Note to friends from social media

Usually my FB/ Twitter timeline is filled with political garbage,  misplaced jingoism and pseudo feminist crap. Mostly copied or shared from unverified and untrue sources. Quite harmful I'd say. We must be cautious of not only what others are posting but also mindful of what we put out there. Mis-information is one of the biggest perils of this information age. Allow me to elaborate by examples. 

1. Political:
Mr A is very much against one political party. He every day puts post and comment against them. He refuses to acknowledge and overlooks any good work by that party. He can never appreciate rationale. Mr A is a duffer.

You are not as duffer as Mr A, but you read his TL daily, you don't verify his post from credible resources. Before you know it, you are as duffer as Mr A. You may be against him or with him doesn't matter. You would be still be a duffer. 

2. Personal:
Ms B had a bad relationship. All day she shares posts that maligns men and eulogise women. Ms B is now firmly anti men, pseudo feminist lady. She posts what suits her, not what is correct. She is trying to address her problems from wrong resources and knitting her own web of problems. Ms B is looser.

You are not a looser like Ms B. You read her TL daily, but you don't verify it. Your partner is a good lad. He isn't perfect but has some really good qualities. Before you know it, you will start looking your guy from Ms B's tainted glasses. Only his imperfections will be visible to you. Soon you will join Ms B's loosers club.
Above example applies to both gender.

3. Pictures and videos
This one is pretty serious and I will be recounting my own experience rather than example. Won't share the names for personal and safety reasons.
I was friends online with a lady I knew. She was married. This was the time of Orkut. She had a long list of virtual friends many of whom were not personally known to her. She was pretty comfortable in sharing her pics, sometimes in attires that were fairly minimalistic (sorry, couldn't think of any other politically correct word). Anyways who am I to judge.
But long after orkut was out of vogue, I saw her pics on another guys system who couldn't possibly be her friend. A close look and I realised my friends pics were in a porn pic site. There were filthy comments all over it. I reported those pics, but what's out there on net is out there forever.

Wether you realise it or not your online postings gives people a idea of the real you and also at times gives a fairly good idea of your personal life. Not saying that it is wrong, but just saying that what it means. Share responsibly, post with care. We all have a fairly large friend list and a lot many of them are not your friends in true sense of the word.

As usual that was long. Thanks for your patient reading...
Tinu...

Gender Equality

We live in a world where a boy dating many girls is a Casanova, but a girl doing the same is slut,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a mother gets a full quarter of paid maternity leave, but paternity leaves don't go beyond a week,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a girl is denied higher education, and a boy is pushed into it,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a husband hitting his wife is a crime, but a wife hitting her  husband is a WhatsApp joke,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

He wants a fair, slim, 'homely' wife. But himself is fat, can't cook , won't cook guy,
Yes, he also talks of gender equality.

She wants a tall, seven figure salaried, well settled (not with in-laws) guy. But herself earns in five figures, can't cook, won't cook girl,
Yes, she also wants gender equality.

We live in a world where a guy moving up in office is either talented or a chamcha, but a girl moving up, is definitely sleeping with boss,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world which constantly reminds of a mother's great sacrifice in nurturing you, but never mentions that silent father, who always kept your fancy dress above his worn out shoes,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a fifty year old unmarried actor is still the most eligible bachelor, but a 40 something unmarried actress is a sad story,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a woman doing a job and also taking care of house is deemed a super-woman, but a man doing the same is just doing his duty,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

Thanks for your patient reading...
Tinu...

P.s : If the above post offends you, I truly don't give a damn. If you beg to differ, please leave a comment.

Perils of Online wisdom

I am writing again today. It's exciting actually. The best part of blogging here now is the fact that probably no one's going to read it. So I am not worried about likes or retweets. It's now my own personal diary.
Wanted to say something very harmful happening around us. Social media 'gyaan' or 'wisdom' . It's short, catchy, and mostly untrue and harmful. I am not just talking about the misinformation that is being spread for political reasons, but more on a personal front. We are shaping behaviours, we are creating attitude. We are using creative one liners to justify, or worse, glorify wrong perceptions. Take this for an example, a post in FB said " It is beautiful when you stop caring for things in life and start living free". How on earth stop caring in your life makes someone free. One must be mad or utterly selfish to not care for anything. I care about my family, my job, friends etc. It does not make me their slave. This is just a sample. Online space is full of brain devoid things like this. People read them, find the one which is convenient for them. Probably something which would justify their faults and use it frequently, oh and also share it online. Allow me to explain how this works. Today by my bad luck I stumbled upon Splistsvilla, a sleazy cheap reality show in MTV. A girl contestant proudly said, she thinks all men are dogs and they need to be trained. She then asked what's wrong with that as it is her personal view. If it were a tweet she would probably also tell everyone to stop 'judging' her. Reality is, all men are not dogs, there is everything wrong with your 'personal' view and we will be bloody judging you and your persona on your views.
Next time you see such sweeping statements online, I request you to think about it. See if it is true for you or truth in general. If the later is not the case, challenge it then and there.
Thanks for your patient reading...
Tinu...

