Swine flu in Indian package!

With Swine Flu growing bullish in India (more than 15 deaths reported already) and many major cities like Pune, Bangalore on high alert, an ecosystem is also starting to develop around this ailment! If one monitors her mailbox in a day for mails which deal with H1N1 and actually tries to put things together a very clear message comes out:

Swine Flu has hit India in a big way and while people are concerned about it they are also capitalizing on the fear that it has generated.

The first set of mails are the ones that aim to educate the recipient. They talk about how the H1N1 is spreading across our country, what measures need to be taken to protect yourself and your family; friendly mails from people who either care about you very much or are in the habit of forwarding all types of mails to everyone in their list! Then there are the mails that are hurled at you to make you sit at the edge of your seat, sweat, get scared and make you uneasy even when you are not yet under the cloud of Swine flu. They talk about how miserable our condition is, how illequipped we are as a nation to handle such a disease, how the impossibility of you not contacting H1N1 is inversely proportional to your resistance. All these facts stare at your face on the backdrop of the under-developed medical infrastructure of our country even after more than 60 years of health planning in the independent nation! The next lot of mails are from people who want a recognition in the crowd that they are in (aren't we all!) and write mails to the President (of India? why?) that end up in our mailboxes, telling people not to worry because Swine flu is nothing new, it is a very old disease! Even earthquakes are very ancient phenomenon but when they suddenly become 'active' and start killing people imagine the state of mind of a person who shouts at the fleeing people to call them back telling them, "there's no need to panic, this used to happen years before we were here, its nothing new!" Then come the really interesting ones! These are mails that sell you the miracle drug! From eucalyptus oil, to tulasi paste, everyone is trying to sell you the plant that grows in their backyand! These things do help, I know, but they help more the 'Baba Ramdev's' behind them (I love you Ramdevji, and being opportunist is not an offence anyways!) Since swine flu messages have become the norm of the day, even CnC should leave you with one! So, here it goes,

Be safe and protect yourself and your family but at the same time don't forget to live these next few months worring about things that may go wrong. The perils of the world will not cease to exist once the drug for H1N1 is found, you will always have new things to worry about; if things are going to be the same after swine flu you can relax even while the virus is in the air of your city!

Is EVM tampering possible?

Bujji Phanikiran (a good friend and inspiration) had the privilege of being the Presiding Officer (probably the youngest in history) in this general election. He is an Electronics and Communication Engineer with ICs in his head and heart. He sent me a mail recently about his experience and comments on working with EVMs.

Q) Is tampering of EVM's possible?
A) Theoretically Yes, but Practically near impossible.

Q) You say theoretically yes. How do we do it?
A) Every automated electronic device has its own processor/controller embedded in itself. So, if you want it to work in a different way all you need to do is just change the program in it as per your needs. Just take out the processor, reprogram it and place it back. As simple as that.

Q) If its as simple as that then why do you say its practically near impossible?
A) Thats because all the Presiding Officers (P.O) conduct a mock poll before the start of an election on the EVMs in their respective polling booth to ensure that the EVM is working properly and seal it using two seals (Green Paper seals & White paper seals) along with special tags placed near the "Close" button. So if you have to reprogram the EVM, you will have to remove those seals (damage) and replace them with the seals of the same numbers and have to forger the signatures of the Presiding Officer along with the Polling Agents. And above all these things they need to bribe a whole lot of people who are involved in maintaining the voting machines after the elections starting from police constables to Collectors. And that as per my personal view is near impossible.
I mean just think about how much man power is used in protecting the machines day in and day out. Think of forgering the signatures and seals of all the Presiding Officers and polling agents, duplicating the paper seals with the numbers and all.
Finally it all boils down to FAITH, faith in your system, your government (the one chosen using ballot boxes), faith in people around you(Cause it is them the lecturers, the teachers, the bank officials, many other government servants who are like me, like you, like your mom or dad or aunt or uncle or... you know people around you).

TRUST YOURSELVES, TRUST EVM!

MJ is dead! Music's one of the biggest (and most controversial) chaper is closed. He will always be remembered.

CnC Top 5!

