Manmohan Singh - The silent Prime-Minister

Manmohan Singh was never a politician. He was good as a bureaucrat because he was good at carrying out orders, which he still is good at. His personality speaks for himself. He got overrated by the media.

The credit for the 1991 economic reforms should not be given to Dr. Manmohan Singh alone. It was Narasimha Rao instead who took this gigantic step but was scared to come out in the open and take the credit because of the Congress-bashing. Mr. Rao was afraid that the old devout congressmen (Nehru's caucus) could bash him for going against the long rule of the " License Raj". Rather he was more than happy to give the credit to Dr. Manmohan Singh . Even Mr. Chidambaram had a role to this reform. Mr Rao could've used this liberalization for his own advantage but unfortunately he never did.

Manmohan Singh got lucky by staying around and Sonia Gandhi happened to notice him. If you all remember, Gyani Jail Singh, then you know the politics of picking up these guys and keeping them on key positions and thus keeping their chairs safe.

Mr. Singh is a complete failure - it may sound judgmental, but that's how it is. He has made the prime ministerial position a mockery to the world. The sad part is that even media is not fair and they connived with the govt. Only God can save our country and people of India from Congress and Rahul Gandhi.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-04/world/35494863_1_complacency-and-intellectual-dishonesty-economic-reforms-coal-minister

A Beautiful talk by Dr. Greenberg

My younger daughter is a constant visitor to the ted talks. In March she got an opportunity to hear Dr. Greenberg (Oncologist in Pediatrics - Sick kids hospital ,Toronto) and after coming she recommended us to listen to this talk. It took a while for Waterloo to upload this video . After listening to it I thought it would be worth sharing . I am also sharing here what she thinks about it in her own words,

"At TedxWaterloo this year in March I had the privilege of watching Dr. Mark Greenberg from Sick Kids Hospital talk about curing versus healing. Many of his points resonated strongly with me. In his talk Dr. Greenberg addressed points that I think are highly relevant to majority of the public. Especially as we become more and more aggressive "consumers" of our healthcare system.

He brings to light the shifting paradigm in healthcare from one of need to one of want, and this will ultimately ruin the objectives of healthcare and its compassionate and giving aspects turning it rather into a booming business full of selfish needs with monetary criteria that will need to be met in order to create profits. He notes that patients will be redefined as clients - shifting the position of power even further. Lives and treatments will be weighed in terms of profits and losses rather than one of compassion and giving.

Doctors should aim to be healers and not just curers. Medicine is a profession that cannot be left at the office door at 5pm, but follows a doctor around after hours, and throughout their lifetime. Conversely, patients should understand the limitations of a doctor while crediting their experience and weigh their professional recommendation heavily.

The subject of curing vs. healing though is a difficult one. Is it possible for a doctor to achieve both always? Are healed families special cases with many contributing factors leading to such a conclusion? Should one fore-go curing to heal instead? Can a system be derived for such a call to be made? Each case will be unique and complex in its own ways, and I think the topic brings up many valid questions and address many relevant current topics, yet its hard to arrive at a conclusion with any amount of certainty. Dr. Mark Greenberg definitely provides a lot of food for thought."

Marriage - A new definiton

Marriage institution in India is at stake and going through a time of redefining itself. Amendments in the divorce law (esp where women get share of husband's property acquired before marriage) has raised many questions regarding marital relationship. "Marriages are made in heaven" does not hold any meaning anymore.

Men feel threatened as women are becoming more and more aggressive in asking for their rights. Sometimes it is even seen as a hidden agenda of a woman to go into a marital relationship and walk out with a chunk of her share, known as ALIMONY. I was surprised to hear Suchitra Krishnamoorthi (Shekhar Kapoor's ex-wife) stating that " she is proud to be an alimony wife". Sometimes I feel "Being Independent" is also an attitude and not necessarily can be associated with "working". It is good to pay alimony if the spouse is disabled and/or has no education to help support herself, especially in rural areas.

More or less society is disintegrating further, our values are changing and the sanctity of marriage is in question. The alarming rise in singles and live-ins are already threatening the institution of marriage. We (men and women) have made this world a battleground by outsmarting each other instead of complimenting each other.

In the West, men are not marrying because of the same fear. If they divorce, one spouse pays alimony for the rest of their life, or until their spouse's demise. Senior citizens, who are receiving a social security check have to pay out a small portion in alimony benefits to their spouse, who may be receiving the same social security check themselves. As a result, many people are opting out of a second marriage as it is proving to be financially too burdening.

I am afraid if the same is going to happen in India though I understand our women do need that assistance in case of divorce. Is there a solution to this problem?

Jiah Khan's Suicide - A retrospection

To arrest Suraj Pancholi, in my opinion, is totally wrong. When one is in a relationship, these things happen. Many girls go into depression or even try to harm themselves when dumped by their boyfriends. The same must be happening to the boys as well. But we never hear their stories.

