THIS IS SAID TO BE THE GREATEST PARADOX IN RECORDED LEGAL HISTORY.
A few centuries ago, a Law teacher came across a student who was willing to learn, but was unable to pay the fees.
The student struck a deal saying, "I will pay your fee the day I win my first case in the court."
Teacher agreed and proceeded with the law course.
When the course was finished and the teacher started pestering the student to pay up the fee, the student reminded him of the deal and pushed days. Fed up with this, the teacher decided to sue the student in the court of law and both of them decided to argue for themselves.
The teacher put forward his argument saying: "If I win this case, as per the court of law, the student has to pay me as the case is about his non-payment of dues. And if I lose the case, the student will still pay me because he would have won his first case. So, either way I will have to get the money."
Equally brilliant, the student argued back saying: "If I win the case, as per the court of law, I don't have to pay anything to the teacher as the case is about my non-payment of dues. And if I lose the case, I don't have to pay him because I haven't won my first case yet. So either way, I am not going to pay the teacher anything".
This is one of the greatest paradoxes ever recorded in the Legal history.
(Reproduced from an email sent by my dear anna.)
Monday 23 August, 2010
Saturday 21 August, 2010
The Great INDIAN Enterprise!
A Blackberry addict discovers grassroot enterprise in India.
A smaller ‘hole in the wall’ you cannot imagine. A small fading sign on the top saying “Cellphoon Reapars” is barely visible through the street vendors crowding the Juhu Market in Mumbai. On my way to buy a new Blackberry, my innate sense of adventure (foolishness) made me stop my car and investigate. The ‘shop’ was not more than 6 feet by 6 feet. Grimy and un-cleaned.
"Can you fix my Blackberry?” I asked the young boy.
"Of course I can, show me.”
“How old are you?”
"Sixteen."
Bullshit. He was no more than 10. I am not handing my precious Blackberry to a 10 year old in unwashed and torn T shirt and pyjamas! At least, if I buy a new Blackberry in a proper Store, they would extract my data for me. Something I have been meaning to do for over a year now.
"What’s wrong with it?”
"Well, the roller track ball does not respond. It’s kind of stuck andI cannot operate it.”
He grabs it from my hand and looks at it.
“You should wash your hands. Many customers have same problem. Roller ball gets greasy and dirty, then not working."
Look who was telling me to wash my hands! He probably has not bathed for 10 days. I leaned across to snatch my useless Blackberry back.
“You come back in one hour and I fix it."
I am not leaving all my precious data in this unwashed kid's hands for an hour. No way.
“Who will fix it?”
"Big brother."
"How big is ‘big brother'?"
"How big is ‘big brother'?"
"Big …. umm ..thirty."
Then suddenly big brother walks in. 30 ??? He is no more than 19.
"What problem," he says, grabbing the phone from my greasy hand into his greasier hand. Obviously he never got trained in etiquette by any up-market retail stores manager.
"Normal Blackberry problem. I replace it with original part now. You must wash your hands before you use this."
What is this about me washing my hands suddenly?? 19-year-old big brother rummages through a dubious drawer, full of junk, and fishes out a spare roller ball packed in cheap cellophane wrapper. Original part? I doubt it. But, by now, I am in the lap of the real India and there is no escape as he fishes out a couple of screwdrivers and sets about opening my Blackberry.
“How long will this take?”
“Six minutes.”
This I have to see. After spending the whole morning trying to find a Blackberry service centre and getting vague answers about sending the phone in for an assessment that might take a week, I settle down next to his grubby cramped work space. At least, I am going to be able to watch all my stored data vanish into virtual space. Unknown strangers crowd around to see what’s happening. I am not breathing easy anyway. I tell myself this is an adventure and I literally have to stop myself grabbing my precious Blackberry back and making a quick escape.
But, in exactly six minutes, this kid handed me my Blackberry back. He had changed the part and cleaned and serviced the whole phone, taken it apart and put it together. As I turned the phone on there was a horrific 2 minutes where the phone would not come on. I looked at him with such hostility that he stepped back.
