Dangerous Precedent

Tamilnadu is starting the profiling of migrant labor working in Chennai , an aftermath of the encounter killing of 5 suspected bank robbers who were from the northern states of India. This is totally against the democratic rights of each and every individual of  India who are allowed to take employment in any part of India without any harassment. The police spokesman states that the workers would not be harassed however the ground reality is totally different. Now coming to the profiling part i really do not know how does the profiling of migrant workers would weed out the anti social element since the details sought are only the records of the person. It would only create a data base of the workers being employed in Chennai or Tamilnadu and nothing more than that. Further as per the reports in the papers it is clear that most crime are not done by people coming here from the other states and  the prejudice shown by the Tamilnadu police is unfounded. If at all the profiling has to be done then each and every resident of the state needs to be a subject of this.... equality to one and all Indians.

Most of the criminals today are quite educated and it is wrong to preconceive that only unskilled or uneducated persons take to crime. The recent bank heists suspects were educated and well to do and yet chose to increase their wealth criminally and how does the Tamilnadu police monitor so many lakhs of people coming to Chennai for working in various companies or for studying. There is a definite flaw in thoughts of enumeration/profiling and if it is not scrapped then they are setting up an dangerous precedent for the other states to cite or follow similar procedures affecting scores of Tamilians working out the state.

I reproduce below the views of Times of India for fueling your thoughts on this issue

The decision to profile migrant labor goes against the spirit of social integration as enshrined in the Constitution. The stated objective of crime prevention rests on the presumption that migrants are responsible for rising levels of crime though present data may not support such a claim. Activists have raised concerns that the process could instill suspicion among locals and sow seeds of disharmony. The state should give up the exercise and focus on improving policing instead.

 

Your views and comments on the course of action taken by Tamilnadu Police please. !!

Random Clicks -03 ....Flowers

During my visit to Coimbatore last week i snapped few photographs of flora and fauna of Anamalai and Nilgiris ranges. Though this is not the flowering season, the nature was at full bloom and the pictures taken that day turned out quite stunning because of such vibrant colors.

MORNING GLORY

JACARANDA TREE 

I browsed through Google and was able to find out the names of the above two flowers however for following i have not been able to find out their names and would appreciate if any of you can name these flowers

The above photographs is just of few flowering plants and in season which is around May & June you would be able to see much more flowering plants.

Liebster Blog Awards !!!!

A great feeling that a fellow blogger Devan  has nominated me to receive the Liebster Blog award. Being relatively new in the blog community was surprised that I have been nominated and I once again thank Devan  for this award, and it been my pleasure to get acquainted with you through this medium.

Liebster means beloved in German and this award is for spreading love among bloggers.

Rules for accepting the Liebster Blog award:

• Link back to the person who gave you the award.
• Pick 5 people deserving of the award and notify them on their blogs.
• Post the award on your blog and spread the love.

     Since i hardly know anyone in this field i have nominated the following 5 people whose blog i generally follow regularly.

       Shweta
       The growls of a street mongrel
       Chronicles of an Unknown Indian
       Rachna Says
       Chronic Writer

    Congratulations  to you all and hope you like the same. All the very best to you all.

                                                                         

Nature and environment ....Are we doing enough to protect it for future generations

It is said that Man would be the cause of damage to the mother earth because of his unconcerned and thoughtless actions he takes when it comes to environment or nature. You must be wondering why this topic all of a sudden…well I was visiting Coimbatore last week to catch up with my younger sister residing there and we planned to drive to Indira Gandhi wildlife sanctuary near Pollachi one day and to Kothagiri / Conoor second day to connect with the nature that is abundant in those regions and what I saw there was pretty shocking. While going towards Kothagiri I noticed quite a lot of people sitting along the road in the morning openly drinking and throwing the empty liquor bottles, plastic water bottles and covers into the forest below without any iota of conscious  and broken glass is strewn all round that could injure any wildlife there. Most Indians hardly bother about the impact to the environment that they cause by dumping rubbish and waste wherever they please and it is high time that some definite plans and actions needs to be initiated to avoid such actions and protect the forests. Nilgiris ranges and the surrounding areas are nominated by UNESCO as Biosphere reserve, which is meant to demonstrate the perfect blend and relationship between Man and Nature but then actions of few  wayward persons can have far reaching consequences at a later date.

