Dad pointed out that two kind of people are rife in India.. one who give suggestion on any stuff, one who give medical suggestions. It can be anyone anywhere anytime. Imagine at four in the morning, I am on road trying to do something that is called morning walk. This pan shop guy who doesn't know me, is there to open the shop, says.... run, walking doesn't do good. Well this is the great Indian diaspora can't run away from it.
I have decided not to extend any suggestion unless sought.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
are loosing theirs and blaming it on you
if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
but make allowance for their doubting too
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting
or being hated, don't give way to hating
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise

If you can dream- and not make dreams your master
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim
If you can meet triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposter just the same
If you can bear to hear the truth you have spoken
twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools
or watch the things you gave your life to, broken
and stoop and build them up with worn out tools

If you can make heap of all your winnings
and risk it all on one turn of pitch and toss
and loose and start again at your beginings
and never breadth a word about your loss
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
to serve your turn long after they are gone
and so hold on when there is nothing in you
except the will which says to them "hold on"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue
or walk with kings - nor loose the common touch
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you
If all men count with you but none too much
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
with sixty seconds worth of distance run
your is earth and everything thats in it
And which is more you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling
(1865-1936)

ps - from my diary. I did not know I used to write the poems I liked.

This is funny, I got an email that said- " what is similarity between Shahrukh Khan and Ghandi jee. The answer is - Both returned to India after getting insulted in SOUTH AFRICA.
This IPL stuff is getting too messy for KKR and Shahrukh, but I don't feel sad about them (some of my friends do think that at least they should win a match now while consoling dada). For me it is not about dada, it is a food for thought that what makes a team win matches. A similar (in terms of composition) deccan charger team was pain in ass last year, this year it is everybody's apple's eye!

bty, the Kaziranga trip pics are now uploaded here.

elections velections

I am little senti about me not able to cast my vote, but I swear this post has nothing to do with this sentiment. Neither it has anything to do with the fact that last evening the traffic around our locality was very jammed and I was stuck in it. I have been witness to election process more closely than many of the fellows for two simple reasons - My dad being central government employee often played a role in elections as observer or presiding officer. Second, I live 100 meters from the place where all the voting machines are deposited for counting of votes later on.

I heard deputy election commissioner bragging about the fact that this time all the poling booths will be put in direct touch with CEC, delhi. This will be done through phones, mobile phones, road transport, if nothing available, man messengers will be used. oops did he forgot kabutars! I do not want to make a mockery of this. It is certainly a great fact and exercise if executed properly. Why I scoff at this process is because I know it is never well planned. So much manpower is just burnt into the flames of elections. You will know why soon.

Once the elections are over say by 5 PM. The team from the polling booth has the responsibility of submitting the EVMs (electronic voting machines) at a designated spot in the district. In Allahabad it is Mandi area (100 meters from my house). The teams travel from far away places, as far as 80 to 100 km to do this. Since everybody converges to the same spot, it causes traffic jams, and commotion. The guys who handle EVMs are more scared for their EVMs than anything, they want to deposit those as soon as possible. Yesterday I saw many guys just walking for a kilometer or so to reach the spot because their vehicles were just stuck . There was no police protection for them. All the police crowd was just around the Mandi area. There was no traffic police to control the unexpected increase in number of vehicles. Wait was it unexpected.. no everybody knows that poll parties would go to Mandi to deposit EVMs. This story happens every time there are elections and the whole process remains unchanged. Aren't they looking. Of course they are.. but unless some guys loots a EVM, they are not going to wake up.

Vehicles are captured to be put into election service. I wonder why they need to capture vehicles, why not sign a proper contract with the vehicle owner that includes insurance cover in case otherwise happens. More than that, you can always make the deal lucrative, you waste thousand of rupees in fake securities. But if EC's task is easily handled by police guys and with some income, why they would bother about a smooth and transparent process.

It is time for election commission to modify some of its rules and modus operandi.