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Jaane Kahan Kahan Se Aa Jaate Hain...!

2011-10-10T18:52:00.000+05:30

In a restaurant. Observing people on the diagonally opposite table. A person representing to be a Govt clerk is being treated by the bidders for a particular tender.

The clerk is a family man. Soon to retire, 3 unmarried unemployed daughters & a bed ridden wife types. The bidders are young chaps, just-out-of-college types, directors of the bidding company.

He's feeling odd.. Never done this before.. They are giving him confidence, return air tickets to Nepal/Bhutan for the coming Diwali vacations, 5star room bookings; & this all in addition to you-know-what!

The clerk is overwhelmed, his entire life is flashing in his memories, he's thinking hard. Will he fall?

They remind him that he's gonna retire soon, & they'll take care of the rest. They offer, they'll also pay for his daughter's weddings.

Finally the focus is on him. He has to decide. He's thinking hard hiding his face in his palms. His hands shaking. Remembering the God, he softly denies all the offers.

They insist. He breaks off! "You UP & Bihari people are spoiling us! We don't want money! Get lost..! We don't want your dirty money. Let us live in peace. I want to die with tight collars, with dignity."

He shouts as the chaps leave. He pays even their bills. People witnessing this say, "Saala, aaj phokat mein entertainment ho gaya!

...Jaane kahan kahan se aa jate hai"

Re: [arr] What in musical terms makes an ARR song exceptional?

2011-08-26T11:52:00.000+05:30

From	:	Amith Chandhran
To	:	A. R. Rahman Fans Yahoo Group
Date	:	Sun, Mar 20, 2011 at 9:33 PM
Subject	:	Re: [arr] What in musical terms makes an ARR song exceptional?
Link	:	http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arrahmanfans/message/147156

Friends, even though it has taken some time for me to write on this topic, it could not go without expressing certain thoughts.

Before we talk about the common external elements or characteristics among the most acclaimed AR songs, we must first appreciate that it is the ‘AR sound’ that essentially makes his songs be different from others’. In my personal interpretation, AR’s usage of sound is not just for negation of silence; it is his appreciation and celebration of the deepest relation that exists in between sound and silence. This is his way of greeting the God. In a way, it is complex.

The beauty of this complexity is; you need not to be sheer intelligent person to appreciate it. All that you need to do is to spend some time with it, voluntarily. AR’s music – and in a wider sense, music itself – has the power to bring your soul close to the meditative state. It is like climbing a mountain. Compared to jumping down; climbing a mountain is difficult and rightly so, because it takes efforts and time too. During the process of climbing, a spiritual soul sheds away the worldly thoughts, by transcending itself completely. When the soul reaches at the peak of the mountain and looks around, it happens to witness the world from the greater heights, and it then appreciates the work of super-creator called God. I hope you’re getting my point here – this is precisely the reason why AR’s music takes time to grow on you.

While climbing the mountain of music, the artiste in AR assists you externally in connecting with the inner soul. Finally when you are appreciating the whole thing from those greater heights, you don’t just appreciate AR and his music; you also appreciate the superpower called God for sending someone like AR on earth! Ultimately, you recognize the existence of God. Longer the process to reach this climax, longer the time AR’s music takes to grow on you – and then there’s no come back. Once you’re connected with the almighty, there is no detachment. That’s the element called ever-greenness you shall predominantly find existing in AR’s music.

How does AR maintain the ever-greenness in his works? Again, I would concentrate on the element called ‘sound’ that he handles so proficiently. Sounds, regardless of their meaningfulness or meaninglessness, transmit certain psychic and / or spiritual feelings. The ruler in AR has mastered the art of understanding the intricacies of various sounds and commanding them to transmit through in the form of feelings, just by touching you silently. To accept the transmission of feelings, you don’t need to be spiritual either; for everyone already has that feeling inside. AR just happens to touch it musically and that very feeling inside you is awakened to connect with the super-soul. This art of connecting the deadly sounds and lively silence is spiritual, without which the music will be absolute noise. Further, AR is capable of delivering the same experience to individuals and masses, both at the same time. Beyond everything, AR isn’t consistent only in maintaining the ever-greenness; he’s also consistent in maintaining the success. This is because of spiritual powers that have chosen him for a greater cause. In a way, therefore, I’d say AR’s success qualifies to be termed as a spiritual one.

Again, AR’s ability to constantly and consistently maintain the spiritual success is possible due to another element called ‘absolute faith’. Firstly, it is his absolute faith in the God, which makes him maintain spiritual creativity in the commercial world out there, where salability is considered as a benchmark to measure talent. Without the absolute faith, AR would certainly not have been able to maintain the balance in creativity and commerce. Secondly, it is our absolute faith in AR that makes him explore new worlds and comfortably experiment with the sounds, and on the other hand it also makes us comfortable with those experiments with sounds.

When I’m repeatedly talking of sounds, I must also mention the balance that AR has always maintained in the main categories of sound i.e. dhwani, shabda, naada and swara. It is not merely the technology that helps him, but also his sheer talent to use the available techniques to perfectly place the sounds at proper places in the world class structures that he creates, that helps him present his art in a perfectly balanced way. You must appreciate that this perfect balance makes AR’s works tremendously alive. So much so, that this liveliness goes on to become an expression of his music.

Expression is another beauty of AR’s music. His expression is not just his interpretation; it is really an expression in its purest form. Through his music he is able not just to recreate something that he’s heard in his inner soul, but he expresses it for the outsiders like us. We relate to his expressions from our inner soul because we have them within us, already and he knows how to awaken them. Music for AR in this way is just a device to make us enter into our own selves. When the philanthropist in AR stylishly asks you out “Are you searching for a reason to be kind?” you shall suddenly become silent without putting any efforts. Your personality shall eliminate, you shall unwind, and you shall ultimately enter into the meditative world. In fact any perfect art, not just music, has to reach meditation. If it isn’t reaching that state, then maybe somewhere, something’s going wrong. That’s where we keep hearing complaints from people about AR’s music not being ‘up to the mark’ etc. Well, but I already told you, climbing the mountain is not that easy!

There are many more music directors who have the abilities to take your soul beyond the beyond – this whole spiritual experience is not just restricted to come to you through AR alone. In this situation, AM rightly asks himself a question, “What is it, that makes fans and non-fans come together and appreciate AR’s songs?” In a wider interpretation, what is it that brings all of us here? Why a person from USA can connect to a person from Malaysia? Why do we have people among ourselves who are rendering their selfless services to the mankind under AR’s name?

I would say it is your, the listener’s spiritual soul which has unconditionally chosen love over hatred to be there. It is you, the listener, who has learnt how music and spirituality are two facets of the same experience. It is your appreciation towards the almighty. It is the unbiased identification of the fact that all perfect praises indeed belong to the almighty alone.

After all; we all love search – which is in a way, important than the destination.

Thanks,

-

Burden On The System?

2009-10-26T22:14:00.021+05:30

Today, the day started off as a lazy Monday. Since the High Court is on Diwali vacations, and there is a week more for it to reopen, I wanted to utilize the time relaxing and probably finish reading a book that I am reading for past few weeks. I had some meetings scheduled in the morning session so that I don't need to fight with the time later. But the Almighty had different plans for me. A number of happenings took place all of a sudden in such a way that I unexpectedly had to accompany my sister to the local police station to file an FIR. Actually the police stations are nothing new for me. I mean, oops – oh, not that way!

Okay, let me put it this way. Visiting the police stations once in a while, for one or the other reason, happens to be a part of my profession. But my sister was ignorant about the way the procedure works. For her, that Khaki world is all new. I wanted her to have a first-hand but confident experience there, and therefore before entering the place, I explained to her the procedure in detail; especially, how to tackle the police officers and their confidence-killing rapid-fire question rounds. Later in the station, while my sister was facing the officers, I realized that the whole issue is going to take around another hour. I calmly found a wooden bench in a corner for myself to sit and relax.

Sitting on the bench, I tried remembering my first ever visit to the police station, for personal reasons. I've already written about my very first experience with the police station. After that too, there are some random personal experiences, and some more thrilling professional experiences. Some of the experiences go on to become the most unforgettable ones, because they teach you something. One of such unforgettable teaching personal experiences with the police station was, when my cell phone was stolen.

...I knew how my cell phone had got stolen, because I had seen a person thieving it. It was 5 years back but I still remember the incident perfectly, including the thief's face. At that point of time, I could do nothing but shout helplessly. I was lying on the road with blood of two other persons around me. People thought I was hurt, but somehow I was all safe (which I realized later). I was shouting for my cell phone which had fallen off my shirt's pocket. It was that random person walking on the road who came to rescue us, who took it off and flew away! It was a road accident, he knew I was helpless, he knew the situation was confusing, and he took advantage of all that. All had happened within a fraction of seconds. Would not you call it a theft? At that point of time, I believed it to be a theft. I still do.

But the system would not believe so. My first worry was regarding the thief’s misuse of my phone. I had a postpaid connection, and therefore I needed to discontinue the services immediately. Without wasting time I contacted the service provider from a public telephone booth, and after telling the case in detail the customer relations executive had informed me in her sweet voice that I first require to file an FIR in the police station and then produce a copy of the same in order to have the services discontinued.

That was my first FIR in life. It taught me a lot, both as an individual and as a lawyer. Well, at that time I was not a lawyer by profession; I was just a law student. A student; away from his home; staying alone at a hostel. At that point of time I did not know the procedure for filing an FIR, simply because firstly I had never cared about it and secondly because I had never read the Procedure Code, till then.

I reached the police station all prepared, even with the IMEI number of my cell phone. I was quite confident that I will be welcomed and treated royally by the officers there. Not because I was a law student, but because of the principal of my college. He was a highly reputed person, and his name carries a huge weight in the entire State. Even the Judges and police officers sometimes take his advice on complicated legal issues, and it's almost an open secret.

I introduced myself as ‘Sir's student’ to the havildar sitting in the Inspector's chair. He was rubbing tobacco on his right hand palm. There was a 'phew' feeling on his face. Ignoring me, he just placed the tobacco in between his lower lip and the teeth, clapped away the dust in the air and asked me to wait till the 'Senior Inspector' comes. I thought, how fortunate I was, my case would be handled by a 'Senior' Inspector! I did wait and the Senior Inspector arrived shortly. He looked one dashing person. I had already been told to explain my case in short, as Sahib would not have time to spend for petty matters.

Sahib asked me what my case was. I opened up the case in detail, from the starting till the end. He listened to me very carefully. Then there was a rapid-fire round, where he asked me questions right and left, up and down, in and out. I did answer all of them to his satisfaction. At the end of it, he asked me why I wanted to file an FIR. I was surprised by that question. I said, “Sir, I'm just telling you my cell phone got stolen, and you are asking me why I want to file an FIR?” He said, “Not in that way boy, I know it. I mean, what is the purpose you will use the copy of this FIR for?”

I was really new to the system by then. I told him how the service provider company needs a copy of it to discontinue the services on that number. He started writing an FIR. His handwriting was like ‘don’t laugh on this’. From my side of the table, I could not actually read what he was writing, when he was writing it. He finished it in five minutes and asked me to sign it. I was happy; my case was taken up so speedily. “Let me see it”, I said before signing the document, and once it was in my hands, I was taken aback.

He had written in the document that while walking on the road, I had missed my cell phone somewhere on the road, and that it was my mistake. There was no mention of the accident, there was no mention of the person whom I had described in detail, and there was no mention to all the other relevant facts which I had narrated. How on the earth he cooked up the story in that way? I said, “Sir, there is some confusion. This doesn’t look like my complaint.” He immediately and firmly said; “It is. It is your complaint.”

“But Sir, my cell phone got stolen. I haven’t lost it or misplaced it or even missed it – as written in this paper.” I said. I felt a little helpless in front of him. He smiled. He looked like a villain then. With a smile, he said “You call yourself a law student, don’t you? Go back and study the law. Come back to me later, now my duty timings are getting over.” He immediately took the paper back in his hand, kept it in his table drawer, locked it, and went to change. I was dumbstruck. I saw him flying out of the office later, waiving a hand to me and asking me to come back later.

Baffled by the experience, I went back to hostel and took out the bare Act of the mighty ‘Indian Penal Code – 1860’. I knew my phone was stolen, and now I needed to fit my own case in the law. The definition of ‘Theft’ said: ‘Whoever intending to take dishonestly any movable property out of the possession of any person without that person's consent, moves that property in order to such taking, is said to commit theft.’

A detailed study of the section made the whole thing clear. My cell phone was a movable property. It was in my possession. The person had dishonest intent. He had taken my movable property out of my possession. I was shouting to the hell but he ran away, that proves his malevolent purpose. Also proves that I had never consented, so he had taken it without my consent. He had run away with my phone, which meant he had moved the movable property. It was indeed a theft. I was concrete sure on it now. The term ‘missing’ was not defined in the bare Act.

Next day I went to the police station with the bare Act in hand. I had prepared the notes of my own case study. Seeing me entering the office, two havildars whispered something in each other’s ears. “Come in the evening sir, Sahib is on evening duty today” they told me. Cursing the system out of frustration, I came out and stood there for some time. The services to my number would not stop until the FIR was filed and a copy was provided to the company. I thought of informing the company about the practical problems in filing the FIR, and thought that they would show me some sympathy.

Fortunately there was a telephone booth nearby. Seeing it, I immediately walked towards its direction. Now I was inside the booth, and while ringing the customer care, I had a quick sight of the ‘Senior Inspector’ whom I had met yesterday entering the office. I immediately hung up the receiver, came out of the booth and rushing to the police station, caught up the Inspector sitting right in front of him. He looked here and there, demanding explanation on his face. There was no one in the station now. “Okay, tell me.” He said something just to say something.

“Sir, I was just told by your havildars that you were on evening duty today”. I expressed my displeasure and anger for the havildars. “Is it? But who told you so? The havildars are on leave today!” Sahib exclaimed with a smile. Damn it. What was happening with me? Did I want to find out who was on leave and who was posted on which duty? I took a long breath, and with a lot of efforts to keep myself composed, said, “Sir, can we move on the FIR now?”

“Yes; why not? Tell me your case again!” I had to remind him the case. In addition to that, I showed him the definition of the word ‘theft’ and all the notes that I had prepared. I brought to his notice how he had messed up the FIR totally. He was still untouched. “See Wakil Saab, I am not wrong in my interpretation.” He said in a sluggish and firm voice, “Every point that you make out is correct. But in your case, you state that the cell phone fell off from your shirt’s pocket. That means it was lying on the road. From that, it is crystal clear that it was not in your possession. The whole concept of ‘theft’ is balanced on the word ‘possession’, you know? And since the cell phone was not in your possession, I simply cannot apply the section of theft in this case.”

I was first shocked and then left thinking. He seemed to be in a hurry to finish off the matter, so he took the paper out of his table drawer, and said “Now that your doubts are cleared, you may sign this paper and make it a document. Help me to finish it off soon. It’s a month end, and I can have a round figure of FIRs to report.” He had a wicked smile on his face. But I wouldn’t let it go just like that, till I satisfy myself. I knew that something was wrong in his interpretation. I scratched my memory on the word possession, and suddenly I remembered a lecture of Jurisprudence, in which our professor had explained the concept of ‘possession’ to us.

“Sir, see here”. I drew his attention to the paper on which I had made notes. I wrote the word ‘Possession’ on the paper, and started explaining him. “Sir, possession is not only about the physical contact of the immovable or movable property with you. See, you may rent out your property to a tenant. The possession may remain with him but still you are the owner of that property, not he. Possession is the prima facie evidence of ownership. Possession is a secondary concept; whereas ownership comes as a primary concept. And the possession can be transferred only by the Legal Contracts. In the absence of any such contract, the possession is disputable – law does not recognize such disputable possession as genuine.”

I felt like winning half the argument already. “And in my case, I’m proving my ownership with the help of the cell phone receipt which is in my name, and the IMEI number. Though the cell phone fell off on the road, I did not renounce my ownership, did I? Even if it falls on the road, it is in my possession till I do not transfer the possession to someone else! The whole concept of the term ‘theft’ may be balanced on the word ‘possession’, but where have I transferred it to him? And since I haven’t done so, how can you say it was not in my possession? You will have to apply Sec. 378 (theft) in this case.”

He was adamant. I argued a lot, but in vain. I had urgency, and hence I was left puzzled. At one hand, I wanted justice; at the other I needed a copy of my FIR. I came out of the police station, and called up our Principal Sir. I explained the whole case to him. Surprisingly he knew the Police Inspector. He said, “Don’t waste time. Take the copy of FIR from him immediately, give it to the telephone authorities, and come to meet me.”

“You know what,” later, sitting in his air conditioned office, my Principal Sir was telling me, “The theoretical application of law always differs from the practical one. If you file a case of ‘theft’, they (police) have to take a search for the thing stolen. Then they have to prepare a search report. They have to maintain a record of those reports. So much of the energy goes in these efforts. The system already has such a huge burden on its head, and in addition to that, this!” He was referring to my case. "The system is like that. You have to accept certain things, and move ahead. You cannot fight with everyone. At least you should have seen that you get a copy of FIR fast, because you needed it urgently, no? What if it was a terrorist, he could have used your phone for what not?”

Sir was right. Personally, I had no hopes of getting back my cell phone. So I could actually have done with any kind of FIR. The words ‘theft’ or ‘missing’ in the document were not going to make any difference for me or for the service provider company. So what was I fighting for?

Later after some days, the Sahib had called me to the station to 'select' one of the cell phones from a bunch that he had 'seized in one of the raids'. on a custom shop. That time, he was sporting an obstinate smile! Don't know why, but he was offering me such a royal and rich treatment! "Take any one you want. Or maybe two!" He had said grinning pointing at the bunch of phones placed on the table, showing his tobacco-ed black teeth. Don't know why, but I have developed a killing nausea for some elements in the mighty System since then.

...Today, my sister’s purse was stolen while walking on the road. It was snatched off, and people had seen it. The thief ran away. Nobody could do anything. The purse had around 200-300 Rs and an identity card in it. She was in the police station to file an FIR. She was arguing with the lady Police Inspector there, saying that her purse was actually stolen, and not misplaced.

I just interrupted, and said, “Okay, take the document as it is. In reality your purse is stolen, but on the paper you have misplaced it. It doesn’t make much of a difference., does it? You need the copy of FIR to get a duplicate identity card issued, don’t you?”

My sister had a dissatisfied, deceived ‘you-too?’ look in her eyes.

How do I tell her that we should avoid being a burden on the system?

-

A Question For Jurisprudential Study.

2009-09-27T10:36:00.009+05:30

Dear readers,

This post is a little different. This is about a question for a jurisprudential study, and I expect the readers to participate and discuss the question here.

Mr. Amartya Sen has recently written a book called 'The Idea Of Justice'. While reading some reviews of the book, I came across a report of a press conference held by Mr. Sen. In this press conference Mr. Sen puts a questions before the journalists, and invites their reasonable replies on it.

The question by Mr. Sen:

A, B, and C are 3 independent, individual persons. These 3 are, at this point of time, fighting with each other over the issue of a flute that is lying down before them.

A says: I possess the exclusive knowledge of creating the flutes using the bamboos. Nobody else bears the knowledge of creating the flutes other than me. And therefore, I claim that only I should get it. If anyone else gets it, it will result into large injustice to me. A reminds B and C that he built the darn thing, and no sooner did he finish it than the other two started trying to take it away.
B says: I am the only person who bears the knowledge of playing the flute. Nobody else than me knows how to play the flute. The flute is mine because I'm the only one who knows how to play it. And therefore, I claim that only I should get it. If anyone else gets it, it will result into large injustice to me.
C says: I'm the poorest and have no toys, so the flute would at least give me something to play with. Since my childhood, I have never ever gotten anything to play. If I get this flute, I will be able to play it. It means a lot to me, and nobody other than me can understand my feeling and attachment towards it. And therefore, I claim that only I should get it. If anyone else gets it, it will result into large injustice to me.

Let us remember before answering anything, Mr. Sen expects us to answer this query considering the theories of Social Sciences. First think of an answer considering the social sciences, and then try to put it in the Jurisprudential approach. If it is possible to think in any other ways, please explain the thought with reasonable arguments to such an extent where there will be no room left for any kind of ambiguity or vagueness.

Now,

The readers are expected to step into the shoes of the Judge and decide so as to whom the flute is to be given.
While deciding so, remember that the decision should be acceptable to all 3 parties as it is.
Please remember that generally you are not expected to know the laws or the legal theories.
Please remember that all 3 have proved their own statements with evidence.
Please consider that the given information is only the truth.
Please remember that there is no other information than provided.
Please also remember, that the Judge is not expected to suggest who should do what.
Your decision should do equal justice to all of the parties.
Please explain how your decision does justice, in short, with reasonable arguments and if possible, with examples.

Thanks,

-

The Right Time Has To Come!

2009-09-20T16:47:00.013+05:30

Recently I was on a visit to the personal chamber of a senior Solicitor in South Mumbai. I was told to wait for another hour as the person whom I wanted to see would take time to reach. Having no other option I sat down on the cozy sofa set waiting for him. I've been to almost all the solicitor's offices for one or other work. And in the course of time I've learnt one thing that 'waiting' in the offices is quite a norm. You must convince yourself that the waiting is unavoidable. If you don't want to get bored, you may develop the art of spending the time observing the office designs. The globalization has changed the tastes of individual Indian professionals, and you will notice most of the Lawyers' offices designed with a thought. Take it from me, if you want to have your own office sometime in the future, this observation is going to help you. You get a lot of ideas and you learn a lot of things about designing and maintaining an office.

This one was too, pretty nicely designed and aesthetically maintained. There were three huge cupboards containing the comprehensive legal library. The mini chamber walls were made of imported glasses. There was a huge and nice aquarium, with some mid-size flowerpots for the bonsai trees in its corners. Every square of the available space was neatly utilized. Even the comparatively-small-waiting-area was kept nice. Inside the mini-chamber a junior colleague was sitting on his senior's chair. He was probably bored sitting alone because as he saw me through the glass walls, he called me in. He must be taking naps before I went in, and that was evident - he was even yawning while talking to me!

