safety

Safety what is that?

In India we bring every game but never take precautions, charge fully but dont spend..because here everything is about getting rich faster.

We have read about 2-3 incidents in amusement parks in Chennai..one caused even death, still we go there and take our chances.

Yesterday a young life  was wasted in Bangalore in sky diving due to negligence and improper maintenance.

Four of our small cars failed the test in safety in crash...are we going to do anything about it?..No life just goes on...

People die when a boat capsizes in Andaman because in a capacity of 28 it was carrying 50...is there no one to check?

Train compartments catch fire and there are some casualties...

We have no time to look into any of these problems as we have more important things to worry about like 2002 riots and 84 riots..

Service tax and service charge

Today i saw in the paper, consumer court awarding one person damage where one restaurant charged him more as service tax. And I came to know one thing that restaurants can charge service tax only on 30% of the bill, because rest is considered raw material..but how many of us can contest or protest.

Recently I had dinner at one of the premium pizza restaurant in Phoenix mall, they charged service tax on the full amount( as far as I can remember) and then service charge also which was quite hefty amount around 5...600/..and when we demanded that service charge should be voluntary, they didnt agree..and though govt. has made a rule that packaged drinks or any item cant be sold for more than the MRP..nowhere you get at MRP..sometimes its thrice of that.....

I think govt. must look into billing of all the restaurants specially the upmarket ones, because its they who are fleecing the customers.Some people may say that we must boycott them, but practically it is not possible, because most of them  are doing it, secondly its what we appoint the govt. for.

Good ya Bad?

Most of the time people ridicule bollywood for its people's erratic behaviour, hypocrisy and diplomacy,selfish attitude and so many other things, but there are many  good trends there that we can follow them for, if we want to... like..

This is the only place where I have seen children  accepting their step mother or father without any bias, respective them and loving them, like I was touched by Shahid kapoor running to embrace Supriya pathak, Farhan being cordial with Shabana Azmi,Shruti Hasan praising Gautami(her fathers friend).

People loving  and accepting each other without any bias for caste..here  many successful marriages are between people of different religion even...like Shahrukh Gauri, Atul Alvira,Aamir, Kiran. They tell us to look beyond religion...

Most of the stars, once they become successful, are very generous to their siblings and extended family and have helped them establish them in their life...it teaches us that we must look after our family.

INFORMATION BLOG

For a long time I have been thinking of starting a space where we have first hand recommendations about anything and everything from genuine people.It can be of any city in the world. Like I am new in Chennai, so keep asking people about good doctors and tailors, like that. I will start a new blog for this but for the time being I am changing my cookery blog to this use  http://renu-merirasoi.blogspot.in/

Any body who knows some service in any city may leave a comment there and I will put that as the next post on that blog. But it should be personal experiences only and genuine recommendations. With that you can tell the bad services too, so that people may be aware of them.It could be a sort of helpline.

Please check for my firs recommendation:)

Low Land by Jhumpa Lahiri

LowLand by Jhumpa Lahiri

I have read almost all her books and like her writing, but this book is so different. It is about two brothers in Calcutta in 60's,One Suhbash goes to US for further studies and other Udyan joins naxals and when he is killed ,and his wife is pregnant, and his parents dont like her, so Subhash marries her and takes her to US. But she neither cares for him nor learns to do later, She doesnt even care about her child and leaves when her daughter is 6. In most of the novels of lahiri, women are self centred and do whatever pleases them without bothering about whether they are hurting others in the process or ruining someone's life. Here Udyan's wife is shown as  complete selfish person who takes advantage of her BIL's goodness.Its very sad to read that such type of people abound in today's times also.


I was reading Indian writers for a long time, so for a change, I read two books by Danielle Steel, but they are so predictable, Protagonists are always women, too good to be true, and always get 2-3 times married till they die:)..nothing real about her books.

Then I thought of reading Abandon by Pico Iyer..it totally went over my head...nothing tangible.

