A Post About 'this n that'!

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I had planned to write about Kashmir after I read this article in 'The Hindu'
titled, 'Twenty-four years after he left Kashmir in the wake of violence, Sandeep Raina returns to find a home he had all but forgotten'.  I became very emotional and remembered the days we had been to Kashmir in 2004 i.e. 10 years back.  I remembered writing about our Kashmir visit and it was my 2nd post.  First post was about our 'Amarnath Yatra'.   I had written our experiences in a diary then.  Son insisted to start writing blogs.  And he opened a page for me.  My blog-writing started!

I didn't have a single comment for the first post and the second one got 1 comment in 2010 from my friend 'Swaram'! Well, I had started getting good number of comments later but Swaram came back and read my old posts and this second post got a first comment from her! I didn't know how to go further and so just left it with the 2nd post. Then my son pushed and insisted to read others' posts and write comment in them. He said that 'if your comment kindled some interest in the writers, they might visit your blog too and drop a line'.  I knew I was not a very good or interesting writer then,  but did what he asked me to do...read others' posts and dropped comments. I restarted writing again in 2008 after a '4 year' gap! It was about 'Vividh Bharati's Sangeet Sarita' my favourite radio programme. So, it is 6 years of official blogging now! Kashmir post was in September 2004 and I started blogging again in July 2008! We can take July or September for marking the 'starting of the blog' time! I can't say 10 years of blogging but 6 years!  People seem to like my posts and so, read and comment now!

Let me go back to Kashmir post now.  I had concluded the post in 2004 like this:

'We left the place with a lump in our throat. Kashmir should have been so beautiful before the terrorist activities started. Now we see poverty, though the people have brave happy faces even now. Hope the politicians help them and their children to see happiness in the future at least, instead of troubling them with their selfishness.' 

Now, apart from the politicians, nature has devastated Kashmir.  It might take a long time for this State to recover.  Will the CM take proper action at least now?  I hope the writer of the article, Raina, goes back to Kashmir soon. 

Here, in our Tamilnadu our CM has become ex-CM and is in jail now on corruption case.  On one side, I feel that this is a good precedence in our political history.  Nobody can escape judiciary even after winning the last election with a thumping majority.  The Finance Minister in her cabinet, Mr. O. Pnneer Selvam will be the 'new' CM! Jayalalitha cannot contest elections for another 10 years.  So, her political career is over.  Well...she might bounce back if she gets a 'stay'! She hasn't got any proper opposition party here to fear! DMK is nearly gone.  Congress and BJP hadn't got any hold in Tamilnadu, ever! They had to piggiback on these Dravidian parties always!

Hope some miracle happens to Tamilnadu and some good leader pops up from somewhere to pull up the economy of the State soon. 

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Positive News Makes Us Feel Happy And Enjoy Life!

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This morning I came across the news where a Hindu religious leader asked Hindus not to worship Shirdi Sai Baba because he is a 'muslim fakir'! The news is here (read if you want to read crap!). No, I am not a devotee of Baba.  But this person hasn't got any right to order Hindus what to do and what not to do.  Hinduism is a religion which teaches harmony (though some people misuse it) and not hatred.  It doesn't compel anyone to follow any rules like doing pooja everyday or going to temple everyday.  People do these rituals as per their wish in their own way.  Hinduism is the most lenient religion in the world.  I know many people who are Baba devotees and worship Hindu gods with equal respect.  Let the individuals decide what they want to do. People who want to gain instant popularity utter these types of statements. And media will hyper it to the sky!

Now, I came across this video which shows a happy and serene world. Thanks goes to my niece who sent across this link! I was so happy that I wanted to post this immediately so that many more people can enjoy.  Let us not hurt anybody.  Let us live and let others live happily here, on this earth.

According to this video, this place, New Guinea is heaven for rare birds.  Let us enjoy just watching them here.  I don't wish to visit this place and contaminate the peace there.  Let these birds have their heaven to themselves.  I admire the people who have recorded this video without disturbing the privacy of the birds. 

Post by Raya FM.

A New Era Starts From Now?!

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Narendra Modi, Our New Prime Minister

'I am optimistic about my country's future. After that speech, I really didn't have a choice. #MODIfied'

I saw this message by my grand niece who is in her early twenties, first thing in the morning in Face book.  I thought, 'Modi has influenced even youngsters by his sincere speech (Acceptance speech at the Central Hall of our Parliament, click here to read/see the speech pl.) yesterday.  She told me later that she became emotional while hearing his speech.  Later in mid-morning, a friend of mine from Assam called and said that her whole family became emotional while watching Narendra Modi's speech.  Well...we have got a sincere, patriotic Prime Minister, I think, which is really unexpected when our country is facing a dearth of a good leader.  I think now, the whole country is expecting a positive/progressive future for us, via Modiji. Let us hope for the best! We need a leader like him very badly!

I read that the whole world was watching our election process, the world's biggest democracy, conducting its election.  Even the remote hilly areas were covered...the voting machine was carried by donkeys, it seems.  Even small villages with very limited people were covered.  It is really fantastic.  Now, I am quoting from 'Outlook' magazine, some anecdotes about this election with my comments within brackets.   It is interesting.  I would like to record and read it whenever I want to, again! Now, to the 16th Lok Sabha election anecdotes:

I love this picture...so many people, esp. women waiting for their turn to vote. peacefully.

1. 551million
 
Highest voter turnout in any general election so far. EC’s provisional figures put the number of voters who exercised their franchise at 551 million, which is more than the combined population of the entire European Union. (Great! This time, even the 'educated' people came out to vote!)

