Wednesday, October 29, 2008

freedom unlimited!

Plenty of Freedom is available to an Indian. In addition to the six freedoms…he can enjoy himself many.
He can smoke a cigarette in a bus at his will. He can grab err... borrow a news paper from a stranger at public places and the stranger would only be pleased to collect the remnants, if any, later.
He can talk on a phone while driving a two-wheeler, leaning one side, holding the instrument between his raised shoulder and ear, and exhibiting acrobatics that would result in a nightmare to the others on the road.
He can talk so deafeningly in public places that he may be reminded to speak only through phone, else he may be heard at the other end even without using one.
He can buy a ticket in black market to watch a star’s movie that campaigns against corruption in the society. He can also sacrifice his precious life, just as our elders did to free us from the British, to see his favorite hero’s film.
He can as well pour milk on the lifeless statues in the name of cleansing while millions are starving. Can cleansing with milk would absolve a person of his misdeeds?
He can gift swords and spears to their leaders to fight battles…electoral not the real war for establishing peace in the society.
He can promise even a moon to each voter before election and still cannot be questioned if none of them are kept up after.
When his party is in power ‘students should keep themselves away from politics’…while in the opposition’ it becomes the sacred duty of a student to be in active politics and fight against the government.’ Isn’t it topsy turvy of freedom of speech!
Our freedom on the road ends where the hidden trench dug by the cable workers begins. We can as well park our vehicle anywhere, till a dent on it or a theft of a player brings our sovereignty to an end. Ease our self at our will but be sure that we are not caught unaware by our subordinates-this may tarnish our image in the office, leave alone asserting our independence. We are free to use a cell phone while driving but soon our number may permanently respond
‘…out of calling area.’

first show

Can we call it life…if we can’t see the movie the very first day and the very first show? So tempting it is! But sometimes it may also mean the end our life. Is there a way out? Float an association or a fan club of a star, add sobriquets- ‘the President, the Secretary and so on of All India Association of X star’-to ourselves, have a letterhead printed and make a request for the movie tickets in writing. The manager of the theatre is forced to provide us a few tickets. Sell some of them in the black market and get back our initial investment. Further if our star enters the politics (it’ll happen when he turns sixty) we are assured of tickets not only for a movie but also for the Assembly. Serve a star now to serve the people in future.

fake voters

After stamps, currency and certificates now it’s the turn of voters.
In some areas the number of voters exceeds the population figure. Isn’t it staggering?
Right place to set up the National Academy of Magic…who says magic and magicians are not receiving support? Even the just born seems to have great faith in Democracy and every one is so eager to vote. Perhaps that is the reason why the voters’ turn out at the polling booths some times reaches 100 per cent. (The EC erroneously attributes it to the rigging) Thanks to the Democratic awareness of the people. Given an opportunity, our voters are competent enough to enroll themselves in the voters list on the Mars too (if there is an attempt to prepare one) no matter whether the scientists could find the traces of life.
The Election Commission can employ the GPS (Global Positioning System) to locate the households and weed out the bogus voters. How about seeking NASA’s assistance for satellite pictures! The opponents may also seek the support of Spielberg to create the non-existent voters or a Jadugar to perform the tricks of vanishing and emerging of voters.

voters' wishes

Crazy wish list differs from person to person and profession to profession.
A govt. employee wishes that he should be paid IT free salaries and he will be happier if they are paid twice in a month where as a retired employee would be pleased if the DA due is sanctioned.
The promise of free power-To counter its impact on the electorate the ruling party should broaden the same to cover free cable TV and garner the votes of women folk. Distributing air coolers to beat the baking heat of the sun may consolidate their position further.
A student may wish to have his midday meal with mineral water and a matinee show ticket. The qualifying marks in EAMCET may be reduced to an abyssal level that all the appeared candidates are eligible for the admission. As people have become so artful these days there is no need for arts courses.
A policeman wishes for a right to beat up the ones who question him and a law that states that encounters can never be fake. And the champions of civil liberties wish that the police have no human rights.
The farmers of the drought-ridden areas wish that their leaders of international repute should see that IBRD should also advance consumption loans to the individuals to get over the severe drought, by organizing loan melas and eventually loan waivers.

