A Suzuki Hayabusa...Or Is It?

Through a lack of anything new to post, I've decided to post pictures of a bike that was parked in our basement parking lot; at first glance it appears to be a Hayabusa but on closer inspection, gives away it's actual pedigree.

Note the following:

• The speedometer belongs to the Hunk


• The fuel tank says Suzuki but it also has the logo for Ferrari


• There were other less obvious indications like the shock absorbers and the handle bar which wouldn't really be noticable in the pics so there aren't any

And once again, please excuse the graininess and generally terrible picture quality, I don't have a proper camera anymore and have to make do with my phone.

Side Shot

  

Side Shot II

  

Fuel Tank

  

Speedometer

  

Length Shot

  

Backpack-Style Water Container For Water Gun For Holi

I've said it before, I don't like Holi. But it comes back every year and it's here again. Anyway, here's something interesting I spotted at the market the other day. The pictures are terribly grainy - my phone's camera isn't the best and it was night.

Backpack for water

  

Backpack for water - II

  

Anyway, what you should be able to see is a reddish-pink container for water (to be slung on your back, like a backpack) connected to a water gun (you can't really see that too well in the snaps) hanging upside-down in a plastic cover. Pretty neat and it's something I've not seen before. Too bad we didn't have this when we were kids and when Holi was still clean and fun!

Why I Don't Care That Slumdog Millionaire Has Swept The Oscars

Everyone's raving about Slumdog Millionaire and Indian's in particular are celebrating its Oscar wins. And I think that's just dumb. I' mnot saying the movie is bad (or for that matter, good). And I don't have a problem with the fact that it's helped get some attention to the problems of the slum dwellers. Or even the fact that it's got the talent of some of our artists acknowledged on a global stage. But while the cast, the story, the background may be Indian the fact of the matter is that the movie itself is not.

So why claim that we've finally made it to the Oscars (and won) when it's not a Bollywood film? Why not double our efforts and have an actual, through and through Indian movie win (not that winning an Oscar should be given so much importance but that's a rant for another time). The Kite Runner was set in Afghanistan and had an Afghani cast but you wouldn't say it was an Afghani movie, would you? So why this desperation to be recognized in the West? Why this craze over Rahman winning an Oscar when he has been consistenly winning awards and we already say that he's one of the best composers in our film industry? And the funny part is, most people I know are saying that this isn't even his best work! They opine that it's only because the movie isn't Indian that he's got the exposure and the award (which may very well be true but not necessarily a bad thing).

So let's not go crazy about this one movie when we pump out hundreds in a year. And where we have so many indigenous titles that are worth watching. From what I hear/ read, this isn't even a great movie, just a good one.

P.S. You may remember when I posted about why I didn't vote for the Taj Mahal. Yes, I do like to rant about these things and go against popular opinion, but usually just to play devil's advocate.

Delhi-6

We had a company sponsored movie screening today. We'd had the option of watching Delhi-6 or Billu Barber; an overwhelming majority voted for Delhi-6.

The movie was decent - I thought that the basic concept was interesting, taking the Monkey Man incidents and weaving the story around them. The cinematography was really good and all the actors are worth their billing. And this is the first Bollywood movie I've seen where computer imagery and special effects were used (pardon the pun) to good effect. Roshan's (Abhishek Bacchan) dream sequence where his vision of the West and the East amalgamate was especially well rendered.

The first half of the movie was good, nothing great but a relaxing watch about nothing in particular; a light (if somewhat clichéd at times) mix of coming back home, the big heart of Delhi, the shortcomings of India and how it all just brings the people closer together. However, the second half transitions into something darker which is followed up with melodrama that is a bit too heavy and preachy. Rakeysh Mehra may have wanted to bring a touch of reality to the tale but (and while all ends well), the magic is lost.

In conclusion, the plot starts off promising but ends up being just average, perhaps even a little disappointing. A good option if you have nothing else to do. But there's no need to rush to the halls.

Death Is A Sanskrit Dictionary?

So I was watching Dead Like Me - Life After Death the other day and the introduction sequence had this comic panel. Well, the jar doesn't actually say Contents: Death. It reads Sanskrit Dictionary! I thought that was hilarious! And kind of sad actually, that the filmmakers figured any 'alien' looking script could pass off as God's writing (that they picked the Devnagri script may just have some hidden cosmic significance though!). They might as well have used Klingon!


