tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-342884412024-03-08T05:36:55.771+05:30Diet SamosaTwo parts heavy, one part lightVipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-37932248610909653432020-07-19T09:54:00.018+05:302020-07-28T03:38:31.824+05:30Unfinished work left in our bags<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://muppozhudhum.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/batom_award_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://muppozhudhum.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/batom_award_2.png" width="140" /></a></div></td><td style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This post garnered second most number of votes in Blog-a-Ton 59 and won me the Silver Blog-a-Tonic of the Month aka SILVER BATOM award. Click <a href="https://blog-a-ton.blogspot.com/2020/07/blog-ton-59-results.html">here</a> to see the results page.</span></td></tr>
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<blockquote>
This post has been published by me as a part of <b>Blog-a-Ton 59</b>; the fifty-ninth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. In association with <a href="https://indicreator.com/" target="_blank">IndiCreator. For Creators. By Creators.</a>. Share Your #LockdownTales at indicreator.com</blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.vipulgrover.com/2020/07/unfinished-work-left-in-our-bags.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgniEO_0c7XI5b5TGsHh0nsJKUaJhUOMnhcrijkIGKFnNr7oDFYy1LobJPUiYO1kXizu27hSfwoddZUhqLb6RnlnOT4YlRY7gywbwl5sYzUDRy70LKyPhtvx3rlxnK8FBly2bFP/s320/Bag.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Smiles, tears, ecstasy, cheers</span></div>
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Kisses, hugs and mugs of beer</div>
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Secrets, silences, taking a drag</div>
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Unfinished work left in our bags</div>
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Truths, lies, bare-it-all confessions</div>
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High on each other, make-out sessions</div>
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Passion, compassion, trust and sweat</div>
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Car playlist, matching our moods, perfect</div>
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Then an end, despair, parting of ways</div>
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Whole lifetime lived, in just one day</div>
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<br /></div>
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***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I like her</div>
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I like the way she made me feel so special</div>
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Maybe, I also love her</div>
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At least, I loved the feeling of being in love with her</div>
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Because what else it means to like or to love someone</div>
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It’s just how they make you feel</div>
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I hate this lockdown</div>
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It makes me feel dejected</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has taken her away from me</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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The two of us were at a bar, on just our second date</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had left work early, packing all pending files in my bag </div>
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She had left early too, pretending to be sick</div>
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It was the same day the first case surfaced in the town</div>
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But we didn’t know about it, until later</div>
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The virus was spreading fast across the world</div>
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But it felt safe till, at least, there was no one infected
around us</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I knew this safety was just an illusion</div>
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But I didn’t know what was transpiring between us was also
one</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It just felt so real</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
I asked her if I should drop
her home</div>
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She wanted to stay for some more time</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She was feeling quite vulnerable</div>
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Someone at her sister’s office had tested positive</div>
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Her sister had been quarantined</div>
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Her mother wanted her to return home</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I feel suffocated at home, she told me</div>
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That was the reason she took up a job as far away as
possible</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I parked the car near her hostel</div>
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The evening had been magical</div>
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The next couple of hours in the car were even more so</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I woke up thinking about her</div>
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I had sent her a message before going to sleep</div>
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There were butterflies in my stomach</div>
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In fact, it was at that moment I realised what that expression
meant</div>
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I picked up my phone, hoping to see a reply</div>
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And also dreading one</div>
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It was there</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What must she have written</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Does she feel the same way as l do</div>
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I took a few moments before opening it</div>
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She was leaving for her hometown in the evening </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lockdown was impending</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her mother was anxious</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She wanted her to be back home safe</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ll be back,
hopefully, in a month, she said</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I put the figure at two months, at least</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But she was supposed to be back, nonetheless</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hugged her, as she boarded the train</div>
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There was a tear I saw trickling down her left cheek</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Our phone calls continued</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Life was tough for her at home</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She had told me about her abusive father that night in the
car</div>
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She had cried and hugged me</div>
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I cried with her</div>
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We pulled back the seats and just kept lying there in
silence </div>
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It was that emotional intimacy, not physical,
that made me fall in love</div>
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Or maybe fall in love with the feeling of being in love with
her</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, a thousand miles apart, we just hoped the worst would be
over soon</div>
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She was supposed to be back for her job</div>
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And for me, I hoped</div>
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She did make me feel special, afterall</div>
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<br /></div>
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***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I could keep looking at you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Silently, not saying a word</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You fill me with this emotion</div>
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Heart takes flight, like a bird</div>
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Is it infatuation or is it love</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To me, it's not yet occurred</div>
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But I'm hooked to you totally</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To me, you mean the world</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She had not been replying to my messages</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It had been at least six hours</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was worried</div>
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The virus was spreading fast around us</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just two days ago she had mentioned about a neighbour</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My flurry of messages didn’t stop</div>
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Finally, my phone rang</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I gave a sigh of relief</div>
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But the relief was short-lived</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I won’t be returning, she said</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her firm had decided to lay her off</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She could get another job, I said, once things settle down</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She was not too sure</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She had returned home after two years</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One month was enough for her mother to convince
her to stay</div>
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I would move into a hostel and look for a job here, she said</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What about us, I asked</div>
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She had no answer</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our phone calls kept dwindling</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am busy, she said</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even I am, I said, but still find time for you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not that easy for me, she said</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She had to deal with her abusive father, emotional mother
and overbearing new boss</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to be there for you, even if from a distance, to
share the emotional load</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She said thanks, and then was gone for days</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cycle kept repeating, much to my dismay</div>
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So finally, I told her I should move on </div>
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When, in fact, she had moved on already</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And just like this, it all ended, but not the lockdown</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
***</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The things that we were meant to do together will never be
done</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All the moments we thought we'd spend together are like
ashes in urn</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The memories we built in a few days together will soon
gather dust</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The promises we made of having a future together have all
gone bust</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What's left is despair, silence, heartbreak and an agonising
pain</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why am I still standing here, thinking of you, when you are
nowhere</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Will time heal this broken heart, or will I get used to this
life inane</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who ditched whom, I don't know, but believe me, I did always
care</div>
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<blockquote>
The <b>fellow Blog-a-Tonics</b> who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective <b>posts</b> can be checked <a href="https://blog-a-ton.blogspot.com/2020/07/blogaton59.html"><b>here</b></a>. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following <b><a href="https://blog-a-ton.blogspot.com/">Blog-a-Ton</a></b>. Show your support for the hastags #BlogATon59 & #LockdownTales. Participation Count: 16. </blockquote>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-27347992095112353602015-01-04T02:30:00.001+05:302020-07-26T05:13:35.343+05:30Permanent Roommates<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
This post has been published by me as a part of the <b>Blog-a-Ton 50</b>; the fiftieth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. In association with <a href="http://bit.ly/SoulMatesVinitBansal" target="_blank">Soulmates: Love without ownership</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/vinitbansalauthor" target="_blank">Vinit K Bansal</a>. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following <a href="http://blogaton.in/"><b>Blog-a-Ton</b></a>.</blockquote>
<br />
Being the founder of this event, it gives me immense pleasure to be taking part in its fiftieth edition. And what an apt theme that gels quite well with a series of comic strip I am sharing on Facebook daily for the past three weeks. Permanent Roommates, as I have named it after a <a href="https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=JFSoVImFBcyjugTmlYKICQ&url=http://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D6LedYr5tQUs&ved=0CBoQtwIwAA&usg=AFQjCNGqCfWJdA9Z5ObLGdfTQDTfPx5hpw" target="_blank"><span id="goog_228144842"></span>web series on YouTube<span id="goog_228144843"></span></a>, is a light-hearted take on my year-old marriage. It has become quite popular among my wife's and my friends and family. I hope you all — my family on the blogosphere — too like it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkZuD83aeMnvr8EvJR-EyceLHzdhMhLw0Rjz2A3uKlCImovkFW8nO9asFHyzJtAXUbm5WTp46U0Zuga8Pb0l8OUcZ8NWRgcYEwgvN0OYbkWk-zYhl9-zhBt8cBE-aNmL7sH87/s1600/PicsArt_1420237851477.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkZuD83aeMnvr8EvJR-EyceLHzdhMhLw0Rjz2A3uKlCImovkFW8nO9asFHyzJtAXUbm5WTp46U0Zuga8Pb0l8OUcZ8NWRgcYEwgvN0OYbkWk-zYhl9-zhBt8cBE-aNmL7sH87/s1600/PicsArt_1420237851477.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another day in the life of Uttara and Vipul</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglc3MN72jktd7u6AF9c1tRPB6h37Na_4cFSIjDkuSsi24O4cNF-4qYj7H_pJaibTIohSneL_nHL2b5yI5sKewtmCVebrQOvrAh9qgJzRYbdo-JbK_kVw-EdmQ7saf5o2Jr5r-6/s1600/PicsArt_1420071720602.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglc3MN72jktd7u6AF9c1tRPB6h37Na_4cFSIjDkuSsi24O4cNF-4qYj7H_pJaibTIohSneL_nHL2b5yI5sKewtmCVebrQOvrAh9qgJzRYbdo-JbK_kVw-EdmQ7saf5o2Jr5r-6/s1600/PicsArt_1420071720602.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When Vipul questions Uttara's attire</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJu8B_4NnN0dCHTLGWVdkjf1Kozp5GbpFfMnly3rCiDxZPxqZy5fmxB399PuvJFfwZwwJfbVUPoDbUFXRbijT9xQkE1EEymhJm_qq-3N01dl7f9DytAq8hJk-DG_JShqu4LseV/s1600/PicsArt_1419214328178.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJu8B_4NnN0dCHTLGWVdkjf1Kozp5GbpFfMnly3rCiDxZPxqZy5fmxB399PuvJFfwZwwJfbVUPoDbUFXRbijT9xQkE1EEymhJm_qq-3N01dl7f9DytAq8hJk-DG_JShqu4LseV/s1600/PicsArt_1419214328178.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What Uttara feels like doing when Vipul acts like a dictator</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdlN9R4kA0T-oo75YHihIY5ztfYKxLzxPPJKxhCH14RNxNVH7KR6NZSYGYKwYDQ85G2mIhkZTlxcyfQzRzFYL0pP9BBSQjNsl7W9IXBtznlJ3maPAm5Al6mFXwQElRCRF0v1b/s1600/PicsArt_1419643050854.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdlN9R4kA0T-oo75YHihIY5ztfYKxLzxPPJKxhCH14RNxNVH7KR6NZSYGYKwYDQ85G2mIhkZTlxcyfQzRzFYL0pP9BBSQjNsl7W9IXBtznlJ3maPAm5Al6mFXwQElRCRF0v1b/s1600/PicsArt_1419643050854.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What Uttara feels like doing when Vipul finds fault with her cooking</td></tr>
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So these are a few glimpses from our life. More in this series are available on my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/vipulgrover" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>. Here is one bonus strip I have not posted there yet.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK4C8BkZAqafpfdzbNOb933y9pPGi4UW9OzmisJCC8nwBPlUde6HxFxwzCigmXQR6I3RR-eVop1fqiiYVH-YzRoWrDUkMzjF8S20nI3Z2K2lIQbESfnOX62_0JfGnw8HY9eV9/s1600/Image-11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK4C8BkZAqafpfdzbNOb933y9pPGi4UW9OzmisJCC8nwBPlUde6HxFxwzCigmXQR6I3RR-eVop1fqiiYVH-YzRoWrDUkMzjF8S20nI3Z2K2lIQbESfnOX62_0JfGnw8HY9eV9/s1600/Image-11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, all those who have not tied the knot yet, don't get afraid: it's all in good humour ;)
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The <b>fellow Blog-a-Tonics</b> who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective <b>posts</b> can be checked <a href="http://www.blog-a-ton.blogspot.com/2015/01/blogaton50.html"><b>here</b></a>. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following <b><a href="http://blogaton.in/">Blog-a-Ton</a></b>.
