Citizen No.1 is on for a change at India. When five years ago, when there was a change of guard for the post, there was an easy consensus on who would occupy the huge 350+ rooms. The choice was very optimal - a technocrat who put India onto the nuclear map - Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Dr. APJ was a choice that no one would refute or oppose - a person who had no black mark, a person who had a great education, a person who would glorify the post of Citizen No. 1, etc, etc. A person who well deserved the post, or rather a post which deserved a person like Dr. APJ. Even after being, welcomed to the post and appointed as the President of India, he added more feathers to the post - amazing speeches, still a very accessible President, etc. A few things that are outstanding during his tenure are the opposition to the OoP bill, the speech at the EU, visit to the Siachen , etc.
Now, out of the billion others in the country, there goes the call for the new occupant of the house. With so many able people out there and a person who had glorified the house and the post, now comes a person comes who has not been in known political circles for long. Along with it she brings a lot of allegations. Now, does a country like India need a person with allegations to take up the post? Can't some one start thinking about where we are going? Just because the current occupant of the house rejected the OoP bill and did not co-ordinate with the current ruling party, we have to throw the person out and get someone who would nod her head for the ruling party? Kids play! Someone please save India.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Cricket is a religion
Over the past few days, the Indian news channels have shown their inability to analyse and do justification to their purpose of existence. It is understandable that the billions of people are anxious about the results of each and every world cup cricket match. But, does that mean that the other legitimate news have to take a step back?
All 24x7, the news channels are engaged only in talking about cricket. If want to hear the news in the morning / the evening, it is only cricket!!! Why do we want to give importance to something that is only a game - how much does it affect a commoner? Does the win / loss of a cricket match do anything to affect the daily lifestyle of the commoner? Most of us, Indians, are addicted to cricket - well, addictions is not bad - but addictions to the level that cricket is considered a religion, an emotional one is bad - after all, can we have hope on something as a religion when we see things like India losing to Bangladesh?
All the Indian news channels tend to concentrate all their prime broadcasting time on cricket. Why do we want to give importance to the game? - After all, who is the winner - it is BCCI and the cricket team. It is they who rake in all the money from advertisements and broadcasting and the cricketers who get houses from governments and sops for each and every part of their lifestyle. The Indian news channels have understood the weakness of the common Indian towards cricket and have started to exploit it. Why can't Indian news channels stop this exploitation and start doing proper journalism?
All 24x7, the news channels are engaged only in talking about cricket. If want to hear the news in the morning / the evening, it is only cricket!!! Why do we want to give importance to something that is only a game - how much does it affect a commoner? Does the win / loss of a cricket match do anything to affect the daily lifestyle of the commoner? Most of us, Indians, are addicted to cricket - well, addictions is not bad - but addictions to the level that cricket is considered a religion, an emotional one is bad - after all, can we have hope on something as a religion when we see things like India losing to Bangladesh?
All the Indian news channels tend to concentrate all their prime broadcasting time on cricket. Why do we want to give importance to the game? - After all, who is the winner - it is BCCI and the cricket team. It is they who rake in all the money from advertisements and broadcasting and the cricketers who get houses from governments and sops for each and every part of their lifestyle. The Indian news channels have understood the weakness of the common Indian towards cricket and have started to exploit it. Why can't Indian news channels stop this exploitation and start doing proper journalism?
Working from home
As I had been WFH in the morning, due to some personal errands, I decided to continue the same in the afternoon and avoided the huge rush of Bangalore traffic. I really appreciate the concept -as it gave me few great advantages ...
1. No tension due to traffic.
2. Time wasted on traffic is avoided.
3. Free from pollution.
4. Helps to calm the mind due to the above.
But obviously the disadvantage is that not much of face-to-face interaction. But if have forwarded your extension/ got a messenger to connect to your colleagues at work, you can almost have the communication link on.
Thinking of trying this option once every week to help me avoid the unwanted stress and time waste due to the nonsensical traffic.
Also, this saving of time, gave me an option to go through two nice articles ....
First, a short one by Steve jobs on opening up DRM. I liked the stats that he gave - and asking the "big four" to come up and open up the DRM model.
Second, was a Sunday morning conversation between the two Indian IT Titans - Premji and NRN - big minds, but humble ones that brought in a lot of unanswered questions into picture.
