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Sunday, April 19, 2009

Power Of Mind - Dreamy Reality

It was broad daylight. Now on the pavement, I was calling out to my friend's son in the crowd. I couldn't see him anywhere. Neither could my son, who was standing next to me, throw any light on it.

If losing your son or daughter is not enough, losing someone else's is a nightmare. With my son's hand in mine I started moving through the crowd calling out to the other boy.

Then I saw him, through the moving crowd across the road about eighty meters from where I was. Two men were walking along with him one of them pulling, almost dragging him along.

"Stay right here," I shouted at my son and ran towards the men with my friend's boy. By the time I reached the spot the two guys had gotten into the car and the car had started moving. I chased the car as hard as I could, weaving my way through the traffic.

The car was much faster. It took a left up ahead. I knew the area and stepped into a by-lane with the intention of cutting off the car. I came out on the main road and I was right. I saw the car coming towards me. I stepped onto the road right in the path and waved my hands. The car didn't show any signs of slowing down. It was too late by the time I moved and the car's fender caught me hard on the leg and I was thrown away towards the payment. I lay there for sometime. Soon afterwards I felt someone tapping on my knee. It was my son.

I opened my eyes and found my son standing there. I looked around. I was in my bedroom, my wife sleeping next to me. It was a dream.

"The match has started," my son announced. I remembered that I had only told him to wake me up. I smiled and told him that I would join him soon.

You see what had happened. My dream, I don't know how long it lasted, definitely started much before my son came to wake me up. But my mind somehow knew exactly how my son was going to wake me up and the dream progressed in such a manner so as to create a situation where my son, in the dream, would come and tap me up at exactly the same spot where my son, in the real world, would come and tap me. It's quite amazing - the power of mind.

It can't be a coincidence since I have experienced similar things in the past, but never gave it a thought. Is the mind so powerful so as to create situations matching the dreams or create dreams matching the situations? The scary part is that it seems to be somehow controlling or knows about the future.

I hope it is not just me.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Lok Sabha Elections - Voter Turnout

Every time there is an election in India, there is a lot of speculation and anxiety amidst the media and the of course the politicians about the voter turnout. This time there was more concern and expectations in view of the Mumbai attacks last year. However the first phase of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections kicked off yesterday with the same old story. Ultimately a voter turnout between 58 - 62% was recorded.

At the very outset of democracy in India, 45% voters turned up in 1952 which increased to 48% in 1957 and then 55% in 1962. Thereafter the voter turnout has hovered between 55-65%. Indian electorate i.e. the eligible voters above the age of 18, is 714 million. So a 60% turnout actually means that 285 million people do not vote and surprisingly no one is concerned.

The 40% people who do not participate in the electoral process are not lazy or incapable of walking to the nearest polling booth, but are people who have lost faith in the system. They are either not happy with the candidates who are fielded in the electoral battle or have been disappointed by successive "leaders" not delivering on issues which matter the most. These 40% people take the word politician as an adjective and that too in a negative manner. No wonder they do not vote.

The politicians do not want to tackle the issue of non-participation of the electorate in the process because they are pretty happy with the current system. If they do talk about it, someone might just start talking about the eligibility, responsibilty, method of election, form of government etc which they do not want.

People, read politicians, blame the electorate for not participating in the process but the truth is exactly the opposite. It is the politicians who do not participate with the electorate besides of course during the campaigning period. Once the elections are over, the electorate can forget the politicians elected and otherwise for a period of the next five years, the usual term for the government. How does one really expect peoiple to participate in the election process.

It is like a friend who meets one, once in five years and only when he/she is in need. Does one really care about such a friend? So, why should one care about a process which does not have anything in it for the him/her?

Another reason for the electorate to get disillusioned pretty fast may be the kind of Governance system we have. It is largely party oriented. Blame it on the politicians again for "educating" their electorate in such a manner over a period of sixty years. Here the contestant is not important, what is important is the party which he/she belongs to. As a result we have criminals, illiterates and generally useless people elected to office. Political parties market themselves as such and people think that putting a particular party in power will solve their woes. This never happens. It is the elected leaders who make the government and it is the elected leaders who take decisions. The party by itself is quite useless.

