Another free swing....

...............................another innocent victim.

This is how one may well summarize the attack on the IISc y’sday night in Bangalore.

And the Indian government and security agencies continue to function in a slapdash fashion without any coordination among each other.

That is all there is it to the tragic incident!

Holy crap! They’ve drafted him into the side…

When politicians control and run a sports body, the result always is chaos and pandemonium. And that is what is happening with cricket in India, actually, for a long time now.

The whole controversy surrounding the issue of Sourav’s presence in the team wouldn’t have taken place, if the selectors weren’t pressurized to select Soruav for the test series against Lanka, after dropping him earlier for the ODIs. But, as usual politics (read Dalmiya) had the final say, rather than the factor of performance, in the selection process and thus Sourav made it into the side. And to his credit......he performed marginally well,than usual,in the Delhi test and that too at crucial stages.

But, unfortunately for Ganguly, major changes in Indian cricket took place in the same week. The Dalmiya faction, which until then was the power house of Indian cricket, got defeated in the board elections and Mr. Sharad Pawar was elected as the new BCCI President. This also resulted in major changes in the selection committee; the members who were seen as pro-Dalmiya/pro-Sourav were shown the door which automatically ensured in the dropping of Sourav for the Ahmedabad test.

And the rest as you know is history.

I feel bad for Mr. Moore, he had to come up with one reason or the other to make sense of the whole situation. He was made into a villain by the media, along with Mr. Chappell, in the whole episode which he absolutely had no control on.

Politics is what, that, has ensured a place in the test team for Sourav. Now it is up to him to hold onto the place by performing on the field, ‘cause his cricketing days are being numbered.

Update: Dada is back to his best!

A momentous day in Parliament today…

In a country where the justice system is known for its snail’s pace on actions, the legislative bodies of the country- both the Lok Sabha & the Rajya Sabha-acted swiftly today by expelling the 11 MPs involved in the ‘cash for questions’ scandal.

By coming down heavily on the tainted MPs, the Parliament has set a bench mark for the future. It is an appropriate action, and more importantly a necessary one, to restore the faith of the people in the parliamentary system. The Parliament deserves praise for acting swiftly without any delay on this serious issue. Well done.

On the other hand, it was shocking to see the BJP-led Opposition stage a boycott citing that it is too harsh a punishment for the MPs.

Oh god! What a fall in standards for a party which came into the National scene as a party with a difference!!

God only knows what made them to change their mind on the issue after suspending the accused MPs from the party within an hour of the exposé. I think BJP clearly missed the bigger picture here. They made a huge mistake in deciding to boycott the motion. It would have done an enormous good for the party if they went along with the motion. Rather they choose the other way, which would most probably tarnish their image further after the battering they took due to ‘Operation West End’, the first sting operation that exposed high level corruption in the system.

Alas, the BJP too is becoming like a normal political party that we hate!

Anyways, let us hope that the Parliament acts in similar fashion in dealing with the MPs caught asking for kickbacks for sanctioning funds under MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).

Humiliation of Mr. Rao continues…

It’s going to be exactly one year, this Friday, since the passing of Mr. Narasimha Rao. But, the shabby treatment that the congress party meted out to him during his death still continues even to this day. It really bewilders me why his own party continues to behave in this way, when the rest of the country acknowledges the invaluable contributions that he made during his term as the PM of this country.

Is it because he refused to be the rubber stamp of the “dynasty”?

Or

Is it because he was the first non-dynasty individual to complete the five year term and that too with a great deal of success?

Wasn't the eight year isolation and humilation, after he stepped down as the PM, enough? He was even denied a ticket, by the then Congress President Mr. Sitaram Kesari, in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. I think there is no need to remind anyone as to whose orders Mr. Kesari was following.

It pains me to see that there hasn’t been any kinda memorial in his name yet in the capital. Whereas, someone like Sanjay Gandhi has a ghat in his name beside the ghat of the Mahatma!

It is not the issue abt any memorial or ghat, it simply tells us that the center is yet to recognize his contributions. What pains me more is the attitude of the State government of AP, where the Congress party is also in power. I mean, it is one thing that the center has neglected Mr. Rao, but the fact that the people of his own State are simply neglecting him is an insult to him.

