ACCUSED!!!!!!

It’s ironical for having heard such a term in a so called POSH and corporate world while I have the faint memory to connect the term with Police Law and judiciary.

I, Vaibhav Srinivasan, solemnly declare that this article is based on a true experience and some introspection, I encountered few days back in my “Air-conditioned” and creativity confined office campus, which stands erect as a beauty of modern day steel structure completely glossy and amusing in the SEZ outside city limits. Yes., Very same office building, the perfect capitalist in terms of current consumption when the whole state sacrifices their needs for few thousand machines and professionals working inside.

The incident was very simple. Late night beyond 11:30PM, house keepers were allowed to clean our floors and one young fellow, probably of my age has manhandled a small glass article kept on a table. The ability of the sweeper to enjoy the artistic beauty of the fancy doll kept in my colleague’s table was kindled and when he tried to do it away from the eyes of his supervisor, he had failed and in tension he dropped the same.

It resulted in a fuss created by his superior to show off. He scolded very badly and used the term accused. The poor fellow was sent out of the scene getting tagged as misfit and I met him at the corridor when I was on my way for a late night coffee. I took him along with me when I realized the tears rolling down his cheeks.

We were in the fourth floor corridor and he started to talk slowly after wiping his cheeks... Let me put the terms in his plain blatant style and of course I just translate here and surely no exaggeration. He started as…

(Pointing out to a distant place down) There can you see sir? Some small hill kind of thing... I am coming from a village near that hill. We were, of course, a happy family with my dad and mom being the Farming coolie and I was busy with my schooling. We had very little money. I was like all other village lads, who were benefited by the free education from Govt.

Rains betrayed us.. Tractors and other Farm Equipments completely ruined us.. There was no need for Farming coolie and then came the announcement from our Govt. Our Village, safely inside from the sea border, was identified as hot spot for SEZ. We were assured of regular jobs, development, infrastructure, connectivity and what not. For the first time in my life we all had dreamt of seeing our village turning like MADRAS!!  

Cars, internet, Tar roads.. Facilities to come and cater us... It’s going to employ us as well. We were asked to leave our lands and we left our huts and even an asbestos sheeted accommodation was given to us.

Land owners gave away their land to Govt. and were settled with prices. We, the landless laborers were either taken as security guards, or house-keeping assistants. Initially, my mom was washing plates in the cafeteria you eat and my dad was the security guard in Gate-2. Now that competition came for us from North and those guys were ready to grab our chances for very less wages. Helpless, we were… My dad is now sent out of job and he turned lunatic and my mom falls ill often and she couldn’t work well. When I had the dream of learning something artistic, now I am left with no other options to run my family.

He continued with lots of his own story. I came back to my seat and googled with some serious thoughts and here are my findings…

Suicides have become common nowadays. Be it IITian or a farmer… It is a serious problem now. In Tamil Nadu alone, number of farmer suicide occurrences were 500 in 2008 and 1260 in 2009. For a quintal of paddy, manufacturing cost is like 1500 INR and the acquiring cost by Govt. itself is 700-1100 INR.

Tamil Nadu’s demand of food grains annually is 170 Lakh tonnes while the production is just 80 Lakh tonnes. If Karnataka and Andhra doesn’t supply us food, my friend, we are on the verge of starvation. The cost of fertilizers too increasing and the land loses it productivity gradually due to chemicals.

Statistics shut me down and I seriously realized even the domination is in power supply. I started wondering in what way the SEZs are qualified enough to exploit our Agriculture and small-scale industries. I got reminded of my project mate in college, Prasanthi, with whom I had argued much and only now I realize that I had nothing worth arguing and even now I can’t let off my job and stop anything that’s beyond my control. 

I frankly admit that I am currently eaten up by present-selfishness rather than future worries. I want to eat today and so I earn... But when the fear of tomorrow’s food availability comes in me, I get worried. My community should not stay hungry. I am currently developing software which in no direct means would feed a hungry person. And in due process I am sure I would have indirectly exploited farmers to whom the land originally belonged to...

By all means, I tried to justify my stand. But despite doing that.. I admit I feel guilty..

No solution... Whatsoever from me!!!

Just the article ENDS and not my worries…!!!

Pictures courtesy: Google!!! :) 

How “Good” are we???

A small break between works always makes way for some self introspection. Here, I am with few observations, rather questions for which I am searching for answers amongst the readers…

The main aim of this article is to recognize and pull few hearts amongst the millions inside the limelight. What makes those few hearts very special?? I began to question myself for which I sum up the answers here that I got in the due process of arriving at the solution.

