Yay!!!!

This has to be read!!!!! Its ideally a woohoo post but more than that its a triumph of good old common sense!!

Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. ~Charlotte Whitton

Hanged: Saddam Hussein

I have never seen anyone being hanged for their crimes in real life. Not that I am a close witness to this hanging, but just that hanging is a thing of movies and crime serials on Star World. For the past 22 years that I walked this earth, this may be my first known hanging. And it feels weird. Not that he didn't deserve punishment for his war crimes. He was always wrong. But all the while the USA made the entire thing a puppet show. Its almost as though you know whats happening there, but you really cant do anything about it. That whole helpless feeling. That feeling, where you know nothing can be prevented, nothing should be prevented, but still something is wrong. Normally I would rejoice if a dictator has been given his due(Pinochet's death is hardly a respite!), but I am not doing so, because I cant seem to choose between the worse dictator.
I wonder what label is attached to a President who forces his troops into a country on the pretext of restoring democracy and discovering certain weapons in the face of overwhelming dissent in his own country? A Saviour?

Update: My family is deeply divided over the issue. Dad couldn't be more philosophical. Mom cant understand why they had to execute him on Eid. Is it a necessary to mar a day of celebration with something this predictable? My thoughts are echoed by Riverbend.
Her post on New Year is the Best Post I have read in a long long time.
May God bless her Strong soul in the New Year.

Still Running

Running
maybe to set myself free
or to clear a deck of inhibitions
maybe to derive a sensual pleasure
running
taking everything in stride..
running as fast as I can
catching up with the unknown
yet running
running for the self,
sometimes for soul
across chasms
across holes of despairs
criss-crossing fields of serenity
marching ahead, sometimes with a torch
running, sometimes with responsibility
nevertheless, still running.
Running for reasons
sometimes without.
Still Running.

Women can fake orgasms, men can fake the whole relationships.--Anonymous (unusual quote for this piece, but a classic one nevertheless)

Stupid: Communities on Orkut

Stupid is the individual who sends me emails, telling me to report certain communities as bogus. First of all, I don't care and second of all why should I be affected by the opinion of a bunch of people who hate India, detest certain historical figures etc.
Simple logic: There are over 6 billion people on this planet. each one of them is not going to agree with you. So why try living in Utopia that says that your opinion is the greatest. As much as I love my country and its spirit of democracy, I am willing to allow another to express his disgust at my nation. Something wrong with that?
Just because I don't like a certain set of dressing that doesn't mean the community who wears it must be banned. I just don't wear it.
To the smart-Alec who emails me: Get a life baby. Your emails are going to the Trash section, so don't bother 'being' the label of this post.


I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will die fighting, for you to have the right to say it". --Voltaire

Who said being a maverick is easy?

Being a maverick isn't easy. Its not easy to flutter around labels, not be bothered about what people say. It doesn't make your task easier knowing that there are going to be very few people beside you, when you fall.
But the madness pays. Being crazy, stupid , paranoid and obsessed pays.
I couldn't find a better post that expresses that madness.

You just have to be cunning. And patient. And a little nutty.--Olivier Blanchard

Stupid

Stupid is a lingerie store that has a trial room. It doesn't take an Einstein to understand that undergarments are NOT TO BE TRIED!!!!!


Stupid posts are posts that allow the writer to rave and rant at leisure about her pet peeves, all the while letting readers realize that Uncle Dubya has company!

People First

I had the fortunate coincidence of meeting some really enthusiastic dreamers from the People First group at the E-SUMMIT at IIT.
Not only do they plan to change the landscape of learning and leadership in India, they are targeting companies and trainees with a desire for exposure.
The marketing idea is simple: Plug the loopholes. See the gap and fill it up(BMC: take cue). Companies are on the lookout for leaders. They spend money on training and expect that knowledge empowered multitaskers will emerge. Unfortunately the education system has become very digit centric (and with the lack of seats, they still want to reserve,reserve, reserve!!!!). In Mumbai, a typical Sunday will have kids roaming around the city carrying bags. When we were school, even though we never really had the freedom to roam around, we always spent holidays at home,or went out with parents.
I do admit that the world has drastically changed since then. Competition is about one mark and a seat in a good college. But I do have friends who can safely say that they have enjoyed the benefits of being toppers and lived life to its fullest.
Today, parents rarely have time to talk kids about leadership. Dinner table questions range from tuitions to careers to marks all year round. Very rarely do uncle and aunties enquire about your extra currics or your participation levels. (heaven bless you if your in 10th and 12th --relatives automatically suffer from some form of lecturing diarrhoea !!!)
People First doesn't send out messages of not studying( sorry if you thought there is an easy way but...you have to study! ), it sends out mesages of combining study with leadership and transformation. And if I can understand it clearly, it sends out mesages of being emotionally intelligent.
This is their site and they are currently active in Bangalore and Chennai. They plan to open an institute in Mumbai next year.
This is the founder's blog.
We all know leaders are not made at some grooming school, but in circumstances. The situational training camps and group activities will hone those skills. They have been talking about an Apprentice -like boot camp in Bangalore next year, which should bring about the necessary spotlight and a footing in the training business.

It may sound like some idealistic mumbojumbo, but can anything stop energized youth? Only reality and time will tell. Personally, I have crossed my fingers real tight for this project!



Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. ~Albert Schweitzer

Red Letter Day

With Ms.Rama Bijapurkar at the Entrepreneurship Summit at IIT-Bombay--10th December,2006

The task is not so much to see what no one else has seen, but to think what no one else has thought..about that which everyone has seen.----From Ms.Bijapurkar's speech at the event