The 400-crore yacht, among other things - Part 5/5

The capitalist messengers
All forms of media have been criticized and rightfully so, but being more of the business ventures (and less of informers to the public) that they've become, they've taken even that criticism and turned them inside out. So while the print media came out with defense articles (see above), the TV stations held debates upholding the rights and functions of the news channels. As if we didn't see uncensored shots of blood being flashed on the screen, and the constant "breaking news" being used to push hours-old headlines, and the live coverage of a terror tragedy as if this was the one and only chance for the news channels to compete with their sports counterparts.

And when it comes to debates and discussions, instead of providing a forum, these shows and in particular the anchors forget that their roles should be limited to being that of unbiased moderators who have an informed view of the subject being talked about. Like Joey Tribbiani once famously said, "You don't put words in people's mouths! You put turkey in people's mouths!" These "journalists" already seem to have a fixed view on things and will not acknowledge the other view. Capitalist mouthpieces, through their editorials, are shunning a very realistic analysis (and one which came to my mind long back) - why is it so difficult to digest that our increasing friendship with the West is a possible root cause? Just because the person who suggested so differs radically from you in terms of economic policies? And the fact that the owners of such news networks are collaborating with industrial barons and diversifying to celebrate the "good life of shining India" obviously means that they've turned a blind eye to - and here I shamefully use a term used by a prominent Leftist who was the only person talking any sense on a show on one of the very channels I'm overtly criticizing - "suffering India", which unless we choose to live in our urban cocoon we have to admit is the real India, and is not confined to the rural belt, but is also co-existing with us in the cities.

Thank God, then, for the re-opening of the Taj Mahal Tower and the Trident. Sorry, not God. Thank the pseudo-celebrities and the professional socialites for showcasing their resilience, expressing solidarity and making yet another stand against terror. As for me, I'm just sad that I wasn't there to pose for the cameras and eat without paying at a five-star. Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch?

(concluded)

The 400-crore yacht, among other things - Part 4/5

Rich man's blood splashed on a rich man's lens
I'm sure most of you must have read at least one of the articles in the print media with the common title, 'Don't Shoot The Messenger'. By various authors, all try to defend the media, using the very example that has been cited most often as an example of the media's irresponsibility - of commandoes landing on a roof during the Nariman House siege. I personally would like to think that though that example is obviously flawed (even if the event was shown live - and there's considerable debate on that as well - given the noise a chopper makes, there couldn't have been much stealth involved), the argument isn't, and that's something I've already covered in my previous posts. Just to recall one incident that particularly comes to my mind, a reporter given access to the backside of the Oberoi/Trident complex accidentally spilled out the location of the commandos closing in on the terrorists.

But what's more of a concern to me is the 'why' and 'how' of this particular strike being the watershed. This very city has seen a spate of such gruesome attacks, and I happened to be stuck in office when a series of bombs went off in the local trains. Now, I wasn't going to be on those trains but my colleagues possibly would have, but thankfully weren't since it was issue-closing time. The marketing people came back from hastily terminated meetings and told us about the carnage they saw. People were desperately trying to get in touch with their families. We saw streams of people walking the 20-odd kms. home due to the suspension of train services and clogging of roads. I finally got home past 1am.

Interestingly, the news that followed focused on the spirit of the city (yes, that very cliche) being visibly shaken. Even more interestingly, even though just about a month back, there were candlelight vigils, peace marches, human chains and signature campaigns as a part of the massive anti-reservation protests (which I would like to attribute to that year's first hit Rang De Basanti), there was nothing of that sort after the blasts which seemed to suggest that people had had enough and wanted change. Maybe because Obama wasn't around back then. Of course, the entire coverage had its focus on the Taj and the Oberoi/Trident. Nariman House (which, it was reported by the international press on the very first day, houses an extremely orthodox sect of Jews) was completely ignored till the time our local media checked the international response and realized that it's not just some random building in the crowded bylanes of a not-so-upmarket part of south Bombay.

All the reactions have been from the showbiz and P3 fraternity, and not suprisingly, each and every one of them claims that the Taj was like their second home. Maybe they actually can afford five-stars on a regular basis; maybe they need to give such an impression for reasons known only to them. All I know is that I can't - heck, even Leopold was a place I went to when I felt I could afford to splurge - and happened to be in a mood to tolerate the differential treatment meted out to people with coloured skin. All I know is forget five-stars or even lesser luxuries - most of my compatriots can't afford to have 2 square meals a day, and who are yet to experience the things we've been taking for granted ever since we were young - telephone, television, electricity.

