the pink of the waterlilies has faded whitish in the winter. and the goldfish have grown. there are some new lil white n black ones that will probably turn gold when older. u can tell so by the spots on their skin. Diner has put tables in the sun. and chrysanthemums are all around. but its not really cold this winter. its like a hoax call after last year's 0 degree. and yet sunrise is so late that my mind refuses to wake up despite the phone and psychological alarms that i set. and i now have a friend in office. yet i love raoming aimlessly in the sun. squinting against the warmth. with my hair growing longer n softer around my face. its hardly six months here. and i feel a sense of proprietorship about this place. its so easy now to go to eatopia and eat on the barstools watching random sports on the flatscreen. mountain biking it was yesterday and today waterbikes.
but the potted flowers make me feel nostalgic about the beds in the hostel garden. that riot of colours there in the winter which soothed your mind after the hours of shazam in the lab. the bright yellow and that mass of red poppies. and that running barefoot on the grass. not once have i visited the place since then. part of my mind doesn't want to disturb the memory of the place by a new visit.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
the following is a letter started by some friends. If you agree with and support it, please leave your name, location and email id to be used as signature on the letter.
A Complaint against TV & Radio Media
Dear Madam,
We are some citizens of India and the following is our opinion. All of us were disappointed with the attitude of the Indian media in handling the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that started on the 26th of November 2008. The TV channels appeared as selfish, reckless, insensitive profit makers who did not lose any opportunity to make their TRPs soar. We also believe that they put at risk the secrecy of the offensive by the security forces. This was in particular, done by both TV news and Radio channels in the case of the Police and ATS Operation at the CST Railway Station of Bombay and by the TV news channels (specifically reporter Srinivasan Jain from NDTV) in the case of the Operation at Nariman House by the National Security Guards.
Another major issue we have against the media in how they handled this situation, was the way in which most TV channels spread speculations and rumors, without caring for the vulnerability of the viewership at a time of such crisis. Various channels have gone around making claims about the identity of the assailants, about the reasons why our security officials got killed and about the motives behind these attacks without quoting any authority on these issues.
Also the TV news channels did not lose any opportunity at sensationalizing live tragedy. Moreover they competed with each other in the drama that they could attach to the news reporting. Barkha Dutt from NDTV was unbeatable in this regard. Most media reporters were also uneven in their coverage of the attacks. The low profile areas like the CST Railway Station and Cama Hospital were overshadowed by the Taj and Oberoi Hotels though people were getting killed even there.
And we do not see any sense in inviting politicians on TV even while poeple are being killed and to allow them to fight each other in their calculated forecast of what should be said to malign the other and win votebank. In fact also the interviews with Bollywood Celebrities and other Socialites totally unaffected in these attacks were pointless and criminally money minded.
We do in a way hold the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting responsible for such reckless abandon.
In times of such national crisis, we think the Ministry should revoke some of the freedom allowed to the Media at least till the situation or the attack has been brought under control.
Specifically,
1. Cameras and Media reporters should not be allowed near the location of the Offensive because as we all know Terrorists these days carry technologically advanced communication devices and any information leaked out about where and how our Forces are hitting back could be dangerous and fatal.
2. The media should not make statements like "Someone said ......". If the media is reporting a comment made by someone, it should categorically state the name and Organisation of the person who has actually made the comment, probably even play a video of the person saying the exact words. In case the comment/opinion is purely of the employees and reporters of the media channel itself, it should be clearly stated as being so. In this case a disclaimer of the sort : “The findings are based on the media channel's preliminary investigations and are purely speculative in nature. These need not necessarily be true”, must be made.
3. The Ministry should draft out some codes of ethics for the media in cases of such crisis and sensationalism should be strictly discouraged. Politicians/Celebrities should be discouraged from being invited on media at least till the situation is brought under the control of the Security Forces.
We do understand that free media in a democracy is very important, but at the same time we cannot ignore the facts and experiences from past that these media houses sometimes do misuse that freedom for purely business motives and that in cases of crisis this could cost our country, our Security Forces and our people dearly. Our demands for regulation of the media, therefore apply in times of crisis alone.
