To Banks for easing currency exchange and deposit problem.

Dear Sirs/Madams,

    I have been observing the currency exchange process for the past few days. There has been huge rush and inconvenience caused to customers. It is more because of standing in long queues than of getting/not getting new currency notes. Not only this, regular banking has taken a toll on account of this.

    To overcome this, I suggest you to reemploy the retired personnel for these 50 days at a nominal incentive. You can reemploy a retired employee of any bank locally available just for notes exchange process. Let depositing and other tasks be done by regular employees. This will relieve regular employees so that they can focus on regular banking.

     Less credit giving also is a loss to bank's business. Instead, the cost of providing a small incentive like Rs. 1500/2000 daily will be less. There have been some serious instances if 2-3 people esp. elderly dying while waiting for their turn in queues. I am sure that banks don't want anymore such instances.

     Some banks have, probably, already issued a circular regarding employment of retired staff, if required, but they have not mentioned the daily/incentive that needs to be given to them. Not just the incentive, this will also be a recognition of their life service at the banks and the concern they have in their minds about their employer banks. Just a mere recognition will do wonders in easing banks' and their regular employees' burden.

     I have met some retired people of banks like union bank and sbi and they are ready to work provided the bank asks them to do so. Banks should also recognise their services and then I am sure that they will definitely be readily available for them. Even employing them from 10-5 will ease burden of the banks to a large extent and they also will happily work for atleast customer dealing hours of 10-7 and if requested, they will aid in preparing and submitting the reports i.e. the daily routine which is done post customer dealing hours. The existing employees will also have a sense of satisfaction and will develop a liking towards their existing employer banks and as such, image of banks in public, will also improve.

     The best possible way-out is to contact the retired emloyee of any bank and request him to work in the nearest bank of his/her choice. This suggestion will be more appropriate for rural areas because some villages/cities/towns/areas might have a retired personnel of one bank but the branch of some other bank. In that case, that personnel can be contacted for his services in that other bank as well at a nominal daily. This will boost the self-esteem of retired personnel whose care is your duty otherwise as well, and also ease bank's burden to a large extent.

     I am sure that you will consider the above-said suggestion and soon send a circular to all of your respective branches mentioning the no. and rank of ex-employees that should be temporarily engaged and also, the suitable compensation that should be given to them, if any. Even a mere recognition of their service (e.g. a memento/a souvenir) and an incentive in the form of priority treatment in branches in normal days when they visits for his own banking needs, will only do wonders.

     Apart from above-said suggestion for these heavy workload days, otherwise also engagement of retired personnel who are back to their hometowns and know their town more than the transferred employee to that branch, will help increasing banks' business. Consulting the retired employee, in itself is a recognition of his/her services and a message to him/her that the banks care. This suggestion is keeping in mind of the discussions I had with retired employees having desire to work for bank and see it rise to new heights. On analysis, personally I conclude the above-said suggestion.

Dussehra Ram Vivah Hoshiarpur

Ram Leela in Hoshiarpur

Indian Independence Day

                                       VANDE MATRAM - JAI HIND     

     Today i.e. 15th August is a truly auspicious day as it is Indian Independence Day. On this day, India was declared Independent of the colonial rule of Britain. It was a day when India had a tryst with destiny. When the world was asleep, India awoke to a new era, a new dawn. The country was reborn. It was free to pursue its own path and draw its own destiny after almost 200 years of intense slavery.
     Indian civilisation dates back to thousands of years. Indus Valley Civilisation has been pioneer and one of the oldest and greatest civilisations, Earth has ever had and whose proof of existence is available. This civilisation belongs to India. In various religious texts, the civilisations further go back to as old as the eras of Sat-yug, Treta-yug and Dvapar-yug. Known as 'Jagatguru' i.e. 'Teacher of the world' in ancient time, India never believed in violence. It always preached for peace and the tradition continues till date, but as destiny would have it, its peace was ruined and it was not ready for a battle. The situation's advantage was taken by then British and the country got colonised. This marked an end of the greatness as the money was drained out to the tune of about 80 crore (i.e. 800 million) pounds per annum. You can imagine the value of this money in 1800s era when still in 2016 this money is too much, even for a lifetime in any country. Thus, the country was left poor and disillusioned.
     The first Independence Day as declared by Indian freedom fighters was 26th Jan, 1930. It was a historic day when the leaders decided that India won't have anything less than complete freedom. Till then the demand was of dominion status and from this day the fight for complete independence started with a vigour and energy unmatched. The stuggle finally bore fruit on 15th August, 1947 when we got Independence from foreign rule.
     This happiness could not be expressed in words but it was just that there were no foreign rulers now. Independence from evils like poverty, malnutrition, communal thinking, colonial hangover etc., was still not achieved. The nationalists saw the huge work that was to be accomplished and the time was too less. The foundation of this was laid by the enactment of Indian Constitution which was to be the framework of Indian governance and thus began a new journey and a new struggle of freedom from these evils, but this struggle was different. All nations were working together to be free as these evils were (and still are) prevalent in almost all nations. People had learnt their lessons from the two world wars and had realised the ill effects of wars. They were now united and had become peace-loving.
     Slowly, this great nation, in its journey of 69 years and on this 70th Independence day proudly boasts of what it has truly achieved at an unparalleled pace. Today, the nation is proud, the nationalists are proud and the citizens are proud. Indians don't keep an eye on other nations, but are not such bad children that they can't protect their motherland now. No Indian will think before happily laying down his/her life for the country.

