Gray Matter

Mumbai's Bravehearts

2011-11-17T10:11:00.001-08:00

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

2011-10-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-03T09:20:00.001-07:00

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

2011-10-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

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 (?)

2011-08-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-02T12:00:00.001-07:00

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...

2011-07-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

...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

2011-01-08T19:33:00.001-08:00

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.

Club Mahindra: Demystified

2010-12-15T12:59:00.001-08:00

A few days back, the devil took me over, and I stepped into Club Mahindra's office for their "presentation". It was hardly a presentation, it was a systematic brain-job, geared up to make you fall into their trap. Some key points that make Club Mahindra's presentation an absolutely disgusting (in-hindsight) experience:
1. They make an absolute fool represent them, the guy I was speaking to had zilch knowledge of inflation, costing and was so retarded, that I simply gave up reason within 3-4 mins into the session.
2. Take now, or fugget-about-it policy. This is akin to crying out loud, "about making the worst decision of your life".
3. The sales guys' guts to say that reviews written about their company are false and lies.

Finally, I decided to signup, only after knowing that I had the option to back-out within 10 days. I took a total of 1 hour to back-out. No sooner did I hit the following sites: mouthshut.com, consumercomplaints.in and blogs of folks that had been duped, that I made the call. I got the money after a lot of headache, which I don't wanna recall at this point.

However, the more important thing was that, I did a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the holiday scheme that was on offer, and was surprised to find out that on an average, Club Mahindra charged its members around 3.5 times the price they would charge web-customers for a stay at their resorts. Please see attached for the calculations, and pass the word around. It is nothing short of a loot!

2G Scam: Getting murkier by the day

2010-12-15T05:36:00.000-08:00

The $33bn swindling by Telecom Ministry, better known as the 2G scam, has got even murky today. Mr. S.Swamy's of the Janta Party took this scam right into international terrorism waters, by naming LTTE, ISI, Hawala and Dawood Ibrahim as co-conspirators in this scam.

Any new revelations relating to new/old scams hardly come as a surprise these days, but ISI and Dawood Ibrahim are not names to be taken lightly. Did Raja practically fund the Mumbai / International terrorism operations that took place over the last two years?

Definition of Corruption

2010-12-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

Picked this from a British web-site:

Corruption: Putting self-interest above social interest.

Simple, concise and very deep. It'd be a long time before Indian society weans itself off Corruption. If ever.

SUVs guzzling cheap diesel criminal: Jairam - The Times of India

2010-11-13T22:36:00.000-08:00

SUVs guzzling cheap diesel criminal: Jairam - The Times of India

Jairam Ramesh is a top-of-the-line Politician that this country so desperately needs, and hence I'm a bit peeved when the above statement gets criticised by ambassadors & on forums (team-bhp.com).

To anyone who complains about subsidies or about the 1xx% tax on imported cars, know this - the food-grains we buy in India are about ~1/5 their fair market value. This artificial abysmally low sales-price is achieved by keeping the cost-price (to the farmers & traders) very low through subsidies in seeds, fertilizer & fuel. This equation will be altered substantially if diesel guzzling vehicles become commonplace in this country, as it's next to impossible to create a differently priced fuel infrastructure.

The only option left with the government is to remove fuel subsidy entirely and make up for the increase in fuel prices by providing more money in the hands of the common public. This task is again next to impractical, as there are not enough channels for the government to put money in the hands of the people, as hardly 15-20% of this country file their returns. Another point to note, is that fuel sales in India are still seen as a source of revenue by the states and are also responsible for the significant price-escalation in the hands of the consumer.

So how do you curtail the bleeding loss caused by diesel sales to the private car/SUV segment? Banning it outright, would be a desperate measure, especially given that Tatas and Mahindras of the world derive a significant portion of their revenue from this segment. The problem is clearly mani-fold, and the statement made by Jairam Ramesh, can be looked upon as merely a probe into getting the fuel-subsidy equation back on track.

My only criticism of Mr. Ramesh, is that there is no need to name manufacturers, especially foreign reputed companies like BMW & Audi, as that will send a very bad message to the world at large, who on its' part is hell bent on cornering India over its' protectionist policies.

I would love to see the day, when Indians, put country ahead of themselves, and act with integrity - i.e. Buy petrol vehicles for personal use.

Manhattan - It doesnt get better than this!

2010-06-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm currently in New York - Midtown Manhattan to be precise. It's been the best month "Away from home" ever in my life - in fact, the only month I've ever spent away from home.

The sights of New York - Midtown Manhattan, Times Square, Broadway, Wall Street, South Ferry, and Brooklyn are mind-boggling. New York is a showcase Pinnacle of Human Achievement, its' street smell success and its' people are by far the most amazing I've ever come across. There is a lot written about New York, so I'll leave the exclamatory remarks to that literature, but if there is one place that is closest to Urban Nirvana, it is New York.

I Love New York, as much as I love my Home - Mumbai.

Mumbai Sinking: The Failing Law & Order

2010-03-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time in Mumbai, the city police was respected - not for their uniform, but for their impeccable public service in law & order maintenance. Kids loved dressing up as policemen in fancy dress parties, and invariably 1 out of 2 kids wanted to be a cop.

Not anymore!

The city is rampant with recklessness, lawlessness and total disregard for the spirit of Mumbai. Rickshaws ply with complete disregard to air-pollution, spewing thick cloud of exhaust in the already-choked city. Licenses are being granted to rickshaw based transport vehicles that emit loud sounds, two-stroke rickshaws continue to lead to maximum noise and air pollution.

Traffic signals are flouted, two-wheeler riders show no respect for the red-light, every other vehicle stops way beyond the stop line at signals, more often on the zebra crossing itself. Gone are the days, when the stop line was carefully watched and respected.

Garbage is dumped in the middle of roads attracting cows, signs warning of fines for such acts are put to shame. Cops are reduced to spineless, hapless individuals who appear helpless more than gutless.

Shanties are being spread where life-saver mangroves once existed opening the doors to catastrophic consequences witnessed during the July floods of 2005.

Politicians are defacing the city by splashing the ugly faces of themselves and their cronies, every light-pole, every corner now bears an ugly face of an politician trying to celebrate his, his wife's or his son's birthday. Their contribution to society is more words than action. Political class has clearly managed to find the elixir of winning inspite of the middle-class votes.

There's corruption on the streets, in police station, in government offices and just-about everywhere.

Water has disappeared from the taps, electricity bills are hitting the rooftops, grocery bills are sky-rocketing, yet the poorer section somehow seems to ride over this easily, but the tax-payers are being put through immense hardships.

Mumbai - is turning into UP/Bihar and no one can reverse it.

Team Mumbai : An ideal lineup

2010-03-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Fixture: Team Delhi v/s Team Mumbai (17-Mar-2010)

Playing XI
SR Tendulkar*
DJ Bravo
KA Pollard
AT Rayudu
JP Duminy
AM Nayar
AP Tare†
S Dhawan
SL Malinga
Harbhajan Singh
Z Khan

Reserves
DS Kulkarni
CRD Fernando
R McLaren
C Madan
I Malhotra
AG Murtaza
GR Napier
R Sathish
KS Sahabuddin
R Shukla

1411

2010-02-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

That's the number of tigers left in India.

Do chinese (or Indians) really need aphrodisiacs? I mean can the chinese government not do anything about seriously acting against the medicine resellers / users? Here is a animal that guarantees an ecological balance, is so magnificent and above all is highly endangered.

If there is zero demand for tiger carcass, wouldn't the poaching end naturally? Theres' already enough awareness about tiger skin-sale that it really cannot be the reason for the decline, which puts a lot of onus on the Chinese government to act.

Sachin Tendulkar: First Man @ 200 in ODI

2010-02-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

Simply the Best!

The King of batting has already showed us all - why he is the greatest batsman India has ever produced many times over in the last two decades. But today, he achieved what NO man has ever done before - Score a double-ton in a one-day international cricket match. The next best was by a Saeed Anwar who had cheated his way to 194 runs by using a far younger runner very early on in that inning. Besides, Saeed Anwar is hardly a guy any one even remembers, leave aside even using his name in the same sentence as Don Bradman!

Today was clearly Sachin's day, and he so beautifully gave it back to every cricket fan (big, small or marginal ones like me).

Congratulations Sachin - You are a hero, in a nation so devoid of them.

Uttaran: Indian Soap

2010-02-24T09:56:00.000-08:00

If television programming were a barometer of society, then Indian society is feudal, schizophrenic, sexist and downright disgusting...

I cannot begin to compare the chasm between Indian prime-time serials / shows to something I grew up watching. Fox Mulder, Friends gang, Benny Hill, Simpsons, Jay Leno - to name a few. The degradation of Indian serials seems complete with the currently ranked #1 show - Uttaran.

Its' a story of a girl who lands up in a soup thanks to her psychopath elder sister. Then to make matters worse, the characters possess deep amnesia and exist in an alternate reality. Law & order do not exist, nor does morality, gratitude or plain divinity. All characters in this serial possess one and only one value which has not changed for the countless episodes that have aired. There is no remorse, no love, no clarity.

To add to the mayhem of this non-sense is the cliched cinematography that does not believe in airing 2 minutes of narratable content per episode, insists on multiple angle shots of dumb expressions of every actor reacting to tidbits that happen in each episode and above all the horrendous pieces of sound effects that accompany them.

So far it does not get offensive, but when you see the feudalistic mindsets of these writers, is when you lose reason. Its' indeed a shame that such grisly content is being served to the audience, which is primarily women who are mostly married - judging by the ads shown during the breaks, soaps, cleansers, fairness creams et al. My only request to the writers, directors and whoever is responsible for this non-sense - You dont' have to! If money is the only criteria then prostitution is the best profession, and yours currently ranks only a shade higher.

If there are any values at work in your heart, body or mind, then go ahead and walk out - unless there is stand taken against this horrid broadcasting, there is little hope for the future...

...thank god, the society I belong to is no where close to what the writers of this serial seem to have infested.

Windows Vista SUX

2010-02-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

I finally got an answer to why everyone HATES Windows Vista, it simply fcuks up without a clue. Lost a few of my girls' 1st birthday photos to this quirky piece of shit they call Windows Vista!

Possible triggers to the mess:
a. Windows update ran yesterday night for a long time and added a lot of security patches to Office 2007 apps.
b. I ran Dell MediaDirect today and accessed the "My Pictures" folder for an admin a/c (mine).
c. Left the laptop running for the whole day today.

The consequence:
a. Lost a few folders that were created in the last 36 hours, which included a few of my girls 1st birthday snaps.
b. Networking failed completely
c. AVG stopped working
d. Funny errors started showing up every 2 minutes
e. USB ran at a snail's pace
f. Scans reported errors but expressed inability to repair it.

After a thorough fight for 60 minutes, I decided to do the inevitable - run a clean restore using the Dell partition which everyone had recommended as junk.

Lessons learnt:
a. Backup
b. Vista will fcuk up, just a matter of time.
c. Backup!

SX4 ZXi MT – 2010 – Nuevo Ownership Review

2010-01-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

The Easy Part – Choice
When SX4 made its’ debut in 07, I was swept away completely by her looks, features and value offering. However, my old car was doing fine then, and I was in the market for a new flat thus ruling out the possibility of a buying a new sedan. I did however promise myself to relook at the SX4 once things settle down a bit.

Around mid-December-09 I began the hunt for a new sedan, the SX4 was naturally at the top of my list. Amongst the newer cars, the Linea had also set my heart racing, so I took a test drive, but came back disappointed. (Linea owners - my objectives and their weights were possibly different - for what its’ worth, my vote for COTY went to Linea).

The SX4 test-drive however was overwhelmingly positive, hence without any further hesitation our decision was done.

The specific parameters I was looking for in my next car were as follows:
1. Safety Features : ABS, EBD & dual Airbags were a must.
2. Cabin Space : Let me just say this, the one shining feature of my Indica was Cabin Space, and my next car, had to better it.
3. Petrol : Done with diesel at least for the near future.
4. Indianization : Turn-indicators on the right, bad-road compatibility (GC, alloys, tubeless tyres) and tolerance to harsh weather.
5. Boot Space : Boot space needed to be adequate, as my Indica rear-seats had a split-fold, and we often made most of that feature.
6. Engine Performance : I am not comfortable with the concept of a hatchback-engine in bed with a sedan.
7. Value for Money : Needless to explain.
8. Low Cost of Ownership : Cheap & widely available spares, good fuel economy and reliability.
9. Superior After-Sales & Support : I’d owned a TATA vehicle for 6 years. TATA has improved lately, but the initial suffering left a long-lasting impact I guess.
10. City Drivability : I think I am around 25:75 on highway:city, hence, my new car needed to be easy to maneuver in City as well as comfortable on the highway. Chances are that the ratio might get pushed to 40:60, as my daughter is approaching her first birthday.

The Buying Process
My first car was bought without me leaving my house, courtesy JMD, a direct-marketing-agent. However, after team-bhp.com, that option was ruled out. The dealer – Spectra Motors, Borivali and more specifically the sales executive, Rahul Gangwani made the entire process quite smooth. Had to visit the dealership only twice, once to exchange my old car, and once to submit all the documents for my loan. The deal was stuck as follows:

On-Road Price ((SX4 ZXi Manual BSIV)): 854,747
Exchange Price for my 04' Indica DLS (bonus included): 137,000
Corporate Discount: 3,500
Cash-back: 1.25% of loan amount
Interest Rate: 10.00% for 5 years
2-yrs Extended Warranty: 7,990
Free Accessories: Front, side & rear sun-control film (Garware), leather steering cover, body cover & transparent carpet mats.
Paid Accessories (planned within a week): Seat covers, reverse sensors, under-body anti-rust treatment and engine treatment (safety from rats).

PRI-Check (Pre-Registration Check) at the dealers’ stockyard
Spectra was kind enough to allow me a PRI check at their stockyard without having paid a single rupee, nor having signed on any dotted line. The stockyard is located at Vasai, off the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. The inspection itself was detailed, and folks at the stockyard didn’t mind my checking. Odometer reading was 4 Kms, no patchups visible and no scratches either. Overall, I think I was simply thrilled to see my next car in [i]flesh[/i].

D-Day::05-Jan-2010
Took AM off and went to the dealership at about 11:20. Undertook the PDI check – quite lenient this time – and completed the formalities. Was able to drive out of the dealership at about 14:40, as the Tax-Receipt was awaited from RTO. Distributed ½ kilo of sweets at the dealer, and gave a small token to the folks who’d helped clean and prepare my car. A small Lord Ganesh idol was given free along with two keys to my car. I got a beautiful surprise when a song wishing “Congratulations” was played out for me, with everyone smiling and wishing luck. Later, a customer service executive asked me to rate the quality of service received and general feedback. Another person explained the tiniest bits of details relating to the plethora of switches inside the SX4. A photo commemorating the day was taken and a print given immediately, got a few other snaps too which they happily saved to the USB I was carrying.

