Blunders!!! Why did you do it, Anand?

This guy is just 23 and 10 days short of his 25th birthday, he has retained his World Chess Championship crown won last year in Chennai. He is one of the most unkempt prodigy wearing a suit, he smiles like a child of age 7, sits on the board with a forlorn look, walks a bit awkwardly, loiters around the game arena more than I taking toilet breaks at office and still he managed to very serenely deflate one of the most gifted Chess players of all times two years in a row.

Yes, Magnus Carlsen is the World Chess Champion once again. Last Sunday, Vishwanathan Anand perhaps played more foolishly than a novice like me to hand over the title in a platter. Once critic had the following to say.

Our tiger has grown old. He’s grown old… There’s not the same force as before. His teeth have been ground down, the leap is gone.

I am sad that he lost. I'm devastated that he lost from a position of considerable strength. On the official twitter account for the match, the mood turned so bad after the blunder around moves 24-30 that the rate of messages dropped by 80%. I want to ask Anand, Why? Why in the world he played so terribly. I was watching the game live and I was in a better position to force a win. Not only in the last game but also during the rest of the match, he was lining up one blooper after the other. All the talk of preparation before and during the match seemed so bogus. For me, he just walked out of a bar straight into the match. The 3rd game that he won was due to a rare sudden death of coolness of Magnus's chess. Otherwise, "... Kasparov's generation has left Olympus. Now the young will rule and fight there."

The era of Magnus began last year and has cemented its place in the folklore of Chess. He is the undisputed End Game champion. He has a remarkable acumen of putting things in right place in the final part of any game. His use of Rook is so strong that only a few have ever defeated him when it goes down to the wire. He hardly utters a word or emotion and still has extreme patience and concentration.

Somebody asked Vishy in the post-match press conference that he should be thinking of retirement now. He bluntly said, "No". I don't know what the hell is he thinking but at the current rate, he can play Magnus year after year for the summit clash and continue to come out as the second best player. He is past his prime, must take a break if not retirement and improve his mental calculation. Studying his games with Magnus will do him a world of good as well. How to avoid unnecessary exchanges is what he must learn. Also, his speed has gown down drastically. Magnus was lightning fast and the only game he lost saw him come under real time pressure.

Anand, I hate you for losing so abjectly. Roar again for all your fans. Or be human enough to hang your boots.

I am an Auto Driver

I am an Auto Driver,

Your joy and sorrow rider,

I am an Auto Driver.

You ask me to come during day,

I scornfully often tell you NAY,

You ask me to help at night,

I torment you with extra fare fight.

Your joy and sorrow rider,

I am an Auto Driver.

My actions are those which all will disapprove,

Seldom do I show signs that I will improve,

Police gives rebuke and media does shout,

I stick to my stand without any doubt.

Your joy and sorrow rider,

I am an Auto Driver.

When tussle of yours and mine stops,

There come things which I am not on top,

Rising BP and bulging tummy,

Very often I cry calling, "Mummy, Mummy".

Your joy and sorrow rider,

I am an Auto Driver.

All the pollution and dirt around,

Everyday myself they embrace and surround,

All the day's money I want in few rides,

Unaware that my death is taking fast strides.

Your joy and sorrow rider,

I am an Auto Driver.

Next time when I make you sulk,

Bring me medicines and money in bulk,

All that I ever gain comes with a lot of pains,

Let me pass away under your forgiveness's rains.

Your joy and sorrow rider,

I am an Auto Driver.

 

Significance of Diplomacy

When the five Tamilnadu fishermen landed in New Delhi, Indian Diplomacy gained some more momentum after the successful return of the nurses from Iraq. They were sentenced to death on charges of drug trafficking. Kudos to Sri Lanka for bypassing its own laws for the sake of foreign nationals. Diplomatic efforts from Indian Government in recent times have yielded satisfactory results. In principle, Diplomacy is another name for "Official Bartering". And as long as the barter brings good to the common, unerring folks on either side, it is always welcome.

