Some Interesting News

Today was an important day for various reasons. The total solar eclipse was the main attraction and widespread preparation were made to observe it. For the first time the Indian Air force made arrangements to record the event from one of its aircrafts. Really once in a life time event.

Meanwhile the Indian society's long term friendship with ignorance continued. In Karnataka, people buried their childrens(as young as 4-5 years)upto their neck or waist and waited for the eclipse to happen. At the end of it, most of these small childrens were found unconscious. God save our society.

Meanwhile the Ajmal Kasab trail is taking an unexpected turn with the convict himself admitting to the crime. A lot of complicacy is involved as to all of a sudden he is ready to accept his role in the mumbai carnage. This case will surely take some unexpected twists.

Elsewhere, the Ambani brothers are fighting like wild animals of the gas suppy dispute. Two famous lawyers Harish Salve and Ram Jetmalani are representing the two parties respectively.

The government is under attack as to why they have allowed Balochistan to feature in the India-Pak joint statement. Pakistan it seems have submitted a dossier claiming Indian hand in a lot of terrorist activites there in recent past. Now thats interesting and shocking.

Lastly, this month ten years ago Kargil happened. Lets just take some time off and pay our homage to those who lost their lives in that battle.

Jai Jawan.

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The City of Bandhs-Kolkata

Recently i was reading one article from Vir Sanghvi(Editor in chief The HINDUSTAN TIMES) and i was finding it difficult to comprehend whether he was trying to really praise Kolkata or was simply trying to highlight the facts which we bengalis are so proud of about the city and in that process ridiculing them. Thats another debate to highlight upon but I chose to put this up on my blog simply because Kolkata now a days seems to be on the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

We all know how notorious the city is for its bandh culture. What is more interesting to see is the opposition in Bengal seems to be walking the same path as the communist. Not for a second, i mean to undermine the incident involving the congress workers but why holding the common people to ransom? Why stopping someone to avail his train,flight for an important appointment?Why stopping people from going to work? It is shameful to see that the so called intellectuals of Bengal seems to take it on their stride and accept bandhs as the rightful way of protest against misdeeds. Are we even understanding that we as a city are lagging behind the major metropolis by some distance? Are we prepared to realize that our youths are creating mass brain drains to other states to pursue their studies and jobs thereafter? It is time for the people of Kolkata to understand that living in the shackles of communism will ultimately lead to strikes,gheraos,rallies and nothing else. The opposition led by Smt Mamata Banerjee should try to bring some differences between them and the forces they are trying to defeat. Leading a state is much more than refusing a cheque from the Tatas.

I hope for a reformed Kolkata one day!

Roger 'The Greatest Ever' Federer

The Wimbledon final has always been an iconic day in the tennis calendar every year. The centre court gets packed with the biggest names from the world of sport, entertainment. More importantly it is the stage where the best players finally put themselves into tennis’s hall of fame by winning the prestigious title.

From the days of Borg-McEnroe, Becker-Edberg, Sampras-Aggasi rivalry to the modern day great Roger Federer, the Wimbledon has always given us greats. It has been the breeding ground of legends. Winning the title is a great achievement, winning it year after year is stupendous. Playing in seven consecutive finals is jaw dropping. That’s what Federer achieved by simply playing in yesterdays final. The presence of Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Born Borg made it a momentous occasion. The great Pete Sampras won the title for 7 times. He has 14 grand slams to his name. Irresistible stuff right? What happened yesterday surpassed this also. Federer already appearing in a record 7th consecutive final managed to win the title for 6th time and in that process his total grand slam haul soared to 15th. True, greatness cannot be measured by numbers and statistics but if we look at Federer, he is a champion in every sense. Humble, down to earth, great person and of course the winning record he has makes him the best.

A lot of debates related to Federer have centered on whether he is best ever or not? He didn’t win the Roland Garros so people kept on asking the question. Once he won this summers French open (True, he didn’t beat Nadal) those doubters finally gave in and declared him the best ever. He achieved winning 15 slams in 6 years. As a comparison, Sampras took 10 years to achieve the same. The game Roger has is complete. He serves volleys. He has a great forehand and Backhand. He is supremely fit and moves quickly across the court. He got some exquisite touches with his racket.

