Plausible Power Politics?

Our politicians are never tired of getting despised for all the reasons they know. Point in case, the justification given by Union Minister Vayalar Ravi and Ghulam Nabi Azad to some Congress ministers hailing from Seemandhra. The reason behind the firm support by Congress High command (as they call it) for separation of Telangana is the high probability of Congress getting close to 16 seats from Telangana state in future. They feel that the Seemandhra ministers have failed to lobby enough to keep the state together and more importantly failed miserably in ensuring seats in the next state elections. Looks like YSR Congress will have the last laugh amidst all this. Plausible Power Politics, eh? Definitely not. Fingers crossed. I wouldn't appreciate this geographical division for sure.

Juggling Numbers - Breeding Education?

During some of my free time, a couple of weeks ago, I happened to read about the recent additions to the most prestigious technical and business schools in India - the IITs and IIMs respectively. What baffled me though, was the long list of juggling numbers. What used to be 7 and 6 earlier, was now 16 and 13! The newbies being,

IIM Shillong, Meghalaya
IIM Ranchi, Jharkhand
IIM Rohtak, Haryana
IIM Raipur, Chhattisgarh
IIM Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
IIM Udaipur, Rajasthan
IIM Kashipur, Uttarakhand

IIT Ropar, Punjab
IIT Bhubaneswar, Orissa
IIT Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
IIT Gandhinagar, Gujarat
IIT Patna, Bihar
IIT Jodhpur, Rajasthan
IIT Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
IIT Indore, Madhya Pradesh
IIT (BHU) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

This takes the total count of IITs and IIMs to 16 and 13 respectively. This initiative from the Eleventh Five Year Plan, may help in churning out more number of graduates, but the catch here is whether this number can match in quality - something these institutes are famous for. Ironically, IIM Ranchi has the highest CAT cut-off percentage at 99.66. Students gaining admissions to the new % of seats may not be the best breed but could yet prove better than the thousands of graduates coming from the lower tier institutes across the country.

Travelogue - GOA

I had many expectations before leaving for Goa a couple of weeks back, mainly because of what I heard from others who had been there earlier. Not sure if my expectations got over the board, but I somehow felt that Goa is an overrated tourist place.

Firstly, it may have the longest running coastline and the largest number of beaches, which is why it is stormed by foreigners in majority. But then, what is the point because all beaches more or less look similar and serve the same purpose. There are better tourist places in India or at least ones that are equally good.

Secondly, there were a lot of apprehensions built into our 'all-girl' minds about the safety of this place. Why is Goa made to sound so notoriously unsafe for women? We felt very safe despite no male company. Staying in a good hotel in a decent locality can do no harm to you, whatsoever. Just make sure you are aware of your actions and surroundings.

Goa looks best in monsoons, but that would leave you compromising on a variety of water sports. We stayed in a cottage on Miramar beach near to Panjim. For shopping, you may go around the flea markets on Baga and Calangute beaches or the upmarket boutiques in Panjim. I didn't find anything worth buying though except for a few junk accessories.

Stayed at: Miramar Beach Resort by GTDC (Go for the Deluxe AC rooms. They are good).
Food: Avoid the food in its restaurant, but do treat your taste buds to the lovely chat flavors and coffee available in the food court there. You would have to explore different places for tasty food. Delhi Darbaar, Forest Veg Food Court in Panjim can be tried.

Jan Lokpal - India Against Corruption

India is finally awakening to the dire need for a fool proof Anti Corruption system. The Jan Lokpal bill drafted by a known section of the civil society has now found voice to make its presence felt in the Parliament. This bill should be definitely passed and the necessary legal Lokpal and Lokyukta entities should be set up as soon as possible.

It is really distressing to see that politicians who make long illustrous speeches and take innumerable rounds in the streets of their constituency to take commoners in their stride, fail to stand up and pledge their vote against corruption. How many will have the guts and passion like Anna to raise voice against the government and the charizma to pull the masses into this movement?

When India can witness one billion people coming together just for a game of cricket, a magnanimous movement like India Against Corruption deserves much more than that.

I pledge my support for my nation. I pledge my support for India Against Corruption.

For more info on Jan Lokpal and India Against Corruption, visit this page.

Divide and Rule

It came as a shock to me when I heard Mr. P Chidambaram, on television, talk about the Telangana bill to be passed in the Assembly. I am surprised that what something like the 1969 Telangana agitation couldn't achieve is now a reality. And, that too as a result of such low protest. Hunger strike by a gentleman, demolition of a few public transport vehicles, strike by some thousand college students and a few television interviews by some TRS leaders is all what it took. I just want to ask one question. Will Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao oblige if someone else is made the Chief Minister of (could be) Telangana state? That answers everything.

Now, already Rayalseema, Kosta and Andhra are raising their voice for separate states. Coming days will see more protest from all corners of Andhra Pradesh. People will fight for Hyderabad, which is already being proposed to be made a Union Territory. I am utterly dissapointed with this decision from centre. Cannot see Andhra Pradesh sliced into pieces after 43 years and after all the sacrifices made to make it happen. An outright insult to Amarajeevi Potti Sreeramulu who fasted until death for the cause. I just hope AP remains as is, united.


We have proved again that we still follow what the British left us behind with - Divide and Rule. Yes, we divide and rule. We do.

