akv's blogs

Quote of the Day.

2008-12-07T11:46:00.002-05:00

"Years ago, a western diplomat wrote that Pakistan was the only country in the world that negotiates with a gun to its own head. Our argument, long familiar to aid donors, goes something like this: If you don’t give us what we need, the government will collapse and this might result in anarchy, and a takeover by Islamic militants. Left unstated here is the global risk these elements would pose as they would have access to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal."

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/mazdak/mazdak.htm
Column titled 'A very big deal' Dec 06, 2008.

Telling photos..

2008-11-28T16:44:00.001-05:00

Some you might have seen, some not - ALL haunting.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/mumbai_under_attack.html

This is the real face of terror..

Mumbai under attack..

2008-11-27T11:24:00.004-05:00

As the news channels keep playing endless news loops, it is getting impossible to get fresh information on what's going on in the 2 hotels and other places around.
Here's what I'm following:
- http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23Mumbai (Live blogging from people around Mumbai)
- http://www.rediff.com/ (Indian News Site - updates fairly regularly)
- http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/ (Blog)
- http://www.indiauncut.com/ (Blog)

Hoping that this hostage situation gets resolved quickly and every single perpetrator is brought to justice.

Today's Newspaper's front page.

2008-11-05T10:51:00.003-05:00

Here are some front pages of popular newspapers in the US.
New York Times:

Washington Post:

As a side note: maybe Palin' will wonder here and find out about all the fine newspapers we have in this country.

HE DID IT

2008-11-04T23:25:00.000-05:00

NOV 4 2008

2008-11-04T16:10:00.003-05:00

Okay - so here it is at last. Nov 4 2008. After almost 2 years of constant election news, views and analysis, we have finally arrived. Think about how many times in the last 2 years have we seen Barack Obama, on your TV, in Magazines, newspapers, on the computer. I have seen and heard him in these last 2 years more than my entire family in my whole life.. now add Hillary and John the Mac and all the other side kicks to the mix and that amounts to some serious time. Wow.
Anyway.. Last few weeks were specially entertaining. The Mac threw in Palin' in the ring (I bet her husband's name is Todd Paling - she just chucked the 'g' out - in her usual folksie fashion - that's why the ') and all of a sudden, Saturday Night Live became a must see. In fact it seems like it's on TV all nights of the week now. It's like having Superbowl every Sunday! Hopefully they will get back to their senses and only have a SNL on S.

So while we are witnessing history being written right before our eyes, let's not forget that when all is said and done, and Mr. Obama will be crowned in Jan, 2009, he will be having a herculean task before him. He will soon realize that getting elected to the highest office in the nation was the easy part. He will have much on his plate - the economy, not just the US economy, but the world economy; two wars that directly affect the US and a flagging health care system, a non existant immigration system, to name only the most important issues.
So good luck to him tonight. If there is anybody in this country who has earned a presidency - it has to be him.
And because everybody is in a predicting mood - Here's my prediction: Obama: 330-340. Subtract any number between 330 and 340 from 538 to get Mac's numbers. The Dems will also get to 59 in the senate and a gain of 28 seats in the house. Wow - I can claim to be a political junkie myself. Don't be surprised to see me on MSNBC in 2012 - bashing Palin' after the Rachel Maddow Show.

India Shoots for the Moon

2008-10-24T14:19:00.001-04:00

AP/Indian Space Research Organization

How'd they learn to do that?

The U.S. Congress needs a wake-up call. At the risk of our readers saying the laws of physics forbid any such possibility, we offer the following: On Wednesday India launched a space probe to the moon.

The Chandrayaan-I

The Chandrayaan-I blasted off about dawn from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. It is expected to reach lunar orbit by November 8. The probe, whose principal goal is to "conduct mineralogical and chemical mapping of the lunar service," carries five scientific payloads from India and others from NASA and the European Space Agency. With this achievement, India joins the U.S., Japan, Europe, Russia and China in the lunar club.

India deserves congratulations for the Chandrayaan-I, which attests further to that nation's remarkable strides as an economic and scientific power. That said, we cannot fail to draw attention to how this event bears on the continuing lunacy of Congress in limiting visa quotas for highly skilled immigrants.

American universities are filled with foreign students, not least from India, getting degrees in engineering and science. Many dearly wish to stay and work in the U.S. Instead, we basically kick them out after training them, owing to the Congressional limit of 65,000 H-1B visas, which are used up the day they are released in March.

The Labor Department believes that by 2014 some two million high-tech jobs will be available here. U.S. companies from Microsoft down to start-ups have begged Congress to give them access to this skilled labor pool. Congress won't budge, bowing to arguments that foreign techs displace jobs from U.S. citizens. That's not how labor markets work in a dynamic economy. Bill Gates has noted that an H-1B hire creates several additional hires, as tech teams expand.

The irony is hard to miss. India's recent progress is the result of paring back state suffocation of its economy. But the U.S., with Barack Obama's antitrade policies and the GOP's anti-immigrant policies, may be turning inward. Here's hoping India and China aren't going to the moon just as the U.S. is headed into the sunset.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122480526844364849.html

Heading towards depression?

2008-10-11T18:20:00.007-04:00

A 40 % drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Avg in a year (Oct 09, 2007 to Oct 09, 2008) is not something that happens every 5 years, it doesn't even happen once in 10 years. This has only happened twice before in the last 100 years! The last time the Dow lost more than 40% in a 12 months period was in 1973-1974. Of course, before that the Dow lost almost half its value in the 1932 depression.
So are we heading towards a depression? Here are some reasons I think that the stock markets are a poor indicator of the current state of the economy and that we are in a state of panic and fear rather than depression.
- The world economy is very interlinked now - more than it was in 1974 and definitely more than 1932. Even a slight chance/indication of an economy the size of the US will result in the financial gurus/experts/government officials to do anything and everything in their power to get this behemoth back on track.
- The government now is far more proactive and keen to avert a crisis like that. Far too much is at stake now. They will beg, borrow or steel (from China. UAE, Saudi Arabia and even India) to have some mobility in the financial wheels of this country. The US has knows what it feels to be a super power and to let that power slip from it's hands is unthinkable, unimaginable and frankly, impossible. You might as well say goodbye to the world as you know it if a 1932 like situation is to happen again.

So talks of depression - please.. in fact, there were signs that the stock market was looking to touch the bottom on Friday, Oct 10th. If that were to happen, here is an interesting piece of information/fact/history for you.
Below are the worst and best years of Dow in terms of percentage.

WORST
1 1931 -52.67
2 1907 -37.73
3 1930 -33.77
4 1920 -32.90
5 1937 -32.82
6 1914 -30.72
7 1974 -27.57
8 1903 -23.61
9 1932 -23.07
10 1917 -21.71

BEST
1 1915 81.66
2 1933 66.69
3 1928 48.22
4 1908 46.64
5 1954 43.96
6 1904 41.74
7 1935 38.53
8 1975 38.32
9 1905 38.20
10 1958 33.96

Do you see a pattern?
After dropping 31%in 1914, it gained 82% in 1915. After dropping 23% in 1932, it gained 67% in 1933, went up 38% in 1975 after dropping 27.60% in 1974 etc. As a matter of fact, we haven't seen a big gain like that since 1975. So the big question is - are we due one this/next year? I am willing to bet this will be the top most thought of traders in the coming weeks/months.
So what can you do? It is a common belief that it is very hard to catch a falling knife - and you can never predict when the knife is going to hit the floor (because you don't know where the floor is) so put is a fixed sum of amount in equities regularly, preferably once every week or 2 weeks. This is also known as dollar cost averaging

What a day!

2008-09-29T16:35:00.005-04:00

What a day this has been!! The US House of representatives voted down a $700 Billion Economic Stabilization Act (read 'US/World economy bailout bill). As a result, the US stock market dropped 7%. The dow dropped 777 points today to 10,365.45, the S & P dropped even more. This is no fun at all.
More interesting to follow is the Palin/Biden debate that is coming up. This hockey mom is sure making the elections colorful - to say the least.
Her performance on TV is, unfortunately, getting only partial coverage because of this sorry and sad state of the US economy. So - if you haven't seen this .. go ahead and click - you will feel much better..

OK.. now on to the economy... The republican leadership of this country are between a rock and a hard place. They will be damned if they approve of this bailout - and damned if they don't. It goes against the grain of their very principle, their ideology. The 'ownership society' is faltering - and they are to be blamed.
If I was asked the single reason for this implosion - the years of 1% fed interest rates under Greenspan. Somehow - everybody got the idea that it was okay to live beyond your means - and the government was encouraging it.

So after propping up the country's economy, and giving a false sense of security, the Bush administration is all set to go out with a wimp. Indeed, history is all set to judge him and the republican political machine as the most destructive this country has seen in its history. Pity, an entire generation is set to suffer because of the failed policies of one man.

Good luck, my love..

2008-09-26T17:35:00.000-04:00

Your grip is strong, your will is stronger,
You appear calm, at ease and smart,
Ready to face the challenges of life,
Well, almost.

In two weeks in this world,
You have seen a lot already.
The triumphs and tribulations,
The ups and downs, the wins and losses,
The good, the bad, and the ugly,
All make this world, and you.

Live long and be happy,
And remember, change is the only constant,
Darkness is sometimes good,
And bad, occasionally, is not all that bad.

Do good, be zestful, and passionate,
And you will succeed in this world and life.

We wish you all the best,
May you live long and shine like the sun.
May you give happiness to all,
Who are lucky to know and meet you.

I don't remember 1980 - and I will never forget 2008.

2008-08-11T10:43:00.004-04:00

It was a dream of mine to hear the 'Jana Gana Mana' and see the Tricolor go up in an Olympics. Thanks for fulfilling one of my dreams Abhinav Bindra.

I don't remember 1980 - and I will never forget 2008.
Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks a MILLION!!!!

Abhinav Bindra gets India's FIRST Individual Gold at ANY Olympics

2008-08-11T00:51:00.003-04:00

At 26, this young lad from Chandigarh/Delhi is already an Olympics veteran. This Olympics are his 3rd.
This is India's first gold medal after 1980 where they won the hockey gold in Moscow.
Last Olympics, India won a silver medal - in shooting.
Abhinav will be a living legend in India for the rest of his life and long after that. Congratulations.

Moving Too Fast to Drive 55

2008-07-17T08:08:00.003-04:00

This article in the NYT (or here)
describes how the idea of driving at 55 mph is catching speed in this country. A few days ago I heard/read somewhere that because a lot of people are already driving slower - number of fatal accidents on the highways have come down rapidly.
What will it take for most if not everyone to remove there foot off the gas pedal? A law? So be it.
Here is a chart of the optimum speed at which you get the maximum gas mileage for your vehicle.
There is also a website dedicated to driving at 55 mph! (www.drive55.org)

(Free*) Advice for Federal Reserve

2008-06-26T23:21:00.006-04:00

Yesterday the Federal Reserve voted to keep the interest rates at which banks lend money to each other (pretty much the mother of ALL interest rates, except may be the mortgage rate) unchanged at 2%. They also noted that inflationary forces are somewhat higher, whereas the winds of recession are waning. So - in effect, they did nothing - nothing except talking. Here's the more surprising part - I don't blame them for not doing anything - partly because they CANNOT DO ANYTHING. These are such extraordinary times that they don't know what has hit the economy - well OK - they know - but they are definitely not doing anything about it. For the rest of us - let me try to explain.

A. This downturn started because of the credit crisis that began in August of last year (remember the subprime mortgage meltdown - the Bear Stearns collapse - the billions banks wrote off) that resulting in millions losing their homes - and its effect on the housing market.

B. The reason for A. was all the cheap money (practically free) that was available from 2000 onwards - till they started raising interest rates again in 2005. Everyone who wanted to buy a home was able to obtain a loan - irrespective of their ability to pay them back (Countrywide got sued recently for that). However, as soon as the interest rates jumped - they were unable to pay back their home loans - once there were enough people doing this - the mortgage industry, and by association, the housing and financial industry went bust. But I digress - there is enough juice in this saga to inspire a few PhD theses.

C. Because of A. and B. the economy as a whole began to tumble. The stock markets, the hedge funds, the whole deal. This caused a panic in the hedge funds and the pension funds industry as they were unable to make money for their millionaire investors. So they turned to oil!. And the rest, as they say, is history.

D. More and more money flowed into the oil industry, sucking the US stock market dry. This had an adverse effect on the US and the world economy as a whole.

E. Oil has reached 140 dollars a barrel and has threatened to destroy (if not already destroyed) the fabric of our economy and in some ways, our way of life. Every thing that we depend upon for our day to day living is, in one way or the other, dependent on oil. THIS IS THE CAUSE OF THE INFLATIONARY FORCES THE FEDS ARE NOTICING. Not the usual, cyclical inflation the economy observes when there has been a period of modest growth, low unemployment, strong currency! The high price of oil has caused the price of food to go up (high cost of corn because of ethanol), high cost of transportation, of course, high cost of air travel, high cost of heating/energy etc.

So here is my advice:
- lower the interest rate so the economy gets going
- lobby congress to legislate tighter regulation of the futures market where speculators are making millions if not billions because of high oil prices.

Once the price of oil comes down, the charm of high return from the futures market will dissipate forcing the hedge funds, banks and investors to re-examine the US and world stock market. More money will flow in the stock market - with higher market cap, companies will be more confident to innovate, spend on R&D - the whole economy prospers.

* I doubt they have money left over after they filled up their tank!

How oil can be back to where it was 12 months ago - PART II.

2008-06-24T01:34:00.004-04:00

Part I of this post described the problem of why the price of crude oil is touching 140 dollars a barrel where only a year ago, the price was hovering around the 60 - 70 dollar mark. This post will discuss different ways we can be in the vicinity of the 75 dollar mark instead of the 150 dollar mark.

A) US Dollar makes a comeback - we have seen that happening already. The Federal Reserve has been working hard on making sure that the USD regains its lost value. It has been helped by the recent statements from the EU bank when it said that they are not going to raise interest rates in the coming future to deal with the rising inflation.

B) Congress acts on the opacity of the futures market and the illegal practices being carried out behind the black curtain. This will have the biggest impact of all. A signal from the US congress that it will close all loopholes and only let market forces dictate the price of commodities will cast the biggest shadow over the oil markets.