Thank you,
A Complaint against TV & Radio Media
Dear Madam,
We are some citizens of India and the following is our opinion. All of us were disappointed with the attitude of the Indian media in handling the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that started on the 26th of November 2008. The TV channels appeared as selfish, reckless, insensitive profit makers who did not lose any opportunity to make their TRPs soar. We also believe that they put at risk the secrecy of the offensive by the security forces. This was in particular, done by both TV news and Radio channels in the case of the Police and ATS Operation at the CST Railway Station of Bombay and by the TV news channels (specifically reporter Srinivasan Jain from NDTV) in the case of the Operation at Nariman House by the National Security Guards.
Another major issue we have against the media in how they handled this situation, was the way in which most TV channels spread speculations and rumors, without caring for the vulnerability of the viewership at a time of such crisis. Various channels have gone around making claims about the identity of the assailants, about the reasons why our security officials got killed and about the motives behind these attacks without quoting any authority on these issues.
Also the TV news channels did not lose any opportunity at sensationalizing live tragedy. Moreover they competed with each other in the drama that they could attach to the news reporting. Barkha Dutt from NDTV was unbeatable in this regard. Most media reporters were also uneven in their coverage of the attacks. The low profile areas like the CST Railway Station and Cama Hospital were overshadowed by the Taj and Oberoi Hotels though people were getting killed even there.
And we do not see any sense in inviting politicians on TV even while poeple are being killed and to allow them to fight each other in their calculated forecast of what should be said to malign the other and win votebank. In fact also the interviews with Bollywood Celebrities and other Socialites totally unaffected in these attacks were pointless and criminally money minded.
We do in a way hold the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting responsible for such reckless abandon.
In times of such national crisis, we think the Ministry should revoke some of the freedom allowed to the Media at least till the situation or the attack has been brought under control.
Specifically,
1. Cameras and Media reporters should not be allowed near the location of the Offensive because as we all know Terrorists these days carry technologically advanced communication devices and any information leaked out about where and how our Forces are hitting back could be dangerous and fatal.
2. The media should not make statements like "Someone said ......". If the media is reporting a comment made by someone, it should categorically state the name and Organisation of the person who has actually made the comment, probably even play a video of the person saying the exact words. In case the comment/opinion is purely of the employees and reporters of the media channel itself, it should be clearly stated as being so. In this case a disclaimer of the sort : “The findings are based on the media channel's preliminary investigations and are purely speculative in nature. These need not necessarily be true”, must be made.
3. The Ministry should draft out some codes of ethics for the media in cases of such crisis and sensationalism should be strictly discouraged. Politicians/Celebrities should be discouraged from being invited on media at least till the situation is brought under the control of the Security Forces.
We do understand that free media in a democracy is very important, but at the same time we cannot ignore the facts and experiences from past that these media houses sometimes do misuse that freedom for purely business motives and that in cases of crisis this could cost our country, our Security Forces and our people dearly. Our demands for regulation of the media, therefore apply in times of crisis alone.
Thank you,
Saturday, December 6, 2008
my google reader has never collected so many unread articles in the past. its as if i read the first line of each in the left hand summary and dismiss them all because they seem to continue their lives as always. as if nothing has happened. the same kind of posts that i liked earlier, seem irrelevant and luxurious in some way. as if they are ranting about their personal lives when some others cant afford to think normally. when for some others their lives may have suddenly been torn apart.
my cousin talks about the england test getting canceled with a lot of regret as if that was the biggest tragedy to come out of it. im sure he is jumping now.
personally i still feel a strong dislike for the city bombay. when i think of living there. when i think of the day i was commuting by a local to college like so many other days, and our train suddenly halted and all of us started cribbing about how important our time was. the reason for the halt was apparently a man who had been crushed underneath us. i think each one of us gave a peak below when we heard that and then the crowd that is the life of the city swiftly raced in another direction to reach the next earliest train on the other platform to get comfortable sitting/standing space.
