Category: Random Thoughts

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Freedom Of Speech and the Damocles Sword

Okay, India got its independence on 15th Aug 1947, so what? As citizens of free -India we exercise the fundamental right of free speech, so what? As law-abiding citizens, we add a footnote to all our thought process saying “It is my opinion”, so what? Being reasonably social towards fellow citizen, we say, “hmm.. so that’s what you say”, so what ?Wondering why I am so angry? Read along, you will see my reason.

It is my assumption that, if you are reading this post, then it only means one of the two things. You are either a blogger, or well aware of blogs ( ie to say, you exactly know the difference between website and a blog.. please don’t make me get into the definition of blogs and stuff. I neither have the time nor the temperament now). In such case, it goes without saying that, we use blogs to voice our opinion to connect with like minded people who share similar concerns / interests. Whether we totally agree to what others say at their blogs is at the discretion of the individuals. Earlier, we used to speak our mind amidst friends and peers over a drink or smoke. Since blogging entered the mainstream internet, they take the position of “opinion” boards. After all, every person is entitled to his / her opinion, and blogs just gives just that opportunity. Well, that’s what you ( we all) thought … hmmm…

Going by the recent Supreme Court judgment, as on Times Of India – 24 Feb 09, Bloggers can be penalised for what they say in their blogs. This judgment has come in effect because,

19 year old guy started a community in Orkut against Shiv-Sena. One thing led to another and “voicing opinion” became abusive and defamatory on personal level.ie.. someone commented on this guy’s community/

Again.. i am not a member of this community, but this is what i gather from what i read about this over the internet. May be that sparked off the big and mighty party-enthusiasts to file against this teenager, as to “hurting public sentiments”, rest is history, read the link.

From my own twisted sense of interpretation of free-speech,

  1. The fundamental right of “free-speech” comes with a social responsibility. We are rightly entitled to our opinion, but how we put it across is the vital part of this social responsibility. Are we operating within this paradigm in your blog posts ( or community / network.. whatever)?
  2. Haven’t we witnessed a situation in the real world, wherein we say something, and sooner or later it comes and hits us right in the eye. Why is this any different in the virtual world? Can we put a disclaimer (“All content are personal opinion of writer”) and blissfully wash our hands off consequences of our words?
  3. When an argument gets out of hand, don’t we all amicably agree to disagree? Again, this is in adhering to the norms of decency and decorum of the situation. From whatI have seen in the blogosphere, most bloggers are doing just that. This is respecting free-speech even if the content does not please you. But strangely though, it’s the non-blogging population against the blogging population when this scenario comes up on the virtual world.
  4. Every time a “sentiment is hurt”, can one call upon the clause of “hurting public / private/ personal/ religious / communal sentiments” and file a case on the court of law? Wherever there is a disagreement, there is bound to be “hurt sentiments”. But using “only this”, be THE valid reason for such a complaint?
  5. Every person derives his / her opinion from what he sees, reads & listens to what is happening around. His ability to frame his thoughts into an opinion makes him a better citizen as he is now socially aware. If so, how right is it to expect a socially aware citizen to keep this thoughts to himself?. Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of free speech?


Thats not all , I am very much interested to know how this judgement was arrived at. Again, please don’t get me wrong, I am not questioning the judgement, but merely requesting the sequence that was seen thorough, to arrive at this. My curiosity stems from the fact that I am an average blogger, I blogs in my free time, I have an opinion and I would like to know others too, I try my best to adhere to social norms of “agree to disagree”. No lengthy legal jargons, just giving us some pointers will shed light for us allm to see the Honourable Judge’s perspective as well.

Dear Sirs,

  • Did you visit blogs prior to hearing this case (or, any case on blogs) ?
  • Do you remember the concept of the very first blog you visited ? ( movies , books, personal.. etc etc).
  • Do you personally read blogs, or depend on your secretary to give you the information from blogs ?
  • Does this mean, “Freedom of speech” comes with a Damocles sword?, at the bloggers own discretion ?


I strongly recommend that you also read the following. Feel free to give me a link to add to this list.

