The SPEAKER is not allowed to SPEAK !!!

Enough is just not enough, when it comes to Indian politicians and their far from gentlemanly behavior in the temple of our parliament. This is not the first of its kind.



1997, our own politicians, leaders gave a new meaning to ‘sharing the mic’. As millions saw in televised replays, legislators opposed to the Hindu nationalists staged a melee on the floor of the state assembly, throwing punches at political opponents, hurling chairs, ripping out microphones and throwing them at the podium. Several legislators were led away bleeding. The events were termed as simply ''a brutalization of democracy,''. These were the worst example yet of the growing violence in Indian politics as the speaker of the house watched helplessly.


This time, it was the Speaker himself at the receiving end of this goondaism. A day after unruly MLAs created ruckus in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, there was chaos in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday. In scenes similar to what happened in the assembly in 1997, MLAs threw paper balls at the Governor, stood on chairs and tables and shouted slogans. However, in AP, the minister just didn’t bulge from their location, stalling the entire proceeding; thereby forcing the speaker to call in marshal’s to take them out of house. Funny, because it took almost 7 marshal to lift each MLA. Guess, where your tax is going.


Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the chief architects of India's freedom and a moving force behind its Constitution, placed the office of the Speaker in India in the proper context when he said:


The Speaker represents the House. He represents the dignity of the House, the freedom of the House and because the House represents the nation, in a particular way, the Speaker becomes a symbol of nation's freedom and liberty. Therefore, it is right that, that should be an honored position, a free position and should be occupied always by men of outstanding ability and impartiality.


This would explain why this office still remains one of the most crucial ones in the life of every Lok Sabha.


Usually, a member belonging to the ruling party is elected the Speaker. A healthy convention, however, has evolved over the years whereby the ruling party nominates its candidate after informal consultations with the Leaders of other Parties and Groups in the House. This convention ensures that once elected, the Speaker enjoys the respect of all sections of the House.


However, when things get hotter, the politicians cry foul and give little respect to the house. Doesn’t this show a bad example of leadership. Of course yes. Let me tell you how.


Just like a speaker is elected by the house member’s, we elect our leaders to lead us. But when these leaders turn out to be no good, we go on strike and go rampaging like herds of elephants, burning everything on our way. Isn’t this the destruction of our own property? Of course, when the leader itself is showing us the way, then what can the people do, but follow the leader.


I hope our leaders stop all this non sense, behave sensibly and lead us by example. Unfortunately we have elected few groups of thugs. What could be done when all the candidates standing for election are thugs. All that can be done is elect the lesser thug and hope for the best. Well, better than not voting at all.


Anyway, I think violence and politics go hand in hand. I can recall my college day’s wherein there were violence during the college election and often, some or the other guy would find himself in hospital bed.


All, that I want to tell these politicians is that, your follower’s, and the younger generation is watching you. Please don’t set a bad example.


On the other hand, I see a major flaw in the way the speaker is elected. Article 93 of the Indian constitution talks about the Speaker of the Parliament. The office of the Speaker is one of the great responsibilities. The Speaker is the Chief Officer of the Lok Sabha, he presides over its sitting and controls its working. He upholds the dignity and privileges of the House. It is expected that once elected he must rise above party interests. This is necessary to maintain impartiality. The Constitution of India contains certain provisions for maintaining independence and impartiality of the Speaker. His salary is charged on the Consolidated Fund of India and is not subject to annual vote by Parliament. He cannot be removed from his office except by a resolution passed by a special majority.


But the high tradition of this office and the honor and dignity with which this office is looked upon in England has not been maintained in India. So, the question is, “Who rule’s the God?” However, this could be a vicious circle, leading to nowhere.


So what is needed, is the sense of respect for the house and the person addressing the house rather than the “who rule’s the ruler” philosophy.


Please for the sake of the young mind's.

"What they see is what you do. Lets behave before we speak"

MY NEED’s & My WANT’s !!

Well, I haven’t written a single post this year. Perhaps this year didn’t start on a good note. The bad luck and news which had haunted me all through the last few months of 2008 had continued to 2009. On a positive note, probably this is a sign of something good to come my way. So I am bent but not broken. Oh not yet. There were worse day’s.