"You have more than thousand phone numbers?”
"Yes."
"Backed up?"
"No."
"Must back up. I do it for you. Never open phone before backing up."
"You tell me that now?"
But then the phone came on and my data was still there. Everyone watching laughed and clapped. This was becoming a public street show. A six minute show. I asked him how much for his effort and the new roller ball part.
"500 rupees", he ventured uncertainly.
People around watched in glee expecting a negotiation. That's $ 10 as against the Rs. 30,000 ($ 600) I was about to spend on a new Blackberry or manage a couple of weeks without my phone. I looked suitably shocked at his ‘high price’ but calmly paid him, much to the disappointment of the expectant crowd.
"Do you have an iPhone? Even the new ‘4′ one?"
"No, why?”
"I can break the code for you and load any ‘app’ or film you want. I give you 10 film on your memory stick on this one, and change every week for small fee."
"No, why?”
"I can break the code for you and load any ‘app’ or film you want. I give you 10 film on your memory stick on this one, and change every week for small fee."
I went home having discovered the true entrepreneurship that lies at what we call the ‘bottom of the pyramid’. Some may call it piracy, which of course it is, but what can you say about a two uneducated and untrained brothers, aged 10 and 19, that set up a ‘hole in the wall’ shop and can fix any technology that the greatest technologists in the world can throw at them! I smiled at the future of our country. If only we could learn to harness this potential!
"Please wash your hands before use", were his last words to me.
Friday 20 August, 2010
AP "Babus" have a field day without work
Desaraju Surya
HYDERABAD: Sitting in his Hyderabad office, a mid-level Indian Administrative Service officer in Andhra Pradesh was “busy” working on his computer. His Facebook account was open and he was quite seriously “posting” messages to some of his online friends. “Just killing time, as there is nothing much official work to do,” he remarks. Another IAS officer in an other office was also “busy” typing his latest “blog post” that would immediately be uploaded on the world-wide web. “These are the things we normally do once in a while in our spare time but these days we have a lot of it during working hours itself. It’s cool,” the officer quips as a matter-of-fact. Many officers, of course, are also active on “Twitter” following the tweets of Paul Krugman, Shashi Tharoor, The Economist and the like “just to keep updated with the trends.” Some IAS officers in the state are opting for mid-career training programmes that run for a week or two either in India or abroad and packing their bags to “enjoy an outing.” A few are happily flying abroad on “official assignments” despite a clear ban on foreign jaunts by bureaucrats.All this is a clear reflection of the “dormant” state of administration in Andhra Pradesh where governance, as bureaucrats admit, has remained paralyzed for the past few months. Given the acute funds crunch faced by the state government, implementation of welfare programmes and development works has become a major casualty while there is an unwritten ban on new schemes. This is one reason being cited by those in the government about the lackadaisical functioning of the entire administration. “In practical terms there is nothing to do in the districts in the given situation. Things are happening only as a matter of routine in the absence of any authoritative monitoring,” the bureaucrats say.With the Cabinet ministers busy with their own political work, administrative reviews have become few and far between in recent months. The Chief Minister has been conducting reviews of different departments periodically but nothing much is apparently happening down the line.
