Sunil Agarwal and Ajit Ninan – Ramana's Musings

Justice.

A few days ago, a friend posted the following joke in one the WhatsApp groups to which I belong.

“A 75 year old man was punished by an Indian court for teasing a girl.

While delivering the judgement, the Judge said “I can understand a 25 year old man teasing a girl but, a 75 year old man doing this is not acceptable.”

The old man said “I did this when I was 25, the case has taken so long to come to this stage of final hearing and verdict.”

The Guardian on Sunday 26, January had an article with the leader “Crime victims say they feel ‘let down’ by the courts and police as new data reveals rising numbers are failing to press charges.”

A few more jokes to cheer my readers up before I come to my take on the topic.

Indian courts are understaffed and over worked and so the justice system works too slow for most people with disputes. I have personal experience of such delays on more than a few occasions, one, very personal and the others to do with corporate matters during my working life. The Cooperative Housing Society in which I live is currently involved in a long drawn litigation with one member who has broken all rules of the society but is unwilling to settle otherwise. There are friends who have been in court for decades over property matters that do not seen to ever see conclusions.

Wikipedia has a long list of miscarriage of justice which, to say the least, is shocking.

“Time is the justice that examines all offenders.”

~ Shakespeare in “As You Like It”

This week’s topic for the Two On One Friday Blog Post has been suggested by me. Please do go over to Shackman’s blog to see what he has to say on the matter.

MBA!

Thankfully, my son never asked me to write an essay for his homework and so was spared this ignominy. I can however cite many other reasons why my MBA was of no use!

Regrets.

“I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature.”
~ Paulo Coelho.

Yes, I have regrets. There are things that I wish I had not done. Things that I should have done but did not. To balance those, there are many things that I am glad that I did. It’s all part of one’s life. Having said all that, if there is one regret that I have that overwhelms me often is that I outlived my friend of 48 years who was my wife for forty of those.

And what better way to write about those things than to listen to Frank Sinatra sing My way. Yes, I too did it my way just as all of us did it in our own individual ways and now reflection come to the same conclusion as Sinatra does.

My Way
Frank Sinatra
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I’ve traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way
I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried
I’ve had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside
I find it all, all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh no, no, not me
I did it my way
For what is man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
And did it my way