Are these really cost-saving decisions? :--
1) To have pirated softwares to run the computer systems.
2) To have duplicate, counterfeit parts installed in the systems when the originals are available in the market.
3) To put ‘unauthorized person’ (somebody whom the manufacturers of a device do not certify) to attend or service the device.
4) To replace the device with a human substitute when the device has become dysfunctional.
5) To deny communication , even a ‘BCC’ or ‘CC’ labeling of messages to certain recipients , all for the only reason of cost-savings, ! (where purposefulness is not questionable, only the cost)
6) To refuse communication to ship’s other staff by the Master or other management rank, with the office management in the name of cost incurred!
7) To “enforce” rules like switching off the lights, using the stationery items precariously, etc to say -- cost saving!
8) To hold cost-saving at higher regard than “safety first”, for example in a decision to lay-off regarding laying of a ship.
My old company, the SCI Ltd, has once sent out a circular talking about the cost-saving plan of the company in its hard times of seeing disinvestment by the owners, the Indian government.
Cost-saving is always a disliked concept by maximum employees of any company in any field. Nobody wants to see his status icons be taken off, leaving him behind to live life at the bare minimum. Cost saving is quite an anti-thesis to the concept for expanding any business. The more one invest in his business, the greater he is likely to get returns, provided the investments have been systematic and directional. Cost-saving is also likely to meet at cross with the philosophy of “Safety First” at every second step.
Repairs concept in the broader terms of management of ship operations:
Alternation and Duplication are two widely known methods of handling breakdowns on board ships. The concept of managing ship equipment and machinery talks mainly of the PMS only, which is the Planned Maintenance System, and, maybe, never talks on the breakdown maintenance of devices.
In fact the ISM and other regulations such as ISGOTT have such heavy hurdles in place that no intelligent ship-staff will want to call repairs as his forte, if his ship-owners are a truly regulations-compliant people. Filling the forms, risk assessments, following-up the manuals, skills of the crew, -- these all are discouraging to achieving the repairs of any device or even the simplest of pipelines repairs.
therefore the two methods talked above have been resorted to. In fact the cost incurred to achieve Alternation and Duplication (A&D) appears to be taken up for recovery by method of crew size cut-down and minimal stoppages or lay-offs
Intelligent ship-owners will also appreciate that they can never be sure of their crew's repairing skills. The crew has been certified by the governments about their operating skills, a part of which implies that ship crew should be expected to have an understanding of principles of the machines they are going to operate. This may not be necessarily enough to do its repairs beyond what the manuals 'Troubleshooting' can teach them. Some lessons of repairs, such as plugging, leak repair techniques, are however known or learnt as basic seamanship skills; but for the modern techno- ships it is very minor.
Thus the basic premise of repairs should rest on the assumptions that ship staff may not be skilled enough and therefore workshops or a foresight-full dry-docking be harnessed. It's is over here that cost-cutting charm plays it's music.
Taking a moment off the topic, I would like to add that cost-cutting is something natural to us , Indians ,having been brought in a country which has a culture of 'Savings' and which was traditionally a poor and a socialist 'collection'(which we call a 'nation') of people. The more acclaimed theories on cost-cuttings are not much known to us, and we therefore work it through our culture understanding only.
Many companies with Indians or developing-nation managers in it often allot shipstaff to do odd jobs for which the staff may not have skills, or the manufacturers refuse permission to any 'unauthorized persons'.
Also, the tenure of ship staff's association with a shipping company is also very unsure factor. They may not return to the company, more surely if they see too many dysfunctional items. They may be unwilling. They may be elsewhere occupied. They may hide, don't report the defect for the fear of having to repair them.
Thus, it is wiser to keep this realm of repair to the ship's technical managers only and not the staff.
The better approach is to have ship staff use the A&D device, while the defective item is put for repairs urgently, if possible.
The next step of the problem rises about reporting of the defects. Often the ship-staff take the easiest route of declaring the whole item to be defective without any specific description of what troubles they faced in the operation of equipment. Inter-organizational problems then rise such as 'what actions you took', 'no spares you supplied' , 'not my job', 'YOUR job!'. Many inter personal problems and acute judgments of each other’s “Confidential reports” also set rolling in these tough hours. People take thoughts on leaving or surviving life as seafarers. Blame becomes the game. More silent and hidden problems start.
It is, therefore, smarter to adopt a better and robust maintenance system. Continuous and honest reporting with accurate observations are very important therefore. Onus of this rest with the Ship-staff while the companies keep a check on this through regular ship-visits, reviews and technical auditing.
the company on its end should preserve and analyze the reports regularly. They should take prompt actions lest an emergency situation arise on board the ship.
Inter-personal troubles are common to be seen work-places of defective machineries. Bad ship is a birth place for bad ideologies.
The position of ship's masters and chief engineers is also very scrutiny-worth here. To achieve 'his' (because we tend to take jobs so closely as they are our personal agenda, or a promotion tool) ends he often manipulates the messages and seizes up the communication console to establish his power, control and authority on the rest. There, how good or bad the messages are interpreted get dependant on one man's entire outlook only.
In my case, when the company representative came, he insisted that there was no official message for cancellation of scrap plan, while truthfully the vessel staff was always under the impression of vessel planned to trade further. Who's at fault in this understanding error? I'm sure, the master for one, and that company guy too who has adopted divergent speech and written message - method as his strategy to achieve his task.
Ethical insight of Indians in regard to business practices to be put for questions again at this hour,
And I'm pretty sure it was possible to run the ship with good ethics. But then, we slip into taking unethical route faster than most other persons.
Then, occupational health concepts are not much known by us.
In fact the ISM and other regulations such as ISGOTT have such heavy hurdles in place that no intelligent ship-staff will want to call repairs as his forte, if his ship-owners are a truly regulations-compliant people. Filling the forms, risk assessments, following-up the manuals, skills of the crew, -- these all are discouraging to achieving the repairs of any device or even the simplest of pipelines repairs.
therefore the two methods talked above have been resorted to. In fact the cost incurred to achieve Alternation and Duplication (A&D) appears to be taken up for recovery by method of crew size cut-down and minimal stoppages or lay-offs
Intelligent ship-owners will also appreciate that they can never be sure of their crew's repairing skills. The crew has been certified by the governments about their operating skills, a part of which implies that ship crew should be expected to have an understanding of principles of the machines they are going to operate. This may not be necessarily enough to do its repairs beyond what the manuals 'Troubleshooting' can teach them. Some lessons of repairs, such as plugging, leak repair techniques, are however known or learnt as basic seamanship skills; but for the modern techno- ships it is very minor.
