When Parents FAIL their Children all over again

Some parents I’ve noticed have this annoying habit. A habit they do not realize does more harm than good; a habit that discourages instead of bringing improvement; a habit that affects the psyche instead of the outlook; a habit that is akin to kicking someone who has fallen, laughing in their face, and then telling them how much you love them.

This is the habit of parents showing the whole world what spectacular and utter failures their children are by putting their shortfalls on full display before all to see and then inviting some more people to come and have a good laugh that’ll brighten up their day. This will then probably lead to an innocent either jumping from the terrace or hanging from the fan if they’re not strong enough to take the insult or smart enough to understand its purpose.

Let’s face it, there are such parents. And what’s worse, they are more in number than those parents who like to show the world that their children are the best in the whole wide world. Admittedly, that isn’t any good either, extremes rarely are, but at least it is talked about and ridiculed. However, the other end of the spectrum? It isn’t talked about in the way the adulation is spoken of. It is hardly ever criticized in society that is.

Image Courtesy: theodysseyonline.com

There is rarely one who is strong enough to stand up to the parents and ask them to stop the rigmarole because at that moment, the child is the one who has let the parents down, who has tarnished the family name, who has failed in class, who has lost the competition, who has bunked a class, ho didn’t get into a good college, who didn’t get that gold medal, who didn’t care about what parents wanted. The child is to blame fair and square.

But one would think that parents, before using this innovative method of insulting their children before family and friends, would stop for a moment and think about what this would achieve.

Does ridicule raise confidence?

Does insult dull the injury of failure?

Does shame induce self-confidence?

Does derision ensure better performance?

Does humiliation beget better results?

Does indignity tend to inspire?

These are the questions that these parents need to ask themselves before going out into that party and shaming their children before others because you never know how someone will react to such shaming.

Your children might not understand that you do it out of love or desperation or some other sort of correctional method. In that moment, they just know pain all over again.

For some, it is too late. For others, it is not.

Please find a better way.

I’ve been meaning to write about this topic for quite some time now and a friend fortunately brought it up on Facebook recently. She saw this happening on an Indian soap opera and spoke out against it which led me to ultimately writing this piece. If you do think the problem is real, share this post with either the student who is suffering from this, or with the parent who thinks ridicule only makes things better.

Can Meritocracy survive in the face of Corporate Seniority?

There is usually a lot of chatter at different workplaces about quality of work, standards of employees, dishing out of credit and progress of the deserving and the unworthy alike.

Now, it may occasionally happen that a young employee with formidable talent and skill and may come along, one whose talent may overshadow even those with many years of experience under their belts. These suave and confident beings may or may not realize their potential but in a highly competitive workplace, contemporaries, if not superiors, are sure to take notice sooner rather than later.

With enough time spent and hard work put in, these young ones may tend to catch the eye of the boss if they’re looking enough attention. Well, that is a prerequisite for bosses nowadays when even CEO's are out hunting for jobs. The constant need to improve on the workplace and generate better profits for the company keeps even the laziest of bosses on the lookout for those who have the ability to grasp things and climb the proverbial ladder.

This is where the problem occurs.

Image Courtesy: moneycrashers.com

Should the boss promote the underling and bypass the senior?

OR

Or should the boss risk wasting potential to preserve peace in the workplace?

Not all bosses have the kind of rapport with employees so as to understand the dynamics and offices politics playing out under their own noses. In their rise, they leave behind common ploys and play the same game at a higher level.

But only those working together actually realize how team dynamics work under the complex hierarchy that modern industry is based on. They know who works well with whom, who works better than whom, who cannot work with whom and who cannot be trusted to work at all. And they often know all this more than the bosses themselves who have glass cabins shielding them from the best and worst their employees have to offer.

So, does meritocracy really survive if the hierarchy is put in danger?

Does the workplace dynamic take a hit in light of a jump in promotion?

Does merit even stand a chance in the face of superiors taking credit for everything?

Or is the cumbersome method of seniority the only way to ensure smooth functioning?

Food for thought, dear leaders…

With Great Power comes Great Responsibility: India & the UNSC

It’s been 69 years since India became an Independent nation. The leaders that formed the government then thought that the time was right for India to govern itself. The government today believes that India is ready to be part of a committee that aims to keep the world secure, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). To this end, they have been looking for support from every quarter with the constant spate of foreign visits Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already made to several nations since his government came to power in 2014.

