Dear X. I still have Feelings for You, but...

2(3x – 7) 4 (3 x 2) = 6 (5 x 9 ) 3

Solve for x.

Poor x. Alone in this world, with no identity. Shunned by the other numbers, because he does not know who he is. X cannot fit in the fives, or the eights. He isn’t even really a number. X is misunderstood. A mystery, who must be solved.

Fear not X! I am your savior. I will find out your worth x! I will assign you a value! Soon you will stand among your numbered comrades, no longer nameless, but with a numerical worth. You may fear that you will fall on the end of the scale, as a fraction, or worse, a negative. Do not worry little x. That’s what they made absolute values for.

Time to start our journey together X. I fear it will not be an easy one, as it seems you have surrounded yourself with a bad crowd. You are locked in a parenthesis prison with a 3 and a -7, and a 2 outside of you, guarding the gate. It looks like you are pretty tangled up x. You are busy on both sides of the equation. That hanging 3 looks suspicious. “Add me at the end!” it seems to shout. No, 3, you will not fool me. I will subtract you.

Actually I don’t know where to subtract you from 3, so you can stay there. This is really hard. Things are not looking good for you x. You’ve really got yourself in a situation.

You know what, x. It is not my fault that you fell into this bad crowd. Surrounding yourself with all those other numbers, confusing people. I wanted to help you x. And maybe I could’ve if you didn’t get stuck in those parenthesis. I don’t know how to get you out of those, x.

X, I have failed you. I will never be able to help you figure out who you are now. You will remain nameless, undefined, the variable. I hope that you will find others like you X, maybe an a-squared or a p. Maybe if I had found you at an early stage things would’ve been different ,like when you were just X-3 = 6. Your life has become too complicated for me to help you with now x. It looks like you’ll have to solve yourself. Good luck, x.

PS: I have no idea why they came up with this thing called Algebra!! Seriously, they made my life a living hell.... daah.. >.<

Today's Corporate World

I often wonder when the “easy” days are coming. Challenges come in many shapes, sizes, and danger levels. Attitude often determines whether people face these crises successfully or crumble under the pressure. No one wants to exist in crisis management mode forever. This attitude often generates the wrong results when find a job, earn some money for living, becomes the challenge on the table.

With the rise of Globalization, Economics and economists view reality through the lens of money.  Everything has its price, they believe, from rain forests to human labor to the air we breathe.

Our country is in the process of being built on various fronts like education, healthcare, tourism, fishing and agriculture, and industrialization … As for the society, it was in a flux.  Except for rich resort owners and those who held high posts in the government agencies and the bureaucracy, or public sector undertakings, everyone more or less is economically at par.

There are thousands of people in the corporate world who worked for a better future, but the general fervor that pervaded the very atmosphere then is somehow absent today. If we had been working together to better lives then, it is more of a ‘benefactor -beneficiary’ exercise today.

Activist literature colored our thoughts or rather robbed them of color. Everything had to be in two shades – black and white. If your freedom is curbed, fight and then bolt. Bad work environment? What are you still doing there? Walk out! Boss being mean and you feel discriminated? Just slap him and resign from the job!   Black and White – that was life. Where was the need to complicate it?

It took a while to realize that while issues could be in black and white. Problems have hundreds of shades and unless we can see them, we would be the losers in the end.

(And strangely today, things seem to have come as a full circle here too, but with a twist. It is now to do with individualism tinged with radicalism. Corporate world is junked as being political, with the danger of throwing out the workers with their position itself, compromise is considered weakness and a blow to one’s self-respect (or ego?) at work environment.

Back to the past: one thing had changed for us though; we wanted answers to a lot of questions that were baffling at the work place – Employment Act and beliefs including employment Tribunal and the place of a worker in the Corporate Ladder, starting with the basic rights has been created and became vital. Even though very few supported their colleague in their quest for answers and sometimes didn’t even understand what the noise was all about. It even upset the policy makers that the people were asking questions about things that had been accepted hitherto meekly. As our minds had been opened and we began thinking about the rights of an employee and other things that affected our lives.

