The "Me, Myself, and I" Monologues..

DAY 0:

Decided to start a public monologue series.. (don't see the sense in a private journal/diary anyway, what's the use of doing something.. if it doesn't have ze opportunity to come back and bite you in ze butt, right?).. knew it had to be prosaic (hence the absence of references to soliloquies in the title)..
I then spent an awful lot of time (20 whole minutes!) "wordsmithing" and "wordjuggling".. finally settling on something simple and narcissistic (it HAS to have the word "me" in it. and of course, right?), and something that hints on my life as a dramedy.

"Me, Myself, and I".
Perfect. And that's how it all began.

Haiku #2- Love on a summer's day..

'Tis the summer fair -

He woos the depths of my soul,

'Tis my love, my air.

Haiku #1- My Prairie, my love.

"The woods are lovely,

Dark and deep - so why do I

long for grasses so?"

Started writing haikus these days, here's my official first :)

www.kansasflinthills.travel

Madras-aa Chennai-aa? Demo"CRAZY"??!

So, I heard how "the plan of the Chennai Corporation to rename 50 roads, which are now named after foreigners, has been put on hold. The civic body had planned to rename the roads after Tamil scholars and other significant contributors to the language".

- Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article1131409.ece

Prompted me to voice (read lash) out in disgust.. what a total waste of time :(.. cha, why can't they just let things go, it's all part of the many, many historical events that shape Madras (yes, Madras, not Chennai) and the way it is now.. the worst part is the lack of identity that will soon follow deliberate change such as this! I'm just amazed to think how our taxes and resources are being squandered away with moronic "false patriotism" -they are creative in that they think up different ways to do absolutely worthless stuff like renaming roads and streets that the city-dwellers have come to associate themselves with.. S-A-D.

I second folks who feel like we need to give more credit to our heritage and the people that were instrumental in contributing to the same.. however, that's not the issue here. I do believe that all of us speak for at least the majority of people from home, when we express our anger and frustration with the way things are PRIORITIZED at the administrative level.

This is the "Ulaga Tamil Semozhi Maanadu" fiasco all over again. I personally talked to a huge number of people in TN (from different backgrounds and social circumstances) who were mystified by the lengths to which such exorbitant amounts of fiscal and human resources were poured into that effort. Instead of wisely allocating funds and labor into solving our major economic and social issues, they choose- time and time again- to waste the nation's and the peoples' time, money, health and wealth.

Yes, "foreigners" came, they saw, they plundered (if you know what I'm saying). But when the people-elected-government acts independently of the nation, and does not serve the people's best interests, then it gets to be an utter failure as a democracy. There are more immediately vital issues and concerns that need, desperately, to be addressed. Situations like those depicted in "Peepli Live" are happening everyday, and the administrative powers that be, that are supposed to help those in need, are constantly turning a blind eye.

This is certainly NOT a debate about who's "in power". Regardless of who it may be, we have the foremost priority to reach out to those that suffer, and to lend a helping hand to do as much as we can, in a positive manner. Do you really believe that this is the best we can do as a nation, as a people, as a community, and as a person - a friend?

Gains should always, always outweigh the losses. "தனி ஒருவனுக்கு உணவு இல்லையனில் ஜகத்தினை அழித்திடுவோம்", there's a reason why Bharathi was called a "mahaakavi". Everyone here wants a better Madras/Chennai, a better India, a happier and healthier nation. Let's make it happen!

Real sad state of real-estate in India.

Recently, my brother forwarded this article about the cons of the housing market and the related mafia in India, and of course, I felt compelled to say something in response to it--don't worry, this is going to hurt just a little bit (A biggg thank you, dear O.Nash, if it weren't for that wonderful phraseology, I am unsure of how I'd be expressing myself in oh, so many situations!)

Anyway, I digress ('course, you say?) Read on...

Well, I think that the fact of the matter is that this article is written, not based on an expert opinion, but more along the lines of assimilated information for the layperson. It talks more about why, when there is definitely available land, the average property owner pays 4x to 5x what is necessary. It is a brief, albeit coarsely presented, summary of cost estimates that go into the basic costs of an apartment or a house-from land costs, materials and construction, to most importantly, amenities.

Even if there are more costs involved (I am sure I don't know all that there might be going into the final finishes and details), they shouldn't add up to such a lot that it presents a falsified picture to the public about the land and property estimates. And micro-corruption. I think that's the base, the underlying crux of the whole issue--there are so many people (government, regulatory boards, developers, contractors, etc.) that need to be paid (off) that after you go through every person on the hierarchical structure, you end up shelling out exorbitant amounts for a house.

And household furnishings? Well, we could probably account for 2-5% of the property value to go into fittings, cupboards, etc., but even the most reputed (or should I say popular?) builders bring in only the basic necessities these days. Just the other day, I was reading something about how builders always seem to focus on high-end housing for the urban dweller, particularly within the metros of the country--where does that leave the middle class? The sad truth is, there is NOTHING OFFICIAL about the housing market in India--land rates are mostly flat-rated by the govt., and builders hike up prices for below-average homes that are "within the city limits" but are actually suburban, with poor amenities because the "area is still expanding". Compared to the average cost of a house in the US (where amenities and location are excellent and provided you are not looking to buy in the heart of San Francisco), the price is about $200, 000-$300, 000. (90 lakh-1.5 cr rupees). A "posh" fully-fitted apartment with private terrace, car parking, and swimming pool in Madras that's at a fairly convenient location with "pure, 24-hr water supply" costs as much!!! (Source: realestate-chennai. com, 99acres.com) .

Probably implies that the Indian economy in terms of real-estate is not expanding and maybe even dwindling down.

Guys (and by that I mean gals too, of course), comments are most welcome!