Disclaimer: i am not a "swaminarayan" follower. or maybe my family is, i am not really sure. but thats not why i am writing this. i would be saying this even if it was a monument of buddhist, jain, muslim or any other religion.
Ok, it’s a little bit of an exaggeration, or maybe not. But it truly is a monument of epic proportion. The New Delhi Akshardham, it’s a monument rather than a temple. It is majestic in its size, its beautiful in its landscape, and its breathtaking in its architecture. There are few structures in the world that have impressed me more than I have been impressed by this place.
This my friends, is the closest thing to the modern day Palace that the Maharajas used to build for themselves in ages gone by. The gardens, the landscape, the area, the various buildings, the exhibition halls, the huge idols, everything you lay your eyes on is either grand, serene or exotic.
It is probably guarded more than the Taj Mahal is guarded, and it probably gets many more visitors than the Taj Mahal does. On a Saturday and Sunday, there is a MAD rush to just get in there. People are lined up in hoards and I definitely would not want to be the one in the queue when the gates up for people to go in, because you will be stamped on, jumped on, and pushed from all sides by people who want to push past you.
But once you are past the grueling frustrating hour or two long wait of getting in, the rest is shear joy to the eyes for someone who likes grand things. The carvings all over the place are quite exquisite. The exhibition halls are so well planned and designed, that you know some smart people have put a lot of effort behind it. There water ride through the history of India is also beautiful done. The only drawback it has for universal acceptability is the fact that it’s a monument in appreciation of a particular religion and a particular god. All displays and videos are based on that religion and so ‘might’ not give the people from other religion who are visiting the same satisfaction that someone from the same religion would have.
But without being too critical, I will say its one of the best modern day monuments that has been build in world, and definitely the best one built in India since the Taj Mahal.
You know how a Lotus blossoms in the midst of dirt, and how a rose is surrounded by thorns. Well, believe you me, there is something similar to this monument as well.
The city of Delhi is by far the worst big city that I have been to. There is no surety of the time it takes for you to visit from point A to point B even if the two might only be a couple of miles apart. People living in the NCR themselves admit, that they can only complete one errand in a day, and when they go for a meeting to any location, in most cases, they are late at the meeting, or reach after the meeting has finished. Driving in Delhi is a nightmare that I wouldn’t want to wake up to everyday. There is construction going on everywhere, and all that is at such a slow pace compared to the growth of delhi, that by the time the new roads and bridges are made, they will become inadequate for the increase in volume of delhi traffic.
Yes, there are some beautiful areas, but those are only for the MP’s and politicians to enjoy, once you get past those areas, nothing in New Delhi fascinates me.
For the capital of our country, New Delhi leaves you wanting so much more than what it presently offers.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
What a wonderful Sunday!!!
3 hours of golf. A 9 hole score of 42. The best I have ever carded. Compared to the usual frustrating session of golf, today felt a whole lot better.
Back home there was a three course full meal waiting for me for lunch. Considering that I was going to be home for lunch (which is an unusually rare occurrence these days) my mom got carried away and put together a three course meal including dessert.
It was an absolute pleasure to indulge in a lunch like that where you know you have over-eaten but don’t really care much.
The afternoon was a reading and writing delight. First time in 10 days when I had enough time to read, and had no nagging issues bothering me that I could put together a blog on something that had been running in my mind(“the social and moral dilemma” blog).
Caught up on my “Calvin and Hobbes” dose and came across some master-pieces. Also got a call from a friend I had lost touch with, and so that was really nice as well. And through all that, was able to put together a very different theory on managing change and empowering managers for decision-making at the factory.
Aahh, and the evening had two wonderful movies lined up. “Jab We Met”, followed by “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”, both simple, fun, and entertaining movies.
Both movies show that even a standard simple love story, if made with a good touch can be quite entertaining to watch. Simple dialogues, decent acting, good music, strong characterization, and a good flow. What a difference a director can make to a movie.
There are only very few movies or TV shows that I can watch any time of the day or night. Two of my recent favorites are “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Boston Legal”. I am so fascinated by both those shows that I am going to buy the DVD’s of all seasons of those two shows.
If you haven’t seen these two serials, make it a point to see the latest season of both the shows. Both shows end up leaving you thinking and still very entertained.
With the next couple of weekends spent in travelling, it’s such a pleasure to cherish a wonderful Sunday like today!!
