Whims published... It's not an expert's opinion, It's not an online diary, It's not a web journal... It is just my whims published

The question is not how I lost it. Nor it is where did I lose it. Its a fact that I lost it with my utter carelessness. Its unfortunate that I lost my cell [Nokia 7610] which was of worth Rs. 12800/- when I bought it 2 yrs back. Im not the kinda of guy who throws around his cell and searches for it all the time, nor Im of the kinds who throws away his cell to vent his anger. I had hardly dropped it 5-6 times (!!!!!!) in past 2 years, had hardly a scratch on the screen. That must have given you an idea of how much I used to love my cell. Now its in the hands of some unknown, lucky, dishonest bastard.

To give you some more glimpses of my love story with my cell, that was THE BEST high end cell phone that matched my requirements for the best price. It had a large screen, bluetooth, 1 MP camera, 32 MB phone memory and 64 MB MMC. More over I can claim 7610 was the best look- wise also. Some of the new phones are loaded with features but can never come closer to the design of 7610. U can imagine a sense of achievement I had felt buying it in my own hard earned money 2 yrs back.

I had utilized the phone to the extent that I could call I almost exploited the phone. I had un/installed myriad of games/applications/utilities, It was a handy camera tempting me to click each and every thing I came across [statistics say i had clicked nearly 1500 pics using it, not to forget I even had won a photography contest]. It was a personal diary, it was a database of quotations, it was a personal expense manager, rarely used for surfing the net also... it was basically everything for me. Now its all like a sweet dream. Its all gone. I have lost a dear of mine.

Have to add the story of me going to the police station to register the complaint about the loss of cell phone. I entered the police station and went to SI sitting there jobless, 'My cell phone got lost and I wanna register a complaint'. SI asked me, 'u wanna give the complaint as...?'. I repeated politely, 'my cell phone got lost'. SI corrected me, 'cell phone got lost or you lost it?!?!'. Ohh MG! I got irritated for SI letting me know the 'accountability' factor of losing my cell. NO.. actually he was right in saying it. It is right to say, 'I lost it'. If any one has to be blamed it is only me.

After registering the complaint, I casually asked the SI, 'cell phone sigo chances eshTu Sir?'. He reluctantly said, '1000s of people keep losing mobile sir..' and grinned. I said, 'isnt it possible to track using IMEI number?'. I found him perplexed digesting the concept of there is some thing called IMEI for a cell phone, using which one can track where the lost cell phone is and take appropriate action. Psssttt... Such is our police dept..

Currently using my cousin's old cell phone. Guess the model.... it is Nokia 3315 :-/ The once famous, now primitive Nokia model. Im not gonna buy a new cell for next few weeks, umm months may be. I wanna punish my self using Nokia 3315. Every time it rings err better to say beeps, it should remind me that Im the whole and sole responsible person for losing my dearest 7610.

"Things are there to be used, people are there to be loved. But unfortunately we love things and use people" :-/

Let me just clarify my views on voting and politics. First of all I love my country, I have concerns about keeping my city and my coutry clean, I have not only concerns for the distressed but also have stretched a helping hand many a times, not that I have never voted, I have voted thrice before, but its just that I have lost faith in existing system of politics.

I was reading today's TOI and want to quote few lines stating the reasons for low voting percentage in BBMP areas.



There was another column by Suresh Heblikar which more or less summarised it under the heading 'Why the poor vote and rich don't',

The poor need houses, books, schools, rice, and subsidized seed. The parties know this and they promise all these things in their manifestos.

The rich are genuinely not interested in the democratic process. The rich do not need to approach politicians to get things done. That is because politicians who come to seek donations from them satisfy all their wants.

The middle-class urbanite does not need the government either. He can afford to buy all his day-to-day needs from private suppliers.

Similarly, the young do not feel the need to participate in the democratic process. Today’s youth no longer stand in queues before ration shops. All they are looking for is a hassle-free day and a fun filled night life. The only way to reverse this trend is to make the parties understand the needs of the young, urban and the rich.

What ever could be the reason or let the reason be a sum of all the things mentioned above. But one thing is for sure that after discussing this with my cabbies and some of colleagues [with varied opinions], I have been feeling the guilt of not voting :-/ I will still stick to my political views expressed in my previous post, but except the one that I will regret for not voting this time.

These are some of the artciles that made me repent over my decision of not voting. How is 18% for majority!? and Baby Steps: A Perspective on Voting

Guys, if your constituencies fall under 2nd and 3rd phase of elections, I request you to go out and vote. Choose the right candidate [choose best out of the worst at least]. Vote wisely.

PS: Guys, if you are oriented towards a political party or a fan follower of any of the names I have taken in my previous post, Please dont wage a war of comments on my post! Im not interested in discussing which shit stinks the least. But if you have got any suggestions on voting / voters powers, democracy etc please share them across.

The first phase of elections for 89 constituencies in Karnataka got over yesterday. People of urban Bangalore have proved they have no faith in any party or any Govt come what may. I admit I did not vote this time. Many of my teammates/colleagues did not vote too. Its evident why the voting percenatge is just 44% in BBMP areas.

Today morning when I boarded my cab with no blot on my left index finger, a healthy but hot argument stirred up in my cab. When the discussion progressed, Nagaraj said its a shame on my part to not vote, Hemanth said how could I just not vote and act so irresponsibly, Nagaraj also said 'you have no power to point your finger at Govt that comes to power after election'

My argument to defend my decision was as below
> "almost all politicians are corrupt" [gave examples of former CM HD Kumaraswamy and few other biggies' asset declaration]
Got right stats from NDTV now. Kumaraswamy's worth has gone up from Rs. 3.76 cr in 2004 to Rs. 49.72 crores in 2008, Congress's Dinesh Gundurao's assets worth Rs.20 crs, BJP's Hemchandra Sagar's assets worth Rs.71 crores. R V Deshpande leads with whopping Rs.145 crores.

> "How does it matter to me? I mean no political party has established and proved its relevance to youth of middle class and higher middle class in urban areas."
Hemanth gave some valid examples for this like, a party or a person inflicting reservation in esteem educational institutions and the approval and construction of new fly overs / under passes in Bangalore to avoid traffic congestion.

> "Did we feel the absence of a Govt in past few months? "

> When every one of my cabbies converged to a point that almost all politicians are corrupt, and we have to choose best out of the worst. Then i retorted saying, "Dont forget guys, its our money, they are looting and riding on"

> I posed another strong question from my side to them. "Tell me one thing, do you guys vote for a party or a person? let me just rephrase, do you still vote for the most corrupted contestant in ur constituency just because he is from a party you support?"

While some of my cabbies took a moment to answer that, few other came with an answer 'I still vote for him!'. Now I had got a strong point to defend my decision of not voting. I said, "when you are ready to vote for the most corrupt contestant, isn't my decision of not voting at all better than your decision?"

The discussion touched every aspect of our filthy politics ranging from educational qualification of contestants, their criminal background, their asset declarations, my disorientation to any political party, the family run political parties, parties built by humble farmers, parties that brouhaha over Hindutva. As expected the discussion went on endlessly without substantial conclusion. But I felt good expressing my views and discussing how important is it to exercise our power to vote.

(to be contd...)