The mess called Indian Politics…

Deal or No Deal? It is a question chewing up the minds of millions of people across the country since the past few months, and with the current scenario, the situation has intensified even more. With Left withdrawing its support from the UPA, the entire political situation is on the verge of a breakthrough.

It all started when SP, after suffering humiliation at the hands of Congress a few years ago, suddenly made up the mind of backing the UPA. God only knows, apart from the people involved, what price would have been asked for such a favor!

And now, it has become nothing more than a number game. With 261 MPs backing the government and 259 opposing it, the benchmark of 271 will be decided by 22 odd MPs, with whom, ‘negotiations’ are being carried. So the fate of the government and of the deal lies in the hands of 4 small parties and 4 independent MPs!

The interesting thing is the nature of the negotiations. MPs which were never considered important are being given constituencies and promises of seats in the parliament. It is as if people are trying to buy people! Think of the time when similar thing happened centuries ago with white people buying the black people for doing their petty work. The only difference being the work done might not be that petty this time.

The most intriguing thing, though, is that the MPs who have been imprisoned for years for committing criminal offences are being released on bail to support the government, or otherwise. Besides, with some Muslim MPs backing the government, the argument of the deal being an anti-muslim affair still hangs in the middle.

Deal or whatever the reason may be, it is certainly proving beneficial for the small parties! And with the deadline for proving majority in the Parliament coming closer, it is all going to be more and more interesting.

What’s in store for the people of India as far as this political situation is concerned will become clear in a few days. Till then, lets just say we are living in a time when there is a mess called the Indian Politics!

PUC – Pest Under Control?!

Okay, I just spent two of the most smelly days of my life!

Day One: One half of the house was covered with white flowing waterlike liquid.

Day Two: Same on the other half.

Apparently it was a mixture of some pest killing chemicals with names of Dursban and Novan.

But its not just the smell that is intriguing; it’s the condition in which we lived in the house for those two days. All the wooden almirahs had to be emptied for pest controlling; that means whole lot of papers, door knobs and stoppers, bone chinas, even cisterns that you’ve never seen and probably will never use for the next ten years; come out from those almirahs and make there place on the beds. That also means a million clothing items which will, if lucky, be worn by our grandchildren, also come out and make our house theirs!

The good part, though, was sleeping on the floor like old times!

Okay, jokes apart, it really was an eye-opening experience, at least for me! Pests, especially, Termites (primarily known as Deemak), are so small things that we often ignore them and their effects on our woodwork. The house temple and the woodwork of the kitchen were so badly affected that the entire wooden blocks had to be thrown away and replaced. Similar was the scenario with the door and window moldings. And with the rising cost of wood and moldings, it reduced more than 5000 bucks from our bank account for the wooden things to be replaced. Add a 2000 more for the person who took the responsibility of killing the pests and you’ll get the estimate of how much ‘late application’ of the pest control chemicals cost. Man, how much money could have been saved if this same thing was done some time back! And the kind man was saying a bucket full of termite that he saw in our house was nothing compared to what he has seen in his long career of 25 years!

Termites, which are not bigger than ants, are those small things in our house that we always neglect but which are eating away our precious woodwork as we speak. Nobody gives a damn about them which is the reason they have to change their wooden almirahs, wooden moldings, sometime the entire doors and windows.

So don’t take it lightly, get your house pest controlled and enjoy the mess that your house becomes!

And the Winner Is…. Roger Nadal?!!

And the winner is... Roger Federer

And the winner is… Rafal Nadal

And the winner is… Roger Federer

And the winner is… Rafal Nadal

Is it just me thinking or Tennis has really become a two-man show? With four tournaments (Australian Open, US Open, French Open and The Wimbledon) taking place each year, it is the 5th year in a row with only two prominent names in Tennis – Roger Federer and Rafal Nadal. Every second tournament takes place and you see these two Tennis giants meeting once again in the finals. And with Federer 26 and Nadal 22, experts say this rivalry has only begun!

But the real question, I guess, is why Tennis has become a two-man show? Or, putting a little more perspective into the matter, has it always been like that?

Going back to the 70’s, there were great names like Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendi, then came rivalries of Boris Becker and Pete Sampras and of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi in the 90’s. And now in the 2000’s, its Roger Federer and Rafal Nadal.

More than 30 years down the line, 4 big tournaments each year, and you won’t find more than 15 prominent names in Men’s Singles. Is something wrong in the world of Tennis?

128 players participated in Men’s Singles in Wimbledon this year. All those Roger Federer played with before the final lost to him in straight sets. What’s so extraordinary in his playing style that only one man has the capability to match him? And what’s so extraordinary in that man’s playing style that he takes on things in a similar fashion on the clay?

There are names like Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and likes, but all fail in front of them. And that too year and year repeatedly.

Aren’t people fit enough to become good tennis players? Or aren’t there good coaches available to teach others to play wonderful Tennis like these two? What’s so good in their technique that no one can match them?

Any comments?...

Marks or very good marks?

‘Study now and you will get to a good college and you will spend a happy life’, that’s what she says to her son. But books do not interest him. He is the toughest in his class though!

“Aunty, have you ever thought he could be the next Dara Singh?!” And she says, “What, have you gone crazy!! My son, a Dara Singh! He will study hard and become a Doctor! I will make sure he studies hard.”

But he never gets above 70% in class. What to do now... the mother is stressed more than the son.

At least this is the situation in more than 60% of Indian middle class households. Are the parents expecting too much from their children? Is forcing a child of 70% to study will really make him a 90% something? No.

At least that’s what ‘Aamir Khan’ claims by the bringing ‘Taare Zameen Par’ to the society. The whole movie has been shot to convey a simple message, ‘Every child can not be a 90%ier; however, EVERY CHILD IS SPECIAL’. Every child has some or the other ‘hidden capability’ and the society, the school and most importantly, the parents, does not even allow that ‘hidden capability’ to come out.

So, apart from making the child study, is it not a nice idea to make him/her experiment with different things, different fields like music, arts, dance, singing, outdoor games, indoor games and then let the child decide what he likes the most and what he dislikes the most.

I guess the real question is why can’t our children become the next Vishwanathan Anand or the next Roger Federer or the next Joe Satriani or the next A R Rehman? Why can’t our children become the next Hrithik Roshan or even the next Bill Gates?

In a world where one can exceed in a million different fields, why is the Indian Society still inclined towards studies? Why we always want our children to be Engineers or Doctors and never Dara Singhs?!

Besides, what are the chances of a 70 or even 80% student going to a ‘good’ college or university where even 90%age students are trying hard for admissions? Isn’t it better to have an area where the child can, with practice and hard work, become a veteran. Isn’t it better to have an area where, even if the child did not succeed in studies, can work hard into and start a career int?

Why Not?