Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Rebel Mind


The Rebel Mind

I used to meditate, I stopped.
I used to do paath, I stopped.
I meditate sometimes but don't have the discipline to do it everyday.
I meditated , but now my schedule is too hectic; can't seem to make the time.
Which of the above line sounds familiar?
We all prepare ourselves to work, focus and concentrate on a job to reign in the mind which would rather make you do anything except work. Ask me , I've been playing hooky for the last ten days.Just became materialistic and started gauging everything in monetary terms . We all want to work and get instant results , just like the microwaved coffee . You know the instant coffee, which is coffee but lacks the punch.
I asked someone innocently , you know the normal question one asks , in the beginning of a conversation , " How are you doing?" and the person replied,' Do I really want to know the answer to the question honestly? ' In fact we all give a perfunctory answer and go ahead. You know ," Chalta hain".
We all do it . Every day , every waking moment many a times of the day and forget the centre of outlives. The fulcrum. We forget who we are and trade our happiness and peace for worldly things an ago ahead with life repeating the mantra ,' if only ' and what if'. 
Look back and think back how many times we forget who we are. We trade our peace and our identity for things  we believe to be more important. All of us go on searching for that temporary ,elusive thing which  keeps on eluding your grasp. We all feel empty and keep on sensing that something is missing. What happens is a chain reaction , we try to feed the emptiness. The need to fill the emptiness sparks us to do something and the quickest is to buy something to fill the void. And this goes on like the energizer battery.
The real question is what am I looking for? What will truly satisfy me? What will fill me so that I no longer feel empty? Will the new Hermes' bag or the bigger sized diamond make me happy? 
Well, I think the trick is to feed the emptiness or the void. Just let it be. Stay empty . Feel the emptiness . Don't be afraid. It's not going to swallow you . Enter it. Be one with it. Instead of letting that empty feeling drive you to buy or do transitory extra things and take you to the other side ; just feel the emptiness.
Once this happens you will go into this world and not be swayed by the toys but you will rather enjoy the toys. It all boils down really to the senses. It's these senses which jerk you around like a headless carriage. They tempt you sway you and suck you in for the journey.
Juat ask one question , " Do I need this? Can I live without it? Will this matter in the next month, the years down the road? An hour, no.
So why lose my equilibrium ? I know preaching sounds very lofty and Im sounding very high and mighty and pompous but trust me I'm trying to take the first step too.
Just been honest here.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Mobiles or Loos? CHOOSE babes


BREAKING NEWS:                      Jairam Ramesh says women want mobiles and not toilets....

This is an open letter ( Please read with a pinch of salt and gram masala , oh note to self though ..a pinch said due to rising price index and inflation )

a) Is the remark directed towards us that we just want to talk and gossip and that takes priority over a personal human requirement ?

b) He has reason to believe or has secret scientific knowledge based on a secret study funded by an undisclosed agency where it was found out that women prefer the open , airy , au natural  way to bathe and attend to their ablutions.
A sub-committee also has reported that using mobiles by women will increase the rays and that will eliminate the feces . In fact Google and Nasa have reported the colorful spotting of these weird fly-away objects and then two legs which are seen . Are they aliens or some national code?
c) We are a Kamasutra nation which likes bathing in the open , we have no inhibitions.
d) He is in cahoots with the departed soul of Raj Kapoor( my respects) thus wants to do a Madakani scene bathing under the gushing waterfall ( water which is a mere trickle now)

On a serious note what would you prefer , a toilet to bathe use , or a mobile to talk and then go to the Sulabh Sauchalya in the fields ?

