Voice of dissent can never be tolerated in a democracy

Voice of dissent can never be tolerated in a democracy. Confused? Believe it or not, this is the reality in India. You cannot talk to Medha Patkar and then live in Gujarat because she has fought for some ‘unwanted tribal’ depriving the enterprising people of Gujarat the most precious water from Narmada. You cannot voice your opinion against the large scale industrial loot in the name of economical growth because it will deter foreign investors from coming to India. 

You should be as superman to read any piece by Arundhati Roy because she is a right wing labeled left wing terrorist. You cannot enjoy M F Hussain art because his drawing had hurt somebody somewhere and no one remembers who these people are. You cannot say anything against the religious tourism subsidy being doled out for no reasons to a particular community because it will have major repercussions including cold blooded murder. You cannot object to the actions of a particular chief minister of a state for his role in a sectarian violence because a decade has passed and it is time to forget and forgive and also because he is the darling of masses and a prime ministerial candidate. 


There are other exceptions too. You cannot offer a rose to your lover because a particular Sene has objection. You have to put the local language on your shop because a particular party doesn’t understand Hindi or likes Hindi speaking people. Anti-Hindi south Indian parties indulge in similar but more dramatic activities down south. January 1 is not your new year because there are parties around the globe. Inter religious relation and dialogues have become the biggest taboo. Dating and courting is out question and same sex relations cant even be a thought process.


The biggest of all these is the Kashmir issue. Because it is not debated well, no one knows what the issue is especially the youths. What they know is a piece of land under Indian occupation which is being snatched forcibly by Pakistan. Beyond this even those who hit Prashant Bhushan may not know.


In the process of curtailing freedom of expression, we have curtailed the knowledge acquisition process of an entire generation. No youths want to know or debate any controversial issue because it will label them as right wing or left wing or pseudo secular or a terrorist. Universities and colleges have stopped open debates because it could turn into ugly war. Friends from different religion and caste is a thing of past. Many Hindu youths studying in posh schools have never met a Muslim in their entire life and vice versa with Muslim students.


Where is this leading us to? Make no mistake, we are going to face anarchy – in true Rajnikant style.


And still we castigate our doubts over Saudi Arabia, Iran and other so called conservative countries? At least they accept what they are doing. We don’t.

Your Ramlila Maidan is right in front of you

Dear Members
A deluge of complaints – mostly related to tyre deflation and parking. It seems we are yet to shed ourselves from Parkingson Disease.

There is no way a society/community living can function if its members are unruly. From what is learnt from all these mails are that most of the culprits are tenants. The two kids who goes around puncturing the tyres and switching off the main switches and breaking the lift fire glass are two friends many of you have seen. One is a tenant’s son and the other is an owner’s son. They can be seen with cycles on the pathways during the day and after dark, their main job is to do something innovative. And each one of us becomes the victims of their innovation.

There are members who still have one parking but brings in two to three cars with the pride of having achieved something. They feel they have won a battle against those who have legitimately paid for the parking. And mind you most of them were seen with candles in their hand or arguing in favour of Anna Hazare. Unless you remove the corruption within yourself (corruption may not be necessarily in the form of finance. It can be a corrupt mind) there is no way you can have a decent place to live.

Cars are still seen parked in the play area between B4 and B5 and no members dare to stop this. Members bring innumerable guest vehicle inside with great immunity and park in other’s parking with such shamelessness that even the most hard skinned people will be put to shame. We still have host of people who are refusing to put stickers or fondling with them. Our maids and car washers continue to rule us because the members are yet to brief them on the discipline they should follow. Most of the members take their kids bicycles to their entrance and still keep the trash outside despite knowing how untidy and embarrassing it can be for their neighbours.

And everyone looks to LAAC for help. LAAC is not Anna Hazare that it can sit on a fast and then get the members to do whatever it wants. One of the members is demanding to meet the Secretary of the society without knowing we have not yet formed the society. LAAC consists of each and everyone of you. You are the agents of change. No one in this world can force you to be disciplined. You inherit it from your ancestors. Your actions and words speak volumes of your background, family tradition and approach.

Please be the change. Your Ramlila Maidan is right in front of you. Charity begins at home.

