26/11: We Will Never Forget

Wounds are still fresh
Time can never heal.

Pain is still agonizing
By mere words it wont ease.

Tears still roll down from our eyes
Life has never been the same since that night.

Justice has never been done till date
History will never forgive us if we dont restore that smile again.

We wont let that blood dry
We wont let its color fade away.

We will not shut our eyes now
We will not turn our heads away.

We stood united then
We stand united now.

We are Mumbai.
We will never forgive
We will never forget.


-SR

Vinchu Katta

Mighty and Majestic, standing tall

Looking over the lands guarding the fortress walls.

Journey is tough path too steep,

Makes your senses come alive seeing the might of the cliff.

Lone path to reach the peak,

A foot wrong and you'll be in stars.

Into the green muddy walkway,

Hard to climb and difficult to dismount.

A look downward, all you see is pain

A look upward, you have everything to gain.

Scramble with your hands and feet,

Follow the path to reach the endless sky.

Miles above the lands, with heaven above

Goosebumps and shivers all up and down.

That feeling of ecstacy, gets your adrenaline going 

A sight worth watching, a risk worth taking.

-SR

Natures Magic

There is something with these mountains,
That keeps reminding me every time.

How petty our thinking has become
Realises one when you reach there, all the time.

City life is a cynical way of living
Pointing only negatives, without noticing the positives

We feel the heat, but we ignore the light
We see the rains, but never cherish the rainbow

Mountain broadens our horizon
Gives a panorama view of missing elements

This picture will remind me of natures magik
Where it was raining near the lens, shade on the ground and light in the far end.

So celebrate every moment and enjoy lifes' puzzle in bundle
As in the end there always will be light at the end of tunnel.

 

 

-SR.

Fly High !!!

Sometimes we smile out of obligation,
Sometimes we smile coz its regulation.

When it starts pouring we shrink ourselves in the shade
When the wind is blowing we turn our face away.

We live a robotic life in a shell,
Never thinking of breaking the rules.

Break the shackles, dare to dream the cosmos
Instead of hiding, welcome nature's gifts with open arms

Let the power of wind surprise you
And droplets of rain wash your trouble away

The feeling is divine which makes you feel free
That sense of being alive, with your heart whooping yipee !!! 

 

 

 

 

-SR.

Despedida Vaishali

मी Radius मधे आलो काय
एका पाठोपाठ एक विकेट पडत गेले |

त्यांच्या जाण्याची करणं काही हि असली
तरी बिल मात्र माझ्याच नावावर येत गेले |

तुम्ही जाणार हे जेव्हा समजलं तेव्हा इतकं काही वाटलं नाही
कारण आपली प्रत्येक्षात ओळख हि झाली नव्हती |

पण तुमच्या बद्दल जेव्हा ऐकलं
तेव्हा, सोबत काम करायला कधी मिळेल याचीच वाट पाहत होतो |

दुखं एक असणार कि अधिकृत टीम म्हणून नाही काम करता आलं
पण जितकं केलं त्यात खूप काही शिकायला मिळालं |

आजवर जितके लेट सित्तिंग केले
जितके सामोसा गेट टुगेदर झाले
प्रत्येक वेळी तुम्ही सोबत होता |

तुम्ही नसणार तेव्हा खूप शांत शांत होणार आपला रो
एक पोकळी नक्की निर्माण होणार |

असंख्य लोकं आपल्या आयुष्यात येतात
काही राहतात आणि काही पुढच्या प्रवासाला निगुन जातात |

मी या छोट्या प्रयत्नाने तुम्हाला धन्यवाद सांगू इच्छितो
आणि तुमच्या पुढच्या प्रवासाला लाख लाख शुभेच्छा |


-एस आर

आयुष्य विद्येच्या माहेरात - I

Samudra Manthan was going on in my life in the monsoon of 2010. With results not changing at all in professional exams, there was some setback also at personal level. Lonely feeling had takeover. I desperately needed a break. The same time one my friend who also didn’t clear the same exam suggested an idea of changing the center. Hence we mutually decided to shift to Pune.

