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Abortion - Should be or shouldn’t be
The panorama in the early 90’s in the United States was much sorrier in terms of
the crime rates prevalent. Car Jacking, Murders, Rapes, Snatching, robbery,
drug dealings, and many more had become so common that all the major
newspapers’ pages were full of those stories. The Government, as always,
claimed that it was making all feasible and viable efforts and that the
situation is under control and is improving each day; but this was hardly the
case. The stories in the NP, News Channels and other media all spoke the
contrary. The main culprit behind all these law-breaking events was none other
than a scrubby, big - city teenager with a cheap gun in his hand and a spirit
of ire, cruelty and ruthlessness on his face. There were thousands like him in
the country all prepared to create a big hell and blaze. There were reports
being published by researchers that the crime rate was sure to rise
consistently for a few more years unless something dramatic is being done.
And then, one blue moon day, Newspapers report that the crime rates are constantly
plummeting, going down and down. Every category of crime rates fell and fell
and fell some more every year. The so called responsible people of the society
and researchers were quick to explain this behavior: 1990s shining economy, groundbreaking
policing strategies, better paying jobs available, improved licensing
requirements and gun control laws, blah blah. None of them were true to the
whole extent actually.
There was yet another main reason behind the rates plumbing down, whose roots lay
some twenty years earlier and concerned a young lady in Dallas named Norma
McCorvey. She was a poor, uneducated, unskilled, alcoholic, drug-using 21 year
old woman who had already given up two children for adoption and now, in 1970,
found herself pregnant again. All she wanted was to get herself the right of
Abortion, which was illegal at that time in the US. She went to the court to
get this right granted to her. The Supreme Court favored the ruling in favor of
her and legalized Abortion throughout the country. Thus she triggered, a
generation later, the greatest falling rate of crime. Now the question arises
how did Abortion led to decreasing crime rates.
Decades of studies have shown that children who are born in adversities are far more
likely to grow up into a criminal as compared to children who are born in well
settled families. There were large women like, McCorvey who had no means to
prevent her unwanted child but to give birth to him, which later usually turned
out to be a nuisance to the society.
Having the historical true example in front of us, being affirmed by the economists
and law controlling agencies, the question now arises is can the future
benefits of reducing the crime rates, (to be materialized in some 20 years
later) outweigh the moral and ethical reasons behind categorizing Abortion as
unlawful? Should we or shouldn’t we act in the powers of God and decide upon if
an unborn in actually going to have some existence in this materialistic world?
Should we give the rights to a mother to decide and weigh if she has got all
the resources and adeptness before giving birth to the unborn?
Based
upon the book “Freakonomics” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.
My first year of MBA is about to end. There is a tradition here at IIT that at the end of each semester, feedback forms are made to be filled by the students, wherein we are asked to rate each subject, its relevance in the current times, the performance and credibility of the teacher teaching that particular subject and if at all, there is a need to replace the teacher or the subject contents need to be revised.
So there we were all today, sitting in the classroom, spending our one hour in this useless and non sense task which it seems just a formality to me. In fact, many things today in this materialistic world are done because they are to be done for the sake of it and this is one of them. We have 10 subjects in total and we were to fill a form for each subject, each form consisting of around 12 questions. This was a tough task indeed, the toughness and the boring nature is further added upon because these forms would never be opened(at least not everyone’s) and no action will be taken if at all we fill them taking things seriously.
I don’t say such things should not be done. I only say proper recognition and care should be taken when undertaking such a serious tak to maintain the reputation of these things in the future so that students also value them. Otherwise this will be a big queston mark on an institute of high repute like an IIT.
Talking of another incident a weeek back in the hostel. The task was to allot the hostel rooms for the next semester. The rooms were to be alotted by way of lots in the presence of the Warden. All the interested students were required to be present at the venue at 6 p.m. We were all very eager and were waiting for the warden to arrive so that the process could be kick started. But unfortunately it seemed that the watch of the warden was ticking an hour delayed and he arrived at 7 p.m. Nobody can blame him. Its only that students had to waste their one hour for a stupid person who is supposed to be the caretaker of the residents of the hostel. Adding more to the story, the warden comes and instead of starting the rooms allotment process without wasting any more time, he is being fed with tea and snacks. The supervisor of the hostel joins him in their totally non sensical chats, and the students keep on waiting for their turns.
