Odisha: The Eastern Shangri-La

Did you know that a state called Orissa exists in Eastern India? Of course you do, right? But how much do you know about it? States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and even Goa have quite a lot of popularity amongst the people, due to obvious reasons, but my native state, Orissa remains, sadly amongst the shadows. Mind, I’m calling it ‘Orissa’ because that’s probably the way you have heard about it. But actually, a few months back, the name changed to ‘Odisha’. Well, I just thought I’ll give you a little insight into it.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember much of my childhood days there (except for maybe swallowing two tea spoons of salt at once and also shaving my non-existent moustache with a razor). Thus I’ll give you an account of what I’ve learnt about the state after I left it, and also on my frequent visits there.

Orissa is unique in the quality of its roadside food and also innovative foodie manipulations. For example, have you ever tried pouring water over cooked rice, let it kinda ferment for a day and then eat it?? Sounds weird, but it is actually one of the biggest delicacies in Orissa, called the ‘Pakhala’. Throw in a few pieces of fried fish and mashed potato, and you have one of the most delicious meals ever!.. And since we are such foodies, we just give feasts to all the people living nearby, for just about everything: Birth, Death, Birthdays, Death Anniversaries, Success in the exams, you name them..

Moving on to the people there. One prominent factor about them (I am no longer under the habit) is that they love their sleep. Love as in, Mania! They will never compromise on their sleep. In the afternoons, even the busiest parts of the city lapse into silence (broken frequently by loud snores, of course). But, the people there are really very hard working and sincere. Helpfulness is often an in-built feature among the Oriya (Odia) people. A shopkeeper will never hesitate to guide (or even lead) you to his rival’s shop, if the need be.

Another interesting feature of my fellowmen is that they are satisfied quite easily. They won’t care for big money or big fame. They don’t care about using intensive farming techniques for increasing their yield as long as their tummies are getting filled. Of course this does reduce the high profile robberies there, but ambition is a quality that is often felt missing. Many people do blame that factor for the backwardness of the state.

Well, those were most of the unique and interesting features of my state. I’ll conclude by saying that I am extremely proud of the fact that I belong to Odisha and I sincerely hope, it does develop and reach new heights!

Cheers!

~~Sushobhan Parida

Call of Honour.

“Constitution is for a real union of the Indian people, built on the basic concept of sovereignty of the people, to ensure them Justice. That is the real spirit of the Constitution.”

- Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel

Presently, there’s quite a great movement going around against corruption embodied by Anna Hazare’s determination to provide a solution through the lokpal bill. It’s quite remarkable to see people from all walks of life amalgamated to support him through peaceful and non violent resentment against the government’s belated anti corruption actions. It is indeed pride worthy for all Indians to participate and to support his movement against corruption. Anna Hazare’s movement has popular support making it easier to carve an anti corruption revolution throughout the country, but various thoughts accompanied with erroneous dynamism might have some serious repercussions on the impression that it leaves of the constitution of India on the people’s minds.

One of the obvious impression being the despise of the constitution of the country is that it is considered long as sluggish, long winded ,another opinion going even to the farthest extent saying

” Dream, just a hollow dream. Isn’t it? Ask yourself. Are people of India ‘really united’ as one nation? Or are we seeing with the very naked eyes the abrasive reality of politics based on region & religion? Are the people ‘the real sovereigns’? Or is the power a game of money & muscle for few elites? Is common man at the receiving end of the justice? Or does the figure of one judicial proceeding behind every 25 persons of India demystify the reality that Justice is being chased, on & on for months, years, decades? A horde of question marks, in a vain pursuit of few full stops!”