And a couple of days later, I was watching Scrubs and I spotted this on one of the computer monitors in the show. Do you recognize what it is on the monitor down in the right hand corner in the screenshot? It's the Windows Media Player setup screen! Looks like one of the nurses didn't have enough to do :)

1540

That's my score on the GRE; I did pretty decently I think :) I'd started studying about 8 months ago, after procrastinating for about the same time! But apart from the preparation, I believe luck plays a major factor. My test was absolutely standard with no surprises and the questions were manageable too. [In case you're not interested in the GRE or my ramblings, this is where you should stop reading!]

Surprisingly, it appears that the only center in NCR is at Gurgaon. And it's a tad bit tricky to find! I reached that complex 10 minutes late for my appointment and saw an NIIT center. Foolishly, I assumed that that was the place and went in. If you know anything about these places you'll understand why there wasn't anyone there at 0845 hrs. I sat around for a while, getting more and more tense by the minute. I finally stepped out to ask the guard (who had earlier, nonchalantly told me to wait till around 0900) and he said, "Oh, GRE? That's down that-a-way". I panicked and raced down the corridor, promptly running past the entrance to the basement where the tests are conducted. [So if you're looking for this place, it's past the NIIT center, just before the Karnataka Bank Branch!]

Almost all the candidates were already there, filling out the disclaimer that prohibits you from discussing the questions with others. I put my stuff (phone, wallet and even handkerchief) in the little lockers provided and kept only my passport with me. A little later, we were called one at a time into the administrators room, made to confirm our details, match our signatures (mine didn't, at first :D What can I say? The passport is old!) and have our picture taken by a webcam. I then went to the other room to my allotted cubicle and sat down at the system, stared down at by my recently clicked picture, albeit a grainy, pixelated black and white version. There were ear muffs at every workstation and I must say, there were really effective in blocking out the incessant clicking of keys from when the other candidates were typing away during the essay section; I was glad to have them!

I began with the analytical writing section, followed by quantitative analysis. Math isn't my best subject and I thought I was off to a shaky start when the 4th or the 5th question had me stumped. I wasted some time then hazarded a guess and moved on. However, I did manage to complete the whole thing by solving the last 10 odd problems at lightening speed. After the optional 60 second break (which I took, trying to stop the trembling from the adrenaline rush!) I began the verbal section. I faced decent questions, not too tough but not really simple either. I was expecting a third, unmarked section (the new GRE can have up to 3 unmarked sections, in any order, one of which is for research and does not count towards your score. But since you don't know which of the three is this section, you have to do your best on all!) but luckily, I saw the optional research section screen. I suspected that there would be fourth section so I took my time and relaxed. So I was relieved when the dialog popped up indicating that I was done! I held my breath and clicked through - 790 in quantitative and 750 in verbal. Whew! I went to the administrator's room, signed out, filled the feedback form and went back - to office.

Now, though the exam is over, this isn't the end! I still have the TOEFL to take and then follow up with writing SOPs and researching colleges! But I'm relieved and glad it didn't go badly!

I've marked the location of the testing center on Google Maps and Wikimapia

Prometric Testing PVT LTD
Mercury Solutions LTD Sec-14,
SCO 21 & 22 Lower Ground
Gurgaon, 122001
91-124-4268650

The embedded map should load below

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Sexist Ad

This ad was in the Times of India, Delhi Times about a week back. Could it be any more chauvinistic? Well, it could, but you get what I mean.

It says 'sexist' ad, you perv :D

Inflation

A friend of mine pointed this out to me. He'd read this in some magazine. Presented for your perusal are Maggi noodles packets - one from December 2007 and one from March 2008. Just don't ask me why I have a packet from 6 months ago lying around :D

Natatorium

I'd been looking for a swimming pool where I could become a member for quite a while now. Except, I'm not really the 'go-out-and-look-for-things' kinda person; I prefer checking out stuff online. That didn't really help. So yesterday and I found out about a pool from a friend and went to see if it was a public pool or not. Turns out it was. Yay! But they needed me to fill out a form and then get it signed and stamped by a doctor to ensure that I was not carrying any contagious diseases and was fit to swim. Sigh.

I went home early and then went down to the hospital that's in the same sector where I live. The receptionist wasn't quite sure what to make of the form, he said that any government doctor would sign the form. I didn't really want to go to a government hospital; actually, I didn't really want to go anywhere else now that I was already at a hospital. Finally, he told me to get an OPD form and go see a doctor in the basement.

