Osama Bin Laden

When the United States President Barack Obama confirmed the death of Osama Bin Laden to the press tonight in the east room of the White House it brought curtains on the man who was hated and at the same time feared by the world especially the United States.

10 years after the 9/11 attacks, the United States special operations team (Navy SEALS Team Six) who were tasked with capturing/eliminating Osama Bin Laden finally did the unthinkable when they raided a mansion in abbottabad in Pakistan.

I still remember the graphic images on television of the 2 planes crashing into New Yorks WTC twin towers on 9/11. That incident left a deep scar of not only the United States but the rest of the world. The year was 2000 and the US economy was in recession after the dotcom crash. The crash of the twin towers also meant the crashing of my american dreams as the terrorist attack and the aftermath sent the economy further into a tailspin.

As I am writing this, I am watching the visuals of people on CNN with american flags in their hands cheering outside the white house.

The 9/11 attacks by Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaida changed everything. For instance, the stringent security at the airports in the United States which keeps getting even more stringent with new alerts is a nightmare for the travelers. When you have to board the flight, you remove your shoes, remove your belts, laptops, not allowed to carry liquids (yes this also includes water) and any metal objects place them in a tray before they are scanned and then put them on just in time to catch the flight. And now they have body searches if someone disagrees with body scanners.

I remember at Dallas airport, I was taking pictures of a car put on exhibition. What I didn't realize was that there was a cop who was observing me from a distance. I was a bit unnerved when the police officer started walking upto me. He asked my identification details and my profession. He then politely asked me to hand him the camera so that he can have a look at the pictures. For that few moments, I felt a bit uneasy but then realized that given the security situation the cop was just doing his job.

And that also sums up the attitude of most americans who have resigned themselves to the stringent security checks. Americans have understood it's a pain or sacrifice they need to make for a safe flight. The silver lining has been that there have been no major terrorist attacks in US after 9/11. The only exceptions being the aborted suicide bombing during christmas last year but that was from the planes heading towards US. On the lighter side, I am now so adept at removing my belt, shoes etc.. that I time myself to see whether I have bettered a previous record :)

Coming back to Osama Bin Laden, for all his praise of Pakistan by President Obama everyone is aware of the simmering tensions underneath between the close allies in the war against terror. I am highly skeptical whether the Pakistan Government was kept in the loop. It's very embarrassing for the Pakistan government when right from the ex-President Pervez Musharraf's rule to the current President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan has vehemently denied the existence of Osama Bin Laden. From the reports coming in, it seems that Osama Bin Laden enjoyed a very high level of security in an affluent locality of abbottabad.

The US has consistently used technology as a tool when it used drones to zero in on the targets. Osama was well aware of the technical tools at US disposal and was careful enough to avoid using some of the modern communication tools like cellphone and the worldwide web. If news reports are to be believed Osama's lack of patronage of technology proved to be his Achilles heel as that raised suspicion of those monitoring his mansion. And rightly so when someone has a million dollar mansion and doesn't have any internet or cellphone plus they burn their trash instead of putting it for garbage collection, people start thinking as to there's something weird about the people living in the mansion.

Over the years the United States has pumped in billions of dollars in assistance to Pakistan but the real catch remained elusive. If there was a financial analysis then the death of Osama Bin Laden was a significant Return on Investment (ROI) for the United States.

What are the lessons for India? We have been relentlessly pursuing the extradition of Dawood Ibrahim for his role in the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai and Maulana Masood Azhar for the IC-814 hijacking. Add the name of LET founder Hafiz Mohammed Sayeed to the list for his role in 2008 Mumbai attacks. Pakistan has been stonewalling each of these requests. India also needs to focus more on covert operations just like the United States.

The political implications in the US would be that President Obama has got a significant boost in his re-election bid. On the other hand the chorus for withdrawing from Afghanistan would only get louder.

Credit must go to National Security team of President Obama, the Commander in Chief himself and the Special Ops team for pulling of such a daring operation by avoiding civilian casualties and keeping the operation under tight wraps till the result was achieved. Also Obama's speech which was measured amid the scenes of jubiliation showed the hallmark of someone who was quietly confident and didn't want to invite the fear of reprisals by punching his fists in the air just like ex-President George Bush whose infamous words "Mission Accomplished" on the deck of an USS aircraft carrier later came to haunt him and the United States.

There is a note of caution here. Just like the sci-fi movie "Aliens" wherein the ET creature leaves behind its offspring, Osama Bin Laden was shrewd enough to decentralize the terror operations which will continue to outlive him. Not to forget about the reprisals from those seeking revenge for the death of Osama Bin Laden. So in the euphoria one should not lose sight of the above facts.

Finally, to quote President Obama's word's "Justice has been done" to the 9/11 victims and this will go a long way in bringing some sense of closure to those grieving for their near and dear ones.

(Image courtesy:http://www.solcomhouse.com/images/bosbin.jpg)
(References: CNN)

Dum Maro Dum

Goa meri jaan jannat ki shaan par jannat main bhi saanp baste hain translating to Goa is a paradise but even in paradise there are snakes. This is the tag line of the opening scene from the movie Dum Maro Dum.

