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Showing posts with label Ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ethics. Show all posts

Sachin: Just Not Cricket

Posted by KAHIHI - 5 comments

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, a name that even a newly born would be aware of. His competency on the field is unmatched. The title, “God of Cricket” is indeed apt enough when it comes to his cricket. However, like the God, creator of this universe, puts us in doubt at times that He might have done some mistakes, not everything He created is perfect, and few things of His are questionable.
Rightly so, this legendary cricketer too puts me in doubt at times. I don’t doubt the life that creates on the field with his magic wand, hitting through the mid-on, mid-off, gully, square cut, and so on – everything with adept precision. His fans/followers say “Cricket is a religion and Sachin is God” and Hayden praised Sachin, “I have seen God. He bats at no. 4 in India in Tests” – I agree to every word of praise that is bestowed on this Little Master. Yet there is something that still does not make me very likeable of him.
Recently when Sachin shifted to his Bandra residence, an abode worth Rs 39 Cr, I was happy for him, more because a Marathi mulga from Mumbai had achieved that feat. Few days later I was made to rethink about my elation. I read in newspapers that there was a discussion going on to waive off any penalty on Sachin because he had shifted into his house without obtaining an Occupation Certificate, a mandatory requirement for start living in a new house. I felt sad. A God should be treated like one only in the heaven (or hell) and not when He comes on earth, on earth He should be treated just like any other man (human) – no exceptions allowed. Thus, Sachin even if a great personality, VIP, pride of India, God of cricket should be respected likewise only when he is playing, off the field he should be treated just like a common man with equal rights/rules/regulations applicable to him.
I also remember the Ferrari case of 2002, in which the then Finance Minister made amendments to the Finance Bill of 2003 to accommodate Sachin being waved off the customs/import duty on the foreign vehicle he received. The rule at that time stated that customs duty can be waived only if a vehicle is received as a prize and not as a gift. The duty of Rs. 1.13 Cr was waived off, later though upon protest from activists, Fiat agreed to pay the import duty. All this looks clean in a way. Ferrari gifted it, Government of India decided to bypass the customs duty regulation, Fiat covered up the matter. However, had Sachin spoken a word to pay the customs duty, I presume the respect for him would have increased beyond crores. For a man who had completed a 5 year contract with WorldTel worth Rs. 30 Cr from 1995-2000 and then Rs. 80 Cr from 2001 again for next 5 years, I don’t think it would have been difficult to pay that duty of Rs. 1.13 Cr.
If you need to stand iconic you need to exhibit your prowess all round and not in one direction, because not only people who love cricket but others too observe you. Sachin’s case looks like that of Rahul Gandhi, the pseudo youth icon.
Sachin had brushed Raj Thackeray once proclaiming he is an Indian first and Mumbai belongs to every Indian. Well then my dear good Marathi mula, do should do things that appeal to entire India irrespective class, creed, color, religion, economic stature. If you are inspiration to the young kids playing cricket in the corridors of chawls, railway tracks, footpaths, please also uphold activities that will inspire every Indian to follow up. Take the rules seriously, don’t allow any regulation to be tampered, don’t pay heed to any waive-offs, discounts. Instead come ahead and respect the laws of the land, this too will add to your respect and reputation, apart from the magic of your willow.