Long line at the OPD counter, mostly people paying bills. Healthcare is expensive! I got a sheet with my details on it and had to pay them 200 bucks for it! This was after a 20% discount because of where I work. I went in to see the doctor, not a very impressive guy - Grey's Anatomy this wasn't! Told him I needed to get checked up so he asks me, "Do you have any problems? Any troubles?". Um, if I did, I wouldn't be paying you 200 bucks to get a 'DENIED' stamped across my swimming pool membership form. Luckily for me ( and the other people who come to swim ), I'm fine and I told him that. So he checked my blood pressure, had me breathe deeply a few times and then signed the papers. As simple as that.

Next day, 1600 hours. I turned up at the pool to get my card. You're supposed to pick a 1 hour slot when you'll be coming there. Kinda inconvenient but I guess it's so that there isn't overcrowding. The slots in the morning were full but that didn't bother me since I wanted something in the afternoon so that I could sneak away sometime after lunch. No, it's a good thing, I'd be dozing off in any case so this is good utilization of my time :D I picked 1600-1700, paid them 1200 bucks ( monthly, 800 more if you need coaching ), got my card and went in.

The pool is pretty decent, a small thing, 7 feet at the deep end but it's a 5 minute walk from office and it's clean, so it's not bad. It felt good to get into the water after so many years. Swam around a bit, I think I overdid it though, I'm now beginning to feel aches and I'm sure I'm going to be stiff all over tomorrow! There was one guy teaching the newbies, about 7-8 of them. Not very sure about how effective he'd be. Most people there weren't really that good, more about thrashing about in the water than actually swimming. Kinda sad, that so many people don't have access to proper facilities and training.

After about 45 minutes in the water, our time was up ( actually swimming time is only 50 minutes ). We all trooped out and showered and got dressed. I came back feeling quite good. I'd also packed everything I needed, including moisturizer ( Yes, I needed it after all that chlorine ). However, I didn't anticipate feeling peckish! That required a trip down to the cafeteria for an egg sandwich and a banana shake. Not such a good idea, maybe, because my eyes were glazing over once I got back to my seat.

Well, that's it. That was the big thing of the day for me. How'd you do?

What Were They Thinking?

I’m not quite sure whether this can be attributed to a simple lack of fluency with the language; seems to me it would take a fair bit of mangling of thoughts to come up with this gem. I can’t think of any thing that would be close to what ( I think ) they were trying to say that would translate into this.

Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation Now Officially Accepts Bribes

Here’s something interesting, albeit in a very pathetic way: The Times Of India, Delhi Edition, dated 11 September 2007, reported that the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation now officially accepts bribes.

In case the link breaks, this is what the article said:

GHAZIABAD: If you can't check corruption, institutionalise it. This is the bizarre mantra that the Municipal Corporation of Ghaziabad (MCG) has hit upon.

Believe it or not, MCG is now officially accepting bribes paid through cheques that would otherwise have gone into the pockets of its officials.

Here's an instance of how it works. A contractor who bags a tender for a government project is now required to pay 15 per cent of the quoted amount to MCG. That's the kickback money he would ordinarily have paid to department employees. But now it’s going into the municipality's coffers.

This is the new system being put in place by municipal commissioner Ajay Shankar Pande to "curb corruption as well as enrich the MCG". And, as much as Rs 22 lakh of 'bribe money' has now officially gone into the corporation's account. And this in just two months that Pande has headed the corporation.

Says Pande, "Corruption has gone so deep into the working of government departments that officials cannot dream of handing out work, or payments for it, without taking bribes. So, we have adopted this method of officially taking the bribes, by cheques, into the MCG account."

Interestingly, most contractors have reacted by revealing the exact amounts, usually ranging from 5 per cent to 15 per cent, that they had agreed to pay as bribe. They are signing declarations that they are "voluntarily depositing the amount that would have gone into bribes to realise payments, into the corporation's account. And, this amount should be used by MCG for public welfare projects".

But, asserts Pande, giving this "official bribe" does not absolve any contractor from providing quality work. "Contractors who have earlier done sub-standard work are being given one more chance because it appears that everybody was earlier involved in corruption. They have to repair the shortcomings at their own cost," he adds.