I was asked to be seated, and we had already started an introductory talk. He was an Advocate too - a few years senior to me. We must be almost of the same age-group. The gentleman looked not too old. He seemed to be a talkative person. He had a naughty types face. I mean his face was little confusing - looking at him you will tend to think that he is making fun of you, when in fact he is damn serious. Soon we got friendly with each other. He showed up the style of shaking his legs in rhythm while talking. His body language was relaxed as if he never cared for anything. Even while talking to me, he kept playing with the remote control of air conditioner. Soon after he asked me a question which no lawyer had asked me ever before.

He asked me 'What's your rashee'! Initially I didn't get what he meant, but then he went on explaining how he was interested in astrology etc. As he mentioned he was studying astrology, the very first thought flashed in my mind was: I got to be careful like a Lawyer. I told him that I perhaps have 2 zodiac signs. But he immediately thumped on the table saying "Impossible!" and seeing his confidence I had to get myself corrected. "Maybe I have one sun sign and one moon sign". I told him trying to show that I was vaguely remembering something about it; "I must have two different things, whatever it is." I skipped revealing any personal astrological information and got him to answer my question that was - what are the astrological requirements to make it a good lawyer. The gentleman nodded his head with a laugh and pointing out his finger towards me he said, "Clever! You're a clever boy!"

For a moment I had a thunder-line running through my spinal chord thinking that he must have understood how I'm skipping his queries. But fortunately it wasn't so! "You're a clever boy! You've asked a nice question!" He said with a smile on face, indicating how he was pleased. "Well, you need a powerful Saturn and a powerful Mars in your horoscope to make it a big lawyer." He had a pride for his knowledge. I badly wanted him not to ask anything that I didn't want to reveal and somehow I managed to change the track of conversation. Referring to the senior Solicitor whom the office belonged to, I said "Sir must be having all the powerful planets in his horoscope, right?" To the best of my knowledge, Sir was the most successful practicing Lawyer, who always followed the ethics and principles. But according to his junior colleague, the gentleman in front of me, the 'real success story' seemed to be different.

"Oh yes, there is a story behind this office! You won't believe, when I joined this chamber, it wasn't like this. The office design was dull, and even the business scene was dull. Sir was a bit worried with the progress!" His eyes lit with excitement while remembering those days. He had a sense of pride in his body language. And why not; he was the sole instrumental soul, who guided his senior colleague on various issues, providing simple astrological solutions on all the queries under the sun! And what more, he also suggested redesigning the office according to Vaastushastra - so that the number of clients will only increase and never decrease!

Was he making fun of me? I felt like wandering through the fools' paradise, but I had already closed the rest of the options by showing interest. And from his face, it was really difficult to collect if he was making any fun. Though his face looked a little naughty, with his teeth protruding outside his mouth, the gentleman was in fact serious!

He must have wanted to impress me more, because he went on talking on his skills. One thing that I would not ever forget is that he had a plan to collect the astrological data of the criminals and study them in detail. "You know what, astrology combined with any other subject can help to a great extent. I want to combine it with Criminology. I believe this is need of time. Know why?" He went on explaining his own thoughts and reasons. "Unless you know the reasons you can't solve the problems. After all we are supposed to exhaust ourselves for only one reason - for bringing peace in the society."

His concern may have been genuine but his way to peace was something that was unintelligible for me. Though it was so, it interested me and I wanted to know more about it. I had studied the Criminology, but I was new to the concept of clubbing it with astrology. To put it in a funny way, all that I knew about astrology was that there exist some planets outside the earth and some people claim that the planets have a daily impact on their lives. Personally I don't know if their claims are true or how. Ignoring the irrelevant thoughts gathering in my mind, I concentrated upon the novel concept that the gentleman was talking about. I asked him, "Well, criminology and astrology are essentially two different subjects. I find it pretty difficult to imagine clubbing both the things together. Is it really possible? And if yes, how?"

"Why not?" He thumped on the table again. "Remember the planets have their impact on everybody's life, and they largely shape the destiny of a living being. Criminals have predictably similar astrological data in their horoscopes. And its my strong belief that if one studies these things in detail, it could help a great extent." And without explaining how it could 'help a great extent', he went ahead saying "You know this isn't any new thing. Read the European classics on 'Criminology', you'll find several chapters dedicated to subjects like 'how to face-read a criminal', and 'the astrological details of a criminal'. Even the European society has made use of astrology for tracing criminals. Since they were better in documentation and recordings, they have maintained these records. But then there were controversies and now for these reasons, they want to forget all these efforts by their ancestors!" He thought there was a need to cite a European example, to impress me.

Anyway. Fun apart, this whole thing was something new. Things which impress you easily need to be given a thought. Thinking analytically; though it sounded clear, I felt it was largely illogical. First of all, the subject itself is of a controversial nature. There are people who believe astrology to be a science and there are people opposing those believers. The non-believers always ask to prove it a science. And the believers are never bothered. The burden of proof essentially falls on the shoulder of those non-believers, and so far there has been no settlement on the part of both the parties.

In these circumstances, how can one stamp the other a criminal based just on the astrological details? What if the horoscope readings go wrong? And if astrology is allowed; criminals will plead saying they never wanted to commit a crime, just that their acts were ruled by planets! The gentleman had indeed given some interesting information. But can astrology really solve the criminal cases? Remember, I am not questioning whether or not astrology is a science. We Lawyers are trained to avoid arguments on such issues where we have no concrete knowledge.

I felt an urge to perform a check on all the information provided by the gentleman. But then, there were stories I had heard in the Bar room even before talking to him. There are people in the police departments who trace the criminals by calculating the horoscopes of the time and place when and where the crime was committed. I've myself seen an astrologer in a detective agency. And we all know how our politicians seeking guidance from their astrological gurus before taking any important decision!

I hear there are several Judges who can read faces and palms; and there are a few others who know numerology. Apparently, it is said that this knowledge helps them in coming to an accurate conclusion and they have track of successfully solved cases! There are many Lawyers who know astrology too; but then the Lawyers are expected to be master-of-all, you know!

Fun apart; the additional knowledge of astrology may or may not help in a positive or negative way, but we should always remember too much of anything is good for nothing. The Constitution of India prescribes developing the scientific temper as a fundamental duty. It is our duty to promote and develop the scientific approach in the society. And apart from all, my only personal concern is related to the Judicial system in India. I summarize it in just one sentence: When will we be able to bring the judicial system up to the International benchmark and standards? Can astrology answer my question?...

The gentleman talked and talked till he got a phone call to attend. He answered the phone call and asked me to wait outside. He had gotten a job. I sat in the waiting area outside, and the office boy gave me some magazines to read. With the unanswered questions floating in mind, I took one of the magazine, but immediately kept it back - it was dedicated to 'Future Prediction'. I switched on the TV set, and all the channels were full of Astro Uncles! The planets and astrologers ruled all over the world. Looked like there was no escape from them. Finally I settled down on a channel, and did wait for my future for the day. The astrologer, who looked like a representative of all the planets, smiled looking at me, and said.. "You have some unanswered questions floating in mind. But don't worry, all your questions are going to be answered soon. You will definitely get your solutions. Just that you will have to wait. Everything you want will happen, but..

..The right time has to come!"

-

Who's Listening?

2009-08-26T18:54:00.005+05:30

In the lawyer's profession, you generally witness many tragedies in people's lives. People think law is the only and last available resort and come to you to find legal solution to their problems. Before coming to you, they already go through so much misery, sufferings and pains. They are devastated. But this gentleman sitting before me was exactly opposite. His body language was passionate, he had determined eyes, and those could dig through your soul. He had a well built persona. With his 6'3 height and a gorgeous and strong personality, he looked like if he wanted to take revenge of someone.

He introduced himself saying that he was a military school educated person wishing to be a pilot in the air force. He further said he was almost nearing to become a pilot, and it was at the same time this injustice was happening to him. He believed he had been subjected to injustice and was convinced himself that he had a ground to make out a case to be taken to the Court for a concrete solution. But before proceeding further, I had a few doubts to be cleared. As a lawyer, you need to first investigate and find out the genuineness of the case before anyone entrusts you their case to litigate. It is necessary to convince yourself because many a time people make out cases just to 'teach a lesson' to others.

For this reason, I asked him so many questions up and down, left and right. The person was answering everything in minutest details, and there was no catch. In addition, he had the documentary evidence to support his side of the story. Though on the face value, this person seemed much of those ‘teach-a-lesson’ types, from the details that he had provided, it sounded like a genuine case.

The story of the gentleman goes like this: As a child, he had cherished a dream to be a pilot. Being the only son, his parents did whatever on the earth was possible and feasible to them. They were not of those rich and affluent types. His father was an officer in a semi-government organization who had invested all the income he earned throughout his lifetime into his son's dream. In addition to this, his mother had sold her jewelry and had also taken loans from her office to support her son's dreams. They left no stone unturned in sending their son to the best institute in the country to be trained as a pilot.

He completed the extensive training within the stipulated time and successfully underwent all kind of tests and trainings and had had substantial flying experience. His instructor vouched that he was a brilliant student and would have a bright, excellent and successful future as a pilot. Soon thereafter he applied for a trainee pilot’s job with the respondents' Company. The Company required him to undergo various tests and trainings before recruiting him as a trainee. He followed all the requisites to their best satisfaction, and was now being considered for an appointment. His parents were elated that their efforts had actually paid off.

But there was a final stage. He was required to meet the pre employment medical standards as defined by the Company. The Company doctors' board rejected his application declaring him unfit, based on their own findings which said that the gentleman had been found suffering from hypertension. This shattered the gentleman, but he took quick smart moves by immediately approaching private doctors. He consulted several doctors and as he had expected, none of them opined that he was suffering from any problem. He was declared all-fit by all of them. He approached the Company doctors' board again; this time with the various doctor’s certificates declaring him fit, and asked the board to consider him for a reexamination. But unfortunately, nobody bothered to entertain him.

A nosy family friend suggested them that the Company board might want to ‘settle’ the matter with them. “Ask them confidently what are their demands, and pay off immediately. Don’t hesitate. Mark my words, they will certainly 'clear' your 'records' and in turn your employment will be guaranteed”. He had said. The gentleman at one stage was of the opinion that they should contact the doctors in the Company board to find out if they really had any demands, but his parents did not let him do it. “What if they don’t have such demands? You’ll lose your application in that case. Better write an application saying that you have consulted around 10 different doctors and that none of them declares you unfit. Who knows, the doctor who checked you might have taken wrong readings, or in the worst case, the equipment itself might be faulty”. His father had said. After the extensive table discussions with their son, finally his parents had decided. They were going to take a chance by writing an application, and they did accordingly.

The Company did not bother to entertain; they even refused to receive the application. The ill-starred gentleman was left disappointed by is act by the Company. He could not do anything but cry on his own fate. His father told him to take it easy, and try to make a career in something else, but the gentleman was too broken to stand. The family friend again came to their rescue, this time with a suggestion asking them to take the whole thing to the Court. He pointed out how they had concrete grounds to make out a case. The gentleman and his parents thought about giving it a chance. They had already spent around 30 lakhs for supporting the dream; a few thousands more wouldn’t be much a difference to them. They consulted the ‘top’ lawyers of the town, but unfortunately everyone showed them the exit door. Nobody explained to them what was wrong with the case. Was the case a failure? No it was not.

Actually, the gentleman and his parents were insisting to seek an order from the Court to the effect that the gentleman be appointed as a trainee pilot in the Company. The Court is not in a position to do that simply because it is not a task of the Court to decide who should be recruited where. Secondly, they wanted the Court to go through all the medical evidence that they had and declare that he was fit and a suitable candidate to be considered competent. Again, the Court would go through the records for the sake of evidence, but would not be in the position to comment anything on it, simply because the Judges are not an expert of medical sciences.

I explained the various possibilities to them, but now they had come far away to go back. The family was adamant on taking it to the Court. They were on innocent hopes that the luck was in their favor and that some miracle would happen. Personally for me the case would be an additional experience. After explaining the law, they were clear they were just taking a chance; and they had no issues with that. “I’m not saying we should win, I just say we want to ensure that we don’t leave any stone unturned – people shouldn’t say in future: look, his father didn’t do anything.” The father voiced his thoughts. I decided to take the case for the sake of experience. Seeing at the gentleman, one could easily tell that he was suffering. Still he was confident that he was the suitable candidate, and that he was subjected to injustice. He displayed the sorrow that is generally seen on their faces who are really subjected to injustice.

Finally we filed a Write Petition in the High Court. We prayed for reexamination of the gentleman, submitting that the device which was used to measure blood pressure could be faulty, or just that the readings may have gone wrong. To support our prayers, we had the medical certificates issued by various doctors declaring the gentleman fit. The case came on the hearing board soon after filing. After going through all the records, it did not take the Judges to come to an opinion that there was nothing that they could do in it.

The Judges expressed their inability in such words: "We are afraid that we cannot sit over the medical finding of the appropriate board which was of the view that the petitioner could not meet the medical standards. We are not experts of the medical sciences. In this view of the matter, we dispose of this petition being conscious of the fact that it is not for this court to decide whether the person is medically fit or not, particularly when the job involves the risk of life of the petitioner as well as the many others. Therefore, we only allow the petitioner to make a fresh representation, which may be considered by the respondents in the light of the Rules and the medical opinion".

This was expected but the gentleman was disheartened. And he had every right to be disheartened. He was merely in his late twenties. He had whole life remaining. While walking out of the Court he said in deep sorrowfulness “I’ve lost all the chances now. This take was too heavy. I did a mistake by coming to the Court; I should rather have followed what our family friend had suggested earlier. But...!”

It was not for the first time that I was witnessing something like this. A few months back, I had seen a major case about which I had once written here. The case was similar not in the facts, but in the way they were dealt with. Cases may come and go, what remains untouched, is the system. Jurisprudents always feel the judicial system which has been designed to deliver the justice, does not actually serve the said purpose as efficiently as it should.

And therefore the people like the gentleman above are compelled to think that the system always fails. Actually, it is not his fault. The ‘modern’ system is itself somewhat amusing. As a student of Law and Jurisprudence, I have a lot more things to say on this ‘modern’ system...

...But who’s listening?

-

The Nostalgia...

2009-05-11T09:31:00.010+05:30

“Wow, man! This is simply amazing. Must be burning a hole in your pocket, eh?" A friend remarked little sarcastically, referring to my music collection. Being a born music lover, I have a fairly good collection of original music tapes and CDs. There is a tale behind each tape and every CD, and I clearly remember all those tales. Ignoring the sarcastic remark made by my friend, I traveled back into the memories...

During my childhood, i.e. in the early 90's, 'collecting the music' meant collecting the music tapes. CDs came on the scene much later. In those days, buying a music tape was a luxury for a school-going teenager like me. Things are different nowadays. Especially after the piracy affecting the markets owing to the mp3 revolution; it has become a fashion to appeal to buy the original copyrighted material. But back then, 'buying the original tapes' was the only known source of possessing your favorite music.

In the early days, the only source to know about an upcoming music album would be the sub-standard movie posters stuck on the roadside walls. I remember stopping by such posters and have a look at them to find out my favorite music director's name on it. This sounds a little weird now in the times of Internet technology. But back then, it would be fun. Well, the habit also earned me a bad name. Once I was late to school, and my teacher demanded an explanation. On my telling the reason, the teacher asked my friends if what I was telling was the truth. A nosy boy had promptly and loudly declared, despite my efforts to stop him; that I come to school watching the roadside filmy posters. I was taken to the Headmaster’s cabin immediately, who later wrote a letter to my parents naming me a 'roadside romeo' and wrongly alleging that I 'observe' the 'actresses' on the posters...

...And God, I had a terribly tough time explaining the real things to my parents. They knew I was a born music lover, but to convince them, I had to promise that I'll give up the practice of stopping by the movie posters. To continue finding out about the new music releases, I switched to a new source: the newspaper advertisements. It would be fun to wait for the newspapers in the early mornings. Soon, around 1995, the Cable TV revolution entered our homes, and then there was no need to check the newspaper ads as well.

My neighborhood friend's parents subscribed to the Cable TV connection, and I started developing a good PR with them. I and my friend used to study together, sitting in his home. Obviously, it would be less of studies and more of breaks. In the study break, a TV channel used to telecast a programme called 'Ek Jhalak'. It showed song preludes from the upcoming movies. I remember having danced in happiness to see the name of my favorite music director appearing on the screen. Compared to my earlier sources, the Cable TV did wonders. I could see and listen to the songs much before they could release in the market. I remember gathering my friends around, and singing the songs from upcoming movies! Craze, you know!

On spotting my favorite music director's name on the screen, I would quickly escape to the shop nearby to see if my shop owner had already brought me my gift. On inquiring, he used to give me confused looks. He wouldn't even know the name I would ask for. I used to take pride in informing him that it’s an upcoming movie, and then he would call up his distributors to find out the release dates. I would count the days, and almost every day I would hit the steps of his shop to annoy him, till I get my tape. That annoying gap till getting my copy in hands would indeed be some fun.

Finally the day would arrive, when a box containing the tapes would come. Such was the impact of my favorite music director's name, that there would be queues of music lovers before the shop to get their copies. But ahem, I knew the shop vendor, and since many a times I would be instrumental in passing on the information about that particular upcoming movie, righteously I would be the first and person to get my copy in hands. In fact, most of the times, I would open the box while the entire queue would wait for it! I would quickly grab my copy and ignoring the rest of the world, would run back home, find a pair of scissors and begin work on the packaging. I would stop and smell the sweetness of the plastic cover while carefully cutting along the bottom and one side. Prying out the remaining packaging apart, I would reach for my gift!

Well, life wouldn’t go so effortlessly. My father wouldn't ever like me ‘wasting my time’ listening to the music. And I used to have frequent sessions of lectures explaining how music should merely be a hobby and how studies should get the utmost importance. Music was highly unproductive, according to him, and spending your time with studies only meant investing the time in your future. Alas, mine wasn't the generation of the reality shows and the society still considered the film business to be a low-standard business back then. For these reasons, probably, I could never ever imagine myself making a career into music, and I sometimes feel like badly regretting about it, despite having any professional training! So, like any obedient son, I would prima-facie agree with my parents that the hobby should be in its place and the life should be shaped with the help of studies. But as I would see the new advertisement, my craze would force me to do the magic again!

But in the given circumstances, bringing a music tape home was as risky as filing a case in the Court. You never know when the arguments will end, and at the end of it, everyone would be left with a bitter taste in their mouth! So; most of the tapes in my collection have entered from the back-door, without my parents' knowledge. And how? My mother would give me Rs. 1.50/- everyday, to have the salted groundnuts during the break. I would skip the nuts to save the money for my tapes. My friends would think I’m crazy. One of my friends introduced me a concept called 'pocket money'. Till then, I hadn't even had heard that word. It was indeed an appealing concept, and I immediately explained it to my father, to find out that it was a totally flop concept. But somewhere, my father accepted my craze towards the music, and promised that he'll buy me a cassette on each birthday! So till many years ahead, I continued the practice of skipping the nuts for tapes. Craze, you know!

But even in those days, I wasn't totally satisfied with the music tapes. The tapes would be manufactured poorly. The plastic cover would break easily; the reels would cut while playing. They would also produce a hissing sound, which was irritating. In addition, sometimes the magnetic reel would come out, and reeling it back on its original position was a pain. I would be well equipped with the instruments required for opening a music tape and repairing it. Out of my craze I learnt the art of repairing the broken tapes, and had a mastery over it. But overall, this experience wasn't a pleasing one. Around the same time, the CD technology was introduced.

I distinctly remember my first experience with listening to a CD. It was around 1996, and one of my distant relatives had brought home an imported CD player. My cousin boasted about the CD player and the sound quality over the phone call. And I immediately reached out for the experience to his home. For the first time what grabbed my attention that there was no screws to fix the CDs. The whole technique of the CDs was totally different than the tapes and hence I wondered how the songs can go inside the CD! But the sound was crystal clear, indeed, and it gave a brand new experience. Compared to the music tapes, the CDs were far superior. I was instantly fascinated by the sound quality. But dreaming of a CD wasn't easy. They would cost anything in between whooping Rs. 400/- to Rs. 700/- per copy.

Unfortunately, till the prices of the CDs came in my reach, most of the titles I wanted almost disappeared from the markets. And then, finding the old missing titles became another hobby. People used to laugh at me, when I would go shop to shop with a list of missing CDs in hand. Years later, when we had a fixed telephone connection at home, I began browsing through the telephone directories to find out phone numbers of the music shops to inquire about the missing CDs. I also developed best friends in the music shops, cassette companies, in music distribution companies and later in the music industry. Wandering around the roadside shops, searching the computerized databases in the Music World and Planet M shops, visiting the Chor Bazaars, old markets, raddi shops etc. became a routine in life. One won't believe; I have also checked out the music database at the barber's shops and Paan shops. I have even stopped in the journey in some strange towns in the remote places, just to find out a music shop with a hope of getting some tapes or CDs. I have also pasted the missing CDs list on my college's notice board, in hope that if someone, by chance, has any of them; I can ask them for it.

...And indeed, I have been fortunate most of the times. I feel blessed to have some like-minded friends with whom I can share my nostalgia. When I had lost the hopes of getting some of rarest of rare CDs or tapes, they have come forward to help me in getting them. Especially, some of the CDs were never stamped in India, and thus, weren’t available here. These friends of mine have actually taken pains to find out the CDs abroad and have helped me a lot by their act of kindness towards me! I don't know how much indebted I am to them for this nicest gesture, I really don’t know if I deserve this favor…

And then there are some other friends too; who think it’s not worth dying for the CDs. They suggest I should instead download mp3s from the Internet, or purchase the pirated mp3 CDs sold outside the railway stations. They flash their I-pods before me and say how the technology helps to manage your favorite music collection. "Have you taken an oath that you alone will save the entire music industry? You can very well enjoy your favorite music with mp3 players, where you may have your entire music collection just in your pocket, you know?" My friend says. My hobby irritates him, and he remarks sarcastically, "Crazy man! Are you going to take this collection with you, up there?" I just smile back to him, because I know he wouldn't understand.

He wouldn't understand. It's not about taking the collection up there. It’s about appreciating the life, down here. It's about an experience of a thunder-lightening running up through your spinal cord on locating a rare tape somewhere. The mp3s don't do that to me. It's about taking a CD out of your music collection, and remembering the adventures that you did to get it. I-pods can't have that privilege, certainly. It’s about shouting eureka and dance all over the town showing everyone the copy that you found! The online releases can't do that magic. It's about standing in a queue, waiting for the shop owner to open the just-arrived box, to get you the gift. The website and torrent download queues don’t seem to be that appealing.

