Will the Indian Government Stand Up Please??

The bombing of Indian cities is unacceptable. That’s the message the Indian government needs to send out in order to protect its people – but is failing miserably to do so. The Mumbai bombings of 2008 should have been a wake up call to overhaul the system and fix the security house, but instead India’s anger against Pakistan and the people’s anger against the Indian government faded away rather fast. The Indian public is in fact as culpable as the Indian government - for not being ruthless,  for accepting the governments’ failure to respond. In contrast the same Congress government in Maharashtra was re-elected within months; signaling the lack of consideration amongst most Indians!

In the meanwhile, the Common wealth games have come and gone - 85,000 Crore rupees spent away into the pockets of greedy politicians but not a dime on making the Police more potent. That is the sorry state of affairs.

Had this happened in America, the perpetrators would have been hunt down; the Pakistan government would have been under serious pressure to act on terrorists in their domain and a major overhaul of security policies enacted. Not everyone would agree with this stance, some will say striking against terrorist would give them more motivation and inspiration to attack – but sitting idle is not helping either. These are not Gandhiwadi terrorists who will leave us alone only because we are not going after them. But if decisive strikes are made against them, the next time any terrorist thinks about doing something, he will at least think about the consequences. Right now it is free for all with no retribution.

An Unbelievable Tablet

Connectivity

Connect via GPRS or WiFi
GPRS: Embedded modem eliminates the need for external dongles and allows Internet access everywhere
WiFi: Allows fast Youtube videos at hotspots

HD Quality Video
Watching movies in the palm of your hand on a 7” screen
Audio library software helps manage your full collection of songs
Applications Galore with Android 2.2:

Games
Productivity software: Office suite
Educational software
Over 150,000 apps!
Full sized-USB port & Micro-SD slot:

Expand memory to 32GB
Use any ordinary pen-drive
Even plug-in a 3G dongle

Price
INR 2,999 ($60)


And It’s a Phone!

http://www.akashtablet.com/

A confused political Party

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in India rose to prominance with party leader L K Advanis Rath Yatra in 1992, that lead to the demolition of the Babari Masjid in Ayodhya. The BJP appealed to the large section of Hindus who saw the party as the protector of Hindu interests. Whilst the Indian National Congress was happy to play the poverty and minority interest card the Hindus aligned with the BJP - but not all of them. The phenomenal rise of the BJP saw them capture power in 1998 but not without the support of coalition parties that were not as hard liners.

To gain votes beyond the Hindu base BJP softened their stance and lost the Hindu vote in the process. Congress recaptured power in 2003 and BJP has been in a steady decline ever since. In the latest bid to woo back its political base Mr. L K Advani completed yet another Rath Yatra recently - signs of party utterly confused and lacking any kind of imagination. What the BJP fails to understand was in 92 India was on the verge of bankruptcy, under developed and unsophisticated country. Today the country stands on the economic forefront, unemployment is marginal and very few people have the time or desire to follow Advanis Rath.

BJP needs to re-invent itself in the interest of modern India or it risks passing away into the oblivion of India's political landscape.

A tribute to Steve Job

When Apple CEO, Steve Jobs passed away on October 5 2011, the world around us has lost a spark of perfection. Many would credit Steve jobs with imaginative ideas, but it think his contribution to the world was the gift of perfection. Apple seldom made inventive products. The computer was there, music players were around, cell phones were common, tablets were already tried. But with the PC, the iPod, iPhone and the iPad we got products that worked with near perfection, products that were simple to use and products that never crashed.

Looking upon Apples success competitors are imitating products. To beat Apple at its own game they are trying harder by adding features that Apple does not have and in the process making these competitor products more complex. Steve Job would have loved this. Having competitors who make complex hi tech products is the sole reason Apple is at the top of the tech ladder.

Steve Jobs was genius who realized that most people in the world are not brilliant. They cannot use complex products. Simplicity was his gift to the people of the world and they embraced it. People have compared with to Thomas Edison, but to me he is truly unique. A human being gifted with technical genius, people management skills, presentation skills and the vision of god. Steve Jobs will go down in history as the true legend of the business world.

Why Casey Anthony has to hide in a dug out while Amanda Knox gets to celebrate her Release?

The year 2011 should be remembered as the year when 2 girls got away with murder – cold blooded murder of someone near and dear to them. It should be remembered for the failure of the judicial systems in 2 different countries that cannot bring criminals to justice just because they have pretty faces. It should be remembered for how crafty sly lawyers in defense were able to get around their counterparts in prosecution.

Casey Anthony got away with the murder of her little daughter even when the jury was convinced that she committed the crime but no evidence was available. Amanda Knox got away the murder of her roommate in Italy – the prosecution had the evidence but the defense proved that it was tainted. There are huge similarities in the two cases. First of all both, Casey Anthony and Amanda Knox are pretty ladies – and this played a huge part in their release as the jury couldn't imagine the beast within their beauty. In the aftermath of the crimes these ladies committed, both of them embarked upon lying to the law to get away from their crime. Intense lying is what saved them. Casey Anthony was able send the search teams in wrong directions, prolonging the discovery of her daughter’s remains. While Amanda Knox used lies effectively to the same effect and her parents used lies to create a tainted image of the prosecution. The approach resulted in similar outcomes as both walked scot-free

However the consequences for them are worlds apart. Casey Anthony was never seen after her release. She had to be escorted out in protection, and has received death threats. No TV networks in the US want to air her story or interview fearing public backlash. On the other hand Amanda Knox was welcomed to a heroes welcome in Seattle. She held a press conference; there is talk about a book, a movie, reality shows and all the celebrity press you can imagine. The media celebrated her and the crowd cheered her.