Anyway, I was just getting all worked up because all that I touched or thought was turning to rusted metal, forget gold, silver and bronze. Well, most of these things were not actually in my control, so that added to my frustration. Also, we melancholy perfectionist idiots build very high standards for ourselves and would get very upset and troubled if we don’t achieve it. Troubled to an extent that you curse your life and make yourself feel like worth less. However that’s a strategy subconsciously adapted by us to get back and fight every time we fail. As I said, our style of fighting is to bend back to such an extent that you would fall flat on your face trying to take a jab at us.


I have a good/bad habit of maintaining a diary. I don’t update it every day. Just when I am bored and feel like I need to note down few important things that I come across. I do read it sometimes and reflect upon the incidents and try to laugh, learn or unlearn. It’s my way of connecting the dots looking backwards.


Few days ago, I opened this diary to read. Something interesting caught my eyes. I know, I had written this, but every time I read it feels like something new to me. Like I am reading it for the first time. Anyway, I don’t want to just paste whatever I had written on Jan 1 2009, but I will narrate the incident which had happened a day before New Year.


I was at my home town that day. It was my grandmother’s first death anniversary; therefore all my relatives had come down from various part of the country. My grandmother had 11 children ( entire cricket team without bench strength) therefore, when I say relatives, you might get a little idea about the numbers. I had made a family tree after returning from home town and the total comes up to 82.


So with all these people on board, you can imagine the state of house during the functions of any kind at my hometown. Though my granny’s house is huge, it seems to be small when all these people come together. Al l the younger cousin’s running around, smaller once screaming at the height of their voice with the vicious aim to bring down the roof, cousin’s of my age playing cricket, football whatever in the court yard, uncles sitting on the porch playing cards and warning us every minute about ball thrashing into one of their cars parked, aunties chatting in the hall, it looks just a little less than a railway stations and a little more than a fish market.


Well, I was tired of playing cricket and came into the hall and joined my aunts, to catch up with all the gossips going around the family and outside family. I don’t know if this sound’s girlish but I love to simply sit in a corner and listen to all the people just coming up such interesting topics. It just fascinates me. Surely it’s interesting as well. On the contrary my uncle’s are all serious talks and I feel lost because sometimes I feel that I got two worlds. The world inside me is very childish and it is like 10 years old and the world outside me is all serious running on 40 years old. So when I am with uncle’s I talk like 40 and when I am with aunts and cousins I talk like 10.


Therefore, I would rather sit next to some ladies, listen to them chatting rather than sit next to uncles and listen to how share market is falling, how it could be got back on track, when to start farming, my son/daughter is in US, he/she got a very good CET ranking and all the strategic gimmicks. Well I would have enjoyed it few years ago but now I know life a little bit better and I can learn all these things myself.


So, as I said, I was enjoying the discussion. My grandmother had 6 daughters. They were discussing about their days when they got married.


One of my aunt said, “On the day of Saku’s ( one of my aunt) wedding, she went straight to her father in law and poured the water on his feet to wash it (it’s a tradition wherein the bride washes her husband’s feet, however my aunt went straight to father in law to wash his feet instead of washing her husband’s feet). Someone pulled her and re directed her towards her husband.”


My eldest uncle had come home, scolded her for doing this.


I asked my aunt why she had done something like that.


She said, “I was ignorant. I hadn’t seen any wedding before. My wedding is the first wedding I had witnessed.”


I was surprised and a little shocked because today’s generation would attend at least a dozen wedding’s before their own. (and yet they wouldn’t know to which figure do they need to insert the ring. But that’s another story).


My aunt continued, “It was tough day’s. We didn’t have money. Having 2 square meals everyday was a big deal. Your grandmother worked very hard. Without any support from your grandfather, she had alone developed from almost zero assets to what you see today. So we had only two good dresses which could be worn on special occasions. So on a given day, only two of the six sister’s could go out for a wedding. Therefore, we took turns wearing the dress and attending any functions. I was unfortunate because I couldn’t attend any wedding before my wedding. Therefore, I didn’t know whose feet to wash on the day of wedding.”


Just then my teenage cousin comes running in complaining about his new jeans which is a little light colored and therefore he wants a new one.


