Dr.Kalam's Farewell speech - 1

"When you wish upon a star,

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires

Will come to you"

Friends, I am delighted to address you all, in the country and those living abroad, after working with you and completing five beautiful and eventful years in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Today, it is indeed a thanks giving occasion. I would like to narrate, how I enjoyed every minute of my tenure enriched by the wonderful association from each one of you, hailing from different walks of life, be it politics, science and technology, academics, arts, literature, business, judiciary, administration, local bodies, farming, home makers, special children, media and above all from the youth and student community who are the future wealth of our country. During my interaction at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi and at every state and union territory as well as through my online interactions, I have many unique experiences to share with you, which signify the following important messages:

1. Accelerate development : Aspiration of the youth,

2. Empower villages, 3. Mobilize rural core competence for competitiveness,

4. Seed to Food: Backbone for agricultural growth

5. Defeat problems and succeed,

6. Overcome problems through partnership,

7. Courage in combating calamities,

8. Connectivity for societal transformation,

9. Defending the nation: Our pride and

10. Youth movement for Developed India 2020.

Now let me share with you each of the messages.

(Continued in part-2 ... )

Nation Salutes its Supreme Commander Adieu !!

So far only 12 Indians had the previlige of occupying the highest Office in the country. Even few used that to instill confidence among the citizens. But Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam is the only President ever to spell bound us with his pure love for Nation.

Dr.Kalam assuming the office of President in 2002. Then began his quest for reaching out to all the Indians , especially youth to "Dream Big". He visited almost every state & UT to inspire national feelings amongst all.

Addressing 10+ state assemblies , he proposed to all more bolder vision for powering the growth engine. As supreme commander of the Armed Forces, reached out to jawans assuring that they have untiring support of the nation.

One of the greatest accomplishments of his tenure is making "Rashtrapathi Bhavan" as "People's Bhavan". His human side took better of him to nurse the pet animals in the Mughal & Herbal Garden. Poet in him never missed enjoying nature !

As Dr.Kalam steps down we all stand to salute this great Indian who has inspired millions of youth to work for nation's development.

Jai hind !!

Vatican Archives takes a long holiday !!

Written documents carry with them the past to the future generations. One of the Marvel's of Chinese changed the way future intellects would research. Each collection of an archive gives us a page of contemprorary times. Vaticn archive is no exception.

Vatican archives, said to be one of the World's best known collection of books is said to go into silence for 3 yrs. Reason sighted is the wearing foundation because of ever increasing books.
Started in Pope nicholas V in 1450's, todays boasts of more than 1.6M precious collection. This includes first handwritten bible during emperor constatine times. It seems intially the secret archives were open only to Pope & his men, but with Pope Leo XIII's grace scholars too have access.

Vatican libarary site states its Origin the following way :

"Evidence for the scrinium of the Roman Church, which was both a library and an archive, goes back as far as the fourth century. In the sixth century it was placed under the primicerius notariorum, and at the end of the eighth century, the first Cardinal Librarian of the Holy Roman Church was named, who also played the role of chancellor. For reasons which are still unclear, the earliest papal libraries and archives were dispersed in the first half of the thirteenth century"

Preamble of the secret archives stating that the shelves if lined up linearily would come to 85 km's speaks of the house volumes themselves !! One gets a feel that is not library in mere lexical terms, bholic intellectual palace.

Dan Brown's thriller Angels & Demon depicts that even Newton's comments on catholic church & much more secret archives lie undetected. As far a theological research is concerned, this is a treasure trove. Many authentic manuscripts make this place even
holier.

For one the vatican Library archive is a symbolic memory of reliogus thoughts of mankind & how they fogred together to make chrisitanity one of the largest accepted faiths today.
The rule of library - "Silence" , might not apply for 3 years 2010 when it re-opens.

Fedrer grabs the "Famous Five" !!

Fedrer very rarely came this close to loosing , that too in a much familiar terrain. If not for Nadal, he would have even played blind folded ! We would have had to wait another 5 yrs
to beat the record, if he had given up. The genius is Fedrer got better of him in the 5th set of the Wimbledon Final 2007 ! Finally the 26 Yr old broke the 27 Yr old Bjorn Borg record
for holding 5 successive Wimbledon titles.7/7/7 was a memorable day for Roger Fedrer ! As an ardent Enid Blyton fan I would name it "Final of Adventure" !!

