a new venture - ambigrams

This is the new pastime. ambigrams
Though angels & Demon of Dan Brown formally introduced me to the concept, it was not before I visited the ambigram Flickr community and John Langdon's website that I decided to give it a try.

Since I have no formal training or much capability in Calligraphy or Font creation/designing, I must say I rely on already available fonts and their modifications to achieve the same. I prefer using Old English Text Font to create ambigrams using Paint.NET software.

These are some that I have been able to create or do.

They stand for amit and eldrich.

more updates soon.

Who will become the PM ?

Prime Minister or PM is the humongous country India's top notch position or I should say was.
"Humungous" not just geographically but the extreme diversity unseen anywhere else but still holding itself together along with all problems a developed, developing and under developed nation faces makes India's position unique and important. It is a strong and weak nation where pluralism and singularism co-existing amicably and a country full of youth but run rigidly by olds make it a rare and strange combination.
&
"was" because nowadays the projected prime minister rarely displays a strong personality, reflects qualities of leadership, clarity, strength. Nowadays, the voters hardly know who their prime-ministerial candidates are. I doubt, the parties even fathom over it until the elections results are declared. Its now a post reserved for the most faithful stooge of the party who will go by what the party wants.
So,
Running such a country with population second only to China with so many differences, opinions, wants, demands, suggestions and over all these things many parties makes the throne a thorn. So can any Tom-dick-hardy be allowed to be the ruler ? when so many things are at stake ? Definitely Not!
This time around, almost every party has an aspirational prime ministerial candidate. BJP has their aging but still fiery leader Mr. Advani while Congress(I) has their steward Dr. M. Singh who seems to be filling the vacuum until their Yuvraaj assumes complete iron power from his mother. BSP projects Mayawati as their candidate or is it herself projecting her as their candidate ? Does that matter ? No. Then we have the RJD (Lalu P), LJP(Paswan), NCP(S. Pawar), AIDMK(Ms. Jaya) among the others. I don't consider, Left - a force to recon at least in this election. If predictions and the anti-incumbency, multitude of corruption cases during their rule in Kerala, the CPI and CPI-M split in seat sharing, split between chief minister and party Secretary, Nano & Nandigram atrocities are to be considered they will face almost complete swing in Kerala as also earlier unseen public retribution in W-Bengal.

Those days have long left us when every party had a clear ideology and the prime ministerial post was a post for doing service to nation and its people. Those days have long forsaken us, when lust for power never over powered national interests. Today, Indian politics is a lucrative business where fame, power, money and respect are at stake and the odds of profiting is higher than the speculative bear markets. Also unlike any other field, accountability is feeble and the articles in the constitution insulates against action over serious lapses, crimes etc. For a small investment at the time of election in terms of political canvassing, freebies and goodies; the politicians break even very fast with margin of profit that is limited only by ones ability to gloat and justice.

I pity for the school children & for India, as we nowadays rarely produce any quality leaders who are successful in capturing center-stage. School children still need to look at leaders pre- 1983 and even 1947, when they have to write essays about "My favourite Indian Leader". Our school history books are forced to teach history till our Independence (1947) , as then there begins massive detoriation of our system and consciouness of our politicians.

I am still shell shocked over Mr. Paswan's portrayal of deep concern for dalits by suggesting new regiment for dalits. For few days, the tamil issue seems to be quite rocking the Indian political scene. Almost all political parties seem to be jumping the wagon to show their soidatory for the tamil elam movement in Sri Lanka. I hope the Tamilians do understand the hollowness of these lip service gestures and punish those who are trying to earn a goal over the issue. <I suppos I will write one new post on this issue>

Somehow the shoe throwing incident seems to be the best thing to come out of this year's election. It seems to be quite effective in sending message. Suddenly the common man - the poorest of poor can make a statement. He has no weapons but a simple rugged slipper to project his feeble voice across the table. Nice, someone must create a machine gun and cartrige for slippers so that many one after another can be sent to deliver the message.

Yes, Vote but to whom ?

Its election time in India and the people of this largest democrazy in the world will decide which oldie can sit in the thorny throne in New-Delhi for a max of 4-5 years (ie. if the oldie doesn't wither or his/her supporting allies doesn't back-stab or an early election is needed to prevent anti-incumbency factor shadowing the positives)

The Major power houses at the centre are Congress and BJP. Unfortunately their power domain has been steadily decreasing while regional powers gain at their expense. As a result it has been a very very long time since any individual party has surpassed the magic number to form its own government. Coalition governments has been the mantra for an irritatingly long time. Thus the formation of UPA coalition of Congress and NDA of the BJP is seen. Coalition gave rise to politics of adjustments and compromises, where even the smallest fraction of the coalition could hold the government to ransom over petty personal issues. The thought that coalition would bring moderation and result in better welfare/administration has been dashed long ago.

Regional parties are many and I can confidently say its definitely more than the states of both US and Canada. Every state has at least 2-3 regional parties who align themselves at the centre either with the BJP or Congress.

Left and their allies have formed the third front and hopes to present an alternative to Congress, BJP lead governments at the Centre. Their alliance partners are so colorful and myriad which includes Tamil Nadu's amma, andhra pradesh's Mr. Naidu, NavinPatnaik's BJD from Orrisa, Deve Gowda JD from Karnataka and some more. I am not sure whether BSP supremo Mayawati will stay after polls.

