ख़ाली

मंद हवा के इन झोकों के लुत्फ़ का भी वक़्त नहीं

थक हार कर फ़ुर्सत की दो साँसों का है वक़्त नहीं

बादल की इन दो बूंदों के रस का भी तो वक़्त नहीं

दोस्त है अपने मगर साथ में दो बातों का वक़्त नहीं

दिन के कितने घंटो में से दो मिनट का वक़्त नहीं

फिर भी अपना दिन है ख़ाली 

ज़िन्दगी में वक़्त नहीं

-अनिमेष

कोई क्यूँ देखे 26 जनवरी की परेड ?

राजपथ से Live

 इस बार 26 जनवरी के दिन जल्दी नहीं उठा। मन नहीं किया। क्या करता, पिछले 20 साल से परेड में ख़ास कुछ नहीं बदला। कुछ rules बना लिए हैं हमने अपना गणतंत्र दिवस मानाने के। वही झांकियां, वही नृत्य, वही करतब, वही सजावट । किसी की इच्छा .. किसी की हिम्मत ही नहीं है की कुछ बदलने की सोच सके। कहीं किसी को बुरा न लग जाये। जैसा चलता है चलने दो। करोड़ों रूपए खर्च हो जाते हैं हर साल, पर कोई दिमाग खर्च नहीं करता।

वही परेड है। अगर दूरदर्शन वाले 1999 की रिकॉर्डिंग भी चला दें तो कोई फर्क नहीं होगा। यहाँ तक की कैमरा एंगल तक बदले नहीं गए। कमेंटरी में हर बार केवल साल और नेताओं के नाम बदल दिए जाते हैं। ये हमारे गणतंत्र का अपमान नहीं है की उसे मानाने के लिए हमने एक rulebook लिख दी है ? हर साल कठपुतली शो की तरह शुरू होता है और ख़त्म हो जाता है।

कोई क्यूँ देखे 26 जनवरी की परेड ?  नीचे comment ज़रूर करें।

क्या लगता है, कब की है ये परेड। अपलोड करने वाले ने undated लिखा है। शायद सही लिखा है।

Happy Diwali

Main purpose of this post is to try embedding a tweet into a post. :)

Please don't add to the poisons of diwali this year by burning firecrackers. #delhi #smog #adultratedkhoya
—Animesh(@agarwalanimesh) November 12, 2012

रौशनी

रौशनी कुछ ज्यादा है

कुछ नज़र नहीं आ रहा

थोड़ी हल्की हो जाती रौशनी

ज़रा कुछ नज़र आता ।

आँख चौंधिया गयी

जैसे सूरज चढ़ा हो

रात भी कुछ चीज़ थी

दिन से अँधेरी, फ़र्क थी ।

क्यूँ है इतनी ज्यादा

क्या काम है इसका ?

अपना अँधेरा छुपाने का

शायद पर्दा है रौशनी ।

-अनिमेष अग्रवाल

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_blindness

Salaried Wife. What an Idea Mantrijee!

जी मंत्रीजी !

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development is mulling to prepare a draft that would make it mandatory for the husband to pay a definite amount of his salary to his wife each month.

महिला एवं बाल विकास मंत्रालय में इस बात पे सोच विचार हो रहा है कि पत्नियों को पति की salary में से कुछ हिस्सा मिलना चाहिए। मंत्रालय इस सम्बन्ध में जल्दी ही एक प्रस्ताव पेश करेगा।

अच्छा है, हमारे देश में अकलमंदी के काम काफी तेज़ी से होते हैं। मंत्रालय की ये सोच है की इससे महिलाओं का empowerment हो जायेगा। Empowerment करने के लिए ये plan है कि घरेलू औरत का designation हाउस-वाईफ से गिराके हाउस-मेड का कर दिया जाए। पत्नी के पास पैसा आ जायेगा तो सब तकलीफ ख़त्म। आखिर सब problem ही पैसे की है।

इस idea को पूरी तरह से कारगर बनाने के लिए मेरे 7 सवाल हैं:

1. विवाह के 7 वादों को हटा कर क्या offer letter सिस्टम लागू किया जायेगा ?
2. हर साल का increment कितना होगा ? Annual Performance Rating कैसे निकली जाएगी ?
3. पति के क्या क्या हक होंगे ? पत्नी की क्या क्या जिम्मेदारियां होंगी ? अच्छा खाना ? साफ़ सफाई ? अगर पति बीमार होगा तो पत्नी को दवाई लानी होगी ? बच्चों का homework कराना होगा ? क्या पत्नी को पति के साथ parties/dinners में जाना ज़रूरी होगा ?
4. अगर पत्नी को खाना बनाना नहीं आता तो क्या उसकी पगार कम होगी ?
5. साल में कितने दिन की छुट्टी मिलेगी ?
6. अगर बच्चे फेल हो गए तो कौन जिम्मेदार होगा ?
7. क्या कामवाली बाई को रखकर काम outsource कराया जा सकता है ? उसकी पगार कौन देगा ?