Yesterday I must admit Any Roddick didn’t deserve to loose. He played the best tennis of his life and yet ended up loosing. For 4.5 hours his service was not broken. He matched the legend with every shot. As much as I am delighted for Roger, I am heart broken for Roddick. He surely won more fans yesterday.

Only time will tell whether Rafael Nadal can take over the mantle from Federer. He managed to win at Federer’s backyard last year. Completely destroyed him at the Australian open. Since then Roger has turned it around. He has come back to old self winning games, dismantling opponents. This is a time for him to rejoice. It remains to be seen how long he keeps playing. We all want him to grace the courts and captivate the world with his class.

The Dangerous Dragon

We always keep talking about our western neighbors as a threat to our security. The terrorist activities going on across the border are a major concern for us. Series of bomb blasts across major cities have resulted in us being focused to defeat these forces. Interesting to note however that the larger threat is coming from China. The reason I feel it is so because of the fact that the communist country poses a larger threat to India’s progress. There is no reason to equate the terrorism threat from Pakistan with it but still I mentioned it to highlight this existing perception which exists among many people in our country. There are people who view this threat as more of a challenge posed by China which we should take boldly and move forward to achieve our targets. I call it a threat because the movement on their side does not indicate that they don’t have anything against us.

China’s long standing understanding with our arch rivals clearly indicate that she wants to keep us engaged defending our borders against extremists. It has continuously given military aid and has never come out in support of India. During the recent nuclear deal, china wanted to veto against us getting nuclear fuel from nuclear suppliers group. That was a clear indication of how desperate they were to stop us taking this big step. Arunachal Pradesh has always been a disputed region between the countries. China is continuously building its border infrastructure near to these areas. Why would they spend so much money on a region which does not contribute anything to their economic power? It’s been a quiet affair and the Indian establishment has at last started to react to it. In a recent development the Indian air force decided to set up a new base in the north east. It also plans to improve upon the existing ones. The BRO is speeding up the process to improve the road conditions near to the Chinese border. A few high profile ex defense personals have come out and talked about China openly. All these have resulted in a barrage of attacks on us from the Chinese media. It is often believed that the Chinese government often speaks its mind through these national mouthpieces. These media reports virtually threaten India with dire consequences if it tries to take on the mighty dragon. It showcases the superior economic power, the gap existing between the two countries etc.

So the point I am trying to make here is we face a multi pronged challenge from China. Industry, growth, infrastructure and most importantly defense. Pakistan will continue to be an enigma for us but it is China which poses a sustained long term threat.

The Sea Bridge!

The Bandra-Worli sea link is all set to open. Some of the details I was going through on the net related to the materials, time, labour which were put into place for the creation of this engineering marvel. Congrats to all involved in this project

Lets get started Mr.Prime Minister !

The elections are over and we are already getting indications of what a stable government led comprehensively by one national party can achieve. Already the bells indicating change are ringing. It is expected that the new government will concentrate on taking our infrastructure growth to the new level. Huge investments are expected in this field. In addition the disinvestment drive will pick up. The economy needs a kick especially after the recession. It is projected that India’s growth rate will surpass China in the next financial year. All these news are quite encouraging for India Inc.

What is fascinating to see is the kind of change this government is trying to bring about in areas related to our society, education etc. Education minister Kapil Sibbal has already come out with some path breaking suggestions like scrapping the board exams of class 10 & 12. He wants a single entrance exam to ease pressure on students. Certain critics will term it as a decision which will make more news and less impact. It can be proved wrong if these decisions are just a part of the overall objective of improving our education system. The next step I would presume is to increase the number of high quality institutes which will ease the competition to get into the best colleges. The idea should be 1) To generate more number of highly qualified talents from school level who get a complete education. Please not education and academics are entirely different things. Academics is just a small part of Education. 2) Increase the number of seats and number of good quality colleges. Make the cream thicker and try to accommodate every bit of it.

The other decision which the government is contemplating is to abolish the law which criminalizes homosexuality. I feel if this decision is taken, we will take a huge step forward as a liberal society. Lets face the fact, there are people who have such a sexual orientation and its for us to recognize them and let them live a normal life. Imagine being alienated from the society on account of something which is legal in many other countries. Being the largest democracy, it is for us to lead the way for the rest.

