Finally...after the talk of several scams...its time for action. India gave birth to its 3G NW today!!
Dilli..Ye Mastano Ki Dilli!!..Dilli-6
15 years ago
Thursday, December 11, 2008
3G!!
Finally...after the talk of several scams...its time for action. India gave birth to its 3G NW today!!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Winds of Change?
Things truely seem to be different this time around. For one, I am seeing the loud call for action. If 26/11 was momentous for all the wrong reasons, one week later 03/12 was equally momentous for all the right reasons. That the combined voice of the junta can have an impact was made clear!
A never before seen crowd of people assembled at the Gateway of India to make history. Although the Congress had decided to back Deshmukh, the vibe of that crowd momentarily made it change its decision. End result - a headless state...
After the dust settled on Ground zero, dust has been flying everywhere. Predominantly, the strong urge to criticize politicians. There have been several SMSes flying around about "Who will stop the terrorists(aka the politicians) within?" While the starkness of the statement makes you take notice, I wish my countrymen would abhor from such sentimentalistic talk. It pleases the eye and definitely pleases our mind that we are NOW doing something DIFFERENT. Agreed on both counts (NOW + DIFFERENT), but then, we are like the NSG on ground zero. We all know we have to do something and we are all doing something unsynchronized. There has to be a plan and all have to perform within it - this is the only count that matters!!
Back to politicians - Yup, the likes of Amar Singh make me give a standing ovation. Oratory skills apart, the way he defends himself, even in the face of the strongest evidence against him is exemplary (Satire my dear friends, in case you do not recognize). But then, there was the anguished face of Salman Khursheed, HotHead Karat, and the disciplined Manmohan and Chidu...I feel sorry for these people. And i wish, the blame game would stop. These guys are in a thankless position. As i explained to a friend here, the situation has so many limitations, which if taken into consideration may make the most extra-ordinary adminsitrator seem mediocre or maybe downright inefficient.
Another warning to my fellow countrymen. We speak of India as if we know the inner and outer ends of it. For me, India is sub-urban Mumbai. THe problems of sub-urban Mumbai are the problems of India in my definition. My toilet is within the confines of my home and i am able to defecate in privacy. I do not have to walk 5 miles to fetch a pail of water. I do not identify with this India. And that is the biggest problem of the lot.
A question is, where am I headed? Am headed to the fact that all the problems that we face today, we do not have a quick fix. There is no magic wand and there is no Cinderella's granny to elevate us to utopia. I believe evolution follows a routine, birth - growth - simplistic existence - sophistication - too much sophistication leading to the search for simplicity again and the cycle continues...We are entering into this phase for the search of simplicity. What we really need is the simple arrangement of our objectives and aims. We have to work within our system, understand its limitations, stretch them and achieve a model for all to follow.
Change is inevitable, but change should be SUSTAINABLE. A law cannot be made with a singular vision. It has to protect the innocent and hence innocent till proven guilty. Our problems are not singular, hence our solutions and approaches cannot be either.
In retrospect, this write-up has gone through a lot of philosophy. So what is the action on the ground for each of us?
1. Dont shun politics. There may be setbacks, but we have to get our most capable people here. Else there is no hope.
2. Stop the sentimentalism. The encounter specialists where themselves under the scanner on charges of corruption sometime back. But today one took bullets on him and is a hero. The same person can be a villian on one day but may have a change of heart and stand for change. While fighting a sinner, give some levee for this aspect.
3. Place individual cleanliness above all. If you need to wait in a queue 2 min longer, wait patiently.
4. If welfare is being distributed, ask your conscience if you need it. If it says no, move on. Someone else needs it more than you. This is the most important point of all time. IF half of India pledges to do this, we have a superpower.
5. No external agency, government or heavenly outside force is going to help us. Our problems are with us and so are the solutions. It is upto us to match the patterns and work away. Some souls rise from the crowd to form what we call government. Remember, they are also from amongst us, NOT God sent...
6. Being Indian, understand its diversity. At least, go see India. Its shameful to admit to a foreigner that he/she has seen more India than you. And do not wear the loud-tourist-outfit when you do go, go as the person intending to understand his/her origins.
All of the above have no glory, no honour and no trumpets. But this is the foundation and the building blocks of what we need most. If you want to do more...the NSG is hiring!!
PS: The author is a shameless Indian without any noteworthy contribution to the country at the moment. But like the other billion, there is a flame.
A never before seen crowd of people assembled at the Gateway of India to make history. Although the Congress had decided to back Deshmukh, the vibe of that crowd momentarily made it change its decision. End result - a headless state...
