Politics Incorporated

US congressmen would be going to school to learn 'bout constitution soon per constitution 101. The reason being, politicians do not understand constitution. Do we all agree that it's only applicable to US? It would be a sheer lie if we say Yes. Knowing a constitution is definitely not a requirement for becoming a politician, is it?


Being an auditor, a thought immediately came across what if we put a preventive control in place? After all, selecting a bad person and then trying to educate him/ her doesn't make a sane sense. I mean to say what if all inspiring politicians have to pass an examination on their knowledge about constitution of India or probably a psychometric test for finding out what's going on inside their politico mind?

The test at the bare minimum would ensure that all politicians are educated but would also let us know what kind of leader we are selecting. After all there has to be an interview and selection process before any organisation starts paying you money.

Besides an exam, there has to be some more controls (some of them may be rationalized later):

1. The results should be monitored by an independent private agency. That agency may be an MNC where FCPA like regulations play a big role in governance.
2. The results should be made known to public so that smart decision can be made (at least in the urban areas).
3. If possible, their KRAs should be set and they should be appraised like every normal working human being. Misbehaving politicians should be sacked. Please see some of the videos here for refreshing the memories:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXvw0Jtjfk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI2p4xWWioo
4. If possible, English language should be given due importance cos if globalization is a food for any nation, English is its mouth. For fun, see this video which i saw recently through FB (although from our neighbors)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNvV3VqHjw0

These thoughts may be naive and not sure if something like this is possible, but still thought of committing my thoughts in a post for remembrance. =) May be something better would happen in future. Amen!

Everything sells!

An year back MTV premiered a useless (i can say it after watching two seasons of it) TV programme called "Jersey Shore", which soon became The most rated show in MTV's history. If you've been fortunate enough not to have heared about it or seen it, then let me throw some light on the subject.
It's a reality show, where 8 Italian-American "unknown & practically unemployed" youngsters - Four men and Four women (claiming to be in their 20s) are living their life under 24*7 camera surveillance. To be distinguished from Bigg Boss or Big Brother, they are allowed to go out of the apartment, interact with public and do whatever (literally!) they want to do.
All of them work during day (on rotational basis) and party at night without fail. As it is shown, the only purpose of their life is to:

1. Find an opposite sex partner and bring him/ her back to the apartment (or crib as they call it) for hook-up
2. Gym and Tanning (freaked about tanning, to the extent of getting skin cancer) for boys

Besides these two activities, there is a third most common activity is 'house-hold barney. That's it. Period.
All crew members use extremely high quality abusive language all the time (bare minimum Four letter word in a sentence). Thus, the show is able to add few new words/ phrases to the American english. Some of them are (filtered out):

• Grenade: Ugly woman
• Landmine: A good looking woman only until you find a woman prettier than her
• Smoosh: Hook-up
• Diarrhoea in the stomach: used for the one who cannot digest news (equivalent of pet me ghaddhe)

When the show first aired and after watching same thing in next few episodes some wise men and women wondered this is now how youths live in New Jersey (First season was filmed in New Jersey). What impression this show will leave on youngsters' minds? Where the quality of our TV programme is going? So there was a huge protest in New Jersey, the city mayor came out and there were rallies. Nothing happend though. What can happen if the show rating is astronomically shooting upwards? Further, the show rating went record high when one of the female crew members was hit directly on the face at a night club by a crazy man from janta. Seems like people are getting a lot enjoyment out of a woman being hit!
All the erstwhile ''unknown and unemployed" crew member now earns minimum $ 30 grand per episode. Not to mention, they've been invited almost daily at premier pubs/ bars and night club for appearance - huge money. Each of the member has earned millions of dollars in a year. Like celebrities, some of them have introduced clothing and cosmetics brands, have got ad contracts, have been hired by another TV shows.
To top it all, the Jersey Shore crew appeared in Barbara Walters show (ABC TV) as one among the most fascinated people in US. Even the crew was highly surprised! :-\
But the wise people of US continue to say that this is not what a youth of US is all about. However the reality is quite bitter. Unfortunately, the youth wants all the fun (probably a relief from saddening and darkest recession in US history).
The show had a successful season 2 at Miami beach, although the name of the show remains Jersey Shore. A point to highlight for season 2 - principles and values remain the same so nothing has changed from season 1. It's still a big hit. With all this great news, MTV is all set to begin the Season 3. Believe it or not, Jersey shore has managed to get registered in the history of US television.
Caution: This show can be highly addicted! :)

