Dilli 6 - Music

Zareee zarree mein usi ka noor hai
Jhak khud mein woh na tujhse door hai
Ishq hai usse to sab se ishq kar
Ishq hai usse,
To sab se ishq kar
Is ibadat ka Yehi dastoor hai

Is mein us mein aur us mein hai wohi
Is mein us mein aur us mein hai wohi

Yaar mera Har taraf bharpur hai ..

Australian Open - An Imperfect Start for Mr. Perfect

The tennis season for the current year has finally started!! Even though i am in stuttgart and the 10hr of time diff doesnot help me much , i am keenly following the action on the Rod Laver arena on the internet.

Day one of the austrilian open didnot spring any surprised except that my favourite player Roger Federer or the Magician, the Perfectionist as many call him had an imperfect start for his 14th Grand Slam conquest. The fact that it took Federer 141 minutes to pack up the 135th seed is definetely a worrying factor, but as long as he keeps winning who cares!!

I hope that this year is gonna be much better for Fedex when compared to the last year. It is high time that the greatest player ever to hold the tennis racket not only equals the legendary Pete Sampras's title records, but also gets well ahead of him. A French Open win would be the icing on the cake :-)

India - A colony of Britian??

WTF is this!!! the external affairs minister of our country backs down on the demand for extradition of the terrorists involved in Mumbai attack and gives in to the wishes of the visiting foreign secretary David Muiliband. Will somebody please remind Mr Singh and his team that India is sovereign country and no longer a colony of Great Britain. The British foreign sec says that there is no need for Pakistan to extradite the terrorists and it can try in its own court - i was shocked to hear that the Indian govt has agreed to the proposal. Tomorrow the foreign sec of US would come and say that LOC be converted into border and then all the problems would be solved once for all, I hope the govt would protest at least then!
It is India was has been attacked and it is India which has to respond!! the international community was watching then and it would be watching even now!!! We have to respond and respond in a hard way!

Narendra Modi - PM in waiting?

The top industrialists of the country have seem to have been overwhelmed by the persona of Narendra Modi. They say that Narendra Bhai is the "PM Substance". It is not a small achievement that in the times of recession Modi has got a commitment of $200 billion in 2 days flat.

The world is in recession China and India are slowing down, but it seems that Modi's Gujrat is firing on all the cylinders. No doubt that th Godra episode remains a stumbling block for the widespread acceptance of Modi, but the way he is transforming the state of Gujrat, many are prepared for look beyond that Godra.

Modi is clearly a man on a mission, a selfless mission to power his state to development and prosperity in a manner that has not been done in India by anyone anywhere, and at a scorching pace that even now seems impossible in any state except Gujarat. In a country where a hopelessly corrupt, unresponsive and inefficient bureaucracy has stalled India's progress with single-minded ruthlessness through the weapon of an all-pervasive red tape, in collusion with corrupt politicians, Modi has proved that impossible is nothing indeed.

Modi has become the beacon that has illuminated the truth that an honest, competent and visionary leader can single-handedly turn red tape into a 'red carpet' and get errant and arrogant babus to do their jobs as they are supposed to. No wonder Gujarat is by far the the best governed state in India and is motoring ahead of all other states. The most heartening thing is that despite so much of money being invested there, there is not even the whiff of a scandal anywhere. The absence of kickbacks to politicians and babus and a rare collective zeal inspired by Modi to get things done for the people is getting the world to rush to Gujarat.

Despite this near revolution that Modi has unleashed in a corrupt India that is being mirrored by Andhra Pradesh, our media, unfortunately, continues to treat him as a pariah, thanks to the shrill campaign of a few disconnected 'intellectuals' stuck in 2002. In a lively discussion on CNN-IBN on January 12, 2009, about the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year, Sagarika Ghose was blunt enough to voice the fact that, thanks to them, Modi will not be in any list where "a certain degree of the values of the awards are at stake". To them, politicians with suitcases full of looted money have been, and will continue to be, acceptable. But anyone who does not conform to their warped idea of 'inclusiveness', despite all evidence to the contrary, will have fight to earn his prize in the heat and dust of real India. They will not gift it to him in a five star hotel, no matter that he may actually be beyond all competition. That is saying a lot about the credibility of such awards, but who cares!

Fortunately, the people of India are far wiser than most of those who do the rounds of TV studios. They do not carry either fake ideological baggage or ulterior motivations to promote or pull down political leaders. They know well the difference between what is happening in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. They know that Narendra Modi personifies the symbol of his party perfectly as much as Reddy personifies the filth that is draining India. In this vast ocean of politico-bureaucratic muck, Modi stands out as the pristine lotus. Sure he is not the only one out there. There are a few, really few, others too, but he is clearly the tallest and strongest.

