Democracy is THE Freedom to USE one's Brains!

This ‘piece’ is dedicated to Gen Y and for  Gen Z, both for whom I am happy dedicating some of my TIME today)

My dear 'Many Playful  Brothers' and 'Many Matured' Sisters,(Read Younger to me, some exceptions either sides, I LOVE them All – As "Life is a Package" isn't it?)

Read and enjoy  the ’The Hindu’ column -  Conversations with the Self - Click the following link:

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/09/13/stories/2010091351040300.htm (OR) http://www.ttsrinath.com/articles/Self/Conversation%20with%20the%20self.pdf

Re-read and 'Munch' the INFERENCES, AND then 'inhale' the learning RIGHT NOW, this magnificent 'nugget-of-wisdom' given to us by Shri.Dr.T.T.Srinath(TTS), an ‘institution’ by himself today. Comes across as a 'savvy-sage', a ‘doyen’, a rare 'gem', we HAVE amidst us -  WHO, in an 'Outstanding career'  wearing many ‘hats’ - Has ‘shared and  cared’ for many 'humans' - From CEO's to his car-driver and his family as well! Drink from the 'Ocean of Gyana' @   http://www.ttsrinath.com/articles.htm if YOU WANT, especially the one's on Self-Management, Organisation and  Entrepreneurship should you further WANT to quench your thirst of SEEKING ‘knowledge’ from PURE sources!

Let me share four ‘real-life’ SITUATIONs NOW, where people have USED / MISUSED Democracy! Read on…

1^st Situation

The Scene: IPKF in Srilanka, Late 1980’s – TRUTH narrated by my ESSAR colleague Capt. Banerjee(Ban) who served as an Army Captain, fighting the LTTE. Well, the ‘real’ story is, when his soldiers captured a house, where, supposedly, the family of local LTTE head was staying. His friends(YOU MAY LIKE to call them ANIMAL-like later!) in IPKF were “eyeing lecherously” and “lusting" for the beautiful fiancée of the said LTTE leader, in the house. My friends in Srilanka had also earlier shared atrocitites commmitted by IPKF to the Tamil women in Srilanka when all they were supposed to do was peace-keeping! I FELT few perverted souls having tarnished our glorious armed forces. Folks, here goes the climax. Take a DEEP BREATH…! After some days, during a bitter fight, my wonderful friend Capt. Ban was SAVED from a “gory” DEATH by the same LTTE leader - As a favour of Capt Ban. being very stern to his men NOT to touch any women-folk! There were ‘landmines’ all over them and our friend was saved, his friends too were, thanks to Capt. Ban’s value systems and using his creative brain that instance! Shall we salute Capt. Banerjee NOW, wherever he is NOW. AM doing. RIGHT NOW. I haven’t met him after 1997.

2^nd   SITUATION

 I wasn’t inclined in LEFT brain activities, I suppose. Always wanting to ‘Take the road less travelled’ The Destination was only sometimes sweet. The journey was beautiful, though, all the time! Can you do yourselves a favour  or after some time?- All of Gen Y and Gen Z MUST Watch the Tamil movie “Maaathi Yosi” – with friends. Available on the InterNET. ‘Google’ through!. I want to watch with you ALL in any class of theatre! – Lot of LIFE lessons!)

For our Final Year Engineering project work, ‘we took the road less travelled’. Being a production Engineer - Instead of doing the normal machine shop related Final Year Project, our TEAM did something NEW, in those early ‘computer’ times in 1988. We developed an inventory software in C/Dbase and applied in a REAL LIFE situation with REAL data from a Textile mill in Madurai. During the ‘Viva-Voce’, one of the highly “Left Brain” dominated “EQUATIONS” professor stopped us during mid-way (I haven’t entered the scene, then) and remarked “This is NOT what is required of a Production Engineer – You may REDO”!!! TRUST me, one of my studious mate almost “pissed in his pant(s)” and he was always in the top 5 in the class. The other ‘class topper’ friend of mine, who developed the marvelous software looked at me to take over.