The fact that I was about to live a hostel life excited me very much. It was one from my ToDo list atleast once in Lifetime. Personal setback had taken a toll. Everyday was kindoff frustrating. I was angry, upset, feeling guilty, confused all at the same time. When relationships are involved in the same group, there breaking apart has serious repercussion on everyone in the group. They are all in a dilemma. That’s the reason why I decided to stay away from all of them, so even they get time to adjust and come out of all this.

On Ganesh Chaturthi, I packed my bags. Luggage was dead heavy as one full bag was just filled with books. Another haversack was for my clothes. Had to take extra so there won’t be much of a trouble of buying new stuff. By hook or crook I had made up my mind I am going. But the big hurdle was money. I had ended up spending in six figure in 2.5 years of being together. So I was officially broke. I prepared a budget considering all possible expenses and it was going in negative. Still I didn’t budge. Coz the idea of living a hostel life and need of staying away from this regular routine was necessary. So avoiding all the negative factors I just went ahead by taking a leap of faith.

As I boarded the bus, I called up my friend in Pune so he could come at the station to pick me up as I was not aware of the place. Journey through Mumbai-Pune Expressway was fascinating as always. Views of the ghats in the rains was just awesome. However a surprise awaited for me as I reached the new city. I did tell my friend earlier to reserve a place for me in his room. But the owner didn’t allow an extra man in the room of six. So now I had to stay in a separate room.

Normally I am excited to stay outdoors. But don't know why on that particular day I was getting homesick. The fact that I will have to stay away from the only person I knew in that city made me a bit restless. Already my I wasn’t in a good frame of mind. And now living alone was adding more fuel to fire. Somehow I collected myself I started the walk towards the new room. My friend saw the sense of homesickness and decided to stay for the night as I was going to be alone in that room, as other room mates being out of town. The first night was very difficult so also the morning. One of the room mate dropped in to take my share of deposit money. This just wasn’t feeling good. I was getting thoughts of packing my bag and returning home all the time. After lunch on the first day, we went to watch a movie. I guess that really helped, as I settled down a bit and accepted the fact that I can’t runaway. Evening did bring a good news finally. My friend talked with their owner and also his room mates whether they can adjust me as it is just a matter of 3 months. Fortunately they all agreed. The owner also cracked a deal on the amount of rent which was apparently lower as compared to other guys. Though he didn’t provide me a bed, so I had to put mine on the floor. But that didn’t make a difference at all. As atleast I am going to be among people who I knew. I readily shifted and paid the full amount as per the owners demand.

It was a huge sigh of relief. Something good finally happened since I came to this new city. Finally I was with some good people. My friend has told lot about them how cooperative they are with him. I was also hoping against hope, that atleast I be accepted in the house.

I wrapped up all my load from the old house to shift in the new one which I can call a home away from home. I agreed to stay in the kitchen. It was not the actual kitchen as nothing was ever cooked there. So just another room. The capacity per room was 6, which was already full. I being the extra, was not allotted a bed. The owner gave me many reasons in all the time of my stay but I knew since day one I may not be getting any bed.

But that wasn't the concern in my head. As I barely could contain my excitement. The other day, which apparently was my first day, I had talked about leaving the city and going back as staying alone was going to be difficult. But now I was in a room where I atleast knew one person and through him I may know others. In all the excitement I did had a grain of doubt in back of my mind. Will the other guys accept me? I mean it's quite simple logic. Had I been in their place, I also wouldn't be excited of new entrant who got special entry even when the room was already full and also got a discount in rent. This much reason was enough to piss anyone and stay forever unwelcoming towards me till the date I'll be in the city.

Thank God though, these nightmares didn't come true. Each and everyone was helpful and welcomed me with open heart. Lets start with a small introduction of my new family.

Mane: He was my friend, and the only friend when I stepped in this city for the first time. We met in the CA course somewhere back in 2006 and ever since we have been friends.

Nilesh: There is a belief that it is difficult to make friends in just few months of interaction. But this guy proved it all wrong. I was so lucky to find a friend as Nilesh. It's been 5years since the first time we met. I still remember I was sitting casually on a bed, which belonged to Mane, and suddenly my friend introduced me and Nilesh. Nilesh was back from some trip that day and was enjoying the view in the mirror. When Mane did the formal introduction, I just got up to say something while shaking hands. But I was so confused that even I don't remember what exactly was I saying which was apparently our first conversation. Nilesh realised I was kinda nervous and he just shook my hand, smiled and said Ok. Our beginning was messy but after some days the comfort level was such as if we knew each others for years.