I’m not quite sure if it’s a stupid move or not. After all, if it’s legal, then it can be tracked and accounted for. So, if it does work out, then it’s a good thing and would show that the guy who came up with the plan is a pretty smart fellow and that tough times call for tough measures.

On the other hand, it reflects rather poorly on us; that we’re this incapable of dealing with corruption that we have to shift focus from stopping it to making sure we can at least profit from it.

I figure it’s like telling kids that “stealing chocolates is a no-no; but if you do do it, you’ve to give up half”. So what do kids do? If you said “stop stealing and lead an honest life”, go directly to the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation ( apparently they employ similar thinking folks ), do not pass go, do not collect 200 rupees ( over or under the table ). If you answered, “steal twice the chocolate to make sure their share doesn’t drop”, congratulations. You’re an unfortunate, thinking, rational member of a society that seems to get weirder everyday!

Next they’ll be telling dacoits “…alright, so you can loot and burn trains. But make sure you buy a ticket first!”

Update [13 Sep 07]: Here's another post about this on the "Weird India" blog

Google Labs India

On 15th August, India’s Independence Day, Google had hinted it had something up it’s sleeves. Today Google’s announced Google Labs India, developing features and tools to provide a platform to work with Indian and South Asian languages for searching for content. Pretty neat.

Also, the Hindi transliteration feature on Blogger has now gone a step further and is now a completely independent tool and iGoogle gadget.

Awesome stuff coming from Google and loads more expected!

Warning!

So. Who do I have to sue for making me spill the 'extremely hot drink I was about to enjoy', all over my lap in an attempt to read the warning?

Seriously, which genius had the flash of inspiration to slap the cautionary statement sideways?

Shameless Self-Promotion

This is a picture of the top of a carton of Godrej Sofit soy milk. Wonder how effective this strategy has been. Maybe they should've added '...or else!' for more impact!

Why I Didn't Vote For The Taj Mahal

For the past few weeks I've been getting a lot of mail exhorting me to vote for the Taj Mahal as a contender for the New Seven Wonders Of The World as 'a matter of national pride'. While that in itself is more than enough to discourage me from voting and following the crowd but actually, there are more compelling reasons.

The N7W are being voted for from a list drawn up by a Swiss corporation, the New Open World Corporation which initially had 177 monuments and was later whittled down to 20. Now, what gets me about this is

• The corporation is a for-profit organization


• It is not associated in anyway with any public organization like the UNESCO


• The organization reserves the right to exclude any vote cast


• There are votes for sale!

Why would any thinking individual consider the featuring of one of their nation's monuments on this list a victory and a matter of pride? The list is arbitrary. It is known only to the Internet-savvy; the general population of the world has no idea about it and probably, no access to the means to be able to vote.

If you can buy votes, I think that completely defeats the purpose of voting. Would you consider an election of a politician to be a people's choice is someone could pay to win? ( The fact that this usually does happen is besides the point )

Then there is the fact that any one person could vote multiple times. In fact, two friends I asked claimed to have voted 5 and 6 times respectively. With Indians leading the world population with a massive one billion, if even a fraction of a population this large votes, it would be enough to tilt the balance in favour of the Taj. The final list seems to be getting further and further from being a people's choice.

Apart from the unfairness of the process, there are other reasons for me to not vote. Why should I feel proud about having the Taj feature on a list drawn up by someone? Is it not enough that the monument exists? Can I not be proud of the fact that it is Indian? Why should recognition by anyone, much less a for-profit organization be reason for pride? Though I don't think there is much to be, proud of considering the state it is in. It's presence on the list will not make people refrain from littering the grounds. It will not make the government and industrialists relocate the factories to decrease the pollution that the Taj is exposed to.

And the clincher is that in the end, none of this is going to help any of the monuments; the proceeds do not go toward their preservation. The New Open World Corp. happily pockets the money from selling votes and merchandise; the people bask in the glory and increased national pride of having placed their monuments in a virtual list that has no bearing on anything at all; and the Taj Mahal continues to disintegrate and decay.

Queues

We were being distributed Sodexho meal vouchers today and as usual there was a pretty long queue. The room is right at the start of a long corridor, next to the entrance of the corridor. The line snaked out from the room and was continually being added to by people who were stepping in through the corridor's entry and so kept growing longer till it was half inside the corridor and half outside.

