Drumster's Den

“To,

The entire Alumni Community of IITs and IIMs

Is the new generation responsible for the atrocites laid upon a certain section of the society, on the basis of caste, several decades ago? Should the generations to come suffer from the same fate that the section of society called OBCs suffered then? If this is not “”Divide and Rule”", then I do not know what is.

I write this letter today because I feel deeply grieved that the country’s future is being held to ransom by corrupt politicians who can even kill to get their votes. CNN-IBN asked a very apt question yesterday. Can any politician in India afford to be anti-reservation? The Opposition in the Parliament, as an unwritten rule, is supposed to oppose anything and everything that is proposed by the party in power. And they do so religiously. But this time around, when it has come to reservations, they know that doing so will jeopardize their vote-banks. Not a single squeak has come from the Oposition.

I write this letter today not to elaborate more on the sorry state of affairs in the Indian Politics, but as an appeal to all the giants in the industry, to look at what is happening to their alma mater. IITs, IIMs and all the other major institutions in India are being held by the scruff of their neck and forced to go down the path that will surely lead to degradation of their value as an institution. When merit is killed, there is absolutely nothing that can save an IIT or an IIM or any other institute for that matter. And what has the government done? It has been succesful is making every Indian conscious of who they are working with. Today everyone who is not in a reserved category looks at the person sitting next to him and has only one question. Is he an OBC?

For several weeks now students have been on a hunger strike. Several students have been injured in the merciless police lathi charges. All the students have screamed their throats dry to make their voices heard. But what did we get in the end? The government has stabbed every student in the back by its decision to implement quotas by 2007 even after appealing to the protesting students to have faith in the government.

Several bright students are being denied admissions to prestigious institutions only to fill the votebanks of the politicians. Undeserving students who are fortunate enough to have troubled forefathers in the form of OBC/SC/ST laugh their way through these colleges. And what happens in the end? Either they drop out or they manage to scrape through, thus reducing the quality of the output from these colleges.

I am not against quota if it makes sense. I am not against any reservation carried out on the basis of some logic or some figures. But why should we all take the decisions meted out by the government as they come? Why shouldnt we all oppose illogical decisions which are politically motivated? Mr. Arjun Singh in an interview with Karan Thapar from CNN-IBN was clueless when he was asked basic questions on which the decision should have depended. Our honorable minister was not able to answer a single question.

Its an earnest appeal to the complete alumi community to come out in the front and help the students. You are ultimately helping save the future of the country and of your companies that recruit these bright minds. Let the government know that their decision has major repercussions and that they have hit the wrong chord. I am not appealing to you to take decisions based on emotions, but on the basis of facts and figures available in the public domain. The government is not helping the lower classes by giving them reservations, but on the contrary pushing them deeper into the abyss.

Regards,
An ex-IIT KGP student.

Update #1: The quota row is reaching the doors of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

A 22-member delegation of striking medicos met President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam and appealed to him to not sign the Bill proposing to bring 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in elite educational institutions.

“”We have said that if this law is enacted we will commit suicide after seeking permission from the president,”" a student, Kapil Mishra said. (Source: IBNLive.com)

“These are the old days,The bad days,
The all or nothing days. They’re back.
There’s no choice left…

…. Its blood for blood and by the gallon.

And thus goes Marv from Sin City. If only the same would apply to the situation here. Maybe it would if all were to wake up. The people of India have waited long enough and hard enough to withstand these corrupt politicians who won’t even think twice about selling their own mother for two pennies if they are getting a hundred votes. The talks of which party is good and which party is not are over. Everyone’s been there, done that and ruined India along the way.

Lets take the case of the recent controversy of reservation which is blowing hot and is threatening to engulf the whole nation. It all started when one petty politician, who wasnt in the news enough before and wasn’t in the good books of our firangi leader Sonia Gandhi (seems like we have finally outsourced politics also) wanted desperately to ‘change’ things wherein he hit upon a jackpot of an idea to divide India on casteist lines.

Little did he have a clue about how it will backfire (Read all about the background here). It has backfired and quite badly. Look at the unrest everywhere. Students from all fields, medical, engineering and every other branch have revolted against this. And how?!!!!

Corrupt police officers have been caught all around accepting bribes and the levels of their frustration are increasing. It all shows in the merciless thrashing and caning of the doctors/engineers of tomorrow. These students who will be the future of our country are being whacked for no crime of theirs. Evil breeds evil. I won’t be surprised if some of these get involved in organized crime at some point in their life. Grudges like these can never be alleviated.

India is poised for a civil war. Winds of change are blowing and its perfect weather to launch a counter-strike against the government. India needs a dictator. Maybe not someone as fanatic as Hitler, but someone who can control the whole country and hit these politicians where it hurts the most. Their livelihood. But first we need a civil war. A war that will destabilize the entire administration. Its bound to happen sooner or later.

