Author: Swati Sani

Children and Saftey

Children being what they are, we cannot stop them from exploring, moving about and around because it is this exploration of surroundings that contributes to their learning and leading a successful adult life – we are all but animals in the jungle. However, what worries me no end as a parent are the wolves that are hounding our children and us – these are the predators from whom we have to save our children and make them survive.

The recent Nithari case is not that happens only once or for that matter happens only in some Delhi suburb, the abduction of Adobe CEO’s son, is not something that happens to “other people”. All of us, even in the smallest of towns, as parents and teachers, need to keep our eyes open, our ears within reach so that we can see and hear that cry of help from our children.

More and more children today are being looked after by hired help, thanks to our busy lifestyle, more often that not, we are just happy that we got a help and don’t bother to check the background of the help. It is not that every household help is to be looked with suspicion, but we have to learn to find the ones that lurk behind the mask of a “simple servant” –a maid, a boy help that comes to your house for household chores, a milk man, an autowallah – all these people spend some time with our children. Children get friendly with them and trust them because as parents, you have entrusted them with your children, This makes their task very easy if they want to take advantage of the situation and molest, abduct or even kill your child. There are enough people around us with twisted mentalities and sadly the number seems to be growing.

Nagpur has been a quiet city for a long time, it is now turning around with more malls, more companies and more people coming in the city for various purposes. It has ceased to be a city where everyone knew everyone else.

It will pay for us to be paranoid, to educate our children and teach them self defence methods, to teach them the difference between a good touch and a bad touch –and not just to young girls, but to young boys as well. To make them understand whom to trust and who not to trust, to make them aware and educate them that things can go wrong, tell them to keep in touch with the family for their own safety. Little tips that can save them from getting into danger and most of all trust them to trust you and tell you things that happen to them outside the secure boundaries of your home.

It is never to early to tell your child all this. Remember, if he is old enough to be left with an autowallah to go to school, he is old enough to be taught how to save himself. It pays to be paranoid, it pays to be safe.

— Swati Sani
24th January 2007

Zombie

Another head hangs lowly,
Child is slowly taken.
And the violence caused such silence,
Who are we mistaken?

But you see, it’s not me, it’s not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying…

In your head, in your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie,
Hey, hey, What’s in your head,
In your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie?
Hey, hey, hey, oh, dou, dou, dou, dou, dou…

Another mother’s breakin’,
Heart is taking over.
When the violence causes silence,
We must be mistaken.

It’s the same old theme since nineteen-sixteen.
In your head, in your head they’re still fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are dying…

In your head, in your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie,
Hey, hey, hey. What’s in your head,
In your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie?
Hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, oh, oh,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, hey, oh, ya, ya-a…

FOSS.IN -the epilogue

We returned from FOSS.IN/2006 yesterday night and the moment I alighted from the craft and switched on my cell phone, i got a call from the local newspaper, The Hitavada. They wanted to interview Tarique because they discovered him thanks to the IANS Feed from Fred Noronha. They covered it in today’s paper

The event itself was a huge success, interacting with friends always has an exhilarating affect on me – despite the extremely painful foot, I enjoyed to the hilt. The only regret is managing all the paper left me without attending a single talk – but then, I will be able to see the slides and hopefully the videos too. Photographs are scattered all over the net, one just has to search and so are reports in journals, blogs and press. The FOSS mugs were cool, Kalyan’s calenders (The official FOSS.IN Calender) got very good response and I am told people want more of them, I am happy.

And in another news – the X-ray report says my foot bone ain’t broken -so i should be up and kicking dancing in a couple of days time 🙂

FOSS.IN 2006

The stage is set, people slowly filling up the 750 seater hall at the J N Tata auditorium, IISC, Bangalore. The clock shows 10.30.

Registration q’s are getting longer and longer, people cant wait to get their badges and get inside. Volunteers can be seen all over working, helping delegates, speakers and guests.

Asia’s one of the biggest open source event, FOSS.IN is about to commence. I see people around me hooked to the net, perhaps a lot of them are recording the happenings of this moment in their journals in the true open source spirit. People with camera’s are clicking away, foreign speakers dressed in ethnic Indian clothes -in fact Harald Welte is looking very dashing dressed in his trademark black but this time a Pathan suit he is wearing today.

Atul is standing next to the stage, speaking with someone, just about to get on the stage and start the ceremony.

On stage now – Atul ” HALLO” testing for the echo still getting an echo -the mike the mike!! cool it works now.

Here are some excerpts from Atul’s Inaugural speech

“Good morning everyone, my name is Atul Chitnis and I am here to do a five year ramble to welcome you to foss.in 2006, the largest event in India and I am told in Asia and we pride ourselves in being extremely focused -this is not a commercial event, this is OUR event. ”

“30% of people attending this event are from outside and a lot of people are from outside India which is very exciting.”

OK, it seems I am missing a lot of what Atul is talking right now -to witness him speak, you got to be here yourself 🙂

Lamp lighting ceremony is about to begin and the people from community are going to be called on stage to light the inaugural lamp.

Kushal from Durgapur
from Goa
Atul from Delhi
Swati from Nagpur – oops i got to be on stage
From Mumbai
Tejas from Bangalore

Back from lighting the lamp

The event now is officially open.

The first speaker is in the hall. The second speaker is on his way – just landed someone got a text message and Kishore is getting him here straight from the airport.

Atul is now speaking about the delegate kits – the bags are given are cotton eco-friendly bags – reusable (claps from the audience)

There are going to be mugs given to delegates -specially made coffee mugs with FOSS.IN written on them.

Three are lot of people who made this even happen -people and specially sponsors.

One of the very few rules and regulations -don’t run cell phone running inside the hall – Atul will kill anyone having a cellphone running. There is no signal inside the hall so attendees being requested to keep cellphones off.

One major ground rule -have fun . You got to have fun -Atul declares – its is not a formal conference, it is so informal that people meet, discuss and sit and discussions on open source take place -there are specially made tents for these BOFs. Atul finishes his speech and introduces the first key note speaker Suparna Bhattacharya – India’s own contribution to the open source world.

Suparna Bhattarcharya the first keynote speaker is coming on stage amidst claps and she is about the start the keynote address. I turn back and see, the 750 seater hall is completely occupied!!

Boredom

I hear from so many youngsters today that they are getting bored. They get bored at home, they get bored in their new jobs, they get bored in their old jobs. They get bored. Period.

I was told by one of my professors, you never get bored if you have a craving to learn and grow. Over the years, I realised it too. There are people who blame others for their boredom, specially youngsters. They should realise if they are getting bored, the fault is not with their surroundings, the fault is within themselves.

If they feel sleepy while reading, its their own brain that shuts up to learning and wishes to sleep. Perhaps it is because they are young and think they have a lot of time, they waste it getting bored. A few years later, they will realise the folly of it all.

Aasim turned 9

Aasim turned nine today. This year the party was a day prior, on a Saturday evening and most of his classmates and friends managed to come. The kids had a blast, and on finding out that their last year’s class teacher and a friend of ours, Indrani Bagchi, was going to attend the party, they were ecstatic. Indrani no longer works as a teacher in Aasim’s school but the reception she got on reaching was overwhelming to say the least. She was a very popular teacher and loved the kids immensely, the kids loved her back just as much.
The party lasted for 5 hours and left all of us tired.

The day today was spent on the construction site and in Aasim’s words, “the place is heaven”. Later in the day while both of us watched an extremely well made movie (Yun hota to kya hota) Aasim played with his friend and evening was spent eating some mouthwatering Kebabs at Redz.