After the dust settled on Ground zero, dust has been flying everywhere. Predominantly, the strong urge to criticize politicians. There have been several SMSes flying around about "Who will stop the terrorists(aka the politicians) within?" While the starkness of the statement makes you take notice, I wish my countrymen would abhor from such sentimentalistic talk. It pleases the eye and definitely pleases our mind that we are NOW doing something DIFFERENT. Agreed on both counts (NOW + DIFFERENT), but then, we are like the NSG on ground zero. We all know we have to do something and we are all doing something unsynchronized. There has to be a plan and all have to perform within it - this is the only count that matters!!
Back to politicians - Yup, the likes of Amar Singh make me give a standing ovation. Oratory skills apart, the way he defends himself, even in the face of the strongest evidence against him is exemplary (Satire my dear friends, in case you do not recognize). But then, there was the anguished face of Salman Khursheed, HotHead Karat, and the disciplined Manmohan and Chidu...I feel sorry for these people. And i wish, the blame game would stop. These guys are in a thankless position. As i explained to a friend here, the situation has so many limitations, which if taken into consideration may make the most extra-ordinary adminsitrator seem mediocre or maybe downright inefficient.
Another warning to my fellow countrymen. We speak of India as if we know the inner and outer ends of it. For me, India is sub-urban Mumbai. THe problems of sub-urban Mumbai are the problems of India in my definition. My toilet is within the confines of my home and i am able to defecate in privacy. I do not have to walk 5 miles to fetch a pail of water. I do not identify with this India. And that is the biggest problem of the lot.
A question is, where am I headed? Am headed to the fact that all the problems that we face today, we do not have a quick fix. There is no magic wand and there is no Cinderella's granny to elevate us to utopia. I believe evolution follows a routine, birth - growth - simplistic existence - sophistication - too much sophistication leading to the search for simplicity again and the cycle continues...We are entering into this phase for the search of simplicity. What we really need is the simple arrangement of our objectives and aims. We have to work within our system, understand its limitations, stretch them and achieve a model for all to follow.
Change is inevitable, but change should be SUSTAINABLE. A law cannot be made with a singular vision. It has to protect the innocent and hence innocent till proven guilty. Our problems are not singular, hence our solutions and approaches cannot be either.
In retrospect, this write-up has gone through a lot of philosophy. So what is the action on the ground for each of us?
1. Dont shun politics. There may be setbacks, but we have to get our most capable people here. Else there is no hope.
2. Stop the sentimentalism. The encounter specialists where themselves under the scanner on charges of corruption sometime back. But today one took bullets on him and is a hero. The same person can be a villian on one day but may have a change of heart and stand for change. While fighting a sinner, give some levee for this aspect.
3. Place individual cleanliness above all. If you need to wait in a queue 2 min longer, wait patiently.
4. If welfare is being distributed, ask your conscience if you need it. If it says no, move on. Someone else needs it more than you. This is the most important point of all time. IF half of India pledges to do this, we have a superpower.
5. No external agency, government or heavenly outside force is going to help us. Our problems are with us and so are the solutions. It is upto us to match the patterns and work away. Some souls rise from the crowd to form what we call government. Remember, they are also from amongst us, NOT God sent...
6. Being Indian, understand its diversity. At least, go see India. Its shameful to admit to a foreigner that he/she has seen more India than you. And do not wear the loud-tourist-outfit when you do go, go as the person intending to understand his/her origins.
All of the above have no glory, no honour and no trumpets. But this is the foundation and the building blocks of what we need most. If you want to do more...the NSG is hiring!!
PS: The author is a shameless Indian without any noteworthy contribution to the country at the moment. But like the other billion, there is a flame.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Are we there yet?
Till 2 days ago, I have always been glued to the idiot box for more than 2 days at a stretch only when the Men in Blue dressed in white flannels played some other country on 22 yards of packed mud in a stadium. But this week made me watch a Test Match of horrendous proportions. As i watched the beloved symbols of my city crumble. I lived and died with every shot, experiencing every stage of the 5 phases of death...anger, denial, bargaining, depression and acceptance. There is a lot of pent up emotion in each of us. What we do with it, is what will define us. Here is what i would like to see.
1. Dr. Manmohan Singh - You have too much to do.
a.I want a Marine BSF. Equipped with the latest speedboats and enough firepower to challenge any Mother pirate ship.
b. I want you to rattle the UN. If US had the right of hot pursue in Afganistan, me and my people have been violated. We can and we should roll out our forces of these installations in Karachi and take them out.
