At the Crossroads of Divisive Politics

How divisive we are yaar at politics? Having a multiparty system at the helm of affairs is good, but fighting at each other resulting in not-so fruitful results is a worrisome trend in India. I always wondered when will we have a 2 party system or parties at regional level but efficient machineries in delivery of citizen services. Mr. Jahan Mohan Reddy has split up in Andhra Pradesh; in Tamil Nadu actors Mr. Sarath Kumar and Vijaya Kanth have found their own parties. If everybody goes off founding parties, are we partitioning our India with divisive ideologies and manifestos, of which many failed at the political boxes in delivery. Even, many these so-called luminaries are starting off their television channels, often biased views with no public intentions in mind. OMG, when this will change. Right from municipalities to state governments have been successively failing to deliver common services in basic areas -education, health care, public libraries and environment protection etc., In the light of above, if each leader dissent and founds a new party, when will we achieve the most ruminated topic in our politics "inclusive growth" at least before we die! Each political party goes to erect its flagpoles and hoisting its own flags, how many parties we have got, unnecessarily. This is just the height of indifferences we have that is the root cause, so to say! You know, we have been very good at pulling each others leg at the cost of not allowing to grow for a healthier tomorrow. Many people who are in the politics switch over the loyalties during their stints between major parties, what saddening is they dissent a found new party.

Vagaries in Weather and Life

At last, my brother's marriage is over, as solemnized on 8th November, 2010. His marriage can't be forgotton as the skies have openen up genorously over the eve. Thankfully, things worked out in spite of the day long rain.

You know, having faced many hurdles to reach this level in our lives, this is a great moment to see my brother at wedlock. Dinesh, i wish you a happy married life.

Coming to the general custom of marriage, oh, my God, they would not let you sleep the marriage. It was an exhaustive process, so to say...you have to receive the guests, arrange the accomodation, food, music...,appa it was really bending up! Meanwhile i lost my wallet, someone masterminded lifting that, its gone... At the research front, i have been toiling with a paper in hand fine-tuning? Long but's fun... Looking forward to January..2011.

I was at Syndicate Bank, before the teller. I asked him whether i can have ID & password for Internet Banking in English. He was not responding, then neglecting me, while others were noticing, he murmured...What this guy is talking in English... I went to Branch Manager, he simply ignored my request? Is this bank show responsiveness..?

The weather has been sleepy, so did i am and the days are shorter. But it is getting colder yar, than the Hyderabad. Hey Sun, will you show off please, keep all the vagaries away, also take note of mine.

Phir Milenge

Today is a sad day to me, as a good companion of mine at ISI, BC left for joining a job at NIO, Goa. A soft-spoken Mithun was a nice and good friend, never seen him getting angry of my 7 months association with him. A good Hindi teacher to me, no pun intended, i am not sure whether i never took advantage of him. I felt like i am losing a right arm of mine. As a predecessor in the fellowship programme, he should have completed the PhD, but a career in middle has changed his future. As am writing this sitting in the desk near his table is looking empty. It would take really a hard time to get over this.

But, Mithun I wish you a great career and all your heart desires to come true. We all at ISI, BC will miss you a lot. We all look forward to hear from you that you settle down soon.

Palar flows - So do my thoughts

Oh my God! It was raining Dogs and Cats. I and Nilesh used this expression sometime back during the monsoon season in Bangalore. But when i spent this weekend during Dinesh's marriage I literally witnessed it.

Started at an early morning on Sunday 7th November, 2010 as the weather was predicted, skies went crazy with heavy downpour all day long. I had to make all arrangement for the marriage in the dreching rain, thankfully uncles, cousins and the whole family members were extremely supportive.

I am very glad that the "Palar" river which starts its journey from bordering Andhra Pradesh with its tributaries flows through Vaniyambadi was in spate with running water. Just a day back, when i was pedalling my way on the river bridge, i felt that this river should be like that of Kaveri flowing perennially. And a day after i see it, I cannot imagine it. I think this rain would at least stop some drinking water woes now, and increase in water level across the region.