Oleander Girl....Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
My fav writer...It is about a young girl Korobi brought by her grandparents in Calcutta.In their home talking about her parents is not allowed.She is told that they died..mother while giving birth and father in an accident.She falls in love with Rajat and One day when she is getting ready to meet her future inlaws she gets an expereince beyond the realm of this world..like her mother's presence, then how she tries to find about her parents and come to know that her mother went  to US for studies and fell in love( inspite of promising her father that she wouldnt marry without his assent) with a professor and on top of that he was negro.She gets pregnant and comes back to convince his father to agree but instead he wants her to leave him.One day thru an argument she fell down and dies while delivering her. Her father comes to India but told a lie that his daughter also died.
Now she goes in the quest of his father to US where people are suspicious that she is out to blackmail them, she faces lot of problems and is supported by her agent's nephew and feels a soft corner for him and he also falls for her.In the end she find his father who loves her and she comes to know that she is an illegitimate child...an anathema to high society in Calcutta.Rest is all about her honesty and caring, how she wins everyone's heart.There is one place where while coming back from US, she tells her grandma that first she would go to her inlaws to clear all misunderstandings and then come home and she replies..yes that right, now you belong to them, but she says internally..that she belongs to both but today the need is to go there , tomorrow if she needs her more she will come here...such righteous thinking..I liked it

Now a days I am reading ..women's journey..Anees Jung

Modi and AAP

Just the other day I was discussing with my hubby about AAP and their national ambition and the next day I got endorsement for my views in an article in TOI.I admire them and feel good that they are there but for them to have a pan India ambition within four months..isnt it too much, too early? and will it do any good to the country?..NO..I dont think so, if they are really thinking of the country , then they must ponder upon it. Because the best they will be able to do is put a spoke in Modi:s fight, nothing more and they will bring a fractured mandate and khichdi govt...again the same inactive one because of multiple partners with their own agendas and country will again go the dogs.

They must concentrate on what they have got and try to bring something good in Delhi instead of giving freebies and stretching themselves beyond.Bringing Modi is the only way to have a stable govt at the centre and the one who is effective.We have tried congress for so many years and coalition govts also, now they also deserve a chance,we must try them,if they dont deliver there is always a chance to throw them out after 5 years.

EFFICIENCY

Is it a disadvantage to be too efficient? everybody thinks of efficiency only in positive way only, but practically i have seen that sometimes it brings lot of disharmony in life. Like there is this friend of mine, who is super efficient in everything in her house, everything is done at the right time, everything put at the right place, she has been like that from the beginning.Now the problem arises because she can only praise some one or appreciate when that person is better than her, because for her thats the bar to qualify and not many people come up to that, so she makes others unhappy and at the same time she also gets stressed out. Had she been sloppy or lazy, she would have admired everybody and made them happy because not many people in this world try to be worthy of praise and appreciation, they just want it for what they are.....

Like when somone says that she is over worked as she looks after the children and at the same time does the house work,I wonder what is so big about it or what is so big about it I have dont it all the time and been happy with it...

So one thing must be understood that we get praise either from the people who look upto us for some reason, or we must do something to deserve it, children can be encouraged with appreciation for little things but in adults they have to qualify with some hard work and consideration...

Reservation and freebies Politics

I have never supported any type of reservation anywhere be it in education or jobs or promotion. Because everywhere merit should be the only criteria to have a good society. So I felt very disheartened when our new enlightened party people  said that they would like to do reservation in Delhi colleges for local people. Its again a divisive politics nothing else. They should concentrate on opening more schools and education institutions and try to better the present ones.In a country there should be no boundaries, otherwise  all states may start this notion and then there will be no end to it. On out side we are looking at global world and inside we are getting so narrow minded.
We must stop this mentality of privileges anywhere( yes reservation is only a privilege given to few..may be in any form).In the new order of the world,everybody must be equal...no special consideration for any one ,on any base..be it gender or caste or domicile anything....

