Sunday, September 14, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
BAD
Apparently SIMI was looking to complete the B-A-D loop (Banglore-Ahemdabad-Delhi). They are calling it 'Operation BAD'.
For those who are "interested" at all, Delhi was hit by a series of blast (sorry, I din't mean to yawn anyone).
Here's what PM,Sonia,Home Minister have to say (i guess) : "We will not spare the terrorists and hunt them down. Please maintain peace though"
Here's what L.K Advani and Co will say : "This PM is weak. We need POTA...."
And life goes on.....
(Before I forget, I need to update the India.jpeg file with another big bang blast image on the map)
For those who are "interested" at all, Delhi was hit by a series of blast (sorry, I din't mean to yawn anyone).
Here's what PM,Sonia,Home Minister have to say (i guess) : "We will not spare the terrorists and hunt them down. Please maintain peace though"
Here's what L.K Advani and Co will say : "This PM is weak. We need POTA...."
And life goes on.....
(Before I forget, I need to update the India.jpeg file with another big bang blast image on the map)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sad!
I am a huge fan of Varsha Bhonsle. Huge Huge fan. I even have a personal email response from her, from a few years back, that is most cherished.
She is currently in ICU. Doctors and Police are tight lipped about this being a suicide attempt or not. I hope not. She is a tough women.
For every Shabana Azmi we need a Shobha De. For every Barkha Dutt we need a Varsha Bhonsale. I am still not sure, why Varsha stopped writing those fiercely inspiring columns. I hope her art is revived. Amen.
She is currently in ICU. Doctors and Police are tight lipped about this being a suicide attempt or not. I hope not. She is a tough women.
For every Shabana Azmi we need a Shobha De. For every Barkha Dutt we need a Varsha Bhonsale. I am still not sure, why Varsha stopped writing those fiercely inspiring columns. I hope her art is revived. Amen.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
There you go!
More than half of country's businesses are owned by OBCs/SCs/STs now.
No comments, except - The timing of this article is suspect. With UPA government not really at the peak of it's popularity, it needs to reinforce some election gimmickry pretty soon. Such news items help it's pet "socialist" propaganda, alright.
No comments, except - The timing of this article is suspect. With UPA government not really at the peak of it's popularity, it needs to reinforce some election gimmickry pretty soon. Such news items help it's pet "socialist" propaganda, alright.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Congratulations Manmohan Singh
Congratulations are in order for Singh and UPA. I never thought I would say those words to Singh or UPA who I have scant respect for; but congratulations to them for sticking with what they believed in. It is important to understand what the NSG Waiver means for India.
India has been isolated from the world nations since last 34 years after it went ahead with it's first nuclear blast in 1974 under Indira Gandhi. This isolation meant India could not trade any new ideas related to nuclear technology while the world moved ahead. With this NSG waiver, India has officially entered the Nuclear club. And we can now deal with France, Japan, USA etc to transfer technical know-how and develop our own technology if needed in future. Remember Nuclear energy is NOT ABOUT bombs. This nuclear energy we are talking of is actually about clean and alternative energy. (France for example has 70% of it's power coming from Nuclear technology).
In a competitive and globalised world order any sort of isolation is counter productive. And if for nothing else, India needs to congratulate itself for breaking that first glass ceiling.
But we should not celebrate blindly. Last week's leak of a letter sent by Bush to his people was a dampener in a lot of supporters enthusiasm about the deal. It is clear USA will pull out of this deal if India undertakes another nuclear test. But India should now be a more confident nation. In a situation where US and other countries do act "super smart", we should do what Vajpayee did, after Pokhran II blast - show them our middle finger.
We need to be smart and tough in this world order. We need to see our backs and look at what is good for 1 billion Indians before worrying about what others think of us. (learn something from our Red neighbor China)
Talking of China, not surprisingly it was playing dirty behind the scenes during negotiations. US was steadfast in it's support and played a very important role. But before we get too smitten kitten about USA we should know it's all about business baby. They are looking for that economic interest. And to be fair, thats alright. Everyone should and always will.
India has been isolated from the world nations since last 34 years after it went ahead with it's first nuclear blast in 1974 under Indira Gandhi. This isolation meant India could not trade any new ideas related to nuclear technology while the world moved ahead. With this NSG waiver, India has officially entered the Nuclear club. And we can now deal with France, Japan, USA etc to transfer technical know-how and develop our own technology if needed in future. Remember Nuclear energy is NOT ABOUT bombs. This nuclear energy we are talking of is actually about clean and alternative energy. (France for example has 70% of it's power coming from Nuclear technology).
In a competitive and globalised world order any sort of isolation is counter productive. And if for nothing else, India needs to congratulate itself for breaking that first glass ceiling.
But we should not celebrate blindly. Last week's leak of a letter sent by Bush to his people was a dampener in a lot of supporters enthusiasm about the deal. It is clear USA will pull out of this deal if India undertakes another nuclear test. But India should now be a more confident nation. In a situation where US and other countries do act "super smart", we should do what Vajpayee did, after Pokhran II blast - show them our middle finger.