It’s also about hugging and kissing the roadside shop vendor in excitement when he gets you some rare copy. It’s about spending some time in arranging and rearranging the tapes and the CDs. It’s not about saving the music industry, but it’s about supporting the music industry and being loyal to my favorite music director. It’s not about unwelcoming the cutting edge technology; it’s about appreciating the efforts that the music companies took to reach out to the music lovers, when there was dearth of such hi-tech technology. It’s about so many tiny things in life. Once you learn to appreciate them, they make your life beautiful.

It can’t be a purpose of life, certainly; but it’s indeed a journey called life.

It’s about the life. It's about the nostalgia...

-

Because we never want to…!

2009-04-27T13:04:00.004+05:30

Those were the early days of my career as a legal professional. In those days I used to go to different Courts and observe the proceedings; especially, the lawyers’ professional styles of conducting the cases. In the due course, one day I happened to enter in a court hall where a criminal case was being heard.

Shortly after entering, I realized it was a high profile trial. The accused in the case was charged with an offence of carrying deadly weapons. The lawyer representing him was explaining his side to the Court. He put forward the absolute inevitability of possessing the weapons. He argued for about half an hour but somehow; the Judge didn’t look as if he was convinced. At one point the Judge looked irritated. He interrupted the lawyer, asked him to take his seat and said, “Let me hear it from your client.” Turning to the accused, he asked to explain why he had to carry such destructive weapons.

The accused looked startled for a while. With some restlessness in his eyes, he looked at his lawyer, who gave him a nod to continue, cautiously. The accused opened up with his side of the story. What followed next was a session of questions and answers between the Judge and the accused. He nearly failed convincing the Judge. At one point, the accused, looking down at his feet, said... “My Lord, I wasn’t aware that possessing these weapons is a crime in the eyes of law..!” After stating this, he looked at his lawyer. The lawyer was seen hitting his forehead with his palm. “Hey Raam!” He was heard saying.

The Judge was amused. He asked the lawyer, “Doesn’t your client know the cardinal principle of Jurisprudence ignorantia juris...? Guide him about it. What he's stating isn't acceptable to the Court. Tomorrow he may commit a murder; and will defend saying that he didn’t know committing a murder was a crime under the laws?”

‘Ignorantia juris non excusat’. I remembered studying this principle in the Law school. This is the cardinal principle of the Jurisprudence which propounds that the ignorance of the laws does not provide an excuse to the guilty. Logically speaking, a person unaware of the laws should not escape the liability for violating those laws, merely on the ground that he was unaware of them.

--- --- ---

Recently I was discussing certain observations with a lawyer friend of mine. I narrated this story to him while discussing on the ‘common man’s legal understanding’. We shared an observation, that is; the common man in India is largely ignorant about the laws. When it comes to the legal understanding, even the so called university-toppers fumble. “Can you say why it is so?” My friend asked me with a grin.

Thinking over it, I feel the core reason has evidently to be the Indian education system. It has been designed such a way, where people hardly get an in-depth knowledge about the law. On the contrary, In the European countries (where we blatantly source our legal system from) the formal legal education begins from the tender age. They ensure that nobody is taught to ignore the law. A European 10th grade passed out is well aware of the world history, geography, politics, and their local laws to say the least. On the contrary, a 10th grade passed out in India is aware of God-knows-what, and some of his fundamental rights.

I shared this opinion with my friend. He smiled to indicate that he isn’t convinced. Seeing this I went on adding a few points... “See, in India, the education system has been designed such a way that the legal knowledge is kept somewhat exclusive in nature. Even the most preliminary knowledge cannot be acquired in a professional study course provided by the renowned law schools.” To support this statement, I shared with him a view, which a Senior Counsel had once shared with me over a cup of coffee. The Counsel had said, “While preparing the legislations, the British legislators took a due care that the system will generate work for the lawyers who support their Government. After independence, we follow the same system with all its merits and demerits. And hence we inherit the same rules in our education system. Frankly speaking, one does not need to have any specialized skills to do the things like a good lawyer. If there is a ‘Do it yourself’ book available on the legal procedure, anyone can do the things like lawyers, easily so. And if the common man does even 50% of the things on his own, 85% of the lawyers will be compelled to sit idle. Therefore precisely, this procedure part has been intentionally kept untouched in the preliminary legal studies. One has to learn it only after joining the profession and not before...”

My friend listened to this seriously. He seemed to have accepted certain points, but then he had another query. “Oh, so you expect everyone to be an expert of the procedure, eh?” He asked with his smile which was a bit irritating. “Obviously not..!” I said “But don’t we-the-people should know at least the basic things? Law, Justice and Administration are such an important part of an individual's life. Logically speaking one can carry on for a few days without knowing the medicines, but can’t carry on for a single minute without knowing the laws. It’s such mandatory thing to know the laws.” It was at this point, that I shared with him the opening story of the Judge and the accused guilty of possessing weapons.

“You seem to be right and largely so” my friend said. But do you really think people really bother about this? We have certain major sections in the society, who, if they want to, can bring about a change in the whole thing. The first section is of politicians, which uses or rather abuses the legal system for their political benefits. The second one is of lawyers, who use it to earn their livelihood. Another section is selfishly neutral about the whole thing. They ‘respect the system’ when they want to and are free to disrespect it when they want to. The common man cannot dare to touch the issue. All that the common man is taught is to take care of his fundamental rights and to ignore his fundamental duties. And above this all, there is a section of people who take a pride in breaking the laws than abiding themselves by it. Somewhere in the corner of their hearts they have decided that the present legal system doesn’t belong to them. It wasn’t made for them...”

“I would say it’s really a noble thought to say the knowledge of legal procedure should be made open to all. But it’s also a crazy thought. After all, even if the legal procedure is made a part of the primary studies, it won’t bring any change. The change has to come from within. A lot of people understand what you’re saying. But somewhere we have accepted the way the system is. We work like machines.” His face could reflect his burning heart. Keeping silence for a minute, he said, “Learning from the past isn’t that hard... But we’ll never learn...

Because we never want to learn anything...!”

to be continued...
-

Change, Coming Our Way...!

2009-04-15T22:11:00.002+05:30

A friend of mine recently joined a political party of a national stature as a part of her internship programme. Being a part of a national political party such as this one was her long cherished dream, and therefore quite naturally she had loads of things to share about the whole experience. I bugged my friend requesting to write a blog post covering her first hand experiences in nutshell, to which she obliged saying 'Yes, why not!'. But then she left this idea somewhere back in mind, and as a result the 'Yes, why not' began to appear merely a promise. These parties and their promises! Yawn!

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

On a busy Sunday afternoon, all of a sudden my cell rang. A kind friend was remembering me. Seeing his name on the display, my heart skipped a beat. He's a journalist. These journalist people are ever charged, and thus motivating. I could quite tell that he had a plan to make me run directionless under the sun. It was a long hot afternoon and when I was not prepared to go out, this gentleman had remembered my name!

"Hey! Hi! What’s your plan for the day?" He asked directly without wasting his time. "Umm..." I thought of a solid answer to escape, but I took a little time. Before I could make out a satisfactory answer, I got to hear "Okay. We're going to attend a meeting. Get ready in 5 minutes; I'm reaching your place."

This was irritating. After all you don't get a Sunday every day. I protested saying I can't make it. To which he replied with his throat chocked with emotions, "Man, please don't make me fall on my face. You know, this will prove to be a good chance for you. It’s a closed door meeting of a political party. Actually I've to attract professionally qualified crowd in order to get my stories. Now if you don't help me...."

I don't know if I qualify as 'crowd', but I was game. I winked an eye to myself. Politics in India has become a free entertainment. Practically thinking, attending this closed room session was a 'now-or-never' chance. Generally common man is kept away from these sessions, and therefore I didn't want to miss on this opportunity. My friend had assured me that I’ll ‘enjoy’ the meeting. And above all, there was huge excitement of witnessing the whole thing live. I already began imagining the meeting, maybe with a smile on my face.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

We reached the hall within 20 minutes. Surprisingly, I found many professionally-qualified 'learned friends' there. Soon after, I learnt that the candidate was himself a lawyer. He happened to be a heavy name in the circle and therefore all the practicing lawyers from the city had decided to support him in all the ways they can. Okay, I understood. I guess we must not be more than 70 and all of us were in between age group of 25 to 40. We were asked to introduce ourselves, and gradually I came to know that I had the fortune to be sitting among the elites. Some of them were chartered accountants, some were company secretaries, some owned private companies, some were stock market brokers, some were finance management consultants, some were owners of IT companies, and rest of them were practicing lawyers.

It certainly didn’t look like a meeting of a political party; it was rather like a corporate event. Nobody seemed to have a direct link with the active politics. Even though, everyone seemed to have a good study and understanding on the current issues. A person clad in leader-type white cloths took over the charge and discussed some of the issues. A representative of the candidate with the help of the readily available database on his laptop; could impressively explain the kind of difference the party would bring, after they win the elections. Gradually he started discussing the ‘to-do’ strategies which will help the candidate win the election.

Let me say, I was sitting in one of the busiest districts, and this was the constituency where the ‘crowd’ comprises of highest tax paying practicing professionals. The problems of this constituency and that of the rest of the nation were totally different. Here, there is no scope for caste, religion, and language based politics; and hence the issues like reservations, temple construction etc etc weren’t even touched. The main emphasis was on discussions on how could we reduce the taxes. Someone brought the attention towards the security, and suddenly all of them remembered the 26/11 attacks. The representative immediately announced that their party will work on to make the income of people working with army, defense and security agencies completely tax-free, which was welcomed by all with heavy applause.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

The candidate himself had not arrived yet as he was held up in the campaign somewhere nearby. As the people were clapping, the candidate stepped in. Everyone gave him a standing welcome. He saw the ‘crowd’, and that brought a smile on his face. He introduced himself, and within next 10 minutes showed us a picture of the change that he wants to bring in. He certainly didn’t look like someone who dreams in the daytime. Shortly after finishing his opening speech, he invited questions from us. By now, I had already realized that none of us had even thought of the problems with the judicial system. It was apt to raise a question regarding that. The candidate was himself a lawyer, and who else can understand the veracity of such an important technical question than him?

The next moment I introduced myself once again, and began... “Sir, before you came in, we just discussed about the recent terrorist attacks. We discussed about all the aspects such as the security and the measurements that can be taken. There is still one question unanswered, and I’m afraid nobody has raised the question yet. Fortunately, we have been able to detain one of the terrorists. My question is; how are we going to deal with the case? We know that the legal luminaries are trying to fit the case in the present available framework of the law. This way, the entire process may take another 20 years.” The candidate interrupted, “Look, the particular case is under-trial...” I suddenly felt an urge to explain my point, and I interrupted back.

“Sorry to interrupt, sir. I know an individual cannot do much here in a single case. Let me put my biggest anxiety this way: We call ourselves a sovereign country. We dream of being the superpower in next 10 years. Still, we haven’t yet been able to solve the problems like terrorism. When terrorist attacks take place, we file the cases in the courts. There, we implement such time consuming ways of tackling the issues. The whole process takes so much of time, that at the end of it, the ‘justice’ remains just for the sake of it. What message are we sending to the International community by this? Secondly, thinking on a wider aspect, if the party wins this time, is there any agenda as far as the judicial system is concerned? We certainly need to take some measures to bring the judicial system up to the International benchmark and standards; by ensuring that the whole process gets faster, reliable and accessible to the common man.”

The candidate answered “As far as the judicial system is concerned, we have already taken enough measures to make it fair. When the other party ruled the country for so many years, the scene was really bad. When we took over the office for little time, we did so many things like totally abolishing the political interference with the judicial system, and bringing changes in the procedure, by establishing the fast track courts.” He immediately switched to praising his own party, and till the people got bored, he continued.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

The meeting was soon called off for no availability of time. After it was over, the candidate came towards us and informally asked me to suggest the best judicial reforms that I can think of. He promised he will certainly look into this issue. He said he was ‘impressed’ by the question, and since it was necessary to have him in power to be able to look into the question; he requested me with a stubborn smile to go door-to-door campaigning for him. He further said, he considers us as a part of his family and the family members will be ready 24x7 for any kind of assistance in this regard. His party men promptly provided some website links printed in business cards sizes, a CD with a documentary in it, and some random material useful for campaigning.

While going back, my journalist friend discussed, “Do you think you asked the question to a right person? Agreed he may be a heavy name in the lawyer's circle, but a good lawyer cannot necessarily make out a good politician. And this question has got its own value. It’s absolutely right that we need to push the judiciary to speed up, but you should not have raised the question here in such indoor meet sessions. If you could manage to take this question inside the parliament, you will make hell lot of money… I’m sure; this person is going to use this point in his upcoming campaigns, for his personal benefits.”

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

I don't think I asked something wrong at the wrong place to a wrong person. The candidate seemed more interested in winning, obviously so, and I don’t think he took any interest in the question or its solution. These parties target each and every person in the country, and I don’t think many would be concerned with this particular question. I think I felt like asking the question, since all the crowd was actively participating in the questions and answers session. I don’t have any issues if any political party uses this question for winning the elections, provided they really work on it to bring in the desired change.

Change is coming our way, and I could say it quite confidently. Why a friend of mine, an MBA student, wished to join the political party of the national stature? To understand the better options to promote these ideas of change within the given deadlines, without targets. Why otherwise would we imagine the people like these chartered accountants, company secretaries, IT company owners, stock market brokers, finance management consultants, and practicing lawyers would take active participation in such indoor meetings? I’m sure they won’t have the time to go door-to-door campaigning for the party. They are there because they knew the necessity of their presence.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Change is coming our way, and I say it confidently.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

The Identity And The Innocence.

2009-01-21T08:51:00.005+05:30

I was standing near a tree in a shadow, besides a bus stop, waiting for my bus to come. The place was new to me. Near the bus stop, there was a dilapidated wall, and behind it, there was a pitch-like flat-leveled patch on the land. On one corner of it, a young boy of around 7 to 8 years was playing cricket in the air.

Cricket-in-the-air is something that the ill-fated children of the underprivileged parents play. Well, it’s simple. You don’t burn holes in your pockets to buy the stumps, bat and the ball. All that you have to do is; imagine the ball coming your way through the air, and start hitting. This boy too, with nothing in his hands, was just imagining the ball. And his body was perfectly moving accordingly, to take the right steps to hit it beyond the borders. It was wonderful to see him playing. He had a perfect body language. Like as if he had a bat in his hands that was invisible to me alone.

And there was another boy, almost of the same age, sitting on a branch of a tree. For quite a while, he observed the first boy playing cricket-in-the-air. Slowly he developed an interest in it, and at one point of time he jumped down, shouting a ‘Haaeeaay’, showing his excitement through his high-pitched voice. He went straight to join the game with the ‘invisible ball’.

Now they were two. The bowler was bowling, and the batsman was hitting. Let me say, most of the hits were beyond the boundaries. So much was my involvement in watching it, that I realized missing my bus only after missing it.

They played for some time, and soon they were tired. Or say, they got bored. All this while, they were shouting in excitement. Now they needed water for their dry throat, to quench their thirst. They went to the tap near the wall, drank water, and took a seat down the tree in the dust. There was an unadulterated innocence in them, and that is why they did not need any background to be friends.

But you tend to know more about your friends. I could see the boys talking to each other. It was an interesting question and answers session. “What’s your name?” The second boy had asked when it caught my attention. The first one was making drawings with his fingertips in the dust. He told his name, while still drawing in the dust. The second boy got nosy to hear the name. He asked what his name meant. The first boy didn’t know the meaning either.

“We are Musalman.” He was still drawing in the dust, and he replied without looking up. The second boy became quiet. But not for long. Hardly for a minute could he hold his curiosity; and suddenly asked with all the possible, natural innocence; “Do you store guns in your home?”

The first boy gave a look that was quite confusing for me. The look had many feelings in it. There was maturity and confusion together, and it was thought provoking. The second boy kept quiet for a moment, with a guilty feeling this time. Then he suddenly asked, again with his natural innocence, “How do you know that you are a Muslim?”

The first boy couldn’t say anything for a moment. Then he said, “I know it.”

“But how do you know?”

“I can’t say… I just know. How do you know you are a Hindu?”

“Ummm. I don’t know.” The boy looked really puzzled.

“Your mummy must be telling you the Ramayana and Mahabharata stories?”

“Yes, she does... She knows so many nice stories. What kind of stories your mummy tells you?”

“No... but...” He sounded a little restless.

“But if she doesn't tell you stories, how do you know that you are a Muslim?” The nosy boy was getting even more inquisitive.

“I don’t know. I just know that we are.”

“But how do you know!”

“My mummy told me!” The boy said in an irritated voice, emphasizing on each word. And that was his final answer. The answer was like a tight slap to the first boy. At that, he couldn’t say anything. He was left even more confused. He murmured something like “But my mom never told me…”

...The curiosity of the nosy boy was very natural and innocent. He just wanted a satisfactory answer. Maybe he couldn’t see any significant difference in between himself and the other boy. He must have thought, what is that, that divides them. He dug up to get a satisfactory answer. It was a mother’s word.

Now in the modern world, apart from their mothers, children learn a lot of things from media. The observation of the nosy boy was important, to understand the future society. In the understanding of an innocent boy merely 7 to 8 years old, this can be the overall identity of the word ‘Muslim’. Who has to be blamed for this? Who is dividing innocent minds? Who is killing the innocence? Terrorists? Journalists and media? Politicians? The answer seems complicated.

Suddenly an imagination flashed in my mind. In India, Hindu-Muslim relations are too delicate. Or say, they have purposefully been kept delicate. What if the boy complains to someone from his family about the other boy bugging him on an issue like his religion? We the people are so sensitive, that it’s almost impossible to predict what may happen and what not. Any petty issue can start burning the nation. The 'sensitive people' just wait for such events to take place.

My link of thoughts and imaginations broke as the bus arrived. I took the window seat; the bus moved. I looked outside the window. The boys were already back to the game. Cricket-in-the-air. They were as unaffected as they should be. Okay, it was all but a game of my imaginations. Still, my mind didn't let me ignore the possibilities.

The clashes arising in between different identities are what we have not been able to solve yet. How will we solve the issues? Firstly, we need to imbibe some learning from the past experiences. And apart from that, let’s learn that there is a great necessity to determine our individual stand and position in the contemporary world. If we cannot dissolve our individual identities, we must at least learn to present ourselves with such a care, that with those identities, we will be acceptable to the contemporary world.

We need to learn to build up an identity, without killing the innocence.

Be The Change!

2009-01-11T11:36:00.003+05:30

"Okay, I can see youngsters having certain new ideas and new thoughts." He said looking at me. He had a pain in his eyes. He said, "If the youth starts thinking that way, the nation will collapse!"

...As if it is very much standing already! For quite a sometime I was trying to convey my thoughts on the present judicial system to him. I had my own humble opinions drawn from my little personal experiences, and he had his answers ready based upon his gigantic experiences. Being in front of such a big figure, I was perhaps a bit nervous. But I was probably in a mood to argue on it and hence...

"But what are the problems according to you?" He asked.

"Sir, there are certain things that I dislike about the whole system."

"But you have just started out. You should not be complaining about anything in the initial days. You know when we had started out...."

He went back into the history remembering his initial days and explaining how he had survived. He had a great sense of pride while talking about it, and why not. His seniority in the field of law was unquestioned and his larger-than-life image was definitely undoubted. Still, with due respect to his experience and figure, I was humbly trying to put what I had realized in my initial days.

I started with an example, "Sir, I feel that with the lawyer's profile, we cannot work on targets. The system is designed in such a way that we cannot be target oriented."

"Can you explain what do you mean?"

"Yes, why not. See, there are so many instances, where you spend say 6 to 8 hours to read the briefs and papers of the proceedings. And you prepare yourself on the law, get ready for the arguments, and go to the Courts, to find out that either the Judge is not sitting, or the Advocate for other side does not appear, or in case if he appears, he takes next date by appending some foolish reasons. This is just the routine. Nobody even feels that this should be changed... And this is so frustrating. As an Advocate, ultimately you are answerable to the Court, and you're also answerable to your clients. When they come to you for an explanation, you don't know where to hide your face. It is so embarrassing situation. You are sandwiched in between the system and the clients. At one side you have your responsibility to protect your clients' rights, and at the other side you have an obligation to follow the system."

"Beta, you are being emotional. You won't be able to..."

"Sir; with due respect to your remark, I would say, it’s not about being emotional. It’s rather about trying to be practical, and it’s more about the frustration which comes due to the contingency and the dependency. The pure fact remains that if you like to set a target and work accordingly to achieve it, you cannot do so in this field."

"In a way you are right in your observations. But you shouldn't be complaining, because the clients do understand this, and they pay you as well."

"But, what about the satisfaction? At the end, it’s also important to be satisfied with what you're doing. And when the system takes whole 6 months to decide a single page Application, what is the amount of satisfaction that you derive from what you do?"

"Look, a single page Application may be decided in 6 months or may be in 6 years. What you have to ensure is that your clients get justice."

"Sir but nowadays even the clients don't think that way! The rest of the world is moving so fast, positively or negatively. Everyone here craves for speed. People want quick solutions, and such solutions, which will last for long. I have people coming and saying, if we have a problem in the morning, we want its solution by the afternoon. They simply cannot afford going to the Courts and spend their, say twenty years. They understand 'Justice delayed is the Justice denied'!"

"So? Philosophy essentially differs from the practical life. The Courts don't need them to run, right?...”

"But Sir, in such a situation I am happy for the people who don't come to the Courts. Overall, I feel we should examine the very reasons behind it. And moreover if we feel sometime is wrong with the present system, we should try to rectify the problems."

"A single man cannot rectify the problems in the system! This is not a film!" He said with an emphasis on the words 'cannot' and 'film'.

"I agree Sir, but the system is not created by a single man either? And as they say the will of people at large is the best law!"

"Look, I don't think that people have any problem with the system or with the law. These are merely the illusions of the youngsters like you. In my opinion, Indians are familiar with the prevailing system. They love the system. They enjoy the pleasures arising out of the Court delays and the pendencies."