Adv.Nagesh: He and I were of the same age. But his personality was much matured than me. He was like the father figure in the room. A practising lawyer. I did encounter a small problem during my stay which I will elaborate later. When things were going beyond my control I thought of telling everything to Nagesh. It wasn't anything like I will be needing a lawyer. It was a sense security I got once I said to him.

Prakash Gunale: Among the old tenants. Prakash was working in some manufacturing company. His younger brother also used to stay who was in his 12th STD. Prakash stayed to himself in the intital days. His room was in the bedroom and their door always used to be shut. After a few days we all got together. Very simple guy, down to earth. Never gave that 'You are an outsider look'. Another good friend.

There was another guy from UP, i forgot his name. He used to work in some company, I guess a bank. He was allotted the kitchen.

After being introduced with everyone, it was time to decide where was I going to sleep. Mane talked with the UP guy. He said its fine, he can sleep in the room. So with that confirmation, finally I became a official member of the house. But my problems just began. I did get a room, but without a bed. And under the impression that I will be getting a bed, I had only brought one blanket to cover myself. If use it as blanket, I have to sleep on the floor and vice versa.

Considering it as my first day, borrowing was not going to be a good option. I thought for a while, tired to settle in the room. Coz I was sitting fulltime in outside room chit chatting, but my room to sleep was in the kitchen with the North Indian guy with whom I wasn't fully introduced yet. After taking stock of few things I decided to use my blanket as bed for the first night. Another important thing missing from the sleeping kit now was pillow. Again,borrowing was not an option. So I brought my haversack near my head and used it as a pillow and slept. I knew I have to bear the chilled floor for the entire night, neck might pain coz of such a huge pillow. But these things didn't matter actually. As my mind was at peace. That I was among people whom I know, or atleast would love to know. So it was the first peaceful good night in Pune.

Back in Mumbai, my parents got tired asking me to get up at 5in the morning. I don't know why, but it always seemed impossible task. Here it was cake walk. With the first alarm ring I used to get up without any laziness of '5 more minutes sleep'. May be I had a fear in back of my mind, that if I get up late and disturb other room mates schedule I might get in their bad books in the initial days itself. And this fear kept me on my toes till the last day.On first day, though, I wasn't awake at exactly 5. I did wrap up all my morning activities quickly. Except me and Mane, all were office goers. So delay was not going impact much to us than them. I remember apologising to Prakash when he got up incase I had disturbed their daily schedule. Forunately, I didn't. So a new day began in Pune.

It was already mid September. Back in Mumbai, it is time for rains to go away. But here they are in full throttle. Due to this the atmosphere was also very much cold in the night. Now that I had nothing to sleep upon as getting a bed from the owner was a distant dream I called up home and asked if anyone can drop around. Brother and father were going to come in the last week of the month. I asked them to bring along a mattress and a pillow.

First morning from Sarang Society was really a fresh beginning. Oh, I forgot, that was the name of the building. The owner had a small bunglow inside the complex and two buildings for hostel. Mane and me decided to have a  lazy start. Shailesh had come to Pune in August. So he was quite settled already, with the surrounding areas. I took a few books and Mane took his usual bag an we left for the day. Just below our buliding we had our breakfast, my favorite Poha and Chai. After which we proceeded towards our library. This place was going to be my second home in Pune.

There is something with the word Home. When I used to be in outstation sometimes for a week or sometimes for 15 days a stretch, there we use to stay in hotel or bunglows as per the client. The bunglows would be just like home. But I never ever called them home This was the first time I was calling a place outside Mumbai as my home.

