The Berlin based Atlantic-Community.org recently published one of my opinion pieces - 'Improving India's nuclear standing.' In the piece I argue how next month’s Nuclear Security Summit is "a chance for India to show its commitment to non-proliferation and to be a leader of setting up mechanisms for securing nuclear materials." You can read the rest here.
The Pune traffic police have for once come up with a sensible solution to ease the parking problems in the city. They propose that malls and multiplexes should either stop charging for parking, or refund the parking fees when the person shows receipt of purchase. They also propose that parking on city roads should be made expensive to ease the congestion.
It could be argued that the malls and multiplexes have a business to run and cannot be expected to give up a big source of their income. And I am sure their will be a strong opposition and lobbying by these businesses against this proposal. But I think that as a customer I would prefer this proposal as it gives me a good safe space to park, and therefore makes the mall/multiplex more attractive. I think the businesses would definitely attract more customers if parking on premises is cheap or free. And with economies of scale at play they should be able to recover operating costs and potentially make money too. (Anyways I believe that the malls/multiplexes have already recovered and made profit on their investment in parking spaces by charging exorbitant prices until now.)
Traffic reform in Pune has never been easy and this proposal might not see the light of day. But the proposal is sensible, customer/voter friendly and would definitely come handy during election time.
As if Raj Thackeray was not nuisance enough, the Congress government in Maharashtra has decided to allow only cabbies with 15 years of domicile proof to drive! The justification is a 1987 law with domicile and local language requirements. Of course, the political calculations are not lost on even the dumbest of persons!
It is not difficult to understand the logic behind the 1987 law assuming domicile and language as guarantees of a driver's knowledge of the roads he is driving on. You come to know the city gradually after you have lived there for a while. But that was the technological stone-age. Now we have the GPS! and other mapping/ direction providing devices. They might not be as efficient in India as yet, but the potential exists. It is only a matter of time before someone comes up with a customized GPS or mapping system for Indian cities and roads. If the government was so concerned about taxi commuters reaching the right destinations, they could have initiated the creation of such a system for Mumbai. Why did it have to regress to some old law? Why not come up with a new progressive, forward-looking policy that utilizes the technological resources available? If that was too much of a pain, a simpler solution such as requiring drivers to ace a city-specific knowledge test would have helped. Or maybe they could have asked the taxi drivers' association to have orientation and training workshops for new drivers. Even requiring proof of such training before giving out licenses would have been a better option!
Reacting to the drama of withdrawing the language specification, Raj Thackeray asked if Maharashtra had opened a "dharmashala." Definitely not! If it had, the north-Indians and Biharis would be welcome guests living for free. But these north-Indians do not live on charity. They work hard to earn their living and pay their dues to the city. If they send some money back to their hometowns, that is none of Thackeray's business. That is their money, and they are free to do what they like with it. How would he like if all remittances from the NRIs (that add significantly to India's economy and middle class prosperity) stopped? Do his Marathi people have the capacity to generate that amount of wealth for the country? How would he like it if someone attacked and tried to throw out the scores of Marathi people living in many cities of the United States?
Instead of divisive politics, it would help Thackeray more to actually come up with new ideas for job creation. If he is really concerned about the Marathi people's employment, he should think of promoting entrepreneurship or sustainable employment policy. His politics and agenda are only creating a bad image for the Marathi people, and ruining their chances of employment in other states. If he were really concerned, he would have been mindful of these things too.
Rather than starting a dharmashala for the norht-Indians, the Marathi people seemed to have done so for Thackeray and his cronies. Instead of working and contributing to society, they are living off the charity of the Marathi people and being a nuisance in return. If anyone deserves to be thrown out, its them!
HT reports about the revelation by a Delhi girl of being burnt to death in her past life...and compares it to Deepika Padukone's character in Om Shanti Om! The girl discovered the reason for her fear of fire and marriage on the show Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka. And it has all to do with her past life!! Another female had a fear of heights and air travel because she died in an air crash in her previous life. And the show's researchers found all the details she gave to be precise. Celina Jaitley was a man and wounded in the war...a wound that hurts even today. Seriously!?!
So now I think the fact that I am scared of dogs has nothing to do with the stray dogs on Indian roads, or that crazy dog my neighbor had. I think it was because I was killed by dogs in my past life.
It is really appalling that a show like this even exists. As if all those saas-bahu dramas were not enough, we now have to get into such mumbojumbo. It makes me look at Sach Ka Samana, Big Boss or Rakhi ka Swayamwar with new respect. At least they are plain stupid. I can understand the economics behind such reality shows. And the networks have every right to sell when people are ready to buy. What baffles me is why people are willing to buy such BS? Does the television industry feel no social responsibility? How can a newspaper like the HT report such things as news? There is not a single word in the report to indicate even a hint of sarcasm. It reads like the writer believes it to be true.
Why does the film, television and news industry have to regress into the realm of antiquated ideas and superstitions to succeed in our modern economy? Why?
Looks like all the zoo elephants will be moving out of town. The Central Zoo Authority has asked all zoos and circuses to return the elephants to their natural habitats in nationals parks, tiger reserves and sanctuaries. While this is a positive step, does it mean that kids will now have to go to national parks to get a glimpse of the magnificent animal? Will zoos be as attractive without the elephants? Would it have been better if the zoo elephants were allowed to stay back and their living conditions improved? Are the parks, sanctuaries and reserves sufficiently protected from poachers, or will the elephants face thetigers' fate?
Another thing is that the report says nothing about the commercial ride elephants on city roads. Will they be returned to their natural habitats? Are they not the ones at greater risk of being exploited and harmed? Or do they fall under the Ministry of Environment and Forests and therefore not covered by the CZA circular?
One could say that I have become rather adventurous with 'history' books since my encounter with 'The White Mughals.' Recently I came across a fascinating novel by Shan Sa about the Chinese Empress Wu Zetian, or Heavenlight as she is know in the book.
'Empress: A Novel' is the story of the Chinese Empress who rose from a humble background to establish her own dynasty, the Zhou dynasty. Though I was initially skeptical about the monologue format of the book, the uniqueness and historical significance of its central character demands that we understand Heavenlight. A regular novel format could not have given us a proper insight into the mind of such an intelligent and shrewd ruler. Shan Sa's prose-like writing opens up a portal into the mind of Heavenlight and takes us through a journey of a China some 1500 years ago. It is almost a 'Being John Malkovich' feeling. We glide through the highs and lows of Heavenlight's life, her years of servitude and lordship. The insider's view of her intelligence and potential, the hardships of her childhood, the longing of her adolescence help to justify her almost despotic rule. Though she would like us to believe that she never desired power, once she knew she could have it the Empress showed little mercy. She plotted against and killed her family members and could not give up power even in her 70s.
But Shan Sa continuously shows the Empress being apologetic about her actions. There is a undertone of remorse and regret. This works both in favor and against the novel. One can understand that a truthful depiction of a woman in the 600- 700 AD who had numerous lovers and sexual encounters, and who killed her family members requires the apologetic tone. But looking at it as an outsider in the 21C one wishes that the author had done more justice to her courage. It was not only destiny, but also the strength and intelligence of the woman that bestowed upon her the distinction of being the only female monarch of China.
The book is a fictionalization of history and one has to read it as that. It introduces us to a fascinating woman and a gorgeous China all those years ago. As a woman it makes you reflect upon your life and the status of women today. It makes you wonder if we have really come a long way in being equal. Or if a woman like Wu Zetian would have to be apologetic even today.
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