REST is history, folks – ‘Yours Truly’ gave a quick summary  and THEN gave a punching BLOW, producing the ORIGINAL letter from the Textile Mill ‘MD’, which acknowledged that THE Software developed by these Students of REC, Calicut would save Rs.20Lacs/annum! Big amount those times,isn't it? We not only convinced ‘A doubting Thomas-like’ Dr. Prof. .X, but stood first in College – in Project assessment! Many did do back-breaking and ‘beautiful masterpieces’ as well  - in machine shops. But we were awarded FIRST!  (However, I shudder to think if we had to REDO after one year!  Out of 5 guys in our project batch 3 would have gone NUTS, for sure!)

3^rd SITUATION

Recently a Church priest in the US,(US, they SAY, the “epitome” of EXTREME democracy and “epicenter” of ARROGANCE!), proclaimed that he’s going to organize burning ‘The Holy Quran’. Thank Almighty, President Obama intervened! Surely as  President Obama opined, there would be MORE joining the MOVEMENT against America had the priest DONE what he WANTED to do! Isn’t it? 

4^th Situation

Hope you all remember recently, HOW, one of the top Naxal leaders ‘Col.Azad’ was murdered by THE “police” after being escorted for peace talks!!! (With Swami Agnivesh as mediator!) Do you think, by this “double-cross” and “stabbing at the back” method and tactics, adopted by the current Indian Cong led Govt, would BRING PEACE? This may not be relevant for you and me, for NOW. And do remember folks, Naxalism is spreading-wider in India across over 10 states, spreading FAR and wider, in many forms and shapes, thanks to decades of “Exclusive Growth” being followed and practiced in this wonderful ‘Mother India’, EVEN NOW. 

INFERENCES, FEELINGS and SHARINGS about all ABOVE SITUATION(s):

Capt. Banerjee in the 1^st SITUATION, my awesome ‘project leader’ Shri. B.Viswanathan and ‘Yours Truly’ in the 2^nd ,President  Obama in the 3^rd, Agnivesh to an extent in the 4^th have ALL used their benevolent and creative RIGHT brain to FLOURISH - to come out of the SITUATION, with gains on all FRONTS.  They have also used their ‘Analytical’ LEFT brain, though, only to a lesser extent! Capt. Ban COULD have allowed those animals and himself also to “prey”(Sic) on Thamizh women in Srilanka, I could have shouted at the professor or could have kept quiet like other mates of mine,  President Obama could have kept quiet (Token of acceptance!) and Swami Agnivesh would not have taken the risk, for human good! Am not sure if he would or other ‘Spiritual Statesman’ or ‘Living learned Sages’ would EVER mediate with the Naxals on behalf of the Govt? Who are the losers? You and ME. Of course. HOW? Will blog Later. Some may take the ’juice(s)’ in this blog and may not even read that one.

On the contrary, Dear, People like Capt. Ban’s army of “SOME Animals in Humans” – (Read SOME soldiers in IPKF) in the 1^st Situation, that professor who nearly KILLED all of us ‘mentally’ with his “ONLY Analytical reasoning”, devoid of any creativity in the 2^nd, the Church priest in the 3^rd , the Indian Govt and the Police force responsible for “murdering” of Col. Azad in the 4^th have ALL misused democracy. THEY NEVER used NOR were taught to use their CREATIVE and benevolent  RIGHT brains, I suppose – As MANY of us still have the colonial hangover! “Folks, the BRITS left us for GOOD, 63 years back!”

  

“WHAT is Democracy”, THEN, Ravi?         

1.        Is it Freedom of Speech alone?
2.   Is it freedom to flaunt/hurt with our newly found wealth or wisdom in this ‘Kaliyug’? (which according to me  started after World War II)
3.   Is it the freedom to burden women-folk with many chores – from ‘Kitchen to Kaasu’ (Money)?
4.   Is it the FREEDOM to STOP anyone achieve their WANT through “ubiquitous rules”(Sic) and “archaic regulations”, arrogance or ignorance?
5.   Is it AVOIDING or IGNORING the ‘elderly’  and the ‘deserving’ NEEDY?
6.   Is it parents or elders pampering young children’s minds, thrusting upon them TO DO without understanding WHAT their wards WANT?
7.   Is it spending “mindlessly”- from ‘tech gizmos’ to tutorials?
8.   Is it  dis-respectfully, in arrogance or ignorance ALWAYS “disagreeing-agree” OR WORST plainly (without thinking) ‘agreeing-agree’?
9.   Last but not the least, Is it ONLY “Exclusive Growth” as we see in some parts of the world, including “shining” India (in parts though?)

