Good Boy Politics ?

Two days have passed by since the Delhi assembly poll results have been declared, and we all know what new history it has written. But what’s even more interesting is neither BJP nor AAP – the two major gainers -- is claiming to form the government!

Now it’s been sometime that I have been a witness to electoral politics, both nationally and state-based, but I just can’t recall of such a “pehle aap” situation ever to have emerged in Indian politics. And this brings to my mind one question: Is this a bane or beginning of a change that’s actually driven by the aam aadmi? 

Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption crusade and the post 16 December-unrest showed the frustration of the common man against the nincompoop government and their representatives. Whether AAP can live up to the hopes and aspirations of the people of Delhi is a question that can be left for time to respond, but what’s been answered is that the ‘supreme forces’ of Indian politics must understand that the common man cannot be ignored. Also, that election can be fought with white money, limited resources, non-star candidates, without corporate funding with honesty and determination. And moreover, agitated voices can actually come together and topple the ‘settled’.

I am no political analyst – there are too many of those, and they are working overtime at the moment -- but what fascinates me most now is with what I started this write-up with, the “pehle aap” situation.

BJP is (in)famous for its horse trading tactics, and is a pro in that. And though Congress is seriously in no position to trade anything for that matter, even they are a master of that art. ‘Alliances’, that are largely marriages of convenience, have been the norm to cobble together a parliamentary majority. Every party, every group negotiates, and everybody is in everybody’s strategy -- that is how post-election scenarios have worked in India so far. I remember Mr. Nitin Gadkari, who spoke on Sunday afternoon about BJP forming the government in all the four states, changing his statement by evening as soon as AAP declared that they are not keen on lending or borrowing support from anyone.

But why this sudden change in attitude? Is it a conscious-cautious step to remain ‘clean’ in the face of the AAP-storm? Is it a restrained step to curb the temptations of being on the throne in order to remain a ‘good boy’ in public eye? Especially, if Delhi is staring at a re-election in six months along with the Lok Sabha polls, every ounce of reputation is at stake.

But is this a permanent change? Henceforth, will politicians in India really act in manner chosen representatives should and will political outfits behave in a smarter, honest, and democratic manner?

We know change is the only permanent thing in this world, but sadly it wasn’t the case with Indian politics. And that’s why I’m happy at this forced adjustment that may just lead to the emergence of a new age politics.

Cheers to the nation!

Fifteen Puzzle

Hey, have you ever played with a fifteen puzzle? I played for some time during my early teens and I still remember how interesting it is.

Oflate the parking system of Delhi reminds me of the game. Go to any part of Delhi; from Lajpat Nagar to C.P, every where the parking guys play the puzzle all through the day with our cars. I am sure that none of them played the fifteen puzzle ever in their life but they are so good in solving the puzzle in the daily life thus making our parking experience memorable and stress free.

The puzzle was "invented" by Noyes Palmer Chapman, a postmaster in Canastota, New York. Copies of the improved Fifteen Puzzle made their way to Syracuse, New York by way of Noyes' son.

The "15 Puzzle" consists of 15 squares numbered from 1 to 15 which are placed in a 4x4 box leaving one position out of the 16 empty. The goal is to reposition the squares from a given arbitrary starting arrangement by sliding them one at a time into the required configuration of generally serial order or in other arrangement.

The game became a craze in the U.S. in February 1880, Canada in March, Europe in April, but that craze had pretty much dissipated by July. The craze was, in part, fuelled by Loyd offering a $1,000 prize for anyone who could provide a solution for achieving a particular combination with tiles 14 and 15 exchanged specified by Loyd. It was later known that no solution to this "15 puzzle" was possible as it required a transformation.

I wonder, do these guys in real life also face such problems with a very unusual combination which has got no solution and the car gets locked among the others in the maze !!

Uff!! What a relief!

Hundreds of sentences are spoken about the differences, similarities, effectiveness of the two types of mailing system we have but have you ever thought about the advantage of not changing the e-mail address, though you are shifting your residential or official address.

Over the last few years I have changed my address several times, traveled between cities and kept on changing address. Every time I changed my dwelling, I had to inform my bank, cooking gas office, insurance office and a lot more. On every occasion correspondence is made with appropriate address proof with a request to change the same. From office to office the nature and provision of evidence of address also varies and it’s a boring and irritating job to go to all of these offices on working days and complete all the formalities. Of late once again I am into the process of writing letters and making all efforts to change my address.

In the course of action I realized, I haven’t changed my virtual address for so long and all these years my movement across the country have not held back my connectivity with any of my acquaintances.

Uff!! What a relief!

Crops That Do Virtually Nothing

It’s a quarter to midnight, the teacher haven’t completed her answer script correction which she is supposed to submit next day morning and she is stressed beyond anything the word “STRESSED” can describe with an additional pressure to harvest her virtual firm or they blacken into wilted stalks!!

Over the years as a teacher and as a social being I saw the teenagers delay all their work to sit in front of the console of their virtual world of respective games. I had seen boys spending all their free time in playing football or fighting battles on the computer and making the worst use of valuable time. But there is an obvious lack of logical thinking when adults especially professionals mostly defer their work and assignments to harvest virtual crops that do virtually nothing, except earn a well deserved “XP”. The parents and guardians, especially moms who all these years have scolded their wards for wasting time on the consoles are a victim of the latest threat. Most interestingly FarmVille is mostly played among the age group of 24-45. This section of the populace was never in gaming and 2/3rd of them are the women who were never in virtual games before. The farm brought the women folk across the globe to the huge virtual gaming world.

