Mathrubhumi -- A nation without women

The news of a girl foetus killer doctor going behind the bars made me happy today morning.But like all shades of happiness this one too had its own pinch of salt - A person capable of doing such an act desevres 100 rotten years in hell....2 years of sentence is too less.

But who's the real culprit ? The person who has the beast for the feast or the butcher who killed it ?

The simple reason Dr Anil Sabhani had opened this business instead of just writing prescriptions for cold and head-ache is that there is good clientele....a big market full of people who wants to know the sex of their un-born child and make sure it is not a beti whose dehej is going to cost the family's purkho ka makan,kheti-baadi,cow,goat,lizards,cockroaches and what not.So kill it before it sees the light of the day,nip it in the bud.....and go to the mandir and pray that the next child is a SON whose marriage will bring so much wealth that the next seven generations can shower themselves in milk and honey.So the doctor saab put a neon sign over his clinic : "Pay 1,000 rupees now for a test, rather than 100,000 rupees later." and in a country where getting pregenant is even more common than catching cold the killer's business grows day by day.

Now time for some facts and figures :

The Indian Medical Association estimates that 5,00,00 girls are aborted each year.

In 1901 in India, there were 972 women to every 1,000 men.
By 2001 there were 933 women to every 1,000 men.
In Hariyana/Punjab there are only 861 women to every 1,000 men.

Long ago in 1890 Tagore wrote a short story called Dena-Paona about the death of a bride who died because of her father's inability to pay the dowry.Even after 116 years the moral of the story remains very very pertinent to our Indian society.

Now you tell me is that because of Tagore's dazzling brilliance or shameless failure of our society ?

Office of Profit

For the last few days we the people of India were entertained by another nautanki titled "Office of Profit".
Looks like the script was penned down two years ago by Madan Mohan Shukla a petty Congress leader in UP. Shuklaji's nomination paper was thrown into waste basket as he forgot to mention his educational qualifaction in the form. No no don't confuse Shuklaji to be an angutha chaap...his next course of action proves otherwise. He went back to the library and pulled a copy of Indian Constitution,read between the lines and then struck the treasure
"Thou shalt not hold both office of profit and MPs seat together" said the commandment.
His opponent Jaya Bachchan was heading the UP Film Development Board who produce Bhojpuri phillums like "Sajan mora pahelwaan".So Shuklaji filed a case saying that Jaya-ji cannot be an MP when she is earning munafa after munafa by developing UP's phillum.
The lawyer wrote the petition....chaprasi took down the case....judge adjusted his wigs...drummed his kanun ka hathodi...two years flew by. Finally adalaat saari gawaon ko nazar rakhte huwe yeh natize paar paucha ke Jayaji aap phillum development board se itni munafa kamaya ke aap MP paad ke laayek nahin!!!
Jaya Bachchan cried---Amar Singh fried(the Congress)---Mulayam Singh tried (to prove in UP bidhansabha that Bhojpuri phillums are not so profitable)--- paar Kalam saab kisi ka nahin suna.Jayaji had to resign her MP post.
Now L.K. Advani who didnot throw any water filled balloons this holi suddenly saw an oppurtunity to throw this balloon at Sonia She was holding post of Chairman of National Advisory Council.This post even more profitable because they donot make bhojpuri phillums.So the Saffron brigade charges at the parliament...say "Sonia must go"...Congress replies "No no".
The argument continues 24x7 and media gets all the experts they can to comment on the matter. Finally Congress close down the parliament,ministers rush back to their offices...Union law minister calls all the lawyers he knows. They look up all the sections and sub-sections..but gives only one verdict : Kaanon ki devi andhaa hain and so fails to distinguish between 5 foot Indian Jaya Bachchan and the tall Italian Sonia Gandhi.
Way out : Let Sonia resign...she can always win another election from Rae Bareli whose people are happy to vote for even for a lamp-post whose surname is Gandhi. And so it was Sonia who heard her inner voice and said she never ever did any thing for her personal profit so to proove the point she is resigned.Congress and their allies clap as hard as they can....BJP camp says this is not Tyag but only maajburi.
Whats happens next ? Does Sonia's resignation change anything ? No it doesnot...she still remains the UPA chairperson and still can pull the strings attached to our puppet PM. The only loosers are the tax-payers whose tax money will see a new way of spending --- the re-elections.
But then again nothing comes for free...so being entertained by the political drama also has its price.