Hell on Wheels

The pictures below are taken in the second class of the Intercity Express (Vijayawada-Secunderabad). They show the poor state of our Railways. This was the most terrible and painstaking journey in my life. A coupe meant for 12 people was packed with a group of 22 to 24. The price you pay for getting to stand is the same as that paid for a reserved seat - A big fault in the system. It causes inconvenience even for the passengers who have a reserved seat because it hugely affects their comfortability. They are sandwiched between many of those standing.

I couldn't shoot from a better angle considering my ackward seating position, surrounded by 4 people and my feet stuck between two ladies and a boy sitting between my seat row and the one exactly opposite to it within a distance of about 20 inches!

Railways have to stop issuing tickets once the reserved seats get over or if not, in worst case, reduce the ticket price by at least 50% for those who buy a ticket later for them to decide whether to make the journey or not.

This is pathetic!!! Ms. Mamata Banerjee, are you listening? This is HELL on wheels.

'Slumdog' Slum Kids

The 'Slumdog' kids are seen getting involved in many controversies with each taking a new turn every day. The last time we heard of them was when their houses were brought down by the railway officials because they were allegedly built on an occupied land owned by the railways. Now, the news is that these children have again set their base in the same land by building new houses.

Slumdog Millionaire might be a 'great' film having brought a couple of oscars to the country, but one thing I don't understand is that why should the actors be treated as if they have done something tremendous for the country - something that India could never think of or has been dying to feel good about. The cast of the film or particularly the slum kids Azhar and Rubina Ali have not done anything so great that people expect the government to recognize their effort and honour them with free income, a free apartment, or may be a free car too. They have just acted in a film like any any other child artiste or actor in any other film. There are many children like Azhar and Rubina who are left to their destiny to pull their lives through these slums across the country. What about them? And, they will not even get a chance to re-build their homes if demolished by the government once. Azhar and Rubina are at least lucky to have lots of support from the media and the public who think they have brought laurels to the country.

Mystic India - Truly an incredible journey

Mystic India is a must watch for every Indian and for every religion. It is the journey of an 11-year old boy, Neelkanth, who walked over 8000 miles across India barefoot and barebody in quest of truth and spiritual enlightenment, before obtaining sanyas (Asceticism or spiritual yoga). This boy Neelkanth later grew up into a renowned saint and world reformer, Swaminarayan after embracing Uddhav Sampraday from Swami Ramanand.

The film captures the real mood of spiritual India - its architectural wonders, ancient wisdom and the innumerable holy places along the length and breadth of the country. Every picture frame in Mystic India is awe-inspiring and leaves you wanting more of it. The breathtaking locales from the Himalayas to the Cherrapunji, from the South waters to the Ganges are enough to blow your mind. The story of Neelkanth is neatly woven into this epic film on the unity, cultural diversity and the underlying spirituality in India.

The casting done for Neelkanth's role in the film is brilliant - Latesh Patel and Rupak Mehta playing the young and the adolescent Neelkanth respectively. The film was made in Hindi and its English version has a scenic narration by Peter O 'Toole.

Mystic India is much more than a documentary considering its reel time of 50 minutes. As the film was made on the 70mm film or the Imax format, it is not possible for it to be played everywhere. It is currently being shown in India at Prasads Imax, Hyderabad and Adlabs Imax, Mumbai. I recommend Mystic India to every human being who would like to get inspired.

My rating for this film - *****
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)

When terror strikes...

The whole country cried with Mumbai during the terror strike from 26th - 28th November and they now stand united in their war against terror and power politics. What we saw last week was really ruthless and painful.

What followed is the resignation of few leaders at the centre and the opposition party trying to mould the situation in their favour for the upcoming general elections.

Can't we stand united as a nation at least during such a terrible situation?

India Shining!

"Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues and freebooters. All Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw." Winston Churchill on the eve of Indian Independence

Read the whole article here

Was he Netaji?

A 125 year old man has reportedly claimed he was Netaji two days before he died in a village near the Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. He was known as Baba Lalji Maharaj. The Madhya Pradesh police have started a probe into the matter.

The detailed article can be read here.

Degrading politics

I was shocked to read about the new agenda of DMK and AIADMK (the ruling party in Tamil Nadu). The poll outcome, as suggested by many newspapers, is going to be in favour of the DMK party. Perhaps, the 'Colour Telivision' carried more value than 'Gold'. :D

Amma (Jayalalitha) promised to grant the scape goats (aam junta) ten Kg rice on every ration card. She also proclaimed that she would give one gold 'mangalsutra' each to every unmarried woman as a wedding gift (planning to waste resources in a new way this time). On the other hand, the DMK president, Mr. Karunanidhi is nowhere behind. He promised a new colour telivision and rice at Rs.2 a Kg for every household. Now, one has to wait and watch the combat between 'Colour TV and Gold'. Not Karunanidhi Vs. Jayalalitha as anyone would expect.

Now, one might wonder why there's so much animosity between the two party leaders. Let me enlighten the uninitiated. Nearly two decades aga, Ms. Jayalalitha was terribly insulted by Mr. M.Karunanidhi in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Her saree was pulled off by DMK party's members in front of hundreds of others in the Assembly. I do not know in detail about the pre-conflict that led to such an extreme step, but whatever it is, knowing this I can never vote for DMK.