Modi Vs Manmohan?

The key to successful leadership today is influence and not authority- Kenneth Blanchard.

As much as I would like to believe the above quote, it pains me to see that the Indian political formation today seems to be in total disregard to the above quote. The head of the Indian coalition government at the centre, Dr.Manmohan Singh, neither seems to have authority nor influence over either the political or economic discourses that the country is witnessing nowadays. Belligerence is indeed a trait of a great leader, which Singh clearly lacks. The fact that he doesn't seem to have any control over either his ministers or the allies doesn't help either. The prime minster is not "prime" after all. The absence of a clear authority over all the other ministers of the cabinet is clearly not a good sign for the country's politics. This combined with the vagaries of coalition politics is really taking a toll on the indian economy and the policies that govern it. Instead of speeding, the reform process has taken a back seat with the opposition playing disruptive politics even as the allies are busy man handling the congress.

Everyone seems to have an opinion which is contrary to the ruling party. The stubborn allies as well as the opposition fail to understand that the decision to allow FDI in retail is an urgent requirement of the economy which is under a severe stress due to global as well as domestic conditions. If indeed the opposition had stood with the government on this issue it would have not only allowed much needed foreign capital into the country but also would have sent a very strong signal to the investors outside as well as within the country about the positive steps of the government thereby improving market sentiments and the economy. 

Consider this, apart from the riot taint of Godhra, Narender Modi, the high flying CM of Gujarat, has done an exceptional job in managing the development and economic affairs of his state. With the state continuously on a double digit GDP growth rate of about 11% and the many developmental projects combined with business friendly environment of the state is a testimony to the vision and leadership skills of Modi. Not only does he posses authority but also has influence over all his ministers and party constituents. This in itself is a trait of a great leader who believes and does the best for his people. Choice is ours:

A meek and silent puppet Prime Minister or a resilient leader with mass influential skills and the ability to take us to double digit growth rates? Modi is my man for the post of PM. Who is yours?

-Sunny Gusain

Hyprocrisy and Political Drama

The recent furore all over the country on the issue of allowing FDI in retail has blown the heads of many pro-reformists present in the country. Political opportunism always takes precedence against National interest when it comes to reforms in India. The so called saviours of 'Kirana Store' owners are oblivious of the plight of farmers or rather agriculture as a whole which, ironically, constitutes a large portion of India's working class(almost 57%). The simple economic facts facing the nation does not seem to deter the political paralysis created by the opposition. With the growth falling to 6.9% in the second quarter of this fiscal year, government all set to cross its fiscal deficit target of 4.6%of GDP by atleast 1 percentage point, rupee falling to record lows with no recovery expected, inflation running close to double digits, foreign investment by portfolio investors falling to negative, uncertain global environment and what not, you would expect some sanity and rationality to prevail amongst the country's maai baaps(MPs). But clearly that is a distant dream for all of us- Sanity never equals MPs in India.
FDI in retail with riders as suggested by the government could have been a boon to the back end infrastructure development in india which as many experts say is the prime reason behind the high food cost inflation. Simple but high investment basics such as Cold storages, warehousing, better transportation, etc could have been a boon to farmers who see almost 30-40% of their farm produce being wasted after harvesting due to lack of above facilities. Also, it could have helped them to get better prices for their produce as large retailers would have eliminated middle man and thus provided better value for their produce. But clearly welfare of farmers, who do not have proper political representation as well as have small pockets, is the last thing on the minds of our legislators. God save thee INDIA........
- Sunny Gusain

