The Paid News Problem

Every time a journalist delivers a live report or newspaper write-up, he carries upon his shoulders a weight that would even make Atlas shrug. To serve as a watchdog of the nation's workings, to objectively provide citizens with accurate and reliable information, to identify the heroes and villains of society, and to offer a voice to the voiceless. Since The Bengal Gazette appeared in India in 1780, the character of journalism has undergone a tremendous change in the country. Along the way, unfortunately, these intrinsic journalistic ethics have been forgotten as we hear of the social menace of 'Paid News" in mainstream media. Put simply, it involves unethically acquiring media space by shelling out huge amounts of money. 

Our media, it seems, is now on sale.

The “paid news” phenomenon can be traced to the entertainment sections of the media, where PR agents began paying newspapers for promoting their clients. The weeks leading up to a film's release saw papers covered with stories of link-ups and controversies surrounding the lead actors. While not the pinnacle of journalistic excellence, it only caused minor discomfort to the people involved but never directly undermined the integrity of the paper. However, now even politicians are cashing in on the deteriorating conscience of the media. Paying money to media houses for favorable coverage allows the politicians to manipulate the media to their advantage thereby misleading the public, and has a grave impact on press freedom. As Sushma Swaraj, head of the opposition BJP party says “First the journalists asked for tea, then liquor, and now money.” This cash-transfer scheme of corruption is brazenly seen in India’s two largest states Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, and must be dealt with severely.

I believe that a system must be set up by the Election Commission by which campaign material can be put out on private print and electronic media with the state funding it. The views of every party and every candidate contesting in the elections should be heard and reflected in news.  Following the success of the RTI, heavy penalties must be imposed on political parties indulging in such practices. Only when such bold steps are taken and there is transparency in the political and corporate machinery, will the words “Let Truth Prevail” ring true.


(This is the somewhat final draft of a speech I have to deliver in my Effective Communication class tomorrow, for a life-changing 3 marks. In case you're wondering. :P)

Madness in a Whisper.

Quite a weekend, I've had. :)

Pearl Jam celebrated its 20th birthday on 22nd. I'm not sure what draws me to this band.
The lyrics? Eddie's vocals? The infectious atmosphere I see them create live in concert in all those Youtube videos? I don't know.But ever since, I discovered them in tenth grade, I have been equal parts fascinated and mesmerized, fully conscious that I am yet another member of the cult that their millions of adoring screaming fans is.
Needless to say, I was incredibly excited in the leadup to this tribute gig at B69. Considering this was the first gig I had ever gone to, I was busy picking out clothes from my closet scrounging around for gig-appropriate apparel! When I reached the venue however, a 1000 square foot room that looks unused, mossy and a bit like a drug-dealer's den from the outside, I realized that anything worked. All I could see were chilled out people, who were just looking forward to some quality Pearl Jam time.
B69, I was informed on reaching, is where most of the metal bands in Mumbai rehearsed on a regular basis, and probably still do. It has a rich cultural history, that way. :P

• To see a crowd of approximately 200 people from diverse backgrounds singing in unison, 

         "She lies and says she's in love with him, can't find a better man,
           She dreams in color, she dreams in red, can't find a better man...
          Can't find a better man
          Can't find a better man"

          is just such an amazing feeling.

• To discover an entire sub-culture in one evening, is such an experience. Guys headbanging to the grunge. A mosh pit starting right before your eyes. The lead vocalist of Blakc jumping into the crowd. The insane energy when "Black" was performed. I have never seen anything like it.

I had a FANTASTIC time. :)

Let's do this again sometime!

Also, this weekend I watched an amazing documentary. When You're Strange.

This is a film about The Doors, another long-time favourite. 

Okay, at the very outset, let me tell you this. Jim Morrisson is, and always will be, the guy all guys want to be and the guy all girls want to date. 

As I watching it, all I could think of was how great he looked, how magnetic his personality was, how multi-faceted and pure his talent was and the sheer awesomeness of the man. The documentary cruises through the entire history of the band-the shaky start, its liberalism and connect with the tumult of those times, archival footage depicting the tremendous 'high' it reached, and its heart breaking death in a bathtub. 