“Administration has become CM-centric when both N Chandrababu Naidu and Y S Rajasekhara Reddy were at the helm of affairs. Being powerful leaders, their writ ran large and the entire administration functioned according to their diktats. Bureaucrats used to look to the Chief Minister for everything previously as all instructions came from him directly. It’s not the case anymore,” a top-ranking IAS officer noted, explaining the “slackness” that is currently apparent in the functioning of the government. "What is clearly lacking in the state administration today is the direction. Hence, nobody is clear about what to do or what not to do," retired bureaucrat K Prabhakar Reddy, who also worked in the Chief Minister's Office noted. Incidentally, the incumbents in the CMO are busy doing fire-fighting what with several controversies dogging the government. Also, there are allegedly internal squabbles among bureaucrats in the CMO compounding the chaos, sources say. Hitherto, ministers used to tour the districts regularly and conduct review meetings on the functioning of their respective departments. Given the hostility between the two regions of Andhra Pradesh over the demand for division of the state, ministers from Telangana region have virtually stopped touring Andhra-Rayalaseema region. And, fearing protests by the separatists, ministers from Andhra-Rayalaseema are not venturing into Telangana. Even within the respective regions, holding of review meetings by ministers has become a rare occurrence, according to a district Collector. “In the last two months, there was just one review meeting with ministers in my district. We did not even conduct the District Review Committee meeting for many months now,” the Collector pointed out. Chief Minister K Rosaiah’s visits to different districts too have been very limited because of various factors, including his health condition, official sources say. All this is leaving a telling impact on the government’s functioning but when will things be back on track is a question that has no answer yet.
HYDERABAD: Sitting in his Hyderabad office, a mid-level Indian Administrative Service officer in Andhra Pradesh was “busy” working on his computer. His Facebook account was open and he was quite seriously “posting” messages to some of his online friends. “Just killing time, as there is nothing much official work to do,” he remarks. Another IAS officer in an other office was also “busy” typing his latest “blog post” that would immediately be uploaded on the world-wide web. “These are the things we normally do once in a while in our spare time but these days we have a lot of it during working hours itself. It’s cool,” the officer quips as a matter-of-fact. Many officers, of course, are also active on “Twitter” following the tweets of Paul Krugman, Shashi Tharoor, The Economist and the like “just to keep updated with the trends.” Some IAS officers in the state are opting for mid-career training programmes that run for a week or two either in India or abroad and packing their bags to “enjoy an outing.” A few are happily flying abroad on “official assignments” despite a clear ban on foreign jaunts by bureaucrats.All this is a clear reflection of the “dormant” state of administration in Andhra Pradesh where governance, as bureaucrats admit, has remained paralyzed for the past few months. Given the acute funds crunch faced by the state government, implementation of welfare programmes and development works has become a major casualty while there is an unwritten ban on new schemes. This is one reason being cited by those in the government about the lackadaisical functioning of the entire administration. “In practical terms there is nothing to do in the districts in the given situation. Things are happening only as a matter of routine in the absence of any authoritative monitoring,” the bureaucrats say.With the Cabinet ministers busy with their own political work, administrative reviews have become few and far between in recent months. The Chief Minister has been conducting reviews of different departments periodically but nothing much is apparently happening down the line.
“Administration has become CM-centric when both N Chandrababu Naidu and Y S Rajasekhara Reddy were at the helm of affairs. Being powerful leaders, their writ ran large and the entire administration functioned according to their diktats. Bureaucrats used to look to the Chief Minister for everything previously as all instructions came from him directly. It’s not the case anymore,” a top-ranking IAS officer noted, explaining the “slackness” that is currently apparent in the functioning of the government. "What is clearly lacking in the state administration today is the direction. Hence, nobody is clear about what to do or what not to do," retired bureaucrat K Prabhakar Reddy, who also worked in the Chief Minister's Office noted. Incidentally, the incumbents in the CMO are busy doing fire-fighting what with several controversies dogging the government. Also, there are allegedly internal squabbles among bureaucrats in the CMO compounding the chaos, sources say. Hitherto, ministers used to tour the districts regularly and conduct review meetings on the functioning of their respective departments. Given the hostility between the two regions of Andhra Pradesh over the demand for division of the state, ministers from Telangana region have virtually stopped touring Andhra-Rayalaseema region. And, fearing protests by the separatists, ministers from Andhra-Rayalaseema are not venturing into Telangana. Even within the respective regions, holding of review meetings by ministers has become a rare occurrence, according to a district Collector. “In the last two months, there was just one review meeting with ministers in my district. We did not even conduct the District Review Committee meeting for many months now,” the Collector pointed out. Chief Minister K Rosaiah’s visits to different districts too have been very limited because of various factors, including his health condition, official sources say. All this is leaving a telling impact on the government’s functioning but when will things be back on track is a question that has no answer yet.
