Redmi 2 Prime : User Review

I haven't written anything in a really long time, so please bear with me if I'm rusty. So now I'm gonna be writing on my 2 month old Redmi 2 Prime.

              If you haven't heard of it before, it's from a Chinese company called Xiaomi. Oh wait, Chinese? Are they any good? Aren't Chinese phones supposed to be really bad and unreliable? Let me answer you those questions first before I get to the phone. As a matter of fact, your thoughts and concerns used to hold true till a few years ago, and it still does for a lot of Chinese phones out there, but Xiaomi shouldn't be clustered with that group of phones. They are the #1 phone making company in China and there's a good reason for that too. And in India, they provide phones at budgets that can rival phones that are a class above them. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments.

                     Long gone are the days when buying a brand like Nokia or Sony Ericsson was the safest bet to get a good phone. What used to be Nokia has now pretty translated into Samsung, although the reliability levels of the Nokias of old are not quite matched by anyone, even the newer Nokias ( or Microsoft) fall way short. After the great success of Samsung Galaxy S2, Samsung has become a household name. And they provide phones at all price ranges, but the downside is, if you're not buying a flagship, the rest are shit compared to the competition available. As the prices of iPhones, Samsungs, HTCs and LGs soar up higher than ever, there pops up new new companies trying to cash in like the One Plus One and Xiaomi.

              Now on to the Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime. The budget smartphone segment used to be a cluster of overpriced shit phones, that's until the Moto E came. And boy was it a hit, thanks to the hard work done by its big bro Moto G in the next price segment. Truly the best thing that happened to the entry level (sub 10k price range). When the Redmi came in first, it was quite the competition, but then Moto definitely had a better brand name and commanded more trust, so buyers took a certain tilt to that. The second generation of both the phones were also equally placed. But the introduction of the Redmi 2 Prime changed everything. Probably the first phone in the segment to sport a 2gb ram, which along with the 16gb ROM was a minor upgrade on the 1gb ram and 8gb ROM of the regular Redmi 2, but this came at the cost of just a mere increase of 1k. These 2 minor upgrades, instantly propelled the Prime to best in class specs. Alternatives did pop up soon, like the Lenovo A6000 Plus , which is almost identical in specs but with a bigger screen a slightly higher price tag.


    So after 2 months of use, I really found the phone to be an awesome piece of business, coupled with the fact the the Redmi 2 Prime was one of the first phones to adopt the "Make in India", and is locally made in India. If you are not familiar, all Xiaomi phones run on Miui OS, which is a highly customized UI, which gives an iPhone like feel, with all applications on the home screen and no app tray. Many may not like it, but it's one hell of a customisable UI. I myself was a fan of MIUI from the Gingerbread days ( Android 2.3), it used to be the best custom rom available back in the time along with the now all so popular CyanogenMod. Xiaomi was born out of MIUI.

                  So going to the pros and cons:
       It's definitely one of the best phones in its segment.
       It's highly themeable and has a pretty simple UI, though the downside is that it's pretty heavy on the ram.
       If you're are a fan of SD cards and removable batteries, you'll have an extra reason to get this phone.
       It's dual sim, and both slots support 4G ( both micro-sim)
       It's got a screen size of 4.7" which is actually perfect for most people as it's not too big or too small. And  its 720p or HD resolution,
       The speaker is on the back side though, but trust me, its loud.
       The back cover can be swapped, as you've choices and it easily changes the color of the phone, its plastic though and its a pain to open the back.
       The cameras are 8MP and 2MP respectively and both are really good for its purposes.
       The battery is really good too, can last upto 2 days on a single charge if not used heavily.
       A major downside is that, if you're one that bothers too much about seeing the Android version, you'll be disappointed seeing it's still on Kitkat, but that doesn't really matter since its MIUI and it pretty much has most of the Lolipop features added on to it.
     One of the problems I felt on it was, the ram usage and phone slowing down or freezing after a few days, in such cases a reboot will suffice, don't bother installing and extra app to clear up cache, also the "Security" app in phone does a good job of cleaning up the phone. (It's not an antivirus as the name is sort of misleading)
       And I just found one of the best features of the phone yesterday, the Lite mode, it's just perfect if you're buying this phone and gifting it to your parents, it so damn awesome, with huge ass app icons and fonts and brings a whole lot of simplicity to the phone.

    So if you are planning on buying the Redmi 2 Prime, check it out here :
                                   
Right now an exchange offer is going on on Flipkart, exchange your old working devices and get a brand new Redmi for as low as 1,500 INR.

Bad experiences are good teachers

     "Welcome to the real world kid...", those were pretty much the words that keep ringing inside of me nowadays. It doesn't feel like I've been here for long, but in reality, its been over a year since I've shifted to this great metro city, that is Bangalore. I guess I never had too many friends here or there or anywhere for that matter, and life was pretty dull and boring at the start. I just had to spend time with the one person I knew here, but then again you shouldn't troubling anyone the way I used to do. Nobody will be rude to their guests after all. Anyways that being said, I don't trouble em no more. And thanks to the friends I've made from the Anime Club here, can go for the occasional meets and have a little bit fun on weekends. It's blissful after a whole week of boredom and nothingness, so I guess I should thank them well the Bangalore Anime Club. Before I drift away any further from what I came to write, lets get back to the whole damn point.