C) Drastic cut-down in the demand of oil - this is the most unlikely of options. Thousands of commercial airliners have to keep flying - Gas is still subsidized in India and China. The US is not designed for mass transit and foot traffic.

Once oil price per barrel starts to drop $3-$4 per day, more and more traders will try to sell to make any profit at all on oil.

These are good way to cut down the price of oil - thereby creating a lesser demand in the futures market - forcing traders to short their oil commodity holdings. Once that bear mentality sets in the traders, more and more will start selling in order to make any profit. This will result in a big domino effect whereby every index fund manager and hedge fund manager will sell their commodities assets (remember the dot com crash of 2001-02?). The result of this crash in oil price will be seen on the pump withing 1 week. Another huge impact of this crash will be on the world stock market. Money will flow into the stock market instead of going to the commodities black hole.

How oil can be back to where it was 12 months ago - PART I.

2008-06-22T15:27:00.006-04:00

George W. Bush would have you believe that oil is where it is because India and China are using more of it (he did that for food!!) - as if they've just started using twice the number of cars in just the last 12 months! Their economy is growing pretty fast - but not that fast. There is only one reason why oil is at 140 dollars a barrel - people are buying oil on the mercantile exchange as you and me would buy the stock of yahoo on Nasdaq. They are betting that the price of oil would go up next week - and when it does, they make a huge profit.

Here is a simple FAQ on how speculation drives up the cost of crude oil (arguably the most important commodity that is traded in the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and its sister exchanges)

Q) So how does it all work?
A) Oil futures are traded in the 2 main exchanges - The New York Mercantile Ex (NYMEX) and the InterContinental Ex (ICE) in London.

The way these futures markets are supposed to work, is that both the producers (sellers of futures contracts) and end users (physical buyers of the commodity), have a market place to negotiate market prices in the future, to take some of the risk out of fluctuating daily market prices.
However, there is one more player in the game, the speculator. The speculators role is to keep the market liquid by betting on the price going either up or down of any given commodity on any given day or future day.
Speculators can make huge gains or losses in the futures market because the futures contracts are leveraged. Speculators control the value of the contract purchased with only a fraction of the money out of pocket.

Now that you have the basics, heres how the price get manipulated:
It's called cornering the market. Cornering the market has a long and checkered history. There are many techniques a group of speculators can use use if they buy up a majority of the open interest in the outstanding contracts in one commodity. By simply owning most of the contracts, the speculators refuse to sell until they can receive a much higher price.

(source: oil speculation - how does it work?)
Have some time on your hand? Read 'The Economic Purpose of Futures Markets and How They Work'.

Q) Who are these 'Speculators'?
A) These are no ordinary Joes. They are huge investment banks that owns hedge funds and pension funds. Banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley etc. They are neither producing oil nor the end users - they just invest their big investment dollars in the hope that a (well predicted) change in price will result in huge profit.

Q) Why speculate on oil?
A) Since the US economy is slowing down (if not in recession already) resulting in a poor ROI in the stock market, the crash of the real estate market, the falling US dollar, the hedge funds and the pension funds are finding it hard to make money for their millionaire customers. That's where futures trading in crude oil comes in. They can, very safely - one can say, bet that the price of oil is on the up - for some time to come. Their reasoning is not entirely flawed. After all, the entire world runs on oil and the demand of oil is going up - while the supply is always under a huge question mark (stability in Iraq, confrontation with Iran, unstable Nigeria, new flexing of muscle of Russia, growing power of Venezuela etc etc etc), the demand is not going to go down any time soon (think China, India, F-150s, Toyota Sequoias, Tata Nanos). In short - its a low risk, high return investment.
I doubt there is any other commodity in the market that would give them a 100% profit in 12 months.

Q) Shouldn't the futures market reflect the fundamental law of supply and demand?
A) Of course they should. The futures markets were created to let users of commodities 'lock in' the price of the future today. For ex. airlines and home heating oil companies locking in the future price of oil today. The speculators, however, create a false sense of over-demand driving the price higher.

Q) How about regulation?
A) Good question. Shouldn't all this be regulated? After all - this is a good case of for regulation - right? Actually - there is a regulatory authority - it is known as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). They were created by the congress to make sure that the laws of supply and demand are met by the futures market. This is all well and good as long as the trading is done in the US. Th crude oil futures (that have an impact on the price in the US oil) are also traded in ICE as mentioned above. These trades are not regulated by the CFTC - thereby allowing manipulative practices and excessive speculation. BTW - it was the Bush administration that gave ICE the permission to trade US crude oil futures (Big Surprise!!) (source: this article from author F. William Engdahl)

Q) So who is making all this money?
A) 2 words for that - Hedge funds. Actually - no one really knows. The opacity of this whole deal is phenomenal. The information about who is buying the options at ICE and who is involved in this mess is protected by European laws.

Q) Isn't OPEC in control.
A) In one word - NO. It's out of their hands - and into the hands of hedge fund and pension fund manager sitting in an office on the Wall Street.

Q) What about the developing economies?
A) Oh - they are just a convenient, easy to understand people to blame - nothing more. As I wrote above - their economy is growing - but at a decent rate of 7-8% Not 70-80% per year as some would have you believe.

So here is the trillion dollar question? How does the price of oil come down?
That will be covered in Part II of this most important topic.

RIP Tim

2008-06-13T16:06:00.002-04:00

This is very sad indeed. His was the clearest and cleanest analysis on TV. Such an iconic figure - he was never afraid to ask the hardest, most relevant question to anyone sitting across from him. He will be missed on Sundays, and every day of the weeks, months and years for a long long time to come.

Drive slow = save environment+save gas+save money+save lives+less noise

2008-06-11T00:59:00.005-04:00

Yes that's right. Also right is the fact that the average price of a gallon of petrol has officially touched the $4 mark (add 40c to California price) - so do your math and figure if reaching 5 minutes early is really worth it - especially now?

Just refer to this wonderful analysis below and you will achieve all that I have promise in the title of this post!

Quote of the day

2008-06-10T10:10:00.001-04:00

“Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it”.
Mahatma Gandhi

'Creative' Recession Buster Sale

2008-06-09T23:30:00.001-04:00

As the US economy is grappling with (the possibility of) a recession consumer electronics companies have devised novel ways of selling their merchandise.

C'mon guys - lets bust this recession one headphone, one mp3 player at a time!

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2008-05-21T13:31:00.002-04:00

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure -- right from Day One! -- that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.......

DR. PHIL:
The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must
first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes
after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is
help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT'
problems before adding 'NEW' problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he
wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn
from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to
give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and
not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to
know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is
either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image
of the chicken crossing the road...

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been
allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it!
It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's
intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his
eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART:
No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a
standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price
dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider
information.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the
chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

JERRY FALWELL:
Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth?'
That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken
is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we
boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal
media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side.
That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as
simple as that.

GRANDPA:
In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told
us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS:
Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the
chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it
experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its
life long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but
will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check
book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new
platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% .........
reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the
chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of
chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY:
Where's my gun?

AL SHARPTON:
Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

Have your own reason why did the poor chicken cross the road? Drop a note.

It aint over till it's over - well it's over.

2008-05-19T17:33:00.004-04:00

“If we had same rules as the Republicans, I would be the nominee right now,” she said.

…and if grandma was male, she’d be grandpa.

if Obama had never been born, Hillary would be the nominee right now. It’s a fair point.

If I had been born to a lawyer rather than an Air Force enlisted man, I might have gone to an Ivy League school instead of a state university in my adulthood.

If I hadn’t gotten married and had a child so young, I might be a CEO somewhere…. or not.

Some very funny, insightful and entertaining comments here:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/clinton-this-is-nowhere-near-over/

Email from Indian Railways Online Ticket booking service

2008-05-16T00:27:00.003-04:00

The following is an email my brother received a few days back. I am thoroughly impressed with this level of service.
----------------------------------------
From: care@irctc.co.in
To: ********@hotmail.com
Subject: Email From IRCTC
Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 04:27:13 +0530

Dear Customer,

Thank you for using IRCTC's online rail ticket booking services.
From 1st April?08 Railway has revised the passenger fares. As you have booked tickets prior to 1st-April?08 an amount of Rs.31.00 towards the difference of fare for the ticket booked vide PNR No 2346***863 has been issued to electronic payment gateway on 04/30/2008 08:09:28 PM. Same shall appear in your account within two to three working days. You are requested to please check with your credit card issuing banks regarding the same. We regret the delay if any, in crediting back the refunds.
We solicit your continued patronage to our services,
Warm Regards,
care@irctc
----------------------------------

Absolutely fabulous. Next they should
1. Increase the overall safety of train travel by improving the technology they use to run them (signaling, hardware, communications etc)
2. Improve the level of security and general ambiance on the railway station (cleanliness, hygiene and better policing).
3. Have better communication ON the train - things like - 'The next station is blah blah' in a local language and English.
4. All trains should have automatic doors that are opened by a conductor or the driver when the train arrives at a station or leaves a station.

Little things that go a loooooong way in making train travel a lot more safer and palatable for all strata of the society.
Got more suggestions? Drop a comment. Maybe I will send Lalu a congratulatory note. :)

My Reasons..

2008-05-08T01:09:00.003-04:00

It seems that now everyone has a reason not to like Hillary - here are mine:
- Her convenient invention of the Bosnia Sniper fire.
- Her crazy gas tax idea - even she doesn't believe in it. It just sounds like a good gimmick to throw out to her illiterate base.
- Her portrayal that somehow she deserves this nomination and then the presidency. She comes across as though the country owes it to her. Well even if she becomes the President - I dislike her just for patronizing the general public. No one is born to get the biggest prize - you gotta go and get it. Oh - and Bush is different.
- Her fear mongering tactics - the 3 AM AD, the Osama AD. Its just plain wrong. She proved that she is no better than the republicans. Really - terribly poor taste.
- Her speeches. They are just plane and ordinary: "I had so fun with him and enjoyed doing that". Contrast that with Obama's fiery oratory after the NC/Indiana primary and you will know what I am talking about.

"I love this country too much to see it divided and distracted at this critical moment in history. I believe in our ability to perfect this nation because it's the only reason I'm standing here today. I know the promise of America because I've lived it...it is the light of opportunity that led my father across an ocean, it's the founding ideals that the flag draped over my father's coffin stand for. It's life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In this country justice can be won against the greatest odds...and when we are told that we can not bring about the change that we seek, we answer in one voice: Yes we can!"
And
"The attempts to play on our fears and exploit our differences, to turn us against each other for political gain, to slice and dice this country into red states and blue states, blue collar and white collar, white, black, brown, young, old, rich, poor ... this is the race we expect, no matter whether it's myself or Senator Clinton who is the nominee. The question then is not what kind of campaign they will run; it's what kind of campaign we will run."
You gotta look at the whole thing to appreciate it more:

Know your Shi*

2008-04-18T10:45:00.001-04:00

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said,
'Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.'
The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?' and he smiles.
'OK, ' she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff -grass - . Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?'
The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.'
To which the little girl replies, 'Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?

Btw, you don't blog anymore. Why?

2008-04-16T09:21:00.003-04:00

One simple question - a not so simple answer! So - instead of trying to answer you, my friend, I will do start blogging again.
So - tune in to akvblogs.blogspot.com at the usual time my friends. I have news to share, photos to show, politics to discuss - my usual banter.

Different moods..

2007-12-04T00:34:00.000-05:00

Here is a light hearted comparison..

We've always conjured that maybe - just MAYBE the chimp will give a better press conference, run the country a bit better, etc etc, but now - here (or here, if the link does not work) is the real stuff - solid proof that it is only a matter of testing the two together and its quite possible that the underdog might come out on top - now that's not a fair statement - is it? It really depends who you think the underdog really is!

Photo of the day

2007-11-25T09:31:00.001-05:00

Somebody save the poor dog!!

Rudy Giuliani was in New Hampshire yesterday.

Happy Thangsgiving folks

2007-11-23T10:23:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is one American holiday I really like. It's all about the good stuff. Food, friends, family, friends of family and family of friends. No presents, no decorations, no cards - it's just about having a good time.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Use a 17 cent disposable razor for over a year!

2007-11-17T10:08:00.000-05:00

I saw this on lifehacker the other day - I was simply surprised that what I do every day (or every other day) is actually going to be featured in the Chicago Tribune.
Here is the tip in 1 line: TO MAXIMIZE THE LIFE OF YOUR RAZOR BLADE, DRY IT AFTER SHAVING USING A TOWEL OR PAPER - OR SIMPLY SHAKE IT DRY.

Have other tips? Share it.

Photo of the Day

2007-11-13T23:35:00.000-05:00

The demonstrations in Pakistan are not to be ignored. How can you ignore them anyway? There are 5 cameras in this photo. 6 if you count the one taking this shot. One wonders if they would shout as much or even get arrested if there were no cameras. We've all seen those video clips when people are shoving to get in the camera frame - many a times - finding it difficult to wipe off that smirk from their faces, sometimes even when they are getting the lathi on their heads. Even when Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto came back to the country and was offering prayers at a religious place, people were shoving each other, even with their hands raised in prayer. It's not funny at all.
By the way, isn't she loving every moment of this circus?

What's the difference?

2007-11-05T08:06:00.001-05:00

Vs

Both places (Burma and Pakistan)
-have NO democracy,
-have military at the helm of political affairs,
-have the military crushing popular uprisings.

Then why do western nations favoring one (U.S. Is Likely to Continue Aid to Pakistan (or click here if link does not work))
and put sanctions and condemn the other?

Flying back home on a clear evening

2007-11-01T20:50:00.000-04:00

Last night, I returned from Atlanta after attending a conference. It was a nice evening and the sky was clear when my Delta 747 descended from 30,000 feet. The sun had set and we could see the beautiful orange colors on the horizon. As soon as the plane did a turn and tilted a little, I could see the numerous lights - both moving and stationary. The towns and cities below me were alive and moving. What I thought I would see - or rather expected I would see, was just a faint light at the horizon and then darkness on the ground, as the deep dark woods devoured whatever light there was , and a few reflections of the waning evening in pools of water here and there. This was what my mind was trained to expect while flying down from the skies into the Raleigh - Durham International airport, or RDU. The airport is small, the parking is cheap and the roads are friendlier - and without any tolls.
This was my first time flying after moving into the Boston area. For 3 and a half days car parking, I paid $84 - and my home was another 45 minutes drive away.

