Nishant's Blog
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
GRASS ALWAYS LOOKS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
CORRUPTION BEGET$ TERRORI$M
I don’t know who compiled this list and how much of it is actually true. But for my blog, it may be reasonable to assume 50% accuracy and probability level. The figures at the end of the list are `910,603,234,300,000 which roughly totals to US$20 trillion. That’s right 20 trillion US dollars. Just for simplicity purposes, I will explain the math here. Let us assume that 1 US dollar = ` 45 (Its ` 43.85 as of today). 1 million US dollars would be equal to ` 4.5 crores. Now, $1 billion (bn) = $1000 million. That sums up to, $1 bn = ` 4500 crore. Again, $1 trillion (tn) = $1000 billion. This again adds up to, $1 tn = ` 45 lakh crores. So, $20 tn comes out to be ` 900 lakh crores. With 50% probable level, this is 450 Lakh crores. Current Population of India, a little over 120 crores. That translates to ` 40,000 per citizen. Think of it as two months earnings of millions of Indians after hard work and uncertain future. And we are talking about scams known or reported. There are, I am sure, many more which never came out in public.
Had these dollars been used for the development of the country, just think how much employment would have been generated and to what extent poverty could have been curbed. The end result would have been probably a developed nation in India and many more people not being forced to resort to the life of crime or terrorism to earn a living.
How black money abets violence? Firstly, black money is generated through a route which is criminal by law and hence, thus violence is an embedded feature of it. The one who is generating black money is by nature a criminal and hence can transit easily to higher levels of crime, which he/she or those benefitting would probably do.
Ill gotten money has another route for violence creation. What does one do with the black money? All of this cannot be spent on Palaces, Luxury Yachts, Cars, and Jewelry etc. The money finds its way to the dirty routes of arms smuggling, drugs manufacturing and funding of terrorism.
Corruption creates islands of wealth and thus the gap in the social structures. This in itself is the cause of serious discontentment leading to violence in the society.
In spite of all this Jihad talk, I believe that main reason which drives a person to violence (read terrorism) is poverty. It is always easy to lure a person to do the dirty work who cannot provide a decent one time meal for himself/herself or their family. I had once read in newspaper that in Mumbai, all you have to do is shell out `5000 if you want somebody murdered. It is that EASY! Similarly, if you promise someone that you will take care of their family for the rest of their lives if you drive a plane into a building he/she is tempted even if means sacrificing their own miserable lives. Also, combine this monetary incentive with martyrdom and you have a terrorist in your hands.
The politicians, bureaucrats and the greedy that are part of this corruption are all directly responsible for the upheaval caused by terrorism in the world. Even the tax havens, who stash away all this black money safely in their banks, are equally to blame for this. Their own economy runs on our money which is hidden in their country by the corrupt because of the laws which safeguards it and protects them at the same time. In fact such places are as much part of terrorism as internationally declared Terrorists States. The moment these countries stopped providing protection to black money, the world scenario will change in no time. Most of illegal transactions including arms sale and smuggling will stop breaking terrorists backbone.
IT IS TIME THAT THESE COUNTRIES SHOULD REALIZE THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE CRIME IN THE WORLD AND SHAKES OFF THEIR OWN INTERNAL AND OUTWARD SHOW OF BEING GOOD AND RESPONSIBLE NATIONS.
However, at the end, I would like to say is no matter how imperfect and flawed the world we live in is, it is not a bad place. There is still lots of good and hope in this world. To end the blog, here’s a commercial from Coca Cola titled “Reason to Believe” which symbolizes hope and optimism.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
THE GIRL WITH THE PINK EARRING
Earrings are probably the last thing a boy would notice in a girl but somehow I ended up making an exception to this unsaid rule for the “Girl with the pink earring”.
It was a typical Monday at the office. I was still reeling from the after effects of indulging in partying and heavy drinking for last three consecutive nights. Last night had been the worst of all; me and my friends had started drinking at around midnight and drank till 5.30 in the morning. On top of that, I had reported to work at 9.30 in the morning with barely 3 hours of sleep and made sure to eat 2 disprins before stepping inside the office so as not to look too hung over. While on my way to office, I had decided to abstain from alcohol for some time but in my mind I knew that if someone asked me to join them for some drinks over the weekend I would in all probability oblige. Luckily the work load was less today and I could get away with a quick 2 minute nap every now and then by pretending to look at the computer screen reading something important.
However, my manager had no intention of letting my life become so painless and buzzed me on the office messenger. He wanted me to help some other team with their work as they were falling short of time and people. Instantly, my defense mechanism became active and I very subtly told my manager that I was already overloaded with work and also provided him with a list of things I was working on. Trying to sound somewhat supportive, I suggested him the name of a colleague who had some bandwidth available and who could help him on his request.
