Changing face of India -Entrepreneurs at grass root level

Have you ever seen an ignited mind... Ignited with innovations, bursting with ideas. The spark in the eyes and the joy on the face is something beyond explanation. I witnessed it when my sis came in running full of energy to announce that they have a project to do. Their ideas, their effort. Funded by Deshpande Foundation these kids could give wings to their dreams and prove their credibility with results in 2 months. An organization dedicated to creating entrepreneurs at college levels.

I wouldn't have thought much of it had it not been for the fact that my sis hails from a small town in Karnataka. The foundations reach and wish to touch the rural and semi- urban students amazed me. We see a lot of organizations interested in cultivating new ideas with the help of younger generation but their reach almost always is limited to cities or big towns.

India has a young workforce and they are brimming with ideas. All they need is conviction and a conducive environment that can bring out the best in them.

The whole idea of forming groups and asking them to come up with various ideas is wonderful. They didn't expect the idea to generate revenue. They wanted it to bring about a change, however minimal it might be. The pilot project would get 2 months and if the idea was really good and the foundation believed in it then it would be promoted to a full scale partnership or organization.

This not only helped these kids to think out of the box, but it also made them aware of the surrounding infrastructure. It made them bold and mentored them to present their case with conviction. The salient points to be highlighted came around by way of intense discussion thus developing their inter-personnel skills.

The project gave them a lot more than what it expected. And most importantly it opened new avenues for a young enterprising India. Thumbs- up to Deshpande Foundation and their effort in bringing about a change in the country's youth and on a macro level creating self sustainable entrepreneurs with original ideas. You can reach them on http://www.deshpandefoundation.org/

Our bundle of joy :)

Our bundle of joy... One of her first pics after entering this world :)

She is keeping us on our toes for now..

Responsibility towards nature- something that we can learn from our ancestors

Have just started to read a book ' Indias Unending Journey' by Mark Tully. Among many other things that he discusses he also talks about Hinduism and its way of acknowledging nature.

It surely made me think. Most of our basic practices that were followed by our ancestors are now ignored or considered 'uncool' to follow. Yet it is those practices that have taught us to be humble and attribute some part of our existence to something beyond our control.

For instance, our ancestors never assumed nature to be just another resource available for consumption. They regarded it as a gift and believed it deserved respect and not irrational hording. They worshiped plants, animals even rivers and oceans. It was their way of acknowledging natures contribution in our existence and also a way of saying that these resources are precious, which need to be utilized ingeniously.

Now suddenly with issues of global warming coming to the fore, everybody seems to be giving their views and trying to device ways to conserve energy and resources. Yet we cant acknowledge the fact that in the name of modernization, we did commit a folly. While running the race of development we happily threw all the practices to the wind. It was suddenly uncool to follow those beliefs. Many even labelled it superstition. We conviniently forgot that there is a fine line between superstition & belief.

Accepting the presence of other factors in our success certainly does not attribute to superstition. Nor does it belittle our achievements if we respect the nature that is our only source to sustainance - something that we never created and might never be able to regenerate!

Elections - The great Indian Tamasha...

The elections in Bangalore are over and the speculations are rife about who would be the MP, who will get a landslide victory and who will loose their deposits!!

Nothing new you might say, however what is interesting is the low voter turnout even after much prodding done by the NGO's, non-political movements, political parties and the many other of similar types who had surfaced in the past few months; especially after the 26/11. The billion votes or the magical figures of 70-80 % turnout still seems to be a distant dream!

Is it that the prodding was not sufficient enough?

Is the so- called literate & thinking population of India grown immune to the governance of the country?

Or is it that the current state of affairs in the country has driven them to the depths of depression and any prodding about a better change is futile?

Come to think of it, election is nothing more than a colourful event for most of us. The political parties not too different from each other continue their brickbat without any remorse. The tax payers money is wasted in billions with petty or irresponsible irregularities while conducting the election process – most of them can be easily ironed out with better processes, however nobody seems to bother. Money, booze, irrational promises and irresponsible behaviour is at its peak during this time. And at the end of it a mere 50 % of the population votes, of which atleast 20 % have been paid to vote!

So practically 30% of the population exercises their franchise. And even if any political party wins with a 30% majority there is a clear possibility that only 15% of the population was in their favor. So who is responsible for these clowns at the center?

This time, the election process played the spoilsport. There was a possibility for change. The immune strata of our population had been jerked awake from their slumber and they had decided to act. Yet our cumbersome and age old election process ensured that the enthusiasm fizzled out or rather did not achieve its desired results.

The new enrolments never saw the light of the day. Many first time voters could not get their names registered as they were missing or the procedure was not completed. People with voter Id, suddenly found their names missing. Many even found that their names were enlisted in unrelated wards/booths making it impossible to trace on the election day. Address mistakes, spelling mistakes, wrong pincodes etc were most common. Yet the election commission went home congratulating each other of conducting yet another successful election.

However the common man still wonders – who is the king maker in this country? Why is it that my money is wasted in billions and I cant cry fowl? Why is it that after paying my due I cant expect better services/opportunities or even good governance? I really wish somebody can answer this!