Vaniyambadi town is well surrounded by many hills - Yelgiris, Javad and many others, known for its leather based products and prickling heat and for the gourmets not to forget the Yuppy Biryani. Though, the summer is highly warm, the winter too is so cold. If more trees are planted, people are more sensisitized, the environmental issues can be sorted out. I become somehow allergic to plastic covers, anywhere, everywhere and anyhow plastics. Why don't we stop using plastics, and replace some eco-friendly bags - Jutebags etc.

It was a very nostalgic moment to me to have all the relatives for the marriage, as well as the mother Palar flows in spate so did was my heart with joy. Two days without sleep and all the tiredness have gone when i seen the waters flowing through the river.

The past Diwali entertainment content on TVs was full of CINEMA, CINEMA, and CINEMA. I think we live, eat, breathe, and will die for films and cinema based news. Turn the TV on any festival season, i can bet you 90% of the programmes are movies. OMG, how crazy we are to movies, forgetting the development, cleanliness and social interaction. This should change. Don't we have anything else on this earth to delibrate and speak about? Even some channels relay how the movie was made, what the hell this segment will benifit anyone who does not have proper food, ailing and need help. The degree of pollution that we make on Diwali is extremely adverse to ecosystem as well as to our own self. Who cares?

Open Access Week-McGill University

Stay Tuned - You're Born to Win

Life throws lot of surprises and its share of sad moments too, unexpectedly, nah. At times, when we are down, we don't know what to do next when the problems are neck-deep we would feel to pull out our hair. The kind of crucial dilemmas, here or there, social forces and the family pressures all create an atmosphere where our integrity and patience are tested, our decisions more importantly affected.  Sometimes, people around are so selfish, and unreasonable that we are very much pressurized.  The decision that we make largely depends on the kind of people influence us around. Then, think about the people who grew up without parents, this category i am belonging to. Though, i have my own share of such circumstances, i have learnt it hard along the way to be focused:

1. Remain positive: this is one thing difficult to accept when we are utterly let down. But staying positive, thinking in a 'its good' approach, would help us to take on life more confidently and boldly. After all, life is too short to negate.
2. Mingling with buddies: friends are the best resources on the earth, God had reserved them for us. Whenever i am in dilemmas - what to do? how to go about? where to start? it has been always the roads to friends. Friends never grudge, uh. Do you?
3. Turn to be a happy freak: facing worries and difficult times should not always end up being a worrywart. Be cheerful, and happier, grateful for what you are today. After all, you are here on this day alive, because you are destined to be, marching for a good time and tidings!

Cheerio!

Peepli Live - Review

Though, i am not fluent in Hindi, i could understand the crux of the story, with a good friend of mine nearby, as the story unfolds in a rural setting, without grease paint.

Amid all the run of the mill movies releasing often, this one comes as a refreshing story, stroking you gently to the edge of your seat to think about the issues of farming and farmer lives in India. For any movie buff, this is something a reality check of agrarian crisis - India has been undergoing in the past years.

Brief story:

The lead protagonists - the farmers rumored to be dying for their unpaid loan, have not taken their lives. As the government is giving money for the died farmers because of debts, damage to corps etc, they hatch a plan of killing themselves, but it never happens. In the meanwhile, they caught up in the political and local leaders net, who mishandle them, while the government is mulling over industrialization. The starving media want to catch this story somehow- as this is a story of the live dying farmer. Neatly set in a Raisen district in Madhya Pradesh this film is taking you through the day to day activities of the farming, rustic life moments and the demeanour.  The climax ends with the lead farmer migrating to city for masonry work, leaving behind his farming.

A wonderful picture, it deserve kudos for the message it carries out saying from 1991-2001 alone, 8 million farmers left farming, according to census 2001 report. This is a very alarming development crying for immediate action, for the developing country like ours. A known saying in Tamil comes to mind, which goes as:

If a farmer does not put his leg in the farmland
We cannot put our hands in our food-plates!

As the urbanization, and white collar jobs swelling enormously in cities, the countryside jobs are losing their sheen and glamour. Adding to the woes are failing rains, calamities and climate change etc. Lets hope that the government uphold the pro-agriculture policies, and execute programmes in the larger interest of agriculture, lest we may end up with the computers on our food-plates, as many believe that technology will feed us!