This is not the first time people have died such tragic deaths. Earlier, the targets were public transportation systems and such middle-class infrastructure; even this time, scores lost their lives in Victoria Terminus, a few each in Cama Hospital (imagine the kind of headlines one of those high-profile private hospitals would have made) and at Mazgaon docks, Vile Parle and Metro Circle. From the looks of things, these people were clearly lesser victims whose blood is meant to be shed. Granted that the people with the riches are the only ones in positions powerful enough to force a response, but what good does it do to talk in vague circles? And how is a rich man's blood any more precious than a poor man's?

Such stake-outs and seiges have been happening on a regular basis, but in troubled hotspots which are away from the media glare, most notably Kashmir and the North-East. No one gives a damn when that happens. The very people who are out on the streets now never gave a damn when the common man was blown apart again and again and again in the very city who ordinary citizens they now claim to be. And at the same time, they are hypocritical enough to say on camera that "earlier, these things used to happen at markets, trains and buses which are places we never went to, but now it's as if they've entered our homes. We thought that we, the elite, are untouchable but clearly even we're not safe." This shameful comment of a socialite was one of the many ones in a similar vein aired by one of the most respected 24-hour English news channels of our country.

(to be continued)

The 400-crore yacht, among other things - Part 3/5

We, the people, suck
There is a huge disconnect between different strata of the society within the limits of a metropolis, and one needn't look further than the city which is always in the limelight, and quite often for tragic reasons - Bombay. Now there's a city which has seen strife not only recently, not only during the serial bomb blasts of '93, '03 and '06 (among many other such sporadic incidents), not only during the flash flood of '05, not only during the riots of '84 & '92 and not only during the on-and-off bashing of minorities and outsiders ever since the Shiv Sena was founded in the mid 60s, till date (with its breakaway faction MNS joining in).

Bombay isn't a unique case but is definitely a classic example of the undeniable fact that we, the people, are already divided on numerous counts, whether we like to admit it or not. There are people for whom religion is of utmost importance; for some, there are castes; for others, there are regions. For my fellow youngsters, it is increasingly becoming "cool" to shun religion and denounce the caste system while citing both as an example to deride our elders and emphasise the importance of our generation (augmented by the random percentage figures of our population under a certain age), but given the urban setting that we are growing up in, we are unbelievably divided socio-economically, and by our very own logic, are no better than our seniors.

It is so easy for us to blame the politicians for dividing us, whereas we are an inherently divided people and they are simply taking advantage of this fact. The fact that the Sena (and now, the MNS) survive is because they have a substantial enough support base. A reader who on the lines of the chain SMS wrote about non-Marathi commandos vis-a-vis "Marathi kids playing cricket on the empty streets" was lampooned by other readers, who in venting their ire came out in support of those 2 parties, their leaders and their beliefs. Then again, a politician who voiced the first thing that came into my mind when I heard that the ATS chief who was a key figure in the Malegaon investigations had been killed ("how convenient") and who could have done without saying so given that he is a Union Minister is being ostracized by what is emerging to be a potent combine - showbiz and media. And the urban populace is firmly with this non-political coalition.

(to be continued)

Well done Pranjal!

This one's for Mr. Wagh. A Rational Mind has been awarded - Ms. Gauri Gharpure bestowed it upon me, and I feel that the founder of this blog is the deserving recipient. So this post is a notification of the award, as well as me passing it on to my benevolent teammate, and also to my main blog. Congrats - now we need to pass this on to other deserving blog and their authors.

The 400-crore yacht, among other things - Part 2/5

The ever-lengthening bridge
The contrast was, as it always is but only when we care to look at it closely enough, spellbinding. While NDTV India's Zaika India Ka had Vinod Dua roaming around and sampling the local cuisines of the remote streets of Maharashtra's Konkan coastal region, the news that was flashing on our screens was the 400-crore gift that Anil Ambani has given his wife Tina. A bit of research revealed that this is the latest form of sibling rivalry - "Mr. Big" answering his industrialist brother, who gifted his wife Nita (note the coincidental anagrams) a 250-crore private jet. Congratulations on your mighty efforts, sirs.

The brothers, along with a handful of other people and industrial groups, represent everything that is shining about our country. Then again, this "shine" is confined to certain pockets in no more than the Big Six cities. I don't know how many of you are from or have spent considerable amounts of time outside the Big Six, so I'll just talk about myself here. Till the time I turned 14, vacations every year meant a trip to Patna. And though my age didn't stop me from realizing that it was a much smaller place than Delhi, the fact is I was really young, and also hardly had any reason to step out of the house and roam around. Of course, after that my maternal grandparents shifted to Calcutta and that was the end of my yearly visits to the capital of Bihar.