I remember a quote in Outlook Magazine many years back which was something as follows and which is very apt for the occasion:

In this world order,
Sovereignity has no border,
Yankee Doodle has his way,
No one else can have a say

Technorati Tags: Reservations Arjun Singh OBC”

A solemn cloud floats in the distance as if orphaned from the rest of the clan. The branches chatter away in unspoken words as the wind blows south. I stare out from the third floor of my hostel as the last evening trudges its way past the dusk. And I want to live through it all once again. Do everything I did in these two years in this one night before I leave.

Friends part only to meet again, but at this moment I wonder if the person who wrote that was a lunatic. On second thoughts, probably he was too optimistic in the moment of departure. The two years seemed like an overture to the life as a student.

The two years here have given something that my hometown could never give me. The freedom to live and the zest for travelling. An undying desire to satiate my appetite for seeing new places. Living life on my own. It was a two year long hiatus from the hustle of the city and the travails of luxury. But this place exudes a charm that no city can give you. You crib about this place but eventually fall in love with it.

Last thing I remember
I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
Relax said the nightman
We are programed to recieve
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave

Only I wish it was that way. Nights out drinking with friends, no care for any day but this. We all dread the day we have to leave. The final walk into the department we studied for two years. That last bend on the road that led to our hostel. The 2.2 kilometres of track I spent endless nights walking with the girl I loved. The late night snacks at Chhedis and the arguments we used to have over sutta and chai. All the gossip sessions and the mail-wars added some spice to an otherwise mundane place. The laughs we had at the cost of the people who taught us. The 40 winks session in the class while the professor droned on and on. Sneaking out of the class when bored and the rush for the attendance.

And half and hour later we packed up our things
We said we’d send letters and all those little things
And they knew we were lying but they smiled just the same
It seemed they’d already forgotten we’d came

Now we’re back at the homestead
Where the air makes you choke
And people don’t know you
And trust is a joke
We don’t even have pictures
Just memories to hold
That grow sweeter each season
As we slowly grow old

But I take with me memories that will last me a lifetime. Habits that I love to hate, but still keep them. Voices of the same old friends shouting out from their balconies. Late night sessions when we could talk about anything under the sun. Those wrestling bouts we had for fun and the aftermath of those. The drunken nights handling a few drunk people and sometimes getting drunk yourself (in my case, I used to get drunk mostly and was the master entertainer). Seasons will come and go and we’ll grow old. But these names and the memories that they gave me will always remain. So long my friends. I’ll see you all again.

Same dances in the same old shoes
Some habits that you just can’t lose
There’s no telling what a man might lose,
After the thrill is gone

The flame rises but it soon descends
Empty pages and a frozen pen
You’re not quite lovers and you’re not quite friends
After the thrill is gone, oh,
After the thrill is gone

“I think there must be hundreds of people who rant about the sad state of Indian television. All it does is subject you to abject and mindless family politics and melodrama which can make you choke over and over again. Stereotype would be a highly understated adjective for these TV serials.

There might another school of thought here that says that the creators of these shows give the audiences what they want and what they like. I would say thats not the case. Its a complete loop. Unless and until they know what they are missing out on, there is no way for the audiences to raise their bar of judgement. You make something different something intelligent. Gone are the days when oafs and blondes ruled the world.

Quite recently I started watching this TV Series called Hustle which is aired in the UK on BBC. Its not available in India but, then piracy is the name of the game. But thats a different story for some other day. Its a series about con-artists. A crew of five who are involved with long-cons. They swindle people of their money. But the people they swindle are the people who have made this money by unfair means. They have their own code of ethics. People would say that we have a moral obligation not to show deceit and theft, et cetera on the television so as to not corrupt the minds of the young viewers and to discourage potential thefts. I assume this would be the reasoning to not create such a series. But, the vital point here is that it titillates your brain. It doesen’t just fill your brain with stupid and mindless family politics (I for one dont give a rats ass for it). It makes you want more, think more. Here‘s the website for more dope.

If there is something that corrupts the young minds and screws their life’s peace, then its these family dramas full of deceit and treachery. They should be banned from the boob tube. I think its high time, Indian television takes a cue from its western counterparts and cooks up something sensible. Till that time, for me, its piracy ahoy!!

Technorati Tags: Television Hustle BBC”

“A perfect weather is the one that makes you think about all those good times gone by. About times hidden deep within the recesses of your mind, afraid to come out. A bicycle trip down the autumn road, with leaves left wet by the passing drizzle. The wind blowing into your face, pleasantly cold and damp with the evening dew.

