Have you read the Electronic board at the crossing?

I was passing the Lotus crossing (the Nehru planetarium crossing, after crossing Worli- towards Haji Ali) the other day while coming to college. I had never before paid attention to the electronic message boards on the crossings (it is technically called the variable messaging system). I knew they were present but never bothered to read them in particular.

These boards reminded me of Calcutta. These days in Calcutta on most of the major crossings (especially in central Calcutta) you will hear an announcement system blaring in Hindi, Bengali and English, “paidal yaatriyon se nivedan hai ki traffic signal hone par hi rasta paar karen, yaad rakhein ki ghar par koi aapka intzaar kar raha hai.” It was just a bizarre recollection.

So, this electronic board read:

Drive slow and avoid sudden breaking

Check wipers and car batteries

Keep a torch handy and glass breaking device (I am just assuming that the word was device as is wasn’t displayed properly)

Roads get slippery due to accumulated dust and lubricants

Better safe than sorry. Use zebra crossing

Check tyres. Worn out tyres are prone to skid

In case of water logging, help others in distress

For monsoon precautions visit trafficpolicemumbai.org

The first question that crossed my head was- what is the point of this board being here. Do people even bother to read it? I have paid attention to it for the first time in three years (I don’t even know if it has been there all these years or not).

Just a random thought!

Two weeks later I was going to my guardian's place (in Chembur) and was waiting at the Haji Ali bus stand. 30 minutes of waiting and not even a single bus. I decided to do some fun stuff. I took a bus to the same lotus crossing. I wanted to ask drivers if they ever paid attention to those instructions on the message board. But the problem was I hadn't done things like this before. What if they thought I was a beggar asking for some ‘donation’. Ummm...not a very good idea. But I hate waiting for buses.

So, I go ahead. I was standing on the path between the two lanes so that I could keep an eye on my bus too. I started with the taxi as I didn't really know how I'd feel to knock at someone’s car window. I didn't even know what I wanted to ask. So, I just started by, “bhaiya, aapne kabhi vo udhar jo board hai, padha hai?”(pointing to the electronic board). The driver was chewing a tooth pick and had one leg on the seat, least bothered to even listen to what I was saying. I just heard a monosyllabic reply, “nahi”. I said “acha” and took a step back. Didn’t know what to ask further and kept staring at him. Felt really stupid when the taxi rushed past and I was still standing there bewildered.

I waited for the signal to go red once more. This time with a little more confidence, I think. Once more targeted a cab driver with the same question. This time the reply was, “humko ye englis me hai, samajh nahi aata. Jaanne ka mangta, par abhi main kisse puche. Naya naya shuru kiya taxi na chalana.”

Another taxi driver first asked me, “usme kya likha hai?” I told him all that was written. He said, “pachees saal se taxi chala raha hun, sab pata hai, aur ye sab hum logo ke liye nahi hai.” Me- “to kiske liye hai?”. My bad. Green signal. He had to leave.

Next signal, Another taxi, same question- reply- “nahi, par agar English (he pronounced it right) padhna aata, to zaroor padhta, five class tak school to gaya hai, par vo hindi medium tha. Aajkal almost har ek signal par aisa hi board hai. Ek baar passenger se pucha bhi tha, vo bhi meri jaise hi nikla.”

Green signal. By the way, I was doing all this while waiting for my bus. I had completely forgotten about it.

(thought: Now cars)

Next red light, a car driver this time. I did something that I feared the most, knocked on the window. Same question, (I stopped for a minute, thinking if I should ask the question in hindi or English- I went ahead with hindi). Answer- “I haven’t really bothered to, anyways English samajh me aati hai na (in the peculiar English accent, I felt like calling him a word that starts with the “f”), why are you asking me this?”he asked

“It is for a college project, anyways thank you”

This conversation lasted for only a few seconds but I didn’t like something about it. I took a break. Looking to the other side if my bus was coming. I must have definitely missed one by now. Waiting for another red signal, another car.

Thankfully I didn’t have to knock on the window this time. It was a woman. Something made me ask her the question in English. Reply- “no dear, but now I think I will, thanks” (smiles and starts reading the board). I felt a bit awkward (don’t know why).

I now understand why reporters often fail to balance their stories. I somewhat gave up midway. I didn’t want to ask anyone anymore. But this exercise did help me in some way.

Now, coming back, the replies given by the taxi drivers made a lot of sense. The instructions on the electronic board were in a language which a lot of people do not understand. Taken that the website has a tab which gives you all the information in Marathi, but people need to know about it to reach there.

