A Root Canal operation needed..

India is not new to scams. Power and money have an anti-gravitational tendency- they get to people's heads easily. But the recent spate of exposed corruptions is nothing short of an avalanche of stinking reality, breaking through this bubble of democratic freedom that we live in.

While the general feeling that prevails these days is frustration at all these, I'd rather feel happy that issues previously in the dark have come to the fore now. The more the scams unearthed, the better.Fear has been instilled in corrupt minds.
You can be dethroned in a jiffy even if you head Asia's largest integrated aluminium production firm. Black money in your pocket will reach out to stain your white collars, even if you had the highest judicial contacts or if you felt the landscape in Switzerland would beautifully camouflage it. Flout rules and just norms, favour your cronies in handing out spectrum or contracts for games or apartments (which are non-Eco-friendly by the way), and your next stop would be at the headquarters of the CBI (which is learning to stop being a ruling-party's-investigator). If you were a hypocrite sitting at the vigilance headquarters, you shall soon be exposed. You will be fined five years from now, if you currently manipulate stocks during IPOs. But if you are an Italian gun-deal middleman with compatriots who ghost-rule the country, you are safe at least for the time being.   
The backbone that supports the whole of the previous paragraph is the fourth estate, the common man's informer, the supposed-to-be-honest Press. But our Great Indian Democracy has proved its capability of managing to corrupt even this area, resulting in the "Paid News scandal" which was ironically aired by none other than the Press. Freedom is always prone to be misused. A journalist's job is to take the truth- to the people- as it is. To this extent, he has the freedom of speech and expression. Learning about the misuse of these, by those pursuing the only profession I have passionately adored, is painful.
However, we, as a nation, seem to have woken up to address the root cause of all troubles- the  now-so-familiar word "Corruption", in every domain. But how do we tackle this issue? We cannot be corruption-free tomorrow or the day-after. It is a deep-rooted evil. Let us start from the grassroots level. Mere Moral Science lessons don't help a bit. A sense of pride in being honest, a true feeling of integrity in upholding one's ethics and values sans yielding under any circumstance, the joy that results from giving one's best to one's job- all these will need to be instilled strongly.
Okay, I do sound like an idealist. But this is just the beginning of what is required to overcome the problems faced today. If these are unrealistic, then the calls to clean up the blotched democracy are, sadly, in vain.

Payanam FDFS

A movie on the first day of its release, after a long time! By pure coincidence,we had to do quite a lot of payanam/ travel to reach a theatre where the reels would be available for the morning show. But the movie was worth it.

Yes, there were flaws in the screenplay. Like the close-up shot of a dead man where his breathing is visible. The cast of T-shirt donning youngsters as terrorists is seen to be in tandem with the Mumbai attacks. But the guys need a good course in acting. They don't need to scream hysterically and slap random people to induce terror. Which sensible parent will leave a four-year-old kid with heart ailment on the aisle seat in a hijacked plane? 

But there were a few good issues highlighted in the movie.  For instance, the indecisive nature of the Indian Bureaucracy and the consequences of Irresponsible Journalism. The religious integration endorsed the Priest is good, but his character later on becomes melodramatic. Maybe in a normal environment we would not enjoy it so much but the Indian commandos' instant human ladder formation at a nail-biting moment during the climax makes us Proud! But at the same time, the hero's predicted-by-all-in-the-audience escape from the bomb is the pictorial description of the word "cliche". 

The movie gets a bit thrilling in the second half after the drag of "Okay. What Next?" feel that comes over one in the first half.  

Overall, a definitely better way to spend the morning session, instead of lazing around, shifting between the Department's labs. And I did learn a few things. Like the consequences of  accidentally getting into an adjacent screen's hall, sitting and starting to watch a different movie after the Intermission! :-D       

The sacred word- "I"

The one-month-old year has provided me with quite a versatile set of days. A good mix of happiness, anger, dejection and silly enjoyment. 

While JMET and FMS made me happy in the first week of January, the Feline Queen was let out of the bag in another week's time and it has generated a wide range of reactions from me. 

Anyway, I am looking forward to my D-days- two in Feb and three in March. It does look like every other experience shall culminate as a training for the Big day on March 31. 

These days, as I run around with SoPs, CVs, Reference Letters and Bonafide Certificates, I realize that there is just one main and ultimate subject I need to be thorough with... "I, Me, Myself"

Surprising as it sounds, this happens to be one of the toughest parts for a considerable section of the aspirants. There is no Wikipedia or Google to help you out in this aspect. Well, to most of us- the spoilt brats of today's techie world- answers have been provided by the Internet for far too long that introspection has become just another word in the dictionary, used when appropriate in GDs and Essays but never practised. I have seen some posts in PagalGuy asking for "good answers to Why MBA"! 

Is this not a matter of our own choice? It is possible that 100% clarity may not exist in most of our minds. But those gaping holes need to be plugged into. I am enjoying the process, despite the occasional off-mood moments caused due to meaningless apprehensions. Only these moments cause exhilaration when I find answers to those very doubts from within my own self. 

Another important aspect in life, I have come to realise, is Passion. The Great Indian Mould, which churns out Engineers and Doctors in plentitude, erodes the once-cherished dreams of many an adolescent heart. One such example I know of is a girl who is sitting in front of this computer right now. But she is on the road to self-discovery and is very excited about it. 

With a lot more to be found from deep within herself and also from Wikipedia , Ayn Rand and certain Eco-Fin enlightened souls like Roshni, she signs off from Blogosphere for the time being. :)