A bunch of hooligans chanting ‘Jai Maharashtra’ enter the Thane Railway Station in Mumbai and thirteen examination centres to rough up the students come to appear for the railway recruitment board exams. The gundas in reference are actually members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the victims are people from North India. And guess what? Nothing is done about it. I wonder why………

Let’s hear what the play actors say in this grotesque display of violence and insanity. I have taken the liberty of voicing North Indians who ufortunately are left with no option but flee for their lives.

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There is big blooper in store for Indians this festive season. A time just reserved for shopping because of the long tradition of free gifts and special offers may just get a break thanks to the dwindling value of the rupee (and the cartoon you see above may just be a part of history).

People especially waiting for the Diwali season to buy expensive appliance and household goods are very disappointed to not find the usual razmatazz with the products. And it’s not just small brands alone. Big players like LG and Samsung are also willing to hold the flow of complimentary presents and discounts.

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Probably the only scene with sense in Salman Khan’s latest film ‘Hello’ got snipped at the hands of, may I say, our Stone Age-d Censor Board. The scene in reference is the one where actor Gul Panag asks co-star Sharman Joshi whether he is carrying a condom before they have sex.

As absurd it may sound, but the Censor actually committed the crime of stupidity. When on one hand, we get to see soooooooooo many ads on radio and TV urging us to talk about sex freely to avoid health hazards and unplanned pregnancies. After all, if the public outlook does not change we might soon be the country with largest AIDS cases in the world and of course, largest population too. Then recently, weren’t we hearing all those ‘condom, condom’ ringtones?

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I am worried about terrorism in India. Not just Islamic, which without any questions and doubts does get addressed and taken adequate action against, but also Hindu terrorism, which always escapes from the grip of authorities for lack of hard evidence. Honestly, if nothing is done about the situation in Orissa we shall probably have yet another terrorist group, but this time participated by Christians.

The ‘gorious’ work of the Bajrang Dal in Orissa is not a figment of anybody’s imagination. Innocent people are murdered in cold-blood, burnt alive, nuns raped…do we really need more facts to take a call against the religious group? PM Manmohan Singh wants to ban the group immediately but defiance within his party is problematic because they fear the BJP may reap dividends out of it. So, in the political plotting nobody really suffers but people like the Armyman who fought for our country in the Indo-Pak and Kargil War; his paralysed brother gets torched by fanatics chanting “Jai Hanuman” in Orissa.

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Apart from the one Ashes Series in 2005, it is hard to really believe that in the last couple of decades The Ashes have been the real pinnacle of Test Cricket. It was the best period in the cricketing journey of Freddie Flintoff and a shaky Australian team that resulted in an Ashes Series that was worth remembering. Otherwise, the contests between India and Australia have pretty much occupied the slot of being the best cricketing contests with pure adrenaline, great skill level and some controversies put together. There are many reasons why the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has grown into being arguably the definitive Test Series in the last two decades.

Australia and India are two nations with cultures that are quite exclusive and different. Their cultural and geographic uniqueness have shaped the cricketing contests between the two nations into battles of grit, endurance, skill and art of winning. Test cricket finds its true identity in these contests. Australia is the best team of this generation by some distance, but India is the team always cutting that distance in half. Australians love to dominate and India has always refused to lie down and submit. Even the conditions in both nations are so different from one another that Australia struggle in the dust bowls in India while India struggle with the pace and bounce down under.

Yet, there is one other great and simple reason why the India-Australia contest is the modern Ashes. Both sides simply sport the greatest players of this generation who show-off their best skills when pitted against one another. The two greatest players of modern cricket went eye-to-eye in these contests. Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar brought the authenticity of greatness and an air of immortality to the battles. Then there were the supporting cast in the form of Ponting, McGrath, Laxman, Dravid, Ganguly, Steve Waugh and Anil Kumble. If cricket were the silver screen, that would be an awesome collection for sheer supporting-cast.