Changing lifestyles and increasing incomes, rise in inflation; saw another phenomenon at the work environment and job market. Employees are reportedly being discriminated against for their gender, disabilities, religion and even in retaliation for a multitude of different reasons. Sometimes, the discrimination can be so subtle, that it goes unnoticed and unreported.  Despite all the awareness created, statistics from government organizations upholding the country’s employment act shows that still the Workplace discrimination and harassment  occurs, during the process of selection of staff for the job, Training and type of training being offered, Being considered for a transfer, promotion or sacking, and by setting Work place conditions at larger scale.

Political changes and the dilemma in the name of democracy have also created a new job market. Sacking people when ever they needed and giving jobs to the ones they chose without even thinking about their position and qualifications, earning extra money made the difference between eating one meal and starving for the poor. Erstwhile employer and employee and the change was cleaving the once near homogeneous fabric of society that they didn’t see anything wrong in sending their kids to work instead of to school or provide them with higher education. Some were sent to work in companies as child laborer.. If poverty had bound people, development drew them asunder. It was a sad thing that the very same benefits which were intended for everyone in the society were slowly being appropriated by the privileged few.

Slowly and almost imperceptibly the concerns of the discrimination began changing and then completely diverge. And while we were finding our feet and even sprouting wings, they were still floundering on the filthy earth.

The divide that began in the past has widened today to an unbridgeable chasm, with no apparent meeting ground of the two in sight. Even with so many women at top positions in government agencies and political corridors today, the status of the poor nonetheless is still the same. A large part of our working population, whether urban or rural is still in the grip of insecurity, ignorance, violence, exploitation and discrimination at work on top of everything else. The worst ignominy for this working population of the nation is that we have no job security; we have no proper guidelines to follow, even with the so called Employment act which is  just a structure that has no base in it. So what kind of development have we achieved in the last half century?

And the Activists, or who raised their voice against discrimination? Well, they groped their way through, fought, argued, questioned and sometimes found answers, but often didn’t. But they had the advantage of a better social and financial standing when compared to low income group and they were resourceful… but that’s not the end I guess, even for them!!

People change?

I've always wondered how brilliant minds fall prey to ills and evils ? How a person with high credentials and intellect slips deep down in their moral behavior? How our leaders and executives and all other people with great power and much greater responsibility go past their standards and do some heavy nasty things. 

Corruption, bribe, cheating are just the popular ones there are so many holes in their armors that it seems impossible to imagine that sometimes back, they used to hold one. How this transformation of good into bad takes place ? Is it an instant process or gradual ?

Men and women with great passion and hard-work pave their ways to high places. They turn their day n night in studying and creating a personality which segregates them from general mass. They are seen with respect, are tagged with wisdom, knowledge and discretion. Then how this well-informed, educated and trained mind gets distracted ?

Nobody is born bad. Initially we all are same delicate, childlike, spotless innocent creatures. Than what makes us good n bad ? Is it the genetic make-up, deeds we do, things we say or the people around us ? Is there no way of knowing, detecting and sensing this braniac pollution? When and how its going to attack ? Its symptoms or side-effects ?

Questions are many and so are the answers. But none helps. This monster is growing, and its growing with speed higher than ever. Some are resistant, some are resilient. But for how long ? We all know how great technologies which we proud today, helping us in building our nation, uniting it and controlling it, can be used disastrously if got in wrong hands. How some people bend rules. How the laws and rights are misused ? How the data [which we believe to be encrypted and super-safe] collected in the name of protection and benefits and fast and easy transactions holds the capability of stalking and monitoring our each and every move ?

How the things/rules/laws and people which were once good turn into some friendly monsters. Those who are fighting against it, how long before they fail to abstain ?

Our next Generation - STUPIDITY GALORE !

I firmly believe that intelligence in this country is going downhill more rapidly than anything. For I fear the kids today - little morons in their tweens and teens - are becoming stupid-er day by day. I know every generation says the same thing about the next upcoming one but this time, i have got some bloody logical reasons!

First of all, every darn kid has become a bad Western clone. An overdose of stupid sitcoms such as 'Friends' (Trust me, 'Seinfeld' , 'Two and a half men' etc are way more intelligent and better) has furthered the decline. Kids today - esp 12 to 20 batch - behave like little pricks. They talk about "relationships" without even knowing how to spell the damn word. They are always looking to be "cool" without understanding that coolness aint worth it without brains.

