On 26 March 2009 i.e. a day before Ugadi, I went to the shop to buy things that are needed to make Ugadi special dishes. As I was walking, I decided that I should demand a bill, refuse to accept the product if I’m given the ‘chaani paper’ and not cry when I’m talking (Harry Potter? Who? Me? You got to be joking. I can’t even be a Neville Longbottom!)
Now this store is not the usual one where we get to pick our own stuff. I had to stand outside and ‘request’ the shopkeeper for half a kilogram of Maida. I hated it! Besides, he sort of looked like Dhoni. (Maybe it was just his cropped hair and arrogant eyes) So obviously I hated him the moment I saw him. (I know it is too much. But I just can’t help it. I love hating Dhoni)
He brought the packet and I asked him to show me the other brands. He wore this irritated expression that again reminded me of this extremely talented cricketer I loved to hate so much. After getting what I needed, asked for “the” bill. As I had guessed he scribbled with his motta pencil on the chaani paper and gave it to me.
I asked, “Ethan bill-a? Bill book illiya?
“Bill book-a?” he said with another Dhoni expression. (I hate him!)
He went to his computer, typed something and gave me a printed bill (in Tamil! Now I was like Dhoni in the Tiger biscuit ad. C’mon yaar I’ve never seen a computerized bill in Tamil before).
It’s not a big deal, I know but I felt like I had climbed the Everest. Later, when I was narrating this to my online friend she said that very few people insist a bill at the stores. And the shopkeepers are not very fond of such customers. Sometimes they tend to treat them very badly. Because, giving the customer a bill => paying tax to the government. The customers don’t demand a bill for two reasons. One, waiting for a bill is waste of time. Two, billing for some products mean paying extra in the form of taxes. So they don’t encourage billing.
Before, I thought that demanding a bill is a small gesture to help my country. But it’s not only about seeing that your money reaches the government. If you have the bill, you can demand compensation or exchange your purchase for another one in case it is damaged. Imagine this scenario. You buy a milk mix in a carton and when you open it at home you realise that even though the expiry date is not due, the food product is damaged. Now if you have the bill, you can hold the seller and the manufacturer by their collars or even approach a consumers’ forum. But then if you don’t have any bill you might get this reply, “adhukku onnum panna mudiyadhunga ma!” some times added with an “edatha gaali pannunga”.
I have another tip. Do you know you can actually bargain on M.R.P? Of course you can and even I got the Maida for Rs.15/- though the printed M.R.P was Rs. 18/- .
So be alert, do your duty to exercise your right.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Who's fault?
Yay! We live in a safe, secular and free India!! Gimme a break!
This happened in the wake of the Mangalore Pub attack incident resulting in the death of a 16-year-old girl and arrest of an innocent boy who was alleged to have raped her.
The “saviours” of “Indian culture’’ (whatever it really is), a certain Hindutva fringe in Mangalore, Dakshin Karnataka, possibly belonging to the Sri Ram (or rather Ravan) Sene that indulges in beating up and molesting women in public are reported to be behind the incident.
Reports say that the 16-year-old and her female friend-one of them had a friend named Salim- were on their way home from a bus stop when a group of young men clad in saffron outfits stopped them and beat them up for being friends with a Muslim boy. Then they pulled out another person, Rafiq, from the bus and brutally beat him up. Rafiq, now in hiding for the fear of his life from the fanatics and the police, who act like their henchmen, says that the mob took away his purse, watch and a mobile phone. He says that the police forced him to leave the hospital where he went to dress his wounds.
At the police station, the four youngsters and their families were called for an “enquiry” (they couldn’t find the rogues it seems. Yeah, and I’m a troll if I believed that). Salim, Rafiq and their families were harassed at the police station. Rafiq, who placed a complaint on the rogues, says that at first the cops refused to take his complaint and later told the media that they didn’t get any whatsoever. (Another perfect example for ‘coexistence’ in India. These cops have the same job in the same country as Kiran Bedi, Hemant Karkare, Pon.Manickavel and C.Sailendra Babu)
Next day, the girl committed suicide at her home and later the same day; her father lodged a complaint with the police against Salim accusing him of raping his daughter. Salim was arrested by the police in record time (less than 2 hours it seems) and Rafiq immediately went into hiding.