TODAY's ERA and TODAY's INDIA:

     As the era advances, new problems emerge. No country today, is independent of these termites of corruption and other political and social evils and India is no different, but as Indian PM says, "India has 1.25 billion minds to solve its problems" and I truly believe that the countrymen are capable enough to solve them. It's just a matter of time and a need to wake up the country. People can make a difference but an internal unity is an utmost requirement.

My message to Indian people: 

    WAKE UP INDIA. Wake up to these evils and end their roots. Utilise your capabilities and think in a collective way. A nation can become great only when its citizens are great. Don't just think individually. People are bigger than money which is nothing but a dead wood. It is true that some vicious trends are going on in our country and some bigwigs are involved. It is true that political-bureaucratic-industrial nexus is taking a toll on common man but as a great freedom fighter JP Narayan said in the era 1970s," If you do not like an order because you feel it does more harm than good to the country, you must not follow it."
     Now, a single man can't follow this great ideal but if we have unity and think collectively for nation's good, this will be very easy to do. The powerhouses are so because common man listens to them. Stop listening and their power is gone. Even on our 70th Independence day we Indians are struggling with our petty problems, thinking only about ourselves and keeping nation at the backstage.

The situation of Indian society today.

     It's high time that this country wakes up to the various social and politico-economic evils like derogatory position of women, corruption, communal tensions and thinking, reckless attitude. The alongside picture illustrates what some anti-India elements are doing to our mother when we as its children are sleeping. Become responsible children instead of being irresponsible and letting our motherland in the situation depicted in this picture.

What India was and should be.

     Our country has always been great and shall remain so. The alongside pictures show a happy mother. Can we Indians see our biological mother cry? No we can't. So, how can we see our motherland cry and allow anti-Indian elements to succeed in their motives?
     It is time that we wake up to these evils. We can't allow these evils to proliferate in our country. We can't allow them in our society. We have to come out of colonial hangover and status-quoism of king-subject mentality. This will not do any good, instead will harm our nationalism.

What India was and should be.

     Women needs to be given a revered position. Remember Lord Rama and how he revered his mothers and his wife. Why can't we do it? We strive to have 'Ram Rajya' but we want it free of cost. We do not want leadership by example, but we want good leadership by destiny.

     O my dear fellow Indians, we have struggled a lot to get Independence because we wanted to be free of evils and not keep struggling with them. Introspect, do a SWOT analysis, remove your weaknesses, become strong, inculcate good values and become both patient and impatient. When I say be patient, it is to be sensitive to societal needs and having faith in your efforts which might take some time to give results and when I say be impatient, it is towards evils in our society. Don't kill the bad person but kill the badness in him. This was the message given by our revered Swami Vivekananda. Live up to his expectations. Our beloved President Late APJ Abdul Kalam, wanted to see India as a developed country by 2020. Can we Indians fulfill his dream? Yes, we can and we should. He had faith in our capability and so we must work tirelessly and change ourselves from head to toe and colour ourselves in goodness and become one who does work to the best of his ability. We are a young country and we should not waste our youth indulging in petty pleasures but utilise it in building India. Always remember what the great Bhagat Singh and other nationalists said,"Ab tera khoon na khaula to wo khoon nahin wo paani hai, jo desh ke kaam na aayi wo bekaar teri jawani hai."

