Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Problem: Improper usage of Contractual Staff instead of Permanent ones

Companies hire Contractual workers instead of full time employees and then pay them minimum wages while the Profits of the organizations grow rapidly. How do we rectify this?

Solutions:
• There should be a contract workers law in place in the country to safeguard against such practices.
• There should be continuous checks by law enforcement agencies to make sure that the rules are being followed in letter.
• The media should actually keep tabs on organizations which do not follow the rules or follow them only in letter and not in spirit so that the general public can know about these organizations and they can be shamed into accepting the verdicts
• Education is highly important in these matters as only if people are educated will they be able to know whether the organizations are cheating them or not

Best Solution:
Again Education is the most important issue here. If the people are educated then they will definitely know the difference between right and wrong and will be in a better position to safeguard themselves against unscrupulous practices.

Problem: Stop organizations from harming consumers

How do we stop the Selling of bad products to Consumers even though it is scientifically proven that it causes harm to the individual? Ex: Tobacco Products.

One and only One Solution
The governments of all countries should make it a commitment that such products will not be sold irrespective of the profit that the governments make as the long term monetary loss is much more. Some things have to be forced by governments to make them effective for the society.

Problem: Managing Organizations that spread Mis-information

There are problems of organizations spreading misinformation about their products to the consumers using advertising? Ex: Using a particular brand of soap can make a person a film-star etc.

Solutions:
• The government can make rules more stringent on what is to be shown as real and what cannot be shown to the general public in advertisements as they overemphasize the use of the product
• People should initiate legal action against the firms for spreading misinformation in the general public. This can also be done by the Trade bodies like CII and FICCI who can initiate action against the organizations to make sure that it does not happen
• Education of the masses necessary to make sure that they do not fall for such traps. Only if they are educated will they be able to understand the difference between utility and fantasy.

Best Solution:
Education of the masses is the key here. Only if we do that will we be able to increase the awareness of the public regarding these issues. Rest of the solutions are short term ones.

Monday, October 6, 2008

“This house will pop the pill and party”

Debate on relations between India and Pakistan becoming stronger...

Definition: The bond between the nations of India and Pakistan will develop only when we have swallowed the possibly bitter pill of Love and Brotherhood for Pakistan and its somewhat crazy leadership. This swallowing of the bitter pill will create history for the Parliament and enable the nations to enjoy their lives once more without the fear of death and destruction in their lives.

Logical Link: Imbibing love for the people across the border is important for the happiness of the generations to come.

Case Statement: The Pill of Love and Brotherhood will be swallowed by the Indian Parliament with respect to Pakistan and entire generations to come will enjoy in this revelry.

Limiting Context: In this debate we are only looking at the value of ‘Having love for thy neighbour’ and not at how we develop that love and brotherhood. We are looking only at how this bond will be helpful in this context and not at how we get there.

Burden of the Proposition: As the leader of the house I feel that a direction in this regard needs to be taken. Only after there is bonhomie between the two nations that we will really prosper and shine together as brothers rather than two separate subdued yet simmering individuals. I just want to prove that once we are close there is nothing in this world that can stop this juggernaut from rolling in the right direction.

Team Split: The debate will entail the following
• What do we mean as the pill of Love?
• What are the ways this bond is going to help us become the preeminent powers in the world?
• What should we guard against?
• How our Generations to come are going to enjoy the Fruits of this brotherhood?

Constructive Arguments: The nations of the world will bow in front of us. We will be more powerful against any power that shakes us. The respect and admiration of the world will be upon us. We will have the power to stop the entire Middle East from ripping itself out. Together, we will make them realize the futility of it all. Indians are friends of Jews, Pakistan is friends with Arabs. We will make them see reason. The world will not talk about war for a very long time as once this conflict is over; the world will see that if the greatest opponents in this world can come close together, petty disputes are not even worth talking about. Our children will be happy in the sunshine again. They will be able to play together and grow up together which in due course will remove any bitter memories of the past. Just for one moment think about the collective power of Shohaib and Sachin, the power of Hinduism and Islam, the Collective power of the Indian Subcontinent. Ladies and Gentlemen Kashmir will be whole again. Our Kashmir will be heaven again. Bharat will be one again. Jai Hind.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Kannathil Muthamittal - A kiss on the cheek

Just finished watching a movie which should be rated as one of the best i have seen till date. Kannathil Muthamittal - A kiss on the cheek

What an apt name for the movie. Probably one of the finest Mani Ratnam movies ever made. This guy needs to be saluted for his sheer genius. A tamil movie made about the Srilankan strife where no sides have been taken is a great sign of courage by the director.

The premise is relatively simple. An adopted girl in search of her biological mother and Justify Fullidealistic parents who help her in every step to grant her this wish. But what keeps this movie head and shoulders above anything else you have ever seen is that this is not about that girl - thats there just to keep the story moving - this is about a world where human life is reduced to nothing. Its about a world where the success is measured by the number of graves i was able to provide my brother who is now my enemy - hopefully that number is greater than mine. Where people fight for an ideology which ruins not just their lives but the lives of everyone who did not even wish to be part of it but are sucked into it. Where sometimes even ideology has died because it was given to a 10 year old who shot at its heart with his kalashnikov.

The story of the girl and her travels to the emerald island to find her mother is a moving one which has been handled brilliantly without any melodrama. The movie is a slightly long one at around 3 hrs but it probably needed this time. The best part about this movie is how natural it looks. The family life shown is like any other indian family and the romance so subtle. Something that will bring a smile to your lips is a great love song shot at scenic beaches and ragged ships on great salt farms but not between the lead pair but between the mother and the adopted daughter. Brilliant!!

The cinematography is excellent. Sri Lanka's beauty is captured in its raw essence. Its actually eerie to see beautiful parks and forests and amongst them just the shell of buildings. School Girls on cycles laughing like they do not have a care in the world and the next minute a gunfight at exactly the same place that looks so real that mentally you pary for their safety even though you know that its not real (or maybe it is!!!). Even the indian scenes are well captured. There is a scene where the young girl is running around in circles with her father in the centre and suddenly the father tells her that she is not their biological daughter. On hearing this she still keeps running around her father but now her happy carefree expression changes slowly as realization dawns on her. You go to movies to watch this...

Which brings us to the acting. Needless to say, Ratnam extracts superb performances from the various actors. Madhavan as the dad and Keerthana as the child are brilliant in the movie. Nandita Das in her small role potrays a great amount of character as the biological mother. She really looks the part as the Sri Lankan Tamil girl who goes through great turmoil in life. But the greatest of my applause is reserved for the fantastic Simran. The role essayed by her is really tough as that of a mother caught between wishing for her daughters happiness but at the sametime apprehensive of the steps that they have taken. Caught between the love for her adopted daughter while longing for her own sons too. This is one superlative performance.

And before i forget....the music...It seems that AR Rahman and Mani Ratnam are brothers. The music just knows how to follow the story and vice versa. The background score 'Vellai Pookal Ulagam' is haunting while the rest of the songs just simply fall into place.

A great movie which hopefully should make you wonder why do we fight when all we need to sort everything is to just kiss on the cheek...after all he is just your brother.