When leaders fail, tragedy follows

Abnormal situations are the tests of leadership. In Kashmir the situation has been abnormal for a long time and no leadership came up that could meet it with imagination. Hopes were kindled a year ago when elections in Kashmir saw the highest turnout in its history and eventually Omar Abdullah became the youngest chief minister in that history.

He quickly became the biggest disappointment as well in Kashmir’s history. Astonishingly the Chief Minister continued to live in Delhi for months on the plea that his family was settled there and his kids were going to school there. With that kind of mentality, it was no wonder that the law-and-order situation in ever-explosive Kashmir deteriorated and the Chief Minister seemed to have no clue as to what to do. Speaking articulately on national television appeared to be his way of handling crises.

Actually the last election was a historical opportunity for Kashmir to turn a new leaf towards peace and progress. Orders by separatist groups to boycott the election were largely ignored by people. Prominent among the voters were young people. It was suddenly there for everyone to see that a new generation had come of age who had seen only violence and unrest and who did not share the political, communal emotionalism of the earlier generation. They longed for peace and opportunities to catch up with other young people in the rest of India and the world.

That new generation was let down by all the political groupings. While Omar Abdullah exhibited both his inexperience and his tendency to take his position for granted because of his heredity and wealth, other political leaders were just as self-obsessed. The main opposition leader, Mehbooba Mufti, is one of the most negative personalities in politics. In power she offered nothing; out of power she agrees with nothing. Other group leaders have small private constituencies to nurture and don’t seem interested in looking at the larger picture.

In the current situation of hightened tension and civilian deaths, the very emergence of a new class called “stone pelters” should have opened the eyes of these leaders as well as the authorities in Srinagar and Delhi. These are not the usual terrorists, suicide bombers and foreign agents. These are the local boys of local families who are angered that, in the name of security, the security forces are killing unarmed boys and girls. This was a time for political leaders to get together in a show of solidarity for the sake of peace. But the Abdullahs and the Muftis and the faction leaders do not have the leadership to understand that.

Do the big leaders in Delhi have that quality? The Prime Minister visited Kashmir recently. That was another good opportunity to announce a policy shift or two that would have reassured the ordinary citizens. The opportunity was missed. All that Delhi could think of was a march by the army and an exhortation from Home Minister Chidambaram to parents in Srinagar to keep their boys home.

In the case of the Naxals, Chidambaram has shifted from his earlier move to use military force against the rebels to accepting the importance of local economic-social development as part of the required solution. In the case of Kashmir, it is time to devise ways that would encourage at least new-generation Kashmiris to think that India and Indians are on their side. The current sentiment of locals looking upon India as an unwanted presence is no compliment to Delhi or to the dynasties that have been ruling Kashmir. In the northeastern states, they still see India as a foreign country.

The priority that Delhi gives to cultivating the US abroad and the likes of DMK and Trinamool at home may be inevitable. But to deny high priority to people’s welfare in important border states is to reinforce their sense of alienation. That is Pakistan’s work, not ours.

Lavan Kashmalan? Whozz Kashmalan?

I don't think Vinith Sreenivasan is a good singer, Same way. i don't think Shaan Rahman is a good composer. It's true that their music albums which was targeted on certain groups were good entertaining pieces. Vinith, a very busy singer, sings atleast one song in an album ( Real reason, his influence on directors and producers)
Shaan Rahman is a good programmer, respect him for his commitment,nothing beyond that.

We all know that Vinith is Actor Sreenivasan's son. So naturally there will be a hype (artificial) for his directorial debut. They have given it an interesting name 'Malarvaadi Arts Club'. I just want to talk about the lyrics and music of this film.

What have they done? Music is just average
They have targeted the masses, with hummable tunes and meaningless words.
Words like Lavan and Kashmalan, Thottu theenduka, are they real meaningful words?

These musicians should have some commitment to the society. Now, the real problem, little kids start repeating these words and they will be automatically added to their vocab. And one point they will think, there is nothing wrong with these words.
Makers expect these things to happen, only then their product will have long lasting impacts.