Gyan: I’ve heard some folks complain about SX4 having a single reverse light. That’s incorrect – the truth being there’s one automatic reverse light, and one manual. The manual one can be turned on at the flick of a button, thus giving you rear illumination at both sides, if needed. The manual one, for some reason, is called the rear fog light, which might explain the ambiguity.

As noted by other owners, music played via USB sounds much better than disc or radio. I do have an unlimited broadband, so works for me.

The first trip to the petrol station bought me to my senses, a full tank cost 2500 bucks for 48 litres of speed! The interesting bit was getting the tyre pressure checked, as the dealer had set all tyres to roughly 50 which irritated the guy as all he had to do was lower it to precisely 30.

Odo reading at full tank: 38.

First Drive Review & Heart-break
In the evening, we decided to take her for a spin, and left home at 20:45, the obvious route was a round-trip across Bandra-Worli Sealink (BWSL). First impression of my car was quite amazing, the gear-shift was smooth, the car & tyres made no sound at all ( "outside noise seems to be on mute" – Wife) and the engine was almost hungry to tear the road apart. Over-taking trucks, ricks and old taxis was a breeze – no down-shifting. The 3rd gear has a great range tried from 25-50, no worries. 4th was again neat, could go from 30-60 without much (if any) clutch. The 5th was not tested much as the BWSL had a speed-limit of 50 and I was hell-bent on sticking to it. Hence I stayed in 4th all the way, even while going over those subtle but not insignificant speed limiters.

ACC is a boon, as it means NO touching the knobs once the car is set in motion, and the ACC cools very efficiently. However it needs to be tested during the day, before a final verdict.

The handling and ride-quality was excellent, the WE Highway has quite a few surprise craters, and I was able to dodge most, however the max speed I had set myself was 65, and barely crossed it during this drive. So this remains an open item pending evaluation untill the running-in period is complete.

While being south-bound, I had noticed a jam on the other side stretching from the TOI flyover right upto Jogeshwari. Fortunately for us the jam had receeded upto Goregaon by the time we returned. Unlike signal-jams, vehicles were moving intermittently between 1-10 kmph. This was my first taste of city driving in my SX4. The car was quite easy to drive in the bumper-to-bumper traffic, at no point did I feel that the engine would stop due to excess clutch-release, nor did the 2nd gear complain about being used at 4-5 kmph. At various points, I had to stop on inclines, but despite having four adults+1 teeny weeny child and ACC on, there was no lack of power, in getting the vehicle moving in the forward direction. I got so comfortable, that I could ride the clutch on stop-go traffic on incline, without braking! (For some reason, I consider this as one of my better driving skills)

I was getting the feeling she is coming out with flying colors, when a motorist, who was clearly imbalanced (due to his body size) tried to follow a teenager on his bike. In doing so he did the most heart-wrenching thing, he grazed my stationary car at its’ left-rear corner leaving a couple of long ugly lines of rubbery black marks. A slight scratch was found later on the tail-light assembly as well. Nothing serious like a dent, and I'm willing to accept it, as long as it proved to be my good-luck tika.

That said, any suggestions of car cleaning compounds / brands that would help clear it off is always welcome. They do appear to be smudges rather than paint coming off, as they seem to wear off slightly, when rubbed with water-soaked cloth.

Initial Verdict
Most of what was hinted in the test-drive was found to be true., hence one more satisfied customer in the kitty for Maruti.

PS: Regardless of the advt punch lines, I really cannot relate to associating the masculine gender with cars.

After ME: Booked Maruti Suzuki SX4 ZXi MT

2009-12-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

After the sad bit, comes some extra-ordinary excitement. The man amongst sedans is coming my way on 02-Jan-2010. Booked the Silky Silver color. At the top of the world right now.

Adios Dear Indu

2009-12-26T06:43:00.000-08:00

Feeling really nostalgic today, remembering all the beautiful moments I've shared with my car. Long drives, monsoon drives, picnics, vacations and above all a very important phase of my life. The car saw it all and was with me during possibly the best phase of my life.

However since all good things always end, so has this little journey of 6 long years and even in the end, she has paved the path for the next car.

26/7 was the one day I will probably cherish the most, as on this day, she turned into an angel, who took care of me and my dad right untill the rain stopped and the light of dawn showed up. Had it not been for the radiator fan helping circulate air, I shudder to think what might have happened.

Then there are memories for a last-time with a special someone, and some very important family moments. She looked so beautiful on my wedding day with a gorgeous decoration and got Sony and me home after our marriage. The monthly trips my sister took during her pregnancy. Ojas's first ride. The journey I took to meet my in-labour wife, and then in the middle of the journey, being given the news of Mia's arrival - Kasara Ghat to be precise.

Its' a mixed feeling to let her go, I can only hope the next guy/girl who is lucky enough to get her, treats her well, and sees her through her retirement. There are some things that money can't replace - my first car tops that list.

Adios Indu

Test Drive Report: Fiat Linea MJD

2009-12-23T10:54:00.000-08:00

Linea - I have not drooled over anything ever in my life (lie) but this one got me my first. Its' a marvellous piece of machine an absolute beauty to look at. BUT, is the car as good from the inside? I decided to evaluate it myself.

I went for a walk-in test-drive as my call to Wasan Motors, Borivali-E, requesting for a petrol Linea TD went un-returned. I was at Spectra once more to get the evaluation done for my current car, my true love, till date. With a bit of anxiety I walk into the Tata Motors showroom - same as above - to evaluate the only other option I was considering. The Fiat Linea 1.4 Emotion Pack.

First thing I noticed was the "same-old-feeling" of being at something "Tata". Its' neither impressive nor exciting to say the least. I felt the Bajaj showroom next door had more pulse and vigor than this one. I ask for a TD and the lady asks me to fill a form and voila I'm next to the Fiat-Tata salesman. This is where the experience changed, this guy came across as an ace salesman and more importantly very professional. At the outset, I made clear "No technical data please", I know all there is to know about the car, before buying. (Courtesy: Team-BHP)

The disappointment began early, no petrol test-drive vehicle. I was itching for a test-drive anyway so I decided to go with the MJD instead. The idea was to judge the "feel" of the car, and evaluate the petrol later. I was further told that petrol wont be available till January 2010.

Now for the real cool bit, the test drive itself. The Linea was parked in such an awkward place, that I requested them to pull it out of the parking area, lest I scratch the very car I'm evaluating for a purchase. Once inside the disappointment started swelling. I was expecting loads of interior space given the monstrous length, but sadly my Indica can give it a bit of a run for its money. But space apart, I was staring at 6-years of automobile progress, rather 26 years of it, as I don't think my Indica was anywhere near the latest piece of machinery when I bought it 6 yrs back. The only disappointment was that all in-dash information was frozen - this was someones' paid vehicle. Poor soul, I am really sorry.

The gadgetry inside was astounding, the feel was OK, nothing to drool or go berserk about. Apt I'd say. Once I started the car, the car sound was no louder than a whisper, there's a space-age diesel underneath. The 1st, 2nd & 3rd were peppy and the car can pin you to your seat if need be, but the FE would be heading south for sure.

The decisive part of the TD happened when I was at about 40, and engaged the fourth, and started climbing a Flyover. I could feel the drop in AC and the temperature perceptibly got higher, and the car itself was ambling up the slope at its own pace, I'd floored the accelerator but it made no difference. I used the "diesel" trick of pumping and even that did not give me the desired response. Then at another time, I distinctly remember having to down-shift for power - that was natural thanks to my Indica. The short TD ended and I decided to check out the rear seat. Lo-behold I felt very familiar, its no more comfy than my existing car. Wifey already had a irritated look for having made her go through all this after the exhilarating SX4 TD the other day. I did not exactly differ by a whole lot.

With such a not-so-positive feel from the supposedly "powerful" sibling I had very little hope for the petrol. Please dont get me wrong, a 1000 Lineas are selling monthly in India, but I seriously wonder how many of them were ex-Indica owners. The SX4 offered me a thorough upgrade from my Indica, I mean every element of it. This one unfortunately doesn't. In fact the sight of a world-champion auto-manufacturer sharing space with a humble Indian car company is pitiful. Its' just plain wrong. The step-brotherly treatment starts right from the placement of Linea pricelist, the ones for Manza are right next to the visitor louge and for the Linea - you need to request the receptionist. The Fiat salesman looked too good to be there, and was clearly on his own in a sea of Vistas and Manzas. No Linea on display, only parked next to a humongous waste area.

Overall, I guess a great car to admire from outside as long as it belongs to someone else. Sadly, I was quite prepared for everything except being downgraded in terms of A.S.S. I mean I've seen how bad it can be for a Tata Vehicle, now the same folks are gonna look down upon you...not in this life again.

Last word: If Fiat goes single, it's gonna be a different story al-together.

Magnitect: Longest Bridge - Fornax Link

2009-12-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

This is my latest creation an awesome 37-inch bridge made up of magnet bricks and steel balls. This is the longest I've gone with the set that I have, and is by far the most stable one I've built. It started off with a single tier at one end and after about 10-inches or so, I elevated it with a single brick support. However soon the magnetic element started creeping in, and the bridge started experiencing a twisting force due to opposite poles being close to each other.

This effect, I'll call the "Game-Spoiler Twist Effect" or GSTE is one setback of the game design. If you start building a tall structure, it quickly takes effect and results in a disappointing breakdown at some point. To counter it, you need to follow all the rules of basic construction, and more. However by far the most stable structure I've built is an egyptian pyramid. Its' so solid, I could even toss it in the air, and it didnt budge. Guess that shape is built for stability, so much so that it is aped in many walks of life.

Ok, coming back to the bridge, once I decided to elevate it at 10-inches, things started becoming tough. I decided to provide a stronger stable support and decided upon a 3 joins gap between piers, this lent an amazing stability to the further structure, hence decided to increase the gap to 5 joins, which is where it failed miserably, thus decided to settle at 4-joins. Here onwards the design was settled and the further construction involved mostly labor. When the last piece was added, it measured ~37 inches which was a new record for me. Hence I decided to call this the Fornax Link, a tribute to my presence on Team BHP.

(The reason for this long post is to ensure the images dont appear by themselves)

Test Drive Report: SX4

2009-12-20T05:17:00.000-08:00

Here we go...its' an awesome car, backed by an giant of an automobile company - Maruti Suzuki. The test drive was a pleasant experience, one phone call, and the dealer - Spectra Motors, Borivali - welcomed me for a test drive "anytime" I want. There was hardly any delay, the salesman - Mr. Rahul, walked right next to me and asked me to check out the displayed SX4 AT, beige gold.

The tall stance of SX is already folklore, but only when you get behind the wheel is when you realize what it means, and why. It almost makes you feel like being in a SUV - my 5'11' frame was most comfy at the highest end of the seat and it gave a view par-excellence from there.

Finally after a few minutes of drooling over the beauty, we went for the test drive a top-end manual version with full body kit. It was a sheer beauty, and the fun only begins when you stand right next to it. Its' a no-nonsence stance, I tell you. Sitting in my Indica, I've always felt threatened by the "tall-bullies" (read rowdy Qualis drivers). Not anymore, this guy - yes its' masculine to the core - gives you a confidence that makes you feel adequate to take on one and all except CVs.

I started the ignition, and instead of the usual roar I am used to, got a sweet nothing instead. The engine is noise-less to say the least. Once on the road, started evaluating a few points I had in mind:

A-Pillar blind-spots
My verdict: Yes, its an issue, but only if you are blind! Any humanoid with two working set of optical organs should be able to work with the design efficiently. Clearly the car is designed for those who would look at where their car is headed rather than the ones who like to be surprised at every corner.

Braking
My verdict: The car is equipped with ABS and EBD, that effectively means a space-age jump for me from my Indica days. This is by far the most advancement in terms of technology over my current car.

Ride Quality & Handling
My verdict: The 16" tubeless mounted on alloys make a world of difference. The car did hit some bumps and manage to cushion them well, however, I was on the WE Highway and the road was mostly smooth - as smooth as the City permits them to be - with great pickup and nice cornering. I even intimated an auto - and this in a test drive. Wifey was very pleased with the ride, she got to be the passenger and wanted me to book it right way only for the comfort this beast is capable of.

Space & Interiors
My verdict: Well, its' an aptly designed car. No more no less. Its not exactly designed to fool you into thinking you are driving anything more than what you are paying. No sir, you get the very best of the mid-segment. Slap on a Stanley cover and this baby will look ravishing for sure. I loved all the gizmos' on offer, the best of all were steering wheel controls. The music system was strictly OK, but given that my little girl loves to doze off when we start our journeys, I think its' perfectly fine.

Overall
My verdict: A 90% chance of booking the ZXi Manual within the next 30 days, however that depends on a certain document being received by me from office. If all augurs well, our Silver SX4 would be entering our apartment on Mia's birthday.

Biggest day of my career!

2009-12-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you feel like pausing and looking back, and sometimes you just feel like hitting the pedal and going full speed ahead. Today, I guess I feel a little bit of both.

If my career were a three stage rocket laugh that's eventually placed in orbit, I think I've just completed Phase-I. The toughest phase - Phase II - to escape gravity is up ahead, and I've got my rocket aligned very well for meeting the challenges ahead. Phase III - my final phase would involve achieving the perfect velocity and angle for a perpetual orbit.

Irony has it that on this day when I've lived the happiest moment of my career till date, I miss Sony & Mia very bad. Its' a wonderful time to be alive and a wonderful time indeed to be doing what I do best. Write kick-ass software systems.

Bandra Worli Sealink

2009-07-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hit the BWSL on the last day of its' *toll-free* state, and was surely not alone. Had probably almost all of Mumbai for company, and best of all Mia had her first real drive. She enjoyed (I guess) the sight, but was a tad tired due to the slow traffic that we hit before getting on the Sealink.
Honestly, its' a marvel of enggineering. An awesome gift to an awesome city I call home. It would indeed be quite a drive on a windy rain day, would surely be going there often.

I have found myself thinking about what would really be the "image" of Mumbai that people would identify with, and since the Metro is still under construction, the BWSL surely takes this honor. Move away Gateway of India, we sincerely dont need colonial hangovers. When it eventually completes, the whole of Mumbai would be within reach of 40-50 minutes from my home. It is progress like this that makes you proud about your nation, its' governance and its' place under the sun. Jai Ho!