2. The President, Pranab Mukherjee, did not cast his vote for the sake of neutrality, thus restoring a tradition. Presidents Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil, however, had done so.

3. Narendra Modi became the first chief minister in office to also simultaneously launch a prime ministerial campaign (He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the past 12 years!).

4. Modi is the first Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak to make a bid for the prime ministerial office. A.B. Vajpayee was an RSS swayamsevak but not a pracharak. (This made many people,  intellectuals, esp., to think twice before voting for him.  But even the minority community, Muslims, voted for him in large nos. it seems...)

5. It’s the first general election held after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and creation of the 29th state of the Union, Telangana.

6. Gen (rtd) V.K. Singh became the first former army chief to join a party and contest an LS seat. Earlier, Gen Shankar Roychou­dhury was elected to the RS as an independent member from WB.

7. NOTA (None Of The Above) option provided to voters for the first time in a general election (NOTA has become famous in this election.  Even the editor of Outlook, Vinod Mehta punched NOTA, he wrote, later...Quoting from the NDTV link 'While exercising their franchise, country's 59,97,054 voters punched the NOTA button on the electronic voting machines, which equals to 1.1 per cent of the total votes polled during these elections across 543 seats.)
 
8. The EC also introduced for the first time, Voters’ Slips, with their photographs)

9. The rule disqualifying convicted persons from contesting the election came into force in 2014. (But nearly 1/3 rd of the elected candidates are facing criminal charges, though not convicted,  I read.  But nowadays each and every party has got people like them...chalta hai!)

10. Aam Aadmi Party made its debut, putting up over 400 candidates across the country (though many lost deposits later, this is a warning for the regular tainted politicians!)

11. Use of ‘Pepper’s ghost’ or three-dimensional hologram for simultaneous campaigning was brought in for the first time (Modi became famous for this!)

12. Innovative political funding,  with political parties charging money for attending rallies, selling merchandise and through fund-raising dinners (Modi's Trichy (Tamilnadu) meeting, charged Rs.5 per head for attending the meeting and he had a huge crowd there, which was a surprise.  Here, in Tamilnadu, only dravidian parties got this much crowd, normally!)

13. Digital marketing of political messages became more popular following growth of new media

14. A video channel on voters’ awareness and education launched by the Election Commission on its website and youtube.com/eci

15. National Electoral Search to provide polling booth information provided on internet mobile, tablet and computers and mobile SMS through app developed by C-DAC launched

16. Booth-wise electoral rolls uploaded in PDF format on the Election Commission’s website

17. BJP’s prime ministerial candidate (Mr. Narendra Modi) addressed over 5,829 events, including 437 public meetings, 1,350 3-D rallies and 4,000 chai pe charcha programmes since September, 2013, setting a record of sorts.

 Well...I and my family were bored of hearing Modi's voice all the time in TV.  Since he was facing large crowds, he was shouting all the time.  Naidu, the Ex. CM of Andra Pradesh said during Modi's 'acceptance speech', that once in AP, Modi started campaigning from 8 in the morning and till noon he didn't eat anything and later on asked for just tea, it seems.  He wanted to finish off all the meetings and then eat, it seems...I think he said that Modi attended nearly 13 meetings that day.  Modi is a committed person.  

But, the Acceptance speech made us all sit glued to the TV.  No adverse comments.  Nobody laughed even when he broke down (check from the highlighted link given in the second paragraph).  Everybody became emotional which had never happened when a politician spoke.  

The definition for a 'politician' had changed yesterday.  

Jai Hind!

P.S.: Modi's picture, Google courtesy.

I Have Got All The Three Items Which I Got Today For Free From Amma, My Maid Said!

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The 'Small Bus' (Amma bus!) in Chennai, with Amma's photo in the front and her party symbol (two leaves) painted on the sides!

The interior of the 'Small bus'

I saw one of these buses today morning when we went for our morning walk.  It looks neat! This will cover the interior roads of our city, I was told.  I saw two buses in our road which is quite long with many arterial roads and full of houses, but no bus comes in this route.  People have to walk a long way to catch buses and autowaalas,  as you know, charge a lot for short distances.  It will be very useful esp. for the elderly people who live here. 

The Hindu says, 'Demands are pouring in from residents of north and west Chennai for small buses in more routes in their localities. As of now, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) is operating 50 small buses in 20 routes mainly covering the southern suburbs and some parts of the city. Residents of several areas that are poorly connected want the small buses to fill in the gaps'.

This is a very good move by Jayalalitha, our Tamilnadu CM (Amma!).  Her 'Amma canteen' is a hit.  She is opening them even in hospitals, which is a boon for the patients and their caretakers.  She is going to offer medicines in subsidised rates, which is also good.  Amma water is subsidised!  But, is THIS needed?

'Cinema theatres... latest Amma-branded subsidy from Jayalalithaa'

Our maid said that she gets 20 Kgs. of ration rice a month, for FREE! Got a saree and dhoti and Rs.100/- for pongal festival!  Yesterday, she got one fan, one mixie and one grinder, for FREE! Grinder and mixie...what a combination!  She already has got all the three gadgets at home!

SHE SAID THAT AMMA COULD HAVE REDUCED THE BUS FARE INSTEAD OF GIVING ALL THESE THINGS FOR FREE! How sensible!

