D-God

Act of kindness!

2009-11-12T16:19:00.001+05:30

It has been exactly 1 year, 5 months, 3 days of my existence in Pune and I had never come across anything like this! While my opinion is going to raise quite a few heckles and objections, what the heck! India’s a free country and I’m going to express my view.
So, as I was saying, Pune and ‘courtesy’ do not go hand in hand. Nobody cares for your time here. Pune and Mumbai have been called sister cities, but they are as different as chalk and cheese. Though I agree I might be a bit biased about Mumbai considering I have been born and brought up there, I have to make this point: Mumbai might be mercilessly materialistic, but somewhere within that exterior, it has a heart. It’s a survivor and a city that never sleeps. More than all this: time is money here. On the other hand, Pune seems to be welcoming, but is not. It’s materialistic too, but has no heart. But I’m adjusting to this ‘newness’ and putting down roots here because I’m thankful to this city for giving me a husband and a whole new family, a good job and cool colleagues, and of course, my cherished house.
Coming back to today, I was pleasantly surprised to experience courtesy from the most unexpected quarter. Here, I have to travel to work, like all others, by a PMPML bus (like the BEST in Mumbai). But unlike the BEST buses that have 3-4 seats reserved for women, these buses have an entire row! But that’s only on paper, or shall we say wood? I have never ever seen men vacating these seats for women in PMPML buses on their own. However, today, I boarded the PMC-bound bus hoping to get a seat, but had to keep standing. A man occupying a ladies’ seat, after some deliberation with his friend who was occupying the window seat, got up and vacated his seat for me. I muttered a thank you and sat down. After alighting from the bus, I wanted to share this experience with everybody, so here it is.
This courtesy has, dare I say, brought me a few more inches closer to the city which I married into.
(pic courtesy: theladiesseat.blogspot.com)

Young leader's nefarious 'idol'

2009-11-11T15:48:00.002+05:30

Raj admires Hitler for the 'way he shook up the society'
Mumbai:
Raj Thackeray is an admirer of German dictator Adolf Hitler. The reason why Raj Thackeray admires both Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi is ‘the way they shook up societies and created uproar’, according to the official website of MNS.
However, on Monday, it was the admiration for the Fuehrer which was on display in the Maharashtra Assembly as MNS MLAs bashed up another Legislator in the House. The MNS website has an interesting conversation with the enfant terrible of Maharashtra politics. Excerpts: "Question: You say you admire Gandhi, who preached non-violence. Then why do your followers heed to violence? The answer: You need to communicate with your opponent in a language they understand, a language they can comprehend."
Beating up SP MLA Abu Asim Azmi for not taking oath in Marathi as he could only understand the language of violence was the message given by Raj and his men, who were mute spectators when some other MLAs did not take oath in the language and instead opted for English.
Hitler's stormtroopers persecuted Jews and people who opposed the Fuehrer. Raj and Azmi have been at loggerheads since the MNS chief launched his anti-north Indian stir. Raj said in 2005, "when it comes to organizational skills, there are few who can rival Hitler. Leave aside his negative aspects like the barbaric annihilation of millions of Jews. There are several other things about Hitler, which any leader would envy."
(INDIAN EXPRESS)

By bringing together the names of Hitler and Gandhi itself, Raj Thackeray has committed heresy. Has he forgotten that Hitler killed hundreds of thousands of jews in a systematic massacre? It’s been over 70 years now, and the average German still feels ashamed of this fact. The World War II, the Berlin Wall, the Cold War — everything had its roots in Nazism and Fascism.
I’m not condoning the credentials of people like Abu Azmi, but to rein them in, Constitutional means can be used too. Hooliganism in the Assembly is not the answer. The entire world was watching and laughing at our stupid representatives, for God’s sake!

Gun-man Kalashnikov turns 90

2009-11-10T21:50:00.004+05:30

His invention has resulted in bloodbaths across the globe (especially by the Taliban and the Mumbai underworld. A certain well-known actor has been convicted for its possession), but Mikhail Kalashnikov is a happy man with a few regrets. The maker of this Russian weapon of mass destruction turned 90 today!
He is considered a hero in Russia for designing the AK-47. Also called the ‘Kalashnikov’, the rifle and its variants are the weapons of choice for dozens of armies and guerrilla groups around the world.
More than 100 million Kalashnikov rifles have now been sold worldwide, but their inventor, a World War II veteran, claims he has not profited financially from them and continues to live modestly in Izhevsk.

