Reservations: A Necessity?

Here is my stand on one of the most important ongoing issue on which the future of India Rests.....

Anti-Reservation protests still going strong specially frm the medical community....Ofcourse each n every student in India is with them......The Government plans to make 27 % reservations for OBCs in central universities that will take the quota to 49.5 %.
Medical students have been saying that reservations should be on the basis of economic condition rather than caste.Financially weaker students r missing out on post-graduate seats only because of being general category students. The anti-reservation protests by medicos in Delhi got stronger on Tuesday with students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and Kharagpur joining them on hunger strike at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
The sad state is tht the people in power determining the fate of India and future of Indians r totally incompetant in this regard.Anyone who is currently watching Arjun Singh's interview with Karan Thapar which is being aired as I write this will agree with me...Arjun singh cud not answer any of Karan's queries to satisfaction....Arjun cud not Even Justify his own stand for the necessity of the quota increase.....For most of Karan's questions his stand was "I dont kno" or "Its obvious"(wonder to whom)
The height of ridiculousness was Arjun's reply to the question "Do you know what percentage of the Indian population is OBC?"...He actually stated on live television to ask someone with better knowledge the answer for it....Who is tht someone who is supposed to be knowledgeable? Doesnt tht mean Arjun Singh isnt knowledgeable(in his own words tht too)......So on wat basis does he make his stand on reservation without having any knowledge abt them.....This is the pathetic state of Indian Politics where people who r self-confessed "not knowledgeable enuf" are determining the nation's future.....It seemed to me frm where I was watching tht Arjun himself dint look or seem quite convinced abt the necessity of the quota increase....Then why infact is he pro- it? Thts the million dollar question now isnt it.....He cud not answer the question on whether the increase was really necessary at this point of time.....

Statistics and facts rattled out by Karan showed tht in Higher Education out of the percentage of seats currently being reserved atleast 1/3rd of them were unoccupied.....since the number of Sc/STs and OBC candidates opting for higher education are less for watever reasons best known to them...this deprives a meritorious general merit candidate of his/her seat.....So out of the current reserved seats wen 1/3rd is already being wasted due to vacancy WHY the increase in quota? To WASTE more seats? To see to tht more merit students are DENIED education?
Mr.Arjun Singh's response for this was something like "Jus coz some ppl r not joining doesnt mean tht quota or an increase is not needed....Wat the hell is tht supposed to mean...?
Its like shouting I dont care whether its of some use or not but still lets increase reservations....so tht at the time of election he can say tht he helped Backward community.....and how? By wasting seats tht werent of any use to them or to anyone else too!

The entire thing is senseless......Y shud there be reservations in education anyway? Tht too based on caste???? All of u out thr tell me with an honest heart.....wud u want to be treated by a Doctor who scored 40% to get into MBBS (as in someone who probably doesnt kno the ABC of medicine but is a Doctor nevertheless...and y the hell not since seats are being reserved for the likes of them?).......Whether its general merit or SC or ST or OBC or BC or watever types there r it shudnt matter....wat shud matter is how capable the person is....tht shud be the one and only criteria.....Infact I feel tht reservations are an insult to OBC and SC/ST as by doing reservations for them,the country is telling them tht they are not good enuf to score and get seats on their own hence there is reservations for them.....Y is it so? Do u mean to tell me tht an OBC student cannot be good enuf to get a merit seat??? I dont buy tht....Intelligence or capability doesnt come with particular caste or creed.....A similar look at the fee structure....full fees for general merit and almost half rate for reserved candidates....now wat if the general merit student is frm a financially weak background? Nothing...He/She still gotto pay the entire fees....On the other hand the reservation candidate cud be frm a wealthy background....but who cares...He/She can still pay half the fees....Yippeeee....The joy of studying in India.....!!!! Now the right thing to do in this case is fee discrimination based on financial conditions whr the actual needy irrespective of the caste are given a chance for education.


So a plea to the government tht its high time India stops differentiating based on CASTE....!

P.S :- For anyone who cares to read the mockery of Indian Politics...Arjun's Interview!
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/devils-advocate-arjun-singh/11063-4.html

Scrapping!!!!