Campus Updates March 2011

Hello Folks
Here are the Campus Updates

La Habitat College of Engineering: Yes, La Habitat in the morning hours looks like a College with a swarm of boys and girls living unauthorizedly despite strong opposition from members and legal notices from the Facility side. They are harmless but it is our endeavor not to make the place a student’s paradise. Neighbours of these students may please pass on the message to these students to find alternative accommodation as soon as possible before members meet to force them out. A police complaint was made, it is now known, and a police team had come for enquiry. If pursued further, they can be evicted forcibly under legal framework. Facility Team should identify brokers who roam around the premises with prospective clients and tell them not so bring such proposals in future. This will avoid unnecessary embarrassment to the owners who rent out to students.

Dhobi Ghat : Second floor garden facing flat of A2 is worth watching. If you can spot this balcony without deluge of wires hanging around with clothes scattered, you can win a trip to Hong Kong. There are so many balconies becoming replica of this at La Habitat. Kindly buy a clothes drying stand which looks better than wires tied around the balconies.

Otla Wash : If people believe they will become clean by cleaning up their balcony daily, they are mistaken. It only makes the common road wet and wastes a lot of water. So do it only once in 3 to 4 months. Instead use wet cloths to clean it.

Wet, Wet and Wetter: The domestic helps who comes to your house to wash your clothes are uneducated. They have no knowledge water conversation. However, you are in La Habitat because you are much bigger in status and academic sphere. But it is generally seen that these domestic helps are given free hand to put wet clothes on the kitchen side balcony in such a way that the water drips down to the dried clothes put below or on the passers by. For Gods sake, be different. Please ask them to squeeze water out of the clothes before putting it to dry.

Summer : Summer is here and many of you may have already given order for new ACs. Ensure you fit it in the space provided and water outlets to the pipe allocated for it. This will help maintain the shape of La Habitat that we are.

Fibre Broadband : BSNL is in. They have installed Fibre Last Mile Connectivity at La Habitat. In another week, the services will begin. Those who are interested, may apply. Ideally go for Rs 499 plan where you get 2 MB Bandwidth and 8 GB usage. This is enough. Reliance, which has installed it services, has gone back on its promise to give back the installation charges in 5 equal installments. This deduction, if not reflected in your bill, you should be contacting them to avail this. And do not expect something called service from Reliance. They are not known for it.

Vacation : The kids are now enjoying their vacation. Kindly make them aware not to uproot the plants. It is observed that parents stand as mute spectators as children use garden for cycling and other activities, which can harm the greenery. Also cricket is a common sport now played in the garden. Ensure that the glasses at balcony and windows are not broken by their long shots. Victims of such damages have all the right to get hold of the culprits and seek damages from the parents of these children. If you are such a parent to whom a complainant approaches, it is wise to settle with replacement of glass than a big quarell.

Sunday Parking: During holidays, a lot of guests arrive at La Habitat. Athithi Devo Bhav  is what we should say when they come. But don’t let their vehicles get in. When they call you for directions, first thing you should ensure is to tell them to park their vehicles outside. They are innocents who don’t know that they are not allowed to bring their vehicles inside. It is for members to make them aware. In the recent times there have been many problems of Guest parking inside. Imagine your guests picking up a quarrel with a member on whose parking they have parked their vehicles unknowingly. When then come, show them the garden and bring them along the greenery. You are certain to get appreciation from them. Also don’t let them inside the Club House, which is built exclusively for members. If you accompany them, there should be no issue subject to the fact they don’t have preference over waiting members.

Problem of Doodhwala

Dear Members
It is noticed that we are slowly and steadily becoming slaves of those people from whom we are supposed get services that can make our life easy.

The mother of all problems begins in the morning itself. The doodhwala is perennially late.

Though the Amul vehicle delivers milk at 3.45 AM, the two VIP's reaches LH gate at 8 AM and doesn't finish delivery even when people begin to make their way to office.

To bring competition in service, LAAC tried to introduce some more guys into the apartment but these two people threatened them with dire consequences if they enter LH premises. They claim they have paid Rs 25000 to get entry into La Habitat. They are not revealing to whom they have paid this amount year back.

And this morning it was noticed that milk pouches that dogs dragged with their feet and teeth were kept back and delivered. Some of you may have got this particular pouch and this type of behavior is unacceptable.

Many of you may not know that these two guys are employees of Pacifica Office located at Satellite Road. Though we don't have the latest update, they used to be the Office Boys of Pacifica office and we believe they still are.

Sanjil, how can you tolerate these two guys at the office when none of the members have the patience to tolerate them just for five minutes?

The other problems are of Dhobis, domestic servants, car wash agents, newspaper boy which we can come to at a later stage.

The best part to solve this problem is to create a Co-operative run by members to deliver milk and other convenient items. Amul is willing to part with a deep freezer free of charge and any one would be ready to work with the salary out of the profit that gets generated from distributing milk.