Thus the basic premise of repairs should rest on the assumptions that ship staff may not be skilled enough and therefore workshops or a foresight-full dry-docking be harnessed. It's is over here that cost-cutting charm plays it's music.
Taking a moment off the topic, I would like to add that cost-cutting is something natural to us , Indians ,having been brought in a country which has a culture of 'Savings' and which was traditionally a poor and a socialist 'collection'(which we call a 'nation') of people. The more acclaimed theories on cost-cuttings are not much known to us, and we therefore work it through our culture understanding only.
Many companies with Indians or developing-nation managers in it often allot shipstaff to do odd jobs for which the staff may not have skills, or the manufacturers refuse permission to any 'unauthorized persons'.
Also, the tenure of ship staff's association with a shipping company is also very unsure factor. They may not return to the company, more surely if they see too many dysfunctional items. They may be unwilling. They may be elsewhere occupied. They may hide, don't report the defect for the fear of having to repair them.
Thus, it is wiser to keep this realm of repair to the ship's technical managers only and not the staff.
The better approach is to have ship staff use the A&D device, while the defective item is put for repairs urgently, if possible.
The next step of the problem rises about reporting of the defects. Often the ship-staff take the easiest route of declaring the whole item to be defective without any specific description of what troubles they faced in the operation of equipment. Inter-organizational problems then rise such as 'what actions you took', 'no spares you supplied' , 'not my job', 'YOUR job!'. Many inter personal problems and acute judgments of each other’s “Confidential reports” also set rolling in these tough hours. People take thoughts on leaving or surviving life as seafarers. Blame becomes the game. More silent and hidden problems start.
It is, therefore, smarter to adopt a better and robust maintenance system. Continuous and honest reporting with accurate observations are very important therefore. Onus of this rest with the Ship-staff while the companies keep a check on this through regular ship-visits, reviews and technical auditing.
the company on its end should preserve and analyze the reports regularly. They should take prompt actions lest an emergency situation arise on board the ship.
Inter-personal troubles are common to be seen work-places of defective machineries. Bad ship is a birth place for bad ideologies.
The position of ship's masters and chief engineers is also very scrutiny-worth here. To achieve 'his' (because we tend to take jobs so closely as they are our personal agenda, or a promotion tool) ends he often manipulates the messages and seizes up the communication console to establish his power, control and authority on the rest. There, how good or bad the messages are interpreted get dependant on one man's entire outlook only.
In my case, when the company representative came, he insisted that there was no official message for cancellation of scrap plan, while truthfully the vessel staff was always under the impression of vessel planned to trade further. Who's at fault in this understanding error? I'm sure, the master for one, and that company guy too who has adopted divergent speech and written message - method as his strategy to achieve his task.
Ethical insight of Indians in regard to business practices to be put for questions again at this hour,
And I'm pretty sure it was possible to run the ship with good ethics. But then, we slip into taking unethical route faster than most other persons.
Then, occupational health concepts are not much known by us.
Controversies-- why are we scared of them?
Not to endorse the Rakhi Sawant work, but i still see many of our people scared of taking bold acttions only because it might bring them to public glare, which they deem to be 'unwanted' . Earlier, in my child hood days, coming (appearing) of Doordarshan was a big public achievement for people. But, in the days post the media-revolution, people have started becoming scared ..well, some of them. While the rest have taken roads to celebrity-hood. What's immature in our social outlook towards media-attention, our in-depth understanding of the power of media as the fourth estate(the fourth pillar) of Democracy???
In ruralistic outlook, whose denizens replete our armed and police forces, the lacking knowledge of media-mangement as a celebrity maker and the cornor-stone of democracy leads to all sorts of internal game-bit to happen.
We Indians have always been criticised for our crab-mentality, or the leg-pulling activities where ourselves scathe the progress and advances of our fellow workers. Neighbour's Envy is the trademark of India's social framework.
I have seen many of the middle grade servicemen and professionals shunnning from a bold and moralistic action only for the fear of not falling into public glare. Not only that, people have shown poor acceptance of those people who have dared to face the public glare, alleging them of practising one-upmanship, or 'scoring over his rivals' (apne number badda raha hai-- as the western UP-ites like to say it).
We must not forget that many times the interest and pursual of certain subject begins only after someone has brotched a controversy around it. The glamour and money begins to spin around things which have espoused controversies. This , not to mean the unreasonble and ill-logical attention-calling.
I would hold that controversies are again a test of one's courage and belief in himself, if managed intelligently.
In ruralistic outlook, whose denizens replete our armed and police forces, the lacking knowledge of media-mangement as a celebrity maker and the cornor-stone of democracy leads to all sorts of internal game-bit to happen.
We Indians have always been criticised for our crab-mentality, or the leg-pulling activities where ourselves scathe the progress and advances of our fellow workers. Neighbour's Envy is the trademark of India's social framework.
I have seen many of the middle grade servicemen and professionals shunnning from a bold and moralistic action only for the fear of not falling into public glare. Not only that, people have shown poor acceptance of those people who have dared to face the public glare, alleging them of practising one-upmanship, or 'scoring over his rivals' (apne number badda raha hai-- as the western UP-ites like to say it).
We must not forget that many times the interest and pursual of certain subject begins only after someone has brotched a controversy around it. The glamour and money begins to spin around things which have espoused controversies. This , not to mean the unreasonble and ill-logical attention-calling.
I would hold that controversies are again a test of one's courage and belief in himself, if managed intelligently.
Characteristics of reasoning minds:
It is my general observation that people who are very reasoning are:
1. Very sleazy in their thoughts.
They don't like to get chained by any imposed class of thoughts, not the least the social taboos. Therefore, they are endless, thinking the unthinkable.
2. Consumers of some addictiv product like cigerrettes, or tobacco, etc.
Their minds are running like jet planes all the times. Hence they stomach needs it's fuel continuously to keep the acid level low.
3. Very argumemtative and hence more disliked by others.
Being reasoning, have opinions on most matters. therefore, have a tendency to break the previously held beliefs, thus making a huge league of those who dislike them.
4.
It is my general observation that people who are very reasoning are:
1. Very sleazy in their thoughts.
They don't like to get chained by any imposed class of thoughts, not the least the social taboos. Therefore, they are endless, thinking the unthinkable.