This brings me to the question – Why? Both were acquitted by the law one by the US law and other by the Italian law. Yet, Casey Anthony is the devil and Amanda Knox is the Angel. This just shows the hypocrisy of the media and the general public. Why is Amanda forgiven but Casey is bedeviled? Is it because Casey murdered a little girl and Amanda killed somebody of her own age? Or Is it because Casey murdered an American and Amanda killed a British national?

I really don’t understand.

Will Bank of America (BAC) survive?

In India they have a saying “Weenasha kaalay wiprit buddhi” (विनाश काले विपरीत बुद्धि) meaning when ones time to self annihilate nears the mind starts playing the wrong way. When I think of Bank of America (BAC) I cannot help but be reminded of this old wise saying.

The bank epitomizes the American economy. Of the 300 million Americans nearly 58 million bank with BAC. Such is the might and standing of the bank in American economy that Washington is sweating at the mere thoughts of BAC failure. The American economy survived the Bear and Sterns and FNM and FMC failures through stimulus, but the Federal Reserve cannot see any amount of stimulus that would bail out BAC. Basically the bank has to stand on its feet and recover on its own – which it does not seem very keen on doing.

Today Bank of America announced a $5 fee per month for customers using Debit card. What other genius tactics can you devise to drive away your account holders when Banks like Citi, JPM and credit unions all over the country are offering free debit card services? Last week, Bill Maher referred the bank as “Skank of America” and that’s exactly what all their loyal customers are thinking right now. At a time when the bank needs capital; driving away the customers is going to lay the stone of the great American bank.

15 Minutes will cost you 15% or more

Geico is a legendary Insurance company. Geico have created such a huge impression using their Geco ads that people truly believe that Geico auto insurace is cheap. I was on Geico policy for over four years, but a reality started to dawn upon me. In the 4 years that my car depreciated by 40% my insurance cost actually went up. This on top of the fact that Geico had to pay Zero insurance claims on my behalf.

The one way relationship started to get a bit too much and i decided to show Geico the appropriate finger. My search of Auto insurance lead me to two replaceable candidates - State Farm and Farmers insurance. I ran by my Geico coverage with both the companies and teir bids came out 22% and 25% lower than what i was paying!!!

That says it all. I will advice everyone reading this blog to ditch Geico ASAP. It is a company owned my Warren Buffet. When you are dealing with a guy who is amongst the richest in the world i think we all know who gets a good deal. My objective over the next 1 year is to cost Geico atleast 12 customers - i hope i succeed but there is no way to know. So do leave a comment if your search for auto insurance leads you here and you decide to switch ;)

[Geico should probably change their marketing slogan to my blog title. They really do not save you 15% ]

An analysis of the Fox Republican Debate

This is my first time following of the GOP debates and I am a fan already. I couldn’t imagine that election time rhetoric can be so much entertaining. Here is a breakdown of the performance of all the candidates.

Rick Perry is now a clear winner of the republican debates. He comes out as a string man of conservative values and has an air of presidency about him. Of all the candidates Rick Perry makes sure that he gets across the message that people want to hear. Everybody wants to know that the next president will fix the economy and that is what he exactly tells them. While other candidates focus on undermining Perry or Romney, Perry just ignores them and focuses on the issues. So far he seems the most likely to be nominated.

Mitt Romney was the guy who had the presidential air about him. Now he is just the runner up who is trying to go after Perry and salvage his position. He looses his calm, gets too agitated and starts hackling when confronted with Perry. He used to focus on issues but now his focus is Perry who took his number 1 spot within 1 week of joining the race. Romney is finding this hard to swallow and I won’t be surprised if he falls further behind.

Ron Paul is this crazy guy who says things that no presidential candidate dare say. Things that are considered anti America, calls to withdraw from all wars, let Iran have nuclear weapons but protect the borders. Ron Paul is a thinker, an economist an very educated man, he is the guy America needs to solve the economic issues – and a small percentage of Americans are now realizing that and agreeing with him. He is now the number 3 but his problem is there are just too many people out there who will fall to the jingoism out there.

Michelle Bachman is the crazy woman who keeps dishing out her idiotic one liner “Barack Obama will be a one term president”. She does not focus on issues. Focusing on Perry and his vaccination decision – not going to get her too far. She is loosing the debates and soon she will be out of contention.

Gary Johnson – This guy has a light air feeling. He seems like a guy who can handle pressure with a smile and make everyone smile with him. He doesn’t have presidential air about him but I won’t be surprised if the country falls on a guy who can lighten the mood a bit and buoy everybody along with him. Gary Johnson is the candidate to watch over the next few weeks and most likely to rise to the top and then on slug it out with Rick Perry.

