Namrat's Views

The Train Friend

2014-03-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

Travelling in Mumbai is one of the ardous tasks for the commuters be it in trains or buses especially in the dreaded Rush Hour. It’s always as if we have no time for any person and every person is interested or let’s say self-centered that he/she seeks the best and comfortable way to commute the distance between the place of residence to the place of work. Most people prefer to catch a particular train and therein lies the magic of bonding between people.
You tend to meet the same set of people amidst the same preferred compartment of the train and a casual smile of recognition is shared with persons apparently with similar traits and personalities.
This however is short term and long term friendships are a rarity as one is susceptible to change his work place and also the mode of travel.
I like many others always travelled solo with the commuting distance barely touching 15 kms.and hardly ever interacting with fellow travelers.
Circa 2009: A group comprising of 6/7 people used to come in the 7.32 local train and exchange words of wisdom amongst themselves and the decibel level used to soar like anything with their loud bouts of laughter. Slowly I too got used to the chatter box attitude and one of the guys named Shwetal introduced himself to me and the other people in the group. The amalgamation with them was so smooth that within a few months I thought we were all childhood friends. Every one used to look forward to the early morning friendly banter and within no time the group had over 14 very active members.
Somehow 5/6 people ventured out later due to time constraints and other reasons best known to themselves.
Shwetal however made it a point and ensured that all like minded members meet atleast once a month to share and express their views and pleasantries. He used his pep talk to motivate others and encouraged positive thinking whenever he sensed something was amiss in someone’s life.
Shwetal quit his job in 2010 March and went on to do business of his own. The morning banters suddenly became less vivid and chirpy without his effervescence but he ensured that we meet at one's own convenience once in a while.We got acquainted with each other families and even they were surprised that this Friendship- trail was started in a local train.
In March 2012 twin tragedies struck – I lost my mother and Shwetal his sister. Shwetal’s sister succumbed to Lung fibrosis. Perhaps destiny had something more sinister rolled up in its dirty sleeves.
In Jan 2013 Shwetal suddenly used to feel weak and tired and remained confined to his residence more often. Travelling even a short distance would take a heavy toll.The initial reports showed nothing but doctors were appalled of the dwindling capacity of his lungs which were rapidly losing their basic function. His sister too had showed similar symptoms earlier. The dreaded DNA factor in the family perhaps had begun its ugly game.
Dec 2014- It was a double whammy. Shwetal’s wife was diagnosed with acute leukemia and chemo was being given to halt any progress of the dreaded disease. Jan 2014- Shwetal could barely speak and was in and out of Hospital. We were looking for a miracle and hoped that his positive approach would win the battle against all odds.
27th February – Shwetal all of 48 years,left his family-his aging mother, an ailing wife and 2 smart level headed kids and a brother not to forget all of us -his beloved TRAIN friends.
There were no words to express as between us we desperately contacted one another to gather for one last glimpse of Shwetal and consoling his loved ones. His lifeless body was serene and calm perhaps totally exhausted from the vicious allopathic medicines that were gulped down, the artificial oxygen that was pumped into it and the mental anguish of his wife’s fragile health that was perhaps eating into him.

Coming back from the electric crematorium, for a moment I wished I never had met shwetal in my life so I could not have felt so lonely and forlorn on that mournful and unpleasant day when we lost him.
There is a place for cremating the dead on wooden pyres too at the place where I saw 3 more bodies consigned to the flames. Death is inevitable which we all know but only when we lose a close person do we realize the importance of time which is very short and ticking away merrily and no one knows how much time do we have at our own disposal..

Time has come to move ahead forgetting the grief of losing a close pal like Shwetal who lived life on his own terms never ever complaining or discussing anything affecting his life at any point of time. He always had a positive approach even when his health was failing on him and I personally think that never at any point of time did he even contemplate in his wildest dreams that the shadows of death were lurking amidst his cheerful and sparkling desire to live.
Though his heart wanted to continue,his lungs took away his breath eventually choking him and us in grief.
His family respecting his last wish donated his eyes and skin and thus Shwetal continues to live on bringing cheer to those unidentified recipients of his sensory organs.

We all know that Shwetal is breathing a lot more freely now and is in a ‘’better world’’ free of all human bondage and all earthly pressures.

RIP – Shwetal and thanks for all the sweet albeit, short memories that we had toghether.We will certainly cherish the fond moments spent with you..We will continue with your prized ‘’Train Trails’’ as you called it missing your short gasped laughs and witty comments!!

The Perfect Murder

2013-11-25T22:22:00.000-08:00

Arushi Talwar a bright 13 year old kid was found murdered in her apartment on the night of 15th May 2008 in NOIDA, India .A day later the body of Hemraj who worked as a servant in the Talwar’s household was found on the terrace. Arushi’s parents who were present in the house when the double murder took place were the initial suspects as the door was locked from inside and there were no signs of any forced entry into their house. The CBI swung into action gathering all bits and pieces of information, collecting evidences and interrogating friends and relatives of the Talwars. Days turned into months but neither the motive for the gruesome murders could be established nor any circumstantial evidence found nailing the killers.
The CBI reluctantly gave their report to the court that it would be closing the case as ‘’unsolved’’ due to lack of any concrete proof and making no headway whatsoever in pursuing a ‘lost’ case which was akin to putting a spanner in their works .The Court forced the CBI to have a re-look into the case which already had hit the headlines with the entire country demanding justice for young Arushi albeit posthumously.

A series of narco, brain mapping and lie detector tests were conducted on Rajesh and NupurTalwar in which the father /mother duo came out unscathed. All methods of breaking them down psychologically by barraging them into questions in separate rooms for hours on end too did not materialize.
Outside the court every person put forward their own hypothesis and majority concluded that Arushi was found in a compromising position with their servant and the parents hit her fatally in the heat of the moment killing her and after realizing that their only child was dead brutally killed their servant as well.
We are no one to judge and character assasinate a kid with such illogical and baseless allegations.A section of the media too played a mean part in projecting such deplorable liasions.
This hypothesis though very vague and arbitrary in nature gathered support amongst the masses and the police too towed this figment of imagination and prevailed on the court to make their final decision based on this CRUDE theory.

Based on the evidences given by the friends and relatives of the Talwar family it was very much evident that it was a small, content and a happy family filled with ample love and affection for everyone in their midst. Even if the child was killed in the heat of the moment by the father,sustained interrogations would have broken one of them at least the mother, who unilaterally would have come out of denial and confessed to killing their only progeny.
The most surprising thing which occurred at the Talwars household is the Police could not locate the body of Hemraj when it scouted the entire house for any leads after Arushi was found murdered.
The police also later claimed that there were total of 7 people in the house when the murders took place. The Servant’s quarter was inside the house and access in/out of the house was possible from here.This vital piece of evidence was not considered at the time of final evaluation and the eventual verdict.
Who were they and why were they not interrogated? Lot of other questions went abegging as well.
The assailants underwent a pain staking effort and managed to clean up the area and wipe off crucial evidences leaving minimal traces for the police to act upon.
This case is too twisted and either the murder is a very well executed one- The Perfect Murder or the police have botched it up miserably and let the real culprits escape by not gathering enough evidences in the shortest possible time span earlier on.

The Mid-Day Horror Story

2013-07-18T00:30:00.001-07:00

Horror as shown in films or depicted in books since time immemorial has always been associated or programmed to strike terror in viewers at MID-NIGHT.

People in Chhapra, a city in the saran district of Bihar were traumatized and froze with fear and helplessness ironically not at the dreaded mid-night but at a very earthly mid-day hour which spelt an agonizing death to 22 innocent kids. The kids had just finished their mid-day meal satisfying their hunger pangs amidst laughter, chattering and discussing their plans for the day when they started having acute stomach pains along with a severe bout of vomiting spells. The school administration as usual had no clue to this and some of the kids were rushed o a nearby medical centre which locals claim had no facilities to handle this crisis. The nearest hospital was a good 50kms away and the kids were unceremoniously shoved into ‘slower than snail ‘public transport and the crucial time to give a life-saving antidote was lost and the lives of the kids too perished along with it.

The state administration instead of minimizing or mitigating the affected people worked over time in the media to defend itself in face of the opposition party’s onslaught against it. The opposition parties sensing the opportunity got enough ammunition to provoke arsonists and anti social elements who started burning and pelting stones at vehicles. This unruly and pathetic behavior of these crooks resulted in roads being blocked and denial of emergency first aid to many of the afflicted kids who by then were writhing in agony.

It is preposterous to state that this deed was pre-planned to get at the state govt. administration with the 2014 elections round the corner. We all know that the quality of the food served at mid may meals in many states are of inferior quality and barely edible. Poor parents are forced to send their wards to such schools in the sincere hope that their kids can have the LUXURY of eating at least one square meal a day. It was heart rending to quote one affected parent who said’’- it would have been better that my son to be a living illiterate than being a dead literate ’’.

The head master of the school is on the run and the law will catch up with him/her sooner or later. Precious lives have been lost because of the callous attitude on part of both, the school and the govt. authorities in charge of providing the ration rather it’s a cold blooded homicide. The affected families have been scarred forever and perhaps never come out of this unanticipated traumatic sludge hitting them.