The movie which is a joint production between Fox SearchLight Pictures and Ramesh Sippy Entertainment scores high on style and substance. After Abhishek Bachchan's disastrous portrayal of Beera in Ravan I was in two minds whether to watch this movie. But getting good feedback about the movie from my brother, I decided to bravely check out Dum Maro Dum (DMD).


DMD is a riveting tale of drugs, sex, money and personal tragedies set against Goa's beaches. So we have rave parties happening with goans and a mix of foreigners ranging from Israelis to Russians. The main characters are:

Lorry : Prateik Babbar (Lorry) who wants to join his girlfriend in the US and is held back due to lack of funds

Joki : Rana Daggubati (Joki) is a DJ who also owns a music shop and has a girlfriend Zoey (Bipasha Basu). Zoey is now the local businessman Lorsa Biscuta's arm candy.

Lorsa Biscuita: Aditya Pancholi (Lorsa Biscuita) plays the local businessman who has a pie in almost all the businesses from drugs to shipping.

Vishnu Kamath : Abhishek Bachchan (Additional Commissioner Police Vishnu Kamath) who goes from being the corrupt officer to a crusader against drugs.

Michael Barbossa: The most intriguing and shadowy character in the entire movie whom no one has either seen or heard.

The strong point about the movie is the story by Sridhar Raghavan. The movie has its weaknesses when the pace begins to slacken. Even though this is supposed to be Abhishek Bachchan's movie, the real hero and surprise package turns out to be Rana Daggubati (Joki). For a person who is making his debut in a Hindi movie, he comes out with a decent performance. It's also nice to see Aditya Pancholi playing the bad guy with sophistication.

Other interesting characters are Rane (Govind Namdeo) and Mercy. I was surprised with the movie climax and it could have been handled better. But it's for you (the viewer) to find out :)

The only grouse against the movie is the title song Dum Maro Dum. Deepika Padukone is definitely no match for the vintage Zeenat Aman. Remixes are fine but this one was bad. Except for Dum maro Dum you can't make out the rest of the lyrics. Sometimes it's better to leave the original untouched.

There was a wikileaks cable about the US Embassy's views on Bollywood. Atleast as far as Bollywood-Hollywood collaboration is concerned it hits the bulls eye. This movie which doesn't compromise on the script nor the style quotient is a perfect example of how such partnerships can bring lasting value to Cinema and the audience.

Overall it's a good movie and is worth watching atleast once.

(Image Courtesy: http://movies.sulekha.com/hindi/dum-maro-dum/pictures/1.htm)

Sathya Sai Baba

India is a land of the spiritual gurus. So much so that the words "Guru" and "Mantra" has become a part of the English vocabulary. For instance, I was having a discussion with an American colleague at work and he freely used the words like "Mantra" without batting an eyelid.

That surprised me and at the same time I felt proud as an Indian because who would have imagined a few years back that words like "mantra", "karma" and "Guru" which was limited to an Indian context would find a wider audience in the present day.

Nonetheless, I was referring to the above as the news of the passing away of Sri Sathya Sai Baba was across all the electronic and print media. Although I was born in Karnataka, I spent most of my growing up years in Andhra Pradesh and was very much familiar with the topography of my adopted state.

Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were two states in stark contrast. Whereas Karnataka was blessed with abundant greenery and exotic locales. Most parts of Andhra Pradesh were dry and barren. The pockets of affluence was limited mostly to its state capital Hyderabad and West Godavari district. Also the depleting ground water levels didn't help.

Anantapur district belonged to the latter category. But one person did make a difference and that was Sathya Sai Baba. I remember when I was in college and waiting at the bus stop, a man walked upto me with his bicycle and struck a conversation. Now this man was dressed in a simple kurta pyjama with a jute bag slung over his shoulders. He spoke in English and his communication skills was good. After sometime, he took out a picture from his bag and turns out that it was Sathya Sai Baba. That put me off as I felt that this man was using his conversation as a bait to find new converts to Sathya Sai Baba's cause.

What irked me about Sathya Sai Baba was that people considered him as God. I was not able to reason out how can you make a human being take the place of God. Now God as we know and call him by several names is someone who we think is a higher power.

It also amused me that Sathya Sai Baba's audience included a who's who. From the Prime Minister, Governors, Chief Ministers, celebrities, cricketers and foreigners there was no one who hadn't met him.

Just like he had millions of devotees across the world, Sathya Sai Baba had his share of critics (including me :)). But looking back, when you see the amount of work done by his organization like setting up the Superspeciality hospital where complex surgeries are done free of cost, the drinking water supply project which covers most of the villages in Anantapur, Sathya Sai Institutions of Higher Learning etc.. if people consider him a god, no one should grudge that. Some of these infrastructure building activities come under the domain of the government and he has stepped in to fill the void when the government failed to do so. Even Sathya Sai Baba's bitter critics would agree on this point.

We had so many famous and infamous godmen. People like Chandraswami who was linked to the ex-Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, Rajneesh of the Osho ashram and the recent entrant Yoga guru Baba Ramdev. Where Sathya Sai Baba stands apart is that inspite of having his share of controversies he used his wealth (mostly donations from his devotees) for the greater good of the society.

As one famous quote goes there is no escape from death and taxes, even a living god like Sathya Sai Baba is not an exception. I hope that the good work done by his organization, the good will among his devotees and his message will inspire many for years to come.