- Amol Redij

Today's Gandhiji

Posted by KAHIHI - 0 comments

Bespectacled, a wrinkled face and a familiar nose - Anna Hazare, the Gandhi for today’s youth. At 71 years of age, his fast unto death campaign to eradicate corruption has made everyone from a young toddler to an old compatriot go berserk. Our deep slumber ended on 5th April. This man, with his party of handful followers, started an epic fast for getting the Jan Lokpal bill approved and it phenomenally turned out to be a voice that everyone needed, a leader that everyone was waiting for. Perhaps, people are now realizing that it was either now, with this Gandhi of ours, or never.
We have been hearing about corruption ever since, many of us have probably been victims of corruption. Everyone wanted corruption out of the system. We saw many scams that put our country to shame, we read well-written essays by few eminent personalities, we saw media having moron panel to discuss/debate and howl on TV sets, bloggers writing about corruption, children speaking about anti-corruption in school elocutions but never a step taken of such magnitude was seen.
Then why does it matter now?
After facing corruption, even getting involved in it at times, why does it matter now?
Why has the issue of Lokpal Bill being discussed now when nobody took it seriously for 42 years?
Why is every Indian irrespective of age, out on the street shouting “I am Anna Hazare”?
The answer lies in the simple fact that we never had a bold voice speaking so resolutely against corruption. Even if we had any, we never saw any action being taken and as an activist puts it “This old man here is ready to put his life on a struggle to have a better India ready for the youth” – India where politics could become a career option for the educated rather than hooligans and half witted people (like now) mobbing it and exploiting the nation for their vested interests. He is ably providing a voice to help us channelize our fight and build a better nation for ourselves.
Just before his campaign, the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and the Indian team bought whole of India together in celebration. Now this man has accomplished a historical feat, a mass drive across hundreds of cities, with thousands of people (majority of which is youth) – truly an iconic crusade worth emulating.
A mellow voice, a shy smile on his face but the sheer grit to get corruption out of India has overwhelmed me, and most certainly the entire nation. Seeing the teenagers (surprisingly) with posters pasted on their t-shirts displaying “Anna Hazare hum tumhare saath hai” sends frissons in me from head to toe.
The night India won the World Cup 2011, those on the streets would have swore that it looked like a revolution, like India having achieved independence yet again – with Indian flags fluttering on every car, people shouting “Bharatmata ki Jai” slogans, et al.
Hopefully we should revive the same emotion now to honour the efforts of that 71 year old man. This time we have a new Gandhi to lead, a vision set and the enemy lies within for whom you don’t need guns or swords or canons – our own government, comprising the same people we elected with lots of hope will now be responsible for every action they take, will now be answerable for every question we ask. They will now, after almost sixty years of independence and having the tag of “the world’s largest democracy” will understand what it will mean to be really governing a country. And as for us, we will see a dawn of new dimension of politics, understanding the fundamental rights of a citizen, a cleaner system to get our questions through, a right knowledge of whom to elect and why to elect, knowledge of our basic right of knowing and questioning all the decisions taken.
This will be a result of a revolution, not a fight like the one we had sixty years ago, a revolution in the real meaning of the word. Possibly, the whole governing system will be changed, it will evolve to be better place to dwell and the mindset of society will change towards politics and towards the people that govern us. Having “ruled” the country for years, hopefully they will now learn how to “govern” it and govern it to the benefit of the people.
This all being the efforts of one man – Bespectacled, the same thin frame round spectacles, a familiar nose and those deep sunken eyes so endearing and willful.
In all good hope that we don’t let that man lose, make him look weak & lonely there; let us pledge our support for him and the cause he has put up. Let us for once, keep oneself aside and think about our nation – a nation that has in its own way and to best of its capacity conferred some privileges on us.

- Aniket Sawant

Man of Honour

Posted by KAHIHI - 0 comments

For India, last year has been pitiful. While few countries were rocked with public uprisings and natural disasters, India witnessed corruption calamity. The dirt of scams and immoral practices among the politicians and bureaucrats were probably more tumultuous than the citizen uproars and the tsunami waves.
Last year our country (sadly) was full of news about the CWG scam, 2G scam, land scams, food prices manipulation, etc in which unthinkable amount of money was siphoned depriving our country (and its citizens) of basic needs.
The progress of a country lies in its development and empowerment of its citizens. However, none of that is seen in our country. The development projects that are undertaken go on for years due the bureaucracy and practices of bribery that are allowed in our system. Eventually, the prices of development go high, the budgets are then manipulated and either the quality is compromised or the citizen is burdened with excess taxes. The budgets allotted for upliftment of the downtrodden are deviated before they reach the actual audience – a very tactful means to exploit the people for want of votes – keep them illiterate and underprivileged so that they always remain at your mercy.
I do not intend to justify or falsify any of the claims made by either sides of the government or the general public. I am, however, confused, as I have always been trying to understand the psyche behind people doing such frauds, scams, and adopting to ill means to achieve what they want. To put it simply, I always wanted to understand, “how much should be enough”; the greed keeps increasing ever after. Even in my wildest dreams, I can never think about what I would do with Rs. 200 crores of assets, if I could ever make that kind of wealth (I did dream about that once, accumulating 200 crores of assets was in itself a gigantic task, and it was morning by the time I could reach that mark. I assumed that I already had that asset base and dream again, yet I failed to conceive of anything to do with that kind of wealth). And here there are people who guzzle down 10 times or even 100 times of that money with so much each and pretence like chewing a paan.
Corruption has plagued our nation. Or perchance, it is like a cancer for our country.
See the cases of Harshad Mehta, Ketan Parikh, Dinesh Dalmia, Telgi, Raju of Satyam, Kalmadi, Raja, and so on. They all reaped what they sowed. They all were big and powerful, yet had to confront the results of their unlawful activities. They had to face the heat.
However, the next step would be to make sure that men like those get punished. It is imperative that we have rules & laws that empower the people to take actions against the corrupt officials. The government alone cannot decide what it must do with those immoral people, there should be a people’s say deciding the appropriate actions for the wrongdoers – a law breaker cannot be a law maker, after all.
Many things like these (words I have wrote above this line) have been written in protest. However, little did it helped, as probably the efforts were not focussed and properly channelized.
Nevertheless, not anymore.
We finally have someone who has taken these men of dishonour head-on. There comes a time when the tolerance level is breached and it takes one person to pull things off. And that person is Anna Hazare – someone who has cared & dared to fight corruption and clean the dirt. How successful he will? Let’s leave it to time. In the meanwhile, let’s stand by him to strengthen his dream of having a righteous society around.
I salute the “man of honour” – Anna Hazare.