The generation that electrified cricket is slowly giving way to a new act. As the curtain rises on the 2008 series, one cannot but feel that the curtain is falling on the careers of the heroes of the past. But instead of looking beyond the series, let us look at tomorrow. The first test at Bangalore could end up in a draw, despite all the hoopla around it. Scattered showers are being predicted for all five days and that is not good news. Add to it, the fact that India has never won in Bangalore their last 13 test matches. The signs are not good for the Indian side.

Overcast conditions would mean advantage Australia. Their steamers will love gentle breeze and cloudy skies. But if India does manage to win the toss, then they will try to bat once and bat big.

Pre-Series Blunders:

India: Dropping Ganguly out of practice matches and playing him against the Aussies is not a very clever move by a long stretch.

Australia: Dropping Andrew Symonds (Enough said)

Match Breakers:

Virender Sehwag: While all the concentration would be on the Fab 4 in the middle order, Sehwag could hold the key for India. An early onslaught and a great start would very quickly put India in driver’s seat.
Matthew Hayden: The Aussie opener loves to score big against India and you would expect that the top heavy Aussie batting line up would depend on him a lot. If he sets his mind on a big one, it could be curtains for the home side.

The Hits:

Sourav Ganguly: He is on his farewell tour and when a man knows that this will be the last chance at glory, then he is all the more determined. There is no one more dangerous than a man who has nothing to lose- Australia might find this out soon.

Stuart Clarke: Much like McGrath, he will trouble the Indians by stifling them and choking them to death.

The Misses:

Ricky Ponting: There is no reason to believe that Ponting will struggle against turn once again. If he does, then his team could find themselves in deep trouble.

Rahul Dravid: It has been long since ‘The Wall’ has got his act together. He will be playing on home turf, but might still fall over to pace and accuracy.

Turning Point:

Sachin Tendulkar: If he has a series against Australia like he normally does, then back India to win this one. If he fails, then it might not just be the turning point of this series but also face of Indian Cricket.

Win Percentage for First Test:

India- 70%
Australia- 30%

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This year Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday brought along a special gift for the aam janta in India — the ban on public smoking. Indian Health Minister Anubumani Ramadoss finally had his way after chasing the tobacco smokers for a long long time.

First, it was the ban on onscreen smoking that even targeted top notch stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. The result is no actor dares to light that offensive roll of tobacco which they sometimes carry for an effective role portrayal in front of the cameras.

Afterwards came the respect for passive smokers. Apparently, if you smoked in front of your maid she has the right to register a complaint against you. Soon, due to an amendment in the traffic laws smoking while driving was ordained illegal.

Then there were talks of introducing pictures/images of diseases caused by smoking on the cigarette box, a law which too was implemented on 2nd October. 

Ramadoss has been pummeled for his radical approach to health problems. Cigarette smoking is a major health concern facing India right now. Will these laws actually help? I, too like many others, have some doubts.
a) Will these give some more reasons to the cops to earn the extra 50 bucks?
b) Will smokers come up with ways around these laws? (I am not predicting anything, but the human mind is a great innovative machine in times of ‘crises.)
c) If India is so serious about banning the tobacco, then why not stop the production altogether? Let tobacco join the bandwagon with heroin, LSD and the likes.

All that said I am still very happy to see the government take action against cigarette smoking. Just that these laws still have some loopholes which the authorities and law enforcers should not ignore. Also, the public health care scheme should include ‘leaving tobacco’ procedures. We know how expensive they are. Maybe the government hospitals should be guided to provide the same at less or no cost.

But yes, it is indeed a pleasure to say goodbye to public smoking!

Are working women more sought after as wives than those prospective full-time homemakers? Well, most men in the Indian metros seem to be in accordance with the former. Primarily because having a wife who works at an office like you do has a series of benefits.

Double income is a huge perk. The increasingly expensive lifestyle in a country like India makes it imperative for both partners to work. In fact, beyond a point it becomes difficult to survive on just one salary. Yep, the wish list is increasing and so should the monthly income too.

