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The senior management was regretful. The incident shouldn't have occurred. Lives were lost. But, the show had to go on. A handful of deaths didn't justify an additional safety budget. Or the ensuing cut in profits So, it was back to business as usual; the potentially fatal flaw un-rectified. After all, it's a capitalist world. All day long, through sun and rain, I man the signal. Often without a post, in the center of the road. Sometimes hapless, sometimes helpless. Swallowing dust, breathing in smoke, directing unruly motorists. And what does my city reward me with, at end of the day? Ruthless, biased criticism. With not a single thought spared.
I'll remember the late nights at office, when your jokes succeeded in keeping the work pressure at bay. I'll remember the lunches and dinners when we traded thoughts about each others' cultures. I'll remember the drives, the drops, the cars, the parking lots. I'll remember what we taught each other of our respective languages (“Ennadei” in particular). Above all, what you will always be remembered for, is the way you turned your predicament into a mission – that of giving hope to the countless others suffering from the same disease. You will forever be remembered for your fight against cancer, for the manner in which you took the bull by the horns. You will live forever in our memories for inspiring innumerable patients to stay alive and fight the dreaded disease. The tips, the wit, the advice, and most importantly, the fighting spirit, that you imparted through your blog – will, no doubt, give new life to some cancer patient one day. And through that new life, you shall live. Forever. In our memories and in our hearts. Lai Chin Lun, I am proud to have had a friend like you. May your soul Rest In Peace. ************************ My close friend, Lai, had been diagnosed with nose cancer last July. He refused to be bogged down by the situation, and started a blog (The Story of a Cancer Fighter) with details of his fight against the killer. His intention was to give hope and inspiration to other patients like himself, to prevent them from surrendering themselves to the disease. A year of fighting took its toll on him. He breathed his last yesterday. This post is an ode to everything Lai – his courage, his spirit and his attitude. I, Kiran, founder of the religion of Convertism. This is a brand new religion, and I think it has come about at just the right time. This country (in fact, the world), is in a grip of religious freedom-ness. So, I guess I can be assured that I will have the right to practice my religion freely, anywhere in the country. Convertism is very simple really. There are no holy books, no places of worship, no deity, no rituals, no guidelines, no God. There is only one simple principle and one simple goal of Convertism: “To convert every human being on Earth to the religion of Convertism” There. Isn't that great? Show me one other religion that can state its entire existence in a single sentence! And what's best – since most countries in the world have stated that they guarantee religious freedom, I can practice my religion without worry. Now, to find people from other religions so that I can start converting them … … Hey! What do you mean? Leaders of all major religions are opposing my move? But .. but .. this is my religion. This is all there is to Convertism. How can the world, a professed “religious-freedom-guarantor” one, deny me the space to propagate mine? What's that? My religion contradicts another? So, you mean, practising Convertism implicitly denies other people the freedom to practice their respective religions? Hmmm .. that's quite a paradox. Hold on! Are none of the existing major religions into conversions? Aren't they treading on each other's freedom? When the major religions have failed to compromise on some of their practices (if they violate another religion) for the sake of World peace, then why should I, the founder of the predominant religion of tomorrow, step back? This is getting really messy. If all major religions had more than sufficient followers, then the world should have made a conscious effort to minimize conversions in any form long ago. More importantly, the religious freedom guarantee should have come with a caveat – that the act does not violate any other religion in any manner. But, since there is no such explicit effort to bridge the abyss, I will go ahead preaching and converting. Come what may. In the past few months, we’ve been reading a lot about Kashmir and how the so-called draconian AFSPA is to blame for all of the valley’s troubles. We read about fresh reports of violence every day, more deaths every day. For the first time in decades, all of Kashmir was placed under curfew a few days back.