     Let this country regain its lost glory. Let there be a transition from India to Great India to THE INDIA i.e. Greatest India. Vande Matram ! Jai Hind !
 

Life of those who were born in 1990s

    Today is the era of those who were born in 90s. They are young, energetic and ambitious people who represent the demographic dividend of countries like India, whose potential the countries want to tap. I do not see it happening.
    In the real sense this demographic dividend is becoming a demographic disaster. The following points elaborate this:



1. Job Satisfaction: We are not satisfied by our work because we do not enjoy it. When we were young, engineering profession took a boom and we surrendered to this boom.
Uska Beta/Iski beti took us in that pit along-with himself/herself. Emotional blackmailing took a toll on all of us and we kept our family above our dreams not realising the long term ill effects of it.

2. Job Location: We do not enjoy working in those big cities far from our hometown, but being a middle class person, our status quo mentality stops from leaving that city. Most of people in our cities/villages were/are shopkeepers/farmers and when we tell them of being engineers/managers/bankers in big corporates/banks, their reaction makes us feel elated and we become addicted to it, not wanting to return back to the old life. Their inferiority complex makes us feel elated but we forget the happiness they have in being with their family which makes us feel terribly jealous but we are middle class, still stuck in status symbols.

3. Salary: We get what we call peanuts. We don't want to have these. Instead we want to enjoy our lives but then the face of our parents starts revolving in front of us and the huge efforts they have put in educating us. Emotional messages and groups which keep on glorifying those efforts add to our emotions. We feel like crying and then we get determined to put in our efforts and then soon realise the cut throat competition with others who also think like us and are sailing in the same boat. Hence, we continue and life moves on.



4. Killed Aspirations: Today we don't know where to go and where not. We are just moving on a straight road aimlessly, not knowing where to go. Our lives have just been aroung buying food, taking care of family and getting old. The next gen kids are aimless. They are less ambitious and less excited because they don't get the necessary positive energy from their parents i.e. our generation people, because we never followed our dreams. Many aspired to have Audis but ended up in Marutis. People aspired to be singer but ended up being engineers. This is a loss to all stakeholders viz. individual, family, society, nation and world because nothing fruitful was done. The life was similar to the concept of Disguised unemployment where the work done by a person is not fruitful or does not make an impact.

5. Lost Happiness: We try to be happy but end up imagining to be happy. We end up showing off. Going to a place, what's the most important thing to do? It's a facebook check-in so that every friend in our friendlist ends up being jealous. This means 2 things:



(a) Either we aren't enjoying that we still are thinking of facebook, instagram, pininterest, whatsapp or,

(b) We don't realise the value of present due to our addiction to these.



Now, a message for the generation of 90s: Dear Friends, things have not gone out of our control. All is not over yet. We can still make a difference. We can still listen to our dreams, follow our goals, cherish our life. Staying in this clutter won't work. We will repent in our old age if we don't wake up now. The nation will wake up if the individual wakes up. Follow the path you have always dreamt of. Stop listening to the society. Stop showing off. Live in the means you have. Don't spend too much in showing off to those who are spending too much to show off to you. It's your life, live it the way you want. Take responsibility of whatever happens(good or bad). One thing is guaranteed, you will never repent even if you failed because no one can take away the pleasure from you of being able to try to follow your dreams. The destiny is one and no matter what, you'll reach there. So why not reach enjoying the life instead of crying and living it like a burden. Enjoy Life ! Be free ! It's now or never ! Today is the time to enjoy because you can, else time will move on and you will repent. Don't let this happen and make a difference to yourself, for yourself and by yourself.

BRAIN DRAIN

We often had been talking of a brain drain theory wherein we say that bright minds leave the country to serve somewhere else. In light of this aspect, the recently debated IIM bill, making csat in civil services qualifying thereby satisfying political aspects, reckless appointing of IIT directors - all give a boost to brain drain. First of all there's a huge reservation because of which, people who have money send their children abroad, for studying. An example of this is most of our politicians, bureaucrats, big business houses and so called aristocracy, have sent their children abroad for studying and then the policies formulated expect us to study in india and make institutes centres of excellence, ironically, without government intent to invest in R&D. The provisions of IIM bill again make a student think of the quality of students he might encounter in future thereby losing his vision to pursue pgpm from IIMs.

