The Mini India…. Naah Not Mumbai or Delhi..… Its Bengaluru!!!

Yes.. Thats just about it.. But why!!! Mumbai or Delhi have been the melting pot of various Indian cultures for decades…. Well I may be factually wrong but though Mumbai & Delhi may still have more migrant population, but the level of integration in Bengaluru is just amazing… In addition, per my humble views, Bengaluru has been the least intolerant… Let me explain why….

As a tamilian, I always knew Bengaluru had a sizeable tamil population. DUring my first visit to the city, I was almost shocked, when a driver in the old airport walked up to me and started talking to me in Tamil without me even uttering a word…. The telugu connection is well known due to the Rayalaseema boundary… But its almost amazing to know that there are localities were they speak telugu just like its Andhra..

Ok all said and done, wheres the migration angle come down… well we have an abundance of mallus as well.. Oh yes.. Mallus can be everywhere, didnt we know that our own mallu nair served tea to Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin….

We have the odiyas & Bongs invading Bengaluru like never before… during my last few visits I have noticed many shops with signboards in odiya & bangla!!! Even the rising population of the easterners in my office is an evidence too… And know what there are other north eastern brethren as well… The train and flight connectivity to other parts of teh country from Bengaluru is fast catching up and has seen an amazing growth… I dont say this… A host of people from caretakers of serviced apartments that form my temp. homes and conversations with colleagues indicate this….

There is a joke doing the rounds in whatsapp saying the languages of Bengaluru are C++, Python C# et al… I say the languages if Bengaluru are English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Odiya, Bangla, and ofcourse there is Kannada too :-)

Yes there are fringe elements who oppose this but on a whole Bangaloreans ( uh the real ones) seem perfectly at harmony… That makes Bengaluru the mini India!!!

PS: Well Bengaluru you may be so good …. but aamchi Pune is the place to be any day!!!!

Unity In Diversity

A lot has been said over the circular by GoI giving preference to Hindi on Social media.. needless hullabaloo given the fact that the circular in no way imposes Hindi as a national language..

Let us go back in time to understand.. when in 1965, GoI wanted to make Hindi as the Only Official language, many opposed and rightly so, due to which we are today where we are...

At that time a compromise was worked out by the LS government.. English as the official language, with Hindi given an equal status in Central Government communications and initially 15 languages in the 8th schedule of the constitution as official languages in respective states and regions , which shall also be used in parliament... the 15 is now 22...

English is in no way defined in the 8th schedule as its a foreign language..

All GoI Communications are in both english and Hindi with Hindi being used in all government functions .. Even in loksabha or rajya sabha the arrival of the speaker is announced in Hindi... All government websites have been in two editions... hence whether people agree or not Hindi is a DE FACTO National Language....

We have established a system in which english is given preference and its well oiled now.. People can learn and master the language.. Now should we accept a common Indian language as a link in our unity in diversity.. regardless of the fact that only 25% have declared Hindi as mother tongue, its a well known fact that among the Indian languages, its widely spoken and understood..

If the government gives priority to it in Social Media with an english comment accompanying it, People should be gracious enough to accept it and move on... It is in no way an Imposition of a language

If people can learn a foreign language like english for better earning prospects, they should be willing to learn hindi for integrity sake.. If they refuse its like cheating.. then dont say unity in diversity.. its a hogwash.. its only diversity...People are learning german, japanese what not to earn.. cant they learn a language of this country for the sake of unity? Are we not that mature?

No use in arguing everyone learn telugu, kannada marathi , dogra then we will build unity.. thats immature and idiotic..

KVS Schools have only English and Hindi as Languages..Better to make all schools teach English, Hindi and the local regional language as the third language up until say secondary level..

If we still cant accept, why call us one nation, why not United States of India as a fringe party suggested in its 2014 manifesto??? food for thought!!!

Indian IT & The Media

It was not until the late 1990s that the Indian media took notice of Indian IT firms and started their coverage as such... Typically there were 5-6 firms which received a major chunk of the coverage.. Infy, Satyam, HCL, Wipro, TCS & Cognizant in more are less the same sequence.. Infy & Satyam were headed by really flamboyant and media savy bosses back then... TCS was unlisted and CTS was seen an outside firm as it was unlisted in India ....
Then came the folklore which everyone loved... a disciplinarian boss, darling of the media, core IITans blah blah... Media was seeing only the rosy picture.. with information about the industry itself so sparse and the key players were either unlisted or did not live by the media, Satyam & Infy which warmed up to the media became quite popular..

Mind you the serious business media were carrying stories on all major ones and were always doing serious comparisons even when TCS was unlisted... but I'm talking about the general media, which mortals like me follow...

Media frenzy is like underworld.. u live and die by it, Satyam, AAP are all great examples.. so it was not a surprise when after a while of sluggish growth, media ruthlessly cut off the bellwether tag and I read some articles which late in 2012 said TCS is the new bellwether.. 7 years after listing... i found that funny....

Anyhow, the reason for Infy sluggishness was attributed to the MD, 3.0 strategy and what not... but one man stood out and made a revelation, albeit late, to me which seems likely cause.. Chairman of Manipal Institutions and Infy veteran Pai has said that lack of empowerment among senior executives may have caused some of the sluggishness...

In the end all this drama and hype boiled down to just CEO selection... Naturally, the way the company has been operating and given the media limelight there will be many contenders for the top post...