Just as I was wrapping up the discussion with my manager, my friends buzzed me for lunch. ‘It’s about time’ I thought. I was hoping that a good sumptuous meal can probably cure the hangover that still remained although it was no secret that our cafeteria served some of the most pathetic food that I had ever eaten in my life. Still, I got up from my seat and dragged my feet towards the cafeteria. As I was crossing the aisle to approach the cafeteria looking here and there, my eyes fixed on a girl chatting with someone. I could not see her face as she had her back facing towards me. From where I was standing, I could only see a pink color diamond earring dangling from her right ear. I had always liked dangling earrings over hoops or clip-on earrings on a female which is what probably caused me to take a notice of her earring. As I moved forward, the back of her body came into the full view and I noticed that she was wearing a pink salwar kameez. The kameez came down to the top of her knee and had some kind of flower embroidery done on it with white threads which looked extremely pretty. I somehow felt myself getting curious about her looks and for a moment thought of taking another way just to see her face. But then I saw my friends coming down the aisle and quickly discarded any such thoughts from my mind.
As I sat down for lunch, I found my thoughts going back to the girl with the pink earring. I kept trying to paint a face on her in my mind while having lunch at the same time. Halfway through my lunch, I saw her enter the cafeteria smiling and talking with the same person she was chatting with earlier. She was more beautiful then I had imagined her to be. I was immediately captivated by her smile and kept staring at it until I was shouted at by my friend for not paying attention to his distress story. However, I still kept taking occasional glances at her direction while trying to keep myself focused on the discussion happening at the table. The discussion at the lunch table mostly revolved around either abusing managers in hushed voices or pure gibberish and today was no exception. After taking her food, she and her friend sat two tables away from where we were seating. She was seating diagonally opposite to me and I could see her face clearly. I noticed that she was wearing a visitors badge which probably meant that she was here for an interview and the friend with whom she was having lunch with had had referred her for some opening in the organization. She was just starting her lunch while we were almost through with ours so it was useless to try and reduce my pace of eating just to spend more time looking at her. While we were getting up from our table, I deliberately chose to pass by her table to get a closer look at her face hoping that my friends did not take any notice of it.
Post lunch, we went about our daily routine of having tea at a shop outside our office gate. While we were paying the shopkeeper after finishing our tea, I saw her come out of the main gate. She must have called her driver in advance as he was already at the gate waiting for her holding the back door open. She quickly went inside and the driver shut the door. The driver wasted no time in hitting the accelerator once he was seated and within couple of seconds, her white Toyota went out of sight.
For the next three days, her face and smile kept wandering in and out of mind. Then on Friday I saw her again. While I was going out for Lunch with my friends, I saw her come in and proceed towards the lift lobby. I immediately made an excuse that I had my forgotten my mobile phone at the desk and will have to retrieve it before someone else pockets it. I ran towards the lift lobby and saw her standing there waiting for a lift to arrive. After a few minutes, a lift arrived and we both stepped inside it. Once inside, she pressed the button for 5th floor which ironically was the same floor where I also happened to sit. She was wearing western formals this time and the perfume she was wearing smelled heavenly. I thought of wishing her all the best as it was pretty evident from her visitors badge and the fact that she was wearing western formals on a Friday which happened to be casuals’ day that she was here for an interview but then decided otherwise. Within few seconds, 5th floor arrived and both of us stepped out of the elevator. I saw her open the front door which did not require any identification and approach the security desk behind it. She would probably wait there for a few minutes before someone came in and ushered her in to the conference room for the next round of interview. After that, I quickly ran downstairs using stairs and joined my friends. I had intentionally kept the mobile in my hand to show as if I had hurriedly picked it up from my desk and came down as soon as possible without bothering to keep it in the pocket.
Another week passed after that incident without any sign of her. ‘Maybe she did not clear the interview’ I said to myself. Slowly, I was trying to forget her as I had no hope of seeing her again. Besides, I had resigned from my job three weeks back and only four weeks remained on my stipulated notice period. ‘Who knows we might meet in the new organization I was going to join’ I thought with as much optimism as I could gather. A pat on the shoulder interrupted my thoughts and I turned around to see my manager standing with her. For a few seconds, I just remained seated with my mouth open and did not even bother to get up and greet my manager. As soon as I had regained my composure, I got up from my seat and greeted my manager with a “Hi” and looked at her direction. In reply he said, “Hi Nishant, I want you to meet your replacement …………. “
---------------X---------------
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Friends
Monday, February 8, 2010
Jo hota hai ache ke liye hota hai
Let me tell you what all happened with me in 2009 and then I will leave it for you to decide whether my year was good or bad. The year started with a 5% salary cut thanks to recession and the cloud of uncertainty over the job never drifted away from the skies above. My house owner robbed me of Rs. 10,000 over some false claims while returning the security deposit. Laptop got screwed up permanently, mobile also went defunct like always (nothing new about that I guess considering my history with electronic items). My weight touched an all-time high of 100 kgs at one point of time and come to think of it, I haven’t even reached 2nd half of the year yet. The tragic story continued in the latter half of 2009 with an incident that I cannot reveal publicly, but most of the people reading the blog would have an idea of what I am talking about. The incident took up most of the 2nd half of 2009 and believe me it was not easy being in my shoes then.