            This month of June hasn't been so good for me after all, at least on the road sense. The first was the accident. It must have been around 10:30 at night, and it was going to be my first day of lab practice. I was pretty tensed and all absorbed in that thought of what I'll do there, I don't even know the LAB topology yet. And I was crossing the road, the roads had service roads on either sides, the one on my side had lots of shops and all so it was always two way, but the one on the other side was always seen as a one way, or at least that's what I thought, or everyone for that matter. Then again who the hell cares about rules anyway? People go through one ways on the wrong side when the night falls and when there's nobody to keep check. So I was crossing this road, and I was just looking towards the left, just measuring how fast they were coming, and since I had friends with me on the right and since I never saw any light from the right side I dint bother to check that side again before jumping on to the road. Before I knew it, I was hit, and I turned right I saw an auto, and WHACK , my head hit the glass i guess, maybe it broke, I don't know. All I remember is falling back on my back and hitting my head, the impact was pretty less, thanks in part to my bag and maybe cause it had a jacket also inside of it. And since I got a freaking blood phobia, I was going blind, the whole world seemed to spin right round. Anyways the auto guy fled without stopping even though one of my friends tried to stop him, and it would seem that guy was driving on the wrong side, without headlights and talking on the phone at the same time. Something was bound to happen, but then again, the mistake was on my part too, I should've checked the other side too even if I knew nothing should be coming from that side. And maybe he should've stopped, in case the injuries were severe, to take to an hospital at least? Oh hell no! Who cares? Let him rot in hell or just die or whatever. And the next day at noon, I was crossing another road, the signal just turned red and an old couple were crossing the road from the other side of the road, n guess what, a van hit him n went. He also didn't bother to stop, luckily nothing bad happened to him.


          That was one thing, which kinda made a small mental block for me to cross the road these days, its the second time that I'm getting hit, and both in Bangalore and both in and around the same place. Any an accident wouldn't have made me write a blog like this, that too so so restless I was to write but lack of Wifi in the PG prevented me from writing, since phone's tether wasn't working either.

    Last Sunday, the 15th was another bad day with the roads and autos. I had gone to meet my best friend who was in Bangalore for just 2 days. In his place he was having a small drink-party and well since he kept asking me all the time, I did bother to taste a sip of beer, which I kinda felt like just Wine, which kinda is weird. Anyways they had some other fruit flavored ones which neither of them liked and the guy who was giving me a free ride to a bus stop had them in his bag. And cause of the gutters and bumps it started leaking, and he wanted it ditched cause he had his lappy in  his bag. And I took em and dropped them off, well it was all wet and so it kinda spilt on my hand, and there weren't any taps to wash off anyway so had to let it be. I got bus reached my stop and was walking off as usual to my place which is like about a kilometer or so. Then this auto guy kinda calls out to me asking if I want a ride and I just waved him no. He kept asking where I am going and I just pointed to the direction and kept walking ahead while chatting on phone. Again this guy drives ahead and comes and stops in front of me and catches me and tells, I've seen you here in HSR and I told yeah I'm in Teachers Colony only. So he was like he will give a ride cause he's going in that direction only, and I was like " Oh maybe he's a nice guy and will give a ride without over charging or anything like the rest of the autos which do around this time of the night". And I got in, and halfway he asked me if I've any money and I was like yeah, how much do you need? And he was like give me what you wish to and I was like okay, I'll give and then he stops in an empty deserted area of the road. I kinda got out and took out my money, since I don't use a wallet, I took out all of it. There was about 570 Rs n I was like I don't have change, and then that jerk snatched my 500rs note and put it in his jacket. I told him to give my money back, ad he wouldn't. He kept threatening me that he'll take me to his region Marthahalli n he'll teach me a lesson or something. And then I stupidly told him I'm a student and how the hell can you do something to a kid? Then he was like students drink or what?? Dafaq? I wasn't drunk or high and on top of that I was just walking on the footpath. He kept threatening that he'll take me to police station and they'll fine me 2000 bucks. Since I don't know all this shit, I was pretty tensed and scared. What if he has some freaking tie-up with the cops? I kept thinking stupid things, I wanted to call my friends and he was like he'll throw my phone over the tiny cliff over there. It was brand new and I was scared about that too. And he even kept telling I'm shaking and all n whatever crap he could. I was pretty hungry though for I had nothing the whole day. In the end I just couldn't do anything, although I wanted to beat the hell outta him. It's pretty sad I look like a kid, and I din't have a single id card with me at that time. I feel like a useless wimp for letting this happen n loosing 500 bucks for nothing. Going to a police station and complaining would be like a real headache and to get back that 500 I might even have pay 3 or 4 fold the amount I lost. Pretty bad right, not being able to do anything and not filing a complaint. Anyways just in case, I'm not exactly sure if I missed an alphabet but this is all I could make out of that jerk's auto number KA 02 A 3056. Well people just stay on the safe side, cause nobody cared to bother, I tried raising my voice but people just took a peep and went on ahead. No wonder, all these crazy violence and rape and shit happens and nobody gives a damn. After all it's none of their concern right, why interfere when you can just enjoy the live show. I'm still in rage, maybe this was a late realization that nobody in the messed up world is any good, and do not try to take favors off any random person, who knows what could happen to you. Just stay safe people that's all I can say, you're the only one who can look out for you.

   This is probably one such bad experience that will forever remain etched in my heart. After all only bad experiences can teach you good lessons. 

Friendship, Love, Marriage et cetera.

    Today started with all the feels thingy lingering in my mind. So much feel. And it is when it comes to putting them into words, where I fail miserably. I have no starting point, nor no preset destination, only a set of checkpoints to cover through in this misty cloud of a mind. There are so many things on mind, but I am not even sure whether to mix them up or to write them separately, and the worst part is accidentally mixing them up as I continue with the typing and end up in some dead end. Here's something that I read about on some site which actually wasn't supposed to be there, or was it? Who knows.