Sweet something!

2009-11-10T16:56:00.003+05:30

After venturing into baking two weeks ago, thanks to my new Samsung microwave-convection oven, I was itching to do something new. I had read up on loads of microwave recipes and set out to prepare a chocolate-banana brownie. The recipe was actually for chocolate-banana muffins, but I made some modifications of my own and baked a brownie instead.

Here’s the recipe, courtesy bigoven.com
2 small Bananas; very ripe
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Nonfat buttermilk
1 cup Flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder; sifted
3/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Baking soda
Butter to glaze the pan
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray every other muffin cup with cooking spray, and set aside. Place the bananas and vanilla in a food processor, and process until pureed. Transfer the puree to a medium mixing bowl, and whisk in the eggs and buttermilk until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter, or the muffins will become too tough . Set aside. In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a large spoon, stir in the banana-vanilla mixture until just combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, until its almost to the top. Transfer muffins to the oven to bake until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Place muffins on wire rack to cool. Serve warm. Makes 10.

Here’s what I did:
Since I was baking a brownie, I did away with the muffin cup and cooking spray. I mixed all the stuff as instructed. Since I didn’t have buttermilk, I mixed some water with curd and whisked it in the mixer.
I glazed a shallow glass pan with home-made butter and put the mixture in it, decorating it on top with chopped chocolate (Toblerone), apricots and raisins.
I then microwaved it on HIGH for 3 minutes. Reducing the temperature to 70%, I baked it for 1 more minute. Then I took the pan out. Set the microwave on preheat mode (with microwave+grill option) and baked it for 5 more minutes. Voila! The yummy brownie was ready!

We need action, not drama

2009-11-09T16:30:00.003+05:30

MNS MLAs on Monday created a ruckus in the Maharashtra Assembly after SP MLA Abu Asim Azmi took oath in Hindi despite their call that all legislators take the pledge in Marathi with one of the members from Raj Thackeray’s party slapping him.
Soon after Azmi began taking oath in Hindi, the 13 member-strong MNS contingent rushed towards Azmi, snatching the mike placed for taking oath at the podium.
MNS members shouted slogans, demanding that Azmi should take oath in Marathi.
The House was adjourned for 30 minutes as the pandemonium continued and soon after that MNS MLA Ram Kadam slapped Azmi.
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Energy Minister Ajit Pawar tried to restore calm in the House. MNS Chief Raj Thackeray had last month announced that his party legislators would ensure that all MLAs took oath in Marathi. (Indian Express report)

Incidents like these often make me wonder about what exactly is an MLA’s job. Is he/she a lawmaker or a law breaker? The latter option seems to be more realistic now. While I’m not commenting on the credentials of Abu Azmi, it’s a fact that he is a democratically-elected member of the Vidhan Sabha. This only means that he has been elected by people knowing fully well that he does not converse in Marathi. Besides, Hindi is a national language and he is entitled to taking an oath in that language.
I’m a Maharashtrian myself and I totally believe that this incident could have been avoided. More than ‘forcing’ people to speak in Marathi, I’m sure there are other pressing issues for MNS to pay its misplaced attention to. I wonder what are they planning to do about the poor farmers in the state, people who have become jobless in the state due to the recession, the swine flu pandemic and the threat of dengue? These are just some issues, but there would be many more at the grassroots level. What are they planning to do about that? Ideology does not fill an empty stomach.
Besides, if proficiency in speaking in Marathi was the only criteria, why not subject these politicians to examinations and elect them on that basis, rather than wasting resources on elections?
Just getting 13 of its MLAs into the Assembly and then going on the roads shouting ‘we’ll tell you how to rule Maharashtra’ is plain bravado, nothing else. What the common man needs is action, not action drama... like the shameful one that took place in the Assembly today.