Nadal was almost equally competent, giving his opponent a real tough time. Many predicted his win. In fact circumstantially wind was in his favor. Only then did Fedrer Express zoomed past the Spaniard. Memorable final looking spectacular at - 6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2. Nadal seemed to have been a little forgiving. Well this young man has a
long way to go. But so does Fedrer.

The rivalry is slated to be one of the most electrifying after Sampras-Agassi ! Fedrer seems to be converging to be the "Best ever Tennis Player". Seeing this man come from ground zero to great heights in record time speaks for itself. We are no doubt in not just contemporary era but
Fedrer would entertain for years to come. Commentators could not help wondering what this magical wizard will create with his razor sharp, intelligent and powerful tennis.
French challenge continued the Swiss to sweat , but did not succeed in slowing him down. Once he captures that no doubt he is on the league of "extraordinary gentlemen ". Well looks like he might alone in that league for longggg time to come.

Congratulations Fedrer on your "Famous Five" !!

(or "Fantastic Five" as few Editorials dubbed :-) !!)

China's "identity" crisis !!

"What's in the name ?" - So goes the saying ! But Chinese might not agree to that. One cannot dispute the their protest as they have been sharing just 100 surnames among more than one billion people.

Intersting to note that a child should share surname of only mother or father. That has lead to the current situation. Officially the chinese govt has realeased a note saying that the surnaming trend is to be changed to suite current "Identity crisis" ! Proposal is a chinese surname can be choosen from a list of "Acceptable surnames", not just their parents.

The statistics which lead to the conclusion is worth noting :
(in Millions)

93 Million "Wang"
(Equivalent to Population of (gernamy-82 M+ greece 11M)

92 Million "Li"
(Equivalent to Population of UK 60M + Venezula 27 M)

87 Million "Zhang "
( Equivalent to Popuulations of Australia 20M + France 60M)

CNN further goes on :

"The Chinese Academy of Sciences has reported that at least 100,000 people share the name of "Wang Tao", the newspaper said, causing problems in daily life."

Well thats almost 0.3 billion people sharing just 4 surnames. Imagine for others ! Mind boggling.
NExt time u visit beijing before u call aloud ur friend Wang re-think !! Because u might have a million heads stare at you !

Will Fedrer fault this season ??

Very few tennis titans in history will be remembered for their aggressiveness, skill and tact of contemporary times. Even few out of those records would travel with time to threaten the contemporary players. Roger Fedrer might not let those spirits deter him . Every one of those records are being smashed by his magic , albeit the "French Open".

Wimbledon 2007 has begun. I am one of those million fans who would love to see him unravel more of his magic. One of the best known critics of The Hindu had mentioned that his failure in french open is the only proof of him being a human and not god ! Will he ever become god ?Will Fedrer ever fault ?? Anyway that question will have to wait for one more year.

Meanwhile one would want to see more of Fedrer on grass & marshy courts merciless to his opponents ! But he is on verge of being named the greatest ever tennis player ! Bjon Borg is waiting to watch this 25 yr old swiss walk away with another record at Wimbeldon. Not just him, but the whole tennis world !!

Are you a religious driver ??

In philospohical sense, religion is supposed to moderate the ever outpacing mind in sync with soul. Especially in today's fast world, religion would be outdated if not upgraded with new versions ! Vatican very well understands that !

Vatican in issuing its latest "Drivers 10 commandments " has higlighted that lives can be saved by being a little more alert, compassionate. I feel this is an excellent example how a religion should "Drive" its followers the to the moral lane.

So what really are the commandments. Here drive thro it :

1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.

I hope this message reaches to millions of drivers who just are not responsible for their safety but to other's too ! Should we call this globalisation of traffic !?

India has all along been a bad victim to accident deaths !!!

So how about being more religiously religious driver, the next time you drive ??

Reviving Nalanda !!

Best introduction to IIT's were given by its alumni gathering in 2003 :

"Put Harvard, MIT, and Princeton together, and you begin to get an idea of the status of this school in India."

