From shadows to the stars

I dont prefer or like to write about subjects such as the issue of reservations for the "backward castes" in the educational system. But in this case, I have felt compelled to do so. It has shocked me to see that almost all of my fellow classmates are against the idea of reservations. It has always amazed me how even educated people's judgement can be clouded so easily. From what I have heard, there is are two "strong" cases against they system of reservation. 1) The "merit" system is ruled out. 2) Why should we pay for the sins of our fathers? I have thought long and hard about both these questions. And i think i am now able to counter both these statements. These counters might not convince an anti-reservation-ist to change his/her views. But they make as much sense as their own arguments. 1) The "merit" system When this argument took place in the class, my teacher had offered the explanation which I had in my mind, but was reluc...

Yesterday would go down in the my life's book as one of the worst I have ever experienced. A plethora of unpleasant things took place. Maybe I should have understood or realised what was in store after receiving an unnecessary and unpleasant phone call from an unwanted person. Exactly how hard is the line "Don't call me again" to understand? Not surprisingly, the day in college was uneventful and routine (lot of talk about protesting and revolutions, but that was just what it was - talk). The wreckage started afterwards. I set out on my "Activa" (a gear less scooter) towards my home. On my way home, i encounter a brief highway stretch. A few seconds after i had entered the highway, a torrential rain started lashing out. By the time i had stopped and worn my "rain coat", i was drenched already. Making matters worse was the lack of any shelter on the highway. By the time i had driven out of the highway (the rain was lashing out on my eyes and i c...

Today, as i was waling along the road, a flash of red fluid flew just inches ahead of me from the window of a bus. I looked up to see a man with red stained and distantly placed teeth smiling at me, raising his hand apologetically. This is a common sight in India. The chewing of paan and spitting them on the road is what makes Indians Indian. A Court recently ruled that "spitting cannot be considered as a punishable offence as it is an integral part of Indians". Often, you see walls, roads and even trees stained with a reddish colour. Don't panic, it is not blood. It's just paan. When driving, be very careful. If the guy in front of you is exercising his jaws, be even more careful. Within a short period, he will most definitely turn to one side and spit out the red fluid. Or if you are lucky, it might be just a bubblegum. Can a bloodstain can be passed off as a paan stain? And when walking, especially beside stationary buses, always be alert. Look up towar...

Maybe back in the 13th century, when the "spectacles" (eye glasses) were invented, they were a spectacle. But now, 8 centuries later, we have come across and invented many other things that can be classified as "spectacles". I think it's time for people to stop calling prescription glasses as "spectacles".  I know, i wear them. I probably would have struggled in my life without them. Millions of people around the world would. People all around the world need brooms and commodes (apparently, half the families in India don't need the latter, but lets not consider that). But they aren't called spectacles, right? (the future of Apple Inc.) Stuff like heart transplant, brain surgery, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears should be considered as spectacles, not mere glasses! And there is another misconception relating to glasses. "Why do we think that glasses makes us look more intelligent? Is it from the endless hours of reading and st...

The title of this post might seem a little mysterious and weird to the reader. Yes, it is. But you will understand the meaning of this title when you get through reading the post. There is this popular anecdote, which tells a very interesting story.  If you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, the from will desperately try and get out of the pot. But, if you put the frog into a pot containing normal water and start boiling the water slowly, it will sit in there calmly. The frog doesn't have the ability to detect the small but steady rise in temperature of the water. It will just float there, oblivious to the impending doom. And in due course, the frog will just die, unresisitingly, boiled to death. For me, this story is very similar to the way of life we are leading. Humans are aware of global warming, depletion of ozone layer and melting of snow caps. But, we don't care. The water is boiling slowly. We might just be feeling it, but rather than feeling alarmed, ...

Right. Unlike the last random observations edition, this one will not have a theme. Here we go. RO #1  There are many actions that define the mentality of Indians. But there is one, which is my favourite, and will give you an exact idea of the Indian mentality and how it is to be Indian. Whenever there is a fuel price hike, you see people going the petrol/ diesel stations in a mad rush to fill up their tanks with fuel before the hike comes into effect. Save when you can (doesn't matter if you have to get stuck in traffic for couple of hours). Update/ Edit 1 - The owners of the petrol pump are equally cunning and shut down their pumps during the hours before the hike comes into effect, foiling the great plan of those wanting to save money. RO #2 While I'm not exactly an anti-feminist, there are some aspects of feminism that I believe are ironic and opportunistic. While fighting for being treated equally, women also expect to be treated specially. I am of course, re...