What do you really want from us?When we were the Sick Man of Asia,
We were called the Yellow Peril.
When we are billed as the next Superpower, we are called The Threat.
When we closed our doors, you launched the Opium War to open our markets.
When we embraced free trade, you blamed us for stealing your jobs.
When we were falling apart, you marched in your troops and demanded your fair share.
When we tried to put the broken pieces back together again, Free Tibet, you screamed. It was an Invasion!
When we tried communism, you hated us for being communist.
When we embraced capitalism, you hated us for being capitalist.
When we had a billion people, you said we were destroying the planet.
When we tried limiting our numbers, you said we abused human rights.
When we were poor, you thought we were dogs.
When we lend you cash, you blame us for your national debts.
When we build our industries, you call us polluters.
When we sell you goods, you blame us for global warming.
When we buy oil, you call it exploitation and genocide.
When you go to war for oil, you call it liberation.
When we were lost in chaos, you demanded the rule of law.
When we uphold law and order against violence, you call it a violation of human rights.
When we were silent, you said you wanted us to have free speech.
When we are silent no more, you say we are brainwashed xenophobes.
Why do you hate us so much? we asked.
No, you answered, we don't hate you.
We don't hate you either,
But do you understand us?
Of course we do, you said,
We have AFP, CNN and BBC. . . .
What do you really want from us?
Think hard first, then answer . . .
Because you only get so many chances.
Enough is Enough, Enough Hypocrisy for This One World.
We want One World, One Dream, and Peace on Earth.
This Big Blue Earth is Big Enough for all of Us.
Random Reflections....
A random collection of Reflections on my experience of life...
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Chinese Perspective
Friday, December 24, 2010
Surprise Gifts
Friday, January 30, 2009
Quark - The untold Journey...
Here is the article:
I remember when I first walked into this campus around 3 years ago. Of all things, the most unique attraction to the campus was that it was new and fresh, sending a message out to the world that we were here to chart out our own new journey. Although I have been a part of many student organizations, I have had the most singularly unique experience as a part of the Organizing Committee QUARK – 2008 and 2007.
Whenever a new campus develops, organizations and student bodies take time to establish. I remember the very first QUARK (At the time, it stood for “Questioning the Understanding, Aptitude and Reasoning of the Kindred”) which was inter-assoc. That was the first time that unity among assoc members was sought and a competitive atmosphere established. Soonafter, I participated at various competitions at Techfest – IITB, and thanks to our team, we won a few prizes. Being a first glimpse of a mammoth technical festival, it instantly became what I describe as an inspiration for QUARK 2007.
Preparations for QUARK 2007-‘be fundamental’ started off around 2 months before the scheduled event. Although it was a pleasant surprise that I was made one of the Chief Organizers of the festival (the other one being our former President, Hari
The inexperience in sponsorship, marketing and too little time made the festival very challenging to organize. Apart from going prematurely national, one of the major problems was that the event was a week after Waves, leaving only 7 days for the majority of the active students to work for Quark. Considering these hurdles and that we received a very low sponsorship amount of around 4 Lacs, we managed to pull out a festival and organize all the planned events, with around 180 outstation students. However the financial mismanagement and lack of transparency by the then CSA will leave a distasteful memory of their contribution.
Quark 07 was a great teacher and a unique experience. Through such an event, you get to know a lot of people, learn about handling situations and make new friends. I got to know a lot of wonderful people and seniors, who are now alumni of the BITS family. And of course, some of my batchmates without whom the event would have been impossible.
Early next semester, I found myself discussing the issues of Quark 2008 with Chaitanya. We recognized that establishing a structure was essential and successful delegation along with financial transparency was required. I remember when we had jointly coined the terms “Information Management” along with “Special Nights” Committee – “Aurora!” recognizing the importance of information flow and the glamour aspect of Quark. We decided that delegation of responsibilities along the committees of information management, finance, specials, competitive events and marketing would be necessary within the next Organizing Committee, to ensure that rather than “everybody doing everything” there was “somebody doing something”. It also reduced the friction between subcommittees since horizontal and vertical cohesion was established.
The next few months saw through meetings, meetings and more meetings; decisions, selection and rejection of events, resolving conflicts ranging from technical infeasibility to pure ego problems. We came up with a mixture of events ranging from crowd pullers(like trasholic), innovative attractions(like M^+ka and Ignoble), unique ideas(like contrive) to glamorous(ATT) and even experimental(
At Quark, we learnt to have fun while at work. From Sreesan’s “elephant jokes”, Nimit’s “dumbasses” to Chaitanya’s “Papad rule” (People, all perspectives are dumb!!) our meetings always had something new to look forward to. And of course, from Angad’s “six thinking hats” to “Mutt and Jeff” we tried out a lot of managerial tricks believed to be confined to folklore, sometimes just for fun, while sometimes, to surprisingly successful effect!
After the Pre-Quark workshops and the untiring efforts of the OC members, departments, sub committees, event managers, and volunteers the stage was set. Three unforgettable days of exciting technical competitions, innovative workshops, breathtaking performances, valiant efforts by participants and exhilarating revelry sum up Quark’08. Described as the fastest growing national festival and the biggest technical festival of Goa, Quark’08 became an international festival with participation from institutes like BITS, Pilani – Dubai Campus and
Apart from competitions, Quark’08 presented “
Quark ’08 has been innovative and unique in many ways. The Corporate Exhibition and SchoolBag have been one of the first steps to connect the campus not only to the industry but also reach out to the School Children who will be the future citizens. The BITS Research & Development Exhibition showcased the exciting academic work done by the departmental assocs. The entire schedule of events and information coordination was done through an online software system ‘Natasha’ developed especially for this purpose. The Structure of a dynamic Organizing Committee coordinating with the various departments and clubs provided flexibility and impetus for the Quark’08 team to reach higher in ways that a traditional rigid system could never provide.
Quark’08 has become one of the biggest tech-fests in India thanks to the sponsors for their support, the Organizing Committee members for the organization and conduct of the festival, various departments and clubs for their dedicated hard work, the participants from outside, the support of the BITS faculty and the alumni, and the colossal efforts of every BITSian.
Most importantly, I felt we succeeded in sending a message to the world that our journey has begun; and announcing our presence for times to come. However, preserving this notion would be an arduous task; especially in the face of personal vendetta, corruption and power which inevitably always occur at an expense of goodwill and trust. The student body must realize that protests, questions and general body meetings are a healthy notion and the basis of a working democracy. Justifying financial opaqueness on the cover of “greater good” is always perceived as a tool of corruption. And if there is anything that we have learnt from the short history of our campus, it is that “power corrupts”. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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