copy cats

The terms ‘copy and paste’ and ‘cut and paste’ are widely used these days in the field of word processing. But copying is ubiquitous in all fields for a long time. This art of copying has been perfected by many a great personalities in many spheres.
Lalloji announced ‘latee diksha’ imitating ‘trishul diksha’. Another leader proposed preemptive strikes against Pakistan emulating Bush’s Iraq policy, a few congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh intended to walk across villages inspired by the success of YSR‘s padayatra’ and an other congress leader tried to copy him enviously but in vain.
Even our ace filmmakers have excellent skills of replication. Long back a famous producer and actor copied an English film with a treasure hunt theme and made a successful Telugu movie. But he did not stop there, he got it dubbed into English and released abroad! Such a clever copying it was. So copy the skills of copying from them.

Comedy in Telugu movies?

The buffoonery of two characters, an elder and a dark unattractive man, who would hit each other for no reason, aping donkeys-that was the film farce for a few days. Now it is the season of joke book jesting- a few stale jokes are selected from the collection of jokes, they are enacted and inserted in the movie. We hardly find any link between one scene and the other. Gone were the days of situational comedy when humour formed an integral part of the plot of the movie. Now it appears as if a few comic scenes are shot separately and kept ready for sale so that the producers can buy a few and attach them to their movies in between.

Comedy in Telugu movies- it won’t make you burst in to laughter. What they show are but a few old jokes straight away lifted from a joke book and a comedian accompanying the hero would serve the purpose in such cases. In some other ‘hilarious comedies’ humour is found in scenes such as woman beating her husband, a man having extra marital adventures, and a comedian lecturer teaching naughty students.
Campus humour in films has become so monotonous that we have to tickle ourselves to make ourselves laugh. They always make a buffoon of a teacher. In case of a woman teacher, its more atrocious, she would be portrayed as a seductress and the movie doesn’t need a vamp any more. Is there a showman who can redo the good old situational comedies (of Bapu and Ramana) to quench the thirst of humour lovers?

cut the red tape?

Appear at the office late by an hour or so… engrave a mark in the attendance register …hurry to the canteen for tea and a pan…be back only to unwrap the lunch pack…while away the hours with making queries in the files… soon the tea time…and after that call EOD (end of the day)- This is the daily routine of the many.
Their adherence to the rules is so remarkable that they would ask a pensioner to furnish alive certificate even for the previous year in addition to that of the current year. Late or early… does it make any difference when they are so vigilant to the rules?
When the fury of the boss also fails to make them turn up in time what else could make them punctual? Should we serve them breakfast at their seats? idli n vada with fuming sambar would at least drag them to the offices early. Else provide hot water in the restrooms of the office so that the employees from the areas of water scarcity would certainly reach the office well in advance.

election fever-voters' apathy

The D-day is fast approaching. The heat and dust of the campaigning reaches its zenith. So does the mercury level. The Sun becomes strong day by day.
The EC may propose to air-condition all the polling booths. This would be more effective than the Loksatta’s ads. It will definitely beat the apathy of the voters. A cup of ice cream, a glass of fruit juice or a tender coconut for the voters waiting in the serpentine queues will certainly improve the turnout at the booths further. (Becareful…serving the pesticolas may have an adverse effect on the turn out!)
More over it would save the voter from the sunstroke. But there is no way out for the leaders who are affected by ‘son stroke’.
The EC may be requested to exempt this expenditure from the candidate’s account. Sipping a chilled drink may at least mollify the agitated candidates. It will also pacify the warring contestants. What else would woo the voters better in the blazing summer?

A director beats an actor?