All you can do is think about the great times you spent with your friends, a lifetime ago. Its funny how it always makes you think about the past. Those parting moments of laughter with your friends the last time you saw them, unsure of when you’ll meet them again.

It makes you think of the girl who loved you not so long ago. But strangely the thought doesent depress you anymore. All you do is think of the good times you had and smile at the evening sky splashed with an orange haze. And remember how she loved to crumple those dry autumn leaves while walking down those familiar streets. The way she loved the drizzle more than the rains.

The voices they come back to you as you cycle your winding way past the same old football field where you spent endless nights gazing at the sky and enjoying the silence. The daily ordeals of slipping past the night guards bring the smile back on your face. Those fog-filled nights when the electricity frequently blew off.

The times they have gone away. But left memories to think about on a day when the weather is perfect. Sometime I wonder if the present makes any difference. Its the memories that make you feel good or bad…

… But when the weather’s perfect, you make love to those good times again.

Technorati Tags: Kharagpur Weather Perfect Day”

“Over the past few years ever since I started listening to all forms of rock music I have come across innumerable bands in this universe of drugs, booze and rock n’ roll. But there are a few bands that continue to enthrall and surprise you with the kind of music they play. Majority of the bands have a set style of playing and the variation in the songs disappears over a certain period. But one band that has continued to keep you wanting more is Opeth.

I came to know about this band from Rohan who used to put the lyrics in his status messages on messenger. Out of curiosity I checked out the music by the band and was surprised with the variety they played. I mean most of the bands who play Death and Dark Metal are usually typecasted with the same form of music. But Opeth, can give you those growling vocals and at the sametime give you sheer poetry. How many bands have you heard who do that? I have heard Testament do one song Return to Serenity, but thats about it.

If my memory serves me right then the first Opeth album came out in 1995 and its been more than 10 years now since they’ve been around. But the music still doesent satiate your curiosity. Take the lyrics of Face of Melinda (Album: Still Life):

By the turnstile beckons a damsel fair
The face of Melinda neath blackened hair
No joy would flicker in her eyes
Brooding sadness came to a rise

Words would falter to atone
Failure had passed the stepping stone
She had sworn her vows to another
This is when no-one will bother

And conceded pain in crumbling mirth
A harlot of God upon the earth
Found where she sacrificed her ways
That hollow love in her face

Still I plotted to have her back
The contentment that would fill the crack
My soul released a fluttering sigh
This day fell, the darkness nigh

I took her by the hand to say
All faith forever has been washed away
I returned for you in great dismay
Come with me, far away to stay

Endlessly gazing in nocturnal prime
She spoke of her vices and broke the rhyme
But baffled herself with the final line
My promise is made but my heart is thine

Who writes such lyrics? For all I know most of the new Death Metal (or Black Metal as they call it) bands do not anything apart from hatred and blood and demons in them. Now people will argue that if you want poetry then do not listen to Death Metal. But music as genre was never about the lyrics. Genres are decided on the basis of the music that goes with it. Death Metal is just a fad that rockers have. All of them. There was a time when I wouldn’t take anything but Deicide and Cannibal Corpse. But those really seem like such a waste now.

To all those who havent heard Opeth yet, all I would say is go get a CD! Here are some strong recommendations:

• Still Day Beneath The Sun




• Patterns in the Ivy – 2




• Face of Melinda




• Benighted




• Harvest




• Death Whispered A Lullaby




• To Bid You Farewell

Technorati Tags: Opeth Metal Rock Death Metal”

“I think every Indian at some point of time must have desired to go abroad and specifically to the US. Not many think about the fact that mountains look radiant from far away. The dust gets into your eyes only when you venture close to it. People might have conflicting opinions on this issue and once again I might be kicking up a major storm here. But something that happened recently caught my eye and hence the attention. Here goes:

The scientist community is up in arms against the denial of US entry visa to senior scientist Goverdhan Mehta. Mehta was formerly associated with the Indian Institute of Science.
Top scientists have expressed their grouse at the “”impolite”" questions they are asked while applying for a US visa. None other than C N R Rao, principal scientific advisor to the Prime Minister, has said he may stop visiting that country.
Rao said on Friday, “”It’s regrettable that the US cannot distinguish between a scientist and a student. We are not beggars. We are a developing economy. When they expect royal treatment in India, why don’t they reciprocate?”"
Rao, who faced a similar experience three years back, said, “”They ask impolite questions. I’m not saying they shouldn’t. But they ought to be polite.”"
The sentiments are no different with other top scientists who feel the insult to Indian scientists is happening all too often.
Former IISc director G Padmanabhan said, “”I have stopped going abroad. It’s insulting the way they treat Indians.”" Space scientist U R Rao feels the government must take up the issue with the US. Padmanabhan says this is due to US obsession with security. (Source: TOI)

And at this time I wonder, why do we still continue to grovel? People tell me that “”going abroad broadens your perspective and gives you a new outlook”". Sure it does. But should it be at the expense your own self-respect? There is a thin line between self-respect and ego. But this is an open and shut case of losing your self respect and going. I respect the views of the scientist above. And the same are mine. Although I have never been through any such experience, I have a heard a lot of cases. People might rebuke me by saying that I havent had any first hand experience. Are all these cases made up then? I wonder.