 “Any thing more to ADD to the above LIST”, Ravi? I don’t know. One may fathom more.  SHARE them.

All I’m SHARING is  - READ and CHERISH the Topic and THE HEADLINE NOW.  ‘FEEL IT’, ‘DO IT’ and ‘LIVE IT’, if YOU WANT.

Before signing off, according to the learned, “Democracy is simply the Freedom to use one’s brains” - The CREATIVE Right brain in particular. Our “over-used” LEFT brains need to be ‘Quietened’ and THE ‘benevolent’ and ‘Creative’ RIGHT brain activated fullest. May I further add that “Democracy is all but ‘Inclusive Growth’ and that it allows people to gently ‘agree-disagree’ most of the time or sometime OR  sometimes ‘agree-agree’ on SOME or MANY things. NEVER ‘disagreeing-agree’ on ANYTHING.

Cheers to ALL who read AND SHARE this ‘piece’ with anyone relevant. NOW, Ravi is performing a ‘WAKA WAKA’, with ALL of YOU, ‘wonderful’ Gen Y and Gen Z. Love YOU ALL. Un-conditionally.  As YOU are. And, if am destined, ALL of us together will do a ‘WAKA WAKA’ one-day, technology helping us to do from wherever we are!!!

Note: Ravi is enjoying his democracy, and hence grateful to Almighty to be born in ‘Mother India’, this birth. In the Next one, also Don’t wish to be born anywhere - May be in BHUTAN, where they talk and ‘trying-to-walk-the-talk’ - Of ‘Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH) and NOT ‘Gross Domestic Product’(GDP), we all have mastered! More on that later…

A wonderful and HAPPY weekend to all you ‘wonderful’ SOULS. Like the I ones, I am fortunate to ‘witness’ last week, during the 4-day programme, at Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai

Anbudan (With Unconditional Love)

Ravichander Venkatraman

A ‘Fiction-but-not-so-fiction’ Conversation with MY Dad, I NEVER had

                                                     Dear Folks,

Happy ‘Gandhi Jayanthi’ to ALL brethren on MOTHER Earth. Shri.Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has already become God-like in India, there’s a temple for HIM in Orissa. 

This week I was fortunate to listen to the Madras Management Association(MMA) organized talk at ‘Deccan Plaza’ by  Dr.Prithika Chary on “Work-Life Balance” . Enjoy cherishing her website www.drprithikachary.com The talk was ‘divine’ for me and would WANT to share with you all – Both the wonderful thoughtful PPT as well as the commentary from ‘Yours Truly’. Would surely make a change in your hectic lifestyle and make everyone THINK. Thank you ‘magnificent’ MMA and Dr. Chary for that awesome ‘motherly’ sharing(s) – all from the ‘healthy-heart-and-sharp-mind’ of India’s FIRST Women Neuro-Physician AND Neuro-Surgeon! Intend to carry her interview as well, if am destined to meet her.

Now kindly refer to the ending phrase(s), in the last but one paragraph, in my first blog dated Sep 11, 2010. After an after-thought, didn’t want to expand on “The Tsunami-The CWG-The Fall of the Cong Government” prediction. But, today, my Dad, somewhere in the Cosmos, wants me to explain in the form of a ‘Fiction-but-Not-so-Fiction’ style of writing - through a conversation between me, Ravi and him - Late Venkatraman Krishnamoorthy.  Enjoy the ‘never happened’ conversation and do ‘mull-and-munch’ over the content – ‘The POWER of the Universal Energy (ies) in THE Cosmos’, Negative Energy in particular.NOW, please relax and Read on....

Dad (Venkat): Sunny,”You seem have made some prediction I love to hear”.

Me (Ravi): Yes, dear Dad. Could be controversial. Hence kept quiet. Didn’t wish to upset anyone’s applecart nor hurt someone’s back-side, even inadvertently. You SEE,”I have my Mom-like qualities as well, apart from your ‘gusto’ Dad”.