Narendra Modi is emerging as the transformational leader that India has been yearning for. With every passing day, that realisation is dawning on more and more of those who were violently opposed to him earlier. That is why Suhel Seth, once one of his greatest critics, is now one of his staunchest supporters. That is why the captains of India's industry have given him a 21-gun salute. That is why the people of India will pull him sooner rather than later to lead them and their country to long delayed glory.

The way the genie that unexpectedly emerged out of Satyam is growing despite best efforts to keep him covered, there is little doubt that, no matter how hard the government may try, the 'aam aadmi' will not be fooled. He knows exactly which face of India is represented by Modi and Reddy, now better than ever before. He is seeing the impossible being turned into a reality in Gujarat. He is also seeing in Andhra Pradesh the ugly underbelly of politicians from whom he had no escape earlier. He knows that he now has before him a clear choice to make. And he will make it wisely, no matter what efforts are made to confuse him with falsehoods yet again.

And entirely on a different note, had Modi been the current prime minister of our country i guess Pakistan would have already received the treatment it deserves for 26/11!!!

Diplomacy at its best ?

I was appalled by reading this article. It seems India is now begging to the world not to sell arms to Pakistan. Is this the so called "diplomatic offensive" taken up by the Govt of India???

I fail to understand why we are hesitating to stamp our authority on the World. More shocking is the fact that we are pleading to countries like Ukraine and Germany!!!! Why dont we just declare that anybody who deals with Pakistan is not welcome in India anymore - no deals, no FDI, no more subsidies etc
In the current economic scenario the world needs India more than India needing the world...
Remember Germany is hoping that its sluggish auto sales would be offset by good sales in India n China, whats the point in pleading them? just say You can either have your cars in India or your submarines in Pakistan!
And as far as Ukraine is considered, it is already under a lot of stress from Russia for the gas pipelines, well we can always ask our good old friend to strike a better deal for us.

It is a well known fact that the world would choose India over Pakistan anyday.. so why not do it now

Slumdog Millionaire - Must Watch!!!!

So, aside from knowing that it was directed by Danny Boyle, and that he’s a genius, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from Slumdog Millionaire. I had no idea it was set in India, no idea that it involved the Hindi version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, I had no idea about anything. I’m glad I didn’t know anything about the film, or else I wouldn’t have been so spectacularly surprised. It’s such a beautifully compelling love story, and so much more. It’s definitely a must see.

In many years or maybe in decades you may get a chance to watch such a wonderful movie, and this time it is called “Slumdog Millionaire”. A movie that not only tells a story but shows us a path beyond surviving in this world, a world where love and life comes really hard, very hard for most of us.

“Jamal, an 18 year old orphan from the slums of Mumbai is yet to experience the biggest day of his life. Each chapter of his life reveals the key to the answer to one of the seemingly impossible quiz game show’s questions. It’s the answers he learned through his journey of life and the love that ultimately made him a millionaire.”

Undoubtedly, this film is one of the best movie I have ever seen all these years. It is based on the book Q and A written by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup, a brilliantly directed movie by Danny Boyle & Loveleen Tandan (co-director), awesome music by A.R Rahman, the superb casting & performance on screen and the mind-boggling over all presentation. You like everything about it and so it is done perfectly, as if you are witnessing something that happened just in front of you, connected with unbelievably real souls of an unknown world. I felt like, the story is just another reality, shocking, at times scary, very profound and thought provoking. In the end, it’s the love that remained the gift for the life turned luck.

“Slumdog Millionaire” is nothing short of a heartbreaking, soul-stirring, breathlessly guided glimpse into a life worth celebrating. For that, and not that alone, the film itself deserves to be celebrated just the same.

Pakistan dares India, should we strike?

The current government in India is led by ‘Babus’! Pakistan understands that and is having fun at our expense. Can you imagine Pakistan behaving this way if Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister? I would seriously doubt if they would have the courage to strike India should L K Advani become the next Prime Minister. Dr Manmohan Singh reminds me of the kid in a class who is beaten every day by the bully of the class and he goes to the principal complaining. We have heard a line from India for the past 10 years, “We are an emerging power”! If this is the way a rising power behaves, what would be the condition if it was not an emerging power? I dread to think! For starters, Manmohan Singh should take the ‘danda’ from the Bombay Police and give them AK-47 instead. He should them meet with the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and put the ‘danda’ up where it belongs!

There is something else the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh can do, he can buy a box of ‘Pacifiers’ on sale and distribute 11 of them to his cabinet, especially Pranab Mukherjee, and put the twelfth in his own mouth. His government talks a lot but does very little. Can you imagine if our government was not making empty threats but was busy in very quiet diplomacy and was seen preparing for the war? Shri Zardari would be washing his ‘crap’ every morning! We believe in non-violence but a little suspense could have the Pakistan Military “shitting in their pants”. Iraq war has taught us that military option is not always wise or productive. India has plenty of options available internally as well as on the world-stage. Depending on the goodwill of the United States is not one of them. We have atleast 120 Indian ambassadors working around the world, 20% of these should be retired or senior defense officials.

