Turbulent Transistor

Internet Obscenity Law and Intermediary Liability in India – A Look at the Avnish Bajaj v. State case

2009-10-18T13:44:00.000+05:30

1. INTRODUCTION

This essay looks at the liability of Internet intermediaries that host material that is obscene as per Indian law. The essay is limited in scope to those situations where the material has been hosted by a third party and without the knowledge of the intermediary. It looks at the standard of care that is expected of an Internet intermediary in India in relation to the listings it puts up. To put this in another way, the essay looks at what obligation an Internet intermediary has to ensure that the material that they are hosting does not violate the obscenity law in India. The essay seeks to defend the law as laid down by the aforementioned judgement and argues that the amendment recently passed ought to be looked at again, or in the interim be tackled by the issue of strict guidelines for the intermediaries to follow.

2. CASE SUMMARY

2.1. Background Facts

The case dealt with the sale of the DPS MMS[1] on the website http://www.bazee.com. The website was run by Baazee India Private Limited (BIPL)[2] and was merely an online marketplace, a platform where buyers and sellers could interact. It had a registration process and after verification of first time sellers, users could post items for sale on the site. A user listed the aforementioned MMS clip for sale using a pseudonym ‘Alice Electronics’ and named it ‘Item 27877408 - DPS Girls having fun!!! full video + Baazee points.’[3] It was listed at Rs. 125. At around 2020 hours on November 27^th 2004, a report was filed stating that the item being sold was pornographic and featured minors. Between around 2030 hours on the 27^th and around 1000 hours on the 29^th, eight transactions took place from eight distinct users from various parts of the country. The police registered an FIR on 9^th December and obtained information about the working of the company by sending notices to Sharat Digumarti, Senior Manager, Trust and Safety, BIPL. On the 14^th, the Managing Director, BIPL, Avnish Bajaj wrote a letter to the police explaining that he was responsible for the India operations of the Company and his responsibility included policy decisions, planning, control and overall supervision of the day-to-day functioning of the organization. On the 17^th, the police arrested Bajaj as well as the seller of the clip. A charge sheet was filed naming the seller, Bajaj and Digumarti as Accused Nos. 1, 2 and 3. The present petition was filed by Bajaj under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure asking to quash the aforementioned criminal proceedings as no offences had been made out.

2.2. Judgement

Most of the judgement rendered by Justice Muralidhar discusses whether the liability of the petitioner, Bajaj both in his personal as well as professional capacities has been made out prima facie. However, what is relevant for the purposes of this essay is the part of the judgement that deals with the liability of the intermediary – the company running the website. The petitioner did not contest the obscenity of the video clip but stated that the highest that the website could be held accountable for was the listing on the site as the transfer of the MMS clip took place directly between the buyer and seller without the intervention of the company. The Court dealt with the issues of the listing and the video separately.

2.2.1. The Listing (Item Description)

The Court held that in relation to the listing itself, which was deemed to be obscene due to its wording,[4] an offence under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 the ingredients of which are that the obscene object was “publicly exhibited or in any manner put into circulation” or if the object was “in his possession”. It was held that although the listing was put up by the seller, it was in the possession of BIPL and once it went up on the website, it was “publicly exhibited” by the website. Therefore, the offence under Section 292 was prima facie attracted.

2.2.2. The Video

The Court held that placing an obscene video a click away would come within the ambit of Section 292 as it amounted to making known where such obscene object could be procured. In the words of the Court, the “…advertisement might itself have been inserted by the seller but the website facilitated the sale by carrying the listing which informed the potential buyer that such a video clip that is pornographic can be procured for a price.” The situation is compared to the selling of an obscene object through announcement on the notice board of a club or association. The Court felt that in such a case, the club itself would be subject to prosecution for facilitating the sale. In the words of the Court, “[b]y not having appropriate filters that could have detected the words in the listing or the pornographic content of what was being offered for sale, the website ran a risk of having imputed to it the knowledge that such an object was in fact obscene” The Court held that as per the strict liability imposed by Section 292, knowledge of the listing would be imputed to the company publishing. However, this was a rebuttable presumption and the burden lay on the company to prove that it exercised due care. The Court then insists on a strict standard of care to be imposed on Internet intermediaries. “The proliferation of the internet and the possibility of widespread use through instant transmission of pornographic material, calls for a strict standard having to be insisted upon.”

3. IN DEFENCE OF THE JUDGEMENT

In this Section the judgement is defended in light of the law prevalent in India. It is divided into two parts. The first part defends the judgement in light of interpretation of the written letter of the law and it is argued in the second part that the judgement is sound, jurisprudentially.

3.1. Statutory Interpretation

Section 292(2)(c) of the Indian Penal Code states that whoever “takes part in or receives profits from any business in the course of which he knows or has reason to believe that any such obscene objects are, for any of the purposes aforesaid, made, produced, purchased, kept, imported, exported, conveyed, publicly exhibited or in any manner put into circulation” commits an offence. Section 67 of the Information Technology Act makes it an offence to publish, transmit or cause to be published in the electronic form, “any material which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it”. Both the Sections make it an offence to put into circulation or cause to be published anything obscene. It is clear therefore that an intermediary would come within the fold of both these Sections.

3.2. Jurisprudential soundness

In this section, the essay looks at the ideal position of law keeping the end result in mind. As stated earlier, the essay deals with intermediary liability in relation to obscenity law. It does not deal with intermediary in other cases such as defamation or copyright infringement. Obscenity law has been enacted to be more stringent as it has a larger impact on society as opposed to the other laws stated above that are mainly in personam. Therefore, the standard of care for cases of obscenity especially when it deals with minors would be far greater than that for any other sort of breach. The Internet is a vast array of computers that is impossible to police by one single entity.[5] From a law and economics perspective, it is essential that the price of policing the Internet be borne by the party for whom it would cost the least.[6] For a central entity like the Government to regulate and police content, it would cost a lot more than for the intermediary that is hosting the data to check before it puts up the data. Adequate automated filters would suffice to ensure that no offensive material went up on the site. Keeping the end result in mind, that is the prevention of proliferation of objects offensive to public morality,

4. PRESENT LAW DEALING WITH INTERMEDIARIES

Under the erstwhile Section 79 of the Information Technology Act,[7] if the intermediary proves that the offence was committed was without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such contravention. However, the standing committee report[8] asked that Section 79 be strengthened and worded in positive terms asking for a definite obligation on the part of the intermediary. The final Section 79, as it stands today reads that intermediaries cannot be held liable notwithstanding any other law. There are a few exceptions provided, but for the most part unless the intermediary has direct knowledge or has knowingly abetted the offence, it cannot be held liable. However, the saving grace is found in Section 79(4) where the intermediary is supposed to observe such other guidelines as the Central Government may prescribe. This essentially means that the Central Government can dictate the extent or standard of care that the intermediary is supposed to follow. It is argued that this middle path approach to the problem is less of a middle path and more in favour of greater intermediary liability. The Central Government is free to prescribe the extent of obligation and thereby it can dictate that due diligence and adequate filters are essential as far as the intermediary is concerned.

5. CONCLUSION:

There has constantly been a tussle in determining the extent of Governmental regulation in all spheres of life. The Internet is no different. By this judgement, a push for self-regulation by intermediaries was mooted, and with penal consequences to ensure that the intermediaries do the regulation diligently. True this would cast a greater obligation and cost on the intermediary, but this obligation is necessary and justified as the intermediary is using the Internet as a means of profit. Some of that profit can and should be directed towards ensuring that public interest and societal norms are not violated or adversely affected. The judgement here draws the line in the right place in relation to obscenity law and the difficulty faced by intermediaries in policing third party content,[9] specifically where minors are involved. The judgement did not declare Avnish Bajaj guilty. It only stated that he could be guilty, that is, a prima facie case was made out. Under the current law, after the 2008 amendment, barring the existence of any guidelines by the Central Government, no prima facie case would also be made out due to the non-obstante clause present in Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. It is felt that this move by the legislature undermines the importance of public morals and decency, while trying to protect the bottom line of the intermediaries. It is hoped that the Central Government brings this under control by the issue of adequate guidelines that impose a strict standard of scrutiny and diligence as that

[1] This was a video clip featuring two students of Delhi Public School (DPS) in somewhat sexually explicit conditions. It was recorded on a phone and sent by one of the students to his friends via MMS. This video later found its way onto the internet and was listed for sale on bazee.com.

[2] The company has now been acquired by EBay Inc., USA and has been renamed EBay India Private Limited (EIPL).

[3] The item description read “DPS Girls having fun!!! Do you want to see that video clip which has rocked the whole DELHI and now has become a hot point of discussion in the entire Nation? YES, Then what are you waiting for!!! Just order for this product and it will be delivered to you within few hours. This video is of a girl of DPS RK PURAM which has been filmed by his boyfriend in very sexual explicit conditions. Please note: This video clip of around 2:30 Minutes and will be send to you as an email attachment.”

[4] See Supra Note 4 for words of listing which included the words “very sexual explicit conditions” which was deemed to appeal to the prurient interest of man and satisfied the test laid down by Section 292.

[5] As stated by Matthan “The Internet is a giant network of individual computers which are interconnected through a complicated structure of servers and designed to withstand a nuclear attack. From its inception, the network was designed to be a decentralised, self-maintaining series of links between computers and computer networks, capable of rapidly transmitting communications without any direct human involvement or control… As a result of this type of structure, the fact of the matter is that no single entity is responsible or capable of managing or regulating the Internet… There is no centralised storage location, control point or communications channel for the Internet, and it would not be technically feasible for a single entity to control all the information conveyed on the Internet.” See Rahul Matthan, The Law Relating to Computers and the Internet, 58-59 (New Delhi: Butterworths India, 2000).

[6] See Generally Mann and Belzley, “The Promise of Internet Intermediary Liability”, The University of Texas School of Law – Law and Economics Working Paper No. 045, 2005.

[7] This was the Section as it stood when the Delhi High Court decided the aforementioned case.

[8] Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, 2006.

[9] The judgement in numerous places makes allusions to the failure of filters and further the time delay between the clip being notified as obscene by Community Watch and the actual removal of the listing. It refers to the fact that policing third party content is not easy, but is much easier for an intermediary than for a Central entity like the Government.

Sleeping Partners

2008-11-05T23:48:00.002+05:30

Sitting in Shankara's class sometimes transports me back to an Japhetian era. Except I'm quite sure the latter meant all the innuendo, and the former just assumes we don't think dirty enough (LOL).

Here are the most recent ones - "The girl is reluctant because I'm looking, but the boy just keeps trying"

"The girl does not protest - she should say, this is not the place - why don't you go under a tree outside?"

Well, yeah, the joke's half lost when it's not delivered right. It's impossible to mimic Shankara's delivery in written language.

When he isn't making these 'sleazy' comments - he speaks like a statute. "Prakash did not teach is no excuse - you shall be deemed to know mortgages."

Given all this, and his writing the alphabet on the board, he is still one of the better teachers we have (note the use of teacher - and not lecturer). He is completely fair in his evaluation and bias plays no role anywhere. Most importantly, unlike most of the faculty, he knows english.

Addicted

2008-10-29T01:48:00.009+05:30

I can't think of a moment in my life when I haven't been addicted. As far back as I can remember with clarity, I have always been addicted to something (there was TT in school, movies in 11th, pool in 12th, alcohol etc in I year. I stop here cos this is possibly where my current addiction took over. There isnt a very clear demarcation and the timelines get grayed. These are just approximate outlines). Most of the time it was harmless, but sometimes it's just degenerate and destructive. My addictions seem to pass only when I find something else to get addicted to (which happens when I get 'bored' of the previous addiction - for instance, I now see no point in playing pool as I have gotten decent at it and don't feel the drive any longer. Or the fact that over 96% of the movies and TV I now watch, I can predict the story to precision halfway through latest - which pretty much beats the purpose of watching it) It's a complete vicious cycle, which I just cannot break.