Well lemme tell u abt a recent bad habit I acquired....Scrapping in Orkut...One frend invited me to join Orkut Community n I just did tht...I ended up with tons of ppl in my frendship list not one of whom I personally know....Jus Imagine me chatting with strangers which I rarely do in my life......Some of them turned out to be really sweet and Kewl people.....whom I am glad to call frends now.....so all in all it turned out niceeee......Warning people...Scrappin in orkut can turn quite ADDICTIVE...Beware!!!

This is an interesting piece of crap I got from somewhere.....Orkut to be precise

In Year 1981
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died

In Year 2005
1. Prince Charles got married (again)
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe(again)
3. Australia lost the Ashes (again)
4. Pope Died (again)

Moral of the story -
In future, if Prince Charles decides to re-marry....

Please warn the POPE...!!!!!!!!!!




Cheers,
K

Piligrimage

Well Its been 10 yrs or more since I went out of Karnatake(not tht I am complaining much coz I luv namma bengalooru) and nearly 6 yrs since I went out of bangalore within karnataka....And here I am writing this while I am on a religious trip over TN......Visiting as many temples of value as possible.....So far its been an awesome experience.....In the temple of one of the goddess whom I believe in immensely I was able to sit outside the grabhagudi door n pray(a bit o influence never hurt anyone :p ) It was like sitting outside her doorstep.....Amazing....
Jus now wen I was chatting with a fren online he asked me if I was redeeming myself of all my sins....Lol....Well I kinda feel lighter in spirit......who doesnt.....

Thts it for now....

~K

Mushy ME!!

I started the day humming to myself one of the most romantic songs ever....
Lyrics bowled me over...... Even after hearing it n number of times,my heart still does a flip flop wenever its being played....lol......

Moon so bright night so fine
Keep your heart here with mine
Life's a dream we are dreaming
Race the moon catch the wind
Ride the night to the end
Seize the day stand up for the light
I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do
Heroes rise heroes fall Rise again, win it all
In your heart, can't you feel the glory
Through our joy, through our pain
We can move worlds again
Take my hand, dance with me
I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do
I will want nothing else to see me through
If I can spend my lifetime loving you
Though we know we will never come again
Where there is love, life begins
Over and over again
Save the night, save the day
Save the love, come what may
Love is worth everything we pay
I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do
I want to spend my lifetime loving you
If that is all in life I ever do
I will want nothing else to see me through
If I can spend my lifetime loving you.

A few songs can get straight to your heart any time they are played...I would include
When you say nothing at all by ronan keating in tht list...I think it was originally by Alison Krauss....

" It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart Without saying a word you can light up the dark Try as I may I could never explain What I hear when you don't say a thing The smile on your face lets me know that you need me There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall You say it best when you say nothing at all All day long I can hear people talking out loud But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd "

I would also put the song Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers) in the list..but its lyrics is not nearly as touching...but i guess the song on the whole makes up for it......Whitney Houston's I will always love you......No me ames by Jennifer Lopez.....Right here waiting by Richard Marx.......
Can you feel the love tonight by Elton John.......Everything I do I do it for you by Bryan Adams.... Nothings gonna change my love for you.....There are some teeny bopper lyrics by Backstreet Boys too like I'll never break ur heart etc.....All in all there are some amazing lyrics out there if one cares to see

Since I started with one of my all time fav lyrics I thot i should end with one too......
Hero by Enrique Iglesias

Would you dance if I asked you to dance?
Would you run and never look back?
Would you cry if you saw me cryin'?
And would you save my soul tonight?
Would you tremble if I touched your lips?
Would you laugh? Oh please tell me this
Now would you die for the one you loved?
Hold me in your arms tonight I can be your hero, baby
I can kiss away the pain I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away
Would you swear that you'll always be mine?
Or would you lie? Would you run and hide?
Am I in too deep? Have I lost my mind?
I don't care, you're here tonight I can be your hero baby
I can kiss away the pain I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away

