Mumbai's Bravehearts

Thank you Keenan and Santos. My promise to you - in true spirit of your "do the right thing" attitude, I swear I will always do the right thing, whether it kills me, or puts my family at risk. I don't want my kids to be growing up in a society that's berift of values, is teethering on poverty, and has serious issues with integrity.

Sheet Music for Kahin to hogi wo - Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

Today I came across this highly useful tutorial to play Kahin to hogi wo from Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

Thought I should do my bit and created this sheet music based on the video - was quite late, so may have some mistakes.

ABC according to Google.co.in

I'd compiled a list of 1st suggested site when an alphabet is typed in Google.com.

See full post here: http://kolekar.blogspot.com/2011/10/abc-according-to-googlecom.html

The next logical step was to check what Google.co.in(dia) returned for the Alphabets.

Here's the definitions as per Google.co.in:

A = AirTel.co.in
B = BSEIndia.com
C = ESPNCricInfo.com
D = DTE.org.in
E = EBay.in
F = FaceBook.com
G = Google.co.in
H = HDFCBank.com
I = IRCTC.co.in
J = JustDial.com
K = FlyKingfisher.com
L = in.LinkedIn.com
M = MPSC.gov.in
N = Nokia.co.in
O = Orkut.com
P = IndianRail.gov.in/PNR_Stat.html
Q = BrainyQuote.com
R = RediffMail.com
S = Songs.pk
T = TimesOfIndia.IndiaTimes.com
U = UPSC.gov.in
V = Vodafone.in
W = www.FaceBook.com
X = XE.com
Y = YouTube.com
Z = Zedge.net

ABC according to Google.com

Had some time to kill today, and managed to compile this list of 1st suggested site when an alphabet is typed in Google.com.

e.g. Typing A automatically shows Amazon.com as the first result. Imagine the popularity of such sites that are linked to one of the 26 letters of the English Alphabet.

PS: Q is still open for takers, as the site returned didn't appear to be commercial to the extent others are.

Anyway - here's the full according to google.com.

A = Amazon.com
B = BestBuy.com
C = CraigsList.com
D = Dictionary.Reference.com
E = EBay.com
F = FaceBook.com
G = Google.com
H = HotMail.com
I = iPhone5Release.org
J = JetBlue.com
K = Kohls.com
L = Lowes.com
M = MapQuest.com
N = NetFlix.com
O = Orbitz.com
P = Pandora.com
Q = BrainyQuote.com
R = RedBox.com
S = SouthWest.com
T = Target.com
U = USPS.com
V = Verizon.com
W = Weather.com
X = XBox.com
Y = YouTube.com
Z = Zillow.com

Finished reading a very disturbing article.

Officials at Risk as India’s Graft Thrives (NYTimes)

Is there nothing in our constitution that will stop such criminals from infesting Public Service?

Why can't a massive army backed public health & education campaign be undertaken in any state ranking in the bottom three of "National GDP Contribution Index"? Is it so difficult to show a mirro to already unfortunate people?

Please - will anybody, answer their own conscience?

Lokpal Bill 2011 (?)

India never lacked laws, rather its' their enactment. Hawking, Traffic, Tax-Evasion, Pollution, Civic Contracts et al, are not in a mess due to lack of law, rather due to lack of their implementation. I'm not cynical, but not yet a believer either.

During the last two weeks, the Indian Government has been witness to the overwhelming force of public opinion pertaining to Corruption in Public Office. The UPA Government tried every trick in its' book from ridicule, merciless character assasination, fradulent charges and - as witness yesterday from the speech of an undeserving leader - denial of fitness of purpose.

I hate that politician, especially after learning about his truth from Subramanian Swamy's video on youtube.com, and such individuals, not content at sucking the Indian resource-pool dry for decades, take recourse of such antics at every opportunity they get.

Anyway, coming back to the point, a strong Lokpal Bill, will make it immensely difficult for those occupying public office to indulge in corruption, but there is a tremendous will amongst the bureaucracy to make the most of the powers given to them, and as the old adage goes - where there's a will, there's a way.

I am sure the bureaucrats will find their way out of the Citizens' Charter, with fine print that will overwhelm citizens in its' interpretation. The Lokpals & Lokayuktas' if appointed by the government can be as powerful as our current President or Lok-Sabha Speaker, and lastly, the lower bureaucracy will find cover under its' sheer volumes.

Status Quo? Perhaps not, there is always a turning point in the path of darkness, it seldom leads to daylight immediately, rather it assures one that every step taken leads you away from darkness. Yes, India has taken that the right steps, but, the day of celebration is too far away!

Sound Emissions: SX4 v/s Auto-Rickshaw

I hate autorickshaws! They represent the disease that afflicts Mumbai's prosperity, and are a menace on roads. Driven by un-educated, poor and unhygienic drivers, its' unbelievable that people of this city place their fate in such hands. As if the meter-tampering, abusive / filthy language and thick-spewing exhaust is not enough, there are reportedly 2 illegal rickshaws for every legally permitted one in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Two-stroke / four-stroke rickshaws are known for various vices, but the one that probably gets least attention is their enormous appetite for Noise Pollution. The auto-rickshaws' flout every known sound-limit imposed within the city for ANY zone anywhere. Its' socialism that's keeping them alive, otherwise, its' hard to imagine such an outdated relic of the past continuing to rub shoulders with Civics/SXs/Corollas/3-Series that dot the Mumbai roads.

I did a systematic study of noise pollution by recording sound levels while travelling in a rick and compared it to a drive in my SX4 car. The difference is neither subtle nor worth ignoring.


(Click to see the full sized version)

The rickshaws' are maiming us, perhaps even killing us slowly and steadily, but the corrupt officers and policemen will NOT act, not unless they find an easy way of bribes.

Idiotic nerds of the world unite...

...and unfortunately I'm having to bear them for a while now.

When brilliance gets sullied by incompetence, and pain gets compounded by opportunistic retards who neither share your vision nor bear a light - what does one do?

A house you worship, a family you cherish, all appear to be in tatters, and inspite of the initial tender care, when you stares down a dead road - who do you ask for help?

These are times that one cannot choose to ignore, but the true mark of a leader is when he turns issues turn into opportunities, problems into solutions, and protects the vulnerable in times of change.

Lastly, I wonder what can possibly be more valuable for a manufacturer than the piece of label which carries his name on the masterpiece he creates?

Playstation 3 Move

Last Sunday, I bought a PlayStation 3 + Move Starter Bundle - and with that I feel like having taken a long jump from within darkness into bright sunshine. I've never been so outdated in a certain technology for so long - ever.

The little 'bundle of joy' as described by avid gamers, and fanboys of the PS3 was never quite on my agenda. However the addition of Move and the subsequent reviews goading the amazing precision bought into gaming by the Move controller got me thinking. Is this a gaming device, a lifestyle product or a fitness program for lazy bones?

Honestly, it a lot of everything, atleast based on my assessment, hence with the same haste as I always show in items of interest, I went head first into buying PS3 with its' glorious Ax.

The total hit on my pocket so far has been around 40K, but I'm living every paise of what's been spent.

Cheers.