We need to be smart and tough in this world order. We need to see our backs and look at what is good for 1 billion Indians before worrying about what others think of us. (learn something from our Red neighbor China)
Talking of China, not surprisingly it was playing dirty behind the scenes during negotiations. US was steadfast in it's support and played a very important role. But before we get too smitten kitten about USA we should know it's all about business baby. They are looking for that economic interest. And to be fair, thats alright. Everyone should and always will.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Please do not insult us
Dude, Karat,
We know you are under pressure from your Big Brother (China), who does not want this deal to go through, but for God sake don't insult us like this
We know you are under pressure from your Big Brother (China), who does not want this deal to go through, but for God sake don't insult us like this
Monday, September 1, 2008
"Ganpati Bappa Morya"
My wife was asking me this morning, how Ganesh Utsav is celebrated in Nagpur (She is not from Nagpur)... and I din't have a good answer till I said - "It was much cuter, much neater than in other places...like Mumbai and Pune.."
I know, I know. This was a weird response. But I did not mean to compare. I just meant to tell her it was "different".
Ganesh Utsav is Maharshtra's signature festival. Like say Durga Puja in Bengal or Navratri in Gujarat. In Nagpur, Ganesh-utsav, is not celebrated on a scale that can be compared to other major cities in Maharashtra, though. It is pretty low key in relative terms. But in it's own little way it is neatly celebrated. Like you'd find a "sarvajanik ganesh mandal" (a cooperative group of people) erecting 'pendals' and putting out devotional songs on loud speakers at every nook and corner.
In 80s it was not unusual to find big white screen cloth with Hindi movies projected on them and people sitting on both sides of the white screen to see movies. I am not sure if it is still in vogue. I am thinking not. The Cable television has killed that thrill.
Apart from movies, the organizers would come up with schedules of indoor and outdoor games, dramas, fancy dress competition (as it was called), music night etc. They would ensure 10 days of community gathering on one or the other programs.
As kids, it was normal for us to visit different "sarvajanik mandals" on our bicycles and compare Ganpatis. The bigger the size of the Elephant God, the more appealing was it for us. I remember when I was in 9th grade, one of my friend even forced me to see "21" Ganpatis in one evening. There was something auspicious about it apparently. So he would make me go to 21 different places and pay a devotional visit to each of them. I never understood his obsession with the number 21 though. So I would count even the smaller insignificant mandals to make that number up, which he din't like. And he made me go all the way to east side of Nagpur (which west nagpuris like me visit only few times in a lifetime) to complete his ridiculous missions.
But we were boys. And we did all sorts of weird things. As we grew up, some of us started having ulterior motives behind visiting the "pandals". The pandals were good forums for meeting or seeing "people" as they would say. (If you are a guy from Nagpur, you have already read between the lines, so I don't need to elaborate).
Last several years, I have not been in Nagpur for all these festivities including Ganpati, Dassara, Sankranti etc. I think I miss them now. Anyways... sigh!
I know, I know. This was a weird response. But I did not mean to compare. I just meant to tell her it was "different".
Ganesh Utsav is Maharshtra's signature festival. Like say Durga Puja in Bengal or Navratri in Gujarat. In Nagpur, Ganesh-utsav, is not celebrated on a scale that can be compared to other major cities in Maharashtra, though. It is pretty low key in relative terms. But in it's own little way it is neatly celebrated. Like you'd find a "sarvajanik ganesh mandal" (a cooperative group of people) erecting 'pendals' and putting out devotional songs on loud speakers at every nook and corner.
In 80s it was not unusual to find big white screen cloth with Hindi movies projected on them and people sitting on both sides of the white screen to see movies. I am not sure if it is still in vogue. I am thinking not. The Cable television has killed that thrill.
Apart from movies, the organizers would come up with schedules of indoor and outdoor games, dramas, fancy dress competition (as it was called), music night etc. They would ensure 10 days of community gathering on one or the other programs.
As kids, it was normal for us to visit different "sarvajanik mandals" on our bicycles and compare Ganpatis. The bigger the size of the Elephant God, the more appealing was it for us. I remember when I was in 9th grade, one of my friend even forced me to see "21" Ganpatis in one evening. There was something auspicious about it apparently. So he would make me go to 21 different places and pay a devotional visit to each of them. I never understood his obsession with the number 21 though. So I would count even the smaller insignificant mandals to make that number up, which he din't like. And he made me go all the way to east side of Nagpur (which west nagpuris like me visit only few times in a lifetime) to complete his ridiculous missions.
But we were boys. And we did all sorts of weird things. As we grew up, some of us started having ulterior motives behind visiting the "pandals". The pandals were good forums for meeting or seeing "people" as they would say. (If you are a guy from Nagpur, you have already read between the lines, so I don't need to elaborate).
Last several years, I have not been in Nagpur for all these festivities including Ganpati, Dassara, Sankranti etc. I think I miss them now. Anyways... sigh!
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