In the same tone to define "Nalanda" -

"Put 10's of IIT's together & u might start getting the Idea of how nalanda was !!"

What made Nalanda greatest besides Taxila in its hay day ??

Nalanda(in Bihar)was built during the Ancient Gupta period. It's alumni boasts to many intellectuals like Chanakya, Chandra gupta maurya, Huen-Tsang, Charaka, Susruta, Nagarjuna & many more buddist scholars. Breadth of the subjects dealt was lengthy - Philosphy, chemical,
structual engg,astronomy, geomentry, logic, music, literature .. Believed to have been a city unto itself, like today's Oxford or Cambridge ! One of the historical evidence of how advance out intellect was. Scholars were gifted with a oceanic ilbrary adding to other sea of options !

Nilanjana Roy in her Article "Invisible Indian Library" mentions :

"There were at least three separate libraries: Ratnasagara, Ratnadadhi and Ratnaranjaka. "

The cost analysis is intresting :

"Creating and running an institution like Nalanda wasn’t cheap. It required, according to some accounts, “the revenues of 100 villages”—a sum not so far removed in scale from the bequests of $2.4 million and $5.2 million made respectively by Samuel J Tilden and Andrew Carnegie to establish what would become the legendary New York Public Library"

A quick estimate in the Indian context. The total budget of IIT's put together amounts to 2000 Cr per year ! It is roughly $45M !And can easily be covered by Income Tax collection of a state like TN or Karnataka !!

When I read about Nalanda as a student I was immediately attracted by it ! In years to come it would refuse to goaway from my memory, ultimately cherishing the Dream of "Reviving it one day if I had the power !!"

Recent news of it revival definitely raised my Spirits ! What more it is expected to generate revenue for 200 villages surrounding Nalanda ! Thats neo-economics @ work !!

Mind its potential : "Will it become next cambridge"

This step is an important in the context of today's Knowledge economy ! We have potential of becoming next educational destination with a host of World class Institutios ! But as of"Nalanda" I wish it to be part of "Great Indian Legacy" than just another world class learning centre !! Hope dreams will come true !!

Well some respite for now with e-nalanda : !!

India enters the $trillion league !!

Not always does rising rupee bring joy to exporters. The structural adjustment infact has been worry for them. One cannot gauruntee this was totally expected, atleast this soon ! Even the RBI. The following reflects their view :
"The government has released an estimate of 9.2 percent for this year. There is clearly an upward movement toward sustained growth of 9 percent as expressed officially," Rakesh Mohan noted. "We should be a trillion dollar economy by next year. I mean 2007/08."



As Economic Times points out it was quicker estimate revelaed by a swiss Co:


"Indian GDP at the current price level is 41 trillion rupees. With the rupee appreciating to below 41 against the US dollar, yesterday was the first day for the economy to be a trillion dollar economy," the Swiss investment firm said in a note. "



Definitely a pleseant surprise. This will definitely enhance the investor confidence in India inspite of global oil & terror threats. No wonder the post 1991 refroms were watershed for India's economy revitalising itself. Atleast now the critics can lower their voiceif not stop. Because they would be quick to questions its sustainability ! Well even in 1991 external debt crisis not many agreed India's comeback, well today ???



See below for ranking (Courtesy : Times Of India - India poised campign )




Just above India is Russia & Brazil !! 3rd Asian giant to do so !
But in terms of PPP we stand 4th after US, Japan & China..

But our 20M NRI's seem to be standing even taller , their combined worth greater than India's GDP ! No wonder Deepak Parekh's committee recommended to use part of Forex for Infrastructure development ! But first aim should be to attract the remittances !



Bold new & bright future is greeting us and it will be our's to loose !

Sun in 3D !!

Recent pics by NASA reveals 3D view of the supposedly head of the Solar Family - The Sun !!
The pics look really awesome. Take a look at these : (Courtesy NASA)


This could mean more understanding the origin & composition of the "Ultimate ball of fire " known to Human race ! According to NASA :


" STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program (STP). This two-year mission, launched October 2006, will provide a unique and revolutionary view of the Sun-Earth System"
(Reference : http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/main/index.html)

So why is solar reasearch so important ? Just decided to go little into the space territory ....

