Unsocial social beings!

We the Homo sapiens call ourselves social beings. Don't we? Or at least that is what has been told to us right from the beginning of our social journey.

But, as I get to meet more people, I seem to get alienated from this idea of us being "social"; Actually, we are quite the opposite, I'd say. Few of my personal observations could substantiate this accusation of mine, if you are unconvinced.

Firstly, the infamous lack of eye-contact.
Now, we needn't deny this fact. I have traveled a lot (for my age) within India, meeting hundreds of people (mainly students) and there has been seldom good eye-contact with a voluntary greeting, or an acknowledgement to my greeting. Most of the times, it is only after I have given my talk, or been on stage is when people seem to interact, and that is because they know me. As a stranger, they want me to be a stranger. This is very disappointing!

Secondly, the lack of will, or motive, or incentive , or I don't know what else could be the primary cause for the reluctance; The reluctance which prevents people from coming together and gathering for a social event. In case, there is a celebrity in the proximity, or some notoriety happening, people throng, but for their own cause, or for some genuine social cause, it has been very few who have had the humane aspect in them. This again, is a conclusion from the various social events I have organized and have been part of. Further disappointment!

Adding to this is the apathy we have towards fellow beings. With this, and more such anti-social animosity filled within us, I totally deny the concept of us being Social beings!

A paradigm shift about mutual perception is what the society requires, not just a superficially modified etiquette.

Encore for the Blogger fiesta?

Blogger Fiesta yesterday, wasn't the best of the executions, I agree. But still, it was fun to have met up and the proceedings of the event made it all the more memorable.

To start with , the famous CCD on MG Road, which I had visited even before a couple of months was gone! Imagine the shock I was faced with... To add to this confusion, not everyone who was meeting up had given their contact numbers. The ones I had I could redirect them to a different place.

But, still we started wondering what if the others come to this place? How do we reach them?

Idea was to hold a placard ( like in the Airports!), asking if people were some of the interested ones. In this process we also met some new friends . After waiting for sometime and grabbing some public attention, the ones who had gathered alone met up at a different venue and have proposed to conduct a more organized Meet Up soon.

The idea of having a community of bloggers, who can cooperate and contribute efforts on a channelized manner is also being floated. Let us see, how far we get with this.

Decentralization and Redistribution

Decentralize and redistribute:
This should form the slogan; a slogan representing the need of the hour. The need being, a revolution which would enable the dis-empowered individual, while redistributing the concentrated powers from monopolies. Individuals as entities are losing the little bit of foothold and control over their lives, and are more so becoming functions of the elaborate plays by few corporations surrounding them.

Every field invaded by humans has now transformed into existences of monopolies alone, comprising of few individuals who are effortlessly,facilitated by the system, controlling and manipulating the rest of the population . A grim situation projecting a bleak future...

It has been well proven that, the salvation for the community from the clutches of this exploitative system would come only by "Elaborate Decentralization for uniform Redistribution".

Models like the Free Software Movement, where the individuals and the togetherness play important roles in producing quality work, generating alternatives to the monopoly products in the society are to be emulated on wider scales, with necessary modifications applied to the different fields of application.
This empowers the individuals, and adds the community spirit: A holistic feeling, instead of the ever increasing antagonism between the lucky few and the not-so-lucky rest of us.

Another, important alternate means manifested in today's world is empowering individuals in the media and information domains. Wikipedia, Open libraries and blogging have increased the unbiased spread of information in an almost ideal manner, without getting constrained by influences of any other aristocracy or bureaucracy.

Blogging, particularly has increased the disemination of personal opinions, and formulation of unbiased community opinions so that people can still make themselves heard in the deafening chaos of the paid news and media frenzy.

We need to tackle all aspects of the monopolized perils in the society. Individuals having their role to play in the formulation of the community facet is the need of the hour. If things are left with the monopolies and the certain elite, it is going to worsen and the individual as such is going to remain the silent puppet in the hands of the system, while the system is busy exploiting us.

Decentralize and redistribute!

Applying a comprehensive approach with elaborate planning and meticulous execution, with the above principle as the motive behind is what is required for the genuine betterment of the things all around us.
A little freudcheying on these lines will help for sure....

Oblivious to growing up?

We all have ideas about us being grown-ups. Not many times we can remember well as to what we wanted to become, like in my case, as in the case of many of you.