This got me thinking. What is the cause of addiction? As always, I find all my answers in movies. I always feel that when in doubt, turn to art. Quite surprisingly, I find my answer in a very unlikely source. The movie is 'Road Trip' (yeah, it's one of those teenage adventure shitty crap - which makes you chuckle at how crude they can possibly get - this one is quite old and therefore, isn't so bad - it's surpisingly funny actually - nothing like band camp/naked mile/superbad). In this one of the characters (part of the main four) is constantly smoking weed. In one scene as he speaks to Grandpa Manilow -

Grandpa: Are you gonna pass that doobie, or what?
Doobie? Yeah. Yeah, sorry.
Uh, thanks.
You know what your problem is?
You're all brains. Not enough cock and balls.
Actually, uh, people have been telling me that my whole life. In the sixth grade I got so worried about the situation in lraq, that I was on an adult dosage of Xanax. And by eighth grade, I was in therapy three times a week. And the truth is, weed is the only thing that could balance me out. (Source)

I think the root cause of all addiction is simple. It's boredom. All other causes (peer pressure, curiosity - well this stems from boredom anyway, emotional weakness) are secondary or may be triggers, at best. It all happens because you're bored. It is due to this that you seem to look for some way (by doing or consuming various things), to induce a chemical reaction that keeps the brain occupied (the aim being to get over the boredom). This leads me to believe that intelligent people are more suceptible to such addiction. It's a lot easier to bore an intelligent person than it is to bore a stupid person.

Perhaps that is just it. We are constantly in a state of balancing our instant gratification with long term gain. This is possibly because we find ourselves without an aim, a direction. So many people feel there is no point in working (or living) as there is no passion in their life or there is really nothing to expect, except drudgery (myself included).

But I digress.

I'm not addicted to weed, cocaine, alcohol, nicotine or tobacco. It's something that could either be far more serious or far less. For once, I feel helpless and totally out of control over it. Maybe the time has come to finally swallow my pride and ask for help and support. Maybe not just yet. I've gotten through everything else myself, I see no reason why I can't get through this one (oh yeah, that's still the pride talking - I haven't resorted to the 12 step programme yet, no reason to start now).

Law school definitely doesn't help with any of this. It takes something as unique and interesting as the law and with te 'brilliant' teachers makes it as interesting, engaging and exciting as golf. Perhaps what we need are younger teachers, teachers who can better relate to students (NOT the juris freak, who'll just burst into tears if we asked him a doubt he could not answer). Courses need to be more engaging and should be taught with more vigour. Most teachers are so unenthused that students themselves feel there's absolutely no point in studying or bothering about the course ('scamming' being an easier, more efficient, quicker and possibly more rewarding way of dealing with courses). Criminal Law, wich is possibly the most intriguing of all laws was made into a drawn out lull, a dull ache that needed to be ignored (of course it did end with a bang for most of the batch). Quite simply, instead of cribbing about drug addiction in law school, the admin is much better off trying to understand why it happens and for god's sake improve the state of affairs in academics. If that is sorted out, everything would fall into place. Is it truly that difficult to find good teachers? What happens to all those fees we pay anyway?

GAANCHALI BIDI, KANNADA MAATHAADI…….!!

2008-10-20T22:03:00.005+05:30

Got this as an email forward. Pasted, as is. Absolutely stunning (and quite true). Forgive the formatting.

Bill Gates organized an enormous session to recruit a new Chairman for Microsoft Europe. 5000 candidates assembled in a large room. One candidate is Raghu, an Indian guy.

Bill Gates thanked all the candidates for coming and asking those who do not know JAVA programs to leave. 2000 people leave the room. Raghu says to Himself, "I do not know JAVA but I have nothing to lose if I stay. I'll Give it a try".

Bill Gates asked the candidates who never had experience of managing more than 100 people to leave. 2000 people leave the room. Raghu says to himself

"I never managed anybody by myself but I have nothing to lose if I stay. What can happen to me?" So he stays.

Then Bill Gates asked candidates who do not have management diplomas to leave. 500 people leave the room. Raghu says to himself , "I left school at 15 but what have I got to lose?" So he stays in the room.

Lastly, Bill Gates asked the candidates who do not speak Serbian - Croat to leave. 498 people leave the room.

Raghu says to himself, " I do not speak one word of Serbian - Croat but what do I have to lose?" So he stays and finds himself with one other candidate.

Everyone else has gone.

Bill Gates joined them and said "Apparently you are the only two candidates who speak Serbo - Croat, so I'd now like to hear you have a conversation together in that language."

Calmly, Raghu turns to the other candidate and says "En guru, aarama?"

The other candidate answers "Nann magane, Sooryange Torcha??"

GAANCHALI BIDI, KANNADA MAATHAADI…….!!

News!

2008-10-08T23:33:00.004+05:30

News!

Is this really news? I mean, how could ANYONE (i refer here to the reporters) be so daft? I mean, who is stupider? The reporters or the French Government who apologised?

The Tmes Of India, a few weeks ago had on their first page a solemn report of some 200 odd deaths in a blast. On the right column they had a headline "Balle Balle at Galle" praising Harbhajan's greatness. Apart from the fact that the headline does NOT rhyme (no it's not pronounced that way), it seems a little insensitive. Below the fold on the same page, they had something about Shah Rukh's ankle getting sprained when he slipped on a diamond which had fallen off his wall, while he was exiting his Phantom. Why on earth is the news so irrelevant?

Coming to Page 3, as shown in the movie brilliantly, what's the point? Who the hell cares what parties happen and who attended? It irks me to no end to read all this gossip about all these stars. But I still do. Personally, I think it's just us looking for cranks, holes or mistakes in the celebrities so we can always say, "Oh, they're human, too". Just lucky, compared to us. Why do we derive so much pleasure in others faults?

Personally, I have no qualms gossiping or 'sliming', or being slimed for that matter. In law school, it is taken to an extreme, but I never have had any issues with it. Sometimes it gets upsetting, but most of the time, it is just humour. The fact that my slime is heard by the party being slimed, has never concerned me. Such 'sliming', and I use the term as used in law school, is not done with any malice and is not meant to be secret.

But there is one sort of 'sliming', a kind that disgusts me. It is when things are reported which have never been said, or never happened, without making it abs clear that it is a joke, with an intent to deceive or knowing that it is likely to deceive. This is something I just cannot stand. There is a thin line between such 'bitching' (as i term it) and 'sliming'. For me, the latter is perfectly acceptable.

I think the test lies in whether you mind if the party concerned happens to be standing behind you, as you speak. If you do, then it's best not said, for it shows you lack the courage to say it to the person's face. In such a case, it's best to keep quiet and not 'slime' or 'bitch'.

Some ppl of course make no distinction between the two. It's all the same to them. It is to these ppl that I would like to point out that ANY talk about another person, when the person is not around, positive or negative, can be regarded as 'sliming', as per their own definition. I am also confident that these ppl who complain about how slimy law school is, are actually the slimiest of them all. For not only do they slime, they also claim to abhor it.

The funniest aspect of all this is that I've been called a 'slime' so many times that it ceases to affect me. I take pride nowadays in being called a 'slime'. I wonder, would calling me a 'slime', in itself, also amount to 'sliming'?

Mooting (and its futility?)

2008-10-07T20:38:00.004+05:30

This may be a late response, but it is more than a response. I just use her post a starting point.

The temptation to write an angsty post about the futility of mooting is almost impossible to resist.

Almost.

Pssssst. It's futile. Completely. Don't whore your soul to inevitable ignominy.

Most times, how random things get, are funny, maybe even surprising. It is when one is at the receiving end of the brunt of the randomness, that how distressing it actually is, seems to hit one. Well, I am no judge of a moot court or the rankings, but in my eyes, the entire system followed in the University Selections (for that is ALL the experience in a moot court I have) seems absolutely random.

I am not a stranger to this absolutely random arbitrariness. When in a college where the teachers have autonomy, it is normal to see such random results almost never commensurate with merit. It was slightly unnerving at first, but ince it always seemed to affect me positively, I chose to ignore it.

Apart from my subjective opinion that people who were more deserving and most definitely better (myself not included) ended below those who didn't or weren't, I feel there are certain empirical reasons to believe that my mooting experience has been totally random. Three rounds of moots and not one bit of similarity between them. After 2 memorials and 6 judges (well 600 marks of orals, at any rate), it seems odd that the ranks ended up being determined by one judge, whose range of marking (3 to 70 odd) skewed all ranks. Well, the point of this post is not to crib. It is quite the opposite, actually.

I feel, as must be apparent already, that I deserved to do better than I actually did. I ended up somewhere near half, when my memorial marks alone would have placed me in the Top 10. My second round oral marls, total of three judges (out of 300) was less than my memo score (out of 100). But even after all this, I dont believe mooting is futile. I feel I learnt so much more from these 3 weeks than I had learnt in my entire law school life till date. Mooting helps in more ways than one. It helps you learn procedure. It helps you learn to research (quickly and accurately). It helps you focus. It helps you think. It helps you in myriad ways.

What I am essentially trying to say is that apart from the slime, the randomness, the absolute disappointment etc etc, I still came out wealthier than I went in. What I regret is not doing this in my Second Year. I plan, as of now, to carry this on to my 5th. I may never make the top 5 due to the randomness, or because I'm just not good enough. But that is NOT the only reason I wish to moot. The entire process.

The process of spending one week thinking of nothing but the problem. Doing research. Every little argument is a victory. The satisfaction of looking at a finished memorial printed a few hours early to check objective errors. The euphoria of looking at the memo pass from your hands and into the hands of the MCS member, just in time, after running from Swathi. The process of looking to defend and make your arguments in absolute unpredictable randomness. The entire process makes mooting absolutely worth it. I would much rather write a dozen memos in a week than write a project, although even one of the former is more work than one of the latter.

At the end of all of this, the randomness seems so minor. The results are insignificant. It is the process that is meant to be enjoyed, and enjoyable it definitely is. After all, how much less (rather more) random, are actual Courts?

Palin

2008-10-07T20:25:00.002+05:30

Seems Blogger's changed since I was last here. Whole new interface, new features etc etc. Seems the world DOES actually move on when I'm not around. That's good to hear of course, considering I can't be in all places at once.

I've decided to start writing again, but before I do, I just wanted to embed some videos of Palin. These are just spectacular.

Here's a link to the interviews of which the above was part.

Couric: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundary that we have with Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don't know, you know … reporters.

Couric: Mocked?

Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.

Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there…

Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state. (Source: CBS)

And finally, the follow up to the first interview!

Zeitgeist

2008-06-01T01:03:00.006+05:30

Just got through part 1. Highly thought provoking. Religion being an astrotheological interpretation of the Sun's movements.

Parts 2 and 3 deal with more contemporary issues including 9/11. Worth watching for sure. Very gripping and very bold. It's not like BullShit! by Penn and Teller. It actually has brilliant substance and is not just mindless ranting.

American based as can be expected, but definitely not Hollywood esque. Well structured and well worded. Seems neutral and unbiased.

(Updated) Just going through Part II now. It's lost most of its neutrality. It's become another 911 demolition conspiracy theory as used by the United States as a self inflicted wound for greater control over the people. An excuse for a communist way of government in a democracy. Seems very believable as do all such documentaries. But here, it gets a little too sentimental, and understandably so. The Gauntlet has an excellent critique of the documentary.

Do I think 911 was facilitated or staged by the government. I would definitely say, yes. Intelligence operations has reached that stage in the world where everything is known at least a few hours before it happens, most of the time days and weeks before it happens. The USA cannot be incompetent in this field. The 911 "attack" was a tragedy, but it was a controlled tragedy. A common enemy syndrome emerged and it was immensely profitable to Cheney, Bush and the others. Check Haliburton for instance. A cost plus contract during a recession? Very shady indeed. The 911 commission report alluded to in the movie can be found here.

Ethics?

2008-05-22T20:54:00.005+05:30

Will ethics and morality keep us from scientific advancement?

The prolem with ethics and moraliy is the fact that they are too stringent. Wouldn't life be a lot simpler without such unnecessary and unwanted blinders? In the study of Psychology, ethics is a major concern. How far can human experimentation proceed? Can the Fritzl family be studied for a "Nature v. Nurture" argument? Can the argument be, that considering they have already been through so much, there is no point in putting someone else through all that in order to study them and they should therefore be kept in a glass cage for a couple of years? Maybe they are used to it already. Maybe, their sacrifice will provide groundbreaking insight into the human mind. Is scientific advancement for the many superior to the rights and dignities of a few?

