Your Friendly Philosopher & Guide

April 23, 2008

Mera Bharat Mahaan!

I was right, and he was wrong. It would have been a major accident, if we had not stopped our cars at the right moment. I asked him, what was wrong with him? And he replied, keep going! I stopped my car to warn him, and this time he deliberately came and hit my car from the behind. Thankfully nothing happened to my car, but I hated his arrogance. He is one among those illiterate and uncivilized people who drive taxis in Chennai. I asked him to stop, but he kept going. I ran with a stone in my hand (the scene was indeed funny) and another feet I would have broken his glass pane. He stopped. I took his owner’s phone number and called him. He said, these things keep happening. I surely would have kept going if it were an accident. But this piece of shit hit me deliberately. The company’s name is Mass Travels in Chennai. I am mentioning the name so that someday when the owner’s son googles for his father company, he should know that his father should have rather pimped his wife to earn money than running a irresponsible business with the help of criminals.

I at once understood that I was already wasting my time, money and energy. But still I wanted to push it forward. I noted down his number. He refused to come to the police station, and few other drivers accompanied him now to help the driver. And my sister, 3 children, and myself stood there like fools.

I dropped my sister and her children at the bus stand, as they wanted to go somewhere else. And my 5-year-old daughter and myself went to the nearby police station. I could have very well left my daughter at home before going to the police station. But then I wanted her to learn the sick Indian system at this early age, so that - like many of us – she doesn’t start having faith and belief in this non-performing hypocritical Indian system and society.

As usual the officers there looked at me with the maximum lethargy a human form can ever reach. I explained them what really happened. This police station is just 2 kms away from where the incident happened. But he said – it doesn’t come under our jurisdiction. And asked me to contact another police station, which is was 5 kms away. I knew the music has already begun.

I filled petrol and reached the other police station. The energy was better than the previous one. I explained the new police about the real incident. He asked, was there any damage to your car. I said no. Even if there was, that is not my concern. My concern was that fu**** hit me deliberately. He said, he understands my stand, but I should not give complaint like that. He referred me to the RTO department now saying, tell them a taxi driver hit my car, the damage is high, and he didn’t stop after hitting.

I reached the RTO office now. I explained the 3rd person about the incident. And he asked, was there any damage. I said no. He replied,” then it is law and order case. You need to go where you came from.” Now I understood why the 2nd guy told me about serious damage part. They all have one thing in common – they don’t want to register a case. May be because it involves a lot of work for them.

The RTO SI was trying to be friendly to me now. I explained to him - that I am not here to claim any insurance but to do my duty as a citizen. I don’t want any crime to go unseen or unheard. He was getting a bit spiritual now. He said, “if he has done a mistake - God will punish him.” He also added that, “you have wasted your time, petrol, money and effort to get into this (I knew that from the very beginning). You could have very well gone home.” I really admired his guts to say such an enlightening statement. I never knew that if God was there to punish the criminals, why were these khakhi-clad jokers given salaries? Why am I forced to pay Rs 33 of every Rs 100 I make?

He called the driver over the phone, and told me he will warn him. Wow..that was wonderful instant judgment. The next time you hit somebody accidentally or deliberately go home and sleep peacefully. Nothing will or can happen to you.

Let me finish this blog with my school day prayers –

India is my country
All Indians are my brothers and sisters
I love my country and its rich heritage….blah blah blah….

Posted by Kenni at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2008

What is wrong with the TN CM?

At the age of 58 you are asked to retire because the government thinks you won’t be able to give your maximum output. The government also feels that you need rest, and that your performance will suffer as you grow old. May be the government is right. Personally I have seen people at the age of 87 losing their memory, talking to TV host peeping into the TV, needing help to enter and exit the bathrooms and also losing their senses and minds. Our CM is already 87, supposedly hail and healthy, and is still successful in sending nonsensical bills to the assembly. This time he wants Pongal, which comes around January 14 to be considered as Tamil New Year, and not April 14th!

I know M Karunanidhi is a great Tamil Scholar, a well-read intellectual, an amazing orator, and an awe-inspiring writer and a magnificent historian. But I think he is a lot weak in astronomy, and it is high time he gets his basics right.

I admire what Cho Ramaswamy commented about the bill. 'I suspect that those who endorsed the government's renaming quest must all be DMK supporters. If this government can do this, it can also announce new names for all the 12 months after Periyar, Anna, Stalin, Azhagiri, Kanimozhi and so on.' 'Culture, in my opinion, cannot be ordered by law and therefore no regime has the power to do so,' he asserted.

It isn’t only about culture, but also has geographical, astronomical and astrological reasons. Let us get into the basics now –

*A day is considered to have 24 hours, because Earth rotates around its own axis in that period.
*A year is considered to have 365 ¼ days, because Earth revolves around the Sun in that period.

The universe is considered to have 12 Zodiacs, and this is considered to be true by astronomers also. Now these 12 Zodiacs are nothing but – Mesha (Aries), Rishabha (Taurus), Mithuna (Mithuna), Kataka (Cancer), Simha (Leo), Kanya (Virgo), Thula (Libra), Vrishika (Scorpio), Dhanus (Sagittarius), Makara (Capricorn), Kumbha (Aquarius), & Meena (Pisces).

The first sign of Zodiac is considered to be Mesha, and even the West considers Aries (Mesha) to be the first Sun sign (hence people born between March 15 and April 15 are called Arians). Now the planet Sun stays in each house for a month and takes 12 months to cross all the Zodiacs. So when Sun moves into Mesha (Aries) the first sign – between April 14 & May 14 – it is celebrated as New Year in the Indian system. Not only Tamils but also Punjabis, Andhraite, Bengali, Assamese et al celebrate their New Year in this time frame.

If we listen to M Karunanidhi, then we will be celebrating New Year when Sun moves into Sagittarius, which happens to be the 9th Zodiac sign! And may be later he will ask us to celebrate Diwali on his birthday, Christmas on the day his son Stalin was born, and Good Friday on MGR’s death day!

Posted by Kenni at 01:41 PM | Comments (0)

March 26, 2008

I am with Raj Thackeray!

If ‘personal identity’ weren’t a problem we would have never fought with the British for freedom! I strongly feel that British governance was far better than the present Indian joke of democracy, but we still fought against them because we wanted our own people to rule on us. We thought people with similar ‘personal identities’ would be better than the firangs.

This phenomenon of ‘personal identity’ depends on various factors like tradition, civilization, history, colour, caste, creed, religion, borders et al. And all of us knowingly or unknowingly are driven by at least one of them, and could become restless if we find a threat to any of our belief system.

I know talking about this particular topic would be nonsensical in the 21st Century, when the world is moving towards universal brotherhood and towards becoming a global village. But then India already has 2 new states in the last 10 years, and Darjeeling is now asking for different statehood. And astrologically in the coming 50 years, I strongly feel that India will split into more states and countries based on ‘personal identity.’ And also if universal brotherhood was true, then 99 per cent of the matrimonial advertisements till date won’t be mentioning their caste, sub caste and sub sub caste.

The new Maharashtra Hero Raj Thackeray is against Biharis domination in Marathi state. Well he is perfectly right. I read in one of the interviews, where he logically says that Rajni Kanth being in Tamil Nadu, and being successful in Tamil Nadu cannot propagate Marathi culture and tradition in Tamil Nadu. He has to stick to Tamil values, and boast only things related to Tamil. Point well taken. I know we all are Indians – that is a different story and debate altogether!

Experience 1

I had a Keralite friend who had gone to watch a movie at Sathyam Cinema in Chennai. It was when Gowtham Menon’s Pacchaikili Muthucharam was yet to be released and its posters were displayed. The Bollywood actor Milind Soman had a prominent role in the movie. When all were having a dekho at the poster, a well-educated North Indian IT professional commented to his friend in Hindi saying, “dekh Milind Soman ka kitna bura din aayaa hai. Madrasi picture mein kaam kar raha hai.” (see Milind Soman distress, he has started acting in Madrasi movies). I am least bothered about what kind of bad Milind Soman is running on his career front, but I hated the derogatory tone and also the derogatory statement just the way my Keralite friend hated. If I were there in the scene, I am sure I would have said, teri maa ki choot, you have the balls to put down Madrasis living in Chennai!?

Experience 2

One of my very good Hindi-speaking friends had to forcibly work in Chennai. And he stayed in Chennai for 2 long years. We have had enough arguments on this particular topic, and we still exist as good friends. I always have told him, how I hated him when he spoke to his Tamil-born-illiterate maid in English. He would even speak to the vegetable vendors in English, and would have the slightest guilt about doing so! His stand was clear - if the vegetable vendor doesn’t understand Hindi or English, it is not his problem!

Now you try doing the same in Bihar. Try speaking in Tamil or Dutch to a vegetable vendor in Bihar, and see what happens!

My friend was successful in not learning a single word of Tamil living in Chennai for 2 long years. And the whole of North India wants us to learn, read, write, understand a language, which was formed formally only in the year 1935 against a language like Tamil, which has its existence since human civilization. Well I would say make Sanskrit as a national language. Let us all suffer learning a new language altogether. Why should the North have the upper hand? Why should the South struggle to learn someone else’s mother’s tongue, when they themselves are so closed to any other Indian language?

Experience 3

My sister was there in Belgium for a couple of years, and her husband had to attend a crash course in Dutch to manage with people around. The natives would give you a dirty look, if you start your conversation in English before making it clear that you understand only English and not Dutch.

Similarly every state in India should have their own crash courses in state language, and it should be made compulsory for all the new comers - learn the language in 6 months or you lose your job. You cannot continue to hover around shamelessly showing off your English fluency and Hindi fluency to people who haven’t even learnt to read their own native language.

There is another twist to the story. In one of the articles published recently about India, I read that the population control measures were carried out more aggressively in the South than the North. No wonder families in UP, MP or Bihar have more people than in the South. And in the next 10 years or so, there will be a drastic fall in the population of South India, which will force them to download people from the North for work. This was done deliberately to increase the Hindi belt!!

I am not against any caste, creed, community, language, statehood or religion, but I am against every kind of ‘domination’ from any caste, creed, community, language, statehood or religion!

I am with Raj Thackeray !

Posted by Kenni at 05:44 AM | Comments (0)

March 18, 2008

I am settled once again!

A week without a house was an interesting experience. Reading my previous blog, one of my celebrity clients offered his house in Chennai for me to live. But unfortunately I could not make use of the opportunity, but I admired his kind gesture.

To kill the time we visited Elagiri, a small hill station near Chennai (4 hours drive from Chennai), and stayed there for 2 days. And rest of the 4 days I stayed at my sister’s place. So there wasn’t any problem as such. As rightly said by one of my friends – the fear of an uncertain tomorrow is worse than the real event itself.

Finally we have shifted to the new place. And this house is one of the best houses I have ever lived in – God’s grace I should say. It is an individual house, and the house owner has constructed with immense love and attention, which is visible from all the amenities he has provided to make life better and easy.

I have a BSNL landline now, with a BSNL broadband connection too. And BSNL is supposed to be one of the best broadbands in India because it is said to have least men involved in its operations.

I have updated my new address here, and also the new phone numbers you can get in touch with me.

I am providing the same here once again –

Landline - (044) 22584398
Mobile – (0) 93801 63369

My New Address

G. Kennedi
Plot No - 4, 2nd Main Road,
Engineer's Avenue, Unmai Nagar,
S-Kolathur,
Chennai 600 117,
Tamil Nadu

Posted by Kenni at 07:14 AM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2008

A week of nomad’s life?