Not many media reports are to be seen on the top execs of other firms.. no one knows the VPs of TCS ot CTS or wipro beyond the C level or the ones who are not in the board...Infy names keep getting published every now and then...

There were some key exits in TCS just around the 1-2 year period before and after the transition in 2008...Wipro also saw some exits at the time of 2 CEO model...none of these was made headline material....

On the one hand people are somehow made popular and on the other , when they leave its being said that not all were high performers.. well if that is the case then how did they make it so high up to the corporate ladder?

The CEO succession could have been done in a muted fashion as well... TCS, CTS saw a relatively smooth succession and so did wipro after Vivek Paul and  2 CEOs to Kurien....

similar hype was made in replacing the exec chairman after murthy... Yes media would intervene.. they did so in the case of the Tata succession be in in 1991 or in 2012.. I still remember in 1991 when my family elders were quoting a media report ad said RNT is quite a surprise choice don't know what JRD is thinking..

and the noise around Rohan Murthy.. I still can't fathom.. Rishad Premji wa inducted into Wipro and has been silently working for more than 7 years.... I don't think there was ever such noise..

may be this noise was because of Murthy's own doing.. the kejriwalesque statement on wards of Infy founders will never work in the firm.. Why? is the firm too lowly for them? or are they not qualified enough.. it would have been better had he just said.. there would be conscious plan for the succession of he wards of the founders.. they can join and rise through the ranks per their interest and merit... I never heard such a positive statement from Murthy...

always I have been hearing comments with some level of attitude.. be it the comment attributes to him on love ur job not ur company...that was silly... or be it that comment/memo on people spending time in offices for free AC & net... well that's equally silly...

These things go unnoticed when success is the norm of the day.. and when success begins to get slow ( mind you no failure yet just slow success) the scrutiny is more minute..
That's why many media carried a series of articles which eventually seen as defamatory culminating in the notice for apology or court case... Well  let's see if this new mgmt. brings out any changes..

Money Money Money...

Somehow making a quick buck or having a keen financial sense is usually taken in a negative connotation in our culture.. Either one is hugely successful to change it otherwise keep hearing the cliched name callings..

The most stereotyped folks in this have been the marwaris...Typically shown in films and tv soaps as shylocks who are ruthless or blindly following the footsteps of family elders into the family entrepreneurial set up... Many whatsapp jokes and twitter trends also seem to mock on the same trait..

The marwari blokes I have met since my college days have given me a new thought process.. All of them successful in their own right and have a very keen financial sense and approach to making money...

This is about few such interesting people.. ( Not Birlas or Goenkas or Bajajs) just AAM marwaris ;-)

Person 1 : Classmate in College - Family settled in TN for a while.. family business deals with some electrical fuse making etc... bloke joins IT in college.. after the second year suddenly makes a comment.. my Dad wasted 3 lakhs for the capitation fee. he could have put me in DGD Vaishnav (one of the famous colleges in chennai run by marwari trust) and given me that money.. I would've already started a business... He went  on to join MBA in oz land .. did not hesitate to retuen when the course was not as expected.. (Reason given - UG i had do to however it was, PG i need it my way)... joined  a entrepreneurial PGDBA course.. started the dealership of a German Carmaker in Chennai, now dealership spread across major cities in TN.. Just rocking entrepreneur... People may say he had the financial backing but the way he shaped his career is inspiring....

Person 2 : Casual Acquaintance during a bus journey from Pune to Mumbai.. Family of jewellers and shylocks.. did his engineering on merit.. set up a small startup specialising in digital signatures and PKIs .. had coop banks in MH as customers.. after a while sold the product to a mid sized IT firm and joined their product division.. has a good shot at C level now...

Person 3 - Neighbour.. Jeweller and shylock background.. Dad offered to fund any biz he wanted to set up.. dude did an architect course.. took a bank loan and is growing his design studio/firm now...Definitely in for a long innings of success

Person 4 : Another Neighbour .. Some family business in MP or CG... bloke is an auditor with a top consulting firm... immense knowledge in financial matters courtesy the education and the DNA ... from the looks and interactions definitely will retire early and do something on his own...

Person 5 : Colleague .... Family has a roaring Garlic business.. only kid.. showed entrepreneurial talent as a school goer by persuading elders to set up a PCO and making a 50% profit margin.. sold me a lunch deal which was cheap as well as tasty...  has plans to make it big in business after a decade of corporate stint....

These people have definitely inspired me...not that i too will set up a biz... that is never my cup of tea... but the way they look at finance and success in particular, what motivates them is just worth understanding.. The fact is these guys have been able to break into new territories from a supposedly rigid structure...Wishing them all more success....

Well for greater facts about the famous marwari's do read the feature named "Marwari Power" by forbes India....

Dad with an unusual Job

I have already blogged about my dad's job ever since he retired about 7 years ago... but nonetheless with an IB man again at the help as NSA (2nd one after MK Narayanan), I thought it makes sense to write again about what my dad's job really meant to me at various stages of my life...

Stage 1 - Don't really know what that means

I was in primary school when we were asked to talk briefly about what each of our dads did for a living... and I was not really able to talk anything.. total blank.. all I was able to tell was my dad works in an office!!!! dont know which office.. those offices never really have an address!!!


Stage 2 - He does something scary!!!