Herman Cain is not going to be nominated and he should have withdrawn by now. He is zero experience with politics and international affairs and would be the wrong candidate.

Newt Gringrich is another candidate who is making too much noise and has too little substance and too mush debt. He should drop out.

Rick Santorum is again too much noise. Empty vessels make all the noise and Santorum is exactly that. By attacking Perry and Romney all he is vying for is few months of fame.

John Huntsman is not even making the noise and no one is paying attention to him. This guy has factories in China and he is a former Obama aide. Why is he even in the race?


This was my take on the Republican race to nominate a candidate. Feel free to leave your comments if you agree or disagree. After all this is a debate!

Why AT&T and T-Mobile should not be allowed to merge

The U.S. justice department is suing AT&T for the proposed merger with T-Mobile. The government fears that the merger of the #2 and #4 wireless carriers will be monopolistic and create pricing pressures on customers. I think that the two should not be allowed to merge, firstly for their own benefit, secondly for the benefit of the cellular industry and lastly for the customers.

If the prices go up for the consumers, people will find other cheap alternatives in Boost mobile or something else. Bur merging of too giant companies will create a behemoth organization which starts affecting the industry as a whole if it runs into trouble. To understand this you don’t have to look beyond 2008. When Lehman Brothers went into bankruptcy it affected the entire financial system and the US and the world economy went into the rut. The government has allowed too many mergers and aided the formation of companies like Lehman, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, GM …. The list goes on. Same was the case with the Auto industry when GM seemed to crumple the whole auto sector, including suppliers and dealers went into doldrums.

Large organizations are highly inefficient and very clumsy to adapt to changing market needs. Being too powerful they live under the illusion of “too big to fail” and operate very complacently. AT&T is trying to look for a short term solution to its bandwidth problems by buying out T. But what are they going to do when T-mobiles bandwidth runs out too? If AT&T buys T, prices will go up, people will shun their products, existing customers will still congest their network by streaming videos, and they will have nowhere to go. Finally the tax payers will have to bail them out.

The merger should be averted for the good of everybody.

Bad way to sell Chicken

Venkateshwarya Hatcheries, better known as Venkys chicken are sellers of ready to eat chicken – kind of KFC of India. Venkys have been around for a long time and I remember their “One minute, 2 minute, minute chicken – Venkys chicken in minutes” ad that ran in my school days. Like most Indian companies, Venkys seem to have garnered exponential growth as the Indian economy has blossomed.

One reason for this growth seems to be shift in patterns of food habit of Indian households. Traditionally Indian house holds are known for cooking fresh food at least twice a day and eating out was a rare practice. Restaurants were reserved for special occasions. However with the woman taking more financial responsibilities and full time employment there is a shift in trend towards eat out and frozen / ready to eat food culture. Venkys have done well in meeting this demand.

As Venkys ambitions have grown they have ventured into Europe, especially Britain where there is a huge demand for Indian food – Chicken Tikka Masala being the national dish in this country. Here comes the “Bad way to sell Chicken” part. Looking at the popularity of Football in UK it was obvious to use it as a tool to market their products. And Venkys did that. But instead of advertising at football stadiums, putting their names on some jersey or hiring a iconic footballer as brand ambassador – Venkys went ahead and bought the Blackburn Rovers Football club for 41 million pounds.

Is it a god idea for companies to buy football clubs? – Not really. First of all most football clubs in the premiere league and for that reason all over Europe make losses every years. So at some point Venkys will have to bear these losses at some point. Secondly footballing clubs have become a playground for billionaires from Russia, UAE and the US.

These guys have immense passion for the game and are not afraid to pour money into the teams to help them perform better. The clubs are their status symbols and they will pour their hearts in them irrespective of the costs. However, Venkys are approaching this from a business perspective. When the Arab prince bought Manchester City FC he went on spend over 700 million pounds to rebuild the team. On the other hand Venkys promised their fans investment of 5 million pounds.

The firing of a very competent manager in Sam Allardyce and statements such as “Protein is needed for sports, chicken has proteins and hence we are buying the club” suggest that Venkys have limited experience in this field. Moreover Blackburn FC are lying at the bottom of the league and relegation chances are very high. Relegation could be doomsday scenario for both the club and the Ckicken company.

Venkys seems to have embarked on a bad ploy to sell their chicken.

An Analysis of Mr. Ratan Tata’s Vision

Ratan Tata, the chairman of the TATA Group of companies took reins of the group in 1981. As a novice Mr. Tata was doubted by many for his capabilities to take the group forward. It was a monumental task to lead a group so vast that not only represented the indegnious industrialization spirit of India but had a flavor of unwavering patriotism. Over the years Mr. Tata have proved all doubters wrong by his master class handling of the groups affairs. What so noteworthy of the success that he has achieved with the TATA group of companies is the scale of operation of these companies and the shear diversity in which the TATA group operates. Ranging from salt, steel, chemicals to automobiles and high tech industries involving software and telecom the companies have flourished under his leadership. It is amazing that a person could have vision and core competencies in so many business areas that pretty much sum up the economic spectrum. As opposed, other successful Indian companies and leaders, such as Infosys, Reliance have operated in one business area and leveraged their core skills.