I looked at my cousin and then I looked at my aunt’s. We all knew what was going on each other’s mind at that particular moment. Today’s generation has all the comforts and yet its complaining about things they don’t have.


I read this diary entry, and thought about myself. About what I had and what I don’t have. The truth is, what I have is more than what I don’t have. The year didn’t look that bad anymore. I had found the inspiration not from books, not from great leaders but from a small incident in my family.


In fact, I don’t have to look far away to find role models. My dearest uncle is my role model.(that’s another post). My family doesn’t stop inspiring me every time I am with them. I am sure most of you would relate to whatever I have said. Many of you have a great family. What else do we need?


I am thankful for having more than what I NEED.


I don’t crib much about what I WANT.

“When you put your NEED’s before your WANT’s, you will find peace.”

Do not Trample my DREAMZzzzz...

Do not trample on my dreams,
dreams are my life, makes me beam.




Think you understand me completely
just when you do,
I will change on you.




If you dislike change,
pick someone else strange




but if you like unexplored regions
unclimbed mountains
and future shrouded in mist and beckon,
and magic castles and unexplored treasures,
then don’t fear me.



what better way will you find,
to learn about life and me?




my way of fighting is not to fight;
it’s to bend so far backwards,
that you fall on your face.
You know I am not here to race.




Try to dominate me,
you'll discover you're empty-handed.




I will simply drift away, without a fuss.
Just like the sand from the folded palm.




Look at me.
I am the water without form,
Calm in the river and fiery in ocean storm.




I am all of your sweetest dreams,
and all of your worst nightmares.



Oh please,
Do not trample on my dreams,
dreams are my life, makes me beam.

-----RAJ

BAT MAN Inspires me!! N How ???

I know this sounds a little crazy, but there is some amount of truth in this craziness. Long ago, may be a year ago, I had come up with a post on how spider man inspires me. Today, at this time of terror and violence, it’s another super hero who inspires me. A super hero, THE DARK KNIGHT, BAT MAN.

26\11\2008. One of those days, which we don’t even wish to be one of those nightmares that spoils our sleep. However, reality is quite tough and hard. What happened on 26\11\2008 in Mumbai would be a single nightmare haunting many people who were directly and indirectly effected by this. It would remain etched in our memory as long as we live and may be after that.

Mumbai. A city I would hate to forget. My father stayed here until he retired from job. I spent my early childhood here. We stayed in the Mumbai chawl. Typical tenement was common Gallery,large 12-18' x 10' room, followed by smaller Kitchen with Bathroom(Mori) at the end with Tap for water.Common Toilets were norm.There was no provision for underground water tank and Water supplied by BMC did not reach overhead tanks due to lack of pressure,so storing water in big drums was necessity. Tenement were small so there was no space for residents.You use home to bath,eat food and sleep.Rest of the time you have to be out of the house.So groups were formed according to age and each group had its meeting place.During holidays and vacation half the day was spent in company of friends. With plenty of time on hands you indulge in games-cricket being favorite,but we played Kabbadi,lagori and Marbles.Carrom was very popular,and Table Tennis on small wooden bench.There was no TV, so Radio Ceylon with Binaca Geetmala was hot favorite.

Chawls are unique for Mumbai and are responsible for cosmopolitan ,liberal ,tolerant culture of Mumbai. Everyone took part in Festivals. I dont remember being asked not to play or not to mix with low caste people.We were aware of the caste but it had no place in our day to day life.This has given Mumbai its unique character.

Sadly, this is quietly deteriorating. Thanks to our own Sena’s and non-Sena’s. However, what happened on 26\11\2008 surely, tested this uniqueness of Mumbai, once again.

Operation Black tornado, Burning hotels, gun sounds, grenade blasts and scattered bodies. Over 188 dead, 293 injured, broken dreams and pieces of hearts all over. The aftermath of this incident was unusual. The patience of people has been tested and it has broken all the dam. Anger just rose like tsunami and two countries were on the verge of war. Frankly, when the first terrorist was captured, I told my friend, “gosh! Is it the beginning of 3rd world war?” I have no doubt in my mind that the 3rd world war will not be fought for land, oil or water. It will be against terrorists. Terrorism has evolved as the single most powerful entity threatening the human existence. If this war is not won, then each day ,we survive unhurt ,successfully till we fall on bed, would be termed as ‘a miracle’.

