TRIFLE MUSINGS

2012 has finally arrived... After much anticipation, the legendary year, talked about long since the Mayans roamed Earth is upon us... One wonders what all one can expect this year...

These are some expectations from the eyes of a common student...(I know there are millions of other things one can expect this year...these are but superficial fibres from the fabric of my mind)

• 1) If the world's going to end...It better end before the exams...

  Armageddeon is coming... Even if it ain't true, I just hope that it doesn't come after the exams...
  Think about it...You study your ass off for a month... and then, after the exams...BAM!!!The world ends...Life's a Bitch...You've spent your miserable life's last moments studying, burying yourself in more misery, then immediately when you think you can finally enjoy...You're dead!

  If there was any person incharge of the end of the world and all that crap...I would advise him to aim for the Preparatory holidays...because no one studies at that time anyway....

• 2) Please make them stop...Make them stop!!!

  Stop increasing the fees every year for all batches of students in engineering...If you want to increase, increase it for the students coming into the institution... Don't trap the students in the middle of their semesters..because they have nowhere to go... You Money grubbing Bastards!!!!

• 3)Don't fuck me from the left side...

  Don't fucking overtake me from the Left...especially during turns...
  Some of us have the misfortune of meeting such assholes who don't care which direction we are moving in or turning to... He/She(usually a Two wheeler) don't even glance at what the person's indicator is signalling...Sometimes when one really needs to pass from the left, honk a couple of times... don't zap through... One day you might just meet your end...

• 4) Enough with the blasts already...

  No one ever knows what is going to happen on the commute nowadays...A fire here...a blast there...
  Too many people die for nothing due to these blasts... To those people who do this... all i can say is... We all are brothers under the sun... Stop killing and living for extremist goals... Enjoy your lives... Peace...

• 5) Hope for other Heavy metal acts to come to our country...

  With bands like Metallica arriving in India and Opeth to perform in the coming month, one really hopes that they frequent our country and are not discouraged due to some isolated events that happen(like what happened in Delhi)... We have a growing market for the Metal scene in our country(especially in our city...), Hopefully the bands that made it this year would come back again...

PS: Hopefully the cure for pseudo-Schizophrenia is also found this year... Or else the business for the PUC guys will be booming due to one of my friends alone!!!

Rajgad trek

My friends and I had been planning for a trek since October, and couldn't wait till our exams were done. So,the dawn of 15th December brought the excitement that we longed for, since our previous semester started. Hence,my friends (in alphabetical order), Aakash, Abhishek, Aditya, Anupam ,and me, Nithin embarked on a trekking expedition to Rajgad.

You can board a Wajeghad or a Gunjawane bus from swargate, to get to the base of the fort. Both Gunjavne and Wajeghad are base villages. We were supposed to start from Swargate and catch a 10.45am bus to Gunjavane but, as it turns out, there was a Wajeghad bus at that time, and no Gunjavne bus. 

From Wajhegad, Gunjavne village was about 8km.We took the decision to board that bus and waited. 10.45 passed, 11 came, and 11.30 passed, but there was no sign of the bus.Finally the bus came at 11.50.We the boarded the bus and the ticket to wajhegadh was Rs 48/-. The bus was comfortable and empty for the majority of the journey, but got pretty crowded when it passed through the Nasrapur village.A passenger from the bus told us that the base of the fort would be nearer if we were to get down at a village called Sakhar and we did the same.We reached there at about 2pm.It was a 2 hour bus ride.Little further down, we sat down to eat in a hotel called Hotel Ekveera garden. They only served Misal and Poha. The Misal Pav was spicy and top notch! We had our lunch there and started for Gunjavne at 2.45 .We reached the trekking point at 3.45pm. We were climbing the fort from the chor Darwaza. There are other paths as well, like from Wajeghad, Pali and Bhutunde.
We reached the resting point of the fort within 2 hours, which was the Padmavati machi. The trek was moderately difficult, and we huffed and puffed to that point by 5.45 pm. The view was ecstatic! We were greeted by the Padmavati lake, which looked dark, coupled with the ripples from gentle breezes.
The accommodation was to be in the Padmavati Temple. We started to collect wood for a bonfire, and by 7 pm, went into the temple as it was getting very cold. There were many other groups residing in the temple as well. 
We were helped by a boy, who I presume is a caretaker of the temple , called Ram, for the stay and some tea. The night was fun, we played cards and listened to some music. The temperature was pretty cold, but inside temple, it was warm enough. Even during night time, there were many trekking groups who were entering the temple.

