Thursday 26 July 2012

Me with myself



How many of me live and die
everyday within myself
How many times they come and go.
I have lost count,
What do they tell me all the while,
these me-s that grow and fade.
I face myself in them,
much like a room with mirrors;
each reflecting a profile of mine.
Some dark, some bright,
some in shade and some incomplete.
They are all me, all of me.
I am their hope, and their despair too,
the reason for their birth
and the rationale for their death.
Its me that they search,
and I look around for them.
Whenver the emptyness of time,
or the fast pace of life takes over.
They are there, surely and certainly,
I feel them, within me , in parts, in pieces
the whole of me in a scattered array.
Nothingness without them,
or nostalgia in their embrace, whatever,
creeping sadness , deep melancholy,
feverish excitement, endless expectation.
All of these and much more,
make them rise and crumble again.
Sometimes as doubts, sometimes questions,
and yet sometimes as the direction.
Leading them to me as the final destination.

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Violence in Assam.

Assam has erupted again, after quite some time. this time its again the Bodo problem . As I watch the news and hear the plight of the passengers trapped in various trains at stations like Alipurduar, Coochbehar , Kamakhyaguri, New Jalpaiguri , dhupguri, Falakata etc. my heart goes out to them . Just imagine once the problems they are facing. Also the disruption of train services with the highway blockade means that the lifeline to North east are cut off.

My memory also takes me to the places mentioned above as I stayed for quite a longish period at North Bengal and started my service at SBI as a probationer in 1984 at their Alipurduar branch. from my secondhand experience of earlier Bodoland, ULFA and Gorkhaland agitations, i know how bad situations can turn during these period of strife and the suffering which people have to endure. It can not even be imagined from the confines of the happy happy existences at cities.

Particularly the Bodoland agitations are always violent and the ethnic rivalries are renewed in streams of blood and fire. One wonders why people become so violent and why they remain so much underdeveloped.Its a pity really because the entire Northeast is so beautiful.

Just pray that the situation becomes normal very fast. I base my assumption on the innate goodness of people rather than having any faith on the government or the political parties. Call me cynical but that's it .

Monday 23 July 2012

My mistakes


Some of my small mistakes
stalk me throughout the life
in a haunting medley of failures.
I listed all of them again today
to check if I remembered them.
Silly of me to do this, I know ,
But still, they are mine , I own them.
Without me, their orphan existence
will  weep silently but never perish.
Perhaps this way , they will  stay
happy and stop bothering me again.

Friday 20 July 2012

Manesar - the dark spot


It is somewhat surprising and disconcerting to find that so little importance is being accorded to Manesar incident of mob violence and hooliganism under the garb of trade unionism. What has happened needs to be condemned unequivocally as there is no place for such acts of wanton destruction and arson in a civilised society. And from the somewhat muted and confused reaction of the media, intelligentia,politicians,social commentators and chatterati at large, it is apparent that they had been caught unawares of the sudden flashpoint as the import of the incident slowly brings out the dimensions of the human tragedy and financial loss sustained as the result of an apparently preplanned act of arson and looting .

But to me as a bystander miles away from the scene of the carnage, without any first hand knowledge of the incidents or the buildup which led to the tragedy, it seems that there is much more hidden behind than what is visible , just to repeat the cliched analogy of the tip of an iceberg.

Trouble has been brewing over the past couple years or more at the Maruti Suzuki factories , particularly at Manesar. Once touted as the best example of Japanese work culture transplanted on the Indian resources and skills , Maruti Suzuki has reached a saturation point in terms of the positives associated with it, if only by the laws of diminishing returns . It is only natural that the negatives, the warts and pimples would start showing up sooner or later in any successful venture as behind every bright visage or facade the dirt and grime swept under the carpet bulges on and is ultimately thrown out , tearing the carefully laid out fabric covering the dark faults of the system.

But it is actually not clear to anyone from the reports received till now what actually triggered the incident. That it was not an act of spontaneous uprising of the oppressed workers against the repressive management goes without saying , even sitting far away from the scene , blindfolded. The early reports indicate that the mob was instigated to pursue the management functionaries and attack them which points out to the method in the madness. And if , I repeat again, if any so called trade union sympathiser wants to justify the deplorable act of the hot blooded labourers dancing on the strings held by some cold blooded strategist then it will be a pathetic attempt to cover the situation. The brutal and thuggish actions have tarnished trade union movement and the guilty should be punished without any mercy or justification for their heinous crime.