  1. Reader’s Resonse at Times Of India
  2. TOI’s report on blogger’s reaction.
  3. Anu’s worry on keeping her free thinking atitude
  4. Dhananjay’s Burden of Accountablity

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Outsourcing – The Elephant in the Room

Outsourcing is often represented in the popular media as an approach for cost-cutting in large organizations at the expense of job loss in various sectors. As these facts stand, they represent only a small part of the whole picture. It is, of course, a sensitive subject–emotions rage over outsourcing on blogs and in other media outlets. With all due respect to to workers who have lost jobs, I humbly request you to stand back and try to look at the bigger picture.
To help make my point, I wish to cite the story of four blind men attempting to comprehend an elephant by touch only. One stated that an elephant is of cylindrical shape, the other insisted that it is long and rubbery, another maintained that it is just a huge bulging structure, while the last insisted it is only a few inches thick with hairs at the end.
Like these men and the elephant, we often have a largely blind approach towards outsourcing. Each person in the above story is correct in his own way, or, should I say, from his perspective. But it takes vision to put the pieces together and arrive at a complete picture that conveys each perspective as part of the whole.
There is a historical precedent for this kind of response. When the industrial revolution was first in progress, machines were sabotaged. The working class believed that their employers would maintain their output volume by using machines and cutting labor. Why would any company maintain a steady volume, if they can double it with the combined efforts of labor and machines in half-time? Even though the industrial revolution saw job cuts during its initial days, it was only a transitional period. Later, more factories began to emerge and a larger work force was employed to run these machines, thereby increasing the productivity volume.
It may sound preposterous that job-cuts as a result of outsourcing are only transitional. But I have come across both people who have lost jobs on account of outsourcing as well as companies calling back employees to handle responsibilities that augment increased productivity. The catch is the company might not call back an employee for the same exact role. There will be a redefining of roles and responsibilities.
So, the onus is on us to understand and foresee these changing roles. This requires a paradigm shift of our mindset and our approach to the issue. Although this might be difficult given the current circumstances, it is not impossible. Resilience is the need of the hour.
We respect your perspective, but humbly urge you to hone the vision that will allow you to see other perspectives, too. Share your perspective with us, and we will share ours. Perhaps we can piece the elephant together and succeed at taming it too.

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On Second Thought…

The television was on, not that I was watching, but just for the fact that, “there is a TV”, and it is expected to be “ON”. With nothing much to do around these days, I was drifting aimlessly with my thoughts. I would start thinking about a certain incident that took place almost 5 years back, during the playback, I would amuse myself by giving new twists and turn to the same happening. This would steer the incident towards the outcome in my desire. I am very much aware that I no longer control any past experiences. But this helps me to relive sad moments and convert them to happy endings.

One thought would lead to another, soon a storyboard would develop. Last night I was watching a program on Diana, and how the paparazzi were held responsible for her demise. Somehow influenced by this, I was rubbing shoulders with Diana in my dream. I could also see my family living in the Buckingham Palace. We laughed our heart out at the totally impossible dream. But then, when I ruminate on my dream, I imagine all sorts of things.. as how Diana would feel in our Company, would the Queen Mother approve of my “friendship” with Diana, Diana enjoying Pongal and sambaar served on banana leaf…. and other things we do everyday.

All said and done… this gave me another thought. Is the Human mind ever capable of being “blank” ?. The reason I say so is, at any given waking-moment, I’am ( and I hope you too) always thnking about something. It could be about work ( not something everyone would relish), could be about the chores that think you have to do in the next couple of hours, or could be about some preparation , arrangement etc. If none of this is your priority in your thought process, the I bet you will be either staring into the idiot-box, or instinctively reach out for your Internet on your laptop or your mobile.

The need for “being connected” is so strong in the human psyche, is impossible to ignore and has become a natural urge like hunger and anger. By being “Connected”, I mean it in all possible sense, literally, figuratively, and not to mention Virtually. My observation is..the “being connected”-feeling also extends to our thought process as well. If I am thinking about a certain wedding in the family, then train of thought would be the guests, this will lead to a certain anecdote that happened with a particular guest. This would follow into the place where this took place. Then all the memories associated with that place would rush in. Each memory would kindle another train of thought and the process continues.

Philosophically speaking, “you can be alone even in crowd”, while it is also said ” You are never alone when you are in your own company”. Now these are fodder for great minds. There is still a long way to got for me to debate on this. But are we really afraid of being alone. ( DONOT read alone as loneliness, or isolated… those are totally different dimensions). I accept, with crime rate on the rise, it makes sense when a person is uneasy when alone. But how about, getting to the level of paranoia when one is alone.

I have learnt over time that “out thoughts” speak to us only when we are alone. Not that they are silent at other times, but,our remaining senses are so occupied that we do not hear our own thoughts We are either constantly talking, or listening to someone else talk. Did you ever face a situation….where.. when there is no human around , when there is no internet , when there is a cable blackout .. ????. How did that make you feel ????

