Quo Vadis?

The IPL6 has been better I suppose simply by counting the number of nails I must have lost thanks to the last over heroics of the Chennai Super Kings. And there have been some performances that have ensured that mediocrity and excellence were adequately represented along with the average performances in between. After the CSK I am partial to the Royals from Rajasthan led by Rahul Dravid. This year they are leading the fair play award (just ahead of CSK) and have played quite well, especially in their desert fortress. I am hoping that they will make the playoffs along with the other surprise package the Sunrisers who have fought gamely with a decent side. I would be happy if they also do make it at the expense of the KKR who are busy shooting themselves in the foot constantly this year. The toss off should be between RCB & MI who should both qualify unless RR or SRH will otherwise. What should be a pleasant viewing exercise is getting disturbed by the attack on our aura...

You cannot help but get disturbed at the advertisements that are being made these days. A list of the trashiest advertisements on TV will probably become a serial post so I will take 5 ads that make me very emotional and one final bonus that is a classic. The first is a stereotype. In this case a stereotype of the dumb blonde act.  Aamir Khan does a drag act and the lady of the house is oblivious to it all. Either Godrej has some bad media planners or they expect that the viewers are idiots, this series of ads stink. And women will decide on buying your products Godrej, this is a sheer disservice to them.   The next is a stereotype that dates back to the classic Hindi movie Padosan, which was a remake of a Tamizh classic.  If Voltas thinks that South Indians cannot speak Hindi they are still living in a fool’s paradise, keep your products to yourself. And Voltas even if you are from the Tata family, you have lost one prospective customer. I am at a los...

  How many of us are qualified for the job we do? Surprisingly many of us end up doing jobs that we did not study for and this makes you wonder why we studied those courses. I did Computer Science for my graduation and followed it up with a MBA. To increase the employment options most management courses offer dual and even triple specializations for those willing. I opted for Systems and Marketing as it was a lighter paper. I got placed on campus in a Non Banking Finance Company to sell loans. More than a decade later I am in another industry where again my college degree contributes very little to my daily job. I am in the business of inter personal relationships which requires 90% of soft skills like etiquette, grooming, language, tone etc take precedence over other things. And most of management is simple common sense. I chose management because I did not find computers very exciting during my course and thought that management may be more interesting and it was...

I remember two subjects that nobody cared for much in school. Though your opinions may differ and may even consider maths or science as suitable options; I am only referring to Catechism / Moral Science and History & Civics. When I see the state of the nation around me I guess this lack of interest or importance has affected us very badly. Let us examine each subject starting with Catechism or Moral Science. Having studied in a missionary school Catechism was always the first subject of the day and it aids character building. Moral Science for the non Catholics also attempted the same but somewhere character lost out to scores and people just ignored the subject. The shocking rape crimes that have stunned the nation shows moral deficiency and morals are inculcated in the childhood. I think it is a pressing need to ensure that moral science gets elevated to a major paper right through school and even in college. Surely it will make a change in character building? The n...

I have been pleasantly surprised by PDAs on the roads of namma Chennai recently. For the uninitiated, the PDAs under discussion are not the gadgets that disappeared with the advent of the smart phones like the pagers (remember them) but Public Display of Affection. These will be the type that would set off the moral police into a tizzy. For further understanding you can watch this . One interesting addition to the usual boy & girl combination that I noticed was a two wheeler. In one instance a girl gave a big hug to a boy on the bike on the road, in another a girl riding a scooter turned back, kissed the boy behind and drove on without pausing a moment. I watched with amusement that girls are taking the initiative even if it has to be on the road. Genuine acts of affection should not raise eyebrows or stir up the moral brigades even if they are public but when they go overboard it will be better to get a room or at least a car. ; )       ...

  My last post was on the death penalty and I realized that I ended up on the wrong side of the spectrum I wanted to discuss. However the comments from the readers opened my perspective and I realized that though not intended to speak for the family of the accused they also leave behind at times a destitute legacy. The comments from my readers made me think further and wonder if justice is indeed retribution to the family of the victims. Those accused of violent crime have broken families, orphaned children, widowed brides and whether they face the gallows or not, the future sufferings of the families of the victims will remain unmitigated. Of what use is this sentence to an orphaned child? Will justice care for him / her? Those who vehemently support for the lives of the accused can spend some time to mitigate the suffering of the victims. An eye for an eye does not work anymore but it makes you wonder if this is the reason for crime to go about unchecked. Is justic...

The recent debates and activism for and against the death penalty made me think of another aspect of the death penalty that somehow does not figure in the mind space of these activists. Most of those facing the death penalty seem to be convicted of murder and these days death is being handed out to the “rarest of the rare” cases and it makes you wonder if a killing of another person(s) is an everyday occurrence. And what merits certain murders to be termed thus? Death is inevitable and everyone is mortal. What is uncertain is the time of death. Working in the life assurance industry I am an evangelist for protection, protection of the financial status of the surviving family of a deceased. Life assurance is simply a step in that endeavour. Few people plan for their death and fewer plan for the social security of their loved ones in their absence. The abysmal insurance penetration of our country is a testament to this. With this back ground I wonder about the plight of t...

  A bomb blast in Boston sent my time line on Twitter into frenzied activity. The media fell over itself and the world leaders rose together to condemn the outrage. I am with the outrage, this was not on. But I am also with the other incidents which passed by as a statistic in some death register. Bomb blasts, mob violence, traffic murders like the one in Jaipur and many more did not evoke much reaction. It is difficult to understand why an American and now a Chinese life is worth more than that of others. These days it is quite common to see many angels on mercy speeding on the road with the lights flashing and the siren blaring. I am talking about the brave heart ambulance drivers who put their lives at risk to reach patients to the hospitals at the earliest. They are indeed angels of mercy and nowadays it is heartening to see that the average citizen is letting the ambulances pass on and unwittingly may have saved lives. If only someone had called an ambulance on th...

(Picture courtesy Google Images) This is another CBC inspired post actually a part of the CBC called the Chennai Bloggers for Social Action (CBSA) running a contest to spread awareness on child sex abuse (CSA). I am not a fan of writing for contests but this seemed a good cause so here are my thoughts on this topic that is often swept under the carpet. The best way to avoid CSA is to minimize or remove the opportunities for potential abusers and here are a few opportunities I have observed that are common: 1)    “Baby, give this uncle / aunt a kiss”: I ask why the baby should kiss anyone. Especially if they are not family. Do grown up children kiss every one? If so why must little kids? At a very tender and impressionable age this behaviour is plain silly and potentially dangerous. The child may not be able to discern between an angel and a devil. 2)    Unwarranted touch: at a very young age children must be sensitized to an unwelcome t...

Peace be with you... A beautiful song that is a part of the carol singers’ ensemble but it can be used any time of the year, by everyone.   Peace begins from inside and then spreads everywhere.   The sign of peace should come out from the confines of churches to the roads where road rage is becoming very common and people are even being killed because of rage. “Let there be peace on earth” is being used by the Chennai Traffic police for a campaign that asks people to spread peace by not honking. Yes you read that right. Let there be peace on earth so please stop using your horn.Road rage, indiscipline and impatience are making motorists abuse their horns these days. A horn is used to warn others of the oncoming vehicle and is required especially to ward of jay walkers or when there is a curve on the road but why would anyone want to use the horn when the traffic is at a standstill?  In a city where traffic jams are common and many of thes...