I think.. » Log

World Vision

Sini — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:17:58 +0000

Today I get another one of those emails from world vision. That says ‘send a child to school now’. And I seethe. Some years earlier, I used to sponsor a kid through World Vision. They do say they will use part of the money for religious activity and for community upliftment etc, and that in poor regions of India mean conversion most of the time, yet I picked it. If a kid can get an education, who am I to worry about religious exploitation. Independent thoughts about the Universe and the necessity or otherwise of a God and the fanaticism in terms of one true God is not a luxury if you stay illiterate your whole life. I am not gonna be able (nor really interested in getting my hands dirty) to help the section of society they cater to. So world vision it was, and I got a picture of a kid with school reports etc for two years. Then the next year I get a progress report that says, since the school is far, they are teaching the 8 year old tailoring instead of sending her to school. What the *^&^&& hell! So I called them up and said I won’t sponsor if they are not even using a fraction of the money to educate the kid I am sponsoring, and the guy at the other end says, please pick another child then. All they want is numbers.

Of course I am all for sponsoring and wish many of us would do it. But I ended the world vision thingy that year. Mahindra has a girl child sponsoring, and there must be several where we can help. Perfect for us who aren’t really charitable in the personal sense. I personally hate dealing with kids and all the sob stuff associated with volunteering. But I do wish every child had a chance in the beginning. Just that I wish more compassionate people than me would work towards giving them that chance. And money can really help kids and adults, like the micro financing people Kiva. Of course I still don’t see why their partners should charge an average of 35% interest. Their explanations don’t really convince me, but that is the only choice for some people to get a loan.

Ah life. Self-awareness was wrong for us carbon compounds.

Mumbai

Sini — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:53:25 +0000

How do they they do it? How can they do it? Just go someplace and shoot people? People they don’t know, people who just stand there waiting for the train, bus or feeding a child or walking home. It is not the just the killing but the whole detachment from anything akin to humanity that makes me cringe. Show them a group of people, any group but of a size that justifies using up their ammunition, and they will just kill.

Humans do not deserve the earth. It is time we were extinct.

Living Hell

Sini — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:02:09 +0000

I thought when I had my own house I would be beaming with pride and living a pampered happy life.

Now every morning I wake up to a bad mood because of the same stupid flat. I have a fancy shower panel which I can’t shower with because there is no proper drainage in the bathroom. I do not have a lot of things that I thought was necessary for life and am beginning to realise (re-realise actually, after my residential school stint) not to be so. When I step out of the flat, I hope the neighbours don’t catch hold of me to talk about the leak in their house due to my kitchen. I fantasise every moment about taking a pickaxe and doing the job myself. Maybe I should buy some plumbing, tiling and carpentry books and give it a go rather than wait for someone else to fix the problem. Wait, I did a bit of carpentry in engineering so maybe I can fix that thing! Or maybe I should rent afterall.

On the positive side, this flat is much better than the one I stayed in Hyderabad for a month or so.

A day in life

Sini — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:04:10 +0000

Today a young man in his early twenties decide to press my bottom taking advantage of the moderate rush in the bus while getting down. I stare at him, and he has an infernal smile playing on his lips. I get down and he does it again. The touching. I walk away deciding getting harassed is the lot of the women anyway muttering Oedipus under my breath. A few minutes later I see he is close on my heels and with that smile in his lips that tells me see I touched your butt and you can’t do naught. So I stop and point my finger at his face and say ‘So you touched me there, Oedipus.. Oedipus’ He is taken aback. ‘Do you know what Oedipus did, you Oedipus?’ and he stammers a ‘what?’. I walk away my head held high and laughing to myself.

The next intersection I had to wait for some minutes, but he still hadn’t caught up with that short distance. In fact he barely moved from where I left him wondering what it is he is supposed to do.

Politics, for the politicians.

Sini — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:09:47 +0000

So at last Mamta Banerjee has decided to call off the strike.

I wonder how the Tatas would have felt deciding to write off 1500crores and a dream when they decided enough was enough. Fortunate that they could make that call. Not every entrepreneur has that freedom, and no wonder India is a land of frustrated people.

These politicians disgust me. Disgust, and nothing else.

Uh…

Sini — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:07:50 +0000

Random Girl in Office: So, do you read the newspaper in the morning everyday?
Me: No, not really. I usually read at lunch.
Random Girl in Office: Anyway you aren’t the kind who reads newspapers I guess.
Me: Uh.. .

goals

Sini — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:54:08 +0000

Today I wore to office the churidar I stitched on my own. So that’s one down the list of 100 goals I wrote early this year, when I went for a training.

Just took a peek at that list, and made a soft copy. There are some things I will have to try to get done till I die. However, 8 of the hundred are already marked ‘done’. :)

Which Jane Austen Heroine Are You?

Sini — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:03:44 +0000

Take the Quiz here!

I absolutely love the part about the singing voice.. ;) :)

Happy Vishu

Sini — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:06:33 +0000

Today is Vishu, the traditional New Year of Kerala.
Wish everyone a happy year.

Sini — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:10:31 +0000

I no longer drive to office. There are a lot of volvos to MG Road now, and I have decided I actually don’t want the hassle of driving in the evening through the rush. I do get a comfortable window seat from my stop, and except for every other day they don’t play Kannada songs.. well, you pay some, I guess. Still, not bad altogether. The volvos are usually used by techies, you don’t see the occasional drunkard or the crude men you encounter in the BMTC bus, and all was well with the world. So I thought.

I had not remembered the Mallu men then. Idiotic, narrow-minded, frustrated, i-cant-stand-that man/woman/child and I feel so inferior to them, so I must be crude and talk-dirty Mallu men.

I am ashamed. Of being a Malayali.