Adding more to the incidents and happenings; When we joined the hostel, we were allotted rooms in a newly built block. Everything was good in this new block except that the wi fi internet routers had not been installed. We were told that the routers will be put up in a span of 10 days. We heaved a sigh of relief, but then those 10 days passed and even months passed. It was only after 8 months that the routers had been installed in the hostel. This is the true inside story of an IIT. To outsiders, it seems that IIT is heaven and the people inside it are really lucky chaps. But considereing all such incidents here, (there are many more), the true picture of the so called heaven is revealed.
Conclusion : Everyone should value everyone’s time. Such acts should be avoided which eventually results in the mockery of the system.
Let’s talk about people today. We meet so many of them, each day, some faces are remembered and most do not. There are all kinds of them, good, bad, selfish, would be best friends, time pass friends, love friends and what not. It is a terribly difficult task to judge the right person from the herd of this plethora of souls.
It will soon be a year that I joined my MBA at this place. Since then, I have a met a number of new faces in my departmental class, a little less in my hostel and more during normal routine. Coming at this junction, I can judge to some extent what kind of personality he or she is.
There are people who will always try to keep u near for the sake of money. They would like you to spend on things like refreshments, cigarettes, etc. There are others who will always be by your side, be it anything, sometimes they may miss out but they ultimately will be with you.
During my mid term exams this time, I changed the way I used to study till now. Instead of spending my time in the double seated shared room to study, this time I spent maximum of my time in the library to study some 2 days before the exam and during the three days of the exam. This is my personal way of studying that I try to study alone and if some doubts come, then I get them sorted from others, decent enough, I assume. It’s not that I study all the time while I am in the library. Now comes the crowd. A buzz is spread among a few bunch of people that so and so person is spending his majority of time in the library. People start getting curious and a lil worried that someone will surpass them back in this race of studies and they start making all sort of fun. This should not be acceptable to a person. What do others have to do with my style of studying? Who are they to decide if I will study in the library or at my room or if at all I should study. But then I think that let people speak, masses are more worried for others than themselves and this always goes the same.
Talking of the library story, my bicycle got stolen from the library parking during these exam days. So studying in the lib really costed me. Aneways, jokes apart, such theft should not be there in an institute like an IIT and that too when u have a security guard who always claims that he always his eagle’s eyes active and that he hardly moves away from his duty.
It is not that I haven’t made good friends here; I do have made some really nice buddies, who should stand by my side always.
Taking another case, a guy in my class comes to me the other day and asks me for some money as he was not carrying his wallet. He actually wanted to purchase something as refreshment, He asked me to give 20 bucks. He said that he will certainly return, although I was sure he never will. I gave him 50 and said him straight forward that I am giving u 50 so that u should return this. But I ultimately lost my 50 bucks as they have not yet come back. I now think that I should strictly not entertain such people and that I should straight say no to them. Let’s see if I can do so.
Today while travelling to my campus from my home town, a lady was sitting opposite me. She seemed to me that she was cultured and well mannered. She also got down when the bus reached Roorkee. I asked her politely where was her house in the town, though I don’t know much about the town. (I think I have started to talk much to the strangers as well). She replied that she stays in the IIT campus; I added me too. Then we kind of started to talk a little informally. She was wife of a professor in the Mechanical dept. She told me that she likes her life, as there so many facilities available here inside the campus, uninterrupted Power and water, good education for her kids and above all peace and no fast life as in the metros. I too added some similar things taking turns in between.
Such examples of new people keep on coming each day, what matters is how you deal with others and how u judge them.