This was when we moved to Guwahati... On my second day in Guwahati I woke up to the news of Rajiv Assassination and dad was away for a long time to office ... didnt really have an iota what the heck was all about.. overhearing a few conversations I could make out that the job was something really scary!!!

Stage 3 - Oh boy I love this stuff.....

This was a longer stage.. almost midway into our 3 year stay in Assam I had begun to develop some idea of the spy job.. at that point it meant they snoop on people who were bad ... this they did to save India....

Around the age of 12-13 only did I develop the full view of what IB is about and their mode of operations.. Back in Kanchi, it was a house cum residence and most of the times all folks at the office would be on field.. I was the unofficial phone operator...

Once or twice I was really in the thick of things taking messages on the log book about someone who was marked for either snooping or phone tapping!!! As a teenager that was really adrenaline pumping and jamesbondesque adventure....

Stage 4 - Ok I get it but Oh My God when will he return home safe !!

This was in the late teens when you really knew what was dad supposed to do in the week ... where there were sensitive political meetings or conferences where he had to literally crash uninvited or snoop some crackpot .. I still do remember in Crica 2002 Chennai Mayoral poll counting day, he went at 8 in the morning.. JJ rigged that counting heavily ( mind you polls were rigged still STalin was winning so this lady decided to rig counting) the counting went on for 2-3 days and dad was missing @home.. yup he did not return for 2 days straight... that was like nerve wracking

Luckily the Stage 5 didn't last too long.. some time during my college he went to work for Immigration and that was it...

But looking back I actually feel that he should have taken the extension they gave him and worked 1-2 more years back in the IB :-)....

Battleground MH

With the general elections finally decided and new government about to assume charge, many people think that the political dust will finally settle... To political buffs like me, theres always the next election to watch out for...

I have already simultaneously followed the South African elections, Afghan presidential poll round one and have started following Egypt polls.. up next are Thailand & Indonesia...

Moving back to India, the mother of all assembly polls is here... cut to October, we will witness the poll in Maharashtra ..my "home" state literally...

People tend to believe thats its curtains for INC-NCP after 15 years of (mis) rule....I think this poll will go down to the wire.. Notwithstanding the Modi effect, NCP can make a come back quicker than the congress and Pawars will throw every last resource available to hold on to their bastion.

Many have begun to write MNS off but Raj Thackeray is no pushover.. on the contrary, if he decides to project himself as CM designate, I think we have a match in our hands... Liberal view of RT is very distorted and people abhor his ways.. But he is a great orator with decent policies and can capture Modi like imagination among the public... Not to mention the fact that local BJP does not have a strong face in spite of Munde's presence...

Its best in BJP's interests to align with MNS else in case of a hung assembly or a slight UPA edge, media, opponents and pseudo liberals will pounce and denounce the so called bursting of Modi bubble...and they will be shameless to call for his resignation ;-)

It remains to be seen if this assemble poll is indeed a cliff hanger or a piece of cake for NDA...

Grass is always Green Abroad

The first time i went out of India was in circa 2006 to London for about 10 months. The duration of the trip was initially was for 6 months and then it got extended to a year, which I cut short to be back with my father as he was retiring... The first trip was all fun, I enjoyed... after that it has been mostly business trips with 2-3 weeks being the max duration outside India.. I enjoyed them as well as it would help me to see some places and have a different perception..This time in Switzerland for a trip, whose duration is again in the 6 months range...

I find it quite difficult. Primarily reason is the country shuts itself down on Sundays. Not even convenience stores are open. This is is like a bolt out of the blue for an desi guy who has been lured with the new shining malls that spring up in every corner of the city.. what would a poor guy who plans his shopping exclusively on sundays do... well grumble and change routine.. but as they say old habits die hard, I am still not yet up to terms with the Saturday shopping....its not about shopping.. on sundays its like someone has imposed Sec.144 curfew...

Banks have their own process.. Some documents can be collected from the branch. but the main ones will be sent via post. The post box should have the name as same as the one in the letter, else the letter will return. Now how do I tackle with tis. I have to follow up with 3 different people that too between Monday to Friday 8 AM to 3 PM exclusively.. I remember, the last time I shifted homes in Pune, I had to go to the banks once, put in a request and bulldozed them when there was an issue..

Public transport, though efficient is boring.. if u miss the schedule the frequency is less...

One has to mandatorily eat either chicken or egg or cheese.. else its really time consuming to find a vegetarian food..cooking is out of the window as I cant cook for 1 person and also I cant cook consistently ;-)

The best of all... pressing one's clothes by oneself.. I rarely do that but now thats the usual thing.. more than my family, more than anything else, I miss my laundry service provider.. the uncle who knocks at my door every saturday, takes my clothes, returns them neatly pressed, even safe keeps them when I am out of town... sob.. sob..

I really still wonder how people can sty 4-5 years and then easily fit back to the Indian lifestyle.. 

Pseudo Secular Liberals

The leftist pseudo secular liberals in India have always been modi baiters. They thought anointing him as PM candidates will make their job easy.. alas they have been proven wrong atleast by the opinion polls.. Now it seems they can't stomach this and have taken it upon themselves and their poisonous pens to cry foul...I am deeply apalled by two such opinions

Shiv Vishvanathan on The Hindu

Calls himself a social nomad. Works at JIndal University - Now you know his antecendants
This fellow asks is Modi is really BJP and goes on to say people in BJP dont like him and Modi himself doesn't believe in the party.. As if he is a know all. And honestly I haven't seen him even raise a whimper on how congress in centered around one family and the heir presumptive's reluctance, lack of knowledge , competency et all... For that matter I have never ever seen him talk anything that makes sense....