After a brief walk from our new home, we reached the library. It is hardly a 15 minute walk. It isn't typical library which we may picture once we hear that name. It can be more specifically called a study room. There were benches like the ones we had in our school minus the desk. From its entry door, one gets a view of the entire room. There was a table on the right side as soon as one enters the room. That table is for our tifin which comes from the mess. Beside the table there is a big green board. Though it's not used at all. On every benches you will find piles of books together. These are kept by all members. Instead of carrying it everyday home and back, people keep it on the desk. Besides these tall structure one will find people sitting with their heads immersed in books.

The librarian generally comes in the afternoon or evening no fixed time as such. So I walked in and went were Shailesh had kept all his books.

Day one in the library was surely not going to be productive. I for one is among those who can't stay quiet for long time. Though these days I have altered my behaviour a bit. As sometime I end up hitting an axe on my own feet. So I try be choosy when it comes to initiating talks. There were poeple from different fields under one roof. CA, CS, ICWA, IAS, IPS, MPSC, ENGG, DOCTORS, LLB, PG etc. You name a course and chances are there will be atleast one guy studying that particular subject. Shailesh had already made a small group to have lunch together. Ironically, he knew them for more number of period than me, still at the end of our trip I had a great rappo with all them.

I was letting things to sink in, breathing new air. It was not as if for the first time I was sitting in a library. Even in Mumbai we used to be in the library for almost entire day and night as well. Nights especially in library are always adventurous. Will explain the nights of Mumbai library on some other day. Shailesh already told that he would prefer full day rather than sitting in night. So I also followed the same schedule. But the thought was their in the back of my mind. As clock kept ticking, it was getting more and more heavier to sit at one place. So I went down in search of a Chai Tapari, as this is the first basic thing I need around my library. The location of library was on a highway. Across the street there was a mall. And just at the entrance of that mall there were 2-3 Chai Taparis. Gulped a cutting and came back.

While coming up I was thinking of my lunch. I had not asked for any tiffin from the mess yet. It were just the initial days. And I was short of cash. I didn't want to borrow any money from my parents. This was my decision. Hence I should be the one to bear the cost till the end. Therefore I had to keep my spending at it's very low inorder to be sure that I will have money till the end of the trip. Already my Rs. 2K were blocked with guy were I stayed previously. And then I paid for the current rent which was some Rs3K. Working in a CA firm, salary figure was in four figures. And already I had spent a lot in the past which didn't turn out to be good investment. So I had to be more thrifty. Ofcourse that wasn't the reason I did not apply for mess tifin. In our library there were two guys who were providing tiffin. So I just wanted to analyse which one is better in case of quality, quantity and budget and then start my tiffin. Untill then I used to go to a nearby eatery and bring chapatis and Shailesh used to share vegetable from his tiffin.

After lunch, everyone in the library use to sleep between 2pm-215. It was kinda power nap. Some from my group would sleep for a hour who all use to stay in the night. This was a routine. Sometimes the librarian use to come in the afternoon just to wake up everyone. I still don't know what satisfaction he got by doing that. Even here I used to get up exactly after 15minutes that to without any alarm. Sometimes when things have to happen then no force can stop it from happening. It was something like that.

After our power nap, again back to books. That was the basic reason why I came to Pune. So that there should be no distraction other than books. Had I stayed back in Mumbai, life would have been more difficult. It is unfortunate that I couldn't achieve the main target for which I came for the trip. But lot of baggage of the past was cleared thus making things quite simple.

The dinner in the night use to come at 845. By 7pm everyone use to be exhausted. Shailesh also use to come down. Normally he doesn't comes for chai breaks, except in the evening. After our tiffin use ti arrive, we used to go running to the terrace to relish the food. After which pack our bags and move towards our room. Like us, many use to stay in hostel or PG. So no one was answerble to anyone back home, why not coming, where are you now and those typical questions. After reaching the room by 930, other mates also use to arrive by that time. Then it was time for fun, danga masti untill late night 1am. Discussions on all types of topics, dancing and what not.

This use to be my regular day in Pune. Day in day out. Same schedule. In the later parts, I will share about important incidents which happend during my stay which will be staying with me forever.



-SR.