I have got a new house – for rent of course. I saw only 2 houses, and finalized the first one. I should thank God for providing me a house without the involvement of the Social Criminals – precisely the house brokers – who happen to be the main cause for rising the real estate values just for the sake of one month rent they acquire from the new tenants. In fact I also have to thank Sulekha.com classifieds for making the house search a mere cakewalk. I will keep the description of the house for later.

My house owner wanted me to vacate the present house this Saturday i.e., tomorrow, and the new house is ready to occupy only on 15th. And there are 7 days in between!

My sister has got a house in Chennai, but taking all the furniture to her house and stacking it there would be a problem I thought. And I didn’t know anyone who could be of any help – both for my furniture and family. My sister and me were thinking what to do next? And we thought of typing Sulekha.com again.

This time we were searching for warehouses and godowns that could probably agree to keep my furniture for a week or so. Family wasn’t a problem – we can stay anywhere. Godowns and warehouses didn’t seem feasible. We called one of our friends and he said any packers and movers services have this facility of keeping your furniture for days together, and they charge Rs 100 per day.

We typed Sulekha.com again, and entered my name, phone number, and email ID. And with in 5 minutes we got calls from 5 Packers and Movers service. We bargained for the rates, and a representative reached my house in 30 mns! The deal was good – picking from the old house, stacking it in their godown for a week and then dropping the same at the new house came to around 3k.

The furniture is taken care of now. And for us as a family we don’t have a house to reside! The present scenario looks challenging, and I think this is the first time in my life I have had a situation where in I don’t have a house to live. I will keep you updated about what my family and I did in these 7 days of nomadic life!

Posted by Kenni at 07:12 AM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2007

The Ram Sethu controversy!

I was performing my religious rites for my father’s 2nd death anniversary at Rameshwaram on 23rd . And hence lost track about what our Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said about Ram Sethu bridge sitting at Chennai. The issue is simple – Hindu mythology says Lord Ram constructed a bridge using Vanar Sena to reach Sri Lanka to bring back her kidnapped wife. The remnant of bridge, which exists today seem to create some problems for ship navigation. If this Ram Sethu construction is broken the traveling time could be saved. Now the choice is between religion and economy or rather faith and money!

Karunanidhi’s argument is scientific. What is the proof that Lord Rama existed? And what is the proof that the bridge was built by Lord Rama? There is no proof at all. That way there is no proof for existence of any God. Then why don’t we break all the place of religious interests, and make roads for better transport? In fact a couple of years back there wasn’t any proof even to know who your father was, that doesn’t mean that we were all bastards. We had to accept what our mothers said. We need to accept few things, even when there is no scientific proof for now – that is what faith is all about.

Thirukural - supposedly written by Thiruvalluvar is a book of 1330 poems written few 1000 years ago. Those poems are displayed on all government buses and is a must portion for Tamil students. DMK supports its presence wholeheartedly. There is no scientific proof for it either. Tamil scholars say – it is still debatable about in which period Thiruvalluvar existed, or whether it was a work of a single man or a group of people.

Kannagi, a Tamil mythological character, is believed to have burnt the whole of Madurai by plucking her left breast using her hand, and throwing it away cursing the city. The story says that her single breast destroyed the whole of Madurai. This Kannagi is the same person whose statue was removed from Merina Beach during JJ’s period - to facilitate traffic. And the same DMK made a huge hue and cry, till DMK came into power. And the first thing DMK did was to reinstate Kannagi’s statue at the same place. Now how scientific is it - burning a huge city with a single breast!!

Whether Ram existed or not is not the question here. It is about my personal faith on my own religion. And none has the right to hurt my religious sentiments. Ram could be a North Indian, point well taken, but then South India had him in Ramayana written by our own author Kambar. So he exists for South Indians too.

Now the ugly part of the controversy is that the fundamentalist parties like VHP, BJP and RSS got into the picture - as if they are the only saviors of Hinduism. On the contrary true Hindus should get on to the roads and solve this issue once and for all – Ram Sethu should exists!

I don’t blame M Karunidhi’s stand on Ram’s existence. He is innocent. How can someone with three legal wives ever understand the presence of someone who stuck to one wife all through his life!

Posted by Kenni at 08:57 AM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2007

Wear helmet or pay fine!

Tamil Nadu government made helmet compulsory a couple of months back. It indeed is a welcome move. Helmet saves you from head injuries - which happen to be one of the major reasons for death in bike accidents. The day had come, and I spotted 90 per cent of the people wearing a helmet. The traffic police were all excited to catch all those who didn’t wear one – so that they can make some quick bucks in the process. And the next day the government said – the police should not harass people for not wearing a helmet - and the number of helmet users reduced.

I personally am for wearing helmet, and have never rode a bike with out wearing one. But then recently I spotted many traffic police assembling in groups on ECR, and few other important roads – fining people left, right and center for not wearing a helmet.

I ‘admire’ the way Tamil Nadu government cares about people’s well being. The Hindu reported recently that some 8000 cases were registered for non-usage of helmets, and Rupees 1.4 lakhs was collected as fine – officially. But I don’t know whether these buffoons still remember that the same government had also made usage of Meters compulsory in Auto Rickshaws a couple of months back! Does the Hindu have any idea about the money collected from these politician-run-auto-stands in Chennai? Why is that it is always the innocent citizen made the scapegoat for policies announced by the government of one of the largest democracy?

People slog their butts day and in day out, pay their taxes, buy vehicles on installments, pay their road taxes and these buggers stand at the corner of the road and fine them for not wearing a helmet. Of course it is their duty, but then why don’t they do something that helps a layman – fine autos for not using meters, clear traffic efficiently, fine over-speeding vehicles, fine vehicles overloaded with animals, and help people crossing roads - the roads that doesn’t have pedestrian crossing lane for kilometers together!

I think it is high time we stopped asking, what have we done for the government. We have done enough. Now we need to ask what has the government done for us?

Posted by Kenni at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)

July 04, 2007

‘Atmosphere’ functioning fine!

I am not against education, but I am against the present ‘system’ of education. I don’t want children - to carry loads of book behind their back, travel by overloaded school buses driven by rash drivers, memorize useless and outdated information, and prepare themselves for 10th and 12th board exams as if there is no life beyond that. I don’t send my children to school instead I home school them. And I am glad my sister has joined me too. She has discontinued her daughter and son from Montessori schools and we both have started to teach our children ourselves.

Many well-wishers, family members, relatives, friends and neighbours advised me a lot about how I could be completely wrong in the long run. How my children could be nowhere when they grow up. How others could be able find a job very easily with their professional degrees and how my children won’t have any takers. I always wanted to give them a fitting answer but then civilization stopped me. I wanted to tell them that – I wanted funds to run my system, and not free advice.

And to be honest I want my children to have no takers. I don’t want them to beg for jobs when they grow up rather they should provide jobs.

Of course there are few drawbacks in home schooling. The first and foremost is – socialization. Children won’t have friends, and they might not meet like-minded people at all. Well that is the only drawback that I know of. But in putting children in regular schools I can point out 100 drawbacks.

There are no portions to be completed and there are no exams to check their memories. Information will be provided only when the query arises. And the target is – by the age of 12 the children will be adept in three important languages. They will be able to read, write and speak English, Tamil and Hindi.

The children travel with us, mostly on weekdays – when there is no weekend crowd. We had these educational picnics to Crocodile Bank, and Pulicat last week. They could see animals, and also watched some migrating birds. And they had an awesome time. Few things they learnt were – how not to disturb wild animals, and how not to litter public places.

Recently they were trained on the computer about how to seek information using Google.com.

At present all the four are learning how to swim, and they are already half way through. Once they start to swim effortlessly, they will be made to learn how to skate.

My future plans for children of Atmosphere are – find a tutor to make them learn English and Hindi, make them learn at least one musical instrument, at least one Indian art, and at least one sport.

Posted by Kenni at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2007

Sibling rivalry & future of DMK!

When M Karunanidhi grabbed the Chief Minister’s post by promising free colour TVs to the poor, just out of curiosity I asked few veteran astrologers – what would be the future of DMK? And all of them had a similar stance, and whatever they said was very much close to what has already happened.

They all said – “it will be M Karunanidhi’s last tenure as the CM, and before his tenure gets over there will be major misunderstandings between the siblings. Later DMK would struggle to get a leader to take the party forward.” “A re-election is possible, and change in reign is possible too before 5-year tenure period.” (Of course there is no evidence at my end to prove this – it was just a one to one talk with the astrologers, and I don’t want to name them and put them in trouble from Stalin’s people or Azhagiri’s people).

And what did happen. Dinakaran (newspaper) poll did the mishap. The poll stated Stalin could be the successor. Azhagiri’s people got pissed off and burnt the newspaper office killing 3 innocent people in the process. Dayanadi Maran, the ex Central Minister for Telecom, refused to attend the 50th year celebration of Karunanidhi in assembly if immediate action was not taken against Azhagiri.

Sun TV, owned by Kalanidhi Maran, were not allowed to cover the gala function, which was attended by Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and even my favourite leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. Dayanidhi Maran was lifted from his seat and Raja was made the new central minister for Telecom! And we call it democracy – where personal favours play a major role in Indian politics!

Though this problem looks very miniscule today, and an immediate temporary solution was taken by making Dayanidhi Maran the scapegoat. This particular event surely will be one of the main occurrences to shape the future of DMK and Tamil Nadu politics in the days to come.

And what my friend astrologers had stated has already started to ring bell in my mind!

Posted by Kenni at 06:57 AM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2007

I am loving it!

All the guys had planned to bunk the botany lab that day. I had made up my mind too. But then the professor’s warning was too much for the guys to stick to their vows. They walked into the lab one by one shamelessly. And I was only one to walk back to the hostel, and get some sleep. That was one killer incident that taught me the best lesson I would have ever learnt in my life. If you have a problem – stand alone, if people are with you it is just a bonus. Let not the support, how much ever large or small, have any influence on your conviction towards the fight you have taken up.

One such fight I had taken up recently was against the auto guys of Chennai, and. I indeed want to put an end to this particular menace. Solving whole of Chennai’s auto problem alone is literally impossible for me. Hence I thought let me start off with the auto stand close to my place.

With the help of 100 & odd signatures, I was able to submit a complaint against them with RTO. The RTO fined the miscreants, and the problem was not solved as yet. Now they knew who was the problem creator - E 6 Alacrity Flats.

My wife went to hire an auto with the same stand a couple of weeks back, and some 7-8 auto guys pounced on her and they pulled a verbal fight with her. And all of them refused to take her to the destination she had asked them to. They instead told her – if you complain about us we will never allow you to board in our autos. She had to walk some 1½ kms to with the 2-year baby to get another auto from the main road.

It is completely their prerogative to decide whom they should take and whom they should not in their autos. But what was wrong from their side was to pull a verbal fight with a single lady. My wife was very upset, and I stuck to law.

We went to the Velacherry police station to file a complaint now. To my surprise, the police were really fast in taking actions. They sent a cop to the auto stand immediately, and asked everyone to come to the police station in the evening. We were also called.

The sub-inspector warned the auto guys, and said, “if I get another complaint from Alacrity Flats, I will cancel all your licenses and clean that auto stand completely.”

My aim is not to make them jobless, but to be nominal in charging the commuters. The problem was not solved yet….

A week later, when my wife was walking towards the main road – one of the auto guys of the same stand drove his vehicle as if he was just about hit her. My wife spoke to stand leader and warned him the second time, and the problem was not solved yet….