I feel in Jiah Khan's case, it was not only the relationship that had triggered her to hang herself but also other frustrations related to her career. We don't know about her relationship with her family members. She wanted an easy life. If she would have been successful, she would have done the reverse. I know it is hard for the family to cope with it but it is not fair to put the blame on Suraj Pancholi. This is totally wrong. We should be ready to pay the consequences of our actions or choices that we make.

It is important that families should have a strong bond with their children where they can talk about such things with them more discreetly and they can be of great help to them by giving all kinds of support.

I personally know someone who was in a relationship..marriage was fixed, date was finalized , banquet hall was booked and at the last minute the boy canceled the marriage. So what should the girl do? Should she hang herself or get the boy arrested? Or should she be thankful that this happened before the marriage and not after marriage. I understand the pain that one goes through - the sense of betrayal is painful and traumatic but succumbing to this is no good. It takes time for a person to heal but once you come out a winner, it adds to your experience and helps you becoming better in your judgement.

Time has changed. We women claim to become better, but we still are vulnerable and consider ourselves victims. I agree with Suhel Seth that "Love is an over-rated concept."

While going through various articles and blogs, I found out this one and thought of pasting it along with my thoughts. It is worth a read. I am glad that someone echoed the same sentiment as mine. 


"So this note is likely to piss off many of you, but still. Can someone tell me why exactly Jiah Khan's ex-boyfriend is being blamed for her suicide.

So it's the usual story. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, they are happy, then they break up. Then he sees someone else.At which point over-wrought girl decides her life isn't worth living. Seriously - this is a 25-year old who co-starred with Aamir Khan in a hit film and then later thinks her life is value-less without the continuing attention of some unemployed star-kid?! How the heck was she brought up? What kind of foolish adult mind thinks that someone else's attention is so important that her own life pales in comparison? How dare her parents blame her ex for this ridiculous state of mind? Who gave her these values where "death before losing in love" is a virtue?

So she writes a letter saying she had an abortion when she got pregnant, presumably by him - again, no one told her about contraception? And even if they decided to forswear protection - it's his fault she got pregnant? Wasn't she equally part of it?So yes, she had an abortion, she set her mind to have him, but he moved on after they mutually broke up – but she wanted him back, and he said no, so she took her life? Of course we mourn for her. But why would we - and the police - blame the idiot star kid who was her ex-boyfriend? I hear it's on the charge of abetting suicide. Really? You mean if two people are together, and one wants to marry the other, and the other refuses, and then the first one commits suicide, then the other has abetted it? What rot.So now after seeing this news play out, we have a nation of unstable 25-year olds going around forcing their partners into matrimony at the gunpoint of "do it or I'll commit suicide and you'll go to jail like Aditya Pancholi's son"?

What about it being the other way around? Perhaps more like blackmail - "Marry me, or I'll commit suicide?" And would that not be equally valid a crime? So what's a guy to do if he doesn't want to marry a girl? Or vice versa actually. Report to the cops when he's been proposed to? Take anticipatory bail before he says "No, I don't want to marry you"? Call the counselling lines so they make outbound calls to the partner in advance of him saying no? Or in this case,even involve a bigger star, Salman Khan, who oversees their apparently amicable separation? And even then go to jail after all these precautionary measures? Look, there's no escaping the fact that a life lost is a terrible, terrible thing. But blaming the ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend for one's lack of motivation to live when a relationship breaks is not the other's fault. It's your own.No one grows up with a right to be loved. It's a privilege you earn for yourself. It doesn't come naturally. You earn it. And very often, love comes. And love goes. And love comes back. And goes again. And so on.

And, yes, sorry to break it to you but there is no one-man-one-woman-walking-into-the-sunset-together-forever Mills & Boon bullshit that happens either. If your parents or your convent schools or some M&B; you read or a chick flick or a YashRaj or KJo film told you that it is the way and it will happen to you - please understand that those are pretty unreliable sources. For starters, it didn't happen to the authors of such propaganda: the nuns and KJo are still single. The apparent importance of marriage is just propaganda - and you're better off not depending on it. If it happens, cool. And if it doesn't, that should be cool too.

Perhaps the best thing we can do as individuals and parents is tell the kids around that marriage isn't the ultimate goal. It isn't even an intermediate goal. Or even a tiny goal. Screw the TBZ ads and the whitening cream commercials. Ignore Chetan Bhagat and Shaadi.com.Marriage is downright unimportant in the overall course of things.In India, you don't need to be married to have a child legally. Or even to inherit and pass on property.Marriage is just a social custom where a bunch of old people shower rice on your head and believe they're giving you their permission (or direction, in some cases) to sleep with someone. As you can imagine, it has little or no legal necessity or significance.

What is important is planning to live a full life for yourself, and working to make all your dreams come true - regardless of whether you have a partner with you for the course.Sure, it's more fun when you have a lover around. But not having one around isn't a show-stopper. Life is compulsory. Marriage is an optional extra. Let's tell the kids that.Oh, and while we're at it, can we please stop blaming that poor Pancholi kid for Jiah Khan's suicide? Let's stop the witch hunt. Get him out of jail. And let's stop glorifying suicide in the name of unrequited love.