However, ‘WAR’, is not as easy as said. We know what happened to the most powerful country in the world when they went on war with terrorism and ended up invading lands with false intelligence reports of weapons of mass destructions. This led them to bankruptcy and created more enemies.

What we need to understand is that terrorism is not a country. You cant invade a country and win over terrorism. Terrorism is more of a theory. It’s everywhere. Declaring war on Pakistan would explode it, living us with an Afghanistan at our border, which we don’t want to have.

Infact that’s what the terrorist look for. A terrorist is a JOKER. Perhaps when you are angry, you fail to understand what it really means. Bruce Wayne( Batman) pushes the bad men. However, Alfred( his loyal butler) tells him exactly why he was wrong.

Bruce Wayne: Targeting me won't get their money back. I knew the mob wouldn't go down without a fight, but this is different. They crossed the line.


Alfred Pennyworth: You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them , you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn't fully understand.


Bruce Wayne: Criminals aren't complicated, Alfred. Just have to figure out what he's after.


Alfred Pennyworth: With respect, sir, perhaps this is a man that *you* don't fully understand.

Terrorists don’t want anything in return. They just want to instill the fear in us, that’s all they want. By pushing Pakistan to war, they would loose their focus on afganisthan and join hands with them to fight the war. This is worst. We cant let them off hook this easily.

——————————————————————————–

Alfred Pennyworth: A long time ago, I was in Burma, my friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones. But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So we went looking for the stones. But in six months, we never found anyone who traded with him. One day I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away.

Bruce Wayne: Then why steal them?


Alfred Pennyworth: Because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.


You can kill a terrorist by burning down a country, but we cant kill the terrorism because it’s a theory which would come up in another country, may be our own country. They don’t look for anything but fear in other’s eye and want the world to burn. We cant let that happen.



The Joker: [to Det. Stephens] Do you wanna know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the… little… emotions. In… you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?

We have seen bomb blasts in train and markets. None of these resembled what happened in Mumbai, wherein these terrorists went on firing spree on crowd in front of all the security. This shows that they have upgraded their techniques. They no more hide and attack. This makes things very serious. This shows how vulnerable, inadequate and pathetic our intelligence is.



——————————————————————————–

The Joker: The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules!


The Joker: See, I'm a man of simple tastes. I like dynamite… and gunpowder… and gasoline! Do you know what all of these things have in common? They're cheap!

Terrorists don’t have rules. Perhaps, this explains why our NSG took time to end the saga. We have rules. We just cant let the hostages die because of us just because we want to end it. This is why they terrorists have an edge over our police, army or NSG. We have rules, they don’t.

——————————————————————————–

The Joker: You'll see, I'll show you, that when the chips are down, these uh… civilized people, they'll eat each other. You see, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.

Perhaps, this is what the terrorism is all about. The just brought two nations on the verge of war and despair. They just wanted to show the world how desperate we could get when the chips are down. However, I am proud today, considering how the situation was handled. We didn’t consider all the knee jerk reactions and dealt with it pretty well. I know its too soon to say this. But by not giving into terrorists motive’s, we have begun well.

——————————————————————————–

Batman: Sometimes, truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.

Can our politicians take something out of this. People deserve something more than truth. It’s the faith in you politicians and cops that needs to be rewarded. Our intelligence have failed us badly.

——————————————————————————–

The Joker: You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength.

This is true with terrorism as well. You can threaten a person. You cant threaten the idea. You need to get it out of the roots.

——————————————————————————–

Harvey Dent: The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.

Perhaps people of this country should believe in this now, more than ever before. Because it’s the hope that keeps the candle of life burning all day and night.

——————————————————————————–

Batman: Then why do you want to kill me? The Joker: [laughs] I don't want to kill you! What would I do without you? Go back to ripping off mob dealers? No, no, NO! No. You… you… complete me.


Batman: You're garbage who kills for money. The Joker: Don't talk like one of them. You're not! Even if you'd like to be. To them, you're just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don't, they'll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.


Batman: Where's Dent? The Joker: You have all these rules, and you think they'll save you.