Such opinions are indeed frank and just, at the first glance, but the first line introducing the issue indirectly question the constitution of India. India is sovereign and the sovereignty is exercised by the people owing to the fundamental rights provided by the constitution. The fact that behind the hardships that a common man faces are indeed revealed through such mass protests and agitations like the ones seen recently, which is appreciable but they shouldn’t be ever exercised to despise of the county’s constitution, making it an inaccurate discussion or protest. For instance, even the face of the lokpal bill Anna Hazare refrains from undermining the importance of the constitution but seeks to reform it rather than abusing it, even after having struggled to bring change for decades through peaceful protests and selfless, serene efforts

The people should today come to realize that the constitution of this country is the identity provider to the nation, amending itself continuously through parliamentary procedures to meet modern day- common man grievances. No democracy in the world can sustain and pay heed to the views of 1.21 billion people through a channelized framework. We are indeed fortunate to have an unprejudiced constitution giving people opportunity to present their opinions through peaceful means and affecting decision making process through a legal system bestowed by the constitution. For instance , a biased constitution had lead to civil war in Sri lanka due to the majoritarianism approach adopted by the constitution, in 1989 in china ,thousands were killed as troops were send to crush peaceful pro democratic protests owing to the communist government type adopted. It might be frustrating for the common man to watch a law been made, then passing through long parliamentary procedures but that’s the process one has to adopt to sustain a democratic framework. It is indeed infamous for belated decisions but those decisions are indeed successful for at least the maximum number of people the law addresses to.

Indeed there is an urgent need of amendment of several laws as they become old and inefficient corresponding to current scenarios, but that has to happen through views, thoughts, conventions etc. keeping a patient and positive mindset. The Jan lokpal bill provides a remarkable example with activists using their rights as their support and the public opinion as their aide. Our laws and rights are indeed the cement that holds the nation with honour; you can always repair them, but never entirely replace them.

~~Prasoon Mehta

Thy Art- A Dream !

It was a rainy morning, the first time i saw her!

It was a quick glance, the first thing i stole from her!

It was a heart beat, that it took for me to realise!

It was a smile, that confirmed : she felt the same!

My heart ached for a word, her face produced a smile!

My butterflies came alive, on her face came the life!

My mouth went dry, her eyes went searching!

My eyes were feasting, her hair was blowing!

It had to blossom, It had to live!

I had to do it, or I had to lose!

I chose to do, and that for my loss!

I said the words, and recieved a smile!

All was well, All thy plan!

All thy gift, All thy art!

It was then, came the roar!

"Son, wake up,you have an exam today"!

~~Sarath Menon

Lokpal - A Brief Insight

The crowd becomes larger each time. The lathi charge/warnings of the police does not deter it, the appeals by the govt does not move it. It is mersmerised by a single sight –an old man sitting cross- legged on the floor,who has been fasting since dawn. Reminds us of the pre-independence times, when Gandhiji challenged the British authorities in much the same way. This time the fight is even bigger- the fight against corruption.

But before taking up this fight/before taking up banners and marching to the Ramlila Maidan, lets make sense of what we are actually demanding. Lets at at least think about how the Jan Lokpal Bill plans to fight the evil of corruption.

The Jan Lokpal Bill aims to counter corruption at every level of governance, excluding not even the Prime Minister. The Lokpal, once established will be supervised by the EC,making it free from all ministerial and governmental influence. And perhaps the most admirable feature of the Jan Lokpal Bill is the time limit it has set to tackle all cases of corruption (it’s a max of two years).

But apart from all these remarkable features, there are a few others which need to be highlighted-

1) The Lokpal will have all police powers including the authority to register FIRs.
2) The Lokpal will be the only institution to tackle all corruption charges. All existing anti-
corruption govt agencies will be merged with the Lokpal itself.
3) There is no provision in the Bill by which any decision taken by the Lokpal can be challenged or questioned by any court.

All these put together, make the Lokpal a completely autonomous and independent institution,
making it free from being accountable to any higher authority. But what if the Lokpal itself
gets consumed by the very evil it is fighting? What if the Lokpal itself gets corrupt? As it is, any
corruption charges against the judges of the Lokpal will be investigated by the Lokpal itself.
The lokpal has given itself absolute power regarding any matter related to corruption. But
power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I am not of the opinion that corruption does not need to be tackled. Especially after the recent
scams that have been uncovered, it is essential that every Indin takes up the fight against
corruption. Its time to take drastic steps to fight graft. And the Jan Lokpal Bill is an admirable
step in that direction. Only, it needs to be revised, it needs to be improved. But lets not dampen
our enthusiasm and lets continue the fight against corruption.