Origin of Species? Doesnt quite add up!

2009-05-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Came across a page while googling for "Evolution Man" and was dumb-founded by the simple arguments put forth in series of logical and very very reasonable explanations debunking the DNA of my personality - Origin of Species.

The link: http://ldolphin.org/wmwilliams.html

Of all the reasonable explanations, the population argument is by far the most logical ones. Even wikipedia.org agrees that uptil around 70K BC there were less than thousand humans. Given that, how on earth did man originate many million years ago is not clear to me. I've been a believer of Occams Razor...and shame on me to discount the same when it comes to OoS!

Is Human a thoughful creation of a higher something many call "God"...well its' a bitter-pill to swallow, but compelling logic does not seem to point at anything else.

My own calculation assuming a 1% growth rate for 50 years also ends with Man being created around 80K BC...which means, that Humans are no more than a 100K years old. Wow! Wonderful thought to end my day, and perhaps to change the way I look at the world.

Manaswee "Mia" Kolekar

2009-04-14T00:12:00.001-07:00

Mia, my little girl arrived into this world on 09-Feb-09 at 23:00 Hrs. The greatest gift to a man, the ultimate addition to our family, and the icing on our marriage.

Her personality isn't yet quite apparent, but there are early signs of a mischievous brat, a packet of energy thats' gonna prove a handful. Ojas who preceeded her is quite a handful, and now with this addition, I can imagine some really testing times ahead.

Their bond is already quite strong, with Ojas and its' fun to watch when he goes around calling her "Mazhi Chakuli" in a meek voice he never uses for anything else. That's the best gift for my little princess, a brother with whom she will attach a bond that will be at -par with mine or with Sony.

There are some fascinating days ahead, and above all some sleepless nights, but whatever be the case, life will never ever be the same again. Am a family man now.

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-01-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

4.5 out of 5

Exhilarating !

Brilliant !

Humbling !

This is a movie about Mumbai, its' "underbelly", it fabric and above all the inhabitants of its' slums. Slumdog Millionaire is a fast-paced drama of human values preserved through despecible acts of hardships, communal tension, exploitation, child-labor, torture and abuse. That the film depicts, almost laments the deplorable side of Mumbai's slum is hardly a central theme, more of a backdrop to the drama, than anything else. The same story could have been written in a village, or a middle-class family, albeit with far lesser impact, the backdrop chosen, fits its' purpose in a very apt manner.

Performances are truly outstanding, espcially the child-actors, they are the clear winners in this saga of human hardships faced in the face of harsh realities. Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto are passable, Anil Kapoor has done most of what he gets these days and Irrfan and Saurabh Shukla are outright misplaced in the movie. But the movie is by far dominated by "actors" that do not appear on-screen, the off-screen ones. Danny Boyle, the director, the cinematographer and the scores by A.R.Rahman, the stuff that legends are made up of.

The movie is nominated for 10 oscars and 12-odd BAFTA's, its' not everyday that such records are achieved, nor will it possibly happen in the next few years. After-all it takes a depression to lend a perfect backdrop to a human story such as Slumdog Millionaire.

A must watch if you love the word "Cinema"

Citizens Forum for Democratic India (CFDI)

2008-12-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

Agenda of an Ideal Peoples’ Representative Political Entity in India

Charter
- To uproot corruption of all forms within the Indian State (Internal Governance Ministry – PhD in Socialogy)
- To establish India as a true secular state (Cultural Ministry - PhD in Cultural subject)
- To eliminate crime from all walks of life (Home Ministry – Ex-General from any branch)
- To establish a concrete anti-terror framework within India (Homeland Security – Ex-General from any branch)
- To expedite criminal cases to ensure a speedy justice system (Law Ministry – Ex-Chief Justice of India)
- To establish a strong army equipped with modern ballistics and training (Defense Ministry – Ex-General from any branch)
- To establish a free market (Finance Ministry – Ex-CEO of any Indian Co. employing above 1000 Indians)
- To represent the Modern voice of India in world affairs (External Affairs Ministry – Ex-Diplomat)

Rules
1. Only candidates with genuine Educational Certificates of a Masters degree or above from a reputed University can contest for elections
2. Only candidates with local residence of over 25 years and more need apply.
3. Only tax payers with minimum 5 years of Tax Declarations
4. Any crime record of violence, anger, hate-crime, homicide and corruption in-eligible.
5. No prior experience will not be a constraint for the right candidate
6. Religious, Linguistic, Caste-based references in any political speech, will make the person in-eligible
7. Selection of candidates per seat to be debated on local media, and via polls themselves.
8. Oath of voluntary imprisonment of 25 years for not following the charter.

Mr. PM, what a move!

2008-12-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

This is by far the lowest point in Moral-Politics in India. A minister as incompetent as our current FM (whose head was demanded by UPA allies themselves) is sought to become India's Home Minister in its' hour of crisis.

How on earth can we forgive the largesses meted out to farmers when an impending financial crisis was looming. The writing was on the wall, and our FM went about doling freebies when savings were the need of the hour. Rs. 8,00,00,00,00,000/- were sqandered away by our Home Minister in playing appeasement politics. My only question here is "Why he not do so in the first year of power and present a roadmap to earning it back without too much taxation? Why the last year of its' regime?"

The same FM, was extremely docile when India was stuck with Financial Crisis, and immediately ducked under the table and has now been moved to Home Ministry. Where is the accountability?

Rampant Terrorism: Courtesy UPA

2008-11-30T11:31:00.000-08:00

Is this something that many are failing to notice, or are the UPA members so adept at diverting the blame on others when it comes to terrorism?

The chart clearly shows a MASSIVE spurt in terrorism under the aegis of UPA, which incidently overlap a golden phase in global economic environment.

That the UPA has been a collosal failure was evident when Amar Singh & Mulayam Singh were roped in to save the nuclear deal. This coupled with many other reasons centered around UPA have been the reason of trauma & death faced by the common man in India. The UPA govt has gone about doing its' job in the most disastrous manner.

India never looked so vulnerable in the last 15 years.

Bombay: A Terrible Curse!

2008-11-30T09:11:00.001-08:00

What a city, Bombay!

A city so immersed in itself, that it doesn’t flinch when politicians change its’ name, it doesn’t bow down when it goes under water, it doesn’t sob when terrorists rip apart its’ heart. Why, because it suffers under a curse that has been “61 years” of making.

Bombay provides India 40% of its’ taxes, it provides the state of Maharashtra practically everything it needs to fund every MH village, every MH town, every MH district, while watching itself degrade down to lawlessness, corruption and imperialism.

A city - where politicians from small town seek to exploit it to such a degree of degradation that it matches their own birth-place. Where politicians believe its’ OK for large cities to face terrorism, where police are given lathis to stop a AK-56 wielding terrorist, where hawkers – for pittance – deprive its’ citizens of side-walks, where labour is given the birth-right to occupy public land, where politicians divide on language, religion, caste & creed.

Bombay, a city that’s looked upon as a treasure trove, from which riches are always taken away, but never returned or added. A chest that every politician dreams of governing, and promises the heavens to the common man to achieve it, but once in power feasts on its’ loins like a hyena.

A city, where journos, try to herd the public by repeatedly providing a medium for political class to calm down the treasure-trove slaves to prevent a revolt.

A city that smiles inspite of this.

Kabhi Alvida Na Keha : Ripped from Little Children

2008-11-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

I hated KANK, the characters of SRK & Rani were outright disgusting, hardly a matter of viewing and thoughts. That the movie might have made millions is another matter, as a work of art, its' hollow and fails miserably like most Hindi movies.

Today I watched Little Children and soon realised what Karan Johar had watched before he "wrote" this movie. The unmarried Mardian delivers a story-line that's lacking imagination and depth, at the same time being out-right disgusting and unreal.

Watch the movie Little Children to understand what I'm talking about.

Prime Ministers Office & Home Ministry: Need for dignity & credibility

2008-11-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister is a seat occupied by the leader of the party that forms a governement.
- Is Dr. Manmohan Singh the leader? NO!
- Is Dr. Manmohan Singh an emminent representation of Indian Populace? NO!
- Is Dr. Manmohan Singh a hero to be looked upon? Just Maybe!
- Does India deserve Dr. Manmohan Singh as PM? A resounding NO!

Home Minister is a seat occupied by the second-best and regarded as a parallel to the Prime Minister
- Does India deserve a Shivraj Patil? NO WAY!
- Can Shivraj Patil do anything right, ever? NO WAY!

What do Indian Politicians represent?

2008-11-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

Narayan Rane, R.R.Patil, Vilas Deshmukh & Sharad Pawar
- Mumbai's primary reasons for mis-development.
- Villagers with basic education and humongous money.
- Highly feudal and rustic.
- Village Leaders.

Manmohan Singh:
- NOT the leader of the government.
- Old man a shadow of his own self from 1991
- Cannot make his own decisions as final,
- Depends on Congress leadership for "passing" his decisions before execution

Narendra Modi
- Hardliner,
- Known human right abuser & has history of acts againsts civil liberties
- Didnt waste 24-hours sensing an opportunity in the national hour of crisis.
- Provided Rs.9000 crore worth of "free money" to a Tatas
- Critized the ATS against their action against the Malegaon Blasts Perpetrators.
- Likely hand in Hawala.

The remainder are not worth even wasting time in criticizing...May God Save India from people like this!

Heros Forever!

2008-11-29T11:29:00.001-08:00

Hemant Karkare

Vijay Salaskar

Ashok Kamte

Sandeep Unnikrishnan

Gajendra Singh

We will never forget you.

True Heros, Now & Forever

Curbing Terrorism: 3-point agenda

2008-11-29T11:17:00.000-08:00

A: Bombay Metropolitan Region: 29th state of the Indian Union
Primary Agenda & Motives
a. This would be the resurrection of a catastrophic blunder that occurred when Bombay was split into two, with the island city being handed over to Maharashtra.
b. Civic administration shall be taken over by the BMR. One state, one administration. BMR state-elections shall be for both state & civic functions combined.
c. Political representation based on economic status & population of BMR. (min 9 max 20 – reduce seats in Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra & UP accordingly)
d. Debar anyone who is NOT domiciled in Bombay for more than 25 years from contesting elections.
e. State principles independent of language, religion, caste or creed.
f. Defence of BMR a responsibility of the state of BMR.
g. Status Quo on Financial aspects.

B: Maharashtra State Re-constitution
a. With the separation of BMR, the remainder of Maharashtra will be re-constituted as a state for Maharashtrians with reservations & cultural rights for Marathis.
b. All demands for Marathi Asmita applicable to Maharashtra.

C: Autonomous region of Kashmir
a. India declares war on Azad Kashmir.
b. Azad Kashmir shall be defeated and will become “Special Administrative Region” of India (or Pakistan, if they want).
c. Work along-with a “democratic” Pakistan in nurturing its’ economy back to health.

Raj Thackeray : 1. Why Hindi?

2008-11-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

Note: Since the national "Hindian" media is far too biased, Raj Thackerays' message has been wrongly communicated to meaning "Spreading Hatred" and "Anti-North Indian". That's not true. This series of blogs is meant to counter the mindless attack that's been unleashed by criminal politicians, rogue television channels (Sahara, India Today group and the countless Hindi channels). More importantly this is meant to clarify the underlying simmer thats' meeting with disgust from the online community.

Raj Thackeray started his campaign against "Cultural Violence" that has been unleashed by North Indians, by questioning the stature of "Hindi" and its' imposition upon Maharashtrians.

To start off, here are some parallel voices from India & Beyond (In reverse order to ensure continuity):

8. Hindi Imperialism: Article in Time Magazine

7. UNESCO: UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON LINGUISTIC RIGHTS: A must read for all the experts appearing on CNN-IBN, Times Now etc, heres' what the UN has to say about preservation of a regions linguistic rights.

6. Did you know, the constitution of India is committed towards eradicating the use of English, and replacing the same with Hindi? [Indian Constitution Articles 343 - 351] Whether you speak Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil or Marathi, you would never sound better than anything that speaks Hindi as his/her mother-toungue, and therein lies a natural disadvantage to get jobs, especially government ones!

5. "Making a language (Hindi) that is the mother tongue of a region of India the official language for all the people of India is tyranny. We believe that it will give benefits and superiority to one region (the Hindi-speaking region).... Danger to the people of Tamil Nadu because of Hindi becoming the official language of India is great" - C. N. Annadurai, Chief Minister of TN. [Complete Story & Mouthpiece for Tamil Sentiments about Hindi] [Recent Headlines from TN]

4. The 1940s, 1950s and the first half of the 1960s witnessed many anti-Hindi pro-tests in the form of public meetings, marches, hunger strikes and demonstrations before schools and Central government offices; black flag demonstrations greeted Central government ministers. Most of these were organized either by the DK or the DMK and the general public supported them fully. There were hundreds of such protests from Tamil Nadu and thousands were jailed. Several hundreds were injured when police used lathi-charge to disperse the peaceful protesters. Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then PM, even though supportive of the pro-Hindi group, came up with a set of compromises that denied Hindi the "sole national language" status, realising the seriousness of the issue. [Complete Blog]

3. The Hindi language has been projected as the language of Hindus and the language of the nation by both secular and Hindu nationalists. This paper examines challenges mounted against Hindi by the Dalit resistance movement during the past few decades. We argue that this challenge is part of the construction of Dalit identity which is defined in resistance and opposition to Brahmanism. In Dalit discourse, Hindi is viewed as a symbol of Brahmanism and thus a reminder of Brahmanic oppression. The Dalitist challenges to the dominance of Hindi appear in various forms; one such challenge is calling into question the numerical legitimacy on which the claim of Hindi as the official language of India is based. Rao (2001), commenting on a news report on the demand for creating a separate state of Mithilinachal for the speakers of Maithili, argues, ‘"Hindi" is not one language…. Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, Braj Bhasa, Avadhi and Mithili [sic] are deliberately misrepresented as `dialects of Hindi" when these are in fact independant [sic] languages with different scripts and grammars, and many pre-dating the Brahmins" Hindi’. - [Complete Paper @ NYU Linguistics Dept]

2. "The Hindi movement of nineteenth century intertwined with the cow-protection movement culminated in the naked manipulations of the constituent assembly debates and won the state-language status. But it was the tragic end of 'Godan', forecasted very early by Premchand!" [Complete Post]

Hindi, mis-represented as above is as mythical as many beliefs held by Hindus, and as the reality sinks in with the advent of knowledge and atheism, do we still deserve to be herded in this fashion?

