I, too, am one of the many million who use social media for the purpose of connecting with people, reading news, listening to music and keeping abreast of what’s going on around the world.
I use it more for the purpose of knowing facts and fakes.
Social media provide me with both sides of a story. Sometimes multiple sides, perhaps. Much like how astronauts see the beauty of the Earth from the sky too far away, located in geostationary orbit.
Polling in India is a huge exercise. This time the poll will be conducted in 7 phases spanning over six weeks. It will conclude on 1st of June.
There are 2600 parties vying for 544 seats in Parliament. The present incumbent NDA, with the BJP as the main ruling party, is aiming to clinch a win for the third time in a row.
And the opposition INDI Alliance have formed a greater and stronger coalition, promising to spring a surprise.
Voting machines have already reached the length and the breadth of the nation. India boasts the world’s highest polling booth at 4650 metres, up in the Himalayas.
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
The year was 2004. I was new to London.
I had just been there for work. My office was located on Marsh Wall Road and Canary Wharf, the famous financial district, was just 10 minutes’ walk away.
At the close of office hours, I used to take a stroll to see the place around Docklands.
The Canary Wharf is home to many tall buildings, including the UK’s second tallest, One Canada Square.
Canary Wharf was a scenic beauty with a footbridge hung by wires and barely touching the waters, a huge shopping mall, seagulls flying so close to the waters in the Thames, the toy-train DLR (Dockland Light Railway) transporting commuters and visitors (in a solemn silence), the green parks & benches, punishing wind passing through skyscrapers, cycling lane and clean roads all around. It was simply a treat to watch.
I had a DSLR camera. The weekends in that part of the world are normally quieter. As one who had just landed in London, I wished to click some pictures and wanted to send them home to India.
I was snapping away all that came within my eyesight.
I had just stopped when I saw a group of kids getting ready for a face-painting competition.
I watched them gather in groups and some sitting on tall stools. The make-up artists were busy drawing cartoon characters on their faces. I guessed an event was being organized. I didn’t want to miss one.
I started clicking. Shots of the venue, the audience, kids running, laughing and joking. I took the camera very close to the kids’ faces and clicked. The cartoon faces just began to fill my camera.
No sooner had I finished doing a great photographer’s job for the week than I was stopped by the long arm of an adult. Someone tapped on my shoulder.
“Sir, can I have a minute?”
“Yes, sure” I said. I was a bit worried.
The man said he was the father of one of the kids participating in the competition. And he wanted to know who I was and what business I had there.
I started sweating. Did I do anything wrong?
I explained who I was, the reason I had been in the Docklands and told him photography was my passion.
The man who was a complete stranger warned me that I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of kids unless I carried an ID or authorized by the organizers of the event.
Secondly, he said it was a crime to take pictures of kids without permission from parents or the kids’ guardian. I was gobsmacked!
He told me to show him those snaps. I quickly obliged, pressed the cam on and showed him the whole sequence of my evening at Canary Wharf.
He asked me to delete each one of the kids’ photos. The other parents soon gathered. They made sure I deleted all the kids’ pictures.
I apologized and left home. It dawned on me how ignorant I was.
That was surely a positive lesson to learn in life.
Most teachers in India advise students to attend private tutoring classes. Some take those classes themselves and collect money privately from students.
Those who opt out are threatened with failure in important subjects of study.
So most of us were just pushed into this bullying trade when we were in school.
We were further told academic excellence could only be achieved if students attend private tutoring classes.
Marina Beach in Chennai is the world’s second-longest urban beach. It is located along the Bay of Bengal in Tamilnadu, India.
About 15000 to 20000 people visit the beach daily. It marks a prominent landmark in the south of India.
The beach is a star attraction during peak summer, especially in the months of April and May. A fun spot for family and children.
Children run around and splash in shallow water. Horsemen on the shore wait to take visitors around. On a ride and for a ride. They make quick money.
We often visit Marina for fun, as we live close by.
Balloon shooting is a good fun exercise.
The men who run the stall today are second generation shopkeepers. It’s a legacy that comes with a hundred balloons and three old well-oiled air rifle guns.
Many such stalls now form part of the landscape on the Marina.
Shooting balloons has become a popular fun exercise, especially after Gagan Narang of India won a bronze at the London Olympics in 2012.
Narang won the prize for the air-rifle event. His father said he saw the spark in his son first when he was just two. Narang, as we heard, ran around in Marina and burst balloons.
The stalls give you rifles ready and loaded. People just pay and shoot. Pay ₹200 (about $2 for a pack of 10 pellets) upfront and grab a gun. Keep firing, bang… bang!
You won’t get many shots right though. And the bonus is you get three free shots when you hit the balloon the shopkeeper points at.
There’s no stopping the fun exercise. It’s so addictive that people stay up late to break records.
But, all stories have got twists.
Some boys come real sharp. They come in a gang and start bursting balloons at the word ‘go’. They splash money.
The shopkeepers always see a profit. They make about ₹1000 ($10) a day. It’s a lot of money for them.
They would ask the boys to go Gung ho. And the boys make merry.
But the stalls have something up their sleeves, always. How to cut costs?
In the buzz of activities, the shopkeepers don’t load pellets when handing the rifle to people.
Boys won’t know they were just firing blank shots. The rifles go bang, bang, but the balloons just stay.
Isn’t that a lot of fun?
Reasons why balloon shooting in Marina must rank as the best fun exercise.
Come and join us. Let’s go give a shot at one of the stalls in Marina.
"சென்றிடுவீர் எட்டுத் திக்கும்" 