Capital Punishment

I was reading yesterday's newspaper and one of the "small" time news was about some village where the punishment for a rapist was to be beaten with shoes and apologize to the victim and their family.

This is not the first time, the whole concept of rape is being underplayed in our country. There were and are scores of such cases where the issue is not even considered an act of wrong-doing, leave alone a sin. I wonder, if cruel treatment and hard core harsh punishments to the guilty would make a difference in our society. And increasingly, I feel this is the only way to go in order to put an end to the hardships that women face.

Capital punishment is the ONLY way to go. It should not be something as simple as putting the guilty individual to a permanent rest. The way to his death should not be any less painful than what he had inflicted on a woman. For example, stripping the guilty naked, smearing honey on him and lettin big red ants to kill him in a slow and painful way wood be a good punishment. Every scream and shout, plead for mercy should be shown LIVE in all the leading channels and everyone should watch and read about the punishment.

Instilling FEAR is the best way to curb such criminal activities. Human rights have no room here. In fact, it is for the very protection of such human rights, that we will have to have these punishments.

If someone feels that the punishment is quite harsh, the choice is theirs. You don't rape, you don't face the axe.

Ten bucks and me

Bearing the non-summer heat and commuting the usual jam packed roads of Bangalore on a Saturday morning wasn't making the weekend look any pleasant. But when one has the Hobson's choice, it is best to stop fretting and fuming about it and try to wrap up the task at hand at the earliest.

I was on the way to office and in one of the rare occasions, riding, meandering through the thick smoke and blaring horns. While waiting in one of the numerous traffic lights, I noticed a old man on the opposite side of the road, standing (rather trying to stand) in the pavement, seeking alms from the passersby. It is not a rare phenomena to find people begging, but something about this man drew my attention.

The sorry state of his lifeless legs and his constant struggle to maintain his stability would beg for sympathy from anyone and everyone. Probably in his early 60's, life was refusing to go easy on him. I don't know if he has a family, food, shelter or anything worth calling a possession.

I wanted to help him, but wasn't sure how. I never am sure when it comes to such things and before I think more, I ward of such thoughts saying, there isn't much I can do about such things. The traffic light turned green and it was time for me to take the 'U' turn. I did that and started moving towards the man. He sensed the fact that I was slowing down and quickly limped to the edge of the pavement, hoping to get a rupee or two. There was lot of expectation, hope and despair in his eyes. I picked up a ten rupee note from my purse, gave him a warm smile and told him to take this. He was not just happy, but jubilant. A moment, I was happy for him. He thanked me and got back to his job and I just moved on.

The 10 rupees will not even fetch a square meal today, but it was something that I wanted to do and I did. I thought about the man for a while, but the more I did, the more frustrating it was. I didn't want to think anymore. I can't make a difference to him or many others like him. This is me and I shall be one in the crowd.

Topics which have more meat!

One of my friends recently commented on my blog saying that it was too dry and there aren't any topics that has some substantial stuff to chew on (like meat?). So I was wondering what could be topics that would evoke interest or arouse the curiosity of a person to read more from a blog. Some of the points that came from the top of my head are:

1) Controversial topics (definitely a sure shot way of evoking interest in reading and responding)
2) Funny topics (quite a broad category, but anything that can tickle the funny bone)
3) Disparaging topics (I don't think I will ever get into this space though!)
4) Introspective/Questionable topics (like my friend in his recent past made a post, "What is the purpose of life"?)

I haven't ordered them in a priority fashion, but just jotted down as they came to my mind. If someone can provide more specific topics, those are most welcome to do so.

All said and done, if the stuff we write has the correct verbiage, it will definitely make an impression on the reader. More than "what" we write, it is probably "how" we write matters the most (I for instance, definitely have a long way to get there!)

Savor this!

Bisibelle bhat with fried cashews and ghee drippig all over it

Chocolate pancakes dipped in chocolate sauce with lots and lots of whipped cream and chocolate chips on the top

Badam Kheer prepared ONLY with almonds.

Honey dipped oats and deep fried almonds, pistachio and cashew toppings

Carrot Halwa with excessive ghee

Tortillas filled with baked potatoes and cheese sauce on top of it.