उम्मीद है कि इन बिन्दुओं को ध्यान में रखके सरकार एक सशक्त कानून बना पाएगी।

अपडेट : सुना है कि कामवाली बाई अस्सोसीएशन ऑफ़ इंडिया की ये मांग है की घरों में उन्हें भी पत्नी के बराबर के हक और सम्मान मिलना चाहिए।

जय हिंद !

Legacy Blogger Account Scam. Google hacked? [Warning]

I got this mail today from blogger-support@google.com
I guess this has to be a scam.  I would suggest everyone not to click on any links on this mail. Correct me if I am wrong. 



-----------
Subject: Final reminder to update your legacy Blogger account
-----------
Hello,

You are receiving this message because your email address is associated with an unmigrated legacy Blogger account. As we announced in April of last year, legacy accounts will no longer be accessible after May 30th, 2012 unless they are updated to the Google Account system. Any blog content associated with this account will also be unmodifiable after that date.

To transfer your blog to the Google Account system you need to visit the Legacy Migration page at http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/iMA2S1grKn3Zbo right now to make sure that your account and associated blogs are claimed. If you’ve forgotten the Blogger password that is associated with this email address, you can use our Account Recovery page at  http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/Jhgj7jqe5HauJY to request password information to be sent via email.

For more information, please see our initial announcement we posted to our blog at http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/RbroWLEb2H3GPo . If you have questions, please visit our Help Forum at http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/grV44ag1ff9mB0 and create a message with [Legacy Account] in the subject line.

Regards,
The Blogger Team
Google
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
----
This e-mail is being sent to notify you of important changes to your Blogger account.
------------

Google has not responded yet on any forums or blogs and some googlingsuggests that very  few people seems to be doubting the authenticity of the email. I'll wait to see how soon the tech and security blogs pick it up.

On forums like these,
 http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/something-is-broken/l6QlxmXIfTU,
 http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/blogger/OtEOplMkE8Q

a guy called "Brett from Blogger" is replying to posts convincing people that the issue is real and collecting blog urls and locations from users. (!)
Screenshot :

When you google "Final reminder to update your legacy Blogger account", many blogs come up in search links that have just this email as the latest post. I assume these are the blogs that have already been compromised.


Here's why I think it is a scam.

• It does not address me by my name but by "Hello"
• I have multiple blogs but this mail does not mention the title or url of any of those blogs. 
• This page seems to suggest that everyone who tried to  "transfer blog to the Google Account system" was unsuccessful
• When I go to my blogger account @ www.blogger.com, I get no notification about any migration. 
• I did not hear of any announcements that the email mentions. 

This is actually a well designed scam beacuse,

• All pages linked in the email 'seem' to be on google.com domain and use https. I don't know how they did it. Are the google servers hacked? Chrome seems to suggest that the url is legitimate
• 
  
• The FROM address is blogger-support@google.com. 
• There seems to be a fake forum on google groups which has a lot of posts regarding this migration. 

If this is a real email, then Google has really goofed up this time.


UPDATE:
Here are the screenshots of the pages i got when I clicked on the links in the email (click to enlarge).

--------------------------------------------

Now someone has taken advantage of the situation and is collecting email id's on a simple GoogleDocs form. Google's services being used to phish. Nice. Happy spamming dude!

Here's a screenshot.

------------------

Someone set up a fake page on blogger (yes!) to make it seem like a known issue. 

http://knownissues.blogspot.in/2012/04/we-recently-sent-out-email-to-all-users.html

This guy seems to KNOW how to really get your 'legacy blog' back. (!)
http://www.thoughtandmemory.org/2012/04/blogger-legacy-account-final-warning.html

---------------------------------------

UPDATE

There are other scam like things hosted on similar urls. Like this one 

https://www.google.com/appserve/adwordscomarketing/en-gb/register

Can't wait to know the truth. Till then I would suggest everyone not to click on any links on this mail. Correct me if I am wrong. 

It seems someone is going to win Google's Vulnerability Reward Program
 http://www.google.com/about/company/rewardprogram.html

So Rock, Mahatma!

Independence icon, father of our nation, global leader and now,
freedom symbol with a rock star touch

News: A Chinese underground magazine So Rock! has featured Mahatma Gandhi on its cover, complete with guitar-shaped glasses, fingers flashing the peace sign and Rolling Stones-like tongue sticking out. 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/China/Mahatma-freedom-icon-of-Chinese-underground/Article1-808775.aspx

(The image seems to be originally from http://www.freakingnews.com which has a collection of many more such creative images) 

Let's see how quickly we can get angry about this. Let's see how quickly can Shri Kapil Sibbal get this this censored. Let's see how quickly can Shri S.M.Krishna get the Chinese to 'ban' this magazine (it isn't very legal anyways). 

