It’sn’t often I get to see TV at prime time. At that time, I am in office, putting together the paper I work for. Today was a compensatory off I availed of for having worked on Republic Day. And, I got to see two programmes I enjoyed. One, Walk the Talk with Sania Mirza. And, two, Hillary Clinton’s address and the subsequent Q&A at the India Today Conclave.
It is so nice to see someone so young as Sania perform so well, on and off the court. There is also probably another reason why I like her. Sania looks so much like a friend of mine (also from Hyderabad) who is now in the US. When Shekhar Gupta asked Sania what was her ambition: she very realistically said that she would like to come within top 20 or 25 in the next two to three years. I hope she does.
I am in awe of the Clinton family. A remarkable couple – each a celebrity in his/her own right. I was closely following the flood of articles in the US media at the time of Monica case. Some were on how much the scandal affected the family, how the two drifted apart, how they came back together and the many reasons for that…
When Bill and Hillary were courting, she was a fledgling lawyer, and she was among the few “brightest lawyers of America” handpicked to assist in the impeachment proceedings of Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal… That was… when… in 1972. She and others were actually locked up, cut off from outside world for a few days (because of the secrecy surrounding the case) and so Bill, apparently had a real tough time, forget meeting her, even getting to talk to her…
Their life history is very interesting… they had real tough times… personal and political (the constant Republican hounding) and they always survived… including the Monica thing… which Clinton firmly believes (even after all his confessions) was a Republican set-up.
Will Hillary become the first woman President of the US? It is easy for Rabri Devis and Phoolan Devis to be elected to high offices in India. In the US it is tough even for a Hillary. A woman US President is a mental block, which the Americans will have to first remove, before even assessing Hillary’s credentials.
But given this lady’s capabilities, I wouldn’t be surprised if she creates history in 2008.
This is about everything that is evolving around us with time .... The changing trends .... Their highs and lows .... The changes that are making an impact on our lives .... From technology to social, economic and political issues ... Some books, some sports, some personal anecdotes.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Friday, February 25, 2005
Tsunami of communal passion
Tsunami-hit area turning into a communal play ground; where different religions fight it out to "serve" the people. A dirty game of oneupmanship.
When I went on a trip to a few of the affected areas last month, when talking to people out there, I could see all signs of this. In Nagapattinam, there were already undertones of this happening. Some reports too had come in.
When I went on a trip to a few of the affected areas last month, when talking to people out there, I could see all signs of this. In Nagapattinam, there were already undertones of this happening. Some reports too had come in.
Now comes a report in the New Indian Express from Kollam. The opening para says: "The covert and overt moves by communal outfits to push their sectarian agenda under the cover of building houses for the tsunami-hit people threaten to vitiate the communal peace and harmony in Alappad panchayat, the headquarters of Mata Amritanandamayi Math." (The full report is appended below.)
This is disturbing; that too in Kerala where people are supposedly intellectually superior; that too in Alappad where the ashram of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi is situated.
Can't religion be kept out of all this? Or, in other words, can't social and charitable work be done without the banner of religion? Isn't the work more important than affiliations of benefactors?
Hopefully the "enlightened" people will not let this game spin out of control. And, the mutt will keep itself focused on charity, rather than let itself be caught in an ugly tug-of-war.
===================
Tsunami land turns communal playfield (From New Indian Express)
Friday February 25 2005 00:00 IST
KOLLAM: The covert and overt moves by communal outfits to push their sectarian agenda under the cover of building houses for the tsunami-hit people threaten to vitiate the communal peace and harmony in Alappad panchayat, the headquarters of Mata Amritanandamayi Math.
The mishandling of the tsunami relief work by the government has turned conducive for such forces to indulge in communal games.
The leaders of Sangh Parivar organisations, Missionaries of Charity sisters led by Sr Nirmala of Kolkata and Apostolic Nuncio (representative of the Pope) to India Pedro Lopez Quintana have already descended on Alappad.
The Sangh Parivar has intensified its campaign for leaving the construction of houses in Alappad to Mata Amritanandamayi Math. They suspect that Christian missionaries are trying to have a foothold in the headquarters of the Math by volunteering to construct houses in Alappad.
An organisation called Hindu Raksha Sena has conducted a poster campaign making a call to boycott the visit of Sr.Nirmala, the Mother Superior of the Missionaries of Charities, when she made a visit to a relief camp at Azheekkal last week. Her visit took place under tight police security.
The Hindu organisations have also targeted Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Revenue Minister K.M.Mani for "ignoring'' the Math and Seva Bharathi which were in the forefront of the relief works and for "appeasing'' the organisations belonging to the Christian community.
The Hindu outfits are trying to rope in the Karayogams of Araya community and the Dheevara Sabha which have decisive say on the day-to-day life of the people in Alappad in their campaign. However, the 11 Karayogams in Alappad panchayat have not taken a unanimous stand in extending support to the campaign of the Hindu organisations.
The lapses committed by the government in conducting the rehabilitation works turned a fertile ground for the communal forces to fish in troubled waters.