Compensating deaths in event of a tragedy has become a mere ritual in India. The Chief minister quickly sanctioned a couple of lacs as a stand by measure to the aggrieved family. This money is gouged out of the tax payers kitty which is needed for developmental projects in the country. One of the Prime reasons for remaining in the ‘’developing country ‘’ mode is the lack of finance needed to implement capital intensive projects.

Eventually time will heal and erase these dreaded memories. Remedies and measures to ward off such avoidable tragedies in the future must be put in place.

What has gone will never come back but the authorities all over the country can certainly take this tragedy as a wake- up call and infuse confidence building measures amongst both the students and their parents by striving to provide healthy and carefully prepared wholesome nutritious packed food along with the education to the under-privileged and bridge the ever widening chasm existing between the haves and the have-nots.

The Cess Mess

2012-10-13T05:27:00.003-07:00

Cess is another word for tax or rather it is a sort of surcharge (tax on tax).

Generally cess is levied when the authorities have to extract funds and channelize the same to the desired areas so that the benefit accrues to the intended extent.

The BEST (the state approved transport provider for Mumbai region) during the 1971 war with Pakistan at the behest of the Govt. authorities enforced a cess of 5 Paisa on the existing ticket rate to finance the war operations and support the Indian Army. The People didn’t object to the levy as it was in the Country’s interest. The 1971 war ended in a mere 17 days. Forty one years has passed and the cess is still in force and ironically it has been hiked arbitrarily to 15 paisa and no questions have been asked so far about this as the amount seems miniscule. Multiply this by the lakhs of daily passengers and the no. of years and you would be gazing at an astronomical figure.

The service tax was introduced in the year 1994 in India and service providers were bought within its ambit to mop up additional and substantial revenue. The Service providers shifted this tax on the buyers of the service and the rate was fixed initially@10%. This rate has shifted up and down by a couple of percentage points as per the whims and fancies of the successive finance ministers.

A surcharge on Service ax followed as the additional cess was collected in the name of ‘’funding’’ education across the country.

No one is aware, where and how the cess collected in the name of education is allocated? The interesting part here to note is while the allocation part of the budget is on the downside yet the earnings for the Govt. through such wily taxation policies is steadily increasing.

The Schools in the urban areas boasts some of the most modern facilities though the same is ostensibly limited to the elite few who can afford the luxury of being able to squeeze in, courtesy of they being born with a Silver Spoon. These Urban Schools indulges in providing ’’ VIRTUAL EDUCATION’’ to its students while the rural folks have to bear with the VIRTUAL ‘’disappearance’’ of the teachers (though they manage to get full salaries), ill-lit roofless classrooms, filthy and stinking toilets and dilapidated benches.

The Mid- day meal schemes for school children launched amid great fanfare has failed to live up to its expectations with Children being fed with inferior quality grains and on some occasions superior grade grains have been siphoned off to lucrative counters.

Despite the collection in cess in various sectors no one has witnessed any marked improvement which provides testimony to the misappropriation and rampant embezzlement that has been taking place on account of the levy because of the unaccountability factor associated with it.

Some of the Cess collected in our Country from various sources sounds bizarre :

1)Cess on Coffee /Coffee act 1942

This cess is charged towards development of Coffee boards.

2)Cess on dried copra/Copra cess Act 1979

This Cess is charged towards development of Coconut industry.

3)Cess on Jute /Jute mfg Cess Act 1983

This cess goes towards developing the Jute industry.

4)Cess on Sugar /Sugar Cess Act 1982

This too goes towards developing the Sugar Industry. I am surprised that the SUGAR industry is yet getting developed. The Sugar lobby in the western Maharashtra region which controls the sugar pricing for the Indian Union is too affluent, modernized.

5)Cess on Coal/Coal mining Act 1974

The cess would be solely utilized to improve the safety of mines and conservation of the depleting Coal

reserves.

To sum up, the levying of cess has outlived its meaning and the documentation part which is required to show the records of the sum collected and apportioned eats into the funds because of surging overheads associated with the upkeep.

The intention of publishing this is to make people aware of the nefarious ways in which huge sums are collected from the nonchalant tax payers with the sole intention of harassing them and fulfilling their own sly desires.

I would like to express my token thanks to my friend and Colleague Nihal for providing me with inputs, relating to the wrong application of cess and particularly the mess in the education policies in our Country.

Reacting Nuclearly on Kudankulam

2012-09-18T05:02:00.001-07:00

The nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, erstwhile Russia in 1986 and the recent Fukushima Daiichi disaster at Japan in 2011 has raised alarms and concerns about the safety standards of nuclear reactors especially when these sensitive and radioactive structures are threatened or triggered by natural disasters. The state of the art automated systems designed to curb the nuclear fission whenever things go awry have a limited capacity to stem the rot as no one can win against the vagaries of nature.

Japan is the only country which has experienced the terrible after effects of the nuclear holocaust in 1945.One of the most gruesome and telling tragedy willingly inflicted on the human race till date, and which has been effectively projected on celluloid is very gripping and takes a lot of heart to muster courage and view the ghastly aftermath.

The portrayal is so strong that one feels the pain, heat and the numbness that affected the unsuspecting victims 67 years back.

Japan is sitting on a Virtual time bomb and is ever on the tenterhooks because of the alarming regularity of seismic disturbances often accompanied by ‘complimentary’ tsunamis. The tenacity of the unassuming Japanese to bounce back though adulatory is often cut back by the forces of nature who tries to emphatically assert ‘’who is the boss’’.

The Fukushima nuclear power plant had been built adhering to stringent preventive measures to withstand any accidents but the gigantic tsunami which ultimately ravaged it was not at all contemplated. The Pictures of the devastation was widely seen all over the world thanks to the Satellite television that has invaded the privacy of our living rooms.

Kudankulam in the state of Tamil Nadu has been in the news after a mass protest against the Construction of the Nuclear power reactor turned ugly and violent after 2 persons were killed in Police action. This reactor has been built incorporating the dicey and unreliable Soviet technology.

The Chernobyl disaster happened because of lack of alertness and proper safety regulations in place, questionable and accident prone technology and indifference of the stone faced communist bureaucrats whose sole agenda was to ‘’outmanoeuvre the NATO’’ to gain a strategic advantage as a Super power.

The disaster management Cell in India is worse than the malady itself. We all know about the dismal and pathetic behavior of the authorities during the Bhopal Gas Leak, in 1984. Many of the victims died because of the improper and erratic health care doled out to them.

God forbid and should any uncontrolled nuclear fission occur in any of our reactors the gushing kinetic energy along with the gamma rays would obliterate everything in its path for generations considering the eternal radioactive chain reaction.

The rising discontent against the Proposed reactor has prompted the authorities to come out with ridiculous and startling allegations like ‘’foreign NGO’s’’ are actively foraging and willfully sabotaging this nuclear power project.

Instead of playing with the innocent lives of the people, wouldn’t it be fair if a greener and cleaner option of renewable energy is given preference than to a precarious piece of radioactive junk forever hovering over our conscience and willing to burst at the seams any moment??.

Unfortunately all this comes up for discussion when the whole project is nearing completion and after colossal investment in such Capital intensive projects.

Autonomy for States??

2012-09-17T06:26:00.002-07:00

India is a country replete with diverse and myriad cultures and multilingual languages, dialects & interests inter lapping the terra firma amongst the varied topography of the vast sub continent.

The division of the country on the basis of languages was conceptualized in 1956 when the state of Andhra Pradesh was formally born after the death of P.Sreeramalu who succumbed after fasting and the then PM, Nehru reluctantly agreed to the formation of the new state. This played on the minds of others who too began demanding separate states on the basis of linguistic grounds and this marked the beginning of the end or let us say-disintegration for this land mass called ‘’India’’.

We see ample differences on a/c of regionalism- instigating and inciting the natives or locals over trivial issues against – Supposed OUTSIDERS (people from other states). The craze of Cricket and Cinema signals a brief hiatus to this unending frenzy of hatred and mistrust which raises its head every now and then causing unending hardships besides causing insurmountable damage to life and property.

Nearly 565 princely states existed even after the formal partition of India and Pakistan took place in 1947. The iron man of India Vallabhai Patel was instrumental in integrating and uniting the scattered and fragmented heart and souls plus curbing the shattered egos of the erstwhile princes.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been facing acute pressure since its accession to the Indian union in 1947 where it is experiencing insurgency and militancy with tacit logistical support provided by the Pakistan Army.

We take umbrage whenever the state of Jammu and Kashmir is shown as disputed territory but our own govt. formulates differential laws for our FORCIBLY unified country. The state has been accorded a special status which confers the Central Govt. to act only on matters relating to defence, external affairs and communication that too within a limited scope. Almost every other law which applies to the Indian Union is NOT APPLICABLE to the state of J&K. Article 370 which was invoked during the pre- accession days should have been scrapped long back but appeasement of the minorities has prevented the successive govts. from taking this retrograde and logical step.

Why should the rest of the Country (tax payers hard earned money) pay for the development of a region which is supposedly not ‘’theirs’’???

A Citizen of India cannot purchase any immoveable property in J&K but the vice-versa doesn’t hold water. Billions of dollars have gone down the drain, countless lives has been lost in trying to hold on to this SLIPPERY state. It is better to let the people of J&K decide on their fate through plebiscite.

