COULD AAP BE THE CHANGE?

BY NOLAN PINTO

Picture courtesy-

www.thehindu.com

For years while growing up, I always discussed this when the subject of politics was brought about as to why could not politicians be down to earth and focus on issues that matter the most to us all. Matters such as continuous electricity, clean water, good roads, better government hospitals and schools and much much more.

While watching Arwind Kejriwal deliver his speech in the Delhi Assembly before the all important vote made me feel that suddenly there is a possibility of this nation changing after all.

For long, many elders dejected with politics in this country told me that nothing happens in India and nobody can change the way politics is played over here. The best option would be to leave the country and settle abroad where at least things are way better and cleaner.

I had nothing to hold on to while always arguing that India can change and will change. Listening to AK speaking that day, I personally felt happy that the change is here. I believe we need to give AK's AAP some time and not pounce on them every other day when things do not move forward. After all, they have to clean and fight the rut that has set in for more than 6 decades. Not an easy job at all for anybody.

So, lets give them time to settle in, take stock of the situation, get a good feel of things, understand up close and personal where the system is failing and more. I would say with the way they have begun all guns blazing, it will not take them more than 3 months max to get the show on the road completely.

It is but human nature to want things done fast but as we all know, things done fast 90% of the time, end up a big waste. Let us have patience. Further more, their success has led to people in thousands wanting to join the party.

I can see it happening in Bangalore with corporates standing up and taking the plunge. The old school politicians will surely be laughing at all this. Their mantra as always is to target the poor and gullible and end up winning.

THEY DESERVE OUR RESPECT

BY NOLAN PINTO

I have always looked up to them from a young age. Always been fascinated with their life. Wanted to be one among them but fate took me somewhere else. The armed forces till date triggers my imagination and with the few websites giving up-to-date information on whats happening, military enthusiasts like me have only that to feel a part of them.

Today, the armed forces are struggling to get the cream of the youth to join them. With easy ways of making money without having to struggle much and putting ones life at risk, why join the forces many say. The government has tried a number of ways to make the forces interesting for the youth but sadly has not been that successful. Of late though, the number of vacancies in the officer cadre which was in the thousands is slowly but surely being filled and thankfully. This is in part to the increase in the pay scale of both officers and soldiers. And also to the better ways of reaching out to the youth either through advertisements in television channels and also in papers.

So, considering that not many want to join the forces because life is tough and your always in danger of being killed, I believe we the nation must always respect them. Respect their decision to serve the country and give up their lives defending it always and anytime.

I had a conversation with a retired Wing Commander who served the IAF for decades. It was simply a normal hello and how are you conversation but it got me thinking when he narrated an incident that took place decades ago in Southern France. This IAF officer along with other officers were in France on some work and their French host was showing them the place. They had to catch a high speed train and were waiting in a queue.

Triumph at Kargil

Not many people were present but their French host, a senior defence ministry official informed the others that these are military personnel and need to get their tickets soon. The few people in the queue immediately gave them way. Wing Commander Rao who now lives in Bangalore informed the train ticket issuer that they are not from the French military but the response he got pleasantly surprised him and all the rest.

That lady told him that even if he is not from the French military, he still served his country. What she did then and there was to in a way respect this man who served the forces of his country thousands of kilometers away.
  
When he told me this, I was stunned. In so many years, I have never heard a retired or even serving armed forces personnel telling me of any such or different incident in our own country.

Picture courtesy- www.instablogs.com

Really folks, do we as a nation respect our armed forces personnel? His experience in a similar situation in India was different. While retuning from a forward area (conflict zone) on leave he sent a requisition for reserving a berth to the nearest rail head. (These were the days before online reservations). On reaching the station he was informed that there was no reservation. Repeated requests to check if any telegram had been received and that he was travelling home from a forward area on short leave fell on deaf ears. He was curtly told that he was not doing anybody a favour by being in the military and to leave the counter.