One Monday We Killed Them All

2008-05-19T14:23:00.001+05:30

Author: John D. MacDonald.

Book starts off brilliantly giving an amazing insight into the life of an honest policeman and the prison system. Makes one wonder, think and contemplate how judges who sentence people live with themselves. Especially, if there is a little evidence he missed out and ruined someone's life in the process. The book gets tiring in the middle and turns into a Clancy at the end. On the whole, very disappointing. Was hoping for a lot more, at least it should've kept up the pace and toned down on the James Bond/Rambo action sequences.

Started with Henry Cecil's first book. The Painswick Line. Brilliant thus far. Hope it keeps up. Will write about it when I'm done.

Farenheit 451

2008-05-10T01:00:00.003+05:30

4 damn years.

It had been 4 years since I read a book that wasn a Kolfer, a Rowling, a text book or a book for some course. It seems I picked the perfect book to read considering this. A book about books being burnt. About books being destroyed as they made people think and therefore, unhappy. A book about making life so fast that there was no time to think. About making sure the television (or parlour walls) allowed no scope to think or discuss anything important.

This book is not only thought provoking, but very deep and profound in its message. Other than its obvious relevance to censorship, it also deals with the politics of dissent, where anyone who owned books was arrested, people who thought were ostracised and people who went into the why rather than the how of things were sent to psychiatrists. It explains how one person is never important. It's always about groups. One person can only make a difference when he has others following him in his mission. The fact that change is inevitable. The fact that no autocracy can ever last. There is always a reaction to every action.

The english used in this book may get tiring at times, but the thought provoking bits keep you wondering for hours after. This book talks of the difficulty of dealing with the unmoving cattle of the majority. The majority that watches as the minority is slaughtered.

What is even more interesting is the afterword written by the author. He says his books and plays often get requests to be re written keeping some minority interests in mind. He rejects all these requests. he says, "If Mormons do not like my plays, let them write their own. If the Irish hate my Dublin stories, let them rent type writers. If teachers and grammar school editors find my jawbreaker sentences mushmilk their teeth, let them eat stale cake dunked in weak tea of their ownn ungodly manufacture."

Essentially, everyone has a right to speech. If u have a problem with what I say, respond. Start your own blog. Stand up for yourself. Dont go crying to mama (or the faculty as the case may be).

This book is a must read. It deals with all aspects of life, freedom and liberty. One can draw innumerable allusions to present day life, with life becoming so fast that most interaction happens on gtalk than in person, with life becoming so fast that people are full of themselves and have no time to open up to other ideas, with life becoming so dull that the only excitement one gets is from watching movies instead of reading, inter personal interaction and most importantly, thinking for oneself. The book essentially deals with this in great detail. The power of thought. The power of memory. The power of knowledge. The book talks about two essential requirements. 1)Quality of information, 2) leisure to digest it. The first is not necessarily from books. It can be from a teacher (not the ones we have at the law school), a movie, anything. But what's more important is time given to difest it. Without this time, we see that little knowledge is a dangerous thing. As is evident in this book.

I went out and bought myself a translated copy of Mein Kampf today. I'm sick and tired of the inefficient democracy and the incessant fence sitting. Something needs to be done, and soon. I guess I'll read 1984 online before moving onto Mein Kampf. Reading is something that one should never give up. No matter what. I must thank my brother pestering me to read Dune (which I will soon), Chand Bibi and her "Look at me, I read all the time" and of course Tiny and the incessant insults. But I assume they were all catalysts and would like to believe I would have rekindled the habit all by myself.

I also like to believe the world revolves around me.

Bangkok

2008-05-09T19:10:00.000+05:30

As I was sifting through the old files on my computer, I came across two notepad files which dealt with my two day experience in Bangkok recently. I suppose I always intended to put it up here, but never actually found the time and inclination to do so. Until now, that is.

There's actually no free Wireless Internet access from the Bangalore International Airport. I remember it was at the Bombay Airport. The only access here is through a ridiculuously expensive TATA Indicom WIFI connection. So there go my plans of killing the 2 hrs I have to sit in the airport, online. I am actually typing this on notepad and will upload it when i get an internet connection.

I will write this as and when i can depending on where i go and if there is anything worth writing about.

Day 1: Its 2035 hrs and I cant wait for my flight at 2245. Somehow as of now I dont feel as exhilerated as I normally used to while sitting in the International Waiting Terminal. (Maybe I have just added in the exhileration to my memories and they did not really ever exist.) Why do I come so early to the airport? Its something my family has done for ages. I just stick to the plan! I see absolutely no popint in coming here and waiting. A little later wouldn really result in my killing someone or my missing the flight. MENTAL NOTE - 2 hrs in advance will do henceforth. :)

Anyway, heres THE plan. I am headed to Bangkok. :)

I will stay 2 days there and hopefully get to see a lotta stuff. No actual plan for once I get there. That I shall formulate only after reaching. I just hope I dont miss out on anything. After that I head to LA on a 14 and half hour non stop flight. It seems kinda scary. 14 and a half hrs. No wonder this airline (THAI) is so cheap.

I then stay the night at LA and leave on another flight the next evening. So thats the plan. I finished typing this pretty early. ITs only 2043 now. DAMN. Guess I'll just ve to "read" after all.

Day 1 (contd)

So here I sit at the Suvarnabhumi airport waiting (as usual) for my travel agent rep to come and pick me up. Its now 545. Hes expected at 6. So no cause for worry yet. Thai Airways. What can i say? Its probably the sickest airline I have ever travelled in. I would compare he experience to my experience with Air Deccan. Except that was one hour. This happened to 3 and a half. The next one is 14 and a half. My god. I wonder how torturuous that would be.

By the time I boarded (and I was one of the first), there was abolutely no place to keep by cabin baggage. This added to my long list of woes as i had to keep the huge bag near my foot throughout. The food came out pretty late around 35 mins after take off. The food trays were not cleared till 30 mins before landing. So I could not sleep the entire journey. The tray being out behind me I could not put my seat back. The person next to me seemed to have no issues though. He slept like a bloody log. Had to pry his eyes open whenever I needed to go to the loo.

The food itself! I was provided Indian Veg instead of Jain veg food (YES! I am finicky abt my food). The food was terrible. All I could eat was bun and butter. They were out of tomato juice as well. The flight on the whole was terrible. There was no personal entertainment either. I was stuck watching the big screen in front. Putting all this together, it left me in a terrible state. As I sit in the airport and wait, I cannot help but dread the next flight tomo evening. However, not letting that disturb me, I look forward to a brilliant time at Bangkok. Quite unexpectedly, there is no Free Wi Fi here either. So Bangalore's not so bad after all. The airport itself is huge and very very impressive. It is built beautifully and seems quite empty. Probably cos its not even 6 yet.

I shall continue with this probably in 2 days time as i dont expect time to type while here. I shall upload it the minute I get free Wi Fi. Anywhere.

Day 2 and 3

I could write abt all i saw in Bangkok but theres really no point. It is pretty much like going to Chennai. The only highlight was, however, my visit to Khao San Road on Day 3. I chked out of my hotel arnd 1215 and then went out and caught a tuk tuk (much like an auto, only a lot more spacious and better looking) to khao san road. As is usual with all "auto" drivers, he started me off at 200 B. I did not even see a meter in these tuk tuks. No idea where theyre supposed to be. Anyway, i offered him 25 B where he had quoted 200. He made a face after which I was sure he would just unload me and tell me to get lost. Instead, he was adamant and said 120 B.

For some reason, I felt I shouldn pay anymore than 100 B for this. I have no idea how much it actually is. So I told him I cannot give him anymore than 50 B cos the hotel ppl told me not to pay more than 50. So he said 100, I said 70. Finally I agreed to pay 80 B. The guy started at 200 so i guess i did ok (im trying to console myself. Leave me alone).

The road itself is brilliant. Its closed to traffic pretty much (except for the odd tuk tuk) and people get to walk happily. Right out in the open they were selling pirated software, games, absolutely anything u wanted was available here. A little further and there were boards advertising sale of student cards, press cards, driving licenses and diplomas from a list of colleges. I was intrigued to say the least. After a little T- Shirt shopping, I decided to head back as I had my pick up from the hotel to the airport at 4. It was then 245.

As i decided very reluctantly that it was time to leave, I started looking out for tuk tuks. Instead I was pulled aside by a "bike taxi" man. I then haggled with him over the price and finally agreed at 100 B. But I had no clue where my hotel and I had left all papers pertaining to the airport in my bag back at the hotel. I somehow found my tour iterinary and got the bike taxi man to call me tour operator to find the address of the hotel. So then I was off. Ripping on a Yamaha (god knws wat model - I dont really care). He said his name was "CHUCK-IT" (at least thats wat i heard).

After i told him i was 19, he started trying really really really hard to be a pimp. He said, while taking one hand off the bike to better illustrate, "Thailand great place for young boy. Lots to do. Can do everything. Fucking Wucking and all." As intrigued as i was by this man, I had no interest, inclination or time to see a hooker. So I said no thanks. But as can be expected he did not give up. He pulled out a pamphlet from his pocket which read "Embassy" which had photos of lots of gals and was some kinda flyer. Still I did not wish to make this man think my curousity was interest so i just said i was not interested. Being persistent beyond this, was not expected. He said "Thai girl, good humping (taking both hands off the bike very briefly to make me understand). Only 1 hour. U not miss flight. On the way. U young boy. University student. U can tell all frnds that u fuck THAI girl."

As brilliant as that marketing might have been to any other person, i was unmoved. So i just said no again. After that to the airport was dull, considering I got no action after all. I was told in the airport that the flight was delayed till 11. I could crib a lot abt wat happened at the airport, the terrible economy class treatment I received, the number of lounges I was turned out of and about how I ended up spending 4 hours in an empty air conditioned pub where I got them to change the music to soft rock, but am not in the mood. Also, my flight's boarding soon.

Ode to thee

2008-05-05T23:33:00.007+05:30

Cant figure out a name for the poem. Will name it after the person I decide to dedicate it to. It follows the Shakespearean Sonnet rhyme scheme. My shitty poetry always makes me smile.

Oft had I, these songs heard,
The wisdom of which I could not tell.
Ere you, my life a surd,
Unravelled by thee, as I fell.

Tried have I, many a time,
But failed always, until now.
My life thus far, worth not a dime,
And all of a sudden, I own the Dow.

Up the mountains and into the sea,
Through the darkness and the light.
It is with you I wish to be,
and seek to spend the waking night.

In my presence, yet out of my sight,
For you shall I wait, and wait with all my might.

Tagged (wonder who started this)

2008-05-04T21:30:00.005+05:30

Tagged by Chand Bibi. Sometimes she cant make it on her own.

Last movie seen in a theatre:

Iron Man: Caught the late show 2 days ago. What a wasteful expenditure. Crossing Nagarbhavi Main Road gives a better thrill.

What book are you reading?

Psychology and Law by Bartol and Bartol.

Favourite board game:

Ah... The last one I played was abrubtly stopped when my dog decided to pee in the middle of the board. Have stayed away from board games since.

Favourite magazine:

Cosmo, without a doubt.

Favourite smells:

The rain, the beach and the person who tagged me.

Favourite sound:

My voice.

Worst feeling in the world?

Being ignored. Esp when my dog's angry.

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?

"I think I can afford to miss this class"

Favourite fast food place:

Adigas.

Future child’s name:

Kiran, regardless of the gender (I think parents who name their kids Kiran really hate their kids).

Finish this statement, “If I had a lot of money I’d…”

travel with Chand Bibi.

Do you drive fast?

Of course not. Speed thrills, but kills.

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?

Depends on who's asking.

Storms - Cool or Scary?

Neither. Actually, both.

Do you eat the stems on broccoli?

Stay away from all vegetables. They're evil.

If you could dye your hair any colour, what would be your choice?

The colours on my blog.

Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in:

Bangalore, State College (PA), Tempe (AZ), London, Rome, Paris, Cairo, Bangkok (one night) and Athens. As far as I can remember.

Favourite sports to watch:

Hmm. Is it a sport? I havn played or watched in almost a year. How sad. (and frustrating?)

One nice thing about the person who sent this to you:

She gets flustered when she's hit on. Intelligent, otherwise.

What’s under your bed?

My bucket. My phone, most nights.

Would you like to be born as yourself again?

Absolutely. Only way to live.

Morning person or night owl?

Sometime mid evening, 10 o clock-ish, when I'm wide awake and fresh.

Over easy or sunny side up?

? I'm vegetarian. Killing animals is bad. Onions are cruel. They also put dirty thoughts in your head.

Favourite place to relax:

Beach. Or high up on a hill. Depends on who I'm with.

Favourite pie:

Chocolate, if theres one like that (Thought American was too cliched).

Favourite ice cream flavour:

Black currant with chocolate chip.

You pass this tag to –

Bones and her boyfriend.

Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?

Bones' boyfriend. Which will prompt Bones to do it as well. Bones, being the pricey person she is, needs two tags and her boyfriend to take notice.

A change of Heart

2008-05-04T13:41:00.003+05:30

Three middle aged ladies just got to my gate to give me BJP printed information much like a voter ID, with everything but the picture. I mean, I already have a voter ID, but this would have made things so much easier to get it. Even if I did not have a voter ID, this could enable me to vote a lot easier and faster.

This is practically a master stroke as I see it. Almost every constituency has a BJP candidate and his picture at the bottom of the chit which houses all the necessary details to vote. I think I just decided to vote for BJP (considering Yeddy's a lingayat and all, I assume he's not like Modi).

But then again, maybe I shouldn't be so easily swayed just cos they had ONE good idea, which made things easier. Maybe what I should do is to vote for Congress. Corruption seems to be a small price to pay considering it's probably common to all three parties anyway. But if the JD(S) and Congress are together, then I'll be voting for treachery.

This is too much pressure on my shoulders. I'm just 19, damn it.

What happened to humour?

2008-05-04T01:53:00.003+05:30

I think I'm turning Bihari. At least my sense of humour seems to have disappeared. I just hope my sex appeal dusn follow. The funniest jokes I have come up with lately:

Why is the law important? Because one can have just one father, but many fathers in law.

Where are you from? I am from the National Loss School.

Somebody save me. Please.

This actually reminds me of a time when I was at BASE. There was a stunningly accurate rumour about the funniest joke at NPS (National Public School - Very nerdy school, quite famous. Have their own entrance exam for +2).

Two atoms are walking down the road, when one of them turns and says to the other, "I think I just lost an electron". The other one asks, "Are you sure?"

So the first atom replies, "Yes, I'm positive".

Treachery, Corruption or Communalism?

2008-05-01T20:52:00.003+05:30

With the upcoming Karnataka assembly election, a tough decision awaits the people. Three parties vie for power - JD (S) with Kumaraswamy and Gowda, BJP with Bookanakere Siddalingaswamy Yediyurappa and Congress with no leaders and the insufferable Krishna (who still awaits a ticket from Sonia Gandhi).

I even thought Presidential rule extended might do the city good. But, no. Its just the Congress ruling from the centre and collecting the proceeds there. So what exactly can we do? I, for one am voting for an independent. This way, I have done my duty as a citizen, while I would not have contributed to any of the vile motives of the three parties. Karnataka politics is truly a black mark on democracy. It shows that even when there is no booth capturing and rigging like in the North, democracy can be left useless when the only options you have are such. Maybe what we need is communism. The CPI should make a grand entry into Karnataka and behind it should follow, naxalites and other maoists. Karnataka can be the next Nepal. We can then secede to China (and live happily ever after).

Why on earth has politics reached such a pathetic stage all over India? I wonder at times whether it is at all worth studying law in a premier institute when you have to apply what is passed by an obviously incompetent legislature chasing its own ends. The legislature to be controlled on these political lines would mean the law would be reflective of their idiotic whims and fancies.

Today's Economic Times contains a full page interview of Yediyurappa. Among many other interesting things, he also says, "We have demonstrated that a BJP government would ensure social justice and equality to all." What the Economic Times forgot to ask him was whether his "all" included anyone but upper caste Hindu Brahmins. He even promised to give the Lokayukta more power to curb corruption. He went AS far as to say that his manifesto is "like our Gita, Quran and Bible". The headline was a quote from within the interview which reads "Gowda can't fool people again" (emphasis added).

My only hope is that the Economic Times will continue to interview more political leaders in the coming days. Among all the pathos, one can find a thin slice of entertainment. The last and final laugh before the world comes crashing down all around you.

This, is politics.

I'm Listening

2008-04-29T00:54:00.004+05:30

Recently, there was a peer counselling meeting to take forward what was taught to us a couple of months ago (yes, I'm a qualified peer counsellor. I have single handedly been associated with 4 suicide attempts). Moving beyond the obvious promptness of the meeting, I think the entire peer counselling training was quite a sham and beyond that, peer counselling even if done well would have absolutely no positive influence on the crud and slime that make up most of the NLS (myself included).

The training itself had a couple of slides and a bunch of women telling us how counselling is done and how one should look beyond oneself etc etc. Why then was it a sham? Well me, the hairy mallu and the scary gult sat together and tried very hard to be part of the activities on the first day, which was dominated by the decent chom and the red bull mascot.

If something is to be dominated by the red bull mascot being the teachers pet, spouting statements like "I used to think smoking was cool". I think we can agree the teachers might not be all that astute. Maybe they just needed someone to listen to them talking. That the mascot seemed to achieve, interspersed with the decent chom making statements like "I am the spirit", something which he seriously believes by the way. Taking nothing away from his spiritual beliefs, I don't think that it was a very relevant or interesting statement to make given the context.

Hoping the next day would be better, praying for an extension and not wanting to waste our 300 Rs. investment, all of us found ourselves at the centre, the second day as well. The second day started off with the decent chom recanting how one day of training had helped him achieve a different stance with people he talked to. (He told someone to relax, instead of telling him to chill)

Upon questioning, he refused to betray the trust of the person concerned and reveal his identity considering the exceedingly personal nature of the verbal intercourse (they discussed how the person had not yet started his projects 6 days prior to submission. A situation which would, of course, drive any law schoolite mad considering how early projects are normally submitted). This of course is a very good start to a life of peer counselling. Keeping secrets. Which brings me to why a peer counselling initiative, done right, would still serve no purpose.

The essentials of peer counselling include trust and being non judgemental. Both these are so easily achieved in a close knit community like law school. The person you are talking to would be refering to some problem within law school which would essentailly translate into someone else who you know, who you already have an opinion about. Regardless of the lack of use of names, the news is bound to travel. Law school is not a place for secrets. Hardly anything remains a secret. About being non judgemental, I dont see how the egoistic, self centered, bright upcoming citizens that law school is grooming CAN ever be judgemental.

So what is the purpose of peer counselling? Maybe it could transform into some kinda dating helpline cos we donr have enough of that in law school as of now. Maybe the college would even chip in and pay the phone bills of the peer counsellors. What we need is a counsellor. A neutral third party who knows absolutely no one on campus. Who can be trusted with a story cos he/she has absolutely nothing to gain spouting it. Not even entertainment value. At least it wont be spouted within law school or to a law schoolite. This is what we should be aiming at.

Peer counselling cannot handle people in alw school. Nothing would change. People need to go out more and integrate themselves with the surroundings. When was the last time you went to a college fest and saw, if not met, new people? Maybe the information interchange programme thought of by the Fat Odiya is something we all need. Definitely, the call of the hour is for people outside to be called in.

We should stop being so egoistic as to believe we can solve all the problems within ourselves. It's quite obvious we can't. We need to be self sufficient, understanding, sensitive, YES. But will that stop someone who wants to actually jump, from jumping? I say, no. Trust is hard to come by in law school, and even when found, it is easily betrayed. To create trust between new friends, old trust is always betrayed. I'm confident, you have never betrayed anyone's trust. I mean, how could you? You're a law schoolite. We're the epitome of morality and ethics.

What can be done about the worsening situation among law schoolites? GET A COUNSELLOR. GET PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE TO TALK. When any such initiative is taken, get your asses out of bed and come take part. Meet NEW people for a change. Dont sit in your room and crib about how the localites dont understand how modern we all are. Go out, mingle, get to know people. Nothing wrong about knowing people outside your little circle of misfits. But most important of all, when there is an initiative for interaction with outsiders, be it a talk on jurisprudence or a talk on dope, sex and other adoloscent issues, try to make it to the talk instead of sleeping around or wasting time cribbing and moping. We, at law school need holistic development. It would be pathetic to be broken destroyed people who can only spout the law sitting at a desk cos litigation is obviously out of the question for most of us.

We need to understand our actions now will have a lasting effect later in life. The fact that we are the spirit does not immunise our bodies from all the spirits and nicotine we consume. Maybe it was time to find alternate forms of distraction. Maybe support is all that is lacking. If people stopped being lazy, things could happen. Peer counselling is a good example. A badly conceived idea, with hopeless implementation got around 20 people to attend (each paying good money). Maybe a slightly better idea would get 40 people to attend, and this 40 might blossom into 400 over the course of a couple of years.

That, is my hope.

Good Charlotte and Sum 41

2008-04-28T18:11:00.006+05:30

Gautam's theme songs with lyrics.

Sum 41 - Still Waiting

Same ve(a)in.

A sheep named Stalin

2008-04-23T09:37:00.015+05:30

This post is a response to the irresponsible accusations about the movie Charlie Wilson's war made here. The post above talks about how bad the movie was.

Anyone who takes the trouble to look beyond the obvious would be able to appreciate that the movie was exactly as it should be in order to convey a message about how the people who suffer are always those who are in the battle zone, while the congressman enjoys his recliner and Julia Roberts. (Much like the trading in agricultural derivatives in the Indian market is making farmers suffer)

What does one look for in a movie? The impact, the story, the cinematography? Maybe for a non movie buff, all one looks for is the sleaze. However, being able to appreciate the finer nuances of a movie is what makes a movie worth watching.

First of all, the film is by no means, a "comedy". It wasn't meant to be one. It follows the normal Tom Hanks tradition of satire and sarcasm during lighter moments in order to convey a deeper message to a wider audience (the sleaze catering to a particularly shallow audience - north indians, for instance).

Second, if someone were to watch the movie and get ANYTHING out of it, it would be that it was so easy to wage war (getting 500 million dollars for the purpose) and pretty much impossible to get a million for reconstruction of schools. The movie is extremely relevant as of now as the US is treading the same path in Iraq. If a democrat gets elected, the promise to withdraw troops would result in a similar situation as has been shown here.

The entire movie talks of the futility of war and more relevantly, the futility of a cold war. It shows the amount of horse trading that seems necessary to ensure that weapons just reach the agents. The CIA agent explains the story of the Zen Master and the little boy at the end of the movie although there is an allusion to it right at the first meeting with Wilson. The station chief at Islamabad seem to echo the sentiment of the cold war. All this looks to show us how war serves no purpose.

Tom Hanks pulls off a Tom Hanks as usual and is as stunning as ever. Julia Roberts cant look bad no matter what she does or wears and the entire movie is built up brilliantly to deliver the message at the end. The ending would not have had its impact if it had not been built up they way it had. It is important, of course, to understand that the movie was screened at an International Relations course to show how insanely ludicrous and historically doctored it was. But that seems to have slipped notice. The movie makes you think. It makes everyone think. You would say something as insanely egoistic as dialogue being imperative only if you feel if u have a monopoly over thinking for yourself. You call it a premier legal institute. Maybe someone else, at least 2 other people in that room that day other than you could possibly think and understand the significance of the screening. I personally find nothing wrong with this movie being screened and would go as far as to say, it was a good choice.

I am confident that a blog entry is not a start of anything. You wanna actually do something abt it (and not just crib endlessly and yell at everyone in sight to get responsibility)? Then blogging is definitely not the answer. You have to start somewhere where it matters.

