Wise Donkey

"So what happened at the meeting", his wife asked eagerly.

Of course, the minutes of the emergency meeting, held by the Highly Honourable members of the Executive Committee of the Residents Association, with the residents, would be put up on notice board tommorrow, but who read those, anyway?

He replied, "The first 45 minutes was spent on thanking the various committee members, and the last 20 minutes was spent on comparing the samosas of the previous month with the samosas of this month. By the way, I think, the samosas were better last month."

She snorted and gestured to him, to get to the point.

He stretched his legs, closed his eyes and imitated the President.
" and now lets move on to the main agenda. All the members unanimously felt the maids are making too much money. (That was the Cue for nods)

And we have decided to take strong action against them. (The Cue for claps).

Henceforth the maids can work for only 3 flats. (The Cue for loud cheering)

Even if they have time at their disposal, to work for more flats, they can use that time to put in more hours for free, at any of the 3 residents flats. We have decided to cut down on their bonus and slash their salary by 25%. After all they should take pride, in doing their duties and working for us. (Cue for standing ovation and hot samosas)."

"And you didnt say anything against it? Since you are not an executive committee member, we wont get the best maid. What happened to the concept of freedom and free market." She asked horrified.

He replied smugly, "Honey, do you think the maids will agree to it? Unlike some men, the maids have more freedom and can form an association and fight, and say its their time and their discretion and if their performance is below par, the employer can fire, without putting a cap on the hire." .

She nodded and then added, "If only someone would tell the politicians and government officials, they can take only 3 bribes per year..."

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Posted By wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 4/08/2007 05:49:00 AM

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Posted By wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 4/04/2007 01:46:00 AM

When 7000 Indians die from hunger, Everyday
The media's concern seems to be, whether Sachin should stay
Fool's day was day before yesterday,
Or Everyday?

http://www.bhookh.com

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Posted By wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 4/03/2007 12:05:00 AM

Can there be anything more outrageous than the "performance" of the Indian (men's) cricket team? Please! We lost to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh! Never mind if we lose out to these nations when it comes to boring concepts like maternal mortality rates. (We worship mother thats enough, who cares if a pregnant woman has more chances of being alive in these nations, than in India.) Hey, lets not forget, we are always (thankfully) better than Pakistan. (Never mind, if we care more about being better than Pakistan in cricket, than about the soldiers who have faulty artillery.)

We expect our cricketers to put in their best, but never expect any politician or government official (or for that matter ourselves) to give the best ALL the time or even most of the time. We find the amount cricketers get from endorsement deals outrageous, but think corruption is "practical".

7000 Indians die Everyday from Hunger. Yet, we still lament mainly about the Men in Blue. With this kind of attitude, our future, seems bleak and blue. Why care so much about a World Cup when there are citizens who have to worry about a Cup of Food.

Whats the point in wasting our time, watching the endless analysis? Surely we have better things to do, with precious minutes of our lives. Of course it would have been nice to win, but lets not lose our perspective.

Outrageous? Yes. But who is being more outrageous?

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Posted By wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 3/24/2007 12:20:00 AM

Yesterday received an sms :"My wife thinks, gadgets are not enough, and I need to put it in more at home. Please dont tell me she is right, just let me know if you can think of any excuse I can give."

I replied"The best excuse/reply an Indian husband can give is "My mother and my grandmother didnt have what you have and yet managed.." Your wife would want to seem better than them and would be more err..self reliant."

Later I sent 27 smses asking him, if he had succeeded and got no response.

Now I have received an email from his office."Thanks to your brilliant idea, I am now without my, mobile, laptop, ipod, and car, since my father and grandfather, didnt have them and still managed to live"

Hmpf I dont know why he is complaining, after all its easier to live without these gadgets than to help with the chores everyday..

Posts in the Fictional Aargh Diaries Series Post no.351

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Posted By wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 2/03/2007 01:27:00 AM

Mr.C is upset that Water has been shortlisted for the Oscar and not Rang de Basanti. He is upset that a film which talked about people like Bhagat Singh has been upset by a film that potrays the situation of women in India in the 1940s, in a bad light.

Stupid of me perhaps but I tried to reason with Mr.C."Mr.C, even today, a woman who has lost her husband isnt treated like a man who has lost his wife, so the film isnt unrealistic.

Water had characters, all Rang de Basanti had was heros killing politicians and then saying in the climax, "Sorry". It had no practical solution like participation in politics as in Yuva or even a dialogue like "You have to be in the system to change system",as in Page 3".

Its not fair to ignore the role of almost 50% of our population. While in Water there were good and bad men and good and bad women, in Rang De, women were simply passive.."

An outraged Mr.C replied "But what will the world think about us?"

"Hmmm, why should we worry about what the world thinks, about the widows in India, when we dont think about them. Why should we worry about Rang de Basanti not getting an Oscar, when we prefer to only moan and not do anything, about corruption or dirty politics?Instead of caring about Rang de Basanti not getting an Oscar,Why not care about Widows in India, not having Color in their life?"

Angrily Mr.C said loudly "You are so unpatriotic" and stormed off..And now others are looking at me suspiciously wondering if I am a terrorist.

Aargh Diaries is a Fictional Series.
Posts in Aargh Diaries Series
Post no.350
India widows Oscar movieRang de Basanti Water

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Posted By wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 2/03/2007 01:16:00 AM

There are many men, who cause despair
But there are still men, who to be different, dare.

