A trip to Kanpur and Agra

Sorry for being lazy again... I know I broke my resolution but still I can have a chance to put up an excuse. I was without Internet for around 11 days during the period, isn't that too much for a person who is online almost 24X7. I celebrated Holi in Kanpur and also visited Agra.... yes to see the Taj for the first time.

Driving to Agra was fun, never thought will be able to cover 270 Kms in just four hours, thanks to the golden quadrilateral. Even though I had been on that highway but only for a limited stretch and this time around It was a lot more. The highways is world class but the people still need a lot to learn. People driving on the opposite directions is quite a common affair even on a highway. For people on Bicycles and other two wheelers such an endeavour I consider an suicidal act, what else should I say when a car or truck at 100+ gets frustrated seeing you there (that for the fortunate ones).

Came back to Hyderabad on 16th and since then life is again back to the routine stuff including 24X7 (I know its an exaggeration, but some feel that way).

UPA takes credit for Slumdog

The credit of oscars must go to congress party ??..............................Bcoz without congress there would not have been slums in India even after 62years of independence.
JAI HO !!

Ram bhi dar gaye

Shri Ram coments on Ram SethuThe Lord Shree Shree Ramachandra Prabhu surveyed the Ram Setu and said "Hanuman, how diligently and strenuously you and your vanara sena had builtthis bridge several centuries back. It is remarkable that it has withstoodthe ravages of the climatic and geographical changes over centuries. It is indeed an amazing feat especially considering the fact that a bridge atHyderabad built by Gammon using latest technology collapsed the other dayeven before they could stick the posters on its pillars."Hanuman with all humility spoke "Jai Sri Ram, it is all because of yourgrace. We just scribbled your name on the bricks and threw them in the seaand they held. No steel from TISCON or cement from Ambuja or ACC was ever used. But Lord, why rake up the old issue now."Ram spoke "Well, Hanuman some people down there want to demolish the bridgeand construct a canal. The contract involves lot of money and lot of money will be made. They will make money on demolition and make more money onconstruction. "Hanuman humbly bowed down and said "Why not we go down and present ourcase"
Ram said "Times have changed since we were down there. They will ask us to submit age proof and we don't have either a birth certificate or schoolleaving certificate. We traveled mainly on foot and some times in bullockcarts and so we don't have a driving license either. As far as the address proof is concerned the fact that I was born at Ayodhya is itself underlitigation for over half a century, If I go in a traditional attire withbow and arrow, the ordinary folks may recognize me but Arjun Singh may take me to be some tribal and, at the most, offer a seat at IIT under thereserved category. Also, a God cannot walk in dressed in a three-piece suitand announce his arrival. It would make even the devotees suspicious. So it is dilemma so to say.""I can vouch for you by saying that I personally built the bridge.""My dear, Anjani putra, it will not work. They will ask you to produce thelay-out plan, the project details, including financial outlay and how the project cost was met and the completion certificate. Nothing is acceptedwithout documentary evidence in India. You may cough but unless a doctorcertifies it, you have no cough. A pensioner may present himself personally but the authorities do not take it as proof. He has to produce alife-certificate to prove that he is alive. It is that complicated.""Lord can't understand these historians. Over the years you have given darshan once every hundred years to saints like Surdas, Tulsidas, SaintThyagaraja, Jayadeva, Bhadrachala Ramdas and even Sant Tukaram and stillthey disbelieve your existence and say Ramayana is a myth. The only option, I see, is to re-enact Ramayana on earth and set the government recordsstraight once for all."
Lord smiled "It isn't that easy today. Ravan is apprehensive that he maylook like a saint in front of Karunanidhi. I also spoke to his mama Mareecha, who appeared as a golden deer to tempt Sita maiyya when I was inthe forest and he said that he won't take a chance of stepping on earth aslong as Salman Khan is around."

Can someone tell her about the map of INDIA

I still remember the controversy a few months back regarding the Nokia maps, where they had shown LOC and LAC as international boundaries of India, instead of the boundaries accepted by India, that Includes Pak occupied Kashmir and Aksai chin. Then there was a controversy about a Map of Himanchal Govt.

But the ad given by CM of UP, posing inside India is the heights of %^&&%&*&^. Such an Idiotic act could have been expected from one and only Mayawati. I believe Dainik jagran is also equally responsible for this, they also need to make sure not to publish such maps.