(Image courtesy: http://www.ndtv.com/album/listing/news/sathya-sai-baba-life-in-pics-10292/slide/5)

India's population Census 2011

That India is giving a tough competition to China as far as population growth is concerned is not a secret. The recent census figures of 1.21 billion have for the first time shown that the increase has been much less than anticipated. However even with a marginal increase in the population to an already existing base of a billion people, the sobering thought is that the human density per sq. km has increased.

A case in point is Mumbai which as per the recent census figures has a staggering density of 20K people per square kilometer. So the pressure on the land, water and resources is only going to increase. This also implies that our forests, national parks etc.. will come under increased threat of encroachment. The current state of things is not good and it will only get worse.

Take a look at the cartoon published in "The Hindu". A picture indeed is worth a thousand words :)

(References: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/cartoon/article1592142.ece)
(Image courtesy: thehindu.com)

My Birthday

So it's here again..yes I am referring to my Birthday :) So what did I do on my birthday? I was working today. At work, I treated my colleagues to freshly cooked samosas with mint chutney and sweet sauce. Thanks to Lakshmi. The ideal treat would have been a cake but as Lakshmi rightly suggested we have too much of cakes.

A Samosa on the other hand would be something nice and spicy to tickle the taste buds. She was right. The samosas were over in a jiffy with some people taking even 2 to 3 servings.

My happiest moment was when I returned a home and found a box delivered at my door. I began to scratch my head wondering who was this person. From the carton I realized, it was freshly cut flowers. I had a hunch that it was someone known to me but not sure who it was.

I opened the box and there was a greeting. My instincts were right. It was my sweet little adorable sis who sent me the beautiful flowers. That made my day :)

Tsunami in Japan

Despite man's advancement in science and technology there's nothing one can do against the force of nature. The earthquake and then the tsunami in Japan is a testimony to that. Compounding the misery is the real threat of a nuclear meltdown.

This is a grim and sober moment for the people of Japan and those who have lost their near and dear ones. Amid the large scale devastation and havoc what is commendable is that the people have remained calm. Atleast this is what the article in The Hindu had mentioned. There was no screaming and panic.

Also despite the wall of water which swept across the coastal villages and cities, some of the houses withstood the destruction. A tribute to the architecture which was built keeping the previous quake experiences in mind.

Japan being in highly active seismic zone has done the best it could. The earthquake drills in schools, a highly efficient Tsunami warning system, earthquake resilient building structures. Yet a 9.0 magnitude earthquake which rips apart the earth's crust building a wall of water 30 feet high can overwhelm anyone however prepared they maybe.

There are lessons to be learnt here. If the toll in Japan is in thousand(s), then one can imagine the consequences in ill prepared and densely populated countries like India and China. Even developed countries are not immune. Recent example(s) being Christchurch, New Zealand. Here in California, where I had already experienced mild tremors twice in a span of 1 year the tsunami ripples has effected atleast 2 major ports.

Coming back to the quake in Japan, rebuilding won't be easy but we can only hope and pray that people whose lives have been turned upside down will gather the strength and courage to put this tragedy behind them.

(References: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article1529889.ece)
(Image courtesy: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/picturethis/2014489938_pt_before_after.html)

The Rainbow

There is no parallel to mother nature's beauty. What am I talking about? Take a look at the picture.

When I was driving to work on a Friday morning last week, it was sunny and raining at the same time and voila I was lucky enough to spot the rainbow. It was very beautiful and this was not a partial rainbow which sometimes disappears in the clouds. You could clearly see where it begins and where it ends. The challenge here was being on a freeway, I couldn't stop and take a picture. So I took this picture with my cellphone camera in one hand and the steering in another.

The end result was not that bad. It was a decent picture. This stretch of drive on CA-4 is very scenic and there is never a dull moment. On the hillsides, you can sees cows grazing. During Spring, the slopes are covered with yellow flowers which are in full bloom. In Winter, it can be very foggy and one needs to be very careful while driving but still it's a mesmerizing experience driving through the fog.

I can still vividly remember one day it so happened that a deer came down from the hill and was about to cross the road, the cars in front of us came to a screeching halt and the poor deer was almost killed. Now the deer very quickly regained its composure and did manage to cross the road, incredibly in just 3 hops spanning both sides of the freeway. I and my colleagues were left staring in disbelief. We were relieved that the deer was not harmed :)

(Image courtesy: CA4- Fog (Prashant Shetty))

A ray of hope

Bureaucrat is a much maligned word especially if you're in India. From an outsider's perspective, it symbolizes everything that's wrong with India. Red tape, anachronistic regulations and from an Indian's perspective it symbolizes corruption, greed and a part of the rotting system.

When I passed out of college, my dream was to join the civil services. Nope, it wasn't the Indian Administrative Service or IAS as is popularly known but the Indian Police Service (IPS). The ambassador car with a revolving beacon light on the top and the uniform used to set my pulse racing. I wanted to be an idealist officer who has sworn to protect the constitution and serve the interests of the public.

Those days there used to a television series titled "Udaan". The plot revolves around a woman IPS officer. It was aired once a week on our national broadcaster known by its popular name "Doordarshan". I didn't want even to miss one episode of that series. I found it riveting and it used to further fan my desire.