This wouldn't be such a problem if it wasn't compounded by the fact that the door wouldn't stay open and the ones at the entrance had to hold it in place. The situation was further worsened since the people who had collected their vouchers had to pass out through the same door.

The situation could have been easily improved by queuing up in the opposite direction i.e. towards the other end of the corridor which was pretty distant. I suggested this to the people ahead of me and got the response, 'Oh sure! You go ahead and queue up that way! We'll stand right here! Ha-ha!' O..k. And this helps matters how? Are you stupid? Are you mentally challenged? Are you actually something that looks human but has the intelligence slightly lower than a lump of mud?

Anyway, I did just that. I stepped out of the line and went and stood on the other side. More snickering. 'So you're out of the queue now?' No, you stupid consumer of precious oxygen that would have been put to better use even if only by supporting combustion somewhere, I'm still in the queue. Only, you in your infinite stubborn idiocy refuse to help improve things by thinking a little differently.

How can people be so stupid? Would it hurt anyone to stand that way? Would they get their vouchers any sooner by cramping themselves and contorting into weird postures so they could be either in or out but not bang in the middle of the doorway? Would it be too much to ask to queue up in an orderly way and wait for their turn which is going to come anyway? Maybe it's because we have to struggle for everything everywhere, fight for what should be ours by right. But these are computer professionals ( ostensibly ); they are supposed to be intelligent and be able to think along different directions and come up with efficient solutions to problems. Not behave like brain-dead zombies shuffling along aimlessly towards the point of distribution, blindly following the person ahead of them.

That's another thing I hate: when people shuffle about in a queue; taking little steps and moving ahead half a centimeter at a time. And if you happen to be the ( rare ) person who actually does more with his/ her brain than generate heat, and you hold your ground until such a time when the distance between you and the person ahead of you is actually enough to justify taking a step forward; you will soon find yourself being elbowed and poked in the back and sometimes, literally being stepped into, by the jerk behind you, whose sole function in life seems to be nothing more than to consume food and produce fertilizer ( and, if you're unlucky enough, a rather pungent body odour that they do their best to bring to your notice by holding their arms up right beside your face ). If only they'd use that "drive" for something more constructive. If only they'd pay attention and realize that there is simply nothing to be gained from this behaviour; it doesn't help them, it doesn't help others, ahead or behind them. It doesn't make the line move faster and it doesn't get them more of whatever it is that is being distributed. It simply serves to irritate the hell out of everyone.

It reminds me of this story I'd read once, about a fly that gets trapped in a room. It spots a window and tries to fly out but the window was closed and it keeps smashing against the glass but that doesn't deter it. With heroic obstinacy and stubbornness and self-will, it keeps at it. Until it succumbs to its injuries. It was so focussed on getting out that it didn't notice that right next to that window that was tightly shut, was an open door with freedom beyond. I wonder how many of these dribbling fools will ever notice the door.

Power Cuts

After a couple of weeks of pleasant weather it's been getting quite warm here again. And to add to the suffering, there are frequent power cuts and low water pressure. Usually it doesn't matter much to me since I'm at office all day in air-conditioned comfort and by the time I'm back home, it's dark.

But today, a Sunday, was quite bad. The humidity's been on a rise and that makes the heat oppressive; the cooler's pretty much ineffective. Not that I had much opportunity to use it, given the length and frequency of power cuts.

The day started off with me waking up sweating since there was no electricity. Alright, fine. It was expected, kind of. So I decided to go about and finish off my chores and wait for it to be back. It did come back, after 5 hours, for about a minute! Then it was gone again, leaving me all the worse off after experiencing the somatic and psychological relief of the fan circulating some air in the room. It came back a while later but this was followed by yet another 2 hour power cut!

I'm seriously considering keeping a sleeping bag in my cubicle at work and gradually moving all my essential stuff over. I'd have an AC, a net connection and most importantly, uninterrupted power to run all that! What else could I want?

Segregation Of The Sexes

Two co-ed Mumbai schools, Vibgyor School and Jamnabai Nursery School have banned girls and boys from touching or hugging members of the opposite sex in school premises ( June 14th, 2007 )in order to 'discipline' students who, according to the school authorities, are exposed to and easily influenced by violence and vulgarity on TV and other media. I really don't see how this helps.