Question is who will bell the cat? If you have any other ideas, please share. Please don't share the experience with the doodhwala as every one knows it is not pleasant.

Republic Day Update

As usual, we celebrated our Republic Day at La Habitat with the same enthusiasm that our forefathers did 61 years ago. You can see the pictures here

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41395&id=131164236917922&l=ad806e28ae

You will notice the thin attendance to unfurl our national flag on this important day. It is a grim reminder how we don't have the time even to come out of our home for just 10 minutes and salute the flag - just two times a year. But we have enough of ammunition to criticise everything around us. Charity always begins at home.

Freedom is free for us and hence all these philosophical talk will only have nuisance value. The 30 minute program was followed by a Pool Tournament where we had 12 participants.

The tournament, which started at 9.30 went unto 5.30 without a lunch break. The first winner of La Habitat Pool Tournament is Avinash Purswani and the second runner up is Amit Purswani. Both were given cash awards as first and second prizes. You can see the winners in these pictures.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41398&l=f8a5123bae&id=131164236917922

How India progressed in 2010

Some developments last year. Shared by Rupesh Shah.

January
* Jyoti basu dies at 11.47 a.m., yet again almost making it to P.M.
* UPSC increases civil services intake from 580 to 965. Ouch. 385 more bureaucrats each year. A real Babulation Explosion.
* Kerala gets 3G services. Now they can call themselves "GGGod's own country".
February
* Kishenji announces his phone number: 9734695789. Now we don't need the army to fight him. ICICI will finish him off with new offers/schemes.
* Lok Sabha meets. Noise. Confusion. Lok Sabha adjourns. It's time we rename our parliament - the Joke Sabha.
March
* What's common to Iceland & Abhishek? Both are wondering what to do with ash.
* Sania Mirza announces that she's going to marry Shoaib Malik. Thank God, Sania doesn't have to do 7 pheras with Shoaib. She'll never get past the first round. Anagram of "Sania has a Malik" - "Asli aman ki asha".
April
* ND Tiwari may have to take DNA test. Ha. So far for him, a double-helix was just an interesting position in bed.
* Sachin Tendulkar's birthday today? Let's celebrate it as runmashtami. The good thing is that Sachin has turned 37. Which means, for the next 365 days,he will be in his prime.
* IPL-3 happens with much glitz, glamour & goris. Definite Punjab victory over Mumbai today. Mumbai may have the X-factor in Sachin. But Yuvi gives Punjab the XXL-factor.
* Matthew Hayden to change his name to Matthew_Hayden. After all he is a chronic under-scorer.
* If Vijay Mallya had his way, after the quarter-finals, IPL would have the half-finals & full-final.
* And the post-IPL party starts. Unfortunately, all the recent happenings only go to prove that an honest politician is the exception rather than Tharoor.
* If an aquarium can have water and a planetarium, planets, why can't a consortium have a consort?
* Lalit Modi possessed drugs as a teenager. What?! No way we'll let him run a cricket tournament. Let him go stand for parliament instead.
* BJP, RJD & BSP want JPC probe into IPL so that NCP will get caught & UPA will be in trouble.
May
* If India were a gym, Delhi would be the sauna, Chennai, the steam-room & Bangalore, the a/c reception. Mumbai will be the pool in 2 months.
* The IPL saga continues.
* I've heard of "suspension of disbelief", but LKModi's behavior suggests that he's experiencing "disbelief of suspension". LKM gets threats from the underworld. Looks like organized crime doesn't like competition.
* Kasab gets sentenced Like all sentences, Kasab's too ends in a full stop.
* If he's sentenced to death, Kasab will be 51st in the queue. "Capital" punishment just means your file is stuck in Delhi.
* Subhash Ghai was ahead of his times. He introduced 4G in 1989. A-G, oh-G, lo-G suno-G.
June
* FIFA World Cup provides a lot of kicks
* Hope Greece is not given a penalty. They'll say they have no money to pay it. I don't think Mexico will make any attempt at the Argentinian goal. A Mexican can't take a shot without salt and lemon. I think Italy should be allowed to have an extra player on the field. After all, Azzurri usually comprises 12 people.
* The feeling of having heard a damn irritating noise before - Deja Vu-vuzela
* On the offside, first there is God, then there is Ganguly. And then sometimes Argentina.
* If India had qualified for the World Cup, Chetan Bhagat would have been goalie & Mamata the forward. He can block, she can strike.
* Germany, Uruguay, Netherlands & Spain. So the big G.U.N.S. have made it to the semis.
* TN may free 500 convicts to mark Tamil conference. Why, may i know? Did classical Tamil have shorter sentences?
* Ahmedabad to celebrate World Blood Donation day. Hopefully, this time around, they'll keep it voluntary.
* Karunanidhi turns 87 today. He will henceforth be called Dravida Munnetra Kezhavan.
July
* Bopanna & Qureshi to play tennis match with Wagah border as the net. Thereby showing that there are faults on both sides.
* Petrol price increased again. An optimist will now look at his tank as half fuel.
* Just realized that M.S. Dhoni's wife will be called Ms. Dhoni.
* CWG fun begins
* Now i understand why the CWG mascot is called Shera. They want a Shera this, a Shera that, and a Shera everything that makes money.
* New HR rating scheme- 5: Exceeds Expectations, 4: Meets Expectations, 3: Average, 2: Needs Improvement, 1: Kalmadi.
* Suresh Kalmadi plans to give us the Common & the Games. The rest, he'll keep.
* The latest form of humour : Stand-up Kalmadi.
* So Amit Shah is behind the Sohrabuddin fake encounter uh? Makes sense. His name is, after all, an anagram of "a sham hit".
* If Sherlyn Chopra met Rakhi Sawant, would the CBI call it a fake encounter?
August
* Manmohan becomes third PM to hoist flag at Red Fort for 7th time. Sigh. So many hoisters, so few pearls.
* If life gives you lemons, be very happy. They're now Rs.100 per kg.
* I'd like to start a paper factory that supplies clean chits to the CBI. Big business potential.
* Congress to have elections to decide its President. Ha. That's like Robinson Crusoe conducting interviews to select his assistant.
* It's a great day for our planet. All the top places in Miss Universe are bagged by earthlings.
* Spot-fixing controversy hits Pakistan cricket Pakistan is the world champion in book cricket.
* There's actually a website that does nothing but spot-fixing. It's called Foursquare.
* I'm looking forward to Arnab on spot-fixing tonight. I bet that he'll interrupt his first guest on the third word of his second sentence.

