Capital punishment (no change in perspective)

It has been more than two years since I made my last posting on this strong subject. Today, reviving this back after a long spell has been nothing less than a satire on the human race. Capital punishment for those harbingers of terror needs no empathy from even the Almighty. Such simians are either wrong creations or right creations tread into the wrong path. They are weeds in the garden of life that needs to be ripped out out from time to time. Failing to do so would only mean to watch the fauna and flora of human life fade into a mirage.

I strongly feel that unless we put our foot down and prove it to the world that excercising capital punishment will not be debated under compelling circumstances, such incidents tend to rise up. We should not be reticent to crack the whip if push comes to shove. This is a time where we have not been just shoved, but quite literally jettisoned our peaceful and harmonious life out of us.

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 :) ).