared to come on ‘my side of the seat’, I might just pounce on him and eat him raw (I strictly refuse to believe that my dead expression was the reason for his peculiar behavior, and strongly believe that either he has a very demanding lady boss or girlfriend, there isn't much difference either way, or else he must have been abused by a woman some time in his life). He also had his bag clutched close to his heart. It looked like his heartbeats were being pumped directly from this bag of his. I went back to my dead expressions and ‘Dard-de-Disco’ (One can only listen to this number if one is either drunk or drugged or has sat from 9-6 in his/her office with three meetings, with two different bosses who don’t see eye to eye. With me it was the latter one).
And then I smelled a very familiar smell for a fraction of five seconds. I must here inform anyone who is reading this that I have a strong olfactory sense. Perfumes, flowers are therefore my preferred options for any sort of gift giving or receiving occasion (those close enough to present me with my birthday gift please take note of this fact and for a change give me something that I really like. Also those who know my address are hereby given a chance to do some good in life by making someone else that is me, happy. :P) Coming back, this particular smell is actually from a perfume called ‘Charlie’. The last I smelled this smell was, when I was I guess 13 or 14 and my neighbor, Jigna, was learning how to make perfumes. She had made this particular one which she presented to me (my mum actually, but she never used it). I used to wear that perfume almost on a daily basis and was very fond of the smell. Anyways, this fragrance turned my attention to the person sitting next to me, as I thought he might be wearing that perfume. This man or rather a boy on his way to becoming a man was fair, wavy black hair with a touch of brown and an extremely peaceful face.
Night formed the background with light thrown from the yellow bulbs rushing past. This contrasted so well with the still image of a milky white face with barely smiling lips, white shirt, brown half sweater and blue jeans. That image gave me my first genuine smile of the day. I didn't like this guy in absolutely any way. I wasn't even thinking of him. But his presence somehow helped me relax. And that smell took me back in time when a whiff of perfumes on strangers used to make my heart flutter and flowers were known to me by their scent. I thought it was the day’s departing gift to me.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Another country hanged from the rope of 'Liberation'
It’s been a while since the Israel attack on Gaza strip, yet once again, flooded the international page of our dailies. Most of us, who can give only 10 minutes of our time to the world, will be familiar only with terms like Hamas- the victim, Israel- The big bad wolf and US- its ally. Maybe that is the reason people have been writing absurd mails about ‘saving’ Gaza. I am not of the opinion here that Israel was right and Gaza wrong. The question unfortunately does not arise of right or wrong. It’s all about power. It always has been.
For those of you who do not know, elections are supposed to be held very soon in Gaza. I would also like to mention here that not all are in favor of Hamas there. This war has however turned those not in favor of Hamas on their side. So, this can very well be a strategy to swing votes in their favor and come into power once more. A few deaths here and here is not a price big enough to deter them from getting the highest post in the country. Actually, it’s few people less to govern for them. Also even in Israel elections will be held very soon and the same thing can be said for them as well. After all, history is a witness to the fact that nothing works better in favor of political parties than war. The wonders that Kargil did for BJP is known by everyone.
In this case it was Hamas that broke the truce by attacking Israel first. The fact that the truce was suppose to get over in a few days after the attack, now withstanding. Israel was willing to extend the peace period with Hamas.
It may sound like I am in favor of Israel but that is truly not the case. U.S and Israel have more commonalities than the Jewish population in both the countries. They both believe that they are the sole guardians of terms like ‘liberation’ and ‘freedom’. I really had a good laugh, when I read that Mr. Ehud Olmert, PM of Israel, said that the attacks on Gaza was a way to ‘liberate all the Palestinians’, in a report by the agencies. Rings a bell? Let me help you, this was exactly what Bush said when he was going on a war with Iraq. U.S and Israel think that if once declared a terrorist organization by them, no group is liable to rule a country, the fact that the people of that country are the one’s who brought these ‘terrorist’ organization into power, is immaterial. After all how can these people who do not even understand the meaning of simple words like ‘freedom’ and ‘liberation’ be capable to decide for themselves and their country? It is their moral duty to make them and the rest of the world interpret these terminologies form their point of view.