Aggressive diplomacy backed by credible defense posture could achieve lot more than empty bluster. Pakistan has found a cheap method of rattling India’s cage every now and then. We have not yet figured out how to respond. Indians are smart and resourceful people. If only we could export our ‘Babus’ to Pakistan, we would have a paralyzed neighbour. Our diplomats (IFS and IAS officers) are not really equipped to deal with international diplomacy in this 21st century. A six week course at an American University is not going to change their DNA. These are difficult changes that India would have to make some day. We must also re-examine our attitude towards out defense personnel. The sixth pay commission report is an insult to our officers and undermines our national security. Besides bringing their pay scales on par with their civilian counter-parts, their ranks must be up-graded to world standards.

Satyam - No more Sunderam

The finance world has been rocked by the admission of fraud by Satyam Computers founder & chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and the investors vented their ire not only on Satyam stocks but also on the other stocks in the exchange, over the genuineness of the accounts. B.Ramalinga Raju’s resignation in no way amounts to penance or remorse as the India’s image in the world financial markets has already been tarnished and will take a credible time to regain the trusts of major financial institutions who play a major role in India’s financial trade.

Financial markets all over the world are in a turmoil and crisis and India, though in a little better position then other countries, was still in a vice like grip of a bear phase and the moment it seemed that bear phase will morph in to a bull phase, one Mr. Raju came out with a attitude of shotgun murrugan and shot down both the bull as well as the bear and then with a feeling of remorse came out with a holier than thou statement is nothing but a hogwash.

As a lay-man, it would be difficult for me to understand the finer details or get to the nitty gritty of the fraud, but one thing is for sure that when Mr. Raju was cooking the books as per his taste, were all the other chefs (read: Board Of Directors) were sleeping and Mr. Raju admitting his responsibility for the fraud does not acquit the board of their lacunae. This means only one thing and that is either the board of directors were just a decoration on the company’s annual reports or they are equally responsible for the scam and are now covering their stains by pointing fingers at Mr. Raju. They have convieniently forgotten that when you point a finger at someone, there are three other fingers that are pointing in your direction.

Secondly, the cooked books were audited by a reputed firm ‘PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ or well known as ‘PWC’, so will any one tell this lay-man as to what these so called professional and internationally acclaimed firm was upto and again it comes down to two options either PWC was not doing it’s job properly or there was some kind of hand in glove tactics. Any which way you look at it, I don’t buy the statements of the board of directors that they were not aware of the fraud as it is not the first time that the accounts had been manipulated or altered and the same were being manipulated for several years and I am also not selling the idea that Mr. Raju is only a fall guy, but what I am saying is that everyone including Mr. Raju, the present board of directors and the auditors have to take collective responsibility for this Mega fraud and the guilty should be severely punished in order to deter the future scamsters and fraudsters.

The statement of Mr. Raju in his resignation letter - ‘It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten’ - is amusing to say at the least and if nothing else. So in short he is saying that he purposely initiated this scam and then could not stop because of fear of backlash, but the question in moot is what made him initiate such a dangerous ride, in which the danger of being eaten up was right from the beginning at the time of sitting on a tiger. I understand from this statement is that even though Mr. Raju knew the dangers that lay ahead, he chose that particular path in order to stay afloat in a rat race and fill up the pockets of those around him as well as himself.

At this juncture there is nothing else we all can do except sympathize with the employees and the investors of the company and even the Government showing their true colours has promised to inquire in to this fraud. This will be easily one of the worst corporate moments in the history of Indian Corporates.

Furthermore, from the outset it looks that this scam is just the tip of the iceberg and there are more skeletons hidden in the Satyam closet, and when revealed the repercussions of the same can be easily acquire Titanic proportions…

We get what we deserve!!!

This is old news, but it is worth a read today.

Roughly 12 hours after terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners in order to perpetrate unprecedented attacks on America, President George W Bush addressed the nation at 8.30 pm in a televised statement from the White House:

'Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbours. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them.'

...Then, with the world watching, he stood atop a mound of World Trade Centre rubble, a bullhorn in hand, and proclaimed:

'I want you all to know that America today is on bended knee in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn. This nation stands with the good people of New York City, and New Jersey and Connecticut, as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.' [rediff]

One and a half month after Mumbai's massacre, Pakistan is running circles around India even as fresh terrorists are hiding, escaping, attacking in the country, and preparing for more attacks after being trained in Pakistan.

We deserve these attacks and more as we show "restraint" and get slapped and kicked in the bargain...