"This is the end 
Beautiful friend 
This is the end 
My only friend, the end 

Of our elaborate plans, the end 
Of everything that stands, the end 
No safety or surprise, the end 
I'll never look into your eyes...again"


It has also been a weekend of frustration and being unproductive. Yet, it has come with loosening of shackles, certain freedom bestowed and the desire to be something more. And for that, I am happy.
Another Sunday flies by, and I look forward to the coming week with gleaming eyes, ready to capture the world.
Later. :)

The Bane of Banning Books.

I'll tell you something right now, that I can bet you wouldn't know.

I place this bet with such confidence because not many are languishing in front of their laptops at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, and even those who are, there is just a Lilliputian chance that you have been surfing sites regarding books for over an hour.

So, this is what I have learned.

(And what I completely missed, but my bibliophilic intuition adhered to unknowingly!)

September 25th to October 2nd was Banned Books Week.

It is celebrated in the U.S., a country where high school students would have to think for a minute whether college is spelled with a double 'l', but so what?

It celebrates the freedom to read. :)

Books such as "The Colour Purple" , "Catch-22'" and "The Catcher in The Rye" found their way to this outrageous list because they contained offensive words, sexually explicit scenes and inflamed certain religious sentiments. 

I finished reading the latter by the end of September, and it was such an amazing read. A story of a bewildered teenager, wishing he didn't have all the knowledge about society he had. The protagonist, who lost his innocence about money, sexuality and school does not wish the same upon others and matures through the end of the book. Catch 22 is a historical satire following the story of Yossarian, who tries to understand the self-contradictory circular logic in the military, and the world. The Colour Purple on the other hand, deals with the life of a young African American woman, a victim of rape and physical abuse.


1984, the George Orwell classic had been banned for its account of a totalitarian society, which was considered unsuitable content for impressionable minds. I am reading it right now. Gone with the Wind, The Call of the Wild, Lolita, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest... For god's sake, even Goosebumps and certain Roald Dahl books have found their way to being banned!

These books are considered as gems of English literature and all regularly feature in lists of the best English language books ever written. 


Back in Mumbai, Rohinton Mistry's "Such a Long Journey", a Booker-prize shortlisted book has been banned. 
By a political party who spouts baseless and ridiculous religious propaganda every voting season, and by a spineless Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai University. And most sadly, by a 20 year old politically-backed-and-brainwashed Bachelor of Arts student in a prestigious institution, who could have chosen to really do something useful with his life.
This, in a country, that has the words 'liberty' and 'secularism' in the Preamble of its Constitution.


Sometimes, I just fail to understand the workings of our society. How are these bunch of morons allowed to become politicians, and our representatives in the government? How is a fictional character in a fictional book using expletives an issue? I can name ten other books by Indian writers that contain offensive language and unsavory reviews of politicians. Does highlighting a few vernacular expletives and paragraphs in fluorescent marker pen allow you to become a literature Nazi and deprive others from reading a superbly written novel? And keeping all this aside, HOW do they even take themselves seriously?

Correct me if I am wrong, but these are exactly the kind of people our country does NOT require.
I am going to get myself a copy of the book as soon as possible now!


P.S. This Friday, I am going for a Pearl Jam tribute gig at B69. My first 'gig'. I am so excited! :)


P.P.S. Twilight also features on the list of banned books. Now THAT was a good thing. :P

Trimester Ends.

Fun fact: I always associated the word trimester with pregnancy before college began.
And sometimes, it still feels that way.

The first trimester is a time of profound changes, and everyone experiences these changes in their own unique way. Excitement and fatigue. Anxiety and hope. Junk food sprees and the subsequent weight gain. The coffee craving. The occasional mood swing.
That's common to both the blushing newly-pregnant woman and the outgoing college kid, don't you agree?

The first trimester of my first year in college ends today.
It's eleven in the morning. Yes, you guessed correctly, I bunked. Who attends two lectures of Sociology in sweltering October heat on a Saturday morning, anyway? :P

Exams start in three days.
Can I call myself prepared?
Not by the farthest stretch of even Shakespeare's imagination!

Even Elvis and Pearl Jam are unable to make bivariate linear regression(Whaaaaaat? :O) somewhat interesting.
Am I doomed or am I doomed?

But oh, look!