Now coming to the other dimension of the problem, the people who attacked were supposedly labourers belonging to the lower middle class strata of the society . And the people whom they attacked were not the rich or wealthy. They were from the middle class and mainly in the supervisory cadre. More fortunate than their attackers in terms of physical comfort and wealth because of their education and background . There is not much cultural gap between them and the purported class divide, which we would like to blame for evil is a tenuous logic, at best. This further strengthens the conspiracy theory .

But whatever may be reason, political intrigue, land deal,insurance claims,rival businesss strategy or a mixture of all these along with other unknown parameters, it is without doubt the callousness of the administration and a massive apathy toward the ground realities that have precipitated the situation to such a pass. Maintaining Law and order is a duty of the state and when it fails to do so it is not due to lack of resources but indecisive paralysis of the administrative machinery as has been starkly exhibited earlier, time and again, most shamefully in the case of demolition of Babri Masjid. A common thread of government inaction in the face of rising intolerance to the basic tenets of civil society and breakdown of law and order in the face of mob violence binds all such incidents.

Politicians are bound to use this incident to further their agenda of hate and divisive politics and garner votes . But they would be well advised to tread carefully because Maruti Suzuki has been a showpiece of Indian industry . The whole world is watching how we handle the matter and whether it is a precursor to many such cases of industrial unrests brewing in different pockets of the country as rising aspirations, increased inflation, income disparity and a shrinking job market is driving people to desperation. Manesar is a flashpoint but the real malaise is deep rooted. If not tackled firmly now it will erupt violently anywhere, anytime and anybody unfortunate to be caught up in the next round of such tragedy may be you or me.

Hemlock Society


Saw the movie #Hemlock Society today at Fame Raghuleela, Vashi. It was worth all the eager anticipation with which I awaited with , particularly from a director like #Srijit Mukherjee. As a movie it was very good, falling just short of excellent. But the director deserves all the praise for handling a morbid subject like suicide , packaged in layers of light comedy. The probing into the modern problems of relationships in the urban upper middle class has been done in a smart way without being too emotional and a very mature manner.The film itself celebrates the positive nature of life and the reasons of staying alive in spite of different setbacks that people experience.

Nowadays films are not made. They are designed as packages. On this point Srijit scores very well as he is a brilliant designer of shots and has composed the movie in a smart format with witty dialogues, intelligent camera angles and mixing of shots in a pleasing format. The camera work is brilliant and some scenes really stand out. The narrative maintains its tempo throughout the main story but the last ten minutes of the movie could have been written in a better way. This is a weakness of the movie but then Srijit seems to have stuck to his formula of epilogues as seen in Baishey Shrabon previously. Would like him to dump this style in his next movie as he should remember the old adage – all's well that ends well.

#Koel is simply too good in the movie and has now matured into a very good actress . This movie will be a milestone for her. She has justified her selection in the lead role with a brilliant performance and brought out the shades and nuances of the character perfectly. But #Parambroto surprises me with each of his movies. He is probably having his best run as an actor and like a good batsman enjoying his form. It is not a coincidence that I have seen him in four movies in the last one year. This young man is really proved himself to be an actor of very high calibre. I will watch him in future with great interest. He will surely reach greater heights in his career.

Music is a strong point of the movie and Srijit is known for beautiful picturisation and use of songs in his films. The music and lyrics of Anupam Roy is outstanding and the songs are great audiovisual experiences. The song sung by #Rupam Islam stands out in the movie due to the sheer force of life in it , beating the one sung by Shilajit. The songs have already proved to be greater hits than the movie and the young generation will definitely lap them up.

#Hemlock Society is a movie not made for the masses but will offer them a peep into the dark sides of the urban life which everyone aspires to have. As a commentary on the modern relationships, the movie succeeds. It will make people think . It will not make you weep but moisten your eyes. It is not sentimental but highly emotional. And to borrow a dialogue from the movie – You need to have a certain level of IQ and also EQ to appreciate the movie.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

The Superstar........