2. Consumers of some addictiv product like cigerrettes, or tobacco, etc.
Their minds are running like jet planes all the times. Hence they stomach needs it's fuel continuously to keep the acid level low.
3. Very argumemtative and hence more disliked by others.
Being reasoning, have opinions on most matters. therefore, have a tendency to break the previously held beliefs, thus making a huge league of those who dislike them.
4.
Management lesson from the GPS Satellite Navigation System
The Global Position Satellite navigation system is an indispensable part of a modern seafarer's life.
On a sidetrack, navigation used to be carried out by Star-gazing in the days of yore. The sextant, a star sighting instrument, was invented by the Chinese, although most of us Indian maintain that we taught the world the art and science of Navigation. My personal quest into how the art and science of navigation came to human kind has yet indicated the we Indians would only do a river navigation, which was called 'Nav gath' in Sanskrit which perhaps is the etymological base for the Navigation. But river navigation, which harnesses 'terrestrial navigation' is vastly different from ocean navigation, which uses the 'celestial navigation'. Celestial navigation is the first place where the need for chronometer, or a time measuring device, was first felt by mankind. The purpose was to be able to measure the movement of sun across the longitudes. The "long by chron" method was theoretically worked out much much before the chronometer, (aka, in modern days, a wrist watch)came into being, but could not be practised while at sea. Year 1800 AD marked the invention of longitudes for the purpose of navigation. Imagine how Vasco da Gama and Columbus might have carried out their sea-voyages even with being able to know the longitudes! great work, i say. Interestingly, the Logarithms, which we so tediously study in schools, found their first practical use none other than, at sea for calculating the position using 'long by chron' method.
It really amazes me think the history of shipping is indeed the history of mankind, and in one accurate glance a history of the future of this world as well. Sometimes i think of throwing down this bold statement to all the thinker that- this world and all its civilisations have been settled and brought about by none other than it's mariners! Think over it, all those reading this statement.
Returning back to the original theme of my talk, the GPS works using some 24 satellites, all owned by the US Dept of Defense(the Pentagon) and employs a craft of quartz clocks in its electronics, which are able to measure time to its 9th place after decimal.!!! can you people imagine that and assimilate how the GPS system is so accurate in fixing the position. It has a accuracy level measurable in centimetres. And the challenge remains that each of the 24 satellites and the GPS ground control stations on earth have these quartz crystal clocks which each measure the time to that high precision. The challenge is the the inherent vibrations of quartz crystals should have been synchronized at the beginning of their formation itself to all of them vibrate in sync all the time yet, which practically means synchronisation the time of formation of earth! Now that is not known to have happened or not.!
So how do the scientist achieve that. That's where the management philosophy teaches some lessons to technology, and vice verse. A clever management of these satellite keeps them working in sync all the time. This concept in turn teaches an observer the great lesson that- what and individual cannot achieve independently can sometimes be achieved by some careful and well cor-ordinated team work.
Like, none of us can be fully correct and full wrong at the same time, but by a well-argued proposition achieve full-correctness on some matters. We cannot be God individually, but we can achieve a very high standard of Godliness, by working in close liaison with other well-read, intellectual people. The decision of an individual can be subject to mistakes, but a panel of high-class judges can achieve even the unattainable.
Think about the above, who have their argument lines as:
You are not God, nor can you be one. !!( individual is not, but an elite panel can nearly be so.)
If something cannot be achieved by any individual, then it is really unachievable!!(it's really not so).
No body is fully correct; nobody is fully wrong. (co-ordination can do more wonders).
On a sidetrack, navigation used to be carried out by Star-gazing in the days of yore. The sextant, a star sighting instrument, was invented by the Chinese, although most of us Indian maintain that we taught the world the art and science of Navigation. My personal quest into how the art and science of navigation came to human kind has yet indicated the we Indians would only do a river navigation, which was called 'Nav gath' in Sanskrit which perhaps is the etymological base for the Navigation. But river navigation, which harnesses 'terrestrial navigation' is vastly different from ocean navigation, which uses the 'celestial navigation'. Celestial navigation is the first place where the need for chronometer, or a time measuring device, was first felt by mankind. The purpose was to be able to measure the movement of sun across the longitudes. The "long by chron" method was theoretically worked out much much before the chronometer, (aka, in modern days, a wrist watch)came into being, but could not be practised while at sea. Year 1800 AD marked the invention of longitudes for the purpose of navigation. Imagine how Vasco da Gama and Columbus might have carried out their sea-voyages even with being able to know the longitudes! great work, i say. Interestingly, the Logarithms, which we so tediously study in schools, found their first practical use none other than, at sea for calculating the position using 'long by chron' method.
It really amazes me think the history of shipping is indeed the history of mankind, and in one accurate glance a history of the future of this world as well. Sometimes i think of throwing down this bold statement to all the thinker that- this world and all its civilisations have been settled and brought about by none other than it's mariners! Think over it, all those reading this statement.
Returning back to the original theme of my talk, the GPS works using some 24 satellites, all owned by the US Dept of Defense(the Pentagon) and employs a craft of quartz clocks in its electronics, which are able to measure time to its 9th place after decimal.!!! can you people imagine that and assimilate how the GPS system is so accurate in fixing the position. It has a accuracy level measurable in centimetres. And the challenge remains that each of the 24 satellites and the GPS ground control stations on earth have these quartz crystal clocks which each measure the time to that high precision. The challenge is the the inherent vibrations of quartz crystals should have been synchronized at the beginning of their formation itself to all of them vibrate in sync all the time yet, which practically means synchronisation the time of formation of earth! Now that is not known to have happened or not.!
So how do the scientist achieve that. That's where the management philosophy teaches some lessons to technology, and vice verse. A clever management of these satellite keeps them working in sync all the time. This concept in turn teaches an observer the great lesson that- what and individual cannot achieve independently can sometimes be achieved by some careful and well cor-ordinated team work.
Like, none of us can be fully correct and full wrong at the same time, but by a well-argued proposition achieve full-correctness on some matters. We cannot be God individually, but we can achieve a very high standard of Godliness, by working in close liaison with other well-read, intellectual people. The decision of an individual can be subject to mistakes, but a panel of high-class judges can achieve even the unattainable.
Think about the above, who have their argument lines as:
You are not God, nor can you be one. !!( individual is not, but an elite panel can nearly be so.)
If something cannot be achieved by any individual, then it is really unachievable!!(it's really not so).
No body is fully correct; nobody is fully wrong. (co-ordination can do more wonders).
