The spectre of Corruption...

First, a little background. Surya Rao is a minister from East Godavari district in AP. Diwakar Reddy is a minister from Anantapur district. As has been the practice from a long, a minister from one district is appointed as incharge of another district. Diwakar Reddy is the incharge minister of East Godavari district, from which Surya Rao is a minister.

Now for the news: Surya Rao, called a press conference and Diwakar Reddy of siphoning of Rs.7crores from funds meant for his district.

For people in living in AP or for those who closely follow the politics of AP, this might not be "news". For we are all used to hearing about corruption in this government. Most of the time we hear about amounts for which ordinary people like you and me cannot even count the number of zeroes!!!

But this particular case is very disturbing in nature. One minister is accusing another minister of corruption!!! Not an opposition member or a disgruntled enemy. A minister. These people have sworn oath to the constitution, which like it or not, is the ultimate authority in our country. These people have affirmed that they will live upto the ideals of the foundations on which our country was found.And these same people are fighting on the streets.

And as is his wont, the Chief Minister just rubbished off this fight too, and said everything has been "settled". What was "settled", we will never know. How it was "settled", we will never know.

All we know is that this spectre of corruption will surely not end here.

Here's "Vish"ing him more glory....

I don't mean to belittle the T-20 win, but somehow being the "world" champion of a game that is actively played in 8 countries pales in comparision to being crowned the world champion of a game in its purest form. That too thrice.

That's Viswanathan Anand for us! For a game that originated in our country ages ago, it was not befitting not to have a world champion for so long. Anand has single handedly bought back the glory that truly should belong to us. For more than 20 years, he has consistenly performed on the world stage, fought the Russian domination with gusto, silenced his critics ( funny right, that even he should be answering critics!) and most importantly inspired so many of today's youngsters. So much that I even lost count of the number of Grandmasters we have!

And by the way, lest I didn't stress on this point too much, ending the Russian Domination is no mean thing. It's just phenomenal. Maybe that is a small word too. Kramnik is no small opponent. He beat Kasporov too! True glory to the country in this sport has been attained today!

In a country that is obssesed with the kind of haristyle's sportspersons maintain, or the kind of dresses they wear on field and off, Anand has shown to us how single mindedly focussing on the sport with minimal "extra curricular" activities could bring glories to the country.

It feels brilliant to have been there to see him play and win.

Here's "Vish"ing him more glory....

Violence as part of daily life..

Right from the black and white era, there has always been a satire in our movies in which one of the character will open up a newspaper and read only death related news and then sigh with exasperation. I used to always think it is an overdose and does not clearly reflect the situation in the country.

How I wish I still can think in the same way. Day after day, week after week, most of the news is indeed about violence that erupts in some part of the country or the other. Violence that could have been prevented in the first place; violence that could have been curbed while it was happening; and violence that could have been prevented from spreading. Be it any state, and be it any reason, it is truly a very sad reflection of our collective intelligence that we let such violent perverts take over the law and order of the land.

So many of us keep on protesting against such indecent and cheap methods to make one's point, but all that protest is lost in the world of "vote bank" politics. The only people who have to listen to us refuse to do so, taking shelter in the fact they will lose elections and thereby power if they do the right thing. What use is the power of, when you cannot ensure the safety of innocent civilians. What we need and what we look for in people who are in power is action; not just an analysis of why the same event keeps repeating again.

To counter argue that the previous governments were also not very efficient is ver childish in nature. While dealing with lives of people, how long can the state and central governments blame each other and then do nothing about it. The fear factor that is gripping the country is undoubtedly detrimental in nature. I simply fail to understand what it is that is stopping the police from acting tough; what it is that is stopping the politicians from acting tough; and above all what it is that is stopping the Home Minister from acting tough!

There are so many times that I feel so helpless. Are we really safe from the whims and fancies of leaders whose only sense of duty stems from the fact that they want power, only power and nothing else. Alas, the only thing I can do is write and protest. And live in hope that I don't lose hope that the system will change.

To the moon, we will go soon!