They feel the time is right for India to take its rightful place, seeing as it considers itself a leader in Asia. It is looked upon by various South Asian nations as a big brother, an insurance policy of some kind, against the threat that an aggressive China poses in the region.

For & Against India’s seat

But India has apparently failed in impressing contemporary world leaders who have opposed India’s most recent bid to restructure the UNSC like its reluctant friend US President Barrack Obama and its long-time ally Russian President Vladimir Putin. The third nation, China, in spite making tall claims of friendship during President Xi Jinping’s diplomatic visit, is still a regional rival along with another claimant to a permanent seat, Japan. However, the other two permanent members, France, under President Francois Hollande and the United Kingdom, under Prime Minister David Cameron, support India’s bid.

Other Contenders

Along with India, the other G-4 nations, comprising of Germany, Japan, and Brazil have all longed for a permanent seat in the UNSC. Germany, because of its GDP, which is the fourth largest in the world, Japan, because of its regional (albeit muted) power status in Asia, and Brazil, by virtue of being the only regional power in South America.

Shortcomings

Although India is slated to be the most populous country in the world by 2022, although its economy is great as an emerging market, although it has a stable democratic structure and although it is a responsible nuclear state, India hasn’t exactly been doing what one would expect members of a ‘security council’ to do.

• India hasn’t sent help to the coalition fighting terrorist groups outside its borders
• India is not involved in helping bring back a democratic government in Yemen
• India didn’t until very recently stand up for or attempt to mediate the conflict brewing in the South China Sea.
• India hasn’t spoken up on human rights issues in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
• India stood passively by in the Iran nuclear deal.
• India hasn’t done anything for the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

When you take a look at all these conflicts that India has deliberately avoided, stayed out of, skirted or just verbally condemned, it is hard to imagine that this country is a regional power which will do anything at all, even if it does get a permanent seat at the UNSC.

Favourable Statistic

However, there is one thing that certainly goes in India’s favour and that is the number of personnel it has sent to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. India has sent 8,112 people and is third in terms of this contribution, Bangladesh and Pakistan holding the first and second positions respectively. The permanent members come nowhere close to matching these numbers.

Unfortunate Reality

However, merely these numbers cannot hide the fact that India has in fact chosen neutrality and made the decision to stay aloof from world conflicts even in this age of co-operation. Although India now contests that it just needs a two-third majority in the UN General Assembly to get a seat, the problem is that India might fall short on its claim to be able to handle that much power without taking on responsibility.

Don’t Spit in your Boss’ Coffee Maybe?

Internships are prerequisites for jobs in India today. Whether you attribute this trend to increase in competitiveness or blame it on overpopulation, internships have entrenched themselves as precursors to jobs in every field today.

Medicine, law, journalism, IT and in fact every private sector job opening requires the completion of one or more internships before the offer of a job comes your way.

I know this because I interned at two national newspapers, two magazines, a regional television news channel, a web news channel and a Public Relations agency before landing my first job. That’s seven internships in five years of my under-graduate and post-graduate studies.

Of the seven internships listed above, I had a disappointing experience at only one. And this too was only because my potential wasn’t fully realized due to mismanagement and faulty delegation of authority. This account may sound one sided but it is diluted by the fact that I received recommendations by every other place I went to. You see, that’s why I actually have a job as a journalist today.

Bad experiences are part of internships but one has to learn not to overreact to them in the spectacular way that this person has, whose note to his/her boss speaks of unmitigated hatred and revenge for unrealized potential.

Image Courtesy: youthconnect.in

Read about why you shouldn’t overreact to your Boss and just suck it up or quit the internship instead of making a mistake that jeopardizes your career in the field. The entire opinion piece is here on the Youth Connect magazine: [He reacted to his bad internship in the worst way possible. Here is why it is better to suck it up]

The Burden of Great Expectations

To be or not to be - that is the question I asked myself when faced with the prospect of studying law a few years back.

It was a tough question, one I could not take lightly. To study for another five years, to study something else or to start working immediately after my graduation, these were the A-B-C options I had. I took the second option. I decided to study journalism.

My choice was a disappointment for many and a surprising move for others. But I had made it nonetheless.

