Bloggers Foundation

Hi !! To all my blogging community. Whether you write on Technology , Entertainment , Education , Science, Personal , Fashion , Philosophy , Life and what not..... consider my thoughts for a moment.

Let me lay some premise to this discussion that will unfold in next few paragraphs. I assume that you are a serious blogger, you have something interesting to say and your opinion is unique and is counted. Writing for the pleasure of it is what everyone of us enjoys and unless the thoughts flow at ease words will not shape up as a 'masterpiece'. Till now i hope you all agree that we all love this hobby of ours and would be interested to add more meaning to these creative pursuits. I am not going to talk about SEO , Adsense or Monetization of our work, that's for more intelligent species which i am not.

Blogging Community is pretty colorful

If all the above perquisites are met, there is something that we all can do by joining hands. Now consider a body called " Bloggers Foundation " . This body will have to have an Editor , 1-2 Admin , a Designer , a Content creator and few people who can run around and get our work published.

This group or body will be a formal group that does the following :

1. Promote common threads and build opinions - This blogging community comprises of very well read  intellectuals who are no lesser than the 'Noble Laureates' themselves, if they may believe. Writing collaboratively for a cause and building 'impartial opinions' is definitely what all we can do.
2. Publishing and showcasing our thoughts - There could be a book , a monthly magazine , a journal that can come out where every blogger has contributed. It is a mode for free speech and thoughts, the intent of which is adding value to people's mindsets. The body won't mind publishing a collection of short stories, poems and light hearted talks too.
3.Protect rights of bloggers for free speech - Copyright , Intellectual Property Rights & Claims.
4. Protect rights for bloggers for thoughts on national and political issues.

To give you a clue, as a starting point why not consider an online monthly journal titled " We the Bloggers " . Mind you this entire work can be collaboratively done online.

At the moment i see so many talented fellow bloggers who have written good posts on myriad issues but none of them are collated at a single place. There are causes that each one of us is passionate about and that only comes out when a blogging contest is organised. Why can't we decide on themes and announce it in advance, let the community debate and come up with their best. The best of all gets published and everyone else reads and appreciates the thoughts. This interaction will not only refine our own thoughts but also give us avenues to discuss and debate which is a very healthy sign for growth.

I rest my case before you all and would invite maximum comments to give shape to this idea. If we succeed we build a very strong presence , a very strong voice that is for a cause and for a change !!

Read more »

Satyameva Jayate - Healthcare for All Indians

Aamir Khan's brainchild ' Satyameva Jayate'

Since the day i grew up, my parents taught me that a doctor comes after the god himself. He is one who will save our lives and will pull us out from all ailments. He is the healer and we are the believers.  I believed it , still do but now with a word of caution!!

Today i want to write on how Government, Private Medical Colleges & Hospitals, Pathology labs, Pharma companies have diluted the noble profession and  what are the issues that every 'common man' faces. The post is to focus on "Healthcare Services" for every citizen, that should be  affordable, reachable and reposes trust of the patients receiving the benefit.

Even 65 years after independence the issues concerning the health of a common Indian remain the same. The only thing that has got added to the existing problems is greed , wrong intent and converted the service to a 'profession of nexus'. As per WHO report even today 65% percent of the Indian Population lack access to basic health services. The number of government colleges is stagnant and private colleges are mushrooming. Seats in medical colleges are being sold and every other day another healthcare scam surfaces.The cost of treatment is spiraling north and private hospitals are making money on the dead bodies even.Private firms are pushing their medicines in the Indian market at 10 times ,20 times of their costs . Doctors misguiding the patients on treatment and pathology labs doing unnecessary tests supported with inflated bills.Seems like the quality of the health service is riding on greed and life has become much cheaper than ever before.

I raise some basic questions before the medical fraternity and other bodies in the nexus !! Have we lost all moral and human values in this quest for material comforts? Have we become so selfish that a trade of human lives is fueling our households ? Will incompetency rule the world ? Have we become so accommodating and adjusting that pain and suffering of others around us don't affect us at all ?? Lastly is it that our souls are already dead and we are just mechanical human beings??

Some steps that we all should take to improve this condition and build consensus in the society to move in the right direction. 