I am not exactly talking about the profession each of us wanted to grow into, but about the way we would go on to be percieved in the society by the virtue of our personalities. This, I bet has been non-convergent to most of us, for, the immense possibilities which we were unaware of while younger have surfaced subsequently, and we have endorsed a lot of many of them in the due course of our growth until today.

Okay, why am i suddenly getting all retrospective and nostaligic?

That's because, recently I happened to have a serendipitious encounter with a bunch of my old mates on a social networking site and also happened to meet one of the recent old mates. On the realms of such encounters, you suddenly seem to see the reflections of your past in them, which you have grown over. A hint of my older being, when seen through them is surprising, for I seem to have forgotten some bit of me and it is nice to witness the growth, or as I call Evolution through the frozen perceptions of others.

Now, I begin to wonder, if things will be the same with respect to my today's being in about a decade. Will I have the same oblivion about today then? May be or may not be.

The best thing of life is the beauty of the present, while the grandeur of the unseen future is beckoning at us, with sweet past memories in the background. And when you are able to relate to all the three phases of time with a personality which hasn't stopped getting better, there's nothing more to the being of being what we are!

Varying perceptions...

Well, it might sound like an oxymoron, when i use the phrase "Varying Perceptions". For, perceptions are meant to vary. With changing circumstances, the only trait of ours which helps us to cope up with the change is to modulate our perceptions, conditioned by the circumstances, so that it eases the blending of our expectations from the change.

For instance, sometimes, the way we percieve people undergoes a metamorphosis, almost in a spontaneous manner, by the virtue of realizing something special out of them, attributable to the set of circumstances both the individuals are in.
Simply put, a subtlety becomes accentuated; Unsaid is said.

This has been the case with a few close people around me. I seem to have seen them grow into me, within me. A revelation of sorts happens at some particular instant of time, when each of those seem to gain an increased importance. The only sensation left behind is that of having gotten more special.

Time and timing play important roles in this game of varying perceptions; We see what we see now, only becuase we saw it in manners differently when we saw it before.

Confused Volvo!

Date of occurrence: 09/08/2010

It's early morning, and we are entering the borders of Bengaluru in a KSRTC inter-city bus ( B'luru - Pune) after the two-day Debian Conference.

Well, i wake up just then, when the sun starts hitting me through the tinted glass, and my uncomfortable back was seeking some relief after about 13 hours of journey. And I realize we are in the proximities of B'luru, and in another 40 minutes we would reach the city.

Just then I observe something strange: When almost all the vehicles were taking the service road at a particular junction, the genius of our bus driver and a couple of other four-wheelers, took an under-construction Express Highway, which seemed to be complete till the horizon. Given that, the driver drove 750 km, navigating three states, up and down the Western Ghats, I presumed he knew better than the rest of the traffic who obliged to the signboards and did not take this path.

It was nice to see that because of the smart move of our driver, we were cruising on the new express highway, going up and down on at least three elevated sections for about 4 km, while the traffic seemed clogged up in the service road adjacent to us. But, this joy of being smart was short-lived.

For, at the end of it, we see huge barricades, cranes and other heavy machinery parked in the yet-to-become road appearing in front of us. The few vehicles in front of us, took a small curve through an open section in the divider and reached the service road. Those were four wheelers, which were one-third the length and less than half of our bus.

We were all hoping that the driver had maneuvered this before, but when we came real close to that gut on the road, no moron would have thought it would be doable. So, did our driver; Although he tried to do a little bit of left-and right- twist and shake- up and down- front and back- but, with no respite.

Even when the bus was diagonal on the road, it would stretch between the extremities of the road. When he had to succumb to his naivety (I'm being euphemistic;) , he rode back the bus full distance backwards, in reverse gear, down and up the elevated sections of the road. He must have come about 3 km backwards, then he finds more space and makes a 180 degree turn and we head backwards, from being back backwards...

An amusing experience, ultimately, but it could have gone wrong at some places. Nevertheless, I bet the ones who were plying to B'luru for the first time would relish this experience forever, like the rest of us would do as well...

And I can't deny this fact though: It happens only in India ;)

Mustaffaa mustaffa...

Like you all know, I do not indulge in specific days for celebrating specific emotions ( love or friendship!). But, I have decided to commemorate my perception of friendship today, by dedicating this post to one of my closest (of the very few) buddies - vikku.