Lastly, Communism deserves to be stereotyped.

It is the most wretched form of government there is, was or ever will be.

Communist pigs do not value the meaning and fragility of life (here i refer to the communist leaders and not every communist citizen in general - after all the leaders are the basis for judging the cause anyway). Why then, should we respect theirs? I have been a Marxist socialist most of my life and the one thing I hate more than capitalist blood sucking, is communism.

I believe in one principle of morality around which i have structured
my entire life.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Raghu Dixit Project

2008-04-22T22:47:00.004+05:30

There's something about a local artist/band/singer that evokes a sudden rush of patriotism. It of course helps a LOT if the artist is actually good. I recently decided to buy a cd of the Raghu Dixit Project. I feel it was 159 Rs. well spent. This song is in Kannada, but the chap sings in flawless English (not whole songs, but some lines) and Hindi as well. It is truly rare to find someone with a good pronunciation in all three languages. I will put up the lyrics sometime (translated and in kannada), just not now.

Bored, Ignored, Irritated and Miffed.

2008-04-21T12:03:00.002+05:30

FINALLY found a site which had all the info abt the IPL teams. It HAD to be BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/7340985.stm

Sitting in a TP class is akin to the chinese water torture.

Vacation!

2008-04-16T10:49:00.008+05:30

A hectic vacation is quite like a cumbersome girlfriend. You're in it for some form of distraction from the monotonous boredom, yet you feel more stressed than relaxed at the end of it. It is due to this that a vacation should ordinarily be kept relaxed with ample time to get sleep.

My programme for 3 weeks looks like this. I leave for Gokarna 12th night and return on the 15th early morning. 2 days later, on the 17th afternoon i go to Goa and return late night on the 20th. From the 26th, I have my mid term exams.

I returned from Gokarna yesterday in the Morning. What i realised about travel is that the destination is quite as important as the journey, unless the journey itself is fun. When I think of the old saying about how lifes a journey and not a destination, I can only say its bull shit. Lifes as much the destination as the journey. Especially when the journey's bumpy. When the journey's smooth u tend to ignore the destination and enjoy the journey. So lifes all abt the destination. Its just that one seems to forget the destination when one's enjoying the journey which makesthe journey painless and the destination worthwhile. I do not say for a minute that an EASY journey is necessarily a good journey. A good journey is one which keeps u distracted from everything else, yet allows u to be aware of the final destination.

Why this came up is due to my recent tryst with VRL travels. The bus itself is probably the worst ive ever seen. The seats are quite uncomfortable, the bus has no suspension and the driver seems to mistake the bus for a Formula 1 car. The bus ride lasted nearly 12 hrs, when i boarded the bus at 745 at Jayanagar and reached Gokarna at 730 in the morning. Gokarna was of course insanely hot. Upon reaching Gokarna, we hired a taxi for all nine of us to get to Kudle Beach. When we reached the end of the road traversable by the sumo, we walked down a precarious hill. My compadres decided they wanted to save money and opted to stay in shacks with no fan (not even a table fan), lots of mosquitoes and a common loo which was a 20 minute walk away. I was accused of being elitist for deciding to stay at a decent hotel with an ATTACHED loo. Of course, 3 others followed suit and the difference per head was 150 Rs (in my eyes it was easily worth 225 a head, at least for the fan). The beach itself was absolutely clean with no man made or natural garbage, or faeces. It is a joy to see such a sparklingly clean beach.

I ended up going on a boat ride to help pass the time at the beach when 5 of the others decided to trek up a hill to watch the sunset. The boat took us to the nearby beaches - Om, Paradise and Half Moon. We got to see the sun turn orange from the middle of the sea, with the motor off and peacefully. I then jumped into the water arnd 300 m from shore and attempted to swim back. From under the water, all i could see was the boat and was hence using that as a beacon to guide me to shore. However, the boatmen decided that if I died itd be on his conscience and decided to go in a circle arnd me to ensure my safety. Due to this, I lost direction and had to stop and yell, "Which way to the shore?" To which the response from the boat was "Keep swimming straight". I finally made it back to shore and the kinda high that ensued was quite exhilirating. I had always wanted to do that. I did learn something important from this journey though. Waves recede. DO NOT DO BUTTERFLY IN THE SEA CLOSE TO THE SHORE.

The second day was just relaxed and 5 decided to trek up the hill in the scorching and walk the TAR roads of Gokarna in order to shop. Being lazy as i was, I stayed back with 2 of my chain smoking roommates, who cudn ve made it had they wanted to and a tiny little girl for whom the hill seemed like Everest (above a certain height, all mountains look the same height for relatively shorter people). We stayed back and rented a boat instead which took us around the mountain and dropped us off at the beach. Being as stupid as i normally am, i got my jeans wet by standing in the beach. The way back was quite complicated as the "majestic" VRL bus only started from Honnavar. We had 8 tickets on this bus and 1 on a direct Gokarna to Bangalore bus. We sent one of the responsible girls alone in the first bus and 8 of us set off on a local NWKRTC bus to Kumta and then Honnavar from there. We reached in time to ve rock hard idlis and oily puris later catching the VRL bus and leaving.

We all had sleepers on this bus and the tiny girl had motion sickness throughout (how she came back, stayed awake in class and gave a case presentation is BEYOND me). We finally got off near Rajajinagar and made it back to campus well in time for class. On the whole it was a fun experience. I now look forward to indulging in some water sports in Goa. My flight leaves in just over 11 hours from now.

American, Chinese, German, American, French, Syrian, English or Japanese?

2008-04-07T02:50:00.009+05:30

I just got done watching CHINATOWN. Its a 1974 movie with Jack Nicholson. After watching this movie, I felt I should compare some movies I have seen which seem to have the same resounding effect on me. Some movies just refuse to leave you and stick with u for a very long time. There is always something to learn and remember in all such movies.

So here they are:

Shawshank Redemption: This essentially turns into a feel good movie towards the end slightly lessening its blow.

Chinatown: Just stunning. It takes its own time to sink in, but when it does, you are left to think abt a masterpiece. What makes this movie one of the best I have ever seen? Attention to detail. Every little seemingly useless moment seems to have some significance and connection in a grand scheme of things. Every actor has given his best and directed to perfection. It does not have a happy ending or a pleasant storyline. Chinatown could represent modern day china. The movie is remarkable and a must watch for any movie watcher who watches movies for the story and not the violence or sex.

Leben der Anderen, Das: What do u get when u put in a stunning babe in a movie with a rivetting story? The Lives of others is unquestionably exciting and involving. It is one such movie where one dusn mind reading the screen throughout. (This movie motivated me to try and learn german. Haven got v far yet)

Bucket List: Two terminally ill cancer patients who decide to do stuff before they die. So wat? The two patients are Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. Thats what. Need any more be said? Well, it is a very moving movie with not much of a story, but a brilliant character sketch and the meaning of life, love and regret. Very well made and beautiful cinematography.

Leon: Crafted like a madeleine, the movie talks of violence yet shows no gruesome or macabre scenes. By the end, you find yourself rooting for a professional hitman who kills with no mercy. The entire character sketch is brilliant and Portman steals the show as usual (even when she was 12). Slow at times, but that is necessary to build up the character. (This movie should NOT be compared to Hitman, which is by far the worst movie I have ever seen in any language (and ive seen my share of the bad ones). The movie hitman should be avoided unless the other option is death. Even then, its a tough decision.)

Syriana (Stephen Gaghan film starring Clooney - Thanks, Bobo): This movie is nowhere near as good as "Good Night and Good Luck". I wouldn recommend this movie unless u have 2 hrs of time to kill and feel like getting into intense drivel with a sad and torturous ending. Chinatown is a much better movie and seeks to convey the exact same message. The rich will triumph over the poor. Come what may. This movie is on par with "Confessions of a dangerous mind" (Clooney's direction if im not mistaken).

The Third Man: BRILLIANT. Just Magnificient. Its a must see and theres no question abt it. Every dialogue has been crafted to perfection. It shows the American "protagonist" as a TRUE american. Well what sets it apart from the rest of the movies in this list? Its a BRITISH movie (Made by London films). Nothing more need be said about its obvious superiority.

Rashomon: Slow, Painful, yet still worth watching. How so? Some dialogues may seem quite anti feminist (who cares?), but the movie is not. It is very well shown and shows man's nature of overplaying EVERYTHING in order to look good. Should one have faith in man? I would say NO. Cynics are the most suited men for this planet for they are the only ones who can TRULY understand man's nature. This movie proves the dictum of HOUSE MD, "Everybody Lies". (Again, a British lead to make an American show a hit)

Ugly Feminists?

2008-04-03T20:21:00.004+05:30

I woke up today wondering why EVERY feminist I have ever known has um... not been very pretty. Is it that feminists are unattractive or unattractive people are feminists?

Quite obviously the latter is quite untrue cos ive known many unattractive people who weren feminists. The sad part is looking at a reasonably attractive person and wondering, "hmmm.. wudn this person be attractive if she wasn a feminist?"

I mean, Im all for equal rights, but to writhe on the floor and beg, appealing to the good nature and conscience of man is quite pathetic. Pitiful, even.

In my limited experience, in today's world, ugly feminist is quite redundant. Maybe in a couple of years, we can finally use the words interchangeably.

SHOULD FEMINISTS BE ALLOWED TO FIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY IN THE ARMY?

I feel yes. Lets appease them. Lets send ALL the feminists to the front and then wait for war. It serves so many purposes. Ill just list three. One, and MOST "IMPORTANT", we accet the demands of the feminists. So theyl shut up for sometime. Two, the averae beauty of the world would just sky rocket upward. Three, well, peace in the world at last.

Rammstein - Amerika

2008-03-30T12:32:00.001+05:30

Hillary is ocassionally human

2008-03-26T12:36:00.003+05:30

"I did mis-speak the other day. You know this has been a very long campaign [laughs] so occasionally I am a human being like everybody else."

OKAY, A TYRANT?

2008-03-22T18:50:00.003+05:30

The word okay is one of the most used words in the English language. In common usage, it's used over 10 times in EVERY conversation. But the origin of the word has been shrouded in mystery until recently.

Archaeologist Peter Armstrong recently deciphered documents found at a house in London. The documents were, for the greater part, saved from the great fire of london due to being buried in the ground. The documents were unearthed just under a year ago when a six year old boy was "digging for treasure" in his garden.

These documents have been verified for authenticity and conclusively prove that OKay was a tyrant. The papers meticulously document a war where Okay was finally overthrown. At the end of a war which claimed over a thousand innocent lives, to ensure that no other innocent life was claimed, "Are you Okay?" was the last question Okay was asked before he found himself at the wrong end of a musket.

Armstrong believes that by using his name so often, we keep alive one of the worst tyrants who ever lived; a person who could put Saddam Hussein to shame (although the number of people killed were far fewer, the atrocities committed were far worse). The usage of the term in mostly a positive or neutral way has resulted in making "okay", a household name.

Megalomania

2008-03-14T11:35:00.002+05:30

I received a message from an unrecognised number this morning. It was quite simple, precise and conveyed a very important message. It read "This is my new number."

MOSES WAS HIGH!

2008-03-06T10:23:00.004+05:30

Apparently all the biblical adventures of moses are easily explained by the fact that moses was high! Seems very believable to me.

Nash

2008-03-02T02:58:00.000+05:30

Another brilliant one (obviously not mine)

Brian was dating Lorraine and they were very close. While they were dating he met another woman named Clearly and wanted to start dating her but felt that he should be faithful to Lorraine. So he continued to date Lorraine. One day Brian took Lorraine on a walk in the woods by the river. As they were walking near the river Lorraine fell in and was washed away. Brian softly sang, "I can see Clearly now, Lorraine has gone..."

British Letter to Americans

2008-02-26T22:42:00.006+05:30

I seriously wish I could take credit for this joke. Its brilliant.

To the citizens of the United States of America, In the light of your failure to elect a proper President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchial duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. Except Utah, which she does not fancy. Your new prime minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a minister for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium". Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour', skipping the letter 'U' is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to pell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter 'Z' (pronounced 'zed' not 'zee') and the suffix "ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise". You will learn that the suffix 'burgh is pronounced 'burra' e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you can't cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up "vocabulary". Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up "interspersed". There will be no more 'bleeps' in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn't have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won't have to use bad
language as often.

