A Curious Comparison between Internet.org and Ration Shop!

Public distribution system (PDS or Ration Shop) is an Indian food security system. Established by the Government of India, PDS distributes subsidized food and non-food items to India's poor. Major commodities distributed include staple food grains, such as wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene etc. Food Corporation of India, a Government-owned corporation, procures and maintains the PDS.

1.       Is this beneficial for the poor? Yes, of Course!

2.       Even though PDS is maintained and regulated by Government, are there any private business-men who are financially benefited out of this system? Yes, to a large extent.

3.       Will you get High quality Corn flakes through Ration Shop? Definitely, No!

4.       So, if a poor man wants to eat corn flakes, what should he do? He should go to the super market and pay a higher price and buy it.

5.       In that case, Is food neutrality maintained in India? No

6.        Aren’t people concerned about it? Yes, they are, But Somehow situation is not improving!

7.       Why would that be?

That’s because, we don’t have a platform to discuss about these issues in social media, and this system is in place from long time.  

8.       What would have happened if this was to be launched in 2015, let’s say with the support of corporate like Reliance, Facebook, Samsung, Nokia etc?

Ok, good question. Let me ask you a question now. Do they make profit in this process?

9.       Of course they do. They are corporate, not charitable organizations. PDS as such is a Non-Profit Organization. But you see, it still helps the poor.

No more questions and answers! We need food neutrality. If not, then we don’t want your food! First of all government should make sure that the corporate is not making any profit out of it. If government is not able to do so, government should pitch IN and ensure that food, including corn flakes reaches poor at the cheapest of the rates!

10.   Wonderful, Thanks. Let’s close down the ration shops!

Social Studies

Mr.Nagaraj was returning home after work, when he saw a huge crowd on the road. At the center stage of the crowd two people were fighting animatedly, more by vocals and less using their limbs. Naga, as other onlookers did, parked his scooter in a hurry and rushed towards the scene. As he hurried, he started to process in his head about a very critical point –between the two, whom should he support? He noticed that both were guys and an option to support based on gender was immediately ruled out. As he reached near the spot he realized that the situation was caused by a small accident happened between those two guys- one a biker and other a cab driver. A very common scene in Bangalore traffic! The immediate reaction of Naga was to support the biker, because he himself owns a two wheeler and he very well knew how recklessly these cab drivers drive. But at the next instant he heard the biker speaking in Tamil and the cab driver shouting in Kannada. There were no more options in front of Mr.Naga. His parochialism aroused and in a fraction of second, he flipped. But that was not so long, when he noticed that the cab driver was a Muslim. Shiva Shiva! He was furious on himself thinking about the mistake he was about to make. As he now comprehended the situation in a clearer manner, he switched his support for his Tamil speaking biker friend. But somehow from the looks of this biker guy, Naga got a gut feeling that the Biker is not a Brahmin. But he had no other option, because he was at least a Hindu. But that was the point when the biker started shouting – “I am a communist” and “no one can touch me” and stuffs like that. Political alignment towards left was something Mr.Naga could never appreciate. He had no other choice but to support his mother tongue speaking Muslim friend, even though he was driving a cab. As he was about to talk against the Biker, all people suddenly dispersed. The problem was solved with Traffic police entering the scene and asking all to disperse. Naga had nothing more interesting there to watch. He took the scooter and went home.
At night Mr.Nagaraj taught his son “Social studies” and about how wonderful India is with “unity in diversity” being the best keyword to gain good marks in exams. No discrimination among people based on Sex, religion, caste, creed, language, politics or even the kind of vehicle you drive!

GUESS WHAT???

During my school days, the time when DD-National was the only channel available for me to watch on T.V, there used to be a wonderful Quiz show conducted by Mr.Sidarth Basu. The best thing I remember about this quiz show is the buzzer round.

            In this buzzer round, the marks are awarded to the person who presses the buzzer first and gives the correct answer for the question. Obviously, the wrong answer carried some negative marks along with it. There was something which thrilled me very much in this round. Here is a hypothetical scene from this round:

Sidarth Basu : “Lets start the buzzer round. All contestants, please keep your hands on the buzzer”

All tensed faces would be eagerly waiting for the question because, the person who first press the buzzer would be eligible to answer the question.

