goggly

DS at courtyard marriott Bangkok

2017-08-02T07:07:00.000+08:00

During pre partition era , Around Lahore , a small engineering firm owned by an young engineer gets a contract from British firm to develop and design railway engine . Owner who himself is an engineer is passionate and lead his team that involves few other including a Punjabi handsome young man and a lady who is relatively older by age to him .

But as the day of reckoning come near - the owner develop a cold feet and realises that it is not possible to have the product ready within assigned time frame . Owner loses his interest and withdraws from the project . Handsome Punjabi man and old lady feel dejected , however they continue to work together in late hours on this project .

When British inspection team visit , Owner and his management team welcome them with hospitality but do not muster courage to break the news of their failure . When the inspection team visit the development room - they are in for a big surprise - There is a Prototype ready for display . Owner is aghast , surprised and delirious with joy .....

Now Fast forward ...................

United India is split into Pakistan and India ...... all of them have now migrated and are part of india . Owner is now a business conglomerate and run several companies . Their company has now have developed cutting edge medical technology equipment and now ready to announce to the world ... and he remembers these two people from Lahore . How he wished that they could come and see this technological marvel and seek their feedback and give their blessings.

I get a call from him to bring old lady with me . He calls me again after few hours if I started from my home. However, I decide against taking her . She is far too old to travel . As a mark of respect , I decide to visit on my own . I think of Punjabi Handsome man .... He had passed away some years ago .. but becoming a legend in another industry .

This man is Raj Kapoor and old lady is my mother ......

Smart phone and Internet redefining the relationships:

2017-05-20T13:21:00.000+08:00

Smart phone and Internet redefining the relationships: (adapted from the article of Ankush Bahuguna)

Human evolution began 6 Million years ago by adapting physical and behavioral traits from apelike ancestors is now ready for another evolution of relationship behavioural pattern of human beings .With the advent of smart phone and net , we no longer seek love but only excitement and thrill in life. We want someone to watch movies and party with, not someone who understands us even in our deepest silences. We spend time together but don’t intend to keep memories. We don’t want the boring life. We don’t want a partner for life, just someone who can make us feel alive right now, this very instant. When the excitement fades, we discover nobody ever prepared us for the mundane. We don’t believe in the beauty of predictability because we’re too blinded by the thrill of adventure.

We have immersed in ourselves with no space for love. We don’t have time to love, we don’t have the patience to deal with relationships . They are nothing more than convenience. We look for instant gratification in everything we do – the things we post online, the careers we choose, and the people we fall in love with. We have become impatient to wait for the maturity to evolve in a relationship that comes with time, the emotional connect that develops over years. Apparently, nothing’s worth our time and patience – not even love.

We’d rather spend an hour each with a hundred people than spending a day with one. We believe in having ‘options’. We’re ‘social’ people. We believe more in meeting people than getting to know them. We have become greedy and want to have everything. We get into relationships at the slightest attraction and step out, the moment we find someone better. We don’t want to bring out the best in that one person. We want them to be perfect. We date a lot of people but rarely give any of them a real chance. We’re disappointed in everyone.

Technology has brought us closer, so close that it’s impossible to breathe. Our physical presence has been replaced by texts, voice messages, snapchats and video calls. We don’t feel the need to spend time together anymore. We have too much of each other already. There’s nothing left to talk about.

We have become a generation of ‘wanderers’ who wouldn’t stay at one place for too long and eager to pronounce that we don’t conform to social norms. Sex outside relationships isn’t a taboo anymore and we took it to our advantage of calling ourselves as
' sexually liberated’. ' Take it or Leave it ' " Hook-up or break-up " are new buzzwords . We have sex first and then decide if we want to love someone but without realisation that Sex comes easy, loyalty doesn’t. We love because we want to feel good. Temporary fulfilment is our food for ecstasy. In the process , we coined open relationships, friends with benefits, causal flings, one-night stands, no strings attached – we’ve left very little exclusivity for love in our lives.

Have we become too pragmatic to live our live by by logic alone. ' Madly in love ' phrase may be confined to romantic novels .Will we value relationships anymore ? Or with deluge of social virtual relationship , We shall let go of the most wonderful people for ‘the other fishes in the sea.’ And we may not have time to think about them as we may not consider them sacred anymore.

goldenjubilee year function of New English School

2013-06-16T14:12:00.001+08:00

It’s amazing how easily we connect with the guys spanning few years ahead and behind our batches. Often the frame of reference is 'chowk' that they belonged in Govt. Colony and this spurs many memories. We met neighbor of Sunil Bartakke and talked about those tiny kids from his home that would peep outside the balcony waiting for their parents to be picked up. Assigning a ' stone' as your representative for ration shop queue was perhaps a unique culture of our growing up.