Just today my sister was leaving to Ooty from my house, and she sent my father in law to fetch an auto. She specifically told him not to take any auto from the stand, and he did exactly the opposite. He got an auto from the same stand, and the auto guys never knew who my father in law was. He boarded the auto and asked him to wait near the building. The auto guy asked which flat – and my father in law innocently said E6, and the auto guy flew away!

The fight is getting heated up…will keep you updated….

Posted by Kenni at 06:10 PM | Comments (0)

May 09, 2007

Racism in India!

Nixon & Kennedi studied in the same school. Though their names sounded very American, they were the only guys who were the darkest among the whole lot in the class. One among them is me, and another is my classmate who failed 5 times in his 10th standard. I studied in Mumbai, and there were many instances where I was referred as dark. And the nickname of Nixon was Kallu – derived from Kaliya, which means Blacky!

One way I am happy that Shilpa Shetty, who didn’t have any other option but to shake her panty less butt on the silver screen to make a living, was shot to international fame just because some European commented on her skin colour. But then it happens in India day in and day out for all the people – who are darker than the other.

“How do you find women in Chennai?” I asked one of my North Indian friends, a fair guy, and he replied, “fat, dark and ugly.” I understand from him that he doesn’t prefer fat women. Ugly – yes who don’t look good. But then why DARK!! Why is dark still used as a derogatory comment?

The ad campaign says - a girl might not get a good groom or a good job until she uses Fair & Lovely cream to become fairer. And a man might not attract many women until and unless he uses Emami’s Fair & Handsome cream. And this happens in India – where from international standards all are considered black. Why is this rat race towards becoming fairer still on?

If we really love our colour, and accept ourselves as we are – then why is fairness cream a multimillion business in India?

I have seen few top stars out of fad saying they don’t like fair complexion, they prefer darker people – then why there is not a single cream that promises to make you darker? The truth is – we still have this craving to become fairer and we still look at Europeans and Americans with awe!

I know many a people who have been subject to racist attacks in foreign nations. In Belgium they say – those white skinned people won’t sit next to you if they understand you are an Asian. Ask yourself – how many times have you stared at a Niger in India the same way you have stared at an American? We need to accept that the colour Black is considered bad, and still used as a derogatory term - all over the world!

At the corner of my heart I feel a lot happier when an Indian, who is considered fair in India, is called Black in foreign countries. At least by this he will understand, how the real blacks of India feel at the hands of fair Indians!

Posted by Kenni at 08:09 AM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2007

I think I am back - part 2

I waited for 2 months to put up this particular blog. Not that we don’t have other jobs in life and that our lives revolves around the auto rickshaws of Chennai. But then we thought– we have taken up a fight so let us go till the end and see what is in store. In February 2007 my sister (http://vasanthi.rediffblogs.com) and myself took up a signature campaign against the auto guys of our stand, and we went ahead knocking some 150 doors for signatures!

Most people obliged to sign on the complaint, as it was a common problem, which every individual faces day in and day out, while very few refused saying they depend solely on them for commuting. It took 2 whole days for us to get 100 and odd signatures, and thanks to my sister to have made every one understand what the problem was – non-usage of meters by Chennai auto guys.

With the signed document, we reached the RTO office and filed the complaint. The RTO officer had a quick glance at the papers, and said – he will look into it. I never had hope of any action being taken against the auto guys, nor did my sister. We thought after a month or so we will just follow up with the case. And probably with time the issue will die off completely.

After a month I got a letter from the RTO – in fact a CC that was sent to all the seniors, and also the auto guys – which said if these people didn’t get back to them with enough reasons for not using the meters, stringent action will be taken against them. We were happy that at least some action was taken against them promptly.

Then a week later I came to know that a fine of Rs 5000 was stamped on the auto guys whose numbers were mentioned on the complaint letter. That was indeed a boost to our confidence and we realized that our effort didn’t go wasted.

In your case too – don’t waste your time arguing with these auto guys or bargaining for the rate everyday. Just note down their numbers and file a complaint at the RTO office, and don’t forget to take an acknowledgement on the Xerox copy – action will surely be taken.

With this example I came to understand that Indian Government still tries to works for the betterment of the people!

Posted by Kenni at 06:33 AM | Comments (0)

February 28, 2007

I think I am back!

Man proposes, God disposes - and how true it is. I wanted to start writing my blog from the 2nd week of January 2007, but then I could not. Some minor health problems held me back. Many changes have taken place on my front – clientele has increased, more predictions have come true, income has increased and also my beard has grown to touch my chest! Quite a hair raising experience I should say.

Many topics to blog about but then this is about what my sister and I did recently to ‘try’ to put a stop to the auto menace in Chennai.

Tamil Nadu government restructured the auto fares recently, which says – Rs 14 for the first 2 KMs and Rs 6 for every subsequent km (it is Rs 5 for taxis). 40 paise for 5 minutes waiting and 25 per cent extra charge on regular fare between 10 pm and 5 am. I was a bit happy about what the Karunanidhi government had to offer for once to the always-suffering-middle-class people of Chennai. Most newspapers including ‘The Hindu’, reported as if the system is working perfectly fine since January 26th, 2007 and that the RTO has not received any complaints on this front.

I live in Alacrity flats, Velacherry, and we are blessed with an auto stand, which comprise of the most arrogant assholes of Chennai. They never use meter, they never use rate cards, and always charge as if they own the best Boeing in the city. They literally get into arguments with every resident, but end of the day out of mere desperation & helplessness people are forced to take their autos at least to reach the bus stand. And they pay through their nose.

They still charge Rs 20, when the real charge is just Rs 14. It is not about a meager amount of Rs 6 that people mind paying. It is about getting cheated every morning by these khakhi clad illiterate mother fuckers.

I have stopped dealing with these buggers long back – I don’t look at them, and never get into any conversation with them. And whenever I look at them – I feel like slapping them then and there. But then I remember Gandhigiri as portrayed in Lage Raho Munna Bhai. May be Sanjay Dutt would ask us to pay double of what the Auto guys ask, which might make them feel guilty probably after a century, and this menace would come to end before our great grand children die!

Very decently the newspapers had given a phone number to be contacted if any auto guy refused to put the meter. My sister called the number to enquire what is the procedure to complain. And he said, you need to note the number of the auto, then write a letter, and submit it in the Thiruvanmayur RTO, which is some 8 kms from my place. And how do we reach there? By bus, or by walk, or by bike – because I am sure if we take the auto the whole purpose is lost.

To be continued….

Posted by Kenni at 06:54 AM | Comments (0)

November 28, 2006

He came, he saw, and he shot!

Manoj P of http://www.sepiastory.com visited my home last week with his Nikon digital SLR, which eventually has become a part of his anatomy these days. He was coming to shoot my daughter’s profile in the most natural setting – my house. I asked her not to take bath or get ready for the shoot. I said just be natural. Manoj was focusing his camera on my daughter, and I was giving him gyaan about how being on your own can be difficult in the first 1-2 years. I thought he was fiddling around with the camera, and I had the least idea that the will be shooting my pics too - else I would have at least wore a shirt, and never given a semi-nude photo shoot ;). Click here to check it out…

Posted by Kenni at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)

September 01, 2006

Stand for dharma!

I was told that when you are on the side of Dharma (righteousness) you could single handedly fight with 100 people who are on the opposite side – precisely on the side of Adharma. Neither physical strength matters nor the power of money matters - you can stand there ‘still’ and none will have the guts to touch you. It is another story that most of the times we don’t know the difference between dharma and adharma.

I had been to watch Kamal’s latest movie Vetaiyadu Vilaiyadu the 3rd time with my family and in laws. And this time the atmosphere wasn’t good. It is a serious movie, and a group of 8 guys sitting right in front of us were commenting right from the first reel. Making noises are ok, clapping/whistling are fine, & fiddling with mobiles is accepted. But these 8 buggers started off with abusive languages from the very beginning.

I am not against using foul languages. It is a great mantra to reduce your stress & mental agony. But then where you use, why you use and in which context you use matters a lot. You cannot use abusive language unnecessarily in public places, just because you think you have a bigger dick.

The whole theatre was silently watching the movie, and these buggers would not stop their not-so-funny abusive comments on Kamal or Jyotika or on themselves. The whole hall was getting disturbed with negative energies.

My wife asked me, “do something,” as if I was the modern day Bruce Lee. I said, “ignore them.” All of us have a natural aversion towards getting into problems – that too in a place where we have come to enjoy a weekend and that too with 8 unknown healthy guys. We have our family, we have our jobs, and why should we get into problems? Which might end up in physical fights or police cases. We always prefer a safe life.

We kept ignoring till the abusive language was going beyond a point. I was pondering, praying, contemplating, & thinking. I could not stand them anymore. I knew if I get into this none in the theatre would come to my rescue. There are other things that can happen – fights after the movie was over or probably they will bring other guys to thrash me.

I got up, took my mobile, went to the manager’s room, and made a complaint. He asked me to take 4 security guys with me, and pull those guys out. I got 4 security guys, walked into the hall, asked the theatre guys to put on the lights, and pulled all of them out using the security guys. They were never allowed inside again. The whole theatre was looking at the drama, and as expected – none came to support me - though all knew that these guys were making troubles. (In kaliyuga – when you raise your voice against Adharma, you will remain alone. None will support you, but that should not stop you from standing for dharma)

The sad part was they were college students, and in the dark I had thought that they were some local uneducated nuts. They refused to reveal their college name. Good - or else I would have screwed that college in my blog!

Of course I missed some part of the movie, and also got into debates with those guys & the manager. But it was a step worth taken. The rest of the movie was watched in total silence & harmony.

I expected some drama after the movie was over – like they waiting for me outside the theatre or planning to pull me into problems. Thankfully nothing of that sort happened. May be they had better jobs in their lives.

It happened in Mayajaal (Chennai Multiplex on ECR), and I need to thank the manager to have taken a good decision promptly, and helped me and all the other movie watchers in the process.

Posted by Kenni at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)

August 25, 2006

Pluto stripped! So?

Here is the explanation for whether stripping of Pluto as a planet will have any bearing on astrological calculations and predictions!

All the books and literature on Indian astrology were written 1000s of years before telescopes were even invented. Indian saints never categorized planets as present day planets. They named 9 celestial bodies as planets – the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu (umbra) & Ketu (penumbra). And they based the art of predicting human life on the basis of placement of these 9 planets in your horoscope that has 12 houses (zodiacs). They never ever talked about or mentioned about Uranus, or Neptune or Pluto. May be because they knew that these scientist buggers will discover them one day, and some other day debate about its non-existence. (Kindly read the first paragraph twice & understand it thoroughly before you proceed, because one of my educated friends kept arguing about Pluto and it affect on astrology in spite of me pasting this in his chat box)

In olden days, most kings had a personal astrologer. Varahamira & Brihat Parashara are considered to be the founder of Indian astrology. Varahamira had few assistants, and they had a tedious job to do. Each will face one direction, and keep staring at the sky right from morning to night. Based on the colour of sun, shape of the moon, the direction in which meteors fell, the stars that were bright and shining et al – they will predict events for King. It was thus Indian saints found the 12 zodiac signs, and 5 planets – namely – Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus & Saturn. And they never ever mentioned about Uranus, Neptune or Pluto.

