Thursday, August 5, 2010

Common Wealth Games

Well...well..Well..here we are after a long long time....I really really have a great reason to go be sarcastic. Its an axcellent (like count dracula would say) topic to write about. So today I write about the Amazing Common Wealth Games (henceforth referred to as ACWG). I will illustrate will examples on how out great netas and people involved in ACWG have interpreted the term"Common Wealth" literally


Illustration1:

Neta 1(eating cashew samosas and drinking high tea in the Marriot and rubbing his portly stomach): "Bhaisaab, aaj kal mehengaai ka zamaana bahut badh gaya hain, ghar mein sirf olive oil use kar rahe hai, 'extra virgin' ka toh poocho mat."

Neta 2 (more portly and rounder than his counterpart): "Haanji Bhaisaab, mein apni biwi ko apne chauthi meeting ki 10th anniversary pe kuch nahin khareed paya.Sirf ek aath dimond bracelet and ek Italy ka trip. Bahut gussa hui thi woh mujhpe, kya kare?"

Neta 1: "Arre, mein bhi yeh soch raha tha ki suddenly yaad aaya. Common Wealth Games, arre yaar, jab iska naam hi common wealth likha hai, toh hamaara hi hoga na..hum hi to "common man" hain, "Aam aadmi". Jab bhagavaan deta hai toh chappad phaad ke deta hai"

Neta 2 (Completely happy and contended at the idea):"Bhaisaab, isiliye toh mein appke party mein kaam karta hoon, kya intelligence hain"



Illustration 2:

Page 3 person airhead (dripping with jewellery and sipping an expensive champagne and looking depressed):"Dahlins', I cannot come to the F1 party in Monaco this year. We are cutting down expenses. My husband at the sports authority in Delhi says he cant afford the usual 12 holidays this year."

Page 3 person senior airhead (Equally dripping with diamonds but puzzled at the airhead's declaration):"But sweetums..is'nt he on the common wealth games construction committee?"

Page 3 person airhead:"Yes. He is..So..?"

Page 3 person senior airhead: "So, my dahlin', he can take you for 24 trips next year, not 12.., Its "common wealth" after all. This is the perfect time ot make money. God wants him to."

Page 3 person airhead (All happy and in tears):"Oh! Diddy poo..what would I do without you! i will walk to the temple at the end of my road barefoot today."



Illustration 3:

Discussion between two research officers in a reputed space development centre in the US of A

Researcher 1: "How can you look so relaxed?, We have no grants for our research project and our jobs are in serious trouble if we dont find some sponsor"
Researcher 2: "Hey, relax, I have a sponsor in mind. Government of India, Sports Authority"
Researcher 1: "Government of India????? What? How? Do they know??"
Researcher 2: "No, not yet, but should not be difficult. remember that we developed that treadmill which can be used in space and is anti-gravity, ABS and central locking with airbags?"
Researcher 1: "Yeah.Of course. They were so expensive to make. But what does that have to do with India and the Sports Authority?"
Researcher 2: "Elementary, my dear Watson, we are going to sell them to India for their commonwealth Games and make money."
Researcher 1: "Is'nt it better they get normal treadmills??? Why would they want ours.?"
Researcher 2: "because its Commonwealth games and they have the money to spend. Since its common wealth, we should also get some, should'nt we?"
Researcher 1(Looking relieved): "That's great. Phew. I feel better now. lets go have a beer. Its on me."



This is just a few illustrations which detail how our great netas have misinterpreted the meaning of "Commonwealth Games"..Some more to follow

Thursday, September 24, 2009

The REAL backward class - General Merit Category

Right..I think I have been very vocal about the whole caste system. I intensely resent the whole OBC category and reservations. It is extremely unfair and has been made without any concern for the rest of us 'cattle class'. It is basically been created by people who do not want to work hard for anything and will blatantly misuse the law for their own selfish purposes. Most of these law is not available to the people who desperately require it. Why I am so against this concept? Let me furnish a few examples to show the blatant misuse.

Disclaimer: I am against the whole concept of reservations on a caste basis. I am all for it if its based on economic background. So who avail it unnecessarily and unfairly automatically come under my wrath. It's not the people who I am angry at, it's the stupid law.

Class 10: Final Exam fees: Everyone in the GM category had to pay some 300 odd Rs towards the fees. BUT the OBC candidates had to pay Rs 10. Well, that's not what pissed me off, , what pissed me off was the people to whom it was applicable could afford far more than most people in our class could. They were very affluent, yet they chose to brandish their caste certificate and pay only Rs 10. Why? because they are cheap and selfish.