The caste based reservations affect the quality can very promptly be judged by the facts that there's zero reservation in armed forces and higher judiciary(Supreme Court and High Courts). A very frequent justification for reservation is "thousands of years of colonial misrule" and it seems that now there must be a misrule for general category as if our country's justice is, in the present scenario, "An eye for an eye" types. Not only once in an entrance but almost in all government jobs and promotions, and on each and every level, this exists.

Whenever a government comes to power, the educational curricula get changed. This gives a feeling of there not being any truth and everything to be studied is as per whims and fancies of our highly respectable politicians.

The reckless appointing of IIT directors again mystifies a student's vision of achieving excellence by entering into a prestigious Institute. Ironically, one of our fundamental duties is " to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement". I would like to ask how a nation would even rise(leave aside constantly) to higher levels of endeavour and achievement when these policies are in place. A recent supreme court remark, that there have always been addition to reserved list and no deletion from it, must be taken seriously and the hon'ble court appears helpless over the issue.

Every student wants to excel, get a great institution and a great atmosphere of growth and interactions, exposure, quality of education, faculty and curriculum are the integral parts of building a great institution. We have one oxford, one Harvard, one MIT, one Stanford , and to them there's a lot of funding,even by Indians, but none in India. This is just because the Indians funding those institutes have taken it for granted that nothing of this sort can even be expected in India and the policies formulated support their view. The recent opening of new IITs so as to have an IIT in every state challenges the very basis of opening NITs. New IIMs and AIIMSs are also being opened on the same lines. Instead we should improve the stature of NITs and other government medical, engineering and management colleges and for that instance all colleges so that they become centres of excellence. An example of low quality academia in India are the articles in leading dailies most of whose authors are Indians but staying and teaching in some foreign countries. Our own respected RBI Governor is a faculty in US but the retired bureaucrats or ex governors or sitting RBI governor don't teach in Indian universities.

The government needs to do something on this. Programmes like make in india and digital india won't do well until we have 'Study in India' and promote 'Teach in India' by giving all the required facilities required and focussing on knowledge and merit as well apart from just a degree based eligibility. We should study what's on offer, the atmosphere and eligibility conditions in those institutes and make up for it in our institutes.

The government should boost up the image of India's educational institutions by lessening the no. of IITs and instead strengthening the NITs and enhance their qualities by promoting R&D. Instead of focussing just on reservations, which nevertheless must be income based,  Only then will the nation truly grow and until then, brain drain will remain a peculiar feature of our country.

Muslims are Brothers.

This is a re-blog of a blog I found on the Internet. Probably everything isn't true but the underlying message is amazing. The Muslims are part and parcel of Humans on this earth.


Yes, lets imagine a world WITHOUT MUSLIMS, shall we?
Without Muslims you wouldn’t have:

• Coffee
• Cameras
  
• Experimental Physics
  
• Chess
  
• Soap
  
• Shampoo
  
• Perfume/spirits
  
• Irrigation
  
• Crank-shaft, internal combustion engine, valves, pistons
  
• Combination locks
  
• Architectural innovation (pointed arch -European Gothic cathedrals adopted this technique as it made the building much stronger, rose windows, dome buildings, round towers, etc.)
  
• Surgical instruments
  
• Anaesthesia
  
• Windmill
  
• Treatment of Cowpox
  
• Fountain pen
  
• Numbering system
  
• Algebra/Trigonometry
  
• Modern Cryptology
  
• 3 course meal (soup, meat/fish, fruit/nuts)
  
• Crystal glasses
  
• Carpets
  
• Checks
  
• Gardens used for beauty and meditation instead of for herbs and kitchen.
  
• University
• Optics
• Music
• Toothbrush
• Hospitals
• Bathing
• Quilting
• Mariner’s Compass
• Soft drinks
• Pendulum
• Braille
• Cosmetics
• Plastic surgery
• Calligraphy
• Manufacturing of paper and cloth