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-23777086748095838212012-12-27T03:38:00.002+05:302012-12-28T02:15:03.495+05:30राजनीती<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.randehop.cz/public/filemanager/chameleon_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://www.randehop.cz/public/filemanager/chameleon_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">इस राजनीती की शतरंज में </span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;">मोहरे पल-पल बदलते हैं।</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;">हरी-भूरी गिरगिट की भांति</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;">नेता सब रंग बदलते हैं।।</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">आज जो विपक्ष में बैठा</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">हर पल शोर मचाता है।</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">हरे-हरे नोटों को देख</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">अलग ही राग सुनाता है।।</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">सत्ता का मोह है कुछ ऐसा</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">दायें को बाएं से मिलाता है।</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">काले-भूरे गिद्ध की भांति</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">बिचला भी चक्कर लगाता है।।</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">विचारधारा तो है लुप्त विचार</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">राजनीती अलग इक खेल है।</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">काले धन्दों, सफ़ेदपोश गुंडों का</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">हो चुका इसमें समावेश है।।</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Image Courtesy:</b><br />Pete Oxford / naturepl.com</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-49848238154734526022012-11-27T04:25:00.002+05:302012-11-27T04:34:03.025+05:30Red Jihad: Battle for South Asia - The doomsday conspiracy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2YyoBVv7KyXe4jwG4wO2OrI73Q4l2fhhmBq1qLr5ixJhgQJa46siuzlRSiCmYuFUbvgA1P3oIb_BWp0IwCQECt53b2uWoFKLS7KVuYT8Gu3DA2WI0EK_ANP0_P_SPQBsFcjD/s1600/red-jihad-battle-for-south-asia.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2YyoBVv7KyXe4jwG4wO2OrI73Q4l2fhhmBq1qLr5ixJhgQJa46siuzlRSiCmYuFUbvgA1P3oIb_BWp0IwCQECt53b2uWoFKLS7KVuYT8Gu3DA2WI0EK_ANP0_P_SPQBsFcjD/s320/red-jihad-battle-for-south-asia.jpeg" width="219" /></a></div>
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Dan Brown got inspired to write his debut novel ‘Digital Fortress’ (1998), in which protagonists raced against time to save the world from a possible annihilation, after the thrill he felt upon reading Sidney Sheldon’s ‘The Doomsday Conspiracy’ (1991). </div>
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It is a similar thrill that Sami Ahmad Khan tries to generate in his debut novel ‘Red Jihad’. To a Stanley Kubrick fan, this novel might seem a rip-off of his cult movie ‘Dr Strangelove’ (1964), itself based on a novel, ‘Red Alert’ (1958). </div>
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It’s year 2014; India and Pakistan are moving away from external prejudices and trying to set their house in order by throwing the Naxalites and jihadis within their respective countries into the abyss. To resurrect themselves, India’s biggest threats to internal security come together to take over the national defence agency’s research centre and unleash Pralay, India’s just developed experimental intercontinental ballistic missile, on the subcontinent. Things get murkier as the plot unfolds. </div>
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Sami keeps readers on their toes with a fast-paced narrative. A few interesting ideological discourses, now and then, add weight in terms of substance. Some characters are painstakingly introduced, only to be killed the next moment in order to accentuate the ‘shock factor’. </div>
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The same meticulousness, however, is absent in case of many characters who play much more significant roles. Use of technical jargon, especially related to defence equipment, without proper explanation, also leaves the reader stranded at times. </div>
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Nevertheless, Sami’s sound hold on language and a decent research, other than the underlying suspense and twists in the plot, make 'Red Jihad' a good read on a lonely night or a boring train journey. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">http://karma-and-some.blogspot.in</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-7221972054845680012012-05-19T01:30:00.001+05:302012-05-20T23:58:50.797+05:30Murder in Amaravati - A promising start<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MQ85ICmM5Ds/T7ap2zqr5RI/AAAAAAAACrY/AZxxyLwoJPc/s1600/MIA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MQ85ICmM5Ds/T7ap2zqr5RI/AAAAAAAACrY/AZxxyLwoJPc/s320/MIA.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
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A murder, a string of suspects and an unlikely detective trying to solve the jigsaw puzzle by putting together the right ‘motive, means and opportunity’ for each suspect; the plot is not new but the way debutant novelist Sharath Komarraju has dealt with it, makes Murder in Amaravati a pleasure to read. It’s that kind of novel that you pick up and finish in one go, thanks to its short length and lucid language. </div>
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The victim in the story is Padmavati, the village hostess, or prostitute if you would like to say, of Amaravati village in Andhra Pradesh. Her body is found in the locked temple of Kali, situated next to the old banyan tree, in the center of the village. Venkat Reddy, the head constable, who would have otherwise dismissed the case as a suicide, takes upon himself to get justice for the innocent looking deceased. </div>
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As he investigates, many skeletons come tumbling out of the cupboard and the list of suspects keeps increasing, frustrating Reddy and absorbing the reader further. </div>
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The priest, Krishna Shastri, the only one with a key to the temple; the village headman, Seetaraamaiah; his son, Kishore; the village postman, Satyam; his wife, Lakshmi; and the wheel-chaired Shekhar along with his wife Vaishnavi, who recently shifted to the village; are all the witnesses and suspects in the case. </div>
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Though it is a suspense thriller, Sharath has left no stone unturned to give it an aesthetic value too. The life in village of Amaravati is described in detail, so have been all the characters. The comparison might seem too flattering, but in parts the story gives a ‘Malgudi Days’ feel. </div>
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Once the reader knows about all the characters and their lives; they can empathise with them, and their respective motives become clearer; only to be falsified by subsequent revelations. </div>
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However, in certain instances, the detailed characterisation also backfires. While the reader knows that a certain person cannot be the culprit due to the details already provided, Reddy is still shown groping in the dark. Such a narrative steals a certain element of surprise, especially in the case of one of the central character. </div>
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Nonetheless, the author needs to be commended for making sure that no loose ends are left as each aspect is explained in detail during the climax. Moreover, the twists and turns ensure that the reader keeps second-guessing throughout the novel. However, Sharath has succeeded in staying a step ahead of the readers. </div>
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Though I got my copy for free, the novel has been priced tad too high for its genre. There is no doubt that the novel is leagues ahead of the novels being churned out by the wannabe Chetan Bhagats, however, its price of Rs. 250 will only make it more unlikely for the readers to try it out. It will be a pity if readers miss out on this promising debut attempt of Sharath because of this sole reason.<br />
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Update: Sharath has been kind enough to provide the <a href="http://sharathkomarrajudotcom.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/murder-in-amaravati_firsttwochapters.pdf" target="_blank">first two chapters of the novel</a> free for download. I hope this review and these chapters make your decision easier. Happy Reading!!!</blockquote>
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<b>This review is a part of the <a href="http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews">Book Reviews Program</a> at <a href="http://www.blogadda.com/">BlogAdda.com</a>. Participate now to get free books!</b><b style="font-size: small;"><br /></b><br />
<b style="font-size: small;">Image Courtesy:</b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">http://manjulindia.com</span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-71061249094116436112012-03-30T21:08:00.002+05:302012-05-19T01:50:22.368+05:30Hindutva's Orwellian Agenda<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Control over the past is “more terrifying than mere torture and death,” writes George Orwell ([1949] 2006, p.28) in his dystopian novel, Nineteen-Eighty Four.</div>
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Orwell in this novel ridiculed all the ‘totalitarian nightmares’ for manipulating history. He particularly derided the ruling Party’s slogan: </div>
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<i>Who controls the past controls the future: </i></div>
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<i>Who controls the present controls the past</i>.</div>
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“The monopolistic nation states and ‘powers that be’ do not like plurality as it threatens the uniform worldview they want citizens/subjects to hold. Totalitarian regimes were the worst culprits in this regard”. (Yadav, 2002)</div>
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According to Heywood (2007, p.217), “totalitarianism is an all-encompassing system of political rule that is typically established by pervasive <i>ideological manipulation</i> (italics mine) and open terror and brutality.”</div>
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Nineteen Eighty-Four (first published in 1949) tells the story about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchic dictatorship of the Party. Life in the Oceanian province of Airstrip One is a world of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and incessant public mind control. This is accomplished with a political system named English Socialism (Ingsoc), which is administered by privileged Inner Party elite. Yet they too are subordinated to the totalitarian cult of personality of Big Brother, the deified Party leader. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a member of the Outer Party who works for the Ministry of Truth, which is responsible for propaganda and historical revisionism. His job is to re-write past newspaper articles so that the historical record is congruent with the current party ideology.</div>
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This novel popularised the adjective Orwellian, which refers to “official deception, secret surveillance, and <i>manipulation of the past </i>(italics mine) in service to a totalitarian or manipulative political agenda” (see Wikipedia, <i>Nineteen-Eighty Four</i>).</div>
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Orwell writes “The mutability of the past is the central tenet of Ingsoc. Past events, it is argued, have no objective existence, but survive only in written records and in human memories. The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon. And since the Party is in full control of all records and in equally full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it”. (Orwell, op.cit., p.181)</div>
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“[B]y far the more important reason for the readjustment of the past is the need to safeguard the infallibility of the Party. It is not merely that speeches, statistics, and records of every kind must be constantly brought up to date in order to show that the predictions of the Party were in all cases right. It is also that no change in doctrine or in political alignment can ever be admitted. For to change one's mind, or even one's policy, is a confession of weakness”. (Ibid., pp.180-181)</div>
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Various regimes have adopted this technique of manipulation of history to strengthen their hold on the subjects.</div>
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So, Napoleon entrusted the administration of history writing to his Minister of Police. He is also reported to have told this minister that the past be treated in such a manner that anyone who reads that history heaves a sigh of relief on reaching 'our rule' (Gooch,1956 cited in Yadav, 2002). </div>
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Similarly, Hitler declared that the more urgent goal of history lay not in the 'objective presentation' of facts but in instilling national pride and in recalling the growth of the united nation due to the efforts of German heroes like Charlemagne, Luther and Bismarck topped by Hitler himself. Consequently, Hitler also erased the French Revolution from the curriculum to prevent the German students from turning into democrats (Southgate, 1996 cited in Yadav, 2002). </div>
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Ideologically motivated history was also the norm in USSR. For example, in late 1920s the role of Trotsky was eliminated from narratives of the Great October Revolution, a historical manipulation satirized by George Orwell in his famous novella Animal Farm (1945). This was the result of his questioning the Stalin regime - whether the policy of the Soviet socialist rule was a dictatorship of the proletariat or a dictatorship over them? (Stern, 1970 cited in Yadav, 2002)</div>
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The educational establishment in India under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition rule from 1998-2004 also set out on a similar agenda of manipulating history.</div>
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This is the introductory chapter of my dissertation submitted at Asian College of Journalism. The whole document can be read here - </div>