1. Similiar Voice from Karnataka. "What's astonishing about the migrants is that instead of respecting the culture and language of the state which saves them from hunger, they misbehave and impose their language and culture on the local population - a behavior entirely unacceptable anywhere in the world. In advancing the "they are Indians too" argument in support of Hindi speakers when they are clearly culprits of linguistic and cultural crime, the media and the central government give the impression that Hindi speakers "are more Indian" than Marathis, Kannadigas and every other linguistic people in India". [Read blog]

"In 2005-06, seven of the nine states with PCNSDP higher than the national average, viz, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, are non-Hindi states (Table, col 3). Similarly, of the nine states whose economies grew at a rate higher than the national average over the period 1980-81 to 2006-07, five states – Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu – are non-Hindi states. Two of the remaining four states, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, were created only in the year 2000 and in terms of economic performance their parent states – Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – are placed near the bottom, with ranks of 16 and 18 respectively"

Sensex at 8K

2008-11-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

Ha!

There goes your de-coupling out the window Mr. FM. Make Shankar Sharma the FM instead, atleast when he reads "Danger" he doesnt translate it to "Go Ahead". What a mischief, what a fool we've (ordinary investors) been made. The dream team played real good poker, they convinced us to put everything on the table and didnt have the courtesy to say "Sorry" when we had our a$$es bared. That's Indian leadership!

Well, the faith in Indian Corporates and the foundations of this economy have been completely shaken, what looked like a country full of Buffets and Gates, is not increasingly looking like characters from the movie "Traffic". Every second day, an industry representative is making statements about alms (read bailout) being given to his/her industry. Real-estate, MF, NBFC, Airlines, Oil Cos, Metals, Non-metals and Exporters (well the list would have been shorter the other way round) are all out with a bowl in their hand. Why, Udayan even tried to distance himself with the hollow "bullish" sentiments that hes' been trying to steer, and should take a large part of the "moral" blame if small investors are running for cover. Most experts barring Shankar Sharma, are almost ready to form the "Yes I fucked up, but dont blame me.org" NGO.

In a world of serious coupling, and global reach, it would have been foolhardy to think that storms are only regional. No! This is a global economy in crisis, and we have to take part in the healing process, and if ever India needs to show its' leadership in the world economy.

Kumble Retires!

2008-11-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

Old NPAs are being weeded by the BCCI and we are supposed to believe that "Cricketing greats are bidding adieu"

Kumble, if anything, was a prime beneficiary of a twisted "region-based" selection committee that is hell-bent on pushing players that represent their sporting zone or unit. That Kumble played for 18 years is quite amazing, since he bats like a moron, screams at other players when hes' bowling like a frustrated house-wife, and himself fields like a 50-year old. Yes, hes' a thorough gentleman, but that's his education, what qualities does he possess / did he possess to make him into a great sportsperson - none.

What is really disgusting is that while Vishy Anand was achieving the greatest Indian Sports feat, there was NO live telecast, nor any site streaming "live action" especially given that Chess is the simplest sport that can be brodcast using text. Those moves that Anand made were worth hours of debate and understanding, and we missed it completely, instead we cheer for "Jumbo".

Lets' just put up another statistic of "Kumble's run saved off his own bowling v/s the decibels he blurted out when his (disgustingly) straight deliveries were whacked and went past the nearest fielder at the speed of light". Just compare this to the great Vishy Anand and you'd know what I meant in the opening.

Thanks Kumble for being part of Indias' Cricket Team for 18 long years, but No Thanks.

Bharat Ratna: Vishy Anand

2008-10-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

Vishwanathan Anand, retained the World Chess Championship challenge. Vishy has whipped Kramniks' a$$. Ok, that's my frustation of watching Kasparov making those higher than nigh statements after a really strong battle against a young Vishy eons ago. But that's history!

Vishy Anand, ruled the board in game 11, and gave away atleast two opportunities to take a more sombre line and take the game to a draw. That Kramnik fought very hard to make a opening towards a decisive end is highly commendable, he truly is the next superstar of Chess, but will probably never make it, as there's one bright shining light at the end of the tunnel, making him look ever so dull, and its' called the "Zillion watt Vishy Anand".

Emotions aside, a 6.5 - 4.5 drubbing marks the gaping hole that has developed between Vishy Anand, and the rest of humanity, its truly awesome to know that person at the pinnacle is an Indian.

Hes' by far India's true Bharat Ratna! Congratulations Vishy!

Love will keep us alive

2008-10-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks Swapnali!

I was standing
All alone against the world outside
You were searching
For a place to hide

Lost and lonely
Now you’ve given me the will to survive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive

Don’t you worry
Sometimes you’ve just gotta let it ride
The world is changing
Right before your eyes
Now I’ve found you
There’s no more emptiness inside
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive

I would die for you
Climb the highest mountain
Baby, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do

I was standing
All alone against the worlk outside
You were searching
For a place to hide
Lost and lonely
Now you’ve given me the will to survive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive

Love will keep us alive - Eagles

Remembering Toni

2008-10-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

That's Lori Loughlin from Secret Admirer (1985), a teenage romantic comedy that more than made an impression. It was a beautiful cold night, and the whole movie, rather Toni, left me more than spell-bound, something that I kinda experienced very early on in my life.

The movie is really about Toni, and Lori plays the role to perfection, it hurts to know they are two different persons, rather ones' a character and anothers' a person, what shame.

I searched high & low for my own Toni, but I guess dreams always end when day breaks, and so it did for me. The harsh realities about what some girls represent, gosh, its' quite a pessimistic future for innocence and the quest for true love.

But then, life is full of surprises, admist the pessimism, Swapnali happened...

All said, I thought it wont be a bad idea to thank Lori Loughlin for giving me a truly unforgettable experience, of unconditional true love, the spirit of kindness, and the joy of togetherness.

Shopping Season 08: Endgame Begins!

2008-09-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Grand Finale: Bear (B) vs Bulls (W) Championship of the Decade!

W: Chidambaram goes to town with "DECOUPLING"
B. Indian Inflation soars to double digits

W: Indian Markets Hit 21K
B: Seriously Deepening Credit Crisis Emerges through thick Clouds

W: Indian Real-estate market continues to clock a 50%-80% growth rate
B. Indian Rupee Starts with Super Slide

W: Indian FIN-MIN announces a 70K Crore Farmer Loan Waiver
B. US Economic Crisis Grips the American Financial System

W: India gets' entry into the Global Nuclear Club
B. Indian Economic Growth Forecast Downgraded to 7.2% for FY09 & 6.X% for FY10

W: Reserve Bank garners praises from WB & other states for its' exemplary role in fore-seeing economic crisis.
B: Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill lynch, Washington Mutual, Wachovia, AIG, B & B & Fortis disappear from the world in their true sense.

W: Crude hits the sub-$100 mark twice
B: Indian stock markets apes the road show currently going around the world to hit a new bottom for 2008

W: US Congress approves $700 Billion package, in an hope to control the storm.
B: US Congress sprays the $700 Billion package with monumental clauses.

Those were the moves so far, and in this game of chess, the end-game is approaching faster than anyone can visualize. There is only ONE outcome, a draw or a stalemate were ruled out way back, now from here on, its' winner takes all.

A few developments that will catalyse the end in Indian Context will be:
1. The Indian Shopping Season begins tommorrow, and you can almost taste the sense of thrill in the air, Honda City launches its' brand new edition, Real Estate in Mumbai finally relents, Malls, Traders, Brokers who were busy preparing for war during pitupaksha will finally begin their stampede from tommorrow. Diwali 08, has to see a strong buying season for the end-game to go in the favour of the bulls.
2. Crude has shown signs of relenting and possibly settling steadfastlily below $100, this will give the government a possible hope of doing election politics and bring down fuel prices, another crucial factor for the bulls.
3. Mutual Fund houses have been holding the Indian markets from a steep dive, but if the buying season's demand on liquidity leads to redemption pressure, it will be a major boost for the bears, they will have won 50% of their battle.
4. The US bailout is entering rough waters, especially given the fact that US faces elections soon, things can take a bad turn very quickly in the US, WE KNOW THAT FOR SURE!
5. Real-estate developers are facing a serious credit-crunch, if they start defaulting, then it'll possibly be the begining of an Indian Sub-Prime, rather an India Super-Prime Mortgage Crisis.
6. Reserve Bank of India is not lending support to the rupee even at 47:1, it possibly means they have read the writing on the wall, worst is yet to come. (Why do I see the bears dancing with joy?)

I can ramble on and on, bottom line, bring out your pop-corn and start embracing news - whatever it means to you - because, times will never get more exciting again in this lifetime.

Goodbye IE, its' Firefox+Chrome for me...

2008-09-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

Blogging this via Chrome, it a genuine piece of brilliance that can only come from Google. The interface is clean and extremely intelligent, you can almost feel the amount of thought that has been poured into it, by folks who have a long history of producing brilliant internet apps.

Firefox has its place in the sun, rather it'll dominate my net-browsing sessions for a simple reason: addons. Nothing beats Firefox, not right now.

Makes me wonder what IE really has to offer?

XPS Finally Arrives

2008-09-01T06:48:00.001-07:00

XPS 1530 is now part of my prized earthly possesions. The purpose of which is to help me stay put in this fast changing tech environment. My old PC, although still a worthy workhorse, was finding itself w/o support increasingly these days.

The goods and the bad about my new XPS,
Good
1. Its' Cool, Happening and very very powerful.
2. Vista is a toy so far, lets' see with Visual Studio and Eclipse running side-by-side...would be worth finding out.
3. Only game I tried was FSX, and it didnt perform very well, its' not a huge jump in terms of graphics performance...I've seen the things it had to offer.
4. Vista is paid for...and I am really patting myself for it. Besides the good looks, its' a real 21-st century OS, it almost feels like theres' a small little technician whos' able to guess what's wrong or where I can find some help. Beat that those so-called Linux "mainstream" OSes, you are still way outside the planetary system.
N. Cant remember the number in this list, doing this through a gadget?

Hell, I'll end this emotional outburst, and get back with a better review when I find some time.

CRR & Repo-rate actions of RBI

2008-07-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Dr. Y.V.Reddy announced the Credit Policy, and boy did the markets react or what? 550 points shaved off, and Udayan Mukherjee, the ever-optimistic bull, sounded gloomy for the first time I must add, in the years that I've followed him.

The last thng India needed was a tighter environment for equities, and th RBI with its' CPR actions has done just that. Interestingly Dr. Reddy outlined the following three reasons for Inflation:
1. Supply-side shortages - Fiscal policy issue.
2. Demand-side shortages - Monetary policy issue
3. "High-availability" of credit - Monetary policy issue

What he did not mention is the weighttages or the percentage contributions to Inflation of the above. Mr. FM has already clamped down on futures market in most food-grains like rice, oil etc. Besides the export of most of the "inflationary" commodities is already either banned completely or is curbed substantially.

The demand-side is where the action lies. By artificially inducing an environment to spend less, by making consumers pay much more (opportunity costs) for items is depriving the nation of consumerism. Why not simply remove the subsidies on farming and let the market then pay for the same? Inflation is a right-ful concern, but so are the basic needs of this generation!

Lastly, the diversion of funds from the sytem into the bank safe would mean the same, everyone has to shell out much more just so that poor sections can afford commodities that are having an intrinsic high value. That India is turning out to b a clamp for people with aspirations is very clear from the current actions of the RBI. This country is for labourers and black-money-proponents. Any other section is just meant for sucking value out of, to feed the classes above.

Highly disappointing day for the Indian Growth Story.

Remembering Ayrton Senna

2008-07-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

The year was possibly late 80 or early 90, a time when India had not woken up to satellite television, and the world was still dark for an average Indian. The only window to sports outside were glossy sports magazines, and boy they left impressions.

One such magazine landed with me, and I was introduced to the phenomenon of racing called "Ayrton Senna". A wonderful story about a man, his machine and his sheer skills to rule speed. An ultimate boy wonder, a legend, and Ayrton Senna was at its' very pinnacle. The fascination grew to fanaticism when Ayrton Senna started appearing live on television sets and life seemed good when races captured the imagination of both the mind and heart.

The move to Williams was filled with excitement of witnessing history fortnight-after-fortnight. Senna's' wheels didn't turn to compete, they had only one goal, to win, and win with a margin. It appeared sometimes, he raced not with mortal racers but something far more than that. An era was unfolding.

Then the fateful day, the light suddenly gives way to darkness. I had never shed tears out of sheer grief till that day. It felt like something so dear to you and someone you took for granted has been so mercilessly taken away, that you are left hopeless.

Till date, I have never been able to accept any F1 driver as the champion, as the real champion lays in peace and the second-best continue to drive.

Rest in peace O lord.

Two cities under attack, will India reply?

2008-07-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

This is serious!
Lets' vow not to forget the last two days. This no reality show that we are entertained with, nor are the victims and their wounds that are being aired live meant for TRPs. This is for real, if India was ever reeling under a need for definitive long-lasting action, its' now. For all the words that will be poured on this issue, I am shamefully adding mine, but in my case, I've an action plan.

1. Spend one hour daily surfing the internet for terrorist sites and newsboards. There is no doubt those behind the blasts are using the WWW for coordination. A billion eyes can surely catch them in the act.

2. Serious censorship is required on people like Mayawati, who try to communalize things like the Nuclear Deal! Senseless acts are causing India grave harm.
3. In-tolerance exhibited by Gujarat needs toning down, maybe its' time India learns its' religion management well.

4. Bring in watch-dogs for religious schools - dharmashalas, madrasas, convents et al. There needs to be a strong move to either ban them completely, or to bring them under tight scrutiny. Its' mindless to allow Education to be mixed with religion, especially charities.

5. Media should simply start ignoring these events. The only thing sought by the perpetrators is publicity, panic and fear. The media is giving them exactly these on the platter.

6. Restrain politicians from linking these events to politics. It started within an hour, with Mr. Advani asking for bringing back POTA. No act has ever been misused than POTA. it deserves to be abolished, and Mr. Advani should do some explaining what actions his' party's state-govts took when the intelligence about attacks was given to them.

7. Forget #6. That's impossible, I think the people of this country have to take upon themselves to rid the country of this menace.

8. Trace IPs, Ball-bearing sales, gelatin sales, cycle sales. Every citizen should note who in his neighbourhood has which vehicle, and who comes back without his vehicle after blasts. The nation needs to take responsibility.

9. If there are ghettos where the perpetrators live, then the entire ghetto is a culprit. All neighbours should be charged with crimes against humanity, and atleast lose their dignity, if not serve term or fine.

