'Let us have quota, but let not caste be the criteria'

The UPA-Left combination had managed to do it again. Another decision on the 27 % reservation for OBC's in higher educational institutions which would have a disastrous impact for the youth of the country as they progress along in their academic careers

Ram Kelkar an alumnus of IIT Mumbai who is an investment professional in US brings out some vital facts on this issue and argues in a telling manner as to how the caste based reservation would eventually sound the death knell for the 'merit ' category and push the future generations of the young frustrated Indians out of the country for ever. Though the article is almost 3 months old it becomes all the more relevant as the Parliament finally prepares for the constitutional amendment after a formality review by the Parliamentary committee

http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/29ram.htm?zcc=rl

A must read for those interested in this subject and the future of our great Nation.

RK

Hair's shocker- compensation or ransom offer

Umpire Hair's letter to ICC made public yesterday has made Inzy's case all the more stronger. Though he has withdrawn the so called offer of USD 500,000 to quit the elite panel on second thoughts it's a move which may well cost him the job. This also strengthens the suspicion that he crucified the Pakistani captain without evidence and simply wanted to walk away under the cover of sympathy by offering to quit for no rhyme or reason taking a fat cheque in the process and settling peacefully for life in one of the counties

Even those who were supporting him on the moral pedestal of being a sincere straight forward umpire who went by the books of the game and called a spade as such without fear or favor now have been forced to take a'U' turn . Just with that one momentary moment of greed, madness and hunger for fast money he has made himself into a laughing stock and the damage is done.

Andrew Miller in Cricinfo analyses the issue thread bare and exposes Hair's clandestine intentions though ICC tried to cover up saying he was under great stress.
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/engvpak/content/current/story/257814.html

As usual my favorite the Great Sir Geoffrey has beautifully summed up the laws of Cricket and how you should interpret the same in the context of the game and this episode:

The Laws are black and white, but that's not how the world works, you have to have some give, some discretion and some commonsense

RK

Pluto's demotion-There were '9'

Not be left behind the least controversial field of Astronomy and Solar system has also got into the thick of controversy. The trigger was the decision of the world Astronomy body made up of eminent scientists that it was time for Pluto to be downsized to that of a dwarf planet and the reasons were bit vague. Pluto's gravitational force is not big enough to be called a planet and its oblong orbit overlaps that of Neptune though Pluto still satisfies the two basic criteria’s namely orbiting the Sun and having its own internal gravitational force. So the nearest planet to the earth at 4.2 Billion miles and the farthest from Sun would go into history after 76 years of existence

But the best part of the whole episode were the comments of the 94 year old widow of Tom Baugh who found Pluto in 1930

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/08/24/pluto.widow.reut/index.html


'Science is a progressive thing and if you're going to be a scientist and put your neck out, you're apt to have it bitten upon'

There was one more from a 10 year old Delhi student

"it is like a family of brothers and sisters and asking one member to suddenly leave for no reason is sad and I feel like crying for Pluto'

Words of wisdom indeed!

RK

Vettaiyadu/Vilayadu - Not up to expectations

Like any other ardent Kamal fan we were promptly there on the opening day of the movie with high expectations only to be disappointed after all the pre movie hype and the initial controversies with change of producers and Director. It's just a replica of Kakka Kakka with little bit of variations thrown in here and there reflecting the life of an upright intelligent police officer.

To be very frank Surya's performance in that movie and the love story with JO was much better than VV. Kamal of course with the toned up body full of muscles and immaculate police uniform is as smart as ever in spite of the wrinkles on his face which brings out the age factor, but there is really not much of challenge for him except the few fight scenes and his dialogue delivery with a cracker of an voice is almost perfection personified

In the current age when the Indian student community is going places all over the Globe with such stupendous merit and results in many overseas universities, to project two budding Indian medical students as psychos going on a rape and killing spree without any motive is downright ridiculous especially when there is already enough violence and bomb attacks in our day to day life

Jo seems to more focused about her impending wedding to Surya in real life and has played an insignificant role of a typical Indian women in a dilemma after a US divorce. Lots of New York like the Metro, Brooklyn Bridge, and Broadway take the limelight through the beautiful lenses of the cameraman.

A crime movie with lots of gory murders and violent scenes and nothing much to remember or take home!

RK

Tiger Woods-Is he the greatest the game has ever seen?