- P. K. Dastoor

Tower of Lust, 31st – A Dramatic Monologue

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This Dramatic Monologue is based on Robert Brownings Love among the Ruins first appeared on 10th Nov, 1855 before 155 years. The original poem depicts the ultimate object of male desire to collect material wealth in a misdirected way and hence the fall of the city.
The situation is exactly the same today. In fact, in multiplied proportion.
31st in the title is just because of the number of floors of the building in scam.

 
(Based on "Love Among The Ruins" by Robert Browning)
Now, Mumbai tipsters of towers
Not flowers
On the tranquil seashore plot of Nariman Point
Spaces they joint
Making a paper file of the land, ministers and bureaucrats remark
To embark
In the names of widows of war-soldiers dead
The rulers tread
Our country's financial capital's chief minister
Playing sinister
Kith and kin feel entering their hypothesized heaven
Surrounded by stain
Car wheels crushing excreta carrying to podium
Enjoying odium
Uniformed watchdogs protecting city and national gates
Sharing secrets
In the heart of marshland and slum
Enter political plum
The lust of money and land grab doesn't stop
Though crests drop
A billion dwellers never inhaled pure weather
They capped feather
Concentration camps moving on rails make them no difference
Signing file clearance
Prince and the queen ‘ever beating poverty drum
Mysteriously mum
The chief ministers and confreres under oath
Naked over cloth
The entire world looked with awe at new Mumbai-south
With open mouth
Where are five year national plans?
Consistency sans
Entire political career of continued corruption
Where’s interruption!
With their Bakasuri hunger of grabbing wealth
Where's the oath?
Their shenanigans and their rogueries and their guiles
Killing smiles

(Apologising Robert Browning)

- Divakar Kambli

Prince’s Hollywood Movie Based on India!

Posted by KAHIHI - 0 comments

Rahul Gandhi should visit Hollywood instead of draught prone hinterlands of Maharashtra that he is fond of. Not because he looks like a western actor with an expressionless face and faltering dialogue delivery like Clint Eastwood, not an A class actor, but because he thinks at least to extent in Hollywoodian manner. Clint Eastwood also is movie maker.

RG said that the social schemes devised by Maharashtra were followed by the country for the welfare of the people. The phrase, aam aadmi is out of fashion?

The schemes like Co-op Movement, Panchayti Raj, Employment Guarantee Schemes, he meant. Absolutely true, though the English press has always tried to suppress such positive news in their reports as far as Maharashtra is concerned.

There is saying in Marathi – the sun doesn’t stop rising though the cock doesn’t bang. Now Rahul Gandhi’s sun has risen though may be later in the morning and at odd times.

As a son he is also pushed on the eastward horizon to rise!

Now why do I feel RG should go to Hollywood?

The Hollywood public has a habit of lifting the original stories from across the other part of the world, polish them, buff them, gloss them at an exorbitant cost and present the chakachak copy with a big bang in the world market.

One example is enough; “Seven Samurai” (Originally Japanese) of Akira Kurosawa to “The Magnificent Seven” in English. I doubt whether one fourth of the world viewers are aware of Kurosawa and how important and influential director he is.

Ditto welfare schemes devised by Maharashtra. One percent of the Indians may not know about it.

RG, lovingly (!) called Prince by some section of media also has a script in mind for his movie. The movie this time is based on eradication of corruption and may be in two parts.

Now the production scenario:

In the first part the storyline will move around the action to be taken, immediately against corruption cases. This will go on the sets soon. Lots of young actors can be considered for the leading role from his brigade. But preference will be given to those who are not from a pedigree of politicians, the dynastic leader said.

There were whispers of laughter from the attendees of the press conference.
   