Ghee and Cheese Masala Dosa with Sambar prepared in ghee

Crispy doughnuts filled with strawberry creme, sugar glazed and chocolate toppings

If you are wondering what is common amongst all this and why I am mentioning it here, there is only one reason.

I LOVE these items and could kill to get hold of one or many. Anything with the words, cheese, ghee, butter or chocolate would be no less inviting to me.

And for the dessert, it is Tiramasu and Dark chocolate with dripping honey :)

Livermore Temple, California

I have been wanting to visit this temple for a long time (4 years!) and finally got a chance to do that (thanks to my buddies). The temple is located in a very quite residential area in Livermore, 40 odd miles from San Jose, California. The temple houses most of the Hindu Gods under a single roof. This is the first time I am inside an air-conditioned temple! It was quite a scene inside with all kind of folks offering various prayers to the residing deities. There were all the young Indian kids learning the Indian/Hindu culture, practicing the hymns and a lot more.

Bottom line for me; it felt really good to be in a temple. Had some good home made food (as 'prasadam') and finally hit back home in the burning summer of California.

Enjoy the temple view

Being the lesser mortal

How does it really feel to be the lesser mortal? Honestly, it sucks! It is just plain unfortunate that some one has to go through such a situation, but when it is forced on you, it becomes really horrible. I can't go more on this for certain resaons, but truly wish that incidents where one has to feel so, remains to be a thing of past.

Trespassers will be recruited

I used to ridicule Sai that his company is one that takes in folks in such huge numbers that it is only possible if you have a placard in front of the gate reading, "Trespassers will be recruited"! The state of affairs just a year back was that there were just a handful of companies who were recruiting in masses. In the recent past, I am seeing almost every company seems to be in a recruitment spree, hiring folks left, right and centre, that I started wondering if it has really become true today that if you are trespassing within a company's territory, they just pull you and make you an employee. The veracity of this statement can probably be validated by some on who is hunting for a job, or being hunted for.

So, X is ready to offer a salary of N with some kick ass work. It sure sounds interesting! Was there a calendar invite asking for a one-on-one? :)

In the "world" of America

This is just my third visit to the so called "land of opportunities" (no denyin that) and I am already too tired and bored of this place. I am sure half the world will scorn at me for saying this, but honestly, I don't feel the radiating presence of life and energy here. Things are just so artificial here, right from a "Good Morning" to the "Good Day"! Thankfully, I am not a loner stuck in this place, have enough and more friends and less time to catch up with everyone, but still I am unable to connect myself to this place. I have been having this feeling not just about this time (I know folks would love to associate different rationale behind my feelings here), but this is how it has been for me since the first time. I agreed to give my self the benefit of doubt and gave me a couple of more chances, but the feeling or intensity of being the fish out of the water has only grown ever since.

God! I love it back in my place where there are folks to take care of all if not most of your needs. There are lot of dependencies but still it is not easy to not lose your independence there (something that is considered a priced possession here)
I could go on with an endless list of why things are better back home and I could get more than one counter list for each of mine, but that's a topic I would be willing to fight when I am more in control of my senses (5 rounds of vodka?)

Until then, I will listen to a few more "Hail Mary" statements and look forward to go back and hear "Kadavulee Ithu Enna Soothanai"!

Film scores on Yahoo

Off late I've been listening to a lot of film scores on Yahoo music. It is definitely wonderful to see Yahoo including such a channel as part of the music offerings. There are wonderful scores of music that you never hear mainly because it is a background music or more often than not, it is the one that is played towards the end of any movie (predominantly International ones) where if you are watching a movie in a theatre, you just walk out ones the cast of appearance starts on the screen.

There have been many a big hits from Jurassic Park, LoTR, MI-II and the more recent ones like Memoirs of Geisha that are constantly played in this channel and each of them are definitely worth a ear(two if you like :) ).