Desi Human Solutions
Most people in Indian Merchant Navy are wary of one particular breed of Technical Managers(aka Superintendents) . And that is the Indians themselves. It is humorous to find that quite many of us are aware of some problem existing in our management approach, although we believe that it is in someone else among us but not me.
We realize deeply that the Indian style of management focus a lot on exacting hard work from people, so much that where there is no work, we begin to feel uneasy for not getting opportunity to do our most cherished thing..the hard work!
It is agreed that all the arguments that would stand in favour and against our desi notion of Hard Work, ..(Hard work key to success, Hard work can win all battles, Foreigners do more hard work than us, ....and so on), the idea of slow and easy approach is completely abhored by our such the (someone-else-)Managers.
My close friend just now rang me up from China, to tell how hard his life has become, on the same ship on which I had an enormously wonderful and comfortable life, only because the Indian managers are looking after it, which was under the Taiwanese during my tenure. His complain, indeed, has been realized, accepted and humoured by many others too.
I think the concept of business and its big picture with relation to the technical and operational managements involved, is poorly understood by most of us. And this poor understanding occurs because of the fact that we Indians are born, lived, trained, and taught to always believe in 'Hard work'. Those of us who grow-up to realise, or even by some vile chance practice 'Luxurious life', quite often turn out to be the better players of technical management.
While reading one passage on cultural slips of Indians, I was thinking on the effect of the concepts on Vrat, Roza,(fasting), and TirthYatra (the pilgrimage), and self-abstinence in our culture. We believe that the more the human body is tortured and put to rigorous 'hard work', the closer it gets to find a reward from its maker. Ok, for the sake of good health the belief may be holding good, but for the purpose of solution-finding for any problem, it is not good to think of the approach of putting more regulatory checks, managerial pressure, or retributive measures, to obtain a solution. A technological approach should also be considered, which is, i agree, little difficult to be thought for us, Indians, because our Technological Institutes and not yet quite ready to take-up problem solving for practical problems. They are rather too busy in teaching their students.
Anil Kakodkar's, the chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, statement on the use of Tech Institutes to attend to the problems of Industries was much awaited in this regard. The circle-round result of the shortfall of the referral method led to our Desi managers never being able to think of technological solutions to problems. The widely sought solutions mostly are the human solutions of reprimanding, scolding, pressurising, or making unusual new rules.
The Japaneses, and other Hi-Technology nations have a traditional approach of looking for the technology-related solutions to the same set of problems. And even in that, they often choose to go for a real hi-technology, instead of our desi approach of 'affordable' and 'improvised' solutions.
Very recently, I was reading something on the west's rising interest in the approach of getting the human-solutions, in which they are now focusing on how to become more relaxed and easy to overcome difficulties like 'forgetfulness', and 'unrested'. This is very much different from our approach of desi human-solutions, where we focus on harassing some human to solve the problem where the technology could have worked instead!
We realize deeply that the Indian style of management focus a lot on exacting hard work from people, so much that where there is no work, we begin to feel uneasy for not getting opportunity to do our most cherished thing..the hard work!
It is agreed that all the arguments that would stand in favour and against our desi notion of Hard Work, ..(Hard work key to success, Hard work can win all battles, Foreigners do more hard work than us, ....and so on), the idea of slow and easy approach is completely abhored by our such the (someone-else-)Managers.
My close friend just now rang me up from China, to tell how hard his life has become, on the same ship on which I had an enormously wonderful and comfortable life, only because the Indian managers are looking after it, which was under the Taiwanese during my tenure. His complain, indeed, has been realized, accepted and humoured by many others too.
I think the concept of business and its big picture with relation to the technical and operational managements involved, is poorly understood by most of us. And this poor understanding occurs because of the fact that we Indians are born, lived, trained, and taught to always believe in 'Hard work'. Those of us who grow-up to realise, or even by some vile chance practice 'Luxurious life', quite often turn out to be the better players of technical management.
While reading one passage on cultural slips of Indians, I was thinking on the effect of the concepts on Vrat, Roza,(fasting), and TirthYatra (the pilgrimage), and self-abstinence in our culture. We believe that the more the human body is tortured and put to rigorous 'hard work', the closer it gets to find a reward from its maker. Ok, for the sake of good health the belief may be holding good, but for the purpose of solution-finding for any problem, it is not good to think of the approach of putting more regulatory checks, managerial pressure, or retributive measures, to obtain a solution. A technological approach should also be considered, which is, i agree, little difficult to be thought for us, Indians, because our Technological Institutes and not yet quite ready to take-up problem solving for practical problems. They are rather too busy in teaching their students.
Anil Kakodkar's, the chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, statement on the use of Tech Institutes to attend to the problems of Industries was much awaited in this regard. The circle-round result of the shortfall of the referral method led to our Desi managers never being able to think of technological solutions to problems. The widely sought solutions mostly are the human solutions of reprimanding, scolding, pressurising, or making unusual new rules.
The Japaneses, and other Hi-Technology nations have a traditional approach of looking for the technology-related solutions to the same set of problems. And even in that, they often choose to go for a real hi-technology, instead of our desi approach of 'affordable' and 'improvised' solutions.
Very recently, I was reading something on the west's rising interest in the approach of getting the human-solutions, in which they are now focusing on how to become more relaxed and easy to overcome difficulties like 'forgetfulness', and 'unrested'. This is very much different from our approach of desi human-solutions, where we focus on harassing some human to solve the problem where the technology could have worked instead!
Private adult tapes :- to the question of future of the protagonists
Private videos of common civilians in their compromising positions have become replete on internet these days. With digital camera becoming a toy device in every person’s hand, the most secretive life of people is coming to public light in galore. Sometimes I feel elated that to the students of human psychologies it is opening doors of some new frontiers, and sometimes sad as to what would be the public life of people who have been caught up in those videos.
Almost all people I meet are enthusiastic about seeing those tapes. But many of them feel utterly disgusted with other people who see or talk about them, because of a natural fear rising in own mind of themselves falling victims of infidelity some day. The instantaneous thought of own family’s women member getting caught deters most of such people to ever appreciate, comment, or discuss such videos. Therefore this lot of people are always in disgust and denigrating mode towards those who watch and discuss them.
It’s not that I want to encourage people to comment rampantly such dark accidental pages of unfortunate person’s life, but I want to take concerns and think of some better future for them in the aftermath of these incidents.
