One day FM

Sorry, for taking such a long break to post my next blog. The main reason to post now is not to leave the month empty. Today while driving to office I heard on FM Radio of “what you will do if you were Finance Minister for a day?” hmmm sounds interesting to be one actually.

I am very bad when it comes to handling finances. I get a decent pay now but the condition on the month end is same as when I was earning 6 times lesser than now. Therefore, me being a FM for a day would be doomsday for India. Even if I do become my list will be not more than ten points.

· Income Tax at flat 10% for individuals, 15% for SME’s, 20% of Indian corporate houses and 25% for any International joint venture company.
· Service Tax at 10%
· Cut down intrest rate for home loans to 5%
· Funding for building schools, hospitals, bridges and roads in rural areas also tax benefits for companies indulging in the project.
· Increase pay scale for all government employees as per the commission’s recommendation (this is to stop corruption).
· Tax benefits for SEZ that comes in areas not feasible for farming.

A lot more to be done to achieve the desired GDP and for that I have to be a FM for 5 years. But for now I have to do my monthly target to have a stable finance and minister it.

Anniversary

Come Jan 8th will be my second wedding anniversary. What an eventful two years it has been. How fast the years are passing by. Still I can remember that eventful day when I got up from bed with the overnight smell of bacardi rum. I was supposed to go back to the hotel where my parents were staying, but decided against it and thought will spend that night marrying around with friends since that being my last day as a bachelor. As usual, I got up late and rushed to the hotel to bath and dress up for that long day. Likewise I had to rush to the temple where we had the traditional thaali kettu(holy knot). My poor wife was waiting in the temple for me to reach without knowing that it is only a beginning and such late comings are integral part of my life.

Our journey started from there. Like everybody, we also planned for our honeymoon, which started from Mauritius to Kodaikanal. However, our honeymoon trip was to a small hill station near my hometown where before my wedding I go to have a cup of tea. Therefore, for me it was not that fascinating and our trip got over in half a day. God believe me the crib started from then and my wife cribs now for each and everything. In one month, I got the most amazing news of my lifetime that my wife is pregnant.

One thing that fascinates my wife even today is going out. Wake her up even in middle of night and ask her to get ready for a drive, she will be the first to be in the car and ask where are we going. I don’t know from where she gets the energy for non stop roaming. Even while she was pregnant, she had traveled along with me to hyderabad, madurai, cochin, alleppy. We got our cute little kid exactly in nine months from our wedding. The moment was the most precious and still fresh in my mind. I sat next to my wife with the kid and she had the effect of anesthesia on her, still she opened her eyes and kissed the kid and me.

She joined me in chennai with our 3-month-old child, where we actually started living together. Only then, I realized a woman could make a home. She is such a person who will always keep the house neat and clean. In the past one year of living together, she had brought in lots of changes to my life, from an alcoholic to an occasional drinker, a frequent smoker to non-smoker, saving money etc. I admire her for the care she takes to prepare different dish everyday to impress me. Its not that we had a smooth run, we had our own share of fight which will end up only after couple of days with me taking her out again for a dinner. Most of the times, I use to think I would have been happy if not married.
All said and done we have completed two successful years of married life. This could be possible for one simple reason, pure love she has to me, and I love her for that.

Molested by media

For the past two days media especially television media is going gong ho about two girls molested by 70 odd guys in mumbai. This has become the national news with sms and online polls, debates and talk shows.

My point is not on what led to the incident but why such things are being highlighted and made as a national news. There were photographs published in newspapers and shown on television. My question to all of them is, if the journalist/photographer wanted to help the woman why cannot he do without taking a photograph.

By publishing the photo and making it such a big news the victims suffered more than what they would have gone through that night. Now a one-hour horror has become a lifetime sorrow for the victims. Wont they realize that by publishing, such photographs the victims and their relatives will get hurt more than the offenders will. If the same incident had happened to their kith or kin whether these media houses will publish that too?

By displaying this full time, the victims who wanted to forget such an incident had to file a complaint. The police to safeguard their face have now arrested some 7 offenders. I am sure the guys arrested would not have been anywhere around the incident place. Ask media houses why they did all this, they will reply in unison that only because of the th police had taken up the case and now the culprits are caught. If that was the motive, the journalist should not have published the photo at all. He should have filed a complaint against the offenders and shown the photographs to the police. This would have helped the police to get the real culprits before they go under cover.

Wait, the worst is yet to come. Today I saw the interview of the victim. The victim reported that she is upset for what has been reported in the media and worried that such things are published in big way. The interviewer being a psych asked whether she will go out for new year parties again? It’s like asking whether you liked to get raped again by us. I think the victim should file a case of molestation against all the media companies, which had taken up this issue.

This is a classic case of operation success patient died.

Resolution

Every New Year for the heck of it I take resolutions, which are broken on the same day or to the maximum of two weeks. Then I will wait for the next year to come for announcing my resolution plans. Like every year the first on the list will be to quit smoking and the same will figure in the first to break. This year also I have taken three resolutions

Not to smoke
Start a recurring deposit in my child’s name
Start a SIP

It has been two days since I have smoked one. I had been to the bank, collected form for deposit, and enquired about the SIP too. Wish I could do all three and have a great year.