I am bullish on our growth in the coming few years. We have apt people governing us. Let’s hope for the best.

We Lost a Legend

1958-2009

One of the best ever Music artist to grace the stage. He is a legend.

RIP Jackson.

United India - Still Some way to go.

We always take pride in saying that ours is a country where the unique trait of Unity in Diversity is present. We are culturally different and yet we can all identify ourselves as Indians. It is indeed true that there remains a bond, so strong that it helps the country united. I am a bit circumspect on this issue though. I don’t think our diversified cultural identity helps us to become a nation as strong as we should be given our geo political position and the delicate nature of the region surrounding us.

If we have a closer look at what we are facing, surely we will have something bigger than butterflies in our stomach. Maybe a dragon fly! On a serious note let us jot down the threats which loom over our heads. A) The North East region of our country has always been a battlefield of some sorts. So many people have lost their lives over the years. There are many extremist outfits operating in this region, ULFA being the biggest amongst them. What has been their demand? They want a liberated Assam (A self autonomous region). Similarly we have other groups operating from Nagaland, Mizoram etc. B) The Jammu & Kashmir problem is no news to us. It is a problem which already is in the limelight since we achieved independence. I need not write too much about it. Key point to note again is Pakistan’s stance that Kashmiris want a separate identity. They have their own ethnic uniqueness. A lot of times even we have contemplated giving Kashmir an autonomous identity. C) The Maoists across the country is yet another problem which we are facing and it seems to grow with each passing day. Again the reason for all these violence is their alleged ill treatment by the India government. D) Down south we have an entirely different kind of problem and this I think needs some long term care and attention. There is this uncomfortable feeling of ‘We’ being different from ‘Them’. To put it candidly, we term it as North Indians and South Indians. I don’t think we can continue on this path any longer. True, we are different in many ways but its time the feeling of oneness needs to be instilled amongst the masses. Don’t get me wrong here, I don’t mean to say that we are not united but there have been so many instances where it has been observed that people have tried to create differences.

So to put it together, we can see how delicate the country’s security situation is. If we add to it the external threats our worries gets compounded. The interesting point to note in all these threats is the demand for separate identities, autonomous regions etc. Is this the unity in diversity we are talking of? In fact the truth is a majority of the threats which looms or which have already taken place is because of the lack of unity amongst the people. It is the lack of identifying ourselves first as Indians and then keep our regional interests in mind. If we can take our national pride to the next level and stand against all anti national elements we ourselves can solve a lot of these threats. An urgent need is to put our regional aspirations to the back burner and concentrate on building a stronger country. The government on its part needs to do a lot. Give equal aids to every region of the country; provide education, health, jobs to the underprivileged. A holistic approach and an inclusive growth is the need of the hour. As Indians its time for us to realize the importance of being Indians.

Note: Image taken from maplecroft

Roger 'The Legend' Federer

When Rafael Nadal was beaten by Robin Soderling ending his unbeaten run at Roland Garros, everyone thought that perhaps this is the chance for Roger Federer to ultimately win that elusive 14th Grand Slam. It was perhaps a tribute from the Spaniard to the Swiss master which allowed him to claim that eagerly awaited French open title which was missing in Federer’s trophy cabinet.
When the moment came, the champion grasped it and ultimately managed to put himself into the echelons of tennis folklore. He was a legend before winning it, now he has proved it with the numbers too(14 Grand Slams).
The match was one sided and Soderling didn’t show any of his trademark power play which he used so effectively to dispose off Nadal. Perhaphs the credit goes to Federer as in the entire match he kept the ball low and quickly realized that hitting a ball which is coming at a greater height makes it easier for Soderling to play his attacking brand of tennis. As the World no 2 went past his opponent with exquisite back hands and immaculate drop shots the crowd looked in awe and appreciated the great man’s touch. The presentation ceremony of any grand slams is always special and it was no different here. The presence of Andre agassi made it even more spectacular. Tears of joy from the champ combined with an emotional national anthem made it a historic moment. Roger Federer is a true champion and it is only for us to see how much more he can win from this point. He will surely be challenged by Rafael Nadal. Next up is Wimbeldon and the swiss maestro is well and truly the favorite.