I was quaking with anger when I read this news piece and was fuming all day. Whose fault was that? Who do I blame for spoiling my already unpleasant day? Gandhi, Netaji and their horde of freedom fighters? Those ‘Hindus’ and ‘Muslims’ who fell for the British divide and rule policy and split India into India, Pakistan and Bangladesh? The constitution that allows freaks like Narendra Modi hold top positions in the government? The people who are fanatical enough to choose leaders who vow to humiliate other religions thereby mocking our “secular state” campaign? The people who – either out of fear or out of sheer ignorance and irresponsibility- refuse to raise voices? The police for…you know what? The fourth estate that’s looking for, making up and using stories for financial and personal purposes rather than being an important, citizen friendly democratic tool? Those two girls for being…well, ‘girls’? Salim for being their friend? Salim and Rafiq for being Muslims? The father of the girl who accused an innocent boy (though we’re not sure) either because he was weak enough to do so or because he was fanatical enough to use his daughter’s death to frame an innocent boy? All of us, for wanting the country to be a ‘Paradise on earth’ but doing nothing about it except aping the West? Or is it just me for worrying over it so much instead of simply ignoring it?
This happened in the wake of the Mangalore Pub attack incident resulting in the death of a 16-year-old girl and arrest of an innocent boy who was alleged to have raped her.
The “saviours” of “Indian culture’’ (whatever it really is), a certain Hindutva fringe in Mangalore, Dakshin Karnataka, possibly belonging to the Sri Ram (or rather Ravan) Sene that indulges in beating up and molesting women in public are reported to be behind the incident.
Reports say that the 16-year-old and her female friend-one of them had a friend named Salim- were on their way home from a bus stop when a group of young men clad in saffron outfits stopped them and beat them up for being friends with a Muslim boy. Then they pulled out another person, Rafiq, from the bus and brutally beat him up. Rafiq, now in hiding for the fear of his life from the fanatics and the police, who act like their henchmen, says that the mob took away his purse, watch and a mobile phone. He says that the police forced him to leave the hospital where he went to dress his wounds.
At the police station, the four youngsters and their families were called for an “enquiry” (they couldn’t find the rogues it seems. Yeah, and I’m a troll if I believed that). Salim, Rafiq and their families were harassed at the police station. Rafiq, who placed a complaint on the rogues, says that at first the cops refused to take his complaint and later told the media that they didn’t get any whatsoever. (Another perfect example for ‘coexistence’ in India. These cops have the same job in the same country as Kiran Bedi, Hemant Karkare, Pon.Manickavel and C.Sailendra Babu)
Next day, the girl committed suicide at her home and later the same day; her father lodged a complaint with the police against Salim accusing him of raping his daughter. Salim was arrested by the police in record time (less than 2 hours it seems) and Rafiq immediately went into hiding.
I was quaking with anger when I read this news piece and was fuming all day. Whose fault was that? Who do I blame for spoiling my already unpleasant day? Gandhi, Netaji and their horde of freedom fighters? Those ‘Hindus’ and ‘Muslims’ who fell for the British divide and rule policy and split India into India, Pakistan and Bangladesh? The constitution that allows freaks like Narendra Modi hold top positions in the government? The people who are fanatical enough to choose leaders who vow to humiliate other religions thereby mocking our “secular state” campaign? The people who – either out of fear or out of sheer ignorance and irresponsibility- refuse to raise voices? The police for…you know what? The fourth estate that’s looking for, making up and using stories for financial and personal purposes rather than being an important, citizen friendly democratic tool? Those two girls for being…well, ‘girls’? Salim for being their friend? Salim and Rafiq for being Muslims? The father of the girl who accused an innocent boy (though we’re not sure) either because he was weak enough to do so or because he was fanatical enough to use his daughter’s death to frame an innocent boy? All of us, for wanting the country to be a ‘Paradise on earth’ but doing nothing about it except aping the West? Or is it just me for worrying over it so much instead of simply ignoring it?