We keep talking of deforestation, depletion of ozone layer, global warming, pollution of atmosphere and so forth but general population hardly gives any thoughts of disposing of the garbage and waste being generated by them on a daily basis. Most cities have designated areas where the garbage can be dumped for collection by the municipal authorities for final disposal and yet go into any of the city today you would find various waste materials strew all around. Suburbs are the worst for they always get step motherly treatment compared to the few affluent localities and there are no proper collection or disposal systems in place and the suburbs are overflowing with garbage and refuse. The population living in these areas resort to dumping of the garbage in any open area ,but away from their houses …Pure hypocrites for they are only bothered about cleanliness in front of their houses. Little that they know that the garbage dumped few meters away from their home can cause hygiene issues to them in days to come. Garbage being dumped attracts stray dogs, rodents and other scavengers and the menace is increasing day by day. When I first moved into the suburb we did not have a single stray dog on our road but today you would find over 14 dogs scampering around and their population is on the rise each breeding season. Walking back home late night is a major issue with all these stray dogs growling and barking at persons walking. I am sure that one of these days someone is going to get bitten by these dogs.

If each one of us do little things like proper disposal of garbage and refuse i am sure the planet earth will be benefited. 

Random Clicks -02

Photographs of few road side vendors who ply their trade to make both ends meet.

Old lady getting her open air shop ready early morning in front of a school

Competition to the lady on the picture above 

Fish vendor doing house to house sale

Kolaiveri in Schools

Ninth standard school boy stabs his Hindi teacher to death yesterday at Chennai since he was upset with her constant complaints to his father that he was under performing and further he was worried that he might not be promoted to the next class. The news was shocking for this is quite strange that aggression due to anxiety and stress among school going children has resulted in such an extreme step taken by the Chennai boy. This raises question about the educational system being followed by schools that pressurize their students to over perform so that the school achieves great results in board exams thereby enhance their brand image in this blooming educational commercial venture without giving any thoughts about the children. The school going children are being burdened both mentally and physically these days… you can see each morning teenage children who are in middle school lugging heavy school bags filled with all the books weighing over 15 kgs on their frail shoulders and it could lead to damaging the shoulders.

I do not recollect of any such issues faced by me during my school days nearly 4 decades back and going to school was so much fun and frolic. In addition to studies we had all the time in the world to play and have fun also each day. I hardly see such enthusiasm among the present day school going children.  But then there has been a sea of change in the society from those days and the intense competitions / comparisons by the peers at school and the parents have curbed the interests of the child. 

The teachers for sure would say that whatever they are doing is for the good of the child but then they also need to be a bit humane in their approach since the strict behavior and overloading could lead to extreme stress and anxiety among the children.  Critics may say that students have no tensions or stress but I beg to differ on this account as I deal with these issues with my two school going daughters who face similar issues in their school. The dampening factor in all these are the parents who needs to motivates the child without being over bearing or burdening them. Parents who are not emotionally available for their children or lack of coping mechanisms spur the child to become stressed. Such children tend to respond to the stress with indignation and aggression which would have lasting impact in their lives and sometimes lead to depressions and under performances

Following needs to be done by Parents to avoid their offspring becoming stressed

Talk with your child. Find out what`s happening in his life. Be honest and open with him. He should talk about his problems or write them down. Teach him to transfer coping strategies to other situations.
Do not burden them with your problems or your aspirations of them. But tell your children of the family goals and discuss the difficulties in a friendly manner.
Compliment children when they do well, and don`t forget hugs and kisses.
Use humour to buffer bad feelings and situations. A child who learns to use humour himself will be better able to keep things in perspective.
Don`t overload your child with too many after-school activities and responsibilities. Let children learn to pace themselves. Don`t enrol them in every class that comes along, and don`t expect them to be first in everything.
 Set a good example. Demonstrate self-control and coping skills. He/she can benefit by seeing how you cope successfully with stress.
 Get friends` or professional help when you think that the problems seem beyond your skills.

Aftermath of the incidence has given to lots of discussion about the very thing I have mentioned above and I hope that in years to come there is a definite change in the pattern of schooling which would bring joy and happiness among children once again.

Image Courtesy : Google Images

So near yet so far !!!