Being thankful and appreciative

This post is dedicated to all those people who are too busy in their life and have not given much attention to the family, friends, this beautiful world and life in it.

How a normal week day looks for all of us? I am trying to pen it down and we may all compare:

• Morning Ablutions
• Religious rites
• Breakfast
• Reach office after an hour in traffic, check emails and work for 10-12 hours (or do household chores/ errands)
• Have tea/ coffee, lunch and snacks
• Mental pressure for perfoming well and getting increment/ promotions (it's always there in the subconscious! - Hard-coded)
• Do some miscellaneous activities (Play, gossip or stroll during breaks)
• Spend an hour or 2 hours in traffic before reaching home
• Have dinner and watch some TV/ news
• Doze off

And it's pretty much the same for all week days. We all have more or less same plan for the weekend (movies, games, TV shows/ news, internet, grocery, weekend trips?). Mostly, we get so focused in our lives and spend it like a racing horse with blinkers on. Honestly, how many of us feel jovial about reiterating these activities day in day out?

While all of these are important things to do for survival and earning bread, we should not forget to appreciate the treasures of life which God has given to us. One cannot be just happy by himself. We cannot ignore the environment in which we live. The happiness we get while we are appreciative and thankful to the people (friends, family, relative, society) around us, it's unfathomable. Most of such treasures (also rhyms with pleasures) we can find in our routine life:

• Always be thankful to the Lord for giving another beautiful day full of life
• Pray before you eat and give a warm hug to your mom or wife or any family member for cooking you meals (breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner). Be thankful to them and appreciate everything they cook from the bottom of your heart. It takes a lot of love, time, and patience to cook any food.
• If you cook yourself, be thankful to the Lord for giving your daily bread. Whenever you talk to your family member, tell them that you miss their hand made food.
• Love your mother-father a lot and EXPRESS it. Naturally, we all love our folks but mostly we fail to express it. Basic thing, one is always indebted to one's mother for what she went through in bringing you to this world (it's inexplainable unless one becomes a parent). And to father, for he kept you safe, cared the most and provided means to the family. And to both your mother and father for bringing you up and making you capable of earning bread and butter.
• Make a life-long friends and commit to be with them in thin and thick of life. Be thankful and appreciative of the support they provide, even the smallest ones. I am so thankful to all my colleagues and friends, who actively or passively helped me in my work and life.
• Be kind and greet everyone - be it your neighbours, a newspaper vendor, a grocer, a relative, colleagues, your boss or a peon/ security guard at office.
• Don't forget to breathe in the hustle-bustle of life. Whenever get time, breathe deeply in the open air. I am sure, you'll be thankful to the Lord for the joy you'll get.
• Talk to your family members/ relatives and listen to them. We mostly tend to ignore them, their needs and their expectations.
• Spend no time in talking bad about people. It a sheer loss of time and energy - absolute zero gain!
• Talk through the problems with family or friends. Find a mentor or confidant. Care to share, it will solve many issues.
• Give time to yourself. Have your lonely time and go for a walk.
• Appreciate what you have (things or the living)
• Whenever possible, find time to seek the truth, the power which is running this world. Pursue it. Sooner or later, every one has to invest some time in this area.

Each one of us may find happiness in different things. I am sure some of the above-mentioned are already part of our daily life but it's just a matter of consistency and expression. Some of these constitute our social life. Once we give time to it, our work-social life balance will automatically come. The balance will bring happiness. Both self-happiness and happiness in the environment (family, friends, relative and society) we live. With happiness comes every other thing including contented life.