The next time you look at the moon, tell him we are coming! :-)

I told my mom last night that the launch of Chandrayaan-1 will be at 6:22am. Now, she wakes me up at 5:15 only saying that maybe they will start the coverage earlier only! aaaa... anyways, I insisted and persisted that I will get up only when the alarm will go ring ( first at 5:30 and then at 5:39 :D) !

Coming back to our topic, what a sight it was :-) To see the glow in the faces of all scientists at Sriharikota. And more remarkable was the way all of them spoke after the satellite entered the earth orbit. Some 10 of them spoke, and were way too modest for an achievement of this kind. 1-2 liners congratulating everyone... that's all they spoke ! No big big bashans. But I hope they will have a big bash though..... because they all truly deserve it!

Now waiting for Chandrayaan-1 to get into the moon's orbit... More later !

Sachin! Sachin!

I know a lot of people have already said what I am going to write. I know what I am going to write will sound a lot cliche. But, I am anyway going to write, because you know what... it is the fact!

Each time Tendulkar crosses a milestone, clips of some of his best shots are played over and over again on the TV. And watching them over and over again is such a pleasant sight! I mean, there is real beauty in his game. There is grace in his shots, and there is confidence in his composure.

To have played cricket for 19 years is an achievement in itself. To have endured the pressure of being the icon of Indian cricket and then perform for so long is no mean achievement. The critics fail to understand that in such a long journey, there are bound to be pitfalls. I was listening to someone tell on TV that though it came a little late, it is better late than ever. What rubbish! How does the duration of the record take away the sheen off it???

Either way, I am not getting into any arguments with them because I for one believe that Sachin has really no point to prove to us anymore! I for one feel extremely lucky to have watched him play and enjoy the treat he provided to all of us :-)

Kudos to master!

Kidnapped....

I was walking up the stairs ( or standing on the escalator - whatever! ) with friends. Now this friend says Hi to another friend of his! This guy asks - "So, are you also going to Kidnap because you didn't get tickets for any other movie?". Now that is what I call a bad omen..... and while walking into the theater, only hoped that the omen was false. Alas! It was not to be.

A multi-crore home in Mumbai does NOT have a caller ID. You will get confused between the heroine and her mom. Both of them compete in styles of dressing, make-up and dialogue delivery. Ah... the dialogues. Akanksha was telling that the script writer might have dozed off while writing. I think in that process his brain also slipped from his knee to the ankle, thus rendering it more ineffective!The heroine after getting kidnapped wears skimpier clothes! Imran Khan has only one expression all throught the movie. Maybe he will be given the "Best Static Expression" of the year award. And when the heroine requests for more water to bath - guess where she is taken?! To the beach.... yes! to the beach!!

So, there you are. Heroine and her mom at their competitive best in dressing in adverse circumstances. Kidnapper at his static best in all circumstances. Father at his ridiculous best in any circumstance.

And I guarantee you , you will at best be confused! :D

Let's say Tata to Mamta!

"Tata babu, you might be saying Nano Nano, but we will keep saying No-No, No-No". So thundered Mamta Banerjee in one of her 'fiery' speeches. However, one point is always amiss in her speeches - logic!

I was watching TV yesterday ( had to switch it on by geting up from bed because a friend insisted I see how shabbily the anchor maintained her hair!!!), and the channel was covering from Singur, interviewing the affected families after the shutdown. People, while talking to the reporter, started crying. Their only source of livelihood now gone. Some were watchmen, some others did other jobs in the plant. All gone now. The reason - Mamta Banerjee.

We live in a democracy, and majority opinion counts. However, that is in no way implying that we don't care for the minority. They have to be adequately compensated too. It is however difficult to satisfy everybody. The left parties still think in terms of old times, and therefore for them to allow Tata to set up a plant is a leap in itself. For all the opposition I generally have against the left parties, one argument I am NOT willing to buy is that they did not offer an adequate package. They are a very pro-poor, pro-farmer party, and I believe they would have offered nice packages.

And w.r.t Tata's, Jamshedpur is the perfect example of how they take care of the town they function in. What better example did you need Mamta ji?

Mamta ji, you are now clearly responsible for removing the cogs of the wheel that was moving towards industrial development in Bengal. Maybe it is time for us to say "Tata to Mamta".