- Scientists can get more clarity in solar physics
- Weather forecast can be more accurate. Can save a lot of lives !!!
Forecast need some basic concepts of solar winds, solar flare, magnetic emission etc..
- Can give us some clue on the origin of earth. May be ?? not sure
- More light in "Thermonuclear Fusion" understanding ! Towards greener energy & eternal
energy source.
- Corona - the core is most important to be unserstood more fundamentally. Because this is
the one which is responsible for eternal source of solar energy !! How ??!

So how will it impact common man's life ?? let me try to muster a few :

a) Solar energy will be an eternal source of energy ! No more power cuts !!
b) Power will become cheap for common man.
c) Production of industrial houses enhanced. Hence more buyount economy !
d) No more oil wars !!
e) No more GHG emissions !! Clean energy !
f) More equitable world order.

Well this are just a few. But its ulitmate success depends on political will & tenacity to pursue its research will full vigour ! India is one of the best known countries for solar production being so close to the equator , which means more sun light !!

Did Richard change "Gear" ??

In entertainment industry short memory syndrome is synonymous with the amount of
times the artist presents herself in front the audience quite often. But for a few it comes frequently and so often presents oppurtunities to extend the short memory a
little longer. Shilpa shetty is one lucky artist. The new big sister is often caught with events for which she might not have been the initiator. As mentioned in my previous posting , she has once again grabbed the pie & gave media her piece of mind !!

Well its shilpa shining again for you ! One thing the sensation creating trouble
mongers did not realise is they are doing more PR service to the target than the
issue(if at all it is one!) Sadly these "Self proclaimed protectors of culture" may
not be aware of the way AIDs is soon becoming an epidemic in S.Asia. India may not have large percentage share with respect to its population, but is highest in terms of absolute numbers.

Look at some sample Statistics . It is baffling : India - 5.6 Mn ppl estimated to be affected China - 650,000Shockingly India rank's second in terms of absolute number of people affected,next only to South Africa.Mainly due to ignorance is the reason for prevelance !! See the reference.Has Richard really changed the "gear" of the AIDS campign. Well he is a well known international actor who has a palacial palace in Hollywood who hardly looks for cheap publicity ! May be he wanted more audiance to know about the campign.

Unfortunately the moral policing gang, as ever interpreted through their sensational prism giving more colours ,followed by uncanny protests rather than higlighting importance of why both shilpa & Richard Gere had met on stage.

In all the recent light of events media creates more confusion rather than awareness ! Though an advocate of free media I feel media to be more role playing in issues lie AIDs awareness. For example instead of repeatedly palying the "dance pose" they could have also sent message of the growing epidemic nature of HIV/AIDS. That would have added more value to the news & society. This way one attains the same sensation (gain ERP ratings!) & also reflect the current problems.

After all Richard Gere made no "Indecent proposal " on stage ! He has been a very effective ambassador in the AIDS campign and I hope his message reaches 1 billion people and justify his visits purpose than changing the "gear" of the campign !

Agni III - Takes off to glory !!

In one of the earlier posts I had mentioned about the "First Agni III test" & difficulties in a high technology mission. India scientists have once again proven their worth with successful test of Agni III today !! Definitely it puts India into the "Missile League" & top spot in South Asia.(China an exception !) This is again an important message sent to strategic community saying India will puruse indigenous research of critical technologies. This is an important close to the final days of Indo-US nuke deal close & friendship with neighbours !!

No doubt India is one of the most popular "Soft Power"(Thanks to tharoor for popularising the term !! ) Safe guarding its own security interest is one of the top priorities in the current economy accelerating.

To re-iterate the history Agni was one of the pet projects of then Director-General Dr.A P J Abdul kalam. Conceived as part of the Integrated Missile development programme(IGMDP) to which then defence minister R.Venkat Raman (Both of these men went on to become first citizen !) without a second thought ! Agni I(850 Km) & II(2000-3500) were runway success, ofcourse both had their share of initial hiccups !

Agni III seen more as a precedent to ICBM (surya!?) ! Does this mean Indian missile can reach to all ! Not just yet. Strategic thinkers feel AGNI III can target most of Chinese cities, deep into W.Asia. Pretty much Asia is in the missile shield. Recent testing of anti-missile system(with Prithvi) also a feather in the defence R&D cap !