For many of these parties, its still Castes, sects, reservations, concessions, religion, freebies, goodies that dominate their manifesto. Development and socio-economic upliftment, judicial and defense forces modernization is hardly an issue. Leave alone these issues, for a starter just check how many young candidates are given tickets by parties. Its all oldies and oldies. How can Indian public remain mute over this when there is always demand for fresh young blood to be given chance in cricket? For instance, Congress poster boy Rahul doesnt seem to reflect the party in Kerala where hardly any ticket has been issued to the youths.

• Every party in India lambasts BJP as non secular. Why ? Congress, SP, RJD always play the majority-minority card but still gets tagged as secular. Why? There is hardly any party that cares for any religion or region.
• BJP accuses Congress over the anti-Sikh riots of '83 while its own hands are not clean in Gujarat.
• I find the Left as the most corrosive party as they in the name of secularness admonish every religion. I find it infuriating when Kerala Left leaders visit Sabarimala on Jan14th and stand in front of all devotees denying them darshan and nonetheless say they have come to check security arrangements.

I want to vote for a party/canditate :

1. which believes in separation of State & Religion
2. believes in conducting community meet programmes unlike people like Govinda
3. declares his aim, vision and leader before polls
4. which believes in true socio-economic upliftment and refrains from giving away color tvs, rice-wheat or resrvation soaps.
5. shuns political horse trading and dilution of its principles just to come in power and wont enter into post poll alliances (Its not right for voters as this dynamic action doesnt have the blessings or say of the common public)
   

Is it possible ?

able was i ere i saw 'in to the bag'.

Its a week since my camera went MIA. It was Thursday afternoon when i put my hand in my bag to feel my camera in college. A sudden vacuum filled my stomach and adrenalin shot up as I knew this is serious. My camera was no where to be found, even after 15 minutes of frantic searching. Thorough search was initiated in my house for recovery of my camera though in vain.

The feeling of permanent loss was strong this time. Somewhere down deep in the heart, I knew this was irreversible. The emotional and economic loss is immense and intense for not only me but many in my family.

Wednesday was the day the camera met its downfall; a day before I sensed its loss. The accuracy and precision of the heist makes it an insider job. A job done with such accuracy and stealth that it points to people who knew where I safely secured my camera in my bag.

People ask me why in the world would you bring it to college and my reason is, there is photo worthy life in between college and house which i wish not to miss. Photography for me is not about simply catching holiday pics but to capture emotions and life in its natural form that do not give prior intimation of its arrival and departure. Things that represent randomness and unpredictability attract me. I wish not to lose even a single day in learning new elements of photography for every lost day is a lost step in my ladder. So was it worth the risk ? Yes and no. Loss is still loss and it hurts especially when you have spent your last year and half entirely with the camera; hand in hand, thoughts together for a result that gave me satisfaction none else could provide.

so what next ? As the show never stops, life must move on though scarred. I fear not for the crucifix held by my friends or others who glee at my misery for that's the way world works. Presently, I got an exam at the pedestal to worry more about. May be it is time I move from auto focus to manual focus. However it will be long long before I again own a wonder called camera

Goa UnOfficial Trip - March09 : 3

←Goa March 09
Post 1
Post 2

We had touched Mapusa and were readily bundled into a taxi - Maruti Omni converted into a Taxi and the cabbie readily agreed to smuggle in more than 4 of us for off course some extra incentive or I must say higher fare. Anyways, it was still cheaper for us as our per person contribution would drop while the cab driver would get higher than his normal fare. So a win-win situation if you consider economics! The taxis started moving when they felt their graph and ours met at optimum.

The ride from Mapusa to our Hotel was a new experience to me. Not only were the roads unknown but also the destination hotel. Luckily the driver nodded when we said the name of the resort. We were going through some nondescript tinsel town-villages with fields and intermittent houses showcasing the famous liquor bands. I dunno how Oka was sitting at the back of the Omni meant for baggage. I am sure my ponch would have disapproved of it! After passing fields and fields and fields and some houses and many winding roads, we finally reached our destination. I was praying this time at least the hotel is more nice and respectable unlike the one in previous trip. The present destination hotel boasted of swimming pool though it is not a factor for a non swimmer like me. I hoped for more clean rooms and having at least satisfactory basic amenities !
The Wild West Gang and Rakshas Gang( Nagu(c) ) had already reached a day earlier and were already acclimatized to holiday living. Some of them had just got up while many were still in their beds. We had to wait more than an hour to get rooms and settle. While others waited in the lobby for their rooms, Codec, Lebedev and myself decided to check out the beach nearby.
Finally we checked in, regenerated and did our brunch in Indian Spice hotel. We hired Honda Activa bikes and a maruti 800 for rent and bought some local petrol that looked wose than crude.

More to write but no time right now. Later on !
Meanwhile check the pics and the web album

View Album

Get your own

Today, Lahore and Tomorrow, ?

My IS tutorial had ended and I was on my way to the 1st floor of Old Building when news started pouring in that the Pakistan touring Sri Lankan Cricket team who were on their way to the Gadaffi Stadium have been ambushed by terrorists. Various disturbing reports were rising and it was hard to differentiate between truth and rumour. Many of us dashed into the CA Lab, our special anti-nuke bunker( well i do imagine it!) to log onto the Internet and verify the news.

The attack was a myth buster that cricketers would be the last people to be attacked in Pakistan. It is sheer luck and the Sri Lankan Team bus driver's presence of mind that averted a cataclysmic hostage drama and diplomatic humiliation for Pakistan. Evading bullets, rolling grenades and rockets is no simple matter! Recent reports speak of 11-12 terrorists well trained and equipped to create a hostage situation as the perpetrators. 