... Will try to pen up a couple of more articles on what I liked about the two readings in future entries ....
1. No tension due to traffic.
2. Time wasted on traffic is avoided.
3. Free from pollution.
4. Helps to calm the mind due to the above.
But obviously the disadvantage is that not much of face-to-face interaction. But if have forwarded your extension/ got a messenger to connect to your colleagues at work, you can almost have the communication link on.
Thinking of trying this option once every week to help me avoid the unwanted stress and time waste due to the nonsensical traffic.
Also, this saving of time, gave me an option to go through two nice articles ....
First, a short one by Steve jobs on opening up DRM. I liked the stats that he gave - and asking the "big four" to come up and open up the DRM model.
Second, was a Sunday morning conversation between the two Indian IT Titans - Premji and NRN - big minds, but humble ones that brought in a lot of unanswered questions into picture.
... Will try to pen up a couple of more articles on what I liked about the two readings in future entries ....
Devil's Advocate
Recently had a chance to see Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN conducting Devil's Advocate - I liked the concept of the program - questioning incumbent people about their acts vs. their responsibilities and duties. But the way the host behaved was really intimidating - should Indian press go to the extent of harassing the guest by cross-questioning to get the answers? - Do we need hosts who shut their mouth when they are attacked by the guest - do we need hosts who wrinkle their faces when they don't get a proper answer?
We don't want channels churning out their news and interpreting news according to them - say what is happening and show what is there - we don't want your views and your ideas -we want to see what happens in reality and we do not need interpretations. Do not try to change the
perception by binning the answers into your views. No ticker messages please!!! No comments on the screen please!!! Let us get an undivided opinion from the guest - you can have your opinions in another program / section.
If you want to cross question anyone, you are welcome - but why do you want to show unprofessional facial expressions and try to corner the guest on a question which does not have a large impact on the daily life of the people?
Mr. Thapar, a suggestion ... Thanks for the nice program - but try not be unprofessional - because a great host is one who tries to get the best out of the interview in a very prefessional and dignified manner - do not harass - but try to get answers in a more amicable way.
We don't want channels churning out their news and interpreting news according to them - say what is happening and show what is there - we don't want your views and your ideas -we want to see what happens in reality and we do not need interpretations. Do not try to change the
perception by binning the answers into your views. No ticker messages please!!! No comments on the screen please!!! Let us get an undivided opinion from the guest - you can have your opinions in another program / section.
If you want to cross question anyone, you are welcome - but why do you want to show unprofessional facial expressions and try to corner the guest on a question which does not have a large impact on the daily life of the people?
Mr. Thapar, a suggestion ... Thanks for the nice program - but try not be unprofessional - because a great host is one who tries to get the best out of the interview in a very prefessional and dignified manner - do not harass - but try to get answers in a more amicable way.
Toastmasters for Reporters
It was a peaceful day in Bangalore, due to the bandh called for opposing the final verdict on the Cauvery River water dispute - no traffic on the roads, cool breeze coming, bright unadulterated sunlight and a noise free day, virtually. I had to be indoors to avoid any encounter with any sort of disturbance. The only two activities that I had was to enhance the look of my blog and to turn into a couch potato.
On the three Indian news channels that I surfed through - NDTV, CNN IBN, Times NOW, most of the news were either about the bandh, the selection of the Indian Cricket team for the upcoming World Cup, the acquisition of Hutch telecom by Vodafone and finally, the buyout of Novelis by the Birla Group.
Irrespective of the news and the source, all the channels sucked. None of the reporters were fluent enough to express the news properly. All of the reporters had a plethora of filler words and this spoiled the spirit of the news. Second, the choice of words were only from a selection of a few words and were almost repetitive. I'm not certain if these reporters had taken the Journalism 101 class. The way to report a news depends on how you express it and how you present it.
This brings me to say that Indians are at a loss to keep seeing these reporters ain't any other choice, inspite of the huge overflowing population. Why don't some one start a Toastmasters for reporters? - This will bring out better reporters and also make seeing the news channels more effective and interesting.
Being a good reporter does not mean covering the news firsthand. It also has a lot more....