08 OCTOBER 2010

Guest Post: An Open Letter to a Stranger

This new guest post is brought to you by Nitisha; a fellow writer and blogger. She is a great writer who recently sent this post as an email submisison. Don't forget to submit your guest posts to jhaish09@gmail.com. Check out Nitisha's Open Letter to a Stranger then check out her blog here.

Here's the story.
I sent Jessi, the super blogger on The Musings of a Wannabe Star(having 1109 followers, not to miss!) my blog-post "To a Stranger" a week ago, and she actually posted it on her blog!! Check it out at http://jhaish.blogspot.com/2010/10/guest-post-open-letter-to-stranger.html
Exciting, right? :)

Guess there is something nice to be found in the worst of situations.
A pearl in an oyster, the end of a trimester.

Later. :)

I Spy :The Elevator Edition

How many times have I traveled by an elevator? Uh, somewhere in the range of a million? I currently reside on the 12th floor, so there's that, then college and malls and airports, the list is long, and honestly, dull.  But that does not stop me, (does anything? :P) from making a few observations on that, on average, 35 second lift ride up or down.

 You might not even know the name of the person standing ten inches from you, (quite the friendly neighbor, I am) but still: You know what he's reading;  his cologne(or its lack thereof) ;  his taste in music coz of course his iPod's volume is turned up high enough that your eardrums are revolting : his cell-phone's ringtone and why will it be anything but 'Tera tera tera suroooooor" and you will surely guess that he's had aloo parathas with spicy chutney for lunch. Whoever first called India the land of spices said it from 'stuck with an Indian in a closed space' experience! 

All at once, it's weird yet completely normal. Here we are, two complete strangers stuck in a closed box for less than a minute and yet we part knowing more random details about each other than many in our friend circle. To think, this is when we haven't even exchanged a single word. 

Move to "Hello" time. The inevitable(not always, ironically!) conversation starter.
The sharp divide between Introverts and Extroverts is a lie. So is the divide between 'tomayto' and 'tomahto', the Montagues and the Capulets, the bibliophiles and the comic book readers. All the people in the world can broadly be divided into two kinds of people- People who chit-chat in an elevator,  and those who don't.

You know the drill if you're in the latter group.  Aimlessly play around with your cell-phone, check your hair if there are mirrors around etc etc. Aaah, the silence does carry the acute weight of discomfort and just waiting to get the hell out! Neutered of even basic conversational skills that I am, the elevator ride just makes me feel the sheer inadequacy of these silly social skills. And, if you fall squarely in group 1, then you absolutely have to make eye contact, fake- smile and nod a silent hello, and wait for Aunty to ask, "How is college?" or "Where is Mumma these days?" before you ask, "Aunty, I haven't seen Pappu in the longest time!" or "Thanks for the lasagna you sent over, it was yummy!"

And oh, how can I even forget the drone of Kenny G elevator music .3 times a day, aaaaaaaargh, I've had enough!

Is it time to get all "I'm going to be a health freak" and take the stairs?

Yeah, we'll see how that goes. :P

P.S. In India, an elevator is called a lift. In case you're not from the country and are wondering why people are waiting for a car to give you a ride while waiting in the line for the elevator. :P

Dabangg kills, Punjabi pop revives.

"I'm trying to find myself as a person, sometimes that's not easy to do. Millions of people live their entire lives without finding themselves. But it is something I must do,"Marilyn Monroe had once said.
I nod my head in firm assent.
BUT, I've been so unbelievably busy of late!
Economics Project, Effective Communication Project, writing the NMIMS Entrepreneurship blog, this, that and the other.


Irrelevant, of course. I should pay more attention to this little corner I proudly call mine. Apologies. :)


Of course, all this added co-curricular and academic pressure, has brought out the veritable monster in me.
Finicky, hyperventilating at the slightest delay, at the smallest inconsistency with the project at hand.
(I screamed at three team members today, UNAPOLOGETICALLY please note. :P)


Maybe it's the Dabangg effect. 
Yes, that is what I like to call it.