Yeah yeah I am a bit mushy mushy today for no apparent reason....Got my head up in the clouds I guess or was that my heart...I forgot...Better beware lest I start writing poetry next...Lol

~K

Oscar Night

The 78th Annual Academy Awards took place on Sunday March 5,2006 5PM PT/ 8PM ET.
The "Night" of Glamour n Glitter and who walked away with all of that???? Mee thinks Host Jon Stewart.......
"Brokeback Mountain" and "Crash" Split the Night's Big Awards."Crash" crashed a party that was supposed to have been reserved for "Brokeback Mountain." In a night when things went much smoother than could have been anticipated, it was the last award of the evening (the Best Picture Oscar) that finally got the crowd on their feet.......




Well here is the list of the winners and nominees for the main categories:-

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman - "Capote"
Terrence Howard - "Hustle & Flow"
Heath Ledger - "Brokeback Mountain"
Joaquin Phoenix - "Walk the Line"
David Strathairn - "Good Night, and Good Luck"

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Winner: George Clooney - "Syriana"
Matt Dillon - "Crash"
Paul Giamatti - "Cinderella Man"
Jake Gyllenhaal - "Brokeback Mountain"
William Hurt - "A History of Violence"

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Winner: Reese Witherspoon - "Walk the Line"
Dame Judi Dench - "Mrs Henderson Presents"
Felicity Huffman - "Transamerica"
Keira Knightley - "Pride and Prejudice"
Charlize Theron - "North Country"

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Winner: Rachel Weisz - "The Constant Gardener"
Amy Adams - "Junebug"
Catherine Keener - "Capote"
Frances McDormand - "North Country"
Michelle Williams - "Brokeback Mountain"

DIRECTING:
Winner: "Brokeback Mountain" - Ang Lee
"Capote" - Bennett Miller
"Crash" - Paul Haggis
"Good Night, and Good Luck" - George Clooney
"Munich" - Steven Spielberg

BEST PICTURE:
Winner: "Crash"
"Brokeback Mountain"
"Capote"
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"Munich"

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):
Winner: "Brokeback Mountain"
"Capote"
"The Constant Gardener"
"A History of Violence"
"Munich"

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY):
Winner: "Crash"
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"Match Point"
"The Squid and the Whale"
"Syriana"

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Winner: "King Kong" - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor
"The Chronicles of Narnia" - Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, and Scott Farrar
"War of the Worlds"- Dennis Muren, Pablo Helman, Randy Dutra and Daniel Sudick

MAKEUP:
Winner: "The Chronicles of Narnia" - Howard Berger and Tami Lane
"Cinderella Man" - David Leroy Anderson and Lance Anderson
"Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" - Dave Elsey and Annette Miles

MUSIC (SCORE):
Winner: "Brokeback Mountain" - Gustavo Santaolalla
"The Constant Gardener" - Alberto Iglesias
"Memoirs of a Geisha" - John Williams
"Munich" - John Williams
"Pride and Prejudice" - Dario Marianelli

Editing went to "Crash".
Cinematography,Art Design and Costume Design went to "Memoirs of a Geisha".
Animated Film went to "Wallace and the Gromit:The curse of a were-rabbit."
Documentary Feature went to "March of the Penguins".
Documentary short subject went to "A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norwan Corwin"
Foreign Language Film went to "Tsotsi" (could hve been our BLACK if not for tht dumb decision to send PEHELI).
Sound Editing And Sound Mixing both went to "King Kong".

Do you think that CRASH deserved the Best Movie over Brokeback Mountain?????
Was this expected or a true surprise???