It is high time we started thinking locally about who we are electing for our constituency to work for us. The electorate should not even be thinking about what happens at the national level and which party forms the Government. They should elect a leader who is capable, professional in his job and who is passionate about doing something for his constituency. If we do this that would be enough for that particular constituency to develop and progress the way it should. If all constituencies elect their leader with the same logic, the Government at the Centre and the development and progress at the national level will take care of itself.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

A Random Man

I was lying on my bed staring at nothing, wondering about the vagaries of the world. Very soon a movement in the emptiness in front of me shook me out of the reverie. It was a mosquito which had flown into my sacred airspace. Now it was still, hanging in mid air. No movement at all.

Many thoughts crossed my mind. First I thought, maybe it was not a mosquito and that I had discovered a new species of spiders, which looked like mosquitoes. I strained my eyes to look for a tell tale piece of gossamer by which it was probably hanging. Couldn't see anything. Then I thought it was a mosquito with an identity crisis and then that maybe I was dreaming.

Normally a stationary mosquito is an inviting prospect to clap your hands. But this one intrigued me and I waited for it to make a move as it probably contemplated which part of my anatomy to feast on.

"Well, aren't you going to do something?" I heard. That was it I was surely dreaming, I thought, a mosquito with spidery habits and talking, English that too, though it wouldn't have mattered much even if it was speaking Spanish or French.

"Like what?" I asked, just to keep it in good humor.

"Like try to kill me."

"Why would I do that?" I lied, in a very questionable manner.

"Because if you don't, then I might bite you."

"Would you do that? Why would you do that?" I asked.

"Because I need to, I have to lay eggs."

"Oh! So you are a female. You might just survive then, since I don't raise my hands on females."

"How dumb? All the mosquitoes which bite you or any other human being are females."

"Really?" I was disappointed at such a sudden jolt to my sense of chivalry as well as genius.

"You really don't know much about mosquitoes, do You? We need blood to lay eggs. The proteins and iron in the blood is essential for the development of our offspings. That is why male mosquitoes do not bite humans, because they don't need your blood to survive."

"Not even just to have fun or for taste?"

"No. Males do not have the proboscis so they can't really draw blood. Even we don't need the blood to survive. It is only for procreation."

"Thank God, the human females are not made like that."

"Very funny."

"Why me?" I asked.

"Why not? We are not very choosy. Your blood is as good as any one else's. Do you think it really matters, Who we take it from?"

"You don't even know me."

"This is definitely the height of social living. I mean you expect a mosquito to introduce itself and then develop a rapport with you before it can draw blood."

"No, I mean don't you want to know about me before you take my blood into your body."

"No, would it matter to you which mosquito takes blood from you."

"As a matter of fact, yes. Are you Anopheles?"

"No. By the way, Don't you have anything better to do than talk to a mosquito. I am leaving."

"Don't you have something to do, like blood and all."

"You have taken all the fun out of it by asking so many questions. I mean it is just a simple activity in the process of reproduction. I can imagine what human females must be going through. So, No. I am going to give it a pass."

"The others will think you are crazy."

"I doubt it. You are the one talking to a mosquito dude"

The mosquito moved away from me and joined another one. As they were flying away, the other one asked, "Who was he?"

"Just a random man." My friend replied.

Waiting For A Miracle

Many a times in life one gets into a situation where he / she realizes that he / she is utterly helpless and there is nothing that can be done except wait, wait for something to happen or wait for something to stop happening, wait for a twist of fate, wait for a divine intervention, wait for a miracle.

Where do you go when,
in an open field it starts raining?

How do you see, on a dark night,
light at the end of the tunnel?

How far can you swim
in the middle of the ocean?

How do you fight with
both arms tied behind your back?

Who do you think will stop when
you are going down?

Whose hand do you hold when
everyone’s gone?

How long do you hope after
you have been pushed off a steep cliff?

How do you pick yourself up,
on you, the burden of entire world?

How do you smile when
your heart is full of sorrow?

What do you do when the one
you love, loves someone else?

How long do you wait, indeed,
Waiting for a Miracle?