Munni, Chameli , Santi , Banti 

Thursday, February 16, 2012

stupid cupid


As a child we all planned out our wedding day and a wonderful fairy tale love. People think to be happy they have to find their true love; their soul mate. We all want to find that one person that we can express our secrets to. Everyone wants someone to come home to. Blah Blah Blah! I have heard it all before, in fact I create all of those fairy tale endings. Yes, my name is Cupid and if it weren’t for me you wouldn’t even be here right now! If i hadn’t struck your parents with love you would have never even existed! No need to thank me though, it’s my job!
Picking the perfect couple and giving them their “happy ever after” has been my job for billions of years. You could say I am a professional. I was always meant to be the matchmaker. I found joy in making others happy, but one valentine’s morning I didn’t get the same satisfaction that I usually do. I got tangled up in making sure everyone had a significant someone for Valentine’s Day that I forgot about myself. I lounged around all day in my heart shaped home watching sappy movies and eating pink strawberry ice cream. I went outside to fly around to get some fresh air and all I could smell was red roses and dark chocolates from the couples below me. I sensed the love I created all around the world, although I couldn’t feel any in my heart. 
I decided it was time that the love master found his own partner. It couldn’t be that hard! I know exactly what women want: a sensitive man that cooks and surprises her with romantic flowers when she comes home. If anyone could find a girlfriend it would be me! 
I invited my best friend, Robby, over. You probably know him better as the Easter Bunny. We conversed over coffee and carrots. I revealed my plan to him about finding my true love. Robby informed me that in today’s advanced world people find their true love over the internet or on game shows on television. I asked him which one I should do. He told me game shows would be more affective and fun. He didn’t seem too serious about the situation at hand but I went along with it any ways.  And it was what he said , its just too difficult to find true love . Love in today's time is ransom to gifts, value in monetary terms and the size of the outlandish gift which will outweigh the other person.I realized with searching and looking gfor  my soul mate that it would just happen , I couldn't make it happen nor was it subject to reason . It didn't follow any dating guideline or tips via a web site which claimed that these 'x' steps would mean undying glove. Nor did using any perfume , aphrodisiac or otherwise made me lovable,  it however did give me a sever allergy reaction ! love is love , you can't rush it nor can you lay claims or demands .
That is why I have grown so much to love what I do. I never take it for granite anymore. I have now been awarded the honor of being Cupid eternally. My days are spent floating around shooting people with my love arrows giving people their love. So do not rush to find your one true love, or rush to get into that fairy tale life. I promise you I will shoot you with a love arrow one day and you will be perfectly happy! Thu s, I'll always be the stupid cupid looking for my love somewhere in the horizon .




punjab and its padhai


Punjab and its 'padhai'

The education scene can be described in one word, 'dismal'. In fact , it is a common sight in the villages which make up most of Punjab where teachers bask in the sun , knitting sweaters, drinking tea; that is if they are attending school. The situation has gone so bad that , keeping tuitions are kept by the simple illiterate folks as they cannot teach their own children. The going rate is Rs.200 , per subject and for English it's higher being Rs. 350/-. How and what is the level of education imparted where a daily farm laborer earns Rs 180/ per day ? 
Education emergency is a word which is correctly coined for the situation today in Punjab. The school systems defunct, and the nature of the teachers is not voluntary but now its job-oriented where they work for money . The duty starts in the morning ends at 2 pm. earlier in the 1960's teachers taught from the heart , they were respected , thought of as Guru's (  a person who dispels darkness) and they inculcated an all-round education . The dedication level was so high that children from villages came in the forefront and we had officers or  army officers; whereas deterioration is so high now ,that simple maths is rocket science for them

Satayajit Thind, from Ludhiana says,
"Even without the statistics, my experience in working with the manufacturing plants, companies, i have a lot of opportunity to interact with potential candidates for jobs. It has always been a wish that we employ local talent in Engg / Management jobs, but every time I interview a candidate from a rural back ground, it's such a pain to see, that they have practically no education. Unfortunately not even literate to frame a simple sentence . Education  is NIL. From understanding the basics of their subjects to writing a basic application asking for leave of absence candidates are found wanting. We have no choice but to recruit candidates from other states.

No, it would not be fair to blame any one government, the malaise is deeper and rot deadly. 

For example an institution like PAU is an institute gone absolutely bad.  I am an alumini of PAU but am sorry to say that am not so very proud of the state they are in. 

For PAU, I blame in-breeding in professors, teachers, in all faculty. We all know that nature abhors inbreeding. It leads to diseases which are genetically challenging. 

Compare this with some of the good practices followed by leading universities in the world, where they don"t allow you to take up a job as a professor immediately after completing your PhD. Do a head count as to how many PhD. in PAU got jobs in PAU after their degrees. 

So you have poor research , poor candidates and a status quo-ist approach. There is no one to challenge the thought process, no one to bring in fresh blood. 

I am not an educationist but I would offer the following plan to set up things right to set the system right.

1. Hire the best educationist, Professor, Eminent Personality and give him a salary which matches with the best in the world. ( No lets be professional and not get tied down by emotional quotient on this one. We want results)

2. Under this gentleman or lady, constitute a board or a body of eminent personalities in the field of education. ( Avoiding political patronage as much as possible) 

3. Give them full powers to over haul the system.

4. The moment you want to overhaul the system, the teachers brigade will strike. Be ready for it. 

5. One way to tackle or weed out the dead wood of teachers could be a board or examination to check their knowledge base. Only fit teachers be retained.