But, offering freebies is like encouraging people to stay idle without working hard for their living.  Most of the men in our maid and her colleagues' houses drink and stay idle at home.  This will give them one more reason to stay idle and drink with the meagre money they earn.  Rice and other things are coming home for free.  Women will be made to keep their mouth shut! Our maid also said that 'current bill kuranjaa nallarukkum' (It would be nice if Amma reduces electricity charges!).  But then, how will her party people make money? Closing the liquor shops means, no money for doling out freebies! Hmmm...politicians!

During Karunanidhi's rule, he gave for free, TV sets.  My sis in law also went and got it because if she didn't, the middle men will swallow the money! It is sleeping in her attic.  Her maid and many people sold them for cash! Most of the freebies are sold.  Goats were found in the butcher shops in the villages with govt. seal, our veg. shopwala said. All these freebies have Amma's or Appa's (Karunanidhi's) photos.  So it is easy to recognise!

But, as is our nature, we will vote for the better person...every leader makes money.  Which one at least provides something in return  is better, we feel.

So, Amma will come back!

I read this just now! Amma is barging in in Delhi too!  Mr. Modi, watch out!

ON A PLATTER: People at the ‘Amma Unavagam’ Pongal celebration 2014 at Tamil Nadu Bhawan, in New Delhi on Sunday. Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

Hope she will build toilets in the slums esp. and public places, all over Tamilnadu.  Like she is remembered for the 'Rain water harvesting', she will be remembered for building toilets too! With Amma pictures?! No problem! It is a GOOD deed, seriously!



P.S.: I have included her (Amma's) name in my tag, 'People whom I admire'! I admire her guts, though a bit eccentric!



Pic.Courtesy: The Hindu (These photos are better than mine.  Mine were mobile photos!)

Arnab, Are You Watching...?! If Not, Watch And Enjaaay!

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This is really Hilllarious!

I am doing a post on this funniest video, just to watch it again and again, whenever I am off mood!

People who are not familiar with Indian politics/cinema/TV, I have given below the links upon which this video is made! All are blended together to make a funniest khichdi! watch the second and third video first and then watch this, to enjoy more! For people who enjoy the comedians in our politics, watch straight!




'Times Wow' is the Channel!  Rahul Baba is Uday Baba! 'Arnab' is too good! Well...duplicate Arnab!

This is Rahul Gandhi (Our PM aspirant of THE Congress party!) and Arnab Goswami's (Times Now TV Channel's Editor and anchor) most talked about interview in Times Now Channel.  Here, Arnab is very soft which is unlike him and Rahul is childlike! I feel sad for Rahul Gandhi and feel sad for us Indians to have this inefficient, childlike person who is projected as the PM Candidate...huh, shudder...



This is the famous Arnab and Meenakshi interview in the Times Now, 'never ever' interview, it is called!  Whether she is right or not, Meenakshi is brave enough to argue with Arnab...great! 'One on one' interview...Lol!




'Kejriwal' is coughing which is famous now! Exchanging dictionary is hilarious!

'Arnab' says in the end 'Subscribe to this channel! I will not stop talking until you subscribe to this channel!' Does he (real Arnab!)  like Mangowala lollipop?!!!

This video was released on Thursday and got more than 8 lakh hits!

Play it again and again like me and enjoy! This is just fun...


To know more about the team TVF who has produced this video, click here 
and here 

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I Agree With Modi In This Aspect!

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Make toilets before temples: Narendra Modi tells students in Delhi. (link)

He and other politicians should have thought about this long back and taken action, not just giving speeches.

When our current Rural development Minister said this sometime back, the BJP and everybody else abused him.(link)

He is a Minister now.  Is he taking any action about this now?

No, this is not a political post! This is a 'toilet post', you can say! I remember even our Tamilnadu CM talking about building toilets in every area in the city first and then expand it to other areas in Tamilnadu.   I see some toilets on the roadsides nowadays.  But they are not maintained properly, I could see.  And our people don't bother to look for a cover for urinating.  They are not ashamed and not bothered about cleanliness.  They prefer to just relieve themselves wherever they feel like doing it.

I had written about this in my post of our Srirangam temple visit.  I noticed toilets in many areas surrounding the temple.  But some men were urinating on the wall of the toilet, outside the toilet.  Maybe because the toilets were 'paid toilets'.  We had to pay 50p to 1Re. for using it! But I was told that they had free toilets too! But who bothers? Even youngsters don't bother to 'look' for toilets.  And Chennai's climate is hot, nearly throughout the year...still...  How come women control this 'problem'? When women can control, why can't men?

Recently, I went to the Ashtalakshmi temple in Besant Nagar, Chennai.  The entrance itself is stinking.  We went early in the morning.  A busload of people descended in front of us at the entrance.  It was an 'Amaavaasya' day (New moon day, which is very auspicious here).  They went straight to the beach in front of the temple.  I was told that they take head bath and then visit this temple.  They didn't use the toilets which was very very close to the temple first. And look at the toilets:

The Ashtalakshmi temple, Besant Nagar.

The 'New' toilet!

The 'old' toilet, but it is not demolished before building the new one! And this is standing very close to the temple!

The temple is facing this area...Besant Nagar beach! The whole area is stinking.

Now, being Navaraathri time, the area will be too crowded.   If people can't keep even the temple area clean, it means the mentality itself is crude.  Going inside and praying is not enough.  If we want god to give us good health, we have to take some action from our side too.

A couple of weeks back our area's Venlakanni church had their annual festival.  People came from far off.  Though they have some toilets, they are not enough.  People sleep on the beachside or on the roadsides and dirty even the side streets of this area.  