Crossing Over reaches out and touches your heart

2009-11-08T16:05:00.006+05:30

I was really tired after a hard day at work (working on my weekly off) on Saturday and in no mood for a late-night movie session. But S was at his persuasive best and made me sit along with him for this 2009 movie about ‘illegal immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles’. And boy, was I hooked! Crossing Over deals with, as Wikipedia puts forth: ‘the border, document fraud, the asylum and green card process, work-site enforcement, naturalisation, the office of counter-terrorism and the clash of cultures’.
What is more interesting is that this movie was not made by a person sitting on the fence and watching things unfold from a distance. Crossing Over has been written and directed by Wayne Kramer, himself an immigrant from South Africa, and is a remake of his 1995 short film of the same name.
In today’s Pune Mirror, I came across this article by freelance writer Aseem Chhabra about how brown-skinned people living in the US may have to face the backlash of the Fort Hood shooting, similar to the one they were subjected after 9/11. Chhabra even stated his own experience of such misplaced hatred/distrust in the aftermath of 9/11.
Coming back to the movie, there’s this incident wherein a Muslim (Bangladeshi) immigrant is deported for showing an ‘understanding’ of why the attacks must have occurred, in a country which supposedly supports freedom of speech.
I had never seen a Ford film and I cannot say if this was his best performance to date, but he did a great job. Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd have done a great job too.
Considering that this movie has substantial amount of nudity, I’m sure it won’t premiere in this country. So, I guess film lovers might need to get hold of a DVD. It’s a must watch!

Is singing Vande Mataram un-Islamic?

2009-11-07T18:07:00.002+05:30

The Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, an organisation of Muslim clerics, at its national convention at Deoband this week have vowed to fight against terrorism but at the same time they have decided not to sing the Vande Mataram considering that it was un-islamic, reports ibnlive.com.

India is a democracy and so long as the song is not imposed on anybody, it should not be called anti-constitutional. So far as the issue of being ‘un-Islamic’ is concerned, I have two things to say.
1) It’s all about showing respect towards one’s mother/motherland. I’m sure no religion in the world prohibits that
2) India is a multi-cultural country. And by raising such issues, the Muslims are playing into the hands of the religious fanatics on both sides.
Anyway, I wonder how many people, across religions, actually remember this song in its entirety, rather than sing it regularly.

Refreshing change

2009-11-07T15:46:00.006+05:30

Chopped off my shoulder-length locks yesterday. And man, my head never felt lighter before! (check out the 'then' and 'now' pics, the one on the top being the latest one) Something as small as snipping off ones locks makes such a huge change. Some folks told me it has taken off the years from my face while some thought it’s plain stylish. Some saw it as a refreshing sense. But the best reaction was seeing S’s face when I reached home! The haircut was totally worth it!

First Diwali at our house

2009-11-05T22:15:00.002+05:30

This Diwali was rather special for both of us because it was the first one in our own house. Though I did not make the traditional faraal, S’s granny very sweetly made up for this by giving us a dabba loaded with goodies. I was never a fan of crackers and so I lit up my house with traditional diyas. Getting a roof above your house is such a fulfilling experience!

First anniversary, first house

2009-05-26T16:18:00.003+05:30

Okay, this blog is a complete departure from my earlier ones. I have always made it a point not to write anything personal and only be a ‘commentator’ on the happenings in the world, or so to say. But I couldn’t resist this digression.
People revel in their ‘firsts’ — first step, first day in school, first crush, first baby, etc. Marriage is ‘ideally’ always for keeps. So there can’t be firsts here. But yes, there is the first anniversary... and here I am, eagerly awaiting that day to celebrate with my love and loved ones! Here, I have got mixed feelings — on one hand, I wonder how time passed so quickly. And on the other, it feels like I have been married for ages.
And then there is our new house — our very own first house! We will almost complete a month of our stay here. This house has lent a certain positivity to my entire being that is very difficult to express.
I had always wanted to celebrate our first anniversary in a house of our own! And guess what, my wish has come true!
I’m totally head over heels in love with the house! Can’t stop gushing about it. Two years back, if anybody would have told me that I would be happily married or least of all, have a house, I’d have laughed out loud. Things happen when they are slated to happen, and (as a friend of mine says) when you want them to happen. Paulo Coelho got it right when he said: When you want something desperately, the entire universe conspires to help you get it.
At the risk of sounding weird, I want to express my gratitude to all my loved ones and well-wishers for helping me reach where I am, at the moment.

