'Adjust Madi' attitude

Don't you just hate it when you take so much pains to do something on time trying to make your day go without a hitch, and then suddenly everything starts going out of your hand. Why - because there is someone out there who did not do things ahead of time and thought that it would be perfectly all right to spoil others well made plans by asking them to 'adjust'.

It happened to me when I was coming to UK via flight. Like a organized person, I did a web checkin on time and reserved a place for me so that I would not have to hassle for a seat at the last moment and get what I want.There was a lady who had a seat next to me, and she was traveling with a kid. She did not have the foresight of checking in advance, and wanted me to adjust somewhere else so that she could sit with her kid next to her. There is no way that you can say no in this situation. I had to give up my seat and sit in a aisle seat - which I hate, since I am never comfortable there so that she could sit with her kid.

Then again there was this incident with my sister. She and her husband had gone to watch a movie in the theater. She is newly married and this may have been one of her first few movies together. And there again,  though they had the right tickets, they had to sit in two separate rows - all alone to watch the movie. Why - because there was a kid who had fractured his hand and the adult wanted to sit with the kid next to him for the movie.

I have seen so many cases where people have asked others to adjust so that they can be comfortable, sometimes using the sympathy factor and sometimes just for the sake of asking it.
I do not know what to say in these situations - you cannot say no because you feel bad for them, but then is it right? Is it right for a handful of people to use the sympathy factor and use the 'thoda adjust madi' attitude.
And where else are we using this 'adjust madi' attitude? Haven't we always learnt that being organised is the right way to do things, were we wrong?

Legal age for drinking alcohol

Legal age for getting married is 18 for females and 21 for males. Legal age to vote is 18, legal age for getting a driving license is 18. And now comes a new rule - legal age to drink alocohol is 25. And once again like it always happens, with every new rule there is a controversy. Bar owners, pub owners and youngsters are outraged. But the question remains - Would they be really affected by this new rule?

I am not trying to say whether the rule is correct or wrong, my only point being if a rule is made, steps should also be in place to ensure it is followed. Otherwise this would also become one among the many rules that we have in our rule book and which is dusted only once in a while when someone gets caught doing the wrong thing. And as everyone knows, how many times does this actually happen!! And it definitely does not mean that rules are being followed.

I do not believe anyone serving or buying liquor in these stores ever asks for any kind of an identity proof for their age. So how is the government going to ensure that this rule would be followed? Even if we say for a minute that the pub owners would bow down and follow the rule, what about the local bars and the middlemen who sell alcohol to anyone and everyone that wants it. I think the problem here is much bigger and may not be solved by adding only one rule. It is a step yes - but there are many more steps to follow if what they actually want is to implement 'de-addiction policy'.

I live in London where though the age for drinking alcohol is 18, there are certain products - tobacco and alcohol that can be bought only if you are above 25. And this rule is very strictly followed. I once saw a group a male and 2 females, who were trying to buy tobacco. The girl asked for the tobacco and when asked for id proof was refused since she was below 25. Then the guy accompanying her asked for the same, and even he was refused even though he was above 25 - reason being the store owner was not ready to take the risk that the guy would buy it and give it to the girl. And this is how strict it gets here. If you want to buy such stuff, you have to make sure that the group you are in is above the legally required age. Again this does not mean that the problem is completely solved - but it just makes it difficult to break the law directly.

Unless India comes up with similar strict ways of ensuring the rules are followed, these rules would only end up being one among the thousands that people break. And even though the intentions of the people making the rules are good, unless they also devise ways to ensure the rules are followed, it would be a waste of  time and money.

A day trip to Seven Sisters Country Park

After long months of cold, sun was finally shining down upon London. Me and my hubby decided to take advantage of this beautiful weather to go out of London. After searching for a nice place to visit, we finalised on Seven Sisters Country Park. I hope that this abstract can help you if you wish to visit the place.

Seven Sisters Country Park is part of South Downs National park, situated at Exceat in East Sussex. It comprises of chalk cliffs, vast Greenland and meandering river valley.  Seven sisters were created when ancient rivers cut the valleys into chalk, creating seven peaks. The highest of the peak stands at 253 feet and is named Haven Brow, This peak is followed by Short Brow, Rough Brow, Brass Point, Flagstaff Point, Baily’s Brow and Went Hill Brow.

Seven sisters country park is the best place to be if you are looking for natural beauty unhindered by tourists. The chalky cliffs overlooking the ocean, the shining sun, the vast greenery, away from all the hustle bustle – it feels like heaven,  a reprieve from the daily routine.

Visitor centre is situated in a 18-century barn and you can get map and routes for walking, cycling from here. Cross the road from the visitor centre to enter the park. There are two walking trails at the Park – Park trail, marked with purple arrowed posts is 5 km long. Habitat trail, marked with green arrowed posts is 7 km long circular trail around the perimeter of the park.  Be-aware that this is not a sandy beach but has lots of small rocks and pebbles.