Dad: Son, ‘Democracy is ALL about freedom to use one’s brains’ – You said NLP taught you TO UNLEASH the ‘benevolent and CREATIVE Right brain’, in particular, isn’t it? Apply your RIGHT Brain and write, son. Go and make your point across, without offending anyone, like your ‘Academician Mom-like’ or ‘Doctor Chary-like’. And if possible, make people THINK. And then ACT.

Me: If you SAY so dear Dad and dear Mom, So shall I.  Dad, “My prediction is that the current Congress Government in India will FALL or PULLED DOWN, even before the next elections - DUE to either “man-created” or “nature-orchestrated” catastrophe”, I envisage during the “Co(mmo)n-Wealth Games” to be held in a couple of days from NOW. NOT because of the ‘con and corruption’, not because of a single toilet roll costing 100$, not because of the “banana-republic” style of functioning, but purely on the Humongous Negative Universal Energy WE generated to OURSELVES!!!

Dad: Hey, everyone is talking 24/7, of ‘con to corruption, dengue to even sleaze’ – And, you are mentioning about some Energy?? Explain Sonny.

Me: Dad, you know the power of Universal Energy – They could be categorized as Positive, Negative and Neutral, just like in Electricity-Our Human Eyes can’t SEE! There is, however, one more Energy in the Cosmos and that’s Peace Energy, which is irrelevant in this case. The so-called Jihadists and OUR ‘Naxal brothers’ need the latter in plenty, though.

Dad: Where and HOW is THE Humongous Negative Energy generated NOW, Ravi?

ME: Dad, using Almighty’s laptop, ‘google through’ a sample of these very few (social) media reports that appeared, few or NIL in the South of India though.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/42-workers-paid-with-life-for-commonwealth-games-42327

www.sacw.net/article1592.html

www.dailypioneer.com/.../Brit-media-bashes-India-for-CWG-mess.html

www.mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/sengupta190710.htm

www.d-sector.org/article-det.asp?id=1228

www.cwg2010cwc.org/factSheet.php

www.twocircles.net/?q=2010sep15/stop_playing_life_and...

www.opendemocracy.net/.../impoverished-delhis-commonwealth-games-threatens-to-be-economic-disaster

And more…                                        

Picture Courtesy-www.NDTV.com

This is enough for you Dad. Else you will erupt like a Volcano! Dad, you would have observed watching from Vaikundam(Heavenly abode), the plight of the 1 Lac ‘impoverished  WORKERS‘ who have toiled hard for months – To CREATE CWG-From Airports to Rail to Stadia to just about everything requiring human labor- Their Sweat and blood. And TOIL. Without SLEEP last one month. Most, paid a pittance Dad, when compared to others in the construction sector – Also, NO ONE to take care of their ‘work-led  injuries’, some proving fatal as well. Simply, to me, they looked worse than “Cattle Class”, staying in inhuman conditions with filch - with just 1 toilet for 114 people!  Can u imagine, NOW, Daddy?

Daddy, Everyone missed the Negative Energy that is being SLOWLY generated, ‘day-in-and-day-out’ by these “Shining India’s-bonded laborers” (Sic). Instead, MOST wanted to hang the Kalmadi(s)! Dad, the butt of joke doing the rounds in India is that  - “Even if Shri. Kalmadi wanted to hang himself, he CANNOT  - as  the ceiling would collapse” – Daddy, because of the “shady”,  “shoddy” and “short-cut” methods adopted!

The WORKERS exploited to the Core. By ALL!  Including YOU (the reader) and ME – The honest tax payer(s). All for making SOME Indians smile and GET RICH AND RICHER. That’s a pseudo-smile and a self-destructive one, we will know shortly – That too,  after 70,000 Crores(Only) ‘gulped’, MANY ‘down-the-drain’! Few like the Delhi-metro, may SERVE for the already ‘cramped-and trampled’ Delhites, though.