Now, I love travelling in general, and travelling by trains in particular. And I've travelled quite a lot, but haven't really experienced life in the small towns. But observing closely gives me quite an accurate picture of the ground realities. That, and the fact that due to certain quizzes, I happened to be first in Nasik and then in Anand (in case you don't know, the home of Operation Flood and Amul), and subsequently in Baroda. These are the places that occupy the middle rungs of the social ladder. They are nowhere near a Delhi or a Bombay, but are better off than the vast stretches of our lands where Reliance or Idea might have reached, but landlines have not; where only the richest farmers with sizeable holdings can afford that elusive solitary lightbulb which provides the only other glow in the wilderness, other than the headlight of a dusty old two-wheeler belonging to who is possibly the only person from that locality to have ever been to a big town or city.

I can keep romanticizing about real India - I feel I'm in that phase, and I sincerely hope it doesn't desert me. I feel wiser than I was a few years back. How wise I am not sure, but I was definitely very naive back when the whole "India Shining" campaign was launched by the people in power at the Centre, and whole-heartedly endorsed by the industry and the media, and predictably, therefore, urban India. In the firm grasp of the "feel good" factor, I refused to acknowledge my dad's remarks about real India. Come to think of it, I rarely ever acknowledge what dad, who has travelled to the most remote areas and troubled hotspots over the past five decades and is by far the most knowledgeable person I know, says. Anyway, I have a much less hazy perception of real India now.

(to be continued)

The 400-crore yacht, among other things - Part 1/5

I don't really know how I'd like to start this one. And it's not like I'm facing a dearth of ideas - on the contrary, I've got too many in mind. So let me just put them all down.

(EDIT: I'm breaking it up and making it into a 5-part series, as otherwise the length is proving to be a deterrent)

The first rule of Fight Club is that you do not talk about Fight Club
I make it a point to mentally scoff every time one of my fellow urban youngsters says to me, 'Dude! You've seen Fight Club right? Isn't it, like, the most fucking awesome film, like, ever made?' and I am compelled to do so in at least 9 out of every 10 cases, and at multiple levels.

First, the literal level. Now, it's a fact that most people aren't smart enough, so it's safe for me to say that at least 5 of those 9 say so because they either loved the action sequences or were simply blown away by the premise of a character's non-existence. And I concur. But they watched it once, observed those things and that's about it, whereas the very reason why the film (and the novel) is so brilliant is its depth which merits at least one repeat viewing. Because without that, you have to be a genius to appreciate the existential angst of the protagonist caught in the increasingly materialistic world.

The reasons for the other 4 targets of my mental sneer are tricky, as in many cases, I should be at the receiving end of my own wrath. Anyway, these people are smart enough to appreciate the intricacies of the story, and acknowledge the demons of our times, but they (or should I say we?) are too used to the luxuries of our routine well-off lives that it's not possible for us to even think about life without them. Think about it - big brands, plastic money, the good life. In our own ways, we are as much addicted to these as we are to a certain substance or the other.

Since I've not a clue what I'm getting at, let me move on to the not-so-literal levels. Here, it's just the way my "hep" generation would say such a thing. In a way, it is intertwined with materialism. And while it's great that you have access to everything global, nothing can justify your need to turn into clones. While I'd love to be part of a group that makes good use of the resources of this information age but at the same time is wise enough to pick and choose attributes from the West while maintain one's Indianness, I'm sorry to say but I don't see that happening. And say it if you really mean it, but please don't say "change" just because a certain Obama says so.

(to be continued)

The 'Zero-Impact' protests

Human Chains, Candle marches, Signature campaigns....all according to me are of zero use. They have absolutely no impact on the ruling parties or on anybody.

You build a human chain to protest against terrorists...they don't give a damn about it! Neither do the politicians. You achieve nothing more than media attention and just cause a distraction on the road and also tend to disturb the traffic sometimes!

You light candles to pay tributes to the martyrs..it is good that the citizens remember the martyrs, but these candle marches again have zero effect on the political powers. Above all, it causes wastage of wax and air pollution. Ofcourse, if you burn thousands of candles down, you expect it to be Eco-friendly?

And who is going to clean all the mess made by the wax after the candles have burned down? You?
NO!
It's the same BMC that we blame for not clearing up our 'kachra' who will clear up this waste!

Human Chains,Signature campaigns,candle marches are all the weapons of, in my opinion, high society crowd who just want their pictures in the newspapers. They care for media-mileage not the deceased. That is why you have 'prominent' TV and Film personalities on news channels discussing about the security issues and political decisions when they know nothing much about them and the only sacrifice they need to do is appear without make-up and act by talking in agitated tones(at which they are experts!).

These high society guys care for only their fraternity. If you kill a common man, it doesn't bother them! If you kill middle-class commuters returning to their loved ones after a hard day's work it doesn't matter to them. What matters are the deaths of the high profile people and the foreigners at the Taj and Oberoi.

Trust me, I have been part of such human chains and stuff...and the passers-by don't even give a damn as to against what you are protesting!
I guess next time such attacks take place, the people should attack some politician's house and beat him up. Maybe then they will wake up and be responsible towards the people whom they are said to represent!