At the same time, the manner in which we lost Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan hurts in more ways than one. He was fatally attacked inside the Kot Lakhpat (or Central Jail) Jail in Lahore by other inmates. Several years of appeal by governments of two different Prime Ministers could not secure his release. The case of Italian marines, who allegedly killed fishermen in Kerala waters, also presents a bad picture of our efforts. In both these cases, the eagerness required to pursue the most logical, legal and diplomatic, path was squarely found missing.

The endeavours of Diplomacy are equally important at home and away. If Indian fishermen are violating any Sri Lankan law, they must be clearly educated about it. In case of spies and agents wandering the target countries, most advanced legal and decoy trainings should be given. People looking for work in war-prone countries must be made aware of other possible employment avenues and if they still go ahead with the original assignment, how to guess a problem and take steps to mitigate it. Full report on the laws of that country must be handed over to whoever is travelling there. This would ensure that though New Delhi does all it should to protect its citizens, it does not go too far into interfering with legal system of other countries.

Bio-Toilet – A Step towards Swaccha Bhaarata

I came across a very valuable piece of work that has all the potential to give a big fillip to the Swachha Bhaarata Abhiyaana. It is called a Bio-Toilet or more technically, Biodigester. Biodigester technology has been developed for resolving the problems of un-decomposed human waste. The innovation degrades and converts the human waste into usable water and gasses in an eco-friendly manner. The generated gas can be utilized for energy/cooking and water for irrigation purposes.

It is already in big use by Indian Railways.

 

The process involves the bacteria which feed upon the fecal matter inside the tank, through anaerobic process which finally degrades the matter and releases methane gas that can be used for cooking, along with the treated water. The Biodigester tank can be manufactured and customized as per the requirement. The salient features include the following.

• No bad smell in toilets from the tanks
• Fecal matter in the tank not visible
• No infestation of cockroaches & flies
• No clogging of digester
• Effluent is free from off odour and solid waste
• Reduction in pathogens by 99%
• Reduction in organic matter by 90%
• No maintenance required
• No requirement of adding bacteria/enzyme
• No need of removal of solid waste
• Use of phenyl is permitted upto 84 ppm

DRDO [Defense Research and Development Organization] and FICCI [Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry], the two pioneering bodies in their respective areas of work, have come together for a very ingenious, productive, commercially and socially useful cause. They have created a programme called Accelerated Technology Assessment and Commercialization [ATAC]. programme aims to create a commercial pathway to deliver technologies developed by DRDO for appropriate commercial markets for use in civilian products and services. This programme is first of its kind to be undertaken by DRDO in association with FICCI to actively spin out several of DRDO's technologies for appropriate commercial markets both nationally and internationally. In the very first year of operation of the programme as many as 26 DRDO labs across India are participating and over 200 technologies are being assessed under this programme by FICCI. The technologies that are currently assessed are from sectors as diverse as electronics, robotics, advanced computing and simulation, Avionics, optronics, precision engineering, special materials, engineering systems, instrumentation, acoustic technologies, life sciences, disaster management technologies, information systems, etc.

Manjunath Shamugam -- A Voice that shall not fade

It is one thing to talk about an issue and another to do something about it. Lip service is the order of the day in our society. All the current talk of standing against corruption sounds too glitzy to be true. Only a select few choose and dare to be the crusaders we badly need. When we get such luminaries of morality and action, we should do whatever we can to start understanding and following them. One such noble human being was Manjunath Shanmugam.