Dileep Padgaonkar on The Times of India
His report on Kashmir is a sad story
He goes overborard and compares Putin, Erdogan, Shizo Abe & buckets Modi in this category
He rants as if Modi will go the same way and predicts it to be wrong.. This guy tals as if Abe visiting the yasukuni shrine is a crime.. Whatever the history might be, the yasukuni is a Japanese memorial for its ex soldiers... he calls them hyper nationalistic...
Not sure of the intention of these guys...

If they were so worried about the nation, why didnt they question a single scam? The 2g Scam came to light thanks to the relentless efforts of Subramanian Swamy.. The CAG Vinod Rai was responsible for bringing out Coal Scam.. even the CWG Scam was done in by TV journos.. Padgaonkar, Shiv and their ilk had nothing to do about it.. they didnt even question the mindless appeasement and division through muslim census in armed forces or be the archaic reservation etc.. They didn't dare to raise a voice against any of the policy paralysis..

They just want to create a panic and predict doomsday....do they have a solution?? really not..  really wonder what sort of education these guys received.. and hyper nationalism??? these guys are not even nationalstic.. not even hypo these are anti nationals... Padagaonkar had links with Ghulam Nabi Fai who was shamed in the US for using ISI funds to bribe US to influence kashmir conflct.. and he is being called an eminent journalist!!! Liberals don't know what is liberal and what is anti national.. that line is invisible to them..

The very secularism they are trying to defend is flawed in India..Secular means to be EQUI DISTANT from all relgions.. meaning relegion will not determine any poilcy in governance.. The only secularists are atheists and communists...Nehru redefined secularism as equal respect to all religions but he himself did not follow that.. When Sardar Patel & Rajendra prasad requested him to consider rebuilding Somnath and told him that to be really secular, majority sentiments need to be respected, he did not budge.. That very act destroyed the secular fabric he intended to build.. from them on secularism in india meant bending over to please minorities (read muslims & christians in particular) and communalism meant anyone talking about hindu aspirations

Shiv Vishwanathan in his article praised Advani, Jaswant, joshi et all.. Cmon Advani is 86.. and no one cried for him in 2009 when he lost.. They were praising secular victory instead.. They even said BJP lacks the wherewithal to be the potent opposition it should be.. when BJP assers itself by sideliening advani, the same gang cries foul. Jaswant was member of Darjeeling in 2009.. why does he need Barmer again.. last time he was ok with darjeeling because he came in at the last minute, this time he cries?? ha ha.. and whats wrong about moving joshi around.. he too is 75+  ..... We have a lame duck PM who never ever tried contesting Lok sabha and blaming a party who is trying to get their PM candidate elected?

If people are going to vote on the fear of persecution and not bothered about the economy then this country certainly deserves every scam.. here a bangaladesji can get a voter id in minutes but a genuine voter has to go through multiple hassles..

If these liberals want to preserve this sort of secularism then the country better be doomed!!

The Real Don

Last week the cricketing world came to a standstill, as the most prolific batsmen of the modern era bid adieu to the game, his passion for over a quarter century.
It was a tearful speech. The nation was tearful. A handful of naysayers were still unhappy and questioned the dilly in the event. Some even said that he should've quit an year or two ago
To me, he has been a true hero. An iconic role model epitomising dedication, sincerity, humility and devotion to his work.
A man, with so much of wealth & popularity right from the teenages and yet approaching the game with a fresh mind everytime for the last quarter century.
He stood tall among the debris of various scandals that hit the game
He was the sole reason why millions wanted their children to seriously consider Cricket as a career
Incidentally, it was due to him only that I became obsessed with cricket to maniacal levels
I cried bitterly when his 136 was not enough and we lost by 12 runs . Not because he could have done more, but because our tail was incompetent to complement the great man.
I was awestruck when he returned a day after the funeral of his dad, his role model.
I was furious when Mike Denness punished him for no fault of his, when Mike Procter didn't trust his words during monkygate, when Chappell questioned his commitment, when the naysayers hunted for his head and didn't henconsider the fact that HE deserved to leave on his terms.... be did everything for Indian cricket..Undoubtedly, Pujara, Kohli, Dhoni, wouldn't have picked up the willow had he not been an inspiration !!
He is the heart of Indian cricket. 1983. 1985,2007 may not havehis contribution, Kapil,Sunil gavaskar might be bigger but he is the one who will be worshipped forever.....
Miss You Sachin!!#ThankYouSachin

Random

It has been a really long time since the  last blog. Thanks to micro blogging & any time status update on the various social networking sites, the concept of thinking thoroughly and then recording the thoughts in a coherent manner seems to be getting obsolete.  Blogger, like orkut seems on its way to a slow but certain death.
Adding fuel to the fire is the migration of browsing to the handheld touch screen devices. Nobody wants to type paragraphs using the onscreen keyboards on typically 4 to 10 inch displays. Even if one types, the effort is typically more.
So,is there no way out? One of the probable ways is to use a tablet / phablet/ Smartphone with an active pen stylus. Usually, such a device which is decent enough costs a fortune. The best among them are the Samsung tabs.  So what about people like me who pose to be gadget freaks but always look for a cheaper device to buy. The nexus program is a boon to people like me . however, nexus has no fire installed app like S note .Also most styli have a really fat tip. They look so bad when compared to the active pens.