My Sarkari Bank Interview: A big Lol

This was a funny experience to say the least. Puritanical pundits of public sector. I wish I could teach them a few important lessons in organizing interviews. Everything looked chaotic. It was utterly disgusting to see four people carrying out the work which could easily have been handled by one person. Oh gosh, god save thee public sector. Efficiency is at its lowest ebb here. I noticed a few things generally associated with the Sarkari employees. No sense of time. Least, how to get things organized. Now I can very well understand why it is difficult for them to bring out written test results within one month of the exam date. But boy if you have problems organizing interview for 60 people then there definitely is a systemic flaw somewhere. The process of selection is hectic and time consuming anyways so if the banks are actually willing to carry out the whole selection process like professionals then they have to bring in some systemic changes. To give you a better insight into what I am really talking about just picture the scenario I am in right now. Two people carrying out the work of verifying documents. Having already finished a few candidates verification they realise they missed out on certain details so they call these candidates again. This ordeal happens twice in a space of 30 mins. Amazing. Having written CAT when it became online, the system CAT followed was streamlined to the core albeit with a few technical glitches.
The public sector should also take out a leaf or two from the CAT. But, I guess, that is a distant dream and too much to ask for. I should rather sit and sing a song from the Beatles "Let it be". The song was probably written by beatles for tje India of yesteryears but which has relevance even today or as I see it will be relevant for another few centuries. Let it be let it be let it be let it be........

- Sunny Gusain

Why...the story of us?

Why are humans devoid of humanity? Why do we cheat on each other? Why do we blame others for our own mistakes? Why do we think that we can never be dead while others die around us? Why do we enjoy seeing people in distress? Why do people use their wealth to yield influence over poor? Why we kill animals for money? Why do we cheat on someone who loves us like a mad cow? Why do we take advantage of lax laws? Why do we try to break up a perfectly together couple? Why do we give love a backseat while marrying? Why do we always end up intertwined with money? Why we stop calling people who made us what we are? Why do we shout at each other?  Why do we back stab our own friends? Why is there corruption everywhere we go?
-Sunny Gusain

The "Anna" hypocrisy

''Enough is enough'',  shouted my neighbourhood septuagenerain. And without much ado, yes you got me right, the context on which the veteran spoke was Graft or should I rather say in plain language, sheer ineptitude of the current system to bring to book corrupt public officials. Carry on reading to know why I write hypocrisy in the above title. Well this gentleman, happily retired former public official in a local civic body has assets which far outweigh the income he could have legally generated through his salary and perks. Of course his children went to a high class angrezi medium school and then did their engineering from grade A colleges helped out by some coaching institute. I had one of the most animated discussions with him on the corruption issue and ,not surprisingly, he came out on top. He backed Anna's movement like he backed his son's education with the hard earned black money he made throughout his career. Needless to mention that his disproportionate assets were built over the years by feeding on India B's misfortune( of being poor). It was a classic case of hypocrisy for me. Believe me when I tell you that India's riches today are mostly built on India's poor..........to be continued

-Sunny Gusain

Baba? Really.....

Consider the way baba Ramdev tried to put the government in a fix by deciding to take on the graft rhetoric at the Ram Lila ground in Delhi. I was bemused to say the least after coming to know of the steps taken by both the government as well as baba. Baba seems to have realised it very late that tackling a lion in its cage is not  the most prudent decision he had taken. Baha's PR experts would have told him before his drama unfolded at Ramlila ground that riding the graft bandwagon could help him reach the entire nation likewise.
Shouting the same black money stats as LK Advani did during the last general elections, Baba thought it would help garner popularity and general public support. Although he did garner a lot of support during the campaign, the civil society was unsure of Baba's intentions. The evidence of which came out after he was forced to move to his karma bhumi. Baba made absurd remarks about the Delhi police, going to the extent of saying that the Delhi police had planned to kill him during the clamp down at Ramlila grounds. Now any rational person with some grey matter would know how ridiculous the statement sounds. His statement though brings out one important fact about Baba. Baba is in no way a political person............

-Sunny Gusain

T-20 saga continues

Money Making Machine

The advent of yet another T-20 league, Sri Lanka Premier League, is an indicator of how things will move for cricket in the future. In the near future, one cannot deny the possibility of leagues taking precedence over international cricket. As is with any other business or sport in the world, cricket is being ruled by financial considerations and T-20 cricket leagues are a goldmine. BCCIs effort to build up a global cricket brand, IPL, has been digested well by all stakeholders of the game. In a small time span of 4 years, IPL’s brand value has gone from nil to $ 3.67 billion. To build up such an amazing brand value in 4 years would make any top corporate honcho proud. In the hope of emulating the success of the BCCI run Indian Premier League, other cricket boards around the globe have already started or are contemplating to start their own T-20 leagues. Whether they would succeed or not remains to be seen.