Define the quality of music.
It includes the melody and lyrical value not the great 'sounding' alone.

Thankfully the audio hasn't picked well, So we can expect less damage !!
Somebody please educate them !!

My thoughts on Puli

I am doing this ony for Neha Singh, Head of Sony Music, she asked me to write a review.
So im doing a sin, i know, reviewing legend A.R. Rahmans music.


1) Power Star ---- 3.5/5.0
Singers : Vijay Prakash, Tanvi Shah

This song is full of Josh and energy
Lyrics are good ,Catchy. Wonder whether common Telugu listeners understand what Tanvi is singing :-) Phone ringing sound mix is good in the middle
Orchestrisation and vocals dominate more. Vijay Prakash is touching all genres and yea it's a well mixed track.



2) Amma Thale -----4.0 /5.0
Singers: Naresh Iyer, Swethe Mohan

The pronunciation and accent by singers is different and new.
You like the song on repeated hearing. Definitely my favourite song in the album.

3) Maaralente -----3.5/5.0
Singers : A. R. Rahman and KMMC Choir
Conducted by Kavita Baliga

The main Theme of the Album- inspirational
Rahman’s voice suited well. But you dont get that something that you get from Vandemaataram or Aazadi. Cheers to KMMC choir.

4) Maham Maye ------3.0/5.0
Singers : Javed Ali, Suchitra Vocals :Milli Nair

It is a duet and catchy in the first hearing itself, but why Javed Ali?
The song sounds similar to “Raagala Chilaka” of Palnati Porusham.
Good to see Suchi's & Mili's name in the track list.

5) Dochey ------2.5/5.0
Singers : Shreya Ghoshal, Lady Kash 'N' Krissy

You are one Who make the Bad guys cry…..The cheddavallu Cry

The song sounds like an item Number, Vocals and Orchestra make a strong impact.
Shreya Ghoshal adds more sweetness with her voice in the Middle.
Lady Kash 'N' Krissy? Rahman couldn't find any better female rappers i guess.

6) Namakame ------3.0/5.0
Singers : Chitra, Madhushree, Harini

Offering prayers to god- Devotional Bhajan Type ,Similar to Lagan’s “O Paalan haarey”

Rahman Songs make us less bothered about the lyrics any way. Don't blame the lyricist Chandra Bose -because we have heard even more worst lyrics written(literally translated from Tamil) earlier by A.M.Ratnam for Rahman Songs.

Over all a good album .
Like any other Rahman’s recent album this one too is not an instant Hit but slowly gets injected on repeated hearings. But he shouldn't try doing this. 100 songs are releasing everyday and we can't expect people to hear the song everyday to get it injected. We have seen what happened to Ravan songs. Somewhere i feel, he has lost his senses, Is all these attention given by millions forcing him to do crazy stuffs and sound horrible? Need to think.

Audio might be a hit

Overall rating ------- 3.5 / 5

Some more lessons learned

1) Think with your brain not with your heart, it always screws up your life.
2) Life is not always fair, so pointless to complaint.
3) Love often disappears like fart in air.
4) Always remember those who stood by you in your bad times, they are the one's whom you can rely on.
5) Money & Relation can never co-exist.
6) Take responsibility of situation rather than blaming others.Experience makes everyone perfect.
7) There's no glory in sacrifice so stop doing it for your own good.
8) Have a fighter's attitude in life; it will always lead to success.
9) Sometimes being mean is better than being kind.
10) Always thank God for whatever you have today. It could have been worse.
11) Don't give a shit what people think about you, most important is
what you think about yourself.
12) Life is always Simple … We always complicate it.
13) Life is like a boomerang…. What goes around comes around. So think before you act.
14) At last have faith in the Supreme God, help will come in time of need.

Real Dowry !!