They enjoy the pleasures arising out of the Court delays and the pendencies. I was completely mouth shut to hear this. I couldn't discard it as his individual opinion owing to his gigantic experience in the field of law, but at the same time I couldn't also gulp it down altogether. Its not a total reality that people do enjoy the delay. There are a large number of people who hate the delays, but they are helpless and thus unfortunate.

At that very moment, I also realized that I was not completely dissatisfied with the conversation so far, as he didn't appear to be a naysayer. He had agreed with most of the points that I had raised but somewhere he had accepted the way it is, and was unable to think beyond the present options because he had taken it for granted that whatever exists is the only reality. I thought, by now I knew what the exact issue was.

It was like a frog sitting in the well. This frog, which has never even imagined about the pond, will always fear even to think about imagining it. Forget about trying out the rivers and seas, even when he holds the capacity to imagine of a pond, he will restrain himself from it.

Why do people keep from imagining about the change? Because they are helpless and unfortunate? Or because they are afraid of it? The reason is they feel comfortable in a familiar atmosphere, say a well. And they are also very happy with it. They hate the change. The fear in the mind of society grows so strong that people tend to discourage those who even dare to think about some new things. It was very disheartening to see a person of his stature was not trying to be able to understand what I was trying to convey. Or perhaps, it was due to his iconic image, that he was restraining himself totally.

But if we don't overcome this fear, we won't be able to bring about any change, we won't be able to explore the unexplored horizons. What is the point in restricting ourselves in this well? If the society doesn't change itself, it will soon be an extinct society.

"Sir, everything is possible. Just that you need to bring together the like-minded people, and you have to be the change! We can certainly have a balance in between your valuable thoughts, and the new waves of thoughts...” I said to him.

"Okay, I can see youngsters having certain new ideas and new thoughts." He said looking at me. He had a pain in his eyes. He said, "If the youth starts thinking that way, the nation will collapse!"

...As if it was very much standing already!

-

Wishes!

2008-12-31T22:22:00.002+05:30

Wishing all of you a very

Happy,
Joyous,
Prosperous,
Healthy,
Wealthy,
Successful
Terror-free,
Spiritual,
Peaceful, and
Musically rocking

year ahead.

Happy 2009! :-)

Happy new year! :-)

-

Postmortem Of The Procedure!

2008-12-30T12:24:00.004+05:30

Let’s tell you something more about the Court Procedure. The procedure has to be followed blindly, though you are expected to apply your own mind while following it. There is nothing wrong in following the procedure, provided it is reasonable. But sometimes, the same procedure seems very dumb, illogical, unreasonable, and boring.

It was probably an accident case, and a person was dead. The Advocate was taking a cross examination of the doctor who performed a postmortem on the dead body and the witness lady, who happened to be the widow of the dead. Here is the conversation:

Advocate: At around what time did you perform the post mortem?

Doctor: At around 8.30 PM.

Advocate: Was the person dead at that time?

Doctor: Yes.

Advocate: Did you check his pulse before the postmortem?

Doctor: No.

Advocate: Did you check his heartbeats?

Doctor: No.

Advocate: Did you check his blood pressure?

Doctor: No.

Advocate: Did you check his breath?

Doctor: No.

Advocate: This is horrible. Then how can you conclude he was dead? You performed a postmortem. He could be alive!

Doctor: No, he was dead.

Advocate: How can you say that?

Doctor: Because his skull was broken and his brain was hanging right in front of me.

Advocate: On base of that can you conclude he is dead?

Doctor: ………

Advocate: Okay. Let’s check with the witness. Did you see the accident happening?

Witness (Widow of the dead): Yes.

Advocate: Where did it happen?

Witness: Near the Distance mark stone no. 50, where it said Mumbai: 50 KMs.

Advocate: Where is that?

Witness: In between the distance stones numbered 49 and 51.

Advocate: That’s it. Were you married?

Witness: Yes.

Advocate: How did the marriage got dissolved?

Witness: Due to death.

Advocate: Whose death?

Witness: ………

-

(inspired)

If Not Us, Who Else?

2008-11-27T20:59:00.012+05:30

Till that moment 26th November was almost like any other normal day. On that evening I came home all tired. Sat relaxing, surfing through the channels. Some political leaders were adding some fun to common man's life with their statements. Switching off the TV, I turned towards the cellphone, to have a talk with some friends whose calls I had missed in the day.

On one of the calls, a friend said, "Hey, what are you doing right now? If you're free, let's go to Marine Drive?" We have a habit to go to Marine Drive in late nights. Normally I wouldn't go if the next day is working day. But don't know why, I suddenly said, "Okay, gimme five minutes." And within next 5 minutes I was right there in front of Oberoi, at our meeting joint. It must be around 11 PM. My friend hadn't turned up till then.

..All of a sudden I heard a horrifying sound. THUD! For the first few minutes it was a total mess. I thought as if some building is collapsing. Someone screamed "Bhaago, bhaago" and people starting running helter and skelter. I stood there, all confused, looking at the chaos. An old man walked to me and pushed me shouting "Marna hain kya? Start to a safer place, it was a BOMB'. Then only I realized the gravity of the incident, and in a horrified state I started running. Again there were some horrible sounds. I saw people lying down on the roads and I did the same. It was a firing sound. I crawled back half the way towards the lane, and then ran to home.

It all happened within just 5 minutes. At around 11.15 PM I was right there inside my home. At that point of time I didn't think I will be a hostage in my own home for next many hours. Since that moment, for next 2 nights and 2 days I was hearing those horrible sounds of bombs and firing rounds. First thing we thought of doing is calling the near dear ones, informing about our safety and asking them to take care. But phone network was jammed very soon after one or two calls.

Next morning the network resumed and many friends called. A friend, who is frustrated with his job, was saying on the phone call that he finds the career of terrorists quite 'appealing'. "You know, there is fun. Youngsters are preferred. Good placements and you get stay at Taj and Oberoi. You see, you go to work just before 2 days of your retirement. Just two days of work, and then retirement in peace... Hostages are fortunate; they get to die in the luxury restaurants. We die on the roads. And they die in a day. We die day by day...." Poor chap! I suggested him to consult a psychiatrist.

Another one called up and said about how he was glued to the news channels. "You must be enjoying the live action there, since it’s a holiday". He said, "So tell me what sweets are you preparing today to celebrate the holiday?" I was not in a mood to take it a joke. Each sound of firing rounds was rocking the whole area. How could one 'enjoy' in such a situation? I pretended as if the network signal is low, and cut off the call.

...Initially there was shock due to the attacks; and after realizing the helplessness, the fear transformed into anger and grief. Some of the top cops of the city were dead, maybe due to the media's extreme run to earn the most TRPs! The reporting was in fact helping the terrorists to get up-to-date information about the cops' strategies, which they used for planning their own strategies! Each move of the cops was known to the terrorists even before the execution. Such an irresponsible media... Now the media will arrange the so called 'intellectual debates' where it will not take any stand either way, and by this, will confuse the people. Sometimes I feel, at times its better off without media... Had they been a little sensible than being sensationalizing, the rescue operation would have gotten over in much lesser time. And it actually happened so. After blocking the news channels the rescue operations took a grip. But till then, we had already lost too much...

The Government will, in due course of time, forget the sacrifice of people. Now the ever-irresponsible political leaders of different parties will make use of these events for their own political benefits. Their stand on terrorism comes with so many ifs and buts, and who suffers? They never do. Do we need such leaders and their followers? Let’s ask ourselves.

Some human rights activists somewhere said that the Government shouldn't have been so harsh on the terrorists. Thank God, nobody paid any heed to their statements. If they confuse the system in this way, they will be frustrating the very purpose of the term 'human rights'. Do we need to interpret this term 'human rights' so as to benefit the terrorists? I always thought human rights are meant for human beings and not for the terrorists!

After two days and two nights in the home, finally we got permission to step out of the home. Life was badly affected for last two days. But now it was slowly coming back on the track. We got newspapers, which we missed for last two days. Home helpers resumed. Offices reopened. Colleagues in the office asked me how it feels to witness the helicopters, firing rounds and hand grenade blasts; which otherwise, generally, we see only in the movies. In the evening I visited Oberoi. Everywhere there was only one talk. What can be done now.. What will be the strategy the next time… Some were exercising their right to blame the politicians. Some were missing some of the politicians.

People 'expect' a 'next time' too! What else can we do than 'expecting' a 'next time'?

Will we stop playing the blame game, saying 'who should do what'?
Will we reinterpret the theories of law and jurisprudence?
Will we push the judiciary to speed up?
Will we bring some kind of restrictions on the media to make it act sensibly?
Will we compel our political leaders to take a firm stand on the terror issues?
Will we try to embed some responsibility in our behavior?
Will we stand up and unite together against the injustice?

If not us; who else will solve the questions?

-

Brilliant Blog Award.

2008-11-11T22:38:00.006+05:30

Brilliant blog awards. I never even imagined I would ever be conferred something like this. But here is a pleasant surprise, and thanks to Swapna (Chechy, as I address her) for this!

What is this award about ?

Here are the rules for the award-

When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back
Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design
Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog Award'
Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).
And pass it on! :-)

Here are the list of people whom I award as The Magnificent Bloggers and they all truly deserve the awards in every sense.

1. Cinderella
1. Doell
1. Vinod
1. Swapna
2. Lalita
2. Dubious Moves
3. Indian Corporate Law

Applause for all the winners. Congratulations! I will write separate reviews of each blog soon... ;-) Promise!

-

Fear In Mind And Flying Imaginations.

2008-10-12T10:17:00.007+05:30

A dear friend of mine wanted to make a one day trip to Mumbai. We used to stay in the same hostel, where I have spent some of my most memorable years. My friend hails from a place called Batticaloa in East Sri Lanka. And if you don't know, Batticaloa is the provincial capital of the eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is situated on an island on the East coast, towards the South East, near Trincomalee. Unfortunately the whole district of Batticaloa was totally washed out in the Tsunami that attacked the island in December 2004.

My friend had witnessed the dance of death before his naked eyes. He also had lost some of his close friends in the calamity. Witnessing all this in such a young age had made him very sensitive and emotional. And this was precisely the reason why his college authorities chose to send him to India - for a change. He was sent to India on a Student Exchange program. In the early days he used to be home sick. I was probably the first and the only person for him in our hostels, with whom he could share his thoughts in Tamil, and hence I got an opportunity to develop a great friendship with him. We would discuss, argue, and fight on almost every issue under the sun the entire noon. Still at the end of the day, we would go together for the dinner. Such were the jolly days...

...But then life took another turn, and for last one and half year we were planning to meet up at least once before he goes back to Sri Lanka. When he informed me he is coming finally, I was more than happy as that had stirred all those nostalgic memories in my mind. Accordingly one fine morning he landed in Mumbai. That day I had some work in the office. I decided I will cover it up and thereafter will meet him. I asked him to come near the Bombay Stock Exchange building; a landmark place near my office.

As per the instructions, he came near the BSE building and stood just in front of the huge television screen that is hung on the wall. It must be around 12 o'clock in the noon. The share market was crashing, and a few people were cursing the Government with no hopes as they glued their eyes on the television screen that indicated the current status of the market and sensex. My friend - this young man - stood there in the midst of the crowd. Some curious soul standing besides him gave him a strange 'Hey-you-what-are-you-doing-here' kind of look and asked him if he has invested some money in some shares. He asked this in Hindi, and found out that my friend doesn't know Hindi.

That left the curious soul more curious. And it was obvious. My friend was coming from culturally and economically different background, he sported a black beard that covered his face and was wearing a round head cap. In addition to that he had a bag in his hand. Maybe this different get up altogether didn't much 'qualify' him to stand there, for according to some pockets in the society only millionaires 'qualify' to stand on the prestigious Dalal Street.

After finishing the work when I went there, I found him being roughed up by some people. They had surrounded him, and were shooting questions after questions, and the poor chap was struggling to answer them. He didn't know Hindi, Gujrati-Marathi, and they didn't understand his heavily Tamil-dominated English. He was almost about to break down, but as soon as I reached there, I took over the charge.

When asked why were they roughing him up, people said they were afraid of him. On the background of the recent bomb blasts in the different cities, they were horrified to see someone who 'pretends not to know' the local language stand on the Dalal Street in front of the BSE building and doing nothing but wandering on the roads. "We thought he is taking a survey of the security. Anything can happen sir, and on the top of all, business is also crashing down.. What if someone targets this building in such a situation?" One of them was justifying their act.

A single incident speaks loud about where the society is heading. This incident has many dimensions to it - the market crash, its consequences, the fear of people, their act of coming together against an odd man, the odd man struggling to express himself, and maybe the humor behind all this. But what struck me was the way the people behaved with the man. They were not rude, but they almost killed his confidence. At one hand I feel they should be congratulated for being so alert and behaving like prudent citizens. After all, citizens are expected to be alert, and it is noticed only in some rare occasions, that they comply with the expectations.

But at the same time, I also feel that they should have avoided roughing and brushing up the guy. Why can't people have trust in someone who sports a black beard and wears a round head cap? With fear in your mind, your imaginations can fly so high!

I am yet unable to decide whether the people were right or wrong.

Penalty.

2008-10-06T11:34:00.014+05:30

A girl who has been given a cabin in my neighbor wears colored outfits everyday. As an advocate who strictly follows the rules laid down for them, I was a bit puzzled. How was she given a cabin if she isn't an advocate? And if she was an advocate, how was she exempted from the dress code? An advocate not in black-and-white is like a musician without his instruments. But then I thought she would be a student. Many corporate lawyers engage these law students as interns, so as to help them understand how the practical life differs from what they learn in the books!

So this girl would always come in colored dresses. I also had heard her asking with a snickering laugh to her fellow colleagues that same ages-old 'Heyyy-how-am-I-lookin’-todayyyy' question. Such an entertaining question at the work! But leave it. I don't want to induce a hot debate on how ‘freedom of speech and expression’ includes ‘looking beautiful’. (Bear in mind, these two are totally unrelated terms!) I know there are no citations or precedents to prove the argument correct, but ahem... Who wants to argue? I believe questions that fall within the domain of Constitutional law are better considered ‘controversial’.

As I was huff-huffing on the last-but-one stair of my office, this colored girl greeted me in a colored cheering voice from somewhere behind the entrance of the office room. “Goood morningggg”! More or less it remembered me Vidya Balan in some movie called Munnabhai LLB. But this one was horrible. I was startled due to this personal attack, and almost missed the last step and nearly skipped falling onto the floor. “Huh! Good morning! Oops! Was it for me? From your voice I thought you are greeting the entire Mumbai!” I said recollecting my collapsed breath.

“Hee hee hee” - All the corners replied in unison.

Later this colored girl came to my cabin to apologize for shouting on me a ‘good morning’. “Oh, never mind. I was actually busy thinking something and hence…” I explained. “But it was really horrifying”, I said – of course to myself.

Suddenly I realized that I was wearing a black-and-white. I thought; I would also like to go to the office in colors. If not daily, at least once a week. Call it jealousy, call it competition. Whatever it was, I couldn't hold it for long. “Are you a student, or an advocate?” I shot a query.

“I would have loved to be a student forever, but I am an advocate.” The reply was quite philosophical but dry.

“But then how do you wear colors?”

“That's because I don't go to the Courts.”

“You don't go to the Courts? I was surprised. “Why?” - I think I wanted to shout a ‘Wow’, for I used to think such a possibility existed only in the heavens up above. (But I am not sure if advocates are allowed in the heavens.)

“Because I don't like to… I don't know how you people can like running around all the times”.

“Oh that’s another issue. Choices may differ. But hey, not even a single time you've been to the Courts? I mean, are you serious?” I was still wondering if that was possible. Wow. I would be wearing colors all the days and I would also ask my colleagues with a snickering laugh... ‘Heyyy, how am I looking todayyyy?’

She said in little heartache, “You can’t avoid it altogether, can you? I have been to the High Court. But only for 4 times in my career so far.”

“4 times? Only?” I was excited. “Fortunate!” I exclaimed.

“Who’s fortunate? Me? Or people coming over there?” Said she, in a naughty voice; maybe expecting me to say “People” but I-the-dumbo said “Indeed, you! People coming over there are certainly unfortunate.”

While saying so, I was thinking on a larger perspective. Apart from the funny thoughts above, on a serious note, I sincerely believe people go to the Courts only as a last available resort. They go there seeking justice. But at the end of it, all they have is rattled experiences. I feel, before going to Courts people should try the alternate dispute resolution systems. I felt an urge to express my so-called 'valuable' thoughts on this area of law. I looked up at her face and said, “You see, people don’t go to the Courts for amusing themselves, what do you say?”

I was perplexed to see those two eyes giving me that deadly stare - was quite enough for me to melt in the chair itself!

“Want a truce?” Someone suggested me, “Go to the Court today and call it a penalty”.

-

Justice Vs. Judgment

2008-09-30T19:53:00.004+05:30

It was a major case, and the nation had all its eyes on it. A particular provision of law involved was in question, which was: 'whether an unborn person has or not any right to enter into the world, considering the fact that the medical practitioners have answered this same question in negative due to some anticipated future complications in the life of the yet-to-be-born person on an account of a congenital heart blockage.'

The Judges are merely the experts of the codified regulated laws. Nobody expects them to be experts to opine into such complicated matters which fall onto the deck of other practitioners; i.e. medical practitioners in this particular case. Here the question involved was of such a nature, that the Court was compelled to call for an expert's opinion, to be able to analyze the state of affairs in the light of the existing laws, and give the verdict thereupon.

But it was not so simple as it seemed to be. This case was little unusual. The media had brought up the facts of this particular case into the limelight and anticipating good business out of it, vehicles of all the major news channels were parked in the allotted parking area outside the Court. The general public was characteristically thrown in a whirlpool due to various views propagated by the media. On the top of all, media people were deadly struggling to get some first hand reactions from the people, and all that they were getting from all the corners of the society were mixed reactions!

In the meanwhile, even the Union Health Minister could not hold his enthusiasm, and he also threw some statements regarding this issue. On that particular day, the concerned lawyers in this case walked in to the corridors of the Court waving their hands to the media people. Who would be wanting to miss a chance to flash their faces on the TV screens? Once the cameraman is in front, every person becomes a skilled specialist to opine on any issue under the sun!

It won't be required to set out the facts in extēnsō for the rest of the story. In the midst of much eagerness, The Court refused permission to abort a 26-week foetus with a congenital heart blockage, after rejecting the mother's plea to terminate the pregnancy. The case was tattered in between shocks and principles. Media started drawing sympathy for the unfortunate mother.

I was standing in the corridor outside the Court room listening to the lawyers' opinions on the verdict. One lawyer observed, "Let's let it go off the records. The laws are rigid in the first place. The laws involved in this particular case are almost 40 years old. Nothing more remains for the Judges to offer. They are also well aware of the repercussions expected."

Another one sarcastically commented, "The mother will do whatever she wants to. Maybe she just wanted to attract some attention by bringing this lacuna of the law before the public. But let's thank her, for bringing this information into the public eye. Let's hope this all will invite a critical review of this as well as other similar laws…"

Third one stated, "The Judge was right when he mentioned that it was the job of the legislature to modify and amend the laws, and not theirs! Poor Judges, even when they know that their judgments are meaningless, they can't do anything! What else can they do than giving the verdicts based on the facts set out in front of them?"

And then a wicked lawyer joined them jokingly passing his remark "Yeah, yeah, I know it very well. Even when they know we are making them fools by twisting the facts of our cases, they can't do anything but making faces like this!" He wickedly mimicked a face of some Judge and all of them laughed to his 'joke'.

I was left thinking... This rigidity is essentially due to codification of the laws. In common practice, the codified laws are strictly interpreted. If only a Judge is allowed to liberally interpret the facts put before him (assuming that they are true) and if the applicability of laws is slightly loosened, then the whole process will be much better, much enhanced. But for implementing all these dreams into the system, one needs to be a legislator!

We don't come across such a situation often, where someone walks to the Court asking for justice in such complicated cases. It takes immense courage to do these things in the framework of law. Otherwise there would be millions of cases where no one ever comes before the Courts. And I don't have to say how people are best judges for themselves. But in these very rare cases where someone shows the courage to come before the Court, I think, the issues should be handled delicately. Otherwise people will be discouraged to come before the Courts. I fear people should not loose faith in the law and justice.

But then I had heard the Judge pronouncing the Judgment.

He never claimed he was doing any justice. He simply said he was delivering a Judgment!

-

Salaam, Namastey!

2008-08-31T21:30:00.013+05:30

It was a random routine day in the Court, and as usual the normal and routine activities were taking place. I was going to a Court room walking through the corridor, and a friend (read: an acquaintance) met me in one corner of it. He has joined Court much before me, and knows more things about the rigid and lengthy 'Court procedure' than me! "Where are you today?" asked my friend after the initial formal talk. "In Court room No. ...." I replied.

"Oh, are you going there right now? Do you have any matters there?" He went on asking questions. "Nope, actually I have no matters there. But you know an interesting case is being heard there today, so I just want to go to observe the arguments. Why?" I asked back. But he was ready with his next question already!

"Man, can you just mention a matter before that Judge?" He again asked me a question. He informed me that his senior colleague was out of the town for some impromptu reason, and this matter was suddenly kept on the board, without any notice to them! And since he had 'something very important' to do at that very time, he wanted me to assist him with this.

"So, it is at serial number ..... just mention the matter before the daily work starts. Just tell them that the concerned lawyer in this matter is out of town, and thus the matter may be kept in the next week. Say, in the next week the concerned lawyer will appear, and..."

He has already taken me for granted - I thought. "Okay, I will do so." I said reluctantly.

Later, at 11.00 AM, I mentioned his matter. The Judge was liberal. He didn't even ask the reason why I wanted the matter to be kept in the next week. "Next week you want it right? Okay next week. Granted." He said looking at the calender. So simple it was. But this was nothing - the actual drama actually started after this one ended.

After mentioning the matter I came out. And as I was coming out from the door of the Court room, a person followed me. He came near to me quickly and said in his heavy voice with a hint of a last-night-party-hangover to his smell. "Salaam Saab!" He gave me a tight salute. He was a peon of the Court. I didn't understand what his actions meant. I said, "salaam, salaam" and gave a confused smile. He remained the same. No display of anything on his face. "Saab, namastey!" He repeated the tight-salute action. I thought, he must have drunken enough hard liquor on the previous night, that he is mistaking me to be someone else. I said to him, "namastey, but I think I am not the one you are looking for..."