An alternative to Indian Cricket

The hoopla around Indian cricket, especially about the cricketer has been so much that many of the folks today have forgotten our great national game-Hockey. Hockey appears nowhere in the discussion of sports within India. I will not be surprised if a 5 year old kid talks about Sachin Tendulkar's batting prowess or the number of wickets Anil Kumble has been piling up in his career. The kids will probably start believing that our national game is Cricket! What a shame! Honestly how many of the folks know Dhanraj Pillai? With the exception of the knowledgeable few, others will ask, Dhanraj who? That is unfortunately the sorry state of affairs.Stop.

Looking at the brighter side of things, there is equal if not more hoopla about soccer in the recent days. Looks like the whole country is getting excited about soccer, everyone wants to watch it, play it, talk about it all the time and definitely yearn be part of the world cup one way or the other. If we can take any cue from all the passion and enthusiasm, maybe it is high time we start thinking about a serious soccer team representing India. Gone or the days when we were rejected a place in the soccer because we couldn't play with our shoes on. Given the right focus and the coaching, we can form quite a strong team to find a place for ourselves in the near future world cup soccer.

If we achieve such a great task, will soccer turn out to be an alternative to Indian cricket? I can't wait for the alternative to take shape!

Do you know the purpose of your life?

If you do, then take a minute off to explain it to my friend Xavier who is being haunted with this question in the last 24 hours :).

Btw, we just had a small discussion on this over chat, the excerpt of which I have pasted below(my two cents worth of what I feel can be found in here).

Xavier: See my recent post
Srini: hang on
Srini: holy freak
Srini: such questions are considered sacrilegious in our lives
Srini: certain things are too be consumed not confronted with!
Xavier: so Can you link to that post asking your readers to post their views at my site
Srini: ooh yes..I can..will do it
Xavier: Many people just live life without asking what is the purpose of life.
Srini: I don't think thatz true
Srini: everyone does ask the question..but hardly does one find a convincing answer
Srini: and just because folks don't get a convincing answer, no one wants to think too deeply about it
Srini: btw, a purpose need not be a very high level complicated stuff and sth that should be world renowned and stuff
Xavier: But waht is it you are aiming for
Srini: it can be as simple as fulfilling our duties as a son, as a father, as a good employee, as a good citizen and above all as a good devotee!
Xavier: so can it be simpleified as lead a good life
Srini: yes..it definitely can be
Xavier: I am looking for personal experiences
Srini: but it can be equally a subjective opinion
Xavier: it is a kind of self-examining question
Srini: if I may call it "introspection"
Xavier: yes, that is a right word, 'personal introspection'
Xavier: Actaully this post is the first of many on these lines
Srini: ok..so u've got more comin huh?
Srini: I don't mean to discourage you or sth, but if you don't seem to find an answer after a while, it can lead to quite a bit of frustation
Srini: so beware!
Xavier: yep. it will be following up this idea.
Xavier: i am not actually looking for answers, I am looking for solutions
Srini: isn't solution close to gettin an answer?
Xavier: 'personal growth' to be precise
Srini: how do u say growth translates to purpose?
Xavier: answers are close-ended, solutions will be recursive
Xavier: you'll have to wait for the future posts for that ans
Srini: need not be all the time. Sometimes a solution can lead to the ultimate answer.
Srini: I can wait..I have been waitin for 26 years now to find that answer. Not sure if I will find it in this life...but I will keep my fingers crossed and see if I can see the "signs"
Xavier: So you think there will be an ultimate answer
Srini: I don't think..I know for a good fact that there is an ultimate answer
Xavier: Hmmm...
Srini: this is the biggest treasure hunt of our lives..we just have to watch the signs, follow the white rabbit that can lead us to the answer!
Xavier: following the signs alone will not help
Xavier: acting upon them will
Srini: thatz true..once u notice the signs, u will now what to do and how to do
Xavier: true
Srini: so maybe u shld now have an eye for the signs!
Xavier: i am learnign 'semiotics'. I guess that should help
Srini: what is that?
Srini: some Da Vinci kinda stuff?
Xavier: study of signs
Srini: aah ok..all the best..learn it well and grab the signs
Srini: lest the quest for the purpose of life go on.....