As Agni III roared in the skies, reminds me of Dr.Kalam's poem :

Dreams float on an impatient wind,
A wind that wants to create a new order,
An order of strength and thundering of fire."

Sure Indian scientists have taken forward the legacy of Great men !!

Dalai Lama Speak !!

Karan Thapar has never been so modest , downplaying as he was during his interaction with his holiness "The Dalai Lama". The 71 Year old Dalai Lama was as cool as ever taking one question at a time and giving crytal clear reply. The views seem to be more realisitic and going with current happenings. And one of the plain speaks in recent times :

For instance he insists :

"Now, I think the whole world knows that I am not seeking independence. As far as history is concerned" .

This clearly gives the direction the struggle is heading. One should appreciate the way he has patiently taken a non-violent struggle and now tweaking to realities still not compromising on the main issue. The issue might have been freedom , in the sense freedom to pursue & preserve their culture. Does not seem to be political freedom.

Atleast thats what is the indication he gives when he points out :

"I think many visit Tibet including many Chinese. When they reach Lhasa, they realise that Tibet is actually ruled by terror. The autonomy is not that. The Tibetan should have their final authority except foreign affairs and defence. The rest of the business Tibetans can handle, may be even batter, because they know Tibetan mentality and geographical situations"

Nothing more could have been crytal clear !!

He also does not hesitate to point out the need for revisiting foreign policy with changing times !
Words of wisdom !

In another sense also this assumes importance as he throws open challenge to the Tibetean youth :

"I tell them ‘yes, you demands are right, doesn’t matter’. But if they really want a different approach then they must assure us, the people the method step by step. That’s not very clear"

This charismatic Chief buddhist monk has shown his pure heart when he said, that he would not worry if he does not see Tibet in this life time ! Final Punch :

"No problem. I am a Buddhist monk, now over 71-years-old. These several years I have trained my mind according to Buddhist teachings. Doesn’t matter"

Final parting thoughts of Dr.Brahma Chellany (reference made by Karan Thapar himself):

"The only way that India can build counter-leverage against Beijing is to quietly reopen the issue of China’s annexation of Tibet and its subsequent failure to grant autonomy to the Tibetans.”

Please do see for more details :

Visit the site (reference cnn-ibn site)

Wild Flash - Road not taken !!

One of my favourite pieces from genius "Robert Frost" .. U definitely would freeze !
Njoy the chill !!
====================================
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler,long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
-I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

Dr.Tharoor ends hid date with UN !!

Not many Asians have imposed their presense and commanded respect of the world diplomatic community as Dr.Sashi Tharoor has ! He has carved himself a unique working style and UN adopted him a 22 year old young man. This Doctrate from Fletcher school of Diplomacy has worked his way thorugh the UN hierarchy purely on his merit not to mention his natural passion for the Job.

First big assignment as UNHRC chief at Singapore & various other high profile stints garlanded his ever growing resume`. But Tharoor never let down his another "Lover" ! He always knew she deserved more attention & always seduced him to her world - Writing !! Otherwise no way can a higly occupied man produce 9 books ,including one on bollywood!!

He has always been a poster boy of the Indian identity though he spoke fluent french than most Asians ! India threw its full support for the post of UNSG. A worthy try which was cut short by other growing "powers" ! Also his strong advocacy for restructuring the UN might have reflected back. That is one page which no S.G has ever dared to read. As Mr.T.P.Sreenivasan, a former Indian Diplomat in his rediff article says : "At least two permanent members were known not to be too enthusiastic, as he did not fit the image of an ideal Secretary General that they had in mind."

The literary genius inside him became evident in "The Great Indian Novel" ! Tharoor 100% succeeded in getting the approval of the International audience ! Modern history he delivered thorugh "India from midnight to millenium" is testimony of his passion for history & Literature ! M F Hussain brought more colorful side with their combined work.

The St.Stephen's alumni can do more good to India today through his international stature. I earnestly hope our diplomatic community would earn more by seeking the advise of this easy & outgoing Diplomat !! He might leave UN on March 31,2007 but his accomplishments cannot be erased & his contributions ever inscribed in the books of the great Institution the world still believes in !! All the best Mr. Tharoor, India & UN are proud of you !