Cheerio,
K

Shocker

Guess what gave me a shock few days back????? People actually read this blog....I mean people other than the 2 - 3 of us who actually write here.....I got a mail by a person who wanted to comment on a post but cudnt as I hve locked my blog from the public.....so he mailed me his comment.....
The following is a comment by Div Sharma on the Fantasy trendz post:

Hi Koel,
I saw ur blog...unfortunately couldn't post...it's locked it out for any comments!!Ne'ways, abt people wishing to live in a parallel world, I feel that that's been a human fantasy for long. And there have been books 'n movies pandering to these human desires. Take one of the biggest sci-fi's for eg, the Matrix. One of my favourite movies, not because of the way it's picturized, but because of the philosophy behind it. When H.G.Wells wrote his 'timeless' classic (sorry for the pun) more than a century ago, it was the same urge to live in a different world. Even a genius like Einstein spent his intellect probing for worm holes. Looks like humans are known to extend their hands towards the unknown just to see if their fingers feel something. Hope - the quintessential human emotion!
B'bye
Div

Well Div and anyone else who do read the blog...ur free to comment....I am sure u wont be locked out this time around.......

Hallelujah!!!!

Well its been long since i wrote anthing....A month to be exact......Its been a whacky month......A tension wrought few weeks,loads o runnin around,interviews n group discussions,Finally MBA seat(Needless to say i took it :-) ) and ended with the budget 2006 and Bush is in India(they say the nuke deal is done....ofcourse he has to go back n get his congress to approve)....Budget Highlights????? The good news is that there is no change in rates of personal income tax and corporate income tax.....Another piece of good news is no NEW taxes......
April 1,2010 set as proposed date to introduce GST....Service tax up to 12%;but since this can be credited against service tax payable or excise duty payable FM assures net impact is minimum.....Increase of excise duty on cigarettes(GR8)......but computers are exempted from this......lol........Women and children schemes and girl child education promotion were worthy according to me....Well no big changes...it wasnt a ooooh and neither was it an aaahhh if u get what i mean.
Summer is started i would say...its really hot here in bangalore....if this is jus the beginning i am wondering how much more can we put up......I still hve months before my college starts.....Yup I have been accepted by Ohio State Univ and all formalities done with....Now I just hve to slog the next 2 yrs to get somefyn done for myself and i will do all it takes.......
OK OK i just cant write anymore....with ash lecturing me on spirituality and religion (yahoo msgr)and Sid commenting tht some goose is over cooked(Again yahoo msgr ) and vicky acting like this whole world is set to bring down the house on him(MSN msgr)...its a wonder i wrote this much atleast...kudos for tht......

Cheers,
K

Current Trendz:Fantasy?

Have anyone had a close look at the recent direction things r moving into?
I mean take a look at the movies,clothes,books,research n bla bla.....
Its either Life on Mars,Extra-Terrestrial life forms,Robotic lives,Mutated creatures,
Re-introduction of Parasites with greater endurance levels and Blimey!
even Increased Brain Capacity,Wizards,Witches,Sphinxs,Dragons,Elves,Dwarves,
Hags,Werewolves,WereCats(yes,Read Eragon?),Rings which rule the mind,
Red Eyes(Alternate forms of Dark Lords who dont die even with a death curse(LOTR?)),Spells,Scrying(Oh thts one power I wish to master:To scry),Wardrobes that open into another world(CON),Lamp fiction(COLT),Magic trees whos tree top is a landing for different worlds(MoonFace anyone?),Enchanted Woods,Mystique houses,Wishing Chairs,Array of Assorted Creatures that Talk: trees,beavers,foxes,Lions,Tigers,Bears....,Invention of a mix breed:Threstrals,Hippogriff...Mythical Creatures:Unicorns,Centaurs.....
I am quite postive y'all got the general picture..................

I have a faint suspicion that people in general are bored with the normal life of normal people on normal earth....Are we so dissatisfied with our lives? R these things projections of inner urges of the self which probably craves for a different world? different life? More excitement.....Or Could it be the great deep rooted desire to see Good over Evil prevailance...I mean its easier to conquer evil in a book and its all over at the END;something tht people r hoping for since time immemorial but that which hasnt happened on earth...The end to all war,death n fear or watever......

~ Just a muse of a blogger with too much imagination or maybe wishful thinking.....

Abbreviations Expanded:-
Please tell me u got some of 'em on ur own atleast????
Sigh! Here goes -
LOTR : Lord of the Rings
CON : Chronicles of Narnia
COLT : Children of Lamp Triology
Eragon : Book Name