Bhavana penned

1) Delusion that it creates: During my teens, I was very impressed by  movie DDLJ in which there were songs, dances, love, commitment, 'pyar kiya to darna kya' thing and 'lejayenge lejayenge dilwale dulhania lejaenge' thing and so on. I always had this question in my mind while watching movies- why should there be songs to exhibit human emotions? I too have mood swings and I too feel emotional, angry, happy and elated at times. But never had a song running in my mind (lyrics and music created then and there all by myself) with play back music (Even though I am a trained classical singer) . Over years I have felt and realized that songs in movies delude us from reality. I mean, I had nobody coming to me with a red rose, no never. But I was waiting for someone to take an initiative during my teens.  But no young man found me worth it, I suppose OR they were simply scared of me (since I kept a frowned face all the time) .  So whenever I watch movies thes...

I am not generalizing here, but I personally feel and have experienced that >most< European men are gentlemen than Indian men. They make way for me, they open the door for me. On streets, men in cars stop when I am crossing the road for me to pass.  These are very small things but still make such huge impact on human relations and our perception on other species . In India, most men in higher posi tions treat women like >things to be discarded< kind. (I wonder how these men behave in their personal lives) These kind of men have no respect for an individual. Even now Indian men treat women as an "item".  I feel very bad to be pointing out this that I have met a very few Indian men who are decent and gentlemanly!  Most Indian men I have met are Chauvinistic in their ways!   This  unfortunately  or fortunately do not get along with my nature since I am highly individualistic person. I do not know whether it is my bad luck that I have met more...

In a country where caste and class system has dominated for centuries and due to which only top crust of the society got the so called "education" and the rest of the society were restricted in obtaining education from the beginning the society has formed.  This society has being living like this for few centuries now by restricting the low castes from getting education and population of this castes/class have been higher or it seems so.  This seems to be the same even today in 21st century. I wonder why those so called low castes people did not do revolution against the so called upper castes people? No idea!!  When I mean by education I mean to get education by proper means and not by quota as it is today. So the problem according to me is two hold and on both sides. Most upper castes took advantage of lower castes people and those lower castes people were content to get treated like that or I have read that some were forced to be treated like this! Shame! ...

02-Nov-2011 We were watching a television program on Discovery Science called “weird or what?” This is the first time we watched this program and it looked interesting. It started with a man in America, in California who owns herd of cows and had realized that his “prized” cow was missing from the herd. He had become very anxious then and had started to look for her. Later he found the cow and to his horror, the cow was dead and not just that, it's reproductive organs were removed along with it's eyes, ears and tongue. He was shocked to see that there was no blood anywhere and the dead cow according to him looked like it was sucked out of it's blood. This man feels that this was an attack by Extra Terrestrial Aliens. Apparently there are people who studies the "Extra Terrestrial alien attacks on cows" and they have found similar attacks on several cows across world (in these attacks, these unfortunate cows were robbed of their reproductive organs and so on). B...

It is a noble cause by Mr. Advaniji to start rath yatra with a crown on his head to fight aginst corruption and to bring back black money from charming Swiss land's Banks. But why start from Bihar and why not from Karnataka where our dear old Yeddi has made his mark on corruption so much? I hope Advaniji is also carrying Bhagavad Gītā along with him (a translation in hindi if he does no undestand sanskrit, that is!). Who knows he might show his "vishwa roopa" to those "ill doers" and bring back their "senses" to their duties! But.. Advaniji said "I will point out the wrongs in my party too. My stress will be on the morality in politics and make people aware about the extent of corruption the country is involved in and how the common public is undergoing the trauma," 1) If he is travelling on rath, how can he make the above point or any point at all?  Is it some sort of immobile rath or something? (silly point :-) but valid question, i...

When I was in India waiting for my Czech VISA for almost 14 months (it should had been finished by 3 months maximum), I got so irritated that I had to raise my voice to that consulate lady in Mumbai over phone and what she said to me was "how dare you shout at a government employee!!” Now after Anna's movement, the way Congress is treating Team Anna (BJP would not had been any better if they were in power I would say) I do not blame the behavior of Today's Indian Middle class and their frustration on the political class. But no matter what, Jan Lok Pal bill solely will not eradicate corruption and what more it’s unconstitutional because a single unelected body cannot have a supreme power in a Democracy. But than corruption, I am more worried about the education, social issues, discrimination, caste systems and those implications of the future term on our society. All problems seems to be inter-connected somehow. Jan Lok Pal is sort of against capitalism (I would...

