SASTRA CS CULTURE ...

!!!

I wish to bring an observation to the notice of all. It is neither an opinion nor does it necessarily wishes to mould your opinions in any way.

I was sitting in the waiting room of Chennai's Egmore railway station having nothing else to do and too tired to do anything, this last weakend. I had had a long day and had walked a lot of Chennai trying to find out more about the city; my body had started complaining and my neck demanded a certain motion out of 'Baba Ramdev's lessons' to find its place. The moment I raised my wricking neck I found the most bedated person's picture in front of me in that big hall. Clad in blue and conspicuously decorated with fresh looking fake flowers, he did look like a man commanding the respect that everyone gives him and his ideas for the Indian society.

I panned the whole of the hall smoothly as my newly found doctor-cum-spirutual teacher, Mr.Ramdev, had instructed me to do. Something struck me after completing one full circle! I went again counter-clockwise and was amazed to find out one thing, the picture of the gentleman in blue was the only picture in the whole room! No other national leader (or shall I say, nation builder) found a place on those walls!

What this means is beyond my explainations, would love to get some opinions on that !!!

THE MISSING RIDE !!!

I landed in Chennai in the morning and looked around for my usual rickshaw ride from Chennai Central to Egmore; heavy bags on my shoulders and a long journey's fatigue in my head and body. I gave up my search after 15 minutes, found no trace of any rickshaw. I prefer the slow moving transport over the faster ones because of certain reasons. First, its a welcome escape from the monotonously irritating drone of the auto-rickshaw and its dangerous speed in heavy traffic. Secondly, its one of the best ways to explore the alien city; you can just roll over the whole place at an observatory pace. Then, there's the social aspect of the ride. Keeping alive the rickshaw helps in reducing the pollution and gives employment for the low-skilled people. I agree that this slow pace is not recommended for the local citizes and busy commuters, this one's for the tourists. All people visiting the city must opt for it over any other transport; after all this is what you are there for, 'seeing places' not running past them.

It was sad for me this time in Chennai; I had to miss my rickshaw ride and board an auto-rickshaw!!!

NEWS BREAKDOWN

There is need for a committee which would monitor the various news channels that have bloated the TV screens across the nation. The local news channels have made the powerful tool of jounalism another mechanism of advertisement for the people in power. The people behind such news channels have full control over the content of the news that goes out to the people making the whole set-up a mere mockery of the game of power. The news 'items' are properly salted and roasted to suit the local taste which is mostly in search of 'masala' even when it comes to news. In such a senario keeping a proper check on the various local channels is very essential. If there exist monitoring bodies for movies which evaluate the contents of the cinema then having a similar body for news channels is mandatory, since news by its nature is considered to be made up of facts alone and a misreported news report can have disastrous repercussions.

Even more sorry is the state of the national news channels like 'sahara samay'. It has a national reach with reasonable number of viewers across the nation. This particular news channel is bare mouthpiece of the Sahara India Pariwar and all the people associated with it which includes prominent personalities like Mr.Amitabh Bachan. If there was a need for a medium to showcase the special relationship that is shared between the people associated with Sahara, an entertainment channel should have been the appropriate choice. Camouflaging the real incentives under the banner of 'news' is highly irresponsible and is more likely to be an effort to misguide the people.

This environment could lead to unnerving circumstances. Media is a power and all powers must have their restraints.

Students' Politics !!!

It is a troubled times for the people of Uttar Pradesh. The centre would not want to inturrupt in the dilapidating state of affairs in the state because the deteriorating conditions would mean a disgust created for the state government across the state's electorate which could be liquidated to massive vote support in the elections which are round the corner.

For the ruling state government, Samajvadi Party and its allies, its highly difficult to handle the situation without violent protests to which it is extending its full support. The burning of effigies of Lucknow University VC are a clear indication that the state government is going to use muscle power to overcome the crisis situation. Any person with a sane mind and a reasonable insight into the university politics would encourage the decision of the VC to with hold the elections considering the fact that the state government has been continually providing succour to the so-called (and self-proclaimed) student leaders. The ideological and moral assistance has now since some time advanced to making arms available to the students in a bid to silence their opponents. This disturbing fact has infact been justified by the self-styled students benefactors on the pretect that its a necessary measure towards their safety. The pictures of these 'student' leaders quite vocally convey their agendas. While most of them are in their late 30s, none seem to be fit enough to be called a student by any means.

There was a breath of fresh air provided by the Allahabad High Court on the issue of University elections some time back which incorporated some simple measures to ensure free and fair elections in the varsities. The ruling could also be interpreted as guidlines for a near-perfect student organization. The salient features of the ruling included important key points like, contesting students must be under 25 years of age, they must not have criminal records, the total expenditure on the election must be minimal, only hand made posters were allowed, etc.

The student fraternity has never been divided on the issue of elections, all are in support of it. The point of debate has always been the inclusion of goons and hard-core criminals and seasoned politicians in the student election arena under the candid disguise of a 'student leader'. The situation can improve only by the interception of the students themselves but, the big question remains, Who would bell the cat? With more and more of the current generation having a repulsive attitude towards the potent field of politics, it seems fit to question if the situation would ever improve.

AMMI JAAN

hmmm ... this is the sort of post which is begging to be posted and i'm sure after puttin it up on the server i'm gonna regret it ... i have an announcement to make ... i'm soon starting a story of my own (a humble effort) ... its called "AMMI JAAN" ... stay tuned ... the link would appear soon at this place ... i know story stuff would be a lot of commitment but i cant stop myself now, i've written down a few pages n i want people to read it !!!

JAIL CREATIVITY

Nagpur jail has envisioned an extraordinatry event. They have decided to call it an essay competition; I dare say that it is much more than that! It is a sign of trust towards the jail inmates; trust on the fact that the people living on the fringes of society doing things that the society disapproves of may still have some plans for the betterment of the world.