Monday 16 August, 2010
The Great AP Political Tamasha
Desaraju Surya
HYDERABAD: Welcome to the “great Andhra Pradesh political tamasha.”
It is high on intensity and low on sanity. There are multiple actors in this daily play but each has his own script and screenplay. Everyone tries to outdo the other and score political brownie points but end up nowhere really.
The principal actors in this sordid drama are leaders of the ruling Congress, the main opposition Telugu Desam, the other opposition Praja Rajyam and the separatist Telangana Rashtra Samiti. The extra parts are handled by BJP, CPI and CPM while Lok Satta Party has an insignificant cameo.
The political soap opera has been running for long and, like a never-ending television serial, is mostly-televised but with lots of amusement.
Along with the own script, each actor has an exclusive (television) channel to showcase his act without others stealing the limelight. Of course, the actors are ably aided by some channels which orchestrate the agenda that suits “their” interest.
One actor (Chiranjeevi) is sulking, though, since he feels no channel is leaving him any screen space, overlooking his exploits. Hence, he too is seeking to set up his own (television) shop for better marketing.
Interestingly, the Congress’ act in itself has all the features of a unique potboiler. Though the Congress characters are supposed to be on one side, they fight each other adding more spice to drama.
Congress leaders from Telangana spit venom at their own ministers from Andhra-Rayalaseema region for opposing the bifurcation of the state. The so-called Y S Jagan camp is at loggerheads not only with Chief Minister K Rosaiah but also with the party high command. Supporters of Rosaiah are “goading” the “impatient” Kadapa MP by digging out the “misdeeds” committed during his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime, much to the discomfiture of the young man who is unwilling to settle for anything less than the Chief Minister’s chair.
Jagan’s “loyalists” wouldn’t take kindly to such denigration of their departed leader (YSR) and would repulse any attack.
Nevertheless, the bigwigs “attached” to Rosaiah are busy pulling the skeletons out of the YSR regime’s cupboard.
This brings cheer to the opposition camp as it gets more ammunition to step up its offensive against the enemy (Congress). The Telugu Desam, in the past five years, has lost no opportunity to expose the brazen corruption in the Congress rule and is now getting pep to its drive from the very rulers themselves.
A case in point is the unearthing of a “Rs 10,000 crore scam”, dated back to the YSR regime, by two senior Congress MLAs D L Ravindra Reddy and J C Diwakar Reddy. Now, other senior Congress leaders are readying for more such “exposés”, making the job easier for the TDP.
The Praja Rajyam president K Chiranjeevi is a widely-acclaimed actor before he donned the political greasepaint. In the political arena, however, he is proving a mismatch to the other actors. His party is about to celebrate its second anniversary but Chiranjeevi is apparently in a serious state of confusion.
On one hand, he is strongly critical of the state government over its policies but, on the other, is building close ties with the ruling party. Chiranjeevi is currently on a tour of the state to reinvent himself as a political leader but unable to decide who is his rival or what is his objective.
The TRS has a one-point agenda: of achieving statehood for Telangana. Having achieved a landslide in the recent by-elections, the separatist force has become more ferocious. While fighting the government on certain administrative issues, the TRS has turned its ire more on the TDP leading to a slanging match between leaders of the two parties.
TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu is forced to do multi-tasking these days. Keeping his own party, which has split vertically on regional lines, intact has become his main task. As Leader of Opposition, taking on the Congress is his mandate but he is also forced to contend with the PRP and the TRS that have stepped up the attack against him, all at a time.
The two Left parties, luckily, are on Chandrababu’s side, helping him combat the Congress.
Lok Satta Party chief N Jayaprakash Narayan, who quit a cushy IAS position and became an MLA, to cleanse the political rot, unfortunately, finds himself lost in the crowd.
Counting on its national stature, the BJP is trying to make its presence felt in the state but with little impact.