There is nothing wrong in what the ace director does. He just slaps the actor to get the desired effect on the screen and make the scene appear natural. More over it saves the producers a lot, as they don’t need to buy glycerin. By the way actors! Be wary while this chap shoots rape and murder scenes. We do find actors who proclaim that they wanted to become doctors but eventually ended up as actors. But it seems this guy wanted to become a teacher but turned into a film director. Punctilious trainer…

‘The over ambitious producer slaps the heroine.’ Is it also aimed at getting the desired effect on the screen? Who would come to the rescue of those hapless female stars when their mummies themselves failed to restrain the assailants? The animals appear to be better placed- Blue cross will ensure their well-being.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

ways to beat sting operations

Sting and anti-sting operations in cyber age have to be different. Gone are the days of buying a member or two by paying him in suitcases. One can move the amount through electronic fund transfer to on line accounts and get his support.
As the jammers are used as a security measure to make the remote devices defunct, a politician can use modern gadgets to scramble his voice so that none can record it for future use or misuse. He can use a retracting technique- when a person utters a few words, they will be heard only once and they vanish soon leaving no trace in any type of tape or disk. This technique is not altogether new to our politicians, as they have already perfected this art with their electoral promises.

artists?

Tolerating the pestering of poetasters is a formidable task.
But some times they are also helpful to the society. If a police inspector is one among them, the criminals who are caught would fear more for his recitations at the station than the punishment the court awards. A drop in crime rate would be the outcome. Line crossings, driving without helmets, crossing the speed limit and so on would certainly come down, the recitals would be more effective than the penalties.
There is also a way to escape from them but with a cost. When a master storyteller approaches you with a plagiarized plot or a boring story, lend him not your ear but a hundred rupees or two, and then onwards he would always run away from you. Decide the amount of which your predator is worth. Or pester him in reverse by asking for an insurance policy or a donation to a charity. He would vanish when you are sighted.
Can a drink mixed with an adhesive ‘that can join everything but broken hearts’ make one mum?
Before a phony painter shows you his masterpiece, you ask him whether he has drawn it by spattering on the canvas with pan spit.

beware of meddlers

Meddler in the middle of all…
Will it be possible to get rid of them? Indeed it’s a tough task. When the meddler is a member of fair sex it becomes tougher. Fortunately they have not yet spread widely.
Ubiquitous meddlers …dressed in well-starched, spotless white clothes with stiff creases (earlier yellow was their favourite colour) are common sight in all offices, with their cell phones ringing repeatedly, speaking loudly as if to make others know their high contacts. No one knows it certain whether the call is from a VIP or from a ‘gully’ leader from Coin Collecting Public Phone located next street. He will try to make an impression that it is certainly from a person of status not less than a cabinet Minister. Sometimes the name-dropping of the CM or the PM also makes their chatter solemn. Occasionally, anxious to get their things done, they try to bring in a reference to sons, daughters or even sons-in-law of the VIP into the ambit and proclaim that they are very close to them. The only way to get rid of them: tell him that you know the person he is talking about. Further declare that the VIP talked to you a while ago and ask him whether he would like to speak to him on your phone. Surely he would retreat and spread his net elsewhere.

supercops

The workload of the law enforcer has increased tremendously. Beating a lecturer or an advocate occasionally would certainly increase it further. There are already attempts to reduce their burden. The netas are wielding batons and thrashing their rivals and the scribes to pulp or else this job would also have to be done by the police to please their political masters. As a thresher lessened the burden of farmers, a thrashing one might remove the toil of the police. Modernization of the police force should include sanctioning of such machines. The police may also be asked to keep themselves away from the durbars that settle civil disputes. This will reduce their burden a little. Some have already delegated this task to the mafia or the pseudo naxals. A few officers add to the burden by expressing their feeling of insecurity- who else could provide them security, when the threat it self is from their colleagues! Do they need a separate agency to settle the disputes among themselves? The burden seems to be so severe that an officer forgets to hand over the arms confiscated from a criminal. Even the Academies are also offering an excellent training to face the challenges -riots and thefts have found a place in their programme of study. Prospective police officers seemed to have attended practice sessions in the art of thrashing people for selling cigarettes in black market! Perhaps their curriculum includes such events as hands-on experience to the future super cops.