1. How you think and analyse the situation - your choice of words makes a large impact on how people perceive the news.
2. Lucid Presentation - clear thoughts, simple words that can express the situation ditto.
3. Body Language - being stoic while reporting does not add any value to the news. Being a good reporter who communicates through body gestures helps a lot to convey the news.
4. 'Thinking on the feet' - As reporters, it is necessary to think on a different line to present the news, so that the news is well received by the audience.
5. Fluent speech - Avoiding filler words while reporting adds more substance to the news - more effective words can fill the same time compared to that with filler words.
Dear Reporters, join Toastmasters to improve yourselves and make us feel that we see a great and good Indian News Channel!!!
On the three Indian news channels that I surfed through - NDTV, CNN IBN, Times NOW, most of the news were either about the bandh, the selection of the Indian Cricket team for the upcoming World Cup, the acquisition of Hutch telecom by Vodafone and finally, the buyout of Novelis by the Birla Group.
Irrespective of the news and the source, all the channels sucked. None of the reporters were fluent enough to express the news properly. All of the reporters had a plethora of filler words and this spoiled the spirit of the news. Second, the choice of words were only from a selection of a few words and were almost repetitive. I'm not certain if these reporters had taken the Journalism 101 class. The way to report a news depends on how you express it and how you present it.
This brings me to say that Indians are at a loss to keep seeing these reporters ain't any other choice, inspite of the huge overflowing population. Why don't some one start a Toastmasters for reporters? - This will bring out better reporters and also make seeing the news channels more effective and interesting.
Being a good reporter does not mean covering the news firsthand. It also has a lot more....
1. How you think and analyse the situation - your choice of words makes a large impact on how people perceive the news.
2. Lucid Presentation - clear thoughts, simple words that can express the situation ditto.
3. Body Language - being stoic while reporting does not add any value to the news. Being a good reporter who communicates through body gestures helps a lot to convey the news.
4. 'Thinking on the feet' - As reporters, it is necessary to think on a different line to present the news, so that the news is well received by the audience.
5. Fluent speech - Avoiding filler words while reporting adds more substance to the news - more effective words can fill the same time compared to that with filler words.
Dear Reporters, join Toastmasters to improve yourselves and make us feel that we see a great and good Indian News Channel!!!
Being Humble?
Recently I got a forward that really spoke in life about what being humble is. You can see the forwards being preserved on the web here and here.
When I got the mail, I was thinking as yet another forward, but I wonder the importance and the reality the mail brings with it. I think, each and everyone who thinks he/she is great should put this mail before him at his workplace and read it everyday.
Few lessons:
1. Being big is not important, but being how useful you are is important.
2. Never think yourself big and great - you are after all a peck in this huge dust of glaxy - there are others who are also big and important.
3. Since you are in some profession, never underestimate the others - they might not seem great when you see, but without them, our work and life would not move an ich.
4. Life will never be the same - try to be humane to people around you.
5. Don't talk big about yourself - let others talk about you. Your actions determine who you are.
When I got the mail, I was thinking as yet another forward, but I wonder the importance and the reality the mail brings with it. I think, each and everyone who thinks he/she is great should put this mail before him at his workplace and read it everyday.
Few lessons:
1. Being big is not important, but being how useful you are is important.
2. Never think yourself big and great - you are after all a peck in this huge dust of glaxy - there are others who are also big and important.
3. Since you are in some profession, never underestimate the others - they might not seem great when you see, but without them, our work and life would not move an ich.
4. Life will never be the same - try to be humane to people around you.
5. Don't talk big about yourself - let others talk about you. Your actions determine who you are.
What's in a name?
Bangalore changes to Bengaluru. I suppose that the State Government wanted to show that it still had the control of the modernising city by changing the English name into its Kannada brethren. I think that changing a name alone in a city that itself is changing at a fast pace can inflict any change in the outlook as such. By changing a name, many of the Indian cities have shown that they still are the same old decaying rot what they were before they changed the name.
What needs to be changed is not the name but the attitude of the people in the city and the people who develop the so called vision for the city. One excellent example in India is the planning of the city of Chandigarh by Le Corbusier. Inspite of the city being brought into life more than a few decades ago, still the city is appreciated for the foresight the developer had planned for the city. Nice roads, well planned sectors, greenery, etc. add value to the city. In Bangalore, people try not to root cause the problem and get it done, but what they do is a temporary fix.