I had been to Shirdi Sai baba temple at Shirdi, a couple of years back.  The area near the main gate stank.  Then I saw many toilets near the gate.  The temple authorities can build toilets and keep some personnel to clean them.  But if people don't have the mentality to maintain it/use it properly, it is going to be like this always.   

Here, in Chennai, the Sathyam movie complex has got beautiful, clean toilets.  How? 3-4 women keep standing inside the toilet area and ask people (when they have got doubt!) if they flushed the toilets before coming out! Shame!

What can be done? Dictatorship only will work.  People who dirty these areas should be fined heavily.  And it  should be done strictly, like it is done in Singapore.  Building  toilets alone is not enough...people should be taught from the school stage, how to keep the toilets clean!

Hope Narendra Modi takes some action in this area, as promised!

What do you say?

 

P.S.: I did a post on this subject HERE.

 

A Day Of Positive News!

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Whenever we open a newspaper, we are used to reading news about murders, accidents, RAPE, burglary etc.  We are so used to it that we just give just a glance to them.  We have become very insensitive to the misery of other people.  We never think that these types of news hurt the affected individuals...for us, they are just 'other people'. As far as nothing hurts us or our relatives or close friends personally, they are just news.  Even the rape of 5-6 year olds have become just 'news' because they have started pouring out every day from some part of our country.  Somehow I felt happy to read this paper of 9th May, '13, with so many positive news!  Thought of celebrating it with you!

BJP loses southern foothold to congress!

I am not a fan of any of our political parties at present.  As I keep on saying all the time, we don't have a good leader, at least a reasonably good leader in any party, at present! 'The defeat of the BJP in the only South Indian State where it had managed to establish a solid presence marks a stunning reversal for a party that has tried hard to grow beyond the Hindi-speaking areas of the country'! I don't think that Congress has won because people think that they are better politicians but because they are fed up with the infighting and corrupt politicians of the BJP!

One lakh Mangroves in Adyar Creek soon!

Chennai, even South Chennai is losing age old trees for broadening roads, building bridges AND for building flats in a dangerously fast pace.  I am happy to know that some area of our city is going to be green in the future!

Nochi Plants along river banks to check mosquito menace!

Until 15 days back, I used to sit here, in front of my laptop with a 'hunter bat' (electronic mosquito hitting bat) while typing posts! Now, the heat is 'affecting them' I think.  They don't bother us...this will last for another month, maximum.   Once the temperature comes down, their battalion will get active! Our Corporation is taking some positive step without using chemicals which will be harmful to us also, to curb mosquito menace!

Click and cultivate - the internet shows the way!

This sounds like a good idea! Internet has occupied in so many areas.  This news might help the farmers to be happy in their business...we might get more food to eat...the speed at which the farmers are moving to the cities because of the difficulties they face because of natural calamities and real estate builders, greedy industrialists, this gives hope for a better future!

She braves grinding hardships, argues, wins case!

The illiterate woman who runs a grinding machine in a small village had the guts to come to Chennai court, argue her case and WIN it too! Read it, you will be happy to know that our Court solves cases in a jiffy, sometimes! I am happy for Maheshwari!

State says 'no' to chewable tobacco!

This might be a good step taken by our AMMA!  I might be wrong, but I feel that I see more of the migrated workers using paan than the local workers.  They chew paan all the time and spit everywhere! I remember once a man spitting on me when I was walking near a bus in Mathura, when I went there on a tour! I am very allergic to paan chewing people, esp. after this incidence!

The science of dosa making!

This news might not help individuals but I admire the way this person, K.Mohan, a final year Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering student from SRM University keeps on inventing innovative machines...he is a recipient of six national awards  and several state awards.  He first started inventing when he was in class VII...it started with a herbal mosquito repellent.   He is such a simple looking person with lots of brains and guts! Read the link please.

I am a happy person and a positive person today after reading so many good news in the paper...just hope that everyday will be like this!


Click on the titles of the news to read from the links of the newspaper please!

GOOD DAY!

A Seed is Sown For A New Scandal, Here!

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Where will this golden vigraha go now?

(This picture is from this article here)

This vigraha of Lord Vishnu looks so beautiful...minute work of art! The serpent on which the Lord is lying, is so artistically done. Lord Brahma who is coming out of the naabhi of Vishnu and the lotus, too, look so beautiful!

This vigraha (statue) is made out of pure gold which was found in the underground treasury of Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvanatapuram, Kerala. More news about the recently found treasure is here.

This 6-9th century built temple (some say, 16th century!) is under threat now because of the billions of rupees worth of treasure found, a couple of weeks back. The temple had been taken care of by the Royal family of Travancore and some trustees all these centuries. Now, the government wants to take over the temple and they started to take inventory of the treasury and unexpectedly stumbled upon underground lockers of the temple, which were never opened for centuries even by the royal family members.

They came upon the above vigraha and other golden statues, diamonds, gold coins and many other ornaments in the lockers. Now, the debate is going on about how to handle the treasures!

All the artistic statues and ornaments can be kept in a museum with proper security - money is no problem now for this...the temple itself can pay and people can pay for the visits! Other things can be bid in a proper way and spent on building schools for children and hospitals for the poor.

This treasure was safe here because the Royal family and other trustees were god-fearing people and so, never touched the temple treasure. Once it is open to the public now, all political vultures will be after it.

Hope Lord Padmanabhaswamy helps in saving the artistic treasures!