10. Lets' spread the word about the beautiful country, society, community we are all part of, lets' make hatred an endangered species.

Trust Vote: Thoughts

2008-07-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

1. Bihar is blessed with some of the best politicians and brains within this country.
2. Crowning of the Congress GenNext is inevitable...
3. Congress successfully applied the time-tested methodology of "Use a thorn to remove a thorn", hell if it took money to bring brain-dead folks to toe the govt line, so be it. If MPs were indeed given money, it would represent the best investment UPA ever did.
4. Karated - A new phrase meaning, "to fall flat on your face on a rock-hard surface, while trying to maximize your ill-gotten fame". Undue lobbying almost always leaves you Karated.
5. Only P. Chidambaram has an organic human brain amongst all the politicians, remainder are just brain donation beneficiaries.
6. Do not surf using Linux, as that might corrupt your floor finish. No its' not absurb, atleast not to Mayawati, and her twistd logic.

Steal @ Croma, Malad

2008-07-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

I saw one of the best deals in town on offer at Croma. A 32-inch Sony Bravia "V" series going for 39990. Yes, you heard it right, this is one of the best televisions in town and is going at a 15-20 % discount because Sony has launched a new line.

Go for it, the TV I've mentioned is technically superior to the LGs and Samsungs of the world.

That's the way the cookie crumbles

2008-07-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

Inflation @ 12%
IIP @ < 8% (!!!)
Crude @ $130 (Riding down from $150)
Sensex @ 13K
Nifty @ 3850

What a story it has been in the last 35-40 days. Its' been all the way down south for all the bulls, their horns and their hoofs. Its' a no-hold-barred contest to hit rock bottom.

When even amateur economy watchers such as me can predict an imminent fall such as the one above, it becomes amply clear that bubbles and media-hype are true realities in todays day and age. Why even Idli-Dosa-Sambaram was tom-tomming his "de-coupling" theory, and one bull-rally (a hedge agasint the falling $ really) in crude & other commodities, and voila he forgets how "de-coupling" is even spelt.

What a dream team we had...but I guess they took the dream part too seriously, they kept dreaming while the Indian boat sailed through calm waters and into a torrential storm in the midst of no-where.

Good Luck in Elections!!!

Mumbai Indians: Les Miserables

2008-05-26T11:26:00.001-07:00

What a team!

Disgusting, old, uncompetitive and above all pridelss! There is nothing to write about the character of this team. Its' is so very unrepresentative of Mumbai, a city of great talent, vision, dreams and hopes. The Mukesh Ambani XI unfortunately was allowed to use the name of a city, that never was meant for wealth-inheritors.

This city represents the go-getters, and for people who've got it easy, it will always be an alien. The Mukesh Ambani XI has done it again, a shameful defeat from the jaws of victory, that the Mumbai crowd poured its' heart into supporting this retirement plan for all current and future discards speaks greatly about the city, rathen than the team that used its name.

Hard Luck to you Mukesh Ambani XI, good luck next year!

Innocence Bleeding

2008-05-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Aarushi Talwar, a 14-year school student is butchered in the middle of the night in her own bedroom. Six days later, her father is arrested as the main accused. The TV channels are again at it, with 24/7 reporting (?) of the same clips over an over again. What led her father to take life away from his own daughter can possibly be never known, its' really difficult to imagine what a person like him really is made of.

That said, its' really the gruesome manner in which a father takes away life, shameful day of modern India.

My condolences to the innocent life lost to a moment of anger. My your soul rest in peace.

Inflation + IIP + Credit Cruch = Black Tuesday

2008-04-14T12:14:00.000-07:00

What a week it's gonna be, expect the "leaders" to be down by 5%-7%, this on the back of some grave dangers that Indian Economy seems to be entering. Already there are news about "Food Riots" happening in various countries being reported by CNN (not a frivolous channel like Times Now or IBN-Vernacs etc.)

The earlier post about IIP hits home the underlying dangers lurking disclosure around 12-May. The Inflation has not only taken the steam out of the market, the FM+PM dream team appears exhausted by the unrelenting challenges thrown at the. By all accounts it appears to be in vain, rather like the last ditch efforts by a ship-crew trying to plug far more holes in it's walls than they possibly could imagine.

The farmers' subsidy, that golden liquidity, India has at its' disposal is about to be dispersed, and will be sucked away within days by hoarders, black-marketeers and politicians alike. Furthermore, credit-crunch all over the world means a 5% fall in Shanghai Composite, and a 3.5% one for HangSeng.

Wait and watch as the gloom of tuesday catches one and all on possibly the turning point of Indias' Bull Run.

Remembering Timothy Treadwell

2008-04-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Timothy Treadwell, a person who made a huge impression on wildlife enthusiasts all over the world, is remembered with fondness today, not for the controversy, or the tragic end, but for a way of life he discovered that billions never would. Stepping over that line that separates us - ordinary mortals - from that *something* that takes us ever so close to nature.

Leading the way with example, his unconventional approach to humanity and wildlife is as refreshing as most great people I've read about, alas he lived in times, where humans are hell bent on breaking the rules of nature and very little recognition goes by way of people who take the path less travelled.

I know you found peace, and pray that I find mine. Rest well.

Euphoria over IIP: Welcome to Fool's Paradise

2008-04-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

7.4%

That's the latest inflation figure!

However as always, the business news channels are going ga-ga over the superlative performance of Indian Industrial Production in February. Hence its' worthwhile ruminating on the reality behind this numbers.

A. Overall growth, as shown in the sheet, is actually above the September 2007 mark in only 5 out of the 20 odd sectors, that means compared with September 2007 almost 15 sectors have either gone flat or bust. However, capital goods have indeed bucked the trend, and emerged as a sector with some real positive outflow. That's partially because government spending and most likely due to capacity planning initiatives for the next financial year. Overall, the gloom has only got darker. We did witness a slowdown in feb last year as well, which was cyclical, but this time its more genuine and almost out of the blue.

B. Sectoral: Manufacturing, is the darling of all industries, its' witnessing a major correction. Isnt a growing sector supposed to be going up? Comparing the feb numbers to last year same time, is correct, but factually speaking, we have declined over the feb figures as well.

The story of growth is highly debatable in the Indian context, especially given the fact that 70% Indians still earn Rs. 35 or less per day, and almost the same percentage spend less than Rs. 20 per day or less. That means the merely ensuring that they are sustained is gonna become a huge challenge

What it means for the common man is that, life just got tougher still. The government doesnt care a damn about the majority of its' populace, and is hell-bent on making India a capitalist country. Forget the government, the statistical organisation has presented charcoal in form that it almost might pass off as a diamond. A look around will clearly tell you what the real situation is. Real estate is booming, sucking away capital meant to fuel this growth. The serious growth inhibitor that it has become needs to be understood by the modern day government.

Today Kapil Sibal can go on air and talk about China having 8+ inflation and also cite that other third world counties are also going through the same inflation worries. However, one shudders to think what might happen if Oil crosses $120 and Indian government in its' bid to perform well at the next elections forgets its' fundamental duty - of sowing the seeds of a free market - and instead indulges in exceses to farmers and alike.

It's really a shame we are in such a situation inspite of 3 notable economist minds being at the helm. Let's hope and pray they get their policies right, and in connivance with the ever smart RBI help us ride this tide.

Positive Atheism

2008-04-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

A MUST READ

Beautiful article, that goes into an in-depth analysis of what Atheism (Acceptance of Reality), is all about. It's not about disrespecting God, NO! Its' all about realising and recognising the bare and hard facts, and then living a life with that knowledge in a positive way.

Review: Dum Laga Ke - Malad, Link Road

2008-04-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

I discovered this restaurant by chance, when we ordered biryanis at my friends place. To my sweet surprise, the biryani's were not the messy ghevda based ones, but authentic mughlai biryanis. Then, one friday, we all decided to eat out for lunch, and that was my second visit. That day, I had Egg Biryani (Tawa-Style), and have had the same 3 more times in the last two weeks.

Besides the above, there is a good variety of biryanis', tandoor based items, and a lot of the non-vegetarian stuff, which my dad loved. Me, being a lacto-ovo veggie, had to satisfy myself with just Egg biryani, paneer biryani and veg biryani.

Bottomline, if you love your biryanis', this place is a must visit.

A word of caution, this place is supposedly a franchisee of Borivali Biryani Center (BBC), but BBC is far worse than Dum Laga Ke, in terms of quality, and service.

Please not Lehman Brothers!

2008-03-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

The US Markets are in a bad mood, Sunday was Bear Stearns, today there are loud rumors about Lehman Brothers, no less. Apparently, DBS Bank has circulated an internal email barring its' employees from taking fresh positions with LEH as the the counter party.

This and the fresh memory of Bear Stearns, and the remarkably resemblance of LEH to BSC's last two weeks has triggered a major sellof in LEH stock. However one particular news that may calm the markets is that the Feds latest move will enable even Investment Banks to avail of emergency funding from FED similiar to what commercial banks enjoy today. That will certainly help LEH get that crucial short-term backing. Tomorrow, would be a crucial day for LEH, when they announce their Q1 earnings. My sincere hopes are pinned on some solid positive news from LEH about their performance in Q1'08.

Bear no more!

2008-03-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

Bear Stearns went down far more quickly than anyone anticipated. Rather, we in the emerging markets are not quite able to digest such kind of swiftness in action. A company with an 85-year long history and having weathered the great depression, falls from grace within two weeks!!!

That's a developed market, no speculation - only action. J.P.Morgan got probably a sweet deal, rather ensured that the deal was sweetened for them to be interested.

Spare a thought for the 14K employees of BSC, I've experienced exactly what they must be going through right now, actually worse, when my company Cyberspace wound up without blinking an eye (all thanks to rogues siphoning off funds meant for an IT company into funding their main brokerage business).

I guess the writing was on the wall, and as my previous post on 15-March outlined, Monday did indeed proved to be a Black Monday globally.

Sarabjit Singh: Life under threat due to Stupid Media

2008-03-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

There is an unprecedented explosion of "News Channels" in the country...these are faceless mouthpieces of vested interests, and have little role in Nation-building or anything as such.

The worst form of reporting these days is coming from the Times Group, especially their tabloids and the disastrous news channel Times Now. It was this channel that went haywire over the "Kashmir Singh" news-story and in their over-enthusiasm, stepped on national security. Their acts ended in shame, when they got a live confession from Kashmir Singh and aired it nationally. I can remember watching that bit of "news" on Times Now, and the first thing that came to my mind, is these idiots have all but signed Sarabjits' Death Warrant.

It was a relatively no-news, that a teenaged Kashmir Singh was kept in prison and released by Pakistan under International Human Rights Acts, after a good 30-odd years. Yes the family was thrilled, but the country? Questionable! I for one, never got the big euphoria around this whole Kashmir Singh saga. For one, that its' a drop in the ocean. The mutilation faced by Indian-POW as early as the Kargil War, is fresh in my mind, besides this, countless fishermen are not spared when they land up in Pakistani waters. The same country butchered its' own Prime Minister, and then blasted his daughter on a election campaign trail. Further, proof of this non-event was given by Kashmir Singh himself, when he opened his mouth on National media. A spy going to town confessing about his profession? And Indian Media airing it? What brains are running these channels?

Indian government should have stepped in immediately upon his release, and given him a thorough understanding of his role with the media of this country, albeit, its all too late, the pakistani establishment must be feeling thoroughly violated over these statements, and as a balm and also a lesson, is plotting to murder a priosoner of 18 years.

The Indian Government owes it to its' military, para-military & intelligence personnel to ensure Sarabjit Singh is spared, and released. Whether it takes big-bucks, or an exchange of a pakistani-militant. Please Do what it takes to bring Sarabjit Singh back, a few million should be enough, after all, the country is in dire-straits, and we are merely paying the price of release of an Indian, who's a father, a brother, and a son to a middle-class Indian Family.

All said, I just wish we had finished the agenda in 1971.

Bear Stearns Bailout

2008-03-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

What a story! The blue-eyed boy is in trouble!

There's a high-possibility of 17-March-2007 being the blackest Monday on the bourses worldwide. Bear Stearns is facing a basic issue, it doesn't have money to pay back investors. The long-term outlook for BS is not so bleak, however 17-March & 27-March would be two significant days in the history of this bank.

Back home, India does seem fairly decoupled, except being pulled into the acute liquidity crunch that the world is facing. It may not be a bad time, to relook at some of our own practices. Indian Realty prices have moved more than 3X over 2003 base, which if they havent already, make Indian banks seriously revalue the impact of their housing portfolio. ICICI bank, already reported upto $250m losses in sub-prime related issues. Indian story is good, solid but the termite attack has started, more than anything the FM's "decoupling" theory is gonna be seriously tested soon.

Whatever happens, I sincerely do hope that Bear Stearns rides this uncomfortable times unscathed. Else, lets' be prepared for a worldwide-market blood bath.

Nifty: Meter Down!

2008-03-12T11:58:00.001-07:00

Nifty is Falling and no, its' not me, or my wishful thinking. Rather its' a sad realization that we are not there yet. A 25% fall doesnt quite happen in a matter to 10 business days, not in the developed markets , atleast not unless there is something fundamentally wrong in the economy.

Ironically the market is going down without any domestic reason. There is no doubt that with oil hitting $ 107+/barrel, inflation is gonna have a field day in India. A country, where oil prices are controlled, will be in for some really interesting political games in the offing. Its' hardly 10 months for the official elections, and anyones' guess on the number of actual days.

With this background and a weak Congress, I see NO support for the markets from here on, the Rs.1 bn cash kitty with Reliance Mutual Fund, or the collective Rs.10 bn (guess) with the Indian MFs. They are gonna let FIIs make some handsome returns.

The redemption pressure on MFs is likely to begin post-march, once the tax seasons' over, people are gonna take one hard look at the disappointing sensex, and likely to cash in / book their profits. Another looming crisis is the real-estate bubble. Where is the support for real-estate prices in a falling market. I see a crisis, if the real-estate even cracks by 15%, thats gonna make banks shiver in their pants. Its' likely that overall Home-loan portfolio in India, given its' overall rating, is no better than the sub-prime borrowers in the US. It's just that in US, atleast they are known to be sub-prime, in India, they are all within wraps.

Overall a very interesting situation is panning out, day traders are gonna have one helluva party. Enjoy your earnings season, Mr. Bear.

The new face of India

2008-03-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Indians awoke to a rude shock on Monday Morning. Black Monday it was indeed, the Indian Hockey Team losing to Great Britain, and thus losing a berth to play at the Olympics. That, the Indian Hockey Federation doesnt give a damn if Indian Hockey is relegated or derecognised was made amply clear by the President, K.P.S.Gill's retort, to not expect "Quick Results".