Now, after two years, at the cusp of my post graduation degree and after the submission of my thesis on ‘Conflict Reportage in Indian English Newspapers’ I am finally sure that I indeed made the right choice.

However, now that I’ll be going out into the real world, I realize that the expectations of all those people who supported me as well as those who were skeptical of my choice are entirely too much. Over time, people have come to expect great things from those who complete their ‘Masters’ degree and the case is the same here.

I’m expected to get selected into a large firm, get a respectable position and draw a salary that an HR would choke on before doling it out to a fresher. Great expectations!

Image Courtesy: wordsmith.com

Confidence in a person’s ability is great, but turning this person into Atlas by tossing him a world of expectations and saying, “Catch!” well that’s not cool. Time and experience is what takes someone to great heights and erecting an unreal pedestal before that helps nobody.

Hence, all you impertinent parents and teachers and friends and relatives, calm down.

It will happen… in Time.

The Visitation of a Lifetime

This was weird!

By any standard of archaic Indian culture and tradition, this was not only weird; it was in direct violation of how things should be.

I had carefully combed and again tousled my hair which made it about the fifth time I had done so in the past 15 minutes. Around six shirts lay in a heap on my bed and three pairs of trousers were strewn in a menagerie of disarray, creating a cloth road from the bathroom door to the kitchen where I gone to check up on the stuffed turkey in the oven and chocolate cheesecake in the fridge.

It had to be perfect; every aspect of it.

They were coming to see me, asses me, see if I was fit to be married into their family. And for that, I would have to work hard, very hard. You see, inter-religious marriage still isn’t a very big thing where I come from.

I had invited them over to dinner and they had accepted. My parents would not make it today, their flight delayed by incessant rains, but these people hadn’t cancelled. They wanted to see me what for I was, without having to make small talk with my parents.

I just hoped my apartment, my cooking skills, my education and most importantly, that I was up to their expectations. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my love.

I had prepared a slightly burnt vegetable starter, tomato soup, a stuffed turkey and a hopefully delicious cheesecake for dessert. Ping! The turkey was done. The taste was delectable. They will love it, I assure myself.

As I start folding the rest of my discarded clothes and arrange my truckload of novels neatly on the living room shelf, the doorbell rings. I panic, hastening my chores and shouting, “one minute” in the general direction of the doorway.

“Don’t bother, it’s just me. Open up,” I hear the voice of the one who makes my heart flutter and skip a beat. “Coming,” I yell and open the door.

“I knew you wouldn’t be done, so I came to help out.”

“Thank you darling, you’re the best.”

As we joined forces to put the rest of my apartment into some semblance of a habitable environment, “What’s that weird smell?”

“What?” I ask.

“You don’t smell it? Really?”

And then it hit me. The acrid sting of rain-soaked clothes mingling with a hint of turkey and a waft of chocolate hit me just as I was about to retort with extreme prejudice. The metaphorical glass of illusion had shattered. And suddenly, I was panicking again.

“Damn, that’s strong.”

“Exactly!” came the even more stinging reply.

I ran to the bedroom to get my can of deodorant and proceeded to soak the house from balcony to verandah till I ran out of it. I sat down, a triumphant smile on my face. Done… and done.

And then there it was again, emerging from the thick barrier of deodorant, to assault me once more. Damn! Why wouldn’t it go away?

“Looks like your master plan’s a dud, huh?” sarcasm in the face of an emergency. Like that was going to help.

My partner ran down to the car and rushed back holding a can of Ambi Pur Air Effects Spring Air Freshener. “Try this maybe?”

I didn’t need to be told twice. And just as I finished gently dabbing the apartment with it, the doorbell rang. It was time. And I was ready; the apartment, smelling like the 1^st of July, was too.

My love went to the door just as I finished straightening my clothes. Opening it wide, she said,

“Here is the man I want to marry!”

I am blogging for #SmellyToSmileyactivity at Blogadda.com in association with Ambi Pur.

Indian Media teaches Sexism to School Children Now!

Today, the results of the CBSE class 12 results were announced across India and the kids seemed to have done pretty well. Although I don’t believe in the present system of examination myself, I’m sure we have a lot of proud parents today and others who are saying, “Look, Sharmaji’s son got 0.2% more than you! Which college will accept you now? You have destroyed your career and my reputation!”