“Coffeeee!! Teaa!!”
“Coffeeee!! Teaa!!”
The vendor called out as he passed the coupe.
“Thuddd!”
The baby fell on its knee trying to walk across to his mother.
The mother ran to pick up the child and is busy placating him.
Ravishing young lady sat across him checking her flock of hair in the mirror of her mini clutch bag.
The chatter from the group of young boys engrossed in a card game relayed from above.
The train had halted at Varnasi for 15 mins. He hadn’t moved or uttered a word from the time he got on.
The newspaper covered Sanjay’s face; his eyes peered through his bi-focal spectacles and his hair rested neatly combed sideways.
A pencil in his hand was losing his grip.

Since Sanjay, an engineer by profession proceeding to Kolkata  to finalize a huge contract, was lost in thoughts trying to decipher the doodle he had scribbled on the newspaper unconsciously consisting of few random numbers and sketches earlier during the morning. He was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts by loud cheers of boy’s playing cards on the upper berth and then he noticed the child had come up to him and was eyeing the pencil. Sanjay gave the pencil and the news paper to the child for to scribble and the child went back and squatted between his mother and the ravishing girl on the opposite berth. It was then he noticed her beauty and sub consciously started to groom himself and was somehow desperate to initiate a conversation with this girl for she was the kind of girl he was looking to marry for last couple of years. 

A hour later the child became disinterested with the Newspaper and pencil and suddenly Sanjay hears the girl speaking to him in a cultured tone asking him if she could borrow the newspaper to which he immediately nodded his head as he was too shy to answer back. Sanjay closed his eyes and was once again lost in pleasant thoughts of this beautiful and ravishing girl sitting opposite him, when he felt tapping of news paper on his body. He opened his eyes to find the girl was returning the news paper back to him and following conversation took place

 She: You must be an engineer

He: Yes and how were you able to make out by just reading the Newspaper.

She with a sensuous smile on her lips replied: Your doodle on the newspaper tells it all

He: Really?? You mean that scribbling on the paper tells you of my profession? I am impressed. But then tell me how you came to that conclusion.

She: I have done psychology during graduation and I try to gauge various people around me. Well in your case, for a moment I thought that you are in finance because of the random numbers you have scribbled all around the sketches but then the sketches had clear boundaries with intricate patterns in them. Seeing it for some time made me realize that the sketches looked like some electrical circuits that I had seen my brother studying few days back and hence I deduced that you are an engineer. Am I not correct in my statement??

He: Yes you are correct and by the way my name is Sanjay and I am an electrical engineer staying at Varanasi and you??

She: Hello Sanjay my name is Monica and I am also from Varanasi and (pointing to her brother and his friends on upper berth) said we are going to Kolkata to attend a wedding of a friend.

He: Oh is it, well I am also going to Kolkata for a meeting with my client to finalize a contract and if it is successful then I would be doing the shopping mall project.

She: You mean the mall which is coming up near Gol Park? It is adjoining my house

He: Yes the same one. Now I know where you live Monica and if it is not a problem can we meet some time for a coffee when you are back from Kolkata.

She: Yes Sanjay we sure can. Just call me when you are free.

Continuous conversation gets interrupted by the ticket examiner and after he had gone Sanjay tries to catch the attention of Monica to continue with their conversation and get her mobile number but then she is busy chatting with the boys who have finished their card game and have come down to their seats. He overhears them talking of taking the return journey by next day morning train after the wedding as it would be easier to get seats on a day train. He decides too that he would travel back to Varanasi by the very train they are planning so that it gives him more time to admire Monica and possibly have a pleasant conversation with her on boring journey back home. 

As the train is nearing Kolkata there is a rush of daily commuters entering the coach from the previous coach crowing this coach and Sanjay has not got a chance to ask for Monica’s mobile number yet and he glimpses her through gaps in the crowd that she is still occupied in animated conversation with her brother and his friends. As the commuter throng towards the exit Monica goes ahead without any backward glance. Sanjay is shattered that he was not able to get her contact details today itself but then thinks that he would be able to get the same during the return journey the next day.

Alas the next day Sanjay searched for Monica on the entire train on the return journey and she was not aboard the train. With a heavy heart Sanjay takes out his pencil and starts doodling on the newspaper again lost once again in his thoughts.

This post has been written for Tell a tale contest posted by Divya

My  two fellow bloggerTags 
Shweta 
Ragumuthukumar