The images of his half burnt body in the papers, the day after his funeral, are still fresh in my mind and to an extent still haunt me. To see an ex-PM being treated like this in his own country and worse in his own state is a lot to think about how things work over here

I think he wld have received better respect and recognition if there were different parties in power. Parties like the NDA and the TDP wld have definitely taken a better care of his death than the congress.

But one thing is for sure, whether his party or state recognizes his contributions or not, his place in the golden pages of Indian history is assured. He will always be remembered as one of the best PMs that India ever had.

P.S. : Click the title of this post for a related story.

The buck passes on…

Coming close on the heels of “Operation Durhyodhana”, “Operation Chakravyuh” carried out by Star News and another news-cum-investigative agency (Grt times for these agencies ha!) exposed seven (six, if u discount the ‘double’ by Chandra Pratap Singh of BJP) more members asking for kickbacks for sanctioning funds under MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).

Good lord! Our founders would have killed themselves if they were alive today.

So add 6 more to the “Hall of Shame” for this year…..no wait!....there seems to be 50 more, according to one Southern Daily, who were also caught on cam in the same matter.

So keep counting…..the fun continues!

Adios Leo…

For those who follow “The West Wing” avidly, like I do, the untimely passing of actor John Spencer, who plays vice-presidential candidate Leo McGarry, comes as a great shock. His portrayal, as a tough,shrewd and loyal White House chief of staff, really brought the needed intensity to a brilliant screenplay.

We will miss you John!

:-(

New links....

Been reading the musings of these two of late....

1) Shruthi

2) Ravi

...adding them to my links.

Hope they don't mind!

The fall continues…

Our politicians never cease to spring surprises upon us. They keep on vomiting out the same sh*t on us tht we’ve kinda accepted it as the ‘part & parcel’ of the whole “deal”- called a politician.

The brand new ‘cash for questions' scandal is one of those things that u kinda know happens in the legislative assemblies (wake up to the reality if u think other wise) but pray and hope tht at least the parliament is above all this. Apparently, it has been one of the worst kept secrets in New Delhi until now (damn….it really sucks to be an optimist sometimes).

The most troubling angle to all this is tht u kinda think that the normal culprits in these scandals would be the usual suspects, criminals turned netas, but most of the 11 MPs caught on cam were graduates! Boy….that’s a new thing….ha??!!

Well, kudos to the news media (a.k.a the 24 hr news channels) involved in this operation. For once they made a positive impact with their skills and resources. At last, they are emphasizing on issues that matter the most (whatever there objective might be). In a way, its gud to have numerous 24hr news channels competing for viewership ratings as they tend to focus on issues tht wld grab the attention of the public. Let us hope tht they wld keep the gud work going.

It is also upon us to shun the nature of compromising and accommodating the evil of corruption in our society.

Let us start by expelling these members out of parliament for life and initiating criminal proceedings against them. This shld serve as a warning to others who weren’t caught.

It always pays to learn from history and ones’ mistakes, else the ongoing fall of the system into the abyss wld continue unabated…

P.S: A link to a good editorial at the T.O.I.

Destination home!

Finally, after a year and half of being away from home came back to India this Sunday. Man am I glad to be bck or wht….

Had a 34+ hr long boring and tiresome journey to home with four connecting flights. (damn my budget…. and damn my agent….). Had it not been for the in-flight entertainment systems (which keep on repeating the same crap) and a dozen friends for company….i wld have surely gone crazy during the trip. A piece of advice from me for those who’d like to come to India…never take more than two connecting fights....it wldn’t be worth the few hundred bucks tht u might save.

I have a lot to say and ponder abt this trip….tht wld make it damn boring to read…so i have a better idea….I’ll summarize it for u….(in my own way ofcourse)...

• Why the hell do the people don’t follow the seat numbers on their tickets while traveling inside the U.S.?

• Why the hell does the in-flight food tastes so horrible?

• Why are the state carriers in the South Asia offer such crapy service?

