Terrible Tidings

 'Glad tidings' and/or 'good tidings' is the standard collocation in English. These days, however, tidings are rarely good, glad or great. The company the term 'tidings' keeps these days is terrible and terrorising, without any 'or' option.

Look at what happened in Vadodara yesterday. Actually, it is national news these days. Be it Pune, Mumbai (the 'Best'(!!!)bus, though on hire), Chandigarh, Vadodara, the news is the same; a drunken or stone-d(ead), 'high' fool mowing down innocent lives. True, the argument against the victims in Pune was that they, too, must be partying wildly, given the area and the timings.

Yet whatever be the percentage of the drugs or alcohol intake in the blood stream, nobody gets the right/the licence to take another('s) life or to create a scene on the road. The Vadodara culprit loudly screaming some girl's name followed by a Muslim male name, yelling for 'another round', then cheering (actually jeering, given his inebriated state) away the 'Hindu' way (as was pointed out by the regular 'identity' freaks who clearly went deaf with the other male name he was screaming! Indeed, what all lengths people go to in their pursuit of their pet peeves!) indicated that the fool was dead drunk (given the 'another round' reference).

In his chase of 'mod' life, what with the (friend's?) costly posh car, heavy drinking, swanky clothes, the fool's parents apparently forgot to instil in him some decency and a few basic values. He ruined an innocent family. As yet, the further details about the other injured are not out. May be, there could be many more fatalities!

 And, yet, one pitied the fool, no, not for his injuries due to the beating/bashing, which was severe, nay, brutal, too, but for the way he has destroyed himself and his own family, what with him in jail and the total reputation of himself and his family in tatters, completely ruined. How one wishes, instead of keeping creepy company, he had actually studied in the M.S. University!

The authorities were the most lovable (hope, the irony is not lost, given the weak hold over English, or even over the mother tongue, these days) in this context. As in Pune, they went in to an overdrive to protect the guilty. No, the culprit was not provided five star treatment (yet, most efficiently, most of his wounds WERE bandaged!) as in the Pune case! 

They, however, allowed the culprit a presser, which is legally impossible and democratically disadvantaged! But how does that matter?  What matters the most these days is the 'right' connections in high places, the  'correct' caste and the might of money! One can thus/then literally get away with murder!

Pratima@How about the responsibility of the University? These days, the student attendance in classrooms, surely in traditional Commerce/Arts/Law colleges, is nothing to write home about. 

Parents send their wards to far away places, or to so-called famous institutions, to study. Neither they nor the colleges/universities are concerned about the actual classroom attendance. 

Money mutters, eh, matters! So long as fees are doled out, and cash counters keep on ringing, who cares if students attend lectures, if portions are indeed completed, especially when (and even otherwise) papers get set 'autonomously'.

You know what that means, right? Teach the minimal most, indirectly 'hint' out the question paper, and be happy that you are a lecturer, popular with the students, funkily called 'gang' or 'guys'!

 It would be a great research paper, with/out many co-writers, et al and hefty publishing fees, that actually analyses if lectures really take place, if any teaching happens at all, given the classroom strength. 

Anyways, that facade called exams emerges with great results! Who is deceiving whom indeed! And the talk about demographic dividend gushes about, like a river in spate!