Meanwhile the media is all about ‘Girls score better than boys!’ ‘Girls beat boys’ and so on and so forth all over social media. They’ll probably do the same thing on the front page of their newspapers tomorrow morning. And well, the news channels will be doing it right now. Really! Go check.

Ever since this dialogue of sexism has come to the forefront in India, we have been all about the empowerment of women and highlighting their successes and praising their leadership skills. All that is well and good and it is actually helping. But then the media goes ahead and creates the kind of tension that is counterproductive to everything else they think they’re doing for women empowerment.

Image Courtesy: dailymail.co.uk

While the only thing they’re doing is:

They’re creating unhealthy competition

Almost every media house in India has tweeted something to the effect that girls have performed better than boys in this academic year. What they don’t seem to realize is that they’re unconsciously widening the gender rift in academia which is already bad in India. Competition is good, but competition based on plain old gender divisive lines is ridiculous.

They’re creating familial rifts

Nobody can understand this point more than those who have risen in a house with a sibling of another gender. In a still very much patriarchal Indian society, a boy scoring less than a girl is perceived as a shame as it is assumed that the boy is going to be the breadwinner of the family. Looking at such headlines from the family perspective, the media is just putting more pressure on boys to do well. No wonder cases of suicides are going up every year.

Their idea of feminism is as evolved as a chimpanzee

The media wants to empower women but they either don’t know or don’t want to believe that feminism does not encourage putting one gender over the other. It is not about demeaning boys but about bring everyone to the same level. By saying, ‘girls outshine boys’ the only thing they’re proving is that they’re knowledge of feminism is as much as the politicians they label ‘sexist’.

Oh Indian media, when will you figure out what you're really doing?

I am an ousted CEO too

You’ve all no doubt heard about the case about the investors of housing.com oust the very founder of the company, Rahul Yadav. There must be a number of cases where similar things have happened to entrepreneurs who have sought investors to fund their fledgling start-ups. Now, I don’t presume to compare myself with Yadav in any way but…

Mine is one such story as well.

In September, 2013, three of my friends and I came up with an idea of starting up a news website for the students of the institute where we studied. We envisioned it as a platform for our fellow students to participate actively in the fields they were studying for. A practical approach to academics is what we brought our focus on when we thought up our web magazine.

Since we thought this up on the stairs of our institute, and involved the contribution of every one of our students, it was obvious that we were going to approach our management with this plan. We did so, and to our utter surprise obtained instant and enthusiastic support. We were asked to begin work immediately and submit requests for funding as and when required.

We were ecstatic and set up our website over eight months of planning, business model development, website designing and social media operations. Finally, out product was launched on the April 12, 2014 in the presence of the institute management and students. We had our own start up!

I assumed the role of Editor-in-chief, another co-founder as Chief Technical Executive and the other two co-founders as Editors of the two beats they excelled at. Although this selection does not seem fair, I must point out that the people in these posts were ratified by a general election within a week.

We ran the website with vigour and published 54 articles in the first two months of the launch alongside our hectic study schedule, assignments and internships. Some of our students even worked full time to support their education and even they contributed in one way or another to the initial success of this operation.

As in any other organization, we faced criticism, disgruntled employees and complaints relating to bias and prejudice. Although, all of these allegations were proved to be baseless time and again, these problems seemed to have an impact on the trust the management had placed on us and the morale of the entire team as well.

Decision-making ultimately passed to a representative of the investor (management) and although I still held editorial powers along with other editors, it became increasingly apparent that the democratic model upon which we had founded this organization was to come under fire from those who had deigned to finance it.

Finally, fed up with constant intrusions upon my sovereignty as Editor and decision making behind my back, I resigned from my post at the end of two months to allow for a new editor and pledged my support to the team if they needed it; albeit from outside. My resignation was rejected for reason I’m sure you can imagine and was told to maintain charge till they (management) could decide on someone to take my place and restructure the organization, placing their representative in overall charge.

Reluctantly, I withdrew my resignation in the interest of the magazine against my better judgement. But by then, the determination to lead controlled organization had left me and the team’s will to work had waned to the point that they refused work until the tie this matter was sorted out.