Cricket economics has grown by leaps and bounds since the advent of T-20 cricket and the future is certainly looking bright for global popularity of the sport. Cricket boards around the world will also hope to generate revenues which they would have only dreamt of before T-20 cricket came into the fore. Arguably, cricket leagues around the world will be the next future of cricket.

True?

The lack of transparency in IPL, or most other T-20 cricket leagues for that matter, is a matter of concern as it can compromise the integrity of the sport and drive away eyeballs from T-20 cricket. Allegations of match fixing (or spot fixing) in T-20 cricket is doing the rounds for quite some time now. To ensure that these leagues have transparency in their functioning as well as their decision making, it is imperative to follow the professional ethos and conduct followed by popular football leagues around the world. This would bode well for the popularity of the sport on a global scale as well as for the cricket boards around the world.

-Sunny Gusain

Osama- the ideology

Osama is not history

The killing of the world’s most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden, at Abbottabad, Pakistan entails the end of a Jihadist who single handedly made the US insane. As an old adage goes, “the real death is the death of ideology and not the physical form.” Considering that Osama is dead should not in any way mean that the ideology on which he thrived for so long is also dead. In fact as a large number of Muslims in the Middle East are prejudiced against the US, Osama’s death, if anything, would be seen as the death of a revolutionary who stood against the mighty US and its anti-Muslim ideology.  For many Muslims, Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization Osama headed, became a synonym for Muslim’s struggle against the western autocracy. Although most people were muted because of the US’s goliath like form, they silently admired the obstinate ways of Al Qaeda. Of course, the felony Osama committed by striking at the heart of US’s economic centre eventually brought him his death. But, as some analysts say, US Special Forces made a mistake by killing Osama and giving him a cold blooded death when he could have been captured alive and prosecuted as per the US terrorism laws.

Protests?

US could have been in a much better position to showcase itself as a true democracy and build on its moral authority over the Middle Eastern populace if it had captured Osama alive and given him a free and fair trial. Rather it has now given an opportunity to terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda to press Osama’s death as an agenda tool and perpetrate violence in the name of ideology for its own vested interests. Alienating the people who are prone to be influenced by Osama’s ideology will sooner or later be detrimental for the US and the world at large. Rather than celebrating Osama’s death and terming it as a good job done US should concentrate more on bringing the Muslims at large into confidence with its Middle-Eastern policies and thereby integrate them with the mainstream ideology of the world. Clear Understanding and deep introspection is the need of the hour to deal with the real enemy-the ideology.

-Sunny Gusain

Falling sex ratio: Why we don't want them?

Save her

In the latest census data for 2011, India’s sex ratio has further skewed in favour of males as the census recorded 914 females per thousand males. This piece of data is not only disheartening but is a matter of great concern for the government and the people at large. Society’s fascination for the male child could prove to be detrimental for the society and the economy at large. The most astonishing fact that arises from the data is that while the Indian economy grew at record rates in the past decade, sex ratio slumped to deplorable lows.

Take steps

The data totally undermines the popular notion that rapid economic growth is often accompanied by an improved sex ratio in a country. Logic also says that sex ratio is likely to improve in a country when disposable income rises in an economy and more people are pulled out of poverty. But what we are witnessing in India is entirely contradictory.

So what are the possible reasons for this logic defying phenomenon? First, the

Join Hands

mindset or the psyche of the general public has not kept pace with the tectonic shifts in the economy. Second, guilty have not been brought to book with the urgency required to deal with the sensitive issue. Third, even after so much of economic growth, almost one-third of the world’s poor (source: World Bank) still resides in India and, understandably so, they prefer males to females. Fourth, lack of involvement by the local government results in brazen impunity from laws for the culprits. Fifth, pre-conception and prenatal diagnostics act implemented in 1994 has clearly failed to achieve its objective of deterring people from feticides and infanticides.   

The union health ministry is doing its bit by prodding and planning with the states the corrective measure which would be required to improve the status quo on sex ratio. The local administration needs to ensure that proper awareness be spread among the masses about the catastrophic effects of a skewed sex ratio. Also, enlightened members of the civilized society need to work arduously to ensure that foeticides and infanticides become taboo in the society. If sincere efforts are taken in this direction we are likely to witness a much improved sex ratio in coming years.