Caste as alibi?

2009-05-03T19:17:00.001+05:30

Kalyan Singh has very cunningly distanced himself from the Babri Masjid demolition ever since resigning from the BJP. The latest statement is :

"I was told that nothing will happen (demolition of mosque)… there was a conspiracy by BJP behind it. Two big leaders who were kar sevavadis, had given to Supreme Court in writing that only a symbolic kar seva would be held there (in Ayodhya),"
"Kya Muslim nahin chaahte hain ki BJP ka naash ho? Tumse zyada to Kalyan chaahta hai ki BJP ka naash ho. Maine BJP ki kabr khod di hai, aap us per mitti daal dena is baar." (Don’t Muslims want the BJP destroyed? More than you, Kalyan who wants the BJP’s destruction. I’ve dug the BJP’s grave, this time ensure you seal it with earth.)

Looks like this move will make way for factionalism in BJP, as it happened to Congress a few decades ago.
But I find Kalyan’s stance totally disgusting. How can one turn a blind eye to what was happening (Babri demolition) then and now when the elections come around, one just says that one was targetted due to one’s caste? Talk about conspiracy theories!

Sole of the matter

2009-04-26T19:54:00.010+05:30

George W Bush, P Chidambaram, Naveen Jindal, L K Advani and Manmohan Singh. The one thing that binds all these people is a shoe — hurled at them!
A bloke named Hitesh Chauhan, obviously digruntled with the state of affairs in the country, threw a shoe at PM Manmohan Singh today afternoon when the PM was addressing a rally in Ahmedabad.
During the last few days there have been a number of incidents of shoe-throwing in differrent parts of the country. On April 7, an accredited journalist in New Delhi had expressed his protest over CBI giving clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in anti-Sikh riots of 1984, by hurling a shoe at Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. Congress leader Naveen Jindal also became a victim of a similar incident when an agitated school teacher hurled a shoe towards him during a rally. In another such incident, a party member hurled his wooden footwear at Bharatiya Janata Party's primeministerial candidate L K Advani during a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Katni town.
Looks like the shoe has suddenly become mightier than the sword and of course, the pen. But yeah, it's at least better than slashing someone's throat with a sword or spraying them with bullets.
But then, I wonder, why do these shoe-throwers always miss their target? Arre bhai, ek toh joota nishaane pe lagna chahiye na? And all this keeps happening when the nation is electing its representatives. I suspect it's a gimmick to attract attention. After all, even bad publicity is exactly that — publicity.
But I must admit, charismatic BJP leader Narendra Modi is a smart guy. During one of his rallies, he ensured that his podium was secured with nets (see pic), to prevent a wayward shoe or chappal coming his way. Guess he didn't realise that his poll campaign could get extra funds if the footwear coming his way is sold off to a kabadiwallah!

Setting a malnourished trend?

2009-04-24T13:48:00.001+05:30

I was alarmed when I saw this Australian girl competing for the Australian finals of the Miss Universe pageant. Stephanie Naumoska, 19, eventually could not make it as the winner. With her 31-25-35 measurements, she seemed to have trouble filling into her already skimpy bikini, though by the pageant and modelling standards, she had the ideal height — 5ft 10in.
However, she has a Body Mass Index of 15.1 — and that, by World Health Organisation standards, means she is malnourished. Experts say her BMI should be between 18.5 and 24.9 to fall into the ‘average’ category.
I’m really glad she did not win the contest, because that would have meant her becoming an unhealthy role model for all the young girls out there in the world. But more than that, I have a question for the organisers of the contest: if all the details were out there, right in front of you, why did you let her contest in the first place?
Any answers, anybody?

Colourful Varunbaba

2009-04-23T21:02:00.004+05:30

Well, it’s an untold truth that politicians are like chameleons. They change colours by the minute.
So when animal lover Maneka Gandhi’s son Varun suddenly started espousing the cause of non-violence, I’m sure many people would not have been too surprised.
Just a few days ago, he managed to get bail following his incarceration over some caustic remarks that he allegedly made against a section of non-Hindus. He allegedly wanted to cut off those hands that were raised against the Hindus. I wonder if he was talking about the ‘hand’ of the Congress.