I realised I was quite comfortable talking to the taxi drivers than I was to the car drivers. May be if I tried a car which was not self driven, I would have got a completely different response. Technically, as we have studied that include all sides of a story (be objective) is an important factor while reporting, I should have asked a few other people like the bus drivers (shows I'm a really bad reporter). Although a little one, this activity was quite some fun, and in the end I have something to write for my blog J

And I got my but just 2 minutes after I reached my bus stop.

Angry Birds make Happy People

Let’s face it, nobody’s happy when one steals our young ones away from us, especially when it happens to be a bunch of globular green coloured pigs who chuckle at the our remorse. And how do we reclaim the eggs? Get that catapult ready, I say.

That’s the back story of ‘Angry Birds’, the latest gaming phenomenon created by Finnish game developer company, Rovio which has grown to become a household name amongst Apple iOS users, where it includes of a flock of fat birds, with rounded yellow beaks, thick, black eyebrows and a angry, slightly crazed expression on their faces who are on a quest to save their babies by using your help to destroy the sniggering swine.

The game has been downloaded 50 million times all over the world from the online Apple i-store with patrons like British PM David Cameron and Dick Cheney admitting to possess a mild addiction to the game, amongst thousand others, of course.

In total, the game notches up 200 million minutes of play time every day, which is close to the number of minutes viewers in the United States spend watching the average prime-time television programme. The massive popularity has also turned Rovio into a company reportedly worth 1$ billion dollars.

The company has taken retail merchandising to the next level, from mothers baking Angry Bird cupcakes during Birthdays, to stuff dolls of the six different birds, key-chains, mobile phone covers. Mattel is coming up with it’s own version of a board game, a cartoon series and if all goes well, a film. One restaurant chain in Hong Kong have even struck a deal with its creator to turn the featherless bird into mooncakes -- a pastry eaten to mark the Chinese mid-autumn festival, which fell on September 12th this year.

So who’s behind the distressed birds?

Self-confessed video game junkie and Finnish game designer, Jaakko Lisalso was left home-alone one night two years ago. With nothing constructive to do, he sat on his couch thinking to himself if he’ll still have his job a few months from now, as his employer, Rovio was short of funds and the company came to a point where they were forced to draw a make-or break business plan.

That’s when Lisalso started scribbling down vague sketches of rotund birds and presented to to his boss the next morning. The idea was simple and very kiddish, but his collegues just found something utterly adorable about the concept and just couldn’t say no to the fuzzy creatures. And before you know it, the application turned out to be the most profitable of all the 300, 000 Apple apps at the I-store.

AYTM, an American-based research company conducted studies to learn more about the Angry Birds addiction phenomenon and have found that 82% of the respondents claim to feel a dire addiction to the game and have deleted the application numerous times only to find themselves re-installing it back in a few days again. So what makes the game do darn’ addictive?

Firstly, it’s got to do with simplicity and it’s complexity. The idea is simple, yeah. You use no controls, just your finger and a slingshot. But there’s more to it.

Angry Birds takes into account different concepts of Physics like gravity, mass, velocity and trajectories. Certain trajectories work better than others and different birds need to be drafted in depending on the material to destroy.

Psychologist Michael Chrost who works at the National Institute of Drug Abuse, Maryland explains that Angry Birds actually elicits a neurophysilogical response in players. He refers to Angry Birds as a “masterpiece of addictiveness” because it’s “simple, realistic, rewarding, and funny, but it’s also a terrific manipulator of the brain’s dopamine system.”

Owing to the mania around the game, the designers at Rovio are under even more pressure to keep improvising it in order to keep the game on top its charts. Since launching the game with 63 levels in December 2009, Rovio has added another 147, at the rate of about 15 every three or four weeks. It’s hard work, no doubt.

In the meantime, Google has arrived at the conclusion that in the last two years Angry Birds have had more hits than even the world’s most lovable cartoon- Mickey Mouse.

Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill – an imperfect idea to tackle Communal Violence in India

The National Advisory Council (NAC), came up with a “Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011, to address the growing concern of en masse violence - most serious social problem faced in India. The intention to come up with a bill to tackle communal violence is a fine thought. But in a society, the problem has to be tackled through correct and impartial laws that are in sync with the various provisions of the Indian Constitution and nothing more that undermines or negates the rules of separation of powers and checks and balances. The present draft version of the proposed bill by NAC, no doubt has undeniable strengths, but it also suffers from various fatal flaws.