Women on Top

I always used to wonder , why many "special days" are being celeberated. On this "International Women's Day" I decided to break the ice. No doubt women have come a long way. Well I know it is even illogical to say that Women have come a longway, when humanity as a whole as gone even further. Sometimes feeling that concept of Men-Women empowerment itself is flawed. How can humanity as a whole come a longway but not women or say without their efforts ? So there shud be atleast certain of freedom to carry out efforts. Is it correct or am I misinterpreting facts. So on this day I decided to do little more study to clear my ignorance.

"Good Google" smiles on me throwing some 52,200,000 results in just 0.12 secs !!! "Wiki" enlightned me a little more. Almost all of Europe(+russia+china+vietnam) is non-working. Is this a communist phenomenon ?? In one sense yes because their political ideology themselves include more on "Women's rights" I suppose. Hmm .. ok let's move further .. "Gayle Rubin" seemed to have heve been intrigued & done some comprehensive thinking. I took her help. She is attributed to have coined "Sex/Gender System". She seemed to have lashed out from Marx to Frued for their misinterpretation. So my doubts are nothing compared to the great intellectuals.

Well there seems to too much to analyse and might not require this lifetime(True for any subject I suppose). One of things which still surpise me is because our Indian history mentions many women scholars too. Many argue they were exceptions. Well , exceptions do make a case. Everything starts with that. Technlogy which was at a time accessible to developed world is now available to all !(Whatever may be ther reason for that !?)On the other hand I also do not deny the oppression they faced for centuries. It was more locally "social" rather than global phenomenon.

A few hardened facts from "Unifem" on violence against Women. Sadly an Asian country tops the list. Also the most decent society seems to be Japan. One country that seems to have learnt from their past mistakes. Kudos to that, no use how many times it apologises for its war time atrocities - they have voiced it in action(with proof - see report). Back home I know we are struggling to get consenses on "Women's Bill" except CPI who have been consistent with support.
All the struggle seemed to have worked now. I decided to take stats of current situation to feel the reality bite. Taking the glass "Half full" I ventured further to see their participation. Unofficially every family runs on their effort and love(no statistics can prove that. Lets go official now. Times Of India got out real good survery on IWD. Worth brwosing through. We today live in a world where "Women are on TOP". (Thats why my heading :-) ! ) From Soina to Sania its all open to them.

In the end I feel it's the mindset one has to break rather than tradition that it is percieved to be. It's what one percieves. Wishing all the world a glorious "International Women's Day". For those men who complain there is no "International Men's Day" - Here is a consolation (Nov 19). Yet to catch up though !!

Sizzling shilpa in reality !

Up's & down's in one's career is inevitable. This rule holds good for bollywood beauties too ,they like it or not ! Shipla shetty was on such a trail , many even predicting her end of road. Suddenly some cleared a new road. Realising the "reality" shilpa flights to UK - confident.
No prizes for guessing the event that followed. From Chancellor of Ex-Chequer to PM no one was allowed to be ignorant of her ! Ofocurse she thanked them all through her sizzling visit, to vow the voted !
The realities of the show were many ! Sensitivities of racism will no more be tolerated - even shades of it. What happened there might be a clash of culture which can be misinterpreted as unacceptable. Another overwelhming factor to Ms.Shetty was her proclamation of sole represenative to Asian continent ! Least did she expect an diplomatic support which India rarely does, even in case of its defence in many cases !
shilpa woke up to become the household name in UK. She became rich by few crores & a few lakh "international" fans. But one of the admirations for her is the native tolerant spirit, in what could be called our cultural roots! In that way one can vouch her representation. After all she could have acted with a spurge of anger as her peers. Another kudos to her contribution to AIDS awareness which is fast being raised to level of epidemics (especially in her native continent) !
Bollywood fans are overjoyed with Shilpa winning. But they do have their share of complaints, for they are not sure if she would make a come back to bollywood when she is flooded with offers.
There are even rumour she might be knighted ?!! Thats how popularity of her's is being described. You can see more of "Sizzling" shilpa from here on. Well, her success has set lot of production houses thinking to craft a show here in India ! Should we call it the great "Indian Thamasha" ..