-Sunny Gusain

WE KILL FOR HONOUR (??)

Family Killing

India is a strange country and having lived here all my life I can say it with a great conviction. We kill for our 'honour' but we elect candidates with a proven track record of extortion, fraud, graft, murders, and so on. The list is endless. Multimillion dollar scams are given a blind eye as we are busy reporting the century of centuries. People like Hasan Ali who are akin to traitors of our nation are blessed with political safety of highest order. I am sure that Enforcement Directorate's custody or a judicial custody will not damage his corruption morals in any ways. While Hasan is being interrogated, the real masters behind the whole Black money trail are willfully ignored. India is full of avaricious politicians who use people like Ali to save their own black money abroad. To sum it up, let’s say our politicians (or criminals) are proactive while are authorities are supine. Consider it for a second, how the hell in the world can a small time horse racing gambler make an amount as staggering as $8 billion. Leave it, else I get emotionally charged.

Take Indian cinema and it’s overwhelmingly powerful hero with impeccable ideals. We all love him but our love and adoration for him ceases to exist once we enter the civilized (use corrupt if you may) society. We almost never follow the exemplary ideals of a hero. We observe with our own blood filled eyes how criminals like A Raja sell rare national treasures like telecom spectrum at throwaway rates.  As I observe in my routine life, people like A Raja, Suresh Kalmadi and Hasan Ali are role models for the younger generation.

Now, let’s come to the Honour killing part of the article. HONOUR Killing? Really? Do we have any honour left? I doubt it. Haryana tops the list of people with maximum honour ratings (killings) followed very closely by Uttar Pradesh. Even after the barbaric and gruesome murder of couples like Manoj and Babli state administration is lagging back on the action. The reason is very clear. The accused are from the Jat community which constitutes a major part of the vote bank for the state politicians. And someone said governments are not privatized.

The government is more prone to manhandling by its own constituents and electors than the opposition it dreads. As a result, botched probes and snail speed are a norm when it comes to investigation to corruption or honor killing cases. And rightly so, akhir baap logon se kaun panga le???

- Sunny Gusain

For God’s sake, those are “Emergency” Pills

To or 'Not To'???

When my long term friend started discussing sex education with me I picked up the courage to ask her if she ever used those ubiquitous emergency pills. And the answer was overwhelming and shocking at the same time. I was bemused to hear that in spite of the emergency tag of these pills she was frequenting them quite often than not. It was even a greater shock to hear that she was using these pills as a regular contraceptive option against pregnancy even shadowing condoms for that matter. Finally as I tried hard to come to terms to what she had just said, I asked from where   she was encouraged to gulp these pills so often after every act of intercourse.  And, not surprisingly, the culprit was none other than the marketing being done by the pharma companies for their respective pills. She was swayed into believing that these are the best options against any kind of unwanted pregnancy that an unsafe sexual intercourse may carry.

A Catchy Advt

The emergency pill market has become humungous and boasts of more than a Rs. 100 crore in sales revenue.  Clearly, the use of these emergency pills has increased exponentially over the years. So what is it that encourages the usually timid Indian populace to consume so much of emergency pill? For one, these pills are available over the counter at any chemist shop and do not require doctor’s prescription for selling. Till now everything good. Customers happy, Pharma companies happy. But wait, the world is not so nice so where is the catch?

The rising sales are a definite sign that women are ignoring the warning signs about these pills clearly written on or stored inside aesthetically designed packing boxes which they come in. Gynecologists and Physicians have voiced their concerns about the flashy adverts which are encouraging indiscriminate use of these pills. As per Dr. Chandra M Gulati, Editor, Monthly Index of Medical Specialties:

•    Pills are only 95 % effective if taken within 24 hrs of the sexual intercourse

•    85 % effective if taken within 25-48 hrs of the sexual intercourse

•    58 % effective if taken after 49 but before 72 hrs.