The support for the bill can be brought from a practical point - How can one expect minorities to be patriotic, if they are by definition excluded from the joint ownership of the nation, and violence against them is permitted as a legitimate act or as service to the nation? It is because of this that we see, cases like Godhra riot followed by Best Bakery issue case, the issue of Christians in Kandhmal, etc, which calls for an urgent need for a democratic and secular country like India to protect its minorities from violence. The NAC is thus, then right to emphasise the vulnerability of minorities in Indian state. But do we need a new law and a new bureaucracy to make that point? And even if we do, the law has to be constitutionally sound in nature.

Following are some of the flaws of the draft bill:

1. The Bill is intended to prevent acts of violence, or incitement to violence directed at people by virtue of their membership to any “group”, the definition of which is, “group means a religious or linguistic minority, in any State in the Union of India, or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes within the meaning of clauses (24) and (25) of Article 366 of the Constitution of India.”

This definition places the vast majority of the society outside the purview and protection of this bill. Also, this provision is in violation of the fundamental right to Equality (Art 14) enshrined in our constitution. It is not necessary that the violence may always be done by a majority. The reverse too can happen. What if there takes in a communal clash between any two linguistic minorities in a different state, for instance, a clash between south Indian communities and North Indian communities residing in Maharashtra? The definition what exactly constitutes a majority and a minority is way too debatable and no such strict line can be made in today’s migrating trend as to this population is the majority and this minority.

2. The clause 8 of Chapter 2 states that the “hate propaganda” is an offence when a person by words oral or written or a visible representation causes hate against a “group” or a person belonging to a “group”. This clause is against the freedom of speech and also censorship by media houses. Until and unless a direct causal relationship is established between the material and the act of violence the act to publishing or communicating the material should not be labeled as“hate propaganda”.

3. Now, the section 20 of the Chapter 3 defines an act of communal and targeted violence to constitute an “internal disturbance” under Art 355 and empowers the Central Government to take further action. Now, the Article 355 is followed by Article 366, which calls for Presidential Rule in the state. The Central Government can then not be given the issue to tackle (according to the Constitution). Moreover, issues of law and order fall under the states and are therefore to be looked and managed by the state governments and not by the Central government. Hence, this is against the Federal principle. And moreover, emergency can be proclaimed only if the internal disturbance has been caused by an “armed rebellion”, no such Proclamation can be made for internal disturbance caused by any other situation nor a Proclamation can be issued under Article 356 unless the internal disturbance gives rise to a situation in which the Government of State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

4. The bill makes public servants punishable for failing to discharge their stated duties in an unbiased manner. In addition, public servants have duties such as the duty to provide protection to victims of communal violence and also have to take steps to prevent the outbreak of communal violence. Failing this, the civil servants shall be accused of not exercising “lawful authority vested in him or her under law” and he or she “shall be guilty of dereliction of duty”. The bill makes civil servants legally liable for riots. They will be fired, demoted or reprimanded, if a riot takes place under them. At one level, this is a good step. Quite often it has been seen that an IAS or IPS officers have taken decisions directed by political masters on how to deal with a riot, even though the rule-book makes it clear that the responsibility of law and order at the ground level lies with the civil servant, not with the politician. By making the civil servant liable, the bill seeks to strengthen the civil servant against the politician. The NAC’s assumption is that if civil servants were personally liable for riots, there is a greater chance they would act according to the rule-book, not wait for political signals from above. But this assumption is only half right. Rioting is increased when not checked properly by the administrators but it takes place due to various reasons. Rioting is also, in part, a result of how social and economic life is organised in a town, whether Hindus and Muslims are segregated or integrated, and what incentives or capacities such local structures have created for politicians, always in search of political gains, to inflame and polarise, or calm and unite, local communities. So, the same IAS officer could have functioned well in one district say, Shimla, or Nainital, often would feel helpless when given a district like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Meerut.

5. The bill also envisions creation of a new set of state institutions: a National Authority for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparation, headquartered in Delhi. The National Authority will have seven members, supported by a “Secretary General, who shall be an officer to the rank of the Secretary to the Government of India”. Presumably, the members will have the rank of ministers of state and the chairperson will be of full ministerial rank. The National Authority will be given police and investigative staff when necessary; it can investigate the conduct of army officers during riots; it will have the powers of a civil court for inquiry and investigation; and all district magistrates and police commissioners will be required to report to it on matters concerning communal violence. There will be corresponding institutions at the state level, too. A massive bureaucracy will thus be created with unprecedented powers.