1. Pak SC rejects Sarabjit's mercy plea (but will Pak use him to trade off with Kasab?? )
2. Ministry of HRD looks for major reforms, especially in school education - proposes scrapping Class X board exams
3. Swat cleared of Taliban says Pak
4. Bangladesh introduces SMS cyclone alert system (Bangladesh hits Top 5 for all right reasons!)
5. Dr Verghese Kurien's dream of India exporting dairy products to New Zealand comes true

Bangalore deserves a night life!

As much as I think about it, I can never fathom a reason for shutting down a city like Bangalore at 10/11 PM! I am told that Bangalore used to be a happening place with a vibrant night life a few years back. Then 'IT' happened, and then the people started flooding this peaceful city irking the localities, then we had the 'ausi-behavior' in 'Namma Bangalooru' and the people from Karnataka started turning hostile towards people not-from-karnataka (this sadly continues till date and random (unreported) incidents of violence dot the city).
Somehow, during all this turmoil that was happening in this over-burdened city the people up the civil ladder decided that the solution to Bangalore's problems was banning the night life (as if the night life was responsible for the narrow, unplanned roads, the disappearing lakes and gardens, the rising levels of pollution)!
Now, most of the shops, pubs and other places to hang around close before 11:00 PM. The interesting things to consider are:

• This city has the most number of companies operating at night (remember the BPO and other outsourcing?)
• The vibe of the city is predominantly young!
• Tourism/hospitality is also a flourishing industry in Bangalore as many companies have clients coming in from around the world.

A few high profile (and mostly private) parties do happen till late in the night but for most common people all the fun just ends at page#3. Last year Mr.Mallya also protested the ban on the night life calling the 'cindrella rule' 'dictatorial and utter rubbish'. What is even more stupid is the 'no-dancing-rule' imposed across all party places. Contrast this with the fact that Bangalore is also the operational centre of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who promises to give one a better way of life and dancing is a major mechanism in his teachings!
All work and no party would soon make Bangalore a pretty dull place!

5 'Hatke' news of the day!

Your daily dose of 'hatke' news, CnC style!

1. Though healthcare didn't sound to be an important agenda for the common man before the elections (unlike in US), the UPA government is now serious about extending the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) or the National Health Insurance scheme to cover all households below poverty line.
2. Indian largest private bank, ICICI is looking to restructure to save around Rs. 1300 crores.
3. Bangladesh shifts from GMT +6 to GMT +7. The reason being, the 1 hour gain would help the nation use sunlight more effectively and save electricity (What an idea sirji! )
4. Reading the PWC report on Indian sports, I wondered if sports in India would reach greater level so soon, but Saina Nehwal brings in new hope after wining the Indonesian Open.
5. A Sikh lawmaker is among the contenders for the Speaker of British Parliament.

Raping a boy is allowed by IPC!

The rape of a 'near-minor' household help by an established actor in Bollywood, Shiney Ahuja, has opened up quite a few debates in India. The 'reckless' behavior of 'guys' is being questioned all over again and stricter laws are being invited.
While there are a few criterion which are taken into account to convict a man of raping a girl more than 16 years old, any kind of sexual interaction with a girl of 16 or less is considered rape (even if it happens with full consent of the girl involved). Such an act of sexual nature involving a girl less than 16 years of age can involve very severe punishment and is fairly easy establish.
There is, however, no law that talks about the rape of a boy (minor or otherwise!). There have been many cases recorded in the past which involve a young boy being sexually harassed but they come under much milder offenses and often are never officially filed nor investigated. A report by WHO said that close to 50% of Indian children are unsafe (it includes acts of sexual nature against minor children of both the sexes). This is a classic case of the law of the land encouraging gender bias and discrimination based on the sex of an individual!

Harsha's pick for the day: Top 5

The top 5 pics from the desk of CnC for you:

1. Finally the Indian Prime Minister talks tough and delivers an impact on Zardari.
2. Two Japanese men were detained by Italian authorities last week, in an attempt to smuggle US bond worth whooping $134 billion (not sure, if its a true story or work of fiction, $134billion can put dollar on the edge and create a huge impact on world economy)
3. After the week long unrest, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to address the nation today.
4. Protests around the world to mark Aung Suu Kyi's 64th birthday.
5. Inflation turns negative after three decades (ask the reality to any Indian common man)

Harsha's Top 5 News of the Day!