It was a Muslim who realized that light ENTERS our eyes, unlike the Greeks who thought we EMITTED rays, and so invented a camera from this discovery.
It was a Muslim who first tried to FLY in 852, even though it is the Wright Brothers who have taken the credit.
It was a Muslim by the name of Jabir ibn Hayyan who was known as the founder of modern Chemistry. He transformed alchemy into chemistry. He invented: distillation, purification, oxidation, evaporation, and filtration. He also discovered sulfuric and nitric acid.
It is a Muslim, by the name of Al-Jazari who is known as the father of robotics.
It was a Muslim who was the architect for Henry V’s castle.
It was a Muslim who invented hollow needles to suck cataracts from eyes, a technique still used today.
It was a Muslim who actually discovered inoculation, not Jenner and Pasteur to treat cowpox. The West just brought it over from Turkey
It was Muslims who contributed much to mathematics like Algebra and Trigonometry, which was imported over to Europe 300 years later to Fibonacci and the rest.
It was Muslims who discovered that the Earth was round 500 years before Galileo did.
The list goes on………..
Just imagine a world without Muslims. Now I think you probably meant, JUST IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT TERRORISTS. And then I would agree, the world would definitely be a better place without those pieces of filth. But to hold a whole group responsible for the actions of a few is ignorant and racist. No one would ever expect Christians or White people to be held responsible for the acts of Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma bombing) or Anders Breivik (Norway killing), or the gun man that shot Congresswoman Giffords in head, wounded 12 and killed 6 people, and rightly so because they had nothing to do with those incidents! Just like the rest of the 1.5 billion Muslims have nothing to do with this incident!
Sources:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-islamic-inventors-changed-the-world-469452.html
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-29/world/muslim.inventions_1_hassani-inventions-muslim?_s=PM:WORLD
http://www.ummahedinburgh.co.uk/radio/files/Muslim-Invention-Article.pdf


  The Links for this blog are :
http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=75268
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1119989/heres-world-look-like-without-muslims/
https://www.good.is/articles/islamophobe-schooled-on-tumblr
http://www.indiatimes.com/news/world/someone-re-imagined-the-world-without-muslims-and-found-out-that-it-s-impossible-258870.html

Environment

     So many studies, so many researches, so many white papers, so many articles and reports in various magazines and newspapers, so many protocols, agreements and treaties, about global warming, environmental climate change, so drastic are their effects visible which have led to great extinctions and that too in large numbers, and yet the humans are happy doing the same without any on the ground visible effect. There seems to be no inch of humanity left in this world. The greed for money has taken such a great toll on environment, that the man is not able to see his own end in the pursuit of gathering money.
     All the literatures, holy books, ancient knowledge books, laws, customs, may seem too unrealistic, but there's one thing in common in all of them i.e. Nature needs paramount protection, respect and care, which only will ensure the survival of all life on this planet.
     The politicians in the world, be they of any country, are mostly non-environmentalists. They don't care of anything other than economy. The whole scenario is wrong when we consider GDP as the sole criteria for development and overlook environmental concerns. The borders have been wired, thus making animals a citizen of a particular country, though they defy all the boundaries and are truly the global citizens.
     Who gave humans the authority to decide what should be done. Every action that human has taken, has led to a disaster whose consequences are not seen immediately but the next generation has to bear the brunt.
     Today, even the conservationists are politically inclined. They do not care really about the environment. There have been lot of tree plantations, but no one maintains or cares for them and the plants die. This means, that no-one really wants to plant a tree. Just a show-off.
     People are so idiots that they feel happy on this show-off and they elevate the person to heights. The person also does to get mass support and thus, political patronage.
     Governments, get authority by people, that's why we say a government is 'of the people, for the people, by the people', but they work for the elites. The so called Aristocratic class has become the 'mai-baap', the all-in-all of this world. The other human beings are termed mere mortals.
     If any so called 'mere mortal' tries to challenge their authority, they are either bought or are dead after some time and the greatness(sarcastically obviously) is in the fact that no-one gets to know about it, howsoever prominent may the environmentalist be.
     The current scenario is all except aristocrats are mere mortals. They are born to die, no matter they are fauna(including humans) or flora. As if aristocrats are immortals.
     This blog should be treated as a stern warning to whole of the world to take action asap, because if and when a disaster comes, it will not ask your name, neither before nor after, and simply kill all. The animals and plants will be killed to finish off their pain, given to them by humans, and humans will be killed as a punishment. Others will die a happy death and humans will die a painful death, if this continues.
     Please don't misuse and abuse the intelligence and brains given only to humans. You get a power to help others and if you start misusing and abusing it, you yourself will be destroyed.
     The destruction has not yet happened, the doomsday has not yet arrived. This means the nature is giving you a chance to mend yourself, otherwise one day everyone has to die. The death is the only truth. So, please meditate, do good deeds(A good deed is one, that gives you contentment and peace. Anything that gives you repentance or unrrest is not a good deed), bow before the GOD, love everybody, love your family, spend time with them, live before you die, enjoy nature, enjoy the natural beauty, enjoy the peaceful songs of the winds and the beats of a thunder and a waterfall, enjoy songs of the birds and small animals and roars of big animals. The happiness lies in enjoying with the creatures of this nature and not alone in an air-conditioned room.
     You should remember that whenever you felt lonely, only nature was there to entertain you. Whenever you felt neglected, the animals were there to love you. Whenever you felt frustrated, the landscape was there to pacify you. Whenever you were sad, no human except your parents, family was there to support you, but the nature was always there to support you because for nature, you are still her kid. She helps you despite you destroy and abuse her just like all mothers. As a kid it's your duty to take care of her as well.