6. It must be mandatory for any teacher to teach in rural schools for half their career span. 

7. Absconding teachers from village schools can be tackled by the village panchayats. let the attendence registers be counter signed by the Panch members.

8. Termination in case teachers are found not attending school or if the mandatory village education tenures have been found subverted.

9. Provide a budget as if there is no tomorrow. 

10. All appointments to teachers should be merit based. Exams, interviews, and then counseling. Most teachers take to teaching as an easy job. It's not just a job it's a process of nation building. 

11. And the most important thing, the salaries of teachers, professors should be the highest across any government segment. More than the bureaucrats, or any other state department. 

12. Recognize them for their contribution and encourage them with good perks and the best talent will start to go towards teaching.

13. It's an urgent need. If we start today, we will see results after two decades. 

Its not exhaustive,,,,of course, we need action.

Education has been recognized as the single tool which brings forward a state. Punjab lags behind shamefully , we need to not go on paper reports , but on ground reality where if one goes to the village , children are painfully shy , cannot frame basic sentences and have little or nothing knowledge of science. This is because it is a paid profession , it has changed from the ethical voluntary and respected profession of yester yore. What has also made it worse is that the selection and promotion is now based majorily on Sifarish and 'pressure' from above. And if that is not enough the teachers resort to strike if their demands are not met . They end up holding the state to ransom . The teachers should be promoted via competent authority which consists of an independent set of highly competent individuals who are incorruptible. 
Previously , in the 60's a teacher would be paid roughly around rs30 but now the same teacher draws a salary of rs 18,000. Gurdev Kaur in the year 1960 , drew salary of rs 30 in Mithapur School , where as now the teacher draws a salary of Rs 20000, but the level of teaching has deteriorated absymally. The situation is so  bad that children in the primary school cannot do simple addition , subtraction orally. 
The nail in the coffin in the sector is that the teachers themselves are not competent. How will they impart education if they themselves are not educated in the art of education?  WE need teachers who have been selected on merit because the rural parent himself is by and large illiterate and is poor , he would rather have the child helping out and contributing to the house income than studying and be a burden. The parent himself is so scared to talk to 'Masterji ' that he cannot question on behalf of the child. This vicious circle can only be broken if we have empathetic teachers who are sensitive to the need of the child who is shy , not confident and has a host of problems . For him coming to school itself is a struggle and then to learn and combat the ABC's which do not offer him deliverance from the poverty and struggle  . It is important that we educate our teachers to be counsellors first and then teachers second as they will give us tomorrow.
Punjab needs an immediate complete overhaul so that we save our most precious resource the child who hungers for the basics which are his birthright and we are guilty of  mortgaging his future at the hands of corruption , a malaise which runs deep and is nightmarish. To recover it back and to put it back on track we have to follow the old proverb,'Give a man a fish , he will eat for a day , teach him how to fish and he will eat for a life time',Confucious.

What Punjabis , require is motivation for the child of today and tomorrow so that he may be independent , we need to give them subsidy or an easy way out , what is needed is to motivate the child in the right environment to stand up to meet the challenges of tomorrow and not be left behind .

Education and its Hullabaloo


Education and its Hullabaloo


It's the dreaded time again. What with the crazy depressing inclement weather , the uncertain political scenario , we have a constant which takes its dreaded toll again and again--- examinations. Why has life at this early age become so stressful, the strain showing  in the early onset of depression which is becoming fatal in severe cases? Children of today are ending their lives over academic and parental , societal pressures to perform well. The education imparted today is base on a curriculum that hasn't been revised in the last 20 years. A child under the Indian Education System studies for roughly 16 years ; so this means they have to be prepared for life by a school which is based on an extinct ancient dinosaur school curriculum. Just imagine, with technology and knowledge we can't even predict what will be the weather next day yet we expect our kids to graduate with the complete knowledge of the past, the present and a complete guide to the future keeping in mind a framework of excellence we set standards to compete for the ever shrinking job market.
On one hand we want our kids to take chances to be prepared to take risks and never give in but in the same breath we encourage inhibitions in them. We all want our kids to learn that stream which will automatically guarantee a secure future translate this into fat bucks. This is the reason that we have a concentration in the streams of medical, non-medical ! 
If one is not prepared to take risks and do wrong how will we come up with something original?
Every day the newspapers are dotted with reports where kids end their lives due to the fear of performing and meeting the expectations of parents. Yes, as parents in today's world it is hard to follow a creative decision ; because it can go both ways . Many parents side with the child and let him/ her follow his wish while the other half force their desire onto the child to follow a successful career. They live through the child , as psychiatrists point out. There is no absolute right or wrong in this case. In this meritocratic world, creativity is like a risky investment. 
Dreams of millions of children are left untapped , un fulfilled because of the fear that talent may not result in money and the cut-throat competition is so intense whereas an academic degree translates into the psyche of security forever. There  is a change slowly happening but the sordid side of over-exposure , loss of innocence, materialistic overtures also goes in hand.
Education is changing in the metros, bigger cities, towns but the heart of India , the villages remains the same. The smaller towns, villages still are ransom to the ideology that the child should just think with the waist up. The mushrooming of the 'tuition culture has exponentially grown.  All over the country , the coaching centers dictate the results. It's a catch-22 situation where the parents send their kids to these centers to learn by rote, compete and get a seat in the coveted institution and the kids come under pressure to perform and keep up with the rat race. 
This is however only applicable to the cities, bigger towns and the rural child is left out. 
  Yes, the system is at fault . We need solutions and a slow change which can be incorporated. Scraping of board exams are not the final solution , scenario remains the same. 
In reality, it is the unsavory factors surrounding the exams that need to be examined. 
We need regular , periodic , assessments , healthier learned environment, a better -teacher student ratio , sensitive teachers , increase in seats in college in proportion to rid win population, increase in technical colleges and regular monitoring.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Punjab ...