Two months of forced pieces and half-hearted work later, the management decided not to amend their mistakes but to make some more. They asked for my resignation in August, 2014, appointed their own Editor and asked the rest of the team to resign as well. They held a rigged election, refused to reveal the results and formed their own team against the wishes of the student body.

They rebelled.

Today, our organization lies, covered in dust, waiting for a new generation of students to shake the dust off what would have been a reputed student’s platform if only power hadn’t corrupted the investor.

Although complete in itself, this is still an excerpt of the whole case. You can read the full story here: The Story of an Ousted CEO

When Castro invited Kom to Cuba

[The retired and gravely ill former dictator ruler of Cuba, Fidel Castro, has reportedly invited the much celebrated Indian Olympian boxer Mary Kom to move to Havana, accept Cuban citizenship and represent the nation as its first woman sportsperson in the sport. This has purportedly been the result of Namibia Flores, Cuba’s only woman boxer, leaving the nation to pursue career prospects in the United States.

Will you come?

Do you think so?

In March 2014, the Cuban Sports Minister was reported saying, “What are you talking about? Women’s boxing? Women cannot do boxing! Women can run and play tennis. Boxing is a man’s game. All this is just US propaganda.” They now seem to have changed their tune.

The Indian Boxing Association is outraged and up in arms against this request by a friendly nation. Vijender Singh, eminent sportsperson, Olympic Boxer and judge-of-a-bunch-of-illiterates-on-a-crappy-television-show says, “Cuba is country? Really? They want Mary Kom? I have in pen drive. They want boxer Mary Kom? This is wrong. Bhai aisa thodi chalta hai? How can they just say they want Mary Kom? We want Mary Kom. We want medal. No, no, no, this is not possible.”

Sarbananda Sonowal, Indian Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent charge) has expressed concern over the matter. Mary Kom is an icon for the little girls of the nation. And I believe that she is very patriotic even if she is from an Eastern state. I have contacted Mr. Bhagwat to convince her to join the organization too. After that, let’s see how she goes.”]

[This is my article for the Faking News website. You can and probably should read it here: Fidel Castro invites Indian boxer Mary Kom to represent Cuba]

Note: This post has been written for Faking news. Did you notice the ‘Faking’ before the word news? That’s because this is a parody of mainstream news and is supposed to be taken in jest and humour.

Images courtesy of: Google Images.

Something in the Aer of Westeros

Note: This is a work of fiction and dedicated to perhaps the best television series on court politics produced in the last decade.

In the immortal lyrics of Eminem, “I smell something in the air that’s making me HIGH!” These are the words that came into my mind as soon as I entered there; the place where the raw fragrance of the Gods dwelled. It was almost like I had transcended the mortal world and been transported to a higher level of being. I imagine that is how it must feel to be on Mount Olympus or Mount Kailash or Mount Sinai whichever way you lean.

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

It was summer in Upper Westeros, the season that isn't quite apparent there. The city of Winterfell doesn’t have summer at all but that year something was different. The sun shone with such brilliance as it hadn’t in a very, very long time. It was only in legends that I had heard of the sun melting the eternal snow that covered our land. But that year was not only memorable for its summer but also remembered for the bloodshed it caused because of the sun.

It was the year that Danerys Targaryean, Mother of Dragons had reclaimed the Iron Throne of Westeros, the seat of her forefathers; as the rightful Queen of her people. The Lannisters of Casterly Rock had finally been crushed and every last remaining person who bore the arms of the Lion had been put to the sword. It was a glorious day indeed when the Queen ascended her throne with her three fearsome dragons that she had herself hatched in the fire of the husband’s funeral pyre.

Now, allow me to introduce myself. I am Jon Snow, the bastard of Lord Ned Stark of Winterfell. I am now the Hand of my half-brother Bran Stark, the King in the North. I’m writing this record not to capture the history of what happened in the days to come after the Queen took her throne, there are official records for that sort of thing. I am writing this down so that future generations may bear in mind that although ‘Winter is Coming’, it is not as bad as when Summer rears its head upon us.

It was indeed destined that Summer should come on the day that the banner of the Dragon unfurled over the Iron Throne. What happened next was not the peace and calm we all thought would follow the return of the Queen. A sudden summer ensured that the Northern Wall, erected by my ancestor to keep out the Wildlings and White Walkers started to melt and grow weak around the castles that had stood watch upon it for six millennia.