Another similarity between Gaza and Iraq is, both are rich in natural resources. We are all aware of the madness that is created by the words ‘petrol’ and ‘natural gas’. These terms have been officially recognized by the world to offset the word ‘Humanity’. There is an untapped natural gas resource in the Gaza Marine gas field, an area about 36 kilometers off of the Gaza coast, estimated to be 4$ billion USD. In 1999, UK based British Gas (BG) discovered natural gas there. BG proposed to pump the gas into Israel, however Gaza and Israel couldn’t agree on the price.
Yet even before the talks broke off, the situation shifted dramatically in June 2007 when Hamas violently ousted Fatah from power in the Gaza Strip, claiming ownership of the gas fields off the coast and the proceeds from the sale of the gas. This posed a serious problem for both Israel, which obviously was not going to pay a portion of the money to Hamas, and to BG, which was banned by its government from negotiating with Hamas, declared as a terrorist outfit by the UN.
“Looking at the current situation, the main objective of the IDF is to break down Hamas to the point where it is no longer capable of attacking Israel, or to negotiate a binding cease-fire agreement with an assurance from Hamas that it will stop its daily rocket attacks and cease smuggling weapons into Gaza through tunnels connected to Egypt.
Removing Hamas from power in Gaza and reinstating Fatah will be almost impossible. However, according to newspaper reports, cabinet ministers have been told that some Hamas leaders in Gaza are desperate for a cease-fire and would be willing to settle on almost any terms stipulated by Israel”, reported Jerusalem Post.
Israel till now has been getting natural gas from the neighboring country Egypt. The realization that Egypt’s resources will get over sometime in future has dawned upon our friends now. So, why not bleed Gaza whose airspace, territorial waters and land borders are under Israeli military anyway.
Right from food to electricity, everything is brought into Gaza from Israel. The biggest exporter for Gaza is Israel. Israel is the only connection of Gaza with the outside world (the opening from the Egypt side closed after Egypt lost Gaza in 1967 to Israel). Basically Gaza is actually only a strip, which can be called an extended territory of a full-fledged countryIsrael, known by another name.
So, practically speaking, what sense did it make for Hamas to attack Israel when they know they are in such a delicate situation? The whole natural gas bit was on hold anyway. By attacking Israel, Hamas has only given Israel a way to make sure that it can now take over those resources by including them in the cease-fire agreement. Hamas had the chance to actually extract money from this whole deal. Alas! Their hunger for power is going to make sure that the country never comes out from the depths of poverty whose bottom it is hitting already. Maybe it will give birth to another extremist group which will bomb either U.S or Israel and then Israel can formally take over Gaza. Then we shall have ‘freedom’ in the Gaza strip. And then we will also have another war and another country to talk and abuse and blame.
For those of you who do not know, elections are supposed to be held very soon in Gaza. I would also like to mention here that not all are in favor of Hamas there. This war has however turned those not in favor of Hamas on their side. So, this can very well be a strategy to swing votes in their favor and come into power once more. A few deaths here and here is not a price big enough to deter them from getting the highest post in the country. Actually, it’s few people less to govern for them. Also even in Israel elections will be held very soon and the same thing can be said for them as well. After all, history is a witness to the fact that nothing works better in favor of political parties than war. The wonders that Kargil did for BJP is known by everyone.
In this case it was Hamas that broke the truce by attacking Israel first. The fact that the truce was suppose to get over in a few days after the attack, now withstanding. Israel was willing to extend the peace period with Hamas.
It may sound like I am in favor of Israel but that is truly not the case. U.S and Israel have more commonalities than the Jewish population in both the countries. They both believe that they are the sole guardians of terms like ‘liberation’ and ‘freedom’. I really had a good laugh, when I read that Mr. Ehud Olmert, PM of Israel, said that the attacks on Gaza was a way to ‘liberate all the Palestinians’, in a report by the agencies. Rings a bell? Let me help you, this was exactly what Bush said when he was going on a war with Iraq. U.S and Israel think that if once declared a terrorist organization by them, no group is liable to rule a country, the fact that the people of that country are the one’s who brought these ‘terrorist’ organization into power, is immaterial. After all how can these people who do not even understand the meaning of simple words like ‘freedom’ and ‘liberation’ be capable to decide for themselves and their country? It is their moral duty to make them and the rest of the world interpret these terminologies form their point of view.
Another similarity between Gaza and Iraq is, both are rich in natural resources. We are all aware of the madness that is created by the words ‘petrol’ and ‘natural gas’. These terms have been officially recognized by the world to offset the word ‘Humanity’. There is an untapped natural gas resource in the Gaza Marine gas field, an area about 36 kilometers off of the Gaza coast, estimated to be 4$ billion USD. In 1999, UK based British Gas (BG) discovered natural gas there. BG proposed to pump the gas into Israel, however Gaza and Israel couldn’t agree on the price.
