One more revolution

 

 

 

Ariyamo ?

You know its bad

 

You know its bad, when even Tamil Rockers puts up links for flood relief on its page.

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe a little background, for context:  Kerala police has been trying to arrest the people behind that site , as they distribute torrent links to pirated movies. Arrests were made even this year.

 

Onam

 

Happy Onam to all you Mallus of the world ! Every year Onam falls in the month of Chingam which is the first month of the solar calendar, according to the Malayalam calendar. And it is a complete 10 days celebration that consists of several rituals starting from floral rangoli, boat races, a grand feast and the traditional attire that makes the festival a day of happiness and merrymaking for everyone around.

 

We celebrated our first Onam here in Australia. Thanks to an already vibrant Keralite community, it was relatively easy to procure all the ingredients for our little grand Ona-sadya (feast) right here in Melbourne. I recall it was comparitively difficult just to get everything in Bangalore.

The state of Kerala, however, had a much more muted celebration. Following in the aftermath of the uncprecendeted rains and floods till last week, the state is still in the middle of a massive rebuilding and rehabilitation programme.  The political slugfest concerning the ‘promised’ foreign funds continue, and petty politics has already tarnished the image of the state and the country as a whole. In short, Kerala is so desperate for funds that it is seeking it directly from other countries, having ruled out the option of tapping its own resources. One of the ways the state government is looking to raise funds is by increasing tax on alcohol. As always, the state is also relying on its reliable army of non-resident Indians to send home remittances and donations for the cause. The irony of the ‘most’ developed state of India is having to figuratively beg for money is not lost.

 

 

But on the other side , the state is now celebrating stories of heroism, bravery and resilience. There was a massive social movement among the masses to not only survive the floods, but to successfully overcome it. The new super heroes without capes are the fishermen, and IAS officers, who went beyond their line of duty to do the right thing. It should be notes, there were no mentions of heroic politicians , just common men doing whatever they could.

And that is the only way to rebuild a nationn.

 

 

PS: Read how M K Gandhi ralied the nation in 1924 to help after the Malabar floods of that year.

Australia has now had seven prime ministers in just 10 years

 

Australia has now had seven prime ministers in just 10 years -- here's who they are and how long they were in office

By Sarah Kimmorley|Aug. 24th, 2018

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Scott Morrison has just been named as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia.

It comes after a leadership spill was called on Friday and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull resigned from parliament.

The Liberal Party voted on three candidates — Morrison, backbencher (and former Home Affairs minister) Peter Dutton, and Deputy Leader Julie Bishop.

Here’s a look at the seven prime minister Australia has had over the last 10 years.

Scott Morrison

August 24, 2018 — current.

Malcolm Turnbull: 3 years

September 15, 2015 — August 24, 2018.

Tony Abbott: 2 years

September 18, 2013 — September 15, 2015.

Kevin Rudd: 2.5 months

June 27, 2013 — September 18, 2013.

Julia Gillard: 3 years

June 24, 2010 — June 27, 2013.

Kevin Rudd: 2.5 years

December 3, 2007 — June 24, 2010.

John Howard: 12 years

March 11, 1996 — December 3, 2007.

John Howard is the second longest serving prime minister of Australia after Robert Menzies.

75 days

 

 

75 days. Of misery. Of patience. Of hope. Thats how long I had to wait. Its one of those rare times when I had all the time in the world, but nothing to do.

In the end, it feels sweet. All that hard work was worth it.

When I initially arrived in this new country, I was damn sure I would land a job right away. Surely, I had everything they wanted. Few people out there could boast of my skill and experience.

Or so I thought.

I had to wait 75 days. In order to land my first job.

Later I heard stories of people waiting more than 3 months just to land their first gig. Ouch.

There are accounts of people taking up low paying unskilled jobs just to get some income. Desperate measures.

I guess I was more fortunate.

So now, its back to the 12 hour overtime-without-overtime-pay schedule for me.

Things have a funny way of working out.