MORAL:
It is better not to participate in such futile protests. Instead concentrate on your work and give it your 100%. Maybe that will help the country more than these 'ZERO-IMPACT' protests.

-Pranjal


This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

The chauffeurs on our one-way ride to perdition

***WARNING: Devoid of humour; might contain traces of romanticism; definitely contains dollops of cynicism and disillusionment***

I only vaguely recall the days of Doordarshan. In spite of having got a cable TV connection only ten years back, my recollections of the small screen prior to that, and of the news in particular, are very hazy. But what I do remember is that back then, we had to wait for a fixed hour to be informed by newscasters who never seemed to slip up or stumble, and appeared to be so emotionally detached, that at times they seemed to be almost inhuman. Cut to now, and we have at least a couple dozen 24-hour nation-wide news channels in each of the two national languages, in addition to several other localized as well as regional-language channels. And it doesn't take a keen sense of observation for one to notice that other than the time being devoted to the reporting, the quality (when you take into account not just the reporting per-se but also the analysis and the nature), and at times, even the quantity (in terms of distinct but significant pieces of information) of it all has been steadily rolling off downhill in an inverse logarithmic fashion.

The saddest part is that it's not just the dime-a-dozen newscasters (who, given their constant wriggling, don't seem to be anymore comfortable in Western attire than they were in a saree), over-enthusiastic reporters (who are able to avoid stuttering on only that one, oft-rehearsed line: 'with cameraperson , this is , , ') and the ever-increasing number of behind-the-scenes staff (which takes care of the tickers and comes up with such howlers such as "CONG COMABACK IN RAJ") who are to blame (that's not to say that they're not. Whereas earlier on DD, a gaffe would mean being out of a job and fading into oblivion, the current lot have a huge margin for error, and given the sheer numbers, they're bound to get an alternate even they do manage to get themselves fired after a series of slips.) - these greenhorns are merely following the instructions given to them by their seniors; those award-winning journalists who are the best known names and were, till as recently as about five years back, professionals I looked up to.

EXHIBIT 'A'
One of these seniors, a personal favourite since 20 years back (and the fact that I can remember so far back is much more of a testimony to him and his programme, other than its highly infectious jingle, than it is to my memory), claimed it was a national shame that the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition didn't travel together to Bombay during the terrorist attacks, in spite of announcing that they would. Well sirji, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a national shame, but the fact that even you, in spite of being one of the, if not the most experienced of the lot currently present, have started making an occassional error; more alarmingly still, the psephologist in you has been, of late, getting election analyses mostly wrong, and for reasons that are hardly surprising.

Granted that you do take into account the factors which come into play when it comes to the majority of the electorate and in particular the voting sections of the populace, and these are the people who actually interact with their area representatives. But you are increasingly doing so in very vague and generic terms, while your brainstorming and predictions are limited to the upper-middle class urban points of view. Which no doubt is your target audience (and I'm part of it) but, since they (rather, we) form an insignificant little percentage of the total turnouts, is a gross misrepresentation of the ground reality. To readers (if any), I ask this: can you name the legislator or MP of your home constituency? Can you at least name your home Vidhan Sabha/LS constituency?

EXHIBIT 'B'
On to someone who is probably the most celebrated journalist of our times. On one of the special debates after the recent attacks, she suggested that the people are getting caught up in a lot of passionate, romantic, unrealistic rhetoric. That was probably the only thing she said in those 4 days or so which made sense. Ironically, she was acknowledging the nature of the opinions stirred up, force-fed and reported by none other than her. She started off her coverage by insisting on drawing parallels with 9/11 by referring to people, trapped inside the high-rises symbolic of the economy, signalling for help. (Ironic again, then, that this was dubbed 26/11 and not 11/26. Why shy away from complete Cocacolonization, ma'am?)

As she shuttled from one location to the other and then to a third, she just became increasingly insensitive while interviewing directly affected people (some argue that she might even have given away the positions and hence lives of some people trapped inside; her critics have had similar complaints about her in the past, most notably the Kargil conflict). And while she tried her best to show that she shared their grief, she failed miserably in her efforts, all of which seemed nothing but contrived. It is difficult to believe a Metallica or any other band when they sing anti-establishment songs after they've been minting money for more than two decades; in the same vein, it is impossible not to see through the array of fake emotions of someone who has been there, done that and won accolades for the same.