Wednesday 4 July 2012

Inside the conclave




All that surrounds me here are just
fragments of paper,
whiff of rivalry,
discordant agreement,
servile concurrence,
sharpening of knives,
wavering commitment
and clumsy protocol.
Everything combines to strangle
me and choke my voice
inside the plush confines
of this meeting room .
Feeling under siege,
I feel the rashes erupt on me.
I must have changed appearance,
but strangely, nobody cares.
They are all busy discussing.
A thought crosses my mind suddenly.
Suppose, I were to die now,
at this very instant,
in a massive stroke.
Will that stop this blood feud
that binds them all together.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Tell yourself this today,


Tell yourself this  today,
whatever may come your way,
good or bad , accept the truth.
Some will love you, some may not.
Some will be indebted to you ,
and some may not owe anything.
Maybe, they are of this nature
a little of it  maybe due to you.
Such is the way of life, my dear,
everything is  not for everyone.
Some will take you for a ride,
you too will bluff  some of them.
There will be something on your plate
some will remain for others to grab.
Things have carried on like this
from the very old ages .
To think you are really so fortunate
to save yourself from all the cuts.
Tell yourself this  today
whatever may come your way
good or bad , accept the truth.


Based on the poem Bojhapoda
.................. by Rabindranath Tagore

Sunday 1 July 2012

ALL ABOUT SWINE FLU


ALL ABOUT SWINE FLU

(Courtesy : Apollo Hospitals Group)

Please share freely in Public interest.

The swine flu alert sweeping across the globe has health organisations doing their
best to prevent a full-blown pandemic. The challenge for them is to prevent the virus
from crossing borders and infecting other populations.

What is Swine Flu?
Swine flu is a form of influenza that is caused by strains of virus that usually infects
pigs. Transmission of the swine flu virus from pigs to humans is not common, though
there have been some reported cases earlier among people who work in close
proximity with pigs. Since the mid-twentieth century, only about fifty such
transmissions have been reported, the spread and disappearance being more
localized.
But the current strain of the microbe is resilient and fast-moving, and what’s even
more worrying is that it spreads from human-to-human contact, unlike the earlier
reported cases. This means that none of us are immune to the possibility of
infection.

Diagnosis
Since symptoms mimic those for common flu, for a layperson, it is hard to tell them
apart. !edically, the virus is diagnosed by: (1) Throat/ nasopharyngeal swab, and (2)
blood samples for the antibodies.

Treatment
If diagnosed early, swine flu is easy to treat, so there is no need for panic. The US
Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO recommend the use of
Tamiflu (oseltamivir) or Relenza (zanamivir) for treating swine flu. Besides antivirals,
palliative care focused on controlling fevers and maintaining fluid balance goes a
long way to ensure recovery. In fact, the majority of people infected with swine flu
make a full recovery without requiring medical intervention or antiviral drugs.

What You Need to Know?
1. How do symptoms of swine flu differ from other types of flu?
Not much. The basic symptoms for swine flu are similar to the seasonal flu, which
may include, fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, chills, headache and body aches,
and fatigue, and sometimes, vomiting and diarrhoea.
2. Is there medication or a vaccine for swine flu?
The vaccine is being developed and will not be available for the next several months.
!edications are available not only to treat the infection but also to prevent the
disease. But these medications need to be used under a physician’s guidance.
3. How can human infections with swine influenza be diagnosed?
To diagnose swine influenza a infection, a respiratory specimen would need to be
collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely
to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus
for 7 days or longer.
4. Is it safe to travel?
As of now there are no travel restrictions. Limiting travel would have little effect on
stopping the virus from spreading, but would be highly disruptive to the global
community. The focus now is on minimizing the impact of the virus.

Prevention of Swine FLU
Swine flu is a form of influenza that is caused by strains of virus that usually infects
pigs. Transmission of the swine flu virus from pigs to humans is not common, though
there have been some reported cases earlier among people who work in close
proximity with pigs.
Since the mid-twentieth century, only about fifty such transmissions have been
reported, the spread and disappearance being more localized.

Prevention in swine
1. Facility management
2. Herd management
3. Vaccination
Prevention of transmission to humans
1. Use a face mask when dealing with infected animals.
2. Wearing gloves when working with sick animals
Prevention of human to human transmission
1. Frequent washing of hands with soap and water or with alcohol based hand
sensitizers
2. Anyone with flu-like symptoms such as sudden fever, cough or muscle aches
should stay away from work or public transportation, and contact a doctor to be
tested.

Courtesy : Apollo Hospitals Group