Its high time we have some sort of pride for our country. Sure, it might be full of shit when it comes to politics. Sure it might be the Michael Schumacher of corruption. But no country is pure from its inception. You have to make it that way. If you run away with your tail tucked between your legs, who would work, to make the country the way it should be? All patriotism? Nah, I say all practicality.

Bite Me.

Technorati Tags: India Visa US”

As another lazy sunday began, I woke up to the sound of the newspaper sliding below my door. The newspaper delivery guy also comes in quite late on sundays, I guess everyone needs to unwind and the newspaper guy, deservedly so.

I was in a pensive mood as the day began and felt the need to do something different. So for a change I sat and read the newspaper at length. I came across an amazing article by Manu Joseph. It is so very well written. The beauty of the article lies in its simplicity and when you can portray something as simple as a conversation with a man in a such a subtle manner, its really amazing. The article can be read here.

As I was browsing through various blogs I came across a friends blog which talked about a Tagore poem. This instantly reminded me of a small verse, again by Tagore, that someone sent me long time back. It is so beautifully written. Or maybe I found it so because those were beautiful times. But anyways here goes:

He whom I enclose with my name is weeping in this dungeon.
I am ever busy building this wall all around,
and as this wall goes up into the sky day by day
I lose sight of my true being in its dark shadow.
I take pride in this great wall, and I plaster it
with dust and sand lest a least hole should be left
in this name, and for all the care I take
I lose sight of my true being.

I guess I’ll finish reading one of my Roald Dahl books to end the Sunday on a literary note.

“2005 was by far one of the best and one of the worst years of my life. So when 2006 started, there was one resolve. To tie up the loose ends of my life once again and make it a year that I’ll probably never forget. The new year party was a complete booze out. In a way I was trying to wash away all that shouldnt have happened. I dont know what extent I was successful, but it felt good.

As you cut years through your academic career, things like college festivals seem more and more mundane. The kind of feeling you get is that of been there and done that. So it was time for SpringFest 2006 and I had vowed to make it rock. For myself that is. I knew it would be completely different from what I had dreamed a few months back. But what the heck, if wishes were horses, stupid people like me would ride them.

Anyways, so I got a terrific high during SpringFest. The first evening I was high on half a bottle of whiskey and the following two days I was doped out most of the time. The last day was what I was looking forward to. It was the day of the rock band competition and the day Skinney Alley was to play.

A friend of mine rolled 5 joints. A shot of Old Monk to warm ourselves up and we were all packed to go. We were three joints down as the bands came and performed.

By the time Skinny Alley hit the stage we were having the last joint. This time shared by two chinkys who had come from Shillong or some place like that.

As I lay there, high on dope and low on life, the band decided to play “”Shine on you crazy diamond”" by Pink Floyd. The dope did its work and I felt like I was floating down this tunnel and all I could hear was the music. All I could think of was my life’s two faced diamond. One face fading away into oblivion and me wanting to salvage that face at any cost, but all it did was mock me. The other face beckoned me to have a look at it. And I wondered, on which of these faces should the light shine. Then came a rush of water down the tunnel as my throat pulled back my parched tongue. I began to come into my own once again and I saw the band belting out the song’s remains.

I just thought that I should roll another joint.

I aint seen the sun shine in 3 damn days
been fuelin up on cocaine and whiskey
wish I had a good girl to miss me
but I wonder if I’ll ever change my ways
I put your picture away
sat down and cried today

”

“The year gone by was one of the best and the worst in my life. Going to sign off for this year now and will return only when I pick up the pieces and find the ones missing. So long my friends, have a great year ahead and hope you all had a good year that went by.

I feel unhappy
I feel so sad
I lost the best friend
That I ever had

She was my woman
I loved her so
But it’s too late now
I’ve let her go

I’m going through changes
I’m going through changes

We shared the eve’s
We shared each day
In love together
We found a way

But soon the world
Had its evil way
My heart was blinded
Love went astray

I’m going through changes
I’m going through changes

It took so long
To realize
That I can still hear
Her last goodbyes

Now all my days
Are filled with tears
Wish I could go back
And change these years

I’m going through changes
I’m going through changes

–Changes (Black Sabbath)

”