Yesterday, I was seeing an episode on National Geographic - don't recollect what series it was - but they were showing how in Boston, due to the increased traffic, a two lane bridge was being replaced by a six lane bridge without much distrubance to the traffic. If India can boast itself about the IT sector and the software industry and Bangalore by itself boasting as the Silicon Valley of India, why don't people with vision come and sit in the offices that need to set the vision? why have people who look only into changing the name of the city and not do anything.
I feel that the empowerment the Software industry had brought into Bangalore had together also brought in a lukewarm approach to the city in terms of the civic administration and politics. Will there be a change to bring Bangalore to the levels where Shanghai is going?
What needs to be changed is not the name but the attitude of the people in the city and the people who develop the so called vision for the city. One excellent example in India is the planning of the city of Chandigarh by Le Corbusier. Inspite of the city being brought into life more than a few decades ago, still the city is appreciated for the foresight the developer had planned for the city. Nice roads, well planned sectors, greenery, etc. add value to the city. In Bangalore, people try not to root cause the problem and get it done, but what they do is a temporary fix.
Yesterday, I was seeing an episode on National Geographic - don't recollect what series it was - but they were showing how in Boston, due to the increased traffic, a two lane bridge was being replaced by a six lane bridge without much distrubance to the traffic. If India can boast itself about the IT sector and the software industry and Bangalore by itself boasting as the Silicon Valley of India, why don't people with vision come and sit in the offices that need to set the vision? why have people who look only into changing the name of the city and not do anything.
I feel that the empowerment the Software industry had brought into Bangalore had together also brought in a lukewarm approach to the city in terms of the civic administration and politics. Will there be a change to bring Bangalore to the levels where Shanghai is going?
Indian News Channels
It had been almost two weeks since I had blogged. More work at office and also a visit to my hot and dry native place took time off from visiting the net. I had been watching a few of the new Indian news channels lately - they have started to show a lot of exclusive news. But, on close inspection, it seems that the news is just been sold to the channel or only being covered by that particular channel.
I was seeing a channel covering the accident at Almatti dam, but another not even giving any clue to the accident. Also, the channel was stating that they had the exclusive right to bring in the news from the accident site. I'm actually bewildered how an exclusive access about an accident could be in place - after news channels rush to a place to cover the accident/mishap. From where did the only news channel get the 'exclusive' access?
This is just an example about the news coverage provided by these channels. Not only this shows the priority shown by only a few channels to a few news.
Another type of show that irritates me nowadays, is the interview based shows - they try to provoke the personality being interviewed to lose their temper and in the result state that the interviewer was 'so shrewd' enough to nail down the personality. The more efficient, delicate and diplomatic form of interviews have lost their place in this current war on news coverage and interviews.
Well, you don't have much of choice if you want to know about Indian news. But, I still try to rely on BBC for international news, but not CNN/Fox!!!
I was seeing a channel covering the accident at Almatti dam, but another not even giving any clue to the accident. Also, the channel was stating that they had the exclusive right to bring in the news from the accident site. I'm actually bewildered how an exclusive access about an accident could be in place - after news channels rush to a place to cover the accident/mishap. From where did the only news channel get the 'exclusive' access?
This is just an example about the news coverage provided by these channels. Not only this shows the priority shown by only a few channels to a few news.
Another type of show that irritates me nowadays, is the interview based shows - they try to provoke the personality being interviewed to lose their temper and in the result state that the interviewer was 'so shrewd' enough to nail down the personality. The more efficient, delicate and diplomatic form of interviews have lost their place in this current war on news coverage and interviews.
Well, you don't have much of choice if you want to know about Indian news. But, I still try to rely on BBC for international news, but not CNN/Fox!!!
Israel & US
My colleague, Alok, recently pointed me to the If Americans Knew site. The site contains a doc detailing the start of the Palestine - Israel conflict. A good read, and it gives a lot of details about the conflict, accompanied by a lot of quotes by various authors and experts in the field. I personally, felt it as a good eye-opener, irrespective of the various critics the site and the document have.
