Tehelka's Shoma Chaudhury expostulates on the controversial JLP Bill
A wonderfully articulated take on the bill that is making the headlines.
A lot of people have been expressing opinions at both ends of the spectrum about this bill, but none so far have come close to suggesting a solution to the problem. Is corruption just the way things are? Is a sense of morality that precludes corruption/bribery an idealistic and unrealistic world-view?
I need to go get a beer.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Existential stuff
Getting it right the first time
An entry from my friend's blog. I think he expresses the state of mind of a lot of us, when it comes to taking "risks" in life.
An entry from my friend's blog. I think he expresses the state of mind of a lot of us, when it comes to taking "risks" in life.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A couple of dodgy topics
In the past three days, a couple of grey areas have surfaced around me.
First, there was an unethical wildlife tourism practice that was debated on a conservation mailing list. The page has since been pulled down by Mahindra, but here's a cached copy as it appeared 3 days ago.
Some might feel that this is a grey area, but I feel that baiting/feeding wildlife for tourism purposes sets a dangerous precedent and should hence be nipped in the bud.
While this debate was playing out, I started noticing a particular ad very often on facebook. Here's a screenshot
When I just heard from a couple of others that they've been seeing the same ad recently, it seemed like too much of a coincidence.
But then, if you look at this and put it in perspective, it is scary. This is eerily accurate ad-targetting online.
George Orwell was right. He just got the year wrong !
First, there was an unethical wildlife tourism practice that was debated on a conservation mailing list. The page has since been pulled down by Mahindra, but here's a cached copy as it appeared 3 days ago.
Some might feel that this is a grey area, but I feel that baiting/feeding wildlife for tourism purposes sets a dangerous precedent and should hence be nipped in the bud.
While this debate was playing out, I started noticing a particular ad very often on facebook. Here's a screenshot
When I just heard from a couple of others that they've been seeing the same ad recently, it seemed like too much of a coincidence.
But then, if you look at this and put it in perspective, it is scary. This is eerily accurate ad-targetting online.
George Orwell was right. He just got the year wrong !
Friday, August 27, 2010
insomnia
Recovering from a viral fever and cold. Slept through all of yesterday and most of today. And now wide awake with a sore throat and being hassled by koels and barn owls.
Living amidst birds & vegetation is not so good when you are trying to catch some shuteye.
Living amidst birds & vegetation is not so good when you are trying to catch some shuteye.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Thank you Mr Kalmadi
Once upon a time in Bangalore, there was this vast stretch of marshy land dotted with lakes. It was a haven for all manner of aquatic life. Now there was one particular piece of marsh right in the middle of this place. A vast stretch of soggy, marshy land that was a lair for many aquatic birds. It even hosted migrants such as the endangered Siberian crane. Residents of the area recognized the privilege and kept their peace. Until one fine day in 1997, something terrible happened - Mr Suresh Kalmadi.
Unfortunately, Bangalore was chosen to host the National Games. And this entire ecosystem was to be wiped out to build accommodation for the athletes. The usual cycle of civil protest happened - walks, petitions, letters to editors - to no avail. The marsh was summarily land-filled and a hideous monstrosity of an apartment complex was quickly put up.
A decade hence. There are fewer lakes and more malls in the area. The athletes came and went. The birds went and never came. The hideous monstrosity remains hideous. Its called the National Games Village and the area is Koramangala.
PS: Thank you Mr Kalmadi for inflicting the same vandalism on other cities. Those of us who have a long memory expected nothing better from you.
Unfortunately, Bangalore was chosen to host the National Games. And this entire ecosystem was to be wiped out to build accommodation for the athletes. The usual cycle of civil protest happened - walks, petitions, letters to editors - to no avail. The marsh was summarily land-filled and a hideous monstrosity of an apartment complex was quickly put up.
A decade hence. There are fewer lakes and more malls in the area. The athletes came and went. The birds went and never came. The hideous monstrosity remains hideous. Its called the National Games Village and the area is Koramangala.
PS: Thank you Mr Kalmadi for inflicting the same vandalism on other cities. Those of us who have a long memory expected nothing better from you.
Friday, July 16, 2010
The Commonwealth games
Ah, the Commonwealth Games!
Oh the excitement! The anticipation!
The greatest show on earth ( after the Olympics, Asiad, Winter Olympics, FIFA WC, IPL, EPL, UEFA Champions League, Malleshwaram-Chamrajpet tennis ball tournament and the Undertaker-Rock Steel Cage Match ) is coming to India.