"How can I commit a mistake saab, I was right there in the Court room when you mentioned the matter and got an adjournment in it." I still didn't get what was going on. There was no connection in my getting adjournments and him giving me tight salutes. "So?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "Chaai Paani saab!" He gave a wearisomely importunate smile. His red eyes were obstinate and were full of hope. He was asking for chaai paani!

I got irritated. "But the Judge gave the date, not you. Right? Then how can you ask like this?" I asked, just to ask something. Anger had made me restless. But he was still unchanged, like a sthitaprajna. "Saab, you got the date which you wanted, that's it. Now the work comes to our hands. We take back the files and briefs to the departments, and we place them on the board on the date when you want it." He said. He further said arrogantly, "Saab don't waste my time now, I have other things to look after too."

These shameless useless people.. But then what could be done? My heart began burning from within. It was not my own matter. Not a matter of my senior colleague. Not even a matter of the friend who asked me to mention it. If I pay him, I will be supporting corruption. Why should I.. Why...

...And suddenly I noticed my friend coming towards us. "Man, look after this fellow. He is asking for chaai paani." I said to him. "Then? Haven't you given him anything? I thought you would have ended this by now. Give him something and ask him to go off!" Generally these peons don't understand English. So my friend said all this in English.

"What?" I almost shouted. "Damn man. You handle it. I'm going." I was about to start walking out. "Wait!" My friend said, "Okay, okay, I'll do the payment. Why get disturbed..." And then he got a heavy green currency note out of his money pocket. I was feeling restless. The principles which we learnt not-very-long-ago were burning in front of my naked eyes. I sarcastically said to the peon, "At least take care to hide from the Judge's eye man, you are standing right in front of the door, and he can easily see you..."

"Saab," He had a happy smile on his face by now, "Why tell me about him? Arre, before becoming a Judge; when he was an advocate, he also used to give me this thing!" He made the green note dance before my face, kissed it, and put it safe inside his money pocket!

-

In The Name Of Craze...!

2008-08-24T09:09:00.015+05:30

Believe it or not, this is a true story. This has happened in my life. I distinctly remember that day. How can I forget that? I must have been 11-12 years old then. It was a random Saturday. School was off for some reason. A friend of mine called Bala, almost of same age, had come to my home in the morning. He was notorious, and was widely known as an infamous boy. But I used to enjoy his company, because for me, he was the most confident person in the world then.

"Come, let's play hide and seek". Bala asked me. "Nope! Again you'll hide inside the well, and then your parents will scold me again." I said. He was so mischievous for the remaining world, but for his parents he was different. They always thought all others were mischievous and their son was the only innocent person in the world.

"Then what are you gonna do today, for the whole day?" He still insisted we play hide and seek. "Let's do something else. Not on playground, inside the house itself." I said. "Okay but what?" He got irritated because of my cold responses.

Back then, I was known as a huge fan of a music director. My craze for him and his music was known to everyone around me. I somehow had managed to get his postal address, and for long I wanted to write to him. "Come on, let's write a letter to the messiah of music." Something had struck suddenly. Those days, there was no Internet, no cell phones, and we had no land line phone too.. The only effective way of communication I knew till then was letters.

One more reason for writing such a letter was this friend of mine - Bala. Actually Bala had written a letter to his favorite author, and I had seen his excitement when he got a reply to his letter. That had inspired me. I too wanted to experience that excitement, and therefore I too wanted to write a letter to my favorite musician.

I told Bala about my plan. "Great." He was excited to listen to it. His eyes lit with excitement. "I will help you write it." He had an experience, so he could easily offer me a help. He told me to make a rough draft. "List out the points you want to write in your letter. These big people are always busy. They generally tear out your letters without reading if you don't write them properly." Bala was knowledgeable. "Also, your handwriting matters a lot. They like it if the handwriting is nice. So let me write it." He said. "No. I want to write it myself. And my handwriting is better than you." I immediately said. I didn't want someone else to interfere. I wanted to do it myself. After exchanging some hot words Bala somehow agreed that he will observe me, and will give me necessary tips.

After some time the draft was ready. Now it had to be written on a paper. I teared out a paper from middle of my notebook. "Noooo!" Bala screamed. "Don't write on a white plain paper. Take a colored or designed paper, and write on it." He said. "If you write on a plain paper, they will not even read it."

"Okay baba.." I said and took a colored paper. "Now do I need a colored pen too?" I asked him. "That's what I was thinking." He replied. He really looked like if he is thinking. "See, in my case, I was writing to an author. They people are so simple. Only colored paper and a colored sketch pen worked well for me.." He said. "Then? What special I have to do more than that?" I asked innocently. "You know, you are writing to a filmy big man. These filmy people are not simple. They daily get thousands of letters. You need to attract their attention. They will reply only if your letter is attractive." He was talking with big eyes and round lips. His rotund face was so serious, as if he was teaching me the philosophy. He said, "Write it with your blood!"

"What???" I was shocked. "Crazy man, you crazy, aren't you??" His suggestion had produced a thunder running through my back.. "See, don't we read such stories in the news papers? Fans have to write letters with their blood. That will show their love towards the person whom they're writing letter to. And if it was a letter to an author, like in my case, then it was still okay. But you are writing a letter to a musician from the filmy world. Writing it with blood is compulsory in your case."

He almost convinced me. After all, for me he was the most confident person in the world. He had experience. Even I had read such stories in news papers. But still, I was afraid. "Blood man, blood!" I was trembling. "Nothing happens dear. Take a needle. Just a smooth touch on a fingertip, and we'll get enough of it. I have noticed doctors doing that." He told me. "If you want, I will help you in getting it. Get me a needle!"

"Man, I am not liking this idea. I don't want your idea." I was disturbed by the idea itself. "You better go. I will think what can be done." I said to him. "Okay? No problem, I will go. But then don't tell me if you don't get a reply from the musician, okay??" He went offensive.

I remained silent.

"See, if you don't like the idea, we can always think of something else. Can't we?" He sounded as if he was consoling me. "Really?" I asked him. I believed he was so creative. If only I let him think, he would come with another idea! "Okay! I am leaving it to you." I said..

10 minutes of silence. And.. Tick! He snapped with his thumb and a finger. "Come with me." He already started running out. "But where?" I shouted. "Arrey, you just come with me. Don't ask questions!" I was happy. He must have found a better idea. Let's follow him, my work will be easy - I thought!

30 minutes. I and he rode to a place nearby on his bicycle. "See there." He pointed out at the board of that building, indicating the name of that place. "Ah! Simply mind blowing man! How do you get such out-of-the-world ideas?" I was bouncing with joy, and within a minute we were walking inside the 'Blood Bank'!

We went near the reception counter. There was a middle aged man, who was talking on phone. He hung up the phone, and looked at us. "Yes?" He asked. "We want some blood." My confident friend said in his ever-confident voice. "We have money too. What is the rate?"

The attendant raised his eyebrows with surprise. Maybe in his entire life, he never came across such a weird question! A smile cracked on his face, and he started asking questions. "Who are you? Where are you coming from? Why do you need blood? For whom? Which type? See there is a procedure here. You will have to fill a form." He said.

I opened my mouth to say something. But Bala immediately pushed me to a corner, and whispered in my ear "Don't talk anything. He seems to be acting smart. Let me handle him." ...And I lost all my collected courage!

"Look uncle, I have an emergency. My elder brother actually fell off a cycle, and he needs some blood. Doctor uncle has come our home to check him, and he has told me to bring it immediately. I don't have time to fill the forms etc. Give me any type of blood. Anything will do. But urgently." My eyes went widening and widening with surprise as Bala was telling all this! After all, only confident boys come with such extraordinary ideas. I should also start eating all vegetables like he does, I thought at that moment.

"Which doctor has come your home?" The reception attendant asked Bala. And turning to me, he asked, "Are you his brother?" I didn't know what to say. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't utter a word. On the other hand, Bala was making stories upon stories. I felt safe, because I was with him. Had I been alone, I wouldn't even have thought of taking all these efforts..!

"Come, let's wait for some time. The attendant has told me that a doctor will call us, and he will make an arrangement to give us some blood." Bala took me to the waiting area, and we sat on a bench. "Doctor? So you will now talk to a doctor?" I was amazed by the confidence that Bala displayed. "So what? We just have to repeat the story we just told to the attendant." He said. How simple it was! He made every problem easy for me. He is the only person who can help me in all my efforts! The attendant was keeping an eye on us, from his place. After some time, he told Bala to go inside a room, to talk to a doctor.

"Wait just for two minutes, I will just come back." Bala had told me while going inside. But it was now more than 10 minutes, he hadn't come out. I became disquiet and restless. I went near the attendant, and tried to say something in my ever-innocent voice.. "Uncle.. My friend...?" He looked at me.. "Oh you are here? Doctor wants to see you too. Go in that room on that side." He called someone on a phone, and said, "I'm sending the other boy to you."

"Come boy!" The old aged doctor said to me. I was still standing at the door; half in, half out; looking inside the room. "Come in, don't worry" The doctor said again. His voice sounded promising and friendly. I went inside. "My friend.." I wanted to ask him where was he. "Oh, your friend is talking to another doctor. Till he comes, can you tell me, what exactly has happened?"

..And then I collected the entire confidence, and narrated the story which Bala had just narrated at the reception. After all, there was unbeatable craze within. I thought I did it much successfully, and I was happy with myself for being able to do that. "Okay. I understood. Can you write down his home address for me? I will make an arrangement to send a bottle to the address." The doctor said..

"Yes, of course." I said happily, and I wrote down the address. "Now shall I leave?" I asked him. "Wait for a moment." He said, and called someone inside. "Meet Police uncle. He is my friend." Doctor uncle told me. I turned towards the door, and had a lump in my throat. A policeman was coming in. I somehow managed to maintain the confidence. "Hello uncle!" I wanted to say a hello with a smile, but nothing happened. I remained tight-lipped.

"Sorry for troubling you," doctor said to the policeman, "this is the other boy. The first one is in another room." "Not a problem coming here sir, the police station is just besides. But what's wrong with these boys, why are they making stories?" He asked the doctor looking at me.

"Better known to them. Wait, let the other boy come." He hit the table-bell, and the reception attendant came in with Bala. Me and Bala looked at each other. He made a gesture to warn me. We stood side by side, like criminals stand in the police parrade. "Now are you telling the truth or shall I hand you over to the police uncle?" the doctor asked in a heavy-commanding voice. I already had broken down inside; but was still maintaining confidence on the face, because Bala was with me. I looked at Bala. He was looking a little confused, but was still looking okay, as if nothing has happened so far.

"We have told you that we are in hurry." Bala uttered this, and... One tight slap hit his face! Police uncle had got angry. Bala started crying loudly. I was almost half dead to see that. I started feeling dizzy, experienced butterflies in my stomach, and my knees were already shaking.

"Come with me to the police station." Police uncle shouted. "Noooo. I will tell you the real thing." Bala said this while crying.

"He asked me to do all this." He pointed out a finger at me while crying. "He wanted to write a letter to a big filmy man. But he had no guts to cut his own finger to write it. He asked me if I can cut my finger. I was afraid. So he asked me to come here and....."

By now even I had started crying loudly. We both were crying. I hit on Bala's face in grief. How could he tell lies. Stupid. I was cheated. He tried attacking back on me. Police uncle interrupted. "See boys, don't fight. If you fight I will put you behind the bars." He said in a soft but firm voice. "But uncle..." I wanted to say something, and he again interrupted. "No. I know you both are guilty. Now don't say anything."

The doctor was smiling to see all the drama. While we were crying, doctor and the policeman discussed about something. Doctor assured the policeman, that we would never do any mischief ever. Apparently, it seemed he knew Bala's father distantly. After the whole drama was over, the doctor asked the policeman if he would like to have a coffee. Policeman obliged. Turning to us, the doctor asked, "what would you like to have? Tea, coffee, milk, or blood?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

While Bala and I were returning back, we saw a cat playing with a rat in the garden. "Bala you are insane!" I jokingly said to him, "You could have easily killed a rat instead...!"

Anyway, we never killed a rat and the letter was never written. Or say, it is yet to be written. Whatever. I learned one hard lesson that day!
-

Ban Them!

2008-08-19T09:14:00.004+05:30

Nafeez, my friend, was driving his new Santro on the smooth roads. Driving your new car on the smoothest road in the town all alone is a joy! And Nafeez was enjoying it. It was 4 PM, and the roads were almost empty, with no sign of other vehicle at all.. He thought of parking his car somewhere near the marine drive, and to sit for sometime..

BANG!! Nafeez's car got a dash from its backside. He was actually parking his car in the parking area, and at that time it got dashed. He came out from the driving seat to see what had happened. There was another car behind his car, and the person driving that car was also coming out. He seemed to be an educated and a sophisticated person. He was well dressed, a 6 feet and some more inches tall. His car had a red L mark on its face, which implied he was learning how to drive.

Nafeez noticed there was a considerable damage caused by the hitting. He looked up, saw that the gentleman was walking towards him. He thought, maybe the man will apologize, and probably pay some amount for the damages. It seemed so easy, but Nafeez didn't know....

"Boy, I am a lawyer." The gentleman had a grin while flashing his identity card. Nafeez didn't get him. "Uncle, I have no problem with you in person. You have hit my car, and..."

"I said I am a lawyer. I practice in the High Court." the learned gentleman said with a super confident smile. Nafeez was still confused. "So?" Nafeez said..

"Listen. I won't be paying anything. Better leave from this place. You have two options. Let's go to Court, and I will manipulate the complete story so as to make it look like you dashed my car. Then you will pay me for the damages. I'm a lawyer. I can make stories, I can twist the facts. Then you will suffer the consequences. Or let's do one thing. Leave from this place now, and I won't be paying anything to you.. Now the ball's in your court. If you are wise, you will choose the second option. I believe even you won't be wanting to go to the Courts and wait another 20 years, that too for what you didn't do."

Nafeez was simply taken aback. These learned, sophisticated, gentleman like looking lawyers can go to this extent? Aren't they thieves roaming around in the daylight? Isn't this an abuse of the system? There was no option left to him, than leaving the place without any compensation.

"You lawyer guys should be banned. Every lawyer is a pick pocketer. This nation can do very well without you!" He said to me while narrating the incident.

"Okay. Ban them!" I replied.

-

Another Encounter With A 'Tourist'.

2008-08-16T18:28:00.013+05:30

Recently I had written about an encounter with a tourist. After that, I had another such encounter again, and this time it was an American 'tourist'!

Actually in the last week, I was finishing some pending work, and once I needed to go to the Court room to talk to a shirastedar. A shirastedar is an officer of the court, who generally arranges the daily activities for the courts. Shirastedars maintain the daily records. They also call out the matters in the Court sessions. They are always occupied with the hectic and tiresome work, and are 20 times busier than the practicing lawyers. Maybe this is the reason they get the utmost respect from the lawyers, and enjoy almost the second important place after the Judges.

When I went inside the Court room, it was empty. It was the recess time in the noon, and the shirastedar was having his lunch. As he was eating from his tiffin, he was also entertaining a 'tourist'. Tourists visiting Courts isn't a new scene, but I noticed this 'tourist' was asking so many questions about the legal system and the procedure. And the shirastedar was striving hard to make him understood about it. The shirastedar had a broken English, he was also in a hurry to finish his lunch and prepare for the next schedule. And here I got a chance to enter into the conversation! "Are you a tourist?" I had already started talking to him...

The 'tourist' was actually on a mission - he was collecting information! A student of law from the United States - as he called himself, he was sent to India by his university on an assignment trip. He said, he had opted for a subject called 'International Trends In Legal Market' for his studies, and that's why he was traveling in some of the subcontinental countries, and was 'trying to understand the legal procedure' in these countries.

"So what are your observations so far, if I may know?" I asked him in a friendly mood. He was also a talkative natured person, much like me. He said, "I noticed so many things here. I have been visiting different Courts in different states of India for past one month. I feel the English language spoken in India is far better than China and other subcontinental countries. The Indian legal system is somewhat similar to the US and UK, though it is not exactly the same. I also noticed that the legal services are pretty cheap here. This is the primary reason why most of our companies are preferring India for offshoring their legal transactions."

"I know where your study is gonna end." I said. "Apart from offshoring, I am fully aware that some foreign law firms are willing to enter into the Indian legal service sector and practice here." My direct shoot on his face surprised him a bit, but the very next moment, he was ready to defend himself. "But it will open so many opportunities for Indian lawyers like you. Won't it?" He asked.

"Well, I don't bother about what opportunities you have to offer to us. Besides that, we don't really consider it a 'market', we see at it as a 'service'. Its a total different perspective of looking at one single thing." I said.

"Besides these noble bookish thoughts"; he emphasized on the words 'noble' and 'bookish' with a sarcastic tone, "the legal market for foreign firms in India is increasingly developing." He still preferred to call it a 'market'. "You can see it, particularly in the finance service sector. Some companies already have their liaison offices here by now. Though right now their activities are limited to marketing transactions. Once the Indian business sector opens up to foreign investments, and I feel it is just a matter of time, these restrictions will be relaxed, and..."

"You might have heard, the Indian lawyers are protesting your entry in India as practitioners. The legal matters here, big or small, are essentially an internal affair to us, and the people won't be liking to let foreigners handle them."

"Its just a matter of a table-discussion my buddy, and only a few are protesting. A large number of them are actually awaiting to give us a grand welcome. What say?"

"Maybe, but I believe the law will prevail. Legally, it is not allowed for foreign firms to practice in India, there was a judgment...."

"It is rather unwise to say that a judgment will be applicable perpetually. The laws can be changed too; again its a matter of discussion. The trends in the market are changing..."

He seemed to have much knowledge about the 'Indian legal market'. Probably, more than what I knew, probably, more than what he needed for his study course, if at all what he told was true. He also noticed some minute details like 'Indians regard a plush office as showy, and would not impress by such marketing techniques'. He was studying everything so systematically. I must admit, I had no answers to some of his questions. And when he said 'laws can be changed' I noticed a cruel smile in his eyes.

..And the politicians, the bureaucrats, the people in India are always ready to drop their tongues down their mouth to catch the offers offered by these people.. Right were the Supreme Court Judges, when they observed that now even God can't save this nation.

I have lost my sound sleep since the day.. His eyes embedded with the cruel smile still haunt me.. His firm voice still echoes in my ears.. 'Money and power can change the entire scenario..' he was telling..

On the evening of the Independence day, while I'm writing this, I just pray.. Dear God, please grant us many many happy returns of the independence day.

-

Honesty - The Missing Virtue.

2008-08-07T22:47:00.004+05:30

For the past few days, the peace of mind was in a short supply for me, to be able to write anything new. Not to mention, inspiration had not struck either to write something spontaneously!

But, something funny happens sometimes, and even though you are not in a mood to laugh out, you are compelled to roll on the floors. These funny moments make you relax, they make you forget the worries for some time. And this is when you come back to your blog and think of sharing the funny thing that you just witnessed!

Today I was sitting somewhere in the corner of a Court room; and was thinking on something, which had nothing to do with the Courts. The Court was working in its own routine way. Matters were being called out, concerned clients were coming towards the podium, their advocates were also coming, were arguing their respective matters, and going. The Lordships were also in very routine mood. Except for my mind, everything was stable and settled there. I was irritated, if not bored. I badly wanted to come out of the Court room, and take a walk along the corridors. But the moment I thought something like this, a voice caught my attention..

..Actually a matter was called out before the court. This man was the concerned client in that case. In the Courts, anyone can represent his own side of the story. It is not mandatory to engage a lawyer to represent your side. This man too, was representing his own case. He looked to be an unsophisticated person, someone living in or coming from a rural area. He came walking towards the podium in ishtyle. His body language and appearance was enough to prove him an uneducated person. He went towards the podium, where usually the respondent's advocates stand. He stood with his shoulders tough, neck tight, and started talking in his firm and absolutely confident voice.

"Saheb".. This was the voice, which had caught my attention. The man was unaware of the way to speak before the courts; and that is perfectly fine with the Judges. Nobody expects the litigants to know the Court proceedings. The knowledge of Court manners, etiquettes and standards is meant only for the officers of the Courts, and not necessarily for the litigants. This man, was thus allowed to address the Justice as "Saheb."

"Saheb," He continued, "I am a poor man. I can only speak Hindi, Gujrati and Marathi. I've never studied law so I don't know how to represent my case." He was telling in Hindi, which had a rustic and peculiar accent.

"So you want us to represent you in this case?" The Judge logged into a funny mood. He was smiling. Other people were now enjoying this scene, where the litigant was a countryman, and was facing the learned Judge.

"Hahaha".. he was a countryman, and hence was granted the liberty to laugh like that in the Courts. Had it been any lawyer, the Judge would have kicked him out of the Court room. Countryman continued, "saheb, I know you can't represent my case." - with a twinkle of wit in his eyes.

"Why? Do you think we don't know the laws?" The Judge asked within a fraction of second, with a naughty laugh.

The entire surroundings burst into laughter.

"Umm.." The countryman rolled his eyes, and said, "You would be knowing the laws saheb, you must be an advocate before becoming a Judge." He had enough presence of mind to tackle with the situations against him. The people were now looking at the Judge's face, waiting for his reaction on the countryman's statement. The laughter wave was still doing its rounds in the hall.

"Yes, you're right." The Judge looked amused. "Now tell us, what can we do for you?" He said this in a way the waiters in the restaurants say it, and it showed the sense of humour that he had.

The countryman brought the utmost urge in his voice. He prayed, "Saheb, please allot me an advocate to look after my case. Please allot the one who is honest and sincere."

"What do you mean by an honest advocate? Every advocate is honest!" The Judge instantly replied.

...And everyone was pieces into laughter. The entire hall, including the peons, clerks and the doorkeepers were burst into laughter. The Judge was taken aback by this reaction of the public. He raised his eyebrows, settled his glasses on his nose, and asked.. "What is wrong? Why is everyone laughing?" This question from him became another reason for people to laugh. Everyone was laughing - even more. The Judge didn't get it. He was puzzled. Then a peon went near to him, and told something in his ear.

