charukesi December 31st, 2004
Textually. org has some interesting posts about how the internet and sms technology are being used in the tsunami affected areas of Asia… In the meanwhile, this part of the world is still tense and unsure in the wake of fresh warnings of tremors and floodwaves. Here’s praying for a peaceful new year…
And while on the tsunami disaster, do read this post on worldisgreen - the urgent and the important in which Suhit has discussed his own and Atanu’s views on everyday disasters which go largely unnoticed…
charukesi December 29th, 2004
In the wake of what I had written about petty political squabbles, I came across this report on Sumankumar’s blog…. Suman and a few others have also stared a tsunamihelpindia blog here…
charukesi December 29th, 2004
Google has been running ads on my blog around the suicide prevention and counselling theme. All thanks to this earlier post of mine. Now I am having trouble getting this image of mentally troubled, verging on the suicidal visitors on my blog… Help!
charukesi December 29th, 2004
I have been watching news on Sun TV these last couple of days (thanks to my parents who are visiting)…. and it is full of crap about how the Tamilnadu government has failed to provide adequate support to those in distress in the areas affected by the tsunami. Now I am all for the role of the media as a watchdog and conscience-keeper and all that, but this is nothing but a concerted attack against the ruling government by a bitter opposition party (which owns the Sun network)….
and surely enough, when we switched to Jaya TV (owned by guesswho), there was madam in all her cloaked glory issuing a statement about the extent of relief work provided by her government. with a stern warning not to pay heed to the speech of trouble mongers….
It is so sad that even in such a time, politics is the all-consuming root of discourse in local media. a time when local political parties should ideally forget their petty differences and work together to hasten the relief operations… And privately owned media is being used only to settle personal / political scores - agenda setting at its worst for political followers and general viewers…
In all this, the only glimmer of sanity came from Mr. Manmohan Singh, the greatest non-politician in politics in recent times - who cancelled his visit to the affected areas since that would only hamper relief work. Kudos Mr. Singh, that is a wise and brave decision (albeit politically suicidal)… What do politicians achieve by visiting these areas except gaining mileage through media coverage…
charukesi December 28th, 2004
While the rest of us have been watching the news in horrified silence, a group of bloggers have created this blog resource on the tsunami disaster…. The blog has the latest news and information updates about aid, donations and volunteer efforts….
Do visit and support them…
charukesi December 13th, 2004
It can’t get funnier than this… or more ironical…
Found this thru a link provided by Ankesh Kothari on brandautopsy . And couldn’t resist sharing it here…
charukesi December 7th, 2004
Shanghai: Study says 1 in 4 youths thinks about taking own life, says this report in the Antropolgi blog. Kids unable to face the increasing social pressures on and expectations from them… for seemingly mundane reasons as poor academic performance (I come across stories of such suicides - due to failure in examinations - on a regular basis in India)
Came across this report just as I am reading Paulo Coelho’s Veronika decides to die… Have never thought suicide is not just about having more troubles than you can handle so you want to run away…. but also having nothing to keep one excited about life itself - so that suicide becomes just a new ‘experience’…. as with Veronika - Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything — youth and beauty, boyfriends and a loving family, a fulfilling job. But something is missing in her life. And she finally becomes aware of the beauty of life as she is closest to death…
In life, why do we value something only when it is not there? when we begin to miss it?
charukesi December 3rd, 2004
For a country in which higher education is so valued, India’s record in primary education is dismal, says Prof. Kaushik Basu in the BBC News. With a literacy rate (percentage of adults who can read and write) of 65%, India compares poorly to not just industrialised nations but also several much-poorer economies, such as Vietnam (90% literacy), Zambia (80%), Tanzania (77%), and Cambodia (70%).
And the culprit is truancy - no, not absentee children but teachers.
…. a majority of parents who kept their children away from school, did so only because there were no schools of minimal quality in their vicinity. Takes me back to my favourite statistic :
the proportion of ‘never enrolled’ children has been declining steadily : from 50% in 1986 (6-14 years in the most backward states) to 20% in 1996. More and more parents who cannot strictly afford this (economically and otherwise) are willing to give education a chance.
I know the common agument is to cite the conditions under which teachers work, and their low salary and therefore motivation levels. However, this report also says : Salaries do not make any significant difference to truancy. Better infrastructure improves teacher attendance a little. The problem is much deeper - merely improving salary levels will not make a difference.
Is it that fundamentally, teachers themselves do not believe in the importance or power of education? Teaching therefore remains just another job - clerical and mechanical in nature. Scary thought that.
What can be done to combat this apathy / inertia - to motivate teachers - who in turn can persuade parents to send and keep their children in school?
charukesi December 3rd, 2004
This title touched a chord as soon as I read it…. What To Do When The Blogger’s Block Hit You. Some sound advice on what I am sure most bloggers suffer from time to time - blogger’s block - keep your blog going even during low motivation times - keeping it short and simple is one of them: a link, your comment about it and you’re done..
More on blogger’s block here…
charukesi December 2nd, 2004
Reuters reports that the word ‘blog’ tops tops U.S. dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster’s list of the 10 words of the year. (Link through Poynter e-media tidbits)
Describing ‘blog’ as a four-letter term that came to symbolize the difference between old and new media during this year’s presidential campaign, the report goes on to state that it was one of the most looked-up words on the MW dictionary websites.
Sure enough, ‘blog’ will be the one word that differentiates the new media from the old, the informed and the willing to learn and share, from those not.