I’m sure the proponent of non-violence — Mahatma Gandhi (God bless his soul) — must be turning in his grave. Sadly, he also shares his surname with this youngster who has now filed his candidature from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.

Fingering the elections

2009-04-23T19:20:00.005+05:30

It’s been a long time since I blogged. Well, I’m back now, and hopefully for good. The only thing that has changed is my surname and my residence. Well, marriage does that to most women ;)
Ok, all jokes aside, it was voting time in Pune. Even as I struggled to find my name in the voters’ list, I couldn’t and so here I am just writing about the event.

Reams and more reams have been written about the great Indian general elections till date, and more will continue to be written. So I would just like to make one observation: the ‘finger’ has changed! The instrument that decided the fate of all the candidates is not the index finger any more, at least not in Pune. I don’t know about how it is happening in other cities, towns, villages and states, but here, in Pune, the indelible ink is being put on the middle finger!

I wonder if this is a well-thought-out move. Till date, it was only the electorate that was frustrated with the non-performing politicians and wanted to show them the middle finger. I guess now even the bureaucrats and government servants are going the same way — by inking the middle finger of voters, are they sending across the same message?

Rajput's hiss and tell...

2008-01-01T20:39:00.000+05:30

Only members of the Indian team can tell whether there is a problem with Yuvraj Singh’s attitude. But I think it was wrong on the part of assistant coach Lalchand Rajput to go public with the accusations and that too in the middle of a Test series. This is unprofessional behaviour. Rajput’s untimely remarks have stirred a controversy and disturbed the team spirit. Australians are always looking for such opportunities to target our team with devious mind games. Rajput has unwittingly exposed the team’s weakness. If at all there was an issue with Yuvraj’s behaviour or attitude, Rajput should have discussed the issue with the players and dealt with the problem in the privacy of the dressing room. Now, every member of the team is being made to answer awkward questions. Does anyone else think Rajput may have cost us the series?

Rowling veers towards crime

2007-08-20T17:54:00.001+05:30

I read that J K Rowling is penning down her new detective novel. The news got me excited and I can’t wait to lay my hands on her new book. I know it’s going to be a long wait, but I’m sure those who have read and cherished Harry Potter know how to wait patiently.

There’s no denying the fact that Rowling is a great story-teller. She breathed life into Harry Potter and made him a household name. It won’t be easy for her to save herself from the critic’s acid tongue, especially after giving the world a marvel such as the Potter series.

But I am sure Rowling won’t disappoint her fans. Her style of writing is simple, lively and she spares her readers heavy-weight English words that require a dictionary interpretation.

However, if we want to enjoy Rowling as a writer, we’ll have to let go of her image as the creator of Harry Potter. We’ll have to learn to appreciate her writing irrespective of her previous work. I know it won’t be easy for fans to distance Harry’s character from Rowling’s writing abilities. But we must learn to appreciate a work on its own merit if we want to enjoy good, popular literature.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki

2007-08-06T19:58:00.000+05:30

The ghastly bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that killed millions and left many generations scarred in their wake, complete 62 years this week. This is the time to reflect on where we are headed today.

Nuclear power, just like other means of power, is also subjected to the concept of haves and have-nots. A handful of developed nations have conveniently become custodians of nuclear power and are dictating their terms to the rest of the globe. Though the nuclear arms race in the Indian sub-continent seems to have slackened down post the 1998 testings at Pokhran in India followed by Pakistan, we see incidents of nuclear defiance in countries like North Korea (which conducted its first nuclear test on October 9, 2006).

With India having signed the 123 Agreement with the US, it remains to be seen what repercussions it will have on the rest of the world.

I just wish that even the so-called superpowers should be transparent in their nuclear policies to prevent other countries from becoming insecure and thereby initiating their own nuclear programmes.

On this occasion, let’s remember that nuclear energy can be harnessed for constructive purposes too and let’s stop at that.