"So what? Every advocate is honest. He has to be. No?" The Judge asked this looking at the countryman. The Judge himself was now split in laughter.

..And again, the whole surrounding was thrown into laughter. Everyone was rolling-on-the-floor laughing. The countryman looked like confused, but he was also trying to take his participation in the laughter challenge.

I also laughed. But somewhere, I also realized, its impossible that the people would ever believe in this statement - 'Advocates are honest'. They have stamped advocates with dishonesty. The advocates themselves are responsible for this. The glory that the profession enjoyed for so many years, is totally lost.

And I had already made up my mind..

-

The Right Time, Baby!

2008-07-14T21:47:00.014+05:30

The present system of judiciary in India was developed and enforced by the Britishers. They drafted the legislations, and they were the executing as well as the enforcing authority in those days. Obviously, the system is bound to have an influence of English on it, and it is so evident, that it has!

The English used in the Courts is a subject of a special study. It is so different, that a common man generally cannot make out what is going on in the Court. The vocabulary, grammar, phrases, sentence constructions etc. are imported directly from the 16th century. Sometimes its a bliss to read some of the old judgments for this reason - to understand the beauty of the language. But sometimes, it becomes difficult to handle some situations if you don't know the language in practice.

For eg. 'Asking for time' in the general connotation in the Courts means: 'To take an adjournment'. Asking for time is a daily activity for advocates, as everyone knows it!

But the real funny moment comes when someone doesn't know the normal usage of the terms, and becomes the center of attraction by cracking a practical joke! Today one such incidence took place in the Court. A young lady advocate appeared before a Division Bench; for the first time, as it was learnt later. When the matter was called out, it was almost 4.50 p.m. And this young lady came forth, stepping like a lioness, full with confidence. She had an idea that the court would rise after 10 minutes. She came towards the podium, settled herself, and threw a glance towards the Lordships.

One of the Lordships was busy looking at the brief, and the other was expecting the her to address the court. "Your Lordship.." Started the lady...

..and went nowhere. She didn't say anything thereafter. The Lordship seemed in a hurry to end up the session for the day. He looked at the wall clock, and turning towards the lady, raised a question, "Yes?"

"Your Lordship, what's the time?" Asked the lady in a heavy convent-educated accent. The Lordships were startled! They looked at each other and murmured something. One of them looked at the wall clock again, and said, "It's 4.55 p.m., but you may continue." They probably thought that the young lady would have some lengthy argument, but they were convinced to sit for some more time.

Still, she was tight-lipped. She didn't utter a single word. The Lordships got irritated, and asked her, "What's your problem? Why are not you continuing with the matter? Please guide us what is it about.."

She said with all her great confidence, "Your Lordships, you know, I don't have any idea about the matter, neither, you know, I know any facts about it, you know?"

"What is this you know, you know about, haan? You people don't know how to talk. Anyway, then why are you asking us "Your Lordship what's the time?"" The Lordship mimicked her making faces. He was annoyed.

"Your Lordship, you know, actually you know, my senior you know, he told me to ask like that!" The lady answered, and gave a smile with a look as if she has already conquered the world!

"What?" The Lordship shouted. This was but expected. Thereafter the Lordship skinned her alive. "You don't know how to address the court. You don't know the language in the common practice. You don't know what your senior meant by 'asking for time'. You don't know any manners. And still you laugh showing your teeth. You are good just for the kitchen. You should be rolling the chapatis!"

The young lady suddenly broke into tears! Unfortunate time for her. She cried hell a lot. After the court rose, I found her senior colleague consoling her. I heard him saying, "You were not listening to me properly when I was telling you. That's why this all has happened. 'Ask for time' does not mean to ask 'what's the time'. It means 'to take an adjounrment......'"

And, another episode ended there. One more fresher is getting ready to enter into the field.

Yehi hain right time, baby! A-ha!

-

An Encounter With A Tourist!

2008-07-08T18:57:00.006+05:30

It was a fresh morning, and I was heading towards the court. It had rained all the night, and hence the warm sun rays in the fresh morning seemed even fresher. The Oval ground was so green, like never before. Entire surroundings were cool. As I was walking to the corridor of the main building of The Bombay High Court, I heard a voice..

"Excuse me," I turned around. Yes, it was for me.

"Yes?" I said in reply. He was a foreigner. Maybe a tourist.. I thought.

"Uhh.. May I take a small kinda in'erview of yo'rs?" He asked in heavy English accent.

"What? My interview?" I almost shouted! After all, nobody stops you midway asking for an interview! I laughed out loudly..!

But then he explained how he maintains a blog site, how he is passionate about talking to different people from different cultures, and how he likes writing about his experiences.

We shared the similar interests, still it took me some time to say.. "Umm.. Okay. But hope you won't ask difficult questions! And it will be my discretion to choose the questions I will answer."

"Of course, of course!" He laughed! And started talking to me.. "Well, let me tell you about myself first." He introduced himself. He was a citizen of United Kingdom. And after retirement, he was enjoying a pensioner's life. He liked traveling, and had traveled almost all around the world.

"But court isn't a tourist place, is it? I asked him suspiciously. I felt weird to imagine a court as a tourist place.

"Yeah! You're right! It is not a tourist place. But this one is special. Well, special for me. You know what brings me here? He asked with a smile.

Maybe I had a question mark on my face. He chose to answer it himself.

"My grandpa used to work here in this building." He said looking at the building, with a great pride on his face.

Then he went on telling about his grandfather, who was an advocate in British days, who was also instrumental in drafting some of the important legislations in India and Britain etc etc.. I don't know where from, but he suddenly jumped onto Indian legislations, and uttered a sentence which was the most controversial statement I had ever heard. He said, "Good for you Indians. You at least have a law now."

"What do you mean?" I didn't get what he was trying to convey.

"Yeah, you Indians didn't have a uniform law before the British empire introduced...."

I interrupted aggressively, "But don't you think you're thinking in a wrong, one-sided way? India had the oldest civilization in the world. Think logically, is it not highly impossible to not have a uniform law in that case..?"

"Well, let's not talk about the Muan-Jo-Daro and Harappa civilizations. I have studied so many scholarly works on the world history, and from all that study I can conclude that there was no law in India." He was trying to defend himself with citing the scholarly works.

I got furious. "What the heck. Let me tell you, I don't pay any damn heed to what YOUR scholarly works have to say about MY nation, I know and I can prove that we had a certain uniform law. In fact YOU people have introduced a system here which is utterly corrupt. Let me also tell you, I have studied the history of your country, and I can prove one thing for sure. Your system was created by JOBLESS people. Let me also tell you, that you people enacted certain laws in India on EXPERIMENTAL BASIS, and then imposed those laws in your country. Why? Let me ask you one thing. Why did your Queen gift the translations of Indian scholarly works to your legislators? Are not the laws drafted by your legislators all based on those scholarly works of Indian originality?"

I think I almost attacked him. He was scared. He was trying to escape but I stopped him to give a tight lecture on 'superiority complex'!

"Hey, hey, hey young man.. I don't know what you are saying.. Seems you are hurt. I'm sorry for what ever I have said so far. I will study more into this before saying anything." He was scared..

"That'll be better. Do study more, and make a point that your studies are neutral. And always remember, you met someone here in India, who is ready to PROVE that India had a law before you people came here, and is ready to ARGUE on this. You would like to have my visiting card. And I would love to clear your doubts. You can contact me anytime. Bye for now, I'm getting late for the court."

"Sorry.. Bye.." He turned and started walking out.

I was really getting late. I forgot to ask his blog link. But I'm sure he got nothing to write there about me.

And I also forgot to give him my blog link!!

-

Two Advocates!

2008-07-04T22:32:00.009+05:30

"Your Lordship, I'm holding for Mr. XYZ - the advocate for the petitioners. Your Lordship, we seek an adjournment in this matter. We need some time to get instructions from our clients. Kindly give us two weeks." - The junior advocate, who was holding for his senior colleague, addressed the Court in these words. He had confidence in his voice and his body language. Had the Lordship not bothered to look at him, he would have gotten an adjournment easily, just like that..

But that was not going to happen! The Lordship was not interested in reading the brief. He seemed bored, because on that boring afternoon, almost everyone was coming only for getting adjournments. He looked up at the faces of both the advocates. The advocate for respondent was a senior and well-reputed advocate. He was perspiring unnecessarily, and was restless. He was searching for a kerchief in his coat pocket.

"Why are you looking so worried Mr. advocate?" Questioned the Lordship with a grin. "They are seeking the adjournment, not you. Good for you na?!"

But no, there was no answer from the respondent's advocate. There was something fishy about all this, and by now people were realizing that. The senior advocate was more restless, he was looking down at his toes, and was looking like a guilty man standing in the Court. And the junior advocate who was holding for his senior, was not looking a confident man anymore. He was trying to avoid the eye of the Lordship.

One second went in silence. Suddenly something struck the Lordship's mind, and he realized for himself.. "Arrey, whom are you holding for, huh?" He asked to the junior advocate. "My lord.. Umm.. I.. My lord.. Kindly keep back the matter. I'll inform my senior..."

"Nope! Tell me first whom are you holding for? How I haven't seen you holding for him before..? What is your name? Who is your senior?" Said the Lordship in an angry and loud voice.

The junior advocate could not go further confidently. His confidence broke, and he pointed out at the advocate of the respondent.. "My lord, he is my senior." He told. The senior advocate had found his kerchief by now and was trying to hide his face in it. The audience was startled!

"Hmm.. Mr. advocate, I didn't expect this from you." The Lordship said to the senior advocate. "Do you teach your junior advocates these things? These are sharp practices. Unfair practice, I would say.."

"My Lord there is some misunderstanding.." And the senior advocate also wanted to clarify..!!

"Don't utter a single word further okay? Otherwise I will initiate a contempt of Court proceedings, do you understand? Do you understand what is going on? Is this a Court hall? You are making it a cinema hall. Are you advocates or dancers?" The Lordship was angry and sad too. And his voice was already on a higher pitch.

"I apologize Your Honor. My learned friend - the advocate for the petitioner is not present in the Court today. We really needed time, and it was really urgent. So I thought I would make my junior stand there, and I could obtain 2 weeks time. I apologize, but would like to add that whatever I did was in the interest of justice my Lord, I have never used any foul methods in my life, just for interest of my clients. I have always cared about justice to everyone. My Lord may consider this, and kindly pass the orders accordingly." The senior advocate confessed.

"Considering your seniority and good reputation, I will think of your prayer only for this time. And not two weeks, you will only get two days. You'll deposit Rs. 10000/- as a fine out of your own pocket for misleading the Court." The Lordship said to the advocate, and turning to the Court clerks, he said, "make sure from the next time, whenever the junior advocates will hold for their seniors, you will get their and their senior advocate's names written in their handwriting."

And thus, one more interesting episode ended there...!

They say, if two advocates come together, they can loot the entire world! My advice is.. don't take this statement for fun!!

-

In Good Faith...

2008-06-14T10:32:00.005+05:30

A friend of mine called me up recently. After the initial formal talks, he asked me if I can help out a friend of him, who apparently was caught up in a legal problem. As a lawyer, helping out those who are in a problem happens to be my profession as well as obligation. So I was glad to agree with the suggestion. My friend gave me a brief idea about his friend. But I require seeing the person face to face. Therefore I asked my friend to fix a meeting.

..And after a week or so, the person was right there, in front of me. “Hello Sir...” He introduced himself. He was disturbed. Noticing that, I said to him; “Mr., you have traveled all the way. You may need some time to relax. Till then I can also complete some pending work, of course if you don’t mind. And, be sure you are stress-free here! Sit comfortably. Have some water.” He was sweating. It was a burning sunny day. Mumbai burns in summer; humidity makes breathing uneasy. Such environment is bad especially when you are disturbed. I offered him a glass of water.

After finishing off the work, I turned to him. “May we start with the discussions now?” I asked. He was lost in deep thoughts. I had to repeat what I said. Then only he noticed, and threw a forced embarrassed smile.

“Never mind” I said. “Let’s start with the detailed facts. Don't fear that you'll bore me with details. Facts are important. So don't miss even the minutest detail.” I told to him. “Also, open the facts from very beginning, in the order as they occur. If you start somewhere in the middle, I won't understand anything. By the way, what's your background?”

He took a deep breath, then almost after half a minute opened up with his side of the story. “Well, I am an M.Tech, and have done some computer related courses. I completed studies in 2006; since then I'm working with XXX Co. Pvt. Ltd. as software engineer. Basically we deal with the software developments. We are considered a leading company in the market.” His voice scale was still flat.

“Hmmm! That sounds good. But then what's the issue that's bringing you here?”

“Yeah” He continued, “Two years back, we had taken up a project of an American company. I was working on the project. The release date for the same was fixed on last Friday. And on Friday morning only, this happened to me.” He was deeply upset.

“I suppose you couldn't follow the release date?”

“Not really. Actually the project was almost complete by Thursday evening itself. Well, except for those 100 lines of the source code. Those lines weren’t sending the proper output as we wanted. I also discussed about it with my companions working on the same project. But they were tired. They didn't want to look into it then. It was about 9.30 PM. Everyone wanted to leave.”

“Ok. Project was complete, except for some 100 lines in the source code. Your friends wanted to go home. Then?” I was noting down the facts on notepad. “....Then I thought I can solve the problem at home, and next morning we can release the project. So I copied those 100 lines, and sent from my company email id to my personal email id. So that once I reach home, I can work on it to get the thing done.” He explained. He was now comfortable.

“Nice. As simple as that. But are you allowed to do so? Did you take permission from your authorities?”

“Well, I am not aware of the laws. I don’t know if they allow doing so. I didn't think it’s necessary to get the permission, as I thought anyhow they would have permitted me.”

“I see. But you should have asked for their permission. What made you think that they would have permitted you? Anyway tell me what happened next.”

“Yes now only I realize that I should have taken their permission.” He said thinking something. “Later I wanted to work on the source code before sleeping. But I was very much tired and I thought it can be done in the morning too, with a fresh mind.”

“But then the authorities must have scolded you for not taking their permission for copying the code?” I was still on the consequences of his act.

For a moment, he remained silent. I noticed tears gathering in his eyes. Oh, they must have scolded him badly.. I thought. ...And suddenly he broke into tears. “Man, I don’t want to lose my job for anything.. I have responsibilities. I'm anxious. Even that imagination of losing my job is terrifying.”

“Hey, calm down, relax. Don't worry.”

But he bounced.. “How can you be so still Mr. Advocate? How can you ask me to calm down? They’ve sent a legal notice to me, asking me to resign within one week. What did I do? I just took the source code with me to improve it. Why? In good faith. To enable the company to release the project on its due date. Is it a crime? Working in a good faith is crime? I don’t understand.”

He took a small pause and continued in a normal voice.. “I never thought this would become so serious.. They are alleging that I wanted to sell their copyrighted material. Do I look like that? Do I look like a criminal? My reputation is at a stake. Even if I resign, who will take me knowing this background? Your laws can’t understand this. Heck your laws....”

“Come on Mr., think aptly. Of course, you don’t look a criminal. But law doesn’t see that. Law demands a proof. And it can be easily proved that you’re not a criminal.” I said in a firm voice, to boost his spirits. It worked. He raised his head, stared at me, and asked, “Really? You can you prove that? How?”

“Well, tell me, does the 100 lines part of the code which you copied comprise the complete logic of the software you were developing?”

“Logic? No, it is just the frame of the software. Some part of its design.”

"Good. If it was the logic, it would have been a problem for us. Now I’ll explain our plus points to you."

“You see, softwares are copyrighted in India. Not like US or some other countries, where they are patented.”

“Yes, I have a brief idea about that.” He said.

“You should have a detailed idea about what I’m telling you next. You know, there is a procedure established by the law and it requires a proper application in the approved format. In your case, the software is yet to be completed. You said some 100 lines didn’t execute the expected results. Here, I don’t see any distant chance of the company applying for a copyright when it is not still complete.”

“You are right. This makes sense. I never thought of this!” He whispered.

“And more than that, it doesn’t comprise the logical part of it. It is just a part of design of the software. There would be no market value to the design unless it is popular. So the company authorities cannot even maintain a claim that you wanted to sell the design in the market and earn profits out of it.”

“This is a fantastic conclusion.” He was excited.

“Also, the most important thing: They cannot ask you to resign without giving you an opportunity to be heard. They cannot terminate your services arbitrarily – just like that. Had you wanted to make out undue profit, you could have copied the entire source code of the software. But you copied only those lines which had an error. This shows that your intentions were clear. We’ll bring this to their notice. I’ll see that you don’t suffer more than what you have already suffered. I’ll explain the abovementioned points to them on your behalf. This is enough to show you innocent, given that what information you have provided is true and you don’t hide any fact.”

“Of course I’m not hiding anything. Why would I?” Now he was happy.

“But you should have asked for their permission to let you copy those 100 lines of the code. This all wouldn’t have happened.” I smiled. “Yes, well, yes. For the first time in my life I have acted so stupidly. Henceforth I will be careful.” His tension was released. He continued. “Sorry for making a scene here.. I was worried to the core.. But all that you said was so obvious. Why I couldn’t think of it earlier..?”

“It’s ok. I know it happens. And don’t worry; I’m not going to charge you any hefty amount for this.” – I had understood what he was hinting by saying that.

He threw a teeth flashing smile!

......

Good faith is always welcomed. But in the due course, we shouldn't force or stretch ourselves to go out of the ways to get it executed.

-

Observation..

2008-05-17T13:18:00.014+05:30

Luckily, on 28th April 2008 I had no appearance before the court, and thus taking a day out from the schedule was easier. I made some arrangements in the schedules, and reached the venue at around 10.30 AM. Well, getting in wasn't so easy! I had to answer a lot of questions, and after that the security guards were waiting for me with a security scanning machine! Do I look like a terrorist?

Once these things were over, I was allowed to go in. After getting inside, I found out that the actual function would start only after the media people gather. At around 11.00 AM, the media guys and gals started coming in with their cameras and notepads. Prima facie, it seemed that they didn't have any idea about the function. They were asking at the counters about some more details. Outside the door of the hall, there was a board which said "The Nokia Remix Contest Announcement." Some of the journalists noticed it, and they left!

Fortunately I met two journalist friends there and I mingled with them. Good for me, I won't feel all alone.. I thought.

We were standing outside the hall, and somebody said, "Hey, you know, he is already in". What he was doing inside the hall? My journalist friend asked to the person standing at the door. The person obliged to open the door slightly so as to help us get a glance. Yes, he was there, and he was on a sound check. Before the actual function, he made it sure that everything works fine. Professionalism, I thought. Once it got over, he came out of the hall, walking directly to the veranda where we were standing. He waved a hand to the journalists and went outside.

This time, there was no response from media people; well, not as usual. Media reporters were not much interested in the subject matter. Maybe everyone is not like minded here.. I thought. But later I came to know that the system works differently. Some of the junior journalists will get a good video footage later, and they will have to hand it over to their seniors without any expectations.

"Don't be under an impression that the juniors are being exploited. They make good money by selling these footages to the rival websites and news channels.. This is a routine here boy! This is better for us - the poor journalists!" My journalist friend whispered in my ear. There was a hint of little bit mischief in his voice. He continued, "And we make it sure that we don't find ourselves running after them all the time. Even though they like publicity, they don't like us.. So we avoid that." Some of these things were new to me, though not really shocking. "If you roam around this hall with eyes and ears open, I'm sure you'll get shocks of your lifetime.." Another journalist friend of mine burst into laughter..

Yes, the media people were disinterested, truly and visibly. In fact, some of them even requested to the organizers, "Just give us the press release notes, we'll make a move with that. We don't want to be glued here for long." Also in another corner, I noticed some of the cameramen adjusting their cameras and microphones. Once they did that, they left the hall - just to come back to collect the cameras when the function gets over.

Anyway, I was not interested in observing the lifestyles of journalists at that point of time, so I choose to part from the journalist friends cum mentors. At the same time, I heard someone saying to the other, "Hey let's go inside the hall, the function will start shortly." And I went inside hall. It was 12.00 PM. At around 12.15 the actual function started. Initially a person from Nokia took the charge of the stage and he spoke about the music. "Music does not have any barriers, it connects people. That's what Nokia does precisely. Connecting people." He said. He talked about Nokia for a little time; and then handed over the charge to another person, who was from an audio company. The latter spoke about the other things. Then The Boss entered in the hall in a style. The function got over within half and hour, and the interview session followed.

..And some junior journalists came forth to get the interviews. I was standing near the stage. From there I could observe everyone striving for a good footage; for a good footage meant good money to them. How could we expect an extra ordinary interview from these media people, when they're actually not interested in it at all?...

-

10 Reasons...!

2008-04-10T19:56:00.006+05:30

10 reasons why I chose to be a Lawyer..!

I hate sleeping.
I have enjoyed my life in childhood.
I can't live without tension.
I want to have a disturbed family life.
I believe in duties, and not in the fruits of work. (Bhagavadgeeta!)
I don't want to spend time with my family members.
I want to take revenge from myself.
I wanted to break up from my friends.
I want a social boycott.
I love to work on Sundays and all holidays.

One addition from me...! I used to read a lot of detective novels.. Now I'm living them...!!

;-)

(Courtesy: Fwd Email)

-

The People And The System!

2008-04-02T08:15:00.026+05:30

Well, this is an old story. I could have written about this one pretty long back. But couldn't. Then I saw someone making a fool of others on this April 1st, and suddenly remembered this one.

Those initial days.. Almost everything was new then. I was still starting out as a professional, and hadn't learned many things about the 'sophistication'.

On that particular day, someone suggested that I should attend some family matters. The suggestion wasn't really bad. Family matters are always considered the most easy matters, because the law on almost all kind of family issues is well-settled. In the words of the person who suggested that I should attend a family matter, "It is absolutely nothing yaar"..

I entered the Court Hall where family matters are heard. It was fully packed as usual. There was no place to sit. I found a corner for me where I could barely stand. After getting some matters over, this matter came to be called out.

A young Muslim man came before, and stood near the witness box. His lawyer was ready with the case, and was discussing some last minute points with the young man. A young Muslim lady stood just in the opposite direction, with her father. Her father was talking to their lawyer. Both the man and the lady seemed to hail from royal, multi-millionaire families. Their respective lawyers were ready with their cases and arguments.