•    If used mid-menstrual cycle one in every 20 women is likely to get pregnant

Also, as per the leaflet that comes with the pill, it may carry a lot of side effects which range from vomiting, nausea, fatigue, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dizziness, early or late onset of next period to increased menstrual bleeding and vaginal hemorrhage. Every woman in this world has the right to decide whether or not she is prepared to get pregnant. She has a moral as well as a legal right to avoid unwanted pregnancy. We as a society should be more open and communicative to ensure that the youth of today do not get swayed by flashy adverts prodding them to buy over the counter products which could cause long term health problems. If the elders of the society start promoting cheaper and better contraceptive products like condoms who would need those ridiculously priced Rs.100 Pills?????

**Dr. Gulati's views collected through www

-Sunny Gusain

The Missing Link in ''The Anna Hazare'' Story

Anna Hazare, the renowned socialist and a war veteran has finally blown the bugle. His antics at Jantar Mantar marks a new dawn in the democratic setup of our country. Anna went the populist Gandhian way and forced the government’s surrender. Of course, his success would not have been possible if thousands hadn’t rallied behind him. “An oldie fighting for the youth of today” is how I see this whole movement.  The bone of contention was the Jan Lokpal Bill, which envisages fighting corruption in the polity and bureaucracy by forming an Independent body called Lokpal in the centre, and its affiliates in the states called the Lokayukts. Although the government had its own version of the Lokpal bil, its form was not acceptable by Anna Hazare and its supporters.  

The bigger questions arising from the movement are

• Is it appropriate for the outside parliament groups to have a say in the framing of  laws?

•    Is it a good sign for Indian democracy to hold the government to ransom in order to satisfy certain    demands?

•    Should government give in to the demands of a particular group like this?

Now look at the first and second question. Although it is a part of good governance to ask for public comments on drafts of legislation it doesn’t bode well for the democracy if certain groups of public ask for and force the government to put their own bills and drafts before the parliament. If this was to happen in a democracy with a population as large as ours, it will only lead to more chaos and grievances than resolves. This is the reason why Anna’s way should be seen as an exception than a precedent. This is important to prevent vested groups from forcing governments to act like a puppet. Also, in order to ensure the sanctity of our democratic setup such movements should not be made a precedent. We should not forget that the legislators in the Parliament are our own representatives and any overriding of their power and functioning will mean overriding with the power of the electorate masses that elected them. Such a scenario would only lead to social unrest.

Now the third question, Should government give in to the demands of a particular group like this? Of course governments are chosen by the people and should function in sync with the masses but that doesn’t mean that it starts to function on populist demands. Government should use its own prudence and ensure that the spirit of democracy is not killed and at the same time it is not held to ransom by such groups.

-Sunny Gusain

NCR: National (Be)Careful Region

Owing mainly to the migration from the nearby states, the NCR region is the most populous and crime affected regions among the sprawling Indian cities. After having stayed in the whole of NCR region including Noida, Delhi and Gurgaon in the past few months I can say it with much more conviction that the NCR region is undoubtedly one of the most unsafe places in India to live in. We don’t need to analyze the crime data to know this obvious fact.

The recent spate of crimes in the NCR region further states the obvious points of insecurity and the kind of law and order situation the region is in. The city newspapers are full of crime reports ranging from rape to murder to theft and so on. Of course, NCR region is where all our political bigwigs are located. Maybe that explains why so many crime incidents are taking place in the NCR region. The NCR region borders Uttar Pradesh which arguably has the most volatile crime network in the whole country. Firearms and other localized weapons are easily accessible to the criminals and the state has illegal firearm factories operating in concert with the local corrupt politicians and local goons. In fact, unlicensed guns are so easily available in some areas that even ordinary mortals like you and me could go and buy it as long as we have the greens in our pocket. Double standards are being followed here as we have a very stringent gun licensing policy in India. After acquiring the guns it is easy to import them to a sprawling metropolis like Delhi. The one question that strikes the mind immediately afterwards is why can’t the authorities seal the deal by shutting down and taking police action on such illegal factories. Of course, political patronage plays an important role in preventing such action.

