And justice for all.... or not?

A friend sent me this link (http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/23slide1.htm) today about the mysterious death of Major Ravi Shankar in Mathura. The Major went missing on22nd August, 2003, no FIRs were filed till 24th August although his wife informed the army office on the 22nd itself. On the second day his wife was told that he was dead and his body had been cremated as an unidentified body found on the railway tracks. Since then the Army has initiated two enquiries into the mysterious circumstances of the Major's death and each have brought up more questions without answering any of the earlier ones.

Apparently, the Major had mentioned to his father about some financial irregularities in his regiment, a few months before his death. Was that the reason for his death?

Whatever be the circumstances of his death, the Major deserved a proper cremation - all people deserve that, and more so, the people who have spent their lives in the service of others. May his soul rest in peace, and his family also find peace.

But read the link. http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/23slide1.htm

..want you to know you make me happy...

Heard this song on TV, soundtrack of the SE phone ad. Saw the video of the song on YouTube, nice feel-good video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufEqq7mxrY0

Water, water everywhere?

This weekend, for the first time in 25+ years, I encountered water shortage. And not in a sleepy small town in hinterland India (we have heard about the scarcity of water in those places) but in a highrise-ish apartment complex in a suburb in Bombay. (Raheja Vihar, in Powai, for those who are insistent on details). The continuous water supply which I am used to gave way for two days (it continues, as I write). It was a big problem - I went for a day without a proper shower and shave, the maid could not wash clothes, some cars in the parking lot had to go out without their usual wash-and-rub-down routine.

Later in the night, having lived through all these life-changing problems, I asked the watchman if the water problem was going to stay for some time. He said "Sahab, ab paani nahin hai BMC ke paas to woh kahan se denge - hamare yahan to kaafi time se yeh haal hai. Jis din paani milta hai us din nahate hain. Aur yeh to chota-bada, sab aadmi logon ke liye ek samaan hai. Paani nahin ho to sabko dikkat hota hai."
(Translation: "Sir, the BMC cannot supply water when there is none - it has been like this in our area for a long time. We bathe when we get water. And water is needed by all, big or small people. Everyone has a problem if there is no water.")

The watchman lives in a slum in suburban Bombay, and there is no continuous supply of water by the BMC in those areas.

I heard P. Sainath say this in 2004: "Even in the basic needs of people, the divides are startling. Mumbai faced a severe water problem this summer. You wouldn’t know this if you live in the rich colonies. But in the slums countless women line up for water every morning. From four in the morning they begin positioning their buckets in line to stake their place in the queue. Sometimes, they might not get the water they wait for, which is no more than 40-50 litres a day."
(http://www.india-seminar.com/2004/533/533%20p.%20sainath.htm)

Water is just one of the many necessities that is fast becoming scarce-r; think about natural gas, health, grains, minerals, land. We are fast incorporating the market paradigm for everything - have money, buy way of life; don't have money, live the way the market decides you should live.

Till yesterday the watchman and his neighbours knew how scarce (and precious) water is; today I do as well. Tomorrow...?

The beginning

I will write. However, wherever, whenever. My new year's resolution. So A blog. Hours spent thinking possible names, URLs, templates for the blog, and now this.
Later-er; wanted to put my stake in blogspace now!