Despite the document written by Jews, there is still condemnation about the document raising questions about the facts given by it. Inspite of the critics, I think, anyone interested should get hold of the booklet to know what is really happening there. I suppose that the support of US towards Israel might change the scales in favour of Israel, but the references in the document, still would give a lot of indications of what happened in the early years when the conflict actually came to life.
Most of today's news are censored and biased and what we come to know about the conflict as a news is what the news reporter, the news channel and the country as such would like to filter and provide us. We are not certain if we get the gist of the extract, but it is how you see it through their lens.
The origin of the conflict also shows a similarity to the conflict in Sri Lanka. The Jews claim the right to the state of Israel based on the fact of their ancestoral home. In Sri Lanka, it is a bit more - no ancestors and heredity, but a mere presence of the Tamils there have started their freedome movement.
Recently in Toastmasters meeting I had a chance to talk about freedom and I think that freedom is not only struggle - but if one has a freedom of thought, that gives freedom in every sense. This what I had on freedom ......
Despite the document written by Jews, there is still condemnation about the document raising questions about the facts given by it. Inspite of the critics, I think, anyone interested should get hold of the booklet to know what is really happening there. I suppose that the support of US towards Israel might change the scales in favour of Israel, but the references in the document, still would give a lot of indications of what happened in the early years when the conflict actually came to life.
Most of today's news are censored and biased and what we come to know about the conflict as a news is what the news reporter, the news channel and the country as such would like to filter and provide us. We are not certain if we get the gist of the extract, but it is how you see it through their lens.
The origin of the conflict also shows a similarity to the conflict in Sri Lanka. The Jews claim the right to the state of Israel based on the fact of their ancestoral home. In Sri Lanka, it is a bit more - no ancestors and heredity, but a mere presence of the Tamils there have started their freedome movement.
Recently in Toastmasters meeting I had a chance to talk about freedom and I think that freedom is not only struggle - but if one has a freedom of thought, that gives freedom in every sense. This what I had on freedom ......
Dear Toastmasters, for many of us, freedom is the ability to do whatever we want, eat whatever we like, talk whatever we want to say and move about everywhere we want to go.
It is mostly the desire of want without any oppression/suppression that defines freedom. But freedom, as I personally see it, is a capacity of our mind. For an year old kid, freedom is the ability to move to any corner of the house without being scolded, for a seven year old, freedom is the ability to play whatever game he/she wants to without being questioned by parents, for a 12 year old, freedom is the state where they can see a movie/read a book according to their taste, for a 20 year old, it is the ability to choose a partner according to his/her state without being questioned and so on and so forth.
Similarly, according to the work we are in and the work we do, freedom gets defined. For an engineer, it is the ability to do a project as he sees it, for a carpenter it is the ability to use as much wood as possible to get a good furniture so on and so forth.
Finally, when it comes to a leader, freedom is the ability to put forward his thoughts and execute it without anyone else control. Freedom falls back to liberty - the ability to express yourself freely and without anyone to oppose / control / question your actions. Still, for most of us, it the actions and the suppression of actions that define the concept of freedom. But with the world evolving, I see freedom not as the suppression of actions, but the suppression of ideas and thoughts.
In today's world, if your ideas can transcend boundaries, then you are free. With the digital revolution, freedom has gained new insights. Now you can write whatever you want and that is why we have around 5 million blogs - the storehouses of freedoms - the freedom to think, the freedom to express, the freedom to write and the freedom to say. The importance blogs have achieved in the current state of world is tremendous. Blogs have turned into free press. With Blogs, we can see what is happening in the heartland of the Israel-Palestine conflict without any censorship, we can hear what a CEO thinks firsthand about the company and the industry.
US & Castro
Recently read an article on Castro and the various spoiled assination attempts on the leader. It would be a very pathetic scene fro the US considering that it had not got an upperhand in removing Castro over these long years. Nice article ... wish they release the film soon - would love to see it .... This true story almost seems like the case where the movie hero is tried to be got rid of, but finally after all the various hardships the hero surfaces again - that too without any scratches/ blood spills - Castro's story would be great gift for any of the Indian films - especially for Super Star!!!
Thanks to Hindu for getting the article from Guardian and publishing it. Nice joke to end the article, btw.
Thanks to Hindu for getting the article from Guardian and publishing it. Nice joke to end the article, btw.
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