The Indian Civil Aviation Authority – A Reincarnation Of The “Bourbon Monarchy”?

While the analogy may sound to be a bit too far fetched, I nevertheless find a close resemblance between the Bourbon Dynasty and the Indian civil aviation authority. More

Pseudo Intellectuals, Please Stop Sympathizing With The Maoists If You Have Any Shame

You pseudo intellectuals are so shameless that you people did not bother to utter any word of criticism even after your beloved Maoist bastards massacred 76 CRPF personnel in Dantewada. Your sympathy for the so-called oppressed people turned Maoists is endless. But your hypocrisy held you back from shedding a single drop of tears for the bereaved families of those hapless security personnel, who had joined CRPF to serve the common people of India, including you people.

However, you still had the excuse that the Maoists had after all killed security personnel, i.e. the agents of “state atrocities”. More

The Fruits of Labour!

 

These plums are the fruits of labour. Pick them, and you are committing yourself to some hard labour!

Another Time, Another Place

Many moons ago, in a now nostalgically-remembered era when cell phones and iPods were a rarity, when people wrote and spoke in full sentences and looked each other in the eye, when food was merely food, when men and women could agree to disagree politely without shouting each other down and when human beings walked around being themselves and were not defined by a thicket of labels, in that long-ago time, I was a pawn in a corporate American arena. More....

Madan Tamang's Assassination In Darjeeling – GJM’s Ugly Character Out In The Open

The real character of Bimal Gurung’s Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) – i.e. an ugly and nasty one – came out in the open with the dreadful murder of All India Gorkha League president Madan Tamang on 21st May 2010, in the picturesque hill town of Darjeeling in north Bengal. More

Obama Administration’s Strategic Mistake In The North Korea Issue

I feel that the Obama administration has committed a serious strategic blunder by openly siding with South Korea in the latter’s latest tussle with North Korea. By doing this the USA has not only diluted the opportunity to strengthen its own diplomatic interests, but has also created problem for South Korea, as well. More

Burqa Banning In Europe – Possibility Of A Negative Impact On Local Muslim Women

However, while I eagerly welcome the firm steps taken by the governments of the above mentioned European countries, I have also started feeling a bit uncomfortable about the possibility of certain negative developments. Few days back I read in news that a Muslim gentleman from Italy has said that since his wife can no more wear Burqa in public, therefore now he will not allow her to go out at all. And from now onwards she will remain confined within her home. More

Over a cup of tea!

It's been an hour since I got back home. Here I am, sitting in front of the computer and blasting away. A cup of tea in one hand, the other on the keyboard. My eyes are stretched, mostly because it isn't easy writing a 3 hour paper. But yet, I sporadically glance at the t.v and catch up on some good tennis. Federer was in action a while back and was leading 2 sets to nil, but soon, Rain battered the court and the covers were pulled over. There was a clear demarcation between the grey and blue areas of the sky. What's the use seeing something beautiful on t.v, i wonder, when we aren't actually there to see it in person and 'map' some glorious images in our mind.... more

Missing rear-wheel

This can happen anywhere in India, I suppose. So long as we have truck drivers with scant regard for safety norms. Driver of this heavy-duty vehicle appears particularly indifferent to the danger he posed to others on road. Of course we can’t expect the police presence everywhere, at all times...More...

How I Shocked A Policeman

My husband was not at home so I went to the veranda to greet him and to find out the reason for his wanting to meet my husband. He introduced himself as police Inspector X and wanted to know whether any theft had taken place at our place a few months back. More.....

Of Vishwanathan Anand, chess, chathurangam and Velliappan

41 year old Padma Vibhushan Vishwanathan Anand has brought so much glory to India with his exploits in chess. Whether his historic contribution is fully appreciated by his countrymen is doubtful. Four times World Champion, in the great mind game! Bravo Anand.

Does The Mangalore Air Crash Suggest That We Should Bid Farewell To “Special Airports”?

What are “special airports”? Well, “special airports” are usually the ones which are located in hilly and mountainous regions, and also the ones which lie close to water bodies (such as rivers and seas). Landing and take-off activities on such airports are much tougher in comparison to that on other airports, with just a fraction of mistake on the part of the pilot likely to cause serious mishaps. No wonder that only experienced pilots are permitted to take off from or land on “special airports”. More

John Shepherd-Barron, Father of ATM, Dead

John Shepherd-Barron is no more. The 84 years old Scottish breathed his last on 20th May 2010 at Inverness’s Raigmore Hospital in northern Scotland.

But who is this John Shepherd-Barron, in the first place? More

Having A Test Tube Baby At Rs. 20,000

Are you planning to have a test tube baby, but wary of the huge cost that it entails? Well, now you have the option to fulfill your dream by spending just Rs. 20,000. More

Why Doesn’t India Have Even A Single Sindhi TV Channel?

However, what shocked me to no end was the information that there is not a single Sindhi language TV channel in India. Oh my God! While every other (so-called) major Indian language has at least 2 to 3 channels, then how come there is not a single channel in the Sindhi language? More

The Alarmingly Low Potability Level Of Delhi Water

A survey by two prominent NGOs has exposed a very scary truth about Delhi’s water. In that survey the two NGOs, viz. Hazards Centre and Water Aid, tested 53 samples of the city’s water. Shockingly, only 2 of those samples were found to be potable. All the rest 51 samples were found to be highly contaminated, containing varying degrees of heavy metals, faecal coliform, flouride and even pesticides. More

Message and Massage....

I am sure I am not too far from her correct age. But she is fitter than I am , fitter than someone even younger than I am and goes about her work in the neighbourhood I live in with a discipline and diligence that can teach any professional service provider a thing or two. More here....