But on second thoughts, maybe they (and we) won't react. After all, it does not hurt anyone's (read vote-bank's) religious sentiments. This is not a book about some satanic verses. This is not a Prophet Muhammad's cartoon, which would offend the Muslims. This is not even an obscene painting of a Hindu deity which could infuriate the Hindus.

This is just a photoshopped image of a man who has already been reduced to a symbol in India, one of the countries that he helped gain freedom. A symbol to adorn the banknotes. A statue to stand at crossroads. A name to give to roads and parks.

But there will be some who will feel it is our duty to respect the man and protect his image. They will file PIL's in courts and demand for apologies. Is the image of Mahatma Gandhi so weak that it needs protection? Can Photoshop edit the image that he built during 78 years of his life? If Gandhi was alive, what would he do about this incident? 

What would Gandhi do? 

क्या तुम्हें बरसना आता है ?

काहे का घमंड है ?

किस बात का का ग़ुरूर है ?

किया अभी तक कुछ नहीं,

बस होंठ हिलाना आता है ?

"ये बात गलत है"

"वो इंसान बुरा है"

तुम क्या हो? तुमने क्या किया ?

बस शब्द उगलना आता है ?

अभी तक पर तुम ये न समझे,

कि तुमको तब कुछ करना था,

गरजते तो तुम बहुत हो, 

क्या तुम्हें बरसना आता है ?

-अनिमेष अग्रवाल

क्यूँ ये पक्षपात?

जब कोई ज़लज़ला आता है

जब कोई जहाज़ डूबता है

तो औरतें को पहले बचाया जाता है

क्यूँ?

जब कहीं गोली चलती है

जब कहीं रेल उतरती है

तो औरतों की गिनती अलग से छपती है

क्यूँ?

"मरने वालों में छः औरतें भी शामिल"

क्या वो आठ मर्द इंसान नहीं थे?

या उनका मर जाना ही अच्छा था?

कहो!

ज़रूर उन्होंने गुनाह किये थे

तभी आठों की कीमत कुछ कम थी

वर्ना क्यूँ ये पक्षपात है?

कहो!

-अनिमेष अग्रवाल 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_children_first_(saying)

(अपनी टिपण्णी अवश्य दें)

कुछ मज़ा आता तो है

हाँ, घर के गर्म पानी से नहाने में मज़ा आता तो  है

पर अब कोई बाहर से दरवाज़ा नहीं तोड़ता 

न ही अब गूंजती है वो रचनात्मक गालियाँ

पर हाँ, घर के गर्म पानी से नहाने में मज़ा आता तो है

हाँ, माँ के हाथ का बना खाने में मज़ा आता तो है

मगर अब कोई मेरी प्लेट से जलेबियाँ नहीं चुराता

न अब हर हफ्ते पूरियों के लिए वहां जंग होती है

पर हाँ, माँ के हाथ का बना खाने में मज़ा आता तो है

हाँ, घूमने में, फिरने में मज़ा आता तो है

पर अब हम जानबूझ के रास्ते नहीं भटकते

रिक्शे के पांच रुपईए पर अब बहस नहीं होती

पर हाँ, घूमने में, फिरने में मज़ा आता तो है

हाँ, बाहर रेस्तरां में खाने में मज़ा आता तो है

पर अब बिल आते ही सब एक दूसरे की शक्ल नहीं देखते

अब रोटिओं और नानों  की गिनती नहीं होती

हाँ, बाहर रेस्तरां में खाने में मज़ा आता तो है

हाँ, नौकरी करने में, कमाने में मज़ा आता तो है

पर अब टाइम बर्बाद करने में वो बात नहीं रही

दरवाज़े के बाहर खड़े होकर कॉफ़ी पीने में वो बात नहीं रही

पर हाँ, नौकरी करने में, कमाने में मज़ा आता तो है

जी तो रहा हूँ में अब भी तेरे बिना मेरे यार 

ऐसे जीने में जाने क्यूँ, पर मज़ा आता तो है

तेरे साथ जो मज़ा था वो अब नहीं रहा, फिर भी

तेरी यादों में शामें जीने में, कुछ मज़ा आता तो है 

- अनिमेष अग्रवाल 
(मेरी पहली रचना है, अपनी टिपण्णी अवश्य दें)

The Violence Behind Non-Violence

A young boy leads Gandhiji for a walk

Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.