Funny thing is, with all its detrimental effects, people just can’t stop playing FarmVille. With a membership of 11 million daily players, this game has become an epidemic that is even worse than the swine-flu hype. Predictably, I find FarmVille as a killer: it brutally kills all free time, social life and devastates the success of professionals & scholars everywhere. It takes an unprecedented amount of time to harvest, plow, sow and repeat and repeat and repeat. The worst of all is the stress the player takes all through the day behind their mind of successfully managing time and the worries of its failure.

But what this popular Facebook application has done is actually pretty smart. It has managed to tap into the potential inherent in our constant procrastination to bring this trait called “TIME MANAGEMENT” back into our daily lives (and subsequently addict the player and destroy all hope of a social life and make the worst use of time). The way FarmVille forces the player to calculate their time so that crops will always be grown the next day, plan into the future so there will always be a computer around when the cabbages are grown and commit to a specific time is innovative and even somewhat useful. Even another significant change that I noticed among the addicts (they call themselves as “dedicated”) is their perspective towards the plants in and around has changed. They are more caring and considerate with the flora now. The developers at San Francisco's Zynga team definitely deserves applaud for the attitude change they brought among their users.

Not only does the strategy of time management force FarmVille players to stick to a mental schedule, in order to succeed, but maybe these skills can be improved in real life through habit and association. FarmVille is the way to a bright future, but it’s not just a dark abyss of wasted time. It could actually have beneficial effects.

The churn rate for social games is high — two to three months for most titles. A good chunk of players — 25% to 33% — play a particular game two to three months before moving on. By comparison, only about 5% are defined as active users who play a title for more than a year but it will be really beneficial if any percentage of the huge 60 million monthly crowd is benefited in any way, though I only find the STRESS involved in it, but the players claim it to be an escape from city life; it's their relaxation but at the same time the majority admit that “I lose sleep at night, worrying about my farm.”

Hey folks, we have a lot more good to do other than harvest virtual crops that do virtually nothing.

Wake Up India

“WAKE UP INDIA.
IT’S TIME TO NOT GO TO WORK.
IT’S TIME TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK FOR YOU.
DON’T BE AN ENGINEER JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A DEGREE IN ENGINEERING. DO WHAT YOU THINK YOU’RE GOOD AT. AND YOU WILL BE GOOD AT WHAT YOU THINK. START SOMETHING THAT’S YOUR OWN. WHERE YOU CAN’T BE SACKED. AND CERTAINLY CAN’T QUIT. START SOMETHING FOR AS LITTLE AS TEN THOUSAND. YOU DON’T NEED MUCH MORE THAN THAT. YOU DON’T NEED REFERENCES, POLITICIANS OR THE POLICE . ALL YOU NEED IS YOU. START. AND THEN TEN THOUSAND COULD BECOME THIRTY BILLION.IT’S TRUE. YOU CAN DO IT. YOU WHO’S READING THIS AD. YOU, SIMPLE, REGULAR GUY. LIKE IT HAPPENED ONCE, TO A SIMPLE REGULAR GUY. WAKE UP INDIA AND START DREAMING.”

- Today's Ecomomics Times Advt regarding The Economic Times AWARDS.

I too believed it in and I had always dreamt big, as big beyond possibility but failed. May be I started from the wrong place with wrong people.

Still Dreams don’t die.

I salute you all.

I feel so sorry for her. In this freezing cold crack of dawn, she gets up half-an hour before I do and prepares herself for the school. If time permits she can have a sip of tea and a couple of biscuits and rushes to the bus stand about a mile away. Most of the days when I am in the town I drop her on my motorcycle. But when I am off for some business trip, it turns out to be pathetic. When I think of the situation I do not know how does she manage all and pull her to the bus stand on time.

I think women can do it. Had it been with us men, we would be argumentative more than working and being on time and day after day we would be there with a hell lot of excuses. She pulls on all with ease and after that the whole day in school with piled up work and practically with no break she has her smile on face.

The day does not end for her so quick. The kids wait for her for tuition and then of course the household chore is there. Sorry dear, I try to help but I cannot. I keep admiring her instead.

Women in Indian middle class society are a mystery in themselves. Look around, you get to see so many good examples of balancing their home with their professional life and at the same time catering to all the quarters of social life. They keep pace with time and turn out to be the most modern of all. They are the pillar of our family, of our society and of the nation. They are the mother and architect of modern India.

I salute each and every women of India.

Leaving, My Siliguri

“Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson. I have realized that failure, whether of personal, professional or even spiritual kind, is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of psychic rewards. Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is.” - Robin Sharma

True, very true, I had always believed in it. I am leaving my Siliguri, the wonderful valleys and mountains, the rivers and rivulets, the morning sun and its warmth, the dew and its moist, the sweet stay with my best friend and a whole world around the place with my dreams. The dreams of whom I talked so much here. To pursue another dream, hopeful that is larger than what I am leaving behind. A new chapter to begin. Hope it comes true.

I was tired fighting for ten long years in this region with this futuristic profession. It was very tough. I couldn’t stand for another decade with my innovative plans. I required surviving the present to live for the future. The province, the state, the township is not yet prepared to receive this profession. The ideas that culminate in my world of thoughts die due to malnutrition of support. The system as well as the industry and hopes of the town doesn’t support us to survive. All of us those had dreamed to make Siliguri a better Siliguri, a modern Siliguri miserable failed. Failed in our own terms, in our own way. We were either too ahead of its time or too stupid to recognize and evaluate the circumstances, situation and time.

I learn from my mistakes and doesn’t wish to repeat the same but it is unfortunate that I have to leave my Siliguri. Adieu Siliguri.