A. People who choose to join this profession need to be aware of their responsibility and the charter of healing lives given to them by the almighty himself.
B. Doctors who have tarnished the profession need to be brought to light and a strict action to be initiated against them. The Medical Council of India has to act on this in no time. Parallely capacity building  and improving skill sets of the medical fraternity has to be taken up.
C. After liberalization so many MNC's have set foot in our country. There have been benefits that have definitely accrued but the cost of this progress needs to be measured. Strict action and a price determination mechanism has to be adopted by the government to justify the market price of the drugs.
D. A efficient health cover, insurance policy needs to be adopted and every citizen has to be brought under the same. On the government's agenda healthcare should move up high on the priority.

Lastly it is a basic right of every citizen to have access to affordable health care& benefits and diseases do not discriminate between the rich or the poor. I urge you all to spend some time discussing  these important issues and work together to build a 'Healthy  and Happy India'.

Satyameva Jayate !!


Also Read :

Satyameva Jayate - Heathcare for all Indians
Satyameva Jayate - Female Foeticide
Satyameva Jayate - Child Sexual Abuse
Satyameva Jayate - Marriage Rides on Marriage

Read more »

Blogathon 2012 - Better Luck Next Time !!

Blogathon Blogger's Meet

*** I have toned down parts of this post to pacify certain section of readers who found my take on the event,too aggressive and unkind . My views are of my own and the choice to agree or disagree is entirely yours. If your sentiments or sensibilities are ruffled please close the webpage and read something more interesting. You may or may not continue !!
_______________________________________________

I replay that moment when i chanced upon this update from one of my fellow FB friends saying that he is going to this event. I wish i had never seen that and been there. Anyways , since i did spend my 5 hours i need to promote this event through my writing which i am doing dutifully !! So lets talk about all the components part by part.

1. Organizers -  A bunch of  ' Gen X or Y' ( watever) who come along to host a event forgetting what was it all about. The event in this case was a blogging event, so they planned everything around it and successfully making sure they don't touch the theme even remotely or tangentially. Dressing sense and personal styles were impeccable and very much suited for a Saturday evening fun. The event definitely had its oomph, glitz and glamour.Hope you guys shake a leg in the same pub tonight !! :)

2. The Choice of Venue - I ever never been invited to any public gathering organised at a pub. That chasm was broken today and i learnt that public gatherings can be even held at pubs and beers are also served at the very first meeting itself. Next time when i meet people for the first time i will make sure i drag them to a bar or a disco and have this heavenly influence on their senses. The interior designer of the pub gave so many serpentine curves to this place that looking beyond the next table was not at all humanly possible. The speakers were barely visible to 50% of the crowd. Anyways the choice of the venue justified a relaxed Saturday evening :) .

3. The Sponsors - How can i even think of not addressing these set of wise men who burnt their cash to sponsor this event and even more wise to come all over to witness that. This gentleman from an IT firm showed a ubiquitous power point and made sure he talks of everything that has no co relation to the event what so ever. His intent was to showcase the line of the products that his company is launching and finally he managed to do that by showing 2-3 gadgets one by one. Is the basic qualification to write adjudged by a gadget ??
Another interesting person spoke of his company that's pretty new in India and talked of  all 'Life made easy improvisations' that his company is into. Most interestingly he did throw a competition to speak on his product line and the best 3 selling pitches will get prizes.
There was another gentleman who represented an online e-commerce website. He spoke for some time , lost interest in what he was saying and ended up suggesting the crowd that please surf the website yourself. Thank you so very much !! Again none of them touched upon blogging as an activity or did draw any link between the set of audience and the product being promoted ;)

4. The Crowd - All young and happy faces who would have written their first blog last month and happily found Blogathon to invite them for beers and snacks for their stupendous feat. Dear Organizers !!Had you swapped this entire crowd with a set of people from any other background they would have equally enjoyed sans any contribution. More over we all were seated in hideouts that seeing or interacting with each other was a distant dream. :)

5. Finally the Prize Winners - Is it necessary to fix a prize and then demean the crowd by publicly accepting it in their presence ?? For instance one product company at the event was asking people to make videos and speak on their products. The best speaker or the presenter gets a prize. The girl making video was seen recording the last one just 2 minutes before the results were announced. I wonder what a great task it would have been for the judges to play 20-25 videos in a span of 100 seconds and announcing the winner. Hats off to you guys, you work faster than the super computers even !! :):)


NOW SOME SENSIBLE STUFF !!

