All the random thoughts

I have never heard of any of these people returning their awards (while keeping the reward!). I had to write this because a friend of mine, who probably knew that I liked Gulzar’s work, asked me to respond when Gulzar made some statement about “rising intolerance”. Gulzar and others might be responding based on the newspaper reports and media trials. There is a very conscious effort on part of the media to build negative perceptions and opinions after every minor incident in the country. Falling into that trap and then changing ones world view accordingly is a sad reflection of ones state of mind. Has someone responded based on actual data? How many incidents of intolerance have occured in this country in the last year? How many of them would have been ignored as 'stray incidents' if Congress were in power and why they are being attributed to 'intolerance' otherwise? In how many cases have the police reports and courts have actually corroborated the media judgmen...

“For the rank you have got in EAMCET, you only have two options. Printing Technology at REC Warangal OR Civil Engineering at Osmania University College of Engineering”   For the life of it, I could not fathom what Engineering has got to do with Printing. On the other hand, Civil Engineering was a “dying art form” - I was sufficiently brainwashed at those coaching centers on Bank Street, Koti. There wasn’t enough time to form a larger picture and philosophize between these choices. So I changed the criteria for selection. “Wherever I know more people”, I said, “I’ll join there”.   And that is how the path of life took a major turn.   If there is something more important than education at the college, it is character building. Those graduation years is the time of our lives when we start building definitive opinions about who we are, who our friends should be, what the world is about and what our role in it should be. Life in the Osmania campus impacted me in ...

"And you are?" the visa officer had a somber expression as he riffled through the documents.   The man replied.   "You are American? What do you need a Visa for then?" dealing with Indians can be exasperating some times.   "I am not American sir. That is my name. I am an Indian" the man explained.   "So you are an Indian but named American? Why'd your parents do that?"   "May be they wanted me to be rich. That's what my name means"   The officer sighed. "You have no idea my friend. It is only a select few that become super rich but there is rest of us who need to toil in strange lands with strange names, then we have illegal immigrants from Mexico who are poor, then there are benches full of Indians in our downtowns - and their names are strange too and more. But yes, your lot are much better off in our country. Anyways, why do you want to relocate?"   "Not me sir. My wife wants to...

The atmosphere in the room was, let's say, electro-mechanical. At one end was a regal looking lady occupying the only chair in the room. Her head was in the middle of of other confabulating heads and, the only one visible as she oversaw a circle of black/white and bald tops around her. This was the Mechanical part of the room. At the far end were the still green future confabulators who were arguing amongst themselves about the presence or lack of it of the revered halo on the lady's head. "There it is. I just saw it" a young one shouted excitedly. "Where? Where?" everyone else had disappointment writ on their faces at missing the opportunity to spot it - that which had its only parallel in another such light at Sabarimala. It was all this positive and negative sightings that made this end of the room Electrical. All was routine until this sudden interruption. "You should not have responded that way, Madamji" a voice spoke from the m...