Manjunath Shanmugam was born on February 23rd, 1978. He was the oldest of three siblings and is survived by his parents, a younger brother and sister. His father works retired from BEML in Kolar Gold Fields, a township about 100 km from Bangalore. After finishing his engineering from SJCE Mysore, Manjunath completed his MBA from I.I.M. Lucknow, and graduated in 2003. He joined IOCL during campus placements, and was the first sales officer to manage the Lakhimpur Khiri region of UP – a known hotbed of petroleum adulteration. Manjunath was a terrific singer, full of verve and heart, part of the campus band – ‘3.4’. He was popular for his sincerity, honesty and friendliness. He was murdered on 19th November, 2005 while on duty with IOCL.

This gruesome murder, coming just two years after the assassination of the IES officer Satyendra Dubey, sent a shock wave across his contemporaries. Some of his alumni friends came forward and formed a trust named Manjunath Shanmugam Trust. The trust played a pivotal role in pursuing his murder trial and making sure that the culprits got their dues. It was established on 23 February, 2006. It is an international corporate initiative with an objective of improving governance in Indian public life. It runs a RTI helpline [080-666-00-999] which disseminates information about RTI Act across India.

You must be feeling very sympathetic about Manjunath right now. How good he was, a real brave-heart, one to be admired and followed, and many more such emotions would be niggling you. If you have taken any consideration/oath/pledge towards doing something on the lines of Manjunath, I pray to Almighty that you stick to it for the rest of your life.

Fallacy of November 14

November 14 has to be a very hectic day in India. More so for the kids. Chaachaa Nehru would almost always keep them engaged with one event in his memory or the other. For the elders, it is the World Diabetes Day that causes much of the stir. All through the day the fear of being Diabetic or becoming one consumes the human soul. Most of the day goes in planning to fight this beast or simply wondering what this almighty power means. As for me, it is even more scary. My manager was born on this day which means one full day goes in being nice and cordial with your sworn enemy. What a tyranny!

Any TV channel that you tune into on this day diagnoses you with symptoms or existence of Diabetes. They will make you believe in no certain terms that it is the biggest risk for your life. Alas! You may choose to ignore them but they are only dramatizing a fact. There can be no two opinions about the threat of Diabetes. It is serious, very serious killer. The media, both online and offline, is replete with information about the cause and remedies of this giant, silent assassin. All I can say as a polite advice is to EXERCISE, most useful on empty stomach. The global scorecard for the efforts of tackling Diabetes can be read here.

There cannot be a better disservice to Chaachaa Nehru than what we are doing in his 125th Birth Anniversary year. Congress sets up a function, does not invite anybody from NDA. NDA sets up a government function and does not invite Manmohan Singh. Both the events do not do anything more than the lip service. And I frankly believe that there is noting new and relevant in Chaachaa Nehru's legacy that is worth bothering about in the current age. Once in a while we do need ammunition to blame him for all the major failures in the country. To help garner that material, some of the most private documents belonging to him have been released by the Gandhi family to be put in the public domain. One just needs to obtain permission from the PMO on a case-to-case basis.

The weather improved ever so slightly in Bangalore to allow for some of the Children's Day events to go through. What should we really do for kids on this day? Dance, Music, Sweets? Aren't all these available on any other day? Wouldn't it be nice to put them in a session which teaches about brotherhood/sisterhood above anything else? Being able to live with non-conducive opinion is so so very difficult these days. Teaching this by example would definitely be a much more meaningful Children's Day.

Nevertheless, it won't come again till one full year passes. So, cherish the memories of what you did and what you failed to do.

Horror in Schools

If there was one place in the society where we safely assume our children to be safe and sound, it was school. That myth stands shattered now. Rape, caning, other forms of verbal and physical abuse, isolation and what not! Everything we tell our kids to be bad and not to be done is happening within the hallowed walls of the Temples of Learning. You must be abreast with most of the recent news about such incidents from across the country. It is a situation where shame and guilt have become too weak a word to describe it.