September
* CWG action continues. Finally some positive news about the CWG - 5 athletes test positive for dope.
* 1.6 million meals to be served during CWG. Oh. No wonder they have created such a big mess.
* Delhi gets hit by Dengue.
* What Delhi needs is some Ram Sene folks. They won't let the mosquitoes breed till they get married.
* I propose that we make mosquitoes our national insect. Then the government will try to protect them and they'll become extinct.
* Kasab case drags on. Sentenced terrorists have a good time in India - They are footloose and phaansi free.
* UID launched. The first person gets an aadhar number. The second gets anaadhar number. And so on.
* I guess, in Jalandhar, people will soon be bidding lakhs of rupees for a premium UID number.
* Ayodhya verdict happens. Seems to be on the basis of Share-ya law. This Ayodhya issue is quite complex. Hindus want a temple, Muslims want a mosque, while Mayawati actually wants her statue.
* Off to Google Maps to mark Nungambakkam as Rameshjanmabhoomi so that there's no confusion in 5510AD.
* Raymonds wants to sponsor the Ayodhya verdict, because it turned out to be a 3-piece suit.

October
* Obama's goal seems to be to see as much of India and as little of Indians as possible.
* In TN, a million more TV sets will be distributed. Our whole country seems to be in an alms race.
* Advice to Arundhati Roy : if at first you don't secede, cry, cry, cry again.
* Mukesh Ambani is not the first to stay in Antilla. Centuries back, Valmiki used to hang out in one.

