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Why Facebook IPO is going to fail?

Is something I do not know or am worried about... It is for Mark Zuckerberg to ensure and the Board of Directors to enjoy.
The sole purpose of this post was to see how many hits does a "sensational" post create v/s a more meaningful one. Will Google crawlers also get confused by this post??

Wait and watch...

Rockstar - Definite one-time watch and multiple times listen :)

Just back from Rockstar… One line review: You will definitely like it, might even love it, but will not “enjoy” it…

Warning: Spoiler Alert

The cast seems designed to cast/propel Ranbir into limelight. Shammi Kapoor with a cameo would be happy to see another Kapoor join the league of great actors that we know the Kapoor-stable has produced… Ranbir is brilliant in all roles he has depicted – the Jatt college-goer, the troubled artist and the pained lover… Nargis sure has a long way to go before she establishes herself; her dialogues appear fake – sometimes with no emotion and at other times, overdramatic. I was left wondering why Aditi Rao and Nargis didn’t swap roles…

The cinematography leaves little scope of improvement. Shots of the lake in Kashmir to the customary European buildings and orange rooftops, from frozen jungles to the European meadows, it has it all captured in its best form.

The screenplay and direction is non-linear. Very few directors have been successfully captured non-linear movies. Imtiaz Ali does it brilliantly. The movie shifts from one flashback to another to present without warning. Probably maintaining consistency of Ranbir’s look was the motive. The motive was well served – despite rapid shifts in timelines, the movie appears seamless.

The story is not that great but then I suppose it was not meant to be. No pretences here – its just a troubled rockstar’s love story…

And why haven’t I talked of the music – well, there is little I can say about it… You have to listen to it to know more. It will suffice if I said, ITS MAGICAL!! Rahman came into the industry with the magical Bombay – this definitely takes that bar far beyond any other in recent years. Oscar or no Oscar, the music is definitely you will take back with you. I’d be shocked if you leave the hall not humming one of the many tunes from the movie… Mohit Chauhan has done it again… Kun Fayakun, Naadan Parindey are absolute gems. Saada Haq is as rebellious as can be – sorta imbibes the image of ‘rock’… And when its Rahman, you gotta expect a mixture – there’s sufi, folk and even a Czech gypsy tune (Hawaa Hawaa)…

Listen to the Music Here

Overall, the movie could’ve been shortened by half an hour or so and still would have achieved the same level of appreciation. If anything, the stretched second half could have been done away with. But a definite must watch…

P.S: I was asked the meaning of Katiya Karoon - literally it means "I will spin your cotton" but I guess it means "I'll do anything for you" in context.
P.S2: Similarly in case you are wondering what Kun Fayakun, it is an urdu phrase said in praise of the lord. It means "Be. And it is."

The Unknown Euphoria

Some days the fate is really kind on you… Those days you will feel an unknown euphoria. You want to jump up in the air and then the mind will tell you to control for this one day is just one amongst the many others where you will want to jump in the air; But directly off a 2000ft stone cliff overhanging a raging sea…

On those good days, you often do not know what it is that made you jump up in air. You never know if this euphoria will last – you sure want it to but fear it might. Just that you are happy and can’t stop smiling.

Or it might be that you know what made you happy but you are afraid if you touch the bubble, it might just burst! Someone pings you to say ‘Hi’ and you check your chat history to be sure it actually happened! Someone calls you and you call back an hour later saying, “Did you call, I’m sorry I was busy that time” though you might have been plucking imaginary petals of imaginary roses to pass time.

Even with that bubble intact, sometimes you wonder if the event was a big enough to get you euphoric. You are like, ‘I drink Coke every day – which special happiness opened today? I talk to people daily, which idol of mine did I talk to today? Or was it my long lost sweetheart calling to say I was missed?’

Or sometimes, you are just plain happy to be happy… anticipating your whole life to be as was today… Hoping you never sleep or even if you do, you wake up with the same euphoria… I shall go to sleep today with this same euphoria… and what is the best part - I KNOW THE REASON TOO :)

Why I believe Anna Hazare is wrong in his means (and not the ends)...

At the outset, holding the democratic process to ransom through political blackmail is wrong. Going on fast-unto-death is illegal (equivalent to homicide) and any person indulging in it should be arrested – doesn’t matter if that person has the backing of a billion Indians (and the remaining million are only the “corrupt” law enforcement agencies).

Now coming to the issue of a Lokpal bill…

I would be going against popular sentiment but dare I say – WE DO NOT NEED A LOKPAL BILL – Neither the “Civil Society” version nor the government version. Here are my reasons for the same:

1. Too few cooks make poison not broth: Our constitution – the Raison d'être of all law agencies – is a brilliant piece of applied thought. It creates three bodies – the executive, the judiciary and the legislative – all of which are independent but completely dependent. What one does can be checked and annulled by the other through justified action. The problem arises when these come together – the exact thing that the Jan Lokpal proposes to do! Hand over power to one person/institution and make him absolute… to make law, decide violations and ensure execution - and what you have is a perfect broth - the only problem being that the recipe being perfect is of 'disaster'...


2. The RTI, the CVC, the CAG – all these are bodies designed to curb corruption – but do they work? So now we create another one – and then five years down the line – another one to supervise the Lokpal... When does it end! The problem is not existence of no control or supervision – its too many controls.