Is there really a easy & cheap but a decent enough way for writing on the cheaper tabs? I use a promate stylus on my nexus 7. This stylus has a thinner sponge tip. The best app for converting my scribbles to text is StylusBeta. lt is free,accurate,fast and getting better by the day. As a matter of fact, this blog has been written on the stylus using the app. Is this such a big deal? May be it. is a lot trivial to many. But I see this as an interesting way to use technology in getting back to basics.

One, I have been able to motivate myself to write a blog.
Two, I have really hand written this. This would be my longest handwritten notes in almost half a decade. My handwriting has marginally improved.
Three, my wish of replacing the heavy executive notebooks with a greener, faster & flexible alternative seems very close to reality. The capex involved was a decent sum of INR 15k....

But, diagrams,charts etc. are still miles away. Still, it's a decent start.

My casual attempts have been largely successful so far. Let me take the next step and try some serious professional note-taking.....The threads in various Android forums indicate a fair chance of success.  I am nonetheless, biting the bullet here.... Hope b me this for a productive cause!!!

Open Letter to TN CM

Madam CM

There has been a lot said and done about the on-going fracas over the Lankan crisis.  But here are some facts that everyone is aware of but is conveniently ignoring

We have an acute power shortage that’s crippling our businesses and other means of earning livelihood

We don't get the necessary water for our crops and Cauvery water has been a pipe dream

 Sill the land grabbing issues have not been resolved.

Our Fishermen get shot and yet no one bats an eyelid

Kudankulam is yet to see the light of the after years and crores of tax-payer money

Successive governments in TN have failed to get Cauvery water, or for that matter even power from National Grid to change the fate of TN people. Given this, how do you think that some resolution in TN assembly is actually going to bring relief to Tamil Lankans?

Western countries were still crying genocide in 2009, but we were silent and did precious nothing when we could have influenced things… Why is now everyone crying when the damage has already been done.

This aggressive posturing and alienating an elected government of a sovereign country does no good. This will hamper the process of national reconciliation there.

2009 Parliamentary election results were never about Lankan crisis. 2011 Assembly election results wassan answer to large scale plundering by a family.. Never about Lanka. Please don't get biased on what media portrays.

Even if the SL president is declared a war criminal by UN (which is unlikely), he will anyway be president until he is elected out. Consider the case of Omar Al Bashir who still rules Sudan and is indicted by ICC for Genocide in Darfur or for that matter Uhuru Kenyatta elected president of Kenya after an ICC indictment for genocide in post poll violence in Kenya

Nothing can really be done until those people are out of power.  If we want to really help lets us send aid on the ground get closer to the Tamil people of SL and make their life better…

As far as getting limelight and going down in history as the best CM, madam, you are already on your way to that with the SC direction and government notification of the final award, you have already done a great deal than your predecessors to find a place in history.

We would appreciate if you can win more seats, have enough influence n the next government to get our due share of water.

Let us forget the political posturing and work for the real betterment of tamil Indians & tamil lankans in a better way...a

Masterstroke

DMK president has been known as one of the astute politicians this country has seen... But he seems to be done in by a master stroke by his successor in-waiting...historically, the crown prince of a long reigining monarch is known to be weak... But the current leader in waiting of the southern party has pulled off a great tactic that even Machiavelli wil be surprised of... His political acumen , popularity cannot be underestimated... His growth in the party has been calculated, supplemented with hard  work...His popularity with the people was evident in the 2002 chennai mayoral elections, when an infinite amount of rigging bythe then ruling party couldn't stop him fro getting elected... Evein the last polls, he defeated a very popular leader of ADMK shows his acceptability level in the massess...just months after being confirmed for the top post, he has chosen his uniqueway to rebuild his empire given the popularity of the currentregime in TN. The decision to pull out of UPA spear headed by him will ensureolitical wilderness for his two rivals (also his siblings).....they may also be incarcerated by the state n central agencies respectively as they have pending cases against them....this will ensure a free run for him in his party for a couple of years..... Though the gains will be diminishing in the upcoming general elections, the returns could be mutilfold in the next assembly polls if he maintains his reputation.... Right or wrong , ethical or not, this is indeed a political masterstroke...... Chanakya neeti live!!!!!!

Central Government

So we are back to a situation where the government is tottering and an election may hit us anytime. Though I am not a great fan of congress purely because of the corruption and the pseudo secular agenda it has, I still feel that FDI is retail is needed .. One thing is it will make our local products even more competitive and innovative..  But thats apart, why are we so dependent on such smaller fringe parties to run a country.. Honestly Nitish Kumar (22), Mamta B (19) Mayawati (21) Mulayam (22) MK (18) should not have this much bargaining power.  The people who drafted the constitution committed a great blunder by accepting a plurality electoral system for such a large country.. This means anyone can win in a local area and if that area happens to have a greater population/seats he /she has a better bargaining card.. Imagine this, one state UP has more bargaining power than 7-8 states put together.. Imagine the plight of north east.. they have hardly 20 MPs for 7 states or including sikkim 8 states???

Lalu, Mulayam, left etc. say that they will still support corrupt congress than BJP just because of secularism?? what is secular??? USSR was the only secular nation.. secularism means EQUI DISTANCE from all religions.. appeasing a minority religion is definitely non secular... I cant understand how a muslim league in kerala can be a part of secular alliance and a BJP is fundamental!!!