Man – Kind

There are lots of chat shows these days on road rage, terrorism, divorce blah blah blah… chaired by the intellectuals of urban India and some 50 mute participants. At the end of the show, all will raise their hands in consent for “MAN – KIND.” The moment lights gets off people watching it and the so-called intellectuals will become the famous three monkeys.

In the fast paced urban life, I have never seen anybody stopping their vehicle to help the elderly to cross their road or helping a break down vehicle. All of them will roll up their windows to enjoy the music and the power of AC in the car. Everyone including me does the same.

Last week on our pilgrimage to sabarimala, the driver banged the car on a huge stone kept by some lorry cleaner to move his loaded lorry on a steep rise. The guy moved on leaving the stone behind. I heard a bang underneath and realized something serious would have happened. We got out of the car and saw diesel flowing from the tank like water from an open pipe. I was damn irritated for being in the middle of a highway at nine in the night with no idea about the distance to the nearest town and clueless how to rectify. I was furious with the guy who had kept the stone there to the extent that the next day another news would have come in NDTV on road rage.

All who traveled being managers in reputed company all we could do was serious analysis on the situation and plans on path forward. Before we could finalize on the action plan couple of tough looking guys jumped from a jeep and rushed to us. Seeing their approach, I thought they are some dacoits and they will loot us. To my surprise, they sympathized with us on the situation and checked the leakage from the tank. They suggested us to drive the car to the nearest town that is 10kms away and check for feasibility in terms of welding the tank. They followed us until the nearest mechanic shop and on the way they have called up another mechanic to be ready for helping us. We were lucky enough to get the trouble sorted out in the first shop itself. The driver of the jeep called me 3 times and his dad called me once to enquire about the status and to know whether they could be of any help. Such a move floored me and I thought “MAN-KIND” is still there with people and only we urban honchos lack it. The mechanic took four full hours to rectify it and charged us only 350 bucks.

We moved from these villages to metros and we loose the heart to help each other. It is just that we should look out for helping others and not only seeking help. Close the windows to enjoy the AC but open the door of your mind to bring in happiness to others. Bring a smile on others face. Mankind will definitely live for another million years.

Mr.President

I always feel very pissed off when I see the fight between political parties on seat sharing, bribery cases, wasting peoples money, child abuse, rape, malnutrition and the list goes on. At times I dream if I be the President of India and bring in changes which will be free of all this and we all live in a better India.

If I become the President of India, I would bring in the following changes

• President will have all the powers and not like the rubber stamp as we have now.
• Abolish all religion and caste. People can follow their religion and culture but no reservations for studies or job.
• All schools to follow same standard of education.
• Free education for all students till class XII
• For people working in India 10% salary and 20% of salary have to be contributed towards education plan.
• Indian citizens studied under scholarship should work in India for a minimum of 10years.
• Graduation, Masters and Higher studies on merit basis.
• Every citizen to serve in police for 2 years, military 2 years and civil services for 1 year.
• All rivers will be unite. Rivers are national resource and state government will not have any right on it.
• Ration cards only for family comprising of four people.
• No subsidies for family having more than two child.
• Every transaction should be on bill.
• Companies with annual turnover of 50crores and above should adopt one school.
• Cut hands of citizens found bribing or receiving bribe in public.
• Specified number of hoardings and neon lights allowed in a city.
• Every citizen including politicians retirement age is 55years.
• No court case should be open more than a year.
• If same judgment given in the lower and higher court, case cannot be taken at Supreme Court.
• If Supreme Court verdict is against the higher and lower court, lawyers and judges involved in the case will be put behind bars.
• Each house cannot own more than two cars and two bikes for personal use.
• Every citizen to cast his or her vote mandatorily Failing to do so will be fined with cut in subsidies and only 50% of the salary will be paid for next 5 years.
  
  Theres lot more to do to make India a real superpower. Wish our politicians and public wake up soon and start realize the dream of India which is a better place to live.
  
  Jai Hind

Five Point Someone

I think by now most of them would have read this wonderful book. I am not that ardent reader who will purchase books every now and then and read it. I hardly buy any books. This jus that I dropped into the cafeteria at shoppers stop after a long but small shopping, I saw this book and immediately thought should buy because of 2 reasons 1.I haven’t been to IIT and 2.I don’t want to read a bloated story of some bookworm. The main thing to strike me was the title itself (what not to do in IIT)

The story revolves around three guys. It covers all aspects of a college and hostel life. It had a resemblance of my own life, where I used to skip classes and go for a drink or movie. Going to the roof to have grass or locking up the room for a private drink party with my roommates to share our feeling on results or the gal with whom we have a crush. The author has really worked on the characters and story to make the book to be an addictive one.

Every individual who writes a blog has a dream of writing a book. This book gives you the confidence to write a book with a simple story of what you have seen in life. Its jus that we should have a message to say. At the end, I though okay why cant, I write one. I know its bit too much from me, but “AN IDEA CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE”
Wish I could score FIVE POINT SOMETHING for my book