     Hence, I request the world to do the needful for your own betterment, if not for the betterment of the mother nature and her other creatures.

Punjab Elections

     Its an election time in Punjab and elections are like festivals. People listen to different leaders. They know the leaders are lying but they still believe them and stand with folded hands in front of them making them feel that they are kings instead of being mere servants.
    This hand floding culture needs to be stopped. Stop folding hands in front of bureaucrats and politicians. I have witnessed the folding of hands and this is not a mere 'Namaste' but a pleading of doing work.
    Politicians and buraucrats enjoy this and the VIP culture is given birth to. People do not realise that it is their money which is being spent on elections to choose a leader whose constitutional duty is to serve them. The leader is not their king but a servant (but the irony is the politics is called 'raajneeti' and not 'sevaneeti').
    The current government says 'Raj nahin seva' but doesn't mention is it 'Raj nahin, seva' or 'Raj, nahin seva' and neither does it mention whose seva or on whom raj. People need to get educated and be aware, but they don't want to. They just vote blindly to a person who gives them sops 3-4 months before elections. Now, Punjab is witnessing a lot of sops and programmes for its welfare which it never witnessed during governing days.
    People do keep complaining about mis-governance and maladministration, but they should know that a phrase says, "People get the government they deserve". There are two kinds of people in punjab. One is the youth who should work but is completely into drugs. Now, where is it visible. Not in urban agglomerations/cities but in rural areas. Second are the old aged who have worked in their youth to make punjab a prosperous state, but obviously owing to age factors, they don't have any capacity left to work today. This second class feels very bad about deteriorating health of Punjab but they still don't want their youth to be active in politics. Not their fault, politics itself has become such a bad game that they can't afford losing thir only child to politics.
    My heart cries, when I see this land of Gurus, the land of 'hatte katte jawan gabru', the land of 'dudh, dahi makhan', the land of 'ankh' becoming land of 'drugs', 'maladministration' and 'degraded land'.
     My advice is that pick and choose. If you don't find any candidate good then please press NOTA button on the EVM's. The last button on a voting machine is NOTA. All electorates should press NOTA. Let their be 100% NOTA in a constituency. All political parties will  be in a shame and will be forced to have good candidates. This will eventually put a full stop to Politicisation of Criminals as well as Criminalisation of Politics.
     Also, a piece of advice to all political parties. Please have youth candidates even as a Chief Minister. They will be able to work better and do some responsible and on the ground task. They might make mistakes but they also want to ensure Good Governance in their beloved state.

Indian Railways

Indian Railways has recently started e-catering service. My experience with this service has been harrowing.  I booked a ticket from delhi to hoshiarpur on 29th June, 2016 and ordered food via e-catering at DLI station and it was to be delivered to me by 9 PM which was the train's scheduled departure. The train started its journey 20 minutes late due to some reasons known best to Indian Railways. In the meantime I gave atleast 5 calls to their customer care service number 1323. Everytime the operator on the other side, assured me of necessary action and probably tried to contact the so-called Comesum brand which had to deliver me the food but of no avail. The food never reached and IRCTC never made a provision for arranging it on any of the next stations despite my giving an option to them, because it was 10 PM(their duty ends at this time) which was more dear to them than a hungry passenger who trusted them and had paid already for the food that was never meant to reach them. I followed a complaint procedure of sending them an e-mail with all the details, to which I got a usual reply of acknowledgement to cooperate in the 'interim'. The word 'interim' is great. It does not require any definition of say 24hrs/48hrs/72hrs/1week/1month/1year/endless. Then, I tried to contact them via twitter but the same reply. We are pursuing the complaint. We are doing our best. If the best, that too by all the powerful Govt. of India, takes so much time, I feel pity on those who are pro-government in their tasks. Till date my money has only been not refunded to me, leave aside the penalty I asked for. I strongly feel that irctc should stop its services. Their may be some improvements in some areas of Indian Railways but then the government, the bureaucracy and the cheap politics only were(and are) responsible for the sorry state of Indian Railways and bad image of Govt. of India.