Nagaraj Naidu

Attended the first death anniversary of maternal grandpa at Timmampet, a beautiful village bordering Andhra Pradesh, off 12 kms from Vaniyambadi, Vellore.  I remember him as a very industrious and nice guy.  He was a father of 11 children, a fatherhood feat nobody can imagine of today. We are not able to manage even 2 kids, how grandparents would have managed and adjusted raising 11 children. With aunts and relatives gathering to remember him and wailing, it was a day down to memory lane.

As a grandchild i have observed grandpa, who lived it up with huge family and seen great grandchildren, i admire him more for his attitudes and qualities. I happened to read a post card written by granddad to my paternal granny, after marriage of my mom in 1981. I found it very interesting that the concerns he had for everyone in the in-laws family.

Firstly, i have to thank granddad, for having educated me through CMS. I can't really thank him enough, though! In a parent meet in the year 2000, when he stood at the podium addressed the gathering with a classic 'namaskaram' everyone were in splits. Then, everybody turned to me and repeated namaskaras, which i cherish now.

The unfortunate demise of his 2 daughters at a tender age would have left him more agonizing. My mom, 32 years, died of illness, unable to bear an alcoholic addicted husband. And my buoyant aunt Humsa in her forties, died of fire-burns set by her own husband, who was also an alcoholic.

During the eve of the anniversary, I was lying in the hall,  while cousins and others were also with me on the front yard of the granddad's house, which lost the glory after granddad's death.   As i was gazing the star-studded open sky, the moonlight was reflecting on the moving fronds of the coconut trees in the cool air. The people who were more of agrarian then, have cultivated these plants, raised children and then were in a good society. Remembering the Kadapa slab in the left corner of the hall, where the grandpa used to sleep, i imagined as if grandpa was there. My sister-in-law and aunt, were sleeping on the corner of the hall beside us. Hearing this, at once, aunt and sister-in-law left hall getting frightened by my words. Now things have changed dramatically with increasing urbanization and white collar jobs. As i walk through the Coconut and Mango grooves, it reminds of his laborious years to cultivate them.  As i stay outside hometown, i always long and feel that this is place i wanted to live in, or the granny's lap i wish to lean my head. 

Many problems on the rise of distributing or inheriting the properties. We as responsible children should learn to behave fairly and treat the women heirs on par with male inheritors; taking care of aging parents with the due concerns, avoiding  the property disputes, preserving the ancestral properties from pollution, especially plastics, that is where we are going to retain the names of our ancestry. 

Granddad, may your soul rest in peace. We all miss you so much, maybe one day will turn up to the place you are right now to say hello. Until then, keep blessing us.

National Librarians' Day

Dear Friends,

August 12th is being celebrated as National Librarians' Day in India, in remembrance of national professor of library science, Padmashree Dr S R Ranganathan (1892-1972), who had spearheaded library development in India.

I request you friends out there, if you are associated with any library in your region; be it public library or academic library, pay a visit to the library and appreciate the library professionals and their service to the emerging society in national development. If we support and recognize the public service organizations like libraries, we have more opportunities to affirm that libraries are change agents in educating the citizens in public life.  In India, lot is to be accomplished, your appreciation and motivation of library services will go a long way to make awareness about the library services to reach the unreached.

In 2020, India is expected to have 574 million youngsters. There is a huge task ahead for librarians to cultivate the reading habit among them. Illiteracy, poverty and lack of access to education in still more prevalent among the semi-urban and rural areas in India. While the successive governments and department of culture have neglected the library development, librarians and struggling their way to create the awareness of reading habit among the general public with limited resources. It is strongly believed that the coming days will change the face of libraries as ICT and social media are a big boost to learning and education.

This small token of yours will help all the librarians and information professionals to keep good morale of their service, realize their mission and strive hard to reach out more masses in our country in the process of shaping our tomorrow's leaders through learning and in national development.

Remember librarians work for you throughout the year, won't you spare sometime to appreciate them on this occasion? Do you stand with me? Will you step out to acknowledge your librarians?

Read to lead.

Thank you.

Digital Libraries of the Future

Digital Libraries of the Future

View more presentations from Sebastian Kruk.

Do you Value Other?

Valuing the others

I think, this is one of the must topic we must discuss about in our contemporary society. Often times, we have noticed at our workplaces, complain among the friends circle that we often miss the habit of valuing and complementing each other. We would go out of our way to help others, but they would never turn around.