Many men and women, might find him abnormal
Because he thinks women too are human and normal.

He can emphatise with sufferings,
Even if its, by a woman.
Though the culture around him, says he is superior,
He still thinks ,culture is just a circumstance, and none are inferior.

He is not a superhero or a filmi hero
But the next door, unappreciated hero

Who doesnt think, its none of my business
When a woman is in trouble and needs help.
Who gives her voice,even when its not his wife,
or any other woman, in his life.

There may not be a woman,who hasnt been groped
But that doesnt mean, all men have groped.

For him, its not so tough to emphatise with her plight
Its just as simple as being in a bathroom, without a lock.
Constantly feeling insecure over the insecure door
realising, anytime,anyone would open the door.
The quest for freedom, privacy and space,
Which isnt being the right, of half the human race.

Is it such an impossible wish?
Do such men exist in real life,
Can men and women live without strife?re
Does Every man think, he can treat any woman as his wife?

While I despair over the, "Gropeway of India" on New Year 2007
I still respect and remember a Hero who gave up his life
To prevent an unknown woman, from being molested on New Year 2003
Bapi Sen, to this world and to me, you will always be a Precious Boy

You sent out the message loud and clear
Being a man doesnt stop you from being a human

If God gave me the choice of bringing back a life,
It wont be my dead son, but you,
Not because I love my son less or think he isnt precious,
But because you gave up your life, to improve for few minutes a stranger's life.


molestation Bapi Sen gropeway New Year men women precious boy eve teasing

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Posted by wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 1/17/2007 01:34:00 PM

He walks around with his head in the air
And hands in search of flesh to fondle

The women might find him sick yet normal
But there is still a woman who finds him precious.

He is the reward for her sufferings
He will fetch a fair price in the marriage market
To sleep with him, and look after him, a woman would pay
So why bother respecting, women, anyway.

And she needs him emotionally and financially
So why tell or think he can be wrong

Lets find an excuse, to justify his acts.
Even if its a misplaced dupatta,
lets not ask if he would have groped his mom,
if she had a dupatta missing.

Can someone please find a woman who has not been groped.
Can someone please find a woman who has always felt safe.

Is it so tough to emphatise with her plight?
Its just as simple as being in a bathroom,
without a lock, constantly feeling insecure over the insecure door
realising, anytime,anyone would open the door
Little bit of space, little bit of privacy, hey in this wide wonderful world
Is it really a lot to ask?
But why ask for the men to emphatise, when dear mothers forget.

Lets tell these mothers, that being a mother
doesnt mean you should stop being a woman and human.
Let every harrassed woman take a vow
They wouldnt let their children stoop so low.

Atleast lets not allow the victims of injustice
To be the carriers of injustice.

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Posted by wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 1/10/2007 01:46:00 PM

Yesterday I was preparing an investment matrix and had to match the Instruments with the Investment goals. I had analysed all the instruments for investing and written the 10 Investment goals one could have. And now it was a simple job of writing, High Medium and Low, on the matrix.

Half way I stare and pause at the word, High. High is a word? Did I mean to write Height. Is it a spelling mistake? Wont I appear a fool if I wrote all the wise things about financial planning and came with a nonsense word?

Does the Word "High" exist, I ask myself. And realise I just dont know. Its not frustrating or irritating. Just a dull feeling of acceptance. I cant remember and its probably a word which doesnt exist. Next time I would try to google or use the spell check. But its hard many times to question what I accept.

Its tough enough when the dreams are crystal clear and the memories vague, spending 10 minutes every morning, wondering what I had dreamt, and to correct my memory. To put it simply, if I wanted to make a phone call, I would probably dream about it, and the next day, continue to believe I had made that phone call:D, unless I remember, that it was a Dream.
How important is memory? Is Life better as a moment, or a memory?

Perhaps I would enjoy life more, if its just a moment.
But I still prefer the memories, for reasons I dont remember at the moment :)

Forgetting High might be a new low for me,
But when the potential in everyone is infiniteI still believe,
I can reach for the sky
Inspite of the lows, can reach new highs.



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Posted by wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 1/10/2007 11:31:00 AM

The coffee was fantastic,
But I couldnt enjoy it.

The 53 year old looked eagerly, at me
Would he get atleast this year
A raise?
Rs.100 would be wonderful.

I pretended to be busy with the coffee
Then looked him in the eye,
And shook my head..
Thinking,sometimes its better to be dead.

He tried his best to hide his disappointment and be cheerful.
And I walked back to my seat, woeful.

Hey we arent in Software or BPO
And we have 14 branches all over India.
And if we increase his salary
what about the other office boys?

That would be a major policy decision,
And since he is not in sales,
we can afford to lose him.
And even if he works hard,
surely it wont be easy for him, to find a new job.

Yet I had pleaded with my Boss
who had pleaded with her Boss, our Branch Manager
And who had made this extraordinary request
To the Vice Presidents, in their annual meet.

Surely we should understand,
the company is not doing well
When for the annual meet, instead of France
The executives settle for, Greece


Aargh Diaries is a Fictional Series.Posts in Aargh Diaries Series
Post no.346

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Posted by wise donkey to Wise Donkey at 1/08/2007 11:12:00 AM