I had visited this temple some 22 years back. Kerala temples normally, are, clean and 'jaragandi' business is not there, like at Tirupati. No 'special darshan' too! Have a look at the serene surroundings, here:

Devotees can have darshan calmly, without any hurry-burry...look at the beautiful architecture of the gopuram of the temple!

Kerala is literally god's own country...so serene!

Now, the temple is full of our security people...this temple is prone to terrorist attack, they say, feel very sad...nothing is left alone now! In the past, Moguls and Britishers looted our treasures, now, it is the turn of our own people!

P.S.: I was shocked to see this, while searching for details of the temple! The video asks us to visit Jesus after the health ad.!

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Good Times For Tamilnadu?

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J.Jayalalitha, C.M., Tamilnadu

For the past one week, we hear about Jayalalitha, everyday, here, in Chennai. Whether we open the magazines or news papers, her face glares at us. She has become the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu for the third time. Karunanidhi, the ex-CM of Tamilnadu (he was a 5 time CM of Tamilnadu!), got only 30 seats out of 119 during this election!

Jayalalitha is very famous for her intelligence, language flair and mainly for her arrogance ! She is very short-tempered and doesn't think twice to hurt any person, whether it is our Ex-PM, Vajpayee or our current PM, Manmohan Singh or the Congress party President Sonia Gandhi. The people of Tamilnadu just wanted to get out of Karunanidhi's family rule and voted for Jayalalitha! When we were discussing about her at home, we just thought that instead of Karunanidhi's family, Jayalalitha's close aide, Sasikala's family will rule, behind the curtains!

Then I read an article in the famous Tamil magazine 'Junior Vikatan' this morning, I thought 'maybe we are wrong' and we want to be wrong! Now, to the article:

As soon as she signed the papers for the new post of Chief Minister, she signed the files regarding the 7 promises she did during the election tour. From the next day, the usual routine of transferring the 'bad' officials started. Then, she started showing some signs of her plans...may be, this time, she really wants to do something good for the state. She arranged for a 3 day 'training class' for her ministers. It was not just full of bland speeches, but action oriented classes! She spoke like a Head Mistress of a school. She was not impatient with anyone but patiently explained how the Ministers should run their department to fulfil the dreams of the people of Tamilnadu. Even the Ministers had not seen this side of Jayalalitha until then!

She had invited the adviser to our ex-President, Dr.Abdul Kalam, Mr.V.Ponraj to give some advice to the new ministers. She seems to be close to Dr. Abdul Kalam and takes advises from him.

Mr. V.Ponraj with Dr. Abdul Kalam

Now, to the gist of her speech to her ministers, during the 'training camp':

The people of Tamilnadu have elected us with a thumping majority and it is our duty to honour their faith on us by giving good governance. This time we we have included new young people in the ministry, in the hope that you will be able to do justice to your department. I have arranged this workshop to guide you to excel in your work. You can always ask them (people like Ponraj) for guidance, if you have any doubts, any time.

Mr. Ponraj spoke for 3 hours on the first day, they say. He spoke about agriculture for 1 and 1/2 hours. The gist of his speech:

58% of our people rely on agriculture but the state gets only 2% of revenue through agriculture. Gujarat gets a profit of 9%. We have to increase production and curtail brokers' influence. Then the farmers will wholeheartedly join together and we can have an agricultural revolution. This will enhance the status of the farmers.

Then the CM said that to improve agriculture, 'first we should clean the water bodies in the villages and improve water collection/storage. The main agenda of this government will be to improve agricultural production'.

Ponraj said that arrangements should be made to provide drinking water free of cost to poor people and with minimum cost to other people, which would reduce health hazards.

Then the CM discussed about the main draw back of the state - power cut. This would be rectified within three months, she said. 'Tamilnadu needs 10,200 M.W. power but we produce only 7,200 M.W. Solar energy plan will be implemented to provide 3000 more M.W. of power. Free power to farmers will be given but the govt. will keep an eye to check if it is used properly', she said. The new Minister for Electricity, Mr. Naththam Viswanathan promised that all steps would be taken to ease the power situation.

Many other topics were also discussed in the camp. I liked this, the most:

The govt. wants to take steps to reduce the load of books carried by the children everyday to school. They can carry only one book, which will cover all the subjects for the first 3 months. Then another book for the next three months...(if this method is possible and good, the children will be very grateful to the CM!).

The CM took the topic of toilets in the schools. She said, 'many schools in our State do not have proper toilets, even the girls schools. So, steps will be taken to rectify this problem as early as possible'.

During her earlier term as CM, she had implemented 'Rain water harvesting' and the water table of many areas had improved so much that people of Chennai and other States too praised her for this. New buildings without 'Rain Water Harvesting' provision, were not given power connection! Even in our road, the Panchayat officials came door to door to check if the houses had rain water harvesting pipes!

Shall we be happy and hope for a good 'acting' government in Tamilnadu? She need not worry about Karunanidhi anymore. Except Stalin, his second son (I feel sorry for him because he tried his best to do something good for the people), no other family member is capable of coming back to power. She has got a free hand now. Whether she is implementing Dr.Kalam's dream or hers, it will be good for our State. She might become one of the best CM of Tamilnadu. Hope for the best!


Sorry, this has become a very looooong post!

Just one more line...I did not vote for AIADMK because the candidate was a wine merchant and not a ...forget it! He has won, though!


Picture courtesy: Google

Tihar Jail Is Overflowing With Scamsters! Now, New Scam Will Be Inside Tihar Jail!