The White Paper released by the Govt. in 1948 on J&K has yet to see the light of the day. The ‘’White’’ Paper must have tuned ‘’YELLOW’’ after all these years in isolation and solitude rather than the presence of lignin in them.

It may seem ridiculous and this blog may even attract charges of sedition as per the existing norms and our archaic laws but perhaps the time has come for granting a similar autonomy to all the states within the Indian union. The Central govt. should retain the right to enforce defence, core banking and monetary issues and at most perform an arbitrary role to resolve disputes.

The states can deal with smaller regions and resolve issues within the ambit of a revised constitution and compete with one another for a healthy overall growth. The state should have first lien on the natural resources within the territory of the state enabling it either to use it first hand or sell the surplus outside. The Centre has made enough mess of mining both by indiscriminately ruining hectares of flora and fauna and allocating lucrative blocks to vested interests courtesy, nepotism.

The innumerable people who dedicated their entire life to achieve freedom might be turning in their graves even contemplating whether the titanic struggle was worth the effort. Those at the helm of affairs have belied, betrayed and throttled the faith, expectation and aspirations of millions by sustained

policies and procedures which are manipulative, coercive and obsolete.

War and Peace

2012-09-04T04:56:00.002-07:00

The Global arms industry is doing a roaring business despite the economic slowdown which has dented and obliterated the economies of countries across the board. The melting economic scenario is in perfect synch with the polar ice cap meltdown at the poles. The European countries perhaps with the bare exception of Germany, are struggling to stay afloat in the swirling malaise of unemployment, uncertainty coupled with ever depreciating currencies and north bound inflation.

As per the records maintained by SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) India is the largest importer of arms accounting for about 10% of world sales- as per volume.(Obviously there could be another reason that the percentage of Kick backs involved in arms deal has prompted these figures to snowball considerably).Arch rival Pakistan is not far behind. The amount of money spent by these two on developmental projects in their respective countries would have yielded a far better result than the bitter enmity that has prevailed since 1947.Economic conditions have remained stagnant for a majority of the population but the Govt. of both countries want to slug it out by procuring the latest and most potent technology. Vested interests and sly business marketing by the sellers (USA,UK, Israel and France) however have seen to it that the acrimonious and rancid behavior between the neighbors stay intact. The irony is after providing fuel to the fire these zealots come armed with hose pipes (in the name of various aids and consortiums) to douse the flames they themselves have ignited.

Middle east countries like Saudi Arabia has been duped and deceived into purchasing high top end military equipment citing growing Israeli dominance within its proximity. The annual budgeted expenditure is well over 50 billion dollars. It is hilarious to note that the Saudis had to get Pakistani pilots at short notice to man their aircrafts for a while till their own Countrymen got the necessary expertise.

There is a single track motive for the countries who sell arms to developing countries(prevent it from getting ‘’DEVELOPED’’) to wedge animosity and create hostile conditions between warring neighbors, create a war like atmosphere by providing huge cache of arms in lieu of securing permanent air-bases in the region, sabotaging any bid to ease tensions in areas of high economic and intrinsic value (Oil rich Middle East) or planting themselves in places of strategic importance concerning or affecting global trade (Suez & Panama Canal, the Persian Gulf etc).

The World could have been a much better place to live in had the countries indulging in mass production of these destructive state of the art weaponry chosen to halt this sabotage and channelized the same resources (both men and materials) into evolving technology to breed new machines which could give more yield in agriculture, could reduce carbon emission, create alternative means of clean and green fuel, provide new clan of polymers which would be bio degradable etc. The amount of money invested in R&D to manufacture these unwarranted means of killing machine alone could help correct the imbalance in severely impoverished countries like Somalia, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Ethiopia where Civil unrest is the order of the day with rival factions often backed by western countries for their own self centered motive. The economic disparities and severe food scarcity has aggravated the situation often leading to a free for all which is manipulated by the protagonists of arms to suit their evil design of spreading violence and hatred.

Curiosity about Aliens

2012-08-28T05:03:00.004-07:00

Man is a curious animal and is inquisitive since birth. This eagerness has helped us find answers to the most intrigue and complex set of questions arising in the mind through series of research, experiments and detailed hypothesis.

The disturbing thought of ‘’we are alone in this Universe’’ for ages, perhaps spurred mankind to search for extra terrestrial life. The advent of modern technology has joined this quest by launching numerous space missions, deploying the hubble telescope and installing array of giant radio telescopes for scanning and monitoring any visible signs of alien life.

The story about UFO’s (Unidentified Flying Objects) generated a mass hysteria during the early 40’s and 50’s which eventually led to establishing a study known as ‘’Project Bluebook’’. This involved a deep study comprising about reports compiled about numerous sightings across the US by United States Air Force and other residents. Many of the sightings were brushed off as weather balloons, aircrafts and deceptive natural phenomenon. However there were some sightings which could not be classified either as a hoax nor attributed to any phenomenon. These were classified as ’’un-explained’’. The ‘’Project blue book’’ was closed down in 1970 citing it was unviable and could not scientifically prove anything concrete even after almost a decade.

The Roswell episode in which debris of a spacecraft were found in Roswell, New Mexico in June 1947 has gained notoriety for the US air force for keeping secret a possible alien air crash which is widely debated across the scientist fraternity. Major Jesse Marcel an air force personnel who was involved in collecting the debris and transporting them to higher authorities spilled the beans about the stuff nearly three decades later about the covert military cover-up. He hinted that the debris did not contain any thing closely related to the weather balloon and some articles found were definitely not ‘’terrestrial’’.

The SETI (Search for extra terrestrial Intelligence) established in 1961, to detect the faintest radio waves from across our vast strata of Universe for a possible contact with the alien world hasn’t met with any success so far. Various antenna’s (dish shaped) have been arranged over a large area, some as colossal as 100metres in diameter in the hope of receiving some positive clue from a source –somewhere in the Solar system.

The renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has advocated that aliens do exist and some of them may have already been on our tails and tracking us with their advanced state of the art technology. Hawking deviated from sticking to the orthodox concept of finding water and oxygen (the two crucial elements for survival on Planet- Earth) and thinks it would be more prudent if that conventional yard-stick is not applied henceforth. His contention that aliens might have manifested, adjusted and blossomed in conditions and circumstances totally ‘’alien’’ and hostile to us does ‘’HOLD WATER’’.

The latest ‘land rover’ sent to Mars- Curiosity to collect samples of Martian soil has reportedly taken pictures of moving lights which is distinctly seen in the video release by Nasa. Nasa officials have been quick to nip any adverse reactions /publicity in the bud by portraying that the pictures are because of a flawed technique/dead pixel inherent in the camera .Seasoned experts have confirmed that this hypothesis is both rational and conclusive.

The perennial research which has poured millions of dollars into seeking questions about the existence of extra terrestrial life should continue, but in an undisputed and impartial manner. The clandestine manner where documents are hidden, sightings brushed off as retinal error or defective vision doesn’t augur well for future research. There have been reports of sightings all over the world with most of them hoaxes and some of it could have been because of wrong identity, absence of clarity of vision or even hallucination.

The ‘un-explained ‘cases however merit a second chance and, perhaps a more rational and scientific approach could provide us with startling answers. This information should be shared amongst astronomers and amateur star gazers unabashedly.

Space is so huge that it cannot be classified or visualized in a finite form. The innumerable galaxies and countless milky way encompass and dot every available spectrum of Celestial network and are joined by millions of stars, planets and their satellites, comets, and asteroids.

It is simply preposterous to believe that life exists only on one of the miniscule Planets and the rest are LIFELESS pieces of zodiac signs traversing the Constellation.

Of Julian Assange and his ethical Journalism

2012-08-24T06:45:00.002-07:00

The widespread furore over granting of asylum by Equador recently to the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange hogged the headlines. The UK is desperately trying to assert its flagging supremacy in the world perhaps hounded by its dominance of its erstwhile colonies a couple of century’s back. Britain has even threatened to raid the embassy in Equador where Assange is currently holding siege and freeze the economic aid promised earlier.

The contention that Assange has been accused of sexual assault in Sweden and hence is hounded by the US allies is dumbfounded.

The aforesaid case has been reopened to indict Assange in some form or another so as to stop the cable leaks thereby spilling the beans and names of some influential persons and their so called misdeeds.

The case against Assange seems pretty vindictive. The Woman who had accused Assange of molestation and rape has considerably weakened her case when she had reportedly hosted a party ‘’the day after the sexual misconduct’’ to which the accused was also invited and twitting a message about the party .. Now, was the party hosted by her to ‘’celebrate’’ the sexual assault? Perhaps only SHE as the plaintiff or accuser in this case, can answer this sensitive question.

The innumerable sexual fervors and scandals perpetrated by the US Presidents (only SOME of them and not SUM of them have been mentioned here!!) between Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings, Woodrow Wilson and Edith Galt and between the Kennedy Brothers (Robert & John) and Marilyn Monroe needs to be minutely scanned by a neutron microscope so as to clear the myths surrounding these stalwarts. The so called word - ‘Chastity’ is an autonym for the Americans and hence it is better that they look for some other alibi to chain the likes of Assange.