Monday, December 8, 2008
GC notes
Biosphere made by man Food for all animals interdependent on species form food chain Nature will have a recycle different varieties of communities Animal eating plant sticky material on leaves A process in which food chain is formed Energy from biosphere by biomass fuel Organic substances wind energy solar energy water resources energy Timber wood and other constructions fern is useful for surrounding the compound Two properties of adaptations structural adaptation is body structure functional adaptation is functional organism earth or universe is same people from north want chappathi they need hotels we go to north we search of curd rice this is adaptability go to Coimbatore we get asthma they are good in cotton production the cotton will flow so we have asthma go near our cement factory dalmia cement if people exist they shabba…ippove kanna kattudhe podhum ma’am podhum go to cold north India we have inching in our skins continent to continent adaptability changes to travel from place to place some like bus some like to walk come Ashwatha come here yesterday itself you are doing some other people what is her name some other your friend today you have another listener the same thing we repeat how skin spoil two lines are there we have to modify two lines some will have enthusiasm some moody why IT people have recreations in Saturday and Sunday farmer go earlier they can’t work after 6 after 6 they get bored they get tired we find some of the teachers a teacher means she will have specs she will have a stick to have that is to have to show that she’s tough kana kanum kalam chemistry teacher some concept is not good we have good relationship with physical education in some school physical education teacher and Maths teacher stand in same way my 1st standard maths teacher is a terror I have teacher from 6th to 9th we laugh we can’t laugh get punishment by scaling or some other we have fear this is the characteristics of the maths teacher she can’t understand nowadays people are changing according to mood of students this is the biosphere all four spheres have link when we get the evaporation by it evaporate after condensation making the moisture that is in lithosphere all living things that exists in any world using the adaptation
At this point ma’am noticed that I’m writing something and guessed that it is about her…ahem…”lecture”. So I had to adakki vasichufy.
Renewable energy and non renewable energy renewable days we spend in childhood is non renewable arrears in semester is renewable arrear illadhavan arai manidhan karka kasadara kalkandu kumudham katrapin virka nalla vilaikku karka kasadara karpavai katrapin katruk koduthavarai kallal adikka any ecosystem will act as a resource process what is main reqirement in renewable and non renewable energy is solar energy solar energy is going to be the main driving force providing energy to the forest may be in land in forest in aquatic region forest is going to be main source of energy wither away branches turning away material bark withers useful for recycle karayan molachiruchu microbes are helpful for nutrition of soil grassland also recycles faster than forest by throwing grasses leaves one after another rain will break once in a year rain after rain season withering of pollen grains from insects all aquatic species also depend upon solar energy they need also solar energy the aquatic is in very inner portion on ocean they come up to prepare their own food some people used star fish as food sea weeds emu get more aquatic food it catches sea weed aquatic fishes el(e)k will have shell like thing dab is also sea creature these are all extra living creatures whelk…dab is one of fish it is sticky one used in English usage of animals how aquatic animals are helpful we get food both from nature and agriculture India china depend on nature and agriculture product in old day people wait for rain extract themselves electricity from ocean fresh water though we don’t get solar energy due to extra efforts extra manure extra pesticide but product spoils our body we are eating artificial type of food natural things are more absorbed by humans and use pesticide memory plus brain plus memory cannot be plused anywhere my grandma grandma grandma when we fall down injuries slap us psychological effort
The next day i.e. 6122008 I didn’t write down much but these are the things I remember from the funny session
The tongue cannot be bent. That is a problem in my speech. It is a natural problem.