Also I am not sure, if no one really picked up coz I didn't read or hear about this anywhere till now, its already one full day.

I understand that India has no administrative control over those areas but Fortunatly for India, Mayawati is not yet the person to decide about the borders of India, nor am I.

Diversity and freedom

We have a President who insists on covering her head and wearing long sleeves even in the height of summer, a Prime Minister who wears a turban, a Chief Election Commissioner who proudly displays a caste mark, and Parliamentarians who make a practice of sporting unconventional apparels which ensure that their caste, community or region is easily identifiable. I personally feel, that to build a harmonious, integrated society in modern day India, it might be wiser to try ironing out differences in society, instead of going out of the way to reinforce the angularities.

I recall the advice to the Parsees by the ruler of Sanjan, Jadi Rana, back in the eighth century. The Parsees, who fled religious persecution in Persia, landed in Gujarat and requested asylum. Jadi Rana allowed them to settle on certain conditions. The Parsees were told to give up the Persian language and speak the local lingo. They were also asked to dress like the natives and respect and observe the customs of the majority community. They could practise their religious ceremonies in private. The king's advice was sound. This minority community prospered in its adopted land by melting easily into the mainstream, even while maintaining its identity for over 1200 years.

The New Youth Icon

Mr. Rahul Gandhi, the so called yuvraj of Congress on India, is touted to be the youth icon of the country. INC wants to use him as a youth mascot of an elderly party. When I say elderly party I did not mean, about the age of the party or of its leaders. Rahul has only one qualification to become a youth mascot and that is his surname gandhi.
But I would say that Rahul is either not grown up or is already elderly, I am saying so because of his thinking. A person who puts Industrialization as pro reach can not be fit to be called a youth. Probably he is carrying the same thinking, as has been forced by his forefathers, of just wooing the voters by non relevant things. If anyone looks at the world, he/she can easily find that, its the industrialization that changed the world. USA may be a capitalist country (a Pro rich) and the country hardly has any poverty. Today we may say that USA is struggling, but let me assure you about the fact that they are still better off then most of the Indians. The only thing is that they are not used to even slightly bad things and we have grown up seeing worst things around us.
If rahul thinks that by spending a night at a Dalt's house, he is doing nothing but proving his incapability. It simply means that in the first 36-37 years of his life he never got a chance to look beyond the dream world of 10 Janpath, USA and Columbia (his GFs native ).
If Innocence is hallmark of childhood then Ideology is the hallmark of the youth and for that reason I say that Rahul can not be termed as youth as for him, I don't know what matters beyond votes.

Two sets of rules

"What became clear to me is that we can't send a message to the American people that we've got two sets of rules: one for prominent people and one for ordinary people. So I consider this a mistake on my part and one that I intend to fix and correct and make sure that we're not screwing up again,"

This is what US President Obama said in an interview to Fox, about the appointments of two tax evaders in his staff.

The Point I wanted to make here is that, in India at least every politician and influencial person tries to convey the message very clearly, that in India, there really exist two set of rules, one for Prominent Indians and one for Ordinary Indians. Be it the BMW case, where kin of ex Navy chief was involved or any other in which at least we got to know about the case through the coverage provided by Media. Here we have one more rule, i.e. if its about an influential person Media will cover it with full glare, but numorous numbers of crimes committed every day in all the parts of the country just go unnoticed.

In India no government has tried to give such a message till date, even if they are caught, all the possible attempts are made to cover up the things. I hope some day India will get its own Obama (Please do not compare him with Mayawati just both are from underprivileged sections of the society).

Our Great Secular Media....

Today I have spotted two contrasting news and their coverage by the so called secular Indian media. One news, which got extreme coverage was that "More proof on Muthalik's Malegaon blasts connection". This news appears on the main page of NDTV website and has been followed ridiculuosly through the day by the fanatics (journalists).
Now if you go through the article you will realize that Mr. Ram only praised Pragya and Lt. Col. Purohit, and if NDTV considers this speech as a proof of his involvement in Malegaon Blasts, then probably all the politicians of Tamilnadu should be behind bars, as they not only praise LTTE but also use their influence on Indian government to help them. How about the Imams of Jama Masjid Delhi and deoband, who do not shy away from praising global terrorists like Osama bin Laden.