With the growing threat of Taliban and extremist religious values, I once got thinking on whether it was really such big taboo in India to get seen the adult secret life in full public. Some odd chapters of Indian history passed my thoughts right away. The pictures of sculptors of Khujraho, Jagannath Puri, Konark Sun Temple, and the treatise of Kamasutra gave some hints to think in some different terms. Then, my recent visit to the Red Fort of Agra, and the Taj Mahal, further nourished my growing-up opinion. There used to be no doors inside the Forts of the Moghuls. Hawa Mahal (or the Air Condition Room) of Moghul Kings had no doors, nor did their sleeping chambers. There were only curtains on them.
I think that the adult actions getting caught being done in the full glare of whole wide world has been happening from the times immemorial. It is nothing new to human society. But what the technology has done is to make it ‘eternal’ through the process of digitization, and have it farther promulgated. This is the bigger damage that has happened in the present times in relation to the past.
But since the camera has become so much an easy device, the growing count of private videos of more and more people might eventually make our society indifferent to them in time to come.
So the victims should not take any drastic action on themselves, particularly suicide or so, to escape the undue public glare. Avoiding public appearance for some time, till some dust settles on their scandal tapes, would be a better remedial action.
Most people who do a regular access to such ‘clips’, whose count by my estimation must be quite high, would rather be comfortable towards the social acceptance of their misfortune pleasure- entertainers.
From high class celebrities, to non-descript town people, many such ‘entertainers’ have already emerged in our media and cyber world. And yet many of them continue to live a life, even if not so normal, but still happy by many other standards, I am sure. And many have continued on their careers and dreams normal as before. Such examples should redeem the new ‘sinners’ from giving-up on desire to live. At the same time, those of the people who feel disgusted with their fellow beings who like discussing the tapes, should avoid the fear of their mind, for this might make them yet another kind of ‘extremist’ who by his thoughts thinks of himself has ‘high standards, clean life’ and ‘imposes’ bans on others. Acceptance, even if helplessly, of the uncontrolled promulgation should make the ‘extremist’ to calm himself and pass it on as event of life, technologised and contemporary, instead of suppressing the free-speech which may be a subtle diatribe, albeit positive, fact full and true.
Private videos of common civilians in their compromising positions have become replete on internet these days. With digital camera becoming a toy device in every person’s hand, the most secretive life of people is coming to public light in galore. Sometimes I feel elated that to the students of human psychologies it is opening doors of some new frontiers, and sometimes sad as to what would be the public life of people who have been caught up in those videos.
Almost all people I meet are enthusiastic about seeing those tapes. But many of them feel utterly disgusted with other people who see or talk about them, because of a natural fear rising in own mind of themselves falling victims of infidelity some day. The instantaneous thought of own family’s women member getting caught deters most of such people to ever appreciate, comment, or discuss such videos. Therefore this lot of people are always in disgust and denigrating mode towards those who watch and discuss them.
It’s not that I want to encourage people to comment rampantly such dark accidental pages of unfortunate person’s life, but I want to take concerns and think of some better future for them in the aftermath of these incidents.
With the growing threat of Taliban and extremist religious values, I once got thinking on whether it was really such big taboo in India to get seen the adult secret life in full public. Some odd chapters of Indian history passed my thoughts right away. The pictures of sculptors of Khujraho, Jagannath Puri, Konark Sun Temple, and the treatise of Kamasutra gave some hints to think in some different terms. Then, my recent visit to the Red Fort of Agra, and the Taj Mahal, further nourished my growing-up opinion. There used to be no doors inside the Forts of the Moghuls. Hawa Mahal (or the Air Condition Room) of Moghul Kings had no doors, nor did their sleeping chambers. There were only curtains on them.
I think that the adult actions getting caught being done in the full glare of whole wide world has been happening from the times immemorial. It is nothing new to human society. But what the technology has done is to make it ‘eternal’ through the process of digitization, and have it farther promulgated. This is the bigger damage that has happened in the present times in relation to the past.
But since the camera has become so much an easy device, the growing count of private videos of more and more people might eventually make our society indifferent to them in time to come.
So the victims should not take any drastic action on themselves, particularly suicide or so, to escape the undue public glare. Avoiding public appearance for some time, till some dust settles on their scandal tapes, would be a better remedial action.
Most people who do a regular access to such ‘clips’, whose count by my estimation must be quite high, would rather be comfortable towards the social acceptance of their misfortune pleasure- entertainers.
From high class celebrities, to non-descript town people, many such ‘entertainers’ have already emerged in our media and cyber world. And yet many of them continue to live a life, even if not so normal, but still happy by many other standards, I am sure. And many have continued on their careers and dreams normal as before. Such examples should redeem the new ‘sinners’ from giving-up on desire to live. At the same time, those of the people who feel disgusted with their fellow beings who like discussing the tapes, should avoid the fear of their mind, for this might make them yet another kind of ‘extremist’ who by his thoughts thinks of himself has ‘high standards, clean life’ and ‘imposes’ bans on others. Acceptance, even if helplessly, of the uncontrolled promulgation should make the ‘extremist’ to calm himself and pass it on as event of life, technologised and contemporary, instead of suppressing the free-speech which may be a subtle diatribe, albeit positive, fact full and true.
Drug and Alcohol policy in shipping
(a letter written to appeal against strict, zero-tolerance, D&A policy in some of the shipping companies)
Dear Sir,
This is in response to the “zero tolerance” drug and alcohol policy implementation, which is getting a little too merciless on seafaring community as though to make an austere saint of us!
The sea farers in the days of yore were the outcast, convict people with immense skill and desire to live and survive. Perhaps they savoured all the taste of women, wine and ate away all the dodos of this planet, feeding their will to live more in the rigorous’t of ocean waves.
Then suddenly dawned upon the mankind the rule of “Governments”, which captured the “companies” for un-social and environment un-friendly policies. A new era of “Drug and Alcohol” abuse came upon the ravelling sea-farers, which I agree was and is, a need of the hour to check more damages to the seas and oceans, from happening. It tamed the sea-farers slowly into the family-people who started to crave for more time to be with their friends and families far on shore.
But the strength of the ocean waves continued to be the same! There were no more dodos left to eat; the punishment they got in return for eating them up has deep indented into making the seafarers almost unseaworthy. The ruthless and merciless enactment of the D&A policy has left sea-farers as vulnerable soft pieces of flesh, more timid than the land-lubbers.