Hell, this is a 70+ old man, who can never relate to what the real India currently is. Its' the youth that are driving the country and they are far superior a breed to manage, run and achieve results in a manner its' completely unknown to this wise old man.

To me, he represents the scum of India that really makes up for the bottom most part of Indian Society. An adminstrator so in love with his post, that he's willing to sacrifice the pride of a nation, to achieve petty goals. One only wonders, how do the grey heads of India become so morally corrupt and shameless. I cannot think of any other word than Shame to describe the manner in which the IHF has gone about their business.

I think this is the time to think afresh and make a serious attempt at reviving the old hockey days. To start with, India should simply re-introduce field hockey the way it used to be played. On a grass surface. Make no mistakes, the techniques of grass hockey cannot be different from that of turf hockey. Its' far better to have a confident team, than to have a set of proven non-performers. Players within the national league, should be good players in both forms of the game. Theres' no point in adapting to turf hockey, it will only lead to more K.P.S.Gills and we should sincerely avoid that.

The Premier Hockey League, once its' played on grass, will not only attract poor and wealthy alike the turf will no longer be a barrier to young players from all corners of the country.

Lets' atleast make an attempt to achieve results inspite of K.P.S.Gill, just like Indian Economy is booming inspite of the Government.

India Calling: Toyota Corolla Tenth Generation

2008-03-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Toyota has long launched the 10th generation Corolla in various markets, including Japan, US, Australia, South Africa, Jamaica and quite a long list. Looking at Bombay Times these days one wonders if this beauty is gonna make it to India before FY09 hits us.

From the reviews and raves about this tenth generation babe, it looks like a apt answer to the undue dominance of the Honda Civic in the entry-level B segment.

This babe really rocks in looks, and that only echoes what the experts say about this package of energy. I mean, digital speedometers, climate control, and chic looks are some of the highlights of this beauty, who knows the next thing you see me, I might just have been lucky.

Definition of a Finance Minister: P.Chidambaram

2008-03-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

What a Man!

Sir P.Chidambaram, he represents soneone that probably every business studen dream of...right at the top of the pyramid. The sole King of the most vibrant economy on this planet, making him the true governor of the fate of this earth.

No exaggerations, I am truly awed by the phenomenal magic show brought to life by Sir PC. And NO, I'm not talking about the 2008-09 budget, it was a damp squid, probably constrained by the petty political partners of Congress and its' own ranks. But, for all observers, there was one truly savouring experience of watching a Man blessed with wisdom, passion and a true sense of bold-spirit go about his job in the most professional manner known in this country since ages.

If Laloo is hailed by some firang university, it probably just proves that the west is already brain drained, they have no clue where the blast force of India lies, they are instead left praising her exhaust pipes.

Here is a man, who being a lawyer and a politician slashed the daylights out of self-propagated business news channels. Anyone who wanted proof why business channels should be watched in mute mode (perhaps only as a cheap replacement to BloomBerg or the likes) the post-budget interviews by Raghav Behl, NDTV Lead Anchor (who atleast got a finance brain with him) and the Zee Business News anchor (she's most likely to resign) only made it ever so clear.

One is left wonderiing, if only India had 520 more Sir P.Chidambarams, then India would not only hit that coveted double digit growth, but would so quickly become the best place to live on this planet.

Thank you very much, for being India's Finance Minister.

Letter to editor@ibnlive.com

2008-02-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

Sir,

Thank you for an insightful, liberal and by far the most complete debate on the “Events targeting North-Indians in Mumbai” today (Sun, 10-Feb-2008).

I have been seeing some rather disturbing reporting by north-regional channels (SP Influenced– Sahara, Sensationalist – Aaj Tak, India 24x7, India TV and surprisingly IBN7) and also the times group in Mumbai (Mumbai Mirror).

Is there no accountability left in journalism, and why isn’t anyone questioning the strong northern (one person / group only) influence on the above mentioned channels? Why isn’t anyone questioning the rights of such regionally-focused & biased reporting under the guise of “National TV”?

Please carry on with the quality of reporting and the debates, because your channel is the only hope for liberal minds of our country.

Lastly, I just wish to register my thoughts on the agitation started by MNS, its’ aptly described as “Gutter Politics”, especially after hearing the spokesperson go on every channel in a futile attempt to spread the hatred. I am convinced that, even if Mumbai was comprised of 80%-90% Maharashtrians, these same parties would have made caste / creed as the agenda, and we would have had equal violence under the guise of agitation.

I also wish to appeal to you, to cut-down on MNS, SP, Amar Singh & Raj Thackeray (What's their contribution to India?) related news, Hate Politics needs to be nipped in the bud, and instead, we are providing a breeding ground for the same.

Let’s vow that only Gujarat remains an exception.

Regards,

Milind Kolekar
(A Marathi-speaking Indian)

Raj Thackeray's Campaign against North Indians

2008-02-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, most national channels were beaming speeches by Raj Thackeray. Amongst other ideas aired by Raj, the most notable were as follows:

Lack of representation of Maharashtrians in Indian Railways.
Introduction of Tax-free status to Bhojpuri Films in Mumbai and other parts of Maharastra!!!
Steady flux of migrants from UP & Bihar.
Factual description of misplaced loyalties of Amitabh Bachhan, who represents Samajwadi Party.
Request to celebrate Chhat Puja as a state-event in Maharashtra by SP Politicians..

I must say I can relate to the frustration that Maharashtrians face at the violation of cultural sanctity in the face of the influx. Migration to Maharashtra is rampant from not just North, but all parts of India. However the target of the speech is clearly North Indians, especially UPites & Biharis.

Lets' not forget that the only gift these poor migrants from the north have given Mumbai, is the public squatting and shameless shitting in the open. This more than anything, clearly reflects their culture and the state of affairs in their state. The face of politics in UP and Bihar is even worse than these migrants, gun-totting gangs, force ballots and total disregard for life. No surprise the sanctuary of Maharashtra is looked upon as heaven.

Being a good 1500 KMs away, Maharashtra has evolved based on a completely different set of values, ones that respect life, one-another, and believes in living life to the fullest. Now, contrast that with the lawless, sub-human, crime-infested regions that the migrants come from.

I've toured some part of Harayana, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa. Nowhere have I seen such rampant infestation of UPites & Biharis, and the crown goes to Tamil Nadu, where I couldnt find even one shop named Shah Bros or the likes. Bottom line is that the whole of India is made of states that purports a unique socio-cultural aspect. There are numerous examples of cultural santuaries being prevalent across India, be it housing societies barring muslims or non-vegetarians, or villages not allowing entry to certain castes, or be it the aryan-dravidian debate. We all love to be surrounded by people of our kind, who speak our language, who behave like us, who share our mindset and most importantly who share similiar values.

Cities as an expection is highly desirable, hence the great melting pot that Mumbai is, is the best sign of Modern India, but the ugliness within it, shouldnt be covered under the guise of fairness.

My one question to Mr. Potato & Mr. Puppy is why are your states unable to stop this out-flow of the poor? Isnt this the biggest blot on your politics? How shameful does one need to act to be called as one from your state?

The need of the day is to bring in a comprehensive plan to bring Bihar & UP out of their rut, what Mr. Anil Ambani and Mr. Amitabh Bachhan are doing for the state is truly commendable. The plan to rescue UP & Bihar should be taken along the lines of curbing Bird-Flu within West Bengal, containment should be the mantra, and surely states which boast of a superb irrigation and great human capital can do much here. The more I think of this problem, the more I see logic in the preferential railway job allotments (they do need these benefits), and at the end of the day, a poor man regardless of where he lives needs to be given a helping hand and a lot of care.

Having said this, I wouldnt like to see Maharashtra as being the place as host to these refugee camps.

Indian sub-prime crisis in the making?

2008-01-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

Stock markets have fallen, (for good) by about 25-30% in the last fortnight. Thats' still early days, we are yet to catch-up with the complete sell-off targets, that FIIs and the real movers of Indian markets have on their minds. It's quite obvious that the very liquidity that is hitting the markets is very much locked in the highly over-valued real estate market.

Unless this liquidity is unlocked, there is very to no hope in getting the liquidity back into the system.

However, it should be noted that unless people realize that fundamentally, when a miniscule apartment sells for 1/2 a million, its' time to leave either the city, or the markets.

Whenver the liquidity in real-estate is triggered, rest assured that Indian banks are gonna start announcing losses just like their US counterparts. Remember, even Indian banks have been dispensing 90% loans, even a 10-15% fall in real-estate might trigger an amazing real-estate crisis, rather a banking crisis, watch out, we are very close, and the ice is wafer thin ahead.

Dear FM, PM, et. al: Leave the Capital Market Alone

2008-01-22T10:17:00.000-08:00

Why is Indian Government trying to bail out an super highly sold, unviable and unprofitable Capital Market?

Indian Government and the Finance Ministry need to answer this question, in the most candid manner possible. They owe it to the millions of people who do not have demat a/cs but still pay VAT, the millions of salaried class government employees earning a pittance while still paying income tax.

Why does the government want to lose the precious capital, and help FIIs earn far better returns instead of waiting for the deluge to be over. By constantly baby-sitting the stock markets, the government is encouraging callous investors. Why is LIC investing in bear markets, by using investor money, when they never pay more to policy holder on the back of a bull market.

Farmers kill themselves for the want of pity amounts, and the government turns a blind eye. Come FIIs in trouble, and greedy "investors" wanting support to book profits, the DIIs come in an bail them out.

Indian market is just that a creche for rich and HNIs, it is far far away from being a free and fair open market.

Black Monday - 21Jan2008

2008-01-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

Indian Markets can excite you more than any reality show or sports t.v. ever can. Today was one such days, the numbers themselves probably spell disaster, however once you start imagining the carnage in the lives of those unfortunate ones who were highly leveraged in this bull market, it dawns on you as one of the biggest reality shows in the nation.

There were punters, horse-traders, and pure betters who were begining to take hold of Indian Markets, and would go home tonight to lick their wounds and perhaps with the knowledge that Indian Markets are just that, another set of emerging markets where mayhem and chaos rules roost.

Watching the action live as it unfolded was extremely exciting, but seeing 21-Jan being permanently etched in Indian Stock Market history was extremely satisfying too. For the record I lost about Rs. 5K held in ULIP, but I can afford to smile. Not many can.

The usual set of monkeys were freely making predictions about the future, and how the markets will bounce back. These shameless experts are only good at reading numbers that are past-tense, to even take their word about the future is foolhardy. Its' not surprise that Indian Markets crashed, after all, India isnt on Planet Jupiter, its' on terra-firma and every other nation can dictate the course in Indian Financials.

Valuations are now suddenly the flavour of discussion, however the "fundamentals" many take for granted are about to be questioned. No one in their sane mind would be able to predict the extent of US recession (if any) and its' impact on Indian markets, yet the euphoria doesnt abate.

Let's hope and pray that just like the stock markets, the real-estate markets would firmly head towards where it belongs. It's high time....

Vikram Pandit, CEO, Citigroup.

2007-12-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

Vikram Pandit Rocks!!!

This is not about nationalism , just pure admiration for a man who has achieved what mere mortals dream about. Maybe, CEO, something else would have been fitting, but the beast that Citigroup is, makes it awe-inspiring.

Wish you great luck in your role of doing what you do best!

The Dangerous Indian Urban Divide

2007-12-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

The real dangers in Indian Economy are not poverty, hunger nor disease. They are the following in the order of their severity:

1. Black Money: This is one instrument, of ensuring that the salaried classes generate moolah for other sections of the society to ravage upon. The amount of direct taxes being poured in by this class of people is enormous enough for the country to grow at a 8%-9% rate, to imagine what the REAL growth numbers' would be if the worlds' largest black economy within a country was scrutinized, and taxed.

The black marketeers exist in various forms, but the biggest culprits till date have been builders and corrupt bureaucrats. This class of India, is by far the biggest threat to India, and demand a separate regulator aka SEBI to carefully watch each and every transaction happening in India.
A case in point are the numerous land scams being unearthed, and political interests in real-estate.

The movie, "Khosla ka Ghosla" deals with one such land-sharks, however the modes and methods of operations of such death-dealers differs vastly.

2. Corruption: Khairnar once said, "Its a dark new moon night, and you want me to point out the darkness?"

3. Greed & Lack of Social Responsibility: Indians just fail to understand, that when the rich-poor divide increases substantially, a force bent on social justice will take matters in their own hands. Today, we are witnessing this phenomenon, in the form of shameless display of corruption by policemen & traffic cops. The vandalism is spreading from railway ticket-collectors to government employees with any kind of public contact.

Finally I'd urge you to watch this video, to have a sense of reality, and to guage where India would really reach in the year 2050.

Bathroom Imaginations & Screenplay: Saatchya Aat Gharat

2007-11-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

To the writer of this movie, Mr. Sanjay Surkar, I just have this to say, "Get well soon!".

My heartfelt best wishes for you to get back into a better mental state, so that Marathi Cinema is spared another horrible state than what was achieved by the late. Laxmikant Berde & the not-so late Mr. Ashok Saraf.

Another suggestion, please do not ponder so much, about culture and humanity...you are incapable to both, and most of all, judging modern humanity.

I saw this movie, and was appalled by the senseless writing and screenplay, all under the guise of "intellectual" cinema. Here is why:

1. The whole movie tries to represent an entire generation, when it actually portrays some management kids (incapable of simple logical thoughts) in a dire situation - the guise of which is so foolish, it makes you see through the callousness of the writer to disregard depth in his story.
2. The movie tries to draw parallels' between mythology and real-life, and the lead is shown lecturing a man over her deep thinking, which, based on the screenplay, is nothing more than comparision to mytical circumstances. Why? Well, again the writer is too bored to use a wifi-laptop while he's relieving his compost, and research humanity, and sociology. Two key elements that are so sorely missed in this movie.
3. The superficial handling of a key topic shows immaturity. Acceptance of an assault victim isnt quite new Mr. Writer, not only that, Indian culture has a seriously long history of infidelity, which I personally believe is far more shocking than being assaulted. But hell, assault is a kick-ass word and sure to tickle the small marathi cine-goers, especially the grey heads that are clinging on to the hope that glory days are around the corner.
4. Undue importance to godly matters, while bearing no relevance to the actual story line, keeps
rearing its' head every once in a while throughout the movie, and gives it a pro-believer stance (its' not quite difficult to guess which community was involved in making the movie), I think the best way to debunk the gods in India would be to kill all demons aka "Bhul Bhulaiyaa" which would certainly open eyes of Indians to the "real" facts of human life and death.
5. Now, lastly to my serious contention that marathi cinema is dying not because of bad characterisation or storylines, but rather because the marathi film-industry is so far away from the modern concepts of human stories and stays so far away from key elements that make classics like Forrest Gump, RDB, Shwaas or all the ones that get oscars and nominations, that no one hopes much more than z-grade from them.