The dust has not even settled but mud slinging has already begun. The Pakistani Minister of Shipping and many others including many Pakistani media persons have started pointing fingers at India! Western Media compares the Pakistani finger pointing to India's 26/11 accusations in the same light. I fret and fume over this unjust hippocratic perception and cannot understand how people easily forget the past or take it for granted when they compare India and Pakistan. There has never been any shred of proof to substantiate Indian government or its people being involved in any conspiracy to attack or disturb the peace of our neighbour. In fact, India has always been complacent in its External and Foreign Affairs. Compare this to Pakistan, a country where an AK-47 is easily available than food or water or education. It has a history of state sponsored terrorism and has been a serious headache for the entire sub-continent and even the world when the A.Q.Khan nuclear proliferation nexus was uncovered. The fact is Pakistan has always escaped from international radars especially the so called bastion of peace - The West for a long period. Either they are a failure or have closed their eyes every time Pakistan has given signs of the intended turbulence in coming future. Pakistan has nursed and bottle-fed the demon Taliban and nurtured the ticking time-bomb thereby allowing diffusion or Talibanisation of its armed resources and its people. Pakistan has always has a skewed view of the world and always has a single critical objective of surpassing India and emerging from its shadows. This erroneous policy has resulted in the balknisation of Pakistan, constant and continuous turbulence in administration, and increasing influence of extremists over its people.

Pakistan has always lived in self-denial and never realised the enormity of the task it is facing and the limit up to which international government can help in cleaning domestic mess. It refuses to understand that India is on the right side, geographically and righteously! It fails to come out open on its commitment over War on Terror. It feels Indian RAW is behind the Baluchistan separatism movement (I earnestly hope so! Why ? simply because I feel unlike other western nations Indian IB and RAW have no feathers in their porous cap).

Numerous reports are emerging of Talibanisation reaching even the Pakistani waters near the volatile Karachi. Most of Pakistan is burning from administrative instability, terrorism, insurgency, and severe financial paralysis. It has lost SWAT and many other regions in FATA, NWFP, Waziristan and others along the Afghan border to Talibani elements. It was forced to accept sharia law and Taliban superiority in SWAT in the previous month. Pakistan is a sick nation and refuses to accept it has the sickness. The distance between India and the volatile regions to its west is less than the Mumbai-Goa distance. It won't be long before the contagious disease will be at India's doorstep. A time no far in future will come when India will have to decide whether it will opt for silence and face annihilation or take preventive steps to check the spread of the malady!

Kerala Train Trip : a trip that tripped me !

..contd from prev.

Afternoon changed into evening and night and still the tunnels were far from over. I had a peaceful Malayali dinner of Lemon Rice and Kaiypekya Theiyal, to which I silently protested but ate minimal to survive. It was late for many and the lights in the coach were quickly going off. Being a nocturnal Mumbaikar, I prefer to stay wake at nights and gaze out of windows upon the starry night sky - pure and unpolluted by city light until I fall asleep. I was determined to utilize the night hours and use it to reflect upon the credits and debits of my life and meditate upon the my decision to shift to IT from Chemical. I had plugged my ear phones and connected it to my Motorola SLVR L7 mobile cum MP3 Player to reduce ambient noise and disturbances.

It was around 11 pm and my brain had pressed the log off button. I fell asleep in no time being softly rocked by the train. It was unusually cold and I had to adjust the thick blanket to maintain warm temperature. However my face was badly exposed and I was directly under the cold air blower. My nose was as cold as ice! In an hour, my body started giving indications of uneasiness and discomfort. It was 12:15am when i found myself shivering but my neck and brow were sweating. I was too sleepy to make sense of this anomaly and was busy trying to think of what is wrong and apply relative temperature stuff. ie. whether my hands are icy cold or is it my neck that's heating up ? Either could give the same sense or feeling. However I had neglected the shivering and sweating. In half an hour, i was shivering very badly and my stomach had started aching due to the violent shivers. The pain in stomach robbed me of the remaining sleep throughout the journey. My past experiences with gas trouble and stomach aches due to my sedentary life had made me hyper on even a slight stomach ache, making me drink all possible syrups and tablets. Suddenly my fever started shooting up and I panicked. I had a Crocin and hoped my sufferings would subside. I was praying for the dark hours to pass off swiftly. However the time had come to a screeching halt and I found it crucifying to see that only five minutes had passed since my previous observation! My disaster management board in my brain activated Operation Valkyrie to prevent chaos and panic mask my better senses!

I popped in an another tablet and exchanged my berth with my mother's. She was more than happy to exchange as she found the region around her berth to be extremely hot. I thought it must be another of her usual notions she has due to her thyroid fluctuations. I was more than relived to be away from the icy cold Arctic like berth of mine. However my joy was short lived as this berth was indeed getting hot and I started sleeping without any extra insulation. However the shivers started again and my tummy started paining again. I started understanding the seriousness of the issue and started thinking of whether it could be an appendix inflammation or hernia as my friends have described it? However my shivering was still unexplained for!

I decided to relive myself in the loo and went out of the Ac cabin. Just moving out of the cabin itself was a relief. Somehow, the constant cool air step input on my face initially triggered a body rejection of the temperature condition inside the cabin. I spent most of the night outside of the cabin like I was on vigil while others pondered at my decision to spend money for the Ac and spend the night outside. I still do not completely know what possibly went wrong but my parents point at my nocturnal study life as the culprit. I dunno!

