The first stars are visible in the sky and it is time to chew the fat about the day that just passed by...
The White Crow!
Posted 26th November 2007 at 01:21 AM by Cheeniya
Updated 26th November 2007 at 02:10 AM by Cheeniya
Updated 26th November 2007 at 02:10 AM by Cheeniya
It is customary among young parents of infants to employ the time-tested trick of diverting the attention of their children whenever they become difficult to handle. We have seen mothers pointing out to some white crow flying in the sky while trying to feed their stubborn kids. They tell fascinating stories of kings and princesses to the insomniac kids to put them to sleep. Thanks to this excessive exposure to the technique of diverting, by the time the child gets to a reasonable age, he becomes totally prone to get easily diverted.
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Do you remember the story of Prahlad? In spite of being the only son of an Asura, he developed such immense faith in God because of his exposure to a constant chanting of God’s name when he was in his mother’s womb. Such is the power of any exposure in childhood. Coming back to our story, we have a whole generation of people who are prone to get easily diverted to the point of being branded as gullible. Haven’t you heard of conmen depriving someone of his hard-earned money just drawn from a Bank by just getting his attention diverted to something on the floor? Such stories are plenty and if I go about narrating every one of them, then this article will run to years of reading like The Bold and the Beautiful. All I ask you now is whether you have got the gist of what I am trying to tell you.
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Look at what is happening in the country. We are going through some exceedingly difficult times. We have unfriendly neighbors who are like a thorn in our flesh. We have shortage of every essential commodity and the prices are going through the roof. The crime rate is increasing alarmingly. Every one is getting kidnapped for, God knows, what reason. There is rampant indiscipline even in essential services. The travels, both by surface and air, have become life-threatening propositions. There are millions of critical issues that need to be addressed urgently. Yet what is it that is exercising everybody’s mind now? 123 Agreement! We are made to believe that once the divergences between Indian and U.S. interpretations of the deal and growing discrepancies between U.S. demands and Manmohan Singh's pledges are sorted out, India, that is Bharat as Nehru used to call, will again be a land flowing with milk and honey as in the days of yore.
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123 Agreement is an extension of the white crow that our mothers used to point out in our infant days to divert our attention. Only difference now is that the story is being told to us in a different format and by a different class of people namely the powers that be. Of course there is this other major difference that we are not infants anymore. But, as I pointed out in the beginning, getting diverted easily is ingrained in our system. The show, I am afraid, will go on no matter who is at the helm of affairs.
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<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
Do you remember the story of Prahlad? In spite of being the only son of an Asura, he developed such immense faith in God because of his exposure to a constant chanting of God’s name when he was in his mother’s womb. Such is the power of any exposure in childhood. Coming back to our story, we have a whole generation of people who are prone to get easily diverted to the point of being branded as gullible. Haven’t you heard of conmen depriving someone of his hard-earned money just drawn from a Bank by just getting his attention diverted to something on the floor? Such stories are plenty and if I go about narrating every one of them, then this article will run to years of reading like The Bold and the Beautiful. All I ask you now is whether you have got the gist of what I am trying to tell you.
<o:p></o:p>
Look at what is happening in the country. We are going through some exceedingly difficult times. We have unfriendly neighbors who are like a thorn in our flesh. We have shortage of every essential commodity and the prices are going through the roof. The crime rate is increasing alarmingly. Every one is getting kidnapped for, God knows, what reason. There is rampant indiscipline even in essential services. The travels, both by surface and air, have become life-threatening propositions. There are millions of critical issues that need to be addressed urgently. Yet what is it that is exercising everybody’s mind now? 123 Agreement! We are made to believe that once the divergences between Indian and U.S. interpretations of the deal and growing discrepancies between U.S. demands and Manmohan Singh's pledges are sorted out, India, that is Bharat as Nehru used to call, will again be a land flowing with milk and honey as in the days of yore.
