Justice...or is it?

The last of the sentences in the '91 Mumbai Bomb blast case are out, and with this the curtains are drawn on an investigation that has lasted for over 10 years.

Today's sentencing was the one probably most awaited. A sentence on which 100 crore Rs. were hanging in mid-air. And it did come, and it wasn't very good. Sanjay Dutt was pronounced to serve a term of 6 years in jail( read the story here). Most of the country, and the film industry is in deep shock. But the question in everyone's mind is, is this fair? Did Sanjay deserve this sentence, or is it too harsh?

Arms Act(1959) says, and I quote "Whoever has in his possession any arms or ammunition with intent to use the same for any unlawful purpose or to enable any other person to use the same for any unlawful purpose shall, whether such unlawful purpose has been carried into effect or not, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both." A glance at this law will tell you that the maximum term for an Arms Act violation is 7 years imprisonment. For a complete reading of the Arms Act, go here.

So from the law, the court has done its job correctly by awarding 6 yrs prison. But the question is, should good conduct have been considered for a lenient sentence? 6 years is a long time, and for a good actor like Sanju baba, his acting career might well be over till the time he is out of prison! At this point, just consider the offense. Possession of an AK-56 rifle, and then asking two people to destroy the rifle. AK-56, named as 56 after its year of production, has a magazine capacity of 30 bullets-each of which is a powerful 7.62mm calibre bullet that can be fired with a muzzle velocity of 735 m/s at a rate of ~600 rounds per minute (Data from wiki). In layman terms, a very powerful weapon, a killing machine that can unleash a wave of destruction. Why does a film star, knowing well that the weapon he has in his house is such a powerful tool of murder, agree to keep it? All we know is, he did. And that mistake is what lead to his conviction today.

What if it was someone else who had kept this weapon? Not Sanjay Dutt, but a common man, should he be sentenced the same? I bet that if it were a common man, the news wouldn't even have made it to the last page of the newspaper, forget the TV channels.

The law will take its course, Mr. Dutt will file an appeal in the Supreme Court, and he might get a reprieve from this sentence. But is this harsh? Has the judge tried to set an example?

If he did, he most certainly succeeded at it! May God give Sanjay the courage to stand through these tough times, and prove to the world that tough times never last, tough people do! Always.

God save the team!

India, as they say, is God's own country. And if "they" are to be believed, then the Indian cricket team is nothing short of God's own cricket team!! But it seems that though the Gods are good at other things in the universe, cricket is not a speciality. This is easily known by the sorry state of the Indian cricket team. So when India was about to lose another test match yesterday evening, cricket enthusiasts in the country were praying. Not for M.S Dhoni to stay, not for sreesanth to hold his nerves at the crease, but for the rain gods to intervene.

And intervene they did, stopping play just in time to rescue the team from losing another test match. This match will go down the records as a draw, but the sorry performance of the Indian team does not seem to end. One of the most formidable batting line-ups in the world collapsed twice in 5 days to a very inexperienced english bowling attack. I wonder what the Aussies would have done to this attack.....making mincemeat of it would be my closest guess.

The biggest problem with Indian cricket seems to be the reluctance to take action. If my performance was as pathetic as Sachin's, or as lacklustre as Rahul's at what I do, my boss would have kicked my ass for sure, if not fired me straight. Being the highest run scoring batsman in the world is one thing, but what good is such a batsman if he stops scoring?What good is being called "the wall" if you crumble as if made of poor quality concrete? 

I'd say, kick out Sachin and Dravid, and let some good youngsters take their place. Let the team know that nobody is infallible. Let performance be the only criteria for players to be in the team. 

Otherwise leave the team in God's hands, very much as it is now. God will help, but as is said, only those who helps themselves.

My suggestion to cricket lovers who sit in front of their TVs every time India takes to the field? Well, switch to cartoon network. Entertainment can't get better than Tom & Jerry running around. Cricket is somehow not worth watching anymore. Unless of course, Australia plays South Africa.

A tale of two scrambled eggs!

Well...there is no tale. The eggs got smashed, beat up, had their wounds salted...and were finally cooked on a hot pan. They end up on a plate in front of me a while later.

Kind of sounds similar to many of those victims of the great Indian vigilante justice system, save for the fact that I don't get to gobble them up! 

Note to self: Stop being a disgusting pig thinking about devouring humans.

On the same note, I believe that I am justified in being so. After all, men are pigs, aren't they. You can find us all over the streets, ogling at any woman who is of an  age group that they are interested in, some going to the extent of even teasing them and some extremists even force themselves on these poor, helpless women.

Pigs!! 

Although this brings me to my second theory, at proving why men are better managers than women are. Here goes. One of the most common work-place related euphimisms is that haggling with your manager for a higher pay is like wrestling with a pig in the mud! After a while you realise that you are all dirty, and the pig is enjoying it. Combine this with the universal "MAP-Men Are Pigs" theorem that most women will so gladly preach, we can deduce that men are better managers than women.

I can already hear chants of "Chauvinist Pig" from the female readers...but ladies, this does nothing more but to prove my point.

Enough bacon for the day...let me divert my attention to my scrambled eggs, and the most interesting bit of news that is doing its rounds these day....the amazing race for the next president of India.

I will not go into the plethora of allegations and counter-allegations that are being thrown around. What I'll rather do is ask a simple looking question: Is this how India, or rather Indians, would want to get their first woman president? Even though the President is more of glorified rubber stamp in India, if not anything else, being one is the dream of most retired politicans who are in the fading stages of their lives, as well as their political careers. 

Most Indians are in favour of the current president, Mr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam, getting a second term. The man himself has expressed his unwillingness for the same, and his reasons can be well understood. The man has had enough of being a rubber stamp, and being forced to sign on bills like the reservation bill that he is so much against in principle wouldn't have gone down too well with him. But it doesn't matter now, as two candidates for the post are already covered in mud...now we can't even tell one from another.

Already half way through the eggs, and by now wondering what they were cooked in, I turn the newspaper. Only to see the news of a DIG being hunted down for trying to molest two women aboard a moving train. These pigs, I tell you....

Another fifteen flips later, the newspaper comes to an end. And most of the stories are either about terrorists, al-quaeda, or bipasha's attempt at kissing Ronaldo. Or was it Ronaldo's attempt? Never mind, I am least bothered. John will be. A lot.

24 pages of utter rubbish. That's what newspapers have come to. Though I don't think its fair to blame it on the newspapers. After all, they'll publish anything that people want to read...and most of it is utter rubbish. This is one of the magic tricks of a democracy, what the majority wants is usually rubbish. But this topic is for another day.

If you have read through this plate of scrambled eggs....I would like you to read my friend Bhavna's blog for this recent post and restore your sanity.

Though this time around, I will not put up a post on top of hers. No point in trying to make some points, I guess.

Oh...and today is Friday the 13th...again. For the superstitious, I will suggest you head home straight after work, and find a bed to sleep in. 

For the deviliously inclined, like me, just relax...its another day for us. Unless  you know one of those folks who has just scrambled under a blanket for the fear of people like us. If you do, justify their fears. Let the legend of Friday the 13th live.....whooooooohahahahahaha

Now I must spend the rest of my time trying to figure out what I am going to do for the rest of the weekend, other than sleeping, and scrambling more eggs.

So while I yaaaaawwwwwnnnnnnn away to glory in front of a mailbox full of work, go on, break a couple of eggs, scramble them and have fun. Oh, and if you happen to be a veggie who detests at the thought of breaking eggs, let alone eating them, well...find something else to break. Just stay away from my head...I will not let you break it!

Adios