Tsunami hits South Indian coastline

On the day after Christmas a fierce calamity struck the southern coasting of the Indian sub-continent and a number of other countries in the Indian Ocean including Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia. The extent of damage caused in terms of human lives is huge. Nagapattinam, close to the Catholic religious shrine of The Lady Of Health (Velankanni) was the worst hit with casualties hitting more than two thousand and still counting. Most of Nagapattinam town shares it's boundaries with the sea and there are a number of hamlets that bordered the shoreline. All have been totally wiped out now, what remains are beaches lines with corpses of humans that were sucked into the sea.

The sight in Velankanni is even more ghastly, the makeshift roof setup for the midnight service on Christmas day was now sheltering dead bodies of people recovered from the sea and adjoining areas. Bodies lying to be identified or handed over to the near and dear ones. Imagine what would have been running across the minds of the innocent people, children especially when this had to happen when they were undertaking a pilgrimage. Without going into the ethical concepts involved here, none would have even dreamt of the calamity that was to befall them in the holiest place where people came to get rid of their sickness and handicaps. Is there a message to this? I am not sure, but this is definitely an indicator of one thing. No matter how much man thinks he is in control, that much more things are out of his control.

Cuddalore, a small town on coastal Thamizh Nadu (Tamilnadu) was hit badly. Chennai (Madras) and it's adjoining areas were hit too. Here the disaster was caused primarily because of vested interests allowing people to live dangerously close to the sea all along from Toll Gate, Kasimedu down to the Harbour. Kalpakkam, the site of MAPS (Madras Atomic Power Station) was shutdown to keep things under control. The township accorsing to witnesses bears a batterred look with virtually nobody there. I should say, this place has hundreds of families whose bread winners are employed in IGCAR and MAPS is quite a lively place in normal times. I cherish the moments I got to spend there in a pal's house in 2000/2001. The youth there are involved in all sorts of activities from sports, cultural and social. You can find elder people taking a walk in the township which has well laid roads which are brightly lit and it is absolutely safe to take a walk at 0000 hrs in the night.

Kanniyakumari, the southern most tip of the south indian state of Thamizh Nadu (Tamilnadu) was hit badly. There were visitors stranded on Vivekananda Rock when the Tsunami hit and had to rescued later by the Coast Guard. Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), Vedaranyam, Rameswaram, Pondicherry were all hit badly by this Tsunami. Loss of human lives would have been minimum had the civil authorities followed basic town planning rules of not allowing hutments and settlements close to the sea. The lack of political and administrative will is what should make us squirm because despite the tall promises that our politicians make, we know that they are all directed at appeasement. A long term solution would be to hit the root of the issue, make sure people are provided with the basic needs and stop dividing heads in religious lines.

One thing that is evident in the whole rescue operation is the coming together of human minds. Nagapattinam town is a Muslim majority area, you could find them running around to be of help in the rescue operations. Nobody wanted to save only a Muslim, all they wanted to see was one breathing soul in a heap of breathless bodies. This spirit was evident in all the areas, there was not a single instance where a person of one religion would hesitate to help another on religious lines. It's only the politician who keeps pointing to the dollar hanging around our neck, that sandal paste on our forehead, that thread across our arms. If not for them I doubt if we'd even care to notice that. At the end of the day, all of us breathe the same air, live on the same soil and one day will leave this place for sure. If only we can stop fighting in the name of God ........ I am sure we will. Adios !

Pawn or Porn

Technology has grown exponentially in the past 55 yrs and more so in the past 10 yrs. The MMS clipping that has raised ripples all over recently must be seen in this perspective. Before getting in that, we need to ask some questions to ourselves. What is it that bothers us when we hear about two school children and their private activities. Is it the act that nauseates us, in the light of the fact that these were two minors in school? Are we concerned by what constituted the act? Is the technology that is used that demands our attention? Or is it simply the voyeur in us that is getting excited at the thought of getting a peek into these kids lives?

Whatever it is, one thing is for sure. This trend is not new in our schools, especially the so-called 'public' schools and boarding schools. Our society needs to be educated more on the values than condemning entities for transgressing what is perceived as right and wrong. Nobody is raising questions about the awareness that needs to be created. Sex has to be defined as intimate and personal connection between two people who have some bonding and is not something a school girl should be risking her personality and health with. The core issue is more of understanding and being comfortable with the most contentious topic on earth. Every living human being is a result of two people's carnal interests. What's the big deal in hiding behing a veil then?

Before getting into technology, the first question that I thought was that did we really need cameras on cell-phones? This was simply the case of one company wanting to create more value for their product. Today the market is not defined by need or value, but absolute reasonless additions in the name of offering the latest in technology. The fact that the sexual act was filmed shows the playfulness of two teenagers who were experimenting with their sexuality. The age is addictive where one person can easily get the other to submit to one's whims and fancies. These days students are not students anymore, they are pawns at the hands of their parents and peers.

Every parent wants his son/daughter to become a 'somebody' in society and keep pushing them to the edge of sanity and tolerance. Many become super-successful, some become sick mentally, others get into all the shady activities while there are a number who simply believe that there is place for every person on earth, but this reality dawns at a later stage in their lives. The third groups thrives on shady dealings solely with no other escape route. This coupled with the amount of secrecy and hush-hushness associated with sex, drugs, gambling creates a cult value for the act and gets people interested in it. One doesn't need to look beyond the TV to get an idea of the way the creators of the programmes perceive the market and their target audience.

Does every music video need to be accompanied with a sultry siren baring it all within its bits piece of cloth which would only be enough to cover one's face? Keep thinking while I'll go and get some more insight into the human psyche.