And no freebies anywhere...politicians may distribute anything they want to, from their own money but not from the tax payer's pocket.When you see the train reservation, there so many categories for concessions, when its a question of allotting plots or flats, again there are so many....many rich and influential get plots for nothing under the garb of opening hospital, school or some artistic academy and then no one even knows of follows what happened to them .On one side we dont have money for good infra structure, on the other side politicians are distributing everything..whatever they fancy..I strongly feel that nobody should get anything free..poor or rich, they must work for it...

NEED TO PRIORITISE

THE CONFUSED NATION THAT WE ARE...  
 A policeman kills a leopard that is actually attacking a villager, and instead of being felicitated he is booked for the crime of saving a human being at the insistence of some Wildlife Organisations.

A nation where: 
* Rice is Rs.40/- per kg and SIM Card is free.
* Where a pizza you have ordered reaches home faster than an ambulance or police, even if you were being murdered or having a heart attack!!! 

A nation where: 
* A car loan is charged at 5% but 
Education loan, so necessary for our youth is charged an interest of 12%.

A nation where: 
* Students with 45% get into elite institutions through the quota system, and
* Those with 90% are sent away because of merit.

A nation where: 
* A millionaire buys a cricket team, spending crores instead of donating the money to any charity. 
 A nation where: 
* Two IPL teams were auctioned at 3300 crores, 
* Yet we a poor country where millions don't get two square meals per day. 
 A country where: 
* Ordinary salary tax payer is punished/fined for error in paying little less in tax, 
* But the IPL collecting thousands of crores has not paid any income tax  
and no body has any issue about it. 
 A country where: 
* Footwear is sold in AC showrooms, 
* But the vegetables we eat, are sold on the footpath and very often next to garbage dumps. 

Its a strange nation we live in, 
* Where assembly complex buildings get ready within a year,while 
* Public bridges, flyovers and sea links take several years even to get off the drawing board, and another decade to be completed. 
* We have malls, and sky-rises, with slums forming their boundary wall.

A country where: 
* Men and women squat on railway tracks, with no where else to go, while * Watching them from windows, are couples (just 'Two') with three bathrooms and one for the guests. 

A country where: 
* Politicians who are supposed to serve the people accept money from the same people they are supposed to serve, andthen 
* Take a salary from the government for their services to these people. 

We are a nation: 
* Where we talk in hushed whispers about the corruption in the country and then 
* Dig into our pockets to bribe a cop when we are caught cutting a red light. 

A country: 
* Where to get small service in Govt. needs a minimum qualification of graduation, but 
* No qualification is required to run the same Govt. (get elected!). 
 A country: 
Where our soldiers defending our borders, when jailed by neighbouring  countries, are tortured & not even provided proper food/ facilities, but 
The militants from across the borders when in our jails are served  biryani on demand. 
  Think about it & Why can't we do something about it.  

source..email

After a long time

I have neglected my blog for last one month and havent even replied to the comments and I am really sorry for that.And I dont want to go into the reasons even, because they may be only excuses. Because I firmly believe that whatever we want to do, we do it, and take out time for that.

I envy the people who remain the same despite ageing because in myself I find lot of change. My choices in everything have become quite different and so the way of living..( though even earlier I was nevr impressed with anyone's money or attire).like When I hear people talking with awe....

So and so is buying every saree for 20-30 thousands and spending so much  money on marriage..
Their party was awesome, so high end, they must have spent a bomb..
He bought a house for this amount and furnished it so well....
They take a yearly vacation abroad

and so many other such things which dont find any importance in my life..for me that money is important which is spent on good cause, or that life or event is worth sharing where it made any difference to somebody's life..personal extravaganzas and opulence for individual material satisfaction have no importance for me and dont feel like talking about them.Whether its in relatives or friends or acquaintances, I fail to understand why people highlight it.

I prefer to talk and listen about something new happening anywhere, some new innovation, or about people who are changing so many things on this planet, like the other day I read about someone who has started Gram power in villages like a prepaid electricity....There is so much happening everywhere...how can people find so much interest in mundane things and that too in others....do something yourself....

so my motto for new year is....

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” —Mark Twain

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!