Another interesting fact which I feel is a bit of a sideline to the story, is the fact that its' set in Pune, a city full of students and IT / ITES companies. Full stop. No trade, no finance, nothing. Essentially the story of culturally old parents and young millionaire children. The movie is fantastic, within the boundaries of such a Galapagos, but applying it to anything beyond that is like imagining Dinosaurs as primary dairy suppliers.

However all's not lost, there is always a gem that comes out once in a while, and lets hope someone out there actually decides to take some efforts, do real work and then write movies.

Hyundai i10

2007-11-09T12:35:00.001-08:00

http://www.hyundaii10.co.in/

Diwali - World's Most Dangerous & Destructive Festival

2007-11-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day after a night-full of crackers and fireworks explosions. I have always heard of the effect on the environment, but today I witnessed it first hand. Today was an ordinary day with absolutely NO CLOUDS, but it was made extra-ordinary by the fireworks of yesterday. As captured in the photo on my previous blog, the night sky showed a thick coat of smog, and the effect of it lasted the whole day today. The sun was shining, but the day was hardly bright, I'd rate it in-between a gloomy day and an overcast one.

It was surprising and at the same time disgusting to witness such an occurence in my own lifetime. When we ultimately face the consequences of such acts, we'd be left without any options.

I thought I'd seen and lived all my horrors, but instead in the evening, we thought of enjoying the sights and sounds of Diwali, so started off for a drive with a stopover to visit my granny. We parked our Car next to a pani-puri vendor, and before we could get out, there were crazy loud thuds on the opposite side of the road. Few minors had collected all their firecraker "malas" and placed a chain of notorious "sutli bombs" on top of it. Some burning blast fragments were being spread to a area of more than 8-10 meter diameter. One such burning fragments hit the driver side door pane, close to the rubber lining, and my heart sank. I wasted no time, and took my car to a area that appeared desolate (relative term).

But to my sheer anguish, there were a set of people from Anagram Finance, who were in a very "happy" mood at their shop (belonging to one Haresh Parekh, an investment advisor) and were hell bent on setting all their brokerage on fire. My car endured a volley of high-decibel blasts, from less than three meters away for more than 30-35 minutes.

Later on, we took a drive on the link road towards Don Bosco high-school, which I must say is one the best areas of Borivali. The lights' and overall decor was breath-taking. However, to spoil the look, there was a lot of sound being generated by none other than the infamous "sutli bomb", and the hissing rockets. I saw so many of the rockets hit sides of one building or another. It was quite disturbing to see such shameful exhibition of fire-power in a densely populated city like Mumbai.

Lastly, if it's worth, I strongly urge the Indian Government, and the powers that be, to issue a BLANKET BAN on fire-crackers in Mumbai!

Please act now, and save off some quality of life before its' too late.

Goodwill Hunting - Deepika Padukone

2007-11-09T10:37:00.001-08:00

India on the global scene is harshly misrepresented as a country of IT professionals, Call-center "Executives" and generally low cost professionals. So it comes as a surprise when India & Indians are presented with an aggressive and overtly glamourous defiance.

What am I talking about?

Om Shanti Om has released today to packed audience. Amongst the several theatrics on TV today, was a news-channel showcasing the publicity visits by the cast of OSO to theatres in London.

And out came Deepika wearing a red Indian traditional dress, that brought the scintillating beauty and charm hidden beneath her calm exterior to fore.

Maybe I'm exaggerating, however it was quite pleasing to see Indian actors being celebrated the same manner overseas as they so boringly are back home. There was much more in store, a bit of googling around for OSO reviews, and the surprise was even much more pleasant. A canadian film critic not only rates OSO 3/5, but goes on to say that "OSO is far better than any Hollywood movie released right now, and one thing you realize is, this movie puts a smile on your face", and concludes with "Must watch".

Great work SRK & Deepika et. al.

Sub-prime jitters in India?

2007-11-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

While surfing today, I came across this:
http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup.php?fileR=20071106075455130&dir=2007/11/06&secID=livenews

Does it indicate the begining of the end of Real-Estate woes in India? ICICI is a shark, and for a blood-thirsty shark to give away its' meal like this sounds alarming. I personally feel ICICI may have lot more percent of NPAs, and I would definately like to track ICICI's 50% loan portfolio involving housing sector financing.

Its' not surprise that Arcil has a CEO from ICICI, who was involved with recovering "stressed loans" to the tune of thousands of crores.

With the loan recovery mechanics of ICICI making prime-time news, its' probably the begining of something big from ICICI.

Diwali 2007

2007-11-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

Wish you a very Happy Diwali!

Let's atleast hope the colors and light festival can be enjoyed in the same light a century from now. The fog and the pollution may not permit our next generations to live and enjoy Diwali. Act now, time is passing us all by, and there's only one right thing to do...

Say no to Firecrackers!

Concorde - A380

2007-11-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

21-January-1976, two historical events happened on this day, a. The Concorde took its' maiden flight over the Atlantic bringing the new world within 2 hours of the old world. The second can be easily guessed.

I have always had an emotional attachment to the Concorde, the sheer beauty and technical wizardry it exhibited is still unmatched. However the very values that the Concorde represented have been eclipsed, that Man no longer values speed and grace is the sad but true state of Modern Aviation.

Today the world has seen the rise of a Goliath, a beast, with ugly looks, but nevertheless, state-of-the-art technology under its' belly. The A380 shines through all the needs of travellers all over the world, especially long-distance travellers.

But, after 9/11, does it make sense to build planes that can carry 800 pax, and triple the amount of fuel carried by the B757s & B767s used to create havoc?

Well, if anything, one might argue, that the world should never bow down to the evil ambitions of handful men. Agreed, but doesnt risk-assessment mean anything anymore?

The A380 will rule the skies, no doubt, and I certainly do hope, that Modern Aviation, does not falter, not the very least to terrorism, but I also feel, while we celebrate the birth of the A380, we are quietly letting the very thing that symbolizes magnificence become nothing more than a memory.

BPO Employee Murdered

2007-11-04T06:51:00.000-08:00

Why doesnt Indian Government, follow Saudi Principles of Justice, where each criminal not only pays for his/her crimes, but does so in a manner that sets an example for society.

My sincere condolences to Late Miss. Chaudhari, and I pray that she gets justice quickly.

Emergency in Pakistan

2007-11-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

Dont quite know what to expect now, or if it matters to us Indians, but to know that folks across the borders are being deprived of constitutional rights is not very nice.

I just hope for the sake of World-peace, that Mia Musharraf has good intentions at heart, and would create a path-breaking mechanism of fixing the twisted social fabric of Pakistan.

Some insights into real-estate pricing

2007-11-04T06:28:00.000-08:00

I have discovered some insights into how Real-Estate companies price their properties. Although the macro factors are quite standard and well-documented, I recently witnessed an unprecedented example of how this bubble takes shape.

I'd visited the R.N.A. (A.A) builders stall at the MCHI property expo, and one of their "complexes" in Mira Road - E - RNA Courtyard - was quoting Rs. 2741 psf, the date & time for this quote was 28-Oct-2007 20:00 Hrs.

This week, I decided to give a few followup calls' to all the builders just to get a sense of where the market was headed. And lo-behold, RNA Courtyard was hiked to Rs. 3441 psf, an appreciation of Rs. 800 (or 29.18 % ) within a matter of 5 days, whereas ALL other projects were quoting the exact same price as at the Expo. This startling appreciation of project quote points at two facts:
1. There was a huge demand for that property at the Expo.
2. Most likely there are a few products remaining to be sold.

However, there is one more aspect of Real-Estate pricing which has come to fore, which is "Benchmark Pricing" & "Incremental Valuations". The concepts are fairly rudimentary and quite obvious but, to know that such methods are still being followed in what some experts call a "mature" industry is quite disturbing. Its' akin to you being priced in increments when you buy anything, so imagine someone charging Rs. 10, 12, 14, 17, 20 for 5 Pepsi Bottles that you buy. Its' a classical definition of a "Sellers Market", the market valuations are almost being twisted on its' head based on purchasing power of consumers. There is one downside though, with speculators so rampant in such market, there is a huge amount of value that's being lost because ultimately gains made by an individual have opportunity costs, and by spending out of your nose to buy a flat will ensure, other commodities face a decline.

I can clearly see the begining of the end, although my confidence in this prediction is shaky, because I've grossly under-estimated the holding capacity of Indian speculators before.

MCHI Property Fair 2007

2007-10-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

The games start now!

I saw a very humble picture of Mumbai's Real Estate market, the rates have gone down, a good 10%-15%.

The projects still stuck with the same rates as earlier were desolate devoid of any visitors, the ones' that were rocking were projects which have taken into account the fact that the average Indian doesnt earn 75 lacs a year!

Some of the properties which have been around forever, are obviously not willing to learn from economics, that ballons can be blown to their capacity, but not any further.

May god help the countless people who are gonna be stuck with debts higher than the value of their flats, either that, or may lord have mercy on me coz I do not wish to buy no flat in these boiling water.

SEBI Proposes Tighter Rules on P-Notes: Catch the bull by its' Horns

2007-10-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

Securities & Exchange Board of India has issues a draft document proposing tightening of noose around the "FII" inflow into the country off the back of P-Notes.

As discussed earlier, this route is no doubt used by the mafia, underworld, corrupt politicians and likely hawala operators under the guise of "FII" investment. The total anonymity in such transactions opens a Pandora's Box, as Occams' Razor suggests, the simplest explanation is often the truth.

If my vote counts, please re-consider banning P-Notes in totality. If not, then please make this draft into a directive asap.

Thank You SEBI, RBI & FM...please save India from this menace.

Ban Outdated Rickshaws & Taxis in Mumbai

2007-10-14T11:37:00.001-07:00

Mumbai roads have been ruled by Taxis and Rickshaws for over three decades now. Today we are living in a city trying to establish an image on a global stage. Some of the worlds richest people live in this city, moreover the city houses establishments that have become a rage on the global investment front. We are seeing broad developments in the city, be it the roads, the trains, eateries, fashion circuit, airports, hotels et al. But sadly there is one "cancer" that is choking Mumbai to its' death.

According to this report on Mumbai's Pollution, the levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) & Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) are way beyond acceptable limits in inhabited placed. Other contaminants such as Lead (Pb) and Oxides of Nitrogen are also found in increasingly larger quantities.

There is no doubt that Mumbai's pollution is due to the rapid growth of Automobiles, and the continued usage of dilapidated trucks and vehicles especially Rickshaws and Taxis. What we need is a blanket ban on these, or at the very least trim them to about 10% of their current numbers. Here's why

Taxi
1. Taxi operators are using vehicles manufactured a minimum 20 years ago. Moreover, the vehicles are no longer receiving genuine parts, and one wonders how the engine behaves when its' been subjected to unbranded/customizations.
2. Taxis offer "Zero" ride-quality. These vehicles are having very tough rubber tyres, and the rides in pot-holed areas, or even slight level mismatches on a concrete road are pretty rough. We pay a great amount of money for this?
3. Arrogant Taxi drivers of Mumbai are folklore.
4. Most taxis are sluggish due to conversion to CNG, but their arrogant, uneducated and unmannered drivers always believe in driving on the fast lane (Right Lanes). Some taxi drivers are also known to mix Kerosene with petrol, causing horrible SPM pollution.
5. There are so many taxis' which either do not have a functional headlight or a tail-light or the turn-indicator lights. Some do not have either in working condition. I sincerely wonder why is fact tolerated by the RTO?
6. A quick chat-survey of Taxi-Utilization, reveals that a Taxi may get two or maximum three "bhaadas" every day, requiring one or two hours of driving. However, the driver needs to hunt his fish the whole of 10-12 hours (mostly waiting in queues) to be able to meet this figure. It means on an average a Taxi has only 8%-10% utilization.
7. The union holds the entire city at ransom through their strikes.
8. Whenever citizens really need the Taxi's services, the taxi operators invariably try to rob the person blind. Best examples were 26/7, or whenever sub-train services are disrupted.

Rickshaw
1. The rickshaws are a symbol of Indian Entrepreneurship gone horribly wrong. We have given rise to this ugly animal in our own backyard, courtesy the greed and vision (illusion) of one man. The very purpose of a rickshaw is to provide a low-cost carrier to the common man. Rickshaw fare is almost 82% of a Taxi fare. Are rickshaws' really serving their purpose?
2. Rickshaw drivers are the most notorious drivers in Mumbai. There are a few strict "NO"s that are taught in driving schools, but probably as means of getting back at the society, a rickshaw driver not only practices them, but has ingenious ways to invent more.
3. Ride quality in Taxis' is bad, but in a Rickshaw, its' even worse. The small wheelbase results in serious jolts, add to that the whims and fancies of its' seat designers which range from wooden planks to the cheapest train seat.
4. The three wheel approach lends to a very unstable platform. I've myself been involved in a rickshaw toppling incident, and witnessed atleast 2 of them (No injuries, just bruises). Add to that the fact that a rickshaw is driven along three parallel lines, thus making avoidance of potholes a nightmare. A driver usually takes care not to involve the front wheel in a pothole, the other wheels lead to heads bangs (to begin with) or even miscarriages at the extreme.
5. Rickshaw drivers are known to pick-up fights in a haste, and are a menace to society.

The sooner the powers in question realize these, the earlier we can take Mumbai to a far cleaner, and brighter city.

Visit to Bombay Stock Exchange

2007-10-13T12:31:00.000-07:00

There are two phases in every mumbaikar's life. First, when he's not yet come across the charisma, grandeur and the sheer power to challenge and alter your destiny. And the next one, is when you have visited the Bombay Stock Exchange, and interacted with the very men that made it one of the oldest financial benchmarks of Indian Economy.

Okay, I'm still in a kind of daze, about how I could stay away from the stock markets for so long, especially when all indicators were screaming out loud at even putting in pension funds into the stock market.

