Author: SK

Started reading “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman today. Have done around 40 pages. Anyways, the purpose of the post is to mention that the book says, “These call center jobs are low-wage low-prestige jobs in America, but when shifted to India they become high-wage high-prestige jobs”

Don’t call me a snob, but I’m wondering if call center jobs are actually high-prestige jobs here. At least among my close relatives the reaction to someone being in a call center job is “poor guy/girl didn’t get any other job”.

Went on the fairly-hyped “Bangalore Walks” yesterday. Did what they call the “Victorian Bangalore Walk”. Started off at Trinity Church, walked mostly along MG Road, a little bit of Brigade Road and Rest House Crescent before ending at Ebony’s for breakfast.

For a pucca Bangalorean and a quizzer, the thing didn’t have much to offer. A few bits of trivia here and there, some of them i’m sure have been cooked up by the guide.

Recommended for tourists to Bangalore, but definitely not worth Rs. 400 and waking up early!

Incidentally, the guide is from Bangalore and studied at IITM and IIMB and worked as a consultant before starting on this thing.

Dr. Rajkumar died today. Despite him being almost 78 and severely sick, apparently the death has come as a shock ot most people in the industry. The last time I’d seen the guy on TV, he looked pretty sickly and about to die. Wonder why the shock then!

Anyways, the incidents following the death are fairly interesting. Quite a few celebrities are going on national and state television expressing their grief, and talking about how great an actor Dr. Raj was. Quite expected, I must say. The state government has gone against its earlier policy of not declaring holidays following deaths, and has announced tomorrow as a state holiday. The cabinet met this evening to express its grief. I’m surprised an assembly session hasn’t been called for.

The worst of all, however, has been the behaviour of the crowds, the so-called ‘fans’ of the late actor. Earlier this afternoon, I spotted a bunch of them going all round 4th block, forcing shopkeepers to down their shutters as a mark of ‘solidarity’. The same gets reported on national TV later this evening saying how the shopkeepers voluntarily shut shop!

No one talks about this one lost day of business for them. No one talks about the fresh bread ‘Iyengar’s Bakery’ would have baked this afternoon and was unable to sell because some goondas forced the shop shut. No one talks about the fact that half the city had to walk back home from work tonight, because the buses weren’t running.

Scenes on TV were even more shocking. A bunch of goondas, under the guise of “abhimaanigaLa sangha”, overturned a police Innova and set fire to it. Police just watched the thing burn. I also happened to see a bus near my house with not a single window pane intact. Then, there were a thousand people who clambered on to every inch of space available in Raj’s house. Pity his family. And another thousand who wouldn’t let the ambulance with the corpse move.

Yeah, the news channels did report this. They called it “effect of the grief of thousands of raj’s fans” or some such crap.

So in our country, you express grief by destroying public property. You express your love for a departed soul by flinging a few stones heavenwards, hoping some glass is shattered on the way. You express your solidarity by forcing people to express solidarity.

Oh my darling, yeh hai India!

Given the latest stuff on Mandalization of central univs and IITs and IIMs and a few other stupid decisions being taken by the government which are being allowed to go scot-free, I strongly suspect some problems with the incentive structure for the politicians. In the current first-past-the-post democracy, it seems to be becoming far more easier to play vote bank politics, and none of the politicians are complaining.

Somehow need to figure out a new system (expected comment – what’s the use anyway) which makes these buggers actually work in the interest of the nation.

More on this later.

The other day an aunt called up my mom and said, ?you know, how close I used to be to my younger son? He always stuck to me whenever at home, would consult me on everything he did. Now, after he?s gotten married, he?s changed completely. His wife is such a dominating woman. And this guy just listens to everything she says, even at the cost of being nasty to me. It?s very disappointing. Every time I see them, I feel sad.

?You know, somehow, whenever I see Karthik and you together, I?m reminded of how my son used to be. He seems so close to you. And I?m afraid he might go the same way as my son. Be careful. And I?m already beginning to pity you.?

This seems to have set the cat amongst the pigeons in my mom?s head. She?s now hell-bent that I shouldn?t bring home a girl who?s even remotely dominating. Mom?s trying to stress upon the fact that ?niceness? should be one very important criterion while I ?evaluate? potential wives. ?You say that the most important thing is that she should talk well and be a good companion, but don?t forget that if she?s not very nice, it?s you who?s going to suffer. I don?t have any vested interest in this, but just telling you so that you don?t suffer later on in life?.

Coming to think of it, any half-intelligent woman would prefer a docile to an aggressive daughter-in-law. She would prefer a DIL who wouldn?t have a dramatic influence on her son, one who would let her son be the mamma?s boy he always ways. One who wouldn?t ?cause much trouble? in her son?s life. One who would just be content with looking after him well?

If you are a single woman, and think you?re even remotely aggressive, please think twice before you enter the market for arranged marriages!

Saw being cyrus today. Slightly bulbed for most of it, but then the ending made up for the whole thing. I wouldn?t like to spoil it for you here, but even if you aren?t the kind who watches ?offbeat? movies, this is something you shouldn?t miss. If I exaggerate a little bit, at the end of the movie I had almost the same feeling I did after seeing The Usual Suspects.

And yeah, Dimple Kapadia, despite her age, is still hot. Simone Singh (I?ve seen her in some ad, but can?t remember which) also looks real good!

Watch it.

crazy idea that’s stemmed out of a long phone cnoversation. we were talking about the fact that a process is not worth it unless everyone involved is enjoying it.

given this, the funda of rape makes no sense at all! because there’s one party that’z clearly not enjoying it! which means that the “pleasure” that the other party gets out of the thing is only marginal, very small compared to what he’d be getting through a mutually agreed sexual intercourse.

that someone might stoop to rape someone for so little pleasure means he should be really sexually deprived indeed!