• What’s with the dress code of the stewardess in the South Asian carriers? Is it necessary to ask them to wear sarees when they themselves feel uncomfortable and awkward in them?

• When are our airports going to change? ( the airport in HYD and to tht matter the Heathrow was in a horrible condition; whereas I was impressed by that of Colombo)

• Why the hell does our baggage always come in installments? ( I’m still missing two of my luggage….. :-( )


A lot of unanswered questions tht I have….. (Hmmm…did I sound a bit like master Yoda??!!!)

A (small) milestone for my thoughts in the virtual world!

It's been jst over an year since i started blogging at blogger.

Posted around 30 posts (excluding this one) up till now. Though i shld say tht it was only during the last two or three months tht i've posted a major chunk of those 30 posts.

Some of these posts were gud, some were ok and some...lets simply say bad.

Though i initially started off with topics tht moved me or touched me and which i thought deserved the right attention...i gradually spread my scope of blogs to some entertaining and trivial topics too. But my chief objective still remains the topics that do concern and matter .

Blogging at blogger broadened my perspective...Though i shld add 'along with the fact of me starting living in the US'...abt the things around me and tht were happening in the world. It gave me an insight into the thoughts of other people in the world...Sometimes abt the world and most of the times abt their lives. I was able to discuss and share my thoughts and opinions with people from around the world...which to say the least wld have been an incredibly impossible thing to do without the medium of blogs.

So...since i'm going to be going off for a month or so...i wld like to hear from u abt my thoughts and opinions.....of the last one year of my blogging.

Please share with me your views abt my blogs up till now....frank and scncere comments are always welcome!

Do also let me know which post of mine is the best of the lot and which is the worst...

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..............It's damn cold over here!!!!!!!!!!!!

The winter has started off with a bang over here in North Texas.

It's around -8 * C ( 18*F) right now and is expected to touch -11 * C by the morning of 'morrow .

Tht's crazy! 18 F in this part of the world??!!

Hmmm....we need to think abt the issue of global warming more seriously!

After one heck of a summer and a bsy hurricane season, the country is already experiencing a very harsh winter....Mr. President wake up !

Anyways...I'm lucky tht...I'd be off to India for a month this comin friday. ( Yahooooooooo........or.......goooggleeeee.....wht ever u'd like to call it) .

I'd be saved from the wrath of this cold for the better part of the winter this year.

Adios!!!!!!!!

...............well atleast for a week or two.....or maybe till jan 19th!

Rewriting history or telling the truth?

History doesn't always tell the complete story of an event. Especially, if that event occurred at a place where history is what the ruling elite make it to be.

In October of this year, I came across an article that really made me to think about how history is written. It made me wonder whether we always hear the truth in history or just the side of the story which the rulers then wanted their people to hear. I published this particular article then in my now defunct yahoo 360 page. Since this blog of mine has got a wider audience than my old blog....I'm reproducing it down here....Shamelessly....with some changes...

Today I came across a very interesting link that one of my friends sent me that dealt with the first recorded human flight. I'm re-producing a part of the article that was published in Deccan Herald , an English daily from southern India,two years back. It follows as below....

"Flying high Hundred years after Orville Wright's first flight, K R N SWAMY remembers Shivkur Bapuji Talpade, the Indian who flew an unmanned aircraft, eight years before Wright.Orville Wright demonstrated on December 17th 1903 that it was possible for a 'manned heavier than air machine to fly'. But, in 1895, eight years earlier, the Sanskrit scholar Shivkar Bapuji Talpade had designed a basic aircraft called Marutsakthi (meaning Power of Air) based on Vedic technology and had it take off unmanned before a large audience in the Chowpathy beach of Bombay. The importance of the Wright brothers lies in the fact, that it was a manned flight for a distance of 120 feet and Orville Wright became the first man to fly. But Talpade's unmanned aircraft flew to a height of 1500 feet before crashing down and the historian Evan Koshtka, has described Talpade as the first creator of an aircraft.

I'm providing the link for the remaining of the article over here... Shivkar Bapuji Talpade

I myself had done some googling over this topic and found some interesting results.( Google )

I'm not saying that all the content in these websites is true , but there can't be smoke without any fire right?