Half of the US presidents TILL DATE would be behind bars if the same principle (which is currently forced on Assange) is applied to them.

All this has to be brought to light as the Americans are falsely implicating him of espionage and willing to try him under their law which can be twisted at will and could hand him a minimum of 10 years of hard labor which is crude, unethical, vindictive and in bad taste. Some of the republicans have gone ahead and wish that he be, assassinated at the earliest opportunity. The day their interests are threatened, their crooked vices are brazenly exposed, the Yankees can stoop to the lowest possible ebb, to get even.

Every country whose dirty linen has been washed in public (even India is one of them) is after Julian assange and plan to settle scores with him to avenge the insult of being demystified of their true colors and wily actions. The former CM of UP, Mayawati had sent an empty plane to collect some shoes/clothes belonging to her. This leak infuriated her so much that she called Assange a lunatic. But at the back of her mind she might be wondering where and how the hell does information that too, an accurate one reach him??

The wicki cables has revealed that the breed of politicians the world over, follow a certain trend, a certain cult hiding behind the veil of uprightness and are always up to, something sinister at their back of their crooked minds.

The truth is that the wiki leaks has left them (all countries named in various scams) fuming, with their mouth, full of bitterness which is difficult to swallow and shameful to spit out. The World has come to know the truth and the expose has left them having to fend for themselves and cutting a very sorry figure while desperately trying to mop up the spilt guilt.

Julian Assange had to go through a difficult, trying and tumultuous childhood. He had to change his school upteen times as his mother was trying to settle herself after numerous marriages and divorces. The sharpness of his inquisitive mind was evident in him being brilliant in maths and science.

He immersed himself in hacking –read ethical hacking which evidently has helped the Police/law enforcing dept. in solving and curbing complicated cases relating to cyber crimes. His intellectual work though has been acknowledged by many of his detractors thus speaking volumes of his creative genius.

We should acknowledge his immense contribution in leaking cables containing crucial information which has helped us to understand the dirty political aspirations, both intra country and inter country. The Cable leaks has instilled a fear psychosis amongst those in power and which possibly, might pave way to a clear and open governance so badly needed at this crucial juncture. Ethical Journalism can change the world forever and one wishes that this happens sooner than later.

Plagiarism- Indecent borrowing

2012-08-14T05:51:00.002-07:00

Plagiarism- a term used for stealing or copying a tune/lyric /song or clandestinely lifting a paragraph or an entire chapter or editorial to show as if the work is their own handiwork.

The original work is read, heard and rehearsed ‘n’ number of times. It is possible that more effective research is made on similar lines at a later stage where innovative ideas gets metamorphosed and the resulting ‘’encompassed’’ work gets huge credibility and the author rides the horse of success to unimaginable heights and hogs all the lime-light. The euphoria continues till the bubble is burst and the facts nail the offender and subdues all unwarranted and unmerited glaze.

The recent indictment and suspension of renowned Time magazine editor of and CNN TV host Fareed Zakaria has grossly exposed the negative aspects of journalists / writers who thrive on pilfered and willfully borrowed articles. Fareed Zakara was awarded a Padma Bhushan in2010 for his outstanding Contribution to Journalism. The awarding committee which chooses the potential candidate, must be licking their wounded psyche after the shameful expose.

There have been numerous instances when top notch Indian authors/writers have bitten more than they could chew.

Kavya Vishwanathan an Indian American writer was caught red-handed, she had plagiarized pages from 5 different novels to write 1 of her own. All the copies were later recalled and consigned to the dust-bins.

Arun Purie noted editor of India today used the nefarious –CONTROL X /CONTROL V to carve out a piece of article on South Indian actor Rajnikanth by Grady Hendrix. This was perhaps the most humiliating and unpardonable crime.(Imagine an outsider having a better grasp of the subject on an Indian film star). The worst thing was Arun Purie was stubborn enough and refused to acknowledge the Crime.

VN Narayanan erstwhile editor of Hindustan Times effortlessly’’ DOWNLOADED’ an article from British Journo Bryan Appleyard and almost ‘’earned ‘’ accolades before alert and avid readers fixed him. He was of course unceremoniously shown the DOOR.

This violation of copyright/patent right has marred the image of our Country which is replete with great literary souls from Rabindranath Tagore to RK Narayan and VS Naipaul to Premchand.

Dried up ideas or lack of self motivating factors and trying to make it big in the literary world perhaps provokes these individuals to penetrate and breach the HALL OF SHAME.

In a bizarre attempt to grab success, fame and glamour our esteemed journos have taken the short cut for attaining the ‘’2’’ minutes of Fame.

The writers have failed to realize that there are hordes of avid book lovers who follow a certain trend and who create their own cult following, choosing a select brand of writers and are equally intelligent to detect such pilferage with consummate ease.

The Cut and paste authors should further realize that the thin and fragile crust of faith and astute fan following is destroyed in seconds by their malicious intent.

The painstaking efforts in initializing the original masterpiece (the original writers who use their imaginative and complex ideas to proliferate and mould the same into literary and creative art) should never be allowed to be so easily marauded or mauled by these new breed of Parasites who are into this Plagiarisation business sans any shame or guilt.

Blame it on the ''EL-NINO''

2012-08-08T07:52:00.001-07:00

The world is experiencing widespread changes in the environment thanks to the sustained depletion of the rainforests, letting out of green house gases and CFC’s from unconventional and older generation of AC’s and refrigerators, depletion in the crucial Ozone layer especially over the polar regions and abundant and uninterrupted Carbon footprint emissions over the last few decades.

The Earth is receiving bountiful rainfall in arid areas where sparse rains have been the trademark for centuries and coastal regions have been experiencing deficit rainfall year after year. The polar region has seen melting of hitherto solid ice caps, resulting in substantial increase in sea water level inundating low lying areas and slowly gobbling away chunks of fertile coastal land in the process. Despite early warning about this process in the early 1970’s by eminent scientists and environmentalists few took notice and by the time they did, the damage was already done and the rot had set in. Nature has amply demonstrated its fierce-some power to hit back at its detractors (read ravagers of this Planet) by churning savage flash floods in rain shadow areas and appalling drought conditions in some of the most fertile land mass.

The periodic warming of the Pacific waters (this is cyclical and takes place once in every 5/8 years) results in drastic changes in the environmental conditions all over the world. Some areas experience prolific rainfall while others reel in drought. This phenomenon known as ‘’El-NINO’’ effectively translated as little boy in Spanish is one of the most dreaded word for weather bureaus worldwide. It has been routinely analyzed that a number of natural catastrophes has struck every year when El Nino has been diagnosed. Despite the state of the art technology available no one has been able to determine the periodic pattern of this peculiar phenomenon.

While the scientist fraternity is fighting over the logical aspect it is to be understood that blaming the El Nino for this mess is futile. This mess has been created over the years by all of us contributing to it albeit in a small way knowingly or unknowingly through emissions of harmful green house gases in dis- proportionate amounts. The failure of the monsoon over the Indian sub- continent has generated a lot of interest and concern amongst the masses in the EL NINO phenomena.

The world leaders hold periodic meetings (remember the failed Kyoto Protocol- Dec 1997 which was resisted tooth and nail by the USA who perhaps is the prime offender in emitting Green House Gases) and differences keep cropping up between the developed countries (who started all this muck by resorting to newer technologies with disastrous after effects) and the developing nations who naturally resist the clamping of sanctions on them in the name of Carbon footprint emissions.

At this rate nature will throw newer gauntlets at us every now and then, upon which newer theories will be propagated, newer principles will be set up to show case its ill effects on our extremely fragile ecosystems.

The top environmentalists, intellectuals and scientists would vie with one another to get the credit and perhaps get the ‘’phenomena’’ named after them.

No one wants a new disease/phenomena on the horizon with only the symptoms to reckon with.

We all need a ‘’CURE’’ for this malady and that too a long lasting one.

The apocalypse has already set in and the time-bomb is ticking away precariously and ferociously.

A Failed State and its eroding Human Values

2012-07-24T05:30:00.004-07:00

The deep shock and outrage at the dastardly killing of about a dozen innocent people watching the new Batman film- The Dark Knight Rises in Denver, Colorado filtered through newspapers, blogs and related articles and made instant headlines, the world over. It was indeed a ‘’Dark NIGHT’’ for the audience.

The alleged culprit just about 24 years old, obviously a maniac has since shown no remorse for the massacre.

The administration was quick to apprehend the suspect before any further similar horrendous attempts, were made. Investigations in the case later showed that the act was pre-meditated months earlier and executed as scheduled.

One can easily identify the pain of the next of kin of the deceased as the attacks claimed innocent lives who never knew what destiny had in store for them.

The western countries have always valued Human Life in a different perspective. Research and analysis is done and different innovative ways are brooded upon to prevent or minimize such loss of human life whether by homicide, suicide or natural disasters. The culprits are nailed quickly and justice prevails.

Every possible angle is probed into to ensure there is minimum loss of life and property. Their disaster management cell is well awake to all possible threats and search and rescue squads are always on their toes to meet any contingencies.