P.S – for all those wondering why I write a blog with my limited writing skills: well honestly, its for me and not for others. (No offence to anyone) I write because I like to write what comes to my mind. Whether people read it or not or whether anyone finds it interesting or not is something that doesn’t bother me. its my personal diary/notes. :-)
Back home there was a three course full meal waiting for me for lunch. Considering that I was going to be home for lunch (which is an unusually rare occurrence these days) my mom got carried away and put together a three course meal including dessert.
It was an absolute pleasure to indulge in a lunch like that where you know you have over-eaten but don’t really care much.
The afternoon was a reading and writing delight. First time in 10 days when I had enough time to read, and had no nagging issues bothering me that I could put together a blog on something that had been running in my mind(“the social and moral dilemma” blog).
Caught up on my “Calvin and Hobbes” dose and came across some master-pieces. Also got a call from a friend I had lost touch with, and so that was really nice as well. And through all that, was able to put together a very different theory on managing change and empowering managers for decision-making at the factory.
Aahh, and the evening had two wonderful movies lined up. “Jab We Met”, followed by “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”, both simple, fun, and entertaining movies.
Both movies show that even a standard simple love story, if made with a good touch can be quite entertaining to watch. Simple dialogues, decent acting, good music, strong characterization, and a good flow. What a difference a director can make to a movie.
There are only very few movies or TV shows that I can watch any time of the day or night. Two of my recent favorites are “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Boston Legal”. I am so fascinated by both those shows that I am going to buy the DVD’s of all seasons of those two shows.
If you haven’t seen these two serials, make it a point to see the latest season of both the shows. Both shows end up leaving you thinking and still very entertained.
With the next couple of weekends spent in travelling, it’s such a pleasure to cherish a wonderful Sunday like today!!
P.S – for all those wondering why I write a blog with my limited writing skills: well honestly, its for me and not for others. (No offence to anyone) I write because I like to write what comes to my mind. Whether people read it or not or whether anyone finds it interesting or not is something that doesn’t bother me. its my personal diary/notes. :-)
dont feel shy to laugh..
i almost cracked my ribs laughing at these two calvin strips. if these two strips dont get even a smirk out of you, then you seem to have serious problems my friend.
the look on both calvin's face and hobbes' face in that last block of the strip is absolutely classic.
ever try that with your mom???? these days after the lodging and boarding comment, followed by the Mr. Jigar Patel reference, i have stopped making such demands with mom. it could get me kicked out pretty soon. :)
the look on both calvin's face and hobbes' face in that last block of the strip is absolutely classic.
ever try that with your mom???? these days after the lodging and boarding comment, followed by the Mr. Jigar Patel reference, i have stopped making such demands with mom. it could get me kicked out pretty soon. :)
A Social and Moral Dilemma
Every day, at every cross road in every major city of India, all of us are faced with a moral question that none of us have answers for.
As your car or two wheeler approaches a signal light and your vehicle comes to a stop, all of a sudden from the road side each column of cars starting with the first car in line is thronged by under-privileged people (most people call them beggars, but that word beggars is so degrading that it doesn’t feel right to use that word for ANYONE): Under-privileged kids, women with babies in their arms, and old helpless women who can hardly walk. The big dilemma and uncomfortable situation that we are faced with is to whether to give them short-change that we have in our car, or to completely ignore them as if we don’t even seem them. Either ways, it’s a very uncomfortable situation because if you give them money, you know they will ask for more, and more of them will come, but if you don’t give them you feel bad/guilty internally for cold shouldering them.
My first reaction for a long time has been to not give them any money. I keep parle-G packets in my car to give them when someone knocks on my window, but I will never give them any money. My logic says that when you give them money, you never know what they are going to use that money for. Be it kids, women, or older women, the money eventually goes into eating gutka’s or bidi’s. yes, don’t be surprised, even kids in the under-privileged section eat gutka’s and smoke bidi’s. Besides, if we give them money, to me its encouraging them to keep continuing to beg (begging is an act, and so no harm in using it). I’d rather see those kids in schools and the women working to earn a living.
But is this really morally and socially correct??
Until we establish a structure in our society and in our governance system to support these under-privileged people, how can we expect then to become self sufficient? We have to change the way our society looks at them, we need to provide them the support system that will help them find something to do that they are good at, and that will earn them the money.
These kids on the street have amazing skills and talent. Just the other day, I saw just such an under-privileged kid doing summer-saults on the side of the road. She was flipping herself like I have seen very few people do. Now with that talent, we need to channelize it, and if it doesn’t get channelized and goes to waste on the side of the street, we cant blame those poor kids, we need to blame our system and ourselves, because we are as much a part of that system.