I had pleaded with God before commencing the journey to make it eventful and it seems He ensured it in His own way! My idea of clicking pics next morning of the beautiful Kayals and back-waters on North Kerala failed as I had lost all energy and enthusiasm with the events of previous night. I simply wanted to reach my Uncle's place at the earliest!

Passing emotions and thoughts.rar

This Monday, I woke up to the loud noises from TV. Before I could make sense of the din, suddenly the noise level amplified exponentially and my mom rushed in to tell me that Rahman had won an Oscar. I was not even slightly amused as everything else has lower priority to my sleep.

It was Oscar morning(in India) and much of India was glued to the Idiot boxes praying for Oscar that has eluded Indian work or Indian theme for a long time. Smile Pinky and Slumdog millionaire were the Indian connection films/documentaries nominated for this year's Oscars.

I got off my bed and managed to watch the ending few minutes of the glitz and glamor of Hollywood which was being masked by Bollywood. Danny Boyle and his fellas were frequenting the stage a lot. Well, they had won or I must say sweeped the Oscars with 8 awards. Smile Pinky had won award in the Documentary section. My congratulations to Danny Boyle and his entire team along with the people involved with Smile Pinky.

SlumDog millionaire - I was thinking of its Hindi counterpart and the word 'jhoppadpatti' - a term commonly used with slums and shanties came into my mind. It has 'patti' at its suffix which in Malayalam means dog and I ponder whether jhoppadpatti actually means slumdog ? Anyways if you ask me whether the film was worth the Oscar ? I haven't watched the other movies in contention but have watched movies of yesteryear's that have won oscars. Slumdog millionaire feels more like a regular cliche filled bollywood movie rather than a Oscar Movie. It has nothing new for me or anything that inspires me except the randomness and 'anything for love' style. I find the initial dialogues of police constable played by our own "kallu-mama" in English very odd. The strange ascent and the fact that pandus are speaking in English looks artificial to me. Also, the thick British ascent of Dev Patel is quite evident. However the movie has helped in bringing the Bollywood into Hollywood which I hope will result in better and more collaborations between the two Goliaths. I would love to see more sensible movies made in Bollywood rather than the item songs injected masala movies.

The previous semester I created a personal record. I managed to finish around 90GB of Movie -Documentary watching and am still cruising ahead with no side effect on my academics. Whoa! I recently bought 3 National Geographic Society Magazines(Old editions) for 50 Indian Rupees from Matunga. Though old, still it is worth reading and gazing at the excellent photographs. My Flickr free account photo limit is nearing and Flickr has started threatening me with deletion of my initial photos to accommodate new photos unless i pay and upgrade. I dunno whether I should pay or reduce pic taking while increasing the quality of photos.

Help Gaurav Tandon!

Hello there, Earthlings and Orkians! Kayo!

Its just the hangover from wiki-ing (like googling) about the old American sitcom Mork and Mindy lately and my personal favorite. Used to watch it in my school days on Star World.

A few days back, a fellow musketeer from our band of four; informed me of Gaurav Tandon and his hardship. Gaurav suffers from a rare disease (Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a type of blood cancer) and needs immediate medical attention or treatment. The costs of the treatment would surpass a crore Indian rupees and is beyond the financial scope of his family or his relatives. His wife teaches in an Engineering college in Mumbai and thats where my fellow musketeer studies.

He is suffering from AML and needs bone marrow transplant which might require treatment in US or UK or Singapore. The treatment initial cost is being estimated to surpass 1 Crore Indian Rupees. His regular health and news updates are constantly being put up on the http://helpgaurav.com website.

More Details about the person, his health, contact details, Reports, Updates and others can be obtained at,

http://helpgaurav.com

So how can you help ?

1. Donate money yourself


2. Spread the word and request people to donate money


3. Help us find right Donor for Bone Marrow Transplant


4. Help us sale Gaurav's Flat at Thakur Village in Kandivili, Mumbai.


5. If you have, share information such as important contacts


6. Pray for speedy recovery


7. If you have time or resources at your disposal and still do not know how you can contribute, please write to Vishal Kekre at vishalkekre@hotmail.com.

Money can be donated through various institutions, wires, and even paypal.

Tragedies can and will strike anyone with no prior intimation. Though we have little control over it, we can make a difference by ensuring Gaurav gets the treatment he needs. People speak of encountering such appeals everyday and every hour and face a dilemma of whom to help. We must help all possible people we can help, as someday the roles can get reversed and we could become the pleaders. Like a doctor, we must not loose hope or loose vigor and must help those in need in all feasible ways and leave the rest with the Providence. Please help him and help bring back happiness in their lives

A day after ...... and a day before .......

4th Sunday, Jan 2009 : It is Sunday morning and many might be still in bed, deep in their sleep seeking solace from the daily grind. Many of my B.E. chemical engineering friends might be enjoying a hard earned sleep and rest. After all it is the next day after the Semester exams got over. They might be slowly clearing their accumulators & immediate-use registries in their brain of the Sem VIII processes and subjects. However the day didn't seem like any Sunday to me. I was already sitting in a train bound for Churchgate to appear for the XAT exam with negligible preparation as my semester exams had just ended yesterday after a month long exam carnival! Anyway the only relief was that, I had a chance to visit Churchgate and Fort area after a long period. I could gaze for hours and be completely taken over by the Victorian era architecture and the art-deco style. Meanwhile, I had got a new novel to read and seemed enough for the train trip to Kerala. The exam went as expected and before dejection could fill my heart and brain to brim, i detoured to Fountain with an accomplice to check on the second hand novels and pirated ones. My friend's quest for Bourne Triad novels ended in disappointment while i continued scouting for books on history, geo-political books and biographies of selected few. After tanning ourselves in the afternoon scorching sun, we decided to refuel ourselves before commencing on the journey back home. My friend enlightened me of the existence of a railway stall in churchgate station that specialises in Frankies and which according to him is "one and only". Anyway the frankie was nice, though I must say the place is not clean and customers wish to keep it that way! :-(

It was a special day as it was a day after my Semester exams had finished and a day before commencing on journey to Kerala - my native state!

