Kalam For President ... Again!

With Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's presidential term ending in July, we've seen a lot of names crop up as the next President of the soverign republic of India. With names such as Shivraj Patil, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Pranab Mukherjee in contention for the top spot, the race was expected to have a tight finish. But the entry of Pratibha Patil changed the equation and all the men mentioned above had to step aside and make way for the lady. This has left us with a choice of having either Dr. Kalam or Mrs. Pratibha Patil as our next President.

I think that Dr. Kalam, if given a chance, should take up the second term as the country's president. I think so because here is a man who has a vision and how many of our past president's (or politicans) have had one? Its also a lot easier to implement the vision when you are the President. By this, I do not mean that as a President you can force reforms or bully around to change things for better. But its just that I feel that when you are at the helm of affairs and when every change in the rule book is to be authorised by you, you are always at an advantage to get the big picture. And having this knowledge will always help a person to find a way out when he hits a roadblock. And with Dr. Kalam not affiliated to any political parties, he should not find himself in a dilemma of going against the interests of any political party.

So, go for it Dr. Kalam. A well educated and intelligent candidate with no political alliances is always a better choice then someone who has the support of a group of politicians just because the party bigwigs thought so!

P.S. I don't really know much about Mrs. Pratibha Patil and so I see no reason on why I should comment on her prospects as the President.

Kudos to PMC

Sometime around mid-July last year, there were parallels drawn between Pune's roads and the surface of the moon. There was a lot of noise from not only the rival political parties but also from some citizens' groups. And I think that the administration deserved every bit of this criticism. The condition of roads today suggests that the harsh words have struck the right chord with the people in-charge of maintaining the city's roads.

Driving around the city today, you will come across a lot of places wherein the roads have been repaired or are under various stages of construction. Some of these have been completed under record time. The most encouraging aspect of this has been the quality of the work done. The roads definitely look as if they would be able to bear the onslaught of the monsoon this year. The fact that the contractor concerned is ensuring that the roads are marked out properly shows that he is paying attention to detail. I am also impressed by the efforts taken by the contractor to limit the inconvenience caused (at least on the roads I frequent) to people while the work is underway.

I know that there are still a few areas where the roads are riddled with potholes and also that the construction work has caused inconvenience to some people, but I still think that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has taken a step in the right direction and they deserve a pat on their back for the efforts put into this project! Keep it up guys!!

A Different Photo Shoot

Skimming through the newspaper, I came across an article that spoke of the latest photo shoot by Spencer Tunick. There were a couple of things that made this photo shoot different from the ones that I've heard of in the past. First of all, it involved an estimated 10,000+ models and second is that they all agreed to pose nude for him. And to the best of my knowledge they did this for free. Now, this surely is something new for me.

I must appreciate the freedom of expression (especially for such events) available in some of the foreign countries. You cannot even dream of doing something similar in a society like our's where nudity in public is still an alien concept. I personally would not be comfortable or interested in posing for such an event and this adds to my surprise at the number of people who managed to be a part of the event.

You can read more about this event here. And in case you are interested in being a part of similar shoots in the future, you need to follow this link and sign up. If you sign up and end up being a part of something similar I must say that you are - different. Also, if possible, do let me know your reasons for the same as I fail to understand why would anyone want to do something like this.

The Entrance Saga

Sitting in the lawns outside the examination centre, waiting for my brother to wrap out his IIT entrance exam, I can't stop wondering how easy life was when I passed out of twelfth standard. With an engineering degree in sight, the only entrance I considered was the JEE. Other than that, I knew that I could get into a good engineering college solely on the basis of performance in Physics, Chemistry and Maths in the borad exams.

Compare this with what my brother is going through. He has been juggling regular college with extra classes (meant for the various engineering college entrances) for six days a week, for some hundred odd weeks now. Sundays are not meant for breaks but for taking tests that judge what he has studied for the last few weeks. And mind you, the Sunday tests cannot be taken lightly as your place in the merit batch as against the regular batch is decided based on your peformance in the Sunday tests. Am sure the uncertainty in the mind of an average Indian cricket team player of making it to the playing eleven is much less than that of my brother retaining his place in the merit batch. Every month end there is mock test, IIT ishtyle, wherein you are tested in all the three subjects at the same time. Almost every two months there is a parents' meet, where the parents have to face the harsh reality in terms of their ward's performance in the innumerable tests (ouch!).

I had plans for my 'post 12th standard vacation' about a month before the board exams started. Almost a month after his board exams, all my brother has planned for is the number and dates of the entrances that he is to take in these couple of months. The saga does not end with the preparation, mock tests and actual tests. There is a lot more to follow in the form of results for each one of them (4 to be precise) followed by the counselling for some if not all.

But if you look around, you find comfort in the fact that he is not the only one going through all this. Cut throat competition is a way of life today and you don't want to concede an inch if you are aware of it. Beating competition is something that my brother's generation has learnt a lot earlier than I did. And, not to forget, given the kinda importance an IITian or someone from a NIT or from BITS enjoys the ordeal mentioned above seems all the more worth it. So, here's hoping that my brother can make it to an engineering college of his choice. Cheers!

A Fresh Start

I have not been working on the tasks listed in the to do list I mentioned earlier. So, here's a fresh start to things with a new blog template and renewed enthusiasm to try and achieve the tasks listed for 2007!

P.S. I think the new blogger template is damn cool and it makes life smooooooooth for someone like me who is not well versed with the basics of html.