Harsha's affair with the newspaper is legendary! And so is his infliction with 'electronic gadgets' (interestingly, he holds a B.Tech. degree in Electronics & Communication and spent most part of his college life building robots for competitions!). We don't get to read any of his posts lately on CnC because his system has crashed many a times in the last weeks, his cell phone has gone bonkers and his office policies don't allow him to post stuff on Blogger!
Starting today, we're going to go the 'John Naisbitt way' and pull out news from the newspapers that are interesting enough to make an impact in the future, we've decided to call them 'Harsha's Top 5 News of the Day!'. Here are today's top 5 (not in order of importance):

1. Japanese media reports a possibility of North Korean attack on Hawaii.
2. Indian Army personnel asked not to post information on Facebook, Orkut and other networking sites.
3. Anupam Ahuja says Shiney was raped.
4. SRK fires John Buchanan (finally!).
5. Its official now - NO CHINESE mobiles in India.

What foreign nationals feel about India and her beggars!

Ron (a friend of mine from the US working in India for over a year now), like any other guest in India thinks that beggars are one of the worst things about this country! He did see 'Slumdog Millionaire' and was offended by the sequences involving the beggars (and how they are 'made'). But, now that he has been in this country for quite sometime, he has stopped being 'nice' to the beggars (even the small children) and has in fact pretty strong reasons for not being charitable. I will write them down for you here:

• He has seen a number of beggars 'getting ready for work' early morning when he goes for a jog. One beggar helping his colleague tie bandages around his head, making sure the color looks like fresh blood, etc.
• He has observed a 'strategy' that these beggars adopt, specially for foreign nationals. One small kid would target one particular foreigner in a day and then follow him/her/group everywhere they go. Into the park, out of the restaurant, near the parking lot, outside his gym, near her spa; everywhere the person goes they would follow them with a face expression full of hunger, pain and helplessness. This particular strategy actually works wonders for them as this day's investment often results in a couple of hundred (and sometimes more) bucks at the end of the day.

My grandfather used to say, "Never say no to a beggar! But, always give a pinch of flour so that he/she gets to eat half a meal after working hard the whole day!" Forced beggary, forced prostitution are two big evils of Indian society. Often hidden (and ignored), these dark alleys of India need to be exposed to eradicate this evil which associates itself with a number of other crimes in our society!

Say no to beggars! Don't be 'nice' be practical and considerate about our nation and her pride!

Related posts:

1. The land of the poor.

Why did Shiny Ahuja rape a domestic help?

According to me, there could be 3 reasons (none can be justified by any means!) for rape:

1. An insatiable hunger for sex (either because of sex starvation or an ugly-huge appetite)


2. As a form of revenge/defiance (mostly associated with immaturity and/or youth)


3. An act of a reckless mind (mostly under the influence of a chemical substance, etc.)

For an actor like Shiny Ahuja, (happily?) married and with a 2 year old daughter, committing such an act is not just shameless but intriguing as well. What circumstances can probably drive this booming actor to such a reckless behavior? It is not a hidden fact that most bollowood actors have access to a lot of 'casual' sex (from both the sexes). In such a case rape could not possibly be an outcome of a starved sex drive!
Revenge? Most probably not! Why would anyone in his position want to take revenge from a domestic help!
This act of rape (if and when proven) is then probably carried out under the influence of some chemical substance which is worrisome! There are so many young females exposed to such reckless people in various parties, pubs, discos, etc. And such acts do happen but often go unreported for reasons like bribed officers, humiliation and shame (on the part of the female).
Just a few days back 100kg of 'rape drug' was seized by the Bangalore police which is worth thousands of dollars in the international market. The horrifying fact is how common the use of such drugs is and how easy it could be to procure such a drug. This particular 'rape drug' leaves the victim unconscious and unable to recall anything that happened to her. Devastatingly, she cannot bear children after consuming this particular drug!
Sex, the violation of it, the lack of it, the discrimination based on it, and all the other evils associated with it have been often covered on CnC. I will leave you with the links of the same now.

• Sex and the Indian society.


• The land of the poor :(


• A young girl's murder by her boyfriend.


• Homosexuality in small towns.


• Fashion ka jalwa!


• 3 Paki women rape a man


• Rape of a very young baby girl

Technology penitration!

They say, a picture speaks a thousand words!