The first assistant director would be Ashokrao Chavan. But the gossip columnists say there is a big tussle behind the screen for the post. Vilasrao Deshmukh wants to push Ashokrao Chavan to the second place that may be agreed to as the planning chief of the studio is in latter’s favour.

Though a Hollywood production, the crew and cast is totally Indian. Top to toe (touching his head to the foot fingers of a baba) believer in Indian superstition, the frustrate has decided to reinstate himself back as Ashok Chavan under the auspices of Satya Saibaba after his secret visits.

In the earlier Marathi-Hindi bilingual production under the same banner Baba had advised to change the name. The movie bombed and hero Ashok Chavan who also did a miniscule role of a police waiting for the Prince (why? Nobody knows) under a tree was dismissed in the next production. Vilasrao (rao, in tact) was the production manager then. Gladly!

In all other productions earlier, he was the most favourite hero. However, in his efforts to push his son under another banner making a movie on terrorism on a five star backdrop was not appreciated by the production house, dismissing him from the scenario sending to a distant studio.

It is rumoured that he is being brought back. The signals are shining visibly green.

Having decided to take an ambitious plunge in Hollywood, the shaky director, though backed well on all other aspects of cinema making, is uncertain about choosing the villain.

Suddenly there is such a crop of villains like Congress grass that it has been difficult to choose the main villain. A. Raja and Thomas are the leading names. However, as per public survey by competing studios, names of our earlier two heroes are also in the race, though they are reluctant.

They have already offered them the roles of villains.

The henchmen and ruffians around the villain had no count. They are available in million, ready to do any role, like willingly throwing the administrative officers in fire. They are fed up of wielding Pt.32 revolver like Clint Eastwood in sixties, boring now.

The music director is not finalized yet. But from the script that is almost ready it seems that Nero from Rome would be the one called from the past with mainly using fiddle. Who can befit more than him when the land is burning under the black market of adulterated fuel?

There may not be any heroin in the movie. But Sushma Swaraj has a big role to play. RG, the director is not in favour to cast her. The movie pundits have however warned him to introduce her, lest the movie won’t see the midnight of the release.

The director on the visit was heard murmuring to himself aloud not to pay any attention to her. But he knows it’s meaningless.

The publicity team however is far below par. The secretaries, with nothing to tell when asked in the press conferences whether the movie is based on the real truth, bark one and all on the question callers and go back to 1998-2004 regime of the opposition party not allowing anyone to hear anything, including themselves.

India feels this stray category of publicity has already sunk the movie before going on the floor. Both the studio heads, planning and executive, are having stiff upper lips though none of them is British to do so, mostly out of fear of losing the chairs thinking of the aftermath of this venture handed over to the novice.

The sets are ready. Many court sets are under construction. Some with slanting roofs of clay tiles, resembling European court buildings. Outdoor shooting would be mostly done in Maharashtra as the thriller has the backdrop there. The foreign locations are Zurich and doubly landlocked (means where a person has to cross at least two borders to reach a coastline) alpine country Liechtenstein situated on the border of Switzerland.

Nobody knows when the movie would be completed and released or whether it would be finished at all.

In the meanwhile, Prince, the director has declared with misplaced expressions on his face, one line story of the sequel, saying - in the long run there was a need to cleanse the political system.

It would take more time than Pakeeza (14 years) by Kamal Amrohi or The Thief and The Cobbler (31) years a Canadian animation film conceived by Richard Williams based Arabian Nights, any young boy not allowed to question in his pompous Q & A programs in cities would tell.

- DevikaRani Kamath

Need for Counselling

Posted by KAHIHI - 0 comments

Today, hi-tech innovations and scientific revolution have gripped all around us. It has become nearly impossible to imagine a thing without them. Though these innovations have made life simpler mechanically, it has deeply hampered human’s natural behaviour. The psyche to get things (results) immediately has reduced the patience levels of an individual thereby distorting the entire pattern of our society. The structure of our thinking and the building blocks of our society are changing rapidly thus creating a social and mental imbalance. Day to day examples of these can be observed in increased stress levels of employed individuals, rising amounts of divorces, adjusting with the family, fights on petty issues, unnecessary violent reactions, and so on.

Before the picture gets more worrisome, it is the time to heal the society and its habitants. Counselling has become the need of the hour, among one of the basic necessities of life apart from roti, kapda, makaan. Counselling is required for better adaptation of an individual.

Counselling comprises professional experts giving personal help to the distressed mind. More often people get wary of a counsellor, as psychologist habitually equated to someone to cures madness. People fear being called mad or someone taking medical help for mental illness. However, counselling is not about all that. It is in fact to help an individual concentrate on his/her well being.

