GS' Beats

The entire episode surrounding delaying and the eventual banning of Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam has once again showed how religious bigotry and baseless paranoia overrides plain common sense and prudent business sense. Actions of both the theatre owners and certain leaders of muslim organisations demonstrate that sense of intolerance towards anything that doesn't have their blessing from the very beginning. I am just looking for a few answers to my questions. Questions to the Religious Heads / Representatives (Including Organisations representing all  communities) Question 1:  Can a few select individuals, calling themselves as leaders of a community, actually represent the entire view of a community? Now most of these leaders aren't even elected leaders!  Question 2: Admittedly, most terror groups are operating out of Afganisthan and Pakistan. I guess this is documented enough. And simply because they belong to these regions, most of them are Musl...

Chapter Seven Friday, Morning 6.45 AM The man was getting ready to leave for work, wearing his trousers, and looking at his six  year old son who was sleeping peacefully. "You are my treasure and my hope." He gently whispered into the son's ears and took the breakfast and lunchbox from his wife and left the house in a hurry. Took the bicycle out, and pedaled along quickly to the street corner, and took the first right, which will lead him to the main road. As he turned right, he slowed down, and smiled widely. He was still recollecting what his wife had said as he woke up in the morning from the kitchen. "You know what your son said yesterday as he returned from the school?" As he recollected what his wife said, he couldn't control his emotions, and didn't bother to stop the fluids flowing from his eye. Being the Man of the house, he couldn't let a tear drop, in front of his wife. Even if it was a tear of joy.  He felt light, yet he felt heav...

I refrain from travelling by the bus for any commuting within Chennai, for its sheer unpleasant experience. I have had no problems in travelling by bus in any other place. Be it my native Trichy or Kumbakonam or any other place that I have managed to travel. After a very long time, I managed to board a local bus for travelling through a distance of barely three kilometres. And I could see that nothing had changed over the past three odd years, when I had boarded a bus to travel through the same length. The conductor was still behaving very stiffly. Rather surprising since the bus had barely twenty odd passengers. I can understand his stiffness, when the same bus has around sixty odd passengers, with very little breathing space in between. But with the half seats empty, giving the same old rough stare, isn't exactly what you call pleasing or cordial. Carpet of Dust and Messy Ergonomics (11.01.2013) The bus was badly maintained, with score of seats having their outer fa...

"Give up a member to save a family, a family to save a village, a village to save a country, and the country to save yourself."  - Koutilya in his "Arthasasthra" What can we infer from the above statement? Every subsequent item in the list is bigger and more important than the previous item? The family greater than a member. The village greater than the family. Country greater than the Village. And more importantly, you are more important than the country. Deep inside most of us would concur with the last statement more than the first. But the obligation and desire to stay on the correct side of the moral fabric would make us bemoan that statement. We have been repetitively "told" that the country is more than anything. The Father of the Nation fought for the Country's independence. The modern God, Sachin Tendulkar constantly tells us that nothing is greater than playing and performing for the country. Every year, in the middle of August, we have...

Most youngsters these days are cursed endlessly for their irresponsibilities. Give them a bag full of cash, they would first spend the money on useless stuff like latest gadgets (smartphones, earphones, media players, LED televisions) and accessories (some sheep leather wallets and briefcases, watches etc.), instead of saving them in Bank Deposits or investing in Gold, Land, Properties etc. They are cursed for opting for a depreciable motor vehicles as against investing in an ever appreciating landed properties. Typically, the receiving end of these curses are happy go lucky young chaps in their mid twenties earning bagful and in the giving end of those curses are people aged twice that much. The people in the middle would busy managing their lives, and spouse, and mostly wouldn't be in any mood for any of this nonsense. Or may be they are preparing for the fifties syndrome. Since, as you age, your own sense of importance, and your assessment of self keeps on increasing. Typica...

Watching the debate over Ashok Khemka's transfer Headlines Today on 16th October 2012, one could not help but feel frustrated and angry with the way in which this Congress Government and its loyal poops defend the undefendable and literally take on the victim of their actions as the wrong doer. This is not new. Most of us have already come to accept this as the norm the way this Government operates. But the Ashok Khemka episode was even more shamelessly blatant. KTS Tulsi, a Senior Advocate, practicing at the Supreme Court, was one of the member involved in the debate with Prashanth Bhushan and Ashok Khemka himself along with the host Rahul Kanwal. At one point in the middle of the debate, KTS Tulsi accused Ashok Khemka of acting scandalously, and playing the martyr's role to launch his political career in the future. "This is unbecoming of an officer" he thundered.  When questioned why did he call Ashok Khemka as scandalous and unbecoming of an officer, Tulsi...

The past few days have been real interesting in Indian politics and media. Am not talking about the issues, but reactions of certain individuals to many of the issues. It falls right in the middle of stupid and audacious. A bit of both more often. A few of which will stay with me for real long time are the ones listed and commented below. 1. Rape Happens Because Men and Women Interact Freely - Mamta Banerjee I believe "M" will be on top of any such lists prepared by anybody who follows Indian politics, even if only occasionally. Commenting any further on this particular statement would be giving this statement more importance than it deserves. I know there will be lot of noise over Mamta's statement on the media (if they do find time and space in the midst of all Vadragate and Khurshidgate). I do know one person who will concur with Mamta's view. But I do wonder what would be her view on "free" interaction between men? 2. It is a very small amount ...