Now contrast it, with another news:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7857468.stm
If you look at the picture, the protesters are holding the Indian flag upside down. This in itself is a big crime and in addition to that these are the guys backing the culprits of batla house. Now I do not understand why should our national media ignore such a big thing, when it puts a speech of support as proof of involvement.

Just imagine what NDTV will report if there was rally in support of Pragya and Lt. Col. Purohit.

Back again...

Sorry for such a long pause. I have taken a new resolve today i.e. to keep my blog updated and to post at least one new article in a week. I was not doing anything, but just my laziness, and then once it became a bit long, i didn't know when to start again. But now I have decided...

The achievements in the 60th yr of Independence

I consider following as the major achievements of the country in the last one year:

1: Tatas take over of Corus.
2. The growth rate of 9.4 % for the financial year 06-07.
3. Sentences to 1993 blasts culprits.
4. Indo US nuke Deal.
5. Sensax Crossing 15000.
6. A lady president.
7. An Indian Satellite carrying an Israeli secret payload.

६० साल कि आजादी: क्या खोया क्या पाया

Today India completed 60 years of the Independence, with that came some different interpretation of the 60 years. Some said "now India becomes a senior citizen" & some said " India at 60 is Sexy". The second statement itself reflects the change in the culture & the attitude of the society.

Today I read a very good comparison on various measure of the India in 1947 & India in 2007. the statistics were great & gave a sense that we have grown a lot indeed. Defiantly we have grown a large extent, from the era of movies like "Sant Tukaram" to the era of movies like " Cheeni Kum". In 1947 people believed in gods & saints. They also had one alive saint to worship at that point of time. The saint died & came the era of an charismatic leader, who took initiatives to establish the county in the International stage & also tried his best to establish the Industry & the Institutions, which took the country forward. the 50s & 60s were not good but still the people were happy, as they were not having much of the glimpse of the developed world & remained happy being a third world country. The movies of that time were also showcasing same happiness, some sorrow & sometimes the society as reflected in "naya daur".

Then came the era of the great Indian middle class, the India made of the clerks. People had to stand in ques for even the basic amenities. With that came the anger against the system, the system which deteriorated considerably. People were unhappy with the redtapism, unemployment & the quotas. The society found its reflection in an "angry young man", who portrayed the anger of the great Indian middle class.

With the advent of MNCs in India after India adopted a liberal economic policy, the country started to use global brands. The same way evolved the angry young man, who now is an very happy old man and plays a sexy sam. No more we are bothered about the old moral values & the ethics. In the same manner grew the Indian middle class, whose children now work for IT companies instead of trying to become "babus". The good old "Buland bharat ki buland tasweer" no more produces Chetaks, it now has a different tone, which represents the today's youth. A population, which is happy in itself.

Also at the same time there was a part of that old Indian middle class, who were not able to catch up with the development. They fell back, but still part of that great Indian middle class. The Middle class has grown & has grown its range. People living in metros, who spend there holidays abroad are middle class walahs & at the same time the families living on 1500Rs a month in UP & Bihar consider themselves also to be from the middle class.

India has grown and will grow with good pace, but what has to be ensured is that every sect of the society participates in this growth.

Stronger Rupee = Stronger India

Let me ask a question first.

What type of economic strength is preferable to India?
A) A strong Indian economy fueled by its cheap labor due to a weaker rupee against dollar, where the Indians end up working in shifts, late nights, whole nights and what not… only doing low profile jobs which foreign companies want to offload to India, so that they can concentrate on high end works and become even better. For instance in IT field, providing BPO services, support and maintenance work for products…

OR

B) A strong Indian economy fueled by its strong innovations and products, no matter whether the rupee is strong or weak against dollar.. where Indians work only in regular office hours of 9 to 6, developing cutting edge technologies and solutions, selling our world class products both inside and outside India. For instance in IT field, imagine operating systems, compilers, databases etc all coming out of India..

I do not deny the fact that the IT boom in India came to a large extent because of (A). Well and good, we have had the benefits of our cost being cheap in western markets due to a weak rupee against dollar.. We have had our share because of this advantage in the past 2 decades..

But at the same time doesn't it make sense to move towards (B), instead of crying foul against rupee becoming stronger against dollar?