3. The reform process – if taken to its logical conclusion – will remove the necessity of any such bill. I wrote earlier about this – the reforms have created a less corrupt society already (imagine getting phone connections, paying electricity bills, paying taxes, getting a stamp paper without paying bribes even ten years earlier) – the corruption has been pushed up the ladder… Yes, I’m worried when my tax is gobbled up (supposedly) by corrupt (again, supposedly) ministers… But thankfully my day-to-day jobs have fewer hassles now. By slowly making more things transparent, the corruption will be pushed up the ladder – and then out! By adding the Lokpal – we just add a wrung to the ladder which the corruption can climb!

I’ll not go into the problems of the Jan Lokpal Bill – there are far too many that even a noob like me can see (for eg: the concentration of power, the selection panel, the age limits etc. etc.) because I know the end is justified – lesser corruption… In its current form the Jan Lokpal Bill is a situation where (as mentioned in a debate on TV) – If there is a theft in my house, I’ll worry about locking up my house later – I’ll first go to fast to force the commissioner to provide me more police force!!!

Now people say, OK you are just writing blogs – at least we are out here protesting against the government and their corrupt practices! Well I say, at least I’m doing my job right… In the last full year, I can vow to have never paid a bribe -no single rupee. How many of you can vouch for that? I agree I never voted. How many of you accept that? If not, did you or did you not vote for the “right” candidate from the local level right to the MP! We all expect our rights to be honoured but forget the duties that the constitution also mentions…!!!

I’m a firm believer in democracy – I’ve been part of School and college politics myself – no matter how much the elections were rigged – the best people, more often than not, get elected if everyone participates. So once the democratic process is set right, everything comes in place... Here are the electoral reforms I propose:

1. You want a strong Jan Lokpal Bill. Bring a strong “Vote Karo” bill. How about sentencing people who do not vote to 5 years rigorous imprisonment... would you be ready for that? How about giving a tax rebate to people who voted in the last general election?


2. Ok, I want to vote but who do I vote for... So ban people who have been convicted (not accused) of any law breaking/tax evasion from elections. Yes today very few will pass/fail, slowly more will... finally one day (probably 100 yrs from now) we’ll have an unblemished candidate list!


3. Use RTI more. You find some problem – please take the trouble of filing an RTI application. Instead of asking for more governance mechanisms, learn to use the ones that exist!


4. Our courts (and nationalised banks) work for less than half the year – how about extending that? Have more fast-track courts to settle small disputes in a speedy manner... You might not agree to it, the courts (including the lawyers and judges) are highly overburdened for now!!!

Of course, I’m no expert – just another “Aam Aadmi” who fails to see reason for using undemocratic coercive solutions for perfectly legitimate causes. And what is most of all, I do not want to put the blame of my lethargy on a weak system...!!!

Yes I'm Corrupt...

Yes I’m corrupt – but less than what I was ten years ago. Yes I'm corrupt.

1990 – That was when I recall making my first STD call. I remember my dad taking me to a phone booth. The guy operating the booth could decide if he wanted to connect my call – I had to pay him extra else the line would be “busy”. I did.

1995 – I remember understanding the train ticket booking system. You went to an “agent”. You gave him 10% per ticket or Rs.250 whichever is higher. He went inside the booking chamber in the station and paid a percentage to the operator who then booked the ticket. It was long time later I realized that it was NOT how you booked tickets and that what we did actually constituted to paying a “bribe”.

2000 – I remember opening my own bank account. I thought I would be required to pay an “opening charge” to an introducer – to my surprise (a pleasant one) – bribe was no longer the norm. The bank account still exists.

2005 – I buy my first mobile phone and can make calls at any time of the day – including STD. I ‘message’ for free.

2010 – I pay my taxes online. There is no “tax for paying tax”.

And they say, corruption has increased over the past years. The scale of corruption might have increased. The 2G scam – well I will refrain from giving it a number – the amount is quoted to be far above my comprehension – seems to be the biggest scam ever in the Indian History. But is it more than the cumulative “charge” taken by that “STD operator” across India? And so on and so forth…

The point I'm trying to make is that while the scale of corruption might seem to have increased, it has become extremely concentrated. The system is more open and “reform” – the same reform that many “activists” claim is the root of evil in today’s society – has reduced corruption at the grass-root level. Why do I bother if A Raja garnered the money if I get a good mobile connection wherever I go? For one, I’m sure he couldn’t have kept that money for himself. There would be a Tata-Radia hiding somewhere in the closet. Secondly, the government might have lost out by selling the spectrum at giveaway prices – but isn’t it exactly what prompted the telecom price-wars that ultimately benefitted the “Aam Aadmi”. The combined NPV of public benefit would surely be more than the amount that Raja is being charged for.

Anna Hazare might go to jail for fighting against corruption – and many on FB might “like” it or “attend” the “Aug 15th event against corruption” – I will continue to live my usual life knowing I’m paying my taxes – and JUST THAT. Yes, my money might be going to a pocket of an “undeserving individual” whose only qualification is that he is an uneducated MLA/MP – but as I theorized long time back – any money making dupes someone else – so in essence – everyone is corrupt! Don’t go so hard on Raja because he made more money than you – that is not anti-corruption – that I call ‘envy’.

P.S: On second thought, oh yeah, prosecute him – get the black money back – that will mean people will have more money – but oops – the prices of common goods might have just gone up by the same amount by the time – and even if they don’t – who doesn’t ever want more money! :D