But it sure felt much better as soon as I told my GPS to take me home!

The woods were lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Bobby (Piyush) Jindal, Governor, Louisiana (2007 - ? )

2007-10-25T09:24:00.000-04:00

Yes - that's right, Piyush Jindal was elected governor of one of the most backward/poor/conservative states in the USA (trust me - I have lived in Louisiana). He is merely 36 year old, married to Supriya and has 3 kids. He can trace his ancestry to Punjab, India.

Maybe, the US is ready for an African American or a woman president. I would prefer the former. What do you think?

"it is not the end of life"

2007-10-22T15:14:00.000-04:00

After declaring that the nuclear deal is needed for the forward movement of India and calling those opposing the deal “enemies of development and peace”, the government in India became just that - enemies of development and peace.

Clearly, the lure of power had won over the need to pursue the deal which, according to the PM and Madame Gandhi, was in the national interest.

The prime minister even went ahead and uttered these unfortunate words:

"I do attach importance to seeing this deal through, but if the deal is not through, it is not the end of life"

Sure, it is not the end of life. Life would also not end if you, Mr. PM would have stood by your words and resigned in protest. Life would not have ended if you had not been attracted to the lure of power. Life would definitely not end if you stopped licking Madame's shoes and adhered to some principles and had the good of India on your mind. Shame on you Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Communist Karat and all those who are not a part of the solution. They can only stand in the way of any solution.

The War

2007-10-14T17:43:00.000-04:00

No not the one in Iraq - the one on PBS, describing the World at War (1941 - 1945). It's an interesting recount of the times from the perspective of 4 regular towns in the USA and their people. It's a history lesson, a reminder of what people are capable of doing - both good and bad - and what price everybody paid - in every corner of the world. The documentary, of course, focused on the war on the ground in Europe and North Africa and Philippines and the other islands in the Pacific ocean, it mentions little about all the British Colonies that were a part of the war in one way or the other - and for obvious reasons.
While I was watching it, I couldn't help but wonder the sentiments of people in India during the war, which side were they really on, being occupied themselves by the British and were they looking forward to the Japanese advances from the east? One person who tried to use the war to India's advantage was Subhash Chandra Bose. I also remember vividly my father talking, somewhat highly about general Rommel and the Kamikaze pilots. Of course, Churchill and his caustic tongue was of no comfort to India ('I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion' and 'India will fall back quite rapidly through the centuries into the barbarism and privations of the Middle Ages' if the British left India).

Our early knowledge about the war as children came from Reader's Digest books, one of them, World at War, in Pictures (or something like that). It had vivid photographs of the Pearl Harbor attacks, the death march, etc. This little knowledge was way more than others of my age.

Sunset from Cadillac Mountain, Maine

2007-10-08T01:13:00.001-04:00

6:18:42 PM

6:21:11 PM

6:24:16 PM

Photos taken on Sept 30, 2007.

New England Patriots Vs Buffalo Bills - my epinion.

2007-09-28T01:08:00.000-04:00

Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
When: Sunday, Sept 23rd, 2007, 1:00 PM.
What: NFL Preliminary Round.
Why: Why Not?

The Gillette Stadium

It was a beautiful day for the game. We wanted to get there early as we had little knowledge and information about how to get to the stadium, where to park and even if we would be allowed a camera. A week or two earlier, there had been an instance of video taping the opposition coach at the instance of Patriot's coach Belichick (which is illegal in NFL) - so we weren't sure.

Another reason to get there earlier was to make it in time to the Tailgate party we were invited to go as well. That started 10:30 AM. Yes - you got that right - Invited. Lets not get into the how and why of that.

Anyway - we got in the vicinity of the stadium at about 11:00AM. We knew that parking our vehicle around the stadium would be costly ($40.00 for 3-4 hours!). We started looking for private lots that were about half a mile away from the stadium - and hence slightly more reasonable. Another reason to park as far away from the stadium is that it would almost always be easier to get out of the area when the game ends. We got the first parking available for $25.00. It was offered by local businesses that operate from around the stadium there.

After walking to the stadium in perfect weather, we looked for the Dana-Farber house. This is where our cocktail and lunch (IOW, the 'Tailgate Party') was being served. We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food and the drinks available at the party.

There were thousands of car in the parking lot enjoying the real tailgate party. Bar-B-Que, grills, radios, TVs (some portable, some not), footballs and of course, beer - it was some atmosphere.

Promptly at 1:00PM, the game started with the National Anthem. Right after the anthem got over, 2 F-16s flew over the entire stadium filling the stadium with a deafening sound.

The game itself was not a nail-biter.. the results were almost expected - a TV commenter had said previously that he was not sure why the Bills came to Patriots territory - to see the fall colors - but it was too early for that.

During half time, I ventured to the rest room. To my surprise, they were pretty clean and tidy - despite thousands in attendance. The food was the same expected stuff.. HotDogs, Pizza, Popcorn, there was even a McDonald's - but don't expect to pay less than 2-3 times for anything. Bad luck if you want a bottle of water while in the stadium. A half liter (or was it less?) left you with $6 less in your pocket. You might as well have a Bud for $7.50!

We tried beating the crowd out of a full house of a stadium - in case you are not aware, the stadium can handle a crowd of almost 65,000 people. We got out of our box 5 min into the last quarter. Unfortunately - we had parked at the other end of the stadium - so we had to walk a good 2-3 miles just to get to the right exit - yes the stadium is that big.

And we were allowed to take the camera - in actuality, we never asked and just walked in with it. They frisked everyone before you can enter the humongous structure.

Overall - it was a fabulous experience - even if you had taken the cheerleaders out of the equation.
Of course, the Patriots wiped out the Buffalo Bills 37-8.

Here is the slideshow of some of the photos..

India - Twenty20 World Cup Winners!

2007-09-24T23:08:00.000-04:00

I must admit, I was unaware of the fact there was even a Cricket world cup going on up until the game in which India played Pakistan in the preliminary round. Twenty20 was not a big thing in India. I was even surprised to hear that in South Africa, the first twenty20 game was played almost 6-7 years ago!

Anyway - I did not realize that was this a big deal till the semifinals.. I know I know - I am slow - but I am slow.

Twenty20 or fifty50 - who cares - as long as India keeps beating Pakistan in the game, specially if its a world cup. I have started to believe that win or lose anywhere else, come World Cup time - India is ALWAYS going to spank Pakistan any place, any time. It's the power of belief, the confidence of winning, the taste of victory, call what you may.

Any win over Pakistan is sweet - but all the more sweeter if it some sort of a World Cup game.

It will be interesting to observe how the shorter game (twenty20) will impact the 50-50 overs a side, commonly known as the One Day International version of the game. Suddenly, waiting for a result for 8-9 hours sound like an insanity.

New York Times ends TimesSelect

2007-09-17T23:37:00.000-04:00

Good News New York Times readers. Since they started this TimesSelect, I have stopped reading Friedman and Dowd. I could have scoured the net looking for blogs that cut and paste from NYT, but that just became a wee bit more painful each time I had to do it. Anyway - from Sept 19th, they are getting rid of this bad experiment. Bye Bye

Bring Back the Prince

2007-09-15T12:34:00.000-04:00

Neither Tendulkar wants his batting to suffer because of being the Captain, nor Dravid, that leaves with only one person in the national Indian Cricket team who doesn't mind that his batting suffers while he is the Captain - yes you've guessed it - Sourav Ganguly. BRING HIM BACK.
Under his captaincy, India went all the way to the finals of the world cup in 2003. The Australian team had a real problem at hand while he was the Captain - there was somebody out there who could speak and understand their language.
In today's tough times - we need and deserve a captain with a 'thumb on your nose' attitude who knows how to keep a team together. Who cares if his batting average falls from the 50s to the 20s...or even lower (??)

Roger Federer gets 2.2 million for 2 weeks of .. play.

2007-09-09T20:06:00.001-04:00

2.2 Million USD!! That's just insane. Oh and yes, the latest and greatest Lexus as a bonus.

I know he deserves a lot - but I doubt he ever thought that he will have to worry about where to put this loose change.

Just goes to prove that there is enough and more for people who like what they are doing and who do it well.

Niagara Falls..

2007-09-08T13:15:00.000-04:00

At last - we have seen the falls.
For decades, it has been the foremost thing to see and admire - at least for people from India! Yes - I want to single them out here. It almost felt like we were in India to see a natural wonder in an Indian city. The buses were 90% occupied by Indians, the Niagara Falls National Park was almost all Indian. I guess the Niagara Falls is like the Taj Mahal in India. You just gotta see it!! Anyway - it took me 8 years to check it out - and I am glad I did it.

We took a great boat ride all the way to the foot of the falls.. and the falls looked absolutely gorgeous in the night!

Here are some more photos..

As my sister points out - there is some mention of Canada in all (or most) of my photos and she wondered if the grass was greener on the other side.. well .. if you are talking about Niagara, the grass is most definitely greener on the other (Canadian) side! We did not venture on that side of the world as there would have been immigration consequences - but do intend to check out the view from Canada one day.

Communists in India see RED

2007-08-24T00:15:00.000-04:00

When Prakash Karat wakes up every morning, his main agenda for the day is simple, focused and straightforward: How to create road blocks and throw spanners in the juggernaut of Indian democracy. It's because of people like him and the politics he represent, India is lamenting the fact that she is a democracy where EVERY ONE has a voice - no matter if it is one that is shouting to cut Mother India's arm and legs and then sell the torso in the fish market.
Communism has a wierd history in India. They are broadly divided in 2 catagories - ones that are mainstream and participate in electoral politics and ones that are involved in armed uprising and are deemed terrorists in India. This writup deals with the ones the citizens of India elect as their leaders and representatives. We will leave the other kind to be dealt with appropriately by the Indian law and order machinery.

As you can see in this figure, the communists are kingmakers in the Indian parliament. The communists have an idealist agenda and are increasingly isolated in a forward looking India. Dare I say, that sometimes they come out as even more communists than the ones found in China and the USSR. Even China has learnt to change their idealogy to adapt to a changing world environment.
A curious fact about this is that India is the only country that ELECTS communists to the parliament in a free and fare elections. So whatever I say here, some would say that we deserve it.

The communists claim that they have the best of India at heart and they lookout for anything that could be detrimental to India's national security and so on and so forth. A deeper look into their dealings give a different picture. A revealing article here details how the fathers of Indian communism movement used to take orders from their masters in China and the earstwhile USSR. In fact, it hasn't been even a few months when the Indian communist leaders could not decide how to respond to China's claim over Arunachal Pradesh. Of course, the communists still don't condemn the 1962 Chinese aggression over India*.

Now to this nuclear deal with the US. Of course, the communists will use whatever they have in their arsenal to shoot this bird down. After all, capitalist US is an anathema to the communists. A joint partnership with the US will mean the death knell for the only elected communists in the world.
As Times (UK) points out "Who would have thought, in a deal that gives India too much while asking for too few safeguards in return, that the greatest opposition would come from within India itself?"

With Friends Like You, Who Needs Enemies?

--
*Want to read more about the various stances the communists of India have taken over the years, read here.

Down Memory Lane

2007-07-23T01:09:00.000-04:00

Feb 05, 1999

Its summer, and to avid followers of Cricket, that only means England Vs somebody at the Lords. Playing cricket at Lords, the Mecca of cricket, is like spending a moonlit night with your lover on the lawns of the Taj Mahal. For those who cannot play, but simply witness the game is like watching the movie 'Taj Mahal'. For those who cannot see the game but know that there is a game going on at Lords, its like knowing that the Taj exists.

Anyway - that somebody, these days is India. So you see - a half a billion people have their eyes pinned on Lords.

But this photo has nothing to do with Lords. This is a photo taken at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Feb 05, 1999. SCG can be called the Lords of Australia (with permission from MCG fans). Australia was playing England in a day/night encounter - and I happened to see that game, with Brad and one of his friends. The finals of the triangular tourney was a don deal by the time this preliminary game was to be played - but hey - we didn't know that when we bought the tickets and neither did the other 30,000 odd people who came to see the game. It almost felt like there was only about a 30% interest in the game itself - the other 70% was distributed like this: 40% beer, 10% Mexican waves, and the rest in shouting Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. It was a great day - overall. Sri lanka was the other team in the competition - and so people safely assumed that I was from Sri Lanka. So that added to a lot of fun and taunting.

It was one of those days that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Oh - and thanks Brad for the photos and the great time.

India elects a new President

2007-07-21T17:06:00.001-04:00

It can be safely said now - that no matter how currupt you are, no matter if skeletons keep popping out of your closets, you can even become the president of the largest democracy on earth if you can pull the right strings and know the right people.

If this is not a sham - I dont know what is. Had there been a popular vote, Dr. Abdul Kalam would have won hands down - but that's not how the president of India is elected. S/he is elected by the elected member of parliament (both state and federal). In these times when most governments in India are coalition with plenty of give and take and grand bargains, the role of the president becomes important as s/he is the person inviting head of various parties to form the government. In that case, it would have been imprudent to keep Dr. Kalam, a rocket scientist and a well reputed man, but favored by the opposition in today's government.

So in comes Mrs Pratibha Patil. Her only qualification - she has been a loyal poodle to the Congress party - the party in power, for well over 40 years. (In hindi we would call her a chamcha - चमचा ) . She has a number of corruption and even criminal cases against her - but who gives a damn about that in India.

The only bright spot - she is a woman - well - that's great PR all over the world. How many women presidents are there in the world?
Now the USA should follow what India has achieved - if you ask me though, that's highly unlikely. I would not put my money on that bet.
--
Read more: BBC Link

Parents spend time with us

2007-07-08T11:02:00.000-04:00

My Parents were in town for a little more than 2 weeks. While it was a short trip, we had a great time together. Old times, old tales, talk of family and friends, wine and Jim Beam were on tap. We visited Boston a couple of times and a last minute white mountain trip as well. Both my parents were keen on seeing Harvard and MIT (Its a desi thing - as a friend points out).