another day we were waiting for the clock to strike 12 as it was new year's eve. we were in jw marriott and malaika arora was supposed to dance in the first minutes of the new year. there was an entire room to bread and cheese, and another to streams of chocolate flowing over strawberries and cakes. i'm not kidding. i hadn't seen that kind of lavishness before. and there was a bar where barmen shook bottles with strange liquors over your open mouth while people drank and danced like mad. one man on the dance floor got a heart attack. he blacked out. people stopped for a few minutes to clear the way for him. he was taken away and the dancing resumed.
when the word resilience is mentioned after people having died these are the two scenes that i associate the word with. its not anyone's fault. its just the way the place is. it doesn't leave you with a choice of any kind. i've been there and i don't think i ever want to live there again.
there was once when i bought vada pav and frooti and left it next to a man who lay apparently sleeping or unconscious at the marine lines station with some blood near his head. i don't know if he was alive. people stared at me as if i was a lunatic. apparently because the man was in rags anyway.
but what happened this time is not about bombay to me. this is about what happened to people. those people could have been from anywhere. probably the fact that i have had good moments also around that city and that i have spent quite some of my years there, makes this as personal as it could get without losing someone. but for me this has got nothing to do with the symbol of the taj or of south bombay. i hate people talking about it like that. its purely the scale and the impact of the attack on people, on the perception of civilian life that has suddenly changed; that makes all the difference.
my cousin talks about the england test getting canceled with a lot of regret as if that was the biggest tragedy to come out of it. im sure he is jumping now.
personally i still feel a strong dislike for the city bombay. when i think of living there. when i think of the day i was commuting by a local to college like so many other days, and our train suddenly halted and all of us started cribbing about how important our time was. the reason for the halt was apparently a man who had been crushed underneath us. i think each one of us gave a peak below when we heard that and then the crowd that is the life of the city swiftly raced in another direction to reach the next earliest train on the other platform to get comfortable sitting/standing space.
another day we were waiting for the clock to strike 12 as it was new year's eve. we were in jw marriott and malaika arora was supposed to dance in the first minutes of the new year. there was an entire room to bread and cheese, and another to streams of chocolate flowing over strawberries and cakes. i'm not kidding. i hadn't seen that kind of lavishness before. and there was a bar where barmen shook bottles with strange liquors over your open mouth while people drank and danced like mad. one man on the dance floor got a heart attack. he blacked out. people stopped for a few minutes to clear the way for him. he was taken away and the dancing resumed.
when the word resilience is mentioned after people having died these are the two scenes that i associate the word with. its not anyone's fault. its just the way the place is. it doesn't leave you with a choice of any kind. i've been there and i don't think i ever want to live there again.
there was once when i bought vada pav and frooti and left it next to a man who lay apparently sleeping or unconscious at the marine lines station with some blood near his head. i don't know if he was alive. people stared at me as if i was a lunatic. apparently because the man was in rags anyway.
but what happened this time is not about bombay to me. this is about what happened to people. those people could have been from anywhere. probably the fact that i have had good moments also around that city and that i have spent quite some of my years there, makes this as personal as it could get without losing someone. but for me this has got nothing to do with the symbol of the taj or of south bombay. i hate people talking about it like that. its purely the scale and the impact of the attack on people, on the perception of civilian life that has suddenly changed; that makes all the difference.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Mumbai blood donation and requirements
BLOOD DONATION ALERT: Call 9222221947 to volunteer your blood group.
Families in need will directly contact you by phone when there is a
match. Save a life.
FIND BLOOD DONORS FOR RARE GROUPS: Call 9222221947 and find the
nearest donor for the blood group you are looking for.
http://blog.chaupaati.in/2008/11/28/blood-banks-for-victims-of-mumbai-attacks/
http://mumbaihelp.blogspot.com/
Families in need will directly contact you by phone when there is a
match. Save a life.
FIND BLOOD DONORS FOR RARE GROUPS: Call 9222221947 and find the
nearest donor for the blood group you are looking for.
http://blog.chaupaati.in/2008/11/28/blood-banks-for-victims-of-mumbai-attacks/
http://mumbaihelp.blogspot.com/
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