I have had heard a lot about Dracula novel and movie by Kiran (my husband). He loves classic novels and he is slowly introducing me to them. I should say I am enjoying reading the classic novels and the language the classic authors’ uses are unbeatable. The stories in classic novels revolve around usage of the language  by the authors and lots of descriptions are used in order for the reader to picture the weather, feel the love and lust, sweat with horror and to smell the sweet smell of the nature. A reader can imagine a lot and every time classic novels are re-read, the picture from the descriptions becomes clearer. After reading Harry Potter series, the story of Dracula to me is mediocre. But the way it is written is so different. The Author Bram Stoker uses a different and very effective method in this novel. He has written this novel as the collection of diaries and journals written by the characters. During 19 th century, then educated people used to write journals and d...

During these cynical days in India with scams, corruption and so on, I felt its good to look at the bright side of our country. Comparing India to all the big economies and big countries, ours is truly heterogeneous society. We have 1000’s of languages spoken and we are fairly tolerant to each other. All the other biggest developing countries (BRIC- Brazil, Russia, India and China) either have one language (Brazil and Russia) or maximum 2 languages (China). So we should be proud that we are fairly getting along well. We as an >independent republic< are a very young country and democratically strong. There are people who might not know any history of India and history of democratic rule and its consequences AND history of authoritarian rule and its consequences and there are many who might not understand the strength of democracy since we never studied it properly in our schools nor soceity gives any importance to history. Democracy can be understood when we read our history ...

Source:   http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/14002512.stm Petra Kvitova from Czech Republic is the new Women's single  Wimbledon champion for the year 2011! Congratulations Petra !! Czech Republic is such a small country, yet they are performing absolutely so very well in sports such as Tennis, Ice hockey, Women Basketball, Ice skating, Rowing, Athletics, Speed skating, cycling, skiing and many more and the players get such a lot of support from it’s people back home. …..And what we Indians do to our players, especially women players like Sania Mirza? Complain how “immorally” they dress while playing games. These people who just complain can’t even go and play tennis at Sania’s “poor performance level” too. It’s easy to comment sitting at our comfortable sofa at home isn’t it? Yes, this is bitter statement, but we Indians need to wake up and grow our minds and broaden it! It’s not what we wear, it’s what we do while wearing it. People can’t seriously e...

Is Corruption mostly a sociological problem? To me it is, let me explain why. There are: Huge scandals and scams impact our economy and hit revenues upside down, Petty Government corruption: If we consider the petty Government corruptions which are huge in numbers, and I think it is sociological problem. Here I am writing about the latter problem. Let us not consider those who take Petty Government bribes as criminals, but try to understand why do they do so? Does sociological study on this necessary for healthy growth of Indian society? Study the root cause to find healthy solutions for a healthy future India ? Example: This is just one small scenario: Imagine a clerk who is not even a degree holder. He gets very meager salary. He has a family, children and his parents to look after. Just imagine he is living in a city like Bangalore . How can he take care of his family? The answer to me is not very simple. We can see many problems in this family itself. 1)  ...

Food for thought! How many of you have read Indian census 2011 report already?? If not then grab your census data. The Indian Census is the most credible source of information on Demography (Population characterstics), Economic Activity, Literacy and Education, Housing & Household Amenities, Urbanisation, Fertility and Mortality, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Language, Religion, Migration, Disability and many other socio-cultural and demographic data since 1872. Census 2011 will be the 15th National Census of the Country. This is the only source of primary data in the village ,town and ward level, It provides valuable information for planning and formulation policies for Central and the State Governments and is widely used by National and International Agencies, Scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more. The Delimitation/reservation of Constituencies- Parliamentary/Assembly/Panchayats and other Local Bodies is also done on the basis of the demographic d...

The media is very much projecting the semi-finals match between India and Pakistan as a war by itself. The Kargil war can take a bow in front of this match. This media projection is surely is making the citizens of 2 countries very emotional and very „patriotic“ indeed! One of our good friend and I can call him as my mentor in Infosys had quoted the below on facebook: "A war tomorrow- India vs Pak. A world-cup cricket match in the capital of Punjab, watched by the Prime Ministers & some 1.35 billion folks. Hardly a battle of equals, as projected by media though. Pakistan's socio-economic fabric is in shambles. Check out this mullah court-martial on Pak TV, of an actress who appeared on Indian reality TV( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMnAmRa4NYw&feature=youtu.be )http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/29/no-one-bleeds-blue-or-green-we-all-bleed-red.html" My comments: It was very heart breaking .. The only difference in India is nobody dares to question about the w...