-M.K. Gandhi

Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

These were the words of Mahatma Gandhi, whose 142nd birth anniversary, is being "celebrated" today. Mohandas Gandhi is considered the father of the Indian independence movement. He created his concept of satyagraha, a non-violent way of protesting against injustice.

Recently, the Egyptian masses made Hosni Mubarak resign from office through a non-violent movement. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labour strikes.

But what is this non-violence, why does it work, how can powerful people be forced to act through Satyagraha? While the basic premise of a non-violent movement is using no physical force, there might be a hidden element of violence in it. One viewpoint is that the aim of non-violence is to change opinions, to win hearts. Is it really the case in all examples of non-violent movements that we look at? Why did the British leave India? Why did the Indian government seem helpless in front of Anna Hazare's anshan? It was certainly not because of some moral pressure that they felt due to a non-violent movement.

The strength of such movements lies in the numbers. More the number of people supporting it, more is the pressure exerted. But it is not moral pressure, certainly not in the recent case of the Lokpal campaign. It was the threat of violence that did the trick. The pressure comes from the fact that the non-violent movements had the potential of becoming massive violent movements. Gandhiji's and Anna's fasting worked because it posed a threat of creating a law and order situation that nobody in political power had the guts to face. It was like a strong army of rebellious youth, ready to go violent if anything unfortunate happens to their leader.

Thus it seems that while the philosophy of non-violence condemns violence, the effectiveness of a non-violent movement might depend on its potential to become violent, in case the objectives are not met.

Happy Gandhi Jayanti!

“Democracy don't rule the world, You'd better get that in your head; This world is ruled by violence, But I guess that's better left unsaid.

-Bob Dylan

What do you think? Do Comment.

Is living by values and having integrity is a thing of the past?

Recently I came across a discussion on the TED group on LinkedIn. It starts with a simple looking question asked by Henrietta Decruz:

Do you think living by values and having integrity is a thing of the past?

We live at a time when scams are just too numerous and ever increasing. Corruption has spread its tentacles everywhere. It has affected every area of our lives... Do you think living by values and having integrity is a thing of the past?

This thread has attracted more than 2000 comments within a time span of 6 months and is still active. It shows the universality of the issue. Reading this thread exposed me to variety of opinions about values and integrity from people all around the world. Like many Indians, my thought process was recently agitated by Anna Hazare about similar issues. I would like to share what I posted there.

I think that "living by the values of the past" should be avoided. Values change. Some might change in 10 years. Some might change in a 1000. The important thing is not to have blind faith in whatever our forefathers told us or wrote. Our scriptures are one of the sources of our "values" but they have been interpreted differently by different scholars at different times and places. Rethinking and re-evaluating our values is very important. A value does not become irrelevant just because it is old, but it can surely be re-read, re-thought upon and re-interpreted. Our ancestors applied their minds while defining those values, and we should not refrain from doing so.

Some of the responses I got:

I agree we reinterpret values, and bedrock values remain unchanged.

Redefining what we want and what we value is important if we are to grow intellectually. ... As in the case of the institution of human slavery, values can, and do change. Even entire belief systems can change (though with difficulty) thus bringing about paradigm shifts in what some of us think about "bedrock values."

And another Interesting comment. 

Even bad values are values, corruption is just a sign that the value we teach each other the most is that money is the most important thing. 

Makes me think.

What do you think?

Sign of Profession (?)

In Julius Ceasar, Act I, Scene I, Shakespeare wrote:

FLAVIUS:
Hence! home, you idle creatures get you home:
Is this a holiday? what! know you not,
Being mechanical, you ought not walk
Upon a labouring day without the sign
Of your profession? Speak, what trade art thou?
First Commoner:
Why, sir, a carpenter.
MARULLUS:
Where is thy leather apron and thy rule?
What dost thou with thy best apparel on?

What are the common signs of profession that people carry with them today? First thing that comes to my mind is the civil/mechanical engineer's cap:

Others might think of a carpenter's screwdriver/pencil, a plumber's wrench etc.

                          
Being an engineer myself, I tried to imagine how a computer science engineer might be identified when you see him/her on the streets? Carrying a laptop? Wearing glasses(!!)? I almost started to think that we just do not have a proper sign of profession. But then true light dawned:

If you see him too much on the streets, then probably he is not a computer engineer.

(c) Scott Adams

If You Just Think You Can, Maybe You Can't

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."

Henry Ford

So I think I am better than others around me. I am destined for something greater. Maybe. Maybe not. What have I been doing to achieve your greater goal? Believing that I can do something is important, but that's not the end of it. Unless I move my muscles to make an extra effort, I can only manage the regular run-of-the-mill success. Even if I feel I am destined for something, if must make an effort to make it happen. 

It is obvious that believing in oneself is the thing that keeps one going through hard times, but it is not the only thing.