लय भारी दोस्ती

कॉलेजच्या एका वळणावर भेटलं कायमचं डोकंदुखणं,
श्वेता तिचं नाव दळव्यांचं कारटं |

मैत्री कि पागलपंती हे ठाऊक नाही राव,
पण लाईफ मध्ये होती फुल ऑन मस्ती भाऊ |

सततं सगळ्यांशी भांडत राहायची,
या न त्या कारणाने रुसून बसायची |

तशी ती फार डीसेपटीव आहे,
पण मानाने आमची पोर एकदम गुणाची आहे |

कायम सगळीकडे उशिरा पोचते,
हिशोबात तशी हुशार आहे पण वेळेच्या हिशोबात बिनडोक आहे |

कारटं आमचं एकदम बिंदास तर आहेच,

पण का कोणास ठाऊक आजंहि मिस्तर नोबडीचा फिअर फॅक्टर आहे |

जरी हिच्यात माकडचाळे भर भरून आहेत,
पण मैत्रीण म्हणून यारोन ची यार आहे |

४९चा एस एम एस पॅक ते वोट्स अप्प पर्यंत,
आणि ओर्कुट पासून इंस्ताग्राम पर्यंत
काळा सकट अपडेट होत
दोस्ती पण झाली अजून घट्ट |

साधी सुधी भांडण नव्हे तर महायुद्ध लडलो,
आणि एक कप काॅफी वरच सीसफायर गिरवलं |

वर्ष गेले काळ सरला,
मैत्रीचा गंध मात्र तसाच टिकून राहिला |

आपल्या दोस्तीने खूप काही शिकवलं,
आयुष्याकडे पाहण्याचा अजून एक द्रीष्टीकोन समजला |

आता केळवणाला पुरण पोळी कि इडली सांभार
हे जरी फीक्स नसेल,
पण दोस्त म्हणून जशी बावरट आज आहेस
तशीच कायम राहशील
यात काहीच शंका नसावी |



PS: तुझी माझी मैत्री लय भारी
      आहेच ती मुळात जगा पेक्षा निराळी |

-SR.

B(h)ail

By now all of you might have read, analyzed and digested the fact of actor Salman Khan (SK) bail tamasha. Many, like me, will be mourning for the death of judiciary while some might be celebrating this incident. After the chaos, protest and euphoria surrounding the case settled down in the media, or may have been told to settle down, I came to one simple conclusion. This county only and only belongs to the rich and powerful. There is no place here for poor as well as the middle class. We are just entertainers for them. We should either follow them as disciples or be ready to vanish like smoke. Justice is a luxury which will be forever deluded from these two classes.

I never knew the gravity of incident which, apparently, took place 13 years ago in the year 2002. Being in 9th standard, all we were fed about was the mighty SSC Board exams die next year. Hence neither did I read anything in newspaper nor was television media that much popular, as it is today, that I could see on TV. By 2003, when India qualified for the finals of the cricket world cup I guess people would have already forgot that some celebrity named SK had killed someone on the pavements of Bandra. Now when I was going through the timeline which is flooded in almost all newspaper did I come to know the excruciating pain the victim might have undergone just few moments before death.

After a regular drunk party SK with his bodyguard, Late Ravindra Patil, SOS, and Kamal Khan started their journey towards home. Patil insisted that he drives the car since SK was fully drunk and was not carrying license. However the adamant actor took the wheels. Drink and drive had you me done this, we might be either spending some time in jail or may end up paying heavy fine with chances of cancellation of license. But for the rich and powerful this law does not apply. After taking the wheel of SUV Land Cruiser, with already high also took the speedo meter to great heights. Finally on one turn he lost control and rammed his car in a bakery before crushing 5-6 people who were sleeping on the pavement. The people who saw this on the road started banging the doors of his car shouting, Bahara nikal salman. The so called action hero might have pissed in his pants when confronted with real action. The cop took the intiative by showing his ID, after which people went a bit away from the car. By the time Patil got down from the left door and could reach the right door to bring SK out, both the Khans began running saving their asses. The people on location also said, SK was so high that he couldn't even run after taking a fall every two steps. Patil, being a cop, did his duty. He called up the police and also filed a FIR. People where still below the car. A crane was called upon to lift the car but the victims fate even didn't spare him after his death. The hook of the crane was lose. Hence after the car was lifted half way the hook broke, letting the car again drop down. In all this, SK ran straight to his lawyers house and showed up only next day at 11am in the police station after getting assurance from his lawyers.