I have heard from many that our constitutional fathers had not foreseen the "intelligence" of Indians who can exploit the loop holes in it.   Examples: 1) Dowry cases. 2) Female Infanticide  But I think it that If we start to read book "India after Gandhi" by Ramachandra Guha (which gives the history after Indian Independence) we will see understand that this kind of rule breaking and exploitation of the loop holes are not only happening these days, it was happening even during and before Indian Independence. It’s what I call human nature. I strongly believe in "If you don’t know your history, it is bound to repeat". Especially in Indian society which is seriously confused about Indian Philosophy and talks about it as if they have digested every part of it and  at the same time is exploiting this fact. For ex: We say we Indians are very good hosts- this is a generalization. But do we invite a slum dweller and be good host for him or her? T...

I read this piece news on Indian Express and was shocked to know that Aishwarya Rai is to be honored at "World Kannada Conference" along with Narayan Murthy. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/aishwarya-rai-to-be-honoured-at-world-kannada-conference/758378/ It says "The objective of the Conference is to display the developments achieved by Karnataka in the field of Agriculture, Information Technology, Bio-Technology, Industry, Arts and other sectors, it said." The function would also honor those from Karnataka and other States who have achieved great heights in their respective field, it said- This statement I think does not make sense at all. It sounds like made up for the very moment to include her name.   The logic of this conference is all about kannada. What does it mean when they say "honor those from Karnataka and other States who have achieved great heights in their respective field"? ---Why should somebody from "Other" state who...

That’s what most of our Hindu conservative Indians ask to those who are fortunate enough to celebrate February 14th with their loved ones. The usual question is “Does Indian society needs Valentine culture??? If yes.. whyy???” -- I say “why not”??? To such people my questions are as follows: ‎1) Please define Valentine's day “Culture”. 2) Why don’t I hear any Indian >woman< asking this question, why are only men bothered about this. 3) Lastly please define Indian society. The so called Valentine day culture is only a >mild< copy of what India had in the 6th century AD... -Kama sutra. We were far more advanced than this. In India, in the antiquity, there was a tradition of adoring Kamadev, the lord of love; exemplificated by the erotic carvings in the Khajuraho Group of Monuments and by the writing of the Kama sutra treaty of lovemaking. This tradition was lost around the Middle Ages, when Kamadev was no longer celebrated, and public displays of sexual...

We in India are very keen on celebrating many Anniversaries such as Independence Day, Republic day and so on. But we are not trying to know the actual history behind these important days. During these days, you hear “patriotic” shouts and screams from “aam admi” but try asking one among them what the importance of Republic day is for instance, they just babble. On the other side, our education system is systematically and effectively stopping the students in knowing the history of our own country- the usual logic is: can our history provide us jobs? My answer is: you don’t have to study your history, if you know that’s enough. There is a saying “If you don’t know your history, it is bound to repeat”. So the only way to know our history and also letting our future generation know our history is by reading it and letting the children read them too- of course, those “busy” souls can read them in their free time. Since I strongly believe in “Practise before you preach”, I have s...

I and Kiran visited the Christmas market in the centre of Brno called Freedom Square (Namesti Svobody). I had to buy some gift as “Secret Santa” which was organized by my colleagues in the office. So what better place there could be to buy a gift for Christmas than a Christmas market? It was freezing -9 degrees outside and we met after work in the square. The smell of the market in that freezing temperature was very inviting indeed. There were smell of hot wine, burning wood to prepare snacks, sweets, sausages and etc. Children were all over the place shouting with excitement. It was a typical festival market scene. There was also this huge screen which was showing some local cartoons for the toddlers. We had our share of hot honey wine (yummy it was), potato pancakes and some sweets. And then my attention fell on the Christmas tree and all of a sudden a question popped into my head. “If Christianity was born in Jerusalem, a place where no coniferous trees grows anywhere nea...