Forests are helpful for global warming.
At this point ma’am noticed that I’m writing something and guessed that it is about her…ahem…”lecture”. So I had to adakki vasichufy.
Renewable energy and non renewable energy renewable days we spend in childhood is non renewable arrears in semester is renewable arrear illadhavan arai manidhan karka kasadara kalkandu kumudham katrapin virka nalla vilaikku karka kasadara karpavai katrapin katruk koduthavarai kallal adikka any ecosystem will act as a resource process what is main reqirement in renewable and non renewable energy is solar energy solar energy is going to be the main driving force providing energy to the forest may be in land in forest in aquatic region forest is going to be main source of energy wither away branches turning away material bark withers useful for recycle karayan molachiruchu microbes are helpful for nutrition of soil grassland also recycles faster than forest by throwing grasses leaves one after another rain will break once in a year rain after rain season withering of pollen grains from insects all aquatic species also depend upon solar energy they need also solar energy the aquatic is in very inner portion on ocean they come up to prepare their own food some people used star fish as food sea weeds emu get more aquatic food it catches sea weed aquatic fishes el(e)k will have shell like thing dab is also sea creature these are all extra living creatures whelk…dab is one of fish it is sticky one used in English usage of animals how aquatic animals are helpful we get food both from nature and agriculture India china depend on nature and agriculture product in old day people wait for rain extract themselves electricity from ocean fresh water though we don’t get solar energy due to extra efforts extra manure extra pesticide but product spoils our body we are eating artificial type of food natural things are more absorbed by humans and use pesticide memory plus brain plus memory cannot be plused anywhere my grandma grandma grandma when we fall down injuries slap us psychological effort
The next day i.e. 6122008 I didn’t write down much but these are the things I remember from the funny session
The tongue cannot be bent. That is a problem in my speech. It is a natural problem.
Forests are helpful for global warming.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Assignment 1 GC commentary
The following are the 'questions' Prabha ma'am wanted us to 'answer' as part of the assignment. The green ones are her 'questions' and the red ones are the actual 'answers' that came to my mind though I've written something else in my notebook.
How to reduce the usage of plastic by stop using it
Where does this plastic come from a factory, dammit!
Process is ecofriendly of course not,***
What happens when you throw plastic it falls
where does it go nowhere.it has no legs,for heaven's sake!
how to use fossil fuel,petrol,diesel etc natural gas as usual
how to reduce water consumption what! reduce and die?
what are the sources of water you don't know even that and you're a teacher?
where the water is wasted everywhere! ennala mudiyala
can we change the usage of water so that it is more sustainable excuse me?!
How to reduce the usage of plastic by stop using it
Where does this plastic come from a factory, dammit!
Process is ecofriendly of course not,***
What happens when you throw plastic it falls
where does it go nowhere.it has no legs,for heaven's sake!
how to use fossil fuel,petrol,diesel etc natural gas as usual
how to reduce water consumption what! reduce and die?
what are the sources of water you don't know even that and you're a teacher?
where the water is wasted everywhere! ennala mudiyala
can we change the usage of water so that it is more sustainable excuse me?!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Creamy Pigs
This is an update on GC. I went to class late at 8.15am. Ma'am commented about my regular irregularity.(as if I care) I didn't listen to most of the gibberish she was talking. She said she'll give us her daughter's project(she thought we're all dumb ducks?). Then she said she'll give us her CD after checking for viruses. A CD on vermiculture(she's so obsessed with it!). But what caught my attention is this. She asked whether we knew what the 'oil in the pig's body no' is used for. Teena said that it is used in Bubble gums. Prabha ma'am said that they were also used in chocolates. 'The pigeons are used for transportation. The feather from here (she pointed her waist!) is taken and made creamy and put in creamy chocolates'. I was like 'yuck... this woman wants to make all hate chocolates. Shakthi felt the same it seems(the darling did an amazing job of imitating her when we bunked the last hour today)
We were talking about sexual abuse against children and slowly drifted towards Rafa, Rafael Nadal of course. Again, she imitated him and his spanish accent (you have lot of sponsors ae?, seriously) This Rivka...oh my god, where are we? Alright back to Prabha ma'am and the creamy pigs(there's an AND in between okay?). Last class she was talking about worms as if they are tasty spaghetti and yesterday she was savourig the thought of creamy blah,blah in creamy chocolates (Deeeeep inside my mind she was saying"creamy pigs yumm yumm") She has a sadistical pleasure in such stuff. Did we ask her whether the chocolates and pigs are creamy. We don't care, atleast I don't as longas I get chocolates to eat. I wonder what we'll have to undergo in her classes this entire semester. Ennak koduma Saravanan!