The Indian Army was caught in the line of fire. Everyone from separatists to the CM of J&K laid the blame squarely on the Indian Army’s shoulders. What everyone conveniently chose to ignore was the fact that the Army was not directly responsible for even a single death in Kashmir during the past few months. The bullets were all fired by J&K police or by the battalions of CRPF! M.J.Akbar's article in this Sunday’s ToI (reproduced on his blog - link here) helped in reinforcing my stand. Do read this article to get a crystal-clear context of the state in Kashmir. The cacophony against the Army is clearly a ploy to get the only force capable of holding the valley together, out of there; thus allowing Pak-controlled elements a free run. There are a few unanswered questions though:
This July, I had been on an almost heavenly journey to Ladakh [see the end of this post for details on the travelog]. Less than 2 weeks after I returned from there, tragedy struck this paradise. Cloudbursts and flash floods devastated the region, leading to massive losses of life and livelihood. As anybody who has visited Ladakh will tell you – it is impossible to get the experience out of your psyche. The massive scale of everything that makes up the terrain (mountains, lakes, valleys) which make you feel insignificant; the simplistic culture and lifestyle of the very affable populace; the feeling of being one with nature and being lost. That's the kind of emotional connect that you develop with this place. The natural calamity no doubt gave sleepless nights to whoever has visited Ladakh, myself included. I wanted to do something about it, but did not know in what way I could contribute. I kept asking myself hazaar questions. Should I donate? Should I volunteer? How? How much? The answer presented itself in the form of the “Glimpses From Ladakh” photo exhibition [link]. This is being organized by PhotograhpyOnTheMove and 1 Shanthi Road. The theme is simple – you submit snaps that you clicked of Ladakh, and they shortlist some of these photos. The short listed ones will be exhibited; and the proceeds from the exhibition will go towards rehabilitation work in Ladakh. I submitted 5 of the photos that I had clicked, and one of them has been shortlisted. The thumbnails of all the shortlisted snaps can be seen here. Mine is the 21st snap from top (it is also available at my Flickr photostream here ). The exhibition will be held at the design studio, 1 Shanthi Road in Bangalore. It will run from 17th to 26th September; 11 a.m to 8 p.m. Please do spread the word, especially to Bangalore-based people, to ensure that people attend in large numbers and make this event a success. Event Details What: Glimpses From Ladakh Photo Exhibition Where: 1, Shanthi Road [Address Details Link] When: 17th to 26th September More details: Facebook Page. Also, check the Facebook Event link for RSVP. ******************************** There are few other avenues to help/donate towards this cause. While looking for ways to do so, I came across the following:
******************************** Over the weeks since I returned from Ladakh, I have penned down the travelog on my travel blog . Here is the link to my picasa web album. I have recounted by experience over a 4-part series. Here is a snippet from my Part 1.
For the complete travelog, visit my travel blog. In particular, here is how the travelog has been split
Thursday, September 16, 2010
| Category:
donation,
exhibition,
floods,
ladakh,
Leh,
photography
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One comment
For once, it didn't have to wade through a sea of vehicles. For once, the little traffic that there was, made way. For once, there was no chaos at signals. And yet, by the time the ambulance reached the hospital, it was too late. Culprit: Way too many speed breakers, and the seriously impedimentary potholes. ************************ This Friday, on near-empty roads, I was driving to office. An ambulance rushed past me, but the poor fellow couldn't make much progress. I found myself almost on the tail of the flashing lights for the next 5 minutes. It was sad to see the vehicle slow down every 10 metres to negotiate speed-breakers or potholes. Who is to blame if a patient does not reach hospital in time in such cases? Do we give a thought to emergency situations when we design such grand Himalayan-esque speed breakers?
Monday, September 13, 2010
| Category:
ambulance,
emergency,
obstacle,
roadsense,
speed breaker
|
One comment
Dear Mr. Obama, Conventional wisdom seems to have been turned on its head. The (mad) dog that barks looks like it is about to bite … … its own self. But then, one does not expect a mad dog to know about symbiotic relationships that are vital for survival of both organisms involved, does one? ************************ Related Reading: Obama ups the ante on outsourcing (Article in ToI).
Friday, September 10, 2010
| Category:
business,
economy,
India,
Politics,
protectionism,
US
|
One comment
Check out this headline at ToI [link] which screams “Forces bigger killers than terrorists”. This is in reference to Kashmir valley. According to ToI, since five civilians fall prey to forces' bullets for every two that are slain by terrorists, that automatically makes the forces the bigger killers. Dear dimwits @ ToI, I wonder whether the following questions so much as even crossed your mind:
Of course, exploring non-lethal ways of controlling crowds is a step in the right direction. That still doesn't explain why ToI has to make this heading look more like Hurriyat propaganda than a news item. Any answers, “respected” ToI?
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
| Category:
army,
kashmir,
Media,
sensationalism,
terrorism
|
One comment
If you thought stoning of women was the worst social evil prevalent in Afghanistan, think again. If this article titled "Afghanistan's Dirty Little Secret" is to be believed [link], that country is probably the paedophile capital of the world. Add to it, the fact the the victims are mostly boys; and the fact that the older men flout their boys with pride. They even have a term for it – Bacha Baz which literally means “boy player”. The article also describes dance parties where boys are dressed up as girls and leered on by men probably twice their age. This reminds me of the closing chapters of “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. When I had read that book, I had thought that the author has depicted a one-off incident. Little did I know that he was trying to tell the world about the truth! The ending of the article is what makes me despair. As one boy, in tow of a man he called "my lord," told the Reuters reporter: "Once I grow up, I will be an owner, and I will have my own boys." Why can't the world spare its children all these forms of abuse? Why? ************************ Previous posts on this topic
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