Dad: “Hey, hold on. As once a ‘worker-friendly’  ‘Union Leader’, in The Ordinance Factory, Trichy in the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s, my blood boils hearing this. Lemme some have water”. Wait a minute Da…

Dad:  So, those 1 Lac SOULS were exploited, RIGHT? Some to their last drop of blood they could shed – All for a few “rotis”?? THINK Ravi, “One tenth of that money would have made all Indians graduates, da”!! I also saw thousands of peasants, one’s who seek alms, the homeless etc, were driven out of Delhi - Was that right”? ADD their wrath as well – tales of woes and CRIES of DESPAIR!

Me: You were / are always right ‘on-the-dot’, dear Daddy. Awesome visualization power you had/have.

Dad, NOW, should we have to wait for a mathematical genius like Ramanujam or John Nash Sr. (Watch Beautiful Mind, if you haven’t) to calculate the humongous Negative Energy Generated in Delhi’s(And thereby’s India’s) Cosmic plane as a result of the reasons enumerated above???

Dad: Son, Have you read the story of ‘Why the Tsunami struck of the Coast of India in Dec  2004’?

Me: I didn’t miss reading that piece which appeared in a Thamizh magazine. It’s reporter interviewed a granny in the coast of Andhra Pradesh and asked “What and WHY she feels the reasons FOR the un-usual and never heard Tsunami”?(that left a wider trail of destruction, across the Indian Ocean)?

Pat came her reply: ”Sir, here, especially among the fisher-folk, women and children are in despair, mainly DUE to MAN and  the society”.  The  ’Mother Ocean’(Kadal Thaai) could not bear their CRYING-IN-DESPAIR, the women’s ”Ever growing breast-beats”  - Some because of their Drunk Daddy’s, some Animal-like Husbands and some criminal-like SONS as well.  The society, thanks to the ‘go-between-brokers’, always by default, paid a pittance to ‘their catch’. So even the patient ‘Mother Ocean’, in a fit of rage, unable to bear any longer - the continuous wails of women and children, destroyed and annihilated the entire stretch, in just a matter of seconds  (It’s also the same story in Thailand or Srilankan coast(s) as well, I understand. Off a different exploitation, though)

Dad: So, are YOU equating the REASON the ‘never-gone-to-school’ granny GAVE to that of what’s gonna happen to the CWG and its aftermath to Govt. Of India(GOI) as a result of this ‘massive and mindless’ man-made EXPLOITATION of the IMPOVERISHED SOULS?

Me: Absolutely Dad. Both that granny and NLP taught me the same thing – Of the power of the Universal Energy, especially the humongous power of Negative Energy, an individual/family/state/Nation/humanity should AVOID! Simple Dad. Very Simple. No “templates” for my reasoning!

Dad: CWG or no-CWG, I for one, after WHAT we went through during “Emergency” in  the 70’s, would be relieved if the “High Command Culture” comes to an end in the grand-old political party of India and everyone’s given the freedom to use their brains for HUMAN good. Especially ‘The benevolent Right brain’ as you SAY. That’s not only privy to our ‘colonial cousin’ @ 10,Downing Street or their nephews in India  @ 10,Janpath(Sorry, it must have been 7,Racecourse Road! – Error however, not regretted)  We shall then would have evolved as a Nation and be POWERFUL, with our Wealth created through Wisdom! Thereby, ‘Inclusive growth’ and NOT this type of ‘Exclusive growth’!

However am happy that even in THAT PARTY, that some ‘erudite statesmen’ like Shri. M.S Iyer, Shri.  J.Ramesh do use their BRAINS, even when they were / are elbowed or shadowed. HAD they BEEN in some other party, THEY would’ve been in a better stature, da. Anyway, that’s their ‘call’ and their WANT. But, do convey my salutation(s) to them.

Foot Note: I stick to what’s discussed between me and my Dad, in this never-happened conversation. However, the ‘humane human’ in me prays that nothing uneventful should happen during-and-after CWG in India, the ‘Cramped Capital’ Delhi in particular. I also HOLD the opinion that Hyderabad, with the status of a Union Territory would be the Ideal Capital of the modern prosperous India! That’s like  getting two mangoes with one strike! More on this later…

Jai Hind! Jai Bharat Mahan! And, ‘Vande Mataram’.

With Love

Ravichander Venkatraman

‘Democracy is ALL about FREEDOM to use one’s Brains’ – The ‘benevolent and Creative RIGHT brain’, in particular.