It does not need a Panthic agenda which invokes religion to save Punjab from ruin from a nationalistic party which has a supposedly hidden agenda against Punjab. Nor does it need a knight in yellow shining armor who has led the masses like the Pied Piper of Punjab leading them to an emotional see-saw. Nor does it need a party who will not keep the plight of the farmer foremost . 
Punjab is on a precipice , one side has a cliff and other a crevasse. One wrong step will end up pushing the state into a deep dark hole . The journey down has already started. MY state, Punjab was the cynosure of all eyes in the country and due to greed, avarice , wrong policies and planning it has spiraled down to a pitiful state where drug abuse and alcohol intake is the highest . The state of whose songs of bravery ,splendor and magnificence was sung has been reduced to a state of weak, spineless men who are committing one of the highest rates of crime on women and who have lost their edge on farming lagging far behind. The state also faces another shameful first ; primary education is a sham. Here, I might like to add that an upright officer did make a dint but due to wrong practices was transferred . We have fought , argued, put forward our cases , have successfully dragged down each others leaders ; bent he loudest in condemning them and leveling charges .What I have observed as an onlooker for the last month on the virtual world and in real life is that we are not ready to give quarter to the other person. We love brandishing( and who better than the Punjabis! ) each others mistakes and loudly claiming as having insider information from 'confirmed sources' about the other party . We love proclaiming as our leader as the tallest . 
My only plea is that we should put aside our common badges of narrowness , and putting labels on our leaders. We chose  them and lets live with that . Punjab needs to be saved from Punjabis . 
Why don't we understand that we gave power to the politicians, bureaucrats ? Duh! last time I looked we did live in a democracy.  We need to solve the problems we face rather than virtually writing statuses and checking into Face book whenever we get a chance. Yes, this is the medium for a revolution. But , till the groundwork isn't done by us , it going to fizzle away like an open can of Coke. 
It's all  about making a difference. Yes , the ground reality is different from what we perceive it sitting in our cushioned rooms;I need to get off my high horse and step away from the rose tinted glasses, but how many of you accept Punjab for what she is? Embrace her with her faults, rather than condemning and criticizing her as a failed state. Yes , we have problems aplenty, are deficit, bankrupt, depleting water resources, cancer scare / reality , failing agricultural scenario and a shrinking industry base , an unseen unheard epidemic where girls are aborted mercilessly but nobody said the ride was going to be easy.
I don't know who the Batman is going to be for this Gotham City all I know is that we still have the Josh to strike back .....

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Valentine Day -


what is important in life?