How to get the criminals back?

How to get these criminals back? Can we offer a berth to Dawood in the ministry? Give it some thought. This would certainly make him come back. A new department of extortions may be created. An addition to the tainted team! If it doesn’t induce him, arrange a cricket match- let it be sponsored by the ISI, the drug peddlers or the mafia- he would certainly be there. Or else how about conducting a star night with bollywood sirens? He couldn’t resist the enticement and so ultimately he could be trapped.
A post of advisor to the Reserve Bank of India or a deserving position in the finance ministry would surely bring back Krishi Rao. But enquire whether he is already in a job at the IBRD!!!
After committing the offence the criminal who is crazy of giving interviews to TV channels may be lured to conduct a crime show on TV-live if possible-and be caught.

who needs a spy cam?

Who doesn’t need a clandestine mobile phone camera? It can be employed anywhere!
A magistrate, while recording the statement of a person who had been shot at, may find it supportive. Else the victim’s abrupt volte-face may save the lawbreaker.
The election commission may make use of these candid cameras to catch the culprits unaware. It can be a case of booth capturing or distribution of money for ‘sweets’.
A speaker of a house can make use of it to take the glimpses of the acts of unruly members. Further it can also be exploited to expose the dozing members.
An invigilator may carry one in the examination hall to expose the copying by the students and also utilize it if they attempt to manhandle him. It can be a weapon for the students too, against the teachers who behave badly in the class or while away time idly.

pesticides in cooldrinks

The government may take over the stock and sell it with a statutory warning- ‘Contains traces of pesticides, can be sipped to quench the thirst or sprayed on the crops to control the pests.’
How about making Devadas yet again! In this version Devadas becomes an addict of soft drinks after he is estranged from Parvathi and eventually dies. Teetotaller Deavdas! This may promote the sales of soft drinks. Further Oscar will certainly be ours this time.
The companies should propagate positive thinking. The public can still drink them emulating the man in Dr.Wayne W.Dyer’s ‘Your Erroneous Zones’ who prefers drinking alcohol to remove worms inside.

telephonebills

The inflated bills that arrive unexpectedly with baffling particulars would certainly make one jittery. Making it worse, the goons of the service providers. Bills have become bitter pills! The subscriber may have to swallow many other pills to be fit enough to fight err...face them. Or else one has to bite the dust. ‘Duniya mittime’
Lobbying may be done to include free phone also along with the free power promise in the election manifestos of political parties. Certainly it would be a flood of votes then. Sounds like magic! It’s our freedom.

Banking without Blarney

You do deposit your hard earned money in any bank that offers you higher rate of interest. But then you have to stop going for a walk along the tank bund. Instead its better you stroll around the bank every evening and if possible walk up to the residences of the directors and see that they haven’t taken flight. It will keep you fit physically and also fiscally. Further if you still have leisure you can enroll your self as a security guard at the bank and earn while safeguarding your money. Lastly incase you are fleeced of your deposits despite all your safety measures, you say govinda and think of Hundi of Lord Venkateswara of seven hills.

elections&anti-incumbency

The poll predictions are full of surprises. From the election results it has become apparent that the prophecy of the psephologists is not sacrosanct. In many cases the reverse of the forecast was the result. The people seem to act against the forecasts. So to beat the incumbency factor, the ruling party should orchestrate a survey and poll forecast against it self! Any way to prove it false the public may vote it back to power. Does it sound dangerous!
Else it can reintroduce the age-old welfare measures with a novel nomenclature…old wine in a new bottle. The people are so considerate that they would never question why those acts were not done earlier. In the case of a severe anti-incumbency situation rename the party too and fight the elections…if possible have an alliance with the opposition itself and call it a friendly contest. If all these do not work out, be prepared to quit the present party and join the ruling one, which would always keep one in power. Unfortunately the boss does not possess this expediency.