I was attending a interview for a teaching post at a state run university in South India.  When my turn came to face the panel, i stepped in the room, greeted everyone. Minutes later, the head of the institution said, i can get out, there is a spelling mistake of my name on the corresponding community certificates. Is having a misspelt name endorses me even not to give attention as a human? Is it not the duty of the government staff to proofread before  issuing certificates?  I was shocked to hear i was not even acknowledged for what i am, leave alone my degrees, experience etc. After traveling a 24 hours journey, to attend this interview, if you get such a response like this from an higher official who is supposed to embody the learning and inspiring the education ... how would you feel?  At that moment, i felt like i am in hell.  I know, many of the fellow Indians, would share a similar stories in thousand!  Please do not ask me, who was qualified, appointed for the post for the god's sake! I somehow do not understand where the society is heading!  If you ask something or enquire, we know we would not get proper answers from the concerned officials.  Of course, it was mistake on my part, that i did not verify the certificate, before collecting it. I learned my lesson on that day.

The issue with my certificate is my name was misspelt. I don't know what kind of people we have at our taluk or revenue offices in India; after verifying all the evidences, if they are not able to give a certificate in a neat manner, do they really deliver value to the customer. General public is at the receiving end because of these failing bureaucracy and inefficient government servants!  God only knows when these government servants in India will deliver value! Is there anyway these people can be trained?

We often not even recognize others for what they are!  We have to learn a much about this, valuing others, their relationship and being. This quality will ensure that all the individuals in India are respected, enriched and cherished. I believe this is such a good quality, we Indians should be participated, encouraged and inculcated.  If each person, goes on to respect other, ultimately society would be more civilized in sorting out all the issues prevalent among us and lead to a transparent, accountable society and citizenry.


Do you value this hearing me!!!

Resource Description & Access - Toolkit

Making the Most of the RDA Toolkit Open-Access Period (06/17/2010 8PM CST) from ALA Publishing on Vimeo.

Social Media for Non Profits

Social Media for Non Profits

View more presentations from Primal Media.

Breathe Life into Social Sciences

Recently, attended a state commission exam in June, 2010.  I don't understand why our educators and policy makers don't think to enable or empower us to learn, which is our right.  The kind of questions they ask in the exams are damn outdated, have nothing to do with real-time applications in the day to day work, and of no use for the changing times or simply archaic. 

You know, what kind of questions they are setting:

• number of methods say number of methods in interviewing respondents in research
• the conference year or when an event took place etc.
• an interdisciplinary subject, which is completely detached in the core subject and never taught.

Though, we are not against the novel research methods postulated by pioneers, but let us learn and apply that for creating a value in a commoner life, in a field like libraries. When a patron does not have access to government information, being victimized or remain illiterate for years what the hell this 'year' or 'event' will help in attending to the need?  Either you should support what the methods proposed by the eminent people, who felt long back that the things will change in India or at least you should facilitate in using those methods for a practical  purpose and implement it for a cause, that would benefit the society at large. Come on, wake up?

Do you feel you have any application or practicality of these questions in a learner's or aspirant life in real world or for the society's sake or for a common good?  Furthermore, while there is lot be done in improving the prevailing conditions of public life, why do our government, bureaucracy and  educators do not realize that they are supposed to breathe life into the social sciences and Humanities education in India. Often times, i feel that did i chosen a wrong field in my life that the sector i am belonging to is paying me richly to mug up years, happenings and event!  Nevertheless, while majority of us don't have the opportunity to learn and implement the change, our workplace environment hardly helps in acquiring the skills in - general management, communication, comprehension skills, reasoning and quantitative aptitude, while our educators are bent on cramming the theory on the learners and we unfortunately end up in rote learning!

When will it stand a chance that the social sciences and humanities in India will breathe life! Will my Social Sciences and Humanities goodness me?

Movie-mania

Gopalan Arcade at Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Mysore Raod, Bangalore, is one of the best multiplex, giving a great revel of shopping experience.  With variety of shops, and malls under one roof, it is a best complex i can boast of.  Well, moving to movies, it was Robin Hood, released this week starring Russell Rowe and Cate Blanchett. An inspiring quote in the movie was "Arise, arise, until the Lambs become Lions." An impeccable war story set in England and France, it was a delightful evening and worth for a weekend's out to watch the exotic locales of England and France. See the movies website for details: http://www.robinhoodthemovie.com/.