<o:p></o:p>
123 Agreement is an extension of the white crow that our mothers used to point out in our infant days to divert our attention. Only difference now is that the story is being told to us in a different format and by a different class of people namely the powers that be. Of course there is this other major difference that we are not infants anymore. But, as I pointed out in the beginning, getting diverted easily is ingrained in our system. The show, I am afraid, will go on no matter who is at the helm of affairs.
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Total Comments 14
Comments
 | Dear Cheeniyasir, Thoonilum iruppan, thurumbilum iruppan! You have become quite something like that with your august presence in the subforum and in blogs. I am happy, we can never have enough of you. Again, I cannot stop marvelling(this time with two 'l' s thanks to yur correction) at how you link topics. The flying white crow is a universal diversion, though my mom used the talking butterfly to divert my tantrums. I think we all use diversions only on the outside. We can never stop mulling, brooding over the real issue looming inside though we pretend to focus on the diversion. But these tatics have been round since Chanakya. The wars against errant vassals, the Putrakameshti yagams- all these were classic poochu velais to divert attention of hoi polloi from the pressing obvious and to cling on to power. 123 agreement- as long as it delivers drinking water to our villages, as long as it ensures civil liberties, as long as it promises every graduate 30 paid working hours a week- I am happy to be diverted by it. affly Vidya |
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| |  dear cheeniya sir well since am a mom of a 22 month old child i can absolutely understand what u mean by white crow diversion......as u say the attitude to get diverted is being instilled in us since childhood...when it is just for getting the child to eat then it does no harm....but what the politicians or leaders play on us ofcoz has a big impact and God himself wud be confused if at all these situations wud change for the better ???? Kaalam dhaan badhil solanum !!!  lov sowmi |
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| |  Dear Sri, Blog Blog!! Clang Colong!!!!!!..... The White crow diversion.... Great... We also use that to say for jalra and kaka pidithal...aaaaaahhhh kuttyyoda parakkudhu... With regard to 123 agreement and the politicians... Great... When is the last time, any politician has told the true facts and figures... Everybody will project the good side of the coin... The other side will be neglected... I recently prepared a huge project report for expansion... At the time of preperation itself, I knew what would happen to the project with regards to the approvals, what are all the issues related to that... Whether it will go through in the Board or not... I mad all my shields and ammunitions to protect it... At the end, it came out as exactly predicted by my... But there are people who are not willing to accept it... Similarly, when the draft is made itself, they know what are the setbacks... But they dont want to accept it... They just want to go through the motion, because, they have started it and they have to clear it at any cost... There are experts analysing the pros and cons... But nobody has till day explained how it is going to benefit a common man... Will it reduce his cost of living... or will it change his life style... I dont think so... Essential commodity prices like the rice and pulses go up, because the focus of the country is shifting... The Agricultural country is slowly moving towards other sectors... Agriculture is neglected and the ALand is slowly converted for Industries, which brings in more profits... With the opening of export market, which gives better profits, we tend to export than sell locally... In this, does the profit goes to the farmer... No, the middlemen make money and the farmer at times end in loss... Crime rates... Who encourage the criminals... Who breed them... P & P only... so, where is the question of controlling... They develop them for their own benefits... at the end, the criminals become so big, these people have no control over them.... Sorry, I can keep going on and on... Blabbering.... May be, if I am wrong, please enlighten me.... |
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| |  Dear Cheeniya sir, I do not agree with you that 123 agreement is like sighting a white crow to a child. With or without the agreement, what all you have listed as unrest, indiscipline, shortage, unsafe conditions will exit and that is because of corporate India which has made people highly materialistic. For the sake of money anyone will do anything. 123 agreement should be seen in long term perspective. Electricity is an essential service and with a growing economy and growing life styles of people, the demand for its production is going to increase enormously. Industrial production also is linked to electricity generation. I think you are showing the 123 agreement as white crow to ILites to escape from their day to day problems. Regards, TDU |