The predominantly catholic populace of Goa have waken up and realised that the so called hindu party can offer better governance .. Thats how a nation is built.. not by the myopic polices of appeasement

Will a mid term poll throw a clear winner? I don't think so.. It will only help increase the bargaining power of people like Nitish.. I have begun to hate that man... Bihar has a total of 243 setats of which he has 115 and BJP 91.. he has a vote share of only 22% in Bihar and yet he nurtures ambition of being PM? compare that to Modi who's part of a national party, has absolute majority in his state and has a better governance record.. Oh no but Modi killed muslims???  so by that standard congress should never be voted n Punjab as they killed far many sikhs in 1984!!!!

The problem the country has now is there is no real opposition!!! BJP is targeted left right and centre even by the media and that weakens it. Its allies are not very consistent.. Only God knows what Shiv Sena's agenda is.. they support congress candidate in every presidential elections.. appear desirous of winning Maharashtra legislative assemble and are content with BMC alone!!  Nitish is behaving as if he is the lord of Bihar.. he doesn't realise if BJP goes out then Lalu has a stronger chance of  winning Bihar than himself.. BJP shot itself in the foot by distancing BJD....only BJD can save them.. Andhra is a black hole with TDP going down and out !!!

The best option is to mandate that there should be only two major political formations at the centre and the leader of a particular formation depends on the vote share .. To be in power one of the formations must have in excess of 50% vote share!!! Based on the vote share seats should be allocated ...simply put to win a seat, any one must have 50% vote share or more.. this  may result in a primary/run off election format but that expense is worth it...

This will ensure party with a pan india presence (congress or BJP or someone else tomorrow) to shape the country's policies as opposed to a fringe player with a local presence.. I definitely don't want Mulayam or Nitish as PM.. I wouldn't vote for both in the current scenario..

The best coalition government this country had was in 1999-2004!! In 1998 ABV had the guts not to horse trade, lose by 1 vote and seek fresh mandate.. because he knew that he will be able to win over people.. He showed how strong the PM's office can be even with so called coalition compulsions...
Does the current govt. have the guts to do so?

Still a lot of this local players will support the same formation as they can derive maximum benefit!!

If we don't get the act right then this country is in a great danger of descending into a greater chaos

Wasseypur Saga

This wasseypur flick is one of the most refreshing movies in recent times. Though its very crass in terms of language, content  et all, its just gripping... Its an bold attempt at hitherto untouched coal mafia area.. The last movie I remember on coal mafia was koyla which was not watchable at all... :-)
Wasseypur has so many plots sub plots and is 40% documentary...The director and the creative team have pulled across a stunner though making it utterly presentable..

The character of Sardar Khan is by far the best.. it beats all the other negative characters todate with élan!!!!!Manoj Bajpayee has set a bar .. so has have Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the pothead Faizal, Zeeshan as Deifinite and boy Tigmanshu Dhulia has shown his acting side as well.. awesome...

One of my Uncles lived & worked in Sindri in the Dhanbad district.. In childhood we knew Bihar as a lawless place but never imagined something like this...

Ganster saga is  tried and tested subject and comparisions with previous (i.e.hollywood) movies are inevitable.. In the narration of generation sagas, sub plots the film resembles the cult God Father series.. however, in God Father, Don Vito & Don Michael are the heroes... They have what one calls as high morals for a gangster.. Sardar Khan & Faizal Khan are the limit of "characterless"ness.....They are not heroes.. In fact, no one is a hero in this... Its just a narration of the evolution of crime in a mineral rich area of India were most of the people are illiterate/semi literate

The dark humour in the movie is just amazing..the taunts made by Nagma Khatton to Sardar or Sardar's reasoning to philander...  the verbal exchanges between Sardar & Ramadhir..  the romance of faizal & Mohsina... the characterization of Perpendicular and Definite..the discussion on fruits n veggies before sultan khan is popped off .. .. the list goes on and on...

The music and the BG score compliment the movie exceptionally well...
Realistic yet cinematic... extremely long yet gripping .. super fast at times and slower than a good train at times.. This movie has all colors...

Is this the flawless hindi movie ever made?? naah.. In an attempt to tell multiple stories and mix up timelines, the creative team has left a lot of holes... what are the ages of Ramadhir & Farhan.. Both are seen in 1947 when the movie begins.. farhan is the associate of Sardar's dad Shahid.. yet they both are seen almost 62 years later .. even if an age of 20 is assumed, in the 2000s their look doesn't suggest an age of 80+.. Farhan is seen in 2009 with the kid of Faizal in Mumbai..
In an election scene in 2004 ballot boxes and ballot sheets are shown.... correct me by 2004 assembly & parliament elections (even in remotest corners of North east) had voting machines only civic polls used ballot boxes..  The films ending is also very loose.. its just that the director didnt know how to end it... Even if Definte wanted to kill Faizal, he could have shot him after Faizal shot Ramadhir.. why wait till police arrest both and then shoot him? What was the real motivation for JP to have his father shot.. Its difficult to buy the argument that his dad was too overbearing for him.. Then why did he wait so long.. As per the timeline, he would have been in his late 50s :-)

Well all these should be forgotten as one is used to movies where there is no logic at all...

Gangs of Wassepur 1 & 2 are definitely the best movies in a loong time beating every other so called best movie!!!