Till later,
One of the unique things about the IIT Roorkee campus is that there is a temple, a church and a mosque, all inside the campus. The church fascinated me since my day 1 here at IIT and somewhere inside me, I wished to visit it once. The church opens for prayers only on Sundays, morning and evening. Waking up ‘EARLY’ in the morn is a big task for me and my Sunday evenings were mostly eaten up by the guest lecturers who came here to give us Gyaan. At the other times, I was gone home on Sundays. Since I was here in Roorkee the last Sunday, so I decided to visit the old heritage church in our campus; heritage because it will be celebrating its 150th year in the coming April.
So here I was at the church gate, 5 minutes before the opening time (5 p.m. in the evening). There was nobody there. I wondered did I reach at the wrong time. Then I saw a man coming on cycle near the gate. He was supposedly the caretaker of the church. I enquired about the timings, he informed that I have come a lil before time and everyone will be coming JIT. I waited for a few mins , this guy opened the doors and did his preliminary tasks. He lighted two candles placed on long poles. Meanwhile the priest came in his car, he was wearing a black robe.
Other people had also started to come. There was a church in my school and we used to visit it very often, more frequently during the exams. There we used to remove our shoes before entering it. I was wondering we would do similar here. I waited till someone else was the first to enter the church. To my surprise, people kept on entering the church with their shoes on. So I too followed them. I found a seat for me. We were given a hymn booklet and a small diary sized thing which I later realized was The ‘Bible’. I started feeling so sacred holding it my hands.
The priest read some of the verses from Bible and we were asked to repeat after him. Prayers from the hymn book were sung. The prayers were so musical and well sung, thanks to the student guitarist and drummer present there. (One of the hymns I recorded is hyperlinked with this post towards the end) Towards the end, a holy bag was circulated among all the present people to collect donations from them. This was it, the whole process. I was feeling so blessed that day and it gave me a feeling of confidence and motivation.
I interacted with some people after the prayer ceremony was over. Some of them asked me my name and asked where I lived because I was the only new face seen among them. I told them that I had come the first time. One of the guy even asked for my mobile number and invited me to be a part of this prayer ceremony each week. I felt really glad by his hospitality and invitation.
Next I have a desire to be part of a Christian marriage ceremony. Hope I get a chance sometimes.
Happy writing and ‘God Bless All’.
Link to the Hymn : http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8IoQxcsD-NwNWVjYzA4NjEtMTIwYS00NDUwLThkMGQtZjBkZDQ0YmIxNTMz&hl=en
Little Angels
Children of the age group of 2-7 or may be a few more years
are really cute. Almost everyone likes to spend time with them and in turn
bringing out the child in them. People love to interact with them, to listen to
their not so sensible talks and stories, to try answering some of their
baseless queries, and make friendhips with them by giving them some candies,
biscuits or chocolates. In fact, a true friendship with a child can be made if
you take him/her to a confectionary shop and grant them the liberty of choosing
what they want. Additionally, if you offer them to take as much they want, then
there are chances that you might get life time friendship offer from them.
I myself become a child whenever I get a chance to play with
some really cuties, which is not so common though. I remember a few months back
when my cousin’s cute kids came to my house one day and it was so fun playing
‘I Spy’ with them. They were also really adamant in taking my camera phone with
them because one of them was really attracted to the camera flash of my phone.
Don’t know what plans she must be having in her mind, maybe she wanted to make
the camera flash as her study table lamp, or maybe she wanted to click pics of
her cute doll with that cam phone. But I was really careful in giving the phone
in her lil angel hands.
I dont know if this is a normal thing for everyone but i
like ‘she’ children more as compared to a ‘he’. I guess this goes for everyone
that gents like a girl child and ladies prefer to play with a boy child. I
don’t say that boys are not cute. Boys are cute as well but somewhere some
cunningness and naughtiness can be seen in their eyes and in their behavior
which never is seen in the girls. They behave so decently and will normally
listen to most of the orders made by their mothers. They rarely sound naughty
and do not play any of mischievous things while their brothers are always in
search of inventing something new each moment, innovative than their last. A
girl can well settle herself with a Barbie doll and she will demand nothing
more. I guess this is the reason for the old adage that “A woman balances
well all her roles in her life and keeps everyone settled”.