What a pity! Indian IT companies are feeling bad because rupee is becoming stronger against dollar! Reason, their profits will go down when the value of rupee is stronger, as every single dollar that comes into their account now means lesser rupee than earlier..(if for instance earlier they used to get 47 rupees for every dollar that comes in, but today its about 40!)

But isn't this a matter of celebration? Our rupee is gaining importance internationally and is becoming stronger again.. How many of us know that in 1947 when India got independence 1 Rupee was 1.2 US dollars?

These Indian IT companies instead of relying on a weaker rupee for their profit should now look at coming out with innovative products and technical solutions. What have these companies done in the arena of core system products? Why don't we have any operating systems, compilers, database systems, development platforms etc coming out of India? Why don't we develop tools like photoshop or flash? We have talent, but they all are working in American companies on these products.. Cannot our Indian IT companies setup at least small teams to develop such products?

Instead they are planning to make their employees work on saturdays too ! So that their profits can increase due to extra hours the employees put in.. As if India doesnt have any other option other than cheap labour, workaholic labor!! Are there no brains in India who can setup companies developing products and make money just by printing out more serial numbers and burning their product DVDs?

If Indian companies continue to depend on its weak currency, then how would Indian economy survive in a world where all currencies have equal value? Survival of the fittest.. Only greater innovation can help us in that case..

We need to have knowledge and technological advantage if India wants to become a superpower, not low cost based cheap labor advantage! Let the Chinese do it..

I hope that rupee becomes more and more stronger so that Indians are forced to use their brains and come up with innovative products and next generation technologies, than to provide low end services…

We need to create a situation where other countries line up to buy our F-16s, to buy our operating systems, to buy our mobile phones and I-pods, to buy our Boeing, to buy our Mercedes…

A stronger rupee means we can easily afford foreign trips!

"A stronger rupee means Indians can buy things anywhere in the world on par with developed economies! We dont have to spend crores of rupees then to buy a Boeing! We don't have to pay tens of thousands of rupees for international air travels! A stronger rupee means greater international exposure! There wont be a difference between buying a Maruti and buying a Mercedes! One can go on a trip to the Grand Canyon just like the way one goes to Ladakh or Nepal ! How do you think american citizens are able to tour all over the world? Because they earn more? No. But because their currency USD is stronger.. and this is where a strong rupee will lead us to!… "

I am not saying providing low end services is wrong .. It gave us a very good start in the 90s. But that should definitely not be the bread and butter fueling our economic boom indefinitely in the future.. For the simple reason that it can't continue to do so any longer.. other low cost destinations, cheaper than India are already coming up in the world… Let us move ahead… become more innovative.. the journey has just started… This is just the beginning of all the beginnings…

My first experiment with electro Magnetic waves...

I remember little about the time we had a black & white television. That was in 1994. Cable must have just about. Maybe at the time I didn't even have enough sense to think about getting a cable connection. The television used to be kept in a room on the first floor of the house. I was sitting alone watching it. At the time b&w televisions didn't have remote controls, but perhaps now they do. Sitting all by myself, I thought why not twist the television's ears and change channels. Thought to myself that just like the transistor catches radio and FM waves, maybe television will catch some of the cable channels. Twist by twist, I reached one such channel which was showing a film. I thought why not try and move the wire around a little to see if the image clears a little more. But the image didn't change. I thought something must be done so I can watch cable. The cable-guy's satellite was just five steps away. The wires were tied to an electricity pole in front of the house. All that separated me from them were the electricity wires to the pole, and the breadth of the lane. I cast a glance at the rooftops in the market. They had tied a speaker, the rim of a cycle and a magnet to the antenna on their roofs.

I thought, something has to be done. I went to the kabari (scrap dealer) shop in my lane and bought a cycle rim. Then, went up to my roof, removed the wire from the antenna and tied it to the cycle rim. Back downstairs to the TV, I saw cable (transmission) was clear. When mummy came back from her vegetable shopping, she was surprised to see a new movie on television. She asked me, "There is a new film on the television?" I said I made it happen with my brain. Mummy said, "What did you do?" I told her to go up and see for herself. I was sitting downstairs, watching the film. Mummy quietly went up and removed the rim from the antenna. I thought maybe there is some problem from the main transmission. Mummy came back down and said, "Go return this rim to wherever you got it from." I asked her why she had removed it. Mummy said, "When your father returns from duty today, we'll get a cable connection." I replied with an 'okay'.