In fact the land-lubbers have started to appear more ravelling so much that the sea-farer now seems to be becoming the extinct group who need some protection from the clutches of many a ruthless works of law.
Losing a job all for being under the Influence sends a chill down their spine even stronger than the beer. They question if it’s really worth being a sea-farer to face the onslaught of law more than the waves of the ocean when the law seems to be making a select target of them. What more does the Governments want of them through the seafarers’ Companies, -- to make an ascetic of them?
A balanced check was essential perhaps in those days to bring the wild roaming sea-farers into the grip of Governments. In present times, a little more squeeze might ooze the will out of them, bereft as just a bony flesh.
Previous related tag : Hypocrisy in us
Dear Sir,
This is in response to the “zero tolerance” drug and alcohol policy implementation, which is getting a little too merciless on seafaring community as though to make an austere saint of us!
The sea farers in the days of yore were the outcast, convict people with immense skill and desire to live and survive. Perhaps they savoured all the taste of women, wine and ate away all the dodos of this planet, feeding their will to live more in the rigorous’t of ocean waves.
Then suddenly dawned upon the mankind the rule of “Governments”, which captured the “companies” for un-social and environment un-friendly policies. A new era of “Drug and Alcohol” abuse came upon the ravelling sea-farers, which I agree was and is, a need of the hour to check more damages to the seas and oceans, from happening. It tamed the sea-farers slowly into the family-people who started to crave for more time to be with their friends and families far on shore.
But the strength of the ocean waves continued to be the same! There were no more dodos left to eat; the punishment they got in return for eating them up has deep indented into making the seafarers almost unseaworthy. The ruthless and merciless enactment of the D&A policy has left sea-farers as vulnerable soft pieces of flesh, more timid than the land-lubbers.
In fact the land-lubbers have started to appear more ravelling so much that the sea-farer now seems to be becoming the extinct group who need some protection from the clutches of many a ruthless works of law.
Losing a job all for being under the Influence sends a chill down their spine even stronger than the beer. They question if it’s really worth being a sea-farer to face the onslaught of law more than the waves of the ocean when the law seems to be making a select target of them. What more does the Governments want of them through the seafarers’ Companies, -- to make an ascetic of them?
A balanced check was essential perhaps in those days to bring the wild roaming sea-farers into the grip of Governments. In present times, a little more squeeze might ooze the will out of them, bereft as just a bony flesh.
Previous related tag : Hypocrisy in us
Bloggers can be nailed for views:Supreme Court of India
A sheer mis-carriage of justice by the apex court of India.
Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bloggers-can-be-nailed-for-views/articleshow/4178823.cms
I understand from this news report that the SC has yet only attempted to put accountability of their work on the bloggers. Whether Ajith is really guilty or not would be another case to follow.
I have no qualm on this. But, holding a blogger, Ajith in particular, guilty would be a severe injustice to the liberties of any educated man.
India is a land of half-minded people. Sample this: Ronen Sen is summoned to the parliament for speaking "Headless Chicken", which, in reality had no great allusions! The MPs thought it was aimed at them! The books on shivaji by a foreign author showing a local hearsay are banned alleging that he is defaming Shivaji! MF Hussain's paintings are protested against!
Now where will an intellectual man, like Computer Engineer or student, show up his creativity, if not on the net!? where will the pressure be build up on the common man to bring up his intellect, if not through the net. Common man can surf the net, and yet not be pressed to gain anything from it! is that what Justic Balakrishan is wanting for this country!!?
If shiv sena can do all that nonsense; any political party can call a Bandh; u mean an educated man has no remeady to protest against, just because he is educated!?!? Foolish henchmen of political parties, with no jobs and education, can do anything. and educated people , only for the reason of being educated, can not!
The Internet has many times been credited with bringing democracy to every citizen. The net has brought the true freedom of expression, expressing opinions, to take democarcy to it's high level of individualism. It seems that the supreme court has not yet woken up to this fact, which is why such a justice!
Jai Ho, Supreme Court.!
Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bloggers-can-be-nailed-for-views/articleshow/4178823.cms
I understand from this news report that the SC has yet only attempted to put accountability of their work on the bloggers. Whether Ajith is really guilty or not would be another case to follow.
I have no qualm on this. But, holding a blogger, Ajith in particular, guilty would be a severe injustice to the liberties of any educated man.
India is a land of half-minded people. Sample this: Ronen Sen is summoned to the parliament for speaking "Headless Chicken", which, in reality had no great allusions! The MPs thought it was aimed at them! The books on shivaji by a foreign author showing a local hearsay are banned alleging that he is defaming Shivaji! MF Hussain's paintings are protested against!
Now where will an intellectual man, like Computer Engineer or student, show up his creativity, if not on the net!? where will the pressure be build up on the common man to bring up his intellect, if not through the net. Common man can surf the net, and yet not be pressed to gain anything from it! is that what Justic Balakrishan is wanting for this country!!?
If shiv sena can do all that nonsense; any political party can call a Bandh; u mean an educated man has no remeady to protest against, just because he is educated!?!? Foolish henchmen of political parties, with no jobs and education, can do anything. and educated people , only for the reason of being educated, can not!
The Internet has many times been credited with bringing democracy to every citizen. The net has brought the true freedom of expression, expressing opinions, to take democarcy to it's high level of individualism. It seems that the supreme court has not yet woken up to this fact, which is why such a justice!
Jai Ho, Supreme Court.!
The problem that modern women are
The problem that modern women are
‘ The essence of a woman is that she is the one who teaches men what loving and caring is all about. ’
-- Miss Universe Shushmita Sen when winning her pageant crown
India is basically a nation of faiths. People are ritualistic-religion oriented. The women society is still, by and large, into talking on upcoming festivals, the successes of their husbands, the achievements of their children, the food n clothes they have lately themselves bought, relationship between- other people, neighbourhood, etc.
Afterwards, they privately put their shared information on a comparison against each other. Quite often they have reasons, some very possessive, or protective reasons for doing this comparisons. Like, they don't like their ward to lose out, defeated, down played by the rival woman.
This process is very commonplace in our society, setting another source for envy, or female-induced competition amongst men and children alike.
Children are mostly a true and sincere ward of their parents. Hence they are chip of the old block.
The probable cures may stem from the observation that good scientific knowledge is elusive in most mothers. Besides, the women community has scarce discernment in the morality and ethics arguments.