Sometimes, we meet people who are so not like what they would go on to be; Be it in their appearance, or in their influence on us. This pal of mine was one such weird creature( during our first encounter) - well built and long hair; He was soft spoken, which still didn't help me  from getting intimidated.

Then there was the revelation of him being a descendant from the brains of IISc; The plot thickens, now you got to be intimidated by his intellectual abilities too. I get hold of his resume then, and I see geeky projects put up in it, which testify my awe. We are until then just hi-bye pals.

Then suddenly, out of the blues, he comes asking me to be part of some student satellite making project ( I'm like what?), and I hopped on, and there starts the journey of these dosts.

Ever since we started working on the Student-Satellite project as teammates in the same sub-system, we started growing as the friends we are today. This is one other good thing, being part of the project has given me.

Our ideologies have been I should say, 'Vertically Opposite', but still the rapport between us goes parallel; Admiration mutual, and the zero ego, makes being friends with you one of the nicest things in life.

I know you are just going abroad for studies, and with the voice and video chats we won't feel distanced, but still venting out my perception about friendship, keeping you in the epicenter makes it special and appropriate da :)

PS: The record of watching bad tamil movies ( Naan Kadavul, Kandasaamy and Aayirathil Oruvan) has to broken when you are back da;)

ಅಭಿಮಾನವಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಇದು ಅಗತ್ಯ

ಆತ್ಮೀಯ ಓದುಗರೇ,

ಸುಮಾರು ಮೂರು ತಿಂಗಳುಗಳಿಂದ ನನ್ನ ಬ್ಲಾಗಿನ ಓದುಗರ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ಗಮಿನಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಆಗ ಒಂದು ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯಕರ  ವಿಷಯವೊಂದು ಗಮನಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದಿತು: ನನ್ನ ಬ್ಲಾಗಿನ ಲೇಖನಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಅತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಒದಲಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ಲೇಖನಗಳು , ನಾನು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದಿರುವವು. ಇದು ಬಹಳ ಸಂತೋಷದ ವಿಷಯ , ಹೌದು.

ಆದರೆ ನಾನು ಬರೆದಿರುವ ೩೦೦ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಲೇಖನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಕೇವಲ ನಾಲ್ಕಯ್ದು ಮಾತ್ರ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿರುವುದರಿಂದ , ಇನ್ನು ಮುಂದೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕನ್ನಡ ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಬರೆಯುವುದಾಗಿ ನಿಶ್ಚಯಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ.

ಹಾಗೆಯೇ, ನನ್ನ ಗೆಳೆಯರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಕುತೂಹಲವೂ ಮೂಡುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಅದನ್ನು ಕುರಿತು ಕೆಲವರು ಕೇಳಿಯೂಬಿಟ್ಟರು.
ನನ್ನ ಮಾತೃಭಾಷೆ ತಮಿಳಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ, ನನಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಇರುವ ಆಸಕ್ತಿಯ ಹೇಗೆ, ಎಂಬುದು?
 ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಹಜವಾದ ಒಂದು ಸರಳ ಉತ್ತರವಿದೆ.
ಸಹಜ ಏಕೆಂದರೆ, ನಾನು ಕನ್ನಡವನ್ನು ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಯಾಗಿ ಶಾಲೆಯಿಂದ ಕಾಲೇಜಿನವರೆಗೂ ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ನನ್ನಂತೆಯೇ ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಕನ್ನಡವನ್ನು ಓದಿದ್ದರೂ, ಏಕೋ ಅದನ್ನು ಮರೆತವರಂತೆ ವರ್ತಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.

ಈ ಟೀಕೆಯ ಮಾತನ್ನು ನಾನು, ಉಪಯೋಗಕ್ಕೂ ಮೀರಿ ಆಂಗ್ಲವನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವ ಎಲ್ಲರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ.