Me back on the blogosphere…

This has been a long sabbatical. First it was the fact that there was nothing interesting, exciting happening in life that I could blog about. I know I can’t complain about this as my life is no sci-fi where things would suddenly change beyond imagination, yet come’ on I expected some flutter!

Then there was so much happening at such a fast pace that I hardly had time to catch up with life… forget about blogging it!

Well that’s me… when things happen they happen at lightening speed otherwise it seems like ages before I turn a new leaf! Not that today I have turned a new leaf or something, I guess finally I had all the ingredients right. (read time). So this is just a gibberish post about me being back. I am so happy about this fact alone that I can’t think of adding anything of value here. Hopefully now I will be more regular and logical in my postings...

I like to move it move it....

A lazy Sunday evening, well spent! Its bound to be a fun packed evening when you gang up with some of your close cousins have hearty laughs at all things stupid, top it up with stupendous amounts of pani-puri's and one of the best animated movies made ever... Madagascar - Escape to Africa!

Though this was like a long time ago, yet this movie brings back those fond memories and always leaves a smile on my face! This one's for Madagascar... I fall in love with it, every time I see it :)

Liberated and Free India… Is woman a part of it?

Is woman truly liberated? Is she truly free in a free India? The Mangalore pub incident left such haunting questions in my mind. After 60 years of independence, if some perpetrators can assault a girl in full public and media view and still get away do we still hold the right to call ourselves secular, liberal and a democratic country?

Democracy by definition means by the people, for the people and of the people and people includes women! Our constitution acknowledges freedom of speech, freedom of expression, right against exploitation among many more. These constitutional rights ideally should be applicable to the women in this country too; sadly, not many in this country consider it wise to know these details.

Who gave these self-proclaimed moral police the right to monitor and decide what’s good or bad for me – a woman? I have enough well-wishers on whom I can rely, while deciding what is best for me.

They hail the Hindu culture while justifying their acts; saying it does not allow pub culture. So do they mean that Hindu culture allows assaulting, hitting and abusing a woman? They call themselves Sri Rama Sene and don’t know the basics that Sri Ram never upheld disgracing a women let alone hitting her!

What I fail to understand and pity the most is the callous attitude of the government, police and the media. The media was invited to this mayhem and they did a great job by covering the whole thing religiously. After all they were witnessing the primetime news. It was going to be their first cut- breaking news.

But didn’t any of them consider the act audacious enough to inform the police immediately and get the culprits arrested on the crime scene? Well that wouldn’t have kicked up so much of dirt isn’t it? Or maybe getting the culprits arrested is not a part of their job description. Or maybe they realized if the culprits got arrested how would they be able to have special episodes for the next whole week. After all opinion polls, debates, exclusive interviews and stinging editorials wont hold any spark if the matter ended on the same day! TRP’s come only with burning issues – I should have known.

The police sleepwalked through the whole issue. Media was present there, yet police seemed to be the last one to know about it. With this apathy in their information and response system, I wonder how they would ever be able to nab any militants or curb any militant activities. Even now they have managed to arrest 27 out of 30 and have not been able to take any action against the top-brass of this Rama Sene. Politicians are busy mud slinging on each other. They are trying to rake in as much publicity as possible for themselves, how can we ever expect them to have the time to take any action!

Even today it is so easy and simple for a man to hit a woman, eve-tease her in public, rape her by just pulling her off the street, assault her, molest her and then just apologize and get away or use some loop-hole in the judicial system and continue to humiliate her for years to come. Do we have to wait for another revolution or beg these culprits to give us our rights? If any of this is a solution then I would never celebrate the birth of a girl. A life burdened with shackles and dictated by unknown bloodhounds is not much to celebrate about.

Something that I learnt today..

While waiting in a hospital today for a general checkup, a small girl of 7-8 years entered the corridor. She had a sweet smile and giggled at anything, just like a normal 7-8 year old girl would. On her way in, she acknowledged a nurse and had some small talk with the receptionist.

Her father, trying to catch up with her as she glided across the foyer, looked so happy playing her simple game. Everything was so normal and usual about her… except for the mask on her face.

She had a pale green mask on her face; as she entered the waiting room, she transformed into a mature girl who sat quietly in one of the empty chairs while her father fussed about her food. As a doctor passed, she jovially wished the doctor ‘Good morning madam… How have u been’. The doctor smiled back and they exchanged pleasantries. She looked so calm and serene, as the doctor said ‘Come let’s have your check-up done’ and took her to the Oncology department.

My heart ached to see her go in. Many thought crossed my mind. She is barely 8… she hardly even understands the gravity of the situation… It must have been so painful for her & her family. I do not know her, but unknowingly I said a silent prayer for her. The next minute I found cajoling myself to believe that she had been treated and is perfectly alright now.. she must be safe now… She must have just come for a post treatment checkup and everything must have returned to normalcy in her life… It must have been something really small…

I know she will be fine. Nowadays, cancer is not perceived as critically dangerous. Most of the patients can be and are treated everyday all over the world. If detected at an early stage, patients are cured fully and never have to bother about it ever again…

Yet, I don’t know why I felt like writing about her… A simple girl in a green uniform, who I will never know… yet who left a lasting impression on me. She taught me today, ‘everything can be overcome… its just the way you approach it that matters’!