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| |  Dear Vidya Thank you for making me feel welcome here too! That 'Thoonilum iruppan, Thurumbilumiruppan' is the quintessence of Narasimha's Avatar. He is hailed as the Greatest of all Avatars for several reasons. His span of existence is the shortest. He doesn't have to undergo the 'Garpavasam'. And His concern for His Baktha comes out more vividly in this Avatar than any other. Not knowing from where He may have to manifest Himself to save His Baktha, He lies hidden in every form of life and non-life. He shrinks Himself so much that He can manifest from even an atom. When Hiranyakashipu enquires of his son to show him his God, Prahlad says 'Thoonilum iruppan, thurumbilum iruppan' When Hiranyakashipu strikes the Pillar, Narayana manifests Himself as Narasimha and kills Hiranyakashipu. The Omnipresence of the Lord is only in response to the need to protect His devotees all the time. I too have nothing against the 123 Agreement but to the millions who are starved, the question that will at once spring to the mind is exactly what you have said- Will 'it deliver drinking water to our villages, as long as it ensures civil liberties, as long as it promises every graduate 30 paid working hours a week?' |
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| | Dear Sowmi Diversionary tactics have come to stay as one of the methods to hoodwink the other person. It is quite usual in Bank counters for the thugs to divert your attention saying you have dropped a currency note and while you bend down to pick it, they run away with your currency bundle! The Banks now display a board at their counters warning you not to get diverted! In cricket, if batsmen are going strong, the fielders will divert them by mouthing insults so that they can get out easily! Sri |
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| | Dear Veda That was indeed a very nice analysis. You have summed up well the travails of the common man. The other day there was a small procession carrying placards against the 123 Agreement. I asked one of the processionists about what are they agitating against and he just blinked. All he could say was that it was not good for the country! In a country where 98% of the population are in the dark about the nuances of such intricate agreements, no leader feels obliged to educate the masses for they know that if they get educated, they may start making independent judgement in all these matters. Sri |
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| | Dear TDU It was certainly not my intention to cast any aspersion on the 123 Agreement while writing this blog. All I wanted to say was that the common man faced a lot more life thratening problems where some immediate succour would keep him alive. Even he is dragged into such discussions as the 123 Agreement as an antidote to his other pressing problems. It is a pity that he is not even informed of the pros and cons of implementing such an agreement. If people say that they have nothing against the 123 Agreement but if there are any clauses that appear to undermine the sovereignty of the country, they must be properly addressed, we cant say that such people act against the interest of the country. Sri |
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| |  Sri, Welcome to blogging...with a bang as usual... The white crow......some of us don't need a white crow to be diverted..and there are others who don't know even when the white crow is shown...so as long as both the tribes exist...the white crow and the art of diversion will exist... BTW why don't our P&P use this for the welfare...like diverting resources...or things on the same line...instead of |
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| | Dear Shanthi Thank you for yours words of welcome. You are right as usual! As long as both the tribes exist, the art of diversion will continue as strongly as ever. I dont think our P&P are interested in benevolent diversions. They are self centered and are keen only to preserve themselves! Sri |
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| | Dear Cheeniya sir, I agree with you that the Government has not put all details of 123 agreement before people and they cannot do so since there may be defense related clauses might have been there. My contention is that there are very many issues other than the 123 agreement like the Sethu Samudram project with religious overtones and now the Nandigram incident. It is the tactics politicians all over the world play to turn the public attention. In Pakistan whenever the Govt. is not able to control the local people they raise the Kashmir issue. In U.S they raise the security issue quoting 9/11. 123 agreement is good for India and PM Manmohan Singh should be congratulated and supported. |
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| | Dear TDU I agree with you in toto! In retrospect, I think I have quoted a wrong example! Sethusamudram and Ramar Paalam would have been more appropriate as you say! Sri |
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| |  Sir, I totally agree with you on the diversion when utmost problems are to be met. That's what happened when there are so many problems to deal the government at that time decided to change the capital of TamilNadu. i don;t remember the year or the goverment at that time. sriniketan |
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| | Dear Sri It was in 1981 that an attempt was made to shift the capital of Tamilnadu to Madurai during the period of MGR but the efforts failed miserably! Sri |
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Recent Blog Entries by Cheeniya
- Daddy, daddy, oh my daddy! (21st October 2008)
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- Living with my heart (3rd April 2008)
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