But then life has its own twists and turns. I fell in love with writing code and now that has become my means of earning bread and butter.

When I read about the abduction of District Collector of Malkangiri district bordering Andhra and Orissa along with an Engineer by the maoists, one would have tended to ignore it as a routine news item. No one would have even heard about Malkangiri.

What captured my imagination was that Mr.Vineel Krishna, the District Collector used to go around the village supervising works on a motorcycle. Now in a status conscious society where everyone wants to show their power here is someone who went about his job without a fuss just like a common man. He didn't move around with security.

When some officials pointed out that it was a Maoist infested village his answer was to forget that it was "Maoist affected" and carry on with your work. He was instrumental in helping tribals and expediting the works under the flagship programmes like NREGA. No wonder he found a lot of support from the local population who knew that they have to stand up for someone who was not afraid of carrying out his job under adverse circumstances.

It's sad that the Maoists have abducted someone who worked for the welfare of the people. At the time of writing this article, Mr.Krishna hasn't still been released. I fervently hope and pray that he is released unharmed along with the engineer.

Vineel Krishna is just like the revolving light on the ambassador car, a beacon of hope for the steel structure of India (to quote sardar vallabhbhai patel) which has been badly corroded. People like Vineel Krishna and Dr.Binayak Sen who work for the poorest and downtrodden sections of society are the real heroes of India. May their tribe increase :)

(References: thehindu.com)
(Image courtesy: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060830/jal2.jpg)

1 year on ...

As of today, it's been exactly 1 year 1 month and 21 days since I have arrived in the US. So how has the journey been so far...To begin with, it was a first for me to work directly at the client location in US and that too on a contract. Working alongside the americans in my team was an experience by itself.

In my earlier assignments, I did interact with the clients in the US but then it was mainly done over the phone. Offshoring as the phenomenon is called which is what India is famous for and the bugbear which riles the west. So here I am working with the same people in their country, getting to know them and their culture.

Mind you, it's been a very cherishing and rewarding experience so far but then it also has been a painful one. In terms of knowledge, I have learned things which I never thought I would. The first 2 months were really hard but then I persisted. There were times when I just wanted to let it go. So what were my options? It was either a fight or a flight syndrome.

I decided to chose the latter for I believed that fortune favors the brave. I had to learn to take on my fears headon .I worked on my weaknesses with the ultimate aim of converting it to my strengths. It wasn't an empty rhetoric but it wasn't easy either. When you start working through this maze you start believing in yourself.The maze, yes that's the word I have used coz I felt lost and had to find a way out of it.

So where do I stand today. Honestly, I don't have an answer but yes it's definitely a lot better than what it was when I started. As the new year rolls by, I fervently hope and pray that this new found spirit will guide me and stays with me :)

(Image courtesy: http://www.kiplinger.com/kipimages/special_report_ledes/investing-outlook-2011.jpg)

No One Killed Jessica

If Mumbai is about Money then Delhi is about Power. So what happens when you mix Power with Money. The result is a lethal cocktail.

No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ) tells one such tale.

The film is based on the real life story of a model Jessica Lal who was killed one night while serving as a celebrity bar attender at a happening night club in Delhi. All because she refused to serve drinks to a brash customer who then shoots her with a gun.

I liked Rajendra Gupta's first movie Aamir and that was an incentive for me to not miss his next directorial stint. Vidya Balan as the sober Sabrina who carries on a determined fight for justice does justice to her role and portrays the trials and tribulations of someone who lost her loved one admirably. Rani Mukherjee as Meera Gaity makes a strong comeback as a television journalist.

The title music with "Kat Kaleja Dilli Dilli" sets the mood for one riveting journey. I liked the character of the cop (Rajendra Sharma) who candidly confesses that he took money for not raising his hands against the accused. Stand out scenes include the accused Manish's politican dad undertaking a thanksgiving trip to Vaishno Devi temple which is juxtaposed by the critical condition of Jessica's mom, Manish's dad and mom visiting the Lal's to pay their homage to Jessica and the Lal's are decent enough to offer them tea knowing very well that Manish's parents are doing all they can to protect their son.

But some things like Meera lecturing Sabrina about giving up the fight or the overdone scenes of candle light vigil are a bit jarring. To conclude inspite of its flaws if this movie sends out a strong social message it's well worth the effort.

(Image courtesy: thehindu.com)

My travel (mis)adventure

The week before the last weekend was a very eventful one for me. I had gone to attend the graduation ceremony on 17th December of my younger brother at Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was a story of missed flights, heart stopping moments and finally a sense of relief.

As always when I booked my flight there was a prayer on my lips that I shouldn't repeat history which had a not so glorious past. Yeah, I have been consistently missing flights, trains and buses :)

So when I booked my flight through Expedia.com, I went for the cheapest deal. The result was a mixed bag. Expedia with its motto of mix-n-match gave me 3 tickets. Out of that 1 ticket belonged to a different airline. So the itinerary was San Fransisco (SFO) to Las Vegas (LAS) - United Airlines, LAS to Dallas Fortworth (DFW) - American Airlines and DFW to Nashville (BNA) - American Airlines.