Sidarth Basu : “First question. Indira Gandhi, who was the first prime minister of India…”

Riiiiinggggggggg!!!

Some one had already pressed the buzzer.

Sidarth Basu: “Yes. Answer please” .He would not utter any other word from that question and this contestant will have to answer it.

Contestant: “Satwant Singh”

Sidarth Basu: “Right Answer”

The school boy, that was me, who used to watch this thrilling scene on T.V was always amazed about one thing – “How do they used to guess the question?”

There could be n number of other questions, which would have suitably completed that question and correspondingly yielded n number of answers like : Jawahar Lal Nehru, 31^st October, Morarji Desai, Operation blue star etc…”

Damn! How the hell did that guy guess the question?

How did he anticipated that, the question is about the murderer of Indira Gandhi?

The reason I write this post is:

From that school kid to now, one of the most important thing my life has taught me is this – Keep Guessing the Questions. The complicated questions of life, which carries the most obvious answers along with it!

Always, Guess – “What???”

Re·spect

"Respect women, not for they are to be respected, but for what they deserve."

Respect : Admire (someone or something) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements.

An exclusive interview with Asha Jayanthi !

Me: Can you just tell me about your game, so that our readers who don't know will get an idea about it?

Asha : Yeah..Its just a simple game.2 or more can play this.Leader will sing a song and the others have to answer from which movie is the song from.The one who tells the correct answer FIRST will get the point.There is NEGATIVE mark for the wrong answer. Thats it..Try once and then you will understand the fun!

Me:How did you invent this game?

Asha : The truth is I don't remember who exactly created this.But it was during a family trip from Kodagu to Kozhikkode.It was a long trip and all of us were dead tired.So we thought of a game which all age groups can play and we came up with this.It was real fun to see our parents scratching their head to get the movie names from their memory.God..we kept playing for a long time and we didn't get time to get bored :)

Me: What about the Marketing of this game?

Asha : I think, it got popular when people started using this as Ice breaker in software companies.Also, it can be played by couples in their long trips to their home, like we do when we travel from Bangalore to Kerala in car. :) And it can be played when we go out for trips with friends.The thing is, we loved the game and we started playing this with our friends and it got spread because of its simplicity.

Me: So who used to be the leader?

Asha : Anyone who knows the songs of a movie can be the leader.Need not be a particular person.You can tailor the game as required, so that every one will get a chance to ask the question.

Me :Oh..I forgot to ask the important question.What is the name of this game?

Asha : We were not getting any good names.First we used to call it Negative One.Because that much powerful was the feeling when leader announce Negative One when we sing the wrong song. Then we named it as Paattum Padavum(Music & Movie) in Malayalam.

Me: Thank you Asha for the time you spent with me.Come up with more creative games like this.All the best..

THE BLOODY FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Jan-30-2013

Lots of discussions are already going live on “Vishwaroopam”, and the ban it had to face due to the allegedly anti-Islamic content the film has got in it,  but I felt that, I should express my feeling too…because, this is my Bloody Freedom of Expression!

First shocker came when I read this: ( courtesy Wikipedia)

Title naming

In June 2012, the producers of the film ran into conflict with the Hindu Makkal Katchi who demanded that title be changed. They claimed that Viswaroopam was a Sanskrit word rather than a Tamil word, and argued that Kamal Haasan was being anti-Tamil, by naming the film in another language. The same political party had earlier protested against a song in Haasan's Manmadhan Ambu (2010), following which it was removed from the film.

The second, more obvious shocker was, when I read this:

The initial ban on the movie in Tamilnadu was lifted by Madras High Court ,but later uphold the ban on January 30,2013.

I saw Mahesh Bhat speaking about this controversy  earlier this day on a national debate. I would like to echo the same in my own words as below:

“Next time when I take a sheet of paper and pen to write something, I will be thinking about every Tom, Dick and Harry out there, who is going to protest against every scene in my movie. I would be concerned about the financial,political and social ramifications of that, and would be pulled back unknowingly by my own self in my creative disposal. That would be the end of my creativity.”