He is just 3o, but already the richest sportsman in the world and has 12 majors under his belt. His recent win in the US PGA with a score of 18 under for the tournament with just 3 bogeys in 72 holes is truly phenomenal and all this when he has not reached the age when generally the Golfing greats peak which is the mid 30's. I am sure that he would go on to beat the all time record of the legendary of Jack Nicklaus record of 18 majors in the next 4 years or so and may be set up a world record of around 30 major slams which might be out of reach for other golfers at least for the next 2-3 decades after Tiger's retirement

The only time he has missed the cut in the last 3 years or so was after his father's death last year when he was emotionally drained proving to the rest of the world that at the end of the day that he was also a human being after all. For somebody coming from a poor back ground with immigrant parents with very little financial support to go all the way up the ladder with such consistency and ease and that too without any controversy what so ever in what is essentially considered a rich man's sport is truly a remarkable achievement.

RK

Maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan- A Nation's loss

The Shehnai genius is no more. He passed away after a bitter battle with poverty and illness at the age of 90. He might have been a Bharat Ratna and part of the first batch of musicians to have performed in the post independence rally of 1947, but sadly like many of the numerous Indian legends he had no financial support during the last stages and was forced to send a reminder to get the grant which was promised to him when he was conferred the award. He was an institution by himself and was truly a secular man who performed in front of the Kasi Viswanath temple till his final stages and provided eternal bliss to his ardent fans. Though he was offered a huge sum of money to migrate to US he firmly refused saying that nobody can transport Ganges and the surrounding serene atmosphere to US

He was a remarkable musician who took Hindustani and Indian music to unprecedented heights with divine and sublime grace. May his soul rest in peace!

RK

Sad Day for Test Cricket

It was an extraordinary day of unprecedented events during the lunch and tea session of the 4th test between England and Pakistan which culminated in the test being forfeited by a test team for the first time in the 129 years of Test Cricket. It was a tough decision for Inzy for whom the country's honour and the pride of playing for Pakistan is of paramount importance than any other factor and I am inclined to go along with him though awarding the match to England might have been in line with the Laws of the game.
Darrel Hair and Pakistan have a long history of love hate relationship and it was naive of ICC to have nominated him again and again for the Pakistan matches knowing fully well that trouble was around the corner. You cannot accuse a team of ball tampering when the ball is 55 overs old without any circumstantial evidence especially when you have 26 cameras on the ground which can even catch a player's sneeze and on top of that to award 5 penalty runs without even a warning is ridiculous to say the least unless Hair can come up with something extraordinary which was visible only to his naked eyes. The man in charge of the match, match referee Mike Procter allowed the on and off field events to reach a chaotic stage when he could have easily solved the issue one way or other during the tea break. I am not sure what are the implication of this decision to the Pakistani cricket and Inzy's future, but one thing is for sure and that's Hair's tenure as a neutral ICC umpire should come to an end especially if he is not able to substantiate his decision with evidence which is crucial

Of all the post match comments I liked the one from Derek Pringle who seems to be a much better sports scribe than his olden days of military medium bowling stuff

Pride, principle and prejudice replaced runs, wickets and catches.

KANK- Advent of a new wave of Indian cinema?

Though I have not seen the movie so far I have heard enough of the movie already and the NDTV show in' We the Public' ably anchored by the irresistible Barkha with host of show biz personalities connected to the subject including Karan Johar and SRK was too good for words.

The debate was whether the Indian marriages were slowly but steadily going the KANK way and if the movie was just an open depiction of what's in store in real life with busy working couples, financial independence, different priorities of life and so called life style adjustments for the sake of kids. Though the panelists took different view points all of them were of the opinion that there was no great threat as yet to the institution of marriage and infidelity/cheating is still not the main cause for the breakdowns though it may lead to friction and suspicion among the younger couples in the early stages of the marriage. SRK simply stole the show with his excellent views on married life as being a basic commitment of each individual and his concluding remarks that it's a matter of compromise between the mind and heart whether the marriages stay or not once the mis trust starts and the stronger of the two always wins the race were superb.

KANK has opened up a new era on the anatomy of relationships and I am sure many more movies are bound to follow!

RK

Right to Information Act-One more 'U' turn

At last some common sense prevailed upon the UPA leaders and the result was the last minute withdrawal of the proposed amendments to the Right to Information Act in existence for some time is now being used by the Indian Public like never before. The act gives the right to every Indian citizen to know what's happening to his petition or affidavit filed with any Government agency until the final disposal and provision of any wrong information or delay in response can lead to penalty or even loss of job for any employee who delays or distorts such information. Its quiet simple, effective and being used to telling effect by media as well as aggrieved citizen who was hitherto fighting a losing cause running from pillar to post to find the status of his petition and in the process shelling out huge sums as bribes. Many common Indian citizens have got their rations cards, electricity connections, passports etc using this route without the customary bribes
The proposed amendment was to make certain noting in such files not available to public and officers at certain levels thus not accountable. But even the Left which is opportunistic to say the least saw the public mood and simply backed out of the proposed amendments. Hats off to social activists like Anna Hazare who fought tooth and nail against these amendments and for a change the common man has his say!