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/87359157?access_key=key-1sojlhccdpulsjhursb4">http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/87359157?access_key=key-1sojlhccdpulsjhursb4</a><br />
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You can read George Orwell's Nineteen-Eighty Four here - <a href="http://orwell.ru/library/novels/1984/english/en_p_1">http://orwell.ru/library/novels/1984/english/en_p_1</a><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.extremetech.com</span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-45932519125931280872012-02-24T14:26:00.004+05:302012-02-24T14:42:52.011+05:30Panda, Chameleon, Cats or the Dark Horse???<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0Yf5Ts70gDQrsJvD-wS1Jl6O0NGcpLVxLvHYzw0hZHXKKdkc2QbMyxdSzjXLHez8sJ-08gR5WzV58p2hrNfLo_qdjsoDjrq1GbDcx0EN4WDyMZ9WUuqx4WM5fz0sr7Y-pzNV/s1600/oscar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0Yf5Ts70gDQrsJvD-wS1Jl6O0NGcpLVxLvHYzw0hZHXKKdkc2QbMyxdSzjXLHez8sJ-08gR5WzV58p2hrNfLo_qdjsoDjrq1GbDcx0EN4WDyMZ9WUuqx4WM5fz0sr7Y-pzNV/s400/oscar.bmp" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Click on the image to read my take on the five nominees of Academy Award for Best Animation Feature 2012 or go further to read the complete text without straining your eyes. (I am not paying for your laser surgery.)</i><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">With Oscar season at its peak, speculation is rife about the potential winners. However, in this frenzy over the major categories, one interesting slot that often gets eclipsed is the Academy Award for Best Animation Feature. Five movies are contesting for this top honour this year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dreamworks’ ‘Kung Fu Panda’ is back to fight it out for the coveted title. In its first bout in 2008, it lost to Pixar’s much-acclaimed Wall-E, but this time packaged with more action, more emotions and definitely more humour, the sequel seems to be a strong contender. It follows Po, the Dragon Warrior and his companions Furious Five’s struggle against Lord Shen, exiled heir of the Peacock clan who is back to conquer China and has a mysterious connection to Po’s past.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shrek, Dreamworks’ much older franchise, is also in the race this time. However, due to the dying popularity of its main character, it is the side-kick ‘Puss in the Boots’ who’s got the lead in this spin-off prequel to the franchise. Antonio Banderas reprises his role as the Puss and is joined by various nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters, like Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill and Andy Beanstalk, on his adventures. However, the movie fails to impress much and one surely misses Shrek, Fiona and Donkey despite Salma Hayek joining the crew as Puss’s female companion Kitty Softpaws.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another feline giving competition to Puss in this category is ‘A Cat in Paris’. This French production tells the story of a cat that is an adorable pet of a young girl by the day and accomplice of a burglar by the night. This otherwise little known movie with a run time of just over an hour, happens to be the most surprising nomination in this category.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Johnny Depp also enters the race as a chameleon in Nickelodeon production ‘Rango’. The story follows this pet chameleon that accidently lands in a Wild West town struggling with shortage of water. Destiny makes it the sheriff of the town and despite some hilarious but serious blunders on the way, saves the day for the town folks. This clumsy chameleon will surely give the clumsy panda a tough competition.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chico and Rita, another European contender, comes from Spain and Isle of Man. This ‘only for 15 and above’ production narrates the trials and tribulations of a young black Cuban pianist, Chico and his love interest Rita, a singer, both trying to make it big in the entertainment industry around the 1950’s. This story of love and betrayal is the only non-anthropomorphised movie in this category and with its slick animation, storyline and music, is potentially a dark horse in the race to the top.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Indian fans just need to wait till the morning of February 27 to know who crosses the finishing line first and gets to hold the gold knight statuette– the panda, the chameleon, either of the cats, or the dark horse.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-25176425319173463512012-02-05T00:23:00.003+05:302012-02-05T23:17:01.416+05:30Sino-Indian Relations: Cautious optimism and not hysteria is the way forward<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQOTVmGGysp_NS8Fvlv8Bc3lgZECSahir-aEtstZD1kNU4nUduXFwgz4iOdn78gE0Nd4a0ffCxI00C4dfTov68HafkHctchoxPTl2yezKiw4Aq0JvqvduPNIiNYgBMl-bksWl/s1600/IN17_IND14149B_4733f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQOTVmGGysp_NS8Fvlv8Bc3lgZECSahir-aEtstZD1kNU4nUduXFwgz4iOdn78gE0Nd4a0ffCxI00C4dfTov68HafkHctchoxPTl2yezKiw4Aq0JvqvduPNIiNYgBMl-bksWl/s400/IN17_IND14149B_4733f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his controversial war memoirs, Himalayan Blunder – a curtain raiser to the Sino-Indian war of 1962 (1969), Brigadier John Dalvi, a POW during that war, narrates an incident from his days as an instructor at the National Defence Academy, Pune.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A guest faculty, a retired British official, after hearing that Nehru had signed the Panchsheel agreement with China and had decided to give up the post in Tibet that the British had maintained to check Chinese advances, interrupted his class and warned that India and China would soon be at war and that people in the class would be fighting it. Brig. Dalvi remembers how he was very angry with this gentleman and how he questioned his authority to criticize the leader of his country. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In stark contrast, he describes his return to India on being repatriated by China, in a highly sceptic manner - "We landed in Dum Dum airport in Calcutta on May 4, 1963. We were received cordially, appropriately. But the silence there was disquieting. I realized later. We had to prove we weren’t brainwashed by Chinese ideology. We had to prove we were still loyal to India. My own army maintained a suspicious distance.<i> The irony cannot be harsher: this treatment from a country, which for more than a decade had brainwashed itself into holding the Chinese baton wherever it went</i> [emphasis added]." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s 2012, exactly half a century since that Chinese ‘blitzkrieg’ against India, but such scepticism about the Indian government’s myopic view of China’s intentions, going back to the Nehruvian era, reigns high in sections of our defence establishment, and time and again given voice by a section of the Indian media.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Brahma Chellaney, ‘a respected international affairs analyst and author’, in a recent op-ed for Times of India, asserted that “the 1962 war was a classic example of the fusion of strategic deception and military surprise, two enduring elements in China’s strategy”. According to him, “As long as the territorial status quo is not accepted, the possibility that the Chinese military will strike again cannot be ruled out.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two separate reports in 2009 and 2011 have predicted military aggression from the Chinese side in 2012.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The former report was authored by Bharat Verma, Editor of the Indian Defence Review. It asserted that to divert the attention of its own people from “unprecedented” internal dissent, growing unemployment and financial problems threatening the hold of Communists in that country, China would launch an attack on India before 2012.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">More recently, Colonel (retired) Anil Athale, author of the official history of the 1962 India-China conflict and now coordinator of the think-tank Indian Initiative for Peace, Arms Control & Disarmament, charged that the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had failed to prepare the country's armed forces to fight a likely war against China, which he warned could come as early as June/July 2012 in the form of “a short, sharp, attack by the Chinese, more in the nature of a slap!"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The hysteria created by such assertions is being augmented by certain sections of the Indian media which remain hell bent to portray India as the focal point of China’s foreign policy. Any minor military development on the Chinese side of the 3380 km disputed Sino-Indian border or any diplomatic skirmish is blown up and presented as Breaking News by such media outlets.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shastri Ramachandran, a veteran journalist specializing in foreign affairs and geopolitics, observed in an article published in DNA, last year, that “Media reports in India give the impression that China is up to some trick every day; that someone, somewhere in China is forever busy doing something to needle, belittle, encircle, overawe, dismember, intimidate, or deceive India; that aggressive designs are at work to step up military pressures.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">South Block has been rubbishing all such claims, with the Prime Minister himself coming forward to clarify matters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier in December last year, refuting the views of Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh that China was making all-out efforts to attack India and had marked some posts across the border, Dr. Singh said in the Lok Sabha, “Our government does not share the view that China is out to attack India. There are problems on the border. But by and large, the border remains peaceful. Peace and tranquillity has been maintained in the border areas.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Further, replying to a supplementary question on the subject, he said: “There are sometimes intrusions according to us. But the Chinese perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) sometimes differs. Therefore, I think, some confusion is created. These matters are sorted out between the area commanders on both the sides.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, while delivering a prepared testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in January, James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence in USA remarked, “Despite public statements intended to downplay tensions between India and China, we judge that India is increasingly concerned about China's posture along their disputed border and Beijing's perceived aggressive posture in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific region.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, pessimism, as being showcased by certain sections of the Indian military establishment and the India media will not help in engaging with the other Asian giant. The Indian Government must follow the path of cautious optimism to ensure that the fruits borne by the seeds of bilateral talks with China in the last two decades do not turn sour. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">India and China have come a long way from the shadows of the war fought half a century ago. Today, the two countries are working ‘hand-in-hand’ in the international arena while representing interests of the developing world in the Doha Round of WTO and Climate Change talks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With China becoming India’s biggest trade partner back in 2008, there is an increased economic dependence between the two neighbours. As per figures released in January, the bilateral trade hit a record USD 73.9 billion last year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Underlining the need for closer ties with India, Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo, said to be close to Chinese President Hu Jintao, wrote in an article in The Hindu recently, "We speak with one voice and enjoy increasingly closer coordination and collaboration in multilateral mechanisms and in tackling global challenges."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"What we face is a golden period to grow China-India relations. The world has enough space for China and India to achieve common development, as there are so many areas for us to work together," he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a rebuttal to Bharat Verma’s article on an imminent Chinese attack before 2012, Chen Xiaochen, a journalist of editorial and comments in China Business News, wrote in China Stakes, “Economic development, rather than military achievement, has long been the consensus of value among China’s core leaders and citizens. Despite occasional calls to ‘Reoccupy South Tibet (occupied Chinese territory),’ China’s decision-making is always cautious. It is not possible to see a Chinese ‘incursion’ into India, even into Tawang, an Indian-occupied Buddhist holy land over which China argues a resolute sovereignty.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shastri Ramachandran in his article for DNA in November last year also gave two reasons why an attack was not viable from China’s point of view – “One, China’s political leadership is on the cusp of a decadal change. With the president, prime minister and five of nine politburo members stepping down next year, the new leadership’s first priority would be [to] assert itself at home and ensure stability and continuity. Two, in a time of transition without a strong, tested and charismatic leadership, getting into a conflict might turn out to be a misadventure.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nonetheless, James Clapper has cautioned in his testimony that “[A]lthough Chinese leaders have affirmed their commitment to a peaceful and pragmatic foreign policy - and especially to stable relations with China's neighbours and the rest of the world - Beijing may take actions contrary to that goal if it perceives that China's sovereignty or national security is being seriously challenged.