The TATA group has gone places under the banner of Ratan Tata. Tata has maintained a strong desire to represent not only the group companies but also the name of the nation in markets across the world. His most notable moves include, Tata Tea buying worlds biggest Tea maker, Teatley, Tata Motors buying Daewoo Motors, Jaguar and Land Rover. Tata Consultancy has offices all across Europe and North America. Prior to Ratan Tata, if the group was a dominant national player, Mr. Tata has expanded its horizons beyond the national borders. This has been his vision for the group. Mr Tatas vision played a key part in transforming Tata Motors from a commercial vehicle manufacturer to a passenger car manufacturer and now a owner of worlds most admired luxury car brands in Jaguar and Land Rover. His vision for the Indica car – A car that would have the space of an Ambassador, maneuverability of a Zen and price of Maruti 800 was truly legendary.

I have absolutely no doubt that his thinking has been absolutely pioneering till date but some of his recent guidance has been questionable. Tata’s vision of a 1 lakh rupee ($2200) car has backfired severely. When I heard of it 4 years ago I was totally amazed – this is not possible – was my first reaction. But, the persistence of Mr Tata, the ingenuity of Tata Motors engineers and help from Chinese manufacturing have made it possible. However the endeavor succeeds only till this point – the vision wasn’t to make a 1 lakh car, it was to sell a 1 lakh car. The Tata Nano has failed miserably in the sales department. Supporter of Ratan Tata will say that the quality problems in the car have caused it to loose sales, but I don’t agree. This is a classic part of wrong market research by Tata marketers in order to please Mr. Tata. They should have realized that the demographics and economic classes in India are changing. The salaries are going up and hence the middle class who drive cars are willing to pay more for some comfort. With this changing demographics the ctarget market for the car becomes the lower class. But with Petrol prices in India higher than most places on earth and the inflation in the similar class, the poor can hardly afford petrol.

It is going to be a huge challenge for Tata to turn around the small car project which is based on economies of scale and and needs to sell at least 100,000 cars a year just to breakeven.

Mr Tata is a pioneer, a legend visionary – he should try and employ the genius at his disposal to turn the Nano project around. If it doesn’t happen he should just bury his ego and let the car project go down for the greater good of Tata Motors.

Are all religions different after all??

Mankind has fought amongst themselves under the name of religious beliefs for centuries. From ancient battles to modern day terrorism, all battles lines have been drawn under the flags of religion. Makes one wonder how different all these religions are after all.



One particular aspect of religion worth looking is the position of woman defined under the 3 religions i am familiar with. In Christianity for instances it is required woman to be submissive to their husband. Politician Michele Bachman is one such christian woman who has admitted to practicing this submission necessitated by her religious beliefs.



One a similar vein in Islam, woman are required to wear veils or Burqas, maintain a low profile and not get into arguments with men. The taliban are aggressive enforcer of these rules and there are instances of woman being stoned to death for going against the religious dictates.



In the Hindu religion, the Brahmin preists preached that woman are not allowed the right to education, are required to take care of all the house holds needs and comply to the orders of the male head of the family.



Now you see how all these religions are different. Pretty clearly the religious verses must have been written by men who made sure that the woman got the worst deal and they could have their way under the name of religion.



Looking at all the evidence, the world should'nt really be fighting on which religion is superior or better; instead all the woman together should be fighting the men to overturn the shackles imposed under the guise of religious preaching.

IPL Tewnty Twenty Cricket will ruin Indian Cricket

It had to start somewhere and it starts here at Indias’ 2011 tour of England. No one saw the perils of the 20-20 format of cricket BUT Indian cricket is going to be a big victim of this entertainment form of cricket. No one will admit and no one will do anything to restore the situation – because there is a lot of money involved. And when it is money and India; it is a dangerous combination.



Test cricket is boring, it needs discipline, hard work, patience, concentration, skills, mettle and mental toughness. 20-20 is the exactly opposite, it appeals more to the hot blood of the youth. Why bother staying on the pitch for 2 days, score a painstaking century when you can hit 20 runs in 7 balls, with the crowd cheering in the backdrop of high pitch music and cheerleaders dancing by the boundary line. The choice for today’s emerging cricketers is simple. Get into 20-20 rather then yearning for a test spot. Above all 20-20 offers a lot more money for the entertainment value.



Against the backdrop of the picture I have painted Indian cricket is going to emerge a big looser. And it all starts here with loosing the #1 ranking in test cricket. So where do we go from here? Further more down the ranking ladder in the near future. Other big disadvantage for Indian cricket is going to be – loosing the dominance on home soil. With international cricketers being offered chance to participate in 20-20, sooner rather than later these guys are going to be acclimatized with the Indian pitch conditions and unlocking the prowess of Indias spin bowlers. The coming years will see India loose a number of home tournaments.



Many of you may not agree, but there is proof. The English premier league is football is the best and most exciting league in the world. It offers high quality football and immense opportunities to talent all over the world. But look where it has landed English football. England can only dream of winning a football world cup. Thankfully for Indian cricket the 20-20 mania did not destroy our cricket before registering a World cup win. If we don’t do anything to fix the 20-20 bubble, which we probably wont, India will not register a cricket world cup win for decades to come.

The ignominy of a Presidential address!