I met 'Patade'. He was a classmate of Ravi Deshpande' brother Rajan and that 'chowk' was known by his name. He is now a Pathologist and has his own lab. In one stroke, we wrapped up names of Uday Kodkani, Nitin Mohad, Girish Redkar, and Bindu. I learnt Rajiv Madekar's brother was there but we couldn't catch him. Met Raju Dhongade's sister Vasanti . I met Raju few months ago in Jakarta. Nitin Kulkarni - short guy - looked just the same -but now with salt/pepper top and spects. He brought in memories cricket buddies Milind Gunaji, Sanjay Gajare, Mukunda, Yashwant, and Kumar Halbe. Pankaj Pandit brought in realm of RSS shakha guys - Bal Dharmadhikari, Avinash Dharap, Madhav Apte, Sahstrbuddhe, Bengurwar, Kundan, Bolinjkar brothers , Tatya Gokhale . Terrific camaraderie spirit woven by sheer friendship. I would love to meet these guys.

'Kulkarni Sir' continues to be the celebrity and cynosure of entire canvass of NES. He was flooded by everyone like a celebrity - a great tribute to his charisma, his approach towards teaching. His memory is still as incisive and agile as before. When 'Varsha Raje' mentions her name, he asked her whereabouts of 'Seema Raje'. He even remembers maiden and post marriage surname of almost every girl. Rao sir is still very active, flamboyant and young. He is now a sales manager of book publishing company and often travels to Nasik, Pune. We could talk about his play ' Har Mitti Mein Lal Paida hoga' and his fascination for ' Ohre tal mile nadi ke jal mein'. Deshpande Madam could recognize me staying few buildings away from her A4. As much I was happy to meet Kulkarni Sir, it was difficult to accept the loss of Lingayat Sir. For me, he always remained buddy of Kulkarni Sir. He even came at Parle get together with him. I was delighted to meet Govinda - peon: identical in looks except his khaki attire and without some of his front teeth. Also learnt about passing away of Manohar, Pandu. Some of us who spent good time in the corridor - as a part of punishment -stuck great rapport with Peons. I remember sharing tiffin of Manohar and being ridiculed! Pramod Gawade perhaps would remember.

Power of Facebook became evident in this meeting. Manoj Kharkhanis - became FB friend and he made sure that I circled the date in my BB. I was lucky to be in Mumbai and could snatch few hours. Thanks Sunil - just being with you makes us acquainted with so many school alumni. I was happy to meet your brother 'susheel'. Some people just refuse to age. Varsha - you look terrific and youthful - can easily slip in college as a student. I was happy to catch up with you. It now look so stupid that being in co-ed , boys and gals hardly had any interaction and yet we seem to know a lot of everyone.

Traversing past 'Four Class Fortress' remembered eating those ' Green Chincha+Karvande' with mix of Chili powder and salt'. Those of us who spent hours in the play field often run towards home of Vidyadhar Joshi to quench the parched throats. We talked NES Icons - Both students and teachers - Mhaskar -who single handedly won many Kho Kho matches, Dabholkar& Kokate - power gangs without any violence but lot of aura, Ambardekar Brothers, Alhad Kothare, and Geeta Thakur - brilliant students who continued their success. Persona of Khedekar, Dhamankar, Harshe, Keer, Bokil Sir and also that of Kharvandikar and Harne sir - perhaps last teacher species with 'Dhotar and Black Topi'.

I missed out on many occasions of our batch union but am glad I could make this time. Salish has promised to share contact details of our batch mates. Hopefully, in coming months, I would catch up with some of buddies with whom I shared some crazy, wild adventures.

Hibernation

2012-08-25T12:15:00.000+08:00

BLOG is under Hibernation
due to time constraint posed by
establishment of Nipro India medical device factory
at Shirwal, Pune.

Twitter, Face book have occupied part of my
cyber space.

DS at Courtyard Marriott Bangkok

2012-05-13T16:47:00.000+08:00

But as the day of reckoning come near - the owner develop a cold feet and realises that it is not possible to have the product ready within assigned time frame . Owner loses his interest and withdraws from the project . Handsome Punjabi man and old lady feel dejected , however they continue to work together in late hours on this project .

When British inspection team visit , Owner and his management team welcome them with hospitality but do not muster courage to break the news of their failure . When the inspection team visit the development room - they are in for a big surprise - There is a Prototype ready for display . Owner is aghast , surprised and delirious with joy .....

Now Fast forward ...................

United India is split into Pakistan and India ...... all of them have now migrated and are part of india . Owner is now a business conglomerate and run several companies . Their company has now have developed cutting edge medical technology equipment and now ready to announce to the world ... and he remembers these two people from Lahore . How he wished that they could come and see this technological marvel and seek their feedback and give their blessings.

I get a call from him to bring old lady with me . He calls me again after few hours if I started from my home. However, I decide against taking her . She is far too old to travel . As a mark of respect , I decide to visit on my own . I think of Punjabi Handsome man .... He had passed away some years ago .. but becoming a legend in another industry .

This man is Raj Kapoor and old lady is my mother ......

Who do you work for ?