               Somebody tried to connect friendship and Facebook, and tried to relate how things are and why Facebook is getting boring boring for people. My focus ain't on the Facebook part anyway, because I kinda cured myself of my addiction over a year ago, which is pretty good and bad at the same time. Before I wander off on my thoughts and loose sight of it completely, lets just get this over with.

        So what is friendship anyway? Someone recently told me that FRIEND stands for a widely unknown expansion: Few Relations In Earth Never Die. Well well, what do you think of that eh? If you've heard it well and good, but if you're hearing for the first time, isn't that true? Or is it not? I can't be the judge of one and all and claim all goes well, n relations never die. After all, I've had some pretty bad experiences myself that, few relations never had any depth, if not nothing at all.

      Sometimes I do wonder too, why do we need friends or a friend for that matter? What is the use? How does it affect you? When at the end of the day almost 90% of the people are all about themselves, and would only just prefer themselves to be in a better position than see anyone else, be it a friend or a stranger. This is typical human mentality, or so I guess. Maybe people do think that they care about others, maybe people do think that they would do anything for their best friend, but maybe its only putting the thoughts into action where they fail? Well I really have no idea, for most of the times, the action which they might have planned out or not, never happens. Its just a rat race out there, with "Me first" approach by all of them. And to add fuel to the fire, this practice is widely given support by the parents as well. Come first in class and you'll get an iPad or a Tablet, maybe it used to be a good practice to temp kids to study by offering a prize if they do well. But is that the case now? It's become that competitive of a world, where kids fight it out for bragging rights. I need to outdo him by all means it seems, not at a child level, but as they grow up. Oh yeah, this is survival of the fittest after all right? If you're weak you'll just be washed away in the tide, only the ones daring to do anything, even licking up the asses of the bosses to please them to get appraisals, very strong you're. Gotta admit that, you've no shame, bravo.


          When the world has fallen to such lows for good, why would you risk falling prey to any of this ruckus right? You've a life to live, it's your responsibility what you make of it, it's your decisions at key points that make it what it is. All is left in your hands, sometimes you might have to step over others and move forward, if that leads to what you're seeking right? It's like the story of the Crabs in a tub, where one doesn't manage to get out, and won't let any other get out either, by pulling them down. If I can't do it, why the hell should you? It gives them great satisfaction, when you think he or she couldn't do it either, with a sigh of relief, than trying to rectify your mistakes and get it done.


     So do you have a friend? I'm sure you could point out to tons of them out there and call them your friend. But can I do the same? Are all of the people I know my friends actually? I don't get time to talk to them all of the time, in fact maybe days, months or years might have passed since I've had any contact with them, even if they're on my supposed friends list on Facebook. So they're my friends? Or have to degraded themselves into mere acquaintances with now just a hi-bye relation between us? Not that it affects too much, after all knowing someone in a crowd of strangers is far better than not knowing anyone at all, right? Or do you beg to differ? For sometimes knowing someone can even be to your disadvantage.

          People say, or even I do tell some people "I'll always be there for you", or like "We'll be best friends forever" and similar lines. At that point of time when you utter those lines, I'm sure you've the utmost faith in yourself that you guys will be having this sort of relationship forever. But how many of them ever last? Take a dig at your past, and think if you're best friend at school or college is as close as to you as before? Not that the relation has degraded or you've fallen apart, but do you still look into their everyday lives even now, now that you've gone separate ways, that you possibly never even meet once in a month or few.
 
                  That article focused on Facebook and how people are no longer interested to see the everyday feeds of the people who used to be their friends sometime in the past, and rather filter out and get the feeds on the people who are currently your everyday buddies. Is it purely a part of the western culture or not I do not know, but then since India is pretty much blindly adopting everything from the West, blindly believing that its being modern and thats how people should be, it wouldn't be long before people develop that sort of a mentality. And I'm by no means against Westernization, but this blind path that you're taking, is not really what you should be taking, you need to first analyze where you're headed to. If you're scared what others will think if you're not like them, and blindly follow just to please everybody, what about your own individuality? If taking drugs and getting laid week in, week out is the trend among your friends, you'd want to be "cool" like them too right? Just think about it. Oh yeah, you can take it as a rant from someone who isn't just cool enough to do all this, and maybe he's pretty jealous at all you cause he ain't getting to do all the cool stuff as you. Oh yeah you're awesome , you're a stud right, and you take immense pride in being one too I guess.

                          Then there's this thing, the good side of Westernization. It's unfortunate enough to know that there are still people out there in various regions in India, that still follow the ancient customs and norms. Who knows if Sati is still being performed somewhere? In case you don't know Sati is one abolished custom where the wife had to jump into the pyre of her husband's body and burn herself to death as well. There used to be some crazy customs I tell you. Yeah it seems child slaughter still exists in some parts of the country, and yeah that's for the girl child. If you're a girl, you'd better die right away. Are they crazy? How can they forget that a mother is a girl? How will you've an offspring if all the girl children are killed and only boys are born into this world? That kinda explains why the ratio of boys to girls also keeps getting higher. And what about the Dowry system? Lol, that's one thing thats still very much going on around in prominence. Where the family of the bride has to give some hefty amount to the grooms family, as if striking a deal. But then again, isn't there something wrong in this deal? You pay to buy something, not to selling something off right? And I was talking to a friend yesterday and she was pointing this out, if the bride has to pay, then they should be taking or buying the groom to their homes right? Who would pay money to sell something off right? Doesn't that make more sense? She also pointed out an incident where someone asked for 1cr as dowry, right, if I were a girl and if I had that much money in the first place, why on earth would I spend it on a marriage anyway? I could put the money in Bank and live the rest of my life happily just on the interest.