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Saw this video just now at 6.30 am...what a morning!

My husband says, 'now all these scamsters will join hands and scam inside the jail. Punishment: They will be let outside!'

Incredible India! This government will go into Guinness Book of World Records as 'the Government with maximum number of scams!'

We, Indians, have got great sense of humour!

I think there is no need for me to 'explain', the cartoons say it all...let us enjoy 'reading' about our country's scams and vote for these people, again and again:

The above cartoon is from 'The Hindu' newspaper. The next one is from 'The new Indian Express':

These two letters are published in 'Outlook' magazine:

First letter:

With corruption scandals running into lakh crores (1 followed by 12 zeroes), we need new numeric units to comprehend these humongous figures.

O. Solaiappan, Salem

I have spread the (sort of reply!) letter here, so that it will be clearer! You can see the original in the Outlook link! Mukul Jain, you are great!

Second letter:

A few ideas for new words to refer to large numbers: So,

1,00,000 crore = 1 raja;

10,000 crore = 1 radia;

1,000 crore = 1 kalmadi.

So Anilbhai’s home in Pali Hill will now cost Rs 4.5 kalmadi;

ongc’s annual output is Rs 1.2 raja;

India’s loss in the 2G scam is about Rs 1.7 raja;

India’s total annual subsidy on kerosene is Rs 2 radia.

Mukul Jain, on e-mail

Incredible India!

1982 Asiad vs Commonwealth Games - were we less corrupt with a bit of a conscience then?

Today morning I read in 'india tweets', an article by Ugich Konithari. I felt sick mentally, looking at the state of affairs of our Sports Ministry. Every politician is soaked in corruption upto their necks. Nothing seems vulgar for them now. The only aim is to make money in ANY way. Is it because the Head of our Government hasn't got time or inclination to control the deterioration of our country in all spheres?

I felt a bit of a relief when I read this article in The Times of India. Let us console ourselves reading this article. Was Indira's Governance better than the current one at least in conducting the IX Asiad in 1982? Be happy like me, reading this positive side of some of our politicians!



Sometimes it only takes a single event to tell success from failure. Or the men from the boys. In 1982, it was the flooding of an Asian Games venue.

It happened on November 19. The opening ceremony had just ended and Rajiv Gandhi was sitting in his special organizing committee (SOC) office at Pragati Maidan in the Capital with aides Arun Nehru and Arun Singh. As head of the organizing committee, the IXth Asian Games were Gandhi's first public assignment.

It was around 7.30 in the evening. The three men were watching a replay of the opening ceremony on colour television, which incidentally had been introduced in India specially for the Games.

It had started to pour right after the Games' opening ceremony. As the men watched TV, a young bureaucrat in Rajiv's technical committee informed him that the roof of the weightlifting venue — Asiad Centre in the Village — was leaking. He said the arena was flooded.

This was disastrous news. An event was scheduled for the very next day at the weightlifting venue.

Rajiv and the two Aruns — together they were known as the troika — rushed to the Asiad Village.

It was Indira Gandhi's birthday, but Rajiv didn't go home to help celebrate his mother's birthday.

Jagmohan, then lieutenant-governor of Delhi, was asked to help supply labour. It was late but by 10 pm, Jagmohan had got 1,000 men together. By 10 next morning, the Asiad Centre had been resurrected. Rajiv and the two Aruns stayed at the venue through the night. A lot was at stake. Asiad was the only big sporting event India had hosted.

It is a reminder of the level of commitment of the men who organized Asiad 1982. Compare this with the current situation. The Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee (OC) is headed by Suresh Kalmadi and he has been doing the rounds of television studios, defending some of his allegedly tainted cronies and their suspect deals. He says the OC cannot take charge of stadiums till they are complete and it is not their business to ensure the work gets done.

Read more:

Asiad '82 had many firsts to its credit. It was the first time India saw world-class infrastructure. Apart from stadiums and sporting arenas, Delhi got its first flyovers. The detailing that went into the construction of stadiums speaks volumes about the vision of the people associated with the Games.

When it was built, the newly built Indraprastha Stadium (now renamed after Indira Gandhi) was the largest free-span indoor stadium in Asia and Europe and the third largest in the world, after the Astrodome in Houston, Texas and the Superdome in New Orleans.

The stadium, which hosted gymnastics and badminton events during Asiad, was carefully conceived keeping in mind India's unique history . It was located at roughly the same place that the Pandavas built their legendary capital, Indraprastha, 4,000 years ago.

"The Asiad Stadia", a book brought out by the National Book Trust immediately after Asiad 1982, says that within the grandeur of IG stadium one finds an Amravati recreated. The ruins of Ferozshah Kotla are adjacent to the stadium and there stands an Ashoka Pillar, which was brought by Ferozshah from Topra in Ambala. The book describes how Sharat Dass, the stadium's architect, drew an axis starting from the pillar and at a 45-degree angle on the Ring Road and then selected the central point of the stadium on this axis. The axis was meant to be the approach road to the stadium, allowing spectators to see the Ashoka Pillar against the sky. This is an excellent example of the minute detailing for the Asiad.

In 1982, then prime minister Indira Gandhi took personal interest in preparations for the Games.

The article concludes like this: Pity, Suresh Kalmadi and his team forgot their history lesson.


Will any leader bring back the old glory (at least in some areas - Indira also has done many grave mistakes in her tenure), which will make us proud of our own country? Now, the whole world must be laughing at us, for the current bungling in CWG.