The reason I happened to visit the stock market was to attend a course on "Fundamental Analysis" at the BSE Training Institute (19th Floor). The course provides a completely fresh perspective into how stock markets need to be approached. An over-whelming feeling that almost took me over towards the end of this session, I literally felt like an ostrich with his head buried into the ground. The few important pointers I gathered from the course were, always study the true worth (Valuation) of a company, before deciding to invest in one. The markets always come around to respect that figure. Keep a keen eye on what the promoters are upto, Indians are criminals when it comes to integrity, and the course covered a lot of examples of such family businesses. Essar group, Naresh Goyal, Great Eastern being a few of them. Another key perspective, which I guess I was not prepared for, was the depth of insight that one needs to have on the economy to make sound / logical calls.

As regards the venue, what I must recommend to anyone who reads this + lives in Mumbai, is to take this or any other course. The view one gets of south bombay, the financial HQ of India and above all, the opportunity to meet the ex-president / leading brokers of BSE is once in a lifetime.
Left: View atop the BSE, overlooking the Gateway of India, Museum and other such landmarks. (Click for a full-size image)

A few things that have indeed unchanged even after LPG has hit us hard, plus since the FIIs and other institutions come together to challenge the dominance of BSE in the form of NSE are the love of money. The whiff of opportunity strikes you as soon as you enter the building.

My sincere Thanks, to every broker, dealer and member of Bombay Stock Exchange. Thanks for making the place I was born in, so respectable, and so desirable!

Below: Video of the brand new ticker and screen courtesy BSE and NDTV Profit

Indian Railways: A bed of roses for Corruption

2007-10-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

Its' incredible, how our Finance Minister talks about bringing in all unaccounted wealth under tax-purview, how the proliferation of black economy is hurting us bad at the world-stage. But does he ever question / ask for income details of the thousands of Ticket Collectors operating in Indian Railways?

They are Corrupt, beyond imagination!

I have no words to describe the very means a (dis)respectful Ticket Collector employs and literally make you pay for your desperation or dire needs.

I think this species of humans ought to be classified separately, as their corruption is so blatant and public, its shameful that no one ever does anything about it. Its' about time each Ticket Collector & his spendings are monitored carefully, and the guilty ones (Most likely all of them) are made porters in the same town that they live in.

The modus operandi is very simple, Indian Railways, under the leadership of the worlds worst human being-cum-politician, issues far more wait-listed tickets than are ever possible to be filled. Inspite of having paid the entire amount, the TC then charges his own fees (in cash) to allocate a vacant berth to a wait-listed passenger.

It is a usual sight to see old men with balding / grey heads asking for Rs. 100 almost as easily as a beggar does at signals. But like I said, this is a different species altogether, shameless, humans ready to make a easy buck for virtually a brain-less job. They do absolutely no service whatsoever, the computerised ticketing system does an excellent job of grouping and allocating passengers well, but the illusions of progress are shattered the day one sees the Railway Ticket Collector going around asking society to pay him coz, he aint capable of earning it himself.

Dollar at 30 - by 2008

2007-10-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

My earliest memory goes back upto Rs. 13/$, but those were golden days' when India was almost self-reliant, and license raj was still allowed, that was 1988.

Not for long, the worlds' most idiotic political party got elected (barely) and decided to do something that silly minds always do. Disturb a calm lake, and ever since all hell broke loose, Rupee hit an all-time low of Rs. 49/$, that was 1998.

But even bad things dont stay forever, the Reserve Bank of India (Mom's bank), and apparently even the Finance Ministry decided to stop "pegging" the rupee to a basket and let it free...and free it has been. After a few hiccups, the rupee is sailing, we've witnessed an unprecedented rise in the rupee against the dollar over the last few days, a lot of it due to the largesse of funds being poured into India by "FIIs" (Read black-marketeers & underworld and yeah of-course genuine FIIs as well).

So how far would it go? Some experts have suggested a long-term stability around Rs. 38/$ and some around Rs. 35/$. But that's an experts' suggestion...its' bound to be a bit conservative, that's one limitation one doesnt have while blogging, so assuming a 10%-15% leeway, we can safely expect the dream Rs. 30/$ somewhere around mid next year or at the very worst towards 2008-Q4.

For such a possibility, we need to pump in money into the stock market, however there is one bother, the real-estate sector is a black-hole that's threatening to take away the free-capital available in the market currently.

For some reason, I keep remembering the quote Uday Kotak made towards end of 2006 - "Americans sustained a 10-Year bull run, there is no reason why we cannot better it". Amen to that sir!

OK if it does happen where does it lead us?
A. To a far, more important role in world-politics!
B. Will boost the Indian travellers' budget plans...expect New York to be lined with bhel-puri stalls soon...that would be a sight ;)
C. Oil-pool deficit reduction, but dont see it lasting for long though.
D. Depressed exporters - to hell with you, the country doesnt need to support you forever...
E. A shaken IT industry, forget the cheap-labour bargain guys, sell its' intelligence. I can say with experience we are at-par, if not better with the best on the planet.
F. Kotak Mahindra taking over Goldman Sachs (!!!)
G. Reliance buying all Fortune-500 oil companies outside India.
H. Subhiksha takes over Walmart!

Ok, last three are just wishful thoughts, though its' not impossible...Tata Steel did acquire Corus, so the rumblings have begun. But this is possible (if ever) only if Indian rupee continues its' surge against the dollar, and the US successfully plans its incursions into Iran or Venezuela, or at the very least gets' its Petrodollars alive and kicking again.

Buddha Mar Gaya : No. 1 Hindi Parody Movie

2007-09-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

This is my favourite genre, and watching movies like Hot-Shots, Airplane!, Scary Movie series have always made me wonder what a Hindi movie parody would be like. Well I got my answer, an extremely bold, and I must say offensive at-times, movie that fits the Indianized version of parodies - Buddha Mil Gaya.

It's not an average run-of-the mill movie rolled out by senseless directors, year after year...its' a movie with a lot of thought, that's what thrilled me. Never before has a Hindi movie had me bursting out in laughter as this one did.

But, make no mistake, this is not for everyone, if you are the ones who get offended easily, then please, dont watch this movie. However, if you ever wanted to be entertained, and are expecting just that and nothing more, then watch that movie on a big screen, you will come back a different person!

My personal fav scene is when a lady senior cop, giggles at the thought of having to see unknown body sans its' head, legs and hands...why...coz it still has its' "organs" intact. She shows sympthy at the missing head, then the missing hands, and rolls her eyes downwards, and immediately recognizes the body saying "Yeh to LK hai"...

Gruesome some might say, but hell its' celluloid...no ones' dead, its' just a joke and when you see it for the first time, it really drives you nutz...

Good movie, but I'm pretty sure it wont work, coz we Indians have been bought up on a dose of watching 40+ heros' romancing around trees celebrating their first love, and anything other than that just breaks our dreams...

Adhuri ek kahani...

2007-08-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

To my Leo! Story of our short time together!

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Independence from Credit Cards

2007-08-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

I've finally achieved a milestone of sorts while managing my finances. I've got rid of all my credit cards, all the cut pieces are on their way to the respective banks.

The reason for this desperate measure is a serious cost-benefit analysis. Some of the factors that influenced this:

1. First and foremost, no matter how bad the risk is for a CC company, it simply doesnt justify an interest rate of 3%-4% per month!
2. The banks have non-standard days of billing, hence its' sometimes difficult to keep track of which bill is due when, especially when the number of credit cards you hold reaches double digits.
3. There is no graded interest payment schemes, so if you default by a day or 30 it will still carry the same penalty! At 3%-4% its' quite a crime that such a system is allowed to be practiced in India.
4. The eagerness with which Credit Cards are issued, only goes to show that this product operates via a PUSH model, rather than a person actually needing to own one. I realised this late, but eventually, that ever since I joined a business school, credit cards have been pushed into my wallet under the guise of "lifetime-free" schemes.
5. Many shops and establishments in Mumbai charge an extra 2% for purchases made using credit cards, so do fuel-stations, but under the guise of service tax.
6. Now, for the most important reason, I'm really not comfortable with the idea that some goons are gonna come looking for me asking me to repay paltry sums like 10K odd. That is the ugliest side of Indian Banking Industry, many thumbs down to ICICI and likes which have employed these tactics (see citation below).

ICICI Bank Credit Card - Terms & Conditions (Retrived on Independence Day-2007)
(d) DEFAULT AND CIRCUMSTANCES
(i) If the Cardholders fails to pay at least the Minimum Amount Due as mentioned in the Statement on or before the Payment Due Date, ICICI Bank shall be entitled to disclose information relating to days past due (“dpd”) of the Cardholder to credit information bureaus / agencies (specifically authorized by RBI). A notice shall be deemed to have been given to the Cardholder by ICICI Bank by informing the Cardholder of the disclosures of information relating to dpd status of the Cardholder through Statements. The time period between statement date and the payment due date of the credit card shall be construed to be the notice period for such reporting of the Cardholder.
(ii) ICICI Bank reports the credit/repayment history of the Cardholders to bureaus/agencies in terms of the dpd. The dpd status will indicate the number of days the Cardholder has not cleared his dues to ICICI Bank beyond the due date. The updated status of the Cardholder will be sent to the bureaus/agencies on pre decided regular intervals and thus there will be no withdrawal of the default report except in the case of disputes having been resolved in favor of the Cardholder.
(iii) Recovery procedure in the case of default: ICICI Bank shall be entitled, at the sole risk and cost of the Cardholder, to engage one or, more person(s) to collect the Cardholder’s dues and/or to enforce any security provided by the Cardholder, and ICICI Bank may (for such purposes) furnish to such person(s) such information, facts and figures pertaining to the Cardholder and the security as ICICI Bank deems fit. ICICI Bank may also delegate to such person(s) the right and authority to perform and execute all acts, deeds, matters and things connected therewith, or incidental thereto, as ICICI Bank deems fit.
(iv) Recovery of dues in the case of death/permanent incapacitance of Cardholder: The whole of the outstanding balance on the Card Account, together with the amounts of any outstanding Card transactions, effected but not yet charged to the Card Account, shall become immediately due and payable in full to ICICI Bank, by the Cardholder, his/her successors, nominees, legal heirs in the event of his/her death (after adjustment of credit shield benefit if subscribed by the Cardholder) or insolvency or winding up of the business of the Cardholder.
(v) Insurance cover for Cardholder (optional) and date of activation of policy:
The Cardholder may be offered various Insurance Benefits from time to time by ICICI Bank through a tie up with the Insurance Company, only upon the Cardholder opting for such a benefit. The date of activation of such policy will be communicated through the website. The Cardholder specifically acknowledges that in all cases of claim, the Insurance Company will be solely liable for settlement of the claim, and he/she will not hold ICICI Bank responsible in any manner whether for compensation, recovery of compensation, processing of claims or for any reason whatsoever.

Fcuk You!

Quack Homeopaths!

2007-06-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

I thought I knew! Then I discovered this video, it features James Randi, the famous "Psychic Demystifier", exposing Homeopathy with sound scientific logical and rational explanations.

I simply could not believe it at first, then a bit of googling around Avogadro constant, HomeoWatch, and many more rational articles later, it was quite astounding to learn the amount of serious criminal acts that were being carried out under the guise of Medical Practice. Shameful, disgraceful and henious, are few words that would best describe it...why blame terrorists, these organized criminals are even worse!

Why go further, even Dr. Batras', and institution close home is shamelessly advertising the "Healing Powers" of Homeopathy. Powers of what? Placebo?

I guess its' a very complicated world that we live in, to really accept the means of living such humans have accepted!

Why India's not as hot as China?

2007-06-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

Blame it on religion or blame it on corruption, eitherway, India is a far cry than China when it comes to "exciting opportunities" in terms Investment. I simply see no reason why the zillions being poured into India would make any difference to the nation itself.

Cheeni Kum

2007-06-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

"You absolute horror of a human being" - Simon Bishop in As Good as it Gets.

God knows why Indian directors try to adapt English movies into Hindi. They forget the 200 years of cultural differences cannot be bridged in a day just so that their movie works!

No offence, Mr. Director & Mr. Bachhan!

Cheeni Kum sucks as a poor (bottom feeder poor) adaptation of a movie that I love every celluloid inch of. The very first 5-10 minutes of Cheeni Kum were enough to give me the source of this supposed masterpiece.

Call me frustrated, but I really havent accepted Tabu as an actress, I feel she lies in that vast twilight zone that always gets ignored for glamour and the goodies associated with charming lady leads. She lacks all of it. Her guise of good acting is highly questionable with single frequency dialogues, little voice modulation and no screen presence. Even then, I felt bad for her, she's portrayed rather crudely, and rather weak. Sorely missing is the dilemma that Carol undergoes as the movie goes along, that I felt was the key ingredient of an outright mis-match. Here we have this character going ga-ga like a 15 year old as if she's in love with a 17-year old.

Amitabh Bachhan, get over it dude. There is so much this man can offer, however he cannot possibly make a difference when the only directors that wish to employ him are those that wanna get noticed.

If only AB had a Madhuri Dixit or Raveena Tandon, I'm sure he'd have poured his heart out, but with Tabu standing next to you, there would certainly be a limit to the amount of passion you can portray.

Also, this movie makes cunning use of such rickshaw (crowd) pullers phrases like condoms, sexy, etc etc.

I wish someone bashes the producer-director for portraying the child-character the way they did.

Lastly, the movie tries to add a fourth (or fifth if you count the little neighbour), Paresh Rawal, whos utterly wasted as Tabu's dad. Shows how bad a director can get...

My serious opinion, do not watch this movie, rent out a "As good as it gets" DVD, even if you've watched it a zillion times. It'd be worth much more than the money you'd spend on this illogical inspiration.

Other reviews: Cheeni Kum : outlookindia.com

United 93

2007-06-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

I made a big mistake by deciding to "sneak preview" this movie at 3:00 am on a saturday night. I ended up not only watching it completely, but spending another 3 hours surfing the internet on follow-ups.

Assuming that the movie captures the "reality" of what happened, I came across a few things that are really don't quite fit!"

1. Professional American ATC, NEADS and Defence officials are shown in a state of panic: This
is the one of the most difficult to digest aspect of the movie. See its' about culture, a way of life. Americans came up with an MBA degree (formalizing management education), they have schools/colleges imparting the highest standards of education, corporates practising the best form of strategies and citizens who are rightfully proud of their nation. So what would explain the serious delay in "Action" while UA93 was going haywire all over the radar screen.

2. Commercial flights fly with a difference of 1000 feet on air-corridors, and UA93 was all but following it. UA93 was airborne for atleast another 35 minutes, after the hijack started.

3. A F16 flying full speed could have reached the airplane, that it didnt, is another matter...

My sincere well-wishes to the victims' families. My love and regards to all affected directly and in-directly by this tragedy.

Let's build a world upon Forgiveness & Tolerance.