Swami Prabhu Padha, the founder of ISKCON (The International Society of Krishna Consciousness) rightly calls all scientists mere rascals. The science of astronomy was initially based on astrology, and it was astrology that paved way for astronomy. And once these buggers invented telescopes, and found the astrological calculations done by saints, just by sitting and staring at the sky, in synch with what they calculated using lenses - they immediately argued that astrology has no scientific evidences, and only astronomy is scientific. It is like kicking off your mother calling her a bitch after you are born. If astronomy was scientific, and based on rationality, how come you take back what you said in 1930 - that Pluto is a planet!

The scriptures and literature on astrology are so perfect, that you cannot add anything or take away anything. Every single aspect of human life is already covered in astrology – to the extent that I have found out about a head injury before the age of 5, and about a prominent mole on the face just by looking at his natal chart – without even seeing the client and sitting miles away from the client!

May scientists discover 1000 more planets, and also deny its existence after few years –it will make no difference to the calculations and the predictions that are done based on the planets Indian saints and rishis had found.

Well stripping of Pluto’s position as planet is a severe jolt to science and scientists, and not to astrology or astrologers!

Posted by Kenni at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)

August 01, 2006

One who argues, never agrees!

As we were sipping beer in one of the multiplexes in Chennai, one of my friends (a Hindi speaking guy) said why the fuck are they playing Tamizh songs on the Television? Why can’t they play Hindi or English? I said, “this is Tamil Nadu, and we give more preference to our regional language ‘Tamizh’ than a north Indian language Hindi or an international language English, and honestly I am for Tamizh.” That is where the argument started…..

I hate Karunanidhi for all other reasons, but there are two things I always admired him for – one his literary contribution to the language Tamizh and second for his protest & demonstration against forcing Hindi into Tamil Nadu.

The argument is simple. On what basis should Indian national language be Hindi and not Tamizh or Sanskrit for that matter, which has more historic glory and historic relevance than any other Indian languages? Just because people living in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh or Bihar – use Hindi as their mother tongue, should we accept them to be ours too? I am not against Hindi I am against giving more importance to the national language or international language at the cost of regional languages.

There was a special reason why Mahatma Gandhi wanted ‘Hindustani’ to be a National language. During his times, there were communal disharmony between Hindus and Muslims, and to bring unity among them he wanted a language that is a mixture of both Hindi and Urdu. But somewhere, someone construed Hindi to be a national language without any consensus and without any valid reason.

Even in the history books you will find the mention of South India’s contribution for the freedom struggle being completely ignored by the North. Why is that? Did only the North fight for the freedom?

Tamilians have contributed enough to freedom struggle and also to the civilization part. Archeologists confirm scientifically that South Indians used to trade with Rome, even before Aryans invaded India. Also out of the stone carvings that date to 5000 years or so, 70 per cent were found in Tamil Nadu, and 90 per cent of them were written in Tamizh. In fact South Indians had reached their peak of civilization, even before a language called Hindi was formed!

And this is my personal experience – most North Indians have a gross attitude of being holier than though. And funnily would look down upon people who are dark or who have an accent over Hindi. At least he/she tries to speak in Hindi. The real fun will be when a Hindi speaking guy tries speaking in Tamizh.

Any South Indian who travels to North will pick up Hindi in a couple of months. This could be because he has no inhibition to learn a new language, or may be because he is more intelligent than an average North Indian. And if any North Indian who comes down to South to work for livelihood – he/she will not take a single step to learn Tamizh, or Telugu or Malayalam or Kannada, and will be proud enough to say – they don’t speak the regional language! Huh.

If you are in Rome, you need to be a Roman. You would swallow idlies like a starving pig and drink sambar like a thirsty camel, living in Tamil Nadu, and still say others should prefer Hindi over regional language, then it is high time you go back to your native state and find a job for yourself.

I know this particular blog of mine might not have any relevance in the present scenario especially when the world is becoming a global village, and when ENGLISH might become a common language for communication in future. But still, I am totally against the death of regional languages at the hands of Hindi or English!

Posted by Kenni at 05:25 PM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2006

Ban on blogs!

Did I wake up a bit late? I guess no. I have been following the issue of ‘ban on blogs’ for a couple of days. Bloggers’ revulsions were clearly visible in their fiery write-ups - few called the government’s decision stupid, few gave out anonymous URLs to access blog sites, and few said it is an attack on freedom of expression. I found this particular rebellion more aggressive than for any other issues related to India. Was it because it was about snatching the very basic right? Or was it just because the bloggers felt a personal jolt this time!

After the recent Mumbai blast, the government asked the ISPs (Internet Service Provider) to block ‘FEW’ blogs, which supposedly had content that helped terrorist outfits. The message sent across by the government was clear, but few ISPs didn’t understand the message properly, and went on to block the main domain (http://www.blogspot.com), instead of few sub domains (http://*****.blogspot.com) – leading to a virtual furore. Now that the government has asked the ISPs to release all the other URLs, the ISPs that blocked the URLs aren’t able to do so, for mere unavailability of proper technology (as said by David Appasamy of Sify.com on http://www.kiruba.com).

I am not trying to glorify myself, or my particular case here….but still…
I personally faced this problem related to blogs while working for Sify 2 years back. Few or rather a couple of top heads thought that my content was not appreciable in the greater good of the company. Hence was asked to stop blogging, or leave the job. I decided to go by the latter, not because I wanted to express myself very badly to the world. But it was because it was shit thrown on my self-respect! I am not taking the crap about - greater good or smaller good of the whole – if it is freedom, it is complete freedom, and the author and the readers are completely aware about what they write and what they read respectively. And none can decide what is good for one and what is not – the very thought of segregating blog content (which started as a personal diary) under two different categories - good and bad - can lead to the idea of censorship!

A lot of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances supported my cause, but none stood by me. They kept telling me that I should not step back – but ultimately you need to surrender to bigger powers. I pulled out my blog, took 6 months, quit my job and re-launched my blogsite – which thankfully is feeding me today. If today, some bigger power blocks my blogsite (whether government, or ISPs), I cannot do anything – I will remain as helpless as ever, with no support from anybody – except few write-ups or debates on the virtual world!

The major difference between the present generation and the generation that existed before 1947 is – they compromised on their personal lives, and fought for a common cause. And we never compromise on our personal lives, and we fight only when we get affected personally. We care a hair if our neighbour’s house is on fire, and we need people to support us – when our own ass is on fire!

Moreover most of the times, we don’t know the difference between a right or a wrong cause, and other times we fight for issues for which we have the least information about (for instance the issue of reservation for backward classes).

Under hypothetical situation if the government decides to ban all the blogs, immaterial of the content! What will we do? What can we do? And what shall we do? The simple answer is NOTHING. We probably will continue sending anonymous URLs sitting in the corner of the air-conditioned office room, because we have bigger things to worry about – our US visa and the next job hop.

Posted by Kenni at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2006

Terrorism!

I am not a terrorist, because I have not been subjected to gross incidents that would make me one. Of course once I wanted to take a gun and kill all those Government officials – who asked for bribe to provide me my father’s death certificate, the post office officials, who took almost a year deliberately to give back the money my dad had deposited, and the Tahsildar office (Tiruppur) where every desk took bribe to move the file.

The violent animal is present in every human being. And it depends on the situation and circumstances an individual is subjected to get that animal triggered. So end of the day who is responsible for creating terrorism - is the people, the society, and the government.

Medha Patkar has been fighting for a cause, and being non-violent for decades now. And it takes 21 days of fasting from her side to make the government to listen to her. Another 8 to 10 days – I am sure she would have collapsed. The media would have carried her news for 2-3 days to increase their TRPs, and the newspaper would have carried her news in the front page, then the inner page, and into the obituaries. In 10 days people will forget her, because we are too busy with our 9-5 jobs. Self-centeredness of human beings is also one of the main reasons for terrorism.

I was just wondering what would the terrorists get by killing 200 innocent people traveling in the I class coach of the electric train on the Western Railways in Mumbai. I am sure their motive is not to kill them, but to create a scene where they can be heard. And what do they want to tell or ask? That is kept hidden – may be by the government. I am neither supporting terrorism nor the terrorist– I am just trying to go deep into the reason for these inhuman attacks, so that future terrorism can be stopped.

In India terrorists move around scot-free. They even become political leaders or continue to remain chief ministers – in spite of being responsible for 1000s of deaths due to instigated communal violence.

The feeling of bereavement remains the same for all human beings. It is the same when an innocent Iraqi husband dies in an attack by the US or if an innocent American husband dies in Osama Bin Laden’s attack or someone close dies in a bomb blast.

The aim of human beings should be to appreciate human lives and to celebrate life – rather than putting an end to it - whether in the name of terrorism or in the name of Attack Against Terrorism – both are one and the same!

Of course I am sad for the 200 people who died in the Mumbai blast. And I am also sad for – the 100 people who die every year due to snakebites in India because of unavailability of medical facilities in villages, I am also sad for the 10,000 preteen girls who are forced into prostitution every year, and I am also sad for India where criminals move around becoming politicians!

Posted by Kenni at 06:44 AM | Comments (0)

June 01, 2006

Movies, politicians and the controversies!

The latest Pope says, “ban on religious conversion in India is unconstitutional.” He has all the rights to say what he feels is right. But whether what he says is right or wrong is quite debatable, and is left to individuals to decide. You cannot run to shut Pope’s mouth even before he utters his thoughts, saying what you are going to say can or might affect religious sentiments in India, and lead to bloodsheds and violence. If the Pope, as an individual, has all the rights to comment on Indian policies about conversion even without knowing the ground realities, why can’t Indians (whether they follow Christianity, or Hinduism or Islam) have the right to watch something that has been captured on the camera for viewing pleasure? The Da Vinci Code – if a movie can affect your belief systems, then there is something wrong in the belief system and not in the movie!

The funny part is what is available for the people living in other states of India, will not be available for Chennaites. The movie has been suspended for 2 months in Chennai it seems. What could be the reason? Does that mean Christians living in Chennai are more insane or violent or have more love towards Jesus when compared to Christians living in Bangalore? Or is it because the priests of Tamil Nadu are more sensitive towards a foreign brand called Jesus Christ? Or is it because with time we have become more Christians than the native Christians themselves who made the movie and as well as acted in it? In that case we should ban all the money that flows into India for religious conversions, and not a 2 hour movie!

Why this suspension for 2 months? Are Chennaites sit and watch how people react to the film outside Tamil Nadu and double check whether if it creates any unrest among the people and then release it in Chennai? Christ save hypocrisy…

To my knowledge, till date, I don’t remember any movie that has created religious unrest among the Indians. It was always the representatives of people – politicians –who created the violence– before the release and after the release too and also while shooting the movie. Name one movie that led to bloodshed or violence among people where POLITICIANS were not involved?! In fact books, serials and movies made on religious violence were always good hits – for instance Train to Pakistan by Khuswant Singh, Tamas on DD, and Dev respectively.

For ‘Fire’ it was Shiv Sena, for ‘Fanna’ it is BJP. When the people themselves are least bothered about how the film can impact them, why are mere representatives creating the dirty scenes? Movies are not shown freely anywhere. People spend their hard earned money from their pockets to watch a particular movie, which simply means that they have decided to be open for the content of the movie, and top of that you have that censor certificate. It is like you go to a brothel, pay the woman for her services, and later get upset saying she is a woman of no character because she sleeps with everyone for money!

Posted by Kenni at 01:37 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2006

I am for reservations!

Let us not talk about the forward community people who are economically backward. And let us also not talk about the backward community people who are economically forward. Let us talk only about the major chunk of the society where most of the forward community people are well off and backward community people are still struggling for their livelihood. Agreed that providing reservations on the basis of mere caste (which primarily was associated with the work anyone did) is not a good idea. But then what if particular castes were never allowed to come up in their lives due to suppression from the forward caste people and that they were deprived of good things in life forcefully for 100s of years in India.