Global Warming or Global Cooling?

Some decades back, the world, according to the many scientists and researchers, was going to come to an end very soon or at the least revert back to an 'ice-age' as the temperatures were going to fall drastically and as they always say, 'the end of human existence'! Books were written, movies were made, lectures were delivered (even small girls addressed gatherings to intellectuals asking them to save their future!).
Now those small girls have become young (or old may be!) and gradually the opinion of the whole world has swung a full 180 degrees! The world apparently is growing hotter now! From a 'global cooling' its become a 'global warming'; almost everything else remains the same though! Its the same sense of warning, caution, fear and an alarm to the human race to 'do your stuff with sensitivity towards environment.'
I found an interesting link. Not an official website but a lot of links that give a good read.

So is there going to be global warming or cooling? I can't tell you! But there are couple of things which I can:

• Protect the environment. It is your own.


• Do not pollute.


• Give attention to your health and that of your kids.


• Start to fall in love with the color green.

Hamid Ansari on WolframAlpha

With the launch of Wolfram alpha the Internet search industry is surely stirred if not shaken. The pioneering product from Wolfram Research and its flagship product Mathematica has promised a new dimension to the way search is handled in the websphere currently. I had missed to check Google on its Day 1 so I grabed this opportunity to check out WolframAlpha on its first official day! The results were satisfactory if not spectacular. It is built around a niche which was missed by Google; it provides answers to questions that are sometimes better than a chunk of links that you get in the search result set of Google, brisk answers to questions, no skimming through a huge pile of information for a tiny piece of information!
I tried with a few basic questions like "Who is the Prime Minister of India" and got perfect answers. Then I tried a twist, I asked WolframAlpha this question, "Who is the Vice President of India"! Whoa, it got stuck!!!
Either the Wolfram still needs a lot of work or we need to ask our Vice President to work a little bit more!!!

Good luck to UPA

Vijitha occupies the cubicle next to mine in office. A lady with a good years of experience in the IT industry, a mother, a responsible citizen of the country and recently a very happy person too. While there may be a number of reasons for her happiness one significant contribution is from the UPA!

"My long time dream came true. Finally, we have a party with majority to give a stable government at the centre!", she said.

What does a stable government mean for a common man living in this country? First, it means that the tax payer will not have to share the burden of an early election this time (people like Mulayam Singh, Devegauda, Mayawati, Left who are known for trying to shake the governments in power, move away!).
Moreover, a stable government and one which would be running a second consecutive term at the office would be high on confidence and would take decisions swiftly and decisively. Mr. Manmohan, while still may not have a perfect 'wave' for the supporters, sure has got guts now to influence the decision making in a significant way. The press buzz that Montek Singh Ahluwalia is being hinted by the PM as the next FM is a bold step, something that shows the resolve that Manmohan has this time around.
The next five years should bring about changes that would be significant from an international stand point too. Dr. Singh has already shared a good relationship with the US prez and with positive developments happening in Pakistan with regard to the Taliban issue, things may improve for India.
Rahul Gandhi could be a big factor! He is young, dynamic, has a legacy to back him up and he has proved that he is not a premature political enthusiast by swinging the faith of UP towards congress in this general elections (it was amazing to see him sit in the post-victory meeting of the UPA composed and poised as the next big thing that would happen to India).
Post recession, India has emerged as a stable economy. The economic policies of India have been applauded and the faith of foreign investor would be bolstered with this political stability in India even more (The first Monday after the election results when the market opened the new trust in India Inc. was evident).
Overall, I think, India in the next 5 years should be able to achieve big things and bring about a change that everyone has been wishing for since decades now! Good luck to the UPA government from the CnC team!