While they were here - there was plenty of drama on the immigration front. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) rose from the dead - and died again. The department of state (DOS) and the US Custom and Immigration Services (USCIS) joked with thousands if not millions of legal residents in this country. A comprhensive series on the events in cronological order can be read at my brother's blog (1, 2 and 3). After the drama, the words 'current' and 'retrogressed' have taken on a whole new meaning for me. Acronyms like PD, AOS, ROW, EB, GC, RFE, VB, AP, EAD etc have become like living objects controlling the lives and livlihoods of millions of people. Still oblivious of those shortforms? Good for you. May you never have the need to know anything about them.

Here are some photos from my parent's visit.

Enjoy.

Amma_Papa_2007

Only in India

2007-06-09T16:39:00.000-04:00

Would a bunch of people ask to be relegated in the social ladder (Read background here or here) (I promise I did not read the article before writing this :-) ). This is a sure sign that the 'Reservation or Quota' system, the equivalent to a government imposed, regulated and enforced affirmative action system is *NOT* working in India.

Here is one of the MAIN problem with the quota system that India currently has:
When the reservations were made, there was never a clause that discussed how and when these quotas would be rolled back in the future - once they achieved what they were expected to achieve. With an open ended legislation, motivated by the politics of vote, the regression of the Indian masses was bound to happen. Even water flows through the easiest path.

Without a system that was based on the economic (and other) condition of a person, the system was based on a class system, a caste system. A system that we are suppose to root out. But instead, with the sole motivation of gaining votes of a certain section of the society, the wheels of democracy has once again taken India backwards.

Delhi Metro

2007-06-05T23:52:00.000-04:00

For a looong time, I wanted to write a bit about this phenomena - bringing about a change in the whole environment of Delhi.

With the Commonwealth Games in 2010 a very real deadline, the Delhi Metro has been moving at a steady pace to bring about a real change in the mentality of Delhiites and the whole of India.

Recently I have been reading about the metro for its energy savings, economic savings and last but not the least, saving human lives.

(click on the maps for larger images)

Till date, it has saved 33,000 tonnes of fuel, 280 lives - er - human lives, about Rs. 400 cr when combined. In addition, it has prevented about 2,276 tonnes of poisonous gases from being released in the environment (as a result of less vehicles on the road, a total of 17,00,000 vehicle kms). The summary can also be read here or here.

Other facts (as of June 2007):
Total number of trains - 64
Total Kms of track - 65
daily number of commuters - 5,50,000
Number of stations - 59

For more information - go here.

Pirating away.. A review of sorts..

2007-05-29T00:24:00.000-04:00

Watched Pirates of the Caribbean, at world's end. You know that a movie is low on juice when you depend on the pop corn to provide some flavor. It was 168 minutes long and our mutual assessment concluded that they could have used the scissors to chop about 15-20 minutes of .. the nothingness the movie possessed.

We even saw the second Pirates movie just to make sure we are not completely lost in the plot. Turns out no matter what you did, you would have been lost.

Excepting the last war scene, and the look on Cutler Beckett's face, and a few other scenes - such as the one with the black pearl moving on sand by riding on the crabs and the black pearl entering the icy arctic ocean (or something similar) and a few others, most of the movie was at best average.

Most funny: Capt. Sparrow - Nobody move, I've dropped my brain.

Bottom line: Put in more Sparrow, on Rum.

Rating: 6/10

4 Reasons why the Market is doing so well and the Economy is Not

2007-05-05T19:18:00.000-04:00

The Dow is well into the 13,000s, the S&P is also in uncharted territory. On the other hand, the housing market is in its own uncharted territory with foreclosures at an all time high, number of payroll jobs added in April well below past numbers and the rate of growth, overall, of the US economy at mere 1.5 % for the first quarter of 07. So what could some of the reasons be why the market is doing so well...

a) With the housing market not very attractive for investors, people are investing more in the stoch market. Hence more money in the stock market, more demand, higher the price of the stocks.

b) The multinationals are doing very well in other countries such as China and India. They are shielded from how the US economy fares, hence a downturn in the US economy does not affect the bottom line of these companies - thus the stock prices remain steady.

c) Stock buybacks from big companies as they have large stockpiles of cash. This allows their stock to go north. The execs at these companies benefit from a higher stock whereas the economy as a whole suffers as that money is not spent in R&D, thereby not allowing for the 'next big thing' to drive the economy.

d) Stock predict the future. It might very well be that the economy numbers are an indicator of the past, like driving forward by keeping your eyes on the rear view mirror, as NPR's Marketplace host puts it, while the stock numbers are indications that the economy is on its way up by the end of the year. It might very well be that the feds lower the interest rates as a result of the week economy (as evident by the numbers), thus boosting the housing market and providing a shot in the arm for the economy as a whole.

News and Observer profiles "Indian" Ferry Road

2007-04-29T10:06:00.000-04:00

Josh Shaffer at News and Observer writes about Indians at North Carolina State University pursuing graduate education.
"Indian students know about Avent Ferry even before they leave India, and they rank apartment complexes in order of preference: Champion Court, Avery Close, Colonial Arms" he writes. The fourth option is Kensington Apartments. Fourth because it is not exactly walking distance from the Centenial Campus (the newly built campus housing HiTech companies (Red Hat world headquaters are right here, as well as a division of Analog Electronics, Erricson, ABB etc), as well as the ECE and CSC departments, a fabrication faculty a beautiful lake, condos etc.

The full story is available here or here.

AKV Skiing

2007-04-22T12:32:00.000-04:00

My sister and her kids came up to NH and we drove up to Maine to ski. It was my second time skiing - but I must say - it wasnt toooo bad. The kids, Dhruv (his second time skiing too), and Tanya, (her first time) were amaizing. They took to snow as a fish takes to water. Shruti and Mini - hmm - the least said about them the better.

Last 3 months

2007-04-20T00:34:00.000-04:00

Ahhh - last 3 months. Lets see what passed by me - and what I passed by in these days. Iraq violence, Virginia Tech shootings, Richard Gere kissing, Sanjaya singing, AKV Skiing, The Cricket World Cup ... monkying.

On a serious note, whatever happened at Virginia Tech was no less than a natural tragedy. It has happened before, it happened on Monday, April 16th, and it will happen again. It is beyond anybody's control to know what will make a person flip and commit horrendous acts. What we CAN TRY TO DO is to make it next to impossible for that person to maximise the damage. There are a number of things that could have been done on that fateful day to prevent a disaster of this magnitude. I am obviously thinking GUN CONTROL laws. Time and space limits me from laying out my mind here - but common sense says ->
less (or better still no) guns on the street + better policing = less crime in the hood.
The tragedy was a shocker to me - I was no less shocked when students went on TV to say that if they were allowed guns on the campus, they would have controlled the lunatic with the guns. That's just the most ludicrous argument I have ever heard. Instead of 32 people dying in 1 day - we would have had 1 or 2 tying every other day.

Peace is not that hard a thing to think about.
Peace is not hard a thing to achieve.

Back Again

2007-01-27T10:16:00.000-05:00

Its snowing here in New Hampshire! After a day of 20 below freezing temperature and nice sunshine - it is snowing and I am sitting in my bed watching the flurries (a few heavy ones are actually falling vertically - the rest are just flowing with the wind) falling from the heavens.

So we are in New Hampshire. Never in my life I would have dreamt that I would have my home address ending with 'NH'.

My defense went off well and after minor corrections and slight heartburn and frustrations - I got the go ahead from all relevant authorities to start driving north.

After a few days in the hotel and searching for an apartment - we found one (a pretty huge apt complex at that) in Nashua, NH. About a 5 minute ride to the MA border and about 15 minutes from work.

It is pretty beautiful here - even with the frigid winters at full blast to welcome us. All small ponds and lakes and marshes have frozen giving an eerie look at dawn and dusk - but nonetheless - beautiful and quiet. The shopping district is 5 minutes from the apartment - but our unit is located in a quiet corner with a vague view of the mountains.

Hari Ke Samose!

2006-12-29T18:08:00.000-05:00

You've got to eat these to believe a word of this story. Original was prinited here.
Bishwadeep Moitra

ALLAHABAD

Triangle River Tango

The aloo-less samosa of Hari Ki Namkeen is one of Loknath Gali's many splendours

BISHWADEEP MOITRA

You take the aloo out of the samosa, you take the heart out of the body. But you put the heart back in with a special mix of spices, and you have 'samosa for the soul'. That's what Mitthulal, a financier-broker gone bust, did about a century ago in Allahabad. And thus was born a mouth-watering marvel—the masala samosa. The great and good of the Indian National Congress, stalwarts of Hindi literature, professors and students, high court judges and local goondas—all had a special place in their hearts and mouths for this triangular treat.



	Along with the food, Loknath Gali thrived on juicy gossip. The taller your tale, the more sought after you were.

And visiting dignitaries, having savoured Mitthulal's speciality, would pack some to take away in the shop's distinctive woven-leaf containers.

Winding up his failing finance business in Agra and cashing in on his acquaintance with Motilal Nehru—a flourishing

lawyer in Allahabad then—Mitthulal shifted base to set up his namkeen shop in Loknath Gali, a stone's throw from the senior Nehru's house in the city's Meerganj locality. Jawaharlal was born in this Meerganj house and the Nehrus continued to live here until they moved to the sprawling Anand Bhawan (much later, Meerganj would become Allahabad's red-light district). But to come back to Mitthulal and his aloo-less samosa story—he named the shop after his son Hari, and Hari Ki Namkeen in Loknath Gali soon became a local legend, catering at grand parties and weddings, including those of Vijayalakshmi Pandit and Indira Gandhi.

Towards the end of nineteenth century, the British had begun to develop Allahabad as a modern city on western lines. Until then it had been a sleepy, largely agrarian settlement that only came to life during the Kumbh Mela. Now, grand colonial structures began to come up—Allahabad University, Muir Hall, Public Library, Stone Church (aka paththar girja) and Alfred Park. The high court and the university attracted the upper-class gentry and educated professionals to the city, from whose ranks emerged literary luminaries, high court judges, celebrated lawyers, intellectuals and administrators. And since the Nehrus lived here, Allahabad also became the nerve-centre of the freedom movement.

The new Allahabad of the early 1900s was lined with wide avenues, sprawling bungalows and smart shops—this was the Civil Lines. But Chowk remained the traditional bazaar, with its crowded, lively and narrow lanes, and Loknath Gali was its heart as well as its stomach—it served as what would today be called a food court, for traders and shoppers. Here, the chatterati of Allahabad would congregate, to gossip and eat. A typical Loknath Gali evening would follow this course: you started from the northern end of the street—the city side—and sauntered to the end of the gali at the Baba Loknath Temple (the area was called Sarai Meer Khan before the temple was built), sampling the fare on offer along the way. The first course would be an assortment of chaat, followed by dahi jalebi or kulfi faluda. If you were counted among the shaukeens, you would stop by for bhang kulfi or bhang thandai. And as you waited for the kimam-khushbu paan at the end of the stroll, you ordered Hari namkeen's masala samosa to be packed for home.

The time one spent at Loknath Gali depended on one's tale-telling skills. If your masala-of-the-day was gossip involving a city celebrity, you not only had a captive audience, you ensured brisk sales at the eateries around your durbar. Loknath Gali still resounds with echoes of old scandals. One goes like this: one day Firaq Gorakpuri, the famous Urdu poet, pronounced that only two and a half people knew proper English in India. The first of course was Firaq himself. The second was Dr S. Radhakrishnan. And a certain Jawaharlal Nehru was the half in the august list.

But Firaq's detractors—and they were many—sneered at him for including Nehru at all. Dismissing Nehru's Harrow-and-Oxford education, they said that what got him onto Firaq's list was simply that the poet had a great weakness for pretty boys.

The other tale you hear is about a certain Sikh damsel who studied at the Allahabad University's English department in the late 30s. The beautiful young woman's name hadn't got suffixed with a Bachchan yet. At the campus, she was known as something of a rebel. Allahabad University prided itself as a place for the liberal-minded and welcomed people with radical ideas and lifestyles. Yet custodians of liberty at the university had to stretch their moral fabric a wee bit more to accommodate our lady's rights of expression. By wearing lipstick and a sleeveless blouse in the classroom, she set the moral police on her hunt. Her English professor—a venerable university stalwart—objected to this attire, and even threatened to resign. But the lady refused to budge and stood her ground. Such was her charm and aura, or so the legends of Loknath Gali maintain, that the vice-chancellor of the university intervened on her behalf and the poor professor had to back down.

Loknath Gali has not changed much since those days. You still hear the tallest tales there. If it was drizzling when you entered the gali, by the time you reach the Baba Loknath temple you would hear people talking about the hailstorm that has just lashed the town. The past exists in easy harmony with the present. In one of the many narrow lanes someone will point out a building that is falling apart—the Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, set up by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, and still functioning.

This neighbourhood doesn't look like it will succumb to Allahabad's new builders, who are tearing down the fabulous bungalows to make group housing flats. A local wag avers the lanes here are too narrow for the builder to move in his bulldozers, so they are safe for now. And safe too is the statue of Pandit Kalyan Chand Mohiley, which stands stately at the Loknath Gali entrance. Mohiley who? you would ask. And why him in a city that has given India four PMs and a refusing-to-retire superstar? Well, Mohiley was four-time MLA from the area. That's attitude, Loknath Gali-style, for you. That deep-rooted self-assurance and unabashed local pride ensure that a Big Mac or even a dosa will never threaten the supremacy of Hari's samosas.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

Turn up the volume and enjoy!!