2012-02-14T20:24:00.001+08:00

Who do you work for ?
1.Do you work to help your boss to accomplish his objectives ?
2.Do you work to justify the money that you get from your organization ?
3.Do you work to enhance your skills and persona that will fetch you more money in the same or another organization ?
4.Do you work to make tangible difference around you and leave a legacy for the next generation ?
If I were to think of all the above options. It would perhaps be in the order of 3, 2, 1, 4 fitting from age group of 20's to 50's. My choice of choosing a career in medical field mainly stemmed from the fact that it gave me chance to travel, have great food and drink , rub shoulders with intelligent doctors and diligent health care workers, grow younger keeping abreast with new technology, empathize with body and emotions - a fundamental ingredient of human existence. How wonderful this journey has been ! I am as excited today as I was when I started my career learning about Ultrasound.

Dealing with Drukard

2012-02-11T10:57:00.000+08:00

How does one deal with a man who is drunk but not misbehaving. I sympathized with this man in Red T shirt who went on drooling with his story of 'Dhich kyaoon ' - a sound of gun from Hindi Movie. All young lass from North East coped with him as best they could. After all , he must have been regular face to this bar. He kept his ID in his front pocket but dangling strap around his beck that had print mark DRDO gave his identity. A foolish move but then again you can't blame a guy who is tipsy.

I am not familiar with the map of Hyderabad but now is the time to get one and check distance from airport to hotel. Inside Hi Tech city was like being in Singapore. Westin was luxurious. I must switch to them from Marriott.

Golden India

2011-09-26T15:06:00.001+08:00

Saturday : In air : Frankfurt Mumbai
Some sunahara gyan from who heads gold trading of Canadian bank. India is world's biggest importer of gold. She import and consumes close to 900 tons per year and our gold import bill is next to oil. Even Dubai be around 200 tons and that too bulk of it is exported. His major customers are Zaveri Bazar, Laxmi Road. A big jewelry shop would house at least few hundred Kgs just on display. Nearly 12 banks are in the business of this trading. With price being uniform ; service, payment terms and relationship must be variables that would differentiate one trader from the other.

US interest is zero percent, stock and bond market crashing, western countries economy tottering , real estate price defeating. People who hoards the money need a place to park. No other option than gold. Result gold prices are going up and up. I kept on thinking, can this gold asset of India not be channeled in economy ? Answer lied in various gold loan schemes that are promoted.

This man who possessed golden knowledge had penchant for vodka to liqueur, after gulping few shots he snored his way to long sleep. His dangling thick gold bracelet, ring studded with diamonds and his stout physical frame reminding me of representative from Pune who shot to fame with his gold dangling.

Hotel Hassles

2011-09-26T15:01:00.003+08:00

Sunday : Mumbai/Pune
All hotels while check in take pre -authorization yet while checking out, they again swipe the card , take a print out , ask for your signature and take another printout and fish out for an envelope to present customer his copy , in between make a call (perhaps housekeeping dept to check if all room belonging are intact). All these sequence of events don't happen in US hotels - at least in Marriott. They just swipe the card at the beginning, last day of the check out slip in the bill copy to the room and that's it. You inform them at check out and 'Bye' . In my previous visit to US, I asked the front office person and he said ' of course, we are business hotel, we don't waste time '.

At 2am, at Marriott Courtyard, Mumbai, front office was manned by just one staff and he took his time to attend to the customer till he turned out to me. I waited with mix of impatience counting the minutes of precious sleep that I would be wasting after traveling 20 hours.

Just before Hinjewadi, O hotel has a huge hoarding highlighting Pune and Goa hotels with customer care telephone number in massive digits. When I called thus number seeking information on Goa Property, pleasant sounding lady kept me hold for some time and then offered me their Goa number to get information. By afternoon, I called up Marriott Courtyard to speak to a person with whom I had talked twice. His colleague picked up the stating that his away on a meeting and offering me his mobile to call him again. I started wondering if this is the norm to ask customer call up. I was relieved when our customer care. Lady responded with ' please give me your number, I will call you again'. Both O hotel and Marriott must have spent substantial money on hoarding and training but missed out on small yet relevant responses to customers.

HP board chose another successor within a year. A company that once ranked top for ' attracting and retaining the talent' can't spot in house talent and make wrong choice every time But not bad for a person who even gets exit package after a year of bad performance

With 'Go Air '

2011-08-13T12:31:00.002+08:00

This was my first experience with Go Air. Flight was New Delhi - Pune. Business class was just the normal seat on the first row but with handheld i-pod, packed lunch and custom made tea. Not a bad deal when the price was better than Kingfisher. Aircraft was Airbus 320, spacious with friendly crew.

As i took to my seat, pilot arrived in with young girl - his daughter. He introduced her to flight crew and she took a seat on second row. So far so good. But when aircraft was taxing away for take-off, she was quietly ushered inside the flight cockpit with curtain briskly pulled aside and back in place in jiffy. Through acrylic glass window ahead of me, ' crew only' plate stamped on the door of the cockpit became more prominent. My fellow passenger was amused and kept protruding his neck to see how this smart and suave looking girl was invited by equally smart crew and was made to disappear behind the curtain. He had no idea about strong filial connection she enjoyed with her dad.