Yes, we all are equal in the civilian world and being an officer does not mean that they can barge anywhere they want to and get what they want to. But the response is what matters. We do not bother about them simple. While some news channels do try to covers stories on the forces, there are many more who look upon them as nothing but '0' TRP.

Unfortunately, had it been a politician or a film star, people would have fallen over each other to make sure they were comfortable. We forget that those are celebrities made by us, but the forces let us lead the life of celebrities!

INNOCENTS JAILED, WHILE THE GUILTY ROAM FREE?

BY NOLAN PINTO

A pastor who regularly helps in the prison here in Mysore and I were having a talk on many things a few days ago. From what happens in there to how life is tough for them, we touched upon all these and more. The warden himself confessed to the pastor that many in there are not at all accused or involved in the crime but due to reasons unknown to us, were put behind bars.

The pastor then began to speak about how those incarcerated have lost their families. They could not even get out when somebody was sick, dying or even passed away. They had to grieve in silence. What caught my imagination was that Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is out on parole. His wife is unwell and hence the authorities gave him a month if I am right.

He told me about this one man, who was allegedly falsely put in jail. He was an eye witness to a murder. This person has been in jail for the past 8 years. During these years, his wife, son and parents passed away. The pastor tells me that this man has nobody and nowhere to go. The jail is now home sweet home. Even if he is let out now, he said, what can he do? Shunned by society and by his own relatives, who will give him a job? This man, when asked by the pastor for his jail number did not know what that was either. The others convicts upon hearing him being asked, forced him to go get all the documents he had to give it to the pastor. Such is that man’s state of affairs.

Then there was another case where this man was jailed after his wife passed away. Again, we do not know how true it is but according to him, his wife's family put a dowry case on him and that is how he was arrested and incarcerated. He told this pastor that if his wife was alive, she would tell the world he is innocent. She, according to him, was suffering from heart problems and he, the husband tried to take care of her by getting her treated in different hospitals. He was crying bitterly while narrating his life.

I listened patiently and quietly to what he was saying, all the time feeling real sad and at the same time once again angry with our system. The system that favours the rich and powerful and ignores the poor.

Maybe they were wrong and deserved punishment, maybe they have been reformed or maybe they just have been framed. All I am saying is that the justice system must be equal to all. Why is Sanjay Dutt out on parole while these people are stuck inside? I am sure his wife has a lot of aides and family to look after her. They are not without money either. So why did he get parole? Our system sucks.

I have personally seen how the poor are treated and how the rich are worshipped. It is sickening to see all that happening in what we call a thriving democracy. WE are not a democracy.

ZAIKA, INDIRANAGAR- A REVIEW

BY PRIYA JAIN

Planning an evening on a Friday night is a literal nightmare, not only do you fight colleagues and others to ensure you get out of work, but even land up at a full restaurant and are forced to make an exit because it’s too full or too noisy!

This strange experience actually happened to me a week or two ago when I tried to plan a surprise for a friend of mine. We walked into the latest, crazily popular watering hole to find it too full and we walked out. Amazingly enough, my friend was quite a sport and agreed to find another place to wine and dine.

The very normal décor!

Considering we were in Indiranagar, it wasn’t too hard to find another place to eat. But that did not happen before we walked in and out of two other restaurants. One was closed for renovation and the other was, well, just closed!

We finally, grudgingly, trudged into ZAIKA. Considering I was red-faced from all the closed restaurants (and the plan going out of the window), I insisted we eat right there. I realized later and again much later that it was a pretty bad idea. The reasons will come one by one. 

The two of us were welcomed warmly and asked to choose a seat. Well, the whole restaurant from any angle looked the same to me; anyway we chose a seat right around the middle.

We were given rolled & roasted papads to nibble on as we decided our orders. While we chose our order, I noticed that the décor is fairly similar to most other restaurants. There was nothing very memorable about the restaurant or the décor.

Dal Dhaniya Shorba

We chose a soup to begin with. Dal Dhaniya Shorba priced at Rs 85 by two. The first taste of the soup which had dal and coriander tasted a lot like my mom’s homemade dal. It grew on us with a few more sips later. But not enough to try it ever again.