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Alt + Ctrl + Del

Wow!, the life saving mantra of the day !.. don’t you agree.. Imagine, you have multiple windows open, IE , Photoshop , Excel, PowerPoint… and I guess PLM for some of my friends. Bham !… the system just fails to respond. You fanatically hit the numlock and finally confirm that your system has decided to hang itself . Before anymore damage is done, and without gibving much response time , instinct takes you to hit Alt + Ctrl + Del. Well, system restarts , bells jingle in the background , Halleluah ! … activity restored. If you had enabled autosave, then not much data is lost.

How I wish even our lives also had the Alt + Ctrl + Del option. Unlike multiple windows in our system, we have multiple train of thoughts hovering above and inside us. And on one unsuspecting moment, we tend to give the wrong response for train of thought… At times such as these, I would wish that the earth would swallow me alive… I sincerely wish human life also had Alt + Ctrl + Del ..Here are some of the scenarios where I would just love those three keys..

Scenario 1 : –

The team ( I am here .. guys ) is brainstorming over the recent project that was delegated to us. All of a sudden a brainwave hits me.. and germ of an idea begins to take shape. But “me first” takes over, and I just blurt it out as it comes to my mind.. I mean.. live really.. I start thinking out loud… Well, it so turns out that I bite my tongue before I make further fool of myself… Darn ! I wish …I could Alt + Ctrl + Del

Scenario 2 :-

I get up at the wrong side of my bed and trip over the remote. The maid decides to take a day off with no intimation. With bread and butter for breakfast, we hurry with our routine. I am so caught up with my agenda at work, that I don’t realize the signal turn green. The consistent honking from the car behind makes me jittery. Accidentally I hit the reverse gear in an attempt to move forward and ram into already pissed off commuter… Dear God!… Give me Alt + Ctrl + Del key to my life… this one time.

Scenario 3 :-

The house is a total chaos. Guests are pouring in at our home as a family function is on the way. Our house is one of the key accommodation facilty for the extended family because Mother Superior ( The great grand mother of the family) momentarily resides here. She is my great-grand-mother-in-law . So there is an added responsibility to appease her and in-house guests and visitors who drop in to chat with Mother superior. For about 12 people freshly brewd filter coffee was prepared and elegantly served . 1 liter of milk was used for the preparation and 15 – 20 sp sugar was added ( So I thought).. Remember the movie “Cheeni Kum”….. it seems in total confusion.. I added salt instead of sugar… Every room is occupied with members of varied age groups.. I was not spared a space to save my face… oh! Dear Lord ! in heaven… Grant me my three wishes … I mean three keys

These are the worst case scenarios in my life where I desperately wish for a restart. I am sure you too would have something similar to share….. So when was the first ( or middle or last) time you desperately wished that something like this.. C’mon.. there is nothing to feel embarrsed about this.. anyway.. it cannot be worse than what happened to me…

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Reason – Wisdom (or) Knowledge

It is said and widely accepted the “Reasoning is a mark of an intellect”, but has anyone ever realized the moment where we come across “some extra-witted intellect”… who thinks and reasons beyond any extent that “those who reason are all intellects”??. Moments such as these brings out the animal in me , complete with rage and devoid of any reason.

With all due respects to the great intellectual minds that gave us copious amount of texts in an attempt to teach philosophy, we have to accept the fact that some things should not be reasoned.. in fact the spirit fails to live the moment we think of a reason.

Let me illustrate with an anecdote. A group of friends get out for an evening walk. Its almost dusk, but the night has not yet set in. The behlpuri and paav-baaji waala are doing brisk business. Along the footpath they spot an elderly man accompanied by his grandson selling “Tender Coconut” ( Nariyal Paani) by the footpath. I am not sure to call this a fruit , nut or food, but nevertheless, this is God’s gif to mankind during the scorching summer months.

Coming back to our friends, they decide to have nariayal pani. However, one of them declines the offer, saying “Nah!.. don’t feel like having one now”. No big deal isn’t it .. Others enjoy their natural drink, while this guy is there, accompanying his friends.. and “into” the conversation that was in progress.

So what is the point.. you ask.. Wait till you hear a Reasoning-voice from that group, insisting on “why don’t you want to drink nariyal paani ?…do you realise how healthy this is ?.. It has been medically proved that one Nariyal pani during summer months will keep your organs cool and prevents dehydration.. Or is it because you are more inclined towards having a chilled beer ??.. atleast you could be of some help to this aged person selling naariyal paani for Rs.10″… The poor guy who declined to have a nariyal pani is now annoyed and embarrassed at the same time.. His only fault was to decline a drink, and his peer has already portrayed a ” Unconcerned about heath – aversion to natural product – loves to guzzle down beer- and a horrible person who would not help an old man” kind of a picture.