In contrast here, in India more than 80,000 people succumb to road accidents every passing year and the figures are alarmingly increasing in geometric progression. People get killed in petty issues – indiscriminate celebratory firing during trivial events like winning an election, marriage ceremonies etc. We have army men chucking helpless people out of trains in frustration. We have kids getting crushed under their own school buses. Countless People who perished in the 1984 Bhopal Gas holocaust have long been forgotten and given a measly sum of 400 USD in compensation. The irony of the case gets further magnified as entire families have been wiped out leaving behind no claimants. It seems in India life is very cheap and its value is easily identifiable and can be fixed with alarming ease. The value of a human life has steadily eroded over the years and deriving a fair and equitable Justice is virtually impossible for the common man.

Had any Indian company perpetrated such an act in the US our entire country and its economy would have been held to ransom and the perpetrators whisked away and swiftly tried in US Courts.

Compare that to the recent case when India had to move HEAVEN and EARTH just to get access to David Coleman Headley for questioning who covertly had provided logistical and tactical support to the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.

Losing a life and being a citizen of US /Israel /European countries would reap in huge compensation to the affected families and almost succeed in brow beating the suspect Country behind the act to abject penury.

In contrast on July 16^th 2012 the US Navy fired indiscriminately and killed an Indian fisherman in Dubai near Jebel Ali port, under the pretext of MISTAKEN IDENTITY. Obviously we being a soft state a token apology from the perpetrator of the crime was accepted without a murmur.

In April 2001 16 Border Security Force personnel were brutally ambushed and killed near Meghalaya border by the Bangladesh Rifles and the dead bodies were tied to bamboo poles and paraded in the Villages.

A ‘’STRONG ‘’ Protest was lodged with the Bangladesh High Commission as per the standard norm by our Govt. which under stably was overlooked by the Bangladeshi officials. The case is still being pursued at an official level between the diplomats at a leisurely pace. Only the families of those killed would know and experience the pain, anguish and humiliation.

Time and again we had to go through this humiliation because of the persona of a soft state or perhaps a failed state??

Freedom @ Midnight

2012-07-07T02:52:00.000-07:00

The glamour and dazzle of the night life in the western Countries as often seen in films, certain documentaries and life style magazines takes our breath away and transports us there mentally albeit, for a few moments.

We try to get succor however mild it may seem from their standard of living, the well arched roads, the clean and green environment which is a distant mirage for most of us, to ever think of achieving it, in our lifetimes.

Post the 1990’s liberalization outsourcing and the IT boom paved a certain section of the elite to get the hang of the comfort and luxury enjoyed by the westerners. The entertainment industry, the hotel industry, the tourism industry got a boost when people started spending their surplus income in quest for leisure.

The contradiction starts right here.

The problem associated with uncontrolled consumption of liquor is the same in every part of the world.

However with a stringent law in place coupled with a sensible mind has kept the so called workaholics or (alcoholics which ever phrase suits them) and their resulting antics within bearable limits in the western world. We are in a infant stage and perhaps do not know how to express and digest success, money and fame coming our way. Enjoying and Partying is good TILL it doesn’t become a nuisance value to others. The revelers should respect peace, tranquility and privacy of others.

In this part of the world, we have had enough incidents of this car(efree) revelers who have maimed, killed and ruined the lives of innocent pedestrians by drunken driving at the oddest hour of the night. Time and again we have witnessed the offenders going scot free on bail even before the bereaved family is through with completing the last rites.

We have celebs including film stars who have time and again blatantly violated the time- limit deadline and indulging in revelry and blaring music often going into the wee hours of the morning. Their immediate neighbors reluctantly have learnt to adjust to this obscene behaviour and rather be a mum spectator fully aware, that their complaints won’t be entertained or registered.

Many new age and tech savvy youngsters have repeatedly evaded Police by regrouping on social networking sites and organizing rave parties. Countless number of innocent and gullible youth have fallen prey to this menace of drugs and our impotent law has been incompetent enough, to catch the miscreants who resort to newer technologies.

There was this sudden crave for hookah parlors (where pots filled with a deadly concoction of tobacco/steam and chemical laden essence is provided to customers -mostly teenagers and college students) to inhale and innumerable joints sprung up under spurious names in posh residential localities to cash in the business.

On getting specific information and leads, police raided such joints/hotels and people were caught red- handed indulging in all sorts of immoral activities. The people caught were so adamant that they refused to cow down and vowed to fight (for their legitimate and democratic rights????)

The Asst. Comm. of Police, Vasant Dhoble and his team has launched a relentless battle to end this tomfoolery with the result that the elite, upped the ante against him by spreading baseless charges.

Vasant Dhoble is under the media scanner for being a ‘fun spoiler’ for the upper class elite who indulge in letting their hair down and who morally believe that their democratic rights are infringed upon every time a joint was raided for violating, breaching and flouting rules.

No wonder many worried Parents stood by him in this crucial hour and supported his tirade however crude it may seem.

We got token freedom from the British rule on 15^th Aug 1947.The World slept while we woke up to freedom as one learned politician preached us, from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

This Freedom achieved @ midnight has had no real meaning because of the macabre situation which we are currently undergoing .It seems now, that we are sleeping over mindless issues while the world has moved on, lights years away.

There is this Khap Panchayat existing in our Country where mature adults have to face their ire if they marry within the same clan or Khap. Innocent youngsters have been brutally killed by their own kith and kin for defying the diktat of the archaic law laid down in some 14^th Century.

No action has been taken against the murderers and this Practice has not dimmed in view of the administration’s light hearted efforts.

The ancient devadasi system (though OFFICIALLY banned in 1982) is still prevalent in the border districts of the adjoining states of Maharashtra and Karnataka and no one has dared to try and abolish this age old practice where young girls, just about reaching puberty have been abused by priests and devotees alike in the name of Culture and tradition and pushed into the prostitution racket.

30% of the total food production is wasted due to lack of warehousing and adequate storage facility. Approximately the same percentile of the population, go hungry to sleep every day. Freedom will be achieved when they get freed from the tantalizing hunger pangs.

Freedom will be achieved when we will be freed from the evil shackles of Corruption which has prevented our country from progressing for the past 6 decades.

Freedom will be achieved when scores of villages in remotest part of the country will get electricity and clean drinking water.

Holding placards, adoring a well- dressed attire (Armani , JJ Valaya and versace ) and clamoring to remove a Cop who is merely doing his duty and trying to restore sense and sanity amongst the spoilt brats who are used to raising a mindless din over needles issues and caring a hoot for the law, reeks of arrogance, indifferent and callous attitude of these supposedly new age czars.

The Towering Inferno

2012-06-23T06:20:00.002-07:00

In the Mahabharata the kaurava Princes along wth ther wily maternal uncle shakuni hatched a sinister plot to get rid of their nearest contenders to the throne and very own cousins, the ever popular Pandavas by trying to burn them in a palace made of- lac a highly combustible substance.

A similar plan was hatched by our modern day kauravas i.e our wily politicians who collected all the important documents and made a bonfire of them by triggering a man made inferno.

The fire that broke out within the precincts of the secretariat has reportedly burnt down crucial records.

The records which are presumed to be lost consisted of the controversial Adarsh Land scam, the lavasa land scam and many other illegal activities ever pursued by the bureaucrats running our country, which could have implicated the whole lot of them in the long run.

The arson was crafted to precision and perfected to make it look like an accident. It looks like the fire brigade personnel were instructed to delay the salvage operations so that the important documents were eliminated by the forces of nature.

One of the most laughable quotes doing the rounds was: Sharad Pawar was heard asking his Personal assistant over the Phone--- Mera File usme daala naa???(meaning- Have you ensured that my file too has gone?????.

Even a layman knew that this was a stage managed conspiracy to get rid of the proof and who the master mind was, behind all this rancid stuff.

An enquiry would be set up and by the time the report comes out (say a decade later) a swanky new building with all the high end amenities for the tainted ministers would be re- built with the tax payers money.

The politicians can stoop to the lowest possible ebb in our country and most of our mature and responsible citizens openly say that the Country hasn’t gone to the ‘’dogs’’ it has gone to the ‘’hyenas’’. The British rule has been reenacted in this showcased democracy of ours- any one taking on the politicians have been charged of treason, some have to cope with Income tax raids, some with FEMA and all sort of harassment practices is on the anvil to put them on a tight leash.

The last resort, perhaps is a military coup which should throw all these politicians to languish in prison for all their misdeeds. The law of the land is primarily responsible for them to get away with any kind of infringement knowing that the Judges and Judgement can be brought at a price.

I profoundly prayed and wished that the fire shouldn’t have devoured the precious documents instead it should have engulfed some of the ever growing, shameless, scam tainted ,wily and dirty breed of homo sapiens.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

2012-05-05T03:46:00.001-07:00

Friends the persons whom we love to be with and with whom, we share our joy and sorrow alike. They are like a whiff of fresh air which connects with our inner soul and immediately transports us to a different plane sans any jealousy, ego or attitude. The earliest friends we have during childhood are mostly playmates who unite solely for furthering their interests to play as a team. Even at that age we are compelled or drawn into joining a group because of the similar views and sentiments shared within that group. It is commonly seen that these type of friendships seldom last a lifetime as the scenario and the equation changes over the period of years. Of course the bonds created during those pre-adolescent years can last a life-time though the percentage is miniscule.