Yet even before the talks broke off, the situation shifted dramatically in June 2007 when Hamas violently ousted Fatah from power in the Gaza Strip, claiming ownership of the gas fields off the coast and the proceeds from the sale of the gas. This posed a serious problem for both Israel, which obviously was not going to pay a portion of the money to Hamas, and to BG, which was banned by its government from negotiating with Hamas, declared as a terrorist outfit by the UN.
“Looking at the current situation, the main objective of the IDF is to break down Hamas to the point where it is no longer capable of attacking Israel, or to negotiate a binding cease-fire agreement with an assurance from Hamas that it will stop its daily rocket attacks and cease smuggling weapons into Gaza through tunnels connected to Egypt.
Removing Hamas from power in Gaza and reinstating Fatah will be almost impossible. However, according to newspaper reports, cabinet ministers have been told that some Hamas leaders in Gaza are desperate for a cease-fire and would be willing to settle on almost any terms stipulated by Israel”, reported Jerusalem Post.
Israel till now has been getting natural gas from the neighboring country Egypt. The realization that Egypt’s resources will get over sometime in future has dawned upon our friends now. So, why not bleed Gaza whose airspace, territorial waters and land borders are under Israeli military anyway.
Right from food to electricity, everything is brought into Gaza from Israel. The biggest exporter for Gaza is Israel. Israel is the only connection of Gaza with the outside world (the opening from the Egypt side closed after Egypt lost Gaza in 1967 to Israel). Basically Gaza is actually only a strip, which can be called an extended territory of a full-fledged countryIsrael, known by another name.
So, practically speaking, what sense did it make for Hamas to attack Israel when they know they are in such a delicate situation? The whole natural gas bit was on hold anyway. By attacking Israel, Hamas has only given Israel a way to make sure that it can now take over those resources by including them in the cease-fire agreement. Hamas had the chance to actually extract money from this whole deal. Alas! Their hunger for power is going to make sure that the country never comes out from the depths of poverty whose bottom it is hitting already. Maybe it will give birth to another extremist group which will bomb either U.S or Israel and then Israel can formally take over Gaza. Then we shall have ‘freedom’ in the Gaza strip. And then we will also have another war and another country to talk and abuse and blame.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
One of those days...
For normal people the cause of depression will be, maybe a heart-break, fight with boy friend, parents divorce, friends betrayal…but not for me. For me the cause of depression last Friday was a PRESS CONFERENCE. Yes, as weird and impossible as it may sound to you, it is very much true, and possible with my fate. The fact that it was not one of ‘the best days of my life’, might have had something to aggravate my depression, but nevertheless, this can not undermine the role that PRESS CONFERENCE played in bringing out those watery captives from the prison of my eyes.
It was on that fateful Thursday, the 11th of this month. I got up and realized I was too lazy to boil water, which I have to do because I am too lazy to go and buy a rod (also the fact that I am concerned about my electricity bill, now with standing). So, I took a bath from chilling tap water, for those of you who don’t know, I stay in Delhi and Delhi in winters is like a Harry Potter land where there is a constant presence of Dememtors in the area.
So, after cursing the place, god, my landlord and my office, I set out for my office. One of the most irritating things about Delhi is, that busses don’t stop at the bus stop if there is no passenger who wants to get down or else you are not literally standing in front of the bus, waving your hands high up your head, creating a doubt about your sanity in the minds of those who are not used to this kind of humiliation and are not aware about the limited viewing capacity of the bus drivers.
So, while I was waving my hands like I am trying to catch butterflies in the middle of the street, five bus drivers decided that I was actually doing that and ignored my pleas to stop. Finally, at 9:50 (my office starts at 9:30) a buss driver decided to show some pity on me and stopped the bus. It was as usual stuffed with legs and hands and sweat. I didn’t even bother to try to get past these as I knew I will only be beaten up by the crowd. So, I was standing right at the edge of the bus. A word of advice for those who plan to follow my example, DON’T DO IT. The drivers not only lack visual capabilities, but are completely ignorant that they are actually carrying a bus full of people, most of them hanging on others and bits of metal for dear life. So he made sure that I was swinging like a pendulum and hit each and every part of my body, with either a person pushing his way to get down or from the many rods in the bus.