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this light, while the Indian Government should continue looking at relations with China with optimism, it should meanwhile strengthen its borders with China, infrastructurally, more than militarily, and ensure that Indian Ocean doesn’t become a fiefdom of any particular country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In fact, on the day Dr. Singh refuted Mulayam Singh’s charges, Defence Minister A.K. Antony told the Rajya Sabha that conscious of China developing infrastructure in the border regions opposite India in Tibet and the Xinjiang Autonomous Regions there, the government was “giving careful and special attention'' to the development of infrastructure in the border areas opposite China, “to meet our strategic and security requirements and also to facilitate the economic development of these areas.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Economic interests of India in Africa, Central Asia and South-east Asia vis-à-vis China should also be safeguarded. Efforts should also be made to decrease the USD 27 billion trade deficit that stands at the moment in favour of China. Moreover, the increasing influence of China over other Indian neighbours should be countered by better socio-economic engagement with these countries. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to India's erstwhile foreign secretary and former Ambassador to the United States, Lalit Mansingh, India's answer to China's "string of pearls" in Asia, particularly South Asia, is its own "necklace of diamonds".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It is clearly emerging that China's policy is a kind of method by which they not only promote economic interests, they are actually trying to keep India boxed in within the South Asia context. And this is where we have to respond to their so-called string of pearls," he said, while addressing a conference on India as a Global Power.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mansingh noted, "It is not that they have done anything wrong in having agreements for building naval facilities in our neighbourhood. We should have done that. The Chinese were smarter, they did it first."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said the answer to the string of pearls "is what is called the necklace of diamonds. We are building up our bilateral military relationships with key countries in the Indian Ocean area – with Australia, with Indonesia, with Vietnam, with our neighbouring countries in South Asia, with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. That is how we want to do it to make sure that everybody is aware that the Indian Ocean has to be kept open for everybody and no power has the right to encroach on the global commons."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, diplomatic skirmishes arising from denial of visas to certain Indian officials or China’s reported claims to certain parts of sovereign India should be handled maturely and the government must never give in to the jingoism certain sections of the media are known to whip up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here it is important to note that the two countries have somewhat reconciled on issues like Tibet and other disputed regions. India’s concerns about Tibet arise not from the sovereignty issue of this region but from the infrastructural development taking place on the other side of the border and the damming of Brahmaputra River.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moreover, the status of Aksai Chin and Tawang remains a non-issue when it comes to socio-economic engagement between the two countries. Despite that, time and again, statements contradicting the status quo keep coming up from the Chinese government and military incursions also take place along the LAC. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bilateral talks are meant to address such issues and with the appointment of Special Representatives in 2003, the process has been further facilitated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 15th round of boundary talks held earlier in January between Special Representatives - National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo - in New Delhi resulted in the signing of an agreement for setting up a mechanism to avert any untoward incident on border. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ronen Singh, senior Indian diplomat and former ambassador to United States, while concluding an article in Telegraph recently recalled “the wise words of Deng Xiaoping to Rajiv Gandhi — that the 21st century would not become an Asian century without cooperation between China and India.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“That was in 1988,” he writes, “which was a Year of the Dragon that symbolizes all that is good and great. That year was certainly a good year for India-China relations. On January 23 [2012], we witnessed the beginning of celebrations ushering in another year [of the Dragon]. This augurs well for the future of India-China relations.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article21762.ece</span> </div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-6467333873114270632011-12-15T00:21:00.003+05:302012-02-05T01:18:24.291+05:30Dam-ned?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Mullaperiyar, or Mullaiperiyar Dam depending upon your loyalties, is a catastrophe in waiting. The adjoining info-graphic traces the history of the issue and lists the arguments given by the two conflicting states. Click on it to enlarge.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANTcTEpQ6phl1I8gfHs5GyUdJYy5KVlvuZNt4CgOtpOtHfW7IEwpIuV5FvQNJ4MPWhVPl88fWid1Y9LN22tAdZqScWcurqsuw4QPi85cqltMLEJKdIMne82TXAUrE2x-LpV6V/s1600/DAM+999+copy.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANTcTEpQ6phl1I8gfHs5GyUdJYy5KVlvuZNt4CgOtpOtHfW7IEwpIuV5FvQNJ4MPWhVPl88fWid1Y9LN22tAdZqScWcurqsuw4QPi85cqltMLEJKdIMne82TXAUrE2x-LpV6V/s400/DAM+999+copy.bmp" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Being dependent upon water bodies flowing in through neighbouring states, Tamil Nadu has always been on logger heads with them. Its concerns are genuine as these rivers are mainstay for its economy, providing irrigation facilities for agriculture and power generation for the industries. However, Mullaperiyar is a case of much more grave concern for the state of Kerala.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kerala government has been defending its case for a new dam on the basis of the ‘Precautionary Principle’ laid down in the famous Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992), of which India is a signatory. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Its Principle 15 states, “In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the given case, the danger is not mere environmental degradation but major loss of human life and biodiversity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this scenario, the adamance being shown by the Tamil Nadu government is uncalled for. Not only is it denying Kerala’s demand for a new dam but is also not cooperating with the Center on this issue. Recently Jayalalithaa Government decided not to participate in the “informal discussion” on the dam dispute in New Delhi.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moreover, Tamil Nadu moved the Supreme Court to restrain the Kerala Government from making any remark on de-commissioning of the dam or construction of a new one as it was allegedly creating a fear psychosis among the people.<br />
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At this juncture, it is important for Jayalalithaa Government to allay such fears if any by going an extra mile rather than rubbishing them altogether.<br />
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Meanwhile, Supreme Court, while asking both the states not to politicize the issue, has decided against Kerala's demand for reduction in water level from 136 ft. to 120 ft. Tamil Nadu Government must not regard this as a victory but help in restoring peace and normalcy in the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If steps are not taken to redress this issue at the earliest, any untoward incidence will be a blot on India’s federal polity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Image Courtesy:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Self-designed</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-47937276341733302462011-11-06T00:18:00.006+05:302012-02-05T23:20:55.937+05:30क्या तेरा है, क्या मेरा है?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">An attempt to present a poem through an audio-visual medium.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BvhA8-Q5R3M" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Images Courtesy:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Various sources. Kindly bring any copyright violations to notice.</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-69878520849006556732011-10-21T00:51:00.007+05:302011-12-15T00:50:56.116+05:30Koodankulam to Chennai<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As banana bajji wrapped in a newspaper took the round of the motley gathering on the roof of a house in Besant Nagar, no one was too keen to have it. They had arrived at the venue at five o’clock as planned, after a tiring day at their jobs and colleges. However, their own hunger was not on their mind right now. They were more concerned about fisherfolk and local residents of a coastal village, more than 700 kilometers south of Chennai, many of whom have not gone to sea or earned any income since they started an agitation more than a month ago. These villagers have been protesting against the commissioning of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, which according to them not only poses danger to their livelihood by endangering the marine life but even holds larger nuclear safety issues.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nityanand Jayaraman, a well-known environmental activist based in Chennai had called ‘youngsters and other interested people’ to plan a solidarity action on the part of the capital city, through an impassioned appeal on various mailing groups, “We're faced with a tremendous opportunity, made possible by the struggles of thousands of fisherfolk, who are camped outside the gate of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant even as we speak. The Government of India is unrelenting in its insistence that the plant should be commissioned. The Government of Tamil Nadu has made half-hearted gestures that it is in support of the agitation. If people put their weight and support behind the struggle, we have a possibility of getting Tamil Nadu declared as a nuclear-free state, and closed for all future nuclear power plant proposals.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Though hardly a dozen and a half turned up at the meeting organised today evening at the collective’s office, it did not deter those present to carry on the proceedings with utmost conviction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Protests against this project have been going on since its very inception, more than two decades ago. The adjoining info-graphic traces its history. Click on it to enlarge.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTRtEOm62pjH_p5zVwHKKhZHXNZQ-5dxgBbkcJsLLnJOKeuo93plMcA23LmJjD9YoMpIf7MZHZggPEPFm7jahS0DJNdL1CwGAkhqIyIUdR1m2gP7zvR0suraYo2lWP01wRbaB/s1600/Koondakulam+-+Brief+History.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTRtEOm62pjH_p5zVwHKKhZHXNZQ-5dxgBbkcJsLLnJOKeuo93plMcA23LmJjD9YoMpIf7MZHZggPEPFm7jahS0DJNdL1CwGAkhqIyIUdR1m2gP7zvR0suraYo2lWP01wRbaB/s400/Koondakulam+-+Brief+History.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The present round of agitations started with 127 villagers going on an indefinite hunger strike on Sep 11 as the date of commissioning of the first two reactors neared. Their basic apprehensions rose from the plight of Japanese towns of Okuma and Futaba following the Fukushima-Daichii nuclear disaster in March earlier this year which led to release of radioactive material.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those present at the meeting concurred that Fukushima disaster being fresh in the minds of the people can also be used as a rallying point in their solidarity action. On the basis of extensive brainstorming, various ideas came up, were rebutted, were shelved or accepted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nityanand cautioned that the solidarity action should be immediate but not sporadic. The group narrowed down to a petition campaign as their central medium. However, they argued for it to be more meaningful than just a signature campaign. It was decided that it will include fund-raising, in form of Rs 5 donations, to help the poor agitators, and will invite all those interested to further workshops and seminars on the issue. Besant Nagar was chosen as the venue for the petition campaign where the volunteers will create awareness over the weekend. A photo exhibition and a documentary screening were also planned at various venues which will exhibit the nuclear accidents at Chernobyl, Jaduguda and Fukushima to bring to light the dangers of nuclear reactors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There was also an appeal to push the envelope further. A suggestion was made in this direction to encourage the petitioners to adopt bio-composting at their homes. The argument was that by doing so, they can reduce their carbon footprint considerably which can act as an alternative to government’s assertion that nuclear energy is the only answer to global warming being caused by carbon-based fuels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Around half past six in the evening as it started getting darker, the collective members decided to disperse. The action will now shift to Besant Nagar beach which will see the tides of a new commitment, promising to be more than just a token gesture.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Image Courtesy:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">My new found interest in Photoshop</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-9446159052000999732011-10-18T17:52:00.003+05:302011-10-20T01:37:40.269+05:30A political victory or a lost Cause?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">The result of Hisar by-election is being read in many ways by the political pundits. The event kick-started the anti-Congress campaign of Team Anna. It seems as if Team Anna has taken it to itself to be the panacea of all ills in Indian political landscape. Its first detour from the basic objective of getting the Jan Lokpal Bill legislated came when it called for electoral reforms. It included introduction of negative voting and the recalling of sitting legislators. In this context, campaigning in Hisar should have been about making the voters aware about the credentials of all the candidates. The choice of candidate should have been left to the ‘informed’ citizenry.