Mumbai immigration deports NRI children

2006-12-21T10:22:00.000-05:00

Another sad story..
---------------------------------------------
Mumbai Airport immigration officials deported seven-year-old Viraj Shriwardhankar and his three-and-a-half-year-old brother Vrishabh two hours after they landed in India last week.
Their parents' plea for a transit or temporary visa was summarily denied.
The officials granted a two-day transit visa to a French national at the same time, their father Vijay Shriwardhankar wrote in an e-mail. 'The French national has white skin while Viraj and Vrishabh have brown skin.'
Vijay and his wife Vaishali Prabhu, both natives of Mumbai who have worked as IT professionals for nine years in Boston, said they 'cried' when they described their experience at Mumbai airport. Both Vijay and Vaishali are Indian citizens and have a Green Card. Their sons are born in the US and hence, American citizens.
The family left Boston on December 11 for a four-week vacation in India by Air France flight 337. 'The Air France agent verified our Green Cards along with our passports but did not ask about the Indian visa for our children who have US passports. At Paris the officials never verified our sons' visa but verified our Green Cards,' Shriwardhankar said.
When the family arrived in Mumbai they realised they had not brought the visas for the children with them.
Their elder son has a ten-year Indian visa in an old passport which the family did not carry with them. The younger son has a Person of Indian Origin card. That too the family did not have with them.
The family requested an immigration official for temporary or transit visas for the children.
They also told the official they could get the documents faxed from Boston.
'The official would not even look at us, let alone hear our pleas,' Vaishali said. 'I have never seen such inhuman behaviour.'
No one was bothered that the children had already traveled for about 24 hours. 'There was absolutely no humanity shown by the ACP (Assistant Commissioner of Police) Immigration or Air France officials,' Vijay said.
The official would grant the family only 45 minutes for the documents to be faxed to Mumbai. 'We requested a little more time. But he would not heed us,' Vaishali said.
'I requested my friend in Boston to go to my house and fax the visa papers immediately. She was already on her way to get those papers. I was begging the Immigration ACP and Air France officials to allow us to wait at the airport until officials received the fax but they didn't want to do anything about it and forced us to take the flight at 2:40,' Vijay said.
The officials received the fax 10 minutes after the flight departed, the couple discovered later.
'We asked to see a higher official, but it was not allowed saying the boss had already left. How can an airport function without a senior officer?' Vaishali asked.
After the stipulated 45 minutes, an official, Deepak Grover, gave the children a Notice of Refused to Land.
Two hours after their arrival in India, the family left Mumbai.
'I absolutely accept my big mistake of forgetting the visa. I am a human being and can make mistakes. I was trying to see an alternative so my kids did not have to travel 22 hours again,' Vijay said.
'I am sure the guys got a peaceful sleep that night. I have not met such cold persons in my life who don't understand or feel the sorrow of the kids. We left with my kids crying and my family members outside in a state of shock,' Vijay said.
'The worst part was that there was a Frenchman from the same flight sitting in the immigration office who forgot to even apply for an Indian visa. The immigration official gave him a two-day transit visa.'
'The immigration official said he would have sent us back even if I had a two-month-old baby. But for white skin laws will be different,' Vijay noted.
'The children are very upset. The elder son questions the behaviour of people in India,' Vaishali said.
The family plans to leave for India in a few days. 'I feel ashamed of being an Indian. The Frenchman told me, "I am surprised how immigration personnel are treating you even after you being an Indian." What kind of world are we living in? The officials could have checked the computer for details since the children had visited India many times earlier,' Vijay said.
'India is the only democratic country that doesn't allow a transit visa to any foreign national,' he said. 'Yet our politicians want to improve tourism in India.'
'I am writing this with great pain that my family had a terrible experience with the Mumbai immigration department and Air France. I would like to share that with you to see if anything can be done so that such things would not occur in the future,' Vijay wrote.
'I know no one can reimburse for the suffering and torture we went through. I would be highly obliged if action is taken in this matter.'

Sad Story..

2006-12-07T19:44:00.000-05:00

James Kim died of exposure and hypothermia while looking for help for his family that was stranded in the middle of an un-traveled road.
I am sure you have heard or read about it. If not, the sfchronical (and here) does a good job to describe what happened.

It reminds me of the beautiful, but obviously treacherous mountains and roads of the Southern Oregon/ Northern California forests.
We were in the same area in Oct 2004, though took a somewhat different route – drove down from Portland, OR, took 18 West to the 101 going south. The day was wet and dark.

We drove on the scenic 101 from Otis to Florence. By the time we reached Florence, it was pretty dark, and we did not find it practical or prudent to keep driving on the 101. We looked up the maps, saw this road cutting back to I-5 meeting it in Eugene (126 East) . Lucky for us, it was a state highway and not some forest route. The Kims took a chance and tried cutting it to the coast to Gold Beach from I-5 from Grants Pass. They took the Bear Camp Road. The Gold Beach Maps and Travel info site has this about the Bear Camp Road:

“Regarding Bear Camp Road (also known as Merlin-Galice Road, Forest Service Road 33); This is NOT a highway and is not a maintained thoroughfare! Although on some maps it may appear to be a more direct route to Gold Beach, it's not a highway in any sense. It's a forest service road, closed in winter, and is mostly one-lane with no fog lines, no guard rails, no shoulder, and plenty of wash-outs, mudslides and potholes. Cell phones don't work in much of that area and after you pass the Agness turnoff, there is nothing but wilderness until you get to the other side of the mountain range at I-5.”

We, on the other hand, drove to Eugene, found the I-5 and kept driving south. Our destination was Mount Shasta in North California. So it was still quiet a bit of drive from Eugene. The night was wild – to put it mildly. The rains lashed at the car mercilessly. When we reached up the mountains – I thought that it hailed as well. It was the most scary drive of my life. While on the highway, the 18 whealers flashed their headlights at us – I still could never figure out why!!

We reached our hotel at about 2 in the morning. It was probably the longest day for me on the road – and air (we flew into Portland from Raleigh – an 8-9 hours trip!!) The road trip was about another 7-8 hours.
Through dense forest that probably didn’t see sunlight in years, through rain, and fog, through hail and most probably through snow, we kept driving towards our destination.

The next was the most beautiful, sunny day I have ever seen. Even though the weather services predicted another soggy day, the sun shone at the top of its glory!!
Everybody we met that day had a smil on their face. They were all happy we made it to Mount Shasta safely.

James made the ultimate sacrifice for his family! I am sure that anyone of us will do exactly what he did. It was just a bad decision, one mistake. On his day he would have shrugged it off the next morning, but not that day.
R.I.P James.

The beautiful Oregon Coast. Oct, 2004.

Somini Sengupta asking the wrong questions.... again.

2006-12-03T22:16:00.000-05:00

Somini,

You are at it again.

You are no better than the Congress Party, or the Samajwadi Party or the BJP etc. Sensationalizing a story is an art you are good at. While “Whether India can deliver the fruits of economic progress to the many Muslims at the bottom of the ladder remains a crucial question” is a decent enough question to ask, the bigger question is, obviously, “Whether India can deliver the fruits of economic progress to the millions of INDIANS at the bottom of the ladder remains a crucial question”. You talk about roughly 8 to 10 percent of the population, while the bigger problem covers 60 - 70 percent. When people like you stop distinguishing INDIANS between Hindus and Muslims and Sikhs and Christians – only then can we move away from the dirty politics of vote and start the long process of nation building in the true sense.

When you write a news memo in the New York Times with the title “Report Shows Muslims Near Bottom of Social Ladder” (also available here), it is bound to be read by at least 5 people who will have policy making power in India and guess what they will think .. they will see this as nothing but an opportunity of getting votes.. they will rise up tomorrow morning and throw the idea of making reservations based on religion, a devastating idea that will further divide an already fractured country.

I hope you will make better use of your time and write about more important things – about how politicians use religion and caste as tools to woo voters. About how minority appeasement is so common in the country, about how the appeasement does not end up benefiting the involved minorities, but instead break India’s ethos and wreck any chance of any advancement of any religion or minority in any part of the country. Or start at something simple – how about how caste and religion plays an important part in the Great Indian Democracy. Come election time – the common man hears phrases like ‘ Vote your Caste’ or ‘He is of that releigion/caste’ etc.

So there you go– I hope you will ponder on these ideas and your next story will not stink of an agenda to wreak India.

You have the power of the pen – use it constructively.

Democracy or Sham?

2006-11-26T18:14:00.000-05:00

While its good to see that the authors of worldaudit.org paint India with the same color as they have painted the ‘free’ world with, the truth is that there are many more colors than just the 3 shown here.

I also got a shock when I read that the economist rates India as a ‘flawed democracy’ hoping that it will give the giant democracy some credit for keeping itself a democracy for much of its time after freedom from the British.

And then I got hit with one news after another on the state of affairs in India’s democracy – a few of those are chronicled here..

So here is the latest news from the world of Indian Democracy.

For lack of motivation to connect the dots and make a paragraph using these stories, I am simply putting the headlines as they are. You can make what you want out of the stories. You can, laugh, cry, detest, dismiss, decry….. call your congressman, resign from citizenship …..debate, create, salivate, procrastinate or just ….deflate..

1) CPM finally cedes Arunachal to India http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/564017.cms or here.

Where else could this happen – but India. A national mainstream political party hesitating to call a part of India to be just that, a part of India. There is no cry of unpatriotic, irresponsible behavior, just dismissive nonchalance.

2) Birthday bash on the wrong tracks http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Lucknow/Birthday_bash_on_the_wrong_tracks/articleshow/533975.cms or here.

Till shameless leaders and there followers do such things, till there are enough and more people who stand and watch the other direction when such things are taking place, there could never be hope for the common man in the world of India and its politics.

So you see – World Audit and The Economist are not entirely off the mark – in fact they are pretty lenient – don’t you think so?

One from the ages!

2006-11-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

Stumbled upon this photo in an old zip disk of mine. This photo of The Sydney Harbour Bridge was taken in August of 1999. Yes - that long ago. Taken from a ferry hauling me from Circular Quay. Where it was taking me - I dont remember. It was one of the last sight-seing trip of Sydney before embarking on a long flight to Washington DC. This photo was taken by an SLR camera - an analog one, I should mention. Canon Rebel XT to be precise.
This article in the NYT prompted me to go back and look at some of my own photos. But for the photos, and an occaissional email/phone from my friends and co-workers - that era is all a distant dream for me.
Sometimes I just wish I can go back again and see all the things that I saw in those 4 years of my life. Walk all those miles I walked to go do groceries at Franklins, catch the trains from Kingswood to the City, take the bus to North Ryde and back. Who knows - that chicken man might still be serving the most delicious chips and gravy. Who knows - I might bump into someone who recognize me there. Who knows ..
Sometimes when someone asks me my zip code - I, unconciously, blurt away - 2747.

Drink more wine

2006-11-01T19:52:00.000-05:00

“Researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the National Institute on Aging report that a natural substance found in red wine, known as resveratrol, offsets the bad effects of a high-calorie diet in mice and significantly extends their lifespan.”

Read here http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/science/02winecnd.html or

Here http://allthingsuseless.blogspot.com/2006/11/substance-in-red-wine-extends-life-of.html

So – eat more curry and drink more wine. Great!!

Eat more curry

2006-10-30T16:48:00.000-05:00

http://health.yahoo.com/news/168241

Curry Ingredient May Help Fight Alzheimer's

October 27, 2006 08:42:38 PM PST
By Angela Pirisi
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Curcumin, a component of curry and turmeric, seems to help the immune system get rid of amyloid beta -- the protein that builds up to form damaging plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

The findings build on previous research linking curry consumption to reduced Alzheimer's risk, including one study that found that only 1 percent of elderly Indians developed the disease -- a quarter of the rate seen in the United States.

Now, preliminary findings from the University of California, Los Angeles, suggest that curcumin comes to the aid of immune system cells called macrophages to clear away amyloid beta.

"We know that macrophages aren't working properly in Alzheimer's patients, since they seem to be defective in cleaning amyloid-beta from brain slices", explained lead researcher Dr. Milan Fiala, a researcher with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System.

"We have found that curcumin can help some macrophages to function properly in a test tube," Fiala said. He said more work is needed to see if the spice works similarly in the human brain, however.

Curcumin is already known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Earlier research by another UCLA team found that curcumin-fed mice with Alzheimer's plaques experienced a decrease in inflammation and reduced plaque formation.

The new findings are in current issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

In the study, the UCLA researchers obtained blood samples from six Alzheimer's patients and three healthy controls. They next isolated macrophages and treated them with a curcumin solution for 24 hours, then added amyloid beta.

Macrophages from three of the Alzheimer's patients were observed to start ingesting the plaque-forming proteins.

Over the past five years, Fiala's team has studied the immune function of over 100 Alzheimer's patients. Last June, the team helped establish the immune system's key role in Alzheimer's disease.

"Our research has helped to identify why the brain isn't being cleared of amyloid beta in Alzheimer's disease patients," Fiala said. "The immune system can attack and remove amyloid-beta from the brain, but the job is not done properly in Alzheimer's patients."

Fiala said macrophages may be as important for Alzheimer's disease as insulin is for diabetes. "If we can improve the immune system, we can help the body's natural ability to clear damaging plaques," he said.

"In terms of treatment implications, it's very interesting that curcumin seems to help the brain clear away beta amyloid," noted Dr. Sam Gandy, chair of the medical and scientific advisory council at the Alzheimer's Association.

"The study also shows an additional mechanism [besides curcumin's anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties] that looks at the actual clean-up of plaques," said Gandy, who is also director of the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Fiala believes his team's research into the role of macrophages in Alzheimer's disease patients may one day point to new approaches for diagnosing -- and even treating -- the illness.

Testing immune-cell response may also offer other researchers a novel way to assess the effectiveness of drugs in clearing amyloid beta from the brain. It might also help doctors individualize treatment, Fiala said.

Curcumin appears to have few side effects, if any, he added. "We can only say what we see in test tubes, but we don't see any toxic effects with curcumin, even administered in high doses," Fiala said.

Curcumin's health benefits may extend beyond Alzheimer's disease. One recent six-month study, carried out by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, found that daily doses of the spice were associated with a nearly 60 percent lower risk for colon polyps, a known precursor to colon cancer.

So, experts say, while it may be too early to recommend a dish of curry to help stave off cancer or Alzheimer's, it nonetheless appears healthy -- and tasty -- to add curry powder to your spice rack.

Arizona 3

2006-10-29T20:02:00.000-05:00

Here is the complete album of our trip to Arizona. Use the slide show button to get the best result.
Enjoy!

Arizona

Arizona 2

2006-10-26T22:36:00.000-04:00

A night shot of the cacti in our hotel campus with the beautiful night sky as the backdrop. Click on the photo to enlarge. (No - that's not a spec of dirt on your monitor - it's a star!)

Arizona

2006-10-26T22:07:00.000-04:00

Beautiful blue skies, warm soothing fall, open countryside, neat roads, elegant mountains, un-imaginable cacti, nice people, cool red rocks, Grand Canyon. That, in a few words is Arizona. We happen to spend a few days in Scottsdale Az and we really liked it there.