Living in a metropolitan or a cosmopolitan city and being able to watch NDTV or IBN CNN or Times Now over the TV and Internet and then starting to support the protesting (IIM or IIT or Medical) students just because they were attacked by police lathicharge doesn’t mean you are on the right side. We can hardly understand the intensity of casteism in India living in a metro. Just catch a train, or a bus and try visiting the interiors of India, and the truth will taunt at your face.

I was born in Tiruppur, which is one of the largest exporters of Knitted garments in South India. That is how at least the media projects the city. But how many of us know that, even today there are different areas allocated for forward community people and backward community people. Forget about Tiruppur, visit Trichy for that matter. Even they have specific areas allocated for different people based on their castes. And they have this condition that when a backward caste person enters a forward caste area, he should not wear a shirt and should always carry the towel under his armpit. And I am not joking! There are numerous places in Tamil Nadu where tea and coffee are served in different glasses based on their caste – EVEN TODAY. (Area allocation based on economic background, as it happens in cities, is acceptable but not on the basis of caste).

Kerala was known for breast wars. The backward caste women were asked not to wear anything on the top by the forward caste men. This was forced on them so that the upper caste men can have a BALL of a time when they saw the lower caste topless women working as daily labours at their fields.

At hostel we had enough debates on whether reservations be given to people based on their castes, and I was always against it. I always thought that the more informed and the more intelligent person should always get the chance to move ahead in life and not the one who scores less and goes ahead having a SC or ST certificate in his hands. But what makes a person score high or low in curriculum? Is it his intelligence or is it the time he gets to focus on his studies.

For one of my friends, belonging to a backward class, studying was always secondary. As he had to do other works like – looking after the fields, feeding the cows, and even working for few days so that the family doesn’t starve. Studying in a vernacular medium, with no extra money or time for coaching classes, no tuitions, and also no guides – with his sole effort he could make to our college. We had a bet, with equal opportunities given to all who will score well, and to my astonishment – he scored better than any of us, as living in hostel he didn’t have any other work than to study.

Also why is this hulla gulla created when it comes to IIT or IIM or Medical students, who otherwise think are created and sent directly by Gods. I don’t think any IITian or IIMite or any doctor of India has won a Noble prize after CV Raman. Neither did we invent anything nor did we discover anything. All that we did was studied here, went abroad and paid taxes to the foreign government. We anyways have become mental slaves to the white skinned people, so what difference does it make if the seat is given to the forward caste student or a backward caste student?!

Posted by Kenni at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2005

Mockery of ourselves – part 2!

The advocate was kind enough to answer all our questions we were bubbling to find answers for. She sited a beautiful example about what exactly has to be done if you are served with a dosa half baked in any restaurant. Firstly you need to preserve the dosa and take it with you when you are filing the case. Secondly, you should have enough evidences to prove that that particular dosa was served in that particular hotel. If you succeed in filing a case, it will again take at least 2 years for you to get the judgment. In the process you would have at least spent few 1000s in traveling to the court, and paying up the advocates. Do you really want to get into these things, asked the advocate logically? We stared at her, and she added, “you can if want to take that up as a profession, which I feel you are not.”

ICICI bank had made minimum withdrawal amount as Rs 500 and they had started this service as an experiment only in Chennai and Cochin. We were upset as usual, because we usually would withdraw 100s and 200s and we found this move of ICICI a bit arrogant – taking their customers for granted. We had this doubt whether ICICI be sued for this particular move, and the advocate said a clear ‘NO’. ATMs are an extended service of any bank, and they have all the rights to keep a minimum limit and a maximum limit. Of course you can file a case, if they disallow you to withdraw any amount from their branch office. “Well”, she said, “as far as ICICI bank is concerned there is a new case filed against them in the consumer court every 2 days.”

More than the congested traffic, it is the traffic police who are bigger nuisance in the city. It is month end and they are there on the road with a speed gun, a bullet, a sergeant, and few constables dancing on the roads to block vehicles. If it is a bike, they will immediately pull the keys out and side line you. Legally they aren’t supposed to do that. And spot fines are not applicable for all the places. Ideally they should be noting down the vehicle number and send a charge sheet to your residence. The advocate said, you can argue against them on the roads, but what if they slap you. You need to run to a hospital, take a finger print test, and have even evidence to prove that the constable slapped you! Or else it is better to pay them up and walk home happily.

I happened to meet Karthik Chidambaram, son of Finance Minister P Chidambaram, few years back through the last organization I was working for. He is a law graduate from Harvard University but he never practiced law. He in fact was running a discotheque in Chennai that time. He had some valid insights into these court systems, which made absolute sense. He said that the last thing you can do with your life is to file a case against someone. “As much as possible try to solve the problem outside court, and keep court as the LAST resort.” 90 per cent of the cases that comes to court are family related, and it takes at least 10 years to get the final verdict. It so happens that both the parties die a natural death and the case still remains alive in the court.

My dad once filed a case against one of the dealers (MGB) in Tiruppur for giving him a TV remote control which never worked. Of course my dad won the case, but then it took him 3 complete years, and he had to travel to Coimbatore every 3 months by bus. Good that he was a retired government servant and had enough time on hand. He was paid for the travel expenses too. But what about health issues, and emotional upheaval a person undergoes all through the process. I sometimes think that instead of filing the case he could have got into the shop, broke few TVs, bought a new remote control paying Rs 100, and made the dealer to file a case and face the music. (I am sure the dealer would have had a tough time collecting evidences against my dad).

I personally feel that Gandhism won’t work in India anymore if we really want to bring a massive change in our society. Also there is no point in waiting for 5 years for the Government to change - for the system remains the same even when 10 CMs or PMs change on the top. Problems cannot be solved in India until and unless people, without any party emblem, get on to the roads and start solving problems themselves. If the roads aren’t good, don’t blame the government, catch hold of the area MPs and MLAs, and give them a tough time. If you are cheated in restaurants, raise your voice and create a scene - no point preserving the half baked dosas.

India needs a major revolution, where people become more conscious and a bit violent in nature. Obedience won’t work any more. The choice is whether you want to be a Jesus, get crucified and remembered after your death, or you want to be the Krishna, fighting for dharma, and win the battle of Kurukshetra when you are alive.

The other choices are –

*You can get a passport, find a job outside India, and be all ga ga about the systems prevalent in the US and China
*Or be in India and keep singing the song, hum honge kamyaaab ek dinnnnnnnnn…man hai vishwas pura hai vishwas…..hum honge kamyab ekdinnnnnnn
*And third and most important thing….teach the same song to your children, grandchildren, and great grand children.

Posted by Kenni at 06:27 AM | Comments (0)

November 18, 2005

Mockery of ourselves – part 1!

My sister and I have quit our 9-5 jobs a year ago. From then we have enough time in our hands. We discuss a lot about dedicating some time to cleanse the society or doing something that can bring some kind of improvement in the city we live in. Off late we also found ourselves getting irritated very easily by petty things like – ICICI making the minimum withdrawal amount as Rs 500, beverages like Pepsi, Coke being sold double the price than MRP at Mayajaal and many other things, where we felt really helpless. Hence we thought we should meet up with an advocate, and see what exactly can be done legally to put an end to few problems we face in our day to day life….

We fixed an appointment with a leading advocate of Chennai High Court to have a discussion. And thankfully she could make us touch base with reality.

Case 1 – CAS problem in Chennai

I always thought why is it that only Chennaites are made guinea pigs for government’s policy of making set top box a must. In that context I wanted to file a case. The advocate said, the cable operators had already done that job, and the case has been upheld. I asked what does that mean. It simply means that the government has all the rights to experiment with set top box. And we as citizen need to keep our mouth shut.

Case 2 – Can a product be sold for more than the MRP

Legally no product should be sold for more than the Maximum Retail Price. And recently I got an Appy Fiz for 40 bucks at Mayajaal, when the MRP is 25 bucks. The advocate supported us on this particular issue. She said, “you are right. No product should be sold for more than MRP. In that case you need to get a bill.” In the bill they would put the rest as service tax. And mostly they won’t give you a bill. So what next? Nothing. You can’t help it. Either you buy or don’t buy. (There are products sold at railway stations far beyond their MRPs. Neither can you get a bill nor can you demand a bill)

Case 3 – Fake stickers stuck on original price (At Odyssey, Adyar)

My sister found a product manufactured in the year 2001, and a new price tag stuck on the product, which was much higher than the MRP printed on the product. She called an attendant to inquire, and he said that is because the same product (new one) costs more than the one manufactured in 2001. Hence they have put the new price tag. The advocate said, now that is an interesting case. You can file a suite against Odyssey. For that you need to buy that product, get the bill, and then file a case. You might have to wait at least for 1 ½ years to get a hearing from the court!!!!

To be continued…..

*What should you do when you find your dosa only half baked in the restaurant you go?

*What can you do when the traffic police pulls out the keys from your bike (which is legally not right from his part)…and much more….

Posted by Kenni at 05:39 PM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2005

Final – The blog I write out of mere hatred and shame!

Moving your files in a government office is similar to the process of training your dog. I don’t know how many of you have tried your hands at that. But it involves the same philosophy. Your dog won’t give you a shit when you call it to get trained. Here is the tip - take a Marie biscuit, and break it into 6 smaller pieces. Now throw one of the pieces to your dog. It will get up, eat it, stretch a bit, wag its tail, and come to you for more. Now push its back down, and say sit. When it is in a sitting posture, give another piece. It will stand up for another piece. Now push the back again, say sit, and give the 3rd piece. Now the 4th time, don’t push the back. Say sit and it will sit, and you give the 4th piece. So you have trained your dog to sit using ¾ of the biscuit. The same is true with government officials – the rule remains the same– thoda pheko thoda khilao (unlike the dialogue in Hindi movie Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron – thoda khao thoda pheko), and you can get your work done.

We took the final documents of Legal Heir Ship certificate to the Tahsildar’s office. The peon wouldn’t tell us what exactly has to be done. My uncle hands over Rs 100 to him, and he takes the file in his hand, as if it is his own. He submits it and gets us a token, saying come tomorrow things would be ready. We reach the next day, and he says, your file is inside and you need to pay another person who is in charge. We give another Rs 100 to this person and he gets our file from the office room and asks his assistance to fill the form. And we are asked to give this lady assistant another Rs 100 to fill the form! We do the same, and the form is filled, and now it will go to the Tahsildar’s desk.

I am happy that the Tahsildar didn’t take a single penny from us to sign the document. He just wasted 4 days of ours. We would go to his office, every morning and evening, and wait. Of course he had other works in life too. And on the 4th day, we got Legal Heirship form duly signed, and we finally submitted that in the post office, and booked our tickets back to Chennai.

The whole process took 25 days, and we spent some Rs1500 for travel and as corruption fees. But then we were glad it finally happened. My mom is lucky. She at least has 3 children who could remain close to her to finish all these formalities. But I really wonder how could an illiterate woman whose husband dies ever could manage all these things.

I was reading Kiruba’s blog today (http://www.kiruba.com) and read about how he witnessed few pregnant women in the US getting trained in ‘moaning’ - getting prepared for delivery. I really think he is lucky. In fact I witnessed at least 10 women, widowed recently, moaning in pain for not getting their pensions for at least 3 months now!

God Bless India!