The delay in starting the rehabilitation work and the failure to chalk out a proper action plan have developed an anti-government feeling among the victims. The exclusion of many deserved people from the list prepared for the distribution of benefits and the inclusion of many undeserved have added fuel to the fire.
According to official sources, certain forces trying to worsen the situation played a role behind in pushing up the number of applications for houses. The government has received over 20,000 applications for building 2000 houses. Of the 2000 houses, 1,300 have been allotted to the Amritanadamayi Math.
Out of the total 992 houses planned for construction in the first phase of the rehabilitation in the 1 to 6 wards of Alappad panchayat, Mata Amritanandamayi Math had been allotted 495 houses. The other organisations allowed to build houses are: CBCI (75), CASA (31), Infam (10), YMCA (9), KCBC (127), KSEBOA (I) and other NGOs(244).
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Toys for the elderly
Trust the Japanese to be at their innovative best. They don’t believe that toys are only for children. Japan’s growing population of lonely elderly people, now have talking toys to give them company. After all, didn’t someone say, “old age is second childhood”. There are over 23,000 people in Japan who are over 100 years old. Here is a clipping on this.
As Japan goes grey, toymakers design dolls for the elderly
Wed Feb 23,11:29 AM ET
TOKYO (AFP): As Japan produces fewer children and more retirees, toymakers are designing new dolls designed not for the young but for the lonely elderly -- companions which can sleep next to them and offer caring words they may never hear otherwise.
Talking toys have become such a hit that some elderly people have embraced them as substitutes for the children who have grown old and deserted entire neighborhoods in the rapidly greying country. The Yumel doll, which looks like a baby boy and has a vocabulary of 1,200 phrases, is billed as a "healing partner" for the elderly and goes on the market Thursday at a price of 8,500 yen (80 dollars).
About 8,000 Yumel dolls, designed by toymaker Tomy with pillows and bedding maker Lofty, have already been sold in less than three months in limited marketing in sleeping sections of department stores. "Toymakers are targeting senior citizens as the number of children is falling. We are also striving to attract them," said Osamu Kiriseko, who headed the Yumel project.
Another toymaker, Bandai, in November 1999 launched the Primopuel doll which is meant to resemble a five-year-old boy who needs the same sort of attention, asking to be hugged and entertained. The toy has proved a hit not only with children but with the elderly and more than one million dollars have been sold over the past five years.
On November 13, Bandai went to a Tokyo amusement park to celebrate the fifth "birthday" of Primopuel, inviting doll owners to pay homage at a nearby shrine in a ritual just like parents of real Japanese five-year-olds do that month. "There has been demand for dolls which can 'heal' you but toys available on the market were mostly for daytime," said Kiriseko. "I thought that you need to enjoy the night together if you really hope to live with a doll."
The 37-centimeter (15-inch) Yumel -- deriving from the Japanese word "yume", or "dream" -- looks like a sleepy baby boy but is equipped with six sensors and an IC chip which keep track of the owner's sleeping time. The doll can be programmed to "sleep" or "wake up" in accordance with the owner's pattern, saying "good morning" with open eyes at due time or inviting the elderly to sleep with the doll's eyelids drooping.
"I feel so good, g-o-o-d n-i-g-h-t," the doll says before falling asleep if the owner pats it on the chest gently. Or Yumel may ask, "Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?" when it judges the owner has been going to bed too irregularly or not spending enough time playing with it. "If you lead an orderly life, Yumel will be in a good mood, singing songs or pleading with you to do something like buying him toys," Kiriseko said.
He said the doll could serve as a more suitable companion for the elderly than man's best friend. "The market for this doll overlaps with a market of dogs, cats and other pets," he said. "But some older people worry about the possibility of dying and leaving their loved pets behind." Some 500 customers have sent in comments since October, many of them hailing the changes to their lives since Yumel entered the picture, with a 95-year-old woman the oldest respondent. "Thank you for giving me a heart-warming baby. I'm no longer alone," an 82-year-old woman wrote while another senior woman said she was raising the doll "as my own child".
Some customers are so much in love with the doll that they are troubled by casual questions it asks. "Some say they cannot give Yumel good answers when it asks questions such as 'Why do elephants have long noses?'" Kiriseko said. "You may think they don't have to answer as it's just a doll who's asking, but they are truly perplexed," Kiriseko said.
The toymaker found a solution in the new-version Yumel: The doll's statement has been modified from a question to the statement, "It's interesting elephants have long noses." Japan is a country with one of the world's lowest birth rates and oldest populations. The nation's birth rate hit an all-time low of 1.29 children per woman in 2003. The government said Monday that Japan's population rose a mere 0.05 percent in the year to October 2004 and could decline this year for the first time since records began in 1950.
Traditionally, the eldest son was expected to live with their parents as they grew older and many young Japanese still stay at home for financial reasons as Japan has some of the world's highest rents. But the custom is fading out in the younger generation as more Japanese singles choose to live independently and favor careers and lifestyles over the pressures of having children and taking care of their parents.