It wasn't a pretty sight when she, a senior member of the editorial team of one of the most respected news channels, was being pushed around while mobbing a foreign hotel guest who had just been rescued; it was somewhat humorous when, while she wandered too close to the site after operations were wrapped up, she was being shooed away on live camera by security personnel unaware of her celebrity status; it was annoying, as it increasingly has been, when one saw that the panel of "experts" consisted of 5 from showbiz vis-a-vis 2 from fields of genuine expertise; it was outrageous when on the same show, she forced an apology out of an audience member for his rightful outrage against an irresponsible statement made by one of the five "celebs"; it was distasteful when she, on air, said about the anchor - "I can't hear what she's saying. Tell her to shut up"; it is amazing that most of the rhetoric she was referring to ('systemic failure', 'need for accountability', 'we, the people, are / want change') has been, over the years if not right now, been manufactured by her.

Kudos, then, to her ability of planting her creations in the pop urban lexicon. It's all too easy to take the opinions of the rich and the famous on behalf of being "average citizens of the city and the country" (which they are not - refer below). Or allow the people, and in particular the youth, to come and shout out ridiculous stuff like 'politicians leave the people alone', 'the entire system is to blame', 'let's form our own party', etc. and in the process, grant them their fifteen seconds of fame. But it would be great if even one feasible suggestion is thrown up - not necessarily implemented, just thrown up. Again, a question for the readers (if any): Of all the talk that went on during the crisis and after, did any of the suggestions seem remotely feasible? Do you have any ideas of your own?

EXHIBIT 'C'
And then we have the other celebrity journo with a legacy to live up to; the rebel who is responsible for the contents of a group of channels, known especially for exaggerating its facts and figures. (Remember the '03 Bombay blasts? Initially reported by his channel to be seven, the number was gradually, almost reluctantly brought down to four, by which time no one really cared.) Now he's a guy who keeps harping on about this being the age of the information media. Well, yes this is the information age, where practically anything is available at the click of a button, and yes, the growth of media on the whole is a part and parcel of this age. Then again, there is information media and then there's entertainment media, and our friend here is confused. While the sections of the media meant to entertain are of course allowed to inform and provoke thought (and we don't necessarily have to turn to European cinema for that, when we have equally good home-grown material), I personally think that it's best if the information media knows its limits and steers clear of being a source of entertainment.

Along the same lines, he also washed his hands off being insensitive and immature in the coverage of the siege, claiming that it was the sole responsibility of the administration to cordon off the affected areas, and not in the least bit of the editorial policy of the broadcasters. Never mind the fact that the events were telecast as live proceedings not unlike a cricket match, to the point of being a possible operational hazard and causing increased grief, and not only to those who were directly affected. Does he really imply that there is no such thing as moral responsibility? Yes, if he doesn't go ahead and show the footage, some rival will, but for someone who and whose channels are all for standing up for change, can't he exercise some restraint and with that, display some much-needed maturity? And you, the reader, won't you like to see (or for that matter, read) news without being told that this was first reported by ABC or is an XYZ exclusive, or without being misled by that now-eternally flashing 'breaking news' banner on your screens?

OVERVIEW
I can go on and on about lots of things, and I will post them soon in my upcoming posts, but let me just restrict this already humongous post to the 3 TV news stars, and try to wrap this up as soon as possible, for now. So, just a few generic pointers to act as an overview as well as reminders for full-length posts to follow. So just in case anyone didn't notice or refuses to acknowledge:
* the coverage of the attacks, for me, merely highlighted the elitist nature of these channels in particular and urban Indian society in general,
* in spite of all the focus on the people and the youth, it is clear that different segments of the society are totally disconnected from each other, and the voices that are being heard either lack conviction or brains. Little knowledge is a dangerous thing indeed,
* there might be a huge global financial crisis going on and mergers, acquisitions and take-overs might have become the norm of the recent past, but the capitalist nature of our country's media should be a cause for concern for one and all, and,
* politician-bashing is all well and good, but truth be told, it's sort of difficult to further divide a people who are already as divided as we are. Having said that, we should all thank our lucky stars for being part of the kind of system that we have here, because in any alternate scenario, even if these dissenting voices are heard, they are silenced ruthlessly.

It's not just the politicians who seek our votes - the media does too, albeit in a different form. Even though they have much more of a power to bring about change for the better, they are more bothered about approvals in the form of ratings and viewership, and are more than happy to pass the baton of action to us. And while we're comfortably seated in the wagon holding this baton, unless they, our drivers who are the media-persons, change the course of this ride they're taking us on, we are all headed straight to hell. And that hell is our own future.

[Originally written, but not completed, on 7/12/08]

Wipro and My Spineless Young Friends!

My thoughts on the current Wipro-Students jhol!

A few days ago Wipro Technologies sent out emails to engineering graduates that they had recruited from Kolkata that Wipro would not be able to offer them jobs in IT sector looking at the current market situation and that they would be offered jobs in Wipro's BPO sector. Further they said that the engineering grads would be incorporated into IT sector after 12-15 months of service in the BPO sector.

There was uproar and a general wave of fear amongst the engineering grads from Kolkata, which was obvious. The protests that followed were apt and correct. But some of the statements given by the students that I read in newspapers were shocking!