6. Further the extent and scope of power vested with the National Authority does not merely extend to the state law enforcement agencies such as police officers but also brings the entire Armed Forces within the ambit of the term “public official.” This Bill therefore blurs the line of differentiation between civilian matters and armed forces. With no judicial intervention, these powers can be extended to any extent.

To sum up, the bill in its present form is unconstitutional in many ways. Riots, in India today have decreased to a great extent but still the prejudice against certain communities remains. So, it is for this reason that we need a construction of an anti-discrimination law and an equal opportunity commission, not a new bureaucracy to prevent riots.

The media is God

I recently read a very well articulated write-up in the magazine Communalism Combat titled ‘The world of hatred’ written by Ahmed Noor. The article made a comparison between the reactions of the American media, particularly the New York Times and the Norwegian people to the attacks that happened at Oslo in Norway. The attack that was carried out by a Norwegian national took the lives of 90 youngsters and left several more injured. 

The article went on to state that the reportage of the NYT was completely editorialized. The historical and a paper considered liberal made very biased claims and openly labeled the Muslims as the perpetrators of the heinous crime that left several innocent civilians dead.

Where as, at ground zero the situation was completely the opposite. While the international media went gaga over the whether the perpetrator was a Muslim or not the Norwegian media and people were most calm. The Prime Minister did not give out anti-Muslim agenda’s or made any sort of claim. In fact after the attack in his speech he promised to strengthen democracy instead of blaming and promising to bring the attacker to book.

Many critics of the NYT also stated that the paper used the word ‘terrorist’ only with the word ‘Muslim’. After the news spread that the attacker was not a Muslim terrorist the paper still continued to make comparisons. They then began drawing parallel’s between the magnitude of the attacks that the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda carry out to that of Andres Behring Breiviks’. In one way or another they compared him to that of Muslim terrorists in spite of his sheer hate for the Muslims.

While going through the article I realized that my thoughts on the issue were along the same lines as that of the writer.

What I observed through the course of the coverage and reportage was that-as soon as the incident occurred the media across the world went berserk with reports claiming / accusing Islamic groups for the attack.  I very vividly remember watching BBC the night the attack took place. The channel was barely 10 minutes into coverage of the incident and the blame game had already begun, they blatantly made accusations and pointed fingers to Islamic terrorist’s outlets like the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda. Many people too had their bets on Islamic terrorists. But when the attacker was captured by the Norwegian police the media when into safe-mode.

The attacker was a Norwegian national who had very strong right wing and anti-Muslim ideologies and stood against multicultural democracy. As soon as the news emerged that the perpetrator of the crime-a terrorist was a Norwegian the term terrorist was dropped completely to be was replaced by ‘Christian extremist’, ‘deranged man’ and ‘madman’.  

Many mainstream news channels under the guidance of an ‘expert’ very confidently stated that the attack was carried out by Islamic terrorists. It is a label that the media has almost ingrained in our heads that all bad things that happen around the world are because of Muslims. The US mainstream media after 9/11 have created a very strong image in the minds of people about Muslims, labeling all Muslims as terrorists. This is a negative and one of the most common labels that the media uses.

The same could be said about Indian mainstream media. The term Islamic and even Pakistani terrorist is also very commonly used in the Indian media. People consume every word that the media gives out, taking each and every detail at face value. So when the mainstream media assumes that attack was carried out by Islamic terrorist the people believe that.

Michael Parenti’s definition of labeling in the media is a very important one in this situation. He says that labeling in the media influences public opinion. In this scenario the media’s label of Islamic terrorism has influenced people all over the globe, to an extent that the Muslims are looked at with suspicion everywhere.

This whole incident and a misjudgment by the media is another conformation as to how the media ought to be viewed and read with some level of skepticism.  

L’inspiration

There are few people in the fashion world that inspire me; one of them is Karl Lagerfeld. Being an avid follower of fashion Karl Lagerfeld is some one who never fails to captivate me, with his incredible fashion taste and a mixture of art and photography he has been enthralling the fashion world from 1982.

Lagerfeld is today the chief designer of Chanel the iconic fashion label started by Coco Chanel. Along with that he is also runs his own fashion house Karl Lagerfeld and is chief designer of Italian luxury brand Fendi. Lagerfeld is a pioneer in his very own way. He has to date managed to stay true and keep the essence of Chanel even years after the death of its founder Coco Chanel. The label was handed over to Yvonne Dudel, Jean Cazaubon and Philippe Guibourge but they managed to do very little to keep the label on top. In 1982 Karl Lagerfeld was hired as chief designer of Chanel.