Patil was firm on his statement that SK was on wheels. He was under the influence of alcohol and also didn't possess driving license. Later Patil was however forced by many to take back his statements. But he didn't budge. He was forcibly kept away from appearing the court proceedings. Due to this the judge awarded him a jail term too. Ironically SK didn't attend many court hearings but court only did one thing, gave another date. In jail, Patil was brutally tortured to withdraw from the case, but he still didn't withdrew his stand. When he was released from the prison, he had no job. His wife divorced him and his family disowned him. He was a beggar on the roads in Mumbai in his final years when he died on account of TB in 2007. It was around this period that the inhuman SK had launched his NGO Being Human. Who was responsible for Patil's death? Who pressured him? Why his family disowned him? What circumstances made a SOS cop, beggar? Of course there are no answers, there will never be. He paid the price of being honest. He stood against the elite and powerful and hence was brutally consumed by the system. Before going ahead, I pay my tributes to the Brave Cop who stood for what was True.

After a long gap of 13 years, last week Session court gave SK 5 years imprisonment. Now lets take a look at how many laws were broken here and how there was mockery of judiciary in arguments. It was clear to everyone since day one that there were only 3 people in the car. SK, his friend and Patil. Suddenly SK lawyer brought a driver or a scapegoat and forced him to confess in the court that he was on the wheels that night. It is Supreme Court ruling that once a conviction is made, the term of prison should be given on some other day and not on the same day. Lalu Yadav, Jayalalitha, Sanjay Dutt also had to be in prison till the sentence was given by court as they didn't get instant bail. But in case of SK it was done immediately. Even before the order copy was given, his lawyers approached High Court and asked for interim bail giving reason that they haven't received the copy of ruling. The HC also granted bail to him. The Session Court is opened till 530 pm in the evening. But to grant SK bail, it was opened till 730 in the evening. SK sister came to court in the morning during the hearing and told media I will take my brother home today. And while leaving in the night she flaunted that I told you so dialogue.  This wasn't enough that after 48 hours interim relief was over, HC imposed a stay on sentence and scheduled next hearing for July 2015 thus allowing SK to walk free, again. It took 13years to convict him and 48 hours to bail him out.

It is important to note here how he used his celebrity status to bend the law and how the police also helped him from the delaying the conviction. In a interview with Tehelka, Senior Advocate Abha Singh explained this fact:

- In the year 2008, Kamaal Khan appeared before the Magistrate and tendered a bond promising that he would appear for the prosecution case as and when called. Despite such a position the prosecution dropped him.

- SK got exemption from court dates for almost 100 times which hardly anyone gets. Police helped him in not examining star witness and dropping 37 out of 54 witness.

- SK exploited his celeb status to escape from the law and to befool people. His PR machinery devised a scheme to say that he is being victimised.

-  In case other hit and run cases, conviction was made in 2 years but this case lingered around for 13 years.

It is also worth noting statistics of the criminals who have been waiting for their bail hearing. Close to 1.75 lakh of 2.78 lakh people facing criminal charges are unable to secure bail before three months. Overr 40% (1.1 lakh) if undertrials take more than six months to secure bail, while over 30K spend more than two years and over 64K spend more than one year in jail before they are released on bail. (TOI).

This is why I concluded in the start that this country belongs to the rich. No matter how much we cry, how much we try, or how may governments we change. The beacon of hope will never be lit. I know I sound pessimist, but atleast this attitude will help me not to keep hope from our system. The journey for SK till a curative petition is filed in Supreme Court relating to the same case, he may be contesting some elections and maybe in line for getting Bharat Ratna.

Immediately the hearing date came closer, media started a campaign flouting figures of xyz crores riding on him. Bollywood also poured sympathy for their partner. Some were sensible while some were trying to mock the dead and get free publicity for their future projects. Singer Ahijeet and Farahs' comment are not even worth discussing. But one hyprocrite, Aamir Khan who ran a full episode on hit and run in his show Satyamev Jayate had pleaded that these criminals must be caught and brought to justice was also among the band wagon who came out and supported SK. How can our politician stay away in such situation. So basically this trial was not for conviction of a killer but to make SK a god like figure and show how those people came beneath his car on their own.
  