Posted by Kenni at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2005

The blog I write out of mere hatred and shame - part 2

Finally we got our father’s death certificate, and tried submitting it to post office for the formalities to be completed for the transfer of pension to my mother’s name. They needed another certificate now – legal heirship certificate. What does that mean? It is a certificate that will confirm that the person who died was my father, and his wife was my mother, and that they had three children. And this certificate will be signed by three personals – the Village Administrative Officer, the Revenue Inspector and finally the Tahsildar!

We take the filled up application to the VAO (Village Administrative Officer), he stares at it, puts it aside, and ask us to come after 4 days. We ask, what is the process? And he replies – few people will come for inquiry to your place. We innocently shake our heads in affirmation and go home. None come for inquiry. On the 4th day we take our uncle along with us, and the VAO says the inquiry team has just left to your place. My uncle hands over Rs 100 to him, and the VAO gets irritated, and I was taken aback. I thought at last I have met one honest government official.

He replies, hope you are aware about the inflation rates, give me Rs 200, he asserts!!! My uncle hands over another 50, and he smiles, and at last ask us to take our seats. This time, he asks, “so what is the name of the person who died?” We give him the answer and he says come in the evening and it will be ready. So what about the inquiry part? All lies!!! We get the document signed, paying another Rs 50 to the peon who fills the form and move to the Revenue Inspector Office.

The Revenue Inspector is a lady. My sister is happy, hoping that things would be easier here as women are uncorrupt - it seems. It is a place where at least 100 people come and go, and there is not a single chair or bench for the people to sit. There is only chair, on which the RI sits, and rest of the world should stand in front of her!! She asks for more documents, which would prove that my father had only 3 children. My uncle talks to her, and she finally puts her signature. My uncle hands over another Rs 100. My sister thought she wouldn’t take, but I was damn sure she would. She said thanks, and accepted the money. Of course there was a major difference between the VAO and the RI. VAO took the money to do his job, and the RI took the money after the job was done. I should agree that women indeed are better government employees.

And the last part was getting a signature from the Tahsildar.

These are few reasons why I had no time to update my blogs for the last 30 days. I honestly need to thank the government officials and the system because the torture they gave us helped us to over come the trauma that our father’s death left behind.

To be continued……

Posted by Kenni at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2005

The blog I write out of mere hatred and shame!

Wish I was Indian. I am not talking about the nationality that is conferred on any individual when he is born in a particular country – that too without his/her consent. In fact I wish I was movie maker Shankar’s depiction of Kamal Hasan in his movie Indian (Hindustani). If that was so I am sure I would have killed at least 3 government officials in the past 30 days! Or wish I was at least Shankar’s Anniyan – few would have died getting roasted in the boiling oil. Well I am a normal human being who gets defeated at the hands of the mighty and corrupt Indian government officials!

My dad was a pensioner, and he was always perfect in all his documentations. He had told my mother about what exactly has to be done after his death, and how that pension can be transferred to my mom’s name after his death. And we thought it was as easy as my mom told to us.

According to my father – you just need to get the death certificate from the municipality and submit it with the pension book, which has both my parents’ photo and signature on it, to the post office where his pension used to get credited. But things were not easy as it looked.

At the cemetery, the watchman wouldn’t sign on the bill if he was not given Rs 50 as bribe. This bill would have the details about the person who died, and on what date he was cremated. Now it is the process of applying for death certificate. You need 2 documents – 1) certificate from the hospital about the cause of his death and 2) the bill that says that he was cremated on so on so day at so and so place. You fill a huge form and submit the same to the sanitary inspector. I dunno why on earth is he called a sanitary inspector. He is the one who will provide the death certificate.

My sister and I don’t know the trick of getting work done from government officials. Hence my mom asked us to take my uncle - a former government employee - along with us. The sanitary inspector asked us to come on the 4th day to collect the certificate. We weren’t in town, and my uncle collected the same on our behalf. The sanitary inspector charged Rs 100 for the certificates!! There was a small error in the certificate they issued – they added one ‘Swamy’ out of their own choice to my father’s father name. And the same bugger charged Rs 50 for the correction to be done!

To be continued – people in focus the VAO (Village administrative officer) & the Revenue Inspector!

Posted by Kenni at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2005

Please do not have a gate in front of my vehicle!

ICICI has always been known for their aggressiveness. They want to explore all those places where humans haven’t reached as yet, or to do something we haven’t heard about. And when it comes to insurance, they seem to bother more about our future than we ourselves do. Recently I saw these boards on most house & apartment gates which says, “Please do not park in front of this gate – ICICI Lombard”. There is another notice written outside most apartments which say, “Visitors vehicle not allowed inside”, so what are we supposed to do now? Carry the vehicle on our head?!!! Or park the vehicle at our home, and go by walk?!!

Most house owners seem to forget that their right on the acquired property ends from their gate, and they have no rights to tell us what exactly we need to do outside their gates. As a citizen of free India I will poke my finger in my nose, pee on the roads, or even kiss a babe in public. I think ICICI has no right to tell me what I should do & where.

And now after ICICI, even Focus Opticals (a local optician) has started hanging their boards which displays the same message. I am sure it will take another century for us to come out of this herd mentality of copying others, without using our own brains.

So what am I doing to do now? I am going to carry a board which says, “Please do not have a gate in front of my vehicle – Askenni.com”.

BTW I am off to Tiruppur for a couple of days, will be back by Monday. Till then Happy Blogging!

Posted by Kenni at 04:18 AM | Comments (0)

August 05, 2005

Planning to meet the CM against Set Top Box in Chennai!

We post a blog everyday because frequency of updates matter a lot. We keep checking page views statistics – it gives us a huge ego boost. We keep checking our comment box, just to see how many have taken the time to read our blog and how many have really bothered to put a comment. We take pride in not reading others’ blog, not commenting on others’ blog & not crosslinking them from our site. Few early birds get media coverage & few don’t. We meet up once a while to discuss the latest technology in the world of blogging - audio blogs, video blogs, live streaming et al - or probably to booze together. So what’s next? How long will this go? Are we just going to exist as a passive blogger or come out to bring a change in the society!

This isn’t my question. In fact my sister asked me this question a couple of days back. The blogging community has its own uniqueness. It is an educated group, it is a group which bothers about the society, and moreover it has no political background. The only thing that it needs at this juncture is ‘UNITY.’

Chennai has been made the guinea pig most of the times. We are deprived of information just because Sun Network wants to maintain a monopoly in the TV industry. We don’t get popular channels like HBO, Star World & National Geographic just because SCV has imported lots of Set Top box and they want to sell it off. The rich don’t mind to buy the stupid box, and the poor don’t bother to have one. It is the middle class who are sandwiched between these two. And we are helpless to raise our voice, and most of the times don’t know how to react!

And now ICICI makes a fool of Chennaites. They have all the rights to maintain the minimum balance as Rs 5000, but minimum withdrawal at ATM - Rs 500 isn’t something that can be digested. And that too only in Chennai & Cochin!! So, this time also we are as helpless as always.

Everything has to start somewhere sometime. Hence my sister & I have decided to meet our CM J Jayalalitha next month to handover a petition against the system of Set Top box in Chennai. We aren’t sure about how many will join us in this particular protest, but your presence will really make a BIG difference. Do mail me or leave a comment if you are OPEN to join us!

Note- You need not necessarily be a blogger to join us in this particular experiment!

Posted by Kenni at 07:20 AM | Comments (0)

August 02, 2005

Ilaiyaraja’s ‘Thiruvasagam’!

I am an ardent fan of Ilaiyaraja. I would say he is a far better music director than A R Rahman. The latter’s music reaches your head, while former’s reaches your heart. Listening to janani janani is more soothing than listening to en mel vizhunde mazhai thuliye any day.

I was glad about Ilaiyaraja’s new work being released – ‘Thiruvasagam’ – where in he clubs Indian classical with Western orchestra. And probably I was the first to run to music store to fetch one of the copies. I was disappointed totally about what was available in the music store. The store keeper proudly said, “for now they have released only the CDs, and based on the initial sales of CDs - cassettes will be released.” A sick marketing move I should say.

I have a CD player of course, and I would have very well bought his CD for Rs 125 if he had kept the option of buying the cassettes open. What does the move mean? Only the elite with CD players hear to the song first? I didn’t buy the CD. And I waited for a fortnight till the cassette was released. Life was smooth even without listening to Thiruvasagam, I should say. I bought one yesterday, and listened to it today morning. People (musicians) – you need to be honest about yourself before you talk about music piracy on the stage. Marketing strategy like this one can only prompt more people to use MP3s!

I am no one to comment on the composition part. I am sure I don’t know anything about the music language. But as a listener I have an opinion.

Music has no language, agreed. But it has the potential of creating a particular mood. In India, most songs were sung in the praise of lord, and it had the aptitude of creating an environment that brings peace & tranquility around us, while Western songs had different purposes. Except for songs that are sung in the Church, not many songs are composed for God in the West. Of course melodies are composed, but not many focus on the divine aspect.

So what’s wrong in Thiruvasagam? The lyrics of Lord Shiva sung by Ilaiyaraja being followed by a chorus voice of Western team doesn’t match at all! The initial Indian lines try to take you to the divine, while the rest of the Western part is a major flop! It takes you nowhere.

Posted by Kenni at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

July 25, 2005

The fun in getting insulted! Part 2 - Last

Mahatma Gandhi, P Chidambaram, Laloo Prasad Yadav, M F Hussein, Osho Rajneesh, Ilaiyaraja, Bal Thackeray – are few of my role models. Of course there are women role models too. I admire J Jayalalitha & Mother Teresa. Once in a while I honestly try to imitate my role models – not intellectually but at least the way they carry themselves. And I am proud that I imitate them by wearing simple clothes instead of imitating the West by wearing a suit at 32 degree Centigrade!

I was just wondering if Bal Thackeray had paid a visit to Madras Boat Club for the bloggers meet, and if he was blocked from entering the premises with his Indian attire. I am sure that could have been the last day Madras Boat Club existed. We indeed need powerful people like Balasaheb in an Indian scenario - at least to put few things in places!

Having completed his studies in foreign universities, our Finance Minister P Chidambaram walks into the Parliament in his white dhoti & white shirt to announce the annual budget. He makes sure that all the CEOs & COOs sweating like pigs in their Western clothes keep their mouth shut. It is more about what you carry on your head, than what you carry yourself in.

Clothing essentially was invented by human being for two important reasons. 1) To save oneself from changing climatic conditions and 2) for comfort. You will never see an Eskimo wearing a bikini for sure.

What is comfort in the West becomes a fashion in India. Even foreigners when they visit humid countries like India, change their attire to shorts, a t-shirt, and a pair of slippers. Coat suits, socks & shoes were used in the West to protect themselves from severe cold. No wonder in India, people start stinking soon.

Of course the system will change one day, when we Indians agree or accept that we were far more civilized than the West.

I remember a story, which was part of our Hindi syllabus in schools. The lesson’s name was ‘Pratikriya – ek jeevan kasauti’, which means reaction to a particular event is life’s biggest challenge. Three friends visit a public meeting, and they occupy the seats in the front row. The management comes in and says, “please go behind because these seats have been reserved for the people who will donate the maximum today.” All the three react differently. One guy thinks - this is how the world is. Let me forget this and move on. The second guy thinks – buggers people like this should be shot dead. And the third guy thinks – I will make so much money in life that I always occupy the front row.

Not being allowed into the Madras Boat Club for not wearing a T-Shirt has made me take few important decisions too. Firstly – I won’t go to any place that has a dress code, secondly if I am called as a Chief Guest to the same boat club (which will happen soon) I am planning to go full Digambara style, and if things don’t change in India before I built my temple cum ashram cum meditation resort named ‘Atmosphere’ - I will have my own dress code. Women should enter topless & men should enter bottomless – because it is MY DEN!