I was bit squirmed by this event. Is such an act permissible? What if he gets engrossed into personal chat with her contributing to momentary lapse on his job? The thought was scary and I brushed it aside as one of the unwritten perks accorded to those vested with ' special power' in Indian working conditions. But his act was unprofessional. Would pilot in Singapore airlines ever take such a liberty and risk ? I doubt. This one incident cast a blot in otherwise fine journey on Go Air.

Rumlang

2011-06-23T13:27:00.003+08:00

'Oerlikon' took me to a name ' Advani Oerlikon ' that was based in Pune. I have vague memory of they manufacturing 'welding electrodes' but I could be wrong. Over the years, Advani has disappeared but resurfaced again when we got down at 'Oerlikon' railway station to proceed to 'Rumlang'- our first destination of 10 day vacation in Switzerland.

No matter how frequently I travel or study before I travel, first day at the new destination is invariably 'faux pah'. I had used google map to find out train from Zurich airport to Rumlang. Why train ? because we had Swiss pass and wanted to use it. After clicking train, route gave me two trains with a stopover at 'Oerlikon'. We got down at a station which was no bigger than ' Talegaon' but with no signboards for 'Rumlang' and having a big suitcase, we decided to take a cab. Cabbie turned out to be from Ghana - who had studied in Mumbai and stayed in Juhu over 30 years ago. " Holiday Inn Express , Rumlang ' ? That's next to the airport !!!!... It took 50 CHF to reach a hotel , from whose window we could see planes taking off. ' Most foreign travelers do same mistake, they come to Holiday Inn city instead of Rumlang', he pacified me. But after a while I realized my folly. Google Map provides three options, Car, Tram and Train. I didn't pay attention to the subtle pictorial difference between Train and Tram.

Anyway, we reach Holiday Inn Express , Rumlang and realize that they provide free shuttle to airport and city. A big gain at the loss of no utilization of Swiss pass.

Koi Jab Tumhara

2011-06-20T00:23:00.004+08:00

On SAB TV , I watched glimpes of movie 'Purab aur Paschim' and song of Koi Jab Tumahra Hridaya reminded me of two guys from school days. One was Bhushan - he was classmate of Vineet, who stayed next to our next our chowk and second was Shekhar Thakre - who studied in my school in class B division. Shekhar was skinny, fair but charming in his looks. He resembled more of Dev Anand in his hey days. At Bhushan's b'day party, Shekhar sang this song. I didn't attend Bhushan's party but was told by Vineet about this incident. Somehow, this incident was stored in my neural network all these years.

Theur and Aga Khan Palace

2011-05-15T23:27:00.001+08:00

It is said that God Brahma meditated at Theur to subdue his wavering mind but Govt of Maharashtra makes sure that visitors to Theur continue to waiver in their mind before they reach the famed Ashtavinayak that is the hallmark of Maharashtra religious map.

We drove along Pune– Ahmednagar road passing by Hyatt, Four Point and Ibis. The road was nicely tarred and despite sparse scooter and truck traffic on Sunday, ride was enjoyable. After seeing the toll gateway, we decided to turn back and saw a board ‘Theur’ with direction pointing on the right side. We asked white attired villager who told us that we would reach within 15 minutes. I was elated by getting an opportunity to see my first Ashtavinayak with effortless ease and fortune. The road winded past villagers that housed buffalo raring centre. I am not sure about difference between 'Bajari' and 'Jondhala', but wonderful sight of one of these crops was delightful. Road abruptly changed the quality as we approached well designed bungalows on either side of the road and from this point, there was no road but just hard rocks embedded between potholes and remnants of tar that must have been laid few years ago. The steering wheel turned on its own and with dust being thrown around from the side of the ‘road’, it was like driving Himalayan Car rally. Our car tyres must have lost part of their life in this few years. Trucks coming from opposite side and SUV plies with careless ease. We decided to turn back as we did with the toll gate at Nagar.

It’s interesting if word ‘Banyan’ Tree was derived from ‘Baniya ’ community. But these huge trees give spectacular environ for the garden of Agakhan Palace. Opportunity to lose out on Theur was compensated by the visit of Agakhan Palace. Visiting those rooms that interned Mahatma Gandhi and seeing the room where Kasturba breathed her last with seat of Mahatma Gandhi left intact, does make anyone go back to those poignant moments so is the information about Mahadev Desai – personal secretary and Sarojini Naidu. Why such a place would charge Rs 100 for foreigners compared to Rs 5 for Indians defies my logic. But this is still better than Taj that charges 100 times to foreigners. Pity, we didn’t carry our camera but this gives us another opportunity to visit again and this time studying more about the architectural heritage of this building. What is the English word for ‘Jambhool’ or ‘Jamun’ fruit in English? This thought still haunts me after picking up these from Aundh fruit market.