For more information of the terrible tragedy that took place 62 years back, check out this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

Sanjay Dutt: Jail ko chale Mamu

2007-07-31T21:57:00.001+05:30

Fate caught up with troubled Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt on Tuesday. He was handed out a punishment of six-years rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 25,000. For Dutt, this dialogue from his Munnabhai film should seem apt: Ek kahani khatam toh dujee shuru ho gayee...Mamu.

In a way, the sentencing should have come as a relief to the actor. At least the trauma of the court appearances is over for him. So far as his sentence is concerned, that’s his karma. He has to pay for his wrongs. You do the crime, you do the time, Sanjubaba.

Kiran Bedi Hits the Glass Ceiling

2007-07-26T17:01:00.001+05:30

Top cop Kiran Bedi was deftly sidelined by the UPA government for the post of Delhi’s police commissioner. Instead, Yudhbir Singh Dadwal, her junior by 2 years, has bagged the post. Here is what the Hindustan Times reports:

On a day India’s first woman President took charge, the first woman to enter the Indian Police Service over three decades ago lost in the race for the post of Delhi Police Commissioner.
Yudhbir Singh Dadwal will take over as Delhi’s next police commissioner on Thursday. Kiran Bedi, senior to Dadwal by two years, said it wasn’t just an individual loss but a loss for the Capital. In a series of interviews, Bedi lashed out at the decision and declared she would look at all her options.
"Merit has been compromised in this appointment… This decision will send out a very wrong message for women," she told a private channel, dubbing the government’s decision "unfair".
Bedi said the Prime Minister had been unfair to her. "It is complete injustice to me, and PM Manmohan Singh has let me down. I am completely disappointed with the government and the bureaucracy," she told IANS. "I am a person who has always stood up against injustice and I will continue to do so."
"Dadwal has some time with him. I am left with two years while he has four-five years. I could have finished my tenure and he could have taken over then. I don’t understand this impatience," she said. "Some people have decided to be unfair, it is as simple as that," she said. "To the best of my knowledge, I have an outstanding record and seniority. Both seniority and record have been given a go-by...I did not indulge in lobbying. I did not look for patronage or relationships," she said.
A home ministry official, however, insisted it was the government’s prerogative to make key appointments. There are judicial pronouncements holding that an officer had the right to be considered for a post, not to be appointed. "This remains the prerogative of the government on the basis of an officer’s suitability and capability," he said.
The police commissioner’s post is of the rank of the director-general of police; she holds this rank at the Bureau of Police Research and Development. Her chances were believed to have brightened after the government appointed Tejendra Khanna as Delhi’s Lt Governor this year. Bedi had worked with Khanna at Raj Niwas in his first stint as L-G; there were expectations that he would push her case. But the Centre clearly wasn’t convinced that the Magsaysay award-winner was cut out for the crucial post.
Officials said Dadwal, who is from the the 1974 batch, had the advantage of having served in key positions. He had served in New Delhi and East District, the Cabinet Secretariat, Special Branch, Operations. He was IG, Chandigarh and Arunachal Pradesh. He was Special Commissioner, Intelligence, Administration. He was awarded the President’s police medal for meritorious and distinguished service. It was under him that Chandigarh Police cracked the Beant Singh assassination case.

Magsaysay Award winner Kiran Bedi is not only a brilliant police officer, but also a well-known humanitarian. Currently the director general of Bureau of Police Research and Development, Bedi has served in a number of tough assignments ranging from Traffic Commissoner of New Delhi, Deputy Inspector General of Police in insurgency prone Mizoram, Advisor to the Lieutanent Governor of Chandigarh, Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau and also on a United Nations deputation. She is popularly referred to as Crane Bedi for towing the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s car for a parking violation (the PM was on tour of United States then).

Bedi influenced several decisions of the Indian Police Service, particularly in the areas of control over narcotics, traffic management, and VIP security. During her stint as the Inspector General of Prisons, Tihar Jail (Delhi), she instituted a number of reforms in the management the prison, and initiated a number of measures such as detoxification programmes, yoga, vipassana meditation, and redressing of complaints by prisoners.