Washington Post profiles India/Indians in the DC area

2006-10-09T15:27:00.000-04:00

“While noting that their affection for India has never flagged, some Indians say they now feel more proud of their heritage. More immigrants who planned to stay in the United States for good are reconsidering. And as India sprouts Western-style shopping malls and gleaming outposts of U.S. companies, a small but growing number of Indians -- particularly affluent male technology workers and retiring baby boomers --- are leading dual lives in the countries.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800844.html

2006-10-07T17:36:00.000-04:00

Daily Show: What Exactly Is President Bush's Job?

This has got to be the most hilarious of Jon Stewart's show.

About myself

2006-10-07T12:11:00.000-04:00

For those who don’t know me. I am a graduate student – pursuing a PhD. My PhD is in the area of Computer Engineering and when people ask me what I do or what my future work would be like – I ask them first if they know what a chip is – depending on their answer – I go a further. If they say that the only chip they know are the potato kind – I tell them I help their cell phones work well or I help digital signals go from point A to point B without getting lost or get degraded.

There is neat little snippet of a signal integrity (SI) engineer’s business card and the questions he asks during his ‘therapy’ sessions floating around in the SI discussion forums.

-"Arthur Fraser Transmission Line Therapist"

It always conjured up what the Therapist would be asking the signal:

"How long have you had these paranoid feelings that you will be

terminated?"

"Have you always felt there are aggressors out to get you?"

"Have you always coupled with your neighbors?"

"And could you describe in more detail all this ringing your

experiencing - is it like church bells?

"And you say that no matter where you go, you always experience a delay

in your travel?"

"This ground bounce you mention, is this related to a seismic event?

"As your therapist I am concerned you always refer to yourself as a

victim, do you always see yourself as a victim?"

"And you say you feel you are just meandering through life?"

On Pluto

2006-10-06T01:42:00.000-04:00

For several days now – I wanted to write about this planet – more like an apology that we owe to it. Here’s my declaration to the astronomical, physical, aeronautical, or any other fancy scientific body that concerns itself with Pluto. In the common law legal system, there is this wonderful thing called ‘The Statute of Limitation’. Do you guys have anything like that? It’s been what – three quarters of a century since you classified Pluto a planet – and suddenly you yank the title from it? C’ mon – even the IRS has more heart!

Just leave it like it is – who cares if you want to call Pluto a planet or a dwarf planet – or a Macaca planet – does it make a difference? Like some astronomical body in Andromeda is going to say – hmmm – the idiots on Earth have deemed Pluto to be a non-planet – so now we cannot plan an attack on it. Leave it as it is – and move on – do something that changes the way we live and use your brains to try and improve global warming or glacial erosion and Ozone depletion.

The book

2006-09-26T13:55:00.000-04:00

So the book is released. In some way it’s very much an eye opener. From now on the general cannot claim that he is ideologically on the same side as the rest of the world is concerned in this war on terror (WOT). He became allies with the US/sane world because, in his own word, “if we do not join them, can we confront them and withstand the onslaught? The answer was no”. As a matter of fact, he “war-gamed the United States as an adversary”. Then he/they figured out that it was like committing suicide. It would have been a very interesting scenario if the war games would have resulted in any other outcome. For example, if, say his country would have had .. maybe .. a 25% chance of coming around and defeating the mighty armies of the world – what would have he chosen then? Maybe then there would never have been an unwilling ally in this WOT and maybe his country would never had to answer all the hard question – like ‘why don’t you capture OBL’ or ‘why do you have thousands of terrorists camps’ or ‘why do you let militants cross over to your territory’ and ‘why do you have thousands of madrasas teaching hatred for others’ AND it would have been much easier for the rest of the world as well – they would not be hard pressed to think which side, truly, is he on?

So the next time you say that you are not on the side of the terrorists and fighting with the world as allies in this unconventional war, watch out – we know whose side are you really on and why you are sitting on the same table as us.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

My decision was based on the wellbeing of my people and the best interests of my country — Pakistan always comes first. I war-gamed the United States as an adversary. There would be a violent and angry reaction if we didn’t support the United States. Thus the question was: if we do not join them, can we confront them and withstand the onslaught? The answer was no, we could not, on three counts.

First was our military weakness as compared with the strength of the United States. Second was our economic weakness. We had no oil, and we did not have the capacity to sustain our economy in the face of an attack. Third, and worst of all, was our social weakness. We lack the homogeneity to galvanise the entire nation into an active confrontation. We could not endure a military confrontation with the United States from any point of view. The ultimate question that confronted me was whether it was in our national interest to destroy ourselves for the Taleban. Were they worth committing suicide over? The answer was a resounding no.

In some ways I think he does not even know what he is writing - and for whom – for surely – there are 2 very distinct groups of people who will read this book. One at home and the other outside. Instead of doing the book tour in the US, he should have done it in his hometown – and if I were him – I would have done something, anything that would have prevented anybody else getting a hand on the book. This book is purely meant to be for local consumption – to bolster his image, to improve the image of his country in his own people’s eyes – a lot to do with self esteem – really.

Fact Check

2006-09-24T01:17:00.000-04:00

So.. let’s get a fact check here.

A military general who takes over a country’s administration in a coup writes a book about how he did it all.

- About how he planned and launched an attack and then retreated (due to foreign pressure, after obtaining his objective) on a neighboring country – and then brags about it in the book.

- Calls secessionist movement in his own country 'terrorism' and the same in his neighbor’s country ‘freedom struggle’

- Blames the neighboring country’s Prime Minister (PM) ‘squarely’ for any failure of peace talks.

- Says that the power of the current PM of the neighboring country has ‘diminished’as a result of the country's establishment.

- Bashes all the other previous rulers of his own country.

- Justifies why he overthrew the previous, elected ruler.

- Advertises about his book with the President of US standing next to him.

- Creates media hype by declaring that a high up in the State Department threatened to bomb his country ‘back to the stone age’ – three days before his book is due out.

So – he goes and writes a book about all these characters. He, never himself elected to any office in the government – collects cool million dollars for this book.

All the other people he talks about – could never get their grey cells together to write a line about their own experiences with the dictator amongst other things.

Cheers general – you are the man.

Is Lalu changing the Railways?

2006-09-19T17:57:00.000-04:00

Seems like he has found his niche – after all.

He has started from the top – where it should have been started.

The ministers, a plethora of them, their family, their friends – everybody should be given a quick fact check on who they are – not who they think they are. Ok now I am sounding like Rumsfeld.

Soren's wife, son caught without ticket, fined

By IE

Wednesday September 20, 12:47 AM

Following the directives of Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to initiate action against all the ticketless travelers, including politicians, bureaucrats and others, Railway staff at Kanpur detained three members of Cabinet Minister Shibu Soren's family and fined them.

According to reports, Railway staff detained Soren's wife, son and a relative, who were traveling on New Delhi-Howrah bound Rajdhani Express (2302) on Railway passes of the minister and MP S Marandi late on Monday night.

Railway staff at Kanpur got information about three passengers traveling on the passes issued to MPs. Under the leadership of Assistant Commercial Manager (ACM) Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, ticket checking squad gheraoed the first AC coach of Rajdhani Express on platform number 6. Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Police Force (RPF) were also deployed at the platform in order to prevent any untoward incident.

It was found that Ruby Soren, wife of Shibu Soren, his son Swajit Soren and a relative Mini were occupying seats in cabin 'A'. When the squad enquired about their status and asked them to deboard the train, they got annoyed and warned the railway staff of dire consequences. Later, they accepted that they were traveling without ticket but were refused to pay the penalty.

Ruby Soren also allegedly misbehaved with the Railway staff and warned them of dire consequences.

Srivastava, then, directed the female staff and GRP constables to forcibly bring Ruby and Swajit down. Realising that there was no escape, they paid the penalty of Rs 14,260, after which they were allowed to continue their journey. Talking to Indian Express, Srivastava said that the passengers were traveling on MPs' identity card numbers 159 and 303. "They were considered ticket-less and therefore railway realized fine from them," he added.

Meanwhile, Ruby Soren said that her husband had to come along but could not travel due to some engagement. She also said that Railway staff misbehaved with her and co-passengers. However, the train got delayed by 20 minutes due to scene created by ticket-less passengers.

In another incident, two ticket-less persons were caught traveling in first AC coach with BSP MP from Eastern UP Kailash Yadav in Delhi-bound Shiv Ganga Express late on Monday night. When the railway staff detained them, they warned the staff of complaining to railway minister Lalu Yadav. However, when the railway squad directed the GRP to put both ticketless persons in jail, they paid Rs 16,335 as penalty.

Ah... The Summer is Over.

2006-09-05T10:56:00.000-04:00

This is what we’ll do the next summer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/opinion/04lutz.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

http://allthingsuseless.blogspot.com/2006/09/september-4-2006-op-ed-contributor.html

Sad Day

2006-09-04T14:02:00.000-04:00

Today I woke up to read about the sad demise of Steve Irwin – who died doing what he loved – and killed by one who he liked. I was a huge fan of him and truly and greatly admired his free will and contagious enthusiasm for life and all things living. His confidence was legendary as was evident by his dress – khaki shorts and shirts – which he discarded for no one – not even for heads of state.

We will miss you Crocodile Hunter.

Ustad Bismillah Khan

2006-08-21T15:14:00.000-04:00

“Build me my ghats, the river, the life as I know it, in the backyard and may be I will stay back”

-Ustad Bismillah Khan (1916 – 2006) - turning down an offer of an American connoisseur to stay in the US

Wazzup Macaca

2006-08-16T18:05:00.000-04:00

Following American politics is so .. how should I say it .. educating – or entertaining – or both.

Day before yesterday – I never knew that Macaca existed.

Today I know that Macaca is not just a word that means a genus of monkeys in Africa – but is also a word made up by My + Caca.

My is my, Caca is kuku, you know, yes that.

So Sidhart, you have become the caca of Allen. Hmm .. but you have caused the downfall of a young/bright/racist senator. But then again – maybe not. Can’t trust the voters here.

What’s with the haircut anyway?

BTW Maybe Senator Allen is a Mallika fan!

After all – Mallika --> Mallaka --> Makaka.

I think he is getting targeted unfairly. And maybe he should stop apologizing.

Heat Wave!

2006-08-03T18:53:00.000-04:00

As the eastern seaboard is getting baked, here are some tips on how to remain safe and enjoy the ‘sunny’ weather.

Do not leave infants, children, or pets in a parked car, even for just a few minutes. Car interiors can quickly heat up and cause serious injury or death.
Drink plenty of fluids, preferably water but avoid alcohol and large amounts of sugar. Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink.
Heavy sweating removes salt and minerals from the body. If you exercise or work outside, drink two to four glasses of cool, non-alcoholic fluids each hour. A sports beverage may replace the salt and minerals you lose in sweat. However, if you are on a low-salt diet, talk with your doctor before drinking a sports beverage.
Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. Protect yourself from the sun and keep cool by wearing a wide-brimmed hat along with sunglasses and by putting on sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher 30 minutes prior to going outside.
Stay indoors and if at all possible, in an air-conditioned place. If your home does not have air conditioning, try to find a neighbor, relative or public place that does. Just a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat.
Take a cool shower or bath.
Avoid, as much as possible, using your stove and oven. This will help keep cooler temperatures in your home.
If you are 65 years of age or older, have a friend or relative call to check on you twice a day during a heat wave. If you know someone in this age group, check on them at least twice a day.
If you must be outdoors, try to limit your outdoor activity to morning and evening hours. When working in the heat, have plenty of water available and monitor the condition of your co-workers and have someone do the same for you. Heat-induced illness can cause a person to become confused or lose consciousness.

Manoj Night Shyamalan

2006-07-21T01:37:00.000-04:00

Its fascinating to watch and observe the fights critics and fans/moviegoers are having over the latest movie (Lady in the Water) from Manoj. Sounds a wee bit weird to start off with Manoj and not with Night or M. Night or just Shyamalan. Who knows why he doesn’t prefer to be called what he was supposed to be called.

Well – what’s in a name – as long as you are good at what you do.

There are distinctively 2 camps of people – he would say – in this world. Those who can see dead people and those who cannot – just kidding

Rather – those who like him and those who despise him – and I don’t mean like – ‘hey I don’t like the movies he make’ over a cup of tea kinda hate – but like ‘hey I’ll suck his blood dry’ hate. I don’t know – I like his movies – though I haven’t seen Signs – but the other 3 were nice and watchable films. People don’t usually have any problem with Sixth Sense – so let’s leave that out – but Unbreakable and The Village were not completely trash and were actually, quite enjoyable. His way of story telling is kind of weird and, I must say, unique – which might be a reason critics absolutely love to hate him. After Sixth Sense, they all compared him to the next Spielberg – so he did have the bars raised pretty high for him. I must say, though, that he is one of the very few in the industry today who has had 4 movies in a row that had some ripple or the other.

For Lady in the water, it’s a pretty much split decision. IMDB, where reviews are by readers have a much higher rating than Rotten Tomatoes – which tracks the professional movie critics – so early indications are that there is a huge divide b/w the critics and the end user – well - numbers will tell who’s right – as for me – I would be going to see it soon – and will write about what I saw.

Here's more proof of global patronage

2006-07-17T13:47:00.000-04:00

Here's more proof of global patronage for terrorists wreaking havoc in India and South Asia.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19825601-2703,00.html

NYTIMES gets it wrong...

2006-07-16T18:32:00.001-04:00

There was a time when I read the New York Times with some awe and much respect. Then they hired Somini Sengupta. There are reporters who report an incident and quote people and do such reporter like stuff - and then there are reporters who feign as being reporters – but really think that they are some analysts who should put a spin on straight forward things so readers can take their hats off, slide their hands on their bald heads and go – rreeeeeeallllyyyyyyyy – now I get it!

She, unfortunately, falls into the second category.

Just look at her analysis in her article “India’s Prime Minister Scolds Pakistan”,

She says

"Despite the parallels of the Mumbai blasts to the London and Madrid bombings, there is widespread agreement in this country that the roots of India’s recent experience with terrorism are local, not global."