Papa came back in the evening. I asked him to get a cable connection. He said we'd get it done the next day. But I was restless for cable. I sneaked Raju into the house and started to think about a new plan.

And this is what I did - I took the TV antenna wire, removed the insulation, and pulled out the strands of wire one by one. I told Raju, "I'll keep peeling off the insulation, you keep winding it up." Two hours passed. We estimated the length of the wire would be enough to reach across now. I said to Raju, "You go stand on the roof opposite, and throw two small stones from the window." The window didn't have a grill.

I was on the second floor, and just below me was the electricity wire. Raju threw in the stones. I tied the wires I had peeled, the thickness of which was microscopic, to these stones. Then I threw them across. But they got entangled in my hand and landed straight on the electricity wires. The shock I got then! For a second I thought I was dead and gone to heaven. But I didn't relent, and threw the wire once again. Raju was quick. He caught them and quickly swung up his arms. I ran up to that roof, and simply tied the wires to the joint in the cable. I came back to find the transmission was smooth and clear.

Next day, papa said, "Get a cable connection today." I thought, who wants to give a hundred and fifty rupees every month. I said, "Let it be. What's the need."

Tying up loose ends

आज से १५० साल पहले स्वाधीनता के प्रथम संग्राम का आगाज हुआ था, और आज के दिन एक नयी तरह कि समाज व्यवस्था का अन्वेषण हुआ है। उत्तर प्रदेश विधान सभा २००७ के चुनावों के नतीजे काफी चौकाने वाले रहे, जहाँ मायावती कि बहुजन समाज पार्टी को संपूर्ण बहुमत मिल वहीँ भा जा पा का यह उत्तर प्रदेश में सब से निम्न प्रदर्शन रहा। यहाँ गौर करने वाली बात यह है कि मायावती की इस नयी सामाजिक व्यवस्था, जिसमे पीड़ित और पीड़ित करने वाले को एक साथ लाने का प्रयास किया गया है, को मतदाताओं का पूर्ण समर्थन मिला। शायद भा जा पा का मूल मतदाता जो अब ब स पा के साथ होने कि वजह से ही आज वोह ५० तक आके टिक गयी। एक समय था जब उत्तर प्रदेश में भा जा पा लोक सभा में प्रदेश से लगभग सीटें जीती थी, किन्तु आज इस नयी सामाजिक वयवस्था ने सारे समीकरण बदल दिए।

ब स पा ने इस चुनाव me पुरानी अंग्रजी कहावत "Tying loose ends" से प्रेरणा ली और समाज के अगडे ब्राहमणों को दलितो के साथ ला कर एक अजेय चक्र का निर्माण किया। प्रदेश के जनता के जतिओं के प्रति अंध समर्पण को मायावती ने समझा और एक योजना बाना डाली, जिसकी सम्प्रन्गिता का शायद और किसी को अंदाज़ा भी ना था।

एक मह्ताव्पूर्ण प्रश्न यहाँ यह है कि यह व्यवस्था कितने दिनों के लिए रह पायेगी। यदि यह योजन सफल होती है तो शायद यह एक नए समाज के निर्माण में सहारा दे। परतु शायद यह सब उतने उंचे स्तर पर भी नही है, और लोगों ने बहुत ही निम्न मानसिकता के साथ अमे निर्वाचन के अधिकार का प्रयोग किया। शायद इस नयी समाजिक व्यवस्था के नए सदस्य इस बात से खुस थे कि ८७ ब्रह्मिन उम्मीदवार थे ब स पा के, लेकिन किसी ने यह नही सोचा कि इससे समाज और प्रदेश का कितना भला होगा। सबने बस शायद अपने स्वार्थ देखे, और एक ऐसी पार्टी को वोट दिए जिसने एक समय साड़ी सामजिक व्यवस्था को तोड़ा था और चुनाव टिकटों के लिए खुले आम पैसे लिए। हम क्या उम्मीद रख सकते हैं ऐसे उम्मिदारों से जिन्होंने २५ लाख रूपये मैं टिकेट ख़रीदा था।

