Saturday, July 29, 2006
They keep fallin'
Today I shall complete one year of my separation from Infosys, a place where I spent close to five years and a place that in many ways was my alma mater. Towards the end of my Infosys tenure I often found myself singing this song.
Raindrops keep falling on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his
Bed, nothing seems to fit. These
Raindrops keep falling on my head
They keep fallin'
Yesterday I called up a friend from my Infy days just to say "Hi" for old times sake and to thank him for all the coffee he bought me then. And he had news for me. He had just been made an offer that was too good to resist. Bigger job, big money and three hours drive from his parents. He had made up his mind to bid adieu to the place where he learnt his tricks. Only a matter of time and thresholds, I guess. Incidentally he happens to be the gent who introduced me to the phrase "Illegitimis non carborundum" and had been, in ways more than one, more persevering than me. His optimism managed to last for four more bonuses and an year.
As he prepares to move on to a better job, and maybe a better career, I ponder how the ride has been for me since I did that an year back. And...
They keep fallin'
Raindrops keep falling on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his
Bed, nothing seems to fit. These
Raindrops keep falling on my head
They keep fallin'
Yesterday I called up a friend from my Infy days just to say "Hi" for old times sake and to thank him for all the coffee he bought me then. And he had news for me. He had just been made an offer that was too good to resist. Bigger job, big money and three hours drive from his parents. He had made up his mind to bid adieu to the place where he learnt his tricks. Only a matter of time and thresholds, I guess. Incidentally he happens to be the gent who introduced me to the phrase "Illegitimis non carborundum" and had been, in ways more than one, more persevering than me. His optimism managed to last for four more bonuses and an year.
As he prepares to move on to a better job, and maybe a better career, I ponder how the ride has been for me since I did that an year back. And...
They keep fallin'
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Pity The Nation
I have to talk about a development that deserves some urgent attention from all thinking Indians.
The promises we made to ourselves in the Preamble and every place in the artifact we call our constitution. How conveniently do our legislators forget them at times like these, only to remember them when spelling out polices that buttress their vote bank. What is shaping up in the alleys of power is a repetition of what happened back in the days of Rajiv Gandhi, who blinded by his two third majority decided to push a Postal Bill that sought to impose a form of censorship on postal communication in India. What was then averted by Gianiji, not without recourse to the letter of the constitution, left the spirit of the constitution damaged. Will Dr. Kalam be forced to walk the same path by legislators who are trying to help themselves? Will the spirit of the Giani possess the scientist president and will India see an uncalled-for confrontation between the office of the President and the legislature? Or will this president let the spirit of the constitution to prevail? Yes our constitution allows our legislature the freedom to enact laws that are intrinsically bad, and that is what they have done time and again. The President in this case, the case of The Office Of Profit, has done the right thing by raising a red flag and returning the bill. If the legislature decides to push it as it is, and if the President gives his assent he will have again done the right thing. And I will be happy to have a President who accepted the constitution as an ideology and not a prose. But we Indians will have to live with another law that is bad. Yes if the law is unconstitutional, the judiciary can strike down the validity of the law.
Things might turn out the way I suspect, and if they do, can the legislature declare victory and move on? How will thinking India react to this?
The promises we made to ourselves in the Preamble and every place in the artifact we call our constitution. How conveniently do our legislators forget them at times like these, only to remember them when spelling out polices that buttress their vote bank. What is shaping up in the alleys of power is a repetition of what happened back in the days of Rajiv Gandhi, who blinded by his two third majority decided to push a Postal Bill that sought to impose a form of censorship on postal communication in India. What was then averted by Gianiji, not without recourse to the letter of the constitution, left the spirit of the constitution damaged. Will Dr. Kalam be forced to walk the same path by legislators who are trying to help themselves? Will the spirit of the Giani possess the scientist president and will India see an uncalled-for confrontation between the office of the President and the legislature? Or will this president let the spirit of the constitution to prevail? Yes our constitution allows our legislature the freedom to enact laws that are intrinsically bad, and that is what they have done time and again. The President in this case, the case of The Office Of Profit, has done the right thing by raising a red flag and returning the bill. If the legislature decides to push it as it is, and if the President gives his assent he will have again done the right thing. And I will be happy to have a President who accepted the constitution as an ideology and not a prose. But we Indians will have to live with another law that is bad. Yes if the law is unconstitutional, the judiciary can strike down the validity of the law.
Things might turn out the way I suspect, and if they do, can the legislature declare victory and move on? How will thinking India react to this?