Right Places

The “Right Place” for the Banana peel had been behind the verandah doors of Grandmother’s home. She cannot think of where else they could belong. After her daily banana was consumed she would place it behind doors without thinking about alternative “right places”.....More

Snow

And what a winter – snowfall more than once in the season, even at the end of February, when our visit was coming to an end, and we though that the weather might turn warmer. On one occasion we read that the snowfall was more than 12 inches. More....

Mumbai’s Bavicca Bharathi To Be India’s Youngest Airlines Commander At 21

Bavicca Bharathi of Marol (a part of the bigger suburb of Mumbai’s Andheri East area) became India’s youngest pilot after acquiring a Commercial Pilot’s Licence (CPL) in 2007. That time she was just 18. This notable achievement was even recorded by Limca Book of Records in its 2008 edition. More

Back to Blogging With a Very Personal Sharing

Mangesh wistfully said to Gita he adored the star and being in Bombay nursed secret , impossible dreams of maybe seeing him some time . Coming from the interior district of Yavatmal, being in this big city itself was a source of wonder to him. Hearing him say Salman I just decided to take a chance and see if I could get the star on the phone and at least maybe give him a chance to get a part of his dream come through!! More here....

Human Beings To Get Rid Of Deafness?

We often make fun of people who are deaf or at least short of hearing. But we all know that actually it is not funny. Just think of the plight that our deaf friends have to go through. While we complain of sound pollution, they are forced to live in a world that is disturbingly silent. More

Myth Broken: Tobacco-Free Cigarettes Are No Less Harmful For Your Health

You are a smoker, but you are not worried about your health. Why? Because you smoke cigarettes that do not contain tobacco or nicotine, and you are confident that such cigarettes do not cause any harm to human health like the ones which contain tobacco. More

...And Remains Connected

This contained, much to my delight, an invitation to his wedding, and another hand written letter in the same beautiful writing, with a sincere request to attend the wedding. More.....

Glaucoma - And Coping With It

Glaucoma is caused when pressure is built up in the eyes. This pressure then starts crushing the optical nerves, which get damaged and start affecting ones vision. And that is when one becomes aware of it, only after this damage is done. That is why glaucoma is referred as a thief disease.

I was told I had lost 85% of my vision in my left eye....more

Let us learn about love...

Yet another email forward and an unknown author's wisdom points out some truths about LOVE.

LIFE WITHOUT LOVE LOSES ITS MEANING !

A drop for the Sun

There was this tiny little Sunbird slipping and sliding, whirring her wings and wiggling her belly among the tiny little drops of water clinging to the banana leaves.

Saying it with sapling

Kavitha's pomegranate is coming up nicely on the backyard of our apartment building - Premier Residency - in Devaraja Mohalla. In response to my plea she agreed to pose for a picture with her two-year old 'green' baby...More...

A Blog Reconnects

Tara said she had seen my post on Pondicherry and had been quite excited. Though she did not remember much of her Pondicherry days, she said, her older sister Hema did, and her memories were quite like my own, including our school days. More....

Shramdhan, anyone ?

We could do with volunteers to join a tree-planting programme at Giridarshini Layout on T Narsipur Rd. We have persuaded Vrikshamitra K R Gurukar to lead our efforts to create community awareness to greening of neighbourhoods. Plan is to make a start with Giridarshini Layout...More...

Some Interesting Outcomes Of The Recent UK General Election

The recent UK election has certain outcomes that might be interesting for the Indian mass. They are as follows – More

The legend of ‘Matka Mazar’

Legend has it that the nomadic saint, camping in Dekhi, didn’t, for some reason, endear himself to the then Delhi ruler Shah Balban, a tyrannical type with pronounced sadistic tendency. It is said the ruler, in a bid to humiliate the noble soul credited with divine powers, sent the saint ‘meal’ of iron pellets and a cake of elephant dung...More...

The Street Wall Journal

Then there were the movie posters, many that bordered on the obscene, with buxom, doe-eyed heroines with outlandish monikers like Silk Smitha (she of the Thundering Thighs), Nylon Nalini, Polyester Padmini and poor, plain Cotton Kamakshi. Cutouts, some almost as high as a hundred feet, soared to the skies with movie heroes and political leaders (always only the ones in power) swaying precariously from their perches, a perfect symbol of their unstable, hanging-by-a-thread status. Pimples? Piles? Fistula? Sleeplessness? Toothache? The walls of Madras pointed you to the people who could help. More.....

Gurukar is old school

Mr Gurukar believes in self-reliance ; would not accept help from others for something he does for personal satisfaction. He is the type that spends from his monthly pension to pay for saplings he plants on public space. Shouldn’t the forest dept. give saplings free for Gurukar’s cause ? But then he wouldn’t put in a request in writing...More...

Is Your Pet Dog A Lefty or Right Handed?

No no, please do not get me wrong. I have not lost my sanity. Dogs and cats indeed are left or right-handed. More

What Exactly Is “Carbon Credit”?

You must have heard of the term “Carbon Credit”, right? Why, it is one of the most pronounced terms in today’s time, when Global Warming has become such a huge menace for all of us.

But what exactly is meant by “Carbon Credit”? If you just have a sketchy idea, and not a concrete one, then please permit me to offer a brief explanation. More

Summer sherbet : Mumbai's flowering trees

Summer hues brew a heady rainbow cocktail.
Leading the parade, straddling Spring and Summer, is the Indian Laburnum (Cassia fistula), so perfectly called Golden Showers.