College admissions: After class 10 exams: Well, my sister got 91 % in her class 10 exams, she did not get into any of the lists put out by one of the most prestigious woman's college. She had to use the teachers quota to get in. Why? You need to go and take a look at the admission list to fully understand the discrimination. The first 20 names will be of GM category. All in percentages range from highest 97% to the least being 96.5%. Th next 20 names is for the OBC category, with the highest scorer being 65%. NOW tell me how do you feel, a person who probably does not deserve it, gets in the list purely on the merit of being an OBC candidate. I know people who fall in the GM category who are not doing good economically, this seat would have done them a world of good. But they are disadvantaged just because they are in GM

Medical seats: I know a friend, again a GM candidate who was studying for her MD. She choose one of the lesser known specializations just because the rest were too expensive and the competition for a merit seat is too intense. I think some 10% seats are for GM students across the nation, the rest are reserved and others are payment. Imagine lakhs of students taking that exams and only a few qualifying for it. No wonder institutes ask for impossible scores. When you are a GM student, you need to be either so intelligent that your IQ hits the stratosphere or so rich that World Bank borrows from you. It doesnt feel good when you score 98% in MD entrance exams and could not get through because an OBC candidate who has money and has scored 60% gets preference.

Banks and PSU's: Ask a banker in the GM category why he has not gotten promoted or has been transferred to a no name town in spite of their seniority and impeccable work record. 95% of the chances are that they would have been overlooked in favor of a colleague from an OBC quota. Powerful unions for the OBC and existing politics make it impossible for a GM banker to survive, unless he has powerful connections or is in the union. And most people in these quotas are not promoted on merit but mostly on caste hierarchy. It discouraging and demotivating.

There are many more examples and I can go on about it. GM candidates work hard to get where they are. Most of them are from middle class backgrounds and cannot afford to shell out vast quantities of money. Their parents do the best they can and help them get ahead in life, only to be met at each turn by the quota system.

The system is not just regressive, but an insult to India's intelligence. How can a country progress when the country's best minds are not given the opportunity. The law might have made sense at some point, but now it's just a ball and chain which is dragging down the people and the country along with it. This is the reason why most people under that category prefer to study abroad as they are given ample opportunities.

Is it a wonder when people think of getting an OBC certificate to make life simpler?

Monday, September 21, 2009

Photography

My sister, Meghna is a budding photographer. Well..you'd say, so many of them are these days..maybe..but I like her perspective on things. She makes you look at photos in a way you'd have probably not thought about. I love her photos, not just because they are my sister's, but also because it shows an amazing creative mind behind all the cartoonery.

Here are just a few some of her photos I love. For the rest visit here


Friday, September 11, 2009

An Award..

Yay!!...I won an Award..I would like to thank all the cartoons and Shruthi (she is a class of cartoon by herself) for making my blog worth reading. :) thanks guys. *Bow*


I would also like to donate this award to Meghna. Yes, irrelevant of what people think, she is human. Well, most of the times. (4 days in a month she turns into a slithering werewolf)



Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Things that bring happiness


OK..I am back..(trumpets and drum roll please). But today I am toning down my sarcastic self and writing sappy stuff. Yeah! yeah!...I am a woman and sometimes sappy stuff is good. Why do you think Brad Pitt sells so much, that's cos he makes women sappy. So there. Right! back to the post. I just wanted to write a few things that make me happy. Little things that bring joy and happiness and brighten a day and warm the heart

1: A late afternoon sunshine after a shower.
2: Smell of earth after rain.

3: The smell of a cake baking in the oven.
4: Dappled sunshine through the window on a lazy afternoon.
5: Smell of freshly brewed coffee.
6: The sound of breeze rustling through the trees.
7: An evening breeze while drinking a cup of coffee.
8: A cold icecream with hot chocolate sauce.
9: A butta/panipuri/samosa/bajji in the rain.
10: The sound of windchimes on a quiet day.
11: A hot shower on a cold day.
12: Snuggling.

13: A really good movie.

14: Early morning air.

15: Laughter in the morning. Makes your day so much better. Believe me.
16: A good joke. Laughing till tears pour down your eyes.
17: A good meal.

18: A good day at work. Yes. It definitely makes you feel good.
19: Sound of rain.
20: Chocolate. A good chocolate bar.


There are many more. But these are some that make most people happy. What's on your list?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

And the title is....


Ok..the results of the poll are in... and the wining title for the Cartoon is
Princess of Absurdity

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Music

A friend of mine, the infamous cartoon, Shruthi has another talent other than being a cartoon. She's an excellent singer. Here's a sneak preview of her heartbreakingly beautiful voice. With beautiful mixing from wiredbeats

http://www.wiredbeats.com/2009/08/18/puriya-dhanashree-by-shruthi-krishnamurthy/#more-311


Shruthi - Take a bow