Pakistan - A sold out country

2011-05-04T15:53:00.004+08:00

Ansar Abbasi in Pakistan newspaper 'Jung' has summed up the Pakistan's present predicament. When USA told Pakistan that Osama Bin Laden is Jihadi, Pakistan immediately made him hero. When USA made him terrorist, Pakistan believed them. When they said Osama is culprit for 9/11, Pakistan decided to cooperate USA and kill him. Now USA came to Pakistan without asking and killed Osama and buried in the sea. USA became happy so Pakistan is happy too. All this is because of dollars shoved in Pakistan's pockets. Now the World has made Pakistan center of terrorism and on the other side Pakistan has provoked Al Quaida and Taliban to be their enemy. Either way, Pakistan will be crushed. Has anybody thought about this ?

Visit to Meerut and Agra : An eye opener to a corrupt environment

2011-04-10T12:58:00.007+08:00

I have made many visits to this area but one such visit to Meerut and Agra made me realize the brutal reality of corruption that exists in India. Both these towns are next door to New Delhi and are backed up with bountiful agriculture, numerous medium and small Industries. Both cities have an access to tourism revenue. One with Taj Mahal and other with the proximity to Haridwar and Rishikesh.

There is a stretch of road after Hapur town built on toll basis. However, I was in for rude shock when my car driver paid Rs 10 as cash to the man managing the extreme gate instead of paying the official fee of Rs 15. His argument was 'it saves time standing the queue plus saves the money '. 'Does he take all the money he collects?’ I questioned. 'No way, this loot goes to all the way to his boss and shared across the organization '. 'But how would Ms. Mayawati - UP CM get the revenue? My naïve question must have surprised my driver. 'Are Bhaisaab. The person has already paid the money in order to get the posting! '. I was speechless.

The argument of ' India to be developed country by 2020, sounded as hollow as the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' in 1971. Loni is another next-door town to New Delhi. Just go past the Vazirabad and you enter brick laid housing complex. This housing complex was built on agricultural land. Someone bought this land, made plots and sold it to individual owners who by their own imagination built the houses. So far so good, but this entrepreneur either did not bother to liaise with Govt. Agencies or he did not find it important enough to have road, water and electricity. Result is – natural roads that are hardened by wet rains and sunshine, no water pipe line. Electricity poles did arrive after few years but there is no meter installed at any house. BSES - private electric supply company just collect flat monthly rate from every house irrespective of their consumption. ‘Wow!! That means I can put all ac in every room’. The house owner just chuckled on this stupid question emanating from my imbecile mind.

I quickly framed another question ' but there must be power cut like in Delhi, How often the power trip?’

He again smiled ' Bhai Saab, that's difficult question, it would be easier to answer how often power comes? We would be lucky if it comes at all, but whenever it comes, our battery of inverter swing into action. We must conserve every minute of electricity. Air conditioner is out of question, fan in one room is luxury. Forget about power guzzlers like washing machine, fridge, microwave and TV’.

His statement made sense when I looked at all these modern gadgets neatly covered in embroidered clothes. They look spanking clean and new.

‘Our first priority is pump that sucks water from our bore well. Once, we fill up the overhead tank, our mission is accomplished ' He explained and I readily agreed. Ice cubes, satellite TV channels, laptop made no sense in Loni.

If this is the plight of next-door township to Delhi, what could be the situation in the interior towns of UP?

After paying bribe to the toll gate collector, my Tavera cruised on smooth tar road heading towards Meerut. Sudden screeching of brakes made my briefcase jump from the seat. Just in nick of time, motorcyclist had managed to swerve away avoiding an ugly collision. Single lane traffic with loaded trucks meant my car driver would overtake trucks and back in his lane well before the incoming vehicle would bang. My thought went back to that motor cyclist who narrowly missed a hit from our car.

‘What if he were to fall? We would have had to wait for police to arrive’?

‘ Hey No, nobody stops when hit by car. Fault is always with the big vehicle. We need not take him to hospital. Chances of survival of him are slim anyway.

I was aghast. Next day, while coming back from Agra, I saw a man lying around at roadside surrounded by some villagers. The car must have gone ahead hitting him.

In two day of travel to Meerut and Agra, I realized distance that between life and death could barely be few meters. Visiting Meerut, Agra and Loni was like drenching every part of my body and soul by corrupt environment. I kept asking the question. Would nuclear reactors solve power problems UP and Bihar? Or would it go the same way as Hapur – Meerut toll free road?

Anna Hazare and Lok Pal Bill

2011-04-09T21:08:00.004+08:00

Who is Anna Hazare? : An ex-army man stay in a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahamad Nagar district, Maharashtra . He was awarded Padma Bhushan and is a known figure for his social activities. He is supporting a cause, the amendment of a law to curb corruption in India.Last time when Anna sat on fast - 6 corrupt ministers in Maharashtra had to resign, 400 corrupt officers were dismissed from job , 2002 - Maharashtra RTI Act was passed, 2006 - Central Government withdrew its proposal to amend Central RTI Act. He is advocating for The Lok Pal Bill that will form an autonomous authority who will make politicians (ministers), beurocrats (IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds.