Terrorism will test us all time and again. However, we cannot allow it to win. When the chips are down, we need to make sure that we show our resilience and bounce back with our head held high.

——————————————————————————–

Bruce Wayne: People are dying, Alfred. What would you have me do?


Alfred Pennyworth: Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They'll hate you for it, but that's the point of Batman, he can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.

I know a lot of people think that enduring something is bad and cowardly act. No its not. We need to endure few things , to act at the right time in a right way. We cant go on war and put our freedom at stake by going on war with a country.

——————————————————————————–

[the Joker has rigged two ferries to explode, one filled with prison inmates, one with ordinary people, giving each ferry a detonator and telling them that one has to blow up the other, or he'll blow up both of them]


Tattooed Prisoner: You don't want to die, but you don't know how to take a life. Give it to me; these men would kill you, and take it anyway. Give it to me. You can tell 'em I took it by force. Give it to me, and I'll do what you shoulda did ten minutes ago. [Scared, the man hands over the detonator. The Tattooed Prisoner throws it out the window]

This again explains the difference between the Asian emerging super power and US. When US was attacked, they went on war, and almost went bankrupt creating more enemies and lot to think. However, we showed the world how we handle our 9/11. We cant afford to give up all that we have worked for. We cant give up what we have. Surely, we are afraid, but we cant give up to the terrorists motives.

——————————————————————————–

The Joker: [to Dent/Two-Face] Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it. You know, I just… do things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon's got plans. You know, they're schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I'm not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are. So, when I say… Ah! Come here.


[takes Dent's hand into his own] The Joker: When I say that you and your girlfriend was nothing personal, you know that I'm telling the truth. It's the schemers that put you where you are. You were a schemer, you had plans, and look where that got you.


[Dent tries to grab the Joker] The Joker: I just did what I do best. I took your little plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Hmmm? You know… You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go [makes air quotes]


The Joker: "according to plan". Even if the plan is horrifying! If tomorrow I tell the press that, like, a gang banger, will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds! [Joker hands Two-Face a gun and points it at himself] The Joker: Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair! [still holding the gun, Two-Face pauses and takes out his coin]


Two-Face: [showing the unscarred side] You live.


The Joker: Mm-hmm.


Two-Face: [flips, showing the scarred side] You die.


The Joker: Mmm, now we're talking.

Terrorism doesn’t have any plan. It’s a crazy freaking idea. The main aim is to create fear, uneasiness and make people fight among themselves. Some people give up and take up to terrorism listening to their fake sense of pride and power.

——————————————————————————–

Batman explains to Two-face why the Joker had lied to him.


Batman: [about the Joker] He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall.


Two-Face: [bitter] And he was right.

A terrorist will test every man and every country. We need to have faith in what we are and go on with our work. We cannot give up.

——————————————————————————–

Batman: [to the Joker] What were you trying to prove? That deep down, everyone is as ugly as you? You're alone!

The people in the ship decide against blowing up each other and thereby they let the joker know that they are united against him. We have to fight this terrorism together. We cant blow up each other and start another war simply because we have worked very hard till date to reach this place.

We need to be resilient and prove that terrorists are alone.

In fact, the Indian Muslim community rejected to bury these dead terrorists in their burial grounds. This shows how lonely the terrorist are.

——————————————————————————–

Batman: What did you do?


The Joker: I took Gotham's white knight, and brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. Y'see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little… push. [laughs]

We need to be very careful when the chips are down, because this is exactly when we are the most vulnerable and take worst decisions.

In the end batman saves the joker from falling.

The Joker: You just couldn't let me go could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever..


Batman: You'll be in a padded cell forever.

Good and bad will always go hand in hand. We cannot allow the terrorist to create a battle field where we fight against each other. We cant just kill someone just because they belong to a particular cast.

Perhaps, it is known that the muslim community in the J and K are tortured by few. They should understand that just because of the act of few, we cannot corrupt ourselves. We blame or kill the entire community. We should stop having misplaced sense of self-righteousness and stop playing God.

——————————————————————————–

In the end,


Batman asks Lt. to get the dog’s chase him and he run’s away.L


t. James Gordon's Son: But why he is he running?


Lt. James Gordon: Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.