Remember the days when presidential addresses used to be a defining moment in a nations era. JFK asking the people “ask not what the country can do for you but what you can do for the country”. A nation going at war, a nation struck by natural disaster, calls for unity-are moments defining presidential address, but never for calls to call your senator or congressman.

Under President Obama, presidential address has become a mockery. Last week Obama went live on CNN urging people to call their republican congressman and ask them to raise the deficit limit. Today in his press conference he urged people to tweet their congressmen. These addresses seem more like his complaints to the people about the republicans blocking the bills and that he is not to be blamed in case of further problems. These highlight his inability to lead and to bring the 2 parties together and reach an amicable solution. President Obama may be savvy in the use of technology and social networking but he is proving to be incompetent to lead a nation. America does not need a president who is going to facebook and tweet for a year and a half for his re-election campaign; they need a hardcore problem solver who will be resolving the economical issues. President Barack Hussein Obama is on his way to go down as the most irresponsible, incompetent and non-statured president in the modern American history.

PS: I am not an Obama basher. That’s just what I have become.

Reducing the Competitiveness of the American Student and Society!

The US government is facing unprecedented debt. The levels are unsustainable and all the politicians in this country can do is to kick the can down the road. Each party claims to have plans that would cut the deficit by trillions but independent reviewers say that all they do is cut 20 to 40 billion dollars over 10 years. Ideologically these guys cannot agree upon defense, Medicare, Social security, union benefits, taxation, abortion, BUT – they certainly agree upon cutting student aid.

See this extract from a NY Times article.

“One of the few areas in which Mr. Boehner and Senator Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat and majority leader, agree is student aid. They both propose eliminating subsidized federal loans for students in graduate and professional schools — about 1.5 million borrowers who do now pay interest on their loans while they are in school. Graduate students could still take out unsubsidized loans. But they would be obliged to pay interest accumulated while they were in graduate school, so they would owe more to the government.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that this change would save $18 billion over 10 years.”

Any way I don’t care as I’m not eligible for student loans. No doubt this country is going bankrupt – one reason lack of education!

Quiznos Large Tuna Melt is the Unhealthiest Fast food around!!

Yes i was startled too. But this articles has some facts that you just cant ignore.

Quiznos innocent looking tuna sandwich manages to hold a staggering 1760 calories, 93 grams of fat and 2120 milligrams of sodium. Add in the optional dressing and you’re looking at an extra 370 calories and 40 grams of fat, which is close to or over the daily recommended calorie count for most people.

The main reason seems to be the ample Mayo cheese and inferior quality ingredients that Quiznos put in. Damn - Im choosing Subway here on.

Imrans Poetry from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Following the Scuba Dive
पिघले नीलम सा बहता हुआ ये समां
नीली नीली सी खामोषिया
ना कही है जमीन ना कही आसमान
सरसराती हुई तहनिया, पत्तिया
कह रही है की बस एक तुम हो यहाँ

सिर्फ मैं हूँ, मेरी साँसे हैं और मेरी धडकने

ऐसीं गहराइयाँ ऐसीं तनहैया और मैं , सिर्फ मैं

अपने होने पे मूज़कों यकीन आ गया

Following the departure from Bruno

एक बात होटो तक हैं जो आई नहीं

बस आँखों से है झाक्तीं

तुमसे कभी मुझसे कभी

कुछ लब्ज हैं वोह मांगती

जिनको पहन की होटो तक आजाये वोह

आवाज की बाहों में बाहे डाले इठलाये वोह

लेकिन जो ये बात हैं , एहसास ही एहसास है

खुशबू से है जो हवान में तैरती

खुशबू जो बेआवाज हैं

जिसका पता तुमको भी हैं,

जिसकी खबर मुझको भी हैं

दुनीया से भी छूपता नहीं

ये जाने कैसा राज हैं

Following the dark night in the dessert

जब जब दर्द का बादल छाया

जब गम का साया लहरायाँ

जब आसूं पलकों तक आया

जब यह तनहा दिल घबराया

हमने दिल को ये समझाया

दिल आखिर तू क्यूं रोता हैं

दुनिया में यूव ही होता हैं

ये जो गहरें सन्नाटे है

वक़्त सबको ही बाटे हैं

थोडा गम है सबका हिस्सा

थोड़ी धुप है सबका हिस्सा

आग तेरी बेकार ही ना बहें

हर पल एक नया मौसम हैं

क्यूँ तू ऐसे बल खोता है

दिल आखिर तू क्यूँ रोता है

Final scene

दिलो में तुम अपनी बेताबियाँ लेकर चल रहे हो तो जिन्दा हो तुम

नजर में ख्वाबों की बिजलिया लेकर चल रहे हो तो जिन्दा हो तुम

हवान की झोकों के जैसे आजाद होके जिन्दा रहना सीखों

तुम  एक  दरियां के लहरों के जैसे बहना सीखों

हर एक लम्हे से तुम मिलो खोलें अपनी बाहें

हर एक पल एक नया समा देखे ये निगाहें

जो अपनी आखों में हैरानिया लेकर चल रहे हो तो जिन्दा हो तुम

दिलो में तुम अपनी बेताबियाँ लेकर चल रहे हो तो जिन्दा हो तुम

It didn’t have to end this way!

