Bad news

One of the the traits I have failed to develop so far is to deliver a bad news to a stranger without feeling bad about it. The bad feeling that I have from the time conception to delivery of the news, sometimes counted in days, causes low levels of prolonged stress. Often my discomfort shows up on my face and the receiver takes advantage of my sensitivity. I wish to develop a thick skin. But how do I know if it crosses the limit to become insensitivity? Or should I even care?

Reading tell me why!

Making the most of infancy

IPL - Aren't we pushing it?

I love cricket. Not as much now as I used to earlier. But I still love it. But the upcoming IPL fills me up with mixed feelings. Multiple rounds between around 10 teams for about two months in all-day-night events during the summer when power cuts are more prevalent than mosquito-bites. This year there are already places where there are 10 hours of power cut per day (Trichy for example). Entertainment is necessary. Aren't we pushing it?

Accountability in water usage

In urban bangalore, where water is getting scarcer by the day, seeing someone cleaning the the road in front of his house with a water hose connected to a tap sends a chill through your spine. I think the fact that one pays with currency for a natural resource shouldn't give one the right to waste it. Not so obviously anyway. Its about time some sort of accountability is built into water usage. I only hope it isn't too late.

Special dedication to Sharmi

First week of March 2011 was a week with a unique feeling of insecurity, that I would never like to experience again. This week last year, Sharmila was unconscious, fighting the bacterial meningitis to which she succumbed on March 6th. I promised to myself that I will continue the good work I did in the social sector, in which she took an active interest during her days of well-being. After about a year marked by struggle with work, family-related developments and not to forget the plain laziness that is ingrained in me, I finally organized a short, but sweet science demo in which I took a friend's help in demonstrating the working of a simple DC motor to a bunch of school kids supported by the company I work for. I write this post to officially dedicate this to my departed friend, albeit with a sense of embarrassment for not having done this earlier. A special thanks to the dude who took to the stage and help me bridge the language barrier, and not to forget Arvind Gupta who had shared the know-how in arvindguptatoys.com.

Starring down the barrel.

For once l don't mind starring down the barrel :-)

Colloquy in Media is disconcerting

The fact that the media is including colloquy in its content is disconcerting! I wouldn't bother if it appears in Times of India's Page 3 section (That is assuming that they have any other page at all!) But that is not the case. Why would someone like P.Sainath say "...largest producer of rice for some years" rather than "...a few years"? Why would a newspaper as serious about its purpose as Mint say "China accounts for something like 30-60% of the global demand for most commodities". 

It is a recognized fact that the general quality of English usage has gone down over the last couple of decades. This is only supported by the fact that competitive exams like CAT and GRE use this as an effective tool of elimination. Media plays an important role in ensuring that the general standard doesn't deteriorate if not improve. But I feel that this role is fast being forgotten!

SAD!