The biggest threat facing the NCR region is the growing inequality among the general public which will inevitably lead to a higher crime rate in the upcoming years. We need to see in between the lines here and draft a proper policy framework with attainable objectives if we want to contain this crime menace from getting out of our hands. The primary focus of the police needs to go a tectonic shift from a curing action to a preventive one. Also, we don’t want to see the police in action only when a sensational crime has taken place and the focus should be more on getting to the roots of a crime. In the end, no alibis are acceptable and it is only action on the ground that could change the complexion of the NCR region. Be Safe.

-Sunny Gusain

Poor?? Who?? Us?? No way?? Them?? Maybe!!!!!

We have all been witness to data of all kinds in today’s communication revolution era. Take data on India’s poverty estimates. Tendulkar committee says it’s 37% Indians living below the poverty line. Arjun Sengupta Committee says it’s 77 % Indians living below the poverty line. Also, N.C Saxena Committee says it’s 50 % Indians living below the poverty line. A 2005 World Bank estimate puts India’s poor at 41.6 % of the total population (earning less than the International poverty line of US $1.25). Firstly, it’s funny to notice so many committees being formed on public money and resources going down the drain with no productivity. Imagine if only one committee was formed and a consolidated data prepared instead of labyrinthic data and unsure outcomes, wouldn’t it have been much better????

Now, let’s see and go beyond the numbers on India’s poverty and observe its progress on inclusive growth. Even while taking a small walk anywhere in India, one thing that we observe around us is how wealth is so damn unequally distributed.  While some are enjoying lavish meals inside fancy restaurants and hotels others are waiting outside the same hotel or restaurant waiting for some kind of begging opportunity. Small ( and sometimes smart) kids are begging their hearts out in public places and missing no opportunity to gherao you. As is with the human brain, the general public has taken it as a part of their existence while making no efforts to change the same.  What the innocent public fails to understand is that such inequality is unsustainable and will sooner than later result in civil unrest. Why is there so much apathy among the general public for these people. The standard reply would be why should we care. And that reply is on expected lines. I mean who has the time to look at these NOT SO IMPORTANT souls when everybody is busy making money.
 

A few NGOs and an even fewer government organizations cannot be expected to bring about a renaissance in the lives of these people unless something comes from the civil society itself.  A concerted effort has to be taken by all of us if we want to see the change we desire. A clear cut strategy with well defined objectives should be charted out by local governments to make inclusive growth work.  Centre cannot be expected to carry out the objective of inclusive growth by itself and it should be the motto and the driving force of every state government to ensure growth is made inclusive.

-Sunny Gusain

Fiscal Consolidation: The way Forward

FM: On the right path

The most widely used words in the UPA government regime are fiscal consolidation and inclusive growth. Thanks to the windfall gains from the 3G/BWA spectrum sale, the government seems to be well on course on its path of fiscal consolidation in this fiscal year. Gross fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP is estimated to be 4.8% as compared to 6.3% in the last fiscal. Needless to say, a major chunk of the drop in fiscal deficit comes from the gains from the 3G/BWA spectrum sale. Revenue deficit is also estimated to be 3.5 % as a percentage of GDP as compared to 5.1% the year earlier. (source: economic survey 2010-2011)

The thirteenth finance commission headed by Mr.Vijay Kelkar has laid down a fiscal roadmap requiring the states to do away with revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit target of 3 % of their respective GDPs by 2014-2015. Such steps by the states need to be taken in a very calculated and systematic manner in order to meet the desired targets within the stipulated time frame. If Indian economy does achieve the target of fiscal consolidation laid out by the Kelkar headed commission, it would become a very attractive investment destination not only for the FIIs but also for the domestic investors. A lot of FDI will flow to the Indian markets if such targets are met.

To achieve the target of fiscal consolidation, it is imperative to reform the current fertilizer and petroleum policy as a major chunk of public non-plan finances are diverted here. The output from such subsidies is very low as compared to the same amount being invested elsewhere on other developmental projects. But above all, the governments need to be bold enough to understand as well as implement the recommendations of the committees it sets up. 