The rest of the day passed in planning and packing the bags. As usual my camera and swiss knife along with necessary ID cards were my high priority items apart from Maps. Well this would seem odd when you travel with your parents but thats the way I travel ! I decided to carry my portable internal but externalised SATA 320Gb HDD to minimise use of DVDs and maximise data transfer.Though my wish to have a traveller's back pack remains unsatisfied, I was ready to travel. My bag was full of wires and cables and chargers apart from some warranty cards and a spare mobile to change over as my mobile suffers from quick discharge.

It was bedtime and was thinking as to how fast time has passed. Years had passed since I held some of my cousins back in Kerala in my hands and stood hand in shoulders over some cousins. I was thinking of the new faces that might have emerged and of the many I wont be able to meet anymore!

Revisiting Kerala!

So, I am back after a session of self regeneration and visiting some temples in Kerala.
For many Kerala might mean Backwaters (kayals), Beaches, Tropical Climate, holiday destination etc. while it means a lot more to me. Kerala in a few words would be Greenery, coconut trees, rivers and seas, beautiful and majestic temples, churches and mosques, set-mundu, GOLD and SILK (unfortunately its an eye sore for me. Malus seem to be obsessed a little lot over Gold and Silk. Print media, TV commercials and ever increasing no of branches of their outlets are the proof), schools, SPEED (Man! the roads are small in width but speedometer never goes below 60-80), Marxists, literacy etc.

I had visited Kerala after a gap of nearly 3 years. That's a long time for me! So has Kerala changed in the meantime. Well, Yes! and No! Power-cuts are still there but it was bearable as it was winter. Vehicular Speed and Overtaking is still the same and I imagine it inspires F1 racers. Where else would you see a car being overtaken by another, while it being overtaken by a third vehicle? All happening simultaneously on a thin but smooth road while you are coming from the opposite direction. You need nerves of steel to drive in Kerala! The Government is still the same oscillating between the Congress led UDF and Communists led LDF. Roads have improved and even the smallest of roads are better tarred than the ones in Mumbai. Buses, Cars, Autos and Trains are clean and beautiful. Well, I have seen this only in Kerala. Every day early morning the transport buses are washed and Sandalwood is applied. Compare this to the ST buses of Maharashtra!
Temples are more crowded and more houses have popped up in my native place. Old thatched roofs and walls have been replaced by aluminium roofs and brick/concrete walls. The old rice mill which was something not less than a wonder in my childhood days has disappeared and the village temple has a new perimeter wall. The Varna theatre still remains with no significant change at least from outside. Many Old faces are missing while many new ones have emerged.
Moreover I can read many signboards in Malayalam, though at a disappointing rate. I had wished to see at least one strike or hartal but to no avail. Seems like Kerala is changing for sure! Kids and teens wait for buses or walk the road to schools/colleges in humongous numbers that I have never seen in Mumbai. Surely, I could sense a feeling among the parents and kids as to how important education is!

Kerala is changing and that is a relief! It has changed my perspective of a lazy and politically incompetent kerala to one with hope!

So, I will begin posting from my next post as to how I spent and what I did in Kerala and what I learnt in Kerala.
Meanwhile you can glance at some of my kerala visit pics that I have posted in Flickr @ http://www.flickr.com/prashantmaxsteel
Till then,
Bye!

Packing my bags and ...

Ola 10.00.00.1001!
My New year truly begins today or after my XAT in noon to be precise.



I am packing my bags and getting ready for the catalyst regeneration trip to my parents' native place- Kerala. Fish is already enjoying in Bengaulru with his friends and hopefully clicking pics. Finally, my Semester exams are over and I can sigh relief. Today i gave my XAT sadly with no preparation as I was busy till yesterday with my Engineering exams. The think-tank inside took a while to crank up! The essay at the last was a breather. The exam got over at 12:30 pm and I decided to stroll around the nearby Churchgate-Fountain area scouting for second hand books and novels along with my buddy. My friend bargained and extracted some nice deals for 2 novels while his search for Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum remained a search. he is now convinced the books are jinxed for he has the deja-vu, "out of stock" answer every time. My serach for some cheap history related books or treatises went in-vain though I did find hard coverbooks on Jinnah and terrorism and its social causes-fallout sort. They were beyond my immediate reach, though I have placed an eye on them. Menawhile I have to content with Mario Puzo's Omerata and Sicilian and Pervez Musharaff's autobiography. it seems enough for the train journey.

I hope there will be plenty of things to shoot and capture. Coconuts, greenery and Kayals; here I come!

Rest in later posts!
bye!