My first leg of the trip was smooth. Arriving at Las Vegas, even though I was aware that there was only a 50 minute gap for my next flight the photographer in me took over. As a result I ended up wasting around 10 minutes. Now I had to take a tram to go to the next terminal. The tram took its own sweet time. On board the Tram, I was confused as to which terminal should I get down. Once I reached the terminal I rushed to the American Airlines counter only to be shocked to find that counter was deserted. When I inquired at the next counter they informed me that the airline staff had already left. It was 12:33 a.m and I guess I was late. The flight departure time was 12:50 a.m.

I rushed towards the gate where I had to go through the security screening but the TSA agent wouldn't let me in without the boarding pass. My heart sank and I was cursing myself. I was destined to spend the rest of my night at the airport. There was a feeling of Deja Vu. I remembered the last time I missed my morning flight at Heathrow airport and had to while away my time till evening.

It was a very tormenting experience. My main worry was I didn't want to miss my brother's graduation ceremony and if I couldn't make it, my efforts would have come to naught. I kept wandering here and there in the terminal. The only people I could find for company was the airport night duty staff and some other stranded passengers. That was the only comforting factor in a despondent night. This was my first trip to Las Vegas and sometimes I felt like exploring the night life of Vegas but then again I wasn't sure about my next flight and so didn't want to take any chances.

It was 4 a.m in the morning. As the counters opened, I rushed to the United Airlines counter, the lady asked me what was I doing for 50 minutes? She said she would charge me $150 extra and that too the ticket would be only upto Dallas. I listened to her patiently and then when she kept on insisting the "50 minutes" lecture, I told her plainly that it was my first time and 50 minutes isn't that much time. To top it all, I wasn't given all the boarding passes at the first pickup point i.e. SFO. It cost me dearly. I told the agent I am not interested.

My only hope was the American Airlines counter. I told the Customer Rep about my missed flight and without uttering a single world, he gave me 2 tickets. I was delighted that I didn't have to pay a single dime and thanked the Customer Rep for his gesture. The airline departed at 6 a.m and I reached Dallas at 10:40 a.m. I thought my troubles were over. Now lies the twist. I was put on standby for my next flight to Nashville as the flight was full. What I initially thought was a boarding pass was a priority authorization. Now I didn't know what it was but definitely it wasn't a boarding pass. As the boarding call came, and the last of the passengers got in. I could feel a sense of breathlessness and then the airline staff told me to board the airline. I was ecstatic about finally making it. I thanked them profusely.

When I finally reached Nashville there was a sense of relief. As I was heading towards the exit, I saw a photo session with the Santa. This seemed to me like a good omen after all I have been through. I got a photograph taken. As you can see the photograph tells the whole story of a bleary eyed traveler.

My brother picked me up from the airport and drove like a maniac as the ceremony was scheduled at 5:30 p.m. My heart was in my mouth and I wasn't sure whether I came for the graduation ceremony or will end up somewhere else :) Luckily all's well that ends well :) I attended my brother's graduation ceremony and thanked the almighty that I made it.

So what's the moral of the story? Firstly cheaper isn't necessarily always better. Second, plan your itinerary carefully and lastly don't goof around when you have less time to spare :)

(Image courtesy: http://www.creditcardchaser.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/airplane.jpg)

WikiLeaks

The HourGlass with a melting world has been the focus of various articles in the media especially the internet and print for the past few weeks. Wikileaks has become a sensation with its leak of US Diplomatic cables and Julian Assange its public face. There has also been fierce criticism that Wikileaks has endangered people and relations between US and its allies.

But for common people like me it offers a fascinating peek into what really goes behind the diplomatic niceties. Picture this...for instance there is a rash of news about how Pakistan is playing double game(s) with the US. As soon as questions are put across to the White house, it officially denies any differences and shows strong support for Pakistan as its ally. Now the diplomatic cables which if I do understand correctly are candid assessments sent by the US ambassadors posted in various capitals across the world tell altogether a different story.

So now we do know that behind all the photo-ops, smiles and handshakes there is the usual back biting and bit***** about various leaders, their governments, the bureaucracy etc. We all know about office politics where your boss has his/her favorites and then the co-workers some of whom derive a sadistic pleasure of bit*****/gossiping about their colleagues. Take the office context and blow it up on a bigger scale. There can be no shining example than the diplomatic cables.

Unfortunately the US which is supposed to be the land of the free and brave is doing everything possible to shut down Wikileaks and the US senators/representatives/top government officials want to hunt down Julian Assange. People have made nasty comments from execution to treason. In short Julian Assange has become The Enemy of the State. It's funny because when Google had a spat with the Chinese government over internet censorship, the top leadership of US from President Obama to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rallied behind the internet behemoth and said that freedom of expression of speech must be protected. And now that the boot is on the other leg, they are singing a different tune. See the article in The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article933915.ece)

This is not to suggest that what Wikileaks has done was morally right or wrong but yes it has opened a new chapter for greater transparency from an iron curtain called "the Government"

To cite an example, in Iraq two news Journalists from Reuters were killed along with other civilians by a US helicopter gunship. To persistent questions, the US was not sure about how the journalists or the civilians were killed. Reuters tried obtaining the video footage under the Freedom of Information act but its request was declined.

Wikileaks posted a footage of the video on 5th April 2010. To say that the video presented a disturbing picture is an understatement. The correct words would be chilling and horrifying. Some people are seen walking on the road along with the journalists. One of the journalists has a camera in hand.