One of the students said that since they would be offered jobs in Wipro BPO their pay scale would be reduced from the promised 2.75- 3.25 lacs p.a to around 1.5 lacs p.a. True, this may happen but what followed further was mind numbing for me! The same student said that they were ready to work in IT sector of Wipro for a lower salary than the promised sum but that they should not be put in BPO!

Also some of the students were saying that they were ready to wait a few more months but that they would want to join the IT sector of Wipro!

I was surprised to see such attitude from Kolkata youngsters!
विप्रो जोइन करने के अलावा और कुछ दुनिया में बचा नही है क्या?

Has the world come to an end?
Were you thinking that joining Wipro is the peak of your career? Were you thinking of never leaving Wipro and continuing to survive in that stagnant environment where their would be limited scope for your progress?

And what is this I hear about you people being ready to work for a lesser salary? Why?
Do you guys have no self-respect? Why should you work for a lesser amount? Why are you allowing Wipro to go on reducing your value?

Why should you work in the BPO industry which will ofcourse involve night shifts that will ruin not only your biological clock and your physical and mental constitution but will also involve hearing obscenities and racial abuse from self-proclaimed superior westerners!

Why are you guys ready to wait for some more months and join Wipro? Haven't you guys waited enough? You were recruited in June/July 2008(atleast I was!) and are being called in March 2009!
Last year Wipro called recruited grads from my college in January! And when I was also called in March 2009 my decision to join Wipro started to dwindle! Well, I don't think much of a company that wastes so much valuable time of their to-be employees! Why can Wipro not call its recruited grads if the other IT biggies of India can. And why the hell shift the recruited grads into BPO? नौकरी दे के एहसान कर रहे हो क्या?

I am surprised to hear such comments young Kolkatans. West Bengal is the land of Netaji SubhashChandra Bose. Of Ravindranath Tagore. Of Jatindranath Das ...It is the home of so many freedom fighters, revolutionaries,scientists and great social workers that their names would require many such posts! Kolkata is the land of communist movement in India! The leaders here have long worked for the benefit of the working class!It is in is land that the youngsters are at the mercy of a company like Wipro? Why?

Is there nothing worthwhile to do than joining Wipro? Think. The world is an ocean of opportunities! Join the civil services! Get your masters degree! Do your MBA! Get your doctorates! Give GATE,GRE,GMAT and increase your qualifications rather than being at the mercy of Wipro!
Join governmental services or better, defence services to ensure job security and immunity from the pink-slip! It pays well now after the sixth pay commission and also offers variety of facilities!
As one of my teachers has said, " This time of recession is the opportunity for youngsters to educate themselves more and more!"


Regards,
Pranjal

Of Indian Politicians and Condoms… ;)

(Something on the lighter side that will have you seeing 'double'!)

One fine afternoon (i.e. today afternoon!) I was just surfing the net when a thought flashed through my mind and I started making an unusual but quite interesting comparison between Indian politicians and…guess what? Condoms!
True…however absurd that it may sound if you think (and look at both of them too) you may find some interesting similarities and,well, differences!
Let’s see then….
If you see condoms come for a price and so do politicians! If you want a condom to work for you you have to pay the buy it! The same thing stands true for a politician! You have to buy him so that he can work for you!
Both condoms and politicians are servants of the people but nobody understands that!(Think on this statement and comment! Because your thoughts will help me understand this statement! ;)) A faulty and corrupt politician spreads the deadly decay virus which kills off the immune system of the nation and weakens it. I guess I do not have to tell the experienced people what happens if a ‘faulty and corrupt’ condom is used in certain cases!
A condom is non-living thing.It does not feel ‘things’. Neither does a fat ass politician feel the pain of his people!
Politicians work collectively in benumbing their people and making them aloof so that they can enjoy the power of the power! Likewise,’Two’ many condoms, they say (How’d I know?) ,succeed in deadening the sensation of their ‘people’.

But if you see, you have to pay a nominal price for one condom and it works for you! But there’s no fixed price for the services of a politician. So you see condoms provide reliable service!

Condoms come in different ’shapes and sizes’ and offer service not only to the user but also ‘long-lasting pleasure’ to the ‘opposition’. Have you ever heard of an Indian politician who has ever given pleasure to the opposite party?

Oh yeah! The main point is that Condoms provide protection to the people that use them! But what about politicians? Do they protect their people? NO! Instead these dudes themselves demand protection (and leave their people for the dead!)
So you decide who are better! I think condoms would rule India better than these blood-sucking, money-eating, hatred-spreading, dividing and ruling politicians!

Regards,
Pranjal



This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

The Game for the Hot Seat.....and the subsequent neglection of the current issues!