Had blogging been all about funky gadgets ,cool dudes and gals , jazzy venues, marketing guys the literary world would have died down years back. When one blogs he or she gathers lots of courage to pen down his thoughts and vets it 100 times before putting it on public domain. It's about sensible and responsible writing and not pandering to reader base or monetization of the effort. There is a role that you play as a blogger in molding the opinions of the masses and / or guiding people who come to your webspace to seek information. Please respect the time and effort one spends reading your thoughts and if they are not sensible enough , you better not write it. The event was about blogging and promoting the common thread and connecting with common minds but no one took the pain to address that.

My last 2 cents !! Blogathon - To sum all i would say is, the soul of this event was 'blogging' . I wish you all had engaged the audience to understand what they write about? what are they passionate about? how they want to connect ? how can they use this platform as a medium in future ? Something should have come from your side  !!

Read more »

Satyameva Jayate - Marriage Rides on Dowry

Aamir Khan's Brain child  'Satyameva Jayate'

Marriages are made in heaven and all we do is execute it with the aid of 'Band , Baaja and Baraat ' & 'DOWRY' . What goes behind the scenes is pretty much agreed as a part of the society norms and what goes after the business transaction surprises all of us. Events like prolonged harassment of the bride, never ending demands, divorce and sadly in some cases dowry deaths.So i ask you all a simple question. Are we not a part of this social evil and have we done enough to curb this??

Let's address the fundamental problem of this issue which starts with the birth of a girl child. All parents are heard saying that from today itself we will save money for our daughter's marriage. The morale is low from the day one and we all take a girl child as a burden , as a liability. The demon of dowry gets born with your child the same day and for life you feed the demon with greed and callousness. Now years later you marry off your beloved daughter along with the same demon, and now it's her turn to feed this animal for life long. Are we not at fault for harboring this thought of inequality and injustice? Similarly when  a son is born , our lineage our generation gets a heir and a 'dowry prospect'  is raised day by day. So at the same time two kids born with a different gender are fed with thoughts that are irrelevant and absolutely nonsensical. So let's make a resolution from today, we will raise our daughters like our sons and vice versa to inculcate in them the respect for the other gender and give them an equal opportunity.

More on the present generation of prospective grooms and brides. To all my fellow men  who are in their marriageable age i raise a simple question. If you are not capable enough to provide sustenance to your family are you ready to marry yet?? Say if conditions warrant that you get married will you steal , beg or borrow to run your family ?? If not why would you expect someone to oblige you with kind and cash that you could never earn yourself. All because you were born with a tag that says ' Male' you are privileged to transact your credentials for entire life. Then let me give you another tag of PARASITES, who live life long on someone else's sweat and blood. Be happy and be smug with the kind of trash you grew up to!!

To all the females who have been married as a part of a 'lucrative deal' or are going through this rigmarole of  marriage its time, you stop and think. A marriage is god's most beautiful relationship and if your 'selection'  depends upon your parent's financial capability then what is the use of your education and all this freedom. It's time to stand for your self, for your choice of life partner  and most importantly for your parents. I don't think they left any effort to provide you with the best of amenities and comforts that they would have otherwise, had you been a son. Don't breed gender inequality and inferiority from the outset as it will make you susceptible to wrong behavior later.

Thanks again to Aamir for raising this issue that has blighted us for generations. If we are a young and growing nation, we need to come out of our closets and make efforts to change the whole perspective. Growth is not defined by sweeping malls, extravagant lifestyles , aping western culture and then falling back to old age wrong doings and not doing enough to change the spectrum !!



Satyameva Jayate !!


Also Read :

Satyameva Jayate - Heathcare for all Indians
Satyameva Jayate - Female Foeticide
Satyameva Jayate - Child Sexual Abuse
Satyameva Jayate - Marriage Rides on Marriage

Read more »

Make the Most of Now

Collage created by Viveksheel for Vodafone Blogging Contest ' Internet is Fun' 

At the outset let me first proudly claim that i am a Vodafone post paid user with unlimited data plan. So the  million dollar question " How is internet on mobile fun for me ?" becomes easier to answer !!


I was looking for some statistics as to how most netizens use internet on their mobiles and down below is the pie chart to depict the same. Surprisingly my usage pattern is not much different from the data gathered in general. So here is my laundry list of what i do with the internet on my hand held device.