End of 08 : My last thoughts about the year

Its the last night of the very eventful year 2008, a year that will go in the history for the beginning of the decline of western economic and their political credibility. Events in Zimbabwe, Sudan, Somalia, Congo, Palestine to name a few have proved that political will among the World Leaders and powers has diminished. Nobody wishes to involve in neighborhood affairs when their own house requires dusting and cleaning.
The cyclic fall and rise of US economy is common. US economy has faced growth and decline once in every or two decades. US economy has enjoyed its best years between 1989-2000 and as the saying goes anything that goes up has to come down! but this time the effect is felt world wide due to globalization. First Sub-prime Real-estate then Financial & Investment services then Auto Giants! (Analysts expect a L curve on economy but even they cant speculate till when!) Economy giants like US, UK, Germany are in red while others are in slowdown mode. It is unbelievable as to how rapidly the market and industry has changed from one of strong, hearty, cheerful to somber, sad, ailing, depressed one. In such turbulent times, we as students face a terrible dilemma. Should we accept the campus job offers and hope for the storm to pass off in the near future or go for further studies and avoid job market for the time being? Many have dropped off ideas of MS in USA for job prospective in US are also diminishing. Many in core engineering fields like Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical feel that they are better insulated than the IT and its auxiliary fields. However, India's industrial output figures are in red and show a drastic drop. These are tougher times and no definite answers or predictions are possible, making the situation more precarious.

The Mumbai terror attack brought the whole country together and forced the politicians to change their callous attitude and drove the caste, religion, region based political gimmickry to backseat. The small silver lining of the terror attacks was the uniting of Indians and emergence of a sudden need for change and the want to a part of the change. It has draw attention to the sorry state of the Police establishment and lack of co-ordination between various Intelligence agencies. I seriously hope that things do change for good!

The India-Pakistan Cricket clash doesn't interest any Indian anymore. Australia has replaced Pakistan as our traditional rivals and the Perth-Sydney tests acted as the foundation stone for the extreme rivalry. I am happy India has ended on a winning streak (I include draws also) against the Goliaths of the Game. Sports seems to be gaining focus again as India won an Individual Gold for the first time as also a medal in Boxing. Suddenly sports other than Cricket like Chess, Boxing, Football seem to be promising for many. A nice change!

Ah! Now my class has changed as well. Many might remember the IPC lectures. Oh it was remarkable! Paper balls, Rockets, Planes, Navy Carriers, Sabotages to name a few. It was a complete Balck Ops! - A coup d’état. Boy! Initially I was against the coup but then the ops became justifiable and well deserved! I cannot reveal much but it was fun, exciting, and a struggle which brought us at par with our seniors.! Full stop!

Change is the only thing that doesnt change!
This year it seemed to be exceptionally strong. US prez in wait - Barack Obama has strengthened my feeling! So be it Change!

This year I will welcome new year watching the Pirates of Carribean-III and then go back to study Entrepreneurship Management. I hope I get a tripod for my camera and also learn new stuffs about photography.
Resolves are there but not for revealing!

Happy Peaceful New year !
Happy
10
00
00
1001
:-)

Mumbai Terror 2 :Time for interospection and action !

Politicians and World Leaders have begun praising and TV channels have begun airing the cliched "Resilient Mumbai! Brave Mumbai! Spirit of Mumbai!".

Today, Mumbai has rebooted and is back for business; but deep anger seethes inside everyone.
Do not mistake this for hatred for the other community or a nation. This is the anger towards the system and the administration. Its towards the bureaucrats and the Politicians. Its towards the inertness, inefficiency of the leaders, towards the uninspiring cabinet ministry.

This anger must be channelized and every individual must be forced to question himself/herself,

• "What can I do to stop this ?"
• "What is my role in the system ?"
• "How can I make the system more responsible and responsive ?"
• "Where has the government gone wrong ? "
  
• "Why shouldn't the Article 105 be scrapped to make corrupt politicians face justice ?"
  
• "How can I prevent the Law-makers from becoming Law-breakers ?"
• "Can I expect the government to be clean when my affairs are itself shoddy ?"
  

and many.

Is the latest terror attack different from the Local Train blasts or the '93 blasts or the many blasts that have gone into oblivion ?
I am not calling it different because this time the elite from Mumbai or India or the world were attacked. It is not because the modus-operandi of the attacks is new to Mumbai or because we saw the commandos in action in Mumbai for the first time.
The fact that people are recognizing that there are far more greater terrorists inside the country than outside is new. People have awakened from their slumber. The slumber caused due to the feeling of helplessness, government inactivity and inefficiency. People recognize that these attacks are an aftermath of a cycle of events that recorded itself on the radar of responsible people but failed to act! Failed to act when they needed to! Common public, suddenly has a will to change this! The WILL to break from the never ending cycle of terror and government haplessness!

People mean business! and they mean it! Never has Mumbai looked more awakened and united. They know that unless something is done today when the iron is hot and hammer is in sight, they will lose Mumbai. So what is this "Something" that must be done ?

What is this something that can make the Lawmakers realize that it is not good to mistake our inaction for stockiness? Common man can make a difference when made to face back to the Wall! What is it that will prevent the politicians from getting recurrent amnesia over the promises made ?

This "something to be done" must begin from ourselves. How many times have we paid bribe or baksheesh to get our work done early ? How many times have we escaped Chalaan by bribing the traffic cop ? How many times have we destroyed public property because some leader's bust is defaced or because some party says so ? How many times have we broken rules and said, "So what? There are many who do so?"

How can the country change or its leaders be expected to do so, if ones acts are itself not in proper place?