I was so disillusioned with 'Bollywood", film critics (IT GOT 4 STARS ON FIVE. Whaaaaaaat?), débutante directors and of course, action directors, script writers and the whole jing-bang, crass toilet humor, the surname Pande, that the burst of adrenaline(crazy frustration?) drove me to work on a project for 6 straight hours. So much so, that my eyes were blood red, my bottom was glued to the chair, my concerned father actually put down the laptop screen and my mother cooked my favourite-pasta in alfredo sauce only to get me alive and kicking again. :P




The only thing that kept me entertained. A certain steroid-muscled Mr. Salman Khan dancing to, 
"Jo sab ko paar lagawe re hai wohi dabangg
Daar ko kaate re, cheer dhare sanatte re
Jab veer bhare khunkhaare
Udd udd dabangg dabangg dabangg dabangg" 


That killed me.


Okay, back to being busy.

Which translates into dancing madly and wildly like a roadside drunkard to cheap band music that's playing ALL the time coz a certain Hindu elephant god festival is in progress. :D (Dancing to "Bolo tarararara" right now. Aaaah, Punjabi pop is such a mood lifter!)


India, I tell you. I love it. :)

Murphy's Laws for poor little management students.

1. If the timetable says college starts at 10 and the first lecture is Politics, then it REALLY starts at 11.30 or never starts at all.  'Absent minded professor' is not another empty obsolete stereotype,mind you.
On the other hand, if the first lecture is Maths, class starts at 9.45 and yes, you're late if you stroll in at ten and won't be given attendance.

2. No class ever starts on time unless you are running late and really need the delay to make it to the classroom.

3.The floor in between the 3rd and the 4th floor, the mysterious P floor, is the scary haunted area that featured prominently in your nightmares. Scientists are working day and night trying to figure out why it exists. CERN came into existence to figure out the mystery behind the floor named P.

4. You will inevitably be squished and squashed in the lift, after waiting for half an hour in the company of wet socks and stinking armpits. But the college has it all figured out. They play Kenny G in the lift to relax you once you get in, and are struggling to breathe.

5. The Georgia tea on the 5th and 7th floor is the best thing in the world.

6. If you want to go bankrupt in a week, eat only and only from the college's very own canteen cutely named Aditi. Items start at Rs.20 and go upto Rs.70. Do the smart thing and make the rich dumb-asses who carry their Apple Mac laptops in the rain everyday to pay.


7.It is possible to pass your midterms by studying for exactly half a minute.
(Says the girl who studied Maths for 2 whole hours the day before, and then wrote 48*3=72 in the paper.)


8. Know the meaning of the word 'twain' to score well in your Effective Communication exam.


9.Don't get me started on the teachers.


10. Next time you hear they finally have a practical approach to studies in India, and the college provides a lot of industry exposure to students etc... Don't believe it. India is rote-learners paradise. That's what makes India, India after all.


"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong".


All hail Murphy.

Surviving superstition and independent India.

Greetings, all!

If you're reading this, you survived and lived to tell the tell of the "ominous" Friday the 13th!

A day when, if you are even mildly superstitious or believe in statistics backing up these claims, you could have...

-Been hospitalized for a severe case of Paraskavedekatriaphobia- a morbid irrational fear of Friday the 13th.

-Been laid up in bed(or in a morgue,for that matter) coz of a transport accident.

-Had to change your wedding/engagement/big promotion at work/let's leave for my first holiday in 5 years date.

You're alive, and as I write this, I check my pulse rate and I pinch myself. I can't believe it! I actually beat the odds! I'm alive too. Yaaay us! :P

You know who else celebrated being alive and kickin' and so-very-independent this weekend? 

India!!!

Why don't we just answer a few questions here..

Do we know (atleast the opening lines) of Nehru's "Tryst With Destiny" speech? 

Or sing the national anthem right before the movie plays at the nearest multiplex? 

Or sing(okay, lip-sync) the national song in a certain school function? 

Or wear white, or even tri-coloured clothing for just that one day to depict your undying love and devotion towards our motherland?

It's irrelevant what your answers are to these questions. It is definitely not required of you to wear your patriotism, superficial as it may be, on your sleeve.

We belong to a country where 42% of the citizens are below the poverty line, an overwhelming and super-crowded population of 1.1 billion (AND INCREASING EVERY SECOND), 43% of the kids born are underweight and have little access to education or food.

"India is not a powerful country that its wishes are respected by other countries. India is considered as a soft and weak country even if it is progressing economically," the Delhi High Court said in July.