I am a happy Indian, today.

I feel very very happy today. After a long long time, I and my family watched the whole swearing-in ceremony of the Congress Government today. Though a second part is going to be there next Tuesday, all of us felt happy and part of the celebrations, watching Manmohan Singh taking the oath as our Prime Minister, that too for the second time, with absolute majority, which no one expected to happen.

Everyone was talking about 'hung' government, this time too. But, I am proud of our Indian people, who announced that they want a stable government, which can take bold decisions, without any one's permission. Now, this government can do wonders and I am sure India will prosper and no one can prevent it from coming out of the 'third world' brand. The Ministers (without port-folio also) seem to be a good selection. Most of them are very well educated and we hear that youngsters are also going to be included, next week.

The only dampening news is the DMK drama. Manmohan is trying his best to keep a taint-free cabinet, but A.Raja and T.R.Balu are rumoured to be Ministers too. Don't know why Congress should agree for Karunanidhi's blackmailing now. Maran seems to be worth a ministerial post, but Raja and Balu...hope this decision is re-considered. Good to know that youngsters like Jyothiradithya Scindia, Pilot will be in the new ministry. So it is visible that steps are being taken to bring in Rahul as our next PM?! Why not?!

I love and admire, Mamta Banerjee. She seems to be like a down to earth person but is so bold. My family always argues about which language she was speaking, whenever she started speaking...English, Hindi or Bangla...! Will she be upto the mark, like Laalu? He has set a high standard, in the last government. I pity him now. He took a wrong step before the election and now has to face the music.

Anyway, I am happy and feel like laughing and dancing like the zoo-zoo's of the Vodaphone advertisement!

Lok Sabha Elections

I came back just now voting for the Lok Sabha elections. The booth was empty in the morning, it seems. It was too crowded now. My husband and myself had to wait in the queue for more than an hour.

I don't mind waiting for 2 hours also. As soon as I came back, we switched on the TV and Cho Ramaswamy and Jayanthi Natarajan were on the screen. Cho says that Jayalalitha has taken a sensible decision - she will decide, AFTER election results, which party to support - BJP or Congress!

I feel like a complete fool. Our India is supposed to be a democracy and the people will decide on the person/party, to rule our country. This system of alliance AFTER results, is against the democratic system. I don't want to support BJP which will promote fanatics even more, if they are elected. Congress is not VERY good, I know, but Manmohan Singh is a dignified person and I would prefer him to be our PM. I shudder at the thought of Mayavathi, Shrad Pawar, Mulayam or anyone else, becoming our PM.

WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE. The so called self-promoting leaders will decide on our/our country's fate.

Election time - Ice cube story

I read this story in the Tamil magazine, 'Ananda Vikatan', which is apt for the current political situation, here!

Once during a party, Frederick the Great, of Prussia, asked his ministers,

'I dole out so many goodies to the poor people of our country. Still no one acknowledges them, but say they did not get anything from us. Why is it so?'

'Let me give you the reason', an old and experienced minister says. He just takes an ice cube which was near his plate and passes on to the person who was seated next to him and asks him to pass it on to the next person. Likewise, the ice cube goes through 50-60 hands and when it reached the King, it was just a drop of water. The King asked the minister, where the ice cube was. The minister replies, 'You have got it in your hand, the drop of water. It started as an ice cube but passed through so many hands and has become a drop of water. Likewise, the things you gave for the poor passed through so many hands (brokers) and became a drop of water, when it reached them'.

This story was told by the ex-CM of Tamilnadu, who had started the DMK party. The current leader M.Karunanidhi is doling out TVs, Gas stoves etc. to the poor, but most of the things go to the people who are close to the party cadres. They just sell them and make money. The flood relief money also went the same way. Karunanidhi offered Rs.2000 to each and every house in the low lying areas, which were flooded during the recent rains. A person who is living just 4 houses away to my house, showed the ration card, paid the person who was distributing the money, Rs.500 and took the balance Rs.1,500. This person has got his own 2 bedroom house, has rented out one 2 bedroom house and a shop in front of his house! Lots of people who owned independent houses in our street, got the money! Some bribed our Ganesha temple some money and got some sarees for themselves!

Karunanidhi knows this, but being a veteran politician, he is making way for his followers to make money. Otherwise, his party will be dead without any party members!

Akshay Kumar - What is Muthalik's cultural police doing?

Some people are not familiar with this drama. Here it is, vulgarity at its peak:

Akshay Kumar

Nothing is there to comment for this.

Muthalik - comedian? Or poisonous seed?

Attacking, girls in the pub, jeans wearing girls, girls walking with boy friends or male relatives...these news about Muthalik are slowly coming down. Now, he is planning the next move... he is going to offer sarees to Thrisha, Nayantara, Shreya ...South Indian film actresses because they show too much body!!! Should we take it as another comedy or is it another poisonous seed which will grow spreading branches like Shiv Sena?

I read in the newspaper about normal couples and single jeans wearing girls who were getting out from autos, were attacked by motor bike riders. I don't think they belong to Muthalik group - Muthalik is helping these hooligans to attack girls, by showing examples.

One more snippet from Muthalik: Varun Gandhi is the only person from the Gandhi family, who is fighting for Hindutwa!

I wonder what his comment will be for Akshay's drama?! Oh, he is MALE!!!!