Many women have become very unbearable to me. Indeed, modern women are no more that epitome of the classic 'essence of a woman'. They are less tolerant, more susceptible to stress propelled psychological problems, less value-inclined, lesser capable of handling the complications and nuances of modern life. They are poor at balancing a relationship, particularly with one of their own gender. I raise these propositions from the observations I have made in life of my own sisters and my bhabhi(s).They all are high educated girls, and opportunely landed as wives of high ranking government official and professionals. But, sadly, none of these women have any work-ex. How this shortfall results into problems of marital life is what I would like to highlight. Many of these high-end marriages are now lying ruined, many within the first few months of the wedding itself. These women have themselves not been through the rigmarole of ups and downs that their husbands have during the making of career. Women have landed directly as the wives of big ranks which is why they are deficit in many qualities such as- stress-management lacking reflected very occasionally through losing patience and tolerance, un-contemplated un-soothing speech - (immense bitter-mouthing), uneasy silence; technology-ignorance, lacking sense about businesses and general mercantile principles, snobbish attitude (by this I specifically imply- to be able to charmingly conduct mean and plebeian's activities when need be so). They feel themselves to be on the rank that their husbands are, resulting in their personal management being poor. they all want to be goody-goody girls, with high dreams of married life. In practice they are very often going over the side.
I have purposely not described modern women as impatient, ignorant, irate, grumpy and such, because these are quite broad terms to encompass many other features, which they definitely must be having. My charges are based on some specific observations I have made in course of time. To cite a few:-
During the traffic jam, she was becoming restless, stressed, summarily doing what is called the backseat driving. Then she irritated into giving up listening to music which is sometimes needed for soothing the driver's(her husband's) temper. Her stresses could have infected him too. She suffers from physical signs of stress as leg-swelling, loss of appetite, snobbish, when under stress. The long stretch road trip, however comfortable and comparatively small it was, could not prevent the physical signs of stress from showing up. In our jobs we have become more practiced in handling them.
They out-of-place get into the PDA's.
One day we decided to have the famous parathas of Chandini Chowk. The constricted lanes of the city, the fumes of burnt fat from the oil of parathas, the long walk down in the crowded marketplace where infuriating her, it appeared. She was serious, devoid of her usual cheerfulness. I was doubting if she would take exceptions to why did we bring her to such a place!
Then, when we went to see the Taj and Dargah of Chisti , she was obviously more interested in doing the ritual practices of the place, taking the guide’s traditions-promoting descriptions as the more appealing narratives for the historical places. She is herself a high educated woman, doing a doctorate in History related subject; and I was amused, this was her personal inclination towards the entire subject. Would her thesis be free of malice of her enveloping environment, free of her personal ritualistic beliefs, be sufficiently formulated on scientific and clinical observations -- I was questioning to myself.
When her husband suffered a minor jolt in his career, she made all the hues about how other ladies in her neighbourhood would think about it. She explained that all that she wanted of her husband was that he should always be on top of everything; excel in whatever he does. The inside ‘envy’ devil of me was as though finding some fresh blood for a resurrection, in her words. The goldie oldie track of Kishore Kumar “jab koi baat bigad jaye, jab koi mushkil pad jaye….” was revisiting my thoughts as her favourite one. Has she have her favourites changed??
The occupation-rehearsed toiling husband becomes her matter of concern in picking her luggage only on that day, more out of her own guilt of amassing so excessive accessories for herself in the luggage. She has just had her first experience of separation from her friends after a short stay together and thus wants us to show same emotions of nostalgia for which we are habituated for n-times in our 10 year service life. She is very religious girl wanting to 'edify' us, contrasting our extreme exposure to high technology, myriad cultures and philosophies and travel wisdom that stems within us thereon.
Owing to marriage, she has directly landed where we have taken 10year to reach. She has good academic knowledge but doesn’t display much the values absorbed from it. She is less debated, lesser crossed in her opinion till her sheltered living in her parents home.
Oppression and subjugation of any human is a very heinous act. Women in medieval India have suffered this inhuman ordeal. But in turn, it made them immensely patient, giving, an epitome of self- control, better stress-managers, somebody for whom any human would go all-out do a saviour act even by laying his own life. Perhaps it is this image of woman that led to forming of highly biased- almost draconian- laws as the dowry act. Many people, then, decided to promote and awaken the demanding for rights in their daughters. The pendulous extreme consequence of the awakening is that modern woman are only demanding of their rights and not granting or surrendering a dime even if it be in the need of keeping the relationship. This over grown conscientious has backfired on the man-woman relationship.
In the present times if I were to give an answer to the question of essence of a man, I would say the same about men what Shusmita Sen said in her famous universe-conquering answer.
‘ The essence of a woman is that she is the one who teaches men what loving and caring is all about. ’
-- Miss Universe Shushmita Sen when winning her pageant crown
India is basically a nation of faiths. People are ritualistic-religion oriented. The women society is still, by and large, into talking on upcoming festivals, the successes of their husbands, the achievements of their children, the food n clothes they have lately themselves bought, relationship between- other people, neighbourhood, etc.
Afterwards, they privately put their shared information on a comparison against each other. Quite often they have reasons, some very possessive, or protective reasons for doing this comparisons. Like, they don't like their ward to lose out, defeated, down played by the rival woman.
This process is very commonplace in our society, setting another source for envy, or female-induced competition amongst men and children alike.
Children are mostly a true and sincere ward of their parents. Hence they are chip of the old block.
The probable cures may stem from the observation that good scientific knowledge is elusive in most mothers. Besides, the women community has scarce discernment in the morality and ethics arguments.
Many women have become very unbearable to me. Indeed, modern women are no more that epitome of the classic 'essence of a woman'. They are less tolerant, more susceptible to stress propelled psychological problems, less value-inclined, lesser capable of handling the complications and nuances of modern life. They are poor at balancing a relationship, particularly with one of their own gender. I raise these propositions from the observations I have made in life of my own sisters and my bhabhi(s).They all are high educated girls, and opportunely landed as wives of high ranking government official and professionals. But, sadly, none of these women have any work-ex. How this shortfall results into problems of marital life is what I would like to highlight. Many of these high-end marriages are now lying ruined, many within the first few months of the wedding itself. These women have themselves not been through the rigmarole of ups and downs that their husbands have during the making of career. Women have landed directly as the wives of big ranks which is why they are deficit in many qualities such as- stress-management lacking reflected very occasionally through losing patience and tolerance, un-contemplated un-soothing speech - (immense bitter-mouthing), uneasy silence; technology-ignorance, lacking sense about businesses and general mercantile principles, snobbish attitude (by this I specifically imply- to be able to charmingly conduct mean and plebeian's activities when need be so). They feel themselves to be on the rank that their husbands are, resulting in their personal management being poor. they all want to be goody-goody girls, with high dreams of married life. In practice they are very often going over the side.