Ashok Chavan has become the new CM of Maharashtra State.....New breaking news for the news channel...Good news for his supporters and his party...Bad news for bad boys Chhagan Bhujbal and Narayan Rane & Co..But what about us you dimwitted scumbags? Your greed for power has once again thrown the terror attack and the Mumbaikars out of the limelight!

On one hand we have a three month old baby who is the youngest victim of the attack, a Jewish baby who cannot understand where his parents have disappeared and on the other hand we have that Greedy Rane crying because Congress party did not announce his name for the CM post of Maharashtra. He keeps on saying " Ashok Chavan mera spardhak kaise ho sakta hai?" You bastard...don't you realise that it is not the time to carry on bickering amongst ourselves but to face the threat to our integrity with impenetrable unity.

Now Mr.Chavan has been appointed the CM..He will now select his favourite ministers....for that the to-be ministers will try to please him....their meetings....the announcement of the new cabinet or the so-called reshuffling of the cabinet and then the oath-ceremony of the new CM and his cronies....How much time will that waste? Can we afford to waste such valuable time that can be effectively utilized in filling out the gaps of our intelligence and internal security?

Was this new appointment necessary in such critical times? Could the so-called High command not have waited? Could the President not impose her rule on her Home state?

I really do not understand when our politicians will learn and grow up! Like in the story of the frogs in the pond and the boys who keep on throwing stones at them..... "It is just a game for you..but it is we who lose our lives in your games!"

"Tumchyasathi ha fakt ek khel aahe..pan aamcha hya khelat jeev jaatoy!"
" तुमच्यासाठी हा फ़क्त एक खेळ असतो ..पण आमचा हयात जीव जातोय!"

-Pranjal


This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Mumbai Terror Attack - What should we do now?

Stop the blame game. The thing to do now is not to sit and blame those irresponsible and imbecile politicians (we all know that most of the Indian politicians are worthless money eaters who will stoop down to any level just to get money) but to analyze the situation and derive the ways and methods by which we can improve ourselves and our security.

They say mistakes made should be utilized to learn from them and then never to commit those mistakes again. In our case we have committed and almost always never learned from them. Be it ignorant and corrupt politicians or the lax security, this time we have paid the heaviest price. I do hope that it is time this lackadaisical attitude of the governing bodies towards the security of the nation and the state changes and we adopt a more firm and direct approach to securing our nation.

The height of vote seeking politics was when certain heavyweight politicians arrived at the attack site and gave full-fledged political speeches. If these people do not want to do something for the people at least they should have had the common sense to stay away from such sensitive sites. By arriving and delivering speeches, they not only made themselves viable targets for the terrorists but also stretched the already stressed security! If any of these terrorists would have gotten a politician between their crosshairs (Oh! How I wish they had!) , again the security personnel would have been blamed.

However, enough of the blame game now. It is not time to cry over spilt milk and decide whose fault it is. What has happened has happened; let us look at what measures we can take in the future to reinforce our brave police personnel and also how certain simple precautionary measures can make their job easy!

1. No doubt the security personnel who laid down their lives and as well as those who fought hard and won the day for us are respected and their sacrifices shall never be forgotten. But the question is, can we afford more martyrs? Do we need more martyrs? What can be done to prevent and minimize the deaths of outstanding and good soldiers?

· Develop Special Teams:

i. Instead of sending in the regular police into the attack, special teams should be developed especially for hostage crises such as these. The inspiration can be drawn from SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams of the US Police or the GSGN which were founded after the 1972 Munich Olympic attacks. The Mumbai Police Commandos can be easily trained and upgraded to be made into a special team which will tackle such situations.

ii. Moreover, instead of depending on other security bodies like MARCOS, Army and NSG and valuable time wasted in their arrival on the scene and understanding the situation can be prevented if the police had its own hostage situation team.

iii. Initially the NSG was established in Delhi and was going to be similarly established in the West, East and South India so that each part would have its own special force which would react quickly and thus minimize casualties and eliminate terror threats. But as Govinda has said in a song, “It happens only in India” that good plans remain only on paper and never materialize. For some reasons unknown to the common man, NSG was never established in other parts of the country and is till date.

iv. Another option would be reviving this plan and developing an independent NSG for each part of the country thus reducing the reaction time.

· Body Protection to the fighters:

i. To ensure that they get maximum protection during such attacks armor of the best quality should be provided. The current bulletproof vests worn by Mumbai Police were so obsolete that they were not even enough to stop AK-47 bullets. Moreover, majority of them were torn at places, the metal plates used as armor were rusted and in some cases the armor vests were unwashed and stank badly.

ii. Bulletproof jackets should be such that they should provide protection for vital body parts. They should protect not only the chest, stomach and back but also provide protection from the sides, protect the shoulders, neck (like the jackets worn by NSG and MARCOS do) and also the groin. Moreover, elbow pads and knee pads are also essential for protecting and preventing injury to these crucial joints.

iii. For the head, ballistic helmets should cover the head, forehead, ears and part of the neck. A good choice would be the helmets used by SWAT. These helmets look like bike helmets but are specially designed for combat. They are painted with a shine-less paint which does not give away the soldier. They have a reinforced bulletproof glass to offer protection to the face and also have a HUD.