Yes, the good ones will always be blamed. When we blame the cops, intelligence or for that matter any cast or creed we should be careful that we don’t target it against the entire community. There are good and bad people in all of us. Yes you be called coward if you don’t return a blow with blow. However, it’s important to understand that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I salute the martyr’s of 26\11. They are the real hero’s. The silent guardians, a watchful protector.

THE DARK KNIGHT.

I strum my guitar to the empty house… !!!

I strum my guitar to the empty house,

Is this a dream? It’s God who knows.

Beautiful women in gorgeous clothes,

Beside’s men in black coats and bows.

White church, sun glazing through blue windows,

My love will recite the wedding vows.

I strum my guitar to the empty house,

Is this a dream? It’s God who knows.

A silent wind and a sweet flower scent,

2 alter candles flames, dancing and bent.

The priest adjusts his clergy collar,

A cross and bible to honor.

I strum my guitar to the empty house,

Is this a dream? It’s God who knows.

The groom is handsome, blushing

Besides the best man, beaming

Here she comes, in white gown,

A bouquet of flower, and strange frown.

I strum my guitar to the empty house,

Is this a dream? It’s God who knows.

A wedding cake, beautiful ring,

A just married vehicle, are just things.

What’s important, is 2 hearts,

Lots of Love and open wings.

I strum my guitar to the empty house,

Is this a dream? It’s God who knows.

The priest, “speak now/forever hold your peace”

The time would just cease.

“I do” say’s the groom.

A tear rolls down the bride and silence in the room.

I strum my guitar to the empty house,

Is this a dream? It’s God who knows.

‘You may have forced me to marry you,

But it’s he who I love and wish to marry too.’

The hand pointed towards me,

My guitar fell dead on my knee.

Yet,

I strum my guitar to the empty house,

Is this a dream? It’s God who knows.

A heated argument and all went nuts.

The blood in groom’s hand and a cross pierced into my guts.

I lay on her lap, floating in the clouds,

My eyes wide shut, in the middle of the crowd.

‘”Promise me, Promise me you won’t leave me like this ”

A cold tear and a warm kiss.

“I will be here all the while,

Till you come and become mine”

Therefore,

I strum my guitar to the empty house

,My love will come to recite the wedding vows.

I strum my guitar to the empty house.

She will come, because it’s me who she loves.

--------- RAJ

RAJ, ROBERT, RANJHA & RAHIM

2000 men with torch on their way,

To burn the train, satisfy their thirst that day.

25 women, 14 children charred to death,

Looked like, "humanity" was just a myth.

What happened next proves my point,

yes we know it was a total disappoint.

Men killing men, women and children,

250 Hindus, 400 Muslims, 100 policemen.

 

Divide and rule was what they taught,

 

Our politicians learnt it by heart.

 

Bomb explosion is now a child’s play,

 

"End of humanity"; is that today?

Should everyone relearn this theory?

Hatred, vengeance will add up to the misery.

Let’s live in peace, united, without any blame games,

Raj, Robert, Ranjha and Rahim after all are just names.

-Jai Hindh

I AM BENCHED !!!!!!!!!!!

“I am benched”, screamed a friend of my friend as he entered my room. No, he wasn’t any happy about it. In fact, it looked like he would do anything to get out of this situation.

2 months ago, this guy was shouting and screaming at the top of his voice, announcing that he has got a job in MNC and his life is on track.


So now, everyone in the room, including me were wondering what had happened in these 2months. We all knew that he was undergoing a rigorous training program in his company. He used to come home all smiles and stories to share.


“So what, if you are benched?” I asked, little harshly.


“Do you know what it is to sit on bench in a software company? It’s a shame to be on bench. Nobody respects you. There is nothing to do. You just forward emails, read the same forwards ‘n’ number of times, sit in cafeteria, gossip and come home. And tell you what? We never knew when we would get the project. My life is done man. They screwed my life. Imagine what would happen to my career. I will not be able to move into another company if I stay on bench for long. My friends are already planning to move now.” With this he put his head down and his shoulders slouched.