November
* Today is the day Krishna slays Narakusara, Rama returns to Ayodhya, Mahavira attains moksha, and Airtel makes a killing. Happy Diwali. The more the number of Diwali sweets in your house, the faster they get spoilt : burfi's law.
* Raja scam explodes
* A Raja is living proof that there is a pot of gold at the end of the spectrum. In India, scams have an alarming frequency. And now, with Raja, frequencies have an alarming scam.
* Dear Manmohan Singh, it would be apt if you could sack our telecom minister using radio language :
* Raja. Over and out.
* Manmohan Singh continues to do nothing about anything
* Manmohan Singh's First Law of Motion : Everybody stays in a state of rest unless acted upon by Soniaji.
* Manmohan Singh's Third Law of Motion : Every action has an equal and opposite inaction.
* One day there will be a movie made about Manmohan Singh. And the director will go, "Lights. Camera. Inaction."
* Manmohan Singh's personal integrity is unquestionable. Mostly because he never attends question hour.
* Yeddy allots land to his children
* My name is Yeddy. I'm a great father, a cool deddy. Politics has been bleddy, but be happy i am steddy. Cos else you'll be stuck with Reddy.
* The nation finds out that Radia : Government :: Sonia : Manmohan
* Q : How do you fit 1000 media people in a hotel?
* A : 998 in 499 double rooms. And Barkha & Sanghvi in the lobby.
* Why does phone-tapping make India a banana republic?
* Isn't tapioca republic better?
December
* Wikileaks threatens national security, or rather politicians' security What with wikileaks & payback, the governments of the world will now unite to face their common enemy - the public.
* TIME had a difficult choice for Person of the Year. Assange, who attacked governments' privacy. Or Zuckerberg, who went after people's.
* Sarkozy is a VIP Frenchie, right?
* To protect against hacking, DRDO instructs all government officials to change their password from sonia123.
* India has got an old, rich and glorious tradition in hacking. It started with Parashurama.
* MMS & team are busy blowing balloons for Sonia's birthday. They've told their staff that they're tackling inflation.
* Many bills were passed in the parliament session. Travel bills, food bills, etc.
* We should also screw China by issuing visas that are attached by mere gem-clips.
* Obama, Sarkozy, Jiabao & now Medvedev. If india can't get to the Security Council, at least the Security Council is coming to india.

Please be aware of Congo Fever. La Habitat could also be affected.

Dear La La Habitatants

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever or commonly called Congo Fever is putting its foot down in Gujarat with Ahmedabad as its central point. Please take some steps to avoid infection to this.

What are the symptoms?
The onset of CCHF is sudden, with initial signs and symptoms including headache, high fever, back pain, joint pain, stomach pain, and vomiting. Red eyes, a flushed face, a red throat, and red spots on the palate are common. Symptoms may also include jaundice, and in severe cases, changes in mood and sensory perception. As the illness progresses, large areas of severe bruising, severe nosebleeds, and uncontrolled bleeding at injection sites can be seen. If you happen to see any one of these symptoms, just rush to the doctor and get quarantined. The virus spreads so fast that you will not even get time to recover.

THE MORTALITY RATE OF THIS FEVER RANGES FROM 9 PERCENT TO 50. THIS MEANS ONE AMONG TWO INFECTED PEOPLE CAN DIE.

Non-Veg lovers may please stop having it for some time. Please stop IMMEDIATELY savoring birds in the premises. Here is why you should do it

Transmission to humans occurs through contact with infected animal blood or ticks (khatmal in Hindi). CCHF can be transmitted from one infected human to another by contact with infectious blood or body fluids. Documented spread of CCHF has also occurred in hospitals due to improper sterilization of medical equipment, reuse of injection needles, and contamination of medical supplies.

THIS MEANS THE KABOOTAR (PIGEONS) THAT YOU OFTEN SEE AT YOUR VERANDAHS COULD BE POTENTIAL CARRIERS. For God's sake stop feeding them.

Animal herders, livestock workers, and slaughter houses in endemic areas are at risk of CCHF. Though it is not proven whether non-veg eaters can get infected, it is better to be safe than sorry.


LET'S KEEP AWAY ANIMALS, BIRDS AND FILTH FROM LA HABITAT. LET'S PLEDGE TO BE SAFE.

La Habitat Cup: Pool Tournament 2011

Hello Folks
At La Habitat we have been doing what no other dwelling have ever thought of. Here is yet another move. We plan to hold a Pool Tournament on 26th January 2011 at the Club House. This will be held immediately after the Flag Hoisting Ceremony on the Republic Day.

To be eligible, you just need to be a La Habitat Member or a Tenant. Kith, kin, cousins, in-laws, friends, guests etc are not allowed unless they reside with the member on a permanent basis. (a request not to send your guests to the Club House to play since the members have paid for the facility and it is to be used exclusively by them only. At times it is seen the members stand helpless while unknown faces enjoy the facility)

The tournament will be on a Group-Team basis. Two members form a team. Depending upon nominations, teams will be divided into two groups. These team will play within their group for elimination round and then the last two teams will reach final stages for the clash.

The participation fee is Rs. 100 for each member. Money collected will be given away as the prize money to the winning team. From Tomorrow morning, enrolling starts. Participants have to be 15 years and above and should be having pool experience to be eligible. Please enroll your team (two members) and not individuals. While enrolling, pay the money to the security guard who will register your name. Registrations without enrollment Fee will not be accepted.

More details will follow