Random Thoughts

1.Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler walked away scot-free courtesy of Sonia Gandhi for the 1984 Sikh riots. Everyone knows that these were the people , who were on the roads, instructing their goons to kill the Sikhs. . Our judiciary is no bigger than Sonia Gandhi. They have been rewarded for the killings of the Sikhs in 1984 (7,000 Sikhs got killed in all over India). Who has given them the right to talk about Narendra Modi? There is a saying : "jinke ghar shishe ke hote hain, wo doosron ke ghar par pathhar nahi mara karte". And look at Manmohan Singh, who is still 'mute', when all his brethren are declaring this day as a BLACK DAY in the history of India. He proved that he has no back bone. One person said with tears in his eyes, " anyaya toh chalo jo hua, arey aaj toh nyay (न्याय ) milta " after 29 yrs. Sad!!

I believed every word uttered by Sushma Swaraj that " Sonia Gandhi has no faith in democratic processes." I am sick of this party. Mani Shankar Aiyyar questioned the 8 yr ruling of BJP and forgot about the rest of the yrs that Congress ruled. What surprises me is that Congress or congressmen never take responsibility of the wrongs done by them, except harping the tune of 2002 Gujrat riots. If Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler can walk away and do not feel blood, then why not Narendra Modi?

2. I hate Mani Shanakr Aiyyar.. He boasts to be the product of St Stephens but I found him annoying, a bully and pro-congress. The way he snubbed Tavleen singh and made some personal remarks of her sucking up to him, going to parties and writing books about it. (watch - 1984 riots justice delayed and denied - ndtv http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-buck-stops-here/1984-riots-justice-delayed-and-denied/273007?hp )

I found it utterly disgusting and horrible. Better we women should stop sucking up to any men so that a day like this never comes in our lives. I have seen many of his debates and found him arrogant, boastful and full of himself. These days Suhel Seth is under my watch. Let us see what he is up to.

Karan Thappar is another big mouth.

I sometimes wonder why people from dignified institutions behave so shoddy and meanly and lack even the minimum courtesy, at least on television, where people are watching them.

Mani Shankar Aiyaar - An arrogant man

I used to be a great fan of Mani Shankar Aiyar and his oratory. Him being the product of St' Stephen's college and Cambridge along with 26 yrs. of IFS career was enough to impress me and bring out my admiration for him. His association with Congress is well known and the controversies that dissociated him from Congress..

I used to watch him on the program called " Politically Incorrect " with Swapan Das Gupta. But tonight while I was watching him on NDTV for the debate "Has Wharton violated freedom of speech?" I was appalled to see his behaviour. It was extremely undemocratic, discourteous, disrespectful and somewhat threatening towards Sonia NC and the anchor.

I lost my perception of him being the intellectual. I felt he is an autocratic man who has no patience to deal with people who think differently than him. He lives within his own ideological mind frame. Though he was demanding freedom of speech for himself from the anchor but denied the same right to Modi. I am not a great fan of Modi but he has all the right to share his views with the people of India and Internationally. It is up to us to think what we want to think about him.

I am quoting this from wikipedia which says enough about him, "In September 2011, Aiyar visited his alma mater—St. Stephen's College—to speak about 'Governance and Corruption: Is Panchayati Raj A Solution?'. However, he began to mock the Hansraj College and its former student Ajay Maken. He also billeted the Kirori Mal College and the BA (Programme) Degree, a course in the University of Delhi. This led to an agitation by the students of Hansraj College. When the agitated students approached him, he mocked them even further. When later questioned by the media, Aiyar refused to apologise and rather ridiculed the institutions even further. Baffled by his remarks, Stephen's College and its students went on to apologise to Hansraj College and extended a hand of friendship."

REVIEW - Saheb, Biwi and Gangster (4 star)

SAHEB, BIWI AND GANGSTER - part 1 and 2. If anyone is looking for good cinema this is the movie to watch. Tigmanshu Dhulia, director of "Paan Singh Tomar" which bagged the National award lately, is going to be a name to watch out for.

Saheb ,Biwi and Gangster is all about greed, love, revenge, power, ego, money, sex, politics and survival. The success of the script lies in the fact that it keeps you engaged throughout. We cannot define life as black and white but rather as shades of grey. This movie is all about those shades of grey and yet you love the characters.

The film is very gripping . The director has created the world of the "Rajas and Rajwaras" beautifully and their struggle to survive living in their crumbling palaces. You will be seeing Randeep Hooda in the first part as the gangster and Irrfan Khan in part 2. Irrfan khan, as he is known for, is terrific. But it is Jimmy Shergill who fits the character with utmost ease. Mahi Gill was no less in comparison to anyone in the film. She looked both sexy and dangerous. She shoots the gun with as much ease as she smokes her cigarette. She is beautiful, sexy and shrewd. She reminded me of the saying, "when a woman is good, she is very good but when she is bad she is horrid." I will give four star to the movie.