At the higher level,
there is a need for a major shakeup. The politicians have too much power wrested with them. They amend constitution as per their need and play with the social, religious,economic and even geographical fabric of the country! This is from Brigadier Arun Bajpai (Retd)'s article Indian politics-Corrupt Fighting Corruption,

"Indian Constitution had allowed reservations in the country only up to 1960 and it was expected of the politicians that by this time they would have provided sufficient facilities to the down trodden in education and other fields to enable them to come at par with others. Instead, to garner votes our politicians both in states and center have taken the reservation quota policy to ridiculous levels of almost 60% to 70% reservations in total disregard of Supreme Court ruling that reservations should not be in excess of 50%. "

Article 105 of constitution needs to be scrapped which grants immunity from legal action to the politicians. We ourselves must think, which leader is better ?
The one who advertises his caste, creed, religion or region to win votes, who simply promises of free power, free education or who gifts Color-TVs, Rice or Wheat or even Money to win votes, without even presenting a plan.
Should you allow a Color TV or Rice or free power to influence a vote ? Shouldn't you think for a longer period ?

However,
The Big Indian Political Drama has already begun!

It's Election time in India with State Assemble elections in many states and will act as litmus test for the Main Lok-Sabha(Parliamentary) Elections next year. Knowing the terror attack will create a big anti-incumbency factor, the ruling INC(I) has begun purging. Yesterday ,Shivraj Patil resigned from his ministerial post while many bureaucrats could be in line. Will this be sufficient ? Will this stop terror imports from our neighbours ? Will it make us feel safer ?
Will these politicians ever change ?

I wish to write more and pen my thoughts, my emotion but must wait for next post.
Got to study!
Bye! till next post!

Mumbai Terror 1: Enough! We had it!

One more terror attack!

While I write, Indian Elite commando units are engaging terrorists at Taj-Mahal Palace. Every Tourist i have seen visiting Mumbai, visits Gateway of India and Taj-Mahal Palace (If from outside or at least for a coffee) for sure. Its what Statue of Liberty is for New-York and what Eiffel Tower or Arc de triomphe is for Paris or India Gate is for New-Delhi. Even the ones with less on pocket wishes to sit in and sip a tea or coffee. Its the only heritage hotel of Mumbai and is a century old.

Terrorists have carried out the most daring, planned and coordinated attack on the very symbolic hotel Taj-Mahal Palace along with Trident-Oberoi and also indiscriminate firing at many places which are tourist hot spots.

Terrorists are getting more bolder and the body count has risen exponentially from previous one.
So what has changed ?

• We : Every time Mumbai is attacked, everyone speaks of resilience and the spirit of Mumbai that cannot be touched. This time, Mumbai has decided to speak out!
• Why should we be the sitting ducks, all the time ?
• Why should the Financial Hub of India be turned into a Punching Bag or Dart board for the terrorists ?
  
• How can we allow ATS chief, a sharp shooter, a dignified IPS officer, an elite commando major, a jawan, dozens of constables be killed ?
• Why should the Israeli kid be an Orphan on the day of his birthday ?
  
• Why should a boy doing Internship shuttling between Haryana and Mumbai die away from his parents? Why should his ambitions be killed ?
• Why should I hear the same old Pakistani conspiracy theory with no result ?
• Why should I wait for Centre to sanction forces from Delhi for an operation in Mumbai?
  
• Why should I have to hear Shivraj Patil speak out the same words that he has been iterating for many past terror attacks ?
• Why should I have to hear the PM give out a speech that was the most boring(i must say BORING and UN-INSPIRING !) speech I have heard over a decade? Our PM can't even inspire people who are shaken to the core ? Its a pity that the PM and opposition leader couldn't make it to Mumbai on a single plane. These are times when every gesture speaks out much more than it means!


• Mumbaikars are thinking and thinking hard, as to how we can prevent such attacks in future. Debates about leadership, crisis management are happening at all places on the island. Debates on how to get a effective leadership and better politicians has started. THE DAM HAS BURSTED ! Mumbaikars wont forgive the leaders for letting them down for the last time. Things will change for sure! One thing Barack Obama campaign has done is inspired Mumbaikars to go for change! and YES! We can change and will bring change!

Many are wishing for our neighbor's annihilation. But that wont still help us ?
The rot is also amongst us ? Our display of helplessness is taken as our resilience and stockiness. We must make our leaders understand that this must change. We will not swallow this time. We need and mean change. We need a change of attitude, the way our external and internal affairs is run, our members of parliament must face the public. They must be accounted for every penny they spend or siphon in most cases. They must be fired if their attendance is found to be poor and barred from contesting if their performance is meager. Corruption must become capital punishment!

The National Security must be unified and under a central control which reports its actions to a Union minister and takes suggestions but not orders. Stop using the intel for spying on rival parties. Establish NSG at every state such that they can fly to any required position in an hour. Otherwise, I will call it New-delhi Security Guards. All parties irrespective of region, religion, no matter if you are a Red or Saffron or Green or White; must blend together like our tricolor flag to bring Peace back!

Its getting late. Rest in next post.
Thought the post ends for today, the anger, resentment and fire remains !

Shobhaa De has acted as an catalyst for this and for many! Her interview on NDTV was path breaking and inspiring.Check her blog at http://shobhaade.blogspot.com/

and her NDTV interview at http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=QRTZ8-K0jiE.

Beetles and Wasps Photographs

My assumption that all Wasps are dangerous and have a sting was thankfully changed by this yellow wasp. The tail or sting sort of part is actually a egg laying tube which it uses to lay eggs on leaves or if it is a parasite, it will inject it on some other insect.