A beautiful, mysterious and rare summer had been born that would ultimately come to be known as the Red Summer by those who managed to survive it with the onslaught of those beyond the wall who saw the perfect time to attack Westeros and seized the opportunity. When the snow melted off the earth below us, it also melted off the only barrier which protected the civilized world from the barbarians and with that came the crippling blow in the form of the massive savage attack which tore apart the kingdom.

I was outside the capital reassessing our strength against our foes who would attack any day now and then I chanced upon a fragrance that was unlike I had ever had the chance to smell before. It was tantalizing, just touching my nostrils and withdrawing. It was pulling me it seemed towards a hill and like the hand of a seductress; it grasped me and led me to the top of the world. I felt weak at the knees and it was as if my legs had turned to stone from the overdose of the scent that permeated my being. I closed my eyes and lied down in the long grass to savour that which was already holding me captive without chains.

I have since named that plant the lemongrass. It has a strong flavour of lemon but also a tangy under-taste that belies attempts to compare it to lemon. Upon study, I discovered that the plant had no flower or fruit but only leaves from which it emanated this powerful fragrance that held me in my world of bliss in a time when it was a scarce commodity and especially for a soldier like myself.

It is said that I was awakened by the Queensguard who had been stationed to patrol the castle grounds. They had noticed my armour gleaming in the morning sun and had come to investigate. They realized that although I was lying like one who had passed on to the other world, I still had a pulse and had carried me into the castle. When I awoke, they said that I had been missing for three days. I had been so lost in the fragrance that I hadn’t even noticed that I had lain next to the rotten and smelly bodies of three Wildling scouts who had died lost in the world of the lemongrass.

If I had not been carried out of that field, I would have met the same fate as those poor creatures but fortunately the Queensguard had encountered the plant before and had decided to get it planted all around the castle walls except the main gate so that trespassers would meet the same fate as those scouts.

It was by sheer luck that the guards had seen my armour in the long grass and had come to investigate. They had been able to carry me to safety without endangering themselves to the enamouring fragrance of the lemongrass only because they had covered their faces with pieces of cloth. They had already experienced the power of the lemongrass over the senses and although they longed for it, they respected it enough not to evoke their power of smell, lest they get lost within its fragrance and forget their duty to their Queen.

In the war that did start eventually when the wall fell, many of our men and women fell to the blades of those wild ones from beyond the wall, but many more of the enemy died unawares by giving in to their senses in the fields of lemongrass and dropping their weapons in ecstasy as the feeling of pure joy overtook them.

Queen Danerys finally led us to victory but at great cost and she had no other option but to grant Bran Stark Independence in the North as recompense for his valuable contribution in holding out on the northern front as long as was necessary for her to organize all her other vassals into the sizable army that won her the war. King Bran lost Winterfell to the marauding armies but won back the pride and honour of our family by being crowned King of the North.

And that is why I’m glad that Winter is Coming…

This post has been written for the Godrej ‘Inspire a Fragrance’ contest.

Buying out the Fourth Estate

Today, a lot of media has come under the power of industrialists. It’s not just a lot, but a major portion I believe. Large corporations are buying off small newspapers, television channels, websites or head hunting their best employees to work for their media subsidiaries.

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

It seems all the varied media houses, all the options in the media that we had are being collected under a few big banners who mean to take control of what is viewed by the populace, not only in India but round the world. It is of course in the interests of these oil barons, telecommunication tycoons and entertainment giants to buy out or control a majority shareholding in news outlets.

It is not hard even for a layman to understand what kind of manipulation of the news can take place once the channel or channels are in direct control of their new boss; Positive publicity, doses of advertising, hiding unfavourable news and sensationalizing the news to increase viewership and thereby, revenue.

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

Assuming that those who start news outlets in the form of newspapers, television channels and news websites do so with a view of upholding the true spirit of journalism, we can see what happens after they are bought out by these selfish and to an extent, parasitic corporations who then manage to pocket truckloads of cash by just giving the public the show they want, and not anything substantial.