Potter came, Potter saw, Potter conquered! That was the case with every Harry Potter movie till date but the final part of the potter series the most awaited of them all left a sour taste and with a feeling of injustice to the climax. The movie has broken the records of all its predecessors but it is mainly because of the hefty ticket price for the 3D version. The story telling, the pace of the movie and some of the graphics left a lot undesired things on the table and me pleading someone to remake the final part so that potter gets a deserved farewell.

First of all the best scene was omitted. The movie was 2hour and 5 minutes and hence there would have been ample time to show Harry use the Crucio curse. For me that was the highlight of book 7 and that scene was sorely missed. May be they are saving it for the DVD and blue ray but it ought to be there.

The movie never should have been 3D, there were minimal 3D scenes and the audience really feels ripped off by after being lured into 3D. And I did realize that 3D movies are a pain to watch – pain on you eyes, neck and everywhere else….sitting in the first row trying to watch with the 3D glasses on, ufffh!

I need to go back and revisit the book but many scenes felt out of place. Was the fight between Harry and Voldemort on the bridge or in the hall? When does longbottom slice the head of the nagini?? All the timings and places seem out of place. The movie suggests that Voldemort looses his power and almost dies when Neville cuts the head off the snake – no credit to Harry. Does harry throw away the resurrection stone in the dark Forrest? Where is Hagrids brother and the giants who come to help Harry? No weight age to the deaths of Remus, Tonks and Rons bro? The list goes on and on…….

And yeah the final scene of 19 years later was totally unwarranted; the kids did not fit into the role of parents. And Harrys kid was too big to seem to be his child…. Oh boyy what a mess…. But I strongly feel that all my complaints are from the pains of watching the 3D version from the first row, hence will wait for the DVD for my final verdict.

Will the Indian Government Stand Up Please??

The bombing of Indian cities is unacceptable. That’s the message the Indian government needs to send out in order to protect its people – but is failing miserably to do so. The Mumbai bombings of 2008 should have been a wake up call to overhaul the system and fix the security house, but instead India’s anger against Pakistan and the people’s anger against the Indian government faded away rather fast. The Indian public is in fact as culpable as the Indian government - for not being ruthless in being unacceptable of such acts and the governments’ failure to respond. In contrast the same Congress government in Maharashtra was re-elected within months; signaling the lack of consideration amongst most Indians!

In the meanwhile, the Common wealth games have come and gone - 85,000 Crore rupees spent away into the pockets of greedy politicians but not a dime on making the Police more potent. That is the sorry state of affairs.

Had this happened in America, the perpetrators would have been hunt down; the Pakistan government would have been under serious pressure to act on terrorists in their domain and a major overhaul of security policies enacted. Not everyone would agree with this stance, some will say striking against terrorist would give them more motivation and inspiration to attack – but sitting idle is not helping either. These are not Gandhiwadi terrorists who will leave us alone only because we are not going after them. But if decisive strikes are made against them, the next time any terrorist thinks about doing something, he will at least think about the consequences. Right now it is free for all with no retribution.

Planning the ultimate Harry Potter Farewell

If you can’t wait enough for the release of Harry Potter Part 7 movie, you can spend your time planning a grand farewell party for the movie series. I can’t think of any movie series that would fascinate millions and millions around the world and hence deserves a perfect send off.

Here are a few ideas to send Potter packing! Feel free to add yours in the comments!!

Watch the mid-night premiere (laaaame)

Throw a BBQ party on the weekend, Watch Part 7A while having food, head out to watch Part 7B at the theatre

Dress up as a Potter character and head out for the movie waving all your wands

Head out to the movie with your buddies in the trunk of the truck sitting on their brooms

The Grand plan – Saturday morning start watching Sorcerers Stone (part 1) continue the marathon into the night to finish upto Part 5, Sunday morning start with Half blood prince in the morning, Deathly hallows Part1 in afternoon and finish off grand stand with Part 2 in the theatre…………

The demise of the justice system

When the whole world knows a woman is guilty, she knows, he knows, her parents know, her lawyers know, the judge knows and the jury knows – but you still can’t convict her for murdering her kid – the justice system has failed and is proved to be dysfunctional.

Truly there is no way of convicting Casey Anthony and to prove that she committed the crime or make her pay for it but this whole fiasco is going to come back and mock the system, make fun of it and say "in your face suckers!!" – Anthony’s lawyer has signed up for a PR company to manage his TV appearances, interviews, etc, Anthony is planning to write a book that will probably turn her into a celebrity. What’s next??? Movie offers, reality show offers, modeling??? Only time will tell and when it happens it would have bit the justice system right in its butt!!

Gulab Jamun with Vanilla Ice cream

They say happiness compounds by sharing... On a similar note I believe sweetness multiplies by adding deserts together. One legendary combination is of gulab jamuns with icecream vanilla to be more specific.I am no chef and not the inventor of this delight. It was the spring of 2004 when I was part of Tata motors in India.