ಆಂಗ್ಲ ಭಾಷೆಯು ನಮಗೆ ಹೊರ ಜಗತ್ತನ್ನು ನೋಡಲು ಸಹಾಯಮಾಡುವ ಒಂದು ಕನ್ನಡಕವೇ ಹೊರತು, ನಮ್ಮ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳಲ್ಲ. ನಮ್ಮ ಕಲೆ, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ, ಪರಂಪರೆ, ಕಲಾಚಾರ ಹಾಗು ಜನರನ್ನು ಅರಿತುಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬಳಸಲಾಗುವ ಅತ್ಯಮೂಲ್ಯ ಸಲಕರಣೆಯಾದ  ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಭಾಷೆಯೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು. ಈ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲದಾಗಿಸಿ, ನಾವು ಯಾವುದೇ ಕನ್ನಡಕವನ್ನು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡರೂ ನಮ್ಮ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಗೆ ಕಾಣುವುದು ಮಂದವಾದ ಬಿಸಿಲು ಕುದುರೆಯೇ ಹೊರತು ನಿಜಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲ.

ಇತ್ತೀಚಿನ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದಲ್ಲಿ, ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಭಾಷೆಗಳೂ ಕಷ್ಟವಾದ ಒಂದು ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಲುಕಿಕೊಂಡಿವೆ ಎಂದು ಪರಿಗಣಿಸಬಹುದು. ವಯಕ್ತಿಕವಾಗಿ ಹೊರಭಾಷೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಲಿಯುವುದು ತಪ್ಪೇ ಅಲ್ಲ;  ಆದರೆ, ಸಾಮೂಹಿಕವಾಗಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾಷೆಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷಿಸುವುದು, ಸಾವಿರಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ಬೆಳೆದು ಬಂದ ನಮ್ಮ ಕಲಾಚಾರಕ್ಕೆ ನಾವು ಮಾಡುವ ದ್ರೋಹವೆಂದೇ ಹೇಳಬಹುದು.

ನಾವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ನಮ್ಮ ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಭಾಷೆಗಳನ್ನು ಈ ಗಣಕ ಯುಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಬಳಸಿ, ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ಕಾಪಾಡಬೇಕು. ಇಲ್ಲವೆಂದರೆ, ನಾನು ನನ್ನ ಹಿಂದಿನಿ ಲೇಖನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿರುವಂತೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾಷೆಗಳೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದಂತೆ ಸ್ಮಾರಕ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಪಡೆಯವುದು ಖಚಿತ.

In-dependence !

I sincerely wanted to post something positive for India's 64th Independence Day, but, things all around, for so long, without yielding any respite, compelled me to criticize and bring out some important aspects, which I feel have gone wrong with India and us ( now don't read 'us' as US, they aren't yet us !).

As you would have already noticed, this post, I call it "In-Dependence".

Being honest, let us question ourselves,as to what is the significance of celebrating Independence Day every year?

I don't think it is only commemorative in nature; If it is, it shouldn't be. We need to use every 15th August to gauge the proportion of growth India has undergone all these years, and the degree of India's independence in today's world.
I believe we are more enslaved today, although in a subtle manner, but with heavier helplessness.

In the name of Globalization, we seem to have voluntarily offered opportunities to colonize ourselves, in return for increased dependency.

Dependence between entities, be it, individuals or countries must be symbiotic ( mutually beneficial), and  not parasitic (unidirectionally exploitative). On the same lines, India has been the market for all the major brands of major countries, for ages, and nothing except the IT from here makes it's presence felt in rest of the world. This is what is my, and many other Indians' apprehension. The state of India being in-dependence, and in a unidirectional way.

And, the international image in the contemporary world media of India is all wrong (Poverty? Population? Corruption? Computer geeks? Bollywood?)
I would not worry if it were just an image miraged by the media; The problem is even we seem to have started making such an India, and living in it.

Blaming the Government and policies can go on forever, another important blame game should be with the object in the mirror. Every Indian has a role to play, in which we have failed miserably.

Complacence for the wrong reasons: We seem to have got adjusted with an India which would even in ideal conditions be imperfect . We don't seem to bother much about 'the Individual and the Individual in the Community' interaction anymore.

Irrelevant pride: We are not proud of our culture, linguistics, art, tradition and heritage, or most of our talents. Anything, from the West is treated as something primarily superior than ours. We take pride in showing ourselves down!

Emulation of the other guy: We don't stop at comparing ourselves with others, we emulate them, in a nonsensical way, which is absurd for our conditions.