Omar Abdullah - the new CM of Jammu and Kashmir

Omar Abdullah! I liked the way he spoke in the Lok Sabha:

"I am a Muslim and I am an Indian, and I see no distinction between the two. I don’t know why should I fear the nuclear deal. It is a deal between two countries which, I hope, will become two equals in the future. The enemies of Indian Muslims are not America or deals like these. The enemies are the same as the enemies of all those who are poor — poverty, hunger, lack of development and the absence of a voice….”
- Omar Abdullah, July 22nd, 2008, Lok Sabha. [13]

Now, he is the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir! Good. He was very sincere when he spoke in the Lok Sabha. When manyother leaders were shouting to just get the attention or to stop others from speaking, Omar spoke clearly and sincerely, whole heartedly, meaning what he said.

He is just 38 years old and well educated. Earlier, he was known as Farooq Abdullah's son and Sheik Abdullah's grandson. Now he will be recognised as the CM of Jammu and Kashmir. It is not going to be easy for him to manage Kashmir.

We had been to Amarnath 4 years back. It was very cold over there and drizzling. But everyone helped us throughout the way - the local police and our armymen. On the way back, we visited Kashmir also. When we were at the Jammu railway station, waiting for the train, an announcement came saying that all the trains to Delhi were cancelled. Then, we heard some shootouts, outside the station. All of us were scared. But we came out after sometime and caught a taxi. The driver was a local muslim. The highway was pitch dark. But he drove without headlights, for fear of terrorists' attack. We reached Delhi without any problem, thanks to him.

Hope Omar Abdullah will be safe from terrorists and bring normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and protect its people.

Best of luck to him!

Cosmopolitan Mumbai

I make it a point to read Amitabh Bachchan's blog everyday. He writes about anything and everything under the sun and writes very nicely. His language is superb. Sometimes, he quotes from other magazines also. I liked the article he quoted from Mumbai Mirror, written by Rahul Srivatsava.

As Srivastava said, people from all over India have gone and settled down in Mumbai for so many decades now. My doddamma (mother's elder sister) got married at the age of 12 (Balika Vadhu material!) and went to Mumbai some 65 years back. She knew only Kannada, then. Her children studied in Marathi medium with Hindi and English. Along with them she learnt to read Marathi, Hindi, Tamil (she had Tamil neighbours) and English novels too. She had very good Marathi family friends and did not find any difficulty living there, all these years. Why do people - I will not say 'locals', because people who have been there for generations, are also 'locals'- feel insecure now, as Raj Thackeray feels? Mumbai is called a cosmopolitan city because it has got people from all over India who had been living there, thinking that Mumbai city belongs to everybody, who are Indians. Now, my cousins have come to Bengaluru on their jobs and still they consider Mumbai as their native place.

Here, in Chennai, my children had studied in CBSE schools and they do not know to write in Tamil. They had Hindi and Sanskrit as second and third languages. The government does not insist on having Tamil compulsorily, in the state syllabus. The DMK government is against Hindi language and most of the educated people of this generation (who are in their 20s and 30s),do not know Tamil - to read and write! Three language formula is banned here. The other states insist on their local language as second language and you can have any other as the third language. So people who study in Bengaluru or Hyderabad or Thiruvanantapuram, know Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. We, esp. South Indians, communicate mostly in English, in work place and outside. We should know the local language definitely and respect other languages also, I feel. Hindi is our national language and English is important for education and for our jobs. All our languages are ancient languages with good literary value, which should be preserved. We should be broad minded and learn the language of the place we live. Similarly, we should respect people of other states, who come to live in our state.

Mumbai, the once so called 'Financial Capital of India!'

I read an email in last week's edition of 'Outlook' magazine's Letters to the Editor:

'My dharma tells me to treat all who come to my door as godlike guests and feed them. My dharma also tells me that I must provide succour to my children and that when I do not have enough to feed them both, my children get higher priority and I must ask the guest to go elsewhere, especially, when my guest brings with him not just his family, but his brother-in-law, his third cousins, their friends and the village barber.'

I am sad our country is not made up of so many states with so many languages anymore. The states are becoming like individual countries. People like Raj Thackeray are behaving like despot kings. Slowly it is spreading to other states also - e.g. Karnataka.

Here, in Chennai, I have got a neighbour who is from Chatthisgarh. We are living near the IT Highway and I see so many different types of people from all over India - even sardarjis, who have come here to work in the Infosys, TCS, Sathyam Computers etc. The IT bhoom has made this happen. Even I am from Karnataka. All youngsters are going everywhere. Are all Thackeray's family members live only in Maharashtra? Do they speak only Marathi? Don't they go abroad? Bal Thackeray's first bahu was producing Hindi films, I remember. Bal Thackeray is (or was, because he cannot say so loudly now!) a great fan of Amitabh and Shah Rukh Khan.

What will happen to Mumbai if Ambanis, Tata, Birla and other business people leave Mumbai/Maharashtra. Should Bollywood produce only Marathi films? Should only Maharashtrians act in the films produced over there? The MNCs or any business people, think twice before starting a business in Kerala because of the labour unions. Now same thing will happen to Mumbai because of the problems created by the Thackerays. I will think twice before sending my son to Mumbai, for any kind of job. I have seen what happened to the students who went there to attend the Railway entrance exams. They must be in their late teens or early twenties. This will affect them and they might hate Maharashtrians forever.

Only a strong Central Government can bring some sort of peace. All our political parties are into promoting their own parties. We have sent Chandrayan to the moon and proved to the world that we are coming out of the 'Third World Country' label. These Thackerays are pulling us back into that label again.