Sunday, September 28, 2008

Random thoughts that 'rat'tle!!!

I just happened watch Ratatouille once again this afternoon on TV. I certainly did miss a lot of finer moments in the movie the first time I watched it... There is this particular part where the dad rat tells his son rat that rats are always rats (don’t duh!) and how making friendship with a human is almost near impossible.
He shows him bottles that the hotels stock to kill rats and other pests.

He says “Rats are always rats. You cannot change nature"…and our lil chef goes "But change is nature".

I found this thought extremely interesting. We are all scared to try out different choices at some point of our lives. We sadly resign ourselves to the decisions others make for us. We lack the guts the tiny lil rat has!! He boldly chooses to be a cook in spite of what his family tells him. But in the end his family comes to his help simply because he did what he believed in.

Geez!! Am I getting old or what?!!!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

True...

Wizard of Oz: As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don't know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.
Tin Woodsman: But I still want one.

One of my favorite lines from the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
Well, it is true...All of us rip our hearts open for few things not worth our time or love…
At times we also know that we are going to get hurt finally…
We end up going the extra mile for something not really worth our attention…
Yet we continue...
That’s exactly why the Wizard says...hearts will never be practical...

I agree.... :)

Monday, September 15, 2008

Fourth Estate Fun

I just happened to read an article reported by two leading dailies in Chennai, The Hindu and TOI…The story has been reported very differently in both the papers...Read on…

Headline:
Hindu: Major-General dismissed from service
TOI: Major General to be fired for sexual harassment

A few excerpts:
Hindu: A serving Major General was dismissed from service by an Army Court after he was found guilty of molesting a woman officer under his command, in the first such case in the history of the country’s armed forces
TOI: Though general-rank officers have been court-martialled for financial bungling and other scams in the Army in recent years, this is the first time that such a senior officer has faced a court-martial for sexual harassment.

Hindu: Woman officer Capt. Neha Rawat gave a written complaint that he indulged in sexual misconduct under the pretext of conducting meditation classes at his residence.
TOI: The court held him guilty of molesting the woman officer serving under him on the pretext of teaching her yoga and meditation in his bedroom.

Hindu: The GCM, with the Army’s 10 Corps commander Lt. Gen. R.S. Sujalana
TOI: GCM, commander of the 10 Corps at Bhatinda, headed by Lt-Gen R S Sujlana

Hindu: Two-star general serving as the 3 Infantry Division General Officer
TOI: Commander of the strategically-located 3 Infantry Division

Well, TOI this time has shown some kind of maturity in reporting this issue. In fact the TOI article goes on to show a few statistics about how many woman commanders are there in the Indian army and the like. Whereas the Hindu article has not really delved deep, and has under played the issue to a considerable extent. Hindu also published the name of the victim which is against the PCI rules.The name of the Lt-Gen is spelled differently in both the papers. TOI has spiced up the issue...Hindu has ignored it…

This leaves me wondering…Do papers report news or do they report for news?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

I am tired of saying goodbye...

Over the period of three months, I have been constantly saying goodbye to too many people, a few of them whom I may never see again. I don’t regret too much, but it still hurts.

People from whom I could derive constant support and energy have all gone. The strong walls I could lean on are no longer there. It sometimes leaves me shivering in the night, longing for a familiar hug, a midnight chat, a sudden inspiration to say good night to the moon...

The constant goodbyes have left me numb and indifferent. It has changed me. For the better? I do not know...only time can tell.

I have yet another goodbye this week. And probably another one in a few months…The only solace I get is that, all the friends and relatives who have flown away are all happy. Yet, it hurts to say goodbye…It hurts...a lot…