Indian elections: Anticlimax but a perfect result

Most political enthusiasts often look at elections and politics as more than a significant event for their country, its also a source of entertainment for them! This year's general election provided enough 'masala' to the Indian folks. From Varun Gandhi's snobbish comments to Rahul Gandhi's incessant rhetoric that he would not be a PM candidate to Mayawati being touted as a PM candidate to Advani's election campaign on the lines of Obama's, everything was overwhelming. People expected a hung parliament at the best and had already made up their minds to get glued to the TV (there are no movies at the multiplexes anyways!) for the next one week at the least. However, the 'intelligent' Indian voter decided the other way round, gave a very clear mandate to UPA and even in my home the TV is playing 'Dhoom-2' and not CNN-IBN, Aaj Tak or NDTV!
This election result is spectacular in more than one ways. The way in which regional parties have been rooted out, the 'Left' left out, Congress gaining a stronghold in UP, Manmohan favoured over Advani for PM, Lalu wiped out of Bihar, everything has been unexpected and refreshingly pleasing (my personal opinion!).
I captured a few reactions for the readers of CnC, here they are:

Jadhvekar (before the counting began), "... last year the exit polls favoured us and UPA formed a government, we're hoping for the same twist this year ..."

Rajdeep Sardesai, " ... Indian voter seems to be getting far more intelligent than we could ever expect ..."

Some political expert, " ... Samajwadi Party and Congress was more than a one night stand ..."

Shashi Tharoor, " ... Left has to stop attacking other party candidates and start to work ..."

Guha, "...decline of the identity politics in Uttar Pradesh ..."

Someone, "...the Bengali voter always wakes up later..."

BBC correspondent, " ... BJP, the opposition Hindu party, is disappointed ..."

"What's your drink Mr. Patnaik?" "I'm very forgetful ..."

A reporter asked Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, "Madam would Rahul be a minister?" She says, "That is for the PM to decide" and looks at Manmohan Singh who turns the other side as if trying to find someone else who could answer that question!

Now 'green software'

Even software is trying to go green now! I downloaded the Notepad++ editor today and was reading the 'About' page on its site, http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm. Here's what I found there:
" By optimizing as many routines as possible without losing user friendliness, Notepad++ is trying to reduce the world carbon dioxide emissions. When using less CPU power, the PC can throttle down and reduce power consumption, resulting in a greener environment."
I know, its a geeky way of saying things but I think all the author of the software really wanted to say was that he is concerned. If we can show such a concern in every little (of big) thing that we do, it would make a lot of difference in bringing down the global temperatures and improving conditions for the generations to follow.

Bangalore on the brink of destruction?

Bangalore has many strategic advantages as a place in India which can be used for establishing important industries and offices. It is one of India's fastest growing cities, already expanded beyond its limits and now almost about to explode. The IT hub, India's silicon valley, Bangalore has been favoured over many other cities in the past when it comes to investing in mainstream industries and infrastructure.
The social structure, economic standard and awareness of Bangalore is much above many cities in India (and the world). Bangalore has emerged as the city with the highest standard of living in India (its rank is 150th in the world).
Bangalore is also the seat of a very sensitive institution of our country, the Air Force. It was primarily established in Bangalore as the place enjoys a distance from Pakistan, China, Bangaladesh and Sri Lanka which at that time was beyond the striking range of these countries. Arabian Sea to its other side makes it a perfect city to enable all other places by serving as a central powerhouse.
The weather in Bangalore made it one of the most favourable cities for the growth of important industries like the Information and Technology, BPO, etc. There were other places with cooler climate but they were not quite as connected as Bangalore was.
Even many sages and spiritual gurus have found Bangalore a perfect city to settle down in. It is a perfect mix of good weather and comfort (amenities, facilities, connectivity, etc.) for these spiritual leaders who find (for good reasons) that sitting at Himalayas and meditating is not as good as connecting with people, improving their lives (and making a big empire in the long run).
All these wonderful things are coming to an end for Bangalore soon! The city is not blessed with good weather anymore. The sun has the mercury rising and a new record is being made each day. The felling of trees and the exponentially growing traffic is making things worse. The population of the city has grown out of bounds now, the city is on the brink of exploding. The infrastructure is not enough to support the growth rates of the city and with a few very important projects, like the flyover to the Electronic City, being stalled as Maytas was behind them, the situation is going to go from bad to worse.
A lot of government attention is indeed needed. A good infra and a reliable public transport would make things better drastically. On an individual level, people need to become more environment friendly in their daily life activities. Practices like car pooling, using more public transport, saving electricity, fuel, would go a long way in improving things in Bangalore.
PS: The pic is something interesting I saw being done in a nearby street (in a place called BTM layout, quite popular amongst the IT folks as they start their career), the people from the electricity department are installing an electric pole with the help of the common men on the streets :)