What is important in today's world? Getting a stuffed glitzy red teddy fuzzy over wrapped in paper streaming with ribbons and chocolates which declare undying love ( at least for the season) or the real love which doesn't need the hype of commercial materialistic declarations.
In today's day and age  woe beside the lover if he does not get his girlfriend the suitable gift declaring love and how much he cherishes her. The economy budgeted deal with the teddy , flowers , and the cheap box of chocolates is what makes waves on the internet , every shop is festooned with red ribbons and teddy bears and also everywhere there are fat cherubic angels which compel the youth to buy so as to measure up in the lover's eyes. If you truly loved your partner would you need to declare your love on one day ? Why have we become mortgaged to anniversaries or the hype involved in public declarations?
What is with the increase in PDA's? Here , I'm not talking about the latest handheld gizmos which are in everyone's hand ... a sanjeevani booti in their lives.
Public Display of Affection is the call of the day. Valentine Day is also not to be confused with the historical V-Day of yesteryears. It is a day where men and women go overboard in public display of affection and try and declare their  commercialized love via cards, chocolates and teddy bears and other cootchie-coo gifts. In fact , the hype is so much , that we have sites which serenade the love via special messages. Their is a crushlist.com also started by what else a smart IITian where one registers their crush and if you happen to find your crush on the specific list , well you hit pay dirt! India is definitely the land of 'jugaaad'. 
This day as according to Dr. Nirmal Dhallu a senior citizen was not present in their days. He says when he left India in the 60's this particular day had no meaning, no mention ever.  Natha Toor, says never had it in my life but he believes and writes in Punjabi," sada diwali saadh di, atha pahar basant'.   Valentine Day is  according to a majority of the people to be a creation of the multinationals who via intelligent subtle marketing bombarded the public into believing that love can only be expressed and be commemorated on a special day . Yes, there is a story but isn't love beyond words , and isn't everyday is a celeberation ? asks Surinder Dulai a business woman .
Dr. Preeti Purewal, a dentist categorically says it's an overrated day. These are sad,desperate attempts by business attract more customers by having the bizarrest items and by screaming love in RED hues. Super bowl finishes and the whole world gets sucked in by the love arrow of the fat miniature cupid . India is the latest victim. We love adopting anything and everything which is the passport to the western world , Harpreet Sandhu , a NRI from Canada , says anything imported to India is more valuable even if it is a word or a fake sentiment.
Valentine Day creates pressure on the youth of today to buy expensive gifts and declare their love , in this day and date where the change of friends is faster than the blink of an eye; the frequency is so high that it just creates a peer pressure. On an average every youngster will spend 1000RS on innocuous gifts . Harsimran Athwal , a dietician highlights an interesting fact, "India and festivities go hand in hand and it is inseparable. For an Indian psyche this is the perfect way to celebrate another day ! and anything which gets it closer to the western world is acceptable. This hangover still persists.
Pavittar Bhinder , a twenty something IT  professional has strong views,' Definitely over-rated, overhyped business of love. He says, what is wrong with the other 364 days  to express or one's feeling for someone-if they are real. However , India is an ideal place for Valentine day ; we have all the ingredients to make it more interesting-suppressed freedom of expression (desire) , social taboos and the indigenous Sena's to oppose it. Everything from a synthetic hero to villains required for a Bollywood movie.
So who is in your hindi pot-boiler? Someone who you change if he /she does not give you the requisite IT gift of the year or the undying janam -janam pyaar of the yesteryears....

Decide and do tell when you all are finished with lala land of love.
Ravneet  Sangha

Saturday, February 4, 2012

why have we become jaded with life?


When did we become so Jaded with life?

Jaded, we are says, Yoda.

And it is so true . Nothing in life fazes . We all are in the thirty something age bracket where whatever goes around us , leaves us untouched and it leaves us immune to anything and everything.When was the last time you all got affected by death, rape,molestation ,an aborted baby girl found in the dustbin?I am sure you skip the news article and go on to the media section where we would rather read why SRK likes Priyanka Chopra. In fact, even the righteous ones who read this have no answer.
Do we do anything ? No. The paper is read and cleanly folded precisely to adorn the fancy newspaper stand lying in one corner and then put away in the evening by the faithful maid. Life is meant for enjoying, to savor its every moment and to cherish this gift. But we have become so jaded not to be confused with the Chinese stone which is all precious and lucky for life. 
The resolutions so made every new year need to be implemented. We need to slow down in this insanity and have perspective of what is important and what are paramount . In fact life should not be a commercial but to have a longer attention span. We all need to go back to learn from our forefathers literally . Someone remarked the other day , that we all have this nonchalant jaded expression to be the sophisticate' , to shield ourselves from the hurts of life.
When did this transition happen? Why have you adopted a no-care attitude ? Does it mean that being cynical and jaded means we have lived life, seen-it all? Is this attitude been adopted because we have "lived"? Is cynicism essential to survive in this stupidly superficial society ? being jaded is the result of being insufficiently cynical.  
However , I feel that being jaded is worse because that person has then lost the will to live . He or she has no joy from the little simple pleasures of life.  A jaded person is one who has no will or means to change the present situation while a cynic keeps on moaning like a banshee but is constantly searching for the answers !

I hope that we don't get trapped in the fact that being cynical is the lowest form of humor but is the highest form of intelligence.
So what are you choosing ?