I don’t know but I think that bringing up a child is really
a tough and commendable task. From giving them proper and timely food to
changing their scented nappies (Chhhheee chhheee), from carrying them along to
all parties and movies and bearing with their non sense cries and yells to
timely get them ready for their school each morning and getting yourself late
for office, from waking up at midnight cos they want to play with their
neighbor friend Pinky to fulfilling all their demands and needs, and so on; all
these tasks require a good amount of patience and effort. But when your cute
angel smiles at you and lovingly hugs you or holds your finger and walks
besides you or gives as many pecks on your cheek as you wish, then somewhere
inside, you get a sense of pride and really feel the importance and worth of
this little one in your life.
Love.
General Non sense examples and blind faiths
- If a cat crosses our path,
we consider this as unlucky and wait for some other to pass the way before
we pass. Sometimes I think what’s so special in cat that only it can bring
bad luck, why not the mice or the dog!!
- Sitting on a chair, and if
we move our legs front and back, then we are advised not to do so becoz
this leads to Goddess Lakshmi go away and hence we will suffer losses
financially. On the other hand, the person only move legs to indicate that
he is either getting restless or getting too bored, I just can’t
understand from where does goddess Lakshmi comes here into picture.
- If anyone sneezes and we
are just about to start some task, then either we wait for a few seconds
or have some water before continuing with our work. Come on guys, the
science has well proven reasons for a sneeze and these reasons nowhere
relate to any supernatural thing which will serve any harm to us. Instead
one should say, “God Bless”.
- A poster of a sweet cute
boy child is pasted in the room of a pregnant lady in such a location that
the lady can always view the poster comfortably. It is a normal belief
that such a poster will serve two purposes, first, the child will be a
baby boy and not a girl and secondly that the new born kid will resemble
the poster child in terms of cuteness. Sometimes the picture of the
husband is as well put in the room for the belief that the newly born baby
will bear the good traits of his/her father. Donno how true this belief
is, I will get the proof when this all will come to me, which is sure to
come soon in a couple of years down the line. He he.
- It is advised that one
should not leave the house after eating some sweet stuff, instead one
should have some salty thing before leaving house. What non sense, what is
it to be done with sugar or the salt. Talking of sugar, I read in the news
that sugar prices are exponentially rising here in India. God, save people
from this burgeoning inflation.
- Eating Curd and Ladduu (particularly
made of Moti Chuur) brings good luck and thus people usually have this
before starting some new work. Even students does before going to some
important exams thinking they might get better ranks, not knowing that
this ladduu and curd is not going to help in the exam. Instead of believing
this blind belief, they should either study nicely or think of some
creative tactic of using unfair means in the exams. Ha ha.
- It is also believed that
one should not buy anything made of iron on Saturdays, I guess some God
must be getting angry if one does so but why particularly with iron. This
certainly the same God must be knowing. It is believed that this bring ill
luck.
- No shaving or hair cuts
are advised on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Even some of the barbers
keep their saloons shut on Tuesdays. I don’t understand how some people adhere
to this blind rule.
There are many more in addition to the above listed ones. Truly
speaking, all these blind faiths are loosing their relevance in today’s world where people
don’t really have time to follow all these foolish things which is actually a
good thing. I myself don’t believe in these but sometimes have to follow them.
Don’t know how many of you follow how many of these.
I have been utilizing my winter vacations in learning to
drive a car. It was my tenth day today. So thought of writing some personal
lessons that I learnt till now while driving. If you find these points to be
boring and worth nothing, then the last paragraph can be straightly jumped to.
I am sure that will be an interesting one.
- Be patient and don’t be restless. It’s not
necessary that you overtake all the vehicles ahead of you and never let any
other vehicle overtake you. Maintain a decent speed and enjoy the drive.
- Don’t drive when u r angry on some1 or not in a
good mood because this may cause to drive rash and in turn may cause anything.
