My sanskrit blog

Iam also writing a blog in sanskrit. To view the entries visit http://www.samskrute.blogspot.com/ .

Holiday

The First place that my better half and I like to go for a holiday is our home town ‘singaara Chennai’ .Our daughter is in full enthu to meet her grand parents and this time her second athai is also coming from Mumbai. Hope to have a great time with family and friends.

The Unplanned City

Have you ever seen the City Railway station and the bus stop in the same area?
If not, Welcome to Bangalore!!!. The place is called “Majestic”, nothing about it justifies its name.

I am staying in Bangalore for the past seven years. Population here has grown by leaps and bounds and now the city is proudly named as cosmopolitan city. Families like us have come from other states and settled in.
The infrastructure and the basic amenities capability have stagnated though. How long can the authorities hide behind the defense of ‘unexpected increase in population’. What measures have been taken to improve the city’s infrastructure? Road is the only mode of transport and it is always the ubiquitous traffic jam. In cities like Mumbai everyday is a journey but the distance they cover is huge and the countless options available for transport. Here, in Bangalore, it takes 2 hrs during peak time just to cover 15 kms.
Politicians show interest in expanding the city and IT companies open their branches in different areas. A Person will be posted according to the projects he/she has been given. If one project is in ITPL, Whitefield then the other one will be on the other end in Electronic City. Hence, time is spent more on commuting than computing. And all these happen in a city where there are not even the basic amenities like good roads, transports etc. The prestigious metro rail project is off-track by a year and expected to complete its 1st phase by 2011 (a meager 6 kms).

Definitely there will be increase in population by three times in the next twenty years, going by past trends. The Political and Bureaucrat establishment can no longer hide behind the ‘unexpected increase in population’...perhaps they will invent a new theory for not doing things and I will, hopefully blog my way into that too ……..

Is the noble enough?

The salary of a Teacher in the begining of his/her career is probably Rs.3000/ a month and maximum can go upto Rs.15000/month in the next 10 years, what probably an IT fresher would make in his 1st month 1st Job !!!
If ever there was an award for 'The Grossly Underpaid Professional', there shouldn't be any doubt for whom it should be awarded. What is puzzling at times is where does all the exorbitant fees and donations an Institution collects go?
The increase in the fee structure makes the educational institutions profitable but not the teachers. Whether it is inflation or recession there will be neither hike nor lay-offs. The status of the teachers continue to remain the same. I guess this scenario has continued for years which can be seen in the number of people who really opt for teaching as a profession. This is more by default than design. This has already affected the quality of education which will have its effect in the society. So, It is left to the educational institutions to decide whether to compromise on the quality of education or to maintain the “nobility” of the “noble”.

Schoolonomics

The current recession has brought the markets down, layoffs, restaurants are empty, footfalls down on shopping malls,…

But with regards to the school fee structure, all you can see is only an increase. And some schools have also mentioned in their application form that there will be an increase every year by 10- 15%.
Can we imagine how much the fees will be for a baby nursery? It starts from 50k and goes upto1.5 lakhs in the “reputed” schools. I do not know whether they are going to provide each child with a laptop or the class rooms are going to be Air conditioned or a student-teacher ratio of 1:1.
Is this not ludicrous to collect exorbitant amount as fees? But are they any takers in such schools? Yes of course. People check well in advance application issue and submission dates and their activities are centered around it.

Does economics really has a place in kindergarten education? I guess it is more behavioural and herd mentality than demand and supply

Apartment living – save or safe

In today’s nuclear family life; staying in an apartment is always safer and has its advantages like socializing, safe children play areas and security.
But on the flip side, children are never satisfied with what they have……
It is always the comparison that happens among them. If one buys a playstation the other should have the one that is superior than that. The social peer-to-peer pressure is what shapes the thoughts and actions of young minds.
The other day a five year old girl was standing in a corner, looking a bit down. I went near her and asked that why she was standing alone. The reply was “I am sad”. Then I asked her the reason – the reply was “My friend is happy because she has got a new cycle and I am sad because I am using the old one”. I was really surprised to hear this from her.
Apartment life is a community living. So, the parents can neither lock the child inside and not sending him/her out to play nor they can explain the five year old kid about the financial status of the family.
Apartment living is “safe”. But to “save” the children from falling into such thoughts is a difficult task for the parents.

Off with Cable – anniversary of sorts

It is almost a year since we disconnected the cable connection at home. Ever since our child was born we hardly had time to talk. Cooking , cleaning, spending time with the kid ……. It was a mundane routine. Our Quality of life was becoming worser day by day.
My better half used to sit in front of the television to watch either match or news in BBC/CNN. And me on the other hand watching all inane TV Shows and most importantly would like to surf which took most of my available time.

So after much contemplation we decided to cut the cable off. Its almost a year now and do we regret it. It has been a mixed bag. Yeah for sure, for one, all the ‘breaking news’ comes by phone through our relatives. We do miss some of the TV shows that we got habituated to sit together and watch.
Though, there is not a great change in our quality of life now ;But still, we are proud enough to proclaim that our daughter doesn’t sing even a single ‘Mega Serial’ song :)….till now

writing is an art

I have many thoughts in my mind but to put it all in writing is really a skill which I would aspire to have more. Hours together I can discuss a topic but when it comes to putting them as words on paper is always a challenge. I am always conscious that the sentences should not be too short, same words should not be repeated, precise in narrating etc.

Even while reading a book; more than the content I appreciate the way it has been narrated; probably that is the reason why it takes time for me to complete reading a book.
I have read many novels and short stories of R.K. Narayan. In that, some are really boring but still I could appreciate the descriptive writing skill of the author.
I know that “content is better than communication” but still the content is embellished by the way it is communicated. The skill of the author is appreciated even if the matter is trivial (like this article J)

With these thoughts in mind I have started this blog.

Admissions……… Fate or Failure

Getting an admission into a ‘good’ school nowadays is something unpredictable. We were looking for admissions for our 2 .5 year old kid. It is really hard to comprehend this situation. One particular school started issuing applications in the month of August; just two months after the academic session of the current year. And the cost of the application ranges from Rupees 100- 600.And there is no guarantee of getting an admission just by submitting the application (even at nursery level).
And secondly, no one could reason out that on what basis they select a candidate and reject the rest. What is the criteria behind it? Obviously for a nursery admission written tests are not conducted. So, if it is on the basis of age, like born before June or August then it is fine. But if a candidate is selected based on the Qualification of the parents and the income then it doesn’t sound really fair…but it is the most pragmatic approach.
May be from the school’s point of view, it is a process of elimination rather than selection. Obviously ‘capacity’ of the parents would be the “The” criteria for the selection panel. Capacity, I meant both at the intellectual and economic levels.
Thankfully my ward is ready to join a good school, but not sure of the criteria for her selection and rejection of my neighbour’s child . Perhaps it is the four letter word…now before you imagine anything…… I meant FATE :)

Tea in a Storm 'Cup'

I always tried
to please everyone..........

I stopped wearing 'skirts'
when someone said......
I look 'stout'.

I never had short hair
'cos someone said ........
'untraditional'.

I started using cycle
'cos someone said........
I have 'manly walk'.

Then,
one day suddenly.............
I thought .........
what for I live ?
only to please others ?
I lose the rarest moment of my life.

I have a life to live, learn and enjoy.........
But,
I involve in pleasing others
and
bothered about their views and comments

Ultimately ............
I live a life only to please others.
But........ did i succeed?
Are they really pleased?
certainly not.............
'cos views and comments persist for ever.

The above writeup may be a storm in a tea cup for many.
But for me ........ It is the reverse.