The Japanese are also famous for their longevity, with more than 23,000 people aged 100 or over. In December, a software firm released on the market a 45-centimeter (18-inch) robot for the elderly named Snuggling Ifbot, who is dressed in an astronaut suit with a glowing face. If a person tells Snuggling Ifbot, "I'm bored today," the 576,000 yen (5,600-dollar) robot might respond, "Are you bored? What do you want to do?"
To a statement, "Isn't it nice today?", the robot could say, "It is a fine autumn day," by detecting the season from its internal clock. The robot's maker Dream Supply said the Snuggling Ifbot had the conversation ability of a five-year-old -- considered just enough for small talk to keep the elderly from going senile.
(From AFP)
As Japan goes grey, toymakers design dolls for the elderly
Wed Feb 23,11:29 AM ET
TOKYO (AFP): As Japan produces fewer children and more retirees, toymakers are designing new dolls designed not for the young but for the lonely elderly -- companions which can sleep next to them and offer caring words they may never hear otherwise.
Talking toys have become such a hit that some elderly people have embraced them as substitutes for the children who have grown old and deserted entire neighborhoods in the rapidly greying country. The Yumel doll, which looks like a baby boy and has a vocabulary of 1,200 phrases, is billed as a "healing partner" for the elderly and goes on the market Thursday at a price of 8,500 yen (80 dollars).
About 8,000 Yumel dolls, designed by toymaker Tomy with pillows and bedding maker Lofty, have already been sold in less than three months in limited marketing in sleeping sections of department stores. "Toymakers are targeting senior citizens as the number of children is falling. We are also striving to attract them," said Osamu Kiriseko, who headed the Yumel project.
Another toymaker, Bandai, in November 1999 launched the Primopuel doll which is meant to resemble a five-year-old boy who needs the same sort of attention, asking to be hugged and entertained. The toy has proved a hit not only with children but with the elderly and more than one million dollars have been sold over the past five years.
On November 13, Bandai went to a Tokyo amusement park to celebrate the fifth "birthday" of Primopuel, inviting doll owners to pay homage at a nearby shrine in a ritual just like parents of real Japanese five-year-olds do that month. "There has been demand for dolls which can 'heal' you but toys available on the market were mostly for daytime," said Kiriseko. "I thought that you need to enjoy the night together if you really hope to live with a doll."
The 37-centimeter (15-inch) Yumel -- deriving from the Japanese word "yume", or "dream" -- looks like a sleepy baby boy but is equipped with six sensors and an IC chip which keep track of the owner's sleeping time. The doll can be programmed to "sleep" or "wake up" in accordance with the owner's pattern, saying "good morning" with open eyes at due time or inviting the elderly to sleep with the doll's eyelids drooping.
"I feel so good, g-o-o-d n-i-g-h-t," the doll says before falling asleep if the owner pats it on the chest gently. Or Yumel may ask, "Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?" when it judges the owner has been going to bed too irregularly or not spending enough time playing with it. "If you lead an orderly life, Yumel will be in a good mood, singing songs or pleading with you to do something like buying him toys," Kiriseko said.
He said the doll could serve as a more suitable companion for the elderly than man's best friend. "The market for this doll overlaps with a market of dogs, cats and other pets," he said. "But some older people worry about the possibility of dying and leaving their loved pets behind." Some 500 customers have sent in comments since October, many of them hailing the changes to their lives since Yumel entered the picture, with a 95-year-old woman the oldest respondent. "Thank you for giving me a heart-warming baby. I'm no longer alone," an 82-year-old woman wrote while another senior woman said she was raising the doll "as my own child".
Some customers are so much in love with the doll that they are troubled by casual questions it asks. "Some say they cannot give Yumel good answers when it asks questions such as 'Why do elephants have long noses?'" Kiriseko said. "You may think they don't have to answer as it's just a doll who's asking, but they are truly perplexed," Kiriseko said.
The toymaker found a solution in the new-version Yumel: The doll's statement has been modified from a question to the statement, "It's interesting elephants have long noses." Japan is a country with one of the world's lowest birth rates and oldest populations. The nation's birth rate hit an all-time low of 1.29 children per woman in 2003. The government said Monday that Japan's population rose a mere 0.05 percent in the year to October 2004 and could decline this year for the first time since records began in 1950.
Traditionally, the eldest son was expected to live with their parents as they grew older and many young Japanese still stay at home for financial reasons as Japan has some of the world's highest rents. But the custom is fading out in the younger generation as more Japanese singles choose to live independently and favor careers and lifestyles over the pressures of having children and taking care of their parents.
The Japanese are also famous for their longevity, with more than 23,000 people aged 100 or over. In December, a software firm released on the market a 45-centimeter (18-inch) robot for the elderly named Snuggling Ifbot, who is dressed in an astronaut suit with a glowing face. If a person tells Snuggling Ifbot, "I'm bored today," the 576,000 yen (5,600-dollar) robot might respond, "Are you bored? What do you want to do?"
To a statement, "Isn't it nice today?", the robot could say, "It is a fine autumn day," by detecting the season from its internal clock. The robot's maker Dream Supply said the Snuggling Ifbot had the conversation ability of a five-year-old -- considered just enough for small talk to keep the elderly from going senile.
(From AFP)
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