If driving can’t really be avoided in such a situation, then play some nice
favorite music of yours in the music player so that the foolish situation can
be avoided. I myself have personally experienced the bad consequences of
driving in a furious mood. Thank God, I was on a bike and dint hurt me too
much.
- Never confuse brakes and the accelerator.
Recently I did so in my learning lessons. There was a bike in front of the car
and I had to apply the brakes. But instead I pressed my foot on the accelerator
mistakenly and the biker narrowly escaped else he could have been hit by me.
The confusion between brake and the accelerator arises as they both have to be
controlled by your right leg.
- Don’t unnecessarily honk. The fellow roadies
sometimes feel too irritated. If there is a big jam on the road, then honking
will not help. So maintain your calm and let others be as well calm.
These points are apart from the normal lessons
like always carry your DL, follow all the traffic rules and never jump any red
lights, etc, etc. I am jotting down these points because if I sometimes disregard
these, then I will be reminded that I had somewhere written these points which
I had pledged to strictly follow, at least some if not all and in turn will not
break these myself.
I now am looking forward to buying a car,
although this will take some years.
One more thing worth mentioning here is that the real
fun of driving a car is when you are on a long drive, with plenty of idle time
to spend, with a nice pleasant weather, a light drizzling rain, your favorite
music playing smoothly, car running at a constant speed, the road smooth and
clear of traffic, your beloved holding your one hand, gently caressing and telling
you some nice old memories.
Hope
such a Long Drive experience comes to everyone.
One Act of Kindness
It was two days back. I was walking to my instructor for taking my daily driving lessons. The road was crowded as usual, huge traffic coming on both sides of the road and going on both ways on the two sides as nobody ever cares for the traffic rules here in my hometown, of course I am as well a part of this. You can’t take the responsibility of correcting everyone, so better let the way things are moving.
Moving ahead, I saw a large crowd gathered on the road.
My guess was some minor accident must have taken place which is most often the case here. But it was not so. I decided to become a part of that crowd and look what was so interesting and crowd pulling there in the middle. I was surprised to find that there was a bull standing in the middle of the road with its one
horn bleeding. A man and a few others were helping in bandaging the bull’s horn. The bull must have been harmed by some speeding vehicle on the road. One of the men washed the injury and the other applied some medical ointment and then nicely bandaged it. I could not believe that there still exists some kind of humanness among people who themselves are so busy in their daily chores that they don’t even care for their fellow beings. I really thanked those guys for helping out this animal in times of distress and moved on to my destination. Nice Job done.
Hostel Mess at IIT
Having food in the mess is always been a troubling fear to me, especially when I was so used to Paneer, Dal Makhani, Pizzas, and all sort of delicacies during my job days in Delhi. A sudden halt has come to all these as there are no good food chains in Roorkee. Moreover, being a student now, your pockets as well can't be so deep to allow eating outside daily. So inspite of the fact that you like the mess food or not, u got to be there in the mess frequently. (I don't say that the food is totally waste, sometimes tis good as well)
Whenever I was there in the mess, I took a large amount of the two (royal) vegetables that are usually made, a good amount of (fried, spicy and chilly) rice and 3-4 (butter) chapatis and some (finger licking) sweet dish as well, if any. So all in all, the quantity of food taken by me in my plate was too much for a single normal man to consume. I am usually accompanied by a friend of mine in the mess. This guy was noticing me since last few days as to the quantity of food I take and how much I eat and how much goes into waste. So one day, he could not resist and he came up to me and said,"Arpit, why do u take so much food when u don't even eat the half of it". Very true. Fortunately, he didn't rant me with a long and serious lecture on food shortage, poverty, and the sacred values attached to the food. I very well understood these things even without his quoting all these. A nice lesson learnt. Since then, I have been taking only a limited amount of food in the plate and eat it and if the food is real good, take more of it. Cheers.
Lesson: Don't waste food. If you don't like the quality, then take less of it. Think of the unfortunate ones who strive real hard to earn even a single meal a day. We are really lucky in this regard. Thanks to the Almighty..
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