Lets see this case. Who is this Hindu Makkal Katchi to ask Kamal Hassan to change the name of this movie, just because the root of the movie title is in Sanskrit? I feel that the name “Hindu Makkal Katchi” is too Old-fashioned  and should be changed to something like—“ Yo! Yo! Tamil”. Would they change that name, just because I am feeling it that way?

I have got a news that, the next Rajani movie is going to be anti-Jewish. Would you believe that and go ahead with a protest for banning the movie, if you are Jewish?

No, that would be extremely stupid from your side.

Please don’t judge a movie before you watch it.

Despite the fragmented release and controversies, Vishwaroopam garnered highly positive reviews from critics, most of which had downplayed claims of the film being anti-Islamist / anti Muslim.

This is a free country, and I have my freedom of Expression!

FAQ on THE INDIAN HONKER

 Who is the Indian Honker this article refers to?

The Indian Honker in this article, is that person who insanely thinks that, by persistently pressing the horn on the steering wheel of your vehicle and by effect producing that most annoying blaring sound, the vehicle in front of your vehicle is gonna move even much more faster than it is supposed to be, unconditionally on an Indian road.

Can you please detail it? How does the Indian Horn really sound?

It Sounds something like this –“&^%*&(^&%(&%$&^%$(&!@$!^@(&)*)^&#Q%”

According to different situation applicable, it can be classified as:

·         A short beep – An advice, saying that you are changing your lane to mine. Please don’t.

·         A longer one – A threat or a command, saying you are not following any traffic rules.(especially to say –“ you are honking too much”)

·         Even a longer one – An Abuse, conventionally followed by a sound and a gesture (usually with right hand or middle finger) even followed by verbal exchange of words, preferably in local mother tongue.

·         Still longer and harsh one with an extreme sense of shrillness in it – “Fuck you ass hole. You are driving much faster/slower than me and I am almost dead due to that”, most probably from a private bus driver.

Note: Some other patterns cannot be written here, either due to the limited vocabulary of the author or due to the extent of imagination an Indian honker puts in each of his Honking.

So to ask it again, does the vehicle move even faster, than it is supposed to, if the Indian Honker keeps honking from the back?

No. It actually slows down the vehicle in front of the Indian honker due to the following reasons:

1. The Indian honker (no.2) in front of your vehicle gets seriously irritated by your Honk. The egoistic Indian driver instantly starts thinking –“How dare he honk from behind in such a traffic?”. He thinks that the Indian honker is arrogant and would not let him overtake which eventually slows down the already slow traffic.
2. Most of the truck drivers doesn’t really mean “SOUND HORN O.K”, even though they have got it written on the back of the truck. What they really mean, I assume, is to keep good sound for the horn. But for matter of fact, the “SOUND” in above writing is supposed to be a verb (whatever that “OK” means!).
3. Mr. Indian honker, The Indian “Learner” driver is nervously driving in front of your vehicle. So don’t give him a heart attack by your blaring honk. To make the situation worse, if Mr.learner’s car engine by chance gets stopped in the middle of heavy traffic, The Indian honker kills him with that bloody Indian honk. This includes every Tom, Dick and Harry who even passes through the other lane
4. A traffic signal is not controlled by your horn. It does not become green in a faster rate if you honk.
5. A road bump (or pot-hole) will not move its stationary position hearing your honk.

So, you really mean that Indian honking is NOT useful at all?

Fuck you man! You have all the characteristics of a bloody Indian Honker. You are – Arrogant, You are stupid, You are Persistent, and above all you are such a pain in the ass! You don’t have to be a genius to press hold that horn on your steering wheel constantly. But you need to be a good driver and gentleman to avoid those honking, especially in the city limits.

OK. I admit. Then why can’t we have strict Law against this kind of Honking, especially within the city limits?

Are you kidding? We already have umpteen number of laws against Honking and Sound pollution as such. The only problem is in following the laws, morally as a social obligation. In other countries, they have strict law enforcement measures to prevent the “Indian Honking”. Let us do it. Please. For a better India. For a better Earth! STOP INDIAN HONKING!