Karara Palak Patta Ka Chaat

The starters of choice were Karara Palak Patta ka chaat & Mil Jhol Subz kurkure. Karara Patta Palak Chaat priced at Rs 175 was a very refreshing starter, unlike any I have ever had before. The spinach leaves were fried to a crisp and topped with several vegetables along with a generous helping of curd and spices. Quite nice. A definite re-visit!

Mil Jhol Subz Kurkure

Mil Jhol Subz Kurkure priced at Rs 195 were just spring rolls with a different name! Really average and not really something that I will ever try again. I expected a tangy flavoring with a lot of vegetables and a sprinkling of condiments, but never mind that.

Description of Kehkashan

After the disastrous beginning, we cautiously ordered just one dish and two parathas for the main course. Kehkashaan was the subzi priced at 190 and Bharwan Amritsari Kulcha at Rs 50 and Lachcha Paratha at Rs 45 were our super cautious orders.

The parathas were perfect, but one was quite enough for each of us to feel overfull. Kehkashaan was very edible and we actually ate the leftovers without bread!

Drinks were cool!

Drinks of choice were Pineapple and cinnamon martini at Rs 295 and Tequila sunrise 275. Both were quite decent and not too many complaints there.

Now the thing is, we are good eaters. On a good day, we have easily polished off 3 starters and at least 3 main courses. And this was a good day. But the food gave us a bloaty feeling. Most people say, that happens thanks to the food additives like soda. Now I am not sure what they added in the food, but I have never had a harder walk down the stairs and then to the parking!!

Added to the absolute nightmare of the bloaty feeling was- the bill! The bill was, as it is nearly 1400. But the taxes were the real back breaker. An additional 300 bucks! I could have had at least 3(much nicer) meals at a local Darshini.

Incidentally, as I was writing this- I got a call from Zaika- asking if friends and I would like to come to the restaurant for a New Year buffet on 31^st. I decided then and there, a big no!

All in all, it is ok if the cost of the food is worth it. Here I found neither the worth nor the satisfaction of blowing up nearly 2000 rupees on a dinner that could have easily been 4 other meals.

SAMPOORNA RESTAURANT IN JP NAGAR- A REVIEW

BY PRIYA JAIN

I won’t waste time- mine or yours trying to describe the AWFUL experience. Brother’s birthday. Family dinner outing. We opted for a buffet. 275+ taxes per head.

BAD BAD IDEA

Starters: Gobi Manchurian and mushroom something. Served at the table. Cold. When we asked them to reheat, they replaced the gobi. When mushrooms were served cold and we objected, we were told ‘fresh ide madam!’ and it was not heated. Result: A platter of mushrooms wasted.

Minestrone and noodle Soup- Average

THE INSIDE VIEW. LOOKS GOOD, TASTES AWFUL
Image courtesy: tripadvisor.in

Main course- Paneer butter masala, some mix vegetable curry- all cold and almost over. Luckily some remnant taste, so was eaten.

Rotis and butter kulchas Served hot. THANK GOD

Rice- 5 varieties- Mostly cold and almost over.

Rasam Was decent

Gulab Jamun Was nice, Rasmalai- So so

HUGE BUILDING. HUGELY BAD FOOD
Image courtesy: in.openrice.com

Vanilla icecream Served at the end was the best thing on the buffet. I am willing to place my bet on the fact that it came out of a box. That was characteristically cold. Thank God for that!

Bottomline: Never go to a place based on the size of the building. And never opt for a buffet post 9 pm, everything you find will probably be leftovers. This is officially one of my top ten worst dining experiences ever, the saltiest soup I ever had notwithstanding. NEVER GOING THERE

AGAIN.  

My brother could have bought a new shirt or shoes or both. We could have had four McDonalds Happy meals and he would have been happy with just the toys. And no, he is not a kid. He just turned 30.