SUMMER DELIGHTS - FLOWERS

SUMMER IS HERE WITH ALL ITS BEAUTY AND CHARM. NO DOUBT IT GETS VERY WARM SOMETIMES BUT THERE IS BEAUTY LYING ALL AROUND. HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS OF FLOWERS TAKEN BY ME DURING MY USUAL WALKS FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE.ENJOY.

A THOUGHT PROVOKING COMMENT BY JI

This is a thought provoking comment written by JI from REFLECTING BY THE SHORE in my previous post FLAWS IN DEMOCRACY - PART TWO. I am sure you have your own thoughts on the subject which I hope you will willingly share with me. JI is a wonderful writer from UK and I am sure you will be interested in becoming his friend. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT HIM.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

If you think democracy is flawed in India then the same is probably true elsewhere. In the UK, what we are increasingly seeing is an elective dictatorship. The big decisions are actually made by a small group of people including the prime minister, his closest aides and some top civil servants. There is in fact very little democracy at the heart of government. These people are more influenced by economic and geostrategic considerations than actually trying to make the lives of their citizens better. That's why, for example, everything is being privatised including the roads. The gap between the rich and poor is getting wider and wider by the day. It's actually laughable when Western politicians say they are intervening in other countries because they want to bring democracy there. Democracy is simply a fig leaf for regime change. Western politicians actually fear democracy - real democracy. That's why they have engineered so many coups in various countries in the past. Real democracy works for the interests of the people, not for big multinational companies. I still think democracy is "the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." It has to work for the people, rather than for corrupt and unaccountable elites.

FLAWS IN DEMOCRACY - PART TWO

Here is the ruling political party which has failed to keep many of its election promises holding a road side meeting to tell the public that the Mullaperiar dam is going to burst destroying large  areas of property and killing thousands of people. They instigated many agitations all over the state through their party workers creating a fear psychosis among the public at large. Finally, the supreme court had to intervene and appoint an expert committee to study the safety of the dam. The committee after a detailed study reported that the dam is very safe and it will not burst under any circumstances. Slowly the agitations died down. In democracy most often political parties divert peoples attention by diverting their attention to irrelevant things and create panic so that they can cover up the failures.

People are throwing their house hold waste on the road side because the municipality is not providing facilities for collection from houses and making arrangements to dispose them. These birds which are normally seen on the waterfront find it easier to find their food here without much effort. Neither the public nor the municipality is held responsible for the proper disposal of waster. The court has ordered that any one found disposing their waste will be punished by a fine and imprisonment. But who bothers in democracy. At the time of municipal elections those contesting elections come to each house and promise that they will do many good things but once they are elected they become municipal members and chairman and the people who voted for them will become public. In democracy elected members are not accountable for not keeping their election promises.

This is a mobile book stall operated by a government department to increase the sales of books and reading habits of people. Many such buses are operating in Kerala. The only problem is that no one visits this book stall and buys books. This is a pet project of a minister who has ventured to spend huge amount of tax payers money. Neither he nor the department is responsible for wasting public money. Democracy allows minters and government departments to spend large amount of tax payers money in useless projects and they are not at all responsible.

DANCE IN A TEMPLE FESTIVAL

THERE WAS A FIVE DAY FESTIVAL IN A NEARBY TEMPLE AND ONE DAY THERE WAS A DANCE PROGRAM. I WATCHED A FEW DANCES. YOUNG GIRLS PERFORMED BHARATHA NATYAM,MOHINI ATTAM, GUJARTHI DANCE, DANDYA DANCE,GYPSY DANCE AND CENEMATIC DANCES. THEY ELECTRIFIED THE AUDIENCE WITH COLOR,SKILL,STYLE AND ENERGY. HERE ARE SOME SNAP SHOTS FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE.

FLAWS IN DEMOCRACY

Here is a little girl earning her livelihood. She has no time to play or get an education.Her life has become miserable and monotonous at this young age. It is said democracy is OF THE PEOPLE,BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE. I find it difficult to agree to the third point because democracy is definitely not for the poor people.The the gap between the rich and poor is increasing year after year in democracies. No one is bothered.

Here is a political party vandalizing a freshly painted wall although there is a notice in malayalam language clearly prohibiting the sticking of posters. In democracy the political parties are unrestrained. They can get away with anything including murder.

There are similar warnings all over Kochi. Yet people smoke in public.The authorities are satisfied with put up notices without enforcing the law.Irresponsible people can be found smoking in public places without any worry

You can see there on the wall it is clearly written DO NOT SPIT HERE. Yet people who chew beetle nut,tobacco and other things spit on the wall. You can the see the red marks on the left side bottom of the wall. It is clear that democracy gives unlimited freedom without any responsibility. No one punishes these people who spit on the wall. (Will be continued)

WHAT I SAW WHILE I WAS WALKING ON THE MARINE DRIVE WALKWAY.

ONE EVENING I WAS WALKING ON THE MARINE DRIVE WALK WAY AND THESE ARE SOME SCENES WHICH CAPTIVATED MY ATTENTION. HERE ARE THE PHOTOS FOR YOU TO ENJOY.

A LONELY FISHERMAN HARD AT WORK.

A SWIRL IN THE BACK WATER.

DANCING SHADOWS.

A NUN ESCORTING CHILDREN.

TOURISTS GETTING INTO A BOAT FOR SIGHTSEEING.

A LOVELY SUNSET.

RENDEZVOUS WITH A BLOGGER FRIEND

I have been blogging for many years now and have made many friends. Although I have not met them personally, I have learnt many things about them and their families through their writing and photos. Recently when Mr.P.N.Subramanian rang me up and told me that he is in Kochi and would like to meet me I was thrilled. So we arranged to meet at Hotel Prashant at Tripunithura.

We met at around four o clock in the evening at the hotel and shared information about each other and our experiences for almost two hours over a cup of tea and snacks. I was delighted that finally I could meet a blogger friend. We have been visiting each others blogs for many years and established a very warm relationship.

Mr. Subramanian has settled down in Bhopal although his mother and brother are living is Kerala. He studied in Madhya Pradesh and worked with State Bank of India mostly in Madhya Pradesh. His wife passed away recently and his son is staying with him. He has a married daughter also. He is interested in archeology,history,travel and numismatics. He is a very friendly person and very easy to get along with. Please visit his blog MALAR by CLICKING HERE.


Bhopal is a place where I worked for four long years. I was there when the MIC gas from Union Carbide leaked and killed many people. Many children were born deformed because expectant mothers inhaled the gas. Many others are still suffering from the after effects of the gas. Many illiterate gas victims were cheated by government officials by paying paltry amounts as compensation although they were made to sign on blank paper for much higher amounts. It was a night mare for me and my family when the gas leaked. Fortunately we escaped the gas by being one of the early people to flee the place. I will recount our horrible experience in one of my future posts.

Here are some photos taken in Bhopal when I was working there.