परिवर्तन

आज फिर दो साल के अंतराल के पश्चात कुछ लिख रहा हूँ. काफी कुछ बदल गया है। व्यक्तिगत एवं व्यवसायिक जीवन में कुछ बड़े परिवर्तन हुए है। पर शायद दुनिया मेरे जीवन से कहीं ज्यादा गति से परिवर्तित हुई है। अब देख लीजिये, पहली बार हिंदी में लिख रहा हूँ, वह भी लैपटॉप मे नहीं, मोबाइल में। एंड्राइड ने जैसे सारा संसार अपने में समां लिया हो। हर परिवर्तन कुछ अच्छा और बुरा समेटे लाता है। पिछ्ले 5 साल में एंड्राइड ने ऐसा ज़ोर पकड़ा है की अब तकरीबन हर चीज़ का एप्लीकेशन बन गया है, काफी कुछ आसानी से हो जाता है। पर ये भी सच है की हम आत्मनिर्भरता से मोबाइल निर्भरता की और भाग रहे है। परंतु ये मनुष्य की प्रवित्ति पर निर्भर है। अब डायनामाइट से पहाड़ तोड़ने है की घर, इसका निर्णय तो हमें ही लेना ह, डायनामाइट ने नहीं ।

अरे हाँ बड़ी बात तो रह गयीे। मैं तकरीबन दो साल पहले पिता बना, एक बहुत सुन्दर और नटखट बेटी का। भगवान से बेटी मांगी और उस ने सुन ली।  जीवन पूरा उसके इर्द गिर्द घूमता है। अपने आँखों के सामने उसे पैदा होते देखा और अब बड़ा होते हुए देख रहा हूँ। सब एक किसी चलचित्र की तरह याद है। उसका इस संसार में आना, पहली हंसी, पहले कदम, पहले शब्द, सब कुछ मस्तिष्क के एक सुरक्षित कोने में सहेज के रख दिया है।सच कहूँ तो पहली बार पता चला की प्रेम किसे कहते है। परमेश्वर को कोटि कोटि नमन।।।

नाम है वान्या, जिसका एक अर्थ है आदर्श पुत्री।

पढ़ने के लिए धन्यवाद, ज्यादा समय नष्ट हुआ लगता हो तो लॉगआउट करे और ट्विटर में जाए।

Why so long?

Four years and no posts... Yes I am alive and I Do remember the password. I am married now, since three years. Hope that explains my absence :P

Nostalgia (Me as well)

Going through sam's post and Venky's reaction made me nostalgic as well, so taking the feel from sam and idea from venky, here is a post, a collection of pics and some interesting memories associated with it.

The story, From top, left to right

Pic 1- Venky being molested by sam, just look at the expression of poor little venky. This brutal act by sam was frequent, and with all of us, till date I doubt about sam's sexual orientation.(Pun intended sam, if you are reading this)

Pic 2- Yeah venky wasn't alone facing this, thats me, you don't know what your roommates can turn into. Expressions on ritesh is worth watching, what a horny guy.

Pic 3- Me and Sanjiv Rai in my flat at ber sarai, Rai sahab was my first roomie in hostel, wonderful guy, very creative. You will love him, hate him, praise him, he can accomodate in all your emotions. A perfect partner if you are looking out to do something insane(he will be always one step ahead in that insanity)

Pic 4- Thats TDH(tall dark handsome) ani, hottie richa and naughty pooja, a pic clicked at one the many parties organized by LBSIM in Delhi flying club. Almost every party of LBS was at DFC only, so it didn't came as a surprise when Adesh(my roommate at ber sarai) got commited with Upasana (a great frnd and our director's daughter) at DFC. As for richa, poo and ani, words fail to describe the bond I shared with these guys

Pic 5- Residents of 55-A Ber sarai posing after India won T20 world cup, a historic day in Indian cricket, this posing was followed by a mad road side dance with local dholis in the narrow lanes of Ber sarai.