2. There is no such thing as "US English". We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of "-ize".

3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to Cockney, upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents - Scottish dramas such as "Taggart" will no longer be broadcast with subtitles. While we're talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is "Devon". If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become "shires" e.g. Texasshire,
Floridashire, Louisianashire.

4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as "Men Behaving Badly" or "Red Dwarf" will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can't cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness.

5. You should relearn your original national anthem, "God Save The Queen", but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through.

6. You should stop playing American "football". There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American "football" is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays "American" football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US rugby sevens side by 2009. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the 'World Series' for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls' game called "rounders" which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs.

7. You should declare war on Quebec and France, using nuclear weapons if they give you any merde. The 97.85% of you who were not aware that there is a world outside your borders should count yourselves lucky. The Russians have never been the bad guys. "Merde" is French
for "5hit". You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler.Because we don't believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called "Indecisive Day".

9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same
time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips. Fries aren't even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called "crisps". Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat.
Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.

11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself.

12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all, it is lager. From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as "beer", and European brews of
known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "Lager". The substances formerly known as "American Beer" will henceforth be referred to as "Near-Frozen Knat's Urine", with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as "Weak Near-Frozen Knat's Urine". This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in Pilsen, Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.

13. From December 1st the UK will harmonise petrol (or "Gasoline" as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st 2009) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the Former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices
(roughly $7/US gallon - get used to it).

14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort
things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

15. You will stop calling the United Kingdom; England. England is a region of the UK not a country.

16. Please tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us crazy.

Tax collectors from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly
to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).

Thank you for your cooperation.

Dave Chappelle

2007-11-14T22:27:00.000+05:30

I never actually thought i would like a stand up routine after Seinfeld episodes had bored me so much. I then watched Russell Peters and ended up with the same results. So it was a very pleasant surprise when i came across Dave Chappelle. So he's crude and shouts a lot. But his material is excellent. This is an excerpt i found particularly funny.

"The girl says, 'Wait a minute! Just because I'm dressed this way does not make me a whore!' Which is true. Gentlemen, that is true. Just because they dress a certain way doesn't mean they are a certain way. Don't ever forget it. But ladies, you must understand that is fucking CONFUSING! It just is.

Now that would be like me, Dave Chappelle the comedian, walking down the street in a cop uniform. Somebody might run up on me, saying, 'Oh, thank God. Officer, help us! Come on. They're over here. Help us!'

'OH-H0H!!! Just because I'm DRESSED this way does not make me a police officer!'
All right, ladies, fine. You are not a whore. But you are wearing a whore's uniform."

Of course his delivery makes a lot of difference to the joke.

Ratatouille

2007-11-08T00:46:00.000+05:30

A truly ratty movie. I would recommend it to all the uh.. "movie buffs" out there. Those that liked fantastic four for instance. It is not bad, pretty well made, nice story, but gets pretty boring and the ending is far too predictable. The one character is the greatest theme is so over explored that it gets obvious as to what would happen in every scene. I can go so far as to say even some of the dialogues were predictable. Nobody would want to watch a movie where everything is known. Then again, a lot of people who haven'twatched many movies will enjoy it.

I recommend Hot Fuzz for any person who has not seen it. It is probably not one of the best i have seen as it gets slow at some parts. However, it is right up there with the great movies. The story is brilliant and the movie is exceptionally hilarious at parts. British comedy at its best. The American ideals as enumerted in the Die Hard series, Bad Boys 2, Point Break etc are shown in a very interesting light.

The SNAKE

2007-11-02T11:14:00.001+05:30

As i gaze into the sky,
I feel my life is spent.
I look down as time flies by,
And see a slimy serpent.

The snake tempts me like it did Eve,
To squish the weak beneath my feet.
The pity I felt seems to take my leave,
The vile beast has no time to retreat.

Sudden mercy grips my soul.
I withdraw my leg and away I turn.
How strange it is for my bell to toll,
It is for all of us to learn.

The snake had struck upon my back,
One time too many as all turned black.

Pi, theta, tora And Justice For All

2007-10-31T09:03:00.000+05:30

Pi - A very obscure movie, yet manages to make you think. Most of the movie doesn't make much sense but it is necessary in order to understand the nuances of the story. The underlying question is, whether there is a number which dictates the patterns behind one's life and actions? Is there order within the chaos?

"Hold on. You have to slow down. You're losing it. You have to take a breath. Listen to yourself. You're connecting a computer bug I had with a computer bug you might have had and some religious hogwash. You want to find the number 216 in the world, you will be able to find it everywhere. 216 steps from a mere street corner to your front door. 216 seconds you spend riding on the elevator. When your mind becomes obsessed with anything, you will filter everything else out and find that thing everywhere."

The similar theme is seen in the movie 23 which falls way below my bench mark of a watchable movie. I would not recommend 23 to anyone. Pi, however, is a dark and grim movie. It seems to be just about to get boring and monotonous and something happens which makes you go "WOW!" or "GROSS". On the whole decent movie, but i wouldn recommend it to anyone who does not like obscure and/or a person who thinks spiderman was a good movie.

And Justice For All is a brilliant movie and is a must watch for any law student who wishes to inculcate some amount of moral integrity to their work. The story revolves around Al Pacino blackmailed to take up a case and ending up defending a judge he does not respect and does not like. The ending was quite brilliantly handled and Al Pacino shines through the entire movie. If only, all lawyers were like Mr. Arthur Kirkland. Very gripping movie and pretty arty at times.

Hostel

2007-10-12T14:50:00.000+05:30

I watch a lot of movies and normally write a lil abt those i like. But sometimes, i end up watching a movie that is SO brilliant, that i just HAVE to write abt it. One such spectacular and amazing movies is hostel (I am being sarcastic. It's easily the worst movie i have ever seen in my life).

I ask the guy at the video rental for an "action" movie. He offers zodiac, but i figure its probably boring. Then he asks me if i liked Saw (its probably the best movie i have seen - its my favourite at any rate). So i answer with an emphatic yes and he says hostel is of the same type. So excited as i was i get to watching it and surprise, surprise. I see a mental image of Lee killing himself for "Saw" just bein compared to Eli Roth's outstanding "Hostel". I mean, come on! Honestly. Roth probably thought up 10 mins of violent scenes (cutting off a person's ankles at the back so he falls off his feet when he stands or burning a person alive and then cutting off the eye which was hanging out after the fire or maybe the classic chainsaw used to cut off some fingers), 20 mins of sex (ya. theres a lot of this) and tried to write another 60 mins of story into it. The movie takes 40 mins and a lot of sex to actually start having a semblance of a plot. Then its mindless violence and a lot of running. Its far from scary. Its actually not only boring, gory, sickening, disgusting and painful to watch, but also makes u want to look up Eli Roth. So thats exactly wat i did. I've even attached a photo of Eli Roth for all those dying to see him. I see that hes a brilliant young man with a promising future. With movies like hostel u wudn expect any different would u? :)

If u want a watch a movie where u have the protagonist escaping because the person trying to kill him slips on the fingers he had just cut off using the chain saw, then Hostel is perfect for u. If u are sane, however, please stay away from the movie. Oh, btw, theres a hostel 2 as well. Maybe ul wnna watch tht too while ur at it. :) I attached some photos from the movie. Hope u can stomach it.

Some problem with the net connection. ill put up the pphotos in a couple of days.

Runaway Jury

2007-10-12T14:39:00.000+05:30

Brilliant movie. Very thought provoking. Can unethical means be used to get over other unethical practices? Is fighting fire with fire to ensure that there is no fire anymore morally acceptable? The movie is excellent and very gripping. I would say a lot abt it, but the story is very intricately woven and i would not want to ruin it for someone who hasn seen it.

I also saw "to kill a mockingbird". Granted Gregory Peck is a brilliant actor and the story is very good, i still found the movie very dragged and downright boring in some parts. I dont know why it is that people actually feel this movie is so brilliant. I have seen better movies by far which are gripping throughout.

I have decided to watch some war movies now (i had been avoiding them till now due to their length and their extremely slow moving and boring nature). I guess "No Man's Land" changed my mind abt war movies. So here i am shivering as i press the play button and Downfall starts off. This movie would probably hold the key to my continuing watching war movies. :)

I also have to watch Judgement at Nuremberg. The Nuemberg trials as far as i see is a clear case of the winner writing history. It is akin to the dishonourable discharge of the two accused in "A few good men". Enough said for now. i need to know a lot more before i can comment on the trials themselves.

The Green Mile

2007-10-12T14:19:00.000+05:30

"He kill them wi' their love. Wi' their love fo' each other. That's how it is, every day, all over the world."

The movie's abt the prison gurad on death row and the story of E Block in Cold Mountain Penitentiary. It is easily one of the most moving movies i have ever seen. By the end of the movie, i was on the verge of tears. It is kinda long and stretched at times, but its gripping and at no point would you feel like taking a break. The movie is abt death and abt how ev1 has to die sooner or later. Its abt takin care of those ppl who are slated to die by the electric chair and suddenly u meet a man who's innocent. What happens then? No. This is not some amazing jail break story. Its a down to earth and simple story. It is pretty unbelievable and fantastic at times, but ignoring the miracle parts of the movie, the msg the movie delivers is strong and it stays with u for ages.

I was told of 3 deaths in the span of 1 week. A murder, an accident at home and a heart failure. I do not claim to know any of the three personally. They are only people i know of. A friend's father, another's mother and a senior. The fact is there are thousands of deaths everyday all around the world. You hear of it and u say "oh" and not give it a second thought. As a wise friend of mine had once said, he always said oh and never cared abt the many murders in Patna until one day his uncle was killed. You never think its a big deal until it actually affects you. I realise this as all three people i did not know. It was a another ocassion for me to say "oh". But, it was somehow different this time. Very different. The finality in death. Theres no comin back from it. I've been privy to many threats. 4 suicide threats as well (one wasn exactly a threat, it only seemed like one. and of the four 2 were by the same person). I never took them seriously and with good reason. No one can take his own life so easily. Apart from the fact that it needs guts, it also needs the person to be in such a pathetic state and with absolutely no one to turn to. No parents, no family and no friends. None of the four were therefore credible. But thats far from what i am tryin to say. I only feel that everyone should realise how lucky they actually are before turnin around and making a mountain of a mole hill and threatenin to commit suicide over nothing substantial.

Unity in Diversity

2007-10-04T17:24:00.000+05:30

"Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time. It's just not worth it."

After the Indian victory over Pakistan in the Twenty20 final, there was a roar in the tv room. All people, whether North Indian, Kannadiga, Tamilian or Khasi were screaming alongside each other. Side by Side. For a brief moment everything was forgotten. Caste, communal, racial, all divides non-existent. No matter what had happened in the past, no matter what one had put the other through or vice versa, there was a feeling of oneness. There was a feeling of UNITY. There was pretty much no reason to doubt that everone in that room was a loyal Indian. Nothing else mattered. A game of cricket is all it takes to unite Indians. It was perfect. India beat their arch rivals Pakistan, AND won the first ever world cup. It was an all round victory.

The point here is there are differences between people. Most people tolerate the differences. This is the safe alternative, yet does not speak very highly of transparency of the people. Others emphasise these differences proving their own way of life is right by adopting a distinct and extreme way of life which would completely oppose the other way of life. I am ashamed to say that over the past few months, i got converted into this vile way of thinking. This was clearly wrong, but the situation and the company at the time made it essential for me to devolve into such a person. But the fact is i cannot blame the situation. I let it happen. Even if it was unwittingly. The situation is never at fault because it is YOU who puts yourself in such a situation. Anyway, i am not placing blame. There are no bad people. Its always a combination of yin and yang. Maybe the people i have been associated with have not had a perfect balance of the two. Or maybe its just with a jaundiced eye that i am seeing these people. Whatever the case may be, there have been numerous misunderstandings and miscommunications which always end in shit. But im digressing. What i wanted to say was that there is a third kind of people. This is certainly a rare breed and i can actually count the number of people who i have met in my life and who come under this category. These people learn to respect the differences between people. It sounds very easy and straight forward, but it definitely is not. People who think they come under this category, definitely do not. I can elaborate, but its not worth the trouble. After all, heaven only knows what people would twist the truth into to get attention.