You can start your walk from the park entrance towards the beach. On the return trip, you can climb up the cliffs and walk down over the hills back to the park entrance. The seaside and the cliffs look amazing from the cliff tops. If you are interested, you can walk over the hills towards the South Downs enjoying the beauty.

How to get here: Catch the southern train from London Victoria / London Bridge to Brighton. Once you get out of Brighton, catch bus 12, 12x or 13 towards Eastbourne via Seaford. On weekdays, you can get the bus from stop D outside the station. However on weekends, the buses start from Churchill Square. In order to reach Churchill Square, walk from the station towards the ocean (straight road), when you reach the clock tower, take a right uphill road to reach the bus stop. The bus journey is roughly 60 minutes and reach just outside the Seven sisters country park.

Cycling: You can hire a bike and cycle on the valley floor. Or if you are interested, you can use the more adventurous trails and routes from the Cuckmere cycle hire shop.  

Time for visit: 3-4 hours

The Bombmaker - By Stephen Leather

This novel has it all – crime, suspense, thrill. It has been a long time since I have read such a thrilling novel waiting to know what happens in the end. So here is a brief which may inspire you to read the novel as well.

 

The story revolves around a woman named Andrea Hayes(Andy), who, until 10 years ago, was the best master bombmaker in IRA. It all went wrong one day when a bomb killed 4 school children and crippled another. Andrea turned away from her trade. Today, she lives a quite life with her husband Martin and a young daughter Katie, who have no idea about her past life. Together they have a perfect life, a life to be envious of, until one day Andy’s past comes knocking at her door.

Two people kidnap their daughter, Katie, in the middle of night from the sanctity of their home. Andy and Martin are devastated, when they get the kidnapper’s note mentioning that Andy should travel to London alone while Martin should stay at home and continue his daily routine. If they contact the police they would never see their daughter again. Andy travels to London while Martin makes preparations to gather all his finances together so that they can pay the required ransom to the kidnappers and get their beloved daughter back.  Andy travels to London and checks in at the hotel mentioned by the kidnappers. She decides to contact her husband to let him know that she reached and is now awaiting further directions or call for the ransom.

Life takes another turn for Andy, when she is contacted again by the kidnappers at the hotel but without any ransom for money. She is asked to travel to another location where the kidnappers pick her up and take her to a warehouse. They now tell her about their real motive for the kidnapping – they want Andy to build a four thousand pound fertiliser bomb. The deal is for her to build the bomb and in return she would get her daughter back.

Andy struggles to understand why the bomb is required now that peace is restored in Britian, is this threat political or is this revenge? A bomb of this intensity could wipe out hundreds of lives and the city would be set back by billions of pounds.

Is Andy ready to sacrifice the lives of so many people for the life of her daughter? Is there any guarantee that they would let her and her daughter live after the bomb was made? Who is behind this terrorism – Is it the IRA, the Republicans, an external terrorist group? Who is the mastermind behind all this and what is his master plan – Is it terrorism? Does he intend to detonate the bomb or use it only as a threat?

 

Read the complete novel and I believe you would also praise Stephen for his fantastic way of writing and making the story feel real to you …

 

Grilled Prawns Curry

 

s.

Tipping Point - Review

I am usually into a lot of fiction and mystery books, and dont usually venture into the non-fiction area. However, for those of you who do love these books, I think 'Tipping Point' would be a good one.
After reading this review, I am definitely going to read this one ...
http://thoughtmazes.blogspot.com/2010/08/tipping-point.html

Khatta Meetha

Khatta Meetha is a light comedy of corruption in the contractor’s business. Anybody who has been to the municipal corporation office for getting a particular work done would know about it. Starting with the peon to the top engineers, bribe is the way to go ahead. (Not that there are no honest people, but very few).

Sachin Tichkule is a descendant of a royal family, a budding contractor who has huge dreams of starting Tichkule and Tichkule Company. He is well known in the municipal corporation office for creating issues. His elder brother and one brother-in-law are corrupt contractors, who walk alongside politicians, minting money by all means possible. His other brother-in-law is in the inspection department in the municipal commission office, and is in cahoots with Sachin’s elder brother.

Sachin has logged a complaint against the municipal corporation, for not clearing his cheque on time, and this gets him blacklisted in office. If they were not helping Sachin earlier, the court case hinders the cause further. His situation at home is also not that good, with everyone in the family thinking him to be a lazy, corrupt person. Things start getting worse when a new commissioner comes into town, who happens to be Sachin’s ex-girlfriend – Gehna Ganphule and who makes life worse for him. Though Gehna is against corruption, her prejudice against Sachin is so strong, that she does not realize the corruption around her in the office. As usual, things work out in the end with bad people getting punished and all.

The first half of the movie is comedy, but the second half does not have you laughing always. The movie even has some fight scenes. Trisha, a new comer to Bollywood, is ok, but her acting does not stand out.

Overall, I would say it is an ok to watch movie, but not that great. After all, movies like Hera Pheri are not made everyday.