Finally I arrived at Nehru Place and by them I assure you every joint in my body was paining and screeching for a massage. Thinking about beautiful resorts and spas, I made my way to my office building. I missed the lift and had to wait for some five minute before another arrived. Some how I knew that my day has just started, and was I right or what? The lift got stuck at 3rd floor (my office is at 4th) and after five minutes of everyone in the lift trying their hands at the panel, the lift started juggling upwards and stopped at the 10th floor directly. I rushed back down and slipped, making the two very executive type (good-looking though) men almost giggle. They offered for help but I was too embarrassed to even look at them, so I nodded my head and said something about water on the stairs (it was as dry as an autumn leaf) and left. I kept wondering all the way to my office that why does it so happen that whenever some good-looking man passes me, my life becomes a horror story. Meeting good-looking men is jinxed for me I guess.
So, after reaching my office, I asked for a cup of tea as usual, which I have become quite addicted to, and my brain simply refuses to work without it. Guess what? My tea machine was broken and I couldn’t get any. Typical na? So, I decided to order some tea and biscuits from down stairs ‘chaiwala’. However, before I could even complete this thought, I made the suicidal mistake of telling my boss that there was a press conference of Microsoft today and before I could complete even that thought (which was of not going there) my boss requested (which as an employee when came down to me looked like an order) to go there. I went to see him and told him that I didn’t think it was wroth it. Only that I didn’t say it that way, I said “What do I do in this press conference”. Yes, I know it sounds like the fish is asking how to swim and the reaction you would have given your employee was the same that I received. Which was a blank look and a repetition of the same question in a half-irritated and a half-awed voice. After repeating after me, my boss said I know there is no news there, but go and make contacts at least. I agreed to do the same, for which I paid a heavy price I must say.
I was supposed to go to Taj palace at Sujan Singh Park. I am fairly new to Delhi and haven’t really got a chance to explore the place. And honestly, I am so bad with directions and remembering the name of roads and places that I wouldn’t have been able to tell the rikshawala directions as and how. So, when you have my sense of direction, you have to depend on the rikhshwala to know the place and trust him completely. That day, I asked five rikhshwala to take me there and all in turn asked me if I knew where it was. So, I gave them the look my boss gave me and went ahead to look for another one. Finally, I got a guy who agreed to take me there, however the person who got off the rik before I got in went to some office in the interior of Nehru place, as he forgot his money and had to borrow from someone. This whole process took some 15 minutes during which time the rikhshwala and I were waiting for the guy the come back. After that he drove to Taj at such an excruciatingly slow and cautious way (I am so used to fast driving in Delhi), that I almost dozed off and was rudely awaken by him. I paid him and entered the hell hole (Imagine paying to go to hell!).
I must mention here that the press con was supposed to start at 11:15 and I was dot on time, considering all the odds. However, it is a cardinal mistake to expect a press con to start on time. All though I was expecting an half and hour delay for the proceedings to take place, what followed was unacceptable. There were no chairs to sit on and because they had five laptops and smart phones they wanted to give away to people, who win a very idiotic game I must say, there were flocks of journalist pilling up in that room, which was half the size of a big classroom (the other half was occupied by their banners and laptops for groups to play). Everyone knows that Vista and the smart phones by Microsoft aren’t doing well, so it was basically a promotional strategy. They had set up some laptops in various colors, blue, green, etc and two people were standing around it, making us understand the so called ‘new features’. The lady at the podium started the meet by 12:30, which means that that for nearly a hour and a half we were simply standing and looking at strangers , and as the AC (in winters) was on full blast, our legs were shivering from the effort of standing and bearing the cold as well. That lady herself was smiling like a maniac (literally) and speaking of oceans and skies at a Microsoft Press con. Go figure! Even the PR guys I later heard were flabbergasted by her lack of intelligence. Even for a Marcom person, she was dumb.
We were sorted out in groups and after listening to that lady go on and on about describing the various colors (in which we were sorted), we were sent to laptops under each color platform and were educated about the features. The features were not only old and nothing extraordinary, but also the people talking about them looked like they were being tortured by having to handle us. Lame jokes and scripts that they had prepared (friend-talking-to friend act) added to our misery. I remember one man in particular, who was telling us about this new feature in MSN (which is owned by Microsoft) where one can customize their smiley. The smiley he chose to customize as an example for us was the kissing one. A middle-aged man kissing on a chat box, which fills up completely with his cracked lips, in a press conference, is not a pretty sight, trust me you. While the rest of my colleagues were smiling or looking at their feet, I was openly gaping at the man.