Teen boys have become little horns who are forever looking to fuck. While teen girls have become little showpiece dolls - going for expensive beauty treatments, forever wanting to look all decked up and what not. I mean, 1000 bucks for getting your hair straightened and terming the entire episode, 'rebonding'- beats me!! And thats at teenage. Talk about innocence lost.

For them, sense of humor doesnt mean intelligent comedy but making fun of others. These brats have become so insecure and 'Wannabees' that they have lost sense of their individuality. A person can only rise if he balances the world and his individual self , if he keeps his emotions in check and never does anything in the influence of others, OK sometimes under the influence, but basically charts his own course. This generation is totally opposite of this. They dont have a check on their emotions and commit suicide over the stupidest of things. They are weak in their minds and souls.

Its sad. Real sad. For these kids. Their parents - who are originally responsible for not talking sense into their kids. And most importantly - for our nation. Who the hell says spanking is bad. It keeps the children straight (Literally and figuratively).

God save our souls.

THE LATEST SHITTY FACEBOOK STATUS MESSAGE

Alright. Facebook and many of its dimwit users are at it again - Destroying intelligence as we know it!

The latest special FB "special" status message goes something like this:

"

When I was a Kid, I did not have a Xbox or a Wii. I had a bicycle, a tea pot, I played with my friends OUTSIDE, not ONLINE. My mother did not call me on my cell phone, she just yelled my name out of the window. Post this on your wall if you have drunk water out of the tap, come home with scraped hands & knees after climbing walls & trees, played 'Hide & Seek' and playing in the rain:-) I miss those days. :(

"

Let me get this. You are sad, depressed etc etc because you miss your days of outside fun. And yet, you are here.. inside.. posting this shit on FB. Can stupidity & hypocrisy reach any higher? Even Uday Chopra has learnt to be sensible and has decided to quit acting. But these people?

Also, all those silly 'cryptic' status messages.. whats with those?

Isnt it funny as hell when people write cryptic status messages like - "It finally happened!" or "A new beginning" etc? When you ask them what the hell does it mean or why have you written this James Bond type message, they say that its only for some special people to understand. Really douchebags? And you write this on a public forum? Do you think we are in some 'Mission Impossible' movie where you write this "code" for some secret agent to decipher?

I pray to God for some sanity !

Amen !

Why not celebrate Men's day eh??

On one of the rare occasions on FB chat last week, I was pinged by a friend of mine. An artist, a writer and gentleman to boot! After some initial chit chat, he says, "Let me ask a direct question. Will you be open to the idea of a one night stand?" I was shocked and told him in no uncertain terms that I was offended. I also told him clearly, that I don't believe in one night stands. At the same time I have nothing against those who might believe in it. Each to his own, different people different circumstances, I am no one to judge anybody. He understood I was miffed and promptly told me that the question is for a survey he is doing for writing a piece! He adds, "It takes a lot of guts to say what you did, because I might have expected such an answer from someone else, not a pretty active and open-minded woman like you." I smile and sign out. The fact that I haven't screamed or beat him black & blue is only a sign of so called maturity and diplomacy as well as acceptance of the fact that many women face this on a day to day basis. A reaction I'm not proud of.

More shocking and humiliating to me than the question itself is the fact that, the so called gentlemen of our society think that they can make stupid, sly passes & get away with it. Not all but men with such mentalities seem to have weird classification for women. If a woman speaks her mind she is termed as something of a Feminist (Do they know who a feminist is?) As far as some men are concerned there are only two types of women. The woman who wear veil, drapes herself in a 9 yard, becomes fat after marriage and cannot do anything on their own beyond the kitchen or lets say without husbands approval, such a woman is not approachable because she is truly married (In their mind vis-a vis the others who are not truly married?). The other kind of woman wears what she wants, is liberated (What is liberation, wearing pants?), speaks her mind. You get the picture (for every man who can) this category is the 'Available' category, whether the woman thinks the same is of course immaterial. Don't such categories exist with men? The one who grow tummies and have far lesser brains that any woman in the house? Why should 'Fat & Foolish' be something reserved only for women and post marriage?