RK

Infosys Chief- Turning 60 today and retiring too

It's the official and end of a glorious chapter in Indian Corporate history. Infosys Chief turns 60 today and true to his word like every other employee of Infosys who reaches 60 is saying goodbye to his employees though he might continue to be the mentor of the great organization which he has built with sheer hard work and determination over the last 25 years from a USD 1000 investment to a USD 2 billion empire.

What a remarkable journey it has been for Mr. Narayanmurthy.He has many firsts to his credit including the first listing of an Indian company in NASDAQ but what stands out is not the net worth he has created, not the innumerable second level of brilliant leaders, not one of the best training facilities in the world but beyond all he would be remembered for his simplicity, his concern for fellow human beings/country and his contribution to several charitable projects without even once publicizing them . I was shocked to read that there is a bye law in the company's articles which prohibits any member of his family from occupying any position what so ever in the Infosys board and coming as it does from a Corporate chief when even the public institutional positions like nomination to electoral college in both parliament and state legislature or becoming ministers have become the rule rather than exceptions for the off springs of the mighty and powerful.
He stands out as a giant among the Indian leaders more by his deeds than his words and I am sure worthy of emulation by the millions of young Indian leaders who are in various stages of the corporate ladder.

RK

Back to Blogging- Our Europe Visit

It's almost a month since I visited my blog for new posts since we had been on a jolly good vacation to Europe covering 7-8 countries on a 15 day mission. It was more of a bird's eye view of some scenic locations around Europe as well as so called historical and traditional monuments. Some of the most memorable places visited were the Swiss Mountains of Titlis and Juangfrauch , Mont Blanc valley in the France border, Leaning tower of Pisa, Old churches of Florence, Rhine river cruise, Vatican and some of the Dutch country sides to name a few not forgetting of course the Champ Elysee and the famous topless Lido Show of Paris

It was a whistle stop tour in a coach and hence the goal was to cover as many places as possible with more quantity than quality which is the typical Indian mindset of the concept of value for money unlike the Westerners who choose a place to relax on a vacation and seeing places is least of their concern or priorities. Some of my impressions of Europe based on the limited places and the people whom we moved around :

Most of Europe has lot of history but a majority of them are related to wars, people killing each other, monuments symbolizing failed marriages, etc and not much of peace, love or friendship depictions for fellow human beings. May be exceptions are there but we were unfortunate enough not to have seen them.

One classic example was the Manniken Pisa statue of Brussels capturing a boy pizzing to glory just because the boy's father was a millionaire and kept up the promise of making a statue in the same posture in which the lost boy was found after years of searching. Nothing great but people were flocking to see and take pictures under the boy as though all the pizz was falling right over them with a sense of glee and happiness!

European shop keepers were down right arrogant especially to the people from Sub Continent even not allowing tourists to stay for some time in the shops and literally hounding them out since they have a conception that we do more window shopping than anything else. May be they have still not come to believe or reconcile to the fact that the Indian economy is becoming an economic powerhouse with vast purchasing power and one amongst the top 10 traveling populations around the Globe in the near future

The exception of course is Swiss which is God's gift of Nature to Europe. Beautiful mountains, rivers, glaciers, cable rides, trains galore all over the place and the people are also quiet friendly though they all only understand one language and that's Swiss FRANCS. A visit to Swiss I think is definitely a life time experience and one to cherish and remember!

Coming to think of all these churches, statues, historic monuments, work of Art, etc as the visit progressed, I was reminded of our country back home which has some real world class monuments and a glorious history which is worth going miles to see any day and much better than most of what Europe has to offer. It's just a pity that they don't get the attention they deserve and are allowed to languish in isolation thanks to the apathy of the Government and lack of publicity or media focus.

Anyway one consolation is that we need not feel bad about the menace of pick pocketing or petty crimes back home as made out by the Foreigners who visit India since in Europe is much worse and everywhere without exceptions petty thieves were basking in glory and our tour guide must have advised at least 100 times about the pick pockets during the course of the 15 days.

Grass is always greener on the other side as they say until you walk on it and see for yourself the reality!

RK