In 1972, the bill was proposed by then Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan. Since then it has been neglected by the politicians A LokPal will be appointed at the centre. He will have an autonomous charge, say like the Election Commission of India. In each and every state, Lokayukta will be appointed. The job is to bring all alleged party to trial in case of corruptions within 1 year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be punished. Not like, Bofors scam or Bhopal Gas Tragedy case, that has been going for last 25 years without any result.

Salient features of Lokpal

1. An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up

2. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.

3. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.

4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.

5. How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.

6. So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month’s time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.

7. But won’t the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won’t be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.

8. What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.

9. What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

Gudi padwa greetings

2011-04-05T00:32:00.005+08:00

This was our first attempt to mount Gudi. Efforts started in procuring resources in wakad bazar. Poor couple sitting in the hot sun with stack of bamboo sticks, a lady on four bicycle wheel cart - that sold garlands of solidified sugar cakes that was most popular among Wakad Flies, picking up cloth was easy- choice was one of jaree or bright plain cloth, I opted for vermilion. Flowers garland was easy to get but difficult was to get neem leaves. We weren't sure of getting a jar that would fit on the top of stick. But somehow, the only one we had did work. I had no inclination of achieving any spiritual nirava through this Gudi but was happy that Akshta could relate to this important festival that is hardly gets celebrated outside India. Plus a satisfaction of stimulating trade of hardworking entrepreneurs who really struggle to live a decent life.

Now came the issue to installation and commissioning. Google as usual came to my rescue: Why empty inverted Jar ? : Empty your ego, take an inverted look within, hold yourself up to the vast sky of divinity and may your soul remain outdoors, away from the trappings of this world.

Passion and Desire.

2011-04-04T09:49:00.005+08:00

One of my colleague put a word 'Desire' in the same context of 'Passion'. It was obvious their coexistance within the same frame of reference was incongruent but my curious mind made me delve more deeper in knowing both subtle and obvious differences in these two words. And I learnt few approach to explain the difference between Passion and Desire.

Passion is more being related whereas desire is ego related, both stir us up, passion unifies, desire exploits! ."Desire" is believed to be about the personal wants, and "Passion" is thought to be about trans-personal wants. Passion is to feel deeply about something. I feel deeply about my writing... my artwork... that's my passion. Desire is to want something deeply. Passion - any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate. Desire - to wish or long for; crave; want. DESIRE – is to want something while PASSION – the refusal to live without something.

Passion vesrsus Desire by Mary Gersten says Finding your passion is about more than just fulfilling your cravings or desires. There is a difference between passion and desire. Passion that comes from your natural tendencies, or what can be called "purpose," is not dependent on your circumstances. You can tell the difference between the two because of how you feel when you do the activity. Doing activities inline with your passion that comes from purpose will make you feel energized, alive and make you want to continue the activity even more. You can lose track of time, become obsessed and maybe even have to give yourself time limits on how much you engage in the activity. You are like an addict. On the other hand, doing activities that fulfill desires that are circumstantial can make you feel satisfied and content. The more you do the activity, the more satisfied you become and less interested in continuing the activity. One example of this is the love of babies or small children. Someone whose passion is to be around them might want to run a daycare center or be school teacher, whereas, someone who wants to be a parent will feel that deep desire fulfilled by birth or adoption. Your true passion is like a soul-mate activity. It is the thing that makes you feel alive when you do it. Recognizing your passion that comes from purpose, or your natural tendencies, can often happen if you think about what you would want to do if you had all of your needs and desires met. If you had all of the money in the world, finished traveling and had all of your wishes and desires fulfilled, what would you want to do with your time? Some people say they have a dream or passion about something at which they are not very good. Just look at the American Idol tryouts. Everyone thinks they are the best. But they often have not taken any time to learn or train to be the best. They have a desire but not a real passion. People who find their true passion often want to be good at what they love. Wanting to learn more and putting forth the effort to do so is a natural part of pursuing your passion. This is why passion is such a crucial part of success. It is like a natural river of drive and energy you can ride toward your goal of success. One way to ride that river is to find a way to be successful with the passion itself. If you love to paint, learn to be the best you can be and find a way to make money painting. You would have a better chance of finding success than if you love painting and you become a waiter. Another way to ride that river is to find a way for success in one area to allow you to engage in your passion. If you love to travel, but cannot find a way to make money from it, find another way to make money and then use it to travel. Either way, finding your passion is the best and strongest motivation to find success. Any successful person you meet can tell you in a heartbeat what their passion is and how that helped them find success. Find your passion, and let your passion drive you to success.

So much anout Passion and Desire. But how about 'Passionate desire' !

Would India go through ?

2011-04-02T21:28:00.004+08:00

What an innings by Mahela Jaywardhane. Perfect combination of talent, temparament and tactical play.