A word of advice- while you are sleeping, make sure that you close the temple door. The dogs frequently come inside and snuggle up with the people who are sleeping. That being said, you should also be able to open the door whenever some other group wants to sleep in the temple.
The water that is available there is good for cleaning yourself, but probably not good for drinking, because it was filled with Tadpoles.
The next day we got up, and started to climb up to the main summit of the fort through the Balekilla Darwaja, at 7.30am. The climb was a little steep, with some parts being almost vertical, but we reached the top, the Maha darwaja, before 8am. 

1.4km or 1400 meters above sea level...the view was pretty awesome.We could see many forts like Torna, Sinhagad, Raighad, and many other forts that I don't even know about. One can also see the path from Rajgad to Torna fort, which is about a 5 hours trek.
We started our descent to the padmavati temple and reached there within 15 minutes.
After having our breakfast, started our descent from the Pali darwaja, which leads to the Wajeghad village, at 9.45am. We could see lots of Monkeys running on the roof of the temple.There were stairs which mapped to about half the descent. Then we finally reached the base before 11am. The village was Pali Gaon, and we reached the bus stop which was a 30 minute walk from the base. We caught a Swargate bus at 11.45am and reached there at 2pm, at the cost of Rs 53/-.

Make sure that you are loaded with food suppies and some bedsheets, for none are available at the top or at any point during the trek.

Lokpal Bill for Dummies

What is the Lokpal Bill?
The Lokpal Bill was introduced in 1968.But due to some reasons, the bill lapsed. It was subsequently reintroduced in years 1971,1977,1985,1996,1998,2001,2005 and 2008.
Activists proposed an improvement over the original Lokpal Bill, called the Jan Lokpal Bill, which is presently under fire.
Lokpal Bill was made for checking the malpractices within governmental organisations, and act as general anti-corruption law.

Anna Hazare

Incidentally, the term Lokpal was coined by L.M.Singhvi, an MP, in a parliament debate, and his son, Dr. Abhishek Singhvi, head of Standing commitee, is a member in the panel reviewing the bill.
What is special about the Bill?
It establishes a central government institution for anti-corruption called Lokpal.
This bill acts as a public ombudsman bill, meaning, that a representative of the Lokpal lodges and investigates complaints of individuals against the Government.
The lokpal will be supported at the state level by its respective Lokayuktas.
The Lokpal will be supervised by the Cabinet Secretary and the EC(Election Commission), just like the Supreme Court.Thus, making itself free from any ministerial influences.
Each case under the Lokpal must be closed within a time frame of 2 years, which includes investigations and trails.
The most important feature of the Lokpal is that it provides protection to whistleblowers.
Also, the existing anti corruption agencies like Central Vigilance Commission(CVC) and the anti-corruption wing of Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) will come under the Lokpal.
Who will head this institution?
The members of Lokpal institution will be selected by a selection commitee consisting of Judges, IAS officers with a clean record and private citizens through a transperent and participatory process. A video-recording of the candidates' interviews will be released to the public shortly afterwards.
This was the original content of the Bill. The government's version is modification of the original.
The government's version is the root of all the uprisings and debates.
The government's version differs from the original in the following ways-
1)Only group A officers will be under the investigative purview of the Lokpal.
2)Complaints against Lokpal members will be handled by the Lokpal itself and no independent boards will be setup.
3)The Anti-corruption wing of the CBI will not be under the Lokpal.
4)No protection to whistle blowers by Lokpal.
5)The Prime Minister can be investigated by Lokpal only after the said person vacates the office.
These issues are much debated in the present times.
The activists are demanding that the government's bill is of no use.It will not punish or check corruption.It's a 'Toothless' Lion.

Abhishek Singhvi

The government is demanding that setting up a Lokpal with such powers is as good as setting up a draconian establishment parallel to the existing democratic government.
For more information on the current developments on the Bill, and the people involved in it, refer to http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/index1.html