Impulsive patriotism and inconsistent nationalism: We feel united only in times of calamity, or when we absorb a terror attack. I fail to fathom as to where these traits vanish from us, under normal circumstances.

Independent ? 
No, not at all. We are the manufactured modern slave army, like the Uruk-Hai of Saruman's army in the Lord of The Ring, and we wouldn't know what's happening to us, for we cannot relate to the big bad picture we are in!

Every Independence Day, as I have grown to see India, has made me sadder and sadder.

Blogger Fiesta Meetup in Bangalore

Hi,
Bloggers and aspiring bloggers.

Blogger's birthday is being celebrated world across, in different cities by the bloggers. It'll be invigorating to meet more bloggers in person. Also, it is an opportunity for us to network together and use our skills to accomplish something relevant in today's "paid news and media" world, which feeds only fabricated stories.

In Bangalore too, there will be a Blogger Fiesta Meetup. As if for now, I've scheduled it to the 29th,Sunday, August 2010. Being a Sunday, I hope the ones who want to come, can make it.

The place and agenda for the meetup is yet to be decided. Let us not just meetup to celebrate Blogger's 11th birthday. On such an occasion we should be able to do more than that.

Confirm your participation by visiting the Meetup page on the side bar of my blog. Post your suggestions for the venue and agenda.

Let the people behind the words come together, to show the power of  "Alternate Media" like blogging :)

The Travel Teacher...

Historically, Travels have been rightfully attributed to have imparted great experiences, which culminated into life changing enlightenments to people who have looked for something beyond their usual routine.

Gautam Buddha, Swami Vivekananda,Gandhiji, Che Guevara, and numerous other mavericks who have arisen in the world have been uncovered by the process of their voyages, and the mind boggling experiences each of them had had during their journeys.

Journeys of the few common people on the roads less traveled have made them great, and more importantly given the world some indispensable role models applicable at various strata of the society.

The Voyage beckoning...

During my latest trip to Pune, the first thing which flashed in my mind after looking at the tall and lush greenery was : "I should be on the top of that green mountain, at least for a week with no contact with the rest of you, with just me and me", like in the movie "Into the Wild". It is so natural to have such a feeling,and I might soon enter such a hibernation just to reclaim the lost self in me... Not to be confused with me as being a recluse, or a hermit, but just an aesthetic.

This inherent character of travels, which beckons at each of us, to instigate such a process of introspection happens to everyone, but the ones who take up this call wisely are the ones who benefit the most from it, and are the best students of the teacher called "Travel".

Mini Debian Conference, Pune, Day-2

After the first day of enthusiastic activities like talks and hands on workshops, the momentum had been set for the second day of the MiniDebConf. The proof for it was the missing students in the Seminar Hall, who were all busy in the lab since morning trying out packaging and other technical skills.

Although, the intervention was made by us, moving the talks scheduled for the day to the lab.

The first talk for the day was highly important, which was about Free Software in Education: The scope and necessity for usage of Free Software (Technology in a broader scale) in the education system.

Mr. Vikram Vincent accentuated on the need for using more technology in the Indian Education system quoting anecdotes from mythology like the Ekalvya, Akshaya Patra and the 'Five loaves of bread and two fishes' from The Bible. This entire talk was very necessary to add a social paradigm to the contributer mindset of the participants; It was well recieved by the audience.

I, then touched upon the lack of a structured mechanism to fill, what i called The PPP (Propagation, Percolation and Perpetuation) deficit with respect to the spread and usage of Free Software in a polarized country like India. This was again discussed well, with active participation from the participants.

The rapport between Debian and derivatives like BOSS was debated, and it was conveyed to CDAC that contributing their changes upstream was essential to be part of the movement. This has been a long standing issue about the lack of upstream contribution by CDAC in terms of changes and packages.

After a lunch break, filled with charged up interactions with the participants who were keen on involving themselves with the movement at different levels took some well needed mentoring from the organizers and guests. The much needed non-technical, i.e., socio-political flavor of the Free Software Movement as a whole was imparted during this interaction.

Post lunch, there has been another hands on session targeting the packaging going on now, while the technical head gear has been worn by all of us.

Ultimately, like the previous major events of Free Software, lot of energy and synergy has been churned out during the conference, making it a great experience all of us.

MiniDebConf, Pune, Day-1

The National Conference on Debian, for budding developers and Free Software enthusiasts is going on in the College of Engineering, Pune.

