Child-like and Childish!

I am a child. I want to keep reminding me this because otherwise I will cease to be one! The drawback in ceasing to be a child is we tend to become more complex, rational and practical by killing all the child-like innocence, magic, magnanimity and simplicity.

I still remember how I enjoyed moving in a certain path which came to my mind and not just walk straight, how I did things twice or even thrice for some heart felt goodness, how I shouted yeeeeeeeeee into the skies and believed I can fly, how I watched stars all night trying to spot Venus (literally as it was the brightest star). I did a lot of things during my childhood that I want to keep doing. Without a logic to it, without being rational and without being practical for w while! I want to be child-like forever, whenever I can.

When I was actually a child, I was also probably jealous, possessive and adamant about certain things. Well, that is how all children are, aren’t they? This is something we don’t want to carry up into our adulthood otherwise which we remain childish and not child-like any more. While it is good to be child-like, I feel it is absurd to be childish.

Grown up and in a madly practical world, I thoroughly enjoy being with friends and love to take pranks, jokes and satires from them alike. For this gives me an opportunity to live my ‘Be a child’ philosophy. But I would definitely want my friends, and in fact request, to not brood over something that I might have done while I was a child to such a level that it ceases to be a joke and starts to be an intolerable, pungent, spoiler. I loathe the fact how some friends enjoy it so much trying to prove God knows what? Such instances while spoiling all the child-like reliving we are doing together, make them look outright childish.

Unfortunately, to kill the ill effects of such childish poke, the only shield that worked was to kill my child-like philosophy during those times and be a practical and serious adult.

I would also like to take this article as an excuse to thank all my childhood friends for being part of my wonderful growing up and also extend a sorry if I hurt someone back then. Remember, I was only a child back then! Grow up and steal moments of child-like living by joining me in the fun. But dont spoil your adult life by being childish, if you are being one!

Photo Desc (Left) : In my PPI(Pre Primary I), how I won the first prize for drawing out something I remembered from my stellar viewing the night before.

Photo Desc (On the top) : Jack and Jill went up the hill...I was the Jack!

Mass Hysteria in the air!

Fact: As I landed in Dallas/Forth worth International airport in the year 2009, the world press reported a case of Mass hysteria in Forthworth where 34 people were sent to the hospital after they complained about having symptoms when they mistakenly thought they had been exposed to carbon monoxide.
From Dancing Mania in 1500s to Halifax Slasher to the more recent New Delhi Monkey man and Forthworth carbon monoxide, Mass Hysteria has been seen regularly among people. The following article is about one such, but more mysterious and undetected mass hysterias…
Educated Masses are people who are well educated, professionals, good earners (for themselves). This species do not care for their contribution to society and follow many others in their species blindly, with little or no time to innovate and contribute to society by stop being a victim of mass hysteria. All of them together are lost in a race of something they don’t need- Desires as they are called, as against needs! Desires keep them so busy that hey have no time left for anything else. From unwanted cars to unwanted bungalows and houses in plenty, they amass everything. Unfortunately, this is contagious and you don’t want to be the other animal in your set of species.
I hope all my readers are the elite class and none fall into this class of species. But there is an imminent threat that you might be sucked into this kind of species (Didn’t I tell you they are contagious)… You know what you can do if you find this animal? Start a catalytic chain reaction of contention (as against greed) to stop a catastrophe. Be the starting point of contention and start a revolution.

PS: Original article cut short by the author to save a war!

Project Aadhar- Don’t we deserve something better?

Social Security Number. I was asked to apply for one as soon as I landed in the US. My medical insurance, my drivers’ license and all my details are tied up to this one single number. Some people went up to extent of saying that I cannot continue for long in the US, without this number. I always wondered why would something called a social security number be my national identification number. I started looking out for some gyan on this and to my relief I found that facts are different!

The Privacy Act of 1974 in the US clearly ruled out mandating SSN for identification purposes when it stated “It shall be unlawful for any Federal, State or local government agency to deny to any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law because of such individual's refusal to disclose his social security account number.”

Now that leaves it at a par in purpose of use where we use our Indian voter’s ID, or a PAN number or even a ration card which along with serving a particular purpose identifies a citizen, it being a government issued card. Its nothing more than a number assigned to a wonderful system of government that brings you the benefits against old age, health, unemployment, and other risks.