· Good communication devices:

i. The Indian police as well as security forces use obsolete communication devices. The NSG commandos after the operation said that they could not communicate with each other because the terrorists might discover their presence. Throat mikes which sense the vibrations of the skin around the vocal cords and not the voice and air coming out of the mouth provide relatively noise free communication. Moreover, soldiers can speak in very soft tones but can be yet clearly heard and understood by their team mates.

ii. These mikes are available as a belt which can be wrapped around the throat and the ear set can be put in the ear. SWAT teams extensively and successfully use throat mikes during their operations.

· Good and Modern Weaponry:

i. As was seen on 26 November and as was observed previously the Indian Police lack the firepower to combat trained terrorists with sophisticated, modern and automatic arms. They still carry vintage .303 rifles and revolvers. Some of them do have pistols but still they are of no match to the AK-47s and the HK MP-5 carried by the terrorists.

ii. It was due to this that over 100 RPF personnel found it difficult to combat the terrorists at CST as they had SLRs which were no match for AK-47 rifles of the terrorists. It is not that they did not give their best; it’s that they were plainly outdone.

iii. It was due to the lack of good arms that a sub inspector bravely shot at the terrorists with his service revolver and was killed in the retaliatory fire.

iv. Scenes outside the Taj Hotel showed the policemen wearing no head protection but only bulletproof jackets and armed with only pistols!

v. If the ruling powers provide the police with modern arms and in sufficient quantity then such instances can be controlled and the terrorists neutralized quicker.

vi. Moreover, good equipment like smoke grenades, CS gas canisters, flash bangs and good night vision goggles must also be provided.

· Good surveillance and monitoring equipment:

i. As of now, major cities in India have limited visibility as regards to surveillance. Limited visibility implies less units of CCTV cameras or other cameras. We should provide maximum possible visibility to our policemen and other agencies so that their jobs become easier and they are not dependent on manpower only.

2. It was reported by many MARCOS and NSG that they had no plans of the targeted buildings available and hence had to move around and absorb the details and adapt to the environment while at the same time rescuing the hostages and neutralizing the terrorists while the terrorists knew every nook and cranny of the buildings. There is a simple solution to that will help our brave soldiers to plan well and take on the terrorists even more efficiently.

· The government should make it mandatory for all builders and constructors to file their building plans and layouts which should be stored in a common repository accessible to all security agencies. Of course these plans will be stored on a database which will be backed up daily. Traditional methods of storing hard copies should be done away with as they not only waste manpower but also occupy unnecessary space.

· A system should be developed which will enable to store the plans according to various categories of buildings like heritage sites, residential, commercial etc.

· Whenever a situation arises then the concerned security force should be able to access this repository and retrieve the plans. Once the layout has been obtained then planning an operation will be a lot easier as the commandos will already know the layout of the building.

3. The job done by the media in covering the events was really commendable. The media has greatly assisted the governing bodies in the announcement of special emergency phone lines which enabled the troubled citizens in contacting their loved ones. If there was any need for blood at any blood bank then the media was at the forefront requesting donations and thus helped in saving many lives. Moreover, their constant coverage of the incidents and on goings was greatly useful to the people. However, unknowingly one mistake was committed by the media and also the police.

· The media was closely covering each and every move of the police, MARCOS and NSG but somehow the police and the media failed to realize that this coverage could be seen by the terrorists from inside the Taj, Oberoi or Nariman House on television sets. By doing this the terrorists could anticipate the moves of the security forces and make the job of hostage rescue and terrorist elimination more difficult.

· It would be utterly wrong on my part to blame the media for the casualties that took place but such close coverage should be avoided in future so that we do not give a chance to the terrorists to gain an upper hand anywhere, anytime during the battle.

This according to me can be done to improve the fighting power of the police force. Also I am sure these observations will be helpful if in future a special team of the police is developed on the grounds of SWAT.

They say nothing is impossible and I do believe that. We come from the land were people have been making the impossible possible. Ours is the land where a thin and simple man wearing a towel around his waist drove away the mighty British. Ours is the land of Shivaji Maharaj, who built a kingdom out of nothing and successfully fought three big empires. Ours is the land of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who suffered exile just to build an army that would liberate India from the British shackles. Ours is the land where a supercomputer, Param was built indigenously when the USA refused to provide us their supercomputer.

I believe that in the land of these great men we can do anything if we stand together. Remember United We Stand, Divided we fall.


This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.