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4P_RZLWfqDcjthgFAgYkOIH99NwHRe0KTNO-IdjtfOC1H7vNdm-_VwoReI9CEFFXAB-XvA-2rebh3GDIa4GQBKNuh5OQLHQKEuO_0VdAF_kAwWzxm1n3VQjn1XkD4H2p_wn_/s1600/Hisar+Election_Cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4P_RZLWfqDcjthgFAgYkOIH99NwHRe0KTNO-IdjtfOC1H7vNdm-_VwoReI9CEFFXAB-XvA-2rebh3GDIa4GQBKNuh5OQLHQKEuO_0VdAF_kAwWzxm1n3VQjn1XkD4H2p_wn_/s400/Hisar+Election_Cartoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fight against corruption should not be limited to the political party in power at the centre. It is endemic to the whole political system. It is questionable if Team Anna’s intervention had any role to play in the defeat of Congress candidate and the forfeiture of his security deposit. However, the way Team Anna is meddling in the actual political process puts a big question mark on its often claimed apolitical overtures. With the eyes now set on the UP assembly elections, it may do further disservice to its own cause. Anna, himself has been vacillating between the stands of giving Congress a breather till the Winter session of Parliament on one hand and personally entering the anti-Congress campaign in UP on the other. Focus needs to be shifted back to the Jan Lokpal Bill. The support that Team Anna garnered was for this basic agenda. It cannot keep stacking newer agendas on it, hoping that all its wishes will be fulfilled within the ambit of this single movement. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is true that Congress has been making many political manoeuvrings inside and outside the Parliament to stall the passing of a meaningful Jan Lokpal Bill. However, Anna should continue using the civil society route to bring to light such practices. He might have testified it many a times that he is having no political ambitions. But this might not be true for his foot-soldiers. It is a known fact that one of the Team Anna members resigned from the police services on being bypassed for a coveted office. So to claim that the people behind this movement are above such power motives will be naïve. In this context, taking the fight to political arena will only make things more complex. Moreover, the movement may also lose a considerable chunk of sympathisers if it gets reduced to anti-Congress from anti-Corruption.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The movement is already being negatively affected by the incoherent statements coming out of the Team Anna camp. While Anna and other members have distanced themselves from Prashant Bhushan’s statement on Kashmir, Santosh Hegde has openly shown his displeasure over Kejriwal’s move to meddle in the Hisar by-elections. As Anna sits on a week-long vow of silence for ‘peace of soul’, two prominent activists P V Rajagopal and 'Waterman' Rajinder Singh quit its core committee over the latter issue of ‘political turn’ of movement. Democracy within the movement should definitely be appreciated. All the members should have a right to voice their personal opinions on different issues. However, for the sake of Jan Lokpal Bill, some coherence is needed. Any such incoherent statements and infighting give the detractors an opportunity to make a mountain out of a molehill. Therefore, it is important for Anna to bring together his foot-soldiers and unify the camp. This is a prerequisite to sustain the battle against the indifference of the political honchos towards an effective Jan Lokpal Bill.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>P.S.</b> <i>This is the first draft of my editorial for our Lab Journal in ACJ to be published this Saturday</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Designed by me</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-34132329123103856732011-10-11T01:11:00.002+05:302011-10-11T01:13:57.322+05:30A Bookmark From Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9a149M9k7ltvG-rcOdJBauhCrH6SgBDCFuoAlSVyyja5Ay2ZedbkfZBmCB6vv_40Owy_DrXZDOEN_DmyrGSk7oHJAgu15Gr-2VlIYBmqAjMO_I0y1KrEkdGGkGsR6LblV76a/s1600/Bookmark+from+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9a149M9k7ltvG-rcOdJBauhCrH6SgBDCFuoAlSVyyja5Ay2ZedbkfZBmCB6vv_40Owy_DrXZDOEN_DmyrGSk7oHJAgu15Gr-2VlIYBmqAjMO_I0y1KrEkdGGkGsR6LblV76a/s400/Bookmark+from+Life.jpg" width="100%" /></a></div><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In the Image:</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">I standing on the Besant Nagar (Elliot's) Beach.</span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Saurabh Goyal</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-87387521163185144262011-09-23T14:30:00.000+05:302011-09-23T14:30:56.854+05:30Beyond Words<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1iL7wjFiJIBNx9XTbLD8yoQerpcAaNC8BCYbrIuHRGb5yKNIJMdaJSf9_Hwi04gRQ949RMKiKkbiW_Cvyt5yzE01wQuKfv9CPKY78qPF5RN_7gLY8b7qimGIIbouiG-IiW2eT/s1600/23092011709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1iL7wjFiJIBNx9XTbLD8yoQerpcAaNC8BCYbrIuHRGb5yKNIJMdaJSf9_Hwi04gRQ949RMKiKkbiW_Cvyt5yzE01wQuKfv9CPKY78qPF5RN_7gLY8b7qimGIIbouiG-IiW2eT/s320/23092011709.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>She always wants me </b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>When she has to pee</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>When I rush to loo</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>She wants to come too</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In the Image:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Me with my niece in Delhi (clicked a couple of hours back)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">No one but me</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-67002885371446908922011-09-21T16:37:00.001+05:302011-09-22T19:43:34.242+05:30That Anonymous Nice Young Ailment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLPVmKu4aInH0gjB-9AAI-ZkY104Z8Q05f-wYYk7J6imzGoNMQl1V-mCpo660IoV_2C5IarDI2WY-vXa2kP-6UXXi_nsqhkcDlV2maNnLqbdHE8Kr3h35W_sQ4R1R_tGnHPGx/s1600/That+Anonymous+Nice+Young+Ailment2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLPVmKu4aInH0gjB-9AAI-ZkY104Z8Q05f-wYYk7J6imzGoNMQl1V-mCpo660IoV_2C5IarDI2WY-vXa2kP-6UXXi_nsqhkcDlV2maNnLqbdHE8Kr3h35W_sQ4R1R_tGnHPGx/s200/That+Anonymous+Nice+Young+Ailment2.jpg" width="176" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She's an ordinary girl</div><div style="text-align: center;">A girl next door</div><div style="text-align: center;">And thats the thing about her</div><div style="text-align: center;">That i adore</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She has no pretensions</div><div style="text-align: center;">Won't go case by case</div><div style="text-align: center;">She is what she is</div><div style="text-align: center;">Always in your face</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She is too matured</div><div style="text-align: center;">At times for her age</div><div style="text-align: center;">At other times she's a kid</div><div style="text-align: center;">Difficult to engage</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She will pull your legs</div><div style="text-align: center;">With a naughty glint in eyes</div><div style="text-align: center;">That you will just give in</div><div style="text-align: center;">To her innocent tries</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She likes to be by her own</div><div style="text-align: center;">Most of the times</div><div style="text-align: center;">But is a great company</div><div style="text-align: center;">When a partner in crime</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She is the perfect girl</div><div style="text-align: center;">You will like to take home</div><div style="text-align: center;">And introduce gleefully </div><div style="text-align: center;">To your dad and mom</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She reads this, i hope</div><div style="text-align: center;">And know that it's her</div><div style="text-align: center;">Because no more proposing shit</div><div style="text-align: center;">And subsequent torture</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Image Courtesy:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Confidential</span></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-23289893215048975022011-08-24T19:49:00.002+05:302011-08-24T19:52:23.383+05:30Am I Done With Love?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNkdQZ0U-0ticVe3yGWErL16SBSAE-gbSEFXhLB6L_g2qLonRzeL45_pPDH6wxdTN3H1nhZpCb4FLjKE8KYzhWaSGDcMcLXAw730XF1ltn2_D75znWj9YokLq4ADBXX0Mu3bL/s1600/Am+I+Done+With+Love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNkdQZ0U-0ticVe3yGWErL16SBSAE-gbSEFXhLB6L_g2qLonRzeL45_pPDH6wxdTN3H1nhZpCb4FLjKE8KYzhWaSGDcMcLXAw730XF1ltn2_D75znWj9YokLq4ADBXX0Mu3bL/s400/Am+I+Done+With+Love.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Each time it happened, it brought a ray of hope</div><div style="text-align: center;">But now it carries with it, just a fear to cope</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Am I done with Love?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Or I still have it in me?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Is it just a mirage?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Or can I still succeed?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">When I look back at what transpired </div><div style="text-align: center;">Sometimes it was them, sometimes me</div><div style="text-align: center;">But whoever be blamed for the failures</div><div style="text-align: center;">In the end I was the loser to be</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So when the heart skips a beat again</div><div style="text-align: center;">How can it be a reason to smile?</div><div style="text-align: center;">For I have learnt it the hard way</div><div style="text-align: center;">That this thing is not meant for me.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Am I done with Love?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Or I still have it in me?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Is it just a mirage?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Or can I still succeed?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I've always seen myself as a romantic</div><div style="text-align: center;">And this notion has taken my toll</div><div style="text-align: center;">Weaving the dreams just too soon</div><div style="text-align: center;">I have seen them tumbling galore</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I want to take a chance again</div><div style="text-align: center;">But know well, that’s not the right way</div><div style="text-align: center;">For each smile that adorns my face today</div><div style="text-align: center;">Will be paid by a drop of tear not far away</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Am I done with Love?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Or I still have it in me?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Is it just a mirage?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Or can I still succeed?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br />
</b><br />
<b>P.S</b>. - A comment posted on my novelette <a href="http://vipulgrover.blogspot.com/2010/02/everyone-has-cupid-tale-to-tell-10.html"><b>'Everyone Has a Cupid Tale to Tell'</b></a> after a long time brought out this stupid song. So please don’t ask ‘<i>who is she?</i>'<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Image Courtesy:</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">A friend behind another friends's camera</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-33564623742416503482011-08-18T00:53:00.005+05:302011-08-18T01:00:34.808+05:30The Face Off<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Flaunting the newly learnt Photoshop skills.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GLT6YqAgUTk/TkwVo-8U7GI/AAAAAAAACfs/n5e5Oswu2H4/s1600/Final+Banner+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GLT6YqAgUTk/TkwVo-8U7GI/AAAAAAAACfs/n5e5Oswu2H4/s400/Final+Banner+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
And now a GIF image. Click on it to enlarge and see it in action.<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Hqh-ZRCBqg/TkwUNsOJnYI/AAAAAAAACfo/REwm36LZJBY/s1600/Banner---Animated.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Hqh-ZRCBqg/TkwUNsOJnYI/AAAAAAAACfo/REwm36LZJBY/s400/Banner---Animated.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />
For a change, I do not want to comment about the developments around this movement. However, you may read my <a href="http://vipulgrover.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-first-published-article.html">Op-Ed in The Tribune</a> which got published during the first wave of the movement.<br />