Now looking at the year 2009 from a completely different perspective. I was the only person from my joining batch who survived the layoffs that happened in the company in December 2008. While some of the colleagues and friends went into 2009 without jobs, I was let off with a mere 5% salary cut. Since, I had a job in hand I could digest the loss of Rs. 10,000 which my owner robbed me off. Plus, I saved some money by staying in a cheaper accommodation for a month to recover my loss. Thanks to downsizing by the company, I managed to land a couple of excellent projects which otherwise might not have come my way. These projects ultimately helped me secure a job with HP. As far as mobile is concerned, I managed to get a new one. The incident that happened in the latter half of 2009 also had its share of positives with biggest of all being me able to actively participate in my brother’s wedding from start to finish and assist my parents as well. I was finally able to meet and catch up with my relatives after god knows how many years. The proactiveness with which I looked for a change was also much higher than it would have been otherwise and it ultimately resulted in where I am today. Also, I am glad that the incident happened at the beginning of my professional career and not a later stage so that I could learn lessons from it now when I don’t have anyone depending on me. By the time 2009 ended, I had a new job offer in hand with a much better brand name and of course much better salary.
So, my 2009 was good or bad? Depends on how you look at it. While, it’s good to be optimistic a certain amount of pessimism is also necessary to be able to push your limits and drive yourself. It’s like the saying goes “Optimist invented the aero plane, pessimist invented the parachute”. Lots of things have happened in my life over the years that I wish shouldn’t have happened or happened other way round. Did I regret doing those things? Yes. Do I still regret doing those things? No. Life is too short to live with regrets. During all these happening in my life I never lost one thing and that was HOPE. For me, the words hope and optimism imply the same meaning. So for all of you reading this blog hope is not just a four letter word and “Jo hota hai ache ke liye hota hai”. The most important thing is to believe in yourself and never lose hope.
Well, that’s it for now. My next blog will most likely be titled “Envy” or “Grass always looks greener on the other side”. Keep tuning in and don’t forget to give your feedback.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
IT'S A START!!!
Hi People,
Welcome to my inaugural blog . The trigger behind this blog is certainly the recent attacks in Mumbai which have made we the Indians think from inner core . Now I don't plan to write a blog criticizing our government, Mumbai police, Politicians, Judicial system and so on. In fact I wish to focus on some of the positives that have come out of this attack in my opinion. I have titled this blog "Its a Start" based on the positive aspects that have come out of this attacks in my opinion and which I plan to highlight.
- The first point that came to my mind while thinking about the positives of this attack was that it will if not permanently, then at least temporarily stop the wave of regionalism which was being spread since last couple of months. The city and the country have given a befitting response to such moves by exhibiting and expressing the solidarity among all .
- Until Now, the people who died in these attacks were the ones who traveled in trains and buses and basically poor or middle class people. However, this attack has shown the more effluents that they too are vulnerable and not out of bound to the extent which they thought they were. In my opinion that is the reason why this time around there is more media coverage and campaigns on the attacks than any other previous attacks. The Who's who of the Mumbai is expressing its views on terrorism and vented their anger at the system. Unlike previous attacks when media used to cover it for a day or two and life went on. This time around even one week after the attacks the media coverage has not slowed down. Various Campaigns highlighting public’s anger and demanding answers from the government are still very much on. The common man is also angry and showing it. It’s an unfortunate positive but then its hard reality at the same time. With this outcome, I am sure the society at large will now move decisively together to tackle such issues at faster pace in future.
- These attacks also exposed the real face of the terrorists and terrorism which claims to advocate the cause of Islam and fellow muslims. A survivor of the attacks at Oberoi hotel told the news that the terrorists made reference to Babri Masjid and Godhra Masjid before going on a killing rampage. However it has come to light that out of the 58 citizens killed at CST Station 22 were muslims and a significant percentage of the injured were also muslims. This clearly shows that all this talk of doing it in the name of Islam and fellow muslims is crap. These terrorists are a bunch of Hypocrites whose motives are to disrupt the peace of the society, create unrest and spread hatred. However, this country has proven these anti social elements from time to time that it stands united and any means to create unrest and spread hatred will be met with failure.
- The last point in my list of positives is that finally government has waken up for the time being and taking fast steps to make country more safe.
Its a good start people but the real question that we need to ask ourselves is When does it all end? How many more have to die before words are converted into action?
The country is united for a cause. The momentum is there, the feeling is there, the anger is there. Lets all do what we can to prevent this momentum from dying down.
Thats it for my First Blog!! Awaiting your valuable comments.