The curtains aren’t yet down and there are no commercial breaks even. Thus, the saga continues…..
HYDERABAD: Welcome to the “great Andhra Pradesh political tamasha.”
It is high on intensity and low on sanity. There are multiple actors in this daily play but each has his own script and screenplay. Everyone tries to outdo the other and score political brownie points but end up nowhere really.
The principal actors in this sordid drama are leaders of the ruling Congress, the main opposition Telugu Desam, the other opposition Praja Rajyam and the separatist Telangana Rashtra Samiti. The extra parts are handled by BJP, CPI and CPM while Lok Satta Party has an insignificant cameo.
The political soap opera has been running for long and, like a never-ending television serial, is mostly-televised but with lots of amusement.
Along with the own script, each actor has an exclusive (television) channel to showcase his act without others stealing the limelight. Of course, the actors are ably aided by some channels which orchestrate the agenda that suits “their” interest.
One actor (Chiranjeevi) is sulking, though, since he feels no channel is leaving him any screen space, overlooking his exploits. Hence, he too is seeking to set up his own (television) shop for better marketing.
Interestingly, the Congress’ act in itself has all the features of a unique potboiler. Though the Congress characters are supposed to be on one side, they fight each other adding more spice to drama.
Congress leaders from Telangana spit venom at their own ministers from Andhra-Rayalaseema region for opposing the bifurcation of the state. The so-called Y S Jagan camp is at loggerheads not only with Chief Minister K Rosaiah but also with the party high command. Supporters of Rosaiah are “goading” the “impatient” Kadapa MP by digging out the “misdeeds” committed during his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime, much to the discomfiture of the young man who is unwilling to settle for anything less than the Chief Minister’s chair.
Jagan’s “loyalists” wouldn’t take kindly to such denigration of their departed leader (YSR) and would repulse any attack.
Nevertheless, the bigwigs “attached” to Rosaiah are busy pulling the skeletons out of the YSR regime’s cupboard.
This brings cheer to the opposition camp as it gets more ammunition to step up its offensive against the enemy (Congress). The Telugu Desam, in the past five years, has lost no opportunity to expose the brazen corruption in the Congress rule and is now getting pep to its drive from the very rulers themselves.
A case in point is the unearthing of a “Rs 10,000 crore scam”, dated back to the YSR regime, by two senior Congress MLAs D L Ravindra Reddy and J C Diwakar Reddy. Now, other senior Congress leaders are readying for more such “exposés”, making the job easier for the TDP.
The Praja Rajyam president K Chiranjeevi is a widely-acclaimed actor before he donned the political greasepaint. In the political arena, however, he is proving a mismatch to the other actors. His party is about to celebrate its second anniversary but Chiranjeevi is apparently in a serious state of confusion.
On one hand, he is strongly critical of the state government over its policies but, on the other, is building close ties with the ruling party. Chiranjeevi is currently on a tour of the state to reinvent himself as a political leader but unable to decide who is his rival or what is his objective.
The TRS has a one-point agenda: of achieving statehood for Telangana. Having achieved a landslide in the recent by-elections, the separatist force has become more ferocious. While fighting the government on certain administrative issues, the TRS has turned its ire more on the TDP leading to a slanging match between leaders of the two parties.
TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu is forced to do multi-tasking these days. Keeping his own party, which has split vertically on regional lines, intact has become his main task. As Leader of Opposition, taking on the Congress is his mandate but he is also forced to contend with the PRP and the TRS that have stepped up the attack against him, all at a time.
The two Left parties, luckily, are on Chandrababu’s side, helping him combat the Congress.
Lok Satta Party chief N Jayaprakash Narayan, who quit a cushy IAS position and became an MLA, to cleanse the political rot, unfortunately, finds himself lost in the crowd.
Counting on its national stature, the BJP is trying to make its presence felt in the state but with little impact.
The curtains aren’t yet down and there are no commercial breaks even. Thus, the saga continues…..
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