Title change

After some thoughtful consideration, I decided to change the title of my blog from its existing "Far from the madding crowd" to a more relevant one viz., "Pot Pourri".
When I started blogging in the early days, I did want to stick to topics that are more isolated in nature and does not talk about our daily wonts, but more and more I started blogging, I could not stay aloof from lot of mainstream activities in day to day life. Having digressed so much from the intended purpose, I decided to change the purpose itself! Pot pourri (suggested by my alter ego) seems to be the best fit that will be the 'uber' title for all the applauds and praises, rants and ramblings, facts and fictions and sometimes thoughts stemming out of my non-creative mind!

Hope my blog posts will find at least a thread of relevancy going forward.

Programmer's reply

I got the below contents as part of a forwarded mail. Definitely worth reading it and of course having a check on how many of the answers we have given so far! Btw, I have said almost everything at some point of time! :)

Top 20 replies by Programmers to QA when their programs don't work:

20. "That's weird..."
19. "It's never done that before."
18. "It worked yesterday."
17. "How is that possible?"
16. "It must be a hardware problem."
15. "What did you type in wrong to get it to crash?"
14. "There is something funky in your data."
13. "I haven't touched that module in weeks!"
12. "You must have the wrong version."
11. "It's just some unlucky coincidence."
10. "I can't test everything!"
9. "THIS can't be the source of THAT."
8. "It works, but it hasn't been tested."
7. "Somebody must have changed my code."
6. "Did you check for a virus on your system?"
5. "Even though it doesn't work, how does it feel?
4. "You can't use that version on your system."
3. "Why do you want to do it that way?"
2. "Where were you when the program blew up?"


And the Number One Reply by Programmers when their programs don't work would be:

"It works on my machine"

So howz life after marriage?

I had to create an exclusive post on this as I have been confronted with this question atleast close to a thousand odd times over these past three months.

I would really love to hear what other married folks would answer when thrown this question at them. In the initial days, it used to be fun to answer this question and I tried to give different answers(sometimes funny ones) to folks. But after a while, I really ran out of options and just started saying "Itz fine!". The first few seconds of exchanging your handshakes when running into any of my friends, acquaintances, relatives or colleagues has resulted so much in a stereo typed conversation that I sometimes do pre-preempt their question; "Marriage life is good". And now, I am thinking my answer should be different.

Married life does not leave one to grapple with the Herculean task of becoming a couple. If left to its own way, I guess life should not be any different from what it was pre marriage. Yes, you have another person sharing everything(or should I say almost everything?) in your life, but you still get to do things you have always been doing and living life in the way that you have always been living. Marriage has its one fringe benefits but does not take away your existing ones at all.

So after beating around the bush for a while, my answer to the question will henceforth be "Life after marriage is as good as it had always been" I am sure all married folks will concur

Reaching the magic number of 100 days

Honestly, I don't know what is magical about 100, but most seem to celebarate the mark of 100 days, the most notable being the Indian movie industry. Recently, even our chief minister Mr. Kuamarswamy celebarated his 100 days of being the CM! Celebaration for what joy is something to be questioned, but I will eschew such thoughts lest it should steer me away from the point of this posting.

100 days into my marriage, I feel good about a lot of things that has transpired over these days since the day I tied the knot. The occasion has been a thing of unending joy for my kith and kin and even today, there are folks who are as excited about it as they were on the so called 'D-Day'. Expanding your relative circle to accomodate a whole set of new folks, visiting them and knowing them better, participating in more family and social occasions have all been a great experience and most importantly of the lot is setting up a new family in a new place.

The ride has been good so far and I am optimistic about the remaining n-100 days for the ship to be sailing in a smooth course. Now, who is going to tell me what the exact value for 'n' is?

Rise of the Phoenix

Is it appropriate to compare my blogging activity with that of a Phoenix? Well, time can only be the answer for that, but attempting to emualate the characterisitic of a Phoenix is fun! Call it cunctation or hibernation; my long silence over these past many months has finally been broken. I am glad today to be filling up this space once again and there will be more to come as the clock ticks. Gone through an ocean of transformation in my life both officially and personally, I have been experiencing a tumble down roller coaster ride comparable to the one from the tower of Stratosphere!


While I will start filling up all the details in my future postings, I will also need to fill up myself with all the othe postings by fellow bloggers.

Here I come...