Posted by Kenni at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)

July 24, 2005

The fun in getting insulted – Part 1

It was my mistake. In spite of knowing that the dress code to enter the recent bloggers meet organized at the ‘Madras Boat Club’ was T shirt, I wore an Indian kurta. Neither did I compromise, nor did they. The club personals didn’t allow me inside. Kiruba tried his level best to get me special permission to enter. He even tried to get me T shirt. But then I thought it wasn’t necessary for me to circumcise to attend a Muslim marriage. Hence we walked off. The irony is I was born in Tiruppur, the city which exports the largest number of T-shirts, and that my father owned a T- shirt manufacturing unit once!

My friend, who recently moved to Chennai from Mumbai to join World Bank insisted that I shouldn’t be writing ill about the Madras Boat Club, since it was our mistake. I said fine. Later I realized, if I cannot write what I think is right in my own blog, then why the f*** should I be maintaining my own blog? I would rather join a newspaper organization where I need to take approval from few editors to get my work published. So I thought I should go ahead…

I am not against Madras Boat Club. It is their den, and they have all the rights to have their own code of conduct, their own dressing code & reservations about the people who enter their premises. I am in fact against any place in India, which bars Indian dress code. I would have totally agreed with what Madras Race Club did if I had worn a see through top with my nipples pierced or if I had worn a bell bottom pants with a padded penis pocket.

It is the same boat club I had been a couple of years back for a rowing party. The code of conduct was really impressive. Women boozed like hell, they ground their butts, few couple hugged each other, few kissed in public, and few quickies were happening inside the bathrooms. But of course men were wearing T shirts, and shoes!

We have huge empathy for Mahatma Gandhi. We hate the way he was treated by being thrown out of the First Class Compartment in South Africa. What was wrong? The South Africans had their own set of rules, their own dress code, and their own system. They treated every Indians as coolies, and Indians didn’t have place in the First Class Compartment. Hence Gandhi was thrown out. It was their den. In fact that was one insult, which Gandhi could not digest for his life.

America still has separate beaches for the Whites and the Blacks in few places. We call this racial discrimination and point fingers at them. And who will point finger at India, which still has places where Indian Dress codes are not allowed. We need to clean our butts well, before we complain about any stink outside.

More to come in Part 2….

Posted by Kenni at 08:38 AM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2005

The blog I never wanted to write!

I admire Bejan Daruwalla for his astrological skills, English vocabulary, and the way he transfers all the credit of his predictions to Lord Ganesha. Putting down astrologers isn’t my objective, but then I am just trying to bring few truths to light.

Here is a mail I got from one of my blog readers a couple of weeks back.

“For the last one year, I have been browsing through many astrology related websites mainly since I have been going through a very difficult period in my life. I noticed that there are some world famous astrologers providing consultation on almost every site. I always wondered how someone as high profile as Bejan Daruwalla had the time and energy to attend to every single order from all these websites, when he also writes in newspapers, works with politicians, sportsmen and other celebrities etc.

Then, a couple of days back I saw an announcement on the one of the websites - "Free chat with Bejan Daruwalla's Team". So it was not actually him, but probably his students and disciples answering questions. But the chat transcript made it look like it was actually Mr. Daruwalla doing free consultation. This then, might probably be true for all kinds of consultation (not just free chats) advertised on these websites.

What do you think about this.... - Is it fair...to have clients think that the astrologer they request is attending to their questions, while it is actually someone else (even if they might be trained by him and might follow the same techniques).

When you become famous (which I am sure you will) would you have any reservations about doing this or do you think it is acceptable.”

I would compare this particular episode with one of the incidents that took place in my life and leave it there.

It was the in mid-80s when Southern Sex Bomb Silk Smitha was at peak of her success. People used to flock the movie theatres just to see her dance in minis skirts & explicit tops. Lots of Malayalam soft movies were also made on her – which were super duper hits.

I recollect watching a Malayalam soft porn movie then – and the title of the movie was ‘Silk Silk Silk’. The movie ran full houses for 2 weeks, and then it flopped! The reason was - only the title had Silk in it, and there was no real Silk Smitha in the movie. In fact looking at the title her fans thought Silk was playing a triple role in the movie. It was a marketing gimmick to make some quick money.

Posted by Kenni at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2005

Why I love Laloo

Kerala is serene. It is termed God�s own country. The entire state is lush green & there are no problems as far as water is concerned. The literacy level is 100 per cent (a state is considered to be literate if all the people are able to read the daily newspaper), and the population is really low. Where have all the Keralites gone by the way? They are spread across the globe - few millions in the Gulf, few millions across the world, and few millions across the country. Kerala has plenty of foreign money but what about the infrastructure & industrial development of the state. Who cares? Well the Keralites bother more about other states & other countries than their own � may be they left the plight of the state to the Gods to worry about!

I have a friend � a Keralite but he hates to be called one though. He rather prefers to be called a Mumbaiite for being brought up in Mumbai. We debate a lot - sometimes about politics too. And the 2 people he hates are � our own JJ & Laloo Prasad Yadav. Well I have special reasons why I adore JJ, but then this blog is about why I love Laloo Prasad Yadav.

I never had any preferences for Laloo, and I always conceived him the way the media portrayed him - an illiterate corrupt joker responsible for the lawlessness of Bihar. My perception about Laloo changed completely when I happen to speak to a literate journo who was basically from Bihar. He was the one who explained me the reasons why Laloo had such a tremendous mass appeal in his own state.

Incident 1

There were charges against Laloo about siphoning off money that were allotted for �pucca� roads in Bihar. He called up a public meeting, and asked people to raise their hands who owned their own cars. None raised their hands. He asked, �then what do you need pucca roads for?�

It made absolute sense � who need tar roads for bullock carts?

Incident 2

Laloo was charge sheeted in the fodder scam. He had to step down and make Rabri (his wife) the CM. His supporters (not partymen) were asked, �now what do you think has to be done.� And the people replied, �bolo kitne ka ghata hua hai? Hum chanda iketta karke de denge�. (Tell us how much money has been taken, we the people will collect the money and give it to the government).

Incident 3

One fine day Laloo would land his chopper in any of the fields, and would take few children on a sky trip. Or he would get into any of the farmer�s house, and have lunch with them.

Laloo is intelligent, got a terrific sense of humour, has excellent PR qualities, and is a great human being. Moreover he has got a very strong horoscope too � he is here to play a vital & long inning in the Indian politics. Hence, how much ever the media or the people who hate him make fun of him, he surely will have the last laugh.

Jab tak samose mein rahega aloo, Indian politics mein jarur rahega Laloo!

Posted by Kenni at 07:23 AM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2005

�.and I make enough money through Askenni.com!

I would be one among the very few people who had to leave his high paying job for the sake of maintaining a blog! Today I feel flattered when someone calls me from Australia to tell me that my blog is good, or when someone from UK goes in for my astrological consultation. I waited for 8 months to write this particular blog, and this probably would be the last blog which I write against my ex-employer Sify.com!

I still remember the day when my immediate boss took me to a cabin, and said, �Kennedi, you have a wife & 2 daughters to look after. Why do you want to get into writing blogs?� And I tell him, �I think it is none of your business, because I update my blogs from my home & not from the office.� He warns me that the whole management is unhappy with my blog content & you will have to lose your job for the crap you are writing. I had to stop blogging for I needed �money� to run my family. It was like I was compromising on my self respect. It was like someone was snatching my freedom � my freedom of expression & my freedom of communication.

I also remember the day when I was made to sit in front of my VP, and my immediate boss throwing all kinds of accusation against me. I kept looking at him helplessly, thinking in mind that � every dog has its day, and it is yours today!

My VP was intelligent � at least I thought so. He said, you can write your blog. No issues about that but write it anonymously. He said with freedom comes responsibility (as if I was some kind of Spiderman), and you seem to cross you Lakshman rekha. I still wonder who decides about how much freedom someone should have, and what is responsibility all about? Mid-Day having a semi nude centrefold is responsibility? Or the Times coming out with Bikini special is responsibility?

I waited till 6 months, but could not take it any longer. One fine morning I decide to resign, and I walk off in style without another job in my hand. Of course there were last minute crocodile tears. My boss offers his help saying, anything, anytime I am here � as if I cared!

Today by my teacher�s blessings & God�s grace I am on most of the astrology channels � Astroyogi, Yahoo, MSN, Indiainfo, & rediff � except Sify.com (for obvious reasons). And I get impressive number of orders directly through askenni.com too.

My teacher, K Gopalakrishnan always used to say, even if 1000 hands are held together to block the Sun, the rays will still reach the earth. Hence if you believe in your potential, and have 100 per cent trust in God and however wrong things might go around you - you surely will succeed in shining like a star.

Posted by Kenni at 07:57 AM | Comments (0)

June 12, 2005

Govt Will(s) Scissor(s) on Smoking

I am an ardent fan of Rajini Kanth since I am 3 years old. I adored the way he flipped his cigars, and the way he puffed like a steam engine. My dad is a chain smoker, and I was the one who used to run to the pan beedi shop to buy him cigarette packets on every weekends. And still I have not smoked a single cigarette in my life!

People in general are sensible & aware about what is good & what is bad for them. And this depends upon individual perceptions about life. I doubt whether movies could influence individual lives so much so that they take up smoking just because Amitabh or Shah Rukh do it in style, and that people won�t take up smoking just because none were shown holding a cigarette on the Silver Screen.

There are few things in the society which can never be stopped � smoking, drinking, gambling, & prostitution. They have always been part of any civilisation. It was hukka once upon a time & now it is cigarettes, it was bhang and now it is brandy, it was �thayam� in Mahabharata times now it is super lotto & it was deva dasis & now it is brothels. These are things that help a man or woman for that matter overcome his/her stress - at least momentarily. A complete ban on any of the above mentioned whims can surely lead to chaos, and the government knows it. The best example would be of Andhra Pradesh which tried putting total prohibition on alcohol - people started drinking Old Spice (after shave lotions), and military officials started smuggling XXX Rum bottles into AP!

Movies are structured on characterisation. And characters give life to the movie. You obviously cannot show a villain licking a lolly pop or drinking a glass of boost before he plans to rape the heroin. That way violence is also bad, but you cannot show Amitabh of Sholay singing Raghu Pathi Raga Va Raja Ram�to transform Gabbar Singh in the climax. Bullets, weapons & blood are needed to make a complete movie. And they essentially do not take our senses out of our brains.

If the government worries too much about smoking being showcased in a good light and that it affects our Indian youth adversly, then it should seriously think about shutting down ITC (Indian Tobacco Company) than indulging in this kind of hypocrisy. Or at least should stop sponsoring Wills Cricket Trophies, and instead ask companies like Ranbaxy & Glaxo to come forward.

Posted by Kenni at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2005

Dara Singh gets life instead of death!

Australian missionary Graham Staines & his two minor sons were sleeping in their jeep on January 22, 1999. A mob headed by Dara Singh attacked them, and set the jeep on ablaze killing all the three! What was Graham doing in Orissa? He was spreading the message of God. Is preaching a sin?

Now after 6 years the courts have finally decided to punish the culprit. And what is the court�s verdict? Life imprisonment!! Meaning � the government will keep Dara Singh in the cell, feed him for life & probably someday if his conduct is good will be released on Gandhi�s birthday. That way Dara Singh will never realize the pain Graham Staines & his sons underwent when they were burnt alive, and the pain Staines�s wife would undergo for her life.

