Time for media to grow up!

I seem to be a pathetic minority in the current issue of the Bhopal gas verdict. I think all of us (actually the media) are having a misplaced priority on the issue. I don't understand why or how important it is to track down Warren Anderson and get him behind bars!!! How will it help the victims in the tragedy?? And secondly, do we take the same stand when it comes to all other accidents?? If yes, then why isn't the CEO of Air India put behind bars for the Mangalore Air crash or the Rail board chairman be put in prison for the rail accidents??

My question to the media houses is to please sift the issue thread bare and then report, and not take stands like half baked interns on their first training assignment!! Here, its not important to get Warren Anderson in prison but its far more important to get fair compensation to the victims. That's more imperative and proactive action to take. Somewhere, the media seems to have lost it and are getting more decadent in their reporting and high on the sensationalism quotient. Arnab from Times Now was screaming hoarse last night on how Times Now located Warren Anderson's home in NYC (I was telling people at home that Times Now should join the Police force:))... till the reporter in NYC said that a simple google search was all that was required to track his home:).

Can we get more pathetic than this!! What happened to the Lt. Colonel who was allegedly involved in a sex scandal? Media hanged him guilty before even before hearing his case and from the second day, there is absolutely no news on the issue, but the damage to the individual is done!! Jumping to conclusions and handing the verdict and surmising and conjectures seem to rule the day and very sadly so!

Casablanca - a classic indeed!

All of you may have watched it once atleast. But this movie can be watched again and again, I guess that's why it figures as a classic... in the All Time top 10. We were watching it last night and I must say its a movie that oozes style in every way... from the cast to the dialogues to the dialogue delivery to the visuals.. Its definitely high on the style quotient across generations of movies and I guess there was magic in the air when the movie was made... Its got the perfect cast, setting, dialogues, stunning visuals, great background on WW II..

Go, watch the movie again even if you have seen it many times and a definite must-see if you haven't yet watched this great classic of all times. Its the best stylish and romantic movie, with a brilliant cast that I have seen so far.

The month of May

It was a busy month for me with lot of touring and mentoring std X kids!! The upside was I got to see some breathtaking scenery and stayed in exotic locales but it was draining, end of day. What with the heat, a bunch of kids (27) to boot, who are at an odd age where they dress and talk like adults but are kids in every other sense!! So, it was difficult to make the connection with them, (didn't know whether to talk to them as kids or young adults!) particularly as they had a uncanny knack of ganging up:-). But I must say, nett nett, it was fun, a great learning for them and for me but I am certainly glad its over:-). I leave you all with some snaps about the month of May, for me. These were taken in Pitchavaram mangrove forest, Kolli hills and the amazing water falls in Kolli hills..

Actually, there's more pics of field trips, parties, talks and long walks and lab work but I am yet to transfer them to the PC. And I must say, I was touched by their grand tea party on the penultimate day and they organized games and food for all of us, staff, and they did an amazing job of it. Kudos to the entire batch!

Disasters galore!!

Since April / May of this year, we have been having natural  and manmade disasters one after the other every other week.. Air safety seems to be at an all time low... Reasons attributed are crew fatigue, stress and such... While we had only one plane crash, the near misses and losing altitude planes scare the wits out of most of us... But what really beats me is the complete government apathy and callous attitude. There is no official who is pulled up and there is no owning up of moral responsibility among politicians either.

Meanwhile, India is going through a very tough time with Maoists causing havoc to trains. Natural disasters like cyclone Laila and now cyclone Phet ( to hit in the next 24 hours) have added to our woes.. Not to mention about road accidents, a recent one involving a bus that went up in flames and killed all 30 in Karnataka.  

We have a Home Minister who flip flops at the drop of the hat... "The Maoists did, the Maoists didn't do it, they did it, etc.." How sickening to read the papers everyday

But talk of Genetically modified crops, and you have all and sundry raise hell, and cry hoarse on safety issues and how dangerous it would be to commercialize it. While Bt brinjal will nowhere cause any death and destruction, its release is on hold, but flights continue to be operated with or without any care on passenger safety!! Apparently India stands only next to Africa in air safety records, which means we are pits:-)

But our fate rests on few elected and non elected members (RS nominations:-) who think they have the licence to kill or not kill innovation in India. I say its a case of fear psychosis when it comes to releasing Bt brinjal and the decision is not based on science but non science!

Blood is thicker than water after all!!

I knew it all along, only didn't know it would happen in 2010... The Ambani brothers have agreed to bury the hatchet and call a truce... This was something they should have done long ago... but its better now than never, I guess...

The only losers in this truce are those who took sides during their war:-).. As it is with a husband and wife relationship, its best to not to take sides between warring brothers or between any family member for that matter, they are bound to patch up, particularly when there is so much at stake, and you will be left alone with egg on your face, literally!!

Another big loser is the media!! They don't have a story to cry hoarse, from rooftops anymore! They have to look elsewhere.. It was such a favourite with media that if they didn't have any story for the day, they would do a story on these warring brothers and fill up their news spaces!!

The second big loser are the courts and lawyers who must have had a field day fleecing these brothers:-)

I had a gut feeling that they will patch up! I think its really kudos to their mother, Kokilaben who may have really been the peacemaker and played an important role... Personally for me, while the elder brother appears to be the more intelligent, the younger one seemed to be the Wronged:-). But I am very glad to see the two get together and I wish them well.

Are there Sinkholes in India?

Many of us are aware of sinkholes and their formation. The wiki says, they are fairly common and cause damage in parts of Florida, Kentucky, Missourie, Pennysylvania in USA. Apparently Michigan area has quite a number of them These have caught my imagination since the flooding in Guatemala city couple of days back. Apparently these are caused in places where the rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by circulating ground water. Also happens when water table falls dramatically etc..

These sinkholes can be huge and vary in size, from less than 1 to 300 metres (3.3 to 980 ft) both in diameter and depth!! Must be quite awesome sight to suddenly have sinkhole formed overnight, like its happenned in Guatemala city. But for Indians, we will be probably not so much in awe:-). We are so used to caving in happening in main arterial roads in cities (there is one near our house where the road always caves in even after they relay the road - its happenned so often, in the same place) and pathetic conditions in rural areas that natures' ways sometimes don't cause the wonder and amazement that it should:-).

Back to some kinda routine

Have been mighty busy at work and home... working and socializing these past two weeks. I am off again for a tour end of week... I've been wanting to blog about so many things, just didn't have time to collect my thoughts..

Been with a bunch of kids these few weeks and they do drive me nuts!! Oh yes, there's 30 of them and they are from a neighbouring state... These kids behave like adults and seem to know many things and talk like adults but they don't know simple things like they need to wear comfortable shoes for a field trip and carry their bottle of water!!

So, you guys know what I am up against and why there are no updates on my blog:-). But kids are kids and they are endearing in their own way.... I have been touring Tamil Nadu and have lots of interesting stuff to share and hope to post quite a few in the next 24 hours.