A) Connect with friends - Of course yes and resounding yes !!  I have Whats App , Facebook , Twitter & Instant Messenger installed and most of my time goes into connecting with friends, checking their status updates, tweeting  messages and following the tits and bits on the go. I travel lots, so updating status message like " In Bangalore for 2 days friends.... care for a hangout ?"  gets responded by couple of my buddies and that's the best part of it. I don't plan to meet , all i do is let my friends know my window of free time and where am I in the town !! I bet, at times you will get responses from friends who are not at all in your radar and meeting them after so long is just too good and refreshing . Very recently I was boarding a flight back to Delhi  and saw a message from an old friend " Sitting in Bangalore Kingfisher Lounge, flight delayed". Wow !! What a chance to catch up again and sip a couple of beers with my college mate. I thanked my hand held once again.

B) Searching weirdest of the topics - No one would debate about the ubiquitous 'Google' / Search Engines and our reliance on them for day to day things be it jobs, information , news,sports ,events , movie bookings , pizza orders,  and what not. At the most weirdest of the times i get a question on my mind and unless and until i find an answer the restlessness does not allows me to relax. So a real life scenario where i woke up at 3 AM in the morning to start IE on my mobile and search " How many calories do i need to burn to loose 10 pounds? ". The background of this question was my high profile meeting with an European delegation and i had to look lean and mean. Another instance when i checked my interviewer's Linked In Profile minutes before i entered his room. He kept on asking my background and i answered confidently making sure i smartly drop in references to his background. I was selected !!

In this era of instant gratification nothing comes to my rescue faster than my mobile  internet when there is a a dire need for information.

Pie Chart of Mobile Usage

C) Entertainment -  This is the best use i make of my unlimited data connection. "Why this Kolaveri Di ?" was a song that i must have played 500 odd times through You Tube. Downloading is definitely an option but i prefer You Tube because depending on  my query it presents options that are very close to my taste. So watching a TV episode (Like Satyameva Jayate) , a new song , chosen few dialogues from hit movies and yes cricket is the best utilization of my free time . I have CricInfo apps on my cell and i don't recall missing out on live commentary from an important match. IPL-5 is the flavour of the season and many a matches have been decided on the last ball. While traveling i have refreshed my Cric Info webpage hundreds of times to be a part of that thrill and anxiety, and the few seconds of wait to refresh heightens my curiosity as to how the fortunes of the teams are swaying.

D ) Shop -  Shopping for me is buying my Air Ticket through Make My Trip , Clear Trip and Yatra on the go. At times i am booked on a late flight and my work gets over early. So the best choice is shop my ticket through my mobile, depending upon prices and availability.

Buying flowers , gifts and movie tickets and phone banking is another good use of secured technology on handsets.

So all in all, as my collage of Zoo Zoo depicts internet on mobile is fun. I can't imagine my life without using my gadget for entertainment , connecting with friends , playing games and doing shopping.

If you want to know what all  you can do with internet on your mobile check this out !!

http://www.vodafone.in/fun


________________________________________

This post won me a runners up prize :):)

Runner's Up in Vodafone Blogging Contest

Read more »

Satyameva Jayate - Child Sexual Abuse

Aamir Khan's Brain child  'Satyameva Jayate'

I am here to express  gratitude and share my thoughts over the issues that Aamir Khan is raising through his show " Satyameva Jayate" . The topic of today's discussion was 'Child sexual abuse' which is still considered a taboo to be openly discussed in our societies. I am thankful to Aamir for owing up these causes and bringing to our notice issues which we have been avoiding or have been silent on them so far. The reasons could be many but a voice to support a common pain, exploitation , harassment and  abuse is definitely a welcome change and i will support this moment through my writings.

When i look back at my childhood there are very faint memories of such occurrences. There were  people who made advances at small children and took opportunities at satisfying there sick needs.  I was blessed not to have undergone such heinous crime against self, but the story does not ends here. The mind was so naive that it could not make out any sense and there were no words to explain such events. At that point of time some of my friends and relatives witnessed the grave reality of these acts. My write up is to add another level to this discussion and that is of  imparting knowledge about sex to children.