The case went on for 13 years. Don't know how many more decades will it carry on. In this period SK achieved more stardom. He harrased Aishwariya Rai even when she wanted to be out of relationship. Not to forget the animal poaching in Rajasthan and possessing illegal arms. He also gave threatening calls to Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberoi. He slapped Katrina Kaif in public. He suggested not to blame pakistan for 26/11 attacks on Mumbai and went on saying that Indian security agencies failed. His bodyguards harass fishermen in Bandra. But he is being human. So no one will say anything against him. That's the tragedy of our judiciary today.

Ps: By the time I finished this, Jayalalitha was acquitted by Karnataka Court and cleared her way to return as CM of the state of Tamil Nadu. Another achievement of our judiciary. Lets raise toast !!




-SR.

Life, a question mark!

Every passing day is a question mark,
Speed of life seems to be at snails pace.

Every second is filled with fear,
With emptiness around nothing left to cheer.

Began the journey with success all time high,
In the middle of nowhere today, I don't know where am I.

Difficult it is in tuff times to face the world & hold your head high,
You know it is all time low
When you can't raise your head even at your place.

Because of my karma, I am where I am,
Heavyweight liability, yes, that's what I am.

Even in the dark, I assumed I am still worthy,
New year trashed those beliefs,
Outside world said I ain't worth a penny.

Carefree attitude, happy go lucky was the motto always,
Stripped of happiness, rejected by luck,
Staring in the dark, clueless, of what lies ahead.

Even in the palace, I feel like a beggar,
With all the comforts around, still can't taste the platter.

Friends and family are still there around,
Though a question arises, do they even deserve me for crying out loud.

Invoking sympathy isn't my intention,
Just trying to give a way, for my frustration.

No matter how life is, I have to live,
Questions which are staring, answers only I have to seek.

In the path of tornado, I know one day it will pass.
Sun will light the day and stars will again twinkle in dark.

-SR.

Net Neutrality

Latest news is the government still not making it's stand clear whether it is standing for net neutrality or will support the powerful telecom lobby who want to become the dictators on what should we watch on internet. Already the government is imposing bans on anything and everything since they have taken office, be it at state or in the center. They want to control on what we should be eating, they want to control on what women should be wearing, they want to ban on which jokes should we be laughing (AIB). And when all this wasn't enough, now they want us to surf only that portion of net which they will provide us and not what we want to see.

People are not taking this upcoming law seriously for only one simple reason, they are not yet aware of the gravity of the situation and it's repercussion once the law is implemented. The initiative taken by various Internet Activists and by AIB is helping poeple to understand the actual meaning of the problems ahead, is commendable. It is not that the government is playing it's cards holding close to their chest. Somewhere in the final days of March '2015 the Telecom Regulator Authority of India (TRAI) has uploaded the content of the same on their website and have given the nation less than a month to reply with their queries and criticisms. If the government does not receive enough replies it will go on and implement the rule after April 24th.

I agree they have uploaded the contents in public domain. But the way in which they have put forward, itself will take days together to decode the entire draft document. Starting from it's name, Consultation Paper for Regulatory Service of Over-The-Top services. Half of the population who is using the net will give up here itself assuming it is related to some technical problems of telecom companies or some future plans to provide additional services. Also, like the AIB video specified, the document uploaded on the website of TRAI is in middle of 4-5 windows, with a continuous screensaver above easily acts as a distraction. Even if poeple stay on after clearing the above hurdles they have another big thing coming. This consultation paper is over 100 pages long. Now considering the reading capacity of the current 140 words internet generation another big chunk of users will give in. Hence indirectly, this is keeping people at bay so government can impose it's law in a dictatorial democratic way.

So what is this all about? And why is it so much essential for all netizens?

Net Neutrality is Internets guiding principle. It mainly preserves our right to communicate freely online. This is the definition of an open Internet. Net Neutrality means an Internet that enables and protects free speech. It means that Internet service providers should provide us with open network and should not block or discriminate against any applications or content that ride over those networks. Just like our phone company should not decide on who should we call and whom should we not? Similar law applies to the internet. The companies should not dictate which site one should visit and which one shouldn't. And this is exactly what TRAI wants to do. They want to have the final say on what we should be viewing and what we shouldn't be.