I may not have written anything about this as it is just too painful to even think of such gory facts. A senior colleague of mine raised this very issue this afternoon with the management at the school where her 2.5 years old daughter goes for day care. He had complained to the management about two senior teachers, one of them a lady, beating kids and not giving them food as a form of punishment. Children at any age should not be physically tortured let alone the toddlers. He kept part-requesting, part-arguing, part-shouting at the school manager over the phone for more than an hour. And finally, he had to disconnect saying that he will pull out his daughter from there on next Monday. He was dead certain that he cannot allow his ward to go to a school where teachers behave like heads of rowdy gang.

There are several reasons to laud the courage of my colleague. I am so happy that the poor little child should not suffer any more nightmare at school. But, how many of us actually take that stand? The answer should be "few and far between". The cases do get reported and some action does ensue - be it Bangalore, Kolkata, Jaipur, Delhi and many others in that long list. Wherever things have come to light, some steps have been taken. All of them should be taken to the conclusion where the guilty is punished and a system is put in place to prevent such wrongdoings in future.

Can any form of punishment to the guilty teachers, non-teaching staff or anybody else who is directly or indirectly involved in the crime, bring back the what is lost? Can it erase the trauma and that too from the tender minds and hearts of kids? Our society has long gone past the stage where any kind of penalization deters anybody. We are into a phase where morals are suited for text decoration and nobody should expect anybody to be following them, neither in action nor in spirit. What should we do then?

Crimes against children have to be the worst after murder. The kids are shaped and morphed into what they should most likely grow up as adults by the learning and environment they get during the childhood. These perpetrators destroy that very foundation. Securing our children outside the house may not be completely under our control - be it school, market or any other public place. We must then maintain a very strict, regular vigil on what our wards are doing and what people in and around them are doing. Report any suspicious action immediately. Follow up with higher authorities if there is no redressal. Inform the police and other relevant public authorities if things are still unclear.

I understand and acknowledge that taking out a kid from the school in the middle of a session may not be an easy decision to make since that academic year will most likely be lost. In such a case, we should always keep some other school management in our good books so that the child can be accommodated there in case of any eventuality. It is quite possible that the transfer of school may not work out at all. That is fine. Education lost can be regained with sustained hard-work but mental or physical stigma at childhood are seldom erasable.

Guys, please stand up against the ugly beasts of Horror at Schools in particular and any other crime against kids in general. Educate your near and dear ones, take prompt action and be ready to help.

Jiyo Parsi, Jiyo!

Borrowing a definition from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Parsi, also spelled as Parsee, is a member of group of followers of Iranian prophet Zoroaster. The Parsis, whose name means “Persians,” are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to India to avoid religious persecution by the Muslims. They live chiefly in Bombay and in a few towns and villages mostly to the north of Bombay, but also at Karachi (Pakistan) and Bangalore (Karnataka, India). Although they are not, strictly speaking, a caste, since they are not Hindus, they form a well-defined community.

These loves their machines – cars, motorcycles, scooters. They take care of them like family and ensure that these possessions are safely and proudly inherited by the progenies. Alas! That is where the problem is. Take a look at the pictures below.

What do all these snaps tell us? Simple, the population of the Parsis, a notified minority community under National Commission of Minorities Act, 1992, is fast dwindling. It has declined from 1,14,000 in 1941 to 69,001 in 2001. These guys just don't want to be hitched. The average age at marriage among Parsi women is 27 years and in men about 31 years. More than 30% of Parsis never get married. The problem is might serious, believe me. Or else, why would Government of India do something about this?

Yes, you heard it correctly. There is a demand from the Parsis for Government intervention to arrest this trend. The Government has launched a campaign called Jiyo Parsi. The scheme is being assisted by Parzor Foundation, Bombay Parsi Panchayat and Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India.

Parsi married couples who seek assistance would undergo treatment cycles of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) as prescribed by the concerned doctor which includes In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) as medical remedies when required, subject to maximum cost of Rs. 5 Lakhs or as per actual, whichever is less.

If you know any Parsi in need of Jiyo initiative, please coerce them to get the help they need via a reliable, official program.