2G Spectrum Scam: Barkhagate or SanghviGate issue is under a fire on some social communities like Twitter and Facebook. After reading conversations of the tapes (published by both Open Magazine and Outlook), I would like to quote an opinion by Salil Tripathi. " To state the obvious first: This is not Barkhagate or Sanghvigate, it is Rajagate, or Radiagate. Journalists who appear larger than life in their media profile play a small part here—as willing go-betweens, ferrying messages between politicians at Radia’s (and in effect her powerful corporate clients’) request. That isn’t illegal, nor is it necessarily corrupt. But it shows careless judgement and weakens the media’s credibility. " - Salil Tripathi  at ( http://www.livemint.com/2010/11/24211300/Over-the-thin-red-line.html ) I personally agree to what Salil has quoted above. I feel that nobody is talking about real issue here which is 2G Spectrum Scam itself! Anil Ambani was given the 2G spectru...

ನಾನು ತ್ರಿವೇಣಿಯವರ “ಮುಚ್ಚಿದ ಬಾಗಿಲು” ಎಂಬ ಕಾಬಂಬರಿಯನ್ನು ಓದುತ್ತಿರುವೆ. ಈ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಪಾತ್ರವಾಗಿರುವ ಒಬ್ಬ ಮನೊವೈದ್ಯರಬ್ಬರು ಒಂದು ಮಾತನ್ನು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ— “ನಮ್ಮ ಮನದ ಬಾಗಿಲು ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಮುಚ್ಚಿರುತ್ತದೆ, ಆದುದರಿಂದ ಹೊರಗಿನವರಿಗೆ ನಾವು ನಯವಾಗಿ, ನಾಗರೀಕರಾಗಿ ಕಾಣುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಸಭ್ಯತೆ ಇದ್ದರೂ ನಾಲಿಗೆ ಸಭ್ಯತನದ ಮಾತುಗಳನ್ನಾಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಮುಚ್ಚಿದ ಬಾಗಿಲು ತೆರೆದುಕೊಂಡರೆ? ಆಗ ಮಾನಸ್ಸಿನ ಹುಳುಕು, ಅಸಭ್ಯತನ, ಕೊಳೆ ಹೊರಗಿನವರಿಗೆ ಗೋಚರವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಒಂದು ವಿಧದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮಗಿಂತಲೂ ಮಾನಸಿಕ ರೋಗಿಗಳಿಂದ ನರಳುವವರೇ ನಿಷ್ಕಪಟಿಗಳು. ನಾವು ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಡುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಅವರು ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಬಂದುದನ್ನು ಬಾಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಡಿ ತೋರಿಸಿ “ಹುಚ್ಚರು” ಎಂದೆನಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆ.” ನನಗೆ ಈ ಮಾತು ಬಹಳ ನಿಜವೆನಿಸಿತು. ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ನೋವುಗಳು ವಿಧವಿಧವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಇವಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣಾಗಳೂ ಅನೇಕ. ಕೆಲವರು ತಮ್ಮ ನೋವನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿರದವರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಮನ್ನಸ್ಸಿನ ಭಾರವನ್ನು ಕಡಿಮೆಗೊಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ನೋವುಗಳನ್ನೂ ಹಾಗು ಭಾರವನ್ನೂ ಕಡಿಮೆಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡವರು ಇಂಥಹ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಗೆ ಇಳಿಯುವುದು ಬಹಳ ಕಡಿಮೆ. ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ನೋವನ್ನು ಆಪ್ತರ ಮುಂದಿಟ್ಟಾಗ ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ, ಇಂಥ ನೋವಿಗೆ ಪರಿಹಾರವೂ ಸಿಗಬಹುದು. ಇನ್ನು ಕೆಲವರು ಅವರ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ನೋವುಗಳನ್ನು ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳದೇ ತಮ್ಮೊಳಗೇ ಅನುಭವಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ನನ್ನ ...

In India, ask any student what career they want to choose? An expected answer is an Engineer or a Doctor or a Lawyer or to study Management or recent trend which is Commerce (F & A). If majority of the students wants to study only one among these, then who is going to study life sciences, literature, arts, translation, Social sciences or Teaching(as teachers) or sports? The answer is-- those who have got lower marks in their secondary schools (I am not degrading such students because there are several reasons for them to score lower marks and scoring lower marks need not necessarily mean that a student is not worthy of anything at all, it is just our education system which makes sure that a student who has no good marks to a financially struggling parents will be doomed!!) The schooling system and society has very successfully created an environment which is -- a student with higher marks >have< to select the “elite professional” studies only, if not then the studen...