City of Joy in pics

Howrah Bridge This bridge contains no nuts and bolts - all joins are through studs.

Vidyasagar Setu Copied from Golden Gate bridge SF ,this bridge took 15 years to build from 1978 - 93 !!!

Victoria Memorial This was built between 1906-1921 in an architectural style similar to Taj Mahal as a memorial for Queen Victoria.Now it is famous for the nooks and corners where lovers get TOO intimate !!!

Eden Gardens The largest cricket stadium in the world.Watching a cricket match here sitting in the Ranji gallery is an experience of a lifetime. The venue is equally loved and hated by the cricketers depending on which side the passionate spectators had shown their passion!!!

St. Pauls Cathedral One of the finest cathedrals in India contains mural paintings depicting the life of St. Paul.

Rickshaw Made famous by the cover page on Dominique Lapierre's City of Joy this has become one of the trademarks of Kolkata.

Tram One of the other trademarks of Kolkata.If you have plenty of time a trip in the tram across Maidan is a worthwhile experience.

Bangalore looses again

Bangalore oops Bengaluru’s fate suffers badly once again in the hands of the Gowda family. This time after Narayana Murthy it is the MRT (mass rapid transport) visionary of Bangalore IAS officer K N Srivastava who is given the boots. His fault --- he failed to invite honorary H.D Kumaraswamy to the function for changing the logo for Bangalore Metro rail project!!!! This brings us to the basic question:

How the Indian democracy is held hostage by a few thugs like Gowda family and we people have very little say in it.

The reason we score against China is that we have a democratic system in comparison to their autocratic Communist leadership. But this essence is losing its value as people like Gowda makes Indian democracy look like a farce and we the ordinary people have no say at all. By the time foreign customers of Indian IT will be sick of the infrastructure problems and be forced look beyond the Indian shores for their software vendor the Gowda family will have amassed a fortune and our children will suffer the joblessness caused. I can only dream that we somehow we can measure the damages beforehand and someone from us will overthrow these bunch of robbers and take on the leadership to steer the new India to its boom.

Ides of March

Looking at the front page of Wikipedia today revealed that on 15-th March:

44 BC : Julius Ceaser uttered "Et tu Brute" (You too Brutus) before stabbed to death

It is debated that the Ceaser's last words were in Greek instead of Latin.

He is supposed to say "Kai su, teknon?" which means You too MY CHILD ?

Did you know that Ceaser had an affair with Brutus's mother ?

The Times They Are a-Changin

When I read the news about the blast in Varanasi my first reaction was how many more will die in the riots to come. Good news is that the number is very very low : A BIG ZERO!!! And that's what makes me proud.........an economically strong new India gives a "stick it up your ass" salute to the terrorists who are trying to widen the communal gap. If the same trend continues terror will loose the battle without any bullets fired from our side. And that itself should be a lesson to the hard-liners of Indian politics - realise the call of the day ---MOVE ON. See the fate of Shiv Sena who are fading from political centre stage as they failed to realise how little regional sentiments are valued in present days' politics. An ordinary Mumbaiya hardly cares if someone from outside state/country is earning a living in Mumbai so long as jobs are plenty and well-paid too. Kudos to the BJP leader Vinay Katiyar
(check this link) who admitted that times have changed and the old slogans based to regional/communal pride/hatred don't work anymore. Hope it is reflected in their future political agendas as well.
Like Bob Dylan sang :

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

A VERY HAPPY HOLI TO ALL