Why remain co-ed if you're going to segregate the students? And more importantly, how does this serve any purpose? The kids are going to find ways to meet and have 'physical contact' outside of school anyway. The whole point of having co-eds is to bring up the children in healthy, natural environment; to have them learn how to interact and behave with opposite sex. It's not like when they get out of school ( or even while in school ) they're going to be able to avoid contact with members of the other gender.

It's no wonder our society turns out twisted, perverted males whose perception of women is shaped by the way they are portrayed on television and other media. What stops them from seeing them, not as individuals and equals, but as objects of desire and weaker beings to be exploited and abused? By stopping healthy interaction, aren't they stopping the learning process? You only have to login to a networking site like Orkut to see how totally desperate guys are to 'have friendship' [sic] with random girls and how they seem to emulate what they watch in movies; singing out songs in classes in a completely misguided attempt to woo girls. Listen to the talk in a boys' hostel and you'd have a fair idea what most males in the country think on the subject of women.

And women don't fare much better either. Many young girls seem almost physically uncomfortable in the presence of boys. They don't want to talk to them and certainly don't want any physical contact; not even, say, handing over a pen. And perhaps, it makes them more susceptible to being submissive and to tolerating abuse when they should stand up for themselves. They end up having weird ideas about life too. When I joined my company, we went through a little induction programme, as a part of which, we had to make a little presentation on any topic of our choice.

This young lady, fresh out of college with an engineering degree, dressed fashionably, speaking fairly well, spoke about 'The Requirement For Polygamy And Why It Should Be Legal'. More, allowing a man to have many wives ( technically, this is polygyny ). Now, I have no problems with polygamy if all the involved parties are fine with it ( assuming of course, polyandry is given equal importance ). But the reasons she came up with were a little disturbing, to say the least. She said that if a man were to remain unmarried, everything was fine and dandy. But if a woman were to be without a spouse, her life was a failure. And since there weren't enough men to go around, multiple wives who would share a husband was the only answer.

Really? This girl was at the threshold of her career, educated to a graduate level, placed with an MNC, and her views on the requirement of marriage were, medieval at best. If this isn't a clear example of how denying healthy childhood interaction between the sexes and filling up children's heads with nonsense distorts the youth's perception, then I don't know what is.

By banning physical contact on the premises, the school isn't stopping them from knowing about much more than just holding hands. Everything is now readily accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. And children are much better with computers than most adults are anyway.

And finally, how long has it been since these people were kids themselves? Don't they remember anything? Since when did children start doing what the adults told them? Isn't adolescence the age of rebellion and defiance? Just the opportunity to break the rules will be reason enough.

Posts on other blogs:

• http://theindipatriot.blogspot.com/2007/06/pda-and-other-things.html


• http://carvakamusings.blogspot.com/2007/06/victory-for-mumbai-homosexual-school.html

Scorcher

There's been a heat wave here in Northern India for the past week or so. It's been bad. Really bad. The maximum temperature recorded at Delhi on Saturday at 45 °C almost broke the June 1945 record of 46.7 °C. It was predicted that Sunday would be worse at around 46 deg. Some weather sites even predicted a maximum of 48 °C! Thankfully, that didn't come to pass and the temperatures seem to have stabilized now.

If you haven't been in these temperatures, then it's hard to imagine how bad it can. The heat just saps you of all energy. You’re drenched with sweat all day. It's too hot to even eat. You just don't feel like doing anything at all but sleep isn't an option because the touch of the warm sheets makes you feel even worse. Even a bath brings no relief; the water at 0600 in the morning felt as though it had been heated.

With such high temperatures, it's hard to imagine why anyone who has access to an AC and a fridge would not make full use of it. I imagine one would be hard-pressed to make them see the importance of saving power and making do with traditional methods of keeping cool and do their bit to save the environment. But I think it is these very sacrifices that can ultimately tip the balance in the fight against global warming.

Anyone who doubts the seriousness of global warming and thinks that it's all a big conspiracy should spend sometime in this blistering weather that seems to be here to stay, and give it second thought.

I've been ranting about the heat. But I spend almost all day in an air-conditioned office and only a few hours facing the wrath of the weather. I shudder to think how those who aren't as fortunate as us cope. The ones who contribute almost nothing to the decline of our ecosystems but bear the brunt of the aftereffects.

You Said It!

What is the difference between the American and Indian democracies?

In America, you can kiss in public but not pee; in India you can pee in public but not kiss.

-Anonymous

From Contrapunto, The Times Of India Delhi issue dated 16 May 2007.