Jai Hind

- Nikita Mirchandani

Some tricks to become a Pro Conversationalist

Person 1: Hey wassup?
Person 2: Nm. Going to colg. Wbu?
Person 1: Hmmm..
Person 2: ummm..k.hey i gtg..bye..cya..tc
Person 1: K..bye!!
The above convo is one of the best examples of a convo gone wrong! How many times has it happened to you, that the excitement of meeting someone fizzled out just because you didn't know what to say? This is not an unusual phenomenon, it happens to all of us! Many a times after saying goodbye to someone, we end up feeling that the interaction COULD have been better. So what is the solution to this? Believe me, it does not take a great conversationalist to liven up a meeting..
Here are two handy 'tricks' to save a dying convo, or to make sure you don't end up prematurely terminating your dialogue..

Trick 1: The 'old friend' technique
Many a times, the reason people don't open up to you soon, is because of the lack of 'TOTAL' comfort. We, as human beings, are naturally inclined to be reserved while dealing with someone we don't know too much. Then how do we break through this wall without too much of effort? The key is understanding unconscious perception.

Whenever we meet someone, the way we behave and talk with the other person creates an impression of us in his SUBCONSIOUS mind. He/she may not realise this, but this subconscious impression tends to influence his attitude and mindset towards us.

So how do we create the right impression? It dosent take too much..just be AT EASE! And the way you can do so is..IMAGINE THAT THE oTHER PERSON IS ONE OF YOUR OLDEST
FRIENDS, WHOM YOU ARE MEETING AFTER MANY YEARS. This may seem a little weird initially, but psychological studies have shown that it truely works! When we behave with
someone as if he is an old friend, his mind immediately recognises the 'friendly' signals and gets comfortable interacting with you. This increased ease livens up the
interactions which otherwise would have been quite dull. It may be difficult at first, but once you get used to it, just see how you and others (even those people whom you aren't too comfortable with) get along!

Trick 2:The 'repetition' technique
This technique is more of a 'trick' than last one. And a complete 'no-brainer' at that! Every conversation can be imagined as a tennis game. When you start a conversation, you basically 'serve'. This puts the ball in the other person's court. He has to strike back by replying to you. Now, the problem occurs when the ball is in YOUR court but you don't know what to say (how to strike)! This can be seen in the conversation example I gave at the beginning of this article..

'Person 1: Same here! Njoying colg life..
Person 2: Cool..'

Here the ball was in Person 2's court but he had no idea what to say! So what should he have done to avoid the blunder of saying something as dull as 'cool'? This is where the 'repetition technique' comes into play. What the guy should have said is- "Njoing colg life? Cool.. How?' As you see, this isn't too intelligent, but it does the job, as it puts the ball directly in Person 1's court! As a result of this simple question, Person 2 makes Person 1 elaborate on his college life,
thus bringing up new topics for discussion.
So the basic idea is this..Whenever you sense that you have nothing interesting to say, just ask the other person something directly related to his LAST WORDS TO YOU.Repeat it if needed (but intelligently..don't overdo it).


Hope the above two techniques help you the next time you don't wanna abruptly end your chats with people \m/
Post by
~~ Sachin Joglekar

PROF DRAIN

“Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions.” ~Author Unknown

Today’s India possesses almost everything. Latest technology, brands, cars, you name it. Agreed, most of the poverty-stricken do remain poverty-stricken, but barring these few sad aspects, our country is definitely in a respectable position.