      Oh yeah, there are weirder customs too. Like your cousin sister or brother being your natural fiancee. Aren't you supposed to be a family? Isn't he or she supposed to be like your own sibling? Some customs like this still prevail. And there's another thing, thats been a trend in families these days regarding marriages. If the girl had a boyfriend in the past, the marriage gets called off automatically. "Oh she had a boyfriend, she must be impure. We can't marry off our son to your daughter", or so it seems. Wait a second, what about him? He too had a girlfriend or more, doesn't this apply to him? Oh no my child, you're wrong there, the girl has to be pure, the boy can do anything he wants.

                          On that aspect, there's yet again another obnoxious thing thats wrong with this country and the people. The boy gets to have a girlfriend, they go to the edges of everything, and they're now at the last stop. Marriage, what shall tie them together once and forever (at least that's whats expected) , so they live a happy life. Here comes the twist, the boys family doesn't agree to that relationship. What the hell? You've given that girl dreams, made her life yours and now you can't marry her because your parents won't heed to your plight? So what should she do now, or rather what's she supposed to do now? She put her trust in you, and now you are just leaving her halfway though on the road and moving on as if she's deadweight. What would a girl do in this situation? Suicide is one thing that comes to their mind at this juncture, after all they're now completely broken and they see no meaning in their lives anymore. All the dreams she had, and planned for a bright future with her prince charming, all shattered by the prince himself or his unwillingness to accept her and succumb to parents pressure and agree to marry some other girl. Ok, she made a suicide attempt, further down: if she succeeds, maybe she'll rid herself of all her pain, then what about her parents and siblings? What have they done to deserve this? They lost their one and only precious daughter because some spineless ass betrayed her trust, and let her down. How they might be ruing how they could've prevented this? On the flip side, if she survives. That'll be like living a life of shame, would she have the mental strength to face life again as it used to be? How will she ever be able to live happily, pretending as if nothing ever happened and she's waking up from one horrible nightmare? Everybody likes to give a try, but nobody ever thinks about the consequences.

              Oh yeah, this is pretty much leading to another vicious circle. The girl who had a boyfriend, and supposedly moved on, when the one who should've married her let her down, is now subject to a marriage. And here comes the arrow to pierce right through you. "You're impure", you've had a boyfriend. All the strength she must have mustered to start leading a normal life once again, all shattered with just a few words. This is our society. Westernization is that sense, might help you overlook that and proceed with the marriage, because in the current India where lust takes over love, the possibility of finding the so called "Pure one" has no longer any meaning. Yeah i would obviously prefer someone "pure", but then again if I love someone I wouldn't let that come in the way anyway. The whole idea of bf-gf came from the West and with it, all the morals have gone. Its become to mainstream now that getting laid is no longer considered a big incident, people would rather loose their virginity than their Facebook password, which shows how much value each has in an individuals life.

    If you can't see your relationship through, why commit in the first place? If you ain't gonna be with her, why take if all away from her? Or maybe you just want to try out before you buy, in which case are you buying a car or something which you may sell off once you're bored of it and when it gets a bit old? Anyways girls these day are no less, of course there are victims of blind trust, who often end up resorting to suicide and others who don't give a damn about it anyway. Which is good and which is bad? That's left for you to decide, your views may differ from mine and I shall respect yours.


   And I successfully managed to screw up and mix up everything I had to say. If you really had the nerve to read through all this gibberish, you're highly appreciated. Thank you for taking the pain to read through all of this. Sometimes I myself have no idea what's going on in the minds of people and can't find a proper reason to adjudge them right. Right and wrong are just abstract concepts. Your right maybe my wrong, and usually the right of the world is what the majority seems to accept. How right or wrong that is, I have no conclusions.

             

Customize your Holidays

     
    "Customize your holidays" , well that what I felt when I saw the site first. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you might wanna take a look at it here . Even I came across this well structured site recently, to give a proper review on their new "Create your package tool", and boy it didn't disappoint.

                   The site provides a whole lot of holiday packages, well that wouldn't actually attract too many people cause there definitely will be a whole lot of sites and agencies that provide a fixed holiday package. From my last trip one thing I learned is that fixed packages really miss out on certain spots of personal interest, may not be appealing to majority of the tourists and will be neglected from the main package. So I would suggest you do your part of research too on the places you're gonna visit just so that you could avoid "Oh, I was there and never knew that such a place existed". But of course most tourists would be content with the usual travel/holiday packages. Anyways this site, with this customize option lets you actually customize, or rather hand pick yourself what you wanna do, where (all)  you wanna go, where you'd like to stay ( for you wouldn't wanna be complaining if you end up staying in a hotel that ultimately haven't satisfied or met your expectations), the vehicle you'd like to hire , pick up and drop and all those sort of small but really important details. And yes, all that without even having to consult anyone, cause its all well briefed in the site. It's actually plain simple to use and I haven't run into any crashes or errors in between which has occurred a couple of times on other sites.


                          I would recommend you check out the site yourselves, for I wouldn't want you to miss out on this. Personalizing at its best. For you no longer have to bear with the preset accommodation, be on the lookout for cabs once you arrive at the Railway station or Airport and succumb to their demands. You pay extra and customize, you make the best out of it yourself. A perfect tour package that you've made for yourself. It just doesn't get any better than this does it?