This occured to me after watching American History X. This movie really spoke to me. The protagonist does what he does because he is pissed off. Misguided rage. It never actually makes any difference to who you are. It only maes you do things u would regret as long as u live. There is no call for anger. Even in the face of betrayal, disloyalty and plain ol' bein stabbed in the back, anger has no place. I learnt this the hard way. Anger solves nothing. It only worsens the situation. There is a call to be angry, but it is not advised. Decisions taken in anger would not be the right ones. I have made many decisions in my anger. I continue with what i have decided solely because i do not wish to swing like a pendulum (a quality that is important in itself). However, it is necessary to reach a balance. To cut ones losses. Had i known this earlier, the last few months of my life would not have been the mistake that it was. Going along with an impulsive decision solves nothing. When u knw the decision was the wrong one, remedial measures should be taken (kinda like the stoploss function in stock trading :) ). Again, i digress. The point i am trying to make is a simple one. It is disheartening that only an external common enemy should make us feel the unity. Why cant the unity be present in everyday life? The unity is blurred by the various things done which, most of the time, shudn be done. So is there a solution?

The movie 300 portrays the Greek situation very well. Athens, Sparta and the various other city states were constantly at war, but when faced with an external threat, they all united and normally won. So where does that leave us? As the protagonist tells his brother in American History X, end an essay with a quote because someone else would have said it better already. This is perfectly true. So ill end this post with a quote. The situation is never to blame. Only the weak blame the situation and say that "circumstances" MADE them do things. It is from Julius Caesar as written by Shakespeare (Act I Scene ii, Cassius)

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves..."

12 Angry Men

2007-10-04T15:45:00.000+05:30

First of all, BRILLIANT movie. I haven actually sat down and updated my blog in ages. I had a lot to actually write over the last few days, but i guess its all old news now and not exactly interesting.

Anyway, the movie is easily one of the best i have seen. It deals with the jury in a murder trial. It is a brilliant character sketch of the various biases and prejudices of the jury and how they operate. The movie has an all male cast with probably only 13 actors or so.

This movie got me thinking. The various prejudices and biases of people who evaluate us. The brilliant teachers who have complete autnomy over our grades, and our lives. So what about their biases? Is it right to give such great autonomy to teachers when they can hide the basis for their evaluation and decide to either mark arbitrarily or keeping the name list next to them. There was once a teacher who specifically told us he would let the "class participation" decide the marks in projects and vivas. Another announces in open class that he keeps the names next to papers while correcting them. Maybe someone should sit down with these teachers and tell them exactly in what ways their past affects our futures.

He's not Sikh, he's a hypocondriac

2007-09-22T12:44:00.000+05:30

What is the identity of a Sikh?

I always thought a Sikh was a person who wore a turban and was the butt of many many jokes. Speaking of which, if one believes that there is truth behind every joke, wat does one conclude with regard to the multitude of such Sardar jokes?

Tie game

2007-09-15T01:22:00.001+05:30

After just watching the tie game between India and Pakistan, i couldn help but remember a similar situation i was in a couple of months ago. The gamewas snooker and the venuw was above Aishwarya Bakery. It was a doubles game and although i had a team mate who contributed only in negatives and was up against two others who were at the top of the game, i managed to draw the game at the last ball. It was at this point of time that i knew i was bound to win (as it was my shot next). Unfortunately, my opponent decided to quit while he was winning and left. I guess i was so shocked at such a lack of sportsmanship that i had no clue how to react. As i saw him leave the parlour, i couldn help but watch as my team mate decided it was an ample time to stab me in the back (not for the last time) and replace the cue as a means of acknowledging that the game had ended. Much to my chagrin, my team mate also tried to explain to me that i should let it go as it was the "ideal" situation. My opponent's team mate understandably stayed away from the conflict and watched the "fun" that was about to unfold.

As i had never in my life seen such gutless behaviour, i had no clue how to react. Rage getting the better of me (as it somehow always manages to do), i started screaming right from the parlour all the way back to campus "loser", "chicken" "come back and finish the game". The responses were brilliant and very apt (as always). "My ethics did not let me finish the game" and many other such well though out and brilliantly phrased statements in impeccable English. Upon reaching back, the fight continued and i ended up regressing as usual and taking it head on. As usual when the going got tough, the brilliance comes out in peculiar ways. A comment was made about my having sexual relations with my mother (which was very relevant to the fight of course). After making the statement, my illustrious opponent decided to leave as he thought he had won this as well or maybe it was just that he thought it was better to quit while winning (I believe the problem starts when my opponent tries to start thinking - clearly it is not something someone that smart needs to do on a regular basis). My team mate was confused as to where the loyalty should lie. After a lot of thinking, i am not quite sure as to the side which was picked. As usual (at least with this particular team mate), i ended up fighting alone after which i carefully withdrew myself as i realised it was neither intellectually stimulating (due to the extremely high level of responses) nor interesting (well both of them may be a lot of things, but interesting they are NOT).

I was wondering what would have happened if Pakistan (as they ended up losing) had decided to just walk away instead of playing the bowl out. Am sure such a lack of sportsmanship is impossible to come by nowadays. Everyone seems to have the courage to stand up for themselves. Well i can say i found a whole set of people who defy the norm. There has also been acceptance in this regard on numerous ocassions. At least they are comfortable with who they are (or what all they lack).

My only concern in this regard is the complete lack of sportsmanship. I decided then not to play with this opponent ever again. But that is beside the point. I mean, such behavious is the reson snooker is not taken seriously as a game. Some bad seeds end up ruining the game for everyone. If it was in my power such people would never play the game. I mean what is the point in playing if u cant even accept defeat? Such is the place of snooker in India as of today. It is not taken seriously as a game and it is seen as a pass time as people come to parlours to smoke pot (or god knows what this opponent of mine does there). It is clear that there is need for rethinking your opponents and just anyone who can hold a cue stick is not enough. A certain degree of maturity with regard to the game is expected and definitely wanted. The game could do with players with no skill but with integrity (rather than people who pretty much lack both).

Official Language Controversy

2007-09-14T12:46:00.000+05:30

Looking at the war sparked off by the History teacher in class, we see that regionalism has always been present. The "beast" has just been awakened. Statements like "I do not want a South Indian identity just because i am dark" are very frequent. Some people just dont know how to take compliments (even if they are due to a mistake).

I seek to end this controversy once and for all (considering its so obvious - how can there have been so much heated debate? :) ) I list out the various options and explain why they are not adequate solutions to the problem.

Hindi: Clearly it is unacceptable. The very fact that it has been chosen as the national language has resulted in a lot of bad blood. Clearly, we are unhappy with the present state of things. So we can safely say this is not the right solution.
English: How can the official language be alien? How? It helps create a national identity and portrays unity. Considering, in the preamble to the Constitution, we feel that India is sovereign and we have thrown off all the "yokes of foreign rule", we cannot popssible have the creation of a national language which is not even within India. Also, hardly anyone from above the Vindhyas can converse properly in this language (as far as i have seen at least :) ). So English is ruled out.
Tamil: What can i say? My cousins from Tamil Nadu have tried in vain for so long to get some little recognition for their language. It just does NOT happen, does it? Why is it so hard for them to get a hint? Clearly, considering how long they've tried, its about time they give up
NO NATIONAL LANGUAGE: How devoid of self - identity should one be to even consider or think abt having NO national language? I mean come on, honestly. I am sure that such lack of integrity is very rare. Just say we cant settle on the plurality so we'll just NOT even try. The "We cant settle the dispute so we wont even try" attitude is startling. I mean where is the fighting spirit? This is obviously far from the solution as im sure our country is made up of millions of self respecting people and such suggestions are exceptions to the rule.
Kannada: Although this is the best possible option as it is the proverbial perfect language, it has not been advocated very strongly as the people here are happy with their own identity and dont impose it on others. Within their confines, they ensure that self identity and the sense of values and language is advocated and followed to the letter. Imposition on unconnected third parties is seriously not worth bothering about.
Bengali: "ARE YOU MAD?" Sums it up pretty much.
Khasi (or some other North Eastern language): "According to the 1971 census there are about 220 languages spoken in these states" (http://www.iitg.ernet.in/rcilts/n_e.html). I think we'll just wait till they figure out among themselves which language to ask for as the national language.

So we now have 1 language from the South (Tamil. Kannada has not really been pushed for), 1 from the North (Hindi - we can ignore Bengali for obvious reasons), representation from the North East (as i have not been able to identify one. This is probably because i know very little abt them. So ill just refrain from comment. As usual.) and one alien language (Am ignoring the NO national language argument as ppl interested in this debate must have some form of identity abt themselves - I hope). The solution to this so simple it has just to be seen.

The national language should clearly be Kannada. As a language, it is derived from Sanskrit, so it has some aspects close to Hindi. It is related to tamil (many words are identical or very similar) and is very similar to telugu. Most importantly, it is not imposed. We just hope that enlightenment would dawn on the whole country where they'll "realise" for themselves that this is so clearly the answer. This covers all the above concerns. It is not alien to India. It borrows from other many other languages and thereby keeps evolving. Most importantly, it relies on the self realisation of all the people in the country and is clearly not an imposition. So what possible rational objection could anyone possible have to this?

Shawshank or NLS?

2007-09-12T22:18:00.000+05:30

"These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized."

I just watched the Shawshank redemption and couldn help but draw many parallels between "life" in NLS and life in Shawshank prison as portrayed by the movie. Dont read ahead if u haven seen the movie as ul be spoiling for urself a hell of a story. Its a brilliant movie that is not only fast moving and gripping, but also appeals to ur heart. I reached the conclusion that NLS is the mental incarceration equivalent of the physical equivalent in Shawshank. Since its mental, its far worse and takes around 1/10th the time to actually operate.

Starting right from the beginning, most of us did not CHOOSE to come here. We came here by chance. We just happened to write a good paper on that fateful day. We also happened to get through the interview without laughing or jeering at the people on the other end of the table. For these two "acts", we've been sentenced to two terms back to back. BA and LLB. We are now mwntally incarcerated as we cannot leave. Either due to external forces such as parents or due to internal forces making u realise u couldn live with urself if u left.

Right at the beginning, by the harsh treatments of those inmates already here, some people had to leave. They were so badly beaten (mentally - positive interaction) that nothing could save them. The earlier inmates take bets and see how they can make the fresh ones cry. Most importantly, the entire prison has people smoking throughout and cigarettes form the vein of the barter system. Something all of us should have already seen.

Upon entering, some people are silent and take a long time to open up to the inmates. You finally meet the dark man "who can get things" or in this case, the dark man "who bought you things". U end up becoming friends with such people, a bond that grows stonger over time. In the first few months, we are under a lot of pressure and lots of people find it difficult to adjust. There will be instances of mental sodomy by various gangs of inmates that u work hard to avoid, but put up a fight if u end up getting caught. The former knowledge and the fact that u are good with numbers helps u gain friends among the inmates. We make "friends" with the SDGM and they do the vigilante work of keeping away the evil sodomisers. Fines are levied and upon permanent damage to the wallet, the brutal attacks stop. The SDGM is clearly protecting us now.

Very soon we are called to forcibly work outside as interns to help "better" law students and give them a look at the outside world. We end up backing various scams (like classes for instance - barring constitutional law of course) and covering for them. We realise that the honest people we were (at least most of us and to a certain extent) turns completely inside out here and most of us tend to take the easy way out. While succumbing to the various vices, we see that most people lose hope of ever leaving. When they finally have to leave (after their term), they have nowhere to go and quite a few people decide to stay on ("Remnants"). They do anything it takes to stay back as they have been "institutionalised". Those few who actually make it out, dont know what to do and end up missing their time in the law school. It finally culminates in some dead end desk job in a firm and thereby mentally they commit suicide as there would remain no more intellectual stimulation.