Really? Lets look at what we know:

There is irrefutable (or at least strong) proof that the Lashkar e Taiba (LET) and the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) are involved. She says so herself here. The world knows that LET has bases in Pakistan and SIMI gets help from them and extremist organization in Bangladesh. Hence if the bombers in the London train bombings get training from terror camps in Pakistan and go back to London – that’s global terrorism – but if Indian born SIMI activists get LET’s and other terror organization’s help with financial help from Riyadh and Kuwait in pulling of bombings of this magnitude in Mumbai – its local terrorism.

So is it India’s fault that the world’s sole wholesale supplier of terrorism is in its backyard?

Another case in point is in her introductory piece about the bombings ”Series of Bombs Explode on 7 Trains in India, Killing Scores”, she mentions:

"It would not be the first time that Kashmiri militant outfits, which India says enjoy the support of rival Pakistan, have struck on Indian soil. The most serious of them, an attack on the Indian Parliament in the capital, New Delhi, in December 2001, prompted a military standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbors. India blamed the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba."

If she did her research before writing, she would find that 99% terrorist acts have a Pakistani connection as proven by the Akshardham attacks.

While this attitude by the mainstream media in the US is not completely new or born with Mr. Sengupta and has followed what the official US position was till only a few years ago (more precisely before 9/11), it must be pointed out that the US has changed its policies – and has included any acts of terror by any organization as terrorism as pointed out by Wider War on Terror.

"One indication was the nature of the immediate statement of support for India from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She not only condemned the bombings and expressed sympathy for victims but said: "The US stands with India in the war on terror." This is significant because the US has previously not been inclined to include terrorist attacks in India, Israel or Russia as part of the overall war on terror."

Unfortunately, Ms. Sengupta has missed that memo. When asked, she would only express sympathy for the victims.

Who did it?

2006-07-12T22:31:00.000-04:00

All pointers point to SIMI (Student Islamic Movement of India)

Don’t know them?

Read about them here: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1742653,0015002500030000.htm

And

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1742863.cms

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1212590,00.html

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1742889,0015002500000000.htm

and here is a story which say that Mulayam Singh Yadav is fighting to release all SIMI operatives that his state has arrested!

How patriotic can he get? But then again – you don’t have to be patriotic to get the votes in India – you just grab them whichever way you can - to hell with the country.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1742869.cms

And read this – SIMI is more than just active in UP. It’s even planning an attack close to August 15.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1041308

God save us all.

Carnage in Mumbai

2006-07-12T04:07:00.001-04:00

Once again the ugly side of humanity has prevailed. India needs to be ready for things like these in the future and not just hope that these wont happen to us.

Terrorism is the bane of our times – I read somewhere – so come to terms with it – put CCTV in every public nook and corner where there is any possibility of any nuisance. Check every bag that comes in a crowded place. Train and equip law enforcement personnel with the latest – not just a stick and a cap.

The world is slowly waking up to terrorism in India and the international media is quite awake and realizes that India is not any different to London and Madrid and NY.

Here are some you MUST read.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,542-2265849,00.html Outrage in Bombay

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/12/opinion/12fernandes.html India’s Indestructible Heart

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071101205.html How Much Will India Endure?

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-india12jul12,0,4492414.story?coll=la-news-comment-editorials India: Bombed but Unbowed

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/277178_indiaed.asp India Bombings: Same lessons

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19770035-28737,00.html#

Wider war on terror

MMM...Mangoes

2006-05-10T17:56:00.000-04:00

I can smell them – cant you?

Flox, Tulips and the butterfly..

2006-04-25T02:38:00.000-04:00

Looks like the HP color printer ad so much at the Washinton Post site. Sarah P. Duke Gardens, NC. Click on the photo to enlarge.

More Tulips!

2006-04-25T02:32:00.000-04:00

Some nice colors. And good depth.

Duke Gardens..

2006-04-25T02:24:00.000-04:00

Tulips, Japanese Maple, and a ton of other beautiful flowers and trees. Spring is the season to be in NC! If you can handle the pollen :-

Tanya Posing at Duke Garden.

2006-04-25T02:20:00.000-04:00

The flower is almost as big as her face! Duke Gardens, Durham, NC. Unfortunately, Durham is in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Google, Yahoo and beyond..

2006-04-13T18:21:00.000-04:00

Like a breath of fresh air – they keep coming at you. Un-relentlessly, without any remorse, with simple punches, from the right and left. Keep you wanting for more… and more.. Yes you are right – I am talking about Google. Today they released their calendar. Its so simple and elegant – that the only word that came out of my mouth was ‘wow’.

The world of Google started with – of course, Google. Then they hit us with gmail – and then again with Google talk, Google videos, yada yada. One thing that’s common with all these applications is that they are ALL simple to use – but powerful nonetheless.

The calendar is no different. Here is another suggestion to make it even better. Make use of the ‘tab’ phenomena more. In the calendar, on the left hand side, there are some tabs for news, gmail etc – make them open in the same window – not a new one.

BTW I used the phone out feature from yahoo yesterday – ooooooh.. sweet as honey. At 12 cents to India – it’s the best deal yet from any good company. (Reliance comes up to be about 14.4 cents if you do the math). The quality is great considering its VOIP and the ease of setup etc is virtually .. I’m confusing myself now – I should just say – it was easy to set it up.

I think Skype is history.

One thing I cannot get is that it charges all of 1 cent to Canada, 1.5 cents to Australia – but 2 cents to calls made to a phone in the US! Hmm..

Here’s a prediction. In another 6 months – we are going to see google talk do this VOIP thingy as well – I mean PC to phone (they already do VOIP for their talk program), anyway, so they will come up with their own phone out thing – only difference – it will be of course – FREE. Yup. Let me say that again – you can make a call to a phone from your PC for FREE. How they are going to do this – you will no doubt ask? Well - They would provide a ‘premium’ service where users can pay for a phone call – just like what yahoo is doing it – but they will also have a free service – for cheepos like us. All we would have to do before making a call would be to see (or see and listen to) an ad on our computer for maybe 30 sec or so. I think they will get tons of ads for this kinda stuff – don’t you? You can bypass their ads using their premium service.

So there you go – Google stock jumped another 30 bucks :) . If only I had 10 of those.

Here & there: India - metros and trains - Razi Azmi

2006-04-06T21:48:00.000-04:00

Here is the second in a series of four articles about a Pakistani writer’s trip to India. The original can be seen here.

--------------------------------------------------------

Thursday, March 23, 2006

William Dalrymple recently wrote that one ought to visit Bihar if one wished to see India as a failed state, adding that if one wanted to see how India will look if it succeeds, one should go to Bangalore instead. Perhaps, time will tell

Kolkata has an underground metro train line with 17 stations extending over 16 kilometres. Service is cheap, frequent and punctual. In contrast to the city above them, the underground trains and stations are quite clean. The metro, India’s first, used to evoke pride among the people of Kolkata, but now it is no match for the spick and span, ultra-modern and larger metro system of Delhi.

Metro or not, Kolkata’s decline commenced when the British moved the capital to Delhi in 1912. The partition of Bengal in 1947 (resulting in the separation of East Bengal, now Bangladesh) hastened the decline, which was aggravated by decades of Communist rule.

If there is one thing that can definitely make the Bengalis of Kolkata and West Bengal (and, to a lesser extent, Bangladesh) proud, it is their affinity for literature, dance and drama. Many years ago, a special issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review had commented that only in Kolkata were you likely to meet a police officer who could discuss Shakespeare and Tolstoy.

When I mentioned this to a friend, he confirmed its veracity from his personal experience. After the Bangladesh war of 1971 he had been arrested and taken to the police station chief in a border town of West Bengal for illegally crossing the Bangladesh-India border. On seeing that he was reading a novel by Tolstoy, the chief ordered his immediate release! But the captor didn’t let his prisoner go until the two had exchanged a word or two about Tolstoy.

Kolkata has been made famous by Satyajit Ray, one of the best film directors the world has produced. In 1992, on his deathbed, he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Special Oscar.

If their metro train and cultural accomplishments give pride and joy to the people of Kolkata their man-drawn rickshaws are a blight. Not many are left, and they are confined to a small section of the city, but it is a pathetic sight to see a human being, tethered to a two-wheeled rickshaw much like a horse, running on the street pulling passengers seated at the back.

By Indian standards, Kolkata only gets a trickle of Western “backpacker” tourists and most of them arrive only in transit from Bangkok heading for other destinations in India. The many hotels and restaurants in the city thrive on account of visitors from neighbouring Bangladesh — businessmen, tourists and students.

Thousands of Bangladeshi students pursue higher studies in India and many Bangladeshi colleges and universities take their students on “study trips” to India. Kolkata is not only a point of entry into India for Bangladeshis, but it is for Bengalis everywhere what Lahore is to Punjabis. It is their cultural Mecca.

Motorways and roads are being constructed throughout India at a frenetic pace. Their centrepiece is the oddly named Golden Quadrilateral connecting the four so-called mega-cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

There are many private airlines operating in India, Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Deccan Air, Spicejet and Kingfisher being the major ones with large fleets of modern planes. The traffic at Delhi airport (India’s second busiest, after Mumbai) is comparable to some Western airports: a steady stream of planes landing and taking off. Thirty-five airlines fly to Delhi. There are over two dozen flights daily between Delhi and Mumbai alone.

Most Indians can’t afford to fly and, owing to the huge distances, trains remain by far the principal mode of long-distance transportation. Given the high demand for railway tickets, buying one usually entails standing in long queues and well in advance of the travel date. Ticketing is fully computerised and tickets may be bought anywhere in India from any point of origin to any destination.

The Indian railway system as a whole is a wonder. It is a massive network, the world’s largest, inherited from the British but hugely expanded and improved in the last 50 years. Single tracks have been turned into double tracks, lines have been electrified and many metre gauge lines have been converted to broad gauge.

The number of trains that run on the tracks is just unbelievable. Excellent long-distance overnight trains named Rajdhani Express connect the national capital with virtually every distant state capital. Comfortable daytime short-haul trains called Shatabdi Express connect the capital with nearer destinations such as Lucknow, Agra, Jaipur, Amritsar and Chandigarh.

Trains may run late, they may be overcrowded, but they run with a frequency and cover distances that are mind-boggling. But derailments and accidents are rather frequent and the human toll is often high. Ignorance and human error are to blame as much as technical failure, ageing equipment and infrastructure problems.

I will be less than frank if I did not tell readers that my first railway journey in India 15 years ago was a disaster. As I was sleeping on an upper birth in an express train from Hyderabad to Chennai, I woke up in shock in the middle of a very dark and wet night about halfway through my journey. A thunderous roar and shaking confirmed my worst fears: my train had derailed.

Slowly but surely my coach overturned and fell on its side. Although a total of eight coaches overturned injuring many passengers, fortunately no one died. I escaped without a scratch and arrived at my destination safe and well, though a bit shaken, about 14 hours late. As reported in the next day’s newspaper, the derailment was caused by “metal fatigue” of the track when the train was travelling at a speed of 80 kilometres per hour.

The accident had occurred at about 2:45am. The relief train arrived nearly three hours later. By then all passengers, some screaming from pain, had been pulled out of the overturned coaches by villagers. When the relief train did arrive, the “rescuers” had little to do except transport the passengers to the nearest station.

Other than this “minor inconvenience”, my experience of the Indian railways has been pleasant. I have travelled from Mumbai to Delhi, Kolkata to Varanasi, Allahabad to Delhi via Lucknow and Jaipur to Delhi via Agra, in addition to Hyderabad-Chennai.

Indeed, a journey on the Indian railway is likely to be an educative experience in multiculturalism, human camaraderie and plain efficiency at a low cost. I must admit, though, that I travelled first class most of the time, with the added privilege of booking my place on the trains through the special facility for foreigners.

Indian trains are India in microcosm, both for better and worse. If the state of the state of Bihar is any guide, the decision to make Laloo Prasad Yadav the minister of railways doesn’t bode well. During the 15 years that Yadav ruled Bihar directly or through his wife and cronies, it descended into violence and lawlessness.

The well-known writer on India, William Dalrymple, recently wrote that one ought to visit Bihar if one wished to see India as a failed state, adding that if one wanted to see how India will look if it succeeds, one should go to Bangalore instead.

Perhaps, time will tell. But the Indian railways are too serious a business to be left in the hands of any politician, let alone one with Yadav’s reputation.

This is the second part of a series of articles. The writer can be contacted at raziazmi@hotmail.com

--------------------------------------

Here & there : Incredible India - Razi Azmi

2006-04-05T21:51:00.000-04:00

A well written, interesting and very readable account of a trip to India by a journalist from Pakistan.

Here is the first in a series of four articles. Also available here

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday, March 16, 2006

The title of this column is borrowed from the buzzword of India’s official campaign to attract more Western tourists to the country. On my first trip to India, 15 years ago, I had visited Hyderabad, Madras (Chennai) and Bangalore in south India, as well as Mumbai (Bombay) in the west. Having just returned from another trip that took me to Kolkata (Calcutta), Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan, in the east, north and west, I have to agree. Incredible India!

India takes one’s breath away, both metaphorically and literally. Metaphorically, because one is simply awestruck by the number and majesty of her monuments, by the size of the country, by its cultural, religious and linguistic diversity, and by the many signs of economic and social progress. India, it seems, has more world-class historical monuments than the rest of the world put together. Speaking of first-rate monuments of Muslim heritage, I wonder if India may not have more of them than the rest of the Muslim world combined.

Stretching from Burma to Pakistan, from Sri Lanka to China, India’s diversity is stupefying. Imagine a Naga alongside a Sikh, a Tamil next to a Kashmiri. With 15 official languages and countless dialects, there is more diversity in India than entire continents can boast.

Although it is a Hindu-majority country, there are as many Muslims in India than in Pakistan or Bangladesh, more Christians than in Australia, as well as millions of Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, animists and others. Predominantly Indo-Aryan in terms of racial origin, a quarter of India’s population is Dravidian and three percent are a mixture of Mongoloid and others. And it’s not mere statistics, India’s diversity is evident everywhere, in colour, cuisine and costume.

India also takes one’s breath away quite literally, for there are streets, lanes and bazaars where one can hardly breathe — so strong is the stench from the strewn, rotting garbage and human and animal excrement. Incredible India!