-Sunny Gusain

End of an era: IHM, Mumbai 07-10



The Fake Pic

 This is a blog post which I admit gracefully should have come a long time back. But then life is kind and gives you a second chance and a third and then a fourth and so on. So no need to regret. Just wanted to write about the 3 wonderful productive(???) years I spent in Mumbai. I really miss the light moments with friends that made life so much fun, enjoyable and worth it. Though all that is gone now but still a lot of learning did, surprisingly, take place during those 3 years. I wrote the title of this post 4 months before we actually spent the last day in college. I wanted to write it there only but then you know how lazy H & HA makes you. A few lines did go through the pen and on the paper but never made it to www. But now I think is the perfect time to get over what I couldn't finish while in college.

First let me thank those who made my life worth it in college. The name list is long and requires some effort to write down. So let's just suppose people who made my life worth it in college know by themselves that they did it. Wait, don't feel so proud I am not done yet.

Of course, needless to say, I miss my friends and other accompaniments with the main dish that really made the whole menu of three years fantastic and wonderful. The whole menu wasn't likeable but then that's the advantage of being in a buffet, You choose and take what you want and leave undesirable dishes untouched or just taste it a little. But I must say, I never disliked a dish for too long and thoroughly enjoyed the whole buffet. Sounds political but believe me it's not (read the title of the blog if you know what I mean). Too much about the students, now let's see what we had in store for us once we got ourselves into HAHA.

A spitting cobra in the first year kitchen(and God help those who suffer from amnesia and can't recollect the first year). A philosopher and politically incorrect Life's Tough preacher (and by the way he is retiring this december). A political sufferer in the F & B and don't ask me why I think political sufferer. A history teacher come Housekeping preacher ( if you forgot the ceaseless notes you made). Nutrition, well some people are good but that doesn't mean they have a great dressing sense and she could have done with a little more grooming. The Communication lessons were more revealing than worth reading as we got a daily glimpse of scenes from the movie (i love you teacher aka I love you even more.... student). The best for the last, Mr. Hotel Engineer, out of the world, and definitely the most comical character we would ever see. He really was an epitome of student welfare. I mean, name one person who never slept in his class. Of course, the only person who ever was scared with this guy was the lone rat that once entered the classroom. The best part was to see the kind of hegemony that these teachers enjoyed over their students.

More to come...........-Sunny Gusain

EPF: Employee Provident Fund or Employee Pure Frustration

PF(Pure Frustration)

Would you believe it, for the past 4 hours I have been trying to find out one little thing, nothing more just ONE LITTLE THING. Now is the time to write what it is( else I will forget?). I have been trying to get the status of my current Provident Fund balance online. And what have I figured out after spending 4 damn hours on the same??? That, as of now, it's just not possible to know your balance online. There is no such IT infrastructure present that could help you to do that. We talk about India's IT superpower status and this is what we get in the public services sphere. More than 5.5 crore subscribers and still the Employee's Provident Fund (EPF) system is so outdated and in shambles that it is better to forget about your nmoney than see it growing or checking for the status of your claims. I mean how difficult it is to get things online, computerise the whole system given the fact that we have such a huge IT industry. What to say about the transparency of the GOI. But thats the way it is...................,,,,,,,,,,just keep hoping ,,,,,,,;)

-Sunny Gusain

HARD TIMES NEVER GO AWAY....GOOD TIMES FOLLOW



I wish Hard times were as momentary
as the punch by Mohammad Ali in
this 1965 match

The times are really hard. Hard times it is. I dont mean to discuss Japan here. The Japanese tragedy is of least concern to me. And at most it is only a GK question that I could expect in a cheap exam paper. Then what is it??? Is it the corruption charges against the UPA which I voted for in power. Well, funnily it's not even that. But I would definitely be willing to write an article or few to shred the UPA to pieces.So, let's just say I am upset (sounds too girllly!!!!!!Let it be). The thing is I do a job that doesn't satisfy me physically, sociallyy, psychologically, economically, etc etc. Remember what we used to say when asked for the very first time in college, why Hotel Management? And 99 out of 100 times the first reply would be "coz i like meeting new people''. Well, given the kind of people I have met over the past few months I wish I had never said that. So finally you must be very aware of what I am talking about (unless you are as dumb as my gf).   

-Sunny Gusain