                Well that's about it, a short review on the really impressive feature of "Create your package" functionality available on "Must See India". I loved the idea and I hope you do too. The next time you plan a holiday for yourself or your family, why not handpick places of interest and make your very own holiday package.

                         

                  

End of the Road

              So this is it eh, I don't have to come back here anymore, as per what they requested I still had to come till the end of the month which was supposed to be a Tuesday, but since I had to take a leave on Thursday which couldn't be avoided no matter what, they relieved me 4 days sooner. And well told not to tell anyone about it either, to save themselves the trouble adjusting with all the after effects. Now that I look back at it, I never really told anyone I'm going and will never be coming back there again, at least never again as an employee. I just had to go out the door silently without any proper goodbyes or anything, of course leaving from here, none would cry out for me as it is the case with everyone, they'll all be rather be happy that I'm out of this pit finally. I did tell just a few, that this is it, I'm free from this once and for all, seeking pastures new. 

                      Come to think of it, it wasn't actually the hell anyone working there would say, though they still have lots of issues from the management side of things, as none really ever took any effort to see to it that the employees are happy working there, all they cared about was getting the work done, even if you skip food and sleep. Of course, I never had to go through that much of hell, I was always the one lazing around yet somehow managed to get things done, thanks to having my own laptop, so I did all the stupid work usually at home, behind the scenes, so none actually appreciates that cause they don't see it right. For me the only time I study, if you're wondering what study here - I though screwed up my life cause of my blunder of thinking that a job was the most important thing and neglected studies especially in the last semester, where I had to work at night and sit in class during the day, which actually meant the maximum sleep I ever had at a stretch was under 3 hours a day, you can guess the strain that will be having on you when it goes on for months; so well never mind that the context was to the fact about the earnings to the working ratio. I have a strange habit or I don't know yet if its just in my mind or what, I can only study in the early morning, otherwise I tend to forget the stuff during exams, no matter how thoroughly I study, but none really accepts that, but for me it's so. And working for that matter, I even went to that extent or working up late night the day before exam cause it was so important to get it done, so literally that exam was screwed cause I never woke up in the morning, for the record I try to sleep at around 8pm to wake up at 3 to study 3 hours straight with no disturbances or distractions, but sleeping after 11pm well that blew it all. The result was obvious. 


               Then they used to have those special exams, well most of which I skipped cause of the 10x raise in exam fees per paper all of a sudden. And if at all I went to write, would try to hurry back to office so never really bothered sitting there in the hall much longer, gave more importance to being in the office. Guess it was my bad not realizing what was really more important. And on top of all that I had to work with my own laptop in office, well ain't that amazing? Most offices will never allow such a thing, but I just had to choose it cause I was denied my rightful chance to get day shift, and I badly needed it at that since exams were approaching and I couldn't afford to work in night shifts during that time, ever since then for the rest of my working career there, I have been working on my own laptop, wouldn't it have been better if I worked from home then? Considering the salary, more than half of it was spent on travel alone, which even prompted dad to say, even the carpenter earns 30k per month and the staff working in our own shop earn more than what you do. That's the state of an IT engineer in the present day world. All you could proclaim out was "I am Software Engineer working in Technopark", the ones who have never been inside doesn't have a clue that its worse than the other jobs out there which people may consider to be cheap. 

                      Thanks to the extensive working environment here, people who have left for pastures new never found the work there extensive and they all have flourished. Earning over double the salary with just half the workload. Though I broke up with it then and there, for there was no future for iPhone development beyond 10 years at max, not that I was looking so far ahead into the future, I was made to look beyond and so I chose to part ways with my job once and for all. 


                        It was dad's cousin who emphasized on it. And one thing that I've to state for and against what's happening around. It's really hard to find a job out there, there's just too many people trying for that single spot and getting a job is really hard. And the other side of the coin, you're taken in only if you've the skills and its always mutual, if the employees aren't there, then there is no company. We earn our salary from them, but its our hard work which lets them get all the profit. No company is ever going to take you to be a loyal dog, you've to be useful for them and its always been mutual. No one would leave a perfect working environment, everyone works to earn money for a living. You can't be miserly about that and then complain that you traitor you left, you could've asked for a hike if you wanted, like that ever did any help until they've got a new job. Besides which company ever does tell you to ask for a hike? Isn't it the managements duty to hike the salary after the proposed time period? Never mind all that, I think it's working better right now, can't say anything. As far the working environment is considered, none would've left if they were paid appropriately for their work, that I can guarantee. 


                          Truth be told, I never expected to leave so soon in the first place, and even more I never would've even thought about leaving if no one ever left, but money is all we need and that's why we are working hearing all the firing and shit in the process. If the employee feels he ain't getting paid for it, that's it. I'll miss that place, and all the people there, made a lot of friends there and it sure was hell lot of fun, especially during night shifts. And the only ill feeling I've is that, I was kind of rated the worst out of our group, everyone knew who worked hard, but putting me last, after all this sure hurt, and that coupled with something else kinda made me burst in office for the first time ever. I rarely ever get angry, and I hate getting angry which eventually makes me feel guilty and I cry for loosing control of myself. 


          So that is it, I left even before my bond period which was due to be completed after one more month. Without saying goodbye to anyone, the friends in office nor the friends I made in the bus. It was a cursed fate that day, when I left as for some reason the direct bus home showed up so late and the cloudy sky made me get in that bus and go home. Thanks to all of them for the support from the start till the end. 