The greatest sporting nations in the world ( except the US, China, Russia, France, Germany, most of South America and... well, most of the world ) will send their most celebrated athletes ( except Jamaica whose sprinters have pedicure appointments... and Britain who value their athletes' lives and digestive systems... and Pakistan who are "our valued tourist visa applicants, kindly hold the line"... and Spain who arent good at much else besides football and weren't invited anyway... and... ) to parade their stuff in packed stadia and on millions of televisions. Its a minor detail that the stadia will be packed with empty seats and construction material and that the televisions will mostly be tuned to Rakhi Sawant's karwa-chauth.
Come on, you people, stop kidding yourselves. There are so many reasons why the Commonwealth Games are a bad idea.
To begin with, India does not have a culture of sports. There's a reason why we only excel at a game where you can legally appoint someone else to run for you.( See, thats where this outsourcing thing started ) Ergo, we don't have too many champions (yet) in most of the events. So, there won't be enough spectator interest for most of the events. This will also dampen the grandeur of the television show and harm the commercial viability of the exercise.
Secondly, New Delhi? Of all places? The clowns there haven't gotten a good patch of grass going in the cricket stadium for decades now. Without delving into reasons, suffice it to say that problems cannot be solved by the same people who created them in the first place.
Thirdly, India? You ask why not? Terrorism. Most of the big names are giving it a miss as they value their left eye more than their bronze medals. Of course its preposterous to suggest that there will be security lapses, with all those committees thinking otherwise. But do you blame the athletes for choosing to play safe rather than play a harp wearing all-white and a halo ?
Fourthly, there's this little matter of an India-Australia Test series at the same time. Need I say more?
This ego trip for some bureaucrats is going to hurt us in many ways. Tax payers will end up footing the bill for a badly organized jamboree. The organization will be sub-standard and will hurt the nation's image and jeopardize our bids to host big-ticket events like the Asiad in future. With due respect to the super-patriots, the few billion dollars that will be burned, could've been put to better use. In fact, we could've bought a couple of the Commonwealth nations with that kind of money.
Oh the excitement! The anticipation!
The greatest show on earth ( after the Olympics, Asiad, Winter Olympics, FIFA WC, IPL, EPL, UEFA Champions League, Malleshwaram-Chamrajpet tennis ball tournament and the Undertaker-Rock Steel Cage Match ) is coming to India.
The greatest sporting nations in the world ( except the US, China, Russia, France, Germany, most of South America and... well, most of the world ) will send their most celebrated athletes ( except Jamaica whose sprinters have pedicure appointments... and Britain who value their athletes' lives and digestive systems... and Pakistan who are "our valued tourist visa applicants, kindly hold the line"... and Spain who arent good at much else besides football and weren't invited anyway... and... ) to parade their stuff in packed stadia and on millions of televisions. Its a minor detail that the stadia will be packed with empty seats and construction material and that the televisions will mostly be tuned to Rakhi Sawant's karwa-chauth.
Come on, you people, stop kidding yourselves. There are so many reasons why the Commonwealth Games are a bad idea.
To begin with, India does not have a culture of sports. There's a reason why we only excel at a game where you can legally appoint someone else to run for you.( See, thats where this outsourcing thing started ) Ergo, we don't have too many champions (yet) in most of the events. So, there won't be enough spectator interest for most of the events. This will also dampen the grandeur of the television show and harm the commercial viability of the exercise.
Secondly, New Delhi? Of all places? The clowns there haven't gotten a good patch of grass going in the cricket stadium for decades now. Without delving into reasons, suffice it to say that problems cannot be solved by the same people who created them in the first place.
Thirdly, India? You ask why not? Terrorism. Most of the big names are giving it a miss as they value their left eye more than their bronze medals. Of course its preposterous to suggest that there will be security lapses, with all those committees thinking otherwise. But do you blame the athletes for choosing to play safe rather than play a harp wearing all-white and a halo ?
Fourthly, there's this little matter of an India-Australia Test series at the same time. Need I say more?
This ego trip for some bureaucrats is going to hurt us in many ways. Tax payers will end up footing the bill for a badly organized jamboree. The organization will be sub-standard and will hurt the nation's image and jeopardize our bids to host big-ticket events like the Asiad in future. With due respect to the super-patriots, the few billion dollars that will be burned, could've been put to better use. In fact, we could've bought a couple of the Commonwealth nations with that kind of money.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Birds from the balcony
Watched a strikingly beautiful shikra in action yesterday from the terrace.
Just spotted two owls hovering around my place tonight. Judging by the calls and the size, they seemed to be barn owls.
Maybe its time to get our locality notified as a biodiversity hotspot!
Just spotted two owls hovering around my place tonight. Judging by the calls and the size, they seemed to be barn owls.
Maybe its time to get our locality notified as a biodiversity hotspot!
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