The bureaucracy reeks of corruption and red-tapism, the politicians are money-hungry, laidback and lacklustre when it come to actually delivering on their promises.

Famines. Disease epidemics. Bad sanitation. Secessionists.

You name it, our country has it.

These are pertinent facts, that cannot and should not be ignored.

As my best friend said to me that day, if Gandhiji knew that this was what he fought for so ardently, he wouldn't have done it at all.

This is not to take away from the fact that India HAS changed, and is changing.

I'm not just talking about the flyovers, the multi-storeyed buildings,satellite launches, malls, planes, the thriving private sector, the 2 Indians in the top 5 of the Forbes' annual list of billionaires in the world, the increasing foreign investments, the high-end cars and designer brands, the fact that 36% of NASA employees are Indians or that 38% of the doctors in America are Indians or that 220 of the Fortune 500 companies outsource their work to India.

I'm talking about certain other facts. 

The fact that so many people in rural India are switching to mobile handsets and using ATM facilities.

Or the fact that many venture capitalists believe that the first Computing/Internet experience for rural Indians  (or broadly, most Indians) would be through mobiles and are investing heavily in our country. Railway ticketing, Matrimonials, Astrology, Education, Religious services, Games, Maps,  on-demand movies, etc would be attractive to rural users and in particular to children and house-hold women.

The rising number of grassroot innovators. Take for example cultivating square watermelons for optimal utilization of storage space, almost free refrigeration using earthen-wear pots, the invention of the water-cycle or great successes like community based banks.

These are the stories that make you smile, get up and think, okay, maybe being cynical about our country's independence isn't all that great.

Take an unbiased neutral view of our country. 

Yes, we have more than our fair share of problems; no one's denying that. Just don't take pride in them and show off how absolutely downtrodden and backward our country is. That would not only make you inaccurate and completely one-sided, it would make you seem downright ignorant of ground reality. 

Because things are changing. Slowly, i admit, but surely.

As for myself, I enjoy living in a country so very diverse and with so many problems.

It gives me that much more to work towards.

"This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell."

-last lines from the Tryst With Destiny Speech by Jawaharlal Nehru.

10 things a 17 year old girl should know/be able to do.

I'm on Chapter 3 of Norwegian Wood, and there's this great quote here. 

"Only the dead stay seventeen forever', Toru Watanabe says.

And that got me thinking about...Things I should know how to do, theoretically.

1. Know how to cook. I'm not talking your basic omelettes and Maggi, but the whole deal. Atleast 8 varieties of dal AND rice, how to make chapatis (without screaming at the top of your lungs that a roti-maker now exists), and an assortment of side dishes ranging from potatoes to bitter gourd. 

If I don't know how to cook, I am automatically

-A spoilt brat

-Ineligible for marriage

-Irresponsible, and possibly rebellious.

Explanation-I am an Indian. :P

How do I measure up? I'm petrified of turning the gas knob. :(

2. Shake hands firmly.

Girls often have that really limp handshake, probably coz of their incurable neurosis or shyness. (Look left.)

 Then there's that stalker handshake, where they take your hand and don't let go for an inordinately long time.

It's simple, really. Stick out your hand and imagine yourself grabbing a Coke bottle. One-Mississippi-Two-Mississipi. Done.

3. Know the valency and electronic configuration of Beryllium. 

It may just help you someday. :P

4. Read a self-help book or a women's magazine without thinking you need to change one single thing about yourself.

5. Value chivalry when you are at the receiving end of it.

Women are independent and chivalry isn't dead, it just isn't required as much anymore. BUT..

As an answer to the domestic slavery and abuse of bygone eras, women now have this I-aint-need-no-help-from-a-man attitude. So when the poor gentleman actually does pull out a chair for you, you start ranting a feminist speech. 

Stop it. 

There aren't that many gentlemen left in the world anyway.

6. Know that the Twilight series is NOT, and I repeat, NOT literature.

AND

7. Having a crush on a guy who plays a white-faced vampire with crazy hair(read Robert Pattinson) does NOT make you cool or a person with anything resembling good taste.

8. Know how to drive.

It's time to break the above stereotype.The dark ages are upon us. Auto fares have increased. BEST buses are brimming with dirty sweaty armpits.