Also the mad lady on the podium was counting down to 10 in every few minutes and pressing the buzzer until she saw some ear bleeding. After that I didn’t have the heart or sense to take in the rest of what went on.
The reason I went there was to meet Hemant their new Joint MD for online and marketing. He was sucked in from Bharti and I was told to make ‘contact’ as is necessary in our line of business. He came around one and addressed the meeting for some 10 minutes. In fact I think those 10 minutes was the only worthwhile period of those three hours I spent there.
However, he came by 1:15 and the whole circus, with the games played and stuff, was done by 2. By that time we all had been standing for almost three hours straight. By now, most of the journalists were sitting on the floor completely exhausted. Luckily there was a rug and they had the comfort of knowing that their asses wouldn’t freeze, like their legs had.
Before they announced the winners, they requested us to join them for lunch. Most of us have our food by 1, so you can imagine how hungry we must be by 2. I, for one left office without having anything so I was famished. However, the line was so big and people so hungry that I didn’t really get a chance to eat properly. Also the fact that the whole set-up of the stalls was done in a space of 3 foot, didn’t help the situation. By then I was done with the whole thing and left on the verge of tears. I reached office, abused everyone and everything, bitched about the whole damm press con, cried a bit (as I was in office) and had momo’s (veg one’s).
It was on that fateful Thursday, the 11th of this month. I got up and realized I was too lazy to boil water, which I have to do because I am too lazy to go and buy a rod (also the fact that I am concerned about my electricity bill, now with standing). So, I took a bath from chilling tap water, for those of you who don’t know, I stay in Delhi and Delhi in winters is like a Harry Potter land where there is a constant presence of Dememtors in the area.
So, after cursing the place, god, my landlord and my office, I set out for my office. One of the most irritating things about Delhi is, that busses don’t stop at the bus stop if there is no passenger who wants to get down or else you are not literally standing in front of the bus, waving your hands high up your head, creating a doubt about your sanity in the minds of those who are not used to this kind of humiliation and are not aware about the limited viewing capacity of the bus drivers.
So, while I was waving my hands like I am trying to catch butterflies in the middle of the street, five bus drivers decided that I was actually doing that and ignored my pleas to stop. Finally, at 9:50 (my office starts at 9:30) a buss driver decided to show some pity on me and stopped the bus. It was as usual stuffed with legs and hands and sweat. I didn’t even bother to try to get past these as I knew I will only be beaten up by the crowd. So, I was standing right at the edge of the bus. A word of advice for those who plan to follow my example, DON’T DO IT. The drivers not only lack visual capabilities, but are completely ignorant that they are actually carrying a bus full of people, most of them hanging on others and bits of metal for dear life. So he made sure that I was swinging like a pendulum and hit each and every part of my body, with either a person pushing his way to get down or from the many rods in the bus.
Finally I arrived at Nehru Place and by them I assure you every joint in my body was paining and screeching for a massage. Thinking about beautiful resorts and spas, I made my way to my office building. I missed the lift and had to wait for some five minute before another arrived. Some how I knew that my day has just started, and was I right or what? The lift got stuck at 3rd floor (my office is at 4th) and after five minutes of everyone in the lift trying their hands at the panel, the lift started juggling upwards and stopped at the 10th floor directly. I rushed back down and slipped, making the two very executive type (good-looking though) men almost giggle. They offered for help but I was too embarrassed to even look at them, so I nodded my head and said something about water on the stairs (it was as dry as an autumn leaf) and left. I kept wondering all the way to my office that why does it so happen that whenever some good-looking man passes me, my life becomes a horror story. Meeting good-looking men is jinxed for me I guess.
So, after reaching my office, I asked for a cup of tea as usual, which I have become quite addicted to, and my brain simply refuses to work without it. Guess what? My tea machine was broken and I couldn’t get any. Typical na? So, I decided to order some tea and biscuits from down stairs ‘chaiwala’. However, before I could even complete this thought, I made the suicidal mistake of telling my boss that there was a press conference of Microsoft today and before I could complete even that thought (which was of not going there) my boss requested (which as an employee when came down to me looked like an order) to go there. I went to see him and told him that I didn’t think it was wroth it. Only that I didn’t say it that way, I said “What do I do in this press conference”. Yes, I know it sounds like the fish is asking how to swim and the reaction you would have given your employee was the same that I received. Which was a blank look and a repetition of the same question in a half-irritated and a half-awed voice. After repeating after me, my boss said I know there is no news there, but go and make contacts at least. I agreed to do the same, for which I paid a heavy price I must say.