Coco drew her inspiration form military uniforms during the World War II. Her aim was to create feminine cuts through men’s wear inspired designs. Chanel was one of the most iconic Haute Couture labels and still continues to be on top. Coco’s designs have tried to be copied by a number of other brands. They still continue to be big trends across runways all across the world. The Little Black Dress was first created by Coco Chanel in 1926, it has been imitated by almost every designer after in conception. The Chanel Baguette(bag) stands for class and sophistication is a staple in every fashion lover’s closet. If not the original one, there is definitely a cheaper substitute for the bag.

After her death in 1971 the label went through certain down fall. There were a few designers who were appointed to administer the label but they could not keep up to the legacy Coco had left behind. Its been 25 long years that the designer has been associated to the luxury brand. He stuck to what Coco did for the label. He managed to keep with its status of being perfect, unique and conventional but at the same time very classic and modern. He has since the beginning stuck to the roots of what Chanel has been known for. He maintains its classy edge and always bringing new life to Chanel’s original creations. The Chanel tweed coats, classic black dresses, crisp shirts are garments that will always stay in vogue one way or another.

Coco Chanel once said “Fashion is transitory. Style, never. Chanel is a style.” Lagerfeld has in every way lived up to what Coco Chanel said. 

Is it justified to disturb Mother Nature in the name of religion?

Be sure to find a Ganpati ‘mandal’ in every corner of the street this season. You won’t be able to miss it with the loud music and aimless burning of fire-crackers around. I sneak into one or two to get my share of ‘modak’. After sweetening my taste buds, it struck me- is the devotion of Ganpati stronger in comparison to that of Mother Nature? So, I found out.

  

Many devotees welcome home, worship and admire the size and beauty of the beautifully adorned idols, along with inviting guests who come from far off places to receive his blessings. Amidst of all the celebrations and socialization, there lies a threat to the environment on a large-scale. Only a few may acknowledge this problem, while other festival enthusiasts brush it aside.

Celebrating with eco-friendly Ganesh idols is a constant effort by many environment cautious people and has gained momentum over the past few years, which I’m glad about. Along the way however, there are some who feel that it dampens the spirit of the festival.

While talking to one of the residents in my locality, Madhur Avekar told me, “We have been welcoming the 20-feet Ganpanti to our locality for several decades now. Eco-friendly or not, it doesn’t matter as long it doesn’t come in the way of our rituals.”

When provoked further he said, “The weight of the idol is lighter and priced cheaper comparatively to clay. Not to mention, easily available.  This is a custom of our family and we will follow it every year religiously, environmental damage can be taken care of later on.”

“Later on”, that is a few weeks into the immersion of hundreds of idols across several water bodies of the country; effects of water pollution will still be visible. Marine life, such as plants and fishes choke on plastic bags and other decorations while some get trapped under the weight of heavy and tough-biodegradable statues. Chemicals from the color and cement of idols mix with water which is consumed by the fishes, who ultimately succumb to the fatal solution. Further, certain toxic materials cover the surface of the water, which prevents oxygen flow that can cause eutrophication, a process which destroys marine life completely.  Clearly, this fellow was not taught Environmental Studies in school.

Humans are not far behind, if fish and water consumed from such water bodies is consumed by us, it can cause food poisoning, breathing problem, skin and blood disease. Many do not understand the gravity of the situation and refuse to take caution because of the ‘holiness’ attached with the festival.

It is not only the marine life which gets polluted, air and sound pollution also sores during the 10 days of the festival. With thousands of people bursting music on loudspeakers and bands playing on drums and trumpets during the welcoming (Ganesh Chaturthi) and immersion (Ganesh Visarjan) of idols, it’s a field day for devotes who dance intoxicated and unhesitant to the tunes along with bursting fire crackers (gives them cheap thrills) which again causes sound and air pollution. This also disturbs sensitive living-beings such as infants, elderly and animals.

However, one cannot argue about the huge amount of employment that it caters to a section of seasonal workers. Artisans who mold Ganesha idols, carriers who provide for transportation such as trucks and vans, sweet-shops who specialize in making ‘modak’, tent-erecters, fire-cracker manufacturers, the bands and DJs, florists, ‘pundits’ who perform ceremonies, the list goes on..