I read an article in the papers in the morning about how women should be grateful for the men in her life for liberating her (makes me smile) , till 8^th march, morning I have read so many posts on Face Book/ Twitter about celebrating International Women's day. Some men are even offended that there is no Men's day and there’s too much noise about women's day. True perhaps except for the fact that International Women's day is hardly about the Urban Chick woman, targeted by discounts on sleeveless dresses, Salons or the discounted chocolate, ice cream for Ladies in some shops. The day is meant to highlight the cause of so many millions of women, who are till today uneducated because the men in their homes will not allow it. It is for those women, who face sexual harassment on an everyday basis from so called gentlemen not in an open way but in nasty hints that they think no one will notice. It is for those women, who have no voice to even speak of, with the confidence that I am speaking, for those women who don't even know that they have a right to be treated at par with men. Women's day, National or International OR any day for that matter is not about women being better than men. It is about highlighting the fact that, there are many such unfortunate women, who seek the basic dignity of being a human anything else is a marketing gimmick.

The ones who choose not to...

A recently released UN report on world health, states that there will be an estimated 4% increase in the number of children suffering from malnutrition in the African continent by 2014. Not only that, due to global warming and other environmental hazards, the climate will continue to be unpredictable and food production will considerably lessen in the coming years.

It is nothing out of the ordinary to be greeted with bad news early in the morning these days, but the thought of starving infants in some corner of the world, forces you to eye your breakfast with a sense of profound guilt. Just when you and me are busy planning another vacation in somewhere around the world or thinking of getting some elite club membership, there are people out there who are fighting for a morsel of food in unimaginably adverse conditions.

This led me to wonder. Why do parents bring children into the world they cannot feed?

Why is the population of the world growing at an exponential rate when we are running out of valuable resources at an equally alarming rate? Why do people still make a big deal out of a woman who doesn't have a child?

Since the dawn of civilization, we've been entrusted with the task of devising ways to carry our races forward and ensure the survival of our species.

Get married. Have kids. And when your kids grow up, make it your first and foremost duty to pester them into getting married and have kids in turn.

I don't know if I'm venturing into uncharted territory by questioning accepted social institutions, but shouldn't marriage be an individual choice and not a compulsion? Shouldn't the question of having children, also be given a lot of thought?

I remember a teacher from my school, who had a perfectly blissful marital life. She was above 35 at the time I was in the 7th grade and still childless. She was also glamorous and accomplished.

We came to know much later that she and her husband had mutually decided that they would not have any children. Now I don't understand why others (like the opinionated parents of many of my classmates) had to worry their heads over the whys and why-nots of this or concoct cock-and-bull stories about my teacher's 'infertility'. Can't remaining childless be a conscious decision on someone's part?

Quite recently I came across the information that a child born to parents who have both crossed the age of 35 is at a higher risk of having Down's Syndrome. It's not like I'm judging those who become parents at an older age than most. But do people ever pause to think about the repercussions of raising a child who may not have the same cognitive abilities as the rest, who maybe at the receiving end of everyone's sympathy for the rest of his/her life?

I have no idea whatsoever about how parenthood might feel like, but when I think about it from a rational point of view and observe so many people around me, I realize not everyone is made out to be a good father or a good mother. Giving birth to a healthy, normal baby may keep gossiping neighbors and nagging parents/in-laws at bay and end your fears of dying childless. But then it also marks the beginning of a perilous new journey fraught with more difficult hurdles. Bringing up a child is not the same as raising a Labrador puppy.

That is why we need to think a million times before judging a couple who do not have a child. Or a person who has not married or is reluctant to start a family.

More important than just adding one more to the ever-expanding sea of humans, is to inculcate good values in your young one, so that one day he/she can contribute positively towards building a better world and a society where dichotomous opinions may co-exist in harmony, where people learn to take responsibility for their own actions and those who choose to defy established norms are not frowned upon by the rest.

And you might also not like but still have a look for the sake of humanity..: http://datsdawayitz.blogspot.com/2011/12/fing-yay.html