The members of the Graduate engineers Commitee decided to throw a gettogether party for the new rectuits. But with limited funding most of the niche restautants in Pune were put of question. The alternate was to cater and we were honored to be hosted by the Lake house of Mr. Ratan Tata on the premises of Tata Motors Pune. Mr. Tata uses the places for his holiday retreats and during his visits to the Pune plant- hence it is unoccupied for most of the year. The place is home to his personal staff amongst them is a army of chefs catering to the great man himself. The food was exquisite gourmet a slap in the face to most restaurants on the planet. The Gulab Jamun in a Vanilla came from thie getaway!

{What say Mr Sandipan Mitra?}

Why are petrol prices so high in India?

The world petrol prices converted to INR are listed below. The prices are also normalized to the per capita income of the country to give an fair idea of the burden 100 litres of petrol is when normalized by 1 months household salary:

The main reason for the exorbitant prices in India is ridiculous amount of government taxation. Since the government cannot directly tax the common man, including it implicitly in petrol prices works out well for the govt.

It costs the oil companies Rs 30 to buy crude and process it to petrol. But adding the excise duty, federal and state taxes, transporation duties etc takes it all the way upto 60+

2011 - Year of the News.

The NFL is in lock out mode with a season shutout on the cards. No new concept movies on the horizon. But all the action is taking place on the news stands.

2011 so far, has been the year of the news. I bet news channel ad spot prices are through the roof and news anchor business is glamorous than ever. Even since the turn of the year a series of events have unfolded that have had people excited about the news. Busy news channels is not necessarily a good news for the world because often it is the bad story, a tragedy an unexpected series of events that catches peoples imagination. While 2010 was the year of BP Macondo oil spill, i could hardly bear the sight of oil spewing 5000ft below the ocean and news channels were a no go. But just take a look at 2011 -

January
Mass bird and fish deaths in the mid west brought the 2012 apocalypse in to picture
Revolution begins in Egypt's Tahrir Square



February
The full blown Egyptian revolution culminates with the dethroning of President Mubarak
In fighting begins between the Libyan govt forces and opposition


March
In the meanwhile revolution begins in Syria resulting in deaths of several hundred Syrians till date....
NATO declares no fly zone in Libya and the US goes to its 3rd war in a decade.
Japan is hit by a dealine earthquake a Tsunami killing a displacing wavt majority of the population. The ensuing events result in collapse of 5 nuclear powerplants emitting radiation in the atmosphere. With tons and tons of radioactive water discharged in the sea the effects of this tragedy are unthinkable...



April
India wins the cricket world cup 2011 :)
The US government is on the verge of shutdown before a temporary deal is struck between the white house and GOP
Kate Middleton and Prince William tie the knot, in a wedding whole heartedly embraced by the British public, bringing the first good news of the years from the world of monarchs.
Oil reached $100 / barrel..... again



May
(the big one) Worlds most wanted terrorist Osama Bin Laden is killed - shot in the head - this surely will be the #1 news of the year irrespective of what happens in the remaining 8 months....

Silver prices hit $50/ ounce, highest in 3 decades, highlighting the world problem of commodity inflation.



The amount of news we have had to seep in this year has been startling, and it is just the beginning of May.

so what looms ahead?

The worst president of India

I have never been fond of any President of India until Dr. Abdul Kalam showed up. The first acting president I recall was Shankar Dayal Sharma. I vaguely recall that guy incapable of staying awake / addressing the nation in a slow monotonous speech on Republic Day and sitting on couches back down (from what ever televised images were available). The titular head designation is the prime reason for impotence on the President of India. However the problem with the Presidents role starts with the constitution. The politicians themselves are responsible for the appointment and hence a puppet is what generally gets installed in the Rashtrapari Bhavan, So when the possibility of T N Seshan running for the President arose a few years ago politicians all in unison opposed the nominations.

Getting back to the topic of the worst president I will say she makes Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma standout like a bright shining star – she is none other than our current President Pratibha Patil. The first woman president title should have made Indian women proud and adore her but I believe she disgusts them no end. She is one person who doesn’t make me a proud Maharashtrian. Her scandals make the mafia look like good Samaritans:
 Protecting a murderer that is her brother
 Frauds in the bank that her family founder
 Drug trafficking and more loand frauds in her sugar factory

and the list can go on and on……

Sonia Gandhi was the one who proposed Patils nomination and is the prime reason for Indias sad image on world stage. I hear Patils got an invitation to the Royal wedding. I fear what account of India she might present on world stage.

The day that will be etched in our memories for ever

April 2, 2011 – The day India won the World Cup!

You had to see them to believe them, trust them and revere them for what they accomplished. The match seemed a lost cause by the time I woke up and could get a hang of things – 31/2 with Sachin and Sehwag back in the pavilion. But that was just on paper. When you actually watch Virat and Gautum bat, they seemed composed as seasoned campaigners, as batsman playing in their Nth world cup final! Watching boys take responsibility and grow into men. The team represents a new face of India – resilient and reluctant to give up in the face of adversity. I cannot think of any other event that would bring joy and pride to a billion people on earth.

April 2, 2011 – The day India won the World Cup!

Why do December Movies get Oscar Nominations?