In Mumbai where people are programmed to move out at a pre-determined time and prefer to catch a particular mode of transport like train/bus at a particular time the daily routine has sprung up a new concept in friendship – Train/Bus Friends.

The familiar faces which we see in our daily routine slowly manifests itself into casual smile to a hello and finally exchanging some words which MAY ultimately culminate into a bond when we personally begin to feel that camaraderie in our veins and warmth in our hearts inducing us to gel with that person.

The surprising thing is we accept only certain people as our friends and it is only logical because the wave –lengths match on a finite spectrum to give way to such a mystical association.

You need not have a huge list of friends to show off as in the case of FACEBOOK FRIENDS but is better off having a limited number, the ones who will share fun and sorrow alike and be with you through thick and thin irrespective of your standing in society (whether you have the BIG BUCKS or not). It counts a lot and you are indeed lucky to have such set of friends beside you. They might not be physically present every time but their memory is enough to give strength, courage and comfort in difficult and trying circumstances. You can savor the time spent together – the happier times I mean which can rejuvenate and provide solace especially with those fond memories in the bygone days.

I am greatly honored to have some delightful, knowledgeable, witty and supportive friends in my life who are from diverse fields and myriad cultures and yet manage to strike and retain that vital bond called as ‘’friendship’’.

Hands that Rock the Cradle

2012-03-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

Death- This Five letter word is detested by everyone but every creature on Planet Earth has to make way for this inevitable thing to take its toll. It is silent, swift and triggers the END of Life in all living organisms.
Death and life are inseparable..
Everyone loves LIFE and Hates Death--- because LIFE is a ‘’BEAUTIFUL LIE’’ and DEATH an ‘’UGLY TRUTH’’.
The home where death Visits often turns into a nightmare for the other surviving members who seem to be lost in a time- zone and who try to move on keeping the fond memories intact .Of course the tacit moral support from close family members and friends is of utmost importance to reduce the grief.
While it may be unnerving for the loved ones to reconcile to the Grave fact of ‘’emptiness’’ it may be a blessing in disguise for the mentally ill, those laid low by incurable and de-capacitating diseases like muscular dystrophy ,alzeimers, cancer and the like. It releases them from the Pain and suffering and transports them to eternal bliss which they so craved for, prior to the illness setting in.
People who have encountered NDE – or near death experience as they call this unusual phenomenon tell of some powerful light that explodes before them and the entire Life – incidents and events move in front of them like a movie in fast forward mode. Science is yet to prove or dispel the facts about NDE but some things as they say are beyond the borders of any logical explanation or scientific exploration.
They say that the soul is Pure and in- destructive like an atom molecule and reincarnates in a different form in a different body.
Even Siddhartha before getting enlightment as Gautam Buddha was deeply saddened by the sight of a funeral procession and went on to seek the answers for the cause of suffering that one has to undergo in different stages of Life before culminating in death.

Now for the twist in the tale…….
The above paragraphs had been ironically written in Jan 2012 and for some strange reason I could not write and finish off the topic. Was this some sort of premonition? Honestly I am still searching for the answers. Fate had it that I have to use it as some sort of obituary for my mother who passed away suddenly and inexplicably on 02nd March 2012 leaving back only fond memories to fall back on. The woman who guided and prodded us since childhood faded into oblivion forever. Struggling throughout the night with my brother keeping vigil, she breathed her last almost in his arms. Her lifeless face sported a slight grimace depicting the pain she had gone through the ill–fated night.
While taking her for the last rites her head tilted to our side perhaps by the bumps on the road and the face looked astonishingly serene and calm. She looked very peaceful and the face also sported a wry smile bidding a farewell to us forever. The Change in the facial expression would remain entrenched in our hearts till eternity. Perhaps she has rejoined her loved ones who had predeceased her and will be hopefully at peace with herself after completing her limited journey on this mortal planet.

Today on my birthday (15th March) I am missing the ooh so tender and loving hands that ONCE rocked my cradle and finally made me a Person that I am, today.

Twain shall meet at the end of my lifespan, one day to be with you forever………..

Faceoff @ Hormuz

2012-01-25T04:06:00.001-08:00

The threat of war between Iran and USA looms large in the Strait of Hormuz. The strait one of the most narrowest (barely 55 kms. wide) but one of the most strategic as regards to the export value of Crude Oil lies between the gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. About 1/5thof the world trade of crude passes through this strait most of which is from Iran and the Saudi Arabian Kingdom.
The proximity of the Saudis to US since the Gulf war is well known and this ‘’marriage of convenience’ between the two does not go well with the Iranian authorities since times immemorial.
The face- off between US and the Iranians dates back to April 1988 when the US vessel USS Samuel Roberts was severely mauled in a surprise mine attack launched by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
This attack was repulsed with the US Navy sinking/damaging a couple of frigates belonging to the Iranian Navy. Further to this on 3rd July 2008 an Iranian Airbus (A-300) Passenger Aircraft was downed by the US Navy admitting later that it was a case of MISTAKEN IDENTITY. Later the person who ordered the shooting down was publicly felicitated by the US authorities which led to widespread angry protests from the bereaved families. This incident has left behind a bad taste and has been a bone of contention between the warring factions and the animosity has grown over the years with either side accusing the other of sabotaging their interests.
The aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln entered the TROUBLED waters fully armed with Sea to Air missiles and other state of the art warheads in full war ready mode. Their known stooges viz. the British Navy along with their french brethren are following their dirty footsteps.
The Popularity of the US President is on the wane and this kind of effervescence is one possible way to regain it.
Should this intensify into a full scale battle, the sea route for smooth passage of Crude would stop immediately and this would lead to spiraling crude prices detrimental to most economies which are already reeling under the onslaught of an impending recession.
The Iranians are capable of launching nuclear missiles and this could lead to a monumental disaster possibly known to mankind as the potency of the nuclear warheads has increased manifolds visa- vis the atomic bombs detonated over Nagasaki /Hiroshima in August 1945. The Iranians would dwell to any lengths to protect their ego and absence of sanity and a moment of madness could spell instant doom.
This does not exonerate Iran from its share of illegally hijacking of the strait and jeopardizing the fragile peace in the sensitive area. There is eerie calm in the area and one wishes at least one of the two with a lesser ego ratio to back off. The un- answered question is: Who will blink first????

Satanic(s) V/s Rushdie

2012-01-24T04:36:00.001-08:00

The Jaipur Literary Fest is one of the most eagerly awaited event where writers, emerging poets and philosophers congregate to educate, enlighten and entertain the motley gathering by sharing their precious literary work. It is a wonderful gathering of intellectuals who try to immerse themselves in a time-zone, albeit for a small time keeping aside their worldly desires and aspirations.
Salman Rushdie the ‘’controversial’’- (for the people who haven’t read his book or understood the contents) author of ‘’The Satanic Verses’’ was invited to attend the Jaipur festival . The organizers of the event thought that the presence of the Booker prize winning author would attract enough luminaries and spell success for the event that is already growing popular by the day.
Invitations were sent to the author and once the media highlighted his, would be presence all hell broke loose. The satans came out in hordes I mean the illiterate and extremist maulvis & mullas who dared Rushdie to come to India threatening to disrupt the fest in the event of him making it to the venue. The fanatical and banned SIMI went ahead and announced an award of Rs. one lac to whom so ever could fling his footwear at the author and succeed in hitting the target. Sinister Plans were also hatched to liquidate the author in connivance with the Underworld though the Police later rejected this claim as baseless and a hoax.
The ensuing State elections and fear of losing the minority Vote made the Central Govt. jittery who forced the organizers to drop Rushdie from the on-going fest.
Four of the assembled Indian authors viz. Jeet Thayil ,Ruchir Joshi ,Hari Kunzru & Amitava kumar expressed their solidarity with Rushdie by openly reading excerpts from the book- Satanic Verses.
Ironically, the Police immediately swung into action by registering complaints against the foursome while the zealots and the communal Satan’s got away scot free. The appeasement factor once again made its ugly presence felt.

Writers and controversies accompany each other. Sometimes the controversy is created to ‘sell’ a Book or induce curiosity about the contents which can pave way to be classified later on as a BEST-SELLER.
The Satanic Verses consists of pages which are a figment of imagination of the writer and is purely non-fiction. Any written piece be it some novel or passage or some damn blog captures the mood or pours out the pent up feelings stashed in the mind of the writer and it is entirely up to the reader to accept or reject the contents in toto. The writer takes the onus for what is written and if the contents are not good enough the scripture will die a natural death with the former becoming extinct faster than a dinosaur. Books and articles which are well written leave a lasting impact on the readers, increases their knowledge and gives them an opportunity of verifying the difference between myths and facts which are often juxtaposed in one another.

The funniest part is none of the fanatics/opponents have read the book and I am quite sure that almost the entire lot would have to go through a lot of pain and herculean efforts just to decipher what has been written in the banned book that too in a language alien to them.

India has always projected itself as a SOFT State courtesy its Spineless leaders by repeatedly banning books, plays and films on the grounds of enticing and spreading communal disharmony. Banning lures or entices people into wanting to see behind the veil. It will encourage people to smuggle such books/CDs and even read/Watch them in solitude on the internet. It can popularize certain books/films which are really not worth but ride the WAVE to populism because of the artificial and surreal interest /hype generated.