           I don't feel guilty that much anymore cause I'm not jumping ship lured by money, I'm abandoning the entire trip and taking a U-turn drifting away from the originally set destination.  I never had a choice in case of quitting the job for I chose to work during college days and screwed up my career working, in the sense of the degree. A lot of lessons learnt, a unforgettable experience.


      I may have to go there one more time, after all my certificates are still there, for the final goodbye, if they don't send it over like they told they'll. 

               

How safe are you?

     

            "How safe are you?" What would you answer, if I ask you this question? Have you ever wondered or asked yourself "How safe am I?" anytime in the past couple of months? If you are a girl you surely must, taking into consideration all the events that has been going on in our country for some time now.


               I do ask myself why I keep writing on this topic over and over again, haven't I had enough of this already, as you can clearly see that nothing has changed since then, seems like everyone forgot it ever happened or maybe its cause it didn't happen to them that they should be so worried about it. One or two days of public show to show they care? How different am I from all of you I wonder..... I didn't show no protest, nor did I take part in any of those public shows, all I do is sit and think, and if I get time to write it down I pen em down, nothing more. Of course you share your sympathies with the victims and their families, but you still seem to be missing the point. You are all more focused on your rat race to outdo your competition and earn more money, but for whom? Yourself?, you can't take the money you make with you when you die. Your family?, you are ignoring their safety trying to make money and if you end up loosing them, then what? You can claim to be optimistic and talk of moving on by marrying again, for your life or for the sake of your children, but how safe are your children now? These vile animals are not differentiating between babies and grannies and preying on them alike.

         What could be the reason for this nature? The rise in crimes all of a sudden is prominently because the government ain't taking any action against the criminals for the crimes they have committed, but then again this was going on behind the scenes for a long time, just that the rate was much lower. Is there no way to stop it, or at least bring it down?

            Nobody has any time for this, do they? And then you can "Bloggers have all the time in the world to keep writing shit about the rest, what do you know about how hard it is for us trying make both ends meet". Is that an excuse for not being socially responsible? I am not that much of a good blogger, nor do I get time to write down most of what crosses my mind, but when something important comes I do try to make time to write it down, cause you people are not really bothered or rather give it way too less importance in your daily lives.

         You can think when you read or hear the news, "Poor girl how could it happen to her? Why ain't they being punished?". You seem to be forgetting one thing, India is a democratic country, we do have our rights and we chose our leaders. Why let them rule over us, if they can't even ensure our security, let aside making millions of bucks while in power. They have so much money, and they want even more, how cynical, the rich keeps getting richer and the poor, poorer. Let them have the money, but can't they do something for the public? If the people aren't themselves willing to change, you got to force it on them for the welfare of the entire society.

           I live in fear, that one day if I get married, how can I ever leave peacefully? Have to look after my wife and my kids, who else can ensure their security? The law enforcers are themselves being convicted of crimes, how can I entrust the security of my family to such people? You can argue that I'm  thinking too much or looking way farfetched, its true, it may not happen to you or me, but you never know what life has in store for you, do you?

                      Another shocking fact is the unwillingness of people to tend to the victims, of the Delhi incident, when they were lying on the road. None bothered to get them to a hospital, why? And the next day they were protesting with candles held in hands? Hippocrates ain't they?, they could've helped but stood watching and then they vouch for them the next day? Maybe its not their fault, that they stood there watching the victims cry out in pain like mere spectators. Maybe the thought of helping them might have crossed their minds but they couldn't cause if they took em to a hospital, they might have had to bear all the expenses, and worse the case could be hammered onto them instead. Who knows how the system works, the victim gets turned into the convict, then how can anyone take up courage to help them. The system needs to be fixed first, why do you have a hospital? To make money or to serve the people? The former makes more sense now, that you'll have to follow all the procedures of the hospital and pay the money first even if the patient is about to die. Talk about social responsibility and commitment.


              Then looking at a rather less significant side,the dressing style, although your sense of dressing and style may not have anything to do with what happens to you, cause if you were targeted, no matter what you were, they will hunt you down. But dressing does in a small way change perceptions. Why do we wear clothes in the first place? Its for protecting ourselves right? or wasn't that what it actually was made to serve as. The change in trend and fashion may have enticed you to shed more clothes and look more attractive than some other girl, or in front of someone special to you. It can all be understood, but don't you think your dressing has an impact on the viewers mind too. I have no clue as to what a girl feels when dressing up awkwardly trying to impress someone, sacrificing a lot in the process, its more of a prestige issue for them I guess. Their ego is way above their sense of security. Everyone has their preferences and likes, and their dressing holds a key to what they get judged as, just as a well dressed boy going in for an interview creates a good impression.

     I had more to say, but it may go well above my standards to even mention it, so I'm letting that pass for now. For all I wanted was to make you think of your life and how safe it is right now, in this country where law and order is out of order. So how safe are you?

Nothing Ever Changes

       


             Feels pretty stupid even writing about it, why should I, knowing that nothing is ever going to change in this country. The Delhi gangrape saga is going on, with people protesting against it, demanding action against the accused all over India, and guess what, it still doesn't make any difference to the peoples mindsets, in fact the lack of action on such a huge issue has made criminal minds confident that they can commit the crime and get away with it. The reported cases of rapes have been on the ascendancy since the incident it seems, everyday the newspapers are filled with more and more similar incidents. 
    
          What is wrong with these people? I just happened to see that news reporter eve-teasing video aswell. That kinda settles it, seems everyone has now fixed their eyes for a chance? What the hell??? Whatever happened to our country all of a sudden? Maybe it has been going on all around without the knowledge of others, the actions might have been suppressed till now, but now the shocking reality of the mob is coming out. 