The video shot from the army chopper clearly shows the people are unarmed. But what was shocking is the discussions the US army soldiers are having with their command center. They tell the command center that all the people on the street are armed and request permission to "engage the target" an euphemism for destroying the target. They relentlessly aim their guns and kill the people. A short while later a van stops by and people come out of the van to rescue an injured person. The helicopter gunship again requests permission to engage the target - the van. The ground forces converge and discover that there were two grievously wounded children in the van.

The US army soldiers in the helicopter gunship denied any knowledge about the children but a close scrutiny of the video grab clearly shows the children in the front passengers seat.(http://www.collateralmurder.com)

People would never have known the truth if not for WikiLeaks and the US Army Private Bradley Manning who now faces upto 52 years in prison (http://www.bradleymanning.org). The established media like print and television would have found it too hot to handle and washed its hands off. But the internet has emerged as a saviour for independent media. Back home in India, for example, take the Nira Radia tapes which was first available on the net. Even then almost all the major print and television networks(especially NDTV) blacklisted the news item. NDTV in this instance had a more compelling reason as one of their Senior news editors was involved. (http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?268214)

Wikileaks which has been suffering major cyber attacks and has been booted out of many servers may eventually go down but not before it spawns hundreds of such sites (which is already happening). There is a valuable lesson here. The government is bringing its might and marshalling its resources to censor the truth but the internet is a different animal. You shut down one site and there will be thousand(s) more. Remember the bitter rivalry between napster and the music industry and who had the last laugh :) The last site from which I had accessed wikileaks was (http://www.wikileaks.de).

I have always been curious to know about whether Aliens or UFOs did exist?. I am eagerly awaiting the Wikileaks next expose on UFOs. Governments officially have been denying it for years but we will hopefully know the truth shortly.

(Image courtesy: http://www.wikileaks.de)
(References: www.thehindu.com, www.collateralmurder.com)

Aung San Suu Kyi

She is someone I have admired since my school and college days. She is not a popular actress or a writer. She embodies the spirit of determination and patience that has come at a great cost. For a woman who has been confined to house arrest for most part of her life and finally walk free (though no one knows for how long) even a Nobel Peace Prize would sit lightly on her shoulders.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a frail and petite woman who lost her husband to cancer and didn't want to leave her country to see him because she feared that the military junta ruling the country would not allow her to return is someone who is a rarity these days. Her son's were denied visas to visit her and she hasn't seen them for 10 years. Not sure what the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) (official name for the Military Junta) had in mind but this time they did grant visa to her son.

For the past 15 of the 21 years she was confined to her dilapidated ancestral home with no access to internet or television. Her only companion was the radio and some magazines brought home by her lawyer. The mail she received was heavily censored. See article (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article882318.ece)

Lesser mortals would have gone completely mad. Now Myanmar or erstwhile Burma doesn't register in our consciousness either because we are caught up with all sorts of other news related to terrorism, economics, recession etc.. but it does exist and so is the repression which is real.

Aung San could have easily compromised with the ruling military in exchange for her freedom and sharing power just like Benazir Bhutto but she treaded a lonely path which was not so rosy. There was an interesting article about comparison between these two women in the newspaper The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article886267.ece). Suu Ki could have chosen a comfortable lifestyle with her family in Britain but she chose to stay back.

That sometimes make me wonder where do people like Nelson Mandela or Aung San Suu Kyi draw their strength from. Is there a lesson in this for all of us?

Most of us are in the mad race in pursuit of money, career, fame and what not. We are all too preoccupied with mundane things of everyday life. We don't care about the nation as much as our selves.

Look at the current generation of politicians who want to make the most of it when they're in power. Their motto is "Self above nation"

Coming back to Aung San Suu Kyi, one never knows how long she is free but yes for the moment there is a glimmer of hope that one day people power will win in spite of all the hurdles. Someday I hope that and she and all the political prisoners who have been imprisoned by the military will realize the long cherished dream of freedom from tyranny and oppression.

(Image courtesy: http://www.theHindu.com)

As the opening credits roll, one person's name is displayed in bold letters "Superstar Rajni", the trademark of a Rajnikanth film. Tamil cinema has its share of great film personalities like MGR, Shivaji Ganesan, KamalHasan and Rajnikanth. But none has been able to deftly handle the generation gap as well as Rajnikanth.

The jokes on his movies are a legend. For the tech savvy, You will find them mostly circulating in e-mails. Billed as a mega movie with Indian Rupees 150 crore budget, Robot lives upto its hype.

What impressed me was the technology and the standards that had gone in the making of this movie. The point to remember is such a movie has come not from the mainstream bollywood cinema but the regional language Tamil movie industry. The concept of IT and an intelligent storyline has meant that thankfully this movie doesn't end up like any other special effects heavy movie but most importantly a movie with a soul.

Nobody will grudge Sun TV (producers of this movie) their millions however one shouldn't forget that all this wouldn't have been possible but for the single minded devotion of the Director Shankar who spared no expense in sourcing the best action, special effects, exotic locations and as mentioned above for scripting a movie with a sensible storyline. One look at the end credits of the movie gives an idea of what I am talking about.