275 is competitive score and as I write Sehwag is gone for zero. Yet, i would bak for India. In Bensen & Hedges world series in mid 80's, against Pakistan - Indian was 10 for 3 with Imran Khan destroying top three batsmen and yet India won the match. Let us hope if Sachin plays innings of his lifetime.

Murg Malai Kabab

2011-04-02T11:15:00.008+08:00

This was my second visit to chingari - an open air Indian dining at Le Meridian in Pune. , This restaurant is on terrace top. Being next to Pune station, frequent train horn is a constant dampener in otherwise quiet surroundings. Last time, I had enjoyed vegetable Kabab. This time, Akshta feasted on Murg Malai Kabab. Vah Re Vah website gives recipie for this. But I need to source meat tenderiser.

M for ?

2011-04-01T11:33:00.006+08:00

M for Mirupur : India beat Bangla Desh M for Motera : India beat Australia M for Mohali : India beat Pakistan M for Mumbai : India beat Sri Lanka ?? India won against Pakistan .

An enjoyable match yet in many respects intriguing. Pakistan had all the chances but it seem they were determined to let hosts take the cake. When I look at this match, I find some moments that could have changed the outcome :

When Dhoni Came to bat, Afridi still persisted with defensive field. It appeared Afridi was happy was convinced that India cant be bowled out in 50 overs. He didnt keep spinners and Dhoni's edge went past keeper not just once but twice. Dhoni was opposite that of Afridi, everytime new Pakistan batsman came to crease, he would employ first and leg slip and even have an audacity to pull thir man inside to tempt batsman to go for cut.

Misbah wanted to emulate Javed Miandad or Inzaman but somewhere he lost a plot by losing partners. When Afridi came and hit few fours gap had come to 20 runs between runs and bowls. One over in power play could have sealed that gap. This pair was dangerous and could have caused the damage.

Man of the match should have been Riaz than Sachin. Riaz single handdedly changed the course of the game , In case od Sachin Pakistan fielders made him change the game.

Here is a cute one : Afridi- hum sachin ko kisi haal me 100 runs nahi banane denge, Misbah- magar hum kaise rokenge,wo to gajab ke form me hai, Afridi- hum under 100 all out ho jayenge.!!!

To Afridi , with Love . brilliant article by Maheen Sadiq

2011-03-31T18:48:00.001+08:00

There’s a lot to be said about the cricket tournament, especially our match against India. And it has a lot more to do with Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Gul’s bad luck, and Sachin Tendulkar’s good fortune.

Cricket speaks to our nation in a way our government never has.

And Shahid Afridi addressed the nation in a way our president never has – unselfish, genuine, modest. So when Afridi apologized to Pakistan, millions listened and were humbled by the gesture. Our eyes filled with tears and our hearts with love and a strange kind of sorrow. Shahid Afridi, you need not apologize to the nation. We are proud of you and our entire cricket team! You didn’t bring back the cup, but any excitement, any happiness, any hope that Pakistanis have felt in the past few months is because of your brilliance. We’ve been hearing a lot of “Pakistan needs something to celebrate,” but what Pakistanis really needed was something to look forward to, and the green team gave us that with the anticipation of each game played.

The funny thing about cricket is that it can unite the nation through a victory or a loss. It would have been wonderful to go out on the streets and celebrate with dhols, etc, as we did when we won the 20/20 Cricket World Cup in 2009. But even after our loss yesterday, the people of Pakistan, in their state of disbelief, came out and shared their sorrow. Misery loves company. Cars on streets, people driving around slowly, quietly, patiently. No honking, no cursing, no where to go, no where to escape. It was surreal. This only goes to show what cricket means to us and the massive void it fills for our nation. Cricketers, you made us patriotic. You made us passionate. You made us proud. And these precious adjectives are some that Pakistan rarely gets the chance to associate itself with. So again, Afridi, your apology is appreciated but not needed. You conducted yourself with patience, grace and dignity, encouraging your own with a smile, and congratulating the opponents with an even bigger smile. You didn’t win the semi-finals, but you won our hearts. Thank you for showing the world we are not an aggressive nation.

To Pakistan, I propose this: if there’s anyone who needs to apologize it’s us. So to Afridi and the team, I apologize for the pressure I put on you to win the World Cup. It comes from my own shortcomings. So lazy and so cowardly am I that I am incapable of creating for myself a reason to celebrate Pakistan. Since as far as I can remember, my patriotism has tenaciously clung to cricket. It is unfair. I know. To those Pakistanis who thought this was a match between Hindus and Muslims, I’m glad India won. This was never a battle between nations, or a jehad against Hindus. It was a semi-final cricket match, and if a loss is what it took to be reminded of this then I’m glad we lost. Victory would have only made you gloat over something you had wrong all along anyway. However, if there was one thing I was relieved to discover it was that we don’t hate India. We may hate America, but we don’t hate India. No burning of the Indian flag, no bitter remarks, no threatening reaction. Phew! Just healthy competition and a pure love for the game. So we don’t hate India. In fact, we hate Zardari. What pleased me even more were the numerous text messages and facebook statuses I came across that poked fun at Zardari. My personal favourite is, “We congratulate India on winning the semi-finals. As a good-will gesture, India can keep Pakistan’s prime minister. And if it wins the finals, we will give our president too.”