History through stories

William Dalrymple is a master travel writer. His narration delves on putting historical facts that sound like a story. His book "from the holy mountain" tells the fate of Christianity in its eastern homeland. To achive this narration, he takes the help of a previous travel through eastern holyland and the commentary of those experience. He.retraced the old route and builds the present picture with a short history. Pretty same theme like his first book where he retraced the silk route.
This book however is based on eastern Christianity, starts from Greece, goes to turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and winds up in Egypt....
I pretty much thought that Islamic fundamentalism would be the main reason for the decline of Christianity in middle east..but except in Egypt, this is not true. Also learnt what Syrian Christianity is all about. Knew that some Syriacs are in Kerala but never knew a thing beyond that.
Learnt how Syrian xtians are on the edge and why might happen of Asad goes.
Learnt how Lebanon was born and how the maronite xtians pressed self destruct button.
Got to know that Arab does not mean Muslim by default.
Could sense the pain of Palestinian xtians in Israel feeling the same brunt as the Muslims under the Jewish state
Felt how the Egyptian copts would go through as Egypt is under an Islamic resurgence and future is uncertain.
Also noticed one more thing.... Egypt under Mubarak though did not persecute minority, it wasn't openly appeasing as well. Minority is discriminated.. whereas , in India there's no explicit discrimination and yet the govt is extremely appeasing to the level of granting sub quotas... Hmmmm Overall a very poignant picture about the story of Christianity in its homeland that ends with a question about its expiry date... Though written on the 1990s its still very relevant

Hyperbole

We are a nation of hyperboles.. we react strongly to everything... we were asking the greatest cricketer ever to call it quits just because he couldn't score 100th 100.. now that he scored 99 tons didn't matter to us... Now that he has scored many say go for more against minnows... Bangladesh showed that they are no pushovers by defeating us.. still we are angry that we lost... When India as minnows can show fight and turn a giant killer by defeating WI 29 yrs ago, why don't we think that some other minnow can't defeat us.. thats the glorious uncertainty of cricket... Some ppl blame Sachin again for this loss saying his slow batting cost us the match..does it mean that our bowlers will defend totals above 300 only? what sort of bowlers are they then? we can't cover up our failure by just blaming one person.. he will continue to do his duty... We hailed MS dDoni when he won world cup.. he could never be wrong.. just two white washes abroad and is he still a man with midas touch.... does it mean he should go? if he goes then who's next viral kohli? are we sure he's mature enough to lead... Yes we win the world cup but we can't just keep winning.. what matters most is the fight we put up.. we did not show any fight in the 2 white washes and we have every right to be angry about it.. but the fact is this too shall pass.. We came from the darkest hours of Mohd. Azharuddin captaincy where he and nayan mongia took wickets while batting..we saw azhar deliberately getting out by giving catch practices...Azhar's team lost just about every other match in a dubious manner we still cheered.. Then came Ganguly who gave us some fighting spirit and backed the right youngsters.. We then saw the forgettable dravid captaincy where we were knocked out by Banglas in Wc first round... We bounced back the very next year with a WC win under dhoni.. so what willa few losses do to us.. we will win as long as there is talent..And by God there is talent in India.. Jai Hind...

rashtrapathi mahoday/mahodaya???

who's going to be president? Well the congress does not have the majority in the electoral college and hence cannot push any sycophant!!! no other opposition has that majority too.. so as per indian secular traditions, it will be a dalit or muslim or some other minority .. Like last time when it tried to project a maharshtrian and broke the Shiv Sena's vote from NDA, the congress might try to do something similar .. There was a similar situation in circa 2002... NDA in power, wanted to push its candidate but could not muster the support in electoral college... it chose Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.... whom everyone supported not because he was muslim minority or a tamilian but because he served the nation with merit... And I still respect AB Vajpayee for that.. there was no winner or loser at that time.. the nation won... Kalam gave a tough time to both DNA & later on the UPA... made some sense to the largely ceremonial post... Can the ruling class show some Classy act this time and elect someone untainted and out of the political spectrum.. and yes please don't make the caste or religion or both as criteria.. and may be the right choice for president could very well earn the govt brownie points... This is another issue that I'm keen about

political situation..

Just wondering about the current political situation, whether mid term polls or not, what happens to a third fourth fifth front etc... I have a firm belief that the third front of regional parties will never work at the central government.. It will be a harakiri.. We need to main national parties, ably supported by the regional ones... Currently, Congress and BJP play the roles of 2 contenders.. it might change if any one of the regional parties honestly attempt to play a constructive role instead of the gimmick of third front and make a difference to the people... Congress was needed after independence and some of its ways were fine during the first 10-20 years of the country ... But the main problem is it has not been quick on its toes and continued with Nehruvian policies for long until a survival threat loomed which opened the country to liberalization ... It just does not nurture a national leadership beyond one family.. all other leaders are reduced to mere sycophants .. Its brand of secularism is questionable as it tries to over appease minorities to win over votes.. and even after winning does not do much to improve their social status.. It was also responsible for one of the worst riots in the country (1984) .. That makes it no different from the BJP.. With all these, its has not done much during the send term of the current govt.. ppl voted for ups even after some shortcomings in UPA 1. That faith has not been kept.. On the other hand, BJP with many of its shortcomings has been better in delivering good governance in many of the states it rules ( some are bad but the % of good is more ) Currently, in Goa, it has won such a huge mandate so definitely its not anti minority... As a party, if you look at BJP it has more discipline than many other parties.. it does not look up to one family, the party president keeps changing.. The current set of national leaders seem more prepared in their debates in parliament.. So i guess the next time an election happens, BJP does deserve a chance and to make it happen, it should balance the coalition with the correct regional partners...