I have purposely not described modern women as impatient, ignorant, irate, grumpy and such, because these are quite broad terms to encompass many other features, which they definitely must be having. My charges are based on some specific observations I have made in course of time. To cite a few:-
During the traffic jam, she was becoming restless, stressed, summarily doing what is called the backseat driving. Then she irritated into giving up listening to music which is sometimes needed for soothing the driver's(her husband's) temper. Her stresses could have infected him too. She suffers from physical signs of stress as leg-swelling, loss of appetite, snobbish, when under stress. The long stretch road trip, however comfortable and comparatively small it was, could not prevent the physical signs of stress from showing up. In our jobs we have become more practiced in handling them.
They out-of-place get into the PDA's.
One day we decided to have the famous parathas of Chandini Chowk. The constricted lanes of the city, the fumes of burnt fat from the oil of parathas, the long walk down in the crowded marketplace where infuriating her, it appeared. She was serious, devoid of her usual cheerfulness. I was doubting if she would take exceptions to why did we bring her to such a place!
Then, when we went to see the Taj and Dargah of Chisti , she was obviously more interested in doing the ritual practices of the place, taking the guide’s traditions-promoting descriptions as the more appealing narratives for the historical places. She is herself a high educated woman, doing a doctorate in History related subject; and I was amused, this was her personal inclination towards the entire subject. Would her thesis be free of malice of her enveloping environment, free of her personal ritualistic beliefs, be sufficiently formulated on scientific and clinical observations -- I was questioning to myself.
When her husband suffered a minor jolt in his career, she made all the hues about how other ladies in her neighbourhood would think about it. She explained that all that she wanted of her husband was that he should always be on top of everything; excel in whatever he does. The inside ‘envy’ devil of me was as though finding some fresh blood for a resurrection, in her words. The goldie oldie track of Kishore Kumar “jab koi baat bigad jaye, jab koi mushkil pad jaye….” was revisiting my thoughts as her favourite one. Has she have her favourites changed??
The occupation-rehearsed toiling husband becomes her matter of concern in picking her luggage only on that day, more out of her own guilt of amassing so excessive accessories for herself in the luggage. She has just had her first experience of separation from her friends after a short stay together and thus wants us to show same emotions of nostalgia for which we are habituated for n-times in our 10 year service life. She is very religious girl wanting to 'edify' us, contrasting our extreme exposure to high technology, myriad cultures and philosophies and travel wisdom that stems within us thereon.
Owing to marriage, she has directly landed where we have taken 10year to reach. She has good academic knowledge but doesn’t display much the values absorbed from it. She is less debated, lesser crossed in her opinion till her sheltered living in her parents home.
Oppression and subjugation of any human is a very heinous act. Women in medieval India have suffered this inhuman ordeal. But in turn, it made them immensely patient, giving, an epitome of self- control, better stress-managers, somebody for whom any human would go all-out do a saviour act even by laying his own life. Perhaps it is this image of woman that led to forming of highly biased- almost draconian- laws as the dowry act. Many people, then, decided to promote and awaken the demanding for rights in their daughters. The pendulous extreme consequence of the awakening is that modern woman are only demanding of their rights and not granting or surrendering a dime even if it be in the need of keeping the relationship. This over grown conscientious has backfired on the man-woman relationship.
In the present times if I were to give an answer to the question of essence of a man, I would say the same about men what Shusmita Sen said in her famous universe-conquering answer.
a look into Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionair
This movie is surely a wonderful work. I hold firmly the belief that there is more -ve to our life than we actually speak. Infact our problem is that we like to see only the +ve things, because of which we have higher sensitivity to reject the -ves. (incidentally this is also one of the points raised in the movie when Jamal asks Latika why do people watch this KBC.)we are a terrible cultural broth. We seek happiness by flying away into an illusion of happiness through/'created by' our movies. We cannot accept the truth. Dharavi is a real place in the real city where those reality- inspired shots of child molestaion, limb mutilation, alms seekers/child-beggers, cheats, thugs, murders have been taken.Just that the movie, a little too far, upholds the indian belief in Fatalism, whereby it almost confirms to us all that " d:it is written"..(the option 'd' of the question "if u suddenly become a millionaire" --- raised at the start of the movie).
It appears that the author, Mr Vikas Swarup, on whose novel this movie is based, has been an arts or a non-mathematics related student. Actually i feel that this fatalism promotion should not go little over with us Indians, while it is still acceptable for the west which has gone more 'sci-techocratic'. Movies like 'Forrest Gump', depict the invidual's good fate, whereas Slumdog depicts the fate(/the lot) of a whole nation. Fate doesn't favour you everyday. But in the end, the movie still acceptable to me. I hope someday our movie-makers also roll into making flicks on 'probabilitis'(contrasted against Fate; a mathematical/scientific view) as well.
This movie is surely a wonderful work. I hold firmly the belief that there is more -ve to our life than we actually speak. Infact our problem is that we like to see only the +ve things, because of which we have higher sensitivity to reject the -ves. (incidentally this is also one of the points raised in the movie when Jamal asks Latika why do people watch this KBC.)we are a terrible cultural broth. We seek happiness by flying away into an illusion of happiness through/'created by' our movies. We cannot accept the truth. Dharavi is a real place in the real city where those reality- inspired shots of child molestaion, limb mutilation, alms seekers/child-beggers, cheats, thugs, murders have been taken.Just that the movie, a little too far, upholds the indian belief in Fatalism, whereby it almost confirms to us all that " d:it is written"..(the option 'd' of the question "if u suddenly become a millionaire" --- raised at the start of the movie).
It appears that the author, Mr Vikas Swarup, on whose novel this movie is based, has been an arts or a non-mathematics related student. Actually i feel that this fatalism promotion should not go little over with us Indians, while it is still acceptable for the west which has gone more 'sci-techocratic'. Movies like 'Forrest Gump', depict the invidual's good fate, whereas Slumdog depicts the fate(/the lot) of a whole nation. Fate doesn't favour you everyday. But in the end, the movie still acceptable to me. I hope someday our movie-makers also roll into making flicks on 'probabilitis'(contrasted against Fate; a mathematical/scientific view) as well.
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