IRCTC has lost a customer for its e-catering service and I would caution everyone who reads this post to order from e-catering service of IRCTC as they will solely be responsible for their money and hunger.

Shattered Dreams

The heart is broken, when dreams shatter,
the mind gets broken when dreams shatter,
the sleep gets broken when dreams shatter,
the confidence shatters, when dreams shatter,
other dreams shatter, when a dream shatters,
people are made to shatter, let them shatter,
but stand again till the causes that shatter your dreams themselves shatter.

Show the destiny, how you can shatter it if it tries to shatter you.
Shatter in a way that either your bad destiny gets shattered by getting hit from the pieces of your shatter or it feels so sorry that it sculpts out a new you, more powerful than you destined yourself to be.

Today I have been shattered after being continuously hit for the past 5 years and but still  I will fight back(Atleast I hope so). I know the GODs are with me and they have chosen me for shattering but if I shatter, how will they get a person whom they can hammer. Me still standing, GOD won't find anyone else to shatter.

Effects of Westernisation

   There was a time, families were living happily with no grudges of members with one another. The morals were valued and the elders respected. People strived to keep relationships intact and valued their moral values over money. The effects of westernisation had not engulfed the Indian society. People valued their culture, heritage and environment. There was sense of being independent while taking decisions and the society never commented on someone's failures or successes as the person was valued over materialism. Friends used to be just friends irrespective of any benefits being there or not. The term 'friendship' was valued as much as one used to value his family and his own life.
   And then, there was a sudden turnaround.

In Personal Life:

   All the values were suddenly lost. Economics had taken over morals, ethics and values. Be it the relationships or humanity, everything was started to be measured in economic terms. Suddenly the questions, that one hears, changed from

•       'How are you?' to 'How much do you earn?'

•       'Did you eat the food?' to 'Did you fulfill today's target? 

   Not only this, there was a change in the following aspects:

•       Family changed to 'ATM machine' and the 'blame receiver'.

•       Friends changed to 'Friends with benefits' and 'show-off varieties'.

   

In Professional Life:
 

   There was a change in the office environment also. People have started taking revenge from those who are innocent, because they have lost the capability to revert to the one who did something bad to them. The power is shown only to the powerless. Earlier people used to think "जो मेरे साथ हुआ वह किसी और  साथ नहीं होना चाहिए। " Now they say,"क्योंकि यह मेरे साथ भी हुआ था, अब मैं यह  तुम्हारे साथ भी करूँगा। " One of my friends' manager literally told this line to him, during his rating discussion. Not only this, earlier people used to work with enthusiasm, but now they work because of sustenance.

   The work ethics have changed from thinking about the collective welfare to thinking about individual welfare. People have started thinking economically in economics. A particular task may benefit an organisation or a country but how will I benefit? Will I be benefited economically or will I be rewarded socially. This news is too true to increase my TRP. Let's add some masala to it. The person is saying things correct, but since humanity has been put on the back-burner, I will also not try to bring it at the forefront. Today, the honest are being punished(various illustrations from IAS officers, and honest office employees) and the vice are being rewarded.
 

In Community Life:
 

   This part of life has taken a maximum toll today. What once was a civic duty, not doing it is glamour today. Earlier, people were aware of their duties, now everyone's simply thinking of their rights. Now and then, there have been litigations in Indian Judiciary seeking to broaden the concept of rights so that they suit our own interests, but when asked about the duties, this was the response.

   First, the case of cleanliness. The government has run Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, but we abuse the sweepers and do not want to clean our surroundings. Moreover, since we pay taxes, why does the government not appoint sufficient sweepers to clean. If a sweeper, say, doesn't perform his duties(which is very common), we won't unite and ask him to do, but just relax inside our home and abuse the authorities and Municipalities. Watch this. Not only this, the condition of Gatimaan Express at the end of its first day showed the sorry state of affairs of the nation's civic sense. Probably that's why we have a series of videos named SoSorry.