Music by A R Rahman except for the title song Yentra and the chart topping Kilimanjaro is ok. When a man like Rajnikanth is around there is not much scope for the opposite gender. Aishwarya is the glamour quotient of the movie and also the love interest of the Robot gone rogue. Danny Denzongpa leaves his mark on the movie as Professor Bora who is envious of his protege Dr.Vaseegaran's success with Artificial Intelligence and sabotages his dream project.

This is not to say that the movie doesn't have flaws which infact it does. But in terms of technological sophistication and the sheer scale it more than matches Hollywood. In other words it has set the gold standard for the Indian movie industry by scoring some firsts in a lot of departments.

I do agree with Rajni's diehard fans that Rajni is the superstar atleast in this part of the world :)

(Image courtesy:http://www.endhiran.org)
(Image courtesy: http://excusemeworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/endhiran-robot.jpg)

The Commonwealth games (CWG) fiasco has left many people embarrassed and ruing the damage caused to the brand India.

Personally even I feel let down by the events back home but what has amused me is the raves and rants of these so called NRIs who can't but go on criticizing everything that India stands for...and there is no marks for guessing it's the negative attributes and bad press.

For these NRIs merrily ensconced in the creature comforts of the west, they remember India only when it generates bad news. They feel humiliated before their western counterparts and take out their umbrage by posting messages on Facebook, blogging etc.. As someone rightly said, tomorrow even if India were to be submerged they care a damn as long as they are safe in their adopted home.

There is no doubt that Commonwealth is a prestigious event but there are far more pressing issues which need urgent attention. The tax payer whose money has been utitilzed ( or misutilized :)) for this event would have been more than happy if the money was spent wisely.

Why can't these so called NRIs share or contribute their might towards a better India by raising issues such as farmers suicides, rising inflation, dismal infrastructure, inadequate housing etc.. Giving armchair advice is easy however one shouldn't forget that every Indian or for that matter any nationality when abroad is an ambassador for his/her country.

I personally know of one such NRI who was very eager to get rid of his Indian passport in favour of his adopted country. So what is his favorite pastime now? Posting status updates on facebook making fun of the CWG games and worse some of the jokes are poorly written and may very well qualify as PJs :)

Although it looks like CWG bashing in reality it's more of India bashing.

NRI's no longer stands for Non Resident Indians but as the joke goes around Not Required Indians and even I am one of them :)

(Image courtesy: http://buzzytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/The-Commonwealth-Games-2010.png)

Dabangg - Salman rocks

He is pushing 45 but still doesn't seem like throwing in the towel. He is someone who makes the crowd go wild once he takes of his shirt and shows his chiseled body.
Born Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan and popularly known as Salman or Sallu he is one of the few actors apart from Aamir and Shahrukh who is still going strong.

Salman has been the enfant terrible of Indian cinema industry, having being embroiled in controversies like the black buck shooting/hit and run case or his affairs with his co-stars. None of this seemed to have made a dent on his fan base which has only grown.

If you are looking for something which is the in thing nowadays like Peepli Live or path breaking cinema you are better advised to stay away. But then if you are someone who wants to watch the kitschy old tale of sibling rivalry, a dishonest cop who has a softer side, a village belle to whom he loses his heart and then as usual the villain, Dabangg (fearless) gives you more bang for the buck or in indian lingo paisa vasool fare

Salman plays Chulbul Pandey aka Robinhood pandey a Police Inspector for the district of Laalgunj, Uttar Pradesh. Salman with a moustache is a rarity and he manages to pull it off. Chulbul doesn't get along with his step dad (Vinod Khanna) and his step brother Makki (Arbaaz Khan). The one person Chulbul is fond of and who dotes on him is his mom (Dimple Kapadia)

Chulbul is a corrupt cop who gets hold of the bad guys but stashes away their loot. He is generous to help someone out financially when they are in distress. Salman loses his heart to a village girl Rajo (Sonakshi Sinha in a debut role). So what's missing ...well you guessed it, the villain whose funnily named Cheddi Singh (Sonu Sood) :)

The movie is a no brainer with a predictable story line but there is a difference and that's Salman Khan. Salman towers like a colossus in the movie and you just can't have enough of him. It's Salman, Salman and more of Salman even in the presence of veteran character artistes like Vinod Khanna, Om Puri and Dimple Kapadia.

Action by S Vijayan is terrific, impressive music track scored by Sajid-Wajid and Lalit Pandit. My favorites are man bharwaan and Tere Mast mast do nain. Sonakshi Sinha as Rajo comes as a breath of fresh air. As one article rightly quotes, having seen nearly anorexic heroines (remember size zero) it's nice to some one who resembles the typical curvy Indian woman. Acting wise, Sonakshi is not a disappointment. In an typical Indian action movie where the actresses are just there for the glamour quotient even in her brief role, she does show some spunk. Of course being the daughter of yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha does help.

I was myself shocked to see Sonakshi who is a fashion designer transform into a gorgeous woman. 2 years back when I saw her on television she was more on the heavier side and voila look at her now.

Coming back to Salman, he does run into some serious competition here even in terms of physique. Yes its the villain played admirably by Sonu Sood. Sonu Sood is a talented actor who is also blessed with good looks but sad to see him play a villain again. Hope he doesn't start getting typecast. This movie also marks the directorial debut of Abhinav Kashyap, the brother of Anurag Kashyap who is into "the realistic" mode of cinema. Its interesting that Abhinav has chosen to direct a conventional bollywood movie.