2. Mr. Ratan Tata - Start the Taj as soon as possible. With doubled energy and purpose. In all its splendour. Rename all the banquet rooms in memory of each staff member you lost. Turn the loss of each employee into a piece of history that every visitor will remember. Turn our pain into our strength.
3. Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai - Hold your cameras just a tad bit longer. In the mad rush to report first, many a times you report wrong. Also it serves no purpose for me to see a burning window of the hotel.
4. Mr. Hassan Gafoor - Although the 3 main cops are celebrated enough, see to it that the sacrifice of the unknown is not forgotten.
5. Mumbai & Maharashtra Police - Yes you are in a thankless position. Yes you are understaffed, underequipped and over-worked. Yes the media, the public and the politicians do not let you work as you like. But since you are already in the uniform, recognize the respect and power you have. While we all earn salaries, you unknowingly earn a lot in your lifetime. I will perish one day and be gone...but the Hemant Karkares, the Ashok Kamtes and the Vijay Salaskars live on forever. You have the opportunity, use it.
6 Mr. Dutt - I do not doubt that the NSG is the best we have. What we saw did not seem logical enough. Please come sooner the next time we need you.
Why was a curfew not imposed within a 3 km radius?
Why did a unit not storm from helicopters of all 3 buildings on day 1 itself?
Yes it ended, but the length of the ordeal shows that we are far from the best. No matter how strong the enemy is, we have to crush it in the shortest time possible. an 80+ hours ordeal merely shows our flaws.
7. Average Indians like me - Always in life, we are confronted with options - an easier one with lot of gains and a difficult one with not much gain in sight. For most of us, we opt the easier one, even if it is immoral, illegal or unethical. Our choices boomerang to haunt us. While we may have passed that day with ease, we have given birth unknowingly to a demon that will come at us more strongly in the near future. The evil is within. We need to take stock of our daily actions on a daily basis. It is an easier job to criticze politicians, police and government from the outside. This is what we have chosen to do till this day. Its time we changed tracks in whatever little way we can.
Till that day - dont send foolish forwards on 15th Aug and 26th Jan praising India as the best nation in the wold. We are not there yet...we still have to toil to reach...
1. Dr. Manmohan Singh - You have too much to do.
a.I want a Marine BSF. Equipped with the latest speedboats and enough firepower to challenge any Mother pirate ship.
b. I want you to rattle the UN. If US had the right of hot pursue in Afganistan, me and my people have been violated. We can and we should roll out our forces of these installations in Karachi and take them out.
2. Mr. Ratan Tata - Start the Taj as soon as possible. With doubled energy and purpose. In all its splendour. Rename all the banquet rooms in memory of each staff member you lost. Turn the loss of each employee into a piece of history that every visitor will remember. Turn our pain into our strength.
3. Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai - Hold your cameras just a tad bit longer. In the mad rush to report first, many a times you report wrong. Also it serves no purpose for me to see a burning window of the hotel.
4. Mr. Hassan Gafoor - Although the 3 main cops are celebrated enough, see to it that the sacrifice of the unknown is not forgotten.
5. Mumbai & Maharashtra Police - Yes you are in a thankless position. Yes you are understaffed, underequipped and over-worked. Yes the media, the public and the politicians do not let you work as you like. But since you are already in the uniform, recognize the respect and power you have. While we all earn salaries, you unknowingly earn a lot in your lifetime. I will perish one day and be gone...but the Hemant Karkares, the Ashok Kamtes and the Vijay Salaskars live on forever. You have the opportunity, use it.
6 Mr. Dutt - I do not doubt that the NSG is the best we have. What we saw did not seem logical enough. Please come sooner the next time we need you.
Why was a curfew not imposed within a 3 km radius?
Why did a unit not storm from helicopters of all 3 buildings on day 1 itself?
Yes it ended, but the length of the ordeal shows that we are far from the best. No matter how strong the enemy is, we have to crush it in the shortest time possible. an 80+ hours ordeal merely shows our flaws.
7. Average Indians like me - Always in life, we are confronted with options - an easier one with lot of gains and a difficult one with not much gain in sight. For most of us, we opt the easier one, even if it is immoral, illegal or unethical. Our choices boomerang to haunt us. While we may have passed that day with ease, we have given birth unknowingly to a demon that will come at us more strongly in the near future. The evil is within. We need to take stock of our daily actions on a daily basis. It is an easier job to criticze politicians, police and government from the outside. This is what we have chosen to do till this day. Its time we changed tracks in whatever little way we can.