Not even 5 senses

There are people who work in their area of expertise and produce watchable movies.. there are people who explore areas unexplored hitherto and deliver different movies that may or may not be commercially viable... Usually Kamalhassan falls into this category... there are people who want to show off that their area is different and end up making a horrible cocktail of different theme and commercial masala.. its like mixing chinese food and chettinad spices.. & am Arivu is one such product. Utterly deplorable and a colossal disappointment.. In summary, the attempt is not that novel... both elements of the plot, indian influence in martial arts and epidemic virus have been dealt separately in two movies, Indian & Dasavatharam The vocally marketed element and the reason for the movie's hype is that it tells the tale of Bodhidharma.. Sadly, Bodhidharma is used only in the first half an hour to set the context and after that all we see is constant references to him by the characters ... Even the first 30 minutes sounds like a documentary ... Very superficial research. Tamil movies Vamsam, & Adukalam have much better research element than the overhyped 7th Sense... Google and Wikipedia also play a prominent role in the movie The screenplay and the style of narration is overly simple, the plot has very predictable twists and turns. Especially the way the chinese have been depicted is comically ridiculous. The director wants to make a world class movie dedicated to world tamils.. however with songs inserted forcefully in the flow, the movie turns out to be a third class one. Who on earth would believe that hypnotism is such child's play? the villain hypnotizes people at will :-) Taling of acting, I feel Shruti Hassan has the same expectations that northies have from Abhishek... Only difference is Abhishek is an good actor who is unlucky.. Shruti has inherited a lot of talents from her father but acting is definitely not on that list. The sad part is her tamil diction is not worthy of the Hassan surname... Surya flexes his muscles a lot, tires to act sensibly but somehow i feel that by choosing this movie he has given hope to Vijay .... The villain bloke is good but sad to see his talents wasted like this.. The sequences where the health officials responds to a reported epidemic is a gross insult to our medic folks... The climax fight somehow reminds of Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle... Not only that, the main element that the talent of an ancient hero lies in some nondescript circus artist seems also inspired from Chow's shoaling soccer and Kung Fu Hustle.. In the name of telling the glory of past tamils, the director tends to give way to jingoistic feelings.. We feel Raj thackeray is bad.. I have a genuine question, what about these people, who in the name of glorifying tamil and tamil fervor end up making heroes out of criminals.. There is a dialogue which says in a neighboring country one tamilian was hunted down by 9 countries with obvious references to LTTE & V Prabhakaran. The director who also happens to be a dialogue writer should be ashamed of such thoughts... LTTE was by all means a terrorist organisation which used child soldiers, trafficked drugs, arms etc. Moreover Prabhakaran had the audacity to dismiss Rajiv's killing as a "Tragic Incident". Supporting such people is dangerous. Though the Sinhalese treatment of tamils is bad, there are ways and means to protest against that. And taking of tamil valor and bravery, LTTE is not definitely an example. This is the main curse of India.. still no unity. Someone kills our leader and we still support them in the name of language... In the end, the director gives a pompous message .. He says teach tradition not the name of religion or God but in the name of science.. WHy sir,... if we have a realization of what a tradition means whats wrong in revering it? you people think you are rationalists, very intelligent and revering certain things hurts your ego is it? The true realization of our own self leads to spiritual well being.. This is what the Indian traditions reveal... I need ample doses of aspirin to recover from this and will catch up with Vijay flick to reverse the effects :-)

AArakshan

Two state governments in India have banned the mentioned movie.. Reason they perceive it as anti Dalit and anti reservation based on 3 scenes.. Now I am not surprised.. Politicians and brains are far apart. in a full length movie they can't tolerate just 3 scenes .. not more than 30-40 minutes footage.... Countless movies like dabang which are full crap gets approved by these so called governments...

Aarakashan is a nice movie.. the first half is very realistic.. second half is filmy.. but aren't we all a bit filmy..
we all have a hope.. As summarized by the movie Om Shanti Om.. hamari filmon ki tarah hamari zindagi mein bhi end tak sab theek ho jata hay.. nahi to wo The end nahi hay.. picture abhie baki hay mere dost....

Bofors, near bankruptcy... then reforms and towering growth.. now 2g land grabbing from farmers.. still we have a hope... Aarakshan summarizes this hope...

when would reservation loose its sheen.. when u have competition in the real sense... there is whole step process to active that.. in the interim lets go on with what we have.. not target any one.. after all .. the three scenes in the movie just depicts various states of mind and frustration..
The movie invictus is a great one.. why because.. in order to rebuild a nation, Mandela wanted to forgive centuries of discrimination against his people and treated ex tormentors with respect as fellow country men.. diet MKG (Bapu ) tell the same?
lets all forgive these petty squabbles.. Aarakshan represents that reconciliation and path to the future...

I love this filmy second half and I still hope India will grow above all these...
After all we were knocked out of 2007 WC champions in 2011.. now we are getting battered in england.. so its we know they will win next time.. hope.. hope is everything... We hope anna hazard can change things.. HOPE zindabad... Jai hind...

Let the supreme court place some sense in the madness and let this movie been seen every one....