Pic 6- Me with sachin goel at lbs on rose day. All these roses and we were single for the rest of our days at LBSIM, we should have picked some red roses I guess

Pic 7- Ritesh garg on congo, the guy was the spinal cord of music club mantra. My brief stint with music started and ended at LBS. I will always be thankful to each and every member of Mantra to give me those unforgettable moments of my life.

Pic 8- A rose created out of tomatoes by our lovely friend Juhi. The pic is significant for many reasons cause that was one significant day or night shall I say. After this was clicked and consumed, we went on to India Gate, me, ani, venkat, sam and santosh. The small trip to India Gate brought out a fabulous writer ani out of hiding by the means of his blog , his first post, a night of many first times, remember sindhu(if at all you are reading this).

Pic 9- Back bencher association alias BBA, the pic is incomplete though, it lacks me, ani and rahul. All these guy were my roommates, wonderful guys to be with. Have a whole post dedicated to my roommates Link .

Pic 10- First party of BBA. What a hell of a party at piyush's room. Two things I can never forget , piyush's disgusted looks, when he accidentally got a peek inside rahul's underwear and santosh's hysterical non stop laugh at end.

Pic 11- Last train from Delhi, I left Delhi after this was clicked, missed my farewell party...sad very sad...can't say anything else. Just after this pic I got tears rolling down my cheeks.. Very significant day, will tell in my next post why..

Pic 12- Holi at LBSIM, I celebrated holi after 4 years at LBS(thanks to my engg college) and haven't celebrated holy ever since, till date.

Thanks for your patient reading,

Tinu...

P.S Special thanks to sam and venky for writing nostalgia in their blogs.

Helped alive by a Undertaker

Hi folks, this is about a real life experience I had during my stint as a summer trainee at TERI in Delhi. For the background of it, during our MBA we are supposed to work with a corporate for summer project in order to complete our first year. I got placed in The Energy and Research Institute(TERI). The profile demanded me to do a feasibility study of Biomass Gasifiers TERI had designed especially in commercial applications. The damn thing was a chulha, which worked on biomass. It not only worked with ease of a LPG gas but was cheaper also. I had to suggest the company on all the 4P's i.e product, price, place and promotion. Somewhere during the project I realized that I should know the whole distribution of firewood, if it is there at all. The distribution of Biomass fuel or pellets as we called it would be quite similar to it. But I didn't had a clue of the firewood network(who does??) so I consulted my marketing professor Mr Pankaj Priya, bingo and he had a weird idea... Why don't you go a shamshaan Ghat(crematorium) and find out..???

So here I was, a fully formally dressed MBA grad, hanging a laptop, standing on the gates of Munirka Shamshaan Ghat.. When I barged in, there were two people burning(may god bless them), the workers were quite amused to see me. They were used to see people in groups usually carrying a dead on there shoulder. A jazzy young college grad, wearing a equally flashy(and cheap) shades, carrying a laptop was too much for a crematorium. I asked for the incharge, and the chandaal(undertaker) came out of his room. He was surprised, to say the least, and when I told him that I needed his help in my MBA project he was floored. I was immediately invited in, he had a small room with only one messy bed(not much lively visitors eh..) I looked for a place for both of us to sit since the bed was quite messy and guess what, he made me sit on a coffin, that was the only other thing available. Then he went on explaining on everything about firewood network. I must confess, I got more information than I asked for, the guy not only knew his job but also all things connected to it. How wood is obtained from wholesalers in west Delhi, how to bring it here to retail (crematoriums, retailers from slum etc), what is the source of wood, at what price wholesaler gets it, what are the margins etc etc.. That served my purpose, I thanked him. When I started going out he offered me tea, I could not refuse. So then we had hot tea in hot delhi at a hot crematorium. I am guessing I am the only one in my entire clan who had a tea inside a crematorium. Usually when we burn our dead, we come back and purify ourselves by bathing and doing some rituals, but here I was having tea with a friendly undertaker, forget rituals I didn't even bothered myself with a bath after coming out, I had to go elsewhere. Thinking of this now makes me philosophical, how easily we forget the existence and importance of some people. All I can say is that was a whole new perspective

Last words of the undertaker to me--- "Sahab fir miliyega zarurat ho to"(Sir, please come again if you need me)...I don't know if I would ever need him alive again, but his kind would definitely of use once I am all done.

Thanks for your patient reading.

Tinu..