She established two voluntary organisations — Navajyoti (1988) and India Vision Foundation (1994) — with the objectives of improving the condition of the drug addicts and the poor people. Her efforts have won national and international recognition, and her organisations was awarded the Serge Soitiroff Memorial Award for drug abuse prevention by the UN.

With all these positive points and seniority on her side (she’ll retire in 2010), it’s a shame that the UPA government chose to let a junior officer supercede her to the post of commissioner. This comes at a time when the government is tom-tomming about their achievement in electing a woman president! Such hypocrisy!

Sources say Bedi was not made commissioner because she’s known to be a tough and radical officer. But isn’t an officer at the higher ranks supposed to be tough? All these reasons are mere cover-ups for the government’s bias against Bedi.

Reports claim Bedi has already gone on protest leave. I sincerely hope that she takes the government to court over the issue as the appointment is clearly arbitrary. It’s time that some action is take to prevent sincere people becoming victims to state excesses.

Meanwhile, I’m sure the lady has braced herself for a long battle. Go right ahead madam, we all are with you.

As an afterthought, had Bedi been made commissioner, Delhi would have been the seat of woman power — with a woman president, a foreign woman (behind the scenes) PM and a woman commissioner! What do you think?

Mumbai, honest? Gimme a break!

2007-07-25T18:10:00.000+05:30

The Times of India reports that an international survey has found Mumbai to be the fifth most honest city in the world. Here is what the paper reports:

NEW YORK: If you were walking along and spotted a cell phone, would you pocket it or try to find its owner?
An international survey found people were more honest than expected, with Slovenians leading the pack. Reporters from the magazine Reader's Digest planted 960 "lost" cell phones in 30 public places in 32 cities around the world to test people's reactions in a cell phone honesty test.
They rang the phone as people walked past and watched to see if people would answer the phone, take the phone and attempt to call someone in the pre-programmed contacts later, or simply pocket it.
The most honest city in the survey turned out to be the smallest city in the group, Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, where 29 of 30 cell phones were returned. But bigger cities showed they also had trustworthy citizens with Canada's largest city, Toronto, coming second with 28 of 30 phones returned, followed by Seoul and Stockholm.
Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur didn't fare so well, tying for worst performance with only 13 of the 30 "lost" phones returned in each city. Reader's Digest spokesman William Adler said while the study was not scientific, the results were interesting and indicated that people were more honest than preliminary interviews suggested.
Many people predicted in preliminary interviews that return rates would be in the single digits but the average return rate on the "lost" phones was 68%."People didn't expect a lot of good Samaritans," he said. The survey found that parents with children were keen to show the right behaviour and women were slightly more likely to return phones than men.
New York came fifth in the list, tying with Mumbai, and Manila in the Philippines, with New York advertising sales representative Catherine Borelli typifying the reason why people made such an effort to track down the owner.
Borelli, 24, said she found a BlackBerry e-mail and cell phone device in the backseat of a taxi on a recent trip so she called several contacts in the phone until she reached the owner's wife then set up a meeting place to return the device.
"I know how awful it would be lose all your contacts. If I lost my BlackBerry, I would hope someone would do the same for me," she said.
According to a 2005 National Health Interview Survey, the number of adults owning only wireless telephones continues to increase, raising concerns among pollsters regarding the validity of their phone samples in upcoming years.
The survey, conducted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, found that more than 1 out of 10 American homes did not have a landline telephone during the last six months of 2005.
Scott Keeter, director of survey research for the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, said his organisation has seen evidence of this shift since the beginning of 2001, indicating that the percentage of polls taken from those under 35 has recently decreased.

Surveys have never been known to be completely fool-proof. I'm not denying that there are a few honest people around in the city, but who has the time and guts to display this quality in the fast-paced city life?

And pray, what kind of a survey is this? Is the honesty displayed with regard to cellphones the same as honesty in other matters? Can we apply the same yardstick to all cultures?

There’s not a single day when we venture out of our houses fearing that our gold jewellery, cellphones or wallets might be stolen. The local kirana and grocery shop owners almost always charge us over and above the MRP for products. Then there are the TCs who enter train compartments looking for ‘easy prey’ and ‘settle’ issues without issuing receipts. And what about the hawkers operating in non-hawking zones? With whose blessings are they carrying out their business? And what about those students who copy during exams (as the supervisor turns a blind eye) and sail through while the more diligent ones slug it out?