Till that day - dont send foolish forwards on 15th Aug and 26th Jan praising India as the best nation in the wold. We are not there yet...we still have to toil to reach...
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Gruha_Pravesh
The chanting of the mantras invokes the deities to the "house" - the first step to making a "home"!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
It happend to me...v1
Someone at Vodafone India has a terrific sense of humour!! While shamelessly sending us back when wanting check your account, they are encouraging you to make the most of NOW!! Question is...HOW??
Monday, August 11, 2008
Ladies and Gentlemen please stand up for the national anthem of....INDIA
I remember a time as a teenagers in school we used to have these debating competitions, where when the teacher could not be creative enough, the topic always was "Should India stop participating in the Olympics?"
The cliche for the pro group here would be...Forget gold, silver and bronze, if there will be a tin, plastic and paper medal, India would not be able to stake claim to it! I dint like it then, i dint like it now. And with Ogden Nash, being a born spectator, there was little i could do to change things but pray from the bottom of my heart, that someone would change it.
From Kashba Jadhav in Helsinki 1952 to Leander Paes in Atlanta 1996, it has been a long long wait. But one could see the stars aligning. However numero uno in Aurum eluded us till this day...11th Aug. 2008.
India waited for 60+ years for an individual to hold this. And this belongs to Abhinav Bindra!!
- A very delighted Indian!!
PS: Even Rabindranath Tagore would have agreed that it did sound very sweet today!! 52 seconds that defined the moment.
The cliche for the pro group here would be...Forget gold, silver and bronze, if there will be a tin, plastic and paper medal, India would not be able to stake claim to it! I dint like it then, i dint like it now. And with Ogden Nash, being a born spectator, there was little i could do to change things but pray from the bottom of my heart, that someone would change it.
From Kashba Jadhav in Helsinki 1952 to Leander Paes in Atlanta 1996, it has been a long long wait. But one could see the stars aligning. However numero uno in Aurum eluded us till this day...11th Aug. 2008.
India waited for 60+ years for an individual to hold this. And this belongs to Abhinav Bindra!!
- A very delighted Indian!!
PS: Even Rabindranath Tagore would have agreed that it did sound very sweet today!! 52 seconds that defined the moment.
Monday, August 4, 2008
On fresh starts...
An idle mind tends to randomness in ones thoughts...so feel like rambling a bit...
I do not quite remember the subtleties of childhood...but life as a teen was fairly simple. I knew the almighty had a plan for me...and all i had to do was follow the course.
A decade, 2 continents and 3 countries later, i still feel lost. Am thankful for the opportunities and the hidden blessings, but then, life always seems headed to a dull alley... one which does not seem to fit the perception of the picture that i have for myself.
In the hope that the alley will someday open to a bright sunlit boulevard...i labour... only to realise one fine day that i need to veer from the present course and sometimes retrace myself...a fresh start. The thing with fresh starts is that each one needs exponentially more energy and faith than the last...more so, cause the knowledge of knowing that the last fresh start led to another failure thus tending to corrode a chunk of confidence.
And if that werent enough, each fresh start adds burden from the last unfinished journey...the feeling of having left something incomplete...the anguish i gave to those that walked with me then...causes me to drop my speed a bit. What began as a sprint back then becomes a laborious crawl with each fresh start!
But for all this, tomorrow will be a fresh start...
I do not quite remember the subtleties of childhood...but life as a teen was fairly simple. I knew the almighty had a plan for me...and all i had to do was follow the course.
A decade, 2 continents and 3 countries later, i still feel lost. Am thankful for the opportunities and the hidden blessings, but then, life always seems headed to a dull alley... one which does not seem to fit the perception of the picture that i have for myself.
In the hope that the alley will someday open to a bright sunlit boulevard...i labour... only to realise one fine day that i need to veer from the present course and sometimes retrace myself...a fresh start. The thing with fresh starts is that each one needs exponentially more energy and faith than the last...more so, cause the knowledge of knowing that the last fresh start led to another failure thus tending to corrode a chunk of confidence.
And if that werent enough, each fresh start adds burden from the last unfinished journey...the feeling of having left something incomplete...the anguish i gave to those that walked with me then...causes me to drop my speed a bit. What began as a sprint back then becomes a laborious crawl with each fresh start!
But for all this, tomorrow will be a fresh start...