Journalism, ever since it got pulled into the race for giants trying to control the media, has become a difficult job. Trying to publish a substantial news story becomes as much of a job as getting the story especially if the story is about something that concerns the other subsidiary company held by the parent company which also happens to be a major shareholder of your media house. It can also be difficult in case the story is about that minister or officer or public figure whose campaign is funded by the corporation that owns your media house. Well, if it positive news, it will probably run the whole day but if it is even slightly negative, it goes against the policies of the newspaper or channel. Clear out the story or clear out your desk.

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

Another disastrous downside of these mergers and buyouts in the media is that large corporate now own many channels and publications under a single roof. If one of them does not bring in as much revenue as the rest, it will either be shut down or downsized to cut losses. It is because of this very same reason that sensationalism has become a big part of the media today. Ridiculous things are hyped, people are made to shout at each other, anchors try to grab the limelight and in the middle of all of this, the substantial news is loss in the echoes of those trying to get it out over the cacophony of all the garbage that occupies our screens.

With the latest buyout of those who claim to be ‘18 till they die’, here’s hoping that this media house doesn't change its colour from Red to Saffron.


Here is a video that will help you understand what is happening to the Indian media, albeit from a foreign perspective: Indian Media has never had it so Bad

The Illusion of an Enlightened Populace

Election time is here again and though it will be my first time at casting the ballot, I’ve seen many an election since I started getting a sense what it’s all about. And I’ve seen a lot in these few years, it’s actually hard not to. One would have to be totally cut off from the real world to not notice what happens in India when the pan-Indian ‘Musical-Chair’ game begins.

I notice nothing different this time around. Maybe it’s early to say so, maybe it isn’t, but from what I’ve managed to gather from here and there, it seems that our beloved khadi-dhoti mantris are up to no good as usual. They haven’t changed their tactics one bit and what’s more, they’re all adopting the Gujarat Election campaign module – dividing people on communal lines. Yay! Good old religious divide; it never ceases to amaze me.

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

Now I know that India is a multi-cultural society that can never live in peace and harmony, which was the main reason to divide the sub-continent into two nations, but seriously, it is 2014, not 1950. One might think that living in such a large cauldron of cultures and traditions, the people might have decided to finally mingle together to make a Superpower-ed soup, but no, that hasn’t seemed to happen yet. And this is not my perception; it is that of our uneducated but sincerely experienced and seasoned politicians who still think that telling the masses that it was ‘only’ Muslim soldiers who won the Kargil war for India will ensure them the minority vote bank.

But that is just one example, allow me to state another. So this guy who rides a Bicycle in the most crime-ridden state of India, run by his son; says that rapists should not be hung because boys make mistakes. It is their ‘hot blood’ that gets to them I suppose. I don’t mean to malign the name of an entire state but when a politician campaigns against the death penalty for rapists in a state where it is wildly rampant, one begins to wonder about how this guy is planning to win an election. If you’re going to get votes by forgiving rapists, and the next time around God-forbid murderers, it does say something about the state you’re campaigning in.

And so it is that the largest democracy in the world goes to the polls amongst strong and decisive campaigning by everyone: Parties who do not have suitable candidates, parties who have only one candidate, parties who have too many candidates and parties whose candidates resign and sit on the road, because that’s what the common people of India do.

Best of luck India! Sigh!

Just for you, my Friend.

When one engages in classroom politics, one should be very careful in choosing one’s friends and supporters. Well, once you have persuasive friends, support is garnered automatically. But yes, one does have the responsibility to choose the correct set of friends to stand fast as columns in case the structure collapses.

There is one such friend whose recent actions have prompted me to write this post. This friend is one of the foremost intellectuals I've met in my age group and he stands tall as the greatest strategist I've seen in the past three years since I entered the field rather by accident.

They say that engineers are the toughest of the population because going through an engineering college in India is much like how they train the Marines in the US. They have probably seen everything, done a lot of it first hand and still come out of that hell hole. So politics seems to be nothing new to them.

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

I have no idea what kind of voodoo goes on in these colleges except for the stories some of my engineer friends tell me, but I can safely say that they turn out to be some of the most paranoid people I've come across.

However, coming back to the point, my friend is kind of very aware of tactics that can be played and between the both of us; we manage to counter them long before they’re implemented in the opposite camp. But now and again, it so happens that there is a surprise volley and to everyone’s great surprise, the calm and composed engineer lost his cool and stood between me and the offender with such vehemence that the ungodly attack died out before anybody could realize.