India’s central, state and local governments have not even bothered to clean up the towns that attract tourists, such as Varanasi (Benaras), Jaipur, or even Agra, for that matter. No cleanup or window-dressing for tourists. Take it as it is or leave it. Such is India’s allure that Western tourists keep coming nevertheless, some of them on their second and third visits. Not the stench, not “Delhi belly”, not even the bomb blasts, nothing will stop them. There is something magical about India. In fact, India is full of magic, superstition and surprises.

If first impressions are last impressions, then I arrived at the wrong place. I flew into Kolkata, which has little to show by way of modern development, except a new bridge across the river Hooghly. Its finest buildings were built during the British Raj, but most are in various stages of decay or disrepair.

Kolkata makes one wonder why the people of West Bengal continue to vote for the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which has delivered little except, possibly, subsidised food and cheap public transport. Enough reason to vote, some might say. Compared to Delhi or Mumbai, not to mention Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, Kolkata seems like another world, in a kind of time warp, forgotten by time — and by the central government in Delhi.

The ride into town from Kolkata airport introduced me to that side of India which Pakistanis would much rather not know about, for they prefer tales of Muslim persecution in that country. The day of my arrival happened to be a public holiday throughout the country on account of Muharram. My taxi driver feared a traffic jam on the main road because of the Muharram tazya procession. And although we took the back streets, we still ran into a smaller procession, complete with chest beating and all.

My first acquaintance with Kolkata’s bureaucracy was a trifle amusing, if a bit frustrating. It was typically Bengali, in terms of the tardiness, as well as the verbosity and sentimentalism on display. At a quarter to ten, I joined a line of mostly Westerners outside the locked doors of the railway reservation office for foreigners. The door opened a few minutes after ten. We were allowed in and made to sit in a waiting hall with numbered forms. The counter was equipped with four computer terminals, but only one of them was operating. Work didn’t commence until a quarter of an hour after opening time.

With just one official at work, progress was slow anyway. But within about twenty minutes, it ground to a near-halt when he got into an acrimonious argument with a colleague in a mixture of Bengali and Hindi. On arrival, the colleague in question had been accused of being a habitual latecomer. As everyone watched, the two exchanged sharp words mixed with irony, with the accused saying that the accuser’s attitude confirmed what he had always suspected, that his life and welfare did not matter to the latter at all, for he had not even cared to ask the reason for his coming late.

I was reminded of the comment of the American journalist, PJ O’Rourke, about his experience in Kolkata in 1998 in his book The CEO of the Sofa: “I spent the next four days trying to accomplish something in India again... This would take twenty minutes. Adjusting the clock to Indian Daylight Wasting Time, that’s four days.”

The people of Kolkata vote for the Communists, but religion and superstition pervade their lives in a way that I have not seen elsewhere. Most taxis in the city are adorned with a miniature deity, or a picture of one, on the dashboard. That, of course, is not much different from the religious verses and incantations that are suspended from the rear-view mirrors of motor vehicles in Pakistan. What was different was that a driver would alternately touch the deity and his forehead two or three times with the fare to bless his income.

On one occasion, I climbed the raised soil around a pipal (fig) tree on the footpath in order to better position myself to take a picture. But before I could take one, I felt a tap on my shoulder. A man had drawn my attention to something where I stood. Quickly, I retreated with an apology, for I had desecrated a sacred tree. I had failed to notice the two or three stones, along with few flowers and some vermilion, signifying something sacred. Every tenth tree or so had the aura of holiness attached to it in this manner.

Later, in another incident that educated me in the social intricacies and religious nuances of India, I slipped my foot into a slipper (chappal), which I intended to buy, to make sure it was the right size. It happened to be on the top of a stack of slippers and miscellaneous footwear for sale on the footpath. Their owner furiously demanded that I withdraw my foot, which, I surmised, had the effect of defiling his stock.

True, his stock consisted of footwear but, until sold, they were his capital, his asset, his means of livelihood, and therefore, clean and sacred, not to be trampled underfoot. Incredible India!

This is the first part of a series of articles. The writer can be contacted at raziazmi@hotmail.com

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Indian City Shows Restraint Amid Bombings

2006-03-10T14:03:00.000-05:00

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If anything was to set off the next round of bloodletting between India's Hindus and Muslims, many feared it would be this week's bombings in Hinduism's holiest city.

Twenty people were killed in the attacks, which were blamed on Muslim extremists and targeted a temple and the train station.

"Imagine if the Israelis attacked Mecca, or a Muslim man bombed the Vatican — that is how I, how we all, feel," said Ravneet Sharma before offering prayers at the Sankat Mochan temple.
Yet in the days since, this wounded city of temples and holy men has shown remarkable restraint. The feared retaliation has not come to pass, despite the inflammatory rhetoric of Hindu nationalist leaders.
The calm — if angry — aftermath, many here say, is booming India's modern response to ancient tensions that have long set South Asia's Hindus and Muslims against one another.

"So much pain is coursing through my heart," Sharma said. All around him the devout appealed to the monkey god Hanuman, chanting prayers and rubbing sandalwood paste on statues of the deity. The sound of monkeys running over the roof echoed throughout the building.

He made it clear he feels little love for his Muslim neighbors. "They are not my brothers," he said.
But India is a growing economic and diplomatic power and "these extremists want to destroy our peace and prosperity," he said. "Communal violence is their aim. We must control our impulses."

Instead of rioting, most of Varanasi's million people showed their anger through a general strike that shut down the city on Wednesday.
On Friday, the city's narrow alleyways were once again choked with pushcarts and cars and the Ganges River was coursing with boatmen ferrying pilgrims and tourists. Shopkeepers chewing betel leaves tended display cases of cell phones, cheap electronics and Hindi music.

More than 80 percent of India's 1 billion people are Hindu. Their relations with Muslims, the country's largest religious minority, have been largely peaceful since the partition of the subcontinent at independence from Britain in 1947, when more than 1 million people were killed as overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan was carved from largely Hindu India.

But there have been periodic bouts of sectarian strife. Thousands died in rioting after Hindu militants tore down northern India's historic Babri Mosque in 1992. A campaign to build a Hindu temple at the site propelled the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party to power in 1998.

But it's been two years since the BJP was voted out of national office, and with elections coming up in Uttar Pradesh state, where Varanasi is located, party leaders and other Hindu nationalists are making their presence felt here.

Seemingly endless processions of Hindu nationalists have made their way through Sankat Mochan since the attacks, chanting what sound more like a call to arms than a prayer.
Juel Oram, a BJP politician from the eastern state of Orissa, said the attacks are rooted "in the appeasement of Muslims by the government." Uttar Pradesh is run by a politician who has long championed Muslims and lower-caste Hindus.

Although Oram, like the other Hindu nationalists here, said he opposed violence, he spoke of the need to "crush the Muslim element if we are to solve this problem."
It's words like these that have led to violence in the past.
"Indian people pick up rocks and sticks at the behest of politicians," said Ashok Yadav, a 40-year-old shop owner. He said he was angry, but would "vote," not riot.

The temple's spiritual caretaker, 68-year-old Veer Bhadra Mishra, was blunter — "Wherever there is a carcass, you have vultures circling overhead," he said.
A senior civil servant in Uttar Pradesh who has served throughout India said politicians have riled up emotions in the past.

He cited religious riots in western India in 2002 that human rights groups have long charged were encouraged — and at times directed — by BJP officials.
The official, who requested anonymity because such statements could ruin his career, said after the bombings, authorities deployed hundreds of police to keep mobs from forming.
"Now it's best to let these people burn themselves out," said Alok Sinha, Uttar Pradesh's top home ministry official.

Viva - Varanasi 2

2006-03-10T08:34:00.000-05:00

"Build me my ghats, the river, the life as I know it, in the backyard and may be I will stay back" -Ustad Bismillah Khan - turning down an offer of an American connoisseur to stay in the US
- Photo taken December 17th 2003 from the window of our room at the Scindhia Guest House.

Viva Varanasi

2006-03-09T12:03:00.001-05:00

This photograph is dedicated to the many individuals who perished in the bomb blasts in Varanasi on the 6th of March. What centuries of treacherous foreign rule and lax and lazy Indian administration cannot destroy, cannot be disturbed by a couple of silly homemade bombs. People do not understand the real nature and life of Varanasi. As old as civilization itself – I am not in any position to even try and describe the vivacity of the millions that make this wonderful city, and the city itself.
This photograph was taken on 18th December, 2003 when I really saw the ancient city for the first time. I had visited the city before many times – but had never seen the beauty and depth it carries in its arms. The simplicity of little boys flying kites on roof tops, the thrill and fun at seeing monkeys jumping from building to building demanding taxes in the shape of bananas – as though they run an administration in parallel to the district administration, the aura of aartis on Ganga at dawn and dusk, the goose bumps that I am getting right now thinking about the beauty of it all are feelings that cannot be put to words.

Maybe its time we installed CCTV and start frisking everybody that enters and leaves a public place. Its sad – I know – but the enemy is faceless, coward. We live in dangerous times.

But you gotta buy by the box

2006-03-08T02:09:00.000-05:00

Yup - those are Mangoes!! $6 a box. What was the President talking about when he visited India??
And a whole box of bell peppers for $15 !

Hey - do you want to share some onions?

2006-03-08T02:05:00.000-05:00

Have you signed the NPT first?
No..
Then I cannot deal with you.
??
Just kidding - we are not dealing in Uranium here - just some harmless onions and tomatoes - plenty of them.

India? Pakistan? Australia? China?

2006-03-08T01:58:00.000-05:00

OK - so enough politics for a week - ok 2 weeks.
As promised - here are some photos of our local farmer's market. What could be better than fresh fruits and veggies? What fun :)

"Let's stop beating around Bush"

2006-03-07T17:22:00.000-05:00

Here is a great article about a good reason why what happened in India last week, happened. I'll copy paste the entire piece in entirety.
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In 2004, top-20 contributors to Bush's election campaign included Citigroup, Bank of America, Microsoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. In 2005, Citigroup India collected $38 million in fees from Indian companies and is now India's second largest investment banking entity (with 25 offices and branches across 18 Indian cities). Bank of America has Continuum Solutions Pvt. Ltd., its wholly owned subsidiary based in Hyderabad, which processes the Bank's back-office operations (Bank of America has moved hundreds of jobs from the UK to Hyderabad).

Microsoft has just one software development centre outside the US and that is in Hyderabad. Microsoft India has presence in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Gurgoan. In 2002, Microsoft committed $400 million for India. In 2005, $1.7 billion was committed.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has offices in Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bhubaneshwar and Pune. DSP Merrill Lynch Limited is now India's largest investment banking entity with offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore. Morgan Stanley runs India Magnum Fund and India Investment Fund.

Besides the top campaign contributors, Corporate America sees India as a strategic partner. Pepsi, Ford, IBM, Kodak, Coca Cola, Microsoft, Motorola, Heinz, Monsanto, Warner Bros, Federal Express, Bankers Trust, Parke Davis, Intel, JP Morgan, Kellogg, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, American Int'l Group, Exxon-Mobil, Delta, Boston Consulting, Oracle, Unocal, Xerox, Lockheed, Raytheon, Rockwell, Honeywell, Adobe, AES, Alcoa, American Express, Northrop, McKinsey, Amway, Polaroid, Caterpillar, Dell, Sun, Texas Instruments, NCR, Hewlett Packard, Lucent, Novell, Ingersoll-Rand, American Data, MetLife, Cognizant, Caltex, Tenneco, Covansys and Diebold already have offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.

US corporate giants are now dependent on Tata Consultancy, Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Satyam Computer Services, HCL Technologies, Patni Computer Systems, Silverline Technologies, Mahindra, Pentasoft, Mascot, Mascom, Mastek, Polaris, L&T and Hexaware (all Indian software giants). Furthermore, US exports to India were up over 30 per cent last year, making India one of America's fastest growing major export markets.

In Washington, the India Caucus has become a lobby to be reckoned with. Out of a total of 435 representatives elected to the 109th Congress around 120 are official members of the India Caucus (the Congressional Caucus on Pakistan claims to have 55 members of which at least 12 are also members of the India Caucus).

From a geo-strategic standpoint, the Pentagon has already moved China from a 'friendly competitor' to a 'strategic adversary'. And, the Pentagon needs India to counterbalance China; a democratic India which could become an economic as well as a military counterweight to China. An India that will also buy billions of dollars of American weapons systems. Deep down, Indian elite also craves to stand up to China and that India cannot do without American help. In effect, Indo-US relationship is economic, political and strategic.

Then there is the 'Great Game in Central Asia' where Russia and China both long for ending America's 'monopoly in world affairs'. The Russia-China axis is propagating the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a challenge to America's central Asian strategy. The Moscow-Beijing nexus has brought Iran and Uzbekistan under its tent. America is actively courting India (is it courting or is a wedding in progress?) after having brought Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan under her tent. Where does Pakistan stand in this 'Great Game'?

Islamabad is a mere 425 miles from New Delhi but Pak-US relationship is neither economic nor political. In Islamabad, Bush's top-5 agenda items were terrorism, terrorism, cross-border terrorism, non-proliferation and democracy. America sees Islamabad's misnamed 'Constitution Avenue' sitting on top of several fault lines; a civil-military fault line, a fundamental-moderate fault line and a whole host of ethnic fault lines (all besides the tectonic one). For Bush, Islamabad is all about challenges.

America looks at India and sees economic buoyancy-cum-political stability. America looks at Pakistan and finds neither. America looks at India and sees opportunities. America looks at Pakistan and sees nothing but challenges.

Should I be mad at Bush because Bush does not treat us as India's equal?
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Oh! the questions I have

2006-03-03T14:33:00.000-05:00

Oh Condi, My Condi,
Thou art beautiful – why art thou not mine,
Even if thou art not mine, that doesn’t mean I can’t have an eyeful.
Like India’s presidential palaces, thou stand tall, and graceful.
Like India’s multitude, thou art colorful and smart.

Oh Condi, My Condi,
Where did thou get that dress?
Did thou have it when we leave our great country?
Or did thou ask Singh to have one sewn for thou.
Why doesn’t the lady next to me wear anything like that – ever?

Oh Condi, My Condi,
The questions I have, can anyone answer?
Oh Condi, My Condi,
Why art thou not mine?