<br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Images Courtesy:</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Various sources</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-6493043642912027902011-08-15T00:01:00.003+05:302011-08-21T23:15:25.986+05:30Life Within The Four Walls<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote>This post has been published by me as a part of the <b>Blog-a-Ton 23</b>; the twenty-third edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. The theme for this month is FREE. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following <a href="http://blogaton.in/"><b>Blog-a-Ton</b></a>. </blockquote></div><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gky_TbMju_4/TkANpJ8Uf-I/AAAAAAAACfU/cgwXYQQgMXw/s912/100_3336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gky_TbMju_4/TkANpJ8Uf-I/AAAAAAAACfU/cgwXYQQgMXw/s400/100_3336.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Your whole life can be packed in a single room. Within those four walls you can measure expanse of your knowledge, and within those few meters between floor and ceiling, depth in your understanding can be gauged. It is nothing less than incarceration, an imposed limit on your physical space to allow you to wander more freely within your mental space. Even I went through this stage when I decided, like many other brave souls before me, to sit for the civil services examinations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div closure_uid_5vihmr="154">Immersed in studies within the three dimensions of my room, I soon became oblivious to the fourth dimension of time. The chirping of birds followed by sound of gong emanating from a neighboring boarding school used to intimate me that it is dawn and I should be going to sleep. </div><div closure_uid_5vihmr="154"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_5vihmr="154">My day started with the shouts of my mother followed by incessant thumping on the door to wake me up. The poor creaking door had to go through this ordeal everyday till I finally got up and unlatched it. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In those days, I preferred to stay in my room with innumerable inanimate things accompanying me. The only live things were the lizards on the wall and my reflection in the long mirror on the right corner of the room.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was envious of the lizards because they could traverse more dimensions within the room. For them the room was infinity, an end in itself, but for me it was just a means to an elusive end.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 6 by 6-foot bed felt like a mother’s lap since the day it got a new pair of mattresses. They were expensive but were needed to cure the constant pain in my back. Despite many rebukes from my father, I continued lying on the bed to study, while the uncomfortable chair that accompanied the study table stood vacant and listless. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was very fond of the study table which took up most of the space opposite my bed. It had retained its woody smell despite thick coats of varnish and was the only link to nature in this lifeless room. Though seldom used to study, the books with their different-colored bindings decked on the two shelves of the table, were a constant reminder and motivation to keep studying.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The night lamp on the side table became an innocent accomplice in my contemplations. As my thoughts meandered through the unknown reaches of my consciousness, I kept switching it on and off subconsciously. Every other month its bulb had to be replaced, tormented by my thoughts and actions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the far left corner of the room, by the curtained windows, stood my personal computer with all its paraphernalia. The dark monitor of the computer always stared at me with expectant eyes, which were only a reflection of my own eyes, waiting to be switched on. But it had already been replaced by my new laptop which lay regally on one side of my bed. The computer reminded me of those days when gadgets were much larger and the life was much simpler.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My mother had the nagging habit of opening the curtains whenever she got a chance. I somehow felt more secure in the darkness and dampness of the room. The sunlight that came through the window seemed to me as an unnecessary intrusion into my own space. The pale-looking curtains became focal point of this unspoken jostle between me and my mother as we tried to outdo each other every day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two years had passed in this room when the result of my second attempt came. Keeping the laptop aside, I looked up at the ceiling with moist eyes.<br />
<br />
<div closure_uid_5vihmr="155">The worn-out fan was revolving as usual, emitting the ugly noises. There was certain movement in it but there was no displacement.</div><br />
Then my eyes moved towards far corner of the wall where it met the ceiling. A trapped moth was struggling to get free from the cobwebs that had formed there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div closure_uid_x1hnxe="159">The following day, I took a broom and removed the cobwebs from there.</div><br />
<div closure_uid_x1hnxe="160">The following day, I opened the curtains to let the slanting rays onto my bed freely.</div><div closure_uid_x1hnxe="158"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_x1hnxe="161">The following day, I unlatched the windows to allow fresh air into the deoxygenated corners of the room.</div><div closure_uid_x1hnxe="157"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_x1hnxe="162">The following day, I decided to let go my ambition and venture out to find some work.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">My camera (clicked in November 2007)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote>The <b>fellow Blog-a-Tonics</b> who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective <b>posts</b> can be checked <a href="http://www.blogaton.in/2011/08/rules-and-reminder-for-blog-ton-23.html#comments"><b>here</b></a>. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following <b><a href="http://blogaton.in/">Blog-a-Ton</a></b>.</blockquote></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-3414822979704353182011-07-28T18:14:00.002+05:302011-07-28T20:37:14.436+05:30My third published article<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Its 4 in 4 months. Of course, as I mentioned in the previous post, the actual third article I wrote for Tribune was not published in its totality but only some of the sound-bytes I had gathered were used. So here is my third published Op-Ed in which I have compiled the whole page including my own write up, the photograph (of my students in Bulls Eye), the counter argument (by my colleague) and the opinions of the students.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTMARiX24OkXkasoQo9W38z5yaWpaAMbiSWwqEJ64EOWd66jBqV4P95HfGeZeVy7wfWjRkSAx_iFHVHZmka7Cj71p3wyVFWo-L8UTqQ4cO8qIqsVMIzhSyH27X4NUql-Jirzr/s1600/Coaching+Industry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTMARiX24OkXkasoQo9W38z5yaWpaAMbiSWwqEJ64EOWd66jBqV4P95HfGeZeVy7wfWjRkSAx_iFHVHZmka7Cj71p3wyVFWo-L8UTqQ4cO8qIqsVMIzhSyH27X4NUql-Jirzr/s400/Coaching+Industry.jpg" width="397" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can read the article here - <b><a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110727/edit.htm#6">Coaching Industry - A Parallel Education System</a></b><br />
<br />
However, the article got pruned down a bit due to space constraints and the end result seems a bit incoherent. Somehow, I feel this particular line from the original draft should not have been removed by the editors -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #cccccc;">Many academic trainers in this industry have emerged as the role models for the students and work hard under very stressful schedules in helping them to crack the tough examinations.</span><br />
<br />
Do give your feedback and suggest what other issues I can take up for my future Op-Eds.<br />
<br />
Here are links to my previous articles -<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://vipulgrover.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-first-published-article.html">GenNext Can Help Banish Corruption</a> (The Tribune; Apr 9, 2011)</li>
<li><a href="http://vipulgrover.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-second-published-article.html">The Myth and Reality About The Global Indian</a> (The Tribune; May 17, 2011)</li>
<li><a href="http://vipulgrover.blogspot.com/2011/07/world-class-debate.html">The 'World-Class' Debate</a> (The Tribune; Jun 1, 2011 and The Viewspaper; Jun 26, 2011)</li>
</ul><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">My dad and his cell phone :)</span><br />
<br />
</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-22703009740212174772011-07-27T18:13:00.002+05:302011-07-27T23:04:53.289+05:30The 'World Class' Debate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thumbnails.truveo.com/0019/86/A9/86A9DEC621362BB0B22241_Large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://thumbnails.truveo.com/0019/86/A9/86A9DEC621362BB0B22241_Large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><br />
</i><br />
<i><b>Here I am reproducing an article originally written for The Tribune but finally published on a web portal <a href="http://theviewspaper.net/">The Viewspaper</a> sometime back.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Union Minister for Environment, Jairam Ramesh has the knack to remain in the news with his proactive but sometimes provocative take on environmental issues. However, this time he chose an unrelated issue to make the headlines once again. According to this IIT Bombay graduate; the most coveted and sought after seats of learning in India, i.e., IIT’s and IIM’s, lack the world-class faculty as well as research facilities. He believes that these institutes have been able to survive due to the world class students who take admission into these institutions after a grueling selection process.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before one starts taking sides, it’s important to define the term ‘World Class.’ Going by its dictionary meaning it is to rank amongst the foremost in the world and to meet the international standards of excellence. If one adopts this definition, then Jairam Ramesh is not that wide of the mark as it’s true that in most of the world rankings, these institutes fail to reach the top-notch positions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, is it justified to use such objective parameters given the grand divide between the West and the East? To create a world-class research institute, the foremost requirement is a world-class policy formulation and world-class funding for the same. With the meager amount of resources made available to these institutes, how can one expect them to compete with the best in the business?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To add to this, the fact is that these institutes were incepted with the objective of developing a skilled workforce to support the social and economic development of India. Research and development was started much later. Hence, to compare the amount of research done by these institutes with that done by the MIT’s or Harvard’s is again unfair.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOT5gauPBLjGENrzJGaXjXyun5HhwrMOI52IvoWCXE9pikepO61jOy6zP1lI6AdyKjQNiTsqoO2rVwqeB5Wlg3jhqV29Vub7StIysogrg0HW4fuivHOdZ418uzT6DiD0HgqHd/s1600/Rajesh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOT5gauPBLjGENrzJGaXjXyun5HhwrMOI52IvoWCXE9pikepO61jOy6zP1lI6AdyKjQNiTsqoO2rVwqeB5Wlg3jhqV29Vub7StIysogrg0HW4fuivHOdZ418uzT6DiD0HgqHd/s200/Rajesh.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>Rajesh Behera, an IIT Bombay alumnus, unequivocally attributes his success to the guidance he got from his teachers. According to him, it was their experience and exposure to the international environment that enabled them to find the true potential of the students like him and instilled in them confidence to become world-class.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Taking the example of the Civil Engineering Department of his alma mater, he shows how all the major infrastructural development taking place around Mumbai, in one form or the other, has inputs from the IIT Bombay faculty, from consultancy to actual implementation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One cannot deny that the faculty of these institutes have to work in a much harder environment than their counterparts in the West. Take the example of the student to teacher ratio which according to an internal study of Union Human Resource Development Ministry is as high as 15:1 in the leading institutes of India as compared to around 5:1 to 7:1 in the leading technical institutes of US, West Europe and even Singapore or Hong Kong for that matter. Moreover, funding at both the project level and at the level of personal compensation to teachers make the situation graver.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The whole issue gathers more importance in the context of the new IIMs and IITs that have opened recently to cater to the ever growing demand for the world-class education in India, a prerequisite to tap India’s demographic dividend.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-e8E3eVDxyuBH_aVeyVgTQXZ7NvoG9arHIh0bNFIu9bkgKbEBPsss_TGZseabhdCzwTpmksEvKltw6sE9PH2dQOdJGXZ-hb3-joO8nKBQp6x7dGFhzdB6Q7Z2TV9GojlkTM2/s1600/Swati.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-e8E3eVDxyuBH_aVeyVgTQXZ7NvoG9arHIh0bNFIu9bkgKbEBPsss_TGZseabhdCzwTpmksEvKltw6sE9PH2dQOdJGXZ-hb3-joO8nKBQp6x7dGFhzdB6Q7Z2TV9GojlkTM2/s200/Swati.jpg" width="173" /></a></div>Swati Gupta, an IIM Indore alumna feels that there is a dearth of world-class faculty in the new IIMs. However, she considers Jairam Ramesh’s statement pretty harsh and feels it’s naive to tag all the professors under the same umbrella.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To quote her, “There is no doubt that there is a visible gap in the style and understanding of the newer faculty as compared to the old professors. While the latter make sure that there is a conceptual clarity before teaching the contextual application, the former at times tend to focus too much on the case method.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This perspective shatters the belief that the older professors are too rigid and averse to adopt newer world-class methodologies as there is still substance left in the older teaching methodologies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, it’s important to take into consideration all these contingencies before coming to any concrete conclusion. However, one cannot deny the fact that there is a lot that needs to be done to make the Indian premiere institutes, globally more competitive and this statement of Jairam Ramesh might act as a stimulant for the same.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="http://theviewspaper.net/the-%E2%80%98world-class%E2%80%99-debate/">Click here to see the article in The Viewspaper.</a></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The following sound-bytes taken from IIT Mumbai faculty members, however, were published in Tribune and attributed to me.</b></i></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Two senior members of IIT, Bombay, on the condition that their names would be withheld had this to say:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Make it attractive for the best </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The profession of teaching and research is not an attractive profession for most young students due to financial reasons. The top talent is not opting for a career in teaching and research. There are perhaps only 25 per cent of faculty members who do research that can be termed “of international standards”. The IITs are far ahead of any university in India in terms of research quantity and quality. The socio-economic conditions must improve in order to create world class universities and institutes. World class institutes did not become world class in 50 years. The top universities in the world have a long tradition and attract talent from all over the world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Government must provide autonomy to institutions of higher learning. The UGC and AICTE have failed in managing higher education. There is a lot of corruption in these bodies. Every minister in charge of the Ministry of Human Resource Development tries to change something in IITs to get public attention. They will serve the country better by improving schools and colleges which are in a pathetic condition. Once these improve, there will be better people going in for higher education. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Chinese invest heavily in higher education and elementary education. They offered 50 per cent of the American salary to the Chinese who were teaching in developed countries. As a result, hundreds of Chinese came back and enriched their universities. There are talented Indians abroad, the MHRD should devise a strategy to encourage good researchers to come back. In developed countries, teaching is a respected profession but in India it is not. One may ask any class in a school and verify this. Hardly any one wants to go in for teaching and research. Creation of world class institutions requires full autonomy, a good pay and a large proportion of people going in for higher education. Until this happens, we cannot have world class institutes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>No roadmap for higher education in the country</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my opinion, the decision to open new IITs without having an adequate number of skilled scientific/technology manpower in the country was, by itself, a wrong decision. It was only motivated by considerations that were non-professional and had to do more with realpolitik in the then ruling class that took the decision. It is slightly irresponsible on the part of the minister to make such statements, instead of helping out the IITs that are already facing far too many difficulties due to the government’s decision of opening IITs in a thoughtless manner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The IITs have a better faculty than most state universities but that is hardly any consolation given that they have larger funding and better facilities. The entire thing boils down to one moot question.: It is not this government (to which Jairam Ramesh belongs) or that government, but no government in India has the desire to work out a well thought out roadmap for higher education in the country. The late Rajiv Gandhi made an attempt to start something in that direction but it was all lost later. (As told to Vipul Grover) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110601/edit.htm#6">Click here to see the article in The Tribune</a></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Star News</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-91078652664268819632011-07-22T22:49:00.000+05:302011-07-22T22:49:22.743+05:30Finding My True Self<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiMEHZOQZKwdCcZzNg8A-02UI6wzcfFxuxqm1U24I_An0765mTDMBscH55daXpxcEYn4c2uPvVuKQhjaB8w9fvjhE0tjU0WanaB6DHi3yQaQ_ZBYDkxRhnjkSyRKxEuO1dHbe/s1600/DSC05224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiMEHZOQZKwdCcZzNg8A-02UI6wzcfFxuxqm1U24I_An0765mTDMBscH55daXpxcEYn4c2uPvVuKQhjaB8w9fvjhE0tjU0WanaB6DHi3yQaQ_ZBYDkxRhnjkSyRKxEuO1dHbe/s400/DSC05224.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don’t know how it all started but I do have a faint idea that it was around the time I entered secondary school. Until then, I had always longed for opportunities to excel in extra-curricular activities. Debating in particular gave me an opportunity to enhance my knowledge beyond text-books.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, one day, I started finding it difficult to speak. The words came out with utmost difficulty or with involuntary repetitions and sometimes they just wouldn’t come. Passion became p..p..p..p..passion or sometimes it became just a long pause. In short, I developed an acute case of stuttering.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I began to find excuses not to read aloud in class. Each time a friend or a cousin made fun of my stammering, I grew diffident and insecure. However, my passion for singing was still unaffected by it. As you might know, stuttering is not an impediment to singing. However, with adolescence as my voice cracked, I was politely asked to leave the class choir too.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I was chosen for a Hindi play because of my consistently good performance in the subject, I could not utter a single dialogue. Though I still participated in events like quizzing and dumb charades, I found myself shying away from limelight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two years in senior secondary school were spent studying hard for the engineering entrance examinations and somehow, the speech impediment took a back seat. But when college started, it came back to haunt me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reading a self-help book during my first year at college, I suddenly decided to throw it in the dustbin and take matters into my own hands. To get rid of the fear of public speaking, I had to seek occasions when it would be necessary for me to speak. Thus, Panache was born, the first students’ organization of my college. With it was born a new me, one who mustered the courage to stand in front of the class and give the presentation regarding the proposed organization. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I pushed myself more and more, I was able to devise new ways to tackle the problem and soon I was confidently compering at the freshers’ party and delivering the opening address at a Rotaract event and imitating Inzamam-ul-Haq at a mock press conference while throwing the packed audience into fits of laughter. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s not that I stopped stuttering. I just stopped thinking about it and stopped thinking about the derogatory comments by others. Once this burden was gone, I could speak freely.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have shared this story innumerable times with my students in personality development workshops. We all may have our inhibitions in public speaking due to lack of fluency or due to a speech disorder like mine. Even today, when I have to speak impromptu, I do shiver from within. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, it’s important to face these fears because as long as we keep hiding from them, we won’t be able to search our true self. I don’t remember when it all started and I don’t even care if it ends in this lifetime or not. I have found my true self.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>In the Image:</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">I, Me and Myself (Shot by - Saurabh Goyal, Location - A beach along East Coast Road, Tamil Nadu)</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-63438414451654933572011-07-15T19:06:00.002+05:302011-07-15T19:28:14.850+05:30The King of Dystopia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Originally published at <a href="http://themindblogglers.blogspot.com/">The Mind Blogglers</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2009/5/9/1241876037386/George-Orwell-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2009/5/9/1241876037386/George-Orwell-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whenever I come across a news report about some new political scam or scandal which is pretty regular these days, I wonder if it is the ignorance of the masses that is allowing the political elite to indulge in such rampant corruption and malfeasance. Is India or even the world at large moving towards the dystopian society envisioned by George Orwell in his novel <i>Nineteen Eighty Four</i>?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this novel, Orwell had described an Oligarchic dictatorship which borrows its stability from three basic tenets; one of these being - 'Ignorance is Strength'. Through pervasive government surveillance and incessant public mind control, the ruling ‘Party’ is able to subjugate the individual and manipulate humanity, hence strengthening its own domain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It will be far-fetched to compare the present society with the society projected by Orwell; however the way things are going, the Orwellian conception remains still relevant and is a prism to the ill-fated consequences of a society that lacks democracy and free will.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Born in India as Eric Arthur Blair to a civil servant father in 1903, Orwell found the inspiration for his writings from his own life experiences. These included an early childhood in London, education in a missionary school, policing in Burma, his bohemian lifestyle in Paris, seeing the hardships of economically depressed North England, the participation in the Spanish Civil War and many other experiences which gradually developed in him a “natural hatred towards authority”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He mentions in his essay <i>Why I Write</i> that “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it,” evidently triggered by the Spanish Civil War and the increasing influence of Nazism and Fascism. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, even his debut novel,<i> The Burmese Days</i> which got published in 1934, talks of the travails of a British subject in Burma disillusioned by imperialism and white domination.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was his political satire, <i>Animal Farm</i> published in 1945 that brought him into limelight and for the first time prosperity in a life, otherwise filled with hardships. In a compact piece of fiction, he targeted the Stalin brand of Communism and was well appreciated in the West. The story revolves around a farm where animals take over control under the leadership of pigs but the leader gradually corrupts the socialist ideals on which their revolution was based.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Orwell’s concept of free will was not in consonance with the philosophy of another contemporary author hailed by the West, Ayn Rand. Both are known for their belief in individualism; however, while Rand stands for libertarianism, essentially a capitalist model, Orwell stuck to democratic socialism, a model of the welfare state which can be compared to Gandhian and Nehruvian socialism.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite this, several critics, particularly from the Left, accused Orwell of exploiting the street-folk, calling him a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing upper class intellectual posing as a revolutionary. However, Orwell withstood these criticisms and remained true to his convictions till the end of his life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his seminal work, <i>Nineteen Eighty Four</i>, published just before his untimely demise in 1950 due to an artery burst in the lungs, he once again brought to the fore the struggle between totalitarianism and an individual’s yearning to break the shackles imposed by it. Like most of his other novels, it had an unhappy ending where the individual finally succumbs to the system.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For this reason, <i>Nineteen Eighty Four</i> is usually categorized as a novel portraying political pessimism. However, it will be wrong to term his writings as pessimistic because Orwell preferred to stick to his conceived dystopian structures in order to make his argument against them stronger. Moreover, to consider it Orwell’s forecast of the probable future will be naïve as the author clarified it in a post-publication statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just like the instability portrayed in his writings, Orwell had a rather unstable life. Growing up in the absence of his father, lack of resources in the family, a bitter school life, initial struggle to get his due as a writer, contracting tuberculosis and the subsequent deteriorating health and an unhappy married life, marked the forty seven years of his life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, his life did a great service to the literary tradition of that era and continues to inspire even today. According to Orwell, there are four great motives for writing; sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse and political purpose. He was honest enough to mention the first motive though his way of writing and prose was by no means elitist. However, the other dimension of egoism is to be remembered for our work. Orwell’s legacy can be gauged from the simple fact that ‘Orwellian’ is now a byword for any oppressive or manipulative social phenomenon opposed to a free society.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As far as the last two motives go, his later works that in addition to his novels include a number of essays, literary reviews, linguistic articles, anti-war propaganda and other journalistic endeavours in BBC, the Tribune, the Observer and other journals ensured that they served the political purpose and facilitated the historical impulse.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In fact, many of his observations hold a lot of historical significance as they portray how some of the societal structures haven’t changed much in all these years. For example, in his autobiographical essay, "<i>Such, Such Were the Joys</i>" published after his death in 1952, Orwell describes the education he received as "a preparation for a sort of confidence trick," geared entirely towards maximizing his future performance in the admissions exams to leading English public schools such as Eton and Harrow, without any concern for actual knowledge or understanding. The education reforms in India today are also addressing similar problems in our system of education.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for the final remaining motive, only the man of his genius could make a twelve line poem <i>Romance</i> written during his stay in Burma and based on the negotiations of a foreigner with a local prostitute, seem so aesthetic. Sample it for yourself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">When I was young and had no sense</div><div style="text-align: center;">In far-off Mandalay</div><div style="text-align: center;">I lost my heart to a Burmese girl</div><div style="text-align: center;">As lovely as the day.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Her skin was gold, her hair was jet,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Her teeth were ivory;</div><div style="text-align: center;">I said ‘For twenty silver pieces,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Maiden, sleep with me.’</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She looked at me, so pure, so sad,</div><div style="text-align: center;">The loveliest thing alive,</div><div style="text-align: center;">And in her lisping, virgin voice,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Stood out for twenty-five.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.guardian.co.uk</span></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-59378104203985846172011-05-17T13:31:00.001+05:302011-05-17T13:32:19.733+05:30My second published article<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I might be away from blogging but my freelancing assignments are giving me a chance to update the blog. Here is my second published article in the Op-Ed section of The Tribune, Chandigarh-Delhi.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkaRUx7memCp_Rhs2Du5SmtS2eksmaKnW8Tb2se5Ir75I7kLLYOrQJyN7ZqPX138gwbDDn9qt6b327kpp3ag9g3PdTAWfu50dsYnlW0qWm_7xx6yLd9zwUjTQfMgIy0gsisBV/s1600/Actual+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkaRUx7memCp_Rhs2Du5SmtS2eksmaKnW8Tb2se5Ir75I7kLLYOrQJyN7ZqPX138gwbDDn9qt6b327kpp3ag9g3PdTAWfu50dsYnlW0qWm_7xx6yLd9zwUjTQfMgIy0gsisBV/s400/Actual+Copy.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">You can read the article on the newspaper's website - <a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110517/edit.htm#7">http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110517/edit.htm#7</a></div><div><br />