This has happened not once but twice now and everyone has now realized that if push comes to shove, the strategist Athena can also don the armour and defend friends with as much brutality as Ares, the god of WAR.

The Youthfest Chronicles #3 – The Event

If you managed to read the previous two installations of this series, you’ll know that we were still hard at practice for the first stage of the competition. Now, twelve days later, finally I’ve got the chance to update you on what took place in the actual competition.

The event was scheduled to be held on the 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th of September, but due to heavy unseasonal rains, the last day of the event… and obviously my event was postponed to Sunday, the 29^th of September and so was the valedictory function. My new college had participated in around 14 events in the first stage of the competition out of which it won two, my event being one of them. It also won 2^nd place in the rally that that takes place at the beginning of the Youthfest, not unlike the Olympic unveiling ceremony.

My former college, my much loved and cherished home participated in almost every event and won in more than half of them (obviously, it always does). I was a proud man in the Youthfest this time. It was indeed special for me since I was about to participate against my former college, standing in competition against my friends and that too in more than one event. This first round of the Youthfest was especially close to my heart because I had supporters from not one but two colleges. It was very heart warming to see my former college mates sit through their events as well as mine, just to support me.  to see them clap and hoot for me as if I was still one of their own, to feel so close to home when so far, to feel their cheers through my being, to gain courage through their prompting and win and then see them cheering when I went to receive my award.

Even though I owe my allegiance to my present college, I still believe, 

“Once a Xavierite, always a Xavierite!”

The Youthfest Chronicles #2 – The Hullabaloo

It’s been about two weeks and a half that the invite for the youthfest reached our college. Since then it has been just noise and chaos in the institute, mixed with lots of excitement and tons of enthusiasm. All the professors and students alike have no time to eat or even rest, now that the youthfest is just three days away. Sometimes, things get so hectic that it feels as if our college was hosting the event. I dare not think what would be the case in that eventuality.

The college is participating in more than half of the events in the competition and that alone has sent hearts racing to give good performances and grab a number of prizes. Practice times running till late in the evenings, tired students sleeping in lectures, computers working overtime on music editing, logistics department running around for costumes and orders being placed for tea and snacks on the hour… This is the Youthfest.

This is the first time that the college is participating in so many events and so it becomes a matter of even greater importance that we perform well in our biggest youthfest participation of all time. Last time around we won in only one event and so it is highly imperative that we improve the performance of this college. Since this is a post-graduate institute, there are many previous rival contestants under one roof, many of whom will be most likely competing against their own Alma maters. It remains to be seen how they perform in that respect.

Since we have students from various fields and backgrounds, the youthfest has become a bonding catalyst where everyone, from whichever field they are, have a definite role to play in the triumph of the institute in this prestigious competition. It gladdens everyone’s hearts to see how one event can bring such camaraderie and healthy competition not only in one college but across all the educational institutes’ participation at this stage.

More on this story as it develops…

The Youthfest Chronicles #1 – The Notice

It’s that time of the year again when a multitude of college from all over the country get together to participate in what is possibly the biggest student competition in the country – The Youthfest. And this is also my excuse for not being regular to post on the blog recently.

The Youthfest is a series of competitive events much like the Olympics, but on a national and student level. Colleges from a majority of Universities send in their entries to participate in events based on art, theatre, literature, dance and music.

To participate at the national level stage though, the participants get screened about three times at different intermediate levels. Here are the levels:

Inter-College level

Inter-Zonal level

Zonal level

National level.

The first level events are hosted by a college in a city, the second level in another college wherefrom the university selects their team. The third level is hosted by a university in a university from any of the four zones of the country and the fourth level is hosted by any one of the eminent universities of the nation where the best competitors from each zone gear up for national glory.

My college received an invitation to this year’s Youthfest a week back, but the anticipation for the same was high long before that. The preparations in many colleges begin in July, though the first level competitions begin only in September. This is not only to gain the upper-hand over local competition but also a matter of pride for those institutes who advocate the all-round development of their students.

Rehearsals and practices have begun in almost all disciplines and we hope that this we can do well for our new institute. Last year this college won Gold in only one event, but this time, with the entrants in many fields, we are sure of defending our previous title as well as achieving even more of the same.