Contrasting to the Indian cinemas, the originality of ideas and the settings of the movie are amazing. Though, in India that we have legendary actors, and production houses, what we are basically looking for is, changing the audience towards unity, sense of togetherness, and a spirit that we prosper as a country in all possible ways to stop all the miseries happening aound us.  Because, you see the homeless, or the destitute all over the neighbourhood, and their plight? Do you feel it is okay to indulge in leisure when the neighbour next to me is trying to make the ends meet? What if instead, you devote some time volunteering for the elderly couple, or spend some time with the underprivileged? And the gratification you get out of it?

What is worsening is the moviemania in our country - the kind of trend that movies are what we identify with or that's the life, and if not that is the end of the world, fast catching up with the younger generation of fan clubs! It was maddening to see that in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu down in South India, every day you would see either a movie launch, gossip in the grapevine or a shooting spree news, which are completely not called for or worth to watch. When there are thousands of issues out to be covered or deliberated upon, our media is more concerned about the entertainment.  In the United States, 43 of seniors aged 75 and over were reported volunteering, how many of us willing to volunteer for the social causes? We have to think and act?

Only a very few of our actors are contributing to the society as we all know by their means. Consider this example: be it Leonardo DiCaprio who have contributed $35,000 for a state-of-the-art “Leonardo DiCaprio Computer Center” at the Los Feliz branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_DiCaprio or the Andrew Carnegie, a great philanthrapist, who have donated most of his earnings to the libraries and educational institutions in the West. What is required at the moment for the young generation is to garner support, lobby the political men and influence the wealthy, to build institutions in healthcare, education, and libraries and the motivation, leadership and mentoring to nurture it in making our country a better India. As government is sleepwalking in our lives, it is time that we wake up to contribute to these noble causes?

Will you stand up? Arise, arise, until the lambs become Lions.

A Seed's Story

Should i germinate or be terminate
Will i tender or wither
Will i sprout or faint
Will i withstand or withhold
Or am i at the threshold
Peacocks gesticulate the onset of monsoon
Deers speculate the streak across
Tiger is looking bloodbath
Droplets are anointing me to warmth
Ants are piling up their grub
Oh, Gusty winds are overtaking
Hails are falling down breathtaking...

Will i be ushered in or will be carried away
I don't know or did not understand somehow
Will i grow big, prop down to shelter many
Will i feed my kind in cozy
As the air embraces me gently
It lulls me to fall asleep...

No idea will i make it tomorrow
If my strength allows to narrow
Are you taking me to nope
Or you leading me to hope...

Yep, whatever it may be
Whether it is ups or downs
I will branch out, give home for
To live forever in this world to bring forth
To be at the behest of my Creator
Till my life last....

I Miss You Nana...

Dear Nana,

Yesteryear you were with me, now me and my pen alone!
i am deeply thinking about you.
i am waiting to hear,
in my heart here,
with your stern voice and smile,
stop by me a while.

I long for you nana, as you were the best to me,
to play around,
to see what i am upto..
to make fun of,
to glee where i am unto..
to pat me on my back,
to put me on the track,
to alleviate the pain from me,
to accentuate the rigour in me,
to put a big smile,
to refrain me from guile,
to allay the laden,
to ease my burden,
I miss you a lot, nana.

No matter, whether it is rainy or sunny,
i want you to be right here, right now,
to caress, to dote, to smile, and to bless.

When will you be back nana,
It's thundering, rain is on its way,
Doves are back to my window after a day-long flight,
Cuckoo is singing to be heard through the jungle, breaking the silence and mourning,
Snails are through their way to find their love,
And where are you nana, i desperately need you.
You are deep down in my thoughts,
as i continue to hold you in my heart..

Do come around.
I got you nana, you are here.
I will meet you, until then get hold of me,
And never fail to say me, Hello...

Are We United?

I completed the "2 States: the story of my marriage" novel just now.  It's a beautiful account of a lover to bear with everything - parents, relatives, and job to win his ladylove, who hails from a different community. A vivid narrative of the contrasting cultures of north and south India, the characters are neatly portrayed with humorous interplay. There are couple of things this story highlights for the contemporary modern India.