His words took me back by few years. I was not the brightest student with high IQ, but that didn’t mean I never tried to be one. I passed engineering from a reputed institute with an average first class; the campus placement was therefore out of question. Life outside college campus wasn’t easy. I attended many interviews, cleared few but failed to make it into the company. Well, the story wasn’t much different with my friends either. We rented a house far away from the city to reduce cost. Daily commute to the city, changing crowded buses, walking long distances, to attend an interview and finally failing to make it through, was talking its toll on our health and mind. On the other hand, meeting our daily and monthly expenses was another challenge.


We decided that it was not going to work out this way. We tried to figure out why; we were failing to make use of opportunities. A day’s brain storming session made it very clear. We didn’t know what we needed; moreover we didn’t care to think about what our probable employers expected from us. Of course we all wanted an engineering job to suite our qualifications but we lacked the skill sets required to accomplish those jobs.


We studied the market and narrowed down to few main departments and skill sets which the companies were asking for, apart from the soft skills and an engineering degree.


Each one of us decided to select the skill set or the specialization which he thought, he was comfortable and which interested him. Therefore, we promised ourselves to dedicate the next few months to acquire these skill sets and with this newly acquired weapon we would attack the jobs again. Of course we had many questions like,”What if the market changed by the time we finished these specialization courses? And so on.” But we also decided to not to think about plan B.


4 months down the line, 2 of them topped the batch in their respective institutes and the companies had queued up to hire them. They never looked back after this.


Meanwhile I had taken up the job in a company with 6 employees. I would spend my time learning the language required to develop the companies’ software. But I didn’t feel like working for charity money. Therefore, I would ask my colleagues to give me some piece of work so that I could help them. I would ask them to review my work. I would develop prototype and present it to them. So the continuous pestering and perseverance paid off, and my colleagues felt more confident to provide me the work. Whenever there wasn’t any work for me, I would accompany my boss who was also the managing director of the company, to client locations. I would learn about the product and the presentation skills. Gradually my boss was confident to allot me some of his work, so one day he asked me to go and present the product to the who’s who of State family and health welfare committee. The experience and exposure I got in this company was immaculate. Sure, I had to quit due to health factor caused due to hours spent travelling between office and home, and many other reasons. However, I am very thankful to that company of few.


I would then work as a Microsoft technical support officer (TSO they call it), serving North America and Canada region, over 6 months. Of course, it was a change in the department, but it was also a temporary move to accomplish my plan. Then plan was to get enough of money to pay for the specialization course which my friends had done long back but I had to push it forwards due to several reasons. Little did I know that my job as TSO would educate me so much that latter on in my career, when I had an opportunity to work with clients at onsite for 2 months, I would surpass all the expectations.


After 7 months as TSO, I did get the specialization course in testing and I too topped my batch in this institute. They offered me an opportunity to work for an MNC on a contract basis, for few months. I grabbed it without a word.


Leaving all my friends, relatives behind, with whom I have shared my sorrow and happiness every moment of this journey, was a tough ask. But when life throws its curves at you, sometimes you got to take those curves on your face and convert it to a smile. New city, new climate, new language, new people, new company and the same old me, rather same young me. When you are too focused on your goals, you don’t watch or crib about the magnitude of challenges on your way. You just tend to rise above it. Perhaps that’s what happened to me. 8 months down the line, after a successful project, I would be offered an opportunity to be a permanent employee of the company, which I did grab with all my limbs. A year later I was appreciated for my work with a promotion. My joy’s had not limit then. All the things I had done to be here since 4 long years would flash in front of my eyes.


I am sure many can relate their story to mine and there are far more stories of individuals who have surpassed unimaginable challenges and reached the height of success, which makes my achievement a minute one. So, you must be wondering, what is the point in narrating this?


I am not here just because of me. There were lots of people to help me and push me to achieve. I keep them all close to my heart. But take my word on this point. Nobody in anyone’s life will come all the way to help you out in the corporate world. All of them have their own work and goals. However, if you are ready to walk half way to meet them and extend your hand, then you will find many who will reach for you and help you to attain your goals. So, instead of cribbing about not having any god father, let’s make an effort to walk half way and extend our hands.