An Altercation

A Fictitious conversation between two moderates.One being an atheist and another,a theist.
T: Hey!Happy Diwali!!!
A: Happy Diwali to you.It's just a normal day for me.
T: Could you just humor me for once.This is a festival of Joy.
A: Well, choking mother Earth is a joyous occasion. Isn't it?
T: Bursting crackers is just a tradition. All of us have toned it down. We just do it for the kids.Don't mock traditions.
A: I am not mocking them. I am just saying that different times, calls for different celebrations. Even with all the technology that we possess and all the knowledge that little ones are pumped with, it's just a bit too sad to see them overlook and ignore it.
T: They are not overlooking anything. It's just one day on a year, and like I said, there are some people who believe in moderation. But, being a festive season,don't be a kill joy and a sadist. Go with the flow.
A: First of all, I'm not a sadist. Being an atheist, I really don't even care for religious festivals. They are just a marketing scheme for making more money getting more profits.
T: That's offensive. Festivals are all about joy and sharing. It's that time of the year, that old friends meet up to greet one another. You really need to be in that spirit, overlook the religious part.
A: Oh, so now,'I' should overlook? 'I' should open my mind?
T: Well... yes.
A: But why should I? Why the hell should i be open minded when everyone says "Happy Diwali!" to me? I believe that the very cause of Diwali is entirely fictitious,a fable, a moral story,something that should be told to moralize people. How would you feel if I come over to your house one day and say "Happy  Godless Day!!!!"?
T: That's a direct offense. Being an atheist, you love fidgeting with theists don't you?
A: That's not true at all!! In-fact you fuck with us more than we do!!! Just the other day I saw an agarbhatti's advertisement with it's tag line as "Bhagwan hai". I was pretty surprised to see that. My first reaction was-"FUCK YOU!".
T: Well, what's wrong in that. This is a democratic country. Anyone can say what ever one wants to say.It's you who is taking the offensive.
A: That's exactly how you reacted when I spoke about "Godless" day.See, this is the fault with theists. They aren't open minded.They take offence for the slightest of difference in opinion.
T: You are just generalising it. At one time, you say that we aren't open-minded, and then you say theists fight over trifles.When you generalize something like this, that itself shows how open-minded you are.
A: Well, since the time I have been an atheist, I was open to all sorts of religions, reading what the stories actually wanted to tell us, not reading on how to become one.
T: But what is so wrong to place a person superior to everyone.What is so wrong to believe that there was a creator?that there was a beginning?
A: Well, why should we? Why can't we simply believe that we exist, because we are bound to exist. And when we fuck up, we    
 are bound to be extinct. See, thats the problem with you theists, you guys are so afraid of the judgement day that you even fear to think differently. You fear god rather than worship him.We are more stronger mentally, since we believe that nothing is above the human mind.
T: I beg to differ on that one.We put our fates on an entity,being god,and pursue our lives effortlessly. We believe that what will happen, is bound to happen and is good for us.Thinking that way gives you the satisfaction in life from the poorest of beggars to the sickest of patients. That kind of thinking calms your mind.For what is life without living in Harmony?
A: But that kind of thinking is the very root of lethargy.The mordern technology that has been evolved from nothing to beautiful things is a manifestation of a thinking that states-"We can change the state of our surroundings.We are the ultimate torchbearers to our own future".If everyone would think as you would say, then we would never have developed.
T: That is true, but what you are talking about is extremism. A extremist would think that way.A moderate,like you and me, can bend our minds so that we can adapt with the society in general.
A: Yup, that's the root cause of all evil.Extremism. Be it of any kind. Atheism is not a bane to the society, nor is religion.Both are effective when it's habituated in a moderate upbringing.
T: Hey, we better leave. There is some strike going on about some bill that the government is not passing.
A: Ah!...If only all arguments were soo open and more Interactive.Life would have been much simpler.

Different worlds

Yesterday as I got down from  the bus near my home,I saw a child wearing a half pant and a shirt , both of them unwashed perhaps for weeks.It was understandable as their parents were busy working for the new fly over that is to be completed in few(few is not defined) years joining Aundh to Hinjewadi(most probably).As I write this blog I have set my music player in repeat mode and it will be repeating the same song so that I can concentrate on what I write.The name of the song? That I will tell you later.So yes the child as dirty as the road with sparkling eyes was collecting stone chips to help his parents. Although his effort was too meager to  have some effect on the pace of the work but was enough to make me think what I must have been doing when I was as young as him.I saw another man in his mid 50s
looking at the boy in admiration.

 I know after few years I will be driving my car on that fly over but that boy will be cursing  us in frustration, cursing his parents for the ignorance and cursing this world for its kindness. 
Why that boy at such tender age is not getting the treatment he deserves?What are our responsibilities?
What the government can do to revive the condition?Why the children of these people who are the most important factor in materializing the development of this country wont have a chance to develop?
These are the questions that lay in-front of us and we don't even feel obliged to think about these questions.

They have made tin houses for those who are working on this flyover project.I don't think those people have enough warm cloths ,that child must be shivering  in cold as I write this article sitting on a chair with a nice and comfortable headphone on.The song has started 4th or 5th time now.
I don't know,thinking of what Knopfler wrote the song(particularly the lines I am talking about) but the lines that has moved me the most than any other lines from any other song ,and it goes like:
                                                 "There's so many different worlds,
                                                           so many different suns,
                                                     And we have just one world,
                                                       But we live in different ones"

Brothers in arms is the song that I am listening to(now perhaps for the 6th time in a row)....
With a hope that a day will come when such boys will have equal chance of prospering as those who refuse to eat green-leafy-vegetables because they are not tasty and with a hope  that we all will live in the same world one day, not in different ones.......I'll go to sleep