        Who is safe now? I guess not a single human born a female : a little baby, a baby girl , a teen , a lady , no one is safe anymore in this wretched country. I feel pretty ashamed to be a part of this country now, which was once a great civilisation that others looked up to. The culture has eroded with time, eclipsed by the wild wild west, in the name of modernisation. 


Here is something I just read which actually made me write this post :

‎4-year-old is latest rape victim in Kolkata


Amid the candlelight vigils and protest meetings being held almost on a daily-basis in different parts of the country, including Kolkata, in the wake of Delhi gangrape case, it seems that the social mindset about rapes have not changed.

Fearing “dire consequences”, it took a mother four days to complain to the police that her four-year-old daughter has been raped and assaulted by a youth. The complaint was lodged last Wednesday night at Kasba police station in south Kolkata after locals came to know about the incident and protested in front of the local police station.

According to police, the girl was allegedly raped on December 31 by 26-year-old Debabrata Das, who is distant relative of the victim’s family and had an access to the victim’s house. Das, a resident of Kumarpara, was arrested today.

“We have taken the victim for medical test. She has been tortured and assaulted. There are marks of assault on her face too. But her mother lodged the complaint after more than 48 hours had passed. She told us that she and her husband were threatened against lodging the complaint,” said a senior police officer.

However, locals alleged that the victim’s family members were given money to “suppress the incident”. Locals came to know about the incident after the victim fell ill on last Wednesday.

Doctors claimed that she had been assaulted physically.

Over 200 residents then demonstrated in front of Kasba police station demanding immediate arrest of Das. A group of women also reached the police station and demanded a written assurance from police about severe punishment for the accused.
When officials expressed their helplessness in giving such written assurance, the crowd turned violent. Suddenly, the situation spun out of control as they attacked police vehicles and pelted stones at policemen as well as mediapersons. At least, six vehicles were damaged. Police have arrested four persons on charges of rioting.


I still can't understand why Govt is still sleeping ? Can't we breath freely in open air for these devils ? I would like to know from u all what kind of punishment will u suggest for these rapists ? Wake up my frns , raise your voice for the right judgment.


So what do you think ? A 4-year old raped? WTF!!! How much more insane can people get? Seems like people are loosing control of their minds and bodies and just turning out into wild animals and hunting down their prey without any consideration. Inspite of all these protests going on, people still seem to be hungry for more. I friggin have no words to put this out on paper. Nothing ever changes. I knew it all along, though I still had a faint hope that atleast something may happen, guess I was wrong yet again. This country is going to the hounds, the deadly virus seems to be spreading widely and rapidly, hitting one state after another, the gangrape virus is on the move, injected by the Indian Governments muteness. Those corrupt leaders only speak of what women should do to avoid being raped than taking action against it. They blame it on the clothing, the walk in the park at night and so on, every Indian has a right, they seem to be stepping on it harshly. 

            I found too many articles about whats going on around India, right about now. The Delhi victim died, and I'm glad she doesn't have to bear this pain no longer. I can only pray that such incidents no longer occur, but I didn't realise that inspite of all this ruckus such incidents are going on all around even now. How shameless are they anyway? Do they have any moral senses or what, I doubt. Maybe they just take bribe from the accused and try to suppress the case or turn the case on its head against the victims, and this has been happening all over India for a long time now, turning the victim into the accused. 

              How can we change this trend of rapes from taking place? One thing is for sure, thats none of the accused in such crimes are afraid of the aftermath of the incident cause they know they can get away with what they do. Earlier when you misbehave badly to a girl or woman, we could ask them how they would feel it happened with their sisters or mothers, but alas , times have changed, even sisters and relatives aren't safe in their own houses anymore. 

        The picture I've posted is a banner stuck outside one of the companies in the IT park I work in. They took a resolve to do something about this, and am I glad to see it. See the response they have received, but a signature won't mean anything, there are lots of petitions filed, but seems like nothing is having any effect on the deaf ears of the Government. 

   If people really feel it from the heart, then we can surely bring about a change, for a change is needed to ensure the safety of the womenfolk in our country henceforth. If no action is taken, from here on we can expect newspapers to be filled with only rape reports daily and eventually the society will turn immune to rape and accept it as a necessary social evil. So I urge all of you to think about it and raise your voices, let yourself be heard, if not for your sake, atleast for the sake of your future child. 

 Nothing ever changes if you stay quiet and do nothing about it.
 Nothing ever changes if you think that it didn't happen to you, for you maybe next.

        

Childhood Nightmares

I'm falling into pieces now,
I'm scattering with the thoughts,
I feel regret in my heart,
For being born in this world


Why did I have to be a human,
Living in this filthy world,
Why weren't I born a caterpillar,
Even if life was way shorter

Where are the morals and ethics,
What are humans doing now,
Their so called capability of reasoning,
Has way gone beyond insanity

The hidden truths shall be exposed,
With the ever flowing passage of time,
Ain't they ashamed of themselves,
For even having such disgusting thoughts

The world is now stained with evil,
The minds with power and lust,
With self satisfaction the only concern,
And the will to do anything to achieve it

I feel condemned living this life,
The life of a damned human,
The name brought upon us by the rest,
Will weigh us down for all eternity

The ones with the heart of purity,
Will never be recognized in light,
And the ones drenched in lust,
Always get stuff the way they want

Just think about yourself for a bit,
And see what you think of most,
You are no different from the rest,
As evil and wretched as those low lives