</div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image Courtesy:</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">My mobile phone and The Tribune</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-29665712533536015732011-04-09T15:03:00.000+05:302011-04-09T15:03:06.195+05:30My first published article<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Hello friends, I mean all those who are still lingering around this nearly dead blog :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I just came over to share with you my article which got published today in the Op-Ed section of The Tribune, Chandigarh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQtZCBGUyJ0E8jyA4WKrqWUzbdTYRUFVHyxHmvgMm0Wqj15BYFWkH0oInTGawLhOI2tKe49PUvjIhiL0rw0gA0hCRFaqN8EIJ6GDPh_-PjFLrpIppttxlTiu6cf-cSaXCqxBv/s1600/Published+Article+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQtZCBGUyJ0E8jyA4WKrqWUzbdTYRUFVHyxHmvgMm0Wqj15BYFWkH0oInTGawLhOI2tKe49PUvjIhiL0rw0gA0hCRFaqN8EIJ6GDPh_-PjFLrpIppttxlTiu6cf-cSaXCqxBv/s400/Published+Article+1.jpg" width="386" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is the link to the online edition - <a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110409/edit.htm#6">http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110409/edit.htm#6</a> - where you can read it without straining your eyes on this low-resolution image.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Image Courtesy </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">WTF.. It's my own article ;)</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288441.post-91990067575949760452011-03-05T00:01:00.002+05:302011-03-05T00:01:00.533+05:30Change<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote>This post has been published by me as a part of the <b>Blog-a-Ton Season 2 edition 18</b>; the eighteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following <a href="http://blogaton.in/"><b>Blog-a-Ton</b></a>.</blockquote></div><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fuj5DNuVoXg/TXCbbrSND4I/AAAAAAAACYg/xXrYW9v_j7I/s1600/Change%252C+a+short+filmy+story+about+love+and+war.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fuj5DNuVoXg/TXCbbrSND4I/AAAAAAAACYg/xXrYW9v_j7I/s400/Change%252C+a+short+filmy+story+about+love+and+war.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Change, they say is always for good. But what if the thing you fear the most is the change itself? I always thought that my path is set clear in front of me. But, some contingencies, I forgot to account for. Now, I had two options, either to keep treading the same path or change the path itself. But how could I overcome the fear of change?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">*</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist</i>. No points for guessing that I am a huge fan of <i>Shahrukh bhai</i>. And my life is as <i>filmy</i> as his movies. However, I didn’t come to Mumbai, like many other fans of his, to see him. I was here to create a spectacle for the world to see. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I come from a village, some miles north of Peshawar. I was happy rearing my father’s cattle and my world was limited to that village and the vast grazing terrain around it. How was I to know, that my horizon will soon be broadened and I’ll become a carrier of <i>Allah’s</i> message. Or that’s what they claimed. They, to whom my father sold me to buy some more cattle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was sent to a training camp in Azad Kashmir along with two other boys from my village and about a dozen from neighboring ones. It was literally, a crash course to manhood. From there, we were sent to another training camp in Punjab, a more sophisticated one. Finally, after an intensive training of one year, a team of fifteen was formed. Our mission was to reach the shores of Mumbai and recreate the horrors of 2008. However, this time, we were to wait, live amongst the people for some time and carry out the assigned task when called for. In short, we were to form a sleeper cell.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We reached Mumbai safely. It seemed the Indians had learnt nothing from the previous catastrophe. I along with couple of others moved to a <i>kholi</i> in Dharavi where we were to be harbored during our stay here. And within no time, thanks to the training we had obtained, we melted within this subaltern melting pot of Mumbai.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So now, you must be wondering, when are we planning the next 26/11? You’ll get your answers soon. <i>Picture abhi baki hai mere dost!!!</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>*</i></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wasn’t a <i>Khan</i> anymore, I became<i> Raj</i>. I had a tough time making a choice between <i>Rahul</i> and <i>Raj</i> but <i>DDLJ</i> made all the difference. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While, I was busy waiting for the final orders, I had no idea that here in India, I’ll also meet my <i>Simran</i>, my <i>P…P…P…Pooja</i>. And, yes that is the contingency that I had never accounted for.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I didn’t meet her on a train or a local, as they call it here, with my hand extended at the door as she came running on the platform. My life is <i>filmy</i> as I said, but not that <i>filmy</i> too. We crossed each other’s path for the first time while I was rushing to join the line outside the public lavatory one early morning. Not an ideal setting for the love at first sight but still <i>kuchh kuchh hota hai… tum nahin samjhoge.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I can’t claim that she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. On the contrary, her virtue was her simplicity, the indefinable thing about her that made her look so familiar. It felt as if I had known her all along. I bet, even you must have felt like this about someone at some point of time in your life. If not, then you have missed upon a feeling which has no match.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pooja stayed just a couple of lanes across and we started meeting in the evenings when I returned from the shop where I worked.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They had told us during our training that if we kept following His path, one day we will experience completeness – the completeness of conviction and purpose. With Pooja around, I could experience the same. It seemed as if she was the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle of my life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I used to wonder at nights that how could the passion for <i>Jihad</i> be more essential than this passion of souls? If it was so insignificant, then why did <i>Allah</i> allow such thoughts to enter our mind? Or was it the devil playing games on me? Should I leave her as she is the source behind all this inquisitiveness? How can I be with her when she is a kafir? But how could she be a kafir? Both of us seemed so alike. And what harm had she done to anyone?<br />
<br />
Such <i>jihad</i> within my mind kept me awakened for hours.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To ward off these thoughts, I started recollecting the verses from the Holy Book which were incessantly recited to us day and night during those days of training. The things started becoming clearer as such contemplating nights passed.<br />
<br />
<i></i>They used to say that He loves the one who does good, the pure, the righteous, the patient and persevering and also the one who takes up arms to fight in His cause.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But that made me wonder, where is the love for those who have sinned and erred? Where is the love for those who are not like us and don’t share our beliefs? Is their path not righteous just because they choose to follow a different path? <br />
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We humans too tend to love those who demonstrate good qualities and are obedient to us. Then what is the difference between Him and us, the mere mortals, if his love is also based on conditions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had achieved the <i>Jihad</i>. As <i>Shahrukh bhai</i> would have said, "<i>Pyaar zindagi ki tarah hota hai, Jiska har morr aasan nahi hota, Har raste per khushi nahi milti, Par jab hum zindagi ka saath nahin chorte, To hum pyaar karna kyon chorein!</i>" Other things were of no consequence to me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They wanted me to become a carrier of <i>Allah’s</i> message. And I decided to become one. So this morning, I gathered my belongings and left the <i>kholi</i> discreetly. I wanted to meet Pooja first but decided against it. I went straight to the police station to surrender and become the whistle blower. As it is, whistle blowing is the new fad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my voice, <i>Allah</i> won’t speak of <i>Jihad-e-Asghar</i>, the 'Lesser Jihad' of purifying the world with war and crusade. He shall speak only of <i>Jihad-e-Akbar</i>, the 'Greater Jihad' of cleansing ones soul with love and compassion. <i>Nasrun Minallahi Wa Fathun Qareeb!</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>*</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sitting here in this cell tonight and thinking about what all has transpired in all these days, I realize that wasn’t it a change itself that made me change my path? Yes, the change of heart nourished by someone’s love. And wasn’t it this change that changed the very message I set out to convey to the world? And wasn’t it this change which gave me the strength to ward off the fears of the eventuality of such a decision? </div><br />
Change, my friends, is indeed always for good.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><blockquote class=""><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Reflections for Reference</b></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><i>My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist</i> is the defining dialogue of Shahrukh Khan’s (SRK) <i>My name is Khan</i> (2010)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Picture abhi baki hai mere dost </i>is the famous line from SRK’s <i>Om Shanti Om</i> (2007) and it means, ‘The movie is still not over, my friend’.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Raj</i> is the name of the character played by SRK in <i>DDLJ</i>, the abbreviation for <i>Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayeinge</i> (1995) and <i>Simran</i> is his love interest.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Rahul</i> is the name of the character played by SRK in <i>Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai </i>(1998).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>P…P…P…Pooja</i> is a reference to SRK’s stuttering <i>K..K..K.. Kiran</i> in <i>Darr</i> (1993).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i>Kuchh kuchh hota hai… tum nahin samjhoge</i> is the romantic line from SRK’s <i>Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai</i> (1998) and colloquially it means, 'Something transpires in the heart... You won't understand'.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">'<i>Pyaar zindagi ki tarah hota hai...'</i> is SRK’s famous dialogue from <i>Mohabbatein</i> (2000) which means, 'Love is like life, whose every turn isn’t easy, there isn’t happiness on every path, but when we don’t let go of life, then how can we let go of love!'</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>Nasrun Minallahi Wa Fathun Qareeb</i> is an Arabic phrase meaning ‘With the help from </span><span class="Apple-style-span">Allah</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">, the success is near’ which was rendered by SRK in his movie <i>Chak De India</i> (2007).</span></i></li>
</ul></blockquote></div><b><br />
</b><br />
<b>In the Image:</b><br />
An edited poster of <i>Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayeinge</i> (1995)<br />
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<b>Image Courtesy:</b><br />
http://wallpapers-desktop-studio.blogspot.com/ (edited)</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote>The <b>fellow Blog-a-Tonics</b> who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective <b>posts</b> can be checked <a href="http://www.blogaton.in/2011/03/rules-and-reminder-for-blog-ton-18.html#comments"><b>here</b></a>. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following <b><a href="http://blogaton.in/">Blog-a-Ton</a></b>.</blockquote></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">If you liked/disliked the article, kindly visit my blog to comment.</div>Vipul Groverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759165630549569179noreply@blogger.com19