The feeling of empathy is on a completely different plane altogether from contributing financially, but again equally important. Working women understand their husbands better and the pressures of his job. Plus, a working wife gets a lot of exposure and meets different people on a regular basis; this increases her info bank and makes her rather more interesting than a wife who stays home 24X7, lacks company lest the saas bahu serials and fails to understand the demanding conditions of a job. C’mon, gone are the days when opinionated women were burnt on stakes. The Indian man prefers a financially independent life partner who has a mind of her own. And if she earns more than hubby dear, the deal couldn’t be better. The complete package is vavavoooom attractive!

Indeed a huge paradigm shift in a country that always looked at women as second class citizens, who were just meant to look after the house and bear children. Not anymore. Hmmm…at this extremely modern argument, can I share my apprehensions? Ok, here I go. Working women are a good, progressive sight and stand for women lib n all. But what about children? With more and more women preferring career over children, will India end up like a second Japan? Serious food for thought.
Via thetimesofindia

Playing is an activity long forgotten by the current child generation of India. Yep, seeing kids play just like that is such a rare sight that now schools have started celebrating ‘Play Days’ only to encourage little pranksters to get back to their default settings and play!

But hey, no kid is willing to do that. Kyonki TV hai na? The growing influence of the idiot box on the progenies has been ignored for a long time by parents and the harm will be serious. Blame it on the work lives of the progenitors that they rely on leaving their kids with a TV program rather than a babysitter (who they always fear to be a paedophile). Or maybe it is the space crunch? Insufficient number of parks? Or perhaps, the kids are now just too lazy to stretch those muscles.
The lack of outdoor activity is leading to social, psychological and physiological problems in children. They are unable to pay complete attention, the flitting focus changes like the channels on the idiot box. Temper tantrums and eating troubles are also seen.

My personal problem is – Kids are not behaving like kids anymore; running around, going wild and having fun. Can anyone tell me where exactly is the play?
Via ibnlive

The issue of euthanasia has once again come to the shore as Kerala Law Reforms Commission presented a proposal to SC asking for the legalisation of mercy killing in the state. Not only this, the proposal even recommends the deletion of Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code that considers attempt to suicide as an offence.

The proposal states that if the victim is suffering from an irrecoverable medical condition, then his/her friends and relatives should be allowed to seek responsible medical opinion and then request for euthanasia. In such a case, mercy killing would be performed for humanistic and compassionate reasons only.

The SC’s previous stand on the issue will be a tough nut for the Kerala government to crack. For starters, the former declared euthanasia as nothing but “homicide”. But the appealing party is not deterred. They believe that the right to live also means right to live with dignity, good health and a freedom from distress.
Some forms of euthanasia are legal in Belgium, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Switzerland, the U.S. state of Oregon, Andalusia and Thailand.
Via topnews

Rahul Gandhi says his possible elevation as the prime minister of India is an open question. On a ‘not much hyped about’ trip to Punjab, Rahul did not negate any speculation arising with regard to his future as the premier of the country though he did say that he just wants to make his party strong. All that said, the students he met at the different universities just could not get enough of him. Well, it’s a rare opportunity to speak to a politician who belongs to the young generation. In fact the students were well informed about the current affairs and did not let Rahul get away before answering their incessant questions. During one such session, a student well aware of the finer points of the Nuc deal stumped the youth leader on one of the nitty-gritty. Rahul very smartly said that why is he being asked all this when the student probably knows more than Rahul himself does.
Issues like terrorism, corruption and reservation were also discussed, and the young Gandhi came across as an intelligent, sincere and grounded leader. In fact, there was one more episode when he was passing through Sangrur that someone told him about Udham Singh. Forgetting about security concerns, Rahul ran to the martyr’s statue to pay homage.
Well, Rajeev Gandhi’s son seems to be following in his father’s footsteps. The question is that will he get to lead the country as well?
Via thetimesofindia