How Full Is Your HDTV?

Recently we, my family, in a never ending quest to make the idiot box less idiotic, decided to upgrade our TV. We had already reached the humongous size 29” in the conventional series and knew it was time to embrace newer technology. Over the years, as with all the other families, the TV size was growing and the room size getting smaller. LCD or Plasma TVs seemed to fit the requirement of the shrinking room size without being too intrusive in the already limited space.

Just like the last time when I had to buy Potatoes for the house, I started research on the Internet and guess what, learning how to buy potatoes was much simpler than how to buy an LCD TV, though equally nerve racking.

After spending a lot of time on the Internet one thing was clear that it was the cost which was going to decide which brand, and which size I was going to buy, even though I knew that, that would be the last thing I was going to let others on.. So I went on to one of those huge swanky looking Electronics stores and stood in front of the wall adorning about forty television sets of various brands and sizes. Very soon I had a salesman with a smile plastered on to his face in front of me.

“Are you looking for a TV, Sir?” He asked in a manner as if I had just lost my dear one in a crowd. I couldn’t really blame him, since many people just go to the stores to watch a cricket match if there is one on. I realized that I couldn’t really fool him for long since I wouldn’t be able to differentiate one from the other in the plethora of choices available and moreover it was indeed a shop so I decided to let him on the secret.

“Err.. Yes!”

“What is your budget Sir?”

A*^%^$#@, “Never mind that!” So funny that being part of the middle class actually makes you look like one.

“Any particular brand you are interested in? We have Sony, LG, Samsung, Akai, Panasonic, Videocon, Sharp, TCL, …..” I was short on time and it seemed like the whole world was manufacturing only LCD TVs, so I interrupted him.

“Sony, LG and Samsung would do, and keep it above 29 inch,” I responded.

After what seemed like hours and having gone through the X, W, Z, T, S series of Sony, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 series of Samsung and the 30, 53, 70 , Jazz, Scarlet series of LG and negotiating, with some difficulty, through technical jargon like aspect ratio, dynamic contrast ratio, resolution, etc, I homed in on a 37-inch Samsung and negotiated the price. Just when I thought that I had finalized the deal, our friendly salesman, who actually was nobody’s friend, decided to put my convictions to test.

“Sir if you are spending so much money, why don’t you look at just one more model and get same size, same contrast ratio, aspect ratio plus a full HD TV?”

“What do you mean, the TV I selected is not HDTV?”

“It is HDTV sir but it is not full HD,” he replied with a sense of complete satisfaction.

“And pray, what is the difference.”

“The resolution, Sir.” Great! Just when I thought, I had everything figured out.

“Go on.”

“What you are buying can show 720 vertical lines whereas the full HD TV can show 1080 lines. Much better picture, Sir.”

“How many TV channels are being broadcast on full HD?” I asked.

“Right now, in India? None Sir. But it is the future of TV. Sooner or later it will come.”

This was my fourth TV in 14 years. The chances of even the H reaching India before I changed again were very bleak. Just to keep up with the conversation, I asked the salesman what the price was.

He replied and I smiled for the first time during the entire conversation. A full Rs 2000/- cheaper than the stupid, not even full, HDTV I had selected. That sealed the deal and I bought and brought it home.

Just the presence of the full HD feature, which is not being used, is lending a tremendous quality to the TV viewing experience. When I miss my old TV, the LCD TV has a feature of shifting the aspect ratio back to 4:3 and the picture looks like it used to in my old TV. The TV has saved a lot of space in our living room. Living room, because what’s the point of buying something so expensive if it can’t be shown off, especially when the full HD feature, as such, is not being used.

I went back on the Internet and tried to understand more about the feature, which I was probably never going to use, my newest TV had, and what I read disappointed me. The TV industry has already thought of a fuller HD format, fuller than the current full HD. The 2160p. It will have eight megapixels compared to the current 2 megapixels. Thankfully the format will not come into being till 2015. Till that time my TV will remain full HD and then one fine day suddenly it will become “not so full”.

I am afraid, that the fullness of the HDTV may just become a status symbol. "Tell me, How full is your HDTV?"

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