This Beetle looks beautiful in its green armory. Its an assassin bug or shield bug.

Month after Insect photoshoot and tagging

What a Month! I created Profiles and did Photoshoots for many.

Many of them were 6-legged, 8-legged and of classes and sub classes that spin my head! Many had antennae and sting like tube at the back for laying eggs.

Now, before you start imagining, let me clear the air!

I was chasing around Insects and capturing them onto my Sony DSC Cybershot W80 camera. Well many would ask me, "Got nothing else better to do, Eh ?" Well, it seems I am an Insect lover who likes to take their pictures without troubling them!

Macro mode of the digicam is my favorite as it lets me explore fine details of insect body structure from their photos.

Dragon Fly resting on my pencil.

This comical and cutest Insect is a Dragon Fly. The best part is they eat mosquitoes and hence generally live near water.

Their Body structure reminds me of Helicopter and I must say their wings are large and strong!

More insects in further posts.

Meanwhile check all of them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/prashantmaxsteel

Pakistan : Friend or Fiend ?

I am forced to ponder, when and where, India will draw the Line and say "Pakistan, this is it. One more step and pay the price". I am no extreme rightist or nationalist, but a peace loving countryman wishing to live alongside Pakistan amicably. However, I am deeply concerned over the growing ISI and Pakistan sponsored militancy in India. Not a month passes when an Indian common-man or armed personnel is not killed or hurt by I.S.I. sponsored activities.

Pakistan is my country's biological sibling who left the family in 1947 after years of spilling blood over separation and ownership. In 1947, after the old, stubborn tenant - Britain was evicted and the old house was brought down; two new houses were constructed next to each other, namely India and Pakistan

Partition or division of ancestral wealth was not enough. Pakistan wanted the princely states to side with Pakistan and went to great lengths to accomplish so. Kashmir is one such example. When Hari Singh of J&K princely state was not willing to side with Pakistan, it dispatched Pakistani tribal warriors and rangers to capture Kashmir by force.

Pakistan has never grown up or matured. It envies India's glory, diversity, liberalism, democracy and stability. Pakistan always blames India for the religious, political, social, economic unrest in Pakistan. Pakistan fails to differentiate a friend from a foe. It considers India as its foremost enemy in all fields. All its policies are meant to act as deterrence against India. It spends a whooping portion of budget on arms & ammunition meant against India when its economy is crumbling. It uses the double edged sword of terrorism against India when conventional wars couldn't succeed. This terrorism is now backfiring. It has virtually lost all control over North West frontier provinces, SWAT, Waziristan, Baluchistan to name a few. It faces Al-Qaeda menace after decades of supporting and harboring their activities in Afghanistan and westen regions. It faces constant brutal suicide bombings by rival Muslim sects. Pakistan has always acted against the Geneva Conventions. It never recognizes Human rights and brutally treats POWs. Infact it still hasnt reclaimed bodies of rangers and of armymen who had fought the Kargil Proxy war. Its ISI has constantly beaten Indian consulate members and has implemented diabolical acts of terrorism. against India.

Pakistan's democracy is a failure. Multiple Military coup is the proof. It is a country where Army is the king maker and major player. It fails in the field of IT and other fields while India flourishes. Indians and Pakistanis have the same blood running in their veins. Both speak same dialects, languages, follow same traditions, customs and culture and share the same PAST. Indians and Pakistanis share the same brain and soul, after all we are brothers! Then why is Pakistan in such an horrible mess ? The country faces an ever lasting dillema as to who is the actual head ? Why is India excelling while Pakistan is plumetting to new lows?

Pakistan suffers from skewed vision. It fails to reconcile with India and come out clean. It misinterprets Islam and has misused the wonderful religion to spread hatred. It needs to alter its constitution to prevent another democratic miscarriage. It needs a complete religious, social, political and economic make over. It must focus on Industrial revolution rather than terrorist revolution. It must stop interfering in Indian matters and start minding its own matters. It must change its attitude and strategy to prevent an all out political, social, religious and economic turmoil.

But will it ?

Kerala : God's Own Country but managed by Devil's Own People

Dont come after me over the title. You will hear this from many Malayalis themselves.

I just stumbled upon a blog and that seemed to share my views on Kerala.

This is a comment from the blog.

"Great initiative folks. I am a malayalee who has been in kerala till my graduation and even had contested election as chairman in one of the notorioulsy famous govt college in kerala:)). Thankfully sense prevailed to me and i left kerala for my MBA and from there i have only seen growth. Today i am an NRI and lead an american company abroad, but if someone asks me if i will ever invest in Kerala , the answer is a big NO. I love my country and i may even retire there but i see no sense in doing anything for the development of this state."

The Blog named "Dog's Own Country? - The Save Kerala Initiative" is an excellent blog with views on the never ending (worse than the Saas-Bahu Soap operas -i can bet millions of $) political gimmickry in Kerala and its effects on Malayalis.

Don't pity for the fellas getting beaten up by khaki clad policemen/women. These khadi clad people belong to the worst genre. They are the political activists or followers (worse than the politicians)

This my nariyall phod over the issue.
Wait for next blog.

Ladies marooned on the Atlantis. Where r the Boats ?

Ladies marooned on the Atlantis
Originally uploaded by prashant maxsteel

Ladies queuing up on the right pavement, contemplating how to cross the river (I mean once a road!). I must say now Maruti Suzuki and Tata must concentrate not on Rs. 1 Lakh Car but on Rs 30,000 or around boats. well might save many lives in future.