I'm left with no choice but to despise myself,
For I can do is sulk over this real issue,
Unable to think and act to the situation,
For I know that this world will never change

All of you fail to realize yourself there,
In the same damn situation standing helpless,
Worrying about your own children,
When they are put up with the same

Open your eyes and see the world,
When you abuse an innocent child,
Why can't you think about it,
Happening with your own child

Or have you lost all morals now,
That you don't care about your own,
Just for that moment of self satisfaction,
You expose your baby into a life of hell

Those little ones haven't done any wrong,
To deserve a childhood like this,
Filled with fear of their own elders,
Abusing them physically and mentally

They live in fear of them everyday,
Hoping the day passes by without being hurt,
Waiting to grow older and run away,
Seeking to end this nightmare once and for all

P.S : Child abuse hasn't been all that unnoticed but on a vast scale, its still unknown to most and it feels disgusting to be a part of a society with no morals and ethics so as to differentiate between a child and an adult, in fact its happening with adults and kids alike.  It would seem that its easier for them to prey upon helpless kids who may have it harder to resist, especially if its by their own family members. How will a mom ever be able to send her child to a school or tuition class, if they can't even trust their child with their own relatives. Stop Child Abuse And Get A Life. 

Bill or Veil

      SOPA : Stop Online Piracy Act. It so seems so that the Government has decided to put an end to the piracy of movies,songs and other copyrighted stuff through the internet. Well it may seem quite like a necessary measure to prevent piracy and reduce the losses caused to the film makers and producers. But is it really the case? By passing this so called Bill , it gives the right to any company to sue any website and get it shut down. Is this some kind of dictatorship?

         Already some sites have been shut down , some that have been exposing the politicians in a cartoon form. What is it that makes the Government go to this extent to take such an action. Is it the fear, the fear of being completely exposed in front of the public? It seems so. Blocking of sites , think of that? What could happen now? The news that should reach the public will never reach them as they may get censored by the board, stating it is defaming news. The truth is that why fear if you aint guilty. But as we all know , all of our so called politicians are corrupt, there maybe a few who aint out there, but with this bill all chances of a corruption free India will be well restricted.

        The Internet is the most widely used media source right now , and Facebook plays a major part in sharing and spreading of news. And not to forget, Google is what we call Internet now, yesterday I saw   a picture showing that 30% people use Google as a search engine and 70% use it to test if their Internet connection is working or not. Ain't that true? If censorship occurs way too many sites will be censored and the links to them through Google will be cut. If the bill is passed, that will be a huge blow for a lot of people and indirectly to the general public who surf the net. And we bloggers should take a stand against it in our own possible ways to show our discontent to this so called SOPA bill. Remember what happened in China, the same could happen to India too , if this ain't stopped now. Wikipedia English won't be available tomorrow, 18th Jan. This action is taken tos top web censorship. And a whole lot more sites won't be available as well. 

       Join the strike against SOPA bill : http://sopastrike.com/
Save our web. Save Internet.

Mullaperiyar : New dam

From quite a long time the Mullaperiyar dam issue has been going on,with Kerala and Tamil Nadu not coming to terms over the strengthening of the dam, which actually left the lives of the people downstream at high risk and peril. The two Governments were never able to come into terms with each other for strengthening the dam and the Tamil  Nadu Government was bringing irrelevant matters and making unrealistic excuses why the dam needs not be rebuilt like comparing Mullaperiyar dam with the Kallanai Dam and also bringing out the contract signed ages ago.

          The risk kept rising as no progress was found in this matter as both Governments were being contradicting with each other for some time now. And now Kerala Government has decided to put forth a new deal for the lives of the people living there. The CM has decided that they should rather construct a new dam over the river than strengthen the existing one. And also being favorable to Tamil Nadu, he has told that Kerala will construct the dam on their own expense and also that Kerala and Tamil Nadu can share the authority of the dam, ie joint control over the dam.

          Atleast now the TN Government should accept the terms and let the construction begin. Also the other tiny matters can be left for laters, as they can be negotiated or left for the final judgement from the Supreme Court. Hoping that they come to terms with Kerala government now atleast, cause we are more concerned about the lives of the people living downstream than the profit made by the dam. Also there are lots of people living at the border who depend on the water from the dam for their daily lively hood. Hoping that the Mullaperiyar dam controversy comes to an end with this all new deal put forward.


The Response :
     It seems they are not willing to accept the new dam proposal. They still seem to stick with their claims that Mullaperiyar dam is still strong enough and a question of even building a new dam doesn't even arise. Why are they so damn adamant that they will not co-operate with Kerala government , even when given equal power over the dam and all of the water. The conflict continues and both sides are still not able to come to terms, as Kerala tries to somehow come into a compromise, the Tamil Nadu government seems to turn its back on Kerala government. Why can't they just deal with the paperwork later and get on with the work? It feels like they don't understand the situation or they don't care even after knowing.

As per todays newspaper (7/1/12) :
     The Kerala Cm has decided the there will be no joint ownership for the proposed new dam, the dam will be completely owned and run by Kerala government and as for the water supply regulations. There will be a team comprising of engineers from both states and will try to make it an independent unit. There are already dams which follow the same norms between the two states. The CM also mentioned that a dam within a state should be under the control of that state. Well what happens now? Both states seem to hold on to their own views still , Kerala wanting a new dam , and Tamil Nadu opposing the idea and the need for a new dam. The controversy continues, will this be like a never ending argument which will only end when the dam collapses , and then what will both parties do??