When i grew up my exposure to sexual content and stories around them came from multiple sources. Some of them were friends , cousins, relatives , elder 'bhaiyyas' etc . Not all were exploring this field like i was, as a newcomer. There were some of them who derived pleasure from adding one more to the group and misguiding others to encourage similar behavior. This increased the rot and gave them a legitimacy to carry on spreading the 'sacred knowledge'. What happened during this course of time was, this half baked content added to more curiosity and willingness to experience more. Somehow i wish i had guts to understand all this from my parents and had not spent years deciding what's right and what's wrong. All these years of growing up i remained silent , confused , confined , and yes at times enjoying them too.What happens in this journey of judgement and new found pleasure, we acquire some perversions which have a longer impact on our lives. . I try hard to lead a healthy life  at all times but somewhere my past , my thoughts as a juvenile and later as an adult haunt me. I wish i had an opportunity to speak up, discuss and clarify with my confidant or my parents.

When nothing great happened with me and i am still retrospecting my own childhood, what would be the condition of people who underwent all this trauma. The scars are deeper , very painful and no one ever comes to terms with them. All i would say as a parent today i would give my child the freedom to speak and express. Be it son or daughter i will sit with them , talk to them and impart them knowledge about these topics in a matured way. Be it sexual harassment , advances or even knowledge about sex it has to come from us not from the world outside. The external environment poses newer threats for us every day and offers our kids a avenue to digress. The issues are many be it their safety , their education or their future but in all their growing days i want to handhold, guide and protect them till i steer them away for a bright life ahead!!

Satyameva Jayate !!


Also Read :

Satyameva Jayate - Heathcare for all Indians
Satyameva Jayate - Female Foeticide
Satyameva Jayate - Child Sexual Abuse
Satyameva Jayate - Marriage Rides on Marriage

Read more »

Satyameva Jayate - Female Foeticide

Aamir Khan's Brain child  'Satyameva Jayate'

I watched the first episode of the serial that was telecast on air this morning. The theme of the episode was female foeticide and we all are very well aware of this grave issue ailing our society. Today when the facts and figures were shown in the larger perspective and their long term implications were depicted the entire chain of social evils formed a story. My intent is to support this noble initiative taken up by Aamir Khan through my writing and reinforcing the message across the masses.

The skewed ratio of male versus female birth might not be alarming when seen as 900 vs 1000 but when this gets multiplied by 1000x the numbers speak something.  We are building a society that will be bereft of females in all spheres of life and there will be a societal imbalance. It's a man's world agreed, but the softer side of our nature, behavior and thoughts only comes from our mothers, sisters and friends. What if these subtle feelings go missing during our growing days ?? We all will promote a society that is ruthless , less misgiving , intolerant and inhuman. The few females who will co exist with us will face so many challenges in their day to day lives that their existence through out their lives will be insecure.

All crimes related to females have their roots to this fundamental issue of expecting a male child and killing of the unborn female child.Now see the bigger picture in future .Female foeticide results in larger number of males who are starved of a partner and thus there is a supply and demand gap. Large number of people running after fewer assets and thus adopting malpratices to fulfill their interests. If it is met the prize will be treated as a item purchased and if not out of jealousy and defeat we will make lives of those females equivalent to hell. The rising crimes against women at present  be it dowry cases,harassment,rape,murder ,exploitation are a by product of this male dominated society that is psychologically starved and sees females as an object . The fact that females are being sold and  traded across states explains the imbalance in our regions. This is not only lessening the self worth of a female but also treating her as a commodity without respecting the life and feelings in her. Since females are fewer in number and in demand the society is creating a cycle of exploitation that  is very dangerous , unbelieving and disgusting.

Now the time has come that we stand up and take the pledge of saving at least one girl child  in our society. The organised crime of the medical fraternity and wrong doing of the parents has to be taken heads on. We need to educate the masses of the issue and the seriousness of it. To have a safe existence and promote a healthy society we have to own up this cause because all our lives are intertwined. Last but not the least i salute Satyameva Jayate team and Aamir Khan for bringing before the society, issues that we have been avoiding so far. Even if it is directly or indirectly related to us we need to act now. The time to act is not today,tomorrow but at this very moment we have to say Yes or No. I stand by this social cause and will discuss the issue with who ever i come across and gather momentum to stop female foeticide forever.

Satyameva Jayate !!


Also Read :

Satyameva Jayate - Heathcare for all Indians
Satyameva Jayate - Female Foeticide
Satyameva Jayate - Child Sexual Abuse
Satyameva Jayate - Marriage Rides on Marriage

Read more »