The Forex Conspiracy

2012-01-21T03:28:00.000-08:00

India and china were the two economies the World was watching with bated breath as the two asian giants almost wiped the economic unrest that the west was groping with in 2008/09.
The fag end of 2011 saw the Euro crisis rattling the economies of Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain and France with Germany being the sole exception and that too barely managing to stay afloat amongst these drowning European nationalities. The crisis soon engulfed the Asian Countries and all the hyped up feelings about the north bound growth rate suddenly changed both, gears and direction southwards. The rating firm-Standard & Poor swung into action and downgraded the ratings of most of the countries and all the positive vibes disappeared and the dark clouds of recession and economic unrest soon gathered storm with the immediate future looking grim and bleak.
The IIP(index of Industrial Production ) figures too were suddenly trimmed by the govt. but was not negative and so was the case with the projected annual growth rate.
The rupee rose to an alarming Rs.54 from a stagnant Rs.45 to a $ (a rise of almost 18% in 6 months) and was expected to breach further north to unprecedented levels before pressure from economists and other rational individuals prevailed on the Govt. to act and resort to measures to arrest the freefall.
The bank deposit rates for non Residents generally varies between 0.2% to 3.20% in most of the western countries .The Indian Govt. recently raised the interest rate from 3.25% to an astounding 9.75% and already an estimated 15 billion dollars is waiting in the wings to be pumped into the forex kitty .
The repatriation has already gained momentum and there is a mad frenzy to cash on the once in a blue moon offering. The rupee is in a buoyant mode at 50 to a dollar and is expected to be stabilize around 46/47 in the next few months barring any major industry growth rate hiccups.
The RBI did not intervene(obviously at the behest of the Govt.) when the rupee was struggling to keep afloat with major imports like crude which was getting costlier,the crude hike meant higher inflation so on and so forth. The immediate beneficiaries were software Majors like Infy, TCS, HCL Tech and Wipro which showed in the 3rd qtr. results posting remarkable margins reaping the benefits of the enhanced foreign exchange rate.
India never had a favourable balance of Payments Position since 1947.With time the gap between the export inflows and import outflows has grown from a CHINK to an ABYSS. In 2008 when the rupee gained against the dollar and the rate was almost 39 to a dollar the RBI intervened in a haste and sold dollars to prevent the rupee from gaining further momentum. The Govt. said that the move was essential to cushion exports from getting costlier and eventually turning negative.
On a similar note the imports were getting cheaper including Crude-i.e. our biggest cash outflow was curbed and barbed naturally. Exports would materialize at any level if they are of superior quality and sourced at cost effective and competitive rates rather than depend on the fluctuating exchange rates often controlled at the whims and fancies of the govt.
No one has any clue as to why no measures were initiated by the authorities to curb this abnormality at the onset.No other Asian Currency nose dived (whatever be the economic condition they are in) visa-vis the Dollar during this period,hence the inaction is not only petrifying and unjustified but smacks of some deep rooted conspiracy or some tacit understanding with the US authorities for fulfillment of some vested interest.

Withholding Foreign Direct Investment

2012-01-17T04:40:00.000-08:00

We were bestowed Independence in 1947 by the bleeding Englishmen who trudged home after being inflicted with heavy losses during the 2nd world war and realizing that the costs to run this mammoth country was actually proving to be a bane rather than a boon with rapidly diminishing cost of returns.
This certainly does not take away the colossal efforts, withstanding excruciating Pain and humiliation, the self-less struggle by the countless number of freedom fighters many unnamed, who laid down their lives trying to wrest freedom for their beloved motherland from the manipulative and ruthless British invaders.
Post –Independence we had adequate infrastructure like railways, the iron and steel industry and abundance of textile mills which were started in the Pre- British era for meeting their own selfish needs.
India at that outset in the 1950’s was miles ahead of other Asian countries but were badly let down of the closed mindset of our economists who really could not apply their rusty mind and logic to let in foreign exchange through FDI which could have changed our country’s destiny and landscape forever.
This closed- door economy pursued by each and every successive Govt. failed to rake in the precious foreign exchange which if invested in core projects and Capital intensive ventures like infrastructure would have done wonders for our now sagging and faltering economy. Good quality roads would have saved millions of dollars of foreign exchange doled out for Crude imported every year and reduced the disastrous accidents taking place routinely on our so called highways riddled with craters rather than pot-holes.
The ensuing primitive results are not only disastrous but also very embarrassing.
South Asian Countries like Thailand,S Korea,Singapore,Malaysia, Phillipines and Indonesia have marched past us confidently while we are juggling with tons of food grains rotting in our larder-courtesy Food Corporation Godowns on one hand and unable to feed some estimated 23 million who go hungry each day on the other.
The traders and other middlemen operate in a clandestine and cohort manner and see to it that the operating margin between the Cost of the Produce and the ultimate selling price of the produce is stretched to the maximum for their own self-centered and vested interests.
This group was primarily responsible for spreading malicious and unfounded fears about opening the market for foreign direct Investment in the retail sector. The Opposition leaders with limited or NO knowledge too joined in the melee which culminated in putting the bill on hold at least for the time-being.
The Countries where there is a 100% FDI in retail markets like Brazil, China and Argentina have time and again proved that the fears about galloping inflation and job losses is totally unfounded and uncalled for. Retailers like Walmart,Carrefour,IKEA and Tesco are waiting in the wings to unleash their products which could benefit the end users by the concept of revolutionary selling at competitive prices. The job markets too could be upbeat as these retailers would need local labour both professional and unskilled to market the state of the Art products. Local agricultural producers who are at the mercy of middlemen who pay them a pittance but sell the same produce at an astronomical margin will also stand to benefit if the bill gets through.
The estimated growth in the retail sector is projected at 10% annually
and is a win-win situation for both the foreign investors as well as for our foreign exchange deprived economy.For them the ever surging Indian middle class will provide new customers as their own customer base(in their resp.countries)where the growth rate has turned negative prompting them to turn to greener pastures here.For us newer job opportunities would materialse, farmers are likely to get a better price for their produce given the absence of middlemen.
India has already signed the GATT Agreement-General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and withholding this sector for 100% participation could tantamaount to penal action and complete isolation from trading with member countries a step which we can ill afford to.

The Stone Age Man

2012-01-10T06:06:00.001-08:00

Deepak Jadhav aged 28 a constable attached to the GRP-Govt Railway Police was hit on the head by a stone flung by a unknown miscreant. He was standing on the foot board of the local train as it was crowded. Struggling for life he gave up the struggle after a couple of days, the cause of death being excessive bleeding sustained on a/c of the grave injury.
The only earning member of a family Deepak leaves behind his wife, mother, father and siblings to fend for themselves in this world full of indifferent and self- centered people. The only solace perhaps is that one of the surviving members will be offered a govt. job, they will be provided with an ex-gratia amount from the Chief ministers fund but the core issue will be brushed under the carpet and forgotten.
Many innocent mumbaites have been rendered visually impaired and few more unfortunate ones have lost their lives because of this menace which has not been controlled for the past few decades despite umpteen promises made by the administration.
People who have been arrested for these type of heinous crimes have often committed this for a high and for no rhyme or specific reason. Most of these youths are unemployed and often channelize their volatile energy into nefarious activities.
We have the Railway Protection force, the GRP and all possible other Para-military forces which are grossly underutilized or rather mis-utilized (to protect politicians and their ilk)which could be possibly used to counter such anti- social elements who try to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere by indulging in such shameful and disdainful acts.
The Police will work overtime to investigate this case and bring the culprit to book since for once, their own brethren has been at the receiving end.
The State Govt. meanwhile has immediately ordered a now familiar enquiry and the police is searching in the dark as blind as a bat to nab the unidentified culprit.
We Indians have time and again tried to challenge the age old DARWINIAN theory of evolution.
We have stopped evolving long time back and desperately trying to go back to the STONE AGE from which it all began.
Many such incidents has rampantly exposed the satanic behavior of individuals in this part of our Sub-Continent which if not controlled could erode the much hyped cultural values which we have inherited from our ancestors since the stone age.

Where Solkar Dared !!