शायद प्रदेश मैं कुछ आतंक घटेगा किन्तु प्रशाश्निक तंत्र के प्रति आतंक बढेगा। अज हमारो भावी मुख्यमंत्री को शालीनता कि व्याकरण भी नही पता है शायद। फिर से एक दौर पार्कों, अम्बेडकर ग्रामों, नए जिलों और विश्विद्यालयों के नाम बदलने का आयेगा। फिर से कोई बड़ा घोटाला और माया और उनके परिज़ानों के अज्ञात खतों का बोझ बढ जाएगा। मुलायम और अमर सिंह का भविष्य भी अगले पाँच सालों मैं क्या होगा यह भी एक पहेली है।

परंतु शायद कुछ ब्रह्मिनो को पुलिस सिपाही और क्लर्क कि नौकरियाँ मिल जायेगी। शायद ३ लाख कि बजाय दो लाख में लगेगी बोली सरकारी नौकरिओं और मिलेगा कुछ एक्स्ट्रा discount ब्रह्मिनो को। किसी ने माया से यह नही पूँछ के प्रदेश के आर्थिक व्यवस्था का क्या hoga, ना ही किसी ने यह पूंछा कि आज के आगे बढते हुए भारत में प्रदेश कब शामिल होगा।

Jugad

I am not able to recall exactly when I heard this term "Jugad" for the first time. It might have been in my childhood days, when I wouldn't have even been able to speak. Every thing in India works on "Jugad".

Jugad: which I believe literally means something out of the way, but has several other meaning as well in common language. The other meanings can be alternative arrangement, source, approach, close associates, well known persons, an attempt to get a thing done, source of livelihood. This is also one word which changes its meaning very often depending upon the speaker, circumstances & the context. But why am I writing about this great word today……

I believe that this is the one thing which has been most influential thing the life of Indians. We are grown up in a jugad culture, where we are accustomed to find out the out of the way solutions for our problems.

The jugad cycle starts with the birth of the child. First the parents have to have some jugad(approach) in the municipal office to get the birth certificate (Jugads also need cash). Then to get an admission in good school, to get a job………..even to get a space for funeral pier you need to have jugad in our country. We are so absorbed in this way of work that we even don’t want to explore the solution available………I need a driving licence, so what a jugad will do….People searching for jobs can often be found out asking for jugads in the offices…..My electricity meter is running fast..so what if I have a have jugad(Close associate or a known person), who can open the meter without disturbing its seal…through some jugad(alternative arrangement) & then slowing down the speed through some jugad…..Its the era of jugads….n that approach only has slowed down our development. Instead of looking for good solutions we always set some jugad(shortcut), We don’t try to fulfill our duties….n then a jugad can save….

Some times you search for a jugad to get the money….i paise ka koi jugad karao…n if it works then jugad fit ho gaya….its not always negative of out of the way. It may also refer to an arrangement…ghar ka jugad hua kya.

Jugad has also given a lot of things to our society….Its the root of innovation. If you ever happen to visit some villages in UP/Haryana/Rajasthan, you will find out a vehicle named jugad……a bullock cart where the bulls have been replaced by a diesel engine.....(even Ferrari can’t think of such a thing)…It has a flexible capacity….I myself have witnessed a jugad carrying around 30-40 ppl….

Then upon reaching the village you can easily spot cycle rims with some wire connected to it on top of the homes……..This is a jugad TV antenna….I am not sure about the innovator but this is absolutely great….n provided an easy access to DD…I am desperately waiting for the day when some jugad will be available to bring DTH services as well. I am sure that the great jugadis of India will certainly do that some day…. A bullet motorbike used for a tractor to plow…..some used cell giving electric power with the help of cow dung & sun…and a lot others…

I believe if these jugadi’s were given a chance, could have earned some nobles for India..

Some ourkutian also started a jugad community….n there’s a website too http://jugad.livejournal.com/

I belive we can’t live without these jugads….Long live jugad…

My Jugad tip: You can use your headphone as microphone….if required, sound quality may not be that good but it can work it the times when no other option is available….

Basically the funda of a Mic is same as that of a speaker….Just plug the headphone jack in to the place for mic & place the phone near to your mouth…Sometimes only one earplug will catch the voice…but better headphones can even record stereo sound just record the sound from right earplug & play it…it will play only on the right speaker of your comp. So next time when u don’t have a mic n got friend on gtalk, just plug your earplugs in to the mic socket……