Bold & the Beautiful !

A beauty had dreamed of winning her third grand slam. But then came a yet bolder voice which shattered that dream. Throughout the play sharapova found that she just could not even get closer to that dream. Serena's play was just precise to the core. No one would believe she was playing international tennis after quite sometime.

The gap ,it seemed has actually made serena more powerful , skillful. The American just whipped the ball right and left, which the Russian found too handful ! Until the final countdown started, both were looking good. Infact World no:1 all the more upper hand seeing the track record of the past year. But Serena just re-wrote them. It's not that she had not warned her signals, most powerful one was beating the 17 yr old(youngest playing the grand slam) nichole vadisova ! The teenager was just sent back for lack of experience in front of Serena.

A confident Serena was on fire throughout the Final game of Australian Open 2007 ! Definitely was too good for a unseeded player. Simply the ranking were put to shame ! A crisp 6-1 6-2 said it all ! Timely strategy and quickness is name of the game and Serena just stood by it. Welcome back Serena , after all no one is too hard to beat is what you have proven ! Good start for 2007 !

Tryst with Juntaa !

Pranab's visit to Myanmar last weekend cannot be termed a "routine" diplomatic journey. With the clout of India's Arms assistance to its military ruled Myanmar syntheszes new kind of equation. Till now help was confined to military training and info sharing of insurgents. India willing to go beyond the traditional arena need not come as a surprise though. For there have been speculations besides Banla border, insurgents are in Myanmar borders too ! Aferall that perception would be more grave as we share 1500km border with Myanmar !
Well India is not alone is recognising the Junta rule. Recently even china & Russia vetoed the US designed resolution hilighting "Junta" a place for insurgent growth. India's foreign policy initiative on this front is more strategic than economic. Though the economic dimension of gas supply cannot be ruled out.
Myanmar to survey its gas reserves by april & if excess agreed to supply at "right" price ! Though this might not be key ally , it cannot be ruled out to be small ! These days world order is more towards energy rich friends with relative weakness in their political school . Energy needs might well be the fuel for future conflicts. Especially for growing economies like India & China !
2006 was significant that all 3 service chiefs visited Myanmar. All of them had their deal to be offered to the Juntaa ! True that north east conflict tops "Look East policy" besides Oil exploration findings of Naypyida. ONGC,GAIL also have stake in the fields there. Border fencing also to commence soon with full support of the burmese. Ofocurse top most infrastructural development is the Sithway-Mizoram and Mainpur-Thailand (via Mynamar) highways.
But also pity that Democaratic India since 1993 (reversal of stance )has no word on Noble Laurate Aung San Su ki who has been virtually house arrested for decades now ! Are we skipping democracy for Diplomacy ? Though Foreign minister might term Junta as internal matter, with more military rules on almost all neighbours (except Bhutan) we will have to be more prudent in pushing for Democracy because that itself is half the answer to Insurgency !

PSLV-C7 blasts off to glory !

Madhavan Nair was a visibly happy chief. What more can the chief ask from his troops. In his own words "More perfect than text book launch !". India's 9th continuous successful PSLV launch is definitely a great stride by itself. On PSLV's vehicle configuration lies many ambitious plans including the manned space mission ! The GSLV's recent dismal was yet nagging as the countdown began.

PSLV-C7 by itself has many "first's". First time Space Recovery Experiment(SRE), Dual Launch Adopter, 4 satellites out of which 2 weigh a ton ! First ever video capture of stage separation !

India now proclaims its capability to put multiple satellites on space ! Budget constraint for smaller countries can seek India's capability. Because vehicle design is the crux & the most expensive. Argentina experimenting its first satellite !

Shriharikota will be buzzing all the year as there are series of launch schedules waiting execution. ISRO has the track record of silencing their critics through their success rather than rhetoric. I feel it is one of the channels where tax payer can atleast be proud of !

Time is come for ISRO to start thinking big ! Ofcourse they already have , but a vision document should be generated on public debate ! Antrix, the commercial wing of ISRO no doubt has been busy marketing our transponders. Scientific diplomacy integrated with focused vision will make our space programme more attractive not just to customers but to great minds !