Vijit's Opinion

The General Elections are round the corner. I know this time around voters will turn out in large numbers because of the terrorist attack that took place in Mumbai in November, 2008. This blog post of mine is to highlight how I will go about in deciding whom to vote for this elections. Firstly I am very clear in my mind which political party I will definitely not vote for. It is the Left parties. They have a history of creating uncertainty. They have always been a pain to whichever government they supported. I know that there is not a single political party that is not corrupt. However, when it comes to BJP and the Congress I know for sure that there are at least a few individuals who are capable of bringing about a positive change. Also, I hope the media plays a big role in helping out voters to choose the right candidate. They should give a detailed account of all candidates contesting the elections. Does the candidate have a criminal record? What development activities have been ta...

Today I met Ravi. I know that the following questions will pop up in your mind: Who Ravi? Why I met him? How the meeting happened? To find out who Ravi is, you need to visit an old blog post of mine. The link to the same is pasted below: http://vijitspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/11/ravi-smart-street-kid.html I hope you have checked the following youtube videos too: http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=6PrleqeCAPw http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=-URtZfIgKAU Now that you have figured out who Ravi is, I can proceed to answer the next question about the reason to meet him. I was always eager to meet him because I think he is an inspiration not only for kids of his age but also for grown ups. He learnt so many languages without having any formal education till date. He took efforts to learn foreign languages through his interaction with tourists from different parts of the world. He can sell his product in French, Iranian, Arabic, Japanese and many other languages. He is a perfect example o...

Today I watched Slum Dog Millionaire, the movie that has been making news all over the world. It has already won four awards at the Golden Globe and has bagged 10 Oscar nominations too. Now when this movie has started getting great reviews, certain people in India have started to raise objection against the movie. The objections are as follows: 1) The very title of the movie is found to be offensive by a self proclaimed slum leader. 2) A Hindu organization feels that in the movie Lord Ram has been insulted. 3) The movie has portrayed India in bad light. This post of mine is an effort from my side to analyze these objections from my perspective. The first objection is about the term Slum Dog. I know equating a human to the dog is demeaning. However, we fail to remember that this is a movie made by an Englishman. In English there is a phrase “dog’s life” which means to lead a miserably unhappy existence. So, the movie is about a boy who leads a miserable life in the slums and ends up be...

On the last day of the passing year, everyone starts to get into contemplative mode. Everyone starts looking forward to the New Year with high hopes. I too am no different. 2008 for me was a mixed year. I won some, I lost some. On the career front I took an important decision to change my job. A decision prompted by frustration but one taken with lot of patience. Quitting a job that helped me learn, make friends not just at the place of work but also in the US was not an easy one. There were few who thought that it was not a wise decision on my part to do so. However, I simply followed my heart. Today when I look back and reflect, I discover that my decision was right. Today my job demands much more responsibility, lot more interaction with customers, trouble-shooting and I get a sense of achievement at the end of each working day. On the personal front, things did not start of well. The very first month of the year made me go through some emotional turmoil but then I got over it. Som...

The terrorist attack that shook Mumbai on 26th of November, 2008 and one that lasted till 29th of November, 2008 may be perceived as negative by many. However, it did have some positive outcomes. It has made both, the politicians and the people of our country realize that we cannot take things for granted. I am not denying the fact that many lost their life in the process. The targeted hotels Taj and Oberoi-Trident will get renovated but life lost cannot be retrieved. Thinking about the losses will not help us move forward and create a better and safer tomorrow. We need to unite and fight not only terrorism but also corruption and all the other social evils. Simply because each social evil is linked to each other. The positive that we can take from this ghastly incident is that the people of India have started to do things that they had long forgotten. They have started to question our politicians. The politicians too were taken by surprise when they saw this new trend. The youth who ...

26th of November, 2008 through 28th of November, 2008 terrorists rocked Mumbai. The Gateway of India became the gateway for terror. It all started on a Wednesday, a black Wednesday. Mumbai was transformed into a battle front. Images that you will associate with a war zone could be relived right here in a metro city. The Taj hotel, the Oberoi- Trident hotel, Leopold Cafe, Nariman house and CST station, all prime locations of Mumbai became the target. Top cops, including chief of ATS Hemant Karkare, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and additional commissioner Ashok Kamte laid down their life fighting the terrorists in Wednesday's terror attack. Official figures confirm that 125 people are dead including 14 cops, 6 foreigners and at least 324 are injured. The actual numbers could only be higher. My heart felt commiseration to families of those killed. Terrorists even managed to hijack a police vehicle and shoot at people on Mumbai’s roads. The politicians were quick to condemn the...