Without Net Neutrality, cable and phone companies could carve the Internet into fast and slow lanes. An ISP could slow down its competitors' content or block political opinions it disagreed with. For example, if a giant eCommerce company like Flipkart pays crores of rupees to a telecom provider to ensure it's website reaches all it's users. The telecom company might put them on fast lane and it's competitors, amazon, on slow lane. Nothing is more frustrating these days than slow internet. Hence people will prefer flipkart, thus creating a discrimination. ISPs will be charging extra fees to allow the few content companies that could afford to pay for such preferential treatment — relegating everyone else to a slower tier of service. For example; if a new entrepreneur wants to venture in the eCommerce world who has relatively less capital at disposal might never be able to sustain the competition. This would destroy the open Internet.

Without Net Neutrality, the todays free net will be charged on each and every click of ours. There will be different packs for different websites. So the basic charge we will pay to for a Net connection will be a name sake charge. To access websites, we will have to pour in more cash. Hence the big companies with ample liquidity in their balance sheets will be able to carve their way to reach the customers by paying hefty cash to ISP. This will indirectly create monopoly in the market thus wiping out all potential competitors who have comparatively less amount of fund flow to fill the coffers of ISP.

The ones in government are trying to forward a theory that by providing websites for free, they want to give the internet access to poor. But the hidden meaning between the lines is by implementing such a law they want to keep the country poor and make the telecom companies richer. It will be the easiest way to kill competition or take head on with business rivals whom the ISPs don't want on their network.  Take these following examples. Owner of Airtel, Sunil Mittal, will always prefer his son's Hike Messenger over Whatsapp or Wynk over Youtube. Reliance has already gone ahead with this Facebook-driven evil scheme called Internet.org - where you can access Bing for free, but you have to pay to access Google - and you have access to BabaJobs for free, while you have to pay for Naukri.com. The biggest irony is the same Mark Zuckerberg support Net Neutrality in USA and pays for discrimination in other countries.

Now lets come to some arguments of our beloved telecom companies. The telecom companies are arguing that they pay huge amount for infrastructure while the application developers are earning hefty by using their networks. But isn't it a simple logic that if you haven't developed it, how can you demand income for it. Also being an ISP you are entitled to charge consumers more for faster overall access speeds, for instance charging more for 2mbps broadband connectivity than 1mbps. But you cannot suppress accessing speeds of specific sites.

Now considering the income generated by telcos. When we look at the publicly-quoted revenue figures of Indian telcos one finds that, like in any other business, some did very well, some did very badly and others did okay. Like in any other business house. And when we look at them historically, they've all more than recovered the amounts they bid for the spectrum. No one is the loser. And most importantly they knew the risks involved when they went for bidding. And they have not invented themselves technologically. So how are they expecting us to pay extra. This is action by force.

Also the forever law breakers are now teaching us law. Cellular Operator Association of India have argued that Voice calls license in our country are governed by the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 which doesn't allow any one, other than telecom companies who hold the license. to provide voice services. Hence they believe that OTT services should not be allowed to provide call services as there are many licensing procedure to be followed and they are not fulfilling any criteria. If in the 21st century we are going to be governed by 18th century laws then the mistake is not of the OTT service provider but the law needs to be changed to suit the current scenario.

Such petty arguments are put forward by TRAI to snatch our internet freedom. Hence we have to step in to save our internet. Please log on to savetheinternet.com and sign the petition. Answer the questionnaire put forward by TRAI and sent it to the given mail address. We need huge numbers to stop this anti net neutrality step taken by the telecom companies. The government says they have appointed a committee look in the matter. But we all know how the governmental process works, almost at the speed of light in opposite direction though. And this pro business government might think more number of times before going against the business class vis-a-vis the people of the country. So we as netizens have to take things in our hand. If we want a free internet, we have to raise our voice for the same. Only they can we have net neutrality else we will be dancing to the tunes of telecom companies.



-SR