Shreenivasan Reddy, an editor of a news channel is doing his bit to set a good example for others. His team has organized a ‘mandhap’ in Mahalaxmi, where an 18-feet Eco friendly Ganesha resides. The idol is made from 60% clay and 40% grass and bamboo. Reddy has left no stone unturned- they serve ‘prasad’ in hand and not plastic bags, minimum lighting is consumed as they mostly depend of fire lanterns and candles. Instead of a band/DJ, they have invited a ‘bhagan-singing’ crew who are going to sing throughout the procedure of immersion along with others who will carry hoardings and posters for the promotion of eco-friendly Ganesh idols.

Along with telecasting the entire celebration across the state they have also invited school children and enlightened them about the benefits of worshipping an eco-friendly idol. Which I feel, is the easiest solution to combat the issue and spread awareness. These kids will raise questions and demand for a clay molded idol next time from their parents.

Quiz him about the expenditure of the idol and he says that it cost them only Rs 1.5 lakhs which is fairly reasonable as compared to the ones made by toxic PoP materials. He feels that this price is worthy of paying in order to avoid getting our natural habitat into trouble. I couldn’t agree more. Hope that many may learn from this.

Palak Singh

3753 

Being Technologically Tarnished

They say you can connect with people around the world from your lap, but are you aware of the amount of fat that is getting deposited on your buttocks in the process? Communication is getting increasingly technologically driven. While this feeds the soul of many anxious people, I like to remain old-fashioned.

How often do you find yourself aimlessly surfing through Facebook trying to dish some dirt out of people you know or want to know? C’mon we all are guilty of doing that. Who knew Facebook could connect you to people around the world and those who you haven’t seen in ages. It’s freakishly addictive.

If you are one of those who upload your partying pictures the next day, while recovering from a hangover, join a board.

For all those single ladies out there, it’s possibly a ray of light when it comes to socializing with a variety of guys from the comfort of your home. For the guys, they are probably thinking, “Why is every girl making that duck face and throwing peace signs everywhere?”

Facebook is making the guys lazy. Nowadays the maximum they will do is ‘poke’ and ‘like’ one of her highly photo-shopped profile pictures. It’s a whole process you see, there are stages to it. It starts with a poke, and then comes the friend request, followed by an inbox message. That converts into an online chat conversation. And if he is not distracted by five other girls he is trying his luck on simultaneously, there is a possibility for things to graduate to another technology. Yes, cell phones. In pours the messages and possibly calls. Consider yourself absolutely obliged to ever step out to meet him. Chances are you won’t, because most of them don’t have a strong personality to hold an interesting dialogue with you long enough face to face. They would rather hide behind the, “Hey hw yu doin??” and “nm…….jus bored” messages. (How is a girl meant to find you interesting if you are perpetually bored?) Today if you get poked, nudged and pinged through technology, consider yourself attractive.

If you’re a nine-year-old girl competing to increase the number of people on your friend list while flaunting your blackberry during after-school tuition classes, my heart bleeds for you. Take care of a stray kitten or go climb a tree or something!

Another thing that gives this generation a culture shock is when parents join Facebook. Isn’t there an age limit? Well, there should be. My father is proud member of my block list and so are my distant cousins. Don’t worry they give each other company there.

For those who demonstrate their deep love with ‘wall posts’ such as, “Omg baby just four days left for our fifth week anniversary!” Firstly, anniversary is an annual event. You cannot have anniversaries based on weeks and month and secondly, call/text her. Don’t rub your mushiness on my face(book). 

I haven’t dared to step out in the world of Twitter and Blackberry Messenger. Although Twitter is a handy tool when it comes to passing on important information during desperate times such as calamities and attacks and connecting with prominent figures and celebrities, I don’t want to know how much you carve for chocolate ice-cream(it makes my hungry).

My friends practically begged me to get a blackberry cell phone so we could “stay in touch constantly”. I am sorry, I love you all but I like my privacy and I want to respect yours too. Those constant cribbing statuses from people I hardly want to know might just get the best of me someday.

Worst thing about blackberry owners is, when you are talking to them of something really important, all of a sudden they get a dying urge to check their latest BBM message and ignore your existence completely. At that time, I feel like chopping of both of their thumbs that are working so vigorously with such dedication to reply back. However I don’t. I just walk away. If this happens to you the next time, trust me, walk away.

It is high time people understood the value of being mentally and physically present while having a decent chat with you. It’s so much more personal and warm. Will those good old days ever come back? I see low network.

Palak Singh

3753