We need to establish enough schools which give enough incentives for kids to come. It doesn’t only have to be studies, we need to provide enough support in sports, arts, and handicrafts too. There are singers, painters, makers of cane sofas and accessories, makers of clay models, and what not all over the country, but because what they make doesn’t seen or earn them enough, they end up on the streets.
We as a society need to come up with a model to help these kids out. To make sure they earn what their talents deserve. If you see a well made painting on the street that you like, you would pay a couple of hundred ruppes for it, and even then try to bargain on it, but if you see an abstract painting (which doesn’t even make sense for the most part) by some famous artist you will end up paying in thousands, or even in lakhs. So why the double-standards??? I don’t expect anyone to pay in thousands, but atleast pay the guy on the street enough for him to be encouraged to continue to improve his art. Because if we don’t show that encouragement, he will have no choice but to beg or steel, because at the end of the day hunger is a far more demanding force than ethics. When rich people drop their ethics for getting bigger order, how can we expect poor people on the streets to adhere to them.
Anyways, I am taking the discussion onto a completely different track. Ethics at various levels is an completely different blog that I will write some day.
But yes, please look into yourself and establish small center’s of encouragement for the special talents in these under-privileged street side kids. Its our social and moral responsibility. That’s the only way we can eliminate poverty in our country. It wont happen overnight, but we can atleast start. Every small drop in the ocean adds up.
As your car or two wheeler approaches a signal light and your vehicle comes to a stop, all of a sudden from the road side each column of cars starting with the first car in line is thronged by under-privileged people (most people call them beggars, but that word beggars is so degrading that it doesn’t feel right to use that word for ANYONE): Under-privileged kids, women with babies in their arms, and old helpless women who can hardly walk. The big dilemma and uncomfortable situation that we are faced with is to whether to give them short-change that we have in our car, or to completely ignore them as if we don’t even seem them. Either ways, it’s a very uncomfortable situation because if you give them money, you know they will ask for more, and more of them will come, but if you don’t give them you feel bad/guilty internally for cold shouldering them.
My first reaction for a long time has been to not give them any money. I keep parle-G packets in my car to give them when someone knocks on my window, but I will never give them any money. My logic says that when you give them money, you never know what they are going to use that money for. Be it kids, women, or older women, the money eventually goes into eating gutka’s or bidi’s. yes, don’t be surprised, even kids in the under-privileged section eat gutka’s and smoke bidi’s. Besides, if we give them money, to me its encouraging them to keep continuing to beg (begging is an act, and so no harm in using it). I’d rather see those kids in schools and the women working to earn a living.
But is this really morally and socially correct??
Until we establish a structure in our society and in our governance system to support these under-privileged people, how can we expect then to become self sufficient? We have to change the way our society looks at them, we need to provide them the support system that will help them find something to do that they are good at, and that will earn them the money.
These kids on the street have amazing skills and talent. Just the other day, I saw just such an under-privileged kid doing summer-saults on the side of the road. She was flipping herself like I have seen very few people do. Now with that talent, we need to channelize it, and if it doesn’t get channelized and goes to waste on the side of the street, we cant blame those poor kids, we need to blame our system and ourselves, because we are as much a part of that system.
We need to establish enough schools which give enough incentives for kids to come. It doesn’t only have to be studies, we need to provide enough support in sports, arts, and handicrafts too. There are singers, painters, makers of cane sofas and accessories, makers of clay models, and what not all over the country, but because what they make doesn’t seen or earn them enough, they end up on the streets.
We as a society need to come up with a model to help these kids out. To make sure they earn what their talents deserve. If you see a well made painting on the street that you like, you would pay a couple of hundred ruppes for it, and even then try to bargain on it, but if you see an abstract painting (which doesn’t even make sense for the most part) by some famous artist you will end up paying in thousands, or even in lakhs. So why the double-standards??? I don’t expect anyone to pay in thousands, but atleast pay the guy on the street enough for him to be encouraged to continue to improve his art. Because if we don’t show that encouragement, he will have no choice but to beg or steel, because at the end of the day hunger is a far more demanding force than ethics. When rich people drop their ethics for getting bigger order, how can we expect poor people on the streets to adhere to them.
Anyways, I am taking the discussion onto a completely different track. Ethics at various levels is an completely different blog that I will write some day.
But yes, please look into yourself and establish small center’s of encouragement for the special talents in these under-privileged street side kids. Its our social and moral responsibility. That’s the only way we can eliminate poverty in our country. It wont happen overnight, but we can atleast start. Every small drop in the ocean adds up.
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