I point out to the honest tax payer who does not drop even a penny to a well-built beggar and who just crossed the politician known for looting in crores and distributing few hundreds to the beggar lot, busily posing at the press photo-clicks. You can find a person in his mid forties standing in that long-queue at the temple for dharshan when a young couple quickly jumps in between bribing that authority.

When millions suffer due to power-cuts, I find a person buying emergency lamps for Govt. school children facing board exams and ironically a private party celebration being thrown, stealing the grid power by the kid of a minister, probably tomorrow’s minister. When I do not find a cop at a signal, I wish it never turns red to avoid that self pricking and embarrassing testing time.

But at the very instant of red, I find a middle aged man signaling to followers that he is going to stop his vehicle. I watched the busy city folks overtaking him and laughing at him. 

 I met a person recently who busted out due to helplessness that he could not book a tatkal train ticket at the counter for his newly married daughter and son-in-law and for which he had come to station by even 4 AM. I could even hear his wife scolding him in phone for not booking. I could not stop myself from getting annoyed against that reservation staff patiently reserving for his sister-in-law and was coolly flirting wither over cell-phone.

Honesty is surely the best policy. But to what extent is my question?? You can find all kinds of people in all shapes of this society like Work, education, travel, prayers, worship, road-discipline, entertainment and so on. There are few colleges which get millions as black money for capitation and pay a huge sum for companies for mass recruiting.

 I find majority of people being focused to their families, working day and night and who are afraid to commit any mistake. They seem to focus on future and always believe and dream that there is a better tomorrow for them.

I myself am an example from such a lot. The moment I stepped out of my college, I had several dreams and plans to live for a cause and for the society, environment etc…But now after 7 months into my company, I totally am caught into the cob-web of self-centered thinking. Competition on one side and promises and hopes for a better tomorrow on the other drives me. I am guilty of changing myself according to the tunes of my masters. I never bargain these days and pay twice for products and I don’t bother to stop for RED signal when my followers blast their horns. I don’t wait for white board buses anymore. Time is ticking and so is my strength and enthusiasm. The willingness to achieve maximum & enjoy to the fullest extent when I am healthy and the literal fear of tomorrow drives my today’s life.

I contribute to pollution sitting in AC 24/7 and I have a lion’s share of net electric power being in city. I download songs from internet throwing IPR laws to trash bin. But, some inner voice pulls out my guilt feel and the result is this article. I wanted to portrait those minority people who still believe in following laws and who still feel happy and secured for not breaking the rules and who still believe something good will happen in the future.

I sometimes feel the advent of technology has brought equity to a certain level. People book in internet and there is no favoritism in any form.  People question and share any issue in social networking and media and it makes them aware of what is happening around. More importantly, they express out much.

Those minority lots inspire me to be an honest tax-payer, a civilized common man. I am still confused “How good I am??”  Now, its time for you to think!!! Feel free to discuss, argue and ponder on this. If even a small percentile of inner feel makes you think after reading this article, my guilt feel would reduce much.

To All My teachers!!!

When she stood tall there in the class and taught me how to write the alphabets, hardly I knew that she is lighting the lamp of my life. Like all, I cried in KG classes but from there I learnt what the teachers really mean to every individual. For every child, they are the first outsider whom they meet and who nourish their nurturing talents. But later we don’t even bother to mind our parents and blindly believe the teachers. We learn from them, and we even surpass them in knowledge. But, the gratitude we owe to them is something which one cannot repay in a lifetime.


We meet different teachers at different points of life and each one is different in their own aspects. Luckily for me, my teachers, both in school and college have been my role models and impact of them is seen in me in every aspect.
My school believed in the culturally sound “Guru-Sishya Parampara” and we even celebrated “Guru Poornima” on par with teacher’s day. In fact, I still remember few teachers who resembled a second mom and school being my second home.  My school taught me values beyond the books in which the teacher’s role was instrumental. School Teachers shape our dreams, drives and they even play a greater role in choosing our favorite subject to proceed on. We were even given a chance to handle the lower classes on this September 5 and it made me realize the pleasure in teaching.
College was fun and teachers were even friendlier. Never had I dreamed, I would call up a teacher on the eve of exam and get to know about a basic fundamental concept. How many times you ask, whenever you ask and where ever you stop them (I still remember learning a concept of fourier in canteen and my sir was patient enough), they are always eager, quench our thirst of knowledge.
This tradition even continues in office. Only difference is the way they are called… “Trainers”. Still, the tradition continues and will continue forever. I dedicate a sincere gratitude to all my teachers and I am sure they are the ladders for our heights. Happy teachers day to all!!
P.S: Tagging few of my teachers till date from school, college and Office here.  Thank you all!!