"What is the impugned order?" The Judge asked.

"Your lordship, in this case the divorce has been granted, and the decree has been passed which states that the child will remain in the custody of his father." - Lawyer of the young man answered. "The mother has also been allowed to see the child once in a week." He added.

"Then what is the problem now?" The Judge turned to the another lawyer.

"Your lordship, the contention of the respondents is that the father of child is cruel in nature. Even the divorce has been obtained on the ground of cruelty itself. In the given circumstances, the father of child is likely to subject him to cruelty, and hence it will be fair to give the custody of the child to his mother. And, according to the rules of the natural justice...."

"How old is the child?" - The Judge interrupted.

"Just 48 months, Your lordship".. - Said the lawyer.

"Hmmm. Is the father's cruelty towards the child proved?" - The Judge.

"I'll prove it to Your Lordship. Here are some photographs of the child Your Lordship, in which the burning marks on his skin are clearly seen.." The lawyer for the respondent tendered some copies of some photographs in the court.

....And suddenly, the whole scene changed. Till now, the arguments were going on in a good manner. But as soon as the lawyer tendered the photographs in the court; the mother of the child started weeping loudly in the open court.

The entire Court Hall paused, and gave a look to her. In her loud voice, there was pain, there was sorrow. Noticing that, people started murmuring to each other.. Poor mother.. Her child should be given back to her. Even I was forming the similar kind of opinion, but..

"Don't try to pressurize the court." Triggered the bullets-like words from The Judge. "These are unfair tricks. I'm not going to fall a prey to this. Don't make an April Fool of me, okay?" The Judge added further. His voice was so heavy and so sharp, that everyone around got statued. Silence prevailed over the court room. The mother raised her head, but there was no drop in her dry eyes.

The Judge said, "I'm going to decide the case on the merits."

..And I was thrown in the thoughts. Why the Judge would have said so? Why would he have felt like being pressurized? Did he not notice the cry of mother? What was so unfair in making a way to the feelings? Why he called it a trick?..

I left the Court Hall with so many questions in the mind. After some time the case got over, and the young lady and her father came out of the Court Hall with their lawyer. I heard the lawyer saying to the young lady, "Madam, today's thing went to become a little bit dramatic. He has considered the point of cruelty raised by us. But the rest was like overacting." The young lady said in reply, "Yes, even I felt so, but unfortunately, everything was messed up till then. Is there any other way remaining now?"

"Yes Madam, of course there will be a way. Please make payment of Rs. 10,000/- for today. The sitting is likely to change in couple of weeks. We will try this out in another court after that." He said..!

...And there I realized. The Judge was right. After all; he was a Judge, and not an ordinary person, who can be fooled anytime.

Personally, this entire episode has left a great impact on me. In the modern life, almost everyday is a fool's day. We have to be careful!

People's 'survival instinct' compels them to do some funny things; and thus gets created - The adorable System!

We the people..!

-

The Happy Man & His Quest

2008-03-18T21:57:00.027+05:30

I was standing at a corner, observing him closely. He had some guests to talk to. He talks very gently and his mere presence influences everyone around him. The guests were convinced, and at the end, when they left, he turned back to me, with a smile.

"You seem to be very happy." ..I said something in nervousness, because I didn't know what to do. "Really?" He bounced back giggling, with a difficult question.

Answering to his question was worst than a nightmare. I thought for a second. What to say? I had noticed him trying hard to stay grounded. I also knew he prefers 'being lonely' to 'being always crowded'. But thinking on a larger scale; I thought, why not? He has achieved all that his contemporaries would ever dream of. And people respect him for his achievements. Therefore, he should be happy. So simple it was.

What to say? I was thrown into a dilemma. But fortunately he made it simple for me. As I was thinking, we sat, comfortably. He heaved a sigh, and said in a low voice looking somewhere in the skies, "This life is merely a formality, man. At some point, it becomes important to ignore your personal desires and pains, to give everyone the importance they want.. I would shy away from such things otherwise, but now this is becoming my life.."

"Hmm.." I nodded.. I didn’t want to break his link of thoughts.

"You know, this life is always lived in the stress and tensions of desires. We always keep thinking what we get is inadequate. We believe someone else is happy, because they have the comforts. But we never realize the criteria for these 'comforts' are in fact set by us! ..We've set a value for what others have, and we keep comparing! If we only come out of this mindset and see, we realize that nobody is really happy. Everyone wants to be different from what they are. This is a common problem in the society."

Well, he was right. And then he came to the concluding point of the discussion. Something, that only sages talk of, generally.

“Solving this problem should be the quest of life. Once we identify the problem, we know what exactly we should look for, and life becomes focused; purposeful. Then only it becomes worth living.” He added further..

Deep somewhere in his smiling eyes, I noticed, there was a powerful twinkle...!

And he was humming an old tune.. Vazhkkaiye Porkalam, Ada Vazhathan Aaganum...!!

-

Icon Worshipping and Freedom of Expression

2008-03-10T09:57:00.006+05:30

Disclaimer:

This is HEAVY.
Please don’t attempt to read this on a ‘boring afternoon’.
Please don't read this in parts and pieces.
This is MY observation and interpretation.
Opinions may differ from person to person.
I may (or may not) have respect for some (or all) the names mentioned.
All the names are mentioned just for the sake of examples. Nothing personal against anyone.

Prologue:

Recently a friend of mine expressed his opinions on a specific topic in an open-to-all email group. But unfortunately what followed to his emails was not much encouraging. In return he got a lot of flak emails; most of them were childish, harsh, cruel, unpleasantly rough, and immature. And ultimately; at the end of it, he was left saddened.

What is more depressing here; the one, who puts a valid and an intelligent point, gets discouraged by the others. These people attack him personally; questioning his ability to understand, analyze and think. And they will do it in such a way, that if the person is not strong enough, he is likely to lose his confidence of putting some valid points forth for discussions and arguments.

And contradictorily, those harsh, cruel, unpleasantly rough and immature people; who step into the shoes of judges, will get support from many, and will be encouraged by many. This helps them earn more confidence, and they tend to repeat this immature behavior in the future as well.

Is this good for the society? If we don't discuss and argue on certain issues, how will we improve?

Well, my friend had some opinions regarding an international icon. Apparently, this international icon happens to have many blind worshippers. This icon won some award, and all that my friend said that 'the judges might be biased towards the icon; and in many cases, these awards might not always represent the real facts'. Certainly people are expected to have different opinions, emotions and feelings regarding something, fine. But the way they showcase them matters a lot.

In this case, my friend had taken the due care to draft his opinions precisely, and expressed them in most-possible-decent way. His only 'mistake' was 'showing the courage to say this in an open space'.

...And this was enough for the blind worshippers. Many of them got aggrieved, and showed their grievances in highly uncivilized ways. These people went even beyond the context in which my friend was talking, and said 'no one has any right to talk anything against the icon'. Even for the valid reasons? Whoa! Nowadays I'm really developing a soft-corner for these people. They badly need a crash course on 'Emotions Management'.

Anyway, God bless the icon, who himself seems unaffected by all this yet, and who hasn't yet taken these blind worshippers seriously!

People's Tendency:

Be it the way it is, but this whole episode has made me think over the issue. In my observation, nowadays the situations everywhere are the same. And in the wider interpretation, this applies in almost every other case in the society, not just in the case above which I mentioned.

Day-by-day, people are becoming more intolerant. Leave alone 'thinking'; they don't even want to listen to others' opinions. Instead they will keep caressing their own beliefs and faiths. These kinds of people are frightening. They won't help themselves the society to develop, and won't let the others develop it either.

Scientists say that human being has stabled down. If human being has indeed stabled down, it is expected that he would grow more mature day-by-day. In these circumstances, we should be allowed to discuss our opinions, beliefs and thoughts fearlessly. And as it is going to help the society to grow mature, this activity should go on even more than earlier.

In the earlier days, for example, we didn't have so many resources in the media to put forward our thoughts for discussions etc. But now; with the technological advancements and achievements in communications, we have become independent (yet) global citizens. It seems, with the help of Internet, 'discussing and improving your thoughts' has become an easier job. But has it, really?

I sometimes wonder. Do people put forward their thoughts fearlessly? Do they discuss openly? And if they do, what do they get in return?

Let's not deny that fact that the common man does not understand the veracity, the gravity and the depth of a given issue. There are only a few who can actually 'think'. The remaining won't even go into the depths of the subject. All that they would come out with is just simple-clichéd-blanket-opinions. Also, they tend to forget the issues even before they register in their minds.

The supporters of modern jurisprudence say 'A common man is free to think and do whatever he wants to'. But in reality a common man won't think and he won't do anything besides his daily routine work. I'm not blaming the common man, of course...

Free Discussion, How And Why?:

Coming back to the main discussion; I feel there should be no restrictions on discussing or arguing. We already have had so many restrictions for all these years, due to one or more reasons. Now the necessity of the time is we should be able to discuss and argue fearlessly.

But in this situation; it is also very much necessary that; we should time and again be checking back, examine, and study all our beliefs and faiths considering each and every aspect of it. 'Time matters a lot'... Hence our beliefs and faiths don't necessarily retain as-it-is with the times. Sometimes they may change. They, at times, may become outdated. Many times we notice the shortcomings, vices and even virtues and good qualities. Thus, from time to time, if we think and go to the roots of our beliefs and faiths, we feel the necessity to base them again, to discuss them and to study them analytically.

However; it is not an easy job to examine one's beliefs and faiths. Not everyone can do it. Even they - who think they are much matured, logically very sound, and intellect thinkers - face problems in examining their beliefs, thoughts and faiths because of the prejudices they have in their minds. The prejudices and egos do not let them examine freely. We cannot expect that whole world agreeing to the points and thoughts of one single person, even if that person is extremely super brilliant.

In the first place, the basic foundations on which we examine the beliefs and faiths might / could not be all the same for everyone in the world. There is 100% likelihood of people having different opinions based on different foundations about the same thing. As a result, it is very much a probability that when we try to examine and study the foundations and find out evidences for the same, there could be dissimilarities on many points. Considering all these aspects of a detailed study, we should not hesitate in re-checking the basic foundations whenever needed, that too without getting annoyed. If this is not allowed to be done in a free manner and fearlessly, that will be like obstructing someone from having liberty of thoughts. And if this happens for a long time, it ultimately results in a bad effect on the society.

The Way They Think..:

Now, while talking about the icons that the society worships; it wouldn't be wrong if we say that the occurrence of analyzing one's beliefs and faiths fearlessly has slowed down in recent days. Because, these icons have literally become Gods for some people here. It is almost a universal craze. For ex. if we talk regarding Rajinikanth, he will be God for some people. If we talk about Amitabh Bachchan, he will be God for some others. Leave the film personalities alone, if we talk regarding Sonia Gandhi, she will be God for some, and if we talk about L.K.Advani, he will be God for some. Talk about just anyone; everyone is a God here!

There is no end. So, should we not talk at all? Of course we would have utmost respect for the names mentioned here; but while having respect for them, let's not forget the fact that these people have become Gods for some sect of people in the society, which makes studying them analytically immensely thorny.

Why can't we digest the fact that one can have utmost respect about two people of different dimensions at the same time? For instance; if someone says 'I have utmost respect for Pandit Jasraj and I adore him for his contribution to the Indian Classical music, and at the same time I also have utmost respect for Ilaiyaraja and I also adore him for his contribution in the field of Tamil film music'; people won't buy this as-it-is. Further, if someone says 'I dislike some songs of Ilaiyaraja and that I like some songs by Vishal Bhardwaj very much'; people can't digest this as-it-is. Have people totally forgotten that someone may have utmost respect for many different people or things at the same time?

The False Prejudices:

...This all is because of prejudices. People 'conclude' that it is but impossible. Furthermore, people almost forget that having extreme admiration for someone, and at the same time, having differences on their opinions can exist together. Someone can have utmost respect for Mahatma Gandhi but may not like some of his opinions! And this can exist at the same time! Similarly they can have utmost respect for Lokmanya Tilak as well, but may also have some different opinions than him on some issues! And this also can exist at the same time!

That does not allow anybody to conclude that they have disrespect for Mahatma Gandhi and Lokmanya Tilak. Having different opinions than the person whom you adore (and have utmost respect for) doesn't mean that you don't adore them and don't have respect for them. On the similar note, having utmost respect for a person, doesn't mean that you have to buy all his opinions as-it-is!

If we see two people / parties / sides opposing each other today in the present, we may not see them all the same tomorrow. Times and references change. It is necessary to see Congress and B.J.P. as opponents (today) but it is equally necessary to see the huge similarity in their stands. And it is also essential to see that their differences today might even be proved supplementary to each other tomorrow. After all, nothing remains permanent!

Today we (Indians) proudly say we are the largest democracy in the world. If someone comes and asks us how should be the Member of Parliament, many will certainly hesitate to mention Man Mohan Singh's name despite the fact that he is extremely talented Economist and has always been brilliant in that field. Though there is no second judgment needed on his talent and brilliance in Economics; the debatable question is, whether he has that ability, caliber and skill needed for being a successful Member of Parliament. On the other hand, many others won't feel shy in pointing out Ram Jethmalani's name. Though he is one of the most controversial persons in the nation, many would agree he has that everything needed to be the successful Member of Parliament. Of course, this agreeing and disagreeing is basically relative thing in nature, and it depends upon many things...

All-Dimensional Development:

Life never goes in one orbit and in one speed. Life has infinite levels, infinite directions and infinite needs. Each and everyone have their own interconnecting rights and duties in it. Hence the two different people, even though seemingly contradictory to each other, can be adorable, highly regarded, and respectable at the same time. Personally, I staunchly believe that one can have the utmost respect and regard for two seemingly differing people at the same time. Furthermore, I also believe that if one does not have such respect, he is biased. And such biased people are obstructions to the all-dimensional development of life.

When I'm talking on the concept of 'having respect for icons'; it is quite necessary to interpret the term. It is essential to avoid any uncertainties and vagueness.

..Where 'nobody is perfect', we should not think that the person whom we respect will be 'perfect' in all walks of life. We can have respect for someone even if that person is not a perfect person.

For ex: I have utmost respect for A.R.. But I don't dare to state 'he is best athlete' or best dancer / best doctor / best engineer / best Muslim / best cricketer / best scientist the nation has produced so far. It sounds foolish. I'm very much aware that these are not the fields of A.R.'s greatness. It is quite an obligation that we think aptly. We should try to find his greatness only in the field of music and not otherwise. Moreover I don't force myself to believe that all his opinions in the field of music would always be correct. I'm aware that eventually it may also happen that his opinions in his own field would be wrong. Still I may have utmost respect for him.

In my opinion, respect for someone should not come from simply 'agreeing to one's opinions' or 'liking one's works', it essentially should come from agreeing the fact that the person has considerably contributed to the growth of his specific area of work.

Not Just Admiring And Respecting, But...:

Sometimes we come across people who don't just 'respect' or 'admire' the icons, but 'love' them. These people would further justify it saying that 'loving' someone is in some sense superior to 'respecting' or 'admiring' them. Again, loving someone does not imply that you have to follow their thoughts blindly. Please note; I’m nowhere counting the hypocrites who just ‘show off’.

Blindness, in the abovementioned case, happens to be of two types. Agreeing to someone's each and every opinion is one type and disagreeing to someone's each and every opinion is another. The real question is not about agreeing or disagreeing. What is expected; that you should have your own opinion. Your opinions may be right or wrong, doesn't matter. Having an opinion implies that you have logic. And the one who has ability of thinking logically will never ever blindly agree or blindly disagree to each and every opinion of someone.

The Greatness Of Icons:

...And beyond all this, the greatness of the person never depends upon how many people agree to his opinions and how many do not. It depends upon his contributions to his own area of work and then to the society. If we learn to value his contribution and his work, we will be able to respect them despite of having differences of opinions with them. And if you don't recognize their contributions, there is no meaning to have respect at all...

If someone states 'I admire A.R. for his philosophy', it's not going to impress you. Agreed; one may admire him for this reason, but doing so shouldn't simply ignore and leave behind the work he has done in the field of film music. His philosophy comes as an essential part of his life. He has not become what he is today because of his philosophy. Though his philosophy is great and something which you don't find in other contemporaries; it is not something which has made him what he is today. It is essentially his work in the music industry what makes him great today. We should consider him as a revolutionary musician in world music. But if someone doesn't consider so, we also should let him in his liberty to consider whatever they want. What we can do the most in that case is discuss the reasons with him and settle our thoughts.

Some Basic Questions:

I think, while adoring an icon we should take some basic questions into consideration.

Which are the fields of greatness of the concerned icon?
In which field you consider his greatness?
What are the limitations, and what are the blunders of the icon?
Which are the opinions of the concerned icon which you don't agree with?
Are we ready to analyze our icon with open eyes?
Are we ready to register our icon's mistakes? At least, if someone else does it, are we going to respond like gentlemen?

Epilogue:

At least those; who support the freedom, should insist on this liberty of thoughts and freedom of expression. If they sit idle, they are actually encouraging the others. So they should take it as a responsibility. They should discourage the whole practice of flaking at someone. If they too don't consider about this, then there will be no fruits borne to this blind worship.

Anyway, I think I got lost in the thoughts and lost the tempo...

At the end, I would take this opportunity to congratulate my friend for expressing his opinions fearlessly, which inspired me to think on this issue in deep. Also congratulating him for maintaining his confidence and standpoint till the end!

Dear Chord, I sincerely and highly appreciate your efforts! Thanks!

-

Imbalanced Growth.

2008-02-22T09:13:00.010+05:30

"A friend of mine, who would merely be 20 years old, never stops talking about money. Suppose you are talking on your favorite music, and he irritates you interrupting with his questions, like 'how much the musicians and singers would be earning'. You talk about your friends; he asks 'how much they earn.' You say anything, he will never think beyond the money and monetary returns. 'Yeah I know money won't buy you everything, but don't forget, it is the most important thing in life! You simply can't ignore it!' He says.

Okay, if it was restricted to this alone. But the real problem lies ahead. He strongly believes that 'anything' and 'everything' can be done to earn money. According to him, (and I'm quoting him) 'Human life is not to be lived like insects and animals. And if you want to enjoy life, earn money. If you cannot earn money by fair ways, don't hesitate to use the foul ways.'

Having known his background very closely.. I know what makes him think this way. There was a time when his family used to wait for days to get food. He grew up seeing poverty. They used to kill their desires for no money. But everyone around them was kind enough to help them, and now they are doing pretty good on their own. His father has got his own business expanded in 8 districts of the State. He has every luxury waiting for him on his costliest and posh flat once he returns from his college. He goes to college driving in his own car - gifted to him by his father on his last birthday. Still he cannot find himself satisfied.. His father is content, that his 'wise' son has learned from the past experiences and has matured. "

But.. Somehow I cannot relate with their philosophy. I think he is living an imbalanced life. He fails to see the beauty in life..

How would a person look if his nose grows long? How if someone's hand grows long? Everything else is in its place, and only hand or nose or say leg is growing day by day. What would you call it? It would be imbalanced growth.

Imbalanced growth is never beautiful. Nobody likes it.

But in reality we always see such imbalanced people around us. People who concentrate on only one aspect of life. Many would constantly run after money. They won't see anything else in the world. For them, life is an opportunity to earn. Many would rant about celebrities day and night. For them, nothing else is important in the universe. They can't even think talking about other things! Some people want recognition, name and fame. They will do anything for that. In a way, concentrating on one aspect is good too. But when it goes beyond the extreme; it becomes irritating and troublesome. You cannot argue with these people!

If people try to take something from everything, they will be balanced. If people are balanced, the society will be balanced.

Such balanced society will be beautiful - always.

-

Problem - My Interpretation.

2008-02-21T21:53:00.008+05:30

In the school days, these two subjects called algebra and geometry used to give me very tough competition. Reason - There were lot of problems in them! It is another thing that I used to be the greatest problem for the mathematics teachers in our maths-classes!

In the common parlance, people say 'problem means a difficulty, which cannot be solved'. People also say 'problem means a puzzling circumstance'. When there seems no way, when they see nothing but darkness, people conclude, 'This is a problem'!

But in real life, there is no difficulty that can ever not be solved, there is no puzzle which will never be understood, which will never make any sense. The word problem itself implies that we have to solve it, and we can solve it.

Thus, don't emphasize on the problems as problems. Start solving them. We have seen motivating stories of how people overcome even the hardest difficulties in their lives. Ask them - they will tell you, that any problem can be solved. If we remain idle, the hindrances and obstacles in our ways will never be removed. We should come forward, we should get into action. Then nothing remains problematic anymore.

Thus, let's conclude that any problem is actually not a problem. Because every problem can be solved, and thus, cannot remain a problem.

No-Win Situation.

2008-02-03T17:01:00.001+05:30

Last week, two persons were crying loudly outside the court room. A lawyer friend of mine informed me that they were real brothers. They must be around 50-55 years old. It was so funny to see that they were crying so loudly in a public place, consoling each other. My lawyer friend got logged into a funny mood, and went to them to converse.

Friend (to one of them): Why are you crying uncle?
Ans: I lost my case against him! (pointing out at his brother!) My money got wasted.. My lawyer must have built a new home by now..

Friend (to the other): Oh, you won the case, and still you are crying?
Ans: That $%#^&%$ advocate has looted me. His wife is wearing new ornaments, and I'm a bankrupt now. Had only I realized this before..

A no-win situation is one, where we have choices, but any of the choices don't lead to any success. How if someone is offered the choice of dying by being hanged, shot, stabbed, or poisoned? All choices lead to death! They say, here, the person is put in a no-win situation.

Situations the system creates aren't much different too. Is there any solution? Of course, there will be.. We haven't realized it exists..

Let's be optimistic!

-

Let's Learn..

2008-01-29T08:34:00.000+05:30

This time, I observed something more different about him, very closely.

After the function was over, he had to attend the media. Actually, he already had a press conference for an hour or so, and when it was over, he came out of the conference hall, all tired. Still the media people were chasing him for bits. Almost with 150 cameras and microphones! I was walking with him, and noticed that he was furious and fed up. For the media people chasing him. People were requesting 'Sir, 2 minutes, 2 minutes'. It was 12 AM. He was saying 'no, please, sorry, I'm sorry, please excuse me..'