We were talking about sexual abuse against children and slowly drifted towards Rafa, Rafael Nadal of course. Again, she imitated him and his spanish accent (you have lot of sponsors ae?, seriously) This Rivka...oh my god, where are we? Alright back to Prabha ma'am and the creamy pigs(there's an AND in between okay?). Last class she was talking about worms as if they are tasty spaghetti and yesterday she was savourig the thought of creamy blah,blah in creamy chocolates (Deeeeep inside my mind she was saying"creamy pigs yumm yumm") She has a sadistical pleasure in such stuff. Did we ask her whether the chocolates and pigs are creamy. We don't care, atleast I don't as longas I get chocolates to eat. I wonder what we'll have to undergo in her classes this entire semester. Ennak koduma Saravanan!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Environment, Al Gore and my GC course
This is the result of today's Environmental Studies class with Prabha ma'am. I was actually looking forward to this hour which turned out to be a pain the *** for, the four of us who were sitting in the first row. Mathu had tears in her eyes trying not to laugh. The bench was practically shaking with her and Shakthi laughing their heads off. I felt like banging my head on the wall. Mira, the solemn, ever so sincere Mira wore a Dhoni-ish expression on her face while scratching me. What can I do!
It was a horrile hour, seriously. And we have four hours a week, back to back. God save us. To be honest, I had been having that my knowledge about this particular issue was, well, something near excellence. But after today's class I found myself to have a negligible information on it. I never knew Vermiculture being a money mine, Prabha ma'am's 40 or so cousins, the 'issue' of the after college hour, all constitute environmental concern. I'm not joking, period, this is what I was able to grasp from Prabha ma'am's lecture(or was it?)
Then I had a question that I asked Shakthi(can't ask the lec, of course). All these Al Gore types are so keen to drive home the point of saving the planet. They're drilling the same points over and over again into our pea nut sized brains, or that's what they presume. But these ours-was-a-wonderful-generation people were the reason that we have got such a dirty and strife filled world. We never asked for the World Wars or the ethnic wars. Not the hunger deaths, nor the so called Global Warming. Now they want us to think about our future gens, telling us to be responsible and make sure the people to come inherit a safer and cleaner world. But we inherited an Earth that was nothing but an enormous ball of garbage and corpses. no one seems to think about that. I'm not saying we won't help clean the world, but just thought about the unfair treatment we people are suffering. Giving Nobel prizes to people who made sure we inherited a garbage ball and telling us to clean the shit. Why don't we start another organisation, like so many they're having, to tell the old boys to shut up and go sleep in their graves?
It was a horrile hour, seriously. And we have four hours a week, back to back. God save us. To be honest, I had been having that my knowledge about this particular issue was, well, something near excellence. But after today's class I found myself to have a negligible information on it. I never knew Vermiculture being a money mine, Prabha ma'am's 40 or so cousins, the 'issue' of the after college hour, all constitute environmental concern. I'm not joking, period, this is what I was able to grasp from Prabha ma'am's lecture(or was it?)