2011-12-29T04:35:00.000-08:00

Traditionally Indians have always been bad fielders the only exceptions being MAK Pataudi, Ghulam Parkar ,Brijesh Patel who stood like a rock in the covers ,Mohd. Azharuddin at slip and Gully , Abid Ali at mid-on/mid wicket and to the recent Ajay Jadeja/ Yuvraj Singh at backward point.
All these fielders were exemplary and achieved accolades for their courageous attitude and daredevilry on the field. However all these positions were ‘’SAFE’’ and the chances of getting injured was negligible if not impossible.
People who have played cricket at a reasonable competitive level reckon the position of ‘’Forward Shortleg ‘’ as a suicidal position to be in for any fielder of any calibre. Once the ball leaves the bowler’s hands and it pitches on and around middle and leg it is the natural tendency of the batsmen to heave his bat either for a flick or a pull which is enough for the fielder at forward shortleg to take evasive action. Instinctively the fielder will try to save his face and groin for these are some of the most sensitive body parts prone to get hit and if you do get hit YOU STAY HIT!! Atleast while Playing gully cricket (that too with tennis and rubber balls)most of us –including me always avoided that position and opted for safer areas like the slip cordon or at best be the wicket keeper.
In the ‘’PRE-HELMET’’ era of the early 1970’s E.D.Solkar – Eknath Dondu Solkar played for India who created his own space and stood within handshaking distance of the batsmen. Mind you there were no shin guards to protect the knees from getting hit and it was left to providence and destiny if they were to survive any onslaught from the batsmen.
It is said that LEGENDS are BORN and NOT MADE.
Born in perpetual penury his father struggled to make ends meet by working as a groundsman at Hindu Gymkhana where a hut in the far corner was home to Eknath and his 5 siblings.
Clad in tattered clothes he used to fetch the cricket balls in a jiffy for the fielders from the boundary.
Drafted in the Indian team he was a complete utility player who could play at any position and also bowled medium pace and spin as per the situation.
He had a very good reflex further complemented with a hawk like eye- sight which made him a predator on the prowl at the most enviable but dangerous position.
He played 27 tests and took 53 catches which is a world record for the highest average per test- which comes to 1.96 catches per test (for all fielders except the wicket- keeper who have played a minimum 20 tests).
The first ever overseas victory over the West indies and England in 1971 was a team effort but his contribution in batting /fielding in those twin victories is still talked about in cricketing circles.
During a recent effort while launching the Eknath Solkar academy his erstwhile team mates had come to talk about his super human efforts his colleague and of his most dear friends BS Chandrashekar, was choked with emotion and could barely speak about the long and fruitful association of the duo who mesmerized batsmen with the scoreboard often reading: caught Solkar bowled Chandra . Solkar took some amazing catches of his bowling and many debated whether it was due to the exceptional ball or the unbelievable catch that was taken. He had the ability to catch the ball inches off the ground and often threw himself forward, sometimes landing at the batmen’s feet. In the later stages when batting form deserted him he was included in the side just for his fielding exploits justifying his abundant talent and skill.
India’s famous overseas Victories over the West indies and England in1971catapaulted him to be acknowledged as the best close in fielder in the World and some odd dropped catch made Headlines!
England batsmen like Allan Knott and Fletcher lost confidence because of his close proximity which rattled their concentration and which ultimately resulted in losing their place in the test squad.
The legendary West Indian Batsman Vivian Richards made his debut against India in 1974/75 series and who treated every bowler during his playing days with disdain and contempt was shocked by the audacity of this slenderly built man with rolled up sleeves standing next to his shadow . He had to frequently nudge him with his bat to stand at a little more distance fearing that some of his shots could hit, maim or even kill the fielder who stood dangerously close for comfort. The greatest tribute paid by Richards was : “”Man! I am not afraid of your Chandrashekar (one of the best leg spinnners in the game) but this man gives me the goose bumps . This man is preventing me from playing my natural game and I really cannot concentrate’ . I can bet no one will field this close and even when he was hit on occasions there was not a flinch or grimace.
ED Solkar or 'Ekki' as he was fondly called by Chandrashekar became immortal on 26th June 2005 at a young age of 57, I reckon he had already attained that stature in his mortal state amongst his innumerable fans for his acrobatics and dare-devilry.
We were privileged to be born in an era and proud to have witnessed and heard about the exploits of this talented Cricketeer who was very humble and never discussed his on- field heroics and waived it off with a smile.
The image of the crouching fielder ever eager to pouch half chances that came his way shall always be vivid in our memory.

New cricketing terms and rules have come into existence and the ‘’FORWARD SHORTLEG’’ Position is now called as ‘’SHORTLEG’’ perhaps justifying the truth that –NO fielder will ever dare to stand in that fatal Position where ONLY SOLKAR DARED !!!

Grave Mistakes

2011-12-17T04:27:00.001-08:00

The Govt. recently issued a circular which imposed a moratorium on the number of SMS being sent using security and enforcement of law and order as a pretext . A bill is on the anvil to gag or stall social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google which could empower the govt . authorities to force articles which it justifies to be deleted on the grounds of formenting communal divide, racial discrimination and inciting adverse reactions or take action against the writers on the grounds of defamation. Although facebook reluctantly has agreed to fall in line with the controversial legislations ,It is heartening to note that Google refused to buckle under the pressure and clarified that it would not be a part of its agenda to gag the ‘’ freedom of expression’’. Any one challenging the actions of the govt. are subjected to harassment ,threats , coercion and veiled attacks from paid goons.. Day in and Day out the Govt. is coining new measures to stifle any democratic movement against them and sabotage all honest attempts at reviving the anti-corruption crusade. The over whelming response and support by the youngsters to this crusade against corruption invoking their own innovative methods using SMS’s and social networking sites has prompted the authorities to tackle the issues in a very crude manner which is provoking them into making GRAVE mistakes which could catapault it into digging its own GRAVE..

The Amazing Sketchman- Mario Miranda

2011-12-17T04:05:00.001-08:00

Obituaries and more obituaries. The legends are passing on to another world in a jiffy and falling like 9 pins. One of the latest casualty is the legendary Indian Cartoonist –Mario Miranda. The deep abyss left behind by these legends probably will never be filled as they were possibly handpicked to leave the indelible mark on mankind with their creative, unique craftsmanship daringly different yet refreshing. Circa 1970’s. The Children studying in English Medium Schools in the early 1970’s in the 2nd and 3rd Standard had Balbharati text book replete with the characters Tim, Mini and Robert. They were effectively complimented by sketch or murals or cartoons whatever name you may call. All these carved sketches had a distinct stamp and a trade mark at the bottom of the photo, signed by the inimitable Mario Miranda. The Sketch seemed to talk to the readers on behalf of the dumb characters, so vivid and complete was the insight provided by the thought provoking caption less masterpiece. The trademark stray dog or Cat at the bottom of the sketch as visualized also lent its silent meaning which defied the now familiar statement : The Pen is Mightier than the sword. For the soft spoken Mario the Paint brush was his talking tool which depicted all the things going on in this world from Current affairs to office jokes to everyday anecdotes which caused instant smirk amongst the viewers. It was the same Times of India Group which had rejected him earlier citing poor artistic skills which later on placed him on that unshakeable pedestal and linked him to its publications like the Illustrated weekly and Femina. The unforgettable characters of Miss Fonseca and Miss Nimbupani and the Sardar sitting in a bulb Specially created for Khushwant singh’s column will continue to entertain and endear the readers for generations to come. .

Last Man Standing

2011-12-09T06:34:00.001-08:00

The demise of the evergreen star of Indian Cinema Dev Anand signifies the end of the nostalgic era of the early 50’s which mesmerized the Cinema goers with pristine music, exquisite and mind-blowing lyrics and un-hyped acting. The masses identified the characters on screen with themselves as they found everything so natural, down to earth and which synchronized their humble dreams unifying them with the celluloid print focused on the giant screens by a noisy projector beaming black and white images. Dev Anand along with Raj Kapoor were the trend setters which saw heroes who solely merited their presence on account of their handsome good looks. Prior to this people accepted disheveled, bearded or any ordinary looking guys and a good story coupled with good music alone guaranteed sure shot box- office success. Dev Anand was the last man standing as all the rest of his colleagues /co- stars of the magical era of the 50’s and 60’s had predeceased him. The puffed up hairstyle was plagiarized from the legendary Hollywood icon- Gregory Peck who as admitted by Dev Anand was his idol. Geogory Peck and Clint Eastwood were famous for their Cigarette smoking cum talklng acts which only a handful few could enact with such dignified charm and grace. Dev Anand too has enacted the MUST SEE scene in Hum Dono with aplomb with the cigarette dancing up and down in his mouth while chatting with his colleague in his customary style. The close resemblance between the actors(Peck & Dev Anand) has an interesting story which happened in the late 1960’s.Someone close to Gregory Peck told him of the amazing resemblance which raised curiosity and rustled his egoistic feathers and prompted the need to have a peek at the so called Indian film star. He didn’t waste an opportunity to Visit India when called upon to give the filmfare awards in the 1960’s. An amazing photo was clicked (this snap had appeared n the now defunct magazine- The illustrated weekly India) which showed Peck with a wry smile admiring Dev Anand from a distance. Dev Anand was simply gushing at the prospect of meeting his idol but perhaps the Hollywood idol himself was at his wits end calculating who was the better looker. Waheeda Rehman his co star in Guide had rightly pointed out that the magic touch waned rapidly in the 1980’s and some whimsical and eccentric films stumbled out of the once famed Navketan Studios. Yet the magic weaved earlier in films like Hum Dono, Solvaa Saal,Prem Pujari,Tere Ghar ke Saamne,Johnny Mera naam, Jewel Thief and Guide was good enough to keep his die- hard fans by his side despite the shortcomings as a Director in the later stages. True to his ever youthful image he didn’t wish to die with Cotton sticking in his nose and wished to have a funeral in some distant country where his true fans wouldn’t have a glimpse of see his lifeless body. His wish granted , even in death he remains an enigma difficult to decipher yet difficult to ignore. As the flames consume his MORTAL remains the SMOKE emanating from the funeral pyre would probably hum the IMMORTAL lyric: Har Fikr ko Dhueee mein Udddaaaaaa thaa Chalaaa Gaya !!!!