One aspect, however, that is conspicuously missing for quite some time, but the pangs of which are being felt since recently, is the absence of good, professional teachers in our country, especially in the grad and post- grad levels. The question that obviously rises is: Why? Why do so few people follow the academic path? Why is that, barring a few premier institutions (like ours.. :D), the others have sub-standard and under-qualified faculty? Why does the academia from our country prefer settling abroad, rather than teach here? The questions are many, the answers are not so..

One of the prime reasons is the mushrooming of the various coaching centers across the country. Though it is indeed, knowledge being imparted here, the main issue here is the money involved. The teachers and lecturers are literally auctioned for, by the various institutions. Under-handed politics and a lack of commitment toward the students is a direct consequence. This would not have been the case if the respective person had joined a proper institution or college (like ours.. :D). With teachers changing colleges every six months, the professionalism just crumbles.

Another possible reason is the lack of recognition and dignity of a professor, at least one who is teaching in a governmental institution. The pay is not so good, and the respect is obviously lacking. Evidently, not very good reasons for one to stay here. Hence, the emigration. At least in the States, you get a good pay, a peaceful life, and the proper status that the position of a teacher demands. I am not saying that we insult our profs here.. (or maybe we do, at least in the Osmania University), but, for example how many Indian profs do you see appear on NatGeo or Discovery. One may think them as trivial, but it surely matters a lot to the prof(and his family) if his ideas are shared on TV. So this is also one of the factors we have to look upon.

Okay, enough to the problems, now to the solutions. Not that there are many.

· The first thing we should do, is to definitely increase the pay and credibility in all the professional Govt. institutions.

· Attracting the youth to the teaching path is also a required path to follow. Advertise the benefits of the profession, make it more attractive, and the people will come. The same scenario was recently seen in the intake of officers through the UPSC.

· Strict guidelines and rules must be imposed upon the coaching institutions regarding their hiring of teachers. (not that I am advertising Aarakshan.. :D)

· Interactions with profs with students even from schools must be encouraged.

These are but few of the many things we can do, to improve the education in our country. Cummon people, we need teachers. They are essential for our country’s development. Moreover, it certainly does not help if they are contributing to another country’s development. So let’s strive to make India one of the better places for education.

Cheers..!

Post by:

~~Sushobhan Parida

The Other side.

Ah well!!! Was strolling this morning after having breakfast when i saw countless caterpillars lying dead on the walkway...kinda made me sad (can't people be a bit more careful while walking...) Anyways coming to the point ,it started a discussion in our friend circle which was completely idiotic ,but at the end of it made me see something in a whole new light..Here's how it went...
"Are they stupid?? They know they die...and yet they come up here. why cant they
just lie there in the grass!!!" ...
To this one guy replied" Maybe they are bored with the grass on their side...maybe this is
a risk they are willing to take to explore the other side of the walkway"
Well considering the size and complexity of their brains... the fact that the caterpillars may give this a thought is highly unlikely...but just made me wonder...
So many people live such lives, full of fear, scared to cross over from their side of the grass , to explore something new. So they stay in their comfort zones. Sure they live safe lives ... no failure ... no dishonour. But then there are those who venture out in the open. Confronting challenges, trying something new...These are the people who face failure,defeat , humiliation...like the caterpillars who lie crushed on the walkway ... but they fight through it all ... and when they succeed they enter a beautiful new world... a world, the people who chose to play it safe will never see......
But as they say ... is it worth the risk?
Well... I am no authority to comment on that. You are.
But trust me . There is a feeling in trying for something that seems impossible that is better than
anything in the world !!! A inner satisfation that you tried, irrespective of the outcome . So go out there and live your dream... cross over to the other side... Do then PSoC project that you
had thought of but never did, start writing a book , take a bike trip to some mountain, try golf or go karting ,ask the girl out who you have always loved...
Do anything and everything that makes you happy. Makes you feel alive.
You have one life...And unless someone comes up with a Time machine sometime in the near future you aren't getting these days back. So go out there. Explore . Discover. Create. Love .
(I know am starting to sound like the guy from Guzarish :P so stopping here)
HAVE FUN!!! And enjoy your pursuit... to The Other Side. :D