Then I had a question that I asked Shakthi(can't ask the lec, of course). All these Al Gore types are so keen to drive home the point of saving the planet. They're drilling the same points over and over again into our pea nut sized brains, or that's what they presume. But these ours-was-a-wonderful-generation people were the reason that we have got such a dirty and strife filled world. We never asked for the World Wars or the ethnic wars. Not the hunger deaths, nor the so called Global Warming. Now they want us to think about our future gens, telling us to be responsible and make sure the people to come inherit a safer and cleaner world. But we inherited an Earth that was nothing but an enormous ball of garbage and corpses. no one seems to think about that. I'm not saying we won't help clean the world, but just thought about the unfair treatment we people are suffering. Giving Nobel prizes to people who made sure we inherited a garbage ball and telling us to clean the shit. Why don't we start another organisation, like so many they're having, to tell the old boys to shut up and go sleep in their graves?
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Jungle Book
This again is a forward from Fropper. My lovely brother Yuvaraja has posted this blog and I've sneaked it out for others to see.
The Jungle Book
Few years back, on one summer vacation, I took my little sister Sahithya and our cute little dog Tinku, to a jungle visit. It was a lovely jungle which acts as a habitat for a lot of animals including wild. As I know every nook and corner of the jungle, we opted not to take any expert along. While on the way, my sister used to ask me all sorts of questions and I answered her.
As the time passed by, we were in the deep of the forest and she suddenly pulled my hand to grab my attention. She pointed at the big sized eggs staying on a bush. Tinku suddenly ran towards and started smelling it. She said mom will be happy if she takes that egg home and will be there for her to eat for a whole long week. I replied her that it is a good thinking and started to move. But she pulled me back again and said she wont move from there without that. I said it is not fair to do because the owner of the egg will get badly disappointed but she wasn't interested in listening to that. So I decided to pick one up.
I asked her not to make any sound till I pick up the egg and I slowly moved towards the egg. And I started looking around with little hesitation and fear. Seeing my cautious approach, Sahithya decided to play prank on me. Just when I was about to take an egg she made a eerie noise and my legs started shivering. She did had a big fun but didn't realize the huge animal that was standing just behind her. I was awestruck seeing the animal behind her - It was a Dinosaur. And in a flash of a second, my sister realised that some big animal was standing behind him. It took a little while for me to know that it was me in big danger, because I was holding a Dinosaur egg and there is one more Dino standing behind me giving a ferocious look.
Now we started running, running for life. I couldn't decide whether to throw away the egg and I thought that would be a bad idea if the egg gets broken. So I carried along and kept running. My sister was faster carrying little Tinku in her arms and both the dinos were chasing us. She shouted at me to throw that egg and run. But I didn't want to. Seeing us running, few more animals joined the race...We could see Lions, Tigers, Elephants, Monkeys, Wolves, Leopards, Bears, Horses, Deers, Foxes, Rabbits - all chasing us. They did it for fun i guess. We ran. We ran. And we ran and all the time we were being chased.
Finally, we reached a forest office and we went inside and locked the door. But we couldn't find anyone to help us there. I just placed the egg inside a box there which looked to be a good hiding place for it. The animal all were making a huge noise outside urging us to come out. I was unable to decide what to do and I could see my sister feeling very sad. She looked like being learnt a lesson or few but was worried how this is going to end. Tinku as usual reflected what is projected in my sweet sisters face and yes, with little more exaggeration.
In the very noisy atmosphere we could hear a strange sound arising from the egg. We were surprised to see a baby dino breaking out of the egg. Only then we realised that the box we placed the egg was an incubator. We could see a small ray of hope. So we decided to open up the door. Sahithya was carrying the baby dino in her palm and i opened the door.
The ferocious looking Dino suddenly calmed down seeing its kid. Its joy looked no bounds. All the other animals were also happy and expressed it by singing and dancing. It was like a heaven to be there. The dino and other big animals expressed their gratitude by kissing my hands.
By then, it became late in the night and while we were thinking how we were going to leave home, one of the old lions in the jungle offered to give us a ride. And here we are.
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