FranKophone

We have lost his ideals,Gandhi is dead today....

The nation witnessed the slow but sure death of democracy in Indian Parliament yesterday.Money flowed like turbulent water of floods inside the "Temple of Democracy".(I'm not saying water because its hard to get good water these days).It seems that Indian politics is the highest paying sector today-corporates are far behind.MPs are huge profit mongering giants-ready to gobble up ideals of those who lived and died for the nation.The pell-mell was worse than fish markets and I was ashamed to see it all.The opposition had brought in a no-confidence motion against the government on the nuclear deal issue.And the rest was shame!!!!! It seems public money has been taken for granted-after all,its all the tax payers money.The situation seems to be very disheartening-the honourable members of the Parliament must at least maintain the dignity and decorum of the House. I am quite sad to see that the nation is in hands of people who lack basic human values like cour...

"Hard work works" "A successful man does things exactly correct,a failure does them nearly correct" I have seen several such quotes hanging in the study rooms of several aspirants of Orissa JEE. This year there has been a great farce during the counselling of OJEE.First of all,the private medical colleges of Orissa were not allowed to admit students-the reason being they had not received an approval of Ministry of Health,New Delhi.The colleges are only a year old and need annual approvals to admit students.Then came another bolt from the blue. Private engineering colleges of the state refused to admit students from OJEE counselling.They wanted that the seats reserved for NRI candidates are reverted back to them in case they are not filled up by the category.The government was adamant on this issue. Both sides are now on a legal warfront.An interesting solution has been found to this problem-I am ignorant which side first conceived the idea.The counselling will conti...

It was August,1992.A family of Orissa were shifting homes to another city.They had to travel for two days on a bus from Angul to Koraput,a distance of nearly 800 kilometres.The couple had a 3 year old child and an infant girl undertaking this long and ardous journey.The roads were in such a state that the bus had to travel at 20 kmph for hours together. Rains made matters even worse.But to the 3 year old,all this was fun.She had never travelled for so long.She really liked the windy paths and steep gorges.The parents were happy that the child did not throw tantrums.She also referred a young man on the bus as "mamu" meaning mother's brother in Oriya. At a certain point,the bus came to a screeching halt.All passengers were informed that the connecting bridge to the other side of the fast-flowing stream had collapsed.They had two options-either to stay for a day or two in the nearest town of Rayagada or to cross the gushing stream to reach another bus,waiting on th...

DATE:14 JULY,2007 PLACE:DUBURI HILLS,NAYAGARH,ORISSA It was the blackest day for womanhood on earth.A sleepy town of the poorest state of India suddenly found itself in limelight.Several aborted female foetuses were found on the foothills of Duburi,a little away from the town of Nayagarh.On further probing,several such 'bodies' were found in a nearby dilapilated well.The police came into action only after mediapersons took extensive photographs of the 'strewn pieces of humanity'-all mangled and bitten.Most probably,all these 'corpses' were at the mercy of stray dogs.The most gory of sights and the most disturbing visuals. Little could one think that the most barbaric act against humanity was done by qualified surgeons-'the messiahs of humanity'.Soon, the government swung into action-dismissing several top health officials of the state,raiding all kinds of ultrasound clinics,nursing homes and the like.In short,the noble profession of medicine lost its ...

Jail reforms are in full swing in Orissa.Convicts are being trained to live for a purpose-the purpose of building a better soceity.Even some of them take board exams(mostly Xth) while in jail.Recently a prisoner scored more than 60% marks in Xth boards,no mean feat for someone who would be otherwise shunned from the soceity.Many are trained in arts and crafts by jail authorities and they spend rest of their lives with dignity-earning their own bread.These measures have gone a long way in removing stigma attached to criminals and their families. So far,so good. The world has seen how some fanatics torched down an Australian missionary,Graham Staines and his two sons in Keonjhar,Orissa about a decade back.The aftermath of this bloody massacre shook the very roots of religious harmony and secularity of India.It took around 10 years to put the culprits behind bars.The main accussed in the case is presently lodged in Keonjhar Jail,Orissa....

I am writing again after a gap of a month.I was on a holiday from blogging to introspect the state of affairs.Rains have set in making life hell in some parts of North Orissa.The famous Car Festival or 'Rathyatra' at Puri went berserk on 4th July.A stampede killed 6.A rag-picker was pushed out of a running train by a TTE for suppoosedly stealing Rs.50. He lost two of his limbs.Now let us ask ourselves,ARE WE HUMANE? Signing off, Yours Anwesa.