borelore

Bearing bores is a Herculean task. It does have a beneficial effect too. If a police inspector is a poet, the criminals who are caught would fear more for his recitations at night in prison than the punishment the court awards.
It is not all that easy to silence the bore bears. Can a drink mixed with the adhesive ‘that can join everything but broken hearts’ make one mum?
Give a paper with objective questions (similar to EAMCET question paper) and ask him to answer only those questions so that he would not miss the point and plunge into bore lore. Make sure that it does not contain errors! Further it is better if he is asked to observe word limit in answering.
There is another way to escape from them but with a cost. Lend him an affordable amount. Then onwards he would always run away from you. Decide the amount of which your predator is worth.
To get rid of a politician bore is effortless, just remind him of his electoral promises.
Sometimes it is an established practice to ask such people to preside the meeting to contain their vivacity. But some clever bores do overcome it and continue their onslaught during the gap between two presenters.

birdflu

Bird Flu...is it more dangerous than fever…i.e. Election fever? Isn’t the foul language used by the politicians more damaging than the fowl disease? If at all there is any vaccine or medication it needs to be tried to stop the foul mouths first. Who is to be blamed? Both parties point their finger at the other. Seems to be a chicken-and-egg problem.

Why should we now be scared of bird flu? The market price of onions- an indispensable ingredient of a chicken dish- has already made us chicken hearted. Further the soft drinks and the mineral water might have by now made us resilient. When the fodder meant for quadrupeds can be swallowed without any harm, is it so unsafe to consume birds with flu? To say Adieu to mouth watering chicken kababs and curries… is an impossible task! Let’s go on with the bouts of biryani and fight the flu. Else all the chicks may have to be culled and the nursery rhyme ‘ Old man Donald…’ too may have to be modified.

birdflu

Why should we now be scared of bird flu? The market price of onions- an indispensable ingredient of a chicken dish- has already made us chicken hearted. Further the soft drinks and the mineral water might have by now made us resilient. When the fodder meant for quadrupeds can be swallowed without any harm, is it so unsafe to consume birds with flu? To say Adieu to mouth watering chicken kababs and curries… is an impossible task! Let’s go on with the bouts of biryani and fight the flu. Else all the chicks may have to be culled and the nursery rhyme ‘ Old man Donald…’ too may have to be modified.

comedy in telugu movies

Comedy in Telugu movies- it won’t make you burst in to laughter. What they show are but a few old jokes straight away lifted from a joke book and a comedian accompanying the hero would serve the purpose in such cases. In some other ‘hilarious comedies’ humour is found in scenes such as woman beating her husband, a man having extra marital adventures, and a comedian lecturer teaching naughty students. Campus humour in films has become so monotonous that we have to tickle ourselves to make ourselves laugh. They always make a buffoon of a teacher. In case of a woman teacher, its more atrocious, she would be portrayed as a seductress and the movie doesn’t need a vamp any more. Is there a showman who can redo the good old situational comedies (of Bapu and Ramana) to quench the thirst of humour lovers?

first show

Can we call it life…if we can’t see the movie the very first day and the very first show? So tempting it is! But sometimes it may also mean the end of our life. Is there a way out? Float an association or a fan club of a star, add sobriquets- ‘the President, the Secretary and so on of All India Association of X star’-to ourselves, have a letterhead printed and make a request for the movie tickets in writing. The manager of the theatre is forced to provide us a few tickets. Sell some of them in the black market and get back our initial investment. Further if our star enters the politics (it’ll so happen when he turns sixty) we are assured of tickets not only for a movie but also for the Assembly. Serve a star now to serve the people in future.