Now the SSN is only a number, mistaken for national identity of an individual because of heightened dependency of the agencies that want to recognize an individual. Now, I always find it tough to understand the utility of a Multipurpose National Identity card, an initiative by Government of India’s Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) division, which has a conservative estimate standing at 150,000 crore rupees budget.

The primary purposes , the masterminds from the government claim, are save elections from rigging, stop widespread embezzlement of funds, prevent illegal immigration and hence terrorism from external sources. I say, elections that come once in a blue moon does not need a massive program like this one, embezzlement is primarily due to corrupt politicians and administrators, Internal security is a bigger risk than external threats for India now with the rise of Maoists and Naxalite movements.

Civil liberty is a big blessing of any democracy. Now, is someone wants to centralise everything and want to see what I do to eat to what I do to save. And from where I get treated to where I invest, my liberties are at stake. UIDAI itself admitted that there is no legal framework supporting this massive budget, overly ambitious project. Clearly civil liberty is at stake!
If that were not enough, if some corrupt politician or an administrator sells this information even in little chunks, it’s a huge security issue. Security of the system and hence the individual is at stake.

No doubt the best of minds have been roped in to lead this project. I am proud India wants to do something of this scale. Jingoism aside, shouldn’t I be thinking the real usefulness of this project. Shouldn’t we first think about creating a social security system like that in the advanced countries, for ourselves. India needs it more than any other country with majority of the population under poverty line and earning less than a dollar a day. So called benefit programs are limited to people in formal working sectors only. Most of the India population is not in that segment. Like in the US, UK, Japan, France and other countries, we should have a system which protects all, and not just who are self sufficient already, from old age, retirement, health, employment and other risks.

Now that is what is called a justified budget and useful investment by a responsible government, and see how everyone applies for a card for themselves, which can then be used for identification or whatever you need to do.

http://uidai.gov.in/

Cyclone Laila

Elusive are the ways of Mother Earth! When people have been complaining of extreme heat, sunstrokes and raising toll due to soaring mercury, strikes Cyclone Laila.


Incessant rain, gushing winds, uprooted trees, twisted signboards and dead cattle as against scorching sun, humid winds, parched trees, shining signboards and dead cattle again. 180-degree change, in weather, in less than 2 days. The common thing in both the extremes is the damage. To cattle, crop, property and human life is not spared too.

Hurricanes and Tornadoes are a constant threat in the West too. When nature strikes, the so-called Great economies are no exception. Massive destruction and loss of lives are a characteristic of any such natural calamities. Talking of natural calamities, these hurricanes and cyclones are smaller compared to Earthquakes and Tsunamis.

The world’s deadliest cyclones occurred in the Indian sub subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Burma and Bangladesh). Low-lying cyclone threat prone areas and excessive population, along with nonchalant attitude of political machinery who care not for people who elected them.

There is only so much Mother Earth can take. We don’t care for the nature, cut trees, pollute and don’t do things to subside ill effects of pollution. As if this were not enough, a little money will put our entire common sense to rest. We start buying bottled water to dump plastic, aerosol filled fresheners and whatever else it takes to burden earth. Paradoxically, countries that burden the most seem to have not-so-much affect from this nature’s give back.

Mother Earth’s give back is a certainty if we don’t stop burdening her and start acting responsibly. How I wish, Mother Nature could see international boundaries when striking back. As insane as it may sound, I meant, shouldn’t the poor people be spared from the sins of economically lunatic peoples’ acts?

When my mind speaks...

Will my mind speak? Well, minds can speak, laugh, sing, mimic, act, write, erase, sleep and among many other things also think. However, speaking, I feel, is the most expressive form of one's thoughts. So I choose to call my blog the title you see 'when my mind speaks' because I don’t want to sound funny by saying 'when my mind thinks'. I always think, or for that matter minds always think. It’s research-proven that thinking minds determine a person. No wonder all self-help books are filled with thoughts on thinking, and now a days, no book is spared. Back to 'when my mind speaks' as against 'when my mind thinks', I think always but you bet that I don’t want to share everything on the blog, just like you (or your minds) don’t speak everything you think of!
So with that little icebreaker para and a conversation-starter, I hope I have justified the title of my blog. However, as I claim on my social networking profiles, I am an extrovert and a people person, So all thoughts from my friends and everyone will be considered seriously and if I change the title of my blog you know you have influenced my mind to speak your mind. So all comments and contests are a welcome.I promise you I am not rigid and am ready to speak your mind if you can convince my mind to speak your mind. I double promise you, I will give public credit to that mind!