• Inter-community development: developing the thousands of communities across india, is a huge task lying ahead of us. Strengthening the interfaith among various castes, building societies towards tolerance, and valuing of each other and endurance etc.  We hear about honor killings, khap pachayats, community clashes often in media.  When will this end and is there a way-out?
• Holding values of multicultural & multilingual society: appreciate the very existence of multicultural and multilingual society, the very faith that will lead to co-existence of different communities amicably. 
• Standing united: today it demands more than before that we stay united. Terrorism, threat to internal security, agitations, pose greater challenges to our nation on the sovereignty of our nation. The solutions to all these issues would be an better understanding of each other, and learning to appreciate, motivate to adding values for each other.

I firmly hope that you too vouch for a CHANGING INDIA. Ain't you?

UGC-JRF Qualified

I was on cloud nine when i got the news, that i qualified for UGC-Junior Research Fellowship in Library and Information Science.  Please check the results and my number is 4606098.   Happy to see results.

Will you confirm me!

Regionalism

It was around 6.30 pm, i was traveling to Majestic bus stand, Bangalore from Mysore road. The person sitting next to me was speaking in Telugu, so i started conversing with him, as i do speak Telugu. A while before, this guy was speaking with the bus conductor; the conductor asked my neighbor does he speak Kannada, he said, he does not, because of work, he has to travel to different places.

Then, the conductor asked me do i speak Kannada, i said i am learning. He at once shot back, why did i come here not knowing Kannada and don't i have job elsewhere? I said jobs are available everywhere. He was taken aback and left. This is my second encounter in just a period of 2 months with pro-Kannada guys that they force others to speak Kannada.

I would like to drive home this message:

We young generation well know that learning an other language is an art, and if i am in Karnataka, if i don't learn Kannada, i will be the loser. But request you all out there, whose minds are filled with super pro-Kannada ideas, to be patient till your neighbors like me take time to learn and speak the language.

I was bemused to learn a PUC Tamil student Ms. J Keerthana topped in the Tamil Nadu state exams 2010 in Telugu, please read the article here: Tamil girl tops in Telugu. While my house is few kilometers away to Andhra Pradesh state border in Vellore, i did not have the opportunity to learn my mother tongue. If this is the case, consider the sizable Telugu speaking population in Trichy, Coimbatore and other inner areas of Tamil Nadu. While the States reorganization committee, formed states for better coordination and administration among the linguistics states, the present day politics infuse more regionalism, does not open up the opportunities and allow the citizens to have their rights. With this i meant only to learn more languages, and not at the cost of forgetting others. While entertainment industry broke these barriers, with actors and music playing and heard across states, it is the citizens, who were left without any option unfortunately. Come on, even after 60 years of independence, how much inequalities we have!

One has to always remember that, you can tell others to learn the language, but you can't force. Alright. Let's stand united for nation's prosperity and unity.

An interesting example in this context, is The Danube river, which flows through 10 countries in Europe. Wow! I don't ask you to collaborate with 10 countries, but a friendly attitude towards your neighbors and society will do to sort out all the burning issues today - resources sharing like water, and better coordination among intelligence bureaus etc. Learn more about Danube river here.

Gotcha! bye for now.

2 States: A Novel

Just reading this book during the past weekend, i can't put it down. After a long time, a fresh read of the Indian writing fantasies you. The characters are so real, as if it happening in the next door, or that one can relate to easily with the friends and neighbours. Today, as an emerging nation, we need to be more united, standing together for the upliftment of the society, to keep our spirits alive, leave alone all the things which may discourage us .

There are lot of issues, comes to mind. Regionalism, chauvinism, dirty politics, closed minds and society etc. But a great read like this push forward, opens the eyes of readers, wonderful ideas to move ahead with those intrinsic characters, which more of real, do add more values. The highlight of the novel is:

Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy.
They get married.
In India, there are a few more steps:
Boy loves Girl. Girl loves Boy.
Girl's family has to love boy. Boy's family has to love girl.
Girl's Family has to love Boy's Family. Boy's family has to love girl's family.
Girl and Boy still love each other. They get married.


Really, you came as a whiff of fresh air. Thanking you Mr Master Storyteller, you really know the million minds of the Indian readers. Keep going.

Read more about Author Chetan Bhagat at:

The north-south combine

ChetanBhagat.com