Really beats me.
Many studios who consider their movies to be Oscar worthy wait until December for releases. This is the sole reason i think these pompous self assuming thugs should not be given Oscar nominations. General public hasnt even seen these movies and they get the Nominations because of some stupid critics....Its just ridiculous, the general popularity doesnt seem to count. I would have never watched Kings speech or even heard of it had it not got the Oscar... Now i may watch it, or may be not. I thought of watching Hurt Locker after it was awarded but never did....

The Haunted Window

Its a 7ft by 5ft. Tall, unpolished quite a relic. Its the painting - besides it; i dont quite understand it, seems like 3 women in it - its an abstract. 2 are quite happy and hugging each other whereas the 3rd seem to be pondering. But its not the painting that bothers me... Outside the window is a tree, no leaves, looks to be in shambles. No bird inhabits it, ive never seen it green but it lives on. It occupies the window completely but there is ample view beyond it becuse of the lack of foliage.... beyond are a couple of tall pine trees, they never seem to move and seem to defy the existence of wind... they are always there guarding something..... but there is nothing haunted about these trees either....
beyond the trees is a strange strange house, ive never seen a soul in it... an occasional sqirrel is seen bouncing on the roof but it is quick to depart... no one wants to be around the house... but i cant claim that its haunted either.....

But the window haunts me, not by itself but what it represents... afterall its my only view whilst im waiting for my dentist to arrive.

Ek garam chay ki pyali....

These days are few and hence to be savored in Texas country... In the land of hot humid and beautiful weather, snow rarely descends to chill my bones. Todays the day - roads are iced and dangerous to drive, the office is shut and there is snowy mist on the window - a perfect day for hot ginger tea by our window side.

Manchester United Transfer News - (Howard Webb Not for Sale)

Januray 31st 2011 marked the end of a very hectic transfer window in European football. Manchester United, however have been able to hold on to their most prized asset; Howard Webb. Howard Webb plays referee for Man United and has been subject of many transfer speculations. Many notable football clubs across Europe were eager for the signature of the coveted referee but the player has chosen to stick with his mentor Alex Fergusson. Webb has produced many impressive displays in recent years helping Man United to Premier leagur titles that has impressed coaches all around Europe. Our correspondent reports that John Henry the owner of Prestigious Liverpool football club was interested in Webb and made him his number 1 target after Striker Luis Suarez. Webbs eye catching performance in winning the early penalty against Liverpool in the FA cup match being the prime reason. Similarly Jose Mourinho of Real had shown interest in signing the referee considreing recent run of poor form in Spain and inability to cope with the pace set by Barcelona. However concerns over Webbs ability to gel in the La Liga prevented the move from going through.
Following intense bidding an speculations Man United issed an Hands-off warning over Webb and the FA fully supported this decision by issuing a statement on their website - "Howard Webb will remain a Man United Player till the end of Fergussons contract, and will officiate all games that could potentially affect the outcome of the premier league. Clubs are warned against Tapping the referee until released by United". With this ; came to an end the most sought after story of the 2011 Transfer window; to the great relief of Man united.

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For more news on Man United Referee signings read:

http://maheshsonawane.blogspot.com/2012/03/manchester-united-star-signing-referee.html

Who shrunk the pomfret?

I usually enjoy my trips to the My Hoa fish market in Houston. The place stocks Pomfrets (Marathi name Poplet / Paaplet), King fish (Surmai), Mackerel (Bangda) to name a few that makes sea food cooking possible the Indian way. However on my last visit the Pomfrets didnt quite look like the pomfrets - yeah they were silver and they were perfect diamond shapes but much diminished in size. Initially i mistook them for butter fish but upon questioning the owner it was confirmed thay were indeed the pomfrets. I let it go as an one off incident....
But the same thing today, the pormfrets were greatly diminished in size. I am keeping my fingers crossed that these are just random events of batches of teen / young, pomfrets making it into the nets; and not some ecological imbalance dwarfing the best and tastiest fish ever to swim across the oceans of planet earth.

Why are American freaking out about $5 gas?

If the media reports are to be believed $5 will be a reality by 2012. In an interesting debate on the Fox News Channel, Hannity took offense to the Kuwati oil ministers remark that the US should realize that days of cheap gas are behind them and should be ready to pay more for oil. Hannity went on to suggest, had it not been for the Americans the Kuwait nation would cease to exist and the US had right to all the oil and natural gas available in Kuwait, moreover the United states should send a bill to Kuwait for defending them in the Gulf war – so true; one thing I agree with Fox.

Coming back to the cost of gas, the cost of gas in many developing countries way too higher than that in the US. In India for instance one liter of gas costs around INR 63; that makes it approximately $5.04 per gallon. Now compare that to the per capita income of $2800 as opposed to $37000 in the US.

It’s time for the American nation to accept gas as a luxury and not a given. It’s time to carpool, galvanize the public transport system, built and use fuel efficient cars and cut down unnecessary travel. It is a pity to watch a 90lb American females drive 5000lb big-ass Tahoes and Expeditions. Why haul 300 hp, 5000 lb mass to and fro every day and harbor 10 miles to the gallon? Start thinking about 50 mpgs. A small car in India delivers around 28 km/liter equivalent of 61 mpg, produces 45 horsepower and hauls a family of 5. If Americans do half as much – use a 140hp Honda carrying 2 people and achieve 30mpg – they will remain energy independent and an affluent nation.