My previous post on salaries for defence personell drew comments from both sides of the fence. One of the most poignant ones came from the Wife of a Major.
Heres a post on Churumuri with a YouTube Video that raises the same question: When a Major gets less than a Real Estate Broker.
I have posted the Youtube Video below:
Courtesy: Al Jazeera, Churumuri
Facts:
Are we being held to ransom here? These guys are actually tweaking their noses at the common citizen. They REFUSE to comply with an order that actually makes driving safer.
A kid who scores 91% in his exams commits suicide because he thinks his family cannot afford to fund his studies. Another girl commits suicide becuase her marks were not upto the expectation.
Do these incidents point to a failing in the Indian Educational System or is it just that we are driving our kids too hard with expectations that are too high?
Growing up, there was pressure to perform but not to this extent. In our days we were sent for tuitions only if we were weak in a particular subject, today one needs to go to tuition just to combat peer pressure.
I remember reading about the Japanese School system some years ago and the pressure to perform driving kids to take the extreme step. Are we becoming the same?
How can we address this?
So now the Andhra Govt is ordering a probe into Abhi and Ash’s Tirupathi visit where devotees were made to wait while the star couple took its time seeking the Lords blessings.
While all this is okay, how much do you want to bet that this is politically motivated? The Congress Govt in AP… elections in UP…. see any links?
I had a friend who was in Tirupathi when Madam Sonia (the real PM) was there. His experience to put it in his own words was “Horrifying”. So how come no probe then?
So its raining again and Bangaloreans are going through the same harrowing experience they go through every year:
1. Flooded Basements
2. Flooded Streets
3. Overflowing Gutters
4. General Chaos
The Bangalore Bombat Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is probably stretched beyond its capabilities.
While we are quick to jump up and blame them (nine times out of ten we are justified), some amount of responsibility for this lies with us as well.
I am not talking about the builders who have converted tank bunds into apartment complexes (that explains the flooding in the basement). For instance our road normally has good drainage and street rarely floods. But of late there is this “brihaspathi” who is building a house and despite all requests dumps sand and bricks in the gutter in front of his house thus blocking all exits for the gushing water.
We cant blame the BBMP for this.
Alex from Bangalore posted a comment on an older post “Pay Per Noise” which was Murali’s satire on Noise Pollution. However his comments were serious and I’d thought I’d post them here to get reactions. It brings out the subtle need for civic sense in everything we do. Heres his comment:
There is this neighbour of mine (in Bangalore) who is bent upon spoiling the peace and quietness of the road we live in. She conducts Music classes early in the morning at her house and the crooning is audible almost 200m away. This disturbs our sleep as well as our mood every morning . And once she is done with her music classes she turns on the TV with very high volume. The situations gets worse on holidays or on a weekend when their home theater system is switched on.
My parents are 60 years old and cannot bear such high decible levels. Repeated requests and fights have yeilded no response / improvements.
This couple (our neighbours) is a young couple with two young school going kids. I wonder how they bear such high decible levels. These are educated people behaving in such ignorant and socially irresponsible manner.
Is anyone aware of what the laws are to curb such a menace and any equipment to help disturb their noise generating equipment and help reduce the noise levels inside our home?!!
Only a public crusade and agitation against such socially irresponsible behaviour will help curb this menace.
I am hoping someone like Silkboard will do a more detailed write up on this but from the looks of it our Armed Forces are getting shafted as far as pay is concerned.
An officer in the Indian Army earns less than an entry level person at a call center (was on TV last night).
What an irony. These are men and women who defend their country putting their lives on the line.
Our netas keep giving themselves more perks and yet the defence seems to get short changed.
News reports say that the army is asking for a 400% pay hike. I for one will be rooting for them.
I watched on TV last evening, an elephant going beserk in Thrissur (Kerala) and killing its Mahout. While I feel sorry for the guy, I could not help feeling sorrier for the elephant.
Here is a majestic animal that deserves to be in the forest. Instead its carrying a ton of “decoration” on its back, and chains around its ankles while being surrounded by thousands of people. The other thing that disturbed me was people hurling rocks and bricks at the poor animal which probably enraged it even more.
I remember a few years ago, an elephant going on the rampage on RV Road (near the RV Teachers College). Though no one was killed, some were injured. The reason was that the Mahout was plucking hair from its tail and selling it to people who beleive it brings good luck.
Everytime I see an elephant with chains around its ankles, the same thought occurs to me. “I wonder how we’d react if we are treated like that?”
Ended up at home early on Tuesday evening and took a walk with Nikhil. We stopped by a Pani Puri gaadi to get a snack.
Suddenly this guy on the bike shows up and demands “collection” money from the Gaadi guy. “Yen guru ninne nu kotilla. Hege madidre boss ge kopa barutthe” (Loose translation: You havent paid up yesterday as well. The boss will get angry). So the guy hems and haws and makes excuses about how collections havent been good etc. The guy leaves with a promise/threat to show up later in the evening.
Exactly 5 minutes later 2 cops show up. The guy puts something in their hand and they walk away.
I ask him what this was about. Turns out that this guy has to keep both the cops and goons happy to stay in business. He wouldnt tell me how much he paid out.
So much for guardians of the law.
I still remember feeling “numb” when IOC employee Manjunath was murdered in 2005 for doing his duty. I didn’t know the man, but seeing his parents and the anguish they were going through was enough.
The murderers have been brought to justice. One got the death penalty and all the rest got life.
Now the appeals process starts…. sigh !!!
Just to prove my point on the long and winding road of justice, theres another news clip today about 3 people being convicted of the 1984 riots in Delhi.
Just 3 People???? Are they joking? An entire community was targetted and all they can do after 20+ years is convict 3 people?
Bangalore Blues 