Ahhh, Zardari jokes. They never get old. He’s our scapegoat now. It’s his fault we lost. Somehow. That being said, think. It’s time we stop asking of our cricketers something we should have been asking of ourselves. Or our government. Lets find ourselves a reason to be patriotic and celebrate Pakistan, and let cricket be a sport, not an identity. If we all just took a little responsibility, maybe our beloved team can finally approach the pitch as cricketers, not as soldiers entering the battlefield. We owe it to them.

Welcome back, boys!

Riveting match or a fierce battle? India v/s Pakistan at world cup

2011-03-30T10:12:00.004+08:00

For Indian television and print media, the world seemed to have ceased. Every TV channel is competing with another in screaming vociferously about India Pakistan Semi Final at Mohali. No Japan, Bahrain, Libya. Everything is match centric. Life will be standstill from 230pm. Where do I watch a match? In Pub or at home. I would rather do both. If India goes great guns, pub atmosphere is exhilarating. If the match is absorbing, home TV is the best.

India’s collective and individual happiness revolves around the outcome of Cricket Match. So far, India has not tasted defeat in the world cup from Pakistan. Would this trend continue? Greg Chapel – ex coach of India, was impatient in making changes in the team and the batting order while Gary Kirsten – is making change only if they have reasonable degree of success. Which way Dhoni would go? This is the only chance and any of his decision that back fires would be scrutinised, dissected and pilloried for rest of his life. During 1996, India Pakistan cricket match, I was travelling by road from Muscat to Dubai and kept on listening to score through radio. India was struggling to reach competitive score. But within two overs, Ajay Jadeja changed the course of the game by smashing Waqar Younis and getting psychological advantage. Amir Sohail’s batting was one of the best I have seen. Altercation between Prasad and him through fierce eye contact matched those at Wagha Border between Indian and Pakistan security forces. That was also the match, I felt sorry for Javed Miandad who was left at the other end but like an old tiger couldn’t do much except getting run out at the end. In his hay days, he could have carried the batting by nudging one and two’s with occasional boundary bringing Pakistan to threshold of victory. Would Dhoni wait for two – three over mayhem to make frontal and brutal attack on Pakistan? They would carefully choose the bowler and it could be done by Dhoni or Yousuf Pathan. But if Pathan were to be included, Viral Kohli may have to sit. It would be interesting to see the team composition today. In recent days, Pathan has emerged like phoenix when ruin was evident. What Afridi can do for Pakistan, Pathan could dovfor India. Ashish Nehra is another proven player for India. He was banished for poor one over spell against South Africa but his experience in crunch games would come handy. It may sound preposterous but uncouth and brusque attitude often prevail when these two teams get collided on world cup stage. This attitude is much bigger measure in North than in South India. Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Zaheer is packed with the venom they need to spit and rattle offenders. Demand for the inclusion of Shoaib Akhtar is for same reason.

Thought of Pakistan Sri Lanka final at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai unnerve me. Commercial interest and billion people’s aspirations would be hoping that this doesn’t happen but this is one success that will rejuvenate fragmented, and collapsed Pakistan.

India and Cricket

2011-03-27T14:15:00.001+08:00

India is the land of the possible; a land where anything is feasible, and frequently actually happens. It is not a country that you can ignore, it is not a land from which you can stay aloof. It is vibrant, tumultuous, colourful, aromatic, tangy, terrifyingly friendly and unbelievably involved; it is chaotic and noisy, but most of all it is tangibly, viscerally real. And nowhere is India most visible in all its splendour and mind-bending complexity as at a game of cricket. For cricket is truly the subcontinent's sport. It may have been invented on the green lawns of a different and more straitlaced land, but it is in the Indian subcontinent that cricket finds its soul.

Coma through mental depression

2011-03-26T13:37:00.000+08:00

Could mental depression lead a person to coma ? and be in a state of comatose over 8 months. I am keen to study the factors that led to this state , treatment given and mindset of a person after the person is back to lead a normal life. I learnt about this and felt that this could be a perfect story for Readers Digest for people who go through similar grind and become vulnerable to be pushed into depression. Depression Guide website gives information about this.

Sweep – an elegant cricket stroke has now become a part of regular armoury in modern day cricket. Reverse sweep is an innovative mirror image of regular sweep and often employed against a spin bowler whenever third man fielder is brought into the circle. Graham Gooch in Reliance Cup decimated India by employing regular sweep in the semi final at Mumbai. Today, England persisted with reverse sweep against Sri Lanka spinners and perished. They could not execute the stroke, but in the process lost wickets and the confidence to raise the run rate.