Free Software Movement-Karnataka (FSMK) is being represented in the conference by my mentor Mr.Vikram Vincent and myself. Like FSMK, there has been active participation by other regional groups and Free Software groups in the conference apart from the good turn out by students. Also, CDAC has been participating in the conference propagating their version of the Debian derivative "BOSS" ( Bharat Operating System Solutions).

On the first day of the conference, there were numerous talks. The conference started off with talk by a CDAC official, followed by an Introduction to Debian, both general and technical queries were handled during this elaborate session.

The prominent issue of Internationalization and Localization was handled by Mr. Kartik Mistry and Mr.Vikram Vincent, emphasizing on the necessity for their i18n and l10n projects. A brief overview of the process of getting involved in these processes was introduced.

With the motive of instigating students to start contributing to the Debian Package development and maintenance,the next session concentrated on hands on sessions of reporting bugs systematically and getting packages upstream and downstream for development. This hands on session consumed the rest of the day, which I believe the students seem involved in after some initial glitches.

Off line discussions with students and other Free Software enthusiasts has been very educative and motivating.

Personally, I too have made up my mind to maintain certain packages...

If you are willing to please visit http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp

Tall Wall of Shames!

Scandals and corruption have become so common these days, that there is little of remorse or guilt in the vandals involved in these embezzlements. A project undertaken and executed in an honest manner, has ironically become a rarity, and seems like an abnormality. Malicious money making has become the only goal riding on the wicked minds of these leeches (this comparison is a disgrace to the leeches I believe!), who easily suck out people's money, to fill their bottomless greed basket.

With so much corruption in the system, it has almost become impossible to see a single clean project being implemented. Politicians, officials and all the people associated with a project seem to claim stakes in the funds of the project, as if it is their right!

When the legal system is as weak and disoriented as in India, there is not much prevention that can be done, to curb such atrocious actions by these avaricious and selfish syndicate of goons!

There is no point mentioning only the headline making scandals like the BMIC, mining scandals in Karnataka, or the 2G spectrum row, or the shameful Common Wealth Games' infrastructure mishandling; for, almost every large scale project being undertaken here is either inferior than the supposed quality, or is costlier, or both. The lethargic approach towards projects of such import is another addendum to this perverse saga of fiascoes.

It is a matter of utmost shame, embarrassment and anguish for each and every responsible citizen of India, to have to bear with this amount of open corruption. Adding to this deep anguish is the manipulative media, who change course of the volatile public opinion as required by them, in a manner guided by the culprits themselves (where are the breaking news or exclusive reports  about fresh scandals like 2G/IPL rows now!).
But, nothing can hurt more than the failing legal system, which repeatedly flops in its actions, again succumbing to the influence of power.

Living in such a bleak and grim situation, there is little hope for an individual to fight for his/her rights.

Position and/or responsibility

Every individual acts according to his/her relative status in the society. By which, I intend to bring out the integral interdependence between an individual's actions and the role he/she is performing in the society.

For example, I have had to inculcate certain extra traits in myself, which were demanded of me, because I am perceived to be 'Me' in the world. This is not artificiality, but I call it 'response to external stimulus'. Within my own realms of interaction with the rest of you, I am someone who is a fusion of my personal aspirations and external inspirations. When I respond to the 'positive' external influences, it could be attributed of me, as being responsible ( able to respond).

Now, this being the case, each of us are expected to grow with ascending positions we are being placed in the framework of the society. For, not always we are ready to be the ones, who we are expected to be. But, this isn't the problem, the problem is when we are reluctant and do not grow even after having ascended in the social ladder.

So, let me come to the point: "People need to be more responsible in being responsive, with their ascensions in the social ladder". As we all, well have a role to play at every level. But, by being less responsible, we could contaminate and even go on to topple the system dependent on us.

For instance, even if I were the President of India, the ideas I profess and preach must be verified to be pragmatic and sensible. For, idealism works well only in literature. While dealing with real people, real solutions to real problems is what is required. I cannot go on to build a palace out of smoke, even though it might be beautiful at that instant!

PS: Recently, in a programme organised by my employing company, former President of India Dr.APJ Abul Kalam happened to give the Chief Guest speech, stressing on the need for more innovation and inventions in India from 'wider sections' of people.