   Second, the case of corruption. The government is corrupt, but we don't want political parties to be accountable. Do we ever try to collectively go and ask for a better candidate. Do we ever try to go and ask for the candidate details and publicising of background check report of the candidate. The smallest example of corruption is "Suppose you are standing in a queue to buy something from a store. Given a chance to break the queue and buy the things, will you break or not?" This introspection will make you think twice, before doing corruption. Blaming won't help.

   Third, the case of awareness. Probably we don't want to get developed and that's why we don't like to follow rules. The reason for this is we are not aware of the benefits of development. Now development has various aspects. What is your development? Happiness or Money? Material Infrastructure or spiritual infrastructure? Materialistic satisfaction or Contentment? A need based analysis will help to know what is required and a SWOT analysis will help achieve it. 

The Big Question:
 

   Now the big question is "Why I write this when I define this post as effects of Westernisation?" The answer is in the race of getting westernised, we have forgotten whatever I have said above. The cases in point are as follows:

   First, and the most recent case being Tanmay Bhat and the controversy surrounding him. Probably, today we have two types of Indians. The first ones are Westernised Indians who like Tanmay Bhat, controversies and AIB kind of things and the second ones are Indian Indians who consider Lata Mangeshkar as Maa Saraswati. Personally, I am not against any one. Both beliefs are equal as both are independent, but being sensitive to each other's likes and dislikes doesn't harm anyone.

   Second, being the belief among people of either to wear a suit-pant or kurta-pyjama(or dhoti). None of the clothes are controversial as long as they don't become a symbol of colonialism. Gandhiji in India advocated for Khadi because the suit-pant had become a symbol of westernisation, whereas Dr. B.R.Ambedkar wore a suit-pant always because he liked that attire. So, is he not Indian? Of course, he is. It's just that wearing western clothes did not make him think in favour of the western world. As Swami Vivekananda said that a person is recognised not by his clothes but by his thoughts.
   Third, we want Malls and Shopping Complexes, but we enjoy buying from small shops after bargaining. We want to wear trendy shoes, but feel comfortable only in a chappal. We show attitude but we internally we want to talk and socialise. We have ego but the child inside craves for a playful nature. We show anger, but inside everyone wants to love. We want help but feel awkward while asking for it.
   Fourth, we talk about organic and inorganic food. Earlier, we used to grow our crops using gobar and organic waste as our fertilisers. The western world cashed on our distrust on ourselves. They made us believe that our agricultural practices are not sustainable and we shifted towards inorganic cultivation. Soon, they again cashed on our traditional farming practices and launched various brands under Organic Products e.g. Organic Wheat, Organic Dal, Organic eggs etc. with a higher price and we blindly shifted to it.

It's just that these things have put a curtain on our core beliefs, that we are unable to see them inside us even when in need.

Concluding here, I would just say that adopt the western ideas but not blindly. Adopt the good in them tweaking it according to our own requirements and shed the bad of Western as well as Indian beliefs. Obviously, Sati System and Female Foeticide, patriarchal society, superstitions were not good though they were Indian beliefs, but at the same time the above-said are evils if we blindly run behind them. We should honour Indian Culture, learn from western culture and try simulating their goodness. Today we have clean hospitals and toilets in developed countries and curse India for not having this, but we don't know that Sushruta and Charaka had laid great stress on hygiene for a good health as early as 78AD(or CE). Hope, India will awaken itself. Focus on yourself and have faith on yourself.

Take Care and GOD bless !!!

First Blog

   Hi Friends. This is my first blog ever. It is a great experience to pen down your thoughts in a tidy manner so that it looks comprehensive, amusing as well as entertaining. I have too many thoughts, too many memories which I would love to share, but while writing this blog, I was not able to create a nice text, which probably will take some time. I am not an avid writer but would strive to be one and till then, I request everyone to bear with me. Soon, I will be writing about the memorable experiences as well as my opinion about day to day happenings. In short, I will be writing, whatever I wish to write. hehehe.

   I don't know what have I written in this blog, but I promise, soon you'll find something meaningful. It's time to leave for now. Take care guys and have a great health and life. Stay Motivated. GOD bless everyone!!!