And let’s not even begin to talk about all the bureaucrats and corrupt netas.

Is all this what the surveyors meant by honesty?

Honestly, this survey doesn’t work for me.

Harry is a major, so is his fortune

2007-07-24T17:18:00.000+05:30

The Guardian has reported on the Harry Potter star's change in fortune:

Daniel Radcliffe has become a multi-millionaire. The Harry Potter star turned 18 on Monday, allowing him to access the reported £20m he has earned playing the boy wizard. Radcliffe says he has no plans to spend his cash on luxurious yachts and other extravagances.
"I don’t plan to be one of those people who, as soon as they turn 18, suddenly buy themselves a massive sports car collection or something similar," he told an Australian interviewer earlier this month. "I don’t think I’ll be particularly extravagant. The things I like buying are things that cost about £10 — books and CDs and DVDs."

So Daniel Radcliffe has crossed over into adulthood and a 'magical' fortune has fallen right into his lap. The fellow says he's going to be very careful about spending his fortune and seems sincere too. That's interesting, but I have my serious doubts. Because fame, like power, corrupts.

Coming down to his all-new look, it is a natural transition. The lean, mean, brawny look may appeal to all his female fans (and he may also become a gay icon), but his innocent, childlike looks of the past will always remain etched onto his hardcore fans' minds.

After Harry Potter, what next? He was recently seen in a play named Equus. He also claims there are other projects in the pipeline. I hope he does not go the Lindsay Lohan or the Britney Spears way. These two were successful early in their lives, and now both are enveloped by substance abuse and relationship problems.

The blog's a bit late and I'm no fan of his, but here's wishing the wonder boy a long and successful innings!

Pak CJ reinstated, hope for democracy

2007-07-21T15:43:00.000+05:30

The Chief Justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court was finally reinstated. Here is what Mumbai Mirror says about the episode:

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court reinstated Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Friday, four months after his suspension by President Pervez Musharraf.
Chaudhry became a symbol of resistance to General Musharraf after refusing to quit in the face of pressure from the president and his intelligence chiefs.
"The reference has been set aside and the chief justice has been reinstated," Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, the head of the 13-member bench, said at the conclusion of the two-month-old case.
Jubilant Pakistani lawyers surround Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry (2L) at his residence in Islamabad
In a 10-3 verdict, the full bench of the apex court headed by Justice Ramday held as "illegal" the presidential reference against Justice Chaudhry, who had emerged as a rallying point for political opposition besides lawyers.
Chaudhry’s chief counsel Aitzaz Ahsan told reporters the case alleging misconduct by Chaudhry has been "quashed". He has been restored and it’s a victory for the entire nation.
Chaudhry’s defiance created the greatest challenge to Musharraf since he came to power in a coup eight years ago, and his reinstatement could create problems for Musharraf’s plans for re-election for a second five-year term in the coming months.
The mish-mash of misconduct charges against Chaudhry included using influence to get his son a job, fiddling petrol expenses and that he had a penchant for expensive cars.
The government filed a statement in the Supreme Court last month in which it also accused Chaudhry of harassing judges, showing bias in appointments and intimidating police and civil servants.
Musharraf’s real motive for trying to get rid of Chaudhry, many critics suspect, was that the judge could allow constitutional challenges to his plans to get re-elected by current assemblies before they are dissolved for a general election at the end of the year.
As Chaudhry’s supporters burst into immediate celebrations outside the court, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government accepted the judgement and would implement it.

Looks like there's hope for Pakistan's fledgling democracy yet. On the eve of it's 60th independence day, this seems to be a welcome development. The apex court has finally shown that it has got a spine.

Chief Justice Chaudhry was dismissed at the time when he was probing the government's scandals — something which goes against the grain of the Pakistani judiciary. Ever since 1947, the judiciary has been a puppet in the hands of the government — democratic or otherwise. Now, with Chaudhry back at the helm, President Musharraf has a lot to fear.

Not that Musharraf was a favourite with the masses since February 2007 — the multiple suicide bomb attacks on the dictator can stand by my claim. This is the beginning of the end for him.