I was supposed to go to Taj palace at Sujan Singh Park. I am fairly new to Delhi and haven’t really got a chance to explore the place. And honestly, I am so bad with directions and remembering the name of roads and places that I wouldn’t have been able to tell the rikshawala directions as and how. So, when you have my sense of direction, you have to depend on the rikhshwala to know the place and trust him completely. That day, I asked five rikhshwala to take me there and all in turn asked me if I knew where it was. So, I gave them the look my boss gave me and went ahead to look for another one. Finally, I got a guy who agreed to take me there, however the person who got off the rik before I got in went to some office in the interior of Nehru place, as he forgot his money and had to borrow from someone. This whole process took some 15 minutes during which time the rikhshwala and I were waiting for the guy the come back. After that he drove to Taj at such an excruciatingly slow and cautious way (I am so used to fast driving in Delhi), that I almost dozed off and was rudely awaken by him. I paid him and entered the hell hole (Imagine paying to go to hell!).
I must mention here that the press con was supposed to start at 11:15 and I was dot on time, considering all the odds. However, it is a cardinal mistake to expect a press con to start on time. All though I was expecting an half and hour delay for the proceedings to take place, what followed was unacceptable. There were no chairs to sit on and because they had five laptops and smart phones they wanted to give away to people, who win a very idiotic game I must say, there were flocks of journalist pilling up in that room, which was half the size of a big classroom (the other half was occupied by their banners and laptops for groups to play). Everyone knows that Vista and the smart phones by Microsoft aren’t doing well, so it was basically a promotional strategy. They had set up some laptops in various colors, blue, green, etc and two people were standing around it, making us understand the so called ‘new features’. The lady at the podium started the meet by 12:30, which means that that for nearly a hour and a half we were simply standing and looking at strangers , and as the AC (in winters) was on full blast, our legs were shivering from the effort of standing and bearing the cold as well. That lady herself was smiling like a maniac (literally) and speaking of oceans and skies at a Microsoft Press con. Go figure! Even the PR guys I later heard were flabbergasted by her lack of intelligence. Even for a Marcom person, she was dumb.
We were sorted out in groups and after listening to that lady go on and on about describing the various colors (in which we were sorted), we were sent to laptops under each color platform and were educated about the features. The features were not only old and nothing extraordinary, but also the people talking about them looked like they were being tortured by having to handle us. Lame jokes and scripts that they had prepared (friend-talking-to friend act) added to our misery. I remember one man in particular, who was telling us about this new feature in MSN (which is owned by Microsoft) where one can customize their smiley. The smiley he chose to customize as an example for us was the kissing one. A middle-aged man kissing on a chat box, which fills up completely with his cracked lips, in a press conference, is not a pretty sight, trust me you. While the rest of my colleagues were smiling or looking at their feet, I was openly gaping at the man.
Also the mad lady on the podium was counting down to 10 in every few minutes and pressing the buzzer until she saw some ear bleeding. After that I didn’t have the heart or sense to take in the rest of what went on.
The reason I went there was to meet Hemant their new Joint MD for online and marketing. He was sucked in from Bharti and I was told to make ‘contact’ as is necessary in our line of business. He came around one and addressed the meeting for some 10 minutes. In fact I think those 10 minutes was the only worthwhile period of those three hours I spent there.
However, he came by 1:15 and the whole circus, with the games played and stuff, was done by 2. By that time we all had been standing for almost three hours straight. By now, most of the journalists were sitting on the floor completely exhausted. Luckily there was a rug and they had the comfort of knowing that their asses wouldn’t freeze, like their legs had.
Before they announced the winners, they requested us to join them for lunch. Most of us have our food by 1, so you can imagine how hungry we must be by 2. I, for one left office without having anything so I was famished. However, the line was so big and people so hungry that I didn’t really get a chance to eat properly. Also the fact that the whole set-up of the stalls was done in a space of 3 foot, didn’t help the situation. By then I was done with the whole thing and left on the verge of tears. I reached office, abused everyone and everything, bitched about the whole damm press con, cried a bit (as I was in office) and had momo’s (veg one’s).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)