I have this habit of peeping into others profile, though i wont admit that. Neha Nair, a singer/Vj based in Trivandrum was asking some thoughts on dowry system in India through her twitter profile. Then i came to know that it was actually for Dhanya Varma, who host 'Talking Point' in Rosebowl Channel. Was completely jobless and thought of writing something and messaging her. So here it goes

I think we can all agree that dowry deaths are a social stigma that India should get rid off. We cannot be seen as a progressive society if so many young women are killed because their husbands and in-laws are unhappy with the dowry they have received.

Even if the real numbers are significantly larger, they would still represent a tiny fraction of India’s population. But, it would be incorrect to conclude that this a practice that affects only a few. For the effect of dowry is not felt solely by the victims (and families of victims) of dowry deaths and harassment, but by the entire society.

Dowry is a manifestation of a greater social evil, one where women are thought of as a burden first on her parents and later on her husband and in-laws. Hence, the groom’s family is supposed to be compensated by the bride’s parents for taking this burden of their shoulders. Such a practice that stems from a belief that roughly half the population of the country is not equal to the other half is definitely detrimental for society, both from humanitarian and economic points of view. From an economic perspective, it is high sub-optimal when one half of the population is not allowed to contribute to the country’s economic growth.

Why then is dowry prevalent in India despite being illegal since 1961? This practice seems to ignore the borders of religion, caste, state, education and wealth. There might be an inverse correlation between education levels of the bride and likelihood of her family giving dowry (or like Levitt and Dubner suggested in Superfreakonomics, between spread of cable television and domestic abuse in India hehe). But there are enough cases in each of our personal lives that show that television and education alone are not enough to do away with the practice of dowry.

how you react when you hear of someone in your family or friends circle, asking or giving dowry. Do you threaten until we convince them or do you choose to look the other way and say, “We are like this only”? Most of us (if we are being honest with ourselves) will answer that we turn a blind eye to dowry when we see it happening in front of us.

The reasons that I can see for dowry being so prevalent are that:

1. Indian society continues to view women as a liability. People who take dowry believe that it is their right because they are taking on someone else’s liability, and people who give dowry feel they need to pay compensation for passing on their liability to someone else. At the heart of this is the feeling that women are not breadwinners.

2. People, who ask for dowry, are sure they can get away with it from the law and that there will be no societal sanctions imposed against them.

3. People, who give dowry, do so because they don’t want to be seen as rebelling against traditions or because they feel that it improves their social stature.

4. People who see it happening will look the other way even if they disagree with the practice. This is because they don’t realize that dowry is an externality for which they too are sharing the cost.

Getting rid of the scourge of dowry requires a multi-pronged approach. Here are some conventional approaches that many are trying:

i. More opportunities for women of all strata and education backgrounds to become financially independent.

ii. More awareness campaigns on how the entire society suffers if one family accepts dowry.

iii. Better enforcement of the law.

And here are some unconventional ideas that might be a little tougher to implement:

a. Increasing the minimum age of marriage for men and women to 24. This will do wonders for our population growth rate as well.

b. Encourage more youngsters to date and find their own spouses (preferably outside their own community) instead of relying on arranged marriages. Marriage is a union of two people and not a contract between families. There could be some government subsidies given to people who marry outside their community.

c. Encourage young couples to move out of their joint family house after marriage. This way, they are not a burden on anyone but each other. This can be done by offering cheap housing to those starting out in life.

d. Neighbourhood watch programs (like in the US to keep crime and drugs out of the neighbourhood) could help law enforcement agencies by educating their neighbourhood on the evils of dowry and reporting anyone who indulges in dowry.

Some of these might sound really weird. But on the other side,
if its Christians, they have this Christian Succession Law, where parents are forced to pass on their property share. Dowry for Christians is share now. Share in business, Share in trading, Share in farming etc etc. So it has reached a state where we cant clearly differentiate between Dowry and Share. These shares are transfered only after marriage, even after years of marriage, but there will be an understanding between both parties before the marriage. You can check this,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Law_of_Succession_in_India

Tired !! Let me go and grab some water now !!