Is it any different

The crash of the Metro Bridge in New Delhi is not even a shocker let alone a mishap.What are we talking about?A mere 6 people were killed and a few injured ,whats the neeed to make it into a media issue?The necessary things have been said and done.The chief of DMRC submitted a resignation (the man is 77 years old),the contractor denied the charges of negligence (this is the second time the contractor has had one of their bridges collapsing), people were thankful that this mishap did not take place during peak hours, the chief minister announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lacs to the kin of deceased and all of us have moved on to next days paper..
Are we thankful we were not killed?Ofcourse we are.Who asked those people to be at the site when the cracked pillars could no longer withstand the weight of the slab?This is the attitude of all of us.The only point to note is that the contractor gets paid by the taxes we pay.Is is not the least we can expect, that the government takes up responsibility,of the people who contribute to its maintenance?Is it any different from the last time?I guess not.
So all of us have to thank our stars whenever we use any brigde or a road in India.Atleast we are alive.Why does it have to be any different?Lets move on to tommorow's tragedy.

Inheritance of sorts

We are a nation which largely depends on inheritance rather than creating our own destiny.What else can we expect from a country whose social behaviour borders on others to decide things for us?We live off our so called glory of our forefathers,justify our cowardice guising it as tradition,have moral police from factions of politicians who believe in taking everything by force including women,burn brides as dowry is widely accepted as a birthright,have so called intellectuals taking media space for publicity and not turning up when its time to vote....
Largely most of our actions border on apathy as we believe someone else will tell us what to do or we just follow whats probably the easy way out;And ofcourse we have an attitude "If its not affecting me directly,how the heck does it matter?" So we keep our houses clean and throw the garbage at the neighbours doorstep..The garbage which has piled on has started raising a stink now.

We allow gangsters to flee the country,allow defence for a terrorist instead of immediate trial drag it on for six months Yawn!,allow ministers to sell parts of our nation,prostitute our defence department for a couple of million dollars with our far off friends "The Italians" and kill off the guys who are really wanting to do good to the nation.. All of our neighbours Pakistan(with whom we were never neighbourly),Srilanka, China,Burma are wanting to give us the garbage with interest and we being Indians would probably take all of that back.Under the guise of international peace and brotherhood.Truly Jai ho to India

Mark the middle finger

India is supposedly casting its vote.Mumbai which is the commercial metropolis of India cast its ballot yesterday.Elections in India maynot be as exciting as US of A but is by itself quite a thing to reckon due to the sheer magnitude of the population in the country.There were conscious efforts by various corporates,social organizations,media organizations and of course the contestants inciting people to move their butts and go to the polling booth to stick their middle finger out.Tons of advertising campaigns and supposed excitement of the educated class fell naught as only 46% of the population turned out to cast their votes.General apathy and apparently lack of worthy candidates compounded by a long fourday break contributed in the 46% turnout.But majorly at polling booths was the story of the "voters name" missing from the list.If only instead of asking people to vote if some corporates had initiated a recce on compiling the list in some adopted areas,some of the voters who exercise their fundamental right with pride would have compensated for the general apathy.Maybe this is something we need to look into.Currently it is as if we are shaming the nation by not sticking "out" the middle fingle but sticking it "up" .

Youth can make a difference

Todays newspapers are full of the declaration of assests of the contestants for the upcoming polls.Not really surprising to know that politicians are declaring assets to an extent of crores of rupees.No wonder they dont mind doling out these "Rupees" to the large majoresse of below poverty line applicants,with their grubby hands and plastics smiles.They also are very unabashed about their generosity and pose away for the news hungry cameras.The electronic media is quite camera trigger happy by making "Sensational" or "Breaking" news of these acts.They make it appear that they are covering something which they have just stumbled upon or have they?Is this the new face of an PR exercise?
Vote banks have always been an area of concern for the poll contestants.It is generally assumed that one contests not to lose the deposit but to win.However in politics there are many reasons for a politician to contest.Dividing the vote bank,creating inter-party rivalry and many other unfathomable reasons...However this year it is heartening to know that many people from the corporate world,youngsters and people from public walks of life are choosing to participate in the contestant space.This alternate choice of career may as well be a boon in disguise to save this country.
What is most heartening is the role of the youth forums that are actively spreading the propoganda of participation in the electoral process.They also are acting as change agents by poking people to participate,quitting lucrative careers and choosing to teach,saving the environment,working with the economically challenged and spreading the message that future is indeed in their hands..Kudos to the adage "youth can make a difference".I believe it can.

Cheers for making a choice

The current scene in India is largely hued in colors of politics.What are exactly the colors of politics?Dirty grey?Lobbying dull midnight blues? or the purchasing power of Green?India has come a long way indeed.There was a time when a poor villager would be enticed ,prodded ,initiated to cast the vote.There were only two major parties and the simple illiterate person would cast their ballot on pure feel good factor to either of the two parties which made them feel wanted.
Today there are king makers and queen breakers.There are parties and parties.Political gimmicks from gifting free color TV's to distributing cash to getting favorite filmstars to be allowed to be gazed upon have left the rural voter much more wiser.They negotiate on who gives the most rather than who deserves the best,for their precious vote.
Also since a large population have migrated to towns,the educated have a say in voting a party to power.But as all upwardly mobile people,the townies are being urged to exercise
Section 49-O and not vote for anybody,waste their vote because all candidates undeserving.This is the pseudo educated snobbery at its best.When in a country of 1 billion people the victor is determined by a margin of 25000 votes,it speaks volumes of our involvement of choosing the leader to run the nation.Then for the term of the next 5 years one cribs,laments and vents frustrations on people who have been inadvertently chosen by wasting the right of vote.
It is indeed a difficult choice to choose dirty grey,dull midnight blue or greedy green.But when your color palate has only these colors is it not better to go with one of the three options,instead of allowing them to mix...If we allow that to happen then future will definitely be murky black

Can we in India do something for ourselves

The way the global economic slowdown is leading to job losses,is like a cancer.We all are aware it exists and is deathly,but we live life hoping we will be the lucky ones who would never ever be affected by it.The moment it does strike any of us ,we live on the brink of self pity and blind hope.As we all know the cure is action.

How does one act in an adverse job market scenario to cure oneself out of this state?The idea that does come to ones mind is to treat it as a temporary retirement or sabbatical.Our generation largely uses these phrases "I would like to retire at 40" or "I need a break /Sabbatical".How savvy it sounds.But when the pink slip is doled out it suddenly becomes an issue.We lose morale,cry foul and of course "why me?"

For starters the government needs to understand that the situation is real and just because elections are around doesnt mean it can shut its eye to ground realities.Lets look at the US for instance.The beauty of that country is that they are bang on in accepting the truth.They follow the philosophy when the going is good its great,but when the going is bad,we are sorry but this is what it is.

In India we issue statements like how certain sectors are hiring,how economy is slowly turning around,not such a bad scene after all etc.etc.Whom are we fooling?Since we cannot crib about the government which we ourselves vote (or dont vote) into place and which cant even get the budget right without having to add sops to get a favorable vote bank,lets look inward.Can we do something about ourselves as a part of the unemployed majority right now?

Two things come to mind 1) Seek inspiration from the truly retired.They find things to occupy themselves inspite of old age.Why cant we? Remuneration or monetization can be tackled later.Its the spirit which has to change to a can do. 2) Alternate careers,hobbies personal interests can be developed to create business models.This can work largely through self help groups.Start networking with family,friends and the net at large.No investments,great platform for friendships and definitely possiblities for commerce.
mail me on mahalakshmi@jobspro.co.in