And Mumbai traffic is well,... It renders me speechless.

I'm going to start learning early next year. Maybe I'll just practice until then!

9. Know directions. 

You should be able to tell a stranger the precise directions to reach Point B from Point A, without messing up right from left, 'go straight' from 'take a left at the crossing, then another left and another left and yet another left'.

10. Know how to detect when people are talking nonsense, no matter how fluent or intelligent it all sounds at face value. Next time someone tells you they have a "ground breaking" proposal for you, or says something like "Our dynamic flow capacity matrix has unprecedented downtime resistance protocols"... 

Please take the time out to smell the bullshit.

Green tea break now.

Later. :)

A Tale of Two Aishas.

Aisha.
This beautiful name of Arabic origin means "alive", or "she who lives".

Two Aishas dominated the news this weekend, for two very different reasons.

Let's start with the trivial. The Sonam Kapoor-Abhay Deol starrer Aisha.

(First thoughts as I see this-BIMBOS!)
Why I even choose to write about this Bollywood chick flick is because it is supposedly an adaption of the Jane Austen classic, Emma.
And Emma, is one of the very few classics I can read and re-read forever, and then some.
Now, Bollywood(yes,I will call it that, calling it cinema is like calling fungi beautiful) churns out, at the very least 500 films a year. Is asking for one half-decent movie a year too much? That too, when the story you're drawing inspiration from has been around for the past 185 years. But I see the trailers and all I see is bright hair accessories and trendy shoes and silly dance moves.
This movie has got 2 stars out of 5. Who is surprised?

As a general thumb rule, I don't like watching movie adaptations of books. But tickets have already been booked for this evening by my parents.(I think.) Understandably, my expectations are zero.
I shall concentrate on my caramel popcorn and jumbo Coke in the worst case scenario that we actually do go. :P


Moving on now. To a way less glamorous Aisha.
Bibi Aisha, her name is.

The face on the cover of Time magazine is graceful, serene and unimaginably maimed. The heart-shaped hole where 18-year-old Aisha's nose should be is a mark of justice, Taliban style.

I'm pasting here the New York Times account of her horrific experience.

"At age 12, Aisha and her younger sister were given to the family of a Taliban fighter in Oruzgan Province under a tribal custom for settling disputes, known as “baad.” Aisha’s uncle had killed a relative of the groom to be, and according to the custom, to settle the blood debt her father gave the two girls to the victim’s family.

Once Aisha reached puberty, she was married to the Taliban fighter, but since he was in hiding most of the time, she and her sister were housed with the in-laws’ livestock and used as slaves, frequently beaten as punishment for their uncle’s crime.

Aisha fled the abuse, but her husband tracked her down in Kandahar a year ago, took her back to Oruzgan, and on a lonely mountainside cut off her nose and both ears and left her bleeding. She said she still did not remember how she managed to walk away to find help.

In Pashtun culture, a husband who has been shamed by his wife is said to have lost his nose, Ms. Naderi explained; from the husband’s point of view, he would have been punishing Aisha in kind."


I write this knowing fully well that Taliban-infested Afghanistan is home to a million more such Aishas. After all, 90% of the country's female population is banned from access to education, 97% women in the country show signs of severe depression and thousands are abducted, raped and killed indiscriminately. Reducing women to mere objects, the minister of education says, "It's like having a flower or a rose. You water it and keep it at home for yourself, to look at and smell it. It [a woman] is not supposed to be taken out of the house to be smelled." The plight of women, as stated by another Taliban leader, is that "there are only two places for Afghan women - in her husband's house, and in the graveyard."

From where does one even begin to comprehend the depth and and deep-rooted nature of extremism prevalent in the country? For heaven's sake, we are talking about a country's economy that is driven by its opium and hashish production and export.
And the U.S.A, for all its good intentions, must understand that unless the country decides to pull itself out of the medieval ages, no amount of war will change the sheer depravity of the mainstream figures in that country,be it terrorists, the government or civilians.

Bibi Aisha is travelling to the U.S. for reconstructive surgery this week. As the brave survivor puts it herself, “I don’t know if it will help other women or not, I just want to get my nose back.” 
This is the story of Aisha, eloquently, the girl who lives.


"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
- Charles Dickens, last line from A Tale of Two Cities