Some of the new people who enter, are helped by us to cope and to learn. When they finally are forced to leave or are removed by circumstances, we feel the truth of the entire situation and the way one lives life being mentally incarcerated. We're sent back to mental seclusion. Solitary confinement with no idea what to do. When one finally emerges from the solitary state, and tends to open up, people all around seem to think uve lost it and when u ask for a rope (or go on to the terrace), there is only one assumption made. That the breaking point has been reached.

The end is something that is yet to happen. One thing is for sure. Hope is very important. We must all remember that we will not be here FOREVER. Maybe a long time, but NOT forever. Outside lies a better world. A world where we can actually feel free and liberated. Away from the faculty and the SDGM, all the scams and seclusion. HOPE. Most of the time, its ALL we have in such a place. Sometimes i feel hope is hidden right behind the meaning of the word itself. We just need to find OUR ray of hope to escape from the seclusion and depression that permeates the air.

Exorcism of Emily Rose

2007-09-12T09:01:00.000+05:30

"Work out your own salvation through fear and trembling"

Very few movies outside the series have rivaled "SAW" (in my opinion) in being the most engaging and intellectually stimulating movie. This movie is right up there. Watching this movie has left me dazed with a lot more room for doubt than i already had in such matters. Being an agnostic, i could relate to Linney's character defending the priest. It is important to note that the FATHER was defended by an AGNOSTIC while the State (prosecuting the father for negligent homicide) was defended by a methodist.

Father Moore: Tell me your six names!
Emily Rose: [Possessed] We are the ones who dwell within.
Emily Rose: [in Hebrew language] I am the one who dwelt within CAIN!
Emily Rose: [in Latin language] I am the one who dwelt within NERO!
Emily Rose: [in Greek language] I once dwelt within JUDAS!
Emily Rose: [in German Language] I was with Legion
Emily Rose: [In Assyrian Neo-Aramaic language] I am Belial
Emily Rose: [possessed/English] and I am Lucifer, The devil in the flesh
(from imdb.com)

The brilliance of this movie is that it opens up the possibility of possession being true, while it does not state as a fact that it is. It lets the viewers decide for themselves. Personally, i do not know. The movie still has to sink in before i can actually give it thought, i guess.

Last but not least, BASED ON A TRUE STORY!

My suggestion is to watch it and as soon as possible (and obviously watch Saw - all three).

As long as you love me

2007-09-08T20:39:00.000+05:30

Switching through my playlist, i had the unfortunate pleasure of listening to this Backstreet Boys song "As long as you love me". I couldn't help but feel the song must probably be the WORST i have ever heard as far as the lyrics go. Am not commenting on the music (cos frankly i really dont need to. Its Backstreet Boys)

"I don't care who you are Where you're from What you did As long as you love me"

I couldn't help but think if i knew anyone, ANYONE who lived their life like this. I guess nothing really occured to me then cos i concluded it was far fetched and impossible for a person to rely on how the other person feels abt u rather than how u feel abt the other person. The very desperation of this statement filled me with so much of pathos that i decided i HAD to write about it. So the boys from Orlando dont mind any person as long as the person loves them. So in essence, as long as you love him, u could've been a serial killer who ate all her x boyfriends' livers.

Then again who ever said it had to be a her? The lyrics dont specify now, do they? Since nothing is mentioned, i guess him, her, it would make absolutely no difference as long as you love him. All i can say is such an attitude would definitely help some people i know. :)

National Integration

2007-09-04T11:31:00.000+05:30

Having never been domiciled outside Bangalore in my entire life, joining a National Law School resulted in a severe culture shock. The people i ended up meeting were very different and most of the time who or what they were was a reflection of where they came from. There are many exceptions to this. For example, a person born in Bihar, yet who lived and studied elsewhere would no identity as no community would probably want her. I am only generalising from what i have seen. It is purely my opinion. I have grouped this either geographically, by culture or by language (limited to Indians nationals only).

Choms: Choms are hindi speaking people. They are generally those people who are above the Vindhyas. It is mainly Delhi and the region surrounding it. They can be further divided by the place they originate from.

a) Delhi - The self proclaimed "cool" people. Most of the people i have seen have been well to do (extremely so). The normal conversation runs along these lines. "You know, my uncle bought a Jaguar (god knows where he plans on driving it considering Indian roads) yesterday". "Ya? My dad's buying me Bihar for my birthday".

b) Noida - Normally "intriguing" people, but tend to be boisterous, self centred and irritating at times.

c) Lucknow - hmmmmm......

d) Bihar: Generally nice people, can be crude at times though.

2. Bongs - Bengali speaking people. Normally from West Bengal, but there are some migrants here and there. In the words of one of my learned friends, "Bongs are bongs". Pretty much sums it up actually. Hardly any exceptions.

3. Chinks - Nomenclauture due to the Chinese looking eyes, chinks originate from the NE part of India. I really should not comment on them for love of life and limb.

4. Bombayites - Lets just say "casual", shall we?

Coming to South Indians now,

5. Mallus - Ah Coconut oil. What else can i say? Very cunning, but nice people to hang out with. Being from an all Malyali college, lets just say "i have learnt - the hard way".

6. Gults - Telugu speaking people, normally from Andhra Pradesh. Associated with ulcers.

7. Tams - Tamilians. Normally dont gel with Choms very well. They're still bitter about the whole national language issue. Other than that, proud of their culture and secure in their surroundings.

8. Kannadigas - Last, but not least, we reach the cream of society. The pinnacle of evolution. Okay, you guessed right, i am a kannadiga and a proud one at that (hence the bias). Very laid back, relaxed (almost docile). But if irked, they can turn into violent beasts who have let their base instincts control them. This is seen frequently in Kannada movies. There is a great deal of pride involved in living in extremes.

Belum Caves

2007-09-04T11:00:00.000+05:30

This is with regard to my recently concluded visit to a cave system in Andhra Pradesh. As i left the caves only one thought lingered in my head. A poem i had read when i was in school. A poem about "the only rabbit in England". It talks about the various technological advances of man resulting in the destruction of nature. The rabbit then burrows itself into the Earth instead of standing under the "neon lights" and nibbling "on the only patch of grass". The poem ends with the rabbit saying, "it wont be long, they are bound to come, they are bound to come and find me, even here."

The caves are supposedly a national heritage, hence the money poured into it. I wonder if the government were given enough money, would they actually air condition the whole cave and put in escalators for the "comfort" of the tourists. It is just one step away, considering they have put in "air blowers" already. The people with me (my parents included) were all enthralled and found the entire idea of the cave marvellous and awe inspiring. The people were of the opinion that the government (apparently running at a loss considering the "ticket" cost just 25 ruppees) had done a brilliant job in opening the place to the public.

The first thing one notices when one reaches the caves, is the giant Buddha statue and the "BELUM CAVES" written in big on a nearby hillock. As intriguing as this may seem, it is only an indicator of the "greatness" of man, which will be seen in much detail upon venturing further. After passing the ridiculuously overpriced snack bar, we made our way to the ticket counter. Upon buying the tickets, I was personally surprised at the system. It had a bar code and a bar code scanner, which controlled the metal arm which was to be rotated upon scanning the bar code in order to facilitate entry. The last thing i expected in this remote, out of the way place, was such technology. As we pass this point and descend some stairs, we see a gaping hole where there should have been shelter. We are intoduced to a guide who speaks decent English, yet repeats what can be seen or logically assumed by looking at the various "boards" drilled in the ground to ensure that tourists know exactly what they are looking at.

The generator is turned on and we see "soft" lighting all around. We walk into the cave and notice the ground paved. As i pass through the entire system i fail to understand how anyone could appreciate such a cave system. Looking at this cave was as good as looking at the Empire State Building insofar as the cave had been "conditioned" for the tourists. The natural beauty that the cave may have been is definitely no more. Artificial fountains and "waterfalls" are seen in the cave apparently to provide a better "ambience".

A cave so beautiful in itself has been destroyed and gets further sullied by the visit of every tourist.

Honesty and Integrity

2007-09-03T23:21:00.000+05:30

After being a student of the law school for over a year, i find the serious lack of integrity in most of the people i have met. I have seniors and batchmates telling me "its all about giving the teachers what they want". In this competitive drive and spirit, we as students forget the few principles we ought to hold dear, namely honesty and integrity.

I have seen people often change their view on a topic or even their way of life depending on the teacher or situation. Most people find it scnadalous for a student to argue with a teacher or even put forward his point in any way which lacked the sugar coated tact. I do not know if it is just here that there is this complete lack of integrity, but i have noticed it a lot in here. Most people i know here would lie, manipulate and change their views and their personality just to achieve an end. I know this by experience, seeing people lying to my face. Some people take pride in such dishonesty while others feel it is an art to be fake.

I fail to understand how there can be such a lack of self identity just to achieve the end. The problem arises not merely in academics, but in every sphere of life. I have witnessed, first hand, manipulation and lies and in the most trivial of things. There have been instances where perfectly healthy students decide to claim they have typhoid and head back home missing an exam just in order to make sure they do not have a repeat and are hence still in the running for a gold medal. It might be stupid to sit and write the end term after a bad mid term but that does not mean one can lie to make sure that they can remain in the running for a gold medal. It amazes me day in and day out how such people live with themselves. It is lies, deceit and manipulation which form the vein of any activity here.

For instance, a student would look to speak in class even though he does not really have a point to make and dance all around the point without really making the point, which in itself would have taken hardly one tenth the time. Most teachers do not see through this and hence the students are able to use such means to impress the teachers. I feel that this means of garnering marks by using the teachers' biases is not something a person should do. I have heard of instances forst hand where teachers are to be impressed by behaving in a particular way in their classes. This not only shows the students in bad light, but the teachers who are just as easily fooled. I do not claim that the teahcers should not have biases. I only feel they should not be conscious. This seriously affects the merit of students studying in the institution.

This startling revelation is seen when a teacher is not at all vindictive and corrects on merit. The students who did well in the previous papers tend to suffer a lot more in these courses. To what length would students go to achieve their ends? I refer only to academics here. As far as the "extra curricular" activities, each person is unique. In my experience in law school , i have found that honesty is a rare virtue.

Getting back to the lack of integrity in students, this was pointed out by both our Constitutional LAw and the History professors. People write what they think the teacher wants to read. I was once told taht what i write in my answer papers and projects which put forward my view was "suicidal". Maybe in law school it is. But this does not mean one can compromise on one's integrity so easily and take to lying. Hoe people can lie and go to sleep liking themselves is something i will never understand. I guess there is always a time when a person is bound to get caught in a web of her own lies. I do not wish it to happen, but i feel law school and the world in general could use more integrity and honesty.

Land Laws

2007-09-03T22:21:00.000+05:30

Subject: Land Law examination

Dear Sir,

In the recently written mid term on Land Laws, there has been no parity. The Bare Act which was promised numerous times before the examination was not provided on the day. At the time of the examination, after the bell had rung, we were told that no bare acts would be provided and any notes (bare acts, commentaries, class notes, articles etc) could be taken into the examination hall. This gave an unfair advantage to those students who had already carried commentaries and other such notes to the examination hall prior to the exanmination.

This is clearly a gross violation of the equality principle that we hold dear in our country and our institution. Certain students had a bare act, while some others had notes. However, there were certain students with absolutely no notes (class notes or commentaries). Unfortunately, i happened to be one of the unlucky students who happened to come to the examination hall with no notes. It was not mentioned till two minutes after the bell that we would be allowed to take any notes into the examination hall. In a state of complete disorder, there was a rush to the hostels in order to bring in the notes or bare acts. Living at the other end of the campus, it was not feasible for me to go to the hostel and return with the necessary notes. Doing so would have definitely delayed me to an extent where the notes would have anyway been redundant.

I request you to realise that this means of conducting an examination is totally unbecoming of an institution of such repute. An institution known as one of the premier law schools in the country could not and should not encourage such an exam and i am confident that remedial measures would be taken to ensure that parity is restored. My humble suggestion in this regard is to render the mid term examination nugatory.

Yours Sincerely,

Wronged and concerned.