There are a set of people who think capital punishment should be banned & that everyone should be given a chance to change. I wonder if keeping a person behind the bars could ever change anyone. I am sure the people who are affected directly have an altogether different opinion about capital punishment. If your close person is killed this way, and you know who the killer is � I am sure you won�t be talking about Human Rights.

Violence has always been part of Human Civilization, and it surely can be used to put an end to few heinous crimes like killing someone or raping the minors!!

Being a Jesus Christ is easy, when your neighbour�s daughter is raped by the security guy. What if your own innocent daughter is raped & killed? You will wait for the police to arrest him, and then go to the court & say please don�t hang him �give him a chance to change? Come on!

The Tsunami affected people are temporarily asked to camp near my vicinity. They did a demonstration demanding � bus, water & street lights. They did a rasta roko at peek hours blocking the traffic & putting all the office goers under stress. The police came down, did the negotiation job �nothing worked. They were forced to do a lathi charge, and in 10 minutes the traffic was on track. Violence worked!

Whether Capital Punishment will make the culprit realize his folly is not the point. But the fear that a person will have before committing a crime is what matters. I doubt whether any person would think about stealing anything in Arabian countries or raping someone there � for they know what will be cut if they indulged. Of course capital punishment can never put a full stop to any crime, but then it surely will reduce the number.

If Lord Krishna wanted he could have blessed the Kauravas, and walked off. But no, Adharma should not be allowed to win in a society. And even killing to save Dharma isn�t a sin.

Posted by Kenni at 06:46 AM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2005

Given a choice I will never pay my tax!

I was reading a beautiful book written by Robert Kiyoski called �Rich Dad, Poor Dad�. In the book the author discusses about �how the concept of tax came in being.� Previously tax was levied only on the rich, and the money collected from them were disbursed among the poor or used for the betterment of the society. Later it so happened that the rich invented various ways to escape tax and the whole burden of tax fell upon the middle class while the poor never came into the tax bracket!

Study says that in India only 6 per cent of the population pay their tax properly. Rest either escape it or have never heard about what tax actually means.

After my education, which was sponsored by my father and not by the government, I was jobless for around 3 months. Neither the government came to my rescue nor did they ask me whether I had enough money for food & survival. And the moment I joined my first job 5 per cent tax was deducted from my salary without my knowledge. They said it was TDS - Tax Deduction at Source.

After I became permanent in my 2nd job, the tax had risen to 33 per cent! Meaning out of 30 days in a month, for about 7 days I work for the ministers, the MLAs & the MPs! I wonder for what purpose my hard earned money is used.

Is my tax used for �

Giving me home & shelter? - I pay the govt the land tax, I pay for registration, and also I pay for getting the home approved.

Giving me water? - I pay my water tax for using it

Giving me electricity? - I pay in thousands to get my own connection, and also I pay for my electricity bill

Giving me roads? - The roads are always pathetic, and if I am plying my own vehicle I pay my road tax

Providing me buses & trains? - I always buy my tickets

Giving me food? - There is no government institute that gives food for free, that way ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness) is better they at least serve free lunch everyday

Giving me security? - I pay my local gurkha for that, and it is ages I saw a constable in my area who is patrolling. Also they have not come to inquire about my Venus (dog) who was stolen 3 months back

Saving Kashmir from Pakistanis? - To be honest I am least interested in a place that I cannot visit or a place that always been a matter of controversies due to political interests

The rich always have a learned auditor with them who knows how to manipulate the income & expenses. End of the day the income shown by most businessmen is not more than 1 to 1.5 lakhs per annum!

The poor aren�t poor as they seem. Only that their money is not accounted properly. I knew a friend whose father�s income on paper was Rs 1500 per year. He got his scholarship during his studies. It was later I came to know that his father had some 4 acres of land that grew grapes, and he earned some 6 lakhs per six months!

The middle class is the only segment whose income is always accounted, and they are most affected of the lot. They cannot escape the tax as they are cut even without their consent.

Of course any country needs money to run their society, but then the society has to give something in return - at least for the people who pay their taxes sincerely.

Comments are welcome!

Posted by Kenni at 09:44 AM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2005

Living an uncorrupt life!

I should thank the movie maker Shankar & also actor Kamal Hasan to have made a movie like �Indian� (Hindustani in Hindi). In fact that was the movie which influenced me a lot in trying to a live an uncorrupt life. I stopped watching new movies on VCDs, stopped giving extra money to LPG delivery boy when he �demands�, refused to pay the Electricity Board guys to fix my electrical problems, and ignored the demands of BSNL to check my telephone faults. In real life things aren�t that easy as it sounds!

At home a couple of weeks back we had major electrical fluctuations happening and I had to approach the EB to help me out. The time was 5.50 pm, and in Chennai sun sets only by 7 pm. I spoke to the electricians about the problem, and he immediately said, we are not supposed to climb the electric pole after 6 pm (The government probably put that rule about not climbing over the pole assuming that at 6 pm it gets dark. Today the whole logic has become an escape route)! Firstly he had the least idea about where the problem was - in my house or on the pole, and secondly it was not 6 pm yet. I knew, if I had thrown Rs 50 on their face, the whole team would have got onto the pole. But then I didn�t. I registered my complaint and came back home with the assurance from a person saying they will reach my home tomorrow morning by 10 am. As expected they never came, and I had to go again to register one more complaint. And to my dismay someone had entered as if my complaint has already been solved. I had to raise my voice, and finally they came and put my connection right. The fault wasn�t on the pole. They waited to see if I paid them what they expect - but I didn�t. I surely would have if they had sorted out my issue the day I complained.

My phone went dead, and I had to register the complaint. The security of BSNL is like a trained parrot. He always had only one thing to say � �they have just left to sort your problem.� My wife entered the office premises - just to see that all of them were busy playing cards. I need to thank BSNL to have put my phone right but after � I wrote the complaint thrice, I went to the office 4 times, I spent some Rs 100 at Reliance for net connection, & wasting few litres of petrol for my bike. They took 7 days to complete the job and I didn�t bribe them.

Three months back someone broke into my house and stole my 1 year old Labrador � Venus. Most neighbours advised not to go to the police. I asked why? And they unanimously told me that their torture will be more than the pain you have after losing your pet. I always paid my taxes perfectly & thought it is my duty to file a police complaint. Whether they will find my pet or not was secondary but then it is a mere case of theft and police had to be informed. I went with my sister, and the sub-inspector was busy eating his lunch. We waited for 30 mns, and he called us in. I told him what exactly happened. He asked me to lodge a complaint, and told me that he will send a constable to inquire. It is three months and none turned up. May be they are busy finding minister�s stolen underwear!

There are few strong dialogues in the movie �Indian�, where Senapathi says � �when the giving stops, the taking would stop.� �To accept bribe is as bad as giving it.� I have done my part. I have stopped bribing. Now is there any master who teaches- varma kalai!

Posted by Kenni at 06:28 AM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2004

Veerappan dead, politicians safe!

And there comes an end to the forest brigand Veerappan after 17 years of existence in the deep jungles of Sathyamangalam. The charges against him were - he smuggled sandalwoods, killed few policemen and some 300 elephants. Hats off to the policemen who put their lives at stake in gunning him down, and also to JJ for the impressive package she announced for the 265 cops involved the operation. But there remains a gray area, which goes unanswered in the whole process. What made Veerappan to indulge in such a terrifying life? And if at all he made a fortune by selling those sandalwoods and elephant tusks - for whom did he save the money for, when he himself was not living a lavish life nor did he have a family to support.

As rightly said in one of the Tamil movies (Captain Prabhakaran) that this kind of people are created, supported and harnessed by none other than our own politicians who roam around freely undisputed. .

300 elephants and few policemen are meager numbers when compared to the 1000s of Indians who die in communal clashes instigated by our own parliamentarians. They are respected; they live their lives King size, and are voted again and again to power just because we don�t have many options to choose from. As rightly said - democracy is all about choosing a better rascal from the worst.

One good thing the police did was they killed Veerappan on the spot and didn�t waste their time in arresting him. If they had caught him alive, I am sure, many a political faces would have come to fore.

Surely, I am neither a supporter of Veerappan, nor do I belong to his gang � but the truth remains that he isn�t worse than our politician who got elected the 3rd time as a party president, who himself was present at Babri Masjid�s scene motivating people to demolish the holy place. And also Veerappan was surely better than the CM who personally wanted more Muslims to die in one of the communal clashes.

There are BIGGER criminals clad in white sitting in our parliament!

Posted by Kenni at 09:18 AM | Comments (0)

August 07, 2004

No politics please!

Just happened to see a headline on Sify.com & mid-day.com that Shiv Sena Supermo Balasaheb Thackeray has hinted at making Narayan Rane as the next CM of Maharashtra. If I am right, Rane had already completed a stint as a CM between 1998 and 2000, taking over Manohar Joshi.

All know that any CM in Maharashtra is a remote control in the hands of the roaring tiger Thackeray ? thanks to his charisma and support he has gained in Maharashtra by his noble deeds of changing the city?s name and station?s name. Whenever I think of Balasaheb?s decision of calling Victoria Terminus (VT) as Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (CST), the only joke I am reminded of is the one where an American makes a needle, a German makes a hole through it, and an Indian prints Made in India on it.

We (my boss and I) had decided to call the Demolition Man of Mumbai Khairnar for a live chat with the The Indian Express Online Media Ltd (TIEOML), and we had gone to meet him at his house. I was a bit taken aback by his simplicity. He was a kind man seated in his hall wearing a vest and a lungi. I never could imagine a person who is known to be so strong from inside could be so delicate from outside.

The house was unfilled. It was a government quarters, and there were no furniture except for a sofa in the hall. Khairnar was also known for his honesty and uncorrupt policies ? and it was visible.

We had a good informal chat with him, and he readily agreed for the live chat to be held at Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai.

Our discussion lead to Indian polity when my boss Anil Nair asked him the reason to have rejected the seat being offered by Shiv Sena in the assembly election. Khairnar got a bit restless?and could not hold back the truth. He blasted the Shiv Sainiks for their gundaism and anti social and anti secular attitudes.

Anil was good at getting news - a real nose for news he had. He was trying to get the reason why Khairnar didn?t turn up for the party launched by Nararyan Rane after taking up chief ministership. And Khairnar replied, I had caught Naryan Rane in a rape case, slapped him, took him to the police station, and got him arrested. And you want me to be part of the party hosted by this person who was a gunda and a womaniser?!!!

God save Maharashtra!

Posted by Kenni at 04:26 AM | Comments (0)

July 01, 2004

Barkha Dutt - a new controversy!

I love getting comments but the reaction I got from one of my journalist friends, who was with ‘The Hindu’ for 5 years, came as a surprise to me.
‘I won't say a word about your review. But I have to take you up on your statement that some soldiers were killed saving Barkha Dutt's life. Nothing of that sort ever happened. Your review is your opinion. You are entitled to it. But that statement passes off as information, as absolute truth, and you do not attempt to back it.'
Lots of people, especially Barkha, NDTV and news baiters, would take that sort of statement to be true. I don't care about Barkha, but this surely insults the soldiers who thought they were dying for a nobler cause.’

Feroze

People have slowly started forgetting the 1999 Kargil war between Indian and Pakistan and the episode has got into the history books. Lots of soldiers were killed in the war, and many were maimed for life.

Indian filmmakers didn’t find any other cashable story idea other than the Kargil war tha