I am sure this guy is making a mental note to self …. “Next time this guy is around , I shall either leave, or do as he does “…. I will not argue that the “Reasoning-guy’s” reasons were all wrong. My point is.. why at all reason here ?.. Was that reasoning even necessary ??.. What did this act accomplish ??

So, what am I trying to say by citing the above anecdote ?.. I have made an attempt to superdialute some major “intellectual reasoning” going on in the real and virtual world. Off late, I happen to chace on posts where readers are “fighting over each other for ligusitic and geographic reasons”. (.. please don’t expect me to spill it out…It is not worth the attention…)

I have the privilege of knowing some real life fanatics, who are obsessed with their fanaticism that they would squeeze out every ounce of reason in the book to convince why “their fanaticism” is ethically – morally – and above all intellectually correct. Listening to their long and accurate reasoning will put any statistician to shame. They will have numbers at the fingertips. Eventually, they will also “win an argument”.. but their reason fails to see that they have lost the battle even before it was fought.

With all statistics and data to reason.. why do they fail to see the very basics of reasoning… “Wisdom of is Reason.. is to reason only if the reason demands“… I believe such people gather knowledge in mass, but loose out on wisdom…the very reason behind reasoning.

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The charm in the day lost in the “days”

The seed for this post was sown into my head while having a chit-chat with one of our blogger friends, on the day before “Women’s day”. Coming back after a long hiatus, it all started with a formal hi.. how do you do.. whats new with blogosphere.. and stuff. As we were heading towards the conclusion of our conversation, like any other good natured friend, he wished me “Happy Women’s day”. For courtesy sake, I could only muster a non-hearted “Thank you”.

Please do not get me wrong while I say, “Non-Hearted”, I am very much proud to be a woman and also to be who I am as a person. No amount of persuasion will make me change anything that has happened to me so far for being a woman. So what could be wrong with a pleasant wish for “Women’s day”. We have eminent personalities like Kiran Bedi, Kiran Mazumdar, Ekta Kapoor (Queen of Megaserials), Indria Noyi, Barkha Dutt.. and many more who are absent from the media glare.

A Little introspection threw light on the actual cause of my “Non-Heartedness”. It’s not the “women’s day” that put me off, in fact it’s the “logic of day” that irritated me more. On a religious significance, I have grown up watching the “Full moon day” and the “No moon day”, with its religious overtones, and the “Children’s day” and the “Teacher’s day” (where as a high-schooler we used to dress up as teachers and trot to kindergarten class to teach… oh !..booy!!!… that was fun). Then there was the “college day”, “Sports day”, Annual day” which was more like a “family” affair with the school / college. Nothing national or international about it.

Then slowly other days started invading the calendar. “Valentine day”, “Friendship day”, Mother’s day”, Father’s day”, “Aids awareness day”, “The Golden day” (also known as the “Akshaya Thritiya”..where its considererdd auspicious if you purchase gold on the particular day) .. and others… sheesh… I cant even keep track of their names any more. My guess is , these days were supposed to be observed as reminders for the purpose they represent. How many of us can cross our heart and solemnly say that “we remember the purpose all along, and salute to the spirit of it in this day”. Barring a few who can be counted at fingertips, I am sure most of us forget all about “these day’s” purpose in the battle of our everyday existence.

All that remains in the end of the day is, “A feel good factor for the end of the day”, and then wait till the next “day” arrives to feel good again. Why doesn’t these days stay memorable or linger in our thoughts? Does the importance for which “These Days” stand for, is to make us “Feel Good”…. Is that all ???. How many us are capable of writing pages and pages on “Aids Awareness”, yet when a calling comes towards “Demand a health certificate” before finalising a wedding, all of us chicken out (I am not exception..I still chicken out while asking others, but nevertheless I got myslf tested).Yet I wish back a “Non-Hearted” some-day

The tension-out-of-home takes its toll on the “lady of the house”, be it the Mother, or the wife, irrespective of one’s gender or age. Yet everyone is sugar and honey on “Mother’s day” and “valentine day”. Does one day of “excessive niceness” compensate for the year long grunt and brunt, or should that be taken as a consolation for the same. Yet I wish back a “Non-Hearted” some-day.

I no longer see the spirit of the day on the days they were supposed to be. This makes me feel sad for all those people who have put in their heart and soul towards the cause it represents. I, myself, is not making one iota of contribution towards any of the cause, Yet I somehow manage a “Non-Hearted” some day wishes.

Its easy to say “philosophically”, everyday is special and has to be lived that way, May be for those with surplus funds in their kitty, can afford the luxury of sit-back-and-revel, while for all others, it’s a matter of everyday existence in their own sense of the world, be it Ambani or the Aaam aadmi.

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