He was already tired, his eyes were red. He suddenly turned, and asked them.. 'Were you not there inside the conference room'? They said 'no sir we weren't'. He wondered, 'How's that possible', but finally agreed. He paused, leaned back on the wall, closed eyes, took some long breaths, then opened the eyes, and..

My God! This was a completely different him! Just 30 seconds, and a complete difference! With all those trademark cute smiles, with all those gestures like playing with hairstyles. His voice had changed, there was no symbol of anger at all. He was at ease, he answered all the useless questions very simply, gently, and calmly. And he cracked jokes too! He handled the situation like a corporate winner. Goodness gracious! No more words!

What more to say about him, other than that he is pure divinity on the earth! I wouldn't go so far as to call him a God as some others have, but I would certainly say that he encapsulates almost everything pure and valuable about humanity's goodness. Despite his unwillingness, he still managed to stay composed and channeled his unwillingness and anger in positive ways. What a man... What a spirit. May God rocket him to even higher heights in the years to come.

Instead of ranting, and articulating our wild, incoherent emotions about him, if we only learn certain things from him....

No! I'm fed up of arguments!!

-

Helplessness.

2008-01-27T13:33:00.000+05:30

The day started in a very cheerful mood. Everyone was wishing me, and I was thanking them! It was a happy morning. After all, it was a long time that I was at home on my birthday. Almost after 3 years? Yes.

We had some visiting guests at home on the same day. Everyone wanted to celebrate and everyone had different plans! But unluckily I was so occupied throughout the day, that there was no time for celebration, no party, nothing. My family members and the guests were slightly disappointed with this. To compensate and to make them feel like a celebration, I decided to go home in the evening with a surprise treat pack. And accordingly when my work was over, I went to one famous restaurant nearby.

It was probably the coldest evening in December.. It must be around 7:30.. At the counter while placing my order, I noticed a young boy standing with his ultra modern girlfriend, displaying his affection publicly. He was a guy who would use words like ‘yo’ and ‘dude’ and had a very heavy American accent. Energetic youth! He must be around 17-18 years old. He seemed busy impressing the girl, and then I ignored him. My order was yet to get ready, so I had to stand there helplessly. But just for a little time...

The young boy caught my attention again, and this time due to his conversation with the person at counter. The counter attendant was giving too much respect to the boy. The boy had ordered an ice cream pack. The counter attendant finished his calculations and gave the boy his invoice. It was a 700 odd Rs. payment. Heard the counter attendant telling the boy about how they use only pure milk, how the VAT has resulted into increasing prices of all food items, and how transportation affects on the pricing etc etc. The boy was simply not in a mood to listen anything at all.

The boy took out a 1000 Rupee note from his money purse. He threw it on the face of the counter attendant, said with his entire attitude “Keep the change my boy”, and gave a winner-look to his friend. In return, she gave him a cute smile and blinked her eyes. Without even waiting to hear a ‘Thanks’ from the counter attendant, the boy and the girl went to the gate walking hand in hands.

Just outside the gate, there was a weak old lady sitting on the street. She had protected herself from the cold using a black colored blanket. The blanket had too many holes, and it did not actually help her cover up herself properly. She had a pot in front of her, which contained some coins. She stretched her whitish, fainted palm in front of this boy hoping to get some coins.

“You bloody dirty beggars!” shouted this boy, and kicked her pot off. In a moment the pot was thrown away, upside down; and all the coins in it got scattered on the road. The young boy and the girl were already walking on the road; hand in hands, carelessly, unaffected as if nothing had happened.

“I was not born as a beggar..” Shouted the weak old lady in a pale voice, but surprisingly in English! Everyone around paused; everyone started watching. The old lady; while collecting her scattered coins back; continued crying, “I am an educated person; I have done my PhD and M. Phil. YOU people have ruined my life. YOU dirty people. This is injustice. Gross injustice..” - This all in English. She started hitting herself in deep sorrow, and people started talking about her sympathetically.

The young boy was son of a big politician in the State. "Power corrupts, and absolute power plus money corrupts absolutely". How true!

The old lady, in her early days, was a professor in some college in the town. She was forced to retire from the service due to some reasons unknown. She repeatedly asked for justice, but nobody cared. In stead, her home was taken out from her. She had no relatives, and now she had to beg on the streets. People were really feeling sorry about her.

My order had got ready, and I had to make the payment at the counter. Done with it, and looked back. Oh, the old lady had left the place already.. People were still talking about her, how kind natured person she was, how she was subjected to injustice, how she went to the courts and how someone should stay away from politicians..

People talk a lot, but damn, they just talk a lot.

Couldn’t enjoy the celebrations.

Honestly speaking, I had never felt so handicapped in my entire life.

-

Tendency!

2008-01-17T17:33:00.000+05:30

There is a famous story.

In early 90s; a considerably big company in home appliances manufacturing in India; launched a new range of washing machines. This new range provided a single drum for both soaking and washing cloths; and also provided a detergent dispenser for adding detergent to the water automatically. All of a sudden, this new range of washing machines started getting huge responses from Punjab. The company started deriving significant profits from Punjab. Surprised by this, company management sent its officers to Punjab to study the hike in the demand.

What the officers noticed in Punjab was beyond their imagination. Totally mind-blowing. We all know Punjab is famous for Lassi. There are many Dhabas out there in the Punjab which are especially known for their sweet curd lassis. These officers noticed that the Dhaba owners were using the new washing machines for making sweet lassis! The drum of washing machines was being used to soak the milk and curd, the detergent dispenser was being used to add the masala, and the water outlet was used to take out lassi from the machine! Washing machine was converted into a Lassi Maker! Sheer brilliance, isn't it?

Some say it’s a joke, some say it’s a true story. Truth is better known to the originator of this idea. But there is another fresh story, and this time it’s a known, true story. Recently there was a case in the Supreme Court. The issue was whether Pepsis and Colas are good for human consumption. In this case, an evidence was brought from Andhra Pradesh, where some farmers were found using Pepsi and Coke as pesticides. They proved in the court that it is much cheaper, and much more effective than the available pesticides!

I myself have noticed people using Cokes as toilet cleaners in some restaurants in Pune. We sometimes read in the newspapers that people commit suicide drinking insecticides. We also know that a nail cutter knife was used to threaten the pilot in the New York Twin Tower attack! In short, we cannot take for granted, that people would always use the things for the purposes for which they are meant to be.

This could be jumping to a funny conclusion from yet funnier observation; but leave the things alone, even in general people do behave unexpectedly. You tell something to someone in some sense, and they take it in a completely different way! Such people are irritating, and they may even create problems, but we cannot do anything except explaining them our side.

Is this a tendency? Yes it is.

How does it affect? It may create problems.

How to avoid these problems? You decide!

If we only learn that everything and everyone has got different perspectives, sides, angles, and different viewpoints, we will enjoy!

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Wishes

2008-01-01T20:45:00.000+05:30

Wishing all of you a very

Happy,
Joyous,
Prosperous,
Healthy,
Wealthy,
Successful,
Spiritual,
Peaceful, and
Musically rocking

year ahead.

Happy 2008! :-)

Happy new year! :-)

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Risky Approach Of The Youth.

2007-12-29T18:23:00.000+05:30

A friend of mine has just shifted to Mumbai this week. She is excited, about the new job, about the new city. And at the same time, she is also nervous about it. Someone has said; consistency is a virtue of an ass. It seems like this friend of mine takes the above statement so seriously, that she has not worked with any company for more than a few months. She herself informed me this, but also said that she wants to continue with this new one!

Anyway. I wanted to welcome her in Mumbai, in advance. I must be in a funny mood then; I also welcomed her on behalf of the politicians in Mumbai. Of course, wouldn’t the politicians of Mumbai be responsible for making her stay in Mumbai memorable? And then hits her straight answer. “I don’t have any concern with the politicians, I live for myself, I’m a simple person, and there is no need to welcome me on their behalf!”

Hmm! Well, one can understand no common person would probably like to live larger than life, given in the present circumstances. But, somewhere I felt this kind of approach is dangerous for the society as a whole. Youth wants to get disconnected with the system, and then they are free to blame the system. This becomes the tendency and the attitude, and that’s why politicians are enjoying in this nation. Politicians take for granted that they are not answerable to anyone!

This is one of the problems with the mentality of the general people.

But again; these mentalities are created, modified, and made to be like the way they are. Many might already know, Swami Vivekananda had noticed the problem with so-called 'modern education', in 1880s itself. He noted, that the education system was chalked out in such a way so as to generate people with no confidence, with no analyzing abilities, with no decision making powers, with the zero logic, and the people who don't question.

Today we taste the fruits of that design. Unfortunately we still run the same design. Well, yes, almost same. And these ‘designed people’ also seem to be proud of it. Everything, that comes from the west, shines.

This entire scenario was created to be like this. The very base is the so-called ‘modern education’ system. It has created utter fun, which amuses. We have people who get carried away even without thinking. We have people who think their thoughts are based on the so called ‘scientific approach’. How many of them would really know the system and the way it works is the genuine question! At least 10% of the entire population? Hats off to Lord Macaulay, and to his descendants!

If we are not going to raise the questions, if we don’t raise eyebrows, if we don’t care, how are we going to blame the system and the politicians? What right do we have? We should know the system has been framed to be the way it is, and there is no escape otherwise except having a collected voice against them!

Besides, have you ever come across any example where the system operators like policemen, lawyers, judges, politicians or the bureaucrats have changed everything? No! Even if they want to, they cannot. In the ideal democracy, the burden of making a change always lies on the shoulders of a common man, and if common man sleeps over his rights, this is what we get. Total anarchy.

In my opinion, the people who support this system, the people who don't even raise an eyebrow, the people who are carefree, the people who live for themselves; in short, the people who don't want to change these things and want to be unaware of it, are the real culprits. All the blame should go to them.

I am sure my friend is not going to like my views, (by the way she doesn’t like any!) but I seriously think that having no concern with the politicians is extremely risky.

If we don’t have concerns with the system, how the things will change?

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Rarest Of Rare Case!

2007-12-18T08:45:00.001+05:30

The Day of Judgment, it is!

For last one year, the trial is going on. He has killed one, brutally. The murder was properly planned. It was a cold minded act. He has been proved guilty. Still, the murderer seems unaffected. He has smiles on his face, and he raises his hand to the media persons. His family members go in front of the journalists as if nothing has happened, as if he is an innocent. And this all happens in the state which claims to be No. 1 in the nation, for having its law and order position up-to-date.

People are curious to know the Judgment. It is so evident from seeing the media persons who are dying to get some coverage. The court room is fully packed with the people; there is no place even to breathe. There are some journalists asking silly questions to the lawyers, and I could see some of the lawyers discussing amongst themselves about it. All the gist of their discussions is: He won't be hanged to death. Its not a Rarest of Rare Case.. Someone uttered these words 'Rarest of Rare Case' and all of them followed, agreeing wholeheartedly!

Surrounded in all this, I began thinking, what happens to be a Rarest of Rare Case?

In the philosophy of law, there are some concepts and theories relating to the punishment. Deterrent theory of punishment is one of them. In general, this theory propounds, that the punishment should be severe to such an extent, that thinking of the future punishment, a person would be discouraged to commit a crime. Also, the impact of punishment should be such on the society; that others should think ten times even to dream to commit a similar kind of crime. This saves both; the person from punishment, and the society from the crimes.

'Capital sentence' or in simple words, 'hanging someone to death' is one kind of such deterrent punishment.

But; and this is a big but; according to the precedents, since its a question of life for someone, the capital punishment should only be given in the Rarest Of Rare Cases! I wonder, Rarest of Rare Cases as in what? Rarest of Rare only in murders? Or Rarest of Rare in all kinds of crimes?

The Supreme Court says, those cases in which the criminal behaves beyond inhumanly, barbarically, heinously, and indifferently cruel, are to be considered as Rarest of Rare cases. The decisive factors can be ascertained as:

Those cases where there is something uncommon about the crime and any other punishment than the capital punishment would be grossly inadequate.
And where the circumstances of the crime would be such that there would be no alternative but to impose death sentence, even after according the maximum weightage to the mitigating circumstances which speak in favor of the offender.

On the face of it, this seems good. But to oppose this, we have a number of philosophers and human rights activists who have their own say against the capital punishment itself. And of course; not to forget; we also have countless lawyers, who misinterpret the theory to suit their and their client’s interests. These all think that capital punishment itself is brutal, and want it to be abolished.

I am not against any of those philosophers and human rights activists who are against the capital punishment, but I also cannot keep my eyes shut. I see everywhere the number of murders is on increase. Murders has become a routine now. I have some strong opinions on this. I think when the Act was framed; murder itself was a Rarest of Rare case. Now, we daily wake up to news of murders. Anyone kills other for any useless reasons. There is no deterrence of law and punishment in the society. If the punishments cannot deter the culprits, then what is the use of having the laws framed? Why discuss, analyze, and study the social sciences?

The law has lost its glory; because by now people have started thinking that it cannot solve their problems, and it doesn't punish the culprits. And in such cases, the culprits get benefit of misinterpretation of the terms like Rarest of Rare, and simply get lesser punishments. Again, they have a right to go in the higher courts to Appeal. But because of all these misinterpretations and procedural lapses, I think the culprits have started taking it for granted that the law is blind and helpless; and that they would always escape from the hands of law!

I strongly believe that only deterrent punishments would help in solving the various social problems. I think we are now required to re-interpret these concepts and theories, as to benefit the larger sect of the society.

...As I am thinking this, I notice, the culprit is looking at me, and he has a smile on his face.. Smile indicating something... Oh, he is laughing!

Laughing at me? Or laughing at the system?

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Big Bomb In Journalism?

2007-12-17T18:35:00.001+05:30

A very close friend of mine is a TV Channel Journalist. He used to handle the film line earlier, but out of his own interest he got moved and now handles share market news, stock exchange news, and all the Economics-related news. Unfortunately we haven't met for last five months, though we are in the same city, due to time and travel constrains. We find cell phones to be a medium with some merits for good communication. This friend of mine had called me yesterday, after so many days..

On the call my friend sounded a bit worried. When asked about that, he said that a big bomb is coming our way in the near future. He informed, foreign investments in the Indian print and TV media will now raise upto 74%, officially. We're welcoming many new FM channels, TV channels, newspapers, magazines, and what not. I thought this was a good news, and asked him what was so horrifying in it.

He explains.. Already we have the corrupted media. Now those people will handle this, who don't seem to understand any other language except dollars. And apparently we seem to have a market worth of Rs. 9,80,000 crores! How can we digest to see all this going in the other hands? Isn't it horrifying? What more, we can have a clear cut picture about what culture they will promote here. This change will see increasing competition. Competition corrupts, and absolute competition corrupts absolutely...

I said... yes friend, you are right. This is a big bomb coming our way. But haven't we already digested many such big bombs in the past? Aren't we used to these things? If only the politicians think, they can make a change. And if they don't want to, are you going to skin them alive? All that we can do is writing some sarcastic and slapstick letters to the media-editors! What more?

Did I provoke him? He's chalking out his next plans! All the best my dear friend!

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Thought Provoking Lines

2007-12-17T17:44:00.000+05:30

Warning: Multilingual Post.
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Two days ago, while coming back from Thane, I noticed in the train these lines written by an unknown person with a permanent marker in bold letters.

थोर शक्तीने तुझ्या क्रूर दैत्य मर्दिले..
स्नेह भक्ती शक्तीने दैन्य दु:ख वारिले..
पांचजन्य घोष हा ऊठ अर्जुना परि,
जाग जाग बान्धवा प्राप्य संकटी तरी..

..I was moved to read this! Addressing the youth of the nation, these lines ask the youngsters to awake against the injustice in the society. Statistically, youngsters i.e. people who are less than 35 years old, comprise almost 40% of the total population in India. But unfortunately we have this tendency to adjust with everything, and not raising an eyebrow, even against the injustice. We get provoked while seeing movies that become a movement, and forget it the very next moment. In such a worrying scenario, such lines help to keep the spirit alive.

Beneath those lines was an unreadable signature, and the date. Thanks to the unknown person who wrote those lines there on 19th Dec 1996!

Having a good hope, someday the very face of the nation will be changed, and we'll have restored all its glory. O yuva, lets all come together!

Beg, Borrow, Steal.

2007-12-03T19:10:00.001+05:30

Today I had some free time. So I thought of sitting on a bench in veranda observing people. When I went to the bench; I noticed, a lawyer standing under the tree with his assistant, was talking to their clients. Prima facie, it was a family matter; the lawyers were discussing on S. 125 Cr.P.C., and the talk session with clients was also going on.

Some background before the story. Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. is the order for maintenance of wives, children and parents. Part 1(d) of S.125 of the Cr.P.C. states: 'If any person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain his parents, wives or children who are unable to maintain themselves, then a first class magistrate can order him to give a monthly maintenance allowance, as the magistrate thinks fit, not exceeding the amount declared valid by the law of the state, being minimum Rs.1500/-P.M.'

So when I noticed, the question-answers session was going on. Husband was stating that due to some reasons, he is unable to maintain his wife. The senior lawyer should have asked him the grounds to prove his statement in the court. In stead of asking so, he went saying, "No, no. Nothing doing. You've to maintain your wife, that's all." Husband opened mouth to say something.. But was stopped midway. "Its the law. You have to follow it. BEG, BORROW or STEAL, but maintain your wife." The lawyer was stating further.

A friend called me, and I had to leave. Left with these questions in mind... Beg, borrow, steal? Wasn't the lawyer instigating the person to commit a crime? Is this what the system was created to achieve?

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Thought - My Interpretation.

2007-12-02T12:09:00.001+05:30

Thought means idea. Idea comes as an instance of thinking. Thinking is a process, it’s a God’s gift to Human beings. But thinking now becomes thought the very next moment. Thus thought always remains the thought. What we think is our thought. But it may not be necessary that whatever we think should always be new. It may already be thought by someone else. Thus it is never new, never original. If thought is new, it becomes philosophy. And philosophy, within a fraction of second, grows old. If you see linguistically, the word thought is in fact the past tense of the word think.

What changes and what matters is time. Time changes; and with the time, change the references. Thus it becomes the necessity to check back, discuss, analytically study, and develop the thoughts time and again.

This is my interpretation of the term thought. I guess I have explained it in an easy language. Think rationally, it is easy to understand. Still, if this is a very hard dose, feel free to ask me. I'll be happy to explain. ;-)

Sometimes I start up with something, and end up writing something else. No second thought to say, it happens whenever I'm lost in thoughts!

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New Month, New Challenges!

2007-12-01T08:48:00.000+05:30

December arrives! With some new things to do, with some new challenges. For last 2 weeks, have been unable to attend all the calls, conferences, and meetings, see how extra work treats you. I come back home almost drop dead. Haven't heard any new music for long. And haven't met / talked to my friends for long...

...But December comes with some new hopes. Some new releases in the pipeline, some scheduled meetings, relatives coming home, many good things are coming up. And not to forget; the calls, conferences, meetings and the extra work remains all the same!

How I will find time for myself is the question for now!

Ciao!

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Something New!

2007-11-21T20:13:00.000+05:30

Something new is always good. Especially when it takes your life at a new hight. You always like it, though you feel its making your life a bit hectic, and you know you won't be able to enjoy now.

Reaching the new goals. I remember reading somewhere.. (in TOI probably).. `You say "Don't dream" and ask "Why"? I say "Dream!" and ask "Why not"!'

Common man never excludes himself from his own philosophy.

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Indian Classical Music

2007-11-06T11:08:00.001+05:30

No chords,
No arrangements,
No much instrumentation,
Very less emphasis on the lyrics,
Mainly devotional compositions,

Still it amazes!

Was just thinking, why it still amazes when it doesn't have these elements? We know that these are the main elements which make the film music most popular.

Any answers?

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Singer's Talk [Packgd]

2007-11-04T13:44:00.001+05:30

Though half of the world already knows this, I just intend to archive it properly here. So that I can easily use this link for any further references :-)

In Feb 2007, The Wandering Souls had arranged and performed 3 Rahmania shows in Pune. I was part of it for almost one month.

The shows really rocked. For the show, I had got personalized messages from some people who are associated with A.R.Rahman. They gave us these inspiring audio messages only on a single request. It really helped to boost the confidence of the performers!

These are the files of those telephonic conversations. Visit This Link to listen/download to those telephonic conversations altogether. Or here are the individual links for all the 6 files:

1. Sowmya Rao,
2. Naresh Iyer,
3. Madhushree,
4. Blaaze,
5. Sadhana Sargam,
6. Shankar Mahadevan.

Telephonic Conversation Recorded Live By: Amith Chandhran

Packaged By: P.C. Pillai (Sound Engineer)

Concept: P.C. Pillai and Amith Chandhran

Thanks To: A. R. Rahman Fans Yahoo Group Members.

Rajinikanth - A Must Read :-)

2007-11-01T10:05:00.002+05:30

I haven't yet realized whether I'm a Rajinikanth fan or not, but I really enjoy and like watching his movies. Though I haven't watched many..

Generally I don't watch movies, one exception to that is Rajinikanth. "When Rajinikanth is on the screen, you don't really feel like blinking your eyes. He amazes, and he is best at it". (I'm quoting A.R..!)

I remember watching Muthu & Padaiyappa on Sun TV, Baba on a rented DVD, and still waiting to watch Sivaji. I also liked Batcha, I watched it on a DVD which came free with my Sivaji ACD. Muthu was almost the first Rajinikanth movie I came across.

And since then I have always liked Rajinikanth's acting. A special mention goes to his Tamil pronunciation skills. (His mother tongue is not Tamil, its Marathi!) His oneliners and the way of delivering them!

A dear friend of mine forwarded this image in a mail. And I really enjoyed reading it. Its a must read. Well, even hardcore Rajinikanth fans would like it!

I agree with the writer who made all the statements in the pic. Still I would say; I haven't yet realized whether I'm a Rajinikanth fan or not...!

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Update Status!

2004-08-14T22:11:00.001+05:30

I'll try to keep posting as long as I can. Keep reading, Enjoy!!

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Update: I joined blogger in 2003. But in Aug 2004 I mistakenly deleted all the posts while playing with the templates. Thus this post happens to be my first post.

Keep reading, enjoy!

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