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Burst Mode
Sometimes i wonder whether Shannon-Hartley and others behind communication theory had it super easy for them! Most of life's patterns lent themselves to what we call communication theory.
One such theory is - information in burst mode. The hour past has been one of those - in burst mode! Surprising how days on end pass without any activity worth the note and then - this.
Thats about as big a prelude as i could compose. The first was an email - a rather sad one. A kid, whom i saw first as a shy, coy, slightly panzy and the butt of every joke....involved in a rather sad episode. That of the bottle and the steering wheel. While 2 roomies did not see the light of the day, this poor kid is charged on 2 counts of manslaughter and if that werent enough...drunken driving. Ya, u drunken driving opponents, am with you, but for the moment, since i knew this kid, my heart goes out to him. I just wish sanity had prevailed before.
Within moments of that, I find Puja's headed to Iraq. Wow!! Its an opportunity..its also a risk. Also, a heavy toll on the personal front. I just pray for her.
One such theory is - information in burst mode. The hour past has been one of those - in burst mode! Surprising how days on end pass without any activity worth the note and then - this.
Thats about as big a prelude as i could compose. The first was an email - a rather sad one. A kid, whom i saw first as a shy, coy, slightly panzy and the butt of every joke....involved in a rather sad episode. That of the bottle and the steering wheel. While 2 roomies did not see the light of the day, this poor kid is charged on 2 counts of manslaughter and if that werent enough...drunken driving. Ya, u drunken driving opponents, am with you, but for the moment, since i knew this kid, my heart goes out to him. I just wish sanity had prevailed before.
Within moments of that, I find Puja's headed to Iraq. Wow!! Its an opportunity..its also a risk. Also, a heavy toll on the personal front. I just pray for her.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The Compliment
Birthdays have been a funny time...a week ago....the tempo starts building...with it...the expectations. And finally, it reaches a crescendo, only to find that the finale is short of expectations.
Most have whizzed by in clinically similar fashion. This birthday though turned out to be an exception...and what a one it was....
For a very mundane reason, decided to give the customary o-bento a skip and try some local delicacies around work. J planned the surprise and pulled in chotu. The rogue that this guy is, he loves playing the host to perfection.
And at this very lunch, this same idol of imperfection gave me one of the most stunning gifts I have ever received. The script reads..." This guy is very posh...(pause)....His parents must be like this...(here the actor in this 3-foot-something just stiffened to ramrod perfection of the British-stiff-upper-lip).
The grandeur of this moment was lost on me....till J pointed it out later...and the grey matter got to work. To fathom the greatness of the statement one needs to discount the missing charm of the english translation of japanese mannerisms...and needs to factor in the character of the person saying it!
But for the reader who can do that..this statement will remain one of my life's greatest achievements. Am happy to be your son....mom and dad!
Most have whizzed by in clinically similar fashion. This birthday though turned out to be an exception...and what a one it was....
For a very mundane reason, decided to give the customary o-bento a skip and try some local delicacies around work. J planned the surprise and pulled in chotu. The rogue that this guy is, he loves playing the host to perfection.
And at this very lunch, this same idol of imperfection gave me one of the most stunning gifts I have ever received. The script reads..." This guy is very posh...(pause)....His parents must be like this...(here the actor in this 3-foot-something just stiffened to ramrod perfection of the British-stiff-upper-lip).
The grandeur of this moment was lost on me....till J pointed it out later...and the grey matter got to work. To fathom the greatness of the statement one needs to discount the missing charm of the english translation of japanese mannerisms...and needs to factor in the character of the person saying it!
But for the reader who can do that..this statement will remain one of my life's greatest achievements. Am happy to be your son....mom and dad!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
My first...
Hello all who are curious enough to wander here....
A lot of newsworthy people i know have stepped into blogging and though net savvy and all...i missed the bus. So while the concept of blogging readies to celebrate almost a decade of existence, i am just about beginning my existence here...
"A" was the one intellectual soul who always pushed me to write...but lazy me always found excuses to wiggle out. There was once a time when i did actually get down to pen something...but it just dint make the light of the day! So mustering the strength to get back and start anew.
Heres to the new start!!
A lot of newsworthy people i know have stepped into blogging and though net savvy and all...i missed the bus. So while the concept of blogging readies to celebrate almost a decade of existence, i am just about beginning my existence here...
"A" was the one intellectual soul who always pushed me to write...but lazy me always found excuses to wiggle out. There was once a time when i did actually get down to pen something...but it just dint make the light of the day! So mustering the strength to get back and start anew.
Heres to the new start!!
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