When you, are on bench, stop complaining that you have no body to help you out and you are helpless in this situation. Let’s learn to ask our superiors what they want from us? How could you be helpful to them? Talk to them. Discuss about the next job which is in pipeline. Gain knowledge on how you could be helpful to do this job. It could be something like, getting trained in the tool that is required to accomplish the job. Learning to track defects, writing MOM’s. However, small it might look, it really matters. Learn from your superiors. Discuss about their experiences. Ask them how you could be helpful. This way you will send a strong message across. People will know that you are not here to take home charity money. Tell them that you are not here for that and you would instead like to earn it. This attitude has helped me. A famous Chinese proverb goes, “one who asks may be a fool for five minutes. He who doesn’t is a fool for a life time.”


Don’t worry too much about future. Many allow themselves to be driven into the negative mind frame like, “how is this going to help me to gain me more salary? How can I become a manager in very short time? Where can I cut corners to grow? How could writing MOM take me to manager’s chair? Why should I be doing this? Believe me; many founders of the successful companies today had once started their job by laying foundation stone and cementing their basic concepts.


I am a strong believer of the Steve Jobs theory (founder of Apple computers). You cannot connect the dots in your life looking forward. You can connect them looking backwards. When I was working at Microsoft as TSO, little did I know how it would mould me to take up the challenges I would face while communicating with my clients. I had the opportunity to work with my clients in their office at onsite for a little over 2 months. It was the most challenging assignment till date both technically and non technically. All the education and experience I received as TSO was very helpful to accomplish this project. I didn’t know then, how a job as TSO could help me to achieve my goals, but I did it with my heart without regret and learnt from it. So looking back I can connect the dots. Whatever, we do, let’s do it with positive mind frame. Let’s understand that one day we would look back with pride; for what we had done yesterday is the reason for our happiness today. Today is yours. Let’s work on it.


Many colleagues on bench complain about, not being respected by their team mates or superiors. Let us think on this. If I spend my time forwarding emails, chatting to my friends over phone morning till evening, gossiping in cafeteria at rush hour even though I am well aware of the fact that many are holding plates in their hands looking for a place to sit and have lunch, how would I gain any respect? No one, except for few of the fellow like thinkers who would pull you down by their sad story of salary, hikes, appraisals, to add up to your misery.


Let’s, think about it. We get paid for those 8hrs of dedicated, sincere work. We get paid because we add value to the market. Let’s, think about how we could add value to the company. This way one would be respected for his/her effort. Else, if we just come, warm up the seat, spend companies’ resource and go home complaining about food, salary, superiors, then doesn’t that mean, a street vendor adds more value to the market than us? If we are not on a project lets work on developing our skill sets. Everybody has a weakness. Let’s accept it. Let’s work on reducing them. You could learn few things on time management, client interfacing skills and so on. You could be a part of a committee within the organization. The idea is to add value to the team and thereby your life as well.


At the same time it is the responsibility of the superiors to give back what they have received when they were fresher’s. Helping him or her overcome the challenges. Make them comfortable with the corporate culture. Many of them come directly from college to corporate life. It’s difficult to make this transition, so the superiors could help them with the day to day work in office and guide them. Of course, you might complain about a lot of work. But think on these lines. What if your superior stop’s listening to you? How do you feel?


As Subroto Bagchi, co founder of mind tree had said in this book, “Go kiss the World”. The menial person is important. Trying to please your boss is not beneficial in long run. On the other hand if you are considerate towards your juniors who are below you, greet them with a pat, a smile or nice words, you will be remembered for a life time.


And to all the junior colleagues, I would like to add from the same book. “The power to receive is far more important than the power to give. The act of receiving is far more significant in the overall scheme of things. One has to be blessed to receive. A good example is a family. Imagine parents of four children who raise them in a very comparable manner; yet the four children may grow up to be very different people in their own lives. One may become successful and rich but insular, one poor but willing to help, another leads a life of principle and another develops a flexible moral code and blames environment. The input from the parents’ remain the same, the output can be so vastly different. In the corporate world, a mentor who looks into 2 members of the team might share the same guidelines, but one would go ahead to become very successful but the other leads his life concentrating on not so important things. The power is then not in giving, it is in the extended hand that receives. What matters is the capability to catalyze what you have received.


I looked at my angry friend and said, “Yes bro. I was on bench too. But was on my own. No pay, no guidelines, no help, running around from one gate to another. You have the privilege to take time to improve your shortcomings at the companies’ expense. Count your blessings. Go kiss the world”