In India or anywhere else you despise a corrupt cop but Chulbul Pandey is a different animal. You love him for what he is and yes as the title suggests he is truly Dabangg (fearless)

(Image courtesy: http://media.photobucket.com/image/dabangg )

Earthquake in New Zealand

It doesn't make much news in the front pages of the world's leading newspapers except for it's exotic greenery, laid back lifestyle and quality of life. When I was studying at a leading University in NZ I still vividly remember about one of my classroom sessions.

It was a paper on International Business. I am not sure how this thing came up but our faculty asked the classroom audience who would like to be the Prime Minister of New Zealand not even a single hand went up but then he again asked us who wants to be the President of the United States and a sea of hands went up. It seemed like a unanimous opinion.

Strange as it may seem, New Zealand suddenly found itself on the front page and that was for the wrong reasons. Don't get me wrong but this was due to an 7.2 earthquake which hit the south island. Christchurch bore the brunt of devastation and as I am writing this, there was a mild earthquake which struck places close to wellington.

If you look at the fault lines prevalent across countries/continents, New Zealand is right up there with so many severe fault lines and lots of volcanoes, thankfully many of which are dormant. California where I live and work has had it's share of earthquakes and the one I experienced last week was 3.1 on richter scale.

An earthquake on a scale of 7.0 and above is considered to be devastating but luckily except for a few injured people, no lives were lost. Now some experts have attributed this to the good building codes adapted by New Zealand around 10 years ago. If that's true, it's really a praise worthy effort and an investment which has really paid off.

There are lessons to be learnt here especially as the population in developing countries migrates increasingly towards Urban areas. In India where the major cities are experiencing population growth and high rise residential areas which are springing up everywhere this is one particular area of concern. The building codes are rarely followed or brazenly flouted. Now imagine, god forbid if something of this sort happens it will be a humanitarian disaster.

The Govt does realize something must be done and a government wing National Disaster Management Authority has released ads on television which instruct the citizens on how to deal with a earthquake but the effort still falls short. More needs to be done on the ground so that when the crunch comes loss of human lives and damage to property is minimized. In this instance at least one can derive the right lessons from NZ's experience.

(Image courtesy: http://www.tourism.org.nz/imgs/nz-map-regional.gif)

How often we wish that commuting through the daily traffic should be a pleasant and smooth ride and a shorter one too. I carpool with some of my office colleagues. When the traffic in the lanes is bumper to bumper or worse sometimes comes to a standstill we whiz through the traffic thanks to car pool.

Well think of it, it's a pretty cool initiative. Rules for Car Pool are that there should be minimum of 3 people. If someone flouts the rule there is a minimum of $271 fine. Rules are mostly followed b'coz there is always the fear of cops but yes there are crazy people.


I like the concept of Carpool as it helps save time, is easier on your pocket, it's not boring as you always have something to chat about and the most compelling reason, it's eco friendly. Just imagine, if four people are travelling in the same car you are saving the road space for 3 additional cars ( if each one drives his/her own car) ,cut down on fuel consumption and most important, pollution.

The concept of Car pool is even more important for a developing country like India, where more and more people are opting for personalized transport and the public transport is in a bad state. Just like in California, the Government of India/State should take the lead in popularizing the concept of car pool lanes. Of course, we have a space crunch but then we should start some where.

(Image courtesy: http://www.seaporttma.org/images/carpool3.jpg)

While most parts of the United States baked or wilted under the scorching sun, California enjoyed a cool summer.

Yesterday, however it was a different experience. Temperatures touched 111 fahrenheit which is roughly equivalent to 43 degrees celsius. It was bloody hot. People here are not used to such record temperatures. It also led to a situation in our office where the fire alarms got triggered due to the excess heat. The air-conditioning unit supply got cut off.

Every afternoon during lunch time I go for a walk. At my workplace, there is a sprawling campus and its nice to walk with the greenery around.

But yesterday, the merciless sun made me cut my walk short and I returned to the cool environs of my cubicle (that is what I thought) until I realized that the airconditioning was switched off. But the one remarkable thing I appreciated about the US was the response time.

As soon as the fire alarms got triggered, the fire engines were there in no time. It also made me wonder, if people in India care so much about how every life is precious things would be a lot better.

(Image source: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mssociety.ca/images/sun.gif)

At 63 years one is considered as a Senior Citizen but if you're a nation which has gained freedom 63 years ago you're still young. Today, i.e. August 15th is India's Independence Day and I extend my best wishes to Indians across the world.

Personally I am proud to be an Indian and if one believes in the Indian concept of reincarnation I would still prefer to be born as Indian. We are not only a nation with a rich past but one which has gained freedom against all odds and proven the doomsday pundits wrong. Yes a lot of people are still steeped in poverty and unable to afford at least 2 square meals a day and there is a still a lot of struggle ahead against corruption, scourge of terrorism, illiteracy, dismal infrastructure, water shortage being some of them but there is still hope. We are a vibrant growing economy with a young demographic profile and it will take time but we will surely get there.

(Image courtesy: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pictures.wayn.com/photos/018927108_689307531.jpg)