Counselling is designed to assist a person in accomplishing the purpose of achieving a stable mind that helps induce rational thought process. It does not answer the dilemma of an individual, but facilitates the individual to resolve the problem on his/her own.

It is myth that counselling is about treating mad people or imbalanced minds. On the contrary, counselling focuses on guiding the person by understanding his psyche than focussing on the problem and treating it.

This distinct profession has its interdisciplinary base, interlinked with other fields such as sociology, history, anthropology, psychometric, psychology, ethics, and hence it is a wonderful culmination of theories (& practices) that promote the growth of an individual by self- direction.

Guidance counsellor, an expert who practices counselling, supports an individual by systematic professional process through education and interpretive procedure. This is meant to enable the individual to gain better understanding of his own characteristics and potentialities. Further, in accordance with social & moral values, this helps him to relate himself more satisfactorily to social requirement and opportunities.

With increasing pressures to achieve higher things in life, people have forgotten the basic value of enjoying life. Rather than detaching oneself from the material pleasures, people are today coming loose from nature and simple pleasures in life. It is here that counselling helps you create a balance. It does not set a vision for you, it does not give you direction in life but certainly helps you improve your patience levels and shred the ignorance that has innately leached inside you.

- Pragyan Jha
(Pragyan Jha is a qualified psychologist & practicing counsellor in Pune)

Do We Know Our Enemy?

Posted by KAHIHI - 1 comments

It was the Christmas time and Santa was bound to be around the corner. It was the time to go wishing for gifts from the white-bearded man. But we have to behave good for that.

Perhaps, the name at the bottom in Santa’s list might be that of Julian Assange, co-founder of the whistle-blower website Wikileaks. A man cursed upon right from the most powerful man on earth, the President of America, protested against by those fighting for privacy rights, branded as a terrorist by Sarah Palin, and still among the most admired men. He is a dark knight, the people’s choice for the Times Person of the Year, the messenger.

Standing for all that is good in the world, and hunted down by half the governments, he is a man we were waiting for, a man who stands up for the underdogs. Built on principles and ethics, an intriguing personality with a great philosophy behind his mottos, this man is courage personified.

A young Julian Assange was a part of a hacker group that had one of its mottos as share information. Perhaps a little inquisitiveness, personal experience and a strong sense of right and wrong has made this man we know today. Being one of the winners of Amnesty award and “one of the most influential person” he is still humble. A brain of unparalleled genius is transforming the now rotten field of journalism.

Greenday, the punk rock band asked the world, “Do you know your enemy?” and we didn’t till then. But today when the very basis of democracy is shattered by the bulk of secrets kept from the public we do realize who the enemy is. It is the regime, the very government that we elect and today Wikileaks has called for a change in this regime. The regime which wants to stay by covering their schemes, the wars they got into, the loss in those wars, is brought to open by these messengers. Julian Assange and his people revolted against the honor to obey, they brought down the silence which had been our enemy for so long. The new era for internet freedom has begun and this massive power of the internet is taming all those power-hungry politicos and bringing to the public all the dirty little secrets. 

This simple man, with very simple and straight philosophy, has showed to us the real face of the world’s most powerful democracy and the notorious secrets of other countries. A self-taught hacking expert and a computer-whiz, he is a revolution in the field of journalism, the press. The fourth pillar of democracy which sways public opinion in any direction, was till now a tool used by the governments to mould facts the way they want. We knew, the facts that we saw were not true, we knew there was also the “Other Side of the Story” but we stood silent. When incidents like 26/11 happened we thought we had enough of this silence. We rose up in violence and brought this government to senses that not always would we accept your facts. And this violence is the energy we seek now to bring reform. Wikileaks gave us channel to let this violence flow, a way to ask the government “what’s the truth?”

News supported with documents and material to prove the truth, is the new face of journalism. The sources are hidden but the documents echo the truth. The methods to acquire the documents are known yet “fool-proof”. And all this is the genius of one simple man. The power will now move in our hands when the foreman of control will be brought down, when his effigy will be burned.

But still one question lingers in the mind. Is it ethical?

Is it ok to steal the secrets of a government? And the answer lies in the fact, if we elect the people up there, we give them our trust votes then they should be entrust us about the annual spending, the wars and the losses suffered, the schemes carried out at international level. If not then the Heroes are waiting to spill the beans. It’s a choice upon the regime up there to decide. Either trust us with every step you take or acknowledge the fact that we do know who our enemy is.

- Aniket Sawant